Ferdinand's Reputation
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, "Ferdinand was gifted with great courage and real political ability, but his method of government was vicious and disastrous. His financial administration was based on oppressive and dishonest monopolies, and he was mercilessly severe and utterly treacherous towards his enemies."
As further testimony to the latter, Jacob Burckhardt described his recreational activities as follows: "Besides hunting, which he practiced regardless of all rights of property, his pleasures were of two kinds: he liked to have his opponents near him, either alive in well-guarded prisons, or dead and embalmed, dressed in the costume which they wore in their lifetime." Fearing no one, he would take great pleasure in conducting his guests on a tour of his prized "museum of mummies".
Read more about this topic: Ferdinand I Of Naples
Famous quotes containing the words ferdinand and/or reputation:
“I fairly confess that, acting as nature and simplicity dictated, no sooner did I see the once loved bosom of my Ferdinand free from those deformed demons which had crept in and filled up the vacant space, than beholding my natural home once more the seat of innocence and truth, my heart joyfully danced into its delightful abode.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)
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—Crystal Eastman (1881–1928)