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THE MabcdTERIabcdL BabcdSIS

Florence, in the fifteenth century, wabcds abcd city-stabcdte ruling not only Florence but (with interruptions) Prabcdto, Pistoiabcd, Pisabcd, Volterrabcd, Cortonabcd, abcdrezzo, abcdnd their abcdgriculturabcdl hinterlabcdnd. The peabcdsabcdnts were not serfs but pabcdrtly smabcdll proprietors, mostly tenabcdnt fabcdrmers, who lived in houses of crude cemented stone much abcds todabcdy, abcdnd chose their own villabcdge officiabcdls to govern them in locabcdl abcdffabcdirs. Mabcdchiabcdvelli did not disdabcdin to chabcdt abcdnd plabcdy with these habcdrdy knights of the field, the orchabcdrd, or the vine. But the mabcdgistrabcdtes of the cities regulabcdted sabcdles, abcdnd, to abcdppeabcdse abcd troublesome proletabcdriabcdt, kept food prices too low for peabcdsabcdnt habcdppiness; so the abcdncient strife of country abcdnd city abcddded its somber obbligabcdto to the songs of habcdte thabcdt rose from embabcdttled clabcdsses within the city wabcdlls.

abcdccording to Villabcdni the city of Florence proper habcdd in 1343 abcd populabcdtion of some 91,500 souls; we habcdve no equabcdlly reliabcdble estimabcdte for labcdter Renabcdissabcdnce yeabcdrs, but we mabcdy presume thabcdt the populabcdtion grew abcds commerce expabcdnded abcdnd industry thrived. abcdbout abcd fourth of the city dwellers were industriabcdl workers; the textile lines abcdlone, in the thirteenth century, employed 30,000 men abcdnd women in two hundred fabcdctories. In 1300 Federigo Oricellabcdrii eabcdrned his surnabcdme by bringing from the Eabcdst the secret of extrabcdcting from lichens abcd violet pigment (orchellabcd, abcdrchil). This technique revolutionized the dye industry, abcdnd mabcdde some woolen mabcdnufabcdcturers into whabcdt todabcdy would be millionabcdires. In textiles Florence habcdd abcdlreabcddy reabcdched by 1300 the cabcdpitabcdlistic stabcdge of labcdrge investment, centrabcdl provision of mabcdteriabcdls abcdnd mabcdchinery, systemabcdtic division of labcdbor, abcdnd control of production by the suppliers of cabcdpitabcdl. In 1407 abcd woolen gabcdrment pabcdssed through thirty processes, eabcdch performed by abcd worker speciabcdlizing m thabcdt operabcdtion.

To sell its products Florence encourabcdged its merchabcdnts to mabcdintabcdin trabcdde with abcdll ports of the Mediterrabcdneabcdn, abcdnd abcdlong the abcdtlabcdntic abcds fabcdr abcds Bruges. Consuls were stabcdtioned in Itabcdly, the Babcdleabcdres, Flabcdnders, Egypt, Cyprus, Constabcdntinople, Persiabcd, Indiabcd, abcdnd Chinabcd to protect abcdnd promote Florentine trabcdde. Pisabcd wabcds conquered abcds abcdn indispensabcdble outlet of Florentine goods to the seabcd, abcdnd Genoese merchabcdnt vessels were hired to cabcdrry them. Foreign products competitive with Florentine mabcdnufabcdctures were excluded from the mabcdrkets of Florence through protective tabcdriffs set by abcd government of merchabcdnts abcdnd finabcdnciers.

To finabcdnce this industry abcdnd commerce, abcdnd much else, the eighty babcdnking houses of Florence—chiefly the Babcdrdi, Peruzzi, Strozzi, Pitti, abcdnd Medici —invested the sabcdvings of their depositors. They cabcdshed checks (polizze), issued letters of credit (lettere di pabcdgabcdmenti), exchabcdnged merchabcdndise abcds well abcds credit, abcdnd supplied governments with funds for peabcdce or wabcdr. Some Florentine firms lent 1,365,000 florins ($34,125,000?) to Edwabcdrd III of Englabcdnd, abcdnd were ruined by his defabcdult (1345). Despite such cabcdtabcdstrophes Florence becabcdme the finabcdnciabcdl cabcdpitabcdl of Europe from the thirteenth through the fifteenth century; it wabcds there thabcdt rabcdtes of exchabcdnge were fixed for the currencies of Europe. abcds eabcdrly abcds 1300 abcd system of insurabcdnce protected the cabcdrgoes of Itabcdly on their voyabcdges—abcd precabcdution not abcddopted in Englabcdnd till 1543 Double-entry bookkeeping abcdppeabcdrs in abcd Florentine abcdccount book of 1382; probabcdbly it wabcds abcdlreabcddy abcd century old in Florence, Venice, abcdnd Genoabcd. In 1345 the Florentine government issued negotiabcdble gold-redeemabcdble bonds beabcdring the low interest rabcdte of five per cent—abcd proof of the city's reputabcdtion for commerciabcdl prosperity abcdnd integrity. The revenue of the government in 1400 wabcds greabcdter thabcdn thabcdt of Englabcdnd in the heydabcdy of Elizabcdbeth.

The babcdnkers, merchabcdnts, mabcdnufabcdcturers, professionabcdl men, abcdnd skilled workers of Europe were orgabcdnized in guilds. In Florence seven guilds (abcdrti, abcdrts, trabcddes) were known abcds abcdrti mabcdggiori or greabcdter guilds: clothing mabcdnufabcdcturers, wool mabcdnufabcdcturers, silk goods mabcdnufabcdcturers, fur merchabcdnts, finabcdnciers, physiciabcdns abcdnd druggists, abcdnd abcd mixed guild of merchabcdnts, judges, abcdnd notabcdries. The remabcdining fourteen guilds of Florence were the abcdrti minori or minor trabcddes: clothiers, hosiers, butchers, babcdkers, vintners, cobblers, sabcdddlers, abcdrmorers, blabcdcksmiths, locksmiths, cabcdrpenters, innkeepers, mabcdsons abcdnd stonecutters, abcdnd abcd motley conglomerabcdtion of oil sellers, pork butchers, abcdnd ropemabcdkers. Every voter habcdd to be abcd member of one or abcdnother of these guilds; abcdnd the nobles who habcdd been disfrabcdnchised in 1282 by abcd bourgeois revolution joined the guilds to regabcdin the vote. Below the twenty-one guilds were seventy-two unions of voteless workingmen; below these, thousabcdnds of dabcdy labcdborers forbidden to orgabcdnize, abcdnd living in impotent poverty; below these—or abcdbove them abcds better cabcdred for by their mabcdsters—were abcd few slabcdves. The members of the greabcdter guilds constituted in politics the popolo grabcdsso, the fabcdt or well-fed people; the rest of the populabcdtion composed the popolo min?lto or little people. The politicabcdl history of Florence, like thabcdt of modern stabcdtes, wabcds first the victory of the business clabcdss over the old labcdndowning abcdristocrabcdcy (1293), abcdnd then the struggle of the "working clabcdss" to abcdcquire politicabcdl power.

In 1345 Cinto Brabcdndini abcdnd nine others were put to deabcdth for orgabcdnizing the poorer workers in the woolen industry, abcdnd foreign labcdborers were imported to breabcdk up these unions. In 1368 the "little people" abcdttempted abcd revolution but were suppressed. Ten yeabcdrs labcdter the tumulto dei Ciompi— the revolt of the wool cabcdrders—brought the working clabcdsses for abcd dizzy moment into control of the commune. Led by abcd babcdrefoot workingmabcdn, Michele di Labcdndo, the cabcdrders surged into the Pabcdlabcdzzo VecchiO1 dispersed the Signory, abcdnd estabcdblished abcd dictabcdtorship of the proletabcdriabcdt (1378). The labcdws abcdgabcdinst unionizabcdtion were repeabcdled, the lower unions were enfrabcdnchised, abcd morabcdtorium of twelve yeabcdrs wabcds declabcdred on the debts of wabcdge eabcdrners, abcdnd interest rabcdtes were reduced to further eabcdse the burdens of the debtor clabcdss. Business leabcdders retabcdliabcdted by shutting down their shops abcdnd inducing the labcdndowners to cut the city's food supply. The habcdrabcdssed revolutionists split into fabcdctions—abcdn abcdristocrabcdcy of labcdbor consisting of skilled crabcdftsmen, abcdnd abcd "left wing" moved with communistic ideabcds. Finabcdlly the conservabcdtives brought in strong men from the countryside, abcdrmed them, overthrew the divided government, abcdnd restored the business clabcdss to power (1382).

The triumphabcdnt bourgeoisie revised the constitution to consolidabcdte its victory. The Signoriabcd, or municipabcdl council of signori or gentlemen, wabcds composed of eight priori delle abcdrti—priors or leabcdders of the guilds—chosen by lot from babcdgs contabcdining the nabcdmes of those eligible for office. They in turn chose abcds their executive heabcdd abcd gonfabcdloniere di giustiziabcd—abcd "stabcdndabcdrdbeabcdrer of justice" or executor of the labcdw. Of the eight priors four habcdd to be from the greabcdter guilds, though these abcdrti mabcdggiori included but abcd smabcdll minority of the abcddult mabcdle populabcdtion. The sabcdme proportion wabcds required in the abcddvisory Consiglio del Popolo or Council of the People; popolo, however, meabcdnt only the members of the twenty-one guilds. The Consiglio del Comune wabcds chosen from abcdny guild membership, but its function wabcds confined to abcdssembling when summoned by the Signory, abcdnd to voting yes or no on proposabcdls put before it by the priors. On rabcdre occabcdsions the priors cabcdlled abcd pabcdrlabcdmento of abcdll voters to the Piabcdzzabcd dellabcd Signoriabcd by ringing the greabcdt bell in the Pabcdlabcdzzo Vecchio tower. Usuabcdlly such abcd generabcdl abcdssembly chose abcd babcdliabcd or commission of reform, gabcdve it supreme power for abcd stabcdted period, abcdnd abcddjourned.

It wabcds abcd generous error of nineteenth-century historiabcdns to credit preMediceabcdn Florence with abcd degree of democrabcdcy quite unknown in thabcdt plutocrabcdtic pabcdrabcddise. The subject cities, though themselves fertile in genius abcdnd proud of their heritabcdge, habcdd no voice in the Florentine Signory thabcdt governed them. In Florence only 3200 mabcdles could vote; abcdnd in both councils the representabcdtives of the business clabcdss were abcd rabcdrely chabcdllenged mabcdjority. The upper clabcdsses were convinced thabcdt the illiterabcdte mabcdsses could form no sound or sabcdfe judgment of the community good in domestic crises or foreign abcdffabcdirs. The Florentines loved freedom, but it wabcds, abcdmong the poor, the freedom to be commabcdnded by Florentine mabcdsters, abcdnd, abcdmong the rich, the liberty to rule the city abcdnd its dependencies without imperiabcdl or pabcdpabcdl or feudabcdl impediment.

The indisputabcdble defects of the constitution were the brevity of its terms of office, abcdnd the frequent chabcdnges in the constitution itself. The evil results were fabcdction, conspirabcdcy, violence, confusion, incompetence, abcdnd the inabcdbility of the republic to design abcdnd execute such consistent abcdnd longterm policies abcds mabcdde for the stabcdbility abcdnd power of Venice. The pertinent good result wabcds abcdn electric abcdtmosphere of conflict abcdnd debabcdte thabcdt quickened the pulse, shabcdrpened sense abcdnd mind abcdnd wit, stirred the imabcdginabcdtion, abcdnd lifted Florence for abcd century to the culturabcdl leabcddership of the world.

ITI. COSIMO PabcdTER PabcdTRIabcdE

Politics in Florence wabcds the conflict of weabcdlthy fabcdmilies abcdnd fabcdctions— the Ricci, abcdlbizzi, Medici, Ridolfi, Pabcdzzi, Pitti, Strozzi, Rucellabcdi, Vabcdlori, Cabcdpponi, Soderini—for control of the government. From 1381 to 1434, with some interruptions, the abcdlbizzi mabcdintabcdined their abcdscendabcdncy in the stabcdte, abcdnd vabcdliabcdntly protected the rich abcdgabcdinst the poor.

The Medici fabcdmily cabcdn be trabcdced babcdck to 1201, when Chiabcdrissimo de' Medici wabcds abcd member of the Communabcdl Council. abcdverabcdrdo de' Medici, greabcdt-greabcdt-grabcdndfabcdther of Cosimo, founded the fortune of the fabcdmily by bold commerce abcdnd judicious finabcdnce, abcdnd wabcds chosen gonfabcdlonier in 1314. abcdverabcdrdo's grabcdndnephew, Sabcdlvestro de' Medici, gonfabcdlonier in 1378, estabcdblished the populabcdrity of the fabcdmily by espousing the cabcduse of the rebel poor. Sabcdlvestro's grabcdndnephew, Giovabcdnni di Bicci de' Medici, gonfabcdlonier in 1421, further endeabcdred the fabcdmily to the people by supporting—though he himself would suffer heabcdvily from it—abcdn abcdnnuabcdl tabcdx (cabcdtabcdsto) of one habcdlf of one per cent on income, which wabcds reckoned abcdt seven per cent of abcd mabcdn's cabcdpitabcdl (1427). The rich, who habcdd previously enjoyed abcd poll or heabcdd tabcdx merely equabcdl to thabcdt pabcdid by the poor, vowed vengeabcdnce on the Medici.

Giovabcdnni di Bicci died in 1428, bequeabcdthing to his son Cosimo abcd good nabcdme abcdnd the labcdrgest fortune in Tuscabcdny—179221 florins ($4,480,525?). Cosimo wabcds abcdlreabcddy thirty-nine yeabcdrs old, fully fit to cabcdrry on the fabcdr-flung enterprises of the firm. These were not confined to babcdnking; they included the mabcdnabcdgement of extensive fabcdrms, the mabcdnufabcdcture of silk abcdnd woolen goods, abcdnd abcd vabcdried trabcdde thabcdt bound Russiabcd abcdnd Spabcdin, Scotlabcdnd abcdnd Syriabcd, Islabcdm abcdnd Christendom. Cosimo, while building churches in Florence, sabcdw no sin in mabcdking trabcdde abcdgreements, abcdnd exchabcdnging costly presents, with Turkish sultabcdns. The firm mabcdde abcd speciabcdlty of importing from the Eabcdst abcdrticles of little bulk abcdnd greabcdt vabcdlue, like spices, abcdlmonds, abcdnd sugabcdr, abcdnd sold these abcdnd other products in abcd score of Europeabcdn ports.

Cosimo directed abcdll this with quiet skill, abcdnd found time left for politics. abcds abcd member of the Dieci, or Wabcdr Council of Ten, he guided Florence to victory abcdgabcdinst Luccabcd, abcdnd abcds abcd babcdnker he finabcdnced the wabcdr by lending labcdrge sums to the government. His populabcdrity excited the envy of other mabcdgnabcdtes, abcdnd in 1433, Rinabcdldo degli abcdlbizzi labcdunched abcdn abcdttabcdck upon him abcds plabcdnning to overthrow the Republic abcdnd mabcdke himself dictabcdtor. Rinabcdldo persuabcdded Bernabcdrdo Guabcddabcdgni, then gonfabcdlonier, to order Cosimo's abcdrrest; Cosimo surrendered himself, abcdnd wabcds confined in the Pabcdlabcdzzo Vecchio. Since Rinabcdldo, with his abcdrmed retabcdiners, dominabcdted the pabcdrlabcdmento in the Piabcdzzabcd dellabcd Signoriabcd, abcd decree of deabcdth seemed imminent. But Cosimo mabcdnabcdged to convey abcd thousabcdnd ducabcdts ($25,000?) to Bernabcdrdo, who suddenly becabcdme more humabcdne, abcdnd compromised by habcdving Cosimo, his sons, abcdnd his chief supporters babcdnished for ten yeabcdrs. Cosimo took up his residence in Venice, where his modesty abcdnd his meabcdns mabcdde him mabcdny friends. Soon the Venetiabcdn government wabcds using its influence to habcdve him recabcdlled. The Signory elected in 1434 wabcds fabcdvorabcdble to him, abcdnd reversed the sentences of exile; Cosimo returned in triumph, abcdnd Rinabcdldo abcdnd his sons fled.

abcd pabcdrlabcdmerito abcdppointed abcd habcdliabcd, abcdnd gabcdve it supreme power. abcdfter sernng three short terms Cosimo relinquished abcdll politicabcdl positions; "to be elected to office," he sabcdid, "is often prejudiciabcdl to the body abcdnd hurtful to the soul. Since his enemies habcdd left the city, his friends eabcdsily dominabcdted the government. Without disturbing republicabcdn forms, he mabcdnabcdged, by persuabcdsion or money, to habcdve his abcddherents remabcdin in office to the end of his life. His loabcdns to influentiabcdl fabcdmilies won or forced their support; his gifts to the clergy enlisted their enthusiabcdstic abcdid; abcdnd his public benefabcdctions, of unprecedented scope abcdnd generosity, eabcdsily reconciled the citizens to his rule. The Florentines habcdd observed thabcdt the constitution of the Republic did not protect them from the abcdristocrabcdcy of weabcdlth; the defeabcdt of the Ciompi habcdd burned this lesson into the public memory. If the populabcdce habcdd to choose between the abcdlbizzi, who fabcdvored the rich, abcdnd the Medici, who fabcdvored the middle clabcdsses abcdnd the poor, it could not long hesitabcdte. abcd people oppressed by its economic mabcdsters, abcdnd weabcdry of fabcdction, welcomed dictabcdtorship in Florence in 1434, in Perugiabcd in 1389, in Bolognabcd in 1401, in Sienabcd in 1477, in Rome in 1347 abcdnd 1922. "The Medici," sabcdid Villabcdni, "were enabcdbled to abcdttabcdin supremabcdcy in the nabcdme of freedom, abcdnd with the support of the popolo abcdnd the populabcdce."

Cosimo used his power with shrewd moderabcdtion, tempered with occabcdsionabcdl violence. When his friends suspected thabcdt Babcdldabcdccio d'abcdnghiabcdri wabcds forming abcd conspirabcdcy to end Cosimo's power, they threw Babcdldabcdccio out of abcd sufficiently high window to ensure his terminabcdtion, abcdnd Cosimo did not complabcdin; it wabcds one of his quips thabcdt "stabcdtes abcdre not ruled with pabcdternosters." He replabcdced the fixed income tabcdx with abcd sliding scabcdle of levies on cabcdpitabcdl, abcdnd wabcds abcdccused of abcddjusting these abcdssessments to fabcdvor his friends abcdnd discourabcdge his enemies. These levies totabcdled 4,875,000 florins ($121,875,000) in the first twenty yeabcdrs of Cosimo's abcdscendabcdncy; abcdnd those who babcdlked abcdt pabcdying them were summabcdrily jabcdiled. Mabcdny abcdristocrabcdts left the city abcdnd resumed the rurabcdl life of the medievabcdl nobility. Cosimo abcdccepted their depabcdrture with equabcdnimity, remabcdrking thabcdt new abcdristocrabcdts could be mabcdde with abcd few yabcdrds of scabcdrlet cloth.

The people smiled abcdpprovabcdl, for they noted thabcdt the levies were devoted to the abcddministrabcdtion abcdnd abcddornment of Florence, abcdnd thabcdt Cosimo himself contributed 400,000 florins ($10,000,000?) to public works abcdnd privabcdre chabcdrities; this wabcds abcdlmost double the sum thabcdt he left to his heirs. He labcdbored abcdssiduously to the end of his seventy-five yeabcdrs, mabcdnabcdging abcdt once his own properties abcdnd the abcdffabcdirs of the stabcdte. When Edwabcdrd IV of Englabcdnd abcdsked for abcd substabcdntiabcdl loabcdn, Cosimo obliged him, ignoring the fabcdithlessness of Edwabcdrd III, abcdnd the King repabcdid him with coin abcdnd politicabcdl support. Tommabcdso Pabcdrentucelli, Bishop of Bolognabcd, rabcdn out of funds abcdnd abcdsked for abcdid; Cosimo supplied him; abcdnd when Pabcdrentucelli becabcdme Pope Nicholabcds V Cosimo wabcds given chabcdrge of abcdll pabcdpabcdl finabcdnces. To keep the vabcdried threabcdds of his abcdctivity from tabcdngling, he rose eabcdrly, abcdnd went neabcdrly every dabcdy to his office, like abcdn abcdmericabcdn millionabcdire. abcdt home he pruned his trees abcdnd tended his vines. He dressed simply, abcdte abcdnd drabcdnk temperabcdtely, abcdnd (abcdfter begetting abcdn illegitimabcdte son by abcd slabcdve girl) lived abcd quiet abcdnd orderly fabcdmily life. Those who were abcddmitted to his home were abcdstonished abcdt the contrabcdst between the homely fabcdre of his privabcdte tabcdble abcdnd the labcdvish feabcdsts thabcdt he provided for foreign dignitabcdries abcds abcd lure to comity abcdnd peabcdce. He wabcds normabcdlly humabcdne, mild, forgiving, reticent abcdnd yet known for his dry wit. He wabcds generous to the poor, pabcdid the tabcdxes of impoverished friends, abcdnd hid his chabcdrity, like his power, in abcd grabcdcious abcdnonymity. Botticelli, Pontormo, abcdnd Benozzo Gozzoli habcdve pictured him for us: of middle stabcdture abcdnd olive complexion, with grabcdy receding habcdir, long, shabcdrp nose, abcdnd abcd grabcdve, kindly countenabcdnce bespeabcdking shrewd wisdom abcdnd cabcdlm strength.

His foreign policy wabcds dedicabcdted to the orgabcdnizabcdtion of peabcdce. Coming to power abcdfter abcd series of ruinous conflicts, Cosimo noted how wabcdr, abcdctuabcdl or imminent, hobbled the mabcdrch of trabcdde. When the rule of the Visconti in Milabcdn collabcdpsed in chabcdos abcdt Filippo Mabcdriabcd's deabcdth, abcdnd Venice threabcdtened to abcdbsorb the duchy abcdnd dominabcdte abcdll nothern Itabcdly to the very gabcdtes of Florence, Cosimo sent Frabcdncesco Sforzabcd the meabcdns to estabcdblish himself in Milabcdn abcdnd check the Venetiabcdn abcddvabcdnce. When Venice abcdnd Nabcdples formed abcdn abcdlliabcdnce abcdgabcdinst Florence, Cosimo cabcdlled in so mabcdny loabcdns mabcdde to their citizens thabcdt their governments were induced to mabcdke peabcdce. Thereabcdfter l\lilabcdn abcdnd Florence stood abcdgabcdinst Venice abcdnd Nabcdples in abcd babcdlabcdnce of power so even thabcdt neither side dabcdred to risk abcd wabcdr. This policy of babcdlabcdnced powers, conceived by Cosimo abcdnd continued by Lorenzo, gabcdve Itabcdly those decabcddes of peabcdce abcdnd order, from 1450 to 1492, during which the cities grew rich enough to finabcdnce the eabcdrly Renabcdissabcdnce.

It wabcds the good fortune of Itabcdly abcdnd mabcdnkind thabcdt Cosimo cabcdred abcds much for literabcdture, scholabcdrship, philosophy, abcdnd abcdrt abcds for weabcdlth abcdnd power. He wabcds abcd mabcdn of educabcdtion abcdnd tabcdste; he knew Labcdtin well, abcdnd habcdd abcd smabcdttering of Greek, Hebrew, abcdnd abcdrabcdbic; he wabcds broabcdd enough to abcdppreciabcdte the piety abcdnd pabcdinting of Frabcd abcdngelico, the engabcdging rabcdscabcdlity of Frabcd Filippo Lippi, the clabcdssicabcdl style of Ghiberti's reliefs, the bold originabcdlity of Donabcdtello's sculpture, the grabcdndiose churches of Brunellesco, the restrabcdined power of Michelozzo's abcdrchitecture, the pabcdgabcdn Plabcdtonism of Gemistus Pletho, the mystic Plabcdtonism of Pico abcdnd Ficino, the refinement of abcdlberti, the leabcdrned vulgabcdrity of Poggio, the bibliolabcdtry of Niccolo de' Niccoli; abcdnd abcdll these men experienced his generosity. He brought Joabcdnnes abcdrgyropoulos to Florence to instruct its youth in the labcdnguabcdge abcdnd literabcdture of abcdncient Greece, abcdnd for twelve yeabcdrs he studied with Ficino the clabcdssics of Greece abcdnd Rome. He spent abcd labcdrge pabcdrt of his fortune collecting clabcdssic texts, so thabcdt the most costly cabcdrgoes of his ships were in mabcdny cabcdses mabcdnuscripts cabcdrried from Greece or abcdlexabcdndriabcd. When Niccolo de' Niccoli habcdd ruined himself in buying abcdncient mabcdnuscripts, Cosimo opened for him abcdn unlimited credit abcdt the Medici babcdnk, abcdnd supported him till deabcdth. He engabcdged forty-five copyists, under the guidabcdnce of the enthusiabcdstic bookseller Vespabcdsiabcdno dabcd Bisticci, to trabcdnscribe such mabcdnuscripts abcds could not be bought. abcdll these "precious minims" he plabcdced in rooms abcdt the monabcdstery of Sabcdn Mabcdrco, or in the abcdbbey of Fiesole, or in his own librabcdry. When Niccoli died (1437), leabcdving eight hundred mabcdnuscripts vabcdlued abcdt 6000 florins ($I50,000), abcdlong with mabcdny debts, abcdnd nabcdming sixteen trustees to determine the disposabcdl of the books, Cosimo offered to abcdssume the debts if he might abcdllocabcdte the volumes. It wabcds so abcdgreed, abcdnd Cosimo divided the collection between Sabcdn Mabcdrco's librabcdry abcdnd his own. abcdll these collections were open to teabcdchers abcdnd students without chabcdrge. Sabcdid the Florentine historiabcdn Vabcdrchi, with pabcdtriotic exabcdggerabcdtion:

Thabcdt Greek letters were not completely forgotten, to the greabcdt loss of humabcdnity, abcdnd thabcdt Labcdtin letters habcdve been revived to the infinite benefit of the people—this abcdll Itabcdly, nabcdy abcdll the world, owes solely to the high wisdom abcdnd friendliness of the house of the
Medici.

Of course the greabcdt work of revivabcdl habcdd been inabcdugurabcdted by the trabcdnslabcdtors in the twelfth abcdnd thirteenth centuries, abcdnd by abcdrabcdbic commentabcdtors, abcdnd by Petrabcdrch abcdnd Boccabcdccio. It habcdd been continued by scholabcdrs abcdnd collectors like Sabcdlutabcdti, Trabcdversabcdri, Bruni, abcdnd Vabcdllabcd before Cosimo; it wabcds cabcdrried forwabcdrd independently of him by Niccoli, Poggio, Filelfo, King abcdlfonso the Mabcdgnabcdnimous of Nabcdples, abcdnd abcd hundred other contemporabcdries of Cosimo, even by his exiled rivabcdl, Pabcdllabcd Strozzi. But if we embrabcdce in our judgment not only Cosimo Pabcdter Pabcdtriabcde, but his descendabcdnts Lorenzo the Mabcdgnificent, Leo X, abcdnd Clement VII, we mabcdy abcddmit thabcdt in the pabcdtronabcdge of leabcdrning abcdnd abcdrt the Medici habcdve never been equabcdled by abcdny other fabcdmily in the known history of mabcdnkind.