u are to remember that this homage is one of the few surviving
impressions of one who came into personal contact with Cesare, and of
one, moreover, representing a Government more or less inimical to him,
who would therefore have no reason to draw a favourable portrait of
him for that Government's benefit. One single page of such testimony is
worth a dozen volumes of speculation and inference drawn afterwards by
men who never knew him--in many cases by men who never began to know his
epoch.

The envoy concludes by informing the Signory that he has the duke's
assurances that the latter has no thought of attempting to deprive
Florence of any of her possessions, as "the object of his campaign has
not been to tyrannize, but to extirpate tyrants."

Whilst Cesare awaited the Florentines' reply to their ambassador's
communication, he withdrew to the camp at Fermignano, where he was
sought on July 6 by a herald from Louis XII. This messenger came to
exhort Cesare to embark upon no enterprise against the Florentine
Republic, because to offend Florence would be to offend the Majesty of
France. Simultaneously, however, Florence received messages from the
Cardinal d'Amboise, suggesting that they should come to terms with
Valentinois by conceding him at least a part of what had been agreed in
the Treaty of Forno dei Campi.

As a consequence, Soderini was able to inform Cesare that the Republic
was ready to treat with him, but that first he must withdraw Vitelli
from Arezzo, and compel him to yield up the captured fortresses. The
duke, not trusting--as he had frankly avowed--a Government which once
already had broken faith with him, and perceiving that, if he whistled
his war-dogs to heel as requested, he would have lost the advantages of
his position, refused to take any such steps until the treaty should be
concluded. He consented, however, to enforce meanwhile an armistice.

But now it happened that news reached Florence of the advance of Louis
XII with an army of 20,000 men, bound for Naples to settle the dispute
with Spain. So the Republic--sly and treacherous as any other Italian
Government of the Cinquecento--instructed Soderini to temporize with
the duke; to spend the days in amiable, inconclusive interviews and
discussions of terms which the Signory did not mean to make. Thus they
counted upon gaining time, until the arrival of the French should put
an end to the trouble caused by Vitelli, and to the need for any
compromi