IL PRINCIPE

did not profit him, it was not his fault, for it arose from an extraordinary and extreme malignancy of fortune.

Alessandro VI Pope Alexander VI, in wanting to make his son the Duke great, had many present and future difficulties. First, he saw no way to make him lord of any State that was not a State of the Church, and he knew that the Duke of Milan and the Venetians would not consent to it, for Faenza and Rimini were already under the protection of the Venetians. Beyond this, he saw the armies of Italy, and specifically those of which he might have made use, being in the hands of those who had to fear the greatness of the Pope; and therefore he could not trust them, as they were all among the Orsini, the Colonnesi, and their followers. It was, therefore, necessary to disturb those orders and throw the States of Italy into disorder to be able to seize a portion of them securely. This was easy for him, because he found the Venetians, who, moved by other causes, had turned to bringing the French back into Italy. He not only did not contradict this but made it easier by resolving the old marriage of King Louis referring to the annulment of King Louis XII's marriage to facilitate his alliance. The King therefore passed into Italy with the help of the Venetians and the consent of Alexander. No sooner was he in Milan than the Pope received men from him for the enterprise in Romagna, which was granted to him out of the reputation of the King.

The Duke, having acquired Romagna and defeated the Colonnesi, wanted to maintain it and proceed further, but two things hindered him: one, his own arms, which did not seem faithful to him; the other, the will of France. That is, he feared that the Orsini arms, which he had used, might fail him and not only prevent him from acquiring more but also take away what he had acquired, and that the King might do the same to him. He had a confirmation regarding the Orsini when, after the taking of Faenza, he assaulted Bologna and saw them act coldly in that assault. And regarding the King, he realized his mind when, having taken the Duchy of Urbino, he assaulted Tuscany, from which enterprise the King made him desist. Therefore, the Duke decided no longer to depend upon the fortune and arms of others. The first thing he did was to weaken the Orsini and Colonna factions in Rome. He won over all their adherents who were Gentlemen, making them his own Gentlemen and giving them great provisions, honoring them according to their quality with commands and governments, so that in a few months the affection for the factions was extinguished in their spirits and turned entirely to the Duke. After this, he waited for the opportunity to extinguish the