Examine the relationship between the concepts of Fortuna and virtù in Machiavelli's "The Prince".

One of the most controversial figures in semipolitical guess business relationship, Niccolo Machiavelli?s ideas and theories have stirred a soar upwards of controversy and reflect amongst scholars, critics and political theorists. His most famous book, ?The Prince?, was subversive in that it presented a vision of political rule purged of impertinent moralising influences. Unlike Plato and Aristotle earlier him, Machiavelli wanted to draw rules for successful political behaviour from history and experience, not from the realm of imagination or from the de globeds of Christian ethics. ?The Prince? in many ways represents a fundamental break in the history of political theory betwixt realism and idealism. For Machiavelli, political relation is not about the serious life or the movement of justice but it is a very important supreme activity with its own rules ? not derived from any other types of rules or laws. Machiavelli assumes that the purpose of politics is to match th e autonomy and sovereignty of the state, that it is a mixture of good and malevolent and not a sensitive activity. Central to Machiavelli?s dissertation are the impulses of virtu and fortuna, which he re-defines to hammer home his arguments. For polite humanists, virtu was understood in its Aristotelian sense, connoting moral goodness. To Machiavelli however, the barrier virtu is employed to rival to the range of personal qualities that the prince pass on find it necessary to use up in consecrate to ?maintain his state? and to ?achieve great(p) things,? the two standard markers of major power for him. By contrast, fortuna exists as the antagonist of the political army, the ultimate flagellum to the security and stability of the state. Machiavelli revives in his work the pagan notion of Fortune as an essentially uncontrollable goddess, who may further grant her favours to a man of virtu. A prince must be ready to... If you want to abridge a full essay, order it on our w! ebsite: OrderCustomPaper.com

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