man, who, because
he was a bitter enemy of Alexander's, and who, because earlier he had
covered the Pope with obloquy and insult and is to do so again later, is
hailed as a fine, upright, lofty, independent, noble soul.

Not so fine, upright, or noble but that he can put aside his rancour
when he finds that there is more profit in fawning than in snarling; not
so independent but that he can become a sycophant who writes panegyrics
of Cesare and letters breathing devotion to the Pope, once he has
realized that thus his interests will be better served. This is the
man, remember, who dubbed Alexander a Jew and a Moor; this the man who
agitated at the Courts of France and Spain for Alexander's deposition
from the Pontificate on the score of the simony of his election; this
the man whose vituperations of the Holy Father are so often quoted,
since--coming from lips so honest--they must, from the very moment that
he utters them, be merited. If only the historian would turn the medal
about a little, and allow us a glimpse of the reverse as well as of the
obverse, what a world of trouble and misconceptions should we not be
spared!

Della Rovere had discovered vain his work of defamation, vain his
attempts to induce the Kings of France and Spain to summon a General
Council and depose the man whose seat he coveted, so he had sought to
make his peace with the Holy See. The death of Charles VIII, and the
succession of a king who had need of the Pope's friendship and who found
a friend in Alexander, rendered it all the more necessary that della
Rovere should set himself to reconquer, by every means in his power, the
favour of Alexander.

And so you see this honourable, upright man sacrificing his very
family to gain that personal end. Where now is that stubbornly honest
conscience of his which made him denounce Alexander as no Christian and
no Pope? Stifled by self-interest. It is as well that this should be
understood, for this way lies the understanding of many things.

The funds for the campaign being found, Cesare received from Louis
three hundred lances captained by Yves d'Allegre and four thousand
foot, composed of Swiss and Gascons, led by the Bailie of Dijon. Further
troops were being assembled for him at Cesena--the one fief of Romagna
that remained faithful to the Church--by Achille Tiberti and Ercole
Bentivogli, and to these were to be added the Pontifical troops that
would be sent to him; so that Cesare found himself