In Niccolo Machiavelli's letter to The Prince, Machiavelli emphasized the role of fortune in human affairs as well as in government affairs. This makes it essential to understand what fortune is and how it can be used. It is also essential to understand what power we have in the face of fortune. I will discuss this topic with special attention made to chapter 25 of the Prince.
             Fortune is defined as "A hypothetical force that unpredictably determines events and issues favorably and unfavorable; success that results for luck."(Landoll pp.141) This broad definition leads us to believe no man can control fortune. Machiavelli believed otherwise saying to some extent fortune could be controlled. (Wootton pp. 54)
             Fortune is something that we are born into but can only hold onto through strength (virtue). It is possible to determine a part of one's fortune and that is through strength (virtue).
             Machiavelli believed fortune determines one half of our actions, but on the other hand acknowledged that one half of our actions were left for our personal control. He believed the one half of our actions that weren't controlled by fortune could in a way work towards our fortune. Fortune is very powerful and demonstrates it's power where precautions have never been take to resist it, so Machiavelli believed that a man could lower the effects of fortune through personal virtue. (Wootton, pp. 54)
             When Machiavelli discusses rulers and fortune he wants the reader to know that rulers who depend on fortune will fail. To those rulers who acquire power through fortune, he emphasizes, that they will have a hard time holding onto power. He states "goodwill and good fortune are totally unreliable and capricious."(Wootton pp. 19) This is because rulers who gain power through fortune are private citizens and do not have experience. They also need support from citizens to build their own army, because a ruler...