Table Of Content

m a “To investigate the imaginative leaps of so agile and incisive a mind as Machiavelli’s one needs as much commentary about history, political theory, c n m iccolò achiavelli sources, and language as possible. I have gradually come to realize that h readers who remain unaware of these topics frequently finish reading The i Prince,put down their copies, and wonder what the shouting was all about.” a Thus commented eminent Machiavelli scholar James B. Atkinson thirty years v ago in justifying what remains today the most informative English-language e edition of Machiavelli’s masterpiece available. l l “This edition of The Princehas three distinct and disparate objectives: to i 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 p The Machiavelli and some contemporaries, to be used to illuminate and explicate r prince the text. The objectives are all reached with considerable and admirable skill. The reader senses Professor Atkinson’s empathy and feeling for even i the tiniest movements in Machiavelli’s mind. Professor Atkinson has done a T great service to students and teachers of Machiavelli, who should certainly nh welcome this as the most useful edition of The Princein English.” e —MARIODOMANDI,Italica,1978 c “I still consider Atkinson’stranslation of The Princethe best of the many out there, especially with its extensive and extraordinarily valuable commentary.” e —JOHNM. NAJEMY,Professor of History, Cornell University, 2007 j a m JAMESB. ATKINSON’S(and David Sices’) The Sweetness of Power: Machiavelli’s “Discourses” and Guicciardini’s“Considerations”and Machiavelli and His Friends: e T s r Their Personal Correspondenceare published by Northern Illinois University Press. a Translated, with b n Their Comedies of Machiavelliis published by Hackett Publishing Company. . s Introduction and Notes, by a l a t t j b a k e ames . tkinson d i n b y s ISBN-13: 978-0-87220-919-0 o 90000 n hackett 9FnL1000000 780872 209190 0919 Th0 Princ0 NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI Th0 'PrinC0 TRANSLATED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, BY James 13. JItkinson Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Indianapolis/Cambridge Copyright © 1976 by The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. Reprinted 2008 by Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved 13 12 11 10 09 08 1 2 3 4 5 6 For further information please address Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. P.O. Box 44937 Indianapolis, IN 46244-0937 www.hackettpublishing.com Cover design by Abigail Coyle Printed at Edwards Brothers, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Machiavelli, Niccolò, 1469–1527. [Principe. English] The prince/Niccolò Machiavelli ; translated, with introduction and notes, by James B. Atkinson. p.cm. Originally published: Indianapolis : Bobbs-Merrill, 1976, in series, The library of liberal arts ; LLA-172. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-87220-919-0 (pbk.) ISBN-13: 978-0-87220-920-6 (cloth) 1. Political science—Early works to 1800. 2. Political ethics. I. Atkinson, James B., 1934- II. Title. JC143.M3813 2008 320.1—dc22 2007040890 e-ISBN: 978-1-60384-043-9 (e-book) TO J\l{y J\l{other and 'Father AND TO ~tarr Pigli questa piccolo dono can quello animo che io 10 mando Contents Preface ix Abbreviations Used in This Work XII Introduction 1. Machiavelli's Life and the History of Florence 2 2. Machiavelli's Uses of the Past: Ancient History 31 3. Machiavelli's Uses of the Past: Contemporary History 37 4. Machiavelli's Conceptual Framework 57 5. Method and Style: The Creative Machiavelli 78 Th0 Trinc0 Dedicatory Letter 93 1. The Various Kinds of Princedoms and How They May Be Acquired 97 2. Concerning Hereditary Princedoms 99 3. Concerning Mixed Princedoms 103 4. Why the Kingdom of Darius, Conquered by Alexander, Did Not Rebel Against Alexander's Successors After His Death 127 5. How One Should Govern Cities or Princedoms That Lived Under Their Own Laws Before They Were Conquered 137 6. Concerning New Princedoms Acquired by One's Own Arms and Virtu 143 7. Concerning New Princedoms Acquired by Other Men's Armed Forces and Fortune 155 8. Concerning Those Who Became Princes Through Iniquity 177 9. Concerning the Civil Princedom 191 10. How the Strength of Any Princedom Ought To Be Assessed 203 11. Concerning Ecclesiastical Princedoms 211 12. Concerning the Various Kinds of Armies and Mercenaries 219 13. Concerning Troops That Are Auxiliary, Those That Are Mixed, and Those That Are A Prince's Own 235 14. What a Prince Should Do About Military Affairs 247 15. Concerning Matters for Which Men, and Particularly Princes, Are Praised or Blamed 255 16. Concerning Generosity and Frugality 261 17. Concerning Ruthlessness and Compassion: Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared, or Feared Than Loved 269 18. How Princes Should Keep Their Word 279 19. How To Avoid Contempt and Hatred 287 20. Whether Fortresses and Sundry Other Resources Used Regularly by Princes Are Useful or Useless 317 21. How a Prince Should Act to Obtain Prestige 331 22. Concerning the Prince's Confidential Staff 343 23. How To Avoid Flatterers 349 24. Why Italian Princes Have Lost Their States 355 25. The Power of Fortune in Human Affairs and How She Can Be Countered 361 26. An Exhortation to Seize Italy and Free Her From the Barbarians 373 Appendices A. Textual Variants 387 B. Passages From Other Works Relevant to The Prince 392 Index 417 Jv1aps Italy xxi Florentine Territory, 1494 xxii PrefacG As I studied, then taught, The Prince I became convinced that an adequately annotated edition is necessary for a more complete under standing of Machiavelli's mind and art. But what is "adequate" is not easy to settle upon. I long admired the edition of L. Arthur Burd, pub lished by the Clarendon Press in 1891. More recent scholarship has advanced ourknowledge ofmany particularsand made moreconvinc ing cases for interpreting specific points, but Burd's historical informa tion is basic to any reading of the text in a proper perspective. When I began work on the present edition, however, Burd's edition was out of print (it has subsequently been reprinted by the Oxford University Pressin 1968).Anotheredition in Englishthatattemptstoset The Prince in a historical context is that done by Allan H. Gilbert, now reprinted byHendricksHouse.Twoeditionsin Italianwerealsopotential models. In 1931 Luigi Russo published an annotated edition which has been reprinted at leastthirteen times. Given my own predilections, his com ments-about Machiavelli's place in the history of philosophy, his use of language, and his effective combination of style and method-are particularly helpful. By far the most balanced edition of The Prince, however, isthatofGennaroSasso, publishedfirstin 1963and reprinted several times. In innumerable acknowledged and unacknowledged ways, Sasso's edition has influenced mine. Sometimes my notes refer explicitlyto specific interpretivepointsthatare his. Butthisdevice isan extremelyinsufficientindexofmydependenceon hisjudgment, knowl edge, and discrimination; even the most casual comparison of our editions will uncover numerous silent borrowings. Although in some cases I have decided to modify or to disagree with his positions, Ican but heartilyrecommend his edition, supplemented by his solid studyof Machiavelli's political thought (Naples, 1958). One feature I have adopted from theabove editions, plus the one by Chabod upon which I have based my text, is the incorporation of quotations from Ma chiavelli's contemporaries, such as Guicciardini, Commynes, Giovio, and Nerli. The value of these citations seems to me to lie in the sense ix PREFACE

Description:

Often cited as one of the first works in modern political philosophy, The Prince is a political treatise that relates author Niccolo Machiavelli’s theories on state-building and rulership. Drawing on his experience as a diplomat, Machiavelli discusses the important policies for both republican free-states and hereditary princedoms, and outlines the most successful political tactics, many of which remain relevant into modern times. Controversial at the time of its writing in 1513, The Prince was not officially printed until 1532, almost two decades later and five years after Niccolo Machiavelli’s death. At the time, the ideas put forth in the treatise directly conflicted with dominant religious doctrines, and negative connotations surrounding the term “Machiavellian” continue to endure. Nonetheless, The Prince has influenced rulers including King Henry VIII and Catherine de Medici, and political philosophers such as Francis Bacon and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and has become one of the most widely read works of political philosophy in history. HarperTorch brings great works of non-fiction and the dramatic arts to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperTorch collection to build your digital library.