Synopses & Reviews
Widely read for its insights into history and politics, The Prince is one of the most provocative works of the Italian Renaissance. Based on Niccolò Machiavellis observations of the effectiveness of both ancient and contemporary statesmen, the rules for governing set forth in his manual were considered radical and harsh by his contemporaries and shocking to many since then. This major new edition combines an accurate and accessible new translation with important related documents, many of which appear here in English for the first time. In his lucid introductory essay, William J. Connell offers fresh insights into Machiavellis life, the meaning of his work, the context in which it was written, and its influence over time. Document headnotes, maps, a chronology of Machiavellis life, questions for consideration, a selected bibliography, and index provide further pedagogical support.
About the Author
WILLIAM J. CONNELL, professor of history, holds the Joseph M. and Geraldine C. La Motta Chair in Italian Studies at Seton Hall University. He has also taught at Reed College and Rutgers University. A specialist in late medieval and early modern European history, he is the author of La citt
Table of Contents
Foreword Preface
PART ONE
Introduction: The Puzzle of The Prince
An Extreme Book for Extreme Times
Humanists and Heretics
Machiavelli Before The Prince
The Prince's Prolonged and Difficult Birth
Dueling Machiavellis in Early Modern Europe: The Counselor to Tyrants and the Republican Conspirator
The Prince and the Autonomy of Politics: A Blessing and a Curse
PART TWO
The Document
The Prince
PART THREE
Related Documents
1. Niccolò Machiavelli, Letter to Giovan Battista Soderini, circa September 13-27, 1506
2. Francesco Vettori, Letter to Niccolò Machiavelli, November 23, 1513
3. Niccolò Machiavelli, Letter to Francesco Vettori, December 10, 1513
4. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Thrushes: A Sonnet, 1513
5. Riccardo Riccardi, Machiavelli's Presentation of The Prince, circa 1580
6. Niccolò Guicciardini, From a Letter to Luigi Guicciardini, July 29, 1517
7. Early Prefaces of The Prince
Biagio Buonaccorsi, Prefatory Letter to Pandolfo Bellacci, circa 1516-17
Teofilo Mochi, Prefatory Letter, circa 1530
Antonio Blado, Dedicatory Letter to Filippo Strozzi, January 4, 1532
Bernardo Giunta, Dedicatory Letter to Giovanni Gaddi, May 8, 1532
8. Agostino Nifo, From On Skill in Ruling. 1523
9. Giovan Battista Busini, From a Letter to Benedetto Varchi, January 23, 1549
10. Benedetto Varchi, From the Florentine History, 1565
11. Étienne Binet, From Machiavelli's Dream, 1629
12. Reginald Pole, From the Apology to Charles V, 1534
13. Innocent Gentillet, From the Discourses Against Machiavelli, 1576
14. Christopher Marlowe, From The Jew of Malta, circa 1590
15. Frederick the Great, From The Refutation of Machiavelli's "Prince," 1740
16. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, From On the Social Contract, After 1762
17. Benito Mussolini, "A Prelude to Machiavelli," 1924
18. Antonio Gramsci, From the Prison Notebooks, 1932-34
Appendixes
Maps
A Machiavelli Chronology (1469-1527)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Index