The    buonhomini,  the  credenza,   and    the  thirty
of  the  hundred   and  eighty,  wore    an  appearance
of  three  orders ;  but  inftead  of  being  kept  fepa-
rate,  they  are  all  huddled  together  in  the  general
council.    Another  council  dill,  of  an  hundred  and
twenty,  equally  chofen  out  of  the  nobility,  citi-
zens, and  commonalty,  was  to  confirm  whatever
was  refolved  on   by  the  others.     Here  are   two
branches,  with  each  a  negative.     But  the  miftake
was,  that  the  ariftocratical  and  democratical  parts
of  the  community  were  mixed  in  each  of  them  ;
which  fhows,  at  firft  blufh,  that  there  never  could
be    harmony    in     either,     both     being   naturally
and  neceflarily   fplit  into  two   factions.      But  a
greater  defect,  if  poflible,  than  even  this,  was  giv-
ing the  executive  power,  the  power  of  difpofing
public  honours  and  offices,  to  a  joint  affemblage  of
buonhomini,  credenza,  and  the  two  other  afTem-
blies,  all  in  one ;  the  confequence  muft  be,  that
although  every  one  of  thefe  four  orders  muft  be
divided  at  once  into  factions  for  the  loaves  and
fifties,  yet  the  nobility,  by  their  fuperior  influence
in  elections,  would  have  the  whole  power.     Un-
happy Florence  !  thou  art  deftined  from  this  mo-
ment to  never  ending  factions,  feditions,  and  civil
wars  ! — Accordingly,  we  read  in   the  next  page,
what  any  one  might  have  forefeen  from  this  fketch
of  their  conftitution,  "  that  the  government  of
"  Florence  was  fallen  into  great  diforder  and  mif-
"  rule ;  for  the  Guelph  nobility  being  the  majo-
"  rity,  were  grown  fo   infolent,  and   ftood  in  (o
"  little  awe  of  the  magiftracy*  (and  how  could
they  ftand  in  awe  of  magiftrates  whom  they  had
created,  and  who  were  even  at  theirdevotion?)  "that

" though


Machiavel.  ig

cc  though  many  murders,  and  other  violences,  were
"  daily  committed,  yet  the  criminals  generally
cc  efcaped  with  impunity,  through  favour  of  one
cc  or  other  of  the  nobles."  To  reftrain  thefe
enormities,  inftead  of  twelve  governors,  they  re-
folved  to  have  fourteen,  feven  of  each  party,  who
fhould  be  nominated  by  the  pope,  and  remain  in
office  one  year.  Under  this  form  of  government,
in  which  they  had  been  obliged  in  reality  to  fub-
mit  to  a  foreign  mailer,  they  continued  for  two
years,  when  the  rage  of  faction  again  blazed  out.
