The essential writings of Machiavelli (41 page)

BOOK VIII
1

The beginning of this eighth book falls between two conspiracies: one in Milan, which I have just described, and the other, which I will now describe, in Florence. Hence it would seem fitting, should I follow my usual practice, to discuss the nature of conspiracies and their significance. I would do this quite readily if I had not already discussed the matter elsewhere,
²²
or if it were the kind of subject one could touch on briefly. But as the nature of conspiracies and their significance deserve extensive consideration and have already been discussed in another place, I leave them aside and move on.

The Medici had now crushed all the enemies who had challenged them openly, but in order for this family to wield exclusive power in Florence and distinguish themselves from other families in civic life, the Medici also needed to overcome enemies who were plotting against them secretly. When the Medici had been vying with other families of equal influence and standing, citizens who envied their power were able to oppose them openly without having to fear that they would be crushed at the first sign of opposition, since at that point the magistrates were independent and no faction had reason to be afraid until they actually lost. But after the victory of 1466
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the government was almost entirely in the hands of the Medici, who had acquired so much power that those who were dissatisfied either had to suffer in patience or, if they wanted to destroy the Medici’s power, had to try doing so through secret means and conspiracy. But conspiracies barely ever succeed, more often than not bringing ruin to the conspirators and greatness to those they conspire against. As a result, when in such a conspiracy a prince is attacked and is not killed (the assassination of the Duke of Milan was a rare exception), the prince emerges with greater power, and frequently, even if he was a good man before the conspiracy, will turn evil. This happens because conspiracies give the prince reason to fear, and fear gives him reason to secure himself, and securing himself gives him reason to harm others, from which arises hatred and, often enough, the prince’s ruin. Hence these conspiracies quickly crush those who conspire, while those who are conspired against will with time inevitably cause harm.

2

Italy was, as I have already shown, divided into two factions: Pope Sixtus IV and King Ferdinand on one side, and the Venetians, the duke, and the Florentines on the other. Though all-out war between the factions had not yet broken out, every day there were new grounds for such an event, the pope, particularly, endeavoring in all his enterprises to harm the government of Florence. Hence at the death of Filippo de’ Medici, the Archbishop of Pisa, the pope bestowed the Archbishopric on Francesco Salviati, who he knew was an enemy of the Medici. The Signoria of Florence
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was opposed to this and refused to grant Salviati accession to this office, which resulted in considerable turmoil between the pope and the Signoria. The pope also bestowed the greatest favors on the Pazzi in Rome, disfavoring the Medici at every opportunity.

In that era the Pazzi, through their wealth and nobility, were the foremost family of Florence. The head of the house of Pazzi was Messer Iacopo, who had been made a
cavaliere
by the people on account of his wealth and nobility. He had no children except a natural daughter, but had many nephews born to his brothers Messers Piero and Antonio. The foremost of these were Guglielmo, Francesco, Rinato, and Giovanni, and after them in rank came Andrea, Niccolò, and Galeotto. Cosimo de’ Medici, seeing their wealth and nobility, had given his niece Bianca in marriage to Guglielmo de’ Pazzi in the hope that this alliance would bring the two houses closer, removing the enmity and hatred that is so often sparked by distrust.

However, our designs frequently tend to be uncertain and false, and this alliance brought unexpected consequences, for Lorenzo de’ Medici’s advisers drew his attention to how very dangerous and detrimental to his authority it was to unite wealth and status in a citizen. The result was that neither Messer Iacopo nor his nephews were given the ranks and honors they merited in relation to the other citizens. This sparked the first indignation in the Pazzi and the first fear in the Medici, and as one of these grew it gave fodder to the other to grow as well. Now whenever the Pazzi had a dispute with any citizen, the magistracy invariably ruled against the Pazzi. Once, when Francesco de’ Pazzi was in Rome, the Council of Eight
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forced him to return to Florence on some trivial matter without granting him the respect usually accorded to a dignitary, so that the Pazzi continuously complained with injurious and indignant words that increased people’s suspicion of the Medici, and in turn increased the damage the Medici did to the Pazzi. Giovanni de’ Pazzi had married the daughter of Giovanni Buonromei, a very wealthy man whose estate after his death came to his daughter, as he had no other children. Yet Giovanni Buonromei’s nephew Carlo seized part of the estate, and when the matter was brought before the magistrates, Giovanni de’ Pazzi’s wife was stripped of her father’s inheritance, which was granted to Carlo. The Pazzi saw this as the work of the Medici. In fact, Giuliano de’ Medici often complained to his brother Lorenzo that he feared that should the Medici set their eyes on too much, they might well lose everything.

3

But Lorenzo, flushed with power and youth, wanted to control everything and be the one to bestow or withhold all favors and honors. The Pazzi, with all their nobility and wealth, were unwilling to endure the many wrongs against them, and began to consider how they could avenge themselves against the Medici. Francesco de’ Pazzi was the first to broach the subject. He was more spirited and fiery than the rest, so much so that he was intent on either gaining what he did not have, or losing all he did have. He so hated the rulers of Florence that he lived almost exclusively in Rome, where, as was customary with Florentine merchants, he worked with a great amount of capital. And as he was a close friend of Count Girolamo,
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they frequently complained to each other about the Medici, and after much complaining came to the conclusion that it would be necessary, should the count wish to live securely on his estates and Francesco in Florence, to change the Florentine government. This, they believed, could not be done without the deaths of Giuliano and Lorenzo de’ Medici. They were certain that the pope and King Ferdinand would readily consent to their plan once they saw how easily it could be accomplished.

Francesco de’ Pazzi and Count Girolamo spoke of their plan to Francesco Salviati, the archbishop of Pisa, who was exceedingly ambitious and had recently been offended by the Medici.
²⁷
He readily joined in the conspiracy, and they discussed among themselves what to do next. They decided to involve Iacopo de’ Pazzi, without whom they believed they could not carry out their plan. The best tactic seemed for Francesco de’ Pazzi to go to Florence while Archbishop Salviati and Count Girolamo remained in Rome so they would be close to the pope when the time came to approach him. Francesco de’ Pazzi found Messer Iacopo de’ Pazzi more cautious and inflexible than he would have liked, and on informing the others of this in Rome, it was decided that some greater authority would be necessary to draw him into the scheme. Consequently, the archbishop and the count approached Giovan van Battista da Montesecco, an illustrious
condottiere
in the service of the pope, who was under obligation to both the pope and the count. Da Montesecco pointed out the difficulties and dangers of the scheme, but the archbishop strove to make light of them by calling attention to the backing of the pope and the king, the hatred of the citizens of Florence for the Medici, and the powerful houses of Salviati and Pazzi. The archbishop also noted the ease with which the Medici could be killed, as they went about town incautiously and without a guard, and how easily the government could be changed once the Medici were dead. Da Montesecco was not entirely convinced, as he had heard a quite different tale from many Florentines.

4

While they were engaged in these deliberations, Duke Carlo Manfredi of Faenza fell so ill that it was believed he was about to die. This offered the archbishop and the count the opportunity to send Giovan Battista da Montesecco to Florence and from there to the Romagna, under the pretext of retaking the territories that Duke Carlo had seized from Count Girolamo. The count commissioned da Montesecco to speak to Lorenzo de’ Medici and to ask him on his behalf for advice on how to handle the matter of the Romagna, and then, together with Francesco de’ Pazzi, to attempt to induce Messer Iacopo de’ Pazzi to participate in the conspiracy. In order to impress Messer Iacopo with the authority of the pope, they asked da Montesecco before his departure to speak to the pontiff, who made the greatest offers he could in favor of the enterprise.
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On arriving in Florence, Giovan Battista approached Lorenzo de’ Medici, who received him very warmly and offered him wise and gracious advice. Da Montesecco found himself filled with admiration for Lorenzo, who seemed a quite different man from what he had been led to expect. In fact da Montesecco thought him courteous, wise, and well disposed toward Count Girolamo. Nevertheless, da Montesecco was resolved to meet with Francesco de’ Pazzi, but as Francesco had left for Lucca, he decided to speak to Messer Iacopo on his own, finding him initially quite averse to the conspiracy. All the same, before they parted company, da Montesecco saw that his invocation of the pope’s authority seemed to have moved Messer Iacopo to some extent. Messer Iacopo told da Montesecco to go to the Romagna, and that by the time he returned Francesco would also have returned from Lucca, at which point they could discuss the matter in greater detail.

When da Montesecco returned to Florence from the Romagna he feigned further consultation with Lorenzo de’ Medici about Count Girolamo’s affairs, after which he and Messer Francesco met with Messer Iacopo and did not relent until he agreed to join the conspiracy. They then discussed how it was to be carried out. Messer Iacopo did not believe they would succeed if both Medici brothers were in Florence, and suggested they wait until Lorenzo went to Rome, a journey it was rumored that he was planning. Messer Francesco liked the idea, but suggested that in the event that Lorenzo did not go to Rome, both Medici brothers could be assassinated at a wedding, at a tournament, or in a church. As for assistance from outside, he felt that the pope could gather an army under the pretext of a campaign against the town of Montone, which the pope had every reason to seize from Count Carlo, who had caused the troubles in Siena and Perugia that I have already mentioned. Nevertheless, nothing was decided except that Francesco de’ Pazzi and da Montesecco would go to Rome and arrange everything with Count Girolamo and the pope.

The matter was once more discussed in Rome, and it was finally decided that when the pope’s expedition against Montone was over, Giovan Francesco da Tolentino, one of the pope’s soldiers, would go to the Romagna, and that Messer Lorenzo da Castello
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would go to Castello. The two men would gather troops provided by their territories and wait for an order from Archbishop Salviati and Francesco de’ Pazzi, who had come to Florence with Giovan Battista da Montesecco, to see to any details necessary for the execution of the plan. King Ferdinand, too, promised through an emissary all the help he could.

Archbishop Salviati and Francesco de’ Pazzi arrived in Florence and drew into the conspiracy Iacopo di Poggio,
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a young man of letters who was, however, very ambitious and eager for change, and two Iacopo Salviatis, one a brother of Archbishop Salviati and the other a kinsman. They also involved Bernardo Bandini and Napoleone Franzesi, spirited young men indebted to the Pazzi family. As for men from outside Florence, beside those already mentioned, they also drew in Antonio da Volterra and a priest by the name of Stefano, who taught Latin to Iacopo de’ Pazzi’s daughter. Rinato de’ Pazzi, a grave and prudent man who was quite aware of the dangers that can arise from such undertakings, was against the conspiracy; in fact he detested it, and tried to thwart it as best he could, short of endangering his family and friends.

5

The pope had sent Raffaello Riario, a nephew of Count Girolamo, to the University of Pisa to study canon law, and while he was still studying had advanced him to the rank of cardinal. The conspirators decided that they would invite the young cardinal to Florence, where his arrival would act as cover for the conspiracy. This way, any number of conspirators from outside Florence could be brought into the city concealed among his retinue.

The cardinal arrived in Florence and was received by Iacopo de’ Pazzi at his villa Montughi outside the city. The conspirators also wanted to use the cardinal’s arrival as pretext for a banquet where Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici could be assassinated. They therefore arranged for the Medici to invite the cardinal to their villa at Fiesole, but Giuliano de’ Medici, either deliberately or by chance, did not attend. When this plan proved futile, the conspirators decided that if they invited the Medici to a banquet in Florence, both brothers would be compelled to attend, and they set Sunday, the twenty-sixth of April of the year 1478, for the feast.

The conspirators, intending to kill the Medici brothers during the dinner, met in the evening on Saturday to arrange what each would do on the following day. The next morning, however, Francesco was informed that Giuliano de’ Medici would not be attending the feast, and the chief conspirators met again and decided that they could not defer carrying out the conspiracy, as it would be impossible with so many individuals now involved for the plot not to be exposed. They therefore decided to kill the Medici brothers in the Cathedral of Santa Reparata, where it was their custom to go, and where the young cardinal would also be present. They wanted da Montesecco to carry out the murder of Lorenzo, while Francesco de’ Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini would carry out that of Giuliano. But da Montesecco refused to undertake the murder, either because his meetings with Lorenzo had caused him to warm toward him or for some other reason, but he told the conspirators that he did not have the spirit to commit such a violent act in a church, adding sacrilege to betrayal.
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This led to the ruin of the conspiracy, because as time was pressing, the conspirators were compelled to give the task to Antonio da Volterra and Stefano the priest, both utterly unsuited by nature and inclination to such a deed. For if there was ever a deed that demanded great courage and an unwavering spirit strengthened by much experience of life and death, it was an assassination such as this, where one might see even the courage of battle-scarred men falter.