Leonardo Bruni  -- Panegyric to the City of Florence

 (Notes taken while reading - 9/00)

A Platonist – one of Lorenzo D’Medici’s academicians.  In this speech, he identifies Plato as “without question the greatest of all philosophers.” Three possible models for this panegyric: the moderate city of Plato’s Laws, the Roman Republic of Cicero’s De Republica as described in the famous Dream of Scipio, or Athens as depicted in Pericles’ funeral oration as conveyed in Thucydides’ Peloponnesian Wars.

An example of immoderate praise—epidectic rhetoric.  The strategy of the epidectic rhetorician is to make everything appear larger and more noble, beautiful, and good than it is in reality. Epidectic rhetoric has a moral objective. Purpose: not merely to produce pleasure, but to instill civic pride as a stimulus to civic virtue.

It is only in the middle of the speech that Bruni approaches its purpose.  He claims he is not attempting to curry favor with the multitude, nor are his claims on behalf of Florence inflated.  His motives are the pure motives of selfless love – inspired by the sight of Florence.

Plato begin his laws with a long discussion on the geographical placement of a well-founded city.  He absolutely insisted on distancing it from the sea; for he wished to prevent change. And the sea brought commerce, with new ideas and the desire for innovation in its wake. Florence boasts a moderate and healthy climate due to its advantageous geographic location.

Moves from nature to art.  Peculiarly commences with praise for the city’s system of public sanitation. Cleanliness of the streets. This is before the connection was made between germs and disease.

Splendid and magnificent architecture.  In particular, the many churches of Florence.

The palace of the Signori (town hall) towers over the center of the city, dominating all neighboring buildings.  As the chief public building, it houses the government.

Private homes are magnificently designed and decorated.  A stranger could never truly appreciate the interior beauty of Florentine homes.  The country homes are even more spacious, comfortable and pleasant.

Bruni calls the Florentine countryside an earthly paradise—“unequaled in grace or beauty by any other area in the whole world.”  The Tuscan countryside is indeed a rich farming area, capable of supporting a large population.  It is as if Florentines lived in a state of grace.

Florence as a first rate military power is more difficult to sell. The secret to Florentine military security is wealth and diplomacy. Bruni discusses the recent threat from Milan, which Florence survived mainly by chance. Giangaleazzo Visconti, prince of Milan, died before he could complete his designs against Florence.

Bruni reaches a peak in his speech when he proclaims that visitors to Florence, upon seeing the city for the first time, immediately acknowledge her natural superiority: “everyone immediately comes to believe that Florence is indeed worthy of attaining dominion and rule over the entire world.”  Florence is the true heir of ancient Rome

The parallel with ancient Greece is done through an analogy with Olympic athletes who are recorded to have performed super-human feats. The reports of their physical feats seem fantastic; but Florence’s accomplishments are not less astonishing.

When Bruni returns again to the moderate location of Florence, he spends time on the dangers that confront seaports like Genoa, and we may include Venice.  They must spend more effort on obtaining foreign intelligence.  In truth, Pisa stands at the mouth of the Arno river, and from time to time Florence has had to coerce Pisa to do its bidding.  The Pisa problem eventually led to Florence’s downfall.

Bruni attributes to the Florentines an ancient and respectable lineage.  They are the true descendants of the ancient Romans.  Notice how he quotes Cicero.  The argument, however, quickly shifts to an attack upon the tyrants of imperial Rome.  The Florentines are republicans in spirit and heritage.  The city must have been founded before the emperors seized Rome, under the Roman Republic.

He next speaks of the power of emulation.  Florentines of today are inspired by the citizens of the ancient Roman Republic; and their own virtues are magnified by their connection with the great virtues of classical antiquity. “We have seen it happen in Florence that many men stand out as examples of excellence because of their great deeds, so that it becomes very easy to recognize in them their Roman virtue and the greatness of spirit.”

He then discusses the civic virtues as if the city itself could possess them – ignoring the fact that individuals alone can possess human virtue.  Two arguments justify his approach: (1) the city begets men, it stamps them with a certain character, although not all receive the impression unflawed, (2) he is not talking about the virtue or excellence of individual citizens but about the entire community.  This follows Plato’s Republic, where Plato claims that virtue is easier seen in the city as a whole than in an individual.

Florence displays practical wisdom.  Her citizens are very clever.

Florence has a representation for generosity.  Her doors are open to exiles. In fact Florence is the genuinely cosmopolitan city, to whom the entire world can lay the claim of citizenship.

Florence is not warlike, but self-restrained.  She always tries to settle disputes peacefully.

Florence is merciful.  She always aids the weaker party.

Florence is trustworthy.  She adheres to oaths, scrupulously observes agreements; and has always administered the property of others with great diligence and restored it to those to whom it belonged.  Florence has the justice of bankers: “this city has always taken pains to give each one his due and in all things to put honor before expediency in its dealings.”

As the height of civic virtue, Florence has exhibited a loftiness of spirit and contempt for danger, formerly exhibited by ancient Rome.  Her courage is aligned with her dignity and her sense of honor.

Florentines not only make good bankers and merchants, but they make good soldiers as well.  Bruni records the attack against the neighboring Volterrans, whereby the Florentines overcome heavy odds through a magnificent display of courage.  This is a better example of Florentine determination and courage than their great success against Milan, because they actually had to fight.  Florence can rely upon its citizen soldiers in the same way that the Roman Senate relied upon the plebeians to rally in defense of Rome.

Finally, Florence has always exhibited a modesty becoming to such a great power.  “Florence has preferred to credit its deeds to diving intervention rather than claim them on account of its successes.”  She never loses her head when afflicted by Fortune

Bruni saves the best part for last: he treats of the civil institutions and the laws.

When the middle-class Guelf party overthrew the feudal aristocratic Ghibbelines, they instituted a republican form of government.  We should not equate this with democracy, for the wealthy merchants and bankers shared power among themselves.  Florence was more an oligarchy than a democracy.  The great middle-class families of Florence were too jealous of power to permit the return of the aristocrats or the rise of a populist despot.  They therefore huddled together, frequently behind a leader who operated as first among equals.  The Medici family supplied several such leaders, beginning with Cosimo the Elder (1464), Piero (1469), Lorenzo (1492), etc.  Their leadership was challenged a couple of times – most notably by the Pazzi’s (1478).  Bruni was attached to the court of Lorenzo.  His defense of republican government is a defense of this political arrangement.  His strategy is to borrow republican ideas from the Roman and Greek classics.

Justice and freedom are the twin poles of political life.  Justice requires a system of checks and balances in government.  Freedom requires equality before the law. “While in other cities the majority often overturns the better part, in Florence it has always happened that the majority view has been identical with the best citizens.” Again, “the different classes are treated according to a certain sense of equity; the upper class is protected by its wealth, the lower class by the state.” In his view, Florence is a mixed regime – such as that recommended by Aristotle in his Politics as the best practical government.

As for checks and balances: Florentine government is government by committee, with office holders being rotated rather rapidly.   The Council of the Nine is supported by the Twelve Good Man.  Their decisions are submitted to the Council of the People and the Council of the Commune for ratification. The Council of the Commune consists of representatives of the various guilds.

An interesting feature is the independence of the judiciary, which has some plusses and minuses.

There is a degree of federalism, left over from feudal society.  The guilds generally police themselves.

But more interesting is the revolutionary party – the Parte Guelfa – which watches over the constitution, jealously guarding middle-class rights and privileges.

When speaking of the revolution, Bruni makes his analogy with classical Athens, showing that he has read his Thucydides.

Bruni doesn’t finish singing the praises of Athens until he mentions its great literary productions.  Florentine literary culture receives the final salute. 

The question for us is why did Florence become the hotbed of the Renaissance; producing in a short time such a great proliferation of talent in the arts and sciences as the world has never experience before or after

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