ERMOLAO BARBARO AND PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA.
THE Florentines and other Tuscans gathered together at this period of
manifold intellectual activity were joined by men from other parts of
Italy, coming as transient visitors or permanent residents. Three of
these deserve especial consideration—Bernardo Bembo, Ermolao Barbaro,
and Pico della Mirandola. We have already seen Bembo as Venetian
ambassador, in the difficult state of affairs which followed on the
conspiracy of the Pazzi. He had received this honourable appointment
several years before, and held it until peace was restored. The
relations between Venice and Florence were not always pleasant and
confidential; but the Venetian ambassador knew how to make himself
agreeable and to inspire confidence. Poliziano praised his activity and
caution in affairs of state, his amiability in personal intercourse,
his interest in literature, his union of seriousness and gaiety.[70]
Ficino and Landino were on friendly terms with him, as their
correspondence and literary communications prove. Bembo was one of the
members of the Platonic Academy, and a banquet given to him by his
colleagues in 1480 is described by Marsilio in his book on Platonic
theology. He was an ardent lover of books, and wrote a beautiful hand;
the octavo form of the Aldine editions, the first variation from the
old folio or large quarto usual until then, is said to have been an
imitation of one of his manuscripts.[71] Bernardo’s son was with him
during his residence on the banks of the Arno, and the pure dialect to
which the boy’s ear became accustomed falling on good ground, led to
that scientific treatment of the Italian tongue which has given Pietro
Bembo a claim to be considered a distinguished master of the language
he handled with so much power and facility of expression.
One of those who were in constant literary intercourse with Lorenzo,
and assisted him in collecting manuscripts, &c., was Ermolao Barbaro
the younger. Literary faculty was the heritage of his family. His
grandfather, Francesco Barbaro, held friendly intercourse with the
scholars of Rome and Florence and with Cosimo de’ Medici. He also made
at Venice the largest collection of books of that time, and devoted
himself zealously to studying the texts, as is proved by his copy of
Homer preserved in the library of St. Mark. Young Ermolao was brought
up by the care of a learned uncle of the same name, who was Bishop of
Treviso and for many years administered the bishopric of Verona.
Francesco owed some of his accomplishments to Matteo Bosso, whom we
shall meet again in the abbey at Fiesole; and at Rome a classical turn
had been given to his studies by Pomponio Leto. He was a young man when
the Republic, which looked quite as much to the learned accomplishments
as to the political capacity and noble birth of her envoys, sent him to
the Emperor Frederic, to Lodovico il Moro, and to Innocent VIII. The
last embassy was not propitious to him.
When in 1491 he accepted the Patriarchate of Aquileia from the Pope
without asking the consent of the Republic, this offence against
law and precedent was punished by the senate with deprivation and
banishment, and Barbaro died near Rome, of an infectious disease, in
the summer of 1493, at the early age of thirty-three.[72] Of his
many works, chiefly on Greek writers, none seem now to justify his
reputation. His studies on Pliny’s ‘Natural History’ hold an honourable
place among the critical investigations begun in his day, and his
lively wit shines forth in his letters.
Ermolao came through Florence on his way to Rome in the spring of 1490.
As Lorenzo de’ Medici was then at the baths of Vignone, his eldest son
received the stranger with the honour due to his rank and the friendly
relations between the families. Piero’s letter to his father has some
literary as well as personal interest:[73] ‘Illustrious father,—By
a letter from you which reached Ser Piero yesterday morning I was
informed of your desires with respect to Messer Ermolao, who arrived
yesterday after dinner. His arrival was, so to say, unexpected, and I
only heard of it about an hour before. I went to meet him, as did four
or five others, and he had to go first to the hotel, as his quarters
were not yet ready, whither he afterwards came on foot. As soon as he
had arrived, I went to him, according to your desire, to invite him
to us, and to inquire how long he intended to stay. I invited him for
to-day, and heard that it was his intention to remain only the one day,
as he wants to travel to-morrow as far as Poggibonzi or some other
place, so that he may reach Siena before noon on the following day.
Whether he means to stay there I do not know. To-day he has been our
guest, and I cannot say how much pleasure this has given him. Besides
his suite, which consists of his brother (Luigi), a secretary of St.
Mark, and a doctor, we invited the persons whom he wished to see; they
were the Count della Mirandola, Messer Marsilio, and Messer Agnolo of
Montepulciano, to whom, as we wished to have an inhabitant of the city
and yet to keep within the circle of intimate friends and scholars, we
added Bernardo Rucellai. Whether we did right I know not. After dinner
I showed him the house, the coins, vases, sculptured stones—in short
everything, including the garden (near San Marco), which he especially
liked, though he does not seem to understand much about sculpture.
The value and age of the coins interested him greatly; they were all
astonished at the quantity of fine things. I cannot tell you much about
him, except that he speaks very elegantly, as far as I can judge, and
that he likes to show his reading by quoting the ancients, sometimes
in Latin. His appearance is on the whole very good; he is temperate in
all things, which is probably needful for him, as he seems to have a
very delicate constitution. He is said to be an adroit man of business,
which I rather doubt, as he seems to me somewhat ceremonious. He could
not display greater friendship for you than he does, and I believe he
means it. He received all the honour done him with much gratitude, not
at all after the Venetian fashion; and indeed nothing but his dress
shows him to be a Venetian. According to his own account, he has a
great desire to see you, and he says he will willingly go out of his
way to meet and salute you; which I think it my duty to mention, in
case it should meet your views. He also says that he is commissioned
by his Signoria to salute you. He has been honourably treated by the
citizens, and received compensation for having to alight at the hotel.
This morning, before he came to dinner, he presented himself to the
Signoria, with complimentary greetings.’ That the learned Venetian
fulfilled his intention of saluting Lorenzo on his way, we learn from
Lorenzo himself, who wrote to his agent at Siena on May 15 as follows:
‘Ermolao was here early this morning, and continued his journey after
staying a while with me.’[74]
When Ermolao Barbaro fell into disgrace with his own government,
Lorenzo took his part warmly. Among other things he tried to persuade
the Pope to give him the red hat, probably hoping that such a
distinction would reconcile the Signoria to him. Ermolao’s father
gratefully acknowledged his friend’s efforts. ‘This morning,’ wrote
Poliziano to Lorenzo from Venice,[75] ‘I visited Messer Zaccheria
Barbaro, and when I spoke of your favour he answered weeping, and as it
seemed with a full heart. The sum of his discourse was this: he has no
hope save in you. He made it clear to me that he is aware how much he
owes you. Therefore carry out what you have planned, and keep a higher
object in view.’ Greek clay vases, given to Poliziano for Lorenzo,
were to prove the gratitude of the Procurator of St. Mark and the
ex-ambassador. But the Signoria evidently did not approve of a stranger
intermeddling in the affairs of one of their citizens; for when Luigi
Barbaro received from his brother’s successor orders to return from
Rome, he was told at the same time not to come through Florence.[76]
All plans and calculations were overthrown the following year by the
death of Lorenzo and of the Pope, soon followed by that of Ermolao
himself. That the offer of the cardinalate would hardly have altered
the views of the senate as to the duty of an ambassador to receive
nothing from a foreign sovereign without special permission, is
shown by a parallel case which occurred in the next century, that of
Marc’Antonio da Mula (Cardinal Amulio).
In the circle of Florentine scholars there was no brighter star than
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola; and yet not one of them has left so
little to justify the contemporary fame of this ‘Phœnix of spirits.’
Yet he was something more than a specimen of the sciolism and abstruse
pedantry that sought to dazzle contemporaries without leaving
anything solid or useful to posterity. Giovanni Pico fought manfully
against the errors of his time, and promoted investigations on many
subjects; but the results of his labours are not discoverable in the
picture of the time as a whole, to which he contributed but a few
traits, instead of producing a work of durable value that would have
vividly represented the progress of science. Born and brought up in
the highest circles of society, it is remarkable that with his quick
and passionate temperament he devoted himself to scientific work,
ardently and perseveringly, without any external inducement to do so.
He comes forth like a meteor, in brilliant but momentary splendour.
He was a younger son of Gian Francesco Pico, Lord of Mirandola and
Count of Concordia, and Giulia Bojardo, daughter of Feltrino Count
Of Scandiano, whose grandson Matteo Maria made himself famous as the
author of ‘Orlando Innamorato.’ In his childhood Giovanni showed
unusual quickness of perception and desire to learn, which was observed
and encouraged by his mother. At fourteen he went to study canon law
at the University of Bologna, after which he pursued philosophy and
theology, languages and literature, at various universities, and soon
displayed a talent for disputation. He was intended for holy orders,
and while still almost a boy was seen, like Giovanni de’ Medici, in the
dress of an Apostolic protonotary. He was not much over twenty when he
came to Florence at the beginning of 1484. Recommended by his birth
and connections, as well as by Ercole d’Este, whose sister Bianca was
his sister-in-law, he became intimate with the Medici, and lived like
a great man; at the same time he pursued his studies diligently, and
formed friendships with Ficino, Landino, and Poliziano. The last has
described him graphically and with a fair amount of truth. ‘Nature,’ he
says, ‘appeared to have showered upon this man, or rather this hero,
all gifts of body and mind. He was slender and well made, and something
divine seemed to shine in his face. He was acute in perception, gifted
with an excellent memory, indefatigable in study, clear and eloquent
in expression. One doubted whether he shone most by his talents or his
moral qualities. Versed in every branch of philosophy, favoured by his
perfect knowledge of several languages, he showed himself sublime and
above all praise.’
What distinguished the young scholar from all the other members of the
Florentine circle except Marsilio Ficino—though it did not attract
much attention till it brought him into difficulties with Rome—was
his study of mediæval Jewish literature, to which he must have found
special incitement at Florence.[77] For it was here that he began to
study those Jewish mysteries which in Alexandria were first mixed up
with the doctrines of the Bible, like Neoplatonism with the wisdom
of the Athenians, and were developed under the name of Cabbalah into
a lasting tradition of revelation. Following in the steps of Ficino,
Giovanni Pico found the teachings of Christianity confirmed by those
of Platonism; while the Jewish doctrines furnished him with stronger
proofs, for what Ficino did not demonstrate from Platonism, Pico drew
from the Jewish mysteries. He was quite right in recognising analogies
not to be found in the Greek doctrines; but it is evident that he stood
on ground where investigation and the play of fancy might bring him
into danger; more especially as he included magic within the circle
of his researches. It was nothing more than the natural magic which
consists mainly in the contemplation of the powers of the heavenly
bodies, but he stated in plain words his opinion that no science could
afford us a clearer view of the divinity of Christ than magic and the
Cabbalah.
It may easily be conceived what a sensation was made in Florence by a
distinguished young man of such appearance, talents, and tendencies.
His arrival occurred at a lucky moment. The end of the Ferrara war left
a clear field for other than political affairs, and the reputation
of Lorenzo de’ Medici had just then reached its zenith. The presence
of Giovanni Pico gave a new distinction to his whole circle. He
was one by himself. Ficino and Poliziano had shone by the early
maturity of their talents, but to them study was the necessary object
of their lives; while this youth of high rank, on whom everything
smiled, rivalled them in perseverance and success and surpassed them
in universality of knowledge. Soon after his arrival at Florence,
in a letter to Lorenzo, he spoke highly of the poems which the
latter wrote on Dante and Petrarca; but this does not prove that his
judgment was sound, and it may, perhaps, not have greatly impressed
Lorenzo himself, though it doubtless did him no harm in the Medicean
circle. In 1485 he went to continue his studies at Paris, returning
thence at the beginning of the next year. This year he was involved
in two troublesome affairs, one of which—though injurious to his
reputation—was only of a passing nature, but the other cast a shadow
over the whole of his after-life, and put an end to the gaiety of his
youth.
The eloquent disciple of the Platonic Academy suddenly found himself
involved in a love adventure that was only too real. ‘Count Giovanni
della Mirandola,’ wrote the Ferrarese envoy Aldovrandino Guidoni on
May 12, 1486, to Duke Ercole,[78] ‘has been living for nearly two
years in such splendour and in the enjoyment of such universal esteem
as has hardly fallen to the lot of any one before in this city. A few
days ago he gave out that he was going to Rome, and sent forward all
his luggage. On his arrival at Arezzo, where resided a lady with whom
he had a love affair—the beautiful wife of one Giuliano de’ Medici,
engaged in the administration of taxes there—the said lady, according
to previous agreement, left her husband’s house. She pretended to be
going for a walk, but just outside the town she mounted behind the
count. He had about twenty people with him, some on horseback, some
on foot, besides two mounted bowmen. When the people saw the lady
surrounded by this train there was an uproar. The storm-bell was rung
and the count was followed in pursuit, which became so hot that the
count was obliged to give up his fugitive. Every one of his suite that
could be reached was killed and stripped in the _mêlée_, and many
of the citizens also were left dead. Thanks to their good horses,
the count and his chancellor got away to Marciano (in the valley of
the Chiana), where they were arrested. The Ten, before whom the case
was laid, at first gave orders to liberate the count and keep the
chancellor, but afterwards they commanded both to be kept under arrest.
Probably nothing will be done to him, but the chancellor—on whom the
chief blame is laid—may come off badly, the more so as the matter
concerns the wife of a Medici, who, though poor, is still one of the
family. In truth, the count’s mishap is much to be regretted, for he
used to be considered a saint as well as a man of learning, and now he
has lost greatly in public opinion, though, indeed, love has brought
many into like errors.’ Duke Ercole’s mediation was needless, as Pico
was at once set free, and the good easy husband received back into
his house the faithless wife, who pleaded forcible abduction. She was
a rich young widow of low degree when he married her shortly before.
Pico’s own remarks on the whole affair display his penitence. ‘His sin
grieves him,’ he said of himself, ‘and he does not defend his conduct.
He seems to deserve forgiveness just because he attempts no excuse.
Nothing is weaker than man, nothing is mightier than love!’
The Roman affair was not so easily disposed of. After the adventure
at Arezzo, Pico went to Rome, where, to establish the favourite
Florentine thesis of an agreement between Platonism and Christianity,
and the assistance to be derived from the former in combating heresy,
he announced a public disputation on 900 questions, to which, besides
philosophy and theology, law and natural science, magic and the
Cabbalah, Arabia and Chaldæa, had contributed their quota. Thus the
most brilliant intellects, sometimes even more than others, pay tribute
to pedantry. The fruitful seed that lay buried in these investigations
was in a great measure choked up with the dull rubbish from which
the age was unable to free itself. Many of the affirmations of the
young scholar (which might well seem questionable at that time) were
impeached as contrary to the faith, and the disputation was stopped.
On August 5, 1486, Innocent VIII. signed a brief against the theses
put forth by Giovanni Pico, denouncing their author in no sparing
terms. The long interval between the signature and the publication,
which did not take place till December 15, instead of helping to smooth
the difficulty, only increased it. The author of the controverted
propositions—so his opponents maintained—being secretly informed of
the papal decision, hastily wrote an apology for them, had it secretly
printed in Naples, and pre-dated it, so that he should not appear to be
defending assertions already condemned by the highest ecclesiastical
authority. The accused denied this, and declared that he had only
received the brief on January 6, 1487, on his journey to France. In any
case, his written defence furnished his opponents with a pretext by
which to set the Pope against him and cause him to receive a citation
to Rome. It was even determined to arrest him, as we see from a letter
addressed to the Pope from Siena, December 5, by the Bishop of Lucca,
excusing the non-fulfilment of the papal orders on account of his
absence from his see.[79]
The ‘Apology,’ dated May 31, 1486, is dedicated to Lorenzo de’ Medici.
‘God is my witness,’ says the author in the introduction, ‘that I
dedicate this writing to thee, O Lorenzo, not as thinking it worthy of
such a man, but because I have long known that I owe all I possess to
thee. Whatever I am or may become is thine and will remain thine. I say
less than I would, and my words are too cold to express the love and
reverence which I have long felt and shall continue to feel for thee.
To these feelings I am moved by the numerous proofs of favour that
have proceeded rather from thy mind towards me than from thy position,
and which are as rare as they are characteristic of thee. Receive this
apology with kindness; the gift is small, but it is a testimony of
my lasting devotion. If thou shouldst turn to it from the important
affairs which claim thy attention, remember that it is a sketch rather
than a work carefully thought out, a task imposed on me by others
rather than chosen by myself, and that I present it to thee, not as a
proof of talents and learning to which I am a stranger, but as a token,
I repeat, of my entire devotion.’
Lorenzo, Ercole d’Este, and Pico’s relatives, took an active interest
in his troubles. All through 1487, while the accused was abroad, the
affair dragged on without result. The chief hope was in Lorenzo, whose
influence with the Pope was known to be great and increasing, and it
was not his fault that matters did not get on. He did not wait for
the entreaties of Pico’s brother Antonio, who came to Florence in
February 1488 to beg for his interposition at Rome. He had already,
on January 19, written to the ambassador Lanfredini, giving a warning
against extreme steps, since excommunication or the like against a
man so young and so learned might drive the most moderate beyond all
patience. The solution he suggested was that Pico should be allowed
to go free to Rome and justify himself to the Pope in person. The
envoy did not quite agree with Lorenzo’s view, being of opinion that
the count would do better to leave theology alone; nevertheless he
bestirred himself zealously on his behalf. ‘To my great satisfaction
and joy,’ writes Lorenzo to him on March 22, 1488,[80] ‘I have been
informed of the agreement made by you with the Holy Father concerning
the count. In pursuance of your intimation, I shall invite the count
here. I feel assured he will conduct himself so that his Holiness shall
be satisfied with him, for which object no efforts shall be wanting on
my part.’ So Giovanni Pico returned to Florence and Lorenzo continued
his intercession. But there were still grave difficulties in the way
of an adjustment, and the accused was very shy of appearing at Rome.
He lived sometimes in Florence, sometimes at the neighbouring villa
of Querceto and the abbey of Fiesole, where he pursued Hebrew and
Chaldee studies with great ardour, and worked out a commentary on
Genesis. In June 1489, Florence conferred the freedom of the city on
her illustrious guest, and gave him the right of acquiring property to
the value of 6,000 gold florins. It is evident that Lorenzo was anxious
to bind him more and more closely to himself and his home. ‘The Count
of Mirandola,’ he wrote on June 19 to Lanfredini,[81] ‘is staying
permanently with us, and lives as retired as a monk, continually
working at theology, and commenting on the Psalms, &c. He reads the
service as is usual for priests, strictly observes the fasts, and has
the most simple household that necessity permits. He appears to me a
pattern for others. But he desires to be cleared before the Holy Father
from the charges brought against him, and to receive a brief by which
he shall be re-admitted as a true son and a good Christian. I have
this much at heart too, for there are few men dearer to me or that I
esteem more highly. To my mind he is a true Christian, for he conducts
himself so that the whole city would be ready to stand surety for him.
Endeavour to obtain this brief in due form, that his conscience may be
set at rest. This will stand in the first rank among the many pleasures
you have procured me.’
The affair, however, made no progress. The intention at Rome seemed
to be to commission the Bishop of Vaison to receive the explanations
of Pico, who declared himself ready to submit simply and entirely to
the papal decision. About this time the publication of his commentary
on Genesis gave fresh scandal. A feeling hostile to him seemed to
be gaining ground. On August 17, Lanfredini wrote that Lorenzo had
better advise the count simply to beg for absolution and perform the
needful penance. On October 6 he declared that it was only out of
consideration for Lorenzo that the Pope was so lenient to the culprit;
to satisfy Lorenzo by giving the cardinalate to his son was quite
another thing—so his Holiness had said—from lending an ear to his
intercessions in a case where the faith was at stake. Finally Lorenzo
lost patience when he found that the Pope was in the hands of his
friend’s opponents. ‘I am greatly displeased,’ he wrote in October
1489, ‘at hearing of the censures on Mirandola’s work. If I were not
convinced that this persecution arises from envy and malice, I would
not speak of it. Various learned and God-fearing theologians here
have read the book, and all approve it as excellent and Christian.
I myself am not such a bad Christian that I would keep silence and
accept the book if I thought otherwise. If he only said the Credo,
these malicious spirits would smell heresy in it. If the pressure of
business did but permit his Holiness to take personal cognizance of
the matter and discover the truth, I am certain the whole thing would
fall to pieces and the truth would come to light. But the Pope has to
depend on others, and this poor man cannot defend himself. If he gives
his reasons, he is said to be speaking against the Holy Father! If he
had only to deal with his enemies unprotected by the papal authority
he would soon put them to silence. His misfortune is that he has to
deal with malicious ignorant foes who shield themselves behind the head
of the Church. I have already hinted to you my suspicion that they
are trying to drive him to despair, and thereby to some rash step
which might really be directed against his Holiness. For believe me,
Giovanni, this man has it in his power to work both good and evil. His
life and conduct prove the first; if he is forced to turn another way,
I personally shall lose little thereby, for whatever direction he may
take, he will be attached to me as I to him. I have never succeeded in
quite making you understand this. Without going into particulars now,
I will merely observe that an attempt has been made to persuade him
into a step which might have given great offence; but I have always
prevented it, so that he is come here, where he is leading a virtuous
life and is in peace. These devils tempt him with their persecutions,
and they are only too readily believed.’
This letter shows how deeply the writer was moved. His earnest
remonstrances succeeded at least so far that Pico, who, like Galileo
afterwards, had been relegated to a villa in the neighbourhood of
Florence, was left unmolested in the city. At this time occurred the
visit of Reuchlin, who came to Italy for the second time in 1490 in the
suite of a son of Duke Eberhard, and now became personally acquainted
with the man who had given the most decisive impulse to his studies,
which, like the Italian’s, aimed at harmonising the results of Jewish
and Greek wisdom with Christian faith and knowledge. These studies
entered in Germany upon a new sphere of influence stretching far beyond
the scope of Pico, but not more free from danger, and involving the
German in conflicts similar to those of the Italian. Pico’s Roman
troubles were augmented by others. The dispute between his brothers
Galeotto and Antonio put him into pecuniary straits, and obliged him
to seek the aid of the Duke of Ferrara.[82] Obstructions at Rome were
endless. Neither Lorenzo de’ Medici nor Innocent VIII. lived to see the
conclusion, which was brought about at last by a brief of Alexander
VI., June 18, 1493, in which Giovanni Pico was fully acquitted. The
trouble and anxiety caused by this affair made the deepest impression
on his mind. His nephew and biographer relates that he heard from his
own mouth how great a change it produced in his mind and life.[83]
Excepting a visit to Ferrara, where at the duke’s desire he was present
at a chapter of the Dominican order, he quitted Florence no more. We
have seen him in the country, in frequent intercourse with Ficino and
Poliziano. He lived entirely for science; and the wealth which enabled
him to collect a treasury of books was also freely bestowed on the
needy; in these good works he was assisted by his attached friend
Benivieni. He burned his Latin poems, which he had collected in five
books and given to Poliziano for correction. The latter had altered a
few things, as he said, after the example of him who found fault with
the sandals of the goddess of beauty because he could find none with
herself; and because a few verses seemed to him to be only of the rank
of a knight, while the rest were patrician and senatorial. Poliziano
lamented his friend’s resolve in a letter accompanied by a Greek
epigram. He could not remember, he said, ever to have read anything
more charming, elegant and polished. ‘Ye silly gods of love,’ thus ends
the epigram, ‘why did ye fly to Pico, who is the leader of the Muses?’
Poliziano approved of his friend’s poetical attempts, and admired his
commentary on Benivieni’s _canzone_ on Platonic love, which the school
of Florentine literature reckons among its most important works, more
than his deeper studies, when in the rustic solitude of Querceto he
wrote an extensive treatise against astrology, destined to form part of
a great polemical work on sects hostile to Christianity.[84] Poliziano
thought it was lost time:
‘Pico, what hast thou to do with this? Thou’rt wasting thy powers:
Truly thy style is too good for this generation of jugglers.’
Savonarola, on the contrary, who was a friend of the author in his
later years, and read the unfinished work, expressed mingled pleasure
and regret over it; pleasure in the stand made by the work against
widespread errors, regret at the premature death of the gifted author.
We must not judge Pico della Mirandola by what he has left behind.
He paid a heavier tribute to the weaknesses of the time than many
others who were not equal to him in intellectual capacity. His whole
personality must be considered; it is a typical one. This scion of
a princely house, who quitted the world at two-and-thirty, who had
measured the heights and depths of the learning of his time, who, with
all his abstruse scholarship, preserved a simplicity and amiability of
character that drew all hearts to him, is by far the most brilliant
figure in that brilliant circle. After four centuries Pico della
Mirandola remains the highest representative of early maturity of
intellect. But he is something more; in conjunction with the man whose
friendship was so warmly expressed, he did more than any other to give
a value and importance to a period which, with all its defects, was
beneficent and noble.
The sad fate of two other members of the Florentine literary circle
who were not Tuscans, as well as the circumstance that both filled
public offices in Florence, justifies us in mentioning them together,
though several decades separated them. They are Stefano Porcaro and
Pandolfo Collenuccio. The former, a Roman knight, was the friend and
correspondent of Poggio, Filelfo, Ciriaco, and Traversari, holding a
position of influence at home and abroad.[85] He was led into the fatal
conspiracy of 1453 against Nicolas V. rather by memories of antiquity
and of Cola Rienzi than by his Florentine connections. In the Podestà’s
palace may be seen, in what was formerly the chapel, a picture of
the Madonna painted on the wall, presented, in 1490, by Pandolfo
Collenuccio of Pesaro, then judge of the supreme court. Ficino, Pico,
Poliziano, admired the intellectual gifts and varied talents of
this learned man. It was wonderful, wrote the latter, what he was
capable of; he managed the affairs of princes with great sagacity, was
surpassed by none in the elegance of his prose and verse, and decided
intricate suits with a rare knowledge of law. He commanded the most
varied knowledge with such mastery that he made further discoveries
when others fancied they had found out everything. This sound judge of
classical literature was also a student of natural history, and one
of the first to apply the science of history to the vulgar tongue. He
made use of his connection with Germany, where he had been as envoy
from Duke Ercole d’Este to King Maximilian, to make large acquisitions
for the Florentine libraries. His execution in 1504, by command of
Giovanni Sforza of Pesaro, on pretext of high treason in the Borgia
disturbances, was one of those tragedies of which there was never any
lack in the petty courts of Italy.[86]