The Prince

Machiavelli, Niccolò, 1469-1527Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.7

Word count: 281K words
Chapters: 29

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Prince by Niccolò MachiavelliAuthor: Machiavelli, Niccolò, 1469-1527,Language: English, Class: JC: Political science: Political theory, Release Date: Feb 11, 2006

Editor's review

The Prince is a classic short treatise in the history of Western political thought: modest in length yet dense in themes. Drawing on historical examples and his own diplomatic experience, Machiavelli discusses how a prince acquires, consolidates, and maintains power, touching on military affairs, appointments, rewards and punishments, reputation, and fortune. Its value lies not in offering a ready-to-apply checklist of political tricks but in forcing readers to confront the tension between means and ends, morality and effectiveness, in politics. The argument is direct and the examples concrete, often provoking strong controversy; it serves well as an introductory primary text for political science, history, and public debate. Read it against the background of sixteenth-century Italy's fragmentation and foreign intervention, and note the author's concern for republican institutions, rather than reducing the whole to "the end justifies the means." For general readers it is also good material for training critical reading: ask, as you go, about the premises, evidence, and limits of application of each argument.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers new to the history of Western political thought who want a short primary text
Those interested in the workings of power, organizational management, and political rhetoric
Students and teachers of political science, history, philosophy, and related fields
Speculative readers who enjoy weighing conflicts between morality and effectiveness while reading

Not a good fit for

Those expecting a systematic manual of political maneuvers or ready-to-use techniques
Readers unfamiliar with the historical background who are unwilling to fill in that context
Those easily offended by blunt, cold statements and unwilling to read critically

Reading tips

Read the introduction or learn about sixteenth-century Italian politics before the main text to reduce misreading.
After each chapter, summarize the core argument in your own words and mark the points open to question.
Compare the book's advice with historical examples of the time, distinguishing the author's observations from normative claims.
Read alongside later commentary or republican thought for a multi-angle understanding.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a manual for playing political tricks?

It cannot be summed up so simply. The book does discuss bluntly the means of acquiring and maintaining power, but it also analyzes military affairs, appointments, popular support, and institutional conditions. Treating it as a manual of tricks misses its historical context and significance in intellectual history. A better approach is to see it as a cool analysis of political effectiveness and to test critically the limits of its arguments.

Can I read it without a background in political science?

Yes. The book is short with clear chapters, though it involves many historical figures and events. An annotated edition is recommended; grasp the general idea first, then return to key chapters. For a basic understanding, follow the main thread of how power is acquired and maintained.

What should I be most wary of while reading?

Beware of taking passages out of context. The author often uses extreme cases to illustrate a point, which does not mean advocating copying them. Readers should distinguish descriptive judgments from normative claims and ask whether the premises hold and whether the examples are representative, rather than reducing the whole book to a slogan.

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About the author

Machiavelli, Niccolò, 1469-1527 Author

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) was an important political thinker and writer of the Italian Renaissance, though public sources offer only limited details of his life. He is best known for The Prince, a coolly direct treatise on how a ruler acquires and keeps power, a work that has long provoked fierce debate; Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius draws on Roman history to explore republican government and political virtue. He also wrote comedies such as La mandragola and historical works including History of Florence, showing a range that spans politics, history, and literature. The library holds eight of his works, commonly classified under inspirational growth, and his unsentimental, pragmatic style has had a lasting influence on later political writing.