Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Il Principe

Il Principe

Il Principe by Niccolo Machiavelli, c 1610

In Tutte le opera di Nicolo Machiavelli cittadino et secretario fiorentino

Leather bound volume

SC/0952


The Prince or Il Principe by Niccolo Machiavelli was written in 1513 and is still considered to be one of the most influential political works in the Western world. It is a persuasive account of how political power is won and lost and the role luck plays in the affairs of government. Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher, historian and diplomat who dedicated The Prince to Lorenzo de Medici (1492-1519) Lord of Florence, in the hope of gaining favour and employment with the powerful Medici family. Originally written in his native Italian rather than the scholarly Latin, The Prince was circulated as a manuscript before finally being published in 1532, nearly five years after his death. 


Machiavelli’s name became a popular tem of denigration, typical corruptions included ‘Mach Evil’ and Match-a-villain.


The term Machiavellian is commonly used to describe political cunning and underhanded tactics.


Iago from William Shakespeare’s Othello is said to be archetypical in his display of Machiavellian traits.


The Prince was originally titled On Principalities and is the most translated book from the Italian language.


Although The Prince is his best known work, Machiavelli also wrote Discourses on Livy, The Art of War, The Girl from Andros and the comedic play The Mandrake.


Despite being dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici, it is not known whether he or anyone from the Medici family actually read the book before it was published in Latin by Antonio Blado d’Asola in 1532.


In 1559, The Prince was put on Pope Paul IV’s Index of Prohibited Books.