{"id":18,"date":"2012-12-22T12:18:53","date_gmt":"2012-12-22T17:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/?page_id=18"},"modified":"2012-12-31T15:18:49","modified_gmt":"2012-12-31T20:18:49","slug":"about-the-prince","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/machiavelli\/addenda\/about-the-prince\/","title":{"rendered":"About The Prince"},"content":{"rendered":"

Il Principe, or The Prince<\/em>, is a short book of 26 chapters<\/strong>, and roughly 30,000 words. Most modern editions are fewer than 100 pages, including an introduction and perhaps a glossary. It\u2019s elegantly written, although the author used run-on sentences a lot. Newer editions break up those long pieces into more digestible portions.<\/p>\n

It was written by Niccol\u00f2 Machiavelli not long after he was dismissed from office, when the Florentine Republic collapsed and the Medici family returned to power, in 1512. Machiavelli also wrote his longer Discourses on Livy<\/em> around the same time.<\/p>\n

Although copies of The Prince<\/em> circulated among his friends as early as 1513, it was not actually published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli’s death. Most scholars date it from 1513.<\/p>\n

Initially ignored, a few years after its publication, both the Catholic and Protestant churches condemned The Prince<\/em>. It was even banned in Elizabethan England (we have Cardinal Pole to thank for this). The Pope placed it on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum<\/em> (List of Banned Books) in 1559. Because he presented politics as being outside religious control and influence, both churches believed Machiavelli\u2019s works fostered political and moral corruption.<\/p>\n

In more recent times, the philosopher Jean Jacque Rousseau called The Prince<\/em> a \u201chandbook for Republicans\u201d (The Social Contract<\/em>, Penguin edition). Bertrand Russell called it a, \u201chandbook for gangsters.\u201d Others, however, have called The Prince<\/em> a handbook for statesmen. Leo Straus called Machiavelli a \u201cteacher of evil\u201d because of The Prince.<\/p>\n

The book was dedicated to Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici, grandson of “Lorenzo the Magnificent”, the Medici ruler who, before his death in 1492, had raised Florence to the height of its power. It is doubtful that the latter Lorenzo \u2013 a vain and inept ruler \u2013 ever read it, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd through this study of mine, were it to be read, it would be evident that during the fifteen years I have been studying the art of the state I have neither slept nor fooled around, and anybody ought to be happy to utilize someone who has had so much experience at the expense of others.\u201d
\nMachiavelli’s letter to Francesco Vettori, 1513\u00a0<\/strong>from Machiavelli and his Friends<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In his introduction to The Prince<\/em>, Machiavelli wrote that his knowledge of politics, gleaned from years of observation and study, was his most prized possession:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI have not found among my possessions anything which I hold more dear than, or value so much as, my knowledge of the actions of great men, acquired by long experience in contemporary affairs, and a continual study of antiquity. Having reflected upon it with great and prolonged diligence, I now send, digested into this little volume, to your Magnificence.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Prince<\/em> is arguably the earliest work of modern political philosophy, and the first book of the realism-versus-idealism school of thought. It\u2019s not meant as a universal moral philosophy for the general public, but rather a narrowly directed guide for politicians.<\/p>\n

The Prince<\/em> is a practical guide to teach rulers how to take and maintain control of power in a state. Machiavelli urges the rulers of the state to direct their own destiny, and not depend on what fate or chance brings.<\/p>\n

The Prince<\/em> contrasted with other contemporary guides called \u201cmirrors for princes\u201d \u2013 popular gifts given to princes and other rulers at the time. These guides exhorted them to act with Christian morality: behave well, be kind, and do good deeds in order to prosper.<\/p>\n

The Prince<\/em>, instead, told them to act good or bad as circumstances demanded.<\/p>\n

Machiavelli\u2019s book has two main focal points: how the ruler should govern, and how the ruler should behave, although the distinction between the two may be subtle at times.<\/p>\n

Machiavelli had great respect for bold, ambitious and decisive leaders who took risks, and little patience for those who dithered or waited for fortune to intervene. He had watched his own Florentine government procrastinate and prevaricate disastrously until it was overthrown.<\/p>\n

A republican at heart (although sometimes in secret), he urged princes to mitigate their cruelty, and to embrace innovation and new ideas to reform their state and help their people. He also recommended rulers appear unwavering and resolute, while actually being flexible. Appearances and acts were sometimes disparate entities in his writing.<\/p>\n

In a letter to his friend, Francesco Vettori, Machiavelli encouraged him to act decisively, writing,<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is better to act and repent, than not to act and regret.\u201d
\nQuoted in Viroli: Niccol\u00f2\u2019s Smile, Ch. 16<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Today we might say, \u201cIt is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Machiavelli understood that leaders naturally aimed to garner glory and honour for themselves, he did not hector them with the popular Christian ideals of ethical or moral goals. Instead, he encouraged leaders to use “virtu\u201d and prudence in their politics, and to always bend their goals to the common good. Towards this end, he believed how they achieved that common good was not as important as the resulting good itself.<\/p>\n

Several key words appear frequently throughout The Prince<\/em>:<\/p>\n