《君主论·第二十五章·命运在人事中的力量·如何抗衡》第2节
And if you will consider Italy, which is the seat of these changes, and which has given to them their impulse, you will see it to be an open country without barriers and without any defence. For if it had been defended by proper valour, as are Germany, Spain, and France, either this invasion would not have made the great changes it has made or it would not have come at all. And this I consider enough to say concerning resistance to fortune in general. But confining myself more to the particular, I say that a prince may be seen happy to-day and ruined to-morrow without having shown any change of disposition or character. This, I believe, arises firstly from causes that have already been discussed at length, namely, that the prince who relies entirely on fortune is lost when it changes. I believe also that he will be successful who directs his actions according to the spirit of the times, and that he whose actions do not accord with the times will not be successful. Because men are seen, in affairs that lead to the end which every man has before him, namely, glory and riches, to get there by various methods; one with caution, another with haste; one by force, another by skill; one by patience, another by its opposite; and each one succeeds in reaching the goal by a different method. One can also see of two cautious men the one attain his end, the other fail; and similarly, two men by different observances are equally successful, the one being cautious, the other impetuous; all this arises from nothing else than whether or not they conform in their methods to the spirit of the times. This follows from what I have said, that two men working differently bring about the same effect, and of two working similarly, one attains his object and the other does not.
注释摘要
马基雅维利在这一段里做了一个重要的转折：从命运的一般比喻，转向具体的政治分析。他先用意大利的惨状来印证前面那个洪水之喻——命运如同泛滥的河流，冲毁一切没有堤坝的地方。而在他看来，意大利恰恰就是一个完全没有堤坝的“敞开的国家”。所谓“堤坝”，他指的是由“德性”所铸造的军事力量与政治制度。他说，如果意大利像德意志、西班牙和法国那样，被恰当的德性武装起来，那么这…