Often overshadowed by The Prince, Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy is his most ambitious and arguably most profound work — a sustained analysis of the first ten books of Livy’s history of Rome that becomes a comprehensive treatise on republican government, civic virtue, military organisation, and political fortune. Machiavelli argues that Rome’s greatness derived from its mixed constitution and the active virtue of its citizens.
The Discourses illuminate the political philosophy behind The Prince and reveal Machiavelli as a complex republican thinker rather than a cynical counsel to tyrants. Essential reading for students of political philosophy, Renaissance thought, and the history of European republicanism.