Reviewed by Ambrea
Written in the 16th
century by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli, The
Prince (or Il Principe) is a political treatise on the
responsibilities of the aristocracy and the rights of principalities. Although published after his death in 1527, The
Prince made waves for its use of common language (using Italian, rather
than the traditional Latin expected of literature) and its unexpected
commentary on modern philosophy and politics.
The Prince is intriguing and innovative for its time. I can appreciate it more now that I’ve had
the opportunity to read a little more about its history, as well as its initial
and continued impact. It’s a book that
defied convention (almost always a good thing) and, more importantly, defined
an entire genre on political tracts and political philosophy.
However, despite its impact and
originality, I cannot say I liked reading The Prince. I know part of that is because I purchased a
translation that was less than spectacular.
While I was reading, I noticed mistakes.
Not just a few, but several. Some
were simple typos, but a few were glaring grammar mistakes and bad linguistic
choices that just left me feeling a little cheated. Honestly, it’s almost like the original
Italian text was just fed through Google and published, transcription mistakes
and all.
And I found it excruciatingly
boring. It took me weeks to finish reading
The Prince and, at 114 pages, it probably shouldn’t have taken me more
than a couple of days. I just couldn’t
keep my attention focused on the book.
After only a few pages, I was bored by the archaic language and
transcription mistakes, and I simply couldn’t stand reading it after I realized
I couldn’t consider the text reliable.
I only finished reading
Machiavelli’s work because I needed to finish a book on politics for my Read
Harder Challenge. And, truthfully, I
wouldn’t subject anyone to my copy of The Prince. I would only read it again if necessary, and
I would be very reluctant to loan it out to anyone else. It’s a book I would only read again if I had
someone to explain or discuss with me the text, so I could better understand
it. Otherwise, it’s on my discard pile
for life.
No comments:
Post a Comment