Resumen
Resumen de Discursos sobre la primera década de Tito Livio
Go deeper: the whole of Discursos sobre la primera década de Tito Livio
About 8 h 40 min to read.Para quién es
For readers who love political thought, history and Roman antiquity, and anyone curious about how freedom survives or dies. It rewards every curious mind with sharp ideas about power.
De qué trata este libro
Niccolò Machiavelli, a Florentine official, loses his job after the Medici return in 1512. He turns to the Roman historian Livy and picks out scenes, such as a founding, a quarrel or a battle trick, to draw rules from them. The book, published in 1531, four years after his death, shows how free states are built, kept and lost. It also shows a less famous Machiavelli, who praises ordinary citizens and fears tyranny.
En este resumen
- 1Learn from Rome by imitating itFree
- 2Founders must act alone, and governments cycle
- 3Conflict between classes kept Rome free
- 4Trust the people to guard liberty
- 5Religion binds citizens to law and oath
- 6Corrupt states need renewal and a strong hand
- 7Citizen armies win wars and build empires
- 8Leaders, conspiracies and the force of fortune
- 9How the Discourses have been read and argued over
Idea clave 1 de 9
Learn from Rome by imitating it
Machiavelli opens with a complaint. People admire ancient statues and buy ancient coins, yet in government and war they refuse to copy the ancients. They act as if the sun and the human heart had changed since then.
He denies this. Human nature stays much the same across time, so old cases can guide new choices. He reads Livy's history of Rome as a laboratory, full of good and bad laws and wise and foolish leaders. His task is to pull out the causes.
For you, the lesson is how to use the past. He asks you to look at causes and likely results, and to ask why a thing worked.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of Discursos sobre la primera década de Tito Livio
About 8 h 40 min to read.About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 141,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 9 h 25 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about Discursos sobre la primera década de Tito Livio
What is Discourses on Livy about?
It is a study of how republics rise, last and fall, based on the early books of Livy's history of Rome. Machiavelli draws lessons on laws, religion, war, class conflict and leadership from Roman examples.
What is the difference between The Prince and the Discourses?
The Prince is a short guide for a ruler seeking and keeping power. Together they show his wider view that power must be understood by looking at results.
Why did Machiavelli write about Livy?
Livy gave a full account of Rome's early rise. Machiavelli thought that studying it could teach practical rules for states that wish to stay free, and that his own age had failed to copy the best ancient examples.
Is the Discourses hard to read?
The sentences are clear, and you can read chapter by chapter, since chapters explore particular questions, often through Roman examples.
What is the main message of Machiavelli's Discourses?
Free states last when laws channel the conflict between the powerful and the people, when citizens bear arms and take part in public life, and when leaders and institutions renew the state's first principles.