696 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1294-1517.
upon his head. These things were the recognition of the liberties of Florence and the return of Pisa to her dominion. In his letter of May 25, 1495, bidding Charles favor the city of Florence, he asserted, " God has chosen this city and determined to magnify her and raise her up and, whoso toucheth her, toucheth the apple of His eye." Certainly, from the standpoint of the welfare of Italy, the French invasion was not of Providential origin. Although the banners of his army were inscribed with the words Voluntas Dei — the Will of God — and Missus Dei — the legate of God — Charles was bent on territorial aggrandizement and not on breaking the bonds of civic despotism.
The time had now come to realize in Florence Savonarok's ideal of government, a theocracy with Christ at its head. Tlie expulsioirol the Medici"made possible a reorganization of tlTe state and the new constitution, largely a matter of SavoharoTa's creation, involved him inextricably in civic policies and the war of civic factions. However, it should not be forgotten that his municipal constitution secured the commendation of Guicciardini and other Italian political writers. It was a proof of the friar's remarkable influence that, at his earnest advice, a law was passed which prevented retaliatory measures against the followers of the Medici. Landucci wrote in his diary that, but for Savonarola, the streets would have been bathed in blood. In his great sermons on Haggai, during the Advent season of 1494, and on the Psalms in 1495, Savonarola definitely embarked as a pilot on the political sea. " The Lord has driven ray bark into the open ocean," he exclaimed from the pulpit. Remonstrating with God for imposing this duty upon him, he declared, ' I will preach, if so I must, but why need I meddle with the government of Florence.' And the Lord said, ' If thou wouldst make Florence a holy city, thou must establish lier on firm foundations and give her a government which cherishes righteousness.' Thus the preacher was committed. HepronouncediiiQm the pulpit in fa^Yiirjof virtu e_as the foundation of a sound government and democracy as its fornj. " Among northern nations," he affirmed, where there is great strength and little intellect, and among southern nations where
§ 76. GIKOLAMO SAVONAROLA. 697
there is great intellect and little strength, the rule of a single despot may sometimes be the best of governments. But in Italy and, above all in Florence, where both strength and intellect abound, — where men have keen wits and restless spirits, — the government of the one can only result in tyranny."
In the scheme, which he proposed, he took for his model the great council of Venice, leaving out its head, the doge, who was elected for life. The great council of Florence was to consist of, at least, 1500 men, who had reached the age of 29, paiH their taxes^ aiidn)eTorige^T;o the class called heneficiati^ that is, those who held a civil office themselves or whose father, grandfather, or great-grandfather had held a civil office. A select council of 80 was to be chosen by it, its members to be at least forty years of age. In criminal cases, an appeal from a decision of the signory was allowed to the great council, which was to meet once a week and to be a voting rather than a deliberative body.
The place of the supreme doge or ruler, Savonarola gave to God himself. " God alone," he exclaimed from the pulpit, " God alone will be thy king, O Florence, as He was king of Israel under the old Covenant." " Thy new head shall be Jesus Christ," — this was the ringing cry with which he closed his sermons on Haggai. Savonarola's recent biographer, Villari, emphasizes " the masterly prudence and wisdom shown by him in all the fundamental laws he proposed for the new state." He had no seat in the council and yet he was the soul of the en- Clre people.^
In the last chapter of his career, Savonarola was pitted against JOexander VI. as his contestant. Thereon flict began with the deinand made by the pope July 25, 1495, that Savonarola prj)ceed to Rome and answer charg.es. Then followed papal inhibitions of his preaching and the ^gci'ee of excommunication, and the conflict closed with the appointment of a papal commission which condemned Savonarola to death as a heretic.
Alexander's order, summoning the friar to Rome, was based
1 One of Savonarola's propositions was to levy taxes on real property alone and, it seems, he was not averse to taxing Church property. Landucci, p. 119 ; Villari, I. 269, 298; II. 81.