Tim Parks

Niccolo Machiavelli

'If a ruler wants to survive, he must learn to stop being good' As a diplomat in turbulent fifteenth-century Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 - 1527) knew how quickly political fortunes could rise and fall. The Prince, his tough-minded, pragmatic handbook on how power really works, made his name notorious and has remained controversial ever since. How can a leader be strong and decisive, yet still inspire loyalty in his followers? When is it necessary to break the rules? Is it better to be feared than loved? Examining regimes and their rulers the world over and throughout history, from Roman Emperors to renaissance Popes, from Hannibal to Cesare di Borgia, Machievalli answers all these questions in a work of realpolitik that still has shrewd political lessons for today. Tim Parks's acclaimed contemporary translation renders Machiavelli's no-nonsense original as alarming and enlightening as when it was first written. His introduction discusses Machiavelli's life and reputation, and explores the historical background to the work. 'A gripping work, and a gripping translation' NICHOLAS LEZARD, GUARDIAN 'Tim Parks's swift and supple new translation brings out all its chilling modernity' BOYD TONKIN, INDEPENDENT Translated, edited and with an introduction by TIM PARKS

The Prince

Fyodor Dostoevsky

This new, revised edition of the award-winning translation of Dostoevsky's classic novel celebrates the author's two hundredth birthday Winner of the Pen/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons—the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, its social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture. This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky remains true to the verbal inventiveness of Dostoevsky’s prose, preserving the multiple voices, the humor, and the surprising modernity of the original. For this bicentennial edition, Pevear and Volokhonsky have revised and refined their translation and continued their ongoing project of translating the great author's work. It is an achievement worthy of Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel.

A Novel in Four Parts With Epilogue

The Brothers Karamazov (Bicentennial Edition)

🏹

Never be frightened at your own faint-heartedness in attaining love. Don't be frightened overmuch even at your evil actions. I am sorry I can say nothing more consoling to you, 

for love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared with love in dreams

. Love in dreams is greedy for immediate action, rapidly performed and in the sight of all. Men will even give their lives if only the ordeal does not last long but is soon over, with all looking on and applauding as though on the stage. 

But active love is labor and fortitude, and for some people too, perhaps, a complete science

When you reach that line in a book that has become a popular quote >>

“Very. I want to get to know you once for all, and I want you to know me. And then to say good-by. I believe it's always best to get to know people just before leaving them.”

I love Ivan’s wisdom and intelligence, he’s everything I am in a nutshell.

“Joking? I was told at the elder's yesterday that I was joking. You know, dear boy, there was an old sinner in the eighteenth century who declared that, if there were no God, he would have to be invented. 

S'il n'existait pas Dieu, il faudrait l'inventer

. And man has actually invented God. And what's strange, what would be marvelous, is not that God should really exist; the marvel is that such an idea, the idea of the necessity of God, could enter the head of such a savage, vicious beast as man. So holy it is, so touching, so wise and so great a credit it does to man.”

"I think every one should love life above everything in the world."

"Certainly, love it, regardless of logic as you say, it must be regardless of logic, and it's only then one will understand the meaning of it. I have thought so a long time. Half your work is done, Ivan, you love life, now you've only to try to do the second half and you are saved."

The murder of brutal landowner Fyodor Karamazov changes the lives of his sons irrevocably: Mitya, the sensualist, whose bitter rivalry with his father immediately places him under suspicion for parricide; Ivan the intellectual, whose mental tortures drive him to breakdown; the spiritual Alyosha, who tries to heal the family's rifts; and the shadowy figure of their bastard half-brother, Smerdyakov. As the ensuing investigation and trial reveal the true identity of the murder, Dostoyevsky's dark masterwork evokes a world where the lines between innocence and corruption, good and evil, blur, and everyone's faith in humanity is tested.

This powerful translation of The Brothers Karamazov features an introduction highlighting Dostoyevsky's recurrent themes of guilt and salvation, with a new chronology and further reading.

(back cover)

a novel in four parts and an epilogue

The Brothers Karamazov

maia

Actually, people sometimes talk about man's "bestial" cruelty, but that is being terribly unjust and offensive to the beasts: a beast can never be as cruel as a human being, so artistically, so picturesquely cruel.

The award-winning translation of Dostoevsky's last and greatest novel.

The Brothers Karamasov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture. 

Julien Nelson Hill

“I tell you plainly and openly, dear boy, every decent man ought to be under some woman’s thumb. That’s my conviction - not conviction, but feeling “ 

While I am tormented by the question of God. That alone torments me. For what if he does not exist? What if Rakitin is right, and he is an artificial idea dreamed up by mankind? Then, if he does not exist, man is the boss of the earth, of creation. Magnificent! Only how will he be virtuous without God? That is the question. I think about it all the time. For whom will he love then, whom will man love? To whom will he render gratitude, to whom will he sing his hymn?

In any case, what is suffering? I am not all ne afraid of it, even though it be numberless. Now I am not afraid though before I was. You know, I may not even answer at my trial And it seems to me that there is so much of this strength in me now that I shall vanquish everything, all of the suffering, only so that I may keep saying to myself constantly: I am!" I may endure a thousand torments - yet I am, l may writhe under torture- but I am! I may sit in a tower, but T exist, I can see the sun, but even if I cannot see the sun, I know that it exists. And to know that the sun is there - that is already the whole of life. Alyosha, my cherub, the different philosophies are leading me to despair, the devil take their hides! Brother Ivan.

Remember particularly that you cannot be a judge of anyone. For no one can judge a criminal until he recognizes that he is just such a criminal as the man standing before him, & that he perhaps is more than all men to blame for that crime. When he understands that, he will be able to be a judge. 

You may be certain that it is precisely there that beauty resides for the vast majority of people - have you fathomed that secret? The horror of it is that beauty is not only a terrifying thing - it is also a mysterious one. In it the Devil struggles with God, and the field of battle is the hearts of men. And as a matter of fact, it's natural that those who are in pain should talk about it. 

If it cannot be resolved in a positive direction, it will never be resolved in a negative one, either - you yourself know that property of your heart; and therein lies all its torment. But render thanks to the Creator who has given you an exalted heart that is able to experience such torment, to set its affection on things above 'and seek those things which are above, for our conversation is in heaven'". May God grant you that the resolution of your heart shall come upon you while you are yet on earth, and may God bless your path.'

"Truly said - you spoke not entirely in jest. That idea has not yet been resolved within your heart and is tormenting it. But even a martyr sometimes likes to keep himself amused with his despair, out of sheer despair, as it were. For the moment that is what you are doing: amusing yourself with your despair - in articles for journals and in worldly disputations, yourself not believing in your own dialectics and with pain in your heart smiling sceptically at them to yourself... This question has not been resolved within you, and therein lies your great unhappiness, for it insistently demands resolution... direction?

…”look around you at the gifts of God, the clear sky, the pure air, the tender grass, the birds; nature is beautiful and sinless, and we, only we, are sinful and foolish, and we don’t understand that life is heaven, for we have only to understand that and it will at once be fulfilled in all its beauty, we shall embrace each other and weep”

“…dear boy, how can you talk of joy when you lie feverish at night, coughing as though you would tear yourself to pieces.”

“Don’t cry, mother,” he would answer, “life is paradise, and we are all in paradise, but we won’t see it; if we would, we should have heaven on earth the next day.”

In the realist it is not faith that is born of miracles, but miracles of faith. Once the realist believes, his realism inexorably compels him to admit miracles too. 

People talk sometimes of bestial cruelty, but that’s a great injustice and insult to the beasts; a beast can never be so cruel as a man, so artistically cruel.”

“Love God’s people. Because we have come here and shut ourselves within these walls, we are no holier than those that are on the outside, but on the contrary, from the very fact of coming here, each of us has confessed to himself that he is worse than others… the longer the monk lives in seclusion, the more keenly he must recognize that. Else he would have no reason to come here.”

“…it is said in the Scripture that if you have faith, even as a mustard seed, and bid a mountain move into the sea, it will move without the least delay at your bidding. Well, Grigory Vasilyevich, if I'm without faith and you have so great a faith that you are continually swearing at me, you try yourself telling this mountain, not to move into the sea for that's a long way off, but even to our stinking little river which runs at the bottom of the garden. Youll see for yourself that it wont budge, but will remain just where it is how- ever much you shout at it, and that shows, Grigory Vasilyevich, that you haven't faith in the proper manner, and only abuse others about it. Again, taking into consideration that no one in our day, not only you, but actually no one, from the highest person to the lowest peasant, can shove mountains into the sea except perhaps some one man in the world, or, at most, two, and they most likely are saving their souls in secret somewhere in the Egyptian desert, so you wouldn't find them if so it be, if all the rest have no faíth, will God curse all the rest? that is, the population of the whole earth, except about two hermits in the desert, and in his well-known mercy will he not forgive one of them? And so I'm persuaded that though I may once have doubted I shall be forgiven if I shed tears of repentance."

The awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and the devil are fighting there and the battlefield is the heart of man. 

There is no virtue if there is no immortality

“…there is nothing in the whole world to make men love their neighbors. That there was no law of nature that man should love mankind, & that, if there had been any love on earth hitherto, it was not owing to a natural law, but simply because men have believed in immortality… the whole natural law lies in that faith, & if you were to destroy in mankind the belief in immortality, not only love but every living force maintaining the life of the world would at once be dried up… For every individual who does not believe in God or immortality, the moral law of nature must immediately be changed into the exact contrary of the former religious law, & that egoism, even to crime, must become not only lawful but even recognized as the inevitable, the most rational, even honorable outcome of his position. 

"Are you speaking the truth? WEII, now after such a confession, I believe  that you are sincere and good at heart. If you do not attain happiness, always remember that you are on the right road, and try not to leave it. Above all, avoid falsehood, every kind of falsehood, especially falseness to yourself. Watch over your own deceitfulness and look into it every hour, every minute. Avoid being scornful, both to others and to yourself. What seems to you bad within you will grow purer from the very fact of your observing it in yourself. Avoid fear, too, though fear is only the consequence of every sort of falsehood. Never be frightened at your own faint-heartedness in attaining love. Dont be frightened overmuch even at your evil actions. 

 "How?" "By the experience of active love Strive to love your neighbor actively and indetatigably. In as far as vou advance in love you will grow surer ot the reality of God and of the immortality of your soul. If you attain to perfect self-forgetfulness in the love of your neighbor, then you will be- lieve without doubt, and no doubt can possibly enter your soul. This has been tried. This is certain"

Love is such a priceless treasure that you can redeem the whole world by it, & expiate not only your own sins but the sins of others. 

Konstanfin Mochulski

The brothers Karamazov

Luke Stamps

The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky's crowning achievement, is a tale of patricide and family rivalry that embodies the moral and spiritual dissolution of an entire society (Russia in the 1870s). It created a national furor comparable only to the excitement stirred by the publication, in 1866, of Crime and Punishment. To Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov captured the quintessence of Russian character in all its exaltation, compassion, and profligacy. Significantly, the book was on Tolstoy's bedside table when he died. Readers in every language have since accepted Dostoevsky's own evaluation of this work and have gone further by proclaiming it one of the few great novels of all ages and countries. "The Brothers Karamazov stands as the culmination of Dostoevsky's art—his last, longest, richest, and most capacious book," said The Washington Post Book World. "Nothing is outside Dostoevsky's province," observed Virginia Woolf. "Out of Shakespeare there is no more exciting reading."

Sosa Kuti 

The best book to ever be written. I swear.

Wanna read a whole book by him about children’s friend group politics 

Clay Carey

The book offers a profound exploration of love and grief, urging readers to move beyond mere idealization and embrace love as an active, persevering effort. Dostoevsky emphasizes this transformative shift, illustrating how genuine love demands labor and fortitude, far removed from the comforting fantasies of love in dreams. The character of Father Zossima, inspired by a monk Dostoevsky deeply admired, embodies this understanding of love. His reflections remind readers of the redemptive power in life’s struggles.

Among the chapters, “The Grand Inquisitor” stands out for its unparalleled spiritual depth, presenting a journey of profound intellect and moral exploration. This chapter is embodied in the character of Ivan Karamazov, whose complexity and philosophical depth have left an indelible mark on my memory. To this day, Ivan remains my favorite and most unforgettable character. His haunting dialogue with Alyosha, where he questions the value of truth against the backdrop of unimaginable suffering, resonates deeply and provokes ongoing reflection.

As a lover of philosophical literature, I found this book both challenging and rewarding. While the dense prose can be slow to navigate, modern translations, along with summaries and character analyses, provided invaluable guidance. Over time, I grew accustomed to Dostoevsky’s intricate style, and the depth of characters like Ivan Karamazov captivated me. Completing the book became a personal challenge, but it ultimately became the most impactful and unforgettable book I’ve ever read. Without question, it stands as the pinnacle of my literary journey.

The book offers a profound exploration of love and grief, urging readers to move beyond mere idealization and embrace love as an active, persevering effort. Dostoevsky emphasizes this transformative shift, illustrating how genuine love demands labor and fortitude, far removed from the comforting fantasies of love in dreams. The character of Father Zossima, inspired by a monk Dostoevsky deeply admired, embodies this understanding of love. His reflections remind readers of the redemptive power in life’s struggles.

Among the chapters, “The Grand Inquisitor” stands out for its unparalleled spiritual depth, presenting a journey of profound intellect and moral exploration. This chapter is embodied in the character of Ivan Karamazov, whose complexity and philosophical depth have left an indelible mark on my memory. To this day, Ivan remains my favorite and most unforgettable character. His haunting dialogue with Alyosha, where he questions the value of truth against the backdrop of unimaginable suffering, resonates deeply and provokes ongoing reflection.

As a lover of philosophical literature, I found this book both challenging and rewarding. While the dense prose can be slow to navigate, modern translations, along with summaries and character analyses, provided invaluable guidance. Over time, I grew accustomed to Dostoevsky’s intricate style, and the depth of characters like Ivan Karamazov captivated me. Completing the book became a personal challenge, but it ultimately became the most impactful and unforgettable book I’ve ever read. Without question, it stands as the pinnacle of my literary journey.


The Grand Inquisitor · Iconography 

Niccolò Machiavelli

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves—and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives—and destroyed them. Now, Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are. Penguin's Great Ideas series features twelve groundbreaking works by some of history's most prodigious thinkers, and each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-drive design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature in great packages at great prices, this series is ideal for those readers who want to explore and savor the Great Ideas that have shaped the world. Rejecting the traditional values of political theory, Machiavelli drew upon his own experiences of office in the turbulent Florentine republic to write his celebrated treatise on statecraft. While Machiavelli was only one of the many Florentine “prophets of force,” he differed from the ruling elite in recognizing the complexity and fluidity of political life.

Chaitanya Baranwal

Written in the 1500s, this book addresses the general tendencies and thought processes of humans, and how a prince can use them to his advantage. It's cold in its consideration of the public as mere subjects, yet pragmatic enough to advise that a prince should always strive to remove any hatred his public might have towards him. Moving away from the idealist approaches a prince must take, it makes a lot of good points, which I feel continue to apply even 500 years later.

No words. I fucking love you Dostoyevsky.

Il principe

yaya

Buku pedoman para diktator. Luas dan terasa tajamnya pembahasan di sini. Saya ingin membaca ulang buku ini kapan-kapan.

Ziggy

Completed only a few months before the author's death, The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoyevsky's largest, most expansive, most life-embracing work. Filled with human passions ― lust, greed, love, jealousy, sorrow, and humor ― the book is also infused with moral issues and the issue of collective guilt.
As in many of Dostoyevsky's novels, the plot centers on a murder. Three brothers, different in character but bound by their ancestry, are drawn into the crime's vortex: Dmitri, a young officer utterly unrestrained in love, hatred, jealousy, and generosity; Ivan, an intellectual capable of delivering impromptu disquisitions about good and evil, God, and the devil; and Alyosha, the youngest brother, preternaturally patient, kind, and loving. Part mystery, part profound philosophical and theological debate, The Brothers Karamazov represents the culmination of Dostoyevsky's life's work and ranks among the greatest novels of all time.
Reprint of the Constance Garnett translation as published by W. Heinemann, London, 1912-1920.
Source: http://store.doverpublications.com/0486437914.html

I lack the necessary English degree to adequately review this book.

It was long.

Dostoyevski, yaşamının son yıllarında başyapıtı Karamazov Kardeşler'i tamamladığında, Rus yazınında 'felsefe düzeyinde roman-tragedya denen türün de temelini attığının bilincinde değildi. Dostoyevski'nin yaşam birikiminin tümünü ve sanat gücünün doruğunu içeren bu roman, gerçekte insanı insan yapan ne varsa, onlara adanmış bir destan niteliğini taşır. Yazar, hiçbir romanında "Karamazov Kardeşler"de olduğu denli insan ruhuna inmemiş, insanoğlunu bu denli kesitler biçiminde, içgüdülerinin ve istencinin tüm görünümüyle sergilenmiştir. Bir aileyi konu alan ve bir felaketler zinciri olarak gelişen olay örgüsü, bireysel öğelerin yanı sıra, ondokuzuncu yüzyılın ikinci yarısındaki Rus toplumunu da geçirdiği sarsıntıların tümüyle, dünya edebiyatında bir eşi daha bulunmayan bir sanat aynasından yansıtır.

Suat ATAN

Ortaokuldan beridir, kütüphane raflarında gördüğüm için okumak istediğim ancak cesaret edemediğim “Karamazov Kardeşleri” nihayet okudum. Bence bu kitaplar o yaşlar için pek ağır. Okunmayacağından değil, anlaşılması için yaşlanmak gerektiğinden… En azından benim için öyle.

1000 sayfalık ağır bir roman hakkında yapılacak yorum da “güzel kitap” diye iki kelime olursa, Dostoyevski’nin kemikleri sızlar. Okumamış olanlar için baştan söyleyeyim, eğer eski eserleri veya “sıkan kitapları” hemen bırakıyorsanız bu işe girmeyin… Bu kitap uzun, çok uzun bir rüyaya benziyor kitabı bitirmeyene kadar olan biteni anlamıyorsunuz. Arada insan ruhuna dair farklı kahramanların dilinden tahliller büyülüyor. Bazen kahramanların kendi tutarsızlıkları da öyle… Bir kahramanın tutarsızlığı diye yapıştırıverdiğimiz hükmü her gün yaşadığımızı unutuyoruz. Kitabın kahramanı neredeyse kitaptaki herkes… Alyoşa’yı ana karakter sayanlar var ancak aslında gerçek hayata ve insanlara bu kadar yaklaşmış bir romanda bir Gruşenka da, Dmitri de hatta İlyuşa.

Kitapta unutamayacağım bölüm yerini söylemeyeceğim bir duruşma sahnesi… Orada Avukat Fetükoviç ve İppolit Kiriloviç’in tahlillerini okuyunca hayatta bırakın basit bir olayı romanın konusu olan o büyük olayda bile insan ruhundan, olan bitenden, suçun/yargının toplumsallığından yana öyle dersler alıyorsunuz ki bunu burada “bütün ihtimalleri düşünün” şeklinde anlatırsak “Aa, bu muymuş” diye geçiştirisiniz ama öyle. Bu duruşma sahnesinde bir mühendis kafasıyla bir hesap yaptım. Bir duruşmada 10 delil ve 10 tanık olsun. Bu kişilerin hemen hemen her birinin birbirleri ile illiyeti olsun. Bu durumda 10+10 = 20 öğenin kendi aralarındaki ilişkileri 20×20 = 400 oluyor. Zaten insan zihninin bunu bir dava dokümanından okuyup aklında tutması imkansız. Bu yüzdendir ki her “iddia” veya her “savunma” ilk dinlendiğinde haklı bile gelebiliyor insana, hele İppolit Kiriloviç’in o tahlilleri öyle derin ki, eğer tanık sandalyesine masum adam otursa müebbet yer… Çünkü kitabın kendi benzetmesiyle maddi gerçekler de roman haline gelip anlamsız kurgular yaratabiliyor

Diğer yandan kitaptaki kahramanlardan Dimitri, Katerina, İvan ve Gruşenka’nın diğer en büyük özelliği “poliamori”. Kitapta bu terim elbette geçmiyor, yani bir kişinin birden fazla kişiye aşkı… Ama kahramanlar bunu yaşıyor. Önce saçma geliyor, sonra Gruşenka’nın ağzından birine karşı “onu sevebilme ihtimalim vardı” gibi cümleyi duyup olan biteni, kıskançlıkları, hesapları da okuyunca bunun da tipik bir insan davranışı olduğunu görüyoruz. Öyle ki romanda daha sonradan ruh aslında bu poliamori olgusunda insanın “her anının ayrı bir telde” olabileceğini görüyoruz. Her konuda da böyle.

Kitabı okuduktan sonra içimdeki “İppolit Kiriloviç” de Avukat Fetükoviç de birebir oluştu, yerlerini aldı. Kendimi kitaptaki tahlilleri kendime ve başkalarına yaparken buldum. Kitapta çok kızılan “Fyodor Pavloviç” in de aslında hepimizin içinde yer aldığını biliyorum. Sadece adlarını koyacak Dostoyevski gibi derin değiliz.

Dostoyevski kitapta ana hikayeden kısmen bağımsız olan eski yüzbaşının oğlu İlyuşa’nın babasının Dmitri’den uluorta dayak yerken, çocuğun babasının yanına gidişini öyle bir anlatıyor ki sarsılıyorsunuz. Ana hikaye değil ama yan hikayelerden biri olan İlyuşa’nın öyküsü ve betimlemeler sizi ağlatabilir.

Kitapta Alyoşa’nın “şeyhi” diyelim, Startez Zosima’nın kendi yaşam öyküsü ayrı bir romandır aslında. Bir düelloda yaptığı bir hareket sonrasında kendisi ile dost olan yaşlı bir adamın öyküsü var, siz okursunuz artık, insanın çelişkilerini öyle bir anlatıyor ki… Ayrıca Startez Zosima’nın verdiği öğütler çok etkileyici.

Her kitap bir ders verir en kötüleri ise okunmayacak kitabın ne olduğuna dair ders verir. Bu kitaptan çıkardığım ders şudur: İnsanlar da, ilişkiler de, hayat da neredeyse muammadır. Biz günlük yaşamın pratiklği içinde örneğin bir hakim olarak o gün hızlıca karar verip birilerini idama da gönderiyor olabiliriz. Öte yandan idama giden suçlu da olabiliriz. Bu muammanın içinde rasyonel olmak için adil olmak gerekiyor. Adil olmak için -kitapta Alyoşa karakteri tam bir adalet örneği- ise herşeyi çok dikkatli gözlemlemek, Dostoyevski’nin gözü ile tahliller yapmak, sezgilerimizi dinlemek ama onlarla hüküm vermek yerine daha fazla düşünmek zorundayız. Nitekim doğru ile yanlış, iyi ile kötü, yalan ile doğru feci şekilde bir aradadır.

Plato

Phaedo

Meagan Fischer 

Boo. All we see in this book is Plato abandoning the Socratic method in favor of turning his fictional Socrates into a cult leader whose friends are nothing more than yes-men. His arguments about the nature of the soul are also full of fallacies akin to the Monty Python logic about ducks and witches. Not impressed at all.

Edited to add: After thinking about it further, I recognize that to be fair, Plato was literally making this stuff up as he went. He did not have access to brain science and other research that would shed more light on the topics he was exploring. What bothers me is more that people still think his ideas are somehow the pinnacle of human insight.

Presents a dramatization of the trial and death of Greek philosopher Socrates, written by his student and friend, Plato.

The Last Days of Socrates

Hannah Yang

Wonderful, accessible collection of four of Plato's dialogues regarding Socrates' trial and death, with very helpful introductions to each dialogue. Great read for those interested in pondering the law, justice, and considering things like the nature of our soul / whether there is life after death.

Machiavelli, as the Father of Political Science, continues to be translated and read throughout the world. This latest edition contains many illustrations dealing with The Prince.

Winona 

Three stars because it being assigned reading that I was later assessed on took whatever entertainment I could have derived from Machiavelli's irony.

Barbara Williford

I’m a simple girl, with simple reviews who loves to read. My review is not going to be the in depth with all the flowery, sophisticated words. It’s simple and down to earth. 

If you like the classics and you like Russian literature this was a great book. Three brothers who had a neglectful father and childhood are reunited under unusual circumstances which eventually follows in a love triangle, murder and trial. 

Just a warning, there are a lot of characters but it wasn’t hard to keep up with them. There are many philosophical and theological discussions so it was helpful to have knowledge of the Bible but not necessary. It did get very deep at times, humerous at others and overall a good book. It definitely lived up to the hype.

Eitan Hershkovitz

Shape Mismatch

Never would I come across such a book ever again. I am sure of that. 
The theory of politics in respect with all the external factors that could possibly turn up, 5 centuries ago can never again be put in more elaborate and yet crisp manner.

The complete text of Machiavelli's best-known work, along with excerpts from some of his other writings and letters, and critical essays by J. R. Hale, Felix Gilbert, Leo Strauss, and others

A Revised Translation, Backgrounds, Interpretations, Marginalia

rumbledethumps

I once worked for a large organization, a company with over 10,000 employees. When new managers, people from outside the organization, were hired, they would come in and clean house. A reorganization and layoffs were inevitable.

I always saw this as a way of establishing that the new person, though they hadn’t come up through the ranks, was in charge. What I didn’t realize is that this practice is centuries old.

"a new prince must always harm his new subjects, both with his soldiers as well as with countless other injuries involved in his new conquest"

An important piece of understanding how the world works is understanding how people work. If you want to change the world you need to understand human psychology. One of the earliest books of psychology is The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli.

The Prince has had many critics over the years. In fact, Machiavelli’s name has been transformed into an adjective meant to describe a person who is self-serving, deceitful, and ruthless. And certainly parts of the book are all of those things

Some people will read The Prince as a sort of operating manual for how to live. Because of this, its real use comes from learning why people sometimes act in ways that seem immoral.

The Prince, however, is amoral, in that it is unconcerned with morality. Its only concern is how to get and maintain power. As Machiavelli writes,

"A man who wishes to profess goodness at all times will come to ruin among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince who wishes to maintain himself to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge or not to use it according to necessity."

Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, recommends it as one of the 8 books every intelligent person should read. Read it, he says,

"to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it."

But read it for yourself. Don’t take anyone else’s interpretation as the definitive one. As you read it, look for analogies to modern life. We don’t wage war in the same way as Machiavelli’s princes did, but we can certainly find bloodless examples of these maxims in business and politics.

Read it for yourself, and suspend judgment, though you may find parts of it downright repugnant. You might not act in the ways described, but other people do. If you want to understand why, read The Prince.

Silvia Lucchini

Trattato politico particolare e allo stesso tempo geniale: sicuramente non tiene troppo conto dell'etica, piuttosto delle manovre politiche che si possono utilizzare per raggiungere il fine. Davvero interessante.

E J Doble

Off the back of reading about the Medici's and the Florentine State in the 14th-17th centuries, it seemed quite fitting to pick this book up and give it a try - and I was a lot more impressed by it than I thought I was going to be. 

Going into it, I thought this treatise would be a pro-Medici pamphlet which, despite its historic acclaim, would contain very little substance. But, what this book manages to do in around 140 pages is offer a far-reaching, insightful account of princely governance and the control and management of fledgling states across Europe, from antiquity and current times. Laid out quite similarly to Aurelius' "Meditations", the book contains short summarising sections on specific points of governance, and does so in a very accessible way despite how old the treatise is. Machiavelli was clearly a well-informed and analytical writer, and looking at the book objectively it is clearly a good piece of work and very ahead of its time.

I don't believe it should be judged based on the later misuse by tyrants and leaders to legitimise oppression and terror, but should instead be regarded for its original purpose of offering a way forward in what was a trying time for Italy.

However, my one issue with the book was not necessarily to do with the text itself, but rather with the lack of notation on behalf of the publisher. Despite Machiavelli's best efforts to explain the intense political situation of 16th-Century Italy, had it not been for my previous reading about the Medici's then the book's many references would have been entirely lost to me, as there is next to no notation in the book at all. Some short descriptions or character profiles in the footnotes would have gone a long way to make the reading easier.

Overall, a very good treatise!

dense writing; I like the unapologetic confidence in Machiavellian ways (although may be considered sociopathy) 

Xin Ma

Karis Ryu

The two-month journey is now at an end!

I'm not an English major, and I read this book on my own, not in a class setting where confusing aspects of the book would be analyzed and discussed, but as a humble American reader I was deeply touched by the amount of hope in human goodness and redemption that Dostoevsky illuminates and praises, even amidst the corruption of secularism and culture that permeated his world, and continues to reek in our current world. It's a story that unfolds slowly, but with meticulous intention, each word set with the utmost care in its proper place. As a narrative, it is dynamic in its flexibility, ranging from funny and sensational to subtle, poignant, and moving. As literary fiction, it speaks profoundly to humanity, the things we make our gods, the ways we perceive our natures, and whether or not a human can truly be redeemed not by others, but to themselves in their own soul.

I anticipate another, hopefully shorter, journey in the future. :)

The violent lives of three sons are exposed when their father is murdered and each one attempts to come to terms with his guilt

Nikita 

"They have their Hamlets, but so far we have only Karanazovs."
The brain-melting book, every sentence of which restlessly hurls you into hours of pondering. Be prepared to undergo some difficulties falling asleep.	

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While reading this book, I experienced a unique and thus precious feeling as though, by the cozy fireplace with crackling logs, my grandpa was telling me a story that happened in his town in the distant years of his youth. The novel's unconventional role of the narrator contributes to this sense. He is not an active participant in the events but only a Skotoprigonievsk resident. Throughout the story, he occasionally interrupts the narration to make a remark, thereby distancing the reader from the events, allowing us to look at them from a different perspective.
Yet, The Brothers Karamazov is not about the plot at all. For Dostoevsky, the story is nothing more than a pretext to tackle profound philosophical issues. Their complexity, along with the number of allusions and references to religious and philosophical writings, is overwhelming. Never in my life have I had to read so many additional materials to comprehend the author's original ideas. The book is demanding and challenging.
The Brothers Karamazov offers much food for thought. Although some meanings are hidden from me owing to my young age, and I still have no definitive opinion on several issues, such as whether one can be a decent person without religion, I discovered remarkable insights that I am eager to share.
1. The first concept derived straight from Crime and Punishment and was elaborated in The Brothers Karamazov. Suffering indicates that you are on the right track, for every seeker of the truth paves the way to it with his mistakes that cause him to suffer. Therefore, the truth can only be revealed via suffering. Such stoicism somehow makes life seem easier.
2. I was surprised to find support for a simple idea that I had been thinking about for a long time but that many people don't comprehend.
"How can we blame our children if they measure to us with our own measure?"
As I feel it, if responsible parents want their children to have certain good qualities, they must have or attain such characteristics themselves. The child is the perfect reflection of his parents with all the good and the bad; To bring up a decent member of society, one must be an integrated, multifaceted person yourself.
"Love children especially, for they too are sinless like the angels; they live to soften and purify our hearts and, as it were, to guide us."
I can well understand why it's so controversial novel with all its theological and philosophical inclinations. Not only does Fyodor Mikhailovich not give his readers answers to these concerns, but he also conceals the true answer to the novel's central mystery by writing vaguely and obscurely. Since I am still arguing with my mother and friends about who murdered Fyodor Pavlovich, I consider this a sign of a great book because only great books elicit such heated debate.
The brothers Karamazov is one of those rare novels you may use to assess your development as a person. I'm really looking forward to rereading it in 3 or 5 years to see how much my mindset has changed.

  PS:
As I am looking for ways to improve my English writing, I would appreciate it if you could give me feedback on this review through direct messages. I'd also love to hear what you think of the book, as well as to have you on my friend list.

Michael Springer

In his introduction to this new translation by Russell Price, Professor Skinner presents a lucid analysis of Machiavelli's text as a response both to the world of Florentine politics, and as an attack on the advice-books for princes published by a number of his contemporaries. This new edition includes notes on the principal events in Machiavelli's life, and on the vocabulary of The Prince, as well as biographical notes on characters in the text.

Machiavelli: The Prince

Jens Madsen

Must admit that I approached this Classic text expecting that it would be painful to decipher and relate to in contemporary terms. These low expectations were put to shame, as I found Il Principe to be, if not exactly a page-turner, then at least a pleasurable acquaintance. Of course parts of it reflect the sinister side of human Nature, rather Macchiavellian (!), but still very relevant and not quite as Dark as I anticipated. Not bad for a text written a half-Millennium ago to retain its relevance. Recommended reading for those curious your fellow (wo)man.

The Prince

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