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Bibliography

Niccolò Machiavelli Bibliography

Primary Works

  • [CW] Machiavelli: The Chief Works and Others, Alan H. Gilbert (trans.), 3 volumes, continuous pagination, Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1965.
    • The Prince (in Volume 1, pp. 10–96)
    • Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius (in Volume 1, pp. 175–532)
    • The Art of War (in Volume 2, pp. 561–726)
  • [MP] The Prince, Quentin Skinner and Russell Price (eds.), (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
  • [MF] Machiavelli and His Friends: Their Personal Correspondence, James B. Atkinson and David Sices (eds.), Dekalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 1996.

Secondary Works

  • Benner, Erica, 2009, Machiavelli’s Ethics, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

–––, 2013, Machiavelli’s Prince: A New Reading, Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199653638.001.0001

This source analzyes Machiavelli’s ethics displayed in his primary works. It will empohsize his idealism and views on human nature and what we ‘ought’ to do to live an ethical life. I think this will be a really good read, because it will get into a deep understanding of how Machiavelli views the world and clearly state his ethical principles.

  • Baluch, Faisal, 2018, “Machiavelli as Philosopher”, The Review of Politics, 80(2): 289–300. doi:10.1017/S0034670517001097

A lot of what it is written in the Prince is about political science. Machiavelli is often dubbed the “father of political science”. There are many political philosophies he mentions in his works, and his views on republicanism are quite extreme. However, unlike so many philosophers, Machiavelli never came out with an abundance of works, only three or four. Given such limited works, it would be wise to read a secondary source pondering how his philosophies differ from others of his time.

  • Mattingly, Garrett, 1958, “Machiavelli’s Prince: Political Science or Political Satire?”, The American Scholar, 27(4): 482–491.

This secondary work is a sole review of one of Machiavelli’s primary sources, The Prince. This book will allow a more in-depth understanding of what Machiavelli’s aims and specific philosophical arguments were. On the other hand, it will also describe many of the criticisms that accompany Machiavellian philosophy.