Niccolo Machiavelli, the author, was an Italian. (Born 3rd may 1469, died 21st June, 1527). he was a diplomat, philosopher, historian, politician and writer. He is best known for his book The Prince. His notable works are The Prince and Discourses on Livy.
The prince is basically a political treatise and a sort of guide for new princes and royals. It was published five years after niccolos death. When he was alive, there was some controversy in his book. It was published only after seeking permission from the Medici Pope Clement VII. The prince is one of the best works of modern political philosophy, in which truth is highlighted rather than any abstract ideas or incidents. The beauty of the text is that it has a recognizable structure and the author has indicated himself in most of the portions. The book narrates mostly about princedoms. That too about hereditary princedoms. its easier to rule. Also, avoids comparison between monarchy and tyranny. Again, the beauty of his writing is that his character of the story, Cyrus the great, is totally different from those who have got their Thrones without any efforts IE as a successor and those who have acquired Crowns after putting their hard labour and efforts. He has cited Roman ways to the new princes.
Machiavelli has narrated about those kingdoms where one can enter in an easy way but difficult to hold such a kingdom. He has given one such example also IE, of France. He also writes that reforming an existing order is one of the most dangerous and difficult things for a prince, because in most of the cases the subjects are against or resistant to any such change or reform. Moreover, it is very difficult for the prince to satisfy or come out with everyone expectations. Other situations, when a prince comes to power due to his destiny then it will be very difficult to hold it for a long time. Some exceptions are always there. even if a prince is overly generous to his subjects, that situation will also not be appreciated and will cause greed for more. So, different sorts of kingdoms, princedoms need different styles of controlling any realm. The author has put his best efforts in narrating all such types of realms. The work is really commendable and very much beneficial to the rulers. a must read book for self development and how to be a good leader.
About the Author
From the 13th century onward, Machiavellis family was wealthy and prominent, holding on occasion Florences most important offices. His father, Bernardo, a doctor of laws, was nevertheless among the familys poorest members. Barred from public office in Florence as an insolvent debtor, Bernardo lived frugally, administering his small landed property near the city and supplementing his meagre income from it with earnings from the restricted and almost clandestine exercise of his profession.
Bernardo kept a library in which Niccolò must have read, but little is known of Niccolòs education and early life in Florence, at that time a thriving centre of philosophy and a brilliant showcase of the arts. He attended lectures by Marcello Virgilio Adriani, who chaired the Studio Fiorentino. He learned Latin well and probably knew some Greek, and he seems to have acquired the typical humanist education that was expected of officials of the Florentine Chancery.
In a letter to a friend in 1498, Machiavelli writes of listening to the sermons of Girolamo Savonarola (145298), a Dominican friar who moved to Florence in 1482 and in the 1490s attracted a party of popular supporters with his thinly veiled accusations against the government, the clergy, and the pope. Although Savonarola, who effectively ruled Florence for several years after 1494, was featured in The Prince (1513) as an example of an unarmed prophet who must fail, Machiavelli was impressed with his learning and rhetorical skill. On May 24, 1498, Savonarola was hanged as a heretic and his body burned in the public square. Several days later, emerging from obscurity at the age of 29, Machiavelli became head of the second chancery (cancelleria), a post that placed him in charge of the republics foreign affairs in subject territories. How so young a man could be entrusted with so high an office remains a mystery, particularly because Machiavelli apparently never served an apprenticeship in the chancery. He held the post until 1512, having gained the confidence of Piero Soderini (14521522), the gonfalonier (chief magistrate) for life in Florence from 1502.
