The Prince

The first modern treatise of political philosophy,The Princeremains one of the world's most influential and widely read books. Machiavelli, whose name has become synonymous with expedient exercises of will, reveals nothing less than the secrets of power: how to gain it, how to wield it, and how to keep it. But curiously, this work of outspoken clarity has, for centuries, inspired myriad interpretations as to its author's true message. The Introduction by noted Italian Renaissance scholar Albert Russell Ascoli provides a perfect opening to Peter Constantine's illuminating new translation of this seminal work. "Constantine elegantly captures in English the pith of Machiavelli's brilliant Italian prose." Edward Muir, Clarence L. Ver Steeg Professor in the Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University "Peter Constantine's excellent translation belongs in everyone's library. Perhaps now more than ever we have much to learn from this Renaissance thinker, present at the birth of the modern world." John Jeffries Martin, professor of history, Duke University

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.