He also uses virtue in the moral means of self worth, merit, fearlessness, and dedication. That is very different from what we use today, and as the philosopher Leo Strauss once said, it is odd that "a word that used to mean the manliness of man has come to mean the chastity of women." One can find this very amusing, failing to see the severity of its truth. Machiavelli is an ancient conservative, and he considers virtue, in its original sense, an "essential ingredient indeed the highest possible achievement of good leadership." But this "highest possible achievement" makes us question the possibility of evil being the only way to reach that achievement.
Why must man have to enter into evil? Some say that man is more inclined to do evil, than to do well in order to fulfill their biological needs. One must realize that biological needs often conflict with our moral necessities. Not every man is the same. Every man has their own set of individual wants and moral goals. Some don't even acknowledge their moral needs. Societies with a majority of good people are rare, and are constantly threatened by the evil individuals that surround them. Many consider that a good leader is one that has always avoided war by concentrating on peace and prosperity.
Peace must be enforced with strict rules. Peace isn't a normal occurrence in our world, and moments of peace are often treaties signed after the result of a war. Since our enemies are inclined to do evil, we must win with valor and then impose virtue on our defeated enemies so that they can't do any more evil to us. It is true that Machiavelli believes in firm lessons toward religion and virtue by strict rules stating that they will " make them believe by force" or "one who is wishing to keep his state is often forced to do evil." .
Machiavelli never encourages brutality for the sake of brutality, cruelty for the sake of cruelty, deception for the sake of deception or evil for the sake of evil.
