Niccolò Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513 after being tortured and exiled by the Medici. He dedicated it to Lorenzo de' Medici in an unsuccessful attempt to regain political favour. The Medici ignored it.
The Prince was published posthumously in 1532 and immediately became one of the most influential and most condemned books in Western political thought. It has never been out of print.
What The Prince Actually Argues
Machiavelli was a career Florentine diplomat who had spent fifteen years observing how political power actually worked — in Florence, in France, at the Papal court, in Cesare Borgia's military campaigns. The Prince is what he concluded.
The core argument: political theorists before Machiavelli had described how rulers should behave according to Christian virtue. This was useless. Machiavelli intended to describe how rulers who actually succeed do behave — the real mechanics of power.
Key chapters:
Chapter 15 — "Of the things for which men, and especially princes, are praised or blamed" — the methodological statement. Machiavelli announces his departure from the tradition of ideal states: he will discuss "the effectual truth of the matter rather than the imagination of it."
Chapter 17 — "Of cruelty and clemency, and whether it is better to be loved than feared" — the most famous chapter. His answer is more qualified than the famous summary: fear is safer than love; hatred must be avoided; used carefully, cruelty can be merciful by resolving disorder quickly.
Chapter 18 — "In what way princes should keep faith" — on the use of deception. A ruler should appear to have every virtue but not always practice them. The appearance matters more than the reality.
Chapter 25 — "Fortune's role in human affairs" — Machiavelli's surprising conclusion: about half of what happens to rulers is Fortune (circumstances outside their control), and about half is virtù (the ruler's own capacity to act decisively). Fortuna is like a river that can be managed by preparation.
How Long Is The Prince?
| Reading speed | Time to finish |
|---|---|
| 200 WPM | ~3.3 hours |
| 250 WPM (average) | ~2.7 hours |
| 350 WPM (practised) | ~1.9 hours |
| 500 WPM (RSVP) | ~1.3 hours |
How to Read It
It is an advice manual, not a philosophical treatise — read it for its practical argument, not for logical completeness. Each chapter addresses a specific situation a ruler might face.
The historical examples are central — Machiavelli draws constantly on examples from Roman history, contemporary Italian politics, and the careers of rulers like Cesare Borgia. Understanding who he is referring to enriches the argument; the examples often do more work than the stated principles.
Use warpread's RSVP mode at 250–300 WPM — the argument is dense and the examples require attention. Slightly slower than your usual speed is appropriate.
Read Chapters 15–18 at full attention — these four chapters are the philosophical core and contain the most famous arguments.
For the full speed reading technique, see how to read faster.
Where to Read The Prince Free
- warpread library — instant reading, RSVP mode, no account needed
- Project Gutenberg — W.K. Marriott translation, EPUB and text
- Standard Ebooks — best-formatted free EPUB
Political Philosophy in the warpread Library
For more in the tradition of practical political thought:
- The Art of War — Sun Tzu's parallel text on strategy; similar analytical clarity
- The Republic by Plato — the idealist tradition Machiavelli was departing from
- Thus Spoke Zarathustra — Nietzsche's more radical departure from conventional moral frameworks
For the full list of free classics, see the 50 best free classic novels to read online.
Continue Reading
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Read The Prince free in warpread.app →
For tips on building reading speed with books like this, see How to Speed Read: 7 Proven Techniques — covering RSVP practice, subvocalisation reduction, and how to track your progress.
If you're looking for more books at a similar level, warpread's free library has 70+ public domain classics ready to read in your browser, organised by author, genre, and difficulty.
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Frequently asked questions
Is The Prince free to read online?
Yes. The Prince was written in 1513 and is in the public domain. You can read it free at warpread.app's library, Project Gutenberg (ID 1232), and Standard Ebooks — no account, no download, no payment.
How long does it take to read The Prince?
The Prince is approximately 40,000 words in English translation. At 250 WPM it takes about 2.7 hours. At 350 WPM around 1.9 hours. At 500 WPM with RSVP reading, about 1.3 hours. It can be read in a single afternoon.
What is The Prince about?
The Prince is Machiavelli's advice manual for a new ruler — specifically written for Lorenzo de' Medici during a period when Machiavelli had been exiled from Florentine politics. It addresses how to acquire and hold power: through military force, strategic alliances, the management of public perception, and the selective use of cruelty. It treats politics as a practical science separate from Christian morality.
What does 'Machiavellian' mean?
In common use, 'Machiavellian' means cunning, devious, and willing to use immoral means for political ends. This reading is a simplification. Machiavelli's actual argument is that effective political leadership requires an honest analysis of power — including its darker mechanics — rather than the idealized vision that political theorists had traditionally presented. He was descriptive before he was prescriptive.
Was Machiavelli evil or just realistic?
Both interpretations have defenders. Machiavelli's defenders argue he was a realist who described how political power actually functions rather than how moralists wished it did — and that his work is a kind of democratic text, making the secrets of power visible to everyone rather than keeping them private knowledge of rulers. His critics argue that by separating politics from morality he provided a manual for tyranny. Both readings have textual support.
Is it better to be loved or feared according to Machiavelli?
Machiavelli's famous answer is: ideally both, but if you must choose, feared is safer than loved. Love depends on the will of others; fear depends on the will of the ruler. However, he is careful to add that a ruler must avoid being hated — a ruler who is feared but not hated is in a stable position; one who is feared and hated is in danger. The full argument is more nuanced than the famous summary.
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