Machiavelli’s Views on Fortune
According to Machiavelli, fortune is like a wilful and headstrong woman. It demands certain virtu from the Prince to make sure that fortune favours him.
Machiavelli’s concept of virtu does not equate to moral virtue. Machiavelli’s virtu is a particular kind of skill or aptitude, combined with the will to use it. It is the quality or prowess which enables an individual to encounter the blows of fortune and overcome them by whatever means necessary.
In his encounters with fortune, the Prince should not be bound by a rigid moral temperament. Instead, he should be adaptable. The Prince should be able to be both man and beast. When mercy is appropriate, be merciful; when it is appropriate to be merciless, be savage and brutal. The Prince should be honest and truthful where it is possible, but must lie and break faith when necessary.
According to Machiavelli, the Prince must be able to do whatever the circumstances require. If those circumstances require him to disregard traditional moral values and Christian ways of life, so be it.
Fortune favours and befriends the brave. On the contrary, it destroys those who do not sufficiently safeguard their interests. Machiavelli argues that it is self-defeating to behave in ways that will increase one’s chances of loosing power. One should always behave in ways that will increase the chances of keeping power.
Machiavelli thus advices the Prince to conquer fortune by force and every available means and master the art of keeping her by his side.
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