republic should return to her democratic principles, and religion to a
primitive simplicity. Towards the first of these projects considerable
progress had been made, since they had successively obtained, first, an
amnesty for all crimes and delinquencies committed under other
governments; secondly, the abolition of the 'balia', which was an
aristocratic magistracy; thirdly, the establishment of a sovereign
council, composed of 1800 citizens; and lastly, the substitution of
popular elections for drawing by lot and for oligarchical nominations:
these changes had been effected in spite of two other factions, the
'Arrabiati', or Madmen, who, consisting of the richest and noblest youths
of the Florentine patrician families, desired to have an oligarchical
government; and the 'Bigi', or Greys, so called because they always held
their meetings in the shade, who desired the return of the Medici.

The first measure Alexander used against the growing power of Savonarola
was to declare him heretic, and as such banished from the pulpit; but
Savonarola had eluded this prohibition by making his pupil and friend,
Domenico Bonvicini di Pescia, preach in his stead. The result was that
the master's teachings were issued from other lips, and that was all; the
seed, though scattered by another hand, fell none the less on fertile
soil, where it would soon burst into flower. Moreover, Savonarola now
set an example that was followed to good purpose by Luther, when,
twenty-two years later, he burned Leo X's bull of excommunication at
Wittenberg; he was weary of silence, so he declared, on the authority of
Pope Pelagius, that an unjust excommunication had no efficacy, and that
the person excommunicated unjustly did not even need to get absolution.
So on Christmas Day, 1497, he declared that by the inspiration of God he
renounced his obedience to a corrupt master; and he began to preach once
more in the cathedral, with a success that was all the greater for the
interruption, and an influence far more formidable than before, because
it was strengthened by that sympathy of the masses which an unjust
persecution always inspires.

Then Alexander made overtures to Leonardo dei Medici, vicar of the
archbishopric of Florence, to obtain the punishment of the rebel:
Leonardo, in obedience to the orders he received, from Rome, issued a
mandate forbidding the faithful to attend at Savonarola's sermons. After
this mandate, any who should hear the discourse