The Prince
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, published by Penguin on February 4, 2003, is a reissue of the influential treatise on political power. This edition, comprising 144 pages, presents Machiavelli’s advocacy for ruthless tactics in the pursuit of absolute power, challenging conventional morality. Drawing from his experiences in the turbulent Florentine republic, Machiavelli offers insights into the complex and transient nature of political life, focusing on the practicalities of governance rather than idealistic values.
Readers will find that The Prince serves as a foundational text in political philosophy, exploring themes of realpolitik and the dynamics of power. Machiavelli’s pragmatic approach remains relevant, as he emphasizes the importance of a stable regime over traditional moral considerations. This edition features George Bull’s clear translation, ensuring that Machiavelli’s tough-minded Italian is accessible to contemporary readers. The work continues to provoke thought and discussion on the nature of political authority and the strategies employed to maintain it.
Official synopsis Publisher
Machiavelli’s highly influential treatise on political power
The Prince shocked Europe on publication with its advocacy of ruthless tactics for gaining absolute power and its abandonment of conventional morality. Niccoló Machiavelli drew on his own experience of office under the turbulent Florentine republic, rejecting traditional values of political theory and recognizing the complicated, transient nature of political life. Concerned not with lofty ideal but with a regime that would last, The Prince has become the bible of realpolitik, and it still retains its power to alarm and to instruct. In this edition, Machiavelli’s tough-minded and pragmatic Italian is preserved in George Bull’s clear, unambiguous translation.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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