Was Machiavellis ''the prince'' satire?

by cozyduck

On reddit, Machiavelli when or drawn upon, it is often mentioned with it that The Prince was actually satire.

  • Was the prince satire?
  • Was it percieved at the time as satire?
  • If not then why were it til modernity (I assume) it was taken to be interpreted as satire?
stupac2

This doesn't cover everything you asked, but a recent take on this question might be revealing until someone comes along with a full answer: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4530h0/why_did_enlightenment_philosophers_try_so_hard_to/

Searocksandtrees

Hi, the floor is always open for more discussion, but meanwhile you may be interested in this most recent post on the subject