Intranslating "ThePrince" myaimhasbeentoachieveatallcostsanexactliteralrenderingoftheoriginal, ; theconditionsunderwhichhewroteobligedhimtoweigheveryword; histhemeswerelofty, hissubstancegrave, hismannernoblyplainandserious."Quiseofuitunquaminpartiundisrebus, indefiniendis, inexplanandispressior?" In "ThePrince," itmaybetrulysaid, thereisreasonassignable, notonlyforeveryword, 'stimethetranslationofsuchatreatisewasinsomewaysacomparativelyeasytask, forinthosetimesthegeniusoftheEnglishmorenearlyresembledthatoftheItalianlanguage; : theword "intrattenere," employedbyMachiavellitoindicatethepolicyadoptedbytheRomanSenatetowardstheweakerstatesofGreece, wouldbyanElizabethanbecorrectlyrendered "entertain," andeverycontemporaryreaderwouldunderstandwhatwasmeantbysayingthat "RomeentertainedtheAetoliansandtheAchaeanswithoutaugmentingtheirpower." Butto-daysuchaphrasewouldseemobsoleteandambiguous, ifnotunmeaning: wearecompelledtosaythat "RomemaintainedfriendlyrelationswiththeAetolians," etc., , inhiseagernesstoreachtheauthor'smeaning, mayoverlooktheroughnessoftheroadthatleadshimtoit.
ThefollowingisalistoftheworksofMachiavelli:
, 1499; DelmododitrattareipopolidellaValdichianaribellati, 1502; DelmodotenutodalducaValentinonell' ammazzareVitellozzoVitelli, OliverottodaFermo, etc., 1502; Discorsosopralaprovisionedeldanaro, 1502; Decennaleprimo (poeminterzarima), 1506; Ritrattidellecosedell' Alemagna, 1508-12; Decennalesecondo, 1509; RitrattidellecosediFrancia, 1510; , 3vols., 1512-17; IlPrincipe, 1513; Andria, comedytranslatedfromTerence, 1513 (?); Mandragola, prosecomedyinfiveacts, withprologueinverse, 1513; Dellalingua (dialogue), 1514; Clizia, comedyinprose, 1515 (?); Belfagorarcidiavolo (novel), 1515; Asinod'oro (poeminterzarima), 1517; Dell' artedellaguerra, 1519-20; DiscorsosoprailriformarelostatodiFirenze, 1520; SommariodellecosedellacittadiLucca, 1520; VitadiCastruccioCastracanidaLucca, 1520; Istoriefiorentine, 8books, 1521-5; Frammentistorici, 1525.
OtherpoemsincludeSonetti, Canzoni, Ottave, andCanticarnascialeschi.
, Venice, 1546; dellaTertina, 1550; Cambiagi, Florence, 6vols., 1782-5; deiClassici, Milan, 101813; Silvestri, 9vols., 1820-2; Passerini, Fanfani, Milanesi, , 1873-7.
, 1852; Letterefamiliari, , 1883, 2editions, onewithexcisions; CreditedWritings, , 1857; , , , etc.; , ThePrivateCorrespondenceofNicoloMachiavelli, 1929.
