The Prince

by Niccolò Machiavelli, Tim Parks

Overview

Niccolò Machiavelli's brutally uncompromising manual of statecraft, The Prince is translated and edited with an introduction by Tim Parks in Penguin Classics. As a diplomat in turbulent fifteenth-century Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli knew how quickly political fortunes could rise and fall. The Prince, his tough-minded, pragmatic handbook on how power really works, made his name notorious and has remained controversial ever since. How can a leader be strong and decisive, yet still inspire loyalty in his followers? When is it necessary to break the rules? Is it better to be feared than loved? Examining regimes and their rulers the world over and throughout history, from Roman Emperors to renaissance Popes, from Hannibal to Cesare di Borgia, Machievalli answers all these questions in a work of realpolitik that still has shrewd political lessons for today. Tim Parks's acclaimed contemporary translation renders Machiavelli's no-nonsense original as alarming and enlightening as when it was first written. His introduction discusses Machiavelli's life and reputation, and explores the historical background to the work. Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence, and served the Florentine republic as a secretary and second chancellor, as ambassador and foreign policy-maker. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512 he was suspected of conspiracy, imprisoned and tortured and forced to retire from public life. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to gain favour with the Medicis and return to politics. If you enjoyed The Prince, you might like Plato's Republic, also available in Penguin Classics. 'A gripping work, and a gripping translation' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian 'Tim Parks's swift and supple new translation brings out all its chilling modernity' Boyd Tonkin, Independent

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141442259
Publisher:	Penguin UK
Publication date:	07/26/2011
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.07(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

Tim Parks was born in Manchester in 1954, studied at Cambridge and Harvard, and moved to Italy in 1980. His translations from the Italian include works by Alberto Moravia, Italo Calvino, Roberto Calasso and Antonio Tabucchi. He currently lectures on literary translation in Milan. He has written a number of novels, the most recent of which are Europa and Destiny, a collection of essays, Adultery and Other Diversions, and an academic work Translating Style. His account of provincial life in Italy, Italian Neighbours, was an international bestseller.

Read an Excerpt

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Seventeenth Chapter: Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared

...Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed, they are yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life, and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you. And that prince, who, relying entirely on their promises, has neglected other precautions, is ruined; because friendships that are obtained by payments, and not by greatness or by nobility of mind, may indeed be earned, but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be relied upon; and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails....

Twenty-First Chapter: How a Prince Should Conduct Himself So as to Gain Renown

...A prince is also respected when he is either a true friend or a downright enemy, that is to say, when, without any reservation, he declares himself in favour of one party against the other; which course will always be more advantageous than standing neutral; because if two of your powerful neighbours come to blows, they are of such a character that, if one of them conquers, you have either to fear him or not. In either case it will always be more advantageous for you to declare yourself and to make war strenously; because, in the first case, if you do not declare yourself, you will invariably fall a prey to the conqueror, to the pleasure and satisfaction of his who has been conquered, and you will have no reasons to offer, nor anything to protect or to shelter you. Because he who conquers does not want doubtful friends who will not aid him in the time of trial; and he who loses will not harbour you because you did not willingly, sword in hand, court his fate....

Translation by: W.K. Marriott

Table of Contents

Map

Introduction

Translator's Note

Selected Books

Machiavelli's Principal Works

Letter to the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici ..... 1

I: How many kinds of principality there are and the ways in which they are acquired ..... 5

II: Hereditary principalities ..... 5

III: Composite principalities ..... 6

IV :Why the kingdom of Darius conquered by Alexander did not rebel against his successors after his death ..... 13

V: How cities or principalities which lived under their own laws should be administered after being conquered ..... 16

VI: New principalities acquired by one's own arms and prowess ..... 17

VII: New principalities acquired with the help of fortune and foreign arms ..... 20

VIII: Those who come to power by crime ..... 27

IX: The constitutional principality ..... 31

X: How the strength of every principality should be measured ..... 34

XI: Ecclesiastical principalities ..... 36

XII: Military organization and mercenary troops ..... 39

XIII: Auxiliary, composite, and native troops ..... 43

XIV: How a prince should organize his militia ..... 47

XV: The things for which men, and especially princes, are praised or blamed ..... 49

XVI: Generosity and parsimony ..... 51

XVII: Cruelty and compassion; and whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse ..... 53

XVIII: How princes should honour their word ..... 56

XIX: The need to avoid contempt and hatred ..... 58

XX: Whether fortresses and many of the other present-day expedients to which princes have recourse are useful or not ..... 67

XXI: How a prince must act to win honour ..... 71

XXII: A prince's personal staff ..... 75

XXIII: How flatterers must be shunned ..... 76

XXIV: Why the Italian princes have lost their states ..... 78

XXV: How far human affairs are governed by fortune, and how fortune can be opposed ..... 79

XXVI: Exhortation to liberate Italy from the barbarians ..... 82

Glossary of Proper Names ..... 86

Notes ..... 99

What People are Saying About This

John M. Najemy

I still consider Atkinson's translation of The Prince the best of the many . . . out there, especially with its extensive and extraordinarily valuable commentary. (John M. Najemy, Professor of History, Cornell University, 2007)

Mario Domandi

This edition of the The Prince has three distinct and disparate objectives: to provide a fresh and accurate translation; to analyze and find the roots of Machiavelli's thought; and to collect relevant extracts from other works by Machiavelli and some contemporaries, to be used to illuminate and explicate the text. The objectives are all reached with considerable and admirable skill. The reader senses Professor Atkinson's empathy and feeling for even the tiniest movements in Machiavelli's mind. Professor Atkinson has done a great service to students and teachers of Machiavelli, who should certainly welcome this as the most useful edition of The Prince in English. (Mario Domandi, Italica, 1978)

Editorial Reviews

[Machiavelli] can still engage our attention with remarkable immediacy, and this cannot be explained solely by the appeal of his ironic observations on human behaviour. Perhaps the most important thing is the way he can compel us to reflect on our own priorities and the reasoning behind them; it is this intrusion into our own defenses that makes reading him an intriguing experience. As a scientific exponent of the political art Machiavelli may have had few followers; it is as a provocative rhetorician that he has had his real impact on history.” –from the Introduction by Dominic Baker-Smith

From the Publisher

[Machiavelli] demands to be read—plainly and boldly, but also cautiously.”

Sixteenth Century Journal

[Machiavelli] can still engage our attention with remarkable immediacy, and this cannot be explained solely by the appeal of his ironic observations on human behavior. Perhaps the most important thing is the way he can compel us to reflect on our own priorities and the reasoning behind them; it is this intrusion into our own defenses that makes reading him an intriguing experience.”

Dominic Baker-Smith

There is something stimulating in Machiavelli’s forthrightness. Reading him, we are brought face to face, as nowhere else so vividly, with a question that few philosophers had dared to discuss: is statesmanship bound by morality?”

author of The Story of Civilization Will Durant

A publishing bull's-eye.

The Scotsman

Richardson is speaking one-to-one. He is personal, intimate, confidential. That is at it should be.

The Guardian

This is the book that made the author's name into a dark symbol of unalloyed power and sinister political motives. That reputation, though, is somewhat undeserved, and this new recording brings fresh insights and interpretations to the work. Narrator Ian Richardson does a magnificent job with this classic text. He reads with such focus and mellifluous beauty that we must remind ourselves that the book is over 500 years old, and not a contemporary political tract. Richardson's diction and pacing are legendary from his long career on stage and in films, and he applies these talents effortlessly, emphasizing key phrases, speaking conversationally, and making it appear as if he’s reading to only one person at a time. If you've never read THE PRINCE, here is a wonderful opportunity to do so. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2008 - AudioFile