Text: Edgar Allan Poe (?), Literary, Broadway Journal (New York), August 30, 1845, vol. 2, no. 8, p. ???, col. ?

[page 121, column 2, continued:]

The Medici Series of Italian Prose. Nos. 2 & 3. The Florentine Histories, by Niccolo Machiavelli. In 2 vols. Translated and Edited by C. Edwards Lester. New-York: Paine & Burgess.

Messrs. Paine & Burgess are rendering good service to the cause of Letters in America by this series of translations from the Italian. The neatness of the mechanical execution deserves also high praise — although a little more margin might be desired.

Neither “ The Florentine Histories “ nor Niccolo Machiavelli, need be commended by us. The author of “ The Prince “ was a man of profound thought, of great sagacity, of indomitable will, and unrivalled during his time if not in knowledge of the human, at least in knowledge of the Italian heart. He has been grossly maligned, not because misunderstood in himself, but in his relations to his age and [page 122:] countrymen. The “ Florentine Histories “ show his great powers — but not in their clearest light.