Philopoemen, “the last of the Greeks,” born 252 B.C., died 183 B.C.

During the rioting between the Cancellieri and Panciatichi factions in 1502 and 1503.

. . . against my will, my fate

A throne unsettled, and an infant state,

Bid me defend my realms with all my pow’rs,

And guard with these severities my shores.

Christopher Pitt.

“The present chapter has given greater offence than any other portion of Machiavelli’s writings.” Burd, “Il Principe,” p. 297.