"Honesty in pawn to necessity"

Ralph Roeder, The Man of the Renaissance: Reading Notes Part X

The Borgia Pope dies and his body swells to enormous proportions: "the cheeks were enormous, the nose had doubled, the tongue clogged his mouth, the skin was black." All this gives rise to rumors of poisoning as his body is unceremoniously crammed into a coffin.

Caesare caught fever at same dinner and lies deathly ill. He survives his father and -- as his power base is the Vatican armies -- is relieved when choice for the next Pope is elderly and ailing, a caretaker. He reigns for 26 days.

Though scrupulously honest, Cardinal della Rovere makes a bargain with Caesare Borgia in order to amass votes to become Pope (Julius II). "They had compromised him, but his honesty had only been in pawn to necessity."

Julius almost immediately turns on Caesare, who quickly crumbles and goes penniless into exile. His eclipse as rapid as Savaronarola's; more ignomunious if less violent. At one point, in effort to stave-off exile, Cesare tries to reconcile with Duke of Urbino, who is visiting with Julius in Rome; when Guidobaldo refuses to admit him, Cesare sneaks in through secret Vatican passageway and prostrates himself, asking forgiveness, before the appalled noble.

Just as the Friar could not rule from soulcraft alone, so the Condotteri could not succeed by physical might alone.


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