Serene Majesty,--When this Signory writes to recommend one of their citizens they have such hope and faith in the clemency and kindness of Your Majesty, that neither do they doubt of their gracious reception nor do I consider it necessary to intervene in their behalf. Yet, to satisfy my conscience, being in duty bound to help the citizens of this Republic, I cannot refrain from recommending with all reverence and humility to Your Majesty Filippo del Vigna for the affair he will explain. I assure Your Majesty that no greater token of interest and clemency towards this city can be given than to accept the aforesaid Filippo as a faithful servant, and to aid him to recover his indemnity, and I, for my part, should be everlastingly grateful. I commend myself humbly to Your Majesty.[388] Agnolo Poliziano _to_ Lorenzo de’ Medici _in Florence_ Magnificent Patron,--My last letter was from Ferrara. In Padua I found some good books, _i.e._ Simplicio, on the Sky; Alessandro, on the Topica; Giovan Grammatico, on the Posteriora and the Syllogism; a David on Aristotle; none of which we have in Florence. I also found a Greek scribe in Padua and arranged with him at a ducat for every fifteen pages. Maestro Piero Leoni showed me his books: among them I found M. Manlio, an old astronomer and poet, which I have brought with me to Venice to compare with one I have bought; I have never seen a more ancient book. _Similiter_ he possesses certain books of Galieno _de dogmate Aristotelis et Hippocratis_ in Greek, of which he will give us a copy in Padua, so we shall have gained something. In Venice I have found some books of Archimedes and Eron, mathematicians, which we have not got, and a Frunuto _de Deis_, and other valuable things. So papa Janni[389] will have writing enough to do for some time. Niceno’s [Cardinal] library we were not able to see. Messer Aldovrandini, the Duke of Ferrara’s ambassador, _in cujus domo habitamus_, went to the Prince but was met with a blunt refusal. He asked for Count Giovanni [Pico della Mirandola], not for me, as I thought it better not to mention your name in the affair. Messer Antonio Vinciguerra and Messer Antonio Pizamanno, one of the two philosophers who came incognito to Florence to see the Count, and a brother of Messer Zaccheria Barbaro, are engaged in trying to overcome this obstinacy; everything possible will be tried. This is all I have to say about books. Messer Piero Leoni has been greatly persecuted in Padua and has no patients either there or in Venice. Yet he is a good doctor and held in high esteem. I have caused him to be sounded by the Count as to coming to Tuscany, but I think it will be difficult. He does not like Padua and the society does not please him, _ut ipse ait; negut tamen se elle in Thusciam agere_.