The life of Lorenzo de' Medici, called the Magnificent / by William Roscoe.

  • William Roscoe
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The life of Lorenzo de' Medici, called the Magnificent / by William Roscoe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    18/574 (page 12)
    justly observes, neither the deep research of criticism, nor the assistance of rare books was necessary. In the few attempts which he has made to afford additional informa- tion, he has resorted principally to Negri,* and Varillas,t whose authority, nevertheless, he has himself deservedly impeached, and whose inaccuracy renders their testimony of little weight, when not expressly confirmed by other writers. About twenty years since, several learned Italians united in drawing up memoirs of such of their countrymen as had distinguished themselves in different branches of science and arts;{t and the life of Lorenzo, amongst others, fell to the pen of P. Bruno Bruni, professor of divinity in Florence. Unfortunately, however, it was executed without any new researches, being entirely compiled from previous publica- tions; and it must be owned that the work derives no advan- tages from the professional prejudices or opinions of its author. The conspiracy of the Pazzi is one of the most striking events that ever engaged the attention of the his- torian; and the circumstances which accompanied it compose a body of evidence as accurate and authentic as history can produce. But the delicacy of the biographer shrunk from the relation of an incident that involved in the guilt of pre- meditated assassination, the Vicar of Christ upon the earth! This event is accordingly passed over with a general refe- rence to previous relations; and an annotation is subjoined, tending to impeach the evidence of one who was an eye- witness of the transaction, and whose narrative was laid before the public immediately after the event took place.§ No extraordinary number of pages was devoted to the work; and it may be enough to remark, that the resemblance of Lorenzo de’ Medici does not well associate with a set of petty portraits, hung up by way of ornament, in frames of equal sizes. In order to do justice to such a subject, a larger canvass is necessary. * Negri, Istoria degli scrittori Fiorentini. Ferrara, 1722. | Anecd. de Florence, ut sup. 1 Elogj degli Uomini illustri Toscani. In Lucca, 1771, &c. 4 vols. 8vo. § Angeli Politiani Conjurationis Pactiane, anni 1478, Commentarium: in‘eodem anno excusum, in 4to, iterum typis impressum Neapoli, anng 1769, cura et studio Joannis Adimari,