Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/817

MEDICI 785 murdered, and his body hurled from the window. No one could actually fix this crime upon Cosirno, but the majority believed that he had thus contrived to rid himself of one enemy and cripple another without showing his hand. It was impossible for Cosimo openly to assume the position of tyrant of Florence, nor was it worth his while to become gonfalonier, since the term of office only lasted two months. It was necessary to discover some other way without resorting to violence ; he accordingly employed what were then designated " civil methods." He managed to attain his object by means of the " balle." These magistracies, which were generally renewed every five years, placed in the ballot bags the names of the candidates from whom the signory and other chief magistrates were to be chosen. As soon as a "balia" favourable to Cosimo was formed, he was assured for five years of having the government in the hands of men devoted to his interests. He had comprehended that the art of politics depended rather upon individuals than institutions, and that ha who ruled men could also dictate laws. His foreign policy was no less astute. His great wealth enabled him to supply money not only to private indi viduals, but even to foreign potentates. Philippe de Comines tells us that Cosimo frequently furnished Edward IV. of England with sums amounting to many hundred thousand florins. When Tommaso Parentucelli was still a cardinal, and in needy circumstances, Cosimo made him considerable loans without demanding guarantees of payment. On the cardinal s accession to the tiara as Nicholas V. he was naturally very well disposed towards Cosimo, and employed the Medici bank in Home in all the affairs of the curia, which brought immense profits to the house. At the time when Francesco Sforza was striving for the lordship of Milan, Cosimo foresaw his approaching triumph, showed him great friendship, and aided him with large sums of money. Accordingly, when Sforza became lord of Milan, Cosimo s power was doubled. Without the title of prince, this merchant showed royal generosity in his expenditure for the promotion of letters and the fine arts. Numerous edifices were raised and public works accom plished with his purse. Besides his palace in the city, he constructed noble villas at Careggi, Fiesole, and other places. He built the basilica of Fiesole, and that of St Lorenzo in Florence, and enlarged the church and monastery of St Mark. Even in distant Jerusalem he endowed a hospice for the use of pilgrims. The artists of the day comprised men like Donatello, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, and many others, and Cosimo s magnificent commissions not only developed their powers but stimulated other men of wealth to the patronage of art. Without being a scholar, Cosimo had a genuine taste for letters, and gave them much and efficient patronage. He purchased many Greek and Latin manuscripts ; he opened the first public library at St Mark s at his own expense, and founded another in the abbey of Fiesole. The Greek refugees from Constantinople found a constant welcome in his palace. During the council of Florence (1439-1442), Gernisthus Pletho spoke to him with enthusiasm of the Platonic philosophy. Cosimo was so deeply attracted by the theme that he decided to have the young Marsilio Ficino trained in philosophy and Greek learning in order to make a Latin translation of the complete works of Plato. And thus a version was pro duced that is still considered one of the best extant, and that Platonic academy was founded which led to such important results in the history of Italian philosophy and letters. On the 1st of August 1464 Cosimo breathed his last, at the age of seventy-five, while engaged in listening to one of Plato s dialogues. The concluding years of his life had been years of little happiness for Florence. Being old and infirm, he had left m the government to the management of his friends, among whom Luca Pitti was one of the more powerful, and they had ruled with disorder, corruption, and cruelty. The lordship of Florence accordingly did not pass without some difficulty and danger into the hands of Piero, surnamed the Picrotlie Gouty, Cosimo s only surviving legitimate son. Afflicted ^ OUI J - by gout, and so terribly crippled that he was often only able to use his tongue, the new ruler soon discovered that a plot was on foot to overthrow his power. However, showing far more courage than he was supposed to possess, he had himself borne on a litter from his villa to Florence, defeated his enemies designs, and firmly re-established his authority. But his success may be mainly attributed to tho enormous prestige bequeathed by Cosimo to his posterity. Piero died at the end of five years reign, on the 3d December 1469, leaving two sons, Lorenzo (1449-92) and Giuliauo (1453-78). The younger, the gentler and less ambitious of the pair, was, as we shall presently see, quickly removed from the world. Lorenzo, on the con- Lorenzo trary, at once seized the reins of state with a firm grasp, th Mag- and was, chronologically, the second of the great men bestowed upon Italy by the house of Medici. In literary talent he was immensely superior to Cosimo, but greatly his inferior in the conduct of the commercial affairs of the house, for which he had neither aptitude nor inclination. In politics he had nobler conceptions and higher ambitions, but he was more easily carried away by his passions, less prudent in his revenge, and more disposed to tyranii} . He had studied letters from his earliest years under the guidance of Ficino and other leading literati of the day, who were constant habitues of the Medici palace. At the age of eighteen he visited the different courts of Italy in order to gain experience of the world and mankind. At his father s death he was only twenty-one years old, but instantly showed his determination to govern Florence with greater despotism than his father or grandfather. He speedily resorted to the system of the "balie," and was very dexterous in causing the first to be chosen to suit his purpose. He then proceeded to humiliate the great families and exalt those of little account, and this was the policy he constantly pursued. His younger brother Giuliano, being of a mild and yielding disposition, had only a nominal share in the government. Lorenzo s policy was not exempt from danger, but, although prosecuted with less caution, it was still the old astute and fortunate policy initiated by Cosimo. But the grandson bestowed 110 care upon his commercial interests, although squandering his fortune with far greater lavish- ness. Accordingly he was sometimes driven to help himself from the public purse without ever being able to assist it as Cosimo had done. All this excited blame and enmity against him, while his greed in the matter of the alum mines of Volterra, and the subsequent sack of that unhappy city, were crimes for which there was no excuse. Among his worst enemies were the Pazzi, and, as they formed a very powerful clan, he sought their ruin by competing with them even in business transactions. They were just on the point of inheriting the large property of Giovanni Borromeo when, in order to prevent this, Lorenzo hurriedly caused a law to be passed that altered the right of succession. The hatred of the Pazzi was thereby exas perated to fury. And in addition to these things there ensued a desperate quarrel with Pope Sixtus IV., a man of very impetuous temper, who, on endeavouring to erect a state on the frontiers of the Florentine republic for the benefit of his nephews, found a determined and successful opponent in Lorenzo. Consequently the Pazzi and Arch bishop Salviati, another enemy of Lorenzo, aided by the nephews of the pontiff, who was himself acquainted with the whole matter, determined to put an end to the family.

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