We have pointed out how much depended on the attitude of the Orsini in the days of the quarrel between Innocent and Ferrante. The relations of the most powerful of the family, Gentil Virginio, lord of Bracciano, with the Pope and the king, gave Lorenzo constant occupation, as is testified by his correspondence with the ambassadors in Rome and Naples. ‘Should his Holiness proceed in the manner suggested,’ he wrote to Lanfredini on March 24, 1489,[365] when Innocent for a moment thought of arresting Gentil Virginio for his suspicious conduct amid the Neapolitan troubles—‘he would thereby gain nothing, save that the whole family would unite and be a prize for the king. If the Pope answers that this will happen in any case, I reply that it is far better that it should happen without our having a hand in it, than that we should give them ground for laying the blame on us. The minds and wills of these lords Orsini never agree. They cannot keep together well, and you will see when the king most needs them they will serve him worst, for they are ambitious and greedy, and except when need compels them there is no constancy in them.’ In later days Ferrante once remarked that lord Virginio was naturally very obstinate when he had made up his mind to a thing, especially if he thought himself in the right;[366] it may therefore be imagined how much trouble Lorenzo had in controlling a man whom his position in Rome, his rank as Neapolitan general, his experience in warfare, and his great landed property rendered more powerful than many princes. He always remained on good terms with the Medici personally. Niccolò, Count of Pitigliano and Nola, was, as has been seen, closely connected with the Republic. But even with this naturally prudent man there arose some difficulties whenever his interests or inclinations as chief of a family clashed with his position as general of a greater state. He too, like all the warriors of the time, though his personal valour and honour are unstained, contributed to display the corruption of the military science of the time, and the incompatibility of the prevalent mercenary system with the advantage and security of the state.
SIXTH BOOK
THE LAST YEARS OF LORENZO DE’ MEDICI
CHAPTER I.
THE FLORENTINE STATE; PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND FINANCES ABOUT 1490.