IL PRINCIPE

satisfied and dazed.

But let us return to where we started. I say that, finding himself quite powerful and partly secured from present dangers, having armed himself in his own way and having in good part extinguished those arms that could have offended him, there remained for him, wanting to proceed with his acquisition, the regard for France; for he knew that the King, who had realized his error late, would not support him. Therefore, he began to seek new friendships and to waver with France during the arrival of the French toward the Kingdom of Naples against the Spaniards, who were besieging Gaeta. His intention was to secure himself against them, which would soon have succeeded if Alexander lived.

These were his policies regarding present matters. But as to future ones, he had to doubt: first, that a new successor to the Church might not be his friend and might seek to take from him what Alexander had given him. He thought to do this in four ways. First, by extinguishing all the bloodlines of those lords whom he had despoiled, in order to take away those opportunities from the Pope. Second, by winning over all the Gentlemen of Rome, so as to be able, as has been said, to hold the Pope in check with them. Third, by reducing the College the College of Cardinals as much to his side as he could. Fourth, by acquiring so much Empire before the Pope died that he could resist an initial attack by himself. Of these four things, at the death of Alexander, he had completed three; the fourth he had almost completed. For of the despoiled lords, he killed as many as he could reach, and very few saved themselves; he had won over the Roman Gentlemen; and in the College he had a very great following. And as for the new acquisition, he had planned to become Lord of Tuscany and already possessed Perugia and Piombino, and he had taken the protection of Pisa. And since he no longer had to have regard for France (for he no longer had to, as the French had already been stripped of the Kingdom of Naples by the Spaniards, in such a way that each of them was necessitated to buy his friendship), he would have jumped into Pisa. After this, Lucca and Siena would have yielded immediately, partly out of envy of the Florentines and partly out of fear. The Florentines had no remedy. If this had succeeded for him (and it was succeeding for him the same year that Alexander died), he would have acquired so much force and reputation that he would have stood by himself without depending upon the fortune or force of others, but only upon his own power and virtù prowess.