Louis Althusser. 
 
Hardcover in a jacket. Near fine. London, New York: Verso, 1999. First English edition. Octavo. 
 
"Machiavelli is the theorist of something new solely because he is the theorist of beginnings (we shall see how and why) -- of the beginning. Novelty can only repose on the surface of things; it can only affect an aspect of things, and fades with the moment that induced it. In contrast, the beginning is, so to speak, rooted in the essence of a thing, since it is the beginning of this thing."