r it
shows the Judith and Holofernes as the only statue before the Palazzo
Vecchio, standing where David now is; it shows the old ringhiera,
the Marzocco (very inaccurately drawn), and the Loggia de' Lanzi
empty of statuary. We have in the National Gallery a little portrait
of Savonarola--No. 1301--with another representation of the execution
on the back of it.

So far as I can understand Savonarola, his failure was due to
two causes: firstly, his fatal blending of religion and politics,
and secondly, the conviction which his temporary success with the
susceptible Florentines bred in his heated mind that he was destined
to carry all before him, totally failing to appreciate the Florentine
character with all its swift and deadly changes and love of change. As
I see it, Savonarola's special mission at that time was to be a
wandering preacher, spreading the light and exciting his listeners to
spiritual revival in this city and that, but never to be in a position
of political power and never to become rooted. The peculiar tragedy
of his career is that he left Florence no better than he found it:
indeed, very likely worse; for in a reaction from a spiritual revival
a lower depth can be reached than if there had been no revival at all;
while the visit of the French army to Italy, for which Savonarola took
such credit to himself, merely ended in disaster for Italy, disease
for Europe, and the spreading of the very Renaissance spirit which
he had toiled to destroy. But, when all is said as to his tragedy,
personal and political, there remains this magnificent isolated figure,
single-minded, austere and self-sacrificing, in an age of indulgence.

For most people "Romola" is the medium through which Savonarola is
visualized; but there he is probably made too theatrical. Yet he
must have had something of the theatre in him even to consent to the
ordeal by fire. That he was an intense visionary is beyond doubt,
but a very real man too we must believe when we read of the devotion
of his monks to his person, and of his success for a while with the
shrewd, worldly Great Council.

Savonarola had many staunch friends among the artists. We have seen
Lorenzo di Credi and Fra Bartolommeo under his influence. After
his death Fra Bartolommeo entered S. Marco (his cell was No. 34),
and di Credi, who was noted for his clean living, entered S. Maria
Nuova. Two of Luca della Robbia's nephews were also monks under
Savonarola. We have seen Fra