Capstone Classics
The Prince
(16th century)
Niccolo Machiavelli
The Prince has the reputation for being ‘bad’. It is said to have been bedtime reading for Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin, and Shakespeare used the term ‘Machiavel’ to mean a schemer who was happy to sacrifice people for evil aims. Relentlessly attacked by religious figures, it was put on the Catholic Church’s index of prohibited books, and was equally reviled by Protestant reformers.
Yet in contrast to centuries of popular maligning of Machiavelli, recent research has focused on his ethics and the fact that he was a genuine moral philosopher and well-rounded Renaissance man whose overriding wish was to be useful. Indeed, as Yale’s Erica Benner suggests, The Prince is best seen not as a guide on how to be ruthless or self-serving, but rather as a lens to see objectively the prevailing views of the day, and to open the eyes of the reader as to the motives of others. With this knowledge, the new leader can act in an effective way, making sure their essentially noble goals are kept on track.
The Prince continues to fascinate, shock, repel and inspire the person of today as much as it did the reader of the 16th century. Although written as a kind of showcase of its author’s knowledge of statecraft in order to gain employment, and very much concerned with the events of his day, the book’s timeless insights into the nature of power and human motivation have transcended its original setting.
In my Introduction to this brand new edition of the book, I look into the world that Machiavelli inhabited and the choices he had to make to stay influential. Once a senior civil servant in the Florentine Republic, the return of the Medici family to power meant he was out of a job. Yet it was a blessing in disguise, as this forced exile led him to write more, including The Prince.
I look at the main principles a person of today can take from the book and still remain ethical, and I present the characteristics of great leaders as Machiavelli understood them. To be successful in any walk of life you need to be able to exercise power in the best possible way. This book shows you how.
Details
Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince: The Original Classic, Introduction by Tom Butler-Bowdon
Publication dates: UK July 23 2010, US September 14 2010.
ISBN 978-0857080783
Hardback, 256 pages
UK £9.99, US $14.99 - much less online, order below
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