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ANCESCO GUICCIARDINI
YB 2706
COUNSELS AND REFLECTIONS
OP
FRANCESCO GUICCIARDINI.
COUNSELS AND REFLECTIONS: . •
F rancesco Guicciardini
i|
LONDON:
KEGAN PAUL, TREN CH , T R O B N E R & CO., Lt ?
MDCCCXC.
PREFACE,
T he Ricordi Politici e C ivili of Francesco
Guicciardini, from which this translation is
made, appeared for the first time in an
authentic form in the year 1857, being
included in the first of the ten volumes of
Guicciardini’s miscellaneous writings pub
lished by the Counts Piero and Luigi
Guicciardini under the editorship of Signor
Giuseppe CanestrinL1
Signor Canestrini’s collection contains 403
Ricordi, taken, as he informs us, in their
original integrity from two separate manu
scripts, both in the author’s handwriting,
which had been preserved with the archives
1 Opere inedite d i Francesco G uicciardini illustrate
da Giuseppe Canestrinit e pubblicate per cura dei Conti
Piero e L u ig i G uicciardini, Firenze, 1857-67,
832841
vi PREFACE.
1
xvi PREFACE.
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X
Lodovico Guicciardini a.
X
A
XXX PREFACE,
T able B.
as
31
•g §
T able C.
Ricordi printed by Corbinelli, Fra Sisto, Sanso
vino, and Lodovico Guicciardini which are
not found in either o f the Guicciardini
M SS\ printed by Canestrini.
Fra Sisto and Sansovino.
Lodovico Guicciardini.
Corbincilu
|
\
COUNSELS AN D REFLECTIO NS .
1
20 COUNSELS AND REFLECTIONS OF
N
45
long, unless you be so in reality. I bed this
admonition from my father,
If
FRANCESCO GUICCIARDINI. ioi
259 See that you fall not into disfavour with him
who is set over you in your city, nor assume
the mode and tenor of your life to be of such
a sort that you can count on never coming into
his hands. For a thousand unforeseen cases
may arise wherein you will be compelled to
have
FRANCESCO GUICCIARDINI. XII
0
FRANCESCO G U IC C IARD IN I. 15$
l
158 COUNSELS AND REFLECTIONS OF
403 O in g e n ia m a g is a c r ia q u a m m a tu re f, said
Petrarch of the Florentine in tellect; and with
truth. For it is our characteristic quality to be
quick and subtle rather than grave and mature.
NOTES.
1
4
NOTES.
NO.
1. T h e siege o f Florence by the united forces o f Pope
Clem ent V II. and the Em peror Charles V .,
which Guicciardini here refers to as having at
the tim e he wrote lasted for seven m onths, began
in October 1529, and did not terminate till the
end o f A ugust 1530. T h is Reflection therefore
w as probably written in M ay or June 1530. T h e
reference to the continued resistance o f the Floren
tines in N o . 136, and to the em bassies o f Carducci
a n d others in N o . 171, show that the w hole series
o f Reflections, as far a s the last-nam ed number,
m ust have been written or transcribed by Guic
ciardini in 1530 during the siege. From April to
A ugust 1530 the author w as in R o m e ; see letter
dated April 8 5 , 1530, to his brother Jacopo, Op.
Ined. x. 149, and subsequent letters to his brother
L uigi, Op. In ed . ix. 148-156.
2. Cf. N o . 246.
4. Cf. N o * 291, 359.
5. Cf. N o * 261-262. A s to hope being a stronger
stim ulus than fea r , of. N o . 62.
6. Cf. N o s. 117, 257, 343.
7 -8 . Cf. N o . 310.
9 . C i N o . 322.
10. Cf. N o s. 292-293.
11. Cf. N o s. 265, 390.
13. Cf. N o . 300. I do not find any such conversation
recorded by T acitus.
174 NOTES.
wo.
14. CL N o . 366.
15 16. CL N o s. 281-282 ; and see the M editation (dated
Septem ber 1527, at Finocchieto, '*temporefesiis")
printed in the Rieardi Autobiograjici, O p. Ined.
x. 125-126, where the sam e reflections occur in
nearly identical terms. See also 1st. d Italia,
B ook viii. (voL ii. p. 227): “ N elle cose che dopo
lungo desiderio si ottengono, non trovano quasi
mai gli uom ini n£ la gioconditA. nb la felidtk che
prima si avevano im maginata."
17. CL N o . 279. T h is Reflection also will be found in
the M editation referred to in the preceding note.
Op. Ined. x. tax.
18. CL N o . 301.
19. Cf. N o. 380.
20. Cf. N o. 2 7 7 ; and see M achiavelli, Discorsi> iii. 6.
21. Cf. N o . 402, and see N o s. 38, 376. A s to the
necessity for a partisan governm ent being adopted
by the M edici, see Discorso quarto intomo alle
mutazioni e riforme, Op. Ined. ii. 316-324.
22. Cf. N o s. 215, 284, 399; and see 1st. dItalia, Book ix.
(voL ii. p. 330): “ Sarebbe per avventura minore
spesso 1’autoritA di quegli che riprendono le cose
infelicem ente succedute, se nel tem po m edesim o
si potesse sapere quel che sarebbe accaduto, se
si fosse proceduto diversam ente,” &c.
23. Cf. N os. 114, 318, 392 ; the Reflection occurs in the
D ialogue Del Reggimento di Firenze, Op. Ined.
ii. 208; and again in the 1st. d Italia, Book iv.
(vol. i. p. 342), in the speech assigned to A ntonio
Grimani.
24-25. Cf. N os. 27, 255, 263, 264 ; and see speech
ascribed to the D uke o f Alva, 1st. dItalia,
Book xvi, (vol. iv. p, 28).
26. Cf. N o . 308.
27, Cf. N o . 24 and note.
NOTES. 175
NO.
28. Cf. N o . 346.In the Considerazioni sui Discorsi
del Machiavelli, Op. Ined. i. 27, Guicciardini
speaks in sim ilarly severe terms o f the Rom an
Court.
29. Cf. N o . 353. M achiavelli had expressed a like
opinion, Discorsi iii. 12: “ Chi co n sid er^
bene i vicini della cittA di Firenze ed i vicini
della citt& di V inegia, non si meraviglier^,” &c.
See also Del Reggimento di Firenze, Op. Ined.
ii. 207-208.
30-31. Cf. N o . 2 74; and see M achiavelli, Principe ,
cap. 2 5 ; Discorsi ii. 29, and iii. 9. See also
Del Reggimento di Firenze , Op. Ined. ii.
188. “ N o th in g is more politic than to m ake the
wheels o f our mind concentric and voluble with
the wheels o f fortune,”— Bacon, Advancement of
Learning,
32. Cf. N o . 2 2 3 ; and see Del Reggimento, &*c., Op.
Ined. ii. 147 : “ H anno le citt& libere a non avere
per m ale che i cittadini sua siano desiderosi della
gloria,” &c.
33. Cf. N o . 287.
34. Cf. N o s. 7 1 ,3 2 5 ,3 6 2 ; and see Discorsi Politici, Op.
Ined. i. 2 9 8 : “ L a esperienza m ostra tutto dl,
che tutte le cose che hanno. a finire,” &c.
36. Cf. N o . 309.
37. Cf. N os. 199, 269; and see 1st. dItalia, Book i. (vol.
i. p. 5 7 ): “ N o n pu6 quasi essere che quello che
m olto efficacemente si afferma non faccia qualche
am biguity eziandio negli animi determinati a
credere il contrario.”
38. Cf. N o . 376, and see N o . 21 and note. A s to
the difficulties o f the later M edici as compared
with those o f Cosim o, see Del Reggimento di
Firenze, Op. Ined. ii. 189; and Considerazioni
sui Discorsi del Machiavelli, Op. Ined. i. 35.
176 NOTES.
NO.
NO.
(vol. iv. p. 6 9): “ N 6 avendo, per la memoria di
avere tem uto m olte volte vanamente, preso espe-
rienza, di non si lasdare sopraffare a l tiraore."
60. Cf. N o . 337.
61. Cf. N o . 299.
62. A s to what measures find favour with popular govern
ments, see M achiavelli, Discorsi, i. 53.
63. Cf. N o . 285.
64. T h ese remarks on the change in m ethods o f warfare
are repeated and expanded in the 1st. d Italia ,
B ook xv. (vol. iii. p. 422), in connection with the
death o f Prospero Colonna, which took place in
the year 1523.
66. Cf. N o . 328, and see Del Reggimento di Firenze, Op.
Ined. ii. 5 5: “ S e questi che predicano la liberty
credessino in uno Stato stretto avere per particulare
suo m igliore condizione che in uno libero, ne res-
terebbe pochi che non vi corressino per le poste."
67. C f. N o. 344.
68. Cf. N o s. 237-238, and see Del Reggimento d i Firenze,
Op. Ined. ii. 87-89, where the subject o f neu
trality in war is treated in nearly identical terms.
See also 1st. dItalia, Book x. (voL ii. p. 428):
ML a neutrality nelle guerre degli altri essere cosa
laudabile,” & c .; and again 1st. dItalia, B ook
xi. (vol. iii. pp. 13-14). T h e author had studied
the observations o f M achiavelli, Principe , cap.
2 1 ; Discorsi, i. 3 8 ; ii. 15.
69. Cf. N o . 338.
70. Cf. N o . 283.
71. Cf. N o . 34 and note.
72. Cf. N o . 256.
73. See speech ascribed to the D uke o f A lva, 1st. dItalia,
Book xvi. (voL iv. p. 30): “ Cosl l’usarono A lles-
sandro e Cesare che furono liberali a perdonare
le ingiurie, non inconsiderati,” &c.
NOTES. 179
NO.
74. Cf. N o . 903; and see the speech assigned to A ntonio
Grimani, 1st. d Italia , Book iv. (vol. i. p. 339),
where a reputation for readiness to resent injuries
is declared to be m ost necessary; “ non tanto
per il piacere della vendetta, quanto perchd la
penitenza di chi t’ ha offeso sia tale esem pio agli
altri che non ardiscano provocarti.”
76. Gf. N o . 336, and see Del Reggimento di Firenze, Op.
Ined. ii. 2 4 : “ Cosl tutto quello che b stato per
il passato, parte b al presente, parte said, in altri
tem pi, e ogni dl ritorna in essere, m a sotto varie
coperte e varii co lo n , in m odo che," &c. See
also letter from Guicciardini to M achiavelli,
dated M odena, 18th M ay 1 5 3 1 , Opere di
Machiavelli (ed. Italia, 1813), voL viii. p. 160:
“ V edi che mutati sono i visi degli uomini ed i
colon estrinseci; le cose m eucsim e tutte ritor-
nano, n b vediam o accidente alcuno che a altri
tempi non sia stato veduto."
77. Cf. N o . 373. In a letter written by Guicciardini
during his Spanish em bassy, Op. Ined. vi. 172,
he speaks o f the difficulty o f ascertaining what
the designs o f the Spanish statesm en really were :
“ M olte volte pubblicano il contrario di quello che
gli hanno in anim o.”
78. Cf. N o . 339; see also Del Reggimento d i Firenze, Op.
Ined. ii. 190: “ L e m edesim e imprese che fatte
fuora di tem po sono difficillime o im possibili,
diventano facillim e quando sono accom pagnate
dal tem po e dalla occasione; e a chi le tenta
fuora del tem po suo, non solo non gli riescono,
m a b periculo che lo averle tentate non le guasti
per a quello tem po che facilmente sarebbono
riu scite: e questa b una delle ragioni che i
pazienti sono tenuti savii.’'
79. Cf. N o . 298.
i8o NOTES.
NO.
8 a Cf. N o . 364.
81. " I t is go o d to guard adventures w ith certainties
that m ay uphold losses."— B acon’s E ssays. " Of
Riches. ”
82. Cf. N o . 247.
83. Cf. N o . 297,
84. Cf. N o . 321. In the counsels left by Gino di N eri
C apponi for the guidance o f his son he says,
that “ h e w ho would attain to a great position in
h is native city must not leave it too often, nor for
any but important affairs."
85. C l N o . 360.
86. Cf. N o . 352 and note.
87. CL N o . 295.
88. Cf. N o s. 49, 270.
89. C t 3661.
9 a Other counsels to courtiers are given in N os. 9 4,1 9 5 ,
356. 37°-
91. Cf. N o . 329.
92. Cf. N o . 147; and see 1st. <£Italia, Book vi. (vol. ii.
p. 21), where, m oralising on the death o f P ope
Alexander V I ., Guicciardini observes that though
stained with every vice he had alw ays prospered:
" esem p io potente a confondere l’arrogansa di
coloro i quali presumendosi di scorgere con la
debolezza degli occhi umani la profonditA dei
giudizi divini, affermano che d 6 che di prospero
o d ’ a w erso a w ie n e agli uomini precede o dai
meriti o dai demeriti loro.”
9 3 Cf. N o . 316. T h e D uke o f Ferrara referred to was
A lfonso I. d ’Este, w ho died in 1534. In the 1st.
cCItalia, Book x iil (vol. iii. p. 270) Guicciardini
again says o f him that in m any respects he w as
more o f a merchant than a prince.
94. Cf. N o . 84, and see N o . 90 and note.
95. Cf. N o . 311, and see N o . 347. W riting o f the
NOTES. 181
NO.
140. Cf. N o . 345. In the Considerationi sui Discorsi
del Machiavelli, Op. Ined. i. 56, the author com
pares the people to the waves o f the sea, driven
one w ay or another by the wind that happens to
prevail: “ N o n sanza cagione &assom igliata la
moltitudine alle onde del mare, le quali, secondo e
venti che tirano, vanno ora in qu& ora in 1&,
sanza alcuna regola, sanza alcuna fermezza.”
142. Cf. 1st. d Italia, Book i. (vol. i. p. 2 8 ); “ Qual
m aggior felicity pu6 avere Principe alcuno che
le deliberazioni dalle quali risulta la gloria e la
grandezza propria, siano accom pagnate da cir-
costanze e conseguenze tali, che apparisca che
elle si facciano non m eno per benefizio e per
salute universale, e m olto pifc per l’esaltazione
di tutta la Repubblica C ristiana?” A s to the
“ Catholic King," see 1st. dItalia, Book xii. (vol.
iii. p. 183), where he is said to have cloaked all
his am bitious schem es “ sotto colore di onesto
zelo della religione, e di santa intenzione al bene
com une.” Compare M achiavelli, Principe, cap.
2 1 ; and see supra, note to N o . 105.
143. T he remarks here m ade m ight seem intended by
Guicciardini to meet criticism on the prolixity o f
his ow n history.
144. Cf. N o . 351. T h e Castilian proverb, "E l kilo per
lo mas delgado quebra" is also cited by Bacon in
his E ssay "Of Seditions and T r o u b le s but not
with the m eaning here given it. A n interview
with the Spanish Secretary at the time when the
news o f the treaty between the French and the
V enetians had just arrived in Spain, is recorded
in the Legations della Spagna, Op. Ined. vi. 207.
145. Cf. N o . 320.
147. Cf. N o s. 91-92, and see also N o . 1.
148. Canestrini informs us that on the margin o f his
.
iSS NOTES.
HO.
NO.
346. Cf. N o. 28.
347. Cf. N o. 95 and note.
348 -349. Cf. N o s. 52-53 and M achiavelli, Principe,
cap. 3, lays it down as a general rule, which
never or rarely errs, “ Che chi b cagione che uno
diventi potente, rovina: percb6 quella potenza
b causata da colui o con industria o con fo r z a ;
e l’una e l’altra di queste due b sospetta a chi e
divenuto p otente.” C om m ines, Memoires, iii.
12, relates a curious conversation which he had
with K in g Louis X I. on this subject.
350. Cf. N o . 129.
351. Cf. N o . 144 and note.
352. Cf. N o. 86, and see Bacon, Advancement o f
Learning . “ N ex t to the w ell understanding
and discerning o f a m an's self, there follow eth
the w ell opening and revealing a m an’s se lf;
wherein w e see nothing m ore usual than for
th e more able man to m ake the less show . . . .
O stentation, though it be to the first degree o f
vanity, seem eth to m e rather a vice in manners
than in policy.”
353. Cf. N o . 29 and note.
354. Cf. N o . 212 and note. In the D ialogue D el Reggi-
mento d i Firenze, Op. Ined. ii. 17-18, Guicciar
dini’s father Piero is m ade to s a y : “ Potrei dire
secondo i filosofi che il goverao di uno quando b
buono b il m igliore di t u tti; m a quando b cattivo
b il peggiore. Credo ancora che pifi spesso si
abbatta a essere cattivo il governo di uno che
quello di m olti, perch& h a pifi licenza e m anco
ostaculi. Per6 vorrei che i filosofi m i avessino
dichiarato questo passo . . . quale fussi m igliore
sorte d i una c itti ch e naseessi ora, e che si avessi
a ord inane il go v em o su o, o che fiisai ordinata
in uno governo di uno, o in governo di m olti.”
303 NOTES.
MO.
“ Especially where it passes by inheritance." S e e
M achiavelli, Discorsi, i. x i, where h e cites D a n te ,
Purg. viL 121-123*
355. Cf. N o . 165.
35& Cf. N o . 94.
357. Om itted by Corbinelli, perhaps as reflecting on t h e
clergy.
358. Cf. N o s. aao, 330 and notes. “ S till I m aintain
that you ought not fo r this reason" See th e
M editation in the R icordi A utobiografici, O p.
Ined. x. x a o : “ N o n voglio gi& durare la fatica
m edesim a in persuaderti che il sospetto che h a
il popolo di te per reputarti am ico de’ M edici,
passerA ; e che verrA, tem po, forse piu presto c h e
ta non credi, che tu sarai in buono concetto e
opinione. . . . Credo bene, anzi ten go per certo,
che se la citt& ariL vita e non affoghi in questa
tem pesta grande che ora si mostra, non passerit
m olto tem po che non solo non sarai rifiutato,
m a che agli uom ini parnl forse avere fatto per-
dita di non si essere valuti in tem pi tanto strani
della virtii ed esperienza tua."
359. Cf. N o s. 4, 291.
360. Cf. N o . 85. T h e Reflection supplies the date at
which it was originally written, nam ely, the 3rd
February 1523 Florentine, 1524 com m on style,
at which tim e Guicciardini w as governing the
R om agna for P ope C lem en t “ Yet have not had
the same success in commerce. ” A n entry in the
Ricordi Autobiografici, Op. Ined. x. 79, informs
us that on the aoth N ovem ber 1509 Guicciardini
received from his father-in-law, Alamanni Salviati,
the balance o f his wife's dower, which he expended
partly in the purchase o f clothes for her and for
himself, and partly in the purchase o f furniture
for his new house. A sum o f ------fio rin i d'oro
NOTES. 203
NO.
which remained over, w as invested in the name o f
Piero, his father, “ nella bottega nostra della seta, •
eke canta in nome d i Jacopo mio fratello, Lorenzo
d i Bernardo Segni, e Compagnia." It m ay b e
surmised that Guicciardini him self had an interest
in this firm, and that it was not prospering at
the time he wrote this Reflection. T h e advice
in Reflection N o. 280 as to the expediency o f
em ploying a g ood lawyer, and the remarks in
N o s. 55, 278, and 325 on the subject o f m ercan
tile bankruptcy, m ay have been suggested by the
author’s own experience.
361. Corbinelli says that this Reflection is borrowed from
Seneca.
362. Cf. N o . 34 and note. “ For we measure them
w ith reference to our lives, which are brief not
to their term, which is long.” Guicciardini here
follow s D a n te :—
“ L e vostre cose tutte hanno lor morte
Si com e v o i; m a celasi in alcuna,
Che dura m olto, e le vite son corte.”
Parad. xvi. 79-81.
363. Cf. N o . 158 and note.
364. Cf. N o . 80.
365. Cf. N o . 109 and note. “ A nd this is the reason
why the wise men and philosophers of antiquity,”
&c. S o Bernardo del N ero in the D ialogue D el
Reggimento d i Firenze, Op. Ined. i i 7 4 : “ E
per6 mi ha detto M esser M arsilio [Ficino], da
chi io ho pure imparato alcuna volta qualche
cosa, che Platone quando fece quello libro che
parla delle republiche, lo intitolb dalla G iustizia,
volendo roostrare che era il fine principale che si
aveva a cercare.”
366. Cf. N o . 89.
367. Cf. N o . 57.
NOTES.
NO.
CL N o . 176.
F / a But te e N o. 90, where the courtier is warned n o t to
be too officious.
371. See L ivy, Book xxiv. 25. " On the extinction
o f a tyrant," &c. Compare Del Reggimento d i
Firenze, Op. Ined. ii. 215: “ V oltansi d u n qu e
tutti i malcontenti dello Stato che regge al tiranno
vecchio ; e se b m ancato hii, alle sue reliquie . . .
perch£ si spera piii facilm ente potere riducere
una tirannide„o uno dominio vecchio che farne
un o di nuovo."
372. Cf. N o. 342 and note.
373* Cf. N o . 216 and note.
374* Cf. N o . 108.
37& Cf. N o . 38 and note.
377- Compare D el Reggimento d i Firenze, Op. Ined. ii.
157: ‘*N essu n o ha a Firenze tanti fondamenti ch e,
se non b della linea di C osim o, possa sperare d i
diventare c a p o ; e chi aspira a questo, b isogn a
che am i la libertk e vivere populare, col m ezzo
d el quale pub solo diventare capo con a u to r iti
publica.”
378. Cf. N o . 121. Guicciardini here maintains th e
opinion, challenged by M achiavelli, Principe,
cap. 9, “ Che chi fonda in sul popolo, fonda in
sul fan g o .”
379. A s to the " A dom i and Fregosi o f Genoa," see
1st. d lta lia . Book vii. (vol. ii. pp. 112-113).
MBernardo Rucellai." Som e account of the
character and fortunes o f this distinguished
scholar, is given by Guicciardini in the Storia
Fiorentina, O p. Ined. iii. 326-328.
3 8 a Cf. N o . 19.
381. See the character o f Pope Julius in the 1st. d lta lia .
Book xi. (v o l iii. p. 53). A s to Pope Clement,
see N o . 59 and note. In the 1st. d lta lia .
NOTES . 205
NO.
B ook xvi. (voL iv. pp. 67-69), the character o f
Clement is contrasted with that o f L eo X.
383. Guicciardini in his Storia Fiorentina, cap. iv. Op.
Ined. iii. 34, observes that the family o f the
Pazzi, although one o f the richest and m ost
important in Florence, had at no tim e any great
political influence; “ per essere tenuti troppo
superbi e a ltie ri; la quale cosa gli uomini in una
citt k libera non possono comportare."
384. Cf. N o . 56.
385. Cf. N o . 55.
386. Cf. N o . 45 and note.
387. Cf. N o . 119.
388. Cf. N o . 106 and note.
389. Guicciardini here com bats the opinion o f M acbia-
velli, Dtscorsi, i. 29, that a people is m ore grate-
fill than a prince. T h e subject is also handled
in the Considerazioni sui Discorsi del Machia-
velli, Op. Ined. i. 43 ; and see N o. 378 and note.
390. Cf. N o s. 11, 265.
391. Cf. N o . 54.
392. Cf. N o . 23 and note.
393. Cf. N o . 115 and note.
K E G A N P A U L , T R E N C H , T B & B N E R & C O ., L T D ., P U B L IS H E R S , LO N D O N .
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