What is the Theory of Kings and what is the value of The Theory of Kings?

The Monarch is the representative work of the Italian statesman and thinker Machiavelli, a strange book with mixed reputations, and has always been regarded as the desk book of European monarchs, the highest guide for politicians, the governing principle of the ruling class to consolidate its rule, and the most unique and incisive dissection of the political struggle techniques in the history of mankind. Since it was printed in 1532, it has been published for more than 470 years, from the West to the East, causing great repercussions in the political, religious, academic and other fields, and has been listed by Western critics as one of the ten works that have influenced human history on a par with the Bible and Das Kapital.

If it's good, so be it.

The Monarch is one of the masterpieces of Machiavelli, an outstanding Italian political thinker during the Renaissance, and this book has two outstanding features, not only short and concise, but also easy to understand. I say that it is short and concise because the Chinese translation is only 131 pages. It is easy to understand because, on the one hand, most of the arguments in the book are paved by a large historical narrative, and the Chinese translation of the Commercial Press also has a very detailed commentary on the historical background of the early dust, which provides a good help for us to understand Machiavelli's thought.

On the other hand, Machiavelli's style of writing is straightforward, often explaining the essence of a certain type of political phenomenon in a few dozen words, and summarizing several points of correct decision-making in a certain environment. The main value of "The Treatise on the Monarch" is to give people the greatest feeling, and in fact it is more like a statement for those in power to talk about the way of kingship, rather than a work of political theory. I think Machiavelli's political thought was based on his understanding of human nature and his understanding of power.

Although Machiavelli's understanding of human nature can be classified into a loose category - "the theory of sexual evil", Machiavelli's discussion in "The Treatise of the Monarch" - "about human beings, in general, it can be said that they are ungrateful, easily changeable, pretenders, impostors, fleeing disasters and chasing profits", is not so much evil as selfishness, and is a kind of recognition and tolerance of human nature's defects. Machiavelli does not make any value judgment on the defects of human nature in his book The Monarch, and this "no" is not only not to put forward any idea of transforming human nature or limiting human nature to improve politics, but more importantly, not to attribute the frustrations of realpolitik to a certain human nature. Machiavelli only describes human nature objectively, considering it as an exogenous variable in politics.

Machiavelli, the author of The Treatise on the Monarch, warns us that in political life, people are in fact cruel and ruthless, competitive and conflicting, fraudulent and unscrupulous, conspiracy and framing, suppression, division and coercion, robbery, treachery, unprincipled, and disregard for morality. That's the main value of this book. This is where Machiavelli's bravery lies, "the corrupt and depraved creed which the classical thinker revealed in secret and with obvious disgust, which he brazenly and comfortably proclaimed."

The classical thinkers falsely uttered the thrilling words of their characters, and he had no qualms about saying them openly in his name. The fog of morality often obscures the nature of politics and is not conducive to Machiavelli's ability to show the nature of political behavior to the fullest. The fog of morality often obscures the nature of politics and is not conducive to Machiavelli's ability to maximize the nature of political behavior.

The Monarch is the representative work of the Italian statesman and thinker Machiavelli, a strange book with mixed reputations, and has always been regarded as the desk book of European monarchs, the highest guide for politicians, the governing principle of the ruling class to consolidate its rule, and the most unique and incisive dissection of the political struggle techniques in the history of mankind. Since it was printed in 1532, it has been published for more than 470 years, from the West to the East, causing great repercussions in the political, religious, academic and other fields, and has been listed by Western critics as one of the ten works that have influenced human history on a par with the Bible and Capital.

If it's Jun Nono, let's do it.