The Prince

Includes a critical essay on "The Thought and Writing of Machiavelli as a product of Renaissance Culture." Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic. His political treatise The Prince was intended as a "Mirror for Princes", a manual on how to govern well, but has become a byword ever since for cynical governance and the art of realpolitik ever since. This edition is based on the 1908 translation by W. K. Marriott, and includes a critical essay on "The Thought and Writing of Machiavelli as a product of Renaissance Culture."