Most Holy Father,--We have been fully informed that wantonly by the hands of Count Girolamo, of one of your nephews recently promoted to the dignity of the Cardinalate, of the Archbishop of Pisa, and of members of the Pazzi family and their adherents, an outrage, insult, and personal attack has been made on the person of our dear friend Lorenzo de’ Medici and on Giuliano his brother. That the said Giuliano and others, his friends, have been killed, murdered, and assassinated in a church in Florence, in which we have been. We are deeply grieved and still more astonished that such an outrage should have been committed against one of such a House as is that of the Medici; renowned in the whole world, and known as belonging to the Church and filling high offices, such as that of Cardinal and Archbishop, and in the precincts of a Church, a sacred place dedicated to God. Therefore, Holy Father, we are much displeased at so abominable a sin and outrage, which we regard as even more grave than if it had been done to our own person, or to the person of one nearly related to us, and we hold that your and our honour has been most deeply offended. On account of the special love we have always borne, and bear, to the said Lorenzo our cousin and to all of his House, and of the great friendship, cemented by loyalty, oaths, and alliance, which in past times existed, and exists at present, between our predecessors, ourselves, and the city of Florence, we most affectionately supplicate and pray Your Holiness that for love of us as well as for love of our Holy Mother Church, in order that others should not go unpunished, amends shall be made for this crime by punishing the delinquents, and all who have aided and participated, in such way that it may be an example for all men to remember, and that greater ills shall not arise. Otherwise, by virtue of the said alliance and confederation existing between us and the said Florentines, and on account of the love we bear to our said cousin, we have determined to declare against all those who are implicated and not to allow this thing to go unpunished. We pray the Blessed Son of God that Your Holiness may long be spared to rule our Holy Mother Church.[216] Lorenzo de’ Medici _to_ Tommaso Soderini _at Milan_[217]