Discourses on Livy

A new edition of Niccolò Machiavelli's classic political philosophy treatise Discourses on Livy (Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio), considered by scholars to be more representative of Machiavelli's own political and philosophical worldview than his more famous treatise The Prince. Written in 1517 but not published until a few years after Machiavelli's death, the Discourses consists of 142 chapters analyzing the first ten books of Livy's Ab urbe condita, which covers the history of ancient Rome up through the end of the third Samnite War in 293 BC. By analyzing the historical events as recounted in Livy, Machiavelli engages with the characteristics of Roman republican governance, the challenges of political leadership within a republican society, and the impact of "great" men on Rome's growth and success during the period. The Discourses essential serves as a series of lessons on how a republican should be formed and structured, actively advocating for the benefits of a republican as a form of government, and it consequently is of considerable interest to political philosophers and to students of Machiavelli himself, providing further insight into perhaps his real thinking, beyond what is revealed in The Prince. This edition is derived from the 1883 translation by Ninian Hill Thomson (1830-1921).

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian Renaissance-era diplomat, philosopher, and historian who is best known for his political treatise The Prince (Il Principe), written about 1513. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science, and his work remains widely read and influential to this day.