Research Catalog
Machiavelli : a very short introduction
- Title
- Machiavelli : a very short introduction / Quentin Skinner.
- Author
- Skinner, Quentin
- Publication
- Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2019.
- ©2019
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | JFC 20-84 | Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315 |
Details
- Description
- xvii, 120 pages : illustrations; 18 cm.
- Summary
- Niccolo Machiavelli taught that political leaders must be prepared to do evil so that good may come of it, and his name has been a byword ever since for duplicity and immorality. Is his sinister reputation deserved? In answering this question Quentin Skinner traces the course of Machiavelli's adult life, from his time as Second Chancellor of the Florentine republic, during which he met with kings, the pope, and the Holy Roman Emperor; to the fall of the republic in 1512; to his death in 1527. It was after the fall of the Republic that Machiavelli composed his main political works: The Prince, the Discourses, and The History of Florence.In this second edition of his Very Short Introduction Skinner includes new material on The Prince, showing how Machiavelli developed his neo-classical political theory, through engaging in continual dialogue with the ancient Roman moralists and historians, especially Cicero and Livy. The aim of political leaders, Machiavelli argues, should be to act virtuously so far as possible, but to stand ready 'to be not good' when this course of action is dictated by necessity. Exploring the pivotal concept of princely virtue to be found in classical and Renaissance humanist texts, Skinner brings new light to Machiavelli's philosophy of a willingness to do whatever may be necessary - whether moral or otherwise -to maintain a position of power.
- Series Statement
- Very short introductions
- Uniform Title
- Very short introductions ; 31.
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Biographies.
- Note
- Previous edition: 1981.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 105-113) and index.
- Contents
- Introduction -- The diplomat -- The adviser to princes -- The theorist of liberty -- The historian of Florence.
- Call Number
- JFC 20-84
- ISBN
- 9780198837572
- 0198837577
- LCCN
- 2018967688
- OCLC
- 1103976078
- Author
- Skinner, Quentin, author.
- Title
- Machiavelli : a very short introduction / Quentin Skinner.
- Publisher
- Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2019.
- Copyright Date
- ©2019
- Edition
- Second edition.
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Series
- Very short introductionsVery short introductions ; 31.
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 105-113) and index.
- Research Call Number
- JFC 20-84