146
THE PRINCE.
of that impetuosity and inflexibility of character which wholly governed him.
From all these circumstances we must conclude, that those who cannot change their system when occasion requires it, will unquestionably be prosperous while they glide with the stream of Fortune; but when that turns against them, they are ruined, from not being able to follow that blind goddess through all her variations.
Besides, I think that it is better to be bold than too circumspect; because Fortune is of a sex that likes not a tardy wooer, and that repulses all those who are not ardent; she declares also, more frequently, in favour of those who are young, because they are bold and enterprising. (Vide Appendix H.)
