《君主论·第二十五章·命运在人事中的力量·如何抗衡》第1节
It is not unknown to me how many men have had, and still have, the opinion that the affairs of the world are in such wise governed by fortune and by God that men with their wisdom cannot direct them and that no one can even help them; and because of this they would have us believe that it is not necessary to labour much in affairs, but to let chance govern them. This opinion has been more credited in our times because of the great changes in affairs which have been seen, and may still be seen, every day, beyond all human conjecture. Sometimes pondering over this, I am in some degree inclined to their opinion. Nevertheless, not to extinguish our free will, I hold it to be true that Fortune is the arbiter of one-half of our actions, but that she still leaves us to direct the other half, or perhaps a little less. Frederick the Great was accustomed to say: “The older one gets the more convinced one becomes that his Majesty King Chance does three-quarters of the business of this miserable universe.” Sorel’s “Eastern Question.” I compare her to one of those raging rivers, which when in flood overflows the plains, sweeping away trees and buildings, bearing away the soil from place to place; everything flies before it, all yield to its violence, without being able in any way to withstand it; and yet, though its nature be such, it does not follow therefore that men, when the weather becomes fair, shall not make provision, both with defences and barriers, in such a manner that, rising again, the waters may pass away by canal, and their force be neither so unrestrained nor so dangerous. So it happens with fortune, who shows her power where valour has not prepared to resist her, and thither she turns her forces where she knows that barriers and defences have not been raised to constrain her.
注释摘要
这一章的开篇，马基雅维利直接面对的是一个古老而顽固的信念：世间万事由命运或上帝主宰，人的智慧既不能指引事态走向，也无法补救已经倾覆的局势，因此人不必苦劳经营，不如听凭机缘摆布。他指出，这个意见在他所处的时代尤其流行，因为意大利几乎每天都在发生超出人类预见的剧变，让人不得不倾向于相信凡事早已前定。但他随即划出一道底线：即使他本人有时也免不了受到这种想法的影响…