The Prince

Back in the early 1990s, I was in the town of Lecco that sits on the far eastern shore of Lake Como.  Two friends, a twin brother and sister, took me to a bookstore and wanted to give me a book.  The sister, a professoressa of comparative literature at the University of Genova, came across an edition of Macchiavelli's Il Principe, with what were claimed to be Napoleon 's notes on the text.  The introduction was written by a wealthy North Italian businessmen who was just then entering politics.  Silvio Berlusconi.   The professoressa knew the cavaliere  slightly--he lived on his estate in Arcore only 15 miles from her study center in the humble village of Olginate- and she  offered to have me introduced to him.  Not fond of meeting strangers, no matter how rich or famous, I let the matter drop.

In retrospect, it is easy to see what a mistake I made.  At the very least, I might have asked him why two such men as Berlusconi and Napoleon should have sought wisdom from an Italian playwright and historian who died in 1527.  I believe a careful reading of Il Principe will make the answer obvious.

Anyone who does not own a copy of the work can easily get one online from many sources including gutenberg.org.  It is a short book, which can be read in the matter of a few hours.  We'll take a few weeks.  I'll start, a few days from now,  with a bit necessary historical background.   I do ask, if you begin reading The Prince,  that you indicate the fact with a brief note.