Chapter 46 - Page 2

succeeded in
his object; for they perceived their ruin to be inevitable if they
continued in war with their sovereign, though from submission and
confidence in him, they would still have reason for apprehension.
Mankind are always most eager to avoid a certain evil; and hence
inferior powers are easily deceived by princes. The barons, conscious
of the danger of continuing the war, trusted the king's promises, and
having placed themselves in his hands, they were soon after destroyed
in various ways, and under a variety of pretexts. This alarmed Jacopo
Piccinino, who was with his forces at Sulmona; and to deprive the king
of the opportunity of treating him similarly, he endeavored, by the
mediation of his friends, to be reconciled with the duke, who, by the
most liberal offers, induced Jacopo to visit him at Milan, accompanied
by only a hundred horse.

Jacopo had served many years with his father and brother, first under
Duke Filippo, and afterward under the Milanese republic, so that by
frequent intercourse with the citizens he had acquired many friends
and universal popularity, which present circumstances tended to
increase; for the prosperity and newly acquired power of the
Sforzeschi had occasioned envy, while Jacopo's misfortunes and long
absence had given rise to compassion and a great desire to see him.
These various feelings were displayed upon his arrival; for nearly all
the nobility went to meet him; the streets through which he passed
were filled with citizens, anxious to catch a glimpse of him, while
shouts of "The Bracceschi! the Bracceschi!" resounded on all sides.
These honors accelerated his ruin; for the duke's apprehensions
increased his desire of destroying him; and to effect this with the
least possible suspicion, Jacopo's marriage with Drusiana, the duke's
natural daughter, was now celebrated. The duke then arranged with
Ferrando to take him into pay, with the title of captain of his
forces, and give him 100,000 florins for his maintenance. After this
agreement, Jacopo, accompanied by a ducal ambassador and his wife
Drusiana, proceeded to Naples, where he was honorably and joyfully
received, and for many days entertained with every kind of festivity;
but having asked permission to go to Sulmona, where his forces were,
the king invited him to a banquet in the castle, at the conclusion of
which he and his son Francesco were imprisoned, and shortly afterward
put to death. It was thus our Italian princes, fearing those virtues
in others which they themselves did not possess, extirpated them; and
hence the country became a prey to the efforts of those by whom it was
not long afterward oppressed and ruined.

At this time, Pope Pius II. having settled the affairs of Romagna, and