The Prince (Deodand Classics)
by Nicolo Machiavelli

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Book Reviews of The Prince (Deodand Classics)

Book Review: IL PRINCIPE: ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS EVER
Summary: 5 Stars

There are two central themes in this work: POLITICS and THE PROBLEMS THAT ARE CONNECTED WITH THE NOTION, THE CONCEPT 'POWER'.
Il Principe is a flaming and militant political piece of writing in which the author is not only rationally, but also emotionally 'present' with the full power of his personality.
Machiavelli's ideas are closely related to the general philosophical concept of the Renaissance. His vision too is antropocentric: the only right to exist man has, is present in man himself AND in the realisation of the self in this world.
Machiavelli is the founder of the political science(s): nobody before him had considered that politic is a single, separate science, free of any moral or religion.
In his system he isolates the technical bias (read: orientation) on what is politically useful from the moral and theological aspect of kindness and justice. He defines sharply THE PURPOSE that one wants to reach, to achieve and THEN, starting from the situation in which a (the) person stands, WEIGHS UP THE PROS AND CONS (on a rational-technical basis) OF THE MEANS THAT LEAD TO THE PURPOSE. WHICH MEANS THOSE ARE, DOES NOT MATTER (= AMORAL).
A means or reason that is MORALLY BAD, can be GOOD FOR POLITICS and VICE VERSA...!

Instead of talking about The Prince, it is only correct to use the word RULER: the crucial person in this work. For Machiavelli it was Cesare Borgia, for Nietzsche it was Napoleon, who REALLY 'slept with Il Principe' (he understood the book very well).
Too many readers are misled by words as "fortune, virtue": in Middle-Italian (very difficult, even for specialists) the author uses the words "FORTUNA" and "VIRTU": these two words (f.e.) have NOTHING OR LITTLE IN COMMON with fortune and virtue or virtus. There are about 23 POSSIBLE TRANSLATIONS for the word virtù...

To be a good ruler is not easy. In 26 short chapters the biggest philosopher of the 16th century, Machiavelli describes what the ruler can and/or should do ... to stay 'the ruler', not to lose the power he/she has, in absence of moral and religion: amoral. THAT IS DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN: JUST LOOK AROUND, LISTEN TO THE NEWS, THINK ABOUT GLOBAL PROBLEMS: EVERYWHERE YOU'LL MEET NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, WAVING WITH HIS HAND TO YOU AND TRYING TO MAKE YOU AND US FREE FROM PREJUDICES, WHISPERING WHAT WE SHOULD DO OR NOT.

I have read several editions of Il Principe, but have only one that stays with me since decades now: I read and keep on reading about our ruler forever, so my book will stay with me too.
Last note: The saying "The end justifies the means" is NOT from Machiavelli: it already existed for a few centuries.

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