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Rh vate individual to become a prince presupposes fortune, or talent, and the greater part of the difficulties ought to be removed by one of these two means. Nevertheless, he who has least relied on fortune is the more firmly seated: what in this case gives to a new prince considerable assistance is, that, having no other states, he is obliged to come and inhabit the new principality.

Of those who have solely by their courage and talents become princes, I will place in the first rank Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, Theseus, &c. At the first glance it would seem, that Moses ought not to be placed in this class, as he only executed the orders of Heaven; yethe merits our admiration, if it were only for having been chosen by God to communicate his will to man.

But if we examine attentively Cyrus and the rest, who have acquired or founded kingdoms, we shall find them worthy of the highest praise. We shall find, that their conduct and the steps they each pursued were not different from those of Moses: although his Master was divine, their lives and their actions equally prove that they had no other fortune than opportunity, which furnished them with the means of introducing that form of government which they conceived most appropriate. Without opportunity, their talents and their courage would have been of no avail; and without