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gardalf's review against another edition
5.0
Quickly becomes clear why it is a classic as whilst you read it you continually have reflections on the current events of politics (something that I'm sure is true of it at any time) and in so doing you become aware of some of the more permanent aspects of human character traits. Having said this everything is not immediately clear in this work and in reflecting on it and digesting it with others you will gain a deeper understanding of some of the more subtle nuances. Overall a fascinating analysis of how we might attempt to maintain a successful republic that supports all, and some of the characteristically human problems we will more than likely encounter on the way.
doruga's review against another edition
3.0
Machiavelli was the first "I love the Roman Empire" incel in history and, you know what, good for him.
borumi's review against another edition
3.0
Book 1, Book 2, Book 3로 나뉘어진 걸 보면..
Book 1에서는 공화정과 왕정의 차이에 집중한 것 같고
Book 2는 성공한 로마 공화정의 발전을 처음부터 따라올라가며 본받을 점에 주목하고
Book 3는 이런 공화정에서 몰락의 길을 걷지 않기 위해 주의해야할 점들을 citizen과 commander 위주로 알아본 듯 합니다.
개인적으로 이번 5차, 즉 book 3는 좀 자세하고 실용적인 부분 같아서 재미있었고 보기에 어렵지는 않았지만
뭐랄까.. 용두사미랄까...
좀 끝에 가서는 엥? 이게 끝이야? 하는 느낌이 없지 않았고
어떤 나라들이나 어떤 가족들은 싹수가 노랗다는 듯의 약간 편견이 심한 것 같아서
여러가지 reference나 misquotation의 문제 등도 그렇고..
Discourses on Livy가 좀 미완성작이 아닌가..하는 생각이 들었습니다.
Book 1에서는 공화정과 왕정의 차이에 집중한 것 같고
Book 2는 성공한 로마 공화정의 발전을 처음부터 따라올라가며 본받을 점에 주목하고
Book 3는 이런 공화정에서 몰락의 길을 걷지 않기 위해 주의해야할 점들을 citizen과 commander 위주로 알아본 듯 합니다.
개인적으로 이번 5차, 즉 book 3는 좀 자세하고 실용적인 부분 같아서 재미있었고 보기에 어렵지는 않았지만
뭐랄까.. 용두사미랄까...
좀 끝에 가서는 엥? 이게 끝이야? 하는 느낌이 없지 않았고
어떤 나라들이나 어떤 가족들은 싹수가 노랗다는 듯의 약간 편견이 심한 것 같아서
여러가지 reference나 misquotation의 문제 등도 그렇고..
Discourses on Livy가 좀 미완성작이 아닌가..하는 생각이 들었습니다.
slydessertfox's review against another edition
5.0
Machiavelli is as amoral here as he famously is in the prince. He's pragmatic to an unnerving degree and tries to maintain a detached, objective neutrality in his observations. This is a much more sophisticated detailing of Machiavelli's whole political philosophy than the Prince-ultimately he believes monarchy is unworkable and that a well organized republic is the ideal form of government, and spends the bulk of the work outlining what he thinks that ideal state looks like and how and why most states fail in one way or another.
It's an amazing, thought provoking read. Discourses made a great contribution to Republican theory that influenced theorists later on in the enlightenment, along with its contribution to exposing the nature of political tyranny. Well worth reading.
It's an amazing, thought provoking read. Discourses made a great contribution to Republican theory that influenced theorists later on in the enlightenment, along with its contribution to exposing the nature of political tyranny. Well worth reading.
nimmcdowall's review against another edition
3.0
yes it has some juicy quotes but also I dont want to read about battle formations for 20 pages at a time :/
concerningnovels's review against another edition
4.0
Finished our unit on Machiavelli in my political theory class and I'm so glad we were able to read both The Prince and The Discourses. It's really the only way to gain a holistic understanding of Machiavelli's principles and political motives.