Niccolo Machiavelli, Il Principe [The Prince]

Andrew Mousley (University of De Montfort)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Domains

Political Philosophy
Political Theory

Dates

First circulation or publication 1532

Places

Italy (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

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Machiavelli's

Principe [The Prince]

is the most famous, or infamous, of Machiavelli's writings, in that it is the text which above all others has secured Machiavelli's reputation within the history of ideas as the advocate of a secularised politics emptied of ethical content. Although the term “Machiavellian” is a protean concept, the persistent tendency, which has survived through to the present day, has been to identify Machiavellianism with the expediency and amorality deemed necessary to the exercise of effective politics. The evidence for what might be called this “classic” version of Machiavellianism is the several assertions in

The Prince

which appear to encourage a purely instrumental attitude towards traditional morality. “The fact is”, writes Machiavelli in chapter…

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2091 words

Citation: Mousley, Andrew. "Il Principe". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4598, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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