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The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli: cover

Philosophy

The Prince

by Niccolò Machiavelli

  • 3 hours 33 minutes
  • 27 chapters
  • Read by Earbook narrator
  • Free to listen

The Prince is a book that was controversial before it had even been sent to the printer. Written in vernacular Italian instead of Latin, dedicated to a member of one of the most powerful Italian families of the day, and only printed after Machiavelli’s death, this treatise on how to tyrannize effectively was considered shocking even by his contemporaries. The discussion of its morality that continues to this day gives us the modern-day word Machiavellian. The book is organized into several sections, each one giving direction on the ruthless rule of principalities that Machiavelli based on both reading and personal experience. Despite its controversial nature, The Prince is often cited as one of the first examples of modern philosophical thought, and the “advice” contained within is still quoted as relevant today.

InEncyclopædia Britannica’s Great Books of the Western World
SubjectsPolitical science--Philosophy--Early works to 1800Political ethics--Early works to 1800State, The--Early works to 1800

Chapters

27 chapters · 3h 33m

  1. 1Introduction18m
  2. 2Chapter I: How Many Kinds of Principalities There Are, and by What Means They Are Acquired54s
  3. 3Chapter II: Concerning Hereditary Principalities1m
  4. 4Chapter III: Concerning Mixed Principalities18m
  5. 5Chapter IV: Why the Kingdom of Darius, Conquered by Alexander, Did Not Rebel Against the Successors of Alexander at His Death5m
  6. 6Chapter V: Concerning the Way to Govern Cities or Principalities Which Lived Under Their Own Laws Before They Were Annexed2m
  7. 7Chapter VI: Concerning New Principalities Which Are Acquired by One’s Own Arms and Ability7m
  8. 8Chapter VII: Concerning New Principalities Which Are Acquired Either by the Arms of Others or by Good Fortune16m
  9. 9Chapter VIII: Concerning Those Who Have Obtained a Principality by Wickedness9m
  10. 10Chapter IX: Concerning a Civil Principality8m
  11. 11Chapter X: Concerning the Way in Which the Strength of All Principalities Ought to Be Measured4m
  12. 12Chapter XI: Concerning Ecclesiastical Principalities5m
  13. 13Chapter XII: How Many Kinds of Soldiery There Are, and Concerning Mercenaries10m
  14. 14Chapter XIII: Concerning Auxiliaries, Mixed Soldiery, and One’s Own8m
  15. 15Chapter XIV: That Which Concerns a Prince on the Subject of the Art of War5m
  16. 16Chapter XV: Concerning Things for Which Men, and Especially Princes, Are Praised or Blamed3m
  17. 17Chapter XVI: Concerning Liberality and Meanness5m
  18. 18Chapter XVII: Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared6m
  19. 19Chapter XVIII: Concerning the Way in Which Princes Should Keep Faith6m
  20. 20Chapter XIX: That One Should Avoid Being Despised and Hated22m
  21. 21Chapter XX: Are Fortresses, and Many Other Things to Which Princes Often Resort, Advantageous or Hurtful?9m
  22. 22Chapter XXI: How a Prince Should Conduct Himself So as to Gain Renown8m
  23. 23Chapter XXII: Concerning the Secretaries of Princes2m
  24. 24Chapter XXIII: How Flatterers Should Be Avoided4m
  25. 25Chapter XXIV: Why the Princes of Italy Have Lost Their States3m
  26. 26Chapter XXV: What Fortune Can Effect in Human Affairs and How to Withstand Her7m
  27. 27Chapter XXVI: An Exhortation to Liberate Italy from the Barbarians8m

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