第66章 The Revival of Antiquity Introductory (16)

called the young man to him， and although they had never before exchanged a word， the youth obeyed the call of one so respected.

Niccol？asked him who his father was.He answered， 'Messer Andrea de'

Pazzi'.When he was further asked what his pursuit was， Piero replied， as young people are wont to do， 'I enjoy myself' ('attendo a darmi buon tempo').Niccol？said to him， 'As son of such a father， and so fair to look upon， it is a shame that thou knowest nothing of the Latin language， which would be so great an ornament to thee.If thou learnest it not， thou wilt be good for nothing， and as soon as the flower of youth is over， wilt be a man of no consequence' (_virt鵢).When Piero heard this， he straightway perceived that it was true， and said that he would gladly take pains to learn， if only he had a teacher.Whereupon Niccol？answered that he would see to that.And he found him a learned man for Latin and Greek， named Pontano， whom Piero treated as one of his own house， and to whom he paid 100 gold florins a year.Quitting all the pleasures in which he had hitherto lived， he studied day and night， and became a friend of all learned men and a noble-minded statesman.He learned by heart the whole AEneid and many speeches of Livy， chiefly on the way between Florence and his country house at Trebbio.Antiquity was represented in another and higher sense by Giannozzo Maneeti (1393-1459).Precocious from his first years， he was hardly more than a child when he had finished his apprenticeship in commerce， and became book-keeper in a bank.But soon the life he led seemed to him empty and perishable， and he began to yearn after science， through which alone man can secure immortality.He then busied himself with books as few laymen had done before him， and became， as has been said， one of the most profound scholars of his time.When appointed by the government as its representative magistrate and tax-collector at Pescia and Pistoia， he furfilled his duties in accordance with the lofty ideal with which his religious feeling and humanistic studies combined to inspire him.He succeeded in collecting the most unpopular taxes which the Florentine State imposed， and declined payment for his services.As provincial governor he refused all presents， abhorred all bribes， checked gambling， kept the country well supplied with corn， was indefatigable in settling law-suits amicably， and did wonders in calming inflamed passions by his goodness.The Pistoiese were never able to discover to which of the two political parties he leaned.As if to symbolize the common rights and interests of all， he spent his leisure hours in writing the history of the city， which was preserved， bound in a purple cover， as a sacred relic in the town hall.When he took his leave the city presented him with a banner bearing the municipal arms and a splendid silver helmet.

For further information as to the learned citizens of Florence at this period the reader must all the more be referred to Vespasiano， who knew them all personally， because the tone and atmosphere in which he writes， and the terms and conditions on which he mixed in their society， are of even more importance than the facts which he records.

Even in a translation， and still more in the brief indications to which we are here compelled to limit ourselves， this chief merit of his book is lost.Without being a great writer， he was thoroughly familiar with the subject he wrote on， and had a deep sense of its intellectual significance.

If we seek to analyse the charm which the Medici of the fifteenth century， especially Cosimo the Elder (d.1464) and Lorenzo the Magnificent (d.1492) exercised over Florence and over all their contemporaries， we shall find that it lay less in their political capacity than in their leadership in the culture of the age.A man in Cosimo's position -- a great merchant and party leader， who also had on his side all the thinkers， writers and investigators， a man who was the first of the Florentines by birth and the first of the Italians by culture -- such a man was to all intents and purposes already a prince.

To Cosimo belongs the special glory of recognizing in the Platonic philosophy the fairest flower of the ancient world of thought， of inspiring his friends with the same belief， amd thus of fostering within humanistic circles themselves another and a higher resuscitation of antiquity.The story is known to us minutely.It all hangs on the calling of the learned Johannes Argyropulos， and on the personal enthusiasm of Cosimo himself in his last years， which was such， that the great Marsilio Ficino could style himself， as far as Platonism was concerned， the spiritual son of Cosimo.Under Pietro Medici， Ficino was already at the head of a school； to him Pietro's son and Cosimo's grandson， the illustrious Lorenzo， came over from the Peripatetics.