Art of WarNiccolò Machiavelli's Art of War is one of the world's great classics of military and political theory. Praised by the finest military minds in history and said to have influenced no lesser lights than Frederick the Great and Napoleon, the Art of War is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the history and theory of war in the West—and for readers of The Prince and Discourse on Livy who seek to explore more fully the connection between war and politics in Machiavelli's thought. Machiavelli scholar Christopher Lynch offers a sensitive and entirely new translation of the Art of War, faithful to the original but rendered in modern, idiomatic English. Lynch's fluid translation helps readers appreciate anew Machiavelli's brilliant treatments of the relationships between war and politics, civilians and the military, and technology and tactics. Clearly laying out the fundamentals of military organization and strategy, Machiavelli marshals a veritable armory of precepts, prescriptions, and examples about such topics as how to motivate your soldiers and demoralize the enemy's, avoid ambushes, and gain the tactical and strategic advantage in countless circumstances. To help readers better appreciate the Art of War, Lynch provides an insightful introduction that covers its historical and political context, sources, influence, and contemporary relevance. He also includes a substantial interpretive essay discussing the military, political, and philosophical aspects of the work, as well as maps, an index of names, and a glossary. |
Contents
| ix | |
| xi | |
| xiii | |
Suggested Readings | xxxv |
Note on the Translation | xxxix |
Outline of the Art of War | xliii |
Art of War | 36 |
Figures | 215 |
Interpretive Essay | 227 |
Glossary | 227 |
| 259 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
able ancient arms army arquebus Art of War artillery assault AW II AW VII AWII battalions battle battle of Ravenna believe besieged braccia brigade Caesar captain cavalry cavalrymen centurion citizens command condottieri conquered constable corrupt COSIMO decurions defend discipline Discourses on Livy discussion disorder ditch encampments enemy extraordinary pikes Fabius Fabrizio Fabrizio Colonna fear fight files fire flag flank flee Florence Florentine forces front Frontinus give guard Hannibal hastati heads horse humanist impede infantry infantrymen Italian Italy keep king legions Machiavelli means men-at-arms mercenaries military militia mode modern necessary Niccolò Niccolò Machiavelli nonetheless one’s pike squares political Polybius prince Quentin Skinner reasoning republic republican Romans Rome Scipio shieldmen shields side soldiers space Street Swiss things thousand towns translated triarii troops understand University Press Vegetius velites victory virtue wagons walls whoever ZANOBI
Popular passages
Page xix - JGA Pocock, The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic Republican Tradition (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1975), and "Virtue and Commerce in the Eighteenth Century," Journal of Interdisciplinary History 3 (1972): 119-34.
Page xiii - Thus, a prince should have no other object, nor any other thought, nor take anything else as his art but that of war and its orders and discipline; for that is the only art which is of concern to one who commands.
Page xiii - And it is more true than any other truth, that if where there are men there are not soldiers, this arises through a defect of the prince; and not through another defect of the site or of nature"; DI 21.
Page xx - Military virtu necessitates political virtue because both can be presented in terms of the same end. The republic is the common good; the citizen, directing all his actions toward that good, may be said to dedicate his life to the republic; the patriot warrior dedicates his death, and the two are alike in perfecting human nature by sacrificing particular goods to a universal end.
Page xx - ... his actions toward that good, may be said to dedicate his life to the republic; the patriot warrior dedicates his death, and the two are alike in perfecting human nature by sacrificing particular goods to a universal end. If this be virtue, then the warrior displays it as fully as the citizen, and it may be through military discipline that one learns to be a citizen and to display virtue.