Virtu And Fortuna In Machiavelli's 'The Prince'
Duncan Patrick
POL 120 Final Exam
Matthew Weidenfeld
December 7, 2015
Virtu and Fortuna Let me first begin by reaffirming once again how much fun and enjoyable this simulation was. It had to be one of the most exciting things I’ve done in my three semesters here at Elon. Working through the simulation in those three weeks was challenging, but in a good way that fostered a lot of thought towards the matters at hand regarding the works of people like Locke or Seabury. Through analyzing those works and working those arguments out over the course of the simulation, we as a group and class experienced countless examples of virtu and fortuna. However, for the purpose of the length limitations on this paper and for the purpose of defining certain …show more content…
Virtu meaning strength and fortuna meaning fortune, these two were key to Machiavelli’s argument in his writing about what a good leader should do in the instances of trying to control a population. Virtu is meant to indicate that someone has a certain talent or ability to get something done. Machiavelli argues that if a prince could always apply his virtu to present circumstances, that he’d almost always be successful in his endeavours. Machiavelli is also quick to point out that while fortuna does in fact exist, it cannot be controlled. In that sense, Machiavelli argues that one can only act according to their natures, which in the end we can't alter. These two things were what revolved around his main argument, tying it into decisions of current events of the time and utilizing it to implore the leaders of Florence not to fall into the traps of money and wealth when they can govern fairly with virtu and some fortuna mixed …show more content…
That was something that the loyalists were told almost always passed, and we as a group found a way to prevent the association from passing. It would have been a very damaging blow early on in the simulation for the loyalists; opening doors to other things such as the committee of inspection or whether or not the courts would open. Looking back, this was a make or break point for all sides of the simulation. With it being the first major vote of the simulation, it was almost like testing the waters with some of the moderates as to their opinions on certain subjects. In the end, the loyalists got the huge victory in the failure to pass the association. Another interesting note about the entire vote and its failure to pass is that the loyalists didn't have to threaten suit to any of the moderates in order to get the required number to vote against the association. The loyalists also didn’t use any of their favors, such as granting justice of the peace, to try to sway the moderates in their favor as well, which is an even stronger indication of virtu in this situation. We were able to convince them with our words and persuasiveness in this situation, which we believed was a big win for our faction at the
POL 120 Final Exam
Matthew Weidenfeld
December 7, 2015
Virtu and Fortuna Let me first begin by reaffirming once again how much fun and enjoyable this simulation was. It had to be one of the most exciting things I’ve done in my three semesters here at Elon. Working through the simulation in those three weeks was challenging, but in a good way that fostered a lot of thought towards the matters at hand regarding the works of people like Locke or Seabury. Through analyzing those works and working those arguments out over the course of the simulation, we as a group and class experienced countless examples of virtu and fortuna. However, for the purpose of the length limitations on this paper and for the purpose of defining certain …show more content…
Virtu meaning strength and fortuna meaning fortune, these two were key to Machiavelli’s argument in his writing about what a good leader should do in the instances of trying to control a population. Virtu is meant to indicate that someone has a certain talent or ability to get something done. Machiavelli argues that if a prince could always apply his virtu to present circumstances, that he’d almost always be successful in his endeavours. Machiavelli is also quick to point out that while fortuna does in fact exist, it cannot be controlled. In that sense, Machiavelli argues that one can only act according to their natures, which in the end we can't alter. These two things were what revolved around his main argument, tying it into decisions of current events of the time and utilizing it to implore the leaders of Florence not to fall into the traps of money and wealth when they can govern fairly with virtu and some fortuna mixed …show more content…
That was something that the loyalists were told almost always passed, and we as a group found a way to prevent the association from passing. It would have been a very damaging blow early on in the simulation for the loyalists; opening doors to other things such as the committee of inspection or whether or not the courts would open. Looking back, this was a make or break point for all sides of the simulation. With it being the first major vote of the simulation, it was almost like testing the waters with some of the moderates as to their opinions on certain subjects. In the end, the loyalists got the huge victory in the failure to pass the association. Another interesting note about the entire vote and its failure to pass is that the loyalists didn't have to threaten suit to any of the moderates in order to get the required number to vote against the association. The loyalists also didn’t use any of their favors, such as granting justice of the peace, to try to sway the moderates in their favor as well, which is an even stronger indication of virtu in this situation. We were able to convince them with our words and persuasiveness in this situation, which we believed was a big win for our faction at the