d well bear." He was accused of numberless vices
and unlimited profligacy; but the chief cause of all the hatred lavished
on him was the general detestation already felt for Piero de' Medici,
the approach of his downfall and that of all his adherents. Nor was the
public rancor at all softened by the knowledge that the last utterances
of the illustrious poet and learned scholar had been the words of a
penitent Christian. He had requested that his body should be clothed in
the Dominican habit and interred in the Church of St. Mark, and there
his ashes repose beside the remains of Giovanni Picodella Mirandola, who
expired on the very day of Charles VIII's entry into Florence. Pico had
long entertained a desire to join the fraternity of St. Mark's, but,
delaying too long to carry out his intent, was surprised by death at the
early age of thirty-two years. On his death-bed he, too, had besought
Savonarola to allow him to be buried in the robe he had yearned to wear.

The end of these two celebrated Italians recalled to mind the last hours
and last confession of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and was by many regarded
as a sign that the Medicean adherents had been unwilling to pass away
without acknowledging their crimes, without asking pardon from the people
whom they had so deeply oppressed, and from the friar, who was, as it
were, the people's best representative. It was certainly remarkable that
all these men should turn to the convent of St. Mark, whence had issued
the first cry of liberty, and the first sign of war against the tyranny
of the Medici.

JEAN C. L. SISMONDI

At the moment that Florence expelled the Medici, the republic was divided
among three different parties. The first was that of the enthusiasts,
directed by Girolamo Savonarola, who promised the miraculous protection
of the Divinity for the reform of the Church and establishment of
liberty. These demanded a democratic constitution; they were called the
"Piagnoni." The second consisted of men who had shared power with the
Medici, but who had separated from them; who wished to possess alone the
powers and profits of government, and who endeavored to amuse the people
by dissipations and pleasures, in order to establish at their ease an
aristocracy. These were called the "Arabbiati." The third party was
composed of men who remained faithful to the Medici, but, not daring to
declare themselves, lived in retirement; they were called "Bigi."

These three parties