When analysing Virtu and Gloria in Machiavelli’s The Prince one must take into account that there is no clear definition of Virtu, despite this, one can infer its meaning due to its heavy recurrence in The Prince. Virtu is seen as such an important concept in the Prince, that the Prince himself becomes a personification of Virtu. Through Virtu we gain an understanding of Gloria. Gloria being the fundamental goal of being a Prince, obtained through ones Virtu. This is where we can begin to understand the relationship between the two.

Virtu and Gloria for Machiavelli are means of understanding human nature, which are in line with Roman historians who hold the belief that man pursues worldly glory, posthumous fame, and riches, (Gloria). Resulting in the view that as a Prince you most certainly cannot trust humans – your subjects, and consequently if you act in the confines of the law, you are most likely to be destroyed, meaning the Prince must analyse a situation and decide the best way of proceeding (Virtu). Here we can see how the two are mutually exclusive, one cannot exist without the other. Virtu being the means and skills the Prince must acquire to achieve and Gloria being the end goal and consequences of those actions.

Machiavelli departs …show more content…
Fortuna and Virtu, are binary opposites, Fortuna relates to the circumstances one is faced with, it can take the meaning on of both good and bad luck. Machiavelli once again removes this concept from religion, stating god or natural forces do not control our lives. Fortuna is not deterministic. In regard to humans and their relationship with Fortuna, we are not completely free, we are somewhat restricted by it, but not confined, it is how we tackle Fortuna, that creates whether we succeed or not. Therefore, this luck only decides half of what we do and our supposed free will controlling the other half. (Machiavelli, 1532,