The Prince - Softcover

Machiavelli, Niccolo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451625889 ISBN 13: 9780451625885

Publisher: Signet, 1952

Synopsis

Because the average prince is likely to be focused upon his own interests, a prince's private interests are generally in opposition to those of his subjects. Fortunate is the kingdom ruled by a virtuous prince (virtue here defined as being able to pursue his own interests without conflict). In Machiavelli's view, virtue is that which increases power; vice is that which decreases it. Far shorter than most classic works, and more accessible to current readers because of their familiarity with politics, this work yields benefits and insights to all who read, digest, and critically examine the precepts it explains. A must-read classic of world literature. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.

About this title

Review

When Lorenzo de' Medici seized control of the Florentine Republic in 1512, he summarily fired the Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Signoria and set in motion a fundamental change in the way we think about politics. The person who held the aforementioned office with the tongue-twisting title was none other than Niccolò Machiavelli, who, suddenly finding himself out of a job after 14 years of patriotic service, followed the career trajectory of many modern politicians into punditry. Unable to become an on-air political analyst for a television network, he only wrote a book. But what a book The Prince is. Its essential contribution to modern political thought lies in Machiavelli's assertion of the then revolutionary idea that theological and moral imperatives have no place in the political arena. "It must be understood," Machiavelli avers, "that a prince ... cannot observe all of those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state." With just a little imagination, readers can discern parallels between a 16th-century principality and a 20th-century presidency. --Tim Hogan

From the Publisher

Here is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor The Prince even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince . . . a king . . . a president. When, in 1512, Machiavelli was removed from his post in his beloved Florence, he resolved to set down a treatise on leadership that was practical, not idealistic. In The Prince he envisioned would be unencumbered by ordinary ethical and moral values; his prince would be man and beast, fox and lion. Today, this small sixteenth-century masterpiece has become essential reading for every student of government, and is the ultimate book on power politics.

Edition details

• Publisher: Signet
• Publication date: 1952
• ISBN 10: 0451625889
• ISBN 13: 9780451625885
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 5