49. "Niccolò Piero Michele": Roberto Ridolfi, The Life of Niccolò Machiavelli, p. 258 n. 10; NM, Oeuvres Complètes, ed. Pléiade, p. 14.

49. According to one story: Sebastian de Grazia, Machiavelli in Hell, p. 5.

49. It is probable: Ridolfi, Machiavelli, p. 257 n. 4.

50. Alessandro Machiavelli died: NM, Oeuvres Complètes, p. 15.; de Grazia, Machiavelli in Hell, p. 4.

50. While not among the leading: Christopher F. Black, Italian Confraternities in the Sixteenth Century, p. 238.

50. "Bernardo had title" The house, marked with a plaque, stands today at 16 rue Guicciardini.

50. "Niccolò" was a common name: Born in 1472, Niccolò di Bernardo di Jacopo Machiavelli has sometimes been confused with the Niccolò, which led some scholars to believe that the future author of The Prince had been a banker in his youth. Machiavelli and His Friends: Their Personal Correspondence, p. 5; Mario Martelli, L’altro Niccolò di Bernardo Machiavelli, Quaderni di Rinascimento (Florence: Sansoni, 1975).

50. "..., and another cousin" On this cousin, Niccolò di Alessandro Machiavelli, see Ridolfi, pp. 29, 45.

50. At eleven, Bernardo records: De Grazia, Machiavelli in Hell, p. 5.

50. In return for compiling: Ridolfi, Machiavelli, pp. 3-4, 257-58 n. 7; de Grazia, Machiavelli in Hell, pp. 5-6.

51. "The conspiracy of the Pazzi": NM, Discourses on Titus Livy, III, 67, ed. Mansfield and Tarcov, p. 228.

51. In the Florentine Histories: NM, Florentine Histories, VIII, 3-9, ed. Banfield and Mansfield, pp. 319-27.

51. "there was no citizen": NM, Florentine Histories, VIII, 9, ed. Banfield and Mansfield, p. 326.

53. "had been successful around Perugia": NM, Florentine Histories, VIII, 16, ed. Banfield and Mansfield, p. 336.

53. First, Bernardo was a member: John Henderson, "Le Confraternite Religiose nella Firenze del Tardo Medioevo: Patroni Spirituali e Anche Politici?," p. 93. This Confraternity met at the Church of San Giorgio sulla Costa, on the hill rising from the quarter of Santo Spirito where the Machiavelli lived.

53. One of the foremost flagellant societies: Christopher F. Black, Italian Confraternities in the Sixteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989); John Henderson, Piety and Charity in Late Medieval Florence (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994). Also known as "companies of the night," these Confraternities were progressively widely feared by the Medici, which perhaps explains the extent to which Lorenzo the Magnificent sought to infiltrate them with some of his own friends. When describing the polots against the Medici in 1465 in his Florentine Histories, Niccolò refers explicitly the fact that "each of the parties met at night in different companies, for the friends of the Medici gathered at the Crocetta and their adversaries at the Pietà." Florentine Histories, VII, 13 (ed. Mansfield and Banfield), pp. 290-291. Henderson has good reason to question whether the entire Confraternity can be said to have been a basis for hostile plotting against the Medici ("Le Confraternite Religiose...", pp. 92-93), but Niccolò only claims that the opponents of Piero de Medici met "at night... at the Pietà" (and not that the confraternity as a whole was involved. Given Bernardo's presence in the Confraternity at this time, there is no reason to avoid the conclusion that the Companies of the Night (which provided one of the few organizations in which a night-time meeting was possible in fifteenth century Florence) provided cover and a meeting-place for political discussions of some members.

53. "Exhortation to Penitence": NM, "An Exhortation to Penitence," in Machiavelli, Chief Works and Others, ed. Allan Gilbert, vol. I, p. 170. Although Gilbert, like most commentators, assumes this text was written late in Niccolò’s life, it begins with an introductory remark suited to the traditional youth oration: "Since this evening, honored fathers and superior brothers, I am to speak to Your Charities, in order to obey my superiors . . ." (p. 171, italics added).

53. Conforming to the requirement: NM, Chief Works, ed. Gilbert, vol. I, p. 170 (citing Oreste Tommasini’s Vita di Machiavelli, vol. II, p. 734).

53. "Niccolò's membership" Typically, Niccolò's correspondents address him as "Most Honored," "Most Worthy," or "Notable." For some exceptions, which might indicate relationships dating to Niccolò's youthful confraternity membership, see Niccolò Valori to Niccolò Machiavelli 30 October 1501, in Atkinson & Sices, Machiavelli and His Friends, #27 (p. 43): "Most cherished, as a brother..." as well as Valori's letters of 23 October 1502 (#42, p. 59), 31 October 1502 (#46, p. 62), 22 January 1505 (#95, p. 107); Valori's letters often conclude with a phrase such as "Christ keep you." See also Buonaccorso Rinuccini to Niccolò Machiavelli, 15 December 1502 (#634, p. 76), beginning "To my very dear compare " and closing "God keep you from harm, for your compare"; Luca Ugolini to Niccolò Machiavelli, 11 November 1503 (#75, p. 87), beginning "My very dear compare' and repeated referring to the compare relationship between them; Leonardo Barolini to Niccolò Machiavelli, 21 February 1506 (#106, p. 117).

54. Since Scala was responsible: Felix Gilbert, Machiavelli and Guicciardini (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1965), pp. 162, 318-22.

54. "Ficino, the son of" Born in 1433, Ficino's career spanned the careers of both Cosimo de' Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent. Ficino's focus on Plato marked a shift from the tradition, following Aquinas, of emphasizing Aristotelian thought as the foundation of what we call "scholasticism." Among Ficino's other important works was an Italian translation of Dante's Latin work of political theory, De Monarchia., a work symbolizing the hostility to papal claims of secular authority that were traditional among many Florentine intellectuals.

54. "At the Medici's court" For example, in 1476, Ficino wrote a friend as follows: "Giovanni, write to me sometime about what you have been doing in those matters common to us both, or what you want to be done by me; that is, my good Giovanni, if you know what you want at this time. AT present I do not really know what I want; it may be that I do not really what want I know and want that which I do not know. However, I think that things are not settled for you under the benign influence of your Jupiter progressing in Pisces; but for me, under the malign influence of my Saturn retrogressing in Leo, they are far from settled. Nevertheless, as we often observe, thanks should be given in all things to Him who, from His infinite goodness, converts all lthings to the good." cited in Atkinson & Sices, pp. 432-433. It is hard to underestimate the difference between Ficino's attitudes and those of either Niccolò or Leonardo...

54. His publications included: Poliziano was a participant as well as an observer of the playful and often frivolous life of Lorenzo’s court, especially in the 1470s and 1480s (Bramly, Leonardo, p. 100). Given the importance of the charge of homosexuality against Leonardo, it is ironic that Poliziano’s open homosexuality was apparently not a source of difficulty (cf. ibid., p. 129).

55. "Such famous men" For example, Leonardo drew a fountain based on a poetic description by Poliziano (see Pedretti, Chronology and Style, p. 96); Niccolò's friend and assistant in the Second Chancery, Biaggio Buonaccorsi, was married to Ficino's niece. Atkinson & Sices, p. 490.

55. "Cosimo was also a lover": NM, Florentine Histories, VII, 6, ed. Banfield and Mansfield, p. 283.

55. "He [Lorenzo the Magnificent] loved": NM, Florentine Histories, VIII, 36, ed. Banfield and Mansfield, pp. 361-62.

55. Apart from hints: Machiavelli and His Friends, p. 433, n. 1 to letter #1.

56. "He was trained" Niccolò doubtless knew Livy, especially from his father's copy, which he took to the binder when he was seventeen. There exists a fragment of Niccolò's own translation of a history of the Vandals which might have been from his student days (ed. Pleiade, p. 16). Ridolfi, however, thinks this manuscript -- a translation of part of Victor Uticensis, Historia persecutionis vandalicae -- dates from around 1516 (Machiavelli, p. 258, n. 15). Given the relative obscurity of the work, however, Niccolò's interest suggests long familiarity with historical research, as is confirmed by the Florentine Histories.

56. He knew Latin well: Although many scholars have claimed that Niccolò was totally ignorant of Greek, there is some evidence he knew at least its rudiments. See Tommasini, La Vita di Machiavelli, vol. I, p. 98.

56. The influence of long study: See especially the First Decennal (1504), which uses a rhyming scheme akin to Dante’s Divine Comedy, in NM, Chief Works, ed. Gilbert, vol. III, pp. 1444-57. For examples of the numerous allusions in his later correspondence, see Machiavelli and His Friends, pp. 499 (editorial note 1 to #208), 514 (editorial note 14 to #224), and 548 (editorial notes 7 and 10 to #300).

56. Many other poets: For examples in his correspondence, see Machiavelli and His Friends, pp. 500 (editorial note 2 to #210), 518 (editorial notes 3-5 to #229), 519 (editorial notes 6-7 to #231); 523 (editorial note to #238), 528-30 (editorial notes 1, 4, 13 to #247). See also Ridolfi, Machiavelli, pp. 89-90.

56. "Dante or Petrarch": NM to Francesco Vettori, December 10, 1513, Machiavelli and His Friends, #224, p. 264. Like much in Niccolò's letter (see Najemy, Between Friends), this remark is deceptive. While Ovid's poetry is primarily about "amorous passions," the "loves" of Dante and Petrarch include higher things. In particular, one thinks of their love of Florence and Italy, reminders of Machiavelli's famous patriotism (e.g, Prince, Ch. 25).

56. This letter also contains: See Machiavelli and His Friends, pp. 513-16 n. 1 (Petrarch, Trionfo dell’ eternità, v. 13), n. 4 (the contemporary novella Geta et Birra, based on Plautus’s Amphytruo), n. 22 (Juvenal and Plautus), n. 23 (Virgil and Lucretius).

56. Niccolò also knew: For example, in 1502, while on mission to Cesare Borgia's court (see chapter 5 below), Niccolò asked his assistant Biagio Buonaccorsi to get him a copy of Plutarch's Lives. Atkinson & Sices #37, p. 55: Biagio Buonaccorsi to Niccolò Machiavelli, 21 October 1502. Of particular interest to students of Machiavelli's political theory is the discovery that Niccolò himself copied an extensive portion of Lucretius' De rerum natura, which presents Epicurean naturalism in poetic form (Najemy, Between Friends, p. 58).

56. During his term as second chancellor: V. to NM, April 24, 1504, Machiavelli and His Friends, #89, p. 101. On the First Decennale, see Chapter 8, "The Aftermath."

56. After the fall of the republic: De Grazia, Machiavelli in Hell, p. 34. I will return to the possible reason for the composition of the First Decennial in Chapter 6.

56. Years later, he was to write: NM, Mandragola, ed. Flaumenhaft. See also NM, The Comedies of Machiavelli, ed. Sices and Atkinson.

56. Under these circumstances: Like Najemy (Between Friends, esp. chap. 9) and de Grazia (Machiavelli in Hell), Ridolfi also calls Niccolò a "poet" (Machiavelli,
p. 13). Unfortunately, most scholars have not considered the implications of this identification.

56. "Lately I have been reading": NM to Ludovico Alamanni, December 17, 1517, in Atkinson & Sices, Machiavelli and His Friends, #254, p. 318.

57. The oldest surviving fragment: NM to unknown addressee, December 1, 1497, Atkinson & Sices, Machiavelli and His Friends, #1, p. 6.

57. The purpose of this text: NM to Cardinal Lopez, December 2, 1497, Atkinson & Sices, Machiavelli and His Friends, #2, pp. 7-8.

57. "Yet beset by ill health": NM to unknown addressee, December 1, 1497, Atkinson & Sices, Machiavelli and His Friends, #1, pp. 6-7.

58. "And he wrote in" Even before his political career began, Niccolò seems to have been interested in an understanding of human nature and behavior based on observation rather than traditional theory. When writing his family's appeal to Cardinal Lopez in 1497, Niccolò begins in a way that sounds more like a philosopher or political theorist than a humble petitioner: "As we know from experience, all the goods that mankind possesses in this world often, indeed always, proceed from two donors: first, from God, the just distributor of everything; second, either from our forebears through the laws of inheritance, or from our friends through gifts, or from possibilities of gain offered to us -- as it is with merchants and their loyal agents." A& S, #2 (p. 7): The Machiavellis to Cardinal Giovanni Lopez, 2 Dec. 1497. The style is almost identical to passages in Niccolò's mature political writings. E.g., Prince, ch. 1 (ed. Mansfield, pp. 5-6), ch. 4 (p. 17), etc.

58. Nothing seems to have prepared: Or, to use another phrase of Niccolò’s biographer, what was "the secret of his election"? (Ridolfi, Machiavelli, p. 17).

59. "The Second chancellorship" On Niccolò's salary (equivalent in local coins to 192 fiorini di suggello) and its comparison to others in the Chancery (Marcello Vergilio Adriani, as first chancellor and Niccolò's superior, received 330 fiorini de sugello; Niccolo's assistant ser Agostino Vespucci, 96 fiorini, with others of lower status receiving less (ibid., p. 20).

59. Moreover, Niccolò also came to occupy: NM, Oeuvres Complètes, p. 1469; Ridolfi, Machiavelli, p. 263 n. 21.

59. The first and second chancellors: Butters, Governors and Governed in Early Sixteenth Century Florence, chap. 1, esp. p. 22.

59. For example, by this means: These leaders were Giovanbattista Ridolfi and Alamanno Salviati, joined after 1503 by Lanfredino Lanfredini. They were associated with both Niccolò Alessandro Machiavelli and Francesco Pero Machiavelli. See Butters, Ch. 3-4 and Appendices I, II, and III. There is also a nomination of Francesco Pero Machiavelli by Giovanvettorio Soderini, as well as reciprocal nominations of Soderini and the aristocratic leaders who came to oppose him.

60. By this same means: For the inclusion of Leonardo's father on the list of those who were nominated by or who nominated Tommasso di Pagolantonio Soderini, Piero's nephew, see Butters, Governors and Governed, appendix VII, p. 320.

60. But even granted that: Trexler, Public Life in Renaissance Florence, pp. 11-12. On June 18, 1498, the day of his election, Niccolò Machiavelli was just barely 29 years old (his birthday was May 3). Machiavelli was not actually made eligible to vote in the Great Council until 1521, when the Soderini supported him: Black, "Machiavelli, Servant of the Florentine Republic," p. 92.

60. The years of Savonarola’s power: As one scholar put it, the political events of 1490's took place "... against a background of rumbling epidemic disease, including outbreaks of plague, typhus and the French Pox. As if the misery of these diseases was not enough, the poor were hit hard by a succession of poor harvests; between 1496 and 1498 the average annual cost of grain rose to 47s, reaching 89s in April 1497." Henderson, Piety and Charity, p. 401.

60. "And there remained" "The city, whether from expediency or conviction, seemed to divide itself into groups identified by their relation to Savonarola: the Arrabbiati (the "rabid" or "enraged" ones) were violently opposed to both the Medici and Savonarola and sought a republic along aristocratic lines; the Bianchi (the "whites") had no sympathy for Savonarola, but they advocated a popular form of government; the Bigi (the "greys") remained loyal to the Medici; the Compagnacci (the "naughty fellows") resisted Savonarola's interventions into their private lives; and the Piagnoni (the "mournful" or "wailing" fellows) formed Savonarola's party and regarded him as a prophet. The latter were also known as the Frateschi (the friar's fellows)." Atkinson & Sices, p. 4. Ridolfi suggests that while Niccolò is not listed among the known partisans of the Arrabiati, it is conceivable he might have sympathized with them (Machiavelli, p. 9, 259, n. 26). Given the persistent hostility between the Machiavelli family and the Pazzi, not to mention Niccolò's subsequent hostility to ottimati or nobles, this seems unlikely. Nor, given Niccolò's criticism of moral laxity as an invitation to tyranny, is it likely he was among the Campagnacci. His strong support for Piero Soderini as Gonfalonier for life, to which we will turn below, suggests he was hardly a supporter of the Medici at this time.

61. For example, convictions and punishments: Michael Rocke, Forbidden Friendships:, esp. pp. 78-79 and chap. 6.

62. A great deal can therefore: NM to Ricciardo Becchi, March 9, 1498, Atkinson & Sices, Machiavelli and His Friends, pp. 8-9.

62. "The letter begins" Atkinson & Sices, p. 8, italics added..

63. "in my judgment": ibid., italics added.

63. Whatever else could be said: Ridolfi, who treats Niccolò’s remarks as an "unworthy letter" written "half in jest" to friends "for his own amusement and theirs" (Machiavelli, p. 9), was apparently unaware of Becchi’s role in the curia. The importance of the debates in the Vatican surrounding Savonarola are underlined by the fact that Niccolò's predecessor as Second Chancellor (Alessandro Braccesi) was sent to the curia at this time to plead for the Friar -- and was dismissed upon Savonarola's removal from office.

63. Contemporaries attributed this: Francesco Guicciardini, History of Florence, chaps. xv-xvi, in History of Italy and History of Florence, ed. John R. Hale (New York: Twayne, 1964), pp. 57-83. Among other supporters, a key role was apparently played by Bernardo Ruccelai, who ironically was not himself elected even though he stood for office.

63. In the official election register: For the circumstances of Niccolò’s election, see Rubenstein, "The Beginnings of Niccolò Machiavelli’s Career in the Florentine Chancery", Italian Studies. Vol. 11 (1956), 72-91. The other election, based on a nomination by a government official instead of the usual nomination by a vote in the Council of 80, was of Antonio Vespucci as head of the chancelry responsible for the archives; at the same time, his relative Agostino Vespucci was elected Machiavelli's "first co-adjutor" in the Second Chancery. Rubenstein reproduces the texts recording the elections of both February and June 1498 (pp. 86-91). On the election, see also Black, "Machiavelli, Servant of the Florentine Republic," (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), pp. 71-99, esp. pp. 85-86.

63. Of the three other: Of the three other candidates for Second Chancellor in June, one (Francisco Gaddi) was a professor and the other two (Ser Andreas Romolo Filippi and Ser Francisco Ser Baroni Francisco) were notaries; only Machiavelli lacked either of the two most frequent professional achievements of a Florentine Chancellor. Gaddi and Baroni were associated with the party of the Arrabiati (radical republicans opposed to both Savonarola and the Medici), whereas Romolo was a supporter of Savonarola's party, the Frateschi (Black, p. 85, n). Machiavelli's majority in the Grand Council thus probably reflected support of the other parties (the Bianchi who supported Savonarola's republican reforms but not the friar, the Bigi who supported the Medici, and the Compagnacci (concerned primarily with private liberty). On the party structure, see note 21 above

64. "His personal connections" Having been asked to report to Ricciardo Becchi on Savonarola's state of mind in March of 1498, his appointment as Second Chancellor three months later was probably made possible by a combination of educational attainment, ambition, and astute maneuvering. He had a broad network of friends and acquaintances, both within and outside the government. His main supporters in the Chanceries were apparently Marcello Adriani, First Chancellor, and his assistant, Antonio della Valle, who are said to have arranged for the appointment of Niccolò and his friend, Biagio Buonaccorsi (who both entered the Second Chancery at about the same time). Ridolfi, Machiavelli pp. 19-20; Atkinson & Sices, pp. 12-13. The story that Niccolò had worked in the Chancery since 1494 seems due to a blatant error of scholarship (Ridolfi, Machiavelli, p. 262, n. 12). Niccolò's assistants in the Second Chancellery were Agostino Vespucci (whose relatives included the explorer Amerigo) and Andrea di Romolo, Filippo Casavecchia (a friend to whom Niccolò sent a manuscript of The Prince in 1513), Ugolino di Niccolò Martelli (a member of the Florentine delegation to France in 1500), Antonio de Colle (a notary), Bernardo de' Ricci, Rafaello Girolami, Bartolomeo Ruffini, B. Valori, Brother Ancroia, Don Federico, and Francesco Gaddi (Niccolò's rival for the post of Second Chancellor, named ambassador to Bologna in 1499). Atkinson & Sices, 12 - 13, 437 - 439, 32 (#18): Agostino Vespucci to Niccolò Machiavelli, 20 October 1500, and 58-59 (#41) Bartolomeo Ruffini to Niccolò Machiavelli, 23 October 1502; Ridolfi, Machiavelli, p. 20.) Among those working in the First Chancellery under Niccolò's administrative superior Adriani and della Valle were Luca Ficini (or Luca di Fabiano da Montegruzi) and Salvestro di Salvestro Agostino. (Atkinson & Sices, pp. 12 - 13, 437 - 439, and 37 (#39): Salvestro di Salvestro Agostino to Niccolò Machiavelli, 21 October 1502). While many of these chancery secretaries were apolitical, some were from families with ties to leaders who turned against Soderini, including Lanfredino Lanfredini (Buonaccorsi, Vespucci), Alamanno Salviati (Ricci), Giovanbattista Ridolfi (Ricci, Ugolini). There seem to be fewer overlaps between Machiavelli's co-workers and friends and either Piero or Giovanettorio Soderini, although Tommaso di Pagolantonio Soderini is associated with the Casavecchia family as well as Leonardo Guidotti. Butters, Governors and Governed, Appendix I-VII (pp. 313-321). While it would be risky to overestimate the importance of listed nominations in the councils, the absence of any nominations linking two families may be a useful sign of political distance. For indications that Niccolò's network of friends was not primarily based on the Soderini, especially at the outset of his career, see Black, "Machiavelli, servant of the Florentine republic," pp. 90-93. He notes, for example, that in 1502, Niccolò had cordial relations with both Alamanno and Jacopo Salviati: see ibid., p. 90.

64. "In addition to" The Martelli family had other members of importance, including Gian Francesco Martelli, a merchant whose travels are mentioned on several occasions in Niccolò's correspondence (Atkinson and Sices, pp. 35, 39, 145) and a Francesco Martelli, mentioned as a teller of tall tales (Atkinson & Sices, pp. 337, 536). After Leonardo da Vinci moved back to Milan in 1506, he returned to Florence to support his inheritance of the property of his uncle Francesco and, in 1506-1507, stayed in the house of Piero di Braccio Martelli, a wealthy patron of the arts and mathematician (Bramly, Leonardo, p. 357). It is therefore intriguing to realize that this man's father, Braccio Martelli, had been a very close friend of the young Lorenzo de' Medici (Trexler, Public Life, p. 436).

64. "Nothing indicates that" In fact, a letter from Piero Soderini's brother Francesco to NM on 29 May 1504 suggests that Niccolò has just written offering to establish the relation of compare. Atkinson & Sices, Machiavelli and His Friends, #90, p. 101. A prior letter from Francesco Soderinio only refers to Niccolò as "Very Dear Friend." 19 Aug. 1502, ibid., #29, p.47.

64. The key document: For a careful analysis, see Martelli, "Prehistoria (medicea) di Machiavelli."

65. Even before this: On the evidence that Niccolò was a protégé of the Medici before his election as Second Chancellor in 1498, see M. Martelli, "Preistoria (medicea) di Machiavelli," Studi di filologia italiana, Vol. 29 (1971), 377-405. Whether Niccolò himself had a personal acquaintance with Giuliano de' Medici, the older son of Lorenzo the Magnificent is unclear. Such contacts are possible, however, because Giuliano, ten years younger than Niccolò, had been associated with a confraternity in the quarter where the Machiavelli family lived. In 1491, Giuliano de' Medici was master of the Vangelista youth confraternity, which that year put on a play written by Lorenzo the Magnificent (Trexler, p. 449). The possibility that Niccolò had known Giuliano de' Medici when the latter was a boy might explain why, when Machiavelli was imprisoned and tortured after losing office in 1512, he wrote three poems to Giuliano complaining of his treatment as a "poet." Machiavelli is known to have written several carnival songs whose dates are highly controversial. If they were composed for the carnival festivals organized by the Medici in the years before Savonarola's rise to power, they might situate Niccolò Machiavelli and Giuliano de Medici in the social circles.

65. Becchi’s family had long been: For the relationship between Gentile Becchi and Lorenzo the Magnificent, see Trexler, Public Life in Renaissance Florence, p. 119 n. 130, pp. 429-32, 435. After 1502, another member of the Becchi family, Niccolò, was supported on election to the Signoria by Jacopo Salviati, an aristocrat who--after supporting Soderini’s election--became one of his leading enemies and, after 1512, was closely allied with the Medici regime (Butters, Governors and Governed, p. 316 and passim).

65. Corroborating evidence is provided: The group of powerful men linked to Alamanno Salviati and his cousin Jacopo is clearly described in Butters, Governors and Government, pp. 63-65. In addition to friendships with Lanfredino Lanfredini, Giovanbattista Ridolfi and Cosimo de' Pazzi, the Salviati had direct ties of marriage to the Medici. Jacopo married Lucrezia, sister of Cardinal Giovanni Medici and took under his protection the Caterina Sforza, the widow of Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de Medici (who died in 1499 after playing a major role in the downfall of Savonarola

65. "I am very happy": Alamanno Salviati to Niccolò Machiavelli, 23 December 1502, in James Atkinson and David Sices, eds., Machiavelli and his Friends , #67, p. 79 (italics added). The "we" here would seem to be the same coalition responsible .

67. "Although Piero Soderini" It was estimated at the time that about 25% of the votes electing Soderini in September 1502 were due to Alamanno Salviati and his brother Jacopo. Butters, Governors and Governed, pp. 44-46. Cf. Tomassini, Machiavelli, I, 237- 238.

67. "when Alamanno was in Bibbona": Biaggio Buonaccorsi to NM, October 6, 1506, in Atkinson and Sices, Machiavelli and His Friends, #127, p. 141. Buonaccorsi adds "Note this, if you were not really totally clear about his opinion" (thus underscoring Niccolò's persistent hope that Salviati had not become hostile to him. By "the ten," Alammano meant the "Ten of War," which Niccolò served as secretary. The issue that triggered personal animosity seems to have been Niccolò's energetic support for a citizen militia.

67. "Honored Patron": NM to Alamanno Salviati, September 28, 1509, Machiavelli and His Friends, #G, p. 436.

67. On November 3, 1503: Battista Machiavelli to NM, November 9, 1503, Machiavelli and His Friends, #74, pp. 86-87.

68. But some letters and texts: The most powerful example of Niccolò's opinion of Soderini is this epigram: "That night when Piero Soderini died, his spirit went to the mouth of Hell. Pluto roared: 'Why to Hell: Silly spirit, go up into Limbo with all the rest of the babies.'" In Machiavelli, Chief Writings, ed. Gilbert, III, 1463.

68. Conversely, when Soderini fell: Tomassini, Machiavelli, I, 171-72. .See Chapter 10.

68. In twentieth-century terms: "The offices of the Chancery, even the assistantships, were normally filled by doctors of law, notaries or literary men of some reputation... Such qualifications were possessed not only by his [Niccolò's] colleagues and predecessors, but also by his successors and subordinates. Many of these left written works which are remembered in the histories of literature or at least in the pages of other scholars." Ridolfi, Machiavelli p. 16. "To be a man of letters, that is, to read and write Latin, is a requirement of office [as Chancellor]. Chancery officials are expected and encouraged to produce works of literary quality, sooner or later, either in their spare time or in their retirement." de Grazia, Machiavelli in Hell, p. 34. See also Black, "Machiavelli, servant of the Florentine republic".

68. Niccolò’s most serious rival: " In addition to this professor, Francesco Gaddi, Other rivals were a notary (Andrea di Romolo), who like Gaddi had experience in the Chancery, and Francesco di ser Barone, who became "notorious for having manipulated the record of the martyr's [sic Savonarola] trials. ... It was truly a miracle that two mediocre people of long experience in the Chanceries, and a proved scoundrel with his part in that peaceful revolution to recommend him should all three have been passed over in favour of a young man of no reputation, very little experience, and brilliant intellect." Ridolfi, Machiavelli, p. 15.

68. Such positions were thus: Atkinson & Sices , p. 6; Pléiade, p. 1469. When Niccolò was dismissed from office in 1512, his successor (Niccolò Michelozzi) was a senior secretary with long experience serving the Medici. Ridolfi, Machiavelli, p. 134; Black, "Machiavelli, servant of the Florentine republic," p. 86. As noted above, these general requirements were met by all three of Niccolò's competitors in the election of June 18.

68. After taking office: For example, Piero Soderini, elected Gonfaloniere for life or head of government in 1500; his brother Francesco Soderini, Cardinal of Volterra; Niccolò Valori, later Florentine Ambassador to France; Luca d'Antonio degli Albizzi, who served on the Ten of War as well as in diplomatic posts (Atkinson & Sices, p. 438); Leonardo Guidotti, elected to the Ten of War in 1500 (Atkinson & Sices. p. 442), Luigi Guicciardini, whose brother Francesco was to become a close friend.

68. "Your essay and the description": Niccolò Valori to NM, October 22, 1502, Machiavelli and His Friends, #32, p. 49. Valori immediate adds: "I, in truth, discussing it with Piero Soderini, gave it its due."

69. "I can scarcely express": Bartolomeo Vespucci to NM, June 4, 1504, Machiavelli and His Friends, #92, p. 103.

69. Not surprisingly, many Florentines: See Michele Luzzati, Una Guerra di Populo. The tradition goes back at least to Dante: see Inferno XXXIII, 82 (quoted below in Chapter 6).

69. After the interlude of Savonarola: "When Machiavelli first took office, the Florentines' main preoccupation was the recapture of Pisa, and one could say that every internal or external piece of business which passed through the Chancery bore the mark of that war." Ridolfi, Machiavelli, p. 22.

70. In May 1499, he wrote: For the date, see Ridolfi, Machiavelli, pp. 23, 263.

70. In July, a second": It is extremely interesting that these first missions were to leaders with marriage ties to the Popoleschi branch of the Medici. The daughter of Jacopo IV d'Appiani married Lorenzo dei Pierfrancesco de Medici. Caterina Sforza's second husband had been Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de Medici -- and their son became a condottiere known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere who married Jacopo Salviati's daughter. Butters, Governors and Governed, p. 65; ed. Pléiade, Tableaux Généologiques, hors planche. Giovanni was highly favored by Machiavelli in the last years of his life.

70. The Signoria decided the next step: Ridolfi, Machiavelli, pp. 27-29. As Ridolfi notes, however, there is little reason "to attribute the machiavellian method of punishing Vitelli to Machiavelli himself" (p. 29).

70. At this moment: In the last chapter, the immediate consequence was described: Ludovico Sforza fled Milan, which was taken over by the French. Early in 1500, Ludovico momentarily re-emerged with Swiss and German mercenaries, quickly retook Milan -- and just as quickly lost it again, to be imprisoned this time. While Leonardo, having lost his patron, set out to find a new home, Niccolò was soon traveling on important missions.

71. Then one of the commissioners: Ridolfi, Machiavelli, pp. 30-33. The Commissioners were Luca degli Albizzi and Giovambattista Ridolfi. Ridolfi fell ill and returned home, l eaving Albizzi and Niccolò as the official representatives of Florence on the scene of the campaign. The mission coincided with important changes in Niccolò's private life. On 10 May, 1500, Bernardo Machiavelli died. Niccolò's mother had died four years earlier. His younger brother Totto chose a career in the Church, his two sisters were married. Though now the eldest son, responsible for his family's affairs, Niccolò had little time to himself (ibid., p. 34).

71. It was necessary to renew: For the mission to France, see Ridolfi, Machiavelli, chap. 4, pp. 35-43.

72. And by astute negotiation: Ridolfi, Machiavelli, pp. 40-43.

72. "Thus, King Louis lost": NM, The Prince, chap. 3, ed. Mansfield, p. 15. "Rouen" was Georges d’Amboise, cardinal of Rouen--and brother of Charles d’Amboise, who became the French governor of Milan after 1506 and in that capacity was Leonardo’s patron.