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Classic, Renaissance-era guide to acquiring and maintaining political power. Today, nearly 500 years after it was written, this calculating prescription for autocratic rule continues to be much read and studied.
2below: Each one is fascinating in its own right but I think reading both (or reading them concurrently, as I did) provides an interesting perspective on two seemingly opposed extremes.
timoroso: Guicciardini, a friend and colleague of Machiavelli, wrote a book of maxims sometimes profound in themselves, other times interesting to compare to Machiavelli's opinions. The subject matter for both is essentially the same: how to act in a politically and ethically thoroughly unstable world.… (more)
MeisterPfriem: Münkler discusses and places Machiavelli in the context of the political and economic realities facing Florence in the second half of the 15th century as well as within the intellectual history of political thought from Antiquity and Medieval ages. This is an immensely thorough work. Published in 1982 it takes into consideration all important relevant literature .… (more)
A plain and functional piece, Machiavelli's influential The Prince is an instruction guide on how rulers can best gain and exercise political power. It is seen as being one of the earliest pieces of political philosophy and, like many genre originators, it seems tame and dull compared to what came after.
There's little of note to a modern reader: Machiavelli's cynical and calculating worldview is so familiar and so often practiced that reading The Prince feels like he's stating the obvious. There are some ruthless political realities delivered, but also plenty of banal statements. His examples from history and from Italian politics are baldly stated rather than illustrative of his points, and it's a tiresome read. There's plenty of discussion of circumstances particular to the Italy of the time he was writing (the benefits and drawbacks of mercenaries, for example, or whether fortresses are useful). The book and author deserve respect because so many built on this in the centuries to come, but taken in itself it is a mere instruction manual and lacks much of the depth of a genuine philosophy. ( )
Another classic that is not a bad read in translation. Many people interpret Machiavelli in many different ways, even though he seems to be speaking plainly. ( )
The actual content of the prince I found to be useful and engaging. However, this specific publication has a foreward and afterward that provide little in the way of additional value. The afterward especially was written much like a college essay. ( )
Kad je reč o umešnosti vladanja, ovo nezaobilazno delo bilo je i ostalo neprevaziđeno. Postalo je pojam!
Delo nastalo na velikom raskršću istorije, kada se odlučno odbacuje srednjovekovno metafizičko učenje i usvajaju empirički metodi razmišljanja, predstavlja ujedno fascinantno svedočanstvo razlaza između mita i realnosti, između vere i sumnje. Ovaj biser renesansne političke misli karakteriše realistično posmatranje političkih događaja i visoke moralne pobude koje su inspirisale autora. Vladalac je samo prividno apoteoza tiranina i kodeks pravila za ubijanje, čitav traktat o vladaocu svodi se na to da se u Italiji pronađe čovek koji će je ujediniti. Život i delo ovog poznatog firentinca obeležavaju kao teoretičara o osnivanju i održavanju država.
Niccolo Machiavelli to Lorenzo the Magnificent, Son of Piero di Medici
First words
All the states, all the dominions under whose authority men have lived in the past and live now have been and are either republics or principalities.
It is customary for those who wish to gain the favour of a prince to endeavour to do so by offering him gifts of those things which they hold most precious, or in which they know him to take especial delight.
Quotations
Last words
Valour against fell wrath Will take up arms; and be the combat quickly sped! For, sure, the ancient worth, That in Italians stirs the heart, is not yet dead.
Classic, Renaissance-era guide to acquiring and maintaining political power. Today, nearly 500 years after it was written, this calculating prescription for autocratic rule continues to be much read and studied.
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Book description
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli nacque a Firenze il 3 maggio del 1469. Terzo figlio dei guelfi Bernardo e Bartolomea Nelli, iniziò a studiare latino quando aveva sette anni. In seguito si dedicò anche allo studio di altre discipline, tra cui la grammatica, la matematica e l’aritmetica. Fin da giovane nutrì un forte interesse per la politica, passione che lo portò a ricoprire la carica di segretario della Seconda Cancelleria della Repubblica Fiorentina, intrattenendo rapporti diplomatici con la Francia e con altri paesi stranieri e svolgendo un ruolo fondamentale nella vita politica fiorentina di quel periodo. Mantenne l’incarico fino al 1512, quando i Medici rientrarono a Firenze. Esiliato dal mondo politico, Machiavelli si dedicò alla scrittura. In questo periodo iniziò “Discorsi sulla prima Deca di Tito Livio” e scrisse quella che divenne la sua opera più conosciuta, il “De principatibus”, divenuto successivamente noto con il titolo “Il Principe”. Nonostante i numerosi tentativi di rientrare a svolgere un ruolo attivo nella politica fiorentina, tutti i suoi sforzi risultarono vani. Storico, drammaturgo, filosofo, e uno dei maggiori teorici della politica italiani di tutti i tempi, Niccolò Machiavelli morì a Firenze il 21 giugno del 1527. (piopas)
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There's little of note to a modern reader: Machiavelli's cynical and calculating worldview is so familiar and so often practiced that reading The Prince feels like he's stating the obvious. There are some ruthless political realities delivered, but also plenty of banal statements. His examples from history and from Italian politics are baldly stated rather than illustrative of his points, and it's a tiresome read. There's plenty of discussion of circumstances particular to the Italy of the time he was writing (the benefits and drawbacks of mercenaries, for example, or whether fortresses are useful). The book and author deserve respect because so many built on this in the centuries to come, but taken in itself it is a mere instruction manual and lacks much of the depth of a genuine philosophy. (