Art of War

Art of War is a treatise by the Italian Renaissance political philosopher and historian Niccolo Machiavelli. The format of The 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 that the military is like the roof of a palazzo protecting the contents. Written between 1519 and 1520. It was Machiavellis only historical of political work printed during his lifetime, though he was appointed official historian of Florence in 1520 and entrusted with minor civil duties.