The Prince [Paperback]

Machiavelli's highly influential treatise on political power

The Prince shocked Europe on publication with its advocacy of ruthless tactics for gaining absolute power and its abandonment of conventional morality. Niccoló 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.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.ChronologyMapIntroductionTranslator's NoteSelected BooksMachiavelli's Principal WorksLetter to the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici1IHow many kinds of principality there are and the ways in which they are acquired5IIHereditary principalities5IIIComposite principalities6IVWhy the kingdom of Darius conquered by Alexander did not rebel against his successors after his death13VHow cities or principalities which lived under their own laws should be administered after being conquered16VINew principalities acquired by one's own arms and prowess17VIINew principalities acquired with the help of fortune and foreign arms20VIIIThose who come to power by crime27IXThe constitutional principality31XHow the strength of every principality should be measured34XIEls-