dies young Lorenzo succeeds him and does not resemble him The French pass the Alpes The Pope's afraid and sends them an Agent who falls into the hands of the Spaniards and makes 'em jealous The Pope stops the Progresses of the Conquerours by his interview with Francis the First at Bologna where he paulmes upon the sincerity of that Prince He despoils the Duke of Urbin who recovers his State The Pope Debauches that Duke's principal Officers he prevents them and causes their Souldiers to punish them Leo tho' indebted for the Popedom to Cardinal Petrucci drives his House out of Sienna The Cardinal Conspires against him is discover'd and strangled in a Dungeon by an AEthiopian A strange Conference of Cardinal Cornetan with a Magician who tells him nothing but the Truth and yet deludes him The Sacred Colledge is animated against the Pope who out of spight creates one and thirty Cardinals in one day but the greatest Enemy of his House happens to be of the number He frames a League against the French and beyond all hopes drives them out of Italy but in the very moment he receives the Tydings Malespina poysons him with Pills The Rats eat off his Nose the Night following by having but one Servant left with him who falls asleep The Contents of the Seventh Book EVlogies of the Wits that were honour'd with Leo's Friendship or receiv'd Gratuities from him Which is the best writ History we have since those of the Ancients The Astrologer Tibertus foresees his own Death and the most extraordinary manner by which it was to happen without its being in his Pow'r to avoid it Cocles of the same Profession has the same Destiny and yet not mistaken in any of the Nativities he had Calculated of his Friends no not ev'n in those that were to happen after his Death Young Strozza ventures to Marry a Miss kept by the Duke of Ferrara His Master has him Assassinated Crimittus dies of a Shivering occasion'd by a Pail of Water thrown upon him by one of his Scholars out of meer jeast Cardinal Bibiana being above thirty years older than the Pope takes measures with Francis the First at Paris to procure his being Elected Pope at the first Conclave at Rome The Pope is inform'd of the Design stays him to Dinner and presents him with a Bit. Bibiana fancies it to be poyson'd and yet dares not dispense himself from swallowing it He returns home and takes a Counter-poison which does not hindâ— him from breathing his last three hours after Pompone Gauric vanishes in his travelling along the Po and is never more heard of thro' the Revenge of a Lady to whom he had presented a Declaration of Love in Verse Count Baltazar Castiglione in his Practice contradicts the Rules he had laid down for a perfect Courtier He is assur'd that he will dye at Mantoua He carefully avoids going thither but accepts of the Embassy of Spain not dreaming that Madrid is call'd Mantoua in Latin There he dies THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF MEDICIS IT is a surprizing thing that none of the Authors who have written the History of Florence have kept themselves within the bounds of Moderation when they speak of the House of Medicis before it was raised to the Soveraignty Those whom either Jealousie or â—ll-will have animated against that Family â—ave endeavoured to give it an Original so â—ow and little answearable to its present Greatness that it were more advantageous not to be known at all than after such a manner Others thought flattery justifiable in a Subject which those that wrote before them had handled so Satyrically and have represented the Condition of Old Cosmo de Medici his Ancestors so far above his fellow Citizens that we should hardly believe they had ever lived as Private Men if we were not informed so from other Hands Some there were towards the middle of the last Age who to make their Court the better with Katharine of Medicis would have perswaded her she was of French Extraction both by Father and Mother and that not above three hundred years before one Julian of Medicis went out of Poictou into Tuscany with a Troop of Horse which he carried into the Service of the Commonwealth of Florence For my own part as I have no other design than to collect those Truths which other Histories have either purposely or 〈◊〉 of Ignorance omitted I cannot chuse but say that the House of Medicis has always been accounted Noble since Florence purchased its freedom of the Emperour Rodolphus the First of which their Profession of Merchandize wherewith they are reproach'd is a Proof since all the Florentine Historians agree that almost all the Gentlemen of their Country were engaged in Commerce and that the most considerable Families had Factors in the best Towns of Europe It was by these means that Cosmo de Medici sirnam'd the Old came to be much richer than any Prince in Italy of his time for though some suppose that the famous Balthazar Cossa who was deposed from the Popedom discovered to him at his Death where he had hid his Treasure this good luck might perhaps lay the Foundation of his Fortune but did not raise it to that height to which it arrived ten years after when there was no part of the World from Persia to Andaluzia that was not subservient to his Traffick The difference of Religions hindred him not from treating with Infidels and the constant correspondence he kept with the Turkish Emperours then regnant caused those Princes to let his Factors settle themselves in the room of those of Genoa and Venice whom for Reasons of State they expelled out of the most trading places of Thrace and the lesser Asia The Emirs of Babylon and the Mamalukes of Egypt facilitated his Transportation of the Silks and most precious Commodities of the Mogols Countrey and he made so good a hand of the needy Condition to which the Paleologi Emperours of Constantinople were reduced that they sold him the best part of the Jewels and splendid Furniture the remainders of the Luxury of the Justinians and Porphyrogeniti at very low rates In a word he arrived at that Wealth and Power that his Countrey-men though used to the same immoderate gain grew Jealous of his Greatness The Government of Florence at that time was Popular in appearance but so temper'd that the Ancient Families which were the Strozzi Peruzzi Barbadori and Albizzi bore the principal sway They were not indeed very well united among themselves but yet agreed in their obedience to him that was eldest among them and perform'd his Commands with as much Zeal as if he had been their Soveraign Hence it came that their Head found it so easie to engage them in the ruine of Cosmo de Medici After they had resolved themselves to destroy him they assembled the People on the sudden and told them Cosmo was the sole author of the misery to which the Republick of Florence was then
years old he dy'd of a scandalous Disease the secret of Curing which being not then known He left but one Bastard to whom he wou'd not commit the care of his Burial he lov'd rather to contrive it himself and writ this Epitaph in which I shou'd find no Fault had another made it Quem non res hominum non omnis ceperat oetas Scribentem capit haec Coction urna brevis Laurentianus after having for a long while taught Philosophy and Physick at Pisa and Florence fell to Translating Hippocrates because Theodorus Gaza did not to his seeming express with sufficient force the Canonical stile of that Author afterwards he was minded to do the like with Gallen and he wrote with so much assiduity that it 's believ'd he wou'd have finisht it if he had not been whirl'd with a Crotchet to buy a House tho' he had not the third of the Money requisite to pay the Purchase The Man who sold it caus'd to be inferted in the Contract that in case Laurentianus did not furnish the whole Sum in six Months space he might enter upon his House again without being bound to repay what he had receiv'd and Laurentianus consented thereto as making account to have by that time wherewithall to clear the Bargain But the measures sail'd him he had taken and the term expir'd without his being in a Condition to perform the Clause of the Contract so that seeing the first Proprietor take Possession of the House again he laid it so to Heart that he tumbl'd himself head-long into the Well Antiochus Tibertus was brought from Cesene the place of his Birth into France by a Souldier that made him study at Paris He follow'd his Genius which inclin'd him to the study of Natural Magick tho' this Profession was them so dangerous that since two hundred years that Piero Daponno dy'd no Man had dar'd to be tampering that way He imagin'd that it had only been Contemtible by not having been hitherto plainly and ingenuously laid down and discover'd but that it wou'd be infallibly Courted by all Mankind when it shou'd be seen deckt with the Ornaments of other Sciences Upon this Principle he became a shrewd and learned Professor in Polite Learning in Natural Philosohy Physick and the Mathematicks and returning into his own Country where there needed no more for his living in security than to seduce some petty Prince this was the more easie for him to effect since during his abode in France he pass'd for a famous Wizzard among the Astrologers of that Kingdom He gave a reason for most of his Predictions which other Sooth-sayers nor the very Oracles themselves had not yet bethought themselves of doing and on this score was he consulted by Persons of all Qualities and Conditions from the Prince to the Cobler and at all times was there so great a Concourse of People at his Gate that very often a body must have waited there several hours to get to speak to him in one's turn He wrote very Curious Books of Chiromancy or Palmistry Phisiognomy and Pyromancy and viewing one day Guido de Bogni's Hand surnamed Guerra or War on the account of his Valour he assur'd him that the best of his Friends wou'd cause him to be Assassinated upon an ill grounded supposition to which there was so much the less likelihood that Bogni being the most determinate Souldier of his time and Courting hand over head the most dangerous occasions was in all probability like to perish fighting one time or other He likewise foretold by the same way Pandolfo Malatesta Soveraign of Remini the Richest Prince of Italy in ready Cash that he wou'd dye of Misery in the Hospital of Bologna In a word the fancy took him to Calculate his own Nativity and he found it his Fate to be Beheaded and thus all came to pass Malatesta was under a strict engagement with Bogni and trusted him with the Command of his Troops Bentivoglio his Father-in Law sent him word that he had committed the Sheep to the keeping of the Wolf and that Bogni had treated with the Pope for the remitting Remini under the Obedience of the Holy See There needed no more to dispose Malatesta to invite Bogni to a Feast at which Tibertus had Orders to attend Bogni was stabb'd while at Dinner and Tibertus popt into a Dungeon in the Cittadel his Hands garnish'd with Iron Ruffs and his Feet with Fetters till such time as they shou'd put him upon the Rack for the making him reveal the Accomplices of the pretended Conspiracy In the mean while Bogni's Innocence came to light and Bentivoglio thinking him still alive wrote to his Son in-Law that he had giv'n him a false Intelligence Malatesta repented his having been so hasty and was going to Tibertus his Dungeon to free him thence when he met with an account that this Wizzard had been caught making his escape And indeed Tibertus calling to mind his Horoscope and not knowing his Case to be in good terms he had so well cajol'd the Goaler's Daughter that she had let him down with a Rope into the Ditch where the jingling of his Fetters discover'd him to the Sentinel Malatesta coming in just in that nick fancy'd him to be Criminal seeing he had that way attempted to get out of Prison and without other form of Process had him Beheaded In a short time after the Duke de Valentinois surpriz'd Rimini and Malatesta by meer hazard making his escape wandred from Town to Town till being forsaken by his own very Children upon his having endeavour'd to set them at odds He found no other retreat than the Hospital of Bologna wherein he dy'd Filippo Beroalde acquir'd Fame by a whimsical way for whereas other Wits endeavour'd to imitate the Writers of Augustus his Age he imagin'd Quaint Latin to consist in obsolete Words and set about bringing them again into vogue and usance Having all good Books and his Memory being prodigious he enterpreted them to admiration and there being not a person breathing that made the like in any wise comparable Lessons he had his Auditory at Bologna so throng'd with all sorts of People principally Strangers as barr'd all access to it He has left in this stile a Commentary upon Apuleius his Golden Ass containing so much Learning that it wou'd be the best of all the works of that Nature without its Author 's â—â—range Prepossession for some ridiculous Opinion He dy'd at fifty years old and repented of his Barbarism ev'n at the very moment of his Death Filippo Beroalde neither follow'd the steps nor the Genius of his Uncle before mention'd He had a nice taste for Quaint Latin and set his Mind to Poetry His Odes are so pure and so well wrought that the Academy of Rome judg'd that no Man for this thousand years has come so near Horace and it was in virtue of this Testimony which it gave to Beroalde's Merit that Leo the 10th for the attracting him to Rome
had retrench'd himself of all Judiciary means to hinder the Reimbursement However it became him to put a good face on 't in Publick and chearfully conclude the Affair waiting for a fitter Opportunity to make Lorenzo feel the Recoil and Counter-stroke of the Acquisition he had prevented Here would be the Place to relate the Pazzi's Conspiracy which was onely the Product of those two bold Actions Lorenzo de Medici had newly done But Politian the greatest Humanist and a Man the most skill'd in Polite Learning since its first Re-establishment in Europe hath given us so fine and pathetick a Descrption of it that it is almost impossible to add any thing thereunto Thus I should be obliged to transcribe it Word for Word or abridge it as the Historians of Florence since have done without excepting Francisco Nero the Lawyer who exercis'd his Talent upon the same Subject by Queen Catharine of Medicis her Order But as this is denied me by Procopius I can adventure no farther than to set down here such Particulars of that Conspiracy as have been omitted and borrow from History some Incidents necessary for the weaving them all into a Piece Francesco Pazzi was such another Man as Catiline represented by Salust He had all the good and bad Qualities of that Roman Adventurer and principally that of not having blunted in Debauchery either the Vivacity of his excellent Wit or his innate enterprising Humour His Family was reckon'd among the Best of Florence and his Father left him vast Riches which onely supply'd for some few years the Luxury of his Table and his other Diversions The impossibility of borrowing anew reduc'd him to leave his Native Country and go to Rome where the most extraordinary Genius he had at inventing new Impositions under plausible Pretexts first introduc'd him into the Knowledge and then into the Pope's Intimacy and Trust By means of this Familiarity Pazzi stepping from Concerns of the Bank into those of Policy and seeing the Pope in the utmost rage against the House of Medici and in the fatal Disposition that Hatred must have attain'd to for the becoming inveterate and irreconcileable he propos'd to him the exterminating it by an Attempt that might instate the Family of the Riario's in the Place the Medici's held at Florence I should not dare to say this unless I had Onuphrius for my Warrantee a Learned Augustin Friar entirely devoted to the Interests of the Court of Rome That Sixtus embrac'd the Overture on condition that after the Murther of Lorenzo Gluliano de Medici a kind of Governement should be settled at Florence in which all things should be regulated according to the Intention of the Holy See and that the Pope to avoid the Scandal all Christendom would receive if it appear'd that his Holiness who ought onely to harbour Thoughts of Gentleness and Lenity after his Example from whom he deriv'd all his Authority had trolled in his Understanding so black a Crime and of so long Execution he caus'd the Model of it to be drawn up by his Nephew Riario and commanded him in secret to concert it with Pazzi and take all the Measures necessary for the bringing it about Riario and Pazzi agreed That the Enterprise was of such a Consequence that the bare Forces of the Ecclesiastick State were not sufficient to buoy it up and that before all things it was necessary to hook the Duke of Milan and the King of Naples into the Design The Duke of Milan would have been much more proper for such a Business by reason of the Neighbourhood of that Dukedom and of the easiness of receiving thence Provisions necessary for the surprising Florence and carrying on the War But this Prince had the Imputation of keeping his Word with so little exactness that there was no likelihood of embarking him in an Affair of which he would have become the Master as soon as he should have been trusted with the Secret besides he was so fickle in matter of Aversion as well as of Friendship that there was no relying on his not treating with his Capital Enemy an hour after having conjured his Ruine The King of Naples was farther distant from Florence and more bewildred in Domestick Matters but in recompense had a Sanguinary Disposition and by consequence more susceptible of the Design they pretended to inspire him with Moreover he hated the House of Medici since it had the Confidence to sound him upon a Match of Lorenzo with one of his Legitimate Daughters before he married Clarice Orsini In short there were Troops at Naples which were to be Shipp'd in order to their putting in Refreshments into Santori the Siege of which Place the Turks had been constrain'd to raise and those Troops might advance towards Tuscany without giving suspicion because the Patrimony of St. Peter was bound to defray part of them Whereupon the Pope was besought to send to Naples such a trusty Man as should so sweetly tickle King Ferrand's Humour in the most sensible part by persuading him that the Scope of the Revolution they meant to introduce into the Florentine Republick was onely to re-establish the Kingdom of Estruria whose Scepter should be sway'd by his Natural Daughter for whom he had more affection than for the rest of his Children that might make him consent to what was desired of him The Emissary that was dispatch'd to him push'd on the Point much further for to hamper him in such manner as that this timerous Prince might have no pretext to go back he made him send the Duke of Calabria his eldest Son into Tuscany under the Sham of folliciting new Assignations of the Arrears of Pay owing him from the Commonwealth of Florence but in effect to be upon the Spot when the Conspiracy should break forth and to fix by his Authority and the Renown of his Valour those who had not yet determined what they had to do or else to draw in the Principal of the Florentine Nobility who would refuse declaring against the House of Medici unless they saw they were abetted by a Prince of that Consideration The Duke of Calabria began the Journey that was enjoyn'd him without knowing what he was going about they having judg'd him too Sincere and Generous to take upon him so shameful a Commission if he had penetrated into the Mystery of the Business He was onely given to understand That he went to Head those Forces whom the Pope had given good Quarters to in Romagna that so his Presence might oblige them to live with more reservedness But Riario's and Pazzi's extended still much farther The Cardinal-Nephew's continual Riots had squatted him in his Coffin at twenty eight years old and the regret Riario had for his Brother 's untimely Death did not hinder him from endeavouring to keep his Benefices and Dignities in his Family To that intent having not yet any Boys out of the Cradle he bethought himself of making young Rafacle Sansonio his Sisters Son go by
the Ambition of the Princes of Italy by proposing to them so rich a Booty and seeing they were pall'd by the Difficulties of seising it which seem'd to them invincible he sollicited Foreign Powers and fell to minding the Germans of their ancient Pretensions upon Tuscany As to the King of Naples true it is he was not excommunicated nor his Realm interdicted for there was neither Reason nor Pretext sufficient to come to that Extremity But bating this a stop was put to all the Graces the Neapolitans were wont to receive from the Holy See They were barr'd all hope of any in the future And as it was known that the Nobless of the Country were reduc'd to their Obedience to King Ferrand meerly by the Menaces of being retrench'd from the Communion of the Church they were sollicited to revolt under the Lure of Impunity and a beginning was made to cavil the Investiture of Naples which the foregoing Popes had granted to the House of Arragon But as the Pope's Humour was nice in matter of Hatred the Aversion he had for Lorenzo de Medici proceeded from a Motive so much the more difficult to cease as it was the less known by those who might inter-meddle in the Reconciliation For tho' this Pontiff had much ado to digest that Lorenzo had hindred him from exalting his House to the Soveraignty of Tuscany tho' the same Lorenzo had in hand Matters sufficient to convict him of the basest and blackest of Crimes and had shewn the Originals of them to the King of Naples tho' he had spirited this Prince from his Alliance and had made the Troops of the Church receive the most sensible Affront by exposing them to a shameful Retreat after the Duke of Calabria's Desertion yet all this was not precisely what lay heaviest at the Pope's Heart He was more ingenious to torment himself than were his very Enemies and laying aside the Interest of his Grandeur and Reputation he could not endure that Lorenzo after having despair'd of saving his Republick by continuing the War had chose rather to go throw himself into the Arms of the King of Naples than into his and making the due Comparison he might well in this Occasion he pois'd the Holiness of the Head of the Church and his Quality of Common Father of the Christians with the King of Naples's Character who was reckon'd in Europe for the most Cruel the most Perfidious and the most Self-interessed of all Princes He from thence concluded That Lorenzo de Medici must needs have imagin'd that this King as Vicious as he was was still better than his Holiness since he had preferr'd him before him in the nicest Choice that can be made in Civil Life by confiding in him both his Life and his Fortune Thus the Pope would have omitted nothing of what he judg'd proper to push on his Resentment had not the Turks at that time seis'd on the City of Otranto and put therein Troops they had assembled in Epirus So sudden an Invasion was more efficacious than had been all Divine and Humane Considerations It reunited the Princes of Italy it reconcil'd Lorenzo with the Pope it caus'd the Censures to be taken off that were fulminated against the Florentines and the Pope reinstated them in the Communion of the Church on condition they would send Fifteen Gallies to block up the Port of Otranto and maintain them there at their own Charges as long as the Siege should last before that Place As it does not appertain to a Writer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to dwell upon Sieges I shall say noâ— thing of this save that the Infidels therâ— taught the Christians to make regular Foâ—tifications and that the Besieged after haâ—ings shewn more Resolution than the Besiegers demanded to capitulate as soon as they were inform'd of the Death of their Emperour Mahomet the Second as if they had desponded of their Good-fortune under another Head The Princes of Italy having no more Common Enemies fell to sparring with one another And the Senate of Venice hearing of the Death of Borso da Esté Marquis of Ferrara imagin'd it would be easie for them to seise on his Territory because Hercule da Esté his Successor was too young and too voluptuous to support the Fatigues of the War But as it was hardly possible to give a specious Colour to that Usurpation without hooking in the Pope the Senate had him pump'd by their Emissaries and propos'd to him the sharing that Marquisate with the Republick after it was conquer'd at their mutual Charges The Pope embrac'd the Proposition because that well perceiving his Death was near at hand he would make as much haste as he could to aggrandize his Nephews Thus the League was concluded and the new Marquis attack'd by his two Neighbours when he onely expected from them Compliments of Condolance upon his Father's Death The first thought he had while a putting himself in a Defensive Posture was to have recourse to Lorenzo de Medici who was become so potent in Florence by the late Service he had render'd his Commonwealth that he dispos'd of it almost in the same manner as if he were a Despotick Soveraign The Marquis caus'd an Envoy extraordinary to represent to him the Injustice that was done him and the dangerous Consequences of the War newly declar'd against him Lorenzo who had already foreseen those Consequences was not satisfy'd with assisting him with the Succours of Florence but moreover wrought him a Counter-League between the King of Naples the Dukes of Milan and Vrbino and the Republick of Florence for the Conservation of the Land of Ferrara Thus in a little time after four Armies appear'd in the Field whose Success was pretty well balanc'd That of Venice under Roberto da San Severino who commanded it since Coglione's Death and who nicking the unexpected Death of the Duke d' Vrbino General of the Troops appointed for the Guard of the Dutchy of Ferrara dissipated them without hazarding a general Battel and came pouring on Victorious to the Gates of Ferrara But on the other side the Duke of Calabria having advanc'd too far into the Ecclesiastick State with the rest of the Confederated Troops was defeated at Velitre by Roberto Malatesta Lord of Rimino General of the Pope's Army The Principal Lords of Naples were slain or taken Prisoners in this Action And the Conquerour was already preparing to march to the Conquest of that Kingdom when Riario far from suffering him to have still that Occasion of becoming more Famous and Recommendable having resolv'd to dispatch him three days after the Battel had him poyson'd of which he died in two hours time Then Riario was contriving to put into Rimino such Soldiers as in whom he might confide But Lorenzo de Medici having notice of his Intention by his Spies caus'd other Troops to slip into it that secur'd the Place for Malafesta's Heirs This Precaution however mended little the Affairs of the better Party for the Army
upon any Treaty without his Participation The Pope believing him sincere had bottom'd upon his Faith the most important of his Intrigues which Merits being known Several marks of Folly had ' scap'd from Massimilian Sforza as gave occasion to believe that he might be stript of the Dutchy of Milan without scruple seeing he was no longer in a Condition to defend it against the French nor so much as to Converse among Men. The Pope then contriving his Brother Giuliano's Fortune judg'd there cou'd never be a more favourable Opportunity offer'd for his aggrandisement He open'd his mind to the Duke of Savoy whose unquiet humour disapprov'd of nothing that departed from Ambition This Duke fully confirm'd the Pope in his Resolution assuring him that the French wou'd probably consent that Giuliano de Medici shou'd have the Dutchy Milan if they were repell'd in the Tryal they were going to make for its Recovery Upon this Supposition the Pope imagin'd that the Venetians wou'd suffer him to act against Sforza nay and wou'd second him too in case he wou'd divide with them the spoils of this Prince Then made he the Proposal of it to the Ministers of Spain who pretended to approve it tho' they thought it ridiculous because their present Interest was only to hinder France from re-instating it self in the Dutchy of Milan which they saw plainly the Pope wou'd oppose with all his Might as long as he shou'd Cocker in his Mind the Chimerical aggrandisement of his Brother Thus the Pope after having sounded his Confederates became fully persuaded that there was nothing more to do to enter Milan than a well managing Fregossa He did him all the Favours that the Court of Rome can grant without its costing him any thing I mean that he gave him Benefices for his Brothers and for his Children It was thought Fregossa wou'd have yielded to such solid Testimonies of Friendship if it had come sooner in the Popes Head to gain him But he was already too far engag'd with the French and only waited for their coming to declare himself in their behalf In the mean while he us'd all such Demonstrations as serv'd to keep the Pope in good Humour and so craftily deluded him that the Pope did not think he had a better Friend in all Italy than Fregossa witness the Plan which his Holiness Communicated to him of all the Italians meant to do for the disputing the Passage of the Alpes Giuliano de Medici was Elected General of their Troops and advanc'd as far as Florence the place appointed for the Rendezvous of those of the Church But as he was there preparing a stately Equipage and suitable to the Soveraignty he pretended to go take Possession of as soon as he shou'd have repell'd the French a Malign Feaver Checkmated him and bereft him of Life in six Weeks space His Death did not Chill the Popes Ambition it only chang'd its Object Alfonsina his Sister-in-Law had already long complain'd that he did nought for young Lorenzo de Medici his Eldest Brother's only Son and Head of his House His Holiness had ever excus'd himself upon the particular Obligations he had to Establish Giuliano before all things but Giuliano was no more Lorenzo was already twenty years old well made of his Person and shew'd much Inclination for Arms. The Pope Conferr'd on him Giuliano's Place in what regarded the Command of the Troops of the League but he had neither the Experience nor the Virtues necessary for such an Employ His Genius was too slow and so little capable of dis-entangling him from Pleasures when once in them ingag'd that he was still in the Arms of the Courtezans of Florence when Trimulée who Commanded the Van-guard of the French Army having caus'd a Peasant of Piemont to shew him a Path by which the light Cavalry might cross the Mountains of Nice he acquainted la Palice with it who took Prospero Colonna in Villa Franca and disperst all the Forces design'd to defend the Inlet of Italy There needed no more to unhinge the Pope and make him lose Courage He imagin'd the French were already in Milan and dispatcht away a Man of Credence to Negotiate with them This Agent fell unhappily into the Arms of the Spaniards who distrusting his Journey treated him as a Spy that they might have a Pretence to rifle him They took from him his Instruction and uncipher'd it they thereby penetrated into the Popes Designs and not willing to be the Victims of his Accommodation with France caus'd their Army to stop near Trebia when advancing in long Marches to join the Forces of the Confederates Lorenzo de Medici who was at last departed Florence upon the rumour of Prosporo Colonna's being taken and had put himself into Plaisanza with very brave Troops press'd the Spaniards to come and join him or to appoint him a place in the Dutchy of Milan that might serve him for Rendezvous But Cardona who commanded them made no positive answer under colour that it wou'd be exposing his Quality of Vice-Roy of Naples to be in the same Camp with Lorenzo de Medici whom he shou'd be oblig'd to obey as being General of the League Thus Cardona not budging and Lorenzo de Medici not finding himself strong enough to March without the assistance of the Spaniards the Suizzars remain'd alone in the Dutchy of Milan Nevertheless they pretended to defend it and their Courage augmenting proportionably as their Allies diminisht they with great firmness expected the French and fought them at Marignan They lost seventeen thousand Men in this Action and their heat of Liver being dissipated by this blooding they abandoned the Milanese with the Field of Battel to the Conquerours and their Retreat made the Spaniards decamp in haste from near Trebia to return into the Kingdom of Naples The French wou'd have defeated them with small difficulty if they had pursu'd them but the Pope amused them by this Artifice He dispatch'd to the Most Christian King the most cunning of his Emissaries call'd Lodovico Canole and to dispose his Majesty to receive his Agent the better he wrote to Lorenzo de Medici to retire out of Parma and Plaisanza and to the Inhabitants of those Cities to go present their Keys to the Conquerours Canole found the King already weary of the abode of Italy and propos'd to him the Interview of Bologna as the only means to hasten his return into France The King accepted it without making reflection that his Enemies only sought thereby to gain time The Pope arriv'd first at Bologna to receive there the King who came thither two days after accompani'd with eight thousand Horse Chancellor du Prat drew up there the Plan of the Concordate with Secretary Graffis and this is the only particularity I relate of this Intrigue because I have found no other that has escap'd the knowledge of the famous Monsieur de Puits and besides the Arch-bishop d'Aix-Genebrard had made a Treatise of it which passes for
from what it was wont to be for heretofore none were admitted into it save Persons of Ability and Merit and these Persons having no other Fund to subsist on than a mean Pension giv'n them by the Popes were remote from Luxury as much our of necessity as inclination But the Mode being introduc'd under the four foregoing Popes to present the Cap to younger Sons of Soveraign Houses under Colour that those young Princes did it honour in â—earing it and those fame Persons being â—esides possess'd of the best Benefices that â—ll vacant in States that so they might not 〈◊〉 much Complain of being frustrated of succeeding in the Temporalty The abundance of so many Riches and Conveniencies had augmented the Luxury of their Houseâ— and this Luxury appear'd in all its lustre aâ— Rome for that their Relations were rather inclin'd they shou'd there abide than in their own Country where their Residence stood not with so much safety for fear they shou'd be whirl'd with the Fancy of raising Combustions as had been experienc'd in the Cardinal of Ferrara who after having been a while peaceable in that City yet incontinently after the Death of Duke Hercules his Father was not contented with Conspiring against his Eldest Brother but had moreover engag'd his two younger in the same Plot so as Duke Alfonso escap'd not otherwise than by Miracle from the Ambuscades of his three Brothers Among the Cardinals of Soveraign Families were then reckon'd those of Naples of Ferrara of Mantoua of Massa and of Bisignan The number of their Domesticks was six times greater than that of others They had all Equipages of Hunting and Stables which People went to view out of Admiration the Hunting matches they made with the Pope brought into the Field such a multitude of Birds of Dogs and Huntsmen that whole Forests and Valleys were sometimes encompass'd with Nets and depopulated of Game Cardinal Bibiana had moreover introduc'd another Recidation of no less Expence namely the representation of Plays in a stately Hall of the Vatican wherein the Decorations were chang'd each Act. Their whole business was to provoke Mirth and Laughter and no fault did People find with the Subjects being too Libertine The greatest Mischief herein consisted that the Children of the best Families and the Hansomest were invited to mount upon the Stage and serve for Actors The Pope had another Infirmity whereof I shall alledge two Examples since it is difficult to find in History another Person subject to the like As he was of a Facetious Humour and lov'd to let nothing scape without turning it to his Diversion as soon as he perceiv'd a Man prepossess'd with a good Opinion of himself he applauded him in all occasions and made it his business to flatter him till such time as he caus'd this Principle of Vanity to degenerate into Extravagance That Secretary of his the ablest man alive for Chancery Expeditions was call'd Evangelist Tarasconi This Person had the weakness to neglect what he knew to Perfection and pretended to Sciences he did not understand As he cou'd not be ignorant that the Pope delighted more in Musick than in other Arts as being therein most skillful and refin'd he apply'd his mind to 't without other design at first than the being capable to talk regularly of Simphony But as his Talent lay not this way he mistook the Bent and Sense of the things shew'd him by his Masters The Pope quickly perceiv'd it and was not wanting to persuade him that he made an admirable Progress instead of minding him that a Man ought never to study in spight of Minerva Tarasconi believ'd the Pope spoke Truth and so addicted his Thoughts to Musick that it crackt his Brain I shall not relate in this place the particulars of his Follies I will only say that they never tyr'd the Patience of him that occasion'd them for the Pope suffer'd him publickly to maintain that no Man afore him understood Musick and let him alter all the Rules of that Art Nay his Holiness proceeded still farther for he made him the Arbiter of all the Symphony of his House and promis'd him on a day of Ceremony to cause the Musicians Arms to be bound under Colour that their Nerves being fast ty'd they wou'd touch the Strings with more steddiness and delicacy At last the Pope consented to the taking down the Tapistry of the Hall where he din'd upon a request presented him by Tarasconi grounded upon this that the Voices of the Musicians and the sound of the Instruments coming to strike the Silk and Woolen of the Tapistry lost thereby their Force and soft'ned by the same Reason that the Canon produc'd so little effect upon the like Materials whereas if those Voices and that sound broke themselves directly upon the Walls and Marble of the Hall the Reflection wou'd be more entire and neat and wou'd return more shrill to the Ears and with a more agreeable sound After Tarasconi Baraballi de Gayeto serv'd for a May-game to the Court of Rome A Man he was of a good Family and well made of his Person thought himself the best Italian Poet of his time tho' a thing impossible to make more wretched Verses than those of his which nevertheless he rehears'd gracefully enough As soon as the Pope had heard him in his way he perceiv'd his Self-conceit and persuaded him that never in this World was there such stately Compositions as his Verses Baraballi at first fancy'd his Holinesses Discourse to be the effect of his Goodness but the Pope strain'd so long to give immoderate Praises to this poor Poet every time he came to recite new Pieces to him that he quite unhing'd his Brain He put it in his Head that he was another Petrarch and whirl'd him with a desire to Triumph as that Poet had done in Rome The Pope took upon him to be at all the Charge of the Solemnity and sent throughout all Europe to invite the Tribe of Parnassus All the Ceremonies that are to usher in an Action of this Importance were seriously observ'd and the Pope to render it the more ridiculous wou'd needs have Baraballi to be mounted upon an Elephant a present newly made his Holiness by the King of Portugal The Day was appointed and all the Learned Men in Italy were invited to honour with their Presences a Ceremony that had not been practis'd for three hundred years past under pretence of paying them the Expences of their Journeys immediately upon their Arrival and that they shou'd have a sufficient Allowance for their return home after having been treated Magnificently during their stay The News of this being brought to Gaieto created Fear and Vexation Baraballi's Relations hasten'd to Rome to divert him from a Project which over-whelm'd both them and their Posterity with Shame and Scandal but they could not in the least prevail o're so prepossess'd a Soul on the contrary he treâ—ted them as Enviers of his Glory and as Hereticks that had
he had Money took out two hundred Crowns gave them to Blanci and tore the Request In this manner did the Pope handle particular Affairs while Fortune was labouring to embroil him with France He had not had any tye with the Most Christian King since young Lorenzo de Medici's Alliance had prosper'd so ill On the contrary he complain'd loud enough that at Paris the French Ministry had spirited from him Cardinal Bibiana as to take away all shaddow of Doubt but that he was contriving to be reveng'd tho' the manner of that Cardinals dying after his return at his coming from an entertainment at which the Pope had presented him a Bit which he durst not refuse had not Convinc'd the most Incredulous Besides he cou'd hardly disgest that the French Governour of Milan wou'd neither suffer the Benefices of that Dutchy to be enjoy'd by others than those that espous'd the Interests of France nor allow whoever disputed them to go plead at Rome whereas afore the Holy See was in Possession of nominating with full Right and of judging Soveraignly the Processes which arose in that matter The Emperour had then at Rome an Ambassadour John Manuel by Name who serv'd him with so much the more Zeal in that he had been more a Favourite of Philip the First his Father than any other Spaniard and had suffer'd Persecutions from King Ferdinand after the death of that young Prince This Minister had all the Qualities requisite for Negotiation and had insinuated himself into the Pope's Affection by giving him overtures which nevertheless â—â—d not speed for securing of Luther at the Diet of Wormes And as he had discover'd that his Holiness wou'd not be sorry to enter â—â—to a War against France provided he might 〈◊〉 furnish'd with a specious Pretext he propos'd to him in his Master's Name the Plan of a League that cou'd not be better contriv'd for the Emperour was to be at all the Charges and run all the risque without reaping any apparent advantage He took upon him to raise and maintain the Armies He left to the Pope the liberty of naming their General he consented they shou'd receive from his Holiness the most material Orders upon what they shou'd undertake in short expos'd himself to the losing the Kingdom of Naples in case they came by the worst Nevertheless he renounc'd the Fruits which the League might thereby reap if Fortune favour'd his Arms and making before hand but two Lots of the Spoil and Booty of the French he gave one of them namely the States of Parma and Plasanza to the Holy See and th' other containing the rest of Milan was to be restor'd to the Sforza's without the Emperour's exacting ought else than a new Oath from him that shou'd be therewith invested The Design was too well laid for the Pope to resist the temptation of espousing it He sign'd the Articles that were presented him without making the least Alteration and as there 's no being without Money in the beginning of a War he created four hundred Offices of Knights which were sold at a thousand Crowns a-piece by assigning them a hundred Crowns Revenue upon good Funds He pitcht his Eyes upon Prospero Colonna for the Generalship as supposing the Marquis de Pescairo Commanding the Spanish Infantry wou'd cotton well enough with him after having Marry'd his Niece But mistaken was he in his Conjecture and the Army of the League had no sooner begun to act but that Prospero and Pescairo fell out and clasht more than if there had been no Alliance between them Their Discord occasion'd the raising of the Siege of Parma and plung'd their Troops into an irresolution which wou'd not have fail'd of ruining them if the Pope had not devis'd an Expedient that fitted his purpose Tho' he knew how necessary the Cardinal de Medici's Presence was at Florence to contain the People in due Bounds Yet he wrote to him to leave that Place and go with all expedition to the Army in quality of Legate in order to reconcile the two principal Officers and put them again upon Action The Cardinal de Medici obey'd tho' he despair'd of â—ccomplishing the Order he receiv'd He â—â—nd more Obstacles 〈◊〉 â—â—â—nount than he had imagin'd but yet 〈◊〉 he more good â—uck than trouble He made Prospero reâ—â— a kind of Com-promise which left him hardly more than the bare name of General and this Pescairo accepted as finding it for his turn Then the Cardinal induc'd them both to drive on the War into the Centre of Milan This they consented to and Lautrec having not been able to hinder them the passage of Loglio as being abandon'd by the Suizzers in default of payment they were Masters of the Field and presented themselves before the Gates of the principal Cities wherein they were receiv'd by the remains of the Ghibelline Faction Those of Milan were likewise open'd to them by the Pallivicini's in revenge for that Lautrec had put two Cavaliers of their Family to Death without observing all the forms of Law and the French were driven out of Lombardy the second time with as much ease as the former The Pope receiv'd the news of this success when a Hunting and had at the same time a tumultuous Joy that cast him into a Fever He was wont to swallow at his going to Supper Aloes Pills which kept his Body open and Serapita his Valet de Chambre whose business it was to present them to him kept them so negligently in a Box as render'd it easie to come at them and take of them who wou'd Two days afore the Pope fell ill Lesbi the Butler was minded to steal out a Couple and swallow them but was found dead the next morning in his Bed tho' to sleep he went in perfect Health The Pope took them at his usual hour and perceiving they caus'd in him a thirsty alteration call'd for Drink of Barnaby Malespina who serv'd him with so bitter a Wine that the Pope who never complain'd of it at other times cou'd not refrain from making Faces while a drinking and telling Malespina I fancy thou hast laid a Wager to make me drink Purle Malespina made no Answer and was contented with pouring out what Wine remain'd in the Bottle and with fetching another The Pope supp'd with a good Appetite and was neither ill that Evening nor the Night ensuing but on the morrow after having read the Dispatch Cardinal de Medici wrote him from Milan he was seen in too violent Impetuosities of Joy for People to miss observing that too much foreign heat was kindl'd in his Temperament Yet not much minded at first because they did not think there cou'd be excess in rejoycing at the Disgrace of the French But the Head-ach which the Pope complain'd of afterwards caus'd some reflection to be made tho' it startled them not so much as the shuddering he underwent when he askt for Drink The Physicians who observ'd this shivering made no account of it for