The Prince
The Prince
ISBN: 9780140449150
出版社: Penguin Classics
出版年: 2003-2-4
页数: 144
定价: USD 8.00
装帧: Paperback
内容简介
Rejecting the traditional values of political theory, Machiavelli drew upon his own experiences of office in the turbulent Florentine republic to write his celebrated treatise on statecraft. While Machiavelli was only one of the many Florentine "prophets of force," he differed from the ruling elite in recognizing the complexity and fluidity of political life.
Translated by George Bull
Introduction by Anthony Grafton
作者简介
Niccolò Machiavelli (born May 3, 1469, Florence-died June 21, 1527, Florence) Italian statesman, historian, and political theorist. He rose to power after the overthrow of Girolamo Savonarola, was appointed secretary and Second Chancellor to the Florentine Republic in 1498. Working as a diplomat for 14 years, he came in contact with the most powerful figures in Europe. He was dismissed when the Medici family returned to power in 1512, and during the next year he was arrested and tortured for conspiracy. Though soon released, he was not permitted to return to public office. His famous treatise The Prince (1513, published 1532) is a handbook for rulers; though dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence from 1513, it failed to win Machiavelli his favour. Machiavelli viewed The Prince as an objective description of political reality. Because he viewed human nature as venal, grasping, and thoroughly self-serving, he suggested that ruthless cunning is appropriate to the conduct of government. Though admired for its incisive brilliance, the book also has been widely condemned as cynical and amoral, and “Machiavellian” has come to mean deceitful, unscrupulous, and manipulative. His other works include a set of discourses on Livy (completed c. 1518), the comedy The Mandrake (completed c. 1518), The Art of War (published 1521), and the Florentine Histories (completed c. 1525).
目录
Chronology Map
Introduction
Translator's Note
Selected Books
Machiavelli's Principal Works
Letter to the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici 1
I How many kinds of principality there are and the ways in which they are acquired 5
II Hereditary principalities 5
III Composite principalities 6
IV Why the kingdom of Darius conquered by Alexander did not rebel against his successors after his death 13
V How cities or principalities which lived under their own laws should be administered after being conquered 16
VI New principalities acquired by one's own arms and prowess 17
VII New principalities acquired with the help of fortune and foreign arms 20
VIII Those who come to power by crime 27
IX The constitutional principality 31
X How the strength of every principality should be measured 34
XI Ecclesiastical principalities 36
XII Military organization and mercenary troops 39
XIII Auxiliary, composite, and native troops 43
XIV How a prince should organize his militia 47
XV The things for which men, and especially princes, are praised or blamed 49
XVI Generosity and parsimony 51
XVII Cruelty and compassion; and whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse 53
XVIII How princes should honour their word 56
XIX The need to avoid contempt and hatred 58
XX Whether fortresses and many of the other present-day expedients to which princes have recourse are useful or not 67
XXI How a prince must act to win honour 71
XXII A prince's personal staff 75
XXIII How flatterers must be shunned 76
XXIV Why the Italian princes have lost their states 78
XXV How far human affairs are governed by fortune, and how fortune can be opposed 79
XXVI Exhortation to liberate Italy from the barbarians 82
Glossary of Proper Names 86
Notes 99