The PrinceThe Prince, a political treatise by Niccol Machiavelli. It is a short treatise on how to acquire power, create a state, and keep it, The Prince represents Machiavellis effort to provide a guide for political action based on the lessons of history and his own experience as a foreign secretary in Florence. The book promotes instrumentality in the creation of statesa philosophy typified by the adage "the ends justify the means." Violence may be needed