rth, fixes the year of his birth as 1475.

(b) August 16, 1482.--A Bull of Sixtus IV, appointing Roderigo Borgia
administrator of Cesare's benefices. In this he is mentioned as being
seven years of age (i.e., presumably in his eighth year), which again
gives us his birth-year as 1475.

(c) September 12, 1484.--A Bull of Sixtus IV, appointing Cesare
treasurer of the Church of Carthage. In this he is mentioned as in his
ninth year--"in nono tuo aetatis anno." This is at variance with the
other two, and gives us 1476 as the year of his birth.

To these evidences, conflicting as they are, may be added Burchard's
mention in his diary under date of September 12, 1491, that Cesare was
then seventeen years of age. This would make him out to have been born
in 1474.

Clearly the matter cannot definitely be settled upon such evidence as we
have. All that we can positively assert is that he was born between the
years 1474 and 1476, and we cannot, we think, do better for the purposes
of this story than assume his birth-year to have been 1475.

We know that between those same years, or in one or the other of them,
was born Giovanni Borgia; but just as the same confusion prevails with
regard to his exact age, so is it impossible to determine with any
finality whether he was Cesare's junior or senior.

The one document that appears to us to be the most important in this
connection is that of the inscription on their mother's tomb. This runs:

FAUSTIAE CATHANAE, CESARE VALENTINAE, JOHANNAE CANDIAE, JUFFREDO
SCYLATII, ET LUCRETIA FERRARIAE DUCIB. FILIIS NOBILI PROBITATE INSIGNI,
RELIGIONE EXIMIA, ETC., ETC.

If Giovanni was, as is claimed, the eldest of her children, why does his
name come second? If Cesare was her second son, why does his name take
the first place on that inscription?

It has been urged that if Cesare was the elder of these two, he, and not
Giovanni, would have succeeded to the Duchy of Gandia on the death of
Pedro Luis--Cardinal Roderigo's eldest son, by an unknown mother. But
that does not follow inevitably; for it is to be remembered that Cesare
was already destined for an ecclesiastical career, and it may well be
that his father was reluctant to change his plans.

Meanwhile the turbulent reign of Sixtus IV went on, until his ambition
to increase his dominions had the result of plunging the whole of Italy
into war.

Lorenzo de'Medici had thwarted the Pope's purposes in Romagna, coming to
the assi