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womanish
the prince
But to turn to those who became rulers through their own
qualities rather than by luck, no doubt the most impressive
are: Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, Theseus and suchlike figures.
And though we can hardly say much about Moses, since he
merely carried out God’s orders, all the same we have to
admire him for the grace that made him worthy of God’s
attention. But let’s look at Cyrus and other men who won
and founded kingdoms. We’ll find they are all admirable and
when we look into the specific actions each took and the
institutions they established, we’ll see they don’t differ that
much from what Moses did under divine guidance. Analysing
their lives and achievements, we notice that the only part luck
played was in giving them an initial opportunity: they were
granted the raw material and had the chance to mould it into
whatever shape they wanted. Without this opportunity their
talent would have gone unused, and without their talent the
opportunity would have gone begging.
So, if Moses hadn’t found the people of Israel in Egypt,
enslaved and oppressed and in need of a leader to get them
out of the situation, they would never have been willing to
follow him. If Romulus hadn’t been abandoned at birth and
chosen to leave Alba Longa, how could he have become king
and founder of Rome? If Cyrus hadn’t found the Persians
ready to rebel against the occupation of the Medes, and the
Medes undisciplined and effeminate after a long period of
peace, he couldn’t have achieved what he did. And Theseus
could hardly have shown his qualities if the Athenians hadn’t
first been defeated and dispersed. These opportunities made
these men’s fortunes and it was because of their remarkable
qualities that they were able to recognize and grasp the oppor-
tunities, bringing glory and even greater good fortune to their
countries.
These men and others like them who rise to sovereignty
through their own abilities face all kinds of difficulties when
setting up their states but then hold on to them fairly easily.