Machiavelli's foundational work of political realism, written in 1513 and published posthumously in 1532. Addressed to Lorenzo de' Medici, it offers ruthlessly practical counsel on how a ruler can acquire and maintain political power — setting aside conventional morality in favour of effective statecraft. The Prince introduced the idea that politics operates by its own logic, distinct from ethics, and gave the world a new vocabulary for thinking about power.
26 chapters · Public domain
1
Chapter I — How Many Kinds of Principalities There Are
~1 min · 1 pages
›2
Chapter II — Concerning Hereditary Principalities
~1 min · 1 pages
›3
Chapter III — Concerning Mixed Principalities
~15 min · 8 pages
›4
Chapter IV — Why the Kingdom of Darius Did Not Rebel Against Alexander
~5 min · 3 pages
›5
Chapter V — Governing Cities That Lived Under Their Own Laws
~2 min · 1 pages
›6
Chapter VI — Principalities Acquired by One's Own Arms and Ability
~6 min · 3 pages
›7
Chapter VII — Principalities Acquired by Others' Arms or Fortune
~13 min · 7 pages
›8
Chapter VIII — Principalities Obtained by Wickedness
~8 min · 4 pages
›9
Chapter IX — Concerning a Civil Principality
~6 min · 3 pages
›10
Chapter X — On the Strength of Principalities
~4 min · 2 pages
›11
Chapter XI — Concerning Ecclesiastical Principalities
~4 min · 3 pages
›12
Chapter XII — How Many Kinds of Soldiery There Are, and Concerning Mercenaries
~8 min · 4 pages
›13
Chapter XIII — Concerning Auxiliaries, Mixed Soldiery, and One's Own
~6 min · 3 pages
›14
Chapter XIV — A Prince on the Subject of the Art of War
~4 min · 3 pages
›15
Chapter XV — Things for Which Men, and Especially Princes, Are Praised or Blamed
~3 min · 2 pages
›16
Chapter XVI — Concerning Liberality and Meanness
~4 min · 2 pages
›17
Chapter XVII — Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved or Feared
~5 min · 3 pages
›18
Chapter XVIII — Concerning the Way in Which Princes Should Keep Faith
~5 min · 3 pages
›19
Chapter XIX — That One Should Avoid Being Despised and Hated
~18 min · 9 pages
›20
Chapter XX — Are Fortresses, and Other Things, Advantageous or Hurtful?
~8 min · 4 pages
›21
Chapter XXI — How a Prince Should Conduct Himself to Gain Renown
~6 min · 3 pages
›22
Chapter XXII — Concerning the Secretaries of Princes
~2 min · 1 pages
›23
Chapter XXIII — How Flatterers Should Be Avoided
~3 min · 2 pages
›24
Chapter XXIV — Why the Princes of Italy Have Lost Their States
~3 min · 2 pages
›25
Chapter XXV — What Fortune Can Effect in Human Affairs and How to Withstand Her
~6 min · 3 pages
›26
Chapter XXVI — An Exhortation to Liberate Italy from the Barbarians
~7 min · 3 pages
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