The above article (Connell, Reference Connell2013) was originally published without an abstract and corresponding image. The editors apologize for this omission. The missing abstract is provided below:
Abstract: One of the subtle ways in which modern scholarship has attempted to excuse the harsh messages of The Prince has been to say that the work was never completed to its author's satisfaction. Thus some have argued that The Prince contains passages that Machiavelli may well have rethought if given more time or not pressed to find employment. Others have hypothesized that what we have is a still unpolished draft. New archival evidence permits us to date the presentation of The Prince to Lorenzo de' Medici the Younger in Florence in May–June 1515. Formal composition of the book must have begun and been largely finished in 1513, but a number of additions in 1515 show Machiavelli making final touches to his work before presenting it. Since important elements of The Prince were anticipated in earlier writings, especially the Ghiribizzi of 1506, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that The Prince reflected many years of thought. At the time of its presentation in 1515 Machiavelli surely considered the work complete.
The Castello Sonnino, formerly the Castello Machiavelli, Montespertoli, Italy. Photograph by Sailko, Creative Commons.
