eBook
Related collections and offers
Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781974999484 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Dreamscape Media |
| Publication date: | 09/20/2016 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 53 |
| Sales rank: | 349,711 |
| File size: | 490 KB |
| Age Range: | 13 - 18 Years |
About the Author
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
- Introduction
What People are Saying About This
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)
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)