HarperCollins is proud to present our range of timeless literary classics. Whoever is the occasion of another's advancement is the cause of his own diminution. Considered one of the first works of modern philosophy, The Prince is a study on the nature of power and how to wield it. Originally written as a manual for the Duke of Urbino, Lorenzo de' Medici, Machiavelli details the flattery, intimidation and force a leader might use to reach supremacy - and stay there - using any means at their disposal. The origin of the term 'Machiavellian', in all its amoral and underhand realpolitik, this unscrupulous treatise remains a source of inspiration, and caution, for leaders today.