# CHAPTER 54 — How Much Authority a Serious Man Possesses in Restraining a Multitude

The second thing to note in relation to the content of the preceding chapter is that there is nothing so apt to restrain an excited mob as their respect for some serious man of authority who confronts them; nor without reason does Virgil declare: ‘If it so happens they look round and see | Some dedicated public man, a veteran | Whose record gives him weight, they quiet down, | Willing to stop and listen.’ * For that reason, whoever is placed in charge of an army or happens to be in a city when a disturbance occurs ought to present himself before the crowd with the greatest grace and dignity possible, placing around himself the insignia of the rank he holds to inspire still more respect. A few years ago Florence was divided into two factions, the Frateschi and the Arrabbiati * (as they called themselves), and after they came to blows, the Frateschi were defeated, among whom was Pagolantonio Soderini, in those days a well-respected citizen. During those disturbances an armed crowd went to his home to sack it, while his brother, Messer Francesco, then bishop of Volterra and today a cardinal, happened to be in the house; as soon as he heard the noise and saw the crowd, Francesco * dressed himself in his most illustrious garments, covering them with his white bishop’s rochet, and confronting the armed citizens, he stopped them with his presence and his words, something that was noted and praised throughout the city for many days afterwards.

I conclude, therefore, that there is no more effective or necessary remedy for restraining a multitude than the presence of a single man who appears in person and is revered. It is also evident, if we return to the previously cited text, with what stubbornness the Roman plebeians accepted that decision to go to Veii * because they thought it a useful one and did not recognize the danger that it concealed, and how, after giving rise to numerous disturbances, it would have led to strife had the senate, through men who were serious and highly respected, not curbed their frenzy.