“ Yet I never thought it was not well with my son Giovanni, for I remembered that he had gone forth, not from life, but into life from death. For this, which we call life, is death, and that is the true life which is everlasting. And I recognised that the only suffering his death brought with it was ours, who truly must needs miss him. Yet we know not for what to pray. I trust that God in the abundance of His mercy will pity us that are left behind; for the Lord is gentle and full of mercy. ”

“ Alberto Averardo de’ Alberti, from Rome, to Giovanni de’ Medici
The condition of this city thou must have heard from others, so I shall be brief. There are many splendid palaces, houses, tombs, and temples, and other edifices in infinite number, but all are in ruins; much porphyry and marble from ancient buildings, and every day these marbles are destroyed by being burnt for lime in scandalous fashion. What is modern is poor stuff, that is to say the buildings; the beauty of Rome lies in what is in ruin. ”

“ Therefore, my Lorenzo, whilst I applaud you for not despising the writings which teach morals, I beg you to prefer learning from reality instead of from description, as you would prefer a living thing from a dead. Particularly as you have decided to emulate that aged man on whom our Senate bestowed the title of Father of His Country. I mean the great Cosimo, your grandfather and my lord. A man prudent above all men, pious towards God, just and most charitable towards men, temperate in living, diligent in his care for his family, and still more so in the affairs of the Republic ”

“ I rather wonder at thy letting this feast pass with so little recognition, being so good a citizen and lover of thy country, whose protector is S. Giovanni; we should therefore do him honour. If by any mischance we are not back in time, thou wilt see how ill they get on without us. I have said enough to be understood, believe in one who has sharp eyes and can speak the truth. Send for us. We take the road by Siena, and shall look out for falls, but at last we shall arrive triumphantly.
To-day there is strange news from Volterra. ”

“ When I see such coldness and want of care and affection for persons of far more importance than Franco, I cease to trouble about my own affairs, but about theirs I am in despair. No one, man or woman, ever comes to this house, save once in a blue moon, to ask whether Madonna is alive or dead. Let be that they grant her no authority, but they might ask if she is alive. Ever since our return she has been shut up in the house, save the two days spent at Cervetri, twice that she went to see the Pope, and one evening when she supped at the bank. ”

“ I have been here at the baths of Stigliano since March 12th, saving the few days Madonna Clarice sent for me as I said; and have already arranged the baths Tuscan fashion. The rooms are disgusting, Bagno a Morba is a Careggi in comparison; the air is accursed, the men are like Turks; everything as bad as can be. Day and night I have to struggle with bravi, with soldiers, with swindlers, with venomous dogs, with lepers, with Jews, with madmen, with thieves, and with Romans. ”

“ Magnificent Piero, I value the connection much, but they are even more desirous and glad to be related to you. Of a truth their pleasure is not to be described. This must be a satisfaction to you, and every day, if it pleases God, you will be better satisfied, and we also; for truly if I had a hundred tongues I could not tell Your Magnificence how pleased I am. Send the contract soon, for it will be impossible to keep this affair secret, as Pietro d’Arcangelo, chancellor of the Duke of Urbino, has spoken of it, and these Pazzi have begun to spread the news. ”

“ Girolamo Riario promised that everything should be done to prevent bloodshed, but asked the Pope to pardon any man who was forced to commit murder. “Thou art a stupid fool,” answered the Pope. “I tell thee I will have no man killed, but I desire the government to be changed. To you, Giovan Battista, I repeat that I wish the government of Florence to be changed and Lorenzo to be overthrown, for he is an undutiful and a bad man who defies us. ”

“ I am as a dead man laden with bricks, with a head like a big onion on an arid heap of cappelline, [188] I seem to be all east wind. With trembling voice and hands I write, Signor mine, because the sacristan of Or San Michele has just come to my bedside to tell me that the priest of my little church, which Your Magnificence promised me, is dead; it is at Empoli and worth twelve or fifteen florins a month, and there are no duties. Now being vacant, Lorenzo my life and hope, I throw myself into your arms. ”

“ When on the death of Filippo Maria Visconti in 1447 Milan declared herself a Republic, popular feeling in Florence ran high in her favour. It needed all Cosimo’s authority and influence to induce his fellow-citizens to assist Sforza in seizing supreme power. Cosimo saw that as a republic Milan would inevitably fall a prey to Venice, and thus the communications of Italy with the North would be cut off. A strong ruler who owed his crown to Florence would be an invaluable ally, and preserve the balance of power in Italy. We shall see that Piero faithfully carried out his father’s policy. ”

“ But neither had the fortune to found a dynasty as did the Medici. They are so inseparably connected with the history of their native city that the biographies have insensibly become sketches of Florentine, even of European history. The men and women have disappeared, and we see instead the dexterous manipulators of tortuous Italian diplomacy, or the splendid patrons of art and literature during the best period of the Renaissance. Yet, in our day, we sometimes like to turn aside from the stage life to learn about the vie intime of personages who have become historical. ”

“ So as all rivers and springs are said to have their origin from the great Ocean, all the famous deeds and marvellous works of bygone men may be said to derive from this laudable habit. The nutriment of every art is honour, and by the desire of glory alone are men’s minds spurred to produce admirable works. Thus in Rome we see magnificent triumphal entries, in Greece the famous Olympian games, and both are celebrated by poets and orators with infinite mastery. ”

“ Perhaps I am but myself after all, for I neither do, nor see, nor hear anything that gives me pleasure so much have I taken our calamities to heart. Sleeping and waking they haunt me. Two days ago we began to spread our wings for we heard the plague had ceased; now we are again depressed on learning that it still lingers. When at Florence we have some sort of satisfaction, if nought else that of seeing Lorenzo come home in safety. Here we are in perpetual anxiety about everything. ”

“ But we are not at all sure that you often think of our walk, which is in great beauty with all the flowers out, in truth it does not wish to be visited by a crowd in order to put forth tender shoots. Anyhow the walk and ourselves both bear Your Magnificence in our memories. Giovacchino, the bearer of this, is our very good friend, and we recommend him to Your Magnificence, not only in a general way but etiam in things which touch his honour and reputation, praying that you will grant him, for love of us, every aid and thus give us much pleasure.—Naples, July 3, 1480. ”

“ When you speak of the insecurity of man’s lot, who would not straightway be moved by the power of your eloquence to despise all that is human? And when you solemnly tell of our immortal life to come, can any be so dull and leaden that he would not feel exalted, as he reads, so as to gain a vision, even here, of the glory of his own immortality and be inspired by a wonderful longing to attain it? And your deeds are no less holy than your words. ”

“ Be convinced, since God inspires you, that opportune assistance will not be wanting. And at last, when you have scattered the barbarous foes of the Christian name, when your sheep are defended and their fold protected, not only will mankind ever remember to honour in you the father and the shepherd, but when in the end God recalls you to His heaven, whence you have now been sent down as His Vicar, you will live in unceasing heavenly joy, having as it were gloriously served your term of divine office. ”

“ Seeing that all other endeavours have been fruitless, I have determined to run some peril in my own person rather than expose the city to disaster. Therefore, with the permission of Your Excellencies of the Signoria, I have decided to go openly to Naples. Being the one most hated and persecuted by our enemies I may by placing myself in their hands be the means of restoring peace to our city. ”

“ Yours is a life that should be prolonged in the sweetness of the Spirit, and you ought at all times to find comfort. Our own consolation is that you are wise, that you are well versed in the chances of fortune and able to hold your feelings in restraint. We urge you then, Cosimo, to do this, and looking towards God, to bless Him and to trust that all is for the best. We are ignorant of His secrets; He alone knows our needs and our true advantage. ”

“ Above all take heed to everything that can add to your honour and be of use to you, because the time has come when it is necessary that you should rely on yourselves. Live in the fear of God and trust that all will go well. Of what befalls Cosimo I will advise you. We are expecting a doctor from Milan, but I have more hope in Almighty God than in aught else. No more at present.—Careggi, the 26th July 1464. ”

“ Such was our greatness that it used to be said, ‘Thou art like one of the Medici,’ and every man feared us; even now when a citizen does an injury to another or abuses him, they say, ‘If he did thus to a Medici what would happen?’ Our family is still powerful in the State by reason of many friends and much riches, please God preserve it all to us. ”

“ Lorenzo was much inferior to his grandfather Cosimo in commercial talent, but he was a genius, and as Symonds writes, “possessed of one of those rare natures, fitted to comprehend all knowledge and to sympathise with the most diverse forms of life. While he never for a moment relaxed his hold on politics, among philosophers he passed as a sage, among men of letters for an original and graceful poet, among scholars for a Grecian, sensitive to every nicety of Attic idiom, among artists for an amateur gifted with refined discernment and consummate taste. ”

“ As she dismounted the bride’s retinue arrived from the house of the Alessandri: thirty young matrons and maidens most richly dressed, and among them was your Fiammetta, one of the two handsomest there. They were accompanied by another set of youths dressed for dancing and preceded by trumpeters. Thirty other maidens were in Lorenzo’s house to receive the bride and her retinue. After the olive tree, to the sound of much music, had been hauled up to the windows, all went to dinner. ”

“ One thing I beg of you, O Signori, that seeing you [Pg 22] intend to preserve my life, you take care that it should not be taken by wicked citizens, and thus you be put to shame. I do not so much fear the pain of death as the abominable infamy of undeserved assassination, for a violent death is the manifest sign and outcome of a bad life, and I have not led the life of a villain, but of an honest and good merchant. Even if I have not been faultless, I have always tried to merit the love of good men, because my actions were good. ”

“ The eagle slowly circles in the air, a menace to all smaller fowl. Zephyr has fled to Cyprus, where he dances with the lazy flowers among the green grass. Boreas drives the mists down from the Alps, and the river, writhing like a serpent in the valley, gathers his tributaries. With strange sounds he rises. The yellow foam is tossed into the air as the wicked turbid stream rolls stone upon stone, and dashing against the dykes, overwhelms Ambra, “beloved of Lorenzo.” The terrified peasants take refuge on the roofs of their cottages, and watch their poor riches being swept away. ”