Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius

The Discourses on Livy (Italian: Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio, literally "Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livy") is a work of political history and philosophy written in the early 16th century (ca. 1517) by the Italian writer and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli, best known as the author of The Prince. Where the latter is nominally devoted to advising the ruler of a principality, in other words a type of monarchy, the Discourses purport to explain the structure and benefits of a republic, a form of government based on some level of popular consent and control.