The Prince
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Il Principe (The Prince) is a political treatise by the Florentine public servant and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. Originally called De Principatibus (About Principalities), it was written in 1513,[1] but not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. The treatise is not representative of the work published during his lifetime, but it is the most remembered, and the work responsible for bringing " Machiavellian" into wide usage as a pejorative term.
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[edit] Specifications
- Author = Niccolò Machiavelli
- Cover illustrator =
- Series =
- Genre = Non-fiction, Political Science
- Publisher = Antonio Blado d'Asola
- Country = Florence
- Publication Date = 1532
- Nature of Rarity =
- Number in Existence =
- Estimated Value =
[edit] Overview
The views expounded by Machiavelli in The Prince may seem extreme. However, his whole life was spent in Florence at a time of continuous political conflict. Accordingly, Machiavelli emphasizes the need for stability in a prince’s principality; at stake is its preservation. The book was written primarily as a guide for the prince to maintain his power and only secondarily as a guide for maintaining the principality, the purpose of which was to keep the prince in power.
The theories expressed in The Prince are often venerated as shrewd methods that an aspiring prince can use to acquire the throne, or an existing prince can use to maintain his reign. According to Machiavelli, the greatest moral good is a virtuous and stable state, and actions to protect the country, no matter how cruel, are always justified: He must do anything necessary to keep his power. Machiavelli strongly suggests, however, that above all the prince must not be hated. He states, "...a wise prince should establish himself on that which is his own control and not in that of others; he must endeavor to avoid hatred, as is noted." He also says "it is best to be both feared and loved; however, if one cannot be both it is better to be feared than loved."
The opening discourse of The Prince defines effective methods of governing in several types of principalities (for example, newly acquired vs. hereditary). Machiavelli explains to the reader, assumed to be a member of the Florentine Medici family, the best ways to acquire, maintain, and protect a state. The methods described therein have the general theme of acquiring necessary ends by any means.
[edit] Summary
The Prince is widely regarded as one of the most influential books on politics, especially on the acquisition, perpetuation, and use of political power in the western world. Not intending his writing to be a scholarly treatise on political theory, Machiavelli wrote The Prince to gain the favor of the ruling Medici family, offering advice on how a prince might gain and keep power.
Machiavelli justified rule by force rather than by law. Accordingly, The Prince seems to justify a number of actions done solely to perpetuate power. It is a classic study of power—its acquisition, expansion, and effective use.
He also makes a point of declaring that he will not discuss republics, stating, "Of Republics I shall not now speak, having elsewhere spoken of them at length. Here I shall treat exclusively of Princedoms, and, filling in the outline above traced out, shall proceed to examine how such States are to be governed and maintained."
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Google books. The Prince. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
- Opening paragraph adapted from Outline of Great Books, Vol. I, published 1937.
[edit] External links
Links to the full text:
- Il Principe MetaLibri (PDF eBook)
- Adelaide's full text of The Prince (includes footnotes)
- SparkNotes
- The Prince, online text and audio
- Concordances and Frequency List based on the Italian text.
- Shakespeare referenceReference to Machiavelli's influence on Shakespeare.
- Commentary on The Prince
- Machiavelli in "The History Guide"
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Machiavelli
