Discourses on Livy vs Two Treatises on Government: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Early works to 1700, Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy
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…
Two Treatises on Government
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The “Two Treatises of Government” is about the former false principles and foundation of sir Robert Filmer and his followers. They are detected and overthrown. The latter is an essay concerning the true original extent…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Discourses on Livy has the widest readership — 10036 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Discourses on Livy | Two Treatises on Government | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (10036) | — |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (4) | — |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | — |
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Reception
| Discourses on Livy | Two Treatises on Government | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 10036 | 4 |
| Editions | 81 | 112 |
| Citations | 379 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 22488 | — |
| Written reviews | 362 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 4564 | 5236 |
| Pages | — | 422 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Discourses on Livy or Two Treatises on Government?
Discourses on Livy has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Discourses on Livy 4.1/5, Two Treatises on Government 3.9/5).
Which is harder to read: Discourses on Livy or Two Treatises on Government?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Discourses on Livy: Demanding; Two Treatises on Government: Demanding.