*166] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1795. 
almost incredible. The inquiries of 
our author into the particulars of 
the traffic, which was the source of 
such enormous wealth, have not 
proved very successful ; though it 
would have highly gratified our cu- 
Tiosity to have understood the com- 
mercial transactions of these illustri- 
ous merchants, who ** corresponded 
at once with Cairo and London, 
and often imported a cargo of In- 
_dian spices and Greek books in the 
same vessel.”* 
The prevalence of the Platonic 
philosophy in Italy forms another 
subject of pleasing and interesting 
description. The amiable and sub- 
lime visions of Plato associated more 
easily with that polite literature 
which began to revive in the west, 
than the severe and harsh logic of 
his great disciple and rival. Even 
the adoption of new errors contri- 
buted to restore the activity and 
independence of the human mind, 
by delivering it from that bigotted 
adherence to the Peripatetic phi- 
losophy, which had for so many 
centuries shackled its powers and 
impeded its progress. 
A review of the poems of Lorenzo, 
with ample remarks in general, 
forms the subject of the 5th chapter, 
in which the author is naturally led 
to an account of the rise of the Italian 
poetry in general. 
The second volume of this history 
opens with some remarks on the vi- 
gilance with which Lorenzo de’ 
Medici laboured to preserve that 
balance of strength, among the 
powers of Italy, which was so ne- 
cessary to the security of every indi- 
vidual state ; a principle of policy 
that was then perhaps for the first 
time regularly and systematically 
adopted, and which has continued 
to be the great hinge on which the 
affairs of Europe have turned from 
that period, down to the commence- 
ment of those tremendous revolu- 
tions in ourtimes, that threaten to 
bury all ancient systems and estab- 
lishments in one common ruin. Our 
readers will peruse these observa 
tions with pleasure : 
The situation of Italy, at this pes 
riod, afforded an ample field for 
the exercise of political talents. 
The number of independent states 
of which it was composed, the ine- 
quality of their strength, the ambi- 
tious views of some, and the ever 
active fears of others, kept the 
whole country in continual agitation 
and alarm. ‘The vicinity of these 
states to each other, and the nar- 
row bounds of their respective do- 
minions, required a promptitude of 
decision, in cases of disagreement, 
unexampled in any subsequent pe- 
riod of modern history. Where the 
eyent of open war seemed doubtful, 
private treachery was without scru- 
ple resorted to % and where that 
failed of success, an appeal was 
again made to arms. The ponti- 
fical see had itself set the example 
of a mode of conduct that burst 
asunderallthe bondsof society, and 
operated as a convincing proof that 
nothing was thought unlawful which 
appeared to be expedient. To 
counterpoise all the jarring interests 
of these different governments, to 
restrain the powertul, to succour 
the weak, and to unite the whole 
inone firm body, so as to enable 
them, on the one hand, successfully 
to oppose the formidable power of 
the Turks, and on the other, to re- 
pel the incursions of the French and 
the Germans, both of. whom were 
objects of terror to the less warlike 
inhabitants of Italy, were the im- 
portant ends which Lorenzo pro- 
posed 
® Gibbon, Decline and Fall, vel. 12. 8vo. edit. p. 186. 
