Machiavelli's Prince Published Posthumously

1532

Five years after Niccolo Machiavelli's death, a Roman printer issued The Prince with papal permission. Within decades it would be on the Index of Forbidden Books, burned by Jesuits, and smuggled by diplomats across Europe. The word Machiavellian entered every European language as a slur. Its analysis of power horrified moralists but fascinated rulers, and its influence on political thought has never diminished.