Seite 211 von 310

I conclude, therefore that, fortune being changeful and mankind

steadfast in their ways, so long as the two are in agreement men

are successful, but unsuccessful when they fall out. For my part

I consider that it is better to be adventurous than cautious,

because fortune is a woman, and if you wish to keep her under it

is necessary to beat and ill-use her; and it is seen that she

allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous rather than by

those who go to work more coldly. She is, therefore, always,

woman-like, a lover of young men, because they are less cautious,

more violent, and with more audacity command her.

CHAPTER XXVI. AN EXHORTATION TO LIBERATE ITALY FROM THE

BARBARIANS