Dating at least as far back as the Renaissance, the phrase "virtu vince fortuna" roughly translates into "ruthlessness trumps luck". Virtu is a relatively unfamiliar concept, especially when compared with its competitor in ethics - "virtue". It was Machiavelli who seems to have first popularized the phrase, insisting that an uncompromising and predatory ambition towards one's goals will yield results, even in spite of the obstacles that nature or coincidence will try you with.
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