Primary sourceBook1921 (this translation)
The Prince
Niccolò Machiavelli · 1921 (this translation)
Another English translation of Machiavelli's famous treatise on political power, including his original dedication to Lorenzo de' Medici.
This is Machiavelli's own treatise, here translated into English with his original dedication included.
About this source
What it is
This is an English translation of The Prince, Machiavelli's treatise on political power, translated by Luigi Ricci in 1921. It includes Machiavelli's dedication to Lorenzo de' Medici.
Why it matters
The Prince remains a foundational text in political thought. The dedication shows how Machiavelli presented his work as a gift of hard-won knowledge to a powerful ruler, revealing both his ambition to be useful to those in power and the political world he lived in, dominated by families like the Medici.
Look closer
- Why does Machiavelli compare his book to gifts like gold or jewels in the dedication?
- What does the dedication tell us about Machiavelli's relationship to those in power?
- How might this translation differ in tone or word choice from the original Italian?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Niccolo Machiavelli on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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