Le Prince

A masterpiece of strategy and politics from the 16th century. Machiavelli explains core universal concepts about power and leadership that have been applied by military officers, successful businessmen, and diplomats worldwide for centuries. This is the official edition of Machiavelli's The Prince complete including the censored parts.

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. This was the period of Machiavelli's literary activity and increasing influence; but he died, within a few weeks of the expulsion of the Medici, on 22nd June 1527, in his fifty-eighth year, without having regained office.

The Prince

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.

Dédié à Laurent de Médicis, Le Prince est une oeuvre nourrie par l'expérience d'ambassadeur de son auteur. Machiavel y définit les fins du gouvernement : sur le plan extérieur, maintenir à tout prix son emprise sur les territoires conquis ; sur le plan intérieur, se donner les moyens de rester au pouvoir. Parce que les hommes sont égoïstes, le prince n'est pas tenu d'être moral. Il doit être craint en évitant de se faire haïr par le peuple. La réduction de Machiavel au machiavélisme est cependant trop simpliste. On peut même lire Le Prince comme une des premières oeuvres de science politique, l'auteur ne cherchant qu'à décrire les mécanismes du pouvoir, à la manière du physicien qui détermine les lois de la gravitation. Rousseau ou encore Spinoza ont même pensé que Le Prince s'adressait en vérité au peuple pour l'avertir des stratégies utilisées par les tyrans. Oeuvre géniale dans son ambiguïté, Le Prince peut donc être lu soit comme un traité de gouvernement à l'usage du despote, soit comme un ouvrage de science, voire comme une critique déguisée du despotisme. --Paul Klein

Often cited as one of the first works in modern political philosophy, The Prince is a political treatise that relates author Niccolo Machiavelli's theories on state-building and rulership. Drawing on his experience as a diplomat, Machiavelli discusses the important policies for both republican free-states and hereditary princedoms, and outlines the most successful political tactics, many of which remain relevant into modern times. Controversial at the time of its writing in 1513, The Prince was not officially printed until 1532, almost two decades later and five years after Niccolo Machiavelli's death. At the time, the ideas put forth in the treatise directly conflicted with dominant religious doctrines, and negative connotations surrounding the term "Machiavellian" continue to endure. Nonetheless, The Prince has influenced rulers including King Henry VIII and Catherine de Medici, and political philosophers such as Francis Bacon and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and has become one of the most widely read works of political philosophy in history. HarperTorch brings great works of non-fiction and the dramatic arts to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperTorch collection to build your digital library.

Ces lettres sont un complément indispensable à la lecture du traité du Prince, écrit en 1513.

Lettres à Francesco Vettori : Vous savez que le premier devoir d'un prince...

Here is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor The Prince even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince . . . a king . . . a president. When, in 1512, Machiavelli was removed from his post in his beloved Florence, he resolved to set down a treatise on leadership that was practical, not idealistic. In The Prince he envisioned would be unencumbered by ordinary ethical and moral values; his prince would be man and beast, fox and lion. Today, this small sixteenth-century masterpiece has become essential reading for every student of government, and is the ultimate book on power politics.

Le Prince

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