GUICCIARDINI, Francisco, a celebrated Italian historian, was born at Florence in 1482, being descended of a family which still subsists in that city. His ancestors had held the most distinguished offices in the Florentine republic. Simon Zanuccio Guicciardini was gonfalonier of justice in 1302; his grandfather, an able politician and a great warrior, beat the Genoese near Sarzano in 1412, and defeated the troops of Sixtus IV. in 1478; and Pietro, the father of the historian, acquired a great reputation by his talents for the conduct of public affairs. Francisco Guicciardini was originally intended for the bar, to which he was at length called; and so great was his success that, at the age of twenty-three, he became professor of jurisprudence, at a time when all the chairs in Italy were occupied by the ablest jurisconsults. Although he had not yet attained the age required by the law, he was appointed ambassador to Ferdinand the Catholic; and having succeeded in gaining the favour of that prince, he thus secured a powerful protector to the Florentine republic. Pope Leo X., a discriminating judge of real merit, called Guicciardini to his court, loaded him with honours, and named him governor of Modena and Reggio, at the same time conferring on him unlimited powers. In this capacity he also served under the pontificate of Adrian VI.; nor did his firmness, his beneficence, and his equity, fail to secure him the attachment of the people over whom he had been placed. But as Romagna was dreadfully distracted by the irreconcilable factions of the Guelphs and Ghibelins, [7:11:26]Clement VII. on succeeding to Adrian VI. sent thither Guicciardini, who in a little time re-established tranquillity in that unhappy country, caused the most rigid justice to be enforced, founded useful establishments, opened new roads, and ultimately rendered himself the idol of all parties. Being afterwards appointed lieutenant-general to the Holy See, he acquired much glory by his defence of Parma, when besieged by the French; and after the death of John of Medicis, the Florentine republic chose him to succeed that famous captain in the command of the black bands, the elite of the Italian troops. But, as Clement VII. required a man of tried ability and courage, he obtained the consent of the Florentines to retain Guicciardini some time longer in his service. The city of Bologna was about to escape from the domination of Rome; the senate had raised the standard of revolt; the great family of the Pepoli openly aspired to the supreme power; the vindictive passions were indulged without restraint, and assassinations multiplied. Guicciardini, in the capacity of governor, presented himself in this city, whither his renown had preceded him. His severe deportment, his activity, his eloquence, tranquillised the people, disarmed the senate, and deprived the Pepoli of all hope of obtaining the object they had in view. By his talents, prudence, firmness, and justice, Bologna, which would otherwise have been lost for ever, was saved to the patrimony of St Peter. After this expedition, Guicciardini, notwithstanding the entreaties of Clement, returned to his own country, where he lived in retirement, being wholly occupied with the composition of his history, which he commenced about the end of 1534. But this did not prevent him from rendering the most important services to Florence. His counsels moderated the prodigality and ambition of Alexander of Medicis; and, at the suggestion of Naples, he effected an advantageous arrangement between this pι i ince and Charles V. Alexander having been assassinated in 1536 by one of his near relatives, Lorenzino de’ Medicis, Cardinal Cibo immediately assembled the council, when it appeared that all the other members were inclined for a republican government. But Guiceiardini perceiving that by this means the country would become a prey to civil war, declared in favour of a monarchical government; and as his persuasive eloquence at length overcame the predilections of the council, Cosmo de’ Medicis was proclaimed sovereign of Florence. From this moment, Guicciardini took no further concern in public affairs; and after having passed four years in study and retirement, he died in May 1540.

The memory of this able and excellent person is endeared to men of letters by his History of Italy, Florence, 1561, in folio, or two vols. in 8vo. The original edition, though much sought after, is incomplete; that of Venice, 1567, in 4to, is augmented by four books, viz. from seventeen to twenty inclusive; and that of Venice, 1738, in two vols. folio, has, besides, a life of the author by Manni, with a fragment containing some passages previously inedited. But the best and most complete edition is that of Friburg in Brisgau (Florence), 1775, 1776, in four vols. 4to, printed from an autograph manuscript in the Maglia-beechi library, under the auspices and care of the canon Bonso Pio Bonsi, who has supplied the defects of former editions, and otherwise discharged his editorial duties with fidelity and talent. The History of Italy commences in 1490, and terminates in the month of October 1534. It consists of twenty books, sixteen of which are, in the opinion of the best critics, of superior merit; but the last four are little more than draughts of memoirs, death having prevented the author from bestowing on them all the care and attention which the subject required. The historian commences by giving an exposition of the tranquil condition of Italy before the breaking out of the troubles which desolated its finest provinces. He then proceeds to describe the bloody wars which the French carried on in that country, under three successive kings. By these the face of Italy was almost entirely changed; the popes aggrandised themselves by the ruin of several petty states; Naples and Milan, torn from their respective princes, recognised the domination of Charles V.; and Genoa, which had thrown itself into the arms of France, recovered its liberty under the protection of the same monarch, who, on the other hand, gave a sovereign to the republic of Florence. If, in this revolution, the greater part of the princes of Italy maintained themselves, they owed their preservation to their own weakness, and a timely submission to a conqueror, whom fortune seemed to lead on, by rapid strides, towards universal monarchy. Sueh, in a few words, is the grand spectacle presented by the History of the Wars in Italy, a production which has immortalised the name of Guicciardini. The hatred of vice, which breaks out in every page of his work, satisfies the reader as to the probity of' the historian, who was, moreover, concerned in most of the events which he relates, and performed a brilliant part both in the cabinet and in the field. His style, sometimes nervous and sublime, sometimes lively and rapid, always noble, perspicuous, and appropriate to the subject, fixes the attention and hurries along the mind of the reader. His reflections, equally judicious and profound, show the wise republican, the able politician, the enlightened philosopher; as the friend of humanity and justice, he unsparingly attacks the abuses of the sovereign power, and vindicates that virtue which the great so often profane for the gratification of their interests and passions. He has left us faithful portraits of the celebrated men of his time; he has represented with equal genius and accuracy the force and manners of the nations which figure in his history; and he has made us acquainted with the real interests of the princes of his time, as well as with the origin of those jealousies which then divided the powers of Europe. Guicciardini has been reproached with the length of the harangues which he puts into the mouths of his characters; but these he has enriched with so much eloquence, with thoughts so new and profound, with images so just and striking, that they are always interesting, and never felt as impeding the progress of his narrative. He has also been accused of prejudice against the French; yet he never exaggerates their losses in battle, and Father Daniel, in his history, has merely copied the narrative of Guiceiardini. If the latter, like several French authors, has traced an unfavourable portrait of Charles VI1I., he has, on the other hand, done ample justice to the equity and the virtues of Louis X1I., the valour and prudence of La Tremouille, and the brilliant qualities of Gaston de Foix and Francis I.; whilst, in speaking of the Italian and French militia, he always declares in favour of the latter. These, and other facts of a similar description, which might easily be produced or referred to, are sufficient to show that the charge of partiality is groundless, and that what has been mistaken for prejudice is nothing but the severity of truth. Guiceiardini is also the author of Advice and Counsel in matters of State, Antwerp, 1527, in 8vo, translated into French, Paris, 1577, in 8vo. (a.) Guicciardini, Louis, nephew of the preceding, was born at Florence, in the year 1523. He held different employments under Alexander of Medicis and his successor Cosmo II.; then he travelled, and remained a long time at Antwerp, where he obtained the favour of the Duke of Alba; but having reflected on this general’s system of government, in a work which he published (Memoirs), he was thrown into prison, whence he was only liberated through the intercession of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The remainder of his life presents no event worthy of notice, and seems to have been chiefly passed in the composition of [7:11:27]his works. These are, 1. Memorie, &c., or Memoirs of what passed in Savoy from 1530 to 1565, Antwerp, 1565, ' t in 4to; 2. Raccolta dei Detti e Fatti notabili, 1581, in 8vo;

3. Descrizione, &c., or Description of the Low Countries, Antwerp, 1567, in fol.; 4. Ore di Recreazione, Florence, 1600, in 12mo. Having lived several years in retirement, Louis Guicciardini died in 1589. (a.)