The Art of War, published in 1521, occupies a singular place in Machiavelli's work. Presented in the form of a dialogue, the book surprises with its little machiavelic mind. Tactical considerations are associated with remarks devoted to the material necessities of war (recruitment, armament...), orchestrating with subtlety a reflection on power. What provisions are the most valuable: food or weapons? What limits does politics impose on the art of war? How do we define authority? These are some of the questions that Machiavelli raises that draw his models from the Ancients. In a great strategist, he sometimes fails to answer them. But war is such a serious matter that perhaps we should know how to handle it ironically.