been induced to consider Machiavelli as a dangerous author, will not, I am persuaded; be displeased with this outline of, and index to, his real character; while the critic will, I hope, forgive any irregularity of method which my warmth in favour of my author may have led me into, and I will now proceed to the more immediate object of this Introduction, a review of "The Prince."
Of all the works of Machiavelli, "The Prince" appears to be that which he valued the most, and on which he bestowed the greatest care and attention, as he himself acknowledges in the dedication to the illustrious Lorenzo de Medicis. He had previously written a work in some measure similar, under the title of Reflections on the First Decade of Livy. In this work, he traces man, from his condition, as an isolated being, to a member of society; he considers the pact of union between the members, and traces out the primitive sources of power and happiness; he weighed the different forms of government which had flourished in the world, and analysed their
