THE HUMAN ORIGI NS OF F OR TUNA IN MACHIAVELLI'S THOUGHT Oded Balaban Scholars have tended to discuss whether Machiavelli regarded fortuna to be amen- able to human governanc y. Fortuna commonly appears in human consciousness as a force which is extrinsic to men's deeds, since the results of their actions are not the results that were con sc iously intend ed. I propose to show, however, that Machiavelli's use of the term can be elucidated only after it is understood as referring to the consequences of the activi ty of men rather than to a natural phenomenon. Accordingly, as I also propose to show, fortuna is on the one hand qualitatively different from providence, accident or chance, and on th e other hand, qualitatively different also from conscious human achievement, from what is wrought by human will. The governability of fortune c an , I beli eve, only be understood within the framework of this approach. I will begin by describing the two apparently contradictory senses of fortuna as they appear in Machiavelli's thought (Patt I). I will then describe the various interpretations of fortuna by different scholars (Part II). Next, I will propose a theoretical model of human activi ty whi.ch seems to me to furnish a key to under- standing what Machiavelli had in mind wh en he used th e term (Patt III). Finally, I will reconsider the question of the governabili ty of for tuna from the perspective I have proposed (Part IV). I Numerous interpretations have been proposed for the role offortuna in Machiavelli's thought. It is indeed one of Machiavelli 's trickiest terms. The source of the contra- dictory interpretations of f ortuna is to be fo und in Machiavelli's own writings. I propose therefore to give an account of th e apparently different uses of fortuna in his wlitings. As to the governability of fortuna Machi av elli appears to express two contradic- tory views. Sometimes, he says, th e control off ortuna depends on the possession of a particular knowledge or skill. In a letter to Francesco Vettori, Machiavelli says: 'Fortune has determined that since I don't know how to talk about the silk business or th e wool business, or about profits and losses, I have to talk about the govern- ment. >1 Now, if we assume that th e acquisition of a patticulat· knowledge or skill depends solely on one's will, thenf ortuna is governable by one's conscious will. I Niccolb Machiavelli, 'Lettere fa miIi ari ', in Tu ne Ie op ere sloriche e letterarie (Florence, 1929), ed. G. Barbera, p. 882. (English edition: The Lellers o/Machiavelli, tran s. Allan Gilbert (New York, 1961), p.104.) HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT. V ol. Xl. No. 1. Spring 1990