THE MINISTER OF STATE. Wherein is shown, The true use OF Modern Policy.  
BY MONSIEUR DE SILHON, Secretary to the late Cardinal RICHELIEU.  Englished by H. H. 
Tandem didici, animas sapientiores fieri quiescendo.  
LONDON, Printed for Thomas Dring; And are to be sold at his shop at the George in Fleetstreet near Clifford's Innt 1658.   

  

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD, THE LORD VISCOUNT SCUDAMORE.  
My Lord,  
THis Translation makes its first address to your Honour's Accurate judgement, but craves no protection for the Matter, or Expressions of the Original; For, the Matter is but the result of your Reasonings; and the Expressions, but the repetition of your Eloquence. In th'Author, two things, besides his exact knowledge in Civil and Divine affairs, are very remarkable; his Love to Truth, and Hatred to Detraction: As to Truth, he holds it forth, as the best & most permanent Policy for Princes, and their Ministers of State. Buy the Truth, but sell it not, says Solomon. Magna est Veritas, & praevalebit. As to Detraction, he condemns the practice of it in all persons, and gives th'example t'others. For he is sparing in the discovery of some sharp Truths, and permits the Matter, Errors, or Crimes, to publish the men. And it were to be wished, that personal obloquy were not as modeable in our days, as new dresses.  
In the business of Religion, he may be found zealous, but not superstitious, and rather of the Gallican, then Papal persuasion. Deceits and Vices are decried by him, in what subject soever he finds them; Piety and Virtue highly exalted. For he made them, if report be true, his daily exercise; as knowing, that nothing can be perpetual, but what is founded upon Piety or Virtue: for they are equal in the Balance, when Vices endure no equality. And being bred in the School of that eminent and successful Cardinal of Richlieu, and cherished in his Conversation and House, did collect the most resined products of his Policy, Wit, and Experience, and gather the choicest Flowers of his Garden.  
The Book had a very high esteem in France, at the publication in Paris, and hath justified its credit in the present use, as an approved Jewel; and it cannot go less in value here, where Learning and good Wits abound, and the judgement of discerning a true Diamond from a Pibble stone, though never so well set; equal, if not superior, to any Nation of the World.  
My Lord,  
Forgive th'exercise of your patience so long, in the Porch of this beautiful and regular Edifice, raised from the materials of the Brain, and adorned with the Beauties of Rhetoric, and Examples drawn to the life. But the Key being now in your hand, your Lordship may enter at pleasure, and dismiss,  
My Lord, Your Lordship's humble Servant, H. H.   

ADVERTISEMENT.  
READER,  
I Have some Considerations to represent unto thee concerning this Work, whereupon I beseech thee to cast thy eyes. The first is in relation to the Matter, which is composed of Reasonings and Examples. As to the Reasonings, thou shalt know them to be wholly mine, and a pure product of my wit, and by consequence imperfect, and tastes of the weakness of the principle from which it is derived. When I discourse of past Occurrences, and of things happened in the Reigns of the King, If the true motives have not always been encountered by me, nor the essential causes of their success; I have nothing to say to thee, but that I had not the spirit of Divination; That I have not received remembrances or instructions from any person; And that th'actions of Princes are like great Rivers, the beginning and springs whereof sew persons have seen, though an infinite of persons see the course and progress of them.  
If any person thinks my Judgement too free, chief when I speak of the Pope and the matters of Rome, I beseech him to consider that gentler Consequences cannot be drawn from th'Examples that are brought; If th'examples are false, I have not invented them; the springs are well known: There's cause nevertheless to praise God that some of the Pastors who have governed his Church have not been so black as they are painted. If they are true, there's cause to admire the Divine Providence in preserving his Church from decay and spot, in the time of corruption of some of its members, and in maintaining of it in health, the plague being so near it. That is to say, as I understand it, that nothing was altered of the means which God hath appointed to guide us to our supernatural end. That the Doctrine of Faith which is one of the Principles that makes us act Christianly, and which hath works for her nearest end, is always the same. That the Sacraments which confer and increase grace in us by virtue of the Institution of Jesus Christ, and not by virtue of what we bring unto it of ours, as of a meritorious cause, are not changed for the number, their matter, or their form; That the permanent and incorruptible State in these two things is found only in that holy Hierarchy which makes that mystical Body of Jesus Christ; which is composed of a head that represents it, and of many principal & subaltern members who hold of that head, and with an admirable dependency and union amongst themselves. That it never happened that this Head, and those members to whom it belongs to guide others, have together, and with a common consent, failed against these two things; and that it will never happen to th'end of the world, at least if the Promises of God are eternal, and his word unchangeable; and therefore no person is to wonder, if out of the Church there be no salvation, since the Church only contains that means that brings us thither, and preserves inviolable the substance and number of the Sacraments, and the purity of th'evangelical doctrine. Moreover, and for what respecteth every member of the Church in particular, That God hath left them in the hands of their counsel to believe or live as they please; that he hath put before them fire and water, that they may make their choice, and that he imposeth no necessity upon them, but leaves them be power of their will, that's to say, the power to follow that good or to forsake it, to do evil or to abstain from it.  
When I speak then with liberty of the vices of some Popes, and of the corruption of some of their Agents; I do not think to wrong Religion, nor to offend the Church. The Cardinal Baronius relates, with much more soverity or less allay than I do, the abuses which overstowed the Court of Rome when two famous whores Theodosia, and Morosia, governed it, and the Popes of that time; A man must not always set himself against known truths: Who support ill causes lose their credit, & make themselves to be suspected, when they have good ones to defend; & resemble certain persons who being equally honest to all the world are not so to any person; and putting neither difference nor measure to their civilities, and treating with the same honours and compliments, the persons of small merit and base condition, oblige not so much the one as they wrong th''others. Nevertheless if I am not deceived, I do exercise such a moderation in speaking of Popes, and so well support what is of God's institution in condemning what proceeds from the weakness and from the corruption of man, that I am so fare from believing myself guilty of blame, that I think, without vaunt, to have merited somewhat from the Holy Chair, if without passion judgement be passed upon me. Howsoever if I flatter myself in my apprehensions, and if the love of my work deceives me, I submit with a complete submission to the judgement of Superiors, and of them who have power to regulate my opinions, and to impose laws upon my understanding. What they shall condemn, I condemn it; I do now retract what they shall not esteem good, and I have not so little of Christianity as not to know that 'tis better to obey and exercise a necessary virtue, then to make a noise in the world and gain a vain reputation of spirit, in defending an ambiguous Opinion. Let this be said in passing-by, and by way of prevention.  
As for the Examples which make out th'other part of the matter of this work; I advise thee Reader, that if the Authors from whom I have taken them are deceived, I will not be their security: If I have mistaken myself in what I have taken from them, I confess freely that that fault is voluntary; that 'tis a defect for which a remedy might have been found in consulting with knowing men or books, but that I have not done it for want of leisure or industry: If any person take it ill that I do make so frequent use of Spanish Examples, I beseech him to consider that I do it for two or three reasons. The first, that its the French humour to be more sensible of strange things than them of their country. The second, in so much that they will serve the more to make known the Conduct of the Spaniards; which is a necessary knowledge to the Agents of other Princes, since that Nation holds other Christian nations in perpetual exercise, and obligeth them to be with her or against her. The third, insomuch that, speaking generally, that Nation understands th' Art to govern and command men better than any Nation in the world. If I speak in many places with praise of S. the Cardinal; be it considered apart from the interest of any person, that I take nothing from another to give to him: That I do attribute always to the King the chief glory of good success; That I do represent him as the principal and first cause of the good fortune of France, and that the praises which I give to S. the Cardinal, are applied unto him in such a manner that they rebound nevertheless upon the King. That I condemn not in particular any living person. That I commend others whom I meet with in my discourse who deserve it, and give honour to virtue wheresoever I find it: That I do report what passed under the Government of that great Minister of State by way of Example, and as I do relate the Actions of a Ferrand Gonsalve, or of a Gaston of Foix, of a Prince of Parma, or of a Duke of Guyse, that I add nothing to th' Actions; that I speak not but of the things we have touched and seen, whereof our senses are Judges, and whereunto all Nations give Evidence. I do but reason upon it, let it be examined whether my reasonings are weak and ill grounded: and if they who take offence have better Morals and better Politics than mine; I do not pretend to hinder them of the light or of the value they shall put upon them; with these Precautions. It cannot be thought strange that I praise a Person who hath rendered so great Services to the King, which are known to all the world, who hath so much merited of the State and of Religion; that our Neighbours and they that love us not, have an infinite esteem for him; and that he is my Master.  
It remains to speak of the form of the Work, which is the style: Whereupon, Reader, I do timely advise thee that I am not inflamed with eloquence: That I have laboured Things more than Words: That I have not read Quintilian, nor the Rhetoric of Aristotle, unless it be that part where he speaks of the passions of Men, and of the affections of divers Ages. And therefore, if there be any thing that relishes of this Art, know that it entered by chance, and slipped in by accident: That 'tis a plant that grows of itself, and without being set; and that I have done like the needle of a Watch which marks the hours, without knowing of it. Notwithstanding I confess that I have not neglected to give it ornaments after my fashion; that's to say, natural; and that I had strewed more flowers if I had had them, or more leisure to have gathered them; Thou mayst find there some inequality, and some places that are not so strong or so well digested as others. But 'tis, that all the matters or the manner wherewith they ought to be handled are not capable of the same force and graces. Foregoes much better, when the subject carries us, and that we have wind and tide, then when we cannot move but by the strength of Arms and Oars. And the Masters of fortifications say, that there are places upon the Earth which cannot be made strong; not for want of Art, but by reason of the vicious platform and situation.  
I beseech thee also, not to start back at th' Entry, and at the reading of the first discourse which hath some Rudeness in it, whereof I am very sensible and which is not sufficiently polished nor adorned.   

THE MINISTER OF STATE.  

First Book.  

First Discourse.  
That, An Excellent Minister of State is an Evidence of the Fortune of a Prince, and the Instrument of the happiness of a State.  
IN the course of Affairs, 'tis certain, that Designs only are in the power of man, and that all Events are disposed by some Power above him, and which being infinitely wise, doth nothing by Chance. Th'hazard, to which so many things are attributed, is a work of our brain, and none of the Principles of governing the World. All things are guided without our help, in Light and Justice; and the blind goddess, that is called Fortune, is a fancy, which Philosophy hath not adored, and Religion hath abolished in the destruction of Idolatry. Th' invention nevertheless hath not been unprofitable. The miserable, charge the causes of their misery upon it; and th' imprudent, th' effects of their ill conducts: Her name is in the mouths of all persons, the wise and unwise do equally employ it; and use is made of it sometimes, to be the better understood, and not to departed from a received custom, nor from the terms that are practised. But to declare what 'tis; The Power we speak of, is no other thing, than God himself; insomuch that he undertakes the government of free causes, and disposeth of them to his ends, whether they be conformable to theirs, or contrary to them. And as the first Mobile, without destroying the natural motion of the other Heavens, doth make them subject to his, and carries them from th' East to the West, so God doth manage in such sort the actions of the Creatures, which work with liberty, that without violating their freedom, and by the encounter of other causes, wherein he doth cast them, infallibly draws th' effect which he proposed to himself, and which from humane foresight is often little expected.  
In a word, the workman that observes the rules of his Art, is never disappointed of his intention; the Painter, that perfectly understands the mixtures of Colours, and the proportions of Figures, draws at pleasure exquisite Pictures; th' Architect, that casts his designs by the rules of Architecture, makes them happily to prosper. But the fairest operations of Man, wherein his noblest part hath most interest, are not solely capable of attaining their end, and th' effect aimed at. Hannibal acted the full duties of a brave Captain, and yet was overcome by Scipio. Cicero forgets nothing of the charge of an excellent Orator, yet Milon was condemned; and André Doria sees the Fleet of his Master perish in the Port of Algiers. notwithstanding his skill and experience in Maritime affairs. But what God adds to the Principles that are in us, th' occasions which He causeth to arise for us, the means which he suscitates, th' obstacles which he diverts in our favour, and all th' assistance which He gives us, to make our desires to prosper, is, that which we call, Good fortune, and them, Happy, which receive it. But this good success doth not always accompany Justice, and Holy enterprises, as God doth not always oppose unjust and violent designs; th' infidels have often triumphed over th' Armies of Christians, and of Catholieks. The most holy of our Kings hath been unhappy in his two Voyages beyond the Seas; and the Cause of God, for which he made War, and th' Interest of Religion, could not secure him from prison, nor from the plague. On the contrary, nothing is reád comparable to the success of Usurpators; nothing put a stop to Alexander's successes, but his death; and a Prince, for whose ambition the world was too little, and that had the vanity to think, that there was not matter enough therein for his courage; had fortune so favourable, that she covered his faults, and rendered his failings happy. Caesar had most success, in the most unjust War he ever made, he had no more to do than to go and conquer, in dissipating the Roman Commonwealth. She that gave the Law to all the Earth, fell, in less time, than is laid out in taking of a City; and three years have destroyed the works of many ages. Attila and Tamburlaine have passed like lightning in their conquests; and the Race of Ottomans, which takes away Religion from God, and liberty from men, hath obtained so many victories, and extended so far Its Dominions, for these hundred years and upwards, that no foreign force seems sufficient and capable for the present, to abate the forces of that Empire; and that it hath nothing more to fear but its own greatness and excessive powers. The reason of this diversity is, that God doth not always work miracles, and disorders not the order of things for the love of honest men; and as it is very reasonable to raise their courage and confirm their hopes, that God should sometimes visibly hasten to their relief, it is also most conformable to the laws of his providence, and to the sweetness of his conduct, that second causes be suffered for the most part to act according to their capacity and extent of their force: and therefore, in order to that, the weak to give way to the stronger; that a lesser virtue, politic I mean, obey the greater; and that they, who have notorious advantages of their enemies, have also upon them notorious success: otherwise truly he should oblige himself to repair all the faults of them who have good intentions. And if goodness alone should be successful in the world, prudence should be banished from the civil life, and industry from the train of affairs.  
As to the successes of Usurpators, It is easy to give the reason, if we search causes of the change of States, and of the Revolution of Empires. 'tis certain that the greatest & most Extended are not always the firmest, nor the most durable: on the contrary, as the most delicate fruits are sooner spoilt than others, and a perfect health is an instance of a disease approaching; it happens also that States which are in the flower of their force, and at the last round of their happinesses, are not fare from their fall; Pleasure enters with wealth; power produceth ambition, & these two passions, which aspect always their ends without exception to means, draw with them so many other evils, that of necessity those unhappy States must perish & be translated into a new form of Government; In this fatal conjuncture, if a person of courage & of ambition to conquer, take Arms, he finds the matter ready prepared; God seconds his design, and abandons them unto him whom ambition had divided, and whom delicacies had deprived of Judgement, and affeminated their courage, not that he doth inspire the conquerors with unjust thoughts nor with those furious motions which thrust them on to usurp what belongs to others, and to violate the rights of humane society; but acted of their own accord, and by their own election, he may lawfully favour them; and his justice will not suffer many good actions of theirs to pass unrewarded, nor them unpunished who have abused his graces.  
But when he makes choice of a person to repair the disorders of the world, or for the good of a particular State; Then his care is showed in furnishing him with necessary principles to undertake great matters. The thoughts are put in his soul by God, and he gives the power to execute them; he troubles and confounds his enemies, and leads him as by the hand to victories and triumphs; and one of the greatest expedients whereof he serves himself for this purpose, is, to raise unto him, excellent men, to whom he communicates his cares, and who help him to bear the weight of Affairs.  
And as the operations of the soul do themselves good or ill according to the conditions of the organs and quality of their temper; the prosperity or adversity of Princes depends on them, in whose hands their authority is placed, and who dispose of their power. Alexander had never conquered Asia, nor made the Indias to tremble but for Ephestion, Parmemo, and Clitus; Caesar gained many battles by the hands of his Lieustenants; and the fairest Empire of the world which ambition and ill of the times had divided into three parts, was reduced under the dominion of Augustus by the Counsel of Maecenas, and by the Valour of Agrippa; Justinian triumphed over Persia, and destroyed the Vandals in Africa, and the Goths in Italy, by the aid of Bellisarius and Narcete.  
The Count of Dunois, Pothon, the Hire, and the Maid Jane delivered France from the invasion of the English; And the first Man of the pastage of whom it may truly be reported, that he was too happy for a Christian Prince, hath by his conduct, or with the aid of his Ministers of State, taken Rome and Thunis, a Pope, a King of France; given chase to Salyman, and made it appear to Germany that it was to be conquered. That very Prince who was so intelligent in all things, and had added so many acquired qualities to the gifts of nature, took the liberty to tell his Son in presenting to him the Secretary Eraso, that he gave him somewhat that was greater than his States, and than the Crowns which he had resigned unto him. By such sort of persons, Principalities and Monarchies have been first founded. And for the love of them the people have voluntarily renounced their Liberties; and they are the persons who renew also under their Sovereigns the natural and primitive order of command, and of that obedience which is amongst men: And truly 'twas very reasonable (since a difference ought to be made amongst them) that Merit should begin to make it: The Society to which they are born, and without which they cannot subsist, is a Consort so delicate, and a Fabric composed of so many pieces, that if it be not guided by a dextrous prudence, and maintained by a sovereign virtue, a very little thing confounds and disorders it.  
And insomuch that they who attain to such a condition are Extraordinary, but not Immortal, and have not always successors of their virtue, as they have of their dignity; It happens ordinarily that they leave, in favour of the people, a representation of their reason, and as a Monument of their Philosophy, The Laws and good Orders: And again, because all Laws are not good in all times, and that they cannot provide against all occurrences and the accidents of life; 'tis necessary that he raise also some wise Person, whose prudence may supply the defects, and give them such a just temper and wholesome proportion as may best fit the Time, Men, and Affairs.  
'Tis then a most certain truth, that good Ministers of state are the glory of their Princes, and happiness of the people: on the contrary, the wicked are the shame of throne, and despair of th'other: They are the natural principles of the Corruption of States; all ill humours are awakened under their conduct; they serve for pretence, to the spite of discontented, and to the disturbance of factious persons; and the people who are troubled to permit the Government of honest men, are carried to Licence, and inclined to Rebellion, when they fall under the power of those who are dishonest. It seems to them that 'tis enough to have one Master, to whom necessary obedience ought to be paid, and whose yoke God doth oblige them to carry how grievous soever it be made; but to obey them who are not their Sovereigns when they do them hurt, when they triumph in their vexations, and nourish themselves in their blood; 'Tis a sad necessity for them, and a hard essay of patience. In effect, If Aristotle hath defined a Tyrant to be, The person who hath his peculiar interest more before his eyes, than the good of his subjects; Into the hands of how many Tyrants do the miserable people fall, when they are governed by corrupt Ministers of State? and nevertheless 'tis a flail which they seldom want; And as the Prince looks upon the State as a Wife that belongs to him, and which cannot be taken from him: There are Ministers of State to be found, who cast their eyes upon it as a Mistress, whom they endeavour to strip naked whilst they do enjoy her.   

Second Discourse.  
That thou'rt to govern is doubtful, and difficult; and receives a great relief from Learning.  
'TIs not strange that so few honest men are found in the frequent occasions of sinning; not that the knowledge of governing should be so rare when 'tis so difficult. The reason of State which is the matter, is so perplexed and ambiguous, and th'affairs have so many lights which confound our sight, that 'tis no wonder, if we are often troubled to choose our party; and if the choice made in so great a confusion be rather a stroke of chance, and trial of our liberty, than a rational election; Moreover the greatest part of politic precepts which are left us, and reduced into a form of science, are such abstruse things, that if Nature or Experience give not the art of Application, they become pernicious or vain; instead very often of making an able man, they make only a Pedant, they communicate presumption rather than wisdom, they make many to wander, rather than discover unto them the nearest way; and for an uncertain reformation which they promise, they confound and alter all things by the novelties they introduce. The way also by Examples, is so deceitful, and the past makes so ill a judgement of the future, that no certainty can be raised out of it: And as two Faces equally beautiful, or two Days of complete resemblance are rarely seen; so the condition of affairs is always various, where the Virtue of the persons that manage them is not alike, nor their fortune equal. And again, as there's not much cause for him to deliberate, who hath not two faces, nor a party to follow, nor reasons to dispose him; There are none also, who want examples and accidents to favour them.  
The Pope, the Duke of Milan, and the King of Naples make a league against Florence: To divert the tempest, Larance of Medicis, seeks the last; casts himself at his discretion, and by that brave confidence withdraws him from the league, and prevents the lightning that was ready to fall, and might have burned his Country.  
Charles the eighth entered Italy like a Torrent, which drowned all that it encountered; nothing made resistance; and Florence that was on his way trembled for fear of her liberties. In this fatal fear and consternation of spirits, Peter of Medicis, Son of Larance, goes to meet the victorious, and casts himself unhappily into his nets; Th'example which he would have followed, was destructive to him, and he returned not till he had put the keys of the States of the Commonwealth into our hands, till the Country way plundered of all without, and in danger to be lost, if the generosity of the Citizens had not been greater than the resolution of Charles, and than the fortune of that unwise Conqueror.  
When the Sr. of Lautree undertook th'enterprise of Naples, Hugo Moncado resolved to defend only the City, and to abandon the rest of the Kingdom. The Duke of Alva took a contrary course, when the Sr. of Groyse assaulted him there, and by th'advice of Ferrand Gonsalve, resolved to dispute all, and to destroy us by a multitute of Sieges; both resolutions prospered, and two very different Counsels had the same end, and the same effect, The victory. There have been some whose single presence, and first words, have instantly appeased th'insurrection of the people. And there have been others whom this monster hath suddenly devoured, to whom they have not given the leisure to speak nor to open the mouth. How often by this means hath Caesar and Germanicus appeased the tumults of the Soldiers, and the sedition of Armies? And how many others have perished in the same way, whose sight inflamed the humours that were but moved, enraged those that were but provoked, and caused in them a desire of satiating themselves with their blood, who before murmured only against their Governments. In like manner they that have condemned Henry the third for leaving Paris in that notorious revolt, which is called the Baricadoes, have at least left as much cause to resist their judgement as they had to condemn a Prince; who chose rather to retire, then to expose himself to an evil that had no remedy if it happened; who permitted his people to be felons, rather than to put them in a condition of being Patricides; and that would not willingly suffer their faults to be completed, nor that the greatness of their crimes should make them seek, in the death of him they had offended, impunity, which they believed was not to be found in his clemency: But 'tis the error of the greatest part of men, to exclaim always against th'unfortunate: There's no disgrace, whereof they that suffer it are not guilty in the opinion of the people. Of all the expedients which they had in hand, they were the best which they had quitted, when those they had taken did not prosper; and no old man ever died, were he never so decayed or decrepit, to whom his life had not been lengthened; if such a thing had not been done, or some other thing had been done. And though it thus fall our, it must nevertheless be confessed, that nothing doth sooner polish a well composed understanding, than Policy and History, nor that any thing is more profitable for it then conversation with the dead, and absent persons: therein he knows in a little time th'affairs of all Ages; there he enjoys the experience of all the great persons that have preceded; and there also he finds lights which hinder him often to fall, and which make out the dangers unto him which he ought to pass; and th'ambushes which he ought to avoid: at least by the favour of Books and Studies, he gains that which prepares him against surprises. And sudden accidents, give not him the disturbance they give to ignorant persons; since nothing is so near unto him, whereof he hath not read something approaching, or like unto it. The life of man is so short, or so vexed, that it hardly holds out for five or six important Negotiations; and ordinarily they who have but the single common sense to act, cease to live, or have not health when they have experience: on the contrary, they whom study prepares, and are guided by Philosophy, prosper quickly if they meet with very profitable discourse. They are dextrous so soon as they touch upon business, and have the same advantage over the first; as in Painting, they have, who enjoy the science of Design and Proportion, over them who have nothing of Acquisition when they begun to paint. Of this, we have, without going from the modern time, illustrious examples, and eminent persons. Monlue, Bishop of Valence, under Francis the second, and under Charles the ninth. Pinai, Archbishop of Lions, under Henry the third; and the Cardinal of Ossat, under the same Prince, and under Henry the Great, have been consummated almost assoon in business, as known in Councils: And for the war, the Marquis of Pescary, who was so brave, and whom the League of Italy judged worthy to be opposed to Charles the fifth, when he was most happy. The last Prince of Orange, whose life had been too glorious if it had been shorter, and if fortune had suffered him to have perished in the relief of Bergen Opson. The Marquis of Spinela, who deserved at first to command th'Armies of Spain, and to be the Rival of the last Prince of Orange in military science: The greatest number of these great persons, I say, own to Books, a part of the honour which they have gained without watching, and of that high reputation which they have so timely obtained.  
But why should we search into the Age past, and amongst strangers for proofs of this truth? since we have them so clear and visible in the person of Sr. the Cardinal of Bichlieu: 'Tis true, that Nature hath given him all she had to give, to make him perfect; & that she hath poured out upon him with full hands, her favour and riches. But 'tis true also, that he hath laboured very hard to complete himself, and that study and meditation have acquired unto him almost all that was wanting to nature, and all that could be expected from experience. Th'affairs have served more for matter to his understanding in the exercise of it, than for occasion to instruct it: He knew how to command before he had ever obeyed; and there's nothing so great in Peace and War, which was difficult unto him, when he had undertaken it. We will make, God assisting, in another place an express discourse of the profits of knowledge.   

The third Discourse.  
That the knowledge of the Moral, is a necessary preparation for the Politic.  
THere's no question but that the knowledge of Manners is a necessary preparative for the Civil knowledge; and that they who aspire to this without being furnished with the other, may be resembled to sick persons who undertake to run before they have the force to go. The conduct of man in his particular, is an abstracted picture of the Government of States: In all things there are difficulties to be surmounted, and enemies to be overcomne. A command, and an obedience are there to be established; labours within and without are to be exercised, and a felicity is to be there gained, as th'end of both lives; wherefore I will speak here a word of the Moral, and of its usage. The matter is thorny, but it shall be profitable; if it be not agreeable, it shall be wholesome; and if there be neither colours nor perfumes to delight the senses, there shall be substance, and truth, for the satisfaction of th'understanding, and for discovery of reason. However, the discourse shall not be tedious, because it shall be very short.  
The Moral then respects Man all alone, and out of the tumult of affairs and public agitation, it considers the two parts whereof he is framed, and that strange Engine which is composed of body and spirit, of sense and understanding. It acts in maintaining th'order which aught to be preserved betwixt two so different natures and extremities. It would have the noblest to command, the most illuminated to govern; that profit give place to honesty; that virtue be preferred before pleasure. And that what is most conformable to the dignity of Man, hold also the first rank in his inclinations, and be the principal object of his cares, and the chiefest endeavour of his life. In this order consists his glory and natural felicity. The contrary, that's to say, when the composition hath so obstructed th'understanding, and seized upon the faculties, that it becomes slave to the body, makes out a fearful confusion, and a lamentable Anarchy. The middle condition is a state of civil War, wherein common persons are always engaged, and from which wise men are not ever exempted. 'Tis betwixt reason and passions, th'one whereof is the property of th'understanding, and resides in the chiefest place of the soul: And th''others are form in the low Region, and in that brutal capacity which follows only th'impression of sense, and is concerned only in the good of th'Animal part. They are raised and inflamed, as th'object that provokes is violent and rapid. But 'tis not necessary, that in themselves there should be that violence and force which stirs up th'appetite; it sufficeth, that 'tis received in th'imagination where it enters. There it takes the form and the colour as pleaseth to that fantastic faculty; there it swells or abates, as it seems good to that Fool. In one place it communicates joy, in another it raiseth sadness: Now 'tis but an Atom, which is hardly felt, and which doth but scarcely touch upon the superficies of the soul; and in four moments after 'tis a Monster, which tears and divides it into pieces, which makes havoke in all its powers, and which brings trouble even to the Will which it would corrupt, and even to Reason also which it endeavours to suborn; so certain is it, that the imagination is supple and various, and that things act not in us according to Their measure, but according to Hers. 'Tis true, that the objects which are agreeable to the sense, and promise them their felicity, are to be feared. And there's no imagination so weighty nor dull, which is not raised; nor appetite so cold and so mortified, which is not heated; moreover the disturbance is sometimes so great, and the tempest so furious, that it is not in the power of the soul to quiet it: but in case she stand firm in the desire of good, which is most convenient for her, and whereof she hath made choice; honour is always on her side, and to overcome; It sufficeth not to be overcomne, and to descent from pressing temptations. In conclusion, after many combats and defeats of such nature, she will remain peaceable, the lights of the Imagination shall be abated. The Appetite shall have no force longer to rebel, Reason will reign with resistance, and the man that is arrived to such a state, deserves of natural right to be preferred before other men: let's pass further.  
The Moral requires not only Man within himself, and engaged in the disorders of the body and spirit of reason and passions; but considers him also in his conversation and in the Crowd. For that end he teacheth him a virtue, which is called Justice, which instructs him to live well with his Neighbour, and inclines him to render unto him what is his due, and which for the present is wholly almost employed about the division of Riches, and th'introduction, which hath been made in the world, of Mine and Thine. Introduction nevertheless very necessary for the good of society, for the ornament of the civil life, and for the plenty of all such things as are commodious for man. The Legislators and Founders of States, have regulated this justice; and in regard that she appeared to them a little too much in common, and that it seemed to them a very dangerous thing to leave the conduct thereof to every man's judgement and inclination: they have bounded her in certain Laws & customs which they have made: they have established public persons to distribute it; they have put the sword into their hand to make men afraid of it, and have given it a scabbard with the name of a Prince, and of his Authority, to gain it the more respect.  
But insomuch that notwithstanding the great care hath been taken to adjust the Rule, it remains imperfect, and that the foresight of humane understanding is not so great as the variery of cases which interpose in Traffic; an honest man will not stay there, he will have recourse also for the regulating of his actions, and forming of his life to the fountain of Equity, and to the first spring of Justice, which is the Law of nature, or to walk after a more certain guide, and by a light free from corruption; he will follow the dictates of Religion and motions of Charity, which is the end of Christianity, which is the fullness of other Laws, and the definitive measure of all good things. He must have a respect for the formalities of ordinary justice; but he must not believe that they make up the perfection of a Christian, nor of a Philosopher. He must know that the Laws of Conscience extend themselves further than her●; and that they endure a severer and more general obligation; In effect, if conscience only were in the world, we should be dispensed of many things which we are bound to do, we should have probity good cheap; the duty of an honest man would be very large, and the way that leads to heaven would not be so long and strait as the Bible describes it.   

The fourth Discourse.  
How that saying of the Philosophers is to be understood, that, who commands aught to be wiser and better than the person that obeys.  
'TIs true then, that the Moral is one of the foundations whereupon the Politic is raised, and aught to prepare them that aspire to the Government of States, and to that direction of the people. From thence is taken that common saying of Philosophers, That who commands aught to be better than the person that obeys; and that, The Government of men belongs not to him that is a slave to his passions, nor to govern another unless he hath the better sight. It serves not therefore a Prince to have ordinary intelligence, or a common qualification of manners: But to satisfy his duty, and fill up worthily his charge, it seems that he ought to have a more sublime reason, and disposition of will more perfect than his subjects; This proposition nevertheless is not to be understood literally and in a very rigorous sense. That was good in the founding of States, and in the first liberty which the people had to make choice of their Superiors and Masters. Then it was necessary that the Election should be made of extraordinary persons, whose merit ought to be as high as the dignity to which they are called. But for Sovereign Princes who come by succession, who are born with the Character of a Prince, and are received without choice; they must be taken as God sends them, in wrath, or in the love he hath to his people, which ought to be submitted unto them. But whosoever they are, they cannot always be perfect at th'instant of Reigning, nor have that force of reason, nor temper of manners which the Philosophers require in them that govern; Prudence, and other moral and politic virtues are not born with us, and come not of themselves. They must be gained with meditation and exercise, and by consequence with time and years. And though the principles are in our souls, and the seed in our reason, they remain barren till they are cultivated, and, if pains be not taken to preserve them, they are smothered in the seeds of evil which are in our senses, and in the corruption of our nature; The intention then of the Philosophers, is, that the virtues of Princes are of more esteem than the virtues of particular persons, in regard that they have a greater extent of exercise, and a more universal influence; that they are more communicable; that they dart their beams at greater distance, that their bounty attracts more imitation, and that it is not so easy to command, as perfectly to obey; nor to lead as to follow; That if such great qualities are not to be found in their person, if their birth be unhappy, and if the matter whereof they are made cannot receive such divine forms, they ought at least to be in them of their Council, who act with their Princes, in the conduct of Affairs.  
When the Prince is stupid or depraved in manners; when they are contrary to the function of his charge, and to the dignity he doth exercise; when they move directly, and of their proper motion to the ruin of their subjects; What can be expected from such a Government if th'infection hath also gained upon the Ministers of State, if they resemble their Master, if they do not counterpoise his vices; And if th'evil be entertained by the multitude of evil persons, such was the Council of Jeroboam, when he called to Council only young and debauched, instead of ancient persons, who had been eye-witnesses of the Government of his Father, and saw that wisdom acted which was infused without the discourse of Reason, and the cares of Experience. This nevertheless is not extraordinary in the world, and it happens but too often that such as approach the Persons of Princes, study not so much to be ministers of their dignities, as instruments of their passions; They are rather their Corrupters then Counsellors; that th'imploy Vice when Virtue is unprofitable to advance them, and that they esteem nothing base or dishonest that may satisfy Ambition, or assure their fortune; And though the way they take, lead to precipices, and that there are many fresh and sensible examples of them who have therein ruined themselves; that makes no impression upon their minds: The ill fortune of others concerns them not, and they have so good opinion of themselves, that they imagine to have better conduct, or better fortune to warrant their behaviour. And truly although in a sea so tempestuous, at the Court, and where tempests are frequent; they see also by consequence that shipwrecks are ordinary there; the pieces nevertheless of that wrack are so fair, that they seem to them of greater value, than the condition from whence they had been taken, and then the advantages of their birth. 'Tis true, that Corruption sometimes is so extreme in the soul of a Prince, and his Manners changed into so profound a deboshery, that Ministers of State are compelled to abate of the severity of virtue in treating with him; They bank those passions which they could not safely assault in a strait line; They suspend the reproof of vice, where roots were not to be stocked up; They practise diversions, when the sick person cannot endure Remedies, and of two Evils, in one whereof they must undoubtedly fall, they divert him towards the lesser, for fear his inclination should force him to the greater evil; A strange unhappiness, that to prevent Incests and Adulteries, they must consent to other deboshes less criminal and less injurious; and to avoid sacrileges, to permit him to act single ruins: Seneca and Burrhas found themselves reduced to this miserable necessity; & the Philosophy & virtue of those two great persons were constrained so to bend under Nero, & to divert with industry the impetuosity of his vices: which by opposition would have been the more inflamed. This conduct nevertheless which ought to be secret, that it may work the better effects, and be stolen from the eyes of the Prince, lest it should hurt more than profit, is many times ill interpreted; and the people consider not, that there are sovereign Princes who are not to be handled as men, but governed as Lions, and as furious beasts: and that it is a a great work to restrain their fury, and to hinder them from killing and devouring. Thanks be to God, we are in another condition; we have a king whose qualities to this time have been rather desired then seen: God hath given him to the world to repair the disorders of it; we are bound to him for our safety, and they that have merited in the past actions, were the instruments only of his fortune, and the imitators of his virtue. Above all, 'tis a mark of heaven's gracious aspect upon this Prince, to have raised for him so generous and so wise persons, so understanding and so faithful as they of his Council. But 'tis an evidence also of the excellency of his Judgement, and of the strength of his understanding to have made so good a choice, and to have fixed his particular Election, upon his person who is the Chief and first Intelligence.  
Truly, if that be true which Aristotle says, that he alone hath the pure use of Reason, and by consequence the most perfect virtue, that hath no violent passions; It may be averred without flattery, that never person brought to the service of Princes, and to the government of States, greater liberty of the soul, then Sr. the Cardinal. His condition exempts him from the strong impressions which blood and nature stampd upon the spirits of his fathers; He is a stranger to all those inclinations, which being rooted in the body, carry away the soul entirely, or divide it betwixt the pleasures of sense, and the operations of the understanding. And as for that villainous appetite of wealth which traverseth so many illustrious persons; which suborns the most useful servants of Princes; and which hath often blotted the fairest Lives: It is fare estranged from his humour; 'Tis certain, that if he hath ever leaned to any extremity in the way to virtue, it hath been towards prodigality; and that he found nothing so easy as to be in danger of poverty for the service of his Master: insomuch that it may be said of him, that he hath a soul so quiet, that not a Motion ariseth in it, but what his duty doth suggest; not an Agitation, but what the love he bears to his King hath occasioned; and that nothing hath been acted but what Reason hath consented unto, and what Philosophy hath conveyed into the souls of the wisest persons.   

The fifth Discourse.  
That good Ministers of State have not always the Recompense which they deserve; and that their Services are often paid with Ingratitude.  
THat a Minister of State proposeth to himself to act for the Love of Virtue, and to draw from himself the Approbations of Conscience, as the chiefest Recompense for the good he doth; For to hope always, or for the most part, Acknowledgement, or Justice from the souls of Princes, is not to know their humour, and to mistake their nature. 'Tis to be ignorant that the great services which are done them, are so many great Crimes, when they have not wherewithal to requite them: That there are not in the world such dangerous debtors as Princes, when they are insolvent; that they make away their Creditors when they cannot pay them, for the fear they have that they will pay themselves with their hands; That they are never confident of the faithfulness of their subjects, who have power to hurt them; and that they forgive willingly enough the offences which have been done them, but never pardon the ill which may be done, though there be no will to do it.  
There are so many Examples of this truth, in Histories and in all Ages, that 'tis almost a superfluous thing to make stay upon it. But amongst all, I see none comparable to the disgrace of Bellisarius; that great person who had no other crime than his Reputation, and was not culpable, but that he was powerful. Having conquered Persia, and subdued Africa, humbled the Goths in Italy, lead Kings in Triumph, and made appear to Constantinople somewhat of old Rome, and an Idea of the ancient splendour of that proud Republic: After all that, I say, this great person is abandoned to Envy. A suspicion ill-grounded destroys the value of so many Services, and a single jealousy of State wipes them out of the memory of his Master: but he rests not there, for the demeanour had been too gentle; if cruelty had not been added to ingratitude. They deprive him of all his honours; they rob him of all his fortune: they take from him the use of the Day and Light: they put out his eyes, and reduce him to the company of Rogues; and Bellisarius demands a charity. I confess when I consider the chief Captain of his Age, and the greatest Ornament of the Empire, of Christians, after so many Victories & Conquests, accompanied with so high and clear a virtue, and in the midst of Christendom, reduced to the height of misery; it seems to me that I read the Metamorphosis of Fables: A desire possesses me to give the lie to History; and I cannot hold from exclaiming against the memory of Justinian, that could not suffer the glory of one of his subjects, who had been so useful to him, and that of a Cabinet person and compiler of Laws, had made him a Conqueror and Triumpher over people; so that baseness cost him vey dear, and obliged Narces who was as well a successor in merit, as authority to Bellisarius, not to expose himself to the like fortune. This Narces upon a single act of disdain, which was passed upon him at the Court of the Emperor, conceived that they might pass to a more cruel passion, if he prevented not the ill, and that it was better to shake off the yoke, then to stay to be oppressed. That spoilt th'affairs of Justinian in Italy: The Goths revolted, and Fortune could not forbear to be of the party which Narces followed, nor to find the Barbarians where so great a Virtue was engaged.  
All Princes nevertheless are not of his humour, & there are some whose Reign is more Christian, and Conduct more just; and with whom desert is in safety; where services are acknowledged, and in whom brave Actions beget love, without giving them the least jealousy: However the Reign of our King is an eminent Exception to a proposition so general. And if Machavell had observed many such in the world, he had not advised them who rise very high by their Virtue to descend timely, and to quit their greatness, or to maintain it by force; He had known that there is yet a medium betwixt two extremes, and the King had made him see that his servants might continue great without making ill use of that greatness to become Rebels.  
The second Example that I will propose, is the disgrace of Ferrand Gonsalve; 'Tis not in truth accompanied with so eminent a persecution, nor with such cruel marks of Ingratitude and Injustice, as that of Bellisarius: But it hath nevertheless circumstances which deserve to be considered, and whereupon a Minister of State ought to pause. It must be confessed that Gonsalve is the greatest person that ever Spain brought forth. He may pass among the greatest of all Ages: He was worthy to enter the Lists of comparison with great Scipio; and the Spanish vanity hath not invented so high a Title to honour him withal, which he hath not made good by his Actions, and merited of his Enemies. He finished the conquest of the Kingdom of Granada, and had the honour to conclude a War of ten years, and to gain for Ferdinand and Isabel, the Surname of Catholics. He chased us from the Kingdom of Naples for to re-establish the Arragon's; And when Ferdinand shared with Lewis the twelfth, the Goods of his Parents, and that those Princes divided betwixt them the Inheritance of an unfortunate person; He conquered his Master's share and forced ours from us: He defeated our Armies in all places, but at Seminara where he did not command; He took all the Towns he assaulted, and which were defended by us: He knew how to overcome, and to make use of the Victory. And though no State in the World was more movable or subject to Revolutions then that of Naples; He assured it notwithstanding entirely to Ferdinand and his Race. He stopped up there the Springs of the War, and of Disorders: He pulled up Factions that tore the Nation in pieces; and, if some root had since appeared, it had so little life and force, and such weak and faint motions, that the safety of the Kingdom was not shaken, nor its health altered.  
He did not only excel in War, and exceed all Captains of his time in the glory of Arms; but he supremely understood the Art of Negotiations, and the knowledge of Affairs. His Eloquence was admirable; His speech had inevitable charms, and his Tongue furnished infallibly to gain those whom his good Countenance had shaken, and whose liberty was weakened, and courage abated; Being a Prisoner to a King of Granada, He gained him to the service of his Master, and persuaded him to given himself up to Ferdinand, who would have had much trouble to overcome him: He withdrew the Colonnes and the Ursines from th'interest of France, for to cast them upon th'interest of Spain: And knowing well that long and inveterate hatreds as they were of both Families, are fatal to the parties where they enter, and dangerous in the occasions that awaken them. He reconciled the differences, and for a time healed th'Emulation they laboured of. He was moreover so zealous of the Greatness of his Master, and so passionate for the good of his Affairs, that he quitted his Conscience, and broke his faith to whom he had given it: As in the Treaty he made with the Duke of Calabria, whereof I shall speak in another place, and when he seized with subtlety upon the person of Caesar Borgia, and deceived that subtle person, who had deceived so many other persons.  
Th'incomparable qualites then of this person, and infinite services which he had done to his Master, rendered him a suspected person. And though they love treason, yet they hate the Traitors: on the contrary, the Virtue of Gonsalve gives Apprehensions and Alarms to Ferdinand, for whom it had gained Kingdoms, And the conquests also of Naples, and th'entire reduction of that of that State being finished: He began more willingly than he should have done, to lend his Ear to the complaints made against him; And the Calumny became insolent, to assault him when it received credit from his Master. 'Tis impossible that they who have Commissions for great Commands, should give content to all the world: And 'tis hard to give employments to all such as believe to merit them, or recompenses to the esteem that every Person hath of his services, and to the value he sets upon them; and therefore there are always persons that do complain, because some do believe themselves ill used; and who make spite and hatred to succeed at the rate of the good they have been disappointed of: This unhappiness befell the great Captain; And it happened also that the complaints made against him in Spain, were not disagreeable to Ferdinand, who sought occasion only to destroy him, and did not act an Injustice willingly, but when he had some pretence of Justice for to colour it: 'Tis strange, what torments and inquietudes the reputation of Gonsalve gave to Ferdinand all the rest of his life; The most loyal and best disposed of all his Subjects; He to whom he owed a part of his Greatness, who rendered him more formidable to other Princes, than all the rest of his powers, held his soul on a perpetual wrack: And he never had any Enemy from whom he suffered so much and so long as from him. He was almost persuaded to extreme Remedies to be rid of him, and, if he had not apprehended that in missing of his stroke, he gave him occasion to become a Rebel, he had caused him to be arrested upon the single Motions of Jealousy, and had given an instance of the force of the greatest of all humane passions, which is the love of Sovereignty.  
This passion which so much vexed Ferdinand, is worthy to be represented: and th'Artifices used by the greatest Politician of the world, to ruin his own subject, are too subtle, and too curious to be concealed from a person of State; The moderation also of Gonsalve, and the strength he had to resist his own Greatness which was in his power, and to repel a temptation which had a Kingdom for prize, deserve to be proposed to the subjects of other Princes.   

The sixth Discourse.  
Th' Artifices used by Ferdinand to destroy the great Captain.  
FErdinand then upon the bare complaints of discontented persons, whereof the number is ever great against them that govern, lesseneth the power of the great Captain, and reduceth him to the ordinary Authority of Vice-Kings in a Kingdom which he had conquered. How sensible this thing was to a person of great courage, and what Emotion it ought to raise in the heart of Gonsalve, may be judged by the displeasure all men have to fall, and to be degraded in th'eyes of the world; And it may be judged by the hatred all men naturally bear to ingratitude, but they only that exercise it; and by th'injustice it contains; that not only the services that have been rendered, shall be frustrated of the reward which hath been merited, but that they also shall be th'original of the disgraces suffered, and of th'ill entertainments, because a sufficient Recompense cannot be received. Gonsalve notwithstanding subdued his resentments, and appeared much greater in conquering himself in so ticklish an occasion, than he had done in conquering so often th'enemies' of his Master.  
The patience wherewith he supported this injury, did not sweeten Ferdinand, nor cure his sick spirit. On the contrary it made it irreconcilable: He hates him the more whom he had newly offended, because he gave him cause to resent it, and takes the moderation which Gonsalve used for an Artifice, because his passion would not suffer him to attribute it to the greatness of his Courage; That made him resolve to bring him back from Naples, though his presence there way yet very necessary, and to deliver himself at once of all his fears, and of all his apprehensions, in removing him from that place where he was so powerful. He commands him then to return into Spain, since th'affairs of Naples, as he said, were in good condition, and informs him that he had use in other places of his person, and of his service. The great Captain prepares for his departure, but not with that nimbleness which Ferdinand desired; To whose inquietude precipitation would have appeared slow, since it seemed to him that he could never be soon enough healed of the distrust which did torment him; This slowness which was for his service, and for the confirming of Ferdinand's authority in the Kingdom which Gonsalve would not leave tottering, increaseth his fears and multiplies his jealousies.  
Th'enemies' of Gonsalve close with this humour in Ferdinand; Envy again riseth against his Virtue, and there were but too many persons in Spain, and in Italy, who cried down his Faithfulness, and represented his Ambition to such a height, that it would not fail speedily to compel him to assume the Pitle of Sovereign, whereof he exercised the Power.  
That made him again resolve to send Peter Navarre to Naples, with private Orders to cease upon the person of the great Captain, and to make a Prisoner of him in the new Castle. And at the same time to lay him asleep, and for fear the distrust he had of him, should occasion the injury he feared, if it were discovered; he writes him a Letter, by which he doth promise him at his return, the great command of Saint James; A dignity, that did not truly equal the services of Gonsalve, nor pay the just price of his Actions, but was the highest in Spain next to the Sovereignty. As he was ready to execute this scandalous resolution, a person of Credit arrives at Court, from the great Captain, with Letters, which give him so great assurances of his fidelity, and confirm with such strong Reasons the just cause of his stay, that Ferdinand abated for that time the violence that transported him; but at last finding no lawful Causes, or very visible pretences to use extreme Remedies against Gonsalve, and being not assured of the possession of Naples, so long as Gonsalve was in condition to take it from him, he resolved to go in person to draw him away.  
He was hardly arrived at Genes, but he understood of the death of his Son in law, with whom he had so many troubles, and who had handled him with so much indignity. Reason seemed to advise him to go back, and to retake the possession of the Government of Castille, before any change might happen there, that th'ill humours of that State were raised, and that th'ill had taken root there by his absence. That was represented to him by his Council, and by his servants which he had left in Spain. But Naples must be provided for, since he was so near; He must pull the Thorn out of his heart which pricked him; And although he would not expose his person thither, when we were powerful there, when we contested the Kingdom with him, and that fortune then held in the Air the two scales of the Balance where Victory hung uncertain; He made no question to go thither to destroy the power of a person that was most faithful to him. The prudence and dexterity of Ferdinand, made a wonderful noise on this occasion which was heard in all places, and whereon all Christendom was attentive. At his Arrival he made extraordinary Caresses to Gonsalve: He gave him honours that would have satisfied the most ambitious spirit of the world. He had no sufficient praises to extol his virtue, nor power enough to requite his services. In brief, one might have said, that, he would give him a share of his Authority, and of his subject make his Companion.  
In the mean time this great Captain is solicited from divers places, to take more advantageous Conditions than he had from his Master. The Pope with whom Ferdinand had founded intelligencies to make War against the Venetians, desires him for the General of the Church's Armies.  
The Common wealth of Venice offers him the Command of their Armies; The Emperor endeavours to gain him for his service; every person thought that Victory could not be severed from him, and his reputation dispatched above th'half of Affairs; His virtue truly was too fair not be tempted; But it had force enough to repel Temptation, and to resist the Baits wherewith Endeavours were used to corrupt it; He had given infallible Evidences thereof to Ferdinand during the persecution of Castille: And when almost all the Grandees of Spain had declared themselves in favour of his Son in law, and adored that new Power; Gonsalve stood firm, and assured him that what change soever happened to him in his fortune, none should ever befall him in his affections; This was truly admirable in an occasion, where he had so many examples of failing, and, it may be, some Cause to do it during Philip's life. Moreover being so able a person, and having long acted by th'orders of Ferdinand; It, was not possible that he should be a stranger to his diffident Humour, and to his Covetous Inclination, and therefore aught to believe, that his services would pass unrequited, and that passion whereof his Master laboured against, would not be appeased but by his Fall and Ruin. However Ferdinand, to defeat th'intentions of the Pope, and to make void all solicitations that were made to Gonsalve; endeavoured to persuade him, that he had all the good opinion of the world of his fidelity; gives him a Patent of the great Master ship of Saint James, which was passionately desired by Gonsalve, and prayed the Pope to grant the Archbishop of Toledo power to confer it upon him; He well knew that the Pope would resist it, and be troubled that Gonsalve should receive that dignity from any hand but from His, and that so whilst, Endeavours were used to overcome that difficulty and pass that Ditch, he should be in Spain, and out of Danger to be debauched; He grants him after that an Authentic Declaration of the great services he had received from him; at of the esteem he had for his merits, and for the inviolable zeal he had had for his Affairs. He sends this Declaration to the Courts of all Princes of Christendom, to efface, said He, th'impression that might have been made against the faithfulness of this great Captain; and that no spot might remain upon the honour of so great a person, He draws him from Italy, and brings him with him, by these eminent Artifices and Pompous Demonstrations of his good Affections. The interview made at Savona with Lewis the twelfth, inflamed his jealousy, and rendered the Virtue of Gonsalve the more suspected, because he saw it so much honoured by him, to whom he had done so much Evil, and from whom he had taken a Kingdom; For Lewis obtained of Ferdinand, that Gonsalve might dine in their company, an extraordinary favour, especially for a subject of Spain with his Sovereign.  
At last he is conducted into Spain, where all the hopes which had been given him, and the magnificent promises wherewith he had been fed, are reduced to the Condition of a private person, in which Condition he is permitted nothing more than only to live. They labour to discredit him, They use him ill in relation to his Parents: All his desires are refused, though very Civil and Just: And notwithstanding this stripped person is Ferdinand's flail, and a virtue destitute of all the helps of fortune, troubles his spirit, and puts him into great pains. But as Princes feel not passions as other persons do, and take or leave them according to their Interest; The prosperity of Lewis the twelfth's Arms in Italy, under the Command of Gaston of Foix, and the disgraces of th'Army, of the League whereof Ferdinand was a member, enforced him to cast his eyes upon Gonsalve to send him thither.  
This great Captain prepares for this Expedition; Spain dis-furnisheth herself of brave persons for to follow him there; and the greatest part of great persons, notwithstanding the fierceness of their humour, and good opinion of themselves, resolved to accompany him thither. This struck Ferdinand more than can be imagined; And the greatness of Gonsalve that became higher than ever; and th'ill condition of th'affairs of Italy which could not be recovered but by his virtue, trouble him with irresolutions. But fortune that had been so often favourable unto him, forgot him not in this occasion; she would not give men the pleasure to see the two chief planets of the world in Conjunction, and duest not decide a difference where parties were so equal. Gaston is slain at the Batted of Ravenna; by his death Italy changed her face, our affairs began then to decline; There was no further need of Gonsalve, and Ferdinand was delivered of the fears which had so strongly vexed him, and so long pursued him. The great Captain after that continued entirely estranged from Court, and from affairs, and a very little after quitted the world, where his virtue was become unprofitable, because it was too great, and where he had lost the good graces of his Master for having overmuch merited them.   

The seventh Discourse.  
Of the disgrace of the Duke of Alva.  
SInce we are upon the subject of Disgraces which happen at Court, and tempests which are there raised; Let us add the Duke of Alva's to the former examples. He was one of the greatest Captains Spain hath brought forth, since the death of Gonsalve; He performed threescores years services to Charles the fifth, and to Philip his Son, and with so strange a misfortune, that he was ever odious to th'one, and never beloved of th'other: He made War almost in all the parts of Europe, and in Africa; he had the Command of the German Army, where the first League of Protestants was beaten, and one of their Commanders taken Prisoner: He preserved the Kingdom of Naples to Philip: He stayed the progress we made into Piedmont; He suppressed the growing Rebellion in the Low Countries; and though his conduct was too violent, and that the severity of his deportment, and too great Inclination for blood, had forced the people into despair; yet if he had not been recalled, when he was of most use there, 'Tis believed, that he had finished the reducement of them, or hindered them from growing greater.  
And nevertheless after so long Course of services, and so many years spent for his Masters; Philip forbids him the Court for a light fault; for an inconsiderable Cause which carried only the shadow of disobedience: His Countryhouse he assigns him for his Prison, and neither his services past, nor his Age which was worthy of some respect, nor the good wishes of all the people of Spain, nor th'entreaties of the Pope who interceded for him, could bend Philip, or prevail with him for his Liberty. But at last the business of the succession of Portugal happening, and Philip having need of a Commander of Reputation to manage the War which he had there prepared; It was of Necessity to repair to the Duke of Alva. He accepted the Command with an incredible Gentleness, and without obtaining so much as the permission to see the Court; And He was to raise the Regiments of Foot, as He said, from Towns to conquer Kingdoms. The success of that War was such as Philip could desire it. But the Conclusion was glorious for the Duke, since he died after the reduction of Portugal, and in the Palace of Lisbon, where he had given Entry to his Master.  
I do not truly find it strange that so many Princes are unthankful, because it may be they think all to be due to them, and that they are not indebted to any person. But I cannot but admire the faithfulness of those great persons of whom I have lately spoken, and that General obedience they have given to their Masters, even then when they were so ill used; This is the Cause that I will add another example to the former, and of a person of the number of the most famous of the Age past.  
Albuquerque subdued Ormus, took Goa, and settled th'Empire of the Portugals in the East-Indies. He caused the power of his Masters to be adored, where their name was not so much as known before his time. His Conquests enriched Portugal, and the precious Jewels which the Sunrising engenders in th'East, passed in abundance, since his voyages, through all Europe. After all these services, and in his great Age, Manuel, King, of Portugal, sends him a successor, and he had the displeasure to see himself stripped of an honour he had not received, and of a Dignity he held not of the bounty of him which took it from him, but from his personal valour. The news truly of that Affront which was the recompense of his long and profitable services, troubled him much at the first— And, making a great disturbance in his soul, forced him to say these words: Good God, of how many Evils do I find myself encompassed! If I am faithful to my King, I offend men; and I offend my King, if I follow the Inclinations of men. But this violent passion being appeased, and that his reason was returned, he justified the proceed of Manuel, and reduced willingly to the condition of a private person; If Death, which sometimes happens too late to many great persons, had not ceased on him, before he arrived at Goa from Ormus.  
You may believe that Albuquerque was solicited by his friends, to possess himself of that State, and to establish himself in a place where he was powerful, and where he had in his favour the love of the people; 'Tis therefore the Custom of Princes, not to permit long the Government of a Country to him that hath subdued it, for fear lest in time he take root there, and that the sweetness of the Command, and the Conveniency of making himself Master, should cause in him the Desire of it. So Ferdinand of Castille, left not the Government of the West-Indies to Christopher Columbe, who had made the discovery of them. So the same Prince withdrew that great Captain from Naples, as hath been above expressed. So Fernant of Cortes was recalled from the Kingdom of Mexico, which he had gained for Charles the fifth; So the Peru was filled with Combustion and Wars, because the Pizarres who had made the Conquest, would not acknowledge the Governor which Philip the second had sent thither; nor obey in the place where they had accustomed to command.   

The Eighth Discourse.  
That in th'affairs of State, men do that sometimes which they would not do, and that there are inevitable Faults.  
THat a Minister of State then suffer not himself to be transported with his charge, nor be drunk with the fume of it; That it be always in him under jealousy: And consider that 'tis of the nature of Glass, and not of the Diamond; and that if it have some Clearness, yet 'tis frail. And that he may the better comprehend this truth, and make use of th'instruction it bears; he must know, that he is to defend himself not only from men, and the designs of Envy; But that he must also depend upon some superior power, that will make him when it pleaseth to forsake his prudence, and compel him to act against his proper Maxims; that will carry him whither he would not go, and will so Invert his understanding, that he cannot but commit voluntary faults, nor to enter the precipice which he shall see open in the midst of his way; That, if in the war of the Body and Understanding, and in the seditious Motions, from the worse part of the soul, we do commit often the Evil which we would not do; The Condition of the person of State is much worse, and that of the proud Directors of the people, who are sometimes constrained to do the Evil they would not do, if they were Masters of affairs, and if th'impetuosity of Destiny, and violence of some Cause stronger than them, did not overrule them; And nevertheless the world fails not to blame them: Princes are angry 'gainst unfortunate, as against guilty persons: Particular men that discover sometimes in their private affairs somewhat like his, do not forgive for all that the Condition of public persons: And the pitiful Boatmen, who can hardly save themselves upon a small River, when it is but a little moved, condemn the great Philots when they suffer shipwreck in the Ocean, and cannot resist the fury of an implacable Element. Behold very eminent Examples to Confirm the truth of what hath been said.  
In the league made between the Venetians and Charles the fifth, against Soliman, a memorable accident happened. The Venetians were fully resolved not to break with Soliman, and to avoid a War wherein they were to receive the first strokes, and furnish the Field with th'action that was preparing, (and the theatre with the Tragedy; They remembered, that they never had to do with the house of the Ottomans without loss, and that they never justled with them but to their ruin: They would not forsake th'Alliance of a Prince whose faith was known to them, in whom ambition permitted Justice, and was accustomed to distinguish between what's honest, and what is only profitable; They would not deprive themselves of the great advantages which they drew from those States, nor cut the pipe of Riches, and the root of Abundance, which came to their subjects from thence; They were not ignorant of the Nature of Leagues and their weakness; They, knew that good deeds penetrate less than injuries, and that the desire of Revenge is more active and violent in them that are provoked, than Acknowledgement in them who are assisted. They consider that a wise Prince ought not to engage, but on extremity in th'affairs that have nothing certain but the expense, whereof the future is always trouble, and whose conclusion is not necessarily conformable to Principles, and to the first Appearance.  
Upon these foundations or others, they resisted th'endeavours of Paul the third, who solicited them to enter into that League, and not to abandon the common Cause of Christians; Soliman also on his part desired to continue fair with the Republic of Venice: He was afraid to have so many enemies together in Hand, and how great soever their ambition was, the virtue and the power of Charles did not seem so inconsiderable unto him, but that he judged them Capable alone to exercise him; But as fortune often deceives the desires of men, and laughs at their wisdom, it disappointed in this occasion, as well th'inclination of Soliman, as that of the Venetians. The encounter of some of their Ships, and of unexpected Accidents which happened, obliged them to fight, and engaged them also in spite of them to a total Breach; And the Venetians were constrained to accept of the League, which they had so solemnly refused; By this truly it appears, that the Venetians could not avoid with all their Conduct, th'evil they had foreseen; And that he also from whom they were to receive their damage, could not be prevented from doing of it, though he had a design to be their friend. For it happened that the Galleys of th'emperor having not done their duty at Prevese, and André Dona having betrayed the Christian Republic, and suffered Barbarosse to escape when he might have sunk him; The tempest that ris ' in the States of Charles, fell upon them of the Republic; and Soliman, offended that the Republic, as he thought, had disdained his friendship, or had not sufficiently respected it, turned his Forces and Designs against their Lands, besieged Corfu, and was within little of taking the Bulwarks that defend Christendom; He took besides that, all that they had in the Archipelagus except Naples of Romaigna and Malvoisca, which he forced from them since, by a Treaty of peace; after the losses they had suffered, after th'expense they had made, and after a great diminution of former Reputation.  
Behold other Examples, to show that there are faults which seem fatal. In the first troubles of Heresy in France, and in that Tragic Confusion, the memory whereof hath since been often repeated; All the world observed, that the siege of Poitiers had been the Stone of offence to the Huguenots, and that the fairest Army they ever had perished, there. The Cardinal of Lorraine reproached it to Sr. of the None; and though faults are customary in the war, more than in any other function of life; He assured him that they who commanded th'Armies of the King, would prevent committing of the like; yet notwithstanding after the Battle of Moncontour, which poured out so much Huguenots blood, and where that party received such large wounds, that it depended only on the Conqueror, that the soul was not let out; Instead of following the flight of th'Army which was routed, and them that saved themselves from the storm; The Duke of Anjou, unhappily dissipated his Army by lying down before Saint John. He stormed that Town, and lost the fruit of his Victory, which ought not to have been taken of a single place, but the Reducement of the whole party; not the remission of the Malady, but the health of the State. By this fatal stay, I say, he failed to make an end of the work that was so well begun: He gave means to th'enemies' to breathe and recruit: He rendered again the fortune of France doubtful, and deprived it of the honour of terminating a War which is never ended by weakness, but inability; nor by Reconciliation, but by the Ruin of the Conquered.   

The Ninth Discourse.  
Where the precedent Discourse is confirmed by the Example of the Spaniards.  
I Will confirm former Discourse by a newer Example, and from the most prudent Nation of the world. The Spaniards who have their Reason so subtle, and Motions so regular; who make no Consultations, but they observe all the differences of the time, and have always in their thoughts the future and the past, when they deliberate only of the things in hand, or that are not fare from their eyes. These prudent, I say, and Circumspect persons, are not free from errors; They commit faults like other men, they go out of the way as well as we, and more is not to be said, then that it seems their failings are either voluntary or more inavoidable than ours; And as we fall ordinarily as it were by night and in unknown ways, They fall at full noon, and in the midst of a high way. And as other people have reproached us, that we are capable to Conquer all, and to carry by assault what makes resistance; But that we are not able long to preserve that heat, nor to maintain our Conquests: The same may be said of the Spaniards, that their designs have sometimes good beginnings, which attain not always their Ends because they are Immoderate; That they begin well, but finish not always the work they undertake, because they withdraw themselves to other work; that they make not an end of all things they undertake, in regard that they undertake too much at a time, that they Grasp more than they know how to hold and devour, more than they can digest.  
'Tis not for want of patience, but for their too great Ambition; nor, that they forsake the Labour for being a weary and to rest themselves, but they suspend it, or slack it in one place to attend it in another, where they think to prosper better: And as the Covetous person hath no sooner the desire in his heart of being rich, but he desires suddenly to become rich; The like is the condition of the ambitious person, there are no degrees for the growth of passion, 'tis great as soon as 'tis born, and he hath th'unhappiness, that his Imagination knows not how to bond the Conquests which it meditates upon, nor lengthen the time, must necessarily be employed to act them. This hath happened to the Spaniards; It may be said, that they have found their enterprises more difficult than they were represented unto them, in having too great an opinion of their own virtue, or too little of other men's virtues. Let's come to the proof of this truth wherewith they have furnished us, and whereof they have given us cause to beware.  
They observed that th'Enterprise upon England, and preparation for that Fleet which they called Invincible, broke the course of the Victories of the Duke of Parma; that it drayned Spain of Money and Men, and hindered that Prince from receiving necessary recruits to continue the War. They also acknowledged, that the journeys he made into France, to relieve the League, had unfurnished the two Countries of their best Soldiers, and left those fair. Provinces for a prey to their Enemies which had been so long their Indieses, and since have been so long their Poverty and Church-yard.  
We may indeed say here, by the way, and then we will return to our subject; That Philip the second did not a little forget himself in these occasions, and that his Conduct was then too wise, or not wise enough. That it was not truly ill argued for the subduing of the Hollande's, first to cease on France, and Conquer England; to cut off at once th'arms that supported them, and force away the Dugs which fed the Rebellion of that people. But also, that it was too vast a Design for a Prince so decayed, and a way too long and too dangerous for a person of so small strength, and short breath; That if he was transported by the zeal of th'house of God, and could not suffer Religion to perish in the first Kingdom of the world: If he was concerned in th'ill of France; and if he so vehemently loved the Church, that he could not permit so fair a member to be separated from her; It must be confessed, that his zeal had been commendable, if it had been more prudent. But he should have remembered that true Charity excludes not Justice; that it perverts not th'order of things; that it disorders not the duty of life; and that it hath as much light as heat, and of moderation as force: And therefore that it had been better to withdraw the people from Heresy which God submitted to him, and from rebellion wherein they were involved, then to engage in th'affairs of his Neighbours, whereof he was not to give an Account, and that he was more obliged to labour the Cure of his sick subjects, than the lesser diseases of strangers. But let's speak the truth, It troubled Philip much to lose so fair an occasion as that which then presented itself, to gain by our disorders; And he well saw that after the French were divided into Factions, and that the Children had torn in pieces their Mother, it would be easy for him to recollect the scattered members and the pieces of th'Inheritance. That if the lost this Conjuncture, he might after in vain desire it; that the madmen might return to their senses, and that they had been corrupted by Charms and Drenches; That they being cured might change their love into hatred, and be animated against them who had put them into that Condition.  
Though the Spaniards made the forementioned reflections, they failed not to strike upon the same sands, and to repeat their faults. Th'emperor had incredible success in Germany; His Conquests forced in upon him like a Torrent; God sent him Victories like those of the Children of Israel, when they marched under the Conduct of Moses and Joshua, and it was no more a Caesar by name, and the vain Imagination of what he ought to be, but he had the power and the majesty. His Authority gave reputation to the Spaniards. His Armies rendered them more fearful than they were, and they saw their desires crowned with the taking of Breda, which Spinola boasted to have taken in spite of four Kings, and th'aids of divers Nations in League: After that nothing was thought impossible for them. And notwithstanding instead of pursuing the great progress which they had made in the Low-Countties, and to follow their Fortune which marched before them; they provoked troubles in Italy, and sharpened the spirits of divers Princes, in possessing themselves of the Valtoline. The usurpation of that passage gave occasion to make a league for to make it free, and the War was carried into Piedmont, whither they conveyed great forces, which served only to make th'affront more eminent, which they received before Verrne, and to augment the shame of that retreat.  
But they fell not alone into the precipices: They drew in the Emperor, whose name they made use of to vex Monsieur of Mantouë. To put I say, a poor Catholic Prince into his shirt who reverenced him; they compelled him to agree with the King of Denmark, and to make a dishonourable peace with the Protestant Enemy. They constrained him to take the Law of the Conquered; to restore him his Losses, and to let lose the Chain which pressed all Germany. There's appearance, that if he had continued the designs he had in that Country, and those in Flanders; They had completed His Happiness; At least they had avoided the disgraces which happened unto them; they had given no scandal to Christendom. Boldne had been preserved, and so Catholic a City had not entertained Heresy within its walls, nor lamented the loss of th'ancient Religion. But in this they had not only men for Enemies, but God seemed to declare, and to make War against them; And as he suffered heretofore the Philistines to take th' Ark of the Covenant, and with it the fortune of th'house of Israel; He hath also permitted that the wealth of the new world should pass into other hands than theirs: That their Fleet should be beaten, and that Heretics whom they name Rebels, made use of the treasures against them, which were destined for th'oppression of a Prince whom they took for their Enemy, in regard that he was not their subject, or ought not to be their Neighbour without depending on them. Yet, praised be God, we have been wiser; for what the King had undertaken, his Constancy was never tired, and He Acted not by halfs, nor laboured without Effect; no irregular passion could make diversion upon his designs: He finished all of them; He hath dissipated all th'ill humours of the State; He hath confounded the Rebellion of his subjects, and our Allies have seen all the powers of France displayed, and all the virtue of the French, to master their ill fortune, and draw them from the bottom of the pit. In that miraculous passage over the Alps, when Italy saw her deliverer to descend; and that Milan durst take some free breath; and Naples think of a gentler Domination, who would not have believed that the King would have pursued his Victory, and taken in Italy a Revenge of the losses of his Ancestors? And nevertheless by a Council that was understood a few persons, and by an extraordinary prudence, he quirted the deceitful appearance of good; He retired from Italy, and contented himself for that time to stench the blood of it, and bind up the wound, for to finish in Langnedock the Cure of an Evil that was in its Crisis, and which a greater stay might have made incurable; But of that we will make, God aiding, hereafter a discourse apart,   

The Tenth Discourse.  
That Princes do approve but of the Services they Command, and punish oftentimes them that are done against their Orders.  
LEt a Minister of State know that he doth always ill, when he acts against th'orders are given him. That in the State, good intentions are not warrantable if th'effects are not agreeable to the Prince: That the works of supererogation are not current there, and that the services that are rendered, if they are not commanded, are things put to hazard, which are exposed to the capricious humour of a person interressed, and shall sometimes be condemned by him, who would be sorry if they were not done, who draws profit from them, and hereby accommodates his affairs; so true it is, that reason of State is a strange thing, and that the Condition of men, and chief of public persons is unhappy; Th'Examples will declare better than discourse which is to be observed in this matter.  
The Carthaginians punished with death the Captains that had gained a battle without advice, and against the rules of War; nothing is read answerable to the jealousy the first Romans had for Command. They could not give a good countenance to the successes which were obtained with disobedience. And there were Fathers, who would not give life their Children, that were victorious in Combats that had been forbidden them. At the siege of Cambrey, or of dourlan's, the Count Fuentes caused the head of a master of the Camp to be cut off, who in an assault advanced further than he was commanded, and took a post of very great Importance. And though the profits of these happy faults, and of those blind successes, remain to the Prince and Country; 'Tis certain, there's cause for their punishment to hinder th'imitation which is often dangerous; And for th'evil is in it, that the Judgement of a superior should be slighted by a particular person, and his Authority violated: Amongst us, these Attempts are praised when they prosper, and they are not punished when they are unfortunate. But it is a condition inseparable from our humour, and an effect of that blindness which possesseth almost all France, To neglect prudence and Order, and to have an esteem only for Impetuosities, and to Idolise nothing but Courage.  
Observe an Example very remarkable in our time, and a fault of another nature, than the prudence and love of the Country would have advised, and the Prince to whom it was of Advantage, judged it worthy of punishment. At the peace which was made 1617., by the Mediation of the King, betwixt the Republic of Venice, and the Archduke Ferdinand, who is now Emperor; The King of Spain, and the Duke of Savoy. The Republic of Venice employed Octavian Buon as their extraordinary Ambassador, a Gentleman of great opinion among the Citizens, to manage that affair with the Gussony, their ordinary Ambassador near the King. The Instruments given to their Ambassadors, commanded them not to consent to any Treaty of peace, but on condition the Galleres, which had been taken from the Venetians at Spalatre, by the Duke of Ossone should be restored, and that that blot was taken out from th'honour of the Republic: They had also Orders, though not so formal and express, to oppose th'union that was in forming between the two Crowns, to give jointly the Law to Italy, and to the rest of Europe.  
Nevertheless the Spaniards, who sail with all winds, and raise profit out of all occasions, put a great value upon th'Evidences of Esteem and Affection, they made out to the King, in submitting to him so great differences, and exposing of their affairs to the judgement of his Agents. But to sell this honour to him at a very dear rate, they pressed th'union whereof I have spoken; Union which they had long in their thoughts, and had sought since France was delivered of the Spanish Invasions, and had secured herself of their Ambushes; Union to which they aimed with the same heat they did at the Monarchy, since it was to be the Bridge to pass them safely, and the necessary principle for the ruin of other Christian States, and loss of their liberties.  
Bentivoglio Nonce, and now a Cardinal and Protector of France, joined his good endeavours to those of the Spanish Ambassador, in favour of that so much desired Union and fatal Intelligence.  
However if that design fail, they would have peace, not being able any longer to make War: That Gradisque which the Venetians besieged, was upon its last breath; That the Duke of Savoy swollen with the relief was come to him from France was powerful, and Don Petro of Toledo weak, and his Army shattered since the siege of Vercel. They would have, I say, peace, but after their manner, and upon a vain shadow of honour which they believed to have done us, and upon a light smoke of difference wherewith they thought to have intoxicated us. They would exempt themselves from Evils which hung over their heads; they would have it nevertheless with vapouring and reputation; as if fortune had been propitious to them; They would have no mention made of it in the Treaty of the restitution of the Ships of the Republic, and that the Ships should remain with them as Trophies of a Victory, and as marks of Triumph: They promise to deliver them to the King's Officers, as a great Bounty which should be exercised for love of them, and to oblige France; They would not also that any express or particular mention should be made of Vercel; In regard, it was more convenient, say they, for the greatness and dignity of their Crown, to deliver up that place without Constraint, as they promised to do, than by a Treaty of Accommodation; Our Agents induced by Causes, which were then, it may be, lawful, and which would not be endured in the generosity of the present Government, engage th'Ambassadors of the Republic between two extremes; They press them to sign the peace upon the foresaid Conditions, or threaten them with th'union which would have been so prenicious to Italy. A strange and hard necessity to which they were reduced; They desire time to inform the Senate, and to receive thereupon their pleasure. 'Tis refused, and three days only are given them to resolve; of the two Evils whereof Election was to be made, they chose the less, and accept of a shameful peace; and, contrary to their instructions, to avoid an inconveniency which contained an Evil, they had order to fly, and th'other Evils they had cause to fear, which were comprehended in th'union: They offend but for the good of the Republic: They expose their heads, but for the good of their Country: They would perish if their ruin might serve their Country. The Senate advised of what their Ambassadors had done: Condemn their proceed, and resolve to make them examples of their Temerity: All their reasons though necessary are rejected, And if the King had not interposed his authority for the safety of the poor men, they had run the hazard of being exposed to that Justice of State which attributes so much to Conformity, that it makes no distinction betwixt the unhappy and the guilty, and that seeks ordinarily th'advancement of the public good in the ruin of particular persons. Certainly it was to the advantage of the Republic, to embrace that peace, as it did, and to take it as a medicine, to cure itself of a greater Evil that threatened it. The Republic had reason also to seem willing to preserve her Dignity, and for th'interest of the right of Nations, to punish her Ambassadors that dared to be wiser than the Republic, and procure her good against her Prohibition.  
These are only gentle Notions, and 'tis a Conduct that ought not to hurt a Minister of State, when he is desavored of things treated upon by his own propensities: and a Prince may sometimes lawfully make use of the advantages which befall him upon a Treaty he disavoweth, without being obliged to repair the fault which another Prince hath committed by his facility and sottishness. And it would not be thought strange, since that as well in the Commerce of Princes as of particular persons, the fortune of wise men is ordinarily made at th'expense of fools, & the good success that happens, proceeds more from the Defects, and imprudence of them with whom they have to do, then from th'industry and virtue of them that, obtain it. Behold an Example which happened under Lewis the twelfth, which will make clear what hath been said. It was in a season when almost all Christendom conspired against us, and when the Assauls of almost all our Neighbours were at one Time to be resisted; The most dreadful Nation of that time was without doubt, that of the Swisses, and the greatest Enemy to this Crown. They entered into Burgundy with the body of an Army, and in great Numbers; They begin suddenly to make desolate that Province: They made daily progress, and made no question of starving Paris, and to force Victory to its very Gates. The King sends Tremoville to allay this Tempest, and stop this impetuous inundation; He makes haste, and as he was a great person for war and business, he managed the spirit of the people with so much dexterity, that he sends them home to their Country loaden with some spoils, and promises he made them, and hopes he had given them. Th'Artifice was profitable to France, the storm that threatened it was diverted, and the stroke we could not have put back by violence, was avoided by cunning. But neververtheless the King did not think himself obliged to perform what Tremoville had promised without his Order, nor to be warrant for th'imprudency of the Swisses, who abandoned their present Advantages, and them that the future did infallibly promise them, for uncertain promises and vain Hopes.  
When I consider the noise which the Swisses made for the breach of that Treaty, and how odious and new that. Artifice was unto them: when I consider thou'rt of deceiving, which since hath been introduced, and which shows itself impudently in th'affairs of Princes: when I consider also the legality used by Lewis the twelfth, in th'observation of the League at Cambray, in making Conquests for Princes that were not friends to France, and in putting them into their hands, and the maintaining of them unto them; I say unto myself, that the time is very unfortunate, where the vices of our Ancestors are become our virtues; where in stead of gaining knowledge, an Expedient is found to corrupt the Manners of men with reason; and where, in stead of studying to reconcile Virtue with Interest, and with personal love, men have so shamefully falsified and disquieted in such sort the Resentments of Good and Evil, That if Religion had not forbid us to believe it, we should be of Aristotle's judgement, who doubts in some places; whether Virtues are good by nature, or by the opinion and consent of men.  
It must not be forgot that there are Princes who would that their Ministers of State should sometimes be cruel and forsworn, provided that it were done without their knowledge and order, They love not malice, but seek the profit that may thence arise, and are of the humour of Pompeye's Son, who was so worthy a successor of the virtue of so great a Father, and contested with Anthony and Augustus th'Empire of the world. This Pompey entertaining Anthony and Augustus in his Galley; the Captain which commanded it, demanded leave of him to weigh th'Anchor, and to carry away his Guests, and to make Prisoners of his Rivals; He answered him, that he ought to have done it without telling him of it, and should have made him great without making him forsworn. Certainly an honest person will never be of the mind of this Captain. He will serve his master with his Estate and Goods, but not with his Honour and Conscience.   

The Eleventh Discourse.  
That a Minister of State ought to regulate his Demeanour by the interest of the State, and of his Prince; Provided that he offend not Justice.  
THat a Minister of State is to conceive, that the soul of his behaviour, and the first manner of his Actions, aught to be the good of the State, and interest of his Prince, that he hath no other Law to follow, nor other way to take, and that he must never go aside; provided that Justice be not offended, which is an inviolable rule, and admits of no Exception nor Contradiction.  
Particular persons may part with their Rights in many things, and make voluntary losses to act generous Actions; In that they exercise only what belongs to them, they lose nothing but whereof they are Masters and Proprietaries, and the Damage they suffer is sufficiently requited by the glory of the good they do; But Princes, (and this the more strongly concerns the Ministers of State) instead of being generous in forsaking th'interest of their Countries become imprudent; and they are unjust if they prostitute what is not theirs, and which hath been put into their hands as a sacred Deposite, by the people who have stripped themselves of it. And since their first obligation is to prevent their unhappiness, who have delivered up their Liberties unto them, and have put themselves under their power: 'Tis certain, that they offend their Dignity, and sin against what they are, who suffer the loss of any Right of State, or of the diminution of any member; and that the subjects may oppose it with Justice, and descent without Felony; According to this Rule which is well grounded, the State of France had reason to hinder th'Alienation of Burgundy, and the Assignment of that Province, which Francis the first had promised for the price of his Liberty: And th'emperor was to blame to refuse money in lieu of it, and to require of Francis, that being unable in that case to perform the Conditions of the Treaty, or overcome the resistance of his subjects; He ought to return to prison, which was, said he, the least he could do: since in all Rigour that Obligation had no force, but in the not-observance of what wholly depended upon him, and was promised fraudulently, and with intention to break promise. That, if it be permitted to a particular person, to get out of prison when he finds the door open; If it be not forbidden to a person in Chains, to force his fetters, and to quit his misery; If some impressions of the privileges of nature to the person escaped, may be found in the right of Nations; why should it not be commendable in a great Prince, to make use of it? Why should it be forbidden him to preserve the good gained upon a faithful account, in repairing, by what is in his power, what he could not execute by being at the disposition of another.  
'Tis upon this foundation, in my judgement, that Princes who finding in their States some Member thereof to have been usurped by their Predecessors, retain it in conscience, after the possession hath been long peaceable, and the occupation not interrupted nor contested. For in this, 'tis the Usuper that aught to answer the action, and that hath been obliged to repair th'injury that hath been committed, and the violence that hath been exercised, otherwise truly the Conditions of all Princes were miserable; They could never be assured of their States; They should be always in quarrel with their Neighbours, and the peace of the world should be altered by too frequent Changes, and by eternal revolutions. It is nevertheless true, that although the retention be not unjust, and in Conscience be defended; yet that hinders not the just pretensions of others to those States, or that they may not also in Conscience pursue the recovery of them by Negotiation or by Arms; Provided nevertheless, that there be no Treaty nor Agreement equal to it, by which they have renounced their right; that they have done no action contrary to it; and that so great a time be not elapsed, that the place be held by a formal demission of the right, and embrace the universal Consent of all Nations, and of all people in favour of the possessor. So the King may lawfully keep Mess, Thou, and Verdum, though these places had been unjustly taken; so we may pretend in Conscience to the Sovereignty of Flanders, and to the States of Milan, Naples, and Navarre, since we have for that, Pretences well grounded, and undoubted Titles: that our Claims have always been made; that they are known of all the world; and that we have not by Treaty nor Action, destroyed the force of them; so we should be condemned to endeavour the recovery of the losses of the first successors to Charlemagne, and to deter those quarrels whereof with difficulty History hath perserved any entire impressions, or any light that were not troubled.  
That if Sovereigns are bound up with so great rigour and hard Chains for the good of the people, who are their subjects; How much more ought the Ministers of State, and Agents whom they employed to be bound up: And how religious ought they to be in the management of the thing that concerns so many persons, which enlargeth itself upon sacred and profane heads, and where th'interest of God mixeth with that of men; 'Tis not to be understood by what hath been said, that I would banish Liberality and Magnificences from the life of Princes, and from the condition of public persons; nor that I would cause these virtues to descend below the Thrones, and below the Purple, since they are properly there, only in their Glory and Dignity; and that Great persons have no other advantage of mean persons that are honest men, than th'ability of doing good, which others have only in Will and Inclination, for want of power. But there's a peculiar art in conducting of these Virtues, without which they pass easily into the nature of the Vice that is nearest to them; and resemble Torrents, which in stead of refreshing, destroy, and in pressing too hard the course of their waters, and to precipitate their fall, are presently dry, and leave nothing behind them but marks of desolation, and impressions of ruin. But thereof I shall treat in another place; Let us return to the subject from whence we parted, and give the King th'honour, that no Prince ever had more tender or lively resentments, for th'interest of his States, or for the dignity of his Kingdom, than himself. There's nothing so hazardous that this passion did not cause him to undertake, nor nothing so difficult that it hath not mastered. It hath made him change th'appearance of things, such as appeared impossible, have been affected; and th'Evils which were believed desperate, have found their remedies and Cure. He had no rest till he had made himself master of all his Subjects, and he hath constrained them to be faithful, who knew not to obey so long as they could defend themselves. He went abroad in all places where our Interests lay: The relations of blood concerned him not so much as those of his Crown: All other Duty hath given place to that of Regality, and he hath the content to have rendered unto it entirely, the two things that maintain it, Reputation and Power.  
But 'tis not to be forgot, that God hath raised a Person to second his great and just inclinations, who having an understanding and virtue above the Ordinary of men, hath employed all his wit and virtue for his Master's Greatness and Glory; He laid aside the consideration of a particular Capacity, so soon as he became a public person; nothing could divert him from doing his Prince good service: He feared not the hatred of great persons, nor the bitings of the people. And he kept his way and pace at well through the contradictions and resistance was made him, as through th'acclamations received, and the prayers given him. Then also when he might have landed after a glorious Voyage, when Envy was silent, and reduced to observe the future; finding nothing in his past Actions for reproof, but for Commendation, when he might have enjoyed the sweetness of that Rest which attends happy troubles, and honourable labours. He would not, because it was necessary for us; that all foreign winds were not laid, and that disturbances were busy amongst our Neighbours and Allies. He chose rather to commit a full and entire glory, as his was, to the hazards of the future always doubtful, and subject to revolutions, than to permit his Master and Country to desire his care and aid; And that which is most admirable, is, that his love so necessary, and duty so inviolable, have sometimes prevailed with him to suspend resentments which troubled him nearer than his personal preservation, which were dearer to him then his life, and which he preferred to all his fortune at Court, and to all the greatness of the world. In pursuance of this, I say also what concerns the manners of particular persons and their Government; Charity commands us to lay out on them the best Colours, and most favourable Interpretations. But when the question is of the good of States and Interest of Princes, a greater severity of Judgement must be used. All appearances of Evil must be attended with distrust, and divers expedients must be used to avoid surprises, and to secure against Ambushes. The reason is, that 'tis not permitted to commit small faults in such great and general matters, and that the will doth not engage to prepare us against deceit, when a great opinion is had of the honesty of the persons that are to be treated withal. But if precaution be at any time necessary, and if there be need at any time of preservatives against so subtle and piercing a contagion; 'tis principally in that season, when Treachery makes a part of politic Prudence, and where the simplicity of them who suffer the surprise, is more shameful than the perfidy of them that deceive to their own advantage; Add th'Artifices that are employed to disguise it, and the subtleties which have been invented to represent it under another name then its own, and cause it to pass under shows contrary to its nature; insomuch that though it be always condemned by the mouth, and in Coversations, I do not see nevertheless that 'tis cast out of the commerce of Princes, and use of affairs, but by th'event when it proves fatal; let us conclude then, that in these occasion's diffidence is the Mother of safety; and not to be deceived, preparation must be made as if it were to be expected.   

The Twelfth Discourse.  
That a Minister of State ought endeavour to make his Deportments more Profitable than Eminent.  
THat a Minister of State ought to be a stranger to th'Apprehensions of the vulgar, that he ought not to be subject to the weakness of Low spirits, nor to touch upon th'objects which entertain them. That he know how to make difference betwixt the reality and appearance of things; betwixt the solidity and the brightness; that he prefer not Glass before Gold; because th'one is more shining and luminous, and th'other more dark: He must not value so much the colours of the Bow in heaven, which are but a beam of light fixed for an hour in some drops of water thickened in th'air, as the firm lasting Colour of the Ruby, Emerode, and Opal. He must make a noble expense when it shall be necessary, and be splendid on important occasions, and appear for th'honour of his Master; He must not neglect th'occasions whose principal Quality resides in Magnificency: As the Embassies that are made upon the coming in of a King, upon the Crowning of a Pope, for an alliance or a marriage; but let him not fall sick upon such expenses, nor be transported, nor make it the greatest Ornament of his conduct, and choicest expression of his life, nor fix his greatness upon a transitory Pomp, nor his glory upon a Magnificence that flieth away; and above all to beware, that instead of being magnificent he become not prodigal; for as Vice cannot be made beautiful what Ornaments soever are put upon it. 'Tis certain, that the people are provoked when a vain ostentation is made of their substance, and a triumph of their sweats and pains. They are amazed and at a stand; but in the same manner as they behold the pulling down of Temples, and th'overflowings of Rivers: Wise persons are troubled, when the principal force of the State is dissipated, the security of peace, and th'instrument of War, which is Money, in superfluous expenses, since there's never enough for the necessary occasions.  
The things which I have said, are chief in relation to the people, which astonish and ravish them, at the instant they make them afraid. There are other things also which touch upon the great Spirits, and transport th'highest Courages; Such are th'Arms of War, and th'objects of Valour: There's no virtue in th'opinion of the greatest part of men more in esteem than this, and no matter is more acceptable for Conversation, nor any Entertainment more bewitching, than th'effects of War; wherefore Historians eat the times of peace and dead seasons, as Mariners do the gentle seasons and calms of the Sea; on the contrary, they triumph in War, and in Tumults; the Seditions and Insurrections of the people, are the lights of their writings; and their fairest subjects and most excellent Arguments, are raised upon the Ruin of Empires, and the death of great persons; wherefore they that frequently read Tacitus, do not so much fix upon the subtleties and deceits of State, whereof his Books are full beyond probability; at upon the routing of the Roman Legions; upon the Revolts of Armies against their Generals, upon th'inundation of the Sea, and wrack of Fleets; thou'rt of Tiberius to govern, is not read with so much pleasure; nor the Artifices of Sejanus to establish himself, as the poisoning of Germanicus, or the violent death of Seneca; The dexterity practised by Tiberius, in the name of Sejanus, is not so earnestly considered, and the subtle and captious Letter he wrote to the Senate to be rid of him, and whereof he was an Hearer; as the punishment of a person who had raised his Statues to the side of his Masters, and th'overthrow of that Colossus, who had commanded all th'Earth. 'Tis not, sayeth Aristotle, that Valour is the first of all Virtues, or that Justice is not to be preferred before it; but that it acts with more boldness than other Virtues, and is exercised in surmounting of dangers, and in despising of death. 'Tis reasonable that the Recompense that is due to it from abroad, be the greater and the more eminent; that it be Crowned with Glory, and they that give their Lives to the service of their Princes, and to the good of their Country, obtain another life not subject to perish; and to be preferred in the memory of men, and to flourish always in the mouths of the Renowned.  
Though these things here do raise admiration, and that the spirit of man which attends naturally actions of Eminency, lays out excessive love upon them, though a Minister of State ought to esteem them highly, and honour the Conduct when it shall be necessary; yet he ought to proceed further, and know that there are more silent and concealed operations, which are better than th''others, because they are more useful for the public, and want of that outward recompense; Time only discovers them, in regard that secrecy is their principal Condition, and the wise only consider them according to their merit, because they make but little noise, & touch not upon the senses which make up the reason of the people; They resemble the Rivers, which running gently from the womb of their Centre, fill the fields with fruitfulness, and Cities with abundance; or the motions of the Heavens,  being almost undiscernible, turn upon the Earth the power of the Sun, and the wealth of the Stars.  
To foresee th'evils which may befall a State; to prepare preservatives to hinder their growth; to suppress the Causes before they have produced their Effects, are things very little considered: And yet a greater Obligation is due to a Physician, that preserves the health from all sorts of Alteration, than to him that restores the health when it is lost; A greater Debt is due to him that hinders a person from falling, then to him that draws him from a precipice; And 'tis a better and more difficult thing to preserve a State, then to Conquer it: The preservation of the Creatures is as noble and excellent a work of God's, as their Creation. They are both of the same price, and th'one is but the continuation of th'other. But it is not the same in Conquests and preservation of States; The first are not gained but by pieces; one Province is added to another, and there's need of several Ages, and of great Revolutions of things, before a Monarchy can attain the Greatness that composeth it. But the second takes notice of the whole frame of an Empire, no part is exempted, and the pieces which have been made one after another, aught to move together as in a Watch, and to point out th'hours. The glory of Conquests is derived from many Causes, many Persons contribute to it; Fortune interposeth as well as Virtue; and the faults committed by Enemies, do advance them as much as the Conduct of the persons that obtain them. But the conservation, is th'effect of a single person, or the work of a few persons: Imprudency enters not there but to destroy, and confound, and the door of Hazard, and so all th'Avenues of Fortune, is as strongly shut as it can be locked. It Conquests, force mingles with prudence, and the Body acts with th'understanding; but in Conservation, Reason only is employed, and Wisdom the noblest of her habits.  
In a word, great Princes have found the last of these things more difficult than the first; Augustus endured much labour before he could confirm the Empire his Uncle left him, and it was not done without changing the face of the world, and without seeing all Nations armed against one another; That he reunited the body that was divided into three pieces. But he was so much troubled to maintain that Composition, and to govern that Frame when he became absolute, that he had it in deliberation amongst his friends, whether he ought to strip himself of so weighty a greatness, or bear it with the inseparable Cares and Thorns that are fastened unto it; Some have been found, who having tried the weight, and rusted the bitterness, have chosen rather to abandon it, & cast themselves upon the quiet of a private life, than always to be encumbered with a multitude of Persons and crowd of Business. There are some who have given the lie to that common opinion which Ambition hath invented, That an Empire can no more receive a Companion, than the World two Sunt, and have permitted others to share with them in a thing so full of jealousy as Commands, and so incommunicable as Sovereignty. The Conduct of Tiberius for peace hath not been less admired, nor th'Artifices he used in his Age, less exactly observed by the Historians, than the Wars he made in his youth, and th'evidences of Valour which he gave in his most flourishing time. The life of one of our Kings Which deserved the Surname of Wise, is not less considerable than the lifes of them who have carried the Titles of Conquerors; and a Prince our Neighbour, hath given him this praise, that no King ever raised fewer Armies, and that no person ever gave him so much disturbance. The Difficulties wherewith he was assaulted both within and without; th'Artifices he was constrained to resist; the Conspiracies from which he was to be secured, and th'Enterprises of strangers, which he made useless by his prudence, delivered him to posterity, worthy of a Title which hath been given to meaner persons, as that of the Great.  
Few Princes had greater Affairs in hand then Lewis the eleventh, or more Enemies; His principal Officers betrayed him; the Princes of the blood forsook him; He saw England, Burgundy, Flanders and Bretany, in confederacy for his Ruin, and yet his dexterity surmounted those difficulties; He overcame his Enemies without conducting of Armies, or giving of Battles, and without making much noise of eminent Attempts; He defeated all that was raised to destroy him; but never person was more to be feared in the Cabinet, nor had done greater things abroad, without stirring from home, than Philip the second. From th' Escurial where he had shut up himself; He governed two Worlds, with three fingers of Paper. He was also as absolute in Peru, as in the Kingdom of Castille; with three words he changed the Governors, and deposed the Magistrates in America, and in Japan; And 'tis certain that never Prince was less seen of his subjects, nor more respected by them than he was.  
According to what hath been said, 'tis not possible to suppose a more even Conduct, or more intelligent than that of of Sr. the Cardinal's. He never offends against the conveniency of things, and his Intelligence is so pure, and Reason so clear, that he assigns them always their just price and place; He is magnificent, and spends with Eminency; not that he hath no esteem naturally for wealth, or hath never adored th'idol of the Court, and the mean favours of Fortune; but because prudence hath so ordained it, and that his Occasions and Dignity require it. He makes not nevertheless that glorious dispensation, and high use of Riches, which is but for show, and th'exterior; the Basis of his honour, or foundation of his glory. He knows that all prodigals have more desire to spend then himself, and that public Robbers have sometimes been seen in great States, who have had more power. But for th'other Employment, which is the love of great Courages, which is th'Ornament of th' Annals, and Histories, and which hath made the greatest part of the Gods, th'Ancients have adored; It hath occasioned in him a great contest of body and mind, and he hath not forgot the thing might make him to prosper in it. 'Tis true, that he was furnished with the principles which accompany a noble blood, and an Illustrious Birth: 'Tis true, that his Reason, and the lights of his Understanding, have completed that Disposition for all sorts of Good, which nature hath infused into him; notwithstanding it must be avowed that he followed such a profession of life, as had restrained those generous Inclinations, and hindered the seeds to grow; If they had not been raised up by his love to the King, and to the necessities of his Country.  
But he loved his Master too well, to stay in the Calm whilst he was in the storm; and he was too sensible of th'evils of France, to give only his Counsels for its relief, and to suffer the Remedies to be applied by other hands than his. The things which have been done in the Wars, where he was present, are incredible, and prosperity will be puszled to believe the wonders which happened in our time. But it must be confessed also, that in these Occasions he did not only contribute his Courage, and the force of his soul, but blended also that secret Art and insensible Address, which is the highest degree of Civil science, and the perfection of Ministration. And as th'encounter of two Stars of different qualities, produceth here below effects which would not happen without that mixture, and confusion of Virtues; 'Tis certain also, that th'Industry which Sr. the Cardinal added to the Power, hath advanced the King's Victories, and made them easy. It mollified th'hearts which could not have been broken but with great difficulty; It opened the Gates of Cities, where it had been dangerous to have entered by Breaches; it spared blood that was not to be despised, and an infinite number of lives which have not been unprofitable to the State.  
What hath not this Art done in the midst of peace, and in the quiet of affairs? how many designs, which had been fatal to France, have been stifled in their Conception? How many storms diverted at the very instant that the matter began to gather? and how many ill affections have remained barren for having been prevented? And abroad and amongst our Neighbours, hath not the same Art made discovery of its virtue and influence? It hath disappointed the subtleties of Italy, from doing of us any harm; That th'Artifices of Spain have not surprised us, and that we have surmounted the prudence of strangers as well as their forces. That Prince beyond the Mountains that lived so many years, and reigned so long time, who always repaired his weakness with his Crafts and his Courage; and deceived Fortune so often, that had made it her design to destroy him; had the displeasure to see his Charms defeated, his Finesses discovered; and all that inverted upon him, which an experience of above fifty years, and the vivacity of his spirit, had furnished him with, of inventions to hurt us; The Spaniards, who have always such plenty of means to attain their Ends, who set such subtle and invisible Twigs to catch other Nations, and have often finished in their Treaties the designs began in their Wars, were amazed to find a person so subtle as themselves; And, as the covetous persons believe they have lost all they do not gain, the Spaniards have complained that they were deceived, when they saw that we knew how to hinder their deceit.   

The Thirteenth Discourse.  
That 'tis of Importance that a Minister of State be Learned.  
SInce this elose Art, whereof we have now spoken, is so profitable for States, and gives sometimes such extraordinary strokes; since its hidden influences are so powerful; since that its secret virtue is so active: Let's see a little from what spring is runs, and with what forces 'tis accompanied. There's no question, but for this as for all great Actions, the birth must be happy; Th'aspects of the Stars must be favourable, and Nature propitious to us, otherwise 'tis to labour in vain. If it be contrary to us, 'tis to build without a foundation, 'tis to sow seeds on the Rocks; or, at best, 'tis to row against the stream of a rapid River. When Nature and Birth have distributed their Gifts and Advantages, there are two things which help to gain this Art, and to form it, Learning and Experience. We have treated thereof in the first Discourse of this Book. But in regard the first of them is ordinarily too little esteemed by them who make no use of it, but as an unprofitable movable, and superfluous Ornament. And that 'tis sometimes too much neglected by them, who have great Obligations upon them to be furnished with it. Who have no motions but what are accompanied with public Interest; no passions but such as are fatal to a State, and whose faults resemble the irregularities of the Sun which confound th'Harmony of the World, and make a total change in Nature: It may not be superfluous, besides what hath been said in other places, to raise it here a little, and to withdraw it from the disdain which some would throw upon it.  
The aneient Romans, whose least praise is, that they have not been imitated by any other Nation. They who were ordained to Govern the Commonwealth, that commanded all the world; They who had Commission to lead Armies, and subdue free people, became hearers of the Rhetoricians, and Disciples of the Philosophers: And though in the first Times, and golden Age of that Republic, the study of Sciences was not known, and that the persons of that time were instructed only by Nature, and had no other Precepts to live well and to well, but th'Examples of their predecessors and fellow Citizens. Though old Cato who deserved all the praise of a person born for the good of others; who in his Country gained all th'honours of Peace and War; who raised the question, whether he was a better Citizen or greater Captain, seems to have been an Enemy to men of Letters; The Judgement nevertheless of a single person, nor the Consent of a few Ages, are not even infallible, nor the sovereign Rule of the truth of things.  
'Tis true, that there are Sciences so superfluous, and occupations of the Understanding so frivolous, that the loss of time is the least Evil committed by them that make their Address; which do not only puszle but corrupt; which divert from Action dissipate the powers of the soul; fill it with effeminate Habits, and make a man sometimes unable to serve the public, or to be useful to himself. And such were the Sciences from which no doubt Cath endeavoured to divert the Roman youth. But as for other Sciences that form th'understanding and refine Prudence; which rectify Manners, and regulate the Duties of life; that fortify Courage, and kindle the desires of Glory; He could never have consented, as I conceive, to the banishment of them from Rome, if they had been there taught, he would not have driven away the Socratians, the Platonists, th' Aristotelians, and th'other Masters of human kind, as he did the Greek Orators; He would have known that from their Schools, did issue th' Epimanendas', the Xenophons', and th' Alexanders; He had known that the Republics called for them in Order to reformation, and that Tyrants sent for them to secure their Dominion, and to make lawful the countenance of a power whose beginning was unjust.  
That if Ages sometimes have produced great persons for Peace and War, who became such without th'aid of Sciences, and the lights of Philosophy; If the Goths could not endure in their Country th'exercise of Learning. If some Pagan Emperors have judged it for the best Expedient to take away the hearts from Christians, to leave them that sullen contemplation, and that languishing Entertainment; And if Lewis the Eleventh would not suffer his Son to learn above five or six Latin words, which he believed to include the whole secret of Government, and to comprehend all the substance of that Art. As to the first, it must be confessed, that they were the strains of Nature which fortune favours; that they were persons of very good common sense, and of very high Courage, and completed by th'use of Affairs, and managment of Wars which they governed: Such have been the Marian's, the Tamberlaines, and the first Romans whereof we have above spoken. But it must be also acknowledged, that if study had been added to the rich gifts of Nature, and if Philosophy had cleared their understandings, that their valour had been fairer, and their glory more eminent; That it had not been stained with so many faults as it was, and that their valour so high and happy in their Youth, for being rooted in the body, had nor failed, nor departed in Age, as it happened to some of them.  
That if th'health of the Commonwealth changed, when Sciences flourished much at Rome, and if it fell in a time when its Captains were Philosophers; Philosophy for that Cause must not be charged with it. You must not condemn th'innocent, nor believe that she who laboured to moderate the passions, and to purge the soul of its blots and weakness, did infuse that violent Disire to reign, and that immoderate Ambition, which could not be restrained, neither by the inclinations of blood, nor by the love of their Country. This great disorder then proceeded from the temper of certain spirits, who after they had a long time commanded in those Provinces, and given Laws to the people, could not reduce themselves to equality, and civil obedience, nor suffer Companions and Masters. Moreover that whilst the Romans were employed, and that stranger Enemies exercised them at home, they thought only of subduing or defending themselves. But since all the world yielded to their Virtue, or submitted to their Power; that with the Conquest of the World, the wealth of all Nations was brought to Rome: That great persons made many servants and parties in the midst of the City, and in the Provinces: That Prodigality and Luxury had devoured the best Families, and that the change of state had given hopes of the change of fortune to them, who could not be worse than in their present Condition; no wonder at the disorders that happened. It must not be thought strange if Factions were raised where Ambition was so hot: if Novelty was desired, where there was so much Poverty, and so much Wealth: and if the Ruin of one of the parties was attended with the ruin of the State, where the power that was shared became absolute by victory.  
As to the second, it may be agreed, that for the simple function of Soldiers, 'tis not of importance that they be furnished with knowledge and Learning. And 'tis true, that those Qualities which ordinarily swell up th'understanding and make it overflow; weaken obedience which is so necessary for them, and render them less tractable for commands; chief if they have not a great opinion of their Commanders; which they have but seldom, because they have too much for themselves. Besides that presumption which ariseth to them from the small advantages which Letters give them above others that have them not; causeth, them not to expose themselves willingly but upon th'eminent occasions, and that they scorn to apply themselves to mean and small Factions, which are often a great occasion for great Executions, and to obtain the Victory. Wherefore Lodowith Sforza, who by his Ambition overthrew the peace of Italy, and opened the door to Strangers, who have since subdued it, said, That a great Wit made an ill Condition in a Soldier, and that he received not easily into his service them who were proud of it: 'Tis true also, that it infinitely concerns States that are obliged to entertain great Armies, and are jealous of the Reputation of Commerce, without which they become poor, and the Revenue of the Prince decays; That there be not so great a number of Scholars, as are seen in France; That irregular number of men who cast themselves into the Church, it into th'exercise of Justice, is the cause that such formidable Armies, as heretofore cannot be raised, and that many who would make good Merchants, and their Families to flourish, if they had been bred in Trade, ruin or incommodate them, by becoming ill Doctors, and dangerous or unprofitable Members of the Court of Justice.  
For what concerns Lewis th'Eleventh, it must not be understood that his opinion comprehends all the duty of a Prince, and all the knowledge of Government it makes but a little and dangerous party, and that there are nobler Maxims for Reigning, and more exalted Principles, than dissimulation. And truly the seeds of good which were in his Son, remained imperfect for want of improvement. His Courage that was high, wanted Rule and Conduct, and his Understanding had not force enough to resist the Corruption of them, that had environed him, and the designs of his Ministers of State, who ruined his business to do their own.   

The Fourteenth Discourse.  
That 'tis of importance that a Minister of State be Eloquent.  
YOu have what I would say in defence of Letters, which help to form thou'rt of a Minister of State, and sometimes serve for a Guide, and Torch, to them who are to walk ofton in the dark, and amongst Precipices. It remains now to speak a word of Eloquence, which is as th'hand of that Art and Instrument wherewith it enters the hearts, stirs up the passions, gives to things the form she pleaseth, and renders herself Mistress of Men and Businesses. 'Tis a quality of an incomparable perfection which requires all the favours Nature can bestow upon a Body and Wit: All the polishings that Labour and Industry can bring unto it, and all that good Custom and Experience can add unto it. 'Tis so full also of Glory, that 'tis never exposed to Disdains, as sometimes the Sciences are. She makes herself to be feared, if not to be beloved; she hath Lightnings as well as Crowns. She reigns in all places, and to that height, that she undertakes to change the order of Providence, and to take away the use of Liberty from the Causes, to which God had given it.  
This Quality then which cannot be perfect, nor in its true Dignity without Virtue and Philosophy, is worthy of the Cares of a Minister of State. It wonderfully adorns Peace, and is of great service in time of War. 'Tis by her power that th'Ancient Orators protected the Innocency of particular persons, and defended oppressed Provinces. 'Tis by her force, that the fall of States hath been sometimes prevented; and fatal Conspiracies dissipated. 'Tis by her, that Cicero merited honours, which he preferred to the Triumph of Conquerors. And by her, he pretends to have place amongst the Founders and Restorers of the first Commonwealth of the world. 'Tis she that hath often secured the Victories that were doubtful; that hath given courage to the Soldiers that had lost it; that struck fire and boldness into the souls of them who compelled Fortune to favour them, and that would die or overcome.  
And without speaking of Xenophon, of Caesar, and of the greatest Captains of Antiquity; who have gained in the Modern Ages a higher and clearer Reputation than Scander-beg than the great Captain, and than Gaston of Foix? And is it not true that these three great persons have always begun to prepare the Victory by Discourse, and by persuasion, which after they completed by Conduct and Valour, In effect, it is no small favour which God hath done to the reasonable soul, by giving it power to communicate its thoughts, and to bring to light its affections; And Speech is a present of an extraordinary price, wherewith she may distribute part of her excellencies: She can give without loss, and make rich without becoming poor; she can see the Treasures abroad she hath within herself, the Lights that beautify her, and those admirable Representations whereof she is at the same time the Painter and the Table: And 'tis for that chief, that she hath received so exquisite a Gift: For in relation only to the Body, and the single necessities of th'animal life, 'Tis probable that Nature would have given it certain signs, and some exterior Motions to express them, as it hath done to Beasts and little Children. But as health of itself is a silent good, and is scarce felt, if pleasure do not animate it, and delight give it life; so the Dignity of Speech is unknown, if it be not accompanied with Graces, and expressed with Pomp.  
It seems that Reason scorns to go abroad unless she be adorned; that she hath no force without allurements; and effects Complaisancy, that she may be useful: And 'tis Eloquence, and that divine faculty whereof we speak, which fits and trims Reason to so high an Admiration; 'Tis she that doth furnish her with Flowers and Ornaments; 'Tis she that causeth Reason not only to bring Light to be understood, but also stirs up Love to be followed.  
I will not speak here of the knowledge of Sr. the Cardinal, nor of the wonder, that laying out so much time for Action and Directions for public Affairs, there should remain to him any time for his study, and for to gain that general knowledge he hath of all good things. It were also to be ignorant of his strength and dignity of his subject To speak of his Eloquence, it were to seek light from the Sun, to undertake the publishing of that Divine Faculty which is every day admired in Councils: which hath so eminently appeared in Assemblies, done so great services to France, and hath so often by his Mouth and Pen made the Christian truths to Triumph. 'Tis such, and his soul is so strangely imbued, that as there are places in the world, from whence nothing is taken, but what is perfumed and odoriferous; In liker manner, even the most familiar Discourses, and ordinary Entertainments of Sr. the Cardinal, hold forth some Tincture, and give some taste of the virtue fo that excellent quality.   

The Fifteenth Discourse.  
That the Council of a Prince ought to be composed a few persons.  
'TIs of importance that the Council of a Prince be reduced to a few Heads, so as they be well chosen; and that the number be not the Evidence of his Dignity, but the Merit and Virtue of his Counsellors. Unity is the last measure of the perfection of things; and the first of all Being's, is the most single of all others. This Being is God himself, who without suffering Division of Parts, or mixture of Qualities, is infinitely perfect within, and infinitely active without, and by a power infinitely pure, and infinitely single, and without th'adjunction of any foreign virtue, hath produced the wonders we see, and that variety of subjects which are united to make the world: And without him the most noble Natures, and most excellent, are the least composed and the most indivisible; And we rejoice much more in a sight not limited in th'extents of its objects, and that can know all the colours of Nature, and the Figures of all Bodies; then if we had as many eyes as the visible Objects are divers, and Colours different in nature.  
So, if it were permitted to make fair Dreams and magnificent Wishes, it were to be desired that a Prince alone should make up his Council: That he were the sole Director of his business; That he were the sole intelligence to give it motion, and that he alone held the Helm, and handled the Sceptre. But insomuch that such a Prince was never seen, and that th'idea remains in th'head of Xenophon, that History doth not propose the like to us; that th'imperfection of humane things suffers it not; 
Lewis the Eleventh.  and that he who boasted that his Horse carried him and all his Council, did sometimes commit such enormous faults and foolish errors, that all the world takes notice of them. A Prince ought at least so to order his business, that his power be not lose, that it enlarge not, and be restrained to a few persons, that it may be the more active and absolute, and its operation the more nimble and efficacious. But that the goodness of this order may appear the better, and th'advantages that accrue to a State, where it is observed to be the more evident; It may not be amiss to demonstrate it by the comparison of other forms of Government which are more disunited, and where the Authority to resolve business is more dilated; for the things of this world do appear best by opposition; the shadow quickens the colours and the Lights; Recovery from sickness is more agreeable than health: and there's no good that would not lose one half for its just price, if there were no evil contrary to it; I will say upon the subject in hand, a word of the Republic of Venice, of that of the Swisses, and of the Government of the Polaques, which is a mixed kind of Government, and composed of Aristocracy and Monarchy.  
I think that no Republic was ever established with so great Wisdom, or that received Orders more apt to attain th'ends of a civil life, which is the happiness of Inhabitants, then that of Venice: 'Tis not but that some have made a greater noise in the world, and whose Empire hath been more enlarged, & Dominion more glorious. But as the greatest bodies, and of highest stature, are not ever the soundest; and as the vastest buildings are not always the firmest: so the good policy of a State, and the goodness of its Composition, is not to be judged by th'extent of the Country it enjoys, & by the great quantities of Earth and Sea it commands; so whosoever considers the duration of the Republic of Venice, and its quiet for 1200 years, and observes that it hath never been strongly agitated within, and hath felt but a leight intestine sedition; may easily conclude that the Noble parts have been very sound, and that the Foundations are very deep and solid: And though of late it may seem that her Forces are diminished, that her best condition is past, and that the violence of some strange cause hath blasted the beauty of her Countenance; there's no matter of astonishment, nor any great wonder that old Age should produce wrinkles; that what is mortal should be sometimes sick; that the strong should offend the weak: and that Prudence should not always be Mistress of Fortune, nor good events the necessary effects of good Counsels.  
Though this be thus, yet there's some change to be wished, as to the manner of their Treating, and resolving th'affairs of that Republic; and 'tis a great mischief, that they are carried through so many Assemblies, and pass by so many Heads, whereof the Senate is composed; the Secret which is never very safe with a multitude, hath much ado to be there preserved; Length is unavoidable there, and many times Fortune flies away, and good occasions are lost; whilst they deliberate, and before they have concluded. Heretofore in pressing-matters, and where dispatch was requisite, and Secrecy extraordinarily necessary, they were treated, and resolved in a Council, which they called of Ten, with the same force and Authority as in the Senate. But they have since judged, that the supreme Authority, attributed to Ten persons in matters regarding the whole State, was of too dangerous a consequence, and that that Order might in time by th'Ambition, and by th'Artifices of particular persons, degenerate into a pure Aristocracy, and corrupt th'essence of their Government, which is blended of three others.  
From thence may be seen the fatality of humane things; that the good is ever accompanied with some evil, and that nothing is so well accomplished, as not in some part to be defective. Of all sorts of Government, under which the world rowls, the most excellent are not exempt from spots. 'Tis not, but that they who invented them, foresaw th'inconveniences: but that they could not do better, nor provide a Remedy, where none was to be had. Prudence is not so often employed in choosing the greatest Good, as in avoiding the greatest Evils; and as we see in the Composition of the humane body, that there are but a few parts capable of pleasure, and which touch upon the pleasant Objects: and that on the Contrary, all parts are exposed to grief, and to share Resentments; so it happens that in all other things, th'evil enters by more ways than the good, and finds more places to make its impression, and exercise its violence. If this be to be seen in all of Nature, and if it be an experience which passeth even to Beasts; it ought not to be thought strange, if in a matter so mixed and so confused, as States are, and where Fancies so different, and Inclinations so various, do enter; if the pure good be not there found, nor such a perfection as no sort of vice can alter: Let's go on.  
As to the Commonwealth of the Swisses, 'tis a sort of Government very lose, and in some measure tumultuous; The Bond that ties them, is not stronger than that which joins the Leagues; and there's only this difference; that they do but ordinarily pass, and have no durable cause; that they are not good, but to repel an Evil suddenly fallen upon some of the Confederates, and which threatens the rest of them; or to prevent some storm and inundation of some great approaching power; But so soon as the danger is over, or that th'oppression is taken away, they fall of themselves, and go out for want of aliment and matter.  
Of this I will treat at length in the second Part of this Work. But th'Union of the Swisses cannot perish nor dissolve, but by an outward violence; It hath an everlasting foundation, which is jealousy of Liberty; and though they dwell only in Rocks, and that poverty stirs not from their houses; yet they would not change their Condition, which appears not so ugly, but that there's great cause for them to be in love with it, and to believe that the Wealth which Nature hath denied their Country, is plentifully repaired by the Independency wherein they have fixed themselves, and by the Freedom under which they live. Their Policy then, which is at greater distance with Unity, that that of the Venetians, is by consequence more imperfect, and hath greater Inconveniences: Secrecy is not to be found in their Meetings; the Convocation is made with extreme tediousness: Their Resolutions are not taken but very late. And besides th'error which is common to all Assemblies, To dispute much, and conclude little; 'Tis certain the variety of Religions wherewith they are now in labour, causeth that when the Diets are composed of all the Cantons, that interests more opposite, and passions more opinionated are brought, than heretofore were practised; And it hath been seen, and we have made very troublesome experiences; that when our Forces were not fully known to us, and that our Infantry was almost raised out of Swisses; that the services were so slowly made, and came so late to us, that very often we lost fair Occasions, or received notorious hints before we were in condition to resist or undertake; And that is one of the Reasons which obliged Francis the first, to establish Legions in the respective Provinces, to have the Body of an Army of French Infantry always in readiness, and not to depend, when he had a mind to Arm, upon th'humours of that heavy Nation, and fancies of so brutish and mercenary a people.  
The Government of Poland is not a pure Monarchy, as I have said, but a mixed body composed of Aristocracy and Royalty. The King cannot deliberate any thing, not undertake any thing for Peace or War, without th'Assembly of Nobles. This Constitution is subject to a thousand inconveniencies, and by reason of the tediousness it brings with it, 'tis at lest certain it can never receive the Designs, where success depends upon the Promptitude, and where Execution ought to surprise and be Sudden, that it may be Happy; 'tis an Enemy to Secrecy, which is necessary to guide safely all sorts of Enterprises. It gives means to enemies, to use prevention, or to expect with Advantages, and to provide against the Tempest they see coming, and which grumbles and makes a noise before it breaks out: There's nothing so easy as to steal-in Corruption and Schism, and 'tis impossible in so numerous and irregular Collection of men, as compose their Assemblies, that all parts should be sound and unalterable; and that all the Members should agree upon the general good of the Body, so composed. In a word, no great or extraordinary thing is to be expected from this kind of Policy, and the Polaques ought not to think of Conquests, or to extend by War Bounds of their Country, so long as they govern themsemselves in that manner. On the contrary, they have often suffered great losses, and received notorious outrages from the Turk, from the Muscovites, and particularly from the Tartars, before they could draw their Forces together to repel them, and fight them upon their retract. And if Nature, or rather the Corruption of Mankind, had not raised other thieves, which are called Cosaques; They would suffer yet more invasions, and more sudden Enterprises from their first mentioned Enemies. But it seems that these Cosaques are the Counterpoison, and Remedy, and often exchange it with them, and run with ruin and desolation into their Country, and even into the Dominions of the Turk who protects them.  
And though it be thus, that this Policy hath so remarkable faults, It would be a difficult matter to reform it: The natural Inclination which the septentrionals have for liberty, would make there a great resistance, and I do not think that there's a benefit, which th'absolute and independent Authority of the King could promise to the Polaques, which would in their opinion equalise the pleasure and profit they find in being above their King; to do justice to themselves; to provide by their own hands against the evils that hurt them. And in a word, to taste of the sovereignty and absolute power. To speak freely, there are precipices on what side soever you look, and both extremities are attended with its Commodities, and hath its Flowers and Thorns. And as th'aristocratic and mixed Government is a bridle to Princes that would abuse their Authority, and hinders them to exceed: 'Tis true also, that when they have good Understanding, and an upright Will, the condition of their subjects is better them otherwise it would be; and the affairs of State breathe more wholesome Air, and take safer Course. All nevertheless being well examined, the best expedient is that every person live conformable to the Laws and Customs of his Country were he dwells; That he love the form of Government which is there established; that he observe the Policy there in use; and conceive that Change is the worst of all Evils that can be there introduced which almost never enters without violence, and ever almost tears up that which it would take from its place.  
The End of the First Book.    

THE MINISTER OF STATE.  
Book II.  

First Discourse.  
That a Complete Minister of State ought to be able for Counsel, and for Execution; and aught to have a free power particularly for the War.  
'tIs certain that a single Quality makes not up the perfection of Administration; and to form it, th'highest powers of Man are necessary, and the noblest habits of those powers. It is not satisfied with that, nor content only with th'inward beauty, and with private satisfaction. It's Inclinations are more vast and ambitious: It suffers, if it remain concealed; It desires the Light; It will appear abroad; It must enlarge and communicate itself; In a word, Action is her end and her Crown, and without it, it should be a treasure half lost: or as the veins of Gold in the bosom of th'Earth, which no person hath discovered. Her beginning is that light of the Soul, and that product of th'understanding, which is called Prudence. But as the light of the Sun is a general Quality, and which alone would produce nothing; so Prudence hath use of divers other Virtues to execute her Orders, and to give motion to her Deliberations. And again, as those Virtues have need of her Light and Influence, to know th'object whereon they ought to look and to pursue; In like manner also Prudence refines herself by th'exercise of those Virtues, and by the troubles and storms which the imperfection of humane discourse let's fall. They take them away, and are made clearer by experience. 'Tis not necessary that he who deliberates should always execute; That he who hath a very sound head, should have also strong Arms; nor that he who hath Prudence, should have all the virtues requisite for Action; 'tis sufficient that she guide them and direct them in what subject soever they are found, and upon what matter soever they are employed. But as th'Artificer judgeth much better of the work of his hands, and of th'excellency of his Ideaa, when he sees it upon the Cloth or the Marble; so Prudence also is much better assured of the goodness of its Judgement, by th'Effects then by the single Discourse that precedes them, and by the sole Agitation of the Reason which goes before: And in my opinion, 'tis of that perfect prudence, and which use hath completed, that Aristotle is to be understood, when he says, That there's no true Prudence without th'other Moral Virtues.  
'Tis true, that when these Virtues do meet in her company, when they dwell together, when they proceed from a common principle, and from the same Root; Their Conduct is more certain and more happy; Prudence is the more intentive upon her business; She governs them with more tractableness, and by constant illuminations; secures them with more ease from the Ambushes of Fortune, and from th'unexpected inconveniences of the times; Wherefore in matters of War, th'execution of an enterprise ought always to be committed to him who proposed it, provided he be a capable person to perform it; for therein he is excited to do well, by the glory of Success, and by the jealousy of his opinion, which is a violent and imperious passion; and, straining to defend the noblest and most exalted faculty of the Soul, which is the Judgement, seldom abates of the Contest and pursuit. As also it is not safe to put th'execution of a design into the hands of them that voted against it; who will be always slow in Action; who will bring to it but the half of themselves; who will have but faint motions, and conformable to the passions that shake them, which are irresolution and distrust,; and who have wherewithal to comfort themselves in th'ill of success, by the truth of the Prediction they had made, and by the Reputation of Wisdom, and providence they had gained to themselves.  
Though it be so, and much better, that be who is capable to resolve, be also capable to execute; 'Tis nevertheless a rare encounter amongst men; and as there are but few places on th'Earth which bring forth all that respects the pleasures of the Senses, and the necessities of Life; so, there are but few souls that have all the virtues proper for Governments; and it seems that the Law of humane Society, as that of Nature, would have a dependency betwixt the spirits of men; as there is a Commerce and Communication betwixt divers Countries, and different Nations of the World, so the Coldness of Parmenio tempered th'heat of Alexander; so the Wisdom of Cyneas restrained the Courage of Pyrrhus: so Scipio observed th'orders of Laelius, and Augustus found a temper in the prudence of Metaenas, and valour of Agrippa, to which nothing was impossible.  
Wherefore a Minister of State that hath all these perfections, aught to be of high price with his Prince: The State ought to reverence him as an extraordinary person; and the virtues which being severed merit a price, and to be esteemed; deserve highly some new respect, and a particular Veneration, when they join in a single subject for the general good of the World: At lest 'tis certain, that th'ill which attends the great variety of Agents is avoided; They that uphold them, agree rarely together in the same Design: Concord is seldom sound amongst them, unless it be in Looks and Words, because th'heart is false, or interessed; and Jealousy is there the stronger, for that it proposeth to itself the possession of so great a good, as the favour of the Prince, and the power of the State; They that are only for Counsel, and whose virtue shines only in the Cabinet Council, incline always to peace how dishonourable soever. 'Tis then they truly reign, when all other greatness bows to theirs. And that they see at their feet the glory of Arms, and the Crowns of the Victorious. On the contrary, during the War they are out of countenance, and their Authority declines in that troublesome season. They are darkened by a profession that hath more pomp and light than theirs; And in regard that those who are called to Command, are usually extraordinary persons, it makes them strongly jealous, and apprehend th'increase of power upon the spirit of their Master, and the taking of root in his Inclinations; wherefore they endeavour to make them unprofitable, that they might be the less considerable. They trouble them in their employments, that they might be the less happy. The great Victories make them more afraid than great Losses, and our Generals have often seen dis-banded th'Armies they Commanded, and enterprises ruined, whereof the Beginnings were plausible; for having not timely received, or in the fit Quantity the provisions necessary for continuing of the War. They on th'other side prolong the troubles, and lengthen the confusion to th'uttermost of their power, to subsist in Credit and esteem. They love the storms because they help to guide the Ship? They desire sickness, because they are employed in applying the Remedies; but nevertheless they would have no end made, for fear of remaining idle Pilots, and unprofitable Physicians. Moreover they complain always first: They frequently accuse them of their own faults, and ease themselves upon them of th'envy of their ill successes and disgraces that attend it.  
And when it doth not so happen, and that there should be amongst them a perfect understanding and general agreement; The Obligation nevertheless which some of them are under to receive Orders for Action from others, and that regular Dependency, is over importunate, and sometimes pernicious; Whilst they consult the Council of the Prince, occasions do pass; Things take another Countenance, and so many unexpected Accidents happen, for which sudden provision must be made, that by their Violence they are carried away before Remedy can be applied, and the business perisheth for not daring to relieve it when it was in their power. This unhappiness hath been particularly observed in some of our Neighbours States. The Venetians have made little use of th'occasions of the War, and their Generals have often seen a good occasion pass away before them, without daring to stay it, or to hinder it from flying away, because they had not the Senate's Order. They begin also to withdraw from that dangerous Maxim, and are no more so scrupulous as they were, to permit them to act of themselves, and to take th'Advantages which offer themselves. It is also observed, that th'affairs of the Low Countries suffered much for the same reason towards th'end of the life of Philip the second; and that they changed extremely by reason of the great delays they were constrained to use at the time of the want of his health, and decay of his age; Th'ill was, that they would take most cognisance of all things when they could worse do it, and were most earnest to retain business when the time was elapsed. That Prince changed his Conduct, and in safer occasions he was accustomed to give almost a sovereign Authority to them whom he employed. The Duke of Alva had it most absolute when he came into Flanders to make War to the growing Rebellion. Don John of Austria had it very large, when he was chosen chief of the Christian League against the Turk, after the Conquest of Portugal; The Cardinal Albert had an unlimited power to reform the Kingdom, and Philip the second procured him a Legation, that he might act with the greater Authority, and he was at one and the same time absolute Judge of temporal and spiritual Affairs.  
Insomuch that if the Cardinal had carried with him in his second journey, beyond the Mountains, a Commission as ample as some have described it; and that the noise which was but a Fable, had been true, it-had not been new nor without Example; Our Neighbours have showed us the way, and that Nation also which understands thou'rt of governing better than any Nation in the World. But the moderation of this Lord hath been such, that he sought not any extraordinary Power in that Occasion: That he hath not done nor undertaken any thing, but by the express. Orders of the King, and they that have studied his Life, and observed his demeanour, know that he hath chosen rather to be considered by th'actions of the compleatest Obedience which a Subject can give to his Sovereign, than by the particular marks of Honour and Affection which he could have received. But beyond this, let us confess, that he is that extraordinary person, who hath in an eminent degree all the Qualities fit for governing, which are rarely seen, but severed in others; who executes what he adviseth; appears in Calms and Tempests; who hath deserved th'honour of Peace, and the triumph of War, and in whom Virtue is not limited, neither by he Condition of the Times, nor Diversity of Affairs.   

The Second Discourse.  
whence the Virtue of keeping a Secret proceeds, and how necessary it is for a Minister of State.  
WE have showed in the precedent Discourse, how necessary it is that the Council of a Prince be reduced to a few persons, and how difficult it is for a multitude of persons to keep a Secret; This may be added to th'happiness of the King's Reign, that never Council was more faithful than his, nor where the secret of Affairs lay more secure. The number is very small, but of excellent persons. Nothing is capable to untie their Tongue but when it is necessary. They are not weak, nor to be Corrupted. Their Virtue is proof to all Trials. That Condition is particularly remarkable in him who is the Chief, and in whom resides that Unity which is a Beam from the Sovereignty, and the last measure of the perfection things. Few persons have been of profounder thoughts, nor of higher exaltations of soul; And but few have been seen that could better retain them, or that were more the Master of them. And nevertheless the best thoughts of the world, and the most happy productions of wit have this in them, that they ought to resemble fruits which should be gathered in season, that they may be wholesome; but they have this Imperfection, that they are like to Wine, which when it is new, endeavours to break out and to run out: The wit of man is so in love with itself, and hath so hot a thirst to make itself known; that so soon as it hath conceived something which may, as it believes, deserve praise, hath impatience to discover it: It makes haste to bring it to light; it cannot attend the just time of delivery; and it ordinarily falls out, that it loseth by too much haste the value of what would have been excellent, if it had been brought forth in season, and had ripened at leisure. Besides this defect which is always natural to us, and which is the proper French Temper; There's another Cause for which the greatest part of men cannot conceal long a design, without giving it Air, nor retain unto themselves a good Thought; 'Tis the small power they have to resist common reports, and th'opinions that run abroad. It hath always been th'humour of the people to be the Censurers of the designs of Princes, and of the conduct of their Counsellors. 'Tis a disease which cannot be cured in them; And it seems to them, that after they have made them their superiors, and have put their goods and lives into their hands; that at least the liberty is reserved unto them of judging of their abilities; Strange folly, that they who make so ill and crooked Judgements in their own affairs, whereof th'extent is so short, and th'intelligence so easy; constitute themselves Arbiters of State-affairs, whose principal circumstance is secrecy and which ought to be in th'eyes of the people, as prophecies, which are not to be understood but by their success.  
And nevertheless, though the knowledge of things be hid from them as much as may be, & that the Causes are concealed; they forbear not to pry into them, & that they may have always matter of disturbance. And wherewith to torment themselves unprofitably; They believe all things their sense represents unto them, or that another passion suggests unto them. A dexterous person then, and one who hath a strong understanding and high Courage; makes always towards his End without disturbance for these popular infirmities. He rests in peace, whilst they who have nothing to do, but to take their ease, and cherish their health, are in trouble and in a fevers, and imitates the Heavens which altar not their Course for the Tempests of th'air, nor for the noise that is made in that stormy Region. On the Contrary, weak understandings cannot sustain the liberty of Judgements, nor th'indiscretion of Tongues; The conjectures of Curious, and the speculations of idle persons offend them; They make haste to give a reason of their Designs, and by a precipitated judgement which they pass upon them, they see them abortive or fatal.  
Sr. the Cardinal hath not done the like; When Envy was raised against him, when the Wits did mutiny against his Government; when his Enemies opposed him silently, or have assaulted him a outward force, or by public Defiance; all that, hath not disordered him. His Actions were neither slow nor confused: And, as if such Difficulties improved his Judgement, or gave him new Forces; He never appeared so intelligent, or so valiant, as in all occasions that seemed to be desperate. Whilst th' English possessed th'island of Rhee, and that Languedoc was in Rebellion; and that one part os the Huguenots had declared themselves, and th'others observed the success of foreign enterprises; That the discontented Catholics did rejoice at th'ills of the State, and that others feared the future which they saw troubled and full of storms; never person was more exposed to complaints and ill language, than himself. Indiscretion was extreme; Insolency raised to threats, and that purple which in Venerable in th'eyes of Catholics, and the Dignity of a Prince of the Church, were in danger of that common Licence, of being violated: His soul nevertheless changed not its place; His Courage was not shaken; He did not use violent or faint Remedies, as had been sometimes done to stay the Disorder; He did not use hateful preservatives against an ill, which inflames by opposition, and is provoked by resistance: He chose rather to fight them with the greatness of his Actions, than by the fear of his punishment; and resolved that his Virtue should confound th'Artifices of the wicked, and th'errors of the simple.  
But how many sinister Judgements and sharp discourses, did the siege of Rochel raise? How many passions: did that Town-stir up amongst the Protestants, and amongst the Catholics? How many Oppositions were set on foot against that Design, in the Kingdom and abroad, by them who were our declared Enemies, and by them who would seem to be our friends? What had not been said of th'expense of that siege, if being so vast it had been unprofitable? How much had they cried out against us, if we had suffered our Allies to perish, and if that we had not reduced to obedience the rebellious French. And nevertheless, so many different passions, and all those irregular Motions, did not stop our pursuit, nor th'heat of an Enterprise, which hath secured the foundations of the State, and the foot of the Crown. And at that last business of Italy, How many disgraceful Discourses, and outrageous Murmur did it produce against the Reputation of that great Minister of State? It seemed that there were persons hired in all places, of purpose to cry down his Actions; His Enemies had found th'occasions they sought for, to discharge their Malice with colour, and vomited their Hatred with liberty: The people that ordinarily wish ill to them that govern them, and suffer themselves always to be led by running Reports, especially when they are bad, remember no more th'evil from which they were delivered, but demand the good which they could not so soon receive, and few persons considered what was done, nor the progress of the King's Arms, nor his Conquests, but what was yet to be done; Even our Allies applied themselves to us for repair of their Losses: And as if they could not be imprudent or unhappy in our Company; It seemed good to them that we should answer for their faults, and for their disgraces; and the worst. Accident of all, was the sickness of the King, so very violent, that it gave no place for hopes to honest men, and in such a conjuncture, that if this Prince had died, the world must have changed its face, and must have taken another Course, than what it ought to follow. In this Confusion of Spirits, and of Affairs, the Constancy of Sr. the Cardinal, lost not itself; His Reason was still awake, the Provisions for the relief of Casal, were not interrupted; and he made it appear that the wise Man is above all passions; and the true grief he suffered for the love of so great a Master, lest him strength and Address enough not to let go the Helm, and to bring us to our Haven in spite of contrary winds.   

The Third Discourse.  
That a Minister of State cannot have an equal Soul, unless he hath made trial of Good and Bad Fortune.  
THe quality whereof we have lately spoken, and that invincible constancy which is necessary for a Counsellor of State, is not a disposition of the soul, which nature hath infused, or that Philosophy hath completed. It hath besides these, need of exercise to form it; And that divine Temper which hath its Roots in ourselves, and hath cause to raise itself betwixt the Discourses of Reason, and Examples of History, aught to take its just growth from the Trials where fortune doth place us, and from the various Countenances it shows unto us. There's nothing in the world she suffers with more impatience, not that she beholds with more malign and more envenomed eyes. In every place where 'tis found she assaults it; in all places she forms parties against it, she will have it by force or by Artifice, and no causes or dissimulations shall be wanting to corrupt it, nor rudeness of violence, that shall not be exercised to overthrow it. So they that can warrant themselves against her designs, and have power enough to resist her Charms, and her outrages; have competent Qualities t'aspire to the Government of State; wherefore Galba protests, in Tacitus, that he called Piso to the succession of th'Empire, because he had been unhappy and constant. And that he whom fortune could not overcome, was worthy to command the people of Rome; and to give Laws to the Conqueror of Nations, and Triumpher over th'Earth 'Tis to know only the Moiety of ones Life, to have tasted only of prosperity; 'Tis not to have sailed far, to have the winds always in Poop, and the Sea propitious; 'Tis to have matter only for a part of the virtues which compose a Minister of State, to have been ever happy; Adversity hath also her Virtues, as night hath her Stars: There are some that are wholly proper for it, and which cannot be practised but in so rude a season, nor appear but in tumults, and in the midst of storms.  
The life of Sr. the Cardinal, aught to be too highly raised, not be exposed to this variety of Accidents, and too eminent to want examples of every Virtue. His Actions have deserved Clap from all hands, and praises from all Mouths; They have given him days of Triumph, they have pierced the most retired parts of the World, and in all places there are but a few Names so great as his, after that of his Master; But he hath had his back blows and contradictions; He hath not been exempted from private Misfortunes, and public Vexations. Fortune and Envy have diversely exercised him; notwithstanding, his Courage failed him not; his Conduct was equal. The Revolution that surrounded him, made no change in him, and whatsoever happened, his soul was neither puffed nor abated; this equality nevertheless is not ordinarily found. And as amongst the brightest Colours, there are but a few that preserve the same lustre, and the same appearance to the light of a Day, and to the light of Torches: Histories have also furnished us but with a few examples of Illustrious persons, who have been equal in Prosperity and Adversity: Spain commends the constancy of the Duke of Alva, and that he was never so great as in his afflictions. But it confesseth also, that prosperity made him overflow; that he was insolent when he was prosperous; and that the Victories he gained were odious to his Masters, though they were profitable unto them.  
On the contrary, let us consider the three Princes of Spain, that have known how to reign for an Age and half, and have dared to introduce immortal Designs, in a form of Government where Sovereign's dye, and which changeth often their Master: Let's consider, I say, Ferdinand, Charles the fifth, Philip the second, and we shall find that all their lives have been nothing but a Composition of good and evil, and a confusion of contrary things. We shall there see Prosperity without Number, Disgraces without Measures; Wounds dressed with Laurels, Triumphs adorned with Mourning, and above all that, constant and firm Courages, and an  Virtue.  
Behold Ferdinand, glorious in the reduction of the Kingdom of Granada, and with the Title of Catholic; Behold him triumphant in the Conquest of Naples, and of the fortune of France. Behold that a fancy gives him Navarre, and that chance finds him an unknown world and new wealth. This neither inflames him, nor effeminates him; He is not the more lazy, nor the less vigilant; He forms: greater designs, and lays the Platform of a Monarch which shall exercise his Nephews a long time, and trouble the rest of other Nations, and the peace of the world. Moreover, let's contemplate thill success of his life, and th'other side of the Medal. We shall see a Prince ill handled by fortune, and a Diadem bruised by her strokes. We shall see a Father bury his own Son, and make Funerals for his eldest Daughter: A Husband that loseth his Wife, who was his Glory; and had been more the Companion of his troubles than of his bed; A Master abandoned by his Servants and Creatures, an old Man forced from his House, and a Father in law stripped his own Son in Law. In this Sea of Disgraces and of Afflictions, we shall also see an admirable serenity of spirit. A Calm that overthrows not itself; or if there was some kind of emotion, it did not pass into a storm, and was not violent not dangerous. 'Tis true, that his Courage had a weakness in it which I cannot conceal, and a fault too visible to be dissembled; which is, not to have been able to suffer the reputation of he great Captain, not the Virtue of his own Subject that was faithful unto him. As to his Nephew Charles, 'tis certain that he was never so tractable as in prosperity, not so inflexible in Adversity. He never yeeled to force; no Prince of his time gave so much, and lost so little; and the Spaniards say that the never broke his word, but t'exercise Clemency, and to pardon his Enemies, whose Ruin he had sworn: During the tempest that arose in the Haven of Algiers against his Fleet, and when the Heavens destroyed it in his sight, no other word every went out of his Mouth, than that wherewith our Saviour Christ hath taught us to pray, That thy will be done. He was humbled, but not overcome by that disgrace, and in that terrible Chaos, where th'Elements were confounded, and Nature in disorder, His Courage stood firm, His Judgement lost not its Light: and he gave order for the embarking of his Troops, which were not perished, with the same liberty of soul as before he had done, when he returned Triumphant from the taking of Th●nis, and from the spoils of Africa. The life of Philip is a Table much mixed, and a representation of divers former, and contrary Adventures; On the one side are seen Countries gained or recovered; the Springs of Gold and Silver discovered; Victory obtained against Christians, and Infidels, and that incomparable Advantage to govern peaceably, from th'escurial, a part of two worlds, and to be feared in the middle of this Cabinet, from one end of th'Earth to th'other. But let's turn our sight a little, and we shall find that this prosperity had frequent and long Eclipses, and that the shadows of the Pictures exceeded the lively Colours. We shall encounter the Death of four wives which he tenderly loved: The fancies of his eldest Son which gave him so much trouble, and forced him to put off the resentmen of a Father, to execute th'office of a King, and function of a Judge: The jealousies which the good success and great virtue of Don John of Austria gave him. The defeat of his Ships by Tempests, and by Enemies; The Rebellion of the Low Countries which have deserted Spain, and made poor the Indies. And amongst all that, and in the midst of that Revolution. and that confusion of Accidents, not to wander, and to preserve his Constancy; It must be acknowledged, that it belongs to such persons by all sorts of Rights, to govern the People, to the Superiors on Earth, and sovereign Arbiters of the destiny of men. Amidst so many good successes and rude experiences, where in the virtue of Philip was not lost, I have made choice of a very remarkable Example; 'Tis of them that enter in prosperity, and be in the favours of fortune, and th'evidences of Love which she giveth. And therefore 'tis the fairer that 'tis so rare, and that 'tis more difficult not to be overcome by pleasure, than to resist force, and to prevent bending than breaking. And as a gentle and temperate heat penetrates our bodies easier than the cold, because they expatiate themselves to receive it, and close to repel the cold. So th'Allurements of prosperity are more active, and enter sooner into the soul, which by desire, and the hope of enjoyment, goes to meet them, than by th'attempts of ill fortune, against which the soul fortifies herself, and defends all ' th' Avenues by which she might assault it. After than that the Christians had gained the battle of Lepantha, and that God had them that memorable Victory, the price whereof was lost by their ill Conduct; He that carried the news to Philip, was so transported above himself, and seized upon by so strange an emotion, that with great difficulty could he make the report of it. On the contrary, Philip stood as cold as if it had nnot concerned him, and so little moved, as if the news had been indifferent unto him. He replied only with a serious Face, and settled Countenance, THAT DON JOHN HAD MUCH HAZARDED. From what cause soever this coldness proceeded, either from a spirit abated by a long Apprehension, lest the battle should be lost, or from a soul prepared for all sorts of chances, and for all the Accidents of life; or else from a Consideration which suffered him not to rejoice at the glory of an Action, whose principles it may be he did not esteem reasonable enough.  
From that cause soever, I say, it proceeded; the view is always fair, and the substance very noble. And I am no more astonished, if the person, who was not transported for a success, which delivered Italy from an approaching Ruin, and all Christendom from a great fear; received since with any apparent. Tranquillity or true Constancy, the news of the Routing of the Fleet, which had cost him so much money, and aught to have tied England to the Chain, and contented himself to say, That he had not sent his Fleet to fight against the Winds.  
The constancy of Ministers of State, hath this advantage over that of Sovereigns, That the Sovereigns are always pitied in their ill success, though it happen by their fault; and that Love or Respect which the people bears them, doth discharge them from th'envy of the Losses which they make by their imprudency. On the contrary, they cast upon the Ministers of State, all th'evil of the State, though they are not guilty. The require from them a continual felicity, though it be not in their power. They will have them security for all the chances, though they ought only to secure their Counsels. They make them instruments of all their afflictions, and of all their sufferings, though ordinarily their sins are the cause. In brief, they handle them in the same manner, and with the same injustice as the first Christians were handled by the Pagans, who took exceptions to them for th'anger of Heaven, and for the wounds of th'Empire, and made them th'author's foe th'Inundations, and of the sterilities, and of the plagues, wherewith the Nation was grieved Truly, Sr. the Cardinal hath always acted in such manner, that what Countenance soever th'affairs have taken, and whatsoever traverses the time hath raised, he was never astonished nor cast down; He abated nothing of his pursuit; He continually respected the Dignity of the Master he served, and the reputation of the Crown which he laboured to sustain. And whatsoever happened unto him, & how strange soever the Tempest was, he resolved, to perish with the Government in his hand, and to be able to say, what Francis the first wrote to his Mother, after the loss of the Journey to Pavia; All is except th'Honour. But this Courage which hath shined so eminently in Disgraces, was not effeminated in proserity, and that magnanimity which he expressed in his ill fortune, when it undertook to exercise him, changed itself into an excellent Moderation, and into a most perfect acknowledgement of that which proceeded from th'hand of God, and from the fortune of a Prince.   

The Fourth Discourse.  
That the Science to discover the merits of Men, and t'employ them, is necessary for a Minister of State.  
ONe of the Noblest Conditions which forms the Minister of State, and the perfection of Administration is the Science to discern other men, and thou'rt too employ them: Truly, as our soul, how heavenly soever it is and all spiritual, hath need of the Body to make its operations: And as God makes uses of second Causes, to govern with them the World, and to renew Nature; so a Minister of State, how excellent soever he may be, hath necessary use of a number of persons, to labour with him, and to help him to carry th'Engine of the State, and burden of Affairs. 'Tis the Pilot that ought to give Motion to all other Officers in the Ship. 'Tis th'head that ought to put in exercise th'arms, and th'other parts of the Body; And as that ancient Captain found no Title so glorious, nor Argument more magnificent to make himself known, than to answer him who demanded of him. If he was a man of complete Arms, or an Archer, or a light Horseman; That he was the person that commanded all those men there. So a principal Minister of State, aught to have a spirit, superior to other Officers of State, and not to be ignorant of the Duties of Generals of Armies, nor of the Duties of Judges, nor of them who manage the Treasury. This Condition is remarkable in Sr. the Cardinal; and 'tis true, if a man have but one good Quality, he knows how to make choice of it in the midst of many defects, and to discern a Grain of Gold in the midst of Gravel and Dung. The Earth is not more various in its proprieties, nor the Heaven in its influences, than men are in their Tempers and Inclinations. And 'tis an extraordinary thing to find a soul capable of all sorts of good, or a Temper proper for all the functions of the soul; Let's place here some few of its Differences, and of its Proprieties, for the clearing of our subject. They in whom Imagination is predominant, and who have subtle & hot spirits, are very proper for th' Intrigue. They are Rich in expedients, and have present Apprehensions which warrant them from surprises, which suffer them not to be confounded, and which resist the first impression of Accidents which have not been foreseeen; and the newness of Occurrences. They speak ordinarily with grace, and express themselves with facility. Their Action hath somewhat, I know not what, that pleaseth, and a certain Harmony which charms the senses, and glides even Reason, and to th'Affections of the soul; They are bold to undertake, and for that Difficulties appear less to them then they are, or beneath their strength; They cast themselves blindly upon them; they precipitate in stead of walking; And if they meet with a Ditch in the way, it stops them not; either they fall in, or leap over it. They are pleased with Noise, and love Disturbance; they appear strong in troubled times, and the Consusion of Affaires is their element, and the matter which is proper for them. They do sometimes great things; and 'tis not possible that undertaking much, all should succeed ill. That they encounter only, if they fail in their choice, Hazard, where th'Election is of no use to them, and that being so seldom wise, they are never happy; They are nevertheless of great service, and of incredible prosit, when they fall under the Direction of a wise man, who tempers th'heat by his judgement, and moderates their impetuosity by his Prudence. And as Philosophy observes, That Choler serves for a spur to Virtue, and puts life to it: 'Tis also true, that when these active humours are accompanied with a good Sense, and perfect Reason, nothing seems difficult or impossible to them; But also when they are Masters of their Actions, and Arbiters of Affairs; their Conduct is much to be feared: It is more dangerous than profitable; They cannot commit easy faults, having always great designs in their heads, and they seldom fail of making them, having not circumspection enough, or foresight to avoid them. They that are of a cold temper, and in whom reason abounds, are more fit to govern. And though their Actions are not so glaring and tumultuous as th''others are, yet they are more lively and more efficacious; The common people, who have no understanding but for th'objects of sense, and comprehends but what it sees, and what it toucheth, admires these less than the former persons. They are nevertheless of a higher price in the judgement of wise men; and have the same Advantage of them, th'Architects have of Masons; that Pilots have of Mariners; and that they who draw the designs of Pictures, have of them who know only how to mingle their Colours, and to habit the Figures? They seldom contribute to the fall of States by Imprudency; in so much that the first Law they observe, is, to commit no faults. As the first Inclination which Nature gives us, is to shun th'evil, and what is contrary to us. They seldom shipwreck, because they know the nature of the Seas, and of the Winds; That they know how to foresee the Tempests, and that they put out in time, and gain timely the Haven; They are fit for War and Peace; they are good to gain, and to preserve: their Virtue is ever present, and there's neither condition of time, nor exception of affairs that hinders them to act, or renders them unprofitable. There are others in whom Imagination may find heat enough to act, if there were dryness enough, and if it were not drowned in the Phlegm, and in an abundance of moisture which dulls and cools it. And nevertheless they have not the vivacity of the first, nor the prudence of the second. I speak of that high and divine Virtue which resides in the understanding, and in that supreme Region of the soul, which is the Guide and Torch of other Virtues, and which chooseth the means of things that are feisable; for as to the rest, they have but an imperfect and diminutive virtue, which is as the Shadow, and a light impression of the true; if Aristotle must be believed: Their principal study is to hid their defects, to daub the breaches which they cannot make up; to paint the face, and to deceive the world with appearances of Good, and by postern Virtues. But in so much that'tis hard to appear a long time what a man is not, and that a lame person counterfeits to little purpose, when he cannot walk far, but he will be observed; so thou'rt of these men is easily discovered, and a little Conversation undresseth that borrowed person, and that Stage-Player; when they are in Employments, they are secret t'excesse. They keep silence not by discretion, but by fear; and in so much that they cannot distinguish betwixt the things they ought to conceal, and such as ought to be published; They suppress all, and so betray sometimes innocently th'honours of their Master, and the Reputation of his Affairs. they bring some design and subtlety to all they do, which is that petty and imperfect Prudence, whereof, as I have said, Aristotle makes mention. But had he been of our time, he had also knowm that as the Alchemists being unable to make perfect the Metals that are not, change them that are, and thereof make false Money: so also it happens that these subtle persons being not able to conduct their little Artifices, and the disposition they have to subtlety, even to the true Prudence; change it into Juggling, and make an Art of it, which is the slime of humane society, and the poison of Commerce. They have nevertheless commonly somewhat of good, and were not made by chance; Heaven hath cast some favourable aspect upon them, and they are capable to serve, if they are employed according to their Forces. If they are not good to deliberate and to resolve, they are good for th'execution of such Orders as are prescribed them; They want not confidence to act, nor compleasancy t'insinuate into the spirits of them, with whom they treat. They are exact to perform their charge, they eat not labour; and though the softness of their Complexion withdraws them from it; their duty nevertheless whereof they usually have care, and the vanity whereof they are ever sick, press them to it, and maintain them in it: That is also the cause that they are not very wicked; That they are not capable of great Vices, no more then of great Virtues. And, if th'Example doth not Corrupt them, or some violent occasion transport them. That they will never be guilty of those black Actions which slain th'Honour, and destroy the Conscience.  
There's a fourth kind of Men, who have the soul heavier than all th''others, and in whose Composition Nature hath laid up more of Earth. These men are capable of great pains and long patience; they never yield to labour; they never work but to work; they know not what belongs to honest leisure. And that rest which is th'end of th'active Life, and which the Philosophers seek for to be happy, is their torment and misery. They are unapt for Negotiation: But in so much that in the midst of that Mass whereof they are compounded, they have some beam of good sense; and although their Understanding makes no flame, it hath nevertheless some sort of clearness; they are not to be despised; they are not improper for the Oeconomy: They may serve in an Army to press on labour; to make provisions for Victuals, and for the like services, wherein the Body hath a greater share than th'Understanding, but that they have need of both.   

The Fifth Discourse.  
Of a fifth Temper, which comprehends the perfections of all th''others.  
TO conclude, There's a fifth Order of Constitutions, which a few persons enter into, and which the world sees seldomer than Miracles: For this, Nature opens all her Treasures, becomes prodigal of her graces, draws forth her Art, and goes to the very bottom of her power; And as the ordinary Constitutions are form of the substance of the Elements, and of the hidden virtues of Heaven, which are mingled with Harmony and Symmetry: It seems that these are composed of what others have of most rare and pure; that they are Extracts and Elixirs; and that the bodies which are so furnished, are not Prisons for the soul, but very commodious Palaces; nor rebellious slaves, but tractable Servants, or obedient Subjects. In effect, As th'Heavens have general Qualities, and which agree, and enter into society with all the qualities of th'Elements, and of the Bodies which they produced; In like manner those divine Constitutions whereof we speak, are proper to all the faculties of the soul, and for all the operations of those faculties; There's nothing in them of malignant, nor any thing that hinders; Th'abundance of the memory makes not the judgement poor: th'Action of th'understanding doth not lessen the benefits of the Memory, and dissolves not its Representations; Memory and Judgement take not from the Understanding its edge, its vivacity, nor its presence; All works there with facility; and that which causeth disturbance and trouble in other bodies, produceth here a miraculous Harmony and perfect Intelligence. Th'understanding, as it hath been said, is so much Master of the body, that it obeys it without resistance. 'Tis supple to all its desires, takes pains as if it were strong, though it be sometimes sick and weak; and as if it were born up by th''others strength, or raised by its Agility; It holds the body to all sorts of toil, and is not over come by the greatness of the labour or continuance of it.  
The sensitive Appetite is there very quiet; no Motion almost doth there arise, which is not voluntary either in its birth or duration. The Desire of glory is the sole passion which makes its self violently to be felt; and which is so imperious, if it be not suppressed, that it confounds or makes all th''others subject unto it, when it is without bridle; 'tis not content to reign over the lower part of the Soul, it will domineer in th'highest: She will command Reason; she declares that it belongs to her to violate Justice with praise; She stirs up Usurpators and Robbers of Provinces and Kingdoms; whom she causeth to be called Conquerors: she commands the Title of Great to be given Alexander, for having unjustly possessed himselse of part of the world, and he had a will to have invaded th'other part of it; She causeth, that even to Christians, th'emperors Honour themselves in their qualities, with the Name of a person that hath raised th'Empire, to which they succeed upon the Ruins of their Country. In brief, it causeth that one is called the flail of God to colour his Invasions, and another the Corrector of Princes, and of the Nations of th'Earth. But when the desire of glory is submitted to Reason; when the Soul loves it without being transported; when she takes it not for the end of Virtue, but for the pursuit of it, and proposeth to itself a second Glory, which is more certain than what Fortune doth distribute, and than th'opinion which Men give; There's not a passion in the world so fair, nor more profitable: She takes away the tastes of all others that are base or effeminate: She acquires Imitators of Virtue, and by the present or near approaching Recompense which she offers her, renders her more fertile, and more efficacious.  
To conclude, The Constitution whereof we speak, sends marks of its Nobility, even to th'outside, and to th'exterior, of Men; It imprints there certain Characters, which make him to be reverenced of them, that see him. It covers his face with Majesty; it puts into his eyes a fire, which is more bright than that of ordinary eyes; and gives him, in a word, some beam of that Beauty whereof Jesus Christ himself hath not refused the praise; and which, by the means of the senses, makes a sudden impression upon the will, and gains, before Discourse be entertained, and reason persuaded.  
I will not speak here of the Constitution of Sr. the Cardinal, nor of a Good which he hath not done to himself, but received it from th'Indulgence of Heaven, and from the Cares of Nature. There are truths which would not always be published; And this season would hardly permit them in his favour, the knowledge whereof depends upon so profound and delicate speculation, since she is ingenuous enough to Contest with him th'Experience of senses, or to change the face of things which we have touched or seen. I suppress then my Judgement in this subject, to accommodate myself to the time, and to th'Inclination which reigneth. I will only say in General, that as there are Diseases, which are to be discovered by th'encounter of several Symptoms; and as, for the discovery of Gold which is in th'Earth, there are many signs which ought to appear above ground, & in the Superficies; so you must conclude this high & divine Composition, whereof I speak, by a multitude of great Actions of divers Kind's, & of different Condition, which the same subject hath produced. Let reflection now be made, if there be a mind for it, upon the life of Sr. the Cardinal. Let past Governments be compared with his; let it be examined, what the King hath acted since he had him for his Instrument; Let the Greatness, the Variety, and the number of things which have been done, be considered: Let the shortness of the time be observed, which shuts up all these wonders, and which amazeth th'Imagination of them who have seen them, and will weaken for the future the faith of History; And after that, let every person judge of the Matter proposed, according to his sense or passion; and let him make himself voluntarily blind; If he be afraid to behold a Light that offends him, and a Truth that anger's him. I will not forbear t'observe, that although Sr. the Cardinal in acting, gives somewhat t'Honour; That he is very sensible of the Glory of fair Actions, and is not exempt from a sense which all generous souls partake of; That, nevertheless, hath never changed his Duty, never did wrong to his Conscience, and to the Counsels which he hath proposed. He hath not only considered the Justice of things, but many times proceeded to Charity, which is so seldom called to the Councils of Princes, and which makes with Conveniency, the two extremes betwixt which, Reason of State is shut up. This hath been seen particularly in the Conduct which the King observed towards th' Emperor, and the Spaniards, before he began the War of Italy and had renewed it: but I will speak thereof in another place.  
I return to the first subject of the precedent Discourse, and to make it appear, that Sr. the Cardinal in a sovereign degree hath the spirit of Discerning, whereof I have above spoken; I will fix upon some Elections which have been made since he was in the Government.  
No person is ignorant of th'Eminency, and of the weight of the Charge of the Keeper of the Seals. 'Tis one of the noblest parts of the Body of the State: 'Tis the general form of the Justice of the Kingdom; 'tis an universal Cause whose Influence is not Circumscribed, which penetrates within and without; which makes its power known near and far, and operates in all places where we have Communication or power. And 'tis of Importance that they who possess it, deserve it; and that they who exercise it, fill it up. And 'tis true, that for that Dignity, the King's choice could not fix upon a person worthier than that of Sr. of Chasteauneuf; I speak not of the splendour of the Family from which he is come, nor of the faculty it hath had to this day, to give Illustrious persons to the state; They are Accidents which are not Proprietics, and Conditions which may fail in Families. And though the seeds of good, grow ordinarily with good blood, 'Tis not to be said that they ought always to fructify: And though the Spring be very pure, it follows not but the Stream may be poisoned, or become troubled, and taste of th'ill Qualities of the places it hath passed. These Advantages then of birth, and privileges of fortune, are but incitements to do well by th'Examples of their Predecessors: To render the good the fairer, which they encounter, and to make the Counterpoise in a promotion betwixt two equal Virtues. But for Sr. of Chasteauneuf, he hath no need of the Lights of his Ancestors to make himself seen. He is sufficiently observable in himself; besides the knowledge he hath gained. He hath highly that which Nature gives, which is the good sense; He hath watched in Employments and Negotiations. He knows our affairs, and the affairs of Strangers: He is neither weak nor interessed: His virtue is without Artifice, and th'evil which represents itself publicly, or that cometh more dangerously under the vizard of good, and with its Liveries, is not capable to deceive or corrupt him: wherefore he hath received nothing but what was due to his Services, or to his Merit, and therein the choice of the King hath but followed the public desires, and the Predictions have been made even from a former Reign. And when it was in Question to relieve th'Island of the, and to uphold France ready to fall into precipice, there was need of a man that despised Death, and dared to cast himself on a manifest danger; who had enough of affection to be willing to perish for his Master, and prudence enough to manage the least Beam of safety that should appear, and the highest Appearance for good to be seen in a deplorable Occasion. But whom could Sr. the Cardinal propose, or the King choose, that was more capable for that purpose, than Sr. of Chombert? so th'Event did not deceive th'opinon had of the Virtue of so great a person, Th'End of that enterprise exceeded all that could have been desired of good success; Our friends were delivered, and the Rout of our Enemies completed the Victory, which we sought not but in their retract. After the first passage of Suza, could Montferrat be trusted, in surer or more esteemed hands, than those of Sr. of Thorax? And again, as fortune had pre-prepared him that Occasion, and reserved him for the defence of Casal, and to confirm th'Honour he hath gained in the; It seems also, that by a certain fatality, Sr. of Chombert had been destined to go to relieve him the second time, and to complete the Glory of that Siege by the safety of that place. In those last Emotions of Italy, did not the King appear admirable, in the choice of the men which he employed there? And though Policy permits not many Chiefs of equal Authority in an Army, He understood nevertheless so well to discern the just proportion of their humours, and the necessary Temper to conserve Concord amongst them, that he joined and changed them to so good purpose, that, it may be, his service was advanced by that plurality, and his Armies were the more happy.  
And when the passage was to be opened for our Troops, for the Relief of Casal, and the resistance of Armies to be forced which opposed it; To whom could that design be more rationally committed, 
Monsieur Mount Moraney.  than to them who have executed it? What might not be expected from that Lord, who came into the world, lighted with the virtue of his Ancestors, and Crowned with their Glory? who laboured so much to improve that immortal Inheritance; who is not so absolute in th'Armies he commands by his Authority, as by th'Affections of the Men of War; That Love makes more men follow him in perilous occasions than Duty; who shows to others the way of doing well, and whose example would inspire the strongest passions into the most fearful souls. Veillane and Carignan shall be for ever famous by th'effects of their Valour, and by that of th'other Marshal, 
Monsieur Feat.  who accompanied them with his Courage and Prudence; and made himself to be no less considerable in War than in Peace, nor in the Field than in the Cabinet; Above all, 'tis a thing worthy of Consideration, and a particular mark of the King's judgement, and of the wisdom of his Council, in leaving the Marshal of Force constantly in Italy, and in making that Army as the foundation of our Armies in that Country, and him the Director of the War.  
Age which ruins th'Active Qualities of so many other persons, offended not his; old Age, which chills the blood, did not diminish his Valour. 'Tis a habit, which had not in him its Original from th'heats of the Body, but in the lights of Reason; and he was as bold when there was cause, as he was ever wise. His long and ancient experience, and the good sense wherein he naturally abounded, permitted him not to commit any fault; He knew the Spaniards too well to fall into their snares, and into a surprise by their Deceits, and with the Companions which the King gave him. There was nothing to be feared, and all good success was to be hoped from his Conduct.  
It must not be forgot, that Sr. the Cardinal, considers not only Merit in the choice of them whom he proposeth, but would also have good Birth, if it be possible; That things may be acted with Glory, and that the reputation of affairs might improve by the Dignity of the Persons who manage them. He is very far from th'humour of a certain King, who made his Physicism his principal Counsellor: And from the humour of another, who made his Chirurgeon enter into the Council of State, and permitted the same hands to handle the Seals, which had newly quitted the Razor and Launcet; wherefore the Nobility is more employed in Negotiations then heretofore it was. They who lead Armies, or help to make War are called to manage Treaties of Peace, and the suspensions of Arms; And 'tis true, that ordinarily th'affairs do prosper well in their hands, because they are usually bolder in Action, and have the sense, less sophisticated, than persons of the long Robe.   

The Sixth Discourse.  
That a Minister of State ought not to form his Conduct by the Example of strangers; and that be aught to treat with them after a Different Manner.  
THere's nothing so universal in the world, as Diversity, and it seems that God hath affected it, to show his power by it, and to render Nature fair. The number of Angels, as 'tis said, surpasseth the number of other Creatures. But if the Schools would have believed St. Thomas, the diversity of kinds which is amongst them, had equalled the number of particulars, and there had not been in those high and divine Hierarchies two Natures alike; However insomuch that they conceived that the Dignity of the living Creatures increased by the multitude of th'Individuals, which composed them; and that Philosophy hath sent back the Phoenix to the fables of the Poets, who have sung of him as being alone, The greatest part of the Schools have departed in that sense from the judgement of that Doctor, whose opinions are so often adored by them. Let's go on: The Varieties of bodies which issue from th'Elements were incredible, if Nature had not submitted them to our sense; and if Art did not discover unto us an infinity of Words, which are made of a few Letters; and an infinity of Figures, which are drawn out of a small quantity of Colours; And an infinity of Colours, which are taken out of a small quantity of Drugs. This is not all; The divesity which Nature could not place in Essences, she hath put to the forms which accompany them; what she could not do to the principal, she hath done to the Incidents and Accessaries; and the conformity which is in the faces of men, for to distinguish them from Beasts, is changed by many Marks of dissemblance, for to distinguish them from one another. This Second Diversity proceeds from the first mixture of th'Elements, which enters into the Composition of the Bodies, from the virtue of Heaven, and of the Stars which are therein predominant, and from the quality of the Climate, and of the place which have a great share in the Composition, and in the Constitution of all things that are born.  
That if the Compositions of bodies of the same kind, are so divers for the Causes above mentioned; How much greater ought the Difference to be, which is found in the manners of men, where th'Inclinations of the Body do interveyn, the motions of Reason. Examples from without, and strange suggestions; but above all th'Inclinations of the Body prevail, and the strength of the Constitution: Reason is very seldom heard, Men live almost wholly by passion, and as if the whole Man were but a lump, the greatest part of them act, but according to that party, and choose rather to submit unto it, to be at rest, if they can, then to have War in resisting it; and incline rather to peace by servitude than by Victory. Insomuch that a Minister of State ought ot take great care not to act by Imitation; not to frame his Conduct by th'Example of strangers, not to follow remote Idaea's, and not to suffer himself to be cozened by what is practised in the Government of another State, which he may see powerful and happy, that if the Physicians of Italy and Germany, handle in a different manner the Diseases of those Countries; If the Moral have not an exact and indivisible Medium for the virtue it teacheth. If the Church for fastings and abstinencies, be less Indulgent in relation to the people of the East, than of the North; And if all proceeds from the inequality of Complexions, which ariseth in part from the difference of Climates, and places. Why should not the same Considerations be received in the Conducts of States; where not only the Constitutions of men are unlike, and their manners contrary; but their foundations are different, and their policy divers; And where the Contest brought to maintain them is the more ardent, because 'tis raised under the pretence of general good, and is upheld by the multitude of them who are interressed, and from public force.  
Let's come t'Examples; The severity which the Spaniards affect, and which is conformable to their Constitution, is necessary for Spain; and those Melancholic and glorious Spirits, are more stirred up then the spirits of others, by the shame of punishments, and by the hope of rewards. Their Inquisition which appears so dreadful, and which is so formidable to all other Nations; it one of the principal causes of the peace which they enjoy, and of that high tranquillity wherein they repose themselves. Error dares not openly appear there: There's no contagion for their spirits; and if there be any remainder of Mahometism, after the forcing away of so many thousands of Moors, it lies concealed in their hearts, or passeth not out of Caves and Darkness. They serve not only against Infidelity, and for security of Consciences. Many Crimes purely civil, which cannot be punished according to ordinary forms, are sent thither, and sometimes innocent persons are there exposed; who are to be made Examples for th'Interest of the State, and to save th'honour of the Prince. The disgrace of Antonio Peres is a famous Evidence. That person who had no greater Crime than to be esteemed by his Masted, 
The Sacretary of Don John of Austria, was killed in the Inquistion by Philip's Order.  and to have th'assurance of it, after he had been di●… years variously vexed, was at last condemned to th'Inquisition; and if the people of Saragoca had not taken him away by force, he had made experiment of the danger of keeping a great Persons secrets, and of being th'Instrument of an Action he would not have known.  
But when they undertook to settle in other places that severe Inquisition, 'twas then that the spirits of the people Mutined; That Tempests have been seen t'arise; and that they have run to violent Remedies to hinder them. Heresy entered into Flanders under Charles the fifth, and Religion began to be altered there, by the Trade with England and Germany, Granivelle, who commanded there, repaired to the Inquisition, to smother an evil that seemed weak, because it was new, and began only to show itself, and to bud. But he spoilt all with that Remedy: and whether he was forced by a good zeal, as is probable; or with a desire to cease on the Goods of the discovered persons as he was accused; He caused so many to die, and provoked so many other persons, that th'emperor was constrained to suppress that pursuit. The seeds nevertheless of the Disease died not, though they were laid asleep,: The'Ulcer was concealed, but not healed, and a part of the people passed since from Heresy to Revolt, which they have changed with the time into a lawful Dominion. The Spaniards believed also, that the Inquisition after their manner, would secure the Conquest of Naples; That it should serve as a Bridle for that untamed Horse; That it would hold that changeable and unstable people under the yoke, and abate the highest heads of that Kingdom, who loved naturally disorders; but they were deceived. And so soon, as Don Pedro of Toledo attempted it, Naples rebelled, and the people took Arms as for their common Liberty: and if th'emperor had not taken away that Design; and if the Pope should have consented to the proposals of Cardinal carafe, they had hazarded the loss of that State, and what they had in Italy.  
So soon as Philip the second war returned from Flanders into Spain, he sent divers Heretics to be punished: He pardoned neither Sex or Quality; He caused the Effigies of Constantine Pontius, the last Confessor of his Father to be burnt: He Commanded Bartholme, Archbishop of Toledo, to be arrested; This Proceeding astonished all the world; And if that Prince did not spare the memory of him, who held in his Arms the dying Emperor, and received his last Breath; nor the chief Prelate of the Spanish Dominions, and who was heard with Admiration in the Council of Trent; And if he protested daily, that he would bring Wood to burn his Children, if they were Heretics: What grace could be expected from him by nocent persons? There's no question, but that severity hath preserved that Country from Heresy, and made impressions on the people, whose nature is circumspect, and seeks safety in all their undertake.  
And as to th'Example of the Prince, and that by his Advice, endeavours have been used t'exercise the same proceed in France. The same success hath not been encountered; whether that the Remedy was unseasonable, or that our humour mour is uncapable to submit to force: It seems that the door t'Errour was opened upon that occasion; Many to whom new things were odious, were lost by the Curiosity to know what the Doctrine was for which so many persons did run with vehemency, to death, and suffered with joy. That vain Image of constancy amazed weak spirits, and them that knew not, That the Justice of the Cause, and not the Rigour of Torments made Martyrs, imagined that they could not cheerfully perish, but for the Cause of Jesus Christ. Severity then is not good, but for the speculative and fierce humours, as the Spaniards are, who consider always the furture and the consequence of things. To whom gentleness appears Cowardice, who neglect them that flatter them, and make themselves to be feared of them who make discovery of fear. It acts also powerfully upon the fearful and Coward people; as they of th'East, where th'heat of the Air dissipates that of the Body, and dries up excessively the spirits which are th'Instruments of Boldness and Courage; so Monarchies have taken their beginnings in those Countries, the people being easily reduced under the power of a single person; and Ottoman had no labour to make slaves of them whom he subdued, nor to banish liberty from his Dominions, as the greatest of all Crimes.  
On the contrary, Gentleness is proper for the governing of the Germans, and other people of the North. They are enemies to all force; There's not a Chain which weighs not with them, thoughit be necessary and just. And th'Abundance of heat and blood inspires them with undaunted spirits, which makes them resist all sorts of Domination, if it be not in their hands. Wherefore they would have all persons governed by Common wealths, or at least have no Kings which should not be Elective and subordinate to their Authority. And for that reason also, 'tis very easy to make them revolt against the Church, because it was their Mother; and to make them hate the Pope, because he was their Superior. Insomuch, that I do not think that the death of seven and twenty Lords, whose heads were cut off after the battle of Prague, and that bloody spactacle which they boasted of to Germany, procured so much terror, as it raised hatred against th'house of Austria, and the Spanish Government. And I do not believe that the manner of nourishing the War which Wallastein introduced into that Country; The rigour of the Contributions there raised; Th'oppression of the Towns taken, or of them that obeyed; have so much assuted the Victories of th' Emperor, as they have disposed that people to Insurrections. And if the prosperities of the King of Sweden continue, that they may cause a strange revolution, and destroy those violent Conquests which have neither foot nor root. At the end of th'Account, I do not see that th' Emperor hath made other Advantage of those great emotions which lasted so many years, than in avoiding the Ruin that threatened him; nor that he became the richer for making such an infinite sort of persons poor, nor that he did other thing, then impose a necessity to keep always on foot a dreadful Army to make them afraid, or to see his greatness decline, or to give over th'Ambition of rendering himself Master of Germany, and of reducing the people to a total deficiency, from whom he could not take any away, the will to rebel. As to the zeal which he hath expressed to holy things, and as to th'exercise of that Religion which he reestablished in all places; 'Tis a work whereof th'appearance is very plausible and Christian. Yet insomuch that all-that is but without, and that souls give place to Arms, and obey not the truth; 'Tis to be feared that such a Reformation will fall in the change of th' Emperor's fortune; and that Heresy may more dangeously overflow than it idd, if it ever recover impunity, and its first Licence.  
To further confirm what I have said, I will make use of th'evidence of the Spaniards, who confess that the Duke of Alva was too blame, t'employ gentleness to gain the Portugals who were only to be overcome; And that is was to make them worse to flatter them in subduing of them. On the contrary, that severity lost the Flemings, and that the floods of Blood which he there made to run out, the more provoked the rebellion, and gave pretence to disobedience, to show itself, which had been till then modest, & irresolute. Gentleness then in general, is proper for the Conduct of the Northern people, and severity for the Spaniards, and them of th'East, for the aforesaid Reasons. They that are under a temperate Climate, as the French, and whose Complexions are tempered by the clemency of th'Heavens, and the situation of Country, have also need of a moderate Conduct, and of such a temper of Justice as takes impunity from vice, and renders it not always to the Culpable, desperate.  
Upon what hath been said, 'tis easy to judge, that it is not always safe to act by Imitation; That th'Example of what is practised in a Nation, is an ill principle for the Government of an other Nation; That universal proposals are dangerous in the public. And t'establish general Rules to be observed of all People, and upon all occasions, is to fit the Robe of Fables to all the States of the Moon. 'Tis to give the same form to two contrary natures; 'Tis to range under and equal measure two different Quantities. And that a Minister of State may the better comprehend this truth, which is very Important; Let him know, that except some most general propositions, which are in the practice of affairs, as th'ultimate principles of the Metaphysics in the Sciences, There ' none that is not disputed and contradicted; which hath not reasons and examples to favour it, and which are contrary to it, as I have elsewhere showed; and therefore ought either always to be followed, or always to be rejected; Let's see it by Experience, and discourse in passing by of th'use of severity and gentleness, since we are upon that subject.  
they who advise that a Prince should rather make himself to be feared, then loved; and that Rigour supports a Sceptre much better than Easiness of Manners, and Indulgency; may at once say, That though it may be true, that sovereign Authority is equally preserved betwixt the fear and love of the people; That nevertheless the means which gives birth to the first of these two passions, are more certain than those that engender the second: That their operation is more infallible, and that good Deeds act not so certainly upon the spirits of men as punishments; That 'tis always in the power of them who have Forces in their hands, to make themselves to be feared. But that it is not in the power of them that are good to make themselves; to be beloved. That men love, voluntarily and by Election; but fear for the most part of necessity, and in spite of Reason, and against the resistance of all discourse. That for all times, The Corruption of Mankind hath been such, that it had had more need of Justice for to subsist, then of the goodness of its Superiors; That, the State of innocency is very rare in the world; but that of Repentance is common, and in continual use; & that the Governors have been always more exercise to heal Diseases, than to preserve health, and the good condition of States. That in a word, The Nature of the people, is to fear much, and to love little; but nevertheless that they love not the Reigns under which they live: That they are never content with they present Condition: That they are sensible only of the memory of things past, and hopes of the future; And that ordinarily the dead Princes are their delights; And though sometimes they may have Love for their Masters, and that their Inclination therein accompanies their Duty; There's no passion that changeth so easily in their understanding as this; And whether the Manners of Prince's change and degenerate, or that they are disguised and falsifyed to th'eyes of their subjects. There's nothing so easy as to pass them from Love to Disdain, and from Disdain to Hatred, and to Revolt. The Life of Henry the third, is an illustrious example of this Truth; and th' Inconveniences wherein he fell after he had attained the Crown, make it appear what foundation is to be laid upon the will of the people, and upon th' inclinations of that beast which stirs, and his thr●st; and which, after it had adored the Duke of Anjou, persecuted the King of France, and dared to make War with him.  
On th' other side, it may be said, that no Emperor is furer, nor power better established, than that which is founded upon Love; And 'tis certain, that things are conserved by the same causes, and with the same means which give them birth; there's also no doubt but that the sovereign Authority is the firmer, when it is supported by the good will of the people, from whence it took its Original; In the second place, no violent thing is durable, its proper force consumes it, or some other that resists it, and which is greater: And 'tis true, that every sort of Chain, save that of Love weighs upon the spirit of man, and that every sort of yoke, if it be not voluntary, opresseth it; To conclude, to reign only by severity, is to renounce the peace of the spirit; 'tis to charge upon himself the passion given to another; 'tis t' expose himself to an eternal necessity of distrusting all persons, and to make them Enemies whom he would not suffer to love him, for fear of not being sufficiently feared; 'Tis to fall into the the same mischiefs which traverse jealous husbands, and in over-straining his subjects to be faithful, to give them a will to rebel, and to quit their obedience, which would not be trusted to their virtue and to their inclination.  
To the first, Answer may be given, that severity alone conserveses very ill the power of a sovereign; and that t'employ violence against th'evils of a State, 'tis to use nothing but passion and fire against all the Maladies of the body, and every sort of Ulcers. That if great persons sometimes have affected an austere and hard humour, and seem thereby to maintain themselves in Authority; That effect nevertheless proceeds from another cause: And, insomuch that that terrible conduct hath not been alone, and was found in the Company of many great virtues that have tempered it, It hath not done th'evil it was accusstomed to do. This was observed in the life of Torquabes, of Mariust of Sylla, of Corbulon, and of many others of the Ancients: And of the Modern, in the Life of the duke of Alva, of the Marquis of the Holy Cross, who left such cruel Marks of his Humours to the Terceres, of the County of Fuentes and Wailstaine of this time who was so absolute in th'Armies, he commanded, that the name of the Emperor was but th' Image of the Sovereign power, He exercised; If these great persons, I say, had known only how to command the setting up of Gallows, and to send men to death, they had not been followed by their Soldiers, in the occasions of glory; and they had been unknown to us, but a examples of Misfortune, whereinto severity doth precipitate.  
It may be also aswered to the second, that Indulgency is a Means, as little safe as facile, to give power to reign, or to compel obedience; that if the first men of the past and modern ages, seem to have neglected severe ways, and th' Examples of Rigour, the better to subsist in the spirits of their subjects, or of their soldiers, 'Tis that in effect, they had extraordinary Qualities, and I know not what of admirable in their persons, which appeared in their face and countenance, and inspited respect with love into the souls of them who came near them; such were Alexander, Scipio, Caesar, Germanicus; such, Gaston of Foix, Don John of Austria, Ferrant Gonsalve, and the two last Dukes of Gaise, whose single presence-bewitched the world, forced the wills of men in spite of Reason, and constrained their Enemies to change their passion or to suspend it at the sight of them.  
From this discourse I draw two Instructions, which may be applied to th' other matters of Policy. The first is, That for th' use of gentleness and severity, and general Rule cannot be Resolution must be taken upon th'Occasion; Consultation had with the nature of Affairs; with the condition of the times; with the Quality of the persons; and leave the disposition of th' event to fortune, and t' other causes which are without us. The second, That although the difference brought of th'inclinations of divers people, requires or the most part a very different application of the Means, which are to be used for governing of them; so 'tis that as in the Oeconomy of th' humane body, and dispensation of th' humours which compose it, there's of course one that predominates, and which serves for a law to Physic, and for a that 'tis necessary sometimes to keep under that commanding Humour, and that predominant Quality, To raise others, alter their order, and change the course of certain Occurences, and according to the nature of the diseases which happen or threaten. 'Tis the very same with th' Humours of the People and Complexions of States. There's a certain Conduct which is as natural to them; but, it ought not to be inviolable. A Minister of State ought not to be a slave. He may quit it, provided that he doth not abandon it, and may resume it; and a Minister of State is sometimes constrained to go out of th' high way, t'avoid an ill passage or an Ambush. There are people who are to be retained with Rigour, and whose obedience is not ascertained, but under a severe Empire. But that ought not to be eternal; 'Tis good sometimes to gain them and not always to subdue them; To bend them, and not always to break them; and occasions do happen wherein 'tis of necessity to flatter them, and to stroke them for fear of affrighting them; lest they take the Bridle in their teeth, and Carry him away, that aught to Led them.   

The Seaventh Discourse.  
That a Minister of State ought to treat in a different Manner with strangers, as they are powerful and free.  
A Minister of State ought not only to conform his conduct to th' Inclination of the people which he governs, or with whom he treats; But he ought also to adjuste it to their power and to their weakness; He ought t' Imitate that wise Physician; who considers as much the strength of the sick person, as the virtue of the Remedy; and seeks the proportion of that which acts, with that which suffers. There are States, whose Greatness is in themselves: which subsist upon their own weight: which can passe-by all others: which have very little to fear from without, and can hardly fall but but their own weightiness, nor perish but by the Corruption within, and by the vices of the noble parts. Such was th' Ancient Republic of Rome, after that so many Nations had submitted unto it, and that there remained nothing in the world wherewith to fill up th' Ambition of one of its Citizens, nor sufficient to make him Great enough without the Ruin of his Country. Such is also at this day the Empire of th' Ottomans, whose body is so dilated and power so , that it seems, that nothing ought to affright the Head but the Members, nor dissolve the Mass, but it's own Parts; There are others, whose Extent truly is not small, nor forces incosiderable; But which have nevertheless need of foreign Aid●… for to support them; To fortify themselves with Alliances; To form Leagues; To make use of diversions. In short, to repair with Industry what of force is wanting in them, either for resistance or enterprise. There are Princes who subsist only by the Conveniences of their Country, and by the benignity of its situation: Two great powers betwixt which, It is shut up, and to whom It serves for Barriere, are in perpetual jealousy, that th' one or th' other will make its Accommodation of it, & there's nothing that they would not do to hinder them from the change of Master, and from submitting to a Domination by them suspected; This passion of State hath been th' original of great wars, which have been seen in Piedmont since hundred years, and of so much Spanish and French blood as hath been shed in that Province. There are others, who have quit themselves under a voluntary dependency upon a greater power, or by reason of some good turn received, or to be delivered of the Expense from disturbance and from fear, which the Neighbourhood of a greater brings, when he is no friend, which is seldom but to their Advantage, so, he is in some sort the Master of the petty States, which he protects; without Citadelle and Garrison he Commands them; and he receives when he hath need, considerable supplies of Money and Men.  
There are others who are under a forced Dependency, and are become Captives without thinking of it, who have given the matter of their Chain; and furnished the Stuff, whereof the yoke was made that oppresseth them: Covetousness hath precipitated the Genoveses into this unhappiness; That villainous passion hath forged their servitude: The Money which they have put into the hands of the Spaniards hath betrayed them, and by an Inverted order, the Creditors put themselves to the Mercy of their Debtors: They cannot now unsay it; they have given them pawns and cannot recover them, and which they will not suffer them to lose; A single free thought cannot enter their spirits; They dare not accept th'aid of them who would redeem them for their Captivity; and being slaves to their Money, they must or necessity be to the Men who keep it for them. On the other side, 'tis a pleasant way of gaining a State that which the Spaniards have practised towards the Genoveses; It was never doned so good cheap, in other places; All others have cost them something; if the Great Duke be obliged to the defence of the State of Milan, they have rendered unto him the fortresses of the Toscane, and given him Sienna. If the Prince oh Parma, aught to furnish them with Men and Money for the same subject, He hath received also the Citadelle of Pleasance. But here they only tendered th' hands to take the Money which hath been voluntarity unto them; They enjoy it and are the Masters of it; In leaving t' others the vain Names of Creditors: and if ●metime they give them somewhat by may of profit; even that returns to them and resembles the water of Certain Fountains, which by a constrained Motion being forced out of its reserve, returns thither by a Natural motion, and by a necessary fall. Let this be said in passage.  
To conclude, There are States which are not conserved but by reason of their weakness, and in regard they are so inconsiderable, that they deserve not the violation of Justice in a Conqueror, nor that his Ambition be rendered odious for the desire of them: such is the Commonwealth of Ragouse, which is so little, that to this day it hath not provoaked th' Appetite of the Turk; & so poor, that almost all its Revenues is laid out, to feed the great Persons of the family of Porte, and to serve for entertainment to the Sangiaes', who are their Neighbours. A Minister then of State must know, That every sort of State requires a different Conduct; That th' one ought not to serve as Example to th' other for Government; and when any business is to be had with them, that they are to be treated withal according to their Power and Liberty. Whilst the Commonwealth of Venice was in disorder with Paul the fifth, and that Christendom was divided upon that Quarrel, the Commonwealth of Genes fell into almost the like Inconvenience; This nevertheless did bend under the will of the Pope, And having cast itself into a shameful servitude, was careful to perform such Actions as might deserve the Name of a lawful obedience; and that Spain, whose Aid it wanted was but too much carried to dispose it, to raise a prejudice against Venice. On the contrary, Venice remained inflexible in its pretensions, because it had power to maintain them, and pursued the business to th'End, that the Liberty which it had not received but from God, and wherewith it was borne, might not be weakened. The designs then of the Pope, which prospered for Genes, were vain for Venice; and th' Inequality of those two states could not admit of the same Remedies, though they laboured of the same Evil, and of the like Accident.   

The Eighth Discourse.  
That a Minister of State ought not inviolably t' act that which hath been always practised in the State.  
HE not only acts safely, who forms not his conduct upon that of strangers, not treats equally with two unequal powers: But a Minister of State is fare from that he ought to be if in the State where he acts he tie himself servilely, to what hath been done before him: If he dare not go out of the beaten Road: If he have no other mark then th' example of them that have gone before him; If he will always walk upon their paces, and adore only their footsteps. No comparison was ever more natural or report more just, than that of th' humane and politic body, Th' Oeconomy of th' one may serve for Model to th' other; They are both subject to the same Accidents and to the same Symptoms: Both of them have ordinarity the birth weak, the progress proud and rapid; the subsistence trembling, and the fall precipitated. And nevertheless, each of those ages requires a different Regiment, and a Conduct altogether divers. These considerations also have place in th' Ecclesiastic State, and in the government of Souls. And though its foundations be eternal, and that 'tis built upon an  Stone; Though this Bark cannot perish nor make Shipwreck; Though the Doctrine be infallible that hinders not, but regard being had to the manners of particular persons, but that some alteration may often happen in it: That Compliance must be made with the time; sails shifted according to the nature of the winds which blow; Relaxation from the severity of discipline, and much submission to th' inclination of the people; Miracles have founded the Church, and th' Holy Ghost aids it with his protection; But it requires also that the prudence of Prelates should interpose to govern it. Reason is not banished, provided that it remain subject to Faith; and the Truths which have been proposed to us all naked and with the sole Authority of signs, are not declared unto us by the Councils, but after great inquiries, and answerable consultations.  
And nevertheless Prudence requires, that, in the Conduct of souls, what is best in itself be not so much considered, as what is most conformable to them; That a violent subjection be not imposed upon them, for fear lest the yoke being made too heavy, it give a desire to shake it off. Heretofore the Church's Arms were very dreadful, and the greatest Princes tremble at the Noise of th' Thunder of Rome; The Prudence of Pastors, who made no unlawful use of their powers, & th' opinion had of their sanctity; caused that they who were threatened, held themselves at that instant culpable, and that they had even fear of unjust excommunications: But as there's nothing so good, which man doth not abuse; nor any thing so holy which his Malice or fragility doth not corrupt; It hath happened that in these latter ages, have been seen great alterations of Manners in Pastors, and great abuses in th' exercise of Justice: There was no fault of Boniface th' eighth, and of Jules the second, which did not pass the bounds of the Spirit, which confines their power, and instead of opening the Kingdom of Heaven whereof Jesus Christ had left them the keys, endeavoured to take away th' Interest of Lands from their true Masters, and lawful possessors; Besides that, the too frequent use of Excommunications, and th' application thereof to matters of nothing; The Schisms of the Popes, which have vexed the Church, and caused many persons to take up Arms, who ought to have been governed by a single person. All this is the cause, that they are now less respected than they ought to be, and make not sufficient impressions of terror upon Christian Souls. In effect, There's nothing that so much conserveses the reverence due to Holy things, as the Rarity, nor that vilifies them more than to render them popular; Those things principally which are of an Order superior to the body, and whose effects are not sensible, and respect another Life than this; have need of these precautions, that they may be wholesome, Insomuch that 'tis to misunderstand it, to draw a consequence from the time past, when Ecclesiastic Discipline was in vigour & the consciences of Christians docile, when there was nothing but heat and flame among the faithful; when obedience was general, and that superiors had not so much use of a Spur to provoke the love of virtue, and to the pursuit of good; as of a Bridle to retain, and to hinder th' excess by th' impetuosity of Zeal. 'Tis ill done, I say, to draw consequences from that time to this present time, when not only Heretics change the Truths received, but Atheists assault the Principles of Faith and the Foundations of Religion: In the dispensation of Ecclesiastical punishments, The Prelates and the Sovereign chief of the Church, ought not to decline th' end, for which God left then the power t'impose them: Instead of building they ought not to pull down, nor destroy a whole body in cutting of a perished member and sick part; To conclude, There's nothing that Superiors, spiritual or temporal aught more t' avoid, nor wherein they ought to be more difficult, than in putting their Authority to Reference, and to make Laws that are not observed; 'Tis t' offend against the form of what they are, and 'tis much better to suffer Evils, and to Tolerate abuses in a State, then to discover its wants of power in not correcting of them, or manifest its weakness in contesting too much to surmount their Resistance. Truly, since, Sr. the Cardinal hath had the power of Administration, it cannot be said, That th' Example of strangers hath put us out of our way, nor that we have lost ourselves in following our predecessors, and for nor daring to be bolder, & wiser than they. This great Minister of State hath so well known the Nature of th' Ill we laboured of, and our Boar; and the Remedies have been dispensed with such due proportion, and equality, that the defect hindered not the operations, nor th' excess sharpened the disease; The sweetness which the King used towards the Rochellers when they were not in condition any longer to resist his forces; The grace which was afforded to criminals, when they were in his power; and the Clemency he exercised when the might have used Severity, without blame; and have made examples of Justice which could not have had any ill consequence, nor dangerous revenge; On th' other side the Comportment at Privas, and that sad spectacle which seemed to have been procured by some superior providence, To supply, it may be, the too great humanity of the King, and that of his Ministers of State; The Manner of harkening to the propositions of accommodations not to make the culpable desperate, and to press the War, and hasten victory; To take from them the means of expecting any thing from time, which is th' hope of unfortunate persons; Th' industry which Sr. the Cardinal hath added to force; The Art he hath used to sow division, and to convey distrust amongst the Rebels: He divided their Interests, and hath made them weak for want of Union; The assaults of his Eloquence, and of that divine faculty, which hath so charmed the Hearers, that all the passions that nourished Rebellion were quieted; Th' hottest Motions of defiance they had for us, were stayed; The most opinionated could not but consent to what we would have; and the most valiant durst not seek their safety in Arms but in Obedience, and subjection. Moreover the most scrupulous observation of promised things, and that Legal, and new proceeding wherewith fears were not allayed, but their hopes were surmounted: That I say, hath reconciled all their spirits; hath rendered the victory perfect and firm in gaining the wills of the Conquered; hath cut off the last Roots of Rebellion, and finished the work which had been so often begun, and as often destroyed by ill Fortune or by ill Conduct.  
If the King would have believed th' old Ministers of State, and the wise persons that had Governed in other Reigns; He had never assaulted the Huguenots: He had not offended a party his Father feared, nor touched that Frame which stirred not but by shakeing the Pillars of the State, and the foundations of Monarchy; Insolency, said they, must be suffered t'avoid Felony; and Lenitives applied when sharp Remedies were mortal.  
They nerve Concluded for war but when it was made to them. Th' End of our Arms was not for Victory but Peace's. They did not embark to sail, but to return to th' Haven from whence we were put out; They could not endure tossing at Sea; and were they in a small Boat or in a ship of Burden they would make for the Land; In the mean time the fire of the Revolt was not put out; The springs of disobedience remained full, and if they were stopped for a time from Running, they swollen and became great t'overflow the stronger, into another Channel. In a word, the King had always Companions in his kingdom; and at most the Subjection of Half the French, consisted in sharing his powers with Him, to leave him the name only of a Sovereign.  
If the Maxims observed during his Minority in Relation to his Allies, had not been changed nor; more Courage expressed than when the Spaniards stripped the Duke of Savoy; If our Reliefs had been as faint, and fearful, as they in that time; and it we had as much feared three Powers as they did one; What had become of Monsiur Mantove and of our Reputation? The Liberty of th' Holy Chair had been weakened, and Italy in a Chain. They had suddenly been over the ditch of France, having there nothing abroad more to take; No person would have more trusted us; And at this day, we should not have been the Protectors of the weak: we should be the forsakers of th' afflicted. To conclude, if Sr. the Cardinal should have had only in sight, the Example of our Fathers, and their wisdom; The design of Navigation should have been only in Idea, and we had not seen the Progress of a thing whose Beginnings aided so much for the taking of Rochel; and without it, the greatest States were never but half Powerful, nor but half Rich.   

The nine Discourse.  
That the Counsels of Strangers ought to be suspected by a Minister of State.  
A Minister of State ought to suspect the Counsels that come from abroad, what show soever they make of good, and what pretence soever of Godwill they Cloth themselves withal. Let them take it for certain, That the greatest part of Princes have neither hate nor friendship but for Conveniency, and have no passion but what their Interest gives them; And therefore no Friendship is so dear to them as the least of their Affairs; That there's not a Parent whom they will not turn out of a great Good, if he be never so little Damageable to them; whom they will not sacrifice, if it turn to their profit; and expose them to th' uttermost Mischief, if it be for their Accommodation. The fair passions of Resentment for good turns, and of Acknowledgement, are th' expressions only of Particular and of Vulgar persons; They are seldom born amongst Princes. 'Tis a Traffic, and not a Commerce of friendship, which is practised amongst them; The laws of Merchandise enter much easier into their Treaties, than the laws of Philosophy, Interest is the sole bond that ties them. And insomuch that reason of State learns not to do well Generously, 'tis no wonder if they know not ordinarily either to owe handsomely, or handsomely to acknowledge. In a word, there's but little Counsel given by Strangers, whose spring is not tainted, and which is not corrupted either by th' Ambition of them most powerful, or by the jealousy of Equals, or by the fear of Inferiors. Great persons endeavour to catch Inferiors in their Nets, or to do their business at their Charges; They engage them in their Quarrels, and forget them in their Accommodations, or interest them in others Men's, to keep them under in aiding of them, and retain the securities they had seized under Colour of defending them; Equals would be very glad to withdraw themselves from Concurrence; To gain th' upper hand, and not to serve for Counterpoise in the forces of the others, nor obstacle to the Greatness whereunto they aspire; Inferiors are always in fear of great Persons when they are ambitious and look upon them as Monsters, from whom they expect to be devoured. They cannot have good will for them, whom they distrust; and they raise no Altars nor offer sacrifices for them, but as th' Ancients did to the Plague and to a  to be preserved from an Evil which they feared.  
In the beginning of the Civil discords for the Matter of Religion, and when the new Sect severed them from th' obedience due to the King whom it had withdrawn from th' obedience due to the Church, Philip the second caused Katherine of Medicis to be advertized by Manique his ambassador, that It concerned her much to take great care not to flatter th' Evil, or to come to any Composition with it; That lenitive Remedies were Mortal; and that Rebellion and Heresy were to be pursued by the sword and fire. I doubt not but the Council of Philip had th' honour of God for their End, which was offended by that new Doctrine, and th' interest which was Common to him with all th' other Princes, Not to permit disobedience in the States of other Princes. But in the choice of the Means he proposed t' oppose that Evil and to fight it; 'Tis certain that He considered not so much the Effect it would produce, in France, as the Good the low Countries would receive by it, where the Contagion was already entered; He would make us swallow the Medicine for the purging of his subjects. He thought t' astonish the culpable of his Country, by example of the Justice, which should be acted in ours; and take away the heart of Heresy, when it should see itself so ill handled in other places, and be taken every where for th' hatred of Princes, and horror of the people. Let's observe here, upon occasion, That the Prince whom they called the Solomon of his Age hindered to his power the Flemings from taking Religion for the pretext of th'Insurrection they studied, and th'Impatience they had to rise; He saw clearly that they who had so often quarrelled their Princes being present, and could never Love but the race of them; would hardly contain themselves in their Absence, and permit the Domination of stranger Governnors. But he judged also that it was easy t'order the people that Mutined when the engaged not God in their Revolt, and opposed not the Command of providing for their salvation, to that of obedience to their superiors. T' avoid that, he accords them all their demands, though they were unjust: He takes away the Spanish Garrison wherewith they said they were oppressed; He consents that the Governors of strange places should be Natives of the Country, and named by the States. He remits the Cardinal Grantuelle to the Franche County whose person was odious unto them, and Conduct insupportable. In brief, for the love of them, He overthrows the functions of Sovereignty and chose rather to receive the Law from his Catholic subjects, than to be constrained to give it to the Heretic Rebels. But he knew too late Nature of the people and their diseases; And as 'tis sometimes good, when th' Appetite of Novelty is appeased, which vexed it, and tired with its own disorders, To bring it back with sweetness; To give it liberty to retire from Evil with some show of Reputation, and to seem less Culpable than It was; That nothing but force can reduce it, when it gins to shake and is full of fancies of the future and of hopes of Change: That to flatter them is to lose them, when they are in that Humour; and 'tis then that they make themselves to be feared, when the least Evidence of fear is discovered unto them: Th' easiness of granting the first demands doth furnish them with boldness to make new ones; The desire of evil is increased in giving them powers t' execute it; and at last, 'Tis found, that instead of a weak and irresolute Mutiny as it was, A powerful enemy is made, and an Irreconcilable persecutor. I handle this Matter very particularly in the second part of this work; So 'tis that Philip fell into th' Inconveniency, which he had a design t'avoid, and he saw Religion perish, and his Subjects of the Low Countries to rebel, for not using seasonable Remedies, which might have wrought, if they had been applied in season; in employing Severity and Gentleness in counter time, and in making too much or too little use of th' one or th' other; It may be also that there was of Fate in th' Accident of that new Power, and that God suffered it to rise in opposition to the Spanish Ambition; and to stop, with so small a thing that Torrent which threatened th' overflow of all his Neighbour-Countryes.  
Our Kings also, under whom Heresy hath risen, have spoiled all in following violent Counsels; They have always either strained too much or slacked too much: And, as if they had been carried with Contrary winds, They never knew, how to take the Medium, nor find the temper betwixt and Excessive Rigour, and a too Lose Indulgency. The shameful Peace's, accorded in divers times though th' Hugunots, sad Edicts made in their favour, declare clearly what spirit acted in France; and that there was no need of fight Battles, nor of the burning of Towns, for to put things in the State they were before the war. On th' other side, the violent designs, and bloody Resolutions which were taken t'ill purpose, have been the fruits of Spanish Counsels, and of I alien suggestions; Th' impatience which some had to see our Miseries finished, have retarded the Cure in making too great haste; And th' hopes which others had to make profits of them, hath been the Cause that they inflamed more, and prepared a long and new Matter for our Discords, which were of Advantage to them.  
Th' Execution of St. Bartholomew is a work of their spirit, & they glory that their King had a particular hand in it, and that the Duke of Alva did advise it in his journey to Bayone. I will not discourse of the nature of the Action, which found even Catholic spirits divided, and their opinions different to approve or condemn it; Th' Incertitude wherein they always were, in what manner King Charles concurred; whether by pretention, or by a pure design, and the particular resentment of a Prince, which engaged with the Zeal of public good; are the cause that no judgement can be made thereof, but what may be dangerous or rash. I suspend mine also, to rest me upon the success which was not conform to th' Hopes were had of it; And were it that we knew not how to make use of our advantage; or that th' Election of the Duke of Anjou, for King of Polonia, lost the fruits of the victory that was at hand; or that God would not bless an Action wherein it was presumed, that the public Faith, whereof he was always Protector, was violated; We have seen the Fire the more kindled, which they thought had been put out by that blood-letting; and pretence given to cruelty, to be animated against the Catholic blood.  
The Cardinal of Lorraine also, made a great wound in the State and Church, in being promoter of the discourse of Poissy. After he had been so contrary to the Protestant Ministers. The persons being of obscure birth, and their Lives charged with faults; who had been shaken by many Declarations and Edicts; who had so often shunned the Light for to save themselves in dark places and in Woods; who had deliberated upon the Doctrine they published: To bring forth I say this people to a day so glorious as the Cardinal had made it, to draw them to so famous a Combat, and to give them the meeting in the Field, where they had him for Adversary, and the King and the Princes for Spectators; It must be confessed that he was much too blame, and that it was to pass too dangerously from one extreme to another. He ought to have believed, that it was a means to cherish them in Error that were shaking, and to confirm them that were irresolute: That that Honour would excessively swell their heart: That it would give them a greater Opinion of their persons and doctrines, than they had before and would put those proud spirits into a condition never to Renounce the propositions so solemnly debated. He might have believed, that no jealousy is so violent as that which we take, in favour of our Opinions: And for the matter of Sect, that come into the World; Th' Authors ought to be gained before they are publicly declared; or else they must be destroyed.  
But when they had overcome the first encountered resistance, and that apprehension which the greatness of their Enterprise gave them; and that the uncertainty of the success was ceased; The disease must take its Course of Necessity; Hope and fear are weak Remedies against it, and Man labours in vain, If God doth not show himself with a powerful Arm to defend his own cause. The example of Luther was fresh in memory, and the causes of the miserable Schism in Germany known to all the World. So long as Luther did only Hazard his Doctrine, and had no other design but to cast out his spite, and revenge the wrong he believed was done to them of his Order [for not permitting them to preach, as they were accustomed, th' Indulgencies, in the Duchy of Suxe]; It had been easy to have reduced him: But after he had conferred with Cardinal Caietan; That he had been heard of Charles th' Emperor, and that Leon the tenth had fulminated against him; He changed the passion; Vanity succeeded cheller, and th' honour to have to do with so great persons, renders him irreconsilable. In vain after, the Messengers of Paul the third endeavoured to sweeten that sharp spirit: In vain, did he represent unto him th' evil would happen, in overthrowing the peace of the World for a doubtful belief; And in vain did he offer him Red Hats, and the first dignities of the Church for the price of his conversion; All that, moved him not; That ambitious man could no longer submit after he had contested with Cardinals, Emperors, Popes. And after he had been made equal to them; He could not believe himself great enough, if any person were above him. This digression may seem, affected, but it will be nevertheless profitable: Let's return to our subject. 'Tis then true, that 'tis almost an inevitable necessity to receive or demand, Counsel; But 'tis an extreme disgrace not to be able to resolve of ones self, and to distinguish betwixt another's interest and the good of our affairs. Behold other Examples: Peter of Medicis whose imprudence and misfortune made him famous in Story; took Refuge at Venice, after he was driven from Florence. Charles th' Eighth, who was the subject of his disgrace, offered also to be the cause of his Restablishment, and in restoring him to his first powers, to assure himself of the Florentines, who were so necessary for his Italian designs; He advised him then of his Intentions, and tendered him his Aid for that purpose. Peter consults the Republic, and demands what he ought to do. The Senate who had jealousy of Charles' stay in Italy; who would not have him take Root there; who had it then in consideration, how to send him beyond the Mountains, and to release by Consequence Florence, which was the breast of his Army, and of his Interests; dissuade Peter from casting himself into th' Arms of the King to gain his Return. They represent to him the danger of employing so great a Mediator; That it would more inflame the hatred of his Countrymen against him, and that they conceive the King would sell the grace he should procure him, and oblige him at the Charges of the Common Liberty; So with these Reasons, whose appearance was specious, and with the promises they made him to labour his return, The designs of Charles, and th' hopes of Peter were frustrated.  
The Venetians who are so industrious to counsel others, and who for th' opinion of wisdom they have gained in the world, are sometimes Consulted with, even from th' uttermost Confines of Asia; Take no Counsel from others but for Conveniency; nor otherwise, than, as an Evidence of th' affection of them that give it; All the Powers of Europe were interessed in the disturbance of th' Interdict; The Christians, and the Turks, the Catholics and the Protestants did engage, and there was not a Prince which made not offers, or gave advice to the Republic; Nothing of that nevertheless could shake it. She stood  in its proper Resentments, and never wandered from her End, whatsoever was proposed to the Contrary. I do not think it can be said, that Counsels from abroad have acted amongst us since Sr. the Cardinal hath been in the government, nor that foreign Infusions have seduced us, since He governed. I do not think that it can be reproached to this Great Minister of State, That the Gold of our Neighbours; hath put out his eyes, t'open his heart to their suggestions; nor that their subtlity hath Caused them to untie the Tongue to discover the King's designs, and the secrets of the State; Heretofore they governed in our Counsels, though in the posture of third persons. They have there proposed their opinions by French-Interpreters; some of our Ministers of State were but bodies assumed, to which their spirits gave Motion and language; And in regard they were venal persons; no man need wonder, If they were for them that would give most, and by Consequence theirs; since they never found too high a price for the Purchase of the fidelity of the subjects of other Princes.  
But t' assault with these base temptations a Person who would not make use of all the Just ways of getting wealth; who had so often refused to search into the Coffers, which his Master opened unto him; who made scruple of receiving Benefits from a Prince, which were offered him. T'avoid the gathering of the spoils of an unhappy person, and oftentimes Hazarded all his Means t'assure ours. There's no reason for it.  
Besides, that Interest which hath been ever powerful in France; The fear that hath been long entertained of provoaking Neighbour forces, hath often spoiled our Affairs or weakened our Reputation. For fear of displeasing them, a pernicious Compleasancy was exercised in favour of them; their proposals were hearkened unto with too much respect; They durst not break their Designs with force; they were diverted by Treaties, and interventions. And insomuch that we had not Courage, to act with them as Equals; They took the boldness to treat with us as our superiors and Masters. A strange Maxim that possessed some spirits, to permit in private all the tricks of a Mutinous faction, under pretence that we wanted power to repress it, and to suffer the Spaniards to do a part of what they would do abroad, t'avoid disorder with them; and lest th' hatred of that formidable Nation should be added to the spite of discontented persons, and to the disturbance of Rebels. It was upon this Principle that they suffered the Duke of Savoy to perish, and that the frontiers of the State of Milan were enlarged to the foot of the Mountains; It was upon the same principle, that Affronts were permitted to be done to the Venetians; That they have suffered a person to triumph with their vessels, as a Conqueror, who had taken them, only as a Pirate, and whom they forced t'escape into Gradisque, and conserved that place to th'house of Austria: In search whereof, they have formerly consumed a part of their treasure, and thirty thousand Men without taking of it. 'Tis by reason of this principle also, that th' Hugonots complained (whether of right or wrong is not for me to judge) of the Breach of the peace of Montpellier to the prejudice of the King's Intentions. And that they who made it to suppress another Caballe which could not subsist but by the Continuation of the war; had also broken it t'accommodate th' humour of Italy and of Spain, where some murmured, that a party was suffered to Live, which, as was Imagined, might have been stifled. And others were angry for the remission of our Evils, and for the Interruptions of our discords, which they would make perpetual. How ever, It was, that breach, whether true or pretended hath been the beginning of the most dangerous war, which as yet we have had in the State; and the Ministers of State, which succeeded had received (according to the Custom) the shame of the faults of their Predecessors, if they had not the Virtue to repair them.  
But Sr. the Cardinal entered with Counsels as bold as disinteressed; He knew the power of our Neighbours, and the forces of his Master; He conceived that all his Master's forces were not to be employed against them, so long as they held theirs divided in divers places; which without question they will always do, till they cease to be Ambitious, or become Weak.  
And therefore upon this Infallible Principle, the King hath beaten down all that did arise in his Kingdom against his Authority, and hindered the great persons abroad to grow great at the Charges of the lesser; and of th' Allies of France.   

The Tenth Discourse.  
How Advises from Rome, and from the Mediation of the Pope, are to be entertained.  
WHat I have said in the Precedent Discourse respects only the Princes manifestly interessed, and whose intentions are suspected to their Neighbours, by reason of some irregular passion they labour under. A consideration apart must be made of the Advises that come from Rome, and Interventions of Popes in th' affairs of other Princes; But insomuch as that dignity which regards only the spirit, and th'hopes of th'other Life is joined in time to a temporal power, wherewith it is not incompatible; It hath also happened, that they who have been provided of both, have cast themselves on other Interest than those of God, and mingled the Zeal of the salvation of Souls with the passions of th' Earth. And as 'tis seen that Man suffers himself to be ravished with th' Objects of the senses, and acts not but according to th'animal faculties, though he have spiritual and divine faculties. In like manner some Popes have been seen to forget the functions of the Chiefs of the faithful, in addicting themselves wholly to the functions of the Princes of the World, and place Ambition and Avarice in the Throne of Holiness; Moreover some persons have been found who by interessed designs or with an indiscreet heat have endeavoured to over-straine the temporal greatness of Popes, and for some reasons of compliance, attribute unto them more jurisdiction over Catholic Princes, than God hath given them; they have by that means blown up the Courage of some of the Popes; They have made them t'assume unreasonable pretensions; They have caused that boldness in them, to trample under their feet the Crowns of Sovereigns, and to march upon their Heads, who acknowledge God only to be above them in temporal, Jurisdictions. From thence are borne the Quarrels, they have had with divers Princes, and chief with th' Emperors of the West; from thence have been kindled so many Wars in Germany, which have passed into Italy, and brought desolation to all Europe; From thence, were form those famous factions of Guelphs and Gibelins, which have divided the Fathers from their Children, which put Schism into Families; which made Cities to be burnt, and Provinces to be plunderd; and held the World in combustion for a Quarrel which was not that of Jesus Christ. The doubtful pretensions, or less clear, which some Popes would pass for indubitable, have occasioned that they who were interessed, have maintained their Rights with the more violence, and with less respect than they ought; and did cast themselves into extremities in a Cause, which moderation might have made lawful.  
But moreover, When a Pope either by his proper Motion or by the suggestions of Jugglers and Flatterers, wherewith sometimes they are infested, hath assumed a Right he had not, though his design hath not prospered, and that he hath encountered impediments, which have stopped his course, some indiscreetly zealous Authors have been found, who set forth his Action for a Title, t' entitle the subsequent Popes to that Right, and to re-ingage them in a Quarrel which should be made as strong by their own Authority, as by that, wherewith they secure themselves by reason of the prescription, and that it hath the favour of time. From thence it ariseth, that they are very sensible of what they conceive to touch them; that there's so much severity at Rome, for what concerns them; and when that matter enters into th' Affairs which are treated with them, or into the Negotiations which their Agents manage, that great Circumspections are there to be used; Th' Eye must be open to all things, and to tread with address and lightness upon so slippery a Pavement.  
I will place here a long consideration, but profitable, and that shall enter without Violence upon the subject in hand. The wealth which hath been given to the Church for the glory of God, and for th' Ornament of that fair Hierarchy, which composeth the Mystical body of Jesus Christ; hath had in many of their members an Effect contrary to their End. The Sovereign Shepherds themselves whose Lives are the Lamps of the Gospel, that it be not hid under a Bushel; have sometimes given scandalous examples in this matter; Their Manners have not shined, but to lead into precipices; They have betrayed the bounties of Honest Men, and converted the Monuments of the Piety of the Constantine's, of the Pippins, and of the charlemagne into instruments of Ambition, or of some other passion, less Honest: And as all the motions of the soul, when they are irregular, and that imagination in stead of discourse doth govern them; enter into a wilderness, and find no object to confine them, no bridle to check them; So the wealth of the Holy Chair, though it be great, hath been little to satisfy immoderate desires, and the too vast designs of some Popes, and to furnish th' excess of their Expenses. That hath obliged some of their Agents, who burned with a contrary passion to seek out extraordinary Means for Money; and to have recourse to violence and sacrileges, being unable by lawful Expedients to satisfy the Prodigality of their Masters, or their personal Avarice; They have not only set impositions, and subsidies upon their temporal Subjects as other Princes do; But they have also abused what was most holy in Religion; They put to sale the things that were above Price; They have sold the merits of Jesus Christ; and sold to children what came from the Indulgency of their Mother. Besides this, the venality of Offices, which some Popes have permitted to be introduced into the Court of Rome, and that Spring of Rapine, which hath been stopped to th' uttermost of their power, in all well polished States; The greatness of their kindred which some have procured with too much heat; The Wars wherein they did embark themselves to ill purpose; The sumptuous buildings and the too proud goods: In brief all that furniture, which was seen at Rome, of things which were not invented but for vanity or for pleasure, and whereof the most unprofitable were the most precious; All this, hath raised an ill opinion of the dignity of th' Order in many who cannot distinguish it from the Person, nor make a difference of what was of God's Institution from what proceeded from the Corruption of Man. The face then of the Court of Rome so notoriously defamed hath caused some to confound it, with that of the Church, though they are two very different things; That they applied the spots of th'one to th'other that had none at all, and have revolted against the Holy Chair because they could not suffer the vices of the Pope. Th'author's nevertheless of this great Attempt have not sinned of ignorance, and were not carried thereunto by the zeal of th' honour of God. They knew well, that the Licence of Manners is not incompatible with the purity of opinions; That the Will may follow Evil though the Reason doth not approve of it; and that the same Authority which forbids us t'imitate the deboshes of Pastors, commands us to respect their doctrine, and to hold us in the way they teach us, distinct from the mire they are fallen into; But they were put on, by other Motives. Avarice and Spite animated them against the dignity, to be revenged of the persons that possessed it; Instead of stopping at th' abuses they exercised, they assaulted the power which God had given them. Instead of pruning the branches, they would cut down the body, and take away their Neighbour's Life, to hinder him from Doing ill. And as those Creatures who draw Poison from Flowers, and Simples, whereof men make perfumes and Medicines; Instead of admiring the care God hath for his Church, in hindering it from spoil in the midst of corruption, and to sink in so violent tempests; They have severed themselves from her and have endeavoured to cut the bands of the Members and the Head; and t' abolish that divine dependency, which makes a regular body, as Dissolution makes a Monster.  
God also hath raised many great persons to fight the designs of the Revolted, and to revenge th'injury done him in destroying, what was of his Institution, for the vices of Men; and in judging of the virtue of the Sacraments by the goodness of the Priests; and the force of the work, by the merit of the workman: But as 'tis hard for th' humane spirit to observe moderation in its designs, and that it be not transported in the pursuit of good, for which it hath passion. It hath also happened, that they who have run to the Relief of th' Holy Chair, have truly prospered in that defence, and repelled th' imposture of them that have assaulted it; yet all have stayed there; some have passed their bounds, and being pressed with too much heat, which the love of truth had inspired into them; have not only supported the spiritual power of the Pope, but have also attributed unto him a temporal which was unknown to th' Apostles; unheard of, in the Primitive Church; which gives jealousy t' other Princes; which hath not ot this time edified, which hath destroyed much and made Schism to enter into those States which had been Catholic, the space of many ages. And insomuch that they who have been raised to this Supreme dignity, which severs them from the Community of men, are nevertheless men, & sometimes have common inclinations; There's no wonder, if some of them are glad to see their Authority extended, To see themselves made more powerful than they thought to be; that the light which doth surround them is greater and disperseth its Ray, further than they did imagine; and if they are easily persuaded to a thing so conformable to their desires and to the most violent appetite of reasonable Nature which is that of Domination. Insomuch, that 'tis not only true that the change of Fortune is ordinarily accompanied with the change of Manners, but also sometimes of Opinions; That it disorders all the powers of the Soul; That it altars the disposition of th'Understanding, after it hath changed that of the Will. And some Popes have judged more favourably of the greatness of the Holy Chair, when they were in it; they they did before, when they were but single Cardinals, or in some lower dignity. Wherefore in subjects, which look either directly or obliquely upon th' Holy Chair, A Minister of State ought to be very circumspect: He must slide upon that Pavement, if he must pass upon it; If he be constrained to touch upon so delicate parts, Let it be done with a subtle and light hand, and that he do not pierce too deep, if it be possible, into a matter wherein it will be hard not to be offended, if he do not offend. Above all, that he stay always in the bounds of Reason, and in the bounds of Justice. That he take nothing away from another, but that he permit not, any thing to be taken away from his Master; That his imprudence, or softness do not occasion any prejudice for the future to the State, and that he remember the proceeding of Charles the fifth, when he came into Italy to be Crowned Emperor. The Legates who were sent to receive him, prayed him that he would swear to do no wrong to the Liberties of the Church, nor injure the spouse of Jesus Christ; He answered that he would swear neither to alter the rights of the Church, nor the pretensions of th' Empire; That had an aspect to the Cities of Pleasance and of Parma, which the one pretended to be a Fiefe of th' Empire, th' other of the Holy Chair.  
Truly, Sr. the Cardinal behaved himself so well in Occurrences of this nature, that the Rights of the Crown and Dignity of th' Holy Chair have been inviolable, in his hands; That nothing but Justice held the Balance, that he gave to God and Caesar their due; and maintained equally the Quality of a Minister of State, and of a Prince of the Church; He is not ignorant of the Temper which ought to be betwixt a blind Zeal, and Licence scarce Catholic; He knows the way was to be held betwixt these two precipices; He knows how to sail without striking upon the Rocks; He cannot wander for want of light; He hath a most profound knowledge of Holy things, and of the things of the world; and the Sorbone admired him as their Ornament, before it did reverence him for their benefactor and protector.  
Wherefore he took care not to see with other men's Eyes, as others have done, or to Move with the passion of strangers; So no soul also was ever less prepossessed than his; or more direct in its apprehensions; There's no Irregularity in the functions of his powers, and with exception to the Commerce of Faith which is always privileged, the Will gives not its opinions to th' Understanding, but receives its heat, and affections, from his discourse and his Illuminations. Wherefore 'tis easy to judge how imprudent the Calumny of them was, who assaulted him during the Negotiation of Cardinal Barberin, or a little after. Rome did not complain of Him, and th' Holy Father knew well that the necessities of State, and th' hidden Causes of its Conduct, do not ever permit; That to the zeal of honest Men, all be given that they would have. None then but ill Frenchmen have complained, or strangers that hate us; and to whom Pretences are good, when Causes are wanting to them; That cry us down who are incensed against us; Those black Manifests also, and those violent and sharp Writings which France hath seen, have done no hurt to the Reputation of this Great Minister of State. They have resembled those stinking Vapours which are exhaled from Moorish Grounds, which evidence clearly the Corruption of the place, whence they come, but infect not the Sun against which they arise. They have given themselves the Lie, by the things that have happened. The time hath inverted them upon their Authors. They have seen that Delinquent of th' Hugonots fastened invariably to the Ruin of all that was rebellious in that party. They have seen Rochel fall in part by the cares of that Cardinal of Rochel, They have seen Heresy humbled by that Great politician, and reduced under the Common Right and General Obedience, as well of Obedience as of Opinions to his Mode: they have seen what he dared in th' Affairs of Monsieur of Mantove; what he undertook t'assume the Liberty of th' Holy Chair, and to what he exposed himself for the Love of that Rome, which by imputation was despised by him; They have seen, that neither th' open force of Conjured persons, strangers; nor the great Resistance of ill disposed Frenchmen; Barrenes nor the Plague; could hinder the King from being the Liberator of Italy, as He hath been the Restorer of France.  
But how hath the Prudence of that Great Minister of State shined in the Dispute of th' Authority of the Pope, which had been awakened some years since amongst us? How dexterous hath he been in the Manadgement of a Matter so dangerous? How very happy in laying dead that Quarrel which shall ever be fatal to Religion, and which cannot be deterred but by opening the door to Schism? He alone found th' Expedients to pacify the Sorbone, which was in Tumult on that Subject. To re-joynt the body which was torn in parts; To reduce opinions, too much flattered; To content the Pope, and to preserve our Liberties and the Rights of the Crown. This action was so necessary, that without it our Affairs had never taken a Course so advantageous as they did, and so difficult, that I dare affirm, It could not have been done but by a principal Minister of State, by a Prince of the Church, by a great Theologian, and excellent Politician altogether.   

The Eleventh Discourse.  
Considerations upon the precedent Discourse.  
WHat I have said in the Precedent Discourse is not to Condemn the wealth of the Church, but to blame them that abuse it; Nor, to conclude, that she is not ever the same though she was born poor, and that she is now rich; That Charity is diminished: That the Manners of the greatest part of particular persons is Degenerated; and that their Lives are contrary to theirs, who were the first of the Faithful. 'Tis ever the same face, though the good Graces are not the same, and the Colour is gone; The figures remains; The features and proportions leave it not, and 'tis still the same Soul which gives it Life; 'tis always the same River though its water is sometimes troubled and sometimes clear, that it flows at one time and ebbs at another. The Channel is permanent, The spring is fixed, and its Course tends always to the Sea which is its first Original. There are in Religion, things, of an eternal Substance; and there are, that may suffer Change and Alteration. And as the beginnings of Nature are always weak, and perfection comes by degrees into her works; so that which issues purely from th' hand of God is usually perfect, and if it stay not in that state; 'tis the fragility of Man that altars it, and the necessity of the Condition that makes the Change.  
Since God determined that great Design of the purchase of men, and that he would be th' End and Means of their happiness; It was Convenient, that the Church which he should establish, should be born poor. And, that the world might know it to be his work; It was necessary that she should be raised by Means, contrary to th' ordinary; That she should triumph over Riches, in her poverty; over Greatness, in Disdain; and over the Wsedome of th' Age, in the Ignorance of humane things: Otherwise truly, if it had come in Abundance; If its Entry into the world had been environed with Glory; and the doctrine which she brought, persuaded by the ornaments of Rhetoric and subtiltyes of Philosophy; It had been under jealousy with us: No person would have been astonished at the progress It hath made in so Little a time: and that it being come out of a Corner of Palestine; It had passed in an instant to th' uttermost Bounds of th' Earth, and penetrated even to a world severed from ours; No person would have thought it strange, that Covetous Men should run after wealth; That Ambition had followed Pomp, and that Eloquence played with the Credulity of simple persons. That famous Impostor, who hath found so many followers and whose Errors entertain, as yet to this day, two thirds of our world; had been alone, if he had been poor; and had never deceived the people if he had not subdued them. It was the necessary, That Religion truly divine, had the marks of the Principle from which She proceeds. That she comes Contrary to the Rules of Prudence and establishes herself by that which ought to destroy her. But as she hath the Love of God for her End, and Charity for her Neighbour, and that chief it ought to distinguish the disciples of jesus Christ from the rest of Men; 'Tis from thence happened, that the first Christians carried their Lands, and Goods, to the foot of th' Apostles, and stripped themselves of the propriety which did belong to them; to make it Common to their brothers. A permanent stock nevertheless of those offerings was not made. They did only pass, and were shared in Measure as they were received, and as in proportion the Faithful had occasion. The flames of Charity since growing by the Number of Converts, and the Goods which were daily offered to the Church being extremely increased by that Multiplication; It was judged expedient to preserve the stock, and that the distribution of the Revenue might serve to maintain the Pastors, and to relieve the poor. This order was introduced even in the time of th' Apostles, as we may conjecture, or a little after. In conclusion, the stock which made a great sum was divided into proportions, & the portions assigned to them who served the Church, and constantly applied to other uses, and without being any more mingled or Confounded. This order hath lasted to our time; And how holy or unlawful th' use of the goods of the Church hath been in th' hands of particular Men; 'Tis at lest not to be doubted but that the Charity of the Givers hath been precious before God, and their zeal extremely meritorious. But moreover I say, that after the Golden Age of Christendom, and that very happy time wherein they only knew Jesus Christ crucified; and when from the Poverty and Abjection of the faithful, Miracles were seen t'arise: It hath not been Inconvenient That the Church should be rich. And since for the future the supernatural means which have founded it, aught to be in great Esteem with Men, God hath also Consented that the Church should draw wealth from abroad; Advantages which should render it the more Venerable; and hold the people who regard not much more than th' Exterior, and are not moved but by th' objects of sense, into respect that is due unto it.  
But with Riches, they say, a thousand Evils passed into the Church; Vanity and delicacies put themselves into the Throne of virtue: The Charity of our Fathers is become the food of the profusion of our Nephews, and the poor dye for hunger; whilst they that ought t'engage their Lives for them, leave them not their Substance. To this I answer, that although they are vicious Ecclesiastiques, because they are rich, and that in many the Licence of Manners grows from th' Abundance of Goods; It follows not therefore, that the Church ought to be rob: That this is common to them with all good things, to be exposed t'ill usage in th' hands of wicked persons. That the Sacraments are not to be abolished, because there are Men that commit sacrilege; That God doth not deface the beauty of Nature, because it serves for an occasion of sin to the weak; and no person is bound to pull out his Eyes when they are unchaste, and are ravished by forbidden Objects and dishonest Curiosities. There are Churchmen spoiled, which would have been honest Men if they had not been rich; And there are whose Life is full of Edifying & of exemplary Charity, whose virtue would be concealed in poverty and unprofitable Holiness. Poverty and Riches are of themselves a Matter without Form; They are susceptible of Contrary impressions; They may receive the Figure of Good and Ill, and neither of these things hath any Merit, if Charity doth not raise it. But the number is said greater of th' Abuses of Riches in the Church, than of them that make good use of them, and the intentions of them that have given them is oftener perverted than executed. To that I also answer, that, It being supposed for truth, it follows not that the Church should be made poor; That God suffers th' iniquity of sinners, and the vices of the World, for some virtuous Actions, that are therein exercised; That he makes his Sun to shine upon a multitude of wicked, for a small number of Honest men that serve him; that he had forgiven six thousand culpable Persons, if he had found Ten innocent persons in Sodom and Gomorrah; And in the deluge which swallowed the World, if there had been in it ten just Families, He had not, it may be, made that great Example of Justice; So, both th' order of things, and conduct of providence persuade us that Riches ought not to be banished from the Church for th' abuses at whose birth they serve for an occasion; since they are the cause of a number of good Actions which are thereby done; That they serve the best of virtues which is Charity; and 'tis certain that returning to the hands of secular persons, they would be more dangerously employed, and would cause more ill, and less good, than in the hands of ecclesiastics.  
What concerns the purifying of th' Ecclesiastic Order, and to restore it to its first beauty, and its original innocency, 'tis a thing easter to be desired than done, and which is not neither the work of a little time, nor of the common force of men. It were to leap from one Extreme to another. To pass suddenly to such a severe Reformation; It were to put new Wine into Old Vessels, and to sew New Cloth to a torn Garment, (following the parable of our Lord): And in driving away of Devils, the custom whereof had taken away what was most offensive which is the scandal; To introduce greater, by filling their spirits with sharpness, and the World with Tumults. Th' Alteration is so general, th' Interests of temporal Princes are so confounded with the interests of the Church, and the greatest part of men so fastened to their present condition; That it would cost God less to raise the Dead, than reduce things to the state of their birth, and bring back all Christians to to the Auncent Discipline. It sufficeth, That in what state soever the Church is found, every person may find salvation there, If he will; and that out of it, none can avoid Damnation; 'Tis nevertheless true, that as 'tis to purpose, that the Miracles where upon the Church hath been founded, be sometimes renewed, and that the belief of things passed be confirmed by some present Sign; so though the Ecclesiastical Order hath received some stains, and lost its purity in some of its Members; God always raiseth some good souls which without forsaking of the Church, sever from the corruption of particular Men, and express in their lifes the Image of that great Virtue, which appeared, at the birth of Christianity; and which was common to the first faithful persons.  

Considerations upon the Behaviours of Popes and their Agents which may serve for forewarnings to the Ministers of State of other Princes, who shall have occasion to treat with them.  
THough the following Discourse might have been handled more commodiously in the second part of this Work, where I show at large how a Minister of State ought t' act with Strangers; Nevertheless, to keep such matters together which are best understood, when they are joined, and not to weaken the light they draw one from another; I will place here at one time, what I had to say upon the subject of Popes, and upon the precautions wherewith their advices ought to be received, and they and their Ministers of State treated withal.  
I say then, that although the Popes of the first ages, had only very pure thoughts and affections of fathers towards Princes who were their Children; Nevertheless since they have assumed another Quality than that whereby they represent Jesus Christ; That they have mingled th' Interests of the Church with them of the World. And that the Crown they carry hath as many Diamonds as Thorns; Some of them have been found to have a Zeal very unlike to that of the first Popes, who have followed other motions, than th' effects of that Virtue which makes no Acceptation of persons; Who have burnt in the passions of the World; From Shepherds (as they ought to have been) were changed into Wolves, and have sometimes made Abomination t' arise even into the Sanctuary; And not to go out of the two last Ages. Alexander the sixth; did he ever discover any other passion to the world then that of, making great his Children? was there any means refused to gain that end? did he not for the love of it abuse, profane and divine things? Did he not break all the Laws of Christianity? all of nature, and all the rights of humane society to make his second Son to Reign? Briefly, Treasons, secret Murders, Poisonings and perjuries were his Manners and Habits; If Historians may be believed. Let's pass to Jules the second, successor t' Alexander. His Life indeed was not so black nor his conduct so Criminal as th' other's was; He was nevertheless possessed with so furious an appetite of making War; and with so violent a desire of extending th' Ecclesiastical revenue, That he suffered not Italy nor other Princes to rest; and he could never find that peace, which God gives and the world gives not, because he sought it in the midst of Arms, by Ambition, and in Tumults. Th' heat wherewith he persecuted Lewis the twelfth, and the pretext he furnished Ferdinand of Castille withal to usurp. Navarre, will deliver his name for ever with an ill Character to the French, and his Memory odious.  
Leon the tenth had excess of passion for his Relations, whereof many Popes have been sick. The prodigalities used in their behalf; The goods of the Church he not only gave them, but poured them our upon them with full hands, and exhausted them without measure: And the Present he made his Sister of the profits of th' Indulgences, which should be preached in the Duchy of Saxe; were the petext of Luther's Apostasy, and the cause of the Schism in Germany, and of the Fire that hath burnt the North. What did not Clement the seaventh for the greatness of his House, and to secure the State of Florence In the Family of the Medicis? How often did he quit for that design that indifferent and free spirit which Popes ought to have? And how compleasant did he make himself to th' Ambition of Charles th' fifth, t'enter his Nephew into his Alliance; and to make him Duke of Toscany? what did he not in love to the Marriage of his Niece, Catherine of Medicis, with the Duke of Orleans? Insomuch that if his Life was unfortunate, and agitated with great Tempests; It may at least be said, that his last days were serene and fair; that he gained the Haven in Triumph, and that he died full of the prosperities of his House so much desired; The same defect also hath been observed in the Life of Paul the third, and his Virtue, which otherwise was very pure, had that stain That he procured with too great violence the greatness of th' House of Farnese whence he issued, and did too much apply himself to th' humour of Charles th' Emperor to put his Nephews in possession of the states of Pleasance and Parma, and to surmount the resistance th' Emperor made for the pretensions of th' Empire.  
But when th' Intentions of the Popes which should be ever good, and their Wills in an inviolable Justness: when their Zeal shall have no other heat then what Duty inspires, and the Love of justice communicates; Their understandings may be prepossessed. They may do it with a good faith; They may wander thinking to be in the Right way and satisfy the passions of their Kindred believing to satisfy their Charge; The state Ecclesiastic is now governed in such sort, that the Pope's ease themselves of the greatest part of their Affairs upon their Nephews. The Cardinals who out of Council seem to be the Natural Members of that head, and should help to sustain the weight of the Monarchy; signify now almost no more than t' improve the Majesty of the Holy Chair. The knowledge of Affairs is almost denied them, and if they are sometimes proposed to the Conclave, 'tis rather to give Authority by their Approbation of what is done, than to resolve it by their suffrages.  
This proceed, which on the sudden may seem strange, is not without ground or appearance of Reason; Amongst the Cardinals some are natural Subjects of Princes, to whom besides the Duty of birth, they own also their fortune and also their promotion; and the Glory of the Purple they wear, is a Beauty which belongs not to them but by reflection; and was borrowed by their Masters from th' Holy Chair to be Communicated unto them. And by consequence 'tis no wonder, If they are bound only to their Interests; If they follow only their Inclinations, and labour only for their Glory, and the good of their Affairs; Or they are Children of some petty Sovereign, and therefore full of th' humours of their House; of desire to make it Great; and in the same dependency with it; To conclude, the greatest part of them, who from a Mean or low birth attain that high Dignity; depend upon great temporal Powers, either by benefits received, or by gift of pensions, or by hopes wherewith they hold them fast. There's the state of Venice only, which never gave themselves up to that practice, and which hath ever neglected to make themselves great in the Conclave. 'Tis at no charges to gain Cardinals, and contents itself to Command them of their States which are never above Two at a time, and pass Ordinarily into separated Interests from theirs though not Contrary. These passions then and those dependencies change the wills of Popes in regard of the Cardinals; Make all their offices suspected to him, and cause the Resolution of Affairs, to be reduced to him and his Relations, or to some of his Creatures, whose faithfulness he hath tried, and whose Abilities are esteemed by him.  
But that great Authority which Popes deliver up to their Nephews, and the power of th' Holy Chair, The disposition whereof they very often leave entire and free unto them, are not ever governed by pure hands; 'Tis hard, though not impossible, that the zeal of the general good should entirely possess them who are not public persons but by participation, 'Tis hard to forget one's proper Condition, and to have no Motions but of what a Man is not: 'Tis hard to betray self Love, and to separate wholly from ones self, and 'tis to no purpose to shut up th' highways t' interested Designs and to particular Ends. They will light at our Houses if we are not infinitely virtuous, by some stolen Path, or by a secret Address; Th' Intentions of the Pope may be holy, but th' Intentions of the Nephews may be unholy. And if that be so, what expedient is there to stay the Contagion with them, and that it infect not the Pope? What defence against an Evil, that admits not of Preservatives? To answer for what one sees, if no sight be had but by the sight of others? To see a thing as it is; if th' outside be disguised? If th' Appearances have been Changed, and if the sellers of paint and plaster, who are many in great Courts, have prepared it before it be showed? But to gain sometimes the Nephews and corrupt th' Agents employed by them, in the Quarrels of Princes; the way is open to them who can do good and promise Recompenses. For so soon as the Pope is mounted into the throne which draws him so near to God, and placeth him so much above other Men; It seems to the greatest part of his Relations, that they cannot with modesty stay in the crowd nor in th' obscurity of particular persons, so long as th'Uncle or the Brother is encompassed with the greatest Lights of the world; And therefore some of them are tenacious of all that may establish the greatness of their house, and raise them to the State of their Ambition. The Spaniards, understand better than all the Nations of the world these practices, and have larger Means t' exercise them then any other Nation. The Pensions which they distribute without Measure; The Live they have to confer in their States of Italy, and to th' Advantage of them that act at the Court of Rome; The Means t'advance their Relations to th'Offices of Peace and War. Th'Estates which they sometimes give them, or make the purchase thereof easy unto them, and Advantageous, and Rich Marriages which they procure for them; are strange Engines to Shake the Probity of Italians, if it be not very well Confirmed. The marriage of the Heir of th' house of Jesualde of the most famous of the kingdom of Naples, against th' express Clauses of he father's Will, which Gregory the fifteenth dispensed in favour of one of his Nephews; gave th' entry to the Spaniards into the Valtoline, rendered them Masters of that Valley under the name of another power, gave that great wound t' Italy, and th' Arms of Holy Peter aided there t' advance th' Ambition of Spain, and to weaken the Liberty of a Province where they are adored. And Moreover when hopes are weak to draw a person to their party, They then add fear; 'tis not possible, but that th' one or th' other of those Passions may have its Effect, and they that resist their gifts and promises in relation to their Interests, are careful at least not to justle them, the better t' avoid the Tempests which they raise, and the Persecutions they stir up. Besides the Resistance they give them who aspire the Pontificate when they are of a Contrary Inclination, They have yet other Expedients to make themselves to be feared. I will not believe that they were the Principal Cause of th' unfortunate Ends of the carafes. 
All three were hanged.  The deportments wherewith they abused th' Authority of their Uncle. The Evils wherein they plunged Christendom by their ungoverned Ambition: The fire which they kindled in the State Ecclesiastic, and which endangered the destruction of it.  
In short, all that a great power armed with Impunity could produce of fatal, gave but too much foundation for Justice, to make so great an Ensample. But 'tis true also, that the Contrivances of Spain, and th' Ardent pursuits which their Agents made against them, did not abate the spirit of the Judges, nor the Rigour of the sentence; But without that, the persecution wherewith they agitated the Cardinal Aldobrandin after the Death of Clement th' Eighth, and the little safety he had also for his person, till he had suppled them by Imploring their Aid; Make out clear Evidences how dangerous a thing it is to have been their Enemy, or not to have been for them which is almost the same thing.  
Presently after the coming of Paul the fifth, to the Pontificate, That Cardinal found himself thrust at from so many places, and saw so many snares laid about him, and so many plots form for his destruction; that he was constrained to leave Rome and to retire to Ravenna whereof he was Arch Bishop, nor did he find there the safety he sought for; and th' unexpected storms which there did arise compelled him to leave that place where he was bound to reside, and to provide for his safety by his flight. He retired then into Piedmont whereby the Duke of Savoy who knew th' original of his Evil, and the Remedy that might heal it; who knew from what Corner the winds of the persecution blue and the Means to appease them; Advised him to Cast himself into th' Arms of the King of Spain, and to employ his Mediation to reconcile him to the Pope. No person is ignorant of the war they made to the Cardinal Baronius, and with what obstinacy they assaulted him for clearing the Rights of th' Holy Chair to Sicily, and for publishing a truth they would have had concealed. In that Treaty, where that learned Cardinal endeavours to prove that the Body of St: Inques is not at Compostelle of Galico, They have truly answered with Reasons and Proofs which much weaken the contrary opinion, and make theirs very probable who support it by the belief of Christian Nations, and aught to be known for public satisfaction. But in the Treaty of Sicily they have re-parted with Fire, because, it may be, that reasons failed them, and commanded the fourth Volume of th' Annals of that great Person to be burnt by the hand of a Hangman, to declare the doctrine it contained, criminal, because it was not favourable to them. Truly, this evidence is to be rendered, and praise to be given to the Spaniards; That there's not a Nation in the World which hath so violent jealousy, as they, for the Interests of their State, and for the dignity of their Crown. And it must also be said, to the shame of ours, that there are none so strongly labouring under a contrary passion, as the greatest part of Frenchmen. I will report the causes of both, in the second part.  
Besides this, what did not the Spaniards in the Conclaves, where the suffrages inclined to Baronius side to choose him Pope? What Artifices did they leaven unattempted t'oppose that promotion? What Efforts did they not employ to break it, and what Engines did they not set a going t'overthrow it. The Cardinal of Sourdis stormed, and made a noise to no purpose at their practices; The greatest part of Honest men were scandalised, and desirous, to no better effect, that the Church might be governed by a Person that had so much merited from her. the wishes of honest persons were unprofitable. They sighed in vain for so Holy an Election: Baronius his Enemies carried it, and the general Interests of Christendom gave place to the particular Interest of Spain. These Examples, and many others astonish them who upon other accounts have no Inclination for that Nation, and the fear which every person hath to procure himself Evil is the cause that many are diverted from doing the good they would, if liberty were not interdicted, and generosity assaulted by odious means and by those violent ways. I will handle in the second part, Whether Christian Princes ought in Conscience to meddle with the promotion of Popes, and how.    

The Thirteenth Discourse.  
That the Mediation of Popes is very profitable in the differences of Christian Princes, and in th' Affairs of Christendom.  
I Do not intent t'infer from the precedent discourse, that Princes ought to be deprived of the Mediation of Popes nor to reject their offices when Christendom is agitated, and that Its Princes are in discord. I should be an ill Logician to draw no better consequences, and it were t'act against all the principles of Reason, and all the Maxims of Morality; To forbid th' use of good things for their cause that abuse them, To hinder good Superiors to do their Duty, because the bad neglect it, and not enjoy the Beauty of the Sun, nor the benefits of its Light because of the Eclipses which sometimes interpose, and steal it away from the World. 'Tis true, that there have been wicked Popes, and who have been the shame of th' Holy Chair, and the scandal of Religion. There have been of them who did not engage in th'Affairs of Princes, but to trouble them; who brought only poison and fire against the diseases, and who infected with their venom and breath, all that they touched: But all are not of that Nature, all are not guided by that Spirit. There have been some very honest Men, full of the spirit of God, who burn only with Holy Zeal, and having been raised to that supreme Dignity, have renounced all affections of Blood, for t'assume only th' affections of common Fathers of Christians, and, of incorruptible Arbiters of th' affairs committed to them. And as they have the heart very sound, and the will free from all irregular passion, some of them also have the sight clear, and th'understanding much enlightened, having a great intelligence of the things of the World, and that the goodness of their understanding and th' Employment they have had from other Popes, have put them into a condition, neither to be deceived by the artifices of their Relations, nor bewitched with strange illusions. The corruption also of their kindred, and of their Ministers of State, is not so Universal, but that many are exempt, and who mingle nothing of particular with the Zeal of public Rest, nor any thing of Strangers with th' instructions of their Masters.  
And without considering, that th' Holy Chair is the foundation wherein Religion is supported, and that there's no salvation for the members who abandon that Head; This Good ariseth to the Princes his Children. That his Authority is much respected by them when it interposeth in their Affairs, and that his offices are very powerful or very proper to determine their Quarrels, when the fire is kindled betwixt the two great Crowns, and that France and Spain make war. What power is either high enough or impartial enough t' interveine to put it our? who can have force enough, to retain those two great Engines when they move, and to stop such Impetuous and rash Motions, but th' Holy Chair. Besides that the Empire hath long stood without its first Glory, and without any marks of its ancient Majesty, but the Name, Arms; Who knows not that it depends on Spain, or is in Communion of Interests with it? who knows not that it hath withdrawn th'Empire from the precipice wherein it was falling; That it subsists not but by its subventions and Reliefs; and that Charles the fifth left not a stronger Recommendation to his son, than to be always in amity with his Cousins, though their friendship cost him very deer, or to preserve it at an excessive price and with Immoderate Conditions.  
For what concerns the Crown of England, which was heretofore the Counterpoise of th' other two, and Arbiter of their differences; It is no more so proper, as it hath been t'Act in their discords. Change of Religion hath spoiled it, it cannot entertain any good Intentions for the Catholics. Having that venom on the heart, it cannot behold their prosperities with Eyes entirely pure. Their good Intelligence ought to be suspected, and if it advanceth sometimes towards Spain and sometimes towards France, It lasteth so little, and is done with such languishing Motions and so sudden a Return; That 'tis very visible, that 'tis not a perfect Amity; it considers but a fancy of Goodwill which presently disappears and an abortive of Affection which is produced by some light Cause; As to the Republic of Venice, It hath truly Wisdom, and Greatness enough, to labour in the Quarrels of the two Crowns; But'tis so very Jealous of the power of th' one, and so great an Enemy to their Ambition, that their Endeavours would not be less suspected than th'offices of a Declared Enemy. As for th' other Princes of Italy and Germany, they are so little or so dependant or so enstrainged from th'Inclination of Spain; That for their sakes they would not forsake their Animosity, nor submit to their good offices.  
The Pope than remains the sole Mediator of their Discords. The Quality of Children of the Church, which Catholic Princes do Glory in; obligeth them to honour Him who represents the Chief, and whatsoever jealousy of Honour they labour under, they do no wrong to their Courage or Ambition, to submit to him who is above them and Conjures them in the Name of Jesus Christ, by whom they reign, not to despise the peace he hath so much recommended. Those Princes also, who are sometimes a weary of quarrelling, and to whom th'evils of war are dreadful, and the Misery of their subjects gives them cause of Pity, are very willing to be invited to Rest, by so powerful Authority; It cannot be denied, but that the peace of Veruins so necessary for Spain and profitable for France, was the work of Clement th' Eighth, and that Henry the Great and Philip the Second had been much troubled to lay down Arms which weighed so heavily on both parties, without so great an Interposer. I have said, that when Princes are tired with Quarrels and emptied of moneys and Men, or that they have in other places more important Employments which they cannot attend but in quiting the first; otherwise truly when Ambition is supported by force, and when th' appetite to Conquer is provoked by th'hope of victory; 'tis hard to extinguish it with Treaties, or to appease it by offices; To the greatest part of Princes that make war, the same happens, as t'opinionated Lawyers, who cease not to plead by Election but by Insufficiency, who own their Rest to the poverty, and not to the moderation of their spirit; and who stop not in going, but stand on the way for want of Force to go further. Besides th'Experience which we have made of these last motions of Italy, we have memorable examples in the Lifes of Charles the fifth, and Francis the first. The state of Milan was the Love of those two Princes, and the most violent objects of their Ambition. They both burned with an Equal heat of possessing it, and th' animosity which they Conceived upon that subject one against another, was so great that neither time nor men could ever evercome it, Paul the third spared not his person and exposed himself to long journeys, to labour so necessary a Reconsiliation. Th' inundations of the Turk from all parts upon Christians sufficiently solicited th'emperor. And nevertheless nothing of that could bend them: They resisted the prayers of the Pope: The miserable Condition of Christendom touched them not; and that fatal obstinacy cost him besides the blood of his Children, The loss of Rhodes and the diminution of the fairest portion of Hungary.  
Pope's have not only lent their endeavours to Christendom to determine the Quarrels of those Princes; But have also often aided in securing it from the Ruin that threatened it, or to revenge its affronts or recover its Losses, had it not been for their Mediations and Offices: the Protestants had finished the defacing of it, or the Turks had subdued it, and God, who hath chosen them to be the visible chiefs of the Church, hath also ordained that they should be sometimes the Liberators of the Country, where the Church is preserved; and th'Instruments of temporal conservation to the people that do acknowledge her. The most famous League the world ever saw was form in the Council of Clermont at th'Instance of Peter th' Hermit and by th'Authority of Urban the second; Four hundred thousand fight men put themselves under the command of Godfrey of Buillon for the conquest th' Holy Land. Christianity never overflowed so largely as at that time, It never obtained such Eminent success; and never so great a Number of adventurers, and voluntary Soldiers were so long together for the same design, and with so much courage.  
But not to go from th' Age past, and from the things happened in the times of our fathers; Who knows not that Paul the third was Author of the League was made between the Venetians and Charles the Fifth to beat back Soliman who threatened Italy, and to chastise Barbarosse, who rob the Coasts. That if the Christians suffered the victory t' escape which they had in their hands, if they would have taken it; If the Maritime power of the Turk was not abated at that stroke; If Barbarosse was not destroyed at Prevese, as he might have been; The cause must be attributed t' Andre Doria, as I have said in another place. It seemed, that these two Pirates had shared th' Empire of the Sea, and th' one desired not the ruin of th' other for fear of being less considerable to his Master, when he had defeated his Enemies, and to lose credit with the loss of exercise: Barbarosse also repaid the Courtesy and gave the revenge to Doria near Villa Franca where he would not destroy him, as it was easy for him after a Wrack, nor pursue his Ships which the Tempests had scattered. It may be also there was some hidden Cause, and some concealed Motive from th' Emperor, for which reason he sought not Victory in the League we speak of, but the retreat of his enemies, and cessation of the War. I will treat of this matter in the second part, in the treaty of Leagues.  
Pius the fourth, laid the foundation of the League for the relief of Cyprus, which was concluded under Pius the fourth, That if it was not fortunate enough; If th' hopes conceived failed of their principal End, and if Cyprus was lost for want of relief; The delays the Spaniards bring t'all their undertake; The tempests that were frequent that year upon the Sea; The Plague which emptied the vessels of the Venetians; and a secret disposition of th' Heavens, that afflicted the Republic, were the causes of that Disgrace; The League nevertheless was profitable, and past-ages nor all the powers of th' ancients did not produce upon the Levant Sea any thing so memorable as the Battle of Cursolary; That, if the Christians had not betrayed themselves; If the would have made use of the victory, and have followed the fortune Constantinople and the Levant offered them; we had been largely repaired for the losses we have lately received. We beware Masters of the Mediterranean Sea, the Turk was reduced to the Land, and the Virtue of Don John of Austria might have given hopes to Spain, not t'envy France the glory of its Godfrey, and the good success of its Armies. But the distrust the Venetians had of the Spaniards, and th' Experience they had made under Charles the fifth, in the taking of Chasteauneuf, how unjust observers they were of th' agreements of Leagues; On the other side, the jealousy the Spaniards had, that the Ruin of the Turk, was the greatning of the Venetians, That they would gather the best pieces of his overthrow, and the principal fruit of the War; That having no cause to fear the forces of the Turk, they would the less consider the Spanish strength; and becoming more powerful, they might the more cross them in their designs for Italy; That, I say, corrupted the victory and frustrated th' hopes of Christendom and th' attempt of the World. They that know the humours of Princes, what the reasons of State are, and the nature of Leagues, will not think that strange which I have now said.  
However we have drawn two notable advantages from the victory of Lepantha. Th'one is, that if we have not been wise enough to make profit of the Good offered us, we have been sufficiently happy in avoiding th'evils which threatened us, if the forces of the Turk had not been shattered, and that formidable Fleet dissipated which covered all the Gulf of Venice with Crescents and the lower Sea of Italy. Th' other advantage is, that we have given him to understand, that if his forces are greater than those of a single Prince; they are inferior to the forces of united Christendom. And if by a design worthy the name they bear, they combine together against him, his Greatness in a small time would be humbled, the Crescent shattered, and himself sent to the bottom of Soythia, from whence he took his original. The continuation of the League, and the good Fortune of Christendom, died with the Life of Pius the fifth, and if his successor had had as much Zeal as he to maintain it; He was not happy enough to support it, for he had the displeasure to know, that the Venetians had broken it, and was agreed with Selim without the knowledge of their Confederates; whether they had Reason or not, I will discourse in the Second part, where I will examine the Causes of the Treaty of Moncon, which we made some years passed upon the business of the Valtoline.  
For what concerns the wars at Land, 'tis very well known, what Popes have done against the Common enemy of Christians, and against Heretics. In the second Expedition of Soliman against Vienna, and in th'heat which possessed him to purge off the shame of the first Expedition, It was necessary that Christendom should employ all her forces; That her rest was to be set up and oppose its greatest power to a Conqueror, whom Spite and Ambition animated to her Ruin; It must be confessed, that in this Occasion Charles the fifth was truly the Caesar of Christians, and that he fought for Religion in defending his patrimony. But it must also be confessed, that the Cares of the Pope were very sedulous to send him forces; To solicit for him in all parts, and to put him into a Condition to receive that formidable Adversary; So Soliman, as powerful as he was, durst not advance towards him; He durst not put his Glory to Competition with that of Charles; And as religious as he was, He broke th' Oath he had made, Neverto return to Constantinople but as Conqueror of Vienna, and loaden with the spoils of Austria.  
So soon as th' Heresy of Luther multiplied and felt itself powerful, It appeared rebellious. All the Septentrionals almostconspired against th' Emperor; nothing was ever seen so proud as that League, because it was very strong. The Standards of the Commanders were filled with proud Mottoes and with threatening words; And two Great persons th' one for the war, and th' other for th' Intricacyes of affairs, which were the Duke of Saxe and the Langrave of Hessen, made up the soul and gave it Motion. Th' Emperor in appearance ought to be suppressed with the storm that surprised him, and religion to have suffered final shipwreck in Germany; so truly it had happened, if the Pope had not run to his relief. The forces which Paul the third sent him under the Command of his Nephew, were the sinews of Charles the fifth's Army. And with that re-enforcement which consisted of ten thousand chosen men; That great Levy of men was dissipated. The Duke of Saxe was taken prisoner after he was overcome; The rebellious Cities opened their Gates to the victorious, and the Victory was at th' issue the Pope desired it; who apprehended, for th' Interest of religion, the progress of protestants Arms; and th'too great prosperity of th' Emperor, for th' Interest of Italy; These latter years when Heresy overflowed at the Diet of Worms, and that it proposed to change religion in all places, with the Change of States; All Germany almost conspired in this Design; and the forces which ought to have been Employed against the Turk and for the Recovery of Hungary, were turned against th'house of Austria, because it was Catholic or too ambitious. The revolt of Bohemia, and th'Election of the Count Palatine; The show of their first Arms, and the weakeness of th' Emperor, gave fear t'other Catholics, and raised the Courage of th'other Protestants in Europe; Italy was then threatened, Rome was also devoured in hopes; Babylon, said they, must be purged, and that which had been so long the principal seat of Religion, aught to be the principal seat of Heresy; In this public Consternation of Catholics, and in the fear of more tragical Events; This Evidence is to be given to th' Holy Chair, That eminent Reliefs were raised against th' Evils which happened, and against them that were feared; and that the Catholic League of Germany, hath been principally th'effect of the Pope's Authority and zeal. And truly it hath been so happy, and God so visibly declared in its favour, that we should be troubled to believe the prosperities which happened, if we had not seen them; and nothing hath fallen out more Contrary to humane Discourse, and to the show of things than the Ruin of the Palatine and the resurrection of th' Emperor.   

The Fourteenth Discourse.  
Of the Prudence which ought to be observed in treating with th' Agents of the Pope, and whether it be Lawful t' use dissimulation, and How.  
THough it be easy to infer from the precedent Discourse, How necessary it is that the Pope interpose in the Quarrels of Princes, and that he be made the Mediator of their Discords; 'tis easy also to conclude with what circumspection their Agents are to be treated with. Another Minister of State then, treating with them, ought never to be free from distrust; which assures business; which avoids snares; which defends from surprises, and leaves not deceit in the power of deceivers. That he takes it for Certain, That they are persons who bring Art to all they do and never descend the Action but well prepared; Who are Enemies t' Impetuosity, and ordinarily have no violent passion which Confounds Discourse and disorders Reason; That of all th' humours whereof the body is composed, esteem nothing so much as Phlegm; nor of all the virtues that enter into affairs, as Patience for to tyre them: He ought to know, that they lose nothing, and make profit of all, That sometimes they go back, to advance the better; That the last thing they discover, is their first Intention. That they turn the back, where they would salute; as they do, who row: And though the strait lines are the shortest, they love th' obliqne better t' attain their Ends, and to hit the Mark they propose to themselves.  
He ought then to be prepared against their Art and against all their Cringes: But he must in such a manner regulate his behaviour and govern himself with such a Temper, that he never make Discovery of his Distrust; That he make show of free deportment, and that th' outward Appearance make out nothing but freedom. He must fortify th' Entries of Conferences with th' opinion he hath of th' Integrity of him with whom he treats, of th' uprightness of his Intentions, and of the purity of his zeal for the public Good. He must give him also a taste of His Master's Inclination, If he be our friend that he may observe it, or that of his family, if it have passion for us, that he may not departed from it. From this open Action and free proceeding in show of design and artifice, of three things one will arise; either Impression will be made on his will; an Entry on his soul; or an Insinuation into his Inclinations, which will be an augury for us, of the good success of th' affair. 'tis a point which they ought ever to aim at, who manage business, and that they may assure themselves, that so soon as they have gained the will of any person, they become Masters of his reason, and understanding. 'Tis strange what power the second Faculty of the soul, hath, which is, to speak truth, nothing but heat and affection, above the first Faculty, which is Light and Intelligence. When she pleaseth, she draws her by whom she ought to the guided; she makes her walk after her desires, though she ought not to moved but by her discourses; She makes her find painting and dresses, for th' ugly things she hath Love for, she makes her disguise, under th' appearance of true, a lie which she will follow; and under th' appearance of Good, th' injustice which she will practise, This rule ought inviolably to be observed in all Negotiations, that they may be happy, That they benot manadged by persons that have aversion for one another. The second is, that if the person with whom one hath to do, stands firm and suffers not himself to be shaken by that kind of freedom and compleasancy. If he resists that charm and catch not at that bit, He will be the less on his guard when nothing shall be suspected by him. He will be easier tasted, he will breathe out some words to manifest his thoughts, and it may happen to him as to strong places and well provided for, which are sometimes lost by too great confidence had in their Forces, and by the little care is used to preserve them, believing that there's no need of it; To conclude, if some profitable use be not made of this Conduct, the mischief which attends an open Distrust, at least, will be avoided which is ever injurious to him in whose behalf it is exercised, which would raise in him sharp thoughts against us; and would draw th'inconveniences we would avoid; or divert the successes which we believe, not t'owe to the  of another and to his industry, but to our subtlety, and to our address.  
Two things also are to be remembered, Th'one that th' Art which I advise is not Art, if it be not concealed; and that it works an effect contrary to what a man proposeth to himself, so soon as it hath taken Air. This so beneficial confidence then, is to be expressed without affectation and excess. Otherwise truly, when it makes a noise and is irregular, when it speaks loud, and makes its action too pressing, 'Tis suspected of some design; it engenders distrust and creates a belief of the contrary he would persuade, And in this particularly, That excellent Rule in Logic is to be observed; That who proves too much proves nothing, or that good word of th' Ancients, That nothing be done too much, or that advice of St. Paul, To be wise to sobriety and with measure. Th'excess of compliments wherewith the Court is infected and th'Irregularity of Tattling which receives neither exception nor bounds, are certain proofs of what I have now said. So there are none but fools and new comers, that delight in it; able persons believe ordinarily the contrary, and seek the truth of intentions in the contradiction of words. Th'other thing particularly to be observed, is, Not t' employ this Art indifferently, and to all th' uses whereunto is proper; Not to make use of it t'assault, but to defend one's self; Not to deceive, but to secure from deceit; and not to make a poison of what ought to be a preservative. According to this sense, 'Tis also true, that dissimulation is permitted, & That whosoever knows not how to Dissemble, knows not how to Reign. The foundation of this opinion is, that though lying be forbidden, & that it is a thing unworthy of man, & a villainous perspective in his demeanour; That the exterior should contradict th' Interior; That the Tongue should belly the Heart, and that the Word should betray the thought, whereof 'tis th'Image and Character; 'Tis so, That no person is bound always to declare his sense, to retail all that is in the soul; To make the first comer his confessor and his Judge, and 'tis certain that God hath as well recommended silence to us to conceal Dangerous truths, as he hath given us speech to publish the Necessary Truths.  
The dissimulation which tends to the Ruin of ones Neighbour, and serves for a cover to injustice, aught to be shunned of honest people. And what gain soever it proposeth, and with what hopes of recompense 'tis attired; She cannot repair th' evil of the breach of the bond of public Faith, and of overthrowing the foundation of human Society; 'Tis a false prudence which th' Ancients have condemned; which the light of nature detests; which takes away credit from man, and makes even his good Actions to be suspected. In a word, it destroys ordinarily them that make use of it, and those double spirits and subtle motions are often seen to fall into the snares they have prepared for others, and into the precipice they have digged for them. They who teach this doctrine, and make science of deceit, propose examples, which are capable to divert a Man, and the tragical ends wherewith she is diverted make it appear; That when the justice of men fails, God at least fails not t' interpose his justice; To catch the Wise in their Wiles, and the Cautious in their Malice. The conduct of Caesar Borgia which was the Model of Machavell's Prince, and that villainous Original whereof he made so dangerous a Copy, had in the beginning some considerable success; But God who had permitted that person to be borne in his wrath and to punish the sins of Italy, and to be the Flail of them that were less wicked than himself; abandoned him at last to justice; Took his judgement from him for destruction, permitted that no faith should be observed to him who had so often broken it; That he who was so distrustful became Credulous, and was blind to the Nets the great Captain laid for him.  
Italy, as it is the Theatre of great vices and virtues, gave a little before another great Example of the same nature. Lodowick Sforza believed himself the subtlest person of his times; His Picture and Devises retained ever some mark of that vanity and all his entertainments are filled with that folly. He made profession to lead the great persons of Europe whither he listed; To have in his hands the Peace and War of other Nations, and to have been more powerful with his wit and address, than the Conquerors were with their Force and Armies. It happened at last, that he who had overthrown the peace of Italy, wherein she reposed, to satisfy his ambition; who had so often broken his Confederacies and Alliances; and had opened the way to Soveraignry by Poison and Parricides; that he, I say, besides the great Disgraces which vexed his Life, was betrayed at Navarre by the Swisses that were paid by him; sold to the French that made war with him; Imprisoned in the Tower of Loches; and for ten years together served for a spectacle to all Europe of the frailty of greatness, and of th' Inconstancy of worldly things.  
Our History is not unfurnished of illustrious examples in this subject. Charles of Navarre who had neither Faith nor Religion; who was the Firebrand of France and the perpetual disturber of its rest; who so often played upon the easiness of the people with his Eloquence, and so often abused the gifts of the Spirit which were admirable in him, t' afflict this Kingdom; with how many evils did he see himself pursued? His Quality of Prince did not exempt him from poverty nor prison; He was eaten with long and sharp sickness, and at last Fire consumed him by th' Imprudence of a servant, with a Cloth wet in Aquavitae. The Constable of Saint Paul subsisted long in the dissimulation he completely practised: but in long running his Art ruined him, and desiring to make use at one & the same time of two contrary parties, He was so deserted by th'one & sacrificed to th' other. Truly if deceits and wicked ways were not subject to violent accidents, and to such fatal conclusions, th' Ignorance, or Corruption of men is very strange, to help of nature the ways of reigning, and to destroy their affairs which they might find more certain, and honourable with prudence and discourse; what pity 'tis that so many experiences which have preceded cannot make them understand, that if virtue be sometimes unhappy, 'tis always esteemed; That it riseth oftener than Malice, when it falls, and that the good fortune of this consists not in the souls of them that exercise it, but in th' opinion of them, that behold only th' Exterior which covers it, and the superficies that doth surround it.   

The Fifthtenth Discourse.  
Whether it be lawful to make War with the Pope; Wherein the Demeanour which Philip the second, observed in the War he made is Commended, and that of Charles the fifth Condemned.  
TO resolve this matter well, and give it a full day and a perfect Clearness; 'Tis necessary to make use of the Metaphysical abstractions, and to distinguish the things which are effectively joined with the Spirit; But are truly divers, and have nothing of common but the subject which holds them, and the stock on which they are grafted. The Popes than are not now to be considered as Vicars of Jesus Ghrist, Who hath protested that his Kingdom was not of this world, but as Princes of th' Earth, and Lords of certain States in Italy and in the country of Provance.  
That being supposed, I say in the first place; that it seems that they who have given these Estates to the Church could not bestow them with other Intentions, than as they did enjoy them, and subject to the same inconveniences they were in the time of their enjoying them. And therefore the Popes, which enjoy them are not exempt from the right of Nations, no more than the first Masters of those estates, and that they ought to propose to themselves; Besides, that injustice is more odious in them then in other persons, who ought t' act only by charity; ' That 'tis permitted t'other Sovereigns to do Justice themselves, when it cannot be obtained of them, and that they abuse to the ruin of men, to temporal power they have received from men. So when Paul the fourth declared War against Philip the second and would take away the Kingdom of Naples from him, to give it t'one of his Nephews; Th' advice of the most eminent Theologians of Spain and Flanders, and amongst others of Melchior Canus Porta, was; That he ought not only t'attend in his dominions, the Pope's Forces, and beat them back; but that he might also with a good conscience enter upon the Lands of the Church by way of diversion, and to prevent the storm which was raised against his Territories.  
I say, nevertheless, that here distinction must be used, and 'tis very probable, that a War purely offensive against the Pope may not singly be undertaken; That there's no title of just War, nor consideration of State, which can dispense a Prince to retain with conscience, what he hath gained in justice from th' Holy Chair, and that consequences are not to be drawn from what intervenes in the Commerce of Princes purely temporal, and in the Quarrels they have together in relation to what respects the good of the Church, and the Revenue of St. Peter. The Reason is, that insomuch that amongst the first, 'tis sufficient that the War be probably just t'authorise the conquests that are made, and make the possession lawful of what is gained. Which happens not in the Wars that are made to Popes. To make out the true difference, 'tis of importance to stay a little upon this doleful matter, and to descend even to the Root of that justice, and to the final cause which makes the War lawful. The Sovereign Princes who have no superiors on Earth, who hold only of God by themselves, and are independent as to all other men, are dependent as Justice. And therefore so oft as they violate that Virtue, and break that Divine bond, which sustains th'Order of the World; Another Prince which shall be wronged, may repair himself of the wrong he suffers, and satisfy himself with his own hands. And in this, Conscience is safe, and the Wars, mads to repulse violence, are agreeable to God, and the blood there spilt a sacrifice of a good Odour before his Divine Majesty. Wherefore in th' Ancient Law he hath stirred up his people t' Arm themselves, and to fight; and he hath not disdained amongst his most Magnificent Qualities and most glorious Titles t' assume that of God of th' Armies.  
This at first seems strange by reason of th'Inclination Man ought to have to sweetness and peace; And since 'tis not seen that Beasts are greedy of the blood of their kind, nor Tigers cruel against Tigers; There's cause of great amazement that men should be so ingenious to destroy one another, and so fierce to ruin their very kind, That the noblest of all Virtues is Valour, and that of making war the most famous Art. That the glory of Alexander and Caesar needed two Millions of Lives, to rise to th' height it is at; And that ancient Rome allowed not the triumph but to the Murderers of all most a whole Nation, and to them who had depopulated a Country of the Flower of their Inhabitants, and poured out the Noblest blood of a Province. That would truly be strange, if it was done by an Instinct of Cruelty, If it proceed from a blind Envy, to drink up humane blood; and was conducted by any other spirit then that of Justice.  
That if we make no Question to take Physic, To permit opening of veins, and to make use also of Poison, and of fire t'heat our bodies; How much less difficulty ought we make t' employ violent Remedies when gentle are unprofitable, and that there's no other provision to be made against th' Irregularities of Princes and of people, nor to Maintain justice which is th' health of States, and the soul of the politic Body. That if what sovereign Princes practise in the person of their subjects, and the Example they make of their Crimes are, agreeable to God, and necessary for the world; How much more ought that to be just, which they exercise against other Princes, and is of the more General faults, and concern all the Nations of th' Earth in Consequence, & an infinite of particular persons in their private Interest. It were well to be wished, That of two parts which Compose the distributive; The world knew only that which gives Crowns to virtue, and Recompenses to Merit: But since Corrupted nature inclines more t' evil than to good, and that th' objects of virtue are not so frequent and active, as those of vice; That part of justice, which distributes punishment, hath by Consequent a more necessary use and more extended than th' other; and Sovereigns ought not more to be exempted, then particular persons, since they are alike faulty, and more dangerously Culpable. 'Tis the reason God hath put the sword into their hands, and hath Commanded that they should have power to punish, not only the criminals of their states, but also to revenge th' injuries done them, and require reason themselves of other Sovereigns, which had offended them, since they have no superiors, as particular persons who do the wrong.  
I speak here of the wrongs which one Sovereign doth to another; For what concerns the Sovereign to the subject, 'tis a business which other Sovereigns have nothing to do with, but to behold; as not submitted to the Jurisdiction of any person, and what God hath reserved for his Tribunal and for his Justice; when the power is Legitimate th' use may be violent, without being Lawful, for any person whatsoever t' alter it with force. The people who are oppressed, have nothing but prayers to divert it, or Patience to suffer it; Beyond that, there's no Resistance just, nor exception to be admitted. The Duty regards not the person of Princes, but th' Authority God hath put into their hands. The bad as the good possess it; and therefore he wills, that we acknowledge them equally, and reverence, as th'Image of his power, them whom we cannot love as th' Image of his bounty. The result of what hath been said, is, that a Sovereign may sometimes strip another Sovereign without injustice; That the states of th'one, may be the price and matter of Reparation for another that hath been offended; or of th' Expense which he hath made in the pursuit; and that there's nothing Committed, against th'order of things, if Innocent subjects suffer for the faults of their Masters. That they partake of his Evils, as of his Benefits and receive the badas good influences of the head whereof they are members. But for what concerns Popes and the Patrimony of th' Holy Chair, The Considerations is very different; They have Privileges which are not Common t'other Princes, nor t'other States. God extends to them a Certain propriety, by reason of Jesus Christ, for whose Love they have been given, which renders them unalienable, which are not to be usurped without sacrilege, and above the Right of Nations, and those universal Laws to which all Nations have consented for the General Good of the world. And 'tis not always true, That the things which change Master cannot change Condition, and take the Qualities of the last possessor which they had not with the former; If the waters attract the virtues of the Minerals by which they pass; If the goodness of the soil communicates itself to the plants which are brought thither, and gives them a growth they had not in another; If the proprieties of a Crown descend upon the Members which are united to it; And if Bretanny be subject to the Salic Law since it was incorporated into France; why should not the dignity of th' Holy Chair infuse some what of particular to the States which are belonging to it? Why should it remain Barren? why should it be without virtue and action in that behalf? Why should not Holy things have some exemption above the profane? and the Reflection which is made towards Jesus Christ obtain some Respect from Christian Princes, which they give not t' one another, and some special Distinction.  
I say, in the third place, when the Pope quits the functions of his Charge; and that, of Father (which he ought to be) becomes th' Enemy of his Children; when he breaks unjustly the Calm of Christendom, and carries the war to the States of other princes, They may preserve for their defence, and make use of th' offensive by way of Diversion and prevention; provided that neither th' one or th'other tend to Conquest, but only to Conserve, and pass not the design of a lawful Defence. So the Duke of Alva did exercise it in the war he made against Paul the fourth. He stayed not to make his defence just, till th' Ecclesiastic, and French Armies were joined and made Incursions into the Lands of his Master. He drew into the field whilst they were preparing; Entered the Lands of the Church, took many places, and gave Terror to Rome. And if he would have forced the Victory as far as he might, he had seen it crowned with the taking of the Chiefest Town of the world. But his design was t' affright the Pope, and not to hurt him; To show lightning, and restrain the Thunder, to constrain him whom he could not bend, and to bring him back to his duty by violence, who voluntarily estranged himself from it; So after we had received affronts before Civitella, and before other places by the fault of the carafes; After that our Army was Constrained to draw back and might have been defeated, If the Duke of Alva had been disposed to have gained bloody Victories, and not to have prepared bridges for his Enemies. In their Retreat, He made an Accommodation with Paul and an Accord, which I prefer before the greatest Victory Spain ever obtained. He restored all the places he had taken. He confessed his error. He was at Rome to make his submissions to the Pope; He demanded pardon for the fault'he had committed; so Rome received him, as in Triumph; He had th' honour t' eat with his Holiness, and merited of his bounty the praise of being the defender of the Holy Chair whilst he made war with it; And since when after six years of service, and for a matter of nothing, as I have else where expressed, Philip the second sent him a Prisoner to his house in the Country; Gregory the third interceded for him, and endeavoured to gain him his Liberty. In the representing to him the long and great services, which he had rendered to Spain, and to the Church, and particularly the Moderations he used in behalf of th' Holy Chair, when it was in his power t' have defaced it, unpuni shed; to make use of the privileges of a Conqueror, and t' exercise Advantages, which force gives to them that have it; This proceeding is worthy of th' Approbation of all Ages, and th' Imitation of all Princes.  
Th' Action of Charles the fifth in the same subject, is very different from th' other. Let us represent it as it is and in its natural posture. Let's take away the policies and painting wherewith the Spaniards have disguised it; Let's not flatter a Monster which cannot be form too hideous, and that so scandalous and black a Crime rest not unpunished in the Memory of Men. I am Content that the taking of Rome by Bourbon should be taken to be a Blow from th' hand of God, and an effect of his provoked Justice, and that the war inclined it to that side against th' Intention of Charles; and that Treaty which Moncado made with Clement was done without supecery, and with Design to Cause it to be observed by Bourbon, and to suffer the Pope t' enjoy the Truce of five Months, which had been accorded unto him; And that th' Army of Bourbon took the bridle in the teeth, and marched towards Rome in spite of his General. I speak not of the raising of 14000 furious Lutherans and burning with the first Zeal of that Heresy, t'employ them in a War, where th' Holy Chair had so great a part: But after that Rome was taken, & that dreadful accident was happened by the course wherewith it was guided; After that th' Holy City had served for spectacle to the World of the justice, and of th' Impiety of Men; After that the Pope was besieged in the Castle of St. Angelo; Why did not th' Emperor cause the scandal to cease at the first news he heard of it? Why did he not deliver Rome of that heretic Garrison, which abused th'holy things; who profaned the most sacred Mysteries, of our Religion; and added to all the kinds of cruelty, all the kinds of sacrilege. Why did he suffer the Pope to be put to Ransom, to redeem himself with Money from the vexation of victorious Heretics; and that Ostia and th'other strong place: of th' Ecclesiastic State, were the Price of his liberty, and th' Arguments of his servitude. I know well, that some answer may be made in his favour and for his discharge; That 'tis permitted to make use of th' Advantage; which we have not sought, but fortune hath offered; That 'tis lawful to draw good from th'evil which happens against our intentions; That 'tis the destiny of the things of this World, That the prosperity of some is raised by th' Adversity of others; and that th'affairs of State are like those of Merchandise, wherein the greatest secret is to know when to make right use of the time, and t' employ th' occasions to profit when they are offered. To that I answer; first that the evils which I have spoken of, and those dreadful Accidents, were the sequels of the breach of many treaties made with Clement, and of the violation of public faith in his person. And therefore, that the effects could not become Lawful, whose causes were so notoriously unjust; That the River cannot be very sound, if the Spring be poisoned; That conclusions retain always the conditions of the principles f●om which they arise, and partake of their spots and weaknesses; and that they who have been the promoters of some Evil, or have not diverted it when they were obliged, are bound to repair it, and aught to be security for th' ill consequences, they bring with them. In the second place I answer, that the person of the Pope and the dominions of th' Holy Chair are priviledged-things and of right are not subject t' all th'inconveniences, and t' all the disgraces to which the Person, and States of other Princes are exposed; for the Reasons above given and which shall not here be repeated.  
As to th' affliction th' Emperor seemed to declare, at the News of th'Accident, and the Demonstrations he published of an eminent grief; As to the mourning he put on to make his Displeasure visible; and to the Processions he made upon that occasion; And the rejoicings for the birth of his Son, He caused to cease; To weep, th' ill fortune of the Pope; All that, was but illusion and Comedy. So that false sadness suddenly disappeared, and that vain show of grief was presently belied by the proceed above mentioned. And moreover Francis the first reproached him in one of his Manifests; that he had dared to think to send Clement into Spain, and conceived that monstrous vanity, To have at the same time in his hands, the two principal persons of the World, and two so great prisoners as a Pope, and King of France, The Spaniards answered that if Charles had had the will, who could have hindered him, to have executed it? And who are strong enough to oppose his designs, in a time when Fortune refused nothing to his desires, when his prosperities gave fear t' England, and Italy was amazed at the blow which it had newly received. When France was mortified for th'Imprisonment of its King, and th'heretics of Germany made brags of the purging of Rome from its abominations, and abating the Pope doom under th'Authority of a Catholic Emperor.  
To that, Answer may be made with Francis the first, That Charles was diverted from that design by th' Horror the proposition raised to all Spain. That the people murmured and the Clergy raged, when there was speech of leading the Vicar of Jesus Christ in Triumph, and to make a Prisoner of th'head of the Church.  
Though it be very hard to justify the truth of this fact, & to make visible a matter so dark; 'tis better to leave it in darkness, and to suspend herein ones belief, for the honour of a Prince that hath much merited of the Church in divers occasions, and to whom the glory of beating back Soliman cannot be denied, and th'assuring of all Christendom in the defence of his patrimny, and the States of his brother. At least, 'tis certain that if he was a sinner, he was a Penitent; and that he washed his faults with the tears of three years, which he poured out in his retreat from the world, before death took him away from it.  
Others aggravated this fault by th'evils which Fortune raised t'interrupt his prosperities, and by the divers faces which she shown to them of his Race. They mentioned the disgraces of his Brother, The Rout of his Armies at Ezechio, and at Bude, and th'other Victories which Valour did not so much give to the Turk, as th' ill Fortune of Ferdinand, and the Cowardice of his Captains. They did not conceal th' occasions wherein he saw his designs overthrown, and his person in danger; The sinking of his Fleet in th'haven of Algiers; and that fearful loss, which hath not been equalled by any loss made by Christians on the Sea, but by that, which his Son made in the Sleev of England; They represent the success which the second League had against him in Germany: The Chase which Maurice Duke of Saxony gave him; And the necessity whereunto he was reduced, to save himself by night, and the sixth person at Isburg, and to consent to the peace of Passo so injurious to Religion, and so unworthy of th' Empire: And to conclude, they add th' ill success of the Enterprise of Provance, and the shame of the siege of Mets, which was the last deceit fortune put upon th' Emperor, and th' accomplishment of the design he meditated to put himself out of her power in quitting the World where she is so sovereign. I will not affirm, that all these Evils befell him in revenge of the sacking of Rome, and th' affront offered to th' Holy Chair. It might happen that God sent or permitted them for that subject; And it might fall out also, that they sprang from other reasons, and were th' effect of another cause. Insomuch, that according to the judgements that are made upon that Matter, and th'Examples which are alleged of them whom God hath punished for offending of Popes; There's more in it of opinion then of science, and of conjecture then certitude. For who hath been of God's counsel? who ever entered in to the depths of his Wisdom? Who hath pierced the darkness where he hids himself? 
Tenebrae, latibulum e●us.  and to whom hath he discovered the secrets of his providence, and th'hid causes of the government of the world? The Death of Bourbon of the first instances given is not so concluding an Example, nor so demonstrative as 'tis believed, against what I have now said. I deny not, but that God might have permitted it as the punishment of the sacrilege he committed in forcing Rome, or as the vengeance of the breach of a Treaty whereupon Clement trusted, and whereof the confirmation had been often repeated unto him to surprise him. But I know also that the violent end of that Prince might proceed from a cause merely accidental, and th'ordinary fruits of a profession which spares no person, and where Musket shot makes no distinction betwixt private Soldiers and Generals of Armies. It might also happen; that if the justice of God did particularly consider that death; It was to correct a man whose Revolt did so much evil to his King, and cost so dear to his Country; or more likely as a Revenge for Lombardy which he deserted to be spoilt with Gruelties and Rapines, and not to suffer his perjury to pass unpunished when he promised Milan t'ease it of the Garrison that devoured it, and to draw from it willingly, the last drops of its blood, and what remained in it of Substance.   

The Sixteenth Discourse.  
The defence of Gaston of Foix against them, who say that God punished him for making war to Julius th' eleventh; with the comparison of that Prince, and of the great Captain.  
I Am sorry that Gaston of Foix is placed amongst th' Examples whom they say God hath punished for having made War. The respect I bear the virtue of that Prince; The great things he did in his very youth, and the value some Lords of France have with me; being of his blood, and who have with him the same Original, are the causes that I will defend him here of Calumny, and aver that he had the Noblest Death and most glorious Life for the time it lasted, that History makes mention of, or fame doth publish; 'Tis certain that Gaston made war in a time when the Nations of Christian Princes were confused, and their passions very different for th'Interests of th' Holy Chair. Julius the second, who was then in the Chair, seemed to have forgot what he was; and to have renounced the Quality of common Father to make himself, Head of a party; or at least Member of a League form against France; The jealousy he had to see us in the heart of Italy; The implacable hatred he bore to the King, and the effects whereof he had made him to feel in the person of the King of Navarre, whose kingdom he had interdicted; Obliged Lewis the twelfth to prepare against the Tempest that threatened him, t'exercise the Right of Nature, and t'oppose force to force, and to repair to counsel to stop the violences of th' Armies of th' Holy Chair, which Julius had on foot, nor t'heal but to kill; not to edify, but to destroy.  
In this occurrence, when the Right seemed to be of Lewis' side, Gaston had the command of th' Army in Italy. And though the subject ought not to discourse upon the design of his Master', when he ought to follow without enquiry whither he goes, and that the Law which ought to be observed, doth not always declare the virtues of what it ordains; Gaston executed the orders of the King in a cause evidently lawful. To whom he owed obedience, even in Matters whose right had been ambiguous, and justice doubtful; That if he were slain at the battle of Ravenna, and perished in an Occasion whereunto no person goes not to die, but t' overcome, as he did, The chance of Arms hath so ordained it, and his Death was the more noble, that it encountered with his Duty, and that he was slain in the Exercise of his Charge.  
I sspeak not at this time of other Circumstances, which make his death glorious. To die at th' age of two and twenty years, being almost assoon Captain as Soldier; having almost at the same time put forth flowers, and brought forth fruits; after a Number of Victories whereof none were small, and the least might have laid a foundation, of Reputation for an eminent person; and in the midst of a prosperity so constant, that it was never in the power of fortune t' interrupt it; and so sudden and Impetuous, that ordinarily the last successes troad upon the former without Interruption, and the news followed one another without Interval. Add to this, th' Esteem his virtue had gained when he died; the fears and hopes it diversely occasioned in the world; and the contrary passions it produced in equal degree in the souls of his Friends and Enemies. It was such, that the French could not rejoice in the Battle they had gained, because that Prince died there. That Lewis the twelfth wished the like Victories to his Enemies to ruin them; and, what is most eminent and remarkable, That it forced Ferdinand of Castille to reconcile himself to the great Captain, and to withdraw him from that Retiredness to which a jealousy of State had confined him, to send him back to Naples and t' oppose Gaston, if he had longger lived; That it constrained an old Man, and a Soveraign-Prince to suppress so imperious a passion, and to restore the Employment one of his subjects whose greatness was in jealously with him. To die in that high Reputation, and go out of the world, before trial was made of the Revolutions of it; If it be a stroke of vengeance from Heaven, and the price of some great Crime; Let generous souls, that have th' appetite for Glory, and some Resentment of honour, be Judges of it.  
Since we have said that Gonsalve was to pass into Italy t' oppose Gaston, and that Ferdinand had designed him that Great adversary, if he had outlived the journey of Ravenna; Let's observe a little on whom in that war th' advantage might have rested, and on what side the victory have leaned, in a Difference where the Parties were so equal.  
It may not peradventure be amiss to divert the Reader with pleasure, and t' entertain him with a piece not unpleasant, though of no relation to the work. Titus Livius hath sometimes done the like amongst th' Ancients, and Paruta amongst the Moderns, and I cannot be much blamed in th' Imitation of them, nor t'have failed after two so great Examples. 'tis true, that the subject which I shall treat upon is extremely ambiguous and much troubled. If it be nevertheless lawful to ground some judgement upon the future, and to cast our eye upon the thing collected, 'tis probable, that the virtue of Gonsalve had given place to that of Gaston; that it had given him the field; and that fortune would not have abandoned a young servant, that knew how to make use of her favours, for a person that made no esteem of it, and was compelled to retire in the midst of Enjoyment. The long time that had passed wherein Gonsalve had not made war, and the great Cessation, in a profession that affords always somewhat to be learned; had without question much changed him from what he was: And as Iron rusts, when it is not handled, and Air corrupts, that is long shut up and putrifies; so th' Art of making war is unlearnt, if it be discontinued; and military Abilities are weakened, if they are not exercised.  
Secondly, Age that hath the property to take away the good sense, and to ripen prudence; hath also the defect to freeze the blood, and the spirits, and to weaken th' active Qualities, which are the Chiefest principles of Execution, and the nearest Causes of Victories. Insomuch that the Coldness of Age, if it have nothing but experience, prevents sometimes the committing of faults, but not always the suffering of Losses, and is not capable of Erterprises that are not happy, because they are bold; nor of Certain designs wherein there's less need of Circumspection then of Courage. We have also seen a great number of Brave persons whose Age hath taken away their Reputation, and whose Glory hath been effaced by long Life. We have no example of this truth more visible than that of Marius. His valour accompanied always the disposition of his Temper, It entertained itself in his fairest years, and fell in the fall of his body, and in the cadency of his Age. It hath also been observed, that the greatest part of conquerors, and vanquishers of Nations, did not attain th' Age of sixty years; and that Many of them have finished their days much short of that time by natural death, or by a precipitated or violent End. Caesar, Charles the fifth, Francis the first, Henry the fourth, and the last Prince of Orange, failed betwixt fifty and sixty years. And one of these stayed not to give over business, till he was in Condition no longer to retain it; nor to give over his greatness, till death would have taken it from him; But by a Prudence, higher than that of the world, and by Motives more generous than those that had made him t' undertake so great things; He quitted the functions of th' Empire, t' exercise them only of a Man; and chose rather t' end his Life in th' humility of a Religious person, then with th' Ambition of a Monarch.  
The Prince of Parma, who had th' honour, to give Life to the Military discipline of th' Ancients, and to advance that fair work which the Prince of Orange had finished, died at th' age of Eight and forty years. And 'tis true, That his Glory began to decline, that th' affairs obeyed him no more, as they had before done; and that his last designs had neither the good fortune of Event, nor the grace of Execution as the former had; Alexander, Germanicus, The Marquis of Pessary, and Don John of Austria have encountered the same period of Life, and a death almost alike. All four passed not the Age of thirty and three years; and all four fell rather by the Malice of others, and with great suspicion of poison, then by the fault of their Complexion or by open force.  
This rule nevertheless is not so general, that it admits not of Exceptions; and there all valours, which resist the Ruin of the body, and th'injuries of Age they maintain themselves in spite of the Time. Insomuch, that 'tis not the blood that heats them, but reason that enlighteneth them; And without speaking of the present Age, the past hath produced a Constable of Mountmorancy and a Duke of Alva, who have preserved an entire Reputation to the very extremity of Age; whose last actions have been the Crowns of the first, and the Conclusion of life, the glory of all the rest. This nevertheless is very pure, and 'tis otherwise true, That fortune hath been pleased to favour young Captains, when they were wise against th' old, who have not the Courage so active, nor the Virtue so violent. And by consequence there's some appearance, that she would have declared for Gaston, and been of his party against the Great Captain.  
Thirdly the great Captain came to the Government of an Army whose officers and soldiers were scarce known unto him, nor had th' army other knowledge of him then his Reputation and Glory. Insomuch that 'tis a Question, if there had been any Sympathy at least at his first coming betwixt th' head and the Members, whether their Manners, had agreed, and the Proportion had been adjusted to the Command and obedience. Fourthly, he came to Command an Army shattered and of unfortunate Troops; and he was necessitated at the same time to fight the despair of his soldiers, and the boldness of his Enemies. On the Contrary Gaston was in Exercise, and in breath, and the war he carried into the kingdom of Naples had been but a Consequent of his good fortune, and the Continuation of that. He newly finished most happily in Romagna: He exercised a Sovereign power in his Army: He had th' heart of all his Soldiers: they loved him as their Companion, and respected him as their General: His beauty and good fashion, and the other Graces of the body which render virtue the fairer, and in an age when they make strongest Impression, and have an action more lively: His beauty that was extreme and just; that was neither excessive, nor retentive; who knew how to give much, and to distinguish of Persons; who obliged honest Persons, and contented the covetous. His Courtesy was capable to compel his Enemies to change their passion, and so wish him in the practice of it; Th'Eloquence wherewith he changed the spirits of Men, prepared Courages for him as he would have them; and brought Moderation t' impetuous spirits, and boldness to the fearful. All those Qualities, I say, together, might give him hopes to lead his army as far as humane force could go, and he ought not to have proposed any difficulties to himself but impossibilities.  
Briefly, Th' opinion the soldiers had of his Fortune and Virtue, and th'Experience they had so often made of Th' one and th' Example he had given them of Th' other; Enabled them to dare all dangers under so valiant a Commander, and t'hope all good success under so happy a Commander.  
From all these Conjectures, I conclude very rationally, that the death of Gaston, hath been the good fortune of Gonsalve. That if Gonsalve, deserved to be compared to Scipio, That our Heroic Gaston, if he had lived long, had deserved preference to both of them. And if the greatness of things he ought to have done, were to be judged by them he had done; That none of th' ancient Captains had surpassed him in the Glory of Arms, and that He had surpassed all the Modern Captains.    

Considerations upon the principal things which the King hath done, since the Landing of th' English in th' Isle Rhé, which will declare some Conditions necessary for a Minister of State.  
The third Book.  

The First Discourse.  
Of what Importance, Care and Vigilancy are, for a Minister of State; and that nothing is to be neglected, principally in War.  
CAre, Labour, and Vigilancy, are not things purely spiritual; The body seems therein to have the best part, and if they derive their Original from th' understanding. they determine in the matter, and sensible objects do bind them; They are the nearest causes of execution, and without them a Minister of State may peradventure be wise, but can never be happy. On the contrary; there's no difficulty, nor resistance which may not be forced by their aid; with them fortune is constrained to follow; Good counsels are assured; Bad are corrected; Things are supported and overthrown; and that form is almost given to business which is proposed; 'Tis then of great Concernment to neglect nothing that may be profitable, That no accident is to be esteemed small, if it may incommodate; That every moment ought to be of precious esteem, if it be necessary for us. And that the Maxim of Morality be remembered, That evil is raised out of the least defect in things; and that Good to be such requires that every part be entire and sound.  
Above all, in great misfortunes, & in the violence of fortune that all advizes must be heard; and all things attempted, though they seem impossible; For then, much must be hazarded, provided that it be not all, unless we are constrained thereunto, and cannot save ourselves but in ruming a course to destroy ourselves. Moreover, we ought t' Imitate the Wise Physician, who will never ordain dangerous Remedies, and whose operation is doubtful, but they will try divers, of whose goodness they may not be fully assured but that they shall not kill if they heal not, and will not make th' evil worse if they do not ease it; In a word, 'tis not to be believed what great and incredible effects are produced by an exact care, by a constant diligence, by an infatigable contest, and by that prudent inquietude which always acts, which forgets nothing, which never gives itself liberty, and forceth at last what holds too fast, and draws what will not follow.  
Caesar was incomparable in these Qualities, as in all other that form a great Captain. No person ever took more pains in the War; or exercised more functions together in his Army, nor that more desired to be present in all occasions, or that was more obstinate t'execute his resolutions, not to retire when he was once advanced, and not to stand in the midst of an enterprise; 'Tis true that he deliberated much before he undertook any thing, and did not cast himself blindly upon any design; He did not prepare to make war after he had begun to make it; The provisions answered always to the time, he had forecast to make them continueth and th'execution never deceived his providence. But after that he lost not a moment of time, nor an occasion of advantage, and never remitted to the next day what he might execute the same day. He seldom trusted but to his eyes and judgement, and for the most part he went in person to view the Country he would assault, and th' enemies he was to fight. When th' occasion pressed, he made incredible Marches. He passed Rivers by swimming, t' avoid going about to gain Bridges; He crossed the Seas in small Vessels to make the more diligence, and chose rather to sail in Storms, then suffer his business to run hazard; and to put his person in danger, rather than his fortune: And it must not be a wonder, if in his profession he left all the men in the world behind him; And if it hath been doubted, To whom the victory had remained, if Alexander had made War to the growing Commonwealth; No Question can be made but he was inferior to Caesar, who destroyed it in its most vigorous Age, and in th'excess of its force, and made it fall from th'height of its greatness, and from the top of its Power.  
On the contrary, the reason why the Reputation of so many Men, is seen to pass with the time, and their glory t' extinguish; 'Tis the diminution of Labour, and the default of Vigilancy; This diminution & default proceed from several causes. The first is, that as in the condition of particular persons, a man's fortune doth not always advance with equal pace, and with an uniform progress; That it stops toward th' end or moves slowly, though it come with impetuosity and swiftness: Insomuch that he who burned with impatience in the beginning to quit poverty, and laboured with Zeal to become Rich; So soon as his desire is satisfied, and that he sees himself in plenty, HE abates of his cares, and would enjoy with rest th'fruits of his industry. So the man whose spirit is possessed with the passion of glory, and meditates the great actions which do beget it; when he hath attained his end; That he hath filled the World with the reputation of his virtue, and hath form in himself a great opinion of himself; Th' hunger of honour which pressed him at first, becomes moderate; and by consequent, his first contest weakens, and his ordinary diligence diminisheth.  
A second cause of this diminution, is Age; and 'tis no wonder, if the body which destroys itself grieves the Soul; and if it operate not with the same vigour, as it did, when th' Organs are spoilt, and th'instruments of use wear out; This rule nevertheless is not absolutely true, and hath its exceptions, as I have said elsewhere.  
A third cause are the diseases; which produce the same effects, and more dangerous than Age, because they produce them more suddenly, and with more violence; and 'tis not possible, that in the grief of the body, and weakness of nature, a man can intent things, that are without him, and at the same time contest with the disease and business. Besides, what hath been said before of Philip the second, The Spaniards have also observed, that their affairs in the Low Countries declined with th' health of the Prince of Parma, and began to change when he began to be sick; and nevertheless being of a very vast spirit, and active humour, He would not abate any thing of his accustomed occupations. He would do more than he could. He would retain the same authority in business, as when he had his health. He could not ease himself upon the cares of another, and thought that nothing was well done, but what was done by his Orders. When he was hurt before Candebu; He put the command of th'army into the hands of his Son; and in regard he was but a young Prince, and to whom experience was wanting, and that sort of Capacity which comes not from study, or nature; He would supply that defect by his Counsels; Th' Army was at juetot, and the father at Candebu where he was dressed of his wound? There he would be Consulted with upon all Occurrences, and th' order for what was to be done was fetched a League off. In the mean time, the time passed in going and coming; the state of the war changed Countenance; new Accidents demanded new Counsels, and the Spaniards lost fair occasions t' inomomodate us whilst they went t' ask his permission, and we made no small advantage of the Disorder of a body, that was so disunited from th' head that governed it.  
But to make the benefits of Vigilancy the better t' appear, and th' operations of that sharp virtue, and of that unquiet Prudence, which is ever in Action, which makes profit of all things; that suffers nothing t' escape, and particularly in the war where occasions stay not and never return, when they are once fled away; Let's demonstrate this by apt examples; When Gaston of Foix drew to the Relief of Bonlogna against th' Army of the League which had besieged it; If at th'entry of the Town, he had drawn out to Charge th' Enemies, he had surprised them; He had defeated them without resistance, that had not been on their guards because they disinherited nothing; and the delay of one night which He gave at the Requests of his Captains for some rest to his soldiers, ravished from us a victory which had all Italy for price, and cost us a little after the Life of that prince which was of more virtue than all Italy. Th' evening before the battle of Jury, The late King had taken his quarter at Menoncour; The Marshal of Charters was to discover it, and observed that his Army was weak and affrighted; Sr. of Maine nevertheless would not Charge that evening t' untire his soldiers, who were haressed with the Labour of the way, and with the long Marches they had made; in the mean time three thousand foot, and Eight hundred horse, arrived in the night to the King, who gave Courage with th' hopes of victory to his Army, and after prevailed for the gain of the Battle; which they run hazard the day before to lose.  
As to th' Important victories, which Care and Diligence have occasioned, and have as it were forced from the hands of destiny; I observe three famous ones amongst the Modern and which ought to be observed with a particular attention. The defeat of Francis the first before Pavy is without doubt, a work of th' Emperor's fortune, and of the virtue of the Marquis of Pessary, who was one of the chief Commanders of his Army. But it ought chief to be attributed to his Industry, and to that Indefatigable and hot humour which never gave him any Rest, which held him in perpetual action; which exercised him day and night, and forced business t' obey him, and to come to the point he had proposed to himself. In that manner He overcame us against all show of Appearance, and got the better of us, though we had then no need of any thing but patience t' overcome; That we had nothing to do but to defend ourselves, and t' hinder being defeated for to defeat them: First he did beat down the Forts which covered our Army, and rendered his Avenues safe; He advanced towards us without loss of time, or taking of rest, and before almost we could see them come. He fell into the King's Quarters, and constrained him to fight, and to put t' hazard what he had assured, if he had kept his advantage. On the contrary there's no place of excuse for Francis, nor palliate his blindness, and that stupid negligence, wherewith he was possessed in the midst of his Army, without knowing the State or Number of it, but by the report of his Captains; and not knowing the designs of his Enemies, till he was not in a Condition to break them, and not being prepared to resist them but believing them too weak t' assault him. A notorious fault in War, wherein the necessity of fight should never be permitted, nor t' act at the pleasure of enemies; where they ought never to be despised or esteemed weak; where th' Eyes ought to be employed on all things, and nothing neglected, and where small Accidents are ordinarily the beginnings of great Revolutions, and th' original of the good, or bad success of Erterprises. The second Example is of the last Duke of Guise, when he defeated th' Army of Germans which came to overcome France under the Command of the Duke of Bovillon, and of the Baron of Auneau. So soon as he had discovered th' Army he never allowed in any rest, and lost not an occasion of Incommodating it; He gave it Continual A larmes to tyre it; He had it in his Brain, when it Marched; He vexed it in its Quarters. He cut off the ways of Provisions from all sides, and at last in three encounters at Vimony, at Auneau, and at Mount beliart, dissipated the whole Army.  
The third Example is, the Relief of th' Island of Rhé. It must be acknowledged that the glory of that success, which will appear another day a Miracle in the life of the King, or a fable in History, is an effect of the piety of that Prince, and a visible Argument of th' Inclination which th' heavens have for him; But it must be also confessed, that this good fortune was not given him freely, and that he hath aided th' Hands of God to work this wonder; The fever hath newly left him: His recovery was yet uncertain, and it was necessary for his Courage to complete the support of his body when he put himself into the way to find th' English: what he did in an Occasion apparently deplorable, may be judged by his accustomed Actions, which were always of greatest difficulty; And though th' Actions of Princes resemble th' Essences which contain a great Virtue in a small Quantity; and though they do little, yet operate much by reason of the force of th' Example; So it is that the King would not have believed his Charge to have been discharged but in doing more than th' others. If he had put them only on their way, to let them after that march of themselves; had he not always served them for guide; If he had not made way for them without Interruption; and if he had not been the last to quit labour and to retire from Action. Moreover it must be further avowed, that as in th'affairs whereof we now speak, He hath forgot nothing of the duty of an Active, and laborious Prince, and that he hath also there Completely served; so that th' Instruments which he there employed, betrayed not the virtue of the principal Cause; Monsieur his Brother made his first Arms there very remarkable, and the beams of that rising valour have been so lively and pure, that it was visible they could not proceed, but from a spring extremely fair, and that greater beginnings could not be expected from the son of Henry the fourth, and from the Brother of Lewis the just. As to Sr. the Cardinal, 'tis certain that he brought unto the work an extraordinary Contest of body and spirit, and that the cares and diligence He used in that Occasion were incredible, as th' effect that did arise from them. He manadged it in such fort, as a sick person is handled, to whom so little of life remains, that the least sinister Accident that befalls him, destroys him; and the least things forgot of what might be Cordial, would kill him. Two hundred posts dispatched in less than two Months, so many orders given, within and without the Kingdom; no advice neglected, that had any appearance of Good; so many vessels got together in so little Time, and so many provisions made for the revictualing of the place besieged. In Brief, all that humane Industry hath of Inventions; All that prudence hath of Conduct: All that diligence hath of activity, and all that Courage hath of boldness, employed in this Occurrence; are th' Infallible proofs of what I have said.  
But t' act in this Manner; It imports that a soul be extremely free, and have no passion but for his duty; That it be not divided, and 'tis not too much, that it employs all its forces in Occasions whereunto enough cannot be brought, and wherein th'Affairs are but imperfectly done, if any other Inclination divide them; That if we have seen great persons, as Caesar, burn with Love and Ambition and done incredible things; That if he gave himself up to the pleasures of sense, and to the conquest to the World; It was that those two Passions never entered into contest in his spirit, nor disputed of the Victory; and when the last appeared, the first gave it place, and left the field free; yet 'tis not possible, but they savoured of the relation, and that the contagion of th' one could not but offend th'other. This happened even to Caesar as incomparable he was, and the Love of Cleopatra had once almost destroyed him, and had cost him with his Life th'Empire of the World, If he had not by swimming, passed the Nile to save himself. But that Sr. the Cardinal hath this Liberty of soul whereof we speak, I have elsewhere showed, and therefore unnecessary to be here repeated.   

The Second Discourse.  
That the true exercise of Politic Prudence consists in the Knowledge of Comparing things with things, and to choose the greatest Good, and t' avoid the greatest Evil; And to consider whether the Counsel Sr. the Cardinal gave to pass into th' Island of Rhé, was grounded upon the Rules of Prudence; And if the King did well to march into Languedoc after the taking of Suze.  
'TIs a strange Hazard, and a hard necessity to be shut up betwixt two troublesome extremes, and of two evils which present themselves jointly, to choose the least. This last is a thing which all the World desires to do, and for which Nature hath imprinted in us a violent and sharp instinct. The lesser Evils appear good when they are preservatives from greater, and physic is good by reason of the diseases it is ordained against. But to know how to make use of so dangerous a Composition, to know how t'hold the Balance straight, that is filled with venomous drugs, and whose odour strikes into th'heads of them that hold it; and to discern of things, whose quality astonisheth the sense and confounds the judgement, if it be not accompanied with Courage; 'Tis not th'Effect of an ordinary prudence; 'Tis not employed with less difficulty though with more compleasancy pleasancy when good things are to be compared amongst themselves, and to discover the difference; when the spetious things are to be distinguished from the profitable; and them that have weight in them, from them that make a show; when we are to be exercised amongst the Caresses of Fortune, and the favours which she offers us, to stop at the greatest of them.  
I have observed two places amongst many others in the Life of the King, where, as I conceive, he hath divinely prospered in these two kinds of Prudence, as he hath made most wise choices upon the Counsels which have been proposed. Th' one upon the Counsel Sr. the Cardinal gave to pass part of th' Army into th'island of Rhé, to fight th' English, who without that had been Masters of it. T'expose of one side those brave Troops and Choice Soldiers; sacrifice so much Nobility whereof there were Princes; To send poor Boats against a Fleet of great Ships. It seems truly to have hazarded much, and to give up too much to Fortune. But also on th' other side, who shall consider that the loss of our Troop: was not infallible, but that th'loss of th' Island was if they had not passed, That the remedy was dangerous, but that there was none other t'heal the disease, and that one part of the State was ready to be divided betwixt Domestic Rebellion and foreign Domination, if th'island had not been relieved; must confess that this Counsel was not less commendable in the spring than in the success. If it was very bold, it was entirely necessary, and one could not only not do better, but it could not have been well done if it had been otherwise done.  
Th'other observation is in respect of the Counsel, which Sr. the Cardinal gave to hasten to Languedoc after the taking of Zusa; It must truly be confessed, that then there was a necessity to make a defence against the most subtle attempt & fairest show of good, which might have seduced an understanding if it had not been very strong to make resistance. On th' one side the State of Milan was in prey, and that beautiful Country which heretofore gave so much love and jealousy to two great Princes, 
To Francis the first, and to Charles the fifth.  which cost France and Spain so much Blood, and put Christendom so often into a Combustion to know who should have it; was ours without resistance. It depended upon the King in appearance to become Master, and to take revenge of th'affronts which we have received there, and of the five times that they had driven us by force out of the Country. It was unfurnished of men of War, and there was but some miserable Troops, that had escaped at the siege of Casal, and which the sole report of our Arms had overcome. All the Princes of Italy made us tender of their Aides, and believed that th' Hour was come to take away the Fetters from their feet, and deliver their Country from the yoke which was not natural to it, and from that violent Domination whose shadow was dangerous t'all its Neighbours, and weakened their Liberty if not oppressed it; The Emperor was diverted against the King of Denmark and he could not draw his Armies from thence without abandoning his Victories, and without betraying his good Fortune.  
Spain had neither Men nor Monies; It was astonished at the loss their Fleet had newly suffered; it saw powerful preparations in Holland, which threatened the Low Countries, and a form tempest which it could not conjure down: In a word, Milan lost, Naples could not be preserved; and Flanders would have been lost of itself, in shutting up that passage, from whence it received its principal supplies to make War. And nevertheless this great power which gave fear to so many powers, which was formidable even to the Turks and Barbarians of Africa; which is fatal to the rest of Christian Nations, which obliged all of them to be with us or against us; Had been beaten with that single stroke, and we had nothing more within to fear when the springs of our troubles had been stopped without, and the Instruments broke which make and nourish our divisions, and humbled th'author's or Promoters of our civil discords. These were the thoughts that in that time exercised the spirits of many persons, and particularly of th' Italians; and as 'tis the custom of men t'accommodate their thoughts to their interests, and to flatter themselves in their desires, they imagined that ours were like theirs; Though in that point, our Interests were disagreeing. But also on th' other part, who shall consider that men must not spend their time about setting their hair, or paring their Nails when th' Heart and the Brain are sick; That great States never perish by a Foreign violence, so long as th' Interior is in health, and th'Entrails sound, and that they ruin of themselves when the corruption is within, and th'evil hath seized upon the Noble parts: That in long Wars abroad, a Prince ought not t' engage himself when the Diversion is ever ready within, and that there's a form feaction in the middle of the State, which will not fail to disturb for to prevail of th'Occasions. That the discontented will foment, if they dare not public assist, and to whom strangers will give heat, or forces to disturbus by ourselves; For to consume us at easy Chargges and always to weaken us either by loss or victory; Who shall consider, I say, these things, will avow that the Return of the King into Languedoc was a stroke of the gain of the decision of our Domestic Affairs & the good of Foreign Affairs. Furthermore, Can a greater misfortune befall us, then to lose the occasion of finishing the Ruin of a party, that hold France in Languishment more than sixty years, & had reduced it to a State equal to that of certain persons, who know not what health is; but are always busy either t'heal th'evils they suffer, or to present them they fear. The conjucture past; It was probable it would not return of a long time, and that 'twas to no purpose t' hope or expect it; It was so contrary to that party, that it could not but be relieved from Germany, that laboured to defend its proper Liberty; That England was wearied in protecting an ill cause; That th' Hollanders durst not irritate France openly by reason of th' use they have of it; and that they have learned to regulate their Charities by their Interests, and the Zeal of Religion by the Zeal of State: That the Spaniards had greater action in Flanders & Italy, than they could master; and could not act against us, but with a little Money, & with vain promises.  
In the third place, The Reputation of the King's Arms was incredible, it could alone make conquests; It could overcome without fight, and never Prince was better served of his Soldiers, or more feared of his Enemies. Our Soldiers were in heat and full of hope. The past victories were certain arguments of future, and after the taking of Rochel, & forcing of Suza, overcoming what was defended by Sea and covered with mountains; They ought not t'apprehend any thing impossible, nor any thing difficult. It was then the only proper season to defeat that party which Sr. the Cardinal most judicially observed, and the King most divinely made choice of. If that expedition had been longer deferred the plague alone had been sufficient to force us from Languedoc, and to defeat our Armies; and if we had been engaged in Italy what had not Monsieur of Rohan done with the Aid of strangers, which had not failed him? If the Spaniards, who ever promise timely and almost without deliberation; who perform slowly, and after long consultations; but who spare nothing when they are well engaged in a business, and have put those that serve them in a condition not to be able to repent, or unable t' unsay it; If the Spaniards, I say, had performed the conditions of the Treaty they had made with him, and furnished the Money they had promised. If the forces of Savoy had passed into Danphine to join with him as the resolution was taken; If ours had been divided within and without the Kingdom, and if th' hope of Change and Expectation of a better fortune, had withdrawn from their duty, them of that party which fear retained; He had without doubt broken all our designs, because they were destitute of its Advantages; frustrated of foreign promises; Abandoned of the soundest and most Considerable party of Hugonotes in the poverty of all them that aided him; and in the distrust of some, and irresolutions of others. In certain Corners of a Province where he commanded, He gave so much trouble, that the presence of the King was necessary and six Armies to reduce him.  
Moreover 'tis a great discourse to speak of the Conquest of Milan, and to renew beyond that Mountains the pretensions of our fathers; 'tis a design which well deserves Consideration before it be attempted, and requires another Conjuncture, than that wherein we are found; For who is ignorant, that 'tis not for the good of France, nor th' Interest of Italy, that the King be Duke of Milan? Who knows not that, our Conquests, if we should Maintain them, would give greater jealousy to the Princes of that Country, than the domination whereof they complain; That they esteem us worse Masters, and more dangerous Neighbours than the Spaniards; are more Conformable unto their Phlegm and severity, than our Heat and Licence. That they believe that we are a more certain and assured Counterpoise to th' Ambition of others than they would be to ours; That the facility we have to make our Armies descend into their Country, and th' abundance of men to relieve them, might give the desire of undertaking and usurping it; That th' occasion stirs up the most lazy, and raiseth the most sleepy; That present objects do raise all the faculties; and that Commodity and Conveniency provoke th' Appetite of Conquest which is otherwise moderate and quiet. And though th' Ambition of the Spaniards hath neither Moderation nor bounds; That they desire violently and desire Many things; That in th' order of their Counsels which neither change nor die, They have declared the war t' all Nations, which hold not of them by subjection or dependency; since this End is , & that they are troubled only in finding just Means t'attain it; and that they sometimes take such as are not just, when others fail, since of a long time they have made love t' Italy That they can no longer dissemble their passion; that for some years past, they have put off their Mask, and made it known that they must have it, and enjoy it, though they should ravish it; since they are not so poor of Men as they have been, since Germany is for them, & that they have at their devotions that great spring of Men of war, so it is that th' Italians see well, that the victories of th' Emperor have no deep roots, That its prosperities do yet shake; that them he holds, make great attempts t'escape him; That the Turk, it may be, will make him one day quit his hold, if he make an Accommodation with the Persian, or some Christian powers, that his ruin may not be so strange, as the Greatness to which he is arrived; and that in his Fall the wonder will not be so great, as it hath been in his Rising; In Brief, that he cannot live always; That th' Empire may pass into another House that may be Contrary to his; That may hate the Spaniards; That would purge Germany of their Garrisons, and at th'End of th' Account they shall endeavour the greatness of that power which in conclusion will devour them. Insomuch that th' Italians will be ever glad that we have a way open into their Country, not for to stay there, but to relieve them when they are assaulted, and if that little Liberty which remained unto them be offended, they would have us love the walk, but not the stay; That we become the Rivals but not the Masters, and that we have jealousy not for possession, but t' hinder others from taking of it; Beyond that, it must not be hoped that they favour us, or that they be not Contrary to us, and we shall labour in vain if we labour not for them, and leave them not our Conquests. Yet we should not so easily have gained the State of Milan as is imagined; A number of good places would have stopped our progress, and given Leisure to the Spaniards to send thither great releefs from Flanders and Germany; That if they have quitted the low Countries for a part of Montferrat, and exposed those fair Provinces to th' Hollanders, for a little Conveniency in regard of Milan; If th' Emperor made a shameful peace with the King of Denmark t' intent that Affair; If he left his victories imperfect for that Cause, and plenty of forces to th' enemies of th' Emperor to renew the Quarrel, and to give him Trouble; what would they not have done, if the State of Milan had been assaulted: was it not probable that they would have set up their rest to have saved it? That they would have stirred up all th' ill humours of France to divert us? That our frontiers of Champagna, and Burgonia had not been safe in that war, and instead of assaulting of them, they had, it may be, put us to the terms of defence? Insomuch that we had exposed ourselves to a present and certain Expense for an uncertain profit, and at a Distance; and for an affair wherein th' Appearance of damage which we should have run, was greater than th'hopes of gain we could have made. And when all things should have prospered, that Wind and Tide had been for us, and that th'event of the war had not deceived our desires nor frustrated our hopes; The fruits of the victory, and what might have been raised by our Labours had been no more at most then t' have weakened the Spaniards in imposing an eternal necessity of Quarrel with them, and to Consume France in maintaining the Conquests which should not have been ours, and t' assure to th' Italians the good which we should have done them.  
From all this I conclude, that the prudence of Sr. the Cardinal never appeared more eminently then in the Counsel he gave to quit th' hopes of the Conquest of Milan, for the Certain reducement of Landuedoc, and that it appertained only to such Eyes as his, and to an extraordinary wisdom not to suffer himself to be blinded with th' Appearance of the Good which fortune offered us, and t' have preserved the King from so specious an Ambuscado.   

The Third Discourse  
That one and the same Conduct in war is not to be observed.  
IT may be also observed in that valiant resolution which the King took for the Relief of Rhé; That th' Art of making war hath not a positive form, and that it ought to be diversified according to the State of Occurrences. They that will commit nothing to Fortune, nor undertake any Enterprise whose event appears not to them infallible; who labour only to consume their enemies in temporising; to make Benefit of their faults, and t' attend th' occasion to cast them into their nets: They I say do sometimes great things, and observe a better Conduct than they who have accustomed t' Hazard, and endeavour only to come to strokes; and will owe their Victories only to their Courage, and seek dangers t' overcome with the more Glory; But as the first receive but little notable damage nor great Losses by their fault; so they fail often, t' obtain great success by their fearefullness, and to be happy by their too great wisdom. Such have been amongst the Modern, Prosper Colomna who took from us the State of Milan, and that of Genes; such, Francis of Rovere, Duke of Urbino who was so long General to the Venetians, and whose Memory to this day is preserved with honour, and his portraites with veneration. But beyond the two others, the Duke of Alva who always preferred the slow means when they were sure, to the quick that were to be suspected, and never so little dangerous; Who was a great husband of the blood of his, though he had a very bloody humour; who did never cast enemies into despair, when he had taken their Courage from them; and who hath often refused advantages which fortune offered him, because he could not receive them without some danger, and that he disinherited some Ambush; Such had been also amongst us, Th' Admiral of Coligny, if he had been absolute over th'Armies he commanded; and if he had not governed a people, that were Indocile because they were ill paid or voluntaries.  
They are nevertheless some considerations to be raised in this matter, and certain Rules to be observed.  
A Prince that hath but one Army which is the sinew of his power, and all the force of his State, that hath not Money to raise another when the first is defeated; ought never t'hazard it: nor give the Command to a Commander of an hot humour, or that hath the Spirit agitated with an excessive desire of glory. The Venetians complain to this day of Asuiane and of his Courage; 
At the Battle of Giragdale & that of Vicenna.  His conduct was fatal for being so bold: It made them lose at one blow all their firm Land, and put them another time upon the Borders of their Ruin. And nevertheless all Historians agreed, that that person had done wonders under a Prince that could have hazarded much. That his virtue was worthy of the fortune of a Conqueror; and that in the journey to Marignan his arrival with five hundred Horses put in disorder all the Swisses, and made fall in our side the Balance where the victory was hung. In the weakness wherein th' Hollanders found themselves, and in the small means which they had to renew their Armies, The dead Prince of Orange hath ever been very backward to give Battle. Even that of Newport which he gained was not without some stain, and some shadow of Imprudency, and he hath been condemned in suffering himself to be forced to fight; and reduced to a Necessity, wherein there was to be feared more ill in losing then hope of good in obtaining the victory. But however a very few persons have been long in that profession but have committed some fault, or fell into some Misfortune. Another occasion wherein this slow Conduct is very profitable; and where a victory is to be obtained without fight if it be possible, and to be expected without forcing it to come, is, when we have to do with heady and hot Enemies. But in that case also its necessary that they who are to be commanded be capable of a great Patience, that there be wherewithal to make them long subsist, and that the faylor of necessary provisions oblige them not to disband. It was th' Advantage the Duke Alva had in the Wars he commanded, and if Francis the first had brought a little less and precipitation than he did before Pavia, and suffered th' Imperial Army to consume which sustained itself only upon th'Hopes of a Battle; He had not filled the vegeance of one of his subjects, nor completed in the spirit if th' Emperor, the design of the Universal Monarchy. With tumultuary Armies which are not to stay long in COMPAIGNA; which do only pass and pour in and steal out quickly; Care must be had not to come to blows: Passage must be given to them; They must be used like Torrents, which are permitted to run without resistance, and to whom no opposition is made when they swell and overflow. Such have been heretofore th' Armies of the Swisses, when that Nation disdained all others; and boasted never to have gone out of their Country but to suppress th' excess of Princes, and to defend the weak from the violence of the powerful, and from the designs of th'Ambitious.  
Other Nations have had in this matter ill opinion of ours, and believed that we were not capable of patience or order. But if the Marshal of Monlue be to be believed, and what is seen every day in Holland, and what of late hath been in France and Italy; Our Soldiers are capable of all things, when they are under good Commanders; and that there's no Nation that takes sooner than ours, the vices or virtues of their Commanders. However, a great Captain ought ever to be Master of his Art, and above all the forms of making War, without being subject to any; He ought to change them according to th' occasion, and know divers means, and many ways t'attain his end, and gain the victory. By such expedients Caesar, rendered himself admirable to all people, and Ages. He diversified his conduct better than any man in the World. He gave not the same form to all his designs, nor the same countenance; Industry or Courage, Patience or force served him equally. One while he assaulted his Enemies with Retrenchments and Forts; He Laboured chief to take th' Advantage of places, and to seize upon the most commodious Posts. He cut off the Springs of Victuals, and of all other necessaries, and forced them at last to the necessity of rendering, having taken from them the Means of retiring, and th'hope of fight; He gained his end in that manner of Petreius and Aphranius whom he besieged in the midst of a Compagna, and from whom he shut up so dexterously all passages, and all Avennues that being but half a Mile from a River, they died with thirst, and were overcome for want of that whose abundance is almost in all places; sometimes he overcame his Enemies by storming of them; He made them fall without Myning; His victories were infamous for flesh and blood, and the most merciful of all men seemed to be come into the World to decline it, and to have been born for the Ruin of mankind. The dead King had reduced almost to the like extremity the Prince of Parma at Juetot, and all believed infallibly, that he must die of hunger and thirst, or render at discretion, or be defeated in giving Battle. But the design of the King had not th' event answerable to Caesar's, no more than the vigilancy of his Captains was conformable to that of th'other; The Prince of Parma deceived them and exchanged subtleties. He fortified the place he meant to quit, for to make them believe that he would defend himself in it; and his Army had passed the River and made its retreat, before the first News came to our Army; Fatal and un-head of Negligence for an Army that touched ours, and was invested, and which was suspected of design, in some of the Commanders that governed it.  
Amongst the Modern, I see no General that hath surpassed Ferrant Gonsalve, nor any person more universal in th' Art of making War; I have not seen any person that commanded his forces to better purpose, or made better use of Patience. With those two Qualities he always overcame us, and hath taken a Kingdom from us. He hath done us as much hurt in making us suffer, as in acting against us, and hath consumed us when he was not strong enough to defeat us. Nothing almost hath been read like to the Resolution He expressed at Cinture; where we had reduced him to the last pain of Misery. He was invested with our Troops; The Plague and Hunger was in his Army; He was drowned with continual Rains, sunk in the dirt; exposed to all th'injuries of a Rude Winter. In brief, he had against him th'elements of Men. And nevertheless, at length we were more a weary t'incommodate him, than he was to suffer, and destroyed us by the course we made Choice of to ruin him. But when open force was to be employed, and true Valour set a work; who ever performed it with more Courage or judgement than he? Hath ever a more generous voice been heard from the mouth of a Captain then the answer he made at Cirignolle, to him who advised him to draw back; and t' abandon a Post he could not maintain but with great danger; He had rather, said he, find Death and his Grave an hundred Paces beyond it, then to lengthen his Life many years in retraiting ten Paces and turning his back to his Enemies. And, before the Battle of Garillan, He answered him that would have diverted him from fight, and giving of Battle, who presented unto him, that he was weak in respect of us, and the Match ill made betwixt his Army and ours, That he knew of what importance that day's Labour was to his Master's Affairs, and that he was resolved to perish that day, or overcome.  
'Tis true then, that there are Occurrences, wherein somewhat is to be submitted to Fortune: Where the less is to be hazarded to save the greater: And where when the Question is of the whole Affair, not only a part of the Forces is to be hazarded, but also the Generals of th' Army; and those precious heads which command so many other heads ought to take resolution rather to die, than see the Victory in th' Enemy's hands, and t' outlive it at their Loss. So did Caesar in Spain at the Battle where the Children of Pompey were slain, and the rest of that miserable Commonwealth finished their dost uction; so did Monsieur of Andelot, when he defended Orleans against th' Army of the Duke of Guise: So did the Prince of Parma at the siege of Antwerp, after that the Hollanders were seized of one part of the Ditch, & that th'Engine which they made to play, had made them fly which defended it; Th'one and th'other run with Swords in their hands to the Danger; both were then transported Declaring that he would die, if it were impossible for him t'overcome, and made appear by his action somewhat that savoured of despair, or rather of that excess which Philosophy attributes to the Heroes, and distils into the souls of extraordinary persons. Th'example of that pathetic virtue, and of that generous emotion was not barren. The Soldiers that saw it, felt the same heat, and by that means some of them forced th'enemies' from the Town where they were far entered, and others Recovered the Ditch where th' Hollanders began to fortify after they were lodged in it; Let's conclude then with th'Examples of the greatest persons of Antiquity, and with the first of the Modern, That the passage of our Army into th' Island of Rhé was not projected by chance, and without th' Advice of Reason; That it hath not been th'Effect of a light, troubled by ill success, and of a Discourse confused by ill fortune; but of a Resolution illuminated by that high prudence, which diversifieth its conduct according to the diversity of accidents which happen; which shift; sails according t' th' nature of the Winds which Reign: Which knows t' apply Remedies to the state of the Maladies; which dares quit th' Highways, when'tis expedient to take the By-paths, and which guides not always common virtues, but sometimes inspires, and gives birth t'Heroique persons.   

The Fourth Discourse.  
Of the Alliances of blood which are practised amongst Princes; and whether the King was well advised when he made that Alliance with England.  
I Treat at large th'alliances of State in the second part of this work, and particularly of that we have with the Turk, and with the Republic of Holland. There I do clear many Doubts which respect the Soul, and take away the stones of offence whereat they strike, who have not known the foundation, and stumble for want of Light. I give nevertheless nothing to conveniency that is contrary to justice, and flatter not the conduct of them who submit all other Reasons to that of State. I take nothing there, from God to give it to Caesar, I hold the just Balance, and stay at the temper which God hath advised, in the prudence of Serpents and the simplicity of Doves. Here I have thought it expedient, to speak of th' Allyances, which are practised in the families of Princes, to justisfie that which hath been made with England. All the spirits that were formalized at it, are not yet satisfied. The Wounds which are shut up leave all ways some marks; Some malign impression remains a long time after a poison is driven away; and ordinarily the opinions that are left, part not so neatly, but some impression remains. On th'other side, they that have observed the sequels of th' Alliance whereof we speak; who have seen the Depraedations upon our Seas, and th'Invasions of our Lands, and th'other erterprises th' English have made upon us; Who have understood, that their Ministers of State manadged that business with poisoned hands; that they did undermine us when they seemed to help us; That they stretched the Cloth whereof they were after called Merchants, and laid the foundation of the War which they made against us. These I say, have believed that there was somewhat wanting in the prudence of our Ministers of State, and that th' house was ill built that fell so soon to Ruin. Wherefore having discoursed of that War; I thought this the proper place to speak of the Alliance which did precede it.  
I say then, that th' Alliances of blood which are entertained amongst Princes serve very little to divert their designs, or to change their Inclinations. The dispositions they find in their spirits are there left; They put up nothing, but at most palliate them, and suspend for some time th' Action of the Causes which they cannot take away; And though it falls out otherwise in the Condition of particular persons, no Consequence is to be drawn for that of Princes. The Quality of Sovereigns which Princes sustain, hath privileged Duties, and begets passions to which all others are subaltern. The King in this is above Man. The Consideration of Parentage is inferior to that of the State, and th'Obligations of blood which are bounded in a few persons ought to give place to th' obligations of the Charge, wherein an infinite of Persons are Interessed. To that truly, Princes need not to be Exhorted; They are but too much carried to it naturally; They ordinarily offend less against their Dignity by default, then by excess. The love they have for it, degenerates rather into Jealousy, then into Idleness. And if you would have them forsake their interests, and the good of their affairs; It must be under the show of something that resembles it: And 'tis not the will, that a Man ought to propose to himself to be gained, but th' understanding, which is by Endeavour to be seduced; But 'tis true, that of too Extremes which bond the duty of Princes, they carry themselves oftenest to th' Excess, and that the passion for Commanding preserves not only what belongs to them, but makes usurpations upon all the Rights of Reason; upon all the privileges of Humane Society, and upon all the Respects, which are brought by Relations. Th' Examples are so ordinary that a Man must have seen or heard nothing to call it in Question. I will not speak of what hath passed in the time of the Pagans, nor of that Ambitious Roman who caused her Chariot, to be driven over the Body of her Father, to whose kingdom her Husband ought to succeed. I pass by that which they might have done who thought, that the glory of Command was the ultimate End of Man, and Ambition somewhat a nobler and a better thing than justice. But even amongst the very Christians, and in th' houses which Piety hath made famous, that Passion hath been seen t' overflow to the prejudice of blood, and violate th' holiest laws of Nature, and which the very barbarous people Reverence. I will recite here a Memorable Example. 'Tis a thing sufficiently known in the world what th' house of Austria was to th' Alliance of blood; and if devotion, as 'tis said, hath been the foundation of Greatness, 'tis well known, that Alliance hath built it up, and carried it from a Moderate beginning to that high Power wherein 'tis seen, and to that vast domination for which th' Heaven hath no Horizon, nor th'earth Limits. Maximilian the first hath gained by that means the Low Countries, and those fair Provinces which by their fertility, and by the wealth wherewith they abound, have deserved to be called th' Indies of Europe. Philip the first and his posterity have obtained by it all Spain, and those Countries of the new world, where the sun in retiring from us goes to beget Gold, and those other unprofitable things whereof men are Idolaters. Philip the second came to the Crown of Portugal by that means; and to all those States which that Nation possessed in Asia, in Africa, and th' East Indies. That very Prince thought t' incorporate England to Spain by the marriage of Mary his first wife, that was Queen thereof. But the judgements of God in that supplanted the prudence of men, and permitted that Princess to die without Children, either to suppress the growth of a Power which would have been fatal to the Liberty of Christian Nations, or for the punishment of the Iniquities of th' English, and that base Compliance, wherewith they had received the Schism which Henry th' Eighth introduced amongst them, and applauded the passions of that Prince who chose rather to quit the Church, then to separate from a Concubine. The same Philip also aspired to the Crown of France for his Children, by reason of the Marriage of his third wife daughter of Henry the second; and the most important Article wherewith th' Instructions of the Duke of Feria were Charged when he came to Paris during the league, was, to cause the Salic laws to be Abolished, and to root out from the spirit of the French their Aversion of having no Sovereigns that spin, and of not submitting to th' yoke of Women. Insomuch, that it hath been always the design of the Spaniards, and a premeditated prudence of the Princes of th' house of Austria to look about them, and to cast their nets upon the parties that could join some new estate to theirs, and under a Title so innocent and just t'extend their domination. With what heat did they labour to cause the eldest Daughter of Lewis the twelfth to be given to Charles the fifth who brought for her Dowry the Duchess of Britanny and of Orleans, and our pretensions for Italy? How many propositions were made upon that foundation, and how many treaties concluded, which the Time hath made abortive, and which Fortune laughed at; Nevertheless as they have been ever Industrious to draw to them as much as they could, th'estates of their Neighbours, They have been also careful, not to permit any of theirs to be alienated, nor to suffer any division without knowing the Means of Consolidating it; and to destroy the divided Members, and the lose pieces.  
Th' Emperor Charles never promised the Low Countries, or the Duthy of Milan upon the Marriage of his daughter, or of his Niece with the son of France, but with Intention to break his promise, or at least with hopes, that Fortune which had done such strange things, in his favour; that had so often given the Lie to Apparences, and disturbed th' order of things for the Love of him, and which had sometimes sent him prosperities which he desired not, would exempt him from that Obligation under some plausible pretence, as it did. And when Philip the second transmitted the Low Countries to th' Arch Duchess for her Dowry; There's appearance that he was assured, that time would make up that Breach, and that he made not so great a wound in the rest of his Estates without preparing the Remedies to heal it. But to return to my design, and make it appear, That th' Alliances of blood, work softly upon the spirits of Princes, and are but weak bonds t' hold their Amity's; I will represent th' original, and th' effects of that which hath been the most profitable to th'house of Austria, and it may be the most damageable to the Christian Commonwealth. Philip the son of th' Emperor Maximilian, married Joan youngest Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabel, Kings of all the dominions of Spain. Th' Eldest was married into Portugal according to their Custstome. The Catholic King had also a son called John who died young, and whom Spain saw almost as soon put out as shine, and had almost at one time the Contentment to see him come, and the Grief to lose him; Presently after the death of that Prince, th'Arch Duke Philip, and Arch Duchess his wife who lived only by the love she bore to her husband, and was Idolatress of all his motions and passions, caused themselves to be Called Princes of all the Dominions of Spain, to the prejudice of the Queen of Portugal, to whom the Crowns did belong in priority of birth to her sister. That attempt ill digested & out season, and that precipitated Ambition, displeased Infinitely Ferdinand and Isabel, who judged of the Tree by the fruits, and gave their son in Law and daughter t'understood, that they were to leave that borrowed Title, and to put off that imaginary Quality, and which did not belong to them. Behold a very pleasant Beginning of Philip's Ambition, since it made Invasions upon its own Relations, and the first show of that furious Appetite to reign which hath vexed his Posterity; After that he guided his Interests apart from them of his Father in Law; He held him always at distance, he looked upon him only as a Prince which stood in his light, and there was no other Communication amongst them but a continual Commerce of Complaints and disorders; In a Treaty which Maximilian and he, made at Blois with Lewis the twelfth, being permitted t' either parties, to Comprehend therein whom they would, He made no more mention of Ferdinand, then as if he had not related to him, or that He had been indifferent to him. He did also the same thing in another Treaty which his Father made at Hugano with the Cardinal of Ambois; so Ferdinand had his Revenge in disavowing the Treaty his son in Law made at Blois with Lewis the twelfth for the kingdom of Naples, and in Contracting a second Marriage, and marrying of Germania sister of Gaston of Foix, and Niece of Lewis, with Conditions that were Advantageous to us, if they had been observed. That which I have said nevertheless was nothing in respect of what Philip did, since the death of Isabel, and after that the succession of Castille was open unto him. The things past were but sweetnesses for Ferdinand in Comparison of th' usage he received after that death. The first strokes did scarce raise the skin, but the last entered deep and made Large and dangerous wounds. Philip will go into Spain not only to take possession of what was his, but to take from his Father in Law what belonged to him by the Testament of Isabel, Ferdinand employed all his Prudence, and all his subtleties to divert him. They Contest long upon that Article. Their wills were diametrically opposed; what th'one would not have th' other desired, and it had been less difficult t' accord Contraries, and to join extremes, then t' adjust their pretensions. Force being wanting to Ferdinand t' overcome th' heat of Philip, He used diversion; He caused Lewis the twelfth t' interpose who threatens him with his Armies, in case he went for Spain, and raised the Duke of Gueldiers against him who cut him out business in Flaunders, and gave him enough t' entertain him in that Country.  
In th' End, th'obstinacy of Philip being stronger than th' Artifices of Ferdinand, and the difficulties which stopped him being taken away or sweetened, they agreed upon the Conditions of his journey. Thereupon Philip put himself on the way, but with a resolution to break the Treaty he had made, and not performeth ' Oath he had given to his Father in Law, which he ought to have kept to an Enemy. Being in Spain he flatters the great Persons; He unties them from Ferdinand; He draws them to his party, who had but too great Inclinations for it, and were but too earnestly carried t' adore the rising Power, and a Light which began to show itself; Insomuch, that Ferdinand found himself alone: All his friends were unfaithful to him; all his Creatures abandoned him except th' Archbishop of Toledo Ximenes, and the Duke of Al●…a: so true it is, that there's but little Assurance in the will of Men, and that the Law of Interests is powerful upon their spirits; and the Memory of Good turns received, weak in Comparison future Benefits.  
After that, Ferdinand presseth an Interview with his son in Law; The Counselors of Philip oppose it with all their powers, and raise troublesome difficulties to divert it; They had seized upon the spirits of their Master, and taken his will from him having prepossessed his understanding. They were afraid, that Ferdinand would take off the Charm, and that the Reverence of a Father, and dexterity of a Great Politician would deface that usurped Empire, and tyrannous Domination: wherefore they omit nothing that might distaste Ferdinand from the meeting he solicited, and which he pressed for the Resistance; They propose exorbitant Conditions, which he accepts of; They add shameful Circumstances which he refused not; They use him unworthily and he bears it; and a Great King had the displeasure to receive the Law from petty Companions, who abused th' Inclination of an easy Master.  
At last th' Interview being resolved, Ferdinand renders himself at the place appointed for that purpose, but with a small train, and accompanied only with two hundred Men unarmed, and mounted upon Mules. On the Contrary, Philip advanceth thither, in th' Equipage of a Man of war, with the Body of an army of Dutch, which Marched before him, and flanked with almost all the Great Persons of Spain in arms, and in the posture of persons who went rather to War, then to a Treaty of friendship, and to a fight rather than to a Reconciliation. The two Princes met together in a Chapel, which had been Chosen for that Interview; Don John Manuel, principal Counsellor of Philip, and absolute disposer of his resolutions would assist at their discourse, and but for th' Arch Bishop of Toledo, who hindered him, He had been present at a Conference, which the Respect of proximity and the Dignity of those Two Princes, would have to be secret.  
After an hour and halves discourse they part, and the Conference passed without any mention made by Philip to the Father of his daughter, nor of Ferdinand to his son in Law of his wife. He dissembled for that time his desire, though he had an extreme passion to see her, and to Comfort his old age by the sight of an Object which was so dear to him, and which was the Remainder of his substance.  
There was a second Meeting betwixt these two Princes, wherein some demonstration of friendship appeared, or less coldness then at the first Interview; But the Conclusion of all the Conferences was the first design of Philip, that Ferdinand should renouce the Government of Castille, notwithstanding the disposition of Isabel, and against the express Clauses of her Testament, Ferdinand, who had learned t'obey the time and submit to Necessity; who knew how to strike sail when the Tempest was too strong; and to put in when it was not safe to sail; Bends under his ill Fortune, and resolves t' abandon Castille till a better season called it back, and to banish himself voluntarily from a kingdom which he had so long Commanded; Philip stops not there, He endeavours all he can to discredit the past Government, He annuls the greatest part of th' Orders his Father in Law had made; He deposeth the principal officers, and the principal Governors, which had been placed by his Hand. He would not, if possible, that one entire mark should remain, nor one visible Impression of his Administration. But it had been too little for him to have ill used his Father in Law, and his Ambition, it may be, had been pardonable; if it had at least pardoned his wife, and if he had not used her ill who had brought him so fair States, and such certain Hopes. She was truly the Queen of Spain, and who infused into her Husband, th' Authority of Government, and the Right of Commanding that Country. And nevertheless He would not suffer her in that society; He would not permit, that she who was Companion of his Bed, should be the Companion of the Sceptre which he had received from her hands; and seeks shameful pretences and odious Causes t' exclude her. A warmer love was never seen, than what that Princess had for her Husband; It seemed, that she lived only by the sight of him, and died when she was severed from him. That Excess of passion and Imbecility of soul changed in some sort her senses; and the jealousy which mingled with the troubles of his Absence, weakened a little her Brain and changed th' Organs; and nevertheless though that defect proceeded from so honest a Cause, or so supportable; Though Compassion ought to have obliged Philip to cover it, if Love were wanting to do it; and though Conveniency and his honour obliged him also to that duty, when he had neither Compassion nor love; He will nevertheless that that accident be the foundation of his design, to seize upon all th' authority add to Reign alone. He will have his wife to be entirely troubled of her senses, though she was only a little weak; He will, that she hath lost all he Reason, though she had only diminished it; That there was no Light at all, when there was only a Mist; and that she was in a total inability to govern, though there remained in her enough of good sense t' act; For that effect, and the better t' hid his Game, he keeps her shut up, and permits not any person to see her of them that durst speak to her of the State of her disease. A strangeproceeding, to take away her Liberty, after he had taken away her Honour! and not to leave th' se of the first good of natural life after had ruined th' Ornament of the Civil; The Father durst not open his mouth to him of it, in the first Conference they had together, and chose rather to suppress his Inclination, then to sharpen more that spirit, which was but too sharp; and to touch him in a place where he was so sensible, as I have above observed. In the second Meeting, Philip obtained of him a secret Declaration by the which he consented that he alone should have th' administration of State, by reason of th' Inability of his daughter, though after he made a public protestation, That his son in Law had forced from him that Declaration, and that he gave way only to the Malice of the time, and to the violence of the stronger, according to the Maxim of wise Men. Philip stayed not there, after that Ferdinand was retired into Arragon, He would oblige the Grandees of Spain to subscribe an Act, which he had caused to be drawn, of the weakeness of the senses wherein the Queen was fallen. But therein he found Resistance. Th' Admiral of Castille opposeth it generously, after he had visited that Princess, and discovered that the disposition of her Understanding was not entirely spoiled; Represented unto him, th' Inconveniencies that would arise from that Enterprise; The noise it would make in the world, and th' ill hmours it would raise in Spain, where the people love their Masters naturally, because of the Royalty they exercise, and reverence that Character in every person in whom 'tis Imprinted.  
At last, to give the world the final Example of ingratitude, and an Eminent evidence of the power of Jealousy, to reign without a companion when it hath taken possession of the soul; He would cause his wife to be declared troubled in her senses in full assembly of the States, and by Consequence unable to govern, which he could not obtain. There was his acknowledgement of th' incomparable fidelity of that Princess, and the payment of the most violent and durable love, that ever wife bore to a Husband. Therein was his recompense of that eternal passion which possess her during the Life of Philip to the change of his spirit; which could not be abated by his Death, and time that overcomes what is most firm in the World, and most opinioated, could never diminish. For 'tis true, that after the Death of Philip which was precipitated, & which cropped him in the Flower of his Age, & with some suspicion of poison, she never forsook the body, she caused his Coffin very day to be opened; she took it with her when she traveled, and accomplished what had been prophesied by an Old Woman of Spain, who had said, seeing th'entry of Philip into that Kingdom, and that proud Magnificence wherewith he took possession, That he would walk there longer after his death, then during his life. At last, after his body was laid in a Chapel of Granada in the Sepulchre of the Kings of Castille, she made her constant stay in that City, and poured out into Tears and Groans the rest of her Life, upon the Ashes of him, whom she had loved with so great Heat, and upon the Ruins of a body which she had Idolised.  
To what end serves then th'Alliances of blood, which are made amongst Princes? and since they have been instituted t'unite in friendship divers families, and t'extend them the more, and enlarge that virtue which is one of the Principles of the civil Life, and one of the bonds of human society; what use are they of in the conditions of Sovereigns? They may serve much, and are not unprofitable; provided that they come not in competition with th'Interests of State, and with that invincible jealousy which Princes have for the good of their Affairs. The treaties where they intervene, are made with more reputation and dignity, They are precious pretences to lay down Arms, which two Princes are a weary to bear; they are honest doors to let out wars, from which otherwise they cannot retire with honour, and which they cannot Continue without damage. And there's no resentment so just which they may not safely submit to the Consideration of the Parentage into which they enter, and of that sacred bond which is instituted to conjoin what is divided, and t' unite the wills which are disunited. Francis the first recovered his liberty with more honour by Marrying the sister of Charles th' Emperor, and he made appear to the World th' Esteem he gave to his Prisoner, in seeking his alliance. The peace of Soissons which followed a war wherein the same Princes did run two great though different Fortunes; Th' one to lose a part of his States, and th' other of his Reputation in retiring; Had for foundation the Marriage that stayed it; and which was not accomplished betwixt Charles third son of France, and one of the Daughters of th' Emperor, or one of his Nieces. The peace of the Castle of Cambrey which was so pernicious to France; which took from us in one day, what we gained in Forty years, which being th' End of our foreign wars, was, it may, he the Beginning of Civil wars; Comprehended the Marriage of Elizabeth, Daughter of Henry th' second, with Philip the second King of Spain.  
The daughters which enter into Sovereign Houses may also do much for th' Interests of them from whence they come, when they seize upon the spirits of their Husbands, and gain th' Ascendent upon their Wills which sometimes happens. That subtle Portugese which Married Charles the third Duke of Savoy, did what she would with him; in the differences of Francis the second, and Charles the fifth. And in that famous dissension whereof Piedmont was so long the Theatre, she turned Her nephew of th' Emperor's side, though the good of his affairs obliged him, to be of our side, and made him take the most disadvantageous part in a war, wherein he had even done himself wrong if he had stood a Neutral. That Lacedaemonian understood it better, and her Conduct was more judicious though it may be not just enough. Her father and Husband were Entered into a Quarrel, and laboured with great Obstinacy the Ruin of one Another.  
In that hard Access, and cruel Conjuncture, wherein she could not gain without loss; she proposed to herself to follow always the fortune of the weakest, to make the Counterpoise to the strongest, and to dispose them to Reconciliation, when both despaired of the victory, which succeeded unto her. Alliances are also good to preserve union, and nourish th' Intelligence of Houses which otherwise are obliged to be of good understanding, and which a Common interest doth conjoin and bind. Insomuch that if they make not the knot, they tie it faster, If they form not the friendship, they heat it; if they do not introduce the concord, they confirm it; 'tis for that reason they are so frequent amongst the Princes of th' House of Austria, and were heretofore betwixt them of France and Navarre, and betwixt them of Castille and Portugal, before th' union of those Crowns. But what must be understood of most certain from Alliances, and to which Princes who make them, and their Counsellors, ought chief to have an eye; is, to draw some present utility, or some future good, whilst the Wills of them who are conjoined in Alliance, are in heat, and th' emotion which that Bond brings doth last. Francis the first married Elinor, Sister of Charles the sisth to recover his Liberty, as I have said; Philip the second gave his youngest Daughter to the last Duke of Savoy to make him seize upon the Marquisat of Saluce, and to cause the Gates of Italy to be shut against us, and to deliver Milan, from the jealousy which that neighbourhood gave it. Ferdinand of Castille Married Germania, Niece of Lewis the twelfth, to break the Leagues which were framed betwixt Lewis, the Emperor Maximilian, and th' Arch Duke Philip to his prejudice, and to dissipate th'Intelligences of those Princes that were not favourable unto him.  
In consideration whereof I say that the Alliance which the King had made with the King of England, aught to be placed amongst his wisest Elections in the felicities of his Reign. And that they who advised him to it could not give a sounder Counsel, and that it hath been a great honour to Sr. the Candinall to have mingled his Cares with those of his Master, and his disturbances with his Master's for th'accomplishment of that work. 'Tis not a small advantage to render one's enemies weak; and to make a power retire that is contrary to us or suspected, is a great advance; But 'tis the perfection of wisdom to draw to ones self a good that was intended for them that love us not; & to gain that which we make them lose. If we had not made haste, Spain who suffered that Alliance t'escape their hands, and which sometimes loseth her Advantages in seeking of them too cunningly and too great; Had, it may be, renewed it. And if that had been, is it not probable, that it had invention enough and Artifice for to keep us always in Check by the means of England; That it had manadged at pleasure the Protestants of France with their hands, and had assured all his designs in making the Counterpoise to ours with that party which was also entire; That the losses which they lately received had affrighted them more than beaten them, and that the sight of their wounds yet bloody, and the desire of revenge rendered them irreconcilable; 'tis at lest certain, that it diverted the Ruin, and was opposed to its damage.  
That if England hath turned her Arms upon us; if it hath since quarrelled us; and if the capricious humours of a particular person hath been the Torch of a public dissension; It was a stroke which was not in the power of human discourse to foresee, and the reason of State did not permit that a Prince should give so pernicious an example to his subjects, as openly to favour Felony in the states of another Prince; yet it may be said in truth, that the peace which ensued that War, and which was so advantageous to us, is in part an effect of th'Alliance whereof we speak, and the work of that Princess which shall be hereafter th' Indissoluble band of the friendship of the two Brothers, and th' Immortal subject of the Concord of both Nations. Add to this th' Interest of Religion which is very considerable in this Alliance, of the great good it produceth to have accustomed th' English to permit th' exercise of it in the Queen's family. 'tis no small matter that they are made acquainted with our Holy Mysteries, and that they are no longer offended at that which they have had a long time in detestation; 'tis to be believed, that this holy humanity which now is in safety amongst them, shall not be there without a taste of its Graces; and that th'Example of good souls to whom'tis permitted to provide for their safety without crime, may touch them, and bring them to the knowledge of that truth their fathers had forsaken.   

The Fifth Discourse.  
Of the Greatness and Importance of the Siege of Rochel.  
I Will not play th'orator upon the taking of Rochel, nor amuse myself with the Flowers of Rhetoric, and th' Ornaments of that Science which hath not significant expressions, how rich soever, for the subject which I treat. I will not exalt the glory of that siege by the Reputation of a City whose name hath passed to th' Indies with reputation, by the course and Merchandise it made upon all Seas. Th' Heresy and Rebellion to which it served for sanctuary in France; The friendship of Protestants, and hatred of Catholics which it equally exercised; had rendered it famous in th'Earth. I speak not now of the place, nor of th'advantages of its situation, where it seemed Nature had placed all she had of strength and Art, had laid out all she had of Invention. I pass by the comparison of the sieges of Tire and Antwerp, which others have spoken of, and which are inferior to ours. Though one of them was the principal work of the Prince of Parma, and the admiration of the past Age, and the other th' great effect of the power of Alexander, and th' Industry of Greece. I take another way and will endeavour to declare the value of the Conquests which we have made in other Ages. Heretofore nothing was more easy to a Conqueror then to subdue a Province, and the gain of a battle delivered up a whole Country to the victorious: wherein there was scarce any strong place. Now that th' Art of making War hath changed face and conduct; That 'tis in all Countries almost reduced to cast up Earth and to retrench; That few Battles are fought; that the life of Men are better Husbanded; and that an Army cannot March very fare, but a Fortress is in its way; 'Tis no marvel, if there be as much difficulty, and by consequence as much glory to take a Fortress of Reputation, as there was heretofore to gain a Province. And not to go fare from past Ages, and the memory of our Fathers. Have we not seen with what facility Mahomet the second hath taken two Empires from Christians, and carried from them Twelve Kingdoms? Will it not be said, that he did run only in conquering, and that th' exercise of a walk had been as long as the time of his Rapid Victories? 'Tis, that, in effects, in those great Territories of Country, and extent of those vast Regions there was not a good place but Constantinople. And yet that place was lost rather by the Conwardise of Christians, and in the fury of the justice of God, than by the valour of the Turks, and industry of the besiegers. Selin the first had only the Mammeluns' to defeat in the Field to be Master of all Egypt and Syria, and the progress which the Grand Seignors made heretofore in Persia, and the facility they found to possess that Land, proceeded from that they encountered not one strong Town that stopped them and hindered the Inundation of those Monstrons' Armies which they brought thither. On the Contrary, who doubts but that the conquest of Rhodes, was not more honourable to Soliman, then that of th' Empire of Trob●sonde to Mahomet; Who makes Question that Strigonia, Buda, Alba Royal, and Zighet were not more eminent pieces and more famous Monuments for the glory of that Prince, than a dozen Kingdoms for the other's glory? And if he could have added Maltha and joined Vienna to his other victories, the past Ages had not seen fairer Trophies than his, and he might have marched in Front with Alexander, Caesar, and Tamerlan, though he had not run over so many Nations as they had done, nor invaded so great a number of Countries.  
To give some new Light to my subject, and some extraordinary colours, I will propose also that noble difficulty which some have written of. To wit, Which of the two Actions is most noble, and meritorious, either the gain of Battle, or the Taking of a good place; without staying upon that which hath been said upon this subject. It seems to me, that the last of these Actions requires a more profound and more general ability; That it exerciseth more virtues; and by Consequence there's more honour in taking a Fortress well defended, then to win a Battle though it be well Contested. The reason is, that in a siege Men must fight above th' Earth, and in th' Earth. The strength of the place is to be overcome, and the Resistance of men. Fresh enemies are to be encountered, which are Concealed and do expect. Men are exposed to th' Artifices of fire, and to those horrible Inventions which with death bring the torments of Hell, and pains that are not natural; Long labours are to be endured, Continual watching, and all th' Injuries of time.  
Briefly, Industry works more there then force, and fortune acts less there then virtue; That happens not in a Battle, where Men fight only above Ground against Men; where all things are almost equal on both sides; where Men are not consumed by Languishments, and Travel; and where four hours decides the business; where Impetuosity doth act sometimes more than Conduct, and valour gives not so much the victory as extravagancy of fortune, as a command ill understood of th' Enemy's side, as an unexpected Accident, and as a Pannique Terror.  
But to decide this doubt with a more exact and certain Policy; I say, that those Means are more noble and Estimable which produce th' End that is proposed, and brings a Man to the Mark he Aims at; than they that leave a Man in the Middle of the way, be they never so glittering, and what show soever they make. And therefore if the gain of a Battle were the Conquest of a Province as it heretofore happened, and the taking of a Town the reducement of a single place, as it falls out for the most part; There's no Question but the second Action is inferior to the first, and of an Inferior Merit to that of th' other. But when after the gain of a Battle th' enemy continues strong, where there are other armies to fight, and a number of good places which stop the Conqueror, and put a Bridle to the victory; Who doubts, but the gain of that Battle is less Considerable than the taking of a City, which is th' head of a whole Country, or of a whole party; which will bring in all the rest to th' obedience of the victorious; and after that no Resistance to be made but what shall be weak and rash. Who doubts that Scipio did not more in subduing Carthage, and making the Rival of Rome the Subject of Rome; than Hannibal did in the three Battles wherein he Conquered the Roman; since Rome subsisted for all that, and that the spring of the war remained unstopped. And therefore who can also doubt, that the reducement of Rochel, after the loss whereof we have seen a party fall, which had so long a share in France, and divided the Sovereign authority; which had offered so many affronts to our Kings; which had so often opened our parts; and our frontiers to th' Enemies of the State, and made the Country of their Birth, a Country of Conquest; who can I say doubt, that the taking thereof is not to be preferred before four Battles, which have been gained against it; because they left life and force to recover; since that all-bloudy and covered with wounds, it was formidable unto them that had put it into that Condition; since after that, it gave the law to the victorious, and forced a peace of as much advantage, as could have been expected from a victory. That consideration obliged th' Holy Father t' answer Cardinal Borgia who had represented unto him, that he had not made the like demonstration of joy for the taking of Breda, which he had done for the taking of Rochel; The Taking of Breda was no more than the taking of a Town whereof th' Hollanders had their Revenge a little after. But the Taking of Rochel, was beating down th'head of a body and overthrowing the foundations of a Building.   

The Sixth Discourse.  
Of the Instructions may be drawn from the siege of Rochel; and from what the King did after the Reduction of that Town.  
AFter the precedent Considerations, let's see what may be observed in that siege which serves for my principal design, and for th'Instructions of the Public. 'Tis not Hannibal alone that knew how t' overcome, and knew not how t' use the victory. The like faults are encountered in all ages, and the cause why sometimes Men are not happy enough, is because Men are not always wise enough. Fortune alone may very well begin the greatness of a Man, but she cannot finish it, without virtue. And though it be not in the power of expert Pilots to make the winds propitious; It depends nevertheless upon their Industry to make good use of them, and to husband them well while they last; Of them then who give over at the first successes they obtain, and stop at th' Entry of their prosperity; some of them are astonished at their happiness, and insomuch that they have been forced into th' Haven, and that they did not bring themselves thither; They dare not any more put forth to Sea. They content themselves with what they have gained. They will not put their Reputation to Reference, and resemble certain persons who having leapt over by night, or in th' excess of a passion, a very large ditch or some very dangerous passage, are ravished with what they had done upon sight thereof by day, or that their souls are sunk, and are not bold enough t' attempt the same. Action, after the consideration of it; Others will taste of the good which is happened to them and rejoice in the victory, and consider not that in that time, th'Occasions steal away from them, fortune retires, and th' Enemies gather strength which hinders them to march on. There are some, that decline not to do well so much by distrust of their virtue, or by the weakeness of their Courage, as for fear of Envy; and had rather possess in peace a Moderate reputation, than provoke that malign passion which causeth us to be more afflicted for the good of others, then for our own ills; and that even friends cannot behold the glory of their friends, if it be very high, nor suffer their Brightness if it be very lively. Th' examples of what I have said are but too ordinary. The Grecians have very often committed such faults; and 'tis certain that the Batteli of Salamina opened unto them the door for the Ruin of Persia, and for the Conquest of Asia, if they had known their advantages, or if they had not been glutted with their success. The victory of Lepantha brought nothing to the Christians, which they had not before that war. The most famous Battle that was ever gained upon the sea was unfruitful in their hands, all the gain of the victorious, was, not to have been overcomed. The price of so memorable an action determined in itself, and gained nothing from abroad, that Crowned it, and was its Recompense. Charles the fifth also as Great a person as he was, forgot himself after the journey of Pavia; an if in the Consternation wherein France was fallen, for th' Imprisonment of their King, and for a stroke so little expected; He had assaulted our frontiers, He had not met with any Resistance. He had not, it may be, left Rivals to his nephews; and had paid himself by his hands the ransom of his prisoner. The King did not handle it so after the relief of R●é, nor corrupt the fruits of that victory for want of pursuit. It was truly much to have performed an action which was held almost for a miracle, and to gain an end of what was esteemed Impossible. It was much to have revenged so many affronts th' English had heretofore done us, and purged the shame of the losses of Creci & of Poitiers after two ages. But it had not been enough for the King if he stayed there, and though th' Effect was great, It was not reasonable for a Prince to retire whose forces were strong, & to whom so much remained to be done.  
The second Consideration, and which is a necessary sequel of the first; is th' Encounter of the time the King made choice of, very seasonable for that siege. The choice it may be of the time, is the greatest secret in Affairs, and most powerful Means to make them prosper. Caesar did supremely possess it, and it was one of the words of Charles the fifth and of Philip his son, I and the Time to Two others. These words may admit of too Interpretations; Th' one is to know, how t'order a man self in the time of ill fortune; To strike sail when the Tempest is too strong; not t' oppose one's self to the violence of a destiny provoked. T' avoid the strokes with dexterity which cannot be resisted in a straight line; To put them by, to cast ourselves on Quarter, and t' observe th' occasion of some favourable Revolution, and of a better adventure. Charles the fifth gives that Counsel to his son in th' instruction he left him, and the Spaniards have been accustomed to make better use of it then any people in the world. He practised it at the peace of Passo, which had been shameful to th' Empire if the Necessity had not rather made it, than th' Inclination of th' Emperor. He practised it at the peace of Soissons, where the want of money interrupted the prosperity of his arms, and he was constrained to offer himself for Hostage to the Germans, who without that had a design to seize upon him; The Spaniards practised it also some two years since at the peace of Suza, and they diverted in flying, the storm, which did threaten them, and restrained the Thunder which was ready to fall on them, if they had not humbled themselves. The Truce which we made the last year at Carignan, when the plague defected our armies, and that the war was the least of the Flails of th' anger of God, was a stroke of that address, and gave us means to prepare for the Relief of Casal, and to save Italy.  
Th' other Interpretation, is, to know how to make choice of the best time to make an Enterprise. For 'tis true, there's a certain Moment in time, and a certain Encounter of causes in affairs, which being passed they return no more together, and 'tis to no purpose t' attend th' Effect, when the Causes cease. Th' Italians have called it very aptly Conjuncture, but it was not possible to find a more favourable than that under which the siege of Rochel was form. That town was almost without a Garrison, th' English had emptied it of Victuals. Holland durst not send it but a desavoured Releese, and by Consequent weak. England which we had so ill handled, could not send any but fearful persons, and the Rebels were reduced t' expect more from th' Elements then from Men, and from out Impatience then from their Force. The third Consideration is th' Enterprise of the Ditch, and th' Acceptation of the proposition which was then made; It must be Confessed, that there was use of an extraordinary virtue for a work without Example, and there was not less need of Light and understanding to Comprehend the possibility, then of fire and Courage to propose the Means of reducing it in Act, and t'overcome the difficulties which were not ordinary; Tyre and Antwerp have nothing seen of like, whatsoever is said, unless, it may be, they will Compare the Mediterranean Sea with th' Ocean, and a strait and quiet Channel with a Channel extremely Agitated, and unmeasurably Large.  
In the Matter of these novelties, There are that do generally reject all of them, by reason of the vanity that is found in many, and who had rather believe nothing then expose themselves to the shame of being too Credulous. 'tis to have too little Judgement, or too great a distrust of ones self; and in th' Affairs of the world, Th' universal Maxims are not ever to be followed which are sometimes deceitful, though they are many times true. But a great Minister of State ought to know how to distinguish what is manifestly false; from what hath some appearance of true, and what is feasable from what is Impossible. 'Tis not that 'tis necessary that He possess all th' Arts with the same perfection, as they who make profession but of one; But it sufficeth that he know them in such a degree, and with so just a light, that he may secure himself, from th' Imposture though it be very subtle, and observe what is good though it be not very excellent.  
The fourth Consideration, that th' Enterprise of the Ditch, is th' Evidence of an extreme vast soul, and of a Courage not distasted by Difficulties, nor wearied by Time. Th' Humours of the French are ordinarily too lively to langnish after a design. They will suddenly see, th' End, or abandon it; what they carry not at the first Assault, rebukes them: The strokes they lose, weakens them as much as those they receive; and their proper Impetuosity tires them not less than the Resistance of what they Assault. But the king hath made it appear in this occasion whereof I speak, that having not the vices of the French, he had in an Eminent degree the virtues of other Nations; and that he had a very great Boldness t'undertake and Constancy to pursue it, and Patience to finish it; The first spoil the Sea made upon the Ditch, had shaken any other Courage but his, and the violence of the equinoctials had daunted an Imagination less firm: but He believed, that the fear which might fall into the souls of Men commonly constant, ought not to fall into his, and that it was too little for his power and fortune t'overcome Men, if he did not also resist the force of the stars, and Elements, and what nature hath of most impetuous and rapid. There are affairs which must be abandoned so soon as they are begun either in regard of their Impossibility or that they serve for hindrance to better and more profitable designs. And 'tis true, that t' opinionate in this, is a Manifest imprudence. That the shortest follies are the best, and that the further a Man goes when he is out of the right way, the more he wanders. There are others which are infinitely important, and are but difficult; and of them an end must be had whatsoever they cost, or perish or carry them. After that th' Earl of Fuentes had besieged Cambray, and reduced that City to the Terms of being taken or of rendering; Sr. of Vie entered with some Relief. So soon as he was Entered, he changed all th' order of the defence, and spoiled th' Enemies by the faults they had committed in beginning the Siege. He dismounted their Cannon with his; He made their Batteries to fly with his Mines; He rendered unprofitable a part of their Labours, and did Incommodate them in such manner, that it was proposed in the Council of the Spaniards, either to raise the siege or to begin it again, and give it another form. Th' Earl of Fuentes knew well th' Error, which had been committed in the beginning; and that the sheep wherewith he had to do were the same, but that they were governed by another Shepherd, notwithstanding that he protested that he would die there rather than retire, and that he had rather be obstinate in overcoming the Difficulties which were there in continuing the first design, then discover his Imprudence in quitting it, and take by that Means courage from the soldiers, and Reputation from his Arms. When Caesar had laid down before Alexia or Vercingentorix, it was shut up with four and twenty thousand Men to defend it. He saw come upon him four hundred thousand fight Men which came to besiege him, and such a fearful Cloud of Men of war to surround him. That nevertheless did not trouble him, and insomuch that the Question was of the decision of a great Affair, and that he would with one only Blow affright all the body of the Gauls, He resolved upon a bold Charge, He did not abandon the siege and marched to meet th' Enemies which drew towards him; He defeated them, and compelled the besieged t'yeeld, and Vercingentorix t' humble itself, and to lay its greatness at his feet; which they could not preserve with all the force of the Gauls; And after that the Spaniards had surprised Amiens, The dead King, did he not resolve to lose himself or retake it; T'hazard rather all his State, then to suffer that breach to remain, open; and that it was begun in a place which discovered th' heart, and left nothing secure even to the Gates of Paris. This proceeding appeared at first a little strange, and seems t' hold more of Despair then of force, and of obstinacy than Constancy. That nevertheless is not so, and that which seems to be beyond the Limits of virtue, is not ever so but by Comparison.  
These Limits are not fixed and . They have Many degrees according to th' abilities of them that exercise them: And th' Excesses which the Philosophers permit t' Heroic virtue, and th' extremities wherein they suffer, which she passeth over; Are not Excesses or Extremities for her, but for th' ordinary virtues, and for the Common of Men. If they that served the Duke of Anjou in the siege of Rochel had had the faithfulness of Sr. the Cardinal or his prudence, if they had loved the Good of the State so well as he, and the Reputation of their Master; They had not advised him to rise at the Evening of taking of it, and to give the victory that was Ripe and ready to be gathered. They had rather imitated that Great Captain, and had said as th' other did at Garillan, That they knew of what Importance that Enterprise was to the King, and that it must be gained or perish. But 'tis not of new Date; that there are people in the State which love Confusion, and who Imagine themselves to be like Physicians who should not be Considerable without the sins of nature, nor in honour if there were not sick persons.  
The prosperities of the King stop not at the taking of Rochel; our Arms were instantly beyond the Mountains, and Casall saw its deliverance at the sole noise of our passage. That unheard-of Quickness equally surprised our Allies and enemies, and those who believed, that the Conquest we had newly made, was of the kind of those victories, which make the victor to weep; would never have imagined that without tireing or taking breath, we went to force th' Alps in the midst of winter, and seek beyond the Mountains a new harvest of glory. The Rebels of Languedoc immediately after saw the King with them, and we have seen in less than two Months all the places rendered or taken, and those fearful Bastions which have consumed twenty year's labour, and the wealth of that party, humble themselves to his powers. 'tis that virtue, which the Romans called Celerity, and which we call Quickness wherewith Caesar made himself Master in 40 days, of Italy: in 60, of Spain; and in less than three years of all that which Rome had Conquered in more than seven hundred years. 'Tis with that virtue, that Gastan of Foix in less than six weeks relieved Bologua; Defeated the Venetians at Villa Franca; retook Bresse, and gained the battle of Ravenna. This is to know how to make use of the victory, but in in an admirable Manner. 'Tis to sail as long as there is any wind; 'Tis to second Fortune; 'Tis to make use of th' occasion. There's glory in acting a number of great things; but this a marvel to perform them in a little time, and to place in a small interval, th' Actions that will honour the course of many years; one victory nevertheless begets another, and as a needle rubbed with th'Adamant attracts many; Prosperities tread upon th'heels of one another, Provided that men give not over: That they are the same Chiefs that govern, and the same soldiers that act, and the same discipline that doth exercise them.   

The Seaventh Discourse.  
That the general of an Army ought always t' Intent th' End of an Enterprise; and that Foresight serves more than Courage t' attain it; and whether the King had Reason to make the truce, was made at Carignan.  
THat a General of Army propose to himself to go always to th' End of what he shall undertake, and that he know that if a good Beginning makes half the work that nevertheless nothing is done, if th'end fail; and therefore let him make Choice of the most proper Means t'attain it, and not them that cost most fire th' Execution and have the most Pomp. They shall be in their dignity and have the price they deserve when th'End is gained. Let him not then be shaken at what the world shall say; and that he remember the Conduct of Fabius Maximus, who suffered the Roman people to word his Reputation, and endured the bitings of that Beast with many heads, rather than quit the design he had framed to destroy Hannibal, without fight him; For at last he obtained of the same people, the Surname of most Great which they had not given to any but him, and which they gave not to any other Captain after him.  
That he remember th'Answer the Prince of Parma made to the dead King, when he sent him th' offer of Battle dureing the siege of Corbiell; That his Master had sent him into France to relieve Paris, and t'hinder the growth of Heresy. That if t' attain that End he found, That the best and quickest Expedient was to give Battle, that he need not doubt, but he would give it; if not, That he would not fight at the will of his Enemies. Th' end then Crowns the work and whatsoever a Man doth of Eminent and extraordinary. If he stay in the way, all that will not produce unto him but an imperfect honour, and an Abortive of glory. What served the gaining of four Battles by our Kings against the protestants; to have spilt so much French and stranger's blood; and lay waste so many Towns and provinces for that Quarrel, since that Heresy and Rebellion have after that subsisted? Of what use were so many past Expeditions into Italy and into other places, since that after the fairest Entries and th' happiest Beginnings in the world; The victory remained to our enemies. From thence was form that opinion which had its course amongst other people, and which latter times have belied, That nothing was to be feared from us but th' Assault and first heat. That's not to say, as some have interpreted it, That we are more than men at the beginning of Combats, and less than women at th' End; That's not true; and our valour hath sometimes, a continued posture and equal pursuit, and sometimes Accesses and Remissions as well as other nations. But 'tis true, that ordinarily in the Beginning of our Erterprises, we bring a very hot Courage, and a Resolution more than humane, but a little after we abate; we fall into languishment and defects; we have no more force nor breath.  
According to what I have said, the Truce which we made at Carignan, and which was so ill understood of the greatest part of the world deserves a particular praise; since it gave us Means t' enlarge our Troops, and to take away the Matter of the plague which made them desolate; T' assemble new forces; To prepare fara Revictualling of Casal, and to deliver that place which was the nearest End of the war, we made, and a part of the General. In vain without it had we so happily begun the war and raised the siege of Pignerol at the face of three Armies and of four great Captains. In vain with a handful of Men should we have defeated so many enemies at Villana, and overcome th'obstinate Resistance of th'old Regiments of th'Empire; and in vain should we have fourced at Carignan redoubles of three half Moons, and beaten those brave Spaniards, whose number of fighters was know by the dead, and the Prisoners.  
But as boldness, discipline and obdience are the virtues of soldiers; Prudence, Conduct, and constant Meditation of the Means which cause the victory are the virtues of Captains, and Generals of Armies, 'Tis with these Qualities that they ought to distinguish themselves from them that are under them. These are properly the form of their profession; They do constitute the difference. Courage, and the Contempt of death are not, to speak properly, but the body and the Matter; and there's not so much glory for a Chief to go to blows, t' enter upon dangers when he must, and when the occasion presseth, as there would be shame Not to do it; That would be more pardonable in a single soldier, whose wounds are the springs of proverty and misery, than in great persons to whom they are Characters of honour, and the seeds of Immortality; which give them place in History whose marks are venerable in th' eyes of a Prince, and in th' eyes of the people, and adorn them better than all their Ornaments and precious stones. It should be a strange thing if the most illustrious profession of the world, and the noblest of all the functions of life, which is that of Commanding Armies; should be so easy, as that there were no more to do then to run to death and to castones self into danger to make him Worthy. There would be too easy a bargain had of eternity which it promiseth, and the Gladiators might more lawfully pretend to, it, than those exalted souls which prepare themselves for it with great Cares: who make the boldness of Reason to descend to th'heart, and who make that divine part, the principle of their Conduct, and of all their Actions.  
If Caesar had had but Courage in the degree he had it, and that violent heat that gathers about th'heart at the sight of danger; He had not effaced the glory of other Romans; many had been found to have equalled him in that thing, and Coriolanus, Capitolinus, Marcellus, and Catiline also had disputed th'Advantage with him. Courage alone had not rendered Epaminondas the chief person of Greece; and Pelopidas, and Leonidas, and many others, had not yielded unto him in the Resolution of dying for their Country. Ferrant Gonsalve had an admirable prudence, and, as it was said of Epaminondas, That it was not known which of two Qualities prevailed most in him, Knowledge or Valour. For my part I make it a question whether Epaminondas was the greater Captain or Counsellor, whether he was more Capable to govern an Army, or to guide a Negotiation; And more proper to subdue Men or gain them. And to speak of ours; Gaston of Foix had Courage, and Good sense equally raised in him. He acted at least as much with the last as with th'other. The Command of th' Army of Italy against that of the League was given him, not as to the most Famous, but as to the most Capable, and he did not so much sustain the dignity of General by reason of the splendour of his Race, as by reason of the Merit of his person. I will give you two examples which will make it appear, That he was truly in all senses th'Head of his army; and had a Wit superior t' all them that obeyed him. When he went to relieve Bologna, he manadged that design with so great secrecy, that he was on the way before his Army doubted it, and was within it before his Enemies knew it; At the journey of Ravenna he alone ordered and disposed of the Battle. Of three bodies which composed it, He chose not one of them to command. He reserved only for himself a Troop of voluntary Gentlemen to be free, and to charge where there should be need. I speak not of his eloquence; 'Tis sufficient to say, that it lives yet with honour in history; and hath been admired of strangers, and of them also who esteemed us Barbarous. It must be confessed that that Prince at th' Age of 22 years wherein he died was a complete Man, and that no life was so short and more glorious than his. Th'head than and the good sense are more necessary for a General of an Army, than Arms and impetuosity; and 'tis foresight that begets the victory, rather than courage. 'Tis study, Meditation, and conference which ought to prepare the great Person whereof I speak; and 'tis the Practic and Experience which finish and complete them. For that reason, It was said of Epaminondas, that never man knew so much and spoke so little. 'Tis not that he esteemed silence a great virtue, as some have interpreted, nor that he preferred it to speech conducted by good sense; But 'tis that, in effect, he always tumbled up and down some great design in his Brain; That he thought of raising Thebes of humbling Sparta, and of subduing the Grecian people, which to his time had been invincible.  
How excellent Sr. the Cardinal is in this Matter; How active and lively his Reason is; how infallible and just his providence, and how efficacious the disposition of his Conduct; Let's not amuse at words to declare it, and let's lend nothing of strange to a truth that hath no need of it; let's add nothing to th'effects, and to what hath been touched or seen but a natural Representation; let's leave th' Artifices, and painting for moderate Beauties and for Common virtues. For this effect, I will content myself to speak of the second war of Italy, wherein he particularly presided, and whereof he had the principal government under th' Auspicious Planets of his master; I say then, that it had been much to make a great Army subsist in Piedmoat, if the Country had been favourable to us, if abundance had been in all places, and in a season when the passages had been easy to us. But to make it live in th' enemy's Country, and where all men and all things were Contrary to us. In a season when Barrenness was in France, and provisions were to pass the Mountains, when snows were at th' highest; It must be acknowledged that it belongs not to a vulgar Providence to strike such strokes. It was to supply by his Wit and Conduct what was wanting to the nature of things. And the Marquis of Spinola who never thought it, seemed to have Reason to say, that he who had most provisions would remain victorious in that war. He believed infallibly t' have that advantage over us, having th' Earth, and Sea for him, knowing that our Country Men are enemies t'orders, without which armies suffer in the midst of abundance, and wherewith they subsist entirely in the midst of want. He remembered that at the war of Genes, th' army of the dead Constable was vexed with hunger though it was small. Though it had Piedmont in its favour and made war only for th' Interests of the Duke of Savoy; But when he saw, that we resisted those great incommodities; That we had found Remedies against those evils and new Inventions to carry the provisions; 'Tis then he confessed the French had changed their humours, or at least that the sheep were the same, but governed by other Shepherds. These things truly are great, and have been worthy of admiration from our enemies and of them wh'admire not much but themselves. But they are not nevertheless the Masterpiece of Sr. the Cardinal's industry, nor the great effect of his prudence. The preparatives for the release of Casal are a piece most Illustrious and Magnificent. And as the works of the least eize are more ingenious than th' other, and that 'tis more difficult for an artificer to make a work of a small volume to prosper then a greater. In like manner the foresight which operates much in little time, and in a short interval displays a very large Matter; is of a price, and Gonsideration more exalted then that which is acted at great leisure, which hath a free field t'extend itself, which hath no bounds to Constrain it, and which is not oppressed by the brevity of time, and by the greatness of its object. To raise thirty thousand men in less than six weeks; Make them March through France and over the Mountains during that time; Give order for all necessaries; T' enable them to live, and subsist; To send them to a Country spoiled with Contagion, and into places where the plague might give fear to them, that did not fear men; against powerful Enemies covered with Retrenchments and strong holds; defended by a castle, and a Town; In a time when the disgrace the Venetians received at Valese, ad th'unhappy success of their Arms. The surprise of Mantova which had somewhat of fatal, and inimaginable. The rendering of the Town and Castle of casal; had put all our friends into despair, and the greatest part of the French into astonishment. Add to that th' Artifices used by some ill Frenchmen to ruin the King's designs and th' honour of France. The traverses they raised within; which were the more dangerous that they were secret and silent, and resembled the Mines, which make them leap who march upon them without suspicion or defiance. And what was most fatal and of ill augury the King's sickness and the despair of his recovery. This sad accident which might alone have troubled a weaker spirit than the Cardinal's, for th'unhappy State of our affairs, and of our Allies; and for the revolution it had caused in the general order of the World, and in his particular fortune. That this black Conjunction and so many Inconveniences linked together did not disturb his judgement nor abate his action. That the necessary provisions for the Relief fo Casall were provided. That Casall was relieved; If th'unhappiness of this time permitted me to speak a bold truth, and if his modesty of whom I speak would not be offended, I would say that since Caesar's time the world hath not seen a stronger Conduct, more resolute or wiser; and if that had happened in the time of the Commonwealth of Rome or of old Greece, that it had been one of the fairest Monuments of their History, and one of the most famous Instances of their policy.  
I will not conceal a very remarkable Condition in the Conduct of Sr. the Cardinal. 'Tis that he prepares always, if he be not hindered, meaner which seem immeasurable and too powerful to produce th'End which he proposeth t' himself. 'Tis properly t'employ Excess t'hinder defect. 'Tis to part very early not to fail the arrival at the journeys end. 'Tis t' have a remainder, t' avoid having too little 'Tis not t' act singly, but infallibly. 'Tis in a word the Country Custom of th' ordinary humour of the French. To whom th'heat of temper and vivacity of imagination always represent th'enterprises more easy and of less durance they they are in effect. Moreover the preparations they make are ever less and weaker than the nature of th' Enterprise requires, according also to the proportions they have imagined, and according to the Measure of their apprehension. Wherefore they are constrained to retire in the midst of their Course, and all things fail them, when they have most need, and in the strength of th'affair.  
This indiscreet proceeding and tumultuary fashion of acting hath been cause of infinite evils which have vexed France. That they have often stirred ill humours which were left be hind without purging of them away; that so many fair Beginnings we have had in the wars, had not ' answerable ends; And in a word, that we have not known to conserve th'advantages we had gained, nor keep the Conquests which we had made. Sr. the Cardinal carried himself in another manner and kept another way, when it was necessay t' force th' Alps, and to break the Barricado's, which opposed the safety of Casal and the liberty of Italy; He advised the King to march thither with an army, capable to subdue all Italy, and to pass from Suza to Ofrante. So truly the Reputation of those great forces, did impart th'effect which we aimed at: It acted far off, and all alone; it beganed overcome so soon as it began to march; and the Spaniards who it may be had marched to meet us, and had disputed all the passages with us, if we had been weak; durst not attend us in their trenches of Casal, and did not believe that there was safety for them in the Castle of Milan but by a treaty of peace. This served to pull up by the roots the Rebellion of Languedoc and to lay flat a Party, which had long Rooting in this Province; six armies were seen at one instant to be drawn out against them; and that division of Forces which took away the springs of Relief, and Communication to the rebell-townes. In short the Cardinal knew that the first Maxim of war is, That who lays out most, lays out least. That the petty frugalities which are made out of time, are certain losses of what is advanced, that 'tis not to sow with hope to gather, but not to seem to do nothing; and that they who give such covetous Counsels in necessary occasions, seek not so much the good of th' affairs of their Master, as not to lose the matter of doing their own business.  
The End.     

THE TABLE OF THE MINISTER of STATE.  

BOOK. I.  
First Discourse. THat, An Excellent Minister of State is an Evidence of the Fortune of a Prince, and the Instrument of the happiness of a State. Page. 1.  
The Second Discourse. That th' Art to govern is doubtful, and difficult; and receives a great relief from Learning. P. 6.  
The third Discourse. That the knowledge of the Moral, is a necessary preparation for the Politic. p. 9  
The fourth Discourse. How that saying of the Philosopher's is to be understood, that, Who commands aught to be wiser and better than the person that obeys. p. 12.  
The fifth Discourse. That good Ministers of State have not always the Recompense which they deserve; and that their Services are often paid with Ingratitude. p. 15.  
The sixth Discourse. Th' Artifices used by Ferdinand to destroy the great Captain. p. 19  
The seventh Discourse. Of the disgrace of Duke of Alva. p. 23.  
The eighth Discourse. That in th' affairs of State, men do that sometimes which they would not do, and that there are inevitable Faults. p. 25.  
The ninth Discourse. Where the precedent Discourse is confirmed by the Example of the Spaniards. p. 28.  
The tenth Discourse. That Princes do approve but of the Services they Command, and punish oftentimes them that are done against their Orders. p. 31.  
The eleventh Discourse. That a Minister of State ought to regulate his Demeanour by the interest of the State, and of his Prince; Provided that he offend not Justice. p. 36.  
The twelfth Discourse. That a Minister of State ought endeavour to make his Deportments more Profitable than Eminent. p. 40.  
The thirteenth Discourse. That 'tis of Importance that a Minister of State be Learned. p. 46.  
The fourteenth Discourse. That 'tis of importance that a Minister of State be Eloquent. p. 49.  
The fifteenth Discourse. That the Council of a Prince ought to be composed of a few persons. p. 31.   

BOOK. II.  
First Discourse. THat a Complete Minister of State ought to be able for Counsel, and for Execution; and aught to have a free power particularly for the War. p. 57  
The second Discourse. Whence the Virtue of keeping a Secret proceeds, and how necessary it is for a Minister of State. p. 61.  
The third Discourse. That a Minister of State cannot have an equal Soul, unless he hath made trial of Good and Bad fortune. p. 64.  
The fourth Discourse. That the Science to discover the merits of Men, and t'imploy them, is necessary for a Minister of State. p. 69.  
The fifth Discourse. Of a Fifth temper, which comprehends the perfections of all th''others. p. 73.  
The sixth Discourse. That a Minister of State ought not to form his Conduct by the Example of strangers; and that he ought to treat with them after a Different Manner. p. 78.  
The seventh Discourse. That a Minister of State ought to treat in a different Manner with strangers, as they are powerful and free. p. 87.  
The eighth Discourse. That a Minister of State ought not inviolably t'act that which hath been always practised in the State. p. 90.  
The nine Discourse. That the Counsels of strangers ought to be suspected by a Minister of State. p. 94.  
The tenth Discourse. How advices from Rome, and from the Mediation of the Pope, are to be entertained. p. 101.  
The eleventh Discourse. Considerations upon the precedent Discourse p. 107.  
The twelfth Discourse. Considerations upon the Behaviours of Popes and their Agents, which may serve for forewarnings to the Ministers of State of other Princes, who shall have occasion to treat with them. p. 111.  
The thirteenth Discourse. That the Mediation of Popes is very profitable in the differences of Christian Princes, and in th' Affairs of Christendom. p. 117.  
The fourteenth Discourse. Of the Prudence which ought to be observed in treating with th' Agents of the Pope, and whether it be Lawful t'use dissimulation, and How. p. 123.  
The fifteenth Discourse. Whether it be law full to make War with the Pope; Wherein the Demeanour which Philip the second, observed in the War he made is Commended, and that of Charles the fifth Condemned. p. 128.  
The Sixteenth Discourse The defence of Gaston of Foix against them, who say that God punished him for making War to Julius th'eleventh; with the comparison of that Prince, and of the great Captain. p. 136.   

BOOK. III. Considerations upon the principal things which the King hath done, since the Landing of th'English th'isle of Rhé which will declare some Conditions necessary for a Minister of State.  
The First Discourse. OE what Importance, Care and Vigilancy are, for a Minister of State; and that nothing is to be neglected, principally in War. p. 141.  
The second Discourse. That the true exercise of Politic Prudence, consists in the Knowledge of Comparing things with things, and to choose the greatest Good, and t'avoid the greatest Evil. And to consider whether the Counsel Sr. the Cardinal gave to pass into th'island of the, was grounded upon the Rules of Prudence; And, if the King did well to march into Languedoc after the taking of Suze. p. 147.  
The third Discourse. That one and the same Conduct in War is not to be observed. p. 153.  
The fourth Discourse. Of the Alliances of blood which are practised amongst Princes; and whether the King was well advised, when he made that Alliance with England. p. 158.  
The fifth Discourse. Of the Greatness and Importance of the Siege of Rochel. p. 169.  
The sixth Discourse Of the Instructions may be drawn from the siege of Rochel; and from what the King did, after the Reduction of that Town. p. 172  
The seventh Discourse. That the General of an Army ought always t'Intend th'End of an Enterprise; and that Foresight serves more than Courage t'attain it; and whether the King had Reason to make the Truce, was made at Carignan. p. 178.   
FINIS   

THE SECOND PART OF THE MINISTER OF STATE.  
Written by Monsieur de SILHON, Secretary to the late Cardinal  LIEU. Englished by H.H.  
LONDON, Printed for Thomas Dring, and are to be sold at his Shop at the George in Fleetstreet, near St. Dunstan's Church. 1663.