The Prince

Citation

Machiavelli, N. (c. 1513/1532). The Prince (W. K. Marriott, Trans.). Free official edition: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1232

Chapter Summary

Context and Argument

Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513, after the Medici returned to Florence, he lost his post in the republican government and was imprisoned and exiled, and he dedicated it to a Medici ruler, Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici. The dedication offers the author's knowledge of the actions of great men, gained from long experience of contemporary affairs and continual study of antiquity, in a plain style without ornament. The book has a dedication and twenty-six short chapters. The Project Gutenberg edition adds an introduction on Machiavelli's life and two short works by him: the account of how Duke Valentino (Cesare Borgia) murdered his rivals, and The Life of Castruccio Castracani of Lucca.

The method is stated in Chapter XV: Machiavelli will follow "the real truth of the matter" rather than the imagination of it, since those who picture republics and principalities that have never existed ignore the distance between how people live and how they ought to live. The result is a handbook on acquiring and keeping principalities, organised by kind of state and then by the prince's arms and conduct, ending with a call to liberate Italy.

Chapters I–V: Kinds of Principalities

Chapter I divides all states into republics and principalities and sorts principalities by how they are held: hereditary or new, accustomed to a prince or to freedom, won by one's own arms, by others' arms, by fortune or by ability. Chapter II treats hereditary states, which are easiest to keep. Chapter III treats mixed principalities, where a prince adds new territory to an old state. Chapter IV asks why Darius's kingdom, conquered by Alexander, did not rebel after Alexander's death, and Chapter V considers how to govern cities that lived under their own laws before annexation.

Chapters VI–IX: Acquiring a New State

Chapter VI turns to wholly new principalities won by one's own arms and ability, with founders such as Moses, Cyrus and Theseus as examples, and argues that the one who relies least on fortune is established strongest. Chapter VII treats rulers who rise by others' arms or fortune, using Cesare Borgia as the main example. Chapter VIII covers rulers who gain power through wickedness, with Agathocles of Syracuse among the cases. Chapter IX discusses the "civil principality", won by the favour of the people or the nobles, and explains why the people's support is the safer base.

Chapters X–XI: Strength and Church States

Chapter X sets out how to measure a state's strength by whether it can defend itself, and Chapter XI treats ecclesiastical principalities, which are held by older institutions rather than by the prince's own ability.

Chapters XII–XIV: Arms and War

Chapter XII states that the chief foundations of all states are good laws and good arms, and argues against mercenaries. Chapter XIII does the same for auxiliaries and mixed forces and for relying on one's own troops. Chapter XIV tells the prince to make war and its study his proper concern.

Chapter XV: Concerning Things for Which Men, and Especially Princes, Are Praised or Blamed

The turning point of the book. A prince who tries to be wholly good among so many who are not will come to ruin, so he must know how to do wrong when necessary and judge which apparent virtues and vices actually secure his state.

Chapters XVI–XIX: Liberality, Cruelty, Faith and Hatred

Chapter XVI argues that reputation for liberality is costly to a prince and that being thought mean is the lesser danger. Chapter XVII asks whether it is better to be loved or feared: Machiavelli prefers to be both and, if one must choose, fear, while insisting a prince must avoid being hated. Chapter XVIII says a prince should know how to use both the law and force, the man and the beast, taking the fox and the lion as models, and should appear to hold the virtues even when he cannot practise them. Chapter XIX gives the means of avoiding contempt and hatred, such as leaving subjects' property and honour alone.

Chapters XX–XXIV: Practical Government

Chapter XX weighs fortresses and similar devices. Chapter XXI treats how a prince gains renown, with Ferdinand of Aragon as the example. Chapters XXII and XXIII cover a prince's secretaries and the avoidance of flatterers, and Chapter XXIV concludes that the princes of Italy lost their states through their own failings in arms and in their dealings with people and nobles.

Chapter XXV: What Fortune Can Effect in Human Affairs and How to Withstand Her

Machiavelli grants that fortune governs about half of human actions and leaves the rest to us; she is compared to a flooding river that can be contained by dykes built in calm weather. He adds that success depends on matching one's character to the times.

Chapter XXVI: An Exhortation to Liberate Italy from the Barbarians

The closing chapter argues that Italy's present distress makes the moment suitable for a new prince, and calls on the Medici to lead its liberation.

Appendices in the Gutenberg Edition

The account of Duke Valentino's murder of his rivals and the life of Castruccio Castracani are separate short works, and can be read beside Chapters VII and VIII.

Key Concepts

Chapters I–XIV

• Principality and republic: the two basic kinds of state; the book concentrates on the first.
• Arms and ability versus fortune: whether a state is won by one's own forces and skill or by others' power and luck, which determines how securely it is held.
• Good laws and good arms: the stated foundations of all states.

Chapters XV–XXVI

• The effectual truth: judging conduct by what actually happens rather than by imagined ideals.
• Fox and lion: cunning and force as the two natures a prince needs.
• Hatred and contempt: the two dangers a prince must avoid above others.
• Fortune and virtù: the interplay of chance and ability, set out in Chapter XXV.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Short and well organised. The book moves from kinds of states to ways of holding them, to arms, to conduct, to fortune, so its argument can be read in one or two sittings.
• Examples carry the argument. Every claim is tied to ancient or contemporary cases, so the book also works as an introduction to the political situation of Renaissance Italy.
• A clear break with earlier advice books. Chapter XV states openly that the author departs from those who describe imagined states.

Limitations

• Narrow audience. The book addresses a new prince and mostly sets aside republics; the author says they are treated elsewhere.
• Dated examples. Many names, such as Borgia, Pope Julius and Ferdinand of Aragon, need notes.
• Some questions are left open. The book gives advice but does not settle how power can be justified, and readers disagree on how seriously to take the closing call to liberate Italy or the dedication.

Where It Fits in the Course

The book is among the shorter primary sources in this course and a useful early read after Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics, since Chapter XV rejects the tradition of describing ideal republics. Hobbes's Leviathan and Locke's Second Treatise deal with the same questions of order and legitimacy at a more systematic level, while Rousseau's The Social Contract takes up legitimacy from a republican starting point. The Manifesto and Mill's On Liberty are later, but Tocqueville's Democracy in America also asks what kind of mores keep a polity stable.

For interpretation, Strauss and Cropsey's History of Political Philosophy and Wolin's Politics and Vision both discuss Machiavelli at length.

How to Use This Book

No background is needed beyond a basic knowledge of Renaissance Italy. Read the dedication and Chapters I–III for orientation, Chapters VI–IX for the main cases of acquisition, then Chapters XV–XIX closely, since they carry the book's best-known claims. Chapters XX–XXIV are practical advice and can be read more quickly, and Chapters XXV–XXVI should be read as a pair.

Keep a record of Machiavelli's examples and decide for each whether it supports his claim by itself. Compare Chapter XV with the passages in Plato and Aristotle on the good ruler. Use the Gutenberg introduction for Machiavelli's biography, but read it as a period-bound essay. A modern annotated edition, such as the Penguin Classics edition listed on this page, is better for citation.

Edition and Sources

This guide is based on the W. K. Marriott translation as reproduced in Project Gutenberg eBook #1232 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1232). The contents, dedication and chapter openings were read, with Chapters I, VI, VIII, IX, XII, XIII, XV, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XXI, XXIII, XXIV, XXV and XXVI in particular, together with the openings of the two appendix works.