Erin Maglaque · Free from Humbug: The Murdrous Machiavel · LRB 16 July 2020

Virtù was essential to defeating the capricious, tempestuous force of Fortuna. In The Prince, Machiavelli identifies Fortuna as a woman: it is necessary, he writes, in order to keep her under, to beat and maul her. His most important ideas dependence and autonomy, Fortuna and virtù were constructed on the foundation of sexual difference. If Caterina was an example of manly autonomy, Cesare Borgia s ultimate downfall provided an example of the dangers of effeminate dependency. When his father died (many believed he had been poisoned), Cesare was left bereft of support. Machiavelli saw how the pope s death unravelled the once fearsome duke, who was carried away by that bold self-confidence of his , ranting and raving with words full of poison and anger . His state was lost. Machiavelli reflected in The Prince that Cesare had acquired his state with the Fortuna of his father and lost it with the same, though he had taken every measure and done all that ought to be done by a wise and able man to firmly fix his roots in the states which the arms and fortunes of others had bestowed on him .

via www.lrb.co.uk

Machiavelli was a sociopath, a real rotter. But he’s greatly admired. Some say he was a great political philosopher. I’m not so sure.