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Suffering In Machiavelli's The Consolation Of Philosophy

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What makes one happy may not always be the right thing to do. In both The Prince and in The Consolation of Philosophy; themes of happiness, virtue, religion and fortune are investigated further to explain the relation of each in a political arena. In The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius deals with the universal experience of suffering. He is imprisoned and facing execution. Boethius blames fortune for the reason of his suffering, “Surely the severity of Fortune’s attack on me needs no further mention” (pg. 9). While Boethius is imprisoned, he gets a visit from Lady Philosophy in attempt to rationalize the reason for his suffering. His suffering is caused by an amnesia that makes him forget who he once was and from his nature of fortune …show more content…
Machiavelli did not rely on a woman dictating his or anyone’s fortune. He believed in making one’s own luck and if you allowed fortune to decide for you, that would make you a weak man. Machiavelli intends The Prince to be useful to those who are interested in acquiring and keeping power, doing so, he redefines the nature of human beings, and the reason for politics and fortune. Machiavelli believed that humans only work for their own best interest and that their interest of the state wasn’t their biggest obligation. Because of this, Machiavelli created an ideal way of how a prince should govern the state. He argued that a price must be willing to deceive the people of the state, for example, by encouraging citizens to excel in their professions, it would lead to an increase of the well being of the state. Machiavelli was selfish for thinking that the well being of the state was superior to the well being of its citizens because the citizens are only self-interested and unreliable. Machiavelli saw the purpose of politics to deny the relevant of morality to politics and argue that the deception, manipulation and violence is not only necessary but justified in the pursuit, acquisition and maintenance of power. His believe goes against Lady Fortuna’s ideology by eliminating and doing evil in order to increase power. He stands for the idea that a life can not be controlled by fate and that humans can manage fortune. He strongly believes that a person life can be destroyed if he does not act with

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