8 MED 
king of Naples, who was impreffed with a high idea of 
liis early wifdom ; and the prudence and vigour of his 
conduft at home were materially instrumental in reftoring 
the fuperiority of the Medici. In 1469, he married 
Clarice, the daughter of a member of the noble family 
of Orfini. In the fame year his father Piero de Medici 
died, leaving his two fons, Lorenzo and Giuliano, the 
heirs of his power and property. Immediately after the 
death of his father, Lorenzo, at the requelt of the people 
of Florence, took upon himfelf that poll of head of the 
republic which Cofmo and Piero had occupied. Upon 
the acceffion of Sixtus IV. to the papacy, Lorenzo, with 
other eminent citizens, were deputed to congratulate 
him on the part of the Florentine republic. On this oc- 
cafion he was inverted with the office of treafurer of the 
holy.fee; and he took the opportunity of his abode at 
Rome to make valuable additions to the remains of an¬ 
cient art already collected by his family. One of the 
firft public occurrences after he conducted the helm of 
government was a revolt of the inhabitants of Volterra, 
on account of a difpute with the Florentine republic; 
by the recommendation of Lorenzo, means of force were 
adopted, which ended in the fack of the unfortunate 
city, an event that gave him much concern. In 1472, 
he was tlie means of re-eftablilhing the academy of Pifa, 
and he took up his relidence for a conliderable time in 
that city for the purpofe of completing the work ; ex¬ 
erted himfelf in felefting the moll eminent profefl'ors, 
sjid contributed to it a large fum from his private for¬ 
tune, in addition to that granted by the Hate of Flo¬ 
rence. Zealoully attached to the Platonic philofophy, 
he took an aftive part in the eftablilhment of an academy 
for its promotion ; and inftituted an annual feltival in 
honour of the memory of Plato, which was conducted 
with lingular literary fplendour. 
While Lorenzo was thus advancing in a career of- 
profperity and reputation, a tragical incident was very 
near depriving his country of his future fervices. This 
was the confpiracy of the Pazzi, a numerous and diftin- 
guifiied family in Florence, the rivals of the houfe of 
Medici. The inftigators of this foul confpiracy, of 
which the objeft was the afiaffination of Lorenzo and his 
brother, were pope Sixtus IV. and his nephew, cardinal 
Riario : and the archbilhop of Pifa, Salviati, was the 
principal agent in the horrid defign. Giacopo de Pazzi, 
the head of that family, gave his name and affiftance ; and 
feveral perfons of defperate character undertook to aid in 
the execution. Nothing could exceed the atrocity of 
the plan, which was to alfaffinate the two brothers in the 
church, at the inftant of the elevation of the holt. The 
immediate afiaffination of Giuliano was committed to 
Francefco de Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini ; and that of 
Lorenzo had been intrufted to the foie hand of Monte- 
ficco. This office he had willingly undertaken while he 
underftood that it was to be executed in a private dwel¬ 
ling ; but he lhrunk from the idea of polluting the 
houfe of God with fo heinous a crime. Two eccle- 
liartics were therefore felefted for the commiffion of a 
deed, from which the foldier was deterred by confcien- 
tious motives. It was in the month of April, 1478, that 
the young cardinal Riario, apoftolic legate, a gueft in the 
palace of Lorenzo, proceeded to the church of the Re- 
harata, fince called Santa Maria del Fiore, where the in¬ 
tended victims were prefent. The confpirators, having 
taken their rtations, waited with impatience for the ap¬ 
pointed fignal. Tire bell rang—the prieft raifed the con- 
fecrated wafer ; the people bowed before it, and at the 
lame inftant Bandini plunged a (hort dagger into the 
breaft of Giuliano. On receiving the fatal wound, he 
took a few hnftv Iteps and fell ; when the other fiend, 
Francefco de Pazzi, ruflied upon him with incredible 
fury, and (tabbed him in different parts of his body, con¬ 
tinuing to repeat Iris ftrokes even after he was apparently 
dead. Such was the violence of his rage, that he wounded 
himfelf deeply in the thigh. The prieits who had un- 
I C I. 
dertaken the murder of Lorenzo were not equally fuc- 
cefsful : they inflicted only a flight wound, which rather 
roufed him to his defence than difabled him. He in- 
ftantly threw off his cloak, and, holding it up as a (hield 
in his left hand, with his right he drew his fword, 
and repelled the affailants, who fled. Bandini came up 
with his dagger llreaming with the blood of Giuliano, 
but was inftantly laid dead by a fervant of the Medici. 
In the mean time, the friends of Lorenzo affembled 
round him, and conducted him home in fafety. An 
attack upon the palace of government where the magis¬ 
trates were fitting, by other confpirators, failed of fticcefs; 
and the people, attached to the Medici, collecting in 
crowds, put to death or apprehended the affaffins, whole 
defigns were thus entirely fruftrated, with the exception 
of the death of Giuliano. Signal and inftant juftice was 
inflicted on the ciiminals. The archbifhop of Pifa was 
hanged out of the palace-window in his facerdotal robes; 
and Giacopo de Pazzi, with one of his nephews, fhared 
the fame fate. Lorenzo did himfelf honour by his efforts 
to reftrain the fury of the populace, and induce them to 
commit to the magiftrates the farther purfuit of the 
guilty. The name and arms of the Pazzi family were 
fuppreffed, its members were baniflied, and Lorenzo rofe 
ftill higher in the efteem and affeClion of his fellow-ci¬ 
tizens. The pope, inflamed almolt to madnefs by the 
defeat of his fchemes, excommunicated Lorenzo, and 
the magiftrates of Florence ; laid an interdict upon the 
whole territory ; and, forming a league with the king 
of Naples, prepared to invade the Florentine dominions. 
Lorenzo appealed to all the furrounding potentates for 
the juftice of his caufe ; and he was affectionately fup- 
ported by his fellow-citizens. Hoftilities began, and 
were carried on with various fuccefs through two cam¬ 
paigns. But, though the Florentines kept their enemies 
at a diftance, Lorenzo could not but be uneafy at the 
continuance of a burthenfome war of which he was per- 
fonally the objeCl, and of which the event was dubious. 
He therefore, in the clofe of 1479, took the bold refolu- 
tion of paying a vifit to the king of Naples, and, without 
any previous fecurity, trufting his life and liberty to a 
declared enemy. He embarked at Pifa, and on landing 
at Naples was received with great honour by the king, 
who, though of a fevere character, could not but be ftruck 
with fuch an inftance of heroic confidence. In his con- 
verfations with that monarch he was able fo well to plead 
his caufe, that a treaty of mutual friendfhip and defence 
was agreed upon between them 5 and at the end of three 
months Lorenzo re-embarked for Pifa. Immediately 
after he had failed, Ferdinand, who had received freffi 
overtures from the pope, difpatched meffengers to urge 
him to return ; but Lorenzo, well fatisfied with having 
once efcaped the danger, did not choofe to incur a new 
hazard. Sixtus perfevered in the war, till a defcent upon 
the coaft of Italy by Mahomet II. excited fuch an alarm, 
that he confented to a peace upon the humble fubmiflion 
of the Florentine deputies to his pontifical reprimands. 
A domeftic danger foon after fucceeded. Lorenzo’s 
inveterate enemy Riario engaged one Frefcobaldi, a Flo¬ 
rentine exile, to affaffinafe him in a church in the month 
of May, 1481 ; but the plot was difcovered, and the agent 
and his accomplices were feized and executed. From 
that time Lorenzo generally appeared in public fur- 
rounded with friends as a guard, a circumftance which 
has been reprefented by his enemies as a lymptom of 
tyranny. His political conduft as head of the Florentine 
republic was chiefly directed to the prefervation of the 
balance of power among the Italian ftates. The death 
of Sixtus IV. freed him from an adverfary who never 
ceafed to bear him ill-will ; and he was able to fecure 
himfelf a friend in his fucceffor Innocent VIII. of the 
family of Cibo. The capture of Pietra-Santa, and the 
recovery of Sarzana from the Genoefe, were fucceffes 
that dilplayed the vigour of his adminiflration ; while 
the proteftion he afforded to the fmalier ftates in the 
vicinity 
