A scientific treatise on the art of statecraft by a leading Italian statesman and political philosopher, "The Prince"'s uncompromising, pragmatic advice earned its creator a name synonomous with Satan long before it eventually appeared in English. The work's influence is apparent in writing from Jacobean drama to the philosophy of Francis Bacon. This translation also includes several related pieces written by Machiavelli before and after "The Prince". In addition to the texts, the book contains recent Machiavelli scholarship in an introduction, a text summary, bibliography, selected criticism and a chronology of Machiavelli's life and times.