Art of War (Italian: Dell'arte della guerra) is a treatise by the Italian Renaissance political philosopher and historian Niccolo Machiavelli. The format of Art of War is a socratic dialogue. The purpose, declared by Lord Fabrizio Colonna (perhaps Machiavelli's persona) at the outset, "To honor and reward virtu, not to have contempt for poverty, to esteem the modes and orders of military discipline, to constrain citizens to love one another, to live without factions, to esteem less the private than the public good." To these ends, Machiavelli notes in his preface, the military is like the roof of a palazzo protecting the contents. Written between 1519 and 1520 and published the following year, it was the only historical or political work printed during Machiavelli's lifetime, though he was appointed official historian of Florence in 1520 and entrusted with minor civil duties.
- ISBN10 1545129096
- ISBN13 9781545129098
- Publish Date 4 April 2017 (first published 6 November 2013)
- Publish Status Temporarily Withdrawn
- Imprint Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 98
- Language English