From the Book - Reissued with revisions.
Introduction / Anthony Grafton
Letter to the magnificent Lorenzo dé Medici
I. How many kinds of principality there are and the ways in which they are acquired
II. Hereditary principalities
III. Composite principalities
IV. Why the kingdom of Darius conquered by Alexander did not rebel against his successors after his death
V. How cities or principalities which lived under their own laws should be administered after being conquered
VI. New principalities acquired by one's own arms and prowess
VII. New principalities acquired with the help of fortune and foreign arms
VIII. Those who come to power by crime
IX. The constitutional principality
X. How the strength of every principality should me measured
XI. Ecclesiastical principalities
XII. Military organization and mercenary troops
XIII. Auxiliary, composite, and native troops
XIV. How a prince should organize his militia
XV. The things for which men, and especially princes, are praised or blamed
XVI. Generosity and parsimony
XVII. Cruelty and compassions ; and whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse
XVIII. How princes should honour their word
XIX. The need to avoid contempt and hatred
XX. Whether fortresses and many of the other present-day expedients to which princes have recourse are useful or not
XXI. How a prince must act to win honour
XXII. A prince's personal staff
XXIII. How flatterers must be shunned
XXIV. Why the Italian princes have lost their states
XXV. How far human affairs are governed by fortune, an dhow fortune can be opposed
XXVI. Exhortation to liberate Italy from the barbarians
Glossary of proper names.
