gratified them all.

In Giuliano they had a typical young courtier, handsome, athletic,
accomplished, and enthusiastic. His physical charms appealed to every
one, for most Florentines were Greeks of the Greeks. A precocious boy of
sixteen years of age, he had the promise of a brilliant young manhood
and a splendid maturity.

The personal equation is always a prominent factor in human ambitions,
and nowhere was it more emphatically dominant than in the mutual
jealousies of the men of Florence. The "x+y" sign of absolute assurance
had its match and equal in the "x-y" sign of restrictive deference. If
one _Messer_ arrived at some degree of prominence, then the best way for
him to attain his end was to pit himself against another of his class
nearest to him in influence. If _he_ was not to gain the guerdon, then
his rival should not have it!

This was the spirit which permeated the _raison d'etre_ of each noble
lord in that great assembly. After the first wave of enthusiasm had
passed, each man began to reflect that the best way, after all, for
settling the contentious question of the Headship of the Republic, was
to rule every one of the "magnificent six hundred" out of the running;
and by taking the line of least resistance plump for the unassuming
youths before them--Medici although they were.

"_Signori!_" "_Signori!_" again ran through the lofty chamber, "_I
Signori di Firenze!_" Some cried out "Lorenzo," and some "Giuliano," and
others "_I tutte due_"--but shouts for Lorenzo waxed the loudest. Thus
by general acclamation was the new _Capo della Repubblica_ elected.