Читать книгу Villani's Chronicle - Giovanni Villani - Страница 17

This book is called the New Chronicle, in which many past things are treated of, and especially the root and origins of the city of Florence; then all the changes through which it has passed and shall pass in the course of time: begun to be compiled in the year of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, 1300. Here begins the preface and the First Book.

§ 1.—Forasmuch as among our Florentine ancestors, few and ill-arranged memorials are to be found of the past doings of our city of Florence, either by the fault of their negligence or by reason that at the time that Totila, the scourge of God, destroyed it, their writings were lost, I, John, citizen of Florence, considering the nobility and greatness of our city at our present times, hold it meet to recount and make memorial of the root and origins of so famous a city, and of its adverse and happy changes and of past happenings; not because I feel myself sufficient for such a work, but to give occasion to our successors not to be negligent in preserving records of the notable things which shall happen in the times after us, and to give example to those who shall come after, of changes, and things come to pass, and their reasons and causes; to the end that they may exercise themselves in practising virtues, and shunning vices, and enduring adversities with a strong soul, to the good and stability of our republic. And, therefore, I will furnish a faithful narrative in this book in plain vernacular, in order that the ignorant and unlettered may draw thence profit and delight; and if in any part there should be defect, I leave it to the correction of the wiser. And first we will say whence were the origins of our said city, following on for as long a time as God shall grant us grace; and not without much toil shall I labour to extract and recover from the most ancient and diverse books, and chronicles, and authors, the acts and doings of the Florentines, compiling them herein; and first the origin of the ancient city of Fiesole, the destruction whereof was the cause and beginning of our city of Florence. And because our origin starts from very long ago, it seems to us necessary to our treatise to recount briefly other ancient stories; and it will be delightful and useful to our citizens now and to come, and will encourage them in virtue and in great actions to consider how they are descended from noble ancestors and from folk of worth, such as were the ancient and worthy Trojans, and valiant and noble Romans. And to the end our work may be more praiseworthy and good, I beseech the aid of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name every work has a good beginning, continuance and end.

§ 2.—How through the confusion of the Tower of Babel the world began to be inhabited.

We find in the Bible histories, and in those of the Assyrians, that Nimrod the giant was the first king, or ruler, and assembler of the gatherings of the peoples, that he by his power and success ruled over all the families of the sons of Noah, which were seventy-two in number, to wit, twenty-seven of the issue of Shem the first-born son of Noah, and thirty of Ham the second son of Noah, and fifteen of Japhet the third son of Noah. This Nimrod was the son of Cush, which was the son of Ham, the second son of Noah, and of his pride and strength he thought to rival God, saying that God was Lord of Heaven, and he of Earth; and to the end that God might no longer be able to hurt him by a flood of water, as He had done in the first age, he ordained the building of the marvellous work of the Tower of Babel; wherefore God, to confound the said pride, suddenly sent confusion upon all mankind, which were at work upon the said tower; and where Inf. xxxi. 12-18, 46-81. Par. xxvi. 124-126. De Vulg. El. i. 6: 49-61 and i. 7. Purg. xii. 34-36. all were speaking one language (to wit, Hebrew), it was changed into seventy-two divers languages, so that they could not understand one another's speech. And by reason of this, the work of the said tower had of necessity to be abandoned, which was so large that it measured eighty miles round, and it was already 4,000 paces high, and 1,000 paces thick, and each pace is three of our feet. And afterwards this tower remained for the walls of the great city of Babylon, which is in Chaldæa, and the name Babylon is as much as to say "confusion"; and therein by the said Nimrod and his descendants, were first adored the idols of the false gods. The said tower, or wall of Babylon, was begun 700 years after the Flood, and there were 2,354 years from the beginning of the world to the confusion of the Tower of Babel. And we find that they were 107 years working at it; and men lived long in those times. And note, that during this long life, having many wives, they had many sons and descendants, and multiplied into a great people, albeit disordered and without law. Of the said city of Babylon the first king which began to make wars was Ninus, son of Belus, descended from Asshur, son of Shem, which Ninus built the great city Inf. v. 52-60. De Mon. ii. 9: 22 sqq. of Nineveh; and then after him reigned Semiramis, his wife, in Babylon, which was the most cruel and dissolute woman in the world, and she was in the time of Abraham.

§ 3.—How the world was divided into three parts, and of the first called Asia. § 4.—Of the second part of the world called Africa, and its boundaries.

§ 5.—Of the third part of the world called Europe, and its boundaries.

* * * * This Europe was first inhabited by the descendants of Japhet, the third son of Noah, as we shall make mention hereafter in our treatise; and also according to Escodio, master in history, Noah in person, with Janus his son, which he begat after the Flood, came into this part of Europe into the region of Italy, and there ended his life; and Janus abode there, and from him were descended great lords and peoples, and he did many things in Italy.

§ 6.—How King Atlas, born in the fifth degree from Japhet, son of Noah, first came into Europe.

§ 7.—How King Atlas first built the city of Fiesole.

* * * * This Atlas, with Electra his wife, and many followers, by omens and the counsel of Apollinus his astrologer and master, arrived in Italy in the country of Tuscany, which was entirely uninhabited by De Vulg. El. i. 8: 11-13. human beings, and searching by the aid of astronomy through all the confines of Europe for the most healthy and best situated place which could be chosen by him, he took up his abode on the mount of Fiesole, which seemed to him strong in position and well situated. And upon that rock he began and built the city of Fiesole, by the counsel of the said Apollinus, who found out by astronomical arts that Fiesole Inf. xv. 61-63. Par. xv. 126. was in the best and most healthy place that there was in the said third part of the world called Europe. Since it is well-nigh midway between the two seas which encircle Italy, to wit, the sea of Rome and Pisa, which Scripture calls the Mediterranean, and the Adriatic Sea or Gulf, which to-day is called the Gulf of Venice, and, by reason of the said seas, and by the mountains which surround it, better and more healthy winds prevail there than in other places, and also by reason of the stars which rule over that place. And the said city was founded during the ascendant of such a sign and planet, that it gives more sprightliness and strength to all its inhabitants than any other part of Europe; and the nearer one ascends to the summit of the mountain, the more healthy and better it is. And in the said city there was a bath, which was called the Royal Bath, and which cured many sicknesses; and into the said city there came by a marvellous conduit from the mountains above Fiesole, the finest and most wholesome spring waters, of which the city had great abundance. And Atlas had the said city walled with strongest walls, wondrous in their masonry and their thickness, and with great and strong towers; and there was a fortress upon the summit of the mountain, of the greatest beauty and strength, where dwelt the said king, as is still shown and may be seen by the foundations of the said walls, and by the strong and healthy site. The said city of Fiesole multiplied and increased in inhabitants in a short time, so that it ruled over the surrounding country to a great distance. And note that it was the first city built in the said third division of the world called Europe, and therefore it was named "Fia Sola" [it shall be alone], to wit, first, with no other inhabited city in that said division.

§ 8.—How Atlas had three sons, Italus and Dardanus and Sicanus.

Atlas, king of Fiesole, after that he had built the said city, begat by Electra his wife three sons: the first was called Italus, and from his name the kingdom of Italy was named, and he was lord and king thereof; the second son was named Dardanus, which was the first rider to ride a horse with saddle and bridle. Some have written that Dardanus was son to Jove, king of Crete, and son to Saturn, as has been afore mentioned; but this was not true, forasmuch as Jove abode in Greece, and his descendants were kings and lords thereof, and were always the enemies of the Trojans; but Dardanus came from Italy, and was son to Atlas, as the history will make mention. And Virgil the poet confirms it in his book of the Æneid, when the gods said to Æneas that he should seek the country of Italy, whence had come his forefathers which had built Troy; and this was true. The third son of De Mon. ii. 3: 67, 68. Atlas was named Sicanus, that is in our parlance Sezzaio [last], which had a most beautiful daughter called Candanzia. This Sicanus went into the island of Sicily, and was the first inhabitant thereof, and from De Vulg. El. i. 10: 39-85. his name the island was at the first called Sicania, and by diversity of vernacular of the inhabitants it is now called by them Sicilia, and by us Italians Cicilia. This Sicanus built in Sicily the city of Saragosa, and made it chief of the realm whereof he was king, and his descendants after him for a very long time, as is told in the history of the Sicilians, and by Virgil in the Æneid.

§ 9.—How Italus and Dardanus came to agree which should succeed to the city of Fiesole and the kingdom of Italy.

When King Atlas had died in the city of Fiesole, Italus and Dardanus his sons were left rulers after him; and each of them being a lord of great courage, and both being worthy in themselves to reign over the kingdom of Italy, they came to this agreement together, to go with their sacrifices to sacrifice to their great god Mars, whom they worshipped; and when they had offered sacrifice they asked whether of them twain ought to abide lord in Fiesole, and whether ought to go and conquer other countries and realms. From the which idol they received answer, either by divine revelation or by device of the devil, that Dardanus should go and conquer other lands and countries, and Italus should remain in Fiesole and in the country of Italy. To which commandment and answer they gave such effect that Italus abode as ruler, and he begat great rulers which after him governed not only the city of Fiesole and the country round about, but well-nigh all Italy, and they built many cities there; and the said city of Fiesole rose into great power and lordship, until the great city of Rome reached her state and lordship. And thereafter, for all the great power of Rome, yet was the city of Fiesole continually at war with and rebelling against it, until at last it was destroyed by the Romans, as this faithful history shall hereafter record. At present we will cease speaking of the Fiesolans and will return to their history in due time and place, and we will now go on to tell how Dardanus departed from Fiesole, and was the first builder of the great city of Troy, and the ancestor of the kings of the Trojans and also of the Romans.

§ 10.—How Dardanus came to Phrygia and built the city of Dardania, which was afterwards the great Troy.

Dardanus, as he was commanded by the answer of their god, departed from Fiesole with Apollinus, master and astrologer of his father, and with Candanzia his niece, and with a great following of his people, and came into the parts of Asia to the province which was called Phrygia [Frigia], from the name of Friga, of the descendants of Japhet, which was the first inhabitant thereof; which province of Phrygia is beyond Greece, after the islands of Archipelago are passed, on the mainland, which to-day is ruled by the Turks and is called Turkey. In that country the said Dardanus by the counsel and arts of the said Apollinus began to build, and made a city upon the shores of the said Grecian sea, which he called after his own name Dardania, and this was 3,200 years from the creation of the world. And it was called Dardania so long as Dardanus lived, or his sons.

§ 11.—How Dardanus had a son which was named Tritamus, which was the father of Trojus, after whose name the city of Troy was so called.

Now this Dardanus had a son which was called Tritamus, and Tritamus begat Trojus and Torajus; but Trojus was the wiser and the more valorous, and because of his excellence he became lord and king of the said city and of the country round about; and he had great war with Tantalus, king of Greece, son of Saturn, king of Crete, of whom we made mention. And then, after the death of the said Trojus, by reason of the goodness and wisdom and worth which had reigned in him, it pleased his son and the men of his city that the said city should always be called Troy after his name; and the chief and principal gate of the city, in memory of Dardanus, retained the name which the city had at the first, to wit Dardania.

§ 12.—Of the kings which were in Troy; and how Troy was destroyed Cf. Convivio iv. 14: 131-154. Purg. xii. 61-63. Inf. xxx. 13-15, 98, 113, 114. the first time in the time of the King Laomedon. § 13.—How the good King Priam rebuilt the city of Troy. § 14.—How Troy was destroyed by the Greeks. § 15.—How the Greeks which departed from the siege of Troy well-nigh all came to ill. § 16.—How Helenus, son of King Priam, with the sons of Hector, departed from Troy.

§ 17.—How Antenor and the young Priam, having departed from Troy, built the city of Venice, and that of Padua.

Another band departed from the said destruction, to wit Antenor, who was one of the greatest lords of Troy, and was brother of Priam, and Inf. xxxii. 88. Purg. v. 75. son of the King Laomedon, who was much accused of betraying Troy, and Æneas was privy to it, according to Dares; but Virgil makes him quite innocent of this. This Antenor, with Priam the younger, son of King Priam, a little child, escaped from the destruction of Troy with a great following of people to the number of 12,000, and faring over the sea with a great fleet arrived in the country where to-day is Venice, the great city, and they settled themselves in those little surrounding islands, to the end they might be free and beyond reach of any other jurisdiction and government, and became the first inhabitants of those rocks; whence increasing later, the great city of Inf. xxxii. 88. Venice was founded, which at first was called Antenora, from the said Antenor. And afterwards the said Antenor departed thence and came to dwell on the mainland, where to-day is Padua, the great city, and he Purg. v. 75. was its first inhabitant and builder, and he gave it the name of Padua, because it was among paduli [marshes], and by reason of the river Po, which flowed hard by and was called Pado. The said Antenor remained and died in Padua, and within our own times his body has been discovered there, and his tomb engraved with letters which bear witness that it is the body of Antenor, and this his tomb has been renewed by the Paduans and may be seen to-day in Padua.

§ 18.—How Priam III. was king in Germany, and his descendants kings of France. § 19.—How Pharamond was the first king of France, and his descendants after him. § 20.—How the second Pepin, father of Charles the Great, was king of France.

§ 21.—How Æneas departed from Troy and came to Carthage in Africa.

Inf. iv. 122. Inf. i. 73-75. De Mon. ii. 3; Convivio iv. 5: 48.

Æneas again departed from the said destruction of Troy with Anchises, his father, and with Ascanius, his son, born of Creusa, daughter of the great King Priam, with a following of 3,300 men of the best people of Troy, and they embarked upon twenty-two ships. This Æneas was of the royal race of the Trojans, in this wise: for Ansaracus, son of De Mon. ii. 3: 62. Trojus and brother of Ilius, of whom mention was made in the beginning, begat Danaus, and Danaus begat Anchises, and Anchises begat Æneas. This Æneas was a lord of great worth, wise and of great prowess, and very beautiful in person. When he departed from Troy with his following, with great lamentation, having lost Creusa, his wife, in the assault of the Greeks, he went first to the island of Ortygia, and made sacrifice to Apollo, the god of the sun, or rather idol, asking him for counsel and answer whither he should go; from the which he had answer and commandment to go into the land and country of Italy De Mon. ii. 3: 77-84. (whence at the first had come Dardanus and his forefathers to Troy), and to enter into Italy by the harbour or mouth of the river of Albola; and he said to him by the said oracle, that after many travails by sea, and battles in the said land of Italy, he should gain Epist. vii. (3) 62, 63. a wife and great lordship, and from his race should arise mighty kings and emperors, which should do very great and notable things. When Æneas heard this he was much encouraged by the fair response and promise, and straightway he put to sea with his following and ships, and voyaging long time he met with many adventures, and came to many countries, and first to the country of Macedonia, where already were Helenus and the wife and son of Hector; and after their sorrowful meeting, remembering the ruin of Troy, they departed. And sailing over divers seas, now forwards, now backwards, now crossways, as being ignorant of the country of Italy, not having with them any great masters or pilots of the sea which could guide them, so that they sailed almost whithersoever fortune or the sea winds might lead them, at last they came to the island of Sicily which the poets called Trinacria, and landed where to-day is the city of Trapali, in which Anchises, his father, by reason of his great toils and his old age, Par. xix. 131, 132. passed from this life, and in the said place was buried after their manner with great solemnities. And after the great mourning made by Æneas over his dear father, they departed thence to go into Italy; and by stress of storm the said ships were divided, and part held one way, and part another. And one of the said ships, with all on board, was lost in the sea, and the others came to the shores of Africa (neither knowing ought of the other), where the noble city of Carthage was a-building by the powerful and beautiful Queen Dido which had come thither from Sidonia, which is now called Suri [Tyre]; and the said Æneas and Ascanius, his son, and all his following in the twenty-one ships which came to that port, were received by the said queen with Par. viii. 9. great honour; above all, because the said queen was taken with great love for Æneas so soon as she beheld him, in such wise that Æneas for her sake abode there long time in such delight that he did not remember the commandment of the gods that he should go into Italy; and by a dream or vision, it was told him by the said gods that he should Inf. v. 61, 62. Par. ix. 97, 98. Cf. De Monarchia ii. 3: 102-108. Convivio iv. 26: 59-70. Canzon. xii. 35, 36. no longer abide in Africa. For the which thing suddenly with his following and ships he departed from Carthage; and therefore the said Queen Dido by reason of her passionate love slew herself with the sword of the said Æneas. And those who desire to know this story more fully may read it in the First and Second Books of the Æneid, written by the great poet Virgil.

§ 22.—How Æneas came into Italy.

When Æneas had departed from Africa, he again landed in Sicily, where he had buried his father Anchises, and in that place celebrated the anniversary of his father with great games and sacrifices; and they Conv. iv. 26: 96. received great honour from Acestes, then king of Sicily, by reason of the ancient kinship with the Trojans, who were descendants of Sicanus of Fiesole. Then he departed from Sicily, and came into Italy, to the Gulf of Baiæ, which to-day is called Mare Morto, to the headland of Miseno, very near where to-day is Naples; in which country there were Inf. ii. 13-15. many and great woods and forests, and Æneas, going through them, was led by the appointed guide, the Erythræan Sibyl, to behold Hell and the pains that are therein, and afterwards Limbo; and, according to what is related by Virgil in the Sixth Book of the Æneid, he there Par. xv. 25-30. found and recognised the shades, or soul-images of his father, Anchises, and of Dido, and of many other departed souls. And by his said father were shown to him, or signified in a vision, all his descendants and their lordship, and they which were to build the great city of Rome. And it is said by many, that the place where he was led by the wise Sibyl was through the weird caverns of Monte Barbaro, which is above Pozzuolo, and which still to-day are strange and fearful to behold; and others believe and hold that, either by divine power or by magic arts, this was shown to Æneas in a vision of the Inf. ii. 13-27. spirit, to signify to him the great things which were to issue and come forth from his descendants. But however that may be, when he issued forth from Hell, he departed, and entered into a ship, and, following the shores until he came to the mouth of the river Tiber or Albola, he entered it, and came to shore, and by signs and auguries perceived that he had arrived in the country of Italy, which had been promised him by the gods; and with great festival and rejoicing they brought their labours by sea to an end, and began to build for themselves habitations, and to fortify themselves with ditches and palisades of the wood of their ships. And this place afterwards became the city of Ostia; and these fortifications they built for fear of the country people, who, fearing them as strange folk and unused to their customs, held them as foes, and fought many battles against the Trojans to drive them from the country, in all of which the Trojans were victorious.

§ 23.—How the King Latinus ruled over Italy, and how Æneas had his daughter to wife, and all his kingdom.

In this country (whereof the capital was Laurentia, the remains of which may still be traced near to where Terracina now stands), the Inf. xiv. 94-96. Par. xxii. 145, 146. King Latinus reigned, which was of the seed of King Saturn, who came from Crete when he was driven thence by Jove his son, as we made mention afore. And this Saturn came into the country of Rome, which was then ruled by Janus of the seed of Noah; but the inhabitants were then very ignorant, and lived like beasts on fruits and acorns, and dwelt in caves of the earth. This Saturn, wise in learning and in Cf. Par. xxi. 25-27. manners, by his wisdom and counsel led the people to live like men, and caused them to cultivate lands, and plant vineyards, and build houses, and enclose towns and cities; and the said Saturn was the first to build the city of Sutri, called Saturna, and it was so called after his name; and in that country, by his care, grain was first sown, wherefore the dwellers therein held him for a god; and Janus himself, which was lord thereof, made him his partner, and gave him a share in the kingdom. This Saturn reigned thirty-four years in Italy, and after him reigned Picus his son thirty-one years; and after Picus reigned Faunus his son twenty-nine years, and was slain by his people. The two sons of Faunus were Lavinus and Latinus. This Lavinus built the city of Lavina. And Lavinus reigned but a short time; and when he was dead the kingdom was left to Latinus, which changed the name of the city of Lavina to Laurentia, because on the chief tower thereof there grew a great laurel tree. The said Latinus reigned thirty-two years, and was very wise; and he much bettered the Latin tongue. This Inf. iv. 125, 126. Purg. xvii. 34-39. King Latinus had only one most beautiful daughter called Lavinia, who by her mother had been promised in marriage to a king of Tuscany, named Turnus, of the city of Ardea, now Cortona. Tuscany was the name of the country and province, because there were the first sacrifices offered to the gods, with the fumes of incense called tuscio. Æneas having arrived in the country, sought peace with the King Latinus, and that he might dwell there; by the said Latinus he was received graciously, and not only had leave of him to inhabit the country, but also had the promise of his daughter Lavinia to wife, since the command of the gods was that they should marry her to a stranger, and not to a man of the country. For which cause, and to secure the heritage of King Latinus, great battles arose, for a long time, between Æneas and Turnus and them of Laurentia, and the said Turnus Par. vi. 35, 36. Inf. i. 107, iv. 124. Purg. xvii. 34-39. Inf. i. 108. Par. vi. 3. De Monarchia ii. 3: 108-117. slew in battle the great and strong giant, Pallas, son of Evander, king of the seven hills, where to-day is Rome, who had come in aid of Æneas; and on the same account died, by the hand of Æneas, the virgin Camilla, who was marvellous in arms. In the end, Æneas, being victor in the last battle, and Turnus being slain by his hand, took Lavinia to wife, who loved Æneas much, and Æneas her; and he had the half of the kingdom of King Latinus. And, after the death of King Latinus, who lived but a short time longer, Æneas was lord over all.

§ 24.—How Julius Ascanius, son of Æneas, was king after him, and of the kings and lords who descended from him. § 25.—How Silvius, Inf. ii. 13. second son of Æneas, was king after Ascanius, and how from him descended the kings of the Latins, of Alba, and of Rome. § 26.—How Romulus and Remus founded the city of Rome. § 27.—How Numa Par. vi. 40-42. Convivio iv. 5: 80-97. Pompilius was king of the Romans after the death of Romulus. § 28.—How there were in Rome seven kings one after the other down to Tarquin, and how in his time they lost the lordship.

§ 29.—How Rome was ruled for a long time by the government of the consuls and senators, until Julius Cæsar became Emperor.

After that the kings had been driven out, and the government of Rome was left to the consuls and senators, the said King Tarquin and his son, with the aid of King Porsenna of Tuscany, who reigned in the city of Chiusi [Clusium], made great war upon the Romans, but in the end the victory remained with the Romans. And afterwards the Republic of Rome was ruled and governed for 450 years by consuls and senators, and at times by dictators, whose authority endured for five years; and they were, so to speak, emperors, for that which they commanded must of necessity be done; and other divers offices, such as tribunes of the people, and prætors, and censors, and chiliarchs. And in this time there were in Rome many changes, and wars, and battles, not only with their neighbours, but with all the nations of the world; the which Romans by force of arms, and virtue and the wisdom of good citizens, ruled over well-nigh all the provinces and realms and dominions in the world, and gained sovereignty over them, and made them tributary, with the greatest battles, and with slaughter of many nations of the world, and of the Romans themselves, in divers times, well-nigh innumerable to relate. And also among the citizens themselves, by reason of envy against the rulers, and strifes between magnates and them of the people; and on the cessation of foreign wars, there arose much fighting and slaughter ofttimes among the citizens; and, in addition to this, from time to time intolerable pestilences arose among the Romans. And this government endured until the great battles of Julius Cæsar against Pompey, and then against his sons, in which Cæsar was victorious; then the said Cæsar did away with the office of consuls and of dictators, and he first was called Emperor. And after him Par. vi. 79-81. Convivio iv. 5: 16-29. De Monarchia ii. 9: 99-105; and ii. 12. Epist. vii. (3) 64-73. Octavianus Augustus, who ruled in peace, after many battles, over the whole world, at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, 700 years after the foundation of Rome; and thus it is seen that Rome was governed by kings for 254 years, and by consuls 450 years, as we have aforesaid, and it is told more at length by Titus Livius and many other authors. But note that the great power of the Romans was not alone in themselves, save in so far that they were at the head and leaders; but first all the Tuscans and then all the Italians followed them in their wars and in their battles, and were all called Romans. But we will now leave the order of the history of the Romans and of the Emperors, save in so far as it shall pertain to our matter, returning to our subject of the building of Florence, which we promised to narrate. And we have made this long exordium, forasmuch as it was necessary to show how the origin of the Roman builders of Florence (as hereafter will be narrated) was derived from the noble Trojans; and the origin and beginning of the Trojans was from Dardanus, son of Atlas, of the city of Fiesole, as we have briefly recounted; and afterwards from the descendants of the noble Romans, and of the Fiesolans, by the force of the Romans a people was founded called Florentines.

§ 30.—How a conspiracy was formed in Rome by Catiline and his followers.

680 a.u.c.

At the time when Rome was still ruled by the government of consuls, in the year 680 from the foundation of the said city, Mark Tully Cicero and Caius Antony being consuls, and Rome in great and happy state and lordship, Catiline, a very noble citizen, descended by birth from the royal house of Tarquin, being a man of dissolute life but brave and daring in arms and a fine orator, but not wise, being envious of the good and rich and wise men who ruled the city, their lordship not being pleasing to him, formed a conspiracy with many other nobles and other followers disposed to evil-doing, and purposed to slay the consuls and part of the senators, and to destroy their office, and to overrun the city, robbing and setting fire to many parts thereof, and to make himself ruler thereof; and this he would have done had it not been warded off by the wit and foresight of the wise consul, Mark Tully. So he defended the city from such ruin, and found out the said conspiracy and treason; but because of the greatness and power of the Convivio iv. 5: 172-176. said Catiline, and because Tully was a new citizen in Rome, his father having come from Capua or from some other town of the Campagna, he did not dare to have Catiline seized or to bring him to justice, as his misdeeds required; but by his great wit and fine speech he caused him to depart from the city; but many of his fellow-conspirators and companions, from among the greatest citizens, and even of the order of senators, who abode still in Rome after Catiline's departure, he caused to be seized, and to be strangled in prison, so that they died, as the great scholar, Sallust, relates in due order.

§ 31.—How Catiline caused the city of Fiesole to rebel against the city of Rome.

Catiline having departed from Rome, with part of his followers came into Tuscany, where Manlius, one of his principal fellow-conspirators, who was captain, had gathered his people in the ancient city of Fiesole, and Catiline being come thither, he caused the said city to rebel against the lordship of the Romans, assembling all the rebels and exiles from Rome and from many other provinces, with lewd folk disposed for war and for ill-doing, and he began fierce war with the Romans. The Romans, hearing this, decreed that Caius Antony, the consul, and Publius Petreius, with an army of horse and many foot, should march into Tuscany against the city of Fiesole and against Catiline; and they sent by them letters and messengers to Quintus Metellus, who was returning from France with a great host of the Romans, that he should likewise come with his force from the other side to the siege of Fiesole, and to pursue Catiline and his followers.

§ 32.—How Catiline and his followers were discomfited by the Romans in the plain of Piceno.

Now when Catiline heard that the Romans were coming to besiege him in the city of Fiesole, and that Antony and Petreius were already with their host in the plain of Fiesole, upon the bank of the river Arno, and how that Metellus was already in Lombardy with his host of three legions which were coming from France, and the succour which he was expecting from his allies which had remained in Rome had failed him, he took counsel not to shut himself up in the city of Fiesole, but to go into France; and therefore he departed from that city with his people and with a lord of Fiesole who was called Fiesolanus, and he had his horses' shoes reversed, to the end that when they departed the hoofprints of the horses might show as if folk had entered into Fiesole, and not sallied forth thence, to cause the Romans to tarry near the city, that he might depart thence the more safely. And having departed by night, to avoid Metellus, he did not hold the direct road through the mountains which we call the Alps of Bologna, but took the plain by the side of the mountains, and came where to-day is the city of Pistoia, in the place called Campo Piceno, that was below where to-day is the fortress of Piteccio, purposing to cross the Apennine mountains by that way, and descend thence into Lombardy; but Antony and Petreius, hearing of his departure, straightway followed after him with their host along the plain, so that they overtook him in the said place, and Metellus, on the other side, set guards at the passes of the mountains, to the end he might not pass thereby. Catiline, seeing himself to be thus straitened, and that he could not avoid the battle, gave himself and his followers to the chances of combat with great courage and boldness, in the which battle there was great slaughter of Romans from the city and of rebel Romans and of Fiesolans; at the end of which fierce battle Catiline was defeated and slain in that place of Piceno with all his followers; and the field remained to the Romans, but with such dolorous victory that the said two consuls, with twenty horse, who alone escaped, did not care to return to Rome. The which thing could not gain credence with the Romans till the senators sent thither to learn the truth; and, this known, there was the greatest sorrow thereat in Rome. And he who desires to see this history more fully, let him read the book of Sallust called Catilinarius. The injured and wounded of Catiline's people who had escaped death in the battle, albeit they were but few, withdrew where is to-day the city of Pistoia, and there in vile habitations became the first inhabitants thereof, whilst their wounds were healing. And afterwards, by reason of the good situation and fruitful soil, the inhabitants thereof increased, which afterwards built the city of Pistoia, and by reason of the great mortality and pestilence which was near that place, both of their people and of the Romans, they gave it the name of Pistoia; and therefore it is not to be marvelled at if the Pistoians have been and are a fierce and cruel people in war among themselves and against others, being descended from the race of Catiline and from the remnants of such people as his, discomfited and wounded in battle.

§ 33.—How Metellus with his troops made war upon the Fiesolans.

After that Metellus, who was in Lombardy near the mountains of the Apennine Alps in the country of Modena, heard of the defeat and death of Catiline, straightway he came with his host to the place where the battle had been, and having seen the slain, through amazement at the strange and great mortality he was afeared, marvelling within himself as at a thing impossible. But afterwards he and his followers equally despoiled the camp of the Romans from the city and that of the enemy, seizing that which they found there; and this done he came towards Fiesole to besiege the city. The Fiesolans vigorously took to arms, and sallied forth from the city to the plain, fighting with Metellus and with his host, and by force thrust him back, and drove him to the other side of the Arno with great hurt to his people, who with his followers encamped upon the hills, or upon the banks of the river; the Fiesolans with their host drew off from the other bank of the river Arno towards Fiesole.

§ 34.—How Metellus and Fiorinus discomfited the Fiesolans.

The night following, Metellus ordered and commanded that part of his host should pass the river Arno, at a distance from the host of the Fiesolans, and should place themselves in ambush between the city of Fiesole and the host of the Fiesolans, and of that company he made captain Fiorinus, a noble citizen of Rome of the race of the Fracchi or Floracchi, who was his prætor, which is as much as to say marshal of his host; and Fiorinus, as he was commanded by the consul, so he did. In the morning, at the break of day, Metellus armed with all his people passing over the river Arno, began the battle against the Fiesolans, and the Fiesolans, vigorously defending the ford of the river, sustained the battle in the river Arno. Fiorinus, who was with his people in ambush, when he saw the battle begun, sallied forth boldly in the rear of the Fiesolans, who were fighting in the river against Metellus. The Fiesolans, surprised by the ambush, seeing themselves suddenly assailed by Fiorinus in the rear and by Metellus in front, put to confusion, threw down their arms and fled discomfited towards the city of Fiesole, wherefore many of them were slain and taken.

§ 35.—How the Romans besieged Fiesole the first time, and how Fiorinus was slain.

The Fiesolans being discomfited and driven back from the shores of Arno, Fiorinus the prætor, with the host of the Romans, encamped beyond the river Arno towards Fiesole, where were two little villages, one of which was called Villa Arnina, and the other Camarte [Casa Martis], that is campo or Domus Martis, where the Fiesolans on a certain day in the week held a market in all commodities for their towns and the region round about. The consul made a decree with Fiorinus that no one should sell or buy bread or wine or other things which might be of use to the troops save in the field where Fiorinus was stationed. After this the consul Quintus Metellus sent incontinent to Rome that they should send him men-at-arms to besiege the city of Fiesole, for the which cause the senators made a decree that Julius Cæsar, and Cicero, and Macrinus, with several legions of soldiers, should come to the siege and destruction of Fiesole; which, being come, besieged the said city. Cæsar encamped on the hill which rose above the city; Macrinus on the next hill or mountain, and Cicero on the other side; and thus they remained for six years besieging the said city, having through long siege and through hunger almost destroyed it. And likewise those in the host, by reason of the long sojourn and their many privations being diminished and enfeebled, departed from the siege, and returned to Rome, save Fiorinus, who remained at the siege with his followers in the plain where he had at first encamped, and surrounded himself with moats and palisades, after the manner of ramparts, or fortifications, and kept the Fiesolans in great straits; and thus he warred upon them long time, till his folk felt secure, and held their foes for nought. Then the Fiesolans having recovered breath somewhat, and mindful of the ill which Fiorinus had done and was doing to them, suddenly, and as if in despair, advanced by night with ladders and with engines to attack the camp or fortification of Fiorinus, and he and his people with but few guards and while they slept, not being on their guard against the Fiesolans, were surprised; and Fiorinus and his wife and his children were slain, and all his host in that place well-nigh destroyed, for few thereof escaped; and the said fortress and ramparts were destroyed, and burnt and done away with by the Fiesolans.

§ 36.—How, because of the death of Fiorinus, the Romans returned to the siege of Fiesole.

When the news was known at Rome, the consuls and senators and all the commonwealth being grieved at the misadventure which had befallen the good leader Fiorinus, straightway took counsel that this should be avenged, and that a very great host should return once more to destroy the city of Fiesole, for the which were chosen these leaders: Count Rainaldus, Cicero, Teberinus Macrinus, Albinus, Gneus Pompey, Cæsar, and Camertino Sezio, Conte Tudedino, that is Count of Todi, which was with Julius Cæsar, and of his chivalry. This man pitched his camp near to Camarti, nearly where to-day is Florence; Cæsar pitched his camp upon the hill which rose above the city, which is to-day called Mount Cecero, but formerly was called Mount Cæsar, after his name, or after the name of Cicero; but rather it is held to be after Cæsar, inasmuch as he was the greatest leader in the host. Rainaldus pitched his camp upon the hill over against the city on the other side of the Mugnone, and after his name it is so called until this day; Macrinus encamped on the hill still called after him; Camertinus in the region which is still called Camerata after his name. And all the other aforesaid lords, each one for himself pitched his camp around the city, some on the hills and some in the plain; but no other than these aforesaid have left their names to be a memorial of them. These lords, with their followers in great numbers, both horse and foot, besieging the city, arrayed and prepared themselves to make yet greater war upon the city than at the first; but by reason of the strength of the city the Romans wrought in vain, and many of them being dead by reason of the long siege and excessive toil, those great lords and consuls and senators well-nigh all returned to Rome; only Cæsar with his followers abode still at the siege. And during that sojourn he commanded his soldiers to go to the village of Camarti, nigh to the river Arno, and there to build a council house wherein he might hold his council, and might leave it for a memorial of himself. This building in our vernacular we have named Parlagio [Parliament house]. And it was round and was right marvellously vaulted, and had an open space in the midst; and then began seats in steps all around; and from step to step, built upon, vaulting, they rose, widening up to the very top, and the height thereof was more than sixty cubits, and it had two doors; and therein assembled the people to hold council, and from grade to grade the folk were seated, the most noble above, and then descending according to the dignity of the people; and it was so fashioned that all in the Parliament might see one another by face, and that all might hear distinctly that which one was saying; and it held commodiously an infinite multitude of people, and its name, rightly speaking, was Parlatorio [speaking place]. This was afterwards destroyed in the time of Totila, but in our days the foundations may yet be seen, and part of the vaulting near to the church of S. Simone in Florence, and reaching to the beginning of the square of Santa Croce; and part of the palaces of the Peruzzi are built thereupon, and the street which is called Anguillaia, which goes to Santa Croce, goes almost through the midst of the said Parliament house.

§ 37.—How the city of Fiesole surrendered itself to the Romans and was destroyed and laid waste.

Circ. 72 b.c.

Fiesole having been besieged as aforesaid the second time, and the city being much wasted and afflicted both by reason of hunger and also because their aqueducts had been cut off and destroyed, the city surrendered to Cæsar and to the Romans at the end of two years and four months and six days (for so long had the siege lasted), on condition that any which desired to leave the city might go in safety. The city was taken by the Romans, and despoiled of all its wealth, and Par. vi. 53, 54. xv. 124-126. was destroyed by Cæsar, and laid waste to the foundations; and this was about seventy-two years before the birth of Christ.

§ 38.—How the city of Florence was first built.

After the city of Fiesole was destroyed, Cæsar with his armies descended to the plain on the banks of the river Arno, where Fiorinus and his followers had been slain by the Fiesolans, and in this place began to build a city, in order that Fiesole should never be rebuilt; and he dismissed the Latin horseman whom he had with him, enriched with the spoils of Fiesole; and these Latins were called Tudertines. Cæsar, then, having fixed the boundaries of the city, and included two places called Camarti and Villa Arnina [of the Arno], purposed to call it Cæsaræa from his own name. But when the Roman senate heard this, they would not suffer Cæsar to call it after his name, but they made a decree and order that the other chief noble Romans who had taken part in the siege of Fiesole should go and build the new city together with Cæsar, and afterwards populate it; and that whichever of the builders had first completed his share of the work should call it after his own name, or howso else it pleased him.

Then Macrinus, Albinus, Gneus Pompey, and Marcius, furnished with materials and workmen, came from Rome to the city which Cæsar was building, and agreed with Cæsar to divide the work after this manner: that Albinus undertook to pave all the city, which was a noble work and gave beauty and charm to the city, and to this day fragments of the work are found, in digging, especially in the sesto of Santo Piero Scheraggio, and in Porta San Piero, and in Porta del Duomo, where it shows that the ancient city was. Macrinus caused the water to be brought in conduits and aqueducts, bringing it from a distance of seven miles from the city, to the end the city might have abundance of good water to drink and to cleanse the city; and this conduit was carried from the river called Marina at the foot of Montemorello, gathering to itself all the springs above Sesto and Quinto and Colonnata. And in Florence the said springs came to a head at a great palace which was called "caput aquæ," but afterwards in our speech it was called Capaccia, and the remains can be seen in the Terma until this day. And note that the ancients, for health's sake, used to drink spring waters brought in by conduits, forasmuch as they were purer and more wholesome than water from wells; seeing that few, indeed very few, drank wine, but the most part water from conduits, but not from wells; and as yet there were very few vines. Gneus Pompey caused the walls of the city to be built of burnt bricks, and upon the walls of the city he built many round towers, and the space between one tower and the other was twenty cubits, and it was so that the towers were of great beauty and strength. Concerning the size and circuit of the city we can find no chronicle which makes mention thereof; save that when Totila, the scourge of God, destroyed it, history records that it was very great. Marcius, the other Roman lord, caused the Capitol to be built after the fashion of Rome, that is to say the palace, or master fortress of the city, and this was of marvellous beauty; into which the water of the river Arno came by a hollowed and vaulted passage, and returned into the Arno underground; and the city, at every festival, was cleansed by the outpouring of this duct. This Capitol stood where to-day is the piazza which is called the Mercato Vecchio, over against the church which is called S. Maria, in Campidoglio. This seems to be the best supported opinion; but some say that it was where Inf. xxiii. 107, 108. the place is now called the Guardingo [citadel]; beside the Piazza di Popolo (so called from the Priors' Palace), which was another fortress. Guardingo was the name afterwards given to the remains of the walls and arches after the destruction by Totila, where the bad quarter was. And the said lords each strove to be in advance of the work of the others. And at one same time the whole was completed, so that to none of them was the favour granted of naming the city according to his desire, but by many it was at first called "Little Rome." Others called it Floria, because Fiorinus, who was the first builder in that spot, had there died, he being the fiore [flower] of warlike deeds and of chivalry, and because in the country and fields around where the city was built there always grew flowers and lilies. Afterwards the greater part of the inhabitants consented to call it Floria, as being built among flowers, that is, amongst many delights. And of a surety it was, inasmuch as it was peopled by the best of 70 b.c. Rome, and the most capable, sent by the senate in due proportion from each division of Rome, chosen by lot from the inhabitants; and they admitted among their number those Fiesolans which desired there to dwell and abide. But afterwards it was, through long use of the vulgar tongue, called Fiorenza, that is "flowery sword." And we find that it was built in the year 682, after the building of Rome and seventy years before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. And note that it is Inf. xv. 73-78. Par. xv. 124-126. not to be wondered at that the Florentines are always at war and strife among themselves, being born and descended from two peoples so contrary and hostile and different in habits as were the noble Romans in their virtue and the rude Fiesolans fierce in war.

§ 39.—How Cæsar departed from Florence, and went to Rome, and was made consul to go against the French.

After that the city of Florence was built and peopled, Julius Cæsar being angered because he, having been the first builder thereof, and having had the victory over the city of Fiesole, had nevertheless not been permitted to call the city after his name, departed therefrom and returned to Rome, and for his zeal and valour was elected consul and sent against the French, where he abode ten years whilst he was conquering France and England and Germany; and when he returned victorious to Rome his triumph was refused him, because he had transgressed the decree (made by Pompey the consul, and by the senate, through envy, under colour of virtue), that no one was to continue in any command for more than five years. The which Cæsar returning with his army of French and Germans from beyond the Alps, Italians, Pisans, Pirates, Pistoians, and also Florentines, his fellow-citizens, brought footmen and horsemen and slingers with him to begin a civil war, because his triumph had been refused him, but moreover that he might be lord of Rome as he had desired long time. So he fought against Pompey and the senate of Rome. And after the great battle between Par. vi. 65. Epist. v. (3) 47-49. Cæsar and Pompey, well-nigh all the combatants were slain in Emathia, to wit Thessaly in Greece, as may fully be read in Lucan the poet, by whoso desires to know the history. And after that Cæsar had gained the victory over Pompey, and over many kings and peoples who were helping those Romans who were his enemies, he returned to Rome, and so became the first Emperor of Rome, which is as much as to say commander over Par. vi. 73-81. Convivio iv. 5: 16-79. De Mon. ii. 9: 99-105; and ii. 12. Epist. vii. (3) 64-73. all. And after him came Octavianus Augustus, his nephew and adopted son, who was reigning when Christ was born, and after many victories ruled over all the world in peace; and thenceforward Rome was under imperial government, and held under its jurisdiction and that of the Empire all the whole world.

§ 40.—Of the ensign of the Romans and of the Emperors, and how from them it came to the city of Florence and other cities.