The Prince

Welcome to Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince. In this edition of this book, first published in 1532, we are proud to offer you the best edition of this 1923 groundbreaking classic. The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli, first published in 1532, five years after Machiavelli’s death. This was done with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but “long before then, in fact since the first appearance of the Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings”. It is generally agreed that it was especially innovative. This is only partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice which had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante’s Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature. The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It was also in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning how to consider politics and ethics. Although it is relatively short, the treatise is the most remembered of Machiavelli’s works “He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation.” As you read this Mogul Classics edition of Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, you will relive one the most influential books ever.