The Life of Pope Leo X in Four Books

...who had attacked the enemy at sunset, exhausted by the great heat of the day, having set aside their arms and no longer fearing an imminent battle, the impetus of the Colleoni referring to the mercenary leader Bartolomeo Colleoni was bravely repressed both then and thereafter. Not long after, Borso d'Este, Prince of Ferrara, who had offered himself as a mediator of peace among the dissenters, settled every controversy and restored the state of Etrurian affairs to their former peace and quiet. After the passing of Petrus, his sons Laurentius and Iulianus, with the outstanding favor of the Senate and the people, assumed the duties of managing the Republic. They were harmonious in the similarity of their nature and studies, having been polished from their tender years by a life of humanity, modesty, literature, and finally every civic virtue. For having used Gentile of Arezzo as a tutor, who was by far the most learned and holy, they had learned that one should by no means depart from the very footsteps of their ancestors. The diligence of their mother, Lucretia Tornabuona, who was the moderator of all their morals, had also been of great value in shaping the character of the boys during their slippery age; for she surpassed all the women of her time in that gravity of mind, modesty, and zeal for virtue. Nor was it the least of her praises that Luigi Pulci, a noble poet, aided by the genius and liberality of that same matron, celebrated the admirable strengths of the fabulous hero Morgante in Etrurian and immortal verse. To the civic arts adorned by the toga was added skill in arms and horsemanship, in which, though scarcely yet in puberty, they excelled so much that Iulianus, eager for youthful glory, invited the most noble and brave knights from all of Italy to a playful competition with a large prize proposed. Petrus the father presided over this spectacle, which was very memorable for its equipment and the frequency of men. It was noted that, with all shouting and cheering, Iulianus broke many more lances, tipped with triple iron, against the chests of the opposing knights than anyone else. The reward for this glorious labor was a triumph celebrated by the verses of the divine poet Poliziano. Not long after, Laurentius, so that he might equal his brother’s praises, produced a new spectacle of a most dangerous battle, in which not individual armored knights clashed according to custom, separated by an intermediate line of raised boards, but rather, gathered in crowded squadrons, they fought in the open field in the image of a true battle. Pulci himself, a rival of Poliziano, made the memory of this most beautiful contest eternal through a very pleasant poem. When they had undoubtedly emerged as the princes of the youth through these arts and spirits, although many who were born of illustrious families envied their glory and power, they were nevertheless regarded by the consensus of the whole city as worthy of the pinnacle of affairs and the leading place. For their house, a workshop of true munificence, joy, elegance, and all virtues, stood open to all: pride, lust, audacity, simulation, and envy were completely excluded. Not long after, Laurentius showed the magnitude of his mind and counsel through true works, when by chance the Volterrans, having killed the magistrate due to the harshness of his command and a controversy over salt mines,