But free
as he was, like most of his contemporaries, in speech and morals, the
welfare of the State was yet his first and last thought.
His most complete program for the construction of a new political
system at Florence is set forth in the memorial to Leo X, composed
after the death of the younger Lorenzo Medici, Duke of Urbino (d.
1519), to whom he had dedicated his 'Prince.' The State was by that
time in extremities and utterly corrupt, and the remedies proposed are
not always morally justifiable; but it is most interesting to see how
he hopes to set up the republic in the form of a moderate democracy, as
heiress to the Medici. A more ingenious scheme of concessions to the
Pope, to the Pope's various adherents, and to the different Florentine
interests, cannot be imagined; we might fancy ourselves looking into
the works of a clock. Principles, observations, comparisons, political
forecasts, and the like are to be found in numbers in the 'Discorsi,'
among them flashes of wonderful insight. He recognizes, for example,
the law of a continuous though not uniform development in republican
institutions, and requires the constitution to be flexible and capable
of change, as the only means of dispensing with bloodshed and
banishments. For a like reason, in order to guard against private
violence and foreign interference--'the death of all freedom'--he
wishes to see introduced a judicial procedure ('accusa') against hated
citizens, in place of which Florence had hitherto had nothing but the
court of scandal.
Pages:
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115