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Machiavelli's Il Principe Or The Prince

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Machiavelli's Il Principe Or The Prince
Renaissance Italy was a world of contradictions. Amidst all the innovation for which it is remembered, Italy was in political turmoil. Within Niccolo Machiavelli’s life alone, there were multiple invasions as well as internal conflicts and political unrest. Machiavelli was Head of the Militia during a brief period when Florence was a republic, free of Medici family rule, but when they returned to power in the early 16th century, Machiavelli was tortured, imprisoned, and internally exiled. It was during this time that he wrote his famous Il Principe, or The Prince. In it, Machiavelli covers many notable topics, such as fortune. The idea of fortune was used by the ancient Romans to explain things outside of human agency and free will. Though …show more content…
He does not specify right away whether he believes this to be true, but rather states at the beginning of Chapter 25 how “many persons” believe that “the things of the world are governed by fortune and by God” and no matter what they do, men “cannot correct them” and “have no remedy for them whatsoever” (pg. 117). At the time, it was not uncommon to believe that human lives and destinies were completely in the hands of fortune and God, completely out of the reach. According to Machiavelli, this belief is widespread because of “the great variety of things that have been seen” which are “beyond all human conjecture” (pg. 117). Machiavelli is alluding to miracles here, implying that fortune operates on a higher level in a god-like way. He also implies that fortune is equal to chance by speculating how a person might live if they believed in this version of fortune. He states that a person who lives under the belief of fortune as an unconquerable force “might judge that there would be no point in sweating much” and “let themselves be governed by chance.” They resign themselves to chance, living as if there is no other option but to accept what fortune brings, because to them, fortune is the highest authority of their …show more content…
He says fortune “is the arbiter of half of our actions,” which he believes is essential “so that our free will may not be eliminated.” Fortune cannot have full control, in his opinion, if man is to have any free will. He compares fortune to “ruinous rivers” because of the way “each person flees before them” and “surrenders to their attack” without being able to “block them at any point.” This idea of fortune as a powerful force that renders man helpless fits the initial definition. Machiavelli then brings dikes into the analogy to fit his view of fortune as “arbiter of half,” showing power “where virtue is not prepared to resist her,” in places “where she knows that embankments and dikes have not been made to hold her.” Through his description, Machiavelli argues that when one is prepared, fortune is less
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