Not only was Machiavelli writing about a specific kind of state in a specific region and era, he did so in the moment that a military revolution was happening there. From my perspective, Art of War is his most interesting work, not The Prince. I mean to read his histories in translation.
I think Discourses is his best book, but The Prince is deserving of its reputation as his most famous and most accessible work. I can understand why Art of War is more up your street. Have you read Vegetius' Epitome of Military Science? Most of Art of War follows that quite closely, but I've not read it, keep meaning to buy it.
I see Machiavelli as a military and political historian. I've only read portions of Discourses. though I feel like I have in fact read all of Vegetius by proxy.
You see, close-order drill never really went away. Europeans turned to Roman tactics for 16th century inspiration because they had the largest armies since Roman times, requiring systems. A Roman text was also easily plagiarized. There are probably hundreds of books printed from 1500-1700 with variations on the title "art of war," and the vast majority crib directly from Machiavelli, who constantly quotes or paraphrases Vegetius.
Not only was Machiavelli writing about a specific kind of state in a specific region and era, he did so in the moment that a military revolution was happening there. From my perspective, Art of War is his most interesting work, not The Prince. I mean to read his histories in translation.
I think Discourses is his best book, but The Prince is deserving of its reputation as his most famous and most accessible work. I can understand why Art of War is more up your street. Have you read Vegetius' Epitome of Military Science? Most of Art of War follows that quite closely, but I've not read it, keep meaning to buy it.
I see Machiavelli as a military and political historian. I've only read portions of Discourses. though I feel like I have in fact read all of Vegetius by proxy.
You see, close-order drill never really went away. Europeans turned to Roman tactics for 16th century inspiration because they had the largest armies since Roman times, requiring systems. A Roman text was also easily plagiarized. There are probably hundreds of books printed from 1500-1700 with variations on the title "art of war," and the vast majority crib directly from Machiavelli, who constantly quotes or paraphrases Vegetius.