Girolamo foresaw that his projects of annexing other possessions of the Manfredi, and his subsequent intentions on the Ordelaffi vicegerency, would meet with like obstacles. He erred in supposing that such plans would succeed better if an end were put to the influence then dominant in Florence; for the effects which he attributed to the special action of that influence were merely in accordance with the traditional maxims of Florentine policy. It was even a political necessity as long as the old system of balance of power existed, which, in regard to Romagna and Umbria, only ceased with the death of its last representative, Lorenzo de’ Medici. But it lay in the character and position of an upstart like Girolamo Riario, who knew that his rise and fall depended on the duration of one life, that of the Pope, to confuse what was nearest and most palpable with conditions which were dependent on individual persons and expressions of their wishes. We shall certainly not be mistaken if we suppose that the Pope’s nephew first entered into connection with Francesco de’ Pazzi, who superintended the finances in Rome, and that both succeeded in gaining over the Archbishop of Pisa, who, having only entered upon office the preceding year, was just then in Rome. The removal of Lorenzo de’ Medici proved the turning-point of the whole undertaking, in what way appeared indifferent to the accomplices. That they could not reach him by so-called legal means, such as served in Florence to rouse a spirit of rebellion, must have been clear to them. Force must therefore be employed. The three were probably from the first agreed upon this. It was only a question of how and where. It was of importance to ascertain how the Pope would regard the plot, for without his consent nothing could be done. This was all the more necessary because Jacopo de’ Pazzi, when Francesco first revealed to him in Florence the plan of overthrowing the Medicean supremacy, did not show the least desire of taking part in such a venture, and it became clear to the others that they would achieve nothing by themselves. That Sixtus IV., in his irritated feeling towards Lorenzo and the Republic, would willingly offer a hand in the attempt to remodel affairs in Florence, was not to be doubted. But Girolamo Riario was also obliged to confess that his uncle would lend himself to no undertaking which would leave any stain on the honour of the Papacy. It was necessary, therefore, to keep a free hand for a revolution in Florence, and not to let the Pope see through their plans, and at the same time give him a false impression of the feeling prevailing in the city with regard to the Medici and the support they might expect. The nephew undertook this, and succeeded in it with a man whose many praiseworthy and even brilliant qualities were not sufficient to keep him out of the power of those who eventually brought dishonour on his name.