White Robe, Black Robe Quotes

“They were a devout family to whom religion was a source of comfort and hope, not anxiety. Their religious feelings did not instantly reform Martin’s own thoughts, but they must at least have intrigued him and given him some notion that religion might be something other than frightening.”
― Charles L. Mee Jr., White Robe, Black Robe: Pope Leo X, Martin Luther, and the Birth of the Reformation

“After Piero died, the cardinal abruptly changed the Medici tactics toward Florence. He and his other brother, Giuliano, decided, as Francesco Guicciardini wrote, “that the best way to facilitate their return was not to use force and violence, but to show love and benevolence, benefitting the citizens and never offending them either in public or in private. They never overlooked an opportunity to do a favor to any Florentine citizen, whether he lived in Rome or was just passing through. . . . Soon it became quite clear that the entire house, possessions, resources, and reputation of the Cardinal were at the disposal of any Florentine who cared to use them. The effectiveness of all this was enhanced by the fact that the greedy and self-seeking Cardinal Soderini [also a Florentine] never did anything for any Florentine. By comparison with him, the liberality and generous deeds of the Medici”
― Charles L. Mee Jr., White Robe, Black Robe: Pope Leo X, Martin Luther, and the Birth of the Reformation