"This is an excellent, readable and vigorous translation of _The Prince_, but it is much more than simply a translation. The map, notes and guide to further reading are crisp, to-the-point and yet nicely comprehensive. The inclusion of the letter to Vettori is most welcome. But, above all, the Introduction is so gripping and lively that it has convinced me to include _The Prince_ in my syllabus for History of Western Civilization the next time that I teach it.... Great price, (...) too! And lovely printing and layout." --Rachel Fulton, _University of Chicago_. (shrink)

Treatise on political power, statecraft, and the qualities of the ideal ruler.

Treatise on political power, statecraft, and the qualities of the ideal ruler.

"The Prince" has long been both praised and reviled for its message of moral relativism, and political expediency. Although a large part is devoted to the mechanics of gaining and staying in power, Machiavelli's end purpose is to maintain a just and stable government. He is not ambiguous in stating his belief that committing a small cruelty to avert a larger is not only justifiable, but required of a just ruler. Machiavelli gives a vivid portrayal of his world in the (...) chaos and tumult of early 16th century Florence, Italy and Europe. He uses both his contemporary political situation, and that of the classical period to illustrate his precepts of statecraft. (shrink)

"The Prince" has long been both praised and reviled for its message of moral relativism, and political expediency. Although a large part is devoted to the mechanics of gaining and staying in power, Machiavelli's end purpose is to maintain a just and stable government. He is not ambiguous in stating his belief that committing a small cruelty to avert a larger is not only justifiable, but required of a just ruler. Machiavelli gives a vivid portrayal of his world in the (...) chaos and tumult of early 16th century Florence, Italy and Europe. He uses both his contemporary political situation, and that of the classical period to illustrate his precepts of statecraft. (shrink)

"The Prince" has long been both praised and reviled for its message of moral relativism, and political expediency. Although a large part is devoted to the mechanics of gaining and staying in power, Machiavelli's end purpose is to maintain a just and stable government. He is not ambiguous in stating his belief that committing a small cruelty to avert a larger is not only justifiable, but required of a just ruler. Machiavelli gives a vivid portrayal of his world in the (...) chaos and tumult of early 16th century Florence, Italy and Europe. He uses both his contemporary political situation, and that of the classical period to illustrate his precepts of statecraft. (shrink)

Mansfield's translation of this classic work, in combination with the new material added for this edition, makes it the definitive version of The Prince, indispensable to scholars, students, and lovers of the dark art of politics.

Treatise on political power, statecraft, and the qualities of the ideal ruler.

On croit connaître le Prince. En fait, on colporte parfois à son propos une vulgate interprétative fondée sur des approximations ou des partis pris de traduction dans des éditions françaises qui se répètent et s'engendrent l'une l'autre. Le texte paraît si " connu ", voire si " évident ", que l'on pourrait oublier ainsi de s'interroger sur le rapport des traductions avec l'original italien ; c'est une des raisons pour lesquelles le texte original (récemment établi par Giorgio Inglese sous le (...) titre de De principatibus) est publié, dans cette édition, en regard d'une traduction entièrement inédite. Le travail des traducteurs repose ici sur la reconstitution de la logique propre de la syntaxe, sans en gommer les condensations étranges voire les anacoluthes, sur le respect de la cohérence du lexique, sans sacrifier les multiples échos qui balisent l'ouvrage, mais aussi sur la tentative de retrouver le rythme si particulier de la prose machiavélienne qui a tant fait pour le succès de ce que Machiavel nomme " son opuscule ". Cette édition est accompagnée d'une présentation qui inscrit le texte dans son temps et dans le réseau complexe de ses enjeux politiques et théoriques. Elle comporte également un grand commentaire linéaire du Prince qui engage une nouvelle interprétation de l'œuvre. La postface permet de voir comment se forge et naît, dans l'écriture du Prince, une langue capable de rendre compte des " choses nouvelles " de la politique. (shrink)

A classic work of political philosophy, Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince provides rulers with a how-to guide for governing. Though at times controversial in his approach, Machiavelli’s influential text remains a standard on the politics of governance with a renewed relevance in the turmoil of today’s contentious political landscape. Widely held as one of the first works of modern political philosophy, The Prince is a practical guide for ruling (or a satirical guide on how not to rule). Machiavelli prefaces each chapter (...) with a brief letter addressed to Lorenzo de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence, to whom he also dedicates the book, both admonishing and praising him for his governance. In simple prose and straightforward logic, Machiavelli takes on topics of power, politics, and war that continue to bear contemporary pertinence. The Prince offers moderns readers a first-hand look at the causes and ramifications of poor governing in sixteenth century Italy, which are still applicable over five centuries later. Machiavelli’s extreme views on the separation of politics and ethics in governance has frightening parallels to a disconcerting trend in current global politics. (shrink)

Here are _The Prince_ and the most important of the Discourses newly translated into spare, vivid English. Why a new translation? Machiavelli was never the dull, worthy, pedantic author who appears in the pages of other translations, says David Wootton in his Introduction. In the pages that follow I have done my best to let him speak in his own voice.. Notes, a map, and an altogether remarkable Introduction no less authoritative for being grippingly readable, help make this edition an (...) ideal first encounter with Machiavelli for any student of history and political theory. (shrink)

Niccolo Machiavelli is arguably the most famous and controversial figure in the history of political thought and one of the most iconic names of the Renaissance. The Prince remains his best-known work, and is the first place that Machiavelli presented his fundamental belief that rulers must always be prepared to do evil if good will come of it.

Though better known today as a political theorist than as a dramatist, Machiavelli secured his fame as a giant in the history of Italian comedy more than fifty years before Shakespeare's comedies delighted English-speaking audiences. This bilingual edition includes all three examples of Machiavelli's comedic art: sparkling translations of his farcical masterpiece, _The Mandrake_; of his version of Terence's _The Woman From Andros_; and of his Plautus-inspired _Clizia_--works whose genre afforded Machiavelli a unique vehicle not only for entertaining audiences but (...) for examining _virtue_ amid the twists and turns of _fortune_. (shrink)

Treatise on political power, statecraft, and the qualities of the ideal ruler.

Treatise on political power, statecraft, and the qualities of the ideal ruler.

[I]t is safer to be feared than loved." These words embody the spirit of The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli's classic work of political philosophy. Machiavelli's advice for how a ruler should acquire and ruthlessly exercise power over others continues to be relevant to contemporary readers more than five centuries after it was first published.