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Il Principe (The Prince) is the famous text by Florentine public servant Niccolo Machiavelli, in which he outlines the best strategy by which a prince can acquire, maintain and protect his state. Published posthumously, the text departs from his previous works, but is that for which he is remembered, and which has produced the adjective "Machiavellian". Machiavelli directives for maintaining a secure state are direct and at times brutal, taking the view that the ends justify the means.
2below: Each one is fascinating in its own right but I think reading both (or reading them concurrently, as I did) provides an interesting perspective on two seemingly opposed extremes.
timoroso: Guicciardini, a friend and colleague of Machiavelli, wrote a book of maxims sometimes profound in themselves, other times interesting to compare to Machiavelli's opinions. The subject matter for both is essentially the same: how to act in a politically and ethically thoroughly unstable world.… (more)
MeisterPfriem: Münkler discusses and places Machiavelli in the context of the political and economic realities facing Florence in the second half of the 15th century as well as within the intellectual history of political thought from Antiquity and Medieval ages. This is an immensely thorough work. Published in 1982 it takes into consideration all important relevant literature .… (more)
Is This An Overview? An individual will find difficulty in being loved and feared. A choice must be made. To either be feared, or loved. Love is dependent on people’s internal motivation. As people are generally fickle, and are willing to betray even those they claim to appreciate, love cannot be relied upon. Fear is an external motivator, as people will want to avoid being punished. Better to choose fear than love. But there is a condition, that the fear does not come about in developing hate. A prince is dependent on others for political power, and people are eager to betray the prince they hate. Ways to prevent developing hate is to behave justly and avoid stealing other people’s property. Fear might generally be better, but is not the only choice. The choice is dependent on what the prince can control.
People tend to want to change their rulers, for better rulers. Willing to revolt against the worse ruler. But, they can replace a bad ruler for a worse ruler, as the conqueror can deceive the people. Maintaining a region gained through deception will take more effort, as the prince will have many unsatisfied expectations. Control of a region depends on the will of the people. A region controlled by a prince who is respected by the people, will be more difficult to seize, for the people would want to keep such a prince.
A prince can be chosen by the citizens, rather than through wickedness or intolerable violence. To become chosen would require gaining the support of the nobles or the people. The nobles and people have conflicting objectives, therefore a choice must be made on whose support to gain. A choice that will result in supporting one group, while injuring the other. While the nobles want to oppress the people, the people do not want to be oppressed. The people’s objective is relatively simpler, is more righteous, and can be satisfied. There are also more people than nobles, and the prince cannot defend against a hostile people. Nobles are few, and can be defended against. While a prince cannot live without the people, the prince can change the authority structure of the nobles.
How To Become A Worthy Prince? A prince should study the histories of successes and failures, to imitate the successes and avoided the failures. To use other people as an example for what to do, or not do.
There are no safe courses to take in governance. Making a decision to avoid trouble, comes into a different trouble. The choice should be which trouble to take and avoid.
The prince needs to study the region that the prince has in possession. To understand how to allocate resources and military might. Knowing the geographic features of one’s one possessions, means having the knowledge of how to use military might against other regions with similar geographic features.
A prince is loved, or feared, when the officials do not pillage the people, and can gain prompt recourse to the prince. Clemency for a prince is preferred to cruelty, but misused clemency can bring with it destruction. There are cases of cruelty, bringing about peace.
The prince should be cautious with how the prince speaks with others, to be heard speaking with wisdom and righteousness. The prince’s position depends on the opinion of others, and those who would want to oppose the prince will have difficulty doing so when the majority speak highly of the prince.
The court is full of flatterers whose object is to deceive. To only tell truths, that does not offend the prince. The prince should seek a court of wise people who have freedom of speech, to tell the prince the truth about the questions the prince has.
Conspiracies are fragile, because conspiracies need people and the only people who are willing to conspire are malcontents. Malcontents that are willing to betray the other malcontents.
How To Seize A Region? Regions need to have their own forces to defend their region. They cannot rely on the enemy’s support, or gain forces quickly when the need arise.
Regions with centralized leadership can be seized when the leaders, especially if they are hereditary leaders, are removed. There won’t be opposition to the new rule without these leaders.
In regions with divided leadership, taking the region is relatively easy because there will always be those willing to betray their regional power structure to gain more power. But keeping the region with divided leadership will take more effort, because those who remain cannot be satisfied or exterminated. Only waiting for the right opportunity to retake the region.
War cannot be avoided by giving up territory to an enemy. War will be deferred when giving up territory, but to the disadvantage of the one who gives up territory.
Should a prince recapture the same region another time, it will be easier to hold the region, because the prince would punish the delinquents, and remove suspects.
Acquiring regions accustomed to freedom, will have less effort maintaining control when the citizens are left to the means they know. In this way, the prince does not lose the support of the people that the prince relies upon.
Upon seizing a region, better to inflict all necessary injuries quickly than have them delayed. Delaying injuries means that they are always on people’s mind, therefore cannot attach themselves to the new prince.
Caveats? The writing can be difficult to read, as parts are convoluted. Expressing the complexity of political decisions, by giving conditions to claims. Although the conditions are reasonable, they do challenge the application of the claims.
To better understand the claims in this book, would be better to learn about the author’s era. Many events were referenced as evidence of the claims, but not given a broader description of what happened. ( )
Highly inductive, applying a relatively narrow reading of classical (well, Roman) history to a narrower aspect of Italian history, written to persuade Lorenzo de Medici to hire its out-of-work courtier author, who was previously allied to the Borgias . A job application that has survived as a work of literature because, I suspect, it is so illuminating as to the politics of Italy during the Renaissance, and because of its cynical views on human nature - which are surely the author's own. And of course it was valued by several prominent authors who came after. Not a book that is wrong so much as it is highly specific: for those not attempting to run a small Italian republic in the sixteenth century, it is of lesser utility. ( )
Not at all what I was expecting. "Machiavellian" is used so often to describe cut-throat behaviour that you would think the book would be more relevant to general life principles. Sadly, it is really intended for princes and those in monarchies. Unless you are looking for an obscure history lesson in 15th century Italy, I would find something more relevant. ( )
First edition - paperback with staple binding. Humourous but unfriendly quotations by and about then Liberal Party Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Fraser listed under Machiavellian themes.
Kad je reč o umešnosti vladanja, ovo nezaobilazno delo bilo je i ostalo neprevaziđeno. Postalo je pojam!
Delo nastalo na velikom raskršću istorije, kada se odlučno odbacuje srednjovekovno metafizičko učenje i usvajaju empirički metodi razmišljanja, predstavlja ujedno fascinantno svedočanstvo razlaza između mita i realnosti, između vere i sumnje. Ovaj biser renesansne političke misli karakteriše realistično posmatranje političkih događaja i visoke moralne pobude koje su inspirisale autora. Vladalac je samo prividno apoteoza tiranina i kodeks pravila za ubijanje, čitav traktat o vladaocu svodi se na to da se u Italiji pronađe čovek koji će je ujediniti. Život i delo ovog poznatog firentinca obeležavaju kao teoretičara o osnivanju i održavanju država.
Niccolo Machiavelli to Lorenzo the Magnificent, Son of Piero di Medici
First words
All the states, all the dominions under whose authority men have lived in the past and live now have been and are either republics or principalities.
It is customary for those who wish to gain the favour of a prince to endeavour to do so by offering him gifts of those things which they hold most precious, or in which they know him to take especial delight.
Quotations
Last words
Valour against fell wrath Will take up arms; and be the combat quickly sped! For, sure, the ancient worth, That in Italians stirs the heart, is not yet dead.
Il Principe (The Prince) is the famous text by Florentine public servant Niccolo Machiavelli, in which he outlines the best strategy by which a prince can acquire, maintain and protect his state. Published posthumously, the text departs from his previous works, but is that for which he is remembered, and which has produced the adjective "Machiavellian". Machiavelli directives for maintaining a secure state are direct and at times brutal, taking the view that the ends justify the means.
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Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli nacque a Firenze il 3 maggio del 1469. Terzo figlio dei guelfi Bernardo e Bartolomea Nelli, iniziò a studiare latino quando aveva sette anni. In seguito si dedicò anche allo studio di altre discipline, tra cui la grammatica, la matematica e l’aritmetica. Fin da giovane nutrì un forte interesse per la politica, passione che lo portò a ricoprire la carica di segretario della Seconda Cancelleria della Repubblica Fiorentina, intrattenendo rapporti diplomatici con la Francia e con altri paesi stranieri e svolgendo un ruolo fondamentale nella vita politica fiorentina di quel periodo. Mantenne l’incarico fino al 1512, quando i Medici rientrarono a Firenze. Esiliato dal mondo politico, Machiavelli si dedicò alla scrittura. In questo periodo iniziò “Discorsi sulla prima Deca di Tito Livio” e scrisse quella che divenne la sua opera più conosciuta, il “De principatibus”, divenuto successivamente noto con il titolo “Il Principe”. Nonostante i numerosi tentativi di rientrare a svolgere un ruolo attivo nella politica fiorentina, tutti i suoi sforzi risultarono vani. Storico, drammaturgo, filosofo, e uno dei maggiori teorici della politica italiani di tutti i tempi, Niccolò Machiavelli morì a Firenze il 21 giugno del 1527. (piopas)
An individual will find difficulty in being loved and feared. A choice must be made. To either be feared, or loved. Love is dependent on people’s internal motivation. As people are generally fickle, and are willing to betray even those they claim to appreciate, love cannot be relied upon. Fear is an external motivator, as people will want to avoid being punished. Better to choose fear than love. But there is a condition, that the fear does not come about in developing hate. A prince is dependent on others for political power, and people are eager to betray the prince they hate. Ways to prevent developing hate is to behave justly and avoid stealing other people’s property. Fear might generally be better, but is not the only choice. The choice is dependent on what the prince can control.
People tend to want to change their rulers, for better rulers. Willing to revolt against the worse ruler. But, they can replace a bad ruler for a worse ruler, as the conqueror can deceive the people. Maintaining a region gained through deception will take more effort, as the prince will have many unsatisfied expectations. Control of a region depends on the will of the people. A region controlled by a prince who is respected by the people, will be more difficult to seize, for the people would want to keep such a prince.
A prince can be chosen by the citizens, rather than through wickedness or intolerable violence. To become chosen would require gaining the support of the nobles or the people. The nobles and people have conflicting objectives, therefore a choice must be made on whose support to gain. A choice that will result in supporting one group, while injuring the other. While the nobles want to oppress the people, the people do not want to be oppressed. The people’s objective is relatively simpler, is more righteous, and can be satisfied. There are also more people than nobles, and the prince cannot defend against a hostile people. Nobles are few, and can be defended against. While a prince cannot live without the people, the prince can change the authority structure of the nobles.
How To Become A Worthy Prince?
A prince should study the histories of successes and failures, to imitate the successes and avoided the failures. To use other people as an example for what to do, or not do.
There are no safe courses to take in governance. Making a decision to avoid trouble, comes into a different trouble. The choice should be which trouble to take and avoid.
The prince needs to study the region that the prince has in possession. To understand how to allocate resources and military might. Knowing the geographic features of one’s one possessions, means having the knowledge of how to use military might against other regions with similar geographic features.
A prince is loved, or feared, when the officials do not pillage the people, and can gain prompt recourse to the prince. Clemency for a prince is preferred to cruelty, but misused clemency can bring with it destruction. There are cases of cruelty, bringing about peace.
The prince should be cautious with how the prince speaks with others, to be heard speaking with wisdom and righteousness. The prince’s position depends on the opinion of others, and those who would want to oppose the prince will have difficulty doing so when the majority speak highly of the prince.
The court is full of flatterers whose object is to deceive. To only tell truths, that does not offend the prince. The prince should seek a court of wise people who have freedom of speech, to tell the prince the truth about the questions the prince has.
Conspiracies are fragile, because conspiracies need people and the only people who are willing to conspire are malcontents. Malcontents that are willing to betray the other malcontents.
How To Seize A Region?
Regions need to have their own forces to defend their region. They cannot rely on the enemy’s support, or gain forces quickly when the need arise.
Regions with centralized leadership can be seized when the leaders, especially if they are hereditary leaders, are removed. There won’t be opposition to the new rule without these leaders.
In regions with divided leadership, taking the region is relatively easy because there will always be those willing to betray their regional power structure to gain more power. But keeping the region with divided leadership will take more effort, because those who remain cannot be satisfied or exterminated. Only waiting for the right opportunity to retake the region.
War cannot be avoided by giving up territory to an enemy. War will be deferred when giving up territory, but to the disadvantage of the one who gives up territory.
Should a prince recapture the same region another time, it will be easier to hold the region, because the prince would punish the delinquents, and remove suspects.
Acquiring regions accustomed to freedom, will have less effort maintaining control when the citizens are left to the means they know. In this way, the prince does not lose the support of the people that the prince relies upon.
Upon seizing a region, better to inflict all necessary injuries quickly than have them delayed. Delaying injuries means that they are always on people’s mind, therefore cannot attach themselves to the new prince.
Caveats?
The writing can be difficult to read, as parts are convoluted. Expressing the complexity of political decisions, by giving conditions to claims. Although the conditions are reasonable, they do challenge the application of the claims.
To better understand the claims in this book, would be better to learn about the author’s era. Many events were referenced as evidence of the claims, but not given a broader description of what happened. ( )