divinamscientiam

[divinamscientiam]

❝         After  a  moment,  she  said  softly,   “   We  all  feel  it,  you  know.    ”      “   Feel  what?   ”      “   THE  PULL.  Toward  the  Darkling.  But  he’ s  not  like  us ...  His   kind   of   power,   the   way   he   looks.  You’ d  have  to  be  mad  or  blind  not  to  notice  it.   ”       ❞

[divinamscientiam]

“   His dark hair gleamed in the lamplight of the chapel. Summoning his shadow army had taken its toll. He was thinner, paler, but somehow the sharp angles of his face had only become more beautiful.      ”

[divinamscientiam]

Philippe spoiled Raoul. To begin with, he was very proud of him and pleased to foresee a glorious career for his junior in the navy in which one of their ancestors, the famous Chagny de La Roche, had held the rank of admiral. He took advantage of the young man's leave of absence to show him Paris, with all its luxurious and artistic delights. The count considered that, at Raoul's age, it is not good to be too good.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

[divinamscientiam]

The shyness of the sailor-lad -I was almost saying his innocence- was remarkable. He seemed to have but just left the women's apron-strings. As a matter of fact, petted as he was by his two sisters and his old aunt, he had retained from this purely feminine education manners that were almost candid and stamped with a charm that nothing had yet been able to sully. He was a little over twenty-one years of age and looked eighteen. He had a small, fair mustache, beautiful blue eyes and a complexion like a girl's.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

[divinamscientiam]

The Darkling stood at the prow, surrounded by his shadow horde. As always, the first sight of him was practically a physical blow. He was simply more real, more VIBRANT than everything else around him.

[divinamscientiam]

For those who worried about Florence's standing in the world, Lorenzo's personal prestige only added to the credit of the city as a whole. He was a friend of kings, and now of popes, correspondent with all the mighty of Europe, who sought his advice on a wide range of subjects. Even the Ottoman sultan thought so highly of Lorenzo that he sent lions and giraffes to populate his private menagerie. In time he was called simply il Magnifico, the term of respect used to denote any person of wealth and rank, now clinging to him almost as a title and testifying to his unique claim on the loyalty of his people. His authority had been built over years of careful manoeuvring, but in the end, it rested on his countrymen's recognition that, in the phrase of one of his critics, Lorenzo was the greatest Florentine in history.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

Using his own private funds and the unparalleled resources of the Medici bank, he ensured a steady supply of grain to the city that kept the price of bread low. Lorenzo's own coin flowed into the poorest sections of the city where he knew he was purchasing goodwill that he could tap into in times of crisis.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

Instinctively, Lorenzo was groping toward another kind of leadership, one based on his personal aura, on his achievements and his character- in a word, on his Magnificence- rather than on the fickle coalitions and deal-making that characterized Florentine politics in the past. This personal style of leadership had been implicit from the beginning as his parents trotted out the lisping infant in full regalia to star in the city's many processions and pageants. It had continued in the cult of youth build around him and his brother, Giuliano. Lorenzo had eschewed such obvious glamour, but only in order to project an image of himself as a sober statesman, father to his people.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

Settling the future of his two oldest sons was the key to putting the family's fortunes on a firm foundation, but his other children had their part to play as well in the dynastic game. In selecting spouses for his remaining children, Lorenzo was motivated largely by the need to heal the wounds that had been opened up in the body politic by the Medici's sudden rise into the aristocracy of Europe. Though he had crushed the Pazzi, who in any case seemed to have little support, Lorenzo understood that among the ancient families of Florence there remained a reservoir of ill-feeling that would need to be drained were his family to avoid a repetition of that sorry episode.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

In laying the groundwork for Giovanni's ecclesiastical career, Lorenzo was far more deliberate than he had been in the case of his brother. Giovanni's bookish tastes made him a more suitable candidate, and his early education, despite Poliziano's preference for basing the boy's lessons on pagan authors, had been arranged with an eye to preparing him for a life in the Church. At the tender age of seven he had taken holy orders, and from then on Lorenzo kept up a continual pressure to ensure that local cathedrals held positions open for him.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

Like many a firstborn son, Lorenzo had grown accustomed to the doting attention of the female members of his family, and now that Clarice was gone this role was taken over by his sister Bianca and by his daughters, particularly Maddalena. Even after Maddalena had been espoused to the pope's bastard son, Lorenzo wished to have her by his side.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

The children bound them together in common purpose and the well-being of their children was the main object of Lorenzo and Clarice's collaborative effort. Indeed, securing the future of their children was the one goal to which they both contributed equally and the one thing that could unite two minds that otherwise shared few interests.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

MAGNIFICENT FATHER MINE….. We are all well and studying. Giovanni is beginning to spell. By this letter you can judge where I am in writing; as for Greek, I keep myself rather in exercise by the help of Martino than make any progress. Giuliano laughs and thinks of nothing else; Lucrezia sews, sings, and reads; Maddalena knocks her head against the wall, but without doing herself any harm; Luisa begins to say a few little words; Contessina fills the house with her noise. All others attend to their duties, and nothing is wanting to us save your presence.

A letter from Piero’s hand. Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

Frequent and prolonged absences did not prevent Lorenzo from making the most of his time with Clarice. By the end of 1479 he had conceived seven healthy children: following Maddalena came his second son, Giovanni, born in 1475; Luigia and Contessina, both in 1478; and, finally, Giuliano in 1479.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

By the end of 1473, still a young man of twenty-four, Lorenzo had fathered five children. In addition to Lucrezia, Clarice had delivered twin boys in 1471; born prematurely, they lived only long enough to be baptized. Fortune was kinder when on February 15, 1472, Clarice delivered a healthy boy, Piero, who would ultimately succeed his father as the first citizen of Florence. Piero was followed in July of 1473 by a second healthy daughter, Maddalena.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

In August 1470, Clarice gave birth to their first child, Lucrezia, a happy event that gave Lorenzo a certain gravitas in the eyes of his fellow citizens. For Florentines, nothing defined a mar of substance as surely as fathering a child in wedlock.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger

[divinamscientiam]

Lorenzo was in many ways less modern in his economic views than his forebears; while Giovanni di Bicci, Cosimo, and even Piero had understood that wealth could be created by manipulating numbers on a piece of paper, Lorenzo possessed an old-fashioned prejudice in favour of tangible wealth in the form of real estate. After four generations of prosperity, the Medici under Lorenzo were slowly transforming themselves from merchants to landed gentry.

Magnifico: The brilliant life and violent times of Lorenzo de’ Medici, by Miles J. Unger