Review: 'The art of war' & 'The Prince'
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 24, 2012
This volume contains the books 'The art of war' and 'The prince' by Machiavelli. Both works are in the public domain and are offered for free as e-book on several websites. This Kindle edition has 395 pages/5273 locations.This edition of 'The art of war' was translated by Peter Whitehorne in 1560. The original was first published in 1521. This is a less well known book by the Italian politician and philosopher Nicollo Machiavelli (1469-1527). This book is divided in 7 books and is written in the form of socratic dialogues. I copy a few lines from the first 'book' at the bottom of this review as a sample.The edition of 'The prince' is the 1640 translation by Edward Dacres. It constitutes the last 117 pages of this volume. This book was first published in 1532 in Italy, after the death of Machiavelli, it was written earlier: in 1513. This is the most famous book by Machiavelli. He emphasized realism, he found that more important than idealism. This book is one of the most important political treatises ever written, I do recommend reading it to anyone who's interested in political science, history or philosophy. You may prefer a more modern free e-book edition (like the translation by W.K. Marriott). I will copy a few lines from this 1640 translation below as a sample.This volume has an extensive introduction by Henry Cust (the first 10% of this edition).From 'The art of war' 'book 1' (page 71/location 781):COSIMO. What thynges are those, that you would induce like unto theantiquitie.FABRICIO. To honour, and to reward vertue, not to despise povertie, toesteme the maners and orders of warfare, to constrain the citezeins tolove one an other, to live without sectes, to esteme lesse the private,than the publike, and other like thinges, that easily might bee withthis time accompanied: the which maners ar not difficult to bring topasse, when a man should wel consider them, and entre therin by duemeanes:[...]From 'The Prince', the first lines from Chapter 1 (page 288/loc.3982):How many sorts of Principalities there are, and how many wayes they areattained to.All States, all Dominions that have had, or now have rule over men, havebeen and are, either Republiques or Principalities. Principalities areeither hereditary, whereof they of the blood of the Lord thereof havelong time been Princes; or else they are new; and those that are new,are either all new, as was the Dutchy of Millan to Francis Sforce; orare as members adjoyned to the hereditary State of the Prince that gainsit; as the Kingdom of Naples is to the King of Spain.[...]