The Prince

Here is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candorThe Princeeven 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. InThe Princehe 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.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence. He served the Florentine republic as secretary and second chancellor, but was expelled from public life when the Medici family returned to power in 1512. His other works include The Discourses, The Art of War, and the comic satire The Mandrake.

Peter Constantine is the recipient of a PEN Translation Prize and a National Translation Award. His Modern Library translations include The Essential Writings of Machiavelli, Voltaire’s Candide, and Tolstoy’s The Cossacks. He lives in New York City.

Albert Russell Ascoli is Gladys Arata Terrill Distinguished Professor of Italian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and was awarded the Rome Prize for study at the American Academy in Rome.


From the Trade Paperback edition.