virtù
from Encyclopedia Britannica, Machiavelli on virtù and fortuna:
Niccolò Machiavelli's works reflected Renaissance thought in its most original aspects, particularly in the objective analysis of human nature. Machiavelli has been described as the founder of a new political science: politics divorced from ethics. His own political experience was at the basis of his ideas, which he developed according to such general principles as the concepts of virtù ("power") and fortuna ("chance"). He considered virtù to be power with a practical aim that should struggle against fortuna, which represented the forces of violence and irresponsibility. His famous treatise Il principe (The Prince), composed in 1513, revealed the author's prophetic attitude, based on observation of contemporary political affairs. Its description of a model ruler became a code for the wielding of absolute power throughout Europe for two centuries. Machiavelli's Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio (c. 1513-21; Discourse on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius), showed the same realistic attitude: public utility was placed above all other considerations, and political virtue was distinguished from moral virtue. His seven books on Dell'arte della guerra (1521; The Art of War), concerning the creation of a modern army, were more technical, while his historical works, including the Istorie fiorentine (1520-25; Florentine History), exemplified theories expounded in his treatises. Machiavelli also holds a place in the history of imaginative literature, above all for La Mandragola (1518), one of the outstanding comedies of the century.