The Discourses

"It is not the well-being of individuals that makes cities great, but the well-being of the community"

Few figures in intellectual history have proved as notorious and ambiguous as Niccolò 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.

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Introduction by Bernard Crick
So Many Machiavellis
The Prince and The Discourses
Republics as Mixed Government
The Mixture as Adaptability
The Value of Conflict
Factors of Social Class
The Conditions for Republican Rule
Theory and Method
Politics and Morality
The Letter to Vettori
Suggestions for Further Reading

THE DISCOURSES OF NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI
Table of Contents
The Text
Notes

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a Florentine statesman who was later forced out of public life. He then devoted himself to studying and writing political philosophy, history, fiction, and drama.