The measure of prudence according to my teaching is success. If a Prince acts prudently in all matters, he will no doubt succeed, unless of course fortune, or shall I say misfortune, is his downfall. Fortune and opportunity play a strong role in the success of every person. Fortune can also be called necessity whereas opportunity can also be termed chance. In my book, I refer to the example of Moses who had the fortune of finding the people of Israel enslaved and oppressed in Egypt which gave him an opportunity to form a safe place for his people.
Success requires fortune, opportunity and virtue.
Virtue is needed so that the opportunity can be seen and then fulfilled. Appearance, as I mentioned previously, is another key idea of my teaching. It is imperative that a Prince appear to be good at all times, but he must not act in that way all of the time or he will not be successful. Thus it is not necessary for a Prince to have all the above-mentioned qualities in fact, but it is indeed necessary to appear to have them. It is useful and necessary for a Prince to appear generous and charitable, but he must not be so constantly.