Of the latter some are hereditary, others acquired.

Of the principalities acquired in the lifetime of the ruler some are wholly new, like Milan under Francesco Sforza; others are added of hereditary kingdoms, like Naples to Spain.
Again, such acquired states have been previously accustomed either to the rule of a single man or to self-government.

Finally they are won either with the conqueror's own or with borrowed armies, either by fortune or by ability.[1] Thus nine conditions under which principalities may be considered are established at the outset.
[1] The word Virtu, which I have translated ability, is almost equivalent to the Greek [Greek: _arete_], before it had received a moral definition, or to the Roman Virtus.

It is very far, as will be gathered from the sequel of the _Principe_, from denoting what we mean by Virtue.
The short chapter devoted by Machiavelli to hereditary principalities may be passed over as comparatively unimportant.

It is characteristic of Italian politics that the only instance he adduces of this form of government in Italy is the Duchy of Ferrara.