Recommend it 292

The end justifies the means. This pragmatic maxim alone reinforces the classic treatise of Machiavelli, The Prince. Written in 1513, when Machiavelli was secretary of chancery in Florence, this manual devoted to political power, more than any other book, sparked controversy. Indeed, aeuvre revolves around a main theme: how the rulers of the Renaissance had to act and rule. According to the author, a strong state requires a loan officer to defend his power at all costs. Furthermore, Machiavelli argues the thesis that a sovereign has the right to deceive, betray, oppress or even assassinate its opponents if he does it for the good of the state and stability. It appears therefore unquestionably that this short treatise offers enough arguments to demonize its author. However, it should be recalled that Machiavelli does not encourage the use of all-out cruelty and violence and does not recognize any objective justifying the use of violence. Moreover, it does not try to align his conception of statecraft with Christian morality. The adjective 'Machiavellian' appeared in the sixteenth century to describe a sly and cruel tyrant, desperate to achieve his ends. However, Prince was largely discredited in the twentieth century, when it was praised by dictators, but this aeuvre mistress nonetheless part of current thinking as a seminal work. Contemporary readers easily manage to capture the essence of this statement through translation and annotations by Peter Bondanella. To enter the study in context, Maurizio Viroli explains in his introduction: "For Machiavelli, the conventional method for establishing and maintaining a diet ... had to be abandoned in order to adopt a new approach ... based on the principle that no state has real authority if it does not have an army of citizens and subjects. "GetAbstract recommends reading this book to all the enthusiasts literature or history, whether subjects or citizens, and all experts in strategy and policies to which The Prince is a true reference book.