He showed himself deeply affected by it, and, probably, was so sincerely.

But the Colonnas, though his former patrons, were still the enemies of a cause which he considered sacred, much as it was mismanaged and disgraced by the Tribune; and his grief cannot be supposed to have been immoderate.

Accordingly, the letter which he wrote to Cardinal Colonna on this occasion is quite in the style of Seneca, and more like an ethical treatise than an epistle of condolence.
It is obvious that Petrarch slowly and reluctantly parted with his good opinion of Rienzo.

But, whatever sentiments he might have cherished respecting him, he was now doomed to hear of his tragic fall.
The revolution which overthrew the Tribune was accomplished on the 15th of December, 1347.

That his fall was, in a considerable degree, owing to his faults, is undeniable; and to the most contemptible of all faults--personal vanity.