The Fortune

possessions from the gifts of fortune. He presents Lady Philosophy, a woman that looks after Boethius in prison, in Book I. Lady Fortune is also presented and she essentially helps Boethius keep in mind the good and evil due to him losing faith for being imprisoned. Boethius wants to prove that there’s a different outlook in jail using fortune and philosophy along the way. He is told that fortune can be easily taken away and it basically comes and goes. He describes fortune as a “loan”.…

prominent themes of The Prince is fortune. When speaking of fortune, Machiavelli is referring to luck, fate, or chance. He applies this concept to princes and principalities. Fortune can be either useful or advantageous, or it can be harmful or dangerous. Machiavelli believes that fortune controls half of one's life and the other half is controlled by one's own talent.Machiavelli argues that someone can gain power through his own ability or by good fortune. Good fortune could possibly come in…

How desperate can bad fortune make a human? If you are Jeffery Locker, desperate enough to pay someone to kill you. Jeffery Locker was a motivational speaker who suddenly found himself in substantial debt. He decided the only way out was to commit suicide so that his family could receive $14 million dollars in insurance money. Locker proceeded to convince a random passerby to hold a knife, which he repeatedly plunged his body into. If that isn’t horrifying enough, his family was not only aware…

Unlike the ancients, Machiavelli did not construct his principles on how the world or government “ought to be.” In this paper I will provide an account of Machiavelli’s critique of the ancient political theorist and how he utilizes the notion of fortune in that critique. In Chapter 15 of “The Prince” the conversation of how princes should be toward his “subjects and friends.” He gives reference that many people have given their advice on this subject, but his intentions are not to be…

which console and cause him to change his perspective on his current situation, that God is the good governor of the world and will protect that which he has created, how evil does not exist and has no power, and that bad fortune leads to the betterment of a person, while good fortune detracts from people’s morals. The first way in which Lady Philosophy comforts Boethius…

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…

guide his name is Virgil. Virgil and Dante approach the seventh level of Hell in the chapter Canto VII, this is the forth circle of their progressing journey through Hell. This part of the journey focuses on wealth and fortune, and resembles many things of the era it was written. Fortune was many men’s greatness and downfall, after this experience Dante forms his…

used by Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics for “happiness” is εὐδαιμονία. The translation, “happiness,” can be misleading, because etymologically, it is made up of εὖ and δαίμων, meaning, “well, good” and “divinity, fortune,” respectively. So, εὐδαιμονία literally means, “having a good fortune,” or “having a good divinity.” The latter points to something like having a divine being guiding our steps and showing us the right way, which essentially seems to be good luck. However, for me, happiness is…

different notions of dirt in various cultures, demonstrating the contingent and socially determined nature of what is clean and what is not. In this testimony, I argue that religion a series of cosmic laws and ritual patterns practiced to ensure good fortune and maintain a harmonious universe. I further suggest that identifying and assessing such…

Agothacles the Sicilian. Duke Valentino rose to power only through opportunity but Agothocles rose to power through opportunity and ability. In the life of Duke Valentino, born the son of Pope Alexander VI, he was made duke Romagna through the good fortune of his father. In his time of power, the duke made tactical attempts to keep his power by disposing of disloyal troops and creating a new army, conquering…