The Prince

Genesis

Machiavel, secretary of the Ten of Freedom and Peace of the Republic since May 23rd 1498, is banished at the time of the takeover of Florence by Médicis in 1512. Deposed civil servant, it seeks to return in grace at Médicis. He initially writes and dedicates this treaty to Julien de Médicis, brother of the pope Leon X, then with Laurent de Médicis with died of this first in 1516. This one was more art lover and pleasures of court that of political art itself. Machiavel intends to place at its disposal " the knowledge of the actions of the great men, whom it acquired either by an long experience of the businesses of modern times, or by an assiduous study of that of old times .

Composition

The work comprises twenty-six chapters.

In the first chapter , the various types of State S are classified according to two great types: republics and monarchies, these last being either hereditary, or new. On this occasion, the test evokes the recent events which agitate the Italian boot with the Quattrocento, in particular the intrigues of César Borgia to settle in Romagna and the intrigues of the Sforza in the Milanais aiming at évincer the Visconti.

In the chapters II to XI , the author studies the various means of conquering them and of preserving them.

In the chapters XII to XIV , the questions Militaire S are tackled, Machiavel decides in particular in favor of a Conscription national with the detriment of the use of Mercenaire S always likely to cause more wrongs than of good for the Prince.

The chapters XV to XXII expose the essence of what the posterity retained under the name of “Machiavélisme”: councils stripped of any moralism relating to the conservation of the to be able.

The chapters XXIII to XXVI reveal the intentions of the author: these councils must allow to release and unify Italy.

There exists also a very complete version of the book with the comments of Napoleon Bonaparte, at various moments of its life. These comments were found in fits with body of the emperor, plundered by the Prussian with the Bataille of Waterloo. An edition of Jean de Bonnot.

Significance

Contrary to the majority of the treaties traditionally intended for the moral construction of the Head of State, supposed to encourage it with the use virtuous and right capacity, Machiavel poses quickly that there is not virtuous capacity, if there is not effective capacity. Also the fundamental question in question to leave is not " how to use well of the capacity according to the virtues morals and Christian women? " but " how to obtain and preserve the capacity? ".

It is not a question here to refer to values transcendent morals as did it Plato in the Republic, it is not a question either to found on Earth a utopian ideal . The policy must be exerted by taking account of concrete realities what necessarily makes pass morals to the plane second. For this reason, Machiavel can be regarded as the father of the political Pragmatisme.

Which is this effective truth in political matters? It is before all the conflict between the men and the need for controlling by the means the most effective their relations. Among these means, the fear which the Prince inspires, by the deployment of its power, is one of most adequate. This one will have to thus get busy with the first chief to acquire all the average soldiers, economic and legal who will guarantee his force. It will not have to either hesitate to preferably punish severely those which dispute its authority, while getting busy to mark imaginations (public tortures for example). Thus the order will be preserved in its Cité and it will render to him a much better service than so by weakness or “tolerance”, it let settle the dispute and the disorder. This way, it will manage to be as well fears as liked for its qualities of chief.

The principal Vertu of the prince is thus not moral but political: it is the aptitude to preserve the capacity while knowing to proportion fear and the love which it can inspire in order to maintain the order and the unit of its city. The originality of the “Machiavellism” is however not to advise for as much with the Prince scorning any form of morality: to make sure the support and the support of the population, the Prince will have to comply with publicly at least seemingly the allowed rules of morals by his people. It does not matter that into private, it mistakes these rules, and in fact it will have to often go against morals in its secret political actions, for example not to hesitate to betray its own word if it is a means of preserving the capacity, but publicly it will have to always be able “to give the exchange” so that its people are not turned over against him.

Reception of work

Having read, Frederic II of Prussia will describe it later like " a book abominable" : Machiavel, as a good skilful politician to describe the springs of the capacity, is not deprived to write there indeed that at the time of the catch of a principality, one should not stop with the head of controlling usurped, it is also necessary to drown all its heirs in low age, in order to put a term at the dynastic branch of the conquered territory. That makes it possible to be guarded as early as possible against nourished applicants of hatred, likely which more is to have for them the popular support, a score of years later. Machiavel thus shows us the shares of shade of the capacity, an necessary evil which it is especially not to be neglected, and that in a great objectivity, supported on many historical examples, but also on work of great authors like Tacite, Plutarque and Sénèque.

See too

the Art of the war of Sun Zi
Of the War of Carl von Clausewitz

Fortuna and virtù at Machiavel

External bond

It Principle At MetaLibri (pdf eBook)
the Prince, on Wikisource
It Principle (HTML e-book)

Simple: The Prince

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