Among the books that will always provoke discussions and disagreements, The Prince by the Italian diplomat, historian, philosopher – and true child of the Renaissance – Niccolò Machiavelli is a work that has influenced and shaped Western political thought and science like few others.

And although in the dictionaries of many languages the adjective "Machiavellian" unambiguously means "cunning" and "ruthless," the elements that stand out here, aside from the given and timeless "overlooking" of morality in the race for power and authority, are nothing but pure logical thinking and an undeniable progressiveness both in the political and historical understanding of things (secularization versus the theocratic views of the Middle Ages) and in the necessary means for achieving it (leadership qualities and a favorable circumstance – occasione – for drastic human intervention in the "natural order").

Beyond the extraordinarily penetrating insights into the thoughts and actions of the rulers, Machiavelli's The Prince radiographs the human being as a political entity, with a depth much less "Machiavellian" than we might think.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, and writer. His political thought faced sharp criticism as well as full acceptance, as many consider him the father of modern political science and several characterize him simply as cynical, corrupt, and authoritarian. He also wrote plays, poetry, and novels and translated classical works.