The Prince

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“One must be a fox in order to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten off wolves.”

The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise, first published in 1532.

The Prince shocked Europe on publication with its advocacy of ruthless tactics for gaining absolute power and its abandonment of conventional morality. Niccoló Machiavelli (1469-1527) came to be regraded by some as an agent of the Devil and his name taken for the intriguer ‘Machevill’ of Jacobean tragedy.

For his treatise on statecraft, Machiavelli drew on his own experience of office under the turbulent Florentine republic, rejecting traditional values of political theory and recognizing the complicated, transient nature of political life. Concerned not with lofty ideal but with a regime that would last, The Prince has become the bible of realpolitik, and it still retains its power to alarm and to instruct.

In this edition, Machiavelli’s tough-minded and pragmatic Italian is preserved in George Bull’s clear, unambiguous translation, while Anthony Grafton’s introduction depicts Machiavelli’s world of power struggles and intrigue, and discusses his role as political teacher of Europe.

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Weight 0.245 kg

Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer. He has often been called the founder of modern political science. He was for many years a senior official in the Florentine Republic, with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He also wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is renowned in the Italian language. He was secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power. He wrote his most renowned work The Prince (Il Principe) in 1513.

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