The Prince - Machiavelli

The balance of power in Italy was shattered following the death of Lorenzo ("the Magnificent") de' Medici in 1492. The peninsula erupted in war among France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire, while the factional Italian city-states contended against each other.

Therefore, in the final paragraphs of The Prince (1513), Machiavelli urges Lorenzo II (the Magnificent's grandson, to whom the book is dedicated) to expel the invaders, quell the infighting, and unify all of Italy under Medici dynastic rule. He concludes by quoting Petrarch (Canzone 128, "Italia mia") in what is one of the earliest recorded examples of peninsular (as opposed to local) Italian pride. But it would be over three centuries before the nation would fulfill its hope of unity.

The Prince is perhaps the most famous book on politics ever written. Its most revolutionary conceit is its divorce of politics from ethics. Whereas classical political theory (ala Erasmus) regarded the rightful exercise of power as a function of the moral character of its ruler, Machiavelli treats authority from a purely instrumental perspective. He urges the presumptive prince to reject Christian meekness and "act contrary to faith, friendship, humanity, and religion." Instead of Christ as a role model, he cites Cesare Borgia (1475-1507), whose aristocratic family was infamous for decadence, cruelty, and criminality in its ruthless pursuit of wealth and power.

Today, Machiavelli is synonymous with treacherous, sinister self-seeking, one of the "dark triad" of negative personality traits. Yet his work remains as vital and controversial as when it first appeared, prefiguring Nieztsche's critique of Christian morality, and being both a stigma and stimulant in politics, business, and psychology.

The Prince:

• Standard ebooks
• Gutenberg
• Google books
• Librivox ~3h16m

Supplemental:

• A Monologue on Machiavelli - Entitled Opinions podcast

Extracts:

• "At last some Machiavel of a philosopher suggested, that peradventure the object of war might be answered without going to war..." (Mardi, 2.34)
• "The history of the patriarch Jacob is interesting not less from the unselfish devotion which we are bound to ascribe to him, than from the deep worldly wisdom and polished Italian tact, gleaming under an air of Arcadian unaffectedness. The diplomatist and the shepherd are blended; a union not without warrant; the apostolic serpent and dove. A tanned Machiavelli in tents." (Israel Potter, 8)
• "Before his mental vision the person of that threadbare Talleyrand, that impoverished Machiavelli, that seedy Rosicrucian—for something of all these he vaguely deems him—passes now in puzzled review." (Confidence-Man, 23)
• "I should not wonder if his view of human nature, like Machiavelli’s, was taken from this Son of Sirach. And to call it wisdom—the Wisdom of the Son of Sirach! Wisdom, indeed! What an ugly thing wisdom must be! ... For how can that be trustworthy that teaches distrust?" (Confidence-Man, 45)
• "“For all his charity divine, / Love, self-devotion, ardor fine— / Unmanly seems he!” / “Of our Lord / The same was said by Machiavel, / Or hinted, rather. / Prithee, tell, / What is it to be manly?”" (Clarel, 4.14)
• "Some revisionary legislation and adaptive is indispensable; but with this should harmoniously work another kind of prudence not unallied with entire magnanimity. Benevolence and policy—Christianity and Machiavelli—dissuade from penal severities toward the subdued. Abstinence here is as obligatory as considerate care for our unfortunate fellow-men late in bonds, and, if observed, would equally prove to be wise forecast." (Battle-Pieces, "Supplement")
• "Adding to his fortune by a large and princely business, something like that of the great Florentine trader, Cosmo [de' Medici], he was enabled to entertain on a grand scale." ("Jimmy Rose")
• "... he is keeping tip-top company, old Pluto:—Emperors and Czars; Great Moguls and Great Khans; Grand Lamas and Grand Dukes; Prince Regents and Queen Dowagers:—Tamerlane hob-a- nobbing with Bonaparte; Antiochus with Solyman the Magnificent; Pisistratus pledging Pilate; Semiramis eating bon-bons with Bloody Mary, and her namesake of Medicis; the Thirty Tyrants quaffing three to one with the Council of Ten; ..." (Mardi 2.77)
• "From their roving career, and the sundering of all domestic ties, many sailors, all the world over, are like the "Free Companions," who some centuries ago wandered over Europe, ready to fight the battles of any prince who could purchase their swords." (White-Jacket, 90)
• "“A revel reigns; and, look, the host / Handsome as Caesar Borgia sits—” / “Then Borgia be it, bless your wits!”" ("Marquis de Grandvin at the Hostelry")
• "... though hitherto deemed a savage almost perfidious as Caesar Borgia, yet now put on a seeming the reverse of this, engaging to bury the hatchet, smoke the pipe, and be friends forever" (Confidence-Man, 26)

This meetup is part of the series The Risorgimento.