Discourses on Livy vs The Prince: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Political ethics, Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy, History
Discourses on Livy
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A very different work from his well-known The Prince, and posthumously published a year prior to it, Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy is one of his most debated works. Some critics see it as presenting a counterpoint or…
The Prince
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The Prince (Italian: Il Principe [il ˈprintʃipe]; Latin: De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Discourses on Livy highest: Discourses on Livy 4.1 · The Prince 3.8.
- The Prince has the widest readership — 399010 ratings behind its score.
- Discourses on Livy reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 379 times.
Scores by source
| Discourses on Livy | The Prince | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (10036) | 3.8 (399010) |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (4) | 2.8 (2) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | 3.5 (10) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (1347) |
Reception
| Discourses on Livy | The Prince | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 10036 | 399010 |
| Editions | 81 | 1407 |
| Citations | 379 | 376 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 22488 | 402278 |
| Reading it now | — | 39038 |
| Written reviews | 362 | 17503 |
| Wikipedia attention | 4564 | 33876 |
| Pages | — | 176 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Discourses on Livy or The Prince?
Discourses on Livy has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Discourses on Livy 4.1/5, The Prince 3.8/5).
Which is harder to read: Discourses on Livy or The Prince?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Discourses on Livy: Demanding; The Prince: Demanding.