Project Sherlock

Book

1532

The Prince

Niccolò Machiavelli

Separates political effectiveness from moral goodness, describing how power is actually held rather than how it ought to be.

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Before you start

Assumes
a rough sense of Renaissance Italy, or the examples read as a list of unfamiliar names
This translation
W. K. Marriott's 1908 translation, which is why the prose sounds Edwardian rather than Florentine. Accurate enough; modern translations read considerably faster.
FreeIntermediateabout 3.5 hours to readlink checked 17 Sept 2026

Filed under Political Theory in Politics & Government.