The Prince is a political treatise by Niccolò Machiavelli, first published in 1532. The book is dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and is intended to be a practical guide for rulers on how to acquire and maintain political power. Machiavelli argues that the ends justify the means, and that a ruler must be willing to use deception, violence, and even cruelty to achieve his goals. The Prince has been praised for its realism and its insights into the nature of power, but it has also been criticized for its amoral and cynical worldview.