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Intro -- Title -- Contents -- Book I. -- Preface -- I. Of the Beginnings of Cities in General, and in Particular of that of Rome -- II. Of the Various Kinds of Government -- And to Which of Them the Roman Commonwealth Belonged -- III. Of the Accients Which Led in Rome to the Creation of Tribunes of the People -- Whereby the Republic Was Made More Perfect -- IV. That the Dissensions Between the Senate and Commons of Rome, Made Rome Free and Powerful -- V. Whether the Guardianship of Public Freedom Is Safer in the Hands of the Commons or of the Nobles -- And Whether Those Who Seek to Acquire Power or They Who Seek to Maintain It Are the Greater Cause of Commotions -- VI. Whether It Was Possible in Rome to Contrive Such a Government As Would Have Composed the Differences Between the Commons and the Senate -- VII. That to Preserve Liberty in a state There Must Exist the Right to Accuse -- VIII. That Calumny Is As Hurtful in a Commonwealth as the Power to Accuse Is Useful -- IX. That to Give New Institutons to a Commonwealth, or to Reconstruct Old Institutions on an Entirely New Basis, Must Be the Work of One Man -- X. That in Proportion As the Founder of a Kingdom or Commonwealth Merits Praise, He Who Founds a Tyranny Deserves Blame -- XI. Of the Religion of the Romans -- XII. That It Is of Much Moment to Make Account of Religion -- and that Italy, Through the Roman Church, Being Wanting Therein, Has Been Ruined -- XIII. Of the Use the Romans Made of Religion in Giving Institutions to Their City, in Carrying Out Their Enterprises, and in Quelling Tumults -- XIV. That the Romans Interpreted the Auspices To Meet the Occasion -- And Made a Prudent Show of Observing the Rites of Religion Even When Forced to Disregard Them -- And Any Who Rashly Slighted Religion They Punished.

The world's most influential-and controversial-treatise on politicsComposed in exile and published posthumously, The Prince is Niccolò Machiavelli's legacy and the foundation of modern political theory. Drawing on his firsthand experiences as a diplomat and military commander in the Florentine Republic, Machiavelli disregards the rhetorical flourishes and sentimentality typically found in sixteenth-century mirrors for princes-guides instructing noblemen in the fine art of ruling-and gets straight to practical matters: how to eliminate rivals, when to use force, whether it is better to be loved

Machiavelli draws on his extensive historical knowledge and experience as a statesman to examine the reasons that Kings, Emperors, Dukes and governments have thrived or crumbled, while highlighting the principles that guided them. In each case Machiavelli suggests a set of principles that any leader would find difficult to follow, but impossible to ignore