In this post, you will continue your study of the third chapter of Niccolò Machiavelli’s Il Principe. In the portions of text to be examined here, Machiavelli explains the importance of a prince’s relocation to an acquired land, and why those who have been offended by him must be crushed thoroughly. The first portion of text you will consider here reads as follows: Questo farebbe più … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, chapter III (part 3)

In this second part of your study of the Italian used in chapter 3 of Il Principe, Niccolò Machiavelli writes of the advantageousness of a shared language and customs between the acquiring and acquired states, and provides a solution in the absence of these. The first portion of text you will consider here reads: Dico pertanto, che questi Stati, i quali acquistandosi si aggiungono a uno Stato … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, chapter III (part 2)

Chapter III of Niccolò Machiavelli’s Il Prinicipe is entitled De’ principati misti (on mixed principalities). Chapters I and II of Machiavelli’s treatise are short; chapter III is considerably longer. In the chapter III posts, you will look at much larger portions of text than in the posts pertaining to the previous chapters. In chapter III, Machiavelli begins with: De’ principati misti. Ma nel Principato nuovo consistono le difficultà. E … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, chapter III (part 1)

This post completes your study of the Italian language as used in chapter 2 of Il Principe by Niccolò Machiavelli. In the portion of text that you will consider here, Machiavelli says the rule of a hereditary prince is stable by virtue of its long-standingness, provided the prince does not make himself hated by his subjects through vice. The portion of text to be studied here reads … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, chapter II (part 2)

This post begins your study of chapter 2 of Niccolò Machiavelli’s Il Principe. If you wish to read the entire chapter first on your own, you will find a link in the index where you can read it online. In the first portion of the chapter that you will consider here, Machiavelli discusses how hereditary states are easier to maintain than altogether new ones. De’ Principati ereditari. … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, chapter II (part 1)

In the first chapter of his treatise Il Principe, Niccolò Machiavelli describes how many sorts of principalities exist, and how they are acquired. The first chapter is short; you will study the entirety of it here, in just this one post. It reads as follows: Quante siano le specie de’ Principati, e con quali modi si acquistino. Tutti gli Stati, tutti i dominii che hanno avuto, … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, chapter I

This post completes your study of the dedication from Niccolò Machiavelli’s Il Principe. After you have worked through this post, I encourage you to reread the dedication to appreciate your new understanding of the text in Italian. You will find a link in the index where you can read it online. The remaining portion of the dedication reads as follows: Pigli adunque Vostra Magnificenza questo piccolo … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, dedication (part 5)

In this next portion of the dedication from his treatise Il Principe, Niccolò Machiavelli justifies the offering of his knowledge to Lorenzo, a person mightier than him, by drawing a parallel: a landscape artist who wishes to contemplate the mountains must go low into the plains; on the other hand, to contemplate the plains, he must go high into the mountains. In similar fashion, he … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, dedication (part 4)

In this post, you continue your study of the dedication found in Niccolò Machiavelli’s Il Principe. In this third part, Machiavelli states that he has written his treatise without embellished language. This is certainly not the case with the dedication, however, where the language used is ornate indeed. E benchè io giudichi questa opera indegna della presenza di quella; nondimeno confido assai, che per sua umanità … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, dedication (part 3)

This post continues with the dedication from Niccolò Machiavelli’s treatise Il Principe. In this next portion of text, Machiavelli states that what he holds most dear amongst his possessions is his knowledge of the actions of great men; this, in the form of his treatise, is what he offers to Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici: Desiderando io adunque offerirmi alla Vostra Magnificenza con qualche testimone della … Continue reading Italian language series: Il Principe, dedication (part 2)