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This article explores the relative status of 'virtue' and 'glory' in Machiavelli's political thought by analysing the implicit cross-comparison between Agathocles the Sicilian and Scipio Africanus that the Florentine poses in The Prince and the Discourses. Machiavelli, I argue, despite superficial gestures to the contrary, suggests that Agathocles is a fully virtuous prince who never attains the glory he deserves, and that Scipio is an insufficiently virtuous captain and statesman who nevertheless manages to win unmerited eternal glory. Besides shedding new light on the central Machiavellian qualities of virtue and glory, this article uses the figures of Agathocles and Scipio to clarify Machiavelli's assessments of good and bad tyrants, prudent and imprudent statesmen, and his advice concerning the proper means of reforming corrupt republics.
