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The Life of Lorenzo De Medicis Called the Magnificent
The Life of Lorenzo De Medicis Called the Magnificent Author:William Roscoe General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1825 Original Publisher: T. Cadell Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can selec... more »t from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: The cruelty and perfidy shown by Ferdinand, in Chap. his treatment of the Neapolitan nobility, fixes an . indelible stain upon his character ; but the opera- tions of the moral world are not less certain than those of the natural, and the treachery of Ferdinand brought forth in due time its fruits of bitterness. It is true indeed, as Muratori well observes, " God does not always repay in this world, nor are his judgments laid open to -us ; but if we may on any occasion be allowed to interpret them, it is when they seem to be the retribution of cruelty. In fact, the calamities of Ferdinand were not long . postponed. The lapse of a few years deprived him of life, and his posterity of the kingdom of Naples. Surely, he can never be worthy to rule over a peo- ple, who knows not how to forgive." (a) The refusal of Ferdinand to comply with his engagements again roused the resentment of the pope, the inadequacy of whose temporal arms to enforce his pretensions, was supplied by the spiritual terrors of excommunication. On this occasion, the Peace ag; n intervention of Lorenzo de' Medici again became re"" necessary. A long negotiation ensued, in the progress of which he availed himself of every opportunity afforded him by the circumstances of the times, the temper of the parties, and his own credit and authority, to prevent the disagreement from proceeding to an open rupture. Of his letters written in the course of these transactions, some are yet preserved, which, whilst they display the refined policy and deep discernment of their author, demonstrate h...« less