Product Description

Few figures in intellectual history have proved as notorious and ambiguous as Niccolò Machiavelli. But while his treatise The Prince made his name synonymous with autocratic ruthlessness and cynical manipulation, The Discourses (c.1517) shows a radically different outlook on the world of politics. In this carefully argued commentary on Livy’s history of republican Rome, Machiavelli proposed a system of government that would uphold civic freedom and security by instilling the virtues of active citizenship, and that would also encourage citizens to put the needs of the state above selfish, personal interests. Ambitious in scope, but also clear-eyed and pragmatic, The Discourses creates a modern theory of republic politics. Leslie J. Walker’s definitive translation has been revised by Brian Richardson and is accompanied by an introduction by Bernard Crick, which illuminates Machiavelli’s historical context and his new theories of politics. This edition also includes suggestions for further reading and notes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85800 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-31
• Original language: Italian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

About the Author
Niccolo Machivaelli (1469-1527) was appointed secretary to the Florentine Republic in 1498. He was dismissed from this post in 1512 and forced to withdraw from public life, after which time he wrote The Prince, a handbook for rulers. Leslie Walker translated many texts from Italian over the course of a distinguished career.

Customer Reviews

A Milestone in Political Philosophy
If you want to understand Machiavelli _this_ is the place to look. Of course you should also read the Prince but this is the true centre of gravity for Machiavelli's political philosophy. - It details the design of Republics in great detail and with good parallels to the Roman Republic.

This volume, moreover, comes with a good, polemic introduction.

If you want to be a politician, this should be your Bible
Being a reader of philosophy and history i have of course stumbed across Machiavelli; his Prince is a fascinating treatise on how to be the perfect dictator. The Discourses is far longer and more complex but all the better for it; its detail and shocking relevence to public affairs is astonishing for a man who spent most of his time either working as a diplomat in Italy or in forced exile from his native Florence. All in all some chapters such as those on Italian war efforts should really in all fairness be ignored but engaging and frequently humourous writing lifts this book above other political philosophies.