Cover of The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
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The Prince

By Niccolò Machiavelli

"The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli is a political treatise written in 1513 and published in 1532. Presented as an instruction guide for new rulers, this controversial work suggests that immoral acts may be necessary to achieve political power and glory. Written in vernacular Italian rather than…

Catalog ID Project Gutenberg eBook #1232
Language English
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About this Edition

"The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli is a political treatise written in 1513 and published in 1532. Presented as an instruction guide for new rulers, this controversial work suggests that immoral acts may be necessary to achieve political power and glory. Written in vernacular Italian rather than Latin, it breaks from traditional advice literature by focusing on practical effectiveness over abstract ideals. Its worldview challenged dominant Catholic doctrines of the time, making "Machiavellian" synonymous with political cunning and contributing to modern negative connotations of politics itself. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Subjects & Topics

Political ethics -- Early works to 1800Political science -- Philosophy -- Early works to 1800State, The -- Early works to 1800Banned Books from Anne Haight's listCategory: History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)Category: Philosophy & EthicsCategory: PoliticsHarvard ClassicsPhilosophyPolitics
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