"The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli.

Niccolo Machiavelli's highly controversial book The Prince succeeds in allowing several oppositions to emerge. Among these oppositions include fortuna and virtu. These two terms increase the ambiguity of Machiavelli's work. By citing historical cases, this paper will define these two terms, discuss the ways in which the prince must be "virtuous" in order to respond to the challenges of fortuna, and whether any prince regardless of his virtuosity can master fortune. At a mere glance, …

…virtu play a large role in Machiavelli's The Prince. Through a series of complex, and at times confusing, argument Machiavelli concludes that virtu can help control, or at least lessen, the consequences of fortuna. However, no person or government will be able to control their fate because they are unable to change when they must. Overall, Machiavelli leaves the reader with a distrustful view on the ability of man and his virtu to overcome fortuna.