Discourses on Livy [Hardcover]

Niccolo Machiavelli (Author), Harvey C. Mansfield (Translator), Nathan Tarcov (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 1996

Discourses on Livy is the founding document of modern republicanism, and Harvey C. Mansfield and Nathan Tarcov have provided the definitive English translation of this classic work. Faithful to the original Italian text, properly attentive to Machiavelli's idiom and subtlety of thought, it is eminently readable. With a substantial introduction, extensive explanatory notes, a glossary of key words, and an annotated index, the Discourses reveals Machiavelli's radical vision of a new science of politics, a vision of "new modes and orders" that continue to shape the modern ethos.

"[Machiavelli] found in Livy the means to inspire scholars for five centuries. Within the Discourses, often hidden and sometimes unintended by their author, lie the seeds of modern political thought. . . . [Mansfield and Tarcov's] translation is careful and idiomatic."--Peter Stothard, The Times

"Translated with painstaking accuracy--but also great readability."--Weekly Standard

"A model of contemporary scholarship and a brave effort at Machiavelli translation that allows the great Florentine to speak in his own voice."--Choice

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

Product Details

• Hardcover: 424 pages
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press (July 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226500357
• ISBN-13: 978-0226500355
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,513,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Translation of a Classic, April 18, 1999

By 

Paul Bobbitt "Pobbit" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discourses on Livy (Paperback)

A careful translation, in modern English, of the Italian classic by Machiavelli. The translation strives for both accuracy and clarity, and the result is a modern English translation that never stoops to colloquial abstraction. The short introductory essay provides a helpful start for exploration of a complex work. The index of proper names, and the glossary (providing the translated Italian word beside the English) is thorough and very useful. In addition, the print quality of this book is delightful, particularly the visually appealing layout and typesetting, which makes the volume a pleasure to read, and a wonderful change from the paucity of visual design that goes into many versions of classics. This is a quality edition you'll want to add to your library, in either the hardcover or paperback versions. Recommended for anyone who would like to broaden their understanding of Machiavelli beyond The Prince.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinarily cumbersome translation., February 28, 2008

By 

Joannes Capillatus (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discourses on Livy (Paperback)

This is an exceptionally difficult and probably misguided translation of a great work. The translator Harvey Mansfield has attempted to follow in the (important) tradition of literal translations for philosophically rich works (a la Allan Bloom's excellent Republic). The intended result is that the English reader can follow the argument very closely by following the words closely. This is useful for key Machiavellian concepts like "virtu," but Mansfield actually attempted to render every single word in the entire text by a single English word - for example, the Italian word "cosa," which means "thing" but also "matter", "affair", "what," or "which", is rendered by the word "thing" everywhere - which produces terrible, almost unreadable English. When an Italian says "Cosa facio?" he doesn't mean "Thing I do?", he means "What am I doing?" But the translator literally writes "thing I do" in this book. If you want to actually read Machiavelli, who was a fine writer and not stilted like this, try another translation. Mansfield has a very devoted following because of the work he has done for the Great Books at Harvard University, and I suspect that some of the good reviews here are more because of his popularity as a person than because the reviewers really believe this translation captures Machiavelli.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Machiavelli. Different from the often known one., March 16, 2001

By 

RICARDO A. SALAS P. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discourses on Livy (Paperback)

No one who wants to have a fair outlook of the whole political reflexions of Machiavelli, might get it without reading "Discourses.." (Discorsi...). There the reader will find another kind of Machiavelli. Not The Prince's, but another thinker. Deeper and broader, the main topic rather than how to get the power (as along The Prince), is now how to stabilize it. Livy's work is just a motive for Machiavelli's analizes. So, the frequent reference to ancient Greek or Roman history, serves as comparative model regarding the actual Italian and the lager European exuberant political universe. Instead the prince needed to unify Italy and set it free from foreing powers, the central figure is a republic capable to keep liberty alive and a "virtuosa" social life, in terms of participation in the power exercise. Most of the conclusions keep still today a wise validity. That's why after "Discourses..." (albeit it seems The Prince was written in the middle of the former's one composition years) one can talk rightly about a "republican" Machiavelli. If he was not father, at least he was uncle (a bright one) of the since many years called "protective republicanism". In few words: the book put in evidence his very scope and stature. Doubtless, "Discourses..." show us another kind of Machiavelli. Different from the often known one. But still more, different than the ignored one (although ignorance never has been and impediment for many people to speak improperly about "Machiavelli", "machiavellism" and "machiavellic".)