The Prince
The Prince is Niccolò Machiavelli's short treatise on political power, written in 1513 while he was exiled from Florence and dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici as a bid to regain favor. Drawing on his years as a Florentine diplomat and on contemporary figures like Cesare Borgia, Machiavelli sets out, chapter by chapter, how a ruler seizes a state, holds it, and avoids losing it. He examines different kinds of principalities, the use of armies and mercenaries, and the conduct a prince must adopt toward allies, subjects, and enemies.
Its lasting power lies in its cold realism. Machiavelli separates politics from conventional morality, arguing that a ruler must learn "how not to be good," that it is safer to be feared than loved, and that results justify the means. Endlessly debated as cynical or merely honest, the book founded modern political thought and gave the language the word "Machiavellian." Five centuries on, it remains essential reading on the nature of power.
How it begins
DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODS ADOPTED BY THE DUKE VALENTINO WHEN MURDERING VITELLOZZO VITELLI, OLIVEROTTO DA FERMO, THE SIGNOR PAGOLO, AND THE DUKE DI GRAVINA ORSINI THE LIFE OF CASTRUCCIO CASTRACANI OF LUCCA Nicolo Machiavelli, born at Florence on 3rd May 1469. From 1494 to 1512 held an official post at Florence which included diplomatic missions to various European courts. Imprisoned in Florence, 1512; later exiled and returned to San Casciano. Died at Florence on 22nd June 1527. INTRODUCTION Nicolo Machiavelli was born at Florence on 3rd May 1469. He was the second son of Bernardo di Nicolo Machiavelli, a lawyer of some repute, and of Bartolommea di Stefano Nelli, his wife. Both parents were members of the old Florentine nobility. His life falls naturally into three periods, each of which singularly enough constitutes a distinct and important era in the history of Florence. His youth was concurrent with the greatness of Florence as an Italian power under the guidance of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Il Magnifico. The downfall of the Medici in Florence occurred in 1494, in which year Machiavelli entered the public service. During his official career Florence was free under the government of a Republic, which lasted until 1512, when the Medici returned to power, and Machiavelli lost his office. The Medici again ruled Florence from 1512 until 1527, when they were once more driven out.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain.