Product Review

A superior treatment of Machiavelli’s minor masterpiece! Flaumenhaft’s beautifully crafted, literal translation aims to capture the original intent of the playwright. Machiavelli himself distinguished carefully between translations and revisions; thus, Flaumenhaft finds a faithful translation essential to conveying Machiavelli’s thought and to allowing direct access to the work. The Prologue explores the relationship between Machiavelli’s stage comedies—part of the Comedia Erudita of the Italian Renaissance—and his political books. Mandragola focuses on the interplay between personal and political ethics, a major theme throughout his works. The translation includes helpful notes that clarify allusions, language, and context. Names of characters and places, titles and forms of address, and some familiar Italian words and phrases remain in Italian. Passages in Latin, as well as idioms, are reproduced in the notes.