Free Downloads The Prince (Norton Critical Editions)
Robert M. Adams’s superb translation of Machiavelli’s best-known work is again the basis for this Norton Critical Edition. Accurate, highly readable, and thoroughly revised for the Second Edition, this translation renders Machiavelli’s 1513 political tract into clear and concise English. "Backgrounds" relies entirely upon Machiavelli’s other writings to place this central Florentine in his proper political and historical context. Included are excerpts from The Discourses, a report from a diplomatic mission, a collection of private letters, and two poems from Carnival Songs. "Interpretations" retains three of the previous edition’s seminal essays while adding five selections by Felix Gilbert, Federico Chabod, J. H. Whitfield, Isaiah Berlin, and Robert M. Adams. "Marginalia" is an eclectic collection of writings germane to both Machiavelli and The Prince. Of the eight selections represented, five of them are new to the Second Edition, including Pasquale Villari’s comic portrayal of Machiavelli’s first diplomatic post in 1499, Francesco Guicciardini’s lofty rebuttal to Machiavelli, and a collection of Tuscan Sayings to further the reader’s understanding of this timeless text. An updated Selected Bibliography is also included.
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Second edition (May 17, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393962202
ISBN-13: 978-0393962208
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #58,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #27 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy > Public Affairs & Administration #34 in Books > History > Europe > Italy #59 in Books > History > Europe > France
The original text of The Prince was written in 1513 and dedicated to Lorenzo de’ Medici, after Niccolò Machiavelli had been accused of conspiracy. In this text, Machiavelli analyzes the actions taken by popes and historical and Biblical princes in events that have taken place in Italy and throughout Europe during his lifetime to give advice on how to become a great prince. Machiavelli starts with the basics by describing various ways of rising to power: using one’s own arms and energy, using other people’s arms and luck, through crime, and by “choice of fellow citizens” (27). He continues by giving advice on every single aspect of being a prince: from military duties and selecting private counselors to acquiring a reputation and dealing with luck. While his work has been seen as controversial, the supporting evidence of the analysis of past events allows Machiavelli to make compelling arguments.It has been approximately 500 years since Machiavelli wrote The Prince, but it is striking to see the relevance of his work today. We may not live in a society of princes, but some of the advice can be applied in modern daily life as people find themselves in various leadership roles. For example, Machiavelli states that “if a prince conducts himself with patience and caution, and the times and circumstances are favorable to those qualities, he will flourish; but if times and circumstances change, he will come to ruin unless he changes his method of proceeding” (68), explaining that one must be flexible and change once the times indicate that the methods used will not work. Although some of the advice can be extreme, the reader can find something Machiavelli proposes and apply it to daily life.
The Prince (Norton Critical Editions) John Donne's Poetry (Norton Critical Editions) The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings (Norton Critical Editions) The Classic Fairy Tales (Norton Critical Editions) Beowulf: A Verse Translation (Norton Critical Editions) The Canterbury Tales: Fifteen Tales and the General Prologue (Norton Critical Editions) Paradise Lost (Norton Critical Editions) Frankenstein (Second Edition) (Norton Critical Editions) Pride and Prejudice (Fourth Edition) (Norton Critical Editions) The Brothers Karamazov (Second Edition) (Norton Critical Editions) The Metamorphosis (Norton Critical Editions) The Tempest (Norton Critical Editions) Candide (Third Edition) (Norton Critical Editions) Inferno (Norton Critical Editions) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself (Norton Critical Editions) The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm (Norton Critical Editions) Beowulf: A Prose Translation (Second Edition) (Norton Critical Editions) Utopia (Norton Critical Editions) Piers Plowman (Norton Critical Editions) The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 2: The Romantic Period through the Twentieth Century (Norton Anthology of English Literature)
