First circulated in manuscript and printed in 1532, this political treatise advises a new ruler how to gain and hold a state. Machiavelli distinguishes hereditary from new principalities, discusses armies, fortresses, and the use of cruelty and clemency, and argues that a prince must learn not to be good when necessity requires it. Examples come from Cesare Borgia, Roman history, and the Italian wars of his own day. The central problem is how power is kept among fortune, arms, and popular or noble factions. The book is a handbook of princely statecraft, not a biography of one prince and not a utopia.
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Subject/Genre
5 SubjectsPrelude by Tim Parkes. Printed in dark red and black. Colour plate painting of the author. Red cloth binding decorated with gilt pattern stamp to both boards. Gold foil endpapers. Red slipcase.
| Printing | Print Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Printing | 2006 | — |
| 2nd Printing | 2007 | — |
| 3rd Printing | 2009 | — |