Machiavelli adopts this Roman sense almost exactly. In ''[[The Prince]]'' and the ''[[Discourses]]'', virtù is the set of personal qualities—courage, decisiveness, adaptability, cunning, audacity, self-reliance—that enable a ruler (or a republic) to master circumstances, seize opportunities, and dominate Fortune. | Machiavelli adopts this Roman sense almost exactly. In ''[[The Prince]]'' and the ''[[Discourses]]'', virtù is the set of personal qualities—courage, decisiveness, adaptability, cunning, audacity, self-reliance—that enable a ruler (or a republic) to master circumstances, seize opportunities, and dominate Fortune. |