ISBN-10:
0199535698
ISBN-13:
9780199535699
Pub. Date:
05/15/2008
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0199535698
ISBN-13:
9780199535699
Pub. Date:
05/15/2008
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
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Overview

When Machiavelli's brief treatise on Renaissance statecraft and princely power was posthumously published in 1532, it generated a debate that has raged unabated until the present day. Based upon Machiavelli's first-hand experience as an emissary of the Florentine Republic to the courts of Europe, The Prince analyses the usually violent means by which men seize, retain, and lose political power. Machiavelli added a dimension of incisive realism to one of the major philosophical and political issues of his time, especially the relationship between public deeds and private morality. His book provides a remarkably uncompromising picture of the true nature of power, no matter in what era or by whom it is exercised. This fluent new translation is accompanied by an introduction that considers the true purpose of The Prince and dispels some of the myths associated with it. It has the most comprehensive explanatory and critical notes found in any currently available English translation and the most comprehensive bibliography in any edition of the work. It also contains a helpful Glossary of Proper Names, an Index and a map.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780199535699
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication date: 05/15/2008
Series: Oxford World's Classics Series
Pages: 192
Sales rank: 115,200
Product dimensions: 4.90(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence in 1469. He was one of the foremost historians, philosophers and writers of the Italian Renaissance, but it was by working as an official in the Florentine Government that he made his living. Advising princes was a dangerous game, and after the Medici retook the city he found himself exiled until his death in 1527.

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)

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