The Prince
Niccolò Machiavelli dedicated his book The Prince to the ruling Florentine party in 1516. The book was written as a ruling guide for the Medici family, who had just come to power in Florence, Italy. In the very first paragraph of the book, Machiavelli offers the book to Lorenzo de' Medici as a gift. He also explains that the book is from the view of the common man, looking up at a ruler. The book was written as an attempt to gain favor from the ruling party, and possibly gain employment within the current government. He had been unemployed since 1512, when the Medici family came to power. What interested me most are the different themes throughout the book. Machiavelli wrote about being a ruler, different types of armies to have, and the free will of man. Up until this book, much of the disasters and fallen governments was linked to religion beliefs and not the free will of the people. Machiavelli had several years of experience working inside the government, yet he never achieved a high status of leadership. He was sent on various diplomatic missions, and kept ties with foreign governments. With this experience, he wrote The Prince and used many foreign leaders a
" (xxxiv) This raises the question of how true the book is to the original intent of Machiavelli. Price acknowledges that he has omitted some figures because he was unable to obtain reliable information. Russel Price explained in detail how he attempted to ". Over the years, the word Machiavelli has become associated with an act of being "deceitful and cunning". The letters are relevant to The Prince. The biographical notes were inserted to assist the reader in the names of people, which are mention in The Prince, and their general background information. If a ruler who wants always to act honorably is surrounded by many unscrupulous men his downfall is inevitable. Price stated that, "The Italian chapter-titles in the first edition were not, it seems, written by Machiavelli. Price used a text that was edited by Sergio Bertelli, and published by Feltrinelli in 1960. Price translated and placed several of Machievelli's personal letters to his friends in the book. Therefore, a ruler who wishes to maintain his power must be prepared to act immorally when this becomes necessary (p.
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