Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 | Page 2

of the Universe and of the Globe--Science--The Fine
Arts and Scholarship--Art Humanizes the Conceptions of the
Church--Three Stages in the History of Scholarship--The Age of
Desire--The Age of Acquisition--The Legend of Julia's Corpse--The
Age of the Printers and Critics--The Emancipation of the
Conscience--The Reformation and the Modern Critical
Spirit--Mechanical Inventions--The Place of Italy in the Renaissance P.
1.

CHAPTER II
.
ITALIAN HISTORY.
The special Difficulties of this Subject--Apparent Confusion--Want of
leading Motive--The Papacy--The Empire--The Republics--The
Despots--The People--The Dismemberment of Italy--Two main
Topics--The Rise of the Communes--Gothic
Kingdom--Lombards--Franks--Germans--The Bishops--The
Consuls--The Podestas--Civil Wars--Despots--The Balance of
Power--The Five Italian States--The Italians fail to achieve National
Unity--The Causes of this Failure--Conditions under which it might
have been achieved--A Republic--A Kingdom--A Confederation--A
Tyranny--The Part played by the Papacy P. 32.

CHAPTER III
.
THE AGE OF THE DESPOTS.
Salient Qualities of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries in

Italy--Relation of Italy to the Empire and to the Church--The
Illegitimate Title of Italian Potentates--The Free Emergence of
Personality--Frederick II. and the Influence of his Example--Ezzelino
da Romano--Six Sorts of Italian Despots--Feudal Seigneurs--Vicars of
the Empire--Captains of the People--Condottieri--Nephews and Sons of
Popes--Eminent Burghers--Italian Incapacity for Self-government in
Commonwealths--Forcible Tenure of Power encouraged Personal
Ability--The Condition of the Despot's Life--Instances of Domestic
Crime in the Ruling Houses--Macaulay's Description of the Italian
Tyrant--Savonarola's and Matteo Villani's Descriptions of a
Tyrant--The Absorption of Smaller by Greater Tyrannies in the
Fourteenth Century--History of the Visconti--Francesco Sforza--The
Part played in Italian Politics by Military Leaders--Mercenary
Warfare--Alberico da Barbiano, Braccio da Montone, Sforza
Attendolo--History of the Sforza Dynasty--The Murder of Galeazzo
Maria Sforza--The Ethics of Tyrannicide in Italy--Relation of the
Despots to Arts and Letters--Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta--Duke
Federigo of Urbino--The School of Vittorino and the Court of
Urbino--The Cortegiano of Castiglione--The Ideals of the Italian
Courtier and the Modern Gentleman--General Retrospect P. 99.

CHAPTER IV
.
THE REPUBLICS.
The different Physiognomies of the Italian Republics--The Similarity of
their Character as Municipalities--The Rights of Citizenship--Causes of
Disturbance in the Commonwealths--Belief in the Plasticity of
Constitutions--Example of Genoa--Savonarola's
Constitution--Machiavelli's Discourse to Leo X.--Complexity of
Interests and Factions--Example of Siena--Small Size of Italian
Cities--Mutual Mistrust and Jealousy of the Commonwealths--The
notable Exception of Venice--Constitution of Venice--Her wise System
of Government--Contrast of Florentine Vicissitudes--The Magistracies
of Florence--Balia and Parlamento--The Arts of the
Medici--Comparison of Venice and Florence in respect to Intellectual
Activity and Mobility--Parallels between Greece and Italy--Essential

Differences--The Mercantile Character of Italian Burghs--The 'Trattato
del Governo della Famiglia'--The Bourgeois Tone of Florence, and the
Ideal of a Burgher--Mercenary Arms P. 193.

CHAPTER V
.
THE FLORENTINE HISTORIANS.
Florence, the City of Intelligence--Cupidity, Curiosity, and the Love of
Beauty--Florentine Historical Literature--Philosophical Study of
History--Ricordano Malespini--Florentine History compared with the
Chronicles of other Italian Towns--The Villani--The Date
1300--Statistics--Dante's Political Essays and Pamphlets--Dino
Compagni--Latin Histories of Florence in Fifteenth Century--Lionardo
Bruni and Poggio Bracciolini--The Historians of the First Half of the
Sixteenth Century--Men of Action and Men of Letters; the
Doctrinaires--Florence between 1494 and 1537--Varchi, Segni, Nardi,
Pitti, Nerli, Guicciardini--The Political Importance of these
Writers--The Last Years of Florentine Independence, and the Siege of
1529--State of Parties--Filippo Strozzi--Different Views of Florentine
Weakness taken by the Historians--Their Literary Qualities--Francesco
Guicciardini and Niccolo Machiavelli--Scientific Statists--Discord
between Life and Literature--The Biography of Guicciardini--His
'Istoria d'Italia,' 'Dialogo del Reggimento di Firenze,' 'Storia Fiorentina,'
'Ricordi'--Biography of Machiavelli--His Scheme of a National
Militia--Dedication of 'The Prince'--Political Ethics of the Italian
Renaissance--The 'Discorsi'--The Seven Books on the Art of War and
the 'History of Florence. P. 246.

CHAPTER VI
.
'THE PRINCE' OF MACHIAVELLI.
The Sincerity of Machiavelli in this Essay--Machiavellism--His
deliberate Formulation of a cynical political Theory--Analysis of 'The
Prince'--Nine Conditions of Principalities--The Interest of the
Conqueror acknowledged as the sole Motive of his Policy--Critique of

Louis XII.--Feudal Monarchy and Oriental Despotism--Three Ways of
subduing a free City--Example of Pisa--Principalities founded by
Adventurers--Moses, Romulus, Cyrus,
Theseus--Savonarola--Francesco Sforza--Cesare Borgia--Machiavelli's
personal Relation to him--Machiavelli's Admiration of Cesare's
Genius--A Sketch of Cesare's Career--Concerning those who have
attained to Sovereignty by Crimes--Oliverotto da Fermo--The Uses of
Cruelty--Messer Ramiro d' Orco--The pessimistic Morality of
Machiavelli--On the Faith of Princes--Alexander VI.--The Policy of
seeming virtuous and honest--Absence of chivalrous Feeling in
Italy--The Military System of a powerful Prince--Criticism of
Mercenaries and Auxiliaries--Necessity of National Militia--The Art of
War--Patriotic Conclusion of the Treatise--Machiavelli and Savonarola
P. 334.

CHAPTER VII
.
THE POPES OF THE RENAISSANCE.
The Papacy between 1447 and 1527--The Contradictions of the
Renaissance Period exemplified by the Popes--Relaxation of their hold
over the States of the Church and Rome during the Exile in
Avignon--Nicholas V.--His Conception of a Papal Monarchy--Pius
II.--The Crusade--Renaissance Pontiffs--Paul II.--Persecution of the
Platonists--Sixtus IV.--Nepotism--The Families of Riario and Delia
Rovere--Avarice--Love of Warfare--Pazzi Conspiracy--Inquisition in
Spain--Innocent VIII.--Franceschetto Cibo--The Election of Alexander
VI.--His Consolidation of the Temporal Power--Policy toward Colonna
and Orsini Families--Venality of everything in Rome--Policy toward
the Sultan--The Index--The Borgia Family--Lucrezia--Murder of