ABSTRACT
Machiavelli and other politic writers offer abundance of guidance on the acquisition of power, and they raise numerous points to consider and avenues to explore for those aspiring to ascend the throne. This chapter deals with the inevitable conflict between virtu and fortuna. Machiavelli’s most powerful description of this power comes at the end of The Prince. The question of the role that fortuna plays in the First Tetralogy is an important one. In the original Italian, Machiavelli further emphasizes on the relevance of the occasions offered by fortuna. Machiavelli’s worries about Fortuna are merely among the best known, but Guicciardini’s reflections on the subject may be read as a rejection of what he saw as his friend’s overly optimistic conclusions on the subject.
