The estates, empires, & principallities of the world Represented by ye description of countries, maners of inhabitants, riches of prouinces, forces, gouernment, religion; and the princes that haue gouerned in euery estate. With the begin[n]ing of all militarie and religious orders. Translated out of French by Edw: Grimstone, sargeant at armes.

¶ The Gouernment.

NOw must I discourse of the administration of justice, of the distribution of magi∣strats, and of all the formes and manner of vertuous and well ordered liuing in this [ XVI] citie. As touching the first part of gouernment, which is of mannaging of affaires of [ C] state, though it consist all in the princes will, yet this duke taketh councell of some that are neere about him, and principally of Don Iohn de Medicis, for that he is young, and hath no great experience in affaires. There are no councellors of state; so as we cannot say that the councell hath censured any thing, but that it is the princes pleasure: and so the resolutions which are made, are more secret and more assured.

As touching the second part, which consisteth in judgements, it is performed by the same magistrats that decided matters in time of libertie, as well for ciuile as crimill cau∣ses: for ciuile processes of suits are determined by a certaine number of Doctors of the Rota, like as at Rome and Bononia; and the criminall causes as asoretime: the place of Confalonner being giuen to one, who changing his name is called Lieutenant. There we [ D] see ordinarie councellours, the magistrat of eight, and all other magistrats of townes, and Podestaries (except the gouernors of the principa••l citie, which are sent thither by the prince, as in like manner the captaines of Forts) as they were wont to be in time of the common-weale: and they are first drawn out of three boxes, distinguishing all into three rankes, according to the conditions of men, and putting all the names of the nobilitie into a box by themselues, whence they are after drawne.

Out of the first box they draw the magistrats of greatest importance, out of the second, the middle sort, and the inferiour out of the third: and when they haue drawne fiue gentlemen for each magistrat, he which hath most voices in the councell is chosen. These boxes are renewed euery fist yeare, and he that would passe from a lesser magistracie to a [ E] greater, must do it at those times. These elections are authorised by the prince, which re∣serueth to himselfe power to confirme them all.

True it is, that he seldome troubles himselfe with matters pertaining to the magistrats, but he hath a secretarie of the criminall, who takes knowledge of all the most impor∣tant crimes in question, and makes report thereof vnto the prince, who giues direction before they giue sentence: the which he doth to the end that magistrats knowing that their acts are knowne, and often examined by the prince, may haue the more care to administer justice duely, for feare of insamie and punishment: and he doth it also for to haue an absolute soueraigntie in all things. He maintaineth this kind of gouernment, for that seeing he must vse persons which administer justice, he will with this little shadow of [ F] auncient libertie satisfie in part the desire of the citisens, for that they haue in some sort the commoditie to content their ambition, by meanes of the profit they reape by ho∣nours and publicke charges.

This is also obserued at Siena, and for the same respect; for there is to be seene the an∣cient magistrats and councells, with the authoritie of the palace and seigneurie, and in

a word the reliques and shadowes of the common-weale that was in former times, and [ A] the great duke entertaineth there a generall gouernour, which immediatly representeth the prince with soueraigne authoritie, who hath an eye to all things, and nothing is done without his priuitie, no not without the princes knowledge, in matters of importance. We see then by this representation the whole gouernment of these cities, as famous now for their noblenesse, as they were in times past happie by their libertie. Now for as much as the glorious splendor which princes haue accustomed to liue in, is that which most representeth their maiestie, the great duke maintaineth a court, or house worthie of obseruation, which surpasseth (to say truely) the bounds of a duke, and yet reacheth not to the magnific••nce of a king: He hath a good number of gentlemen, diuided into [ B] two orders, the one attendeth his person, the other the houshold, with a great number of officers and seruants. Moreouer he hath in his seruice about three score gentlemens and noblemens sonnes, whom he causeth to be brought vp with great care, and to be in∣structed in all manner of exercises: yet as some write there are few tables kept in this princes court.