ive
years, been seated, sword in hand, upon his charger, nothing would have
been uncertain of fluctuating even for a moment; far, as Caesar
afterwards told Macchiavelli, his ambitious soul had provided for all
things that could occur on the day of the pope's death, except the one
that he should be dying himself; but being nailed down to his bed,
sweating off the effects the poison had wrought; so, though he had kept
his power of thinking he could no longer act, but must needs wait and
suffer the course of events, instead of marching on in front and
controlling them.

Thus he was forced to regulate his actions no longer by his own plans but
according to circumstances. His most bitter enemies, who could press him
hardest, were the Orsini and the Colonnas: from the one family he had
taken their blood, from the other their goods.

So he addressed himself to those to whom he could return what he had
taken, and opened negotiations with the Colonnas.

Meanwhile the obsequies of the pope were going forward: the
vice-chancellor had sent out orders to the highest among the clergy, the
superiors of convents, and the secular orders, not to fail to appear,
according to regular custom, on pain of being despoiled of their office
and dignities, each bringing his own company to the Vatican, to be
present at the pope's funeral; each therefore appeared on the day and at
the hour appointed at the pontifical palace, whence the body was to be
conveyed to the church of St. Peter's, and there buried. The corpse was
found to be abandoned and alone in the mortuary chamber; for everyone of
the name of Borgia, except Caesar, lay hidden, not knowing what might
come to pass. This was indeed well justified; for Fabio Orsino, meeting
one member of the family, stabbed him, and as a sign of the hatred they
had sworn to one another, bathed his mouth and hands in the blood.

The agitation in Rome was so great, that when the corpse of Alexander VI
was about to enter the church there occurred a kind of panic, such as
will suddenly arise in times of popular agitation, instantly causing so
great a disturbance in the funeral cortege that the guards drew up in
battle array, the clergy fled into the sacristy, and the bearers dropped
the bier.

The people, tearing off the pall which covered it, disclosed the corpse,
and everyone could see with impunity and close at hand the man who,
fifteen days before, had made princes, kings and emperors tremble, from