On Tuesday morning Bryce and Curtis walked together to the campus gym for their morning workout. Along the way, Curtis reminded Bryce of an unpleasant reality, namely, the fraternity was committed to a special pickup along the highway leading to the airport this Friday.
“Saturday 1s Homecoming, and we can’t let the alums find us with a messy highway,” he argued.
Just like last Saturday, on the morning after a party, there would be a slender turnout, but it had to be done, and he was counting on the stalwarts, like Bryce and Damon, to be there.
Bryce sighed. “It’s not easy, being a stalwart,” he moaned.
Only a little later, Roland Lyle joined them, and added that it was not easy being a pledge, either. Failure to show up would mean a major black mark in the pledge book, and too many of those meant being rejected for membership. Consequently, stalwart and pledge turned on the fraternity president, and accused him of poor planning. Fortunately, there were no serious black marks for ganging up on the president, especially when in the company of one’s mentor.
Roland did remark, as they were finishing off in the sauna, “I’m glad we have a fraternity president who can take it. From what I hear, some of the other fraternities are not so lucky.”
“That,” Bryce instructed his pledge, “is because Sigma Alpha Tau is clearly superior.”
Curtis laughed. “When you draw that kind of lesson, how can I object?”
Back at the apartment, Bryce and Damon went through their early morning routine almost without thinking. Bryce roused Damon, then got himself shaved, dressed, and in general ready for the day. Damon set about preparing breakfast for the two of them. They ate companionably, discussing the day ahead of them. Then, while Bryce cleaned up in the kitchen, Damon got himself prepared to depart. Shortly after nine o’clock, they departed together for their joint class in art history. As it was cool in mid-October, this involved donning light jackets.
Once again, as they were leaving, there was an interesting little episode with the guys in the carriage house. This time it was Damon who noticed them emerge from their lair, notice the guys, and duck back in. Damon and Bryce decided they were being silly, and had a good laugh over it. However, as they walked to campus, they also discussed the information that one of them, and probably both, had been involved in the attack on the demonstrators nearly a week ago. Somehow, they would have to follow up on the information given them by Tyler Rollins implying that it was his brother, Sean, who was the author of the blog celebrating that attack. They discussed this, and Damon reminded Bryce of the service rendered by Hunter Matthews last year in tracing the origin of e-mails. Hunter was a senior this year, and seldom encountered, although he did put in an appearance at the fitness center from time to time. Maybe he could help. That was something Bryce had not thought of, and was definitely worth looking into.
In their art history class, Dr. Padgett was beginning a coverage of the style or period called Mannerism. For reasons known only to her, she seemed to cut the Italian Renaissance short. But today she lectured on the works of Michelangelo Buonarroti in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Bryce, and especially Damon, were very pleased to have seen these works of genius this past summer on their tour of Europe. Dr. Padgett discoursed on the difference in spirit between the ceiling, completed in 1512, and the “Last Judgement,” the work behind the high altar, completed in 1542. She accompanied her lecture with images on the pull-down screen, pointing out the confidence and balance in the series of images from Genesis on the ceiling, and contrasting that with the turmoil and tension in the depiction of the Last Judgement. The loss of confidence in humanity is illustrated, perhaps above all, in the fact that there are a lot more souls being led off to eternal damnation than being invited to heavenly bliss. This shift in outlook is the shift from the Renaissance style to the Mannerist style in art, and reflects the turmoil and uncertainty in European society by the second quarter of the sixteenth century.
As Professor Padgett pointed out, the simple explanation that all this was a result of the Sack of Rome by the mutinous troops of Emperor Charles V in 1527 is inadequate. But when taken in combination with the other major challenges to the confident Renaissance outlook, this is as good a date as any other for the transition. During this period, Martin Luther and John Calvin challenged the assumptions of earlier society in religious matters. Whereas the Renaissance celebrated the dignity of humanity, both Luther and Calvin stressed his sinfulness. Moreover, the Classical authorities were little less than divine in the outlook of the Renaissance, but Nicholas Copernicus and Andreas Vesalius successfully challenged the authority of the ancients in the sciences. Society erupted in religious conflict, with the following century and a half being the least tolerant period in all of Western history. Everywhere, one Christian faction was killing another in the name of the little baby Jesus. Catholic extremists slaughtered Protestants in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. England came closer than at any other time in her history to being an absolute monarchy, with anyone who disagreed with the monarch being summarily executed. Scottish Covenanters rode into battle yelling “Jesus, and no quarter!” The so-called Wars of Religion dominated international relations until after the middle of the next century. No wonder the art of the period reflected lack of proportion and arbitrary perspective.
Coming out of that class, both Bryce and Damon were feeling depressed and exhausted. Contemplating the atrocities humans can perpetrate on each other is not a pleasant experience. Both were kind of dragging as they crossed the quad. There, they were joined by Roland Lyle, and then hailed by Annette Rimbault. Far from depressed or exhausted, she was obviously excited, practically shimmering with the news she had to impart.
“I know why President Rodes gave in so completely yesterday,” she breathlessly exclaimed.
“Tell us,” Bryce urged unnecessarily, as it was obvious that she was aching to do just that.
“My contact in the VPSA’s office got a copy of a recorded message that’s going around among the staff,” Annette divulged. “It seems there was a call to the President first thing Monday morning from the Governor’s office. No, not just the Governor’s office, but the Governor himself. Governor Buckner yelled at President Rodes, using language he would have some difficulty explaining to some of his constituents. The gist of it is, though, that the Governor had been contacted by hundreds of letters and e-mails and phone calls, including some from prominent people threatening a law suit and repercussions in the next election if the situation here on campus were not cleared up. Mr. Castleman, here in Clifton, was mentioned by name. But the zinger is, the Governor told Rodes that if this situation were not resolved right away, he could start looking for another job,” Annette breathlessly reported.
“Well, I guess political clout counts for something,” Damon said.
“I wouldn’t be so happy with political involvement in education if it were not that this time the politicians happened to be on the side of the angels,” Roland countered.
“What do you mean?” Annette asked.
“Have you really checked out the career of our Glorious Leader?” the local boy asked. “First of all, he has an Ed.D., not a Ph.D. or other academically respectable degree. That practically screams educational bureaucrat. Then, he taught in a public high school, where he was known primarily as a strict disciplinarian. While there, he came to the attention of the political machine with his only significant publication, an article praising the involvement of the legislature in the curriculum of the schools, and critical of what he called ‘extremist elements detached from everyday realities.’ He was appointed to the state education board, and was a complete toady, supporting whatever position the party in office advocated, even when it was the complete opposite of what he supported the year before. He was appointed president here as a result of his strong backing of the previous governor in his successful election. If it weren’t for politics, we wouldn’t have this hack in the first place. I heard my dad and Uncle Mark talk about him lots of times,” Roland wound down.
“And this is the person who is supposed to be the superior of people like Dr. Dickinson, or Dr. Harris, or ... well, just about anyone I’ve encountered on the faculty,” Bryce wondered.
“Welcome to the real world,” Roland cynically commented.
“This is what is called public education,” Annette added.
“What are you going to do with this tape or whatever you have?” Bryce asked Annette. “And how did there happen to be such an incriminating tape anyway?”
“As to how it come into being, I was told that the President automatically turns on a recorder when he gets a call from the capitol. In this case, he was so distraught by the conversation he neglected to turn it off or erase it later. A secretary found it, and thought it just too good to destroy, so it’s being passed around among the staff. As to what I intend to do, the answer is nothing,” she replied.
“Nothing!” he exclaimed.
“Look at it this way,” Annette explained. “If I go public with this, first of all, I’ll probably get expelled. But there are very few ways I could have obtained access to this recording. It wouldn’t take long to identify them, including my friend in the VPSA’s office. There are enough ass kissers in the offices to see to that. Then, my friends and others would probably lose their jobs.”
“But, Annette, ...” Bryce began.
“No, no public expos�. Sorry. I’ve got to protect my sources. But, what I intend to do is to tell everyone I know privately, like now, so at least some people will know the truth,” Annette insisted.
“I guess that’s better than nothing,” Bryce reluctantly conceded.
Annette departed to spread the good news to others.
Rather than follow on their initial half-formed intention of heading to the library, at that point both Bryce and Damon decided to visit Peter Boyington in the hospital. Peter was clearly glad to see them although he complained about being neglected, as they had not been to see him as often as last week. He sighed, commenting that his 15 minutes of fame had elapsed.
“Well, you’re right, we haven’t been here as often as before, but you have to realize that there is a life outside the hospital,” Bryce teased him.
“No! Really? I was beginning to think this was all there is,” Peter joked in return.
Over the next half hour, they visited, with Bryce and Damon relating to Peter the news about the Governor’s call to the President. Then they speculated about how this would affect the investigation into the attack on Peter, if at all.
“Well, we do have that blog Tyler told us about,” Bryce said. “And I’ve downloaded it to my computer, so even if it’s deleted, we’ll still have a copy.”
“And maybe we can trace it,” Damon added, telling Peter about the success of Hunter Matthews last year. That story took up a good part of their time together.
About the time Bryce and Damon were making noises about leaving for the cafeteria, David Simpson showed up with an armload of books. That definitely caught Peter’s attention, so they could leave without feeling that they were abandoning the patient to excruciating boredom.
At the cafeteria, they encountered Caroline Koehler, which was no surprise. Of course, they had to pass on their information about the University President, but it was not clear that Caroline was interested. She was much more concerned about Damon’s account of his excursions into culinary explorations, and about rehearsals for the campus musical, which would be produced later in the semester.
After Damon left for his Spanish class shortly before 1:00, Bryce checked campus mail, but found nothing of interest. He spent the rest of the time prior to his Renaissance class reading.
Turning up a few minutes before class, Bryce encountered Marc Rimbault.
“Hey, did your sister tell you about her discovery of the reason the
Admin gave in so completely yesterday?” Bryce asked.
“Yeah. She could hardly contain herself,” Marc laughed.
“Well, it is a great story,” Bryce insisted. “It’s a shame it can’t be published, like her stories in the Herald.”
“I know. Politics,” Marc practically spat out.
“For a change, I completely agree with you,” Bryce said. “Do you suppose there’s such a thing as an honest politician?”
“Naw,” Marc proclaimed. “Even if they start off being honest, in a short time they find that they have to make compromises in order to get anything accomplished. Deals are the only way to get legislation passed or decisions made. And a lot of those deals are just like the appointment of our esteemed President, as corrupt as hell,” the cynic insisted. “I doubt that a single piece of legislation is passed on its merits, at either the state or the national level. No matter what party he claims to represent, every politician is actually a follower of our boy Machiavelli,” Marc said, pointing to the subject of that day’s lecture on the syllabus. “Have you ever met a poor politician?” he concluded, as they took their seats in class.
Dr. Belzi was, in fact, lecturing on Niccolo Machiavelli today. He gave some background, noting that, with the French invasion of Italy in 1494 the entire context of Italian politics changed. The Medici were overthrown in Florence with the exile of the children of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and a restoration of the republic proclaimed. One of the most popular republican orators of the time was Niccolo Soderini, who gave impressive speeches, much like Marc Anthony in Shakespeare’s dramas. But one looked in vain for any practical initiative. When his term of office came to an end, Soderini was surprised to find that he had accomplished exactly nothing. He was one of the innocents, who naively expected the populace to initiate action in the public interest. That, Bryce considered, was something to talk to Jason about.
The leading figure in Florence at the time was the Dominican friar, Girolamo Savonarola. He was undoubtedly a gifted orator. During the last days of Lorenzo, he had gained a following, condemning what he identified as the vices of society. There were undoubtedly vices in Renaissance Florence in the 1490s. There always are. But, as Charles VIII of France entered Italy in 1494, two years after Lorenzo’s death, Savonarola began to present to the public greater and greater emotional exhibitions. He began to interpret biblical prophecies and apply them to contemporary events, likening Charles to Cyrus the Great, come to deliver Israel from bondage to Babylon. His sermons attracted such large crowds that the cathedral could not contain them, and he held them in the open public square.
From attacking the Medici, Savonarola went on to attack the Pope. The pope at the time was Alexander VI, the Borgia pope about whom Bryce had written his paper. There was certainly a good deal to attack in the private life of Pope Alexander, but Savonarola showed no tact or diplomacy, no knowledge of the realities of public life. As a result, he was excommunicated. Of course, convinced of his role as the chosen instrument of the Almighty, he surged on. Ignoring his excommunication, he continued to preach, instituting his ‘bonfire of vanities,’ in which the luxuries of the day were publically burned in the town square, including not only clothing, furniture, and other indulgences of the wealthy, but also paintings by Botticelli and others, for which art historians have never forgiven him, and books, the usual victims of extremists. Savonarola represents that strand in Christianity which was seldom dominant, but never absent, which might be called puritan, in a generic sense, with a small ‘p,’ unattached to the supporters of Cromwell in the seventeenth century. Bryce considered this element to be the heirs of the ancient Manichees, who outwardly accepted Christianity, but actually continued to believe that the physical world and all its pleasures were the work of the Devil. Savonarola reminded him of the Sunday morning television evangelists. The only thing missing was the demand to send money.
After a time, the appeal of Savonarola wore thin, especially after Charles of France retreated back over the Alps. Then, a Franciscan friar, the preacher at Santa Croce, Fra Francesco di Puglia, challenged Savonarola to prove the divine inspiration of his messages with a trial by fire. The political leaders supported this, as they were tired of being overshadowed by the Dominican. On 7 April 1498, for the first time in 400 years, a trial by fire was scheduled in the public square of Florence. God was to decide who was right. He did. It rained.
Thereafter, Savonarola rapidly lost public support. He was arrested by the officials of the republic, and on 23 May 1498 Savonarola and his two closest associates were condemned as heretics and schismatics. They were hanged, then their corpses burned, and the ashes scattered in the Arno to prevent followers from collecting relics.
For some reason, some Protestant apologists have taken Savonarola as a proto-Protestant and hero, presumably because he was critical of the papacy of Alexander VI. But in fact Savonarola attacked no significant Catholic belief. It was all personalities and emotional fireworks, not theological dissent.
Among the observers of this series of events was a minor official of the republic named Niccolo Machiavelli. There is no evidence of his attitude during the time of Savonarola’s dominance, but later he was critical of the Dominican, not because of his preaching, but because he had no army to back him. In The Prince, he wrote, “If Moses, Cyrus, Theseus, and Romulus had been unarmed, they could not have enforced their constitutions for long ... as happened in our time with Fra Girolamo Savonarola, who was ruined with his new order of things immediately the multitude no longer believed in him, and he had no means of keeping steadfast those who believed, or of making the unbelievers to believe.” It seemed to Bryce that this reinforced his position in his discussions with Jason. If one relies for legitimacy solely on popular majorities, once a position or faction loses its popularity, the only way to maintain power is by force ... and popularity is fickle.
Machiavelli served the Florentine Republic until it was overthrown by greater might in 1512. During this time, he went on a number of diplomatic missions, the most significant of which was to Cesare Borgia at the height of his success in 1502-03, which is reflected in the adulation of Borgia in The Prince. When the republic was overthrown, Machiavelli went into private life, but attempted to gain the favor of the restored Medici by dedicating The Prince to them in 1513. His efforts were unsuccessful.
Perhaps the cynical attitude of Machiavelli is shown nowhere better than in the chapter of The Prince entitled, “Whether It is Better to be Loved or Feared by the People.” He concludes that fear is better. The fickle populace will abandon even a great prince if the tide turns against him, but if the people fear the prince more than his enemies, they will obey, Machiavelli says. Among historical figures known to have been influenced by reading Machiavelli are Richelieu, Bismarck, and in the twentieth century Hitler and Mussolini.
Dr. Belzi rendered no verdict on the truth of Machiavelli’s position, but very correctly left it to the students to make up their own minds, as long as they did not ignore the historical facts. As class broke up, Bryce could not resist saying to Marc, “I guess today we learned something about your patron saint.”
Marc looked at him. He hesitated. Then he repeated, “Annette says I’m too cynical. I have to think about it.” Then, turning abruptly, he left.
About then, Bryce’s phone vibrated. It was Damon. “Tea with Dr. Caldwell at 4:00?” He responded, “Okay.”
En route to the apartment, Bryce stopped at the SAT house and checked the agenda for that evening’s meeting posted on the bulletin board. It was almost entirely about the trash pick-up on Friday and the Homecoming on Saturday. Bryce stopped in the office, and found the Secretary, Terry Hoffman. He asked to add an item identified as “Update on Campus Demonstration.” He figured as many people as possible should be told about the outcome, including the news he received that morning from Annette.
There, too, he encountered his pledge, Roland Lyle. After an exchange about horses, and the Mid-America Mane Event in Springfield, Illinois, Bryce suddenly changed topics.
“You know about Machiavelli, right?”
Roland smiled. “I’m not in Dr. Belzi’s class, if that’s what you mean, but I guess I know as much as most.”
“We had a whole class on him and his times. What’s your take?” Bryce asked.
Roland considered for a moment. “Complete cynic. Might makes right. The consummate secularist.”
“That’s what I think, too,” Bryce said. “If we agree, then obviously that’s true.”
Roland grinned. “I like having you as my mentor.”