Lunigiana, and, being brought to Florence, was put to death in prison.
This government, during the eight years it continued, was violent and
insupportable; for Cosmo, being now old, and through ill health unable
to attend to public affairs as formerly, Florence became a prey to a
small number of her own citizens. Luca Pitti, in return for the
services he had performed for the republic, as made a knight, and to
be no less grateful than those who had conferred the dignity upon him,
he ordered that the priors, who had hitherto been called priors of the
trades, should also have a name to which they had no kind of claim,
and therefore called them priors of liberty. He also ordered, that as
it had been customary for the gonfalonier to sit upon the right hand
of the rectors, he should in future take his seat in the midst of
them. And that the Deity might appear to participate in what had been
done, public processions were made and solemn services performed, to
thank him for the recovery of the government. The Signory and Cosmo
made Luca Pitti rich presents, and all the citizens were emulous in
imitation of them; so that the money given amounted to no less a sum
than twenty thousand ducats. He thus attained such influence, that not
Cosmo but himself now governed the city; and his pride so increased,
that he commenced two superb buildings, one in Florence, the other at
Ruciano, about a mile distant, both in a style of royal magnificence;
that in the city, being larger than any hitherto built by a private
person. To complete them, he had recourse to the most extraordinary
means; for not only citizens and private individuals made him presents
and supplied materials, but the mass of people, of every grade, also
contributed. Besides this, any exiles who had committed murders,
thefts, or other crimes which made them amenable to the laws, found a
safe refuge within their walls, if they were able to contribute toward
their decoration or completion. The other citizens, though they did
not build like him, were no less violent or rapacious, so that if
Florence were not harassed by external wars, she was ruined by the
wickedness of her own children. During this period the wars of Naples
took place. The pope also commenced hostilities in Romagna against the
Malatesti, from whom he wished to take Rimino and Cesena, held by
them. In these designs, and his intentions of a crusade against the
Turks, was passed the pontificate of Pius II.
Florence continued in disunion and disturbance. The dissensions
continued among the party of Cosmo, in 1455, from the causes already
related, which by his prudence, as we have also before remarked, he
was enabled to tranquilize; but in the year 1464, his illness
increased, and he died. Friends and enemies alike grieved for his
loss; for his political opponents, perceiving the rapacity of the
citizens, even during the life of him who alone restrained them and
made their tyranny supportable, were afraid, lest after his decease,
nothing but ruin would ensue. Nor had they much hope of his son Piero,
who though a very good man, was of infirm health, and new in the
government, and they thought he would be compelled to give way; so
that, being unrestrained, their rapacity would pass all bounds. On
these accounts, the regret was universal. Of all who have left
memorials behind them, and who were not of the military profession,
Cosmo was the most illustrious and the most renowned. He not only
surpassed all his contemporaries in wealth and authority, but also in
generosity and prudence; and among the qualities which contributed to
make him prince in his own country, was his surpassing all others in
magnificence and generosity. His liberality became more obvious after
his death, when Piero, his son, wishing to know what he possessed, it
appeared there was no citizen of any consequence to whom Cosmo had not
lent a large sum of money; and often, when informed of some nobleman
being in distress, he relieved him unasked. His magnificence is
evident from the number of public edifices he erected; for in Florence
are the convents and churches of St. Marco and St. Lorenzo, and the
monastery of Santa Verdiana; in the mountains of Fiesole, the church
and abbey of St. Girolamo; and in the Mugello, he not only restored,
but rebuilt from its foundation, a monastery of the Frati Minori, or
Minims. Besides these, in the church of Santa Croce, the Servi, the
Agnoli, and in San Miniato, he erected splendid chapels and altars;
and besides building the churches and chapels we have mentioned, he
provided them with all the ornaments, furniture, and utensils suitable
for the performance of divine service. To these sacred edifices are to
be added his private dwellings, one in Florence, of extent and
elegance adapted to so great a citizen, and four others, situated at
Careggi, Fiesole, Craggiulo, and Trebbio, each, for size and grandeur,
equal to royal palaces. And, as if it were not sufficient to be
distinguished for magnificence of buildings in Italy alone, he erected
an hospital at Jerusalem, for the reception of poor and infirm
pilgrims. Although his habitations, like all his other works and
actions, were quite of a regal character, and he alone was prince in
Florence, still everything was so tempered with his prudence, that he
never transgressed the decent moderation of civil life; in his
conversation, his servants, his traveling, his mode of living, and the
relationships he formed, the modest demeanor of the citizen was always
evident; for he was aware that a constant exhibition of pomp brings
more envy upon its possessor than greater realities borne without
ostentation. Thus in selecting consorts for his sons, he did not seek
the alliance of princes, but for Giovanni chose Corneglia degli
Allesandri, and for Piero, Lucrezia de' Tornabuoni. He gave his
granddaughters, the children of Piero, Bianca to Guglielmo de' Pazzi,
and Nannina to Bernardo Ruccellai. No one of his time possessed such
an intimate knowledge of government and state affairs as himself; and
hence amid such a variety of fortune, in a city so given to change,
and among a people of such extreme inconstancy, he retained possession
of the government thirty-one years; for being endowed with the utmost
prudence, he foresaw evils at a distance, and therefore had an
opportunity either of averting them, or preventing their injurious
results. He thus not only vanquished domestic and civil ambition, but
humbled the pride of many princes with so much fidelity and address,
that whatever powers were in league with himself and his country,
either overcame their adversaries, or remained uninjured by his
alliance; and whoever were opposed to him, lost either their time,
money, or territory. Of this the Venetians afford a sufficient proof,
who, while in league with him against Duke Filippo were always
victorious, but apart from him were always conquered; first by Filippo
and then by Francesco. When they joined Alfonso against the Florentine
republic, Cosmo, by his commercial credit
, so drained Naples and
Venice of money, that they were glad to obtain peace upon any terms it
was thought proper to grant. Whatever difficulties he had to contend
with, whether within the city or without, he brought to a happy issue,
at once glorious to himself and destructive to his enemies; so that
civil discord strengthened his government in Florence, and war
increased his power and reputation abroad. He added to the Florentine
dominions, the Borgo of St. Sepolcro, Montedoglio, the Casentino and
Val di Bagno. His virtue and good fortune overcame all his enemies and
exalted his friends. He was born in the year 1389, on the day of the
saints Cosmo and Damiano. His earlier years were full of trouble, as
his exile, captivity, and personal danger fully testify; and having
gone to the council of Constance, with Pope John, in order to save his
life, after the ruin of the latter, he was obliged to escape in
disguise. But after the age of forty, he enjoyed the greatest
felicity; and not only those who assisted him in public business, but
his agents who conducted his commercial speculations throughout
Europe, participated in his prosperity. Hence many enormous fortunes
took their origin in different families of Florence, as in that of the
Tornabuoni, the Benci, the Portinari, and the Sassetti. Besides these,
all who depended upon his advice and patronage became rich; and,
though he was constantly expending money in building churches, and in
charitable purposes, he sometimes complained to his friends that he
had never been able to lay out so much in the service of God as to
find the balance in his own favor, intimating that all he had done or
could do, was still unequal to what the Almighty had done for him. He
was of middle stature, olive complexion, and venerable aspect; not
learned but exceedingly eloquent, endowed with great natural capacity,
generous to his friends, kind to the poor, comprehensive in discourse,
cautious in advising, and in his speeches and replies, grave and
witty. When Rinaldo degli Albizzi, at the beginning of his exile, sent
to him to say, "the hen had laid," he replied, "she did ill to lay so
far from the nest." Some other of the rebels gave him to understand
they were "not dreaming." He said, "he believed it, for he had robbed
them of their sleep." When Pope Pius was endeavoring to induce the
different governments to join in an expedition against the Turks, he
said, "he was an old man, and had undertaken the enterprise of a young
one." To the Venetians ambassadors, who came to Florence with those of
King Alfonso to complain of the republic, he uncovered his head, and
asked them what color it was; they said, "white": he replied, "it is
so; and it will not be long before your senators have heads as white
as mine." A few hours before his death, his wife asked him why he kept
his eyes shut, and he said, "to get them in the way of it." Some
citizens saying to him, after his return from exile, that he injured
the city, and that it was offensive to God to drive so many religious
persons out of it; he replied that, "it was better to injure the city,
than to ruin it; that two yards of rose-colored cloth would make a
gentleman, and that it required something more to direct a government
than to play with a string of beads." These words gave occasion to his
enemies to slander him, as a man who loved himself more than his
country, and was more attached to this world than to the next. Many
others of his sayings might be adduced, but we shall omit them as
unnecessary. Cosmo was a friend and patron of learned men. He brought
Argiripolo, a Greek by birth, and one of the most erudite of his time,
to Florence, to instruct the youth in Hellenic literature. He
entertained Marsilio Ficino, the reviver of the Platonic philosophy,
in his own house; and being much attached to him, have him a residence
near his palace at Careggi, that he might pursue the study of letters
with greater convenience, and himself have an opportunity of enjoying
his company. His prudence, his great wealth, the uses to which he
applied it, and his splendid style of living, caused him to be beloved
and respected in Florence, and obtained for him the highest
consideration, not only among the princes and governments of Italy,
but throughout all Europe. He thus laid a foundation for his
descendants, which enabled them to equal him in virtue, and greatly
surpass him in fortune; while the authority they possessed in Florence
and throughout Christendom was not obtained without being merited.
Toward the close of his life he suffered great affliction; for, of his
two sons, Piero and Giovanni, the latter, of whom he entertained the
greatest hopes, died; and the former was so sickly as to be unable to
attend either to public or private business. On being carried from one
apartment to another, after Giovanni's death, he remarked to his
attendants, with a sigh, "This is too large a house for so small a
family." His great mind also felt distressed at the idea that he had
not extended the Florentine dominions by any valuable acquisition; and
he regretted it the more, from imagining he had been deceived by
Francesco Sforza, who, while count, had promised, that if he became
lord of Milan, he would undertake the conquest of Lucca for the
Florentines, a design, however, that was never realized; for the
count's ideas changed upon his becoming duke; he resolved to enjoy in
peace, the power he had acquired by war, and would not again encounter
its fatigues and dangers, unless the welfare of his own dominions
required it. This was a source of much annoyance to Cosmo, who felt he
had incurred great expense and trouble for an ungrateful and
perfidious friend. His bodily infirmities prevented him from attending
either to public or private affairs, as he had been accustomed, and he
consequently witnessed both going to decay; for Florence was ruined by
her own citizens, and his fortune by his agents and children. He died,
however, at the zenith of his glory and in the enjoyment of the
highest renown. The city, and all the Christian princes, condoled with
his son Piero for his loss. His funeral was conducted with the utmost
pomp and solemnity, the whole city following his corpse to the tomb in
the church of St. Lorenzo, on which, by public decree, he was
inscribed, "FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY." If, in speaking of Cosmo's
actions, I have rather imitated the biographies of princes than
general history, it need not occasion wonder; for of so extraordinary
an individual I was compelled to speak with unusual praise.
CHAPTER II
The duke of Milan becomes lord of Genoa--The king of Naples and
the duke of Milan endeavor to secure their dominions to their
heirs--Jacopo Piccinino honorably received at Milan, and shortly
afterward murdered at Naples--Fruitless endeavors of Pius II. to
excite Christendom against the Turks--Death of Francesco Sforza,
duke of Milan--Perfidious counsel given to Piero de' Medici by
Diotisalvi Neroni--Conspiracy of Diotisalv
i and others against
Piero--Futile attempts to appease the disorders--Public spectacles
--Projects of the conspirators against Piero de' Medici--Niccolo
Fedini discloses to Piero the plots of his enemies.
While Florence and Italy were in this condition, Louis XI. of France
was involved in very serious troubles with his barons, who, with the
assistance of Francis, duke of Brittany, and Charles, duke of
Burgundy, were in arms against him. This attack was so serious, that
he was unable to render further assistance to John of Anjou in his
enterprise against Genoa and Naples; and, standing in need of all the
forces he could raise, he gave over Savona (which still remained in
the power of the French) to the duke of Milan, and also intimated,
that if he wished, he had his permission to undertake the conquest of
Genoa. Francesco accepted the proposal, and with the influence
afforded by the king's friendship, and the assistance of the Adorni,
he became lord of Genoa. In acknowledgment of this benefit, he sent
fifteen hundred horse into France for the king's service, under the
command of Galeazzo, his eldest son. Thus Ferrando of Aragon and
Francesco Sforza became, the latter, duke of Lombardy and prince of
Genoa, and the former, sovereign of the whole kingdom of Naples. Their
families being allied by marriage, they thought they might so confirm
their power as to secure to themselves its enjoyment during life, and
at their deaths, its unencumbered reversion to their heirs. To attain
this end, they considered it necessary that the king should remove all
ground of apprehension from those barons who had offended him in the
war of John of Anjou, and that the duke should extirpate the adherents
of the Bracceschi, the natural enemies of his family, who, under
Jacopo Piccinino, had attained the highest reputation. The latter was
now the first general in Italy, and possessing no territory, he
naturally excited the apprehension of all who had dominions, and
especially of the duke, who, conscious of what he had himself done,
thought he could neither enjoy his own estate in safety, nor leave
them with any degree of security to his son during Jacopo's lifetime.
The king, therefore, strenuously endeavored to come to terms with his
barons, and using his utmost ingenuity to secure them, succeeded in
his object; for they perceived their ruin to be inevitable if they
continued in war with their sovereign, though from submission and
confidence in him, they would still have reason for apprehension.
Mankind are always most eager to avoid a certain evil; and hence
inferior powers are easily deceived by princes. The barons, conscious
of the danger of continuing the war, trusted the king's promises, and
having placed themselves in his hands, they were soon after destroyed
in various ways, and under a variety of pretexts. This alarmed Jacopo
Piccinino, who was with his forces at Sulmona; and to deprive the king
of the opportunity of treating him similarly, he endeavored, by the
mediation of his friends, to be reconciled with the duke, who, by the
most liberal offers, induced Jacopo to visit him at Milan, accompanied
by only a hundred horse.
Jacopo had served many years with his father and brother, first under
Duke Filippo, and afterward under the Milanese republic, so that by
frequent intercourse with the citizens he had acquired many friends
and universal popularity, which present circumstances tended to
increase; for the prosperity and newly acquired power of the
Sforzeschi had occasioned envy, while Jacopo's misfortunes and long
absence had given rise to compassion and a great desire to see him.
These various feelings were displayed upon his arrival; for nearly all
the nobility went to meet him; the streets through which he passed
were filled with citizens, anxious to catch a glimpse of him, while
shouts of "The Bracceschi! the Bracceschi!" resounded on all sides.
These honors accelerated his ruin; for the duke's apprehensions