Despite all the vilification of Machiavelli, his main work "Il Principe" has entered world literature as the political bible of statecraft. It has lost none of its relevance to this day. Rudolf Zorn's translation conveys a vivid picture of Machiavelli's spirit, who rejects any form of utopianism in politics, and strives to reproduce the essence of his language as faithfully as possible. The current foreword by the renowned political scientist Herfried Münkler, along with an introduction, timeline, notes, and index, provide the necessary background. A bibliophile classic with a certain something.