The Prince (Italian: Il Principe [il ˈprintʃipe]; Latin: De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat and political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of an instruction guide for new princes. Many commentators have viewed that one of the main themes of The Prince is that immoral acts are sometimes necessary to achieve political glory. Although The Prince was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it was generally agreed as being especially innovative. This is because Machiavelli appears to distance his book from all of the classical works of political philosophy, as he viewed that they were too concerned with the ideal regime. Machiavelli illustrates his reasoning using remarkable comparisons of classical, biblical, and medieval events, including many positive references to the murderous career of Cesare Borgia, which occurred during Machiavelli's own diplomatic career. The Prince is sometimes claime