#g7999999         ,,renaissance ,,in    
,,italy  ,the ,age of the ,despots  by  
,,john ,,addington ,,symonds  ,author of
 ,studies of the ,greek ,poets1         
,sketches in ,italy and ,greece1 etc4   
',di questi adunque oziosi principi1 e  
di queste vilissime armi1 sara piena la 
mia ,istoria'  ,mach4 #ast4 ,fior4 lib4 
i4     ,new ,york ,henry ,holt and      
,company  #ahhh     ,,to  ,,my ,,friend 
,,john ,,beddoe1 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s41   ,i
 ,,dedicate ,,my ,,work  ,,on  ,,the    
,,italian ,,renaissance4   ,,author',s  
,,edition     ,,author',s ,,note ,,to   
,,the ,,american ,,edition4  ,though    
these books taken together and in the   
order planned by the author form one    
connected study of ,italian culture at a
 certain period of history1 still each  
aims at a completeness of its own1 and  
each can be read independently of its   
companions4 ,that the author does not   
regard acquaintance with any one of them
 as essential to a profitable reading of
 any other has been shown by the        

publication of each with a separate     
title-page and without numeration of the
 volumes1 while all three bear the same 
general heading of ,renaissance in      
,italy4     ,,preface4   ,this volume is
 the ,first ,part of a work upon the    
',renaissance in ,italy4' ,the ,second  
,part treats of the ,revival of         
,learning4 ,the ,third1 of the ,fine    
,arts4 ,the ,fourth ,part1 in two       
volumes1 is devoted to ,italian         
,literature4  ,owing to the extent of   
the ground ,i have attempted to         
traverse1 ,i feel conscious that the    
students of special departments will    
find much to be desired in my handling  
of each part4 ,in some respects ,i hope 
that the several portions of the work   
may complete and illustrate each other4 
,many topics1 for example1 have been    
omitted from ,chapter ,,viii4 in this   
volume because they seemed better       
adapted to treatment in the future4     
,one of the chief difficulties which the
 critic has to meet in dealing with the 

,italian ,renaissance is the            
determination of the limits of the      
epoch4 ,two dates1 #adec and #aebg1     
marking respectively the fall of        
,constantinople and the sack of ,rome1  
are convenient for fixing in the mind   
that narrow space of time during which  
the ,renaissance culminated4 ,but in    
order to trace its progress up to this  
point1 it is necessary to go back to a  
far more remote period2 nor1 again1 is  
it possible to maintain strict          
chronological consistency in treating of
 the several branches of the whole      
theme4  ,the books of which the most    
frequent use has been made in this first
 portion of the work are ,sismondi's    
',republiques ,italiennes'2 ,muratori's 
',rerum ,italicarum ,scriptores'2 the   
',archivio ,storico ,italiano'2 the     
seventh volume of ,michelet's ',histoire
 de ,france'2 the seventh and eighth    
volumes of ,gregorovius' ',geschichte   
der ,stadt ,rom'2 ,ferrari's            
',rivoluzioni d' ,italia'2 ,alberi's    

series of ,despatches2 ,gino ,capponi's 
',storia della ,repubblica di ,firenze'2
 and ,burckhardt's ',cultur der         
,renaissance in ,italien4' ,to the      
last-named essay ,i must acknowledge    
especial obligations4 ,it fell under my 
notice when ,i had planned1 and in a    
great measure finished1 my own work4    
,but it would be difficult for me to    
exaggerate the profit ,i have derived   
from the comparison of my opinions with 
those of a writer so thorough in his    
learning and so delicate in his         
perceptions as ,jacob ,burckhardt1 or   
the amount ,i owe to his acute and      
philosophical handling of the whole     
subject4 ,i must also express a special 
debt to ,ferrari1 many of whose views ,i
 have adopted in the ,chapter on        
',italian ,history4' ,with regard to the
 alterations introduced into the        
substance of the book in this edition1  
it will be enough to say that ,i have   
endeavored to bring each chapter up to  
the level of present knowledge4  ,in    

conclusion1 ,i once more ask indulgence 
for a volume which1 though it aims at a 
completeness of its own1 is professedly 
but one part of a long inquiry4         
,,contents4  ,,chapter ,i4  ,,the       
,,spirit ,,of ,,the ,,renaissance4      
,difficulty of fixing ,date--,meaning of
 ,word ,renaissance--,the ,emancipation 
of the ,reason--,relation of ,feudalism 
to the ,renaissance--,mediaeval         
,warnings of the ,renaissance--,abelard1
 ,bacon1 ,joachim of ,flora1 the        
,provencals1 the ,heretics1 ,frederick  
,,ii4--,dante1 ,petrarch1               
,boccaccio--,physical ,energy of the    
,italians--,the ,revival of             
,learning--,the ,double ,discovery of   
the ,world and of ,man--,exploration of 
the ,universe and of the                
,globe--,science--,the ,fine ,arts and  
,scholarship--,art ,humanizes the       
,conceptions of the ,church--,three     
,stages in the ,history of              
,scholarship--,the ,age of ,desire--,the
 ,age of ,acquisition--,the ,legend of  

,julia's ,corpse--,the ,age of the      
,printers and ,critics--,the            
,emancipation of the ,conscience--,the  
,reformation and the ,modern ,critical  
,spirit--,mechanical ,inventions--,the  
,place of ,italy in the ,renaissance ,p4
 #a4   ,,chapter ,,ii4  ,,italian       
,,history4  ,the special ,difficulties  
of this ,subject--,apparent             
,confusion--,want of leading            
,motive--,the ,papacy--,the             
,empire--,the ,republics--,the          
,despots--,the ,people--,the            
,dismemberment of ,italy--,two main     
,topics--,the ,rise of the              
,communes--,gothic                      
,kingdom--,lombards--,franks--,germans--
,the ,bishops--,the ,consuls--,the      
,podestas--,civil ,wars--,despots--,the 
,balance of ,power--,the ,five ,italian 
,states--,the ,italians fail to achieve 
,national ,unity--,the ,causes of this  
,failure--,conditions under which it    
might have been achieved--,a            
,republic--,a ,kingdom--,a              

,confederation--,a ,tyranny--,the ,part 
played by the ,papacy ,p4 #cb4          
,,chapter ,,iii4  ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,the
 ,,despots4  ,salient ,qualities of the 
,fourteenth and ,fifteenth ,centuries in
 ,italy--,relation of ,italy to the     
,empire and to the ,church--,the        
,illegitimate ,title of ,italian        
,potentates--,the ,free ,emergence of   
,personality--,frederick ,,ii4 and the  
,influence of his ,example--,ezzelino da
 ,romano--,six ,sorts of ,italian       
,despots--,feudal ,seigneurs--,vicars of
 the ,empire--,captains of the          
,people--,condottieri--,nephews and     
,sons of ,popes--,eminent               
,burghers--,italian ,incapacity for     
,self-government in                     
,commonwealths--,forcible ,tenure of    
,power encouraged ,personal             
,ability--,the ,condition of the        
,despot's ,life--,instances of ,domestic
 ,crime in the ,ruling                  
,houses--,macaulay's ,description of the
 ,italian ,tyrant--,savonarola's and    

,matteo ,villani's ,descriptions of a   
,tyrant--,the ,absorption of ,smaller by
 ,greater ,tyrannies in the ,fourteenth 
,century--,history of the               
,visconti--,francesco ,sforza--,the     
,part played in ,italian ,politics by   
,military ,leaders--,mercenary          
,warfare--,alberico da ,barbiano1       
,braccio da ,montone1 ,sforza           
,attendolo--,history of the ,sforza     
,dynasty--,the ,murder of ,galeazzo     
,maria ,sforza--,the ,ethics of         
,tyrannicide in ,italy--,relation of the
 ,despots to ,arts and                  
,letters--,sigismondo ,pandolfo         
,malatesta--,duke ,federigo of          
,urbino--,the ,school of ,vittorino and 
the ,court of ,urbino--,the ,cortegiano 
of ,castiglione--,the ,ideals of the    
,italian ,courtier and the ,modern      
,gentleman--,general ,retrospect ,p4    
#ii4   ,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,the           
,,republics4  ,the different            
,physiognomies of the ,italian          
,republics--,the ,similarity of their   

,character as ,municipalities--,the     
,rights of ,citizenship--,causes of     
,disturbance in the                     
,commonwealths--,belief in the          
,plasticity of ,constitutions--,example 
of ,genoa--,savonarola's                
,constitution--,machiavelli's ,discourse
 to ,leo ,x4--,complexity of ,interests 
and ,factions--,example of              
,siena--,small ,size of ,italian        
,cities--,mutual ,mistrust and ,jealousy
 of the ,commonwealths--,the notable    
,exception of ,venice--,constitution of 
,venice--,her wise ,system of           
,government--,contrast of ,florentine   
,vicissitudes--,the ,magistracies of    
,florence--,balia and ,parlamento--,the 
,arts of the ,medici--,comparison of    
,venice and ,florence in respect to     
,intellectual ,activity and             
,mobility--,parallels between ,greece   
and ,italy--,essential                  
,differences--,the ,mercantile          
,character of ,italian ,burghs--,the    
',trattato del ,governo della           

,famiglia'--,the ,bourgeois ,tone of    
,florence1 and the ,ideal of a          
,burgher--,mercenary ,arms ,p4 #aic4    
,,chapter ,v4  ,,the ,,florentine       
,,historians4  ,florence1 the ,city of  
,intelligence--,cupidity1 ,curiosity1   
and the ,love of ,beauty--,florentine   
,historical ,literature--,philosophical 
,study of ,history--,ricordano          
,malespini--,florentine ,history        
compared with the ,chronicles of other  
,italian ,towns--,the ,villani--,the    
,date #acjj--,statistics--,dante's      
,political ,essays and ,pamphlets--,dino
 ,compagni--,latin ,histories of        
,florence in ,fifteenth                 
,century--,lionardo ,bruni and ,poggio  
,bracciolini--,the ,historians of the   
,first ,half of the ,sixteenth          
,century--,men of ,action and ,men of   
,letters2 the ,doctrinaires--,florence  
between #adid and #aecg--,varchi1       
,segni1 ,nardi1 ,pitti1 ,nerli1         
,guicciardini--,the ,political          
,importance of these ,writers--,the     

,last ,years of ,florentine             
,independence1 and the ,siege of        
#aebi--,state of ,parties--,filippo     
,strozzi--,different ,views of          
,florentine ,weakness taken by the      
,historians--,their ,literary           
,qualities--,francesco ,guicciardini and
 ,niccolo ,machiavelli--,scientific     
,statists--,discord between ,life and   
,literature--,the ,biography of         
,guicciardini--,his ',istoria           
d',italia1' ',dialogo del ,reggimento di
 ,firenze1' ',storia ,fiorentina1'      
',ricordi'--,biography of               
,machiavelli--,his ,scheme of a         
,national ,militia--,dedication of ',the
 ,prince'--,political ,ethics of the    
,italian ,renaissance--,the             
',discorsi'--,the ,seven ,books on the  
,art of ,war and the ',history of       
,florence4 ,p4 #bdf4   ,,chapter ,,vi4  
',,the ,,prince' ,,of ,,machiavelli4    
,the ,sincerity of ,machiavelli in this 
,essay--,machiavellism--,his deliberate 
,formulation of a cynical political     

,theory--,analysis of ',the             
,prince'--,nine ,conditions of          
,principalities--,the ,interest of the  
,conqueror acknowledged as the sole     
,motive of his ,policy--,critique of    
,louis ,,xii4--,feudal ,monarchy and    
,oriental ,despotism--,three ,ways of   
subduing a free ,city--,example of      
,pisa--,principalities founded by       
,adventurers--,moses1 ,romulus1 ,cyrus1 
,theseus--,savonarola--,francesco       
,sforza--,cesare ,borgia--,machiavelli's
 personal ,relation to                  
him--,machiavelli's ,admiration of      
,cesare's ,genius--,a ,sketch of        
,cesare's ,career--,concerning those who
 have attained to ,sovereignty by       
,crimes--,oliverotto da ,fermo--,the    
,uses of ,cruelty--,messer ,ramiro d'   
,orco--,the pessimistic ,morality of    
,machiavelli--,on the ,faith of         
,princes--,alexander ,,vi4--,the ,policy
 of seeming virtuous and                
honest--,absence of chivalrous ,feeling 
in ,italy--,the ,military ,system of a  

powerful ,prince--,criticism of         
,mercenaries and                        
,auxiliaries--,necessity of ,national   
,militia--,the ,art of ,war--,patriotic 
,conclusion of the                      
,treatise--,machiavelli and ,savonarola 
,p4 #ccd4   ,,chapter ,,vii4  ,,the     
,,popes ,,of ,,the ,,renaissance4  ,the 
,papacy between #addg and #aebg--,the   
,contradictions of the ,renaissance     
,period exemplified by the              
,popes--,relaxation of their hold over  
the ,states of the ,church and ,rome    
during the ,exile in ,avignon--,nicholas
 ,v4--,his ,conception of a ,papal      
,monarchy--,pius ,,ii4--,the            
,crusade--,renaissance ,pontiffs--,paul 
,,ii4--,persecution of the              
,platonists--,sixtus                    
,,iv4--,nepotism--,the ,families of     
,riario and ,delia                      
,rovere--,avarice--,love of             
,warfare--,pazzi                        
,conspiracy--,inquisition in            
,spain--,innocent                       

,,viii4--,franceschetto ,cibo--,the     
,election of ,alexander ,,vi4--,his     
,consolidation of the ,temporal         
,power--,policy toward ,colonna and     
,orsini ,families--,venality of         
everything in ,rome--,policy toward the 
,sultan--,the ,index--,the ,borgia      
,family--,lucrezia--,murder of ,duke of 
,gandia--,cesare and his                
,advancement--,the ,death of            
,alexander--,julius ,,ii4--,his violent 
,temper--,great ,projects and commanding
 ,character--,leo ,x4--,his ,inferiority
 to ,julius--,s4 ,peter's and the       
,reformation--,adrian ,,vi4--,his       
,hatred of ,pagan ,culture--,disgust of 
the ,roman ,court at his                
,election--,clement ,,vii4--,sack of    
,rome--,enslavement of ,florence ,p4    
#cga4   ,,chapter ,,viii4  ,,the        
,,church ,,and ,,morality4  ,corruption 
of the ,church--,degradation and        
,division of ,italy--,opinions of       
,machiavelli1 ,guicciardini1 and ,king  
,ferdinand of ,naples--,incapacity of   

the ,italians for thorough              
,reformation--,the ,worldliness and     
,culture of the ,renaissance--,witness  
of ,italian ,authors against the ,papal 
,court and the ,convents--,superstitious
 ,respect for ,relics--,separation      
between ,religion and                   
,morality--,mixture of ,contempt and    
,reverence for the ,popes--,gianpaolo   
,baglioni--,religious ,sentiments of the
 ,tyrannicides--,pietro ,paolo          
,boscoli--,tenacity of ,religions--,the 
direct ,interest of the ,italians in    
,rome--,reverence for the ,sacraments of
 the ,church--,opinions pronounced by   
,englishmen on ,italian                 
,immorality--,bad ,faith and            
,sensuality--,the ,element of the ,fancy
 in ,italian ,vice--,the ,italians not  
,cruel1 or ,brutal1 or ,intemperate by  
,nature--,domestic ,murders--,sense of  
,honor in ,italy--,onore and            
,onesta--,general ,refinement--,good    
,qualities of the ,people--,religious   
,revivalism ,p4 #ddg4   ,,chapter ,,ix4 

,,savonarola4  ,the ,attitude of        
,savonarola toward the                  
,renaissance--,his ,parentage1 ,birth1  
and ,childhood at ,ferrara--,his ,poem  
on the ,ruin of the ,world--,joins the  
,dominicans at ,bologna--,letter to his 
,father--,poem on the ,ruin of the      
,church--,begins to preach in           
#adhb--;,first ,visit to ,florence--,san
 ,gemignano--,his ,prophecy--,brescia in
 #adhf--,personal ,appearance and ,style
 of ,oratory--,effect on his            
audience--,the three ,conclusions--,his 
,visions--,savonarola's ,shortcomings as
 a patriotic ,statesman--,his sincere   
,belief in his prophetic                
,calling--,friendship with ,pico della  
,mirandola--,settles in ,florence1      
#adij--;,convent of ,san                
,marco--,savonarola's ,relation to      
,lorenzo de' ,medici--,the death of     
,lorenzo--,sermons of #adic and         
#adid--the ,constitution of             
#adie--,theocracy in                    
,florence--,piagnoni1 ,bigi1 and        

,arrabbiati--,war between ,savonarola   
and ,alexander ,,vi4--,the ,signory     
suspends him from preaching in the      
,duomo in #adih--;,attempts to call a   
,council--,the ,ordeal by ,fire--,san   
,marco stormed by the ,mob--,trial and  
,execution of ,savonarola  ,p4 #dig4    
,,chapter ,x4  ,,charles ,,viii4  ,the  
,italian ,states confront the ,great    
,nations of ,europe--,policy of ,louis  
,,xi4 of ,france--,character of ,charles
 ,,viii4--,preparations for the         
,invasion of ,italy--,position of       
,lodovico ,sforza--,diplomatic          
,difficulties in ,italy after the ,death
 of ,lorenzo de' ,medici--,weakness of  
the ,republics--,il ,moro--,the year    
#adid---;,alfonso of                    
,naples--,inefficiency of the ,allies to
 cope with ,france--,charles at ,lyons  
is stirred up to the ,invasion of ,italy
 by ,giuliano della ,rovere--,charles at
 ,asti and ,pavia--,murder of ,gian     
,galeazzo ,sforza--,mistrust in the     
,french ,army--,rapallo and             

,fivizzano--,the ,entrance into         
,tuscany--,part played by ,piero de'    
,medici--,charles at ,pisa--,his        
,entrance into ,florence--,piero        
,capponi--,the ,march on ,rome--,entry  
into ,rome--,panic of ,alexander        
,,vi4--,the ,march on ,naples--,the     
,spanish ,dynasty3 ,alfonso and         
,ferdinand--,alfonso ,,ii4 escapes to   
,sicily--,ferdinand ,,ii4 takes ,refuge 
in ,ischia--,charles at ,naples--,the   
,league against the ,french--,de        
,comines at ,venice--,charles makes his 
,retreat by ,rome1 ,siena1 ,pisa1 and   
,pontremoli--,the ,battle of            
,fornovo--,charles reaches ,asti and    
returns to ,france--,italy becomes the  
,prize to be fought for by ,france1     
,spain1 and ,germany--,importance of the
 ,expedition of ,charles ,,viii4 ,p4    
#ecg4          99       99       99     
99       99  ,,appendices4  ,no4        
,i4--,the ,blood-madness of ,tyrants    
#ehi  ,no4 ,,ii4--,translations of      
,nardi1 ',istorie di ,firenze1' lib4 l4 

cap4 #d2   and of ,varchi1 ',storia     
,fiorentina1' lib4 iii4 caps4 #bj1      
#ba1 #bb2 lib4 ix4 caps4 #dh1 #di1 #df  
#eib  ,no4 ,,iii4--,the ,character of   
,alexander ,,vi41 from ,guicciardini's  
',storia ,fiorentina1' cap4 #bg         
#fjc  ,no4 ,,iv4--,religious ,revivals  
in ,mediaeval ,italy                    
#fjf  ,no4 ,v4--,the ',sommario della   
,storia d' ,italia dal #aeaa al #aebg1  
by ,francesco ,vettori                  
#fbd     ,,renaissance ,,in ,,italy4    
,,chapter ,i4  ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,the
 ,,renaissance4   ,difficulty of fixing 
,date--,meaning of ,word                
,renaissance--,the ,emancipation of the 
,reason--,relation of ,feudalism to the 
,renaissance--,mediaeval ,warnings of   
the ,renaissance--,abelard1 ,bacon1     
,joachim of ,flora1 the ,provencals1 the
 ,heretics1 ,frederick ,,ii4--,dante1   
,petrarch1 ,boccaccio--,physical ,energy
 of the ,italians--,the ,revival of     
,learning--,the ,double ,discovery of   
the ,world and of ,man--,exploration of 

the ,universe and of the                
,globe--,science--,the ,fine ,arts and  
,scholarship--,art ,humanizes the       
,conceptions of the ,church--,three     
,stages in the ,history of              
,scholarship--,the ,age of ,desire--,the
 ,age of ,acquisition--,the ,legend of  
,julia's ,corpse--,the ,age of the      
,printers and ,critics--,the            
,emancipation of the ,conscience--,the  
,reformation and the ,modern ,critical  
,spirit--,mechanical ,inventions--,the  
,place of ,italy in the ,renaissance4   
,the word ,renaissance has of late years
 received a more extended significance  
than that which is implied in our       
,english equivalent--the ,revival of    
,learning4 ,we use it to denote the     
whole transition from the ,middle ,ages 
to the ,modern ,world2 and though it is 
possible to assign certain limits to the
 period during which this transition    
took place1 we cannot fix on any dates  
so positively as to say--between this   
year and that the movement was          

accomplished4 ,to do so would be like   
trying to name the days on which spring 
in any particular season began and ended
 ,yet we speak of spring as different   
from winter and from summer4 ,the truth 
is1 that in many senses we are still in 
mid-,renaissance4 ,the evolution has not
 been completed4 ,the new life is our   
own and is progressive4 ,as in the      
transformation scene of some great      
,masque1 so here the waning and the     
waxing shapes are mingled2 the new      
forms1 at first shadowy and filmy1 gain 
upon the old2 and now both blend2 and   
now the old scene fades into the        
background2 still1 who shall say whether
 the new scene be finally set up8  ,in  
like manner we cannot refer the whole   
phenomena of the ,renaissance to any one
 cause or circumstance1 or limit them   
within the field of any one department  
of human knowledge4 ,if we ask the      
students of art what they mean by the   
,renaissance1 they will reply that it   
was the revolution effected in          

architecture1 painting1 and sculpture by
 the recovery of antique monuments4     
,students of literature1 philosophy1 and
 theology see in the ,renaissance that  
discovery of manuscripts1 that passion  
for antiquity1 that progress in         
philology and criticism1 which led to a 
correct knowledge of the classics1 to a 
fresh taste in poetry1 to new systems of
 thought1 to more accurate analysis1 and
 finally to the ,lutheran schism and the
 emancipation of the conscience4 ,men of
 science will discourse about the       
discovery of the solar system by        
,copernicus and ,galileo1 the anatomy of
 ,vesalius1 and ,harvey's theory of the 
circulation of the blood4 ,the          
origination of a truly scientific method
 is the point which interests them most 
in the ,renaissance4 ,the political     
historian1 again1 has his own answer to 
the question4 ,the extinction of        
feudalism1 the development of the great 
nationalities of ,europe1 the growth of 
monarchy1 the limitation of the         

ecclesiastical authority and the        
erection of the ,papacy into an ,italian
 kingdom1 and in the last place the     
gradual emergence of that sense of      
popular freedom which exploded in the   
,revolution2 these are the aspects of   
the movement which engross his          
attention4 ,jurists will describe the   
dissolution of legal fictions based upon
 the false decretals1 the acquisition of
 a true text of the ,roman ,code1 and   
the attempt to introduce a rational     
method into the theory of modern        
jurisprudence1 as well as to commence   
the study of international law4 ,men    
whose attention has been turned to the  
history of discoveries and inventions   
will relate the exploration of ,america 
and the ,east1 or will point to the     
benefits conferred upon the world by the
 arts of printing and engraving1 by the 
compass and the telescope1 by paper and 
by gunpowder2 and will insist that at   
the moment of the ,renaissance all these
 instruments of mechanical utility      

started into existence1 to aid the      
dissolution of what was rotten and must 
perish1 to strengthen and perpetuate the
 new and useful and life-giving4 ,yet   
neither any one of these answers taken  
separately1 nor indeed all of them      
together1 will offer a solution of the  
problem4 ,by the term ,renaissance1 or  
new birth1 is indicated a natural       
movement1 not to be explained by this or
 that characteristic1 but to be accepted
 as an effort of humanity for which at  
length the time had come1 and in the    
onward progress of which we still       
participate4 ,the history of the        
,renaissance is not the history of arts1
 or of sciences1 or of literature1 or   
even of nations4 ,it is the history of  
the attainment of self-conscious freedom
 by the human spirit manifested in the  
,european races4 ,it is no mere         
political mutation1 no new fashion of   
art1 no restoration of classical        
standards of taste4 ,the arts and the   
inventions1 the knowledge and the books1

 which suddenly became vital at the time
 of the ,renaissance1 had long lain     
neglected on the shores of the ,dead    
,sea which we call the ,middle ,ages4   
,it was not their discovery which caused
 the ,renaissance4 ,but it was the      
intellectual energy1 the spontaneous    
outburst of intelligence1 which enabled 
mankind at that moment to make use of   
them4 ,the force then generated still   
continues1 vital and expansive1 in the  
spirit of the modern world4  ,how was   
it1 then1 that at a certain period1     
about fourteen centuries after ,christ1 
to speak roughly1 the intellect of the  
,western races awoke as it were from    
slumber and began once more to be       
active8 ,that is a question which we can
 but imperfectly answer4 ,the mystery of
 organic life defeats analysis2 whether 
the subject of our inquiry be a         
germ-cell1 or a phenomenon so complex as
 the commencement of a new religion1 or 
the origination of a new disease1 or a  
new phase in civilization1 it is alike  

impossible to do more than to state the 
conditions under which the fresh growth 
begins1 and to point out what are its   
manifestations4 ,in doing so1 moreover1 
we must be careful not to be carried    
away by words of our own making4        
,renaissance1 ,reformation1 and         
,revolution are not separate things1    
capable of being isolated2 they are     
moments in the history of the human race
 which we find it convenient to name2   
while history itself is one and         
continuous1 so that our utmost endeavors
 to regard some portion of it           
independently of the rest will be       
defeated4  ,a glance at the history of  
the preceding centuries shows that1     
after the dissolution of the fabric of  
the ,roman ,empire1 there was no        
immediate possibility of any            
intellectual revival4 ,the barbarous    
races which had deluged ,europe had to  
absorb their barbarism3 the fragments of
 ,roman civilization had either to be   
destroyed or assimilated3 the ,germanic 

nations had to receive culture and      
religion from the people they had       
superseded2 the ,church had to be       
created1 and a new form given to the old
 idea of the ,empire4 ,it was further   
necessary that the modern nationalities 
should be defined1 that the modern      
languages should be formed1 that peace  
should be secured to some extent1 and   
wealth accumulated1 before the          
indispensable conditions for a          
resurrection of the free spirit of      
humanity could exist4 ,the first nation 
which fulfilled these conditions was the
 first to inaugurate the new era4 ,the  
reason why ,italy took the lead in the  
,renaissance was1 that ,italy possessed 
a language1 a favorable climate1        
political freedom1 and commercial       
prosperity1 at a time when other nations
 were still semi-barbarous4 ,where the  
human spirit had been buried in the     
decay of the ,roman ,empire1 there it   
arose upon the ruins of that ,empire2   
and the ,papacy1 called by ,hobbes the  

ghost of the dead ,roman ,empire1       
seated1 throned and crowned1 upon the   
ashes thereof1 to some extent bridged   
over the gulf between the two periods4  
,keeping steadily in sight the truth    
that the real quality of the            
,renaissance was intellectual1 that it  
was the emancipation of the reason for  
the modern world1 we may inquire how    
feudalism was related to it4 ,the mental
 condition of the ,middle ,ages was one 
of ignorant prostration before the idols
 of the ,church--dogma and authority and
 scholasticism4 ,again1 the nations of  
,europe during these centuries were     
bound down by the brute weight of       
material necessities4 ,without the power
 over the outer world which the physical
 sciences and useful arts communicate1  
without the ease of life which wealth   
and plenty secure1 without the          
traditions of a civilized past1 emerging
 slowly from a state of utter rawness1  
each nation could barely do more than   
gain and keep a difficult hold upon     

existence4 ,to depreciate the work      
achieved during the ,middle ,ages would 
be ridiculous4 ,yet we may point out    
that it was done unconsciously--that it 
was a gradual and instinctive process of
 becoming4 ,the reason1 in one word1 was
 not awake2 the mind of man was ignorant
 of its own treasures and its own       
capacities4 ,it is pathetic to think of 
the mediaeval students poring over a    
single ill-translated sentence of       
,porphyry1 endeavoring to extract from  
its clauses whole systems of logical    
science1 and torturing their brains     
about puzzles hardly less idle than the 
dilemma of ,buridan's donkey1 while all 
the time1 at ,constantinople and at     
,seville1 in ,greek and ,arabic1 ,plato 
and ,aristotle were alive but sleeping1 
awaiting only the call of the           
,renaissance to bid them speak with     
voice intelligible to the modern mind4  
,it is no less pathetic to watch tide   
after tide of the ocean of humanity     
sweeping from all parts of ,europe1 to  

break in passionate but unavailing foam 
upon the shores of ,palestine1 whole    
nations laying life down for the chance 
of seeing the walls of ,jerusalem1      
worshiping the sepulcher whence ,christ 
had risen1 loading their fleet with     
relics and with cargoes of the sacred   
earth1 while all the time within their  
breasts and brains the spirit of the    
,lord was with them1 living but         
unrecognized1 the spirit of freedom     
which erelong was destined to restore   
its birthright to the world4  ,meanwhile
 the middle age accomplished its own    
work4 ,slowly and obscurely1 amid       
stupidity and ignorance1 were being     
forged the nations and the languages of 
,europe4 ,italy1 ,france1 ,spain1       
,england1 ,germany took shape4 ,the     
actors of the future drama acquired     
their several characters1 and formed the
 tongues whereby their personalities    
should be expressed4 ,the qualities     
which render modern society different   
from that of the ancient world1 were    

being impressed upon these nations by   
,christianity1 by the ,church1 by       
chivalry1 by feudal customs4 ,then came 
a further phase4 ,after the nations had 
been molded1 their monarchies and       
dynasties were established4 ,feudalism  
passed by slow degrees into various     
forms of more or less defined autocracy4
 ,in ,italy and ,germany numerous       
principalities sprang into pre-eminence2
 and though the nation was not united   
under one head1 the monarchical         
principle was acknowledged4 ,france and 
,spain submitted to a despotism1 by     
right of which the king could say1      
',l',etat c'est moi4' ,england developed
 her complicated constitution of popular
 right and royal prerogative4 ,at the   
same time the ,latin ,church underwent a
 similar process of transformation4 ,the
 ,papacy became more autocratic4 ,like  
the king1 the ,pope began to say1       
',l',eglise c'est moi4' ,this merging of
 the mediaeval ,state and mediaeval     
,church in the personal supremacy of    

,king and ,pope may be termed the       
special feature of the last age of      
feudalism which preceded the            
,renaissance4 ,it was thus that the     
necessary conditions and external       
circumstances were prepared4 ,the       
organization of the five great nations1 
and the leveling of political and       
spiritual interests under political and 
spiritual despots1 formed the prelude to
 that drama of liberty of which the     
,renaissance was the first act1 the     
,reformation the second1 the ,revolution
 the third1 and which we nations of the 
present are still evolving in the       
establishment of the democratic idea4   
,meanwhile1 it must not be imagined that
 the ,renaissance burst suddenly upon   
the world in the fifteenth century      
without premonitory symptoms4 ,far from 
that3 within the middle age itself1 over
 and over again1 the reason strove to   
break loose from its fetters4 ,abelard1 
in the twelfth century1 tried to prove  
that the interminable dispute about     

entities and words was founded on a     
misapprehension4 ,roger ,bacon1 at the  
beginning of the thirteenth century1    
anticipated modern science1 and         
proclaimed that man1 by use of nature1  
can do all things4 ,joachim of ,flora1  
intermediate between the two1 drank one 
drop of the cup of prophecy offered to  
his lips1 and cried that 'the ,gospel of
 the ,father was past1 the ,gospel of   
the ,son was passing1 the ,gospel of the
 ,spirit was to be4' ,these three men1  
each in his own way1 the ,frenchman as a
 logician1 the ,englishman as an        
analyst1 the ,italian as a mystic1      
divined the future but inevitable       
emancipation of the reason of mankind4  
,nor were there wanting signs1          
especially in ,provence1 that ,aphrodite
 and ,phoebus and the ,graces were ready
 to resume their sway4 ,the premature   
civilization of that favored region1 so 
cruelly extinguished by the ,church1 was
 itself a reaction of nature against the
 restrictions imposed by ecclesiastical 

discipline2 while the songs of the      
wandering students1 known under the     
title of ,carmina ,burana1 indicate a   
revival of ,pagan or pre-,christian     
feeling in the very stronghold of       
mediaeval learning4 ,we have1 moreover1 
to remember the ,cathari1 the ,paterini1
 the ,fraticelli1 the ,albigenses1 the  
,hussites--heretics in whom the new     
light dimly shone1 but who were         
instantly exterminated by the ,church4  
,we have to commemorate the vast        
conception of the ,emperor ,frederick   
,,ii41 who strove to found a new society
 of humane culture in the ,south of     
,europe1 and to anticipate the advent of
 the spirit of modern tolerance4 ,he1   
too1 and all his race were exterminated 
by the ,papal jealousy4 ,truly we may   
say with ,michelet that the ,sibyl of   
the ,renaissance kept offering her books
 in vain to feudal ,europe4 ,in vain    
because the time was not yet4 ,the ideas
 projected thus early on the modern     
world were immature and abortive1 like  

those headless trunks and zoophitic     
members of half-molded humanity which1  
in the vision of ,empedocles1 preceded  
the birth of full-formed man4 ,the      
nations were not ready4 ,franciscans    
imprisoning ,roger ,bacon for venturing 
to examine what ,god had meant to keep  
secret2 ,dominicans preaching crusades  
against the cultivated nobles of        
,toulouse2 ,popes stamping out the seed 
of enlightened ,frederick2 ,benedictines
 erasing the masterpieces of classical  
literature to make way for their own    
litanies and lurries1 or selling pieces 
of the parchment for charms2 a laity    
devoted by superstition to saints and by
 sorcery to the devil2 a clergy sunk in 
sensual sloth or fevered with demoniac  
zeal3 these still ruled the intellectual
 destinies of ,europe4 ,therefore the   
first anticipations of the ,renaissance 
were fragmentary and sterile4  ,then    
came a second period4 ,dante's poem1 a  
work of conscious art1 conceived in a   
modern spirit and written in a modern   

tongue1 was the first true sign that    
,italy1 the leader of the nations of the
 ,west1 had shaken off her sleep4       
,petrarch followed4 ,his ideal1 of      
antique culture as the everlasting      
solace and the universal education of   
the human race1 his lifelong effort to  
recover the classical harmony of thought
 and speech1 gave a direct impulse to   
one of the chief movements of the       
,renaissance--its passionate outgoing   
toward the ancient world4 ,after        
,petrarch1 ,boccaccio opened yet another
 channel for the stream of freedom4 ,his
 conception of human existence as joy to
 be accepted with thanksgiving1 not as a
 gloomy error to be rectified by        
suffering1 familiarized the fourteenth  
century with that form of semi-pagan    
gladness which marked the real          
,renaissance4  ,in ,dante1 ,petrarch1   
and ,boccaccio ,italy recovered the     
consciousness of intellectual liberty4  
,what we call the ,renaissance had not  
yet arrived2 but their achievement      

rendered its appearance in due season   
certain4 ,with ,dante the genius of the 
modern world dared to stand alone and to
 create confidently after its own       
fashion4 ,with ,petrarch the same genius
 reached forth across the gulf of       
darkness1 resuming the tradition of a   
splendid past4 ,with ,boccaccio the same
 genius proclaimed the beauty of the    
world1 the goodliness of youth and      
strength and love and life1 unterrified 
by hell1 unappalled by the shadow of    
impending death4  ,it was now1 at the   
beginning of the fourteenth century1    
when ,italy had lost indeed the heroic  
spirit which we admire in her ,communes 
of the thirteenth1 but had gained       
instead ease1 wealth1 magnificence1 and 
that repose which springs from long     
prosperity1 that the new age at last    
began4 ,europe was1 as it were1 a fallow
 field1 beneath which lay buried the    
civilization of the old world4 ,behind  
stretched the centuries of mediaevalism1
 intellectually barren and inert4 ,of   

the future there were as yet but faint  
foreshadowings4 ,meanwhile1 the force of
 the nations who were destined to       
achieve the coming transformation was   
unexhausted2 their physical and mental  
faculties were unimpaired4 ,no ages of  
enervating luxury1 of intellectual      
endeavor1 of life artificially preserved
 or ingeniously prolonged1 had sapped   
the fiber of the men who were about to  
inaugurate the modern world4 ,severely  
nurtured1 unused to delicate living1    
these giants of the ,renaissance were   
like boys in their capacity for         
endurance1 their inordinate appetite for
 enjoyment4 ,no generations1 hungry1    
sickly1 effete1 critical1 disillusioned1
 trod them down4 ,ennui and the fatigue 
that springs from skepticism1 the       
despair of thwarted effort1 were        
unknown4 ,their fresh and unperverted   
senses rendered them keenly alive to    
what was beautiful and natural4 ,they   
yearned for magnificence1 and           
instinctively comprehended splendor4 ,at

 the same time the period of satiety was
 still far off4 ,everything seemed      
possible to their young energy2 nor had 
a single pleasure palled upon their     
appetite4 ,born1 as it were1 at the     
moment when desires and faculties are   
evenly balanced1 when the perceptions   
are not blunted nor the senses cloyed1  
opening their eyes for the first time on
 a world of wonder1 these men of the    
,renaissance enjoyed what we may term   
the first transcendent springtide of the
 modern world4 ,nothing is more         
remarkable than the fullness of the life
 that throbbed in them4 ,natures rich in
 all capacities and endowed with every  
kind of sensibility were frequent4 ,nor 
was there any limit to the play of      
personality in action4 ,we may apply to 
them what ,mr4 ,browning has written of 
,sordello's temperament3--              
,a footfall there   ,suffices to upturn 
to the warm air   ,half germinating     
spices1 mere decay   ,produces richer   
life1 and day by day   ,new pollen on   

the lily-petal grows1   ,and still more 
labyrinthine buds the rose4  ,during the
 ,middle ,ages man had lived enveloped  
in a cowl4 ,he had not seen the beauty  
of the world or had seen it only to     
cross himself1 and turn aside and tell  
his beads and pray4 ,like ,s4 ,bernard  
traveling along the shores of the ,lake 
,leman1 and noticing neither the azure  
of the waters1 nor the luxuriance of the
 vines1 nor the radiance of the         
mountains with their robe of sun and    
snow1 but bending a thought-burdened    
forehead over the neck of his mule2 even
 like this monk1 humanity had passed1 a 
careful pilgrim1 intent on the terrors  
of sin1 death1 and judgment1 along the  
highways of the world1 and had scarcely 
known that they were sightworthy1 or    
that life is a blessing4 ,beauty is a   
snare1 pleasure a sin1 the world a      
fleeting show1 man fallen and lost1     
death the only certainty1 judgment      
inevitable1 hell everlasting1 heaven    
hard to win2 ignorance is acceptable to 

,god as a proof of faith and submission2
 abstinence and mortification are the   
only safe rules of life3 these were the 
fixed ideas of the ascetic mediaeval    
,church4 ,the ,renaissance shattered and
 destroyed them1 rending the thick veil 
which they had drawn between the mind of
 man and the outer world1 and flashing  
the light of reality upon the darkened  
places of his own nature4 ,for the      
mystic teaching of the ,church was      
substituted culture in the classical    
humanities2 a new ideal was established1
 whereby man strove to make himself the 
monarch of the globe on which it is his 
privilege as well as destiny to live4   
,the ,renaissance was the liberation of 
the reason from a dungeon1 the double   
discovery of the outer and the inner    
world4  ,an external event determined   
the direction which this outburst of the
 spirit of freedom should take4 ,this   
was the contact of the modern with the  
ancient mind which followed upon what is
 called the ,revival of ,learning4 ,the 

fall of the ,greek ,empire in #adec1    
while it signalized the extinction of   
the old order1 gave an impulse to the   
now accumulated forces of the new4 ,a   
belief in the identity of the human     
spirit under all previous manifestations
 and in its uninterrupted continuity was
 generated4 ,men found that in classical
 as well as ,biblical antiquity existed 
an ideal of human life1 both moral and  
intellectual1 by which they might profit
 in the present4 ,the modern genius felt
 confidence in its own energies when it 
learned what the ancients had achieved4 
,the guesses of the ancients stimulated 
the exertions of the moderns4 ,the whole
 world's history seemed once more to be 
one4  ,the great achievements of the    
,renaissance were the discovery of the  
world and the discovery of man4#a ,under
 these two formulae may be classified   
all the phenomena which properly belong 
to this period4 ,the discovery of the   
world divides itself into two           
branches--the exploration of the globe1 

and that systematic exploration of the  
universe which is in fact what we call  
,science4 ,columbus made known ,america 
in #adib2 the ,portuguese rounded the   
,cape in #adig2 ,copernicus explained   
the solar system in #aejg4 ,it is not   
necessary to add anything to this plain 
statement2 for1 in contact with facts of
 such momentous import1 to avoid what   
seems like commonplace reflection would 
be difficult4 ,yet it is only when we   
contrast the ten centuries which        
preceded these dates with the four      
centuries which have ensued1 that we can
 estimate the magnitude of that         
,renaissance movement by means of which 
a new hemisphere has been added to      
civilization4 ,in like manner1 it is    
worth while to pause a moment and       
consider what is implied in the         
substitution of the ,copernican for the 
,ptolemaic system4 ,the world1 regarded 
in old times as the center of all       
things1 the apple of ,god's eye1 for the
 sake of which were created sun and moon

 and stars1 suddenly was found to be one
 of the many balls that roll round a    
giant sphere of light and heat1 which is
 itself but one among innumerable suns  
attended each by a cortege of planets1  
and scattered1 how we know not1 through 
infinity4 ,what has become of that      
brazen seat of the old gods1 that       
,paradise to which an ascending ,deity  
might be caught up through clouds1 and  
hidden for a moment from the eyes of his
 disciples4 ,the demonstration of the   
simplest truths of astronomy destroyed  
at a blow the legends that were most    
significant to the early ,christians by 
annihilating their symbolism4 ,well     
might the ,church persecute ,galileo for
 his proof of the world's mobility4     
,instinctively she perceived that in    
this one proposition was involved the   
principle of hostility to her most      
cherished conceptions1 to the very core 
of her mythology4 ,science was born1 and
 the warfare between scientific         
positivism and religious metaphysic was 

declared4 ,henceforth ,god could not be 
worshiped under the forms and idols of a
 sacerdotal fancy2 a new meaning had    
been given to the words3 ',god is a     
,spirit1 and they that worship ,him must
 worship ,him in spirit and in truth4'  
,the reason of man was at last able to  
study the scheme of the universe1 of    
which he is a part1 and to ascertain the
 actual laws by which it is governed4   
,three centuries and a half have elapsed
 since ,copernicus revolutionized       
astronomy4 ,it is only by reflecting on 
the mass of knowledge we have since     
acquired1 knowledge not only infinitely 
curious but also incalculably useful in 
its application to the arts of life1 and
 then considering how much ground of    
this kind was acquired in the ten       
centuries which preceded the            
,renaissance1 that we are at all able to
 estimate the expansive force which was 
then generated4 ,science1 rescued from  
the hand of astrology1 geomancy1        
alchemy1 began her real life with the   

,renaissance4 ,since then1 as far as to 
the present moment she has never ceased 
to grow4 ,progressive and durable1      
,science may be called the first-born of
 the spirit of the modern world4      #a
 ,it is to ,michelet that we owe these  
formulae1 which have     passed into the
 language of history4  ,thus by the     
discovery of the world is meant on the  
one hand the appropriation by civilized 
humanity of all corners of the habitable
 globe1 and on the other the conquest by
 ,science of all that we now know about 
the nature of the universe4 ,in the     
discovery of man1 again1 it is possible 
to trace a twofold process4 ,man in his 
temporal relations1 illustrated by      
,pagan antiquity1 and man in his        
spiritual relations1 illustrated by     
,biblical antiquity2 these are the two  
regions1 at first apparently distinct1  
afterwards found to be interpenetrative1
 which the critical and inquisitive     
genius of the ,renaissance opened for   
investigation4 ,in the former of these  

regions we find two agencies at work1   
art and scholarship4 ,during the ,middle
 ,ages the plastic arts1 like           
philosophy1 had degenerated into barren 
and meaningless scholasticism--a frigid 
reproduction of lifeless forms copied   
technically and without inspiration from
 debased patterns4 ,pictures became     
symbolically connected with the         
religious feelings of the people1       
formulae from which to deviate would be 
impious in the artist and confusing to  
the worshiper4 ,superstitious reverence 
bound the painter to copy the almond    
eyes and stiff joints of the saints whom
 he had adored from infancy2 and1 even  
had it been otherwise1 he lacked the    
skill to imitate the natural forms he   
saw around him4 ,but with the dawning of
 the ,renaissance1 a new spirit in the  
arts arose4 ,men began to conceive that 
the human body is noble in itself and   
worthy of patient study4 ,the object of 
the artist then became to unite         
devotional feeling and respect for the  

sacred legend with the utmost beauty and
 the utmost fidelity of delineation4 ,he
 studied from the nude2 he drew the body
 in every posture2 he composed drapery1 
invented attitudes1 and adapted the     
action of his figures and the expression
 of his faces to the subject he had     
chosen4 ,in a word1 he humanized the    
altar-pieces and the cloister-frescoes  
upon which he worked4 ,in this way the  
painters rose above the ancient symbols1
 and brought heaven down to earth4 ,by  
drawing ,madonna and her son like living
 human beings1 by dramatizing the       
,christian history1 they silently       
substituted the love of beauty and the  
interests of actual life for the        
principles of the ,church4 ,the saint or
 angel became an occasion for the       
display of physical perfection1 and to  
introduce 'un bel corpo ignudo' into the
 composition was of more moment to them 
than to represent the macerations of the
 ,magdalen4 ,men thus learned to look   
beyond the relique and the host1 and to 

forget the dogma in the lovely forms    
which gave it expression4 ,finally1 when
 the classics came to aid this work of  
progress1 a new world of thought and    
fancy1 divinely charming1 wholly human1 
was revealed to their astonished eyes4  
,thus art1 which had begun by humanizing
 the legends of the ,church1 diverted   
the attention of its students from the  
legend to the work of beauty1 and       
lastly1 severing itself from the        
religious tradition1 became the exponent
 of the majesty and splendor of the     
human body4 ,this final emancipation of 
art from ecclesiastical trammels        
culminated in the great age of ,italian 
painting4 ,gazing at ,michael ,angelo's 
prophets in the ,sistine ,chapel1 we are
 indeed in contact with ideas originally
 religious4 ,but the treatment of these 
ideas is purely1 broadly human1 on a    
level with that of the sculpture of     
,pheidias4 ,titian's ,virgin received   
into ,heaven1 soaring midway between the
 archangel who descends to crown her and

 the apostles who yearn to follow her1  
is far less a ,madonna ,assunta than the
 apotheosis of humanity conceived as a  
radiant mother4 ,throughout the picture 
there is nothing ascetic1 nothing       
mystic1 nothing devotional4 ,nor did the
 art of the ,renaissance stop here4 ,it 
went further1 and plunged into          
,paganism4 ,sculptors and painters      
combined with architects to cut the arts
 loose from their connection with the   
,church by introducing a spirit and a   
sentiment alien to ,christianity4       
,through the instrumentality of art1 and
 of all the ideas which art introduced  
into daily life1 the ,renaissance       
wrought for the modern world a real     
resurrection of the body1 which1 since  
the destruction of antique civilization1
 had lain swathed up in hair-shirts and 
cerements within the tomb of the        
mediaeval cloister4 ,it was scholarship 
which revealed to men the wealth of     
their own minds1 the dignity of human   
thought1 the value of human speculation1

 the importance of human life regarded  
as a thing apart from religious rules   
and dogmas4 ,during the ,middle ,ages a 
few students had possessed the poems of 
,virgil and the prose of ,boethius--and 
,virgil at ,mantua1 ,boethius at ,pavia1
 had actually been honored as           
saints--together with fragments of      
,lucan1 ,ovid1 ,statius1 ,juvenal1      
,cicero1 and ,horace4 ,the ,renaissance 
opened to the whole reading public the  
treasure-houses of ,greek and ,latin    
literature4 ,at the same time the ,bible
 in its original tongues was            
rediscovered4 ,mines of ,oriental       
learning were laid bare for the students
 of the ,jewish and ,arabic traditions4 
,the ,aryan and ,semitic revelations    
were for the first time subjected to    
something like a critical comparison4   
,with unerring instinct the men of the  
,renaissance named the voluminous       
subject-matter of scholarship ',litterae
 ,humaniores1'--the more human          
literature1 or the literature that      

humanizes4  ,there are three stages in  
the history of scholarship during the   
,renaissance4 ,the first is the age of  
passionate desire2 ,petrarch poring over
 a ,homer he could not understand1 and  
,boccaccio in his maturity learning     
,greek1 in order that he might drink    
from the well-head of poetic            
inspiration1 are the heroes of this     
period4 ,they inspired the ,italians    
with a thirst for antique culture4 ,next
 comes the age of acquisition and of    
libraries4 ,nicholas ,v41 who founded   
the ,vatican ,library in #adec1 ,cosimo 
de ,medici1 who began the ,medicean     
,collection a little earlier1 and       
,poggio ,bracciolini1 who ransacked all 
the cities and convents of ,europe for  
manuscripts1 together with the teachers 
of ,greek1 who in the first half of the 
fifteenth century escaped from          
,constantinople with precious freights  
of classic literature1 are the heroes of
 this second period4 ,it was an age of  
accumulation1 of uncritical and         

indiscriminate enthusiasm4 ,manuscripts 
were worshiped by these men1 just as the
 reliques of ,holy ,land had been adored
 by their great-grandfathers4 ,the      
eagerness of the ,crusades was revived  
in this quest of the ,holy ,grail of    
ancient knowledge4 ,waifs and strays of 
,pagan authors were valued like precious
 gems1 reveled in like odoriferous and  
gorgeous flowers1 consulted like oracles
 of ,god1 gazed on like the eyes of a   
beloved mistress4 ,the good1 the bad1   
and the indifferent received an almost  
equal homage4 ,criticism had not yet    
begun4 ,the world was bent on gathering 
up its treasures1 frantically bewailing 
the lost books of ,livy1 the lost songs 
of ,sappho--absorbing to intoxication   
the strong wine of multitudinous        
thoughts and passions that kept pouring 
from those long-buried amphora of       
inspiration4 ,what is most remarkable   
about this age of scholarship is the    
enthusiasm which pervaded all classes in
 ,italy for antique culture4 ,popes and 

princes1 captains of adventure and      
peasants1 noble ladies and the leaders  
of the demi-monde1 alike became         
scholars4 ,there is a story told by     
,infessura which illustrates the temper 
of the times with singular felicity4 ,on
 the #ahth of ,april #adhe a report     
circulated in ,rome that some ,lombard  
workmen had discovered a ,roman         
sarcophagus while digging on the ,appian
 ,way4 ,it was a marble tomb1 engraved  
with the inscription1 ',julia1 ,daughter
 of ,claudius1' and inside the coffer   
lay the body of a most beautiful girl of
 fifteen years1 preserved by precious   
unguents from corruption and the injury 
of time4 ,the bloom of youth was still  
upon her cheeks and lips2 her eyes and  
mouth were half open2 her long hair     
floated round her shoulders4 ,she was   
instantly removed1 so goes the legend1  
to the ,capitol2 and then began a       
procession of pilgrims from all the     
quarters of ,rome to gaze upon this     
saint of the old ,pagan world4 ,in the  

eyes of those enthusiastic worshipers1  
her beauty was beyond imagination or    
description3 she was far fairer than any
 woman of the modern age could hope to  
be4 ,at last ,innocent ,,viii4 feared   
lest the orthodox faith should suffer by
 this new cult of a heathen corpse4     
,julia was buried secretly and at night 
by his direction1 and naught remained in
 the ,capitol but her empty marble      
coffin4 ,the tale1 as told by           
,infessura1 is repeated in ,matarazzo   
and in ,nantiporto with slight          
variations4 ,one says that the girl's   
hair was yellow1 another that it was of 
the glossiest black4 ,what foundation   
for the legend may really have existed  
need not here be questioned4 ,let us    
rather use the mythus as a parable of   
the ecstatic devotion which prompted the
 men of that age to discover a form of  
unimaginable beauty in the tomb of the  
classic world4#a      #a ,the most      
remarkable document regarding the body  
of ,julia     which has yet been        

published is a ,latin letter1 written by
     ,bartholomaeus ,fontius to his     
friend ,franciscus ,saxethus1           
minutely describing her1 with details   
which appear to prove     that he had   
not only seen but handled the corpse4   
,it is printed     in ,janitschek1 ,die 
,gesellschaft der ,r4 in ,it43          
,stuttgart1     #ahgi1 p4 #abj4  ,then  
came the third age of scholarship--the  
age of the critics1 philologers1 and    
printers4 ,what had been collected by   
,poggio and ,aurispa had now to be      
explained by ,ficino1 ,poliziano1 and   
,erasmus4 ,they began their task by     
digesting and arranging the contents of 
the libraries4 ,there were then no short
 cuts to learning1 no comprehensive     
lexicons1 no dictionaries of            
antiquities1 no carefully prepared      
thesauri of mythology and history4 ,each
 student had to hold in his brain the   
whole mass of classical erudition4 ,the 
text and the canon of ,homer1 ,plato1   
,aristotle1 and the tragedians had to be

 decided4 ,greek type had to be struck4 
,florence1 ,venice1 ,basle1 ,lyons1 and 
,paris groaned with printing presses4   
,the ,aldi1 the ,stephani1 and ,froben  
toiled by night and day1 employing      
scores of scholars1 men of supreme      
devotion and of mighty brain1 whose work
 it was to ascertain the right reading  
of sentences1 to accentuate1 to         
punctuate1 to commit to the press1 and  
to place beyond the reach of monkish    
hatred or of envious time that          
everlasting solace of humanity which    
exists in the classics4 ,all subsequent 
achievements in the field of scholarship
 sink into insignificance beside the    
labors of these men1 who needed genius1 
enthusiasm1 and the sympathy of ,europe 
for the accomplishment of their titanic 
task4 ,virgil was printed in #adgj1     
,homer in #adhh1 ,aristotle in #adih1   
,plato in #aeac4 ,they then became the  
inalienable heritage of mankind4 ,but   
what vigils1 what anxious expenditure of
 thought1 what agonies of doubt and     

expectation1 were endured by those      
heroes of humanizing scholarship1 whom  
we are apt to think of merely as        
pedants6 ,which of us now warms and     
thrills with emotion at hearing the name
 of ,aldus ,manutius1 or of ,henricus   
,stephanus1 or of ,johannes ,froben8    
,yet this we surely ought to do2 for to 
them we owe in a great measure the      
freedom of our spirit1 our stores of    
intellectual enjoyment1 our command of  
the past1 our certainty of the future of
 human culture4  ,this third age in the 
history of the ,renaissance ,scholarship
 may be said to have reached its climax 
in ,erasmus2 for by this time ,italy had
 handed on the torch of learning to the 
northern nations4 ,the publication of   
his ,adagia in #aejj1 marks the advent  
of a more critical and selective spirit1
 which from that date onward has been   
gradually gaining strength in the modern
 mind4 ,criticism1 in the true sense of 
accurate testing and sifting1 is one of 
the points which distinguish the moderns

 from the ancients2 and criticism was   
developed by the process of             
assimilation1 comparison1 and           
appropriation1 which was necessary in   
the growth of scholarship4 ,the ultimate
 effect of this recovery of classic     
literature was1 once and for all1 to    
liberate the intellect4 ,the modern     
world was brought into close contact    
with the free virility of the ancient   
world1 and emancipated from the         
thralldom of unproved traditions4 ,the  
force to judge and the desire to create 
were generated4 ,the immediate result in
 the sixteenth century was an abrupt    
secession of the learned1 not merely    
from monasticism1 but also from the true
 spirit of ,christianity4 ,the minds of 
the ,italians assimilated ,paganism4 ,in
 their hatred of mediaeval ignorance1 in
 their loathing of cowled and cloistered
 fools1 they flew to an extreme1 and    
affected the manner of an irrevocable   
past4 ,this extravagance led of         
necessity to a reaction--in the north to

 ,puritanism1 in the south to what has  
been termed the ,counter-,reformation   
effected under ,spanish influences in   
the ,latin ,church4 ,but ,christianity1 
that most precious possession of the    
modern world1 was never seriously       
imperiled by the classical enthusiasm of
 the ,renaissance2 nor1 on the other    
hand1 was the progressive emancipation  
of the reason materially retarded by the
 reaction it produced4  ,the transition 
at this point to the third branch in the
 discovery of man1 the revelation to the
 consciousness of its own spiritual     
freedom1 is natural4 ,not only did      
scholarship restore the classics and    
encourage literary criticism2 it also   
restored the text of the ,bible1 and    
encouraged theological criticism4 ,in   
the wake of theological freedom followed
 a free philosophy1 no longer subject to
 the dogmas of the ,church4 ,to purge   
the ,christian faith from false         
conceptions1 to liberate the conscience 
from the tyranny of priests1 and to     

interpret religion to the reason has    
been the work of the last centuries2 nor
 is this work as yet by any means       
accomplished4 ,on the one side          
,descartes and ,bacon1 ,spinoza and     
,locke1 are sons of the ,renaissance1   
champions of new-found philosophical    
freedom2 on the other side1 ,luther is a
 son of the ,renaissance1 the herald of 
new-found religious freedom4 ,the whole 
movement of the ,reformation is a phase 
in that accelerated action of the modern
 mind which at its commencement we call 
the ,renaissance4 ,it is a mistake to   
regard the ,reformation as an isolated  
phenomenon or as a mere effort to       
restore the ,church to purity4 ,the     
,reformation exhibits in the region of  
religious thought and national politics 
what the ,renaissance displays in the   
sphere of culture1 art1 and science--the
 recovered energy and freedom of the    
reason4 ,we are too apt to treat of     
history in parcels1 and to attempt to   
draw lessons from detached chapters in  

the biography of the human race4 ,to    
observe the connection between the      
several stages of a progressive movement
 of the human spirit1 and to recognize  
that the forces at work are still       
active1 is the true philosophy of       
history4  ,the ,reformation1 like the   
revival of science and of culture1 had  
its mediaeval anticipations and         
foreshadowings4 ,the heretics whom the  
,church successfully combated in ,north 
,italy1 ,france1 and ,bohemia were the  
precursors of ,luther4 ,the scholars    
prepared the way in the fifteenth       
century4 ,teachers of ,hebrew1 founders 
of ,hebrew type--,reuchlin in ,germany1 
,aleander in ,paris1 ,von ,hutten as a  
pamphleteer1 and ,erasmus as a          
humanist--contribute each a definite    
momentum4 ,luther1 for his part1        
incarnates the spirit of revolt against 
tyrannical authority1 urges the         
necessity of a return to the essential  
truth of ,christianity1 as distinguished
 from the idols of the ,church1 and     

asserts the right of the individual to  
judge1 interpret1 criticise1 and        
construct opinion for himself4 ,the veil
 which the ,church had interposed       
between the human soul and ,god was     
broken down4 ,the freedom of the        
conscience was established4 ,thus the   
principles involved in what we call the 
,reformation were momentous4 ,connected 
on the one side with scholarship and the
 study of texts1 it opened the path for 
modern biblical criticism4 ,connected on
 the other side with the intolerance of 
mere authority it led to what has since 
been named rationalism--the attempt to  
reconcile the religious tradition with  
the reason1 and to define the logical   
ideas that underlie the conceptions of  
the popular religious consciousness4    
,again1 by promulgating the doctrine of 
personal freedom1 and by connecting     
itself with national politics1 the      
reformation was linked historically to  
the revolution4 ,it was the ,puritan    
,church in ,england stimulated by the   

patriotism of the ,dutch ,protestants1  
which established our constitutional    
liberty1 and introduced in ,america the 
general principle of the equality of    
men4 ,this high political abstraction1  
latent in ,christianity1 evolved by     
criticism1 and promulgated as a gospel  
in the second half of the last century1 
was externalized in the ,french         
,revolution4 ,the work that yet remains 
to be accomplished for the modern world 
is the organization of society in       
harmony with democratic principles4     
,thus what the word ,renaissance really 
means is new birth to liberty--the      
spirit of mankind recovering            
consciousness and the power of          
self-determination1 recognizing the     
beauty of the outer world1 and of the   
body through art1 liberating the reason 
in science and the conscience in        
religion1 restoring culture to the      
intelligence1 and establishing the      
principle of political freedom4 ,the    
,church was the schoolmaster of the     

,middle ,ages4 ,culture was the         
humanizing and refining influence of the
 ,renaissance4 ,the problem for the     
present and the future is how through   
education to render knowledge accessible
 to all--to break down that barrier     
which in the ,middle ,ages was set      
between clerk and layman1 and which in  
the intermediate period has arisen      
between the intelligent and ignorant    
classes4 ,whether the ,utopia of a      
modern world1 in which all men shall    
enjoy the same social1 political1 and   
intellectual advantages1 be realized or 
not1 we cannot doubt that the whole     
movement of humanity from the           
,renaissance onward has tended in this  
direction4 ,to destroy the distinctions1
 mental and physical1 which nature      
raises between individuals1 and which   
constitute an actual hierarchy1 will    
always be impossible4 ,yet it may happen
 that in the future no civilized man    
will lack the opportunity of being      
physically and mentally the best that   

,god has made him4  ,it remains to speak
 of the instruments and mechanical      
inventions which aided the emancipation 
of the spirit in the modern age4        
,discovered over and over again1 and    
offered at intervals to the human race  
at various times and on divers soils1 no
 effective use was made of these        
material resources until the fifteenth  
century4 ,the compass1 discovered       
according to tradition by ,gioja of     
,naples in #acjb1 was employed by       
,columbus for the voyage to ,america in 
#adib4 ,the telescope1 known to the     
,arabians in the ,middle ,ages1 and     
described by ,roger ,bacon in #abej1    
helped ,copernicus to prove the         
revolution of the earth in #aecj1 and   
,galileo to substantiate his theory of  
the planetary system4 ,printing1 after  
numerous useless revelations to the     
world of its resources1 became an art in
 #adch2 and paper1 which had long been  
known to the ,chinese1 was first made of
 cotton in ,europe about #ajjj1 and of  

rags in #acai4 ,gunpowder entered into  
use about #acbj4 ,as employed by the    
,genius of the ,renaissance1 each one of
 these inventions became a lever by     
means of which to move the world4       
,gunpowder revolutionized the art of    
war4 ,the feudal castle1 the armor of   
the ,knight and his battle-horse1 the   
prowess of one man against a hundred1   
and the pride of aristocratic cavalry   
trampling upon ill-armed militia1 were  
annihilated by the flashes of the canon4
 ,courage became more a moral than a    
physical quality4 ,the victory was      
delivered to the brain of the general4  
,printing has established1 as           
indestructible1 all knowledge1 and      
disseminated1 as the common property of 
every one1 all thought2 while paper has 
made the work of printing cheap4 ,such  
reflections as these1 however1 are      
trite1 and must occur to every mind4 ,it
 is far more to the purpose to repeat   
that not the inventions1 but the        
intelligence that used them1 the        

conscious calculating spirit of the     
modern world1 should rivet our attention
 when we direct it to the phenomena of  
the ,renaissance4  ,in the work of the  
,renaissance all the great nations of   
,europe shared4 ,but it must never be   
forgotten that as a matter of history   
the true ,renaissance began in ,italy4  
,it was there that the essential        
qualities which distinguish the modern  
from the ancient and the mediaeval world
 were developed4 ,italy created that new
 spiritual atmosphere of culture and of 
intellectual freedom which has been the 
life-breath of the ,european races4 ,as 
the ,jews are called the chosen and     
peculiar people of divine revelation1 so
 may the ,italians be called the chosen 
and peculiar vessels of the prophecy of 
the ,renaissance4 ,in art1 in           
scholarship1 in science1 in the         
mediation between antique culture and   
the modern intellect1 they took the     
lead1 handing to ,germany and ,france   
and ,england the restored humanities    

complete4 ,spain and ,england have since
 done more for the exploration and      
colonization of the world4 ,germany     
achieved the labor of the ,reformation  
almost single-handed4 ,france has       
collected1 centralized1 and diffused    
intelligence with irresistible energy4  
,but if we return to the first origins  
of the ,renaissance1 we find that1 at a 
time when the rest of ,europe was inert1
 ,italy had already begun to organize   
the various elements of the modern      
spirit1 and to set the fashion whereby  
the other great nations should learn and
 live4     ,,chapter ,,ii4  ,,italian   
,,history4   ,the special ,difficulties 
of this ,subject--,apparent             
,confusion--,want of leading            
,motive--,the ,papacy--,the             
,empire--,the ,republics--,the          
,despots--,the ,people--,the            
,dismemberment of ,italy--,two main     
,topics--,the ,rise of the              
,communes--,gothic                      
,kingdom--,lombards--,franks--,germans--

,the ,bishops--,the ,consuls--,the      
,podestas--,civil ,wars--,despots--,the 
,balance of ,power--,the ,five ,italian 
,states--,the ,italians fail to achieve 
,national ,unity--,the ,causes of this  
,failure--,conditions under which it    
might have been achieved--,a            
,republic--,a ,kingdom--,a              
,confederation--,a ,tyranny--,the ,part 
played by the ,papacy4   ,after a first 
glance into ,italian history the student
 recoils as from a chaos of inscrutable 
confusion4 ,to fix the moment of        
transition from ancient to modern       
civilization seems impossible4 ,there is
 no formation of a new people1 as in the
 case of ,germany or ,france or         
,england1 to serve as starting-point4   
,differ as the ,italian races do in     
their original type2 ,gauls1 ,ligurians1
 ,etruscans1 ,umbrians1 ,latins1        
,iapygians1 ,greeks have been fused     
together beneath the stress of ,roman   
rule into a nation that survives        
political mutations and the disasters of

 barbarian invasions4 ,goths1 ,lombards1
 and ,franks blend successively with the
 masses of this complex population1 and 
lose the outlines of their several      
personalities4 ,the western ,empire     
melts imperceptibly away4 ,the ,roman   
,church grows no less imperceptibly1 and
 forms the ,holy ,roman ,empire as the  
equivalent of its own spiritual         
greatness in the sphere of secular      
authority4 ,these two institutions1 the 
crowning monuments of ,italian creative 
genius1 dominate the ,middle ,ages1     
powerful as facts1 but still more       
powerful as ideas4 ,yet neither of them 
controls the evolution of ,italy in the 
same sense as ,france was controlled by 
the monarchical1 and ,germany by the    
federative1 principle4 ,the forces of   
the nation1 divided and swayed from side
 to side by this commanding dualism1    
escaped both influences in so far as    
either ,pope or ,emperor strove to mold 
them into unity4 ,meanwhile the         
domination of ,byzantine ,greeks in the 

southern provinces1 the kingdom of the  
,goths at ,ravenna1 the kingdom of the  
,lombards and ,franks at ,pavia1 the    
incursions of ,huns and ,saracens1 the  
kingdom of the ,normans at ,palermo1    
formed but accidents and moments in a   
national development which owed         
important modifications to each         
successive episode1 but was not finally 
determined by any of them4 ,when the    
,communes emerge into prominence1       
shaking off the supremacy of the ,greeks
 in the ,south1 vindicating their       
liberties against the ,empire in the    
,north1 jealously guarding their        
independence from ,papal encroachment in
 the center1 they have already assumed  
shapes of marked distinctness and       
bewildering diversity4 ,venice1 ,milan1 
,genoa1 ,florence1 ,bologna1 ,siena1    
,perugia1 ,amalfi1 ,lucca1 ,pisa1 to    
mention only a few of the more notable1 
are indiscriminately called ,republics4 
,yet they differ in their internal type 
no less than in external conditions4    

,each wears from the first and preserves
 a physiognomy that justifies our       
thinking and speaking of the town as an 
incarnate entity4 ,the cities of ,italy1
 down to the very smallest1 bear the    
attributes of individuals4 ,the mutual  
attractions and repulsions that presided
 over their growth have given them      
specific qualities which they will never
 lose1 which will be reflected in their 
architecture1 in their customs1 in their
 language1 in their policy1 as well as  
in the institutions of their government4
 ,we think of them involuntarily as     
persons1 and reserve for them epithets  
that mark the permanence of their       
distinctive characters4 ,to treat of    
them collectively is almost impossible4 
,each has its own biography1 and plays a
 part of consequence in the great drama 
of the nation4 ,accordingly the study of
 ,italian politics1 ,italian literature1
 ,italian art1 is really not the study  
of one national genius1 but of a whole  
family of cognate geniuses1 grouped     

together1 conscious of affinity1 obeying
 the same general conditions1 but       
issuing in markedly divergent           
characteristics4 ,democracies1          
oligarchies1 aristocracies spring into  
being by laws of natural selection      
within the limits of a single province4 
,every municipality has a separate      
nomenclature for its magistracies1 a    
somewhat different method of            
distributing administrative functions4  
,in one place there is a ,doge appointed
 for life2 in another the government is 
put into commission among officers      
elected for a period of months4 ,here we
 find a ,patrician1 a ,senator1 a       
,tribune2 there ,consuls1 ,rectors1     
,priors1 ,ancients1 ,buonuomini1        
,conservatori4 ,at one period and in one
 city the ,podesta seems paramount2     
across the border a ,captain of the     
,people or a ,gonfaloniere di ,giustizia
 is supreme4 ,vicars of the ,empire1    
,exarchs1 ,catapans1 ,rectors for the   
,church1 ,legates1 ,commissaries1       

succeed each other with dazzling        
rapidity4 ,councils are multiplied and  
called by names that have their origin  
and meaning buried in the dust of       
archaeology4 ,consigli del ,popolo1     
,credenza1 ,consiglio del ,comune1      
,senato1 ,gran ,consiglio1 ,pratiche1   
,parlamenti1 ,monti1 ,consiglio de'     
,savi1 ,arti1 ,parte ,guelfa1 ,consigli 
di ,dieci1 di ,tre1 ,i ,nove1 ,gli      
,otto1 ,i ,cento--such are a few of the 
titles chosen at random from the        
constitutional records of different     
localities4  ,not one is insignificant4 
,not one but indicates some moment of   
importance in the social evolution of   
the state4 ,not one but speaks of civil 
strife1 whereby the burgh in question   
struggled into individuality and defined
 itself against its neighbor4 ,like     
fossils1 in geological strata1 these    
names survive long after their old uses 
have been forgotten1 to guide the       
explorer in his reconstruction of a     
buried past4 ,while one town appears to 

respect the feudal lordship of great    
families1 another pronounces nobility to
 be a crime1 and forces on its citizens 
the reality or the pretense of labor4   
,some recognize the supremacy of        
ecclesiastics4 ,others1 like ,venice1   
resist the least encroachment of the    
,church1 and stand aloof from ,roman    
,christianity in jealous isolation4 ,the
 interests of one class are maritime1 of
 another military1 of a third           
industrial1 of a fourth financial1 of a 
fifth educational4 ,amalfi1 ,pisa1      
,genoa1 and ,venice depend for power    
upon their fleets and colonies2 the     
little cities of ,romagna and the ,march
 supply the ,captains of adventure with 
recruits2 ,florence and ,lucca live by  
manufacture2 ,milan by banking2         
,bologna1 ,padua1 ,vicenza1 owe their   
wealth to students attracted by their   
universities4 ,foreign alliances or     
geographical affinities connect one     
center with the ,empire of the ,east1 a 
second with ,france1 a third with       

,spain4 ,the ,north is overshadowed by  
,germany2 the ,south is disquieted by   
,islam4 ,the types thus formed and thus 
discriminated are vital1 and persist for
 centuries with the tenacity of physical
 growths4 ,each differentiation owes its
 origin to causes deeply rooted in the  
locality4 ,the freedom and apparent     
waywardness of nature1 when she sets    
about to form crystals of varying shapes
 and colors1 that shall last and bear   
her stamp for ever1 have governed their 
uprising and their progress to maturity4
 ,at the same time they exhibit the keen
 jealousies and mutual hatreds of rival 
families in the animal kingdom4 ,pisa   
destroys ,amalfi2 ,genoa1 ,pisa2        
,venice1 ,genoa2 with ruthless and      
remorseless egotism in the conflict of  
commercial interests4 ,florence enslaves
 ,pisa because she needs a way to the   
sea4 ,siena and ,perugia1 upon their    
inland altitudes1 consume themselves in 
brilliant but unavailing efforts to     
expand4 ,milan engulfs the lesser towns 

of ,lombardy4 ,verona absorbs ,padua and
 ,treviso4 ,venice extends dominion over
 the ,friuli and the ,veronese          
conquests4 ,strife and covetousness     
reign from the ,alps to the ,ionian     
,sea4 ,but it is a strife of living     
energies1 the covetousness of           
impassioned and puissant units4 ,italy  
as a whole is almost invisible to the   
student by reason of the many-sided1    
combative1 self-centered crowd of       
numberless ,italian communities4        
,proximity foments hatred and stimulates
 hostility4 ,fiesole looks down and     
threatens ,florence4 ,florence returns  
frown for frown1 and does not rest till 
she has made her neighbor of the hills a
 slave4 ,perugia and ,assissi turn the  
,umbrian plain into a wilderness of     
wolves by their recurrent warfare4      
,scowling at one another across the     
,valdichiana1 ,perugia rears a tower    
against ,chiusi1 and ,chiusi builds her 
,becca ,questa in responsive menace4    
,the tiniest burgh upon the ,arno       

receives from ,dante1 the poet of this  
internecine strife and fierce           
town-rivalry1 its stigma of             
immortalizing satire and insulting      
epithet1 for no apparent reason but that
 its dwellers dare to drink of the same 
water and to breathe the same air as    
,florence4 ,it would seem as though the 
most ancient furies of antagonistic     
races1 enchained and suspended for      
centuries by the magic of ,rome1 had    
been unloosed2 as though the indigenous 
populations of ,italy1 tamed by antique 
culture1 were reverting to their primal 
instincts1 with all the discords and    
divisions introduced by the military    
system of the ,lombards1 the feudalism  
of the ,franks1 the alien institutions  
of the ,germans1 superadded to          
exasperate the passions of a nation     
blindly struggling against obstacles    
that block the channel of continuous    
progress4 ,nor is this the end of the   
perplexity4 ,not only are the cities at 
war with one another1 but they are      

plunged in ceaseless strife within the  
circuit of their ramparts4 ,the people  
with the nobles1 the burghs with the    
castles1 the plebeians with the burgher 
aristocracy1 the men of commerce with   
the men of arms and ancient lineage1    
,guelfs and ,ghibellines1 clash together
 in persistent fury4 ,one half the city 
expels the other half4 ,the exiles roam 
abroad1 cement alliances1 and return to 
extirpate their conquerors4 ,fresh      
proscriptions and new expulsions follow4
 ,again alliances are made and          
revolutions accomplished1 till the      
ancient feuds of the towns are crossed1 
recrossed1 and tangled in a web of      
madness that defies analysis4 ,through  
the medley of quarreling1 divided1      
subdivided1 and intertwisted factions1  
ride ,emperors followed by their bands  
of knights1 appearing for a season on   
vain quests1 and withdrawing after they 
have tenfold confounded the confusion4  
,papal ,legates drown the cities of the 
,church in blood1 preach crusades1      

fulminate interdictions1 rouse          
insurrections in the ,states that own   
allegiance to the ,empire4 ,monks stir  
republican revivals in old cities that  
have lost their liberties1 or assemble  
the populations of crime-maddened       
districts in aimless comedies of piety  
and false pacification1 or lead them    
barefooted and intoxicated with shrill  
cries of ',mercy' over plain and        
mountain4 ,princes of ,france1 ,kings of
 ,bohemia and ,hungary1 march and       
countermarch from north to south and    
back again1 form leagues1 establish     
realms1 head confederations1 which melt 
like shapes we form from clouds to      
nothing4 ,at one time the ,pope and     
,emperor use ,italy as the arena of a   
deadly duel1 drawing the congregated    
forces of the nation into their dispute4
 ,at another they join hands to divide  
the spoil of ruined provinces4 ,great   
generals with armies at their backs     
start into being from apparent          
nothingness1 dispute the sovereignty of 

,italy in bloodless battles1 found      
ephemeral dynasties1 and pass away like 
mists upon a mountain-side beneath a    
puff of wind4 ,conflict1 ruin1          
desolation1 anarchy are ever yielding   
place to concord1 restoration1 peace1   
prosperity1 and then recurring with a   
mighty flood of violence4 ,construction1
 destruction1 and reconstruction play   
their part in crises that have to be    
counted by the thousands4  ,in the mean 
time1 from this hurricane of disorder   
rises the clear ideal of the national   
genius4 ,italy becomes self-conscious   
and attains the spiritual primacy of    
modern ,europe4 ,art1 ,learning1        
,literature1 ,state-craft1 ,philosophy1 
,science build a sacred and inviolable  
city of the soul amid the tumult of     
seven thousand revolutions1 the dust and
 crash of falling cities1 the tramplings
 of recurrent invasions1 the infamies   
and outrages of tyrants and marauders   
who oppress the land4 ,unshaken by the  
storms that rage around it1 this refuge 

of the spirit1 raised by ,italian poets1
 thinkers1 artists1 scholars1 and       
discoverers1 grows unceasingly in bulk  
and strength1 until the younger nations 
take their place beneath its ample dome4
 ,then1 while yet the thing of wonder   
and of beauty stands in fresh           
perfection1 at that supreme moment when 
,italy is tranquil and sufficient to    
fulfill the noblest mission for the     
world1 we find her crushed and trampled 
under foot4 ,her tempestuous but        
splendid story closes in the calm of    
tyranny imposed by ,spain4  ,over this  
vertiginous abyss of history1 where the 
memories of antique civilization blend  
with the growing impulses of modern life
 in an uninterrupted sequence of        
national consciousness2 through this    
many-chambered laboratory of conflicting
 principles1 where the ideals of the    
,middle ,age are shaped1 and laws are   
framed for ,europe2 across this         
wonder-land of waning and of waxing     
culture1 where ,goths1 ,greeks1         

,lombards1 ,franks1 and ,normans come to
 form themselves by contact with the    
ever-living soul of ,rome2 where        
,frenchmen1 ,spaniards1 ,swiss1 and     
,germans at a later period battle for   
the richest prize in ,europe1 and learn 
by conquest from the conquered to be    
men2 how shall we guide our course8 ,if 
we follow the fortunes of the ,church1  
and make the ,papacy the thread on which
 the history of ,italy shall hang1 we   
gain the advantage of basing our        
narrative upon the most vital and       
continuous member of the body politic4  
,but we are soon forced to lose sight of
 the ,italians in the crowd of other    
,christian races4 ,the history of the   
,church is cosmopolitan4 ,the ,sphere of
 the ,papacy extends in all directions  
around ,italy taken as a local center4  
,its influence1 moreover1 was invariably
 one of discord rather than of harmony  
within the boundaries of the peninsula4 
,if we take the ,empire as our          
standing-ground1 we have to write the   

annals of a sustained struggle1 in the  
course of which the ,italian cities were
 successful1 when they reduced the      
,emperor to the condition of an absentee
 with merely nominal privileges4 ,after 
,frederick ,,ii4 the ,empire played no  
important part in ,italy until its      
rights were reasserted by ,charles ,v4  
upon the platform of modern politics4 ,a
 power so external to the true life of  
the nation1 so successfully resisted1 so
 impotent to control the development of 
the ,italians1 cannot be chosen as the  
central point of their history4 ,if we  
elect the ,republics1 we are met with   
another class of difficulties4 ,the     
historian who makes the ,commune his    
unit1 who confines attention to the     
gradual development1 reciprocal         
animosities1 and final decadence of the 
republics1 can hardly do justice to the 
,kingdom of the ,two ,sicilies and the  
,papacy1 which occupy no less than half 
the country4 ,again1 the great age of   
the ,renaissance1 when all the free     

burghs accepted the rule of despots1 and
 when the genius of the ,italians       
culminated1 is for him a period of      
downfall and degradation4 ,besides1 he  
leaves the history of the ,italian      
people before the starting-point of the 
,republics unexplained4 ,he has1 at the 
close of their career1 to account for   
the reason why these ,communes1 so      
powerful in self-development1 so        
intelligent1 so wealthy1 and so capable 
of playing off the ,pope against the    
,empire1 failed to maintain their       
independence4 ,in other words he selects
 one phase of ,italian evolution1 and   
writes a narrative that cannot but be   
partial4 ,if we make the ,despots our   
main point1 we repeat the same error in 
a worse form4 ,the ,despotisms imply the
 ,communes as their predecessors4 ,each 
and all of them grew up and flourished  
on the soil of decadent or tired        
,republics4 ,though they are            
all-important at one period of ,italian 
history--the period of the present      

work--they do but form an episode in the
 great epic of the nation4 ,he who      
attempts a general history of ,italy    
from the point of view of the           
despotisms1 is taking a single scene for
 the whole drama4 ,finally we might     
prefer the people--that people1         
instinctively and persistently faithful 
to ,roman traditions1 which absorbed    
into itself the successive hordes of    
barbarian invaders1 civilized them1 and 
adopted them as men of ,italy2 that     
people which destroyed the kingdoms of  
the ,goths and ,lombards humbled the    
,empire at ,legnano1 and evolved the    
,communes2 that people which resisted   
alien feudalism1 and spent its prime    
upon eradicating every trace of the     
repugnant system from its midst2 that   
people which finally attained to the    
consciousness of national unity by the  
recovery of scholarship and culture     
under the dominion of despotic princes4 
,this people is ,italy4 ,but the        
documents that should throw light upon  

the early annals of the people are      
deficient4 ,it does not appear upon the 
scene before the reign of ,otho ,i4 ,nor
 does it become supreme till after the  
,peace of ,constance4 ,its biography is 
bound up with that of the republics and 
the despots4 ,before the date of their  
ascendency we have to deal with ,bishops
 of ,rome1 ,emperors of the ,east and   
,west1 ,exarchs and ,kings of ,italy1   
the feudal ,lords of the ,marches1 the  
,dukes and ,counts of ,lombard and      
,frankish rulers4 ,through that long    
period of incubation1 when ,italy freed 
herself from dependence upon ,byzantium1
 created the ,papacy and formed the     
second ,roman ,empire1 the people exists
 only as a spirit resident in ,roman    
towns and fostered by the ,church1 which
 effectually repelled all attempts at   
monarchical unity1 playing the ,lombards
 off against the ,goths1 the ,franks    
against the ,lombards1 the ,normans     
against the ,greeks1 merging the        
,italian ,kingdom in the ,empire when it

 became ,german1 and resisting the      
,empire of its own creation when the    
towns at last were strong enough to     
stand alone4 ,to speak about the people 
in this early period is1 therefore1 to  
invoke a myth2 to write its history is  
the same as writing an ideal history of 
mediaeval ,europe4  ,the truth is that  
none of these standpoints in isolation  
suffices for the student of ,italy4 ,her
 inner history is the history of social 
and intellectual progress evolving      
itself under the conditions of          
attraction and repulsion generated by   
the double ideas of ,papacy and ,empire4
 ,political unity is everywhere and at  
all times imperiously rejected4 ,the    
most varied constitutional forms are    
needed for the self-effectuation of a   
race that has no analogue in ,europe4   
,the theocracy of ,rome1 the monarchy of
 ,naples1 the aristocracy of ,venice1   
the democracy of ,florence1 the tyranny 
of ,milan are equally instrumental in   
elaborating the national genius that    

gave art1 literature1 and mental liberty
 to modern society4 ,the struggles of   
city with city for supremacy or bare    
existence1 the internecine wars of party
 against party1 the never-ending clash  
of principles within the ,states1       
educated the people to multifarious and 
vivid energy4 ,in the course of those   
long complicated contests1 the chief    
centers acquired separate personalities1
 assumed the physiognomy of conscious   
freedom1 and stamped the mark of their  
own spirit on their citizens4 ,at the   
end of all discords1 at the close of all
 catastrophes1 we find in each of the   
great towns a population released from  
mental bondage and fitted to perform the
 work of intellectual emancipation for  
the rest of ,europe4 ,thus the essential
 characteristic of ,italy is diversity1 
controlled and harmonized by an ideal   
rhythm of progressive movement4#a ,we   
who are mainly occupied in this book    
with the ,italian genius as it expressed
 itself in society1 scholarship1 fine   

art1 and literature1 at its most        
brilliant period of renascence1 may     
accept this fact of political           
dismemberment with acquiescence4 ,it was
 to the variety of conditions offered by
 the ,italian communities that we owe   
the unexampled richness of the mental   
life of ,italy4 ,yet it is impossible to
 overlook the weakness inflicted on the 
people by those same conditions when the
 time came for ,italy to try her        
strength against the nations of         
,europe4#b ,it was then shown that the  
diversities which stimulated spiritual  
energy were a fatal source of national  
instability4 ,the pride of the ,italians
 in their local independence1 their     
intolerance of unification under a      
single head1 the jealousies that        
prevented them from forming a permanent 
confederation1 rendered them incapable  
of coping with races which had yielded  
to the centripetal force of monarchy4   
,if it is true that the unity of the    
nation under a kingdom founded at ,pavia

 would have deprived the world of much  
that ,italy has yielded in the sphere of
 thought and art1 it is certainly not   
less true that such centralization alone
 could have averted the ruin of the     
sixteenth century which gives the aspect
 of a tragedy to each volume of my work 
on the ,renaissance4      #a ,see       
,guicciardini 7,op4 ,ined4 vol4 i4 p4   
#bh7 for an eloquent     demonstration  
of the happiness1 prosperity1 and       
splendor conferred     on the ,italians 
by the independence of their several    
centers4 ,he is     arguing against     
,machiavelli's lamentation over their   
failure to     achieve national unity4  
#b ,this was the point urged by         
,machiavelli1 in the ,principe1 the     
,discorsi1 and the ,art of ,war4 ,with  
keener political insight than           
,guicciardini1 he perceived that the old
 felicity of ,italy was about     to    
fail her through the very independence  
of her local centers1     which         
,guicciardini rightly recognized as the 

source of her     unparalleled          
civilization and wealth4 ,the one thing 
needful in the     shock with ,france   
and ,spain was unity4  ,without seeking 
to attack the whole problem of ,italian 
history1 two main topics must be briefly
 discussed in the present chapter before
 entering on the proper matter of this  
work4 ,the first relates to the growth  
of the ,communes1 which preceded1       
necessitated1 and determined the        
despotisms of the fifteenth century4    
,the second raises the question why     
,italian differs from any other national
 history1 why the people failed to      
achieve unity either under a sovereign  
or in a powerful confederation4 ,these  
two subjects of inquiry are closely     
connected and interdependent4 ,they     
bring into play the several points that 
have been indicated as partially and    
imperfectly explanatory of the problem  
of ,italy4 ,but1 since ,i have          
undertaken to write neither a           
constitutional nor a political history1 

but a history of culture at a certain   
epoch1 it will be enough to treat of    
these two questions briefly1 with the   
special view of showing under what      
conditions the civilization of the      
,renaissance came to maturity in        
numerous independent ,communes1 reduced 
at last by necessary laws of            
circumstance to tyranny2 and how it was 
checked at the point of transition to   
its second phase of modern existence1 by
 political weakness inseparable from the
 want of national coherence in the shock
 with mightier military races4  ,modern 
,italian history may be said to begin   
with the retirement of ,honorius to     
,ravenna and the subsequent foundation  
of ,odoacer's ,kingdom in #dgf4 ,the    
,western ,empire ended1 and ,rome was   
recognized as a ,republic4 ,when ,zeno  
sent the ,goths into ,italy1 ,theodoric 
established himself at ,ravenna1        
continued the institutions and usages of
 the ancient ,empire1 and sought by     
blending with the people to naturalize  

his alien authority4 ,rome was respected
 as the sacred city of ancient culture  
and civility4 ,her ,consuls1 appointed  
by the ,senate1 were confirmed in due   
course by the ,greek ,emperor2 and      
,theodoric made himself the vicegerent  
of the ,caesars rather than an          
independent sovereign4 ,when we         
criticise the ,ostro-,gothic occupation 
by the light of subsequent history1 it  
is clear that this exclusion of the     
capital from ,theodoric's conquest and  
his veneration for the ,eternal ,city   
were fatal to the unity of the ,italian 
realm4 ,from the moment that ,rome was  
separated from the authority of the     
,italian ,kings1 there existed two      
powers in the ,peninsula--the one       
secular1 monarchical1 with the military 
strength of the barbarians imposed upon 
its ancient municipal organization2 the 
other ecclesiastical1 pontifical1       
relying on the undefined ambitions of   
,s4 ,peter's ,see and the unconquered   
instincts of the ,roman people scattered

 through the still surviving cities4#a  
,justinian1 bent upon asserting his     
rights as the successor of the ,caesars1
 wrested ,italy from the hands of the   
,goths2 but scarcely was this revolution
 effected when ,narses1 the successor of
 ,belisarius1 called a new nation of    
barbarians to support his policy in     
,italy4 ,narses died before the advent  
of the ,lombards2 but they descended1 in
 forces far more formidable than the    
,goths1 and established a second kingdom
 at ,pavia4 ,under the ,lombard         
domination ,rome was left untouched4    
,venice1 with her population gathered   
from the ruins of the neighboring ,roman
 cities1 remained in quasi-subjection to
 the ,empire of the ,east4 ,ravenna     
became a ,greek garrison1 ruling the    
,exarchate and ,pentapolis under the    
name of the ,byzantine ,emperors4 ,the  
western coast escaped the ,lombard      
domination2 for ,genoa grew slowly into 
power upon her narrow cornice between   
hills and sea1 while ,pisa defied the   

barbarians intrenched in military       
stations at ,fiesole and ,lucca4 ,in    
like manner the islands1 ,sicily1       
,sardinia1 and ,corsica1 were detached  
from the ,lombard ,kingdom2 and the     
maritime cities of ,southern ,italy1    
,bari1 ,naples1 ,amalfi1 and ,gaeta     
asserted independence under the shadow  
of the ,greek ascendency4 ,what the     
,lombards achieved in their conquest1   
and what they failed to accomplish1     
decided the future of ,italy4 ,they     
broke the country up into unequal       
blocks2 for while the inland regions of 
the north obeyed ,pavia1 while the great
 duchies of ,spoleto in the center and  
of ,benevento in the south owned the    
nominal sway of ,alboin's successors1#b 
,venice and the ,riviera1 ,pisa and the 
maritime republics of ,apulia and       
,calabria1 ,ravenna and the islands1    
repelled their sovereignty4 ,rome       
remained inviolable beneath the aegis of
 her ancient prestige1 and the decadent 
,empire of the ,east was too inert to   

check the freedom of the towns which    
recognized its titular supremacy4       
#a ,when ,i apply the term ,roman here  
and elsewhere to the     inhabitants of 
the ,italian towns1 ,i wish to indicate 
the indigenous     ,italic populations  
molded by ,roman rule into homogeneity4 
,the     resurgence of this population  
and its reattainment of intellectual    
consciousness by the recovery of past   
traditions and the rejection     of     
foreign influence constitutes the       
history of ,italy upon the close     of 
the ,dark ,ages4      #b ,it will be    
remembered by students of early ,italian
 history that     ,benevento and        
,spoleto joined the ,church in her war  
upon the ,lombard     kingdom4 ,spoleto 
was broken up4 ,benevento survived as a 
,lombard     duchy till the ,norman     
,conquest4  ,the kingdom of the         
,lombards endured two centuries1 and    
left ineffaceable marks upon ,italy4 ,a 
cordon of military cities was drawn     
round the old ,roman centers in         

,lombardy1 ,tuscany1 and the ,duchy of  
,spoleto4 ,pavia rose against ,milan1   
which had been a second ,rome1 ,cividale
 against ,aquileia1 ,fiesole against    
,florence1 ,lucca against ,pisa4 ,the   
country was divided into ,duchies and   
,marches2 military service was exacted  
from the population1 and the laws of the
 ,lombards1 asininum jus1 quoddam jus   
quod faciebant reges per se1 as the     
jurists afterwards defined them1 were   
imposed upon the descendants of ,roman  
civilization4 ,yet the outlying cities  
of the sea-coast1 as we have already    
seen1 were independent2 and ,rome       
remained to be the center of            
revolutionary ideas1 the rallying-point 
of a policy inimical to ,lombard unity4 
,not long after their settlement1 the   
princes of the ,lombard race took the   
fatal step of joining the ,catholic     
communion1 whereby they strengthened the
 hands of ,rome and excluded themselves 
from tyrannizing in the last resort over
 the growing independence of the ,papal 

,see4 ,the causes of their conversion   
from ,arianism to orthodox ,latin       
,christianity are buried in obscurity4  
,but it is probable that they were      
driven to this measure by the           
rebelliousness of their great vassals   
and the necessity of resting for support
 upon the indigenous populations they   
had subjugated4 ,rome1 profiting by the 
errors and the weakness of her          
antagonists1 extended her spiritual     
dominion by enforcing sacraments1       
ordeals1 and appeals to ecclesiastical  
tribunals1 organized her hierarchy under
 ,gregory the ,great1 and lost no       
opportunity of enriching and            
aggrandizing her bishoprics4 ,in #gah   
she shook off the yoke of ,byzantium by 
repelling the heresies of ,leo the      
,isaurian2 and when this insurrection   
menaced her with the domestic tyranny of
 the ,lombard ,kings1 who possessed     
themselves of ,ravenna in #gbh1 she     
called the ,franks to her aid against   
the now powerful realm4 ,stephen ,,ii4  

journeyed in #gec to ,gaul1 named       
,pippin ,patrician of ,rome1 and invited
 him to the conquest of ,italy4 ,in the 
war that followed1 the ,franks subdued  
the ,lombards1 and ,charles the ,great  
was invested with their kingdom and     
crowned ,emperor in #hjj by ,leo ,,iii4 
at ,rome4  ,the famous compact between  
,charles the ,great and the ,pope was in
 effect a ratification of the existing  
state of things4 ,the new ,emperor took 
for himself and converted into a        
,frankish ,kingdom all the provinces    
that had been wrested from the          
,lombards4 ,he relinquished to the      
,papacy ,rome with its patrimony1 the   
portions of ,spoleto and ,benevento that
 had already yielded to the ,see of ,s4 
,peter1 the southern provinces that     
owned the nominal ascendency of         
,byzantium1 the islands and the cities  
of the ,exarchate and ,pentapolis which 
formed no part of the ,lombard conquest4
 ,by this stipulation no real temporal  
power was accorded to the ,papacy1 nor  

did the new ,empire surrender its       
paramount rights over the peninsula at  
large4 ,the ,italian kingdom1           
transferred to the ,franks in #hjj1 was 
the kingdom founded by the ,lombards2   
while the outlying and unconquered      
districts were placed beneath the       
protectorate of the power which had     
guided their emancipation4 ,thus the    
dualism introduced into ,italy by       
,theodoric's veneration for ,rome1 and  
confirmed by the failure of the ,lombard
 conquest1 was ratified in the          
settlement whereby the ,pope gave a new 
,empire to ,western ,christendom4       
,venice1 ,pisa1 ,genoa1 and the maritime
 ,republics of the south1 excluded from 
the kingdom1 were left to pursue their  
own course of independence2 and this is 
the chief among many reasons why they   
rose so early into prominence4 ,rome    
consolidated her ancient patrimonies and
 extended her rectorship in the center1 
while the ,frankish kings1 who succeeded
 each other through eight reigns1       

developed the ,regno upon feudal        
principles by parceling the land among  
their ,counts4 ,new marches were formed1
 traversing the previous ,lombard fabric
 and introducing divisions that         
decentralized the kingdom4 ,thus the    
great vassals of ,ivrea1 ,verona1       
,tuscany1 and ,spoleto raised themselves
 against ,pavia4 ,the monarchs1 placed  
between the ,papacy and their ambitious 
nobles1 were unable to consolidate the  
realm2 and when ,berengar1 the last     
independent sovereign strove to enforce 
the declining authority of ,pavia1 he   
was met with the resistance and the     
hatred of the nation4  ,the kingdom     
,berengar attempted to maintain against 
his vassals and the ,church was         
virtually abrogated by ,otho ,i41 whom  
the ,lombard nobles summoned into ,italy
 in #iea4 ,when he reappeared in #ifa1  
he was crowned ,emperor at ,rome1 and   
assumed the title of the ,king of       
,italy4 ,thus the ,regno was merged in  
the ,empire1 and ,pavia ceased to be a  

capital4 ,henceforth the two great      
potentates in the peninsula were an     
unarmed ,pontiff and an absent ,emperor4
 ,the subsequent history of the         
,italians shows how they succeeded in   
reducing both these powers to the       
condition of principles1 maintaining the
 pontifical and imperial ideas1 but     
repelling the practical authority of    
either potentate4 ,otho created new     
marches and gave them to men of ,german 
origin4 ,the houses of ,savoy and       
,montferrat rose into importance in his 
reign4 ,to ,verona were intrusted the   
passes between ,germany and ,italy4 ,the
 ,princes of ,este at ,ferrara held the 
keys of the ,po1 while the family of    
,canossa accumulated fiefs that         
stretched from ,mantua across the plain 
of ,lombardy1 over the ,apennines to    
,lucca1 and southward to ,spoleto4 ,thus
 the ancient ,italy of ,lombards and    
,franks was superseded by a new ,italy  
of ,german feudalism1 owing allegiance  
to a suzerain whose interests detained  

him in the provinces beyond the ,alps4  
,at the same time the organization of   
the ,church was fortified4 ,the ,bishops
 were placed on an equality with the    
,counts in the chief cities1 and        
,viscounts were created to represent    
their civil jurisdiction4 ,it is        
difficult to exaggerate the importance  
of ,otho's concessions to the ,bishops4 
,during the preceding period of         
,frankish rule about one third of the   
soil of ,italy had been yielded to the  
,church1 which had the right of freeing 
its vassals from military service2 and  
since the ecclesiastical sees were      
founded upon ancient sites of ,roman    
civilization1 without regard to the     
military centers of the barbarian       
kingdoms1 the new privileges of the     
,bishops accrued to the benefit of the  
indigenous population4 ,milan1 for      
example1 down-trodden by ,pavia1 still  
remained the major ,see of ,lombardy4   
,aquileia1 though a desert1 had her     
patriarch1 while ,cividale1 established 

as a fortress to coerce the neighboring 
,roman towns1 was ecclesiastically but a
 village4 ,at this epoch a third power  
emerged in ,italy4 ,berengar had given  
the cities permission to inclose        
themselves with walls in order to repel 
the invasions of the ,huns4#a ,otho     
respected their right of self-defense1  
and from the date of his coronation the 
history of the free burghs begins in    
,italy4 ,it is at first closely         
connected with the changes wrought by   
the extinction of the kingdom of ,pavia1
 by the exaltation of the clergy1 and by
 the dislocation of the previous system 
of feud-holding1 which followed upon    
,otho's determination to remodel the    
country in the interest of the ,german  
,empire4 ,the ,regno was abolished4 ,the
 ancient landmarks of nobility were     
altered and confused4 ,the cities under 
their ,bishops assumed a novel character
 of independence4 ,those of ,roman      
origin1 being ecclesiastical centers1   
had a distant advantage over the more   

recent foundations of the ,lombard and  
the ,frankish monarchs4 ,the ,italic    
population everywhere emerged and       
displayed a vitality that had been      
crushed and overlaid by centuries of    
invasion and military oppression4       
#a ,it is worthy of notice that to this 
date belongs the war-chant     of the   
,modenese sentinels1 with its allusions 
to ,troy and ,hector1     which is      
recognized as the earliest specimen of  
the ,italian     hendecasyllabic meter4 
,the burghs at this epoch may be        
regarded as luminous points in the dense
 darkness of feudal aristocracy4#a      
,gathering round their ,cathedral as a  
center1 the towns inclose their         
dwellings with bastions1 from which they
 gaze upon a country bristling with     
castles1 occupied by serfs1 and lorded  
over by the hierarchical nobility4      
,within the city the ,bishop and the    
,count hold equal sway2 but the ,bishop 
has upon his side the sympathies and    
passions of the burghers4 ,the first    

effort of the towns is to expel the     
,count from their midst4 ,some accident 
of misrule infuriates the citizens4     
,they fly to arms and are supported by  
the ,bishop4 ,the ,count has to retire  
to the open country1 where he           
strengthens himself in his castle4#b    
,then the ,bishop remains victor in the 
town1 and forms a government of rich and
 noble burghers1 who control with him   
the fortunes of the new-born state4 ,at 
this crisis we begin to hear for the    
first time a word that has been much    
misunderstood4 ,the ,popolo appears upon
 the scene4 ,interpreting the past by   
the present1 and importing the          
connotation gained by the word people in
 the revolutions of the last two        
centuries1 students are apt to assume   
that the ,popolo of the ,italian burghs 
included the whole population4 ,in      
reality it was at first a close         
aristocracy of influential families1 to 
whom the authority of the superseded    
,counts was transferred in commission1  

and who held it by hereditary right4#c  
,unless we firmly grasp this fact1 the  
subsequent vicissitudes of the ,italian 
commonwealths are unintelligible1 and   
the elaborate definitions of the        
,florentine doctrinaires lose half their
 meaning4 ,the internal revolutions of  
the free cities were almost invariably  
caused by the necessity of enlarging the
 ,popolo1 and extending its franchise to
 the non-privileged inhabitants4 ,each  
effort after expansion provoked an      
obstinate resistance from those families
 who held the rights of burghership2 and
 thus the technical terms primo popolo1 
secondo popolo1 popolo grasso1 popolo   
minuto1 frequently occurring in the     
records of the ,republics1 indicate     
several stages in the progress from     
oligarchy to democracy4 ,the            
constitution of the city at this early  
period was simple4 ,at the head of its  
administration stood the ,bishop1 with  
the ,popolo of enfranchised burghers4   
,the ,commune included the ,popolo1     

together with the non-qualified         
inhabitants1 and was represented by     
,consuls1 varying in number according to
 the division of the town into          
quarters4#d ,thus the ,commune and the  
,popolo were originally separate bodies2
 and this distinction has been          
perpetuated in the architecture of those
 towns which still can show a ,palazzo  
del ,popolo apart from the ,palazzo del 
,commune4 ,since the affairs of the city
 had to be conducted by discussion1 we  
find ,councils corresponding to the     
constituent elements of the burgh4      
,there is the ,parlamento1 in which the 
inhabitants meet together to hear the   
decisions of the ,bishop and the        
,popolo1 or to take measures in extreme 
cases that affect the city as a whole2  
the ,gran ,consiglio1 which is only open
 to duly qualified members of the       
,popolo2 and the ,credenza1 or privy    
council of specially delegated burghers1
 who debate on matters demanding secrecy
 and diplomacy4 ,such1 generally        

speaking1 and without regard to local   
differences1 was the internal           
constitution of an ,italian city during 
the supremacy of the ,bishops4      #a  
,it is not necessary to raise           
antiquarian questions here relating     
to the origin of the ,italian ,commune4 
,whether regarded as a survival     of  
the ancient ,roman municipium or as an  
offshoot from the ,lombard     guild1 it
 was a new birth of modern times1 a new 
organism evolved     to express the     
functions of ,italian as different from 
ancient ,roman     or mediaeval ,lombard
 life4 ,the affection of the people for 
their past     induced them to use the  
nomenclature of ,latin civility for the 
officers and councils of the ,commune4  
,thus a specious air of     classical   
antiquity1 rather literary and          
sentimental than real1 was     given to 
the ,commune at the outset4 ,moreover1  
it must be remembered     that ,rome    
herself had suffered no substantial     
interruption of     republican existence

 during the ,dark ,ages4 ,therefore the 
free     burghs1 though their vitality  
was the outcome of wholly new           
conditions1 though they were built up of
 guilds and associations                
representing interests of modern origin1
 flattered themselves with     an       
uninterrupted municipal succession from 
the ,roman era1 and     pointed for     
proof to the ,eternal ,city4      #b    
,the ,italian word contado is a survival
 from this state of     things4 ,it     
represents a moment in the national     
development when the     sphere of the  
,count outside the city was defined     
against the sphere     of the           
municipality4 ,the ,contadini are the   
people of the ,contado1     the ,count's
 men4      #c ,even ,petrarch1 in his   
letter to four ,cardinals 7,lett4 ,fam4 
xi4     #af1 ed4 ,fracassetti7 on the   
reformation of the ,roman ,commonwealth1
     recommends the exclusion of the    
neighboring burghs and all              
strangers1 inclusive of the ,colonna and

 ,orsini families1 from the             
franchise4 ,none but pure ,romans1 how  
to be discovered from the     colluviet 
omnium gentium deposited upon the ,seven
 ,hills by     centuries of immigration 
he does not clearly say1 should be      
chosen     to revive the fallen majesty 
of the ,republic4 ,see in particular the
     peroration of his argument 7op4    
cit4 vol4 iii4 p4 #ie74 ,in other       
words1 he aims at a narrow ,popolo1 a   
pura cittadinanza1 in the     sense of  
,cacciaguida ,par4 xvi4      #d ,in some
 places we find as many as twelve       
,consuls4 ,it appears     that both the 
constituent families of the ,popolo and 
the numbers of     the ,consuls were    
determined by the ,sections of the city1
 so many     being told off for each    
quarter4  ,in the ,north of ,italy not a
 few of the greater vassals1 among whom 
may be mentioned the houses of ,canossa1
 ,montferrat1 ,savoy1 and ,este1        
creations of the ,salic ,emperors1      
looked with favor upon the development  

of the towns1 while some nobles went so 
far as to constitute themselves         
feudatories of ,bishops4#a ,the angry   
warfare carried on against ,canossa by  
the ,lombard barons has probably to be  
interpreted by the jealousy this popular
 policy excited4 ,at the same time1     
while ,lombardy and ,tuscany were       
establishing their municipal liberties1 
a sympathetic movement began in         
,southern ,italy1 which resulted in the 
conquest of ,apulia1 ,calabria1 and     
,sicily by the ,normans4 ,omitting all  
the details of this episode1 than which 
nothing more dramatic is presented by   
the history of modern nations1 it must  
be enough to point out here that the    
,normans finally severed ,italy from the
 ,greek ,empire1 gave a monarchical     
stamp to the south of the peninsula1 and
 brought the ,regno they consolidated   
into the sphere of national politics    
under the protection of the ,pope4 ,up  
to the date of their conquest ,southern 
,italy had a separate and confused      

history4 ,it now entered the ,italian   
community1 and by the peculiar          
circumstances of its cession to the     
,holy ,see was destined in the future to
 become the chief instrument whereby the
 ,popes disturbed the equilibrium of the
 peninsula in furtherance of their      
ambitious schemes4      #a ,the         
,pelavicini of ,s4 ,donnino1 for        
example1 gave themselves to     ,parma4 
,the greatness of the ,roman cities     
under the popular rule of their ,bishops
 is illustrated by ,milan1 second only  
to ,rome in the last days of the        
,empire4 ,milan had been reduced to the 
condition of abject misery by the       
,kings1 who spared no pains to exalt    
,pavia at the expense of her elder      
sister4 ,after the dissolution of the   
kingdom1 she started into a new life1   
and in #ajcg her archbishop1 ,heribert1 
was singled out by ,conrad ,,ii4 as the 
protagonist of the episcopal revolution 
against feudalism4#a ,heribert was in   
truth the hero of the burghs in their   

first strife for independence4 ,it was  
he who devised the ,carroccio1 an       
immense car drawn by oxen1 bearing the  
banner of the ,commune1 with an altar   
and priests ministrant1 around which the
 pikemen of the city mustered when they 
went to war4 ,this invention of         
,heribert's was soon adopted by the     
cities throughout ,italy4 ,it gave      
cohesion and confidence to the citizens1
 reminded them that the ,church was on  
their side in the struggle for freedom1 
and served as symbol of their military  
strength in union4 ,the first authentic 
records of a ,parliament1 embracing the 
nobles of the ,popolo1 the clergy1 and  
the multitude1 are transmitted to us by 
the ,milanese ,chronicles1 in which     
,heribert figures as the president of a 
republic4 ,from this date ,milan takes  
the lead in the contests for municipal  
independence4 ,her institutions like    
that of the ,carroccio1 together with   
her tameless spirit1 are communicated to
 the neighboring cities of ,lombardy1   

cross the ,apennines1 and animate the   
ancient burghs of ,tuscany4      #a ,he 
was summoned before the ,diet of ,pavia 
for having dispossessed     a noble of  
his feud4  ,having founded their        
liberties upon the episcopal presidency1
 the cities now proceeded to claim the  
right of choosing their own ,bishops4   
,they refused the prelates sent them by 
the ,emperor1 and demanded an election  
by the ,chapters of each town4 ,this    
privilege was virtually won when the war
 of ,investitures broke out in #ajgc4   
,after the death of ,gregory ,,vi4 in   
#ajdf1 the ,emperors resolved to enforce
 their right of nominating the ,popes4  
,the two first prelates imposed on      
,rome1 ,clement ,,ii4 and ,damatus      
,,ii41 died under suspicion of poison4  
,thus the ,roman people refused a       
foreign ,pope1 as the ,lombards had     
rejected the bishops sent to rule them4 
,the next ,popes1 ,leo ,,ix4 and ,victor
 ,,ii41 were persuaded by ,hildebrand1  
who now appears upon the stage1 to      

undergo a second election at ,rome by   
the clergy and the people4 ,they escaped
 assassination4 ,but the fifth ,german1 
,stephen ,x41 again died suddenly2 and  
now the formidable monk of ,soana felt  
himself powerful enough to cause the    
election of his own candidate1 ,nicholas
 ,,ii4 ,a ,lateran council1 inspired by 
,hildebrand1 transferred the election of
 ,popes to the ,cardinals1 approved by  
the clergy and people of ,rome1 and     
confirmed the privilege of the cities to
 choose their bishops1 subject to ,papal
 ratification4 ,in #ajgc ,hildebrand    
assumed the tiara as ,gregory ,,vii41   
and declared a war that lasted more than
 forty years against the ,empire4 ,at   
its close in #aabb the ,church and the  
,empire were counterposed as mutually   
exclusive autocracies1 the one claiming 
illimitable spiritual sway1 the other   
recognized as no less illimitably       
paramount in civil society4 ,from the   
principles raised by ,hildebrand and    
contested in the struggles of this duel1

 we may date those new conceptions of   
the two chief powers of ,christendom    
which found final expression in the     
theocratic philosophy of the ,summa and 
the imperial absolutism of the ,de      
,monarchia4 ,meanwhile the ,empire and  
the ,papacy1 while trying their force   
against each other1 had proved to ,italy
 their essential weakness4 ,what they   
gained as ideas1 controlling the        
speculations of the next two centuries1 
they lost as potentates in the          
peninsula4 ,it was impossible for either
 ,pope or ,emperor to carry on the war  
without bidding for the support of the  
cities2 and therefore1 at the end of the
 struggle1 the free burghs found        
themselves strengthened at the expense  
of both powers4 ,still it must not be   
forgotten that the wars of              
,investitures1 while they developed the 
independent spirit and the military     
energies of the ,republics1 penetrated  
,italy with the vice of party conflict4 
,the ineradicable divisions of ,guelf   

and ,ghibelline were a heavy price to   
pay for a step forward on the path of   
emancipation2 nor was the ecclesiastical
 revolution1 which tended to ,italianize
 the ,papacy1 while it magnified its    
cosmopolitan ascendency1 other than a   
source of evil to the nation4  ,the     
forces liberated in the cities by these 
wars brought the ,consuls to the front4 
,the ,bishops had undermined the feudal 
fabric of the kingdom1 depressed the    
,counts1 and restored the ,roman towns  
to prosperity4 ,during the war both     
,popolo and ,commune grew in vigor1 and 
their ,consuls began to use the         
authority that had been conquered by the
 prelates4 ,at first the ,consuls       
occupied a subordinate position as men  
of affairs and notaries1 needed to      
transact the business of the mercantile 
inhabitants4 ,they now took the lead as 
political agents of the first magnitude1
 representing the city in its public    
acts1 and superseding the ecclesiastics4
 ,the ,popolo was enlarged by the       

admission of new burgher families1 and  
the ruling caste1 though still          
oligarchical1 became more fairly        
representative of the inhabitants4 ,this
 progress was inevitable1 when we       
remember that the cities had been       
organized for warfare1 and that1 except 
their ,consuls1 they had no officials   
who combined civil and military         
functions4 ,under the jurisdiction of   
the ,consuls ,roman law was everywhere  
substituted for ,lombard statutes1 and  
another strong blow was thus dealt      
against decaying feudalism4 ,the school 
of ,bologna eclipsed the university of  
,pavia4 ,justinian's ,code was studied  
with passionate energy1 and the ,italic 
people enthusiastically reverted to the 
institutions of their past4 ,in the     
fable of the ,codex of the ,pandects    
brought by ,pisa from ,amalfi we can    
trace the fervor of this movement1      
whereby the ,romans of the cities       
struggled after resurrection4  ,one of  
the earliest manifestations of municipal

 vitality was the war of city against   
city1 which began to blaze with fury in 
the first half of the twelfth century1  
and endured so long as free towns lasted
 to perpetuate the conflict4 ,no sooner 
had the burghs established themselves   
beneath the presidency of their ,consuls
 than they turned the arms they had     
acquired in the war of independence1    
against their neighbors4 ,the phenomenon
 was not confined to any single         
district4 ,it revealed a new necessity  
in the very constitution of the         
commonwealths4 ,penned up within the    
narrow limits of their petty            
dependencies1 throbbing with fresh life1
 overflowing with a populace inured to  
warfare1 demanding channels for their   
energies in commerce1 competing with    
each other on the paths of industry1    
they clashed in deadliest duels for     
breathing space and means of wealth4    
,the occasions that provoked one        
,commune to declare war upon its rival  
were trivial4 ,the animosity was        

internecine and persistent4 ,life or    
death hung in the balance4 ,it was a    
conflict for ascendency that brought the
 sternest passions into play1 and       
decided the survival of the fittest     
among hundreds of competing cities4 ,the
 deeply rooted jealousies of ,roman and 
feudal centers1 the recent partisanship 
of ,papal and ,imperial principles1     
imbittered this strife4 ,but what lay   
beneath all superficial causes of       
dissension was the economic struggle of 
communities1 for whom the soil of ,italy
 already had begun to seem too narrow4  
,so superabundant were the forces of her
 population1 so vast were the energies  
emancipated by her attainment of        
municipal freedom1 that this mighty     
mother of peoples could not afford equal
 sustenance to all her children4        
,new-born1 they had to strangle one     
another as they hung upon the breast    
that gave them nourishment4 ,it was     
impossible for the ,emperor to overlook 
the apparent anarchy of his fairest     

province4 ,therefore1 when ,frederick   
,barbarossa was elected in #aaeb1 his   
first thought was to reduce the ,garden 
of the ,empire to order4 ,soon after his
 election he descended into ,lombardy   
and formed two leagues among the cities 
of the ,north1 the one headed by ,pavia1
 the center of the abrogated kingdom1   
the other by ,milan1 who inherited the  
majesty of ,rome and contained within   
her loins the future of ,italian        
freedom4 ,it is not necessary to follow 
in detail the conflict of the ,lombard  
burghs with ,frederick1 so              
enthusiastically described by their     
historian1 ,sismondi1 ,it is enough for 
our present purpose to remember that in 
the course of that contention both      
leagues made common cause against the   
,emperor1 drew the ,pope ,alexander     
,,iii4 into their quarrel1 and at last  
in #aahc1 after the victory of ,legnano 
had convinced ,frederick of his         
weakness1 extorted by the ,peace of     
,constance privileges whereby their     

autonomy was amply guaranteed and       
recognized4 ,the advantages won by      
,milan who sustained the brunt of the   
imperial onslaughts1 and by the splendor
 of her martyrdom surmounted the petty  
jealousies of her municipal rivals1 were
 extended to the cities of ,tuscany4    
,after the date of that compact signed  
by the ,emperor and his insurgent       
subjects1 the burghs obtained an assured
 position as a third power between the  
,empire and the ,church4 ,the most      
remarkable point in the history of this 
contention is the unanimous submission  
of the ,communes to what they regarded  
as the just suzerainty of ,caesar's     
representative4 ,though they were       
omnipotent in ,lombardy1 they took no   
measures for closing the gates of the   
,alps against the ,germans4 ,the        
,emperor was free to come and go as he  
listed2 and when peace was signed1 he   
reckoned the burghers who had beaten him
 by arms and policy1 among his loyal    
vassals4 ,still the spirit of           

independence in ,italy had been amply   
asserted4 ,this is notably displayed in 
the address presented to ,frederick1    
before his coronation1 by the senate of 
,rome4 ,regenerated by ,arnold of       
,brescia's revolutionary mission1 the   
,roman people assumed its antique       
majesty in these remarkable words3      
',thou wast a stranger2 ,i have made    
thee citizen2 thou camest from regions  
from beyond the ,alps2 ,i have conferred
 on thee the principality4'#a           
,presumptuous boast as this sounded in  
the ears of ,frederick1 it proved that  
the ,italic nation had now sharply      
defined itself against the ,church and  
the barbarians4 ,it still accepted the  
,empire because the ,empire was the     
glory of ,italy1 the crown that gave to 
her people the presidency of            
civilization4 ,it still recognized the  
authority of the ,church because the    
,church was the eldest daughter of      
,italy emergent from the wrecks of      
,roman society4 ,but the nation had     

become conscious of its right to stand  
apart from either4      #a3 ',hospes    
eras1 civem feci4 ,advena fuisti ex     
transalpinis     partibus1 principem    
constitui4 ,quod meum jure fuit1 tibi   
dedi4' ,see     ,ottonis ,episcopi      
,frisingensis ,chronicon1 ,de ,rebus    
,gestis ,frid4 i4     ,imp4 ,lib4 ii4   
cap4 #ba4 ,basileae1 #aefi4 ,the        
,legates appointed by the     ,senate   
met the ,emperor at ,sutri1 and         
delivered the oration of which     the  
sentence just quoted was part4 ,it      
began3 ',urbis legati nos1 rex          
optime1 ad tuam a ,senatu1 populoque    
,romano destinati sumus                 
excellentiam1' and contained this       
remarkable passage3 ',orbis     imperium
 affectas1 coronam praebitura gratanter 
assurgo1 jocanter     occurro 444       
indebitum clericorum excussurus jugum4' 
,if the words are     faithfully        
reported1 the ,republic separates itself
 abruptly from the     ,papacy1 and     
claims a kind of precedence in honor    

before the ,empire4     ,frederick is   
said to have interrupted the ,legates in
 a rage before     they could finish    
their address1 and to have replied with 
angry     contempt4 ,the speech put into
 his mouth is probably a rhetorical     
composition1 but it may have expressed  
his sentiments4 ',multa de              
,romanorum sapientia seu fortitudine    
hactenus audivimus1 magis tamen     de  
sapientia4 ,quare satis mirari non      
possumus1 quod verba vestra     plus    
arrogantiae tumore insipida quam sale   
sapientiae condita     sentimus4444     
,fuit1 fuit quondam in hac ,republica   
virtus4 ,quondam     dico1 atque o      
utinam tam veracitur quam libenter nunc 
dicere     possemus1' etc4              
,strengthened by their contest with     
,frederick ,barbarossa1 recognized in   
their rights as belligerent powers1 and 
left to their own guidance by the       
,empire1 the cities were now free to    
prosecute their wars upon the remnants  
of feudalism4 ,the town1 as we have     

learned to know it1 was surrounded by a 
serried rank of castles1 where the      
nobles held still undisputed authority  
over serfs of the soil4 ,against this   
cordon of fortresses every city with    
singular unanimity directed the forces  
it had formed in the preceding          
conflicts4 ,at the same time the        
municipal struggles of ,commune against 
,commune lost none of their virulence4  
,the ,counts1 pressed on all sides by   
the towns that had grown up around them1
 adopted the policy of pitting one burgh
 against another4 ,when a noble was     
attacked by the township near his       
castle1 he espoused the animosities of a
 more distant city1 compromised his     
independence by accepting the captaincy 
or lieutenancy of communes hostile to   
his natural enemies1 and thus became the
 servant or ally of a ,republic4 ,in his
 desperation he emancipated his serfs1  
and so the folk of the ,contado profited
 by the dissensions of the cities and   
their feudal masters4 ,this new phase of

 republican evolution lasted over a long
 and ill-defined period1 assuming       
different characters in different       
centers2 but the end of it was that the 
nobles were forced to submit to the     
cities4 ,they were admitted to the      
burghership1 and agreed to spend a      
certain portion of every year in the    
palaces they raised within the circuit  
of the walls4 ,thus the ,counts placed  
themselves beneath the jurisdiction of  
the ,consuls1 and the ,italic population
 absorbed into itself the relics of     
,lombard1 ,frank1 and ,german           
aristocracy4 ,still the gain upon the   
side of the republics was not clear4    
,though the feudal lordship of the      
nobles had been destroyed1 their wealth1
 their lands1 and their prestige        
remained untouched4 ,in the city they   
felt themselves but aliens4 ,their real 
home was still the castle on the        
neighboring mountain4 ,nor1 when they   
stooped to become burghers1 had they    
relinquished the use of arms4 ,instead  

of building peaceable dwelling-houses in
 the city1 they filled its quarters with
 fortresses and towers1 whence they     
carried on feuds among themselves and   
imperiled the safety of the streets4 ,it
 was speedily discovered that the war   
against the ,castles had become a war   
against the ,palaces1 and that the arena
 had been transferred from the open     
,contado to the ,piazza and the         
barricade4 ,the authority of the consuls
 proved insufficient to maintain an     
equilibrium between the people and the  
nobles4 ,accordingly a new magistrate   
started into being1 combining the       
offices of supreme justiciary and       
military dictator4 ,when ,frederick     
,barbarossa attempted to govern the     
rebellious ,lombard cities in the common
 interest of the ,empire1 he established
 in their midst a foreign judge1 called 
,podesta quasi habens potestatem        
,imperatoris in hac parte4 ,this        
institution only served at the moment to
 inflame and imbitter the resistance of 

the ,communes3 but the title of ,podesta
 was subsequently conferred upon the    
official summoned to maintain an equal  
balance between the burghers and the    
nobles4 ,he was invariably a foreigner1 
elected for one year1 intrusted with    
summary jurisdiction in all matters of  
dispute1 exercising the power of life   
and death1 and disposing of the         
municipal militia4 ,the old constitution
 of the ,commune remained to control    
this dictator and to guard the          
independence of the city4 ,all the      
,councils continued to act1 and the     
,consuls were fortified by the formation
 of a ,college of ,ancients or ,priors4 
,the ,podesta was created with the      
express purpose of effecting a synthesis
 between two rival sections of the      
burgh4 ,he was never regarded as other  
than an alien to the city1 adopted as a 
temporary mediator and controller of    
incompatible elements4 ,the lordship of 
the burgh still resided with the        
,consuls1 who from this time forward    

began to lose their individuality in the
 ,college of the ,signoria--called      
,priori1 ,anziani1 or ,rettori1 as the  
case might be in various districts4     
,the ,italian republics had reached this
 stage when ,frederick ,,ii4 united the 
,empire and the kingdom of the ,two     
,sicilies4 ,it was a crisis of the      
utmost moment for ,italian independence4
 ,master of the ,south1 ,frederick      
sought to reconquer the lost            
prerogatives of the ,empire in ,lombardy
 and ,tuscany2 nor is it improbable that
 he might have succeeded in uniting     
,italy beneath his sway but for the     
violent animosity of the ,church4 ,the  
warfare of extermination carried on by  
the ,popes against the house of         
,hohenstauffen was no proof of their    
partiality for the cause of freedom4    
,they dreaded the reality of a kingdom  
that should base itself on ,italy and be
 the rival of their own authority4      
,therefore they espoused the cause of   
the free burghs against ,frederick1 and 

when the ,north was devastated by his   
,vicars1 they preached a crusade against
 ,ezzelino da ,romano4 ,in the          
convulsions that shook ,italy from      
,north to ,south the parties of ,guelf  
and ,ghibelline took shape1 and acquired
 an ineradicable force4 ,all the        
previous humors and discords of the     
nation were absorbed by them4 ,the      
,guelf party meant the burghers of the  
consular ,communes1 the men of industry 
and commerce1 the upholders of civil    
liberty1 the friends of democratic      
expansion4 ,the ,ghibelline party       
included the naturalized nobles1 the men
 of arms and idleness1 the advocates of 
feudalism1 the politicians who regarded 
constitutional progress with disfavor4  
,that the banner of the ,church floated 
over the one camp1 while the standard of
 the ,empire rallied to itself the      
hostile party1 was a matter of          
comparatively superficial moment4 ,the  
true strength of the war lay in the     
population1 divided by irreconcilable   

ideals1 each eager to possess the city  
for itself1 each prepared to die for its
 adopted principles4 ,the struggle is a 
social struggle1 played out within the  
precincts of the ,commune1 for the      
supremacy of one or the other moiety of 
the whole people4 ,a city does not      
pronounce itself either ,guelf or       
,ghibelline till half the burghers have 
been exiled4 ,the victorious party      
organizes the government in its own     
interest1 establishes itself in a       
,palazzo apart from the ,commune1 where 
it develops its machinery at home and   
abroad1 and strengthens its finance by  
forced contributions and                
confiscations4#a ,the exiles make common
 cause with members of their own faction
 in an adverse burgh2 and thus1 by the  
diplomacy of ,guelfs and ,ghibellines1  
the most distant centers are drawn into 
the network of a common dualism4 ,in    
this way we are justified in saying that
 ,italy achieved her national           
consciousness through strife and        

conflict2 for the ,communes ceased to be
 isolated1 cemented by temporary        
leagues1 or engaged in merely local     
conflicts4 ,they were brought together  
and connected by the sympathies and     
antipathies of an antagonism which      
embraced and dominated the              
municipalities1 set ,republics and      
,regno on equal footing1 and merged the 
titular leaders of the struggle1 ,pope  
and ,emperor1 in the uncontrollable     
tumult4 ,the issue was no vulgar one2 no
 merely egotistic interests were at     
stake4 ,guelfs and ,ghibellines alike   
interrogated the oracle1 with perfect   
will to obey its inspiration for the    
common good2 but they read the          
utterances of the ,pythia in adverse    
senses4 ,the ,ghibelline heard ,italy   
calling upon him to build a citadel that
 should be guarded by the lance and     
shield of chivalry1 where the           
hierarchies of feudalism1 ranged beneath
 the dais of the ,empire1 might dispense
 culture and civil order in due measure 

to the people4 ,the ,guelf believed that
 she was bidding him to multiply arts   
and guilds within the burgh1 beneath the
 mantle of the ,pope1 who stood for     
,christ1 the preacher of equality and   
peace for all mankind1 in order that the
 beehive of industry should in course of
 time evolve a civil order and a culture
 representative of its own freely acting
 forces4      #a ,it is enough to refer 
to the importance of the ,parte ,guelfa 
in     the history of ,florence4        
,during the stress and storm of the     
fierce warfare carried on by ,guelfs and
 ,ghibellines1 the ,podesta fell into   
the second rank4 ,he had been created to
 meet an emergency2 but now the discord 
was too vehement for arbitration4 ,a new
 functionary appears1 with the title of 
,captain of the ,people4 ,chosen when   
one or other of the factions gains      
supreme power in the burgh1 he          
represents the victorious party1 takes  
the lead in proscribing their opponents1
 and ratifies on his responsibility the 

changes introduced into the             
constitution4 ,the old magistracies and 
councils1 meanwhile1 are not abrogated4 
,the ,consiglio del ,popolo1 with the   
,capitano at its head1 takes the lead2  
and a new member1 called the ,consiglio 
della ,parte1 is found beside them1     
watchful to maintain the policy of the  
victorious faction4 ,but the ,consiglio 
del ,comune1 with the ,podesta1 who has 
not ceased to exercise judicial         
functions1 still subsists4 ,the ,priors 
form the signory as of old4 ,the        
,credenza goes on working1 and the ,gran
 ,consiglio represents the body of      
privileged burghers4 ,the party does but
 tyrannize over the city it has         
conquered1 and manipulates the ancient  
constitution for its own advantage4 ,in 
this clash of ,guelf with ,ghibelline   
the beneficiaries were the lower classes
 of the people4 ,excluded from the      
,popolo of episcopal and consular       
revolutions1 the trades and industries  
of the great cities now assert their    

claims to be enfranchised4 ,the advent  
of the ,arti is the chief social        
phenomenon of the crisis4#a ,thus the   
final issue of the conflict was a new   
,italy1 deeply divided by factions that 
were little understood1 because they    
were so vital1 because they represented 
two adverse currents of national energy1
 incompatible1 irreconcilable1 eternal  
in antagonism as the poles4 ,but this   
discordant nation was more commercial   
and more democratic4 ,families of       
merchants rose upon the ruins of the old
 nobility4 ,roman cities of industry    
reduced their military rivals of earlier
 or later origin to insignificance4 ,the
 plain1 the river1 and the port asserted
 themselves against the mountain        
fastness and the barrackburgh4 ,the     
several classes of society1 triturated1 
shaken together1 leveled by warfare and 
equalized by industry1 presented but few
 obstacles to the emergence of          
commanding personalities1 however       
humble1 from their ranks4 ,not only had 

the hierarchy of feudalism disappeared2 
but the constitution of the city itself 
was confused1 and the ,popolo1 whether  
'primo' or 'secondo or even 'terzo1' was
 diluted with recently franchised       
,contadini and all kinds of 'novi       
homines4'#b ,the ,divine ,comedy1       
written after the culmination of the    
,guelf and ,ghibelline dissensions1     
yields the measure of their animosity4  
,dante finds no place in ,hell ,heaven1 
or ,purgatory for the souls who stood   
aloof from strife1 the angels who were  
neither ,guelf nor ,ghibelline in       
,paradise4 ,his ,vigliacchi1 'wretches  
who never lived1' because they never    
felt the pangs or ecstasies of          
partisanship1 wander homeless on the    
skirts of ,limbo1 among the abortions   
and offscourings of creation4 ,even so  
there was no standing-ground in ,italy  
outside one or the other hostile camp4  
,society was riven down to its          
foundation4 ,rancors dating from the    
thirteenth century endured long after   

the great parties ceased to have a      
meaning4 ,they were perpetuated in      
customs1 and expressed themselves in the
 most trivial details4 ,banners1        
ensigns1 and heraldic colors followed   
the divisions of the factions4          
,ghibellines wore the feathers in their 
caps upon one side1 ,guelfs upon the    
other4 ,ghibellines cut fruit at table  
crosswise1 ,guelfs straight down4 ,in   
,bergamo some ,calabrians were murdered 
by their host1 who discovered from their
 way of slicing garlic that they sided  
with the hostile party4 ,ghibellines    
drank out of smooth1 and ,guelfs out of 
chased1 goblets4 ,ghibellines wore      
white1 and ,guelfs red1 roses4 ,yawning1
 passing in the street1 throwing dice1  
gestures in speaking or swearing1 were  
used as pretexts for distinguishing the 
one half of ,italy from the other4 ,so  
late as the middle of the fifteenth     
century1 the ,ghibellines of ,milan tore
 ,christ from the high-altar of the     
,cathedral at ,crema and burned him     

because he turned his face to the ,guelf
 shoulder4 ,every great city has a tale 
of love and death that carries the      
contention of its adverse families into 
the region of romance and legend4       
,florence dated her calamities from the 
insult offered by ,buondelmonte dei     
,buondelmonti to the ,amidei in a broken
 marriage4 ,bologna never forgot the    
pathos of ,imelda ,lambertazzi stretched
 in death upon her lover ,bonifazio     
,gieremei's corpse4 ,the story of ,romeo
 and ,juliet at ,verona is a myth which 
brings both factions into play1 the     
well-meaning intervention of            
peace-making monks1 and the ineffectual 
efforts of the ,podesta to curb the     
violence of party warfare4      #a ,the 
history of ,florence illustrates more   
clearly than that of     any other town 
the vast importance acquired by trades  
and guilds in     politics at this epoch
 of the civil wars4      #b ,this is the
 sting of ,cacciaguida's scornful       
lamentation over     ,florence ,par4    

xvi4          ,ma la cittadinanza1 ch' e
 or mista       ,di ,campi e di         
,certaldo e di ,figghine1       ,pura   
vedeasi nell' ultimo artista4           
,tal fatto e fiorentino1 e cambia e     
merca1       ,che si sarebbe volto a    
,semifonti1       ,la dove andava l'    
avolo alia cerca4          ,sempre la   
confusione delle persone                
,principio fu del mal della cittade1    
,come del corpo il cibo che s' appone4  
,so deep and dreadful was the discord1  
so utter the exhaustion1 that the       
distracted ,communes were fain at last  
to find some peace in tyranny4 ,at the  
close of their long quarrel with the    
house of ,hohenstauffen1 the ,popes     
called ,charles of ,anjou into ,italy4  
,the final issue of that policy for the 
nation at large will be discussed in    
another portion of this work4 ,it is    
enough to point out here that1 as       
,ezzelino da ,romano introduced         
despotism in its worst form as a party  
leader of the ,ghibellines1 so ,charles 

of ,anjou became a typical tyrant in the
 ,guelf interest4 ,he was recognized as 
chief of the ,guelf party by the        
,florentines1 and the kingdom of the    
,two ,sicilies was conferred upon him as
 the price of his dictatorship4 ,the    
republics almost simultaneously entered 
upon a new phase4 ,democratized by the  
extension of the franchise1 corrupted1  
to use ,machiavelli's phrase1 in their  
old organization of the ,popolo and     
,commune1 they fell into the hands of   
tyrants1 who employed the prestige of   
their party1 the indifference of the    
,vigliacchi1 and the peace-loving       
instincts of the middle class for the   
consolidation of their selfish          
autocracy4#a ,placing himself above the 
law1 manipulating the machinery of the  
,state for his own ends1 substituting   
the will of a single ruler for the clash
 of hostile passions in the factions1   
the tyrant imposed a forcible           
tranquillity upon the city he had       
grasped4 ,the ,captaincy of the people  

was conferred upon him4#b ,the ,councils
 were suffocated and reduced to silence4
 ,the aristocracy was persecuted for the
 profit of the plebs4 ,under his rule   
commerce flourished2 the towns were     
adorned with splendid edifices2 foreign 
wars were carried on for the            
aggrandizement of the ,state without    
regard to factious rancors4 ,thus the   
tyrant marked the first emergence of    
personality supreme within the ,state1  
resuming its old forces in an autocratic
 will1 superseding and at the same time 
consciously controlling the mute1       
collective1 blindly working impulses of 
previous revolutions4 ,his advent was   
welcomed as a blessing by the recently  
developed people of the cities he       
reduced to peace4 ,but the great        
families and leaders of the parties     
regarded him with loathing1 as a reptile
 spawned by the corruption and disease  
of the decaying body politic4 ,in their 
fury they addressed themselves to the   
two chiefs of ,christendom4 ,boniface   

,,viii41 answering to this appeal1      
called in a second ,frenchman1 ,charles 
of ,valois1 with the titles of ,marquis 
of ,ancona1 ,count of ,romagna1 ,captain
 of ,tuscany1 who was bidden to reduce  
,italy to order on ,guelf principles4   
,dante in his mountain solitudes invoked
 the ,emperor1 and ,italy beheld the    
powerless march of ,henry ,,vii4        
,neither ,pope nor ,emperor was strong  
enough to control the currents of the   
factions which were surely whirling     
,italy into the abyss of despotism4     
,boniface died of grief after ,sciarra  
,colonna1 the terrible ,ghibelline's    
outrage at ,anagni1 and the ,papal      
,court was transferred to ,avignon in   
#acaf4 ,henry ,,vii4 expired1 of poison 
probably1 at ,buonconvento1 in #acac4   
,the parties tore each other to         
fragments4 ,tyrants were murdered4      
,whole families were extirpated4 ,yet   
these convulsions bore no fruit of      
liberty4 ,the only exit from the        
situation was in despotism--the         

despotism of a jealous oligarchy as at  
,florence1 or the despotism of new      
tyrants in ,lombardy and the ,romagna4#c
      #a ,not to mention the republics  
of ,lombardy and ,romagna1 which took   
the final stamp of despotism at the     
beginning of the fourteenth     century1
 it is noticeable that ,pisa submitted  
to ,uguccione da     ,faggiuola1 ,lucca 
to ,castruccio ,castracane1 and         
,florence to the ,duke     of ,athens4  
,the revolution of ,pisa in #acaf       
delivered it from     ,uguccione2 the   
premature death of ,castruccio in #acbh 
destroyed the     ,tuscan duchy he was  
building up upon the basement of        
,ghibellinism2     while the rebellion  
of #acdc averted tyranny from ,florence 
for     another century4      #b        
,machiavelli's ,vita di ,castruccio     
,castracane1 though it is     rather a  
historical romance than a trustworthy   
biography1     illustrates the gradual  
advances made by a bold and ambitious   
leader     from the ,captaincy of the   

people1 conferred upon him for one year1
     to the tyranny of his city4      #c
 ,the ,divine comedy is1 under one of   
its aspects1 the ,epic of     ,italian  
tyranny1 so many of its episodes are    
chosen from the history     of the civil
 wars3          ,che le terre d' ,italia
 tutte piene       ,son di tiranni2 ed  
un ,marcel diventa       ,ogni villan   
che parteggiando viene4      ,those     
lines occur in the apostrophe to ,italy 
7,purg4 vi47 where     ,dante refers to 
the ,empire1 idealized by him as the    
supreme     authority in ,europe4       
,meanwhile the perils to which the      
tyrants were exposed taught them to     
employ cruelty and craft in combination4
 ,from the confused and spasmodic       
efforts of the thirteenth century1 when 
,captains of the people and leaders of  
the party seized a momentary gust of    
power1 there arose a second sort of     
despotism1 more cautious in its policy1 
more methodic in its use of means to    
ends1 which ended by metamorphosing the 

,italian cities and preparing the great 
age of the ,renaissance4 ,it would be   
sentimental to utter lamentations over  
this change1 and unphilosophical to     
deplore the diminution of republican    
liberty as an unmixed evil4 ,the        
divisions of ,italy and the weakness of 
both ,papacy and ,empire left no other  
solution of the political problem4 ,all 
branches of the municipal               
administration1 strained to the         
cracking-point by the tension of party  
conflict1 were now isolated from the    
organism1 abnormally developed1         
requiring the combining effort of a     
single thinker to reunite their         
scattered forces in one system or absorb
 them in himself4 ,the indirect         
restraints which a calmer period of     
municipal vitality had placed upon      
tyrannic ambition1 were removed by the  
leveling of classes and the presentation
 of an equal surface to the builder of  
the palace-dome of monarchy4 ,moreover1 
it must be remembered that what the     

,italians then understood by freedom was
 municipal autonomy controlled by ruling
 houses in the interest of the few4     
,these considerations need not check our
 sympathy with ,florence in the warfare 
she carried on against the ,milanese    
tyrants4 ,but they should lead us to be 
cautious in adopting the conclusions of 
,sismondi1 who saw ,italian greatness   
only in her free cities4 ,the           
obliteration of the parties beneath     
despotism was needed1 under actual      
conditions1 for that development of arts
 and industry which raised ,italy to a  
first place among civilized nations4 ,of
 the manners of the ,despots1 and of the
 demoralization they encouraged in the  
cities of their rule1 enough will be    
said in the succeeding chapters1 which  
set forth the social conditions of the  
,renaissance in ,italy4 ,but attention  
should here be called to the general    
character of despotic authority1 and to 
the influence the ,despots exercised for
 the pacification of the country4 ,we   

are not justified by facts in assuming  
that had the free burghs continued      
independent1 arts and literature would  
have risen to a greater height4 ,venice1
 in spite of an uninterrupted republican
 career1 produced no commanding men of  
letters1 and owed much of her splendor  
in the art of painting to aliens from   
,cadore1 ,castelfranco1 and ,verona4    
,genoa remained silent and irresponsive 
to the artistic movement of ,italy until
 the last days of the republic1 when her
 independence was but a shadow4 ,pisa1  
though a burgh of ,tuscany1 displayed no
 literary talent1 while her architecture
 dates from the first period of the     
,commune4 ,siena1 whose republican      
existence lasted longer even than that  
of ,florence1 contributed nothing of    
importance to ,italian literature4 ,the 
art of ,perugia was developed during the
 ascendency of despotic families4 ,the  
painting of the ,milanese ,school owed  
its origin to ,lodovico ,sforza1 and    
survived the tragic catastrophes of his 

capital1 which suffered more than any   
other from the brutalities of ,spaniards
 and ,frenchmen4 ,next to ,florence1 the
 most brilliant centers of literary     
activity during the bright days of the  
,renaissance were princely ,ferrara and 
royal ,naples4 ,lastly1 we might insist 
upon the fact that the ,italian language
 took its first flight in the court of  
imperial ,palermo1 while republican     
,rome remained dumb throughout the      
earlier stage of ,italian literary      
evolution4 ,thus the facts of the case  
seem to show that culture and republican
 independence were not so closely united
 in ,italy as some historians would seek
 to make us believe4 ,on the other hand 
it is impossible to prove that the      
despotisms of the fifteenth century were
 necessary to the perfecting of art and 
literature4 ,all that can be safely     
advanced upon this subject1 is that the 
pacification of ,italy was demanded as a
 preliminary condition1 and that this   
pacification came to pass through the   

action of the princes1 checked and      
equilibrated by the oligarchies of      
,venice and ,florence4 ,it might further
 be urged that the ,despots were in     
close sympathy with the masses of the   
people1 shared their enthusiasms1 and   
promoted their industry4 ,when the      
classical revival took place at the     
close of the fourteenth century1 they   
divined this movement of the ,italic    
races to resume their past1 and gave it 
all encouragement4 ,to be a prince1 and 
not to be the patron of scholarship1 the
 pupil of humanists1 and the founder of 
libraries1 was an impossibility4 ,in    
like manner they employed their wealth  
upon the development of arts and        
industries4 ,the great age of           
,florentine painting is indissolubly    
connected with the memories of ,casa    
,medici4 ,rome owes her magnificence to 
the despotic ,popes4 ,even the pottery  
of ,gubbio was a creation of the ducal  
house of ,urbino4  ,after the death of  
,henry ,,vii4 and the beginning of the  

,papal exile at ,avignon1 the ,guelf    
party became the rallying-point of      
municipal independence1 with its        
headquarters in ,florence4 ,ghibellinism
 united the princes in an opposite camp4
 ',the ,guelf party1' writes ,giovanni  
,villani1 'forms the solid and          
unalterable basis of ,italian liberty1  
and is so antagonistic to all tyranny   
that1 if a ,guelf become a tyrant1 he   
must of necessity become at the same    
moment ,ghibelline4' ,milan1 first to   
assert the rights of the free burghs1   
was now the chief center of despotism2  
and the events of the next century      
resume themselves in the long struggle  
between ,florence and the ,visconti4    
,the chronicle of the ,villani and the  
,florentine history of ,poggio contain  
the record of this strife1 which seemed 
to them the all-important crisis of     
,italian affairs4 ,in the ,milanese     
annals of ,galvano ,fiamma and ,mussi1  
on the other hand1 the advantages of a  
despotic sovereignty in giving national 

coherence1 the crimes of the ,papacy1   
which promoted anarchy in its           
ill-governed ,states1 and the prospect  
of a comprehensive ,italian tyranny     
under the great house of the ,visconti1 
are eloquently pleaded4 ,the terms of   
the main issue being thus clearly       
defined1 we may regard the warfare      
carried on by ,bertrand du ,poiet and   
,louis of ,bavaria in the interests of  
,church and ,empire1 the splendid       
campaigns of ,egidio d',albornoz1 and   
the delirious cruelty of ,robert of     
,geneva1 no less than the predatory     
excursions of ,charles ,,iv41 as        
episodical4 ,the main profits of those  
convulsions1 which drowned ,italy in    
blood during nearly all the fourteenth  
century1 accrued to the ,despots1 who   
held their ground in spite of all       
attempts to dispossess them4 ,the       
greater houses1 notably the ,visconti1  
acquired strength by revolutions in     
which the ,church and ,empire           
neutralized each other's action4 ,the   

lesser families struck firm roots into  
cities1 infuriated rather than          
intimidated by such acts of violence as 
the massacres of ,faenza and ,cesena in 
#acgg4 ,the relations of the imperial   
and pontifical parties were confused2   
while even in the center of republican  
independence1 at ,florence1 social      
changes1 determined in great measure by 
the exhaustion of the city in its       
conflict1 prepared the way for the      
,medicean tyranny4 ,neither the ,church 
nor the ,empire gained steady footing in
 ,italy1 while the prestige of both was 
ruined4#a ,municipal freedom1 instead of
 being enlarged1 was extinguished by the
 ambition of the ,florentine oligarchs1 
who1 while they spent the last florin of
 the ,commune in opposing the ,visconti1
 never missed an opportunity of         
enslaving the sister burghs of ,tuscany4
 ,in a word1 the destiny of the nation  
was irresistibly impelling it toward    
despotism4      #a ,machiavelli1 in his 
,istorie ,fiorentine 7,firenze1 #ahah1  

vol4 i4     pp4 #dg1 #dh71 points out   
how the competition of the ,church and  
,empire1 during the ,papacies of        
,benedict ,,xii4 and ,clement ,,vi4 and 
the     reign of ,louis strengthened the
 tyrants of ,lombardy1 ,romagna1 and    
the ,march4 ,each of the two contending 
powers gave away what did not     belong
 to them1 bidding against each other for
 any support they     might obtain from 
the masters of the towns4  ,in order to 
explain the continual prosperity of the 
princes amid the clash of forces brought
 to bear against them from so many      
sides1 we must remember that they were  
the partisans of social order in        
distracted burghs1 the heroes of the    
middle classes and the multitude1 the   
quellers of faction1 the administrators 
of impartial laws1 and the aggrandizers 
of the city at the expense of its       
neighbors4 ,ser ,gorello1 singing the   
praises of the ,bishop ,guido dei       
,tarlati di ,pietra ,mala1 who ruled    
,arezzo in the first half of the        

fourteenth century1 makes the ,commune  
say3#a ',he was the lord so valiant and 
magnificent1 so full of grace and       
daring1 so agreeable to both ,guelfs and
 ,ghibellines4 ,he1 for his virtue1 was 
chosen by common consent to be the      
master of my people4 ,peace and justice 
were the beginning1 middle1 and end of  
his lordship1 which removed all discord 
from the ,state4 ,by the greatness of   
his valor ,i grew in territory round    
about4 ,every neighbor reverenced me1   
some through love and some through      
dread2 for it was dear to them to rest  
beneath his mantle4' ,these verses set  
forth the qualities which united the    
mass of the populations to their new    
lords4 ,the ,despot delivered the       
industrial classes from the tyranny and 
anarchy of faction1 substituting a reign
 of personal terrorism that weighed more
 heavily upon the nobles than upon the  
artisans or peasants4 ,ruling more by   
perfidy1 corruption1 and fraud than by  
the sword1 he turned the leaders of     

parties into courtiers1 brought         
proscribed exiles back into the city as 
officials1 flattered local vanity by    
continuing the municipal machinery in   
its functions of parade1 and stopped the
 mouths of unruly demagogues by making  
it their pecuniary interest to preach   
his benefits abroad4 ,so long as the    
burghers remained peaceable beneath his 
sway and refrained from attacking him in
 person1 he was mild4 ,but at the same  
moment the gallows1 the torture-chamber1
 the iron cage suspended from the giddy 
height of palace-roof or church tower1  
and the dreadful dungeons1 where a      
prisoner could neither stand nor lie at 
ease1 were ever ready for the man who   
dared dispute his authority4 ,that      
authority depended solely on his        
personal qualities of will1 courage1    
physical endurance4 ,he held it by      
intelligence1 being as it were an       
artificial product of political         
necessities1 an equilibrium of forces1  
substituted without legal title for the 

,church and ,empire1 and accumulating in
 his despotic individuality the         
privileges previously acquired by       
centuries of consuls1 ,podestas1 and    
,captains of the people4 ,the chief     
danger he had to fear was conspiracy2   
and in providing himself against this   
peril he expended all the resources     
suggested by refined ingenuity and      
heightened terror4 ,yet1 when the       
,despot was attacked and murdered1 it   
followed of necessity that the          
successful conspirator became in turn a 
tyrant4 ',cities1' wrote ,machiavelli1#b
 'that are once corrupt and accustomed  
to the rule of princes1 can never       
acquire freedom1 even though the prince 
with all his kin be extirpated4 ,one    
prince is needed to extinguish another2 
and the city has no rest except by the  
creation of a new lord1 unless it chance
 that one burgher by his goodness and   
great qualities may during his lifetime 
preserve its temporary independence4'   
,palace intrigues1 therefore1 took the  

place of ,piazza revolutions1 and       
dynasties were swept away to make room  
for new tyrants without material change 
in the condition of the populace4       
#a ,mur4 ,scr4 ,r4 ,it4 xv4 #hbf4       
,compare what ,g4 ,merula wrote about   
,azzo ,visconti3 ',he conciliated the   
people to him by equal justice          
without distinction of ,guelf or        
,ghibelline4'      #b ,discorsi4 i4 #ag4
  ,it was the universal policy of the   
,despots to disarm their subjects4      
,prompted by considerations of personal 
safety1 and demanded by the necessity of
 extirpating the factions1 this measure 
was highly popular4 ,it relieved the    
burghers of that most burdensome of all 
public duties1 military service4 ,a tax 
on silver and salt was substituted in   
the ,milanese province for the          
conscription1 while the ,florentine     
oligarchs1 actuated probably by the same
 motives1 laid a tax upon the country4  
,the effect of this change was to make  
financial and economical questions      

all-important1 and to introduce a new   
element into the balance of ,italian    
powers4 ,the principalities were        
transformed into great banks1 where the 
lords of cities sat in their bureau1    
counted their money1 and calculated the 
cost of wars or the value of towns they 
sought to acquire by bargain4 ,at first 
they used their mercenary troops like   
pawns1 buying up a certain number for   
some special project1 and dismissing    
them when it had been accomplished4 ,but
 in course of time the mercenaries awoke
 to the sense of their own power1 and   
placed themselves beneath captains who  
secured them a certainty of pay with    
continuity of profitable service4 ,thus 
the ,condottieri came into existence1   
and ,italy beheld the spectacle of      
moving despotisms1 armed and mounted1   
seeking to effect establishment upon the
 weakest1 worst-defended points of the  
peninsula4 ,they proved a grave cause of
 disquietude alike to the tyrants and   
the republics2 and until the settlement 

of ,francesco ,sforza in the ,duchy of  
,milan1 when the employers of           
auxiliaries had come to understand the  
arts of dealing with them by perfidy1   
secret assassination1 and a system of   
elaborate counter-checks1 the           
equilibrium of power in ,italy was      
seriously threatened4 ,the country      
suffered at first from marauding        
excursions conducted by piratical       
leaders of adventurous troops1 by       
,werner of ,urslingen1 the ,conte       
,lando1 and ,fra ,moriale2 afterwards   
from the discords of ,braccio da        
,montone and ,sforza ,attendolo1        
incessantly plotting to carve duchies   
for themselves from provinces they had  
been summoned by a master to subdue4 ,at
 this period gold ruled the destinies of
 ,italy4 ,the ,despots1 relying solely  
on their exchequer for their power1 were
 driven to extortion4 ,cities became    
bankrupt1 pledged their revenues1 or    
sold themselves to the highest bidder4#a
 ,indescribable misery oppressed the    

poorer classes and the peasants4 ,a     
series of obscure revolutions in the    
smaller despotic centers pointed to a   
vehement plebeian reaction against a    
state of things that had become         
unbearable4 ,the lower classes of the   
burghers rose against the 'popolani     
grassi1' and a new class of princes     
emerged at the close of the crisis4     
,thus the plebs forced the ,bentivogli  
on ,bologna and the ,medici on          
,florence1 and ,baglioni on ,perugia and
 the ,petrucci on ,siena4      #a       
,perugia1 for example1 farmed out the   
tax upon her country     population for 
#ab1jjj florins1 upon her baking-houses 
for #g1bff1     upon her wine for       
#d1jjj1 upon her lake for #e1bjj1 upon  
contracts for     #a1ejj4 ,two bankers  
accepted the ,perugian loan at this     
price in #achh4  ,the emergence of the  
,condottieri at the beginning of the    
fourteenth century1 the anarchy they    
encouraged for their own aggrandizement1
 and the financial distress which ensued

 upon the substitution of mercenary for 
civic warfare1 completed the            
democratization of the ,italian cities1 
and marked a new period in the history  
of despotism4 ,from the date of         
,francesco ,sforza's entry into ,milan  
as conqueror in #adej1 the princes      
became milder in their exercise of power
 and less ambitious4 ,having begun by   
disarming their subjects1 they now      
proceeded to lay down arms themselves1  
employing small forces for the          
protection of their person and the      
,state1 engaging more cautiously in     
foreign strife1 and substituting        
diplomacy1 wherever it was possible1 for
 warfare4 ,gold still ruled in politics1
 but it was spent in bribery4 ,to the   
ambitious military schemes of ,gian     
,galeazzo ,visconti succeeded the       
commercial cynicism of ,cosimo de'      
,medici1 who enslaved ,florence by      
astute demoralization4#a ,the spirit of 
the age was materialistic and positive4 
,the ,despots held their state by       

treachery1 craft1 and corruption4 ,the  
element of force being virtually        
eliminated1 intelligence at last gained 
undivided sway2 and the ideal statecraft
 of ,machiavelli was realized with more 
or less completeness in all parts of the
 peninsula4 ,at this moment and by these
 means ,italy obtained a brief but      
golden period of peace beneath the      
confederation of her great powers4      
,nicholas ,v4 had restored the ,papal   
court to ,rome in #addg2 where he       
assumed the manners of despotism and    
counted as one among the ,italian       
,signori4 ,lombardy remained tranquil   
under the rule of ,francesco ,sforza1   
and ,tuscany under that of the ,casa    
,medici4 ,the kingdom of ,naples1       
conquered by ,alfonso of ,aragon in     
#addb1 was equally ruled in the spirit  
of enlightened despotism1 while ,venice1
 who had so long formed a state apart1  
by her recent acquisition of a domain on
 terra firma1 entered the community of  
,italian politics4 ,thus the country had

 finally resolved itself into five grand
 constituent elements--the ,duchy of    
,milan1 the ,republic of ,s4 ,mark1     
,florence1 ,rome1 and the kingdom of    
,naples--all of them1 though widely     
differing in previous history and       
constitutional peculiarities1 now       
animated by a common spirit4#b          
,politically they tended to despotism2  
for though ,venice continued to be a    
republic1 the government of the         
,venetian oligarchy was but despotism   
put into commission4 ,intellectually1   
the same enthusiasm for classical       
studies1 the same artistic energy1 and  
the same impulse to revive ,italian     
literature brought the several centers  
of the nation into keener sympathy than 
they had felt before4 ,a network of     
diplomacy embraced the cities2 and round
 the leaders of the confederation were  
grouped inferior burghs1 republican or  
tyrannical as the case might be1 like   
satellites around the luminaries of a   
solar system4 ,when ,constantinople was 

taken by the ,turks in #adec1 ,italy    
felt the need of suppressing her old    
jealousies1 and ,nicholas ,v4 induced   
the four great powers to sign with him a
 treaty of peace and amity4 ,the        
political tact and sagacity of ,lorenzo 
de' ,medici enabled him to develop and  
substantiate the principle of balance   
then introduced into ,italian politics2 
nor was there any apparent reason why   
the equilibrium so hardly won1 so       
skillfully maintained1 should not have  
subsisted but for ,lodovico ,sforza's   
invitation to the ,french in #adid4 ,up 
to that date the more recent wars of    
,italy had been principally caused by   
the encroachments of ,venice and the    
nepotism of successive ,popes4 ,they    
raised no new enthusiasm hostile to the 
interests of peace4 ,the ,empire was    
eliminated and forgotten as an obsolete 
antiquity4 ,italy seemed at last        
determined to manage her own affairs by 
mutual agreement between the five great 
powers4      #a ,i have attempted to    

analyze ,cosimo's method in the article 
on     ',florence and the ,medici1'     
,studies and ,sketches in ,italy4       
#b ,this centralization of ,italy in    
five great powers was not     obtained  
without the depression or total         
extinction of smaller     cities4       
,ferrari counts seventeen towns1 who    
died1 to use his     forcible           
expression1 at the close of the civil   
wars4 ,storia delle     ,rivoluzioni d' 
,italia1 iii4 #bci4  ,still the ground  
beneath this specious fabric of         
diplomacy rung hollow4 ,the tyrannies   
represented a transient political       
necessity4 ,they were not the product of
 progressive social growth1 satisfying  
and regulating organic functions of the 
nation4 ,far from being the final       
outcome of a slow1 deliberate accretion 
in the states they had absorbed1 we see 
in them the climax of conflicting       
humors1 the splendid cancers and        
imposthumes of a desperate disease4     
,that solid basis of national morality  

which grounds the monarch firm upon the 
sympathies and interests of the people  
whom he seems to lead1 but whom he in   
reality expresses1 failed them4         
,therefore each individual despot       
trembled for his throne1 while ,italy1  
as in the ominous picture drawn by her  
historian1 felt that all the elements   
were combining to devour her with a     
coming storm4 ,the land of earthquakes  
divined a cataclysm1 to cope with which 
she was unable4 ,an apparently          
insignificant event determined the      
catastrophe4 ,the ,sforza appealed to   
,france1 and after the disastrous       
descent of ,charles ,,viii4 the whole   
tide of events turned4 ,instead of      
internal self-government by any system  
of balance1 ,italy submitted to a       
succession of invasions terminating in  
foreign tyranny4  ,the problem why the  
,italians failed to achieve the unity of
 a coherent nation has been implicitly  
discussed in the foregoing pages upon   
the history of the ,communes and the    

development of despotism4 ,we have      
already seen that their conception of   
municipal independence made a narrow    
oligarchy of enfranchised burghers lords
 of the city1 which in its turn         
oppressed the country and the subject   
burghs of its domain4 ,every conquest by
 a republic reduced some village or     
center of civil life to the condition of
 serfdom4 ,the voices of the inhabitants
 were no longer heard debating questions
 that affected their interests4 ,they   
submitted to dictation from their       
masters1 the enfranchised few in the    
ascendant commonwealth4 ,thus1 as       
,guicciardini pointed out in his        
',considerations on the ,discourses of  
,machiavelli1' the subjection of ,italy 
by a dominant republic would have meant 
the extinction of numberless political  
communities and the sway of a close     
oligarchy from the ,alps to the ,ionian 
,sea4#a ,the #c1bjj burghers who        
constituted ,florence in #adid1 or the  
nobles of the ,golden ,book at ,venice1 

would by such unification of the country
 under a victorious republic have become
 sovereigns1 administering the resources
 of the nation for their profit4 ,the   
dread of this catastrophe rendered      
,venice odious to her sister            
commonwealths at the close of the       
fifteenth century1 and justified1       
according to ,guicciardini's views of   
history1 the action taken by ,cosimo de'
 ,medici in #adej1 when he rendered     
,milan strong by supporting her despot1 
,francesco ,sforza4#b ,in a word        
republican freedom1 as the term is now  
understood1 was unknown in ,italy4      
,municipal autonomy1 implying the right 
of the municipality to rule its         
conquests for its own particular profit1
 was the dominant idea4 ,to have        
advanced from this stage of thought to  
the highly developed conception of a    
national republic1 centralizing the     
forces of ,italy and at the same time   
giving free play to its local energies1 
would have been impossible4 ,this kind  

of republican unity implies a previous  
unification of the people in some other 
form of government4 ,it furthermore     
demands a system of representation      
extended to all sections of the nation4 
,their very nature1 therefore1 prevented
 the republican institutions won by the 
,italians in the early ,middle ,ages    
from sufficing for their independence in
 a national republic4      #a ,op4      
,ined4 vol4 i4 p4 #bh4      #b ,ib4 vol4
 iii4 p4 #h4  ,it may with more reason  
be asked in the next place why ,italy   
did not become a monarchy1 and again why
 she never produced a confederation1    
uniting the ,communes as the ,swiss     
,cantons were combined for mutual       
support and self-defense4 ,when we      
attack the first of these two questions1
 our immediate answer must be that the  
,italians had a rooted disinclination   
for monarchical union4#a ,their most    
strenuous efforts were directed against 
it when it seemed to threaten them4 ,it 
may be remembered that they were not a  

new people1 needing concentration to    
secure their bare existence4 ,even      
during the great days of ancient ,rome  
they had not been what we are wont to   
call a nation1 but a confederacy of     
municipalities governed and directed by 
the mistress of the globe4 ,when ,rome  
passed away1 the fragments of the body  
politic in ,italy1 though rudely shaken1
 retained some portion of the old       
vitality that joined them to the past4  
,it was to the past rather than the     
future that the new ,italians looked2   
and even as they lacked initiative      
forces in their literature1 so in their 
political systems they ventured on no   
fresh beginning4 ,though ,rome herself  
was ruined1 the shadow of the name of   
,rome1 the mighty memory of ,roman      
greatness1 still abode with them4       
,instead of a modern capital and a      
modern king1 they had an idea for their 
rallying-point1 a spiritual city for    
their metropolis4 ,nor was there any    
immediate reason why they should have   

sacrificed their local independence in  
order to obtain the security afforded by
 a sovereign4 ,it was not till a later  
epoch that ,italy learned by bitter     
experience that unity at any cost would 
be acceptable1 face to face with the    
organized armies of modern ,europe4 ,but
 when the chance of securing that       
safeguard was offered in the ,middle    
,ages1 it must have been bought by      
subjection to foreigners1 by toleration 
of feudalism1 by the extinction of      
,roman culture in the laws and customs  
of barbarians4 ,thus it is not too much 
to say that the ,italians themselves    
rejected it4 ,moreover1 the problem of  
unifying ,italy in a monarchy was never 
so practically simple as that of forming
 nations out of the ,teutonic tribes4   
,not only was the instinct of clanship  
absent1 but before the year #hjj all    
attempts to establish a monarchical     
state were thwarted by the still        
formidable proximity of the ,greek      
,empire and by the growing power of     

ecclesiastical ,rome4 ,we have seen how 
the ,goths erred by submitting-to the   
,empire and merging their authority in a
 declining organization4 ,we have seen  
again how the ,lombards erred by        
adopting ,catholic ,christianity and    
thus entangling themselves in the policy
 of ,papal ,rome4 ,both ,goths and      
,lombards committed the mistake of      
sparing the ,eternal ,city2 or it may be
 more accurate to say that neither of   
them were strong enough to lay hands of 
violence upon the sacred and mysterious 
metropolis and hold it as their seat of 
monarchy against the world4 ,so long as 
,rome remained independent1 neither     
,ravenna nor ,pavia could head a kingdom
 in the peninsula4 ,meanwhile ,rome lent
 her prestige to the advancement of a   
spiritual power which1 subject to no    
dynastic weakness1 with the persistent  
force of an idea that cannot die1 was   
bent on subjugating ,europe4 ,the       
,papacy needed ,italy as the basis of   
its operations1 and could not brook a   

rival that might reduce the ,see of ,s4 
,peter to the level of an ordinary      
bishopric4 ,rome therefore1 generation  
after generation1 upheld the so-called  
liberties of ,italy against all comers2 
and when she summoned the ,franks1 it   
was to break the growing power of the   
,lombard monarchs4 ,the pact between the
 ,popes and ,charles the ,great1 however
 we may interpret its meaning1 still    
further removed the possibility of a    
kingdom by dividing ,italy into two     
sections with separate allegiances2 and 
since the sway of neither ,pope nor     
,emperor1 the one unarmed1 the other    
absent1 was stringent enough to check   
the growth of independent cities1 a     
third and all-important factor was added
 to the previous checks upon national   
unity4      #a ,guicciardini 7,op4      
,ined4 i4 #bi7 remarks3 ',o sia per     
qualche     fato d' ,italia1 o per la   
complessione degli uomini temperata in  
modo     che hanno ingegno e forze1 non 
e mai questa provincia stata facile a   

ridursi sotto uno imperio4' ,he speaks  
again of her disunion as     'quello    
modo di vivere che e piu secondo la     
antiquissima     consuetudine e         
inclinazione sua4' ,but ,guicciardini1  
with that defect     of vision which    
rendered him incapable of appreciating  
the whole     situation while he        
analyzed its details so profoundly1 was 
reckoning     without the great nations 
of ,europe4 ,see above1 pp4 #dj1 #da4   
,after #abjj the problem changes its    
aspect4 ,we have now to ask ourselves   
why1 when the struggle with the ,empire 
was over1 when ,frederick ,barbarossa   
had been defeated at ,legnano1 when the 
,lombard and the ,tuscan ,leagues were  
in full vigor before the ,guelf and     
,ghibelline factions had confused the   
mainsprings of political activity1 and  
while the national militia was still    
energetic1 the ,communes did not advance
 from the conception of local and       
municipal independence to that of       
national freedom in a confederacy       

similar to the ,swiss ,bund4 ,the       
,italians1 it may be suggested1 saw no  
immediate necessity for a confederation 
that would have limited the absolute    
autonomy of their several parcels4 ,only
 the light cast by subsequent events    
upon their early history makes us       
perceive that they missed an unique     
opportunity at this moment4 ,what they  
then desired was freedom for expansion  
each after his own political type1      
freedom for the development of industry 
and commerce1 freedom for the social    
organization of the city beloved by its 
burghers above the nation as a whole4   
,special difficulties1 moreover1 lay in 
the way of confederation4 ,the ,communes
 were not districts1 like the ,swiss    
,cantons1 but towns at war with the     
,contado round them and at war among    
themselves4 ,mutually jealous and       
mistrustful1 with a country population  
that but partially obeyed their rule1   
these centers of ,italian freedom were  
in a very different position from the   

peasant communities of ,schwytz1 ,uri1  
,untenvalden4 ,italy1 moreover1 could   
not have been federally united without  
the consent of ,naples and the ,church4 
,the kingdom of the ,two ,sicilies1     
rendered definitely monarchical by the  
,norman ,conquest1 offered a serious    
obstacle2 and though the ,regno might   
have been defied and absorbed by a      
vigorous concerted movement from the    
,north and center1 there still remained 
the opposition of the ,papacy4 ,it had  
been the recent policy of the ,popes to 
support the free burghs in their war    
with ,frederick4 ,but they did this only
 because they could not tolerate a rival
 near their base of spiritual power2 and
 the very reasons which had made them   
side with the cities in the wars of     
liberation would have roused their      
hostility against a federative union4   
,to have encouraged an ,italian ,bund1  
in the midst of which they would have   
found the ,church unarmed and on a level
 with the puissant towns of ,lombardy   

and ,tuscany1 must have seemed to them a
 suicidal error4 ,such a coalition1 if  
attempted1 could not but have been      
opposed with all their might2 for the   
whole history of ,italy proves that     
,machiavelli was right when he asserted 
that the ,church had persistently       
maintained the nation in disunion for   
the furtherance of her own selfish ends4
 ,we have furthermore to add the        
prestige which the ,empire preserved for
 the ,italians1 who failed to conceive  
of any civilized1 human society whereof 
the representative of ,caesar should not
 be the ,god-appointed head4 ,though the
 material power of the ,emperors was on 
the wane1 it still existed as a dominant
 idea4 ,italy was still the ,garden of  
the ,empire no less than the ,throne of 
,christ on earth4 ,after the burghs had 
wrung what they regarded as their       
reasonable rights and privileges from   
,frederick1 they laid down their arms1  
and were content to flourish beneath the
 imperial shadow4 ,to raise up a        

political association as a bulwark      
against the ,holy ,roman ,empire1 and by
 the formation of this defense to become
 an independent and united nation1      
instead of remaining an aggregate of    
scattered townships1 would have seemed  
to their minds little short of          
sacrilege4 ,up to this point the ,church
 and the ,empire had been1 theoretically
 at least1 concordant4 ,they were the   
sun and moon of a sacred social system  
which ruled ,europe with light and      
might4 ,but the ,wars of ,investiture   
placed them in antagonism1 and the      
result of that quarrel was still further
 to divide the ,italians1 still further 
to remove the hope of national unity    
into the region of things unattainable4 
,the great parties accentuated communal 
jealousies and gave external form and   
substance to the struggles of town with 
town4 ,so far distant was the           
possibility of confederation on a grand 
scale that every city strove within     
itself to establish one of two          

contradictory principles1 and the       
energies of the people were expended in 
a struggle that set neighbor against    
neighbor on the field of war and in the 
market-place4 ,the confusion1           
exhaustion1 and demoralization          
engendered by these conflicts determined
 the advent of the ,despots2 and after  
#adjj ,italy could only have been united
 under a tyrant's iron rule4 ,at such an
 universal despotism ,gian ,galeazzo    
,visconti was aiming when the plague cut
 short his schemes4 ,cesare ,borgia     
played his highest stakes for it4 ,leo  
,x4 dreamed of it for his family4       
,machiavelli1 at the end of the         
,principe1 when the tragedy of ,italy   
was almost accomplished1 invoked it4    
,but even for this last chance of       
unification it was now too late4 ,the   
great nations of ,europe were in        
movement1 and the destinies of ,italy   
depended upon ,france and ,spain4 ,when 
,charles ,v4 remained victor in the     
struggle of the sixteenth century1 he   

stereotyped and petrified the divisions 
of ,italy in the interest of his own    
dynastic policy4 ,the only ,italian     
power that remained unchangeable        
throughout all changes was the          
,papacy--the first to emerge into       
prominence after the decay of the old   
,western ,empire1 the last to suffer    
diminution in spite of vicissitudes1    
humiliations1 schisms1 and internal     
transformation4 ,as the ,papacy had     
created and maintained a divided ,italy1
 as it had opposed itself to every      
successive prospect of unification1 so  
it survived the extinction of ,italian  
independence1 and lent its aid to that  
imperial tyranny whereby the disunion of
 the nation was confirmed and           
prolongated till the present century4   
,,chapter ,,iii4  ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,the
 ,,despots4   ,salient ,qualities of the
 ,fourteenth and ,fifteenth ,centuries  
in ,italy--,relation of ,italy to the   
,empire and to the ,church--,the        
,illegitimate ,title of ,italian        

,potentates--,the ,free ,emergence of   
,personality--,frederick ,,ii4 and the  
,influence of his ,example--,ezzelino da
 ,romano--,six ,sorts of ,italian       
,despots--,feudal ,seigneurs--,vicars of
 the ,empire--,captains of the          
,people--,condottieri--,nephews and     
,sons of ,popes--,eminent               
,burghers--,italian ,incapacity for     
,self-,government in                    
,commonwealths--,forcible ,tenure of    
,power encouraged ,personal             
,ability--,the ,condition of the        
,despot's ,life--,instances of ,domestic
 ,crime in the ,ruling                  
,houses--,macaulay's ,description of the
 ,italian ,tyrant-- ,savonarola's and   
,matteo ,villani's ,description of a    
,tyrant--,the ,absorption of ,smaller by
 ,greater ,tyrannies in the ,fourteenth 
,century--,history of the               
,visconti--,francesco ,sforza--,the     
,part played in ,italian ,politics by   
,military ,leaders--,mercenary          
,warfare--,alberico da ,barbiano1       

,braccio da ,montone1 ,sforza           
,attendolo--,history of the ,sforza     
,dynasty--,the ,murder of ,galeazzo     
,maria ,sforza--,the ,ethics of         
,tyrannicide in ,italy--,relation of the
 ,despots to ,arts and                  
,letters--,sigismondo ,pandolfo         
,malatesta--,duke ,federigo of          
,urbino--,the ,school of ,vittorino and 
the ,court of ,urbino--,the ,cortegiano 
of ,castiglione--,the ,ideals of the    
,italian ,courtier and the ,modern      
,gentleman--,general ,retrospect4   ,the
 fourteenth and fifteenth centuries may 
be called the ,age of the ,despots in   
,italian history1 as the twelfth and    
thirteenth are the ,age of the ,free    
,burghs1 and as the sixteenth and       
seventeenth are the ,age of ,foreign    
,enslavement4 ,it was during the age of 
the ,despots that the conditions of the 
,renaissance were evolved1 and that the 
,renaissance itself assumed a definite  
character in ,italy4 ,under tyrannies1  
in the midst of intrigues1 wars1 and    

revolutions1 the peculiar individuality 
of the ,italians obtained its ultimate  
development4 ,this individuality1 as    
remarkable for salient genius and       
diffused talent as for self-conscious   
and deliberate vice1 determined the     
qualities of the ,renaissance and       
affected by example the whole of        
,europe4 ,italy led the way in the      
education of the ,western races1 and was
 the first to realize the type of modern
 as distinguished from classical and    
mediaeval life4  ,during this age of the
 despots1 ,italy presents the spectacle 
of a nation devoid of central government
 and comparatively uninfluenced by      
feudalism4 ,the right of the ,emperor   
had become nominal1 and served as a     
pretext for usurpers rather than as a   
source of order4 ,the visits1 for       
instance1 of ,charles ,,iv4 and         
,frederick ,,iii4 were either begging   
expeditions or holiday excursions1 in   
the course of which ambitious           
adventurers bought titles to the        

government of towns1 and meaningless    
honors were showered upon vain          
courtiers4 ,it was not till the reign of
 ,maximilian that ,germany adopted a    
more serious policy with regard to      
,italy1 which by that time had become   
the central point of ,european intrigue4
 ,charles ,v4 afterwards used force to  
reassert imperial rights over the       
,italian cities1 acting not so much in  
the interest of the ,empire as for the  
aggrandizement of the ,spanish monarchy4
 ,at the same time the ,papacy1 which   
had done so much to undermine the       
authority of the ,empire1 exercised a   
power at once anomalous and             
ill-recognized except in the immediate  
,states of the ,church4 ,by the         
extinction of the ,house of             
,hohenstauffen and by the assumed right 
to grant the investiture of the kingdom 
of ,naples to foreigners1 the ,popes not
 only struck a death-blow at imperial   
influence1 but also prepared the way for
 their own exile to ,avignon4 ,this     

involved the loss of the second great   
authority to which ,italy had been      
accustomed to look for the maintenance  
of some sort of national coherence4     
,moreover1 the ,church1 though impotent 
to unite all ,italy beneath her own     
sway1 had power enough to prevent the   
formation either by ,milan or ,venice or
 ,naples of a substantial kingdom4 ,the 
result was a perpetually recurring      
process of composition1 dismemberment1  
and recomposition1 under different      
forms1 of the scattered elements of     
,italian life4 ,the ,guelf and          
,ghibelline parties1 inherited from the 
wars of the thirteenth century1 survived
 the political interests which had given
 them birth1 and proved an              
insurmountable obstacle1 long after they
 had ceased to have any real            
significance1 to the pacification of the
 country4#a ,the only important state   
which maintained an unbroken dynastic   
succession of however disputed a nature 
at this period was the kingdom of the   

,two ,sicilies4 ,the only great         
republics were ,venice1 ,genoa1 and     
,florence4 ,of these1 ,genoa1 after     
being reduced in power and prosperity by
 ,venice1 was overshadowed by the       
successive lords of ,milan2 while       
,florence was destined at the end of a  
long struggle to fall beneath a family  
of despots4 ,all the rest of ,italy1    
especially to the north of the          
,apennines1 was the battle-field of     
tyrants1 whose title was                
illegitimate--based1 that is to say1 on 
no feudal principle1 derived in no      
regular manner from the ,empire1 but    
generally held as a gift or extorted as 
a prize from the predominant parties in 
the great towns4      #a ,so late as    
#aebf we find the burlesque poet        
,folengo exclaiming     7,orlandino1 ii4
 #ei7--        ,che se non fusser le    
gran parti in quella1       ,dominerebbe
 il mondo ,italia bella4  ,if we examine
 the constitution of these tyrannies1 we
 find abundant proofs of their despotic 

nature4 ,the succession from father to  
son was always uncertain4 ,legitimacy of
 birth was hardly respected4 ,the last  
,la ,scalas were bastards4 ,the house of
 ,aragon in ,naples descended from a    
bastard4 ,gabriello ,visconti shared    
with his half-brothers the heritage of  
,gian ,galeazzo4 ,the line of the       
,medici was continued by princes of more
 than doubtful origin4 ,suspicion rested
 on the birth of ,frederick of ,urbino4 
,the houses of ,este and ,malatesta     
honored their bastards in the same      
degree as their lawful progeny4 ,the    
great family of the ,bentivogli at      
,bologna owed their importance at the   
end of the fifteenth century to an      
obscure and probably spurious pretender1
 dragged from the wool-factories of     
,florence by the policy of ,cosimo de'  
,medici4 ,the sons of popes ranked with 
the proudest of aristocratic families4  
,nobility was less regarded in the      
choice of a ruler than personal ability4
 ,power once acquired was maintained by 

force1 and the history of the ruling    
families is one long catalogue of       
crimes4 ,yet the cities thus governed   
were orderly and prosperous4 ,police    
regulations were carefully established  
and maintained by governors whose       
interest it was to rule a quiet state4  
,culture was widely diffused without    
regard to rank or wealth4 ,public       
edifices of colossal grandeur were      
multiplied4 ,meanwhile the people at    
large were being fashioned to that      
self-conscious and intelligent activity 
which is fostered by the modes of life  
peculiar to political and social centers
 in a condition of continued rivalry and
 change4  ,under the ,italian despotisms
 we observe nearly the opposite of all  
the influences brought to bear in the   
same period upon the nations of the     
,north4 ,there is no gradual absorption 
of the great vassals in monarchies1 no  
fixed allegiance to a reigning dynasty1 
no feudal aid or military service       
attached to the tenure of the land1 no  

tendency to centralize the whole        
intellectual activity of the race in any
 capital1 no suppression of individual  
character by strongly biased public     
feeling1 by immutable law1 or by the    
superincumbent weight of a social       
hierarchy4 ,everything1 on the contrary1
 tends to the free emergence of personal
 passions and personal aims4 ,though the
 vassals of the despot are neither his  
soldiers nor his loyal lieges1 but his  
courtiers and taxpayers1 the continual  
object of his cruelty and fear1 yet each
 subject has the chance of becoming a   
prince like ,sforza or a companion of   
princes like ,petrarch4 ,equality of    
servitude goes far to democratize a     
nation1 and common hatred of the tyrant 
leads to the combination of all classes 
against him4 ,thence follows the        
fermentation of arrogant and            
self-reliant passions in the breasts of 
the lowest as well as the highest4#a    
,the rapid mutations of government teach
 men to care for themselves and to      

depend upon themselves alone in the     
battle of the world2 while the necessity
 of craft and policy in the conduct of  
complicated affairs sharpens            
intelligence4 ,the sanction of all means
 that may secure an end under conditions
 of social violence encourages          
versatility unprejudiced by moral       
considerations4 ,at the same time the   
freely indulged vices of the sovereign  
are an example of self-indulgence to the
 subject1 and his need of lawless       
instruments is a practical sanction of  
force in all its forms4 ,thus to the    
play of personality1 whether in combat  
with society and rivals1 or in the      
gratification of individual caprice1    
every liberty is allowed4 ,might is     
substituted for right1 and the sense of 
law is supplanted by a mere dread of    
coercion4 ,what is the wonder if a      
,benvenuto ,cellini should be the       
outcome of the same society as that     
which formed a ,cesare ,borgia8 ,what is
 the miracle if ,italy under these      

circumstances produced original         
characters and many-sided intellects in 
greater profusion than any other nation 
at any other period1 with the single    
exception of ,greece on her emergence   
from the age of her despots8 ,it was the
 misfortune of ,italy that the age of   
the despots was succeeded not by an age 
of free political existence1 but by one 
of foreign servitude4      #a ,see      
,guicciardini1 ',dialogo del ,reggimento
 di ,firenze1' ,op4     ,ined4 vol4 ii4 
p4 #ec1 for a critique of the motives of
 tyrannicide     in ,italy4  ,frederick 
,,ii4 was at the same time the last     
emperor who maintained imperial sway in 
,italy in person1 and also the beginner 
of a new system of government which the 
despots afterwards pursued4 ,his        
establishment of the ,saracen colony at 
,nocera1 as the nucleus of an army ready
 to fulfill his orders with scrupulous  
disregard for ,italian sympathies and   
customs1 taught all future rulers to    
reduce their subjects to a state of     

unarmed passivity1 and to carry on their
 wars by the aid of ,german1 ,english1  
,swiss1 ,gascon1 ,breton1 or ,hungarian 
mercenaries1 as the case might be4      
,frederick1 again1 derived from his     
,mussulman predecessors in ,sicily the  
arts of taxation to the utmost limits of
 the national capacity1 and founded a   
precedent for the levying of tolls by a 
,catasto or schedule of the properties  
attributed to each individual in the    
state4 ,he also destroyed the           
self-government of burghs and districts1
 by retaining for himself the right to  
nominate officers1 and by establishing a
 system of judicial jurisdiction which  
derived authority from the throne4      
,again1 he introduced the example of a  
prince making profit out of the         
industries of his subjects by monopolies
 and protective duties4 ,in this path he
 was followed by illustrious            
successors--especially by ,sixtus ,,iv4 
and ,alfonso ,,ii4 of ,aragon1 who      
enriched themselves by trafficking in   

the corn and olive-oil of their famished
 provinces4 ,lastly1 ,frederick         
established the precedent of a court    
formed upon the model of that of        
,oriental ,sultans1 in which            
chamberlains and secretaries took the   
rank of hereditary nobles1 and functions
 of state were confided to the          
body-servants of the monarch4 ,this     
court gave currency to those habits of  
polite culture1 magnificent living1 and 
personal luxury which played so         
prominent a part in all subsequent      
,italian despotism4 ,it is tempting to  
overstrain a point in estimating the    
direct influence of ,frederick's        
example4 ,in many respects doubtless he 
was merely somewhat in advance of his   
age2 and what we may be inclined to     
ascribe to him personally1 would have   
followed in the natural evolution of    
events4 ,yet it remains a fact that he  
first realized the type of cultivated   
despotism which prevailed throughout    
,italy in the fourteenth and fifteenth  

centuries4 ,italian literature began in 
his court1 and many ,saracenic customs  
of statecraft were transmitted through  
him from ,palermo to ,lombardy4  ,while 
,frederick foreshadowed the             
comparatively modern tyrants of the     
coming age1 his ,vicar in the ,north of 
,italy1 ,ezzelino da ,romano1           
represented the atrocities towards which
 they always tended to degenerate4      
,regarding himself with a sort of awful 
veneration as the divinely appointed    
scourge of humanity1 this monster in his
 lifetime was execrated as an aberration
 from 'the kindly race of men1' and     
after his death he became the hero of a 
fiendish mythus4 ,but in the succeeding 
centuries of ,italian history his kind  
was only too common2 the immorality with
 which he worked out his selfish aims   
was systematically adopted by princes   
like the ,visconti1 and reduced to rule 
by theorists like ,machiavelli4         
,ezzelino1 a small1 pale1 wiry man1 with
 terror in his face and enthusiasm for  

evil in his heart1 lived a foe to       
luxury1 cold to the pathos of children1 
dead to the enchantment of women4 ,his  
one passion was the greed of power1     
heightened by the lust for blood4       
,originally a noble of the ,veronese    
,marches1 he founded his illegal        
authority upon the captaincy of the     
,imperial party delegated to him by     
,frederick4 ,verona1 ,vicenza1 ,padua1  
,feltre1 and ,belluno made him their    
captain in the ,ghibelline interest1    
conferring on him judicial as well as   
military supremacy4 ,how he fearfully   
abused his power1 how a crusade was     
preached against him1#a and how he died 
in silence1 like a boar at bay1 rending 
from his wounds the dressings that his  
foes had placed to keep him alive1 are  
notorious matters of history4 ,at ,padua
 alone he erected eight prisons1 two of 
which contained as many as three hundred
 captives each2 and though the          
executioner never ceased to ply his     
trade there1 they were always full4     

,these dungeons were designed to torture
 by their noisomeness1 their want of air
 and light and space4 ,ezzelino made    
himself terrible not merely by          
executions and imprisonments but also by
 mutilations and torments4 ,when he     
captured ,friola he caused the          
population1 of all ages1 sexes1         
occupations1 to be deprived of their    
eyes1 noses1 and legs1 and to be cast   
forth to the mercy of the elements4 ,on 
another occasion he walled up a family  
of princes in a castle and left them to 
die of famine4 ,wealth1 eminence1 and   
beauty attracted his displeasure no less
 than insubordination or disobedience4  
,nor was he less crafty than cruel4     
,sons betrayed their fathers1 friends   
their comrades1 under the fallacious    
safeguard of his promises4 ,a gigantic  
instance of his scheming was the        
coup-de-main by which he succeeded in   
entrapping #aa1jjj ,paduan soldiers1    
only #bjj of whom escaped the miseries  
of his prisons4 ,thus by his absolute   

contempt of law1 his inordinate cruelty1
 his prolonged massacres1 and his       
infliction of plagues upon whole        
peoples1 ,ezzelino established the ideal
 in ,italy of a tyrant marching to his  
end by any means whatever4 ,in vain was 
the humanity of the race revolted by the
 hideous spectacle4 ,vainly did the     
monks assemble pity-stricken multitudes 
upon the plain of ,paquara to atone with
 tears and penitence for the insults    
offered to the saints in heaven by      
,ezzelino's fury4 ,it laid a deep hold  
upon the ,italian imagination1 and1 by  
the glamor of loathing that has strength
 to fascinate1 proved in the end        
contagious4 ,we are apt to ask ourselves
 whether such men are mad--whether in   
the case of a ,nero or a ,marechal de   
,retz or an ,ezzelino the love of evil  
and the thirst for blood are not a      
monomaniacal perversion of barbarous    
passions which even in a cannibal are   
morbid4#b ,is there in fact such a thing
 as ,haematomania1 ,bloodmadness8 ,but  

if we answer this question in the       
affirmative1 we shall have to place how 
many ,visconti1 ,sforzeschi1 ,malatesti1
 ,borgias1 ,farnesi1 and princes of the 
houses of ,anjou and ,aragon in the list
 of these maniacs8 ,ezzelino was indeed 
only the first of a long and horrible   
procession1 the most terror-striking    
because the earliest1 prefiguring all   
the rest4      #a ,alexander ,,iv4      
issued letters for this crusade in      
#abee4 ,it was     preached next year by
 the ,archbishop of ,ravenna4      #b   
,see ,appendix1 ,no4 ,i4  ,ezzelino's   
cruelty was no mere ,berserkir fury or  
,lycanthropia coming over him in gusts  
and leaving him exhausted4 ,it was      
steady and continuous4 ,in his madness1 
if such we may call this inhumanity1    
there was method2 he used it to the end 
of the consolidation of his tyranny4    
,yet1 inasmuch as it passed all limits  
and prepared his downfall1 it may be    
said to have obtained over his nature   
the mastery of an insane appetite4      

,while applying the nomenclature of     
disease to these exceptional monsters1  
we need not allow that their atrocities 
were1 at first at any rate1 beyond their
 control4 ,moral insanity is often      
nothing more than the hypertrophy of    
some vulgar passion--lust1 violence1    
cruelty1 jealousy1 and the like4 ,the   
tyrant1 placed above law and less       
influenced by public opinion than a     
private person1 may easily allow a greed
 for pleasure or a love of bloodshed to 
acquire morbid proportions in his       
nature4 ,he then is not unjustly termed 
a monomaniac4 ,within the circle of his 
vitiated appetite he proves himself     
irrational4 ,he becomes the puppet of   
passions which the sane man cannot so   
much as picture to his fancy1 the victim
 of desire1 ever recurring and ever     
destined to remain unsatisfied2 nor is  
any hallucination more akin to lunacy   
than the mirage of a joy that leaves the
 soul thirstier than it was before1 the 
paroxysm of unnatural pleasure which    

wearies the nerves that crave for it4   
,in ,frederick1 the modern autocrat1 and
 ,ezzelino1 the legendary tyrant1 we    
obtain the earliest specimens of two    
types of despotism in ,italy4 ,their    
fame long after their death powerfully  
affected the fancy of the people1 worked
 itself into the literature of the      
,italians1 and created a consciousness  
of tyranny in the minds of irresponsible
 rulers4  ,during the fourteenth and    
fifteenth centuries we find1 roughly    
speaking1 six sorts of despots in       
,italian cities4#a ,of these the first  
class1 which is a very small one1 had a 
dynastic or hereditary right accruing   
from long seignioral possession of their
 several districts4 ,the most eminent   
are the houses of ,montferrat and       
,savoy1 the ,marquises of ,ferrara1 the 
,princes of ,urbino4 ,at the same time  
it is difficult to know where to draw   
the line between such hereditary        
lordship as that of the ,este family1   
and tyranny based on popular favor4 ,the

 ,malatesti of ,rimini1 ,polentani of   
,ravenna1 ,manfredi of ,faenza1         
,ordelaffi of ,forli1 ,chiavelli of     
,fabriano1 ,varani of ,camerino1 and    
others1 might claim to rank among the   
former1 since their cities submitted to 
them without a long period of republican
 independence like that which preceded  
despotism in the cases to be next       
mentioned4 ,yet these families styled   
themselves ,captains of the burghs they 
ruled2 and in many instances they       
obtained the additional title of ,vicars
 of the ,church4#b ,even the ,estensi   
were made hereditary captains of        
,ferrara at the end of the thirteenth   
century1 while they also acknowledged   
the supremacy of the ,papacy4 ,there was
 in fact no right outside the ,empire in
 ,italy2 and despots of whatever origin 
or complexion gladly accepted the       
support which a title derived from the  
,empire1 the ,church1 or the ,people    
might give4 ,brought to the front amid  
the tumults of the civil wars1 and      

accepted as pacificators of the factions
 by the multitude1 they gained the      
confirmation of their anomalous         
authority by representing themselves to 
be lieutenants or vicegerents of the    
three great powers4 ,the second class   
comprise those nobles who obtained the  
title of ,vicars of the ,empire1 and    
built an illegal power upon the basis of
 imperial right in ,lombardy4 ,of these1
 the ,della ,scala and ,visconti        
families are illustrious instances4     
,finding in their official capacity a   
ready-made foundation1 they extended it 
beyond its just limits1 and in defiance 
of the ,empire constituted dynasties4   
,the third class is important4 ,nobles  
charged with military or judicial power1
 as ,capitani or ,podestas1 by the free 
burghs1 used their authority to enslave 
the cities they were chosen to          
administer4 ,it was thus that almost all
 the numerous tyrants of ,lombardy1     
,carraresi at ,padua1 ,gonzaghi at      
,mantua1 ,rossi and ,correggi at ,parma1

 ,torrensi and ,visconti at ,milan1     
,scotti at ,piacenza1 and so forth1     
first erected their despotic dynasties4 
,this fact in the history of ,italian   
tyranny is noticeable4 ,the font of     
honor1 so to speak1 was in the citizens 
of these great burghs4 ,therefore1 when 
the limits of authority delegated to    
their captains by the people were       
overstepped1 the sway of the princes    
became confessedly illegal4 ,illegality 
carried with it all the consequences of 
an evil conscience1 all the insecurities
 of usurped dominion all the danger from
 without and from within to which an    
arbitrary governor is exposed4 ,in the  
fourth class we find the principle of   
force still more openly at work4 ,to it 
may be assigned those ,condottieri who  
made a prey of cities at their pleasure4
 ,the illustrious ,uguccione della      
,faggiuola1 who neglected to follow up  
his victory over the ,guelfs at ,monte  
,catini1 in order that he might cement  
his power in ,lucca and ,pisa1 is an    

early instance of this kind of tyrant4  
,his successor1 ,castruccio ,castracane1
 the hero of ,machiavelli's romance1 is 
another4 ,but it was not until the first
 half of the fifteenth century that     
professional ,condottieri became        
powerful enough to found such kingdoms  
as that1 for example1 of ,francesco     
,sforza at ,milan4#c ,the fifth class   
includes the nephews or sons of ,popes4 
,the ,riario principality of ,forli1 the
 ,della ,rovere of ,urbino1 the ,borgia 
of ,romagna1 the ,farnese of ,parma1    
form a distinct species of despotisms2  
but all these are of a comparatively    
late origin4 ,until the ,papacies of    
,sixtus ,,iv4 and ,innocent ,,viii4 the 
,popes had not bethought them of        
providing in this way for their         
relatives4 ,also1 it may be remarked1   
there was an essential weakness in these
 tyrannies4 ,since they had to be carved
 out of the ,states of the ,church1 the 
,pope who had established his son1 say  
in ,romagna1 died before he could see   

him well confirmed in a province which  
the next ,pope sought to wrest from his 
hands1 in order to bestow it on his own 
favorite4 ,the fabric of the ,church    
could not long have stood this          
disgraceful wrangling between ,papal    
families for the dynastic possession of 
,church property4 ,luckily for the      
continuance of the ,papacy1 the tide of 
counter-reformation which set in after  
the sack of ,rome and the great         
,northern ,schism1 put a stop to        
nepotism in its most barefaced form4    
#a ,this classification must of         
necessity be imperfect1 since many      
of the tyrannies belong in part to two  
or more of the kinds which ,i     have  
mentioned4      #b ,see ,guicc4 ,ist4   
end of ,book #d4      #c ,john ,hawkwood
 7died #acic71 the ,english adventurer1 
held     ,cotignola and ,bagnacavallo   
from ,gregory ,,xi4 ,in the second half 
of     the fifteenth century the efforts
 of the ,condottieri to erect           
tyrannies were most frequent4 ,braccio  

da ,montone established himself     in  
,perugia in #adaf1 and aspired1 not     
without good grounds for hope1     to   
acquiring the kingdom of ,italy4        
,francesco ,sforza1 before gaining      
,milan1 had begun to form a despotism at
 ,ancona4 ,sforza's rival1     ,giacomo 
,piccinino1 would probably have         
succeeded in his own attempt1     had   
not ,ferdinand of ,aragon treacherously 
murdered him at ,naples in     #adfe4   
,in the disorganization caused by       
,charles ,,viii41 ,vidovero of          
,brescia in #adie established himself at
 ,cesena and ,castelnuovo1 and     had  
to be assassinated by ,pandolfo         
,malatesta at the instigation of        
,venice4 ,after the death of ,gian      
,galeazzo ,visconti1 in #adjb1 the      
generals whom he had employed in the    
consolidation of his vast     dominions 
attempted to divide the spoil among     
themselves4 ,naples1     ,venice1       
,milan1 ,rome1 and ,florence were in    
course of time made keenly     alive to 

the risk of suffering a captain of      
adventure to run his     course         
unchecked4  ,there remains the sixth and
 last class of despots to be mentioned4 
,this again is large and of the first   
importance4 ,citizens of eminence1 like 
the ,medici at ,florence1 the           
,bentivogli at ,bologna1 the ,baglioni  
of ,perugia1 the ,vitelli of ,citta di  
,castello1 the ,gambacorti of ,pisa1    
like ,pandolfo ,petrucci in ,siena      
7#aejb71 ,romeo ,pepoli1 the usurer of  
,bologna 7#acbc71 the plebeian1         
,alticlinio1 and ,agolanti of ,padua    
7#acac71 ,giovanni ,vignate1 the        
millionaire of ,lodi 7#adjb71 acquired  
more than their due weight in the       
conduct of affairs1 and gradually tended
 to tyranny4 ,in most of these cases    
great wealth was the original source of 
despotic ascendency4 ,it was not        
uncommon to buy cities together with    
their ,signory4 ,thus the ,rossi bought 
,parma for #ce1jjj florins in #accc2 the
 ,appiani sold ,pisa2 ,astorre ,manfredi

 sold ,faenza and ,imola in #acgg4 ,in  
#addd ,galeazzo ,malatesta sold ,pesaro 
to ,alessandro ,sforza1 and ,fossombrone
 to ,urbino2 in #adfa ,cervia was sold  
to ,venice by the same family4          
,franceschetto ,cibo purchased the      
,county of ,anguillara4 ,towns at last  
came to have their market value4 ,it was
 known that ,bologna was worth #bjj1jjj 
florins1 ,parma #fj1jjj1 ,arezzo #dj1jjj
 ,lucca #cj1jjj1 and so forth4 ,but     
personal qualities and nobility of blood
 might also produce despots of the sixth
 class4 ,thus the ,bentivogli claimed   
descent from a bastard of ,king ,enzo1  
son of ,frederick ,,ii41 who was for a  
long time an honorable prisoner in      
,bologna4 ,the ,baglioni1 after a       
protracted struggle with the rival      
family of ,oddi1 owed their supremacy to
 ability and vigor in the last years of 
the fifteenth century4 ,but the         
neighborhood of the ,papal power1 and   
their own internal dissensions1 rendered
 the hold of this family upon ,perugia  

precarious4 ,as in the case of the      
,medici and the ,bentivogli1 many       
generations might elapse before such    
burgher families assumed dynastic       
authority4 ,but to this end they were   
always advancing4  ,the history of the  
bourgeois despots proves that ,italy in 
the fifteenth century was undergoing a  
natural process of determination toward 
tyranny4 ,sismondi may attempt to       
demonstrate that ,italy was 'not        
answerable for the crimes with which she
 was sullied by her tyrants4' ,but the  
facts show that she was answerable for  
choosing despots instead of remaining   
free1 or rather that she instinctively  
obeyed a law of social evolution by     
which princes had to be substituted for 
municipalities at the end of those      
fierce internal conflicts and exhausting
 wars of jealousy which closed the      
,middle ,ages4 ,machiavelli1 with all   
his love of liberty1 is forced to admit 
that in his day the most powerful       
provinces of ,italy had become incapable

 of freedom4 ',no accident1 however     
weighty and violent1 could ever restore 
,milan or ,naples to liberty1 owing to  
their utter corruption4 ,this is clear  
from the fact that after the death of   
,filippo ,visconti1 when ,milan tried to
 regain freedom1 she was unable to      
preserve it4'#a ,whether ,machiavelli is
 right in referring this incapacity for 
self-government to the corruption of    
morals and religion may be questioned4  
,but it is certain that throughout the  
states of ,italy1 with the one exception
 of ,venice1 causes were at work        
inimical to republics and favorable to  
despotisms4      #a ,discorsi1 i4 #ag4  
,the ,florentine philosopher remarks in 
the     same passage1 ',cities1 once    
corrupt1 and accustomed to the rule of a
     prince1 can never acquire their    
freedom even though the prince with     
all his kith and kin be extirpated4 ,one
 prince is needed to     extinguish     
another2 and the city has no rest except
 by the creation     of a new lord1     

unless one burgher by his goodness and  
his great     qualities may chance to   
preserve its independence during his    
lifetime4'  ,it will be observed in this
 classification of ,italian tyrants that
 the tenure of their power was almost   
uniformly forcible4 ,they generally     
acquired it through the people in the   
first instance1 and maintained it by the
 exercise of violence4 ,rank had nothing
 to do with their claims4 ,the bastards 
of ,popes1 who like ,sixtus ,,iv4 had no
 pedigree1 merchants like the ,medici1  
the son of a peasant like ,francesco    
,sforza1 a rich usurer like ,pepoli1 had
 almost equal chances with nobles of the
 ancient houses of ,este1 ,visconti1 or 
,malatesta4 ,the chief point in favor of
 the latter was the familiarity which   
through long years of authority had     
accustomed the people to their rule4    
,when exiled1 they had a better chance  
of return to power than parvenus1 whose 
party-cry and ensigns were comparatively
 fresh and stirred no sentiment of      

loyalty--if indeed the word loyalty can 
be applied to that preference for the   
established and the customary which made
 the mob1 distracted by the wrangling of
 doctrinaires and intriguers1 welcome   
back a ,bentivoglio or a ,malatesta4    
,despotism in ,italy as in ancient      
,greece was democratic4 ,it recruited   
its ranks from all classes and erected  
its thrones upon the sovereignty of the 
peoples it oppressed4 ,the impulse to   
the free play of ambitious individuality
 which this state of things communicated
 was enormous4 ,capacity might raise the
 meanest monk to the chair of ,s4       
,peter's1 the meanest soldier to the    
duchy of ,milan4 ,audacity1 vigor1      
unscrupulous crime were the chief       
requisites for success4 ,it was not till
 ,cesare ,borgia displayed his          
magnificence at the ,french ,court1 till
 the ,italian adventurer matched himself
 with royalty in its legitimate         
splendor1 that the lowness of his origin
 and the frivolity of his pretensions   

appeared in any glaring light4#a ,in    
,italy itself1 where there existed no   
time-honored hierarchy of classes and no
 fountain of nobility in the person of a
 sovereign1 one man was a match for     
another1 provided he knew how to assert 
himself4 ,to the conditions of a society
 based on these principles we may       
ascribe the unrivaled emergence of great
 personalities among the tyrants1 as    
well as the extraordinary tenacity and  
vigor of such races as the ,visconti4   
,in the contest for power1 and in the   
maintenance of an illegal authority1 the
 picked athletes came to the front4 ,the
 struggle by which they established     
their tyranny1 the efforts by which they
 defended it against foreign foes and   
domestic adversaries1 trained them to   
endurance and to daring4 ,they lived    
habitually in an atmosphere of peril    
which taxed all their energies4 ,their  
activity was extreme1 and their passions
 corresponded to their vehement         
vitality4 ,about such men there could be

 nothing on a small or mediocre scale4  
,when a weakling was born in a despotic 
family1 his brothers murdered him1 or he
 was deposed by a watchful rival4 ,thus 
only gladiators of tried capacity and   
iron nerve1 superior to religious and   
moral scruples1 dead to national        
affection1 perfected in perfidy1        
scientific in the use of cruelty and    
terror1 employing first-rate faculties  
of brain and will and bodily powers in  
the service of transcendent egotism1    
only the virtuosi of political craft as 
theorized by ,machiavelli1 could survive
 and hold their own upon this perilous  
arena4      #a ,brantome ,capitaines    
,etrangers1 ,discours #dh1 gives an     
account     of the entrance of the      
,borgia into ,chinon in #adih1 and adds3
 ',the     king being at the window saw 
him arrive1 and there can be no doubt   
how he and his courtiers ridiculed all  
this state1 as unbecoming the     petty 
,duke of ,valentinois4'  ,the life of   
the despot was usually one of prolonged 

terror4 ,immured in strong places on    
high rocks1 or confined to gloomy       
fortresses like the ,milanese ,castello1
 he surrounded his person with foreign  
troops1 protected his bedchamber with a 
picked guard1 and watched his meat and  
drink lest they should be poisoned4 ,his
 chief associates were artists1 men of  
letters1 astrologers1 buffoons1 and     
exiles4 ,he had no real friends or      
equals1 and against his own family he   
adopted an attitude of fierce suspicion1
 justified by the frequent intrigues to 
which he was exposed4#a ,his timidity   
verged on monomania4 ,like ,alfonso     
,,ii4 of ,naples1 he was tortured with  
the ghosts of starved or strangled      
victims2 like ,ezzelino1 he felt the    
mysterious fascination of astrology2    
like ,filippo ,maria ,visconti1 he      
trembled at the sound of thunder1 and   
set one band of body-guards to watch    
another next his person4 ,he dared not  
hope for a quiet end4 ,no one believed  
in the natural death of a prince3       

princes must be poisoned or             
poignarded4#b ,out of thirteen of the   
,carrara family1 in little more than a  
century 7#acah-adce71 three were deposed
 or murdered by near relatives1 one was 
expelled by a rival from his state1 four
 were executed by the ,venetians4 ,out  
of five of the ,la ,scala family1 three 
were killed by their brothers1 and a    
fourth was poisoned in exile4      #a   
,see what ,guicciardini in his ,history 
of ,florence says about     the         
suspicious temper of even such a tyrant 
as the cultivated and     philosophical 
,lorenzo de' ,medici4 ,see too the      
incomparably eloquent     and           
penetrating allegory of ,sospetto1 and  
its application to the     tyrants of   
,italy in ,ariosto's ,cinque ,canti 7,c4
 #b4 ,st4 #a-i74      #b ,our dramatist 
,webster1 whose genius was fascinated by
     the crimes of ,italian despotism1  
makes the ,duke of ,bracciano exclaim   
on his death-bed3--        ',o thou soft
 natural ,death1 thou art joint-twin    

,to sweetest ,slumber6 no rough-bearded 
comet       ,stares on thy mild         
departure2 the dull owl       ,beats not
 against thy casement2 the hoarse wolf  
,scents not thy carrion3 pity winds thy 
corse1       ,whilst horror waits on    
princes4'      ,instances of domestic   
crime might be multiplied by the        
hundred4     ,besides those which will  
follow in these pages1 it is enough to  
notice the murder of ,giovanni          
,francesco ,pico1 by his nephew1 at     
,mirandola 7#aecc72 the murder of his   
uncle by ,oliverotto da ,fermo2     the 
assassination of ,giovanni ,varano by   
his brothers at ,camerino     7#adcd72  
,ostasio da ,polenta's fratricide       
7#acbb72 ,obizzo da ,polenta's          
fratricide in the next generation1 and  
the murder of ,ugolino ,gonzaga     by  
his brothers2 ,gian ,francesco          
,gonzaga's murder of his wife2 the      
poisoning of ,francesco ,sforza's first 
wife1 ,polissena1 ,countess of          
,montalto1 with her little girl1 by her 

aunt2 and the murder of     ,galeotto   
,manfredi1 by his wife1 at ,faenza      
7#adhh74  ,to enumerate all the         
catastrophes of reigning families1      
occurring in the fifteenth century      
alone1 would be quite impossible within 
the limits of this chapter4 ,yet it is  
only by dwelling on the more important  
that any adequate notion of the perils  
of ,italian despotism can be formed4    
,thus ,girolamo ,riario was murdered by 
his subjects at ,forli 7#adhh71 and     
,francesco ,vico dei ,prefetti in the   
,church of ,s4 ,sisto at ,viterbo#a     
7#achg74 ,at ,lodi in #adjb ,antonio    
,fisiraga burned the chief members of   
the ruling house of ,vistarini on the   
public square1 and died himself of      
poison after a few months4 ,his         
successor in the tyranny1 ,giovanni     
,vignate1 was imprisoned by ,filippo    
,maria ,visconti in a wooden cage at    
,pavia1 and beat his brains out in      
despair against its bars4 ,at the same  
epoch ,gabrino ,fondulo slaughtered     

seventy of the ,cavalcabo family        
together in his castle of ,macastormo1  
with the purpose of acquiring their     
tyranny over ,cremona4 ,he was          
afterwards beheaded as a traitor at     
,milan 7#adbe74 ,ottobon ,terzi was     
assassinated at ,parma 7#adjh71 ,nicola 
,borghese at ,siena 7#adii74 ,altobello 
,dattiri at ,todi 7about #aejj71        
,raimondo and ,pandolfo ,malatesta at   
,rimini1 and ,oddo ,antonio di          
,montefeltro at ,urbino 7#addd74b ,the  
,varani were massacred to a man in the  
,church of ,s4 ,dominic at ,camerino    
7#adcd71 the ,trinci at ,foligno        
7#adcd71 and the ,chiavelli of ,fabriano
 in church upon ,ascension ,day 7#adce74
 ,this wholesale extirpation of three   
reigning families introduces one of the 
most romantic episodes in the history of
 ,italian despotism4 ,from the slaughter
 of the ,varani one only child1 ,giulio 
,cesare1 a boy of two years old1 was    
saved by his aunt ,tora4 ,she concealed 
him in a truss of hay and carried him to

 the ,trinci at ,foligno4 ,hardly had   
she gained this refuge1 when the ,trinci
 were destroyed1 and she had to fly with
 her burden to the ,chiavelli at        
,fabriano4 ,there the same scenes of    
bloodshed awaited her4 ,a third time she
 took to flight1 and now concealed her  
precious charge in a nunnery4 ,the boy  
was afterwards stolen from the town on  
horseback by a soldier of adventure4    
,after surviving three massacres of kith
 and kin1 he returned as despot at the  
age of twelve to ,camerino1 and became a
 general of distinction4 ,but he was not
 destined to end his life in peace4     
,cesare ,borgia finally murdered him1   
together with three of his sons1 when he
 had reached the age of sixty4 ,less    
romantic but not less significant in the
 annals of tyranny is the story of the  
,trinci4 ,a rival noble of ,foligno1    
,pietro ,rasiglia1 had been injured in  
his honor by the chief of the ruling    
house4 ,he contrived to assassinate two 
brothers1 ,nicola and ,bartolommeo1 in  

his castle of ,nocera2 but the third1   
,corrado ,trinci1 escaped1 and took a   
fearful vengeance on his enemy4 ,by the 
help of ,braccio da ,montone he         
possessed himself of ,nocera and all its
 inhabitants1 with the exception of     
,pietro ,rasiglia's wife1 whom her      
husband flung from the battlements4     
,corrado then butchered the men1 women1 
and children of the ,rasiglia clan1 to  
the number of three hundred persons1    
accomplishing his vengeance with details
 of atrocity too infernal to be dwelt on
 in these pages4 ,it is recorded that   
thirty-six asses laden with their       
mangled limbs paraded the streets of    
,foligno as a terror-striking spectacle 
for the inhabitants4 ,he then ruled the 
city by violence1 until the warlike     
,cardinal dei ,vitelleschi avenged      
society of so much mischief by          
destroying the tyrant and five of his   
sons1 in the same year4 ,equally        
fantastic are the annals of the great   
house of the ,baglioni at ,perugia4     

,raised in #achi upon the ruins of the  
bourgeois faction called ,raspanti1 they
 founded their tyranny in the person of 
,pandolfo ,baglioni1 who was murdered   
together with sixty of his clan and     
followers by the party they had         
dispossessed4 ,the new despot1 ,biordo  
,michelotti1 was stabbed in the         
shoulders with a poisoned dagger by his 
relative1 the abbot of ,s4 ,pietro4     
,then the city1 in #adaf1 submitted to  
,braccio da ,montone1 who raised it to  
unprecedented power and glory4 ,on his  
death it fell back into new discords1   
from which it was rescued again by the  
,baglioni in #adff1 now finally         
successful in their prolonged warfare   
with the rival family of ,oddi4 ,but    
they did not hold their despotism in    
tranquillity4 ,in #aejj one of the      
members of the house1 ,grifonetto degli 
,baglioni1 conspired against his kinsmen
 and slew them in their palaces at      
night4 ,as told by ,matarazzo1 this     
tragedy offers an epitome of all that is

 most1 brilliant and terrible in the    
domestic feuds of the ,italian          
tyrants4#c ,the vicissitudes of the     
,bentivogli at ,bologna present another 
series of catastrophes1 due less to     
their personal crimes than to the fury  
of the civil strife that raged around   
them4 ,giovanni ,bentivoglio began the  
dynasty in #adjj4 ,the next year he was 
stabbed to death and pounded in a       
wine-vat by the infuriated populace1 who
 thought he had betrayed their interests
 in battle4 ,his son1 ,antonio1 was     
beheaded by a ,papal ,legate1 and       
numerous members of the family on their 
return from exile suffered the same     
fate4 ,in course of time the ,bentivogli
 made themselves adored by the people2  
and when ,piccinino imprisoned the heir 
of their house1 ,annibale1 in the castle
 of ,varano1 four youths of the         
,marescotti family undertook his rescue 
at the peril of their lives1 and raised 
him to the ,signory of ,bologna4 ,in    
#adde the ,canetoli1 powerful nobles1   

who hated the popular dynasty1 invited  
,annibale and all his clan to a         
christening feast1 where they           
exterminated every member of the        
reigning house4 ,not one ,bentivoglio   
was left alive4 ,in revenge for this    
massacre1 the ,marescotti1 aided by the 
populace1 hunted down the ,canetoli for 
three whole days in ,bologna1 and nailed
 their smoking hearts to the doors of   
the ,bentivoglio palace4 ,they then drew
 from his obscurity in ,florence the    
bastard ,santi ,bentivoglio1 who found  
himself suddenly lifted from a          
wool-factory to a throne4 ,whether he   
was a genuine ,bentivoglio or not1      
mattered little4 ,the house had become  
necessary to ,bologna1 and its          
popularity had been baptized in the     
bloodshed of four massacres4 ,what      
remains of its story can be briefly     
told4 ,when ,cesare ,borgia besieged    
,bologna1 the ,marescotti intrigued with
 him1 and eight of their number were    
sacrificed by the ,bentivogli in spite  

of their old services to the dynasty4   
,the survivors1 by the help of ,julius  
,,ii41 returned from exile in #aecf1 to 
witness the final banishment of the     
,bentivogli and to take part in the     
destruction of the palace1 where their  
ancestors had nailed the hearts of the  
,canetoli upon the walls4      #a ,the  
family of the ,prefetti fed up the      
murderer in their castle     and then   
gave him alive to be eaten by their     
hounds4      #b ,sforza ,attendolo      
killed ,terzi by a spear-thrust in the  
back4     ,pandolfo ,petrucci murdered  
,borghese1 who was his father-in-law4   
,raimondo ,malatesta was stabbed by his 
two nephews disguised as     hermits4   
,dattiri was bound naked to a plank and 
killed piecemeal by     the people1 who 
bit his flesh1 cut slices out1 and sold 
and ate     it--distributing his living 
body as a sort of infernal sacrament    
among themselves4      #c ,see the      
article ',perugia' in my ,sketches in   
,italy and ,greece4  ,to multiply the   

records of crime revenged by crime1 of  
force repelled by violence1 of treason  
heaped on treachery1 of insult repaid by
 fraud1 would be easy enough4 ,indeed1 a
 huge book might be compiled containing 
nothing but the episodes in this grim   
history of despotism1 now tragic and    
pathetic1 now terror-moving in sublimity
 of passion1 now despicable by the      
baseness of the motives brought to      
light1 at one time revolting through    
excess of physical horrors1 at another  
fascinating by the spectacle of heroic  
courage1 intelligence1 and resolution4  
,enough however1 has been said to       
describe the atmosphere of danger in    
which the tyrants breathed and moved1   
and from which not one of them was ever 
capable of finding freedom4 ,even a     
princely house so well based in its     
dynasty and so splendid in its parade of
 culture as that of the ,estensi offers 
a long list of terrific tragedies4 ,one 
princess is executed for adultery with  
her stepson 7#adbe72 a bastard's bastard

 tries to seize the throne1 and is put  
to death with all his kin 7#adic72 a    
wife is poisoned by her husband to      
prevent her poisoning him 7#adic72 two  
brothers cabal against the legitimate   
heads of the house1 and are imprisoned  
for life 7#aejf74 ,such was the         
labyrinth of plot and counterplot1 of   
force repelled by violence1 in which the
 princes praised by ,ariosto and by     
,tasso lived4  ,isolated1 crime-haunted1
 and remorseless1 at the same time      
fierce and timorous1 the despot not     
unfrequently made of vice a fine art for
 his amusement1 and openly defied       
humanity4 ,his pleasures tended to      
extravagance4 ,inordinate lust and      
refined cruelty sated his irritable and 
jaded appetites4 ,he destroyed pity in  
his soul1 and fed his dogs with living  
men1 or spent his brains upon the       
invention of new tortures4 ,from the    
game of politics again he won a feverish
 pleasure1 playing for states and cities
 as a man plays chess1 and endeavoring  

to extract the utmost excitement from   
the varying turns of skill and chance4  
,it would be an exaggeration to assert  
that all the princes of ,italy were of  
this sort4 ,the saner1 better1 and      
nobler among them--men of the stamp of  
,gian ,galeazzo ,visconti1 ,can ,grande 
della ,scala1 ,francesco and ,lodovico  
,sforza1 found a more humane enjoyment  
in the consolidation of their empire1   
the cementing of their alliances1 the   
society of learned men1 the friendship  
of great artists1 the foundation of     
libraries1 the building of palaces and  
churches1 the execution of vast schemes 
of conquest4 ,others1 like ,galeazzo    
,visconti1 indulged a comparatively     
innocent taste for magnificence4 ,some1 
like ,sigismondo ,pandolfo ,malatesta1  
combined the vices of a barbarian with  
the enthusiasm of a scholar4 ,others    
again1 like ,lorenzo de' ,medici and    
,frederick of ,urbino1 exhibited the    
model of moderation in statecraft and a 
noble width of culture4 ,but the        

tendency to degenerate was fatal in all 
the despotic houses4 ,the strain of     
tyranny proved too strong4 ,crime1      
illegality1 and the sense of peril1     
descending from father to son1 produced 
monsters in the shape of men4 ,the last 
,visconti1 the last ,la ,scalas1 the    
last ,sforzas1 the last ,malatestas1 the
 last ,farnesi1 the last ,medici are    
among the worst specimens of human      
nature4  ,macaulay's brilliant          
description of the ,italian tyrant in   
his essay on ,machiavelli deserves      
careful study4 ,it may1 however1 be     
remarked that the picture is too        
favorable4 ,macaulay omits the darker   
crimes of the despots1 and draws his    
portrait almost exclusively from such   
men as ,gian ,galeazzo ,visconti1       
,francesco and ,lodovico ,sforza1       
,frederick of ,urbino1 and ,lorenzo de' 
,medici4 ,the point he is seeking to    
establish--that political immorality in 
,italy was the national correlative to  
,northern brutality--leads him to       

idealize the polite refinement1 the     
disciplined passions1 the firm and      
astute policy1 the power over men1 and  
the excellent government which          
distinguished the noblest ,italian      
princes4 ,when he says ',wanton cruelty 
was not in his nature3 on the contrary1 
where no political object was at stake1 
his disposition was soft and humane'2 he
 seems to have forgotten ,gian ,maria   
,visconti1 ,corrado ,trinci1 ,sigismondo
 ,pandolfo ,malatesta1 and ,cesare      
,borgia4 ,when he writes1 ',his         
passions1 like well-trained troops1 are 
impetuous by rule1 and in their most    
headstrong fury never forget the        
discipline to which they have been      
accustomed1' he leaves ,francesco ,maria
 della ,rovere1 ,galeazzo ,maria        
,sforza1 ,pier ,luigi ,farnese1         
,alexander ,,vi41 out of the reckoning4 
,if all the despots had been what       
,macaulay describes1 the revolutions and
 conspiracies of the fourteenth and     
fifteenth centuries would not have taken

 place4 ,it is1 however1 to be remarked 
that in the sixteenth century the       
conduct of the tyrant toward his        
subjects assumed an external form of    
mildness4 ,as ,italy mixed with the     
,european nations1 and as tyranny came  
to be legalized in the ,italian states1 
the despots developed a policy not of   
terrorism but of enervation 7,lorenzo   
de' ,medici is the great example71 and  
aspired to be paternal governors4  ,what
 ,i have said about ,italian despotism  
is no mere fancy picture4 ,the actual   
details of ,milanese history1 the       
innumerable tragedies of ,lombardy1     
,romagna1 and the ,marches of ,ancona1  
during the ascendency of despotic       
families1 are far more terrible than any
 fiction2 nor would it be easy for the  
imagination to invent so perplexing a   
mixture of savage barbarism with modern 
refinement4 ,savonarola's               
denunciations#a and ,villani's          
descriptions of a despot read like      
passages from ,plato's ,republic1 like  

the most pregnant of ,aristotle's       
criticisms upon tyranny4 ,the prologue  
to the sixth book of ,matteo ,villani's 
,chronicle may be cited as a fair       
specimen of the judgment passed by      
contemporary ,italian thinkers upon     
their princes 7,libro ,sesto1 cap4 i473 
',the crimes of despots always hinder   
and often neutralize the virtues of good
 men4 ,their pleasures are at variance  
with morality4 ,by them the riches of   
their subjects are swallowed up4 ,they  
are foes to men who grow in wisdom and  
in greatness of soul in their dominions4
 ,they diminish by their imposts the    
wealth of the peoples ruled by them4    
,their unbridled lust is never satiated1
 but their subjects have to suffer such 
outrages and insults as their fancy may 
from time to time suggest4 ,but inasmuch
 as the violence of tyranny is          
manifested to all eyes by these and many
 other atrocities1 we need not enumerate
 them afresh4 ,it is enough to select   
one feature1 strange in appearance but  

familiar in fact2 for what can be more  
extraordinary than to see princes of    
ancient and illustrious lineage bowing  
to the service of despots1 men of high  
descent and time-honored nobility       
frequenting their tables and accepting  
their bounties8 ,yet if we consider the 
end of all this1 the glory of tyrants   
often turns to misery and ruin4 ,who can
 exaggerate their wretchedness8 ,they   
know not where to place their           
confidence2 and their courtiers are     
always on the lookout for the despot's  
fall1 gladly lending their influence and
 best endeavors to undo him in spite of 
previous servility4 ,this does not      
happen to hereditary kings1 because     
their conduct toward their subjects1 as 
well as their good qualities and all    
their circumstances1 are of a nature    
contrary to that of tyrants4 ,therefore 
the very causes which produce and       
fortify and augment tyrannies1 conceal  
and nourish in themselves the sources of
 their overthrow and ruin4 ,this indeed 

is the greatest wretchedness of         
tyrants4'      #a ,see the passage      
condensed from his ,sermons in          
,villari's ,life of     ,savonarola     
7,eng4 ,tr4 vol4 ii4 p4 #fb74 ,the most 
thorough-going     analysis of despotic 
criminality is contained in             
,savonarola's     ,tractato circa el    
,reggimento e ,governo della ,citta di  
,firenze1     ,trattato ii4 cap4 #b4    
,della ,malitia e pessime ,conditioni   
del     ,tyranno4  ,it may be objected  
that this sweeping criticism1 from the  
pen of a ,florentine citizen at war with
 ,milan1 partakes of the nature of an   
invective4 ,yet abundant proofs can be  
furnished from the chronicles of burghs 
which owed material splendor to their   
despots1 confirming the censure of      
,villani4 ,matarazzo1 for example1 whose
 sympathy with the house of ,baglioni is
 so striking1 and who exults in the     
distinction they conferred upon         
,perugia1 writes no less bitterly       
concerning the pernicious effects of    

their misgovernment4#a ,it is to be     
noticed that ,villani and ,matarazzo    
agree about the special evils brought   
upon the populations by their tyrants4  
,lust and violence take the first place4
 ,next comes extortion2 then the        
protection of the lawless and the       
criminal against the better sort of     
citizens4 ,but the ,florentine1 with    
intellectual acumen1 lays his finger on 
one of the chief vices of their rule4   
,they retard the development of mental  
greatness in their states1 and check the
 growth of men of genius4 ,ariosto1 in  
the comparative calm of the sixteenth   
century1 when tyrannies had yielded to  
the protectorate of ,spain1 sums up the 
records of the past in the following    
memorable passage3#b ',happy the        
kingdoms where an open-hearted and      
blameless man gives law6 ,wretched      
indeed and pitiable are those where     
injustice and cruelty hold sway1 where  
burdens ever greater and more grievous  
are laid upon the people by tyrants like

 those who now abound in ,italy1 whose  
infamy will be recorded through years to
 come as no less black than ,caligula's 
or ,nero's4' ,guicciardini1 with        
pregnant brevity1 observes3#c ',the     
mortar with which the states of the     
tyrants are cemented is the blood of the
 citizens4'      #a ,arch4 ,stor4 xvi4  
#ajb4 ,see my ,sketches in ,italy and   
,greece1 p4     #hd4      #b ,cinque    
,canti1 ii4 #e4      #c ,ricordi        
,politici1 ccxlii4  ,in the history of  
,italian despotism two points of        
first-rate importance will demand       
attention4 ,the first is the process by 
which the greater tyrannies absorbed the
 smaller during the fourteenth century4 
,the second is the relation of the chief
 ,condottieri to the tyrants of the     
fifteenth century4 ,the evolution of    
these two phenomena cannot be traced    
more clearly than by a study of the     
history of ,milan1 which at the same    
time presents a detailed picture of the 
policy and character of the ,italian    

despot during this period4 ,the         
dynasties of ,visconti and ,sforza from 
#acjj to #aejj bridged over the years   
that intervened between the ,middle ,age
 and the ,renaissance1 between the      
period of the free burghs and the period
 during which ,italy was destined to    
become the theater of the action of more
 powerful nations4 ,their alliances and 
diplomatic relations prepared the way   
for the interference of foreigners in   
,italian affairs4 ,their pedigree       
illustrates the power acquired by       
military adventurers in the peninsula4  
,the magnitude of their political       
schemes displays the most soaring       
ambition which it was ever granted to   
,italian princes to indulge4 ,the       
splendor of their court and the         
intelligence of their culture bear      
witness to the high state of            
civilization which the ,italians had    
reached4  ,the power of the ,visconti in
 ,milan was founded upon that of the    
,della ,torre family1 who preceded them 

as ,captains ,general of the people at  
the end of the thirteenth century4      
,otho1 ,archbishop of ,milan1 first laid
 a substantial basis for the dominion of
 his house by imprisoning ,napoleone    
,della ,torre and five of his relatives 
in three iron cages in #abgg1 and by    
causing his nephew ,matteo ,visconti to 
be nominated both by the ,emperor and by
 the people of ,milan as imperial       
,vicar4 ,matteo1 who headed the         
,ghibelline party in ,lombardy1 was the 
model of a prudent ,italian despot4     
,from the date #acaa1 when he finally   
succeeded in his attempts upon the      
sovereignty of ,milan1 to #acbb1 when he
 abdicated in favor of his son          
,galeazzo1 he ruled his states by force 
of character1 craft1 and insight1 more  
than by violence or cruelty4 ,excellent 
as a general1 he was still better as a  
diplomatist1 winning more cities by     
money than by the sword4 ,all through   
his life1 as became a ,ghibelline chief 
at that time1 he persisted in fierce    

enmity against the ,church4 ,but just   
before his death a change came over him4
 ,he showed signs of superstitious      
terror1 and began to fear the ban of    
excommunication which lay upon him4     
,this weakness alarmed the suspicions of
 his sons1 terrible and wolf-like men1  
whom ,matteo had hitherto controlled    
with bit and bridle4 ,they therefore    
induced him to abdicate in #acbb1 and   
when in the same year he died1 they     
buried his body in a secret place1 lest 
it should be exhumed1 and scattered to  
the winds in accordance with the ,papal 
edict against him4#a ,galeazzo1 his son1
 was less fortunate than ,matteo1       
surnamed ,il ,grande by the ,lombards4  
,the ,emperor ,louis of ,bavaria threw  
him into prison on the occasion of his  
visit to ,milan in #acbg1 and only      
released him at the intercession of his 
friend ,castruccio ,castracane4 ,to such
 an extent was the growing tyranny of   
the ,visconti still dependent upon their
 office delegated from the ,empire4     

,this ,galeazzo married ,beatrice d'    
,este1 the widow of ,nino di ,gallura1  
of whom ,dante speaks in the eighth     
canto of the ,purgatory1 and had by her 
a son named ,azzo4 ,azzo bought the     
city1 together with the title of        
,imperial ,vicar1 from the same ,louis  
who had imprisoned his father4#b ,when  
he was thus seated in the tyranny of his
 grandfather1 he proceeded to fortify it
 further by the addition of ten ,lombard
 towns1 which he reduced beneath the    
supremacy of ,milan4 ,at the same time  
he consolidated his own power by the    
murder of his uncle ,marco in #acbi1 who
 had grown too mighty as a general4     
,giovio describes him as fair of        
complexion1 blue-eyed1 curly-haired1 and
 subject to the hereditary disease of   
gout4#c ,azzo died in #acci1 and was    
succeeded by his uncle ,lucchino4 ,in   
,lucchino the darker side of the        
,visconti character appears for the     
first time4 ,cruel1 moody1 and jealous1 
he passed his life in perpetual terror4 

,his nephews1 ,galeazzo and ,barnabas1  
conspired against him1 and were exiled  
to ,flanders4 ,his wife1 ,isabella      
,fieschi1 intrigued with ,galeazzo and  
disgraced him by her amours with        
,ugolino ,gonzaga and ,dandolo the ,doge
 of ,venice4 ,finally suspicion rose to 
such a pitch between this ill-assorted  
couple1 that1 while ,lucchino was       
plotting how to murder ,isabella1 she   
succeeded in poisoning him in #acdi4 ,in
 spite of these domestic calamities1    
,lucchino was potent as a general and   
governor4 ,he bought ,parma from ,obizzo
 d' ,este1 and made the town of ,pisa   
dependent upon ,milan4 ,already in his  
policy we can trace the encroachment    
which characterized the schemes of the  
,milanese despots1 who were always      
plotting to advance their foot beyond   
the ,apennines as a prelude to the      
complete subjugation of ,italy4         
,lucchino left sons1 but none of proved 
legitimacy4#d ,consequently he was      
succeeded by his brother ,giovanni1 son 

of old ,matteo il ,grande1 and          
,archbishop of ,milan4 ,this man1 the   
friend of ,petrarch1 was one of the most
 notable characters of the fourteenth   
century4 ,finding himself at the head of
 sixteen cities1 he added ,bologna to   
the tyranny of the ,visconti in #acej1  
and made himself strong enough to defy  
the ,pope4 ,clement ,,vi41 resenting his
 encroachments on ,papal territory1     
summoned him to ,avignon4 ,giovanni     
,visconti replied that he would march   
thither at the head of #ab1jjj cavalry  
and #f1jjj infantry4 ,in the ,duomo of  
,milan he ascended his throne with the  
crosier in his left hand and a drawn    
sword in his right2 and thus he is      
always represented in pictures4 ,the    
story of ,giovanni's answer to the      
,papal ,legate is well told by ,corio3#e
 ',after ,mass in the ,cathedral the    
great-hearted ,archbishop unsheathed a  
flashing sword1 which he had girded on  
his thigh1 and with his left hand seized
 the cross1 saying1 ,this is my         

spiritual scepter1 and ,i will wield the
 sword as my temporal1 in defense of all
 my empire4' ,afterwards he sent        
couriers to engage lodgings for his     
soldiers and his train for six months4  
,visitors to ,avignon found no room in  
the city1 and the ,pope was fain to     
decline so terrible a guest4 ,in #acec  
,giovanni annexed ,genoa to the         
,milanese principality1 and died in     
#aced1 having established the rule of   
the ,visconti over the whole of the     
,north of ,italy1 with the exception of 
,piedmont1 ,verona1 ,mantua1 ,ferrara   
and ,venice4      #a ,we may compare    
what ,dante puts into the mouth of      
,manfred in the     ',purgatory' 7canto 
iii474 ,the great ,ghibelline poet here 
protests     against the use of         
excommunication as a political weapon4  
,his sense     of justice will not allow
 him to believe that ,god can regard the
     sentence of priests and pontiffs1  
actuated by the spite of     partisans2 
yet the examples of ,frederick ,,ii4 and

 of this ,matteo     ,visconti prove how
 terrifying1 even to the boldest1 those 
sentences     continued to be4 ,few had 
the resolute will of ,galeazzo ,pico di 
,mirandola1 who expired in #adii under  
the ban of the ,church1 which he     had
 borne for sixteen years4      #b ,this 
was in #acbh4 ,azzo agreed to pay       
#be1jjj florins4 ,the vast     wealth of
 the ,visconti amassed during their     
years of peaceful     occupation always 
stood them in good stead when bad times 
came1 and     when the ,emperor was     
short of cash4 ,azzo deserves special   
commendation from the student of art for
 the exquisite octagonal     tower of   
,s4 ,gottardo1 which he built of terra  
cotta with marble     pilasters1 in     
,milan4 ,it is quite one of the         
loveliest monuments of     mediaeval    
,italian architecture4      #c ,lucchino
 and ,galeazzo ,visconti were both      
afflicted with gout1     the latter to  
such an extent as to be almost crippled4
      #d ,this would not have been by   

itself a bar to succession in an        
,italian tyranny4 ,but ,lucchino's      
bastards were not of the proper         
stuff to continue their father's        
government1 while their fiery uncle     
was precisely the man to sustain the    
honor and extend the power of     the   
,visconti4      #e ,storia di ,milano1  
#aeed1 p4 #bbc4  ,the reign of the      
archbishop ,giovanni marks a new epoch  
in the despotism of the ,visconti4 ,they
 are now no longer the successful rivals
 of the ,della ,torre family or         
dependents on imperial caprice1 but     
self-made sovereigns1 with a            
well-established power in ,milan and a  
wide extent of subject territory4 ,their
 dynasty1 though based on force and     
maintained by violence1 has come to be  
acknowledged2 and we shall soon see them
 allying themselves with the royal      
houses of ,europe4 ,after the death of  
,giovanni1 ,matteo's sons were extinct4 
,but ,stefano1 the last of his family1  
had left three children1 who now        

succeeded to the lands and cities of the
 house4 ,they were named ,matteo1       
,bernabo1 and ,galeazzo4 ,between these 
three princes a partition of the        
heritage of ,giovanni ,visconti was     
effected4 ,matteo took ,bologna1 ,lodi1 
,piacenza1 ,parma1 ,bobbio1 and some    
other towns of less importance4 ,bernabo
 received ,cremona1 ,crema1 ,brescia1   
and ,bergamo4 ,galeazzo held ,como1     
,novara1 ,vercelli1 ,asti1 ,tortona1 and
 ,alessandria4 ,milan and ,genoa were to
 be ruled by the three in common4 ,it   
may here be noticed that the            
dismemberment of ,italian despotisms    
among joint-heirs was a not unfrequent  
source of disturbance and a cause of    
weakness to their dynasties4 ,at the    
same time the practice followed         
naturally upon the illegal nature of the
 tyrant's title4 ,he dealt with his     
cities as so many pieces of personal    
property1 which he could distribute as  
he chose1 not as a coherent whole to be 
bequeathed to one ruler for the common  

benefit of all his subjects4 ,in        
consequence of such partition1 it became
 the interest of brother to murder      
brother1 so as to effect a              
reconsolidation of the family estates4  
,something of the sort happened on this 
occasion4 ,matteo abandoned himself to  
bestial sensuality2 and his two         
brothers1 finding him both feeble and   
likely to bring discredit on their rule1
 caused him to be assassinated in       
#acee4a ,they then jointly swayed the   
,milanese1 with unanimity remarkable in 
despots4 ,galeazzo was distinguished as 
the handsomest man of his age4 ,he was  
tall and graceful1 with golden hair1    
which he wore in long plaits1 or tied up
 in a net1 or else loose and crowned    
with flowers4 ,fond of display and      
magnificence1 he spent much of his vast 
wealth in shows and festivals1 and in   
the building of palaces and churches4   
,the same taste for splendor led him to 
seek royal marriages for his children4  
,his daughter ,violante was wedded to   

the ,duke of ,clarence1 son of ,edward  
,,iii4 of ,england1 who received with   
her for dowry the sum of #bjj1jjj golden
 florins1 as well as five cities        
bordering on ,piedmont4#b ,it must have 
been a strange experience for this      
brother of the ,black ,prince1 leaving  
,london1 where the streets were still   
unpaved1 the houses thatched1 the beds  
laid on straw1 and where wine was sold  
as medicine1 to pass into the luxurious 
palaces of ,lombardy1 walled with       
marble1 and raised high above smooth    
streets of stone4 ,of his marriage with 
,violante ,giovio gives some curious    
details4 ,he says that ,galeazzo on this
 occasion made splendid presents to more
 than #bjj ,englishmen1 so that he was  
reckoned to have outdone the greatest   
kings in generosity4 ,at the banquet    
,gian ,galeazzo1 the bride's brother1   
leading a choice company of well-born   
youths1 brought to the table with each  
course fresh gifts4#c ',at one time it  
was a matter of sixty most beautiful    

horses with trappings of silk and       
silver2 at another1 plate1 hawks1       
hounds1 horse-gear1 fine cuirasses1     
suits of armor fashioned of wrought     
steel1 helmets adorned with crests1     
surcoats embroidered with pearls1 belts1
 precious jewels set in gold1 and great 
quantities of cloth of gold and crimson 
stuff for making raiment4 ,such was the 
profusion of this banquet that the      
remnants taken from the table were      
enough and to spare for #aj1jjj men4'   
,petrarch1 we may remember1 assisted at 
this festival and sat among the princes4
 ,it was thus that ,galeazzo displayed  
his wealth before the feudal nobles of  
the ,north1 and at the same time        
stretched the hand of friendly patronage
 to the greatest literary man of        
,europe4 ,meanwhile he also married his 
son ,gian ,galeazzo to ,isabella1       
daughter of ,king ,john of ,france1     
spending on this occasion1 it is said1 a
 similar sum of money for the honor of a
 royal alliance4#d      #a ,m4 ,villani1

 v4 #ha4 ,compare ,corio1 p4 #bcj4      
,corio gives the date     #acef4      #b
 ,namely1 ,alba1 ,cuneo1 ,carastro1     
,mondovico1 ,braida4 ,see ,corio1 p4    
#bch1 who adds sententiously1 'il che   
quasi fu l' ultima roina del     suo    
stato4'      #c ,corio 7pp4 #bci1 #bdj7 
gives the bill of fare of the banquet4  
#d ,sismondi says he gave #fjj1jjj      
florins to ,charles1 the brother of     
,isabella1 but authorities differ about 
the actual amount4  ,galeazzo held his  
court at ,pavia4 ,his brother reigned at
 ,milan4 ,bernabo displayed all the     
worst vices of the ,visconti4 ,his      
system of taxation was most oppressive1 
and at the same time so lucrative that  
he was able1 according to ,giovio's     
estimate1 to settle nine of his         
daughters at an expense of something    
like two millions of gold pieces4 ,a    
curious instance of his tyranny relates 
to his hunting establishment4 ,having   
saddled his subjects with the keep of   
#e1jjj boar-hounds1 he appointed        

officers to go round and see whether    
these brutes were either too lean or too
 well-fed to be in good condition for   
the chase4 ,if anything appeared        
defective in their management1 the      
peasants on whom they were quartered had
 to suffer in their persons and their   
property4#a ,this ,bernabo was also     
remarkable for his cold-blooded cruelty4
 ,together with his brother1 he devised 
and caused to be publicly announced by  
edict that ,state criminals would be    
subjected to a series of tortures       
extending over the space of forty days4 
,in this infernal programme every       
variety of torment found a place1 and   
days of respite were so calculated as to
 prolong the lives of the victims for   
further suffering1 till at last there   
was little left of them that had not    
been hacked and hewed and flayed away4#b
 ,to such extremities of terrorism were 
the despots driven in the maintenance of
 their illegal power4      #a ',per     
cagione di questa caccia continoamente  

teneva cinque mila     cani2 e la       
maggior parte di quelle distribuiva alla
 custodia de i     cittadini1 e anche a 
i contadini1 i quali niun altro cane che
 quelli     potevano tenere4 ,questi due
 volte il mese erano tenuti a far la    
mostra4 ,onde trovandoli macri in gran  
somma di danari erano     condannati1 e 
se grossi erano1 incolpandoli del       
troppo1 erano     multati2 se morivano1 
li pigliava il tutto4--,corio1 p4 #bdg4 
,read ,m4 ,villani1 vii4 #dh1 for the   
story of a peasant who was given     to 
,bernabo's dogs to be devoured for      
having killed a hare4 ,corio 7p4        
#bdg7 describes the punishments which he
 inflicted on his subjects     who were 
convicted of poaching--eyes put out1    
houses burned1 etc4 ,a     young man who
 dreamed of killing a boar had an eye   
put out and a     hand cut off because  
he imprudently recounted his vision of  
sport in     sleep4 ,on one occasion he 
burned two friars who ventured to       
remonstrate4 ,we may compare ,pontanus1 

',de ,immanitate1' vol4 i4 pp4     #cah1
 #cbj1 for similar cruelty in           
,ferdinand1 ,king of ,naples4      #b   
,this programme may be read in          
,sismondi1 iv4 #bhb4  ,galeazzo died in 
#acgh1 and was succeeded in his own     
portion of the ,visconti domain by his  
son ,gian ,galleazzo4 ,now began one of 
those long1 slow1 internecine struggles 
which were so common between the members
 of the ruling families in ,italy4      
,bernabo and his sons schemed to get    
possession of the young prince's estate4
 ,he1 on the other hand1 determined to  
supplant his uncle1 and to reunite the  
whole ,visconti principality beneath his
 own sway4 ,craft was the weapon which  
he chose in this encounter4 ,shutting   
himself up in ,pavia1 he made no        
disguise of his physical cowardice1     
which was real1 while he simulated a    
timidity of spirit wholly alien to his  
temperament4 ,he pretended to be        
absorbed in religious observances1 and  
gradually induced his uncle and cousins 

to despise him as a poor creature whom  
they could make short work of when      
occasion served4 ,in #ache1 having thus 
prepared the way for treason1 he avowed 
his intention of proceeding on a        
pilgrimage to ,our ,lady of ,varese4    
,starting from ,pavia with a body guard 
of ,germans1 he passed near ,milan1     
where his uncle and cousins came forth  
to meet him4 ,gian ,galeazzo feigned a  
courteous greeting2 but when he saw his 
relatives within his grasp1 he gave a   
watchword in ,german to his troops1 who 
surrounded ,bernabo and took him        
prisoner with his sons4 ,gian ,galeazzo 
marched immediately into ,milan1        
poisoned his uncle in a dungeon1 and    
proclaimed himself sole lord of the     
,visconti heirship4#a      #a ,the      
narrative of this coup-de-main may be   
read with advantage in     ,corio1 p4   
#beh4  ,the reign of ,gian ,galeazzo1   
which began with this coup-de-main      
7#ache-adjb71 forms a very important    
chapter in ,italian history4 ,we may    

first see what sort of man he was1 and  
then proceed to trace his aims and      
achievements4 ,giovio describes him as  
having been a remarkably sedate and     
thoughtful boy1 so wise beyond his years
 that his friends feared he would not   
grow to man's estate4 ,no pleasures in  
after-life drew him away from business4 
,hunting1 hawking1 women1 had alike no  
charms for him4 ,he took moderate       
exercise for the preservation of his    
health1 read and meditated much1 and    
relaxed himself in conversation with men
 of letters4 ,pure intellect1 in fact1  
had reached to perfect independence in  
this prince1 who was far above the      
boisterous pleasures and violent        
activities of the age in which he lived4
 ,in the erection of public buildings he
 was magnificent4 ,the ,certosa of      
,pavia and the ,duomo of ,milan owed    
their foundation to his sense of        
splendor4 ,at the same time he completed
 the palace of ,pavia1 which his father 
had begun1 and which he made the noblest

 dwelling-house in ,europe4 ,the        
,university of ,pavia was raised by him 
from a state of decadence to one of     
great prosperity1 partly by munificent  
endowments and partly by a wise choice  
of professors4 ,in his military         
undertakings he displayed a kindred     
taste for vast engineering projects4 ,he
 contemplated and partly carried out a  
scheme for turning the ,mincio and the  
,brenta from their channels1 and for    
drying up the lagoons of ,venice4 ,in   
this way he purposed to attack his last 
great enemy1 the ,republic of ,s4 ,mark1
 upon her strongest point4 ,yet in the  
midst of these huge designs he was able 
to attend to the most trifling details  
of economy4 ,his love of order was so   
precise that he may be said to have     
applied the method of a banker's office 
to the conduct of a state4 ,it was he   
who invented ,bureaucracy by creating a 
special class of paid clerks and        
secretaries of departments4 ,their duty 
consisted in committing to books and    

ledgers the minutest items of his       
private expenditure and the outgoings of
 his public purse2 in noting the details
 of the several taxes1 so as to be able 
to present a survey of the whole state  
revenue2 and in recording the names and 
qualities and claims of his generals1   
captains1 and officials4 ,a separate    
office was devoted to his               
correspondence1 of all of which he kept 
accurate copies4#a ,by applying this    
mercantile machinery to the management  
of his vast dominions1 at a time when   
public economy was but little understood
 in ,europe1 ,gian ,galeazzo raised his 
wealth enormously above that of his     
neighbors4 ,his income in a single year 
is said to have amounted to #a1bjj1jjj  
golden florins1 with the addition of    
#hjj1jjj golden florins levied by       
extraordinary calls4#b ,the personal    
timidity of this formidable prince      
prevented him from leading his armies in
 the field4 ,he therefore found it      
necessary to employ paid generals1 and  

took into his service all the chief     
,condottieri of the day1 thus giving an 
impulse to the custom which was destined
 to corrupt the whole military system of
 ,italy4 ,of these men1 whom he well    
knew how to choose1 he was himself the  
brain and moving principle4 ,he might   
have boasted that he never took a step  
without calculating the cost1 carefully 
considering the object1 and             
proportioning the means to his end4 ,how
 mad to such a man must have seemed the 
,crusaders of previous centuries1 or the
 chivalrous ,princes of ,northern       
,germany and ,burgundy1 who expended    
their force upon such unprofitable and  
impossible undertakings as the          
subjugation1 for instance1 of           
,switzerland6 ,not a single trait in his
 character reminds us of the ,middle    
,ages1 unless it be that he was said to 
care for reliques with a superstitious  
passion worthy of ,louis ,,xi4 ,sismondi
 sums up the description of this        
extraordinary despot in the following   

sentences1 which may be quoted for their
 graphic brevity3 ',false and pitiless1 
he joined to immeasurable ambition a    
genius for enterprise1 and to immovable 
constancy a personal timidity which he  
did not endeavor to conceal4 ,the least 
unexpected motion near him threw him    
into a paroxysm of nervous terror4 ,no  
prince employed so many soldiers to     
guard his palace1 or took such          
multiplied precautions of distrust4 ,he 
seemed to acknowledge himself the enemy 
of the whole world4 ,but the vices of   
tyranny had not weakened his ability4   
,he employed his immense wealth without 
prodigality2 his finances were always   
flourishing2 his cities well garrisoned 
and victualed2 his army well paid2 all  
the captains of adventure scattered     
throughout ,italy received pensions from
 him1 and were ready to return to his   
service whenever called upon4 ,he       
encouraged the warriors of the new      
,italian school2 he knew well how to    
distinguish1 reward1 and win their      

attachment4'#c ,such was the tyrant who 
aimed at nothing less than the reduction
 of the whole of ,italy beneath the sway
 of the ,visconti1 and who might have   
achieved his purpose had not his career 
of conquest been checked by the         
,republic of ,florence1 and afterwards  
cut short by a premature death4      #a 
,giovio is particular upon these points3
 ',ho veduto io ne gli     armari de'   
suoi ,archivi maravigliosi libri in     
carta pecora1 i quali     contenevano d'
 anno in anno i nomi de' capitani1      
condottieri1 e     soldati vecchi1 e le 
paghe di ogn' uno1 e 'l rotulo delle    
cavallerie1 et delle fanterie3 v' erano 
anco registrate le copie     delle      
lettere le quali negli importantissimi  
maneggi di far guerra o     pace1 o egli
 haveva scritto ai principi o haveva    
ricevuto da loro4'      #b ,the         
description given by ,corio 7pp4 #bfj1  
#bff-fh7 of the dower in     money1     
plate1 and jewels brought by ,valentina 
,visconti to ,louis     d',orleans is a 

good proof of ,gian ,galeazzo's wealth4 
,besides the     town of ,asti1 she took
 with her in money #djj1jjj golden      
florins4 ,her     gems were estimated at
 #fh1heh florins1 and her plate at      
#a1ffg marks     of ,paris4 ,the        
inventory is curious4      #c ',history 
of the ,italian ,republics' 7#a vol4    
,longmans71 p4 #aij4  ,at the time of   
his accession the ,visconti had already 
rooted out the ,correggi and ,rossi of  
,parma1 the ,scotti of ,piacenza1 the   
,pelavicini of ,san ,donnino1 the       
,tornielli of ,novara1 the ,ponzoni and 
,cavalcabo of ,cremona1 the ,beccaria   
and ,languschi of ,pavia1 the ,fisiraghi
 of ,lodi1 the ,brusati of ,brescia4    
,their viper had swallowed all these    
lesser snakes4#a ,but the ,carrara      
family still ruled at ,padua1 the       
,gonzaga at ,mantua1 the ,este at       
,ferrara1 while the great house of      
,scala was in possession of ,verona4    
,gian ,galeazzo's schemes were first    
directed against the ,scala dynasty4    

,founded1 like that of the ,visconti1   
upon the imperial authority1 it rose to 
its greatest height under the           
,ghibelline general ,can ,grande and his
 nephew ,mastino1 in the first half of  
the fourteenth century 7#acab-ea74      
,mastino had himself cherished the      
project of an ,italian ,kingdom2 but he 
died before approaching its             
accomplishment4 ,the degeneracy of his  
house began with his three sons4 ,the   
two younger killed the eldest2 of the   
survivors the stronger slew the weaker  
and then died in #acgd1 leaving his     
domains to two of his bastards4 ,one of 
these1 named ,antonio1 killed the other 
in #acha1b and afterwards fell a prey to
 the ,visconti in #achg4 ,in his        
subjugation of ,verona ,gian ,galeazzo  
contrived to make use of the ,carrara   
family1 although these princes were     
allied by marriage to the ,scaligers1   
and had everything to lose by their     
downfall4 ,he next proceeded to attack  
,padua1 and gained the co-operation of  

,venice4 ,in #achh ,francesco da        
,carrara had to cede his territory to   
,visconti's generals1 who in the same   
year possessed themselves for him of the
 ,trevisan ,marches4 ,it was then that  
the ,venetians saw too late the error   
they had committed in suffering ,verona 
and ,padua to be annexed by the         
,visconti1 when they ought to have been 
fortified as defenses interposed between
 his growing power and themselves4      
,having now made himself master of the  
,north of ,italy1#c with the exception  
of ,mantua1 ,ferrara1 and ,bologna1     
,gian ,galeazzo turned his attention to 
these cities4 ,alberto d' ,este was     
ruling in ,ferrara2 ,francesco da       
,gonzaga in ,mantua4 ,it was the        
,visconti's policy to enfeeble these two
 princes by causing them to appear      
odious in the eyes of their subjects4#d 
,accordingly he roused the jealousy of  
the ,marquis of ,ferrara against his    
nephew ,obizzo to such a pitch that     
,alberto beheaded him together with his 

mother1 burned his wife1 and hung a     
third member of his family1 besides     
torturing to death all the supposed     
accomplices of the unfortunate young    
man4 ,against the ,marquis of ,mantua   
,gian ,galeazzo devised a still more    
diabolical plot4 ,by forged letters and 
subtly contrived incidents he caused    
,francesco da ,gonzaga to suspect his   
wife of infidelity with his secretary4#e
 ,in a fit of jealous fury ,francesco   
ordered the execution of his wife1 the  
mother of several of his children1      
together with the secretary4 ,then he   
discovered the ,visconti's treason4 ,but
 it was too late for anything but       
impotent hatred4 ,the infernal device   
had been successful2 the ,marquis of    
,mantua was no less discredited than the
 ,marquis of ,ferrara by his crime4 ,it 
would seem that these men were not of   
the stamp and caliber to be successful  
villans1 and that ,gian ,galeazzo had   
reckoned upon this defect in their      
character4 ,their violence caused them  

to be rather loathed than feared4 ,the  
whole of ,lombardy was now prostrate    
before the ,milanese tyrant4 ,his next  
move was to set foot in ,tuscany4 ,for  
this purpose ,pisa had to be acquired2  
and here again he resorted to his       
devilish policy of inciting other men to
 crimes by which he alone would profit  
in the long-run4 ,pisa was ruled at that
 time by the ,gambacorta family1 with an
 old merchant named ,pietro at their    
head4 ,this man had a friend and        
secretary called ,jacopo ,appiano1 whom 
the ,visconti persuaded to turn ,judas1 
and to entrap and murder his benefactor 
and his children4 ,the assassination    
took place in #acib4 ,in #acii          
,gherardo1 son of ,jacopo ,appiano1 who 
held ,pisa at the disposal of ,gian     
,galeazzo1 sold him this city for       
#bjj1jjj florins4#f ,perugia was next   
attacked4 ,here ,pandolfo1 chief of the 
,baglioni family1 held a                
semi-constitutional authority1 which the
 ,visconti first helped him to transmute

 into a tyranny1 and then1 upon         
,pandolfo's assassination1 seized as his
 own4#g ,all ,italy and even ,germany   
had now begun to regard the usurpations 
of the ,milanese despot with alarm4 ,but
 the sluggish ,emperor ,wenceslaus      
refused to take action against him2 nay1
 in #acie he granted to the ,visconti   
the investiture of the ,duchy of ,milan 
for #ajj1jjj florins1 reserving only    
,pavia for himself4 ,in #acii the ,duke 
laid hands on ,siena2 and in the next   
two years the plague came to his        
assistance by enfeebling the ruling     
families of ,lucca and ,bologna1 the    
,guinizzi and the ,bentivogli1 so that  
he was now able to take possession of   
those cities4      #a ,il ,biscione1 or 
the ,great ,serpent1 was the name       
commonly given     to the tyranny of the
 ,visconti 7see ,m4 ,villani1 vi4 #h71  
in allusion     to their ensign of a    
naked child issuing from a snake's      
mouth4      #b ,corio1 p4 #bee1 tells   
how the murder was accomplished4        

,antonio     tried to make it appear    
that his brother ,bartolommeo had met   
his     death in the prosecution of     
infamous amours4      #c ,savoy was not 
in his hands1 however1 and the          
,marquisate of     ,montferrat remained 
nominally independent1 though he held   
its heir     in a kind of honorable     
confinement4 ,venice1 too1 remained in  
formidable neutrality1 the spectator of 
the ,visconti's conquests4      #d ,the 
policy adopted by the ,visconti against 
the ,estensi and the     ,gonzaghi was  
that recommended by ,machiavelli 7,disc4
 iii4 #cb73     'quando alcuno vuole o  
che un popolo o un principe levi al     
tutto l'     animo ad uno accordo1 non  
ci e altro modo piu vero1 ne piu        
stabile1     che fargli usare qualche   
grave scelleratezza contro a colui con  
il     qual tu non vuoi che l' accordo  
si faccia4'      #e ,this lady was a    
first cousin as well as sister-in-law of
 ,gian     ,galeazzo ,visconti1 who in  
second marriage had taken ,caterina1    

daughter of ,bernabo ,visconti1 to wife4
 ,this fact makes his perfidy     the   
more disgraceful4      #f ,the ,appiani 
retired to ,piombino1 where they founded
 a petty     despotism4 ,appiano's      
crime1 which gave a tyranny to his      
children1 is     similar to that of     
,tremacoldo1 who murdered his masters1  
the     ,vistarini of ,lodi1 and to that
 of ,luigi ,gonzaga1 who founded the    
,ducal house of ,mantua by the murder of
 his patron1 ,passerino     ,buonacolsi4
      #g ,pandolfo was murdered in      
#acic4 ,gian ,galeazzo possessed himself
     of ,perugia in #adjj1 having paved 
his way for the usurpation by           
causing ,biordo ,michelotti1 the        
successor of the ,baglioni to be        
assassinated by his friend ,francesco   
,guidalotti4 ,it will be noticed        
that he proceeded slowly and surely in  
the case of each annexation1     licking
 over his prey after he had throttled it
 and before he     swallowed it1 like a 
boa-constrictor4  ,there remained no    

power in ,italy1 except the ,republic of
 ,florence and the exiled but invincible
 ,francesco da ,carrara1 to withstand   
his further progress4 ,florence delayed 
his conquests in ,tuscany4 ,francesco   
managed to return to ,padua4 ,still the 
peril which threatened the whole of     
,italy was imminent4 ,the ,duke of      
,milan was in the plenitude of          
manhood--rich1 prosperous1 and full of  
mental force4 ,his acquisitions were    
well cemented2 his armies in good       
condition2 his treasury brim full2 his  
generals highly paid4 ,all his          
lieutenants in city and in camp         
respected the iron will and the deep    
policy of the despot who swayed their   
action from his arm-chair in ,milan4 ,he
 alone knew how to use the brains and   
hands that did him service1 to keep them
 mutually in check1 and by their        
regulated action to make himself not one
 but a score of men4 ,at last1 when all 
other hope of independence for ,italy   
had failed1 the plague broke out with   

fury in ,lombardy4 ,gian ,galeazzo      
retired to his isolated fortress of     
,marignano in order to escape infection4
 ,yet there in #adjb he sickened4 ,a    
comet appeared in the sky1 to which he  
pointed as a sign of his approaching    
death--',god could not but signalize the
 end of so supreme a ruler1' he told his
 attendants4 ,he died aged #ee4 ,italy  
drew a deep breath4 ,the danger was     
passed4  ,the systematic plan conceived 
by ,gian ,galeazzo for the enslavement  
of ,italy1 the ability and force of     
intellect which sustained him in its    
execution1 and the power with which he  
bent men to his will1 are scarcely more 
extraordinary than the sudden           
dissolution of his dukedom at his death4
 ,too timid to take the field himself1  
he had trained in his service a band of 
great commanders1 among whom ,alberico  
da ,barbino1 ,facino ,cane1 ,pandolfo   
,malatesta1 ,jacopo dal ,verme1 ,gabrino
 ,fondulo1 and ,ottobon ,terzo were the 
most distinguished4 ,as long as he lived

 and held them in leading strings1 all  
went well4 ,but at his death his two    
sons were still mere boys4 ,he had to   
intrust their persons1 together with the
 conduct of his hardly won dominions1 to
 these captains in conjunction with the 
,duchess ,catherine and a certain       
,francesco ,barbavara4 ,this man had    
been the ,duke's body-servant1 and was  
now the paramour of the ,duchess4 ,the  
generals refused to act with them2 and  
each seized upon such portions of the   
,visconti inheritance as he could most  
easily acquire4 ,the vast tyranny of the
 first ,duke of ,milan fell to pieces in
 a day4 ,the whole being based on no    
legal right1 but held together          
artificially by force and skill1 its    
constituent parts either reasserted     
their independence or became the prey of
 adventurers4#a ,many scions of the old 
ejected families recovered their        
authority in the subject towns4 ,we hear
 again of the ,scotti at ,piacenza1 the 
,rossi and ,correggi at ,parma1 the     

,benzoni at ,crema1 the ,rusconi at     
,como1 the ,soardi and ,colleoni at     
,bergamo1 the ,landi at ,bobbio1 the    
,cavalcabo at ,cremona4 ,facino ,cane   
appropriated ,alessandria2 ,pandolfo    
,malatesta seized ,brescia2 ,ottonbon   
,terzo established himself in ,parma4   
,meanwhile ,giovanni ,maria ,visconti   
was proclaimed ,duke of ,milan1 and his 
brother ,filippo ,maria occupied ,pavia4
 ,gabriello1 a bastard son of the first 
duke1 fortified himself in ,crema4      
#a ,the anarchy which prevailed in      
,lombardy after ,gian ,galeazzo's       
death makes it difficult to do more than
 signalize a few of these               
usurpations4 ,corio1 pp4 #bib et seq41  
contain the details4  ,in the despotic  
families of ,italy1 as already hinted1  
there was a progressive tendency to     
degeneration4 ,the strain of tyranny    
sustained by force and craft for        
generations1 the abuse of power and     
pleasure1 the isolation and the dread in
 which the despots lived habitually1    

bred a kind of hereditary madness4#a ,in
 the case of ,giovanni ,maria and       
,filippo ,maria ,visconti these         
predisposing causes of insanity were    
probably intensified by the fact that   
their father and mother were first      
cousins1 the grandchildren of ,stefano1 
son of ,matteo il ,grande4 ,be this as  
it may1 the constitutional ferocity of  
the race appeared as monomania in       
,giovanni1 and its constitutional       
timidity as something akin to madness in
 his brother4 ,gian ,maria1 ,duke of    
,milan in nothing but in name1          
distinguished himself by cruelty and    
lust4 ,he used the hounds of his        
ancestors no longer in the chase of     
boars1 but of living men4 ,all the      
criminals of ,milan1 and all whom he    
could get denounced as criminals1 even  
the participators in his own enormities1
 were given up to his infernal sport4   
,his huntsman1 ,squarcia ,giramo1       
trained the dogs to their duty by       
feeding them on human flesh1 and the    

duke watched them tear his victims in   
pieces with the avidity of a lunatic4#b 
,in #adab some ,milanese nobles         
succeeded in murdering him1 and threw   
his mangled corpse into the street4 ,a  
prostitute is said to have covered it   
with roses4 ,filippo ,maria meanwhile   
had married the widow of ,facino        
,cane1#c who brought him nearly half a  
million of florins for dowry1 together  
with her husband's soldiers and the     
cities he had seized after ,gian        
,galeazzo's death4 ,by the help of this 
alliance ,filippo was now gradually     
recovering the ,lombard portion of his  
father's dukedom4 ,the minor cities1    
purged by murder of their usurpers1 once
 more fell into the grasp of the        
,milanese despot1 after a series of     
domestic and political tragedies that   
drenched their streets with blood4      
,piacenza was utterly depopulated4 ,it  
is recorded that for the space of a year
 only three of its inhabitants remained 
within the walls4      #a ,i may refer  

to ,dr4 ,maudsley 7,mind and ,matter7   
for a scientific     statement of the   
theory of madness developed by          
accumulated and     hereditary vices4   
#b ,corio1 p4 #cja1 mentions by name    
,giovanni da ,pusterla and              
,bertolino del ,maino as 'lacerati da i 
cani del ,duca4' ,members of the        
families of these men afterwards helped 
to kill him4      #c ,beatrice di       
,tenda1 the wife of ,facino ,cane1 was  
twenty years     older than the ,duke of
 ,milan4 ,as soon as the ,visconti felt 
himself     assured in his duchy1 he    
caused a false accusation to be brought 
against her of adultery with the        
youthful ,michele ,oranbelli1 and1 in   
spite of her innocence1 beheaded her in 
#adah4 ,machiavelli relates     this act
 of perfidy with ,tacitean conciseness  
7#ast4 ,fior4 lib4 i4     vol4 i4 p4    
#ee73 ',dipoi per esser grato de'       
benefici grandi1 come     sono quasi    
sempre tutti i ,principi1 accuse        
,beatrice sua moglie di     stupro e la 

fece morire4'  ,filippo1 the last of the
 ,visconti tyrants1 was extremely ugly1 
and so sensitive about his ill-formed   
person that he scarcely dared to show   
himself abroad4 ,he habitually lived in 
secret chambers1 changed frequently from
 room to room1 and when he issued from  
his palace refused salutations in the   
streets4 ,as an instance of his         
nervousness1 the chroniclers report that
 he could not endure to hear the noise  
of thunder4#a ,at the same time he      
inherited much of his father's insight  
into character1 and his power of        
controlling men more bold and active    
than himself4 ,but he lacked the keen   
decision and broad views of ,gian       
,galeazzo4 ,he vacillated in policy and 
kept planning plots which seemed to have
 no object but his own disadvantage4    
,excess of caution made him surround the
 captains of his troops with spies1 and 
check them at the moment when he feared 
they might become too powerful4 ,this   
want of confidence neutralized the      

advantage which he might have gained by 
his choice of fitting instruments4 ,thus
 his selection of ,francesco ,sforza for
 his general against the ,venetians in  
#adca was a wise one4 ,but he could not 
attach the great soldier of fortune to  
himself4 ,sforza took the pay of        
,florence against his old patron1 and in
 #adda forced him to a ruinous peace2   
one of the conditions of which was the  
marriage of the ,duke of ,milan's only  
daughter1 ,bianca1 to the son of the    
peasant of ,cotignola4 ,bianca was      
illegitimate1 and ,filippo ,maria had no
 male heir4 ,the great family of the    
,visconti had dwindled away4            
,consequently1 after the duke's death in
 #addg1 ,sforza found his way open to   
the ,duchy of ,milan1 which he first    
secured by force and then claimed in    
right of his wife4 ,an adverse claim was
 set up by the ,house of ,orleans1      
,louis of ,orleans having married       
,valentina1 the legitimate daughter of  
,gian ,galeazzo4#b ,but both of these   

claims were invalid1 since the          
investiture granted by ,wenceslaus to   
the first duke excluded females4 ,so    
,milan was once again thrown open to the
 competition of usurpers4      #a ,the  
most complete account of ,filippo ,maria
 ,visconti written by a     contemporary
 is that of ,piero ,candido ,decembrio  
7,muratori1 vol4     xx474 ,the student 
must1 however1 read between the lines of
 this     biography1 for ,decembrio1 at 
the request of ,leonello d' ,este1      
suppressed the darker colors of the     
portrait of his master4 ,see the        
correspondence in ,rosmini's ,life of   
,guarino da ,verona4      #b ,this claim
 of the ,house of ,orleans to ,milan was
 one source of     ,french interference 
in ,italian affairs4 ,judged by ,italian
 custom1     ,sforza's claim through    
,bianca was as good as that of the      
,orleans     princes through ,valentina1
 since bastardy was no real bar in the  
peninsula4 ,it is said that ,filippo    
,maria bequeathed his duchy to the      

,crown of ,naples1 by a will destroyed  
after his death4 ,could this     bequest
 have taken effect1 it might have united
 ,italy beneath one     sovereign4 ,but 
the probabilities are that the          
jealousies of     ,florence1 ,venice1   
and ,rome against ,naples would have    
been so     intensified as to lead to a 
bloody war of succession1 and to hasten 
the ,french invasion4  ,the             
inextinguishable desire for liberty in  
,milan blazed forth upon the death of   
the last duke4 ,in spite of so many     
generations of despots1 the people still
 regarded themselves as sovereign1 and  
established a republic4 ,but a state    
which had served the ,visconti for      
nearly two centuries1 could not in a    
moment shake off its weakness and rely  
upon itself alone4 ,the republic1       
feeling the necessity of mercenary aid1 
was short-sighted enough to engage      
,francesco ,sforza as commander-in-chief
 against the ,venetians1 who had availed
 themselves of the anarchy in ,lombardy 

to push their power west of the ,adda4  
,sforza1 though the ablest general of   
the day1 was precisely the man whom     
common prudence should have prompted the
 burghers to mistrust4 ,in one brilliant
 campaign he drove the ,venetians back  
beyond the ,adda1 burned their fleet at 
,casal ,maggiore on the ,po1 and utterly
 defeated their army at ,caravaggio4    
,then he returned as conqueror to       
,milan1 reduced the surrounding cities1 
blockaded the ,milanese in their        
capital1 and forced them to receive him 
as their ,duke in #adej4 ,italy had lost
 a noble opportunity4 ,if ,florence and 
,venice had but taken part with ,milan1 
and had stimulated the flagging energies
 of ,genoa1 four powerful republics in  
federation might have maintained the    
freedom of the whole peninsula and have 
resisted foreign interference4 ,but     
,cosimo de' ,medici1 who was silently   
founding the despotism of his own family
 in ,florence1 preferred to see a duke  
in ,milan2 and ,venice1 guided by the   

,doge ,francesco ,foscari1 thought only 
of territorial aggrandizement4 ,the     
chance was lost4 ,the liberties of      
,milan were extinguished4 ,a new dynasty
 was established in the duchy1 grounded 
on a false hereditary claim1 which1 as  
long as it continued1 gave a sort of    
color to the superior but still illegal 
pretensions of the house of ,orleans4   
,it is impossible at this point in the  
history of ,italy to refrain from       
judging that the ,italians had become   
incapable of local self-government1 and 
that the prevailing tendency to         
despotism was not the results of        
accidents in any combination1 but of    
internal and inevitable laws of         
evolution4  ,it was at this period that 
the old despotisms founded by ,imperial 
,vicars and ,captains of the ,people    
came to be supplanted or crossed by     
those of military adventurers1 just as  
at a somewhat later time the            
,condottiere and the ,pope's nominee    
were blent in ,cesare ,borgia4 ,this is 

therefore the proper moment for glancing
 at the rise and influence of mercenary 
generals in ,italy1 before proceeding to
 sketch the history of the ,sforza      
family4  ,after the wars in ,sicily1    
carried on by the ,angevine princes1 had
 ceased 7#acjb71 a body of disbanded    
soldiers1 chiefly foreigners1 was formed
 under ,fra ,ruggieri1 a ,templar1 and  
swept the ,south of ,italy4 ,giovanni   
,villani marks this as the first sign of
 the scourge which was destined to prove
 so fatal to the peace of ,italy4#a ,but
 it was not any merely accidental       
outbreak of ,banditti1 such as this1    
which established the ,condottiere      
system4 ,the causes were far more deeply
 seated1 in the nature of ,italian      
despotism and in the peculiar           
requirements of the republics4 ,we have 
already seen how ,frederick ,,ii4 found 
it convenient to employ ,saracens in his
 warfare with the ,holy ,see4 ,the same 
desire to procure troops incapable of   
sympathizing with the native population 

induced the ,scala and ,visconti tyrants
 to hire ,german1 ,breton1 ,swiss1      
,english1 and even ,hungarian guards4   
,these foreign troops remained at the   
disposal of the tyrants and superseded  
the national militia4 ,the people of    
,italy were reserved for taxation2 the  
foreigners carried on the wars of the   
princes4 ,nor was this policy otherwise 
than popular4 ,it relieved all classes  
from the conscription1 leaving the      
burgher free to ply his trade1 the      
peasant to till his fields1 and         
disarming the nobles who were still     
rebellious and turbulent within the city
 walls4 ,the same custom gained ground  
among the ,republics4 ,rich ,florentine 
citizens preferred to stay at home at   
ease1 or to travel abroad for commerce1 
while they intrusted their military     
operations to paid generals4#b ,venice1 
jealous of her own citizens1 raised no  
levies in her immediate territory1 and  
made a rule of never confiding her      
armies to ,venetians4 ,her admirals1    

indeed1 were selected from the great    
families of the ,lagoons4 ,but her      
troops were placed beneath the          
discipline of foreigners4 ,the warfare  
of the ,church1 again1 had of necessity 
to be conducted on the same principles2 
for it did not often happen that a ,pope
 arose like ,julius ,,ii41 rejoicing in 
the sound of cannon and the life of     
camps4 ,in this way principalities and  
republics gradually denationalized their
 armies1 and came to carrying on        
campaigns by the aid of foreign         
mercenaries under paid commanders4 ,the 
generals1 wishing as far as possible to 
render their troops movable and compact1
 suppressed the infantry1 and confined  
their attention to perfecting the       
cavalry4 ,heavy-armed cavaliers1        
officered by professional captains1     
fought the battles of ,italy2 while     
despots and republics schemed in their  
castles1 or debated in their            
council-chambers1 concerning objects of 
warfare about which the soldiers of     

fortune were indifferent4 ,the pay      
received by men-at-arms was more        
considerable than that of the most      
skilled laborers in any peaceful trade4 
,the perils of military service in      
,italy1 conducted on the most artificial
 principles1 were but slight2 while the 
opportunities of self-indulgence--of    
pillage during war and of pleasure in   
the brief intervals of peace--attracted 
all the hot blood of the country to this
 service4#c ,therefore1 in course of    
time1 the profession of ,condottiere    
fascinated the needier nobility of      
,italy1 and the ranks of their          
men-at-arms were recruited by townsfolk 
and peasants1 who deliberately chose a  
life of adventure4      #a ,,viii4 #ea4 
#b ,we may remember how the ,spanish    
general ,cardona1 in #acbe1     misused 
his captaincy of the ,florentine forces 
to keep rich members     of the         
republican militia in unhealthy         
stations1 extorting money     from them 
as the price of freedom from perilous or

 irksome service4      #c ,matarazzo1 in
 his ,chronicle of ,perugia1 gives a    
lively picture     of an ,italian city1 
in which the nobles for generations     
followed the     trade of ,condottieri1 
while the people enlisted in their      
bands--to     the utter ruin of the     
morals and the peace of the community4  
,at first the foreign troops of the     
despots were engaged as body-guards1 and
 were controlled by the authority of    
their employers4 ,but the captains soon 
rendered themselves independent1 and    
entered into military contracts on their
 own account4 ,the first notable example
 of a roving troop existing for the sake
 of pillage1 and selling its services to
 any bidder1 was the so-called ,great   
,company 7#acdc71 commanded by the      
,german ,guarnieri1 or ,duke ,werner who
 wrote upon his corselet3 ',enemy of    
,god1 of ,pity and of ,mercy4' ,this    
band was employed in #acdh by the league
 of the ,montferrat1 ,la ,scala1        
,carrara1 ,este1 and ,gonzaga houses1   

formed to check the ,visconti4  ',in the
 middle of the fourteenth century1'     
writes ,sismondi1#a 'all the soldiers   
who served in ,italy were foreigners3 at
 the end of the same century they were  
all1 or nearly all1 ,italian4' ,this    
sentence indicates a most important     
change in the ,condottiere system1 which
 took place during the lifetime of ,gian
 ,galeazzo ,visconti4 ,alberico da      
,barbiano1 a noble of ,romagna1 and the 
ancestor of the ,milanese house of      
,belgiojoso1 adopted the career of      
,condottiere1 and formed a ,company1    
called the ,company of ,s4 ,george1 into
 which he admitted none but ,italians4  
,the consequence of this rule was that  
he ,italianized the profession of       
mercenary arms for the future4 ,all the 
great captains of the period were formed
 in his ranks1 during the course of     
those wars which he conducted for the   
,duke of ,milan4 ,two rose to paramount 
importance--,braccio da ,montone1 who   
varied his master's system by           

substituting the tactics of detached    
bodies of cavalry for the solid phalanx 
in which ,barbiano had moved his troops2
 and ,sforza ,attendolo1 who adhered to 
the old method4 ,sforza got his name    
from his great physical strength4 ,he   
was a peasant of the village of         
,cotignola1 who1 being invited to quit  
the mattock for a sword1 threw his      
pickax into an oak1 and cried1 ',if it  
stays there1 it is a sign that ,i shall 
make my fortune4' ,the ax stuck in the  
tree1 and ,sforza went forth to found a 
line of dukes4#b ,after the death of    
,barbiano in #adji1 ,sforza and ,braccio
 separated and formed two distinct      
companies1 known as the ,sforzeschi and 
,bracceschi1 who carried on between     
them1 sometimes in combination1 but     
usually in opposition1 all the wars of  
,italy for the next twenty years4 ,these
 old comrades1 who had parted in pursuit
 of their several advantage1 found that 
they had more to lose than to gain by   
defeating each other in any bloody or   

inconveniently decisive engagement4     
,therefore they adopted systems of      
campaigning which should cost them as   
little as possible1 but which enabled   
them to exhibit a chess-player's        
capacity for designing clever           
checkmates4#c ,both ,braccio and ,sforza
 died in #adbd1 and were succeeded      
respectively by ,nicolo ,piccinino and  
,francesco ,sforza4 ,these two men      
became in their turn the chief champions
 of ,italy4 ,at the same time other     
,condottieri rose into notice4 ,the     
,malatesta family at ,rimini1 the ducal 
house of ,urbino1 the ,orsini and the   
,vitelli of the ,roman ,states1 the     
,varani of ,camerino1 the ,baglioni of  
,perugia1 and the younger ,gonzaghi     
furnished republics and princes with    
professional leaders of tried skill and 
independent resources4 ,the vassals of  
these noble houses were turned into     
men-at-arms1 and the chiefs acquired    
more importance in their roving military
 life than they could have gained within

 the narrow circuit of their little     
states4      #a ,vol4 v4 p4 #bjg4       
#b ,this is the commonly received       
legend4 ,corio1 p4 #bee1 does not       
draw attention to the lowness of        
,sforza's origin1 but says that he      
was only twelve years of age when he    
enlisted in the corps of     ,boldrino  
da ,panigale1 condottiere of the        
,church4 ,his robust physical           
qualities were hereditary for many      
generations in his family4 ,his     son 
,francesco was tall and well made1 the  
best runner1 jumper1 and     wrestler of
 his day4 ,he marched1 summer and       
winter1 bareheaded2     needed but      
little sleep2 was spare in diet1 and    
self-indulgent only     in the matter of
 women4 ,galeazzo ,maria1 though stained
 by despicable     vices was a powerful 
prince1 who ruled his duchy with a      
strong arm4     ,of his illegitimate    
daughter1 ,caterina1 the wife of        
,girolamo ,riario1     a story is told1 
which illustrates the strong coarse vein

 that still     distinguished this brood
 of princes4 ,see ,dennistoun1 ',dukes  
of     ,urbino1' vol4 i4 p4 #bib1 for   
,boccalini's account of the ,siege of   
,forli1 sustained by ,caterina in #adhh4
 ,compare ,sismondi1 vol4 vii4 p4       
#bea4 ,caterina ,riario ,sforza1 as a   
woman1 was no unworthy inheritor     of 
her grandfather's personal heroism and  
genius for government4      #c ,i shall 
have to notice the evils of this system 
in another     place1 while reviewing   
the ,principe of ,machiavelli4 ,in that 
treatise the ,florentine historian      
traces the whole ruin of ,italy         
during the sixteenth century to the     
employment of mercenaries4  ,the        
biography of one of these ,condottieri  
deserves special notice1 since it       
illustrates the vicissitudes of fortune 
to which such men were exposed1 as well 
as their relations to their patrons4    
,francesco ,carmagnuola was a           
,piedmontese4 ,he first rose into notice
 at the battle of ,monza in #adab1 when 

,filippo ,maria ,visconti observed his  
capacity and bravery1 and afterwards    
advanced him to the captaincy of a      
troop4 ,having helped to reduce the     
,visconti duchy to order1 ,carmagnuola  
found himself disgraced and suspected   
without good reason by the ,duke of     
,milan2 and in #adbf he took the pay of 
the ,venetians against his old master4  
,during the next year he showed the     
eminence of his abilities as a general2 
for he defeated the combined forces of  
,piccinino1 ,sforza1 and other captains 
of the ,visconti1 and took them         
prisoners at ,macalo4 ,carmagnuola      
neither imprisoned nor murdered his     
foes4#a ,he gave them their liberty1 and
 four years later had to sustain a      
defeat from ,sforza at ,soncino4 ,other 
reverses of fortune followed1 which     
brought upon him the suspicion of bad   
faith or incapacity4 ,when he returned  
to ,venice1 the state received their    
captain with all honors1 and displayed  
unusual pomp in his admission to the    

audience of the ,council4 ,but no sooner
 had their velvet clutches closed upon  
him1 than they threw him into prison1   
instituted a secret impeachment of his  
conduct1 and on ,may #e1 #adcb1 led him 
out with his mouth gagged1 to execution 
on the ,piazza4 ,no reason was assigned 
for this judicial murder4 ,had          
,carmagnuola been convicted of treason8 
,was he being punished for his ill      
success in the campaign of the preceding
 years8 ,the ,republic of ,venice1 by   
the secrecy in which she enveloped this 
dark act of vengeance1 sought to inspire
 the whole body of her officials with   
vague alarm4      #a ,such an act of    
violence1 however consistent with the   
morality of     a ,cesare ,borgia1 a    
,venetian ,republic1 or a ,duke of      
,milan1 would have     been directly    
opposed to the code of honor in use     
among ,condottieri4     ,nothing1       
indeed1 is more singular among the      
contradictions of this     period than  
the humanity in the field displayed by  

hired captains4     ,war was made less  
on adverse armies than on the population
 of     provinces4 ,the adventurers     
respected each other's lives1 and       
treated     each other with courtesy4   
,they were a brotherhood who played at  
campaigning1 rather than the            
representatives of forces seriously     
bent on crushing each other to          
extermination4 ,machiavelli says        
7,princ4 cap4 xii47 ',aveano usato ogni 
industria per levar via a se e     a'   
soldati la fatica e la paura1 non       
s'ammazzando nelle zuffe1 ma            
pigliandosi prigioni e senza taglia4'   
,at the same time the license     they  
allowed themselves against the cities   
and the districts they     invaded is   
well illustrated by the pillage of      
,piacenza in #addg by     ,francesco    
,sforza's troops4 ,the anarchy of a sack
 lasted forty days1     during which the
 inhabitants were indiscriminately sold 
as slaves1     or tortured for their    
hidden treasure4 ,sism4 vi4 #agj4  ,but 

to return to the ,duchy of ,milan4      
,francesco ,sforza entered the capital  
as conqueror in #adej1 and was          
proclaimed ,duke4 ,he never obtained the
 sanction of the ,empire to his title1  
though ,frederick ,,iii4 was            
proverbially lavish of such honors4 ,but
 the great ,condottiere1 possessing the 
substance1 did not care for the external
 show of monarchy4 ,he ruled firmly1    
wisely1 and for those times well1       
attending to the prosperity of his      
states1 maintaining good discipline in  
his cities1 and losing no ground by     
foolish or ambitious schemes4 ,louis    
,,xi4 of ,france is said to have        
professed himself ,sforza's pupil in    
statecraft1 than which no greater       
tribute could be paid to his political  
sagacity4 ,in #adff he died1 leaving    
three sons1 ,galeazzo1 ,duke of ,milan1 
the ,cardinal ,ascanio1 and ,lodovico1  
surnamed ,il ,moro4  ',francesco's      
crown1' says ,ripamonti1 'was destined  
to pass to more than six inheritors1 and

 these five successions were            
accomplished by a series of tragic      
events in his family4 ,galeazzo1 his    
son1 was murdered because of his        
abominable crimes1 in the presence of   
his people1 before the altar1 in the    
middle of the sacred rites4 ,giovanni   
,galeazzo1 who followed him1 was        
poisoned by his uncle ,lodovico4        
,lodovico was imprisoned by the ,french1
 and died of grief in a dungeon4#a ,one 
of his sons perished in the same way2   
the other1 after years of misery and    
exile1 was restored in his childless old
 age to a throne which had been         
undermined1 and when he died1 his       
dynasty was extinct4 ,this was the      
recompense for the treason of ,francesco
 to the ,state of ,milan4 ,it was for   
such successes that he passed his life  
in perfidy1 privation1 and danger4' ,in 
these rapid successions we trace1       
besides the demoralization of the       
,sforza family1 the action of new forces
 from without4 ,france1 ,germany1 and   

,spain appeared upon the stage2 and     
against these great powers the policy of
 ,italian despotism was helpless4       
#a ,in the castle of ,loches1 there is  
said to be a roughly painted            
wall-picture of a man in a helmet over  
the chimney in the room known     as his
 prison1 with this legend1 ,voila un qui
 n'est pas content4     ,tradition gives
 it to ,il ,moro4  ,we have now reached 
the threshold of the true ,renaissance1 
and a new period is being opened for    
,italian politics4 ,the despots are     
about to measure their strength with the
 nations of the ,north4 ,it was         
,lodovico ,sforza who1 by his invitation
 of ,charles ,,viii4 into ,italy1       
inaugurated the age of ,foreign         
,enslavement4 ,his biography belongs1   
therefore1 to another chapter4 ,but the 
life of ,galeazzo ,maria1 husband of    
,bona of ,savoy1 and uncle by marriage  
to ,charles ,,viii4 of ,france1 forms an
 integral part of that history of the   
,milanese despots which we have hitherto

 been tracing4 ,in him the passions of  
,gian ,maria ,visconti were repeated    
with the addition of extravagant vanity4
 ,we may notice in particular his       
parade-expedition in #adga to ,florence1
 when he flaunted the wealth extorted   
from his ,milanese subjects before the  
soberminded citizens of a still free    
city4 ,fifty palfreys for the ,duchess1 
fifty chargers for the ,duke1 trapped in
 cloth of gold2 a hundred men-at-arms   
and five hundred foot soldiers for a    
body-guard2 five hundred couples of     
hounds and a multitude of hawks2        
preceded him4 ,his suite of courtiers   
numbered two thousand on horseback3     
#bjj1jjj golden florins were expended on
 this pomp4 ,machiavelli 7#ast4 ,fior4  
lib4 #g7 marks this visit of the ,duke  
of ,milan as a turning-point from       
austere simplicity to luxury and license
 in the manners of the ,florentines1    
whom ,lorenzo de' ,medici was already   
bending to his yoke4 ,the most          
extravagant lust1 the meanest and the   

vilest cruelty1 supplied ,galeazzo      
,maria with daily recreation4#a ,he it  
was who used to feed his victims on     
abominations or to bury them alive1 and 
who found a pleasure in wounding or     
degrading those whom he had made his    
confidants and friends4 ,the details of 
his assassination1 in #adgf1 though well
 known1 are so interesting that ,i may  
be excused for pausing to repeat them   
here2 especially as they illustrate a   
moral characteristic of this period     
which is intimately connected with the  
despotism4 ,three young nobles of       
,milan1 educated in the classic         
literature by ,montano1 a distinguished 
,bolognese scholar1 had imbibed from    
their studies of ,greek and ,latin      
history an ardent thirst for liberty and
 a deadly hatred of tyrants4#b ,their   
names were ,carlo ,visconti1 ,girolamo  
,olgiati1 and ,giannandrea ,lampugnani4 
,galeazzo ,sforza had wounded the two   
latter in the points which men hold     
dearest--their honor and their          

property#c--;by outraging the sister of 
,olgiati and by depriving ,lampugnani of
 the patronage of the ,abbey of         
,miramondo4 ,the spirit of ,harmodius   
and ,virginius was kindled in the       
friends1 and they determined to rid     
,milan of her despot4 ,after some       
meetings in the garden of ,s4 ,ambrogio1
 where they matured their plans1 they   
laid their project of tyrannicide as a  
holy offering before the patron saint of
 ,milan4#d ,then having spent a few days
 in poignard exercise for the sake of   
training1#e they took their place within
 the precincts of ,s4 ,stephen's        
,church4 ,there they received the       
sacrament and addressed themselves in   
prayer to the ,protomartyr1 whose fane  
was about to be hallowed by the murder  
of a monster odious to ,god and man4 ,it
 was on the morning of ,december #bf1   
#adgf1 that the duke entered ,san       
,stefano4 ,at one and the same moment   
the daggers of the three conspirators   
struck him--,olgiati's in the breast1   

,visconti's in the back1 ,lampugnani's  
in the belly4 ,he cried ',ah1 ,dio6' and
 fell dead upon the pavement4 ,the      
friends were unable to make their       
escape2 ,visconti and ,lampugnani were  
killed on the spot2 ,olgiati was seized1
 tortured1 and torn to death4      #a   
,allegretto ,allegretti1 ,diari ,sanesi1
 in ,muratori1 xxiii4 p4 #ggg1     and  
,corio1 p4 #dbe1 should be read for the 
details of his pleasures4     ,see too  
his character by ,machiavelli1 #ast4    
,fior4 lib4 #g1 vol4 ii4 p4     #caf4   
,yet ,giovio calls him a just and firm  
ruler1 stained only with     the vice of
 unbridled sensuality4      #b ,the     
study of the classics1 especially of    
,plutarch1 at this     time1 as also    
during the ,french ,revolution1 fired   
the     imagination of patriots4        
,lorenzino de' ,medici appealed to the  
example of ,timoleon in #aecg1 and      
,pietro ,paolo ,boscoli to that     of  
,brutus in #aeac4      #c ',le ingiurie 
conviene che siano nella roba1 nel      

sangue1 o     nell' onore4444 ,la roba e
 l'onore sono quelle due cose che       
offendono piu gli uomini che alcun'     
altra offesa1 e dalle quali     il      
principe si debbe guardare3 perche e'   
non puo mai spogliare     uno tanto che 
non gli resti un coltello da vendicarsi2
 non puo     tanto disonorare uno che   
non gli resti un animo ostinato alla    
vendetta4' ,mach4 ,disc4 iii4 #f4       
#d ,see ,olgiati's prayer to ,saint     
,ambrose in ,sismondi1 vii4 #hg1     and
 in ,mach4 ,ist4 ,fior4 lib4 #g4      #e
 ,giovanni ,sanzi's chronicle1 quoted by
 ,dennistoun1 vol4 i4     p4 #bbc1      
describes the conspirators rehearsing on
 a wooden     puppet4  ,in the interval 
which elapsed between the rack and the  
pincers1 ,olgiati had time to address   
this memorable speech to the priest who 
urged him to repent3 ',as for the noble 
action for which ,i am about to die1 it 
is this which gives my conscience peace2
 to this ,i trust for pardon from the   
,judge of all4 ,far from repenting1 if  

,i had to come ten times to life in     
order ten times to die by these same    
torments1 ,i should not hesitate to     
dedicate my blood and all my powers to  
an object so sublime4' ,when the hangman
 stood above him1 ready to begin the    
work of mutilation1 he is said to have  
exclaimed3 ,mors acerba1 fama perpetua1 
stabit vetus memora facti--my death is  
untimely1 my fame eternal1 the memory of
 the deed will last for aye4' ,he was   
only twenty-two years of age4#a ,there  
is an antique grandeur about the        
outlines of this story1 strangely       
mingled with mediaeval ,catholicism in  
the details1 which makes it typical of  
the ,renaissance4 ,conspiracies against 
rulers were common at the time in       
,italy2 but none were so pure and       
honorable as this4 ,of the ,pazzi       
,conjuration 7#adgh7 which ,sixtus ,,iv4
 directed to his everlasting infamy     
against the ,medici1 ,i shall have to   
speak in another place4 ,it is enough to
 mention here in passing the patriotic  

attempt of ,girolamo ,gentile against   
,galeazzo ,sforza at ,genoa in #adgf1   
and the more selfish plot of ,nicolo d' 
,este1 in the same year1 against his    
uncle ,ercole1 who held the ,marquisate 
of ,ferrara to the prejudice of his own 
claim4 ,the latter tragedy was rendered 
memorable by the vengeance taken by     
,ercole4 ,he beheaded ,nicolo and his   
cousin ,azzo together with twenty-five  
of his comrades1 effectually preventing 
by this bloodshed any future attempt to 
set aside his title4 ,falling as these  
four conspiracies do within the space of
 two years1 and displaying varied       
features of antique heroism1 simple     
patriotism1 dynastic dissension1 and    
ecclesiastical perfidy1 they present    
examples of the different forms and     
causes of political tragedies with a    
noteworthy and significant              
conciseness4#b      #a ,the whole story 
may be read in ,ripamonti1 under the    
head of     ',confessio ,olgiati2' in   
,corio1 who was a page of the ,duke's   

and an     eye-witness of the murder2   
and in the seventh book of              
,machiavelli's     ',history4'          
,sismondi's summary and references1 vol4
 vii4 pp4 #hf-ij1     are very full4    
#b ,it is worthy of notice that very    
many tyrannicides took     place in     
,church--for example1 the murders of    
,francesco ,vico dei     ,prefetti1 of  
the ,varani1 the ,chiavelli1 ,giuliano  
de' ,medici1     and ,galeazzo ,maria   
,sforza4 ,the choice of public service1 
as the     best occasion for the        
commission of these crimes1 points to   
the     guarded watchfulness maintained 
by tyrants in their palaces and     on  
the streets4 ,banquets and festivities  
offered another kind     of opportunity2
 and it was on such occasions that      
domestic     tragedies1 like            
,oliverotto's murder of his uncle and   
,grifonetto     ,baglioni's treason1    
were accomplished4  ,such was the actual
 condition of ,italy at the end of the  
fifteenth century4 ,neither public nor  

private morality in our sense of the    
word existed4 ,the crimes of the tyrants
 against their subjects and the members 
of their own families had produced a    
correlative order of crime in the people
 over whom they tyrannized4 ,cruelty was
 met by conspiracy4 ,tyrannicide became 
honorable2 and the proverb1 ',he who    
gives his own life can take a tyrant's1'
 had worked itself into popular         
language4 ,at this point it may be well 
to glance at the opinions concerning    
public murder which prevailed in ,italy4
 ,machiavelli1 in the ,discorsi iii4 #f1
 discusses the whole subject with his   
usual frigid and exhaustive analysis4   
,it is no part of his critical method to
 consider the morality of the matter4   
,he deals with the facts of history     
scientifically4 ,the esteem in which    
tyrannicide was held at ,florence is    
proved by the erection of ,donatello's  
,judith in #adie1 at the gate of the    
,palazzo ,pubblico1 with this           
inscription1 exemplum salutis publicae  

cives posuere4 ,all the political       
theorists agree that to rid a state of  
its despot is a virtuous act4 ,they only
 differ about its motives and its       
utility4 ,in ,guicciardini's ,reggimento
 di ,firenze 7,op4 ,ined4 vol4 ii4 pp4  
#ec1 #ed1 #aad7 the various motives of  
tyrannicide are discussed1 and it is    
concluded that pochissimi sono stati    
quelli che si siano mossi meramente per 
amore della liberta della sua patria1 a'
 quali si conviene suprema laude4#a     
,donato ,giannotti 7,opere1 vol4 i4 p4  
#cda7 bids the conspirator consider     
whether the mere destruction of the     
despot will suffice to restore his city 
to true liberty and good government--a  
caution by which ,lorenzino de' ,medici 
in his assassination of ,duke           
,alessandro might have profited2 for he 
killed one tyrant in order only to make 
room for another4 ,lorenzino's own      
,apology 7,varchi1 vol4 iii4 pp4        
#bhc-bie7 is an important document1 as  
showing that the murderer of a despot   

counted on the sympathy of honorable    
men4 ,so1 too1 is the verdict of        
,boscolo's confessor 7,arch4 ,stor4 vol4
 i4 p4 #cji71 who pronounced that       
conspiracy against a tyrant was no      
crime4 ,nor did the demoralization of   
the age stop here4 ,force1 which had    
been substituted for ,law in government1
 became1 as it were1 the mainspring of  
society4 ,murders1 poisoning1 rapes1 and
 treasons were common incidents of      
private as of public life4#b ,in cities 
like ,naples bloodguilt could be atoned 
at an inconceivably low rate4 ,a man's  
life was worth scarcely more than that  
of a horse4 ,the palaces of the nobles  
swarmed with professional cut-throats1  
and the great ecclesiastics claimed for 
their abodes the right of sanctuary4    
,popes sold absolution for the most     
horrible excesses1 and granted          
indulgences beforehand for the          
commission of crimes of lust and        
violence4 ,success was the standard by  
which acts were judged2 and the man who 

could help his friends intimidate his   
enemies1 and carve a way to fortune for 
himself by any means he chose1 was      
regarded as a hero4 ,machiavelli's use  
of the word virtu is in this relation   
most instructive4 ,it has altogether    
lost the ,christian sense of virtue1 and
 retains only so much of the ,roman     
virtus as is applicable to the courage1 
intellectual ability1 and personal      
prowess of one who has achieved his     
purpose1 be that what it may4 ,the      
upshot of this state of things was that 
individuality of character and genius   
obtained a freer scope at this time in  
,italy than during any other period of  
modern history4      #a ',very few      
indeed have those been1 whose motive for
 tyrannicide     was a pure love of     
their country's liberty2 and these      
deserve the     highest praise4'      #b
 ,it is quite impossible to furnish a   
complete view of     ,italian society   
under this aspect4 ,students must be    
referred to     the stories of the      

novelists1 who collected the more       
dramatic     incidents and presented    
them in the form of entertaining        
legends4 ,it may suffice here to mention
 ,bartolommeo ,colleoni1     ,angelo    
,poliziano1 and ,pontano1 all of whom   
owed their start in     life to the     
murder of their respective fathers by   
assassins2 to     ,varchi and ,filelfo1 
whose lives were attempted by           
cut-throats2     to ,cellini1 ,perugino1
 ,masaccio1 ,berni1 in each of whose    
biographies poison and the knife play   
their parts4 ,if men of     letters and 
artists were exposed to these perils1   
the dangers     of the great and noble  
may be readily imagined4  ,at the same  
time it must not be forgotten that      
during this period the art and culture  
of the ,renaissance were culminating4   
,filelfo was receiving the gold of      
,filippo ,maria ,visconti4 ,guarino of  
,verona was instructing the heir of     
,ferrara1 and ,vittorino da ,feltre was 
educating the children of the ,marquis  

of ,mantua4 ,lionardo was delighting    
,milan with his music and his magic     
world of painting4 ,poliziano was       
pouring forth honeyed eloquence at      
,florence4 ,ficino was expounding       
,plato4 ,boiardo was singing the prelude
 to ,ariosto's melodies at ,ferrara4    
,pico della ,mirandola was dreaming of a
 reconciliation of the ,hebrew1 ,pagan1 
and ,christian traditions4 ,it is       
necessary to note these facts in        
passing2 just as when we are surveying  
the history of letters and the arts1 it 
becomes us to remember the crimes and   
the madness of the despots who          
patronized them4 ,this was an age in    
which even the wildest and most         
perfidious of tyrants felt the ennobling
 influences and the sacred thirst of    
knowledge4 ,sigismondo ,pandolfo        
,malatesta1 the ,lord of ,rimini1 might 
be selected as a true type of the       
princes who united a romantic zeal for  
culture with the vices of barbarians4#a 
,the coins which bear the portraits of  

this man1 together with the medallions  
carved in red ,verona marble on his     
church at ,rimini1 show a narrow        
forehead1 protuberant above bushy       
eyebrows1 a long hooked nose1 hollow    
cheeks1 and petulant1 passionate1       
compressed lips4 ,the whole face seems  
ready to flash with sudden violence1 to 
merge its self-control in a spasm of    
fury4 ,sigismondo ,pandolfo ,malatesta  
killed three wives in succession1       
violated his daughter1 and attempted the
 chastity of his own son4 ,so much of   
him belongs to the mere savage4 ,he     
caused the magnificent church of ,s4    
,francesco at ,rimini to be raised by   
,leo ,alberti in a manner more worthy of
 a ,pagan ,pantheon than of a ,christian
 temple4 ,he incrusted it with exquisite
 bas-reliefs in marble1 the triumphs of 
the earliest ,renaissance style1 carved 
his own name and ensigns upon every     
scroll and frieze and point of vantage  
in the building1 and dedicated a shrine 
there to his concubine--,divae ,isottae 

,sacrum4 ,so much of him belongs to the 
,neo-,pagan of the fifteenth century4   
,he brought back from ,greece the mortal
 remains of the philosopher ,gemistos   
,plethon1 buried them in a sarcophagus  
outside his church1 and wrote upon the  
tomb this epigraph3 ',these remains of  
,gemistus of ,byzantium1 chief of the   
sages of his day1 ,sigismondo ,pandolfo 
,malatesta1 son of ,pandolfo1 commander 
in the war against the king of the      
,turks in the ,morea1 induced by the    
mighty love with which he burns for men 
of learning1 brought hither and placed  
within this chest4 #adff4' ,he1 the most
 fretful and turbulent of men1 read     
books with patient care1 and bore the   
contradictions of pedants in the course 
of long discussions on philosophy and   
arts and letters4 ,so much of him       
belonged to the new spirit of the coming
 age1 in which the zeal for erudition   
was a passion1 and the spell of science 
was stronger than the charms of love4   
,at the same time1 as ,condottiere1 he  

displayed all the treasons1 duplicities1
 cruelties1 sacrileges1 and tortuous    
policies to which the most accomplished 
villain of the age could have aspired4  
#a ,for a fuller account of him1 see my 
',sketches in ,italy and     ,greece1'  
article ,rimini4  ,it would be easy1    
following in the steps of ,tiraboschi1  
to describe the patronage awarded in the
 fifteenth century to men of letters by 
princes--the protection extended by     
,nicholas ,,iii4 of ,ferrara to ,guarino
 and ,aurispa--the brilliant promise of 
his son ,leonello1 who corresponded with
 ,poggio1 ,filelfo1 ,guarino1 ,francesco
 ,barbaro1 and other scholars--the      
liberality of ,duke ,borso1 whose purse 
was open to poor students4 ,or we might 
review the splendid culture of the court
 of ,naples1 where ,alfonso committed   
the education of his terrible son       
,ferdinand to the care of ,lorenzo      
,valla and ,antonio ,beccadelli4#a ,more
 insight1 however1 into the nature of   
,italian despotism in all its phases may

 be gained by turning from ,milan to    
,urbino1 and by sketching a portrait of 
the good ,duke ,frederick4#b ,the life  
of ,frederick1 ,count of ,montefeltro1  
created ,duke of ,urbino in #adgd by    
,pope ,sixtus ,,iv41 covers the better  
part of the fifteenth century 7b4 #adbb1
 d4 #adhb74 ,a little corner of old     
,umbria lying between the ,apennines and
 the ,adriatic1 ,rimini and ,ancona1    
formed his patrimony4 ,speaking roughly1
 the whole duchy was but forty miles    
square1 and the larger portion consisted
 of bare hillsides and ruinous ravines4 
,yet this poor territory became the     
center of a splendid court4 ',federigo1'
 says his biographer1 ,muzio1           
'maintained a suite so numerous and     
distinguished as to rival any royal     
household4' ,the chivalry of ,italy     
flocked to ,urbino in order to learn    
manners and the art of war from the most
 noble general of his day4 ',his        
household1' we hear from ,vespasiano1   
'which consisted of #ejj mouths         

entertained at his own cost1 was        
governed less like a company of soldiers
 than a strict religious community4     
,there was no gaming nor swearing1 but  
the men conversed with the utmost       
sobriety4' ,in a list of the court      
officers we find forty-five counts of   
the duchy and of other states1 seventeen
 gentlemen1 five secretaries1 four      
teachers of grammar1 logic1 and         
philosophy1 fourteen clerks in public   
offices1 five architects and engineers1 
five readers during meals1 four         
transcribers of ,,mss4 ,the library1    
collected by ,vespasiano during fourteen
 years of assiduous labor1 contained    
copies of all the ,greek and ,latin     
authors then discovered1 the principal  
treatises on theology and church        
history1 a complete series of ,italian  
poets1 historiographers1 and            
commentators1 various medical1          
mathematical1 and legal works1 essays on
 music1 military tactics and the arts1  
together with such ,hebrew books as were

 accessible to copyists4 ,every volume  
was bound in crimson and silver1 and the
 whole collection cost upwards of       
#cj1jjj ducats4 ,for the expenses of so 
large a household1 and the maintenance  
of this fine library1 not to mention a  
palace that was being built and churches
 that required adornment1 the mere      
revenues of the duchy could not have    
sufficed4 ,federigo owed his wealth to  
his engagements as a general4 ,military 
service formed his trade4 ',in #adec1'  
says ,dennistoun1 'his war-pay from     
,alfonso of ,naples exceeded #h1jjj     
ducats a month1 and for many years he   
had from him and his son an annual      
peace-pension of #f1jjj in name of past 
services4 ,at the close of his life1    
when captain-general of the ,italian    
league1 he drew in war #afe1jjj ducats  
of annual stipend1 #de1jjj being his own
 share2 in peace1 #fe1jjj in all4' ,as a
 ,condottiere1 ,federigo was famous in  
this age of broken faith for his plain  
dealing and sincerity4 ,only one piece  

of questionable practice--the capture of
 ,verucchio in #adfb by a forged letter 
pretending to come from ,sigismondo     
,malatesta--stained his character for   
honesty4 ,to his soldiers in the field  
he was considerate and generous2 to his 
enemies compassionate and merciful4#c   
',in military science1' says            
,vespasiano1 'he was excelled by no     
commander of his time2 uniting energy   
with judgment1 he conquered by prudence 
as much as by force4 ,the like wariness 
was observed in all his affairs2 and in 
none of his many battles was he worsted4
 ,nor may ,i omit the strict observance 
of good faith1 wherein he never failed4 
,all to whom he once gave his word1     
might testify to his inviolate          
performance of it4' ,the same biographer
 adds that 'he was singularly religious1
 and most observant of the ,divine      
commands4 ,no morning passed without his
 hearing mass upon his knees4'      #a  
,the ,panormita2 author1 by the way1 of 
the shameless     ',hermaphroditus4'    

,this fact is significant4 ,the moral   
sense was     extinct when such a pupil 
was intrusted to such a tutor4      #b  
,for the following details ,i am        
principally indebted to ',the           
,memoirs of the ,dukes of ,urbino1' by  
,james ,dennistoun2 #c vols41           
,longmans1 #ahea4 ,vespasiano's ,life of
 ,duke ,frederick 7,vite di     uomini  
illustri1 pp4 #gb-aab7 is one of the    
most charming     literary portraits    
extant4 ,it has1 moreover1 all the value
 of a     personal memoir1 for          
,vespasiano had lived in close relation 
with the ,duke as his librarian4      #c
 ,see the testimony of ,francesco di    
,giorgio2 ,dennistoun1 vol4     i4 p4   
#bei4 ,the sack of ,volterra was1       
however1 a blot upon his     humanity4  
,while a boy1 ,federigo had been        
educated in the school of ,vittorino da 
,feltre at ,mantua4 ,gian ,francesco    
,gonzaga invited that eminent scholar to
 his court in #adbe for the education of
 his sons and daughter1 assembling round

 him subordinate teachers in grammar1   
mathematics1 music1 painting1 dancing1  
riding1 and all noble exercises4 ,the   
system supervised by ,vittorino included
 not only the acquisition of            
scholarship1 but also training in manly 
sports and the cultivation of the moral 
character4 ,many of the noblest         
,italians were his pupils4 ,ghiberto da 
,correggio1 ,battista ,pallavicini1     
,taddeo ,manfredi of ,faenza1           
,gabbriello da ,cremona1 ,francesco da  
,castiglione1 ,niccolo ,perrotti1       
together with the ,count of             
,montefeltro1 lived in ,vittorino's     
house1 associating with the poorer      
students whom the benevolent philosopher
 instructed for the love of learning4   
,ambrogio ,camaldolese in a letter to   
,niccolo ,niccoli gives this animated   
picture of the ,mantuan school3 ',i went
 again to visit ,vittorino and to see   
his ,greek books4 ,he came to meet me   
with the children of the prince1 two    
sons and a daughter of seven years4 ,the

 eldest boy is eleven1 the younger five4
 ,there are also other children of about
 ten1 sons of nobles1 as well as other  
pupils4 ,he teaches them ,greek1 and    
they can write that language well4 ,i   
saw a translation from ,saint           
,chrysostom made by one of them which   
pleased me much4' ,and again a few years
 later3 ',he brought me ,giovanni       
,lucido1 son of the ,marquis1 a boy of  
about fourteen1 whom he has educated1   
and who then recited two hundred lines  
composed by him upon the shows with     
which the ,emperor was received in      
,mantua4 ,the verses were most          
beautiful1 but the sweetness and        
elegance of his recitation made them    
still more graceful4 ,he also showed me 
two propositions added by him to        
,euclid1 which prove how eminent he     
promises to be in mathematical studies4 
,there was also a little daughter of the
 ,marquis1 of about ten1 who writes     
,greek beautifully2 and many other      
pupils1 some of noble birth1 attended   

them4' ,the medal struck by ,pisanello  
in honor of ,vittorino da ,feltre bears 
the ensign of a pelican feeding her     
young from a wound in her own breast--a 
symbol of the master's self-sacrifice4#a
 ,i hope to return in the second volume 
of this work to ,vittorino4 ,it is      
enough here to remark that in this good 
school the ,duke of ,urbino acquired    
that solid culture which distinguished  
him through life4 ,in after years1 when 
the cares of his numerous engagements   
fell thick upon him1 we hear from       
,vespasiano that he still prosecuted his
 studies1 reading ,aristotle's ,ethics1 
,politics1 and ,physics1 listening to   
the works of ,s4 ,thomas ,aquinas and   
,scotus read aloud1 perusing at one time
 the ,greek fathers and at another the  
,latin historians4#b ,how profitably he 
spent his day at ,urbino may be gathered
 from this account of his biographer3   
',he was on horseback at daybreak with  
four or six mounted attendants and not  
more1 and with one or two foot servants 

unarmed4 ,he would ride out three or    
four miles1 and be back again when the  
rest of his court rose from bed4 ,after 
dismounting1 he heard mass4 ,then he    
went into a garden open at all sides1   
and gave audience to those who listed   
until dinner-time4 ,at table1 all the   
doors were open2 any man could enter    
where his lordship was2 for he never ate
 except with a full hall4 ,according to 
the season he had books read out as     
follows--in ,lent1 spiritual works2 at  
other times1 the history of ,livy2 all  
in ,latin4 ,his food was plain2 he took 
no comfits1 and drank no wine1 except   
drinks of pomegranate1 cherry1 or       
apples4' ,after dinner he heard causes1 
and gave sentence in the ,latin tongue4 
,then he would visit the nuns of ,santa 
,chiara or watch the young men of       
,urbino at their games1 using the       
courtesy of perfect freedom with his    
subjects4 ,his reputation as a patron of
 the arts and of learning was widely    
spread4 ',to hear him converse with a   

sculptor1' says ,vespasiano1 'you would 
have thought he was a master of the     
craft4 ,in painting1 too1 he displayed  
the most acute judgment2 and as he could
 not find among the ,italians worthy    
masters of oil colors1 he sent to       
,flanders for one1 who painted for him  
the philosophers and poets and doctors  
of the ,church4 ,he also brought from   
,flanders masters in the art of         
tapestry4' ,pontano1 ,ficino1 and       
,poggio dedicated works of importance to
 his name2 and ,pirro ,perrotti1 in the 
preface to his uncle's ',cornucopia1'   
draws a quaint picture of the reception 
which so learned a book was sure to meet
 with at ,urbino4#c ,but ,frederick was 
not merely an accomplished prince4      
,concurrent testimony proves that he    
remained a good husband and a constant  
friend throughout his life1 that he     
controlled his natural quickness of     
temper1 and subdued the sensual         
appetites which in that age of lax      
morality he might have indulged without 

reproach4 ,in his relations to his      
subjects he showed what a paternal      
monarch should be1 conversing familiarly
 with the citizens of ,urbino1 accosting
 them with head uncovered1 inquiring    
into the necessities of the poorer      
artisans1 relieving the destitute1      
dowering orphan girls1 and helping      
distressed shopkeepers with loans4      
,numerous anecdotes are told which      
illustrate his consideration for his old
 servants1 and his anxiety for the      
welfare and good order of his state4 ,at
 a time when the ,pope and the ,king of 
,naples were making money by monopolies 
of corn1 the ,duke of ,urbino filled his
 granaries from ,apulia1 and sold bread 
during a year of scarcity at a cheap    
rate to his poor subjects4 ,nor would he
 allow his officers to prosecute the    
indigent for debts incurred by such     
purchases4 ,he used to say3 ',i am not a
 merchant2 it is enough to have saved my
 people from hunger4' ,we must remember 
that this excellent prince had a direct 

interest in maintaining the prosperity  
and good-will of his duchy4 ,his        
profession was warfare1 and the district
 of ,urbino supplied him with his best  
troops4 ,yet this should not diminish   
the respect due to the foresight and    
benevolence of a ,condottiere who knew  
how to carry on his calling with        
humanity and generosity4 ,federigo wore 
the ,order of the ,garter1 which ,henry 
,,vii4 conferred on him1 the ,neapolitan
 ,order of the ,ermine1 and the ,papal  
decorations of the ,rose1 the ,hat1 the 
,sword4 ,he served three pontiffs1 two  
kings of ,naples1 and two dukes of      
,milan4 ,the ,republic of ,florence and 
more than one ,italian ,league appointed
 him their general in the field4 ,if his
 military career was less brilliant than
 that of the two ,sforzas1 ,piccinino1  
or ,carmagnuola1 he avoided the crimes  
to which ambition led some of these men 
and the rocks on which they struck4 ,at 
his death he transmitted a flourishing  
duchy1 a cultivated court1 a renowned   

name1 and the leadership of the ,italian
 ,league to his son ,guidobaldo4      #a
 ,prendilacqua1 the biographer of       
,vittorino1 says that he died so        
poor that his funeral expenses had to be
 defrayed4      #b ,pius ,,ii4 in his   
,commentaries gives an interesting      
account     of the conversations        
concerning the tactics of the ancients  
which he held with ,frederick1 in #adfa1
 in the neighborhood of     ,tivoli4    
#c ,the preface to the original edition 
of the ',cornucopia' is     worth       
reading for the lively impression which 
it conveys of     ,federigo's           
personality3 ',admirabitur in te divinam
 illam     corporis proceritatem1       
membrorum robur eximium1 venerandam oris
     dignitatem1 aetatis maturam        
gravitatem1 divinam quandam             
majestatem cum humanitate conjunctam1   
totum praeterea talem     qualem esse   
oportebat eum principem quem nuper      
pontifex maximus     et universus       
senatus omnium rerum suarum et totius   

ecclesiastici imperii ducem             
moderatoremque constituit4'  ,the young 
,duke1 whose court1 described by        
,castiglione1 may be said to have set   
the model of good breeding to all       
,europe1 began life under the happiest  
auspices4 ,from his tutor ,odasio of    
,padua we hear that even in boyhood he  
cared only for study and for manly      
sports4 ,his memory was so retentive    
that he could repeat whole treatises by 
heart after the lapse of ten or fifteen 
years1 nor did he ever forget what he   
had resolved to retain4 ,in the ,latin  
and ,greek languages he became an       
accomplished scholar1#a and while he    
appreciated the poets1 he showed        
peculiar aptitude for philosophy and    
history4 ,but his development was       
precocious4 ,his zeal for learning and  
the excessive ardor with which he       
devoted himself to physical exercises   
undermined his constitution4 ,he became 
an invalid and died childless1 after    
exhibiting to his court for many years  

an example of patience in sickness and  
of dignified cheerfulness under the     
restraints of enforced inaction4 ,his   
wife1 ,elizabetta ,gonzaga1 one of the  
most famous women of her age1 was no    
less a pattern of noble conduct and     
serene contentment4  ,such were the two 
last princes of the ,montefeltro        
dynasty4#b ,it is necessary to bear     
their virtues in mind while dwelling on 
the characteristics of ,italian         
despotism in the fifteenth century4 ,the
 ,duchy of ,urbino1 both as an          
established dynasty not founded upon    
violence1 and also as a center of really
 humane culture1 formed1 it is true1 an 
exception to the rule of ,italian       
tyrannies3 yet1 if we omitted this state
 from our calculation1 confining our    
attention to the extravagant iniquities 
of the ,borgia family1 or to the        
eccentricities of the ,visconti1 or to  
the dark crimes of the court of ,naples1
 we should gain a false notion of the   
many-sided character of ,italy1 in which

 at that time vices and virtues were so 
strangely blended4 ,we must never forget
 that the same society which produced a 
,filippo ,maria ,visconti1 a ,galeazzo  
,maria ,sforza1 a ,sigismondo           
,malatesta1 a ,ferdinand of ,aragon1    
gave birth also to a ,lorenzo de'       
,medici and a ,federigo da ,montefeltro4
 ,it is only by studying the lives of   
all these men in combination that we can
 obtain a correct conception of the     
manifold personality1 the mingled polish
 and barbarism1 of the ,italian         
,renaissance4      #a ,it is not easy to
 say what a panegyrist of that period   
intended     by 'a complete knowledge of
 ,greek1' or 'fluent ,greek writing1' in
 a     ,prince4 ,i suspect1 however1    
that we ought not to understand by these
     phrases anything like a real       
familiarity with ,greek literature1 but 
rather such superficial knowledge as    
would enable a reader of ,latin         
books to understand allusions and       
quotations4 ,poliziano1 it may be       

remarked1 thought it worth while to     
flatter ,guidobaldo in a ,greek         
epigram4      #b ,after ,guidobaldo's   
death the duchy was continued by the    
,della ,rovere family1 one of whom1     
,giovanni1 ,prefect of ,rome and        
nephew of ,sixtus ,,iv41 married the    
,duke's sister ,giovanna in     #adgd4  
,some more detailed account of          
,baldassare ,castiglione's treatise ,il 
,cortegiano will form a fitting         
conclusion to this ,chapter on the      
,despots4 ,it is true that his book was 
written later than the period we have   
been considering1#a and he describes    
court life in its most graceful aspect4 
,yet all the antecedent history of the  
past two centuries had been gradually   
producing the conditions under which his
 courtier flourished2 and the ,italian  
of the ,renaissance1 as he appeared to  
the rest of ,europe1 was such a         
gentleman as he depicts4 ,for the       
historian his book is of equal value in 
its own department with the ,principe of

 ,machiavelli1 the ,autobiography of    
,benvenuto ,cellini1 and the ,diary of  
,burchard4      #a ,it was written in   
#aead1 and first published in folio by  
the ,aldi     of ,venice in #aebh4 ,we  
find an ,english translation so early as
 #aefa     by ,thomas ,hoby4 ,at this   
time it was in the hands of all the     
gentlefolk of ,europe4 ,it is           
interesting to compare the ',cortegiano'
     with ,della ,casa's ',galateo1'    
published in #aeeh4 ,the ',galateo'     
professes to be a guide for gentlemen in
 social intercourse1 and the     minute 
rules laid down would satisfy the most  
exacting purist of the     present      
century4 ,in manners and their ethical  
analysis we have     certainly gained   
nothing during the last three centuries4
 ,the     principle upon which these    
precepts of conduct are founded is not  
etiquette or fashion1 but respect for   
the sensibilities of others4     ,it    
would be difficult to compose a more    
philosophical treatise on     the lesser

 duties imposed upon us by the          
conditions of society--such     minute  
matters as the proper way to blow the   
nose or use the napkin1     being       
referred to the one rule of acting so as
 to cause no     inconvenience to our   
neighbors4  ,in the opening of his      
',cortegiano' ,castiglione introduces us
 to the court of ,urbino--refined1      
chivalrous1 witty1 cultivated1          
gentle--confessedly the purest and most 
elevated court in ,italy4 ,he brings    
together the ,duchess ,elizabetta       
,gonzaga2 ,emilia ,pia1 wife of ,antonio
 da ,montefeltro1 whose wit is as keen  
and active as that of ,shakespeare's    
,beatrice2 ,pietro ,bembo1 the          
,ciceronian dictator of letters in the  
sixteenth century2 ,bernardo ,bibbiena1 
,berni's patron1 the author of          
',calandra1' whose portrait by ,raphael 
in the ,pitti enables us to estimate his
 innate love of humor2 ,giuliano de'    
,medici1 ,duke of ,nemours1 of whom the 
marble effigy by ,michael ,angelo still 

guards the tomb in ,san ,lorenzo2       
together with other knights and         
gentlemen less known to fame--two       
,genoese ,fregosi1 ,gasparo             
,pallavicini1 ,lodovico1 ,count of      
,canossa1 ,cesare ,gonzaga1 l' ,unico   
,aretino1 and ,fra ,serafino the        
humorist4 ,these ladies and gentlemen   
hold discourse together1 as was the     
custom of ,urbino1 in the drawing-room  
of the duchess during four consecutive  
evenings4 ,the theme of their           
conversation is the ,perfect ,courtier4 
,what must that man be who deserves the 
name of ,cortegiano1 and how must he    
conduct himself8 ,the subject of        
discussion carries us at once into a    
bygone age4 ,no one asks now what makes 
the perfect courtier2 but in ,italy of  
the ,renaissance1 owing to the changes  
from republican to despotic forms of    
government which we have traced in the  
foregoing pages1 the question was one of
 the most serious importance4 ,culture  
and good breeding1 the amenities of     

intercourse1 the pleasures of the       
intellect1 scarcely existed outside the 
sphere of courts2 for one effect of the 
,revival of ,learning had been to make  
the acquisition of polite knowledge     
difficult1 and the proletariat was less 
cultivated then than in the age of      
,dante4 ,men of ambition who desired to 
acquire a reputation whether as soldiers
 or as poets1 as politicians or as      
orators1 came to court and served their 
chosen prince in war or at the          
council-table1 or even in humbler       
offices of state4 ,to be able1          
therefore1 to conduct himself with      
dignity1 to know how to win the favor of
 his master and to secure the good-will 
of his peers1 to retain his personal    
honor and to make himself respected     
without being hated1 to inspire         
admiration and to avoid envy1 to        
outshine all honorable rivals in        
physical exercises and the craft of     
arms1 to maintain a credable equipage   
and retinue1 to be instructed in the    

arts of polite intercourse1 to converse 
with ease and wit1 to be at home alike  
in the tilting-yard1 the banquet-hall1  
the boudoir1 and the council-chamber1 to
 understand diplomacy1 to live before   
the world and yet to keep a fitting     
privacy and distance1--these and a      
hundred other matters were the climax   
and perfection of the culture of a      
gentleman4 ,courts being now the only   
centers in which it was possible for a  
man of birth and talents to shine1 it   
followed that the perfect courtier and  
the perfect gentleman were synonymous   
terms4 ,castiglione's treatise may      
therefore be called an essay on the     
character of the true gentleman as he   
appeared in ,italy4 ,eliminating all    
qualities that are special to any art or
 calling1 he defines those essential    
characteristics which were requisite for
 social excellence in the sixteenth     
century4 ,it is curious to observe how  
unchangeable are the laws of real       
politeness and refinement4              

,castiglione's courtier is1 with one or 
two points of immaterial difference1 a  
modern gentleman1 such as all men of    
education at the present day would wish 
to be4  ,the first requisite in the     
ideal courtier is that he must be noble4
 ,the ,count of ,canossa1 who proposed  
the subject of debate1 lays down this as
 an axiom4 ,gaspar ,pallavicino denies  
the necessity#a ,but after a lively     
discussion1 his opinion is overruled1 on
 the ground that1 although the gentle   
virtues may be found among people of    
obscure origin1 yet a man who intends to
 be a courtier must start with the      
prestige of noble birth4 ,next he must  
be skillful in the use of weapons and   
courageous in the battle-field4 ,he is  
not1 however1 bound to have the special 
science of a general1 nor must he in    
times of peace profess unique devotion  
to the art of war3 that would argue a   
coarseness of nature or vainglory4      
,again1 he must excel in all manly      
sports and exercises1 so as1 if         

possible1 to beat the actual professors 
of each game1 or feat of skill on their 
own ground4 ,yet here also he should    
avoid mere habits of display1 which are 
unworthy of a man who aspires to be a   
gentleman and not an athlete4 ,another  
indispensable quality is gracefulness in
 all he does and says4 ,in order to     
secure this elegance1 he must beware of 
every form of affectation3 ',let him    
shun affectation1 as though it were a   
most perilous rock2 and let him seek in 
everything a certain carelessness1 to   
hide his art1 and show that what he says
 or does comes from him without effort  
or deliberation4' ,this vice of         
affectation in all its kinds1 and the   
ways of avoiding it1 are discussed with 
a delicacy of insight which would do    
credit to a ,chesterfield of the present
 century1 sending forth his son into    
society for the first time4 ,castiglione
 goes so far as to condemn the pedantry 
of far-fetched words and the coxcombry  
of elaborate costumes1 as dangerous     

forms of affectation4 ,his courtier must
 speak and write with force and freedom4
 ,he need not be a purist in his use of 
language1 but may use such foreign      
phrases and modern idioms as are current
 in good society1 aiming only at        
simplicity and clearness4 ,he must add  
to excellence in arms polite culture in 
letters and sound scholarship1 avoiding 
that barbarism of the ,french1 who think
 it impossible to be a good soldier and 
an accomplished student at the same     
time4 ,yet his learning should be always
 held in reserve1 to give brilliancy and
 flavor to his wit1 and not brought     
forth for merely erudite parade4 ,he    
must have a practical acquaintance with 
music and dancing2 it would be well for 
him to sing and touch various stringed  
and keyed instruments1 so as to relax   
his own spirits and to make himself     
agreeable to ladies4 ,if he can compose 
verses and sing them to his own         
accompaniment1 so much the better4      
,finally1 he ought to understand the    

arts of painting and sculpture2 for     
criticism1 even though a man be neither 
poet nor artist1 is an elegant          
accomplishment4 ,such are the principal 
qualities of the ,cortegiano4      #a   
,italy1 earlier than any other ,european
 nation1 developed     theoretical      
democracy4 ,dante had defined true      
nobility to consist of     personal     
excellence in a man or in his ancestors2
 he also called     'nobilta' sister of 
'filosofia4' ,poggio in his ',dialogue  
,de     ,nobilitate1' into which he     
introduces ,niccolo ,niccoli and        
,lorenzo     de' ,medici 7,cosimo's     
brother71 decides that only merit       
constitutes     true nobility4 ,hawking 
and hunting are far less noble          
occupations     than agriculture2       
descent from a long line of historic    
criminals is     no honor4 ,french and  
,english castle-life1 and the           
robber-knighthood     of ,germany1 he   
argues1 are barbarous4 ,lorenzo pleads  
the authority     of ,aristotle in favor

 of noble blood2 ,poggio contests the   
passage     quoted1 and shows the       
superiority of the ,latin word          
'nobilitas'     7distinction7 over the  
,greek term ,greek3 eugeneia 7good      
birth74     ,the several kinds of       
aristocracy in ,italy are then          
discussed4 ,in     ,naples the nobles   
despise business and idle their time    
away4 ,in ,rome     they manage their   
estates4 ,in ,venice and ,genoa they    
engage in     commerce4 ,in ,florence   
they either take to mercantile pursuits 
or     live upon the produce of their   
land in idleness4 ,the whole way of     
looking at the subject betrays a liberal
 and scientific spirit1     wholly free 
from prejudice4 ,machiavelli            
7',discorsi1' i4 #ee7 is very     severe
 on the aristocracy1 whom he defines as 
'those who live in     idleness on the  
produce of their estates1 without       
applying     themselves to agriculture  
or to any other useful occupation4' ,he 
points out that the ,venetian nobles are

 not properly so called1     since they 
are merchants4 ,the different districts 
of ,italy had     widely different      
conceptions of nobility4 ,naples was    
always     aristocratic1 owing to its   
connection with ,france and ,spain4     
,ferrara     maintained the chivalry of 
courts4 ,those states1 on the other     
hand1     which had been democratized1  
like ,florence1 by republican customs1  
or like ,milan1 by despotism1 set less  
value on birth than on talent     and   
wealth4 ,it was not until the age of the
 ,spanish ascendency     7latter half of
 sixteenth century7 that ,cosimo ,i4    
withdrew the young     ,florentines from
 their mercantile pursuits and enrolled 
them in his     order of ,s4 ,stephen1  
and that the patricians of ,genoa       
carried     daggers inscribed 'for the  
chastisement of villeins4'  ,the        
precepts which are laid down for the use
 of his acquirements and his general    
conduct1 resolve themselves into a      
strong recommendation of tact and       

caution4 ,the courtier must study the   
nature of his prince1 and show the      
greatest delicacy in approaching him1 so
 as to secure his favor1 and to avoid   
wearying him with importunities4 ,in    
tendering his advice he must be modest2 
but he should make a point of never     
sacrificing his own liberty of judgment4
 ,to obey his master in dishonorable    
things would be a derogation from his   
dignity2 and if he discovers any        
meanness in the character of the prince1
 it is better to quit his service4#a ,a 
courtier must be careful to create      
beforehand a favorable opinion of       
himself in places he intends to visit4  
,much stress is laid upon his choice of 
clothes and the equipment of his        
servants4 ,in these respects he should  
aim at combining individuality with     
simplicity1 so as to produce an         
impression of novelty without           
extravagance or eccentricity4 ,he must  
be very cautious in his friendships1    
selecting his associates with care1 and 

admitting only one or two to intimacy4  
#a ,from many passages in the           
',cortegiano' it is clear that          
,castiglione is painting the character  
of an independent gentleman1     to whom
 self-culture in all humane excellence  
is of far more     importance than the  
acquisition of the art of pleasing4     
,circumstances made the life of courts  
the best obtainable2 but there     is no
 trace of ,french 'oeil-de-boeuf'       
servility4  ,in connection with the     
general subject of tact and taste1 the  
,cardinal ,bibbiena introduces an       
elaborate discussion of the different   
sorts of jokes1 which proves the high   
value attached in ,italy to all displays
 of wit4 ,it appears that even practical
 jokes were not considered in bad taste1
 but that irreverence and grossness were
 tabooed as boorish4 ,mere obscenity is 
especially condemned1 though it must be 
admitted that many jests approved of at 
that time would now appear intolerable4 
,but the essential point to be aimed at 

then1 as now1 was the promotion of mirth
 by cleverness1 and not by mere tricks  
and clumsy inventions4  ,in bringing    
this chapter on ,italian ,despotism in  
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries  
to a conclusion1 it will be well to cast
 a backward glance over the ground which
 has been traversed4 ,a great internal  
change took place and was accomplished  
during this period4 ,the free burghs    
which flourished in the twelfth and     
thirteenth centuries1 gave place to     
tyrannies1 illegal for the most part in 
their origin1 and maintained by force4  
,in the absence of dynastic right1      
violence and craft were instruments by  
means of which the despots founded and  
preserved their power4 ,yet the         
sentiments of the ,italians at large    
were not unfavorable to the growth of   
principalities4 ,on the contrary1 the   
forces which move society1 the inner    
instinct of the nation1 and the laws of 
progress and development1 tended year by
 year more surely to the consolidation  

of despotisms4 ,city after city lost its
 faculty for self-government1 until at  
last ,florence1 so long the center of   
political freedom1 fell beneath the yoke
 of her merchant princes4 ,it is        
difficult for the historian not to feel 
either a monarchical or a republican    
bias4 ,yet this internal and gradual    
revolution in the states of ,italy may  
be regarded neither as a matter for     
exultation in the cause of sovereignty1 
nor for lamentation over the decay of   
liberty4 ,it was but part of an         
inevitable process which the ,italians  
shared1 according to the peculiarities  
of their condition1 in common with the  
rest of ,europe4  ,in tracing the       
history of the ,visconti and the        
,sforzas our attention has been         
naturally directed to the private and   
political vices of the despot4 ,as a    
contrast to so much violence and        
treachery1 we have studied the character
 of one of the best princes produced in 
this period4 ,yet it must be borne in   

mind that the ,duke of ,urbino was far  
less representative of his class than   
,francesco ,sforza1 and that the aims   
and notions of ,gian ,galeazzo ,visconti
 formed the ideal to which an ,italian  
prince of spirit1 if he had the         
opportunity1 aspired4 ,the history of   
art and literature in this period       
belongs to another branch of the        
inquiry2 and a separate chapter must be 
devoted to the consideration of         
political morality as theorized by the  
,italians at the end of these two       
centuries of intrigue4 ,but having      
insisted on the violence and vices of   
the tyrants1 it seemed necessary to     
close the review of their age by        
describing the ,italian nobleman as     
court-life made him4 ,castiglione shows 
him at the very best3 the darker shadows
 of the picture are omitted2 the        
requirements of the most finished       
culture and the tone of the purest      
society in ,italy are depicted with the 
elegance of a scholar and the taste of a

 true gentleman4 ,the fact remains that 
the various influences at work in ,italy
 during the age of the despots had      
rendered the conception of this ideal   
possible4 ,nowhere else in ,europe could
 a portrait of so much dignity and      
sweetness1 combining the courage of a   
soldier with the learning of a student  
and the accomplishments of an artist1   
the liberality of freedom with the      
courtesies of service1 have been painted
 from the life and been recognized as   
the model which all members of polite   
society should imitate4 ,nobler         
characters and more heroic virtues might
 have been produced by the ,italian     
commonwealths if they had continued to  
enjoy their ancient freedom of          
self-government4 ,meanwhile we must     
render this justice to ,italian         
despotism1 that beneath its shadow was  
developed the type of the modern        
gentleman4     ,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,the   
,,republics4   ,the different           
,physiognomies of the ,italian          

,republics--,the ,similarity of their   
,character as ,municipalities--,the     
,rights of ,citizenship--,causes of     
,disturbance in the                     
,commonwealths--,belief in the          
,plasticity of ,constitutions--,example 
of ,genoa--,savonarola's                
,constitution--,machiavelli's ,discourse
 to ,leo ,x4--,complexity of ,interests 
and ,factions--,example of              
,siena--,small ,size of ,italian        
,cities--,mutual ,mistrust and ,jealousy
 of the ,commonwealths--,the notable    
,exception of ,venice--,constitution of 
,venice--,her wise ,system of           
,government--,contrast of ,florentine   
,vicissitudes--,the ,magistracies of    
,florence--,balia and ,parlamento--,the 
,arts of the ,medici--,comparison of    
,venice and ,florence in respect to     
,intellectual ,activity and             
,mobility--,parallels between ,greece   
and ,italy--,essential                  
,differences--,the ,mercantile          
,character of ,italian ,burghs--,the    

',trattato del ,governo della           
,famiglia'--,the ,bourgeois ,tone of    
,florence1 and the ,ideal of a          
,burgher--,mercenary ,arms4   ,the      
despotisms of ,italy present the        
spectacle of states founded upon force1 
controlled and molded by the will of    
princes1 whose object in each case has  
been to maintain usurped power by means 
of mercenary arms and to deprive the    
people of political activity4 ,thus the 
,italian principalities1 however they   
may differ in their origin1 the         
character of their administration1 or   
their relation to ,church and ,empire1  
all tend to one type4 ,the egotism of   
the despot1 conscious of his selfish    
aims and deliberate in their execution1 
formed the motive principle in all      
alike4  ,the republics on the contrary  
are distinguished by strongly marked    
characteristics4 ,the history of each is
 the history of the development of      
certain specific qualities1 which       
modified the type of municipal          

organization common to them all4 ,their 
differences consist chiefly in the      
varying forms which institutions of a   
radically similar design assumed1 and   
also in those peculiar local conditions 
which made the ,venetians ,levant       
merchants1 the ,perugians captains of   
adventure1 the ,genoese admirals and    
pirates1 the ,florentines bankers1 and  
so forth4 ,each commonwealth contracted 
a certain physiognomy through the       
prolonged action of external            
circumstances and by the maintenance of 
some political predilection4 ,thus      
,siena1 excluded from maritime commerce 
by its situation1 remained1 broadly     
speaking1 faithful to the ,ghibelline   
party2 while ,perugia at the distance of
 a few miles1 equally debarred from     
mercantile expansion1 maintained the    
,guelf cause with pertinacity4 ,the     
annals of the one city record a long    
succession of complicated party         
quarrels1 throughout the course of which
 the ,state continued free2 the ,guelf  

leanings of the other exposed it to the 
gradual encroachment of the ,popes1     
while its civic independence was        
imperiled and enfeebled by the contests 
of a few noble families4 ,lucca and     
,pistoja in like manner are strongly    
contrasted1 the latter persisting in a  
state of feud and faction which         
delivered it bound hand and foot to     
,florence1 the former after many        
vicissitudes attaining internal quiet   
under the dominion of a narrow          
oligarchy4  ,but while recognizing these
 differences1 which manifest themselves 
partly in what may be described as      
national characteristics1 and partly in 
constitutional varieties1 we may trace  
one course of historical progression in 
all except ,venice4 ,this is what       
natural philosophers might call the     
morphology of ,italian commonwealths4   
,to begin with1 the ,italian republics  
were all municipalities4 ,that is1 like 
the ,greek states1 they consisted of a  
small body of burghers1 who alone had   

the privileges of government1 together  
with a larger population1 who1 though   
they paid taxes and shared the          
commercial and social advantages of the 
city had no voice in its administration4
 ,citizenship was hereditary in those   
families by whom it had been once       
acquired1 each republic having its own  
criterion of the right1 and guarding it 
jealously against the encroachments of  
non-qualified persons4 ,in ,florence1   
for example1 the burgher must belong to 
one of the ,arts4#a ,in ,venice his name
 must be inscribed upon the ,golden     
,book4 ,the rivalries to which this     
system of municipal government gave rise
 were a chief source of internal        
weakness to the commonwealths4 ,nor did 
the burghers see far enough or          
philosophically enough to recruit their 
numbers by a continuous admission of new
 members from the wealthy but           
unfranchised citizens4#b ,this alone    
could have saved them from the death by 
dwindling and decay to which they were  

exposed4 ,the ,italian conception of    
citizenship may be set forth in the     
words of one of their acutest critics1  
,donato ,giannotti1 who writes          
concerning the electors in a state3#c   
',non dico tutti gli abitanti della     
terra1 ma tutti quelli che hanno grado2 
cioe che hanno acquistato1 o eglino o   
gli antichi loro1 faculta d'ottenere i  
magistrate2 e in somma che sono         
participes imperandi et parendi4' ,no   
,italian had any notion of              
representative government in our sense  
of the term4 ,the problem was always how
 to put the administration of the state 
most conveniently into the hands of the 
fittest among those who were qualified  
as burghers1 and how to give each       
burgher his due share in the government2
 not how to select men delegated from   
the whole population4 ,the wisest among 
their philosophical politicians sought  
to establish a mixed constitution1 which
 should combine the advantages of       
principality1 aristocracy1 and          

democracy4 ,starting with the fact that 
the eligible burghers numbered some     
#e1jjj1 and with the assumption that    
among these the larger portion would be 
content with freedom and a voice in the 
administration1 while a certain body    
were ambitious of honorable             
distinctions1 and a few aspired to the  
pomp of titular presidency1 they thought
 that these several desires might be    
satisfied and reconciled in a republic  
composed of a general assembly of the   
citizens1 a select ,senate1 and a ,doge4
 ,in these theories the influence of    
,aristotelian studies#d and the example 
of ,venice are apparent4 ,at the same   
time it is noticeable that no account   
whatever is taken of the remaining      
#ie1jjj who contributed their wealth and
 industry to the prosperity of the      
city4#e ,the theory of the ,state rests 
upon no abstract principle like that of 
the divine right of the ,empire1 which  
determined ,dante's speculation in the  
,middle ,ages1 or that of the divine    

right of kings1 with which we           
,englishmen were made familiar in the   
seventeenth century1 or that again of   
the rights of men1 on which the         
democracies of ,france and ,america were
 founded4 ,the right contemplated by the
 ,italian politicians is that of the    
burghers to rule the commonwealth for   
their advantage4 ,as a matter of fact1  
,venice was the only ,italian republic  
which maintained this kind of oligarchy 
with success through centuries of       
internal tranquillity4 ,the rest were   
exposed to a series of revolutions which
 ended at last in their enslavement4    
#a ,villari1 ,life of ,savonarola1 vol4 
i4 p4 #bei1 may be consulted            
concerning the further distinction of   
,benefiziati1 ,statuali1                
,aggravezzati1 at ,florence4 ,see also  
,varchi1 vol4 i4 pp4 #afe-gj4           
,consult ,appendix ii4      #b ,it must 
be mentioned that a provision for       
admitting deserving     individuals to  
citizenship formed part of the          

,florentine     ,constitution of #adie4 
,the principle was not1 however1        
recognized at     large by the          
republics4      #c ,on the ,government  
of ,siena 7vol4 i4 p4 #cea of his       
collected     works73 ',i say not all   
the inhabitants of the state1 but all   
those     who have rank2 that is1 who   
have acquired1 either in their own      
persons or through their ancestors1 the 
right of taking magistracy1     in short
 those who are participes imperandi et  
parendi4' ,what has     already been    
said in ,chapter ,,ii4 about the origin 
of the ,italian     ,republics will     
explain this definition of burghership4 
#d ,it would be very interesting to     
trace in detail the influence of        
,aristotle's ,politics upon the         
practical and theoretical statists of   
the ,renaissance4 ,the whole of         
,giannotti's works2 the discourses of   
de' ,pazzi1 ,vettori1 ,acciaiuoli1 and  
the two ,guicciardini on the     ,state 
of ,florence 7,arch4 ,st4 ,it4 vol4 i472

 and ,machiavelli's     ,discorso sul   
,reggimento di ,firenze1 addressed to   
,leo ,x41     illustrate in general the 
working of ,aristotelian ideas4 ,at     
,florence1 in #adie1 ,savonarola urged  
his ,constitution on the burghers     by
 appeals to ,aristotle's doctrine and to
 the example of ,venice see     ,segni1 
p4 #ae1 and compare the speeches of     
,pagolo ,antonio ,soderini     and      
,guido ,antonio ,vespucci1 in           
,guicciardini's ,istoria d' ,italia1    
vol4 ii4 p4 #aee of ,rosini's edition1  
on the same occasion4 ,segni1     p4    
#hf1 mentions a speech of ,pier ,filippo
 ,pandolfini1 the arguments     of      
which1 he says1 were drawn from         
,aristotle and illustrated by           
,florentine history4 ,the ,italian      
doctrinaires seem to have imagined      
that1 by clever manipulation of existing
 institutions1 they could     construct 
a state similar to that called ,greek3  
politeia by     ,aristotle1 in which all
 sections of the community should be    

fairly     represented4 ,venice1        
meanwhile1 was a practical instance of  
the     possible prosperity of such a   
constitution with a strong              
oligarchical complexion4      #e ,these 
numbers1 #ajj1jjj for the population1   
and #e1jjj for the     burghers1 are    
stated roundly4 ,in ,florence1 when the 
,consiglio     ,maggiore was opened in  
#adie1 it was found that the            
,florentines     altogether numbered    
about #ij1jjj1 while the qualified      
burghers were     not more than #c1bjj4 
,in #aeha the population of ,venice     
numbered     #acd1hij1 whereof #a1hdc   
were adult patricians see below1 p4     
#bji4  ,intolerant of foreign rule1 and 
blinded by the theoretical supremacy of 
the ,empire to the need of looking      
beyond its own municipal institutions1  
each city in the twelfth century sought 
to introduce such a system into the     
already existing machinery of the burgh 
as should secure its independence and   
place the government in the hands of its

 citizens4 ,but the passing of bad laws1
 or the non-observance of wise          
regulations1 or1 again1 the passions of 
individuals and parties1 soon disturbed 
the equilibrium established in these    
little communities4 ,desire for more    
power than their due prompted one       
section of the burghers to violence4    
,the love of independence1 or simple    
insubordination1 drove another portion  
to resistance4 ,matters were further    
complicated by resident or neighboring  
nobles4 ,then followed the wars of      
factions1 proscriptions1 and exiles4    
,having banished their rivals1 the party
 in power for the time being remodeled  
the institutions of the republic to suit
 their own particular interest4         
,meanwhile the opposition in exile      
fomented every element of discontent    
within the city1 which this             
short-sighted policy was sure to foster4
 ,sudden revolutions were the result1   
attended in most cases by massacres     
consequent upon the victorious return of

 the outlaws4 ,to the action of these   
peccant humors--umori is the word       
applied by the elder ,florentine        
historians to the troubles attendant    
upon factions--must be added the        
jealousy of neighboring cities1 the     
cupidity of intriguing princes1 the     
partisanship of the ,guelfs and         
,ghibellines1 the treason and the       
egotism of mercenary generals1 and the  
false foreign policy which led the      
,italians to rely for aid on ,france or 
,germany or ,spain4 ,little by little1  
under the prolonged action of these     
disturbing forces1 each republic in turn
 became weaker1 more confused in policy1
 more mistrustful of itself and its own 
citizens1 more subdivided into petty but
 ineradicable factions1 until at last it
 fell a prey either to some foreign     
potentate1 or to the ,church1 or else to
 an ambitious family among its members4 
,the small scale of the ,italian        
commonwealths1 taken singly1 favored    
rapid change1 and gave an undue value to

 distinguished wealth or unscrupulous   
ability among the burghers4 ,the        
oscillation between democracy and       
aristocracy and back again1 the         
repetition of exhausting discords1 and  
the demoralizing influences of          
occasional despotism1 so broke the      
spirit of each commonwealth that in the 
end the citizens forgot their ancient   
zeal for liberty1 and were glad to      
accept tyranny for the sake of the      
protection it professed to extend to    
life and property4  ,to these           
vicissitudes all the republics of       
,italy1 with the exception of ,venice1  
were subject4 ,in like manner1 they     
shared in common the belief that        
constitutions could be made at will1    
that the commonwealth was something     
plastic1 capable of taking the          
complexion and the form impressed upon  
it by speculative politicians4 ,so      
firmly rooted was this conviction1 and  
so highly self-conscious had the        
statesmen of ,italy become1 partly by   

the experience of their shifting        
history1 and partly by their study of   
antiquity1 that the idea of the ,state  
as something possessed of organic       
vitality can scarcely be said to have   
existed among them4 ,the principle of   
gradual growth1 which gives its value1  
for example1 to the ,english            
,constitution1 was not recognized by the
 ,italians4 ,nor again had their past   
history taught them the necessity1 so   
well defined and recognized by the      
,greek statesmen1 of maintaining a fixed
 character at any cost in republics1    
which1 in spite of their small scale1   
aspired to permanence4#a ,the most      
violent and arbitrary changes which the 
speculative faculty of a theorist could 
contrive1 or which the prejudices of a  
party could impose1 seemed to them not  
only possible but natural4      #a ,the 
value of the ,greek3 ethos was not      
wholly unrecognized by     political    
theorists4 ,giannotti 7vol4 i4 p4 #afj1 
and vol4 ii4 p4 #ac71     for example   

translates it by the word               
'temperamento4'  ,a very notable        
instance of this tendency to treat the  
,state as a plastic product of political
 ingenuity1 is afforded by the annals of
 ,genoa4 ,after suffering for centuries 
from the vicissitudes common to all     
,italian free cities--discords between  
the ,guelf and ,ghibelline factions1    
between the nobles and the people1      
between the enfranchised citizens and   
the proletariat--after submitting to the
 rule of foreign masters1 especially of 
,france and ,milan1 and after being torn
 in pieces by the rival houses of       
,adorni and ,fregosi1 the ,genoese at   
last received liberty from the hands of 
,andrea ,doria in #aebh4 ,they then     
proceeded to form a new ,constitution   
for the protection of their freedom2 and
 in order to destroy the memory of the  
old parties which had caused their ruin1
 they obliterated all their family names
 with the exception of twenty1 under one
 or other of which the whole body of    

citizens were bound to enroll           
themselves4#a ,this was nothing less    
than an attempt to create new gentes by 
effacing the distinctions established by
 nature and tradition4 ,to parallel a   
scheme so artificial in its method1 we  
must go back to the history of ,sicyon  
and the changes wrought in the ,dorian  
tribes by ,cleisthenes4      #a ,see    
,varchi1 ,st4 ,f4 lib4 vii4 cap4 #c4    
,short of such violent expedients as    
these1 the whole history of towns like  
,florence reveals a succession of       
similar attempts4 ,when1 for example1   
the ,medici had been expelled in #adid1 
the ,florentines found themselves       
without a working constitution1 and     
proceeded to frame one4 ,the matter was 
at first referred to two eminent        
jurists1 ,guido ,antonio ,vespucci and  
,paolo ,antonio ,soderini1 who argued   
for and against the establishment of a  
,grand ,council on the ,venetian model1 
before the ,signory in the ,palazzo4 ,at
 this juncture ,savonarola in his sermon

 for the third ,sunday in ,advent#a     
suggested that each of the sixteen      
,companies should form a plan1 that     
these should be submitted to the        
,gonfaloniers1 who should choose the    
four best1 and that from these four the 
,signory should select the most perfect4
 ,at the same time he pronounced himself
 in favor of an imitation of the        
,venetian ,consiglio ,grande4 ,his      
scheme1 as is well known1 was adopted4#b
 ,running through the whole political   
writings of the ,florentine philosophers
 and historians1 we find the same belief
 in artificial and arbitrary alterations
 of the state4 ,machiavelli pronounces  
his opinion that1 in spite of the       
corruption of ,florence1 a wise         
legislator might effect her salvation4#c
 ,skill alone was needed4 ,there lay the
 wax2 the scientific artist had only to 
set to his hand and model it4      #a   
,december #ab1 #adid4      #b ,segni    
7pp4 #ae1 #af7 says that ,savonarola    
deserved to be honored     for this     

,constitution by the ,florentines no    
less than ,numa by the     ,romans4     
,varchi 7vol4 i4 p4 #afi7 judges the    
,consiglio ,grande to have     been the 
only good institution ever adopted by   
the ,florentines4 ,we     may compare   
,giannotti 7,sopra la ,repubblica di    
,siena p4 #cdf7 for a     similar       
opinion4 ,guicciardini1 both in the     
,storia d' ,italia and     the ,storia  
di ,firenze1 gives to ,savonarola the   
whole credit of     having passed this  
,constitution4 ,nardi and ,pitti might  
be cited to     the same effect4 ,none  
of these critics doubt for a moment that
 what     was theoretically best ought  
to have been found practically          
feasible4      #c ,st4 ,fior4 lib4 iii4 
#a4 ',firenze a quel grado e pervenuta  
che     facilmente da uno savio dator di
 leggi potrebbe essere in qualunque     
forma di governo riordinata4'  ,this is 
the dominant thought which pervades his 
treatise on the right ordering of the   
,state of ,florence addressed to ,leo   

,x4#a ,a more consummate piece of       
political mechanism than that devised by
 ,machiavelli in this essay can hardly  
be imagined4 ,it is like a clock with   
separate actions for hours1 minutes1    
seconds1 and the revolutions of the moon
 and planets4 ,all the complicated      
interest of parties and classes in the  
state1 the traditional pre-eminence of  
the ,medicean family1 the rights of the 
,church1 and the relation of ,florence  
to foreign powers1 have been carefully  
considered and provided for4 ,the defect
 of this consummate work of art is that 
it remained a mere machine1 devised to  
meet the exigencies of the moment1 and  
powerless against such perturbations as 
the characters and passions of living   
men must introduce into the working of a
 ,commonwealth4 ,had ,florence been a   
colony established in a new country with
 no neighbors but savages1 or had it    
been an institution protected from      
without against the cupidity of selfish 
rivals1 then such a constitution might  

have been imposed on it with profit4    
,but to expect that a city dominated by 
ancient prejudices1 connected by a      
thousand subtle ties not only with the  
rest of ,italy but also with the states 
of ,europe1 and rotten to the core in   
many of its most important members1     
could be restored to pristine vigor by a
 doctrinaire however able1 was          
chimerical4 ,the course of events       
contradicted this vain expectation4     
,meanwhile a few clear-headed and       
positive observers were dimly conscious 
of the instability of merely speculative
 constitution-making4 ,varchi1 in a     
weighty passage on the defects of the   
,florentine republic1 points out that   
its weakness arose partly from the      
violence of factions1 but also in a     
great measure from the implicit faith   
reposed in doctors of the law4#b ,the   
history of the ,florentine              
,constitution1 he says1 is the history  
of changes effected by successions of   
mutually hostile parties1 each in its   

own interest subverting the work of its 
predecessor1 and each in turn relying on
 the theories of jurists1 who without   
practical genius for politics make      
arbitrary rules for the control of      
state-affairs4 ,yet even ,varchi shares 
the prevailing conviction that the      
proper method is first to excogitate a  
perfect political system1 and then to   
impress that like a stamp upon the      
material of the commonwealth4 ,his      
criticism is directed against lawyers1  
not against philosophers and practical  
diplomatists4      #a ,the language of  
this treatise is noteworthy4 ,after     
discoursing     on the differences      
between republics and principalities1   
and showing     that ,florence is more  
suited to the former1 and ,milan to the 
latter1     form of government1 he says3
 ',ma perche fare principato dove       
starebbe bene repubblica1' etc4 444 'si 
perche ,firenze e subietto     attissimo
 di pigliare questa forma1' etc4 ,the   
phrases in italics     show how         

thoroughly ,machiavelli regarded the    
commonwealth as     plastic4 ,we may    
compare the whole of ,guicciardini's    
elaborate essay     ',del ,reggimento di
 ,firenze' 7,op4 ,ined4 vol4 ii471 as   
well as the     ',discourses' addressed 
by ,alessandro de' ,pazzi1 ,francesco   
,vettori1     ,ruberto ,acciaiuoli1     
,francesco ,guicciardini1 and ,luigi    
,guicciardini1     to the ,cardinal     
,giulio de' ,medici1 on the settlement  
of the     ,florentine ,constitution in 
#aebb 7,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 i474 ,not one 
of     these men doubted that his       
nostrum would effect the cure of the    
republic undermined by slow consumption4
      #b ,st4 ,fior4 lib4 vi4 cap4 #d2  
vol4 i4 p4 #bid4  ,in this sense and to 
this extent were the republics of ,italy
 the products of constructive skill2 and
 great was the political sagacity educed
 among the ,italians by this state of   
things4 ,the citizens reflected on the  
past1 compared their institutions with  
those of neighboring states1 studied    

antiquity1 and applied the whole of     
their intelligence to the one aim of    
giving a certain defined form to the    
commonwealth4 ,prejudice and passion    
distorted their schemes1 and each       
successive modification of the          
government was apt to have a merely     
temporary object4 ,thus the republics1  
as ,i have already hinted1 lacked that  
safeguard which the ,greek states gained
 by clinging each to its own character4 
,the ,greeks were no less self-conscious
 in their political practice and        
philosophy2 but after the age of the    
,nomothetae1 when they had experienced  
nearly every phase through which a      
commonwealth can pass1 they recognized  
the importance of maintaining the       
traditional character of their          
constitutions inviolate4 ,sparta adhered
 with singular tenacity to the code of  
,lycurgus2 and the ,athenians1 while    
they advanced from step to step in the  
development of a democracy1 were bent on
 realizing the ideal they had set before

 them4  ,religion1 which in ,greece1    
owing to its local and genealogical     
character1 was favorable to this        
stability1 proved in ,italy one of the  
most potent causes of disorder4 ,the    
,greek city grew up under the protection
 of a local deity1 whose blood had been 
transmitted in many instances to the    
chief families of the burgh4 ,this      
ancestral god gave independence and     
autonomy to the ,state2 and when the    
,nomothetes appeared1 he was understood 
to have interpreted and formulated the  
inherent law that animated the body     
politic4 ,thus the commonwealth was a   
divinely founded and divinely directed  
organism1 self-sufficing1 with no       
dependence upon foreign sanction1 with  
no question of its right4 ,the ,italian 
cities1 on the contrary1 derived their  
law from the common jus of the ,imperial
 system1 their religion from the common 
font of ,christianity4 ,they could not  
forget their origin1 wrung with         
difficulty from existing institutions   

which preceded them and which still     
remained ascendant in the world of      
civilized humanity4 ,the self-reliant   
autonomy of a ,greek state1 owing       
allegiance only to its protective deity 
and its inherent ,nomos1 had no parallel
 in ,italy outside ,venice4 ,all the    
other republics were conscious of       
dependence on external power1 and       
regarded themselves as ab initio        
artificial rather than natural          
creations4  ,long before a true         
constitutional complexion had been given
 to any ,italian ,state but ,venice1    
parties had sprung up1 and taken such   
firm root that the subsequent history of
 the republics was the record of their  
factions4 ,to this point ,i have already
 alluded2 but it is too important to be 
passed by without further illustration4 
,the great division of ,guelf and       
,ghibelline introduced a vital discord  
into each section of the people1 by     
establishing two antagonistic theories  
respecting the right of supreme         

government4 ,then followed subordinate  
quarrels of the nobles with the         
townsfolk1 schisms between the wealthier
 and poorer burghers1 jealousies of the 
artisans and merchants1 and factions for
 one or other eminent family4 ,these    
different elements of discord succeed   
each other with astonishing rapidity2   
and as each gives place to another1 it  
leaves a portion of its mischief        
rankling in the body politic1 until last
 there remains no possibility of        
self-government4#a ,the history of      
,florence1 or ,genoa1 or ,pistoja would 
supply us with ample illustrations of   
each of these obstacles to the formation
 of a solid political temperament4 ,but 
,siena furnishes perhaps the best       
example of the extent to which such     
feuds could disturb a state4 ,the way in
 which this city conducted its          
government for a long course of years1  
justified ,varchi in calling it 'a      
jumble1 so to speak1 and chaos of       
republics1 rather than a well-ordered   

and disciplined commonwealth4'#b ,the   
discords of ,siena were wholly internal4
 ,they proceeded from the wrangling of  
five successive factions1 or ,monti1 as 
the people of ,siena called them4 ,the  
first of these was termed the ,monte de'
 ,nobili2 for ,siena1 like all ,italian 
free burghs1 had originally been        
controlled by certain noble families1   
who formed the people and excluded the  
other citizens from offices of state4   
,in course of time the plebeians        
acquired wealth1 and the nobles split   
into parties among themselves4 ,to such 
a pitch were the quarrels of these      
nobles carried1 that at last they found 
it impossible to conduct the government1
 and agreed to relinquish it for a      
season to nine plebeian families chosen 
from among the richest and most         
influential4 ,this gave rise to the     
,monte de' ,nove1 who were supposed to  
hold the city in commission for the     
nobles1 while the latter devoted        
themselves to the prosecution of their  

private animosities4 ,weakened by feuds1
 the patricians fell a prey to their own
 creatures1 the ,monte de' ,nove1 who in
 their turn ruled ,siena like oligarchs1
 refusing to give up the power which had
 been intrusted to them4 ,in time1      
however1 their insolence became         
insufferable4 ,the populace rebelled1   
deposed the ,nove1 and invested with    
supreme authority twelve other families 
of mixed origin4 ,the ,monte de'        
,dodici1 created after this fashion1 ran
 nearly the same course as their        
predecessors1 except that they appear to
 have administered the city equitably4  
,getting tired of this form of          
government1 the people next superseded  
them by sixteen men1 chosen from the    
dregs of the plebeians1 who assumed the 
title of ,riformatori4 ,this new ,monte 
de' ,sedici or de' ,riformatori showed  
much integrity in their management of   
affairs1 but1 as is the wont of red     
republicans1 they were not averse to    
bloodshed4 ,their cruelty caused the    

people1 with the help of the surviving  
patrician houses1 together with the     
,nove and the ,dodici1 to rise and shake
 them off4 ,the last governing body     
formed in this diabolical five-part     
fugue of crazy statecraft received the  
name of ,monte del ,popolo1 because it  
included all who were then eligible to  
the ,great ,council of the ,state4 ,yet 
the factions of the elder ,monti still  
survived2 and to what extent they had   
absorbed the population may be gathered 
from the fact that1 on the defeat of the
 ,riformatori1 #d1ejj of the ,sienese   
were exiled4 ,it must be borne in mind  
that with the creation of each new      
,monte a new party formed itself in the 
city1 and the traditions of these       
parties were handed down from generation
 to generation4 ,at last1 in the        
beginning of the sixteenth century1     
,pandolfo ,petrucci1 who belonged to the
 ,monte de' ,nove1 made himself in      
reality1 if not in name1 the master of  
,siena1 and the ,duke of ,florence1     

later on in the same century extended   
his dominion over the republic4#c ,there
 is something almost grotesque in the   
bare recital of these successive        
factions2 yet we must remember that     
beneath their dry names they conceal all
 elements of class and party discord4   
#a ,machiavelli1 in spite of his love of
 freedom1 says 7,st4 ,fior4     lib4    
vii4 #a73 ',coloro che sperano che una  
repubblica possa essere     unita assai 
di questa speranza s'ingannano4'      #b
 ,vol4 i4 pp4 #cbd-cj4 ,see1 too1       
,segni1 p4 #bac1 and ,giannotti1 vol4   
i4 p4 #cda4 ,de ,comines describes      
,siena thus3 ',la ville est de tout     
temps en partialite1 et se gouverne plus
 follement que ville     d',italie4'    
#c ,siena capitulated1 in #aeee1 to the 
,spanish troops1 who resigned     it to 
,duke ,cosmo ,i4 in #aeeg4  ,what       
rendered the growth of parties still    
more pernicious1 as already mentioned1  
was the smallness of ,italian republics4
 ,varchi reckoned #aj1jjj fuochi in     

,florence1 #ej1jjj bocche of seculars1  
and #bj1jjj bocche of religious4        
,according to ,zuccagni ,orlandini there
 were #ij1jjj ,florentines in #adie1 of 
whom only #c1bjj were burghers4 ,venice1
 according to ,giannotti1 counted at    
about the same period #bj1jjj fuochi1   
each of which supplied the state with   
two men fit to bear arms4 ,these        
calculations1 though obviously rough and
 based upon no accurate returns1 show   
that a republic of #ajj1jjj souls1 of   
whom #e1jjj should be citizens1 would   
have taken distinguished rank among     
,italian cities4#a ,in a state of this  
size1 divided by feuds of every kind1   
from the highest political antagonism   
down to the meanest personal antipathy1 
changes were very easily effected4 ,the 
slightest disturbance of the equilibrium
 in any quarter made itself felt        
throughout the city4#b ,the opinions of 
each burgher were known and calculated4 
,individuals1 by their wealth1 their    
power of aiding or of suppressing poorer

 citizens1 and the force of their       
personal ability1 acquired a perilous   
importance4 ,at ,florence the political 
balance was so nicely adjusted that the 
ringing of the great bell in the        
,palazzo meant a revolution1 and to     
raise the cry of ,palle in the streets  
was tantamount to an outbreak in the    
,medicean interest4 ,to call aloud      
,popolo e liberta was nothing less than 
riot punishable by law4 ,segni tells how
 ,jacopino ,alamanni1 having used these 
words near the statue of ,david on the  
,piazza in a personal quarrel1 was      
beheaded for it the same day4#c ,the    
secession of three or four families from
 one faction to another altered the     
political situation of a whole republic1
 and led perhaps to the exile of a sixth
 part of the enfranchised population4#d 
,after this would follow the intrigues  
of the outlaws eager to return1         
including negotiations with lukewarm    
party-leaders in the city1 alliances    
with hostile states1 and contracts which

 compromised the future conduct of the  
commonwealth in the interest of a few   
revengeful citizens4 ,the biographies of
 such men as ,cosimo de' ,medici the    
elder and ,filippo ,strozzi throw the   
strongest light upon these delicacies   
and complexities of party politics in   
,florence4      #a ,it may be worth     
while to compare the accurate return of 
the     ,venetian population in #aeha   
furnished by ,yriarte 7,vie d'un        
,patricien     de ,venise1 p4 #if74 ,the
 whole number of the inhabitants was    
#acd1fjj4     ,of these #a1hdc were     
adult patricians2 #d1cji women and      
children of     the patrician class2    
,cittadini of all ages and both sexes1  
#c1eec2     monks1 nuns1 and priests1   
#c1ifi2 ,jews1 #a1jdc2 beggars1 #ahg4   
#b ,we might mention1 as famous         
instances1 the ,neri and ,bianchi       
factions introduced into ,pistoja in    
#abif by a quarrel of the               
,cancellieri family1 the dismemberment  
of ,florence in #abae by a feud         

between the ,buondelmonti and ,amidei1  
the tragedy of ,imelda     ,lambertazzi1
 which upset ,bologna in #abgc1 the     
student riot which     nearly delivered 
,bologna into the hands of ,romeo de'   
,pepoli in #acba1     the whole action  
of the ,strozzi family at the period of 
the     extinction of ,florentine       
liberty1 the petty jealousies of the    
,cerchi     and ,donati detailed by     
,dino ,compagni1 in #abid4      #c      
,segni1 ,st4 ,fior4 p4 #ec4      #d ,as 
an instance1 take what ,marco ,foscari  
reported in #aebg to the     ,venetian  
,senate respecting the parties in       
,florence 7,rel4 ,ven4     serie ii4    
vol4 i4 p4 #gj74 ,the ,compagnacci1 one 
of the three great     parties1 only    
numbered #hjj persons4  ,in addition to 
the evils of internal factions we must  
reckon all the sources of mutual        
mistrust to which the republics were    
exposed4 ,as the ,italians had no notion
 of representative government1 so they  
never conceived a confederation4 ,the   

thirst for autonomy in each state was as
 great as of old among the cities of    
,greece4 ,to be independent of a sister 
republic1 though such freedom were      
bought at the price of the tyranny of a 
native family was the first object of   
every commonwealth4 ,at the same time   
this passion for independence was only  
equaled by the greed of foreign         
usurpation4 ,the second object of each  
republic was to extend its power at the 
expense of its neighbors4 ,as ,pisa     
swallowed ,amalfi1 so ,genoa destroyed  
,pisa1 and ,venice did her best to      
cripple ,genoa4 ,florence obliterated   
the rival burgh of ,semifonte1 and      
,milan twice reduced ,piacenza to a     
wilderness4 ,the notion that the great  
maritime powers of ,italy or the leading
 cities of ,lombardy should permanently 
co-operate for a common purpose was     
never for a moment entertained4 ,such   
leagues as were formed were understood  
to be temporary4 ,when their immediate  
object had been gained1 the members     

returned to their initial rivalries4    
,milan1 when1 on the occasion of        
,filippo ,maria ,visconti's death1 she  
had a chance of freedom1 refused to     
recognize the liberties of the ,lombard 
cities1 and fell a prey to ,francesco   
,sforza4 ,florence1 under the pernicious
 policy of ,cosimo de' ,medici1 helped  
to enslave ,milan and ,bologna instead  
of entering into a republican league    
against their common foes1 the tyrants4 
,pisa1 ,arezzo1 and the other subject   
cities of ,tuscany were treated by her  
with such selfish harshness that they   
proved her chiefest peril in the hour of
 need4#a ,competition in commerce       
increased the mutual hatred of the free 
burghs4 ,states like ,venice1 ,florence1
 ,pisa1 ,genoa1 depending for their     
existence upon mercantile wealth1 and   
governed by men of business1 took every 
opportunity they could of ruining a     
rival in the market4 ,so mean and narrow
 was the spirit of ,italian policy that 
no one accounted it unpatriotic or      

dishonorable for ,florence to suck the  
very life out of ,pisa1 or for ,venice  
to strangle a competitor so dangerous as
 ,genoa4      #a ,see the instructions  
furnished to ,averardo dei ,medici1     
quoted by     ,von ,reumont in his ,life
 of ,lorenzo1 vol4 ii4 p4 #abb1 ,german 
edition4  ,thus the jealousy of state   
against state1 of party against party1  
and of family against family1 held      
,italy in perpetual disunion2 while     
diplomatic habits were contracted which 
rendered the adoption of any simple     
policy impossible4 ,when the time came  
for the ,italians to cope with the great
 nations of ,europe1 the republics of   
,venice1 ,genoa1 ,milan1 ,florence ought
 to have been leagued together and      
supported by the weight of the ,papal   
authority4 ,they might then have stood  
against the world4 ,instead of that1    
these cities presented nothing but      
mutual rancors1 hostilities1 and        
jealousies to the common enemy4         
,moreover1 the ,italians were so used to

 petty intrigues and to a system of     
balance of power within the peninsula1  
that they could not comprehend the      
magnitude of the impending danger4 ,it  
was difficult for a politician of the   
,renaissance1 accustomed to the small   
theater of ,italian diplomacy1 schooled 
in the traditions of ,lorenzo de'       
,medici1 swayed in his calculations by  
the old pretensions of ,pope and        
,emperor1 dominated by the dread of     
,venice1 ,milan1 and ,naples1 and as yet
 but dimly conscious of the true force  
of ,france or ,spain1 to conceive that  
absolutely the only chance of ,italy lay
 in union at any cost and under any     
form4 ,machiavelli indeed seems too late
 to have discerned this truth4 ,but he  
had been lessoned by events1 which      
rendered the realization of his         
cherished schemes impossible2 nor1 could
 he find a ,prince powerful enough to   
attempt his ,utopia4 ,of the ,republics 
he had abandoned all hope4  ,to the laws
 which governed the other republics of  

,italy1 ,venice offered in many respects
 a notable exception4 ,divided from the 
rest of ,italy by the lagoons1 and      
directed by her commerce to the ,eastern
 shores of the ,mediterranean1 ,venice  
took no part in the factions which rent 
the rest of the peninsula1 and had      
comparatively little to fear from       
foreign invasion4 ,her attitude was one 
of proud and almost scornful isolation4 
,in the ,lombard ,wars of ,independence 
she remained neutral1 and her name does 
not appear among the ,signataries to the
 ,peace of ,constance4 ,both the ,papacy
 and the ,empire recognized her         
independence4 ,her true policy consisted
 in consolidating her maritime empire   
and holding aloof from the affairs of   
,italy4 ,as long as she adhered to this 
course1 she remained the envy and the   
admiration of the rest of ,europe4#a ,it
 was only when she sought to extend her 
hold upon the mainland that she aroused 
the animosity of the ,italian powers1   
and had to bear the brunt of the ,league

 of ,cambray alone4#b ,her selfish      
prudence had been a source of dread long
 before this epoch3 when she became     
aggressive1 she was recognized as a     
common and intolerable enemy4      #a   
,de ,comines1 in his ,memoirs of the    
,reign of ,charles ,,viii4 7tom4     ii4
 p1 #fi71 draws a striking picture of   
the impression made upon his     mind by
 the good government of the state of    
,venice4 ,this may be     compared with 
what he says of the folly of ,siena4    
#b ,see ,mach4 #ast4 ,fior4 lib4 i4     
',avendo loro con il tempo     occupata 
,padova1 ,vicenza1 ,trevigi1 e dipoi    
,verona1 ,bergamo e     ,brescia1 e nel 
,reame e in ,romagna molte citta1       
cacciati dalla     cupidita del dominare
 vennero in tanta opinione di potenza1  
che non     solamente ai principi       
,italiani ma ai ,re oltramontani erano  
in     terrore4 ,onde congiurati quelli 
contra di loro1 in un giorno fu         
tolto loro quello stato che si avevano  
in molti anni con infiniti     spendii  

guadagnato4 ,e benche ne abbino in      
questi ultimi tempi     racquistato     
parte1 non avendo racquistata ne la     
riputazione1 ne le     forze1 a         
discrezione d'altri1 come tutti gli     
altri principi ,italiani     vivono4'   
,it was ,francesco ,foscari who first to
 any important extent     led the       
republic astray from its old policy4 ,he
 meddled in ,italian     affairs1 and   
sought to encroach upon the mainland4   
,for this1 and for     the undue        
popularity he acquired thereby1 the     
,council of ,ten     subjected him and  
his son ,jacopo to the most frightfully 
protracted     martyrdom that a         
relentless oligarchy has ever inflicted 
#adde-eg4  ,the external security of    
,venice was equaled by her internal     
repose4 ,owing to continued freedom from
 party quarrels1 the ,venetians were    
able to pursue a consistent course of   
constitutional development4 ,they in    
fact alone of the ,italian cities       
established and preserved the character 

of their state4 ,having originally      
founded a republic under the presidency 
of a ,doge1 who combined the offices of 
general and judge1 and ruled in concert 
with a representative council of the    
chief citizens 7#fig-aagb71 the         
,venetians by degrees caused this form  
of government to assume a strictly      
oligarchical character4 ,they began by  
limiting the authority of the ,doge1    
who1 though elected for life1 was in    
#ajcb forbidden to associate his son in 
the supreme office of the state4 ,in    
#aagb the election of the ,doge was     
transferred from the people to the      
,grand ,council1 who1 as a co-opting    
body1 tended to become a close          
aristocracy4 ,in #aagi the ,ducal power 
was still further restricted by the     
creation of a senate called the         
,quarantia for the administration of    
justice2 while in #abbi the ,senate of  
the ,pregadi1 interposed between the    
,doge and the ,grand ,council1 became an
 integral part of the constitution4 ,to 

this latter ,senate were assigned all   
deliberations upon peace and war1 the   
voting of supplies1 the confirmation of 
laws4 ,both the ,quarantia and the      
,pregadi were elected by the ,consiglio 
,grande1 which by this time had become  
the virtual sovereign of the ,state of  
,venice4 ,it is not necessary here to   
mention the further checks imposed upon 
the power of the ,doges by the          
institution of officials named          
,correttori and ,inquisitori1 whose     
special business it was to see that the 
coronation oaths were duly observed1 or 
by the regulations which prevented the  
supreme magistrate from taking any      
important action except in concert with 
carefully selected colleagues4 ,enough  
has been said to show that the          
constitution of ,venice was a pyramid   
resting upon the basis of the ,grand    
,council and rising to an ornamented    
apex1 through the ,senate1 and the      
,college1 in the ,doge4 ,but in adopting
 this old simile--originally the happy  

thought of ,donato ,giannotti1 it is    
said#a--we must not forget that the     
vital force of the ,grand ,council was  
felt throughout the whole of this       
elaborate system1 and that the same     
individuals were constantly appearing in
 different capacities4 ,it is this which
 makes the great event of the years     
#abig-acai so all-important for the     
future destinies of ,venice4 ,at this   
period the ,grand ,council was          
restricted to a certain number of noble 
families who had henceforth the         
hereditary right to belong to it4 ,every
 descendant of a member of the ,grand   
,council could take his seat there at   
the age of twenty-five2 and no new      
families1 except upon the most          
extraordinary occasions1 were admitted  
to this privilege4#b ,by the ,closing of
 the ,grand ,council1 as the ordinances 
of this crisis were termed1 the         
administration of ,venice was vested for
 perpetuity in the hands of a few great 
houses4 ,the final completion was given 

to the oligarchy in #acaa by the        
establishment of the celebrated ,council
 of ,ten1#c who exercised a supervision 
over all the magistracies1 constituted  
the ,supreme ,court of judicature1 and  
ended by controlling the whole foreign  
and internal policy of ,venice4 ,the    
changes which ,i have thus briefly      
indicated are not to be regarded as     
violent alterations in the constitution1
 but rather as successive steps in its  
development4 ,even the ,council of ,ten1
 which seems at first sight the most    
tyrannous state-engine ever devised for 
the enslavement of a nation1 was in     
reality a natural climax to the         
evolution which had been consistently   
advancing since the year #aagb4 ,created
 originally during the troublous times  
which succeeded the closing of the      
,grand ,council1 for the express purpose
 of curbing unruly nobles and preventing
 the emergence of conspirators like     
,tiepolo1 the ,council of ,ten were     
specially designed to act as a check    

upon the several orders in the state and
 to preserve its oligarchical character 
inviolate4 ,they were elected by the    
,consiglio ,grande1 and at the          
expiration of their office were liable  
to render strict account of all that    
they had done4 ,nor was this magistracy 
coveted by the ,venetian nobles4 ,on the
 contrary1 so burdensome were its       
duties1 and so great was the odium which
 from time to time the ,ten incurred in 
the discharge of their functions1 that  
it was not always found easy to fill up 
their vacancies4 ,a law had even to be  
passed that the ,ten had not completed  
their magistracy before their successors
 were appointed4#d ,they may therefore  
be regarded as a select committee of the
 citizens1 who voluntarily delegated    
dictatorial powers to this small body in
 order to maintain their own ascendency1
 to centralize the conduct of important 
affairs1 to preserve secrecy in the     
administration of the republic1 and to  
avoid the criticism to which the more   

public government of states like        
,florence was exposed4#e ,the weakness  
of this portion of the state machinery  
was this3 created with ill-defined and  
almost unlimited authority1#f designed  
to supersede the other public           
functionaries on occasions of great     
moment1 and composed of men whose       
ability placed them in the very first   
rank of citizens1 the ,ten could        
scarcely fail1 as time advanced1 to     
become a permanently oppressive power--a
 despotism within the bosom of an       
oligarchy4 ,thus in the whole mechanism 
of the state of ,venice we trace the    
action of a permanent aristocracy       
tolerating1 with a view to its own      
supremacy1 an amount of magisterial     
control which in certain cases1 like    
that of the two ,foscari1 amounted to   
the sternest tyranny4 ,by submitting to 
the ,council of ,ten the nobility of    
,venice secured its hold upon the people
 and preserved unity in its policy4     
#a ,vol4 ii4 of his works1 p4 #cg4 ,on  

p4 #bi he describes the     population  
of ,venice as divided into ',popolari1' 
or plebeians1     exercising small      
industries1 and so forth3 ',cittadini1' 
or the     middle class1 born in the    
state1 and of more importance than the  
plebeians2 ',gentiluomini1' or masters  
of ,venice by sea and land1     about   
#c1jjj in number1 corresponding to the  
burghers of ,florence4     ,what he says
 about the ,constitution refers solely  
to this upper     class4 ,the elaborate 
work of ,m4 ,yriarte1 ,la ,vie d'un     
,patricien de     ,venise an ,seizieme  
,siecle1 ,paris1 #ahgd1 contains a      
complete     analysis of the ,venetian  
state-machine4 ,see in particular what  
he     says about the helplessness of   
the ,doges1 ch4 xiii4 ',rex in foro1    
senator in curia1 captivus in aula1' was
 a current phrase which     expressed   
the contrast between their dignity of   
parade and real     servitude4 ,they had
 no personal freedom1 and were always   
ruined by     office4 ,it was necessary 

to pass a law compelling the ,doge elect
 to     accept the onerous distinction  
thrust upon him4 ,the ,venetian         
oligarchs argued that it was good that  
one man should die for the     people4  
#b ,see ,giannotti1 vol4 ii4 p4 #ee1 for
 the mention of fifteen1     admitted on
 the occasion of ,baiamonte ,tiepolo's  
conspiracy1 and of     thirty ennobled  
during the ,genoese war4      #c ,the   
actual number of this ,council was      
seventeen1 for the ,ten     associated  
with the ,signoria1 which consisted of  
the ,doge and six     ,counselors4      
#d ,giannotti1 vol4 ii4 p4 #abc4      #e
 ,the diplomatic difficulties of a      
popular government1 a 'governo          
largo1' as opposed to a 'governo        
stretto1' are set forth with great      
acumen by ,guicciardini1 ,op4 ,ined4    
vol4 ii4 p4 #hd4 ,cf4 vol4 iii4 p4      
#bgb4      #f 'e la sua autorita pari a 
quella del ,consiglio de' ,pregati e di 
utta la citta1' says ,giannotti1 vol4   
ii4 p4 #abj4  ,no state has ever        

exercised a greater spell of fascination
 over its citizens than ,venice4 ,of    
treason against the ,republic there was 
little4 ,against the decrees of the     
,council1 arbitrary though they might   
be1 no one sought to rebel4 ,the        
,venetian bowed in silence and obeyed1  
knowing that all his actions were       
watched1 that his government had long   
arms in foreign lands1 and that to      
arouse revolt in a body of burghers so  
thoroughly controlled by common         
interests1 would be impossible4 ,further
 security the ,venetians gained by their
 mild and beneficent administration of  
subject cities1 and by the prosperity in
 which their population flourished4     
,when1 during the war of the ,league of 
,cambray1 ,venice gave liberty to her   
towns upon the mainland1 they           
voluntarily returned to her allegiance4 
,at home1 the inhabitants of the        
lagoons1 who had never seen a hostile   
army at their gates1 and whose taxes    
were light in comparison with those of  

the rest of ,italy1 regarded the nobles 
as the authors of their unexampled      
happiness4 ,meanwhile1 these nobles were
 merchants4 ,idleness was unknown in    
,venice4 ,instead of excogitating new   
constitutions or planning vengeance     
against hereditary foes the ,venetian   
attended to his commerce on the sea1    
swayed distant provinces1 watched the   
interests of the state in foreign       
cities1 and fought the naval battles of 
the republic4 ,it was the custom of     
,venice to employ her patricians only on
 the sea as admirals1 and never to      
intrust her armies to the generalship of
 burghers4 ,this policy had undoubtedly 
its wisdom2 for by these means the      
nobles had no opportunity of intriguing 
on a large scale in ,italian affairs1   
and never found the chance of growing   
dangerously powerful abroad4 ,but it    
pledged the ,state to that system of    
paid condottieri and mercenary troops1  
jealously watched and scarcely ever     
trustworthy1 which proved nearly as     

ruinous to ,venice as it did to         
,florence4  ,it is difficult to imagine 
a greater contrast than that which is   
presented by ,florence to ,venice4      
,while ,venice pursued one consistent   
course of gradual growth1 and seemed    
immovable1 ,florence remained in        
perpetual flux1 and altered as the      
strength of factions or of party-leaders
 varied4#a ,when the strife of ,guelfs  
and ,ghibellines1 ,neri1 and ,bianchi1  
had exhausted her in the fourteenth     
century1 she submitted for a while to   
the indirect ascendency of the kings of 
,naples1 who were recognized as ,chiefs 
of the ,guelf ,party4 ,thence she passed
 for a few months into the hands of a   
despot in the person of the ,duke of    
,athens 7#acdb-dc74 ,after the          
confirmation of her republican liberty1 
followed a contest between the          
proletariat and the middle classes      
7,ciompi #acgh74 ,during the fifteenth  
century she was kept continually        
disturbed by the rivalry of her great   

merchant families4 ,the rule of the     
,albizzi1 who fought the ,visconti and  
extended the ,florentine territory by   
numerous conquests1 was virtually the   
despotism of a close oligarchy4 ,this   
phase of her career was terminated by   
the rise of the ,medici1 who guided her 
affairs with a show of constitutional   
equity for four generations4 ,in #adid1 
this state of things was violently      
shaken4 ,the ,florentines expelled the  
,medici1 who had begun to throw off     
their mask and to assume the airs of    
sovereignty2 then they reconstituted    
their ,commonwealth as nearly as they   
could upon the model of ,venice1 and to 
this new form of government ,savonarola 
gave a quasi-theocratic complexion by   
naming ,christ the king of ,florence4#b 
,but the internal elements of the       
discord were too potent for the         
maintenance of this regime4 ,the ,medici
 were recalled2 and this time ,florence 
fell under the shadow of ,church-rule1  
being controlled by ,leo ,x4 and        

,clement ,,vii41 through the hands of   
prelates whom they made the guardians   
and advisers of their nephews4 ,in #aebg
 a final effort for liberty shed undying
 luster on the noblest of ,italian      
cities4 ,the sack of ,rome had paralyzed
 the ,pope4 ,his family were compelled  
to quit the ,medicean palace4 ,the      
,grand ,council was restored3 a         
,gonfalonier was elected2 ,florence     
suffered the hardships of her memorable 
siege4 ,at the end of her trials1       
menaced alike by ,pope and ,emperor1 who
 shook hands over her prostrate corpse1 
betrayed by her general1 the infamous   
,malatesta ,baglioni1 and sold by her   
own selfish citizens1 she had to submit 
to the hereditary sovereignty of the    
,medici4 ,it was in vain that ,lorenzino
 of that house pretended to play ,brutus
 and murdered his cousin the ,duke      
,alessandro in #aecf4 ,cosimo succeeded 
in the same year1 and won the title of  
,grand ,duke1 which he transmitted to a 
line of semi-,austrian princes4      #a 

',nunquam in eodem statu permanserunt1' 
says ,marco ,foscari 7as     quoted     
above1 p4 #db of his report74 ,the flux 
of ,florence struck a     ,venetian     
profoundly4      #b ,the ,gonfalonier   
,capponi put up a tablet on the ,public 
,palace1 in     #aebh1 to this effect3  
',jesus ,christus ,rex ,florentini      
,populi ,s4,f4     decreto electus4'    
,this inscription is differently given4 
,see ,varchi1     vol4 i4 p4 #bff2      
,segni1 p4 #df4 ,nothing is more        
significant of the     difference       
between ,venice and ,florence than the  
political idealism     implied in this  
religious consecration of the republic  
by statute4     ,in my essay on         
',florence and the ,medici' 7,sketches  
and ,studies in     ,italy7 ,i have     
attempted to condense the internal      
history of the     ,republic and to     
analyze the state-craft of the ,medici4 
,throughout all these vicissitudes every
 form and phase of republican government
 was advocated1 discussed1 and put in   

practice by the ,florentines4 ,all the  
arts of factions1 all the machinations  
of exiles1 all the skill of demagogues1 
all the selfishness of party-leaders1   
all the learning of scholars1 all the   
cupidity of subordinate officials1 all  
the daring of conspirators1 all the     
ingenuity of theorists1 and all the     
malice of traitors1 were brought        
successively or simultaneously into play
 by the burghers1 who looked upon their 
,state as something they might mold at  
will4 ,one thing at least is clear amid 
so much apparent confusion1 that        
,florence was living a vehemently active
 and self-conscious life1 acknowledging 
no principle of stability in her        
constitution1 but always stretching     
forward after that ideal ,reggimento    
which was never realized4#a      #a ,in 
his ',proemio' to the ',trattato del    
,reggimento di ,firenze1                
,guicciardini thus describes the        
desideratum3 'introdurre in ,firenze    
un governo onesto1 bene ordinato1 e che 

veramente si potesse     chiamare       
libero1 il che dalla sua prima origine  
insino a oggi non e     mai stato       
cittadino alcuno che abbia saputo o     
potuto fare4'  ,it is worth while to    
consider more in detail the different   
magistracies by which the government of 
,florence was conducted between the     
years of #abej and #aeca1 and the       
gradual changes in the constitution     
which prepared the way for the ,medicean
 tyranny4#a ,it is only thus an accurate
 conception of the difference between   
the republican systems of ,venice and of
 ,florence can be gained4 ,before the   
date #abhb1 which may be fixed as the   
turning-point in ,florentine history we 
hear of twelve ,anziani1 two chosen for 
each ,sestiere of the city1 acting in   
concert with a foreign ,podesta1 and a  
,captain of the ,people charged with    
military authority4 ,at this time no    
distinction was made between nobles and 
plebeians2 and the town1 though ,guelf1 
had not enacted rigorous laws against   

the ,ghibelline families4 ,towards the  
end of the thirteenth century1 however1 
important1 changes were effected in the 
very elements of the commonwealth4 ,the 
,anziani were superseded by the ,priors 
of the ,arts4 ,eight ,priors1 together  
with a new officer called the           
,gonfalonier of ,justice1 formed the    
,signoria1 dwelling at public charge in 
the ,palazzo and holding office only for
 two months4#b ,no one who had not been 
matriculated into one of the ,arti or   
commercial guilds could henceforth bear 
office in the state4 ,at the same time  
severe measures1 called ,ordinanze della
 ,giustizia1 were passed1 by which the  
nobles were for ever excluded from the  
government1 and the ,gonfalonier of     
,justice was appointed to maintain civil
 order by checking their pride and      
turbulence4#c ,these modifications of   
the constitution1 effected between #abhb
 and #abib1 gave its peculiar character 
to the ,florentine republic4            
,henceforward ,florence was governed    

solely by merchants4 ,both ,varchi and  
,machiavelli have recorded unfavorable  
opinions of the statute which reduced   
the republic of ,florence to a          
commonwealth of shop-keepers4#d ,but    
when we read these criticisms1 we must  
bear in mind the internecine ferocity of
 party-strife at this period1 and the   
discords to which a city divided between
 a territorial aristocracy and a        
commercial bourgeoisie was perpetually  
exposed4 ,if anything could make the    
,ordinanze della ,giustizia appear      
rational1 it would be a cool perusal of 
the ,chronicle of ,matarazzo1 which sets
 forth the wretched state of ,perugia   
owing to the feuds of its patrician     
houses1 the ,oddi and the ,baglioni4#e  
,peace for the republic was not1        
however1 secured by these strong        
measures4 ,the factions of the ,neri and
 ,bianchi opened the fourteenth century 
with battles and proscriptions2 and in  
#acbc the constitution had again to be  
modified4 ,at this date the ,signoria of

 eight ,priors with the ,gonfalonier of 
,justice1 the ,college of the twelve    
,buonuomini1 and the sixteen            
,gonfaloniers of the companies--called  
collectively i tre maggiori1 or the     
three superior magistracies--were       
rendered eligible only to ,guelf        
citizens of the age of thirty1 who had  
qualified in one of the seven ,arti     
,maggiori1 and whose names were drawn by
 lot4 ,this mode of election1 the most  
democratic which it is possible to      
adopt1 held good through all subsequent 
changes in the state4 ,its immediate    
object was to quiet discontent and to   
remove intrigue by opening the          
magistracies to all citizens alike4     
,but1 as ,nardi has pointed out1 it     
weakened the sense of responsibility in 
the burghers1 who1 when their names were
 once included in the bags kept for the 
purpose1 felt sure of their election1   
and had no inducement to maintain a high
 standard of integrity4 ,sismondi also  
dates from this epoch the withdrawal of 

the ,florentines from military          
service4#f ,nor1 as the sequel shows1   
was the measure efficient as a check    
upon the personal ambition of           
encroaching party leaders4 ,the         
,squittino and the ,borse became        
instruments in the hands of the ,medici 
for the consolidation of their          
tyranny4#g ,by the end of the fourteenth
 century 7about #acgh7the ,florentines  
had to meet a new difficulty4 ,the      
,guelf citizens began to abuse the      
so-called ,law of ,admonition1 by means 
of which the ,ghibellines were excluded 
from the government4 ,this law had      
formed an essential part of the measures
 of #acbc4 ,in the intervening          
half-century a new aristocracy1         
distinguished by the name of nobili     
popolani1 had grown up and were now     
threatening the republic with a close   
oligarchy4#h ,the discords which had    
previously raged between the people and 
the patricians were now transferred to  
this new aristocracy and the plebeians4 

,it was found necessary to abolish the  
,admonition1 which had been made a      
pretext of excluding all novi homines   
from the government1 and to place the   
members of the inferior ,arti on the    
same footing as those of the superior4#i
 ,at this epoch the ,medici1 who neither
 belonged to the ancient aristocracy nor
 y the more distinguished houses of the 
nobili popolani1 but rather to the      
so-called gente grassa or substantial   
tradesmen1 first acquired importance4   
,it was by a law of ,salvestro de'      
,medici's in #acgh that the constitution
 received its final development in the  
direction of equality4 ,yet after all   
this leveling1 and in the vehement      
efforts made by the proletariat on the  
occasion of the ,ciompi outbreak1 the   
exclusive nature of the ,florentine     
republic was maintained4 ,the franchise 
was never extended to more than the     
burghers1 and the matter in debate was  
always virtually1 who shall be allowed  
to rank as citizen upon the register8   

,in fact1 by using the pregnant words of
 ,machiavelli1 we may sum up the history
 of ,florence to this point in one      
sentence3 ',di ,firenze in prima si     
divisono intra loro i nobili1 dipoi i   
nobili e il popolo1 e in ultimo il      
popolo e la plebe2 e molte volte occorse
 che una di queste parti rimasa         
superiore1 si divise in due4'#aj      #a
 ,i will place in an appendix 7,no4 ii47
 translations of ,varchi1     book iii4 
sections #bj-bb1 and ,nardi1 book i4    
cap4 #d1 which give     complete and    
clear accounts of the ,florentine       
constitution after     #abib4      #b   
,see ,machiavelli1 ,ist4 ,fior4 lib4 ii4
 sect4 ,,ii4 ,the number of     the     
,priors was first three1 then six1 and  
finally eight4 ,up to #abhb     the city
 had been divided into ,sestieri4 ,it   
was then found     convenient to divide 
it into quarters1 and the numbers       
followed this     alteration4      #c   
,machiavelli1 ,ist4 ,fior4 lib4 ii4     
sect4 #ac1 may be consulted     for the 

history of ,giano della ,bella and his  
memorable ordinance4     ,dino          
,compagni's ,chronicle contains the     
account of a contemporary4      #d ,see 
,varchi1 vol4 i4 p4 #afi2 ,mach4 ,ist4  
,fior4 end of book ii4      #e ,archivio
 ,storico1 vol4 xvi4 ,see also the      
article ',perugia1' in     my ,sketches 
in ,italy and ,greece4      #f ,vol4    
iii4 p4 #cdg4      #g ,see ,app4 ii4 for
 the phrases ',squittino' and ',borse4' 
#h ,of these new nobles the ,albizzi and
 ,ricci1 deadly foes1 were the     most 
eminent4 ,the former strove to exclude  
the ,medici from the     government4    
#i ,the number of the ,arti varied at   
different times4 ,varchi treats     of  
them as finally consisting of seven     
maggiori and fourteen minori4      #aj  
,proemio to ,storia ,fiorentina4 ',in   
,florence the nobles first     split up1
 then the nobles and the people1 lastly 
the people and the     multitude2 and it
 often happened that when one of these  
parties got     the upper hand1 it      

divided into two camps4' ,for the       
meaning of     ,popolo see above1 p4    
#ee4  ,in the next generation the       
constitutional history of ,florence     
exhibits a new phase4 ,the equality     
which had been introduced into all      
classes of the commonwealth1 combined   
with an absence of any state machinery  
like that of ,venice1 exposed ,florence 
at this period to the encroachments of  
astute and selfish parvenus4 ,the       
,medici1 who had hitherto been nobodies1
 begin now to aspire to despotism4      
,partly by his remarkable talent for    
intrigue1 partly by the clever use which
 he made of his vast wealth1 and partly 
by espousing the plebeian cause1 ,cosimo
 de' ,medici succeeded in monopolizing  
the government4 ,it was the policy of   
the ,medici to create a party dependent 
for pecuniary aid upon their riches1 and
 attached to their interests by the     
closest ties of personal necessity4 ,at 
the same time they showed consummate    
caution in the conduct of the state1 and

 expended large sums on works of public 
utility4 ,there was nothing mean in     
their ambition2 and though posterity    
must condemn the arts by which they     
sought to sap the foundations of freedom
 in their native city1 we are forced to 
acknowledge that they shared the noblest
 enthusiasms of their brilliant era4    
,little by little they advanced so far  
in the enslavement of ,florence that the
 elections of all the magistrates1      
though still conducted by lot1 were     
determined at their choice3 the names of
 none but men devoted to their interests
 were admitted to the bags from which   
the candidates for office were selected1
 while proscriptive measures of various 
degrees of rigor excluded their enemies 
from participation in the government4#a 
,at length in #adhj the whole machinery 
of the republic was suspended by        
,lorenzo de' ,medici in favor of the    
,board of ,seventy1 whom he nominated1  
and with whom1 acting like a ,privy     
,council1 he administered the state4#b  

,it is clear that this revolution could 
never have been effected without a      
succession of coups d'etat4 ,the        
instrument for their accomplishment lay 
ready to the hands of the ,medicean     
party in the pernicious system of the   
,parlamento and ,balia1 by means of     
which the people1 assembled from time to
 time in the public square1 and         
intimidated by the reigning faction1    
intrusted full powers to a select       
committee nominated in private by the   
chiefs of the great house4#c ,it is also
 clear that so much political roguery   
could not have been successful without  
an extensive demoralization of the upper
 rank of citizens4 ,the ,medici in      
effect bought and sold the honor of the 
public officials1 lent money1 jobbed    
posts of profit1 and winked at          
peculation1 until they had created a    
sufficient body of ames damnees1 men who
 had everything to gain by a continuance
 of their corrupt authority4 ,the party 
so formed1 including even such          

distinguished citizens as the           
,guicciardini1 ,baccio ,valori1 and     
,francesco ,vettori1 proved the chief   
obstacle to the restoration of          
,florentine liberty in the sixteenth    
century4      #a ,what ,machiavelli says
 7,ist4 ,fior4 vii4 #a7 about the arts  
of     ,cosimo contains the essence of  
the policy by which the ,medici rose4   
,compare v4 #d and vii4 #d-f for his    
character of ,cosimo4 ,guicciardini     
7,op4 ,ined4 vol4 ii4 p4 #fh7 describes 
the use made of extraordinary           
taxation as a weapon of offense against 
his enemies1 by ,cosimo3 'uso     le    
gravezze in luogo de' pugnali che       
communemente suole usare chi ha         
simili reggimenti nelle mani4' ,the     
,marchese ,gino ,capponi 7,arch4        
,stor4 vol4 i4 pp4 #cae-bj7 analyzes the
 whole ,medicean policy in a            
critique of great ability4      #b      
,guicciardini 7,op4 ,ined4 vol4 ii4 pp4 
#ce-di7 exposes the     principle and   
the modus operandi of this ,council of  

,seventy1 by     means of which ,lorenzo
 controlled the election of the         
magistracies1     diverted the public   
moneys to his own use1 and made his will
 law in     ,florence4 ,the councils    
which he superseded at this date were   
the     ,consiglio del ,popolo and the  
,consiglio del ,comune1 about which see 
,nardi1 lib i4 cap4 #d4      #c ,for the
 operation of the ,parlamento and       
,balia1 see ,varchi1 vol4     ii4 p4    
#cgb2 ,segni1 p4 #aii2 ,nardi1 lib4 vi4 
cap4 #d4 ,segni says3 ',the             
,parlamento is a meeting of the         
,florentine people on the ,piazza of    
the ,signory4 ,when the ,signory has    
taken its place to address the          
meeting1 the piazza is guarded by armed 
men1 and then the people are     asked  
whether they wish to give absolute power
 7,balia7 and authority     to the      
citizens named1 for their good4 ,when   
the answer1 yes1     prompted partly by 
inclination and partly by compulsion1 is
     returned1 the ,signory immediately 

retires into the palace4 ,this is       
all that is meant by this parlamento1   
which thus gives away the full     power
 of effecting a change in the state4'   
,the description given by     ,marco    
,foscari1 p4 #dd 7loc4 cit4 supr47 is to
 the same effect1 but     the ,venetian 
exposes more clearly the despotic nature
 of the     institution in the hands of 
the ,medici4 ,it is well known how      
hostile     ,savonarola was to an       
institution which had lent itself so    
easily to     despotism4 ,this couplet  
he inscribed on the walls of the        
,council     ,chamber1 in #adie3--      
',e sappi che chi vuol parlamento       
,vuol torti dalle mani il reggimento4'  
,compare the proverb1 ',chi disse       
parlamento disse guastamento4'  ,this   
tyranny of a commercial family1 swaying 
the republic without the title and with 
but little of the pomp of princes1      
subsisted until the hereditary          
presidency of the state was conferred   
upon ,alessandro de' ,medici1 ,duke of  

,civita di ,penna1 in #aeca4 ,cosimo his
 successor1 obtained the rank of ,grand 
,duke from ,pius ,v4 in #aefi1 and his  
son received the imperial sanction to   
the title in #aege4 ,the                
re-establishment at two different       
periods of a free commonwealth upon the 
sounder basis of the ,consiglio ,grande 
7#adid-aeab and #aebg-cj7 formed but two
 episodes in the history of this masked 
but tenacious despotism4 ,had           
,savonarola's constitution been adopted 
in the thirteenth instead of at the end 
of the fifteenth century1 the stability 
of ,florence might have been secured4   
,but at the latter date the roots of the
 ,medicean influence were too widely    
intertwined with private interests1 the 
jealousies of classes and of factions   
were too inveterate1 for any large and  
wholesome form of popular government to 
be universally acceptable4 ,besides1 the
 burghers had been reduced to a         
nerveless equality of servitude1 in     
which ambition and avarice took the     

place of patriotism2 while the          
corruption of morals1 fostered by the   
,medici for the confirmation of their   
own authority1 was so widely spread as  
to justify ,segni1 ,varchi1 ,giannotti1 
,guicciardini1 and ,machiavelli in      
representing the ,florentines as equally
 unable to maintain their liberty and to
 submit to control4  ,the historical    
vicissitudes of ,florence were no less  
remarkable than the unity of ,venice4   
,if in ,venice we can trace the         
permanent and corporate existence of a  
state superior to the individuals who   
composed it1 ,florence exhibits the     
personal activity and conscious effort  
of her citizens4 ,nowhere can the       
intricate relations of classes to the   
commonwealth be studied more minutely   
than in the annals of ,florence4 ,in no 
other city have opinions had greater    
value in determining historical events2 
and nowhere was the influence of        
character in men of mark more notable4  
,in this agitated political atmosphere  

the wonderful ,florentine intelligence1 
which ,varchi celebrated as the special 
glory of the ,tuscan soil1 and which    
,vasari referred to something felicitous
 in ,tuscan air1 was sharpened to the   
finest edge4#a ,successive generations  
of practical and theoretical statesmen  
trained the race to reason upon         
government1 and to regard politics as a 
science4 ,men of letters were at the    
same time also prominent in public      
affairs4 ,when1 for instance1 the exiles
 of #aebi sued ,duke ,alessandro before 
,charles ,v4 at ,naples1 ,jacopo ,nardi 
drew up their pleas1 and ,francesco     
,guicciardini rebutted them in the      
interest of his master4 ,machiavelli    
learned his philosophy at the ,courts of
 ,france and ,germany and in the camp of
 ,cesare ,borgia4 ,segni shared the     
anxieties of ,nicolo ,capponi1 when the 
,gonfalonier was impeached for high     
treason to the state of ,florence4 ,this
 list might be extended almost          
indefinitely1 with the object of proving

 the intimate connection which subsisted
 at ,florence between the thinkers and  
the actors4 ,no other ,european         
community of modern times has ever      
acquired so subtle a sense of its own   
political existence1 has ever reasoned  
upon its past history so acutely1 or has
 ever displayed so much ingenuity in    
attempting to control the future4       
,venice on the contrary owed but little 
to the creative genius of her citizens4 
,in ,venice the state was everything3   
the individual was almost nothing4 ,we  
find but little reflection upon         
politics1 and no speculative philosophy 
of history among the ,venetians until   
the date of ,trifone ,gabrielli and     
,paruta4 ,their records are all positive
 and detailed4 ,the generalizations and 
comparisons of the ,florentines are     
absent2 nor was it till a late date of  
the ,renaissance that the ,venetian     
history came to be written as a whole4  
,it would seem as though the            
constitutional stability which formed   

the secret of the strength of ,venice   
was also the source of comparative      
intellectual inertness4 ,this contrast  
between the two republics displayed     
itself even in their art4 ,statues of   
,judith1 the tyrannicide1 and of ,david1
 the liberator of his country1 adorned  
the squares and loggie of ,florence4    
,the painters of ,venice represented    
their commonwealth as a beautiful queen 
receiving the homage of her subjects and
 the world4 ,florence had no mythus     
similar to that which made ,venice the  
,bride of the ,sea1 and which justified 
the ,doge in hailing ,caterina ,cornaro 
as daughter of ,s4 ,mark's 7#adga74 ,it 
was in the personal courage and         
intelligence of individual heroes that  
the ,florentines discovered the         
counterpart of their own spirit2 whereas
 the ,venetians personified their city  
as a whole1 and paid their homage to the
 ,genius of the ,state4      #a ,varchi1
 ix4 #di2 ,vasari1 xii4 p4 #aeh2        
,burckhardt1 p4 #bgj4  ,it is not merely

 fanciful to compare ,athens1 the city  
of self-conscious political activity1   
variable1 cultivated1 and ill-adapted by
 its very freedom for prolonged         
stability1 with ,florence2 ,sparta1     
firmly based upon an ancient            
constitution1 indifferent to culture1   
and solid at the cost of some rigidity1 
with ,venice4 ,as in ,greece the        
philosophers of ,athens1 especially     
,plato and ,aristotle1 wondered at the  
immobility of ,sparta and idealized her 
institutions2 so did the theorists of   
,florence1 ,savonarola1 ,giannotti1     
,guicciardini1 look with envy at the    
state machinery which secured repose and
 liberty for ,venice4 ,the parallel     
between ,venice and ,sparta becomes     
still more remarkable when we inquire   
into the causes of their decay4 ,just as
 the ,ephors1 introduced at first as a  
safeguard to the constitution1 by       
degrees extinguished the influence of   
the royal families1 superseded the      
senate1 and exercised a tyrannous       

control over every department of the    
state2 so the ,council of ,ten1         
dangerous because of its vaguely defined
 dictatorial functions1 reduced ,venice 
to a despotism4#a ,the gradual dwindling
 of the ,venetian aristocracy1 and the  
impoverishment of many noble families1  
which rendered votes in the ,grand      
,council venal1 and threw the power into
 the hands of a very limited oligarchy1 
complete the parallel4#b ,one of the    
chief sources of decay both to ,venice  
and to ,sparta was that shortsighted    
policy which prevented the nobles from  
recruiting their ranks by the admission 
of new families4 ,the system again of   
secret justice1 the espionage1 and the  
calculated terrorism1 by means of which 
both the ,spartan ,ephoralty and the    
,venetian ,council imposed their will   
upon the citizens1 were stifling to the 
free life of a republic4#c ,venice in   
the end became demoralized in politics  
and profligate in private life4 ,her    
narrowing oligarchy watched the national

 degeneration with approval1 knowing    
that it is easier to control a vitiated 
populace than to curb a nation          
habituated to the manly virtues4      #a
 ,aristotle terms the ,spartan          
,ephoralty ,greek3 isotyrannos4         
,giannotti 7vol-ii4 p4 #abj7 compares   
the ,ten to dictators4 ,we might        
bring the struggles of the ,spartan     
kings with the ,ephoralty into          
comparison with the attempts of the     
,doges ,falieri and ,foscari to     make
 themselves the chiefs of the republic  
in more than name4     ,mueller1 in his 
,dorians1 observes that 'the ,ephoralty 
was the     moving element1 the         
principle of change1 in the ,spartan    
constitution1 and1 in the end1 the cause
 of its dissolution4'     ,sismondi     
remarks that the precautions which led  
to the creation of     the ,council of  
,ten 'denaturaient entierement la       
constitution de     l'etat4'      #b    
,see what ,aristotle in the ,politics   
says about ,greek3     oliganthropia1   

and the unequal distribution of         
property4 ,as to     the property of the
 ,venetian nobles1 see ,sanudo1 ,vite   
dei ,duchi1     ,murat4 xxii4 p4 #aaid1 
who mentions the benevolences of the    
richer     families to the poor4 ,they  
built houses for aristocratic paupers to
     live in free of rent4      #c ,a   
curious passage in ,plutarch's ,life of 
,cleomenes 7,clough's     ,translation1 
vol4 iv4 p4 #dgd7 exactly applies to the
 ,venetian     statecraft3--',they1 the 
,spartans1 worship ,fear1 not as they do
     supernatural powers which they     
dread1 esteeming it hurtful1 but        
thinking their polity is chiefly kept up
 by fear 444 and therefore     the      
,lacedaemonians placed the temple of    
,fear by the ,syssitium of the          
,ephors1 having raised that magistracy  
to almost regal authority4'  ,between   
,athens and ,florence the parallel is   
not so close4 ,these two republics1     
however1 resemble one another in the    
freedom and variety of their            

institutions4 ,in ,athens1 as in        
,florence1 there was constant change and
 a highly developed political           
consciousness4 ,eminent men played the  
same important part in both4 ,in both   
the genius of individuals was even      
stronger than the character of the      
state4 ,again1 as ,athens displayed more
 of a ,panhellenic feeling than any     
other ,greek city1 so ,florence was     
invariably more alive to the interests  
of ,italy at large than any other state 
of the peninsula4 ,florence1 like       
,athens1 was the center of culture for  
the nation4 ,like ,athens1 she give laws
 to her sister towns in language1 in    
literature1 in fine arts1 poetry1       
philosophy1 and history4 ,without       
,florence it is not probable that ,italy
 would have taken the place of proud    
pre-eminence she held so long in        
,europe4 ,florence never attained to the
 material greatness of ,athens1 because 
her power1 relatively to the rest of    
,italy1 was slight1 her factions were   

incessant1 and her connection with the  
,papacy was a perpetual source of       
weakness4 ,but many of the causes which 
ruined ,athens were in full operation at
 ,florence4 ,first and foremost was the 
petulant and variable temper of a       
democracy1 so well described by ,plato1 
and so ably analyzed by ,machiavelli4   
,the want of agreement among the        
versatile ,florentines1 fertile in plans
 but incapable of concerted action1 was 
a chief source of political debility4   
,varchi and ,segni both relate how1 in  
spite of wealth1 ability1 and formidable
 forces1 the ,florentine exiles under   
the guidance of ,filippo ,strozzi       
7#aecc-cg7 became the laughing-stock of 
,italy through their irresolution4 ,the 
,venetian ambassadors agree in          
representing the burghers of ,florence  
as timid from excess of intellectual    
mobility4 ,and ,dante1 whose insight    
into national characteristics was of the
 keenest1 has described in              
ever-memorable lines the temperament of 

his fickle city 7,purg4 vi4 #ace-ea74   
,much of this instability was due to the
 fact that ,florentine1 like ,athenian1 
intelligence was overdeveloped4 ,it     
passed into mere cleverness1 and        
overreached itself4 ,next we may note   
the tyranny which both republics        
exercised over cities that had once been
 free4 ,athens created a despotic empire
 instead of forming an ,ionian          
,confederation4 ,florence reduced ,pisa 
to the most miserable servitude1        
rendered herself odious to ,arezzo and  
,volterra1 and never rested from        
attempts upon the liberties of ,lucca   
and ,siena4 ,all these states1 which as 
a ,tuscan federation should have been   
her strength in the hour of need1 took  
the first opportunity of throwing off   
her yoke and helping her enemies4 ,what 
,florence spent in recapturing ,pisa1   
after the passage of ,charles ,,viii4 in
 #adid1 is incalculable4 ,and no sooner 
was she in difficulties during the siege
 of #acbi1 than both ,arezzo and ,pisa  

declared for her foes4  ,it will not do 
to push historical parallels too far1   
interesting as it may be to note a      
repetition of the same phenomena at     
distant periods and under varying       
conditions of society4 ,at the same     
time1 to observe fundamental points of  
divergence is no less profitable4 ,many 
of the peculiarities of ,greek history  
are attributable to the fact that a     
,greek commonwealth consisted of        
citizens living in idleness1 supported  
by their slaves1 and bound to the state 
by military service and by the          
performance of civic duties4 ,the       
distinctive mark of both ,venice and    
,florence1 on the other hand1 was that  
their citizens were traders4 ,the       
,venetians carried on the commerce of   
the ,levant2 the ,florentines were      
manufacturers and bankers3 the one town 
sent her sons forth on the seas to      
barter and exchange2 the other was full 
of speculators1 calculating rates of    
interest and discount1 and contracting  

with princes for the conduct of         
expensive wars4 ,the mercantile         
character of these ,italian republics is
 so essential to their history that it  
will not be out of place to enlarge a   
little on the topic4 ,we have seen that 
the ,florentines rendered commerce a    
condition of burghership4 ,giannotti1   
writing the life of one of the chief    
patriots of the republic1#a says3 ',egli
 stette a bottega1 come fanno la maggior
 parte de' nostri1 cosi nobili come     
ignobili4' ,to quote instances in a     
matter so clear and obvious would be    
superfluous3 else ,i might show how     
,bardi and ,peruzzi1 ,strozzi1 ,medici1 
,pitti1 and ,pazzi1 while they ranked   
with princes at the ,courts of ,france1 
or ,rome1 or ,naples1 were              
money-lenders1 mortgagees and           
bill-discounters in every great city of 
,europe4 ,the ,palle of the ,medici1    
which emboss the gorgeous ceilings of   
the ,cathedral of ,pisa1 still swing    
above the pawnbroker's shop in ,london4 

,and though great families like the     
,rothschilds in the most recent days    
have successfully asserted the          
aristocracy of wealth acquired by usury1
 it still remains a surprising fact that
 the daughter of the mediaeval bankers  
should have given a monarch to the      
,french in the sixteenth century4       
#a ,sulle azioni del ,ferruccio1 vol4 i4
 p4 #dd4 ,the report of ,marco          
,foscari on the state of ,florence1     
already quoted more than once1          
contains a curious aristocratic comment 
upon the shop-life of     illustrious   
,florentine citizens4 ,see ,appendix ii4
 ,even ,piero de'     ,medici refused a 
,neapolitan fief on the ground that he  
was a     tradesman4  ,a very lively    
picture of the modes of life and the    
habits of mind peculiar to the ,italian 
burgher may be gained by the perusal of 
,agnolo ,pandolfini's treatise1 ,del    
,governo della ,famiglia4 ,this essay   
should be read side by side with        
,castiglione's ,cortegiano1 by all who  

wish to understand the private life of  
the ,italians in the age of the         
,renaissance4#a ,pandolfini lived at the
 time of the war of ,florence with      
,filippo ,visconti the exile1 and the   
return of ,cosimo de' ,medici4 ,he was  
employed by the republic on important   
missions1 and his substance was so great
 that1 on occasion of extraordinary     
aids1 his contributions stood third or  
fourth upon the list4 ,in the ,councils 
of the ,republic he always advocated    
peace1 and in particular he spoke       
against ,impresa di ,lucca4 ,as age     
advanced1 he retired from public        
affairs1 and devoted himself to study1  
religious exercises1 and country        
excursions4 ,he possessed a beautiful   
villa at ,signa1 notable for the        
splendor of its maintenance in all      
points which befit a gentleman4 ,there  
he had the honor on various occasions of
 entertaining ,pope ,eugenius1 ,king    
,rene1 ,francesco ,sforza1 and the      
,marchese ,piccinino4 ,his sons lived   

with him1 and spent much of their spare 
time in hawking and the chase4 ,they    
were three1 ,carlo1 who rose to great   
dignity in the republic1 ,giannozzo1    
still more eminent as a public man1 and 
,pandolfo1 who died young4 ,his wife1   
one of the ,strozzi1 died while ,agnolo 
was between thirty and forty2 but he    
never married again4 ,he was a great    
friend of ,lionardo ,aretino1 who       
published nothing without his approval4 
,he lived to be upwards of eighty-five1 
and died in #addf4 ,these facts         
sufficiently indicate what sort of man  
was the supposed author of the ,essay on
 the ,family1 proving1 as they do1 that 
he passed his leisure among princes and 
scholars1 and that he played some part  
in the public affairs of the ,state of  
,florence4 ,yet his view of human life  
is wholly bourgeois1 though by no means 
ignoble4 ,in his conception1 the first  
of all virtues is thrift1 which should  
regulate the use not only of money1 but 
of all the gifts of nature and of       

fortune4 ,the proper economy of the mind
 involves liberal studies1 courteous    
manners1 honest conduct1 and religion4#b
 ,the right use of the body implies     
keeping it in good health by continence1
 exercise and diet4#c ,the thrift of    
time consists in being never idle4      
,agnolo's sons1 who are represented as  
talking with their father in this       
dialogue1 ask him1 in relation to the   
gifts of fortune1 whether he thinks the 
honors of the ,state desirable4 ,this   
question introduces a long and vehement 
invective against the life of a         
professional statesman1 as of necessity 
fraudulent1 mendacious1 egotistic1      
cruel4#d ,the private man of middle     
station is really happiest2 and only a  
sense of patriotism should induce him1  
not seeking but when sought1 to serve   
the ,state in public office4 ,the really
 dear possessions of a man are his      
family1 his wealth1 his good repute1 and
 his friendships4 ,in order to be       
successful in the conduct of the family1

 a man must choose a large and healthy  
house1 where the whole of his           
offspring--children and grandchildren1  
may live together4 ,he must own an      
estate which will supply him with corn1 
wine1 oil1 wood1 fowls1 in fact with all
 the necessaries of life1 so that he may
 not need to buy much4 ,the main food of
 the family will be bread and wine4 ,the
 discussion of the utility of the farm  
leads ,agnolo to praise the pleasure and
 profit to be derived from life in the  
,villa4 ,but at the same time a         
town-house has to be maintained2 and it 
is here that the sons of the family     
should be educated1 so that they may    
learn caution1 and avoid vice by knowing
 its ugliness4 ,in order to meet        
expenses1 some trade must be followed1  
silk or wool manufacture being          
preferred2 and in this the whole family 
should join1 the head distributing work 
of various kinds to his children1 as he 
deems most fitting1 and always employing
 them rather than strangers4 ,thus we   

get the three great elements of the     
,florentine citizen's life3 the casa1 or
 town-house1 the villa1 or country-farm1
 and the bottega1 or place of business4 
,what follows is principally concerned  
with the details of economy4 ,expenses  
are of two sorts3 necessary1 for the    
repair of the house1 the maintenance of 
the farm1 the stocking of the shop2 and 
unnecessary1 for plate1 house           
decoration1 horses1 grand clothes1      
entertainments4 ,on this topic ,agnolo  
inveighs with severity against household
 parasites1 bravi1 and dissolute        
dependents4#e ,a little further on he   
indulges in another diatribe against    
great nobles1 i signori1 from whom he   
would have his sons keep clear at any   
cost4#f ,it is the animosity of the     
industrious burgher for the haughty1    
pleasure-loving1 idle1 careless man of  
blood and high estate4 ,in the bourgeois
 household described by ,pandolfini no  
one can be indolent4 ,the men have to   
work outside and collect wealth1 the    

women to stay at home and preserve it4  
,the character of a good housewife is   
sketched very minutely4 ,pandolfini     
describes how1 when he was first        
married1 he took his wife over the      
house1 and gave up to her care all its  
contents4 ,then he went into their      
bedroom1 and made her kneel with him    
before ,madonna1 and prayed ,god to give
 them wealth1 friends1 and male         
children4 ,after that he told her that  
honesty would be her great charm in his 
eyes1 as well as her chief virtue1 and  
advised her to forego the use of paints 
and cosmetics4 ,much sound advice       
follows as to the respective positions  
of the master and the mistress in the   
household1 the superintendence of       
domestics1 and the right ordering of the
 most insignificant matters4 ,the       
quality of the dress which will beseem  
the children of an honored citizen on   
various occasions1 the pocket money of  
the boys1 the food of the common table1 
are all discussed with some minuteness3 

and the wife is made to feel that she   
must learn to be neither jealous nor    
curious about concerns which her husband
 finds it expedient to keep private4    
#a ,i ought to state that ,pandolfini is
 at least a century earlier     in date 
than ,casliglione1 and that he          
represents a more primitive             
condition of society4 ,the facts ,i have
 mentioned about his life are     given 
on the authority of ,vespasiano da      
,bisticci4 ,the references are     made 
to the ,milanese edition of #ahjb4 ,it  
must also be added that     there are   
strong reasons for assigning the        
treatise in question to     ,leo        
,battista ,alberti4 ,as it professes1   
however1 to give a picture of           
,pandolfini's family1 ,i have adhered to
 the old title4 ,but the whole          
question of the authorship of the       
,famiglia will be fully discussed     in
 the last section of my book1 which     
deals with ,italian literature4         
,personally4 ,i accept the theory of    

,alberti's authorship4      #b ,a       
beautiful description of the religious  
temper1 p4 #gd4      #c ,what           
,pandolfini says about the beauty of the
 body is worthy of a     ,greek3 what he
 says about exercise might have been    
written by an     ,englishman1 p4 #gg4  
#d ,pp4 #hb-hi are very important as    
showing how low the art of     politics 
had sunk in ,italy4      #e ,p4 #abe4   
#f ,p4 #age4  ,the charm of a treatise  
like that of ,pandolfini on the family  
evaporates as soon as we try to make a  
summary of its contents4 ,enough1       
however1 has been quoted to show the    
thoroughly bourgeois tone which         
prevailed among the citizens of         
,florence in the fifteenth century4#a   
,very important results were the natural
 issue of this commercial spirit in the 
,state4 ,talking of the ,ordinanze di   
,giustizia1 ,varchi observes3 ',while   
they removed in part the civil discords 
of ,florence1 they almost entirely      
extinguished all nobility of feeling in 

the ,florentines1 and tended as much to 
diminish the power and haughtiness of   
the city as to abate the insolence of   
the patriciate4'#b ,a little further on 
he says3 ',hence may all prudent men see
 how ill-ordered in all things1 save    
only in the ,grand ,council1 has been   
the commonwealth of ,florence2 seeing   
that1 to speak of nought else1 that kind
 of men who in a wisely constituted     
republic ought not to fulfill any       
magistracy whatever1 the merchants and  
artisans of all sorts1 are in ,florence 
alone capable of taking office1 to the  
exclusion of all others4' ,machiavelli1 
less wordy but far more emphatic than   
,varchi1 says of the same revolution3   
',this caused the abandonment by        
,florence not only of arms1 but of all  
nobility of soul4'#c ,the most notable  
consequence of the mercantile temper of 
the republics was the ruinous system of 
mercenary warfare1 with all its         
attendant evils of ambitious captains of
 adventure1 irresponsible soldiery1 and 

mock campaigns1 adopted by the free     
,italian ,states4 ,it is true that even 
if the ,italians had maintained their   
national militias in full force1 they   
might not have been able to resist the  
shock of ,france and ,spain any better  
than the armies of ,thebes1 ,sparta1 and
 ,athens averted the ,macedonian        
hegemony4 ,but they would at least have 
run a better chance1 and not perhaps    
have perished so ignobly through the    
treason of an ,alfonso d',este 7#aebg71 
of a ,marquis of ,pescara 7#aebe71 of a 
,duke of ,urbino 7#aebg71 and of a      
,malatesta ,baglioni 7#aecj74d          
,machiavelli1 in a weighty passage at   
the end of the first book of his        
,florentine ,history1 sums up the       
various causes which contributed to the 
disuse of national arms among the       
,italians of the ,renaissance4 ,the fear
 of the despot for his subjects1 the    
priest-rule of the ,church1 the jealousy
 of ,venice for her own nobles1 and the 
commercial sluggishness of the          

,florentine burghers1 caused each and   
all of these powers1 otherwise so       
different1 to intrust their armies to   
paid captains4 ',di questi adunque      
oziosi principi e di queste vilissime   
armi sara piena la mia istoria1' is the 
contemptuous phrase with which he winds 
up his analysis4#e      #a ,varchi 7book
 x4 cap4 #fi7 quotes a ,florentine      
proverb3 ',chiunque     non sta a       
bottega e ladro4' ,see above1 p4 #bci4  
#b ,varchi1 vol4 i4 p4 #afh2 compare    
vol4 ii4 p4 #hg1 however4      #c ,ist4 
,fior4 lib4 ii4 end4 ,aristotle's       
contempt for the ,greek3     technitai  
emerges in these comments of the        
doctrinaires4      #d ,to multiply the  
instances of fraud and treason on the   
part of     ,italian condottieri would  
be easy4 ,i have only mentioned the     
notable     examples which fall within a
 critical period of five years4 ,the    
,marquis of ,pescara betrayed to        
,charles ,v4 the league for the         
liberation of ,italy1 which he had      

joined at ,milan4 ,the ,duke of         
,ferrara received and victualed         
,bourbon's 7then ,frundsberg's7 army on 
its way to sack ,rome1 because he spited
 the ,pope1 and wanted to     seize     
,modena for himself4 ,the ,duke of      
,urbino1 wishing to punish     ,clement 
,,vii4 for personal injuries1 omitted to
 relieve ,rome when it     was being    
plundered by the ,lutherans1 though he  
held the commission     of the ,italian 
,league4 ,malatesta ,baglioni sold      
,florence1 which he     had undertaken  
to defend1 to the ,imperial army under  
the ,prince of     ,orange4      #e     
',with the records of these indolent    
princes and most abject     armaments1  
my history will1 therefore1 be filled4' 
,compare the     following passage in a 
letter from ,machiavelli to ,francesco  
,guicciardini 7,op4 vol4 x4 p4 #bee73   
',comincio ora a scrivere di     nuovo1 
e mi sfogo accusando i principi1 che    
hanno fatto ogni cosa     per condurci  
qui4'     ,,chapter ,v4  ,,the          

,,florentine ,,historians4   ,florence1 
the ,city of ,intelligence--,cupidity1  
,curiosity1 and the ,love of            
,beauty--,florentine ,historical        
,literature--,philosophical ,study of   
,history--,ricordano                    
,malespini--,florentine ,history        
compared with the ,chronicles of other  
,italian ,towns--,the ,villani--,the    
,date #acjj--,statistics--,dante's      
,political ,essays and ,pamphlets--,dino
 ,compagni--,latin ,histories of        
,florence in ,fifteenth                 
,century--,lionardo ,bruni and ,poggio  
,bracciolini--,the ,historians of the   
,first ,half of the ,sixteenth          
,century--,men of ,action and ,men of   
,letters3 the ,doctrinaires--,florence  
between #adid and #aecg--,varchi1       
,segni1 ,nardi1 ,pitti1 ,nerli1         
,guicciardini--,the ,political          
,importance of these ,writers--,the     
,last ,years of ,florentine             
,independence1 and the ,siege of        
#aebi--,state of ,parties--,filippo     

,strozzi--,different ,views of          
,florentine ,weakness taken by the      
,historians--,their ,literary           
,qualities--,francesco ,guicciardini and
 ,niccolo ,machiavelli--,scientific     
,statists--,discord between ,life and   
,literature--,the ,biography of         
,guicciardini--,his ',istoria           
d',italia1' ',dialogo del ,reggimento di
 ,firenze1' ',storia ,fiorentina1'      
',ricordi'--,biography of               
,machiavelli--,his ,scheme of a         
,national ,militia--,dedication of ',the
 ,prince'--,political ,ethics of the    
,italian ,renaissance--,the             
,discorsi--,the ,seven ,books on the    
,art of ,war and the ',history of       
,florence4'   ,florence was essentially 
the city of intelligence in modern      
times4 ,other nations have surpassed the
 ,italians in their genius--the quality 
which gave a superhuman power of insight
 to ,shakespeare and an universal       
sympathy to ,goethe4 ,but nowhere else  
except at ,athens has the whole         

population of a city been so permeated  
with ideas1 so highly intellectual by   
nature1 so keen in perception1 so witty 
and so subtle1 as at ,florence4 ,the    
fine and delicate spirit of the         
,italians existed in quintessence among 
the ,florentines4 ,and of this          
superiority not only they but the       
inhabitants also of ,rome and ,lombardy 
and ,naples1 were conscious4 ,boniface  
,,viii41 when he received the           
ambassadors of the ,christian powers in 
,rome on the occasion of the ,jubilee in
 #acjj1 observed that all of them were  
citizens of ,florence4 ,the witticism   
which he is said to have uttered1 i     
,fiorentini essere il quinto elemento1  
'that the men of ,florence form a fifth 
element1' passed into a proverb4 ,the   
primacy of the ,florentines in          
literature1 the fine arts1 law1         
scholarship1 philosophy1 and science was
 acknowledged throughout ,italy4  ,when 
the struggle for existence has been     
successfully terminated1 and the mere   

instinct of self-preservation no longer 
absorbs the activities of a people1 then
 the three chief motive forces of       
civilization begin to operate4 ,these   
are cupidity1 or the desire of wealth   
and all that it procures2 curiosity1 or 
the desire to discover new facts about  
the world and man2 and the love of      
beauty1 which is the parent of all art4 
,commerce1 philosophy1 science1         
scholarship1 sculpture1 architecture1   
painting1 music1 poetry1 are the        
products of these ruling                
impulses--everything in fact which gives
 a higher value to the life of man4     
,different nations have been swayed by  
these passions in different degrees4    
,the artistic faculty1 which owes its   
energy to the love of beauty1 has been  
denied to some2 the philosophic faculty1
 which starts with curiosity1 to others2
 and some again have shown but little   
capacity for amassing wealth by industry
 or calculation4 ,it is rare to find a  
whole nation possessed of all in an     

equal measure of perfection4 ,such1     
however1 were the ,florentines4#a ,the  
mere sight of the city and her monuments
 would suffice to prove this4 ,but we   
are not reduced to the necessity of     
divining what ,florence was by the      
inspection of her churches1 palaces1 and
 pictures4 ,that marvelous intelligence 
which was her pride1 burned brightly in 
a long series of historians and         
annalists1 who have handed down to us   
the biography of the city in volumes as 
remarkable for penetrative acumen as for
 definite delineation and dramatic      
interest4 ,we possess picture-galleries 
of pages in which the great men of      
,florence live again and seem to breathe
 and move1 epics of the commonwealth's  
vicissitudes from her earliest          
commencement1 detailed tragedies and    
highly finished episodes1 studies of    
separate characters1 and idylls detached
 from the main current of her story4    
,the whole mass of this historical      
literature is instinct with the spirit  

of criticism and vital with experience4 
,the writers have been either actors or 
spectators of the drama4 ,trained in the
 study of antiquity1 as well as in the  
council-chambers of the republic and in 
the courts of foreign princes1 they     
survey the matter of their histories    
from a lofty vantage ground1 fortifying 
their speculative conclusions by        
practical knowledge and purifying their 
judgment of contemporary events with the
 philosophy of the past4 ,owing to this 
rare mixture of qualities1 the          
,florentines deserve to be styled the   
discoverers of the historic method for  
the modern world4 ,they first perceived 
that it is unprofitable to study the    
history of a state in isolation1 that   
not wars and treaties only1 but the     
internal vicissitudes of the            
commonwealth1 form the real subject     
matter of inquiry1#b and that the       
smallest details1 biographical1         
economical1 or topographical1 may have  
the greatest value4 ,while the rest of  

,europe was ignorant of statistics1 and 
little apt to pierce below the surface  
of events to the secret springs of      
conduct1 in ,florence a body of         
scientific historians had gradually been
 formed1 who recognized the necessity of
 basing their investigations upon a     
diligent study of public records1       
state-papers1 and notes of contemporary 
observers4#c ,the same men prepared     
themselves for the task of criticism by 
a profound study of ethical and         
political philosophy in the works of    
,aristotle1 ,plato1 ,cicero1 and        
,tacitus4#d ,they examined the methods  
of classical historians1 and compared   
the annals of ,greece1 ,rome1 and       
,palestine with the chronicles of their 
own country4 ,they attempted to divine  
the genius and to characterize the      
special qualities of the nations1       
cities1 and individuals of whom they had
 to treat4#e ,at the same time they     
spared no pains in seeking out persons  
possessed of accurate knowledge in every

 branch of inquiry that came beneath    
their notice1 so that their treatises   
have the freshness of original documents
 and the charm of personal memoirs4     
,much1 as ,i have elsewhere noted1 was  
due to the peculiarly restless temper of
 the ,florentines1 speculative1         
variable1 unquiet in their politics4    
,the very qualities which exposed the   
commonwealth to revolutions1 developed  
the intelligence of her historians2 her 
want of stability was the price she paid
 for intellectual versatility and       
acuteness unrivaled in modern times4 ',o
 ingenia magis acria quam matura1 said  
,petrarch1 and with truth1 about the    
wits of the ,florentines2 for it is     
their property by nature to have more of
 liveliness and acumen than of maturity 
or gravity4'#f      #a ,since the       
,greeks1 no people have combined        
curiosity and the love     of beauty1   
the scientific and the artistic sense1  
in the same     proportions as the      
,florentines4      #b ,see              

,machiavelli's critique of ,lionardo    
d',arezzo and ,messer     ,poggio1 in   
the ,proemio to his ,florentine         
,history4 ,his own     conception of    
history1 as the attempt to delineate the
 very spirit     of a nation1 is highly 
philosophical4      #c ,the high sense  
of the requirements of scientific       
history     attained by the ,italians is
 shown by what ,giovio relates of ,gian 
,galeazzo's archives 7,vita di ,gio4    
,galeazzo1 p4 #ajg74 ,after             
describing these1 he adds3 'talche1 chi 
volesse scrivere un'     historia giusta
 non potrebbe desiderare altronde ne piu
 abbondante     ne piu certa materia2   
perciocche da questi libri              
facilissimamente si     traggono le     
cagioni delle guerre1 i consigli1 e i   
successi dell'     imprese4' ,the       
,proemio to ,varchi's ,storie           
,fiorentine 7vol4 i4 pp4     #db-dd71   
which gives an account of his           
preparatory labors1 is an               
unconscious treatise on the model       

historian4 ,accuracy1 patience1     love
 of truth1 sincerity in criticism1 and  
laborious research1 have     all their  
proper place assigned to them4 ,compare 
,guicciardini1     ,ricordi1 ,no4       
cxliii41 for sound remarks upon the     
historian's duty     of collecting the  
statistics of his own age and country4  
#d ,the prefaces to ,giannotti's        
critiques of ,florence and of ,venice   
show how thoroughly his mind had been   
imbued with the ,politics of            
,aristotle4 ,varchi acknowledges the    
direct influence of ,polybius and       
,tacitus4 ,livy is ,machiavelli's       
favorite4      #e ,on this point the    
,relazioni of ,italian ambassadors are  
invaluable4 ,what dryly philosophical   
compendia are the notes of              
,machiavelli upon the ,french ,court and
 ,cesare ,borgia6 ,how astute are       
the ,venetian letters on the opinions   
and qualities of the ,roman             
,prelates6      #f ,guicc4 ,ricordi1    
cciii4 ,op4 ,ined4 vol4 i4 p4 #bbi4     

,the year #acjj marks the first         
development of historical research in   
,florence4 ,two great writers1 ,dante   
,alighieri and ,giovanni ,villani1 at   
this epoch pursued different lines of   
study1 which determined the future of   
this branch of literature for the       
,italians4 ,it is not uncharacteristic  
of ,florentine genius that while the    
chief city of ,tuscany was deficient in 
historians of her achievements before   
the date which ,i have mentioned1 her   
first essays in historiography should   
have been monumental and standard-making
 for the rest of ,italy4 ,just as the   
great burghs of ,lombardy attained      
municipal independence somewhat earlier 
than those of ,tuscany1 so the historic 
sense developed itself in the valley of 
the ,po at a period when the valley of  
the ,arno had no chronicler4 ,sire ,raul
 and ,ottone ,morena1 the annalists of  
,milan1 ,fra ,salimbene1 the sagacious  
and comprehensive historian of ,parma1  
,rolandino1 to whom we owe the chronicle

 of ,ezzelino and the tragedy of the    
,trevisan ,marches1 have no rivals south
 of the ,apennines in the thirteenth    
century4 ,even the ,chronicle of the    
,malespini family1 written in the vulgar
 tongue from the beginning of the world 
to the year #abha1 which occupies #adf  
volumes of ,muratori's ,collection1 and 
which used to be the pride of ,tuscan   
antiquarians1 has recently been shown to
 be in all probability a compilation    
based upon the ,annals of ,villani4#a   
,this makes the clear emergence of a    
scientific sense for history in the year
 #acjj at ,florence all the more        
remarkable4 ,in order to estimate the   
high quality of the work achieved by the
 ,villani it is only necessary to turn  
the pages of some early chronicles of   
sister cities which still breathe the   
spirit of unintelligent mediaeval       
industry1 before the method of history  
had been critically apprehended4 ,the   
naivete of these records may be         
appreciated by the following extracts4  

,a ,roman writes#b3 ',i ,lodovico       
,bonconte ,monaldeschi was born in      
,orvieto1 and was brought up in the city
 of ,rome1 where ,i have resided4 ,i was
 born in the year #acbg1 in the month of
 ,june1 at the time when the ,emperor   
,lodovico came4 ,now ,i wish to relate  
the whole history of my age1 seeing that
 ,i lived one hundred and fifteen years 
without illness1 except that when ,i was
 born ,i fainted1 and ,i died of old    
age1 and remained in bed twelve months  
on end4' ,burigozzo's ,chronicle of     
,milan1 again1 concludes with these     
words3#c ',as you will see in the       
,annals of my son1 inasmuch as the death
 which has overtaken me prevents my     
writing more4' ,chronicles conceived and
 written in this spirit are diaries of  
events1 repertories of strange stories1 
and old wives' tales1 without a deep    
sense of personal responsibility1 devoid
 alike of criticism and artistic unity4 
,very different is the character of the 
historical literature which starts into 

being in ,florence at the opening of the
 fourteenth century4      #a ,see ,paul 
,scheffer-,boichorst1 ,florentiner      
,studien1     ,leipzig1 #ahgd1 ,carl    
,hegel1 in his defense of ,compagni1    
,die     ,chronik des ,dino ,compagni1  
,versuch einer ,rettung1 ,leipzig1      
#ahge1 admits the proof of spuriousness4
 ,see the preface1 p4 v4     ,the point1
 however1 is still disputed by          
,florentine scholars of     high        
authority4 ,gino ,capponi1 in his       
,storia della ,repubblica     di        
,firenze 7vol4 i4 ,appendix1 final      
note71 observes that while     the      
,villani are popular in tone the        
,malespini ,chronicle is     feudal4    
,adolfo ,bartoli 7,storia della ,lett4  
,it4 vol4 iii4 p4     #aee7 treats the  
question as still open4 ,the custom of  
preserving brief fasti in the archives  
of great houses     rendered such       
compilations as the ,malespini          
,chronicle is now     supposed to have  
been both easy and attractive4 ,the     

,christian     name ,ricordano given to 
the first ,malespini annalist does not  
exist4 ,it has been suggested that it is
 due to a misreading of     an initial  
sentence1 ,ricordano i ,malespini4      
#b ,muratori1 vol4 xii4 p4 #ebi4      #c
 ,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 iii4 p4 #eeb4 ,both 
,monaldeschi and ,burigozzo     appear  
to mention their own death4 ,the        
probability is that their     annals1 as
 we have them1 have been freely dealt   
with by transcribers     or continuators
 adopting the historic ',i' after the   
decease of the     titular authors4     
,giovanni ,villani relates how1 having  
visited ,rome on the occasion of the    
,jubilee1 when #bjj1jjj pilgrims crowded
 the streets of the ,eternal ,city1 he  
was moved in the depth of his soul by   
the spectacle of the ruins of the       
discrowned mistress of the world4#a     
',when ,i saw the great and ancient     
monuments of ,rome1 and read the        
histories and the great deeds of the    
,romans1 written by ,virgil1 and by     

,sallust1 and by ,lucan1 and by ,livy1  
and by ,valerius1 and ,orosius1 and     
other masters of history1 who related   
small as well as great things of the    
acts and doings of the ,romans1 ,i took 
style and manner from them1 though1 as a
 learner1 ,i was not worthy of so vast a
 work4' ,like our own ,gibbon1 musing   
upon the steps of ,ara ,celi1 within    
sight of the ,capitol1 and within       
hearing of the monks at prayer1 he felt 
the genius loci stir him with a mixture 
of astonishment and pathos4 ,then       
'reflecting that our city of ,florence1 
the daughter and the creature of ,rome1 
was in the ascendant toward great       
achievements1 while ,rome was on the    
wane1 ,i thought it seemly to relate in 
this new ,chronicle all the doings and  
the origins of the town of ,florence1 as
 far as ,i could collect and discover   
them1 and to continue the acts of the   
,florentines and the other notable      
things of the world in brief onwards so 
long as it shall be ,god's pleasure1    

hoping in whom by ,his grace ,i have    
done the work rather than by my poor    
knowledge2 and therefore in the year    
#acjj1 when ,i returned from ,rome1 ,i  
began to compile this book1 to the      
reverence of ,god and ,saint ,john and  
the praise of this our city ,florence4' 
,the key-note is struck in these        
passages4 ,admiration for the past      
mingles with prescience of the future4  
,the artist and the patriot awake       
together in ,villani at the sight of    
,rome and the thought of ,florence4     
#a ,lib4 viii4 cap4 #cf4  ,the result of
 this visit to ,rome in #acjj was the   
,chronicle which ,giovanni ,villani     
carried in twelve books down to the year
 #acdf4 ,in #acdh he died of the plague1
 and his work was continued on the same 
plan by his brother ,matteo4 ,matteo in 
his turn died of plague in #acfb1 and   
left the ,chronicle to his son ,filippo1
 who brought it down to the year #acfe4 
,of the three ,villani1 ,giovanni is the
 greatest1 both as a master of style and

 as an historical artist4 ,matteo is    
valuable for the general reflections    
which form exordia to the eleven books  
that bear his name4 ,filippo was more of
 a rhetorician4 ,he is known as the     
public lecturer upon the ,divine        
,comedy1 and as the author of some      
interesting but meager lives of eminent 
,florentines1 his predecessors or       
contemporaries4  ,the ,chronicle of the 
,villani is a treasure-house of clear   
and accurate delineations rather than of
 profound analysis4 ,not only does it   
embrace the whole affairs of ,europe in 
annals which leave little to be desired 
in precision of detail and brevity of   
statement2 but1 what is more to our     
present purpose1 it conveys a lively    
picture of the internal condition of the
 ,florentines and the statistics of the 
city in the fourteenth century4 ,we     
learn1 for example1 that the ordinary   
revenues of ,florence amounted to about 
#cjj1jjj golden florins1#a levied       
chiefly by way of taxes--#ij1bjj        

proceeding from the octroi1 #eh1cjj from
 the retail wine trade1 #ad1dej from the
 salt duties1 and so on through the     
various imposts1 each of which is       
carefully calculated4 ,then we are      
informed concerning the ordinary        
expenditure of the ,commune--#ae1bdj    
lire for the podesta and his            
establishment1 #e1hhj lire for the      
,captain of the people and his train1   
#c1fjj for the maintenance of the       
,signory in the ,palazzo1 and so on down
 to a sum of #b1djj for the food of the 
lions1 for candles1 torches1 and        
bonfires4 ,the amount spent publicly in 
almsgiving2 the salaries of ambassadors 
and governors2 the cost of maintaining  
the state armory2 the pay of the        
night-watch2 the money spent upon the   
yearly games when the palio was run2 the
 wages of the city trumpeters2 and so   
forth1 are all accurately reckoned4 ,in 
fact the ordinary ,budget of the        
,commune is set forth4 ,the rate of     
extraordinary expenses during war-time  

is estimated on the scale of sums voted 
by the ,florentines to carry on the war 
with ,martino della ,scala in #acch4 ,at
 that time they contributed #be1jjj     
florins monthly to ,venice1 maintained  
full garrisons in the fortresses of the 
republic1 and paid as well for upwards  
of #a1jjj men at arms4 ,in order that a 
correct notion of these balance-sheets  
may be obtained1 ,villani is careful to 
give particulars about the value of the 
florin and the lira1 and the number of  
florins coined yearly4 ,in describing   
the condition of ,florence at this      
period1 he computes the number of       
citizens capable of bearing arms1       
between the ages fifteen and seventy1 at
 #be1jjj2 the population of the city at 
#ij1jjj1 not counting the monastic      
communities1 nor including the          
strangers1 who are estimated at about   
#ae1jjj4 ,the country districts         
belonging to ,florence add #hj1jjj to   
this calculation4 ,it is further noticed
 that the excess of male births over    

female was between #cjj and #ejj yearly 
in ,florence1 that from #h1jjj to       
#aj1jjj boys and girls learned to read2 
that there were six schools1 in which   
from #aj1jjj to #ab1jjj children learned
 arithmetic2 and four high schools1 in  
which from #eej to #fjj learned grammar 
and logic4 ,then follows a list of the  
religious houses and churches3 among the
 charitable institutions are reckoned   
#cj hospitals capable of receiving more 
than #a1jjj sick people4 ,here too it   
may be mentioned that ,villani reckons  
the beggars of ,florence at #ag1jjj1    
with the addition of #d1jjj paupers and 
sick persons and religious mendicants4#b
 ,these mendicants were not all         
,florentines1 but received relief from  
the city charities4 ,the big wool       
factories are numbered at upwards of two
 hundred2 and it is calculated that from
 sixty to eighty thousand pieces of     
cloth were turned out yearly1 to the    
value in all of about #a1bjj1jjj        
florins4 ,more than #cj1jjj persons     

lived by this industry4 ,the calimala   
factories1 where foreign cloths were    
manufactured into fine materials1       
numbered about twenty4 ,these imported  
some #aj1jjj pieces of cloth yearly1 to 
the value of #cjj1jjj florins4 ,the     
exchange offices are estimated at about 
eighty in number4 ,the fortunes made in 
,florence by trade and by banking were  
colossal for those days4 ,villani tells 
us that the great houses of the ,bardi  
and ,peruzzi lent to our ,king ,edward  
,,iii4 more than #a1cfe1jjj golden      
florins4#c ',and mark this1' he         
continues1 'that these moneys were      
chiefly the property of persons who had 
given it to them on deposit4' ,this debt
 was to have been recovered out of the  
wool revenues and other income of the   
,english2 in fact1 the ,bardi and       
,peruzzi had negotiated a national loan1
 by which they hoped to gain a superb   
percentage on their capital4 ,the       
speculation1 however1 proved            
unfortunate2 and the two houses would   

have failed1 but for their enormous     
possessions in ,tuscany4 ,we hear1 for  
example1 of the ,bardi buying the       
villages of ,vernia and ,mangona in     
#accg4d ,as it was1 their credit        
received a shock from which it never    
thoroughly recovered2 and a little later
 on1 in #acdb1 after the ruinous wars   
with the ,la ,scala family and ,pisa1   
and after the loss of ,lucca1 they      
finally stopped payment and declared    
themselves bankrupt4#e ,the shock       
communicated by this failure to the     
whole commerce of ,christendom is well  
described by ,villani4#f ,the enormous  
wealth amassed by ,florentine citizens  
in commerce may be still better imagined
 when we remember that the ,medici1     
between the years #adcd and #adga1 spent
 some #ffc1gee golden florins upon alms 
and public works1 of which #djj1jjj were
 supplied by ,cosimo alone4 ,but to     
return to ,villani2 not content with the
 statistics which ,i have already       
extracted1 he proceeds to calculate how 

many bushels of wheat1 hogsheads of     
wine1 and head of cattle were consumed  
in ,florence by the year and the week4#g
 ,we are even told that in the month of 
,july #abhj1 #dj1jjj loads of melons    
entered the gate of ,san ,friano and    
were sold in the city4 ,nor are the     
manners and the costume of the          
,florentines neglected3 the severe and  
decent dress of the citizens in the good
 old times 7about #abfj7 is contrasted  
with the new-fangled fashions introduced
 by the ,french in #acdb4h ,in addition 
to all this miscellaneous information   
may be mentioned what we learn from     
,matteo ,villani concerning the         
foundation of the ,monte or ,public     
,funds of ,florence in the year #acde1i 
as well as the remarkable essay upon the
 economical and other consequences of   
the plague of #acdh1 which forms the    
prelude to his continuation of his      
brother's ,chronicle4#aj      #a xi4    
#fb4      #b x4 #afb4      #c xi4 #hh4  
#d xi4 #gd4 ,on this occasion a law was 

passed forbidding citizens to     become
 lords of districts within the territory
 of ,florence4      #e xi4 #ch4      #f 
xi4 #hh4      #g xi1 #id4      #h vi4   
#fi2 xii4 #d4      #i iii4 #ajf4        
#aj i4 #a-h4  ,in his survey of the     
results of the ,black ,death1 ,matteo   
notices not only the diminution of the  
population1 but the alteration in public
 morality1 the displacement of property1
 the increase in prices1 the diminution 
of labor1 and the multiplication of     
lawsuits1 which were the consequences   
direct or indirect of the frightful     
mortality4 ,among the details which he  
has supplied upon these topics deserve  
to be commemorated the enormous bequests
 to public charities in                 
,florence--#cej1jjj florins to the      
,society of ,orsammichele1 #be1jjj to   
the ,compagnia della ,misericordia1 and 
#be1jjj to the ,hospital of ,santa      
,maria ,nuova4 ,the poorer population   
had been almost utterly destroyed by the
 plague2 so that these funds were for   

the most part wasted1 misapplied1 and   
preyed upon by mal-administrators4#a    
,the foundation of the ,university of   
,florence is also mentioned as one of   
the extraordinary consequences of this  
calamity4      #a ,matteo ,villani      
expressly excepts the ,hospital of ,s4  
,maria ,nuova1     which seems to have  
been well managed4  ,the whole work of  
the ,villani remains a monument1 unique 
in mediaeval literature1 of statistical 
patience and economical sagacity1       
proving how far in advance of the other 
,european nations were the ,italians at 
this period4#a ,dante's aim is wholly   
different4 ,of statistics and of        
historical detail we gain but little    
from his prose works4 ,his mind was that
 of a philosopher who generalizes1 and  
of a poet who seizes salient            
characteristics1 not that of an annalist
 who aims at scrupulous fidelity in his 
account of facts4 ,i need not do more   
than mention here the concise and vivid 
portraits1 which he has sketched in the 

,divine ,comedy1 of all the chief cities
 of ,italy2 but in his treatise ',de    
,monarchia' we possess the first attempt
 at political speculation1 the first    
essay in constitutional philosophy1 to  
which the literature of modern ,europe  
gave birth2 while his letters addressed 
to the princes of ,italy1 the cardinals1
 the emperor and the republic of        
,florence1 are in like manner the first 
instances of political pamphlets setting
 forth a rationalized and consistent    
system of the rights and duties of      
nations4 ,in the ',de ,monarchia' ,dante
 bases a theory of universal government 
upon a definite conception of the nature
 and the destinies of humanity4 ,amid   
the anarchy and discord of ,italy1 where
 selfishness was everywhere predominant1
 and where the factions of the ,papacy  
and ,empire were but cloaks for party   
strife1 ,dante endeavors to bring his   
countrymen back to a sublime ideal of a 
single monarchy1 a true imperium1       
distinct from the priestly authority of 

the ,church1 but not hostile to         
it1--nay1 rather seeking sanction from  
,christ's ,vicar upon earth and         
affording protection to the ,holy ,see1 
as deriving its own right from the same 
,divine source4 ,political science in   
this essay takes rank as an independent 
branch of philosophy1 and the points    
which ,dante seeks to establish are     
supported by arguments implying much    
historical knowledge1 though quaintly   
scholastic in their application4 ,the   
,epistles contain the same thoughts3    
peace1 mutual respect1 and obedience to 
a common head1 the duty of the chief to 
his subordinates and of the governed to 
their lord1 are urged with no less      
force1 but in a more familiar style and 
with direct allusion to the events which
 called each letter forth4 ,they are in 
fact political brochures addressed by a 
thinker from his solitude to the chief  
actors in the drama of history around   
him4 ,nor would it here be right to omit
 some notice of the essay ',de ,vulgari 

,eloquio1' which1 considering the date  
of its appearance1 is no less original  
and indicative of a new spirit in the   
world than the treatise ',de            
,monarchia4' ,it is an attempt to write 
the history of ,italian as a member of  
the ,romance ,languages1 to discuss the 
qualities of its several dialects1 and  
to prove the advantages to be gained by 
the formation of a common literary      
tongue for ,italy4 ,though ,dante was of
 course devoid of what we now call      
comparative philology1 and had but      
little knowledge of the first beginnings
 of the languages which he discusses1   
yet it is not more than the truth to say
 that this essay applies the true method
 of critical analysis for the first time
 to the subject1 and is the first       
attempt to reason scientifically upon   
the origin and nature of a modern       
language4      #a ,we must remember that
 our own annalists1 ,holinshed and      
,stow1     were later by two centuries  
than the ,villani4  ,while discussing   

the historical work of ,dante and the   
,villani1 it is impossible that another 
famous ,florentine should not occur to  
our recollection1 whose name has long   
been connected with the civic contests  
that resulted in the exile of ,italy's  
greatest poet from his native city4 ,yet
 it is not easy for a foreign critic to 
deal with the question of ,dino         
,compagni's ,chronicle--a question which
 for years has divided ,italian students
 into two camps1 which has produced a   
voluminous literature of its own1 and   
which still remains undecided4 ,the     
point at issue is by no means           
insignificant4 ,while one party contends
 that we have in this ,chronicle the    
veracious record of an eye-witness1 the 
other asserts that it is the impudent   
fabrication of a later century1 composed
 on hints furnished by ,dante1 and      
obscure documents of the ,compagni      
family1 and expressed in language that  
has little of the fourteenth century4   
,the one regards it as a faithful       

narrative1 deficient only in minor      
details of accuracy4 ,the other         
stigmatizes it as a wholly untrustworthy
 forgery1 and calls attention to        
numberless mistakes1 confusions1        
misconceptions1 and misrepresentations  
of events1 which place its genuineness  
beyond the pale of possibility4 ,after a
 careful consideration of ,scheffer's1  
,fanfani's1 ,gino ,capponi's1 and       
,isidoro del ,lungo's arguments1 it     
seems to me clearly established that the
 ,chronicle of ,dino ,compagni can no   
longer be regarded as a perfectly       
genuine document of fourteenth-century  
literature4 ,in the form in which we now
 possess it1 we are rather obliged to   
regard it as a rifacimento of some      
authentic history1 compiled during the  
course of the fifteenth century in a    
prose which bears traces of the         
post-,boccaccian style of composition4#a
 ,yet the authority of ,dino ,compagni  
has long been such1 and such is still   
the literary value of the monograph     

which bears his name1 that it would be  
impertinent to dismiss the ',chronicle' 
unceremoniously as a mere fiction4 ,i   
propose1 therefore1 first to give an    
account of the book on its professed    
merits1 and then to discuss1 as briefly 
as ,i can1 the question of its          
authenticity4      #a ,the first critic 
to call ,compagni's authenticity in     
question was     ,pietro ,fanfani1 in an
 article of ,il ,pievano ,arlotto1      
#aheh4 ,the     cause was taken up1     
shortly after this date1 by an abler    
,german     authority1 ,p4              
,scheffer-,boichorst4 ,the works which  
,i have studied on     this subject are1
 #a4 ,florentiner ,studien1 von ,p4     
,scheffer-,boichorst1 ,leipzig1 ,hirzel1
 #ahgd4 #b4 ,dino ,compagni             
vendicato dalla ,calunnia di ,scrittore 
della ,cronica1 di ,pietro     ,fanfani1
 ,milano1 ,carrara1 #ahge4 #c4 ,die     
,chronik des ,dino ,compagni1           
,versuch einer ,rettung1 von ,dr4 ,carl 
,hegel1 ,leipzig1 ,hirzel1 #ahge4       

#d4 ,die ,chronik des ,dino ,compagni1  
,kritik der ,hegelschen ,schrift1       
von ,p4 ,scheffer-,boichorst1 ,leipzig1 
,hirzel1 #ahge4 #e4 ,the note           
appended to ,gino ,capponi's ,storia    
della ,repubblica di ,firenze4 #f4      
,dino ,compagni e la sua ,chronica1 per 
,isidoro del ,lungo1 ,firenze1     ,le  
,mornier4 ,unluckily1 the last-named    
work1 though it consists     already of 
two bulky volumes in large #hvo1 is not 
yet complete2 and     the part which    
will treat of the question of authorship
 and ,,ms4     authority has not        
appeared4  ,the year #acjj1 which ,dante
 chose for the date of his descent with 
,virgil to the nether world1 and which  
marked the beginning of ,villani's      
',chronicle1' is also mentioned by ,dino
 ,compagni in the first sentence of the 
preface to his work4 ',the recollections
 of ancient histories1' he says1 'have a
 long while stirred my mind to writing  
the perilous and ill-fated events1 which
 the noble city1 daughter of ,rome1 has 

suffered many years1 and especially at  
the time of the jubilee in the year     
#acjj4' ,dino ,compagni1 whose          
',chronicle' embraces the period between
 #abhj and #acab1 took the popular side 
in the struggles of #abhb1 sat as ,prior
 in #abhi1 and in #acja1 and was chosen 
,gonfalonier of ,justice in #abic4 ,he  
was therefore a prominent actor in the  
drama of those troublous times4 ,he died
 in #acbd1 two years and four months    
after the date of ,dante's death1 and   
was buried in the church of ,santa      
,trinita4 ,he was a man of the same     
stamp as ,dante2#a burning with love for
 his country1 but still more a lover of 
the truth2 severe in judgment1 but      
beyond suspicion of mere partisanship2  
brief in utterance1 but weighty with    
personal experience1 profound           
conviction1 prophetic intensity of      
feeling1 sincerity1 and justice4 ,as a  
historian1 he narrowed his labors to the
 field of one small but highly finished 
picture4 ,he undertook to narrate the   

civic quarrels of his times1 and to show
 how the commonwealth of ,florence was  
brought to ruin by the selfishness of   
her own citizens2 nor can his           
',chronicle1' although it is by no means
 a masterpiece of historical accuracy or
 of lucid arrangement1 be surpassed for 
the liveliness of its delineation1 the  
graphic clearness of its characters1 the
 earnestness of its patriotic spirit1   
and the acute analysis which lays bare  
the political situation of a republic   
torn by factions1 during the memorable  
period which embraced the revolution of 
,giano della ,bella and the struggles of
 the ,neri and ,bianchi4 ,the comparison
 of ,dino ,compagni with any            
contemporary annalist in ,italy shows   
that here again1 in these pages1 a new  
spirit has arisen4 ,muratori1 proud to  
print them for the first time in #agbf1 
put them on a level with the            
',commentaries of ,caesar'2 ,giordani   
welcomed their author as a second       
,sallust4 ,the political sagacity and   

scientific penetration1 possessed in so 
high a degree by the ,florentines1      
appear in full maturity4 ,compagni's    
',chronicle' heads a long list of       
similar monographs1 unique in the       
literature of a single city4#b      #a  
,the apostrophes to the citizens of     
,florence at large1 and the             
imprecations on some of the worst       
offenders among the party-leaders       
7especially in book ii4 on the occasion 
of the calamities of #acja7     are     
conceived and uttered in the style of   
,dante4      #b ,among these ,i may here
 mention ,gino ,capponi's history of the
     ,ciompi ,rebellion1 ,giovanni      
,cavalcanti's memoirs of the period     
between #adbj and #adeb1 ,leo ,battista 
,alberti's narrative of ,porcari's      
attempt upon the life of ,nicholas ,v41 
,vespasiano's ',biographies1'     and   
,poliziano's ',essay on the ,pazzi      
,conspiracy4' ,gino ,capponi1 born      
about #acej1 was ,prior in #acif1 and   
,gonfalonier of ,justice in #adja       

and #adah2 he died in #adba4 ,giovanni  
,cavalcanti was a zealous admirer     of
 ,cosimo de' ,medici2 he composed his   
',chronicle' in the prison of     the   
,stinche1 where he was unjustly         
incarcerated for a debt to the          
,commune of ,florence4 ,vespasiano da   
,bisticci contributed a series of       
most valuable portraits to the          
literature of ,italy3 all the great     
men of his time are there delineated    
with a simplicity that is the     sign  
of absolute sincerity1 ,poliziano was   
present at the murder of     ,giuliano  
de' ,medici in the ,florentine ,duomo4  
,the historians of the     sixteenth    
century will be noticed together further
 on4  ,the arguments against the        
authenticity of ,dino ,compagni's       
',chronicle' may be arranged in three   
groups4 ,the first concerns the man     
himself4 ,it is urged that1 with the    
exception of his offices as ,prior and  
,gonfalonier1 we have no evidence of his
 political activity1 beyond what is     

furnished by the disputed ',chronicle4' 
,according to his own account1 ,dino    
played a part of the first importance in
 the complicated events of #abhj-acab4  
,yet he is not mentioned by ,giovanni   
,villani1 by ,filippo ,vallani1 or by   
,dante4 ,there is no record of his      
death1 except a ,,ms4 note in the       
,magliabecchian ,codex of his           
',chronicle' of the date #aead4a ,he is 
known in literature as the author of a  
few lyrics and an oration to ,pope ,john
 ,,xxii41 the style of which is so rough
 and mediaeval as to make it incredible 
that the same writer should have        
composed the masterly paragraphs of the 
',chronicle4'#b ,the second group of    
arguments affects the substance of the  
',chronicle' itself4 ,though ,dino was  
,prior when ,charles of ,valois entered 
,florence1 he records that event under  
the date of ,sunday the fourth of       
,november1 whereas ,charles arrived on  
the first of ,november1 and the first   
,sunday of the month was the fifth4 ,he 

differs from the concurrent testimony of
 other historians in making the         
affianced bride of ,buondelmonte dei    
,buondelmonti a ,giantruffetti instead  
of an ,amidei1 and the ,bishop of       
,arezzo a ,pazzi instead of an          
,ubertini4 ,he reckons the ,arti at     
twenty-four1 whereas they numbered      
twenty-one4 ,he places the ,coronation  
of ,henry ,,vii4 in ,august1 instead of 
in ,june1 #acab4 ,he seems to refer to  
the ,palace of the ,signory1 which could
 not have been built at the date in     
question4 ,he asserts that a member of  
the ,benivieni family was killed by one 
of the ,galligai1 whereas the murderer  
was of the blood of the ,galli4 ,he     
represents himself as having been the   
first ,gonfalonier of ,justice who      
destroyed the houses of rebellious      
nobles1 while ,baldo de' ,ruffoli1 who  
held the office before him1 had         
previously carried out the ,ordinances4 
,speaking of ,guido ,cavalcanti about   
the year #acjj1 he calls him 'uno       

giovane gentile'2 and yet ,guido had    
married the daughter of ,farinata degli 
,uberti in #abff1 and certainly did not 
survive #acjj more than a few months4   
,the peace with ,pisa1 which was        
concluded during ,compagni's tenure of  
the ,gonfalonierate1 is not mentioned1  
though this must have been one of the   
most important public events with which 
he was concerned4 ,chronology is        
hopelessly and inextricably confused2   
while inaccuracies and difficulties of  
the kind described abound on every page 
of the ',chronicle1' rendering the labor
 of its last commentator and defender   
one of no small difficulty4 ,the third  
group of arguments assails the language 
of the ',chronicle' and its ,,ms4       
authority4 ,fanfani1 who showed more    
zeal than courtesy in his destructive   
criticism1 undertook to prove that      
,dino's style in general is not         
distinguished for the 'purity1          
simplicity1 and propriety' of the       
trecento#c2 that it abounds in          

expressions of a later period1 such as  
armata for oste1 marciare for andare1   
accio for acciocche1 onde for affinche2 
that numerous imitations of ,dante can  
be traced in it2 and that to an acute   
student of early ,italian prose its     
palpable quattrocentismo is only        
slightly veiled by a persistent         
affectation of fourteenth-century       
archaism4 ,this argument from style     
seems the strongest that can be brought 
against the genuineness of the          
',chronicle'2 for while it is possible  
that ,dino may have made innumerable    
blunders about the events in which he   
took a part1 it is incredible that he   
should have anticipated the growth of   
,italian by at least a century4 ,yet    
judges no less competent than ,fanfani  
in this matter of style1 and far more   
trustworthy as witnesses1 ,vincenzo     
,nannucci1 ,gino ,capponi1 ,isidoro del 
,lungo1 are of opinion that ,dino's     
',chronicle' is a masterpiece of        
,italian fourteenth-century prose2 and  

till ,italian experts are agreed1       
foreign critics must suspend their      
judgment4 ,the analysis of style        
receives a different development from   
,scheffer-,boichorst4 ,in his last essay
 he undertakes to show that many        
passages of the ',chronicle1' especially
 the important one which refers to the  
,ordinamenti della ,giustizia1 have been
 borrowed from ,villani4#d ,this        
critical weapon is difficult to handle1 
for it almost always cuts both ways4    
,yet the ,german historian has made out 
an undoubtedly good case by proving     
,villani's language closer to the       
original ,ordinamenti than ,compagni's4 
,with regard to ,,ms4 authority1 the    
codices of ,dino's ',chronicle' extant  
in ,italy are all of them derived from a
 ,,ms4 transcribed by ,noferi ,busini   
and given by him to ,giovanni ,mazzuoli1
 surnamed ,lo ,stradino1 who was a      
member of the ,florentine ,academy and a
 greedy collector of antiquities4 ,this 
,,ms4 bears the date #aead4 ,the recent 

origin of this parent codex1 and the    
questionable character of ,lo ,stradino1
 gave rise to not unreasonable          
suspicions4 ,fanfani roundly asserted   
that the ',chronicle' must have been    
fabricated as a hoax upon the uncritical
 antiquary1 since it suddenly appeared  
without a pedigree1 at a moment when    
such forgeries were not uncommon4       
,scheffer-,boichorst1 in his most recent
 pamphlet1 committed himself to the     
opinion that either ,lo ,stradino       
himself1 nicknamed ,cronaca ,scorretta  
by his ,florentine cronies1 or one of   
his contemporaries1 was the forger4#e   
,an ,italian impugner of the            
',chronicle1' ,giusto ,grion of ,verona1
 declared for ,antonfrancesco ,doni as  
the fabricator4#f ,these hypotheses1    
however1 are1 to say the least1 unlucky 
for their suggestors1 and really serve  
to weaken rather than to strengthen the 
destructive line of argument4 ,there    
exists an elder codex of which ,fanfani 
and his followers were ignorant4 ,it is 

a ,,ms4 of perhaps the middle of the    
fifteenth century1 which was purchased  
for the ,ashburnham ,library in #ahdf4  
,this ,,ms4 has been minutely described 
by ,professor ,paul ,meyer2 and ,isidoro
 del ,lungo publishes a fac-simile      
specimen of one of its pages4#g ,by some
 unaccountable negligence this latest   
and most determined defender of         
,compagni has failed to examine the     
,,ms4 with his own eyes4      #a ,this  
is ,isidoro del ,lungo's ,codex ,a4 ,the
 note occurs also in the     ,ashburnham
 ,,ms4 which ,del ,lungo refers to the  
fifteenth century4      #b ,on this     
point it is worth mentioning that some  
good critics     refer the poems to an  
elder ,dino ,compagni1 who sat as       
,ancient in     #abea4 ,see the         
discussion of this question1 as also of 
the authorship     of the ,intelligenza1
 claimed by ,isidoro del ,lungo for the 
writer     of the ',chronicle1' in      
,borgognini's ,essays 7,scritti ,vari1  
,bologna1     ,romagnoli1 #ahgg1 vol4   

i474 ,with regard to the oration to     
,pope ,john     ,,xxii4 date #acbf1 it  
must be noted that this performance was 
first     printed by ,anton ,francesco  
,doni in #aedg1 and that its genuineness
     may be disputed4 ,see ,carl ,hegel1
 op4 cit4 pp4 #ah-bb4      #c ,the most 
important of ,fanfani's numerous essays 
on the ,compagni     controversy1       
together with minor notes by his        
supporters1 are     collected in the    
book quoted above1 ,note to p4 #bda4    
,fanfani exceeds     all bounds of      
decency in the language he uses1 and in 
his arrogant     claims to be considered
 an unique judge of fourteenth-century  
style4     ,these claims he bases in    
some measure upon the fact that he      
deceived     the ,della ,crusca by a    
forgery of his own making1 which was    
actually     accepted for the ,archivio 
,storico4 ,see op4 cit4 p4 #aha4      #d
 ,die ,chronik1 etc41 pp4 #ec-eg4       
#e ,die ,chronik1 etc41 p4 #ci4      #f 
,see ,hegel's op4 cit4 p4 #f4      #g   

,see ,del ,lungo1 op4 cit4 vol4 ii4 pp4 
#ai-bc1 and fac-simile1 to     face p4  
#a4 ,this ,,ms4 was bought by ,g4 ,libri
 from the ,pucci family in     #ahdj1   
and sold to ,lord ,ashburnham4 ,del     
,lungo identifies it with a     ,,ms4   
which ,braccio ,compagni in the         
seventeenth century spoke of as     'la 
copia piu antica1 appresso il ,signor   
senatore ,pandolfini4'  ,thus stands the
 question of ,dino ,compagni's          
',chronicle4' ,the defenders of its     
authenticity1 forced to admit           
,compagni's glaring inaccuracies1 fall  
back upon arguments deduced from the    
internal spirit of the author1 from the 
difficulties of fabricating a personal  
narrative instinct with the spirit of   
the fourteenth century1 from the        
hypotheses of a copyist's errors or of a
 thorough-going literary process of     
rewriting at a later date1 from the     
absence of any positive evidence of     
forgery1 and from general considerations
 affecting the validity of destructive  

criticism4 ,one thing has been clearly  
proved in the course of the controversy1
 that the book can have but little      
historical value when not corroborated4 
,still there is a wide gap between      
inaccuracy and willful fabrication4     
,until the best judges of ,italian style
 are agreed that the ',chronicle' could 
not have been written in the second     
decade of the fourteenth century1 the   
arguments adduced from an examination of
 the facts recorded in it are not strong
 enough to demonstrate a forgery4 ,there
 is the further question of cui bono8   
which in all problems of literary       
forgery must first receive some probable
 solution4 ,what proof is there that the
 vanity or the cupidity of any parties  
was satisfied by its production8 ,a book
 exists in a ,,ms4 of about #adej1      
acquires some notice in a ,,ms4 of      
#aead1 but is not published to the world
 until #agbf4 ,supposing it to have been
 a forgery1 the labor of concocting it  
must have been enormous4 ,with all its  

defects1 the ',chronicle' would still   
remain a masterpiece of historical      
research1 imagination1 sympathy with    
bygone modes of feeling1 dramatic vigor1
 and antiquarian command of language4   
,but who profited by that labor8 ,not   
the author of the forgery1 since he was 
dead or buried more than two centuries  
before his fabrication became famous4   
,not the ,compagni family2 for there is 
no evidence to show that they had piqued
 themselves upon being the depositaries 
of their ancestors masterpiece1 nor did 
they make any effort1 at a period when  
the printing-press was very active1 to  
give this jewel of their archives to the
 public4 ,if it be objected that1 on the
 hypothesis of genuineness1 the ,,ms4 of
 the ',chronicle' must have been        
divulged before the beginning of the    
sixteenth century1 we can adduce two    
plausible answers4 ,in the first place1 
,dino was the partisan of a conquered   
cause2 and his family had nothing to    
gain by publishing an acrimonious       

political pamphlet during the triumph of
 his antagonists4 ,in the second place1 
,,mss4 of even greater literary         
importance disappeared in the course of 
the fourteenth century1 to be reproduced
 when their subjects again excited      
interest in the literary world4 ,the    
history of ,dante's treatise ,de        
,vulgari ,eloquio is a case in point4   
,with regard to style1 no foreigner can 
pretend to be a competent judge4        
,reading the celebrated description of  
,florence at the opening of ,dino's     
',chronicle1' ,i seem indeed1 for my own
 part1 to discern a post-,boccaccian    
artificiality of phrase4 ,still there is
 nothing to render it impossible that   
the ',chronicle1' as we possess it1 in  
the texts of #adej787 and #aead1 may be 
a rifacimento of an elder and simpler   
work4 ,in that section of my history    
which deals with ,italian literature of 
the fifteenth century1 ,i shall have    
occasion to show that such remodeling of
 ancient texts to suit the fashion of   

the time was by no means unfrequent4    
,the curious discrepancies between the  
,trattato della ,famiglia as written by 
,alberti and as ascribed to ,pandolfini 
can only be explained upon the          
hypothesis of such rifacimento4 ,if the 
historical inaccuracies in which the    
',chronicle' abounds are adduced as     
convincing proof of its fabrication1 it 
may be replied that the author of so    
masterly a romance would naturally have 
been anxious to preserve a strict       
accordance with documents of            
acknowledged validity4 ,consequently1   
these very blunders might not           
unreasonably be used to combat the      
hypothesis of deliberate forgery4 ,it is
 remarkable1 in this connection1 that   
only one meager reference is made to    
,dante by the ,chronicler1 who1 had he  
been a literary forger1 would scarcely  
have omitted to enlarge upon this theme4
 ,without1 therefore1 venturing to      
express a decided opinion on a question 
which still divides the most competent  

,italian judges1 ,i see no reason to    
despair of the problem being ultimately 
solved in a way less unfavorable to     
,dino ,compagni than                    
,scheffer-,boichorst and ,fanfani would 
approve of4 ,considered as the fifteenth
 century rifacimento of an elder        
document1 the ',chronicle' would lose   
its historical authority1 but would     
still remain an interesting monument of 
,florentine literature1 and would       
certainly not deserve the unqualified   
names of 'forgery' and 'fabrication'    
that have been unhesitatingly showered  
upon it4#a      #a ,it is to be hoped   
that the completion of ,del ,lungo's    
work may     put an end to the ,compagni
 controversy1 either by a solid         
vindication of the ',chronicle1' or by  
so weak a defense as to render          
further partisanship impossible4 ,so far
 as his book has hitherto     appeared1 
it contains no signs of an ultimate     
triumph4 ,the     weightiest point      
contained in it is the discovery of the 

,ashburnham     ,,ms4 ,if ,del ,lungo   
fails to prove his position1 we shall be
 left to     choose between             
,scheffer-,boichorst's absolute         
skepticism or the     modified view     
adopted by me in the text4  ,the two    
chief ,florentine historians of the     
fifteenth century are ,lionardo ,bruni  
of ,arezzo1 and ,poggio ,bracciolini1   
each of whom1 in his capacity of        
,chancellor to the ,republic1 undertook 
to write the annals of the people of    
,florence from the earliest date to his 
own time4 ,lionardo ,aretino wrote down 
to the year #adjd1 and ,poggio          
,bracciolini to the year #adee4 ,their  
histories are composed in ,latin1 and   
savor much of the pedantic spirit of the
 age in which they were projected4#a    
,both of them deserve the criticism of  
,machiavelli1 that they filled their    
pages too exclusively with the wars and 
foreign affairs in which ,florence was  
engaged1 failing to perceive that the   
true object of the historian is to set  

forth the life of a commonwealth as a   
continuous whole1 to draw the portrait  
of a state with due regard to its       
especial physiognomy4#b ,to this        
critique we may add that both ,lionardo 
and ,poggio were led astray by the false
 taste of the earlier ,renaissance4     
,their admiration for ,livy and the     
pedantic proprieties of a labored       
,latinism made them pay more attention  
to rhetoric than to the substance of    
their work4#c ,we meet with frigid      
imitations and bombastic generalities1  
where concise details and graphic       
touches would have been acceptable4 ,in 
short1 these works are rather studies of
 style in an age when the greatest      
stylists were but bunglers and          
beginners1 than valuable histories4 ,the
 ,italians of the fifteenth century1    
striving to rival ,cicero and ,livy1    
succeeded only in becoming lifeless     
shadows of the past4 ,history dictated  
under the inspiration of pedantic       
scholarship1 and with the object of     

reproducing an obsolete style1 by men of
 letters who had played no prominent    
part in the ,commonwealth1#d cannot     
pretend to the vigor and the freshness  
that we admire so much in the writings  
of men like the ,villani1 ,gino         
,capponi1 ,giovanni ,cavalcanti1 and    
many others4 ,yet even after making     
these deductions1 it may be asserted    
with truth that no city of ,italy at    
this period of the ,renaissance1 except 
,florence1 could boast historiographers 
so competent4 ,vespasiano at the close  
of his biography of ,poggio estimates   
their labor in sentences which deserve  
to be remembered3 ',among the other     
singular obligations which the city of  
,florence owes to ,messer ,lionardo and 
to ,messer ,poggio1 is this1 that except
 the ,roman ,commonwealth no republic or
 free state in ,italy has been so       
distinguished as the town of ,florence1 
in having had two such notable writers  
to record its doings as ,messer         
,lionardo and ,messer ,poggio2 for up to

 the time of their histories everything 
was in the greatest obscurity4 ,if the  
republic of ,venice1 which can show so  
many wise citizens1 had the deeds which 
they have done by sea and land committed
 to writing1 it would be far more       
illustrious even than it is now4 ,and   
,galeazzo ,maria1 and ,filippo ,maria1  
and all the ,visconti--their actions    
would also be more famous than they are4
 ,nay1 there is not any republic that   
ought not to give every reward to       
writers who should commemorate its      
doings4 ,we see at ,florence that from  
the foundation of the city to the days  
of ,messer ,lionardo and ,messer ,poggio
 there was no record of anything that   
the ,florentines had done1 in ,latin1 or
 history devoted to themselves4 ,messer 
,poggio follows after ,messer ,lionardo1
 and writes like him in ,latin4         
,giovanni ,villani1 too1 wrote an       
universal history in the vulgar tongue  
of whatsoever happened in every place1  
and introduces the affairs of ,florence 

as they happened4 ,the same did ,messer 
,filippo ,villani1 following after      
,giovanni ,villani4 ,these are they     
alone who have distinguished ,florence  
by the histories that they have         
written4'#e ,the pride of the citizen   
and a just sense of the value of        
history1 together with sound remarks    
upon ,venice and ,milan1 mingle         
curiously in this passage with the      
pedantry of a fifteenth-century scholar4
      #a ,poggio's ,historia ,populi    
,florentini is given in the ,x,xth      
volume of ,muratori's collection4       
,lionardo's ,istoria ,fiorentina1       
translated into ,italian by ,donato     
,acciajuoli1 has been published by      
,le ,monnier 7,firenze1 #ahfa74 ,the    
high praise which ,ugo ,foscolo         
bestowed upon the latter seems due to a 
want of familiarity4      #b ,see the   
preface to the ,history of ,florence1 by
 ,machiavelli4      #c ,lionardo ,bruni1
 for example1 complains in the preface  
to his     history that it is impossible

 to accommodate the rude names of his   
personages to a polished style4      #d 
,both ,poggio and ,lionardo began life  
as ,papal secretaries2 the     latter   
was not made a citizen of ,florence till
 late in his career4      #e ,vite di   
,uomini ,illustri4 ,barbera1 #ahei2 p4  
#dbe4  ,the historians of the first half
 of the sixteenth century are a race    
apart4 ,three generations of pedantic   
erudition and of courtly or scholastic  
trifling had separated the men of       
letters from the men of action1 and had 
made literature a thing of curiosity4   
,three generations of the masked        
,medicean despotism had destroyed the   
reality of freedom in ,florence1 and had
 corrupted her citizens to the core4    
,yet1 strange to say1 it was at the end 
of the fifteenth century that the genius
 of the thirteenth revived4 ,italian    
literature was cultivated for its own   
sake under the auspices of ,lorenzo de' 
,medici4 ,the year #adid marks the      
resurrection of the spirit of old       

liberty beneath the trumpet-blast of    
,savonarola's oratory4 ,amid the        
universal corruption of public morals1  
from the depth of sloth and servitude1  
when the reality of liberty was lost1   
when fate and fortune had combined to   
render constitutional reconstruction    
impossible for the shattered republics  
of ,italy1 the intellect of the         
,florentines displayed itself with more 
than its old vigor in a series of the   
most brilliant political writers who    
have ever illustrated one short but     
eventful period in the life of a single 
nation4 ,that period is marked by the   
years #adid and #aecg4 ,it embraces the 
two final efforts of the ,florentines to
 shake off the ,medicean yoke1 the      
disastrous siege at the end of which    
they fell a prey to the selfishness of  
their own party-leaders1 the persecution
 of ,savonarola by ,pope ,alexander1 the
 ,church-rule of ,popes ,leo and        
,clement1 the extinction of the elder   
branch of the ,medici in its two        

bastards 7,ippolito1 poisoned by his    
brother ,alessandro1 and ,alessandro    
poignarded by his cousin ,lorenzino71   
and the final eclipse of liberty beneath
 the ,spain-appointed dynasty of the    
younger ,medicean line in ,duke ,cosimo4
 ,the names of the historians of this   
period are ,niccolo ,machiavelli1       
,jacopo ,nardi1 ,francesco              
,guicciardini1 ,filippo ,nerli1 ,donato 
,giannotti1 ,benedetto ,varchi1         
,bernardo ,segni1 and ,jacopo ,pitti4#a 
,in these men the mental qualities which
 we admire in the ,villani1 ,dante1 and 
,compagni reappear1 combined1 indeed1 in
 different proportions1 tempered with   
the new philosophy and scholarship of   
the ,renaissance1 and permeated with    
quite another morality4 ,in the interval
 of two centuries freedom has been lost4
 ,it is only the desire for freedom that
 survives4 ,but that1 after the apathy  
of the fifteenth century1 is still a    
passion4 ,the rectitude of instinct and 
the intense convictions of the earlier  

age have been exchanged for a scientific
 clairvoyance1 a 'stoic-epicurean       
acceptance' of the facts of vitiated    
civilization1 which in men like         
,guicciardini and ,machiavelli is       
absolutely appalling4 ,nearly all the   
authors of this period bear a double    
face4 ,they write one set of memoirs for
 the public1 and another set for their  
own delectation4 ,in their inmost souls 
they burn with the zeal for liberty3 yet
 they sell their abilities to the       
highest bidder--to ,popes whom they     
despise1 and to ,dukes whom they revile 
in private4 ,what makes the literary    
labors of these historians doubly       
interesting is that they were carried on
 for the most part independently2 for   
though they lived at the same time1 and 
in some cases held familiar conversation
 with each other1 they gave expression  
to different shades of political        
opinion1 and their histories remained in
 manuscript till some time after their  
death4#b ,the student of the            

,renaissance has1 therefore the         
advantage of comparing and confronting a
 whole band of independent witnesses to 
the same events4 ,beside their own      
deliberate criticism of the drama in    
which all played some part as actors or 
spectators1 we can use the not less     
important testimony they afford         
unconsciously1 according to the bias of 
private or political interest by which  
they are severally swayed4      #a ,the 
dates of these historians are as        
follows3--                              
,,born4  ,,died4           ,machiavelli 
#adfi   #aebg           ,nardi          
#adgf   #aeef           ,guicciardini   
#adhb   #aedj           ,nerli          
#adhe   #aecf           ,giannotti      
#adib   #aegb           ,varchi         
#aejb   #aefe           ,segni          
#aejd   #aeeh           ,pitti          
#aeai   #aehi      #b ,varchi1 it is    
true1 had ,nardi's ,history of ,florence
 and     ,guicciardini's ,history of    
,italy before him while he was compiling

     his ,history of ,florence4 ,but    
,segni and ,nerli were given for the    
first time to the press in the last     
century2 ,pitti in #ahdb1 and           
,guicciardini's ,history of ,florence in
 #ahei4  ,the ,storia ,fiorentina of    
,varchi extends from the year #aebg to  
the year #aech2 that of ,segni from     
#aebg to #aeee2 that of ,nardi from     
#adid to #aeeb2 that of ,pitti from     
#adid to #aebi2 that of ,nerli from     
#adid to #aecg2 that of ,guicciardini   
from #adbj to #aeji4 ,the prefatory     
chapters1 which in most cases introduce 
the special subject of each history1    
contain a series of retrospective       
surveys over the whole history of       
,florence extremely valuable for the    
detailed information they contain1 as   
well as for the critical judgments of   
men whose acumen had been sharpened to  
the utmost by their practical           
participation in politics4 ,it will not1
 perhaps1 be superfluous to indicate the
 different parts played by these        

historians in the events of their own   
time4 ,guicciardini1 it is well known1  
had governed ,bologna and ,romagna for  
the ,medicean ,popes4 ,he too was       
instrumental in placing ,duke ,cosimo at
 the head of the republic in #aecf4 ,at 
,naples1 in #aece1 he pleaded the cause 
of ,duke ,alessandro against the exiles 
before ,charles ,v4 ,nardi on this      
occasion acted as secretary and advocate
 for ,filippo ,strozzi and the exiles2  
his own history was composed in exile at
 ,venice1 where he died4 ,segni was     
nephew of the ,gonfalonier ,capponi1 and
 shared the anxieties of the moderate   
liberals during the siege of ,florence4 
,pitti was a member of the great house  
who contested the leadership of the     
republic with the ,medici in the        
fifteenth century2 his zeal for the     
popular party and his hatred of the     
,palleschi may still perhaps be         
tinctured with ancestral animosity4     
,giannotti1 in whose critique of the    
,florentine republic we trace a spirit  

no less democratic than ,pitti's1 was   
also an actor in the events of the      
siege1 and afterwards appeared among the
 exiles4 ,in the attempt made by the    
,cardinal ,salviati 7#aecg7 to reconcile
 ,duke ,cosimo and the adherents of     
,filippo ,strozzi1 ,giannotti was chosen
 as the spokesman for the latter4 ,he   
wrote and died in exile at ,venice4     
,nerli again took part in the events of 
those troublous times1 but on the wrong 
side1 by mixing himself up with the     
exiles and acting as a spy upon their   
projects4 ,all the authors ,i have      
mentioned were citizens of ,florence1   
and some of them were members of her    
most illustrious families4 ,varchi1 in  
whom the flame of ,florentine patriotism
 burns brightest1 and who is by far the 
most copious annalist of the period1 was
 a native of ,montevarchi4 ,yet1 as     
often happens1 he was more ,florentine  
than the ,florentines2 and of the events
 which he describes1 he had for the most
 part been witness4 ,duke ,cosimo       

employed him to write the history2 it is
 a credit both to the prince and to the 
author that its chapters should be full 
of criticisms so outspoken1 and of      
aspirations after liberty so vehement4  
,on the very first page of his preface  
,varchi dares to write these words      
respecting ,florence--'divenne1 dico1 di
 stato piuttosto corrotto e licenzioso1 
tirannide1 che di sana e moderata       
repubblica1 principato'2#a in which he  
deals blame with impartial justice all  
round4 ,it must1 however1 be remembered 
that at the time when ,varchi wrote1 the
 younger branch of the ,medici were     
firmly established on the throne of     
,florence4 ,between this branch and the 
elder line there had always been a      
coldness4 ,moreover1 all parties had    
agreed to accept the duchy as a divinely
 appointed instrument for rescuing the  
city from her factions and reducing her 
to tranquillity4#b      #a ',it passed1 
,i say1 from the condition of a corrupt 
and     ill-conducted commonwealth to   

tyranny1 rather than from a healthy     
and well-tempered republic to           
principality4'      #b ,see ,arch4      
,stor4 vol4 i4 p4 xxxv4  ,it would be   
beyond the purpose of this chapter to   
enter into the details of the history of
 ,florence between #aebg and            
#aeca--those years of her last struggle 
for freedom1 which have been so         
admirably depicted by her great         
political annalists4 ,it is rather my   
object to illustrate the intellectual   
qualities of philosophical analysis and 
acute observation for which her citizens
 were eminent4 ,yet a sketch of the     
situation is necessary in order to bring
 into relief the different points of    
view maintained by ,segni1 ,nardi1      
,varchi1 ,pitti1 and ,nerli             
respectively4  ,at the period in        
question ,florence was1 according to the
 universal testimony of these authors1  
too corrupt for real liberty and too    
turbulent for the tranquil acceptance of
 a despotism4 ,the yoke of the ,medici  

had destroyed the sense of honor and the
 pride of the old noble families2 while 
the policy pursued by ,lorenzo and the  
,popes had created a class of greedy    
professional politicians4 ,the city was 
not content with slavery2 but the       
burghers1 eminent for wealth or ability1
 were egotistical1 vain1 and mutually   
jealous4 ,each man sought advantage for 
himself4 ,common action seemed          
impossible4 ,the ,medicean party1 or    
,palleschi1 were either extreme in their
 devotion to the ruling house1 and      
desirous of establishing a tyranny2 or  
else they were moderate and anxious to  
retain the ,medici as the chiefs of a   
dominant oligarchy4 ,the point of union 
between these two divisions of the party
 was a prejudice in favor of class rule1
 a hope to get power and wealth for     
themselves through the elevation of the 
princely family ,the popular faction on 
the other hand agreed in wishing to     
place the government of the city upon a 
broad republican basis4 ,but the leaders

 of this section of the citizens favored
 the plebeian cause from different      
motives4 ,some sought only a way to     
riches and authority1 which they could  
never have opened for them under the    
oligarchy contemplated by the           
,palleschi4 ,others1 styled ,frateschi  
or ,piagnoni1 clung to the ideas of     
liberty which were associated with the  
high morality and impassioned creed of  
,savonarola4 ,these were really the     
backbone of the nation1 the class which 
might have saved the state if salvation 
had been possible4 ,another section1    
steeped in the study of ancient authors 
and imbued with memories of ,roman      
patriotism1 thought it still possible to
 secure the freedom of the state by     
liberal institutions4 ,these men we may 
call the ,doctrinaires4 ,their panacea  
was the establishment of a mixed form of
 government1 such as that which         
,giannotti so learnedly illustrated4 ,to
 these parties must be added the red    
republicans1 or ,arrabbiati--a name     

originally reserved for the worst       
adherents of the ,medici1 but now       
applied to fanatics of ,jacobin         
complexion--and the ,libertines1 who    
only cared for such a form of government
 as should permit them to indulge their 
passions4  ,amid this medley of         
interests there resulted1 as a matter of
 fact1 two policies at the moment when  
the affairs of ,florence1 threatened by 
,pope and ,emperor in combination1 and  
deserted by ,france and the rest of     
,italy1 grew desperate4 ,one was that of
 the ,gonfalonier ,capponi1 who         
advocated moderate counsels and an      
accommodation with ,clement ,,vii4 ,the 
other was that of the ,gonfalonier      
,carducci1 who pushed things to         
extremities and used the enthusiasm of  
the ,frateschi for sustaining the spirit
 of the people in the siege4#a ,the     
latter policy triumphed over the former4
 ,its principles were an obstinate      
belief in ,francis1 though he had       
clearly turned a deaf ear to ,florence2 

confidence in the generals1 ,baglioni   
and ,colonna1 who were privately        
traitors to the cause they professed to 
defend2 and reliance on the prophecies  
of ,savonarola1 supported by the        
preaching of the ,friars ,foiano1       
,bartolommeo1 and ,zaccaria4            
,ill-founded as it was in fact1 the     
policy of ,carducci had on its side all 
that was left of nobility1 patriotism1  
and the fire of liberty among the       
,florentines4 ,in spite of the          
hopelessness of the attempt1 we cannot  
now read without emotion how bravely and
 desperately those last champions of    
freedom fought1 to maintain the         
independence of their city at any cost1 
and in the teeth of overwhelming        
opposition4 ,the memory of ,savonarola  
was the inspiration of this policy4     
,ferrucci was its hero4 ,it failed4 ,it 
was in vain that the ,florentines had   
laid waste ,valdarno1 destroyed their   
beautiful suburbs1 and leveled their    
crown of towers4 ,it was in vain that   

they had poured forth their treasures to
 the uttermost farthing1 had borne      
plague and famine without a murmur1 and 
had turned themselves at the call of    
their country into a nation of soldiers1
 ,charles1 ,clement1 the ,palleschi1 and
 ,malatesta ,baglioni--enemies without  
the city walls and traitors within its  
gates--were too powerful for the        
resistance of burghers who had learned  
but yesterday to handle arms and to     
conduct a war on their own account4#b   
,florence had to capitulate4 ,the       
venomous ,palleschi1 ,francesco         
,guicciardini and ,baccio ,valori1 by   
proscription1 exile1 and taxation1      
drained the strength and broke the      
spirit of the state4 ,caesar and        
,christ's ,vicar1 a new ,herod and a new
 ,pilate1 embraced and made friends over
 the prostrate corpse of sold and       
slaughtered liberty4 ,florence was paid 
as compensation for the insult offered  
to the ,pontiff in the sack of ,rome4   
#a ,guicciardini1 writing his ,ricordi  

during the first months of     the      
siege1 remarks upon the power of faith  
7,op4 ,ined4 vol4 i4 p4     #hc4        
,compare p4 #acd73 ',esemplo a' di      
nostri ne e grandissimo questa          
ostinazione de' ,fiorentini1 che        
essendosi contro a ogni ragione del     
mondo messi a aspettare la guerra del   
papa e imperadore1 senza     speranza di
 alcuno soccorso di altri1 disuniti e   
con mille     difficulta1 hanno         
sostenuto in quelle mura gia sette mesi 
gli e     serciti1 e quali non si       
sarebbe creduto che avessino sostenuti  
sette     di2 e condotto le cose in     
luogo che se vincessino1 nessuno piu se 
ne     maraviglierebbe1 dove prima da   
tutti erano giudicati perduti2 e        
questa ostinazione ha causata in gran   
parte la fede di non potere     perire1 
secondo le predicazioni di ,fra         
,jeronimo da ,ferrara4'      #b ,see    
above1 p4 #bch1 for what ,giannotti says
 of the heroic     ,ferrucci4  ,the part
 played by ,filippo ,strozzi in this    

last drama of the liberties of ,florence
 is feeble and discreditable1 but at the
 same time historically instructive1    
since it shows to what a point the      
noblest of the ,florentines had fallen4 
,all ,pitti's invectives against the    
,ottimati1 bitter as they may be1 are   
justified by the unvarnished narrative  
we read upon the pages of ,varchi and   
,segni concerning this most vicious1    
selfish1 vain1 and brilliant hero of    
historical romance4 ,married to ,clarice
 de' ,medici1 by whom he had a splendid 
family of handsome and vigorous sons1 he
 was more than the rival of his wife's  
princely relatives by his wealth4 ,yet  
though he made a profession of          
patriotism1 ,filippo failed to use this 
great influence consistently as a       
counterpoise to the ,medicean authority4
 ,it was he1 for instance1 who advised  
,lorenzo the younger to make himself    
,duke of ,florence4 ,distinguished1 as  
he was1 above all men of his time for   
wit1 urbanity1 accomplishments1 and     

splendid living1 his want of character  
neutralized these radiant gifts of      
nature4 ,his private morals were        
infamous4 ,he encouraged by precept and 
example the worst vices of his age and  
nation1 consorting with young men whom  
he instructed in the arts of dissolute  
living1 and to whom he communicated his 
own selfish ,epicureanism4 ,to him in a 
great measure may be attributed the     
corruption of the ,florentine           
aristocracy in the sixteenth century4   
,in his public action he was no less    
vacillating than unprincipled in private
 life4 ,after prevailing upon ,ippolito 
and ,alessandro de' ,medici to leave    
,florence in #aebg1 he failed to execute
 his trust of getting ,pisa from their  
grasp 7moved1 it is said1 by a guilty   
fondness for the young and handsome     
,ippolito71 nor did he afterwards share 
any of the hardships and                
responsibilities of the siege4 ,indeed1 
he then found it necessary to retire    
into exile in ,france1 on the excuse of 

superintending his vast commercial      
affairs at ,lyons4 ,after the           
restoration of the ,medici he returned  
to ,florence as the courtier of ,duke   
,alessandro1 whom he aided and abetted  
in his juvenile debaucheries4           
,quarreling with ,alessandro on the     
occasion of an insult offered to his    
daughter ,luisa1 and the accusation of  
murder brought against his son ,piero1  
he went into opposition and exile1 less 
for political than for private reasons4 
,after the murder of ,alessandro1 he    
received ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 the      
fratricide1 with the title of ',second  
,brutus' at ,venice4 ,meanwhile it was  
he who paid the dowry of ,catherine de' 
,medici to the ,duke of ,orleans1       
helping thus to strengthen the house of 
princes against whom he was plotting1 by
 that splendid foreign alliance which   
placed a descendant of the ,florentine  
bill-brokers on the throne of ,france4  
,after all these vicissitudes ,filippo  
,strozzi headed an armed attack upon the

 dominions of ,duke ,cosimo1 was taken  
in the battle of ,montemurlo1 and       
finally was murdered in that very       
fortress1 outside the ,porto a ,faenza1 
which he had counseled ,alessandro to   
construct for the intimidation of the   
,florentines4#a ,the historians with the
 exception of ,nerli agree in describing
 him as a pleasure-loving and           
self-seeking man1 whose many changes of 
policy were due1 not to conviction1 but 
to the desire of gaining the utmost     
license of disorderly living4 ,at the   
same time we cannot deny him the fame of
 brilliant mental qualities1 a princely 
bearing1 and great courage4      #a ,see
 ,varchi1 vol4 iii4 p4 #fa1 for the     
first stone laid of this     castle4 ,it
 should be said that accounts disagree  
about ,filippo's     death4 ,nerli very 
distinctly asserts that he committed    
suicide4     ,segni inclines to the     
belief that he was murdered by the      
creatures     of ,duke ,cosimo4  ,the   
moral and political debility which      

proved the real source of the ruin of   
,florence is accounted for in different 
ways by the historians of the siege4    
,pitti1 whose insight into the situation
 is perhaps the keenest1 and who is by  
far the most outspoken1 does not refer  
the failure of the ,florentines to the  
cowardice or stupidity of the popular   
party1 but to the malignity of the      
,palleschi1 the double-dealing and      
egotism of the wealthy nobles1 who to   
suit their own interests favored now one
 and now another of the parties4 ,these 
,ottimati--as he calls them1 by a title 
borrowed from classical                 
phraseology--whether they professed the 
,medicean or the popular cause1 were    
always bent on self-aggrandizement at   
the expense of the people or their      
princes4#a ,the sympathies of ,pitti    
were on the side of the plebeians1 whose
 policy during the siege was carried out
 by the ,gonfalonier ,carducci4 ,at the 
same time he admitted the feebleness and
 insufficiency of many of these men1    

called from a low rank of life and from 
mechanical trades to the administration 
of the commonwealth4 ,the state of      
,florence under ,piero ,soderini--that  
'non mai abbastanza lodato cavaliere1'  
as he calls him--was the ideal to which 
he reverted with longing eyes4 ,segni1  
on the other hand1 condemns the ambition
 of the plebeian leaders1 and declares  
his opinion that the ,state could only  
have been saved by the more moderate    
among the influential citizens4 ,he     
belonged in fact to that section of the 
,medicean party which ,varchi styles the
 ,neutrals4 ,he had strong aristocratic 
leanings1 and preferred a government of 
nobles to the popular democracy which   
flourished under ,francesco ,carducci4  
,while he desired the liberty of        
,florence1 ,segni saw that the republic 
could not hold its own against both     
,pope and ,emperor1 at a crisis when the
 ,king of ,france1 who ought to have    
rendered assistance in the hour of need1
 was bound by the treaty of ,cambray1   

and by the pledges he had given to      
,charles in the persons of his two sons4
 ,the policy of which ,segni approved   
was that which ,niccolo ,capponi had    
prepared before his fall--a             
reconciliation with ,clement through the
 intervention of the ,emperor1 according
 to the terms of which the ,medici      
should have been restored as citizens of
 paramount authority1 but not as        
sovereigns4 ,varchi1 while no less alive
 to the insecurity of ,carducci's       
policy1 was animated with a more        
democratic spirit4 ,he had none of      
,segni's ,whig leanings1 but shared the 
patriotic enthusiasm which at that      
supreme moment made the whole state     
splendidly audacious in the face of     
insurmountable difficulties4 ,both      
,segni and ,varchi discerned the        
exaggerated and therefore baneful       
influence of ,savonarola's prophecies   
over the populace of ,florence4 ,in     
spite of continued failure1 the people  
kept trusting to the monk's prediction  

that1 after her chastisement1 ,florence 
would bloom forth with double luster1   
and that angels in the last resort would
 man her walls and repel the invaders4  
,there is something pathetic in this    
delusion of a great city1 trusting with 
infantine pertinacity to the promises of
 the man whom they had seen burned as an
 impostor1 when all the while their     
statesmen and their generals were       
striking bargains with the foe4 ,nardi  
is more sincerely ,piagnone than either 
,segni or ,varchi4 ,yet1 writing after  
the events of the siege1 his faith is   
shaken2 and while he records his        
conviction that ,savonarola was an      
excellent ,nomothetes1 he questions his 
prophetic mission1 and deplores the     
effect produced by his vain promises4   
,nerli1 as might have been expected from
 a noble married to ,caterina ,salviati1
 the niece of ,leo and the aunt of      
,cosimo1 who had himself been courtier  
to ,clement and privy councilor to      
,alessandro1 sustains the ,medicean note

 throughout his commentaries4      #a   
,he goes so far as to assert that ,leo  
,x4 and ,clement ,,vii4 wished     to   
give a liberal constitution to          
,florence1 but that their plans     were
 frustrated by the avarice and jealousy 
of the would-be     oligarchs4 ,see     
,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 i4 pp4 #aba1aca4 ,the
 passages     quoted from his ',apologia
 de' ,cappucci1' relative to            
,machiavelli1     ,filippo ,strozzi1 and
 ,francesco ,guicciardini 7,arch4 ,stor4
 vol4 i4     pp4 xxxix4 xxxviii471 are  
very instructive2 with such greedy      
self-seeking oligarchs1 it was          
impossible for the ,medicean ,popes to  
establish any government but a tyranny  
in ,florence4  ,thus from these five    
authors1 writing from different points  
of view1 we gain a complete insight into
 the complicated politics of ,florence1 
at a period when her vitality was still 
vigorous1 but when she had lost all     
faculty for centralized or concerted    
action4 ,in sagacity1 in the power of   

analysis with which they pierce below   
the surface1 trace effects to causes1   
discern character1 and regard the facts 
of history as the proper subject-matter 
of philosophical reflection1 they have  
much in common4 ,he who has seen        
,rembrandt's painting of the            
dissecting-room might construct for     
himself another picture1 in which the   
five grave faces of these patient       
observers should be bent above the dead 
and diseased body of their native city4 
,life is extinct4 ,nothing is left for  
science but1 scalpel in hand1 to lay    
bare the secret causes of dissolution4  
,each anatomist has his own opinion to  
deliver upon the nature of the malady4  
,each records the facts revealed by the 
autopsy according to his own            
impressions4  ,the literary qualities of
 these historians are very different1   
and seem to be derived from essential   
differences in their characters4 ,pitti 
is by far the most brilliant in style1  
concentrated in expression to the point 

of epigram1 and weighty in judgment4    
,nardi1 though deficient in some of the 
most attractive characteristics of the  
historian1 is invaluable for sincerity  
of intention and painstaking accuracy4  
,the philosophical1 rhetorical1 and     
dramatic passages which add so much     
splendor to the works of ,guicciardini  
are absent from the pages of ,nardi4 ,he
 is anxious to present a clear picture  
of what happened2 but he cannot make it 
animated1 and he never reflects at      
length upon the matter of his history4  
,at the same time he lacks the naiivete 
which makes ,corio1 ,allegretti1        
,infessura1 and ,matarazzo so amusing4  
,he gossips as little as ,machiavelli1  
and has no profundity to make up for the
 want of piquancy4 ,the interest of his 
chronicle is greatest in the part which 
concerns ,savonarola1 though even here  
the peculiarly reticent and dubitative  
nature of the man is obvious4 ,while he 
sympathizes with ,savonarola's political
 and moral reforms1 he raises a doubt   

about his inner sincerity1 and does not 
approve of the attitude of the          
,piagnoni4#a ,in his estimation of men  
,nardi was remarkably cautious1         
preferring always to give an external   
relation of events1 instead of analyzing
 motives or criticising character4#b ,he
 is in especial silent about bad men and
 criminal actions4 ,therefore1 when he  
passes an adverse judgment 7as1 for     
instance1 upon ,cesare ,borgia71 or     
notes a dark act 7as the stuprum        
committed upon ,astorre ,manfredi71 his 
corroboration of historians more        
addicted to scandal is important4 ,segni
 is far more lively than ,nardi1 while  
he is not less painstaking to be        
accurate4 ,he shows a partisan feeling1 
especially in his admiration for        
,niccolo ,capponi and his prejudice     
against ,francesco ,carducci1 which     
gives the relish of personality that    
,nardi's cautiously dry chronicle lacks4
 ,rarely have the entangled events of a 
specially dramatic period been set forth

 more lucidly1 more succinctly1 and with
 greater elegance of style4 ,segni is   
deficient1 when compared with ,varchi1  
only perhaps in volume1 minuteness1 and 
that wonderful mixture of candor1       
enthusiasm1 and zeal for truth which    
makes ,varchi incomparable4 ,his        
sketches of men1 critiques1 and         
digressions upon statistical details are
 far less copious than ,varchi's4 ,but  
in idiomatic purity of language he is   
superior4 ,varchi had been spoiled by   
academic habits of composition4 ,his    
language is diffuse and lumbering4 ,he  
lacks the vivacity of epigram1          
selection1 and pointed phrase4 ,but his 
,storia ,fiorentina remains the most    
valuable repertory of information we    
possess about the later vicissitudes of 
the republic1 and the charm of detail   
compensates for the lack of style4      
,nerli is altogether a less interesting 
writer than those that have been        
mentioned2 yet some of the particulars  
which he relates1 about ,savonarola's   

reform of manners1 for example1 and the 
literary gatherings in the ,rucellai    
gardens1 are such as we find nowhere    
else4      #a ,book ii4 cap4 #af4       
#b ,see lib4 ii4 cap4 #cd3 ',nel nostro 
scrivere non intendiamo     far giudizio
 delle cose incerte1 e massimamente     
della     intenzione e animo segreto    
degli uomini1 che non apparisce         
chiara se non per congettura e riscontro
 delle cose esteriori4     ,e pero      
stando termo il primo proposito1        
vogliamo raccontare     quanto piu      
possibile ci sia1 la verita delle cose  
fatte1 piu     tosto che delle pensate o
 immaginate4' ,this is dignified and    
noble language in an age which admired  
the brilliant falsehoods     of ,giovio4
  ,many of my readers will doubtless    
feel that too much time has been spent  
in the discussion of these annalists of 
the siege of ,florence4 ,yet for the    
student of history they have a value    
almost unique4 ,they suggest the        
possibilities of a true science of      

comparative history1 and reveal a       
vivacity of the historic consciousness  
which can be paralleled by no other     
nation4 ,how different might be our     
conception of the vicissitudes of       
,athens between #djd and #cch ,b4,c4 if 
we possessed a similar ,pleiad of       
contemporary ,greek authors6  ,having   
traced the development of historical    
research and political philosophy in    
,florence from the year #acjj to the    
fall of the ,republic1 it remains to    
speak of the two greatest masters of    
practical and theoretical               
statecraft--,francesco ,guicciardini and
 ,niccolo ,machiavelli4 ,these two      
writers combine all the distinctive     
qualities of the ,florentine            
historiographers in the most eminent    
perfection4 ,at the same time they are1 
not merely as authors but also as men1  
mirrors of the times in which they both 
played prominent parts4 ,in their       
biographies and in their works we trace 
the spirit of an age devoid of moral    

sensibility1 penetrative in analysis1   
but deficient in faith1 hope1           
enthusiasm1 and stability of character4 
,the dry light of the intellect         
determined their judgment of men1 as    
well as their theories of government4   
,on the other hand1 the sordid          
conditions of existence to which they   
were subjected as the servants of       
corrupt states1 or the instruments of   
wily princes--as diplomatists intent    
upon the plans of kings like ,ferdinand 
or adventurers like ,cesare ,borgia1    
privy councilors of such ,popes as      
,clement ,,vii4 and such tyrants as     
,duke ,alessandro de' ,medici--distorted
 their philosophy and blunted their     
instincts4 ,for the student of the      
sixteenth century they remain riddles1  
the solution of which is difficult1     
because by no strain of the imagination 
is it easy to place ourselves in their  
position4 ,one half of their written    
utterances seem to be at variance with  
the other half4 ,their actions often    

contradict their most brilliant and     
emphatic precepts2 while contemporaries 
disagree about their private character  
and public conduct4 ,all this confusion1
 through which it is now perhaps        
impossible to discern what either       
,guicciardini or ,machiavelli really    
was1 and what they really felt and      
thought1 is due to the anomaly of       
consummate ability and unrivaled        
knowledge of the world existing without 
religious or political faith1 in an age 
of the utmost depravity of public and   
private morals4 ,no criticism could be  
more stringent upon the contemporary    
disorganization of society in ,italy    
than is the silent witness of these men1
 sublimely great in all mental          
qualities1 but helplessly adrift upon a 
sea of contradictions and of doubts1    
ignorant of the real nature of mankind  
in spite of all their science1 because  
they leave both goodness and beauty out 
of their calculations4  ,francesco      
,guicciardini was born in #adhb4 ,in    

#aeje1 at the age of twenty-three1 he   
had already so distinguished himself as 
a student of law that he was appointed  
by the ,signoria of ,florence to read   
the ,institutes in public4 ,however1 as 
he preferred active to professorial     
work1 he began at this time to practice 
at the bar1 where he soon ranked as an  
able advocate and eloquent speaker4     
,this reputation1 together with his     
character for gravity and insight1      
determined the ,signoria to send him on 
an embassy to the ,court of ,ferdinand  
of ,aragon in #aeab4 ,thus ,guicciardini
 entered on the real work of his life as
 a diplomatist and statesman4 ,we may   
also conclude with safety that it was at
 the court of that crowned hypocrite and
 traitor to all loyalty of soul that he 
learned his first lessons in political  
cynicism4 ,the court of ,spain under    
,ferdinand the ,catholic was a perfect  
school of perfidy1 where even an        
,italian might discern deeper reaches of
 human depravity and formulate for his  

own guidance a philosophy of despair4   
,it was whispered by his enemies that   
here1 upon the threshold of his public  
life1 ,guicciardini sold his honor by   
accepting a bribe from ,ferdinand4#a    
,certain it is that avarice was one of  
his besetting sins1 and that from this  
time forward he preferred expediency to 
justice1 and believed in the policy of  
supporting force by clever              
dissimulation4#b ,returning to          
,florence1 ,guicciardini was1 in #aeae1 
deputed to meet ,leo ,x4 on the part of 
the ,republic at ,cortona4 ,leo1 who had
 the faculty of discerning able men and 
making use of them1 took him into favor1
 and three years later appointed him    
,governor of ,reggio and ,modena4 ,in   
#aeba ,parma was added to his rule4     
,clement ,,vii4 made him ,viceroy of    
,romagna in #aebc1 and in #aebf elevated
 him to the rank of ,lieutenant-,general
 of the ,papal army4 ,in consequence of 
this high commission1 ,guicciardini     
shared in the humiliation attaching to  

all the officers of the ,league who1    
with the ,duke of ,urbino at their head 
suffered ,rome to be sacked and the     
,pope to be imprisoned in #aebg4 ,the   
blame of this contemptible display of   
cowardice or private spite cannot1      
however1 be ascribed to him3 for he     
attended the armies of the ,league not  
as general1 but as counselor and chief  
reporter4 ,it was his business not to   
control the movements of the army so    
much as to act as referee in the ,pope's
 interest1 and to keep the ,vatican     
informed of what was stirring in the    
camp4 ,in #aeca ,guicciardini was       
advanced to the governorship of         
,bologna1 the most important of all the 
,papal lord-lieutenancies4 ,this post he
 resigned in #aecd on the election of   
,paul ,,iii41 preferring to follow the  
fortunes of the ,medicean princes at    
,florence4 ,in this sketch of his career
 ,i must not omit to mention that       
,guicciardini was declared a rebel in   
#aebg by the popular government on      

account of his well-known ,medicean     
prejudices1 and that in #aecj he had    
been appointed by ,clement ,,vii4 to    
punish the rebellious citizens4 ,on the 
latter occasion he revenged himself for 
the insults offered him in #aebg by the 
cruelty with which he pushed            
proscription to the utmost limits1      
relegating his enemies to unhealthy     
places of exile1 burdening them with    
intolerable fines1 and using all the    
indirect means which his ingenuity could
 devise for forcing them into outlawry  
and contumacy4#c ,therefore when he     
returned to inhabit ,florence1 he did so
 as the creature of the ,medici1 sworn  
to maintain the bastard ,alessandro in  
his power4 ,he was elected a member of  
the ,senate of eighty2 and so thoroughly
 did he espouse the cause of his new    
master1 that he had the face to         
undertake the ,duke's defense before    
,charles ,v4 at ,naples in #aece4 ,on   
this occasion ,alessandro1 who had      
rendered himself unbearable by his      

despotic habits1 and in particular by   
the insults which he offered to women of
 all ranks and conditions in ,florence1 
was arraigned by the exiles before the  
bar of ,caesar4 ,guicciardini won the   
cause of his client1 and restored       
,alessandro with an ,imperial           
confirmation of his despotism to        
,florence4 ,this period of his political
 career deserves particular attention1  
since it displays a glaring             
contradiction between some of his       
unpublished compositions and his        
actions1 and confirms the accusations of
 his enemies4#d ,that he should have    
preferred a government of ,ottimati1 or 
wealthy nobles1 to a more popular       
constitution1 and that he should have   
adhered with fidelity to the ,medicean  
faction in ,florence1 is no ground for  
censure4#e ,but when we find him in     
private unmasking the artifices of the  
despots by the most relentless use of   
frigid criticism1 and advocating a mixed
 government upon the type of the        

,venetian ,constitution1 we are         
constrained to admit with ,varchi and   
,pitti that his support of ,alessandro  
was prompted less by loyalty than by a  
desire to gratify his own ambition and  
avarice under the protective shadow of  
the ,medicean tyranny4#f ,he belonged in
 fact to those selfish citizens whom    
,pitti denounces1 diplomatists and men  
of the world1 whose thirst for power    
induced them to play into the hands of  
the ,medici1 wishing to suck the state#g
 themselves1 and to hold the prince in  
the leading-strings of vice and pleasure
 for their own advantage4#h ,after the  
murder of ,alessandro1 it was           
principally through ,guicciardini's     
influence that ,cosimo was placed at the
 head of the ,florentine ,republic with 
the title of ,duke4 ,cosimo was but a   
boy1 and much addicted to field sports4 
,guicciardini therefore reckoned that1  
with an assured income of #ab1jjj       
ducats1 the youth would be contented to 
amuse himself1 while he left the        

government of ,florence in the hands of 
his ,vizier4#i ,but here the wily       
politician overreached himself4 ,cosimo 
wore an old head on his young shoulders4
 ,with decent modesty and a becoming    
show of deference1 he used ,guicciardini
 as his ladder to mount the throne by1  
and then kicked the ladder away4 ,the   
first days of his administration showed 
that he intended to be sole master in   
,florence4 ,guicciardini1 perceiving    
that his game was spoiled1 retired to   
his villa in #aecg and spent the last   
years of his life in composing his      
histories4 ,the famous ,istoria d'      
,italia was the work of one year of this
 enforced retirement4 ,the question     
irresistibly rises to our mind1 whether 
some of the severe criticisms passed    
upon the ,medici in his unpublished     
compositions were the fruit of these    
same bitter leisure hours4#aj           
,guicciardini died in #aedj at the age  
of fifty-eight1 without male heirs4     
#a ,see the ',apologia de' ,cappucci1'  

,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 iv4     part #b1 p4  
#cah4      #b ,for the avarice of       
,guicciardini1 see ,varchi1 vol4 i4 p4  
#cah4 ,his ,ricordi ,politici amply     
justify the second1 though     not the  
first1 clause of this sentence4      #c 
,see ,varchi1 book xii4 7and especially 
cap4 xxv471 for these     arts2 he says1
 ',nel che messer ,francesco            
,guicciardini si     scoperse piu       
crudele e piu appassionato degli altri4'
      #d ,knowing what sort of tyrant   
,alessandro was1 and remembering        
'hat ,guicciardini had written          
7,ricordi1 ,no4 ccxlii473 ',la          
calcina con che si murano gli stati de' 
tiranni e il sangue de'     cittadini3  
pero doverebbe sforzarsi ognuno che     
nella citta sua     non s'avessino a    
murare tali palazzi1' it is very        
difficult to     approve of his advocacy
 of the ,duke4      #e ,though even here
 the selfish ambition of the man was    
apparent to contemporaries3 'egli arebbe
 voluto uno stato col     nome d'       

,ottimati1 ma in fatti de' ,pochi1 nel  
quale larghissima     parte1 per le sue 
molte e rarissime qualita1              
meritissimamente     gli si             
venia4'--,varchi1 vol4 i4 p4 #cah4      
#f ,guicciardini's ,storia ,fiorentina  
and ,reggimento di     ,firenze 7,op4   
,ined4 vols4 i1 and iii47 may be        
consulted for     his private critique  
of the ,medici4 ,what was the judgment  
passed upon him by contemporaries may be
 gathered from ,varchi1     vols4 i4 pp4
 #bch1 #cah2 ii4 #daj2 iii4 #bjd4       
,segni1 pp4 #bai1 #ccb4     ,nardi1 vol4
 ii4 p4 #bhg4 ,pitti1 quoted in ,arch4  
,stor4 vol4 i4     p4 xxxviii41 and the 
',apologia de' ,cappucci' 7,arch4 ,stor4
     vol4 iv4 pt4 #b74 ,it is1 however1 
only fair to ,guicciardini to     record
 here his opinion1 expressed in         
,ricordi1 ,nos4 ccxx4 and     cccxxx41  
that it was the duty of good citizens to
 seek to guide     the tyrant3 ',credo  
sia uficio di buoni cittadini1 quando la
     patria viene in mano di tiranni1   

cercare d'avere luogo con loro     per  
potere persuadere il bene1 e detestare  
il male2 e certo e     interesse della  
citta che in qualunque tempo gli uomini 
da bene     abbino autorita2 e ancora   
che gli ignoranti e passionati di       
,firenze l' abbino sempre intesa        
altrimenti1 si accorgerebbono     quanta
 pestifero sarebbe il governo de'       
,medici1 se non avessi     intorno altri
 che pazzi e cattivi4'      #g ,see     
,varchi1 vol4 iii4 p4 #bjd4 ',che       
,cosimo 444 succiarsi lo     stato4'    
#h ,pitti dips his pen in gall when he  
describes these     citizens3 ',cotesti 
vogliosi ,ottimati2 i quali non hanno   
saputo     mai ritrovare luogo che      
piaccia loro1 sottomendosi ora al       
,medici per l'ingorda avarizia2 ora     
gittandosi al popolo1 per     non potere
 a modo loro tiraneggiare2 ora          
rivendendolo a'     ,medici1 vedutisi   
scoperti e raffrenati da lui2 e sempre  
mai con     danno della ,repubblica1 e  
di ciascuna parte1 inquieti1            

insaziabili e fraudolenti4'--',apologia 
de' ,cappucci1' ,arch4     ,stor4 xv4   
pt4 ii4 p4 #bae4      #i ,here is a     
graphic touch in ,varchi's ,history1    
vol4 iii4 p4     #bjb4 ,guicciardini is 
discussing the appointment of ,cosimo   
de'     ,medici3 ',gli dovessero esser  
pagati per suo piatto ogn' anno         
#ab1jjj fiorini d' oro1 e non piu1      
avendo il ,guicciardino1     abbassando 
il viso e alzando gli occhi1 detto3 ,un 
#ab1jjj     fiorini d' oro e--un bello  
spendere4'      #aj ,pitti seems to have
 taken this view3 see ',apologia de'    
,cappucci' 7,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 iv4 part 
ii4 p4 #cbi73 ',tosto che     'l duca   
,cosimo lo pose a sedere insieme con    
certi altri suoi     colleghi1 si adiro 
malamente2 e se la disputa della        
provvisione     non l' avesse ritenuto1 
sarebbe ito a servire papa ,pagolo      
terzo4 ,onde1 restato confuso e         
disperato1 si tratteneva alla     sua   
villa di ,santa ,margarita a ,montici2  
dove transportato dalla     stizza      

ritocco in molte parti la sua ,istoria1 
per mostrare di     non essere stato    
della setta ,pallesca2 e dove potette1  
accatto     l' occasione di parere      
istrumento della ,repubblica4'          
,guicciardini's own apology for his     
treatment of the ,medici1 in     the    
proemio to the treatise ,del ,reggimento
 di ,firenze1     deserves also to be   
read4  ,turning now from the statesman  
to the man of letters1 we find in       
,guicciardini one of the most consummate
 historians of any nation or of any age4
 ,the work by which he is best known1   
the ,istoria d' ,italia1 is one that can
 scarcely be surpassed for masterly     
control of a very intricate period1 for 
subordination of the parts to the whole1
 for calmness of judgment and for       
philosophic depth of thought4           
,considering that ,guicciardini in this 
great work was writing the annals of his
 own times1 and that he had to          
disentangle the raveled skein of        
,italian politics in the sixteenth      

century1 these qualities are most       
remarkable4 ,the whole movement of the  
history recalls the pomp and dignity of 
,livy1 while a series of portraits      
sketched from life with the unerring    
hand of an anatomist and artist add     
something of the vivid force of         
,tacitus4 ,yet ,guicciardini in this    
work deserves less commendation as a    
writer than as a thinker4 ,there is a   
manifest straining to secure style1 by  
manipulation and rehandling1 which      
contrasts unfavorably with the          
unaffected ease1 the pregnant           
spontaneity1 of his unpublished         
writings4 ,his periods are almost       
interminable1 and his rhetoric is prolix
 and monotonous4 ,we can trace the      
effort to emulate the authors of        
antiquity without the ease which is     
acquired by practice or the taste that  
comes with nature4  ,the transcendent   
merit of the history is this--that it   
presents us with a scientific picture of
 politics and of society during the     

first half of the sixteenth century4    
,the picture is set forth with a        
clairvoyance and a candor that are      
almost terrible4 ,the author never feels
 enthusiasm for a moment3 no character1 
however great for good or evil1 rouses  
him from the attitude of tranquil       
disillusioned criticism4 ,he utters but 
few exclamations of horror or of        
applause4 ,faith1 religion1 conscience1 
self-subordination to the public good1  
have no place in his list of human      
motives2 interest1 ambition1            
calculation1 envy1 are the forces which1
 according to his experience1 move the  
world4 ,that the strong should trample  
on the weak1 that the wily should       
circumvent the innocent1 that hypocrisy 
and fraud and dissimulation should      
triumph1 seems to him but natural4 ,his 
whole theory of humanity is tinged with 
the sad gray colors of a stolid1        
cold-eyed1 ill-contented1 egotistical   
indifference4 ,he is not angry1         
desperate1 indignant1 but phlegmatically

 prudent1 face to face with the ruin of 
his country4 ,for him the world was a   
game of intrigue1 in which his friends1 
his enemies1 and himself played parts1  
equally sordid1 with grave faces and    
hearts bent only on the gratification of
 mean desires4 ,accordingly1 though his 
mastery of detail1 his comprehension of 
personal motives1 and his analysis of   
craft are alike incomparable1 we find   
him incapable of forming general views  
with the breadth of philosophic insight 
or the sagacity of a frank and          
independent nature4 ,the movements of   
the eagle and the lion must be          
unintelligible to the spider or the fox4
 ,it was impossible for ,guicciardini to
 feel the real greatness of the century1
 or to foresee the new forces to which  
it was giving birth4 ,he could not      
divine the momentous issues of the      
,lutheran schism2 and though he         
perceived the immediate effect upon     
,italian politics of the invasion of the
 ,french1 he failed to comprehend the   

revolution marked out for the future in 
the shock of the modern nations4 ,while 
criticising the papacy1 he discerned the
 pernicious results of nepotism and     
secular ambition3 but he had no instinct
 for the necessity of a spiritual and   
religious regeneration4 ,his judgment of
 the political situation led him to     
believe that the several units of the   
,italian system might be turned to      
profit and account by the application of
 superficial remedies1--by the          
development of despotism1 for example1  
or of oligarchy1 when in reality the    
decay of the nation was already past all
 cure4  ,two other masterpieces from    
,guicciardini's pen1 the ,dialogo del   
,reggimento di ,firenze and the ,storia 
,fiorentina1 have been given to the     
world during the last twenty years4 ,to 
have published them immediately after   
their author's death would have been    
inexpedient1 since they are far too     
candid and outspoken to have been       
acceptable to the ,medicean dynasty4    

,yet in these writings we find          
,guicciardini at his best4 ,here he has 
not yet assumed the mantle of the       
rhetorician1 which in the ,istoria d'   
,italia sits upon him somewhat          
cumbrously4 ,his style is more          
spontaneous2 his utterances are less    
guarded4 ,writing for himself alone1 he 
dares to say more plainly what he thinks
 and feels4 ,at the same time the       
political sagacity of the statesman is  
revealed in all its vigor4 ,i have so   
frequently used both of these treatises 
that ,i need not enter into a minute    
analysis of their contents4 ,it will be 
enough to indicate some of the passages 
which display the literary style and the
 scientific acumen of ,guicciardini at  
their best4 ,the ,reggimento di ,firenze
 is an essay upon the form of government
 for which ,florence was best suited4   
,starting with a discussion of          
,savonarola's constitution1 in which    
ample justice is done to the sagacity   
and promptitude by means of which he    

saved the commonwealth at a critical    
juncture 7pp4 #bg-cj71 the interlocutors
 pass to an examination of the ,medicean
 tyranny 7pp4 #cd-di74 ,this is one of  
the masterpieces of ,guicciardini's     
analysis4 ,he shows how the             
administration of justice1 the          
distribution of public honors1 and the  
foreign policy of the republic were     
perverted by this family4 ,he condemns  
,cosimo's tyrannical application of     
fines and imposts 7p4 #fh71 ,piero the  
younger's insolence 7p4 #df71 and       
,lorenzo's appropriation of the public  
moneys to his private use 7p4 #dc74 ,yet
 while setting forth the vices of this  
tyranny in language which even ,sismondi
 would have been contented to translate 
and sign1 ,guicciardini shows no        
passion4 ,the ,medici were only acting  
as befitted princes eager for power1    
although they crushed the spirit of the 
people1 discouraged political ardor1    
extinguished military zeal1 and did all 
that in them lay to enervate the nation 

they governed4 ,the scientific statist  
acknowledges no reciprocal rights and   
duties between the governor and the     
governed4 ,it is a trial of strength4   
,if the tyrant gets the upper hand1 the 
people must expect to be oppressed4 ,if1
 on the other side1 the people triumph1 
they must take good care to exterminate 
the despotic brood3 ',the one true      
remedy would be to destroy and          
extinguish them so utterly that not a   
vestige should remain1 and to employ for
 this purpose the poignard or poison1 as
 may be most convenient2 otherwise the  
least surviving spark is certain to     
cause trouble and annoyance for the     
future'7p4 #bae74 ,the same precise     
criticism lays bare the weakness of     
democracy4 ,men1 says ,guicciardini1    
always really desire their own power    
more than the freedom of the state 7p4  
#ej71 and the motives even of           
tyrannicides are very rarely pure 7pp4  
#ec-ed74 ,the governments established by
 the liberals are full of defects4 ,the 

,consiglio ,grande1 for example1 of the 
,florentines is ignorant in its choice  
of magistrates1 unjust in its           
apportionment of taxes1 scarcely less   
prejudiced against individuals than a   
tyrant would be1 and incapable of       
diplomatic foreign policy 7pp4 #eh-fi74 
,then follows a discussion of the       
relative merits of the three chief forms
 of government--the ,governo dell' ,uno1
 the ,governo degli ,ottimati1 and the  
,governo del ,popolo 7p4 #abi74         
,guicciardini has already criticised the
 first and the third4#a ,he now         
expresses a strong opinion that the     
second is the worst which could be      
applied to the actual conditions of the 
,florentine ,republic 7p4 #acj74 ,his   
panegyric of the ,venetian constitution 
7pp4 #aci-da7 illustrates his plan for  
combining the advantages of the three   
species and obviating their respective  
evils4 ,in fact he declares for that    
,utopia of the sixteenth century--the   
,governo ,misto--a political invention  

which fascinated the imagination of     
,italian statesmen much in the same way 
as the theory of perpetual motion       
attracted scientific minds in the last  
century4#b ,what follows is an elaborate
 scheme for applying the principles of  
the ,governo ,misto to the existing     
state of things in ,florence4 ,this     
lucid and learned disquisition is wound 
up 7p4 #ahh7 with a mournful expression 
of the doubt which hung like a thick    
cloud over all the political            
speculations of both ,guicciardini and  
,machiavelli3 ',i hold it very doubtful1
 and ,i think it much depends on chance 
whether this disorganized constitution  
will ever take new shape or not 444 and 
as ,i said yesterday1 ,i should have    
more hope if the city were but young2   
seeing that not only does a state at the
 commencement take form with greater    
facility than one that has grown old    
under evil governments1 but things      
always turn out more prosperously and   
more easily while fortune is yet fresh  

and has not run its course1' etc4#c ,in 
reading the ,dialogue on the            
,constitution of ,florence it must      
finally be remembered that ,guicciardini
 has thrown it back into the year #adid1
 and that he speaks through the mouths  
of four interlocutors4 ,therefore we may
 presume that he intended his readers to
 regard it as a work of speculative     
science rather than of practical        
political philosophy4 ,yet it is not    
difficult to gather the drift of his own
 meaning4      #a ,cf4 ,ricordi1 cxl43  
',chi disse uno popolo1 disse veramente 
uno animale pazzo1 pieno ni mille       
errori1 di mille confusioni1     sanza  
gusto1 sanza diletto1 sanza stabilita4' 
,it should be     noted that            
,guicciardini here and elsewhere uses   
the term ,popolo     in its fuller      
democratic sense4 ,the successive       
enlargements of     the burgher class in
 ,florence1 together with the study of  
,greek     and ,latin political         
philosophy1 had introduced the modern   

connotation of the term4      #b ,a     
lucid criticism of the three forms of   
government is     contained in          
,guicciardini's ,comment on the second  
chapter of     the first book of        
,machiavelli's ,discorsi 7,op4 ,ined4   
vol4 i4     p4 #f73 ',e non e dubio che 
il governo misto delle tre spezie1      
principi1 ottimati e popolo1 e migliore 
e piu stabile che uno     governo       
semplice di qualunque delle tre spezie1 
e massime     quando e misto in modo che
 di qualunque spezie e tolto il buono   
e lasciato indietro il cattivo4'        
,machiavelli had himself1 in     the    
passage criticised1 examined the three  
simple governments     and declared in  
favor of the mixed as that which gave   
stability     to ,sparta1 ,rome1 and    
,venice4 ,the same line of thought may  
be     traced in the political          
speculations of both ,plato and         
,aristotle4 ,the ,athenians and         
,florentines felt the superior          
stability of the ,spartan and ,venetian 

forms of government1 just     as a      
,french theorist might idealize the     
,english constitution4     ,the         
essential element of the ,governo       
,misto1 which ,florence had     lost    
beyond the possibility of regaining it1 
was a body of     hereditary and        
patriotic patricians4 ,this gave its    
strength to     ,venice2 and this is    
that which hitherto has distinguished   
the     ,english nation4      #c        
,compare ,ricordi ,politici e ,civili1  
,no4 clxxxix41 for a     lament of this 
kind over the decrepitude of kingdoms1  
almost     sublime in its stoicism4     
,the ,istoria ,fiorentina is a succinct 
narrative of the events of ,italian     
,history1 especially as they concerned  
,florence1 between the years #acgh and  
#aeji4 ,in other words it relates the   
vicissitudes of the ,republic under the 
,medici1 and the administration of the  
,gonfalonier ,soderini4 ,this           
masterpiece of historical narration sets
 forth with brevity and frankness the   

whole series of events which are        
rhetorically and cautiously unfolded in 
the ,istoria d' ,italia4 ,most          
noticeable are the characters of        
,lorenzo de' ,medici 7cap4 ix471 of     
,savonarola 7cap4 xvii471 and of        
,alexander ,,vi4 7cap4 xxvii474 ,the    
immediate consequences of the ,french   
invasion have never been more ably      
treated than in ,chapter xi41 while the 
whole progress of ,cesare ,borgia in his
 career of villany is analyzed with     
exquisite distinctness in ,chapter xxvi4
 ,the wisdom of ,guicciardini nowhere   
appears more ripe1 or his intellect more
 elastic1 than in the ,istoria          
,fiorentina4 ,students who desire to    
gain a still closer insight into the    
working of ,guicciardini's mind should  
consult the #djc ,ricordi ,politici e   
,civili collected in the first volume of
 his ,opere ,inedite4 ,these have all   
the charm which belongs to occasional   
utterances1 and are fit1 like proverbs1 
to be worn for jewels on the finger of  

time4  ,the biography of ,niccolo       
,machiavelli consists for the most part 
of a record of his public services to   
the ,state of ,florence4 ,he was born on
 ,may #c1 #adfi1 of parents who belonged
 to the prosperous middle class of      
,florentine citizens4 ,his ancestry was 
noble2 for the old tradition which      
connected his descent with the feudal   
house of ,montespertoli has been        
confirmed by documentary evidence4#a    
,his forefathers held offices of high   
distinction in the ,commonwealth2 and   
though their wealth and station had     
decreased1 ,machiavelli inherited a     
small landed estate4 ,his family1 who   
were originally settled in the ,val di  
,pesa1 owned farms at ,san ,casciano and
 in other villages of the ,florentine   
dominion1 a list of which may be seen in
 the return presented by his father     
,bernardo to the revenue office in      
#adih4b ,their wealth was no doubt      
trivial in comparison with that which   
citizens amassed by trade in ,florence2 

for it was not the usage of those times 
to draw more than the necessaries of    
life from the ,villa3 all superfluities 
were provided by the ,bottega in the    
town4#c ,yet there can be no question1  
after a comparison of ,bernardo         
,machiavelli's return of his landed     
property with ,niccolo ,machiavelli's   
will1#d that the illustrious war        
secretary at all periods of his life    
owned just sufficient property to       
maintain his family in a decent1 if not 
a dignified1 style4 ,about his education
 we know next to nothing4 ,giovio#e     
asserts that he possessed but little    
,latin1 and that he owed the show of    
learning in his works to quotations     
furnished by ,marcellus ,virgilius4     
,this accusation1 which1 whether it be  
true or not1 was intended to be         
injurious1 has lost its force in an age 
that1 like ours1 values erudition less  
than native genius4 ,it is certain that 
,machiavelli knew quite enough of ,latin
 and ,greek literature to serve his     

turn2 and his familiarity with some of  
the classical historians and            
philosophers is intimate4 ,there is even
 too much parade in his works of        
illustrations borrowed from ,polybius1  
,livy1 and ,plutarch3 the only question 
is whether ,machiavelli relied upon     
translations rather than originals4 ,on 
this point1 it is also worthy of remark 
that his culture was rather ,roman than 
,hellenic4 ,had he at any period of his 
life made as profound a study of        
,plato's political dialogues as he made 
of ,livy's histories1 we cannot but feel
 that his theories both of government   
and statecraft might have been more     
concordant with a sane and normal       
humanity4      #a ,see ,villani's       
,machiavelli1 vol4 i4 p4 #cjc4 ,ed4 ,le 
,monnier4      #b ,see vol4 i4 of the   
edition of ,machiavelli1 by ,mess4      
,fanfani     and ,passerini1 ,florence1 
#ahgc2 p4 lv4 ,villani's ,machiavelli1  
ib4 p4 #cjf4 ,the income is estimated at
 about #ahjl4      #c ,see ,pandolfini1 

,trattato del ,governo della ,famiglia4 
#d ,fanfani and ,passerini's edition1   
vol4 i4 p4 xcii4      #e ,elogia1 cap4  
#hg4  ,in #adid1 the date of the        
expulsion of the ,medici1 ,machiavelli  
was admitted to the ,chancery of the    
,commune as a clerk2 and in #adih he was
 appointed to the post of chancellor and
 secretary to the ,dieci di liberta e   
pace4 ,this place he held for the better
 half of fifteen years1 that is to say1 
during the whole period of ,florentine  
freedom4 ,his diplomatic missions       
undertaken at the instance of the       
,republic were very numerous4 ,omitting 
those of less importance1 we find him at
 the camp of ,cesare ,borgia in #aejb1  
in ,france in #aejd1 with ,julius ,,ii4 
in #aejf1 with the ,emperor ,maximilian 
in #aejg1 and again at the ,french      
,court in #aeaj4a ,to this department of
 his public life belong the dispatches  
and ,relazioni which he sent home to the
 ,signory of ,florence1 his ,monograph  
upon the ,massacre of ,sinigaglia1 his  

treatises upon the method of dealing    
with ,pisa1 ,pistoja1 and ,valdichiana1 
and those two remarkable studies of     
foreign nations which are entitled      
,ritratti delle ,cose dell' ,alemagna   
and ,ritratti delle ,cose di ,francia4  
,it was also in the year #aejj that he  
laid the first foundations of his       
improved military system4 ,the political
 sagacity and the patriotism for which  
,machiavelli has been admired are       
nowhere more conspicuous than in the    
discernment which suggested this        
measure1 and in the indefatigable zeal  
with which he strove to carry it into   
effect4 ,pondering upon the causes of   
,italian weakness when confronted with  
nations like the ,french1 and comparing 
contemporary with ancient history1      
,machiavelli came to the conclusion that
 the universal employment of mercenary  
troops was the chief secret of the      
insecurity of ,italy4 ,he therefore     
conceived a plan for establishing a     
national militia1 and for placing the   

whole male population at the service of 
the state in times of war4 ,he had to   
begin cautiously in bringing this scheme
 before the public2 for the stronghold  
of the mercenary system was the sloth   
and luxury of the burghers4 ,at first he
 induced the ,dieci di liberta e pace1  
or war office1 to require the service of
 one man per house throughout the       
,florentine dominion2 but at the same   
time he caused a census to be taken of  
all men capable of bearing arms4 ,his   
next step was to carry a law by which   
the permanent militia of the state was  
fixed at #aj1jjj4 ,then in #aejc1 having
 prepared the way by these preliminary  
measures1 he addressed the ,council of  
the ,burghers in a set oration1         
unfolding the principles of his proposed
 reform1 and appealing not only to their
 patriotism but also to their sense of  
self-preservation4 ,it was his aim to   
prove that mercenary arms must be       
exchanged for a national militia1 if    
freedom and independence were to be     

maintained4 ,the ,florentines allowed   
themselves to be convinced1 and1 on the 
recommendation of ,machiavelli1 they    
voted in #aejf a new magistracy1 called 
the ,nove dell' ,ordinanza e ,milizia1  
for the formation of companies1 the     
discipline of soldiers1 and the         
maintenance of the militia in a state of
 readiness for active service4#b        
,machiavelli became the secretary of    
this board2 and much of his time was    
spent thenceforth in the levying of     
troops and the practical development of 
his system4 ,it requires an intimate    
familiarity with the ,italian military  
system of the fourteenth and fifteenth  
centuries to understand the importance  
of this reform4 ,we are so accustomed to
 the systems of ,militia1 ,conscription1
 and ,landwehr1 by means of which       
military service has been nationalized  
among the modern races1 that we need to 
tax our imagination before we can place 
ourselves at the point of view of men to
 whom ,machiavelli's measure was a      

novelty of genius4#c      #a            
,machiavelli never bore the title of    
,ambassador on these     missions4 ,he  
went as ,secretary4 ,his pay was        
miserable4 ,we find     him receiving   
one ducat a day for maintenance4      #b
 ,documents relating to the institution 
of the ,nove dell'     ,ordinanza e     
,milizia1 and to its operations between 
,december #f1     #aejf1 and ,august #f1
 #aeab1 from the pen of ,machiavelli1   
will be     found printed by ,signor    
,canestrini in ,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 xv4   
pp4 #cgg to #dec4 ,machiavelli's        
treatise ,de re militari1 or ,i         
libri sull' arte della guerra1 was the  
work of his later life2     it was      
published in #aeba at ,florence4      #c
 ,though ,machiavelli deserves the      
credit of this military     system1 the 
part of ,antonio ,giacomini in carrying 
it into     effect must not be          
forgotten4 ,pitti1 in his ',life of     
,giacomini'     7,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 iv4 
pt4 ii4 p4 #bda71 says3 ',avendo per    

dieci anni continovi fatto prova nelle  
fazioni e nelle     battaglie de' fanti 
del dominio e delli esterni1 aveva      
troppo     bene conosciuto con quanta   
piu sicurezza si potesse la             
repubblica servire de' suoi propri che  
delli istranieri4'     ,machiavelli had 
gone as ,commissary to the camp of      
,giacomini     before ,pisa in ,august  
#aeje2 there the man of action and the  
man     of theory came to an agreement3 
both found in the ,gonfalonier          
,soderini a chief of the republic       
capable of entering into their          
views4  ,it must be admitted that the   
new militia proved ineffectual in the   
hour of need4 ,to revive the martial    
spirit of a nation1 enervated by tyranny
 and given over to commerce1 merely by a
 stroke of genius1 was beyond the force 
of even ,machiavelli4 ,when ,prato had  
been sacked in #aeab1 the ,florentines1 
destitute of troops1 divided among      
themselves and headed by the excellent  
but hesitating ,piero ,soderini1 threw  

their gates open to the ,medici4        
,giuliano1 the brother of ,pope ,leo1   
and ,lorenzo1 his nephew1 whose statues 
sit throned in the immortality of       
,michael ,angelo's marble upon their    
tombs in ,san ,lorenzo1 disposed of the 
republic at their pleasure4             
,machiavelli1 as ,war ,secretary of the 
anti-,medicean government1 was of course
 disgraced and deprived of his          
appointments4 ,in #aeac he was suspected
 of complicity in the conjuration of    
,pietropaolo ,boscoli and ,agostino     
,capponi1 was imprisoned in the         
,bargello1 and tortured to the extent of
 four turns of the rack4 ,it seems that 
he was innocent4 ,leo ,x4 released him  
by the act of amnesty passed upon the   
event of his assuming the tiara2 and    
,machiavelli immediately retired to his 
farm near ,san ,casciano4  ,since we are
 now approaching the most critical      
passage of ,machiavelli's biography1 it 
may be well to draw from his private    
letters a picture of the life to which  

this statesman of the restless brain was
 condemned in the solitude of the       
country4#a ,writing on ,december #aj to 
his friend ,francesco ,vettori1 he says1
 ',i am at my farm2 and1 since my last  
misfortunes1 have not been in ,florence 
twenty days4 ,i rise with the sun1 and  
go into a wood of mine that is being    
cut1 where ,i remain two hours          
inspecting the work of the previous day 
and conversing with the woodcutters1 who
 have always some trouble on hand among 
themselves or with their neighbors4     
,when ,i leave the wood1 ,i proceed to a
 well1 and thence to the place which ,i 
use for snaring birds1 with a book under
 my arm--,dante1 or ,petrarch1 or one of
 the minor poets1 like ,tibullus or     
,ovid4 ,i read the story of their       
passions1 and let their loves remind me 
of my own1 which is a pleasant pastime  
for a while4 ,next ,i take the road1    
enter the inn door1 talk with the       
passers-by1 inquire the news of the     
neighborhood1 listen to a variety of    

matters1 and make note of the different 
tastes and humors of men4 ,this brings  
me to dinner-time1 when ,i join my      
family and eat the poor produce of my   
farm4 ,after dinner ,i go back to the   
inn1 where ,i generally find the host   
and a butcher1 a miller1 and a pair of  
bakers4 ,with these companions ,i play  
the fool all day at cards or backgammon3
 a thousand squabbles1 a thousand       
insults and abusive dialogues take      
place1 while we haggle over a farthing1 
and shout loud enough to be heard from  
,san ,casciano4 ,but when evening falls 
,i go home and enter my writing-room4   
,on the threshold ,i put off my country 
habit1 filthy with mud and mire1 and    
array myself in royal courtly garments2 
thus worthily attired1 ,i make my       
entrance into the ancient courts of the 
men of old1 where they receive me with  
love1 and where ,i feed upon that food  
which only is my own and for which ,i   
was born4 ,i feel no shame in conversing
 with them and asking them the reason of

 their actions4 ,they1 moved by their   
humanity1 make answer2 for four hours'  
space ,i feel no annoyance1 forget all  
care2 poverty cannot frighten1 nor death
 appall me4 ,i am carried away to their 
society4 ,and since ,dante says that    
there is no science unless we retain    
what we have learned1 ,i have set down  
what ,i have gained from their          
discourse1 and composed a treatise1 ,de 
,principatibus1 in which ,i enter as    
deeply as ,i can into the science of the
 subject1 with reasonings on the nature 
of principality1 its several species1   
and how they are acquired1 how          
maintained1 how lost4 ,if you ever liked
 any of my scribblings1 this ought to   
suit your taste4 ,to a prince1 and      
especially to a new prince1 it ought to 
prove acceptable4 ,therefore ,i am      
dedicating it to the ,magnificence of   
,giuliano4'      #a ,this letter may be 
compared with others of about the same  
date4 ,in one 7,aug4 #c1 #aead7 he says3
 ',ho lasciato dunque i     pensieri    

delle cose grandi e gravi1 non mi       
diletta piu leggere     le cose antiche1
 ne ragionare delle moderne2 tutte si   
son     converse in ragionamenti dolci1'
 etc4 ,again he writes 7,dec4 #d1       
#aead73 ',quod autem ad me pertinet1 si 
quid agam scire cupis1     omnem meae   
vitae rationem ab eodem ,tafano         
intelliges1 quam     sordidam           
ingloriamque1 non sine indignatione1 si 
me ut soles     amas1 cognosces4' ,later
 on1 we may notice the same language4   
,thus 7,feb4 #e1 #aeae71 ',sono         
diventato inutile a me1 a' parenti      
ed agli amici1' and 7,june #h1 #aeag7   
',essendomi io ridotto a     stare in   
villa per le avversita che io ho avuto  
ed ho1 sto     qualche volta un mese che
 non mi ricordo di me4'  ,further on in 
the same letter he writes3 ',i have     
talked with ,filippo ,casavecchia about 
this little work of mine1 whether ,i    
ought to present it or not2 and if so1  
whether ,i ought to send or take it     
myself to him4 ,i was induced to doubt  

about presenting it at all by the fear  
lest ,giuliano should not even read it1 
and that this ,ardinghelli should profit
 by my latest labors4 ,on the other     
hand1 ,i am prompted to present it by   
the necessity which pursues me1 seeing  
that ,i am consuming myself in idleness1
 and ,i cannot continue long in this way
 without becoming contemptible through  
poverty4 ,i wish these ,signori ,medici 
would begin to make some use of me1 if  
it were only to set me to the work of   
rolling a stone4#a ,if ,i did not win   
them over to me afterwards1 ,i should   
only complain of myself4 ,as for my     
book1 if they read it1 they would       
perceive that the fifteen years ,i have 
spent in studying statecraft have not   
been wasted in sleep or play2 and       
everybody ought to be glad to make use  
of a man who has so filled himself with 
experience at the expense of others4    
,about my fidelity they ought not to    
doubt4 ,having always kept faith1 ,i am 
not going to learn to break it now4 ,a  

man who has been loyal and good for     
forty-three years1 like me1 is not      
likely to change his nature2 and of my  
loyalty and goodness my poverty is      
sufficient witness to them4'      #a    
,compare the letter1 dated ,june #aj1   
#aead1 to ,fr4 ,vettori3     ',starommi 
dunque cosi tra i miei cenci1 senza     
trovare uomo che     della mia servitu  
si ricordi1 o che creda che io possa    
esser     buono a nulla4 ,ma egli e     
impossibile che io possa star molto     
cosi1 perche io mi logoro1' etc4 ,again1
 ,dec4 #bj1 #aead3 ',e se la     fortuna
 avesse voluto che i ,medici1 o in cosa 
di ,firenze o di     fuora1 o in cose   
loro particolari o in pubbliche1 mi     
avessino     una volta comandato1 io    
sarei contento4'  ,this letter1         
invaluable to the student of            
,machiavelli's works1 is prejudicial to 
his reputation4 ,it was written only ten
 months after he had been imprisoned and
 tortured by the ,medici1 just thirteen 
months after the republic he had served 

so long had been enslaved by the princes
 before whom he was now cringing4 ,it is
 true that ,machiavelli was not wealthy2
 his habits of prodigality made his     
fortune insufficient for his needs4#a   
,it is true that he could ill bear the  
enforced idleness of country life1 after
 being engaged for fifteen years in the 
most important concerns of the          
,florentine ,republic4 ,but neither his 
poverty1 which1 after all1 was but      
comparative1 nor his inactivity1 for    
which he found relief in study1         
justifies the tone of the conclusion to 
this letter4 ,when we read it1 we cannot
 help remembering the language of       
another exile1 who while he tells us--  
,come sa di sale   ,lo pane altrui1 e   
com' e duro calle   ,lo scendere e 'l   
salir per l' altrui scale  --can yet    
refuse the advances of his factious city
 thus3 ',if ,florence cannot be entered 
honorably1 ,i will never set foot within
 her walls4 ,and what8 ,shall ,i not be 
able from any angle whatsoever of the   

earth to gaze upon the sun and stars8   
shall ,i not beneath whatever region of 
the heavens have power to meditate the  
sweetest truths1 unless ,i make myself  
ignoble first1 nay ignominious1 in the  
face of ,florence and her people8 ,nor  
will bread1 ,i warrant1 fail me6' ,if   
,machiavelli1 who in this very letter to
 ,vettori quoted ,dante1 had remembered 
these words1 they ought to have fallen  
like drops of molten lead upon his soul4
 ,but such was the debasement of the    
century that probably he would have only
 shrugged his shoulders and sighed1     
',tempora mutantur1 nos et mutamur in   
illis4'      #a ,see familiar letter1   
,june #aj1 #aead4  ,in some respects    
,dante1 ,machiavelli1 and ,michael      
,angelo ,buonarroti may be said to have 
been the three greatest intellects      
produced by ,florence4 ,dante in exile  
and in opposition1 would hold no sort of
 traffic with her citizens4 ,michael    
,angelo1 after the siege1 worked at the 
,medici tombs for ,pope ,clement1 as a  

makepeace offering for the fortification
 of ,samminiato2 while ,machiavelli     
entreats to be put to roll a stone by   
these ,signori ,medici1 if only he may  
so escape from poverty and dullness4    
,michael ,angelo1 we must remember1 owed
 a debt of gratitude as an artist to the
 ,medici for his education in the       
gardens of ,lorenzo4 ,moreover1 the     
quatrain which he wrote for his statue  
of the ,night justifies us in regarding 
that chapel as the cenotaph designed by 
him for murdered ,liberty4 ,machiavelli 
owed nothing to the ,medici1 who had    
disgraced and tortured him1 and whom he 
had opposed in all his public action    
during fifteen years4 ,yet what was the 
gift with which he came before them as a
 suppliant1 crawling to the footstool of
 their throne8 ,a treatise ,de          
,principatibus2 in other words1 the     
celebrated ,principe2 which1 misread it 
as ,machiavelli's apologists may choose 
to do1 or explain it as the rational    
historian is bound to do1 yet carries   

venom in its pages4 ,remembering the    
circumstances under which it was        
composed1 we are in a condition to      
estimate the proud humility and         
prostrate pride of the dedication4      
',niccolo ,machiavelli to the           
,magnificent ,lorenzo1 son of ,piero de'
 ,medici3' so runs the title4 ',desiring
 to present myself to your ,magnificence
 with some proof of my devotion1 ,i have
 not found among my various furniture   
aught that ,i prize more than the       
knowledge of the actions of great men   
acquired by me through a long experience
 of modern affairs and a continual study
 of ancient4 ,these ,i have long and    
diligently revolved and examined in my  
mind1 and have now compressed into a    
little book which ,i send to your       
,magnificence4 ,and though ,i judge this
 work unworthy of your presence1 yet ,i 
am confident that your humanity will    
cause you to value it when you consider 
that ,i could not make you a greater    
gift than this of enabling you in a few 

hours to understand what ,i have learned
 through perils and discomforts in a    
lengthy course of years4' ',if your     
,magnificence will deign1 from the      
summit of your height1 some time to turn
 your eyes to my low place1 you will    
know how unjustly ,i am forced to endure
 the great and continued malice of      
fortune4' ,the work so dedicated was    
sent in ,,ms4 for the ,magnificent's    
private perusal4 ,it was not published  
until #aecb1 by order of ,clement       
,,vii41 after the death of ,machiavelli4
  ,i intend to reserve the ,principe1   
considered as the supreme expression of 
,italian political science1 for a       
separate study2 and after the           
introduction to ,macaulay's ,essay on   
,machiavelli1 ,i need hardly enter in   
detail into a discussion of the various 
theories respecting the intention of    
this treatise4#a ,yet this is the proper
 place for explaining my view about     
,machiavelli's writings in relation to  
his biography1 and for attempting to    

connect them into such unity as a mind  
so strictly logical as his may have     
designed4      #a ,macaulay's essay is1 
of course1 brilliant and                
comprehensive4 ,i do not agree with his 
theory of the ,italian     despot1 as ,i
 have explained on p4 #abg of this      
volume4     ,sometimes1 too1 he indulges
 in rhetoric that is merely             
sentimental1 as when he says about the  
dedication of the     ,florentine       
,history to ,clement3 ',the miseries and
 humiliations     of dependence1 the    
bread which is more bitter than every   
other     food1 the stairs which are    
more painful than every other           
ascent1 had not broken the spirit of    
,machiavelli4 ,the most     corrupting  
post in a corrupting profession had not 
depraved the     generous heart of      
,clement4' ,the sentence ,i have printed
 in     italics may perhaps tell the    
truth about the ,church and ,popes      
in general2 but the panegyric of        
,clement is preposterous4     ,macaulay 

must have been laughing in his sleeve4  
,with regard to the circumstances under 
which the ,prince was composed1 enough  
has been already said4 ,machiavelli's   
selfish purpose in putting it forth     
seems to my mind apparent4 ,he wanted   
employment3 he despaired of the         
republic3 he strove to furnish the      
princes in power with a convincing proof
 of his capacity for great affairs4 ,yet
 it must not on this account be         
concluded that the ,principe was merely 
a cheap bid for office4 ,on the         
contrary1 it contained the most mature  
and the most splendid of ,machiavelli's 
thoughts1 accumulated through his long  
years of public service2 and1 strange as
 it may seem1 it embodied the dream of a
 philosophical patriot for the          
restitution of liberty to ,italy4       
,florence1 indeed1 was lost4 ',these    
,signori ,medici' were in power4 ,but   
could not even they be employed to purge
 the sacred soil of ,italy from the     
,barbarians8  ,if we can pretend to     

sound the depths of ,machiavelli's mind 
at this distance of time1 we may        
conjecture that he had come to believe  
the free cities too corrupt for         
independence4 ,the only chance ,italy   
had of holding her own against the great
 powers of ,europe was by union under a 
prince4 ,at the same time the ,utopia of
 this union1 with which he closes the   
,principe1 could only be realized by    
such a combination as would either      
neutralize the power of the ,church1 or 
else gain the ,pope for an ally by      
motives of interest4 ,now at the period 
of the dedication of the ,principe to   
,lorenzo de' ,medici1 ,leo ,x4 was      
striving to found a principality in the 
states of the ,church4#a ,in #aeaf he   
created his nephew ,duke of ,urbino1 and
 it was thought that this was but a     
prelude to still further greatness4     
,florence in combination with ,rome     
might do much for ,italy4 ,leo meanwhile
 was still young1 and his participation 
in the most ambitious schemes was to be 

expected4 ,thus the moment was          
propitious for suggesting to ,lorenzo   
that he should put himself at the head  
of an ,italian kingdom1 which1 by its   
union beneath the strong will of a      
single prince1 might suffice to cope    
with nations more potent in numbers and 
in arms4#b ,the ,principe was therefore 
dedicated in good faith to the ,medici1 
and the note on which it closes was not 
false4 ,machiavelli hoped that what     
,cesare ,borgia had but just failed in  
accomplishing1 ,lorenzo de' ,medici1    
with the assistance of a younger ,pope  
than ,alexander1 a firmer basis to his  
princedom in ,florence1 and a grasp upon
 the states of the ,church made sure by 
the policy of ,julius ,,ii41 might      
effect4 ,whether so good a judge of     
character as ,machiavelli expected      
really much from ,lorenzo may be        
doubted4      #a ,we are1 however1 bound
 to remember that ,leo was only made    
,pope in ,march #aeac1 and that the     
,principe was nearly finished     in the

 following ,december4 ,machiavelli      
cannot therefore be     credited with   
knowing as well as we do now to what    
length the     ambition of the ,medici  
was about to run when he composed his   
work4 ,he wrote in the hope that it     
might induce them to employ     him4    
#b ,the two long letters to ,fr4        
,vettori 7,aug4 #bf1 #aeac7 and to      
,piero ,soderini 7no date7 should be    
studied side by side with     the       
,principe for the light they throw on   
,machiavelli's     opinions there       
expressed4  ,these circumstances make   
the morality of the book the more       
remarkable4 ,to teach political science 
denuded of commonplace hypocrisies was a
 worthy object4 ,but while seeking to   
lay bare the springs of action1 and to  
separate statecraft from morals1        
,machiavelli found himself impelled to  
recognize a system of inverted ethics4  
,the abrupt division of the two realms1 
ethical and political1 which he         
attempted1 was monstrous2 and he ended  

by substituting inhumanity for human    
nature4 ,unable to escape the logic     
which links morality of some sort with  
conduct1 he gave his adhesion to the    
false code of contemporary practice4 ,he
 believed that the right way to attain a
 result so splendid as the liberation of
 ,italy was to proceed by force1 craft1 
bad faith1 and all the petty arts of a  
political adventurer4 ,the public ethics
 of his day had sunk to this low level4 
,success by means of plain dealing was  
impossible4 ,the game of statecraft     
could only be carried on by guile and   
violence4 ,even the clear genius of     
,machiavelli had been obscured by the   
muddy medium of intrigue in which he had
 been working all his life4 ,even his   
keen insight was dazzled by the false   
splendor of the adventurer ,cesare      
,borgia4  ,to have formulated the ethics
 of the ,principe is not diabolical4    
,there is no inventive superfluity of   
naughtiness in the treatise4 ,it is     
simply a handbook of princecraft1 as    

that art was commonly received in       
,italy1 where the principles of public  
morality had been translated into terms 
of material aggrandizement1 glory1 gain1
 and greatness4 ,no one thought of      
judging men by their motives but by     
their practice2 they were not regarded  
as moral but as political beings1       
responsible1 that is to say1 to no law  
but the obligation of success4 ,crimes  
which we regard as horrible were then   
commended as magnanimous1 if it could be
 shown that they were prompted by a firm
 will and had for their object a        
deliberate end4 ,machiavelli and ,paolo 
,giovio1 for example1 both praise the   
massacre at ,sinigaglia as a            
masterstroke of art1 without uttering a 
word in condemnation of its perfidy4    
,machiavelli sneers at ,gianpaolo       
,baglioni because he had not the courage
 to strangle his guest ,julius ,,ii4 and
 to crown his other crimes with this    
signal act of magnanimity4 ,what virtue 
had come to mean in the ,italian        

language we have seen already4 ,the one 
quality which every one despised was    
simplicity1 however this might be       
combined with lofty genius and noble    
aims4 ,it was because ,soderini was     
simple and had a good heart that        
,machiavelli wrote the famous epigram-- 
,la notte che mori ,pier ,soderini   ,l'
 alma n' ando dell' inferno alla bocca2 
,e ,pluto le grido3 ,anima sciocca1     
,che inferno8 va nel limbo de' bambini4 
,the night that ,peter ,soderini died1  
,his soul flew down unto the mouth of   
hell3   ',what8 ,hell for you8 ,you     
silly spirit6' cried   ,the fiend3 'your
 place is where the babies dwell4'  ,as 
of old in ,corcyra1 so now in ,italy1   
'guilelessness1 which is the principal  
ingredient of genuine nobleness1 was    
laughed down1 and disappeared4'#a ,what 
men feared was not the moral verdict of 
society1 pronouncing them degraded by   
vicious or violent acts1 but the        
intellectual estimate of incapacity and 
the stigma of dullness4 ,they were      

afraid of being reckoned among feebler  
personalities2 and to escape from this  
contempt1 by the commission even of     
atrocities1 had come to be accounted    
manly4 ,the truth1 missed almost        
universally1 was that the supreme       
wisdom1 the paramount virility1 is      
law-abiding honesty1 the doing of right 
because right is right1 in scorn of     
consequence4 ,nothing appears more      
clearly in the memoirs of ,cellini than 
this point1 while the ,italian novels   
are full of matter bearing on the same  
topic4 ,it is therefore ridiculous to   
assume that an ,italian judged of men or
 conduct in any sense according to our  
standards4 ,pinturicchio and ,perugino  
thought it no shame to work for princes 
like the ,baglioni and for ,popes like  
,alexander ,,vi4 ,lionardo da ,vinci    
placed his talents as an engineer at the
 service of ,cesare ,borgia1 and        
employed his genius as a musician and a 
painter for the amusement of the        
,milanese ,court1 which must have been1 

according to ,corio's account1          
flagrantly and shamelessly corrupt4 ,leo
 ,battista ,alberti1 one of the most    
charming and the gentlest spirits of the
 earlier ,renaissance1 in like manner   
lent his architectural ability to the   
vanity of the iniquitous ,sigismondo    
,malatesta4 ,no3 the ,principe was not  
inconsistent with the general tone of   
,italian morality2 and ,machiavelli     
cannot be fairly taxed with the         
discovery of a new infernal method4 ,the
 conception of politics as a bare art of
 means to ends had grown up in his mind 
by the study of ,italian history and    
social customs4 ,his idealization of    
,cesare ,borgia and his romance of      
,castruccio were the first products of  
the theory he had formed by observation 
of the world he lived in4 ,the ,principe
 revealed it fully organized4 ,but to   
have presented such an essay in good    
faith to the despots of his native city1
 at that particular moment in his own   
career1 and under the pressure of       

trivial distress1 is a real blot upon   
his memory4      #a ,thuc4 iii4 #hc4    
,the whole of the passage about ,corcyra
 in     the third book of ,thucydides   
7chs4 #hb and #hc7 applies literally    
to the moral condition of ,italy at this
 period4  ,we learn from ,varchi that   
,machiavelli was execrated in ,florence 
for his ,principe1 the poor thinking it 
would teach the ,medici to take away    
their honor1 the rich regarding it as an
 attack upon their wealth1 and both     
discerning in it a death-blow to        
freedom4#a ,machiavelli can scarcely    
have calculated upon this evil opinion1 
which followed him to the grave3 for    
though he showed some hesitation in his 
letter to ,vettori about the propriety  
of presenting the essay to the ,medici1 
this was only grounded on the fear lest 
a rival should get the credit of his    
labors4 ,again1 he uttered no syllable  
about its being intended for a trap to  
catch the ,medici1 and commit them to   
unpardonable crimes4 ,we may therefore  

conclude that this explanation of the   
purpose of the ,principe 7which1 strange
 to say1 has approved itself to even    
recent critics7 was promulgated either  
by himself or by his friends1 as an     
after-thought1 when he saw that the work
 had missed its mark1 and at the time   
when he was trying to suppress the      
,,ms4#b ,bernardo ,giunti in the        
dedication of the edition of #aecb1 and 
,reginald ,pole in #aece1 were1 ,i      
believe1 the first to put forth this    
fanciful theory in print4 ,machiavelli  
could not before #aebj have boasted of  
the patriotic treachery with which he   
was afterwards accredited1 so far1 at   
any rate1 as to lose the confidence of  
the ,medicean family2 for in that year  
the ,cardinal ,giulio de' ,medici       
commissioned him to write the history of
 ,florence4      #a ,storia ,fior4 lib4 
iv4 cap4 #ae4      #b ,see ,varchi1 loc4
 cit4 ,the letter written by            
,machiavelli to     ,fr4 ,guicciardini  
from ,carpi1 ,may #ag1 #aeba1 should be 

studied in     this connection4 ,it is  
unfortunately too mutilated to be wholly
     intelligible4 ,after explaining his
 desire to be of use to     ,florence1  
but not after the manner most approved  
of by the     ,florentines themselves1  
he says3 'io credo che questo sarebbe   
il vero modo di andare in ,paradiso1    
imparare la via dell'     ,inferno per  
fuggirla4'  ,the ,principe1 after its   
dedication to ,lorenzo1 remained in     
,,ms41 and ,machiavelli was not employed
 in spite of the continual solicitations
 of his friend ,vettori4#a ,nothing     
remained for him but to seek other      
patrons1 and to employ his leisure in   
new literary work4 ,between #aeaf and   
#aeai1 therefore1 we find him taking    
part in the literary and philosophical  
discussions of the ,florentine ,academy1
 which assembled at that period in the  
,rucellai ,gardens4#b ,it was here that 
he read his ,discourses on the ,first   
,decade of ,livy--a series of profound  
essays upon the administration of the   

state1 to which the sentences of the    
,roman historian serve as texts4 ,having
 set forth in the ,principe the method  
of gaining or maintaining sovereign     
power1 he shows in the ,discorsi what   
institutions are necessary to preserve  
the body politic in a condition of      
vigorous activity4 ,we may therefore    
regard the ,discorsi as in some sense a 
continuation of the ,principe4 ,but the 
wisdom of the scientific politician is  
no longer placed at the disposal of a   
sovereign4 ,he addresses himself to all 
the members of a state who are concerned
 in its prosperity4 ,machiavelli's      
enemies have therefore been able to     
insinuate that1 after teaching tyranny  
in one pamphlet1 he expounded the       
principles of opposition to a tyrant in 
the other1 shifting his sails as the    
wind veered4#c ,the truth here also lies
 in the critical and scientific quality 
of ,machiavelli's method4 ,he was       
content to lecture either to princes or 
to burghers upon politics1 as an art    

which he had taken great pains to study1
 while his interest in the demonstration
 of principles rendered him in a measure
 indifferent to their application4#d ,in
 fact1 to use the pithy words of        
,macaulay1 'the ,prince traces the      
progress of an ambitious man1 the       
,discourses the progress of an ambitious
 people4 ,the same principles on which1 
in the former work1 the elevation of an 
individual is explained1 are applied in 
the latter to the longer duration and   
more complex interest of a society4'    
#a ,the political letters addressed to  
,francesco ,vettori1 at     ,rome1 and  
intended probably for the eye of ,leo   
,x41 were written     in #aead4 ,the    
discourse addressed to ,leo1 sulla      
riforma dello     stato di ,firenze1 may
 be referred perhaps to #aeai4      #b  
,of these meetings ,filippo de' ,nerli  
writes in the ,seventh     ,book of his 
,commentaries1 p4 #ach3 ',avendo        
convenuto assai tempo     nell' orto de'
 ,rucellai una certa scuola di giovani  

letterati e     d' elevato ingegno1     
infra quali praticava continuamente     
,niccolo     ,machiavelli 7ed io ero di 
,niccolo e di tutti loro amicissimo1 e  
molto spesso con loro convirsavo71 s'   
esercitavano costoro     assai1 mediante
 le lettere1 nelle lezioni dell'        
istorie1 e     sopra di esse1 ed a loro 
istanza compose il ,machiavello quel    
suo libro de' discorsi sopra ,tito      
,livio1 e anco il libro di     que'     
trattati e ragionamenti sopra la        
milizia4'      #c ,see ,pitti1          
',apologia de' ,cappucci1' ,arch4 ,stor4
 vol4 iv4     pt4 ii4 p4 #bid4      #d  
,the dedication of the ,discorsi        
contains a phrase which     recalls     
,machiavelli's words about the          
,principe3 ',perche in     quello io ho 
espresso quanto io so1 e quanto io ho   
imparato per     una lunga pratica e    
continua lezione delle cose del mondo4' 
,the ,seven ,books on the ,art of ,war  
may be referred with certainty to the   
same period of ,machiavelli's life4     

,they were probably composed in #aebj4  
,if we may venture to connect the works 
of the historian's leisure1 according to
 the plan above suggested1 this treatise
 forms a supplement to the ,principe and
 the ,discorsi4 ,both in his analysis of
 the successful tyrant and in his       
description of the powerful commonwealth
 he had insisted on the prime necessity 
of warfare1 conducted by the people and 
their rulers in person4 ,the military   
organization of a great kingdom is here 
developed in a separate ,essay1 and     
,machiavelli's favorite scheme for      
nationalizing the militia of ,italy is  
systematically expounded4 ,giovio's     
flippant objection1 that the philosopher
 could not in practice maneuver a single
 company1 is no real criticism on the   
merit of his theory4  ,by this time the 
,medici had determined to take          
,machiavelli into favor2 and since he   
had expressed a wish to be set at least 
to rolling stones1 they found for him a 
trivial piece of work4 ,the ,franciscans

 at ,carpi had to be requested to       
organize a separate ,province of their  
,order in the ,florentine dominion2 and 
the conduct of this weighty matter was  
intrusted to the former secretary at the
 ,courts of ,maximilian and ,louis4     
,several other missions during the last 
years of his life devolved upon         
,machiavelli2 but none of them were of  
much importance3 nor1 when the popular  
government was instituted in #aebg1 had 
he so far regained the confidence of the
 ,florentines as to resume his old      
office of war secretary4 ,this post1    
considering his recent alliance with the
 ,medicean party1 he could hardly have  
expected to receive2 and therefore it is
 improbable that the news of ,gianotti's
 election at all contributed to cause   
his death4#a ,disappointment he may     
indeed have felt3 for his moral force   
had been squandered during fifteen years
 in the attempt to gain the favor of    
princes who were now once more regarded 
as the enemies of their country4 ,when  

the republic was at last restored1 he   
found himself in neither camp4 ,the     
overtures which he had made to the      
,medici had been but coldly received2   
yet they were sufficiently notorious to 
bring upon him the suspicion of the     
patriots4 ,he had not sincerely acted up
 to the precept of ,polonius3 ',this    
above all1--to thine own self be true4' 
,his intellectual ability1 untempered by
 sufficient political consistency or    
moral elevation1 had placed him among   
the outcasts3--       che non furon     
ribelli1   ,ne fur fedeli a ,dio1 ma per
 se foro4  ,the great achievement of    
these years was the composition of the  
,istorie ,fiorentine4 ,the commission   
for this work he received from ,giulio  
de' ,medici through the ,officiali dello
 ,studio in #aebj1 with an annual       
allowance of #ajj florins4 ,in #aebg1   
the year of his death1 he dedicated the 
finished ,history to ,pope ,clement     
,,vii4 ,this masterpiece of literary    
art1 though it may be open to the       

charges of inaccuracy and               
superficiality1#b marks an epoch in the 
development of modern historiography4   
,it must be remembered that it preceded 
the great work of ,guicciardini by some 
years1 and that before the date of its  
appearance the annalists of ,italy had  
been content with records of events1    
personal impressions1 and critiques of  
particular periods4 ,machiavelli was the
 first to contemplate the life of a     
nation in its continuity1 to trace the  
operation of political forces through   
successive generations1 to contrast the 
action of individuals with the evolution
 of causes over which they had but      
little control1 and to bring the salient
 features of the national biography into
 relief by the suppression of           
comparatively unimportant details4 ,by  
thus applying the philosophical method  
to history1 ,machiavelli enriched the   
science of humanity with a new          
department4 ,there is something in his  
view of national existence beyond the   

reach of even the profoundest of the    
classical historians4 ,his style is     
adequate to the matter of his work4     
,never were clear and definite thoughts 
expressed with greater precision in     
language of more masculine vigor4 ,we   
are irresistibly compelled1 while       
characterizing this style1 to think of  
the spare sinews of a trained gladiator4
 ,though ,machiavelli was a poet1 he    
indulges in no ornaments of rhetoric4#c 
,his images1 rare and carefully chosen1 
seem necessary to the thoughts they     
illustrate4 ,though a philosopher1 he   
never wanders into speculation4 ,facts  
and experience are so thoroughly        
compacted with reflection in his mind1  
that his widest generalizations have the
 substance of realities4 ,the element of
 unreality1 if such there be1 is due to 
a misconception of human nature4        
,machiavelli seems to have only studied 
men in masses1 or as political          
instruments1 never as feeling and       
thinking personalities4      #a ,see    

,varchi1 loc4 cit4      #b ,see the     
criticisms of ,ammirato and ,romagnosi1 
quoted by     ,cantu1 ,letteratura      
,italiana1 p4 #ahg4      #c ,i shall    
have to speak elsewhere of              
,machiavelli's comedies1     occasional 
poems1 novel of ',belphegor1' etc4      
,machiavelli1 according to the letter   
addressed by his son ,pietro to         
,francesco ,nelli1 died of a dose of    
medicine taken at the wrong time4 ,he   
was attended on his deathbed by a friar1
 who received his confession4 ,his      
private morality was but indifferent4   
,his contempt for weakness and          
simplicity was undisguised4 ,his        
knowledge of the world and men had      
turned to cynicism4 ,the frigid         
philosophy expressed in his political   
,essays1 and the sarcastic speeches in  
which he gave a vent to his soured      
humors1 made him unpopular4 ,it was     
supposed that he had died with blasphemy
 upon his lips1 after turning all the   
sanctities of human nature into         

ridicule4 ,through these myths1 as      
through a mist1 we may discern the      
bitterness of that great1 disenchanted1 
disappointed soul4 ,the desert in which 
spirits of the stamp of ,machiavelli    
wander is too arid and too aerial for   
the gross substantial bugbears of the   
vulgar conscience to inhabit4 ,moreover1
 as ,varchi says1 ',in his conversation 
,machiavelli was pleasant1 serviceable  
to his friends1 a friend of virtuous    
men1 and1 in a word1 worthy of having   
received from nature either less genius 
or a better mind4'     ,,chapter ,,vi4  
',,the ,,prince' ,,of ,,machiavelli4    
,the ,sincerity of ,machiavelli in this 
,essay--,machiavellism--,his deliberate 
,formulation of a cynical political     
,theory--,analysis of the ,prince--,nine
 ,conditions of ,principalities--,the   
,interest of the ,conqueror acknowledged
 as the sole ,motive of his             
,policy--,critique of ,louis            
,,xii4--,feudal ,monarchy and ,oriental 
,despotism--,three ,ways of subduing a  

free ,city--,example of                 
,pisa--,principalities founded by       
,adventurers--,moses1 ,romulus1 ,cyrus1 
,theseus--,savonarola--,francesco       
,sforza--,cesare ,borgia--,machiavelli's
 personal ,relation to                  
him--,machiavelli's ,admiration of      
,cesare's ,genius--,a ,sketch of        
,cesare's ,career--,concerning those who
 have attained to ,sovereignty by       
,crimes--,oliverotto da ,fermo--,the    
,uses of ,cruelty--,messer ,ramiro d'   
,orco--,the pessimistic ,morality of    
,machiavelli--,on the ,faith of         
,princes--,alexander ,,vi4--,the ,policy
 of seeming virtuous and                
honest--,absence of chivalrous ,feeling 
in ,italy--,the ,military ,system of a  
powerful ,prince--,criticism of         
,mercenaries and                        
,auxiliaries--,necessity of ,national   
,militia--,the ,art of ,war--,patriotic 
,conclusion of the                      
,treatise--,machiavelli and ,savonarola4
   ,after what has been already said    

about the circumstances under which     
,machiavelli composed the ,principe1 we 
are justified in regarding it as a      
sincere expression of his political     
philosophy4 ,the intellect of its author
 was eminently analytical and positive2 
he knew well how to confine himself     
within the strictest limits of the      
subject he had chosen4 ,in the ,principe
 it was not his purpose to write a      
treatise of morality1 but to set forth  
with scientific accuracy the arts which 
he considered necessary to the success  
of an absolute ruler4 ,we may therefore 
accept this essay as the most profound  
and lucid exposition of the principles  
by which ,italian statesmen were guided 
in the sixteenth century4 ,that         
,machiavellism existed before           
,machiavelli has now become a truism4   
,gian ,galeazzo ,visconti1 ,louis ,,xi4 
of ,france1 ,ferdinand the ,catholic1   
the ,papal ,curia1 and the ,venetian    
,council had systematically pursued the 
policy laid down in the chapters of the 

,prince4 ,but it is no less true that   
,machiavelli was the first in modern    
times to formulate a theory of          
government in which the interests of the
 ruler are alone regarded1 which assumes
 a separation between statecraft and    
morality1 which recognizes force and    
fraud among the legitimate means of     
attaining high political ends1 which    
makes success alone the test of conduct1
 and which presupposes the corruption1  
venality1 and baseness of mankind at    
large4 ,it was this which aroused the   
animosity of ,europe against            
,machiavelli1 as soon as the ,prince    
attained wide circulation4 ,nations     
accustomed to the ,monarchical rather   
than the ,despotic form of government   
resented the systematic exposition of an
 art of tyranny which had long been     
practiced among the ,italians4 ,the     
people of the ,north1 whose moral fiber 
was still vigorous1 and who retained    
their respect for established religion1 
could not tolerate the cynicism with    

which ,machiavelli analyzed his subject 
from the merely intellectual point of   
view4 ,his name became a byword4 ',am ,i
 ,machiavel8' says the host in the      
,merry ,wives of ,windsor4 ,marlowe     
makes the ghost of the great ,florentine
 speak prologue to the ,jew of ,malta   
thus--    ,i count religion but a       
childish toy1   ,and hold there is no   
sin but ignorance4  ,when the           
,counter-reformation had begun in       
,italy1 and desperate efforts were being
 made to check the speculative freedom  
of the ,renaissance1 the ,principe was  
condemned by the ,inquisition4          
,meanwhile it was whispered that the    
,spanish princes1 and the sons of       
,catherine de' ,medici upon the throne  
of ,france1 conned its pages just as a  
manual of toxicology might be studied by
 a ,marquise de ,brinvilliers4          
,machiavelli became the scapegoat of    
great political crimes2 and during the  
religious wars of the sixteenth century 
there were not wanting fanatics who     

ascribed such acts of atrocity as the   
,massacre of ,s4 ,bartholomew to his    
venomous influence4 ,yet this book was  
really nothing more or less than a      
critical compendium of facts respecting 
,italy1 a highly condensed abstract of  
political experience4 ,in it as in a    
mirror we may study the lineaments of   
the ,italian despot who by adventure or 
by heritage succeeded to the conduct of 
a kingdom4 ,at the same time the        
political principles here established   
are those which guided the deliberations
 of the ,venetian ,council and the      
,papal ,court1 no less than the actions 
of a ,sforza or a ,borgia upon the path 
to power4 ,it is therefore a document of
 the very highest value for the         
illustration of the ,italian conscience 
in relation to political morality4  ,the
 ,principe opens with the statement that
 all forms of government may be         
classified as republics or as           
principalities4 ,of the latter some are 
hereditary1 others acquired4 ,of the    

principalities acquired in the lifetime 
of the ruler some are wholly new1 like  
,milan under ,francesco ,sforza2 others 
are added of hereditary kingdoms1 like  
,naples to ,spain4 ,again1 such acquired
 states have been previously accustomed 
either to the rule of a single man or to
 self-government4 ,finally they are won 
either with the conqueror's own or with 
borrowed armies1 either by fortune or by
 ability4#a ,thus nine conditions under 
which principalities may be considered  
are established at the outset4      #a  
,the word ,virtu1 which ,i have         
translated ability1 is almost           
equivalent to the ,greek ,greek3 arete1 
before it had     received a moral      
definition1 or to the ,roman ,virtus4   
,it is very     far1 as will be gathered
 from the sequel of the ,principe1      
from denoting what we mean by ,virtue4  
,the short chapter devoted by           
,machiavelli to hereditary              
principalities may be passed over as    
comparatively unimportant4 ,it is       

characteristic of ,italian politics that
 the only instance he adduces of this   
form of government in ,italy is the     
,duchy of ,ferrara4 ,states and cities  
were so frequently shifting owners in   
the sixteenth century that the          
scientific politician was justified in  
confining his attention to the method of
 establishing and preserving            
principalities acquired by force4 ,when 
he passes to the consideration of this  
class1 ,machiavelli enters upon the real
 subject of his essay4 ,the first       
instance he discusses is that of a      
prince who has conquered a dominion     
which he wishes to unite as firmly as   
possible to his hereditary states4 ,the 
new territory may either belong to the  
same nationality and language as the old
 possession1 or may not4 ,in the former 
case it will be enough to extinguish the
 whole line of the ancient rulers1 and  
to take care that neither the laws nor  
the imposts of the province be          
materially altered4 ,it will then in    

course of time become by natural        
coalition part of the old kingdom4 ,but 
if the acquired dominion be separate in 
language1 customs1 and traditions from  
the old1 then arises a real difficulty  
for the conqueror4 ,in order to         
consolidate his empire and to accustom  
his new subjects to his rule1           
,machiavelli recommends that he should  
either take up his residence in the     
subjugated province1 or else plant      
colonies throughout it1 but that he     
should by no means trust merely to      
garrisons4 ',colonies1' he remarks1 'are
 not costly to the prince1 are more     
faithful1 and cause less offense to the 
subject states2 those whom they may     
injure1 being poor and scattered1 are   
prevented from doing mischief4 ,for it  
should be observed that men ought either
 to be caressed or trampled out1 seeing 
that small injuries may be avenged1     
whereas great ones destroy the          
possibility of retaliation2 and so the  
damage that has to be inflicted ought to

 be such that it need involve no fear of
 vengeance4' ,i quote this passage as a 
specimen of ,machiavelli's direct and   
scientific handling of the most inhuman 
necessities of statecraft1 as conceived 
by him4#a ,he uses no hypocritical      
palliation to disguise the egotism of   
the conqueror4 ,he does not even pretend
 to take into consideration any         
interests but those of the ambitious    
prince4 ,he treats humanity as though it
 were the marble out of which the       
political artist should hew the form    
that pleased his fancy best4 ,he        
calculates the exact amount of          
oppression which will render a nation   
incapable of resistance1 and relieve the
 conqueror of trouble in his work of    
building up a puissant kingdom for his  
own aggrandizement4      #a ,it is fair 
to call attention to the strong         
expressions used     by ,machiavelli in 
the ,discorsi1 lib4 i4 cap4 #ah and cap4
 #bf1     on the infamies and           
inhumanities to which the aspirant after

     tyranny is condemned4  ,what       
,machiavelli says about mixed           
principalities is pointed by a searching
 critique of the ,italian policy of     
,louis ,,xii4 ,the ,french king had     
well-known claims upon the ,duchy of    
,milan1 which the ,venetians urged him  
to make good4 ,they proposed to unite   
forces and to divide the conquered      
province of ,lombardy4 ,machiavelli does
 not blame ,louis for accepting this    
offer and acting in concert with the    
,republic4 ,his mistakes began the      
moment after he had gained possession of
 ,milan1 ,genoa1 and the majority of the
 ,north ,italian cities4 ,it was then   
his true policy to balance ,venice      
against ,rome1 to assume the            
protectorate of the minor states1 and to
 keep all dangerous rivals out of       
,italy4 ,instead of acting thus1 he put 
,romagna into the hands of the ,pope and
 divided ,naples with the ,king of      
,spain4 ',louis indeed1' concludes      
,machiavelli1 'was guilty of five       

capital errors3 he destroyed the hopes  
of his numerous and weak allies2 he     
increased the power1 already too great1 
of the ,papacy2 he introduced a foreign 
potentate2 he neglected to reside in    
,italy2 he founded no colonies for the  
maintenance of his authority4 ,if ,i am 
told that ,louis acted thus imprudently 
toward ,alexander and ,ferdinand in     
order to avoid a war1 ,i answer that in 
each case the mistake was as bad as any 
war could be in its results4 ,if ,i am  
reminded of his promise to the ,pope1 ,i
 reply that princes ought to know how   
and when to break their faith1 as ,i    
intend to prove4 ,when ,i was at        
,nantes1 the ,cardinal of ,rouen told me
 that the ,italians did not know how to 
conduct a war3 ,i retorted that the     
,french did not understand statecraft1  
or they would not have allowed the      
,church to gain so much power in ,italy4
 ,experience showed that ,i was right2  
for the ,french wrought their own ruin  
by aggrandizing the ,papacy and         

introducing ,spain into the realm of    
,naples4'  ,this criticism contains the 
very essence of political sagacity4 ,it 
lays bare the secret of the failure of  
the ,french under ,charles1 under       
,louis1 and under ,francis1 to establish
 themselves in ,italy4 ,expeditions of  
parade1 however brilliant1 temporary    
conquests1 cross alliances1 and bloody  
victories do not consolidate a kingdom4 
,they upset states and cause misery to  
nations3 but their effects pass and     
leave the so-called conquerors worse off
 than they were before4 ,it was the doom
 of ,italy to be ravaged by these       
inconsequent marauders1 who never       
attempted by internal organization to   
found a substantial empire1 until the   
mortmain of the ,spanish rule was laid  
upon the peninsula1 and ,austria gained 
by marriages what ,france had failed to 
win by force of arms4  ,the fourth      
chapter of the ,principe is devoted to a
 parallel between ,monarchies and       
,despotisms which is chiefly interesting

 as showing that ,machiavelli           
appreciated the stability of kingdoms   
based upon feudal foundations4 ,france  
is chosen as the best example of the one
 and ,turkey of the other4 ',the whole  
empire of the ,turk is governed by one  
,lord2 the others are his servants2 he  
divides his kingdom into satrapies1 to  
which he appoints different             
administrators1 whom he changes about at
 pleasure4 ,but the ,king of ,france is 
placed in the center of a time-honored  
company of lords1 acknowledged as such  
by their subjects and loved by them2    
they have their own prerogatives1 nor   
can the king deprive them of these      
without peril4' ,hence it follows that  
the prince who has once dispossessed a  
despot finds ready to his hand a        
machinery of government and a band of   
subservient ministers2 while he who may 
dethrone a monarch has immediately to   
cope with a multitude of independent    
rulers1 too numerous to extinguish and  
too proud to conciliate4  ,machiavelli  

now proceeds to discuss the best method 
of subjugating free cities which have   
been acquired by a prince4 ,there are   
three ways of doing it1 he says4 ',the  
first is to destroy them utterly2 the   
second1 to rule them in your own person2
 the third1 to leave them their         
constitution under the conduct of an    
oligarchy chosen by yourself1 and to be 
content with tribute4 ,but1 to speak the
 truth1 the only safe way is to ruin    
them4' ,this sounds very much like the  
advice which an old spider might give to
 a young one3 ,when you have caught a   
big fly1 suck him at once2 suck out at  
any rate so much of his blood as may    
make him powerless to break your web1   
and feed on him afterwards at leisure4  
,then he goes on to give his reasons4   
',he who becomes the master of a city   
used to liberty1 and does not destroy   
it1 should be prepared to be undone by  
it himself1 because that name of        
,liberty1 those ancient usages of       
,freedom1 which no length of years and  

no benefits can extinguish in the       
nation's mind1 which cannot be uprooted 
by any forethought or by any pains1     
unless the citizens themselves be broken
 or dispersed1 will always be a         
rallying-point for revolution when an   
opportunity occurs4' ,this terrific     
moral--through which1 let it be said in 
justice to ,machiavelli1 the enthusiasm 
of a patriot transpires--is pointed by  
the example of ,pisa4 ,pisa1 held for a 
century beneath the heel of             
,florence--her ports shut up1 her fields
 abandoned to marsh fever1 her civic    
life extinguished1 her arts and sciences
 crushed out--had yet not been utterly  
ruined in the true sense of depopulation
 or dismemberment4 ,therefore when      
,charles ,,viii4 in #adid entered ,pisa1
 and ,orlandi1 the orator1 caught him by
 the royal mantle1 and besought him to  
restore her liberty1 that word1 the only
 word the crowd could catch in his      
petition1 inflamed a nation3 the lions  
and lilies of ,florence were erased from

 the public buildings2 the ,marzocco was
 dashed from its column on the quay into
 the ,arno2 and in a moment the dead    
republic awoke to life4 ,therefore1     
argues ,machiavelli1 so tenacious is the
 vitality of a free state that a prudent
 conqueror will extinguish it entirely  
or will rule it in person with a rod of 
iron4 ,this1 be it remembered1 is the   
advice of ,machiavelli1 the the         
,florentine patriot1 to ,lorenzo de'    
,medici1 the ,florentine tyrant1 who has
 recently resumed his seat upon the neck
 of that irrepressible republic4        
,hitherto we have been considering how  
the state acquired by a conqueror should
 be incorporated with his previous      
dominions4 ,the next section of         
,machiavelli's discourse is by far the  
most interesting4 ,it treats of         
principalities created by the arms1     
personal qualities1 and good fortune of 
adventurers4 ,italy alone in the        
sixteenth century furnished examples of 
these tyrannies3 consequently that      

portion of the ,principe which is       
concerned with them has a special       
interest for students of the            
,renaissance4 ,machiavelli begins with  
the founders of kingdoms who have owed  
but little to fortune and have depended 
on their own forces4 ,the list he       
furnishes1 when tested by modern notions
 of history1 is to say the least a      
curious one4 ,it contains ,moses1       
,cyrus1 ,romulus1 and ,theseus4 ,having 
mentioned ,moses first1 ,machiavelli    
proceeds to explain that1 though we have
 to regard him as the mere instrument of
 ,god's purpose1 yet the principles on  
which the other founders acted were 'not
 different from those which ,moses      
derived from so supreme a teacher4'     
,what these men severally owed to       
fortune was but the occasion for the    
display of the greatness that was in    
them4 ,moses found the people of ,israel
 enslaved in ,egypt4 ,romulus was an    
exile from ,alba4 ,cyrus had to deal    
with the ,persian people tired of the   

empire of effeminate ,medes4 ,theseus   
undertook to unite the scattered        
elements of the ,athenian nation4 ,thus 
each of these founders had an opening   
provided for him1 by making use of which
 he was able to bring his illustrious   
qualities into play4 ,the achievement in
 each case was afterwards due solely to 
his own ability1 and the conquest which 
he made with difficulty was preserved   
with ease4 ,this exordium is not without
 practical importance1 as will be seen  
when we reach the application of the    
whole argument to the house of ,medici  
at the conclusion of the treatise4 ,the 
initial obstacles which an innovator has
 to overcome1 meanwhile1 are enormous4  
',he has for passionate foes all such as
 flourish under the old order1 for      
friends those who might flourish under  
the new2 but these are lukewarm1 partly 
from fear of their opponents1 on whose  
side are established law and right1     
partly from the incredulity which       
prevents men from putting faith in what 

is novel and untried4' ,it therefore    
becomes a matter of necessity that the  
innovator should be backed up with      
force1 that he should be in a position  
to command and not obliged to sue for   
aid4 ,this is the reason why all the    
prophets who have used arms to enforce  
their revelations have succeeded1 and   
why those who have only trusted to their
 personal ascendency have failed4       
,moses1 of course1 is an illustrious    
example of the successful prophet4      
,savonarola is adduced as a notable     
instance of a reformer 'who was ruined  
in his work of innovation as soon as the
 multitude lost their faith in him1     
since he had no means of keeping those  
who had believed firm1 or of compelling 
faith from disbelievers4' ,in this      
critique ,machiavelli remains true to   
his positive and scientific philosophy  
of human nature4 ,he will not allow that
 there are other permanent agencies in  
the world than the calculating ability  
of resolute men and the might derived   

from physical forces4  ,among the       
eminent examples of ,italian founders   
who rose to princely power by their own 
ability or by availing themselves of the
 advantages which fortune put within    
their reach1 ,machiavelli selects       
,francesco ,sforza and ,cesare ,borgia4 
,the former is a notable instance of    
success achieved by pure virtu3         
',francesco1 by using the right means1  
and by his own singular ability1 raised 
himself from the rank of a private man  
to the ,duchy of ,milan1 and maintained 
with ease the mastery he had acquired   
with infinite pains4' ,cesare1 on the   
other hand1 illustrates both the        
strength and the weakness of fortuna3   
'he acquired his dominion by the aid    
derived from his father's position1 and 
when he lost that he also lost his      
power1 notwithstanding that he used     
every endeavor and did all that a       
prudent and able man ought to do in     
order to plant himself firmly in those  
states which the arms and fortune of    

others had placed at his disposal4' ,it 
is not necessary to dwell upon the      
career of ,francesco ,sforza4 ,not he   
but ,cesare ,borgia is ,machiavelli's   
hero in this treatise1 the example from 
which he deduces lessons both of        
imitation and avoidance for the benefit 
of ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 ,lorenzo1 it   
must be remembered1 like ,cesare1 would 
have the fortunes of the ,church to     
start with in that career of ambition to
 which ,machiavelli incites him4 ,unlike
 ,francesco ,sforza1 he was no mere     
soldier of adventure1 but a prince1 born
 in the purple1 and bound to make use of
 those undefined advantages which he    
derived from his position in ,florence  
and from the countenance of his uncle1  
the ,pope4 ,the ,duke ,valentino1       
therefore1 who is at one and the same   
time ,machiavelli's ideal of prudence   
and courage in the conduct of affairs1  
and also his chief instance of the      
instability of fortune1 supplies the    
philosopher with all he needed for the  

guidance of his princely pupil4 ,with   
the ,duke ,valentino ,machiavelli had   
conversed on terms of private intimacy1 
and there is no doubt that his          
imagination had been dazzled by the     
brilliant intellectual abilities of this
 consummate rogue4 ,dispatched in #aejb 
by the ,florentine ,republic to watch   
the operations of ,cesare at ,imola1    
with secret instructions to offer the   
,duke false promises in the hope of     
eliciting information that could be     
relied upon1 ,machiavelli had enjoyed   
the rare pleasure of a game at political
 ecarte with the subtlest and most      
unscrupulous diplomatist of his age4 ,he
 had witnessed his terrible yet         
beneficial administration of ,romagna4  
,he had been present at his murder of   
the chiefs of the ,orsini faction at    
,sinigaglia4 ,cesare had confided to    
him1 or had pretended to confide1 his   
schemes of personal ambition1 as well as
 the motives and the measures of his    
secret policy4 ,on the day of the       

election of ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 he had  
laid bare the whole of his past history 
before the ,florentine secretary1 and   
had pointed out the single weakness of  
which he felt himself to have been      
guilty4 ,in these trials of skill and   
this exchange of confidence it is       
impossible to say which of the two      
gamesters may have been the more        
deceived4 ,but ,machiavelli felt that   
the ,borgia supplied him with a perfect 
specimen for the study of the arts of   
statecraft2 and so deep was the         
impression produced upon his mind1 that 
even after the utter failure of         
,cesare's designs he made him the hero  
of the political romance before us4 ,his
 artistic perception of the perfect and 
the beautiful1 both in unscrupulous     
conduct and in frigid calculation of    
conflicting interests1 was satisfied by 
the steady selfishness1 the persistent  
perfidy1 the profound mistrust of men1  
the self-command in the execution of    
perilous designs1 the moderate and      

deliberate employment of cruelty for    
definite ends1 which he observed in the 
young ,duke1 and which he has idealized 
in his own ,principe4 ,that nature1 as  
of a salamander adapted to its element  
of fire1 as of 'a resolute angel that   
delights in flame1' to which nothing was
 sacred1 which nothing could daunt1     
which never for a moment sacrificed     
reason to passion1 which was incapable  
of weakness or fatigue1 had fascinated  
,machiavelli's fancy4 ,the moral        
qualities of the man1 the base          
foundations upon which he raised his    
power1 the unutterable scandals of his  
private life1 and the hatred of all     
,christendom were as nothing in the     
balance4 ,such considerations had1      
according to the conditions of his      
subject1 to be eliminated before he     
weighed the intellectual qualities of   
the adventurer4 ',if all the            
achievements of the ,duke are           
considered'--it is ,machiavelli         
speaking--'it will be found that he     

built up a great substructure for his   
future power2 nor do ,i know what       
precepts ,i could furnish to a prince in
 his commencement better than such as   
are to be derived from his example4' ,it
 is thus that ,machiavelli1 the citizen1
 addresses ,lorenzo1 the tyrant of      
,florence4 ,he says to him3 ,go thou and
 do likewise4 ,and what1 then1 is this  
likewise8  ,cesare1 being a ,pope's son1
 had nothing to look to but the         
influence of his father4 ,at first he   
designed to use this influence in the   
,church2 but after murdering his elder  
brother1 he threw aside the ,cardinal's 
scarlet and proclaimed himself a        
political aspirant4 ,his father could   
not make him lord of any state1 unless  
it were a portion of the territory of   
the ,church3 and though1 by creating1 as
 he did1 twelve ,cardinals in one day1  
he got the ,sacred ,college to sanction 
his investiture of the ,duchy of        
,romagna1 yet both ,venice and ,milan   
were opposed to this scheme4 ,again     

there was a difficulty to be encountered
 in the great baronial houses of ,orsini
 and ,colonna1 who at that time headed  
all the mercenary troops of ,italy1 and 
who1 as ,roman nobles1 had a natural    
hatred for the ,pope4 ,it was necessary 
to use their aid in the acquisition of  
,cesare's principality4 ,it was no less 
needful to humor their animosity4 ,under
 these circumstances ,alexander thought 
it best to invite the ,french king into 
,italy1 bargaining with ,louis that he  
would dissolve his marriage in return   
for protection awarded to ,cesare4 ,the 
,colonna faction meanwhile was to be    
crushed1 and the ,orsini to be          
flattered4 ,cesare1 by the help of his  
,french allies and the ,orsini captains1
 took possession of ,imola and ,faenza1 
and thence proceeded to overrun         
,romagna4 ,in this enterprise he        
succeeded to the full4 ,romagna had     
been1 from the earliest period of       
,italian history1 a nest of petty       
tyrants who governed badly and who kept 

no peace in their dominions4 ,therefore 
the towns were but languid in their     
opposition to ,cesare1 and were soon    
more than contented with a conqueror who
 introduced a good system for the       
administration of justice4 ,but now two 
difficulties arose4 ,the subjugation of 
,romagna had been effected by the help  
of the ,french and the ,orsini4 ,cesare 
as yet had formed no militia of his own1
 and his allies were becoming           
suspicious4 ,the ,orsini had shown some 
slackness at ,faenza2 and when ,cesare  
proceeded to make himself master of     
,urbino1 and to place a foot in ,tuscany
 by the capture of ,piombino--which     
conquests he completed during #aejj and 
#aeja--,louis began to be jealous of    
him4 ,the problem for the ,duke was how 
to disembarrass himself of the two      
forces by which he had acquired a solid 
basis for his future principality4 ,his 
first move was to buy over the ,cardinal
 d',amboise1 whose influence in the     
,french ,court was supreme and thus to  

keep his credit for awhile afloat with  
,louis4 ,his second was to neutralize   
the power of the ,orsini1 partly by     
pitting them against the ,colonnesi1 and
 partly by superseding them in their    
command as captains4 ,for the latter    
purpose he became his own ,condottiere1 
drawing to his standard by the lure of  
splendid pay all the minor gentry of the
 ,roman ,campagna4 ,thus he collected   
his own forces and was able to dispense 
with the unsafe aid of mercenary troops4
 ,at this point of his career the       
,orsini1 finding him established in     
,romagna1 in ,urbino1 and in part of    
,tuscany1 while their own strength was  
on the decline1 determined if possible  
to check the career of this formidable  
tyrant by assassination4 ,the conspiracy
 known as the ',diet of ,la ,magione'   
was the consequence4 ,in this           
conjuration the ,cardinal ,orsini1      
,paolo ,orsini1 his brother and head of 
the great house1 together with          
,vitellozzo ,vitelli1 lord of ,citta di 

,castello1 the ,baglione of ,perugia1   
the ,bentivoglio of ,bologna1 ,antonio  
da ,venasso from ,siena1 and ,oliverotto
 da ,fermo took each a part4 ,the result
 of their machinations against the      
common foe was that ,cesare for a moment
 lost ,urbino1 and was nearly unseated  
in ,romagna4 ,but the ,french helped    
him1 and he stood firm4 ,still it was   
impossible to believe that ,louis ,,xii4
 would suffer him to advance unchecked  
in his career of conquest2 and as long  
as he continued between the ,french and 
the ,orsini his position was of         
necessity insecure4 ,the former had to  
be cast off2 the latter to be           
extirpated2 and yet he had not force    
enough to play an open game4 ',he       
therefore1' says ,machiavelli1 'turned  
to craft1 and displayed such skill in   
dissimulation that the ,orsini through  
the mediation of ,paolo became his      
friends again4' ,the cruelty of ,cesare 
,borgia was only equalled by his craft2 
and it was by a supreme exercise of his 

power of fascination that he lured the  
foes who had plotted against him at ,la 
,magione into his snare at ,sinigaglia4 
,paolo ,orsini1 ,francesco ,orsini1 duke
 of ,gravina1 ,vitellozzo ,vitelli1 and 
,oliverotto da ,fermo were all men of   
arms1 accustomed to intrigue and to     
bloodshed1 and more than one of them    
were stained with crimes of the most    
atrocious treachery4 ,yet such were the 
arts of ,cesare ,borgia that in #aejb he
 managed to assemble them1 apart from   
their troops1 in the castle of          
,sinigaglia1 where he had them          
strangled4 ,having now destroyed the    
chiefs of the opposition and enlisted   
their forces in his own service1        
,cesare1 to use the phrase of           
,machiavelli1 'had laid good foundations
 for his future power4' ,he commanded a 
sufficient territory2 he wielded the    
temporal and spiritual power of his     
father2 he was feared by the princes and
 respected by the people throughout     
,italy2 his cruelty and perfidy and     

subtlety and boldness caused him to be  
universally admired4 ,but as yet he had 
only laid foundations4 ,the empire of   
,italy was still to win2 for he aspired 
to nothing else1 and it is even probable
 that he entertained a notion of        
secularizing the ,papacy4 ,france was   
the chief obstacle to his ambition4 ,the
 alarm of ,louis had at last been       
roused4 ,but ,louis' own mistake in     
bringing the ,spaniards into ,naples    
afforded ,cesare the means of shaking   
off the ,french control4 ,he espoused   
the cause of ,spain1 and by intriguing  
now with the one power and now with the 
other made himself both formidable and  
desirable to each4 ,his geographical    
position between ,milan and ,naples     
enforced this policy4 ,another          
difficulty against which he had to      
provide was in the future rather than   
the present4 ,should his father die1 and
 a new ,pope adverse to his interests be
 elected1 he might lose not only the    
support of the ,holy ,see1 but also his 

fiefs of ,romagna and ,urbino4 ,to meet 
this contingency he took four           
precautions1 mentioned with great       
admiration by ,machiavelli4 ,in the     
first place he systematically murdered  
the heirs of the ruling families of all 
the cities he acquired--as for example  
three ,varani at ,camerino1 two         
,manfredi at ,faenza1 the ,orsini and   
,vitelli at ,sinigaglia1 and others whom
 it would be tedious to mention4 ,by    
this process he left no scion of the    
ancient houses for a future ,pope to    
restore4 ,in the second place he        
attached to his person by pensions1     
offices1 and emoluments1 all the ,roman 
gentry1 so that he might be able to keep
 the new ,pope a prisoner and unarmed in
 ,rome4 ,thirdly1 he reduced the        
,college of ,cardinals1 by bribery1     
terrorism1 poisoning1 and packed        
elections1 to such a state that he could
 count on the creation of a ,pope1 if   
not his nominee1 at least not hostile to
 his interests4 ,fourthly1 he lost no   

time1 but pushed his plans of conquest  
on with utmost speed1 so as1 if         
possible1 to command a large territory  
at the time of ,alexander's death4      
,machiavelli1 who records these four    
points with approbation1 adds3 ',he     
therefore1 who finds it needful in his  
new authority to secure himself against 
foes1 to acquire allies1 to gain a point
 by force or fraud1 etc41 etc41 could   
not discover an ensample more vigorous  
and blooming than that of ,cesare4'     
,such is the panegyric which            
,machiavelli1 writing1 as it seems to   
me1 in all good faith and innocence1    
records of a man who1 taken altogether1 
is perhaps the most selfish1 perfidious1
 and murderous of adventurers on record4
 ,the only fault for which he blames him
 is that he did not prevent the election
 of ,pope ,julius ,,ii1 by concentrating
 his influence on either the ,cardinal  
d',amboise or a ,spaniard4  ,it is      
curious to read the title of the chapter
 following that which criticises the    

action of ,cesare ,borgia3 it runs thus1
 ',concerning those who have attained to
 sovereignty by crimes4' ,cesare was    
clearly not one of these men in the eyes
 of ,machiavelli1 who confines his      
attention to ,agathocles of ,syracuse1  
and to ,oliverotto da ,fermo1 a brigand 
who acquired the lordship of ,fermo by  
murdering his uncle and benefactor1     
,giovanni ,fogliani1 and all the chief  
men of the city at a banquet to which he
 had invited them4 ,this atrocity1      
according to ,machiavelli's creed1 would
 have been justified1 if ,oliverotto had
 combined cruelty and subtlety in proper
 proportions4 ,but his savagery was not 
sufficiently veiled2 a prince should    
never incur odium by crimes of violence1
 but only use them as the means of      
inspiring terror4 ,besides1 ,oliverotto 
was so simple as to fall at last into   
the snare of ,cesare ,borgia at         
,sinigaglia4 ,cesare himself supplies   
,machiavelli with a notable example of  
the way in which cruelty can be well    

used4 ,having found the cities of       
,romagna in great disorder1 ,cesare     
determined to quell them by the ferocity
 of a terrible governor4 ,for this      
purpose he chose ,messer ,ramiro d'     
,orco1 'a man cruel and quick of action1
 to whom he gave the fullest power4' ,a 
story is told of ,messer ,ramiro which  
illustrates his temper in a very bizarre
 fashion3 he one day kicked a clumsy    
page on to the fire1 and held him there 
with a poker till he was burned up4     
,acting after this fashion1 with        
plenipotentiary authority1 ,ramiro soon 
froze the whole province into           
comparative tranquillity4 ,but it did   
not suit ,cesare to incur the odium     
which the man's cruelty brought on his  
administration4 ,accordingly he had him 
decapitated one night and exposed to    
public view1 together with the block and
 bloody hatchet1 in the square at       
,cesena4 ,of the art with which ,cesare 
first reduced ,romagna to order by the  
cruelty of his agent1 and then avoided  

the odium of this cruelty by using the  
wretched creature as an appalling       
example of his justice and his power1   
,machiavelli wholly approves4 ,his      
theory is that cruelty should be        
employed for certain definite purposes1 
but that the ,prince should endeavor to 
shun as far as possible the hatred it   
inspires4 ,in justice both to           
,machiavelli and to ,cesare1 it should  
be said that the administration of      
,romagna was far better under the       
,borgia rule than it had ever been      
before4 ,the exhibition of savage       
violence of which ,machiavelli approves 
was perhaps needed to cow so brutalized 
a population4  ,in those chapters which 
,machiavelli has devoted to the         
exposition of the qualities that befit a
 ,prince1 it is clear that ,cesare      
,borgia was not unfrequentlv before his 
eyes4#a ,the worst thing that can be    
said about ,italy of the sixteenth      
century is that such an analyst as      
,machiavelli should have been able to   

idealize an adventurer whose egotistic  
immorality was so undisguised4 ,the     
ethics of this profound anatomist of    
human motives were based upon a         
conviction that men are altogether bad4 
,when discussing the question whether it
 be better to be loved or feared1       
,machiavelli decides that 'it is far    
safer to be feared than loved1 if you   
must choose2 seeing that you may say of 
men generally that they are ungrateful  
and changeable1 dissemblers1 apt to shun
 danger1 eager for gain2 as long as you 
serve them1 they offer you everything1  
down to their very children1 if you have
 no need2 but when you want help1 they  
fail you4 ,therefore it is best to put  
no faith in their pretended love4' ,this
 is language which could only be used in
 a country where loyalty was unknown and
 where all political and social         
combinations were founded upon force or 
convenience4 ,princes must1 however1 be 
cautious not to injure their subjects in
 their honor or their                   

property--especially the latter1 since  
men 'forget the murder of their fathers 
quicker than the loss of their money4'  
,under another heading ,machiavelli     
returns to the same topic1 and lays it  
down as an axiom that1 since the large  
majority of men are bad1 a prince must  
learn in self-defense how to be bad1 and
 must use this science when and where he
 deems appropriate1 endeavoring1        
however1 under all circumstances to pass
 for good4      #a ,in a letter to ,fr4 
,vettori 7,jan4 #ca1 #aead7 he says3    
',il     duca ,valentino1 l' opere del  
quale io imiterei sempre quando         
fossi principe nuove4  ,he brings the   
same desperate philosophy of life1 the  
same bitter experience of mankind1 to   
bear upon his discussion of the faith of
 princes4 ,the chapter which is entitled
 ',how princes ought to keep their word'
 is one of the most brilliantly composed
 and thoroughly ,machiavellian of the   
whole treatise4 ,he starts with the     
assertion that to fight the battles of  

life in accordance with law is human1 to
 depend on force is brutal2 yet when the
 former method is insufficient1 the     
latter must be adopted4 ,a prince should
 know how to combine the natures of the 
man and of the beast2 and this is the   
meaning of the mythus of ,cheiron1 who  
was made the tutor of ,achilles4 ,he    
should strive to acquire the qualities  
of the fox and of the lion1 in order    
that he may both avoid snares and guard 
himself from wolves4 ,a prudent prince  
cannot and must not keep faith1 when it 
is harmful to do so1 or when the        
occasion under which he promised has    
passed by4 ,he will always find         
colorable pretexts for breaking his     
word2 and if he learns well how to      
feign1 he will have but little          
difficulty in deceiving people4 ,among  
the innumerable instances of successful 
hypocrites ,machiavelli can think of    
none more excellent than ,alexander     
,,vi4 ',he never did anything else but  
deceive men1 nor ever thought of        

anything but this1 and always found apt 
matter for his practice4 ,never was     
there a man who had greater force in    
swearing and tying himself down to his  
engagements1 or who observed them less4 
,nevertheless his wiles were always     
successful in the way he wished1 because
 he well knew that side of the world4'  
,it is curious that ,machiavelli should 
have forgotten that the whole elaborate 
life's policy of ,alexander and his son 
was ruined precisely by their falling   
into one of their own traps1 and that   
the mistake or treason of a servant     
upset the calculations of the two most  
masterly deceivers of their age4#a      
,following out the same line of thought1
 which implies that in a bad world a    
prince cannot afford to be good1        
,machiavelli asserts3 ',it is not       
necessary that a prince should be       
merciful1 loyal1 humane1 religious1     
just3 nay1 ,i will venture to say1 that 
if he had all these qualities and always
 used them1 they would harm him4 ,but he

 must seem to have them1 especially if  
he be new in his principality1 where he 
will find it quite impossible to        
exercise these virtues1 since in order  
to maintain his power he will be often  
obliged to act contrary to humanity1    
charity1 religion4' ,machiavelli does   
not advise him to become bad for the    
sake of badness1 but to know when to    
quit the path of virtue for the         
preservation of his kingdom4 ',he must  
take care to say nothing that is not    
full of these five qualities1 and must  
always appear all mercy1 all loyalty1   
all humanity1 all justice1 all religion1
 especially the last4' ,on the advantage
 of a reputation for piety ,machiavelli 
insists most strongly4 ,he points out   
how ,ferdinand the ,catholic used the   
pretext of religious zeal in order to   
achieve the conquest of ,granada1 to    
invade ,africa1 to expel the ,moors1 and
 how his perfidies in ,italy1 his       
perjuries to ,france1 were colored with 
a sanctimonious decency4      #a        

,perhaps this is an indirect argument   
against the legend of     their death4  
,after reading these passages we feel   
that though it may be true that         
,machiavelli only spoke with scientific 
candor of the vices which were common to
 all statesmen in his age--though the   
,italians were so corrupt that it seemed
 hopeless to deal fairly with them--yet 
there was a radical taint in the soul of
 the man who could have the heart to    
cull these poisonous herbs of policy and
 distill their juices to a quintessence 
for the use of the prince to whom he was
 confiding the destinies of ,italy4#a   
,almost involuntarily we remember the   
oath which ,arthur administered to his  
knights1 when he bade them 'never to do 
outrage nor murder1 and always to flee  
treason2 also by no means to be cruel1  
but to give mercy unto him that asked   
mercy1 upon pain of forfeiture of their 
worship and lordship of ,king ,arthur   
for evermore4' ,in a land where chivalry
 like this had ever taken root1 either  

as an ideal or as an institution1 the   
chapters of ,machiavelli could scarcely 
have been published4 ,the ,italians     
lacked the virtues of knighthood4 ,it   
was possible among them for the         
philosophers to teach the princes that  
success purchased at the expense of     
honor1 loyalty1 humanity1 and truth     
might be illustrious4  ,it is refreshing
 to turn from those chapters in which   
,machiavelli teaches the ,prince how to 
cope with the world by using the vices  
of the wicked1 to his exposition of the 
military organization suited to the     
maintenance of a great kingdom4         
,machiavelli has no mean or humble      
ambition for his ,prince3 'double will  
his glory be1 who has founded a new     
realm1 and fortified and adorned it with
 good laws1 good arms1 good friends1 and
 good ensamples4' ,what the enterprise  
to which he fain would rouse ,lorenzo   
really is1 will appear in the           
conclusion4 ,meanwhile he encourages him
 by the example of ,ferdinand the       

,catholic to gird his loins up for great
 enterprises4 ,he bids him be           
circumspect in his choice of            
secretaries1 seeing that 'the first     
opinion formed of a prince and of his   
capacity is derived from the men whom he
 has gathered round him4' ,he points out
 how he should shun flattery and seek   
respectful but sincere advice4 ,finally 
he reminds him that a prince is impotent
 unless he can command obedience by his 
arms4 ,fortresses are a doubtful source 
of strength2 against foreign foes they  
are worse than useless2 against subjects
 they are worthless in comparison with  
the goodwill of the people3 'the best   
fortress possible is to escape the      
hatred of your subjects4' ,everything   
therefore depends upon the well-ordering
 of a national militia4 ,the neglect of 
that ruined the princes of ,italy and   
enabled ,charles ,,viii4 to conquer the 
fairest of ,european kingdoms with      
wooden spurs and a piece of chalk4#b    
#a ,in the ,discorsi1 lib4 i4 cap4 #ee1 

he calls ,italy 'la     coruttela del   
mondo1' and judges that her case is     
desperate2     'non si puo sperare nelle
 provincie che in questi tempi si       
veggono corrotte1 come e l' ,italia     
sopra tutte le altre4'      #b ,the     
references in this paragraph are made to
 chapters     xx4-xxiv4 and chapter xii4
 of the ,principe4  ,in his discourse on
 armies ,machiavelli lays it down that  
the troops with which a prince defends  
his state are either his own1 or        
mercenaries1 or auxiliaries1 or mixed4  
',mercenary and auxiliary forces are    
both useless and perilous1 and he who   
founds the security of his dominion on  
the former will never be established    
firmly3 seeing that they are disunited1 
ambitious1 and undisciplined1 without   
loyalty1 truculent to their friends1    
cowardly among foes2 they have no fear  
of ,god1 no faith with men2 you are only
 safe with them before they are         
attacked2 in peace they plunder you2 in 
war you are the prey of your enemies4   

,the cause of this is that they have no 
other love nor other reason to keep the 
field1 beyond a little pay1 which is far
 from sufficient to make them wish to   
die for you4 ,they are willing enough to
 be your soldiers so long as you are at 
peace1 but when war comes their impulse 
is to fly or sneak away4 ,it ought to be
 easy to establish the truth of this    
assertion1 since the ruin of ,italy is  
due to nothing else except this1 that we
 have now for many years depended upon  
mercenary arms4'#a ,here he touches the 
real weakness of the ,italian states4   
,then he proceeds to explain further the
 rottenness of the ,condottiere system4 
,captains of adventure are either men of
 ability or not4 ,if they are1 you have 
to fear lest their ambition prompt them 
to turn their arms against yourself or  
your allies4 ,this happened to ,queen   
,joan of ,naples1 who was deserted by   
,sforza ,attendolo in her sorest need2  
to the ,milanese1 when ,francesco       
,sforza made himself their despot2 to   

the ,venetians1 who were driven to      
decapitate ,carmagnuola because they    
feared him4 ,the only reason why the    
,florentines were not enslaved by ,sir  
,john ,hawkwood was that1 though an able
 general1 he achieved no great successes
 in the field4 ,in the same way they    
escaped by luck from ,sforza1 who turned
 his attention to ,milan1 and from      
,braccio1 who formed designs against the
 ,church and ,naples4 ,if ,paolo        
,vitelli had been victorious against    
,pisa 7#adih71 he would have held them  
at discretion4 ,in each of these cases  
it was only the good fortune of the     
republic which saved it from a military 
despotism4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the  
mercenary captains are men of no        
capacity1 you are defeated in the field4
      #a ,see chapter xii4 of the       
,principe4  ,proceeding to the          
historical development of this bad      
system1 ,machiavelli points out how     
after the decline of the ,imperial      
authority in ,italy1 the ,papacy and the

 republics got the upper hand4 ,priests 
and merchants were alike unwilling to   
engage in war4 ,therefore they took     
mercenary troops into their pay4 ,the   
companies of the ,sforzeschi and        
,bracceschi were formed2 and 'after     
these came all those others who have    
ruled this sort of warfare down to our  
own days4 ,the consequence of their     
valor is that ,italy has been harried by
 ,charles1 plundered by ,louis1 forced  
by ,ferdinand1 insulted by the ,swiss4  
,their method has been to enhance the   
reputation of their cavalry by          
depressing the infantry4 ,being without 
dominion of their own1 and making war   
their commerce1 a few foot soldiers     
brought them no repute1 while they were 
unable to support many4 ,therefore they 
confined themselves to cavalry1 until in
 a force of #bj1jjj men you could not   
number #b1jjj infantry4 ,besides this   
they employed all their ingenuity to    
relieve themselves and their soldiers of
 fatigue and peril1 by refraining from  

slaughter and from taking prisoners     
without ransom4 ,night attacks and      
sorties were abandoned2 stockades and   
trenches in the camp were given up2 no  
one thought of a winter campaign4 ,all  
these things were allowed1 or rather    
introduced1 in order to avoid1 as ,i    
have said1 fatigue and peril4 ,whereby  
they have reduced ,italy to slavery and 
insult4' ,auxiliaries1 such as the      
,french troops borrowed by ,cesare      
,borgia1 and the ,spaniards engaged by  
,julius ,,ii41 are even worse4 ',he who 
wants to be unable to win the game      
should make use of these forces2 for    
they are far more dangerous than        
mercenaries1 seeing that in them the    
cause of ruin is ready made--they are   
united together1 and inclined to obey   
their own masters4 ,machiavelli enforces
 this moral by one of those rare but    
energetic figures which add virile      
dignity to his discourse4 ,he compares  
auxiliary troops to the armor of ,saul1 
which ,david refused1 preferring to     

fight ,goliath with his stone and sling4
 ',in one word1 arms borrowed from      
another either fall from your back1 or  
weigh you down1 or impede your action4' 
,it remains for a prince to form his own
 troops and to take the field in person1
 like ,cesare ,borgia1 when he discarded
 his ,french allies and the mercenary   
aid of the ,orsini captains4 ,republics 
should follow the same course1          
dispatching1 as the ,romans did1 their  
own citizens to the war1 and controlling
 by law the personal ambition of        
victorious generals4 ,it was thus that  
the ,venetians prospered in their       
conquests1 before they acquired their   
provinces in ,italy and adopted the     
,condottiere system from their          
neighbors4 ',a prince1 therefore1 should
 have but one object1 one thought1 one  
art--the art of war4' ,those who have   
followed this rule have attained to     
sovereignty1 like ,francesco ,sforza1   
who became ,duke of ,milan2 those who   
have neglected it have lost even        

hereditary kingdoms1 like the last      
,sforzas1 who sank from dukedom into    
private life4 ,even amid the pleasures  
of the chase a prince should always be  
studying the geographical conformation  
of his country with a view to its       
defense1 and should acquire a minute    
knowledge of such strategical laws as   
are everywhere applicable4 ,he should   
read history with the same object1 and  
should keep before his eyes the example 
of those great men of the past from whom
 he can learn lessons for his guidance  
in the present4  ,this brings us to the 
peroration of the ,principe1 which      
contains the practical issue toward     
which the whole treatise has been       
tending1 the patriotic thought that     
reflects a kind of luster even on the   
darkest pages that have gone before4    
,like ,thetis1 ,machiavelli has dipped  
his ,achilles in the ,styx of infernal  
counsels2 like ,cheiron1 he has shown   
him how the human and the bestial       
natures should be combined in one who   

has to break the teeth of wolves and    
keep his feet from snares2 like         
,hephaistos1 he has forged for him      
invulnerable armor4 ,the object toward  
which this preparation has been leading 
is the liberation of ,italy from the    
barbarians4 ,the slavery of ,israel in  
,egypt1 the oppression of the ,persians 
by the ,medes1 the dispersion of the    
,athenians into villages1 were the      
occasions which enabled ,moses and      
,cyrus and ,theseus to display their    
greatness4 ,the new ,prince1 who would  
fain win honor in ,italy and confer upon
 his country untold benefits1 finds her 
at the present moment 'more enslaved    
than the ,hebrews1 more downtrodden than
 the ,persians1 more disunited than the 
,athenians1 without a chief1 without    
order1 beaten1 despoiled1 mangled1      
overrun1 subject to every sort of       
desolation4' ,fortune could not have    
offered him a nobler opportunity4 ',see 
how she prays ,god to send her some one 
who should save her from these barbarous

 cruelties ind insults6 ,see her all    
ready and alert to follow any standard1 
if only there be a man to raise it6'    
,then ,machiavelli addresses himself to 
the chief of the ,medici in person4     
',nor is there at the present moment any
 place more full of hope for her than   
your illustrious ,house1 which by its   
valor and its fortune1 favored by ,god  
and by the ,church1 whereof it is now   
the head1 might take the lead in this   
delivery4' ,this is followed by one of  
the rare passages of courtly rhetoric   
which1 when ,machiavelli condescends to 
indulge in them1 add peculiar splendor  
to his style4 ,then he turns again to   
speak of the means which should         
immediately be used4 ,he urges ,lorenzo 
above all things to put no faith in     
mercenaries or auxiliaries1 but to raise
 his own forces1 and to rely on the     
,italian infantry4 ,if ,italian armies  
have always been defeated in the field  
during the past twenty years1 it is not 
due so much to their defective courage  

as to the weakness of their commanders4 
,lorenzo will have to raise a force     
capable of coping with the ,swiss1 the  
,spanish1 and the ,french4 ,the respect 
with which ,machiavelli speaks at this  
supreme moment of these foreign troops1 
proves how great was their prestige in  
,italy2 yet he ventures to point out    
that there are faults peculiar to each  
of them3 the ,spanish infantry cannot   
stand a cavalry charge1 and the         
,switzers are liable to be disconcerted 
by the rapid attack of the wiry infantry
 of ,spain4 ,it is therefore necessary  
to train troops capable of resisting    
cavalry1 and not afraid of facing any   
foot soldiers in the world4 ',this      
opportunity1 therefore1 must not be     
suffered to slip by2 in order that      
,italy may after so long a time at last 
behold her saviour4 ,nor can ,i find    
words to describe the love with which he
 would be hailed in all the provinces   
that have suffered through these foreign
 deluges1 the thirst for vengeance1 the 

stubborn fidelity1 the piety1 the tears1
 that he would meet ,what gates would be
 closed against him8 ,what people would 
refuse him allegiance8 ,what jealousy   
would thwart him8 ,what ,italian would  
be found to refuse him homage8 ,this    
rule of the barbarians stinks in the    
nostrils of us all4 ,then let your      
illustrious ,house assume this          
enterprise in the spirit and the        
confidence wherewith just enterprises   
are begun1 that so1 under your flag1    
this land of ours may be ennobled1 and  
under your auspices be brought to pass  
that prophecy of ,petrarch3--    ',lo1  
valor against rage   ,shall take up     
arms1 nor shall the fight be long2      
,for that old heritage   ,of courage in 
,italian hearts is stout and strong4    
,with this trumpet-cry of impassioned   
patriotism the ,principe closes4        
,hegel1 in his ',philosophy of          
,history1' has recorded a judgment of   
,machiavelli's treatise in relation to  
the political conditions of ,italy at   

the end of the mediaeval period1 which  
might be quoted as the most complete    
apology for the author it is possible to
 make4 ',this book1' he says1 'has often
 been cast aside with horror as         
containing maxims of the most revolting 
tyranny2 yet it was ,machiavelli's high 
sense of the necessity of constituting a
 state which caused him to lay down the 
principles on which alone states could  
be formed under the circumstances4 ,the 
isolated lords and lordships had to be  
entirely suppressed2 and though our idea
 of ,freedom is incompatible with the   
means which he proposes both as the only
 available and also as wholly           
justifiable--including1 as these do1 the
 most reckless violence1 all kinds of   
deception1 murder1 and the like--yet we 
must confess that the despots who had to
 be subdued were assailable in no other 
way1 inasmuch as indomitable lawlessness
 and perfect depravity were thoroughly  
engrained in them4'  ,yet after the book
 has been shut and the apology has been 

weighed1 we cannot but pause and ask    
ourselves this question1 ,which was the 
truer patriot--,machiavelli1            
systematizing the political vices and   
corruptions of his time in a            
philosophical essay1 and calling on the 
despot to whom it was dedicated to      
liberate ,italy2 or ,savonarola1        
denouncing sin and enforcing            
repentance--,machiavelli1 who taught as 
precepts of pure wisdom those very      
principles of public immorality which   
lay at the root of ,italy's disunion and
 weakness2 or ,savonarola1 who insisted 
that without a moral reformation no     
liberty was possible8 ,we shall have to 
consider the action of ,savonarola in   
another place4 ,meanwhile1 it is not too
 much to affirm that1 with diplomatists 
like ,machiavelli1 and with princes like
 those whom he has idealized1 ,italy    
could not be free4 ,hypocrisy1          
treachery1 dissimulation1 cruelty are   
the vices of the selfish and the        
enslaved4 ,yet ,machiavelli was led by  

his study of the past and by his        
experience of the present to defend     
these vices1 as the necessary qualities 
of the prince whom he would fain have   
chosen for the saviour of his country4  
,it is legitimate to excuse him on the  
ground that the ,italians of his age had
 not conceived a philosophy of right    
which should include duties as well as  
privileges1 and which should guard the  
interests of the governed no less than  
those of the governor4 ,it is true that 
the feudal conception of ,monarchy1 so  
well apprehended by him in the fourth   
chapter of the ,principe1 had nowhere   
been realized in ,italy1 and that       
therefore the right solution of the     
political problem seemed to lie in      
setting force against force1 and fraud  
against fraud1 for a sublime purpose4   
,it may also be urged with justice that 
the historians and speculators of       
antiquity1 esteemed beyond their value  
by the students of the sixteenth        
century1 confirmed him in his           

application of a positive philosophy to 
statecraft4 ,the success which attended 
the violence and dissimulation of the   
,romans1 as described by ,livy1 induced 
him to inculcate the principles on which
 they acted4 ,the scientific method     
followed by ,aristotle in the ,politics 
encouraged him in the adoption of a     
similar analysis2 while the close       
parallel between ancient ,greece and    
mediaeval ,italy was sufficient to      
create a conviction that the wisdom of  
the old world would be precisely        
applicable to the conditions of the new4
 ,these1 however1 are exculpations of   
the man rather than justifications of   
his theory4 ,the theory was false and   
vicious4 ,and the fact remains that the 
man1 impregnated by the bad morality of 
the period in which he lived1 was       
incapable of ascending above it to the  
truth1 was impotent with all his acumen 
to read the deepest lessons of past and 
present history1 and in spite of his    
acknowledged patriotism succeeded only  

in adding his conscious and unconscious 
testimony to the corruption of the      
country that he loved4 ,the broad       
common-sense1 the mental soundness1 the 
humane instinct and the sympathy with   
nature1 which give fertility and        
wholeness to the political philosophy of
 men like ,burke1 are absent in         
,machiavelli4 ,in spite of its vigor1   
his system implies an inversion of the  
ruling laws of health in the body       
politic4 ,in spite of its logical       
cogency1 it is inconclusive by reason of
 defective premises4 ,incomparable as an
 essay in pathological anatomy1 it      
throws no light upon the working of a   
normal social organism1 and has at no   
time been used with profit even by the  
ambitious and unscrupulous4             
,,chapter ,,vii4  ,,the ,,popes ,,of    
,,the ,,renaissance4   ,the ,papacy     
between #addg and #aebg--,the           
,contradictions of the ,renaissance     
,period exemplified by the              
,popes--,relaxation of their hold over  

the ,states of the ,church and ,rome    
during the ,exile in ,avignon--,nicholas
 ,v4--,his ,conception of a ,papal      
,monarchy--,pius ,,ii4--,the            
,crusade--,renaissance ,pontiffs--,paul 
,,ii4--,persecution of the              
,platonists--,sixtus                    
,,iv4--,nepotism--,the ,families of     
,riario and ,delia                      
,rovere--,avarice--,love of             
,warfare--,pazzi                        
,conspiracy--,inquisition in            
,spain--,innocent                       
,,viii4--,franceschetto ,cibo--,the     
,election of ,alexander ,,vi4--,his     
,consolidation of the ,temporal         
,power--,policy toward ,colonna and     
,orsini ,families--,venality of         
everything in ,rome--,policy toward     
the-- ,sultan--,the ,index--,the ,borgia
 ,family--,lucrezia--,murder of ,duke of
 ,gandia ,cesare and his                
,advancement--,the ,death of            
,alexander--,julius ,,ii4--,his violent 
,temper--,great ,projects and commanding

 ,character--,leo ,x4--,his ,inferiority
 to ,julius--,s4 ,peter's and the       
,reformation--,adrian ,,vi4--,his       
,hatred of ,pagan ,culture--,disgust of 
the ,roman ,court at his                
,election--,clement ,,vii4--,sack of    
,rome--,enslavement of ,florence4   ,in 
the fourteenth and the first half of the
 fifteenth centuries the authority of   
the ,popes1 both as ,heads of the       
,church and as temporal rulers1 had been
 impaired by exile in ,france and by    
ruinous schisms4 ,a new era began with  
the election of ,nicholas ,v4 in #addg1 
and ended during the pontificate of     
,clement ,,vii4 with the sack of ,rome  
in #aebg4 ,through the whole of this    
period the ,popes acted more as monarchs
 than as pontiffs1 and the              
secularization of the ,see of ,rome was 
earned to its utmost limits4 ,the       
contrast between the sacerdotal         
pretensions and the personal immorality 
of the ,popes was glaring2 nor had the  
chiefs of the ,church yet learned to    

regard the liberalism of the            
,renaissance with suspicion4 ,about the 
middle of the sixteenth century the     
,papal ,states had become a recognized  
kingdom2 while the ,popes of this later 
epoch were endeavoring by means of the  
inquisition and the educational orders  
to check the free spirit of ,italy4     
,the history of ,italy has at all times 
been closely bound up with that of the  
,papacy2 but at no period has this been 
more the case than during these eighty  
years of ,papal worldliness1 ambition1  
depotism1 and profligacy1 which are also
 marked by the irruption of the         
,european nations into ,italy and by the
 secession of the ,teutonic races from  
the ,latin ,church4 ,in this short space
 of time a succession of ,popes filled  
the ,holy ,chair with such dramatic     
propriety--displaying a pride so regal1 
a cynicism so unblushing1 so selfish a  
cupidity1 and a policy so suicidal as to
 favor the belief that they had been    
placed there in the providence of ,god  

to warn the world against ,babylon4 ,at 
the same time the history of the ,papal 
,court reveals with peculiar vividness  
the contradictions of ,renaissance      
morality and manners4 ,we find in the   
,popes of this period what has been     
already noticed in the                  
despots--learning1 the patronage of of  
the arts1 the passion for magnificence1 
and the refinements of polite culture1  
alternating and not unfrequently        
combined with barbarous ferocity of     
temper and with savage and coarse       
tastes4 ,on the one side we observe a   
,pagan dissoluteness which would have   
scandalized the parasites of ,commodus  
and ,nero2 on the other1 a seeming zeal 
for dogma worthy of ,s4 ,dominic4 ,the  
,vicar of ,christ is at one time        
worshiped as a god by princes seeking   
absolution for sins or liberation from  
burdensome engagements2 at another he is
 trampled under foot1 in his capacity of
 sovereign1 by the same potentates4     
,undisguised sensuality2 fraud cynical  

and unabashed2 policy marching to its   
end by murders1 treasons1 interdicts1   
and imprisonments2 the open sale of     
spiritual privileges2 commercial traffic
 in ecclesiastical emoluments2 hypocrisy
 and cruelty studied as fine arts2 theft
 and perjury reduced to system--these   
are the ordinary scandals which beset   
the ,papacy4 ,yet the ,pope is still a  
holy being4 ,his foot is kissed by      
thousands4 ,his curse and blessing carry
 death and life4 ,he rises from the bed 
of harlots to unlock or bolt the gates  
of heaven and purgatory4 ,in the midst  
of crime he believes himself to be the  
representative of ,christ on earth4     
,these anomalies1 glaring as they seem  
to us1 and obvious as they might be to  
deeper thinkers like ,machiavelli or    
,savonarola1 did not shock the mass of  
men who witnessed them4 ,the            
,renaissance was so dazzling by its     
brilliancy1 so confusing by its rapid   
changes1 that moral distinctions were   
obliterated in a blaze of splendor1 an  

outburst of new life1 a carnival of     
liberated energies4 ,the corruption of  
,italy was only equaled by its culture4 
,its immorality was matched by its      
enthusiasm4 ,it was not the decay of an 
old age dying1 so much as the           
fermentation of a new age coming into   
life1 that bred the monstrous paradoxes 
of the fifteenth and the sixteenth      
centuries4 ,the contrast between        
mediaeval ,christianity and renascent   
,paganism--the sharp conflict of two    
adverse principles1 destined to fuse    
their forces and to recompose the modern
 world--made the ,renaissance what it   
was in ,italy4 ,nowhere is the first    
effervescence of these elements so well 
displayed as in the history of those    
,pontiffs who1 after striving in the    
,middle ,ages to suppress humanity      
beneath a cowl1 are now the chief actors
 in the comedy of ,aphrodite and        
,priapus raising their foreheads once   
more to the light of day4  ,the struggle
 carried on between the ,popes of the   

thirteenth century and the ,house of    
,hohenstauffen ended in the elevation of
 the ,princes of ,anjou to the throne of
 ,naples--the most pernicious of all the
 evils inflicted by the ,papal power on 
,italy4 ,then followed the ,french      
tyranny1 under which ,boniface ,,viii4  
expired at ,anagni4 ,benedict ,,xi4 was 
poisoned at the instigation of ,philip  
le ,bel1 and the ,papal see was         
transferred to ,avignon4 ,the ,popes    
lost their hold upon the city of ,rome  
and upon those territories of ,romagna1 
the ,march1 and ,s4 ,peter's ,patrimony 
which had been confirmed to them by the 
grant of ,rodolph of ,hapsburg 7#abgc74 
,they had to govern their ,italian      
dependencies by means of ,legates1      
while1 one by one1 the cities which had 
recognized their sway passed beneath the
 yoke of independent princes4 ,the      
,malatesti established themselves in    
,rimini1 ,pesaro1 and ,fano2 the house  
of ,montefeltro confirmed its occupation
 of ,urbino2 ,camerino1 ,faenza1        

,ravenna1 ,forli1 and ,imola became the 
appanages of the ,varani1 the ,manfredi1
 the ,polentani1 the ,ordelaffi1 and the
 ,alidosi4#a ,the traditional supremacy 
of the ,popes was acknowledged in these 
tyrannies2 but the nobles ,i have named 
acquired a real authority1 against which
 ,egidio ,albornoz and ,robert of       
,geneva struggled to a great extent in  
vain1 and to break which at a future    
period taxed the whole energies of      
,sixtus and of ,alexander4      #a ,see 
,mach4 ,ist4 ,fior4 lib4 i4  ,while the 
influence of the ,popes was thus        
weakened in their states beyond the     
,apennines1 three great families1 the   
,orsini1 the ,savelli1 and the          
,colonnesi1 grew to princely eminence in
 ,rome and its immediate neighborhood4  
,they had been severally raised to power
 during the second half of the          
thirteenth century by the nepotism of   
,nicholas ,,iii41 ,honorius ,,iv41 and  
,nicholas ,,iv4 ,this nepotism bore     
baneful fruits in the future2 for during

 the exile at ,avignon the houses of    
,colonna and ,orsini became so          
overbearing as to threaten the freedom  
and safety of the ,popes4 ,it was again 
reserved for ,sixtus and ,alexander to  
undo the work of their predecessors and 
to secure the independence of the ,holy 
,see by the coercion of these towering  
nobles4  ,in the ,states of the ,church 
the temporal power of the ,popes1       
founded upon false donations1 confirmed 
by tradition1 and contested by rival    
despots1 was an anomaly4 ,in ,rome      
itself their situation1 though          
different1 was no less peculiar4 ,while 
the factions of ,orsini and ,colonna    
divided the ,campagna and wrangled in   
the streets of the city1 ,rome continued
 to preserve1 in form at least1 the old 
constitution of ,caporioni and ,senator4
 ,the ,senator1 elected by the people1  
swore1 not to obey the ,pope1 but to    
defend his person4 ,the government was  
ostensibly republican4 ,the ,pope had no
 sovereign rights1 but only the         

ascendency inseparable from his wealth  
and from his position as ,primate of    
,christendom4 ,at the same time the     
spirit of ,arnold of ,brescia1 of       
,brancaleone1 and of ,rienzi revived    
from time to time in patriots like      
,porcari and ,baroncelli1 who resented  
the encroachments of the ,church upon   
the privileges of the city4 ,rome       
afforded no real security to the members
 of the ,holy ,college4 ,they commanded 
no fortress like the ,castello of       
,milan1 and had no army at their        
disposition4 ,when the people or the    
nobles rose against them1 the best they 
could do was to retire to ,orvieto or   
,viterbo1 and to wait the passing of the
 storm4  ,such was the position of the  
,pope1 considered as one of the ruling  
princes of ,italy1 before the election  
of ,nicholas ,v4 ,his authority was wide
 but undefined1 confirmed by            
prescription1 but based on neither force
 nor legal right4 ,italy1 however1      
regarded the ,papacy as indispensable to

 her prosperity1 while ,rome was proud  
to be called the metropolis of          
,christendom1 and ready to sacrifice the
 shadow of republican liberty for the   
material advantages which might accrue  
from the sovereignty of her bishop4 ,how
 the ,roman burghers may have felt upon 
this point we gather from a sentence of 
,leo ,alberti's1 referring to the       
administration of ,nicholas3 ',the city 
had become a city of gold through the   
jubilee2 the dignity of the citizens was
 respected2 all reasonable petitions    
were granted by the ,pontiff4 ,there    
were no exactions1 no new taxes4        
,justice was fairly administered4 ,it   
was the whole care of the ,pontiff to   
adorn the city4'#a ,the prosperity which
 the ,papal court brought to ,rome was  
the main support of the ,popes as       
princes1 at a time when many thinkers   
looked with ,dante's jealousy upon the  
union of temporal and spiritual         
functions in the ,papacy4#b ,moreover1  
the whole of ,italy1 as we have seen in 

the previous chapters1 was undergoing a 
gradual and instinctive change in       
politics2 commonwealths were being      
superseded by tyrannies1 and the        
sentiments of the race at large were by 
no means unfavorable to this revolution4
 ,now was the proper moment1 therefore1 
for the ,popes to convert their         
ill-defined authority into a settled    
despotism1 to secure themselves in ,rome
 as sovereigns1 and to subdue the       
,states of the ,church to their temporal
 jurisdiction4      #a ,see history of  
,porcari's ,conspiracy 7,muratori1 vol4 
xxv474      #b ,lorenzo ,valla's famous 
declamation against the ,donation of    
,constantine1 which appeared during the 
pontificate of ,nicholas1     contained 
these reminiscences of the ',de         
,monarchia'3 ',ut ,papa     tantum      
vicarius ,christi sit et non etiam      
,caesaris 444 tune ,papa et     erit et 
dicetur pater sanctus1 pater omnium1    
pater ecclesae4'  ,the work was begun by
 ,thomas of ,sarzana1 who ascended the  

,chair of ,s4 ,peter1 as ,nicholas ,v41 
in #addg4 ,one part of his biography    
belongs to the history of scholarship1  
and need not here be touched upon4      
,educated at ,florence1 under the shadow
 of the house of ,medici1 he had imbibed
 those principles of deference to       
princely authority which were           
supplanting the old republican virtues  
throughout ,italy4 ,the schisms which   
had rent the ,catholic ,church were     
healed2 and finding no opposition to his
 spiritual power1 he determined to      
consolidate the temporalities of his    
,see4 ,in this purpose he was confirmed 
by the conspiracy of ,stefano ,porcari1 
a ,roman noble who had endeavored to    
rouse republican enthusiasm in the city 
at the moment of the ,pope's election1  
and who subsequently plotted against his
 liberty1 if not his life4 ,porcari and 
his associates were put to death in     
#adec1 and by this act the ,pope        
proclaimed himself a monarch4 ,the vast 
wealth which the jubilee of #adej had   

poured into the ,papal coffers#a he     
employed in beautifying the city of     
,rome and in creating a stronghold for  
the ,sovereign ,pontiff4 ,the mausoleum 
of ,hadrian1 used long before as a      
fortress in the ,middle ,ages1 was now  
strengthened1 while the bridge of ,s4   
,angelo and the ,leonine city were so   
connected and defended by a system of   
walls and outworks as to give the key of
 ,rome into the hands of the ,pope4 ,a  
new ,vatican began to rise1 and the     
foundations of a nobler ,s4 ,peter's    
,church were laid within the circuit of 
the ,papal domain4 ,nicholas had1 in    
fact1 conceived the great idea of       
restoring the supremacy of ,rome1 not   
after the fashion of a ,hildebrand1 by  
enforcing the spiritual despotism of the
 ,papacy1 but by establishing the ,popes
 as kings1 by renewing the architectural
 magnificence of the ,eternal ,city1 and
 by rendering his court the center of   
,european culture4 ,in the will which he
 recited on his death-bed to the princes

 of the ,church1 he set forth all that  
he had done for the secular and         
ecclesiastical architecture of ,rome1   
explaining his deep sense of the        
necessity of securing the ,popes from   
internal revolution and external force1 
together with his desire to exalt the   
,church by rendering her chief seat     
splendid in the eyes of ,christendom4   
,this testament of ,nicholas remains a  
memorable document4 ,nothing illustrates
 more forcibly the transition from the  
,middle ,ages to the worldliness of the 
,renaissance than the conviction of the 
,pontiff that the destinies of          
,christianity depended on the state and 
glory of the town of ,rome4 ,what he    
began was carried on amid crime1        
anarchy1 and bloodshed by successive    
,popes of the ,renaissance1 until at    
last the troops of ,frundsberg paved the
 way1 in #aebg1 for the ,jesuits of     
,loyola1 and ,rome1 still the ,eternal  
,city1 cloaked her splendor and her     
scandals beneath the black pall of      

,spanish inquisitors4 ,the political    
changes in the ,papacy initiated by     
,nicholas had been1 however1 by that    
date fully accomplished1 and for more   
than three centuries the ,popes have    
since held rank among the kings of the  
earth4      #a ,the bank of the ,medici 
alone held #ajj1jjj florins for the     
,pope4 ,vespasiano1 ,vit1 ,nic4 ,v4  ,of
 ,alfonso ,borgia1 who reigned for three
 years as ,calixtus ,,iii41 little need 
be said1 except that his pontificate    
prepared for the greatness of his       
nephew1 ,roderigo ,lenzuoli1 known as   
,borgia in compliment to his uncle4 ,the
 last days of ,nicholas had been        
imbittered by the fall of               
,constantinople and the imminent peril  
which threatened ,europe from the       
,turks4 ,the whole energies of ,pius    
,,ii4 were directed towards the one end 
of uniting the ,european nations against
 the infidel4 ,a,eneas ,sylvius         
,piccolomini1 as an author1 an orator1 a
 diplomatist1 a traveller1 and a        

courtier1 bears a name illustrious in   
the annals of the ,renaissance4 ,as a   
,pope1 he claims attention for the      
single-hearted zeal which he displayed  
in the vain attempt to rouse the piety  
of ,christendom against the foes of     
civilization and the faith4 ,rarely has 
a greater contrast been displayed       
between the man and the pontiff than in 
the case of ,pius4 ,the pleasure-loving1
 astute1 free-thinking man of letters   
and the world has become a ,holy        
,father1 jealous for ,christian         
proprieties1 and bent on stirring       
,europe by an appeal to motives which   
had lost their force three centuries    
before4 ,frederick ,,ii4 and ,s4 ,louis 
closed the age of the ,crusades1 the one
 by striking a bargain with the infidel1
 the other by snatching at a martyr's   
crown4 ,a,eneas ,sylvius ,piccolomini   
was the mirror of his times--a humanist 
and stylist1 imbued with the rhetorical 
and pseudo-classic taste of the earlier 
,renaissance4 ,pius ,,ii4 is almost an  

anachronism4 ,the disappointment which  
the learned world experienced when they 
discovered that the new ,pope1 from whom
 so much had been expected1 declined to 
play the part of their ,maecenas1 may be
 gathered from the epigrams of ,filelfo 
upon his death#a3--    ,gaudeat orator1 
,musae gaudete ,latinae2     ,sustulit e
 medio quod ,deus ipse ,pium4   ,ut bene
 consuluit doctis ,deus omnibus aeque1  
,quos ,pius in cunctos se tulit usque   
gravem4   ,nunc sperare licet4 ,nobis   
,deus optime ,quintum     ,reddito      
,nicoleon ,eugeniumve patrem4  and      
again3--    ,hac sibi quam vivus        
construxit clauditur arca     ,corpore2 
nam ,stygios mens habet atra lacus4     
,pius himself was not unconscious of the
 discrepancy between his old and his new
 self4 ,a,eneam rejicite1 ,pium         
recipite1 he exclaims in a celebrated   
passage of his ,retractation1 where he  
declares his heartfelt sorrow for the   
irrevocable words of light and vain     
romance that he had scattered in his    

careless youth4 ,yet though ,pius ,,ii4 
proved a virtual failure by lacking the 
strength to lead his age either         
backwards to the ideal of earlier       
,christianity or forwards on the path of
 modern culture1 he is the last ,pope of
 the ,renaissance period whom we can    
regard with real respect4 ,those who    
follow1 and with whose personal         
characters1 rather than their action as 
,pontiffs1 we shall now be principally  
occupied1 sacrificed the interests of   
,christendom to family ambition1 secured
 their sovereignty at the price of      
discord in ,italy1 transacted with the  
infidel1 and played the part of         
,antichrist upon the theater of ,europe4
      #a ,rosmini1 ,vita di ,filelfo1   
vol4 ii4 p4 #cba4  ,it would be possible
 to write the history of these          
priest-kings without dwelling more than 
lightly on scandalous circumstances1 to 
merge the court-chronicle of the        
,vatican in a recital of ,european      
politics1 or to hide the true features  

of high ,papal dignitaries beneath the  
masks constructed for them by           
ecclesiastical apologists4 ,that cannot1
 however1 be the line adopted by a      
writer treating of civilization in      
,italy during the fifteenth and         
sixteenth centuries4 ,he must paint the 
,popes of the ,renaissance as they      
appeared in the midst of society1 when  
,lorenzo de' ,medici called ,rome 'a    
sink of all the vices1' and observers so
 competent as ,machiavelli and          
,guicciardini ascribed the moral        
depravity and political decay of ,italy 
to their influence4 ,it might be        
objected that there is now no need to   
portray the profligacy of that court1   
which1 by arousing the conscience of    
,northern ,europe to a sense of         
intolerable shame1 proved one of the    
main causes of the ,reformation4 ,but   
without reviewing those old scandals1 a 
true understanding of ,italian morality1
 and a true insight into ,italian social
 feeling as expressed in literature1 are

 alike impossible4 ,nor will the        
historian of this epoch shrink from his 
task1 even though the transactions he   
has to record seem to savor of legend   
rather than of simple fact4 ,no fiction 
contains matter more fantastic1 no myth 
or allegory is more adapted to express a
 truth in figures of the fancy1 than the
 authentic well-attested annals of this 
period of seventy years1 from #adfd to  
#aecd4  ,paul the ,second was a         
,venetian named ,pietro ,barbi1 who     
began life as a merchant4 ,he had       
already shipped his worldly goods on    
board a trading vessel for a foreign    
trip1 when news reached him that his    
uncle had been made ,pope under the name
 of ,eugenius ,,iv4 ,his call to the    
ministry consisted of the calculation   
that he could make his fortune in the   
,church with a ,pope for uncle sooner   
than on the high seas by his wits4 ,so  
he unloaded his bales1 took to his book1
 became a priest1 and at the age of     
forty-eight rose to the ,papacy4 ,being 

a handsome man1 he was fain to take the 
ecclesiastical title of ,formosus2 but  
the ,cardinals dissuaded him from this  
parade of vanity1 and he assumed the    
tiara as ,paul in #adfd4 ,a vulgar love 
of show was his ruling characteristic4  
,he spent enormous sums in the          
collection of jewels1 and his tiara     
alone was valued at #bjj1jjj golden     
florins4 ,in all public ceremonies1     
whether ecclesiastical or secular1 he   
was splendid1 delighting equally to sun 
himself before the eyes of the ,romans  
as the chief actor in an ,easter        
benediction or a ,carnival procession4  
,the poorer ,cardinals received         
subsidies from his purse in order that  
they might add luster to his pageants by
 their retinues4 ,the arts found in him 
munificent patron4 ,for the building of 
the palace of ,s4 ,marco1 which marks an
 abrupt departure from the previous     
,gothic style in vogue1 he brought      
architects of eminence to ,rome1 and    
gave employment to ,mino da ,fiesole1   

the sculptor1 and to ,giuliano da ,san  
,gallo1 the wood-carver4 ,the arches of 
,titus and ,septimius ,severus were     
restored at his expense1 together with  
the statue of ,marcus ,aurelius and the 
horses of ,monte ,cavallo4 ,but ,paul   
showed his connoisseurship more         
especially in the collection of gems1   
medals1 precious stones1 and cameos1    
accumulating rare treasures of antiquity
 and costly masterpieces of ,italian and
 ,flemish gold-work in his cabinets4    
,this patronage of contemporary art1 no 
less than the appreciation of classical 
monuments1 marked him as a ,maecenas of 
the true ,renaissance type4#a ,but the  
qualities of a dilettante were not      
calculated to shed luster on a ,pontiff 
who spent the substance of the ,church  
in heaping up immensely valuable        
curiosities4 ,his thirst for gold and   
his love of hoarding were so extreme    
that1 when bishoprics fell vacant1 he   
often refused to fill them up1 drawing  
their revenues for his own use4 ,his    

court was luxurious1 and in private he  
was addicted to sensual lust4#b ,this   
would not1 however1 have brought his    
name into bad odor in ,rome1 where the  
,holy ,father was already regarded as an
 ,italian despot with certain sacerdotal
 additions4 ,it was his prosecution of  
the ,platonists which made him unpopular
 in an age when men had the right to    
expect that1 whatever happened1 learning
 at least would be respected4 ,the      
example of the ,florentine and          
,neapolitan academies had encouraged the
 ,romans to found a society for the     
discussion of philosophical questions4  
,the ,pope conceived that a political   
intrigue was the real object of this    
club4 ,nor was the suspicion wholly     
destitute of color4 ,the conspiracy of  
,porcari against ,nicholas1 and the     
,catilinarian riots of ,tiburzio which  
had troubled the pontificate of ,pius1  
were still fresh in people's memories2  
nor was the position of the ,pope in    
,rome as yet by any means secure4 ,what 

increased ,paul's anxiety was the fact  
that some scholars1 appointed           
secretaries of the briefs               
7,abbreviatori7 by ,pius and deprived of
 office by himself1 were members of the 
,platonic ,society4 ,their animosity    
against him was both natural and        
ill-concealed4 ,at the same time the    
bitter hatred avowed by ,laurentius     
,valla against the temporal power might 
in an age of conjurations have meant    
active malice4 ,leo ,alberti hints that 
,porcari had been supported by strong   
backers outside ,rome2 and one of the   
accusations against the ,platonists was 
that ,pomponius ,laetus had addressed   
,platina as ,holy ,father4 ,now both    
,pomponius ,laetus and ,valla had       
influence in ,naples1 while ,paul was on
 the verge of open rupture with ,king   
,ferdinand4 ,he therefore had sufficient
 grounds for suspecting a ,neapolitan   
intrigue1 in which the humanists were   
playing the parts of ,brutus and        
,cassius4 ,yet though we take this      

trouble to construct some show of reason
 for the panic of the ,pope1 the fact   
remains that he was really mistaken at  
the outset2 and of the stupidity1       
cruelty1 and injustice of his subsequent
 conduct there can be no doubt4 ,he     
seized the chief members of the ,roman  
,academy1 imprisoned them1 put them to  
the torture1 and killed some of them    
upon the rack4 ',you would have taken   
,castle ,s4 ,angelo for ,phalaris'      
bull1' writes ,platina2 'the hollow     
vaults did so resound with the cries of 
innocent young men4' ,no evidence of a  
conspiracy could be extorted4 ,then     
,paul tried the survivors for           
unorthodoxy4 ,they proved the soundness 
of their faith to the satisfaction of   
the ,pope's inquisitors4 ,nothing       
remained but to release them1 or to shut
 them up in dungeons1 in order that the 
people might not say the ,holy ,father  
had arrested them without due cause4    
,the latter course was chosen4 ,platina1
 the historian of the ,popes1 was one of

 the abbreviatori whom ,paul had        
cashiered1 and one of the ,platonists   
whom he had tortured4 ,the tale of      
,papal persecution loses1 therefore1    
nothing in the telling2 for if the      
humanists of the fifteenth century were 
powerful in anything it was in writing  
innuendoes and invectives4 ,among other 
anecdotes1 he relates how1 while he was 
being dislocated on the rack1 the       
inquisitors ,vianesi and ,sanga held a  
sprightly colloquy about a ring which   
the one said jestingly the other had    
received as a love-token from a girl4   
,the whole situation is characteristic  
of ,papal ,rome in the ,renaissance4    
#a ,see ,les ,arts a la ,cour des ,papes
 pendant le ,,xv4 et le ,,xvi4          
,siecles1 ,e4 ,muentz1 ,paris1 ,thorin1 
#bme ,partie4 ,m4 ,muentz has     done  
good service to aesthetic archaeology by
 vindicating the     fame of ,paul ,,ii4
 as an employer of artists from the     
wholesale     abuse heaped on him by    
,platina4 ,it may here be conveniently  

noticed that even the fierce ,sixtus    
,,iv4 showed intelligence as     a      
patron of arts and letters4 ,he built   
the ,sistine ,chapel1 and     brought   
the greatest painters of the day to     
,rome--,signorelli1     ,perugino1      
,botticelli1 ,cosimo1 ,rosselli1 and    
,ghirlandajo4     ,melozzo da ,forli    
worked for him4 ,one of that painter's  
few     remaining masterpieces is the   
wall-picture1 now in the ,vatican1      
which represents ,sixtus among his      
,cardinals and ,secretaries--a          
magnificent piece of vivid portraiture4 
,sixtus again threw the     ,vatican    
library open to the public1 and ,in his 
days the     ,confraternity of ,s4 ,luke
 was founded for the encouragement of   
design4 ,rome owes to him the hospital  
of ,s4 ,spirito1 a severe     building1 
by ,baccio ,pontelli1 and the churches  
of ,s4 ,maria del     ,popolo and ,s4   
,maria della ,pace4 ,innocent ,,viii4   
added the     ,belvedere to the ,vatican
 after ,antonio del ,pollajuolo's plan1 

and commenced the ,villa ,magliana4     
,alexander ,,vi4 enriched the           
,vatican with the famous ,borgia        
apartments1 decorated by                
,pinturhicchio4 ,he also began the      
,palace of the ,university1 and         
converted the ,mausoleum of ,hadrian    
into the ,castle of ,s4     ,angelo4    
,these brief allusions must suffice4 ,it
 is not the     object of the present   
chapter to treat of the ,popes as       
patrons2     but it should not be       
forgotten that1 having accepted a place 
among the despots of ,italy1 they strove
 to acquit their debt to     art and    
learning in the spirit of contemporary  
potentates4      #b ,corio sums up his  
character thus3 ',fu costui uomo alla   
libidine molto proclivo2 in grandissimo 
precio furono le gioie     appresso di  
lui4 ,del giorno faceva notte1 e la     
notte ispediva     quanto gli           
occorreva4' ,marcus ,attilius ,alexius  
says3 ',paulus     ,,ii4 ex concubina   
domum replevit1 et quasi sterquilinium  

facta     est sedes ,barionis4' ,see    
,gregorovius1 ,stadt ,rom1 vol4 vii4 p4 
#bae1 for the latter quotation4  ,paul  
did not live as long as his comparative 
youth led people to anticipate4 ,he died
 of apoplexy in #adga1 alone and        
suddenly1 after supping on two huge     
watermelons1 duos praegrandes pepones4  
,his successor was a man of base        
extraction1 named ,francesco della      
,rovere1 born near the town of ,savona  
on the ,genoese ,riviera4 ,it was his   
whim to be thought noble2 so he bought  
the goodwill of the ancient house of    
,rovere of ,turin by giving them two    
cardinals' hats1 and proclaimed himself 
their kinsman4 ,theirs is the golden    
oak-tree on an azure ground which       
,michael ,angelo painted on the roof of 
the ,sistine ,chapel in compliment to   
,sixtus and his nephew ,julius4 ,having 
bribed the most venal members of the    
,sacred ,college1 ,francesco della      
,rovere was elected ,pope1 and assumed  
the name of ,sixtus ,,iv4 ,he began his 

career with a lie2 for though he        
succeeded to the avaricious ,paul who   
had spent his time in amassing money    
which he did not use1 he declared that  
he had only found #e1jjj florins in the 
,papal treasury4 ,this assertion was    
proved false by the prodigality with    
which he lavished wealth immediately    
upon his nephews4 ,it is difficult even 
to hint at the horrible suspicions which
 were cast upon the birth of two of the 
,pope's nephews and upon the nature of  
his weakness for them4 ,yet the private 
life of ,sixtus rendered the most       
monstrous stories plausible1 while his  
public treatment of these men recalled  
to mind the partiality of ,nero for     
,doryphorus4#a ,we may1 however1 dwell  
upon the principal features of his      
nepotism2 for ,sixtus was the first     
,pontiff who deliberately organized a   
system for pillaging the ,church in     
order to exalt his family to            
principalities4 ,the weakness of this   
policy has already been exposed#b3 its  

justification1 if there is any1 lies in 
the exigencies of a dynasty which had no
 legitimate or hereditary succession4   
,the names of the ,pope's nephews were  
,lionardo1 ,giuliano1 and ,giovanni     
della ,rovere1 the three sons of his    
brother ,raffaello2 ,pietro and         
,girolamo ,riario1 the two sons of his  
sister ,jolanda2 and ,girolamo1 the son 
of another sister married to ,giovanni  
,basso4 ,with the notable exception of  
,giuliano della ,rovere1#c these young  
men had no claim to distinction beyond  
good looks and a certain martial spirit 
which ill suited with the ecclesiastical
 dignities thrust upon some of them4    
,lionardo was made prefect of ,rome and 
married to a natural daughter of ,king  
,ferdinand of ,naples4 ,giuliano        
received a ,cardinal's hat1 and1 after a
 tempestuous warfare with the           
intervening ,popes1 ascended the ,holy  
,chair as ,julius ,,ii4 ,girolamo ,basso
 was created ,cardinal of ,san          
,crisogono in #adgg1 and died in #aejg4 

,girolamo ,riario wedded ,catherine1 a  
natural daughter of ,galeazzo ,sforza4  
,for him the ,pope in #adgc bought the  
town of ,imola with money of the        
,church1 and1 after adding to it ,forli1
 made ,girolamo a ,duke4 ,he was        
murdered by his subjects in the latter  
place in #adhh1 not1 however1 before he 
had founded a line of princes4 ,pietro1 
another nephew of the ,riario blood1 or1
 as scandal then reported and ,muratori 
has since believed1 a son of the ,pope  
himself1 was elevated at the age of     
twenty-six to the dignities of          
,cardinal1 ,patriarch of                
,constantinople1 and ,archbishop of     
,florence4 ,he had no virtues1 no       
abilities1 nothing but his beauty1 the  
scandalous affection of the ,pope1 and  
the extravagant profligacy of his own   
life to recommend him to the notice of  
posterity4 ,all ,italy during two years 
rang with the noise of his debaucheries4
 ,his official revenues were estimated  
at #fj1jjj golden florins2 but in his   

short career of profligate magnificence 
he managed to squander a sum reckoned at
 not less than #bjj1jjj4 ,when ,leonora 
of ,aragon passed through ,rome on her  
way to wed the ,marquis of ,ferrara1    
this fop of a ,patriarch erected a      
pavilion in the ,piazza de' ,santi      
,apostoli for her entertainment4#d ,the 
square was partitioned into chambers    
communicating with the palace of the    
,cardinal4 ,the ordinary hangings were  
of velvet and of white and crimson silk1
 while one of the apartments was draped 
with the famous tapestries of ,nicholas 
,v41 which represented the ,creation of 
the ,world4 ,all the utensils in this   
magic dwelling were of silver--even to  
the very vilest4 ,the air of the        
banquet-hall was cooled with punkahs2   
ire mantici coperti1 che facevano       
continoamemte vento1 are the words of   
,corio2 and on a column in the center   
stood a living naked gilded boy1 who    
poured forth water from an urn4 ,the    
description of the feast takes up three 

pages of the history of ,corio1 where we
 find a minute list of the dishes--wild 
boars and deer and peacocks1 roasted    
whole2 peeled oranges1 gilt and sugared2
 gilt rolls2 rosewater for washing2 and 
the tales of ,perseus1 ,atalanta1       
,hercules1 etc41 ,i wrought in          
pastry--tutte in vivande4 ,we are also  
told how masques of ,hercules1 ,jason1  
and ,phaedra alternated with the story  
of ,susannah and the ,elders1 played by 
,florentine actors1 and with the        
,mysteries of ,san ,giovan ,battista    
decapitato and quel ,giudeo che rosfi il
 corpo di ,cristo4 ,the servants were   
arrayed in silk1 and the seneschal      
changed his dress of richest stuffs and 
jewels four times in the course of the  
banquet4 ,nymphs and centaurs1 singers  
and buffoons1 drank choice wine from    
golden goblets4 ,the most eminent and   
reverend master of the palace1          
meanwhile1 moved among his guests 'like 
some great ,caesar's son4' ,the whole   
entertainment lasted from ,saturday till

 ,thursday1 during which time ,ercole of
 ,este and his bride assisted at ,church
 ceremonies in ,s4 ,peter's1 and visited
 the notabilities of ,rome in the       
intervals of games1 dances1 and banquets
 of the kind described4 ,we need        
scarcely add that1 in spite of his      
enormous wealth1 the young ,cardinal    
died #fj1jjj florins in debt4 ,happily  
for the ,church and for ,italy1 he      
expired at ,rome in ,january #adgd1     
after parading his impudent debaucheries
 through ,milan and ,venice as the      
,pope's ,legate4 ,it was rumored1 but   
never well authenticated1 that the      
,venetians helped his death by poison4#e
 ,the sensual indulgences of every sort 
in which this child of the proletariat1 
suddenly raised to princely splendor1   
wallowed for twenty-five continuous     
months1 are enough to account for his   
immature death without the hypothesis of
 poisoning4 ,with him expired a plan    
which might have ended in making the    
,papacy a secular1 hereditary kingdom4  

,during his stay at ,milan1 ,pietro     
struck a bargain with the ,duke1 by the 
terms of which ,galeazzo ,maria ,sforza 
was to be crowned king of ,lombardy1    
while the ,cardinal ,legate was to      
return and seize upon the ,papal        
throne4#f ,sixtus1 it is said1 was      
willing to abdicate in his nephew's     
favor1 with a view to the firmer        
establishment of his family in the      
tyranny of ,rome4 ,the scheme was a wild
 one1 yet1 considering the power and    
wealth of the ,sforza family1 not so    
wholly impracticable as might appear4   
,the same dream floated1 a few years    
later1 before the imagination of the two
 ,borgias2 and ,machiavelli wrote in his
 calm style that to make the ,papal     
power hereditary was all that remained  
for nepotism in his days to do4#g ,the  
opinion which had been conceived of the 
,cardinal of ,san ,sisto during his two 
years of eminence may be gathered from  
the following couplets of an epigram    
placed1 as ,corio informs us1 on his    

tomb3--    ,fur1 scortum1 leno1 moechus1
 pedico1 cynaedus1   ,et scurra1 et     
fidicen cedat ab ,italia3   ,namque illa
 ,ausonii pestis scelerata senatus1     
,petrus1 ad infernas est modo raptus    
aquas4  ,after the death of ,pietro1    
,sixtus took his last nephew1 ,giovanni 
della ,rovere1 into like favor4 ,he was 
married to ,giovanna1 daughter of       
,federigo di ,montefeltro1 ,duke of     
,urbino1 and created ,duke of           
,sinigaglia4 ,afterwards he became      
,prefect of ,rome1 upon the death of his
 brother ,lionardo4 ,this man founded   
the second dynasty in the ,dukedom of   
,urbino4 ,the plebeian violence of the  
della ,rovere temper reached a climax in
 ,giovanni's son1 the ,duke ,francesco  
,maria1 who murdered his sister's lover 
with his own hand when a youth of       
sixteen1 stabbed the ,papal ,legate to  
death in the streets of ,bologna at the 
age of twenty1 and knocked              
,guicciardini1 the historian1 down with 
a blow of his fist during a council of  

war in #aebf4      #a ,the infamous     
stories about ,sixtus and ,alexander may
 in part     be fables1 currently       
reported by the vulgar and committed to 
epigrams by scholars4 ,still the fact   
remains that ,infessura1     ,burchard1 
and the ,venetian ambassadors relate of 
these two     ,popes such traits of     
character and such abominable actions as
     render the worst calumnies         
probable4 ,infessura1 though he         
expressed horror for the crimes of      
,sixtus1 was yet a dry     chronicler of
 daily events1 many of which passed     
beneath his     own eyes1 ,burchurd was 
a frigid diarist of ,court ceremonies1  
who reported the rapes1 murders1 and    
profligacies of ,alexander     with     
phlegmatic gravity4 ,the evidence of    
these men1 neither of     whom indulges 
in satire strictly so called1 is more   
valuable     than that of ,tacitus or   
,suetonius to the vices of the ,roman   
emperors4 ,the dispatches of the        
,venetian ambassadors1 again1     are   

trustworthy1 seeing they were always    
written with political     intention and
 not for the sake of gossip4      #b    
,see ch4 iii4 p4 #aac4      #c ,as      
,julius ,,ii41 by far the greatest name 
in his age4 ,yet     even ,giuliano did 
not at first impress men with his power4
     ,jacobus ,volaterranus 7,mur4      
xxiii4 #ajg7 writes of him3 ',vir est   
naturae duriusculae1 ac uti ingenii1    
mediocris literaturae4'      #d ,for    
what follows read ,corio1 ,storia di    
,milano1 pp4     #dag-bj4      #e ,mach4
 #ast4 ,fior4 lib4 vii42 ,corio1 p4     
#dbj4      #f ,see ,corio1 p4 #dbj4     
,corio hints that the ,venetians        
poisoned     the ,cardinal for fear of  
this convention being carried out4      
#g #ast4 ,fior1 lib4 i4 vol4 i4 p4 #ch4 
,sixtus1 however1 while thus providing  
for his family1 could not enjoy life    
without some youthful protege about his 
person4 ,accordingly in #adfc he made   
his valet1 a lad of no education and of 
base birth1 ,cardinal and ,bishop of    

,parma at the age of twenty4 ,his merit 
was the beauty of a young ,olympian4    
,with this divine gift he luckily       
combined a harmless though stupid       
character4  ,with all these favorites to
 plant out in life1 the ,pope was       
naturally short of money4 ,he relied on 
two principal methods for replenishing  
his coffers4 ,one was the public sale of
 places about the ,court at ,rome1 each 
of which had its well-known price4#a    
,benefices were disposed of with rather 
more reserve and privacy1 for simony had
 not yet come to be considered venial4  
,yet it was notorious that ,sixtus held 
no privilege within his pontifical      
control on which he was not willing to  
raise money3 ',our churches1 priests1   
altars1 sacred rites1 our prayers1 our  
heaven1 our very ,god1 are purchasable6'
 exclaims a scholar of the time2 while  
the ,holy ,father himself was wont to   
say1 ',a pope needs only pen and ink to 
get what sum he wants4'#b ,the second   
great financial expedient was the       

monopoly of corn throughout the ,papal  
,states4 ,fictitious dearths were       
created2 the value of wheat was raised  
to famine prices2 good grain was sold   
out of the kingdom1 and bad imported in 
exchange2 while ,sixtus forced his      
subjects to purchase from his stores1   
and made a profit by the hunger and     
disease of his emaciated provinces4     
,ferdinand1 the ,king of ,naples1       
practiced the same system in the south4 
,it is worth while to hear what this    
bread was like from one of the men      
condemned to eat it3 ',the bread made   
from the corn of which ,i have spoken   
was black1 stinking1 and abominable2 one
 was obliged to consume it1 and from    
this cause sickness frequently took hold
 upon the ,state4'#c      #a ,the       
greatest ingenuity was displayed in     
promoting this     market4 ,infessura   
writes3 ',multa et inexcogitata in      
,curia     ,romana officia adinvenit et 
vendidit1' p4 #aahc4      #b ,baptista  
,mantuanus1 de ,calamitatibus ,temporum1

 lib4 iii4                     ,venalia 
nobis       ,templa1 sacerdotes1        
altaria1 sacra1 coronae1       ,ignes1  
thura1 preces1 coelum est venale1       
,deusque4      ,soriano1 the ,venetian  
ambassador1 ap4 ,alberi ii4 #c1 p4 #ccj1
     writes3 ',conviene ricordarsi      
quello che soleva dire ,sisto ,,iv41    
che al papa bastava solo la mano con la 
penna e l'inchiostro1     per avere     
quella somma che vuole4' ,cp4 ,aen4     
,sylv4 ,picc4 ,ep4     i4 #ff3 ',nihil  
est quod absque argento ,romana ,curia  
dedat2 nam     et ipsae manus           
impositiones et ,spiritus ,sancti dona  
venduntur1     nec peccatorum venia nisi
 nummatis impenditur4'      #c          
,infessura1 ,eccardus1 vol4 ii4 p4      
#aida3 ',panis vero qui ex     dicto    
frumento fiebat1 erat ater1 foetidus1 et
 abominabilis2 e     ex necessitate     
comedebatur1 ex quo saepenumero in      
civitate     morbus viguit4'  ,but      
,christendom beheld in ,sixtus not      
merely the spectacle of a ,pope who     

trafficked in the bodies of his subjects
 and the holy things of ,god1 to        
squander basely gotten gold upon        
abandoned minions4 ,the peace of ,italy 
was destroyed by desolating wars in the 
advancement of the same worthless       
favorites1 ,sixtus desired to annex     
,ferrara to the dominions of ,girolamo  
,riario4 ,nothing stood in his way but  
the ,house of ,este1 firmly planted for 
centuries1 and connected by marriage or 
alliance with all the chief families of 
,italy4 ,the ,pope1 whose lust for blood
 and broils was only equaled by his     
avarice and his libertinism1#a rushed   
with wild delight into a project which  
involved the discord of the whole       
,peninsula4 ,he made treaties with      
,venice and unmade them1 stirred up all 
the passions of the despots and set them
 together by the ears1 called the ,swiss
 mercenaries into ,lombardy1 and when   
finally1 tired of fighting for his      
nephew1 the ,italian powers concluded   
the peace of ,bagnolo1 he died of rage  

in #adhd4 ,the ,pope did actually die of
 disappointed fury because peace had    
been restored to the country he had     
mangled for the sake of a favorite      
nephew4      #a ,this phrase requires   
support4 ,infessura 7loc4 cit4 p4 #aida7
     relates the savage pleasure with   
which ,sixtus watched a combat     'a   
steccato chiuso4' ,hearing that a duel  
to the death was to be     fought by two
 bands of his body-guard1 he told them  
to choose     the ,piazza of ,s4 ,peter 
for their rendezvous4 ,then he appeared 
at a window1 blessed the combatants1 and
 crossed himself as a     signal for the
 battle to begin4 ,we who think the     
ring1 the     cockpit1 and the bullfight
 barbarous1 should study ,pollajuolo's  
engraving in order to imagine the       
horrors of a duel 'a steccato           
chiuso4' ,of the inclination of ,sixtus 
to sensuality1 ,infessura     writes3   
',hic1 ut fertur vulgo1 et experientia  
demonstravit1     puerorum amator et    
sodomita fuit4' ,after mentioning the   

,riarii     and a barber's son1 aged    
twelve1 he goes on3 'taceo nunc alia1   
quae circa hoc possent recitari1 quia   
visa sunt de continuo4' ,it     was not1
 perhaps1 a wholly ,protestant calumny  
which accused     ,sixtus of granting   
private indulgences for the commission  
of     abominable crimes in certain     
seasons of the year4  ,the crime of     
,sixtus which most vividly paints the   
corruption of the ,papacy in his age    
remains still to be told4 ,this was the 
sanction of the ,pazzi ,conjuration     
against ,giuliano and ,lorenzo de'      
,medici4 ,in the year #adgg the ,medici1
 after excluding the merchant princes of
 the ,pazzi family from the magistracy  
at ,florence and otherwise annoying     
them1 had driven ,francesco de' ,pazzi  
in disgust to ,rome4 ,sixtus chose him  
for his banker in the place of the      
,medicean ,company4 ,he became intimate 
with ,girolamo ,riario1 and was well    
received at the ,papal ,court4          
,political reasons at this moment made  

the ,pope and his nephew anxious to     
destroy the ,medici1 who opposed        
,girolamo's schemes of aggrandizement in
 ,lombardy4 ,private rancor induced     
,francesco de' ,pazzi to second their   
views and to stimulate their passion4   
,the three between them hatched a plot  
which was joined by ,salviati1          
,archbishop of ,pisa1 another private   
foe of the ,medici1 and by ,giambattista
 ,montesecco1 a captain well affected to
 the ,count ,girolamo4 ,the first design
 of the conspirators was to lure the    
brothers ,medici to ,rome1 and to kill  
them there4 ,but the young men were too 
prudent to leave ,florence4 ,pazzi and  
,salviati then proceeded to ,tuscany1   
hoping either at a banquet or in church 
to succeed in murdering their two       
enemies together4 ,bernardo ,bandini1 a 
man of blood by trade1 and ,francesco   
de' ,pazzi were chosen to assassinate   
,giuliano4 ,giambattista ,montesecco    
undertook to dispose of ,lorenzo4#a ,the
 #bfth of ,april #adgh was finally fixed

 for the deed4 ,the place selected was  
the ,duomo4#b ,the elevation of the     
,host at ,mass-time was to be the       
signal4 ,both the ,medici arrived4 ,the 
murderers embraced ,giuliano and        
discovered that this timid youth had    
left his secret coat of mail at home4   
,but a difficulty1 which ought to have  
been foreseen1 arose4 ,monteseoco1      
cut-throat as he was1 refused to stab   
,lorenzo before the high altar3 at the  
last moment some sense of the religio   
loci dashed his courage4 ,two priests   
were then discovered who had no such    
silly scruples4 ,in the words of an old 
chronicle1 ',another man was found1 who1
 being a priest1 was more accustomed to 
the place and therefore less            
superstitious about its sanctity4'      
,this1 however1 spoiled all4 ,the       
priests1 though more sacrilegious than  
the bravos1 were less used to the trade 
of assassination4 ,they failed to strike
 home4 ,giuliano1 it is true1 was       
stabbed to death by ,bernardo ,bandini  

and ,francesco de' ,pazzi at the very   
moment of the elevation of ,christ's    
body4 ,but ,lorenzo escaped with a      
slight flesh-wound4 ,the whole          
conspiracy collapsed4 ,in the           
retaliation which the infuriated people 
of ,florence took upon the murderers1   
the ,archbishop ,salviati1 together with
 ,jacopo and ,francesco de' ,pazzi and  
some others among the principal         
conspirators1 were hung from the windows
 of the ,palazzo ,pubblico4 ,for this   
act of violence to the sacred person of 
a traitorous priest1 ,sixtus1 who had   
upon his own conscience the crime of    
mingled treason1 sacrilege1 and murder1 
ex-communicated ,florence1 and carried  
on for years a savage war with the      
,republic4 ,it was not until #adha1 when
 the descent of the ,turks upon ,otranto
 made him tremble for his own safety1   
that he chose to make peace with these  
enemies whom he had himself provoked and
 plotted against4      #a ,his          
',confession1' printed by ,fabroni1     

,lorenzi ,medicis     ,vita1 vol4 ii4 p4
 #afh1 gives an interesting account of  
the     hatching of the plot4 ,it is    
fair to ,sixtus to say that             
,montesecco exculpates him of the design
 to murder the ,medici4     ,he only    
wanted to ruin them4      #b ,it is     
curious to note how many of the numerous
 ,italian     tyrannicides took place in
 church4 ,the ,chiavelli of ,fabriano   
were murdered during a solemn service in
 #adce2 the sentence of     the creed   
',et incarnatus est' was chosen for the 
signal4 ,gian     ,maria ,visconti was  
killed in ,san ,gottardo 7#adab71       
,galeazzo     ,maria ,sforza in ,san    
,stefano 7#adhd74 ,lodovico ,moro only  
just     escaped assassination in ,sant'
 ,ambrogio 7#adhd74 ,machiavelli        
says that ,lorenzo de' ,medici's life   
was attempted by ,batista               
,frescobaldi in the ,carmine 7see #ast4 
,fior4 book viii4 near     the end74    
,the ,bagliani of ,perugia were to have 
been massacred     during the marriage  

festival of ,astorre with ,lavinia      
,colonna7#aejj74 ,stefano ,porcari      
intended to capture ,nicholas ,v4     at
 the great gate of ,s4 ,peter's 7#adec74
 ,the only chance of     catching       
cautious princes off their guard was    
when they were     engaged in high      
solemnities4 ,see above1 p4 #afh4       
,another peculiarity in the ,pontificate
 of ,sixtus deserves special mention4   
,it was under his auspices in the year  
#adgh that the ,inquisition was founded 
in ,spain for the extermination of      
,jews1 ,moors1 and ,christians with a   
taint of heresy4 ,during the next four  
years #b1jjj victims were burned in the 
province of ,castile4 ,in ,seville1 a   
plot of ground1 called the ,quemadero1  
or place of burning--a new              
,aceldama--was set apart for executions2
 and here in one year #bhj heretics were
 committed to the flames1 while #gi were
 condemned to perpetual imprisonment1   
and #ag1jjj to lighter punishments of   
various kinds4 ,in ,andalusia alone     

#e1jjj houses were at once abandoned by 
their inhabitants4 ,then followed in    
#adib the celebrated edict against the  
,jews4 ,before four months had expired  
the whole ,jewish population were bidden
 to leave ,spain1 carrying with them    
nothing in the shape of gold or silver4 
,to convert their property into bills of
 exchange and movables was their only   
resource4 ,the market speedily was      
glutted3 a house was given for an ass1 a
 vineyard for a suit of clothes4 ,vainly
 did the persecuted race endeavor to    
purchase a remission of the sentence by 
the payment of an exorbitant ransom4    
,torquemada appeared before ,ferdinand  
and his consort1 raising the crucifix1  
and crying3 ',judas sold ,christ for #cj
 pieces of silver2 sell ye him for a    
larger sum1 and account for the same to 
,god6' ,the exodus began4 ,eight hundred
 thousand ,jews left ,spain#a--some for 
the coast of ,africa1 where the ,arabs  
ripped their bodies up in search for    
gems or gold they might have swallowed1 

and deflowered their women--some for    
,portugal1 where they bought the right  
to exist for a large head-tax1 and where
 they saw their sons and daughters      
dragged away to baptism before their    
eyes4 ,others were sold as slaves1 or   
had to satisfy the rapacity of their    
persecutors with the bodies of their    
children4 ,many flung themselves into   
the wells1 and sought to bury despair in
 suicide4 ,the ,mediterranean was       
covered with famine-stricken and        
plague-breeding fleets of exiles4       
,putting into the ,port of ,genoa1 they 
were refused leave to reside in the     
city1 and died by hundreds in the       
harbor4#b ,their festering bodies1 bred 
a pestilence along the whole ,italian   
sea-board1 of which at ,naples alone    
#bj1jjj persons died4 ,flitting from    
shore to shore1 these forlorn specters1 
the victims of bigotry and avarice1     
everywhere pillaged and everywhere      
rejected1 dwindled away and disappeared4
 ,meanwhile the orthodox rejoiced4 ,pico

 della ,mirandola1 who spent his life in
 reconciling ,plato with the ,cabala1   
finds nothing more to say than this3    
',the sufferings of the ,jews1 in which 
the glory of the ,divine justice        
delighted1 were so extreme as to fill us
 ,christians with commiseration4' ,with 
these words we may compare the following
 passage from ,senarega3 ',the matter at
 first sight seemed praiseworthy1 as    
regarding the honor done to our         
religion2 yet it involved some amount of
 cruelty1 if we look upon them1 not as  
beasts1 but as men1 the handiwork of    
,god4' ,a critic of this century can    
only exclaim with stupefaction3 ,tantum 
religio potuit suadere malorum6 ,thus   
,spain began to devour and depopulate   
herself4 ,the curse which fell upon the 
,jew and ,moor descended next upon      
philosopher and patriot4 ,the very life 
of the nation1 in its commerce1 its     
industry1 its free thought1 its energy  
of character1 was deliberately and      
steadily throttled4 ,and at no long     

interval of time the blight of ,spain   
was destined to descend on ,italy1      
paralyzing the fair movements of her    
manifold existence to a rigid           
uniformity1 shrouding the light and     
color of her art and letters in the     
blackness of inquisitorial gloom4       
#a ,this number is perhaps exaggerated4 
,limborch in his     ,history of the    
,inquisition 7p4 #hc7 gives both        
#hjj1jjj and     #djj1jjj2 he also      
speaks of #agj1jjj families as one      
calculation4      #b ,senarega's account
 of the entry of the ,jews into ,genoa  
is     truly awful4 ,he was an          
eye-witness of what he relates4 ,the    
passage may be read in ,prescott's      
,ferdinand and ,isabella1     chapter   
#ag4  ,most singular is the attitude of 
a ,sixtus--indulging his lust and pride 
in the ,vatican1 adorning the chapel    
called after his name with              
masterpieces1#a rending ,italy with     
broils for the aggrandizement of        
favorites1 haggling over the prices to  

be paid for bishoprics1 extorting money 
from starved provinces1 plotting murder 
against his enemies1 hounding the       
semi-barbarous ,swiss mountaineers on   
,milan by indulgences1 refusing aid to  
,venice in her championship of          
,christendom against the ,turk--yet     
meanwhile thinking to please ,god by    
holocausts of ,moors1 by myriads of     
famished ,jews1 conferring on a         
faithless and avaricious ,ferdinand the 
title of ,catholic1 endeavoring to wipe 
out his sins by the blood of others1 to 
burn his own vices in the autos da fe of
 ,seville1 and by the foundation of that
 diabolical engine the ,inquisition to  
secure the fabric his own infamy was    
undermining4#b ,this is not the language
 of a ,protestant denouncing the ,pope4 
,with all respect for the ,roman        
,church1 that ,alma ,mater of the       
,middle ,ages1 that august and venerable
 monument of immemorial antiquity1 we   
cannot close our eyes to the            
contradictions between practice and     

pretension upon which the ,history of   
the ,italian ,renaissance throws a light
 so lurid4      #a ,musing beneath the  
,sibyls and before the ,judgment of     
,michael ,angelo1 it is difficult not to
 picture to the fancy the               
arraignment of the ,popes who built and 
beautified that chapel1     when the    
,christ1 whose blood they sold1 should  
appear with ,his     menacing right arm 
uplifted1 and the prophets should       
thunder     their denunciations3 ',howl1
 ye shepherds1 and cry2 and wallow      
yourselves in the ashes1 ye principal of
 the flock1 for the     days of your    
slaughter and your dispersions are      
accomplished4'      #b ,the same        
incongruity appears also in ,innocent   
,,viii41 whose     bull against         
witchcraft 7#adhd7 systematized the     
persecution     directed against        
unfortunate old women and idiots4       
,sprenger1 in     the ,malleus          
,maleficarum1 mentions that in the first
 year     after its publication         

forty-one witches were burned in the    
district of ,como1 while crowds of      
suspected women took refuge     in the  
province of the ,archduke ,sigismond4   
,cantu's ,storia     della ,diocesi di  
,como 7,le ,monnier1 #b vols47 may be   
consulted     for the persecution of    
witches in ,valtellina and ,val         
,camonica4     ,cp4 ,folengo's          
,maccaronea for the prevalence of       
witchcraft in     those districts4      
,after ,sixtus ,,iv4 came ,innocent     
,,viii4 ,his secular name was           
,giambattista ,cibo4 ,the sacred        
,college1 terrified by the experience of
 ,sixtus into thinking that another     
,pope1 so reckless in his creation of   
scandalous ,cardinals1 might ruin       
,christendom1 laid the most solemn      
obligations on the ,pope elect4 ,cibo   
took oaths on every relic1 by every     
saint1 to every member of the conclave1 
that he would maintain a certain order  
of appointment and a purity of election 
in the ,church4 ,no ,cardinal under the 

age of thirty1 not more than one of the 
,pope's own blood1 none without the rank
 of ,doctor of ,theology or ,law1 were  
to be elected1 and so forth4 ,but as    
soon as the tiara was on his head1 he   
renounced them all as inconsistent with 
the rights and liberties of ,s4 ,peter's
 ,chair4 ,engagements made by the man   
might always be broken by the ,pope4 ,of
 ,innocent's ,pontificate little need be
 said4 ,he was the first ,pope publicly 
to acknowledge his seven children1 and  
to call them sons and daughters4#a      
,avarice1 venality1 sloth1 and the      
ascendency of base favorites made his   
reign loathsome without the blaze and   
splendor of the scandals of his fiery   
predecessor4 ,in corruption he advanced 
a step even beyond ,sixtus1 by          
establishing a ,bank at ,rome for the   
sale of pardons4#b ,each sin had its    
price1 which might be paid at the       
convenience of the criminal3 #aej ducats
 of the tax were poured into the ,papal 
coffers2 the surplus fell to            

,franceschetto1 the ,pope's son4 ,this  
insignificant princeling1 for whom the  
county of ,anguillara was purchased1    
showed no ability or ambition for aught 
but getting and spending money4 ,he was 
small of stature and tame-spirited3 yet 
the destinies of an important house of  
,europe depended on him2 for his father 
married him to ,maddalena1 the daughter 
of ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 in #adhg4 ,this
 led to ,giovanni de' ,medici receiving 
a ,cardinal's hat at the age of         
thirteen1 and thus the ,medicean        
interest in ,rome was founded2 in the   
course of a few years the ,medici gave  
two ,popes to the ,holy ,see1 and by    
their ecclesiastical influence riveted  
the chains of ,florence fast4#c ,the    
traffic which ,innocent and             
,franceschetto carried on in theft and  
murder filled the ,campagna with        
brigands and assassins4#d ,travelers and
 pilgrims and ambassadors were stripped 
and murdered on their way to ,rome2 and 
in the city itself more than two hundred

 people were publicly assassinated with 
impunity during the last months of the  
,pope's life4 ,he was gradually dozing  
off into his last long sleep1 and       
,franceschetto was planning how to carry
 off his ducats4 ,while the ,holy       
,father still hovered between life and  
death1 a ,jewish doctor proposed to     
reinvigorate him by the transfusion of  
young blood into his torpid veins4      
,three boys throbbing with the elixir of
 early youth were sacrificed in vain4   
,each boy1 says ,infessura1 received one
 ducat4 ,he adds1 not without grim      
humor3 ',et paulo post mortui sunt2     
,judaeus quidem aufugit1 et ,papa non   
sanatus est4' ,the epitaph of this poor 
old ,pope reads like a rather clever but
 blasphemous witticism3 ',ego autem in  
,innocentia mea ingressus sum4'      #a 
',primus pontificum filios filiasque    
palam ostentavit1     primus eorum      
apertas fecit nuptias1 primus domesticos
 hymenaeos     celebravit4' ,egidius of 
,viterbo1 quoted by ,greg4 ,stadt ,rom1 

vol4 vii4 p4 #bgd1 note4      #b        
,infessura says he heard the            
,vice-chancellor1 when asked why        
criminals were allowed to pay instead of
 being punished1     answer3 ',god wills
 not the death of a sinner1 but rather  
that     he should pay and live4'       
,dominico di ,viterbo1 ,apostolic       
,scribe1     forged bulls by which the  
,pope granted indulgences for the       
commission of the worst scandals4 ,his  
father tried to buy him     off for     
#e1jjj ducats4 ,innocent replied that1  
as his honor was     concerned1 he must 
have #f1jjj4 ,the poor father could not 
scrape     so much money together2 so   
the bargain fell through1 and           
,dominico was executed4 ,a ,roman who   
had killed two of his own     daughters 
bought his pardon for #hjj ducats4      
#c ,guicciardini1 i4 #a41 points out    
that ,lorenzo1 having the     ,pope for 
his ally1 was able to create that       
balance of power in     ,italy which it 
was his chief political merit to have   

maintained     until his death4      #d 
,it is only by reading the pages of     
,infessura's ,diary     7,eccardus vol4 
ii4 pp4 #bjjc-bjje7 that any notion of  
the mixed     debauchery and violence of
 ,rome at this time can be formed4      
,meanwhile the ,cardinals had not been  
idle4 ,the tedious leisure of           
,innocent's long lethargy was employed  
by them in active simony4 ,simony1 it   
may be said in passing1 gave the great  
,italian families a direct interest in  
the election of the richest and most    
paying candidate4 ,it served the turn of
 a man like ,ascanio ,sforza to fatten  
the golden goose that laid such eggs1   
before he killed it--in other words1 to 
take the bribes of ,innocent and        
,alexander1 while deferring for a future
 time his own election4 ,all the        
,cardinals1 with the exception of       
,roderigo ,borgia1#a were the creatures 
of ,sixtus or of ,innocent4 ,having     
bought their hats with gold1 they were  
now disposed to sell their votes to the 

highest bidder4 ,the ,borgia was the    
richest1 strongest1 wisest1 and most    
worldly of them all4 ,he ascertained    
exactly what the price of each suffrage 
would be1 and laid his plans            
accordingly4 ,the ,cardinal ,ascanio    
,sforza1 brother of the ,duke of ,milan1
 would accept the lucrative post of     
,vice-,chancellor4 ,the ,cardinal       
,orsini would be satisfied with the     
,borgia ,palaces at ,rome and the       
,castles of ,monticello and ,saviano4   
,the ,cardinal ,colonna had a mind for  
the ,abbey of ,subbiaco with its        
fortresses4 ,the ,cardinal of ,s4       
,angelo preferred the comfortable       
,bishopric of ,porto with its palace    
stocked with choice wines4 ,the         
,cardinal of ,parma would take ,nepi4   
,the ,cardinal of ,genoa was bribable   
with the ,church of ,s4 ,maria in ,via  
,lata4 ,less influential members of the 
,conclave sold themselves for gold2 to  
meet their demands the ,borgia sent     
,ascanio ,sforza four mules laden with  

coin in open day1 requesting him to     
distribute it in proper portions to the 
voters4 ,the fiery ,giuliano della      
,rovere remained implacable and         
obdurate4 ,in the ,borgia his vehement  
temperament perceived a fit antagonist4 
,the armor which he donned in their     
first encounters he never doffed1 but   
waged fierce war with the whole brood of
 ,borgias at ,ostia1 at the ,french     
,court1 in ,romagna1 wherever and       
whenever he found opportunity4#b ,he and
 five other ,cardinals--among them his  
cousin ,raphael ,riario--refused to sell
 their votes4 ,but ,roderigo ,borgia1   
having corrupted the rest of the        
college1 assumed the mantle of ,s4      
,peter in #adib1 with the ever-memorable
 title of ,alexander ,,vi4      #a      
,roderigo was the son of ,isabella      
,borgia1 niece of ,pope     ,calixtus   
,,iii41 by her marriage with ,joffre    
,lenzuoli4 ,he took     the name of     
,borgia1 when he came to ,rome to be    
made ,cardinal1     and to share in his 

uncle's greatness4      #b ,the marriage
 of his nephew ,nicolo della ,rovere to 
,laura1     the daughter of ,alexander  
,,vi4 by ,giulia ,bella1 in #aeje1 long 
after the ,borgia family had lost its   
hold on ,italy1 is a     curious and    
unexplained incident4  ,rome rejoiced4  
,the ,holy ,city attired herself in     
festival array1 exhibiting on every flag
 and balcony the ,bull of the house of  
,borgia1 and crying like the ,egyptians 
when they found ,apis3--    ,vive diu   
,bos6 ,vive diu ,bos6 ,borgia vive6     
,vivit ,alexander3 ,roma beata manet4   
,in truth there was nothing to convince 
the ,romans of the coming woe1 or to    
raise suspicion that a ,pope had been   
elected who would deserve the execration
 of succeeding centuries4 ,in ,roderigo 
,borgia the people only saw1 as yet1 a  
man accomplished at all points1 of      
handsome person1 royal carriage1        
majestic presence1 affable address4 ,he 
was a brilliant orator1 a passionate    
lover1 a demigod of court pageantry and 

ecclesiastic parade--qualities which1   
though they do not suit our notions of a
 churchman1 imposed upon the taste of   
the ,renaissance4 ,as he rode in triumph
 toward the ,lateran1 voices were loud  
in his praise4 ',he sits upon a         
snow-white horse1' writes one of the    
humanists of the century1#a 'with serene
 forehead1 with commanding dignity4 ,as 
he distributes his blessing to the      
crowd1 all eyes are fixed upon him1 and 
all hearts rejoice4 ,how admirable is   
the mild composure of his mien6 how     
noble his countenance6 his glance how   
free6 ,his stature and carriage1 his    
beauty and the full health of his body1 
how they enhance the reverence which he 
inspires6' ,another panegyrist#b        
describes his 'broad forehead1 kingly   
brow1 free countenance full of majesty1'
 adding that 'the heroic beauty of his  
whole body' was given him by nature in  
order that he might 'adorn the seat of  
the ,apostles with his divine form in   
the place of ,god4' ,how little in the  

early days of his ,pontificate the      
,borgia resembled that ,alexander with  
whom the legend of his subsequent life  
has familiarized our fancy1 may be      
gathered from the following account3#c  
',he is handsome1 of a most glad        
countenance and joyous aspect1 gifted   
with honeyed and choice eloquence2 the  
beautiful women on whom his eyes are    
cast he lures to love him1 and moves    
them in a wondrous way1 more powerfully 
than the magnet influences iron4'       
,these1 we must remember1 are the       
testimonies of men of letters1 imbued   
with the ,pagan sentiments of the       
fifteenth century1 and rejoicing in the 
advent of a ,pope who would1 they hoped1
 make ,rome the capital of luxury and   
license4 ,therefore they require to be  
received with caution4 ,yet there is no 
reason to suppose that the majority of  
the ,italians regarded the elevation of 
the ,borgia with peculiar horror4 ,as a 
,cardinal he had given proof of his     
ability1 but shown no signs of force or 

cruelty or fraud4 ,nor were his morals  
worse than those of his colleagues4 ,if 
he was the father of several children1  
so was ,giuliano della ,rovere1 and so  
had been ,pope ,innocent before him4    
,this mattered but little in an age when
 the ,primate of ,christendom had come  
to be regarded as a secular potentate1  
less fortunate than other princes       
inasmuch as his rule was not hereditary1
 but more fortunate in so far as he     
could wield the thunders and dispense   
the privileges of the ,church4 ,a few   
men of discernment knew what had been   
done1 and shuddered4 ',the king of      
,naples1' says ,guicciardini1 'though he
 dissembled his grief1 told the queen1  
his wife1 with tears--tears which he was
 wont to check even at the death of his 
own sons--that a ,pope had been made who
 would prove most pestilent to the whole
 ,christian commonwealth4' ,the young   
,cardinal ,giovanni de' ,medici1 again1 
showed his discernment of the situation 
by whispering in the ,conclave to his   

kinsman ,cibo3 ',we are in the wolf's   
jaws2 he will gulp us down1 unless we   
make our flight good4' ,besides1 there  
was in ,italy a widely spread repugnance
 to the ,spanish intruders--,marrani1 or
 renegade ,moors1 as they were properly 
called--who crowded the ,vatican and    
threatened to possess the land of their 
adoption like conquerors4 ',ten         
,papacies would not suffice to satiate  
the greed of all this kindred1' wrote   
,giannandrea ,boccaccio to the ,duke of 
,ferrara in #adib3 and events proved    
that these apprehensions were justified2
 for during the ,pontificate of         
,alexander eighteen ,spanish ,cardinals 
were created1 five of whom belonged to  
the house of the ,borgias4      #a ,see 
,michael ,fernus1 quoted by ,greg4      
,lucrezia ,borgia1 p4     #de4      #b  
,jason ,mainus1 quoted by ,greg1 ,stadt 
,rom4 p4 #cad1 note4      #c ,gasp4     
,ver41 quoted by ,greg4 ,stadt ,rom4 p4 
#bjh1 note4  ,it is certain1 however1   
that the profound horror with which the 

name of ,alexander ,,vi4 strikes a      
modern ear was not felt among the       
,italians at the time of his election4  
,the sentiment of hatred with which he  
was afterwards regarded arose partly    
from the crimes by which his            
,pontificate was rendered infamous1     
partly from the fear which his son      
,cesare inspired1 and partly from the   
mysteries of his private life1 which    
revolted even the corrupt conscience of 
the sixteenth century4 ,this sentiment  
of hatred had grown to universal        
execration at the date of his death4 ,in
 course of time1 when the attention of  
the ,northern nations had been directed 
to the iniquities of ,rome1 and when the
 glaring discrepancy between            
,alexander's pretension as a ,pope and  
his conduct as a man had been           
apprehended1 it inspired a legend which1
 like all legends1 distorts the facts   
which it reflects4  ,alexander was1 in  
truth1 a man eminently fitted to close  
an old age and to inaugurate a new1 to  

demonstrate the paradoxical situation of
 the ,popes by the inexorable logic of  
his practical impiety1 and to fuse two  
conflicting world-forces in the cynicism
 of supreme corruption4 ,the ,emperors  
of the ,julian house had exhibited the  
extreme of sensual insolence in their   
autocracy4 ,what they desired of strange
 and sweet and terrible in the forbidden
 fruits of lust1 they had enjoyed4 ,the 
,popes of the ,middle ,ages--,hildebrand
 and ,boniface--had displayed the       
extreme of spiritual insolence in their 
theocracy4 ,what they desired of        
tyrannous and forceful in the exercise  
of an usurped despotism over souls1 they
 had enjoyed4 ,the ,borgia combined both
 impulses toward the illimitable4 ,to   
describe him as the ,genius of ,evil1   
whose sensualities1 as unrestrained as  
,nero's1 were relieved against the      
background of flame and smoke which     
,christianity had raised for fleshly    
sins1 is justifiable4 ,his spiritual    
tyranny1 that arrogated ,jus1 by right  

of which he claimed the hemisphere      
revealed by ,christopher ,columbus1 and 
imposed upon the press of ,europe the   
censure of the ,church of ,rome1 was    
rendered ten times monstrous by the     
glare reflected on it from the          
unquenched furnace of a godless life4   
,the universal conscience of            
,christianity is revolted by those      
unnamable delights1 orgies of blood and 
festivals of lust1 which were enjoyed in
 the plenitude of his green and vigorous
 old age by this versatile diplomatist  
and subtle priest1 who controlled the   
councils of kings1 and who chanted the  
sacramental service for a listening     
world on ,easter ,day in ,rome4 ,rome   
has never been small or weak or         
mediocre4 ,and now in the ,pontificate  
of ,alexander 'that memorable scene'    
presented to the nations of the modern  
world a pageant of ,antichrist and      
,antiphysis--the negation of the ,gospel
 and of nature2 a glaring spectacle of  
discord between humanity as it aspires  

to be at its best1 and humanity as it is
 at its worst2 a tragi-comedy composed  
by some infernal ,aristophanes1 in which
 the servant of servants1 the anointed  
of the ,lord1 the lieutenant upon earth 
of ,christ1 played the chief part4 ,it  
may be objected that this is the        
language not of history but of the      
legend4 ,i reply that there are         
occasions when the legend has caught the
 spirit of the truth4  ,alexander was a 
stronger and a firmer man than his      
immediate predecessors4 ',he combined1' 
says ,guicciardini1 'craft with singular
 sagacity1 a sound judgment with        
extraordinary powers of persuasion2 and 
to all the grave affairs of life he     
applied ability and pains beyond        
belief4'#a ,his first care was to reduce
 ,rome to order4 ,the old factions of   
,colonna and ,orsini1 which ,sixtus had 
scotched1 but which had raised their    
heads again during the dotage of        
,innocent1 were destroyed in his        
,pontificate4 ,in this way1 as          

,machiavelli observed1#b he laid the    
real basis for the temporal power of the
 ,papacy4 ,alexander1 indeed1 as a      
sovereign1 achieved for the ,papal ,see 
what ,louis ,,xi4 had done for the      
throne of ,france1 and made ,rome on its
 small scale follow the type of the     
large ,european monarchies4 ,the        
faithlessness and perjuries of the      
,pope1 'who never did aught else but    
deceive1 nor ever thought of anything   
but this1 and always found occasion for 
his frauds1'#c when combined with his   
logical intellect and persuasive        
eloquence1 made him a redoubtable       
antagonist4 ,all considerations of      
religion and morality were subordinated 
by him with strict impartiality to      
policy3 and his policy he restrained to 
two objects--the advancement of his     
family1 and the consolidation of the    
temporal power4 ,these were narrow aims 
for the ambition of a potentate who with
 one stroke of his pen pretended to     
confer the new-found world on ,spain4   

,yet they taxed his whole strength1 and 
drove him to the perpetration of        
enormous crimes4      #a ,it is but fair
 to ,guicciardini to complete his       
sentence in     a note3 ',these good    
qualities were far surpassed by his     
vices2     private habits of the utmost 
obscenity1 no shame nor sense of        
truth1 no fidelity to his engagements1  
no religious sentiment2     insatiable  
avarice1 unbridled ambition1 cruelty    
beyond the     cruelty of barbarous     
races1 burning desire to elevate his    
sons     by any means3 of these there   
were many1 and among them--in     order 
that he might not lack vicious          
instruments for effecting     his       
vicious schemes--one not less detestable
 in any way than     his father4' ,st4  
d',it4 vol4 i4 p4 #i4 ,i shall translate
 and     put into the appendix          
,guicciardini's character of ,alexander 
from the ,storia di ,firenze4      #b   
,in the sentences which close the #aath 
chapter of the     ,prince4      #c     

,mach4 ,prince1 ch4 xvii4 ,in the       
,satires of ,ariosto 7,satire     i4    
#bjh-bg7 there is a brilliant and       
singularly outspoken     passage on the 
nepotism of the ,popes and its ruinous  
results     for ,italy4  ,former        
,pontiffs had raised money by the sale  
of benefices and indulgences3 this1 of  
course1 ,alexander also practiced--to   
such an extent1 indeed1 that an epigram 
gained currency3 ',alexander sells the  
keys1 the altars1 ,christ4 ,well1 he    
bought them2 so he has a right to sell  
them4' ,but he went further and took    
lessons from ,tiberius4 ,having sold the
 scarlet to the highest bidder1 he used 
to feed his prelate with rich benefices4
 ,when he had fattened him sufficiently1
 he poisoned him1 laid hands upon his   
hoards1 and recommenced the game4 ,paolo
 ,capello1 the ,venetian ,ambassador1   
wrote in the year #aejj3 ',every night  
they find in ,rome four or five murdered
 men1 ,bishops and ,prelates and so     
forth4' ,panvinius mentions three       

,cardinals who were known to have been  
poisoned by the ,pope2 and to their     
names may be added those of the         
,cardinals of ,capua and of ,verona4#a  
,to be a prince of the ,church was      
dangerous in those days2 and if the     
,borgia had not at last poisoned himself
 by mistake1 he must in the long-run    
have had to pay people to accept so     
perilous a privilege4 ,his traffic in   
,church dignities was carried on upon a 
grand scale3 twelve ,cardinals' hats1   
for example1 were put to auction in a   
single day in #aejj4b ,this was when he 
wished to pack the ,conclave with votes 
in favor of the cession of ,romagna to  
,cesare ,borgia1 as well as to replenish
 his exhausted coffers4 ,forty-three    
,cardinals were created by him in eleven
 promotions3 each of these was worth on 
an average #aj1jjj florins2 while the   
price paid by ,francesco ,soderini      
amounted to #bj1jjj and that paid by    
,domenico ,grimani reached the sum of   
#cj1jjj4      #a ,see the authorities in

 ,burckhardt1 pp4 #ic1 #id4      #b     
,guicc4 ,st4 d',it4 vol4 iii4 p4 #ae4   
,former ,popes had preached crusades    
against the ,turk1 languidly or         
energetically according as the coasts of
 ,italy were threatened4 ,alexander     
frequently invited ,bajazet to enter    
,europe and relieve him of the princes  
who opposed his intrigues in the favor  
of his children4 ,the fraternal feeling 
which subsisted between the ,pope and   
the ,sultan was to some extent dependent
 on the fate of ,prince ,djem1 a brother
 of ,bajazet and son of the conqueror of
 ,constantinople1 who had fled for      
protection to the ,christian powers1 and
 whom the ,pope kept prisoner1 receiving
 #dj1jjj ducats yearly from the ,porte  
for his jail fee4 ,innocent ,,viii4 had 
been the first to snare this lucrative  
guest in #adhi4 ,the ,lance of ,longinus
 was sent him as a token of the         
,sultan's gratitude1 and ,innocent1 who 
built an altar for the relique1 caused  
his own tomb to be raised close by4 ,his

 effigy in bronze by ,pollajuolo still  
carries in its hand this blood-gift from
 the infidel to the ,high ,priest of    
,christendom4  ,djem meanwhile remained 
in ,rome1 and held his ,moslem ,court   
side by side with the ,pontiff in the   
,vatican4 ,dispatches are extant in     
which ,alexander and ,bajazet exchange  
terms of the warmest friendship1 the    
,turk imploring his ,greatness--so he   
addressed the ,pope--to put an end to   
the unlucky ,djem1 and promising as the 
price of this assassination a sum of    
#cjj1jjj ducats and the tunic worn by   
,christ1 presumably that very seamless  
coat over which the soldiers of ,calvary
 had cast their dice4#a ,the money and  
the relique arrived in ,italy and were  
intercepted by the partisans of         
,giuliano della ,rovere4 ,alexander1    
before the bargain with the ,sultan had 
been concluded by the murder of ,djem1  
was forced to hand him over to the      
,french king4 ,but the unlucky ,turk    
carried in his constitution the slow    

poison of the ,borgias1 and died in     
,charles's camp between ,rome and       
,naples4 ,whatever crimes may be        
condoned in ,alexander1 it is difficult 
to extenuate this traffic with the      
,turks4 ,by his appeal from the powers  
of ,europe to the ,sultan1 at a time    
when the peril to the ,western world was
 still most serious1 he stands attained 
for high treason against ,christendom1  
of which he professed to be the chief2  
against civilization1 which the ,church 
pretended to protect2 against ,christ1  
whose vicar he presumed to style        
himself4      #a ,see the letters in the
 ',preuves et ,observations1' printed   
at the end of the ,memoires de ,comines4
  ,like ,sixtus1 ,alexander combined    
this deadness to the spirit and the     
interests of ,christianity with zeal for
 dogma4 ,he never flinched in formal    
orthodoxy1 and the measures which he    
took for riveting the chains of         
superstition on the people were         
calculated with the military firmness of

 a ,napoleon4 ,it was he who established
 the censure of the press1 by which     
printers were obliged1 under pain of    
excommunication1 to submit the books    
they issued to the control of the       
,archbishops and their delegates4 ,the  
,brief of ,june #a1 #aeja1 which        
contains this order1 may be reasonably  
said to have retarded civilization1 at  
least in ,italy and ,spain4  ,carnal    
sensuality was the besetting vice of    
this ,pope throughout his life4#a ,this1
 together with his almost insane        
weakness for his children1 whereby he   
became a slave to the terrible ,cesare1 
caused all the crimes which he          
committed4 ,at the same time1 though    
sensual1 ,alexander was not gluttonous4 
,boccaccio1 the ,ferrarese ,ambassador1 
remarks3 ',the ,pope eats only of one   
dish4 ,it is1 therefore1 disagreeable to
 have to dine with him4' ,in this       
respect he may be favorably contrasted  
with the ,roman prelates of the age of  
,leo4 ,his relations to ,vannozza       

,catanei1 the titular wife first of     
,giorgio de ,croce1 and then of ,carlo  
,canale1 and to ,giulia ,farnese1#b     
surnamed ,la ,bella1 the titular wife of
 ,orsino ,orsini1 were open and         
acknowledged4 ,these two sultanas ruled 
him during the greater portion of his   
career1 conniving meanwhile at the      
harem1 which1 after truly ,oriental     
fashion1 he maintained in the ,vatican4 
,an incident which happened during the  
,french invasion of #adid brings the    
domestic circumstances of a ,pope of the
 ,renaissance vividly before us4        
,monseigneur d',allegre caught the      
ladies ,giulia and ,girolama ,farnese1  
together with the lady ,adriana de      
,mila1 who was employed as their duenna1
 near ,capodimonte1 on ,november #bi1   
and carried them to ,montefiascone4 ,the
 sum fixed for their ransom was #c1jjj  
ducats4 ,this the ,pope paid1 and on    
,december #a they were released4        
,alexander met them outside ,rome1      
attired like a layman in a black jerkin 

trimmed with gold brocade1 and fastened 
round his waist by a ,spanish girdle1   
from which hung his dagger4 ,lodovico   
,sforza1 when he heard what had         
happened1 remarked that it was weak to  
release these ladies1 who were 'the very
 eyes and heart' of his ,holiness1 for  
so small a ransom--if #ej1jjj ducats had
 been demanded1 they would have been    
paid4 ,this and a few similar jokes1    
uttered at the ,pope's expense1 make us 
understand to what extent the ,italians 
were accustomed to regard their high    
priest as a secular prince4 ,even the   
pageant of ,alexander seated in ,s4     
,peter's1 with his daughter ,lucrezia on
 one side of his throne and his         
daughter-in-law ,sancia upon the other1 
moved no moral indignation2 nor were the
 ,romans astonished when ,lucrezia was  
appointed ,governor of ,spoleto1 and    
plenipotentiary ,regent of the ,vatican 
in her father's absence4 ,these         
scandals1 however1 created a very       
different impression in the north1 and  

prepared the way for the ,reformation4  
#a ,guicciardini 7,st4 ,fior4 cap4 #bg7 
writes3 ',fu     lussoriosissimo nell'  
uno e nell' altro sesso1 tenendo        
publicamente femine e garzoni1 ma piu   
ancora nelle femine4' ,a     notion of  
the public disorders connected with his 
dissolute     life may be gained from   
this passage in ,sanuto's ,diary        
7,gregorovius1 ,lucrezia ,borgia1 p4    
#hh73 ',da ,roma per le     lettere del 
orator nostro se intese et etiam de     
private persone     cossa assai         
abominevole in le chiesa di ,dio1 che al
 papa erra     nato un fiolo di una dona
 romana maritata1 ch' el padre l'       
havea rufianata1 e di questa il marito  
invito il suocero a la     vigna e lo   
uccise tagliandoli el capo1 ponendo     
quello sopra uno     legno con letere   
che diceva questo e il capo de mio      
suocero che     a rufianato sua fiola al
 papa1 et che inteso questo il papa     
fece metter el dito in exilio di ,roma  
con taglia4 ,questa nova     venne per  

letere particular2 etiam si godea con la
 sua spagnola     menatali per suo fiol 
duca di ,gandia novamente li venuto4'   
#b ,her brother ,alexander1 afterwards  
,paul ,,iii41 owed his     promotion to 
the purple to this liaison1 which was1  
therefore1     the origin of the        
greatness of the ,farnesi4 ,the tomb of 
,paul     ,,iii4 in the ,tribune of ,s4 
,peter's has three notable family       
portraits--the ,pope himself in bronze2 
his sister ,giulia1 naked     in marble1
 as ,justice2 and their old mother1     
,giovanna ,gaetani1     the bawd1 as    
,prudence4  ,the nepotism of ,sixtus was
 like water to the strong wine of       
,alexander's paternal ambition4 ,the    
passion of paternity1 exaggerated beyond
 the bounds of natural affection1 and   
scandalous in a ,roman ,pontiff1 was the
 main motive of the ,borgia's action4   
,of his children by ,vannozza1 he caused
 the eldest son to be created ,duke of  
,gandia2 the youngest he married to     
,donna ,sancia1 a daughter of ,alfonso  

of ,aragon1 by whom the boy was honored 
with the ,dukedom of ,squillace4        
,cesare1 the second of this family1 was 
appointed ,bishop of ,valentia1 and     
,cardinal4 ,the ,dukedoms of ,camerino  
and ,nepi were given to another ,john1  
whom ,alexander first declared to be his
 grandson through ,cesare1 and          
afterwards acknowledged as his son4     
,this ,john may possibly have been      
,lucrezia's child4 ,the ,dukedom of     
,sermoneta1 wrenched for a moment from  
the hands of the ,gaetani family1 who   
still own it1 was conferred upon        
,lucrezia's son1 ,roderigo4 ,lucrezia1  
the only daughter of ,alexander by      
,vannozza1 took three husbands in       
succession1 after having been formally  
betrothed to two ,spanish nobles1 ,don  
,cherubino ,juan de ,centelles1 and ,don
 ,gasparo da ,procida1 son of the ,count
 of ,aversa4 ,these contracts1 made     
before her father became ,pope1 were    
annulled as not magnificent enough for  
the ,pontiff's daughter4 ,in #adib she  

was married to ,giovanni ,sforza1 ,lord 
of ,pesaro4 ,but in #adig the           
pretensions of the ,borgias had outgrown
 this alliance1 and their public policy 
was inclining to relations with the     
,southern ,courts of ,italy4            
,accordingly she was divorced and given 
to ,alfonso1 ,prince of ,biseglia1 a    
natural son of the ,king of ,naples4    
,when this man's father lost his crown1 
the ,borgias1 not caring to be connected
 with an ex-royal family1 caused        
,alfonso to be stabbed on the steps of  
,s4 ,peter's in #aeja2 and while he     
lingered between life and death1 they   
had him strangled in his sick-bed1 by   
,michellozzo1 ,cesare's assassin in     
chief4 ,finally ,lucrezia was wedded to 
,alfonso1 crown-prince of ,ferrara1 in  
#aejb4a ,the proud heir of the ,este    
dynasty was forced by policy1 against   
his inclination1 to take to his board   
and bed a ,pope's bastard1 twice        
divorced1 once severed from her husband 
by murder1 and soiled1 whether justly or

 not1 by atrocious rumors1 to which her 
father's and her brother's conduct gave 
but too much color4 ,she proved a model 
princess after all1 and died at last in 
childbirth1 after having been praised by
 ,ariosto as a second ,lucrece1 brighter
 for her virtues than the star of regal 
,rome4      #a ,her dowry was #cjj1jjj  
ducats1 besides wedding presents1 and   
certain important immunities and        
privileges granted to ,ferrara     by   
the ,pope4  ,history has at last done   
justice to the memory of this woman1    
whose long yellow hair was so beautiful1
 and whose character was so colorless4  
,the legend which made her a            
poison-brewing ,maenad has been proved a
 lie--but only at the expense of the    
whole society in which she lived4 ,the  
simple northern folk1 familiar with the 
tales of ,chriemhild1 ,brynhild1 and    
,gudrun1 who helped to forge this       
legend1 could not understand that a     
woman should be irresponsible for all   
the crimes and scandals perpetrated in  

her name4 ,yet it seems now clear enough
 that not hers1 but her father's and her
 brother's1 were the atrocities which   
made her married life in ,rome a byword4
 ,she sat and smiled through all the    
tempests which tossed her to and fro1   
until she found at last a fair port in  
the ,duchy of ,ferrara4 ,nursed in the  
corruption of ,papal ,rome1 which       
,lorenzo de' ,medici described to his   
son ,giovanni as 'a sink of all the     
vices1' consorting habitually with her  
father's concubines1 and conscious that 
her own mother had been married for show
 to two successive husbands1 it is not  
possible that ,lucrezia ruled her       
conduct at any time with propriety4 ,it 
is even probable that the darkest tales 
about her are true4 ,the ,lord of       
,pesaro1 we must remember1 told his     
kinsman1 the ,duke of ,milan1 that the  
assigned reasons for his divorce were   
false1 and that the fact was what can   
scarcely be recorded4#a ,still1 there is
 no ground for supposing that1 in the   

matter of her first husband's divorce   
and the second's murder1 she was more   
than a passive agent in the hands of    
,alexander and ,cesare4 ,the            
pleasure-loving1 careless woman of the  
,renaissance is very different from the 
,medea of ,victor ,hugo's romance2 and  
what remains most revolting to the      
modern conscience in her conduct is     
complacent acquiescence in scenes of    
debauchery devised for her amusement4#b 
,instead of viewing her with dread as a 
potent and malignant witch1 we have to  
regard her with contempt as a feeble    
woman1 soiled with sensual foulness from
 the cradle4 ,it is also due to truth to
 remember that at ,ferrara she won the  
esteem of a husband who had married her 
unwillingly1 attached the whole state to
 her by her sweetness of temper1 and    
received the panegyrics of the two      
,strozzi1 ,bembo1 ,ariosto1 ,aldo       
,manuzio1 and many other men of note4   
,foreigners who saw her surrounded by   
her brilliant ,court exclaimed1 like the

 ,french biographer of ,bayard3 ',j'ose 
bien dire que1 de son temps1 ni beau    
coup avant1 il ne s'est point trouve de 
plus triomphante princesse2 car elle    
etait belle1 bonne douce1 et courtoise a
 toutes gens4'      #a ,the whole       
question of ,lucrezia's guilt has been  
ably     investigated by ,gregorovius   
7,lucrezia ,borgia1 pp4 #aja1           
#aei-fd74 ,charity suggests that the    
dreadful tradition of her     relation  
to her father and brothers is founded   
less upon fact     than upon the        
scandals current after her divorce4     
,what ,giovanni     ,sforza said was    
this3 'anzi haverla conosciuta infinite 
volte1     ma chel ,papa non gelha tolta
 per altro se non per usare con         
lei4' ,this confession of the injured   
husband went the round of     all the   
,courts of ,italy1 was repeated by      
,malipiero and ,paolo     ,capello1     
formed the substance of the satires of  
,sannazaro and     ,pontano1 crept into 
the chronicle of ,matarazzo1 and        

survived in     the histories of        
,machiavelli and ,guicciardini4 ,there  
was     nothing in his words to astonish
 men who were cognizant of the     acts 
of ,gianpaolo ,baglioni and ,sigismondo 
,malatesta2 while the     frantic       
passion of ,alexander for his children1 
closely allied     as this feeling was  
in him to excessive sensuality1 gave    
them     confirmation4 ,were they1      
however1 true2 or were they a           
malevolent lie8 ,that is the real point 
at issue4 ,psychological     speculation
 will help but little here4 ,it is true 
that ,lucrezia     in after-life showed 
all the signs of a clear conscience4    
,but     so also did ,alexander1 whose  
buoyancy of spirits lasted till     the 
very day of his death4 ,yet he was      
stained with crimes foul     enough to  
darken the conscience of any man1 at any
 period of     life1 and in any         
position4      #b ,see ,burchard1 ed4   
,leibnitz1 pp4 #gg and #gh4  ,yet even  
at ,ferrara tragedies which might remind

 her of the ,vatican continued to       
surround her path4 ,alfonso1 rude in    
manners and devoted to gun-foundry1     
interfered but little with the life she 
led among the wits and scholars who     
surrounded her4 ,one day1 however1 in   
#aejh1 the poet ,ercole ,strozzi1 who   
had sung her praises1 was found dead1   
wrapped in his mantle1 and pierced with 
two-and-twenty wounds4 ,no judicial     
inquiry into this murder was made4      
,rumor credited both ,alfonso and       
,lucrezia with the deed--,alfonso1      
because he might be jealous of his      
wife--,lucrezia1 because her poet had   
recently married ,barbara ,torelli4 ,two
 years earlier another dark crime at    
,ferrara brought the name of ,borgia    
before the public4 ,one of ,lucrezia's  
ladies1 ,angela ,borgia1 was courted by 
both ,giulio d' ,este and the ,cardinal 
,ippolito4 ,the girl praised the eyes of
 ,giulio in the hearing of the          
,cardinal1 who forthwith hired assassins
 to mutilate his brother's face4 ,giulio

 escaped from their hands with the loss 
of one of his eyes1 and sought justice  
from the ,duke against the ,cardinal in 
vain4 ,thereupon he vowed to be revenged
 on both ,ippolito and ,alfonso4 ,his   
plot was to murder them1 and to place   
,ferdinand of ,este on the throne4 ,the 
treason was discovered2 the conspirators
 appeared before ,alfonso3 he rushed    
upon ,ferdinand1 and with his dagger    
stabbed him in the face4 ,both ,giulio  
and ,ferdinand were thrown into the     
dungeons of the palace at ,ferrara1     
where they languished for years1 while  
the ,duke and ,lucrezia enjoyed         
themselves in its spacious halls and su 
ny loggie among their courtiers4        
,ferdinand died in prison1 aged         
sixty-three1 in #aedj4 ,giulio was      
released in #aeei and died1 aged        
eighty-three1 in #aefa4 ,these facts    
deserve to be recorded in connection    
with ,lucrezia's married life at        
,ferrara1 lest we should pay too much   
attention to the flatteries of ,ariosto4

 ,at the same time her history as       
,duchess consists1 for the most part1 in
 the record of the birth of children4   
,like her mother ,vannozza1 she gave    
herself1 in the decline of life1 to     
works of charity and mercy4 ,after this 
fashion the bright and baleful dames of 
the ,renaissance saved their souls4     
,but to return to the domestic history  
of ,alexander4 ,the murder of the ,duke 
of ,gandia brings the whole ,borgia     
family upon the scene4 ,it is related   
with great circumstantiality and with   
surprising sangfroid by ,burchard1 the  
,pope's ,master of the ,ceremonies4 ,the
 ,duke with his brother ,cesare1 then   
,cardinal ,valentino1 supped one night  
at the house of their mother ,vannozza4 
,on their way home the ,duke said that  
he should visit a lady of their         
acquaintance4 ,he parted from ,cesare   
and was never seen again alive4 ,when   
the news of his disappearance spread    
abroad1 a boatman of the ,tiber deposed 
to having watched the body of a man     

thrown into the river on the night of   
the ,duke's death1 the #adth of ,june2  
he had not thought it worth while to    
report this fact1 for he had seen 'a    
hundred bodies in his day thrown into   
the water at the said spot1 and no      
questions asked about them afterwards4' 
,the ,pope had the ,tiber dragged for   
some hours1 while the wits of ,rome made
 epigrams upon this true successor of   
,s4 ,peter1 this new fisher of men4 ,at 
last the body of the ,duke of ,gandia   
was hauled up3 nine wounds1 one in the  
throat1 the others in the head and legs 
and trunk1 were found upon the corpse4  
,from the evidence accumulated on the   
subject of the murder it appeared that  
,cesare had planned it2 whether1 as some
 have supposed1 out of a jealousy of his
 brother too dreadful to describe1 or1  
as is more probable1 because he wished  
to take the first place in the ,borgia  
family1 we do not know exactly4 ,the    
,pontiff in his rage and grief was like 
a wild beast driven to bay4 ,he shut    

himself up in a private room1 refused   
food1 and howled with so terrible a     
voice that it was heard in the streets  
beyond his palace4 ,when he rose up from
 this agony1 remorse seemed to have     
struck him4 ,he assembled a ,conclave of
 the ,cardinals1 wept before them1 rent 
his robes1 confessed his sins1 and      
instituted a commission for the reform  
of the abuses he had sanctioned in the  
,church4 ,but the storm of anguish spent
 its strength at last4 ,a visit from    
,vannozza1 the mother of his children1  
wrought a sudden change from fury to    
reconcilement4 ,what passed between them
 is not known for certain2 ,vannozza is 
supposed1 however1 to have pointed out1 
what was indisputably true1 that ,cesare
 was more fitted to support the dignity 
of the family by his abilities than had 
been the weak and amiable ,duke of      
,gandia4 ,the miserable father rose from
 the earth1 dried his eyes1 took food1  
put from him his remorse1 and forgot    
together with his grief for ,absalom the

 reforms which he had promised for the  
,church4  ,henceforth he devoted himself
 with sustained energy to building up   
the fortunes of ,cesare1 whom he        
released from all ecclesiastical        
obligations1 and to whose service he    
seemed bound by some mysterious power4  
,nor did he even resent the savageness  
and cruelty which this young hell-cat   
vented in his presence on the persons of
 his favorites4 ,at one time ,cesare    
stabbed ,perotto1 the ,pope's minion1   
with his own hand1 when the youth had   
taken refuge in ,alexander's arms3 the  
blood spirted out upon the priestly     
mantle1 and the young man died there4#a 
,at another time he employed the same   
diabolical temper for the delectation of
 his father4 ,he turned out some        
prisoners sentenced to death in a       
court-yard of the palace1 arrayed       
himself in fantastic clothes1 and amused
 the papal party by shooting the unlucky
 criminals4 ,they ran round and round   
the court crouching and doubling to     

avoid his arrows4 ,he showed his skill  
by hitting each where he thought fit4   
,the ,pope and ,lucrezia looked on      
applaudingly4 ,other scenes1 not of     
bloodshed1 but of groveling sensuality1 
devised for the entertainment of his    
father and his sister1 though described 
by the dry pen of ,burchard1 can        
scarcely be transferred to these pages4 
#a ,the account is given by ,capello1   
the ,venetian envoy4  ,the history of   
,cesare's attempt to found a            
principality belongs properly to another
 chapter4#a ,but the assistance rendered
 by his father is essential to the      
biography of ,alexander4 ,the vision of 
an ,italian sovereignty which ,charles  
of ,anjou1 ,gian ,galeazzo ,visconti1   
and ,galeazzo ,maria ,sforza had        
successively entertained1 now fascinated
 the imagination of the ,borgias4       
,having resolved to make ,cesare a      
prince1 ,alexander allied himself with  
,louis ,,xii4 of ,france1 promising to  
annul his first marriage and to sanction

 his nuptials with ,ann of ,brittany1 if
 he would undertake the advancement of  
his son4 ,this bribe induced ,louis to  
create ,cesare ,duke of ,valence and to 
confer on him the hand of ,charlotte of 
,navarre4 ,he also entered ,italy and   
with his arms enabled ,cesare to subdue 
,romagna4 ,the system adopted by        
,alexander and his son in their         
conquests was a simple one4 ,they took  
the capitals and murdered the princes4  
,thus ,cesare strangled the ,varani at  
,camerino in #aejb1 and the ,vitelli and
 ,orsini at ,sinigaglia in the same     
year3 by his means the ,marcscotti had  
been massacred wholesale in ,bologna2   
,pesaro1 ,rimini1 and ,forli had been   
treated in like manner2 and after the   
capture of ,faenpza in #aeja1 the two   
young ,manfredi had been sent to ,rome2 
where they were exposed to the worst    
insults1 drowned or strangled4#b ,a     
system of equal simplicity kept their   
policy alive in foreign ,courts4 ,the   
,bishop of ,cette in ,france was        

poisoned for hinting at a secret of     
,cesare's 7#adih72 the ,cardinal        
d',amboise was bribed to maintain the   
credit of the ,borgias with ,louis      
,,xii42 the offer of a red hat to       
,briconnet saved ,alexander from a      
general council in #adid4 ,the          
historical interest of ,alexander's     
method consists of its deliberate       
adaptation of all the means in his power
 to one end--the elevation of his       
family4 ,his spiritual authority1 the   
wealth of the ,church1 the honors of the
 ,holy ,college1 the arts of an         
assassin1 the diplomacy of a despot1    
were all devoted systematically and     
openly to the purpose in view4 ,whatever
 could be done to weaken ,italy by      
foreign invasions and internal discords1
 so as to render it a prey for his      
poisonous son1 he attempted4 ,when      
,louis ,,xii4 made his infamous alliance
 with ,ferdinand the ,catholic for the  
spoliation of the house of ,aragon in   
,naples1 the ,pope gladly gave it his   

sanction4 ,the two kings quarreled over 
their prey3 then ,alexander fomented    
their discord in order that ,cesare     
might have an opportunity of carrying on
 his operations in ,tuscany unchecked4  
,patriotism in his breast1 whether the  
patriotism of a born ,spaniard or the   
patriotism of an ,italian potentate1 was
 as dead as ,christianity4 ,to make     
profit for the house of ,borgia by      
fraud1 sacrilege1 and the dismemberment 
of nations1 was the ,papal policy4      
#a ,see ,chapter ,,vi4      #b ,their   
father1 ,galeotto ,manfredi1 had been   
murdered in #adhh     by their mother1  
,francesca ,bentivogli4 ,of ,astorre's  
death     ,guicciardini writes3         
',astorre1 che era minore di diciotto   
anni     e di forma eccellente 444      
condotto a ,roma1 saziata prima         
7secondo che si disse7 la libidine di   
qualcuno1 fu occultamente     insieme   
con un suo fratello naturale privato    
della vita4' ,nardi     7,storie        
,florentine1 lib4 iv4 #ac7 credits      

,cesare with the     violation and      
murder of the boy4 ,how far1 we may ask1
 were     these dark crimes of violence 
actuated by astrological                
superstition8 ,this question is raised  
by ,burckhardt 7p4 #cfc7     apropos of 
,sigismondo ,malatesta's assault upon   
his son1 and     ,pier ,luigi ,farnese's
 violation of the ,bishop of ,fano4 ,to 
a     temperament like ,alexander's1    
however1 mere lust enhanced by          
cruelty1 and seasoned with the joy of   
insult to an enemy1 was a     sufficient
 motive for the commission of monstrous 
crime4  ,it is wearisome to continue to 
the end the catalogue of his misdoings4 
,we are relieved when at last the final 
crash arrives4 ,the two ,borgias1 so    
runs the legend of their downfall1      
invited themselves to dine with the     
,cardinal ,adriano of ,corneto in a     
vineyard of the ,vatican belonging to   
their host4 ,thither by the hands of    
,alexander's butler they previously     
conveyed some poisoned wine4 ,by        

mistake1 or by the contrivance of the   
,cardinal1 who may have bribed this     
trusted agent1 they drank the death-cup 
mingled for their victim4 ,nearly all   
contemporary ,italian annalists1        
including ,guicciardini1 ,paolo ,giovio1
 and ,sanudo1 gave currency to this     
version of the tragedy1 which became the
 common property of historians1         
novelists1 and moralists4#a ,yet        
,burchard who was on the spot1 recorded 
in his diary that both father and son   
were attacked by a malignant fever2 and 
,giustiniani wrote to his masters in    
,venice that the ,pope's physician      
ascribed his illness to apoplexy4#b ,the
 season was remarkably unhealthy1 and   
deaths from fever had been frequent4 ,a 
circular letter to the ,german ,princes1
 written probably by the ,cardinal of   
,gurk1 and dated ,august #ca1 #aejc1    
distinctly mentioned fever as the cause 
of the ,pope's sudden decease1 ex hoc   
seculo horrenda febrium incensione      
absorptum4#c ,machiavelli1 again1 who   

conversed with ,cesare ,borgia about    
this turning-point in his career1 gave  
no hint of poison1 but spoke only of son
 and father being simultaneously        
prostrated by disease4      #a ,the     
story is related by ,cinthio in his     
,ecatommithi1     ,december #i1         
,november #aj4      #b ,the various     
accounts of ,alexander's death have been
     epitomized by ,gregorovius 7,stadt 
,rom1 vol4 vii471 and have     been     
discussed by ,villari in his edition of 
the ,giustiniani     ,dispatches1 #b    
vols4 ,florence1 ,le ,monnier4          
,gregorovius thinks     the question    
still open4 ,villari decides in favor of
 fever     against poison4      #c      
,reprinted by ,r4 ,garnett in           
,athenaeum1 ,jan4 #af1 #ahge4  ,at this 
distance of time1 and without further   
details of evidence1 we are unable to   
decide whether ,alexander's death was   
natural1 or whether the singularly      
circumstantial and commonly accepted    
story of the poisoned wine contained the

 truth4 ,on the one side1 in favor of   
the hypothesis of fever1 we have        
,burchard's testimony1 which does not1  
however1 exactly agree with             
,giustiniani's1 who reported apoplexy to
 the ,venetian senate as the cause of   
death1 and whose report1 even at        
,venice1 was rejected by ,sanudo for the
 hypothesis of poison4 ,on the other    
side1 we have the consent of all        
contemporary historians1 with the single
 and1 it must be allowed1 remarkable    
exception of ,machiavelli4 ,paolo       
,giovio goes even so far as to assert   
that the ,cardinal ,corneto told him he 
had narrowly escaped from the effects of
 antidotes taken in his extreme terror  
to counteract the possibility of poison4
  ,whatever may have been the proximate 
cause of his sickness1 ,alexander died1 
a black and swollen mass1 hideous to    
contemplate1 after a sharp struggle with
 the venom he had absorbed4#a ',all     
,rome1' says ,guicciardini1 'ran with   
indescribable gladness to view the      

corpse4 ,men could not satiate their    
eyes with feeding on the carcass of a   
serpent who1 by his unbounded ambition  
and pestiferous perfidy1 by every       
demonstration of horrible cruelty1      
monstrous lust1 and unheard-of avarice1 
selling without distinction things      
sacred and profane1 had filled the world
 with venom4' ,cesare languished for    
some days on a sick bed2 but in the end1
 by the aid of a powerful constitution1 
he recovered1 to find his claws cut and 
his plans in irretrievable confusion4   
',the state of the ,duke of ,valence1'  
says ,filippo ,nerli1#b 'vanished even  
as smoke in air1 or foam upon the       
water4'      #a ',morto chel fu1 il     
corpo comincio a bollire1 e la bocca a  
spumare come faria uno caldaro al focho1
 assi persevero mentre     che fu sopra 
terra2 divenne anchor ultra modo grosso 
in tanto     che in lui non apparea     
forma di corpo humano1 ne dala larghezza
     ala lunghezza del corpo suo era    
differenzia alcuna' 7letter of          

,marquis of ,mantua74      #b           
,commentari1 lib1 v4  ,the moral sense  
of the ,italians expressed itself after 
,alexander's death in the legend of a   
devil1 who had carried off his soul4    
,burchard1 ,giustiniani1 ,sanudo1 and   
others mention this incident with       
apparent belief4 ,but a letter from the 
,marquis of ,mantua to his wife1 dated  
,september #bb1 #aejc1 gives the fullest
 particulars3 ',in his sickness the     
,pope talked in such a way that those   
who did not know what was in his mind   
thought him wandering1 though he spoke  
with great feeling1 and his words were3 
,i will come2 it is but right2 wait yet 
a little while4 ,those who were privy to
 his secret thought1 explained that1    
after the death of ,innocent1 while the 
,conclave was sitting1 he bargained with
 the devil for the ,papacy at the price 
of his soul2 and among the agreements   
was this1 that he should hold the ,see  
twelve years1 which he did1 with the    
addition of four days2 and some attest  

they saw seven devils in the room at the
 moment that he breathed his last4'     
,mere old wives' tales2 yet they mark   
the point to which the credit of the    
,borgia had fallen1 even in ,italy1     
since the hour when the humanists had   
praised his godlike carriage and heroic 
mien upon the day of his election4      
,thus1 overreaching themselves1 ended   
this pair of villains--the most notable 
adventurers who ever played their part  
upon the stage of the great world4 ,the 
fruit of so many crimes and such        
persistent effort was reaped by their   
enemy1 ,giuliano della ,rovere1 for     
whose benefit the nobles of the ,roman  
state and the despots of ,romagna had   
been extirpated4#a ,alexander had proved
 the old order of ,catholicity to be    
untenable4 ,the ,reformation was        
imperiously demanded4 ,his very vices   
spurred the spirit of humanity to       
freedom4 ,before a saintly ,pontiff the 
new age might still have trembled in    
superstitious reverence4 ,the ,borgia to

 all logical intellects rendered the    
pretensions of a ,pope to sway the souls
 of men ridiculous4 ,this is an excuse  
for dwelling so long upon the spectacle 
of his enormities4 ,better than any     
other series of facts1 they illustrate1 
not only the corruption of society1 and 
the separation between morality and     
religion in ,italy1 but also the        
absurdity of that ,church policy which  
in the age of the ,renaissance confined 
the action of the head of ,christendom  
to the narrow interests of a brood of   
parvenus and bastards4      #a ,cesare1 
it must be remembered1 had ostensibly   
reduced the     cities of ,lombardy1    
,romagna1 and the ,march1 as            
,gonfalonier of     the ,church4  ,of   
,pius ,,iii41 who reigned for a few days
 after ,alexander1 no account need be   
taken4 ,giuliano della ,rovere was made 
,pope in #aejc4 ,whatever opinion may be
 formed of him considered as the        
high-priest of the ,christian faith1    
there can be no doubt that ,julius ,,ii4

 was one of the greatest figures of the 
,renaissance1 and that his name1 instead
 of that of ,leo ,x41 should by right be
 given to the golden age of letters and 
of arts in ,rome4 ,he stamped the       
century with the impress of a powerful  
personality4 ,it is to him we owe the   
most splendid of ,michael ,angelo's and 
,raphael's masterpieces4 ,the ,basilica 
of ,s4 ,peter's1 that materialized idea1
 which remains to symbolize the         
transition from the ,church of the      
,middle ,ages to the modern semi-secular
 supremacy of ,papal ,rome1 was his     
thought4 ,no nepotism1 no loathsome     
sensuality1 no flagrant violation of    
ecclesiastical justice1 stain his       
pontificate4 ,his one purpose was to    
secure and extend the temporal authority
 of the ,popes2 and this he achieved by 
curbing the ambition of the ,venetians1 
who threatened to absorb ,romagna1 by   
reducing ,perugia and ,bologna to the   
,papal sway1 by annexing ,parma and     
,piacenza1 and by entering on the       

heritage bequeathed to him by ,cesare   
,borgia4 ,at his death he transmitted to
 his successors the largest and most    
solid sovereignty in ,italy4 ,but       
restless1 turbid1 never happy unless    
fighting1 ,julius drowned the peninsula 
in blood4 ,he has been called a patriot1
 because from time to time he raised the
 cry of driving the barbarians from     
,italy3 it must1 however1 be remembered 
that it was he1 while still ,cardinal di
 ,san ,pietro in ,vincoli1 who finally  
moved ,charles ,,viii4 from ,lyons2 it  
was he who stirred up the ,league of    
,cambray against ,venice1 and who       
invited the ,swiss mercenaries into     
,lombardy2 in each case adding the      
weight of the ,papal authority to the   
forces which were enslaving his country4
 ,julius1 again1 has been variously     
represented as the saviour of the       
,papacy1 and as the curse of ,italy4#a  
,he was emphatically both4 ,in those    
days of national anarchy it was perhaps 
impossible for ,julius to magnify the   

,church except at the expense of the    
nation1 and to achieve the purpose of   
his life without inflicting the scourge 
of foreign war upon his countrymen4 ,the
 powers of ,europe had outgrown the     
,papal discipline4 ,italian questions   
were being decided in the cabinets of   
,louis1 ,maximilian1 and ,ferdinand4    
,instead of controlling the arbiters of 
,italy1 a ,pope could only play off one 
against another4      #a ',fatale       
instrumento e allora e prima e poi de'  
mali     d',italia1' says ,guicciardini1
 ,storia d',italia1 vol4 i4 p4 #hd4     
',der ,retter des ,papstthums1' says    
,burckhardt1 p4 #ie4  ,leo ,x4 succeeded
 ,julius in #aeac1 to the great relief  
of the ,romans1 wearied with the        
continual warfare of the old ,pontifice 
terribile4 ,in the gorgeous pageant of  
his triumphal procession to the         
,lateran1 the streets were decked with  
arches1 emblems1 and inscriptions4      
,among these may be noticed the couplet 
emblazoned by the banker ,agostino      

,chigi before his palace3    ,olim      
habuit ,cypris sua tempora2 tempora     
,mavors     ,olim habuit2 sua nunc      
tempora ,pallas habet4  ',venus ruled   
here with ,alexander2 ,mars with        
,julius2 now ,pallas enters on her reign
 with ,leo4' ,to this epigram the       
goldsmith ,antonio di ,san ,marco       
answered with one pithy line3    ,mars  
fuit2 est ,pallas2 ,cypria semper ero3  
',mars reigned2 ,pallas reigns2 ,venus' 
own ,i shall always be4'  ,this first   
,pope of the house of ,medici enjoyed at
 ,rome the fame of his father ,lorenzo  
the ,magnificent at ,florence4 ,extolled
 as an ,augustus in his lifetime1 he has
 given his name to what is called the   
golden age of ,italian culture4 ,as a   
man1 he was well qualified to represent 
the neo-pagan freedom of the            
,renaissance4 ,saturated with the spirit
 of his period1 he had no sympathy with 
religious earnestness1 no conception of 
moral elevation1 no aim beyond a        
superficial polish of the understanding 

and the taste4 ,good ,latinity seemed to
 him of more importance than true       
doctrine3 ,jupiter sounded better in a  
sermon than ,jehovah2 the immortality of
 the soul was an open topic for debate4 
,at the same time he was extravagantly  
munificent to men of culture1 and hearty
 in his zeal for the diffusion of       
liberal knowledge4 ,but what was        
reasonable in the man was ridiculous in 
the pontiff4 ,there remained an         
irreconcilable incongruity between his  
profession of the ,primacy of           
,christianity and his easy epicurean    
philosophy4  ,leo1 like all the ,medici 
after the first ,cosimo1 was a bad      
financier4 ,his reckless expenditure    
contributed in no small measure to the  
corruption of ,rome and to the ruin of  
the ,latin ,church1 while it won the    
praises of the literary world4 ,julius1 
who had exercised rigid economy1 left   
#gjj1jjj ducats in the coffers of ,s4   
,angelo4 ,the very jewels of ,leo's     
tiara were pledged to pay his debts1    

when he died suddenly in #aeba4 ,during 
the heyday of his splendor he spent     
#h1jjj ducats monthly on presents to his
 favorites and on his play-debts4 ,his  
table1 which was open to all the poets1 
singers1 scholars1 and buffoons of      
,rome1 cost half the revenues of        
,romagna and the ,march4 ,he founded the
 knightly ,order of ,s4 ,peter to       
replenish his treasury1 and turned the  
conspiracy of the ,cardinal ,petrucci   
against his life to such good           
account--extorting from the ,cardinal   
,riario a fine of #e1jjj ducats1 and    
from the ,cardinals ,soderini and       
,hadrian the sum of #abe1jjj--that ,von 
,hutten was almost justified in treating
 the whole of that dark business as a   
mere financial speculation4 ,the        
creation of thirty-nine ,cardinals in   
#aeag brought him in above #ejj1jjj     
ducats4 ,yet1 in spite of these         
expedients for getting gold1 the bankers
 of ,rome were half ruined when he died4
 ,the ,bini had lent him #bjj1jjj       

ducats2 the ,gaddi1 #cb1jjj2 the        
,ricasoli1 #aj1jjj2 the ,cardinal       
,salviati claimed a debt of #hj1jjj2 the
 ,cardinals ,santi ,quattro and         
,armellini1 each #aej1jjj4a ,these      
figures are only interesting when we    
remember that the mountains of gold     
which they denote were squandered in    
aesthetic sensuality4  ,when the ,pope  
was made1 he said to ,giuliano 7,duke of
 ,nemours73 ',let us enjoy the ,papacy  
since ,god has given it us--godiamoci il
 ,papato1 poiche ,dio ce l' ha dato4#b' 
,it was in this spirit that ,leo        
administered the ,holy ,see4 ,the       
keynote which he struck dominated the   
whole society of ,rome4 ,at ,agostine   
,chigi's banquets1 prelates of the      
,church and ,apostolic secretaries sat  
side by side with beautiful ,imperias   
and smooth-cheeked singing-boys2 fishes 
from ,byzantium and ragouts of parrots' 
tongues were served on golden platters1 
which the guests threw from the open    
windows into the ,tiber4 ,masques and   

balls1 comedies and carnival processions
 filled the streets and squares and     
palaces of the ,eternal ,city with a    
mimicry of pagan festivals1 while art   
went hand in hand with luxury4 ,it      
seemed as though ,bacchus and ,pallas   
and ,priapus would be reinstated in     
their old realm1 and yet ,rome had not  
ceased to call herself ,christian4 ,the 
hoarse rhetoric of friars in the        
,coliseum1 and the drone of pifferari   
from the ,ara ,coeli1 mingled with the  
,latin declamations of the ,capitol and 
the twang of lute-strings in the        
,vatican4 ,meanwhile1 amid crowds of    
,cardinals in hunting-dress1 dances of  
half-naked girls1 and masques of        
,carnival ,bacchantes1 moved pilgrims   
from the ,north with wide1 astonished1  
woeful eyes--disciples of ,luther1 in   
whose soul1 as in a scabbard1 lay       
sheathed the sword of the ,spirit1 ready
 to flash forth and smite4      #a ,see 
,gregorovius1 ,stadt ,rom1 book xiv4 ch4
 #c4      #b ',relazione di ,marino     

,giorgi1' ,march #ag1 #aeag4 ,alberi1   
series ii4 vol4 iii4 p4 #ea4  ,a more   
complete conception may be formed of    
,leo by comparing him with ,julius4     
,julius disturbed the peace of ,italy   
with a view to establishing the temporal
 power of his see4 ,leo returned to the 
old nepotism of the previous ,popes1 and
 fomented discord for the sake of the   
,medici4 ,it was at one time his project
 to secure the kingdom of ,naples for   
his brother ,giuliano1 and a ,milanese  
sovereignty for his nephew ,lorenzo4 ,on
 the latter he succeeded in conferring  
the ,duchy of ,urbino1 to the prejudice 
of its rightful owners4#a ,with         
,florence in their hands and the ,papacy
 under their control1 the ,medici might 
have swayed all ,italy4 ,such plans1    
however1 in the days of ,francis ,i4 and
 ,charles ,v4 had become impracticable2 
nor had any of the ,medicean family     
stuff to undertake more than the        
subjugation of their native city4       
,julius was violent in temper1 but      

observant of his promises4 ,leo was     
suave and slippery4 ,he lured ,gianpaolo
 ,baglioni to ,rome by a safe-conduct1  
and then had him imprisoned and beheaded
 in the ,castle of ,s4 ,angelo4 ,julius 
delighted in war and was never happier  
than when the cannons roared around him 
at ,mirandola4 ,leo vexed the soul of   
his master of the ceremonies because he 
would ride out a-hunting in topboots4   
,julius designed ,s4 ,peter's and       
comprehended ,michael ,angelo4 ,leo had 
the wit to patronize the poets1 artists 
and historians who added luster to his  
,court2 but he brought no new great man 
of genius to the front4 ,the portraits  
of the two ,popes1 both from the hand of
 ,raphael1 are exceedingly              
characteristic4 ,julius1 bent and       
emaciated1 has the nervous glance of a  
passionate and energetic temperament2   
though the brand is hoar with ashes and 
more than half burned out1 it glows and 
can inflame a conflagration4 ,leo1 heavy
 jawed1 dull-eyed1 with thick lips and a

 brawny jowl1 betrays the coarser fiber 
of a sensualist4      #a ,he would have 
given it to ,giuliano1 but ,giuliano was
 an     honest man and remembered what  
he owed to the della ,rovere     family4
 ,see the ',relazione' of ,marino       
,giorgi 7,rel4 ,ven4 ser4     ii4 vol4  
iii4 p4 #ea74  ,it has often been       
remarked that both ,julius and ,leo     
raised money by the sale of indulgences 
with a view to the building of ,s4      
,peter's1 thus aggravating one of the   
chief scandals which provoked the       
,reformation4 ,in that age of           
maladjusted impulses the desire to      
execute a great work of art1 combined   
with the cynical resolve to turn the    
superstitions of the people to account1 
forced rebellion to a head4 ,leo was    
unconscious of the magnitude of         
,luther's movement4 ,if he thought at   
all seriously of the phenomenon1 it     
stirred his wonder4 ,nor did he feel the
 necessity of reformation in the ,church
 of ,italy4 ,the rich and many-sided    

life of ,rome and the diplomatic        
interests of ,italian despotism absorbed
 his whole attention4 ,it was but a     
small matter what barbarians thought or 
did4  ,the sudden death of ,leo threw   
the ,holy ,college into great           
perplexity4 ,to choose the new ,pope    
without reference to political interests
 was impossible2 and these were divided 
between ,charles ,v4 and ,francis ,i4   
,after twelve days spent by the         
,cardinals in conclave1 the result of   
their innumerable schemes and           
counter-schemes was the election of the 
,cardinal of ,tortosa4 ,no one knew him2
 and his elevation to the ,papacy1 due  
to the influence of ,charles1 was almost
 as great a surprise to the electors as 
to the ,romans4 ,in their rage and      
horror at having chosen this barbarian1 
the ,college began to talk about the    
inspiration of the ,holy ,ghost1 seeking
 the most improbable of all excuses for 
the mistake to which intrigue had driven
 them4 ',the courtiers of the ,vatican  

and chief officers of the ,church1' says
 an eyewitness1 'wept and screamed and  
cursed and gave themselves up to        
despair4' ,along the blank walls of the 
city was scrawled3 ',rome to let4'      
,sonnets fell in showers1 accusing the  
cardinals of having delivered over 'the 
fair ,vatican to a ,german's fury4'#a   
,adrian ,,vi4 came to ,rome for the     
first time as ,pope4#b ,he knew no      
,italian1 and talked ,latin with an     
accent unfamiliar to southern ears4 ,his
 studies had been confined to scholastic
 philosophy and theology4 ,with courts  
he had no commerce2 and he was so       
ignorant of the state a ,pope should    
keep in ,rome1 that he wrote beforehand 
requesting that a modest house and      
garden might be hired for his abode4    
,when he saw the ,vatican1 he exclaimed 
that here the successors1 not of ,peter1
 but of ,constantine should dwell4 ,leo 
kept one hundred grooms for the service 
of his stable2 ,adrian retained but     
four4 ,two ,flemish valets sufficed for 

his personal attendance1 and to these he
 gave each evening one ducat for the    
expenses of the next day's living4 ,a   
,flemish serving woman cooked his food1 
made his bed and washed his linen4      
,rome1 with its splendid immorality1 its
 classic art and pagan culture1 made the
 same impression on him that it made on 
,luther4 ,when his courtiers pointed to 
the ,laocoon as the most illustrious    
monument of ancient sculpture1 he turned
 away with horror1 murmuring3 ',idols of
 the ,pagans6' ,the ,belvedere1 which   
was fast becoming the first             
statue-gallery in ,europe1 he walled up 
and never entered4 ,at the same time he 
set himself with earnest purpose1 so far
 as his tied hands and limited ability  
would go1 to reform the more patent     
abuses of the ,church4 ,leo had raised  
about three million ducats by the sale  
of offices1 which represented an income 
of #cdh1jjj ducats to the purchasers1   
and provided places for #b1eej persons4 
,by a stroke of his pen ,adrian canceled

 these contracts and threw upon the     
world a crowd of angry and defrauded    
officials4 ,it was but poor justice to  
remind them that their bargain with his 
predecessor had been illegal4 ,such     
attempts1 however1 at a reformation of  
ecclesiastical society were as          
ineffectual as pin-pricks in the cure of
 a fever which demands blood-letting4   
,the real corruption of ,rome1 deeply   
seated in high places1 remained         
untouched4 ,luther meanwhile had carried
 all before him in the ,north1 and      
accurate observers in ,rome itself      
dreaded some awful catastrophe for the  
guilty city4 ',this state is set upon   
the razor-edge of peril2 ,god grant we  
have not soon to take flight to ,avignon
 or to the ends of the ocean4 ,i see the
 downfall of this spiritual monarchy at 
hand4 ,unless ,god help1 it is all over 
with us4'#c ,adrian met the emergency1  
and took up arms against the sea of     
troubles by expressing his horror of    
simony1 sensuality1 thievery and so     

forth4 ,the result was that he was      
simply laughed at4 ,pasquin made so     
merry with his name that ,adrian vowed  
he would throw the statue into the      
,tiber2 whereupon the ,duke of ,sessa   
wittily replied3 ',throw him to the     
bottom1 and1 like a frog1 he'll go on   
croaking4' ,berni1 again1 wrote one of  
his cleverest ,capitoli upon the dunce  
who could not comprehend his age2 and   
when he died1 his doctor's door was     
ornamented with this inscription3       
,liberatori patriae ,senatus ,populusque
 ,romanus4      #a ,see ,greg4 ,stadt   
,rom1 vol4 viii4 pp4 #chb1 #chc4 ,the   
details     about ,adriano are chiefly  
taken from the ,relazioni of the        
,venetian embassadors1 series ii4 vol4  
iii4 pp4 #ge-abj4      #b ,his father's 
name was ,florus or ,flerentius1 of the 
,flemish     family1 it is supposed1 of 
,dedel4 ,berni calls him a              
carpet-maker4 ,other accounts represent 
him as a ship's     carpenter4 ,the     
,pope's baptismal name was ,adrian4     

#c ,see the passage quoted from the     
,lettere de ,principi1     ,rome1 ,march
 #ag1 #aebc1 by ,burckhardt1 p4 #ii1    
note4  ,great was the rejoicing when    
another ,medici was made ,pope in #aebc4
 ,people hoped that the merry days of   
,leo would return4 ,but things had gone 
too far toward dissolution4 ,clement    
,,vii4 failed to give satisfaction to   
the courtiers whom his more genial      
cousin had delighted3 even the scholars 
and the poets grumbled4#a ,his rule was 
weak and vacillating1 so that the       
,colonna faction raised its head again  
and drove him to the ,castle of ,s4     
,angelo4 ,the political horizon of      
,italy grew darker and more sullen      
daily1 as before some dreadful storm4   
,over ,rome itself impended ruin--      
as when ,god   ,will o'er some          
high-viced city hang his poison   ,in   
the sick air4#b  ,at last the crash     
came4 ,clement by a series of treaties1 
treacheries1 and tergiversations had    
deprived himself of every friend and    

exasperated every foe4 ,italy was so    
worn out with warfare1 so accustomed to 
the anarchy of aimless revolutions and  
to the trampling to and fro of stranger 
squadrons on her shores1 that the news  
of a ,lutheran troop1 levied with the   
express object of pillaging ,rome1 and  
reinforced with ,spanish ruffians and   
the scum of every nation1 scarcely      
roused her apathy4 ,the so-called army  
of ,frundsberg--a horde of robbers held 
together by the hope of plunder--marched
 without difficulty to the gates of     
,rome4 ,so low had the honor of ,italian
 princes fallen that the ,duke of       
,ferrara1 by direct aid given1 and the  
,duke of ,urbino1 by counter-force      
withheld1 opened the passes of the ,po  
and of the ,apennines to these          
marauders4 ,they lost their general in  
,lombardy4 ,the ,constable ,bourbon1 who
 succeeded him1 died in the assault of  
the city4 ,then ,rome for nine months   
was abandoned to the lust1 rapacity1 and
 cruelty of some #cj1jjj brigands       

without a leader4 ,it was then          
discovered to what lengths of insult1   
violence1 and bestiality the brutal     
barbarism of ,germans and the avarice of
 ,spaniards could be carried4 ,clement1 
beleaguered in the ,castle of ,s4       
,angelo1 saw day and night the smoke    
ascend from desolated palaces and       
desecrated temples1 heard the wailing of
 women and the groans of tortured men   
mingle with the jests of ,lutheran      
drunkards and the curses of ,castilian  
bandits4 ,roaming its galleries and     
leaning from its windows he exclaimed   
with ,job3#c ',quare de vulva eduxisti  
me8 qui utinam consumptus essem1 ne     
oculus me videret4' ,what the ,romans1  
emasculated by luxury and priest rule1  
what the ,cardinals and prelates1 lapped
 in sensuality and sloth1 were made to  
suffer during this long agony1 can      
scarcely be described4 ,it is too       
horrible4 ,when at last the barbarians1 
sated with blood1 surfeited with        
lechery1 glutted with gold1 and         

decimated by pestilence1 withdrew1 ,rome
 raised her head a widow4 ,from the     
shame and torment of that sack she never
 recovered1 never became again the gay  
licentious lovely capital of arts and   
letters1 the glittering gilded ,rome of 
,leo4 ,but the kings of the earth took  
pity on her desolation4 ,the treaty of  
,amiens 7,august #ah1 #aebg71 concluded 
between ,francis ,i4 and ,henry ,,viii4 
against ,charles ,v41 in whose name this
 insult had been offered to the ,holy   
,city of ,christendom1 together with    
,charles's own tardy willingness to make
 amends1 restored the ,papacy to the    
respect of ,europe4      #a ,see1 for   
instance1 ,berni's sonnets4 ,in one of  
these1 ,berni     very powerfully       
describes the vacillation and           
irresolution of     ,clement's          
state-policy4      #b ,see ,varchi's    
picture of the state of ,rome1 ,st4     
,fior4 ii4      #c ,so ,luigi           
,guicciardini in his account of the sack
 of ,rome     relates4  ,it is well     

known that at this crisis the ,emperor  
seriously thought of putting an end to  
the ,state of the ,church4 ,his         
councilors advised him to restore the   
,pope to his original rank of ,bishop1  
and to make ,rome again the seat of     
,empire4#a ,but to have done this would 
have been impossible under the political
 conditions of the sixteenth century1   
and in the face of ,christendom still   
,catholic4 ,his deliberations1          
therefore1 cost ,rome the miseries of   
the sack2 but they were speedily        
superseded by the determination to      
strengthen the ,papal by means of the   
,imperial authority in ,italy4 ,florence
 was given as a make-peace offering to  
the contemptible ,medici2 and it remains
 the worst shame of ,clement that he    
used the dregs of the army that had     
sacked ,rome for the enslavement of his 
mother-city4      #a ,see the           
authorities in ,greg4 ,stadt ,rom1 vol4 
viii4 pp4     #efi1 #ege4  ,internally1 
the ,papal ,state had learned by its    

misfortunes the necessity of a reform4  
,sadoleto1 writing in the ,september of 
that memorable year to ,clement1 reminds
 him that the sufferings of ,rome have  
satisfied the wrath of ,god1 and that   
the way was now open for an amelioration
 of manners and laws4#a ,no force of    
arms could prevent the ,holy ,city from 
returning to a better life1 and proving 
that the ,christian priesthood was not a
 mere mockery and sham4#b ,in truth the 
,counter-,reformation may be said to    
date historically from #aebg4      #a   
,it was universally recognized in ,italy
 that the sack of     ,rome was a       
punishment inflicted by ,providence upon
 the godless     city4 ,without quoting 
great authorities like ,sadoleto or the 
,bishop of ,fossombrone1 one of whose   
letters gives a really     awful picture
 of ,roman profligacy 7,opere di ,m4,g4 
,guidiccioni1     ,barbera1 vol4 i4 p4  
#aic71 we find abundant testimony to    
this     persuasion regarding the       
intolerible vice of ,rome1 even in men  

devoid of moral conscience4 ,aretino    
7,la ,cortegiana1 end of     ,act i4    
,sc4 xxiii47 writes3 ',io mic redeva che
 il castigo1 che     l' ha dato ,cristo 
per mano degli ,spagnuoli1 l'avesse     
fatta     migliore1 et e piu scellerata 
che mai4' ,bandello 7,novelle1          
,parte ii4 xxxvii47 alluding to the     
sack1 remarks in a     parenthesis1     
'benche i peccati di quella citta       
meritassero     esser castigati4' ,after
 adducing two such witnesses1 it would  
weaken the case to cite ,trissino or    
,vettori1 both of whom     expressed    
themselves with force upon the          
iniquities of ,papal     ,rome4      #b 
,compare ,lettere de' ,princ4 ii4 #gg2  
,cardinal ,cajetanus1     and other     
testimonies quoted by ,greg4 ,stadt     
,rom1 vol4 viii4     pp4 #efh1 #egh4    
,,chapter ,,viii4  ,,the ,,church ,,and 
,,morality4   ,corruption of the        
,church--,degradation and ,division of  
,italy--,opinions of ,machiavelli1      
,guicciardini1 and ,king ,ferdinand of  

,naples--,incapacity of the ,italians   
for thorough ,reformation--,the         
,worldliness and ,culture of the        
,renaissance--,witness of ,italian      
,authors against the ,papal ,court and  
the ,convents--,superstitious ,respect  
for ,relics--,separation between        
,religion and ,morality--,mixture of    
,contempt and ,reverence for the        
,popes--,gianpaolo ,baglioni--,religious
 ,sentiments of the                     
,tyrannicides--,pietro ,paolo           
,boscoli--,tenacity of ,religions--,the 
direct ,interest of the ,italians in    
,rome--,reverence for the ,sacraments of
 the ,church--,opinions pronounced by   
,englishmen on ,italian                 
,immorality--,bad ,faith and            
,sensuality--,the ,element of the ,fancy
 in ,italian ,vice--,the ,italians not  
,cruel1 or ,brutal1 or ,intemperate by  
,nature--,domestic ,murders--,sense of  
,honor in ,italy--,onore and            
,onesta--,general ,refinement--,good    
,qualities of the ,people--,religious   

,revivalism4   ,the corruption of the   
,papal ,court involved a corresponding  
moral weakness throughout ,italy4 ,this 
makes the history of the ,popes of the  
,renaissance important precisely in     
those details which formed the subject  
of the preceding chapter4 ,morality and 
religion suffered an almost complete    
separation in the fifteenth century4    
,the chiefs of the ,church with cynical 
effrontery violated every tradition of  
,christ and the ,apostles1 so that the  
example of ,rome was in some sense the  
justification of fraud1 violence1 lust1 
filthy living1 and ungodliness to the   
whole nation4  ,the contradiction       
between the spiritual pretensions of the
 ,popes and their actual worldliness was
 not so glaring to the men of the       
,renaissance1 accustomed by long habit  
to the spectacle of this anomaly1 as it 
is to us4 ,nor would it be scientific to
 imagine that any ,italian in that age  
judged by moral standards similar to    
ours4 ,a,esthetic propriety rather than 

strict conceptions of duty ruled the    
conduct even of the best1 and it is     
wonderful to observe with what artless  
simplicity the worst sinners believed   
they might make peace in time of need   
with heaven4 ,yet there were not wanting
 profound thinkers who traced the       
national decay of the ,italians to the  
corruption of the ,church4 ,among these 
,machiavelli stands foremost4 ,in a     
celebrated passage of the ,discorsi1#a  
after treating the whole subject of the 
connection between good government and  
religion1 he breaks forth into this     
fiery criticism of the ,papacy3 ',had   
the religion of ,christianity been      
preserved according to the ordinances of
 its founder1 the states and            
commonwealths of ,christendom would have
 been far more united and far happier   
than they are4 ,nor is it possible to   
form a better estimate of its decay than
 by observing that1 in proportion as we 
approach nearer to the ,roman ,church1  
the head of this religion1 we find less 

piety prevail among the nations4        
,considering the primitive constitution 
of that ,church1 and noting how diverse 
are its present customs1 we are forced  
to judge that without doubt either ruin 
or a scourge is now impending over it4  
,and since some men are of opinion that 
the welfare of ,italy depends upon the  
,church1 ,i wish to put forth such      
arguments as occur to my mind to the    
contrary2 and of these ,i will adduce   
two1 which1 as ,i think1 are            
irrefutable4 ,the first is this3 that   
owing to the evil ensample of the ,papal
 ,court1 ,italy has lost all piety and  
all religion3 whence follow infinite    
troubles and disorders2 for as religion 
implies all good1 so its absence implies
 the contrary4 ,consequently1 to the    
,church and priests of ,rome we         
,italians owe this obligation           
first--that we have become void of      
religion and corrupt4 ,but we also owe  
them another1 even greater1 which is the
 cause of our ruin4 ,i mean that the    

,church has maintained and still        
maintains ,italy divided4 ,of a truth no
 province ever was united and           
prosperous1 unless it were reduced      
beneath the sway of one republic or one 
monarch1 as is the case with ,france and
 ,spain4 ,and the reason why ,italy is  
not in this condition1 but has neither  
commonwealth nor monarch for her head1  
is none other than the ,church3 for the 
,church1 established in our midst and   
exercising a temporal authority1 has    
never had the force or vigor to extend  
its sway over the whole country and to  
become the ruling power in ,italy4 ,nor 
on the other hand has it been so feeble 
as not to be able1 when afraid of losing
 its temporalities1 to call in a foreign
 potentate1 as a counterpoise in its    
defense against those powers which      
threatened to become supreme4 ,of the   
truth of this1 past history furnishes   
many instances2 as when1 by the help of 
,charlemagne1 the ,popes expelled the   
,lombards2 and when in our own days they

 humbled ,venice by the aid of ,france1 
and afterwards drove out the ,french by 
calling in the ,swiss4 ,so then the     
,church1 being on the one hand too weak 
to grasp the whole of ,italy1 and at the
 same time too jealous to allow another 
power to do so1 has prevented our union 
beneath one head1 and has kept us under 
scattered lords and princes4 ,these have
 caused so much discord and debility    
that ,italy has become the prey not only
 of powerful barbarians1 but also of    
every assailant4 ,and this we owe solely
 and entirely to the ,church4 ,in order 
to learn by experience the truth of what
 ,i say1 one ought to be able to send   
the ,roman ,court1 armed with like      
authority to that it wields in ,italy1  
to take up its abode among the ,swiss1  
who at the present moment are the only  
nation living1 as regards religion and  
military discipline1 according to the   
antique fashion2 he would then see that 
the evil habits of that ,court would in 
no long space of time create more       

disorders than any other misfortune that
 could arise there in any period        
whatever4' ,in this scientific and      
deliberate opinion pronounced by the    
profoundest thinker of the sixteenth    
century1 the ,papacy is accused of      
having caused both the moral depravation
 and the political disunion of ,italy4  
,the second of these points1 which      
belongs to the general history of the   
,italian nation1 might be illustrated   
abundantly3 but one other sentence from 
the pen of ,machiavelli exposes the     
ruinous and selfish policy of the       
,church more forcibly than could be done
 by copious examples3#b ',in this way   
the ,pontiffs at one time by love of    
their religion1 at other times for the  
furtherance of their ambitious schemes1 
have never ceased to sow the seeds of   
disturbance and to call foreigners into 
,italy1 spreading wars1 making and      
unmaking princes1 and preventing        
stronger potentates from holding the    
province they were too feeble to rule4' 

#a ,lib4 i4 cap4 #ab4      #b ,ist4     
,fior4 lib4 i4  ,guicciardini1          
commenting upon the ,discorsi of        
,machiavelli1 begins his gloss upon the 
passage ,i have just translated1 with   
these emphatic words3#a ',it would be   
impossible to speak so ill of the ,roman
 ,court but that more abuse would not be
 merited1 seeing it is an infamy1 an    
example of all the shames and scandals  
of the world4' ,he then proceeds to     
argue1 like ,machiavelli1 that the      
greatness of the ,church prevented      
,italy from becoming a nation under one 
head1 showing1 however1 at the same time
 that the ,italians had derived much    
benefit from their division into        
separate states4#b ,to the concurrent   
testimony of these great philosophic    
writers may be added the evidence of a  
practical statesman1 ,ferdinand1 king of
 ,naples1 who in #adic wrote as         
follows3#c ',from year to year up to    
this time we have seen the ,popes       
seeking to hurt and hurting their       

neighbors1 without having to act on the 
defensive or receiving any injury4 ,of  
this we are ourselves the witness1 by   
reason of things they have done and     
attempted against us through their      
inborn ambition2 and of the many        
misfortunes which have happened of late 
in ,italy it is clear that the ,popes   
are authors4' ,it is not so much however
 with the political as with the moral   
aspect of the ,church that we are at    
present concerned3 and on the latter    
point ,guicciardini may once more be    
confronted with his illustrious         
contemporary4 ,in his aphorisms he      
says3#d ',no man hates the ambition1    
avarice1 and effeminacy of the priests  
more than ,i do2 for these vices1 odious
 in themselves1 are most unseemly in men
 who make a profession of living in     
special dependence on the ,deity4       
,besides1 they are so contradictory that
 they cannot be combined except in a    
very extraordinary subject4 ,my position
 under several ,popes has compelled me  

to desire their aggrandizement for the  
sake of my own profit4#e ,otherwise1 ,i 
should have loved ,martin ,luther like  
myself--not that ,i might break loose   
from the laws which ,christianity1 as it
 is usually interpreted and             
comprehended1 imposes on us1 but that ,i
 might see that horde of villains       
reduced within due limits1 and forced to
 live either without vices or without   
power4'      #a ,guicc4 ,op4 ,ined4 vol4
 i4 p4 #bg4      #b ,in another place   
7,op4 ,ined4 vol4 i4 p4 #ajd7           
,guicciardini     describes the rule of 
priests as founded on violence of two   
sorts2 'perche ci sforzano con le armi  
temporali e con le     spirituali4' ,it 
may be well to collect the chief        
passages in     ,machiavelli and        
,guicciardini1 besides those already    
quoted1     which criticise the ,papacy 
in relation to ,italian politics4 ,the  
most famous is at the end of the fourth 
book of the ,istoria d'     ,italia     
7,edn4 ,rosini1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #bah-cj74  

,next may be placed     the sketch of   
,papal ,history in ,machiavelli's       
,istorie     ,fiorentine 7lib4 i4 cap4  
#i-be74 ,the eleventh chapter of the    
,principe gives a short sketch of the   
growth of the temporal     power1 so    
framed as to be acceptable to the       
,medici1 but steeped     in the most    
acid irony4 ,see1 in particular1 the    
sentence     ',costoro solo hanno stati 
e non li difendono1 hanno sudditi e     
non li governano1' etc4      #c ,see the
 dispatch quoted by ,gregorovius1 ,stadt
 ,rom1 vol4     vii4 p4 #g1 note4       
#d ,op4 ,ined4 ,ricordi ,no4 #bh4       
,compare ,ariosto1 ,satire i4           
#bjh-bg4      #e ,guicciardini had been 
secretary and vicegerent of the         
,medicean ,popes4 ,see back1 p4 #bjf4   
,these utterances are all the more      
remarkable because they do not proceed  
from the deep sense of holiness which   
animated reformers like ,savonarola4    
,machiavelli was not zealous for the    
doctrines of ,christianity so much as   

for the decencies of an established     
religion4 ,in one passage of the        
,discorsi he even pronounces his opinion
 that the ,christian faith compared with
 the creeds of antiquity1 had enfeebled 
national spirit4#a ,privately1 moreover1
 he was himself stained with the moral  
corruption which he publicly condemned4 
,guicciardini1 again1 in the passage    
before us1 openly avows his egotism4    
,keen-sighted as they were in theory1   
these politicians suffered in their own 
lives from that gangrene which had      
penetrated the upper classes of ,italy  
to the marrow4 ,their patriotism and    
their desire for righteousness were not 
strong enough to make them relinquish   
the pleasure and the profit they derived
 from the existing state of things4 ,nor
 had they the energy or the opportunity 
to institute a thorough revolution4     
,italy1 as ,machiavelli pointed out in  
another passage of the ,discorsi1 had   
become too prematurely decrepit for     
reinvigorating changes2#b and the       

splendid appeal with which the ,principe
 is closed must even to its author have 
sounded like a flourish of rhetorical   
trumpets4      #a ,discorsi1 ii4 #b1    
iii4 #a4 ,these chapters breathe the    
bitterest contempt for ,christianity1   
the most undisguised     hatred for its 
historical development1 the intensest   
rancor     against ,catholic            
ecclesiastics4      #b ,discorsi1 i4    
#ee4  ,moreover1 it seemed impossible   
for an ,italian to rise above the       
conception of a merely formal           
reformation1 or to reach that higher    
principle of life which consists in the 
enunciation of a new religious truth4   
,the whole argument in the ,discorsi    
which precedes the chapter ,i have      
quoted1 treats religion not in its      
essence as pure ,christianity1 but as a 
state engine for the maintenance of     
public order and national well-being4#a 
,that ,milton and ,cromwell may have so 
regarded religion is true3 but they had1
 besides1 a personal sense of the       

necessity of righteousness1 the fear of 
,god1 at the root of their political    
convictions4 ,while ,machiavelli and    
,guicciardini wished to deprive the     
,popes of temporal sovereignty1 in order
 that the worst scandals of their ,court
 might be suppressed1 and that the peace
 of ,italy might be secured1 ,savonarola
 desired to purge the ,church of sin1   
but to retain its hierarchy and its     
dogmas inviolate4 ,neither the          
politicians nor the prophet had         
discerned1 what ,luther and the nations 
of the ,north saw clearly1 that a fresh 
element of spiritual vitality was       
necessary for the regeneration of       
society2 or in other words1 that good   
government presupposes living religion1 
and not that religion should be used as 
an engine for the consolidation of      
empire over the people4#b      #a ,mach4
 ,disc4 i4 #ab1 after exposing the shams
 on which1 as     he believed1 the      
religious institutions of ,numa rested1 
asserts     that1 however much governors

 may be persuaded of the falseness      
of religions1 it is their duty to       
maintain them3 'e debbono 444     come  
che le giudicassero false1 favorirle e  
accrescerle4'      #b ,yet read the     
curious passage 7,disc4 iii4 #a7 in     
which     ,machiavelli discusses the    
regeneration of religion by a return    
to its vital principle1 and shows how   
,s4 ,francis and ,s4 ,dominic     had   
done this in the thirteenth century4 ,it
 was precisely what     ,luther was     
designing while ,machiavelli was        
writing4  ,the inherent feebleness of   
,italy in this respect proceeded from an
 intellectual apathy toward religious   
questions1 produced partly by the stigma
 attaching to unorthodoxy1 partly by the
 absorbing interests of secular culture1
 partly by the worldliness of the       
,renaissance1 partly by the infamy of   
the ecclesiastics1 and partly by the    
enervating influence of tyrannies4      
,however bold a man might be1 he dread  
of heretic2 the term paterino1          

originally applied to religious         
innovators1 had become synonymous in    
common phraseology with rogue4 ,it was a
 point of good society and refined taste
 to support the ,church4 ,again1 the    
mental faculties of ,italy had for three
 centuries been taxed to the utmost in  
studies wide apart from the field of    
religious faith4 ,art1 scholarship1     
philosophy1 and meditation upon politics
 had given a definite direction to the  
minds of thinking men1 so that little   
energy was left for those instinctive   
movements of the spirit which produced  
the ,german ,reformation4 ,the great    
work of ,italy had been the genesis of  
the ,renaissance1 the development of    
modern culture4 ,and the tendencies of  
the ,renaissance were worldly3 its ideal
 of human life left no room for a pure1 
and ardent intuition into spiritual     
truth4 ,scholars occupied with the      
interpretation of classic authors1      
artists bent upon investing current     
notions with the form of beauty1 could  

hardly be expected to exclaim3 ',the    
fear of the ,lord1 that is wisdom2 and  
to depart from evil1 that is            
understanding4'#a ,materialism ruled the
 speculations no less than the conduct  
of the age4 ,pamponazzo preached an     
atheistic doctrine1 with the plausible  
reservation of ,salva ,fide1 which then 
covered all4 ,the more delicate         
thinkers1 ,pico and ,ficino1 sought to  
reconcile irreconcilables by fusing     
philosophy and theology1 while they     
distinguished truths of science from    
truths of revelation4 ,it seems         
meanwhile to have occurred to no one in 
,italy that the liberation of the reason
 necessitated an abrupt departure from  
,catholicism4 ,they did not perceive    
that a power antagonistic to mediaeval  
orthodoxy had been generated4 ,this was 
in great measure due to indifference2   
for the ,church herself had taught her  
children by example to regard her dogmas
 and her discipline as a convenient     
convention4 ,it required all the        

scourges of the ,inquisition to flog the
 nation back1 not to lively faith1 but  
to hypocrisy4 ,furthermore1 the         
political conditions of ,italy were     
highly unfavorable to a profound        
religious revolution4 ,the thirst for   
national liberty which inspired ,england
 in the sixteenth century1 impelling the
 despotic ,tudors to cast off the yoke  
of ,rome1 arming ,howard the ,catholic  
against the holy fleet of ,philip1 and  
joining prince and people in one        
aspiration after freedom1 was impossible
 in ,italy4 ,the tone of ,machiavelli's 
,principe1 the whole tenor of           
,castiglione's ,cortigiano1 prove this  
without the need of further             
demonstration4      #a ,it is well known
 that ,savonarola's objection to        
classical     culture was based upon his
 perception of its worldliness4 ,it is  
very remarkable to note the feeling on  
this point of some of     the greatest  
northern scholars4 ,erasmus1 for        
example1 writes3     'unus adhuc        

scrupulus habet animum meum1 ne sub     
obtentu priscae     literaturae         
renascentis caput erigere conetur       
,paganismus1 ut     sunt inter          
,christianos qui titulo paene duntaxat  
,christum     agnoscunt1 ceterum intus  
,gentilitatem spirant'--,letter #bjg    
7quoted by ,milman in his ,quarterly    
article on ,erasmus74 ,ascham     and   
,melanchthon passed similar judgments   
upon the ,italian     scholars4 ,the    
nations of the north had the ,italians  
at a     disadvantage1 for they entered 
into their labors1 and all the          
dangerous work of sympathy with the     
ancient world1 upon which     modern    
scholarship was based1 had been done in 
,italy before     ,germany and ,england 
came into the field4  ,few things are   
more difficult than to estimate the     
exact condition of a people at any given
 period with regard to morality and     
religion4 ,and this difficulty is       
increased tenfold when the age presents 
such rapid transitions and such         

bewildering complexities as mark the    
,renaissance4 ,yet we cannot omit to    
notice the attitude of the ,italians at 
large in relation to the ,church1 and to
 determine in some degree the character 
of their national morality4 ,against the
 corruption of ,rome one cry of hatred  
and contempt arises from a crowd of     
witnesses4 ,dante's fiery denunciations1
 ,jacopone's threats1 the fierce        
invectives of ,petrarch1 and the        
thundering prophecies of ,joachim lead  
the chorus4 ,boccaccio follows with his 
scathing irony4 ',send the most         
obstinate ,jew to ,rome1' he says1 'and 
the profligacy of the ,papal ,court will
 not fail to convert him to the faith   
that can resist such obloquy4'#a        
,another glaring scandal was the        
condition of the convents4 ,all         
novelists combine in painting the       
depravity of the religious houses as a  
patent fact in social life4 ,boccaccio1 
,sacchetti1 ,bandello1 and ,masuccio may
 be mentioned in particular for their   

familiar delineation of a profligacy    
which was interwoven with the national  
existence4#b ,the comic poets take the  
same course1 and delight in ridiculing  
the gross manners of the clergy4 ,nor do
 the ecclesiasties spare themselves4    
,poggio1 the author of the ,facetiae1   
held benefices and places at the ,papal 
,court4 ,bandello was a ,dominican and  
nephew of the ,general of his order4    
,folengo was a ,benedictine4 ,bibbiena  
became a cardinal4 ,berni received a    
,canonry in the ,cathedral of ,florence4
 ,such was the open and acknowledged    
immorality of the priests in ,rome that 
more than one ,papal edict was issued   
forbidding them to keep houses of bad   
repute or to act as panders4#c ,among   
the aphorisms of ,pius ,,ii4 is recorded
 the saying that if there were good     
reasons for enjoining celibacy on the   
clergy1 there were far better and       
stronger arguments for insisting on     
their marriage4#d      #a ,we may       
compare this ,umbrian ,rispetto for the 

opposite view4            ,a ,roma      
,santa ce so gito anch'io1           ,e 
ho visto co'miei occhi il fatto mio3    
,e quando a ,roma ce s'e posto il piede1
           ,resta la rabbia e se ne va  
la fede4      #b ,it may not be out of  
place to collect some passages from     
,masuccio's ,novelle on the ,clergy1    
premising that what he writes     with  
the fierceness of indignation is        
repeated with the     cynicism of       
indulgence by contemporary novelists4   
,speaking of     the ,popes1 he says    
7ed1 ,napoli1 ,morano1 #ahgd73 'me      
tacero non     solo de loro scelesti ed 
enormissimi vizi e pubblici e occulti   
adoperati1 e de li officii1 de          
beneficil1 prelature1 i vermigli        
cappelli1 che all' incanto per loro     
morte vendono1 ma del     camauro del   
principe ,san ,pietro che ne e gia stato
 latto     partuito baratto non faro    
alcuna mentione4' ,descending to        
prelates1 he uses similar language 7p4  
#fd73 'non possa mai     pervenire ad   

alcun grado di prelatura se non col     
favore del     maestro della zecca1 e   
quelle conviensela comprare all' incanto
     come si fa dei cavalli in fiera4'  
,a priest is 7p4 #ca7 'il     venerabile
 lupo4' ,the members of religious orders
 are 7p4 #ecd7     'ministri de         
satanasso 444 soldati del gran diavolo3 
7p4 #be7     'piu facilmente tra cento  
soldati se ne trovarebbero la meta      
buoni1 che tra tutto un capitolo de     
frati ne fosse uno senza     bruttissima
 macchia4' ,it is perilous to hold any  
communication     with them 7p4 #ci73   
',con loro non altri che usurai1        
fornicatori1     e omini di mala sorte  
conversare si vedeno4' ,their sins      
against     nature 7p4 #fe71 the secret 
marriages of monks and nuns 7p4 #hc71   
the 'fetide cioache oi monache1' choked 
with the fruits of     infanticide 7p4  
#ha71 not to mention their avarice 7p4  
#ee7 and     gross impiety 7p4 #eb71 are
 described with a naked sincerity       
that bears upon its face the stamp of   

truth4      #c ,a famous passage from   
,agrippa 7,de ,vanitate ,scientiarum7   
deserves a place here4 ,after alluding  
to ,sixtus ,,iv1 he says     that many  
state officers 'in civitatibus suis     
lupanaria     construunt foventque1 non 
nihil ex meretricio questu etiam        
aerario suo accumulantes emolumenti2    
quod quidem in ,italia non     rarum    
est1 ubi etiam ,romana scorta in        
singulas hebdomadas     ,julium pendent 
,pontifici1 qui census annuus nonnunquam
 viginti     millia ducatos excedit1    
adeoque ,ecclesiae procerum id munus    
est1     ut una cum ,ecclesiarum        
proventibus etiam lenociniorum numerent 
mercedem4 ,sic enim ego illos           
supputantes aliquando audivi3           
,habet1 inquientes1 ille duo beneficia1 
unum curaturn aureorum     viginti1     
alterum prioratum ducatorum quadraginta1
 el tres     putanas in burdello1 quae  
reddunt singulis hebdomadibus ,julios   
,viginti4'      #d ,very few            
ecclesiastics of high rank escaped the  

contagion     of ,roman society4 ,it was
 fashionable for men like ,bembo and ,la
     ,casa to form connections with     
women of the demi-monde and to          
recognize their children1 whose         
legitimation they frequently            
procured4 ,the ,capitoli of the         
burlesque poets show that this          
laxity of conduct was pardonable1 when  
compared with other     laughingly      
avowed and all but universal            
indulgences4 ,once more1     compare    
,guidiccioni's letter to ,m4 ,giamb4    
,bernardi ,opp4 vol4 i4     p4 #ajb4    
,some of the contempt and hatred        
expressed by the ,italian satirists for 
the two great orders of ,s4 ,francis and
 ,s4 ,dominic may perhaps be due to an  
ancient grudge against them as a ,papal 
police founded in the interests of      
orthodoxy4 ,but the chief point aimed at
 is the mixture of hypocrisy with       
immorality1 which rendered them odious  
to all classes of society4 ,at the same 
time the ,franciscans embraced among    

their lay brethren nearly all the       
population of ,italy1 and to die in the 
habit of the order was thought the      
safest way of cheating the devil of his 
due4 ,corruption had gone so far and    
deep that it was universally recognized 
and treated with the sarcasm of levity4 
,it roused no sincere reaction1 and     
stimulated no persistent indignation4   
,every one acknowledged it2 yet every   
one continued to live indolently        
according to the fashion of his         
forefathers1 acting up to ,ovid's       
maxim--                  ,pro magna     
parte vetustas   ,creditur2 acceptam    
parce movere fidem4  ,it is only this   
incurable indifference that renders     
,machiavelli's comic portraits of ,fra  
,alberigo and ,fra ,timoteo at all      
intelligible4 ,they are neither satires 
nor caricatures1 but simple pictures    
drawn for the amusement of              
contemporaries and the stupefaction of  
posterity4  ,the criticism of the       
,italian writers1 so far as we have yet 

followed it1 was directed against two   
separate evils--the vicious worldliness 
of ,rome1 and the demoralization of the 
clergy both in their dealings with the  
people and in their conventual life4    
,contempt for false miracles and        
spurious reliques1 and the horror of the
 traffic in indulgences1 swelled the    
storm of discontent among the more      
enlightened4 ,but the people continued  
to make saints1 to adore wonder-working 
shrines1 and to profit by the spiritual 
advantages which could be bought4 ,pius 
,,ii41 mindful of the honor of his      
native city1 canonized ,s4 ,bernardine  
and ,s4 ,catherine of ,siena4 ,innocent 
,,viii consecrated a chapel for the     
,lance of ,longinus1 which he had       
received from the ,turk as part-payment 
for the guardianship of ,djem4 ,the     
,venetian ,senate offered #aj1jjj ducats
 for the seamless coat of ,christ       
7#adee74 ,the whole of ,italy was       
agitated by the news that ,s4 ,andrew's 
head had arrived from ,patras 7#adfb74  

,the ,pope and his ,cardinals went forth
 to meet it near the ,milvian bridge4   
,there ,pius ,,ii4 pronounced a ,latin  
speech of welcome1 while ,bessarion     
delivered an oration when the precious  
member was deposited in ,s4 ,peter's4   
,in this passion for reliques two       
different sentiments seem to have been  
combined--the merely superstitious      
belief in the efficacy of charms1 which 
caused the ,venetians to guard the body 
of ,s4 ,mark so jealously1 and the      
,neapolitans to watch the liqifaction of
 the blood of ,s4 ,januarius with a     
frenzy of excitement--and that nobler   
respect for the persons of the mighty   
dead which induced ,sigismondo          
,malatesta to transport the body of     
,gemistus ,pletho to ,rimini1 and which 
rendered the supposed coffin of         
,aristotle at ,palermo an object of     
admiration to ,mussulman and ,christian 
alike4 ,the bones of ,virgil1 it will be
 remembered1 had been built into the    
walls of ,naples1 while those of ,livy  

were honored with splendid sepulture at 
,padua4  ,owing to the separation       
between religion and morality which     
existed in ,italy under the influence of
 ,papal and monastic profligacy1 the    
,italians saw no reason why spiritual   
benefits should not be purchased from a 
notoriously rapacious ,pontiff1 or why  
the penalty of hell should not depend   
upon the mere word of a consecrated     
monster4 ,the ,pope as successor of ,s4 
,peter1 and the ,pope as ,roman         
sovereign1 were two separate beings4    
,many curious indications of the mixed  
feeling of the people upon this point1  
and of the advantage which the ,pope    
derived from his anomalous position1 may
 be gathered from the historians of the 
period4 ,machiavelli1 in his narrative  
of the massacre at ,sinigaglia1 relates 
that ,vitellozzo ,vitelli1 while being  
strangled by ,cesare ,borgia's assassin1
 begged hard that the father of his     
murderer1 the horrible ,alexander1 might
 be entreated to pronounce his          

absolution4 ,the same ,alexander was    
nearly suffocated in the ,vatican by the
 ,french soldiers who crowded round to  
kiss his mantle1 and who had made him   
tremble for his life a few days         
previously4 ,cellini on his knees       
implored ,pope ,clement to absolve him  
from the guilt of homicide and theft1   
yet spoke of him as 'transformed to a   
savage beast' by a sudden access of     
fury4 ,at one time he trembled before   
the awful ,majesty of ,christ's ,vicar1 
revealed in ,paul ,,iii42 at another he 
reviled him as a man 'who neither       
believed in ,god nor in any other       
article of religion4 ,a mysterious      
sanctity environed the person of the    
,pontiff4 ,when ,gianpaolo ,baglioni    
held ,julius ,,ii4 in his power in      
,perugia1 he respected the ,pope's      
freedom1 though he knew that ,julius    
would overthrow his tyranny4            
,machiavelli condemns this as cowardice1
 but it was wholly consistent with the  
sentiment of the age4 ',it cannot have  

been goodness or conscience which       
restrained him1' writes the philosopher 
of ,florence1 'for the heart of a man   
who cohabited with his sister1 and had  
massacred his cousins and his nephews1  
could not have harbored any piety4 ,we  
must conclude that men know not how to  
be either guilty in a noble manner1 or  
entirely good4 ,although crime may have 
a certain grandeur of its own1 or at    
least a mixture of more generous        
motives1 they do not attain to this4    
,gianpaolo1 careless though he was about
 incest and parricide1 could not1 or    
dared not1 on a just occasion1 achieve  
an exploit for which the whole world    
would have admired his spirit1 and by   
which he would have won immortal glory3 
for he would have been the first to show
 how little prelates1 living and ruling 
as they do1 deserve to be esteemed1 and 
would have done a deed superior in its  
greatness to all the infamy1 to all the 
peril1 that it might have brought with  
it4'#a ,it is difficult to know which to

 admire most1 the superstition of       
,gianpaolo1 or the cynicism of the      
commentary1 the spurious piety which    
made the tyrant miss his opportunity1 or
 the false standard of moral sublimity  
by which the half-ironical critic       
measures his mistake4 ,in combination   
they produce a lively impression of the 
truth of what ,i have attempted to      
establish--that in ,italy at this period
 religion survived as superstition even 
among the most depraved1 and that the   
crimes of the ,church had produced a    
schism between this superstition and    
morality4      #a ,discorsi1 i4 #bg4    
,this episode in ,gianpaolo ,baglioni's 
life may be illustrated by the curious  
story told about ,gabrino     ,fondulo1 
the tyrant of ,cremona4 ,the ,emperor   
,sigismund and ,pope     ,john ,,xxiii4 
were his guests together in the year    
#adad4 ,part of     their entertainment 
consisted in visiting the sights of     
,cremona     with their host1 who took  
them up the great ,tower 7#cif feet     

high7 without any escort4 ,they all     
three returned safely1 but     when     
,gabrino was executed at ,milan in      
#adbe1 he remarked that he     only     
regretted one thing in the course of his
 life--namely1     that he had not      
pitched ,pope and ,emperor together from
 the     ,torazzo4 ,what a golden       
opportunity to have let slip6 ,the story
     is told by ,antonio ,campo1        
,historia di ,cremona 7,milan1 #afde71  
p4 #aad4  ,while the ,church was thus   
gradually deviating more and more       
directly from the ,christian ideal1 and 
was exhibiting to ,italy an ensample of 
worldliness and evil living1 the        
,italians1 earlier than any other       
,european nation1 had become imbued with
 the spirit of the ancient world4       
,instead of the ,gospel and the ,lives  
of the ,saints1 men studied ,plutarch   
and ,livy with avidity4 ,the            
tyrannicides of ,greece and the suicides
 of the ,roman ,empire1 patriots like   
,harmodius and ,brutus1 philosophers    

like ,seneca and ,paetus ,thrasea1      
seemed to the humanists of the fifteenth
 century more admirable than the martyrs
 and confessors of the faith4 ,pagan    
virtues were strangely mingled with     
confused and ill-assimilated precepts of
 the ,christian ,church1 while pagan    
vices wore a halo borrowed from the     
luster of the newly found and           
passionately welcomed poets of          
antiquity4 ,blending the visionary      
intuitions of the ,middle ,ages with the
 positive and mundane ethics of the     
ancients1 the ,italians of the          
,renaissance strove to adopt the        
sentiments and customs of an age long   
dead and not to be resuscitated4 ,at the
 same time the rhetorical taste of the  
nation inclined the more adventurous and
 passionate natures to seek glory by    
dramatic exhibitions of personal        
heroism4 ,the ,greek ideal of ,greek3 to
 ealon1 the ,roman conception of        
,virtus1 agitated the imagination of a  
people who had been powerfully          

influenced by professors of eloquence1  
by public orators1 by men of letters1   
masters in the arts of style and of     
parade4 ,painting and sculpture1 and    
that magnificence of public life which  
characterized the fifteenth century1    
contributed to the substitution of      
aesthetic for moral or religious        
standards4 ,actions were estimated by   
the effect which they produced2 and to  
sin against the laws of culture was of  
more moment than to transgress the code 
of ,christianity4 ,still1 the men of the
 ,renaissance could not forget the creed
 which they had drawn in with their     
mothers' milk1 but which the ,church had
 not adjusted to the new conditions of  
the growing age4 ,the result was a wild 
phantasmagoric chaos of confused and    
clashing influences4  ,of this peculiar 
moral condition the records of the      
numerous tyrannicides supply many       
interesting examples4#a ,girolamo       
,olgiati offered prayers to ,s4 ,ambrose
 for protection before he stabbed the   

,duke of ,milan in ,s4 ,stephen's       
,church4#b ,the ,pazzi conspirators1    
intimidated by the sanctity of the      
,florentine ,duomo1 had to employ a     
priest to wield the sacrilegious        
dagger4#c ,pietro ,paolo ,boscoli's last
 confession1 after the failure of his   
attempt to assassinate the ,medici in   
#aeac1 adds further details in          
illustration of the mixture of religious
 feeling with patriotic paganism4 ,luca 
della ,robbia1 the nephew of the great  
sculptor of that name1 and himself no   
mean artist1 visited his friend ,boscoli
 on the night of his execution1 and     
wrote a minute account of their         
interview4 ,both of these men were      
members of the ,confraternita de' ,neri1
 who assumed the duty of comforting     
condemned prisoners with spiritual      
counsel1 prayer1 and exhortation4 ,the  
narrative1 dictated in the choicest     
vernacular ,tuscan1 by an artist whose  
charity and beauty of soul transpire in 
every line in contrast with the fiercer 

fortitude of ,boscoli1 is one of the    
most valuable original documents for    
this period which we possess4#d ,what is
 most striking is the combination of    
deeply rooted and almost infantine piety
 with antique heroism in the young      
patriot4 ,he is greatly concerned       
because1 ignorant of his approaching    
end1 he had eaten a hearty supper3 ',son
 troppo carico di cibo1 et ho           
mangiatccose insalate2 in modo che non  
mi pare poter unir ,io spirito a ,dio   
444 ,iddio abbi di me misericordia1 che 
costoro m' hanno carico di cibo4 ,oh    
indiscrezione6'#e ,then he expresses a  
vehement desire for the services of a   
learned confessor1 to resolve his       
intellectual doubts1 pleading with all  
the earnestness of desperate conviction 
that the salvation of his soul must     
depend upon his orthodoxy at the last4  
,he complains that he ought to have been
 allowed at least a month's seclusion   
with good friars before he was brought  
face to face with death4 ,at another    

time he is chiefly anxious to free      
himself from classic memories3 ',deh6   
,luca1 cavatemi della testa quel ,bruto1
 accio ch' io faccia questo passo       
interamente da ,cristiano'4#f ,then     
again it grieves him that the tears of  
compunction1 which he has been taught to
 regard as the true sign of a soul at   
one with ,god1 will not flow4 ,about the
 mere fact of dying he has no anxiety4  
,the philosophers have strengthened him 
upon that point4 ,he is only eager to   
die piously4 ,when he tries to pray1 he 
can barely remember the ,paternoster and
 the ,ave ,maria4 ,that reminds him how 
easy it would have been to have spent   
his time better1 and he bids ,luca      
remember that the mind a man makes for  
himself in life1 will be with him in    
death4 ,when they bring him a picture of
 ,christ1 he asks whether he needs that 
to fix his soul upon his ,saviour4      
,throughout this long contention of so  
many varying thoughts1 he never         
questions the morality of the act for   

which he is condemned to die4 ,luca1    
however1 has his doubts1 and privately  
asks the confessor whether ,s4 ,thomas  
,aquinas had not discountenanced        
tyrannicide4 ',yes1' answers the monk1  
'in case the people have elected their  
own tyrant1 but not when he has imposed 
himself on them by force4' ,this        
casuistical answer satisfies ,luca that 
his friend may reasonably be held       
blameless4 ,after confessing1 ,boscoli  
received the sacrament with great piety1
 and died bravely4 ,the confessor told  
,luca1 weeping1 that he was sure the    
young man's soul had gone straight to   
,paradise1 and that he might be reckoned
 a real martyr4 ,his head after death   
was like that of an angel2 and ,luca    
was1 we know1 a connoisseur in angels'  
heads4 ,boscoli was only thirty-two     
years of age2 he had light hair1 and was
 short-sighted4      #a ,for the        
,italian ethics of tyrannicide1 see     
back1 pp4 #afi1     #agj4      #b ,see  
p4 #aff4      #c ,see p4 #cih4      #d  

,it is printed in ,arch4 ,stor1 vol4 i4 
#e ',i am over-burdened with food1 and  
,i have eaten salt meats2     so that ,i
 do not seem able to join my spirit to  
,god4444 ,god     have pity on me1 for  
they have burdened me with food4 ,oh1   
how     thoughtless of them6' ,his words
 cannot be translated4 ,naif in     the 
extreme1 they become ludicrous in       
,english4      #f ',ah1 ,luca1 turn that
 ,brutus out of my head1 in order that  
,i     may take this last step wholly as
 a ,christian man6'  ,to this narrative 
might be added the apology written by   
,lorenzino de' ,medici1 after the murder
 of his cousin ,alessandro in #aecf4a   
,he relies for his defense entirely upon
 arguments borrowed from ,pagan ethics1 
and by his treatment of the subject     
vindicates for himself that name of     
,brutus with which ,filippo ,strozzi in 
person at ,venice1 and ,varchi and      
,molsa in ,latin epigrams1 saluted him4 
,there is no trace of ,christian feeling
 in this strong and splendid display of 

rhetorical ability2 nor does any        
document of the age more forcibly       
exhibit the extent to which classical   
studies had influenced the morality of  
the ,renaissance4 ,lorenzino1 however1  
when he wrote it1 was not1 like         
,boscoli1 upon the point of dying4      
#a ,it is printed at the end of the     
third volume of ,varchi1 pp4            
#bhc-ie2 compare p4 #baj4 ,a medal in   
honor of ,lorenzino's     tyrannicide   
was struck with a profile copied from   
,michael     ,angelo's bust of ,brutus4 
,the last thing to perish in a nation is
 its faith4 ,the whole history of the   
world proves that no anomalies are so   
glaring1 no inconsistencies so          
paradoxical1 as to sap the credit of a  
religious system which has once been    
firmly rooted in the habits1 instincts1 
and traditions of a race3 and what      
remains longest is often the least      
rational portion4 ,religions from the   
first are not the product of logical    
reflection or experiment1 but of        

sentiment and aspiration4 ,they come    
into being as simple intuitions1 and    
afterwards invade the province of the   
reason and assimilate the thought of    
centuries to their own conceptions4     
,this is the secret of their strength as
 well as the source of their weakness4  
,it is only a stronger enthusiasm1 a new
 intuition1 a fresh outburst of         
emotional vitality1 that can supplant   
the old3--    ',cotal rimedio ha questo 
aspro furore1     ,tale acqua suole     
spegner questo fuoco1     ,come d'asse  
si trae chiodo con chiodo4'  ,criticism 
from without1 internal corruption1      
patent absurdity1 are comparatively     
powerless to destroy those habits of    
belief which once have taken hold upon  
the fancy and the feeling of a nation4  
,the work of dissolution proceeds in    
silence and in secret4 ,but the         
established order subsists until the    
moment comes for a new synthesis4 ,and  
in the sixteenth century the necessary  
impulse of regeneration was to come1 not

 from ,italy1 satisfied with the        
serenity of her art1 preoccupied with   
her culture1 and hardened to the infamy 
of her corruption1 but from the ,germany
 of the barbarians she despised4  ,these
 considerations will help to explain how
 it was that the ,church1 in spite of   
its corruption1 stood its ground and    
retained the respect of the people in   
,italy4 ,we must moreover bear in mind  
that1 bad as it was1 it still to some   
extent maintained the ,christian verity4
 ,apart from the ,roman ,curia and the  
,convents1 there existed a hierarchy of 
able and ,god-fearing men1 who by the   
sanctity of their lives1 by the gravity 
of their doctrine1 by the eloquence of  
their preaching1 by their ministration  
to the sick1 by the relief of the poor1 
by the maintenance of hospitals1 ,monti 
di ,pieta1 schools and orphanages1 kept 
alive in the people of ,italy the ideal 
at least of a religion pure and         
undefiled before ,god4#a ,in the        
tottering statue of the ,church some    

true metal might be found between the   
pinchbeck at the summit and the clay of 
the foundation4      #a ,see the life of
 ,s4 ,antonino1 the good ,archbishop of 
,florence4  ,it must also be remembered 
how far the worldly interests and       
domestic sympathies of the ,italians    
were engaged in the maintenance of their
 ,church system4 ,the fibers of the     
,church were intertwined with the very  
heartstrings of the people4 ,few        
families could not show one or more     
members who had chosen the clerical     
career1 and who looked to ,rome for     
patronage1 employment1 and perhaps      
advancement to the highest honors4 ,the 
whole nation felt a pride in the        
,eternal ,city3 patriotic vanity and    
personal interest were alike involved in
 the maintenance of the metropolis of   
,christendom1 which drew the suites of  
ambassadors1 multitudes of pilgrims1 and
 the religious traffic of the whole of  
,europe to the shores of ,italy4 ,it was
 easy for ,germans and ,englishmen to   

reason calmly about dethroning the      
,papal hierarchy4 ,italians1 however    
they might loathe the temporal power1   
could not willingly forego the spiritual
 primacy of the civilized world4        
,moreover1 the sacraments of the        
,church1 the absolutions1 consecrations1
 and benedictions which priests         
dispensed or withheld at pleasure1 had  
by no means lost their power4 ,to what  
extent even the nations of the north    
still clung to them is proved by our own
 ,liturgy1 framed in the tumult of war  
with ,rome1 yet so worded as to leave   
the utmost resemblance to the old ritual
 consistent with the spirit of the      
,reformation4 ,far more imposing were   
they in their effect upon the           
imagination of ,italians1 who had never 
dreamed of actual rebellion1 who        
possessed the fountain of ,apostolical  
privileges in the person of the ,pope1  
and whose southern temperament inclined 
them to a more sensuous and less        
metaphysical conception of ,christianity

 than the ,germans or the ,english4 ,the
 dread of the ,papal ,interdict was     
still a reality4 ,though the clergy of  
,florence1 roused to retaliative fury1  
might fling back in the teeth of ,sixtus
 such words as leno matris suae1        
adulterorum minister1 diaboli vicarius1 
yet the people could not long endure    
'the niggardly and imperfect rites1 the 
baptism sparingly administered1 the     
extreme unction or the last sacrament   
coldly vouchsafed to the chosen few1 the
 churchyard closed against the dead1'   
which1 to quote the energetic language  
of ,dean ,milman1#a were the proper     
fruits of the ,papal ban1 however       
unjustly issued and however manfully    
resisted4      #a ,latin ,christianity1 
vol4 vi4 p4 #cfa4  ,the history of the  
despots and the ,popes1 together with   
the analysis of ,machiavelli's political
 ethics1 prove the demoralization of a  
society in which crimes so extravagant  
could have their origin1 and cynicism so
 deliberate could be accepted as a      

system4 ,yet it remains in estimating   
the general character of ,italian       
morality to record the judgment passed  
upon it by foreign nations of a         
different complexion4 ,the morality of  
races1 as of individuals1 is rarely     
otherwise than mixed--virtue balancing  
vice and evil vitiating goodness4 ,still
 the impression produced by ,renaissance
 ,italy upon observers from the ,north  
was almost wholly bad4 ,our own         
ancestors returned from their ,italian  
travels either horrified with what they 
had witnessed1 or else contaminated4    
,ascham writes3#a ',i was once in ,italy
 myself2 but ,i thank ,god my abode     
there was but nine days2 and yet ,i saw 
in that little time1 in one city1 more  
liberty to sin than ever ,i heard tell  
of in our noble ,city of ,london in nine
 years4 ,i saw it was there as free to  
sin1 not only without all punishment1   
but also without any man's marking1 as  
it is free in the ,city of ,london to   
choose without all blame whether a man  

lust to wear shoe or pantocle4' ,robert 
,greene1 who did so much to introduce   
the novels of ,italy into ,england1     
confesses that during his youthful      
travels in the south he 'saw and        
practiced such villany as it is         
abominable to declare4'#b ,the whole of 
our dramatic literature corroborates    
these witnesses1 while the proverb1     
,inglese ,italianato e un diavolo       
incarnato1 quoted by ,sidney1 ,howell1  
,parker1 ,ascham1 shows how pernicious  
to the coarser natures of the north were
 the refined vices of the south4 ,what  
principally struck our ancestors in the 
morality of the ,italians was the       
license allowed in sensual indulgences1 
and the bad faith which tainted all     
public and private dealings4 ,in respect
 to the latter point1 what has already  
been said about ,machiavelli is         
enough4#c ,loyalty was a virtue but     
little esteemed in ,italy3 engagements  
seemed made to be broken2 even the crime
 of violence was aggravated by the crime

 of perfidy1 a bravo's stiletto or a    
slow poison being reckoned among the    
legitimate means for ridding men of     
rivals or for revenging a slight4 ,yet  
it must not be forgotten that the       
commercial integrity of the ,italians   
ranked high4 ,in all countries of       
,europe they carried on the banking     
business of monarchs1 cities1 and       
private persons4      #a ,the           
,schoolmaster2 edn4 #ahfc1 p4 #hg4 ,the 
whole discourse     on ,italian         
traveling and ,italian influence is very
 curious1     when we reflect that at   
this time contact with ,italy was       
forming the chief culture of the        
,english in literature and     social   
manners4 ,the ninth satire in ,marston's
 ,scourge of     ,villanie contains much
 interesting matter on the same point4  
,howell's ,instructions for forreine    
,travell furnishes the     following    
illustration3 ',and being in ,italy1    
that great     limbique of working      
braines1 he must be very circumspect in 

his     carriage1 for she is able to    
turne a ,saint into a devill1 and       
deprave the best natures1 if one will   
abandon himself1 and     become a prey  
to dissolute courses and wantonnesse4'  
#b ,the ,repentance of ,robert ,greene1 
quoted in the memoir to     ,dyce's     
edition of his ,dramatic ,works4      #c
 ,see chapter v4  ,with reference to    
carnal vice1 it cannot be denied that   
the corruption of ,italy was shameful4  
,putting aside the profligacy of the    
convents1 the ,city of ,rome in #adij is
 reported to have held as many as #f1hjj
 public prostitutes1 besides those who  
practiced their trade under the cloak of
 concubinage4#a ,these women were       
accompanied by confederate ruffians1    
ready to stab1 poison1 and extort money2
 thus violence and lust went hand in    
hand1 and to this profligate lower      
stratum of society may be ascribed the  
crimes of lawlessness which rendered    
,rome under ,innocent ,,viii4 almost    
uninhabitable4 ,venice1 praised for its 

piety by ,de ,comines1#b was the resort 
of all the debauchees of ,europe who    
could afford the time and money to visit
 this modern ,corinth4 ,tom ,coryat1 the
 eccentric ,english traveler1 gives a   
curious account of the splendor and     
refinement displayed by the demi-monde  
of the lagoons1 and ,marston describes  
,venice as a school of luxury in which  
the monstrous ,aretine played           
professor4#c ,of the state of morals in 
,florence ,savonarola's sermons give the
 best picture4      #a ,infessura1 p4   
#aiig4 ,he adds3 ',consideratur modo    
qualiter     vivatur ,romae ubi caput   
fidei est4' ,from what ,parent          
,duchatelet     7,prostitution dans la  
,ville de ,paris1 p4 #bg7 has noted     
concerning the tendency to exaggerate   
the numbers of     prostitutes in any   
given town1 we have every reason to     
regard     the estimate of ,infessura as
 excessive4 ,in ,paris1 in #ahed1       
there were only #d1bjf registered       
'filles publiques1' when the            

population of the city numbered         
#a1ejj1jjj persons2 while those     who 
exercised their calling clandestinely   
were variously     computed at #bj1jjj  
or #dj1jjj and upwards to #fj1jjj4      
,accurate     statistics relating to the
 population of any ,italian city in     
the fifteenth century do not1           
unfortunately1 exist4      #b ,memoirs1 
lib4 vii4 ',c'est la plus triomphante   
cite que     j'ai jamais vue1 et qui    
plus fait d'honneur a ambassadeurs et   
etrangers1 et qui plus sagement se      
gouverne1 et ou le service     de ,dieu 
est le plus solemnellement faict4' ,the 
prostitutes of     ,venice were computed
 to number #aa1fed so far back as the   
end of     the #adth century4 ,see      
,filiasi1 quoted by ,mutinelli in his   
,annali urbani di ,venezia4      #c     
,satires1 ii4  ,but the characteristic  
vice of the ,italian was not coarse     
sensuality4 ,he required the fascination
 of the fancy to be added to the        
allurement of the senses4#a ,it is this 

which makes the ,capitoli of the        
burlesque poets1 of men of note like    
,berni1 ,la ,casa1 ,varchi1 ,mauro1     
,molsa1 ,dolce1 ,bembo1 ,firenzuola1    
,bronzino1 ,aretino1 and de' ,medici1 so
 amazing4 ,the crudest forms of         
debauchery receive the most refined and 
highly finished treatment in poems which
 are as remarkable for their wit as for 
their cynicism4 ,a like vein of         
elaborate innuendo runs through the     
,canti ,carnascialeschi of ,florence1   
proving that however profligate the     
people might have been1 they were not   
contented with grossness unless seasoned
 with wit4 ,the same excitement of the  
fancy1 playing freely in the lawlessness
 of sensual self-indulgence and         
heightening the consciousness of        
personal force in the agent1 rendered   
the exercise of ingenuity or the        
avoidance of peril an enhancement of    
pleasure to the ,italians4 ,this is     
perhaps one of the reasons why all the  
imaginative compositions of the         

,renaissance1 especially the ,novelle1  
turn upon adultery4 ,judging by the     
majority of these romances1 by the      
comedies of the time1 and by the poetry 
of ,ariosto1 we are compelled to believe
 that such illicit love was merely      
sensual1 and owed its principal         
attractions to the scope it afforded for
 whimsical adventures4 ,yet ,bembo's    
,asolani1 ,castiglione's panegyric of   
,platonic ,love1 and much of the lyrical
 poetry in vogue warn us to be cautious4
 ,the old romantic sentiment expressed  
by the ,florentines of the thirteenth   
century still survived to some extent1  
adding a sort of dignity in form at     
least to these affections4      #a ,much
 might be written about the play of the 
imagination     which gave a peculiar   
complexion to the profligacy1 the       
jealousy1 and the vengeance of the      
,italians4 ,i shall have     occasion   
elsewhere to maintain that in their     
literature at     least the ,italians   
were not a highly imaginative race2 nor 

were     they subject to those highly   
wrought conditions of the brooding      
fancy1 termed by the northern nations   
,melancholy1 which ,duerer     has      
personified in his celebrated etching1  
and ,burton has     described in his    
,anatomy4 ,but in their love and hatred1
 their     lust and their cruelty1 the  
,italians required an intellectual      
element which brought the imaginative   
faculty into play4  ,it was due again in
 a great measure to their demand for    
imaginative excitement in all matters of
 the sense1 to their desire for the     
extravagant and extraordinary as a      
seasoning of pleasure1 that the         
,italians came to deserve so terrible a 
name among the nations for unnatural    
passions4#a ,this is a subject which can
 hardly be touched in passing3 yet the  
opinion may be recorded that it belongs 
rather to the science of psychopathy    
than to the chronicle of vulgar lusts4  
,english poets have given us the right  
key to the ,italian temperament1 on this

 as on so many other points4 ,shelley in
 his portrait of ,francesco ,cenci has  
drawn a man in whom cruelty and incest  
have become appetites of the distempered
 soul2 the love of ,giovanni and        
,annabella in ,ford's tragedy is rightly
 depicted as more imaginative than      
sensual4 ,it is no excuse for the       
,italians to say that they had          
spiritualized abominable vices4 ,what   
this really means is that their         
immorality was nearer that of devils    
than of beasts4 ,but in seeking to      
distinguish its true character1 we must 
take notice of the highly wrought       
fantasy which seasoned both their luxury
 and their jealousy1 their vengeance and
 their lust4      #a ,italian literature
 is loud-voiced on this topic4 ,the     
concluding stanzas of ,poliziano's      
,orfeo1 recited before the     ,cardinal
 of ,mantua1 the ,capitoli of ,berni1   
,bronzino1 ,la ,casa1     and some of   
the ,canti ,carnasialeschi1 might be    
cited4 ,we     might add ,varchi's      

express testimony as to the morals of   
,filippo ,strozzi1 ,lorenzino de'       
,medici1 ,pier ,luigi ,farnese1 and     
,clement ,,vii4 ,what ,segni 7lib4 x4 p4
 #dji7 tells us about the     brave     
,giovanni ,bandini is also very         
significant4 ,in the ,life of     ,san  
,bernardino of ,siena1 ,vespasiano      
7,vite di ,illustri ,uomini1     p4     
#ahf7 writes3 ',l',italia1 ch' era piena
 di queste tenebre1 e     aveva lasciata
 ogni norma di buoni costumi1 e non era 
piu chi     conoscesse ,iddio4 ,tanto   
erano sommersi e sepulti ne' maladetti  
e abbominevoli vizi nefandi6 ,gli       
avevano in modo messi in uso1     che   
non temevano ne ,iddio ne l'onore del   
mondo4 ,maladetta     cecita6 ,in tanto 
eccesso era venuto ogni cosa1 che gli   
scellerati ed enormi vizi non era piu   
chi gli stimasse1 per lo     maladetto  
uso che n'avevano fatto 444 massime il  
maladetto e     abominando e detestando 
peccato della sodomia4 ,erano in modo   
stracorsi in questa cecita1 che         

bisognava che l'onnipotente     ,iddio  
facesse un' altra volta piovere dal     
cielo zolfo e fuoco     come egli fece a
 ,sodoma e ,gomorra4' ,compare          
,savonarola passim1     the inductions  
to the ,sacre ,rappresentazioni1 the    
familiar     letters of ,machiavelli1   
and the statute of ,cosimo against this 
vice 7year #aedb1 ,sabellii ,summa4     
,venice1 #agae2 vol4 v4 p4 #bhg74  ,the 
same is to some extent true of their    
cruelty4 ,the really cruel nation of the
 ,renaissance was ,spain1 not ,italy4#a 
,the ,italians1 as a rule1 were gentle  
and humane1 especially in warfare4#b ,no
 ,italian army would systematically have
 tortured the whole population of a     
captured city day after day for months1 
as the ,spaniards did in ,rome and      
,milan1 to satisfy their avarice and    
glut their stolid appetite for blood4   
,their respect for human life again was 
higher than that of the ,french or      
,swiss4 ,they gave quarter to their foes
 upon the battle-field1 and were        

horrified with the massacres in cold    
blood perpetrated at ,fivizzano and     
,rapallo by the army of ,charles ,,viii4
 ,but when the demon of cruelty         
possessed the imagination of an         
,italian1 when1 like ,gian ,maria       
,visconti1 he came to relish the sight  
of torment for its own sake1 or when he 
sought to inspire fear by the spectacle 
of pain1 then no ,spaniard surpassed him
 in the ingenuity of his devices4 ,in   
gratifying his thirst for vengeance he  
was never contented with mere murder4   
,to obtain a personal triumph at the    
expense of his enemy by the display of  
superior cunning1 by rendering him      
ridiculous1 by exposing him to mental as
 well as physical anguish1 by wounding  
him through his affections or his sense 
of honor1 was the end which he pursued4 
,this is why so many acts of violence in
 ,italy assumed fantastic forms4 ,even  
the country folk showed an infernal art 
in the execution of their vendette4 ,to 
serve the flesh of children up to their 

fathers at a meal of courtesy is        
mentioned1 for example1 as one mode of  
wreaking vengeance in country villages4 
,thus the high culture and aesthetic    
temperament of the ,italians gave an    
intellectual quality to their vices4    
,crude lust and bloodshed were insipid  
to their palates3 they required the     
pungent sauce of a melodramatic         
catastrophe4      #a ,those who wish to 
gain a lively notion of ,spanish cruelty
     in ,italy should read1 besides the 
accounts of the ,sacco di ,roma     by  
,guicciardini and ,buonaparte1 the      
narrative of the ,sacco di     ,prato in
 the ,archivio ,storico ,italiano1 vol4 
i41 and     ,cagnola's account of the   
,spanish occupation of ,milan1 ib4 vol4 
iii4      #b ,de ,comines more than once
 notices the humanity shown by the      
,italian peasants to the ,french army4  
,the drunkenness and gluttony of        
northern nations for a like reason found
 no favor in ,italy4 ,it disgusted the  
,romans beyond measure to witness the   

swinish excesses of the ,germans4 ,their
 own sensuality prompted them to a      
refined ,epicureanism in food and drink2
 on this point1 however1 it must be     
admitted that the prelates1 here as     
elsewhere foremost in profligacy1       
disgraced the age of ,leo with banquets 
worthy of ,vitellius4#a ,we trace the   
same play of the fancy1 the same        
promptitude to quicken and intensify the
 immediate sense of personality at any  
cost of after-suffering1 in another     
characteristic vice of the ,italians4   
,gambling among them was carried further
 and produced more harm than it did in  
the transalpine cities4 ,this we gather 
from ,savonarola's denunciations1 from  
the animated pictures drawn by ,alberti 
in his ,trattato della ,famiglia and    
,cena della ,famiglia and also from the 
inductions to many of the ,sacre        
,rappresentazioni4#b      #a ,see       
,gregorovius1 ,stadt ,rom1 vol4 viii4 p4
 #bbe3 ',e li     cardinali comenzarono 
a vomitar e cussi li altri1' quoted from

     ,sanudo4      #b ,one of the       
excellent characteristics of ,alfonso   
the ,great     7,vespasiano1 p4 #di7 was
 his abhorrence of gambling4  ,another  
point which struck a northern visitor in
 ,italy was the frequency of private and
 domestic murders4#a ,the ,italians had 
and deserved a bad reputation for       
poisoning and assassination4 ,to refer  
to the deeds of violence in the history 
of a single family1 the ,baglioni of    
,perugia1 as recorded by their          
chronicler ,matarazzo2 to cite the      
passages in which ,varchi relates the   
deaths by poison of ,luisa ,strozzi1    
,cardinal ,ippolito de' ,medici1 and    
,sanga2 or to translate the pages of    
annalists1 who describe the palaces of  
nobles swarming with bravi1 would be a  
very easy task4#b ,but the sketch of    
,benvenuto ,cellini's autobiography1    
which will form part of my third volume1
 gives so lively a picture of this      
aspect of ,italian life1 that there is  
no reason to enlarge upon the topic now4

 ,it is enough to observe that1 in their
 employment of poison and of paid       
assassins1 the ,italians were guided by 
those habits of calculation which       
distinguished their character4#c ,they  
thought nothing of removing an enemy by 
craft or violence3 but they took no     
pleasure in murder for its own sake4#d  
,the object which they had in view      
prompted them to take a man's life2 the 
mere delight in brawls and bloodshed of 
,switzers1 ,germans1 and ,spaniards     
offended their taste4      #a ,see      
,guicc4 ,st4 ,il4 vol4 i4 p4 #aja1 for  
the impression     produced upon the    
army of ,charles by the murder by poison
 of     ,gian ,galeazzo ,sforza4      #b
 ,a vivid illustration of the method    
adopted by hired     assassins in       
tracking and hunting down their victims 
is     presented by ,francesco          
,bibboni's narrative of his murder of   
,lorenzino de' ,medici at ,venice4 ,it  
casts much curious light1     moreover1 
on the relations between paid bravi and 

their     employers1 the esteem in which
 professional cutthroats were     held1 
and their connection with the police of 
the ,italian     towns4 ,it is published
 in a tract concerning ,lorenzino1      
,milano1     ,daelli1 #ahfb4      #c    
,see the instructions given by the      
,venetian government to     their agents
 for the purchase of poison and the     
hiring of     secret murderers4 ,see    
also the ,maxims laid down by ,sarpi4   
#d ,this at least was accounted         
eccentric and barbarous in the          
extreme4 ,see ,pontano1 de ,immanitate1 
vol4 i4 p4 #cbf1     concerning ,niccolo
 ,fortibraccio1 ,antonio1 ,pontadera1   
and the     ,riccio ,montechiaro1 who   
stabbed and strangled for the pleasure  
of seeing men die4 ,i have already      
discussed the blood-madness     of some 
of the despots4  ,while the imagination 
played so important a part in the       
morality of the ,italians1 it must be   
remembered that they were deficient in  
that which is the highest imaginative   

safeguard against vice1 a scrupulous    
sense of honor4 ,it is true that the    
,italian authors talk much about ,onore4
 ,pandolfini tells his sons that ,onore 
is one of the qualities which require   
the greatest thrift in keeping1 and     
,machiavelli asserts that it is almost  
as dangerous to attack men in their     
,onore as in their property4 ,but when  
we come to analyze the word1 we find    
that it means something different from  
that mixture of conscience1 pride1 and  
self-respect which makes a man true to a
 high ideal in all the possible         
circumstances of life4 ,the ,italian    
,onore consisted partly of the credit   
attaching to public distinction1 and    
partly of a reputation for ,virtu1      
understanding that word in its          
,machiavellian usage1 as force1 courage1
 ability1 virility4 ,it was not         
incompatible with craft and             
dissimulation1 or with the indulgence of
 sensual vices4 ,statesmen like         
,guicciardini1 who1 by the way1 has     

written a fine paragraph upon the very  
word in question1#a did not think it    
unworthy of their honor to traffic in   
affairs of state for private profit4    
,machiavelli not only recommended       
breaches of political faith1 but        
sacrificed his principles to his        
pecuniary interests with the ,medici4   
,it would be curious to inquire how far 
the obtuse sensibility of the ,italians 
on this point was due to their freedom  
from vanity4#b ,no nation is perhaps    
less influenced by mere opinion1 less   
inclined to value men by their          
adventitious advantages3 the ,italian   
has the courage and the independence of 
his personality4 ,it is1 however1 more  
important to take notice that ,chivalry 
never took a firm root in ,italy2 and   
honor1 as distinguished from vanity1    
amour propre1 and credit1 draws its life
 from that ideal of the knightly        
character which ,chivalry established4  
,the true knight was equally sensitive  
upon the point of honor1 in all that    

concerned the maintenance of an         
unsullied self1 whether he found himself
 in a king's court or a robber's den4   
,chivalry1 as epitomized in the         
celebrated oath imposed by ,arthur on   
his peers of the ,round ,table1 was a   
northern1 a ,teutonic1 institution4 ,the
 sense of honor which formed its very   
essence was further developed by the    
social atmosphere of a monarch's court4 
,it became the virtue of the nobly born 
and chivalrously nurtured1 as appears   
very remarkably in this passage from    
,rabelais#c3 ',en leur reigle n'estoit  
que ceste clause3 ,fay ce que vouldras4 
,parce que gens liberes1 bien nayz1 bien
 instruictz1 conversans en compaignies  
honnesties1 ont par nature ung instinct 
et aguillon qui toujours les poulse a   
faitctz vertueux1 et retire de vice3    
lequel ils nommoyent honneur4' ,now in  
,italy not only was ,chivalry as an     
institution weak2 but the feudal courts 
in which it produced its fairest flower1
 the knightly sense of honor1 did not   

exist4#d ,instead of a circle of peers  
gathered from all quarters of the       
kingdom round the font of honor in the  
person of the sovereign1 commercial     
republics1 forceful tyrannies1 and the  
,papal ,curia gave the tone to society4 
,in every part of the peninsula rich    
bankers who bought and sold cities1     
adventurers who grasped at              
principalities by violence or intrigue1 
and priests who sought the              
aggrandizement of a sacerdotal          
corporation1 were brought together in   
the meshes of diplomacy4 ,the few noble 
families which claimed a feudal origin  
carried on wars for pay by contract in  
the interest of burghers1 popes1 or     
despots4 ,of these conditions not one   
was conducive to the sense of honor as  
conceived in ,france or ,england4 ,taken
 altogether and in combination1 they    
could not fail to be eminently          
unfavorable to its development4 ,in such
 a society ,bayard and ,sir ,walter     
,manny would have been out of place3 the

 motto noblesse oblige would have had   
but little meaning4#e ,instead of       
,honor1 ,virtu ruled the world in       
,italy4 ,the moral atmosphere again was 
critical and highly intellectualized4   
,mental ability combined with personal  
daring gave rank4 ,but the very subtlety
 and force of mind which formed the     
strength of the ,italians proved hostile
 to any delicate sentiment of honor4    
,analysis enfeebles the tact and        
spontaneity of feeling which constitute 
its strongest safeguard4 ,all this is   
obvious in the ethics of the ,principe4 
,what most astounds us in that treatise 
is the assumption that no men will be   
bound by laws of honor when utility or  
the object in view require their        
sacrifice4 ,in conclusion2 although the 
,italians were not lacking in integrity1
 honesty1 probity1 or pride1 their      
positive and highly analytical genius   
was but little influenced by that       
chivalrous honor which was an enthusiasm
 and a religion to the feudal nations1  

surviving the decay of chivalry as a    
preservative instinct more undefinable  
than absolute morality4 ,honor with the 
northern gentry was subjective2 with the
 ,italians ,onore was objective--an     
addition conferred from without1 in the 
shape of reputation1 glory1 titles of   
distinction1 or offices of trust4#f     
#a ,ricordi politici e civili1 ,no4     
#aah1 ,op4 ,ined4 vol4 i4      #b ,see  
,de ,stendhal1 ,histoire de la peinture 
en ,italie1 pp4     #bhe-ia1 for a      
curious catalogue of examples4 ,the     
modern sense     of honor is based1 no  
doubt1 to some extent on a delicate     
amour propre1 which makes a man desirous
 of winning the     esteem of his       
neighbors for its own sake4 ,granting   
that     conscience1 pride1 vanity1 and 
self-respect are all     constituents of
 honor1 we may1 perhaps1 find more pride
 in the     ,spanish1 more amour propre 
in the ,french1 and more conscience     
in the ,english4      #c ,gargantua1    
lib4 #a4 ch4 #eg4      #d ,see1 however1

 what ,i have already said about        
,castiglione     and his ideal of the   
courtier in ,chapter ,,iii4 ,we must    
remember     that he represents a late  
period of the ,renaissance4      #e ,it 
is curious to compare1 for example1 the 
part played by     ,italians1 especially
 by ,venice1 ,pisa1 ,genoa1 ,amalfi1 as 
contractors and merchants in the        
,crusades1 with the enthusiasm     of   
the northern nations4      #f ,in       
confirmation of this view ,i may call   
attention to     ,giannotti's critique  
of the ,florentine constitution         
7,florence1     #ahej1 vol4 i4 pp4 #ae  
and #aef71 and to what ,machiavelli says
     about ,gianpaolo ,baglioni 7,disc4 
i4 #bg71 ',gli uomini non sanno         
essere onorevolmente tristi'2 men know  
not how to be bad with     credit to    
themselves4 ,the context proves that    
,gianpaolo failed     to win the honor  
of a signal crime4 ,compare the use of  
the word     onore in ,lorinzino de'    
,medici's ',apologia4'  ,with the       

,italian conception of ,onore we may    
compare their view of ,onesta in the    
female sex4 ,this is set forth plainly  
by ,piccolomini in ,la ,bella ,creanza  
delle ,donne4#a ,as in the case of      
,onore1 we have here to deal1 not with  
an exquisite personal ideal1 but with   
something far more material and         
external4 ,the onesta of a married woman
 is compatible with secret infidelity1  
provided she does not expose herself to 
ridicule and censure by letting her     
amour be known4 ,here again1 therefore1 
the proper translation of the word seems
 to be credit4 ,finally1 we may allude  
to the invective against honor which    
,tasso puts into the mouths of his      
shepherds in ,aminta#b ,though at this  
period the influence of ,france and     
,spain had communicated to aristocratic 
society in ,italy an exotic sense of    
honor1 yet a court poet dared to condemn
 it as unworthy of the ,bell' eta dell' 
oro1 because it interfered with pleasure
 and introduced disagreeable duties into

 life4 ,such a tirade would not have    
been endured in the ,london of          
,elizabeth or in the ,paris of ,louis   
,,xiv4 ,tasso himself1 it may be said in
 passing1 was almost feverishly         
punctilious in matters that touched his 
reputation4      #a ,la ,raffaella1     
ovvero ,delia bella ,creanza delle      
,donne     7,milano1 ,daelli74 ,compare 
the statement of the author in his      
preface1 p4 #d1 where he speaks in his  
own person1 with the     definition of  
,onore given by ,raffaella1 pp4 #ej and 
#ea of the     ,dialogue3 'l'onore non e
 riposto in altro1 se non nella         
stimazione appresso agli uomini 444     
l'onor della donna non     consiste1    
come t'ho detto1 nel fare o non fare1   
che questo     importa poco1 ma nel     
credersi o non credersi4'      #b ,this 
invective might be paralleled from one  
ot ,masuccio's     ,novelle 7ed4        
,napoli1 pp4 #chi1 #cij71 in which he   
almost     cynically exposes the        
inconvenience of self-respect and       

delicacy4 ,the situation of two friends1
 who agree that honor is     a nuisance 
and share their wives in common1 is a   
favorite of     the ,novelists4  ,an    
important consideration1 affecting the  
whole question of ,italian immorality1  
is this4 ,whereas the northern races had
 hitherto remained in a state of        
comparative poverty and barbarism1      
distributed through villages and country
 districts1 the people of ,italy had    
enjoyed centuries of wealth and         
civilization in great cities4 ,their    
towns were the centers of luxurious     
life4 ,the superfluous income of the    
rich was spent in pleasure1 nor had     
modern decorum taught them to conceal   
the vices of advanced culture beneath   
the cloak of propriety4 ,they were at   
the same time both indifferent to       
opinion and self-conscious in a high    
degree4 ,the very worst of them was seen
 at a glance and recorded with minute   
particularity4 ,the depravity of less   
cultivated races remained unnoticed     

because no one took the trouble to      
describe mere barbarism4#a ,vices of the
 same sort1 but less widely dispersed1  
perhaps1 throughout the people1 were    
notorious in ,italy1 because they were  
combined with so much that was beautiful
 and splendid4 ,in a word1 the faults of
 the ,italians were such as belong to a 
highly intellectualized society1 as yet 
but imperfectly penetrated with culture1
 raised above the brutishness of        
barbarians1 but not advanced to the     
self-control of civilization1 hampered  
by the corruption of a ,church that     
trafficked in crime1 tainted by         
uncritical contact with pagan art and   
literature1 and emasculated by political
 despotism4 ,their vices1 bad as they   
were in reality1 seemed still worse     
because they attacked the imagination   
instead of merely exercising the senses4
 ,as a correlative to their depravity1  
we find a sobriety of appetite1 a       
courtesy of behavior1 a mildness and    
cheerfulness of disposition1 a widely   

diffused refinement of sentiment and    
manners1 a liberal spirit of toleration1
 which can nowhere else be paralleled   
in1 ,europe at that period4 ,it was no  
small mark of superiority to be less    
ignorant and gross than ,england1 less  
brutal and stolid than ,germany1 less   
rapacious than ,switzerland1 less cruel 
than ,spain1 less vain and inconsequent 
than ,france4      #a ,read1 however1   
the ,saxon ,chronicles or the annals of 
,ireland in ,froude4  ,italy again was  
the land of emancipated individuality4  
,what ,mill in his ,essay on ,liberty   
desired1 what seems every day more      
unattainable in modern life1 was enjoyed
 by the ,italians4 ,there was no check  
to the growth of personality1 no        
grinding of men down to match the       
average4 ,if great vices emerged more   
openly than they did elsewhere in       
,europe1 great qualities also had the   
opportunity of free development in      
heroes like ,ferrucci1 in saints like   
,savonarola1 in artists like ,michael   

,angelo4 ,while the social atmosphere of
 the ,papal and despotic courts was     
unfavorable to the highest type of      
character1 we find at least no external 
engine of repression1 no omnipotent     
inquisition1 no overpowering            
aristocracy4#a ,false political systems 
and a corrupt ,church created a malaria1
 which poisoned the noble spirits of    
,machiavelli1 ,ariosto1 ,guicciardini1  
,giuliano della ,rovere4 ,it does not1  
however1 follow therefore that the      
humanities of the race at large1 in     
spite of superstition and bad           
government1 were vitiated4      #a ,i am
 of course speaking of the ,renaissance 
as distinguished     from that new phase
 of ,italian history which followed the 
,council of ,trent and the ,spanish     
despotism4  ,we have positive proofs to 
the contrary in the art of the          
,italians4 ,the ,april freshness of     
,giotto1 the piety of ,fra ,angelico1   
the virginal purity of the young        
,raphael1 the sweet gravity of ,john    

,bellini1 the philosophic depth of ,da  
,vinci1 the sublime elevation of        
,michael ,angelo1 the suavity of ,fra   
,bartolommeo1 the delicacy of the ,della
 ,robbia1 the restrained fervor of      
,rosellini1 the rapture of the ,sienese 
and the reverence of the ,umbrian       
masters1 ,francia's pathos1 ,mantegna's 
dignity1 and ,luini's divine simplicity1
 were qualities which belonged not only 
to these artists but also to the people 
of ,italy from whom they sprang4 ,if men
 not few of whom were born in cottages  
and educated in workshops could feel and
 think and fashion as they did1 we      
cannot doubt that their mothers and     
their friends were pure and pious1 and  
that the race which gave them to the    
world was not depraved4 ,painting in    
,italy1 it must be remembered1 was      
nearer to the people than literature3 it
 was less a matter of education than    
instinct1 a product of temperament      
rather than of culture4  ,italian art   
alone suffices to prove to my mind that 

the immorality of the age descended from
 the upper stratum of society downwards4
 ,selfish despots and luxurious priests 
were the ruin of ,italy2 and the bad    
qualities of the princes1 secular and   
ecclesiastical1 found expression in the 
literature of poets and humanists1 their
 parasites4 ,but in what other nation of
 the fifteenth century can we show the  
same of social urbanity and intellectual
 light diffused throughout all classes  
from the highest to the lowest8 ,it is  
true that the sixteenth century cast a  
blight upon their luster4 ,but it was   
not until ,italian taste had been       
impaired by the vices of ,papal ,rome   
and by contact with the ,spaniards that 
the arts became either coarse or        
sensual4 ,giulio ,romano 7#adib-aedf7   
and ,benvenuto ,cellini 7#aejj-gj7 mark 
the beginning of the change4 ,in        
,riberia1 a ,spaniard1 in ,caravaggio1  
and in the whole school of ,bologna1 it 
was accomplished4 ,yet never at any     
period did the native ,italian masters  

learn to love ugliness with the devotion
 that reveals innate grossness4 ,it     
remained for ,duerer1 ,rembrandt1 and   
,hogarth to elevate the grotesque into  
the region of high art1 for ,rubens to  
achieve the apotheosis of pure          
animalism1 for ,teniers to devote       
distinguished genius to the service of  
the commonplace4  ,in any review of     
,italian religion and morality1 however 
fragmentary it may be1 as this indeed   
is1 one feature which distinguishes the 
acute sensibility of the race ought not 
to be omitted4 ,deficient in profound   
intellectual convictions1 incapable of a
 fixed and radical determination towards
 national holiness1 devoid of those     
passionate and imaginative intuitions   
into the mysteries of the world which   
generate religions and philosophies1 the
 ,italians were at the same time keenly 
susceptible to the beauty of the        
,christian faith revealed to them by    
inspired orators4 ,what we call         
,revivalism was an institution in       

,italy1 which the ,church was too wise  
to discountenance or to suppress1       
although the preachers of repentance    
were often insubordinate and sometimes  
even hostile to the ,papal system4 ,the 
names of ,arnold of ,brescia1 ,san      
,bernardino of ,siena1 ,john of         
,vicenza1 ,jacopo ,bussolari1 ,alberto  
da ,lecce1 ,giovanni ,capistrano1       
,jacopo della ,marca1 ,girolamo         
,savonarola1 bring before the memory of 
those who are acquainted with ,italian  
history innumerable pictures of         
multitudes commoved to tears1 of        
tyrannies destroyed and constitutions   
founded by tumultuous assemblies1 of    
hostile parties and vindictive nobles   
locked in fraternal embraces1 of cities 
clothed in sackcloth for their sins1 of 
exhortations to peace echoing by the    
banks of rivers swollen with blood1 of  
squares and hillsides resonant with     
sobs1 of ,lenten nights illuminated with
 bonfires of ,vanity4#a ,in the midst of
 these melodramatic scenes towers the   

single form of a ,dominican or          
,franciscan friar3 while one voice      
thundering woe or pleading peace        
dominates the crowd4 ,of the temporary  
effects produced by these preachers     
there can be no question4 ,the changes  
which they wrought in states and cities 
prove that the enthusiasm they aroused  
was more than merely hysterical4        
,savonarola1 the greatest of his class1 
founded not only a transient            
commonwealth in ,florence1 but also a   
political party of importance1 and left 
his lasting impress on the greatest soul
 of the sixteenth century in            
,italy--,michael ,angelo ,buonarroti4   
,there was a real religious vigor in the
 people corresponding to the preacher's 
zeal4 ,but the action of this earnest   
mood was intermittent and spasmodic4 ,it
 coexisted with too much superstition   
and with passions too vehemently        
restless to form a settled tone of      
character4 ,in this respect the ,italian
 nation stands not extravagantly        

pictured in the life of ,cellini1 whose 
violence1 self-indulgence1 keen sense of
 pleasure1 and pagan delight in physical
 beauty were interrupted at intervals by
 inexplicable interludes of repentance1 
,bible-reading1 psalm-singing1 and      
visions4 ,to delineate ,cellini will be 
the business of a distant chapter4 ,the 
form of the greatest of ,italian        
preachers must occupy the foreground of 
the next4      #a ,i have thrown into an
 appendix some of the principal         
passages from the chronicles about      
revivals in mediaeval ,italy4  ,before  
closing the imperfect and scattered     
notices collected in this chapter1 it   
will be well to attempt some            
recapitulation of the points already    
suggested4 ,without committing ourselves
 to the dogmatism of a theory1 we are   
led to certain general conclusions on   
the subject of ,italian society in the  
sixteenth century4 ,the fierce party    
quarrels which closed the ,middle ,ages 
had accustomed the population to        

violence1 and this violence survived in 
the too frequent occurrence of brutal   
crimes4 ,the artificial sovereignty of  
the despots being grounded upon perfidy1
 it followed that guile and fraud came  
to be recognized in private no less than
 public life4 ,with the emergence of the
 bourgeois classes a self-satisfied     
positivism1 vividly portrayed in the    
person of ,cosimo de' ,medici1          
superseded the passions and enthusiasms 
of a previous age4 ,thus force1 craft1  
and practical materialism formed the    
basis of ,italian immorality4 ,vehement 
contention in the sphere of politics1   
restless speculation1 together with the 
loosening of every tie that bound       
society together in the ,middle ,ages1  
emancipated personality and substituted 
the freedom of self-centered vigor and  
virility 7,virtu7 for the prescriptions 
of civil or religions order4 ,in the    
nation that had shaken off both ,papal  
and ,imperial authority no conception of
 law remained to control caprice4       

,instead of law men obeyed the instincts
 of their several characters1 swayed by 
artistic taste or tyrannous appetite1 or
 by the splendid heroism of extinct     
antiquity4 ,the ,church had alienated   
the people from true piety4 ,yet no new 
form of religious belief arose2 and     
partly through respect for the past1    
partly through the convenience of       
clinging to existing institutions1      
,catholicism was indulgently tolerated4 
,at the same time the humanists         
introduced an ideal antagonistic to     
,christianity of the monastic type4     
,without abruptly severing themselves   
from the communion of the ,church1 and  
while in form at least observing all its
 ordinances1 they thought1 wrote1 spoke1
 felt1 and acted like ,pagans4 ,to the  
hypocrisies of obsolete asceticism were 
added the affectations of anachronistic 
license4 ,meanwhile1 the national genius
 for art attained its fullest           
development1 simultaneously with the    
decay of faith1 the extinction of       

political liberty1 and the anarchy of   
ethics4 ,so strong was the aesthetic    
impulse that it seemed for a while      
capable of drawing all the forces of the
 nation to itself4 ,a society that      
rested upon force and fraud1 corroded   
with cynicism1 cankered with hypocrisy  
recognizing no standard apart from      
success in action and beauty in form1 so
 conscious of its own corruption that it
 produced no satirist among the many who
 laughed lightly at its vices1 wore the 
external aspect of exquisite refinement1
 and was delicately sensitive to every  
discord4 ,those who understood the      
contradictions of the age most deeply   
were the least capable of rising above  
them ,consequently we obtain in         
,machiavelli's works the ideal picture  
of personal character1 moving to        
calculated ends by scientifically       
selected means1 none of which are       
sanctioned by the unwritten code of law 
that governs human progress4 ,cosimo's  
positivism is reduced to theory4 ,fraud 

becomes a rule of conduct4 ,force is    
advocated1 when the dagger or the       
poisoned draught or the extermination of
 a city may lead the individual straight
 forward to his object4 ,religion is    
shown to be a political engine4         
,hypocrisy is a mask that must be worn4 
,the sanctities of ancient use and      
custom controlling appetite have no     
place assigned them in the system4      
,action is analyzed as a branch of the  
fine arts2 and the spirit of the age1 of
 which the philosopher makes himself the
 hierophant1 compels him to portray it  
as a sinister and evil art4  ,in the    
civilization of ,italy1 carried         
prematurely beyond the conditions of the
 ,middle ,ages1 before the institutions 
of mediaevalism had been destroyed or   
its prejudices had been overcome1 we    
everywhere discern the want of a        
co-ordinating principle4 ,the old       
religion has died2 but there is no new  
faith4 ,the ,communes have been proved  
inadequate2 but there is no nationality4

 ,practical positivism has obliterated  
the virtues of a chivalrous and feudal  
past2 but science has not yet been born4
 ,scholarship floods the world with the 
learning of antiquity2 but this         
knowledge is still undigested4 ,art     
triumphs2 but the aesthetic instinct has
 invaded the regions of politics and    
ethics1 owing to defective analysis in  
theory1 and in practice to              
over-confident reliance on personal     
ability4 ,the individual has attained to
 freedom2 but he has not learned the    
necessity of submitting his volition to 
law4 ,at all points the development of  
the ,italians strikes us as precocious1 
with the weakness of precocity scarcely 
distinguishable from the decay of old   
age4 ,a transition from the point       
attained in the ,renaissance to some    
firmer and more solid ground was        
imperatively demanded4 ,but the fatality
 of events precluded the ,italians from 
making it4 ,their evolution1 checked in 
mid career by the brilliant ambition of 

,france and the cautious reactionary    
despotism of ,spain1 remained suspended4
 ,students are left1 face to face with  
the sixteenth century1 to decipher an   
inscription that lacks its leading verb1
 to puzzle over a riddle whereof the    
solution is hidden from us by the ruin  
of a people4 ,it must ever be an        
undecided question whether the          
,italians1 undisturbed by foreign       
interference1 could have passed beyond  
the artificial and exceptional stage of 
the ,renaissance to a sounder and more  
substantial phase of national vitality2 
or whether1 as their inner conscience   
seems to have assured them1 their       
disengagement from moral obligation and 
their mental ferment foreboded an       
inevitable catastrophe4     ,,chapter   
,,ix4  ,,savonarola4   ,the ,attitude of
 ,savonarola toward the                 
,renaissance--,his ,parentage1 ,birth1  
and ,childhood at ,ferrara--,his ,poem  
on the ,ruin of the ,world--,joins the  
,dominicans at ,bologna--,letter to his 

,father--,poem on the ,ruin of the      
,church--,begins to preach in           
#adhb--;,first ,visit to ,florence--,san
 ,gemignano--,his ,prophecy--,brescia in
 #adhf--,personal ,appearance and ,style
 of ,oratory--,effect on his            
audience--,the three ,conclusions--,his 
,visions--,savonarola's ,shortcomings as
 a patriotic ,statesman--,his sincere   
,belief in his prophetic                
,calling--,friendship with ,pico della  
,mirandola--,settles in ,florence1      
#adij--;,convent of ,san                
,marco--,savonarola's ,relation to      
,lorenzo de' ,medici--,the death of     
,lorenzo--,sermons of #adic and         
#adid--the ,constitution of             
#adie--,theocracy in                    
,florence--,piagnoni1 ,bigi1 and        
,arrabbiati--,war between ,savonarola   
and ,alexander ,,vi4--,the ,signory     
suspends him from preaching in the      
,duomo in #adih--;,attempts to call a   
,council--,the ,ordeal by ,fire--,san   
,marco stormed by the ,mob--,trial and  

,execution of ,savonarola4   ,nothing is
 more characteristic of the sharp       
contrasts of the ,italian ,renaissance  
than the emergence not only from the    
same society1 but also from the bosom of
 the same ,church1 of two men so diverse
 as the ,pope ,alexander ,,vi4 and the  
,prophet ,girolamo ,savonarola4         
,savonarola has been claimed as a       
precursor of the ,lutheran ,reformers1  
and as an inspired exponent of the      
spirit of the fifteenth century4 ,in    
reality he neither shared the           
revolutionary genius of ,luther1 which  
gave a new vitality to the faiths of    
,christendom1 nor did he sympathize with
 that free movement of the modern mind  
which found its first expression in the 
arts and humanistic studies of          
,renaissance ,italy4 ,both toward       
,renaissance and ,reform he preserved   
the attitude of a monk1 showing on the  
one hand an austere mistrust of pagan   
culture1 and on the other no desire to  
alter either the creeds or the          

traditions of the ,romish ,church4 ,yet 
the history of ,savonarola is not to be 
dissociated from that of the ,italian   
,renaissance4 ,he more clearly than any 
other man discerned the moral and       
political situation of his country4     
,when all the states of ,italy seemed   
sunk in peace and cradled in prosperity1
 he predicted war1 and felt the         
imminence of overwhelming calamity4 ,the
 purification of customs which he       
preached was demanded by the flagrant   
vices of the ,popes and by the          
wickedness of the tyrants4 ,the scourge 
which he prophesied did in fact descend 
upon ,italy4 ,in addition to this       
clairvoyance by right of which we call  
him prophet1 the hold he took on        
,florence at a critical moment of       
,italian history is alone enough to     
entitle him to more than merely passing 
notice4  ,girolamo ,savonarola was born 
at ,ferrara in #adeb4a ,his grandfather 
,michele1 a ,paduan of noble family1 had
 removed to the capital of the ,este    

princes at the beginning of the         
fifteenth century4 ,there he held the   
office of court physician2 and ,girolamo
 was intended for the same profession4  
,but early in his boyhood the future    
prophet showed signs of disinclination  
for a worldly life1 and an invincible   
dislike of the court4 ,under the ,house 
of ,este1 ,ferrara was famous throughout
 ,italy for its gayety and splendor4 ,no
 city enjoyed more brilliant and more   
frequent public shows4 ,nowhere did the 
aristocracy maintain so much of feudal  
magnificence and chivalrous enjoyment4  
,the square castle of red brick1 which  
still stands in the middle of the town1 
was thronged with poets1 players1 fools 
who enjoyed an almost ,european         
reputation1 court flatterers1 knights1  
pages1 scholars and fair ladies4 ,but   
beneath its cube of solid masonry1 on a 
level with the moat1 shut out from      
daylight by a sevenfold series of iron  
bars1 lay dungeons in which the objects 
of the ,duke's displeasure clanked      

chains and sighed their lives away4#b   
,within the precincts of this palace the
 young ,savonarola learned to hate alike
 the worldly vices and the despotic     
cruelty against which in after-life he  
prophesied and fought unto the death4   
#a ,in this chapter on ,savonarola ,i   
have made use of ,villari's     ,life   
7translated by ,leonard ,horner1        
,longmans1 #ahfc1 #b vols471            
,michelet's ,histoire de ,france1 vol4  
vii41 ,milman's article on              
,savonarola 7,john ,murray1 #ahgj71     
,nardi's ,istoria ,fiorentina1     book 
ii41 and the ,memoirs of ,de ,comines4  
#b ,see p4 #dbd4  ,of his boyhood we    
know but little4 ,his biographers only  
tell us that he was grave and solitary1 
frequenting churches1 praying with      
passionate persistence1 obstinately     
refusing1 though otherwise docile1 to   
join his father in his visits to the    
court4 ,aristotle and ,s4 ,thomas       
,aquinas seem to have been the favorite 
masters of his study4 ,in fact he       

refused the new lights of the humanists1
 and adhered to the ecclesiastical      
training of the schoolmen4 ,already at  
the age of twenty we find him composing 
a poem in ,italian on the ,ruin of the  
,world1 in which he cries3 ',the whole  
world is in confusion3 all virtue is    
extinguished1 and all good manners2 ,i  
find no living light abroad1 nor one who
 blushes for his vices4' ,his point of  
departure had been taken1 and the       
keynote of his life had been struck4    
,the sense of intolerable sin that came 
upon him in ,ferrara haunted him through
 manhood1 set his hand against the      
,popes and despots of ,italy1 and gave  
peculiar tone to his prophetic          
utterances4  ,the attractions of the    
cloister1 as a refuge from the storms of
 the world1 and as a rest from the      
torments of the sins of others1 now     
began to sway his mind4#a ,but he       
communicated his desire to no one4 ,it  
would have grieved his father and his   
mother to find that their son1 who was1 

they hoped1 to be a shining light at the
 court of ,ferrara1 had determined to   
assume the cowl4 ,at length1 however1   
came the time at which he felt that     
leave the world he must4 ',it was on the
 #bc;d of ,april #adge1' says ,villari2 
'he was sitting with his lute and       
playing a sad melody2 his mother1 as if 
moved by a spirit of divination1 turned 
suddenly round to him1 and exclaimed    
mournfully1 ,my son1 that is a sign we  
are soon to part4 ,he roused himself1   
and continued1 but with a trembling     
hand1 to touch the strings of the lute1 
without raising his eyes from the       
ground4' ,this would make a picture3    
spring twilight in the quaint ,italian  
room1 with perhaps a branch of fig-tree 
or of bay across the open window2 the   
mother looking up with anxious face from
 her needlework2 the youth1 with those  
terrible eyes and tense lips and dilated
 nostrils of the future prophet1 not yet
 worn by years of care1 but strongly    
marked and unmistakable1 bending over   

the melancholy chords of the lute1      
dressed almost for the last time in     
secular attire4      #a ,often in later 
life ,savonarola cried that he had      
sought the     cloister to find rest1   
but that ,god had chosen1 instead of    
bringing him into calm waters1 to cast  
him on a tempest-swollen     sea4 ,see  
the ,sermon quoted by ,villari1 vol4 i4 
p4 #bih4  ,on the very next day         
,girolamo left ,ferrara in secret and   
journeyed to ,bologna4 ,there he entered
 the order of ,s4 ,dominic1 the order of
 the ,preachers1 the order of his master
 ,s4 ,thomas1 the order too1 let us     
remember1 of inquisitorial crusades4    
,the letter written to his father after 
taking this step is memorable4 ,in it he
 says3 ',the motives by which ,i have   
been led to enter into a religious life 
are these3 the great misery of the      
world2 the iniquities of men1 their     
rapes1 adulteries1 robberies1 their     
pride1 idolatry1 and fearful            
blasphemies3 so that things have come to

 such a pass that no one can be found   
acting righteously4 ,many times a day   
have ,i repeated with tears the verse3  
,heu1 fuge crudeles terras1 fuge littus 
avarum6  ,i could not endure the        
enormous wickedness of the blinded      
people of ,italy2 and the more so       
because ,i saw everywhere virtue        
despised and vice honored4' ,we see     
clearly that ,savonarola's vocation took
 its origin in a deep sense of the      
wickedness of the world4 ,it was the    
same spirit as that which drove the     
early ,christians of ,alexandria into   
the ,thebaid4 ,austere and haggard1     
consumed with the zeal of the ,lord1 he 
had moved long enough among the         
,ferrarese holiday-makers4 ,those       
elegant young men in tight hose and     
particolored jackets1 with oaths upon   
their lips and deeds of violence and    
lust within their hearts1 were no       
associates for him4 ,it is touching1    
however1 to note that no text of        
,ezekiel or ,jeremiah1 but ,virgil's    

musical hexameter1 sounded through his  
soul the warning to depart4  ,in this   
year ,savonarola composed another poem1 
this time on the ,ruin of the ,church4  
,in his boyhood he had witnessed the    
pompous shows which greeted ,a,eneas    
,sylvius1 more like a ,roman general    
than a new-made ,pope1 on his entrance  
into ,ferrara4 ,since then he had seen  
the monster ,sixtus mount the ,papal    
throne4 ,no wonder if he1 who had fled  
from the world to the ,church for purity
 and peace1 should need to vent his     
passion in a song4 ',where1' he cries1  
'are the doctors of old times1 the      
saints1 the learning1 charity1 chastity 
of the past8' ,the ,church answers by   
displaying her rent raiment and wounded 
body1 and by pointing to the cavern in  
which she has to make her home4 ',who1' 
exclaims the poet1 'has wrought this    
wrong8' ,una fallace1 superba           
meretrice--,rome6 ,then indeed the      
passion of the novice breaks in fire3-- 
,deh6 per ,dio1 donna1   ,se romper si  

potria quelle grandi ale6  ,the ,church 
replies3--    ,tu piangi e taci3 e      
questo meglio parmi4  ,no other answer  
could be given to ,savonarola's         
impatient yearnings even by his own hot 
heart1 while he yet remained a young and
 unknown monk in ,bologna4 ,nor1 strive 
as he might strive through all his life1
 was it granted to him to break those   
outspread wings of arrogant ,rome4  ,the
 career of ,savonarola as a preacher    
began in #adhb1 when he was sent first  
to ,ferrara and then to ,florence on    
missions by his superiors4 ,but at      
neither place did he find acceptance4 ,a
 prophet has no honor in his own        
country2 and for pagan-hearted          
,florence1 though destined to be the    
theater of his life-drama1 ,savonarola  
had as yet no thundrous burden of       
invective to utter4 ,besides1 his voice 
was sharp and thin2 his face and person 
were not prepossessing4 ,the style of   
his discourse was adapted to cloisteral 
disputations1 and overloaded with       

scholastic distinctions4 ,the great     
orator had not yet arisen in him4 ,the  
friar1 with all his dryness and         
severity1 was but too apparent4 ,with   
what strange feelings must the youth    
have trodden the streets of ,florence6  
,in after-days he used to say that he   
foreknew those streets and squares were 
destined to be the scene of his labors4 
,but then1 voiceless1 powerless1 without
 control of his own genius1 without the 
consciousness of his prophetic mission1 
he brooded alone and out of harmony with
 the beautiful and mundane city4 ,the   
charm of the hills and gardens of       
,valdarno1 the loveliness of ,giotto's  
tower1 the amplitude of ,brunelleschi's 
dome--these may have sunk deep into his 
soul4 ,and the subtle temper of the     
,florentine intellect must have         
attracted his own keen spirit by a      
secret sympathy4 ,for ,florence erelong 
became the city of his love1 the        
first-born of his yearnings4  ,in the   
cloisters of ,san ,marco1 enriched with 

splendid libraries by the liberality of 
the ,medicean princes1 he was at peace4 
,the walls of that convent had recently 
been decorated with frescoes by ,fra    
,angelico1 even as a man might crowd the
 leaves of a missal with illuminations4 
,among these ,savonarola meditated and  
was happy4 ,but in the pulpit and in    
contact with the holiday folk of        
,florence he was ill at ease4 ,lorenzo  
de' ,medici overshadowed the whole city4
 ,lorenzo1 in whom the pagan spirit of  
the ,renaissance1 the spirit of free    
culture1 found a proper incarnation1 was
 the very opposite of ,savonarola1 who  
had already judged the classical revival
 by its fruits1 and had conceived a     
spiritual resurrection for his country4 
,at ,florence a passionate love of art  
and learning--the enthusiasm which      
prompted men to spend their fortunes    
upon ,,mss4 and statues1 the sensibility
 to beauty which produced the           
masterworks of ,donatello and ,ghiberti1
 the thirst for knowledge which burned  

in ,pico and ,poliziano and             
,ficino--existed side by side with      
impudent immorality1 religious deadness1
 cold contempt for truth1 and cynical   
admiration of successful villainy4 ,both
 the good and the evil which flourished 
on this fertile soil so luxuriantly were
 combined in the versatile genius of the
 merchant prince1 whose policy it was to
 stifle freedom by caressing the        
follies1 vices1 and intellectual tastes 
of his people4  ,the young ,savonarola  
was as yet no match for ,lorenzo4 ,and  
whither could he look for help8 ,the    
reform of morals he so ardently desired 
was not to be expected from the ,church4
 ,florence well knew that ,sixtus had   
plotted to murder the ,medici before the
 altar at the moment of the elevation of
 the ,host4 ,excommunicated for a deed  
of justice after the failure of this    
,popish plot1 the city had long been at 
war with the pontiff4 ,if anywhere it   
was in the cells of the philosophers1 in
 that retreat where ,ficino burned his  

lamp to ,plato1 in that hall where the  
,academy crowned their master's bust    
with laurels1 that the more sober-minded
 citizens found ghostly comfort and     
advice4 ,but from this philosophy the   
fervent soul of ,savonarola turned with 
no less loathing1 and with more         
contempt1 than from the ,canti          
,carnascialeschi and ,aristophanic      
pageants of ,lorenzo1 which made        
,florence at ,carnival time affect the  
fashions of ,athens during the          
,dionysia4 ,it is true that ,italy owed 
much to the elevated theism developed by
 ,platonic students4 ,while the         
humanists were exalting pagan license1  
and while the ,church was teaching the  
worst kinds of immorality1 the          
philosophers kept alive in cultivated   
minds a sense of ,god4  ,but the monk1  
nourished on the ,bible and ,s4 ,thomas1
 valued this confusion of spirits and   
creeds in a chaos of indiscriminate     
erudition1 at a small price4 ,he had the
 courage in the fifteenth century at    

,florence to proclaim that the          
philosophers were in hell1 and that an  
old woman knew more of saving faith than
 ,plato4 ,savonarola and ,lorenzo were  
opposed as champions of two hostile     
principles alike emergent from the very 
life of the ,renaissance3 paganism      
reborn in the one1 the spirit of the    
gospel in the other4 ,both were         
essentially modern2 for it was the      
function of the ,renaissance to restore 
to the soul of man its double heritage  
of the classic past and ,christian      
liberty1 freeing it from the fetters    
which the ,middle ,ages had forged4 ,not
 yet1 however1 were ,lorenzo and        
,savonarola destined to clash4 ,the     
obscure friar at this time was preaching
 to an audience of some thirty persons  
in ,san ,lorenzo1 while ,poliziano and  
all the fashion of the town crowded to  
the sermons of ,fra ,mariano da         
,genezzano in ,santo ,spirito4 ,this man
 flattered the taste of the moment by   
composing orations on the model of      

,ficino's addresses to the ,academy1 and
 by complimenting ,christianity upon its
 similarity to ,platonism4 ,who could   
then have guessed that beneath the cowl 
of the harsh-voiced ,dominican1 his     
rival1 burned thoughts that in a few    
years would inflame ,florence with a    
conflagration powerful enough to destroy
 the fabric of the ,medicean despotism8 
,from ,florence1 where he had met with  
no success1 ,savonarola was sent to ,san
 ,gemignano1 a little town on the top of
 a high hill between ,florence and      
,siena4 ,we now visit ,san ,gemignano in
 order to study some fading frescoes of 
,gozzoli and ,ghirlandajo1 or else for  
the sake of its strange feudal towers1  
tall pillars of brown stone1 crowded    
together within the narrow circle of the
 town walls4 ,very beautiful is the     
prospect from these ramparts on a spring
 morning1 when the song of nightingales 
and the scent of acacia flowers ascend  
together from the groves upon the slopes
 beneath4 ,the gray ,tuscan landscape   

for scores and scores of miles all round
 melts into blueness1 like the blueness 
of the sky1 flecked here and there with 
wandering cloud-shadows4 ,let those who 
pace the grass-grown streets of the     
hushed city remember that here the first
 flash of authentic genius kindled in   
,savonarola's soul4 ,here for the first 
time he prophesied3 ',the church will be
 scourged1 then regenerated1 and this   
quickly4' ,these are the celebrated     
three conclusions1 the three points to  
which ,savonarola in all his prophetic  
utterances adhered4  ,but not yet had he
 fully entered on his vocation4 ,his    
voice was weak2 his style uncertain2 his
 soul1 we may believe1 still wavering   
between strange dread and awful joy1 as 
he beheld1 through many a backward      
rolling mist of doubt1 the mantle of the
 prophets descend upon him4 ,already he 
had abandoned the schoolmen for the     
,bible4 ,already he had learned by heart
 each verse of the ,old and ,new        
,testaments4 ,pondering on their texts1 

he had discovered four separate         
interpretations for every suggestion of 
,sacred ,writ4 ,for some of the pregnant
 utterances of the prophets he found    
hundreds1 pouring forth metaphor and    
illustration in wild and dazzling       
profusion of audacious1 uncouth imagery4
 ,the flame which began to smoulder in  
him at ,san ,gemignano burst forth into 
a blaze at ,brescia1 in #adhf4          
,savonarola was now aged thirty-four4   
',midway upon the path of life' he      
opened the ,book of ,revelation3 he     
figured to the people of ,brescia the   
four-and-twenty elders rising to        
denounce the sins of ,italy1 and to     
declare the calamities that must ensue4 
,he pictured to them their city flowing 
with blood4 ,his voice1 which now became
 the interpreter of his soul1 in its    
resonance and earnestness and piercing  
shrillness1 thrilled his hearers with   
strange terror4 ,already they believed  
his prophecy2 and twenty-six years      
later1 when the soldiers of ,gaston de  

,foix slaughtered six thousand souls in 
the streets of ,brescia1 her citizens   
recalled the ,apocalyptic warnings of   
the ,dominican monk4  ,as ,savonarola is
 now launched upon his vocation of      
prophecy1 this is the right moment to   
describe his personal appearance and his
 style of preaching4 ,we have abundant  
material for judging what his features  
were1 and how they flashed beneath the  
storm of inspiration4#a ,fra            
,bartolommeo1 one of his followers1     
painted a profile of him in the         
character of ,s4 ,peter ,martyr4 ,this  
shows all the benignity and grace of    
expression which his stern lineaments   
could assume4 ,it is a picture of the   
sweet and gentle nature latent within   
the fiery arraigner of his nation at the
 bar of ,god4 ,in contemporary medals   
the face appears hard1 keen1            
uncompromising1 beneath its heavy cowl4 
,but the noblest portrait is an intaglio
 engraved by ,giovanni della ,corniole1 
now to be seen in the ,uffizzi at       

,florence4 ,of this work ,michael       
,angelo1 himself a disciple of          
,savonarola1 said that art could go no  
further4 ,we are therefore justified in 
assuming that the engraver has not only 
represented faithfully the outline of   
,savonarola's face1 but has also        
indicated his peculiar expression4 ,a   
thick hood covers the whole head and    
shoulders4 ,beneath it can be traced the
 curve of a long and somewhat flat      
skull1 rounded into extraordinary       
fullness at the base and side4 ,from a  
deeply sunken eye-socket emerges1       
scarcely seen1 but powerfully felt1 the 
eye that blazed with lightning4 ,the    
nose is strong1 prominent1 and aquiline1
 with wide nostrils1 capable of terrible
 dilation under the stress of vehement  
emotion4 ,the mouth has full1           
compressed1 projecting lips4 ,it is     
large1 as if made for a torrent of      
eloquence3 it is supplied with massive  
muscles1 as if to move with energy and  
calculated force and utterance4 ,the    

jawbone is hard and heavy2 the cheekbone
 emergent3 between the two the flesh is 
hollowed1 not so much with the          
emaciation of monastic vigils as with   
the athletic exercise of wrestlings in  
the throes of prophecy4 ,the face1 on   
the whole1 is ugly1 but not repellent2  
and1 in spite of its great strength1 it 
shows signs of feminine sensibility4    
,like the faces of ,cicero and          
,demosthenes1 it seems the fit machine  
for oratory4 ,but the furnaces hidden   
away behind that skull1 beneath that    
cowl1 have made it haggard with a fire  
not to be found in the serener features 
of the classic orators4 ,savonarola was 
a visionary and a monk4 ,the discipline 
of the cloister left its trace upon him4
 ,the wings of dreams have winnowed and 
withered that cheek as they passed over 
it4 ,the spirit of prayer quivers upon  
those eager lips4 ,the color of         
,savonarola's flesh was brown3 his      
nerves were exquisitely sensitive yet   
strong2 like a network of wrought steel1

 elastic1 easily overstrained1 they     
recovered their tone and temper less by 
repose than by the evolution of fresh   
electricity4 ,with ,savonarola fasts    
were succeeded by trances1 and trances  
by tempests of vehement improvization4  
,from the midst of such profound        
debility that he could scarcely crawl up
 the pulpit steps1 he would pass        
suddenly into the plenitude of power1   
filling the ,dome of ,florence with     
denunciations1 sustaining his discourse 
by no mere trick of rhetoric that flows 
to waste upon the lips of shallow       
preachers1 but marshaling the phalanx of
 embattled arguments and pointed        
illustrations1 pouring his thought forth
 in columns of continuous flame1        
mingling figures of sublimest imagery   
with reasonings severest accuracy1 at   
one time melting his audience tears1 at 
another freezing them with terror1 again
 quickening their souls with prayers and
 pleadings and blessings that had in    
them the sweetness of the very spirit of

 ,christ4 ,his sermons began with       
scholastic exposition2 as they advanced1
 the ecstasy of inspiration fell upon   
the preacher1 till the sympathies of the
 whole people of ,florence gathered     
round him1#b met and attained1 as it    
were1 to single consciousness in him4   
,he then no longer restrained the       
impulse of his oratory1 but became the  
mouthpiece of ,god1 the interpreter to  
themselves of all that host4 ,in a fiery
 crescendo1 never flagging1 never losing
 firmness of grasp or lucidity of       
vision1 he ascended the altar steps of  
prophecy1 and1 standing like ,moses on  
the mount between the thunders of ,god  
and the tabernacles of the plain1       
fulminated period after period of       
impassioned eloquence4 ,the walls of the
 church re-echoed with sobs and wailings
 dominated by one ringing voice4 ,the   
scribe to whom we owe the fragments of  
these sermons1 at times breaks off with 
these words3 ',here ,i was so overcome  
with weeping that ,i could not go on4'  

,pico della ,mirandola tells us that the
 mere sound of ,savonarola's voice1     
startling the stillness of the ,duomo1  
thronged through all its space with     
people1 was like a clap of doom3 a cold 
shiver ran through the marrow of his    
bones1 the hairs of his head stood on   
end1 as he listened4 ,another witness   
reports3 ',these sermons caused such    
terror1 alarm1 sobbing1 and tears that  
every one passed through the streets    
without speaking1 more dead than alive4'
      #a ,engravings of the several     
portraits may be seen in     ,harford's 
,life of ,michael ,angelo ,buonarroti   
7,longmans1 #aheg     vol4 i471 and also
 in ,villari4      #b ,nardi1 in his    
,istorie di ,firenze 7lib4 ii4 cap4     
#af71     describes the crowd assembled 
in the ,duomo to hear ,savonarola       
preach3 ',per la moltitudine degli      
uditori non essendo quasi     bastante  
la chiesa cattedrale di santa ,maria del
 ,fiore1 ancora     che molto grande e  
capace sia1 fu necessario edificar      

dentro     lungo i pareti di quella1    
dirempetto al pergamo1 certi gradi di   
legname rilevati con ordine di sederi1 a
 guisa di teatro1 e     cosi dalla parte
 di sopra all' entrata del coro e dalla 
parte     di sotto in verso le porte    
della detta chiesa4'  ,such was the     
preacher3 and such was the effect of his
 oratory4 ,the theme on which he loved  
to dwell was this4 ,repent6 ,a judgment 
of ,god is at hand4 ,a sword is         
suspended over you4 ,italy is doomed for
 her iniquity--for the sins of the      
,church1 whose adulteries have filled   
the world--for the sins of the tyrants1 
who encourage crime and trample upon    
souls--for the sins of you people1 you  
fathers and mothers1 you young men1 you 
maidens1 you children that lisp         
blasphemy6 ,nor did ,savonarola deal in 
generalities4 ,he described in plain    
language every vice2 he laid bare every 
abuse2 so that a mirror was held up to  
the souls of his hearers1 in which they 
saw their most secret faults appallingly

 portrayed and ringed around with fire4 
,he entered with particularity into the 
details of the coming woes4 ,one by one 
he enumerated the bloodshed1 the ruin of
 cities1 the trampling down of          
provinces1 the passage of armies1 the   
desolating wars that were about to fall 
on ,italy4#a ,you may read pages of his 
sermons which seem like vivid narratives
 of what afterwards took place in the   
sack of ,prato1 in the storming of      
,brescia1 in the battle of the ,ronco1  
in the cavern-massacre of ,vicenza4 ,no 
wonder that he stirred his audience to  
their center4 ,the hell within them was 
revealed4 ,the coming doom above them   
was made manifest4 ,ezekiel and         
,jeremiah were not more prophetic4 ,john
 crying to a generation of vipers1      
',repent ye1 for the kingdom of heaven  
is at hand6' was not more weighty with  
the mission of authentic inspiration4   
#a ,savonarola's whole view of the      
situation and of the perils     of      
,italy was that of a prophet4 ,he saw   

more clearly than other     people what 
was inevitable4 ,but his disciples and  
the vulgar     believed implicitly in   
his prophetic gift in the narrower      
sense1 that is1 in his power to predict 
events1 such as the     deaths of       
,lorenzo and the ,king of ,naples1 the  
punishment of     ,charles ,,viii1 in   
the loss of the dauphin1 etc4 ,pico     
says3     ',savonarola could read the   
future as clearly as one sees the       
whole is greater than the part4' ,and   
there is no doubt that1 as     time went
 on1 ,savonarola came to believe himself
 that he     possessed this faculty4    
,after his trial and execution a very   
uncomfortable sense of doubt remained   
upon the minds of those     who had been
 witnesses of his life-drama4 ,upon this
 topic     ,guicciardini1 ,stor4 ,fior41
 ,op4 ,ined4 vol4 iii4 p4 #agi2 ,nardi1 
,stor4 ,fior4 lib4 ii4 caps4 #af and    
#cf1 may be read with     advantage4    
',i began'--,savonarola writes himself  
with reference to a course of sermons   

delivered in #adia--';,i began publicly 
to expound the ,revelation in our       
,church of ,s4 ,mark4 ,during the course
 of the year ,i continued to develop to 
the ,florentines these three            
propositions3 ,that the ,church would be
 renewed in our time2 that before that  
renovation ,god would strike all ,italy 
with a fearful chastisement2 that these 
things would happen shortly4' ,it is by 
right of the foresight of a new age     
contained in these three famous         
so-called conclusions that ,savonarola  
deserves to be named the ,prophet of the
 ,renaissance4 ,he was no apostle of    
reform3 it did not occur to him to      
reconstruct the creed1 to dispute the   
discipline1 or to criticise the         
authority of the ,church4 ,he was no    
founder of a new order3 unlike his      
predecessors1 ,dominic and ,francis1 he 
never attempted to organize a society of
 saints or preachers2 unlike his        
successors1 ,caraffa the ,theatine and  
,loyola the ,jesuit1 he enrolled no     

militia for the defense of the faith1   
constructed no machinery for education4 
,starting with simple horror at the     
wickedness of the world1 he had recourse
 to the old prophets4 ,he steeped       
himself in ,bible studies4 ,he caught   
the language of ,malachi and ,jeremiah4 
,he became convinced that for the       
wickedness of ,italy a judgment was     
imminent4 ,from that conclusion he rose 
upon the wings of faith to the belief   
that a new age would dawn4 ,the         
originality of his intuition consisted  
in this1 that while ,italy was asleep1  
and no man trembled for the future1 he  
alone felt that the stillness of the air
 was fraught with thunder1 that its     
tranquillity was like that which        
precedes a tempest blown from the very  
nostrils of the ,god of ,hosts4  ,to the
 astonishment of his hearers1 and       
perhaps also of himself1 his prophecies 
began to fulfill themselves4 ,within    
three years after his first sermon in   
,s4 ,mark's1 ,charles ,,viii4 had       

entered ,italy1 ,lorenzo de' ,medici was
 dead1 and politicians no less than     
mystics felt that a new chapter had been
 opened in the book of the world's      
history4 ,the ,reform of the ,church was
 also destined to follow4 ,what         
,savonarola had foreseen1 here too      
happened2 but not in the way he would   
have wished1 nor by the means he would  
have used4 ,it is one thing to be a     
prophet in the sense of discerning the  
catastrophe to which circumstances must 
inevitably lead1 another thing to trace 
beforehand the path which will be taken 
by the hurricanes that change the face  
of the world4 ,remaining in his soul a  
monk1 attached by education and by      
natural sympathy to the past rather than
 the future1 he felt in spite of himself
 the spirit of the coming age4 ,had he  
lived but one century earlier1 we should
 not have called him prophet4 ,it was   
the ,renaissance which set the seal of  
truth upon his utterances4 ,yet in his  
vision of the world to be1 he was like  

,balaam prophesying blindly of a star4  
,sixtus ,,iv4 had died and been         
succeeded by ,innocent ,,viii4 ,innocent
 had given place to ,alexander4 ,the    
very nadir of the abyss had been        
reached4 ,then ,savonarola saw a vision 
and heard a voice3 ,ecce gladius ,domini
 super terram cito et velociter4 ,the   
sword turned earthward2 the air was     
darkened with fiery sleet and arrows2   
thunders rolled2 the world was filled   
with pestilences1 wars1 famines4 ,at    
another time he dreamed and looked      
toward ,rome4 ,from the ,eternal ,city  
there rose a black cross1 reaching to   
heaven1 and on it was inscribed ,crux   
irae ,dei4 ,then too the skies were     
troubled2 clouds rushed through the air 
discharging darts and fire and swords1  
and multitudes below were dying4 ,these 
visions he published in sermons and in  
print4 ,pictures were made from them4   
,they and the three conclusions went    
abroad through ,italy4 ,again1 ,charles 
was preparing for his expedition4       

,savonarola took the ,ark of ,noah for  
his theme4 ,the deluge was at hand2 he  
bade his hearers enter the ship of      
refuge before the terrible and mighty   
nation came3 ',o ,italy6 ,o ,rome6 ,i   
give you over to the hands of a people  
who will wipe you out from among the    
nations6 ,i see them descending like    
lions4 ,pestilence comes marching hand  
in hand with war4 ,the deaths will be so
 many that the buriers shall go through 
the streets crying out3 ,who hath dead1 
who hath dead8 and one will bring his   
father1 and another his son4 ,o ,rome6  
,i cry again to you to repent1 ,repent1 
,venice6 ,milan1 repent6' ',the prophets
 a hundred years ago proclaimed to you  
the flagellation of the ,church4 ,for   
five years ,i have been announcing it3  
and now again ,i cry to you4 ,the ,lord 
is full of wrath4 ,the angels on their  
knees cry to ,him3 ,strike1 strike6 ,the
 good sob and groan3 ,we can no more4   
,the orphans1 the widows say3 ,we are   
devoured1 we cannot go on living4 ,all  

the ,church triumphant hath cried to    
,christ3 ,thou diedst in vain4 ,it is   
heaven which is in combat4 ,the saints  
of ,italy1 the angels1 are leagued with 
the barbarians4 ,those who called them  
in have put the saddles to the horses4  
,italy is in confusion1 saith the ,lord2
 this time she shall be yours4 ,and the 
,lord cometh above his saints1 above the
 blessed ones who march in battle-array1
 who are drawn up in squadrons4 ,whither
 are they bound8 ,s4 ,peter is for      
,rome1 crying3 ,to ,rome1 to ,rome6 and 
,s4 ,paul and ,s4 ,gregory march1       
crying3 ,to ,rome6 ,and behind them go  
the sword1 the pestilence1 the famine4  
,s4 ,john cries3 ,up1 up1 to ,florence6 
,and the plague follows him4 ,s4        
,anthony cries3 ,ho for ,lombardy6 ,s4  
,mark cries3 ,haste we to the city that 
is throned upon the waters6 ,and all the
 angels of heaven1 sword in hand1 and   
all the celestial consistory1 march on  
unto this war4'  ,then he speaks of his 
own fate3 ',what shall be the end of our

 war1 you ask8 ,if this be a general    
question1 ,i shall answer ,victory6 ,if 
you ask it of myself in particular1 ,i  
answer1 ,death1 or to be hewn in pieces4
 ,this is our faith1 this is our        
guerdon1 this is our reward6 ,we ask for
 no more than this4 ,but when you see me
 dead1 be not then troubled4 ,all those 
who have prophesied have suffered and   
been slain4 ,to make my word prevail1   
there is needed the blood of many4'     
,these are the prophecies with which    
,savonarola anticipated the coming of a 
foreign conqueror4 ,it is interesting to
 trace in his apostrophes the double    
feeling of the prophet4 ,desire for the 
advent of ,charles as a ,messiah1       
liberator1 and purifier of the ,church1 
contends with an instinctive horror of  
the barbarian4 ,savonarola1 like ,dante1
 like all ,italian patriots1 except only
 ,machiavelli1 who too late had been    
lessoned by bitter experience to put no 
trust in foreign princes1 could not     
refrain from hoping even against hope   

that good might come from beyond the    
,alps4 ,yet when the foreigners         
appeared1 he trembled at the violence   
they wrought upon the ancient liberties 
of ,italy4 ,savonarola's chief          
shortcoming as a patriot consisted in   
this1 that he strengthened the old folly
 of the ,florentines in leaning upon    
strangers4#a ,had he taught the         
,italians to work out their             
self-regeneration from within1 instead  
of preparing them to accept an alien's  
yoke1 he would have won a far more      
lasting meed of fame4 ,as it was1       
together with the passion for liberty   
which became a religion with his        
followers1 he strove to revive the      
obsolete tactics of an earlier age1 and 
bequeathed to ,florence the weak policy 
of waiting upon ,france4 ,this legacy   
bore bitter fruits in the next century4 
,if it was the memory of the ,friar     
which nerved the citizens of ,florence  
to sustain the siege of #aebh1 the same 
memory bound them to seek aid from      

inconsequent ,francis1 and to hope that 
at the last moment a cohort of seraphim 
would defend their walls4#b      #a     
,segni1 ,ist4 ,fior4 lib4 i4 p4 #bc1    
records a saying of     ,savonarola's1  
,gigli con gigli dover fiorire1 as one  
of the     causes of the obstinate      
,french partiality of the ,florentines  
in     #aebi4      #b ,see ,varchi1     
,segni1 and ,nardi1 who agree on these  
points4  ,that ,savonarola believed in  
his own prophecies there is no doubt4   
,they were in fact1 as ,i have already  
tried to show1 a view of the political  
and moral situation of ,italy1 expressed
 with the force of profound religious   
conviction and based upon a theory of   
the divine government of the world4 ,but
 now far he allowed himself to be guided
 by visions and by words uttered to his 
soul in trance1 is a somewhat different 
question4 ,it is just at this point that
 a man possessed of acute insight and   
trusting to the truth of his instincts  
may be tempted under strong devotional  

excitement to pass the border land which
 separates healthy intuition from       
hallucination4 ,if ,savonarola's studies
 of the ,hebrew prophets inclined him to
 believe in dreams and revelations1 yet 
on the other hand the strong logic of   
his intellect1 trained in scholastic    
distinctions1 taught him to mistrust the
 promptings of a power that spoke to him
 when he was somewhat more or less than 
his prosaic self4 ,how could he be sure 
that the spirit came from ,god8 ,we know
 for certain that he struggled against  
the impulse of divination and refused at
 times to obey it4 ,but it overcame him4
 ,like the ,cassandra of ,a,eschylus1 he
 panted in the grasp of one mightier    
than himself4 ',an inward fire1' he     
cried1 'consumes my bones and forces me 
to speak out' ,and again3 ',i have1 ,o  
,lord1 burnt my wings of contemplation1 
and ,i have launched into a tempestuous 
sea1 where ,i have found contrary winds 
in every quarter4 ,i wished to reach a  
harbor1 but could not find the way      

thither2 ,i wished to lay me down1 but  
could meet with no resting-place4 ,i    
longed to be silent and to utter not a  
word4 ,but the word of the ,lord is in  
my heart2 and if it does not come forth1
 it must consume the marrow of my bones4
 ,thus1 ,o ,lord1 if it be ,thy will    
that ,i should navigate in deep waters1 
,thy will1 be done4'  ,at another time  
he says3 ',i remember well that upon one
 occasion1 in the year #adia1 when ,i   
was preaching in the ,duomo1 having     
composed my sermon entirely upon these  
visions1 ,i determined to abstain from  
all allusion to them1 and in future to  
adhere to this resolution4 ,god is my   
witness that the whole of ,saturday and 
the whole of the succeeding night ,i lay
 awake1 and could see no other course1  
no other doctrine4 ,at daybreak1 worn   
out and depressed by the many hours ,i  
had lain awake1 while ,i was praying ,i 
heard a voice that said to me3 ,fool    
that thou art1 dost thou not see that it
 is ,god's will that thou shouldst keep 

to the same path8 ,the consequence of   
which was that on the same day ,i       
preached a tremendous sermon4'  ,these  
passages leave upon the mind no doubt of
 ,savonarola's sincerity4 ,if he        
deceived others1 he was himself the     
first to be deceived1 and that too not  
before he had subjected himself to the  
most searching examination1 seeking in  
vain to escape from the force which     
compelled him to play the part of       
prophet4 ,terrible1 indeed1 must have   
been the wrestlings and questionings of 
this strong-fibered intellect1 alone and
 diffident1 within the toils of ecstasy4
  ,returning to the details of          
,savonarola's biography1 we find him    
still in ,lombardy in #adhf4 ,after     
leaving ,brescia he moved to ,reggio1   
where he made the friendship of the     
famous ,giovanni ,pico della ,mirandola4
 ,they continued intimate till the death
 of the latter in #adid2 it was his     
nephew1 ,giovanni ,francesco ,pico della
 ,mirandola1 who afterwards wrote the   

,life of ,savonarola4 ,from ,reggio the 
friar went to ,genoa2 and by this time  
his fame as a prophet in the north of   
,lombardy was well established4 ,now    
came the turning-point in his life4     
,fourteen hundred and ninety is the date
 which determined his public action as a
 man of power in ,italy4 ,lorenzo de'   
,medici1 strangely enough1 was the      
instrument of his recall in this year to
 ,florence4 ,lorenzo1 who1 if he could  
have foreseen the future of his own     
family in ,florence1 would rather have  
stifled this monk's voice in his cowl1  
took pains to send for him and bring him
 to ,s4 ,mark's1 the convent upon which 
his father had lavished so much wealth4 
,he hoped to add luster to his capital  
by the preaching of the most eloquent   
friar in ,italy4 ,clear-sighted as he   
was1 he could not discern the flame of  
liberty which burned in ,savonarola's   
soul4 ,savonarola1 the democratic party 
leader1 was a force in politics as      
incalculable beforehand as ,ferrucci the

 hero4 ,on ,august #a1 #adij1 the monk  
ascended the pulpit of ,s4 ,mark's1 and 
delivered a tremendous sermon on a      
passage from the ,apocalypse4 ,on the   
eve of this commencement he is reported 
to have said3 ',tomorrow ,i shall begin 
to preach1 and ,i shall preach for eight
 years4' ,the ,florentines were greatly 
moved4 ,savonarola had to remove from   
the ,church of ,s4 ,mark to the ,duomo2 
and thus began the spiritual            
dictatorship which he exercised         
thenceforth without intermission till   
his death4  ,lorenzo soon began to      
resent the influence of this            
uncompromising monk1 who1 not content   
with moral exhortations1 confidently    
predicted the coming of a foreign       
conqueror1 the fall of the ,magnificent1
 the peril of the ,pope1 and the ruin of
 the ,king of ,naples4 ,yet it was no   
longer easy to suppress the preacher4   
,very early in his ,florentine career   
,savonarola had proved himself to be    
fully as great an administrator as an   

orator4 ,the ,convent of ,san ,marco    
dominated by his personal authority1 had
 made him ,prior in #adia1 and he was   
already engaged in a thorough reform of 
all the ,dominican monasteries of       
,tuscany4 ,it was usual for the ,priors 
elect of ,s4 ,mark to pay a             
complimentary visit to the ,medici1     
their patrons4 ,savonarola1 thinking    
this a worldly and unseemly custom1     
omitted to observe it4 ,lorenzo1        
noticing the discourtesy1 is reported to
 have said1 with a smile3 ',see now6    
here is a stranger who has come into my 
house1 and will not deign to visit me4' 
,he forgot that ,savonarola looked upon 
his convent as a house of ,god4 ,at the 
same time the prince made overtures of  
goodwill to the ,prior1 frequently      
attended his services1 and dropped gold 
into the alms-box of ,s4 ,mark's4       
,savonarola took no notice of him1 and  
handed his florins over to the poor of  
the city4 ,then ,lorenzo stirred up ,fra
 ,mariano da ,genezzano1 ,savonarola's  

old rival1 against him2 but the clever  
rhetorician was no longer a match for   
the full-grown athlete of inspired      
eloquence4 ,da ,genezzano was forced to 
leave ,florence in angry discomfiture4  
,with such unbending haughtiness did    
,savonarola already dare to brave the   
powers that be4 ,he had recognized the  
oppressor of liberty1 the corrupter of  
morality1 the opponent of true religion1
 in ,lorenzo4 ,he hated him as a tyrant4
 ,he would not give him the right hand  
of friendship or the salute of civility4
 ,in the same spirit he afterwards      
denounced ,alexander1 scorned his       
excommunication1 and plotted with the   
kings of ,christendom for the convening 
of a ,council4 ,lorenzo1 however1 was a 
man of supreme insight into character1  
and knew how to value his antagonist4   
,therefore1 when the hour for dying     
came1 and when1 true child of the       
,renaissance that he was1 he felt the   
need of sacraments and absolution1 he   
sent for ,savonarola1 saying that he was

 the only honest friar he knew4 ,the    
magnanimity of the ,medici was only     
equaled by the firmness of the monk4    
,standing by the bedside of the dying   
man1 who had confessed his sins1        
,savonarola said3 ',three things are    
required of you3 to have a full and     
lively faith in ,god's mercy2 to restore
 what you have unjustly gained2 to give 
back liberty to ,florence4' ,lorenzo    
assented readily to the two first       
requisitions4 ,at the third he turned   
his face in silence to the wall4 ,he    
must indeed have felt that to demand and
 promise this was easier than to carry  
it into effect4 ,savonarola left him    
without absolution4 ,lorenzo died4#a    
#a ,it is just to observe that great    
doubt has been thrown on     the facts  
above related concerning ,lorenzo's     
death4 ,poliziano1     who was with     
,lorenzo during his last illness1 does  
not mention     them in his letter to   
,jacobus ,antiquarius 7xv4 ,kal4 ,jun4  
#adib74     ,but ,burlmacchi1 ,pico1    

,barsanti1 ,razzi1 and others of the    
,frate's party1 agree in the story4     
,what ,poliziano wrote was     that     
,savonarola confessed ,lorenzo and      
retired without     volunteering the    
blessing4 ,razzi says the interview     
between     ,savonarola and ,lorenzo    
took place without witnesses2 ,pico and 
,burlamacchi relate the event as they   
heard of it from the lips     of        
,savonarola4 ,we have therefore to judge
 between the testimony     of           
,poliziano1 who held no communication   
with the friar1 and the     veracity of 
several narrators1 biassed indeed by    
hostility     toward the ,medici1 but in
 direct intercourse with the only man   
who could tell the exact truth of what  
passed--the confessor1     ,savonarola1 
who had been alone with ,lorenzo4       
,villari1 after     sifting the         
evidence1 arrives at the conclusion that
 we may     believe ,burlamacchi4 ,the  
,baron ,reumont1 in his recent ,life of 
,lorenzo1 vol4 ii4 p4 #eij1 gives some  

solid reasons for     accepting this    
conclusion with caution1 and ,gino      
,capponi     expresses a distinct       
disbelief in ,burlamacchi's narration4  
,the third point insisted upon by the   
friar1 ,restore liberty to ,florence1   
not only broke the peace of the dying   
prince1 but it also afterwards for ever 
ruled the conduct of ,savonarola4 ,from 
this time his life is that of a         
statesman no less than of a preacher4   
,what ,lorenzo refused1 or was indeed   
upon his deathbed quite unable to       
perform1 the monk determined to achieve4
 ,henceforth he became the champion of  
popular liberty in the pulpit4 ,feeling 
that in the people alone lay any hope of
 regeneration for ,italy1 he made it the
 work of his whole life to give the     
strength and sanction of religion to    
republican freedom4 ,this work he sealed
 with martyrdom4 ,the spirit of the     
creed which he bequeathed to his        
partisans in ,florence was political no 
less than pious4 ,whether ,savonarola   

was right to embark upon the perilous   
sea of statecraft cannot now be         
questioned4 ,what prophet of ,israel    
from ,samuel to ,isaiah was not the     
maker and destroyer of kings and        
constitutions8 ,when we call him by     
their title1 we mean to say that he1    
like them1 controlled by spiritual force
 the fortunes of his people4 ,whether he
 sought it or not1 this role of         
politician was thrust upon him by the   
course of events3 nor was the history of
 ,italian cities deficient in precedents
 of similar functions assumed by        
preaching friars4#a      #a ,it is      
enough to allude to ,arnold of ,brescia 
in ,rome1 to ,fra     ,bussolari in     
,pavia1 ami to ,john of ,vicenza4 ,sec  
,appendix iv4  ,to ,lorenzo succeeded   
the incompetent ,piero de' ,medici1 who 
surrendered the fortresses of ,tuscany  
to the ,french army4 ,while ,savonarola 
was prophesying a sword1 a scourge1 a   
deluge1 ,charles ,,viii4 rode at the    
head of his knighthood into ,florence4  

,the city was leaderless1 unused to     
liberty4 ,who but the monk who had      
predicted the invasion should now       
attempt to control it8 ,who but he whose
 voice alone had power to assemble and  
to sway the ,florentines should now     
direct them8 ,his administrative faculty
 in a narrow sphere had been proved by  
his reform of the ,dominican ,convents4 
,his divine mission was authenticated by
 the arrival of the ,french4 ,the ,lord 
had raised him up to act as well as to  
utter4 ,he felt this3 the people felt   
it4 ,he was not the man to refuse       
responsibility4  ,during the years of   
#adic and #adid1 when ,florence together
 with ,italy was in imminent peril1 the 
voice of ,savonarola never ceased to    
ring4 ,his sermons on the psalm ',quam  
bonus' and on the ,ark of ,noah are     
among the most stupendous triumphs of   
his eloquence4 ,from his pulpit beneath 
the somber dome of ,brunelleschi he kept
 pouring forth words of power to        
resuscitate the free spirit of his      

,florentines4 ,in #adie1 when the       
,medici had been expelled and the       
,french army had gone upon its way to   
,naples1 ,savonarola was called upon to 
reconstitute the state4 ,he bade the    
people abandon their old system of      
,parlamenti and ,balia1 and establish a 
,grand ,council after the ,venetian     
type4#a ,this institution1 which seemed 
to the ,florentines the best they had   
ever adopted1 might be regarded by the  
historian as only one among their many  
experiments in constitution-making1 if  
,savonarola had not stamped it with his 
peculiar genius by announcing that      
,christ was to be considered the ,head  
of the ,state4#b ,this step at once gave
 a theocratic bias to the government1   
which determined all the acts of the    
monk's administration4 ,not content with
 political organization1 too impatient  
to await the growth of good manners from
 sound institutions1 he set about a     
moral and religious reformation4 ,pomps1
 vanities1 and vices were to be         

abandoned4 ,immediately the women and   
the young men threw aside their silks   
and fine attire4 ,the ,carnival songs   
ceased4 ,hymns and processions took the 
place of obscene choruses and pagan     
triumphs4 ,the laws were remodeled in   
the same severe and abrupt spirit4      
,usury was abolished4 ,whatever         
,savonarola ordained1 ,florence         
executed4 ,by the magic of his influence
 the city for a moment assumed a new    
aspect4 ,it seemed as though the old    
austerity which ,dante and ,villani     
praised were about to return without the
 factious hate and pride that ruined    
medaeival ,tuscany4 ,in everything done 
by ,savonarola at this epoch there was a
 strange combination of political       
sagacity with monastic zeal4 ,neither   
,guicciardini nor ,machiavelli1 writing 
years afterwards1 when ,savonarola had  
fallen and ,florence was again enslaved1
 could propose anything wiser than his  
,consiglio ,grande4 ,yet the fierce     
revivalism advocated by the friar--the  

bonfire of ,lorenzo di ,credi's and ,fra
 ,bartolommeo's pictures1 of ,,mss1 of  
,boccaccio and classic poets1 and of all
 those fineries which a ,venetian ,jew  
is said to have valued in one heap at   
#bb1jjj florins--the recitation of such 
,bacchanalian songs as this--    ,never 
was there so sweet a gladness1   ,joy of
 so pure and strong a fashion1   ,as    
with zeal and love and passion   ,thus  
to embrace ,christ's holy madness6      
,cry with me1 cry as ,i now cry1        
,madness1 madness1 holy madness6  --the 
procession of boys and girls through the
 streets1 shaming their elders into     
hypocritical piety1 and breeding in     
their own hearts the intolerable        
priggishness of premature pietism--could
 not bring forth excellent and solid    
fruits4 ,the change was far too violent4
 ,the temper of the race was not        
prepared for it4 ,it clashed too rudely 
with ,renaissance culture4 ,it outraged 
the sense of propriety in the more      
moderate citizens1 and roused to        

vindictive fury the worst passions of   
the self-indulgent and the worldly4 ,a  
reaction was inevitable4#c      #a ,this
 change was certainly wrought out by the
 influence of     the friar and approved
 by him4 ,segni1 lib4 i4 p4 #ae1 speaks 
clearly on the point1 and says that the 
friar for this service     to the city  
'debbe esser messo tra buoni datori di  
leggi1 e     debbe essere amato e       
onorato da' ,fiorentini non altrimenti  
che     ,numa dai ,romani e ,solone     
dagli ,ateniesi e ,licurgo da'          
,lacedemoni4' ,the evil of the old      
system was that the     ,parlamento1    
which consisted of the citizens         
assembled in the     ,piazza1 was       
exposed to intimidation1 and had no     
proper     initiative1 while the ,balia1
 or select body1 to whom they then      
intrusted plenipotentiary authority1 was
 always the faction for     the moment  
uppermost4 ,for the mode of working the 
,parlamento     and ,balia1 see ,segni1 
p4 #aii2 ,nardi1 lib4 vi4 cap4 #d2      

,varchi1     vol4 ii4 p4 #cgb4          
,savonarola inscribed this octave stanza
 on the     wall of the ,consiglio      
,grande3       ',se questo popolar      
consiglio e certo       ,governo1 popol1
 de la tua cittate       ,conservi1 che 
da ,dio t'e stato offerto1       ,in    
pace starai sempre e libertate3         
,tien dunque l'occhio della mente       
aperto1       ,che molte insidie ognor  
ti fien parate2       ,e sappi che chi  
vuol far parlamento       ,vuol torti   
dalle mani il reggimento4'      #b ,see 
,varchi1 vol4 i4 p4 #afi4 ,niccolo      
,capponi1 in #aebg1     returning to the
 policy of ,savonarola1 caused the      
,florentines     to elect ,christ for   
their king1 and inscribed upon the door 
of     the ,palazzo ,pubblico3--        
,y4,h4,s4 ,,christus ,,rex ,,florentini 
,,populi ,s4,p4 ,,decreto ,,electus4    
#c ,the position of the ,puritan leaders
 in ,england was somewhat     similar to
 ,savonarola's4 ,but they had at the end
 of a long war1     the majority of the 

nation with them4 ,besides1 the ,english
     temperament was more adapted to    
,puritanism than the ,italian1     nor  
were the manifestations of piety        
prescribed by ,parliament     so        
extravagant4 ,and yet even in ,england a
 reaction took place     under the      
,restoration4  ,meanwhile the strong    
wine of prophecy intoxicated            
,savonarola4 ,his fiery temperament1    
strained to the utmost by the dead      
weight of ,florentine affairs that      
pressed upon him1 became more irritable 
day by day4 ,vision succeeded vision2   
trance followed upon trance2 agonies of 
dejection were suddenly transformed into
 outbursts of magnificent and           
soul-sustaining enthusiasm4 ,it was no  
wonder if1 passing as he had done from  
the discipline of the cloister to the   
dictatorship of a republic1 he should   
make extravagant mistakes4 ,the tension 
of this abnormal situation in the city  
grew to be excessive1 and cool thinkers 
predicted that ,savonarola's position   

would become untenable4 ,parties began  
to form and gather to a head4 ,the      
followers of the monk1 by far the       
largest section of the people1 received 
the name of ,piagnoni or ,frateschi4    
,the friends of the ,medici1 few at     
first and cautious1 were called ,bigi4  
,the opponents of ,savonarola and of the
 ,medici1 who hated his theocracy1 but  
desired to see an oligarchy and not a   
tyranny in ,florence1 were known as the 
,arrabbiati4  ,the discontent which     
germinated in ,florence displayed itself
 in ,rome4 ,alexander found it          
intolerable to be assailed as           
,antichrist by a monk who had made      
himself master of the chief ,italian    
republic4 ,at first he used his arts of 
blandishment and honeyed words in order 
to lure ,savonarola to ,rome4 ,the friar
 refused to quit ,florence4 ,then       
,alexander suspended him from preaching4
 ,savonarola obeyed1 but wrote at the   
same time to ,charles ,,viii4 denouncing
 his indolence and calling upon him to  

reform the ,church4 ,at the request of  
the ,florentine ,republic1 though still 
suffering from the ,pope's interdict1 he
 then resumed his preaching4 ,alexander 
sought next to corrupt the man he could 
not intimidate4 ,to the suggestion that 
a ,cardinal's hat might be offered him1 
,savonarola replied that he preferred   
the red crown of martyrdom4 ,ascending  
the pulpit of the ,duomo in #adif1 he   
preached the most fiery of all his      
,lenten courses4 ,of this series of     
orations ,milman writes3 ',his triumphal
 career began with the ,advent of #adid 
on ,haggai and the ,psalms4 ,but it is  
in the ,careme of #adif on ,amos and    
,zechariah that the preacher girds      
himself to his full strength1 when he   
had attained his full authority1 and    
could not but be conscious that there   
was a deep and dangerous rebellion      
brooding in the hearts of the hostile   
factions at ,florence1 and when already 
ominous rumors began to be heard from   
,rome4 ,he that would know the power1   

the daring1 the oratory of ,savonarola1 
must study this volume4'#a      #a      
,these sermons were printed from the    
notes taken by ,lorenzo     ,violi in   
one volume at ,venice1 #aecd4  ,very    
terrific indeed are the denunciations   
contained in these                      
discourses--denunciations fulminated    
without disguise against the ,pope and  
priests of ,rome1 against the ,medici1  
against the ,florentines themselves1 in 
whom the traces of rebellion were       
beginning to appear4 ,mingled with these
 vehement invectives1 couched in        
,savonarola's most impassioned style and
 heightened by his most impressive      
imagery1 are political harangues and    
polemical arguments against the ,pope4  
,the position assumed by the friar in   
his war with ,rome was not a strong one1
 and the reasoning by which he supported
 it was marked by curious self-deception
 mingled with apparent efforts to       
deceive his audience4 ,he had not the   
audacious originality of ,luther4 ,he   

never went to the length of braving     
,alexander by burning his bulls and by  
denying the authority of popes in       
general4 ,not daring to break all       
connection with the ,holy ,see1 he was  
driven to quibble about the distinction 
between the office and the man1 assuming
 a hazardous attitude of obedience to   
the ,church whose head and chief he     
daily outraged4 ,at the same time he    
took no pains to enlist the sympathies  
of the ,italian princes1 many of whom   
might presumably have been hostile to   
the ,pope1 on his side of the quarrel4  
,all the tyrants came in for a share of 
his prophetic indignation4 ,lodovico    
,sforza1 the lord of ,mirandola1 and    
,piero de' ,medici felt themselves      
specially aggrieved1 and kept urging    
,alexander to extinguish this source of 
scandal to established governments4     
,against so great and powerful a host   
one man could not stand alone4          
,savonarola's position became daily more
 dangerous in ,florence4 ,the merchants1

 excommunicated by the ,pope and thus   
exposed to pillage in foreign markets1  
grumbled at the friar who spoiled their 
trade4 ,the ban of interdiction lay upon
 the city1 where the sacraments could no
 longer be administered or the dead be  
buried with the rites of ,christians4   
,meanwhile a band of high-spirited and  
profligate young men1 called            
,compagnacci1 used every occasion to    
insult and interrupt him4 ,at last in   
,march #adih his staunch friends1 the   
,signory1 or supreme executive of       
,florence1 suspended him from preaching 
in the ,duomo4 ,even the populace were  
weary of the protracted quarrel with the
 ,holy ,see3 nor could any but his own  
fanatical adherents anticipate the wars 
which threatened the state1 with        
equanimity4  ,savonarola himself felt   
that the supreme hour was come4 ,one    
more resource was left2 to that he would
 now betake himself3 he could afterwards
 but die4 ,this last step was the       
convening of a general council4#a       

,accordingly he addressed letters to all
 the ,european potentates4 ,one of      
these1 inscribed to ,charles ,,viii41   
was dispatched1 intercepted1 and        
conveyed to ,alexander4 ,he wrote also  
to the ,pope and warned him of his      
purpose4 ,the termination of that       
epistle is noteworthy3 ',i can thus have
 no longer any hope in your ,holiness1  
but must turn to ,christ alone1 who     
chooses the weak of this world to       
confound the strong lions among the     
perverse generations4 ,he will assist me
 to prove and sustain1 in the face of   
the world1 the holiness of the work for 
the sake of which ,i so greatly suffer3 
and ,he will inflict a just punishment  
on those who persecute me and would     
impede its progress4 ,as for myself1 ,i 
seek no earthly glory1 but long eagerly 
for death4 ,may your ,holiness no longer
 delay but look to your salvation4'     
#a ,this scheme was by no means utterly 
unpractical4 ,the ,borgia     had only  
just escaped deposition in #adie by the 

gift of a     ,cardinal's hat to the    
,bishop of ,s4 ,malo4 ,he was hated no  
less     than feared through the length 
and breadth of ,italy4 ,but             
,savonarola had allowed the favorable   
moment to pass by4  ,but while girding  
on his armor for this singlehanded      
combat with the ,primate of ,christendom
 and the ,princes of ,italy1 the        
martyrdom to which ,savonarola now      
looked forward fell upon him4 ,growing  
yearly more confident in his visions and
 more willing to admit his supernatural 
powers1 he had imperceptibly prepared   
the pit which finally ingulfed him4     
,often had he professed his readiness to
 prove his vocation by fire4 ,now came  
the moment when this defiance to an     
ordeal was answered4#a ,a ,franciscan of
 ,apulia offered to meet him in the     
flames and see whether he were of ,god  
or not4 ,fra ,domenico1 ,savonarola's   
devoted friend1 took up the gauntlet and
 proposed himself as champion4 ,the     
furnace was prepared3 both monks stood  

ready to enter it3 all ,florence was    
assembled in the ,piazza to witness what
 should happen4 ,various obstacles1     
however1 arose2 and after waiting a     
whole day for the friar's triumph1 the  
people had to retire to their homes     
under a pelting shower of rain1         
unsatisfied1 and with a dreary sense    
that after all their prophet was but a  
mere man4 ,the ,compagnacci got the     
upper hand4 ,s4 ,mark's convent was     
besieged4 ,savonarola was led to prison1
 never to issue till the day of his     
execution by the rope and faggot4 ,we   
may draw a veil over those last weeks4  
,little indeed is known about them1     
except that in his cell the ,friar      
composed his meditations on the the     
#cast and #east ,psalms1 the latter of  
which was published in ,germany with a  
preface by ,luther in #aegc4 ,of the    
rest we hear only of prolonged torture  
before stupid and malignant judges1 of  
falsified evidence and of contradictory 
confessions4 ,what he really said and   

chose to stand by1 what he retracted1   
what he shrieked out in the delirium of 
the rack1 and what was falsely imputed  
to him1 no one now can settle4#b ,though
 the spirit was strong1 the flesh was   
weak2 he had the will but not the nerve 
to be a martyr4 ,at ten o'clock on the  
#bc;d of ,may #adih he was led forth    
together with brother ,salvestro1 the   
confidant of his visions1 and brother   
,domenico1 his champion in the affair of
 the ordeal1 to a stage prepared in the 
,piazza4#c ,these two men were hanged   
first4 ,savonarola was left till the    
last4 ,as the hangman tied the rope     
round his neck1 a voice from the crowd  
shouted3 ',prophet1 now is the time to  
perform a miracle6' ,the ,bishop of     
,vasona1 who conducted the execution1   
stripped his friar's frock from him1 and
 said1 ',i separate thee from the       
,church militant and triumphant4'       
,savonarola1 firm and combative even at 
the point of death1 replied1 ',militant 
yes3 triumphant1 no3 that is not yours4'

 ,the last words he uttered were1 ',the 
,lord has suffered as much for me4'     
,then the noose was tightened round his 
neck4 ,the fire beneath was lighted4    
,the flames did not reach his body while
 life was in it2 but those who gazed    
intently thought they saw the right hand
 give the sign of benediction4 ,a little
 child afterwards saw his heart still   
whole among the ashes cast into the     
,arno2 and almost to this day flowers   
have been placed every morning of the   
#bc;d of ,may upon the slab of the      
,piazza where his body fell4      #a    
,there seems to be no doubt that this   
,ordeal by ,fire was     finally got up 
by the ,compagnacci with the sanction of
 the     ,signory1 who were anxious to  
relieve themselves by any means of      
,savonarola4 ,the ,franciscan chosen to 
enter the flames together     with ,fra 
,domenico was a certain ,giuliano       
,rondinelli4 ,nardi     calls him       
,andrea ,rondinelli4      #b ,nardi1    
lib4 ii4 vol4 i4 p4 #abh1 treats the    

whole matter of     ,savonarola's       
confessions under torture with good     
sense4 ,he     says3 ',avendo domandato 
il frate quello che diceva e affermava  
delle sue esamine fatte infino a quel   
di1 rispose1 che cio ch'     egli aveva 
ne' tempi passati detto e predetto era  
la pura     verita1 e che quello di che 
s'era ridetto e aveva ritratto1 era     
tutto falso e era seguito per il dolor  
grande e per la paura     che egli aveva
 de' tormenti1 e che di nuovo si        
ridirebbe e     ritratterebbe tante     
volte1 quante ci fusse di nuovo         
tormentato1     percio che si conosceva 
molto debole e inconstante nel          
sopportare i supplicii4' ,burchard1 in  
his ,diary1 reports the     childish1   
foul1 malignant gossip current in ,rome4
 ,this may be     read in the ',preuves 
et ,observations' appended to the       
,memoirs     of ,de ,comines1 vol4 v4 p4
 #eab4 ,see the ,marchese ,gino         
,capponi's     ,storia della ,firenze   
7tom4 ii4 pp4 #bdh-ea7 for a critical   

analysis of the depositions falsely     
ascribed to ,savonarola4      #c ,there 
is a curious old picture in the         
,pinacoteca of ,perugia     which       
represents the burning of the three     
friars4 ,the whole     ,piazza della    
,signoria is shown1 with the houses of  
the     fifteenth century1 and without  
the statues which afterwards     adorned
 it4 ,the spectator fronts the ,palazzo1
 and has to his     extreme right the   
,loggia de' ,lanzi4 ,the center of the  
square is     occupied by a great       
circular pile of billets and fagots1 to 
which a wooden bridge of scaffolding    
leads from the left angle     of the    
,polazzo4 ,from the middle of the pile  
rises a pole1 to     which the bodies of
 the friars in their white clothes are  
suspended4 ,sta ,maria del ,fiore1 the  
,badia tower1 and the     distant hills 
above ,fiesole complete a scene which is
 no doubt     accurate in detail4  ,thus
 died ,savonarola3 and immediately he   
became a saint4 ,his sermons and other  

works were universally distributed4     
,medals in his honor were struck4       
,raphael painted him among the ,doctors 
of the ,church in the ,camera della     
,segnatura of the ,vatican4 ,the        
,church1 with strange inconsistency1    
proposed to canonize the man whom she   
had burned as a contumacious heretic and
 a corrupter of the people4 ,this       
canonization never took place3 but many 
,dominican ,churches used a special     
office with his name and in his honor4#a
 ,a legend similar to that of ,s4       
,francis in its wealth of mythical      
details embalmed the memory of even the 
smallest details of his life4 ,but1     
above all1 he lived in the hearts of the
 ,florentines4 ,for many years to come  
his name was the watchword of their     
freedom2 his prophecies sustained their 
spirit during the siege of #aebh2b and  
it was only by returning to his policy  
that ,niccolo ,capponi and ,francesco   
,carducci ruled the people through those
 troublous times4 ,the political action 

of ,savonarola forms but a short episode
 in the history of ,florence4 ,his moral
 revival belongs to the history of      
popular enthusiasm4 ,his philosophical  
and theological writings are chiefly    
interesting to the student of           
post-medaeival scholasticism4 ,his      
attitude as a monastic leader of the    
populace1 attempting to play the old    
game whereby the factious warfare of a  
previous age had been suspended by      
appeals to piety1 and politicians had   
looked for aid outside the nation1 was  
anachronistic4 ,but his prophecy1 his   
insight into the coming of a new era for
 the ,church and for ,italy1 is a main  
fact in the psychology of the           
,renaissance4      #a ,officio del      
,savonarola1 with preface by ,cesare    
,guasti4     ,firenze1 #ahfc4      #b   
,guicciardini1 in his ,ricordt1 ,no4 i41
 refers the     incredible obstinacy of 
the ,florentines at this period in      
hoping against all hope and reason to   
,savonarola3 'questa     ostinazione ha 

causata in gran parte a fede di non     
potere     perire1 secondo le           
predicazioni di ,fra ,jeronirno da      
,ferrara4'     ,,chapter ,x4  ,,charles 
,,viii4   ,the ,italian ,states confront
 the ,great ,nations of ,europe--,policy
 of ,louis ,,xi4 of ,france--,character 
of ,charles ,,viii4--,preparations for  
the ,invasion of ,italy--,position of   
,lodovico ,sforza--,diplomatic          
,difficulties in ,italy after the ,death
 of ,lorenzo de' ,medici--,weakness of  
the ,republics--,,ii ,moro--,the year   
#adid--;,alfonso of                     
,naples--,inefficiency of the ,allies to
 cope with ,france--,charles at ,lyons  
is stirred up to the ,invasion of ,italy
 by ,giuliano della ,rovere--,charles at
 ,asti and ,pavia--,murder of ,gian     
,galeazzo ,sforza--,mistrust in the     
,french ,army--,rapallo and             
,fivizzano--,the ,entrance into         
,tuscany--,part played by ,piero de'    
,medici--,charles at ,pisa--,his        
,entrance into ,florence--,piero        

,capponi--,the ,march on ,rome--,entry  
into ,rome--,panic of ,alexander        
,,vi4--,the ,march on ,naples--,the     
,spanish ,dynasty3 ,alfonso and         
,ferdinand--,alfonso ,,ii4 escapes to   
,sicily--,ferdinand ,,ii4 takes ,refuge 
in ,ischia--,charles at ,naples--,the   
,league against the ,french--,de        
,comines at ,venice--,charles makes his 
,retreat by ,rome1 ,siena1 ,pisa1 and   
,pontremoli--,the ,battle of            
,fornovo--,charles reaches ,asti and    
returns to ,france--,italy becomes the  
,prize to be fought for by ,france1     
,spain1 and ,germany--,importance of the
 ,expedition of ,charles ,,viii4   ,one 
of the chief features of the            
,renaissance was the appearance for the 
first time on the stage of history of   
full-formed and colossal nations4       
,france1 ,spain1 ,austria1 and ,england 
are now to measure their strength4      
,venice1 ,florence1 ,milan1 ,naples1    
even ,rome1 are destined in the period  
that is opening for ,europe to play but 

secondary parts4 ,italy1 incapable of   
coping with these great powers1 will    
become the mere arena of their contests1
 the object of their spoliations4 ,yet  
the ,italians themselves were far from  
being conscious of this change4         
,accustomed through three centuries to a
 system of diplomacy and intrigue among 
their own small states1 they still      
thought more of the balance of power    
within the peninsula than of the means  
to be adopted for repelling foreign     
force4 ,their petty jealousies kept them
 disunited at an epoch when the best    
chance of national freedom lay in a     
federation4 ,firmly linked together in  
one league1 or subject to a single      
prince1 the ,italians might not only    
have met their foes on equal ground1 but
 even have taken a foremost place among 
the modern nations4#a ,instead of that1 
their princes were foolish enough to    
think that they could set ,france1      
,germany1 or ,spain in motion for the   
attainment of selfish objects within the

 narrow sphere of ,italian politics1    
forgetting the disproportion between    
these huge monarchies and a single city 
like ,florence1 a mere province like the
 ,milanese4 ,it was just possible for   
,lorenzo de' ,medici to secure the      
tranquillity of ,italy by combining the 
,houses of ,sforza and of ,aragon with  
the ,papal ,see in the chains of the    
same interested policy with the         
,commonwealth of ,florence4 ,it was     
ridiculous of ,lodovico ,sforza to fancy
 that he could bring the ,french into   
the game of peninsular intrigue without 
irrevocably ruining its artificial      
equilibrium4 ,the first sign of the     
alteration about to take place in       
,european history was the invasion of   
,italy by ,charles ,,viii4 ,this holiday
 excursion of a hairbrained youth was as
 transient as a border-foray on a large 
scale4 ,the so-called conquest was only 
less sudden than the subsequent loss of 
,italy by the ,french4 ,yet the tornado 
which swept the peninsula from north to 

south1 and returned upon its path from  
south to north within the space of a few
 months1 left ineffaceable traces on the
 country which it traversed1 and changed
 the whole complexion of the politics of
 ,europe4      #a ,read1 however1       
,sismondi's able argument against the   
view     that ,italy1 united as a single
 nation under a sovereign1 would        
have been better off1 vol4 vii4 p4 #bih 
et seq4 ,he is of opinion     that her  
only chance lay in a ,confederation4    
,see chapter ii4     above1 for a       
discussion of this chance4  ,the        
invasion of ,italy had been long        
prepared in the counsels of ,louis ,,xi4
 ,after spending his lifetime in the    
consolidation of the ,french monarchy1  
he constructed an inheritance of further
 empire for his successors by dictating 
to the old ,king ,rene of ,anjou 7#adgd7
 and to the ,count of ,maine 7#adha7 the
 two wills by which the pretensions of  
the ,house of ,anjou to the ,crown of   
,naples were transmitted to the royal   

family of ,france4#a ,on the death of   
,louis1 ,charles ,,viii4 became ,king in
 #adhc4 ,he was then aged only thirteen1
 and was still governed by his elder    
sister1 ,anne de ,beaujeu4#b ,it was not
 until #adib that he actually took the  
reins of the kingdom into his own hands4
 ,this year1 we may remark1 is one of   
the most memorable dates in history4 ,in
 #adib ,columbus discovered ,america3 in
 #adib ,roderigo ,borgia was made ,pope3
 in #adib ,spain became a nation by the 
conquest of ,granada4 ,each of these    
events was no less fruitful of          
consequences to ,italy than was the     
accession of ,charles ,,viii4 ,the      
discovery of ,america1 followed in      
another six years by ,vasco de' ,gama's 
exploration of the ,indian seas1        
diverted the commerce of the world into 
new channels2 ,alexander ,,vi4 made the 
,reformation and the ,northern ,schism  
certainties2 the consolidation of ,spain
 prepared a way for the autocracy of    
,charles ,v4 ,thus the commercial1 the  

spiritual1 and the political scepter    
fell in this one year from the grasp of 
the ,italians4      #a ,sismondi1 vol4  
vi4 p4 #bhe4 ,the ,appendix of ,pieces  
,justificatives to ,philip de ,comines' 
,memoirs contains the     will of ,rene 
,king of ,sicily1 ,count of ,provence1  
dated ,july #bb1     #adgd1 by which he 
constitutes his nephew1 ,charles of     
,anjou1     ,duke of ,calabria1 ,count  
of ,maine1 his heir-in-chief2 as well as
     the will of ,charles of ,anjou1    
,king of ,sicily1 ,count of             
,provence1 dated ,december #aj1 #adha1  
by which he makes ,louis ,,xi4     his  
heir1 naming ,charles the ,dauphin next 
in succession4      #b ,her husband was 
a cadet of the ,house of ,bourbon4      
,both ,philip de ,comines and           
,guicciardini have described the        
appearance and the character of the     
prince who was destined to play a part  
so prominent1 so pregnant of results1   
and yet so trivial in the affairs of    
,europe4 ,providence1 it would seem1    

deigns frequently to use for the most   
momentous purposes some pantaloon or    
puppet1 environing with special         
protection and with the prayers and     
aspirations of whole peoples a mere     
manikin4 ,such a puppet was ,charles4   
',from infancy he had been weak in      
constitution and subject to illness4    
,his stature was short1 and his face    
very ugly1 if you except the dignity and
 vigor of his glance4 ,his limbs were so
 disproportioned that he had less the   
appearance of a man than of a monster4  
,not only was he ignorant of liberal    
arts1 but he hardly knew his letters4   
,though eager to rule1 he was in truth  
made for anything but that2 for while   
surrounded by dependents1 he exercised  
no authority over them and preserved no 
kind of majesty4 ,hating business and   
fatigue1 he displayed in such matters as
 he took in hand a want of prudence and 
of judgment4 ,his desire for glory      
sprang rather from impulse than from    
reason4 ,his liberality was             

inconsiderate1 immoderate1 promiscuous4 
,when he displayed inflexibility of     
purpose1 it was more often an           
ill-founded obstinacy than firmness1 and
 that which many people called his      
goodness of nature rather deserved the  
name of coldness and feebleness of      
spirit4' ,this is ,guicciardini's       
portrait4 ,de ,comines is more brief3   
',the king was young1 a fledgling from  
the nest2 provided neither with money   
nor with good sense2 weak1 willful1 and 
surrounded by foolish counselors4'      
,these foolish counselors1 or1 as       
,guicciardini calls them1 'men of low   
estate1 body-servants for the most part 
of the king1' were headed by ,stephen de
 ,vesc1 who had been raised from the    
post of the king's valet de chambre to  
be the ,seneschal de ,beaucaire1 and by 
,william ,briconnet1 formerly a         
merchant1 now ,bishop of ,s4 ,malo4     
,these men had everything to gain by an 
undertaking which would flatter the     
vanity of their master1 and draw him    

into still closer relations with        
themselves4 ,consequently1 when the     
,count of ,belgioioso arrived at the    
,french ,court from ,milan1 urging the  
king to press his claims on ,naples1 and
 promising him a free entrance into     
,italy through the province of ,lombardy
 and the port of ,genoa1 he found ready 
listeners4 ,anne de ,beaujeu in vain    
opposed the scheme4 ,the splendor and   
novelty of the proposal to conquer such 
a realm as ,italy inflamed the          
imagination of ,charles1 the cupidity of
 his courtiers1 the ambition of de ,vesc
 and ,briconnet4 ,in order to assure his
 situation at home1 ,charles concluded  
treaties with the neighboring great     
powers4 ,he bought peace with ,henry    
,,vii4 of ,england by the payment of    
large sums of money4 ,the ,emperor      
,maximilian1 whose resentment he had    
aroused by sending back his daughter    
,margaret after breaking his promise to 
marry her1 and by taking to wife ,anne  
of ,brittany1 who was already engaged to

 the ,austrian1 had to be appeased by   
the cession of provinces4 ,ferdinand of 
,spain received as the price of his     
neutrality the strong places of the     
,pyrenees which formed the key to       
,france upon that side4 ,having thus    
secured tranquillity at home by ruinous 
concessions1 ,charles was free to turn  
his attention to ,italy4 ,he began by   
concentrating stores and ships on the   
southern ports of ,marseilles and       
,genoa2 then he moved downward with his 
army1 to ,lyons1 in #adid4  ,at this    
point we are called to consider the     
affairs of ,italy1 which led the ,sforza
 to invite his dangerous ally4 ,lorenzo 
de' ,medici during his lifetime had     
maintained a balance of power between   
the several states by his treaties with 
the ,courts of ,milan1 ,naples1 and     
,ferrara4 ,when he died1 ,piero at once 
showed signs of departure from his      
father's policy4 ,the son and husband of
 ,orsini1#a he embraced the feudal pride
 and traditional partialities of the    

great ,roman house who had always been  
devoted to the cause of ,naples4 ,the   
suspicions of ,lodovico ,sforza were not
 unreasonably aroused by noticing that  
the tyrant of ,florence inclined to the 
alliance of ,king ,ferdinand rather than
 to his own friendship4 ,at this same   
time ,alfonso1 the ,duke of ,calabria1  
heir to the throne of ,naples1 was      
pressing the rights of his son-in-law1  
,gian ,galeazzo ,sforza1 on the         
attention of ,italy1 complaining loudly 
that his uncle ,lodovico ought no longer
 to withhold from him the reins of      
government4#b ,gian ,galcazzo was in    
fact the legitimate successor of        
,galeazzo ,maria ,sforza1 who had been  
murdered in ,santo ,stefano in #adgf4   
,after this assassination ,madonna ,bona
 of ,savoy and ,cecco ,simonetta1 who   
had administered the ,duchy as grand    
vizier during three reigns extending    
over a period of half a century1        
governed ,milan as regents for the young
 ,duke4 ,but ,lodovico1 feeling himself 

powerful enough to assume the tyranny1  
beheaded ,simonetta at ,pavia in #adhj1 
and caused ,madonna ,bona1 the ,duke's  
mother1 on the pretext of her           
immorality1 to quit the regency4 ,thus  
he took the affairs of ,milan into his  
own hands1 confined his nephew in an    
honorable prison1 and acted in a way to 
make it clear that he intended          
thenceforth to be ,duke in fact4#c ,it  
was the bad conscience inseparable from 
this usurpation which made him mistrust 
the princes of the house of ,aragon1    
whose rights in ,isabella1 wife of the  
young ,duke1 were set at nought by him4 
,the same uneasy sense of wrong inclined
 him to look with dread upon the        
friendship of the ,medici for the ruling
 family of ,naples4      #a ,his mother 
,clarice and his wife ,alfonsina were   
both of them     ,orsini4 ,guicciardini1
 in his ',dialogo del ,reggimento di    
,firenze' 7,op4 ,ined4 vol4 ii4 p4 #df71
 says of him3 'sendo nato     di madre  
forestiera1 era imbastardito in lui il  

sangue     ,fiorentino1 e degenerato in 
costumi esterni1 e troppo insolenti     
e altieri al nostro vivere4' ,piero1    
nevertheless1 refused to     accept     
estates from ,king ,alfonso which would 
have made him a     ,baron and feudatory
 of ,naples4 ,see ,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 i4 
p4 #cdg4      #b ,the young ,duke was   
aged twenty-four in #adic4      #c      
,lodovico had taken measures for        
cloaking his usurpation     with the    
show of legitimate right4 ,he betrothed 
his niece     ,bianca ,maria1 in #adid1 
to the ,emperor ,maximilian1 with a     
dower     of #djj1jjj ducats1 receiving 
in return an investiture of the         
,duchy1 which1 however1 he kept secret4 
,while affairs were in this state1 and  
as yet no open disturbance in ,lorenzo's
 balance of power had taken place1      
,alexander ,,vi4 was elected to the     
,papacy4 ,it was usual for the princes  
and cities of ,italy to compliment the  
,pope with embassies on his assumption  
of the tiara2 and ,lodovico suggested   

that the representatives of ,milan1     
,florence1 ,ferrara1 and ,naples should 
enter ,rome together in a body4 ,the    
foolish vanity of ,piero1 who wanted to 
display the splendor of his own equipage
 without rivals1 induced him to refuse  
this proposal1 and led to a similar     
refusal on the part of ,ferdinand4 ,this
 trivial circumstance confirmed the     
suspicions of ,lodovico1 who1 naturally 
subtle and intriguing1 thought that he  
discerned a deep political design in    
what was really little more than the    
personal conceit of a broad-shouldered  
simpleton4#a ,he already foresaw that   
the old system of alliances established 
by ,lorenzo must be abandoned4 ,another 
slight incident contributed to throw the
 affairs of ,italy into confusion by    
causing a rupture between ,rome and     
,naples4 ,lorenzo1 by the marriage of   
his daughter to ,franceschetto ,cibo1   
had contrived to engage ,innocent       
,,viii4 in the scheme of policy which he
 framed for ,florence1 ,naples1 ,milan1 

and ,ferrara4 ,but on the accession of  
,alexander1 ,franceschetto ,cibo        
determined to get rid of ,anguillara1   
,cervetri1 and other fiefs1 which he had
 taken with his father's connivance from
 the ,church4 ,he found a purchaser in  
,virginio ,orsini4 ,alexander complained
 that the sale was an infringement of   
his rights4 ,ferdinand supported the    
title of the ,orsini to his new         
acquisitions4 ,this alienated the ,pope 
from the ,king of ,naples1 and made him 
willing to join with ,milan and ,venice 
in a new league formed in #adic4      #a
 ,piero de' ,medici was what the ,french
 call a bel homme1     and little more4 
,he was tall1 muscular1 and well-made1  
the best     player at pallone in       
,italy1 a good horseman1 fluent and     
agreeable in conversation1 and          
excessively vain of these               
advantages4  ,thus the old equilibrium  
was destroyed1 and fresh combinations   
between the disunited powers of ,italy  
took place4 ,lodovico1 however1 dared   

not trust his new friends4 ,venice had  
too long hankered after ,milan to be    
depended upon for real support2 and     
,alexander was known to be in treaty for
 a matrimonial alliance between his son 
,geoffrey and ,donna ,sancia of ,aragon4
 ,lodovico was therefore alone1 without 
a firm ally in ,italy1 and with a       
manifestly fraudulent title to maintain4
 ,at this juncture he turned his eyes   
towards ,france2 while his              
father-in-law1 the ,duke of ,ferrara1   
who secretly hated him1 and who         
selfishly hoped to secure his own       
advantage in the general confusion which
 he anticipated1 urged him to this fatal
 course4 ,alexander at the same time1   
wishing to frighten the princes of      
,naples into a conclusion of the        
projected marriage1 followed the lead of
 ,lodovico1 and showed himself at this  
moment not averse to a ,french invasion4
  ,it was in this way that the private  
cupidities and spites of princes brought
 woe on ,italy3 ,lodovico's             

determination to secure himself in the  
usurped ,duchy of ,milan1 ,ercole d'    
,este's concealed hatred1 and           
,alexander's unholy eagerness to        
aggrandize his bastards1 were the vile  
and trivial causes of an event which1   
however inevitable1 ought to have been  
as long as possible deferred by all true
 patriots in ,italy4 ,but in ,italy     
there was no zeal for freedom left1 no  
honor among princes1 no virtue in the   
,church4 ,italy1 which in the thirteenth
 century numbered #a1hjj1jjj            
citizens--that is1 members of free      
cities1 exercising the franchise in the 
government of their own states--could   
show in the fifteenth only about #ah1jjj
 such burghers3#a and these in ,venice  
were subject to the tyranny of the      
,council of ,ten1 in ,florence had been 
enervated by the ,medici1 in ,siena were
 reduced by party feuds and vulgar      
despotism to political imbecility4 ,amid
 all the splendors of revived literature
 and art1 of gorgeous courts and refined

 societies1 this indeed was the right   
moment for the ,dominican visionary to  
publish his prophecies1 and for the     
hunchback puppet of destiny to fulfill  
them4 ,guicciardini deplores1 not       
without reason1 the bitter sarcasm of   
fate which imposed upon his country the 
insult of such a conqueror as ,charles4 
,he might with equal justice have       
pointed out in ,lodovico ,sforza the    
actor of a tragi-comic part upon the    
stage of ,italy4 ,lodovico1 called ,,ii 
,moro1 not1 as the great historian      
asserts1 because he was of dark         
complexion1 but because he had adopted  
the mulberry-tree for his device1#b was 
in himself an epitome of all the        
qualities which for the last two        
centuries had contributed to the        
degradation of ,italy in the persons of 
the despots4 ,gifted originally with    
good abilities1 he had so accustomed    
himself to petty intrigues that he was  
now incapable of taking a               
straightforward step in any direction4  

,while he boasted himself the ,son of   
,fortune and listened with complacency  
to a foolish rhyme that ran3 ,god only  
and the ,moor foreknow the future safe  
and sure1 he never acted without        
blundering1 and lived to end his days in
 the intolerable tedium of imprisonment 
at ,loches4 ,he was a thoughtful and    
painstaking ruler2 yet he so far failed 
to win the affection of his subjects    
that they tossed up their caps for joy  
at the first chance of getting rid of   
him4 ,he disliked bloodshed2 but the    
judicial murder of ,simonetta1 and the  
arts by which he forced his nephew into 
an early grave1 have left an            
ineffaceable stain upon his memory4 ,his
 court was adorned by the presence of   
,lionardo da ,vinci2 but at the same    
time it was so corrupt that1 as ,corio  
tells us1#c fathers sold their          
daughters1 brothers their sisters1 and  
husbands their wives there4 ,in a word  
,lodovico1 in spite of his boasted      
prudence1 wrought the ruin of ,italy and

 himself by his tortuous policy1 and    
contributed by his private crimes and   
dissolute style of living no little to  
the general depravity of his country4#d 
#a ,this is ,sismondi's calculation     
7vol4 vii4 p4 #cje74 ,it must     be    
taken as a rough one4 ,still students   
who have weighed the     facts presented
 in ,ferrari's ,rivoluzioni d' ,italia  
will not     think the estimate         
exaggerated4 ,in the municipal and civil
     wars1 free burghs were extinguished
 by the score4      #b ,see ,varchi1    
vol4 i4 p4 #di4 ,also the ,elogia of    
,paulus     ,jovius1 who remarks that   
the complexion of ,lodovico was fair4   
,his surname1 however1 provoked puns4   
,me had1 for example1 a     picture     
painted1 in which ,italy1 dressed like a
 queen1 is     having her robe brushed  
by a ,moorish page4 ,a motto ran        
beneath1     ,per ,italia nettar d' ogni
 bruttura4 ,he adopted the mulberry     
because ,pliny called it the most       
prudent of all trees1 inasmuch     as it

 waits till winter is well over to put  
forth its leaves1     and ,lodovico     
piqued himself on his sagacity in       
choosing the     right moment for       
action4      #c ,l' ,historia di        
,milano1 ,vinegia1 #aeed1 p4 #ddh3 ',a  
quella     7scola di ,venere7 per ogni  
canto vi si convenivan bellissimi       
giovani4 ,i padri vi concedevano le     
figliuole1 i mariti le     mogliere1 i  
fratelli le sorelle2 e per sifatto modo 
senz' alcun     riguardo molti          
concorreano all' amoroso ballo1 che cosa
     stupendissima era riputata per     
qualunque l' intendeva4'      #d        
,guicciardini1 ,storia d' ,italia1 lib4 
iii4 p4 #ce1 sums up     the character  
of ,lodovico with masterly completeness4
  ,amid this general perturbation of the
 old political order the year #adid1    
marked in its first month by the death  
of ,king ,ferdinand1 began--'a year1' to
 quote from ,guicciardini1 'the most    
unfortunate for ,italy1 the very first  
in truth of our disastrous years1 since 

it opened the door to numberless and    
horrible calamities1 in which it may be 
said that a great portion of the world  
has subsequently shared4' ,the          
expectation and uneasiness of the whole 
nation were proportioned to the         
magnitude of the coming change4 ,on     
every side the invasion of the ,french  
was regarded with that sort of          
fascination which a very new and        
exciting event is wont to inspire4 ,in  
one mood the ,italians were inclined to 
hail ,charles as a general pacificator  
and restorer of old liberties4#a        
,savonarola had preached of him as the  
flagellum ,dei1 the minister appointed  
to regenerate the ,church and purify the
 font of spiritual life in the          
peninsula4 ,in another frame of mind    
they shuddered to think what the advent 
of the barbarians--so the ,french were  
called--might bring upon them4 ,it was  
universally agreed that ,lodovico by his
 invitation had done no more than bring 
down1 as it were1 by a breath the       

avalanche which had been long impending4
 ',not only the preparations made by    
land and sea1 but also the consent of   
the heavens and of men1 announced the   
woes in store for ,italy4 ,those who    
pretend either by art or divine         
inspiration to the knowledge of the     
future1 proclaimed unanimously that     
greater and more frequent changes1      
occurrences more strange and awful than 
had for many centuries been seen in any 
part of the world1 were at hand4' ,after
 enumerating divers signs and portents1 
such as the passing day after day in the
 region round ,arezzo of innumerable    
armed men mounted on gigantic horses    
with a hideous din of drums and         
trumpets1 the great historian resumes3  
',these things filled the people with   
incredible fear2 for1 long before1 they 
had been terrified by the reputation of 
the power of the ,french and of their   
fierceness1 seeing that histories are   
full of their deeds--how they had       
already overrun the whole of ,italy1    

sacked the city of ,rome with fire and  
sword1 subdued many provinces of ,asia1 
and at one time or another smitten with 
their arms all quarters of the world4'  
#a ,this was the strictly popular as    
opposed to the     aristocratic feeling4
 ,the common folk1 eager for novelty and
     smarting under the bad rule of     
monsters like the ,aragonese            
princes1 expected in ,charles ,,viii4 a 
,messiah1 and cried     ',benedictus qui
 venit in nomine ,domini4' ,see passages
 quoted in     a note below4  ,among all
 the potentates of ,italy1 ,alfonso of  
,naples had the most to dread2 for      
against him the invasion was specially  
directed4 ,no time was to be lost4 ,he  
assembled his allies at ,vicovaro near  
,tivoli in ,july and explained to them  
his theory of resistance4 ,the allies   
were ,florence1 ,rome1 ,bologna1 and all
 the minor powers of ,romagna4#a ,for   
once the southern and the middle states 
of ,italy were united against a common  
foe4 ,after ,alfonso1 ,alexander felt   

himself in greatest peril1 for he       
dreaded the assembly of a ,council which
 might depose him from the throne he had
 bought by simony4 ,so strong was his   
terror that he had already sent         
ambassadors to the ,sultan imploring him
 for aid against the ,most ,christian   
,king1 and had entreated ,ferdinand the 
,catholic1 instead of undertaking a     
crusade against the ,turk1 to employ his
 arms in opposition to the ,french4 ,but
 ,bajazet was too far off to be of use2 
and ,ferdinand was prudent4 ,it remained
 for the allies to repel the invader by 
their unassisted force4 ,this might have
 been done if ,alfonso's plan had been  
adhered to4 ,he designed sending a      
fleet1 under his brother ,don ,federigo1
 to ,genoa1 and holding with his own    
troops the passes of the ,apennines to  
the ,north1 while ,piero de' ,medici    
undertook to guard the entrances to     
,tuscany on the side of ,lunigiana4 ,the
 ,duke of ,calabria meanwhile was to    
raise ,gian ,galeazzo's standard in     

,lombardy4 ,but that absolute agreement 
which is necessary in the execution of a
 scheme so bold and comprehensive was   
impossible in ,italy4 ,the ,pope        
insisted that attention should first be 
paid to the ,colonnesi--,prospero and   
,fabrizio being secret friends of       
,france1 and their castles offering a   
desirable booty4 ,alfonso1 therefore1   
determined to occupy the confines of the
 ,roman territory on the side of the    
,abruzzi1 while he sent his son1 with   
the generals ,giovan ,jacopo da         
,trivulzi and the ,count of ,pitigliano1
 into ,lombardy4 ,they never advanced   
beyond ,cesena1 where the troops of the 
,sforza1 in conjunction with the        
,french1 held them at bay4 ,the fleet   
under ,don ,federigo sailed too late to 
effect the desired rising in ,genoa4    
,the ,french1 forewarned1 had thrown    
#b1jjj ,swiss under the ,baily of ,dijon
 and the ,duke of ,orleans into the     
city1 and the ,neapolitan admiral fell  
back upon ,leghorn4 ,the forces of the  

league were further enfeebled and       
divided by the necessity of leaving     
,virginio ,orsini to check the          
,colonnesi in the neighborhood of ,rome4
 ,how utterly ,piero de' ,medici by his 
folly and defection ruined what remained
 of the plan will be seen in the sequel4
 ,this sluggishness in action and       
dismemberment of forces--this total     
inability to strike a sudden            
blow--sealed beforehand the success of  
,charles4 ,alfonso1 a tyrant afraid of  
his own subjects1 ,alexander1 a ,pope   
who had bought the tiara to the disgust 
of ,christendom1 ,piero1 conscious that 
his policy was disapproved by the       
,florentines1 together with a parcel of 
egotistical petty despots1 were not the 
men to save a nation4 ,italy was        
conquered1 not by the ,french king1 but 
by the vices of her own leaders4 ,the   
whole history of ,charles's expedition  
is one narrative of headlong rashness   
triumphing over difficulties and dangers
 which only the discord of tyrants and  

the disorganization of peoples rendered 
harmless4 ,the ,ate of the gods had     
descended upon ,italy1 as though to     
justify the common belief that the      
expedition of ,charles was divinely     
sustained and guided4#b      #a ,venice 
remained neutral4 ,she had refused to   
side with     ,charles1 on the pretext  
that the fear of the ,turk kept her     
engaged4 ,she declined to join the      
league of ,alfonso by saying     it was 
mad to save others at the risk of       
drawing the war into     your own       
territory4 ,nothing is more striking    
than the want of     patriotic sentiment
 or generous concurrence to a common end
 in     ,italy at this time4 ,florence1 
by temper and tradition favorable     to
 ,france1 had been drawn into the league
 by ,piero de' ,medici1     whose       
sympathies were firm for the ,aragonese 
princes4      #b ,this1 of course1 was  
,savonarola's prophecy4 ,but both       
,guicciardini and ,de ,comities use     
invariably the same language4     ,the  

phrase ,dieu monstroit conduire         
l'entreprise frequently     recurs in   
the ,memoirs of ,de ,comines4  ,while   
,alfonso and ,alexander were providing  
for their safety in the ,south1 ,charles
 remained at ,lyons1 still uncertain    
whether he should enter ,italy by sea or
 land1 or indeed whether he should enter
 it at all4 ,having advanced so far as  
the ,rhone valley1 he felt satisfied    
with his achievement and indulged       
himself in a long bout of tournaments   
and pastimes4 ,besides1 the want of     
money1 which was to be his chief        
embarrassment throughout the expedition1
 had already made itself felt4#a ,it was
 an ,italian who at length roused him to
 make good his purpose against          
,italy--,giuliano della ,rovere1#b the  
haughty nephew of ,sixtus1 the          
implacable foe of ,alexander1 whom he   
was destined to succeed in course of    
time upon the ,papal throne4 ,burning to
 punish the ,marrano1 or apostate ,moor1
 as he called ,alexander1 ,giuliano     

stirred the king with taunts and menaces
 until ,charles felt he could delay his 
march no longer4 ,when once the ,french 
army got under weigh1 it moved rapidly4 
,leaving ,vienne on ,august #bc1 #adid1 
#c1fjj men at arms1 the flower of the   
,french chivalry1 #f1jjj ,breton        
archers1 #f1jjj crossbowmen1 #h1jjj     
,gascon infantry1 #h1jjj ,swiss and     
,german lances1 crossed the ,mont       
,genevre1 debouched on ,susa1 passed    
through ,turin1 and entered ,asti on    
,september #ai4c ,neither ,piedmont nor 
,montferrat stirred to resist them4 ,yet
 at almost any point upon the route they
 might have been at least delayed by    
hardy mountaineers until the            
commissariat of so large a force had    
proved an insurmountable difficulty4    
,but before this hunchback conqueror    
with the big head and little legs1 the  
valleys had been exalted and the rough  
places had been made plain4 ,the princes
 whose interest it might have been to   
throw obstacles in the way of ,charles  

were but children4 ,the ,duke of ,savoy 
was only twelve years old1 the ,marquis 
of ,montferrat fourteen2 their mothers  
and guardians made terms with the       
,french king1 and opened their          
territories to his armies4      #a ',la 
despense de ces navires estoit fort     
grande1 et suis     d'advis qu'elle     
cousta trois cens mille francs1 et si ne
 servit     de rien1 et y alla tout     
l'argent contant que le ,roy peut finer 
de ses finances3 car comme j'ay dit1 il 
n'estoit point pourveu     ne de sens1  
ne d'argent1 oy d'autre chose necessaire
 a telle     entreprise1 et si en vint  
bien a bout1 moyennant la grace de      
,dieu1 qui clairement le donna ainsi a  
cognoistre4' ,de ,comines1     lib4 vii4
      #b ,guicciardini calls him on this
 occasion 'fatale instrumento     e     
allora e prima e poi de' mali d'        
,italia4' ,lib4 i4 cap4 #c4      #c ,i  
have followed the calculation of        
,sismondi 7vol4 vii4 p4     #chc71 to   
which should be added perhaps another   

#aj1jjj in all     attached to the      
artillery1 and #b1jjj for sappers1      
miners1     carpenters1 etc4 ,see       
,dennistoun1 ,dukes of ,urbino1 vol4 i4 
p4     #dcc1 for a detailed list of     
,charles's armaments by land and        
sea4  ,at ,asti ,charles was met by     
,lodovico ,sforza and his father-in-law1
 ,ercole d' ,este4 ,the whole of that   
,milanese ,court which ,corio           
describes#a followed in their train4 ,it
 was the policy of the ,italian princes 
to entrap their conqueror with          
courtesies1 and to entangle in silken   
meshes the barbarian they dreaded4 ,what
 had happened already at ,lyons1 what   
was going to repeat itself at ,naples1  
took place at ,asti4 ,the ,french king  
lost his heart to ladies1 and confused  
his policy by promises made to ,delilahs
 in the ballroom4 ,at ,asti he fell ill 
of the small-pox1 but after a short time
 he recovered his health1 and proceeded 
to ,pavia4 ,here a serious entanglement 
of interests arose4 ,charles was bound  

by treaties and engagements to ,lodovico
 and his proud wife ,beatrice d' ,este2 
the very object of his expedition was to
 dethrone ,alfonso and to assume the    
crown of ,naples2 yet at ,pavia he had  
to endure the pathetic spectacle of his 
forlorn cousin#b the young ,giovanni    
,galeazzo ,sforza in prison1 and to hear
 the piteous pleadings of the beautiful 
,isabella of ,aragon4 ,nursed in        
chivalrous traditions1 incapable of     
resisting a woman's tears1 what was     
,charles to do1 when this princess in   
distress1 the wife of his first cousin1 
the victim of his friend ,lodovico1 the 
sister of his foe ,alfonso1 fell at his 
feet and besought him to have mercy on  
her husband1 on her brother1 on herself8
 ,the situation was indeed enough to    
move a stouter heart than that of the   
feeble young king4 ,for the moment      
,charles returned evasive answers to his
 petitioners2 but the trouble of his    
soul was manifest1 and no sooner had he 
set forth on his way to ,piacenza than  

the ,moor resolved to remove the cause  
of further vacillation4 ,sending to     
,pavia1 ,lodovico had his nephew        
poisoned4#c ,when the news of ,gian     
,galeazzo's death reached the ,french   
camp1 it spread terror and imbittered   
the mistrust which was already springing
 up between the frank cavaliers and the 
plausible ,italians with whom they had  
to deal4      #a ,see above1 p4 #edh4   
#b ,the mothers of ,charles ,,viii4 and 
,gian ,galeazzo were     sisters1       
princesses of ,savoy4      #c ,sismondi 
does not discuss the fact minutely1 but 
he     inclines to believe that ,gian   
,galeazzo was murdered4 ,michelet       
raises a doubt about it1 though the     
evidence is such as he     would have   
accepted without question in the case of
 a ,borgia4     ,guicciardini1 who      
recounts the whole matter at length1    
says     that all ,italy believed the   
,duke had been murdered1 and quotes     
,teodoro da ,pavia1 one of the royal    
physicians1 who attested to     having  

seen clear signs of a slow poison in the
 young man4     ,pontano1 de ,prudentia1
 lib4 #d1 repeats the accusation4       
,guicciardini only doubts ,lodovico's   
motives4 ,he inclines to     think the  
murder had been planned long before1 and
 that ,charles     was invited into     
,italy in order that ,lodovico might    
have a good     opportunity for         
effecting it1 while at the same time he 
had     taken care to get the           
investiture of the ,duchy from the      
,emperor     ready against the event4   
,what was this beautiful land in the    
midst of which they found themselves1 a 
land whose marble palaces were thronged 
with cut-throats in disguise1 whose     
princes poisoned while they smiled1     
whose luxuriant meadows concealed fever1
 whose ladies carried disease upon their
 lips8 ,to the captains and the soldiery
 of ,france1 ,italy already appeared a  
splendid and fascinating ,circe1 arrayed
 with charms1 surrounded with illusions1
 hiding behind perfumed thickets her    

victims changed to brutes1 and building 
the couch of her seduction on the bones 
of murdered men4 ,yet she was so        
beautiful that1 halt as they might for a
 moment and gaze back with yearning on  
the ,alps that they had crossed1 they   
found themselves unable to resist her   
smile4 ,forward they must march through 
the garden of enchantment1 henceforth   
taking the precaution to walk with drawn
 sword1 and1 like ,orlando in ,morgana's
 park1 to stuff their casques with roses
 that they might not hear the siren's   
voice too clearly4 ,it was thus that    
,italy began the part she played through
 the ,renaissance for the people of the 
,north4 ,the ,white ,devil of ,italy is 
the title of one of ,webster's best     
tragedies4 ,a white ,devil1 a radiant   
daughter of sin and death1 holding in   
her hands the fruit of the knowledge of 
good and evil1 and tempting the nations 
to eat3 this is how ,italy struck the   
fancy of the men of the sixteenth       
century4 ,she was feminine1 and they    

were virile2 but she could teach and    
they must learn4 ,she gave them         
pleasure2 they brought force4 ,the fruit
 of her embraces with the nations was   
the spirit of modern culture1 the genius
 of the age in which we live4  ,two     
terrible calamities warned the ,italians
 with what new enemies they had to deal4
 ,twice at the commencement of the      
invasion did the ,french use the sword  
which they had drawn to intimidate the  
sorceress4 ,these terror-striking       
examples were the massacres of the      
inhabitants of ,rapallo on the ,genoese 
,riviera1 and of ,fivizzano in          
,lunigiana4 ,soldiers and burghers1 even
 prisoners and wounded men in the       
hospitals1 were butchered1 first by the 
,swiss and ,german guards1 and          
afterwards by the ,french1 who would not
 be outdone by them in energy4 ,it was  
thus that the ,italians1 after a century
 of bloodless battles and parade        
campaigning1 learned a new art of war1  
and witnessed the first act of those    

,apocalyptic tragedies which were       
destined to drown the peninsula with    
,french1 ,spanish1 ,german1 ,swiss1 and 
native blood4  ,meanwhile the ,french   
host had reached ,parma1 traversing1 all
 through the golden autumn weather1     
those plains where mulberry and elm are 
married by festoons of vines above a    
billowy expanse of maize and corn4 ,from
 ,parma1 placed beneath the northern    
spurs of the ,apennines1 to ,sarzana1 on
 the western coast of ,italy1 where the 
marbles of ,carrara build their barrier 
against the ,tyrrhene ,sea1 there leads 
a winding barren mountain pass4 ,charles
 took this route with his army1 and     
arrived in the beginning of ,november   
before the walls of ,sarzana4 ,meanwhile
 we may well ask what ,piero de' ,medici
 had been doing1 and how he had         
fulfilled his engagement with ,alfonso4 
,he had undertaken1 it will be          
remembered1 to hold the passes of the   
,apennines upon this side4 ,to have     
embarrassed the ,french troops among    

those limestone mountains1 thinly       
forested with pine and chestnut-trees1  
and guarded here and there with ancient 
fortresses1 would have been a matter of 
no difficulty4 ,with like advantages    
#b1jjj ,swiss troops during their wars  
of independence would have laughed to   
scorn the whole forces of ,burgundy and 
,austria4 ,but ,piero1 a feeble and     
false tyrant1 preoccupied with          
,florentine factions1 afraid of ,lucca1 
and disinclined to push forward into the
 territory of the ,sforza1 had as yet   
done nothing when the news arrived that 
,sarzana was on the point of            
capitulation4 ,in this moment of peril  
he rode as fast as horses could carry   
him to the ,french camp1 besought an    
interview with ,charles1 and then and   
there delivered up to him the keys of   
,sarzana and its citadel1 together with 
those of ,pietra ,santa1 ,librafratta1  
,pisa1 and ,leghorn4 ,any one who has   
followed the sea-coast between ,pisa and
 ,sarzana can appreciate the enormous   

value of these concessions to the       
invader4 ,they relieved him of the      
difficulty of forcing his way along a   
narrow belt of land1 which is hemmed in 
on one side by the sea and on the other 
by the highest and most abrupt mountain 
range in ,italy4 ,to have done this in  
the teeth of a resisting army and       
beneath the walls of hostile castles    
would have been all but impossible4 ,as 
it was1 ,piero cut the ,gordian knot by 
his incredible cowardice1 and for       
himself gained only ruin and dishonor4  
,charles1 the foe against whom he had   
plotted with ,alfonso and ,alexander1   
laughed in his face and marched at once 
into ,pisa4 ,the ,florentines1 whom he  
had hitherto engaged in ah unpopular    
policy1 now rose in fury1 expelled him  
from the city1 sacked his palace1 and   
erased from their memory the name of    
,medici except for execration4 ,the     
unsuccessful tyrant1 who had proved a   
traitor to his allies1 to his country1  
and to himself1 saved his life by flying

 first to ,bologna and thence to        
,venice1 where he remained in a sort of 
polite captivity--safe1 but a slave1    
until the ,doge and his council saw     
which way affairs would tend4  ,on the  
#ith of ,november ,florence after a     
tyranny of fifty years1 and ,pisa after 
the servitude of a century1 recovered   
their liberties and were able to        
reconstitute republican governments4    
,but the situation of the two states was
 very different4 ,the ,florentines had  
never lost the name of liberty1 which in
 ,italy at that period meant less the   
freedom of the inhabitants to exercise  
self-government than the independence of
 the city in relation to its neighbors4 
,the ,pisans on the other hand had been 
reduced to subjection by ,florence3     
their civic life had been stifled1 their
 pride wounded in the tenderest point of
 honor1 their population decimated by   
proscription and exile4 ,the great sin  
of ,florence was the enslavement of     
,pisa3 and ,pisa in this moment of      

anarchy burned to obliterate her shame  
with bloodshed4 ,the ,french1           
understanding none of the niceties of   
,italian politics1 and ignorant that in 
giving freedom to ,pisa they were       
robbing ,florence of her rights1 looked 
on with wonder at the citizens who      
tossed the lion of the tyrant town into 
the ,arno and took up arms against its  
officers4 ,it is sad to witness this    
last spasm of the long-suppressed       
passion for liberty in the ,pisans1     
while we know how soon they were reduced
 again to slavery by the selfish sister 
state1 herself too thoroughly corrupt   
for liberty4 ,the part of ,charles1 who 
espoused the cause of the ,pisans with  
blundering carelessness1 pretended to   
protect the new republic1 and then      
abandoned it a few months later to its  
fate1 provokes nothing but the languid  
contempt which all his acts inspire4    
,after the flight of ,piero and the     
proclamation of ,pisan liberty the ,king
 of ,france was hailed as saviour of the

 free ,italian towns4 ,charles received 
a magnificent address from ,savonarola1 
who proceeded to ,pisa1 and harangued   
him as the chosen vessel of the ,lord   
and the deliverer of the ,church from   
anarchy4 ,at the same time the friar    
conveyed to the ,french king a courteous
 invitation from the ,florentine        
republic to enter their city and enjoy  
their hospitality4 ,charles1 after      
upsetting ,piero de' ,medici with the   
nonchalance of a horseman in the tilting
 yard1 and restoring the freedom of     
,pisa for a caprice1 remained as devoid 
of policy and indifferent to the part   
assigned him by the prophet as he was   
before4 ,he rode1 armed at all points1  
into ,florence on ,november #ag1 and    
took up his residence in the palace of  
the ,medici4 ,then he informed the      
elders of the city that he had come as  
conqueror and not as guest1 and that he 
intended to reserve to himself the      
disposition of the state4  ,it was a    
dramatic moment4 ,florence1 with the    

,arno flowing through her midst1 and the
 hills around her gray with olive-trees1
 was then even more lovely than we see  
her now4 ,the whole circuit of her walls
 remained1 nor had their crown of towers
 been leveled yet to make resistance of 
invading force more easy ,brunelleschi's
 dome and ,giotto's tower and ,arnolfo's
 ,palazzo and the ,loggie of ,orcagna   
gave distinction to her streets and     
squares4 ,her churches were splendid    
with frescoes in their bloom1 and with  
painted glass1 over which as yet the    
injury of but a few brief years had     
passed4 ,her palaces1 that are as strong
 as castles1 overflowed with a          
population cultivated1 polished1        
elegant1 refined1 and haughty4 ,this    
,florence1 the city of scholars1        
artists1 intellectual sybarites1 and    
citizens in whom the blood of the old   
factions beat1 found herself suddenly   
possessed as a prey of war by flaunting 
,gauls in their outlandish finery1      
plumed ,germans1 kilted ,celts1 and     

particolored ,swiss4 ,on the other hand 
these barbarians awoke in a terrestrial 
paradise of natural and aesthetic       
beauty4 ,which of us who has enjoyed the
 late gleams of autumn in ,valdarno1 but
 can picture to himself the revelation  
of the inner meaning of the world1      
incomprehensible yet soul-subduing1     
which then first dawned upon the ,breton
 bowmen and the bulls of ,uri8 ,their   
impulse no doubt was to pillage and     
possess the wealth before them1 as a    
child pulls to pieces the wonderful     
flower that has surprised it on some    
mountain meadow4 ,but in the very       
rudeness of desire they paid a homage to
 the new-found loveliness of which they 
had not dreamed before4  ,charles here  
as elsewhere showed his imbecility4 ,he 
had entered and laid hands on hospitable
 ,florence like a foe4 ,what would he   
now do with her--reform the             
republic--legislate--impose a levy on   
the citizens1 and lead them forth to    
battle8 ,no4 ,he asked for a huge sum of

 money1 and began to bargain4 ,the      
,florentine secretaries refused his     
terms4 ,he insisted4 ,then ,piero       
,capponi snatched the paper on which    
they were written1 and tore it in pieces
 before his eyes4 ,charles cried3 ',i   
shall sound my trumpets4' ,capponi      
answered3 ',we will ring our bells4'    
,beautiful as a dream is ,florence2 but 
her somber streets1 overshadowed by     
gigantic belfries and masked by grim    
brown palace-fronts1 contained a menace 
that the ,french king could not face4   
,let ,capponi sound the tocsin1 and each
 house would become a fortress1 the     
streets would be barricaded with iron   
chains1 every quarter would pour forth  
men by hundreds well versed in the arts 
of civic warfare4 ,charles gave way1    
covering with a bad joke the            
discomfiture he felt3 ,ah1 ,ciappon1    
,ciappon1 voi siete un mal ,ciappon6    
,the secretaries beat down his terms4   
,all he cared for was to get money4#a   
,he agreed to content himself with      

#abj1jjj florins4 ,a treaty was signed1 
and in two days he quitted ,florence4   
,hitherto ,charles had met with no      
serious obstacle4 ,his invasion had     
fallen like the rain from heaven1 and   
like rain1 as far as he was concerned1  
it ran away to waste4 ,lombardy and     
,tuscany1 the two first scenes in the   
pageant displayed by ,italy before the  
,french army1 had been left behind4     
,rome now lay before them1 magnificent  
in desolation2 not the ,rome which the  
,farnesi and ,chigi and ,barberini have 
built up from the quarried ruins of     
amphitheaters and baths1 but the ,rome  
of the ,middle ,ages1 the city crowned  
with relics of a pagan past1 herself    
still pagan1 and holding in her midst   
the modern ,antichrist4 ,the progress of
 the ,french was a continued triumph4   
,they reached ,siena on the second of   
,december4 ,the ,duke of ,urbino and the
 lords of ,pesaro and ,bologna laid down
 their arms at their approach4 ,the     
,orsini opened their castles3 ,virginio1

 the captain-general of the ,aragonese  
army and grand constable of the kingdom 
of ,naples1 hastened to win for himself 
favorable terms from the ,french        
sovereign4 ,the ,baglioni betook        
themselves to their own rancors in      
,perugia4 ,the ,duke of ,calabria       
retreated4 ,italy seemed bent on proving
 that cowardice and selfishness and     
incapacity had conquered her4 ,viterbo  
was gained3 the ,ciminian heights were  
traversed3 the ,campagna1 bounded by the
 ,alban and the ,sabine hills1 with     
,rome1 a bluish cloud upon the lowlands 
of the ,tiber1 spread its solemn breadth
 of beauty at the invader's feet4 ,not a
 blow had been struck1 when he reached  
the ,porta del ,popolo upon the #cast of
 ,december #adid4 ,at three o'clock in  
the afternoon began the entry of the    
,french army4 ,it was nine at night     
before the last soldiers1 under the     
flaring light of torches and flambeaux1 
defiled through the gates1 and took     
their quarters in the streets of the    

,eternal ,city4 ,the gigantic barbarians
 of the cantons1 flaunting with plumes  
and emblazoned surcoats1 the chivalry of
 ,france1 splendid with silk mantles and
 gilded corselets1 the ,scotch guard in 
their wild costume of kilt and philibeg1
 the scythe-like halberds of the ,german
 lanz-knechts1 the tangled elf-locks of 
stern-featured ,bretons1 stamped an     
ineffaceable impression on the people of
 the ,south4 ,on this memorable         
occasion1 as in a show upon some        
holiday1 marched past before them       
specimens and vanguards of all those    
legioned races which were soon to be too
 well at home in every fair ,italian    
dwelling-place4 ,nothing was wanting to 
complete the symbol of the coming doom  
but a representative of the grim1 black1
 wiry infantry of ,spain4      #a ,the  
want of money determined all ,charles's 
operations in     this expedition4      
,borrowing from ,lodovico1 laying       
requisitions     on ,piero and the      
,florentines1 pawning the jewels of the 

,savoy     princesses1 he passed from   
place to place1 bargaining and          
contracting debts instead of dictating  
laws and founding     constitutions4 ,la
 carestia dei danari is a phrase        
continually     recurring in            
,guicciardini4 ,speaking of the jewels  
lent to     ,charles by the royal       
families of ,savoy and ,montferrat at   
,turin1     de ,comines exclaims3 ',et  
pouvez voir quel commencement de        
guerre c'estoit1 si ,dieu n'eut guide   
l'oeuvre4'  ,the ,borgia meanwhile      
crouched within the ,castle of ,s4      
,angelo4 ,how would the ,conqueror1 now 
styled ,flagellum ,dei1 deal with the   
abomination of desolation seated in the 
holy place of ,christendom8 ,at the side
 of ,charles were the ,cardinals        
,ascanio ,sforza and ,giuliano della    
,rovere1 urging him to summon a council 
and depose the ,pope4 ,but still closer 
to his ear was ,briconnet1 the ci-devant
 tradesman1 who thought it would become 
his dignity to wear a cardinal's hat4   

,on this trifle turned the destinies of 
,rome1 the doom of ,alexander1 the fate 
of the ,church4 ,charles determined to  
compromise matters4 ,he demanded a few  
fortresses1 a red hat for ,briconnet1   
,cesare ,borgia as a hostage for four   
months1 and ,djem1 the brother of the   
,sultan4#a ,after these agreements had  
been made and ratified1 ,alexander      
ventured to leave his castle and receive
 the homage of the faithful4  ,charles  
staid99 a month in ,rome1 and then set  
out for ,naples4 ,the fourth and last   
scene in the ,italian pageant was now to
 be displayed4 ,after the rich plain and
 proud cities of ,lombardy1 beneath     
their rampart of perpetual snow2 after  
the olive gardens and fair towns of     
,tuscany2 after the great name of ,rome2
 ,naples1 at length1 between ,vesuvius  
and the sea1 that first station of the  
,greeks in ,italy1 world-famed for its  
legends of the ,sibyl and the sirens and
 the sorcerer ,virgil1 received her     
king4 ,the very names of ,parthenope1   

,posilippo1 ,inarime1 ,sorrento1 ,capri1
 have their fascination4 ,there too the 
orange and lemon groves are more        
luxuriant2 the grapes yield sweeter and 
more intoxicating wine2 the villagers   
are more classically graceful2 the      
volcanic soil is more fertile2 the waves
 are bluer and the sun is brighter than 
elsewhere in the land4 ,none of the     
conquerors of ,italy have had the force 
to resist the allurements of the bay of 
,naples4 ,the ,greeks lost their native 
energy upon these shores and realized in
 the history of their colonies the myth 
of ,ulysses' comrades in the gardens of 
,circe4 ,hannibal was tamed by ,capua4  
,the ,romans in their turn dreamed away 
their vigor at ,baiae1 at ,pompeii at   
,capreae1 until the whole region became 
a byword for voluptuous living4 ,here   
the ,saracens were subdued to mildness1 
and became physicians instead of        
pirates4 ,lombards and ,normans alike   
were softened down1 and lost their      
barbarous fierceness amid the           

enchantments of the southern sorceress4 
#a ,see above1 p4 #daf1 for the history 
of this unfortunate     prince4 ,when   
,alexander ceded ,djem1 whom he held as 
a captive     for the ,sultan at a      
yearly revenue of #dj1jjj ducats1 he was
     under engagements with ,bajazet to 
murder him4 ,accordingly ,djem     died 
of slow poison soon after he became the 
guest of ,charles4     ,the ,borgia     
preferred to keep faith with the ,turk4 
,naples was now destined to ruin for    
,charles whatever nerve yet remained to 
his festival army4 ,the witch too1 while
 brewing for the ,french her most       
attractive potions1 mixed with them a   
deadly poison--the virus of a fell      
disease1 memorable in the annals of the 
modern world1 which was destined to     
infect the nations of ,europe from this 
center1 and to prove more formidable to 
our cities than even the leprosy of the 
,middle ,ages4#a      #a ,those who are 
curious to trace the history of the     
origin of     syphilis1 should study the

 article upon the subject in ,von       
,hirsch1 ,historisch-geographische      
,pathologie 7,erlangen1 #ahfj71     and 
in ,rosenbaum ,geschichte der           
,lustseuche im ,alterthum     7,halle1  
#ahde74 ,some curious contemporary      
observations     concerning the rapid   
diffusion of the disease in ,italy1 its 
symptoms1 and its cure1 are contained in
 ,matarazzo's ,cronaca     di ,perugia  
7,arch4 ,stor4 ,it4 vol4 xvi4 part ii4  
pp4 #cb-cf71     and in ,portovenere    
7,arch4 ,st4 vol4 vi4 pt4 ii4 p4 #cch74 
,the     celebrated poem of             
,fracastorius deserves to be read both  
for     its fine ,latinity and for its  
information4 ,one of the earliest       
works issued from the ,aldine press in  
#adig was the ,libellus de     ,epidemia
 quam vulgo morbum ,gallicum vocant4 ,it
 was written by     ,nicolas ,leoniceno1
 and dedicated to the ,count ,francesco 
de la     ,mirandola4  ,the kingdom of  
,naples1 through the frequent           
uncertainty which attended the          

succession to the throne1 as well as the
 suzerainty assumed and misused by the  
,popes1 had been for centuries a        
standing cause of discord in ,italy4    
,the dynasty which ,charles now hoped to
 dispossess was ,spanish4 ,after the    
death of ,joanna ,,ii4 in #adce1        
,alfonso1 ,king of ,aragon and ,sicily1 
who had no claim to the crown beyond    
what he derived through a bastard branch
 of the old ,norman dynasty1 conquered  
,naples1 expelled ,count ,rene of       
,anjou1 and established himself in this 
new kingdom1 which he preferred to those
 he had inherited by right4 ,alfonso1   
surnamed the ,magnanimous1 was one of   
the most brilliant and romantic         
personages of the fifteenth century4    
,historians are never weary of relating 
his victories over ,caldora and         
,francesco ,sforza1 the coup-de-main by 
which he expelled his rival ,rene1 and  
the fascination which he exercised in   
,milan1 while a captive1 over the       
jealous spirit of ,filippo ,maria       

,visconti4#a ,scholars are no less      
profuse in their praises of his virtues1
 the justice1 humanity1 religion1       
generosity1 and culture which rendered  
him pre-eminent among the princes of    
that splendid period4#b ,his love of    
learning was a passion4 ,whether at home
 in the retirement of his palace1 or in 
his tent during war1 he was always      
attended by students1 who read aloud and
 commented on ,livy1 ,seneca1 or the    
,bible4 ,no prince was more profuse in  
his presents to learned men4            
,bartolommeo ,fazio received #ejj ducats
 a year for the composition of his      
histories1 and when1 at their           
conclusion1 the scholar asked for a     
further gift of #bjj or #cjj florins1   
the prince bestowed upon him #a1ejj4    
,the year he died1 ,alfonso distributed 
#bj1jjj ducats to men of letters alone4 
,this immoderate liberality is the only 
vice of which he is accused4 ,it bore   
its usual fruits in the disorganization 
of finance4      #a ,mach4 ,ist4 ,fior4 

lib4 v4 cap4 #e4 ,corio1 pp4 #ccb1 #ccc1
 may     be consulted upon the          
difficulties which ,alfonso overcame at 
the commencement of his conquest4       
,defeated by the ,genoese near     the  
,isle of ,ponza1 and carried a prisoner 
to ,milan1 he     succeeded in proving  
to ,filippo ,visconti that it was more  
to     his interest to have him king of 
,naples than to keep the ,french        
there4 ,upon1 this the ,duke of ,milan  
restored him with honor to     his      
throne1 and confirmed him in the        
conquest which before he     had        
successfully opposed4 ,it is a singular 
instance of the     extent to which     
,italian princes were controlled by     
policy and     reason4      #b          
,vespasiano's ,life of ,alfonso 7,vite  
di ,uomini ,illustri1     pp4 #dh-gb7 is
 a model of agreeable composition and   
vivid     delineation4 ,it is written of
 course from the scholar's more     than
 the politician's point of view4        
,compare with it ,giovio1     ,elogia1  

and ,pontanus1 de ,liberalitate4  ,the  
generous humanity of ,alfonso endeared  
him greatly to the ,neapolitans4 ,during
 the half-century in which so many      
,italian princes succumbed to the dagger
 of their subjects1 he1 in ,naples1     
where1 according to ,pontano1 'nothing  
was cheaper than the life of a man1'    
walked up and down unarmed and          
unattended4 ',why should a father fear  
among his children8' he was wont to say 
in answer to suggestions of the danger  
of this want of caution4 ,the many      
splendid qualities by which he was      
distinguished were enhanced rather than 
obscured by the romance of his private  
life4 ,married to ,margaret of ,castile1
 he had no legitimate children2         
,ferdinand1 with whom he shared the     
government of ,naples in #addc1 and whom
 he designated as his successor in      
#adeh1 was supposed to be his son by    
,margaret de ,hijar4 ,it was even       
whispered that this ,ferdinand was the  
child of ,catherine the wife of         

,alfonso's brother ,henry1 whom         
,margaret1 to save the honor of the     
king1 acknowledged as her own4 ,whatever
 may have been the truth of this dark   
history1 it was known for certain that  
the queen had murdered her rival1 the   
unhappy ,margaret de ,hijar1 and that   
,alfonso never forgave her or would look
 upon her from that day4 ,pontano1 who  
was ,ferdinand's secretary1 told a      
different tale4 ,he affirmed that the   
real father of the ,duke of ,calabria   
was a ,marrano of ,valentia4 ,this last 
story is rendered probable by the       
brusque contrast between the character  
of ,alfonso and that of ,ferdinand4  ,it
 would be terrible to think that such a 
father could have been the parent of    
such a son4 ,in ,ferdinand the instinct 
of liberal culture degenerated into     
vulgar magnificence2 courtesy and       
confidence gave place to cold suspicion 
and brutal cruelty4 ,his ferocity       
bordered upon madness4 ,he used to keep 
the victims of his hatred in cages1     

where their misery afforded him the same
 delight as some men derived from       
watching the antics of monkeys4#a ,in   
his hunting establishment were repeated 
the worst atrocities of ,bernabo        
,visconti3 wretches mutilated for       
neglect of his hounds extended their    
handless stumps for charity to the      
travelers through his villages4#b       
,instead of the generosity for which    
,alfonso had been famous1 ,ferdinand    
developed all the arts of avarice4 ,like
 ,sixtus ,,iv4 he made the sale of corn 
and oil a royal monopoly1 trafficking in
 the hunger of his subjects4#c ,like    
,alexander ,,vi4 he fattened his viziers
 and secretaries upon the profits of    
extortion which he shared with them1 and
 when they were fully gorged he cut     
their throats and proclaimed himself the
 heir through their attainder4#d        
,alfonso had been famous for his candor 
and sincerity4 ,ferdinand was a demon of
 dissimulation and treachery4 ,his      
murder of his guest ,jacopo ,piccinino  

at the end of a festival1 which extended
 over twenty-seven days of varied       
entertainments1 won him the applause of 
,machiavellian spirits throughout       
,italy4 ,it realized the ideal of       
treason conceived as a fine art4 ,not   
less perfect as a specimen of diabolical
 cunning was the vengeance which        
,ferdinand1 counseled by his son        
,alfonso1 inflicted on the barons who   
conspired against him4#e ,alfonso was a 
son worthy of his terrible father4 ,the 
only difference between them was that   
,ferdinand dissembled1 while ,alfonso1  
whose bravery at ,otranto against the   
,turks had surrounded him with military 
glory1 abandoned himself with cynicism  
to his passions4 ,sketching characters  
of both in the same paragraph1 de       
,comines writes3 ',never was man more   
cruel than ,alfonso1 nor more vicious1  
nor more wicked1 nor more poisonous1 nor
 more gluttonous4 ,his father was more  
dangerous1 because he could conceal his 
mind and even his anger from sight2 in  

the midst of festivity he would take and
 slaughter his victims by treachery4    
,grace or mercy was never found in him1 
nor yet compassion for his poor people4 
,both of them laid forcible hands on    
women4 ,in matters of the ,church they  
observed nor reverence nor obedience4   
,they sold bishoprics1 like that of     
,tarento1 which ,ferdinand disposed of  
for #ac1jjj ducats to a ,jew in favor of
 his son whom he called a ,christian4'  
#a ,see ,pontanus1 de ,immanitate1      
,aldus1 #aeah1 vol4 #a4 p4 #cah3        
',ferdinandus ,rex ,neapolitanorum      
praeclaros etiam viros conclusos        
carcere etiam bene atque abunde         
pascebat1 eandem ex iis     voluptatem  
capiens quam pueri e conclusis in cavea 
aviculis3     qua de re saepenumero sibi
 ipsi inter intimos suos diu multumque  
gratulatus subblanditusque in risum     
tandem ac cachinnos     profundebatur4' 
#b ,see ,pontanus1 de ,immanitate1      
,aldus2 #aeah1 vol4 i4 p4 #cbj3         
',ferd4 ,r4,n4 qui cervum aprumve       

occidissent furtimve palamve1     alios 
remo addixit1 alios manibus mutilavit1  
alios suspendio     affecit3 agros      
quoque serendos inderdixit dominis1     
legendasque     aut glandes aut poma1   
quae servari quidem volebat in escam    
feris ad venationis suae usum4'      #c 
,caracciolo1 de ,varietate ,fortunae1   
,muratori1 vol4 xxii4 p4     #hg1       
exposes this system in a passage which  
should be compared     with ,infessura  
on the practices of ,sixtus4 ,de        
,comines1 lib4     vii4 cap4 #aa1 may be
 read with profit on the same subject4  
#d ,see ,caracciolo1 loc4 cit4 pp4 #hh1 
#hi1 concerning the     judicial murder 
of ,francesco ,coppola and ,antonello   
,perucci1     both of whom had been     
raised to eminence by ,ferdinand1 used  
through their lives as the instruments  
of his extortion1 and     murdered by   
him in their rich old age4      #e ,see 
,de ,comines1 lib4 vii4 cap4 #aa2       
,sismondi1 vol4 vii4 p4     #bbi4 ,read 
also the short account of the massacre  

of the ,barons     given in the         
,chronicon ,venetum1 ,muratori1 xxiv4 p4
 #ae1 where     the intense loathing    
felt throughout ,italy for ,ferdinand   
and     his son ,alfonso is powerfully  
expressed4  ,this kind of tyranny       
carried in itself its own death-warrant4
 ,it needed not the voice of ,savonarola
 to proclaim that ,god would revenge the
 crimes of ,ferdinand by placing a new  
sovereign on his throne4 ,it was        
commonly believed that the old king died
 in #adid of remorse and apprehension1  
when he knew that the ,french expedition
 could no longer be delayed4 ,alfonso1  
for his part1 bold general in the field 
and able man of affairs as he might be1 
found no courage to resist the          
conqueror4 ,it is no fiction of a poet  
or a moralist1 but plain fact of        
history1 that this ,king of ,naples1    
grandson of the great ,alfonso and      
father of the ,ferdinand to be1 quailed 
before the myriads of accusing dead that
 rose to haunt his tortured fancy in the

 supreme hour of peril4 ,the chambers of
 his palace in ,naples were thronged    
with ghosts by battalions1 pale specters
 of the thousands he had reduced to     
starvation1 bloody phantoms of the      
barons he had murdered after nameless   
tortures1 thin wraiths of those who had 
wasted away in dungeons under his       
remorseless rule4 ,the people around his
 gates muttered in rebellion4 ,he       
abdicated in favor of his son1 took ship
 for ,sicily1 and died there            
conscience-stricken in a convent ere the
 year was out4  ,ferdinand1 a brave     
youth1 beloved by the nation in spite of
 his father's and grandfather's tyranny1
 reigned in his stead4 ,yet even for him
 the situation was untenable4           
,everywhere he was beset by traitors--by
 his whole army at ,san ,germano1 by    
,trivulzi at ,capua1 by the ,german     
guide at ,naples4 ,without soldiers1    
without allies1 with nothing to rely    
upon but the untried goodwill of        
subjects who had just reason to execrate

 his race1 and with the conquerors of   
,italy advancing daily through his      
states1 retreat alone was left to him4  
,after abandoning his castles to        
pillage1 burning the ships in the harbor
 of ,naples1 and setting ,don ,federigo 
together with the ,queen dowager and the
 princess ,joanna upon a quick-sailing  
galley1 ,ferdinand bade farewell to his 
kingdom4 ,historians relate that as the 
shore receded from his view he kept     
intoning in a loud voice this verse of  
the #abgth ,psalm3 ',except the ,lord   
keep the city1 the watchman waketh but  
in vain4' ,between the beach of ,naples 
and the rocky shore of ,ischia1 for     
which the exiles were bound1 there is   
only the distance of some seventeen     
miles4 ,it was in ,february1 a month of 
mild and melancholy sunshine in those   
southern regions1 when the whole bay of 
,naples with its belt of distant hills  
is wont to take one tint of modulated   
azure1 that the royal fugitives         
performed this voyage4 ,over the        

sleeping sea they glided2 while from the
 galley's stern the king with a voice as
 sad as ,boabdil's when he sat down to  
weep for ,granada1 cried3 ',except the  
,lord keep the city1 the watchman waketh
 but in vain4'  ,there was no want of   
courage in the youth4 ,by his simple    
presence he had intimidated a mob of    
rebels in ,naples4 ,by the firmness of  
his carriage he subdued the insolent    
governor of ,ischia1 and made himself   
master of the island4 ,there he waited  
till the storm was overpast4 ,ten times 
more a man than ,charles1 he watched the
 ,french king depart from ,naples       
leaving scarcely a rack behind--some    
troops decimated by disease and unnerved
 by debauchery1 and a general or two    
without energy or vigor4 ,then he       
returned and entered on a career of     
greater popularity than could have been 
enjoyed by him if the ,french had never 
made the fickle race of ,naples feel how
 far more odious is a foreign than a    
familiar yoke4#a  ,charles entered      

,naples as a conqueror or liberator on  
,february #bb1 #adie4 ,he was welcomed  
and feted by the ,neapolitans1 than whom
 no people are more childishly delighted
 with a change of masters4 ,he enjoyed  
his usual sports1 and indulged in his   
usual love-affairs4 ,with suicidal      
insolence and want of policy he         
alienated the sympathies of the noble   
families by dividing the titles1        
offices1 and fiefs of the kingdom among 
his retinue4#b ,without receiving so    
much as a provisional investiture from  
the ,pope1 he satisfied his vanity by   
parading on ,may #ab as sovereign1 with 
a ball in one hand and a scepter in the 
other1 through the city4 ,then he was   
forced to return upon his path and to   
seek ,france with the precipitancy he   
had shown in gaining ,naples4           
,alexander1 who was witty1 said the     
,french had conquered ,italy with lumps 
of chalk and wooden spurs1 because they 
rode unarmed in slippers and sent       
couriers before them to select their    

quarters4 ,it remained to be seen that  
the achievements of this conquest could 
be effaced as easily as a chalk mark is 
rubbed out1 or a pair of wooden spurs   
are broken4      #a ,the misfortunes and
 the bravery of this young prince       
inspire a deep feeling of interest4 ,it 
is sad to read that     after recovering
 his kingdom in #adif1 he died in his   
twenty-eighth year1 worn out with       
fatigue and with the     pleasures of   
his marriage to his aunt ,joanna1 whom  
he loved too     passionately4 ,his     
uncle ,frederick1 the brother of        
,alfonso ,,ii41     succeeded to the    
throne4 ,thus in three years ,naples had
 five     ,sovereigns4      #b ',tous   
estats et offices furent donnez aux     
,francois1 a deux     ou trois1' says   
,de ,comines4  ,while ,charles was      
amusing himself at ,naples1 a storm was 
gathering in his rear4 ,a league against
 him had been formed in ,april by the   
great powers of ,europe4 ,venice1       
alarmed for the independence of ,italy1 

and urged by the ,sultan1 who had reason
 to dread ,charles ,,viii41#a headed the
 league4 ,lodovico1 now that he had     
attained his selfish object in the quiet
 position of ,milan1 was anxious for his
 safety4 ,the ,pope still feared a      
general council4 ,maximilian1 who could 
not forget the slight put upon him in   
the matter of his daughter and his      
bride1 was willing to co-operate against
 his rival4 ,ferdinand and ,isabella1   
having secured themselves in            
,roussillon1 thought it behooved them to
 re-establish ,spaniards of their kith  
and kin in ,naples4 ,each of the        
contracting parties had his role        
assigned to him4 ,spain undertook to aid
 ,ferdinand of ,aragon in ,calabria4    
,venice was to attack the seaports of   
the kingdom2 ,lodovico ,sforza1 to      
occupy ,asti2 the ,king of the ,romans1 
to make a diversion in the ,north4      
,florence alone1 though deeply injured  
by ,charles in the matter of ,pisa1 kept
 faith with the ,french4      #a        

,charles1 by an act dated ,a4,d4 #adid1 
,september #f1 had bought     the title 
of ,emperor of ,constantinople and      
,trebizond from     ,andrew ,palaeologus
 7see ,gibbon1 vol4 viii4 p4 #ahc1 ed4  
,milman74     ,when he took ,djem from  
,alexander in ,rome1 his object was to  
make use of him in a war against        
,bajazet2 and the ,pope was     always  
impressing on the ,turk the peril of a  
,frankish crusade4  ,the danger was     
imminent4 ,already ,ferdinand the       
,catholic had disembarked troops on the 
shore of ,sicily1 and was ready to throw
 an army into the ports of ,reggio and  
,tropea4 ,alexander had refused to carry
 out his treaty by the surrender of     
,spoleto4 ,cesare ,borgia had escaped   
from the ,french camp4 ,the ,lombards   
were menacing ,asti1 which the ,duke of 
,orleans held1 and without the          
possession of which there was no safe   
return to ,france4 ,asti indeed at this 
juncture would have fallen1 and ,charles
 would have been caught in a trap1 if   

the ,venetians had only been quick or   
wary enough to engage ,german           
mercenaries4#a ,the danger of the       
situation may best be judged by reading 
the ,memoirs of ,de ,comines1 who was   
then ambassador at ,venice4 ',the league
 was concluded very late one evening4   
,the next morning the ,signory sent for 
me earlier than usual4 ,they were       
assembled in great numbers1 perhaps a   
hundred or more1 and held their heads   
high1 made a good cheer1 and had not the
 same countenance as on the day when    
they told me of the capture of the      
citadel of ,naples4#b ,my heart was     
heavy1 and ,i had grave doubts about the
 person of the king and about all his   
company2 and ,i thought their scheme    
more ripe than it really was1 and feared
 they might have ,germans ready2 and if 
it had been so1 never could the king    
have got safe out of ,italy4'           
,nevertheless ,de ,comines put a brave  
face on the matter1 and told the council
 that he had already received           

information of the league and had sent  
dispatches to his master on the         
subject4#c ',after dinner1' continues   
,de ,comines1 'all the ambassadors of   
the league met for an excursion on the  
water1 which is the chief recreation at 
,venice1 where every one goes according 
to the retinue he keeps1 or at the      
expense of the ,signory4 ,there may have
 been as many as forty gondolas1 all    
bearing displayed the arms of their     
masters upon banners4 ,i saw the whole  
of this company pass before my windows1 
and there were many minstrels on board4 
,those of ,milan1 one at least of them  
who had often kept my company1 put on a 
brave face not to know me2 and for three
 days ,i remained without going forth   
into the town1 nor my people1 nor was   
there all that time a single courteous  
word said to me or to any of my suite4' 
#a ,see ,de ,comines1 lib4 vii4 cap4    
#ae1 pp4 #gh1 #gi4      #b ,de ,comines'
 account of the alarm felt at ,venice on
 that     occasion is very graphic3     

',they sent for me one morning1 and ,i  
found them to the number of fifty or    
sixty in the ,doge's     bedchamber1 for
 he was ill of colic2 and there he told 
me the     news with a good countenance4
 ,but none of the company knew so       
well how to feign as he4 ,some were     
seated on a wooden bench1     leaning   
their heads on their hands1 and others  
otherwise2 and     all showed great     
heaviness at heart4 ,i think that when  
the news     reached ,rome of the battle
 of ,cannae1 the senators were not more 
confounded or frightened4'      #c      
,bembo1 in his ,venetian ,history 7lib4 
ii4 p4 #cb71 tells a     different tale4
 ,he represents ,de ,comines quite      
unnerved by the     news4  ,returning   
northward by the same route1 ,charles   
passed ,rome and reached ,siena on ,june
 #ac4 ,the ,pope had taken refuge1 first
 at ,orvieto1 and afterwards at         
,perugia1 on his approach2 but he made  
no concessions4 ,charles could not      
obtain from him an investiture of the   

kingdom he pretended to have conquered1 
while he had himself to surrender the   
fortresses of ,civita ,vecchia and      
,terracina4 ,ostia alone remained in the
 clutch of ,alexander's implacable      
enemy1 the ,cardinal della ,rovere4 ,in 
,tuscany the ,pisan question was again  
opened4 ,the ,french army desired to see
 the liberties of ,pisa established on a
 solid basis before they quitted ,italy4
 ,on their way to ,naples the           
misfortunes of that ancient city had    
touched them3 now on their return they  
were clamorous that ,charles should     
guarantee its freedom4 ,but to secure   
this object was an affair of difficulty4
 ,the forces of the league had already  
taken the field1 and the ,duke of       
,orleans was being besieged in ,novara4 
,the ,florentines1 jealous of the favor 
shown1 in manifest infringement of their
 rights1 to citizens whom they regarded 
as rebellious bondsmen1 assumed an      
attitude of menace4 ,charles could only 
reply with vague promises to the        

solicitations of the ,pisans1 strengthen
 the ,french garrisons in their         
fortresses1 and march forward as quickly
 as possible into the ,apennines4 ,the  
key of the pass by which he sought to   
regain ,lombardy is the town of         
,pontremoli4 ,leaving that in ashes on  
,june #bi1 the ,french army1 distressed 
for provisions and in peril among those 
melancholy hills1 pushed onward with all
 speed4 ,they knew that the allied      
forces1 commanded by the ,marquis of    
,mantua1 were waiting for them at the   
other side upon the ,taro1 near the     
village of ,fornovo4 ,here1 if anywhere1
 the ,french ought to have been crushed4
 ,they numbered about #i1jjj men in all1
 while the allies were close upon       
#dj1jjj4 ,the ,french were weary with   
long marches1 insufficient food1 and bad
 lodgings4 ,the ,italians were fresh and
 well cared for4 ,yet in spite of all   
this1 in spite of blind generalship and 
total blundering1 ,charles continued to 
play his part of fortune's favorite to  

the end4 ,a bloody battle1 which lasted 
for an hour1 took place upon the banks  
of the ,taro4#a ,the ,italians suffered 
so severely that1 though they still far 
outnumbered the ,french1 no persuasions 
could make them rally and renew the     
fight4 ,charles in his own person ran   
great peril during this battle2 and when
 it was over1 he had still to effect his
 retreat upon ,asti in the teeth of a   
formidable army4 ,the good luck of the  
,french and the dilatory cowardice of   
their opponents saved them now again for
 the last time4      #a ,the action at  
,fornovo lasted a quarter of an hour1   
according to ,de ,comines4 ,the pursuit 
of the ,italians occupied     about     
three quarters of an hour more4         
,unaccustomed to the quick     tactics  
of the ,french1 the ,italians1 when once
 broken1     persisted in retreating    
upon ,reggio and ,parma4 ,the ,gonzaghi 
alone distinguished themselves for      
obstinate courage1 and lost     four or 
five members of their princely house4   

,the ,stradiots1     whose scimitars    
ought to have dealt rudely with the     
heavy     ,french men-at-arms1 employed 
their time in pillaging the ,royal      
pavilion1 very wisely abandoned to their
 avarice by the ,french     captains4   
,to such an extent were military affairs
 misconstrued     in ,italy1 that1 on   
the strength of this brigandage1 the    
,venetians claimed ,fornovo for a       
victory4 ,see my essay     ',fornovo1'  
in ,sketches and ,studies in ,italy1 for
 a     description of the ground on     
which the battle was fought4  ,on ,july 
#ae1 ,charles at the head of his little 
force marched into ,asti and was        
practically safe4 ,here the young king  
continued to give signal proofs of his  
weakness4 ,though he knew that the ,duke
 of ,orleans was hard pressed in        
,novara1 he made no effort to relieve   
him2 nor did he attempt to use the      
#bj1jjj ,switzers who descended from    
their ,alps to aid him in the struggle  
with the league4 ,from ,asti he removed 

to ,turin1 where he spent his time in   
flirting with ,anna ,soleri1 the        
daughter of his host4 ,this girl had    
been sent to harangue him with a set    
oration1 and had fulfilled her task1 in 
the words of an old witness1 'without   
wavering1 coughing1 spitting1 or giving 
way at all4' ,her charms delayed the    
king in ,italy until ,october #ai1 when 
he signed a treaty at ,vercelli with the
 ,duke of ,milan4 ,at this moment       
,charles might have held ,italy in his  
grasp4 ,his forces1 strengthened by the 
unexpected arrival of so many ,switzers1
 and by a junction with the ,duke of    
,orleans1 would have been sufficient to 
overwhelm the army of the league1 and to
 intimidate the faction of ,ferdinand in
 ,naples4 ,yet so light-minded was      
,charles1 and so impatient were his     
courtiers1 that he now only cared for a 
quick return to ,france4 ,reserving to  
himself the nominal right of using      
,genoa as a naval station1 he resigned  
that town to ,lodovico ,sforza1 and     

confirmed him in the tranquil possession
 of his ,duchy4 ,on ,october #bb he left
 ,turin1 and entered his own dominions  
through the ,alps of ,dauphine4 ,already
 his famous conquest of ,italy was      
reckoned among the wonders of the past1 
and his sovereignty over ,naples had    
become the shadow of a name4 ,he had    
obtained for himself nothing but        
momentary glory1 while he imposed on    
,france a perilous foreign policy1 and  
on ,italy the burden of bloody warfare  
in the future4  ,a little more than a   
year had elapsed between the first entry
 of ,charles into ,lombardy and his     
return to ,france4 ,like many other     
brilliant episodes of history1 this     
conquest1 so showy and so ephemeral1 was
 more important as a sign than as an    
actual event4 ',his passage1' says      
,guicciardini1 'was the cause not only  
of change in states1 downfalls of       
kingdoms1 desolations of whole          
districts1 destructions of cities1      
barbarous butcheries2 but also of new   

customs1 new modes of conduct1 new and  
bloody habits of war1 diseases hitherto 
unknown4 ,the organization upon which   
the peace and harmony of ,italy depended
 was so upset that1 since that time1    
other foreign nations and barbarous     
armies have been able to trample her    
under foot and to ravage her at         
pleasure4' ,the only error of           
,guicciardini is the assumption that the
 holiday excursion of ,charles ,,viii4  
was in any deep sense the cause of these
 calamities4#a ,in truth the ,french    
invasion opened a new era for the       
,italians1 but only in the same sense as
 a pageant may form the prelude to a    
tragedy4 ,every monarch of ,europe1     
dazzled by the splendid display of      
,charles and forgetful of its           
insignificant results1 began to look    
with greedy eyes upon the wealth of the 
peninsula4 ,the ,swiss found in those   
rich provinces an inexhaustible field   
for depredation4 ,the ,germans1 under   
the pretense of religious zeal1 gave a  

loose rein to their animal appetites in 
the metropolis of ,christendom4 ,france 
and ,spain engaged in a duel to the     
death for the possession of so fair a   
prey4 ,the ,french1 maddened by mere    
cupidity1 threw away those chances which
 the goodwill of the race at large      
afforded them4#b ,louis ,,xii4 lost     
himself in petty intrigues1 by which he 
finally weakened his own cause to the   
profit of the ,borgias and ,austria4    
,francis ,i4 foamed his force away like 
a spent wave at ,marignano and ,pavia4  
,the real conqueror of ,italy was       
,charles ,v4 ,italy in the sixteenth    
century was destined to receive the     
impress of the ,spanish spirit1 and to  
bear the yoke of ,austrian dukes4 ,hand 
in hand with political despotism marched
 religious tyranny4 ,the                
,counter-,reformation over which the    
,inquisition presided1 was part and     
parcel of the ,spanish policy for the   
enslavement of the nation no less than  
for the restoration of the ,church4     

,meanwhile the weakness1 discord1       
egotism1 and corruption which prevented 
the ,italians from resisting the ,french
 invasion in #adid1 continued to        
increase4 ,instead of being lessoned by 
experience1 ,popes1 ,princes1 and       
,republics vied with each other in      
calling in the strangers1 pitting       
,spaniard against ,frenchman1 and paying
 the ,germans to expel the ,swiss1      
oblivious that each new army of         
foreigners they summoned was in reality 
a new swarm of devouring locusts4 ,in   
the midst of this anarchy it is         
laughable to hear the shrill voice of   
priests1 like ,julius and ,leo1         
proclaiming before ,god their vows to   
rid ,italy of the barbarians4 ,the      
confusion was tenfold confounded when   
the old factions of ,guelf and          
,ghibelline put on a new garb of ,french
 and ,spanish partisanship4 ,town fought
 with town and family with family1 in   
the cause of strangers whom they ought  
to have resisted with one will and      

steady hatred4 ,the fascination of fear 
and the love of novelty alike swayed the
 fickle population of ,italian cities4  
,the foreign soldiers who inflicted on  
the nation such cruel injuries made a   
grand show in their streets1 and there  
will always be a mob so childish as to  
covet pageants at the expense of freedom
 and even of safety4      #a            
,guicciardini's ,dialogo del ,reggimento
 di ,firenze 7,op4     ,ined4 vol4 ii4  
p4 #id7 sets forth the state of internal
 anarchy     and external violence which
 followed the departure of ,charles     
,,viii41 with wonderful acuteness4 ',se 
per sorte l' uno     ,oltramontano      
caccera l' altro1 ,italia restera in    
estrema     servitu1' is an exact       
prophecy of what happened before the end
     of the sixteenth century1 when     
,spain had beaten ,france in the        
duel for ,italy4      #b ,matarazzo1 in 
his ,cronaca della ,citta di ,perugia   
7,arch4     ,st41 vol4 xvi4 part #b1 p4 
#bc71 gives a lively picture of the     

eagerness with which the ,french were   
greeted in #adie1 and of     the wanton 
brutality by which they soon alienated  
the people4     ,in this he agrees      
almost textually with ,de ,comines1 who 
writes3     ',le peuple nous advouoit   
comme ,saincts1 estimans en nous toute  
foy et bonte2 mais ce propos ne leur    
dura gueres1 tant pour     nostre       
desordre et pillerie1 et qu'aussi les   
ennemis     oppreschoient le peuple en  
tous quartiers1' etc41 lib4 vii4        
cap4 #f4 ,in the first paragraph of the 
,chronicon ,venetum     7,muratori1 vol4
 xxlv4 p4 #e71 we read concerning the   
advent of     ,charles3 ',i popoli tutti
 dicevano ,benedictus qui venit in      
nomine ,domini4 ,ne v'era alcuno che li 
potesse contrastare1 ne     resistere1  
tanto era da tutti i popoli ,italiani   
chiamato4' ,the     ,florentines1 as    
burghers of a ,guelf city1 were always  
loyal to     the ,french4 ,besides1     
their commerce with ,france 7e4g4 the   
wealth of ,filippo ,strozzi7 made it to 

their interest to favor     the cause of
 the ,french4 ,see ,guicc4 i4 #b1 p4    
#fb4 ,this loyalty     rose to          
enthusiasm under the influence of       
,savonarola1 survived     the           
stupidities of ,charles ,,viii4 and     
,louis ,,xii41 and committed     the    
,florentines in #acbh to the perilous   
policy of expecting aid     from        
,francis ,i4  ,in spite of its          
transitory character the invasion of    
,charles ,,viii41 therefore1 was a great
 fact in the history of the             
,renaissance4 ,it was1 to use the       
pregnant phrase of ,michelet1 no less   
than the revelation of ,italy to the    
nations of the ,north4 ,like a gale     
sweeping across a forest of trees in    
blossom1 and bearing their fertilizing  
pollen1 after it has broken and         
deflowered their branches1 to           
far-distant trees that hitherto have    
bloomed in barrenness1 the storm of     
,charles's army carried far and wide    
through ,europe thought-dust1           

imperceptible1 but potent to enrich the 
nations4 ,the ,french alone1 says       
,michelet1 understood ,italy4 ,how      
terrible would have been a conquest by  
,turks with their barbarism1 of         
,spaniards with their ,inquisition1 of  
,germans with their brutality6 ,but     
,france1 impressible1 sympathetic1      
ardent for pleasure1 generous1 amiable  
and vain1 was capable of comprehending  
the ,italian spirit4 ,from the ,italians
 the ,french communicated to the rest of
 ,europe what we call the movement of   
the ,renaissance4 ,there is some truth  
in this panegyric of ,michelet's4 ,the  
passage of the army of ,charles ,,viii4 
marks a turning-point in modern history1
 and from this epoch dates the diffusion
 of a spirit of culture over ,europe4   
,but ,michelet forgets to notice that   
the ,french never rightly understood    
their vocation with regard to ,italy4   
,they had it in their power to foster   
that free spirit which might have made  
her a nation capable1 in concert with   

,france1 of resisting ,charles ,v4      
,instead of doing so1 they pursued the  
pettiest policy of avarice and egotism4 
,nor did they prevent that ,spanish     
conquest the horrors of which their     
historian has so eloquently described4  
,again1 we must remember that it was the
 ,spaniards and not the ,french who     
saved ,italy from being barbarized by   
the ,turk4  ,for the historian of ,italy
 it is sad and humiliating to have to   
acknowledge that her fate depended      
wholly on the action of more powerful   
nations1 that she lay inert and helpless
 at the discretion of the conqueror in  
the duels between ,spain and ,france and
 ,spain and ,islam4 ,yet this is the    
truth4 ,it would seem that those peoples
 to whom we chiefly owe advance in art  
and knowledge1 are often thus the       
captives of their intellectual          
inferiors4 ,their spiritual ascendency  
is purchased at the expense of political
 solidity and national prosperity4 ,this
 was the case with ,greece1 with ,judah1

 and with ,italy4 ,the civilization of  
the ,italians1 far in advance of that of
 other ,european nations1 unnerved them 
in the conflict with robust barbarian   
races4 ,letters and the arts and the    
civilities of life were their glory4    
',indolent princes and most despicable  
arms' were their ruin4 ,whether the     
,renaissance of the modern world would  
not have been yet more brilliant if     
,italy had remained free1 who shall say8
 ,the very conditions which produced her
 culture seem to have rendered that     
impossible4     ,,appendices            
,,appendix ,i4  ,blood-madness4 ,see    
,chapter iii1 p4 #aji4   ,one of the    
most striking instances afforded by     
history of ,haematomania in a tyrant is 
,ibrahim ibn ,ahmed1 prince of ,africa  
and ,sicily 7,a4,d4 #hge74 ,this man1   
besides displaying peculiar ferocity in 
his treatment of enemies and prisoners  
of war1 delighted in the execution of   
horrible butcheries within the walls of 
his own palace4 ,his astrologers having 

once predicted that he should die by the
 hands of a 'small assassin1' he killed 
off the whole retinue of his pages1 and 
filled up their places with a suit of   
negroes whom he proceeded to treat after
 the same fashion4 ,on another occasion1
 when one of his three hundred eunuchs  
had by chance been witness of the       
tyrant's drunkenness1 ,ibrahim          
slaughtered the whole band4 ,again1 he  
is said to have put an end to sixty     
youths1 originally selected for his     
pleasures1 burning them by gangs of five
 or six in the furnace1 or suffocating  
them in the hot chambers of his baths4  
,eight of his brothers were murdered in 
his presence2 and when one1 who was so  
diseased that he could scarcely stir1   
implored to be allowed to end his days  
in peace1 ,ibrahim answered3 ',i make no
 exceptions4' ,his own son ,abul-,aghlab
 was beheaded by his orders before his  
eyes2 and the execution of chamberlains1
 secretaries1 ministers1 and courtiers  
was of common occurrence4 ,but his      

fiercest fury was directed against      
women4 ,he seems to have been darkly    
jealous of the perpetuation of the human
 race4 ,wives and concubines were       
strangled1 sawn asunder1 and buried     
alive1 if they showed signs of          
pregnancy4 ,his female children were    
murdered as soon as they saw the light2 
sixteen of them1 whom his mother managed
 to conceal and rear at her own peril1  
were massacred upon the spot when       
,ibrahim discovered whom they claimed as
 father4 ,contemporary ,arab            
chroniclers1 pondering upon the fierce  
and gloomy passions of this man1 arrived
 at the conclusion that he was the      
subject of a strange disease1 a         
portentous secretion of black bile      
producing the melancholy which impelled 
him to atrocious crimes4 ,nor does the  
principle on which this diagnosis of his
 case was founded appear unreasonable4  
,ibrahim was a great general1 an able   
ruler1 a man of firm and steady purpose2
 not a weak and ineffectual libertine   

whom lust for blood and lechery had     
placed below the level of brute beasts4 
,when the time for his abdication       
arrived1 he threw aside his mantle of   
state and donned the mean garb of an    
,arab devotee1 preached a crusade1 and  
led an army into ,italy1 where he died  
of dysentery before the city of         
,cosenza4 ,the only way of explaining   
his eccentric thirst for slaughter is to
 suppose that it was a dark monomania1 a
 form of psychopathy analogous to that  
which we find in the ,marechal de ,retz 
and the ,marquise de ,brinvilliers4 ,one
 of the most marked symptoms of this    
disease was the curiosity which led him 
to explore the entrails of his victims1 
and to feast his eyes upon their        
quivering hearts4 ,after causing his    
first minister ,ibn-,semsama to be      
beaten to death1 he cut his body open1  
and with his own knife sliced the brave 
man's heart4 ,on another occasion he had
 #ejj prisoners brought before him4     
,seizing a sharp lance he first explored

 the region of the ribs1 and then       
plunged the spear-point into the heart  
of each victim in succession4 ,a garland
 of these hearts was made and hung up on
 the gate of ,tunis4 ,the ,arabs        
regarded the heart as the seat of       
thought in man1 the throne of the will1 
the center of intellectual existence4   
,in this preoccupation with the hearts  
of his victims we may therefore trace   
the jealousy of human life which        
,ibrahim displayed in his murder of     
pregnant women1 as well as a tyrant's   
fury against the organ which had        
sustained his foes in their resistance4 
,we can only comprehend the combination 
of sanguinary lust with ,ibrahim's      
vigorous conduct of civil and military  
affairs1 on the hypothesis that this    
man-tiger1 as ,amari1 to whom ,i owe    
these details1 calls him1 was possessed 
with a specific madness4     ,,appendix 
,,ii4  ,nardi1 ,istorie di ,firenze1    
lib4 i4 cap4 #d4 ,see ,chap4 iv4 p4     
#aie4   ,after the freedom regained by  

the expulsion of the ,duke of ,athens   
and the humbling of the nobles1         
regularity for the future in the        
government might have been expected1    
since a very great equality among the   
burghers had been established in        
consequence of those troubles4 ,the city
 too had been divided into quarters1 and
 the supreme magistracy of the republic 
assigned to the eight priors1 called    
,signori ,priori di liberta1 together   
with the ,gonfalonier of ,justice4 ,the 
eight priors were chosen1 two for each  
quarter2 the ,gonfalonier1 their chief1 
differed in no respect from his         
colleagues save in precedence of        
dignity2 and as the fourth part of the  
honors pertained to the members of the  
lesser arts1 their turn kept coming     
round to that quarter to which the      
,gonfalonier belonged4 ,this magistracy 
remained for two whole months1 always   
living and sleeping in the ,palace2 in  
order that1 according to the notion of  
our ancestors1 they might be able to    

attend with greater diligence to the    
affairs of the commonwealth1 in concert 
with their colleagues1 who were the     
sixteen gonfaloniers of the companies of
 the people1 and the twelve buoni       
uomini1 or special advisers of the      
,signory4 ,these magistrates            
collectively in one body were called the
 ,college1 or else the ,signory and the 
,colleagues4 ,after this magistracy came
 the ,senate2 the number of which       
varied1 and the name of which was       
altered several times up to the year    
#adid1 according to circumstances4 ,the 
larger councils1 whose business it was  
to discuss and make the laws and all    
provisions both general and particular1 
were until that date two2 the one called
 the ,council of the people1 formed only
 by the cittadini popolani1 and the     
other the ,council of the ,commune1     
because it embraced both nobles and     
plebeians from the-date of the formation
 of these councils4#a ,the appointment  
of the magistrates1 which of old times  

and under the best and most equitable   
governments was made on the occasion of 
each election1 in this more modern      
period was consigned to a special       
council called ,squittino4#b ,the mode  
and act of the election was termed      
,squittinare1 which is equivalent to    
,scrutinium in the ,latin tongue1       
because minute investigation was made   
into the qualities of the eligible      
burghers4 ,this method1 however1 tended 
greatly to corrupt the good manners of  
the city1 inasmuch as1 the said scrutiny
 being made every three or five years1  
and not on each occasion1 as would have 
been right1 considering the present     
quality of the burghers and the badness 
of the times1 those who had once        
obtained their nomination and been put  
into the purses thereto appointed1 being
 certain to arrive some time at the     
honors and offices for which they were  
designed1 became careless and negligent 
of good customs in their lives4 ,the    
proper function of the ,gonfaloniers    

was1 in concert with their ,gonfalons   
and companies1 to defend with arms the  
city from perils foreign and civil1 when
 occasion rose1 and to control the      
fire-guards specially deputed by that   
magistracy in four convenient stations4 
,all the laws and provisions1 as well   
private as public1 proposed by the      
,signory1 had to be approved and carried
 by that ,college1 then by the ,senate1 
and lastly by the ,councils named above4
 ,notwithstanding this rule1 everything 
of high importance pertaining to the    
state was discussed and carried into    
execution during the whole time that the
 ,medici administered the city by the   
,council vulgarly called ,balia1        
composed of men devoted to that         
government4 ,while the ,medici held     
sway1 the magistracy of the ,dieci della
 ,guerra or of ,liberty and ,peace were 
superseded by the ,otto della ,pratica  
in the conduct of all that concerned    
wars1 truces1 and treaties of peace1 in 
obedience to the will of the chief      

agents of that government4 ,the ,otto di
 guardia e balia were then as now       
delegated to criminal business1 but they
 were appointed by the fore-named       
,council of ,balia1 or rather such      
authority and commission was assigned   
them by the ,signory1 and this usage was
 afterwards continued on their entry    
into office4 ,let this suffice upon     
these matters4 ,now the burghers who    
have the right of discussing and        
determining the affairs of the republic 
were and still are called privileged1   
beneficiati or statuali1 of that quality
 and condition to which1 according to   
the laws of our city1 the government    
belongs2 in other words they are        
eligible for office1 as distinguished   
from those who have not this privilege4 
,consequently the benefiziati and       
statuali of ,florence correspond to the 
gentiluomini of ,venice4 ,of these      
burghers there were about #djj families 
or houses1 but at different times the   
number was larger1 and before the plague

 of #aebg they made up a total of about 
#d1jjj citizens eligible for the        
,consiglio ,grande4 ,during the period  
of freedom between #adid and #aeab the  
other or nonprivileged citizens could be
 elevated to this rank of               
enfranchisement according as they were  
judged worthy by the ,council3 at the   
present time they gain the same         
distinction by such merits as may be    
pleasing to the ruler of the city for   
the time being3 our commonwealth from   
the year #adcc having been governed     
according to the will of its own        
citizens1 though one faction has from   
time to time prevailed over another1 and
 though before that date the republic   
was distressed and shaken by the        
divisions which affected the whole of   
,italy1 and by many others which are    
rather to be reckoned as sedition       
peculiar and natural to free cities4    
,seeing that men by good and evil arts  
in combination are always striving to   
attain the summit of human affairs1     

together also with the favor of fortune1
 who ever insists on having her part in 
our actions4      #a ,lorenzo de'       
,medici superseded these two councils by
 the     ,council of the ,seventy1      
without1 however1 suppressing them4     
#b ,a corruption of ,scrutinio4         
,varchi3 ,storia ,fiorentina1 lib4 iii4 
caps4 #bj1 #ba1 #bb4  ,the whole city of
 ,florence is divided into four         
quarters1 the first of which takes in   
the whole of that part which is now     
called ,beyond the ,arno1 and the chief 
church of the district gives it the name
 of ,santo ,spirito4 ,the other three1  
which embrace all that is called ,this  
side the ,arno1 also take their names   
from their chief churches1 and are the  
,quarters of ,sta4 ,croce1 ,sta4 ,maria 
,novella1 and ,san ,giovanni4 ,each of  
these four quarters is divided into four
 gonfalons1 named after the different   
animals or other things they carry      
painted on their ensigns4 ,the quarter  
of ,santo ,spirito includes the         

gonfalons of the ,ladder1 the ,shell1   
the ,whip1 and the ,dragon2 that of     
,santa ,croce1 the ,car1 the ,ox1 the   
,golden ,lion1 and the ,wheels2 that of 
,santa ,maria ,novella1 the ,viper1 the 
,unicorn1 the ,red ,lion1 and the ,white
 ,lion2 that of ,san ,giovanni1 the     
,black ,lion1 the ,dragon1 the ,keys1   
and the ,vair4 ,now all the households  
and families of ,florence are included  
and classified under these four quarters
 and sixteen gonfalons1 so that there is
 no burgher of ,florence who does not   
rank in one of the four quarters and one
 of the sixteen gonfalons4 ,each        
gonfalon had its standard-bearer1 who   
carried the standard like captains of   
bands2 and their chief office was to run
 with arms whenever they were called by 
the ,gonfalonier of ,justice1 and to    
defend1 each under his own ensign1 the  
palace of the ,signory1 and to fight for
 the people's liberty2 wherefore they   
were called ,gonfaloniers of the        
companies of the people1 or1 more       

briefly1 from their number1 the         
,sixteen4 ,now since they never         
assembled by themselves alone1 seeing   
that they could not propose or carry any
 measure without the ,signory1 they were
 also called the ,colleagues1 that is1  
the companions of the ,signory1 and     
their title was venerable4 ,this1 after 
the ,signory1 was the first and most    
honorable magistracy of ,florence2 and  
after them came the ,twelve ,buonuomini1
 also called1 for the like reason1      
,colleagues4 ,so the ,signory with the  
,gonfalonier of ,justice1 the ,sixteen1 
and the ,twelve were called the ,three  
,greater4 ,no man was said to have the  
franchise 7aver lo stato71 and in       
consequence to frequent the council1 or 
to exercise any office1 whose           
grandfather or father had not occupied  
or been passed for 7seduto o veduto7 one
 of these three magistracies4 ,to be    
passed 7veduto7 ,gonfalonier or         
,colleague meant this3 when a man's name
 was drawn from the purse of the        

,gonfaloniers or of the ,college to     
exercise the office of ,gonfalonier or  
,colleague1 but by reason of being below
 the legal age1 or for some other cause1
 he never sat himself upon the ,board or
 was in fact ,gonfalonier or ,colleague1
 he was then said to have been passed2  
and this held good of all the other     
magistracies of the city4  ,it should   
also be known that all the ,florentine  
burghers were obliged to rank in one of 
the twenty-one arts3 that is1 no one    
could be a burgher of ,florence unless  
he or his ancestors had been approved   
and matriculated in one of these arts1  
whether they practiced it or no4        
,without the proof of such matriculation
 he could not be drawn for any office1  
or exercise any magistracy1 or even have
 his name put into the bags4 ,the arts  
were these3 i4 ,judges and ,notaries    
7for the doctors of the law were styled 
of old in ,florence ,judges72           
,merchants1 or the ,arts of2 ii4        
,calimala1#a iii4 ,exchange1 iv4 ,wool2 

,porta ,santa ,maria1 or the ,arts of2  
v4 ,silk2 vi4 ,physicians and           
,apothecaries2 vii4 ,furriers4 ,the     
others were viii4 ,butchers1 ix4        
,shoemakers1 x4 ,blacksmiths1 xi4       
,linen-drapers and ,clothesmen1 xii4    
,masters1 or ,masons1 and               
,stone-cutters1 xiii4 ,vintners1 xiv4   
,innkeepers1 xv4 ,oilsellers1           
,pork-butchers1 and ,rope-makers1 xvi4  
,hosiers1 xvii4 ,armorers1 xviii4       
,locksmiths1 xix4 ,saddlers1 xx4        
,carpenters1 xxi4 ,bakers4 ,the last    
fourteen were called ,lesser ,arts2     
whoever was enrolled or matriculated    
into one of these was said to rank with 
the lesser 7andare per la minore72 and  
though there were in ,florence many     
other trades than these1 yet having no  
guild of their own they were associated 
to one or other of those that ,i have   
named4 ,each art had1 as may still be   
seen1 a house or mansion1 large and     
noble1 where they assembled1 appointed  
officers1 and gave account of debit and 

credit to all the members of the        
guild4#b ,in processions and other      
public assemblies the heads 7for so the 
chiefs of the several arts were called7 
had their place and precedence in order4
 ,moreover1 these arts at first had each
 an ensign for the defense1 on occasion1
 of liberty with arms4 ,their origin was
 when the people in #abhb overcame the  
nobles 7,grandi71 and passed the        
,ordinances of ,justice against them1   
whereby no nobleman could exercise any  
magistracy2 so that such of the         
patricians as desired to be able to hold
 office had to enter the ranks of the   
people1 as did many great houses of     
quality1 and matriculate into one of the
 arts4 ,which thing1 while it partly    
allayed the civil strife of ,florence1  
almost wholly extinguished all noble    
feeling in the souls of the             
,florentines2 and the power and         
haughtiness of the city were no less    
abated than the insolence and pride of  
the nobles1 who since then have never   

lifted up their heads again4 ,these     
arts1 the greater as well as the lesser1
 have varied in numbers at different    
times2 and often have not only been     
rivals1 but even foes1 among themselves2
 so much so that the lesser arts once   
got it passed that the ,gonfalonier     
should be appointed only from their     
body4 ,yet after long dispute it was    
finally settled that the ,gonfalonier   
could not be chosen from the lesser1 but
 that he should always rank with the    
greater1 and that in all other offices  
and magistracies1 the lesser should     
always have a fourth and no more4       
,consequently1 of the eight ,priors1 two
 were always of the lesser2 of the      
,twelve1 three2 of the ,sixteen1 four2  
and so on through all the magistracies4 
#a ,the name ,calimala was given to a   
trade in cloth carried on     at        
,florence by merchants who bought rough 
goods in ,france1     ,flanders1 and    
,england1 and manufactured them into    
more delicate     materials4      #b    

,marco ,foscari1 quoted lower down1     
estimates the property     the ,arts at 
#bjj1jjj ducats4  ,as a consequence from
 what has been said1 it is easy to      
perceive that all the inhabitants of    
,florence 7by inhabitants ,i mean those 
only who are really settled there1 for  
of strangers1 who are passing or        
sojourning a while1 we need not here    
take any account7 are of two sorts4 ,the
 one class are liable to taxation in    
,florence1 that is1 they pay tithes of  
their goods and are inscribed upon the  
books of the ,commune1 and these are    
called contributors4 ,the others are not
 taxed nor inscribed upon the registers 
of the ,commune1 inasmuch as they do not
 pay the tithes or other ordinary       
imposts2 and these are called           
non-contributors3 who1 seeing that they 
live by their hands1 and carry on       
mechanical arts and the vilest trades1  
should be called plebeians2 and though  
they have ruled ,florence more than     
once1 ought not even to entertain a     

thought about public affairs in a       
well-governed state4 ,the contributors  
are of two sorts3 for some1 while they  
pay the taxes1 do not enjoy the         
citizenship 7i4e4 cannot attend the     
council or take any office72 either     
because none of their ancestors1 and in 
particular their father or their        
grandfather1 has sat or been passed for 
any of the three greater magistracies2  
or else because they have not had       
themselves submitted to the scrutiny1#a 
or1 if they have advanced so far1 have  
not been approved and nominated for     
office4 ,these are indeed entitled      
citizens3 but he who knows what a       
citizen is really1 knows also that1     
being unable to share either the honors 
or the advantages of the city1 they are 
not truly citizens2 therefore let us    
call them burghers1 without franchise4  
,those again who pay taxes and enjoy the
 citizenship 7whom we will therefore    
call enfranchised burghers7 are in like 
manner of two kinds4 ,the one class1    

inscribed and matriculated into one of  
the seven first arts1 are said to rank  
with the greater2 whence we may call    
them ,burghers of the ,greater3 the     
others1 inscribed and matriculated into 
the fourteen lesser arts1 are said to   
rank with the lesser2 whence we may call
 them ,burghers of the ,lesser4 ,this   
distinction had the ,romans1 but not for
 the same reason4     ,varchi3 ,storia  
,fiorentina1 lib4 ix4 chs4 #dh1 #di1    
#df4  ,as for natural abilities1 ,i for 
my part cannot believe that any one     
either could or ought to doubt that the 
,florentines1 even if they do not excel 
all other nations1 are at least inferior
 to none in those things to which they  
give their minds4 ,in trade1 whereon of 
a truth their city is founded1 and      
wherein their industry is chiefly       
exercised1 they ever have been and still
 are reckoned not less trusty and true  
than great and prudent3 but besides     
trade1 it is clear that the three most  
noble arts of painting1 sculpture1 and  

architecture have reached that degree of
 supreme excellence in which we find    
them now1 chiefly by the toil and by the
 skill of the ,florentines1 who have    
beautified and adorned not only their   
own city but also very many others1 with
 great glory and no small profit to     
themselves and to their country4 ,and1  
seeing that the fear of being held a    
flatterer should not prevent me from    
testifying to the truth1 though this    
will turn to the highest fame and honor 
of my lords and patrons1 ,i say that all
 ,italy1 nay the whole world1 owes it   
solely to the judgment and the          
generosity of the ,medici that ,greek   
letters were not extinguished to the    
great injury of the human race1 and that
 ,latin literature was restored to the  
incalculable profit of all men4      #a 
,for an explanation of ,squittino and   
,squittinare1 see     ,nardi1 p4 #eic   
above4  ,i am wholly of opinion opposed 
to that of some1 who1 because the       
,florentines are merchants1 hold them   

for neither noble nor high-spirited1 but
 for tame and low4#a ,on the contrary1  
,i have often wondered with myself how  
it could be that men who have been used 
from their childhood upwards for a      
paltry profit to carry bales of wool and
 baskets of silk like porters1 and to   
stand like slaves all day and great part
 of the night at the loom1 could summon1
 when and where was need1 such greatness
 of soul1 such high and haughty         
thoughts1 that they have wit and heart  
to say and do those many noble things we
 know of them4 ,pondering on the causes 
of which1 ,i find none truer than this1 
that the ,florentine climate1 between   
the fine air of ,arezzo and the thick   
air of ,pisa1 infuses into their breasts
 the temperament of which ,i spoke4 ,and
 whoso shall well consider the nature   
and the ways of the ,florentines1 will  
find them born more apt to rule than to 
obey4 ,nor would it be easily believed  
how much was gained for the youth of    
,florence by the institution of the     

militia2 for whereas many of the young  
men1 heedless of the commonwealth and   
careless of themselves1 used to spend   
all the day in idleness1 hanging about  
places of public resort1 girding at one 
another1 or talking scandal of the      
passers by1 they immediately1 like      
beasts by some benevolent ,circe        
transformed again to men1 gave all their
 heart and soul1 regardless of peril or 
loss1 to gaining fame and honor for     
themselves1 and liberty and safety for  
their country4 ,i do not by what ,i have
 been saying mean to deny that among the
 ,florentines may be found men proud1   
ambitious1 and greedy of gain2 for vices
 will exist as long as human nature     
lasts3 nay1 rather1 the ungrateful1 the 
envious1 the malicious1 and the         
evil-minded among them are so in the    
highest degree1 just as the virtuous are
 supremely virtuous4 ,it is indeed a    
common proverb that ,florentine brains  
have no mean either way2 the fools are  
exceeding simple1 and the wise exceeding

 prudent4      #a ,compare1 however1    
,varchi1 quoted above1 p4 #bdc4 ,the    
,report     of ,marco ,foscari1         
,relazioni ,venete1 series ii1 vol4 i4  
p4 #i     et seq41 contains a remarkable
 estimate of the ,florentine            
character4 ,he attributes the timidity  
and weakness which he     observes in   
the ,florentines to their mercantile    
habits1 and     notices1 precisely what 
,varchi here observes with admiration3  
'li primi che governano lo stato vanno  
alle loro botteghe di     seta1 e       
gittati li lembi del mantello sopra le  
spalle1 pongonsi     alia caviglia e    
lavorano pubblicamente che ognuno li    
vede2 ed i     figliuoli loro stanno in 
bottega con li grembiuli dinanzi1 e     
portano il sacco e le sporte alle       
maestre con la seta e fanno     gli     
altri esercizi di bottega4' ,a strong   
aristocratic prejudice     transpires in
 every line4 ,this report was written   
early in     #aebg4 ,the events of the  
,siege must have surprised ,marco       

,foscari4 ,he notices among other       
things1 as a source of     weakness1 the
 country villas which were all within a 
few months     destroyed by their armies
 for the public good4  ,their mode of   
life is simple and frugal1 but          
wonderfully and incredibly clean and    
neat2 and it may be said with truth that
 the artisans and handicraftsmen live at
 ,florence even better than the citizens
 themselves3 for whereas the former     
change from tavern to tavern1 according 
as they find good wine1 and only think  
of joyous living2 the latter in their   
homes1 with the frugality of merchants1 
who for the most part make but do not   
spend money1 or with the moderation of  
orderly burghers1 never exceed          
mediocrity4 ,nevertheless there are not 
wanting families1 who keep a splendid   
table and live like nobles1 such as the 
,antinori1 the ,bartolini1 the          
,tornabuoni1 the ,pazzi1 the            
,borgherini1 the ,gaddi1 the ,rucellai1 
and among the ,salviati1 ,piero         

d',alamanno and ,alamanno d',jacopo1 and
 some others4 ,at ,florence every one is
 called by his proper name or his       
surname2 and the common usage1 unless   
there be some marked distinction of rank
 or age1 is to say thou and not you2    
only to knights1 doctors1 and           
prebendaries is the title of messere    
allowed2 to doctors that of maestro1 to 
monks don1 and to friars padre4 ,true1  
however1 is it that since there was a   
,court at ,florence1 first that of      
,giulio1 the ,cardinal de' ,medici1 then
 that of the ,cardinal of ,cortona1     
which enjoyed more license than the     
former1 the manners of the city have    
become more refined--or shall ,i say    
more corrupt8     ,,appendix ,,iii4     
,the ,character of ,alexander ,,vi41    
from ,guicciardini's ,story1            
,fiorentina1 cap4 #bg4 ,see ,chap4 vii4 
p4 #dab above4   ,so died ,pope         
,alexander1 at the height of glory and  
prosperity2 about whom it must be known 
that he was a man of the utmost power   

and of great judgment and spirit1 as his
 actions and behavior showed4 ,but as   
his first accession to the ,papacy was  
foul and shameful1 seeing he had bought 
with gold so high a station1 in like    
manner his government disagreed not with
 this base foundation4 ,there were in   
him1 and in full measure1 all vices both
 of flesh and spirit2 nor could there be
 imagined in the ordering of the ,church
 a rule so bad but that he put it into  
working4 ,he was most sensual toward    
both sexes1 keeping publicly women and  
boys1 but more especially toward women2 
and so far did he exceed all measure    
that public opinion judged he knew      
,madonna ,lucrezia1 his own daughter1   
toward whom he bore a most tender and   
boundless love4 ,he was exceedingly     
avaricious1 not in keeping what he had  
acquired1 but in getting new wealth3 and
 where he saw a way toward drawing      
money1 he had no respect whatever2 in   
his days were sold as at auction all    
benefices1 dispensations1 pardons1      

bishoprics1 cardinalships1 and all court
 dignities3 unto which matters he had   
appointed two or three men privy to his 
thought1 exceeding prudent1 who let them
 out to the highest bidder4 ,he caused  
the death by poison of many cardinals   
and prelates1 even be rich in benefices 
and understood to have hoarded much1    
with the view of seizing on their       
wealth4 ,his cruelty was great1 seeing  
that by his direction many were put to  
violent death2 nor was the ingratitude  
less with which he caused the ruin of   
the ,sforzeschi and ,colonnesi1 by whose
 favor he acquired the ,papacy4 ,there  
was in him no religion1 no keeping of   
his troth3 he promised all things       
liberally1 but stood to nought but what 
was useful to himself3 no care for      
justice1 since in his days ,rome was    
like a den of thieves and murderers3 his
 ambition was boundless1 and such that  
it grew in the same measure as his state
 increased3 nevertheless1 his sins      
meeting with no due punishment in this  

world1 he was to the last of his days   
most prosperous4 ,while young and still 
almost a boy1 having ,calixtus for his  
uncle1 he was made ,cardinal and then   
,vice-,chancellor3 in which high place  
he continued till his papacy1 with great
 revenue1 good fame1 and peace4 ,having 
become ,pope1 he made ,cesare1 his      
bastard son and bishop of ,pampeluna1 a 
,cardinal1 against the ordinances and   
decrees of the ,church1 which forbid the
 making of a bastard ,cardinal even with
 the ,pope's dispensation1 wherefore he 
brought proof by false witnesses that he
 was born in wedlock4 ,afterwards he    
made him a layman and took away the     
,cardinal's dignity from him1 and turned
 his mind to making a realm2 wherein he 
fared far better than he purposed1 and  
beginning with ,rome1 after undoing the 
,orsini1 ,colonnesi1 ,savelli1 and those
 barons who were wont to be held in fear
 by former ,popes1 he was more full     
master of ,rome than ever had been any  
,pope before4 ,with greatest ease he got

 the lordships of ,romagna1 the ,march1 
and the ,duchy2 and having made a most  
fair and powerful state1 the            
,florentines held him in much fear1 the 
,venetians in jealousy1 and the ,king of
 ,france in esteem4 ,then having got    
together a fine army1 he showed how     
great was the might of a ,pontiff when  
he hath a valiant general and one in    
whom he can place faith4 ,at last he    
grew to that point that he was counted  
the balance in the war of ,france and   
,spain4 ,in one word he was more evil   
and more lucky than ever for many ages  
peradventure had been any pope before4  
,,appendix ,,iv4  ,religious ,revivals  
in ,mediaeval ,italy4 ,see ,chap4 viii4 
p4 #dia above4   ,it would be           
unscientific to confound events of such 
,european importance as the foundation  
of the orders of ,s4 ,francis and ,s4   
,dominic with the phenomena in question4
 ,still it may be remarked1 that the    
sudden rise and the extraordinary       
ascendency of the mendicants and        

preachers were due in a great measure to
 the sensitive and lively imagination of
 the ,italians4 ,the ,popes of the first
 half of the thirteenth century were    
shrewd enough to discern the political  
and ecclesiastical importance of        
movements which seemed at first to owe  
their force to mere fanatical           
revivalism4 ,they calculated on the     
intensely excitable temperament of the  
,italian nation1 and employed the       
,franciscans and ,dominicans as their   
militia in the crusade against the      
,empire and the heretics4 ,again1 it is 
necessary to distinguish what was       
essentially national from what was      
common to all ,europeans in the ,middle 
,ages4 ,every country had its wandering 
hordes of flagellants and penitents1 its
 crusaders and its pilgrims4 ,the vast  
unsettled populations of mediaeval      
,europe1 haunted with the recurrent     
instinct of migration1 and              
nightmare-ridden by imperious religious 
yearnings1 poured flood after flood of  

fanatics upon the shores of ,palestine4 
,half-naked savages roamed1 dancing and 
groaning and scourging their flesh1 from
 city to city1 under the stress of      
semi-bestial impulses4 ,then came the   
period of organized pilgrimages4 ,the   
celebrated shrines of ,europe--,rome1   
,compostella1 ,monte ,gargano1          
,canterbury--acted like                 
lightning-conductors to the tempestuous 
devotion of the mediaeval races1 like   
setons to their over-charged            
imagination4 ,in all these universal    
movements the ,italians had their share3
 being more advanced in civilization    
than the ,northern peoples1 they turned 
the crusades to commercial count1 and   
maintained some moderation in the fakir 
fury of their piety4 ,it is not1        
therefore1 with the general history of  
religious enthusiasm in the ,middle     
,ages that we have to do1 but rather    
with those intermittent manifestations  
of revivalism which were peculiar to the
 ,italians4 ,the chief points to be     

noticed are the political influence     
acquired by monks in some of the        
,italian cities1 the preaching of peace 
and moral reformation1 the panics or    
superstitious terror which seized upon  
wide districts1 and the personal        
ascendency of hermits unaccredited by   
the ,church1 but believed by the people 
to be divinely inspired4  ,one of the   
most picturesque figures of the first   
half of the thirteenth century is the   
,dominican monk1 ,john of ,vicenza4 ,his
 order1 which had recently been founded1
 was already engaged in the work of     
persecution4 ,france was reeking with   
the slaughter of the ,albigenses1 and   
the stakes were smoking in the town of  
,milan1 when this friar undertook the   
noble task of pacifying ,lombardy4      
,every town in the north of ,italy was  
at that period torn by the factions of  
the ,guelfs and ,ghibellines2 private   
feuds crossed and intermingled with     
political discords2 and the savage      
tyranny of ,ezzelino had shaken the     

fabric of society to its foundations4   
,it seemed utterly impossible to bring  
this people for a moment to agreement4  
,yet what popes and princes had failed  
to achieve1 the voice of a single friar 
accomplished4 ,john of ,vicenza began   
his preaching in ,bologna during the    
year #abcc4 ,the citizens and the       
country folk of the surrounding         
districts flocked to hear him4 ,it was  
noticed with especial wonder that       
soldiers of all descriptions yielded to 
the magic of his eloquence4 ,the themes 
of his discourse were invariably        
reconciliation and forgiveness of       
injuries4 ,the heads of rival houses1   
who had prosecuted hereditary feuds for 
generations1 met before his pulpit1 and 
swore to live thenceforth in amity4     
,even the magistrates entreated him to  
examine the statutes of their city1 and 
to point out any alterations by which   
the peace of the commonwealth might be  
assured4 ,having done his best for      
,bologna1 ,john journeyed to ,padua1    

where the fame of his sanctity had been 
already spread abroad4 ,the carroccio of
 the city1 on which the standard of     
,padua floated1 and which had led the   
burghers to many a bloody battle1 was   
sent out to meet him at ,monselice1 and 
he entered the gates in triumph4 ,in    
,padua the same exhortations to peace   
produced the same results4 ,old enmities
 were abandoned1 and hands were clasped 
which had often been raised in fierce   
fraternal conflict4 ,treviso1 ,feltre1  
,beliuno1 ,conegliano1 and ,romano1 the 
very nests of the grim brood of         
,ezzelino1 yielded to the charm4        
,verona1 where the ,scalas were about to
 reign1 ,vicenza1 ,mantua1 and ,brescia1
 all placed themselves at the           
disposition of the monk1 and prayed him 
to reform their constitution4 ,but it   
was not enough to restore peace to each 
separate community1 to reconcile        
household with household1 and to efface 
the miseries of civil discord4 ,john of 
,vicenza aimed at consolidating the     

,lombard cities in one common bond4 ,for
 this purpose he bade the burghers of   
all the towns where he had preached to  
meet him on the plain of ,paquara1 in   
the country of ,verona4 ,the #bhth of   
,august was the day fixed for this great
 national assembly4 ,more than four     
hundred thousand persons1 according to  
the computation of ,parisio di ,cereta1 
appeared upon the scene4 ,this multitude
 included the populations of ,verona1   
,mantua1 ,brescia1 ,padua1 and ,vicenza1
 marshaled under their several          
standards1 together with contingents    
furnished by ,ferrara1 ,modena1 ,reggio1
 ,parma1 and ,bologna4 ,nor was the     
assembly confined to the common folk4   
,the bishops of these flourishing       
cities1 the haughty ,marquis of ,este1  
the fierce lord of ,romano1 and the     
,patriarch of ,aquileia1 obeyed the     
invitation of the friar4 ,there1 on the 
banks of the ,adige1 and within sight of
 the ,alps1 ,john of ,vicenza ascended a
 pulpit that had been prepared for him1 

and preached a sermon on the text1      
,pacem meam do vobis1 pacem relinquo    
vobis4 ,the horrors of war1 and the     
,christian duty of reconciliation1      
formed the subject of his sermon1 at the
 end of which he constrained the        
,lombards to ratify a solemn league of  
amity1 vowing to eternal perdition all  
who should venture to break the same1   
and imprecating curses on their crops1  
their vines1 their cattle1 and          
everything they had4 ,furthermore1 he   
induced the ,marquis of ,este to take in
 marriage a daughter of ,alberico da    
,romano4 ,up to this moment ,john of    
,vicenza had made a noble use of the    
strange power which he possessed4 ,but  
his success seems to have turned his    
head4 ,instead of confining himself to  
the work of pacification so well begun1 
he now demanded to be made lord of      
,vicenza1 with the titles of ,duke and  
,count1 and to receive the supreme      
authority in ,verona4 ,the people1      
believing him to be a saint1 readily    

acceded to his wishes2 but one of the   
first things he did1 after altering the 
statutes of these burghs1 was to burn   
sixty citizens of ,verona1 whom he had  
himself condemned as heretics4 ,the     
,paduans revolted against his tyranny4  
,obliged to have recourse to arms1 he   
was beaten and put in prison2 and when  
he was released1 at the intercession of 
the ,pope1 he found his wonderful       
prestige annihilated4#a      #a ,the    
most interesting accounts of ,fra       
,giovanni da ,vicenza     are to be     
found in ,muratori1 vol4 viii41 in the  
,annals of     ,rolandini and ,gerardus 
,maurisius4  ,the position of ,fra      
,jacopo del ,bussolaro in ,pavia        
differed from that of ,fra ,giovanni da 
,vicenza in ,verona4 ,yet the           
commencement of his political authority 
was very nearly the same4 ,the son of a 
poor boxmaker of ,pavia1 he early took  
the habit of the ,augustines1 and       
acquired a reputation for sanctity by   
leading the austere life of a hermit4   

,it happened in the year #acef that he  
was commissioned by the superiors of his
 order to preach the ,lenten sermons to 
the people of ,pavia4 ',then1' to quote 
,matteo ,villani1 'it pleased ,god that 
this monk should make his sermons so    
agreeable to every species of people1   
that the fame of them and the devotion  
they inspired increased marvelously4    
,and he1 seeing the concourse of the    
people1 and the faith they bare him1    
began to denounce vice1 and specially   
usury1 revenge1 and ill-behavior of     
women2 and thereupon he began to speak  
against the disorderly lordship of the  
tyrants2 and in a short time he brought 
the women to modest manners1 and the men
 to renunciation of usury and feuds4'   
,the only citizens of ,pavia who        
resisted his eloquence were the         
,beccaria family1 who at that time ruled
 ,pavia like despots4 ,his most animated
 denunciations were directed against    
their extortions and excesses4          
,therefore they sought to slay him4 ,but

 the people gave him a bodyguard1 and at
 last he wrought so powerfully with the 
burghers that they expelled the house of
 ,beccaria and established a republican 
government4 ,at this time the ,visconti 
were laying siege to ,pavia3 the passes 
of the ,ticino and the ,po were occupied
 by ,milanese troops1 and the city was  
reduced to a state of blockade4 ,fra    
,jacopo assembled the able-bodied       
burghers1 animated them by his          
eloquence1 and led them to the attack of
 their besiegers4 ,they broke through   
the lines of the beleaguering camp1 and 
re-established the freedom of ,pavia4   
,what remained1 however1 of the         
,beccaria party passed over to the      
enemy1 and threw the whole weight of    
their influence into the scale of the   
,visconti3 so that at the end of a three
 years' manful conflict1 ,pavia was     
delivered to ,galeazzo ,visconti in     
#acei4 ,fra ,jacopo made the best terms 
that he could for the city1 and took no 
pains to secure his own safety4 ,he was 

consigned by the conquerors to the      
superiors of his order1 and died in the 
dungeons of a convent at ,vercelli4 ,in 
his case1 the sanctity of an austere    
life1 and the eloquence of an           
authoritative preacher of repentance1   
had been strictly subordinated to       
political aims in the interests of      
republican liberty4 ,fra ,jacopo        
deserves to rank with ,savonarola3 like 
,savonarola1 he fell a victim to the    
selfish and immoral oppressors of his   
country4 ,as in the case of ,savonarola1
 we can trace the connection which      
subsisted in ,italy between a high      
standard of morality and patriotic      
heroism4#a      #a ,the best authorities
 for the life and actions of ,fra       
,jacopo     are ,matteo ,villani1 bks4  
#h and #i1 and ,peter ,azarius1 in his  
,chronicle 7,groevius1 vol4 ix474  ,san 
,bernardino da ,massa heads a long list 
of preachers1 who1 without taking a     
prominent part in contemporary politics1
 devoted all their energies to the moral

 regeneration of the people4 ,his life1 
written by ,vespasiano da ,bisticci1 is 
one of the most valuable documents which
 we possess for the religious history of
 ,italy in the first half of the        
fifteenth century4 ,his parents1 who    
were people of good condition1 sent him 
at an early age to study the ,canon law 
at ,siena4 ,they designed him for a     
lucrative and important office in the   
,church4 ,but1 while yet a youth1 he was
 seized with a profound conviction of   
the degradation of his countrymen4 ,the 
sense of sin so weighed upon him that he
 sold all his substance1 entered the    
order of ,s4 ,francis1 and began to     
preach against the vices which were     
flagrant in the great ,italian cities4  
,after traveling through the length and 
breadth of the peninsula1 and winning   
all men by the magic of his eloquence1  
he came to ,florence4 ',there1' says    
,vespasiano1 'the ,florentines being by 
nature very well disposed indeed to     
truth1 he so dealt that he changed the  

whole ,state and gave it1 one may say1 a
 second birth4 ,and in order to abolish 
the false hair which the women wore1 and
 games of chance1 and other vanities1 he
 caused a sort of large stall to be     
raised in the ,piazza di ,santa ,croce1 
and bade every one who possessed any of 
these vanities to place them there2 and 
so they did2 and he set fire thereto and
 burned the whole4' ,s4 ,bernardino     
preached unremittingly for forty-two    
years in every quarter of ,italy1 and   
died at last worn out with fatigue and  
sickness4 ',of many enmities and deaths 
of men he wrought peace and removed     
deadly hatreds2 and numberless princes1 
who harbored feuds to the death1 he     
reconciled1 and restored tranquillity to
 many cities and peoples4' ,a vivid     
picture of the method adopted by ,s4    
,bernardino in his dealings with these  
cities is presented to us by ,graziani1 
the chronicler of ,perugia3 ',on        
,september #bc1 #adbe1 a ,sunday1 there 
were1 as far as we could reckon1 upwards

 of #c1jjj persons in the ,cathedral4   
,his sermon was from the ,sacred        
,scripture1 reproving men of every vice 
and sin1 and teaching ,christian living4
 ,then he began to rebuke the women for 
their paints and cosmetics1 and false   
hair1 and such like wanton customs2 and 
in like manner the men for their cards  
and dice-boards and masks and amulets   
and charms3 insomuch that within a      
fortnight the women sent all their false
 hair and gewgaws to the ,convent of ,s4
 ,francis1 and the men their dice1      
cards1 and such gear1 to the amount of  
many loads4 ,and on ,october #bi ,fra   
,bernardino collected all these devilish
 things on the piazza1 where he erected 
a kind of wooden castle between the     
fountain and the ,bishop's palace2 and  
in this he put all the said articles1   
and set fire to them2 and the fire was  
so great that none durst go near2 and in
 the fire were burned things of the     
greatest value1 and so great was the    
haste of men and women to escape that   

fire that many would have perished but  
for the quick aid of the burghers4'     
,together with this onslaught upon      
vanities1 ,fra ,bernardino connected the
 preaching of peace and amity4 ,it is   
noticeable that while his sermon lasted 
and the great bell of ,s4 ,lorenzo went 
on tolling1 no man could be taken or    
imprisoned in the city of ,perugia4#a   
#a ,see ,vespasiano1 ,vite di ,uomini   
,illustri1 pp4 #ahe-ib4     ,graziani1  
,archivio ,storico1 vol4 xvi4 part i4   
pp4 #cac1 #cad4  ,the same city was the 
scene of many similar displays4 ,during 
the fifteenth century it remained in a  
state of the most miserable internal    
discord1 owing to the feuds of its noble
 families4 ,graziani gives an account of
 the preaching there of ,fra ,jacopo    
della ,marca1 in #adde3 on this occasion
 a temporary truce was patched up       
between old enemies1 a witch was burned 
for the edification of the burghers1 the
 people were reproved for their         
extravagance in dress1 and two          

peacemakers 7pacieri7 were appointed for
 each gate4 ,on ,march #bb1 after       
undergoing this discipline1 the whole of
 ,perugia seemed to have repented of its
 sins2 but the first entry for ,april   
#ae is the murder of one of the ,ranieri
 family by another of the same house4   
,so transitory were the effects of such 
revivals4#a ,another entry in           
,graziani's ,chronicle deserves to be   
noticed4 ,he describes how1 in #addh1   
,fra ,roberto da ,lecce 7like ,s4       
,bernardino and ,fra ,jacopo della      
,marca1 a ,franciscan of the ,order of  
,observance7 came to preach in ,january4
 ,he was only twenty-two years of age2  
but his fame was so great that he drew  
about #ae1jjj persons into the piazza to
 listen to him4 ,the stone pulpit1 we   
may say in passing1 is still shown1 from
 which these sermons were delivered4 ,it
 is built into the wall of the          
,cathedral1 and commands the whole      
square4 ,roberto da ,lecce began by     
exhibiting a crucifix1 which moved the  

audience to tears2 'and the weeping and 
crying1 ,jesu misericordia6 lasted about
 half an hour4 ,then he made four       
citizens be chosen for each gate as     
peacemakers4' ,what follows in ,graziani
 is an account of a theatrical show1    
exhibited upon the steps of the         
,cathedral4 ,on ,good ,friday the friar 
assembled all the citizens1 and         
preached2 and when the moment came for  
the elevation of the crucifix1 'there   
issued forth from ,san ,lorenzo ,eliseo 
di ,christoforo1 a barber of the quarter
 of ,sant ,angelo1 like a naked ,christ 
with the cross on his shoulder1 and the 
crown of thorns upon his head1 and his  
flesh seemed to be bruised as when      
,christ was scourged4' ,the people were 
immensely moved by this sight4 ,they    
groaned and cried out1 ',misericordia6' 
and many monks were made upon the spot4 
,at last1 on ,april #g1 ,fra ,roberto   
took his leave of the ,perugians1 crying
 as he went1 ',la pace sia con voi6'#b  
,we have a glimpse of the same ,fra     

,roberto da ,lecce at ,rome1 in the year
 #adhb4 ,the feuds of the noble families
 della ,croce and della ,valle were then
 raging in the streets of ,rome4 ,on the
 night of ,april #c they fought a       
pitched battle in the neighborhood of   
the ,pantheon1 the factions of ,orsini  
and ,colonna joining in the fray4 ,many 
of the combatants were left dead before 
the palaces of the ,vallensi2 the       
numbers of the wounded were variously   
estimated2 and all ,rome seemed to be   
upon the verge of civil war4 ,roberto da
 ,lecce1 who was drawing large          
congregations1 not only of the common   
folk1 but also of the ,roman prelates1  
to his sermons at ,santa ,maria sopra   
,minerva1 interrupted his discourse upon
 the following ,friday1 and held before 
the people the image of their crucified 
,saviour1 entreating them to make peace4
 ,as he pleaded with them1 he wept2 and 
they too fell to weeping--fierce        
satellites of the rival factions and    
worldly prelates lifting up their voice 

in concert with the friar who had       
touched their hearts4#c ,another member 
of the ,franciscan ,order of ,observance
 should be mentioned after ,fra         
,roberto4 ,this was ,fra ,giovanni da   
,capistrano1 of whose preaching at      
,brescia in #adea we have received a    
minute account4 ,he brought with him a  
great reputation for sanctity and       
eloquence1 and for the miraculous cures 
which he had wrought4 ,the ,rectors of  
the city1 together with #cjj of the most
 distinguished burghers upon horseback1 
and a crowd of well-born ladies on foot1
 went out to meet him on ,february #i4  
,arrangements were made for the         
entertainment of himself and #ajj       
followers1 at public cost4 ,next        
morning1 three hours before dawn1 there 
were already assembled upwards of       
#aj1jjj people on the piazza1 waiting   
for the preacher4 ',think1 therefore1'  
says the ,chronicle1 'how many there    
must have been in the daytime6 and mark 
this1 that they came less to hear his   

sermon than to see him4' ,as he made his
 way through the throng1 his frock was  
almost torn to pieces on his back1      
everybody struggling to get a           
fragment4#d      #a ,see ,graziani1 pp4 
#efe-fh4      #b ,graziani1 pp1         
#eig-fja4      #c ,see ,jacobus         
,volaterranus4 ,muratori1 xxiii4 pp4    
#abf1 #aef1     #afg4      #d ,see      
,istoria ,bresciana4 ,muratori1 xxi4    
#hfe4  ,it did not always need the      
interposition of a friar to arouse a    
strong religious panic in ,italian      
cities4 ,after an unusually fierce bout 
of discord the burghers themselves would
 often attempt to give the sanction of  
solemn rites and vows before the altar  
to their temporary truces4 ,siena1 which
 was always more disturbed by civil     
strife than any of her neighbors1       
offered a notable example of this custom
 in the year #adid4 ,the factions of the
 ,monti de' ,nove and del ,popolo had   
been raging2 the city was full of feud  
and suspicion1 and all ,italy was       

agitated by the ,french invasion4 ,it   
seemed good1 therefore1 to the heads of 
the chief parties that an oath of peace 
should be taken by the whole body of the
 burghers4 ,allegretti's account of the 
ceremony1 which took place at dead of   
night in the beautiful ,cathedral of    
,siena1 is worthy to be translated4     
',the conditions of the peace were then 
read1 which took up eight pages1        
together with an oath of the most       
horrible sort1 full of maledictions1    
imprecations1 excommunications1         
invocations of evil1 renunciation of    
benefits temporal and spiritual1        
confiscation of goods1 vows1 and so many
 other woes that to hear it was a       
terror2 et etiam that in articulo mortis
 no sacrament should accrue to the      
salvation1 but rather to the damnation  
of those who might break the said       
conditions2 insomuch that ,i1           
,allegretto di ,nanni ,allegretti1 being
 present1 believe that never was made or
 heard a more awful and horrible oath4  

,then the notaries of the ,nove and the 
,popolo1 on either side of the altar1   
wrote down the names of all the         
citizens1 who swore upon the crucifix1  
for on each side there was one1 and     
every couple of the one and the other   
faction kissed2 and the bells clashed1  
and ,te ,deum laudamus was sung with the
 organs and the choir while the oath was
 being taken4 ,all this happened between
 one and two hours of the night1 with   
many torches lighted4 ,now may ,god will
 that this be peace indeed1 and         
tranquillity for all citizens1 whereof  
,i doubt4'#a ,the doubt of ,allegretti  
was but too reasonable4 ,siena profited 
little by these dreadful oaths and      
terrifying functions4 ,two years later  
on1 the same chronicler tells how it was
 believed that blood had rained outside 
the ,porta a ,laterino1 and that various
 visions of saints and specters had     
appeared to holy persons1 proclaiming   
changes in the state1 and commanding a  
public demonstration of repentance4     

,each parish organized a procession1 and
 all in turn marched1 some by day and   
some by night1 singing ,litanies1 and   
beating and scourging themselves1 to the
 ,cathedral1 where they dedicated       
candles2 and 'one ransomed prisoners1   
for an offering1 and another dowered a  
girl in marriage4'  ,in ,bologna in     
#adeg a similar revival took place on   
the occasion of an outbreak of the      
plague4 ',flagellants went round the    
city1 and when they came to a cross1    
they all cried with a loud voice3       
,misericordia6 misericordia6 ,for eight 
days there was a strict fast2 the       
butchers shut their shops4' ,what       
follows in the ,chronicle is comic3     
',meretrices ad concubita nullum        
admittebant4 ,ex eis quadam quae        
cupiditate lucri adolescentem admiserat1
 deprehensa1 aliae meretrices ita illius
 nates nudas corrigiis percusserunt1 ut 
sanguinem emitteret4'#b ,ferrara        
exhibited a like devotion in #adif1 on  
even a larger scale4 ,about this time   

the entire ,italian nation was          
panic-stricken by the passage of        
,charles ,,viii41 and by the changes in 
states and kingdoms which ,savonarola   
had predicted4 ,the ,ferrarese1 to quote
 the language of their chronicler1      
expected that 'in this year1 throughout 
,italy1 would be the greatest famine1   
war1 and want that had ever been since  
the world began4' ,therefore they       
fasted1 and 'the ,duke of ,ferrara      
fasted together with the whole of his   
court4 ,at the same time a proclamation 
was made against swearing1 games of     
hazard1 and unlawful trades3 and it was 
enacted that the ,jews should resume    
their obnoxious yellow gaberdine with   
the ,o upon their breasts4 ,in #aejj    
these edicts were repeated4 ,the        
condition of ,italy had grown worse and 
worse3 it was necessary to besiege the  
saints with still more energetic        
demonstrations4 ,therefore 'the ,duke   
,ercole d' ,este1 for good reasons to   
him known1 and because it is always well

 to be on good terms with ,god1 ordained
 that processions should be made every  
third day in ,ferrara1 with the whole   
clergy1 and about #d1jjj children or    
more from twelve years of age upwards1  
dressed in white1 and each holding a    
banner with a painted ,jesus4 ,his      
lordship1 and his sons and brothers1    
followed this procession1 namely the    
,duke on horseback1 because he could not
 then walk1 and all the rest on foot1   
behind the ,bishop4'#c ,a certain amount
 of irony transpires in this quotation1 
which would make one fancy that the     
chronicler suspected the ,duke of       
ulterior1 and perhaps political1        
motives4      #a ,see ,muratori1 vol4   
xxiii4 p4 #hci4      #b ,annales        
,bononienses4 ,mur4 xxiii4 #hij4      #c
 ,diario ,ferrarese4 ,mur4 xxiv4 pp4    
#ag-chf4  ,it sometimes happened that   
the contagion of such devotion spread   
from city to city2 on one occasion1 in  
#acii1 it traveled from ,piedmont       
through the whole of ,italy4 ,the       

epidemic of flagellants1 of which       
,giovanni ,villani speaks in #acaj 7lib4
 viii4 cap4 #aba71 began also in        
,piedmont1 and spread along the ,genoese
 ,riviera4 ,the ,florentine authorities 
refused entrance to these fanatics into 
their territory4 ,in #accd1 ,villani    
mentions another outburst of the same   
devotion 7lib xi4 cap4 #bc71 which was  
excited by the preaching of ,fra        
,venturino da ,bergamo4 ,the penitents  
on this occasion wore for badge a dove  
with the olive-branch4 ,they staid      
fifteen days in ,florence1 scourging    
themselves before the altars of the     
,dominican churches1 and feasting1 five 
hundred at a time1 in the ,piazzi di ,s4
 ,m4 ,novella4 ,corio1 in the ,storia di
 ,milano 7p4 #bha71 gives an interesting
 account of these 'white penitents1' as 
they were called1 in the year #acii3    
',multitudes of men1 women1 girls1 boys1
 small and great1 townspeople and       
countryfolk1 nobles and burghers1 laity 
and clergy1 with bare feet and dressed  

in white sheets from head to foot1'     
visited the towns and villages of every 
district in succession4 ',on their      
journey1 when they came to a cross-road 
or to crosses1 they threw themselves on 
the ground1 crying ,misericordia three  
times2 then they recited the ,lord's    
,prayer and the ,ave ,maria4 ,on their  
entrance into a city1 they walked       
singing ,stabat ,mater dolorosa and     
other litanies and prayers4 ,the        
population of the places to which they  
came were divided3 for some went forth  
and told those who staid that they      
should assume the same habit1 so that at
 one time there were as many as #aj1jjj1
 and at another as many as #ae1jjj of   
them4' ,after admitting that the fruit  
of this devotion was in many cases      
penitence1 amity1 and alms-giving1      
,corio goes on to observe3 ',however1   
men returned to a worse life than ever  
after it was over4' ,it is noticeable   
that ,italy was devastated in #adjj by a
 horrible plague2 and it is impossible  

not to believe that the crowding of so  
many penitents together on the highways 
and in the cities led to this result4   
,during the anarchy of ,italy between   
#adid--the date of the invasion of      
,charles ,,viii4--and #aebg--the date of
 the sack of ,rome--the voice of        
preaching friars and hermits was often  
raised1 and the effect was always to    
drive the people to a frenzy of         
revivalistic piety4 ,milan was the      
center of the military operations of the
 ,french1 the ,swiss1 the ,spaniards1   
and the ,germans4 ,no city suffered more
 cruelly1 and in none were fanatical    
prophets received with greater          
superstition4 ,in #aeaf there appeared  
in ,milan 'a layman1 large of stature1  
gaunt1 and beyond measure wild1 without 
shoes1 without shirt1 bareheaded1 with  
bristly hair and beard1 and so thin that
 he seemed another ,julian the hermit4' 
,he lived on water and millet-seed1     
slept on the bare earth1 refused alms of
 all sorts1 and preached with wonderful 

authority4 ,in spite of the opposition  
of the ,archbishop and the ,chapter1 he 
chose the ,duomo for his theater2 and   
there he denounced the vices of the     
priests and monks to vast congregations 
of eager listeners4 ,in a word1 he      
engaged in open warfare with the clergy 
on their own ground4 ,but they of course
 proved too strong for him1 and he was  
driven out of the city4 ,he was a native
 of ,siena1 aged #cj4a ,we may compare  
with this picturesque apparition of     
,jeronimo in ,milan what ,varchi says   
about the prophets who haunted ,rome    
like birds of evil omen in the first    
years of the pontificate of ,clement    
,,vii4 ',not only friars from the       
pulpit1 but hermits on the piazza1 went 
about preaching and predicting the ruin 
of ,italy and the end of the world with 
wild cries and threats4'#b ,in #aebc    
,milan beheld the spectacle of a parody 
of the old preachers4 ,there appeared a 
certain ,frate di ,s4 ,marco1 whom the  
people held for a saint1 and who        

'encouraged the ,milanese against the   
,french1 saying it was a merit with     
,jesus ,christ to slay those ,frenchmen1
 and that they were pigs4' ,he seems to 
have been a feeble and ignorant fellow1 
whose head had been turned by the       
examples of ,bussolaro and              
,savonarola4#c ,again1 in #aebi1 we find
 a certain monk1 ,tommaso1 of the order 
of ,s4 ,dominic1 stirring up a great    
commotion of piety in ,milan4 ,the city 
had been brought to the very lowest     
state of misery by the ,spanish         
occupation2 and1 strange to say1 this   
friar was himself a ,spaniard4 ,in order
 to propitiate offended deities1 he     
organized a procession on a great scale4
 #gjj women1 #ejj men1 and #b1ejj       
children assembled in the cathedral4    
,the children were dressed in white1 the
 men and women in sackcloth1 and all    
were barefooted4 ,they promenaded the   
streets of ,milan1 incessantly shouting 
,misericordia6 and besieged the ,duomo  
with the same dismal cry1 the ,bishop   

and the ,municipal authorities of ,milan
 taking part in the devotion4#d ,these  
gusts of penitential piety were matters 
of real national importance4 ,writers   
imbued with the classic spirit of the   
,renaissance thought them worthy of a   
place in their philosophical histories4 
,thus we find ,pitti1 in the ,storia    
,fiorentina 7,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 i4 p4   
#aab71 describing what happened at      
,florence in #aead3 ',there appeared in 
,santa ,croce a ,frate ,francesco da    
,montepulciano1 very young1 who rebuked 
vice with severity1 and affirmed that   
,god had willed to scourge ,italy1      
especially ,florence and ,rome1 in      
sermons so terrible that the audience   
kept crying with floods of tears1       
,misericordia6 ,the whole people were   
struck dumb with horror1 for those who  
could not hear the friar by reason of   
the crowd1 listened with no less fear to
 the reports of others4 ,at last he     
preached a sermon so awful that the     
congregation stood like men who had lost

 their senses2 for he promised to reveal
 upon the third day how and from what   
source he had received this prophecy4   
,however1 when he left the pulpit1 worn 
out and exhausted1 he was seized with an
 illness of the lungs1 which soon put an
 end to his life4 ,pitti goes on to     
relate the frenzy of revivalism excited 
by this monk's preaching1 which had     
roused all the old memories of          
,savonarola in ,florence4 ,it became    
necessary for the ,bishop to put down   
the devotion by special edicts1 while   
the ,medici endeavored to distract the  
minds of the people by tournaments and  
public shows4      #a ,see ,prato and   
,burigozzo1 ,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 iii4 pp4 
#ceg1     #dca4 ,it is here worth       
noticing that ,siena1 the city of civil 
discord1 was also the city of frenetic  
piety4 ,the names of ,s4     ,caterina1 
,s4 ,bernardino1 and ,bernardo ,tolomei 
occur to the     mind4      #b ,storia  
,fiorintina1 vol4 i4 p4 #hg4      #c    
,arch4 ,stor4 vol4 iii4 p4 #ddc4      #d

 ,burigozzo1 pp4 #dhe-hi4  ,enough has  
now been quoted from various original   
sources to illustrate the feverish      
recurrences of superstitious panics in  
,italy during the ,middle ,ages and the 
,renaissance4 ,it will be observed1 from
 what has been said about ,john of      
,vicenza1 ,jacopo del ,bussolaro1 ,s4   
,bernardino1 ,roberto da ,lecce1        
,giovanni della ,marca1 and ,fra        
,capistrano1 that ,savonarola was by no 
means an extraordinary phenomenon in    
,italian history4 ,combining the methods
 and the aims of all these men1 and     
remaining within the sphere of their    
conceptions1 he impressed a role1 which 
had been often played in the chief      
,italian towns1 with the stamp of his   
peculiar genius4 ,it was a source of    
weakness to him in his combat with      
,alexander ,,vi41 that he could not rise
 above the monastic ideal of the prophet
 which prevailed in ,italy1 or grasp one
 of those regenerative conceptions which
 formed the motive force of the         

,reformation4 ,the inherent defects of  
all ,italian revivals1 spasmodic in     
their paroxysms1 vehement while they    
lasted1 but transient in their effects1 
are exhibited upon a tragic scale by    
,savonarola4 ,what strikes us1 after    
studying the records of these movements 
in ,italy1 is chiefly their want of true
 mental energy4 ,the momentary effect   
produced in great cities like ,florence1
 ,milan1 ,verona1 ,pavia1 ,bologna1 and 
,perugia is quite out of proportion to  
the slight intellectual power exerted by
 the prophet in each case4 ,he has      
nothing really new or life-giving to    
communicate4 ,he preaches indeed the    
duty of repentance and charity1         
institutes a reform of glaring moral    
abuses1 and works as forcibly as he can 
upon the imagination of his audience4   
,but he sets no current of fresh thought
 in motion4 ,therefore1 when his        
personal influence was once forgotten1  
he left no mark upon the nation he so   
deeply agitated4 ,we can only wonder    

that1 in many cases1 he obtained so     
complete an ascendency in the political 
world4 ,all this is as true of          
,savonarola as it is of ,s4 ,bernardino4
 ,it is this which removes him so       
immeasurably from ,huss1 from ,wesley   
and from ,luther4     ,,appendix ,v4    
,the ',sommario della ,storia d',italia 
dal #aeaa al #aebg1' by ,francesco      
,vettori4#a   ,i have reserved for      
special notice in this ,appendix the    
short history written of the period     
between #aeaa and #aebg by ,francesco   
,vettori2 not because ,i might not have 
made use of it in several of the        
previous chapters1 but because it seemed
 to me that it was better to concentrate
 in one place the illustrations of      
,machiavelli and ,guicciardini which it 
supplies4 ,francesco ,vettori was born  
at ,florence in #adgd of a family which 
had distinguished itself by giving many 
able public servants to the             
,commonwealth4 ,he adopted the politics 
of the ,medicean party1 remaining loyal 

to his aristocratic creed all through   
the troublous times which followed the  
,french invasion of #adid1 the sack of  
,prato in #aeab1 the sack of ,rome in   
#aebg1 and the murder of ,duke          
,alessandro in #aecf4 ,even when he     
seemed to favor a republican policy1 he 
continued in secret stanch to the family
 by whom he hoped to obtain honors and  
privileges in the state4 ,like all the  
,ottimati1 so furiously abused by       
,pitti1 ,francesco ,vettori found       
himself at last deceived in his         
expectations4 ,to the ,medici they sold 
the freedom of their native city1 and in
 return for this unpatriotic loyalty    
they were condemned to exile1 death1    
imprisonment1 or frosty toleration by   
the prudent ,cosimo4 ,two years after   
,cosimo had been made ,duke1 ,vettori   
died1 aged upwards of sixty1 without    
having shared in the prosperity of the  
princes to whose service he had         
consecrated his life and for whose sake 
he had helped to enslave ,florence4 ,to 

respect this species of fidelity1 or to 
feel any pity for the men who were so   
cruelly disappointed of their selfish   
expectations1 is impossible4      #a    
,printed in ,arch4 ,stor4 ,it4          
,appendice ,no4 #bb1 vol4 vl4           
,francesco ,vettori held offices of     
importance on various occasions in the  
,commonwealth of ,florence4 ,in #aebj1  
for example1 he entered the ,signory2   
and in #aeba he was ,gonfalonier of     
,justice4 ,many years of his life were  
spent on foreign missions1 as ambassador
 to the ,emperor ,maximilian1 resident  
ambassador at the ,courts of ,julius and
 ,leo1 ambassador together with ,filippo
 ,strozzi to the ,court of ,francis ,i41
 and orator at ,rome on the election of 
,clement4 ,he had therefore1 like       
,machiavelli and ,guicciardini1 the best
 opportunities of forming a correct     
judgment of the men whose characters he 
weighed in his ,sommario1 and of        
obtaining a faithful account of the     
events which he related4 ,he deserves a 

place upon the muster-roll of literary  
statesmen mentioned by me in chapter    
,v42 nor should ,i have omitted him from
 the company of ,segni and ,varchi1 had 
not his history been exclusively devoted
 to an earlier period than theirs4 ,at  
the same time he was an intimate friend 
both of ,guicciardini and ,machiavelli4 
,some of the most precious compositions 
of the latter are letters addressed from
 ,florence or ,san ,casciano to         
,francesco ,vettori1 at the time when   
the ex-war-secretary was attempting to  
gain the favor of the ,medici4 ,the     
clairvoyance and acuteness1 the cynical 
philosophy of life1 the definite        
judgment of men1 the clear comprehension
 of events1 which we trace in           
,machiavelli1 are to be found in        
,vettori4 ,vettori1 however1 had none of
 ,machiavelli's genius4 ,what he writes 
is1 therefore1 valuable as proving that 
the ,machiavellian philosophy was not   
peculiar to that great man1 but was     
shared by many inferior thinkers4       

,florentine culture at the end of the   
fifteenth century culminated in these   
statists of hard brain and stony hearts1
 who only saw the bad in human nature1  
but who were not led by cynicism or     
skepticism to lose their interest in the
 game of politics4  ,in the dedication  
of the ,sommario della ,storia d'       
,italia to ,francesco ,scarfi1 ,vettori 
says that he composed it at his villa1  
whither he retired in #aebg4 ,i do not  
purpose to extract portions of the      
historical narrative contained in this  
sketch2 to do so indeed would be to     
transcribe the whole1 so closely and    
succinctly is it written2 but rather to 
quote the passages which throw a light  
upon the opinions of ,machiavelli and   
,guicciardini1 or confirm the views of  
men and morals adopted in my previous   
chapters4  ,after touching on the sack  
of ,prato and the consternation which   
ensued in ,florence1 ,vettori describes 
the return of the ,medici in #aeab4     
,giuliano1 the son of ,lorenzo1 was the 

first to appear3 after him came the     
,cardinal ,giovanni1 and ,giuliano's son
 ,giulio4#a ,the elder among their      
partisans persuaded them to call a      
,parlamento and assume the government in
 earnest4 ,on ,september #af1           
accordingly1 the ,cardinal took         
possession of the palace1 fece pigliare 
il ,palazzo2 the ,signory summoned the  
people into the piazza--a mere matter of
 form2 a ,balia of forty men was        
appointed2 the ,gonfalonier ,ridolfi    
resigned2 and the city was reduced to   
the will and pleasure of the ,cardinal  
de' ,medici4 ,then reasons sons         
,vettori3#b ',this was what is called an
 absolute tyranny2 yet1 speaking of the 
things of this world without prejudice  
and according to the truth1 ,i say that 
if it were possible to institute        
republics like that imagined by ,plato1 
or feigned to exist in ,utopia by       
,thomas ,more1 we might affirm they were
 not tyrannical governments3 but all the
 commonwealths or kingdoms ,i have seen 

or read of1 have1 it seems to me1 a     
savor of tyranny4 ,nor is it a matter   
for astonishment that parties and       
factions have often prevailed in        
,florence1 and that one man has arisen  
to make himself the chief1 when we      
reflect that the city is very populous1 
that many of the burghers desire to     
share in its advantages1 and that there 
are few prizes to distribute3 wherefore 
one party always must have the upper    
hand and enjoy the honors and benefits  
of the state1 while the other stands by 
to watch the game4' ,he then proceeds to
 criticise ,france1 where the nobles    
alone bear arms and pay no taxes1 and   
where the administration of justice is  
slow and expensive2 and ,venice1 where  
three thousand gentlemen keep more than 
#ajj1jjj of the inhabitants below their 
feet1 unhonored1 powerless1             
unprivileged1 oppressed4 ,having        
demonstrated the elements of tyranny and
 injustice both in a kingdom and a      
commonwealth reputed prosperous and     

free1 he shows that1 according to his   
own philosophy1 no blame attaches to a  
burgher who succeeds in usurping the    
sole mastery of a free state1 provided  
he rule wisely2 for all kingdoms were   
originally founded either by force or by
 craft4 ',we ought not therefore to call
 that private citizen a tyrant who has  
usurped the government of his state1 if 
he be a good man2 nor again to call a   
man the real lord of a city who1 though 
he has the investiture of the ,emperor1 
is bad and malevolent4' ,this critique  
of constitutions from the pen of a      
doctrinaire1 who was also a man of      
experience1 is interesting1 partly for  
its positive frankness1 and partly as   
showing what elementary notions still   
prevailed about the purposes of         
government4 ,vettori's ultimate         
criterion is the personal quality of the
 ambitious ruler4      #a ,giovanni and 
,giulio were afterwards ,leo ,x4 and    
,clement ,,vii4      #b ,p4 #bic4       
,passing to what he says about ,leo     

,x41#a it is worth while to note that he
 attributes his election chiefly to the 
impression produced upon the ,cardinals 
by ,alexander and ,julius4 ',during the 
reign of two fierce and powerful        
,pontiffs1 ,cardinals had been put to   
death1 imprisoned1 deprived of their    
property1 exiled1 and kept in continual 
alarm2 and so great was the dread among 
them now of electing another such ,pope1
 that they unanimously chose ,giovanni  
de' ,medici4 ,up to that time he had    
always shown himself liberal and easy1  
or1 rather1 prodigal in squandering the 
little that he owned2 he had moreover   
managed so to dissemble as to acquire a 
reputation for most excellent habits of 
life4' ,vettori adds that his power in  
,florence helped him1 and that he owed  
much to the ability displayed by        
,bernardo da ,bibbiena in winning votes4
 ,the joy of the ,florentines at his    
election is attributed to mean motives3 
'being all of them given over to        
commerce and gain1 they thought they    

ought to get some profit from this      
,papacy4'#b  ,the government which      
,lorenzo1 afterwards ,duke of ,urbino1  
now established in ,florence is very    
favorably described by ,vettori4#c      
',lorenzo1 though still a young man1    
applied himself with great attention to 
the business of the city1 providing that
 equal justice should be administered to
 all1 that the public moneys should be  
levied and spent with frugality1 and    
that disputes should be settled to the  
satisfaction of all parties4 ,his rule  
was tolerated1 because1 while the       
revenues were large and the expenses    
small1 the citizens were not troubled   
with taxes2 and this is the chief way to
 please a people1 seeing their affection
 for a prince is measured by the good   
they get from him4 ,taking this opinion 
of ,lorenzo1 it is possible for ,vettori
 in another place to say of him that 'he
 governed ,florence like a citizen2'#d  
and on the occasion of his death in     
#aebj1 he passes what amounts to a      

panegyric on his character4 ',his death 
was a misfortune for ,florence1 which it
 would be difficult to describe4 ,though
 young1 he had the qualities of virtuous
 maturity4 ,he bore a real affection    
toward the citizens1 was parsimonious of
 the moneys of the ,commune1 prodigal of
 his own2 while a foe to vice1 he was   
not too severe on those who erred4      
,though he began his military life at   
twenty-three1 he always bore the cuirass
 of a man at arms upon his shoulders day
 and night on active service4 ,he slept 
very little1 was sober in his diet1     
temperate in love4 ,the ,florentines did
 not love him1 because it is not        
possible for men used to freedom to love
 a ruler2 but he1 for his part1 had not 
sought the office which was thrust upon 
him by the will of others4 ,madonna     
,alfonsina1 his mother1 brought         
unpopularity upon him2 for she was      
avaricious1 and the ,florentines1 who   
noticed every detail1 thought her       
grasping3 and though he wanted to       

restrain her1 he found himself unable to
 do so through the high esteem in which 
he held her4 ,maddalena1 his wife1 died 
six days before him1 after giving birth 
to a daughter ,catherine4' ,this is the1
 no doubt1 highly favorable portrait of 
the man to whom ,machiavelli dedicated  
his ,principe4 ,the somewhat negative   
good qualities of ,lorenzo1 his prudence
 and parsimony1 his freedom from        
despotic ambition1 and dislike of       
dangerous service1 combined with his    
deference to the powerful members of his
 own family1 are very unlike            
,machiavelli's ideal of the founder of a
 state4 ,cesare ,borgia was almost the  
exact opposite4 ,the impression produced
 by ,vettori's panegyric is further     
confirmed by what he says about         
,lorenzo's disinclination to undertake  
the ,duchy of ,urbino4#e      #a ,p4    
#big4      #b ,p4 #cjj4      #c ,ibid4  
#d ,p4 #cjf4      #e ,p4 #cba4 ,see too 
p4 #cjg4  ,but to return to the early   
days of ,leo's pontificate4 ,vettori    

marks his interference in the affairs of
 ,lucca as the first great mistake he   
made4#a ,his advisers in ,florence had  
not reflected 'what infamy it would     
bring upon the ,pope in the opinion of  
all men1 or what suspicion it would     
rouse among the princes1 if in the first
 months of his power he were led to     
sanction an attack by the ,florentines  
upon the ,lucchese1 their neighbors and 
allies4 ,how too could the burghers of  
,florence1 who had urged him to this    
step1 remind the pontiff that he ought  
to moderate his desire of gaining       
dominion for the ,church and for his    
kin1 by the example of former ,popes1   
all of whom1 in the interest of their   
dependents1 had acquired to their own   
dishonor with peril and expense what in 
a few days upon their death returned to 
the old and rightful owners8' ,the      
conduct of ,leo with regard to ,lucca1  
his policy in ,florence1 and the        
splendor maintained by his brother at   
,rome1 did in fact rouse the jealousy of

 the ,italian powers both great and     
small4#b ',king ,ferdinand remarked3 ,if
 ,giuliano has left ,florence1 he must  
be aiming at something better1 which can
 be nothing but the realm of ,naples4   
,the ,dukes of ,milan1 ,ferrara1 and    
,urbino said the same4 ,the ,sienese    
thought3 ,if the pope allows the        
,florentines to attack ,lucca1 which is 
so strong1 well furnished1 and          
harmonious1 far more will he consent to 
their encroaching upon us1 who are weak1
 ill-provided1 and at odds among        
ourselves4 ,the ,duke of ,ferrara had   
further reasons for discontent in       
respect to ,modena and ,reggio4'        
,altogether1 ,leo began to lose credit4 
,secret alliances were formed against   
him by the della ,rovere1 the ,baglioni1
 and the ,petrucci2 and though he took  
care to attend public services and to   
fast more than etiquette required1      
nobody believed in him4 ,vettori's      
comment reads like an echo of           
,machiavelli and ,guicciardini4#c       

',assuredly it is most difficult to     
combine temporal lordship with a        
reputation for religion3 for they are   
two things which will not harmonize4 ,he
 who well considers the law of the      
,gospel will observe that the pontiffs1 
though called ,christ's ,vicars1 have   
originated a new religion unlike that of
 ,christ except in name4 ,his enjoins   
poverty2 they desire riches4 ,he        
preached humility2 they follow after    
pride4 ,he commanded obedience2 they aim
 at universal sovereignty4 ,i could     
enlarge upon their other vices2 but it  
is enough to allude to these1 without   
entering into inconvenient discourses4' 
,while treating of the affairs of       
,urbino1#d however1 ,vettori remarks    
that ,leo could not have done otherwise 
than punish ,francesco ,maria della     
,rovere1 if he wished to maintain the   
,papacy at the height of reputation to  
which it had been raised by his         
predecessors4      #a ,p4 #cja4      #b 
,p4 #cjc4      #c ,p4 #cjd4      #d ,p4 

#cai4  ,in his general estimate of ,leo1
 ,vettori confirms all that we know     
about this ,pope from other sources4 ,he
 insists more perhaps than other        
historians upon the able diplomacy by   
which ,lodovico ,canossa1 ,bishop of    
,tricarico1 made terms with ,francis    
after ,marignano1#a and traces ,leo's   
fatal alliance with ,charles ,v4 in     
#aebj to the influence of ,jeronimo     
,adorno4#b ,the secret springs of ,leo's
 conduct1 when he was vainly endeavoring
 to steer to his own profit between the 
great rivals for power in ,europe1 are  
exposed with admirable precision at both
 of these points4 ,of the prodigality   
which helped to ruin this ,pope1 and    
which made his two successors impotent1 
he speaks with sneering sarcasm4 ',it   
was as easy for him to keep #a1jjj      
ducats together as for a stone to fly   
into the air by its own weight4'#c ,when
 the news of the capture of ,milan      
reached him on ,november #bg1 #aebj1    
,leo was at the ,villa ,magliana in the 

neighborhood of ,rome4#d ,whether he    
took cold at a window1 or whether his   
anxiety and jealousy disturbed his      
constitution1 ,vettori remains          
uncertain4 ,at any rate1 he was attacked
 with fever1 returned to ,rome1 and     
died4 ',it was said that his death was  
caused by poison2 but these stories are 
always circulated about men of high     
estate1 especially when they succumb to 
acute disease4 ,those1 however1 who knew
 the constitution and physical          
conformation of ,leo1 and his habits of 
life1 will rather wonder that he lived  
so long4' ,after summing up the         
vicissitudes of his career and passing a
 critique upon his vacillating policy1  
,vettori resumes3#e 'while on the one   
hand he would fain have never had one   
care to trouble him2 on the other he was
 desirous of fame and sought to         
aggrandize his kindred4 ,fortune1 to rid
 him of this ambition1 removed his      
brother and his nephew in his lifetime4 
,lastly1 when he had engaged in a war   

against the ,king of ,france1 in which1 
if he won1 he lost1 and was going to    
meet obvious ruin1 fortune removed him  
from the world so that he might not see 
his own mischance4 ,in his pontificate  
at ,rome there was no plague1 no        
poverty1 no war4 ,letters and the arts  
flourished1 and the vices were also at  
their height4 ,alexander and ,julius had
 been wont to seize the inheritance not 
only of the prelates but of every little
 priest or clerk who died in ,rome4 ,leo
 abstained entirely from such practices4
 ,therefore people came in crowds2 and  
it may be said for certain that in the  
eight years of his papacy1 the          
population of ,rome increased by one    
third4' ,vettori prudently refuses to   
sum up the good and bad of ,leo's       
character in one decisive sentence4 ,he 
notes1 however1 that he was blamed for  
not keeping to his word3 'it was a      
favorite expression with him1 that      
princes ought to give such answers as   
would send petitioners away satisfied2  

accordingly he made so many promises2   
and fed people with such great          
expectations1 that it became impossible 
to please them4'      #a ,p4 #cac4      
#b ,p4 #ccd4      #c ,p4 #cbb4      #d  
,p4 #cch4      #e ,p4 #cci4  ,the       
election of ,adrian is attributed by    
,vettori to the mutual hatred and       
jealousy of the ,cardinals4#a ,he       
ascribes the loss of ,rhodes to the     
,pope's want of interest in great       
affairs1 adds his testimony to his      
private excellence and public           
incapacity1 and dismisses him without   
further notice4#b      #a ,p4 #cda4     
#b ,pp4 #cdc1 #cdg4  ,what he tells us  
about ,clement is more interesting4 ,in 
the dedication to the ,sommario he      
apologized in express terms for the high
 opinion recorded of this ,pope4 ,yet   
the impression which he leaves upon our 
mind by what he writes is so unfavorable
 as to make it clear what ,clement's    
foes habitually said against him4 ,he   
remarks1 as one excuse for his          

ill-success in office1 that he succeeded
 to a ,papacy ruined by the prodigality 
in war and peace of ,leo4#a ,as knight  
of ,rhodes1 as governor of ,florence1   
and as ,cardinal1 ,clement had shown    
himself an able man4 ,fortune heaped her
 favors on him then4 ,as soon as he was 
made ,pope1 she veered round4 ',from a  
puissant and respected ,cardinal1 he    
became a feeble and discredited ,pope4' 
,his first care was to provide for the  
government of ,florence4 ,in order to   
arrive at a decision1 he asked council  
of the ,florentine orators and four     
other noble burghers then in ,rome1 as  
to whether he could advantageously      
intrust the city to the ,cardinal of    
,cortona in guardianship over ,ippolito 
and ,alessandro1 the young bastards of  
the ,medici4#b ',all men nearly1' says  
,vettori1 'are flatterers1 and say what 
they believe will please great folk1    
although they think the contrary4 ,of   
the thirteen whom the ,pope consulted1  
ten advised him to send ,ippolito to    

,florence under the guardianship of the 
,cardinal of ,cortona4' ,the remaining  
three1 who were ,ruberto ,acciajuoli1   
,lorenzo ,strozzi1 and ,francesco       
,vettori1 pointed out the impropriety of
 administering a free city through a    
priest who held his title from a subject
 town4 ,they recommended the appointment
 of a ,gonfalonier for one year1 and so 
on1 till a member of the ,medicean      
family could take the lead4 ,clement1   
however1 decided on the other course2   
and to this cause may be traced half the
 troubles of his reign4      #a ,p4     
#cdh4      #b ,p4 #cdi4 ,they were #ad  
and #ac years of age respectively4  ,the
 greater part of what remains of the    
,sommario is occupied with the wars and 
intrigues of ,francis1 ,charles1 and    
,clement4 ,vettori1 it may be said in   
passing1 records a very unfavorable     
opinion of the ,marquis of ,pescara1 who
 was1 he hints1 guilty of first turning 
a favorable ear to ,moroni's plot and   
then of discovering the whole to his    

master4#a ,a few days after his breach  
of faith with the ,milanese1 he fell ill
 and died4 ',he was a man whose military
 excellence cannot be denied2 but proud 
beyond all measure1 envious1 ungrateful1
 avaricious1 venomous1 cruel1 without   
religion or humanity1 he was born to be 
the ruin of ,italy2 and it may be truly 
said that of the evil she has suffered  
and still suffers1 a large part was     
caused by him4'      #a ,pp4 #ceh1 #cei4
  ,of the breach of faith of ,francis1  
after he had left his ,spanish prison1  
,vettori speaks in terms of the very    
highest commendation4#a ,his refusal to 
cede ,burgundy to ,charles was just and 
patriotic4 ,that he broke his faith was 
no crime2 for1 though a man ought rather
 to die than forswear himself1 yet his  
first duty is to ,god1 his second to his
 country1 ,francis was clearly acting   
for the benefit of his kingdom2 and had 
he not left his two sons as hostages in 
,spain8 ,the whole defense is a good    
piece of specious pleading1 and might be

 used to illustrate the chapter on the  
,faith of ,princes in the ,principe4    
#a ,p4 #cfb4  ,by far the most striking 
passage in ,vettori's ,sommario is the  
description of the march of             
,frundsberg's and ,de ,bourbon's army   
upon ,rome4#a ,he makes it clear to what
 extent the calamity of the sack was due
 to the selfishness and cowardice of the
 ,italian princes4 ,first of all the    
,venetians refused to offer any         
obstacles before the passage of the ,po1
 feeling that by doing so they might    
draw trouble on their own provinces4    
,then the ,duke of ,ferrara supplied the
 ,lutherans with artillery1 of which    
they hitherto had stood in need4 ,the   
first use they made of their fire-arms  
was to shoot the best captain in ,italy1
 ,giovanni de' ,medici of the ,black    
,bands4 ,the ,duke of ,urbino1 the      
,marquis of ,saluzzo1 and ,guido        
,rangoni watched them cross the river   
and proceed by easy stages through the  
district of ,piacenza1 'following them  

like lacqueys waiting on their lords4'  
,the same thing happened at ,parma and  
,modena1 while the ,duke of ,ferrara    
kept supplying the foreigners with food 
and money4 ,clement meanwhile was       
penniless in ,rome4 ,rich as the city   
was1 he had so utterly lost credit that 
he dared not ask for loans1 and was so  
feeble that he could not rob4 ,the      
,colonnesi1 moreover1 who had recently  
plundered the ,vatican1 kept him in a   
state of terror4 ,as the invaders1 now  
commanded by the ,constable de ,bourbon1
 approached ,tuscany1 the youth of      
,florence demanded to be armed in       
defense of their hearths and homes4 ,the
 ,cardinal of ,cortona1 fearing a       
popular rising1 refused to grant their  
request4 ,a riot broke out1 and the     
,medici were threatened with expulsion3 
but by the aid of influential citizens a
 revolution was averted4 ,the           
,constable1 avoiding ,florence and      
,siena1 marched straight on ,rome1 still
 watched but unmolested by the armies of

 the ,league4 ,he left his artillery on 
the road1 and1 as is well known1 carried
 the walls of ,rome by assault on the   
morning of ,may #c1 dying himself at the
 moment of victory4 ,from what has just 
been rapidly narrated1 it will be seen  
how utterly abject was the whole of     
,italy at this moment1 when a band of   
ruffians1 headed by a rebel from his    
sovereign1 in disobedience to the       
viceroy of the king he pretended to     
serve1 was not only allowed but actually
 helped to traverse rivers1 plains1 and 
mountains1 on their way to ,rome4 ,what 
happened after the capture of the       
,transteverine part of the city moves   
even deeper scorn4 ',it still remained  
for the ,imperial troops to enter the   
populous and wealthy quarters2 and these
 they had to reach by one of three      
bridges4 ,they numbered hardly more than
 #be1jjj men1 all told4 ,in ,rome were  
at least #cj1jjj men fit to bear arms   
between the ages of sixteen and fifty1  
and among them were many trained        

soldiers1 besides crowds of ,romans1    
swaggering braggarts used to daily      
quarrels1 with beards upon their        
breasts4 ,nevertheless1 it was found    
impossible to get #ejj together in one  
band for the defense of one of the three
 bridges4' ,what immediately follows    
gives so striking a picture of the sack3
 that a translation of it will form a   
fit conclusion to this volume4 ',the    
soldiers slew at pleasure2 pillaged the 
houses of the middle classes and small  
folk1 the palaces of the nobles1 the    
convents of both sexes1 and the         
churches4 ,they made prisoners of men1  
women1 and even of little children1     
without regard to age1 or vows1 or any  
other claim on pity4 ,the slaughter was 
not great1 for men rarely kill those who
 offer no resistance3 but the booty was 
incalculable1 in coin1 jewels1 gold and 
silver plate1 clothes1 tapestries1      
furniture1 and goods of all             
descriptions4 ,to this should be added  
the ransoms1 which amounted to a sum    

that1 if set down1 would win no         
credence4 ,let any one consider through 
how many years the money of all         
,christendom had been flowing into      
,rome1 and staying there in a great     
measure2 let him remember the           
,cardinals1 ,bishops1 ,prelates1 and    
public officers1 the wealthy merchants1 
both ,roman and foreign1 selling at high
 prices1 letting their houses at dear   
rents1 and paying nothing in the way of 
taxes2 let him call to mind the         
artisans1 the poorer folk1 the          
prostitutes2 and he will judge that     
never was a city sacked of which the    
memory remains1 whence greater store of 
treasure could be drawn4 ,though ,rome  
has at other times been taken and       
pillaged1 yet never before was it the   
,rome of our days4 ,moreover1 the sack  
lasted so long that what might not      
perhaps have been discovered on the     
first day sooner or later came to light4
 ,this disaster was an example to the   
world that men proud1 avaricious1       

envious1 murderous1 lustful1            
hypocritical1 cannot long preserve their
 state4 ,nor can it be denied that the  
inhabitants of ,rome1 especially the    
,romans1 were stained with all these    
vices1 and with many greater4'  #a ,pp4 
#cgb-hb4     ,,index   ,a  ,abelard1 #i4
 ,adrian ,,vi41 #dda4 ,agrippa quoted1  
#dei4 ,ahmed1 #ehi4 ,albigenses1 #i4    
,aldi1 the1 #bc4 ,aleander1 #bg4        
,alexander ,,vi41 #djf1 #djg seq441     
#fjc2   death1 #dcj 7see ,papacy74      
,alfonso ,i4 of ,naples1 #efh4 ,alfonso 
,,ii41 #aai1 #egb4 ,allegre1 #dah1      
,allegretti1 works1 #bib2   cited1 #afe2
   quoted1 #faf ,america1 effects of its
 discovery1 #edj4 ,ammanati1 works1     
#dhi4 ,anjou1 house of1 transfers its   
claims to ,sicily1 #eci4 ,appiani1 #adh4
 ,ariosto1 works1 #aai2   cited1 #dac2  
quoted1 #acj ,aristotle1 influence of   
his writings1 #aig2   quoted1 #bcd1     
#bce4 ,art in ,middle ,age1 #ag2        
effect of religious conventionalism1    
#ah2   revolution made by ,renaissance1 

#ah1 #ai4     ,italian1 inimical to     
ugliness1 #dij2   flourishes under      
despots1 #gi4 ,ascham1 ,r41 quoted1     
#dgb4   ,b  ,bacon1 ,francis1 #bf2      
,roger1 #i1 #aj4 ,baglioni1 #abb1 #adh4 
,barbiano1 #aei4 ,bartoli1 ,a41 cited1  
#beb4 ,beccadelli1 #agd4 ,bellini1      
works1 #dhh4 ,bentivogli1 #ajb1 #aae1   
#abc4 ,bergamo1 ,v4 da1 #fah4 ,bernard1 
,st41 #ac4 ,berni cited1 #ddc4          
,bibbiena1 #ahd2   quoted1 #aij4 ,bible1
 discovery of the original1 #bj4        
,blood-madness1 #aji1 #ehi seq4         
,boccaccio1 #aa1 #bj4 ,boiado1 #aga4    
,bologna1 #abc1 #fag4 ,boniface ,,viii41
 #gf4 ,borgia1 ,cesare1 #aag1 #cbd1 #cde
 seq41 #dbf1 #egg2   murders1 #ceb4     
,borgia1 ,lucrezia1 #dai2   character   
cleared of calumny1 #dbj4 ,borgia1      
,roderigo 7see ,alexander ,,vi74        
,boscoli1 ,p4 ,p41 #dff4 ,bracciolini1  
,p41 #bgd4 ,brantome quoted1 #aag4      
,brescia1 #fae2   ,arnold of1 #fd4      
,browning1 ,r41 quoted1 #ac4 ,bruni1    
,l41 #bgd4 ,buonarotti1 #dia2   works1  

#ai4 ,burchard cited1 #dcj1 #dca4       
,burckhardt cited1 #dbh2   quoted1 #dcd4
 ,burton1 ,robert1 cited1 #dge4         
,bussolaro1 ,j4 del1 #faj4 ,byzantine   
empire1 effect of its fall1 #ad   ,c    
,capistrano1 ,g4 da1 #fae4 ,capponi1    
,p41 #bhd1 #efc4 ,carducci1 #bhd1 #bhi2 
works1 #bic4 ,carmagnuola1 ,f41 #afa4   
,carmina ,burana1 #i4 ,carrara1 #adi4   
,carroccio1 #eh4 ,castiglione1 works1   
#ahc1 #deg4 ,catholic ,church 7see      
,papacy74   ,support of ,church required
 by good society1 #dee2   philosophy and
 theology fused1 #def2   religion       
divorced from morality1 #dfb1 #dic2     
influence of ancient literature1 #dfd2  
aestheticism1 #dfe2   humanism          
antagonistic to ,christianity1 #dic2    
its corruption1 #ddh seq42   not        
universal1 #dgj2   immorality of        
priests1 #deh1 #dei2   superstition1    
#dff2   relics1 #dfa2   sanctity of     
pope1 #dfb2   power of forms1 #dga2     
counter-reformation1 #be2   power of    
ecclesiastical eloquence1 #dia2         

revivals1 #dij1 #fjf seq42              
indestructable vigor of religious faith1
 #dfi4 ,cellini1 ,b41 #ajd1 #dfb1 #dib2 
memoirs1 #cbe4 ,charles ,,viii4 7see    
,italy1 history71 #edj seq42   escape1  
#ehj4 ,charles of ,anjou1 #ge4 ,charles 
the ,great1 #ej4 ,chivalry1 #dhc4       
,christianity 7see ,catholic ,church1   
,morals71   influence in forming modern 
society1 #g2   how affected by          
,renaissance1 #be4 ,clement ,,vii41     
#ddc1 #fcc4 ,colonnesi1 #cge4 ,columbus1
 #ae4 ,comines cited1 #daf2   quoted1   
#bad1 #dge1 #eda1 #eec1 #egb1 #egh4     
,condottieri1 #hf1 #aac1 #aca1 #aef     
seq42 #bde1 #cfa2   character of        
warfare1 #ajb1 #cfc4 ,compagni1 ,dino1  
chronicle of1 #bfb2   its authenticity1 
#bff seq4 ,copernicus1 #ae4 ,corio1     
works1 #bib2   quoted1 #ace1 #adc1 #ade1
 #aeb4 #afj1 #che1 #cia1 #cib1 #fai4    
,coryat1 ,t41 quoted1 #dge4 ,croce1     
della1 #fad4 ,cromwell1 #ded4 ,cruelty  
7see ,blood-madness71   instances of1   
#aea1 #dgh1 #ega2   of ,french1 #eeg1   

#ehc2   its use1 #ced4 ,crusades1 #g4   
,d  ,dante1 political views1 #bfa2      
works1 #aj1 #aa1 #gc1 #bfj2   quoted1   
#gc1 #gf1 #gg1 #acc4 ,democratic idea1  
its gradual growth1 #h4 ,dennistoun     
cited1 #afj4 ,descartes1 #bf4 ,djem1    
#dae1 #eff1 #egf4 ,duerer1 works1 #dij2 
cited1 #dge4   ,e  ,erasmus1 #bd1 #bg4  
,este1 house of1 #cie1 #dbj2   ,nicolo1 
#afh4   ,f  ,fanfoni1 ,p41 cited1 #bfc1 
#bfh4 ,feltre1 ,v4 da1 #aga1 #agf4      
,ferdinand of ,arragon1 #bif1 #ceh2 of  
,naples1 #egj4 ,ferrara1 #dii1 #fag2    
court1 #dbc4 ,ficino1 #age1 #def4       
,fiesole1 ,g4 da1 ,works1 #dhh4         
,filelfo1 #aga2   quoted1 #cha4 ,flora1 
,joachim of1 #i4 ,florence1 its         
constitution1 #aie1 #bja1 #eib1 #eif1   
#eih2   number of citizens1 #eih2       
parties1 #baa2   perpetual flux1 #bba2  
government by merchants1 #bbe2   the    
parlamento1 #bcj2   cause of failure of 
popular government1 #bca2   population1 
#bef2   the arti1 #eig2   militia1 its  
value1 #fja2   ,machiavelli's reforms1  

#cab2   revenues1 #bee2   topography1   
#eie2   history 7see ,italy71 rule of   
the ,medici1 #bgg1 #cje1 #fbi1          
years #aebg-ca1 #bhb2   recovers liberty
 through the ,french1 #efj2             
occupation1 #efb2   commonwealth1 #bhb2 
divisions of popular party1 #bhc2       
siege1 #bhe2   effect of ,savonarola's  
prophecies1 #bij2   ,pazzi conspiracy1  
#cih2   final subjugation1 #ddf2        
character of its historians1 #bdh seq41 
#bgd4    ,society1 character of people1 
#fjj2     their enlightenment and       
immorality1 #ejd2     absence of        
religious faith1 #bie2     excess of    
intellectual mobility1 #bcg2            
commercial character1 #bch2     social  
life1 #bdb4   ,a city of intelligence1  
#bcb1 #bdf4 ,fondulo1 ,g41 #dfc4 ,ford1 
,j41 cited1 #dgg4 ,foscari1 ,f41 #bae2  
quoted1 #fjj4 ,francia1 works1 #dhi4    
,frattcelli1 #i4 ,frederick ,i41 #fc4   
,frederick ,,ii41 #aj1 #fh1 #aje4       
,froben1 ,j41 #bc4   ,g  ,gambacorta1   
#adg4 ,gemistos ,plethon1 #agc4         

,genezzano1 #ejf1 #ebb4 ,genoa1 #gi2    
history1 #bja4 ,giacomini1 #cac4        
,giannotti cited1 #bag2   quoted1 #afi1 
#aif1 #baf1 #bch1 #bgh1 #bhj4 ,giotto1  
works1 #dhh4 ,giovio1 quoted1 #bdi4     
,god1 medieval idea of1 #af4 ,gonzaghi1 
#adf4 ,government1 ,guicciardini's      
theories1 #cje4 ,see ,machiavelli4      
,graziani quoted1 #fad4 ,greek1         
knowledge of1 in ,renaissance1 #ahb4    
,greene1 ,r41 quoted1 #dgc4 ,gregorovius
 cited1 #dba1 #dcj1 #dgi14 ,guarino1    
#aga4 ,guarnieri1 #aeh4 ,guelphs and    
,ghibeliines1 #fi1 #bjf4 ,guicciardini1 
#bgh1 #bhj1 #bhe1 #bie1 #dhb2   works1  
#bia1 #bid1 #cja seq42   political      
theories analyzed1 #cjd seq42   quoted1 
#dd1 #ia1 #ib1 #aai1 #afi1 #bbc1   #bhd1
 #djd1 #dji1 #dab1 #dag1 #dca1 #dcd1    
#dea1 #ecf4 #eda4 #edg1 #edi1 #ehb1     
#ehc1   #fjc4   ,h  ,hawkwood1 ,j41     
#aac4 ,hegel quoted1 #cfg4 ,hegel1 ,c1  
cited1 #beb4 ,heribert1 #eh4            
,hildebrand1 #ei4 ,hirsch cited1 #efg4  
,hogarth1 works1 #dij4 ,howell cited1   

#dgc4 ,hussites1 #i4 ,hutten1 #bg4   ,i 
,infessura1 works1 #bib2 cited1 #dje2   
quoted1 #cie1 #djd1 #dgd1 ,innocent     
,,viii41 #djc4 ,inquisition in ,spain1  
#cii4 ,inventions of ,renaissance1 #bi4 
,italy1 history 7see ,condottieri1      
,papacy71 its character1 #cb2   papacy  
and empire1 #cc1 #da1 #dc1 #id1 #ig1    
#ii2   variety of governments1 #ce1 #dc2
   their influence on national          
development1 #dd2   politics1 #cf2      
invasions1 #ci2   want of historical    
continuity1 #da2   the despotisms1 #db2 
origin of modern history1 #df2   the    
,lombards1 #dh2   ,charles the ,great1  
#ea2   ,berengar1 #eb2   ,otho ,i41 #eb2
   growth of power of ,church1 #ec2     
,frederick ,i41 #fc2   ,charles of      
,anjou1 #ge2   convulsions of #adth     
century1 #ha2   states of #aeth century1
 #hh2   obstacles to unity1 #hi2   to   
monarchy1 #ib2   to federalism1 #ie2    
in time of ,machiavelli1 #cfe2   policy 
of ,lorenzo1 #edc2   equilibrium        
destroyed1 #ede2   ,french invasion1    

#edi2   character of their army1 #efe2  
league against them1 #egf2   cause of   
their failure1 #cdj2   effect of their  
example1 #ehc2   on other nations1 #ehe2
   ,charles ,v41 #ih4    ,italians      
incapable of helping themselves1 #ehf2  
responsible for their despots1 #aae2    
development precocious and unsound1     
#die2     fatal effects of want of      
union1 #ech1 #eeb4    ,the ,republics1  
character of their history1 #cc1 #aic2  
beginning of the power of the cities1   
#ec2     their origin1 #ed2     count   
and bishop1 #ee2     people1 #ee2       
commune1 #ef2     consuls1 #ef2         
effect of struggle of papacy and empire1
 #fa2     influence of latter1 #aih2    
,guelphs and ,ghibeliines1 #fi1 #hj1    
#bjf2     wars of cities1 #fb2          
,frederic ,i41 #fd2     struggle with   
nobles1 #ff2     the podesta1 #fg2      
captain of the people1 #ga2     the     
arti1 #gb2     distinction between      
parties1 #gd2     not representative    
governments1 #aif2     not democratic1  

#aie2     factions1 #aie1 #baj2         
small number of active citizens1 #bji2  
temporal character of alliances1 #bab4  
,the ,despotisms1 #db1 #gf2     their   
justification1 #hc2     idea of liberty1
 #gh2     republican freedom unknown1   
#ia2     policy commercial1 #he2        
taxation1 #hf2     diplomacy substituted
 for warfare1 #hg2     illegitimacy1    
#ajb2     good government1 #ajc2     bad
 effect of their example1 #ajd2         
courts1 #ajf1 #ahf2     varieties of    
despotisms1 #aji2     claims of despots 
due to force1 not rank1 #aaf2     their 
democratic character1 #aag2             
uncertainty of tenure of power1 #aag1   
#abi2     domestic crime1 #aai2         
murders1 #abj2     tastes and pursuits1 
#abf2     degeneracy of their houses1   
#abf1 #aea2     bad effects of rule1    
#acj2     centralizing tendencies1 #aca2
     cruelty1 #aea2     absence of all  
morality1 #afh4    ,society4 ,why ,italy
 took the lead in the ,renaissance1 #e2 
,italians gentle and humane1 #dgh2      

not gluttons1 #dgi2     personal        
originality not discouraged1 #dhh2      
,italy originates type of gentleman1    
#aib2     courtiers1 idea of nobility1  
#ahf2     community of interest with    
that of ,roman ,church1 #dgj2           
immorality not great relatively1 #dhg2  
superiority to their contemporaries1    
#dhi2     purity of their art shows that
 heart of the people was not            
vitiated1 #dhh2     commercial          
integrity1 #dgd2     demoralization of  
society1 #dgb2     immorality came from 
above1 #dhi2     commonness of crime1   
#agj1 #dhj2     exceptions to rule1     
#ahc2     murders1 #dhj2     deficiency 
in sense of honor1 #dha2     chastity in
 women1 #dhf2     unnatural passions1   
#dgg2     charms of illicit love1 #dgf2 
immoral literature1 #dge4               
,literature1 early1 #ec4   ,j  ,jews1   
expulsion from ,spain1 #djj4 ,julia1    
daughter of ,claudius1 #bb1 #bc4 ,julius
 ,,ii41 #chi1 #djf1 #dcb seq4   ,l      
,lecce1 ,roberto da1 #fad4 ,leo ,x41    

#dce1 #fcj4 ,libraries of ,renaissance1 
#ba4 ,locke1 ,j41 #bf4 ,lombards1 #dh   
seq4 ,london1 mediaeval1 #acg4 ,louis   
,,xii41 #cci4 ,luini1 works1 #dhi4      
,lungo1 del1 cited1 #bgc4 ,luther1 #bf1 
#ddb1 #ded1 #ecj4   ,m  ,macaulay on the
 despots1 #abg1 #cbj4 ,machiavelli1     
#bcb1 #bgh1 #cjh seq42   property1 #cji2
   education1 #caj2   political career1 
#caa2   cringing character1 #cag2       
intercourse with ,cesare ,borgia1 #cdg2 
compared with ,savonarola1 #cfh2   last 
years1 #cbh2   death1 #ccc4     ,works1 
#gf1 #afi1 #bjc1 #bdi1 #ccb1 #cfi1 #deg1
 #did2       military system1 #cab2     
,art of ,war1 #cbh2       ,history1     
#cca2       ,the ,prince1 #cai2         
object in writing it1 #cba2       appeal
 to the ,medici1 #cff2       apology for
 the author1 #cfg2       morality of the
 work1 #cbd-f2       author's sincerity1
 #ccc2       not the inventor of        
,machiavellianism1 #cce2       it       
assumes ,reparation of statecraft and   
morality1 #cce2       an abstract of    

political expediency1 #ccf2       how   
permanently to assimilate provinces1    
#cch2       colonies1 #cch2             
founders of monarchies1 #cdc2           
distinction between monarch and despot1 
#cda2       use of cruelty1 #ced2       
value of distrust1 #ceh2       military 
precautions1 #cfj2       the work       
condemned       by the ,inquisition1    
#ccf2       opinion of it in ,france1   
#cbf2       quoted1 #de1 #hb1 #hd1 #if1 
#ih1 #aae1 #aaf1 #adf1 #aeb1 #ahg1 #bjb1
 #bad1           #bae1 #bde1 #cbe1 #ddg1
 #dej1 #dec1 #dfj4 ,madonna1            
conventional idea of1 #ah4 ,malatesta1  
#agb4 ,malespini1 chronicle1 #bea4      
,mantegna1 works1 #dhi4 ,mantuanus1 ,b41
 quoted1 #cid4 ,marlowe quoted1 #ccf4   
,marston1 cited1 #dgc1 #dge4 ,massa1 ,b4
 da1 #faa4 ,masuccio quoted1 #deh1 #dhf4
 ,matarazzo1 works1 #bib2 quoted1 #ehc4 
,medici1 their policy1 #hg1 #ij1 #abh1  
#aee1 #bbh1 #bcj2   expulsion1 #bbb2    
connection with papacy1 #djd2   services
 to literature1 #fjj4     ,alessandro1  

#bih2     ,cosimo1 #cjj1 #dib2          
,lorenzo1 #ejd1 #fbh2       death1 #ebc2
     ,piero1 #eeh4 ,michelet quoted1    
#ae1 #ehe4 ,middle ,age3 mental         
condition1 #f1 #ac2   inaccessibility to
 mental ideas1 #g2   political          
character1 #h2   art1 #ag2              
scholarship1 #bj4 ,milan1 #eh2 ,visconti
 and ,sforza1 #aed4 ,milman quoted1     
#ecj4 ,milton1 #ded4 ,mirandola1 #aga1  
#def1 #ebj2   quoted1 #dja1 #eaa4       
,monaldeschi1 ,l4 ,b41 #beb4            
,montferrat1 #adf4 ,montone1 ,b4 da1    
#abc1 #aei4 ,morals 7see ,italy1        
society2 ,papacy1 court2 ,virtu27 in    
,cellini's memoirs1       #cbe2   sexual
 immorality1#dgd2   tyrannicide         
defended1 #dfh4 ,muentz1 ,e41 cited1    
#chd4 ,muzio quoted1 #agd4   ,n  ,naples
 7see ,italy71 attraction for           
foreigners1 #eff2   claims of house   of
 ,anjou1 #eci2   flight of king1 #egd4  
,nardi1 #bgh1 #bhj1 #bij2   works1 #bia2
   quoted1 #bib1 #eaa1 #ecd1 #eib4      
,nerli1 #bgh1 #bij2 works1 #bic seq42   

quoted1 #cbh4 ,nicholas ,v41 #cgh4      
,normans ,in ,italy1 #eh4   ,o          
,olgiati1 #aff4 ,orsini1 #cge4 ,otho    
#a41 #eb4   ,p  ,pamponazzo1 #def4      
,pandolfini1 #bci2   works1 #bda4       
,papacy 7see ,catholic ,church71 the    
ghost of the ,roman empire1 #f2   church
 and state1 #h2   ,charles the ,great1  
#ea2   imperial nominees1 #ei2   change 
in mode of election1 #fj2   effect of   
crushing the ,hohenstauffen1 #aja2      
nepotism1 #aad2   authority in #adth    
century1 #cga1 #cge2   secularization1  
#cga1 #cge2   temporal power1 #cgf2 its 
consolidation1 #cgh2   its extent1 #dcd2
   persecution1 #djb2   of ,platonists1 
#dag2   its effect1 #dah2   plan to     
transform ,papacy to kingdom1 #cib2     
sale of pardons1 #djd1 #dci2   no horror
 felt at election of ,alexander ,,vi41  
#daj2   ,turks invited to ,italy1 #dae1 
#eea2   censure of press1 #daf3         
alliance with ,france1 #dbg1 #eff2      
political crimes of ,alexander ,,vi41   
#dbh2   tide turns with ,julius ,,ii41  

#dcc2   reforms of ,adrian ,,vi41 #dda2 
moral advantage of sack of ,rome1 #dde4 
,court1 #cgb2   its scandalous history1 
#cij1 #djc1 #daa1 #dad1 #dbj1 #dbd1     
#dci1 #deg2   extravagance1 #cij1 #dcf1 
#dcg2   extortion1 #dcg2   monopolies1  
#cid2   nepotism1 #dai1 #dch2   simony1 
#cid1 #dje1 #dad2   art patronage1 #chd1
 #dja1 #dcc1 #dcf4 ,paterini1 #i4 ,paul 
,,ii41 #chc4 ,pazzi conspiracy1 #cif4   
,perrotti quoted1 #agi4 ,perugia1 #fab4 
,pescara1 marquis of1 #fcd4 ,petrarch1  
#aa1 #bj2 quoted1 #bej4 ,piccolomini    
7see ,pius ,,ii474 ,pisa1 #cdb1 #efj4   
,pitti1 #bge1 #bhj2 works1 #bia1 ,pius  
,,ii41 #chj4 ,poggio quoted1 #ahg4      
,poliziano1 #aga1 ,poontano cited1 #dha4
 ,printers of ,renaissance1 #bc1        
,provence1 civilization of1 #i4         
,puritanism1 #be1 #cg4   ,r  ,raffaella 
quoted1 #dhc4 ,raphael1 works1 #dhh4    
,reformation1 #dcc2   how affected by   
,renaissance1 #bg4 ,rembrandt1 works1   
#dij4 ,renaissance 7see ,middle ,age71  
not synonymous with revival of          

learning1 #a2   not completed1 #b2      
extent of signification1 #b-c2   origin1
 #d2   idea not separable from          
,reformation1 ,revolution1 #e2   effect 
on old beliefs1 #ad1 #af2   all its     
tendencies worldly1 #dee2   restores    
double past1 ,christian and pagan1 #ejf2
   obstacles in the way1 #e2            
preparation1 #i2   opposition of the    
,church1 #aj2   character of the men1   
#ab2   discoveries1 #ae2   scholarship1 
#bj2   assimilation of paganism1 #be2   
reaction against enlightenment1 #be2    
inventions1 #bi4 ,reuchlin1 #bg4        
,reumont1 ,a4 von1 cited1 #bab1 #ebd4   
,ripamonti quoted1 #afc1 #afg4 ,robbia1 
works1 #dhi4 ,romagna1 #cdi4 ,romano1   
,ezzelino da1 #fi1 #ge1 #ajf1 #aai2     
,giulio1 works1 #dij4 ,rome 7see ,italy1
 ,papacy71 effect of its ruins1 #bec2   
appearance at time of ,french           
occupation1 #efd2   early mediaeval     
history1 #dg2   opposition to ,lombards1
 #di2   government semi-independent of  
pope1 #cgf2   advantages derived from   

presence of papal court1 #cgg2          
improvements under ,nicholas ,v41 #cgh2 
impunity of criminals1 #dje2   factions 
destroyed1 #dac2   rising of ,colonnas1 
#ddc2   sack1 #ddd1 #fcf2   prostitutes1
 #dgd4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 #gd1         
,rosellini1 works1 #dhi1 ,rosenbaum     
cited1 #efg4 ,royere1 ,f4 della 7see    
,sixtus ,,iv472   ,francesco ,maria1    
#cic2   ,giuliano 7see ,julius ,,ii172  
,pietro1 #cij4 ,rubens1 works1 #dij4    
,s  ,sadoleto1 quoted1 #ddf4 ,savelli1  
#cge4 ,savonarola1 #bjb1 #bba1 #bcj1    
#bgg1 #bhc1 #bij1 #cde1 #cfh1 #dec1     
#ded1 #def1 #dia1       #dih seq41 #efa1
 #fbb2   poems1 #ejb2   settles in      
,florence1 #ejd2   portraits1 #ejh2     
eloquence1 #eaj2   creed1 #eac2         
prophecies1 #ead2   political career1   
#ebf2   hatred of secular culture1 #ebg2
   dares not break with ,rome1 #eca2    
martyrdom1 #ecc2   works1 #ecf2         
quoted1 #abh4 ,savoy1 #adf4 ,scala1     
della1 family1 #ade1 #beh4              
,scheffer-,bolchorst cited1 #beb1 #bfi4 

,segal1 #bgh1 #bhj1 #bhi2   works #bib1 
seq4 ,sforza family1 #aca seq42   their 
magnificience1 #afd2   to be made kings 
of ,lombardy1 #cib2   ,francesco1 #aec1 
#aei seq41 #cde2   ,galeazzo1 #afe2     
,ludovico1 #edc seq4 ,shelley cited1    
#dgg4 ,siena1 #bjg1 #faf4 ,sismondi     
quoted1 #ach1 #add1 #aei1 #bbf1 #ecc4   
,sixtus ,,iv41 #chh seq41 #ejb4         
,soderini1 ,p41 #bhi1 #cbd4 ,spaniards1 
cruelty of1 #dgh4 ,spinoza1 #bf4        
,stendhal cited1 #dhb4 ,stephani1 the1  
#bc4 ,strozzi1 ,ercole1 #dbc2 ,f41 #bhe4
 ,swiss1 #dej4 ,syphilis1 history of1   
#efg4   ,t  ,tasso1 #dhf4 ,temporal     
,power 7see ,papacy74 ,tenda1 ,beatrice 
di1 #aeb4 ,theodoric1 #dg4 ,theology1   
effect of ,renaissance upon1 #af4       
,tiraboschi1 quoted1 #agc4 ,titian1     
works1 #ai ,torre1 della1 #acb4 ,trinci1
 #abb4   ,u  ,urbino1 dukes of1 #agd    
seq41 #cic1 #dch4   ,v  ,valois1        
,charles of1 #gf4 ,varani1 #aba4        
,varchi1 #bgh1 #bij2   works1 #bgi1 #cjc
 seq42   quoted1 #bjd1 #bdd1 #eje4      

,venice1 #gi1 #hh1 #ia2   an exception  
among the republics1 #aie1 #bad2        
constitution1 #bae2   the ,ten1 #bah2   
fascination exercised by government1    
#bbj2   military system1 #bbj2   no     
initiative mining citizens1 #bcc2       
compared with ,sparta1 #bcd2            
indifference to prosperity of ,italy1   
#eej4 ,vespusiano quoted1 #agd1 #dgg1   
#fab4 ,vettori1 ,f41 #fbd2 works1 #fbf4 
,vicenza1 ,john of1 #fjg4 ,villani1 ,m41
 works1 #bea seq41 quoted1 #abh1 #aci4  
,villari1 quoted1 #aie1 #ejj4 ,vinci1   
da1 #cbf1 #edh2   works1 #dhi4 ,virgil1 
#bj4 ,virtu1 #aga1 #ccg1 #cde1 #dhd1    
#dic4 ,visconti1 family1 #aca seq42     
their realm falls to pieces1 #aej2      
,filippo1 #aeb2   ,gisa1 #ada2          
,violante1 #acg4   ,w  ,webster1 ,j41   
quoted1 #aai1 #eeg4 ,witchcraft         
persecutions1 #djb4   ,y  ,yriarte1     
quoted1 #baj1 #bag4