INSTRUCTIONS
GIVEN TO FRANCESCO DELLA CASA AND NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI BY LORENZO LENZI, AMBASSADOR, ETC., ETC.

In consequence of the absence of Messer Francesco Gualterotti, and the departure of the king from here, I shall not be able to present you to his Majesty, and therefore deem it necessary to give you the following instructions, namely: —

You will follow the court, and upon your arrival there you will present yourselves to the Cardinal d’Amboise and make known to him the object of your mission. Say to him that you have come for the purpose of explaining to his Majesty all that has occurred in the camp before Pisa; but that before doing so you desire to render a full and particular account of it to his Eminence, so that you may afterwards communicate so much of it to his Majesty and the Council as his Eminence may deem proper. In fact, that you are prepared to follow his advice in all things, inasmuch as our republic looks upon his Eminence as her chief protector and benefactor. Ask him to present you to his Majesty whenever he thinks it best, and to direct you what, in his judgment, it will be proper for you to communicate to his Majesty, as well as the manner of doing it. And in your language to his Eminence be prodigal of assurances of our having the most unlimited confidence in him; in short, do all that can be done to preserve his favorable disposition towards our republic, and to derive from it all the advantages possible.

When you enter upon the particulars of the troubles that occurred in the camp, you must avoid as much as possible laying the blame upon M. de Beaumont, particularly in those matters that cannot be laid to our charge. You may say that the trouble arose from his not having influence enough in camp, and from the natural gentleness of his character, which caused him not to be sufficiently feared as he should have been. But that his intentions always had been most excellent, and that he

always manifested the greatest anxiety and displeasure at seeing things go as they did, to our disadvantage and to the discredit of his Majesty; and that, so far as his talents and labors could produce any good effect, he never relaxed his efforts nor his diligence; and that the malignity of others was the sole cause of all the disorders. You must reiterate that it was the envy and bad conduct of those Italians who were in the camp; and whom you may blame regardlessly, for you will be addressing your remarks to his Eminence the Cardinal d’Amboise, and in presence of Monseigneur d’Alby and the Maréchal de Gies.

And when you happen to be alone with his Eminence d’Amboise, you may incidentally state that the conduct of these Italians had been so bad that there could be no doubt but they were acting under orders from outside of the camp. You may point out to his Eminence some of the instances mentioned in your commission, and especially the fact that they had engaged Rinieri della Sassetta, one of our rebels, and employed him in the intrigues with the Pisans, in which a great many of the Lombards participated. In the same way you may refer to the insolence and brutality of the infantry, and the waste of provisions of which they were guilty, and from which all the other troubles originated. Do not fail to testify to the good conduct of Saliente. And another matter to which I must call your particular attention is, that if his Eminence d’Amboise should say to you, when you are alone with him, or in the presence of the king or any other persons, that M. de Beaumont had been appointed to the command of the army at the request of Pietro Soderini, and with our concurrence; then admit that you have heard that this was so, and that it could only have been of advantage for us; for it is most important to preserve the good will of the Cardinal for objects of greater magnitude, or when we may need him to relieve us from even heavier charges.

You will add that you have heard that, notwithstanding what has occurred, his Majesty is disposed to persevere in carrying on the war against the Pisans, and against all who give them aid and support, or attempt in any way to injure us. So that the siege is to be recommenced, and that for that reason it had lately been agreed with us Ambassadors that the camp shall be located in a healthy place in the vicinity of Pisa, and where it can be conveniently supplied with provisions and other necessaries

for making fair war against Pisa, until the siege is resumed; but that you are ignorant as to the present whereabouts and the condition of the camp, as well as what Florence may be able to do; knowing that since the departure of the troops the Pisans have ravaged the country to our detriment and dishonor, which would not have occurred but for the fact that our reliance upon the troops of his Majesty made us disband our own, so as the better to be able to provide for the pay of the army and the other expenses of the war. That it is necessary promptly to put an end to these insults, and for that reason, although without having been asked to do so by our Signoria, we have resolved to ask of his Majesty as soon as possible to give orders to his commander and his troops, whenever requested by the Florentine government, to send two hundred lances, but not Italians, to go and remain on Pisan territory; where they are to be quartered in a convenient and healthy situation, the same as has been specified for the whole army, and for the purpose of obtaining the same results. And you may say that you expect to find his Majesty well disposed to do this, as you have heard from your Ambassadors that his Majesty had said to them that, believing his army had crossed the Alps, he intended to send one hundred fresh lances into the Pisan territory for the purpose of carrying his objects into execution. But that in your judgment this number would be insufficient to make itself feared; and that their coming would be rather late, inasmuch as the Pisans had taken fresh courage. Nevertheless, this number would be better than the whole army, for, whilst they would answer the immediate purpose, it would be easier to supply them with provisions, and they would be a less heavy charge; and moreover, if the whole army were there, it would be a shame not to press the place more closely; whilst the small number would seem to be there merely to prevent further insults, until the siege could be really resumed in earnest. It would also show that his Majesty had no thought of abandoning the enterprise, which would comport with his dignity as well as our interests. You must also ask his Majesty to allow Giovanni Bentivogli to come to our aid with his forces, he being animated by the desire to do so in honor of his Majesty and for our benefit, whenever his Majesty will deign to permit it, for he deems it his duty to do nothing without his Majesty’s consent.

The persons upon whose influence with his Most Christian Majesty we can most depend are, first, the Cardinal d’Amboise, Monseigneur d’Alby, — in fact, I may say the whole house of Amboise; the Maréchal de Gies, and Monseigneur General Robertet, whom you will see as often as you can, and let him see that you have full faith in him, which you will find to your advantage.

I had forgotten to name the Grand Chancellor, who, although he has the reputation of being favorably inclined towards the Lucchese, yet is our friend, and you may safely trust him. Show equal confidence to Messer Jacopo da Trivulzi, and when you come to discuss matters with him, give him to understand that you intend to follow his counsels, and recommend our city to him. The same with Ligny; when you have occasion to talk with him, show him confidence, and use all means to dispose him favorably towards us, or at any rate as little unfavorably as possible.

You have been informed of what the Cardinal has lately written, showing that he is inclined to accept the excuses of the Lucchese. It is possible that on your arrival you may find that this matter has not yet been finally disposed of; if this be so, then let his Eminence know the manner in which the Lucchese have conducted themselves towards us, making it appear as bad as you can, without, however, manifesting any passion. And having done all this, you will say to his Eminence that our Signoria will approve whatever he may decide; but if, with regard to the reinforcements asked for the enterprise against Pisa, his Eminence should be of the opinion that things ought to be left as they are until after the capture of the city, then I think you should insist upon such reinforcements, which would act as a stimulant to keep the Lucchese in greater fear, and make them more circumspect. The same with the Pisans, and such as are disposed to aid them, for they also would feel more restrained by a greater terror than if all the troops were recalled, which would reanimate the courage of the Pisans and of their allies.

Above all, do not dispute upon any of the points on which you see that his Eminence has formed a definite judgment; and when you find him decided upon any particular course, approve all he has done, for the power and good will of the king of France will make up for all that we might lack. And do not

fail to say to the Cardinal d’Amboise that the report which has been made to him in relation to the conduct of the Lucchese may be the result of ignorance of the individual who made it, or he may have been influenced by some other motive. Nevertheless, after you have done all you can in the matter, you must conform to the will of his Eminence.