d by his numerous
victories, his capture of impregnable places, the sudden swiftness of
his expeditions, the frequency with which he put to flight large and
formidable armies by means of a very small force, and by his loss of
no single battle whatever; so that we may not unreasonably compare him
to many famous ancients.

Among his other praiseworthy deeds, the Duke Federigo built on the
rugged site of Urbino a palace, regarded by many as the most beautiful
to be found in all Italy: and he so well furnished it with every
suitable thing, that it seemed not a palace but a city in the form of
a palace; and not merely with what is ordinarily used,--such as silver
vases, hangings of richest cloth of gold and silk, and other similar
things,--but for ornament he added an infinity of antique statues in
marble and bronze, pictures most choice, and musical instruments of
every sort; nor would he admit anything there that was not very rare
and excellent. Then at very large cost he collected a great number of
most excellent and rare books in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, all of
which he adorned with gold and with silver, esteeming this to be the
supreme excellence of his great palace.

Following at last the course of nature, and already sixty-five years
old, he died as he had lived, gloriously; and he left as his successor
a little motherless boy of ten years, his only son Guidobaldo. Heir to
his father's state, he seemed to be heir also to all his father's
virtues, and soon his noble nature gave such promise as seemed not to
be hoped for from mortal man; so that men esteemed none among the
extraordinary deeds of the Duke Federigo to be greater than to have
begotten such a son. But envious of so much virtue, fortune thwarted
this glorious beginning with all her might; so that before Duke Guido
reached the age of twenty years he fell ill of the gout, which grew
upon him with grievous pain, and in a short space of time so crippled
all his limbs that he could neither stand upon his feet nor move; and
thus one of the most beautiful and active forms in the world was
disfigured and spoiled in tender youth.

And not yet content with this, fortune was so adverse to him in all
his plans that he could seldom carry to a conclusion anything that he
desired; and although he was most wise of counsel and unconquered in
spirit, it seemed that what he undertook, both in war and in
everything else, whether small or great, always ended ill for him: and