Three Kings and Congress
To some, January 6 means the Christmas decorations can be put away. Retailers have traded carols and Frosty & Co. for love songs and romantic tunes as reminders that St. Valentine's Day greeting cards and heart-shaped candy boxes are available.
The 110th Congress has been sworn in. The reading matter on the bedside table was a Christmas present : Niccolo Machiavelli's little book, The Prince. It has been years since this writer attended Political Science 101 and a refresher course is in order. The book is translated from the vernacular Italian by Daniel Donno. It is a Bantam Classic reissue, January 2003.
Readers are warned in no uncertain terms not to copy or transmit in any way the content of any part of the book. Since the admonition is a part of the book, this writer may be in jeopardy! However, Machiavelli's ideas about how to gain political power are as relevant, or more so today, since there have been five hundred years in which to assimilate and to put into practice what Machiavelli makes clear.
Why should you read a book that was written centuries ago? So that you can recognize and reject those who have used Machiavellian tactics to gain or to attain political power.
The 110th Congress has been sworn in. The reading matter on the bedside table was a Christmas present : Niccolo Machiavelli's little book, The Prince. It has been years since this writer attended Political Science 101 and a refresher course is in order. The book is translated from the vernacular Italian by Daniel Donno. It is a Bantam Classic reissue, January 2003.
Readers are warned in no uncertain terms not to copy or transmit in any way the content of any part of the book. Since the admonition is a part of the book, this writer may be in jeopardy! However, Machiavelli's ideas about how to gain political power are as relevant, or more so today, since there have been five hundred years in which to assimilate and to put into practice what Machiavelli makes clear.
Why should you read a book that was written centuries ago? So that you can recognize and reject those who have used Machiavellian tactics to gain or to attain political power.
posted by marguerite louise at
10:25 PM
4 Comments:
I think it is safe to say that The Prince has been in the public domain for some time -- Machiavelli can no longer expect to receive royalties from sales. The warnings are bogus, unless they apply to editorial material.
Great post as always!
By
Anonymous, at 1/07/2007 11:07 AM
The warnings are probably because the translator has certain rights. I have revised the last paragraph in order to better express the reasons for reading the little book. Thank you for your comment.
By
marguerite louise, at 1/07/2007 11:15 AM
A careless reading of The Prince could easily lead one to believe that its central argument is "the ends justify the means"...that any evil action can be justified if it is done for a good purpose. This is a limited interpretation, however, because Machiavelli placed a number of restrictions on evil actions. First, he specified that the only acceptable end was the stabilization and health of the state; individual power for its own sake is not an acceptable end and does not justify evil actions. Second, Machiavelli does not dispense entirely with morality nor advocate wholesale selfishness or degeneracy.
Source:Wikipedia
Personal Comment: Most of those identified today as "Machiavellian" would have to stand on tiptoe and reach up to attain even such low standards as Niccolo Machiavelli outlined in The Prince.
By
Anonymous, at 1/07/2007 3:51 PM
I stand by my opinion of Machiavelli, and his influence, Wikipedia notwithstanding.
By
marguerite louise, at 1/07/2007 4:15 PM
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