The Discourses

Niccolo Machiavelli, Bernard Crick, Bernard Crick , Brian Richardson

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Italian

Penguin Classics
31 December 2000

Penguin Classics relaunch

Few figures in intellectual history have proved as notorious and ambiguous as Niccol

Machiavelli. But while his treatise The Prince made his name synonymous with autocratic ruthlessness and cynical manipulation, The Discourses (c.1517) shows a radically different outlook on the world of politics. In this carefully argued commentary on Livy's history of republican Rome, Machiavelli proposed a system of government that would uphold civic freedom and security by instilling the virtues of active citizenship, and that would also encourage citizens to put the needs of the state above selfish, personal interests. Ambitious in scope, but also clear-eyed and pragmatic, The Discourses creates a modern theory of republic politics.

Leslie J. Walker's definitive translation has been revised by Brian Richardson and is accompanied by an introduction by Bernard Crick, which illuminates Machiavelli's historical context and his new theories of politics. This edition also includes suggestions for further reading and notes.

By: Niccolo Machiavelli
Introduction by: Bernard Crick
Edited by: Bernard Crick
Translated by: Brian Richardson, Leslie Walker
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 197mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 368g
ISBN: 9780140444285
ISBN 10: 0140444289
Pages: 544
Publication Date: 31 December 2000
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Niccolo Machivaelli (1469-1527) was appointed secretary to the Florentine Republic in 1498. He was dismissed from this post in 1512 and forced to withdraw from public life, after which time he wrote The Prince, a handbook for rulers. Leslie Walker translated many texts from Italian over the course of a distinguished career.