The Prince — Niccolò Machiavelli
Il Principe, 1513 (published 1532). Translated by W. K. Marriott, 1908 (public domain).
The Marriott translation is the most widely-read free English text. For academic use, Harvey Mansfield (Chicago, 1985/1998) and Peter Bondanella (Oxford, 2005) are preferred — both copyrighted.
Chapters
- Chapter I — How Many Kinds Of Principalities There Are, And By What Means They Are Acquired
- Chapter II — Concerning Hereditary Principalities
- Chapter III — Concerning Mixed Principalities
- Chapter IV — Why The Kingdom Of Darius, Conquered By Alexander, Did Not Rebel Against The Successors Of Alexander At His Death
- Chapter V — Concerning The Way To Govern Cities Or Principalities Which Lived Under Their Own Laws Before They Were Annexed
- Chapter VI — Concerning New Principalities Which Are Acquired By One’S Own Arms And Ability
- Chapter VII — Concerning New Principalities Which Are Acquired Either By The Arms Of Others Or By Good Fortune
- Chapter VIII — Concerning Those Who Have Obtained A Principality By Wickedness
- Chapter IX — Concerning A Civil Principality
- Chapter X — Concerning The Way In Which The Strength Of All Principalities Ought To Be Measured
- Chapter XI — Concerning Ecclesiastical Principalities
- Chapter XII — How Many Kinds Of Soldiery There Are, And Concerning Mercenaries
- Chapter XIII — Concerning Auxiliaries, Mixed Soldiery, And One’S Own
- Chapter XIV — That Which Concerns A Prince On The Subject Of The Art Of War
- Chapter XV — Concerning Things For Which Men, And Especially Princes, Are Praised Or Blamed
- Chapter XVI — Concerning Liberality And Meanness
- Chapter XVII — Concerning Cruelty And Clemency, And Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared
- Chapter XVIII — Concerning The Way In Which Princes Should Keep Faith
- Chapter XIX — That One Should Avoid Being Despised And Hated
- Chapter XX — Are Fortresses, And Many Other Things To Which Princes Often Resort, Advantageous Or Hurtful?
- Chapter XXI — How A Prince Should Conduct Himself So As To Gain Renown
- Chapter XXII — Concerning The Secretaries Of Princes
- Chapter XXIII — How Flatterers Should Be Avoided
- Chapter XXIV — Why The Princes Of Italy Have Lost Their States
- Chapter XXV — What Fortune Can Effect In Human Affairs And How To Withstand Her
- Chapter XXVI — An Exhortation To Liberate Italy From The Barbarians
Why it Belongs in the Canon
- Foundational text of political realism and raison d’état.
- Reference for civil–military relations, principality consolidation, new conquest.
- The source of virtù, fortuna, the fox-and-lion, “armed prophets” — permanent vocabulary.