The Prince and Other Writings [with Biographical Introduction]

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Firstly, particularly in the Discourses on Livy, Machiavelli is unusual in the positive side he sometimes seems to describe in factionalism in republics.

For example, quite early in the Discourses, in Book I, chapter 4 , a chapter title announces that the disunion of the plebs and senate in Rome "kept Rome free. Similarly, the modern economic argument for capitalism , and most modern forms of economics, was often stated in the form of "public virtue from private vices.

Mansfield however argues that Machiavelli's own aims have not been shared by those he influenced. Machiavelli argued against seeing mere peace and economic growth as worthy aims on their own, if they would lead to what Mansfield calls the "taming of the prince. Machiavelli is most famous for a short political treatise, The Prince , written in but not published until , five years after his death. Although he privately circulated The Prince among friends, the only theoretical work to be printed in his lifetime was The Art of War , which was about military science.

Since the 16th century, generations of politicians remain attracted and repelled by its apparently neutral acceptance, or even positive encouragement, of the immorality of powerful men, described especially in The Prince but also in his other works. His works are sometimes even said to have contributed to the modern negative connotations of the words politics and politician , [35] and it is sometimes thought that it is because of him that Old Nick became an English term for the Devil.

While Machiavellianism is notable in the works of Machiavelli, Machiavelli's works are complex and he is generally agreed to have been more than just "Machiavellian" himself. Pocock saw him as a major source of the republicanism that spread throughout England and North America in the 17th and 18th centuries and Leo Strauss , whose view of Machiavelli is quite different in many ways, agreed about Machiavelli's influence on republicanism and argued that even though Machiavelli was a teacher of evil he had a nobility of spirit that led him to advocate ignoble actions.

Whatever his intentions, which are still debated today, he has become associated with any proposal where " the end justifies the means ". For example, Leo Strauss , p. Machiavelli is the only political thinker whose name has come into common use for designating a kind of politics, which exists and will continue to exist independently of his influence, a politics guided exclusively by considerations of expediency, which uses all means, fair or foul, iron or poison, for achieving its ends—its end being the aggrandizement of one's country or fatherland—but also using the fatherland in the service of the self-aggrandizement of the politician or statesman or one's party.

To quote Robert Bireley: Three principal writers took the field against Machiavelli between the publication of his works and their condemnation in and again by the Tridentine Index in These were the English cardinal Reginald Pole and the Portuguese bishop Jeronymo Osorio , both of whom lived for many years in Italy, and the Italian humanist and later bishop, Ambrogio Caterino Politi.

Machiavelli's ideas had a profound impact on political leaders throughout the modern west, helped by the new technology of the printing press. During the first generations after Machiavelli, his main influence was in non-Republican governments. In fact, he was apparently influencing both Catholic and Protestant kings. One of the most important early works dedicated to criticism of Machiavelli, especially The Prince , was that of the Huguenot , Innocent Gentillet , whose work commonly referred to as Discourse against Machiavelli or Anti Machiavel was published in Geneva in This became the theme of much future political discourse in Europe during the 17th century.

This includes the Catholic Counter Reformation writers summarised by Bireley: They accepted the need for a prince to be concerned with reputation, and even a need for cunning and deceit, but compared to Machiavelli, and like later modernist writers, they emphasized economic progress much more than the riskier ventures of war. These authors tended to cite Tacitus as their source for realist political advice, rather than Machiavelli, and this pretense came to be known as " Tacitism ".

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Modern materialist philosophy developed in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, starting in the generations after Machiavelli. This philosophy tended to be republican, more in the original spirit of Machiavellian, but as with the Catholic authors Machiavelli's realism and encouragement of using innovation to try to control one's own fortune were more accepted than his emphasis upon war and politics. Not only was innovative economics and politics a result, but also modern science , leading some commentators to say that the 18th century Enlightenment involved a "humanitarian" moderating of Machiavellianism.

Although he was not always mentioned by name as an inspiration, due to his controversy, he is also thought to have been an influence for other major philosophers, such as Montaigne , [54] Descartes , [55] Hobbes , Locke [56] and Montesquieu.

Niccolò Machiavelli

Although Jean-Jacques Rousseau is associated with very different political ideas, it is important to view Machiavelli's work from different points of view rather than just the traditional notion. For example, Rousseau viewed Machiavelli's work as a satirical piece in which Machiavelli exposes the faults of a one-man rule rather than exalting amorality.

In the seventeenth century it was in England that Machiavelli's ideas were most substantially developed and adapted, and that republicanism came once more to life; and out of seventeenth-century English republicanism there were to emerge in the next century not only a theme of English political and historical reflection—of the writings of the Bolingbroke circle and of Gibbon and of early parliamentary radicals—but a stimulus to the Enlightenment in Scotland, on the Continent, and in America. Scholars have argued that Machiavelli was a major indirect and direct influence upon the political thinking of the Founding Fathers of the United States due to his overwhelming favoritism of republicanism and the republic type of government.

According to John McCormick, it is still very much debatable whether or not Machiavelli was "an advisor of tyranny or partisan of liberty. The Founding Father who perhaps most studied and valued Machiavelli as a political philosopher was John Adams , who profusely commented on the Italian's thought in his work, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America.

For Adams, Machiavelli restored empirical reason to politics, while his analysis of factions was commendable. Adams likewise agreed with the Florentine that human nature was immutable and driven by passions. He also accepted Machiavelli's belief that all societies were subject to cyclical periods of growth and decay. For Adams, Machiavelli lacked only a clear understanding of the institutions necessary for good government. The 20th-century Italian Communist Antonio Gramsci drew great inspiration from Machiavelli's writings on ethics, morals, and how they relate to the State and revolution in his writings on Passive Revolution , and how a society can be manipulated by controlling popular notions of morality.

Joseph Stalin read The Prince and annotated his own copy. In the 20th century there was also renewed interest in Machiavelli's La Mandragola , which received numerous stagings, including several in New York, at the New York Shakespeare Festival in and the Riverside Shakespeare Company in , as a musical comedy by Peer Raben in Munich's antiteater in , and at London's National Theatre in Machiavelli's best-known book Il Principe contains several maxims concerning politics.

Instead of the more traditional target audience of a hereditary prince, it concentrates on the possibility of a "new prince". To retain power, the hereditary prince must carefully balance the interests of a variety of institutions to which the people are accustomed.

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By contrast, a new prince has the more difficult task in ruling: He must first stabilise his newfound power in order to build an enduring political structure. Machiavelli suggests that the social benefits of stability and security can be achieved in the face of moral corruption. Machiavelli believed that public and private morality had to be understood as two different things in order to rule well. As a result, a ruler must be concerned not only with reputation, but also must be positively willing to act immorally at the right times.

Machiavelli believed as a ruler, it was better to be widely feared than to be greatly loved; A loved ruler retains authority by obligation while a feared leader rules by fear of punishment. Scholars often note that Machiavelli glorifies instrumentality in state building, an approach embodied by the saying " The ends justify the means.

Violence may be necessary for the successful stabilisation of power and introduction of new legal institutions. Force may be used to eliminate political rivals, to coerce resistant populations, and to purge the community of other men strong enough of a character to rule, who will inevitably attempt to replace the ruler. Machiavelli has become infamous for such political advice, ensuring that he would be remembered in history through the adjective, "Machiavellian".

Humanists also viewed the book negatively, including Erasmus of Rotterdam. As a treatise, its primary intellectual contribution to the history of political thought is the fundamental break between political realism and political idealism , due to it being a manual on acquiring and keeping political power.

In contrast with Plato and Aristotle , Machiavelli insisted that an imaginary ideal society is not a model by which a prince should orient himself. Concerning the differences and similarities in Machiavelli's advice to ruthless and tyrannical princes in The Prince and his more republican exhortations in Discourses on Livy , many have concluded that The Prince , although written as advice for a monarchical prince, contains arguments for the superiority of republican regimes, similar to those found in the Discourses. In the 18th century, the work was even called a satire , for example by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Other interpretations include for example that of Antonio Gramsci , who argued that Machiavelli's audience for this work was not even the ruling class but the common people because the rulers already knew these methods through their education. The Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livy , published in , written , often referred to simply as the "Discourses" or Discorsi , is nominally a discussion regarding the classical history of early Ancient Rome although it strays very far from this subject matter and also uses contemporary political examples to illustrate points.

Machiavelli presents it as a series of lessons on how a republic should be started and structured. It is a larger work than The Prince , and while it more openly explains the advantages of republics, it also contains many similar themes. Commentators disagree about how much the two works agree with each other, frequently referring to leaders of democracies as "princes".

It includes early versions of the concept of checks and balances and asserts the superiority of a republic over a principality. It became one of the central texts of republicanism , and has often been argued to be a superior work to The Prince. Besides being a statesman and political scientist, Machiavelli also translated classical works, and was a playwright Clizia , Mandragola , a poet Sonetti , Canzoni , Ottave , Canti carnascialeschi , and a novelist Belfagor arcidiavolo.

Della Lingua Italian for "Of the Language" , a dialogue about Italy's language is normally attributed to Machiavelli. Machiavelli's literary executor, Giuliano de' Ricci, also reported having seen that Machiavelli, his grandfather, made a comedy in the style of Aristophanes which included living Florentines as characters, and to be titled Le Maschere. It has been suggested that due to such things as this and his style of writing to his superiors generally, there was very likely some animosity to Machiavelli even before the return of the Medici.

Christopher Marlowe 's play The Jew of Malta ca. It is a brilliant introduction to the people and events that gave us the word 'Machiavellian. Television dramas centering on the early Renaissance have also made use of Machiavelli to underscore his influence in early modern political philosophy. Machiavelli has been featured as a supporting character in The Tudors — , [81] [82] Borgia — and The Borgias — Brotherhood , in which he is portrayed as a member of the secret society of Assassins.

A highly fictionalised version of Machiavelli appears in the BBC children's TV series Leonardo — , [83] in which he is "Mac", a black streetwise hustler who is best friends with fellow teenagers Leonardo da Vinci , Mona Lisa , and Lorenzo di Medici. In the episode "Ewings Unite! Ewing wills his copy of The Prince to his adopted nephew Christopher Ewing , telling him to "use it, because being smart and sneaky is an unbeatable combination.

The character's personality and behaviour seem to portray Cesare Borgia rather than Machiavelli himself, suggesting that the writers may have confused the two. Together with his defence attorney Lucrezia Borgia Helen McCrory , he presents examples from history to the devil to support his political theories and appeal his sentence in Hell.

The portrayal of Machiavelli draws from his later writings and observations of the chaotic events of his youth before rising from obscurity to be appointed as Second Chancellor of the Florentine Republic at the age of twenty-nine, only one month after Savonarola's execution. The American rapper Tupac Shakur studied Machiavelli while in prison and became greatly influenced by his work.

Upon his release from prison, Tupac honored Machiavelli in by changing his own rap name from 2Pac to Makaveli. In the crime drama A Bronx Tale , local mob boss Sonny tells his young protege Calogero that while he was doing a year sentence in jail, he passed the time and stayed out of trouble by reading Machiavelli, whom he describes as "a famous writer from years ago"—and then tells him how Machiavelli's philosophy, including his famous advice about how it is preferable for a leader to be feared rather than loved if he cannot be both—have made him a successful mob boss.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Machiavelli disambiguation. Florence , Republic of Florence. Of course, that's my own rather simple analysis and quickly written essay-review, but it's fun to think about. Maybe I'm an ignorant to have not known who Machiavelli was before reading this book. It was pure coincidence that I stumbled upon this book at the book store and found the edition quite interesting so I purchased it. The fact that it was actually non-fiction, to me, is another reason why I subconsciously carried it to the till.

Though many people have criticised how Machiavelli wrote this book for the sake of an important figure, namely a prince in power during his time, I don't see how it coul Maybe I'm an ignorant to have not known who Machiavelli was before reading this book. Though many people have criticised how Machiavelli wrote this book for the sake of an important figure, namely a prince in power during his time, I don't see how it could have affected how he wrote the book at all. At first, I was entertained by the method this book was written, which resembles a manual on "How to Raise a Principality and Stick With It.

He also speaks of killing as one would about doing the laundry: But it also gives me a great understanding into the way people of those days view power and the world. The blame lay not only with Machiavelli, but also with society in the s. All in all, a rather entertaining read in the social scientific sense. Read with critical mind, so as not to get sucked into every word he heeds.

May 03, Holly rated it it was amazing Shelves: The book that provided rehab for my politics addiction. I now watch each election with a cynical eye as people extol the virtues of different candidates with conviction and idealism. I know that these people have never read "The Prince" and if they did, failed to grasp its primary message. After reading this book I am even more proud of the fact that I have never voted for a presidential candidate from either of the two major parties Politics and government will not change for the better or make the world a better place.

Only one thing can bring about true change and improvement and that is the improvement of the human species itself. When human beings cease to suck this world will be a pretty fine place. Therefore, we are bombarded with waves of the names of countries, dukes, kings, sovereigns, territories, and regions, of that era without explanations. The language is really rigid and formal Just like "The 48 Laws of Power", the overwhelming historical references are exhausting and repetitive.

I was really looking forward to enjoying this book but I'm too turned off by it. Almost like reading the play book for modern politicians, Machiavelli's "how to" has been used for generations by "Princes" struggling to grasp or maintain their position. The editor makes the argument that Machiavelli wasn't proposing that the "ends justify the means" but all of his suggestions are means by which to maintain control. He frowns at times when suggesting that being dishonorable, cruel or dishonest is sometimes necessary, and then claims with a shrug that it must be done. Feigning Almost like reading the play book for modern politicians, Machiavelli's "how to" has been used for generations by "Princes" struggling to grasp or maintain their position.

Feigning religion is another of his suggestions. I wander what Machiavelli would think reading about our current politics. I'm actually going to change my star rating of this book, but my previous review said that I really did not like it. Looking back, it wasn't really that terrible, but reads like a textbook. A really old textbook. Don't go into it expecting a page-turning adventure even though I don't know why you would.

And, going through AP Government, I realize how relevant Machiavelli was during his time, and that relevance lasts to the modern world. It ought to receive a more detailed review, but a classic of its caliber already has an abundance of elaborate reviews to do it justice. Thus, simply commenting that this book of strategy is indeed as majestic and timeless as described should suffice. Excellent for seeing how world leaders and governments act or might in general. I'm ready to conquer and rule! Jan 16, Kori Brus rated it really liked it. Reading this for the first time in my early 40s, I was struck not by the tone of selfish machinations that it has the reputation for, but rather for the simple common sense that most the chapters deal with.

Two of the most pernicious social mandates are that 1 people are good, and 2 one must be selfless.

The first is a lie, and the second is a delusion. People are and always will be self interested, and the first duties of a self interested person read, "someone who is actually taking care an Reading this for the first time in my early 40s, I was struck not by the tone of selfish machinations that it has the reputation for, but rather for the simple common sense that most the chapters deal with. People are and always will be self interested, and the first duties of a self interested person read, "someone who is actually taking care and responsibility for their own actions and outcomes" , is to understand the motivations of others and thus choose prudent courses of action in the world.

It's a great read, with remarkable accessibility and clarity, but one best tackled in the readers 20s when the dynamics and revelations will strike with greater power and influence. If cynicism is merely a heightened sense of reality, then call Machiavelli cynical. Written as an advice book for a wise prince, his would-be patron, Lorenzo de Medici soon to be duke of Urbino , in the early 16th century.

The Prince is for me most of all a study in human nature for nearly all of Machiavelli's chapters on holding onto power and governing wisely turn on points of character where failures of intellect, will, or personality doom princes of antiquity as well as those of the 14th an If cynicism is merely a heightened sense of reality, then call Machiavelli cynical. The Prince is for me most of all a study in human nature for nearly all of Machiavelli's chapters on holding onto power and governing wisely turn on points of character where failures of intellect, will, or personality doom princes of antiquity as well as those of the 14th and 15th centuries.

One cannot read it without holding his lessons up to the light of current affairs. The oft-spoken lines "No progress in the affairs of men" and "Know thyself" come to mind as conclusions to be drawn from this. Jan 29, Sarah rated it it was ok. This book talks all about politics and how a prince supposed to be if he wants to be a good ruler he also mentioned what a prince should avoid. The little turn off of this book is the redundancy of the quality of a successful prince the good thing that this book gave me is the curiosity of reading more about life in Italy at that time.

Feb 22, Toni rated it it was ok.

It's always difficult to rate centuries-old works, especially when they have to be translated on top of their age. For me, I believe the translation was the most hindering part of reading this treatise, because it made the flow poor and the sentences run-on and clumsy, which resulted in loss of understanding; the translator even notes here and there when certain Italian words or phrases don't have an exact English meaning. If you're really wanting to read The Prince, then I would recommend findi It's always difficult to rate centuries-old works, especially when they have to be translated on top of their age.

As Machiavelli is one of those writers people think they know, it is good to read them for yourself. This beautiful volume offers a sampling of Machiavelli's work offered in good translation. My copy was a gift through Goodreads First Reads. This is a great book in a horrible translation. An endless stream of long and convoluted sentences. I recommend the translation by James B. Atkinson, it was a revelation, and allowed me to finish this book: The Prince is especially relevant in today's society!

Dec 02, Kevin Moore rated it really liked it. May 18, Charles Hamel rated it it was amazing. This was a very interesting read. I highly enjoyed reading The Prince. This result was attained in the battle of Vaila, when Venice lost in one day all that she had won in eight hundred years. Florence had a difficult part to play during these events, complicated as they were by the feud which broke out between the pope and the French, because friendship with France had dictated the entire policy of the Republic.

When, in , Julius II finally formed the Holy League against France, and with the assistance of the Swiss drove the French out of Italy, Florence lay at the mercy of the Pope, and had to submit to his terms, one of which was that the Medici should be restored. The return of the Medici to Florence on 1st September , and the consequent fall of the Republic, was the signal for the dismissal of Machiavelli and his friends, and thus put an end to his public career, for, as we have seen, he died without regaining office.

On the return of the Medici, Machiavelli, who for a few weeks had vainly hoped to retain his office under the new masters of Florence, was dismissed by decree dated 7th November Shortly after this he was accused of complicity in an abortive conspiracy against the Medici, imprisoned, and put to the question by torture. The new Medicean people, Leo X, procured his release, and he retired to his small property at San Casciano, near Florence, where he devoted himself to literature. And because Dante says:. Filippo Casavecchio has seen it; he will be able to tell you what is in it, and of the discourses I have had with him; nevertheless, I am still enriching and polishing it.

Although Machiavelli discussed with Casavecchio whether it should be sent or presented in person to the patron, there is no evidence that Lorenzo ever received or even read it: Machiavelli concludes his letter to Vettori thus: And of my loyalty none could doubt, because having always kept faith I could not now learn how to break it; for he who has been faithful and honest, as I have, cannot change his nature; and my poverty is a witness to my honesty. In the Medicean rulers of Florence granted a few political concessions to her citizens, and Machiavelli with others was consulted upon a new constitution under which the Great Council was to be restored; but on one pretext or another it was not promulgated.

In that year the battle of Pavia destroyed the French rule in Italy, and left Francis I a prisoner in the hands of his great rival, Charles V. This was followed by the sack of Rome, upon the news of which the popular party at Florence threw off the yoke of the Medici, who were once more banished. No one can say where the bones of Machiavelli rest, but modern Florence has decreed him a stately cenotaph in Santa Croce, by the side of her most famous sons; recognizing that, whatever other nations may have found in his works, Italy found in them the idea of her unity and the germs of her renaissance among the nations of Europe.

Whilst it is idle to protest against the world-wide and evil signification of his name, it may be pointed out that the harsh construction of his doctrine which this sinister reputation implies was unknown to his own day, and that the researches of recent times have enabled us to interpret him more reasonably. Machiavelli was undoubtedly a man of great observation, acuteness, and industry; noting with appreciative eye whatever passed before him, and with his supreme literary gift turning it to account in his enforced retirement from affairs.

He does not present himself, nor is he depicted by his contemporaries, as a type of that rare combination, the successful statesman and author, for he appears to have been only moderately prosperous in his several embassies and political employments. He was misled by Catherina Sforza, ignored by Louis XII, overawed by Cesare Borgia; several of his embassies were quite barren of results; his attempts to fortify Florence failed, and the soldiery that he raised astonished everybody by their cowardice.

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