happie memorie For during his raigne and before the kingdome was governed after the meere French manner that is to say following the traces and documents of our French auncestors But since it hath governed by the rules of Machiavell the Florentine as shall bee seene heereafter Insomuch that since that time untill this present the name of Machiavell hath beene celebrated and esteemed as of the wisest person of the world and most cunning in the affaires of Estate and his bookes held dearest and most precious by our Italian and Italionized courtiers as if they were the bookes of Sibilla whereunto the Paynims had their recourse when they would deliberate upon any great affaire concerning the common wealth or as the Turkes hould deare and precious their Mahumets Alcaron as wee have said above And wee neede not bee abashed if they of Machiavells nation which hould the principall estates in the government of France have forsaken the ancient manner of our French ancestors government to introduct and bring France in use with a new forme of managing ruling their countrie taught by Machiavell For on the one side every man esteemeth and priseth alwaies the manners fashions customes other things of his owne countrey more than them of an others On the other side Machiavell their great doctor Cap. 3. De Princ. Discourse lib. 2. cap. 30. lib. 3. cap. 43. Machiavells slanders against the kings and the people of France describes so well France and the goverment thereof in his time blaming and reprehending the Frenchmens conduction of affaires of Estate that it might easily persuade his disciples to change the manner of French government into the Italian For Machiavell vaunteth that being once at Nantes and talking with the Cardinall of Amboise which was a very wise man in the time of king Lewis the twelfth of publike State affaires hee plainly tould him that the Frenchmen had no knowledge in affaires of Estate And in many places speaking of French causes hee reprehendeth the government of our abovenamed kings Charles the eight and Lewis the twelfth yea hee hath beene so impudent speaking of that good king Lewis rebuking him for giving succours unto Pope Alexander the sixt that hee gives him the plaine lie saying hee belyes himselfe having passed Italie at the Venetians request yet succoured the Pope against his intention And in other places hee calls our kings Tributaries of the Suisses and of the English men And often when hee speaketh of the Frenchmen hee calleth them Barbarous and saith they are full of covetousnesse and disloyaltie So also hee taxeth the Almaignes of the same vices Now I beseech you is it not good reason to make so great account of Machiavell in France who so doth defame reproove the honour of our good kings of all our whole nation calling them Ignorant of the affaires of Estate Barbarous Covetous Disloyall But all this might bee borne withall and passed away in silence if there were not another evill But when we see that Machiavell by his doctrine and documents hath changed the good and ancient government of France into a kind of Florentine government whereupon we see with our eies the totall ruine of all France It infallibly followeth if God by his grace doe not remedie it soone that now it should be time if ever to lay hand to the work to remit and bring France againe unto the government of our ancestors Hereupon I humbly pray the Princes and great lords of France to consider what is their duties in this case Seemeth it most Ilustrious Lords seeing at this time poore France which is your countrey and mother so desolate and torne in sunder by strangers that you ought to suffer it to be lost and ruinated Ought you to permit them to sowe Atheisme and Impietie in your countrey and to set up schooles thereof Seeing your France hath alwaies been so Zealous in the Christian Religion as our ancient kings by their pietie and iustice have obtained that so honourable a title and name of Most Christian Thinke you that God hath caused you to be borne into this world to help to ruinate your countrie or coldly to stand still and suffer your mother to be contaminated and defiled with the contempt of God with perfidie with sodomie tyrannie crueltie thefts strange usuries and other detestable vices which strangers sowe heere But rather contrarie God hath given you life power and authoritie to take away such infamies and corruptions and if you do it not you must make account for it you can looke for but a greevous iust punishment If it be true as the Civilian lawiers say That he is a murderer and culpable of death which suffereth to die with hunger the person unto whom he oweth nourishment And shall not you be culpable before God of so many massacres murders and desolations of your poore France if you give it not succours seeing you have the meanes and that you are obliged thereunto by right of nature Shall you not be condemned and attainted of impietie Athisme and tyrannie if you drive not out of France Machiavell and his government Heere if any man will inquire how it appeareth that France is at this day governed by the doctrine of Machiavell the resolution heereof is easie and cleere For the effects which France governed by the doctrine of Machiavell we see with our eies and the provisions and executions of the affaires which are put in practise may easily bring us to the causes and Maximes as we have abovesaid which is one way to know things by ascending from effects and consequences to the knowledge of causes Maximes And whosoever also shall reade the Maximes of Machiavell which we shall handle heereafter and discend from thence into the particularities of the French government hee shall see that the precepts and Maximes of Machiavell are for the most part at this day practised and put in effect and execution from point to point Insomuch that by both the two wayes from the Maximes to the effects and from the effects to the Maximes men may clearely know that France is at this day governed by the doctrine of Machiavell For are they not Machiavelists Italians or Italianized which doe handle and deale with the seales of the kindgome of France Is it not they also which draw out and stampe Edicts Which dispatch all things within and without the realme Which hould the goodliest governments and fermes belonging unto the Crowne Tea if a man will at this day obtaine or get any thing in the Court for to have a good and quicke dispatch thereof hee must learne to speake the Messereske language because these Messers will most willingly heare them in their owne tongue and they understand not the French no not the tearmes of iustice and Royall ordinances Whereupon every man may coniecture and imagine how they can well observe or cause to be observed the lawes of France the tearmes whereof they
called with these gracious names Subsidies Subventitions Aydes Grants not with these tearmes Tailles Imposts Tributes Impositions which were tearmes more hard and odious Examples appeare of the first cause when the generall Estates assembled at Paris after the death of king Charles le Sage to provide for the government as well of king Charles the sixt being under Annal. upon An 1380 and Fross li 2. cap. 58. 60. age as of the kingdome which government they gave unto three of the kings uncles namely to the Duke of Berry Languedoc to the Duke of Bourgoigne Picardie and Normandie and to the Duke de Aniou the remainder of all the realme and the rule of the young kings person was committed to the said Dukes of Berry and Bourgoigne So was there ordained during the said kings life another ordinance In like manner the generall Estates were held at Tours after the decease of king Lewis the eleventh to purvey for the government of king Charles the eighth under Annal. upon An. 148. and Coâ—â—n â—ib 1. ca. 109. age and of the kingdome And by the same Estates was established a Counsell of twelve persons good men and of good calling to dispatch the affaires of the kingdome yet in the kings name and under his authoritie And the rule of the young kings person was committed unto Madame de Beavien his sister When king Charles the sixt le bien aime was come to the age of one and twentie yeares his uncles were discharged from the government of the kingdome by the Froiss lib 1. cap. 134. lib. 4. cap. 44. advise and deliberation of the kings great Counsell But this good prince by an accident of sicknesse fell a certaine time after into a frenzie which sometimes bereaved him of his sences insomuch that the Estates assembled at Paris gave the government of the kingdome during the kings indisposition to his two uncles the dukes of Berrie and Burgoigne The yeare 1356. that king Iohn was taken prisoner nie Poictres at the journey of Annal. upon An. 1356 and Fross li. 1. cap. 170. 171. Maupertins with his sonne Philip after Duke of Burgoigne and that they were led into England there remained in France three of the said king Iohns children namely Charles Dauphin and duke of Normandie Lewis duke de Aniou and Iohn duke of Berrie There was a question about the providing for the government of the kingdome because of the kings captiuitie but none of them would enterprise the mannaging thereof of himselfe insomuch that the generall Estates were assembled at Paris whereby were elected thirtie six persons some say fiftie to governe the affaires of the kingdome with Monsieur le Dauphin who at the beginning called himselfe the Lieutenant of the king his father but afterward he named himselfe Regent The yeare 1409. during the raigne of Charles the sixt king of France were held Monstrelet lib. 1. ca. 59. the generall Estates at Paris for the reformation of abuses in the kingdome And there it was ordained that all accountants for the kings revenues and rents should make their accounts By the meanes of which reformation great summes of money were recovered upon the same accountants and there were also made some good lawes and ordinances In other conventions of Estates the money and coine hath been reformed from weake and light unto thicke and of good waight and goodnesse Also of late at the generall Estates held at Orleans were made manie goodly ordinances for the good and comfort of the poore people reformation of justice and for the cutting off of manie abuses which were committed in plaies at Cardes and Dise in superfluitie of apparell and in matter of benefices But commonly commeth such euill hap that all good things which are introducted and ordained vpon good reason and to a good end incontinent vanish away and wicked examples are alwaies drawne into consequence As for the last cause for which we haue said the generall Estates in old time were called namely for the graunt of Helps Subsidies ther are manie examples in our Histories As in the time of king Iohn wherein the Estates accorded great subventions Froiss lib. 1. cap. 155. Annal. upon An 1354 58. 59. or subsidies to make warre against the English men which then held a great part of the kingdome And after he was taken prisoner and led into England the said Estates agreed to give vnto Monsieur le Dauphin his soune great summes of money to pay for the said kings raunsome and for Philip his sonne being also a prisoner And well to be marked it is that our histories doe witnesse that all the people of France generally were meruailously anguished grieved with the prisonment captivitie which they saw their king suffer but especially the people of the countrey of Languedoc For the Estates of the said countrey ordained that if the king were not delivered within a yeare that every one both men and women should lay by all coloured garments such also as were jagged and cut and such as were enriched with gold silver or other strange and costly fashion Likewise to make cease all stage-plaies morrisdauncings piping yea and plaies pastimes and daunces in signe and token of their mourning and lamentation for their princes captivitie A thing whereby appeared the great and cordiall affection of this people towards their king As truely the Frenchmen have alwaies been of great love and affection towards their kings unlesse they were altogither tyrants But to make an end of this point Certaine it is that before king Charles the seventh called le Victorieux no Subsidies were imposed without assembling the generall Estates And that our kings used thus to do was not because they had power by an absolute authoritie to impose tallages and subsidies without calling the Estates but it is to the end they may be better obeyed with a voluntarie and unconstrained obedience and to shunne all uprores and rebellions which often happen upon that occasion And truly the French people have alwaies been so good and obedient unto their kings that they never refused him any thing if there were but any appearance of reason to demand it Yea often the Estates have granted their king more than he would demand or durst looke for as is seene by that which our histories write of the Estates held for Subsidies But because Aydes and Subsidies were customably granted for the making of De Com. lib. 5. cap. 18. warres M. Philip de Comin saith That kings should also communicat and consult with their Estates whether the causes of such warres be just and reasonable and that the Prince cannot nor ought not otherwise to enterprise a warre For it is reason that they which defray the charges and expenses should know something But yet he passeth further and saith There is no Prince in the world which hath power to lay one pennie upon his subjects without their grant and consent unlesse he will use tyrannie and
realm as the princes of the blood and the kings Counsell is to say nothing because it may so come to passe that the princes themselves be under age or prisoners or captives or witlesse or suspected or dead or otherwise uncapable as also it may come to passe that the kings Counsell shall be dead or quashed or suspected or otherwise unable so that the estate of the kingdome and the Roialtie shall be evill founded and assured upon such foundations and leaning stocks But the body of the estates Generall is a body not subject to minoritie captivitie perclusion of understanding suspition nor other incapacitie neither is it mortall therefore is it a more certaine and firme foundation of the kingdomes and Roialties estate than any other For the body of the Ewates which is a body composed of the wisest fittest of the kingdome can never faile because it consisteth not in Individuis and certain perticular persons but it standeth in Specie being a body immortal as al the French nation is immortall The Princes the kings Counsellors are but fraile brittle leaning stocks and means subject to incapacitie so is not the body of the Estates and therefore the Estates being the true and perpetuall foundation to sustaine and conserve the kingdome cannot be abolished but ought to be convocated whensoever there is to be a provision in the cases above mentioned Withall also Reason willeth that the Estates whom the affairs of the realme toucheth most should have a part in the conduction of publike things but most especially in the cases aforesaid where the king cannot order them Therefore is it a strange damnable and pernitious position which our strangers that governe France at this day dare impudently hold That it is treason to speake of holding the Estates But contrary a man may rather say That it is treason to abolish the Estates and that they which wil hinder that they shall not be held in the cases aforesaid but especially for the reformation more than necessarie of so many abuses as these strangers haue brought into Fraunce are themselves culpable of treason being such as doe overthrow and ruinat the Realm the Roialtie and the King in taking away the principall piller which sustained them And truly such people do merit that processes and indictions should be laid upon them as upon the enemies of the Commonwealth which doe subvert overthrow the foundations upon which our Auncestors have with great wisdome founded and established the estate of this goodly and excellent kingdome The like may we say of the Law whereby the lands and provinces united to the Crowne of Fraunce are inalienable For a king of France cannot abolish that Law because it is the third piller upon which the realme and his estate is founded For proofe hereof I will alleage but two examples the one was practised in the time of Charls le sage king of Fraunce and the other in the time of king Francis the first of happie and late memorie By which two examples may appeare not onely that this law of Not alienating the lands of the Crowne is a pillar of the kingdome but also that the Estates are as the very and true basse and foundation thereof King Iohn having been taken prisoner at the battaile of Poiters was conducted Froiss lib. 1. ca. 201 211 212 214 246 247 310. into England where he made treatie of peace with king Edward of England But the estates of the kingdome which were assembled would not agree unto that treatie as too prejudiciall and to the diminution of the Crowne of France King Edward was so angry and despited thereat that he made a great oth that he would end the ruinating of Fraunce And indeed whilest king Iohn was his prisoner he passed over the sea and made great warre in France and much wasted the flat Countrey but he made no great conquest of the Townes In the end the Duke of Lancaster counselled him to make peace with the French shewing him that he did but leese time so to run over the fields and spoile the champion countrey and souldiers only had the profit and he himselfe losse of people and expences These reasons could not much move the king to make peace he was so sore offended and animated But God who had pitie of this poore kingdome which was in extreame desolation and confusion wrought and brought to passe as it were by miracle a peace sending from heaven a tempest accompanied with lightening so great over the campe of the English that they thought that heaven earth would have met and the world have finished for so great stones fell with the tempest that they overthrew men and horses Then the king of England seeing God fight against him being in a great fear and distresse made a vow unto God That if by his grace he escaped from that peril he would hearken unto peace and would cease to saccage and destroy the poor people as indeed he did after the tempest seased Which peace yet was accorded to his so great advantage that thereby besides the ransome of three millions of franks Guienne remained unto him in soveraigntie also the countrey of Armignac de Albret de Comines de la Marche de Santongeois Rochellois and a good part of Languedoc which before never was in the peaceable obedience domination of English Vnto this peace which was concluded in a village called Bretigni nigh to Chartres the French subjects of that countrey would not in any sort agree nor condiscend but refused to obey and yeeld themselves English For their reasons they alleaged That the king had no power to dismember and alienate them from the Crowne of France and that therupon they had priviledges from king Charlemaine whereby they could not nor ought not to be cut off from the truncke and house of France After that they had long debated refused to obey the king Iohn who upon good hostages was returned into Fraunce sent into his countries M. Iames de Bourbon his cousin and a Prince of his bloud to make them obey the English insomuch that whether they would or no those good French subjects should forsake the French obedience and be under the English governement This could not be without great greefe of heart sadnesse and incredible displeasure But above all others most remarkable for great constancie were they of Rochell to remaine French for they many times excused themselves unto the king and stood stiffe more than a Rochellois good Frēchmen yeare before they would let the Englishmen into the towne And thinking that their excuses and remonstrances might stand in some stead they sent to the king their Orators which arriving at Paris and being brought before the king fell at his feet with weepings sobbings and lamentations making this speech Most deare sir your poore and desolate subjects of your towne of Rochell have sent us hither to beseech your Majestie in all humilitie and with joined hands that it
would please you to have pitie and compassion upon them They are your naturall subjects and they and their ancestors have ever been under the obedience of your majestie and your auncestors Alas Sir what greater evill hap can there come unto us than to be now cut off and alienated from the kingdome and from the Crowne of France They are borne and have been nourished in the French nation They are of manners condition and language naturall Frenchmen What a strange and deplorable miserie should it now be to them to bend themselves under the yoke and obedience of the English a strange nation altogether different from us in manners conditions and language shall not this be unto them a cruell and slavish servitude now to become subjects unto them which of long time have not ceased to vex this poore kingdome with warre For if upon some divine punishment and for our sinnes the poore town of Rochell must needs be violently plucked and seperated from France as the daughter from the mothers dug to submit it selfe unto the sad servitude of a stranger yet that evill should be farre more tollerable to serve and yeeld to the yoke of any other nation than to that which so long time hath been a bloudie enemie of Fraunce and hath shed so much of our bloud Wherefore most humbly we beseech you Sir said they with teares that you will not deliver us into the hands of the English your enemies and ours If in any thing we have offended your Majestie for which you will now leave and abandon us we crie you mercie with joined hands and pray you in the name of God and of our Lord Iesus Christ that it would please you to have mercie and compassion upon us and to retaine us alwaies under your obedience as we and our auncestors have alwayes been We are not ignorant Sir that your Majestie having been prisoner in England hath been constrained to accord with them to their great advantage and that we are comprehended in the number of the Townes and Countries that must be delivered but yet we have some hope that we may be taken from that number by silver and for that purpose your poore town of Rochell offereth contribution to yoâ—r Majestie all that it hath in her power and besides we offer to pay with a good heart hereafter for our Subsidies and taillies halfe the revenue and gaines of all our goods Have pitie then Sir upon your poore Towne which comes to retire her selfe under your protection in most humble and affection at obedience as a poore desolate and lost creature to his Father his King and his naturall Lord and Soveraigne We obtest and beseech you most deare Sir in the name of God and of all his Saints that you will not abandon and forsake us but that it would please your clemencie and kindnesse to retaine for your subjects most humble them which cannot live but in al vexation languishment and bitternesse of heart unlesse we be your subjects The king having heard the piteous supplication of these poor Rochellois mourned and pitied them greatly but he made them answere That there was no remedie that which he had accorded must needs be executed This answere being reported at Rochell it is impossible to speake what lamentations there were through all the Towne this newes was so hard that they which were born nourished French should be no more French but become English Finally they being pressed constrained by the kings Commissaries to open the Towne-gates to the English Well said the most notable townsmen seeing we are forced to bow under the yoke and that it pleaseth the king our soveraigne lord that we should obey the English we will with our lips but our hearts shall remaine alwaies French After that the English had been peaceable possessors of Rochell and all the other countries abovenamed king Edward invested his eldest sonne the prince of Wales in that government a valiant and very humble Prince towards greater than himselfe but haughtie and proud towards his inferiors who came and held his traine and court at Bourdeaux where having dwelt certaine yeares he would needs have imposed upon the countrey a yearely tribute of money upon every fire But to withstand this new impost and tribute the Lords Barons and Counties of those countries but especiall the Countie d' Armignac de Perigourd de Albret de Commenges and many others all which went to Paris to offer in their appeales against the Prince of Wales Arriving there they dealt with king Charles le Sage for king Iohn was then dead about their appeale who answered them That by the peace of Britaine which he himselfe had sworne the dead king his father for him and his successors to the Crowne had acquited and renounced all the soveraignetie of the said countries and that he could not with a good conscience breake the peace with the English and that it greeved him much that with good reason he could not accord their appeale The said Counties and Barons contrarily shewed him by lively reasons That it is not in the kings power to release acquite the soveraigne power and authoritie of his subjects and countries without the consent of the Prelats Barons Cities and good Townes of those Countries and that was never seene nor practised in France and that if they had been called to the treatie of Britaine they would never have consented unto that acquittance of soveraigntie And therefore humbly praied his Majestie to receive their appellation and to send an huisher to adjorne in case of appeale the Prince of Wales to appeare at Paris at the Court of Fraunce to the end to quash and revoke the said new ordinance for the said tribute Finally the king Charles was nothing offended to heare them so speake of a kings power much unlike our Machiavelistes at this day which call them culpable of treason which speake of Estates neither replied unto them that the power of a soveraigne Prince ought not to be limited neither that they spoke evill to revoke into doubt that which his dead father had done but contrary rejoycing at that limitation referred the cause to the debating and resolution of the wise men of his Counsell And after he was resolved that it was true which they said he accorded unto these Counties and Barons their demaund and sent to adjorne in case of appeale to the Court of Paris the Prince of Wales which done the said Counties and Barons easily revolted from the English obedience so did Rochell get all Englishmen out of their towne and castle This done the duke of Berry the kings brother would have entred there but for that time with good words they refused him the entrie thereinto saying they would send unto the king certain Delegates to obtaine some priviledges and therefore desired of the duke a safe-conduct which he willingly granted and having the same they sent twelve chosen for that purpose amongst their Burgesses which finding the king
at Paris shewed him in all humilitie how of themselves they were rid of the English obedience and that again they would remit themselves into his Majesties obedience as being their king and naturall soveraigne Prince but that they besought him humbly to accord Priviledges of Rochell them certaine priviledges The king demanded what priviledges First said they That it would please your Majestie to agree unto us that the Towne of Rochell may be inseparably united unto the Crowne of France so that it may never be seperated nor dismembred by peace mariage nor by any compact condition or misadventure that can come in Fraunce Secondly that the Castle may be throwne to the earth without which we will keepe the towne of Rochell well for your Majestie The king perceiving their demands and finding them reasonable and proceeding from a true French heart accorded their requests and so the Rochellois returned merily into the French obedience from whence they had been seperated to their great greefe Here then you see how well to the purpose and to the great profit of the king and of the kingdome that law of not alienating the Lands Townes and Provinces of the Crowne was made But upon this that I have said of the Rochellois some Messer will say How happeneth it then that the Rochellois are at this day so bad French subjects hereunto the answere is easie and evident that is that they are at this day as good Frenchmen as ever were the ancestours but they are not good Italians neither meane to be subject under the yoke of strangers no more than their ancestors Let us now come to the other example King Francis the first of that name being prisoner at Madril in Spain in power of the emperour Charles the fist there was made a traitie and an accord betwixt the two great princes whereby amongst other things the king promised the emperor to grant him all his right and possession of the Dutchie of Burgoigne and that he would imploy himselfe to cause the Estates of the countrey to condiscend therunto This accord being concluded the emperor caused the king to be conducted to Bayonne and there by his embassadours summoned him to ratifie the accord which he had made at Madril when he was prisoner to the end to make more valeable and that it might the rather appeare to be made without constraint unto which embassadours the king answered that he could doe nothing in that article concerning the Dutchie of Burgoigne without first knowing the intent and will of his subjects because he could not aliene it without their consent and that he would cause the Estates of the countrey to assemble to know their wils therein Not long after the king caused the Estates of Burgoigne to come together which would by no meanes consent unto the said alienation whereof hee advertised the emperour who seeing that by reason they could not be alienated without their consents was content with that answer upon this condition That the king would assure the said Dutchie unto the first heire male which the said king should have by Elenor the said emperours sister unto whom he was then espoused so that that law That the king cannot alienate the Crowne-land was then verie profitable unto the king and the kingdome And unto this agree the doctors of the Civill law which hold that the emperour cannot aliene any thing of the Empires but he is bound to increase it to his power And from thence they drawe but foolishly the etymologie of that name Augustus saying The Emperors are called Augusti for that they ought to encrease and cannot diminish the Empire as much say they of other kings and monarchs for there is therein the like reason For a conclusion no man of perfect judgment can denie but these three lawes of the kingdome of France namely the law Salicke the law of the Estates general and the law of not alienating the lands and provinces of the crowne are the verie true pillars bases and foundations of the kingdome and the royaltie which none can or ought to abolish I doubt not but there will be found manie which will be quarelling at those aforesaid examples and reasons and will say That to sustain and defend that the king cannot abolish the said lawe is to diminish his power and to give limitation and restriction to his soveraigne authoritie But for reply I will only demaund If it be not puissance in a prince to conserve him and his estate If they confesse yea as none can denie it if he be not altogether without judgement I say it followeth by argument taken from contraries that it is then impuissance and want of power in a prince to ruinate himselfe and his estate And by consequent it followeth that when we say that a Prince cannot abolish the fundamentall lawes of him and his estate so much there wanteth that we diminish his power that by the contrarie we establish it and make it more firme greater and as it were invincible As also on the contrarie they which say that a Prince can abolish and change his lawes upon which he and his Estate are founded they establish and place in him an impuissance to conserve himselfe For to take it rightly and in good sence it is an act of impuissance to ruinat destroy overthrow and to participate his estate And contrarie it is an act of power to conserve himselfe and maintaine his estate No more nor no lesse than when a building falleth upon the earth or when a man letteth it fall these be acts of feeblenesse frailetie and impuissance but when the one and the other holdeth and standeth streight and firme without cracking or falling these be acts of force and power As for the law Naturall it cannot be abolished For if a Prince will authorise The law naturall cānot be abolished by the king or any other adulteries incests thefts murders and massacres and other like crimes which naturall reason and common sence causeth us to abhorre and detest certaine and evident it is that such authorising is of no value and that the Prince cannot doe this When the emperor Claudius wold espouse Agrippina his niece his brothers daughter he made a Law whereby he authorised the mariage of the uncle with the niece which was published all over but sayth Suetonius no man would imitate and follow the Emperours example but a bad servant newly enfranchised and a souldier every body so detested and abhorred such kind of mariages as being contrarie to the naturall law and common sence And indeed this mariage fell not out well for Sueto in Claudio cap. 26. Tacitus Annal lib. 12. him For Agrippina his neece and wife poysoned him to bring to the Empire Nero hir sonne whom she had had by another husband and had caused him to be adopted for his sonne although he had by his first wife Messalina another naturall sonne called Britanicus whom Nero when he came to the Empire empoysoned to
and triflingly talked with king Alexander the Great as if he had spoken to some simple burgesse of Athens And Calisthenes Plutarke in Alex. whom Alexander led with him in his voyage unto Asia to instruct him in good documents of wisedome who indeed was so austere hard and biting in all his remonstrances and reasonings as neither the king nor any others could take in good part any thing that he taught It is then very much expedient if a man mean to gather fruit and do good by his speech to use gentle and civile talke and persuasions especially if he have to doe with a Prince or great man which will not be gained by rigor or as they say by high wrastling but by mild and humble persuasions And above all men ought well to engrave in princes minds that notable answere which The difference of a friend and a flatterer captaine Phocion made unto the king Antipater who had required some thing of him which was not reasonable I would Sir doe for your service all that is possible for me but you cannot have me both for a friend and a flatterer as if he would say That they be two things farre different to be a friend and to be a flatterer as in truth they are For the true friend and servant of the prince orders and frames all his actions Plutarke de discri adul amici to the good of the prince and the flatterer tends and bends all his actions to his owne proper good the true friend loveth with a true love his prince and the flatterer loveth himself the true friend modestly sheweth his vices in his presence and praiseth his vertues in his absence but the flatterer alwaies exalts the prince in his presence rather for his vices than for his vertues and behind his backe he blameth and defameth him vaunting and saying that he governes him at his pleasure and that he possesseth him and makes him doe what hee will the true friend persevereth in the service of his prince as well in time of adversitie as prosperitie and the flatterer turnes his backe in time of adversitie the true friend serves for an healthfull medicine to his prince but the flatterer for a sweet poison the true friend conserveth his prince in his estate and greatnesse but the flatteter precipitateth him into ruine and destruction as we shall discourse the examples of al these things hereafter Moreover when we say that flatterers are pernicious to a prince that is not ment of all them which dedicate and give themselves to please the prince for there may well be Gentlemen of his owne age about him to accompany him in his honest pastimes as to ride hunt hawke to tourney to play at tennis to run and other like pastimes which doe not evill to give themselves to please him in such things but contrary it is right necessary and requisit that the prince have sometimes such companie For it should not be good nor comely in defect and for want of plaies and pastimes hee should to himselfe procure an habit of a Stoicall humour neither that he should get a complection too severe and melancholicke Hereof we read a very remarkable example above others in Alexander the great king of Macedon When he departed from his countrey to passe into Asia to make war upon that great Dominator king Darius he had with him most cheefe in his love amongst others Craterus and Hephaestion two gentlemen his especiallest friends and servants yet farre Plutarke in Alex. different the one from the other for Craterus was of an hard and sharpe wit severe stoicall and melancholicke who altogether gave himselfe unto affaires of Counsell and indeed was one of the kings cheefe Counsellors but Hephaestion was a young gentleman well complexioned and conditioned in his manners and behavior of a good and quicke wit yet free of all care but this to content and please the king in his sports and pastimes insomuch as men called Craterus the kings friend and Hephaestion the friend of Alexander as one that gave himselfe to maintaine the person of his prince in mirths and pastimes which were good to the maintenance of his health When Alexander had conquered Persia and Media he begun to apparrell himselfe after the Persian Median manner the rather to gaine the hearts of those nations newly conquered Hephaestion to please the king did the like leaving the Macedonike manner to apparrell himselfe as the Persians and Medes did for which the king liked him the better but Craterus kept alwaies his old fashions of Macedonie and much blamed that change of fashions in their apparrell and said it was but even to barbarize and begun to taunt and gibe at Hephestion for it This their contrarietie of manners was a cause that they entred farre into enmitie and quarrels insomuch as one day thēy came unto the drawing of swords one against another and streight assembled their friends on both sides wherby had falne out a great mutinie if the king himselfe had not come in good time hearing a great noise of people and seperated them presently openly rebuking Hephaestion calling him foole and mad man he tooke also privatly aside Craterus and told him he greatly marvelled that he being a wise man would so hate Hephaestion for so small a thing Afterward he agreed them publickely delared unto them that they were the two Gentlemen which most he loved in the world but if any more they fell to quarell again hee swore by Iupiter Amon that with his owne hands he would slay him that begun But after that they did nothing one against other Hereupon I say That it is necessary for a Prince to have such as Craterus for his counsell and it also becomes him well to have such as Hephaestion to keepe him companie in his honest pastimes But to the end men may better discerne such as are good friends and servants from flatterers I will now God willing discover the examples of many sorts of flatterers which for the most part have had in singular observation that Maxime of Machiavell namely To hold close from the Prince the truth of things and the better to distinguish them I will call them with such names as our auncestors have called them which are very proper and covenable unto them First there are a sort of flatterers which our auncient Frenchmen called janglers which signifieth as much Ianglers as a skoffer a trifler a man full of words or as we call them long tongues which by their jangling and babelings in rime or in prose such as do give themselves to please great men in praising and exalting them exceedingly rather for their vices than for their vertues These be they which by their fair language can make as one saith of a Devill an Angell but in the meane while they so enchant men and swell them up so with pride that in effect they make them become even Angelicall Devils This sort
also comes that vertuous people beeing angry and chafed to see themselves despised as also to see strangers preferred before them suffer themselves to be governed and guided by turbulent passions contrarie to their natures Moreover it seemeth well that the Poet Hesiodius and Aristotle shoot not farre from the white of truth when they say That by right of nature he ought to dominier and rule who hath the more able spirit to know how to command well and he that hath the lesseable ought to obey And although sovereign principalities are not ruled by that naturall law because of the difficultie which falleth ordinarily in the execution of their election yet for all that that law alwayes sticketh naturally in the spirits and minds of men insomuch as it seemes to them which feele themselves to have some sufficiencie that there is wrong done them when they are put by to bring into an office one lesse capable By the abovesaid reasons then I hope men may see and usually we reade how great disorders doe often come when princes have preferred strangers unto publicke charges offices and honours before them of that nation and countrey where such charges and honours are distributed and exercised The yeare 1158 William king of Sicilie by his originall was a Frenchman gave Annale 1168. the estate of the Chancellor of his kingdome to a person very capable and fit but he was not that countreyman but a Frenchman The lords of the kingdome greeved to see a stranger constituted in so high an estate within their countrey and that A strange Chancellor cause of a great massacre in Sicilie the greatest magistracie of justice must needs be exercised by strange hands a very cruell conspiration For not onely they conspired the death of that chancellor a Frenchman but also of all them of the French nation which were dispersed in the kingdome of Sicilie Calabria and Apuleia For that purpose sent they secret letters through all the townes and places of the said countries whereby they advertised their friends and adherents which were alreadie prepared all over that they should massacre and slay each one respectively the Frenchmen of their places and towns on the day and hour that they would assigne them Which was executed and there was made in the said countries an horrible butcherie and exceeding great effusion of French blood Behold the mischeefe that came in that kingdome for having a stranger for their chancellor True it is that some may say that this massacre of the Frenchmen in Sicilia and other countries of Italie happened not so much for that reason that there was a strange chancellor as for that the Italian race hath alwayes ben much enclined to shed the blood of our nation For that same race made also another like generall massacre in the year 1282 by a conspiration wherin it was concluded that every one of the country should slay or cause to be slaine his French guest at the first sound of their Evensong bell even upon Easter day Which conspiration was not only executed but also the rage of the massacrers was so great that they ripped the bodies of women of their owne nation alive which were never so little suspected to be gotten with child by Frenchmen to stifle the fruit they caried And this cruell and barbarous massacre was called the Sicilian Evensong By the SiciliaÌ„ EveÌ„song imitation hereof the same race complotted and executed not in Sicilie but in France it selfe and through all the best townes of the kingdome the horrible and generall massacre of the yeare 1572 which will ever bleed and whereof their hands and swords are yet bloodie Of which exploit they have since incessantly vaunted and braved calling it The Parisien Matines M. Martin du Bellay rehearseth also in Paritien Matinâ— his Memories how the same race murdered a great number of poore souldiers after the journey of Pavie comming towards France lame wounded and unarmed slaying them in their high waies But such is this peoples generositie of heart alwayes to be tenne or twentie against one and to brave such as are wounded or unarmed which have no meanes to resist This Messeresque generositie is at this day called in France Coyonnerie and Poltromerie But let us come to our purpose touching the disorders that come by strange magistrates By the peace of Bretaigne made betwixt Iohn king of Fraunce and Edward king Froissart lib. 1. cap. 216. 246 c. Pla. in Martin 4. of England the countrie of Aquitaine was acquited purely and in al soveraigntie by the sayd king Iohn to the said king Edward This king Edward from the first possession of the sayd countrie gave it to the prince of Wales his eldest sonne who came and lay in Bourdeaux and apart kept a court great and magnificall The gentlemen of Gascoigne and of other countries of Acquitaine which by the means of the sayd peace should become vassals to the king of England to the said prince of Wales his sonne came straight to find the prince at Bourdeaux first to sweare their faith and homage secondly to obtaine his favour and good countenance as is the custome of all nobilitie The prince of Wales very gently courteously benignly and familiarly entertained them but in the meane while he gave all the offices estates of the countrie as the captainships and governments of the towns and castles the offices of bayliffs and stewards the estates of his court unto English gentlemen where of he had alwaies great store about him These English gentlemen although they held no other goods but their estates spent prodigally and held as great a traine as the lords of the countrey and to maintaine that they committed great extortions upon the people Hereupon came it that the people feeling themselves oppressed by the English officers the nobilitie and vertuous people seeing themselves recoiled and kept from offices that the prince gave al to strangers which were not of that nation and that herewith he would needs impose a new tribute and impost upon the countrie in a little time all revolted from his obedience and so caused all the towns of Aquitaine to revolt one after another insomuch that the king of England and the sayd prince of Wales his sonne lost straight all the countrey having therewithall procured the evill will of their subjects by giving offices unto strangers Iohn duke of Bretaigne in regard that hee had taken a wife in England was marvellously Froiss lib. 1. cap 311 â—14 affected to the English partie yea against the king of Fraunce his soveraign lord The nobilitie of Bretaigne were much grieved therat insomuch that one day the three greatest lords of the countrie that is to say the lord de Clisson de Laval and de Rohan went to him and after salutations said to him in this manner Sir wee know not upon what thought you shew your selfe so enclinable and favourable unto the English you know that the
king of France is our sovereign lord and the dutchie of Bretaigne holdeth also of the crowne of Fraunce Wee pray you to despoile and rid your selfe of that affection which you have to the Englishmen and shew your selfe a good Frenchman such as you ought to be for we come to declare unto you that if you doe it not wee will abandon and leave you to serve the king of Fraunce who is our sovereigne lord The duke hereat was much troubled and could not so much cover his courage but he sayd That the king of Fraunce did wrong the king of England to despoile him of Aquitaine Certaine time after distrusting his subjects he sent into England to have Englishmen for his service and to give them captainships and governments of towns and castles of Bretaigne The king of England sent him people but the gentlemen of Bretaigne thinking much that their duke distrusted them and would prefer Englishmen before them themselves seazed the fortresses and towns of the countrie before the arivall of the Englishmen Insomuch that the duke seeing himselfe brought into a great extremitie abandoned his countrey and saved himselfe in England This came unto him for loving strangers more than his owne subjects and for that he desired to give them the charges and estates of the countrey The king Charles the eight in the voyage of Naples which he made in his owne Comines lib. 1. cap. 20. person conquered the realme of Naples almost without stroke striking and was received of all the people and of the most part of the Nobilitie of that countrey as a Messias sent of God to deliver them from the cruell and barbarous tyrannie wherein they were before and had now long time beene under their kings Alphonsus and Ferrand of Arragon usurpers of that kingdome upon the house of Anjou whereunto Charles succeeded Every one may judge if it had not beene easie for the king if he had enjoyed a good Counsell to have kept that goodly kingdome in his perpetuall obedience For when a people hath been tyrannized by an usurper and that he comes to recover his naturall prince which deales with them like a good prince there is nothing to induce the people to denie him obeisance or to revolt Because on the one side they acknowledge that after God and reason they ought to obey him which is the true and lawfull prince unto whom alwayes there is more amitie borne than unto another and on the other side they see themselves discharged and unburdened of that heavie waight of tyrannie and of an usurper But what came there unto king Charles Thus having conquered that kingdome hee gave all the estates and offices of the country unto Frenchmen which he had with him in that voyage whereof the gentlemen of the countrey and especially such as had alwaies either secretly or openly held to the part of the house of Anjou were so discontented and spighted that they straight cast off all amitie good affection to the king and incontinent entred into practises and complots to make all the countrey to revolt which they straight did and so made void that voyage and for nothing the king lost both his people and his money who assuredly might have well kept the kingdome of Naples if he had given the offices thereof to them of the countrey and sought meanes to have maintained them in voluntarie obedience By the aforesaid example it appeares That the Frenchmen gained nothing by getting into their hands all the offices and estates of the kingdome of Naples yet gained they much lesse in the fact I come now to speake of seeking to take away the honour of the warre from the Spaniards in Spaine at the battaile of Iuberoth You Froiss lib. 3. cap. 12 31 14 15 16. must then understand that the king Iohn of Castile being an allie with the king of Fraunce demaunded succours of him and aid to make warre against king Denis of Portingale The king of Fraunce sent him gallant succours as well of footmen as horsemen Our Frenchmen arriving there were very well entertained of king Iohn of Castile our French desired the point of the battaile to shew both what they could doe in warre as also their good affection to doe him service The Castilians contradicted this beeing greeved and envious against the French that so vaunted preferred themselves before them Notwithstanding all that the Spaniards could doe the king graunted them their request where of they were very glad and the Castilians as sad What did the Castilians Vpon despight and envie they complotted together to suffer the French to pursue the enemie without following or seconding them but onely to make a shew that they would follow them to the end that all the glorie might remaine to the French if they vanquished or all to them if after the overthrowing of the French they were victors Vpon which resolution it is well to note how envie and hatred blindeth judgement For if they had not been very passionate they might well judge That forces devided might easily be vanquished one after another as it happened to their ruine and dishonour and to the ruine of the French but being joyned together they might much sooner have beene victorious Finally the battaile was given against the Portugals which were valiantly encountred by the French but beeing unseconded by the Castilians which held the arreregard they were found the more feeble insomuch that they were all slaine or taken And which was a thing very lamentable Of those there were a thousand gentlemen taken prisoners amongst which there were nineteene great lords all which also were thus slaine For as the Portugals a while after the defeating of the avantgard of the French perceived to arrive the arreregard of the Castilians they resolved to slay their prisoners and did so lest they either should make warre upon them behind or els escape So having slaine all their said prisoners they marched valiantly against the Castilians whom they likewise discomfited If we Frenchmen had not been so ambitious and covetous of glorie as to seeke glorie in a strangers countrey above them of that countrey they had not falne into this mischeefe Ochozias king of Iuda was son of Athalia a woman stranger daughter of a king 2. Kings cap. 10. 2. Chron. cap. 22. of Samaria This king governed himselfe by Samaritans which were much hated of the people of Iuda unto whom he gave the principall charges and offices of his kingdome at the persuasion of his mother a Samaritane also despising and casting behind the wisest and most vertuous of his kingdom by which he should haue beene governed after the example of his predecessors This was the cause of that kings destruction for as Iehu was in destroying the house of Achab brother of Athalia he slue also Ochozias and extermined almost all his race as a partner and friend which maintained Achab. If Ochozias had governed himselfe rather by people of his owne kingdome than
by strangers that evill hap had not come unto him That great king Asseuerus which held the empire of the Medes and Persians and Ester cap. 6 7 8 c. governed over 127. countries a great while governed himselfe by a stranger called Aman who was a Macedonian this Aman seeing himselfe in credit durst enterprise unjustlie to make die Mardocheus who had alwaies beene the kings good and faithfull servant under the pretext and colour that he was not of the kings religion and to cover the particular enmitie which he had against Mardocheus and to the end to make it see me that he would not this harme to him alone he found meanes to the king to cause a generall commandement for the massacring and murdering of all such as were of Mardocheus his religion But the king having beene advertised that Mardocheus had done him good services and that that which Aman did was but upon envie revoked the commaundement and would not have that massacre to be executed but caused to hang and strangle the Macedonian which would have had him brought his kingdomes and countries into combustion by so horrible an effusion of blood as he had caused to be enterprised and gave his estate to Mardocheus Alexander king of Epirotes had drawne and gathered into his countrie a great number of Lucanians banished and chased out of their countrie and vsed them with such curtesie and hospitalitie that not only he permitted them to dwell in Epire but also served himselfe with them and reputed them for his good and faithfull friends and vsed them with all the best dealing he could But it so happened that the king had warre against the countrie of those banished people and so thought to be well served with them in this war as indeed they promised him saying They desired no more than to revenge themselves of such as had banished and chased them out of their countrie and to bring the countrie into the obedience of Alexander and to be afterward established in their goods in authoritie under him in the said countrie But as it ordinarilie commeth saith Titus Livius that such people have spirits and faith as mutable as their fortune they used the matter otherwise than they promised the king and than he looked for For they made secret compacts to betray this king with their countrimen which promised them a restauration into their goods and authority which they had in their said countrie before their banishment provided that they would deliver the king either alive or dead which willing to execute they did so much that they persuaded this king to give battaile against the Lucanians and there should he know the good affection they had to do him service and to fight against such as had banished them insomuch that they came to the battaile there this banished people did so much that they brought this king Alexander into a place nigh the flood Acheron from drowning in which he could not save himselfe but by swimming over the floud Being then brought to that place and straight they begun to shew their treason and turned themselves against the king who seeing the perill wherein he was hazarded himselfe by swimming to passe over that great floud As hee had almost passed it over and that he had recovered the banke on the other side behold there came one of the banished people who with a javeline transpierced and run him cleane through the bodie The body falling in the water was by the river carried into the hands of his enemies which encamped lower But when they light upon that bodie they in great irrision and disdaine cut it in many peeces Here is the miserable end that came to this poore king for trusting in strangers Charles the last duke of Bourgoine not being able any way to get his will of the De Comines lib. 1. cap. 83 92. towne of Nus entred into distrust and discontentment with his owne subjects although in truth they had done all their duties in the besiege of the towne yet a prince must doe what hee will Vpon this mistrust and discontentment of his subjects hee resolved with himselfe to bee served with strangers and amongst all other strange nations he made choice of Italians But I leave you to thinke how good his choice was likely to be for every one knowes well ynough what account Italians make of the observation of their faith and how Machiavell teacheth That faith is not to be observed but to a mans profit which they of that nation doe alwayes well practise And if sometimes there bee found any loyall and good observers of their promise it is a thing so rare as that raritie should not have any thing mooved the duke of Burgoigne rather to trust the Italians than his own proper subjects Yet having taken it in hand he drew to his service the earle of Campobache which hee entertained with foure hundred men of arms more of Italians paied by his hands Incontinent as Campobache was entred into credit with the duke hee begun to governe him at his pleasure so that the duke trusted more in him than in any man in the world Campobache having gained this point straight begun to practise to betray him and to deliver him to king Lewis the eleventh then raigning if hee would promise him in recompence 20000 crownes and a good earledome But the king doing as Fabricius did towards the king Pyrrhus would not enter into that composition but advertised the duke of Burgoigne to the end he might take heed of that traitor and rid himselfe of him The duke tooke this advertisement in evill part his sences were so troubled imagining that the king sent him this word to make him leese his good servants and therefore trusted more than ever Campobache When Campobache saw hee could not bargaine with the king hee sought a merchant other where for hee was resolved whatsoever became of his credit to draw out a profit if he could Amongst these actions the duke thought good to besiege Nancy the principall towne of Lorraine The duke of Lorraine was not so scrupulous to enter into composition with that traitor as the king had been especially because the duke of Burgoigne made warre upon him unjustly and sought to take from him his countrey He therefore entred into compact with Campobache by the meanes of a gentleman of his named Cyfron and they concluded and agreed betwixt them secretly Finally before Nancy was a battaile given by the advice of Campobache who councelled the duke of Lorraine to levie the siege of the duke of Burgoigne who was there slaine and his armie defeated by the meanes and treason of Campobache The king after this tooke a part of the countrey of the said duke of Burgoigne which died in the foresaid battaile because they ought duly for want of heires male to returne to the Crowne of Fraunce and the rest of his dukedome fell to his onely daughter who was his heire which was
married into the house of Austriche Now you may see how the duke of Burgoigne did precipitate himselfe into ruine and his countries fell as a prey unto his neighbours by trusting straungers and forsaking his good faithfull and naturall subjects and vassales The emperour Gordian the young prospered greatly whilest his affaires were governed Capitoâ—inus in Gordiano by Misitheus his father in law who was his great master of his houshold and his lieutenant generall Gordian made warre against Sapor king of Persia whom he drave out of Thracia and from the countries of Syria and recovered Antioche Carres Nisibis and other great townes which the Persians held insomuch that the name of Gordian was feared and redoubted through all Persia whereas before Italie it selfe begun to feare the Persians But upon the course of his victories and prosperities arrived by evill hap the death of that good and wise man Misitheus and withall fell another yet greater which was this That that young emperour went to give the estate of his father in law to a stranger an Arabian called Phillippus who straight begun to practise against his master as we have abovesaid of Campobache For the first thing he did was this That he tooke order that victuals should want in the campe to make a mutinie of the souldiers against the emperour and hee himselfe did sow diffamatorie words through the campe against his master as that hee was a young man and knew not what belonged to the conduction of a campe and merited not to be an emperour and who would cause all the armie to be destroyed if they rested upon him Breefely he brought the souldiers and men of war to what point he would by the meanes he tooke For there is nothing more saucie nor more deafe to heare reasons and excuses than an hungrie bellie All the hoast then being angry against Gordian for the want of victuals and the principall captaines thereof being corrupted by this Arabian stranger he did so much as he got himselfe to bee chosen as tutor and governour of the emperour Haying by this meanes gained the authoritie to command he begun to enterprise to make Gordian his master die Which this young prince seeing he besought him humbly that hee would receive him into the participation of the empire and that they two might be together emperours as but a few yeares before had been Maximus and Balbinus But Philippus would not agree to that perceiving himselfe strong of captaines which hee had gained and corrupted Then Gordian demanded of him yet the office which he had given him of the Great master of his houshold Lieutenant generall that in the place of a master he might so be his servant But the fierce Arabian denied it him he was so villanous and ingrate Finally he desired him but to save his life which likewise that wicked Arabian would not accord fearing that one day he might trouble him because he was of a very noble race and that he had many friends as well at Rome as all over the Roman empire and by the contrarie Philippus was of a vile and unknown race Breefely this cruell Barbarian stranger made forcibly to be brought before his face that young prince his master who had advanced him and there caused him to be unclothed naked and so to be massacred and slaine Would any say there could be imagined a barbarousnesse disloyaltie or crueltie more strange so a stranger committed it Trust such people who list The ancient Romans which were wise tooke good heed of granting charges and offices unto strangers nay not to their associates of the same tongue that they were After they had lost the battaile of Cannas where were slaine fourescore Senators the Senate seemed to be utterly overthrowne the number remaining was so small There was then proposed by Marcus Aemilius Praetor that there should be new Senators chosen to supply and encrease the auncient number And upon this proposition he as president of the Senate demaunded first the advice of Spurius Carvilius Senatour Carvilius thought best to chuse some good number of the most notable and wise men of the Latines their associates as well for that there was want of men within Rome as to hold the Latines more united and obedient by the meanes of which union he said the Commonwealth should be much more fortified encreased But Manlius which reasoned after him was of another advice for hee declared high and clear That the first Latine that he saw enter within the Senat to sit down as Senator he would slay him with his owne hand and he could never endure that the Senat should be contaminated with strangers After Manlius reasoned that wise lord Quintus Fabius Maximus who said he never heard nor saw any man argue in the Senat so grossely and evill to purpose as Carvilius had done especially said hee in this time wherein we are brought to such extremitie and that it is more needfull than ever to have in the Senat faithfull and loyall persons and every one may well know that there can never be good trust and assurance in strangers which measure faith and loyaltie by their profit and losse We had need also to take good heed there be no brute or fame of this foolish opinion of Carvilius but to let it bee trodden under our feet for feare the Latines take not occasion to lift up their horns if they perceive any wind or breath thereof Breefely all the companie were of this opinion and 177 Senators were chosen out of the body of the town of Rome which before had made known their vertue without more looking into the nobilitie of their race And Carvilius was much despited that he would have advanced strangers into the offices of Senators We must not be abashed if the ancient Romanes have used this for even at this day there is not so small a commonwealth that useth it not See Venise Gennes and other townes of Italie which are in forme of commonwealths see Strasburg Nuremburg Ausburg Francfort Magdeburg and all the imperiall townes of Almaigne which are governed like commonwealths and the thirteene cantons of the Suisses you shall find that they straitly observe this rule To receive no strangers into offices and publicke charges yea in many places they will not receive strangers for inhabitants wherein it may be they hold too much severitie and rigour For hospitalitie is recommended unto us of God and it is a very laudable vertue for men to entertaine strangers and well to use them in entertainement But strangers also ought to content themselves to be welcommed and entertained in a countrey or towne without an aspiring will to master or hold offices and estates for at the length that can obtaine unto them but envie and evill will The French nation is that which of all christianitie as I thinke receiveth and loveth strangers most for they are as welcome all over Fraunce as they of their owne nation Yet wee have
also he handleth with his hands the very bodie of our Lord and that he breaketh it and that the faithfull break and bruse it betwixt their teeth Behold the goodly doctrine of this Cannon which the Sophists would make the Catholikes beleeve but of five hundred you shall not find one that will beleeve it And verily this Cannon makes me remember what Achaemenides sayth in Virgil of the great Polyphemus who did eat the companions of Vlysses Poore humane creatures he did eat the bodie blood and all Aeâ—â—i â—i 3. My selfe did see him claspe and gripe in his so deepe a den Two men of ours in his huge hands their heads on dore Lintall He knocked so that blood gusht out and in my sight those men He tore and brused betwixt his teeth yet dead they were not cleane And how should Catholikes beleeve this Canon seeing the priests themselves beleeve it not I prove it For if they beleeved it they would never say masse upon fridaies nor in Lent or other sasting dayes and the Charterhouse Celestines nor Ensumine Friers and Monks would say no masses for feare to eat slesh O but will one say This is a strange reason I confesse it but the aforesaid Cannon is as strange and how strange soever yet can it not be overthrowne without giving some spirituall interpretation unto the manducation of the Sacrament But straight as soone as a man comes there behold we are at an agreement You see then how the Catholikes yea the priests themselves beleeve not in that Canon which notwithstanding is the only foundation of the masse Yea but you will say The Catholikes go to masse and find it good I confesse it but it is upon custome they go thither not because they understand or beleeve any other thing touching the Sacrament than that we have already said And therefore seeing they do agree with us in the principall there shall be no great danger nor losse for them to send away and banish into the Cyclopian Islands or into Poliphaemus den their masse yea though but for a time to see and prove whether they might well and commodiously spare it or no. As wee read Pope Clement the sixt did who excoÌ„municated all the people of the country of Flanders for a certaine rebellion that they had made against the king of France their soveraigne who also interdicted all the priests of the countrey upon paine of eternall damnation to say no masses nor to administer any Sacraments to the Flemmings til they had obtained absolution of his fatherhood The poore Flemmings seeing themselves without masses for in no sort their priests would say any they writ to the king of England making unto him great coÌ„plaints The king of England sent them word not to be dismayed nor troubled for want of masses for he would send them priests out of his country to say them masses ynough But the priests of England went not fearing to be comprehended in that fulmination of the Pope In the meane while the Flemmings attending whilest the king of England sent the priests accustomed so much themselves to be without masses being merry and making good cheare that they were well and no more it troubled them Many other countries also at this day which have no masses passe the time well ynough to their content as England Scotland and Denmarke the most part of Almaign I beleeve also if men did assay it in France to obtaine peace and union they would not find it so evill as they thinke For already we agree upon the Sacrament as is abovesaid we hold also the Epistles Gospels the lessons which are taken out of the Psalmes of David and the Prophets for we shall alwayes find that in our Bible yea farre more faithfully enregistred than in the Missall all the remainder is not worth the holding For as for their massing garments men of good iudgemeÌ„t know wel That apparell addes no holinesse to the masse seeing also that Frenchmen naturally staie not long in one fashion of apparrell but easily chaunge from one to another I confesse in regard of the common people which only stay upoÌ„ that they see that they will take no great lust in a masse without the masse garments as if the Curate said it in his doublet and hose without more or in his ierkin it is certaine that commonly the parishioners would greatly scandilize it and would not find it good And yet a true thing it is that apparell makes not the masse better neither have they any sanctitie in them to deserve to be retained For if it were true that such garments made the masse better and added any holinesse unto it then would it follow that the better the garments and habites are so much the better should the masses be then would there be found great inequalitie in the bountie and goodnesse of masses and so would it follow that the masses of rich men should be better than poore mens a thing very absurd and odious that were also to make village masses of no account because their masse garments are often tattered and rent So that theÌ„ we must come to this resolution to shun these absurdities That garmeÌ„ts bring no holinesse to the masse and that in retaining the holy Sacrament the Gospell the Epistles and the lessons of the Psalmes and Prophets which are in the masse there would be found no danger to let go all the rest Now then if we lay by through all France the superfluous things of the masse are not all the rest of the exercises of religion alike The Catholikes go to the church to pray unto God so doe we also They goe to heare sermons of the word of God so do we also They go thither to praise God in singing of the Psalms of David and we also They go thither to keepe their Easter and we also For it is all one to celebrate the Easter and the Supper Breefly all our exercises of Religion are alike I know well you will say there is a difference because the Catholikes pray and sing psalms in Latin and we in French But I answere you that that is nothing so that men understand what they say For God understandeth well all languages You will say unto me also that the preachers of the one and of the other preach not the same doctrine Yet I answere that though it be so yet do we agree in all the principall points of Religion which are necessary to be knowne for the salvation of our soules If in any other points our preachers cannot agree we must let theÌ„ agree amongst theÌ„selves and content our selves to know the articles which are necessary for our salvation For it cannot be said that if we cannot be as subtil and sharpe as S. Thomas of Aquin Bonaventure Scot Bricot or other like doctors of Theologie that therefore we must needs be damned It were a very straunge thing to beleeve that God would have his holy Religion so obscure that none
which is so odious to the world brought him to prison where they caused him to finish his daies I will then conclude this recitall That if all Christian princes would practise the Magistrall determination of our masters of Sorbonne and of the Vniversitie of Paris the same would fall unto S. Peter which fell unto Frier Iohn his bird Yet is it not onely by the change of lead into gold that his Holinesse dooth Froisart lib. 2. chap. 132 133. 135. 140. much evill to provinces farre from Rome but also by his interdicts and excommunications In the time of the aforesaid schisme of Popes hee of Rome who was called Vrban sent Buls unto king Richard of England who tooke his part and was an Vrbanist by which hee commaunded him to make warre upon the king of France who was a Clementine and gave him power to levie silver upon the Warre for the Pope of Rome English Cleargie Moreover hee gave so great quantitie of pardons to all them which with a good heart did furnish silver for that warre that it seemed hee meant cleane to have emptied both hell and purgatorie of Englishmen for every man or woman might draw out his father grandfather great grandfather uncles aunts children nephewes and others ascendants descendants and collaterals by paying so much for every poll He further promised their soules to be guided right into paradice which died in this warre or which died that yeare after they had paied the money for that said warre nor that there should be any necessitie for the said soules to stray out of their way by purgatorie and the Limbo but to goe right to paradice The said buls being thus preached and published through England there was every where a great prease that yeare to die and to give silver so that in a small time there was heaped up the summe of 2500000 franks One part of this silver was given to the bishop of London who was chosen generall to make warre upon the Clementines in Spaine and the other part was delivered to the bishop of Norwitch who was elected generall of another armie to make warre upon France which also was Clementine And indeed these two armies did much harme as well in Spaine as in France yet the bishop of Norwitch being a young man and inconsiderat entring upon Flaunders an Vrbanist the king of Fraunce meeting him therewith 100000 men constrained him to retire homeward with shame and great losse In the yeare 1513 happened great damage and hurt unto the kings of Fraunce Annales upon the said yeare Du Bellay lib. 1. of his Memories and of Navarre by the meanes of an interdict and excommunication which Pope Iulius the second of that name cast against all the princes which had sent their embassadors to the counsell of Pise whose lands and seignories he exposed and gave as a prey to all men that would take and invade them For under colour of those wicked and detestable buls the emperour Maximilian and the Switzers constrained king Lewis the twelfth to abandon and forsake Millaine and almost all that hee held in Italie And on the other side the king of England fell upon Fraunce which by the Pope was exposed as a prey with an armie of 3000 English assaying to conquer part thereof But God suffered it not for in the meane time this wicked Pope died and the interdict was revoked and peace made with the English On the other side also king Ferdinand of Arragon feigning he would come to prey upon France entred into the kingdome of Navarre and got and usurped it upon king Iohn d' Albert The Pope cause of the losse of the kingdome of Navarre from the right heirs who was disseased thereof without being defied yea before he knew the king of Arragon his purpose whose successours have alwayes since detained and usurped the said kingdome of Navarre upon the said king Iohn d' Albret and upon his lawfull successors as they doe yet by this title onely of usurpation prey and bootie yet notwithstanding the said unjust usurpers call themselves most Catholike I could here accumulate many other examples of many great domages losses committed by Popes in strange countries and even in Almaigne where they have commonly sowen warres betwixt the emperour and the princes of Almaigne but I will content my selfe with the abovesaid examples for I will not at length handle such an ample and almost infinit matter but it sufficeth mee to have shewed That the contrarie of that which Machiavell saith is true and that the Pope and his holy seat doe much good in the place where they are and many evils and mischeefes in farre countries And as for that which Machiavell saith That Italie is the province of Christendome where there is least Religion he saith very true but what would hee now say if he were alive hee should then find that if in his time they had so well profited in his schoole as to be very great Atheists and contemners of God and of all Religion that now his schollers know farre more than his master And there is no doubt but alreadie long agoe all Religion is contemned in Italie yea and even the Romane Catholicke Will you have a better example than that which M. Comines rehearseth He saith That in the time of king Lewis the twelfth there were two houses at Florence which were principall that is to say of Medicis and of Pacis which were in quarell and enmitie together They of the house de Pacis favoured the Pope and the king of Naples and by their counsell and advice did they enterprise to slay Lawrence de Medicis who was cheefe of his house and all his race and to surprise him the better unprovided and without heed taking they resolved to sley and massacre him with all his race and sequele upon a solemne feast day at the houre that the great Masse was sung and that when the priest begun to sing Sanctus Sanctus it should be the watch word to rush upon them And indeed they executed their enterprise except that they slew not Lawrence de Medicis who saved himselfe in the revestrie but Iulian his brother and certaine others of his race were slaine I demand of you if they which enterprised and gave counsell to attempt such an act beleeved in the Masse we need not doubt but they were very Atheists But if in that time some hundred yeares agoe Italie were so furnished with Atheists and contemners of Religion what thinke you it is now In conclusion Italie Rome the Pope and his seat are truly the spring and fountaine of all despight of Religion and the schoole of all impietie and as they alreadie were in Machiavels time as he confesseth so are they farre more in this time For although the papall Church of Rome both heretofore made and yet dooth certaine demonstrations to sustaine a Religion yet in effect it maintaineth it no otherwise but by subtilties and words for it commaundeth
because hee was avowed and acknowledged for the sonne of Egeus king of Athens and was exceedingly well liked of the Athenians because hee had acquired the reputation of a magnanimous and valiant man in that he slew and overcame many theeves which brigandized and robbed the countrey of Attica and the countries adjoyning And to say the estate of Athens was confused is a jeast of Machiavels invention And in that he saith That the occasion and meanes that Romulus had to make himselfe a prince was because he found himselfe dejected from his birth place the towne of Alba doth he not shew himselfe a man of good judgement For can a man say in good sence and reason that to bee dejected from his countrey disavowed of his parents as a bastard to be put to nourishment amongst shepheards and beasts to be impoverished and destituted of all meanes that I say these are means and occasions to be made a prince and to be the founder of a towne If this be true there will be found men ynough which have all those goodly meanes to become princes and so will there be found more princes than other people But contrarie the meanes that we reade whereby Romulus became a prince and founder of a towne were That hee was a man strong and violent cunning in armes who gathered together many vagabonds and people of execution whereof he made captaines after he and Remus his brother founded Rome and to besole ruler he slew his brother Remus and made himselfe king 8. Maxime Moses usurped Iudea as the Gothes usurped a part of the Empire WHen people are oppressed sayth M. Nicholas vvith famine Discourse lib. 2. cap. 9. vvarre or servitude in their countrey oftentimes they goe to conquer other countries vvherein they chaunge their name As the people of Israel being oppressed vvith servitude in Aegypt under the conduct of Moses occupied a part of Syria vvhich he called Iudea even as the Gothes and Vandales occupied also the West Empire Likewise also the Maurusians auncient people of Syria perceiving the comming of the Hebrewes vvith a great povver from Aegypt feeling not themselves strong enough to resist them abandoned their countrey and vvithdrevv themselves into Affricke vvhere they conquered ground and chased avvay the naturall inhabitants This may be proved by the authoritie of the historian Procopius vvho vvrit in the life of Bellisarius That he read letters in certaine pillars vvritten in the countrey of Maures in Affricke vvhich contained this inscription Nos Maurisci qui fugimus à facie Josu latronis filij Nave that is to say Wee are the Mauricians vvhich fled before the face of Josue the cheefe sonne of Nave THis Atheist having heretofore said That Moses was made prince of the Hebrewes by his owne vertue and by armes will now persuade that hee was a theefe and an usurper of anothers countrey without any title or reason and that he seized upon Iudea as the Gothes and Vandales did of Lumbardie Spaine and other countries of the Romane empire I have before protested as I yet doe that it greeveth me much to defile my paper with so filthie speeches yet the more am I vexed that the eares and eyes of so many persons should be occupied in reading and hearing things evill sounding and so farre from all pietie and veritie but it is necessarie to discover the doctrine and the doctor of our courtiers at this day which thinke that the damnable bookes of this Atheist should serve for rules to conduct affaires of Estate as the sterne serves to guide a ship To confute then this Maxime Joseph lib. 1. Antiq. cap. 13. 14. wee know that the land of Iudea was first called the land of Canaan having taken that name of Canaan the sonne of Noe which dwelt there after the deluge and was the first stocke of the Canaanites in that countrey one part of that land was called Palestine or Philistine which name it tooke of Philistines a people comming from Philistim Noe his rerenephew which were a mightie and strong people of that land which had the government of the other people of the countrey one part also of that land of Canaan was called Iudea of the name of Iuda who was a prince even the cheefe of the twelve patriarkes of the children of Iacob from whence came the people of Israel which planted themselves in that part of the land of Canaan which was called Iudea We reade not that in the time of Moses this countrey was called Syria neither that it was comprehended under the name of Syria for from that time the countrey which after men called Syria was called the land of Aram who was the sonne of Sem the sonne of Noe although such as came after under that name of Syria comprised the countrey of Assyria also which in Moses his time was called the land of Assur who was also the sonne of Sem the sonne of Noe. And therefore is manifestly seene the beastlinesse and ignorance of Machiavell when he sayth That Moses usurped a part of Syria seeing the name of Syria was not yet invented much lesse comprised the land of Canaan But what could a simple secretarie of the towne of Florence either have read or seene except the registers of their towne-house but good authors Greeke or Latine he never read as is easie to judge by his writings wherein hee alledgeth no story to enrich his worke but the bad and slender examples of government of the Genowaies of the Florentines of the Pope of the duke of Millaine and of other such like pettie potentates of Italie he alledgeth sometimes some words out of Titus Livius but to so little purpose as may be Moreover it is knowne That the land of Canaan was of God many times promised to Abraham and to his seed as is seene in Genesis and that Abraham dwelt there and his race after him after he departed from his nephew Lot unto the time that Iacob and his familie were by famine constrained to retire into Aegypt Should we then say that when the Hebrews returned from Aegypt to dwell in their originall land which was promised them of God who is master of heaven and earth that they were usurpers like the Gothes and Vandales nay contrarie they were the just and true possessors thereof and with good right expulsed and drave out the Canaanites occupiers thereof which usurped from them the land of their education which God had promised and assigned to them for an heritage And as for that which he alledged of the Maurusianz it is a very fable for the The Maurusians came from Media not from Siria nor Phaenicia names of all such nations as were vanquished by Moses Iosua are plainly set down in their bookes but there is found no name of Maurusians neither is there found written in any good author that in the land of Canaan there ever dwelt any nation called Maurusians and as for that nation of Africa called Maures Mauritanians or Maurusians
Caesar Bourgia and Agathocles And that Italie delights in nothing so much as novelties and the Italians surpasse other nations in force agilitie of bodie and spirit True it is saith he that vvhen it commeth to battailes they vvill never appeare but men must lay the fault thereof upon the cowardise and little heart of their captaines because they that have knowledge vvill not willingly obey and every man presumeth to know much He sheweth moreover That the magnificent Lawrence had good occasion to enterprise the taking of Italie to deliver it from the slavish servitude wherein it is and that enterprise should be founded upon good iustice because that vvarre cannot faile to be esteemed iust vvhich is necessarie and all armes are good and reasonable when men have no hope otherwhere but by them THis Maxime of Machiavell is a true meanes to sow both civile strange warres all over the world For if princes had this persuasion that it were lawfull for them to assaile any other prince under the pretext and shew that hee handled not well his subjects princes should never want occasions to warre one against another And therefore to say that the magnificent Laurence de Medicis had just occasion to get Italie to deliver it from the evill handling of the potentates thereof which there dominiered and ruled this in no sort could bee called a just cause of warr but it rather may be called an evill against an evill and tyrannie against tyrannie because they de Medicis cannot say that they have any right or title unto Italie But if wee consider what tyrannie is as the elders have spoken thereof we shall find that not onely men in old time called such princes tyrants which handled evill and rudely their subjects as Caligula Nero Commodus other like but also such as handled well and kindlie their subjects when without title they usurped domination upon them as Iulius Cesar Hieron of Siracuse the governours which the Lacedaemonians set over Athens and other like And therefore a prince which hath no title over a countrey cannot lawfully invade it to get dominion there but by tyrannie whatsoever good intent he surmise or have to use the inhabitants friendly when he hath conquered it yet he may well aide another prince having lawfull title to oppose against a tyrannie because that is a common dutie whereby all good princes are obliged to help all such as by title and legitimate cause doe oppose themselves to resist a tyrannie But if a prince goe about to usurpe another countrie after the counsell of Macbiavell without lawfull title under a vaile to deliver that countrey from tyrannie this cannot bee well and justlie done unles a man will say that one tyrant may justlie expulse an other tyrant The Romanes have many times by example shewed this to bee true and never Titus Liviuâ— lib. 7. Dec. 1 would they deale in warre against any man without just title The Samnites which were a mightie people made one warre against the Campani neighbours unto the Romanes which sent to Rome to demand succours They shewed that they were the None may move warre without just title and cause Romanes neighbours and that it well became the Romane generositie and vertue to succour their neighbours seeing also that by marriages there were infinit alliances betwixt the Romanes and the Campanians and the Romanes might alwaies draw great commodities and profits from Campania which was a fertill and plentifull countrie But they could never obtaine other thing at the Romane Senates hand for these allegations but that the Senate sent embassadours to the Samnites to pray them to cease making warre upon the Campanians the Romanes neighbours Then the Campanians deputies said Well my masters seeing you will not now defend us against an unjust tyrannous invasion yet at the least defend that which is your owne for wee yeeld and give our selves to you yea us and all that is ours Then the Senate taking title and foundation of this dedition enterprised the defence of the Campanians which otherwise without title they would never have enterprised And truely the saying of the emperour Martian is very memorable and deserveth good observation That a prince ought never to move warre whilest hee could Pomp. Laetus in Martian maintaine peace as if he would say That Armes ought not to bee employed by a prince but in the defence of his countrey and not to assaile another And indeed a man had need looke about him more than once before hee moove warre and well consider and examine if therein there bee just cause or no for warres are easie to commence as M. Comines sayth but very uneasie to appease and finish And upon this we reade That in the Senate of Rome there was once a very notable disputation betweene Cato one esteemed the wisest of Rome and Scipio Nasica who was reputed the best man of Rome The matter was this After the first Punicke warre the Romanes made peace with the Carthaginians by which peace was accorded That the Carthaginians might not rig any ship of warre nor moove warre against the Romanes or their allies It came to passe a certaine time after this peace that the Carthaginians gathered together many ships which being reported at Rome and the matter propounded in counsell in the Senate Cato and many others reasoned That warre should be made upon the Carthaginians because they had gone from the treatie of peace and that warre might justly be offered unto them as breakers of peace But Scipio Nasica was of a contrarie opinion That there was yet no sufficient cause to make warre for although the Carthaginians had gone against the peace and violated their faith and promise yet the Romanes received no offence or damage as yet and therefore he was of advice That the Carthaginians should bee summoned to lay downe their armes and untackle their ships and observe peace even in the articles which they had broken The pluralitie of voices were of Nasica his opinion and accordingly men were sent to Carthage to summon them to obtemperate and obey the treatie of peace and to repaire contraventions They would doe nothing therein but prepared themselves more to set upon Massinissa their allie and friend Then this comming to counsell in the Senate all agreed That then there was just cause to move warre against the Carthaginians seeing they had alreadie begun to practise the same against Massinissa their allie and friend but there also were diverse opinions whether they should altogether ruinate from the top to the bottome the towne of Carthage after they had taken it or to let it still remaine a towne Cato was of opinion totally to ruinate and destroy it because it could not be kept in any fidelitie but would breake her faith and promise at the first occasion that offered it selfe Nasica was of a contrarie advice saying It was good that Rome had alwayes an enemie upon whom to make warre that the Romane people might
that if Sertorius had not been slaine of his own people he had sooner overcome Pompeius than he him Yet Sertorius was but a simple souldier who had neither silver nor treasure he had no authoritie to command neither did any obey him against their wils Spartacus also was but a poore slave which escaping from his master gathered together a great number of people and made strong warre upon the Romanes whom hee many times vanquished And but that Pompeius and Crassus with great armies were greatly busied to hinder his desseignes he had made himselfe master of Italie And was not Cleon another poore slave yet gathered under his conduction an armie of 70 thousand other slaves wherewith he had like to have gotten all Sicilie And Viriatus was but a shepheard on the mountaines of Spaine and gathering together a great number of shepheards and theeves he made infinit worke for the Romanes yet in the end certaine Romane captains sent against him not being able otherwise to overcome him caused him traiterously to be slaine This the Senat found not good but greatly blamed those captains which overcame by so villanous a meane After Viriatus was slaine his people disbanded not but still made warre upon the Romanes insomuch as the Romanes were constrained to give unto them to appease them the towne and territorie of Valence in Spaine to inhabite and so they were satisfied and gave over their armes Of late memorie Philibert de Chaton Prince of Orange Antonie de Leva Andrew Doria the Marquis of Mantua and many others whereof we have spoken in other places which revolted against king Francis the first and did him more hutt than all the forces of the emperour Charles the fift yet were they no great lords in comparison of the king Therefore he which is a wise prince will estimate no enemie to be pettie and little but will guard himselfe from justly offending any man fearing least by that meanes hee procure enemies For enmities will come too fast on a man before hee lookes for them As for that hee saith That the Romanes had colonies in countries which they Titus Livi. lib. 10. Dec. 1. lib 7. Dec. 3. lib. 8. Dec. 4. conquered they did it not to serve their turnes as fortresses in that countrey as Machiavell saith but to disburden the citie of Rome of their too great a multitude of people which were still stirring up rebellions and seditions in their towne as in the time of the consulship of Marcus Valerius and Quintus Apuleius The towne saith Titus Livius was brought to a great quiet and tranquilitie by discharging it of a great part of the common people by deduction of colonies which when they were sent into any countrey that the Romanes had conquered the publick and common fields were divided amongst them yet the old inhabitants were not chased away neither were their goods taken from them but only mingled with the Romans goods which dwelt with them in their townes in houses they themselves builded or els which were publicke and conquered to the Roman commonweale The Romans also set up colonies as a multiplication of their race but not to serve them for fortresses in conquered countries and that it was so appears because they erected not colonies in all the countries they conquered no not in the most strongest places but rather in the amplest fattest and fertilest places These said colonies also were no more faithfull unto them than the other subjects but often rebelled as well as others as was seene after the battaile that the Romanes lost at Cannas against Anniball for then twelve Roman colonies revolted from them and entred league with Anniball And it is commonly seene that citizens transported into other countreyes doe incontinent degenerate taking the manners and conditions of the countrie as came to passe in the townes of Alexandria in Aegipt Seleucia in Siria Babilon in Parthia which were colonies of the Macedonians and to the towne of Tarentum a colonie of the Lacedaemonians for all these foresaid townes were straight despoiled of the manners natures and the originall generositie of their nation and became soft effeminate and cowardly as they were into whose countries they were removed A great and memorable calamitie fell to Philip king of Macedonie by removing Titus Livi. lib. 10. Dec. 4. to other places the naturall inhabitants of the maritime and sea townes of his countrey This king fearing to enter into warre with the Romanes because many of his neighbours went to complaine of him to the Senat of Rome thought it good to stand upon his guard and something distrusting the inhabitants of such townes as were nigh the sea hee tooke away from thence the naturall inhabitants and gave them grounds in Emathia to dwell in and in their places planted the inhabitants of Thracia in whom he trusted This caused in all Macedonie a great discontentment for every one saw to their great griefe their ancient poore dislodged carrying their children on their shoulders weeping and lamenting their calamities and making exercations and imprecations against the king that it might so happen to the king and his race to bee driven from his kingdome and countrey The king being advertised of this universall murmuration began to enter into a distrust of every man and especially of the children of certaine gentlemen which hee had caused to die and hee feared that the saide children making use of the peoples discontentment should attempt some enterprise against him and therefore determined to have seased certaine young children of the slaine gentlemen for his better assurance Theoxena the widdow of a great lord which was slaine by the king called Herodicus resolved rather to make die the children of her and her dead husband than that they should come into the hands and power of the king So she resolved to save her-selfe and them at Athens and yet if the worst fell she provided good swords poisons after shee was embarked with her children to obtaine the towne of Athens shee was followed by another boate of the kings people which when shee saw that they rowed with great dilligence to the barke wherein shee was Loe said she my childen you have now no other meanes to shun the tyrannie of king Philip but death which you may see shewing the swords and the poison chuse which you had rather die on either on sharpe whetted swords or to swallow this poison on my children let the eldest shew themselves most hardy and couragious This exhortation persuaded so much that they slew themselves some with swords some with poyson then she caused them all to fall into the water even when they yet had breath and cast her-selfe after them Straight the kings people ioyned to the barke but they found it emptie of the persons they looked for The crueltie of this fact added a new flame of envie and evill will towards the king so that it seemed to every one they heard the infernall furies preparing themselves to bring
But if any demand how diviners and astrologers could so justly foretell the death of the emperour Domitian I answere that we must beleeve that this said prediction was not by art or science but the evill spirit would give boldnesse of enterprising unto Domitians enemies in making them know by frivolous divinations his fatall houre that they might beleeve the starres and heaven to aid their enterprise And God above who serves himselfe with such meanes as pleaseth him to exercise his justice gives efficacie to the spirit of error The same effect came of the divination of Caracalla for it was the cause that Macrinus enterprised to sley him although he never before thought of it till the astrologers declared their divination nay he would never have done that enterprise if that divination had not constrained and drawne him unto it Master Philip de Comines reciteth to this purpose a very memorable hystorie that happened in his time He saith there was at Naples a king called Alphonsus a bastard of the house of Arragon who was marvellous cruell a traitour and dangerous for none could know when he was angry he could so well manage his countenance yea and often betray men as he made them good cheare and he was a man wherein there was neither grace nor mercie neither had hee any compassion of the poore people This king Alphonsus had a sonne also as wicked as he called Ferrand who had found means to bring before him under his fathers assurance many princes and barons of the countrey to the number of foure and twentie and amongst them the prince de Rosane his brother in law having married his sister all which hee caused to be imprisoned notwithstanding the faith and assurance which he had given them insomuch as some remained foure or five and twentie yeares prisoners As soone as the king Alphonsus was dead and Ferrand his sonne was king the first thing hee did at his comming to the crowne was to massacre all those said great princes and barons which he himselfe had imprisoned during his fathers life by a Moorean slave of Affrica which he rewarded and straight after the execution sent him into his countrey This king Ferrand or Ferdinand having newes of the said murder as the king of Fraunce Charles the eight enterprised the conquest of Naples judging himselfe unworthie to be king because of his great and abhominable cruelties sent embassadors to the king to agree and to be at an accord with him offering to yeeld himselfe tributarie to the crowne of Fraunce to hold the kingdome of Naples of him and to pay him 50000 crownes yearely But the king who knew there was no fidelitie in the Arragonian race of Naples would enter into no treatie with the king Ferdinand who being in dispaire to be ever able to hold that kingdome against the king of Fraunce having his owne subjects his enemies died for sorrow and dispaire and left his sonne Alphonsus his successor This Alphonsus the new king was as wicked as his father and had alwayes shewed himselfe pittilesse and cruell without faith without religion and without all humanitie insomuch as perceiving that king Charles approched Rome his conscience also judging himselfe to be an unworthy king he resolved to flie into Spain and to professe himselfe a monke in some monasterie But before hee fled hee caused to be crowned king at Naples a young sonne of his called Ferdinand who was not yet hated in the countrey his nailes beeing not yet either strong or long ynough to doe evill This done hee fled into Sicilie and from thence to Valence in Spaine where he tooke the habite of a monke and in a little time after died of an excoriation of gravell But it was marvellous that this cruel tyrant should be so seized of feare as he should go in no good order away but left all his moveable goods and almost all his gold and silver in his castle at Naples And this feare proceeded to him from a faintnesse of heart for as Comines saith never cruell man was hardie And when one desired him onely to stay three dayes to packe up his goods No no said he let us quickly depart from hence heare you not all the world crie Fraunce Fraunce Men may see how an evill conscience leaves a man never in quiet This wicked man knowing that by his crueltie hee had procured the hatred of his subjects the wrath of God and the enmitie of all the world was tormented in his conscience as of an infernall furie which ever after fretted his languishing soule in the poore infected and wasted bodie And to end this tragoedie straight after he had saved himselfe the king of Fraunce obtained the kingdome of Naples And a little while after the said young Ferdinand sonne of the said Alphonsus died of a feaver and a flux So that within the space of two yeares God did justice on foure kings of Naples two Alfonses and two Ferdinands because of their strange cruelties which were accompained with disloyall impietie and oppression of subjects for alwaies those keepe company together A like punishment happened by the conduction and judgement of God to that Comines lib. 1 cap. 132. 133. and Bellay lib. 1. of his memories cruell king Richard of England king Edward the fourth his brother This king Edward deceasing left two sonnes and two daughters all yong and in the tutelage and goverment of Richard duke of Glocester his brother This duke desiring for himselfe the crowne of England caused his two nephewes cruelly to be slaine and made a report to goe that by chance they fell of a bridge and so were slaine His two nieces he put into a religion of Nunnes saying they were bastards because saith hee the dead king Edvard their father could not lawfullie espouse their mother for that before hee had promised to espouse a gentlewoman which hee named and the bishop of Bath beeing present protested it was so and the promises of marriage were made betwixt his hands The duke of Glocester having thus dispatched both his nephewes and nieces caused himselfe to be crowned king of England and because many great lords of England murmured at this crueltie this new tyrant king which named himselfe king Richard the third made to die of sundrie deaths all such as hee knew had murmured against him or his tyrannie After all this when hee thought hee had a sure estate in the kingdome it was not long before God raised him up for enemie the earle of Richmond of the house of Lancaster who was but a pettie lord in power without silver and without force who but a little before was detained prisoner in Bretaigne To whom certaine lords of England sent secretly that if he could come into England but with two or three thousand men all the people would come to him make him king of England The earle of Richmond hasted to king Charles the eight then raigning in France by whose permission hee levied people in
prince certaine it is that there is nothing in the world which makes him more contemptible Covetousnesse cause of a princes ruine and despighted than it doth for of it selfe it is odious in all men because it is filthie and mechanicall but especially in princes which as they are constituted in a more ample and opulent fortune than other men are ought also to shew themselves more liberall and further removed from Illiberalitie and Covetousnes The emperour Galba otherwise a good and sage prince but suffering himselfe to bee governed by some about him which were rapinous and covetous hee himselfe also Tacit. lib. 17 Annales Dio. in Galba being too hard to his souldiers thus destroyed and defiled all his vertues But that more is this his covetousnesse and the rapines of his officers cost him his life brought him into contempt and after to bee slaine of his souldiers The emperour Pertinax was good and one of the most wise and moderatest princes that ever was Dion Cap. in Perti and who a man might say to bee as it were irreprehensible and a very father of the people hee alwaies so studied every way to comfort his subjects but he was so spotted and defiled with that vice of covetousnesse that hee thereby became hated and contemned of his men of warre so that they slew him The emperor Mauricius was Pomp Laetus in Mauritio Phoâ—a a very niggard yea so great was his covetousnesse that hee delighted in nothing but heaping up of treasures and would spend nothing whereby every man tooke occasion to blame and despise him The great store of treasure which he had made Phocas his lieutenant who otherwise was a man of no account a coward but as covetous as his master to sley him and to obtain the empire But yet Phocas being come to the empire continued in his covetousnesse more than ever was found in Mauricius his predecessor and respected nothing but heaping up of treasures by rapines and extorcions without any care of government of his empire This miserable covetousnesse carefulnesse of this traitor Phocas was the cause of his owne ruine the entier dissipation of the Roman empire For during his government there were cut off from the Roman empire Germanie Gaul Spaine the most part of Italie Slavonia and Mesia the most part of Affrick Armenia Arabia Macedonia Thracia Asiria Mesopotamia Aegypt and many other countries wherof some cut themselves from the empire and other were occupied by the king of Persia and other potentates which was an exceeding great evill hap and very memorable that thus the Romane empire should fall in pieces by meanes of this emperours covetousnesse This happened not alone to Phocas to have lost his domination by the meanes of his covetousnesse for the like fell to king Perseus of Macedonie This king having Titus Livius lib. 4. Dec. 5. enterprised warre upon the Romanes gathered together great store of treasures but when it came to bee distributed to have souldiers hee shewed himselfe so holding and covetous as was possible For having caused to come from the Gaulois very great succours into his countrie by the covenant of a certaine summe of mony which hee promised them yet refused to deliver them silver when they came excusing himselfe amongst his people that it was a dangerous thing to receive so great a number of strangers in his countrie for fewer would serve him Briefely saith Titus Livius hee did but find meanes to bring all those treasures into the Romanes hands for their bootie for the Gaulois seeing themselves thus mocked by this king returned spoiling all his countrey as they passed and after the Romanes vanquished Perseus and got all his treasures which hee lost with his crowne and his life and this fell unto him by his covetousnesse Marcus Crassus a Romane citizen being worth 350000 crownes of annuall revenew Ioseph Antiq lib. 14. cap. 8. 13. Pluta in Crasso was yet so covetous that seeing Lucullus had enriched himselfe by the Levant warre never ceased till he had obtained charge and commission to make warre upon the Parthians And that which incited him most to purchase that charge was that hee had heard say that Pompeius who had made warre there not long before had had goodly meanes to heape up great treasures if he had listed as hee might have pilled the temple of Ierusalem where the treasures of sacred vessels and of the widdowes and orphants mounted to the summe of two thousand Talents or five millions of Crownes So Crassus resolved to rob that temple to redouble his riches and therein not to bee so scrupulous as Pompey had beene And so indeede Crassus passing by Hierusalem against the Parthians pilled the temple and to himselfe appropriated all that treasure which partly was the goods and substance of poore widdowes and orphants Crassus going on came into Armenia and from thence came to the Parthians where he gave battaile to king Herodes or rather to Surena his lieutenant but Crassus losing the battaile where his onely sonne was slaine escaped on foot thinking to save himselfe which he could not doe but in the end was overtaken and slaine and his head carried to Herodes who with it served himselfe in a play of a Tragoedie which was plaied before him where they talked of an hunter which had slaine a great savage beast Here may you see the tragicall end of this insatiable covetous wretch Crassus who was justly and soone punished for his great and horrible sacriledge which he had committed in the holy temple of Hierusalem By these examples then it is evidently seene That Covetousnesse is customably the cause of the ruine of such princes and great lords as are infected therewith so farre is it off that it is profitable as Machiavell saith Yet true it is that there have been some but very few which being covetous notwithstanding have not been ruinated by that vice as the emperour Vespasian but the reason wherefore the covetousnesse of Vespasian was not cause of his destruction is for that he exercised it not Dion in Vespasi cap. 16 17. else but upon his rapinous magistrates and because hee employed on good uses and for the utilitie of the publicke good such money as his avarice heaped up yea he even practised great liberalities towards good people and ruinated cities to rebuild them Surely if those reasons be well considered they will serve Vespasian for a lowable excuse if it so be that a vice can be any thing excused For first there was no great harme that he should draw water from such spunges as such magistrates were which had sucked and drunke up the substance of the people and to cause them to regorge and cast up the booties whereof they were full And in my opinion there were no harme if they did the like at this day for what harme is there to take from a theefe The other excuse is yet more considerable that Vespasian
remaineth to shew That Liberalitie is profitable and necessarie for a prince when he applieth it to good uses When Alexander the Great departed from Macedonie to goe to the conquest Plutarch in Alexand. of Asia hee caused all the captaines of his armie to appeare before him At their comming he distributed unto them almost all the revenue of his kingdome insomuch as he left to himselfe almost nothing Amongst them one of the said captaines called Perdicas said unto him What then will you Sir keepe for your selfe Even Hope answered Alexander We then shall have our part thereof replied Perdicas since we goe with you Thus Perdicas and certaine other also refused the gifts which their king offered them and were as thankfull as if they had accepted them So that they accompanied him in his voyage of Asia full of good will to serve him as they did For he was so well served of these valiant Macedonians his subjects that with them he conquered almost al Asia so the Liberalitie of Alexander was very profitable unto him The ancient Romanes had this custome ordinarily to encrease the seignories and Titus Livius lib 7. Dec. 4. Plutarch in Caton dominations of the kings their allies as they did to Massinissa king of Numidia unto whom they gave a great part of the kingdome of Syphax his neighbor and some part of the countrey of the Carthaginians after they had vanquished Syphax and the Carthaginians as also they did to Eumenes king of Pergamus in Asia unto whom they gave all they conquered upon king Antiochus from beyond the mount Taurus which came to more than foure times so much as all Eumenes his kingdome They also practised great Liberalities towards Ptolomeus king of Cyprus towards Attalus another king of Pergamus towards Hiero king of Sicilie and many others And what profit got they by all this even this that in the end all the countries and kingdomes fell into the Romans hands either by succession and testamentarie ordinance of those kings or by the will of the people or otherwise And this reputation of Liberalitie which the Romans acquired was the cause that the kings and potentates of the world affected and so greatly desired their amitie and alliance Silla Marius his lieutenant making warre upon king Iugurtha persuaded Bocchus king of Salust de bello Mauritania to take part with the Romanes against Iugurtha because saith hee the Romanes are never wearie with vanquishing by beneficence but doe alwaies enrich their friends and allies The king Cotis of Thrace having promised the Romanes that he would proove their good and faithfull friend and to that effect having delivered them hostages notwithstanding they aided king Perseus of Macedonie against the Romanes when after by warre king Perseus was vanquished wherin Bitis the said king Cotis his sonne was taken prisoner this king would have ransomed his sonne and withall made certaine frivolous excuses The Senate made him this worthie answere That the Romanes knew very certainely that hee had preferred the good grace and favour of Perseus before their amitie but that therefore they would not cease to give him his sonne and his hostages because the benefits of the Romane people are free insomuch as they better love to leave the price and the recompence within the hearts of such as receive their said benefits than to be readie to receive prompt and quicke satisfaction Augustus Caesar seeing himselfe have many enemies which he had gotten by civile Dion in August warres he knew not whether he should put them all to death or what hee should doe For he on the one side considered that if he caused all to die then the world would thinke that either he was entring into the butcherie of a civile warre or els to usurpe a tyrannie and on the other side he feared that some mischeefe would happen unto him if he suffered them to live The abovesaid Livia his wife which was a good and sage ladie shewed him that he ought to gaine his enemies which he feared by liberalitie and beneficence Hee followed this counsell and begun with one Cornelius the nephew of Pompeius whom hee advaunced into the office of Consull and in like sort to others which he tooke to be his enemies he practised beneficence and bountifulnesse in such sort as he gained all their hearts But because the remonstrance which Livia made to Augustus is very memorable I will here summarily recite it I am very sorrowfull my most deare lord and spouse to see you thus greeved and tormented in your spirit so that your sleepe is taken from you I am not ignorant that you have great occasions because of many enemies which you will have still feeling in themselves the deaths of their friends and parents which you have caused to die during those civill wars withall that a prince cannot so well governe but there will be alwaies mailcontents and complainers There is this moreover that this change of estate which you have brought into the commonweale by reducing it into a monarchie makes that a man cannot well assure himselfe of such as they esteeme to be their friends yet I beseech you my good lord to excuse me if I a simple woman take that hardinesse to tel you my advice upon this matter which is that I thinke there is nothing impossible to represse by soft and gentle meanes for the natures of such as are enclined to do evill are sooner subdued and corrected by using clemencie and beneficence towards them than severitie For princes which are courteous and mercifull make themselves not onely agreeable and honourable to them upon whom they bestow mercie but also towards all others And by contrary such as are inexorable and will abate nothing of their rigour are hated and blamed not only of them towards whom he shewes himselfe such but of all others also See you not my good lord that either never or very selde physicians come to cut the sicke members of the bodie but onely seeke to heale them by soft and gentle mendicaments in like sort are maladies of the spirit to be healed And the gentle medicaments of the spirit may these well be called Affabilitie and Soft words of princes towards every one his Clemencie and placabilitie his Mercie and debonairetie not towards wicked and bad persons which make an occupation to do evill but towards such as have offended by youth imprudencie ignorance by chance by constraint or which have some just excuse It is also a very requisit thing in a prince not only to do no wrong to any person but also to be reputed such a man as will never do wrong to any man because that is the meane to have the amitie and benevolence of men which a prince can never obtaine unlesse he doe persuade them that he will do well to the good and that hee will doe wrong to none For feare may well bee acquired with force but amitie cannot bee obtained but by persuasion
so that if it please you my lord to use benefits and liberalitie towards such as you esteeme your enemies and towards such as feare you will doe them wrong you shall easily gaine them and others from henceforth for your friends This remonstrance of Livia was the cause that Augustus let loose and set at liberrie all them which were accused to have enterprised any thing against him satisfying himself with the admonishments he gave them and besides gave great goods and benefits unto some of them so that as well those as other of his enemies became his friends and good subjects Behold heere what good came to Augustus by his beneficence and liberalitie The emperour Marcus Antonine feared nothing more than the reputation of an hard and covetous man and alwayes wished and desired that such a spot of infamie Dion in Marco might never bee imposed upon him And indeede all his carriage and actions were such that none could impute unto him any spot of Covetousnesse but al Liberalitie worthie of a good prince for first hee established publicke professours of all sciences in the towne of Athens unto which he gave great wages which prooved a most profitable act to the commonweale woorthie of such a prince and this was partly the cause that in his time there was so great store of learned people in all manner of sciences insomuch as the time of his kingdome was and hath ben since called the golden world In our time king Francis the first of happie memorie did imitate the example of this great and wise emperour establishing publicke lectures at great wages in the Vniversitie of Paris a thing wherof his memorie hath ben and shall be more celebrated through the world than for so many great warres as hee valiantly sustained and demeaned during his raigne Secondly the emperour Antonine forgave the people all the fiscall debts and arrerages which they ought him by scedules obligations or otherwise for fiftie yeares before which was an huge and unspeakable liberalitie But he did this to take away all meanes matter from all officers and fiscall procurators of molesting and troubling his subjects afterward with researches and calling on of old debts Thirdly hee never laid impost or extraordinarie exaction upon his people but handled them in all kindnesse and generositie He never made profuse and superfluous expences but held an estate both at home and in the court sober and full of frugalitie And finally to shew how he delighted in liberalitie he caused a temple to be builded to Beneficence Behold here a true patterne after which princes should conforme themselves to know how to practise that goodly vertue Liberalitie And very notable is that point that that good emperour Antonine held the estate of his house ruled by frugalitie and sobrietie and farre from the straunge profusions of those monsters Caligula Nero and Vitellius for he considered that it were much better to employ for the publicke wealth of his empire the revenues and money therof than in riotousnesse and vanities and that such unmeasurable profusion constraineth a prince to fall to rapines and to deale evill with their subjects because as the common proverb saith Vnmeasurable largesse hath no bottome Therefore did that great emperour Traian Dion in Traiano Lampr. in Alex. Spar in Andria also hould his estate soberly governed and hee maintained no unprofitable persons in his service No more did the emperour Severus who would not suffer in any offices any persons to be placed which were not necessarie They had also good sallaries and rewards of him yea he would often rebuke them for not demaunding gifts of him And wherefore saith he wilt thou that I should be thy debter seeing thou askest me nothing Adrian also had this propertie that hee gave great gifts unto his good friends and servants and made them rich before they demaunded any thing And above all hee was liberall towards professors of letters and learned men which he enriched but he much hated such as by evill meanes became rich and generally all good emperours were adorned with the vertues of liberalitie and munificence which they practised with such moderation and prudence that they were never spotted neither with Machiavels Covetousnesse nor his Prodigalitie And therefore they flourished and prospered during their raignes and left after them a perpetuall memorie to posteritie of their vertues and praises Our kings of Fraunce as Clovis Charlemaigne Lewis the piteous his sonne Robert Henry the first Lewis le Gros Lewis the eight S. Lewis and many others were very liberall but they exercised their liberalitie and principalitie upon the Church and Churchmen which they but too much enriched Yet wee reade that Charlemaigne was also very liberall towards learned men and that he spent much in founding and maintaining the Vniversitie of Paris And a man may generally marke in our kings of Fraunce a Christian liberalitie which they have alwayes had that is That they have been great Almoniers exercising their liberalitie upon poore people which is an exercise of that vertue exceeding woorthie of a Christian prince which he should never forget By this abovesaid I hope the Maxime of Machiavell is sufficiently confuted and that it evidently appeareth by our examples and reasons That Covetousnesse is domageable and dishonourable to a prince as also is his contrarie profusion and that Liberalitie is profitable and honourable unto him And as for the reasons which Machiavell alledgeth they are foolish and false as his Maxime For to say That a rich prince shall be esteemed puissant because he hath great treasures that reason dooth evill conclude King Perseus of Macedonie of whome wee have spoken had The power of a prince lieth not in treasures great treasures yet left he not to be esteemed a king pusillanimous and of small valour and such was his reputation in his owne countrey and amongst his owne subjects Crassus also was knowne to be more richer than Pompeius but he was not esteemed so valiant nor so good a man neither in his life had hee the tenth part of Pompeies honours Mauricius and Phocas Romane emperours by their covetousnesse heaped up great treasures but were they therefore esteemed puissant and valiant nay contrarie they were esteemed cowards and in the catalogue of such emperours as held the most abject and infamous places But I pray you let us come to the reason When a prince hath the fame to bee a great treasurer doth he not give his neighbours occasion to seeke meanes to enterprise upon him to obtain those treasures Wherfore is it that the Venetians which if they list might bee the greatest treasurers of the world have made a law amongst De Con. l. b. 2. cap. 21. them to have no treasure in their commonwealth other than of armes It is because they know well as they be wise that if they heape up treasures in money they shall but prepare a bait to draw rheir neighbours on to make warre upon them
and that by nature violent things cannot endure as also that God sets in foot and exerciseth his justice upon them yet for all that is there not a better nor more expedient meane to establish a tyrannie than to place and plant a Partialitie amongst the people And this is the marke and end whereat Machiavell shooteth to establish a tyrannie as we have before shewed in many places It may be Machiavell learned this Maxime of Claudius Appius who was a man of courage and very tyrannicall towards the Romane people and if all other Senatours had been of his humor assuredly the Senate had usurped a tyrannie in the citie and changed the Aristocraticall estate into an Oligarchie but most commonly he remained alone in his opinion But wee must understand that at Rome there was tenne Tribunes of the people which were magistrates established to conserve the liberties and franchises of the meane people against the tyrannicall enterprises of the great men of the citie which had power to oppose themselves against all novelties as new lawes new burthens and imposts and after a firme opposition none might passe any further They also had power to propose and pursue the reception of new lawes as they knew it was requisit and profitable for all the people whereby it often came to passe that the Tribunes sought to make passe and to receive lawes to the great dislike of the Patricians and Senatours and to the utilitie of the meane people The abovesaid Claudius Appius alwaies gave the Senate advice to sow a Partialitie Titus Livius Dec. Dionis Halic lib. 9. amongst the said tenne Tribunes and by the practise of that same amongst them they might oppose themselves against laws which others would have to passe For said he by this meanes the Tribunes power shall ruinate it selfe without that we shall seeme any way to meddle therein and without that the people shall know that any of our action is in it This counsell of Appius was many times followed but in the end they found it did them no good For after the Tribunes were partialized one against another and that thereby nothing could passe nor be concluded by way of deliberation and accustomed suffrages then fell they to armes and seditions So that in the end the people were constrained by force to plucke from the Patricians that which they would not permit to bee handled and disputed by the accustomed way of good deliberation and conclusion by pluralitie of voices Thus oftentimes the Patricians were constrained to appease the people to grant them things which by reason they might have persuaded them to leave for it is the nature of men to desire alwayes that which is denied them as the Poet Horace sayth very well expressing that which happeneth ordinarily in the world That which denied is most commonly Desired is of us most ardently Moreover it often came to passe that the Patricians desired to make passe to the people by meanes of the Tribunes some law which seemed unto them profitable for the commonwealth but they could not come to their pretences because they had fashioned the Tribunes to a contradiction one of another And of those Tribunarie partialities arose at Rome great insurrections of the people and great murthers and effusion of blood as there did when the two brethren Graccht were slain And therefore that goodly counsell of Appius whereupon Machiavell hath made his Maxime was cause of great evils and calamities as surely it is easie to judge That all Partialities and divisions are cause of ruine and desolation amongst a people whereof we are also advertised by him who is truth it selfe our Lord Iesus Christ who saith That every kingdome divided in it selfe shall be desolate And if there be any Machiavelist so grosse headed as hee cannot comprehend this in his spirit yet may he see this by experience in Fraunce if he be not altogether blind and if hee be French he cannot but palpably touch it in the losse of his goods and in the death of his parents and friends unlesse he be a lazer or without sence For all the late ruines of Fraunce from whence have they proceeded but from the partialities of Papists and Hugenots which strangers sowed and maintained thereof It is solly to say that the diversitie of Religion was cause thereof For if men had handled all controversies of Religion by preachings disputes and conferences as at the beginning they did they had never falne into any Partialitie but since men came to armes and massacres and that by constraint they will force men to beleeve partialities sprung up which was the onely marke whereat all strangers shot that thereby they might plant in Fraunce the government of Machiavell The Chalcedonians were well advised not to beleeve the counsell of the Aetolians which resembled this doctrine of Machiavell and the counsell of Appius for when the warre was open betwixt the Romanes and the king Antiochus the Chalcedonians allies and friends of the Romanes caused to be assembled the States of their countries to resolve upon that which Antiochus made them understand That his onely comming into Greece was to deliver the countrey from the subjection and servitude of the Romanes and therefore required them to allie and conjoyne themselves with him The Aetolians which were very unconstant and mutable people with each wind as are the Machiavelists chanced to be in that assembly and persuaded the Chalcedonians that it was certaine that the king Antiochus had passed from Asia into Europe to deliver Greece from the Romanes servitude and that they thought it best that all the cities of Greece ought to allie and contract amitie with both the two parties the Antiochs and the Romanes For said they if wee allie our selves with both parties when the one would offend us the other will revenge us The Chalcedonians not finding good this counsell of the Aetolians knowing well that as none can serve two contrary masters so neither can they allie themselves with two nations enemies and that they which will entertaine two contrarie parties shall often fall into the malegrace of both And therefore Mixtion one of the principals amongst the Chalcedonians made to the Aetolians a very wise and notable answere Wee see not masters Aetolians say they that the Romanes have seized upon any towne in Greece neither that therein they have placed any Romane garison nor that any payeth them tribute neither know we any unto whome they have given any law or any thing changed their estate And therefore we do not acknowledge our selves entangled in any servitude but that we alwaies are in the same libertie which we have alwayes been Being therefore free we stand in no need of a deliverer and the comming of the king Antiochus into Greece cannot but hurt us who can performe no greater good unto us than to withdraw himselfe farre from our countrey And as for us we are resolved to receive none within our townes but by the authority of
elected for their cheefetaine the said Giles governour of a great part of Gaule which the Romane emperor then held This Giles called Guiemand to be about him as one of his Counsell because he was reputed a wise man Guiemand dissembled the best he could by the space of nine yeares all which time he was about this Giles yet never forgetting the amitie and fidelitie which hee bore to his king But amongst other things which hee counselled this governour this was one that hee gave him to understand that the Frenchmens natures is to be rudely handled in great subjection and to take great heed they doe not enrich themselves for they are farre better poore than rich and when they are rich and at their ease then doe they incontinent rebell against their prince Breefely by this goodly counsell whereof he desired such issue as after happened hee put in that Romane governours head to lay great imposts and exactions upon the French people and withall to practise cruelties This was the cause that the Frenchmen by the advice and secret handling of Guiemand himselfe called againe their king Chilperick unto whom Guiemand sent the halfering which he had The king returning the French gentlemen met him even at Bar where they dealt with him most honorably The king also forgave them all new tributes and imposts and from thence forward governed himselfe wisely and of a Sardanapalus which he had been before his flight he became after his returne a noble and valiant prince and chased the Romanes from a good part of Gaule which they held and greatly enlarged the limits of the realme of Fraunce Therefore is it evidently seene that the Maxime of Machiavell or the counsell which Guiemand gave to Giles which is one same doctrine is not very good and that the issue thereof cannot be but evill And to argue this point by reason I thinke every man will confesse unto me that The force of a prince coÌ„sisteth in the riches of his countrey it is more expedient for a prince to bee king and lord of a rich and plentifull countrey than of a barren and poore countrey for a withered and poore country cannot nourish any great people Moreover a poore and barren countrey cannot produce and bring forth things necessarie to the tuition thereof as abundance of corn wine fodder money and other things Finally to make a kingdome strong and puissant as well to maintaine it as to augment it there is a necessitie that it bee copious and rich of all things And although Machiavell in a certaine place where he speaketh of warre maintaineth that the common saying is false That money are the sinewes of warre this hindereth not but that which we say may be true For suppose it bee true as Machiavell by his foolish subtiltie maintaines that it is the good soldiors which are the sinewes of the warre and not money yet these sinewes cannot stirre nor bee brought to any great actions without clapping upon the cataplasme of money So that if money be not the sinewes of warre after the foolish subtiltie of Machiavell because they have not of themselves either motion or operation yet at the least are they the meanes which causeth the sinewes to moove and without which souldiors can doe nothing or at least without paiment in equipolent kinds to mony as victuals apparrell and armour And if it be objected unto me that there are some poore nations which notwithstanding are puissant and warlicke as were the Macedonians in the time of Alexander the Great and these were poore in regard of the Greeks Persians and Medes and as at this day are the Tartarians and Scythians and as the Suisses were within this hundred yeares Hereunto I doe many wayes answer That first I will not denie that the nations or poore countries cannot bee but naturally good warriors as commonly all Northernly nations are of which number are the Macedonians Scythians and Tartarians yea the Suisses also the Almaignes hold now of the North But this their martiall vertue proceeds not from their povertie For in Affricke America and in many other places of Asia and in many Islands there are many poore nations yet nothing warlicke But if poore nations which are naturally warlicke become rich in their countrey they will not therefore leese their warlicke vertue As the Suisses at this day are very opulent and rich yet are they nothing lesse valiant in warre than they were in the time of the battaile of Morat about a hundred yeares since which they got against the duke of Bourgoigne in which time they were so poore that many of them could not discerne vessels of silver from peuter as M. de Comines saith The Macedonians also became very rich after that under the conduct of Alexander they had conquered Asia yet remained they alwayes generous and valiant The Romanes also in time of the foundation of Rome were very poore but within a small time they became very rich yet therefore lost not their valour and generositie It is not then the povertie of the country which makes a warlicke people but rather the nature and inclination of the heaven which likewise is much aided when the countrey may become rich If there be opposed unto me also That we see many princes and private persons Riches is more requisit for a generall than particulars which doe evill abuse their riches as Caligula did 67 millions of gold which Tiberius left him and as Caesar did the great treasures which hee heaped up in Gaule and as many others did Hereunto I doe two wayes answere First I say it followeth not that râ—ches and treasures are evill because some abuse them no more than wine is to be condemned because many are drunke therewith And although there bee some princes and other persons which have abused their riches there are also many which use them well I moreover say that the consequence is not good in this case from the particular to the generall For I confesse well that it should be better and more profitable for the commonwealth that in a countrey there were many houses meanly rich than some little number excessively rich because oftenest that excesse proves very pernitious to him that enjoyeth it who is thereby sometimes incited to stray out of the limits of lawes and temperance But suppose it true that great riches is most commonly domageable to particulars it therefore followeth not that they are not nor may bee in a countrey in generall but the more rich a countrey is so much more is it strong and puissant if so be that it be so well governed as the particulars abuse not their richesse which they will not doe especially being under the yoke of good laws and good magistrates if every man have not too great abundance therof but in a mediocritie according to their qualities and degrees for such a meane seemes very requisit and profitable because they are meanes and aids to come unto vertue and to bee
A DISCOVRSE VPON THE MEANES OF VVEL GOVERNING AND MAINTAINING IN GOOD PEACE A KINGDOME OR OTHER PRINCIPALITIE Divided into three parts namely The Counsell the Religion and the Policie vvhich a Prince ought to hold and follow Against Nicholas Machiavell the Florentine Translated into English by Simon Patericke OVIBVS RESPVBLICA CONSERVETVR LONDON Printed by Adam Islip 1602. TO THE MOST FAMOVS YONG GENTLEMEN AS WELL FOR RELIGION MODESTIE AND OTHER VERTVES AS ALso for kinred Francis Hastings and Edward Bacon most heartie salutations AFter Solon right Worshipfull yong men had seene Thespis his first edition and action of a Tragoedie and meeting vvith him before the playe demaunded If he vvere not ashamed to publish such feigned fables under so noble yet a counterfeit personage Thespis answered That it vvas no disgrace upon a stage merrily and in sport to say and do any thing Then Solon striking hard upon the earth vvith his staffe replied thus Yea but shortly vve that now like and embrace this play shall finde it practised in our contracts and common affaires This man of deepe understanding saw that publicke discipline and reformation of manners affected and attempted once in sport and ieast vvould soone quaile corruption at the beginning passing in play vvould fall and end in earnest Therefore Tacitus vvorthily dooth extoll the manners of the Germanes of his time amongst vvhom vices were not laughed at For laughters begun of some publick shame and dishonestie wil assuredly procure him some miserable calamitie Hereof France is unto all ages and nations a vvofull view yet a profitable instruction at this day For vvhē the cleare light of the Gospell began first to spring and appeare Sathan to occupie and busie mens minds vvith toyish playes and trifles that they might give no attendance unto true vvisedome devised this policie to raise up jeasters and fooles in Courts vvhich creeping in by quipping and prettie conceits first in vvords and after by bookes uttering their pleasant ieasts in the Courts and banquets of kings and princes laboured to root up all the true principles of Religion and Policie And some there vvere vvhom the resemblance of nature or vanitie of wit had so deceived that they derided the everlasting veritie of the true God as if it were but a fable Rabelaysus amongst the French and Agrippa amongst the Germanes were the standerd bearers of that traine which with their skoffing taunts inveighed not only against the Gospell but all good arts whatsoever Those mockers did not as yet openly undermine the ground work of humane societie but only they derided it But such Cyclopian laughters in the end prooved to be onely signes and tokens of future evils For by little and little that which was taken in the beginning for iestes turned to earnest words into deedes In the necke of these came new Poets very eloquent for their owne profit which incensed unto lust lightnesse such mindes as were alreadie inclined to wantonnesse by quickening their appetites with the delectable sause of unchast hearing and pricking them forward with the sharp spurres of pleasure Who could then bridle vices and iniquities vvhich are fed with much wealth and no lesse libertie seeing them not onely in play mirth and laughter entertained but also earnestly accepted and commended as being very excellent Yet some troad the steps of honesty which now lay a dying and practised the ould manners and fashions which were almost forgotten For although the secret faults of the Court were evill spoken of yet shame stoode in open view hainous infamous crimes kept secret corners princes were of some credit and faith lawes were in reasonable good use magistrates had their due authoritie and reverence all things onely for ostentation and outward shew but none would then have feared an utter destruction For than Sathan being a disguised person amongst the French in the likenesse of a merry ieaster acted a Comaedie but shortly ensued a wofull Tragoedie When our countrie mens minds were sick and corrupted with these pestilent diseases and that discipline vvaxed stale then came forth the books of Machiavell a most pernitious vvriter vvhich began not in secret and stealing manner as did those former vices but by open meanes and as it vvere a continuall assault utterly destroyed not this or that vertue but even all vertues at once Insomuch as it tooke Faith from the princes authoritie and maiestie from lavves libertie from the people and peace and concord from all persons vvhich are the onely remedies for present malladies For vvhat shall I speake of Religion vvhereof the Machiavellians had none as already plainelie appeareth yet they greatly laboured also to deprive us of the same And although they have vvrongfully bannished us our native countrey yet fight vvee still for the Churches defence Moreover Sathan useth strangers of France as his fittest instruments to infect us stil with this deadly poyson sent out of Italie vvho have so highly promoted their Machivellian bookes that he is of no reputation in the Court of France vvhich hath not Machiavels vvritings at the fingers ends and that both in the Italian and French tongues can apply his precepts to all purposes as the Oracles of Apollo Truly it is a wonderfull thing to consider how fast that evill weede hath growne within these fewe yeares seeing there is almost none that striveth to excell in vertue or knowledge as though the onely way to obteine honour and riches were by this deceivers direction But now to turne mine eyes from beholding so many miseries of poore afflicted France as often as I see or remember our neighbour countries which thing I doe daily so often doe I bevvaile our miseries Yet am I right ioyfull for your felicitie chiefely because God of his great bounty hath given you a most renowned Queene as well in deede as title even in the middest of so many troubles For she comming to the crowne even when England was tossed with tempestuous stormes so dispersed those cloudes with the brightnesse of her counsell and countenance that no civile dissention nor externall invasion hath disturbed your peace tranquilitie these many yeeres especially so many vvarres sounding on every side For shee by maintaining vvholesome unitie amongst all degrees hath hitherto preserved the State of her realme not onely safe but florishing not by Machiavelian artes as Guile Perfidie and other Villanies practising but by true vertues as Clemencie Iustice Faith Therfore goeth she her progresse throgh her realme of England entertained in all places with happy applause reioysing prosperitie of all her subiects she being a princesse of both Nobles and commons by dew desert most entirely beloved Whereas vve against our vvils behold our countrie svvimming in blood and disfigured by subversion vvhich is a ioyfull obiect to the eyes of strangers yea and those labour most to vvork her destruction vvho should bee most carefull to rescue deliver poore France out of her long calamities but the Lord vvill at
above shewed that our predecessors were sometimes miscontented with the Englishmen that would needs have all estates and offices in Aquitaine as much may happen in this time for nothing hath beene in times past which may not againe be in this time The Salicke law which is observed in Fraunce and through all Almaigne was not onely made to fore-close and barre women from the succession of the crowne and from soveraigne domination by reason of the imbecilitie and incapacitie well to commaund which is in the feminine sex for in the masculine sexe happen often such incapacities But especially the Salicke law was made to the end That by marriages strangers should not come to the said succession of the Crowne For it should be as an intollerable thing to a Frenchman to obey a strange king as to obey a queene of the French nation so odious is a strange domination in Fraunce As also for that the consequence thereof with us should be ever evill For a strange king would alwayes to estates and offices of the kingdome advaunce straungers of his nation a thing which would alwayes cause in the end disorders and confusions as is seene by the examples which we have before discovered There is also an auncient example of Queene Brunehant or Brunechile who advanced Annal. upō Anno 607. to the estate of Maire du Palais de France which was as much as governor of all the kingdome a Lumbard called Proclaide who was much in her good grace and amitie This stranger seeing himselfe lifted up so high became so fierce and so proud that he made no estimate of the princes of the kingdome but put them to many troubles and vexations Hee became also very rapinous and covetous as sayth the hystorie is the nature of the Lumbards insomuch that hee did eat up and ruinated the subjects of Fraunce Breefely his behaviours and dealings were such that hee got the evill wils of all men from the nobleman to the carter At that time was there warre amongst the children of the queene Brunehant Theodoric king of Orleans and Theodebert king of Metz. The barons and great lords their vassales desirous to make a peace betwixt the two kings brothers but this great Maire Proclaide hindered it withall his power which the said lords seeing resolved amongst them That it were better that strangers died than that so many gentlemen and subjects of the two kings should sley one another and so indeed they did slay him as an enemie to peace and concord The example of this Lombard should be well marked in this time by the Lombards which governe in Fraunce Lewis le Debonance sonne of Charlemaigne king of Fraunce and emperour Annal. An. 829. Maire du Palais a stranger cause of civile warre of the West altogether gave the Estate of Maire du Palais de France to a Spaniard called Berard who incontinent mounted into great pride The king had three sonnes Lotharie Lewis and Pepin who could not support the arrogancie and fiercenesse of this stranger who as it were would parragon them This was the cause of an evill enterprise of these three young princes against their owne father For they seized upon his person and brought him into the towne of Soissons and there caused him to forsake his crowne of Fraunce and the Estate of the empire and to take the habit of a monke in the Abbey of S. Marke in the said Soissons within which they caused him to be kept straitly for a time But in the end the great barons and lords of Fraunce and Almaigne medled therein and dismonked him and restored him to his Estate and agreed the father with the children This had not happened if that good king and emperour had had that wisedome not to have lifted up a stranger so high a thing which could not be but displeasant to his naturall subjects great and little For a conclusion of this matter I will here place the witnesse of M. Martin du Bellay knight of the kings order a man of qualitie of vertue and of great experience who sayth That hee hath seene in his time more evill happen unto the affaires of king Francis the first of that name by the meanes of straungers which revolted from his service than by any other meanes Amongst which strangers Strangers enclined to commit treasons hee placeth the Bishop de Liege the Prince of Orange the Marquesse of Mantua the Lord Andrew Doria M. Ierome Moron of Millaine who caused Millaine to revolt and certaine others But because these things are not of very auncient memorie but happened in our world I will make no longer discourse thereof Seeing also the examples and reasons which wee have above rehearsed are sufficient to shew against the opinion of Machiavell his disciples That a Prince cannot doe better than to serve himselfe in offices and publicke charges of the countrey of his domination with his owne subjects of the same countries as beeing more fit and agreeing to the nature of the people of that countrey than are strangers And there is not a more odious thing to the people as M. Comines sayth than when they see great offices benefices and dignities conferred upon strangers And as for offices it hath not beene seene aunciently and commonly that they have beene bestowed upon straungers but that within this little space of time they have found meanes to obtaine the greatest and best For of old there was committed unto them but offices of Captaineships to the end that under that title they might the better draw people of their owne countrey to serve the king But as for benefices of a long time it hath been that the Italians have held and possessed the best in Fraunce which the Pope bestowed upon them and our kings durst not well contradict Yet notwithstanding it gave occasion unto king Charles the sixt to make an edict in the yeare 1356 whereby hee forbad That any benefices of the kingdome of France should be conferred upon strangers which both before and since by many royall Edicts hath often beene renued and reiterated Which Edicts merite well to be brought into use but it shall not bee yet since that they onely are they which yet doe governe all But I pray here all them which are good Frenchmen that they will consider a little neerer the wrong they do themselves to suffer themselves to be reputed for strangers in their owne countrie and by that meanes recuiled and kept from the Charges and Estates of the same For Italians or such as are Italianized which have in their hands the governance of France hold for true the Maxime of Machiavell That men should not trust in strangers as it is true and this is because they would not advance any other but men onely of their owne nation and certaine bastardlie and degenerous Frenchmen which are fashioned both to their humour and their fashions and which may serve them as slaves and most vile ministers of their trecheries cruelties rapines
emptie his bodie he slew him with many prickes of a dagger So that a man may say that it was the divell which played him this part because he trusted in diviners and necromancers For had it not been that consultation wherby Macrinus was brought in perill of his life he durst never have enterprised that which hee did But necessitie makes men enterprise yea even the most cowards The yeare 1411 the lord de Rays in Bretaigne marshall of Fraunce to come unto Monstr lib. 2. cap. 248. great estate and honours gave himselfe to sorcerie and negromancie and caused many little children to be slaine for their blood wherewith he writ his divelish invocations The divell brought him to that greatnesse and height that hee was taken prisoner by the commaund of the duke of Bretaigne who caused his indictment to be made and he was publikely burned at Nantes There may be alleaged infinit examples of the judgements of God excercised against Atheists contemners of God and of all religion yea euen in our time as of that tragicall Poet Iodellius whose end was truly tragicall having like an Epicurean eaten and drunken his patrimonie he miserably died through hunger Lignerolles also the courtier who to make it appear that he was a man of service in court made an open profession of Atheisme and what was his end Certaine it is that from whence he looked for his advancement he received his merited ruine and destruction And la Lande Bissy Gaiscon and others which I will not name for the respect I have of their parents had they not unluckie ends after they had emptied and spoyled themselves of all pietie and Religion But I will not stay here to make plaine so cleere a thing of it selfe yet would I set downe one example very notable for hypocrits which make themselves great Zelators of the holy mother church and under False Zelators of the ancient Religion spoiless wicked that pretext and colour they bring into ruine and combustion their owne countrey saying That men ought inviolably to keepe the Religion of his predecessors and in the meane while their hearts tende to no other purpose but to spoile saccage and enrich themselves with the publike ruine Iosephus rehearseth That in the time of the emperour Claudius and the emperor Nero the Iewes raised up many ciuill warres in Iudea and Samaria that so customablie Ioseph de bello Judaico lib. 4. cap. 5. lib. 7. that they made no accompt of any other occupation but to live by booties rapines so that Vespasian lieftenant generall for the emperor Nero was sent against them with a great armie all the wickedest men of the countrie which were worth nothing and which could not live but of the good men gathered themselves together called themselves Zelators saying they would fight for the Temple of Ierusalem for the conservation of that Religion which they had received and learned of their forefathers and that to die for it they would not permit any other Religion to be received and exercised in their countries but their owne that was auncientlie used from hand to hand of their auncestors since Moses and Abraham Vnder the shew of this goodly name of Zelators and under colour of this boasting that they would fight die for the conservation of their ancient Religion they take vp armes and elected for captaines the worst persons they could finde amongst them Vespasian many times cavsed it to be tolde them even by Iosephus who writ this historie and was of their owne nation and had beene a captaine that he would change nothing of their Religion but maintaine them therein and in all their liberties and franchizes but like verie hypocrites and liers they thinking one thing with their hearts and saying another with their mouths would never hearken unto peace in any sort nor upon any condition whatsoever Vespasian seeing their stubbornesse was constreined to war upon them in all extremitie which endured long yea untill he came to the empire after the deaths of Nero Galba Otho and Vitellius which raigned not long Finallie these goodlie Zelators which would never hearken unto peace by their obstinacie came to such an extremitie that they themselves set their temple on fire in Ierusalem for the conservation whereof they said they fought and burnt it wholie they overthrew also both themselves and their Religion for which they bore armes and committed a thousand sorts of cruelties impieties saying they fought for pietie Brieflie this devoute zeale which they bragged they had to the ancient Religion of their fathers although they had but a masking and false countenance thereof was cause of the ruine of Ierusalem and of all the countrie and of the death of a million of men A prince then must take an other maner of resolution than that whereof Machiavell speaketh namely That he resolve himselfe to feare God and to serve him with an heart pure and without dissimulation according to his holy commaundements in doing the exercises of the true pure Religion of God which is the Christian if he do this God wil blesse him and make him prosper in his affairs Hereof there may be alleadged many examples I will content my selfe with a few of the most notable Godlinesse blessed of God The emperour Marcus Antonius the philosopher a prince both good and wise Xiphil apud Dionin Marco Anto. Capitol in Mar. though a Painim making warre against the Marcomanes and Quadiens people of Alemaigne was once with all his armie in a uery great danger and perill being enclosed in a withered and drie countrie where his souldiers for lack of water died of drought insomuch as his enemies keeping the passage intended to vanquish them without any stroake striking By hap or rather by Gods providence the emperour had in his armie a legion of Christians and it was told him by his lieutenant generall That he had heard say that those Christians by their praiers obteined of God whatsoever they demaunded which the emperour vnderstanding addressed himselfe to them of that legion which was a good zeale in the Painim though without knowledge and praied them that they would pray unto their God for the salvation of his armie Which presently they did with a good heart desiring God in the name of Iesus Christ our Saviour to conserve that armie and the emperour their prince and to draw them from the danger wherein they were Soone after their praiers God hearing them sent presently a terrible lightning upon the enemies and a great rain fell upon the Roman soldiers who had died of thirst but that they received the raine upon the hollow bottoms of their targuets bucklers and morrions In somuch that the God of hosts fighting for them they got the victorie without stroke striking cleane contrarie from that the Marcomans Quadiens looked for whereupon the emperour was much ravished with admiration and after greatly honoured the Christians Constantine the Great the
that parish insomuch that the painter himselfe and his wife came thither also in great devotion who had sold it But this marred all that they at last knew it to bee the old Table which had so long kept their shop by whome the fame of this abuse came to the knowledge of justice whereby by the said parliament the Curate was condemned and the Table burnt But another time the said Court of parliament of Paris did another thing that seemed something to hold of Machiavels opinion For upon a controversie of law which happened betwixt the Cleargie men of our Lady in Paris which said That they had S. Denis his head and the Abbots and religious men of S. Denis which said That they had the whole body of S. Denis The Court there gave judgement That they of S. Denis had the whole body of S. Denis the Athenian and they of our Lady the head of S. Denis the Corinthian So that they both were content although before there was never heard of any S. Denis the Corinthian But that was all one they provided that their practise diminished not If they of Ratisbone in Almaigne had intermedled with this strife it would have been hard to have agreed them or els there must have been supposed a third S. Denis for they say also that they have the whole body of S. Denis and have a declarative sentence of a Pope and his Cardinals to confirme it as they say But my purpose here is not to agree them I only conclude That it is a damnable and detestable thing to sustaine lies and falsenesse in whatsoever things but especially in Religion for that is to follow the religion of the devill who is the father of lies 3. Maxime The Painim Religion holds and lifts up their hearts and so makes them hardie to enterprise great things but the Christian Religion persuading to humilitie humbleth and too much weakeneth their minds and so makes them more readie to be iniured and preyed upon ENtring into consideration what should bee the cause that Discourse lib. 2. cap. 5. the force and power of Christians is lesse than that of the Gentiles such as vvere the auncient Grecians and Romans It seemeth saith this Atheist Machiavell that it vvas the difference of Religion For that the Christian Religion makes the honour of the vvorld contemptible and of little estimation whereas the Gentiles esteemed honour to be the soveraigne good for vvhich to obtaine they had an exceeding great fiercenesse and hardinesse in all their deeds and enterprises Moreover the Painim Religion promiseth no happinesse but to such as having fought for their prince countrey and common-vveale vvere replenished vvith glorie and vvordly honours vvhereas the Christian Religion promiseth blessednesse to such as are humble and contemplative and to them vvhich despise most the goods and honours of this vvorld So saith he is it plainely seene That the Christian Religion hath conducted and brought the vvorld unto that vveakenesse and feeblenesse that vvee see it in delivering it as a prey to the vvicked and barbarous people vvhich as they list can deale vvith Christians and vanquish and bring them under the yoke Because all Christians to take the vvay of Paradice dispose and arme themselves rather to receive blowes than to give or take vengeaunce And it seemeth that that vvhich makes Christians so effeminate and cowardly proceeds onely from this that they esteeme more of an idle repose and contemplative life than the active life BEhold the Maxime and the reasons which this most unhappie Atheist hath disgorged in his goodly discourses to blame and altogether to despite the Christian Religion and to bring us unto Atheisme and to despoile us of all Religion feare of God and of all conscience feare and loyaltie which are taught us by our Christian Religion But God by his grace preserve us from such a pestilence and contagion and make us know and shun that execrable poyson wherewith that unhappie man hath infected the heart and spirits of infinite from whence doe pullulate and spring at this day the evils and calamities which wee see in Christendome and especially in Fraunce For out of doubt so many evils and mischeefes as we see and feele at this day and long before proceed not but from a just judgement of God provoked unto wrath against the world for the contempt of his most holy commandements and of our most holy Christian Religion True it is that our Christian Religion teacheth us humilitie towards God For we ought to acknowledge before his face that we are poore sinners and to demand pardon of him as criminall persons doe which fall on their knees before a prince begging grace and pardon Wee ought also to acknowledge that the graces wee have proceed from God and that we ought not to bee proud of any good thing in us Moreover we ought to be modest and gentle towards our neighbour and to detest all fiercenesse and crueltie But doe those things debase and unable the hearts of good men to performe and execute their duties of fortitude and valiantnesse in warre Doth this Christian humilitie diminish their generositie I will aske the resolution of this point of none other but even of Machiavell his own nation which heretofore have come into Fraunce to make warre against the Evangelickes For they have well felt if the humilitie of Christians have so much abated the Frenchmens hearts that they durst not well handle them as they say both backes bellies yet if they will not confesse it the fields which are white with their bones will alwayes give good witnesse thereof It is strange that this villainous Atheist durst utter and send abroad so absurd things which are so farre from all experience and truth If that which he saith were truth it should follow That no Christian prince could stand against Paynim and Infidell princes but all auncient and moderne histories doe they not shew us the contrarie The emperour Constantine the great was a verie humble Christian prince yea of that humilitie as some write as he held the stirrop of the Pope of Rome till he got on horseback yet he vanquished Licinius Emperours and kings Christians victorious of Painims who was a Paynim emperour with him and made him forsake the empire and besides overcame many Paynim nations as we have said in an other place The emperor Theodosius was so humble that being reprehended for a certaine fault he had committed by S. Ambrose bishop of Milan hee debased himselfe so much to acknowledge his sinne as he went trailing himselfe upon the ground upon his foure feete from the Church doore unto the place where S. Ambrose administred the Sacrament and by that meanes was received to the Communion yet although hee was so humble he had verie great and goodlie victories against the Barbarians and Infidels and against other enemies of the Romane empire The emperour Valentinian who was a Christian vanquished the Gothes in Gall and the
doctrine doth How then dare that filthie Machiavell say That men become wicked like unchained slaves when Oracles failed where found he this where ever read hee that men were worse and more evill conditioned in the time when Oracles failed than before Rather contrarie we reade That when Oracles failed which was in the time of the primitive Church men which gave themselves to the Christian Religion were of an holy life and conversation they which gave not themselves to that Religion but persevered in their Paynisme did yet alwayes learne of the Christians that which made them better and of more account Let any reade the workes of Seneca Plutarke Pliny the Second and of many In the primitive Church the Paynims learned of the Christians other Paynim authors which were in the time of the primitive Church and he shal find infinit godly and Christian sentences which the Paynims learned of the Christians of their time as may be necessarily supposed For such sentences were never borrowed of Plato Aristotle or of other Philosophers which were before the comming of Iesus Christ As for example when Plutarke disputerh of the tranquilitie of the soule to flie anger to shun usurie of the profit that a man may draw from an enemie of such as God punisheth slowly and of many other points hee uttereth many sentences which are truly Christian and doe hold nothing of the Philosophers doctrine which were before Christ our Saviour And all the workes of Seneca are full of Christian sentences insomuch that many have esteemed That Seneca himselfe was a Christian yea that he was well knowne of S. Paule which it may be was not unworthie to be beleeved For Seneca who was in the time of Nero and was a learned man and a lover of the learned might well have heard Paule speake who at the said time was a prisoner at Rome for the doctrine which hee preached and might well have beene so curious as to talke with him to understand what was that doctrine whereof all the world spoke But whatsoever it was none can denie that the writings of Seneca in many places doe not demonstrate that hee learned many things of the Christians Wee may then conclude That in the time when Oracles failed and that Christian doctrine began to bee published and divulged through the world men became better and not more wicked like unchained slaves as this mocker Machiavell saith For although even in that time there were found certaine Atheists like himselfe men must not therefore inferre that all the world or the most part thereof became wicked Neither hath Machiavell uttered this opinion as having read it in any good author but only thereby to blame the Christian Religion as the cause of the corruption of manners But he impudently lieth like a shamelesse slaunderer which dare bee so bold as to deliver such talke without any proofe and the contrarie whereof is alreadie clearely proved 6. Maxime The Romane Church is cause of all the calamities in Italie THe Romane Church saith Machiavell is cause that Italie which of old vvas the most flourishing province of the Romane empire is at this day dismembred and cut into pettie Seignories as is seene By the meanes wherof she that vvas vvont to subiugate vanquish other provinces is now exposed as a prey for all strange kings vvhich vvill attempt it vvith a strong arme And although of all Christianitie it be nighest unto the Roman Church yet hath it of all other least Religion because therein that most holy Court doth little els but sow partialities and disorders And he that vvill proove vvhether such evils proceed from the Romane Church let them procure that she may remove her seat such as it is for a small time unto the countrey of the Switzers vvhere men live in great rest and unitie For there should you shortly see it fill the vvhole countrey vvith disorder and confusion ALthough the Romane Church be contaminated with many The papall seat doâ—h evill rather far off than nigh vices yet doth Machiavell shew himselfe here a notable slanderer against it for experience hath made us long time know That it rather doth mischeefe far off than nigh hand and that she ordinarily enricheth the place where shee abideth Wee reade That she hath held her seat at Avignon by the space of seventie yeares so that by the affluence plentie of gold and silver which ordinarily arrived there the towne became so opulent rich that it yet tasts thereof and gladly desireth it might bee alwayes there As for the Suiffes of whome Machiavell speaketh I am assured that there are they who would it cost them much money that the seat of the Romane Church were amongst them and if it were there the Pope should not lacke people for his guard for they would furnish him of as many as he would and his Cardinals also for their pay And I am also of that mind for their entertainement they would also accord them letters to be denizons and free burgesses in all their townes though it bee contrarie to their customes to receive strangers For so will they bee glad that there shall every day arrive in their countrey plentie of silver which they cannot but love better than either the Popes benedictions or pardons yet would they also be glad to reape their pardons at a low price And notwithstanding Machiavell saith That if the Romane seat were there placed there would be no good peace for sowing divisions amongst the Suisses that is not likely no more than it so did in Avignon or the countries about it For whereas Machiavell saith It soweth divisions and partialities in Italie that rather happeneth by the humor of that countrey people which are naturally subject to nourish divisions and partialities amongst both themselves and other nations where they have credit as experience is in Fraunce Moreover the Romanes themselves are not of Machiavels opinion neither doe they complaine that the Romane seat brings them any domage At the beginning of that great schisme of Popes they shewed well how greatly they feared to loose their seat For so much were they afraid that the Cardinals should againe have a French Pope which might againe dwell at Avignon where the said seat had so long before remained that they constrained the Cardinals by force cries and popularie violence to elect a Pope of their owne nation insomuch that all through the towne of Rome and before the place where the Cardinals were assembled to make their election all the people in a mutinie cried with an high voice Wee will have a Romane or at the least Froiss lib 2. cap. 12. an Italian This was the cause that the Cardinals gave them a Romane whereof the Romane inhabitants were so joyous that they tooke him on their shoulders to honour him the more and so long and so farre carried him through Rome that they stifled him and smothered him with the great prease amongst their armes When
not be corrupt and become cowards by too great peace and prosperitie for want upon whom to make warre The resolution of the Senat was in a meane betwixt these two opinions For it was ordained That the Carthaginians should be permitted to remove their towne into any other part tenne mile from the sea But the Carthaginians found so strange the removing of their towne that they had rather suffer all extreame things insomuch as by long warre they were wholly vanquished and their towne altogether rased and made inhabitable Very memorable also to this purpose is the advice of the Chancellor de Rochefort Annales upon the year 1488. who was in the time of king Charles the eight For many counselling this yong king to make war against Francis duke of Bretaigne to lay hold of his dutchie this good Chancellor shewed That the rights the king pretended to that duke were not yet well verified and that it were good to seeke further into them before warre was attempted for it should be the worke of a tyrant to usurpe countries which belong not to him According to this advice embassadors were sent to the duke who then was at Reves to send on his side men of counsell and the king would doe so on his side to resolve upon both their rights This was done and men assembled to that end but in the meane while duke Francis died and the king espoused Madame Anne his daughter and heire and so the controversie ended The same king enterprising his voyage of Naples caused to assemble all his presidents Annal. upon Anno 149â— of his courts of Parliaments with his Chancellor his privie Counsell and the princes of his blood to resolve upon his title and right to Naples and Sicilie These lords being assembled visited the genealogie and discent of the kings of Sicilie and Naples they found that the king was the right heire of these kingdomes so that upon that resolution this voyage was enterprised Hereby is seene the vanitie of Machiavell who presupposeth That king Charles had enterprised that voiage to get all Italie but that Fortune was not favourable unto him for that was never his deseigne nor purpose neither assayed he to seize upon any thing in Italie but of certaine townes necessarie for his passage in determination to yeeld them up again at his departure as he did And if the king would have enterprised upon Italie hee had had a farre more apparent title than the magnificent Lawrence de Medicis seeing all Italie was once by just title possessed by Charlemaine king of France his predecessor But this hath been alwayes a propertie in our kings not to run over others grounds nor to appropriate to themselves any seignorie which appertained not unto them by just title We reade also of Charles the fift called the Sage That being incited by his nobilitie Frois lib. 1. cap. 245. 25. and people of Guienne to seize againe that countrey which was occupied by the English he would not enterprise it without great good deliberation of good Counsell And therefore he caused well to be viewed by wise and experienced people the treatie of peace made at Bretaigne betwixt his dead father and the king of England for that it was told him that the king of England had not accomplished on his side that which he was bound to doe After they had as they thought well resolved him of this point yet he was not content to be satisfied himselfe but would that his subjects should be also well resolved thereof and especially such as were under the English obedience and to that purpose hee sent preachers covertly into such good townes as were occupied by the English insomuch that readily by the preachers inducements there were more than threescore townes and fortresses which revolted from the Englishmen and offered themselves unto the kings obeisance This then is a resolved point That a prince ought not to enterprise to obtaine a If by warre any can be constrained to be of any Religion countrey where hee hath no title under colour to deliver the inhabitants thereof from tyrannie But here may arise a question if it be lawfull for a prince to make war for religion and to constraine men to bee of his religion hereupon to take the thing by reason the resolution is very easie For seeing that all religion consisteth in an approbation of certaine points that concerne the service of God certaine it is that such an approbation dependeth upon the persuasion which is given to men thereof but the meanes to persuade a thing to any man is not to take weapons to bear him nor to menace him but to demonstrate unto him by good reasons and allegations which may induce him to a persuasion But he that will decide this question by examples of our auncestors he shall find divers to be for and against For to reade our French hystories in the lives of Clowis the first Charlemaine and some other kings of Fraunce it seemeth that their studie was altogether bent upon warre Annales upon Anno 718. against Paynims for nothing but to make them become Christians with hand-blowes and force of armes But what Christians That is when the Paynims were vanquished and that they could no more resist they were acquited upon condition to be baptized without other instruction And most commonly as soone as they could againe gather strength they returned to their Paynim religion And this is well shewed us by the hystorie of one Rabbod duke of Fricse who being upon the point to be baptized and his clothes off and having one foot in the font hee demanded of the archbishop of Sens which should have baptized him Whether there were more of his parents in hell or in paradice The archbishop aunswered him that the most must needs be in hell because his predecessors were never baptized Then the duke drawing his foot out of the water Well said he then I will goe to hell with my parents and friends and I will not be baptized to be seperated from them so he withdrew himselfe denying to be baptized Here I leave you to thinke if this man were well instructed in the Christian doctrine It seemeth that at that day to be a Christian it sufficed to be baptized and commonly Paynims were baptized by force of armes We reade also That our auncient kings of Fraunce made many voyages into Turkie and into Affrica for the augmentation of the Christian Religion and to revenge as they said the death of our Lord Iesus Christ upon the Paynims and Infidels But one time the Paynims themselves shewed them well that they enterprised such warres by an inconsiderate zeale For the armie of Fraunce whereof the duke of Bourbon was cheefe being in Affrica making warre against the Infidels in the time of king Charles the sixt the captaine generall of the Turkes and Saracens sent an herauld to the duke of Bourbon to know wherefore he discended into Affrica to
should not see such changes of one estate into another nor all thing mixed in a confusion as wee see Therefore a strange warre in a strange country seemeth not to be very damageable but something necessary to occupie and exercise his subjects but domesticke and civill wars must needes be shunned and extinguished with all our power for they be things against the right of nature to make war against the people of their countrey as he that doth it against his owne entrails Therefore saith Homer Right wicked are those men which love not parents deare Sottish no lesse are they which familie doth hate Iliad 9. But most ungodly they their countrie which doth feare With civile warres so direfull to a quiet state The prince also ought to consider that by civile warres he more weakeneth himselfe and his subjects in one yeere than by a strange warre he can do in thirtie yeeres civile warres also are without comparison more ruinous and dangerous than strange warres are To this purpose is there in Titus Livius a notable oration made by the Romane deputies unto Marcius Coriolanus which was vnjustly banished from Rome and Lib. 2. Dec. 1 Dionis Halic lib. S. who yeelded himselfe to the Volsques enemies of the Romanes was elected captaine of the Volsques to make warre upon his country for as he laied siege to Rome there were sent to him in ambassage five great Romane lords whereof some were his parents and all his friends the one of which called Marcus Minutius spoke thus for them all Wee are not ignorant deere lord and friend that great wrong hath beene done unto you at Rome to banish and drive you from your countrey for which you have done so much and so many times so well fought for it that you may bee accompted as a second father or founder we know well also that by good right you are greived and despited against us for so unjust a judgement and wrong as is done you For naturallie hee that is injured is watchfull against him that injureth him yet wee cease not to mervaile that with reason you discerne not them upon whom you may justly take revenge from them which have done you no evill nor outrage but you indifferently repute for enimies as much the culpable as the innocent your friends as them that hate you which doing you violate the inviolable lawes of nature you confound right and wrong equitie and iniquitie yea you forget your selfe so much as you make warre upon your selfe in so doing upon your bloud We which are your friends and of the auncientest Patricians are sent hither by your countrey and ours to complaine in her name for that you violate naturall right to pray you to cease from this warre and to hearken unto a good peace offering to agree unto you all that shall be to your honour and utilitie We confesse that great wrong hath beene done you in your banishment but who hath done it unto you The people say you gave the voice for my condemnation True it is wee can not deny it but all the people is but one voice although the most part were against you they then which have given their voices for your absolution doe they merit that you should make war upon them as heretikes And we Senators which have beene so sorrowful at your evill ought you account us as your enemies But women and children what have they done unto you must needes so many innocents fall into perill and danger to bee slaine pilled and saccaged that have done you no wrong but rather favoured you If wee demand of you wherefore you would rase and destroy our goodly buildings framed by our ancestours where are the statues and images of their victories and triumphs and wherefore will you abolish their memories what can you answere assuredly you can have no colour to doe this thing unles you will say that friends and enemies culpable innocents dead and living ought equally to suffer vengeance of the injurie was done you a thing unmeet to bee done yea to be thought on by a man that hath never so little reason you should consider deere lord and friend the inconstancie of the affaires of this world the mutabilitie of mens spirits and to excuse the misfortune which happeneth unto you to our great greefe and accept an honourable returne into your country which desireth you that for it you may continue to imploy your vertue as you have done in times past by this meanes shall you leave after you a good and holie reputation of your vertue to your posteritie and if you doe otherwise you shall leave after your death a remembrance that you were an enemie a saccager and ruiner of your poore countrey where you were borne and wher you have beene tenderlie and honourably nourished yet more there is that so long as you live you shall bee an horror and execration to all the world yea even to the Volsques which are now your friends yea all the world will flie your companie as a theefe or robber We therefore pray you deere lord and friend that you will forget the injurie that you have unjustlie received and accept an happie healthfull honourable returne into your countrie into your house where your poore mother is your deere wife your friends and deere children which extreamely weepe and lament your absence and especially since it was made knowne unto them that you come with a strong hand to put them to the edge of the sword as well as others After these ambassadors had thus spoken there was yet sent to Coriolanus Veturia his mother Volumnia his wife carrying in their armes his little children accompanied with a great number of noble women When Coriolanus see arive in his campe these embassadours and after his mother and wife houlding his little children in their armes were fallen downe on their knees weeping then nature forced and burst that hard and obstinate courage of his so that straight a peace was made and hee ceased to warre upon his countrey If wee know not what mischiefes and calamities comes of civile warres there might be many examples set down thereof but alas we Frenchmen know too much thereof and yet manie are enhardened to persever therein and they cannot bow their hard courage to desist from ruinating and warring against their mother and countrey This Paynim Coriolanus may make them ashamed who did not persever in making war upon his countrey although his courage were rude and full of vengeance but suffered himselfe to bee vanquished by reason but they make warre in a contrary course not making any accompt either of reason love or pietie that they ought all to have towards their countrie parents and friends letting loose the bridle to their passions and vengeances bursting ruinating massacring sleying pilling and destroying from top to bottome their parents friends fellow-citizens neighbours and generally all our poore countrey which our poore ancestours left us so ritch and
acknowledgement of his faults and from thence forward he prospered so well that after he had ended his civile wars he also overcame his forrain wars against the English And this came of God who ordinarily exalteth the humble overthroweth the insolent proud For assuredly it doth not evill become a great prince to temperat his majestie by a gracious humility softnes affabilitie but saith Plutarch it is a very harmonious consonant temperation yea so excellent as there cannot be a more perfect than this But if the said king had then had such Counselors as many kings now adaies have what counsell would they hereupon have given him they would have said That thus to humiliate himselfe to his vassall as to ask him forgivenes to confesse his fault to acquitehim and his subjects of personall service these were things unworthy of a king and that a king ought never to make peace unlesse it be to his honor but such articles were to his dishonor and disadvantage and that he ought to have endured all extremities before he had made any peace whereby he should not remain altogether master to dispose of persons goods at his pleasure For how would not they say thus seeing they say at this day That it is no honorable peace for the king to accord his subjects any assurances with the exercises of their religion a reformation of justice yet you see that all K. Charles 7 his Counsell all the princes of his blood all the great lords of his kingdome all strange princes embassadors compelled the K. to passe more hard uneasie articles to digest for the good of peace Should we say that in so great a number of great personages ther was not any so wise and cleare sighted as the counsellors at this day as these Mesiers Machiavelists nay contrary they were al wise men of great experience in wordly affairs they were also of great knowlege as the delegates of the counsel of the universitie of Paris of the parliaments wheras at this day men know litle more than their Machiavell Likewise king Lewis the eleventh as soone as hee came to the crowne removed De Com. lib. 1. cap. 3. 5. others from charges and offices many great lords and good servants of the dead king Charles the seventh his father which had vertuously emploied themselves in chasing the English out of the kingdome of France and in lieu of such persons he placed and advanced men of meane and base condition Heereupon straight arose civile discention against the king which was called the warres of the common weale and these men complained that the kingdome was not politikelie governed because the king had put from him good men and of high calling to advance such as were of small estimation and of no vertue It was not long before the king acknowledged his great fault and confessed it not onely in generall but also in particular to every of them which he had recoyled and disapointed and to repaire this fault he got againe to him all the said lords and ancient servants of the dead king his father delivering them againe their estates or much greater and in somme he granted to these common wealth people all that they demanded as well for the generall as for the particular good of all people and all to obtaine peace with extinguishment of civile wars If he had had of his Counsell the Machiavellists of these daies they would not have counselled him thus to doe but rather would have told him That it became not a king to capitulate with his subjects nor so to unable himselfe unto them and that a prince ought never to trust to such as once were his enemies but much lesse ought hee to advance them to estates and that hee should diligentlie take heede of a reconciled enemie yet notwithstanding hee did all this and it fell out well with him for he was very well served of the pretended reconciled enemies and to this purpose Messier de Commines his chamberlaine saith That his humilitie and the acknowledgment of his faults saved his kingdome which was in great danger to bee lost if hee had stayed upon such impertinent and foolish reasons as those Machiavelists alledge for all things may not bee judged by the finall cause What dishonour then can it bee to a prince to use pettie and base meanes if so bee thereby hee make his countrey peaceable his estate assured and his subjects contented and obedient what makes it matter for him that is to ascend into an high place whether he mount by degrees and staires of wood or of stone so that hee ascend But this is not all to say That a prince ought to bee vigilant and carefull to make peace in his countrey for hee must after it is made well observe it otherwise it is to Peace ought to be well observed no purpose made unles men will say that one ought to make peace for after in breaking it to trap and ensnare them which trust therein But they which hold this opinion are people which make no account of the observation of faith as are the Machiavelists of whom wee will speake upon this point in another Maxime But indeede that a peace may bee well observed it must bee profitable and commodious to them with whom it is made to the ende by that meanes it may bee agreeable unto them and that they may observe it with a good will and without constraint for if it be domageable and disadvantageous making the condition of them to whom it is given worse than of other subjects and neighbours certaine it is it cannot long endure for people that have either heart or spirit in them cannot long endure to be handled like slaves Heereunto serveth the advice of that noble and sage companie of the ancient Senators of Rome There was a neighbour unto the Romanes which were called the Titus Livi. lib. 8. Dec. 1. Privernates upon which the Romanes made warre and many times vanquished them They seeing it was impossible any more to make head against the Romane forces sent embassadors to Rome for peace they were caused to enter into the place where the Senate did sit and because they had not well observed the precedent treatie of peace some Senators seemed hard to draw to give their cause any hearing thinking it a vaine thing to accord a peace unto such as would not keepe any notwithstanding some demanded of those embassadors what punishment they judged themselves to haue merited which had so often broken the precedent peace One of them speaking for all and remembring rather the condition of their birth than of their present estate answered That the Privernates merited the punishment that they deserve which esteeme themselves worthie of a free condition and which have a slavish condition This answere seemed to some Senators too hautie and unbeseeming vanquished people yet the president of the assembly who was a wise man benignly demanded
his sepulcher and another Amphitheater at Rome and many other goodly houses and publike buildings most sumptuous to behold he also caused to bee repaired bridges gates waies to furnish many townes with store of money as well to make new buildings in them as to renew the old heerein imitating the example of the emperour Trajan his predecessor who immortalized his name by his publike works and buildings which hee made even in building new townes and ioyning rivers one to another or to the sea by great and deepe channels to aide and make easie the commerce of all countries also in drying up great fennes and marrishes and in laying plaine rocks and mountaines to make fit waies for travailers and in doing other notable workes Such actions as these are meet workes for peaceable times and are honourable and proper to immortalize the name of a prince as to make warre to have victories and triumphs We see that the restauration of good letters which king Francis the first of that name of happie memorie brought into France in his time did more celebrate and make it immortall in the memorie of all Christian nations than all the great warres and victories which his predecessors had And truly princes which love and advance letters doe well merit that learned people should send their honourable memorie to all posterity and such as dispise them and hold them under feete are not worthie that hystoriographers and men of learning should bring their woords and victories into honour and reputation much lesse to immortalize them in the memorie of men For as lawyers say that they ought not to enjoy the benefite of lawes which offend and despise them so the prince which makes no account of learning ought not to enjoy the benefit thereof which is to make immortall generous and vertuous men But if we make comparison of the magnificence and Estate that a prince should Froisar lib. 7 cap. 353. 4. hold in the time of peace and prosperitie with that he should hold during war and povertie there is such difference as betwixt the day and the night for proofe hereof I will alledge but the time of Philip de Valois For wee reade that in that time which was a time of long peace that king had almost ordinarie in his court foure or five kings wich resided with him in regard of his magnificence as the king of Boheme the king of Scotland the king of Arragon the king of Navarre the king of Maiorque many great dukes counties barons prelates the greatest part of whose charges hee defraied that it might appeare that the king of Fraunce was a king of kings It is certaine to maintaine this magnificall and great Estate there must needs follow exceeding great expences but hee might well doe it for his people being ritch and full of peace they had better meanes to furnish and provide for him a crowne than in the time of warre to give him a three halfe pence At that time a king of England passed into France to doe homage unto king Philip for the dutchie of Guienne which the English had long time held of the crowne of France when the English king saw the traine of the court of France hee was ravished in admiration to see so many kings dukes counties barons princes peeres of France constable admirall chancelor marshall and many other great lords which reputed themselves happie to obtaine the good grace of king Philip. This moved the king of England far more easily and in other meanes to doe his homage than he thought to have done and at his returne into England he said on high That he supposed there was neither king nor emperor in the world that held so magnificent and triumphant an Estate as the king of France did Should not we desire to see such a time againe but we are farre from it and take no course thereunto for civile warres cannot bring us unto it but onely a good and holy peace well and inviolably observed by a good reformation of justice and of all estates which was corrupted in France For without it the people can never prosper but shall alwaies bee gnawne and eaten even to the bones and the people beeing poore the king cannot be ritch no neither his nobilitie nor clergie for all the kings revenewes all tallages all the nobilities and clergies rents proceede from the poore people By this which wee have above handled this Maxime of warre is sufficiently understoode I will add no more therunto but that Machiavell shewes himselfe a man of very good grace when he saith That the Italians are a people of nimble light spirits and bodies for hee cannot more properly note them of inconstancie and infidelitie and when afterward he saith That willingly they never go to battails he can not they any better taxe them of cowardise and pusillanimitie but the reason wherby he would seeme to couer this fault is more to be accounted of than the rest For saith he this proceedeth of the little heart cowardise of the captaines as if he said That all Italian captaines are faint hearted cowards which rather discourage than add heart unto their souldiers to fight And heerein I beleeve he saieth truth for so many Italian captaines as wee have seene in France this fifteene yeeres there hath not been one found that hath done any one memorable exploit they can indeede make many vaine and brave shewes and in many subtile stratagems there are found no better warriors but in battailes and assaultes of townes they never by their wills will come as their owne Machiavell beareth them witnesse 2. Maxime To cause a Prince to withdraw his mind altogether from peace and agreement with his adversarie he must commit and use some notable and outragious iniurie against him BEcause sayth Machiavell men are naturally vindicative and desirous Discourse lib. 3. cap. 32. to take vengeance of such as offend them it consequently fals out that they vvhich have outraged or iniured any but especially if the iniurie be great they can never trust him they have so iniured For every man feares and distrusteth his reconciled enemie And therefore to find meanes that a prince may never set his heart and mind upon peace nor reconcile himselfe to any adversarie hee must be persuaded to practise some outragious act upon his said adversarie So by that meanes he will never trust him nor be reconciled with him BEhold heere the very counsell that Achitophel gave to Absalon to make him irreconcilable with David his father and to place a division Samuel lib. 2. cap. 26. and perdurable confusion in all his kingdome For hee advised Absalon to cohabitate and dwell even with his father Davids wives which was the greatest and most villanous injurie that he could have done unto him and to this end he did it that Absalon and all they which followed him might bee utterlie out of hope to make peace with David and by that meanes
laythe precedent nights Which Curius being drunke to enjoy his courtizan discovered unto her that the former nights he had been in a company with whom he should make an enterprise which would make him rich for ever As soone as Fulvia knew all the conjuration shee discovered it to the Consull Cicero Cicero did what he could truly to open all the enterprise but all the conspirators held so well their horrible oth that not one of so great a number would ever reveale a word But yet Cicero found meanes to know all by the declaration which the Allobroges made which Catiline had appointed to furnish him with people for the execution But the end of Catiline was such that he was slain fighting with a great number of others and the cheefe of his complices were executed by justice Breefely all they which have practised that wicked doctrine of Machiavell to commit outragious acts to bee irreconcilable their ends and lives have alwayes proved very tragaedies 3. Maxime A Prince in a conquered countrey must place colonies and garrisons especially in the strongest places to chase away the naturall and old inbabitants thereof THe best remedie saith M. Nicholas to conserve a countrey or Cap. 3. of â— Prince a province newly conquered is to erect colonies placing straÌ„gers there and from thence banishing all the princes ancient and naturall inhabitants For by that meanes the prince should keepe that countrey vvith a small charge vvithout troubling the countrey vvith great garrisons onely iniuring such as hee expulseth those places to make roome for new inhabitants And as for them vvhich are chased away he need not feare them for they vvill be but some small portion of the inhabitants of that province vvhich remaining poore and exiled shall from thenceforth be little able to hurt and as for such as shall be left in peace it is likely that they vvill enterprise nothing fearing by their rebellion to procure a banishment also to themselves as the others have For men must be tamed by a certain kindnesse either in not foyling or altogether discouraging such as are left in the province or els ought he utterly to destroy and impoverish them all as in chasing away and exiling the inhabitants of those places vvhere he vvill establish colonies for iniuries done to a man ought to be executed in such sort as they may not bee subiect to feare of vengeance The Romans knew well how to observe this Maxime sending colonies to all the nations vvhich they vanquished by the means of vvhich Colonies they held the most feeble in their vveaknesse not suffering them to gather strength and they also vveakened the power of such as vvere great and most iminent THe distinction of the proprietie of the goods of this world wherby every man ought to be master and assured possessor of his owne hath been introduced by the law and right of nature which wils That to every man beyeelded that which belongeth unto him or els by the right of nations which comes all to one end This distinction of proprietie maintaineth the commerce and trafficke The proprietie of goods is from the right of nature amongst men it entertaineth buyings and sellings permutations loanes and such like which are the bonds of all humane societie and if the distinction of proprietie of goods be not maintained in the world all commerce is destroyed all consocietie decayed and resolved For although some poets and philosophers praise the communitie of goods remembring us of that old golden world of Saturne yet it is plainely evident to all people of judgement that communitie induceth and brings a carelesnesse idlenesse discord and confusion into the commonweale as learnedly Aristotle demonstrateth in his Pollitiques Therefore very necessary it is that the naturall right therein be observed and every man maintained in the enjoyance of his owne good and that to every man be rendered that which is his owne yea this right ought to bee so observed that it is not lawfull for the prince to breake or violate it because by reason of naturall right it is inviolable and none can derogate from it And hereunto agreeth the divine right whereby it is shewed unto us that Achab a king ought not to take away the vineyard from Naboth his subject and hereunto also accord the rules of civile right whereby it is said That the right naturall and the right of nations are inviolable in such sort as that right civile and positive neither can nor ought to derogate any thing from them Hereby therefore is seene the absurditie and manifest iniquitie of this Maxime of Machiavell who counselleth a prince as soone as hee hath conquered a new countrey to dispossesse the masters and right owners of their goods in townes and places where he shall know it to be expedient to make himselfe strong and to place there other new masters and possessors of his owne nation in their places who are dispossessed and banished For if the prince use this Maxime certaine it is first that he violateth the right and law of nature which hee ought not to doe secondly hee acquireth the enmitie of the inhabitants of that new conquered countrey which may be a meanes to deject him from all For in the love of subjects and in their voluntarie obedience lieth the firmenesse and assurance of a princes estate as wee shall speake in another place It is folly to alledge that there will bee no malecontents but only they which are driven away For such sayth Machiavell as remaine in the countrey will be satisfied because they abide still but as I say it is folly to thinke so For certainely alwaies every one feareth that which he seeth happen to his neighbours and further not onely our owne losses engender in us miscontentment but also others losses as of our parents friends allies yea of such as are not joyned unto us with other bond than to be of our countrey of our tongue or of our religion although that in all these there is a distinction of more and lesse Thirdly they whom the prince chaseth from their possessions and goods will ever be so deadly enemies that all their lives they will leave no stone to remove to have right and vengeance of such injustice done against the law of nature And the prince hath no cause to think they cannot hurt him because they are poore banished people for it is certain that there is no little enemie but will be hurtfull Of how small a beginning did Sertorius arise He was but a simple Romane gentleman without authoritie and meanes yet with certaine troupes of Barbarians trained as well as he could he possessed a good Plâ—â— in Sertorio Crassâ— Florus lib. 52 55 56. part of Spaine The Romanes sent against him Metellus with a great hoast which could do nothing to him insomuch as they were yet forced to send Pompeius with an armie whom Sertorius braved calling him the little prentice of Silla and it appeared
upon the king and his race the imprecations which all the world made against him and indeede it came to passe by the just judgement of God that as this poore gentlewoman had caused her owne children to or die so Philip made to dye by poison his lawfull sonne Demetrius a prince of exceeding great towardnesse by the false accusation of Perseus his bastard-sonne After certaine time this king having discovered that by a false accufation he had murdered his owne sonne hee would needes disinherite the bastard Perseus and beeing continually tormented with the shaddow and resemblance of his sonne Demetruis which his conscience alwaies brought before his eies he dyed desperately detesting execrating that wicked Perseus This Perseus then his only sonne which remained to succeede him in his kingdome after a few yeeres raigne was taken prisoner by the Romanes and led in a triumph to Rome where hee miserably dyed in a prison So the imprecations and curses which the poore people chased from their countrey and goods by the king had poured out against him and his race fell upon him and his Is not this an example to make the haires to stand upright on princes heads when men persuades them to dispossesse naturall inhabitants of their countrie and goods yet at this day are there too many Machiavelists which say It is good to chase away the naturall inhabitants of France or at the least from certaine places and corners to people them with some race that is good faithfull and loyall as Italians Lombards yea what wants thereof an Italian colonie in the towne of Lyons for besides that a great part of the inhabitants are Italians and that other people of the countrey conforme themselves by little little to their actions behaviours manner of life and language that scant shall you finde any so vile or paltrie an artisan but hee will studie to speake Italian for these magnificall Machiavelists will give no countenanee nor willingly heare any but such as use their owne language by that meanes seeking to bring credit both to themselves and their tongue The townes also of Paris Marseille Grenoble and many others of France are they not full of Italians 4. Maxime A Prince in a country newly conquered must subvert and destroy all such as suffer great losse in that conquest and altogether root out the blood and the race of such as before governed there MEn saith Machiavell doe vvillingly change their lords thinking Cap. 3. of a Prince to amend themselves and this opinion commonly makes them revolt but most commonly they find themselves deceived seeing by experience themselves in vvorse case than before Wherfore to such such kinds of revoltings a prince ought to take out of the vvay all such as he thinks are displeased vvith the change by any enormious or great losse that hee hath suffered For I am persuaded saith he that all men of good iudgement hold this without doubt that the estate of a prince or commonweale cannot long endure in a countrey unlesse all such be taken away which for some great harme they have sustained by the change are contrarie unto him And herein Lewis the twelfth king of Fraunce dealt not vvisely therefore in as little time lost he the dutchie of Millane as before hee had conquered it For the Milanois found themselves deceived in opinion and frustrated of the advantages and commodities which they looked for at his hands and also could not suffer the proud handling of that new prince here vvas then his fault that he tooke not away all male-contents vvhich suffered losse in the change and especially because hee utterly rooted not out the race of the Sforces But Caesar Borgia did not thus for having occupied Romania of all the lords that he had dispossessed hee left not one alive that he could catch and very few escaped Therefore it is better to follow the example of Borgia than of king Lewis For sometimes it succeeds not vvell to imitate the best men For it vvas domageable to Pertinax and Alexander Severus to imitate the mildnesse and bountie of Marcus Antonius and to Caracalla Commodus and Maximine that they desired to resemble Severus MAchiavell meaning to shew that his purpose tendeth and aimeth onely to instruct a prince in all sorts of tyrannie giveth Dionisius Halic lib. 4. him heere a precept which in old time Thrasibulus the Milesian gave to Periander a tyrant of Corinth by Tarquine the proud king of Rome to Sextus his sonne For Periander having tyrannouslie obtained the domination of the crowne of Corinth where he had no right fearing some conspiration against him sent a messenger to Thrasibulus his great friend to desire his counsell and advice how to bee assured master and lord of Corinth Thrasibulus made him no answere by mouth but commanding the messenger to follow him he went into a field full of ripe corne and taking of the highest eares there the most eminent hee brused them betwixt his hands and wished the messenger to returne to Periander his master saying no more unto him As soone as Periander heard speake of brusing of the most ancient eares of corne hee presently conceiued the meaning thereof to wit to overthrow and take out of the way all the great men of Corinth which suffered any losse and were grieved at the change of the Estate as indeed he did As much did Sextus Tarquinius the sonne of Tarquinius the proud for hee making a countenance of some great discontentment with his father for his great crueltie towards him purposely caused a fame secretly to runne to the Gabinians then his fathers enemies that for his safegard hee would flye unto them if it pleased them to receive him and would bring with him a good troupe of his servants and friends These poore Gabinians not suspecting the intelligence betwixt the father and the sonne sent him word hee should bee very welcome Hee failed not with a good troupe by stealth to goe thither where ariving they welcommed him and because hee gave them to understand that hee would make warre upon his father to revenge the injurie done by his father to him them they elected him their captaine As soone as hee saw his foote in hee secretly sent a messenger to his father to let him understand what command hee had in the towne and to send him word what hee should doe The abovesaid Tarquin led the messenger into a garden where amongst many other hearbs then growne up to seede there were great store of poppie whose highest heads he struck of a pace with a little staffe he had in his hand and made no other answere to the messenger who returning to Gabium told Sextus his fathers actions so as hee well understood what he should doe Then made hee the people understand That Antistius Petra the chiefe lord and magistrate of the Gabinians with certaine of his complices had conspired to deliver him to Tarquin his father either dead or
assured in the seignorie of the citie of Ferme but also made himselfe redoubted of all his neighbours Yet the evil lucke vvas that he suffered himselfe to be deceived by Caesar Borgia vvho by faire vvords drew him to Sinagallia vvhere catching him hee caused him to be hanged and strangled and if had not been this evill adventure he vvas a man likely to have done great things MAchiavell persisterh in giving tyrannicall precepts unto a prince teaching him by this Maxime a very exquisite meane to tame a people newly reduced into his obedience to obtaine their grace and favour That is saith he that a prince at his first entry and at once doe make an horrible slaughter of al such as he doth suspect might hinder his deseignes and purposes the others which remaine he may bring on with gentlenesse and assure them unto him by bestowing pleasures upon them by little and little But I pray you is there so brutish a man in the world who sees not the absurditie and wickednesse of this doctrine How is it possible that a Great crueltie cannot be put oat of mens hearts prince should make himselfe either loved or obeyed in a new conquered country by such barbarous usage seeing they themselves which use all the kindnesse they can have much a doe to obtaine it Assuredly there is no nation so effeminate and servile that will not suffer themselves to be cut in pieces before they will subject themselees under such a prince whose entrie hath been so cruell and sanguinarie as Machiavell counselleth yet if it so fall out that for a time a people be forced under such a yoke it is impossible that such a subjection should longer endure than that force continueth The example alledged of Oliver de Ferme doth well shew it for he continued not long no more than did Caesar Borgia who by the like meanes had usurped the domination of Romania as hath beene before said But can a man imagine a more cruell and detestable act than that which Machiavell rehearseth of Oliver de Ferme who under the pretext of amitie massacred most wickedly his owne parents and such as had given him so honourable an entertainment as was possible Yet Machiavell proposeth this gallant example for a prince to imitate as hee had before done with the example of Caesar Borgia And as for Agathocles true it is as Suidas and others write hee usurped the tyrannie of Sicile by causing with treason and treacherie the chiefe rulers of Siracuse to bee slaine but what end made hee also even such as hee merited For being desirous to make great his domination over Italie hee thought best to practise with intelligencers which kept not their word with him insomuch as his purpose being broken and anihilated by the same meanes of treason and unfaithfulnesse by which hee made himselfe great hee died with griefe and heavinesse of minde And still are not these the judgements of God who ruinates tyrants by the same waies which hee suffers them to get up and come to advancement And although Agathocles had so bad an end as his life also had beene very wicked yet dare Machiavell compare him with the greatest and most vertuous captaines that have in times past beene and to offer him as an example for a prince to imitate So that men may well say that this wicked Atheist hath no other purpose in his bookes than to persuade a prince to become a tirant and most wicked by embrasing all vices and chasing away all vertue but heeretofore I have sufficiently discoursed upon the effects of crueltie and therefore neede speake no more heereof But is not this a wise reason to say That crueltie ought to be exercised all at once that it may not bee too often felt as that is which is practised by little and little at many times And why that which is practised all at once is not felt but at the instant it is practised Nay contrarie wee commonly see that such great cruelties as men commit against a great number of persons doe so wound and irritate the hearts of all the kinsefolke and friends of them that bee murdered that they feele it during their lives yea sometimes the wound bleedeth even to the third generation But the cruelties which are committed at many and divers times doe not so farre penetrate the courage nor pricke men so lively to the quicke although continuance encreaseth discontentment No man also can deny but that it is a thing far more fearefull and horrible to our senses to see a great slaughter and a great heape of murdered persons than to see one onely or two And no man can promise to himselfe that that prince will handle him kindlie who practseth such a generall massacre and slaughter as Machiavell counselleth whatsoever good countenance hee after sheweth of his gentle and kinde carriage For the first apprehension of his crueltie will bee found so fast sticking and engraven in the hearts of men that no demonstrations of gentlenesse and humilitie succeding can abolish or rase it out 15. Maxime A vertuous tyrant to maintaine his tyrannie ought to maintaine partialities and factions amongst his subiects and to sley and take away such as love the commonwealth IT most commonly happeneth saith Machiavell in countries governed by princes that that which is profitable to Discourse lib. 2. cap. 2. and lib. 3. cap. 3. him is damageable to subiects and that which is profitable to his subiects is damageable unto him Which causeth oftentimes princes to become tyrants better loving their profit than their subiects As also the contrary makes subiects often arise against their prince not able to endure his tyrannie and oppression To keepe subiects then that they doe not conspire and agree together to arise against his tyrannie hee must nourish and maintaine partialities and factions amongst them For by that meanes shall you see that distrusting one another and fearing that one wil accuse and disclose another they will not dare to enterprise any thing But heerewithall hee must cause all them to be slaine which love libertie and the commonwealth and which are enemies to tyrannie If Tarquin the last king of Rome had well observed this Maxime and had caused Brutus to bee slaine no man would have beene found that durst have enterprised any thing against him and then might hee alwaies after have exercised his tyrannie at his pleasure without controlment HEere before Machiavell hath shewed how a prince should best become a tyrant namely by exercising all manner of crueltie impietie and injustice after the examples of Caesar Borgia of Oliver de Ferme and of Agathocles Now hee shewes how hee in his tyrannie may maintaine and conserve himselfe that is by feeding and maintaining partialities and divisions amongst his subjects and in causing such to die as appeare to bee curious lovers of the common weale because none can love the good and utilitie of the common-weale but hee must bee an enemie of
Scipio said That it was a great shame that every man esteemed that the citie of Rome governesse of the whole world was as it were hid under the shaddow of Scipio as though he alone should and ought to have all the honour and credit of the whole commonwealth and to hold it covered under his shaddow Scipio replied nothing to this accusation neither knew he indeed what to replie unlesse hee had said that there was no reason his vertue should hurt him but knowing well that his citizens could not abide him he banished himselfe from Rome and withdrew himselfe to Liternum into a rurall house which hee had there where he finished his dayes Breefely then it may bee said that men are sometimes made suspected but especially to the common sort of either base or no vertue because of their great and iminent vertues but yet neither hated nor despised But in a prince this ought to have no place for the more vertuous that men bee Excellent vertues ought not to be suspected of a prince the more they ought to love and honour them and to serve themselves with them for in so doing the vertues of such good and vertuous servants are imputed unto the prince himselfe as we have before shewed neither can a prince ever draw any great services from men of small vertue for good services are the effects of vertue And as no man out of a bush or bramble can get good peares or other pleasant fruits because such kind of plants have not that kind of vertue in them to produce such kind of fruits in like sort a prince cannot looke for gallant and good services from vicious men of base vertue A prince also can have no just occasion to hold for suspected men of great vertue for many reasons first because such persons have in greater recommendation the integritie of their fame and honour than men have which are of meane fortune or as they say of a base hand and therefore will not easily attempt any filthie or wicked thing which may turne to their dishonor Secondly because seeing themselves beloved honoured and recompenced for their good services by their prince their love and desire well to serve him will more and more encrease and so prove a meanes directly contrary to all evill enterprises Thirdly because men of excellent vertue are alwaies of generous and great courages minds but it is a thing altogether repugnant to all generositie to commit wicked enterprises against a good prince yea and a worke of faint-hearted villaines Finally in the time wherein wee are principalities and kingdomes being bestowed either by hereditarie succession or by the election of certaine nobles and not by an election tumultuarie and violent of corrupted persons they should be very madde to aspire to his place or to enterprise any evill against him to deprive themselves of that good they alreadie enjoy without all likelyhood to attaine unto better And if with al this a vertuous man have any feare of God he will enterprise no evill against his prince even for this only cause that God willeth and commandeth that we obey our prince and that we honour him above all things in the world so that he which disobeyeth him disobeyeth God and who despiseth him despiseth God also And hereunto more than to any other reason ought all such as account themselves Christians to have especiall regard to deliver faithfull voluntarie obedience seeing God commands it to their lawfull prince And as for that which Machiavell sayth That the emperour Pertinax was hated Capitol in Peâ—â—in Herod lib. 6. of his men of warre for his vertue is very false for although in all other things hee was a notable good and vertuous prince yet was he much and sore spotted with that filthie vice of covetousnesse and illiberalitie which hereafter Machiavel teacheth to be a notable vertue for a prince insomuch as being come to that high degree of a Romane emperour yet commonly dealt he in the traffique of merchandize for the inordinate desire of gaine and as soone as he was created emperour yea and even by his people of warre yet was hee so farre from being bountifull in recompensing them that he cut off from his souldiers certaine pensions which the emperour Traian his predecessor had given them for their nourishment maintenance This covetousnesse was the cause he was despised of them and slaine And as for Alexander Severus it was also the covetousnesse of Mammaea his mother which was the cause that the people of warre hated them yea and slew them both together as Herodian witnesseth who lived at that time And therefore the examples of Pertinax and of Alexander are by Machiavell to no purpose alledged to shew that princes are hated for their vertues yet although it were true that such souldiers as slew Pertinax were people hating vertue as also they which slew Alexander Severus which had gathered all corruption of vices under his predecessor Heliogabalus it followeth not that of such examples we must make a rule and Maxime For theeves and murderers doe hate justice and magistracie yet followeth it not that a prince is not alwaies more loved than hated by doing good justice Breefely such examples are exceptions and defailances of the rule which notwithstanding doe not cease to remaine alwaies true and certaine no more nor no lesse as philosophers say that that rule is certaine and true That the Summer is hoter than Winter although there be some daies in Winter more hot than there be other some daies in Summer 17. Maxime A Prince ought alwayes to nourish some enemie against himselfe to this end that when he hath oppressed him hee may bee accounted the more mightie and terrible PRinces saith our Florentine make themselves great wheÌ„ they Cap. 19. Of the prince overcome vvaightie and difficult things vvhich hinder their deseignes Therefore a good and vvise prince vvith a certaine ingenious care vvill nourish some enemie against himselfe to the end that happening to oppresse him his riches and greatnesse may the better encrease For such an enemie shall serve him as a sufficient matter to encrease his greatnesse and as a ladder to ascend the higher BEhold a Maxime of the same note as the former hereunto tending That a prince doe alwayes seeke meanes to make himselfe to Tyrants want not enemies be feared rather than loved But a prince which observeth the doctrine of Machiavell needs take no great care to seeke meanes to nourish an enemie against himselfe for there will bee ynow and more than one would both within and without his countrey yea in his owne house But to say that he can oppresse them all to make himselfe feared and redoubted that is no assured thing but rather contrarie he may assure himselfe that in the end either one or other will oppresse and ruinate himselfe When Milicus Cornel. Tacit. Annal. 15. had discovered to Nero a great conjuration practised against him hee performed
After that the emperour Nerva was chosen emperour hee entred into the Senate Dion in Nerva when it was assembled and after hee made them understand how kindlie and temperatelie hee meant to behave himselfe in the government of the empire hee added for a conclusion an oath and promise That never by his ordinance and command hee would put to death any Senator A thing which greatlie pleased all the companie and especiallie because that cruell emperour Domitian his predecessor whom hee succeeded had caused a great number to die yea for frivolous and trifling causes What followed It happened that certaine Senators conspired against that good emperour and that the conspiration was discovered but that good prince seeing that the conspirators were Senators and that hee had given to them all his Faith and oath that hee would cause none of them to dye loved better to observe his Faith and oath than to punish with death those Senators which had well merited it What will our Machiavellists say heere which most cruelly put to death massacre against publik Faith even such as no way have deserved any punishment But it is time to leave those ancient Romane examples for wee should never Beliay lib 1. Of his memories have done to rehearse them all now let us come to domesticall examples In the yeere 1508 king Lewis the twelfth who then held the dutchie of Millan made a league at Cambray with the emperour Maximilian and pope Iulius the eleventh to expulse at their common charge and expences the Venetians out of the firme land as usurpers of that they held upon the empire upon the Church and upon the dutchie of Millan And it was accorded that in the yeere following at a convenient and good time every one of the said three princes shoule appeare upon the place with his army and every man should have that yeelded unto him that was his owne after they had conquered the said countries which the Venetians held The king according to this accord came himselfe in person with his army and many great princes and French lords but the emperour and the pope failed Yet the king feeling himselfe strong enough alone gave battaile to the Venetians and got the victorie insomuch as their chiefetaines were taken and 2000 slaine and almost all the townes which the Venetians had on firme land yeelded to him What then did this good king although the other two held not their Faiths unto him and that having then the dutchie of Millan hee alone might easily have kept all that he had conquered yet notwithstanding hee voluntarilie yeelded to the emperour Verone Vicence Padua and otherplaces belonging to the empire and to the Pope Rimini Faence Cervia Ravenna and other church townes Heereby this good king shewing in what great recommendation hee had the observation of his Faith and to maintaine whole and perfect his promise For if with excuses hee would have dealt deceitfully to have broken his Faith as Machiavell saith hee ought to have done had hee not a faire pretext to say that others had not held promise with him might hee not have the said that hee was nor bound to reconquer theirs at his owne charges by the traict of their league Might hee not well have beaten the Pope with his owne Cannons alledging as before Frangenti fidem fides frangatur eidem But he was a plaine man without guile and sincere hee sought no evasions or refuges but an upright observer of his Faith and promise yet Machiavell reprehends him because hee used not deceits and tromperyes as the popes Alexander Iulius did The memorie is yet fresh of the great warres which the emperour Charles the fifth and Francis the first king of France had together as also how they objected Bellay lib. 8. Of his memories one to another the observation of Faith in their publike escripts and writings yet whatsoever imputations were laid by one to another experience manifested the truth in the yeere 5539 when the emperour under the word of the king passed through France to goe from Spaine into Flanders where the people of Gant were risen up against him for in that passage the emperour shewed well that hee beleeved the king was a prince who would keep his Faith unviolated when he trusted his owne person under it notwithstanding all the warres enmities hostilities and other differences which had so often happened betwixt them two and were not yet extinguished And certaine it is that if the emperour who was a wise prince had had the least doubt in the world of the kings Faith and loyaltie hee would never have put himselfe in his hands and especially for so small an occasion as in hast to goe build a citadell in the towne of Gant insomuch as his fact contradicteth his mouth and word For before hee had many times given an intimation to the king not to hold and observe sincerely his Faith but as by his own fact he shewed that he beleeved the contrary of that hee had said so found hee by experience that the king was the part hee plaied with the king of Armenia succeeded not alike unto him which king he sent for to come unto him being then nigh his country making him to understand that hee would agree him with his children with which then the king had some dissention For as soone as hee came to him hee caused him to be taken prisoner and to bee bound and to bee cast into a straight prison as hee had done with Augarus But the Armenians having discovered this perfidie and disloyaltie rose up in armes and would not submit themselves under the obedience of that perfidious Caracalla Hee also played another part of treacherie under the pretext and shew of marriage with the king of the Parthians Artabanus For hee writ letters unto him whereby hee signified unto him that the empire of the Romanes and that of the Parthians were the two greatest empires of the world and that hee beeing the sonne of a Romane emperour could not find a partie more sociable unto him for a wife than the daughter of Artabanus king of the Parthians he therefore praied him to give her to him in marriage to the end to allie and joyne together the greatest empires of the earth as thereby also to impose an end to their warres This king at the first denyed him his daughter saying that such a marriage was very unfit because of the diversitie of their tongues manners and habits as also for that the Romanes never heeretofore allied or married with the Parthians But upon this refuse Caracalla insisted and pressed him more strongly than before and sent to Artabanus great gifts so that in the end hee gave to him his daughter Whereupon Caracalla assuring himselfe that hee should finde noe hostilitie in the Parthian countrie entred bouldly farre into the countrie with his armie making men understand wheresoever hee passed that hee went but for to see and make love to the kings daughter
villanously to his death therefore by thine owne confession thou doest merit a most ignominious death Straight after the king commaunded that he should be hanged and strangled which was done So this perfidious and disloyall Heber received the reward of his perfidie and breach of Faith as hee himselfe judged to have merited Edward king of England the second of that name was much governed by the Frois lib. 1. cap. 5. 13 14. house of the Spensers which took upon them the handling of all the affaires of the kingdome and despised farre greater lords than themselves The said king having lost a battaile at Esturmelin against the Scots all England imputed the evill lucke of that losse unto the evill government of the Spensers They beleeving that the great lords of England which envied their credit had caused this brute to bee sowne resolved to take vengeance thereof by a most perfidious disloiall meanes For they persuaded the king to convocate a generall assemblie of States to advise and provide as they gave to understand for the affaires of the kingdome The princes and lords of the kingdome not doubting any thing assembled at the kings commaund But incontinent as they were assembled king Edward whome the Spensers had persuaded that his princes and lords meant to get his kingdome from him commanded them to be taken arrested prisoners which was done and without any knowledge of cause he cut off the heads from two and twentie of the greatest lords and princes of the kingdome and amongst them there was beheaded Thomas duke of Lancaster the kings uncle who was a good and a sage prince and who after was cannonized and saincted This perfidie joyned with crueltie for commonly the one goeth with the other was the cause that the said king was deprived by all the States of England of his royaltie as unworthie to carrie the crowne and was confined to prison where he finished his daies And the Spensers authors of such disloialtie were executed and rigorously punished according to their merits For after they had ben drawne on hurdles through the streets all over the citie of Herford their privie parts were first cut away and cast into the fire then were their hearts taken out of their bellies and also cast into the fire after their heads were cut off and carried to London and the bodies of every of them were quartered and every quarter caried into other severall towns to be set on the tops of their great gates in detestation of their great perfidie and disloyaltie which they used towards the said lords It was also a great perfidie in Charles the last duke of Bourgoigne in that hee De Comines lib. 1. cap. 78. and Annal. 1475. gave safe conduct to the contie of S. Pol constable of France to come to him with good assurance and then tooke him prisoner and delivered him to king Lewis the seventh who making his processe at Paris his head was cut off in the place de Greve True it is that the said countie had committed great faults as well against the king as against the duke hee had also alwaies studied to nourish warre betwixt the said two princes yet notwithstanding it was a very dishonorable and infamous thing for the duke to take him prisoner after hee had given him his faith and assurance by the safe conduct which hee graunted him For if hee had not beene hee had according to his determination with his silver fled into Almaigne from thence in time he might have made his peace and againe have come into the kings favour But he was deceived as before and the said perfidie was so much the more infamous and dishonest because it was perpetrated by this duke of Bourgoigne for the covetousnesse to gaine the townes of S. Quinten Han and Bohain which belonged to the said countie which the king gave to the said duke to the end hee would deliver and betray him But behold the just judgement of God who permitted that this duke of Bourgoigne was in the end beaten with the same rods wherewith hee had beaten the countie of S. Pol for being twice overthrowne at Granson and Morat by the Suissers the siege of Nus succeeding evill unto him and also having lost the dutchie of Lorraine which before he had unjustly occupied upon the duke of Lorraine who conquered it all these traverses and troubles engendred such greefe sadnesse and confusion in his spirit and great indisposition in his person that hee was never after whole either in bodie or mind His wits thus comming into decay there came into his braine a distrust of his owne subjects and therefore thought good to serve himselfe with strangers and to chuse a loyall and faithfull nation he addressed himselfe to a countie de Campobache an Italian and gave him charge to bring with him many Italians to his service as hee did This was the last act of the Tragedie of his life For this countie de Campobache ceased not till he had betrayed him unto the duke of Lorraine before Nancy which the said duke of Bourgoigne held besieged and there was slaine in an assault which the duke of Lorraine gave him to constrain him to raise the siege And so in like sort as by perfidie and violating of his faith he had caused the constable of S. Pol to leese both life and goods so by the treason and perfidie of Campobache hee both lost his life and his house was ruinated and â—ent in pieces which was the greatest house in Christendome next unto that of Fraunce He should never have done that would set downe all the calamities mischiefes proceeding of perfidie and breach of publicke Faith It caused the ruine of Carthage the great in Affrica which for a long time was one of the greatest and most flourishing commonweales that ever was in the world It was the onely ruine of Corinth of Thebes of Calchis which were three of the greatest fairest and richest cities of Greece It was the cause of Ierusalems destruction and of all the countrey of Iudea yea breefely there never happened any great subversion and desolation in the world were it of citties commonweales kingdomes empires great captaines great monarchs or of strong and flourishing nations but it came upon perfidie and the breach of Faith True it is that it draweth at the taile with her crueltie avarice and other like companions but yet perfidie is the mistresse and governesse of all She breaketh peace she renueth civile and strange warres she troubleth people nations which are quiet she destroyeth and impoverisheth them she overthroweth right and equitie she prophaneth and defileth holy and sacred things she banisheth and chaseth away all pietie justice and the feare of God she bringeth in Atheisme and contempt of all religion she defaceth all amitie and naturall affection towards parents our countrey and nation she confoundeth all politicke order shee abrogateth good lawes and customes Finally what mischeefes hath there ever beene in the
was no great warriour But the cause why the Romanes delivered so great and honourable a charge unto him was because the great Scipio the Affrican his brother had declared that if Lucius his brother were chosen generall captaine to goe against Antiochus he should be there as his lieutenant As then they both were in Greece with the Romane armie making warre upon that king it so happened that the only sonne of Scipio the Affrican was taken prisoner by Antiochus souldiers Antiochus having this young lord in his hands entertained and used him very honourably knowing that that great Scipio was of such Clemencie that he would never forget that the pleasure and that the amitie of so great a personage might stand him in good stead in some great necessities as losse of a battaile or of a captivitie or such like Not long after Scipio fell sicke whereof Antiochus hearing he sent him his sonne without ransome fearing Scipio would die with greefe and melancholie by whose death he doubted to leese a good refuge For that king saith Titus Livius trusted more in the Clemencie and authoritie of Scipio alone for the uncertaine and doubtfull haps of warre than in his armie of 60000 footmen and 12000 horsemen Is not here thinke you an admirable effect of Clemencie that an enemie dooth better assure his estate upon his enemies Clemencie than upon his owne forces But what need we any more to amplifie by examples or authorities this point doth not ordinarie experience shew and ever hath done that all good and clement princes have alwaies been very assured in their estates as Augustus Vespasian Traian Adrian the Antonines and many other Romane emperours and the most part of our kings of Fraunce which were clement and debonaire doe fully proove this which I say for they raigned very peaceably died of naturall deaths and after their deaths were greatly lamented of the people Here I may not forget a notable sentence of the emperour Antonius Pius which hee received from Scipio the Affrican Capit. in Pio. Sueâ— in August cap. 35. which was this That hee loved better to preserve one of his subjects than to sley a thousand of his enemies Assuredly a sentence of a good and clement prince who delighted not in shedding of blood as our Machiavelists doe at this day which are so covetous of such blood as they account their enemies that whensoever any of marke fals into their hands they will not give him for an hundred pounds They may well say contrary to Scipio and the emperor Pius that they had rather slay an enemie than save an hundred friends Are not these people worthie to commaund Neither make they any account more of their princes subjects than of slaves which men may beat scourge or sley at their pleasure as beasts as indeed there hath been lately a burne-paper-fellow a writer for wages one of these Machiavelists who durst publish by writing That the authority of a prince over his subjects is like that which a lord hath over his villaine and slave having power over death and life to sley and massacre them at their pleasure without forme of justice and so to despoile them of their goods And how comes this Thinkes this sot that the office of a king is like to the office of a gally captaine to hold his subjects in chaines and every day to whip them with scourges Surely they which hold that opinion doe merit to be so handled yea that some good gally captaine would twice or thrice a day practise that goodly doctrine upon their shoulders but how much more notable and humane is the doctrine wee learne of the life of Augustus Caesar who so much feared that men had such an opinion of him that he would not take away but onely diminish the libertie of the people that he could never abide and suffer to be called Dominus that is to say Lord but abhorred it as an injurious name full of opprobry because it hath some relation to Servus which is to say servant or slave he being farre from the affectation of such great and magnificall names as many great men have since well liked of without shewing the effect of them The third point now remaineth which is to shew That the Clemencie of a prince A prince by Clemencie encreaseth his domination Dionis Halic lib. 2. Plutarke in Caesar Alexand is cause of the encreasement of his domination Hereupon we reade a memorable hystorie of Romulus who was so clement soft and gentle towards his people which he vanquished and subjugated that not only many particulars but the whole multitude of people submitted themselves voluntarily and unconstrainedly under his obedience The same vertue was also cause that Iulius Caesar vanquished the Gaulois for he was so soft and gracious unto them and so easie to pardon and used them every way so well farre from all oppression that many of that nation voluntarily joyned themselves unto him and by them he vanquished the others When Alexander the Great made great conquests in Asia most commonly the citizens of all great cities met him to present unto him the keyes of the townes for he dealt with them in such Clemencie and kindnesse without in any thing altering their estates that they liked better to be his than their owne Anniball having taken the towne of Saguntum in Spaine was so feared and redoubted Titus Livius lib. 2. Dec. 3. that the most part of Spaine submitted themselves under his obedience and abandoned the Romane societie because they had not aided Saguntum against Anniball The Romanes to repaire their fault whereat they tooke much greefe sent great forces into Spaine under the conduction of Publius Scipio father of the African and of Cneius his uncle Anniball to containe in obedience the Spaniards tooke in hostage their children their brethren or parents of all the nobilitie of the countrey and the notablest citizens of the good townes and set them under guard at Saguntum under the charge of some small number of souldiers God would that those hostages should find meanes to escape from their prison yet it was their haps to fall into the hands of the Scipioes The Scipioes having possession of them in place to revenge themselves upon them as they feared for the fault they and their parents had made by their revoltment from the Romanes they welcommed and dealt with them very graciously and sent them all to their parents and houses This Clemencie and kindnesse of the Scipioes was cause that soone after all Spaine forsook the obedience of Anniball and the Carthaginians and fell under the government of the Romans which they would never have done if these hostages had been dealt with after the counsels and precepts of Machiavell Yet the example of Clemencie in Scipio the Affrican is more notable than this Titus Livius lib. 3. Dec. 3. of his father and uncle After the deaths of his said father and uncle this young lord full of all
generositie and hardinesse came to besiege new Carthage in Spain which the Carthaginians of Affricke had founded there and did so much as hee got it by assault Besides the great riches which he found within the towne he found there also within that towne a good number of Spanish hostages which the Carthaginians held there for the better assurance of other townes of Spaine which they had regained upon the Romanes after the death and overthrow of the Scipioes and their hoast Scipio as soone as the towne was taken caused all the hostages to be brought before him and wished them to take good courage and that they should feare nothing for they were falne into the power of the Romane people which loved better to bind men unto them by good deeds than by feare and to joyne all strange nations unto them rather by a societie than by a sad servitude After hee had thus encouraged them hee dispatched messengers through all Spaine to the end every man might come thither to seeke his hostages and in the meane while gave expresse charge to Flaminius his treasurer to handle them well and honourably Amongst other hostages there was a young ladie of a great house which was brought to Scipio which was of so great beautie that as she passed by she dreweach mans regard upon her This ladie was fianced unto one Allucius prince of the Celtiberians Scipio taking knowledge of her parents and to whom shee was fianced also that Allucius extreamely loved her he sent for them all Her parents came with a great quantitie of gold and silver for her ransome Allucius came also They all beeing present before Scipio hee said to that young prince Allucius My deare friend understanding that ardently you love this young ladie as her beautie well meriteth it I thought it good to keepe her for you as I would my affianced should be kept for me if the affaires of the commonweale permitted me to thinke upon the action of legitimate love in favor then of your affections I have preserved your loves inviolated in recompence whereof I only desire and pray you that from henceforth you will be friends unto the Roman people and if you will credit me as a good man that is desirous to follow the traces of my father and uncle which you knew Know you that in our towne there be many like to us and that there is no people in the world which you ought lesser to desire for enemies nor more for a friend After Scipio had thus graciously entertained this young prince he was so filled with shame and joy that presently he prayed the gods that they would acquite to Scipio that great benefit for hee could never doe it The said ladies parents stepped forward and presented unto him a great quantitie of gold and silver for their daughters ransome which although Scipio refused yet they pressed it so sore upon him that he accorded to take it and bad them lay it before him which they doing Scipio called Allucius and said unto him Good friend besides the dowrie which your father in law will give you my desire is that you will take this silver at my hands as an encrease of her dowrie Allucius very joyfull of so great a benefit thanking him greatly returned with his lover in great contentment unto his countrey where as soone as he came he sowed the fame of those things through all Spaine saying That there was come into that countrey a young lord like the gods which vanquisheth all men by armes by clemencie and magnificence Within a smal time after he came to the service of Scipio with 1400 horse Not long after came also to Scipio the parents of the other hostages which he had taken in new Carthage all which he yeelded unto them conditionally to be the Romanes friends Hee gave also to a great lord called Mandonius his wife who was sister of another great lord named Indibilis which were exceeding joyous thereof and promised Scipio all fidelitie Amongst those prisoners also there was found a young prince called Massiva the nephew of Massinissa king of Numidia which he sent to his uncle after he had honourably apparrelled mounted and accompanied him This was the cause that Massinissa stucke so firmely to the Romane partie wherein he constantly persevered all his life and greatly aided Scipio to the overthrow of the Carthaginians And as for the Spaniards whose hostages Scipio had sent home without ransome they performed many great favours to him in all his Spanish wars Breefely this great Clemencie kindnesse and gentlenesse of Scipio were the cause that all his high mightie enterprises were ever facile easie unto him But herein appeared in him a double Clemencie namely that the two lords above-named Mandonius and Indibilis revolted and so caused all their countrey to revolt also upon a false fame that run of Scipioes death But after finding the report false they resolved yet once againe to proove his Clemencie as an assured refuge and so went fell on their knees before him desiring pardon confessing their faults Scipio after he had rebuked them said unto them in this sort My friends by your merits you shall die but you shall live by the benefit of the Romane people And although the custome be to take all armes from rebels yet I will not take them from you but if you fall any more into such a fault I shall have reason with armes to take armes from armed people but not from disarmed Therefore seeing you have many times experimented the Romanes Clemencie take heed also you prove not their vengeance and wrath By this example then of Scipio it appeares that a prince ought alwaies to be enclined to Clemencie wherby he may obtaine friends augment his dominations shun Gods indignation the envie of men and to do to another that which he would should be done to himselfe This is it which Romulus said to the Antenates and Caeninians which hee had vanquished subjugated Although said he you have merited to suffer al extreame things for that you rather loved warre against us than our amitie yet many reasons Dioni Halic lib. 2. moove us to use our victorie moderately in respect of the indignation of the gods unto whom pride is odious the feare of the envie evill will of men and because we beleeve that Mercie and Clemencie is a great releese and remedie for the miseries and calamities of mortall men which we would gladly entreat of others in our owne distresses and calamities We therefore pardon you this fault and leave you in the same enjoiance of your goods as you were before The Romane Senat had alwayes Clemencie in great recommendation yea even towards them which had often rebeled The Ligurians which now we cal Genevois Titus Liviuâ— lib. 2. Dec. 2. rose up against the Romanes many times insomuch as they sent against them Marcus Popilius Consull with a puissant armie Popilius having subjugated and vanquished them
generallie exhorred them all to concord and union in the name and as Vicker of him who said Pacem meam do vobis Pacem meam relinquo vobis I give you my peace I leave you my peace By which articles of the said arbitriall sentence is seene how these Curates and Mendicants publikelie blamed one another And all this proceeded not but from the ardent zeale they all had not to the edification of the people but to have their offrings and oblations for since that time they could so well manage and deale with the poore ignorant world that they made them give them whatsoever they would especially such as were sick when they were at confession and demanded absolution from purgatorie and hell they would never absolve them unlesse they gave to their Covents and churches whatsoever they desired This conclusion heere is also cleane contrarie to the Maxime of Machiavell That Povertie cannot be a cause to hould a people in peace and obedience seeing it was cause of so many discords and disientions even amongst them which made profession thereof and which constituted their perfection therein By this discourse also wee may note the sanctitie of Mendicants wherewith this poore world hath beene so much ravished which from the beginning of their birth in this world have raised up so many riots and strifes against Curats all for the paunch For they begun and florished in the time of Pope Gregorie the ninth Anno 1230 which Pope was Platina in Gregorie 9. then much troubled with resolving the hard points about their Povertie amongst other points resolved them That it ought to be understood not only in the abdication of all proprietie to particulars but also to the generall as Pope Nicholas reciteth it in his abovesaid Decretall For that of Pope Gregorie is not found printed in the bodie of the Cannon law as the others are whereof before we have made mention But herein is no great losse no not though all the Cannon law were lost with it For although some thing be good in it yet the most of it is good for nothing but to maintaine wickednesse abuses and Romanish superstitions that it were expedient to burie that little good in it so that all the evill might bee choaked with it For from hence there is come into the world infinite both spirituall and corporall calamities 33. Maxime A Prince which feareth his subiects ought to build fortresses in his countrey to hold them in obedience THe Prince saith Machiavell vvho hath more feare of his owne Discourse lib. 2. cap. 24. cap. 20. of the prince people than of strangers must build Fortresses but hee that doubteth strangers more than subiects needeth not For the best Fortresse that is is not to be evill beloved of subiects and if a prince be once evill beloved of his people there is no Fortresse can save him True it is that Fortresses may bee profitable to a prince in time of peace to give more courage to him and to his Governours established in them to hould the people in subiection and to use against them greater audacitie and rigour But yet this shall be but vveake assurance unlesse the prince have meanes to raise up a good and strong armie to tame his subiects if they vvill needs rebell For to thinke to tame them by reducing them to povertie Spoliatis arma supersunt Armes remaine yet to the unarmed Also to unarme them Furor arma ministrat Furie administreth armes inough Likewise to slay the cheefe heads of the people more heads vvould arise as of the Hydra The Sforces builded the castle at Millaine vvhich done they iudged that by the means of that Fortresse they might vvith assurance handle their subiects at their pleasure and therefore spared no kind of violence insomuch as they acquired the hatred and evill vvill of their subiects vvhich vvas the cause that the French their enemies caried away Millaine at the first assault and the Sforces had no good by their fortresse but vvere spoiled of all the dutchie ALthough Machiavell have not dealt with the art of tyrannie Machiavell hath hādled all the parts of the art of tyrannie in his writings by a methode yet hath hee not left behind any part of that art For first he hath handled How a tyrannie ought to be builded that is by crueltie perfidie craft perjurie impietie revenges contempt of counsell and friends entertainement of flatterers tromperie the hatred of vertue covetousnesse inconstancie and other like vices whereby hee hath demonstrated that men must ascend as by degrees to come unto a soveraigne wickednesse Secondly hee hath shewed how one ought to bee maintained and conserved in that high degree of wickednesse and tyrannie namely by maintaining amongst subjects partialitie and seditions and in holding them in povertie and necessitie Now he yet addeth another mean namely to build Fortresses against his subjects as by making in good townes citadels and by building forts upon bridges and common passages and other like castles and fortresses and Machiavell thinkes this meane ought to be practised and that other aforesaid meanes are not so sufficient well to establish a tyrannie For Povertie saith he is no sufficient meane to containe a people in obedience for they are never unfurnished of armes And though they should take them from them and should sley their cheefetaines yet that would not suffice because the anger and furie of the people would furnish them with sufficient armes and that cheefetaines would arise unto them like Hydra her heads But I will not stay long in the confutation of this Maxime but onely I will say this That experience makes us wise and that the invention of Citadels which in our time princes have builded against their subjects hath been cause of infinit evils For all commerce and traffique hath been and is greatly diminished in townes where they have been builded and there have beene and are committed infinit insolencies by souldiors against citizens and there neither hath come nor will come to princes which have builded them other good than great expences and evill will of their subjects For this construction of Citadels is an apparent shew that the prince trusteth not his subjects but especially when they are builded any other where than in the limits and borders of kingdomes and countries against strangers When the subjects know that their prince distrusteth them they also esteeme that hee loveth them not And when the subject is not beloved of his prince he cannot also love him and not loving him hee obeyes him not but as constrained and in the end will get his head out of the yoke as soone as there will fall out a fit occasion Here is the profite of Citadels Yet I will say this by the way That our Machiavelists of Fraunce which were authors and enterprisers of the massacres of S. Bartholmew read not well this place The Machiavelists of France doe not alwayes follow their master of Machiavell which
in Italie or that wee had warre heere against a lesser captaine than Anniball so that there were place to amend and correct a fault when it were made wee would not hould him well advised that would hinder your election and as it were withstand your libertie But in this warre against Anniball wee have made no fault but it hath cost us a great and perillous losse therefore am I of advice that you doe elect Consulls which match Anniball For as wee would that our people of warre were stronger than our enemies so ought wee to wish that our heads and cheefetaines of warre were equall to them of our enemies Octacilius is my nephew who espoused my sisters daughter and hath children by her so that I have cause to desire his advancement But the commonwealthes utilitie is more deere unto mee And withall that no other hath greater cause than my nephew not to charge himselfe with a waight under which hee should fall The Romane people found his reasons good therefore revoked their election and by a new suffrage elected Fabius himselfe and gave him for a companion Marcellus which assuredly were two great and sage captaines This rule to elect magistrates equall to every charge above all ought to bee well practised in the election of soveraigne judges for after they have judged if they have committed a fault it cannot but very hardly be repaired so that the reason which Fabius alledged having place in the election of soveraigne judges the provision which followed it meriteth well to bee drawne into an example and consequence for the good and utilitie of the princes subjects The particular qualities required in a Magistrate cannot better nor more briefely Particular qualities required in a Magistrate bee described than by the counsell which Iethro gave to Moses For hee advised him to elect people fearing God true and hating covetousnesse Surely this counsell is very briefe for words but in substance it comprehendeth much For first the Magistrate which shall feare God will advise to exercise his Office in a good conscience Exod. cap. 18. and after the commandements of God and above all things will seeke that God bee honoured and served according to his holy will and will punish â—uch as do the contrary If the Magistrate feare God hee will love his neighbour as himselfe because God so willeth and by consequent he will guard himselfe from doing in the exercise of his estate any thing against his neighbor which he would not should be done against himselfe Briefely hee will in a booke as it were write all his actions to make his account to that great Lord and master whose feare hee hath in him Secondly if the Magistrate bee veritable and a lover of truth it will follow that in the exercise of his Office as well in civile as criminall matters hee will alwaies seeke out the truth and shut his eares to impostures and lies of calumniators and slanderers which is no small vertue wherein Iudges often erre Also a magistrate that loveth truth by consequent shall bee of sufficiencie knowledge and capacitie to exercise his estate for Ignorance and Truth are no companions because Truth is no other thing but light and Ignorance darkenesse And for the last point If the Magistrate hate covetousnesse hee will not onely guard himselfe from practising it but also he will correct it in others and by cutting of this detestable vice the root of all evill he shall keepe downe all other vices which be like rivers proceeding from this cursed and stinking spring And as wee see that the covetousnesse of wicked magistrates is cause of the length of law causes because they have a desire that the parties which plead before them should serve their turnes as they say as a cow for milke whereby it followeth that the poore people are pilled and eaten even to the bones by those horseleaches Also contrarie when the Magistrate hateth covetousnesse hee will dispatch and hasten Iustice to parties and not hould them long in law neither pill and spoile them a thing bringing great comfort and help to the people Briefely then if these three qualities which Iethro requireth in Magistrates and Officers of Iustice were well considered by the prince in such sort as he would receive none into an Office of Iustice who feared not God loved not veritie and hated covetousnesse certainelie Iustice would bee better administred to his great honour and the utilitie of his subjects I will not say that amongst the Paynims there were Magistrates which had the true feare of God for none can have that without knowing him and none can truly know him but by his word whereof the Paynims were ignorant yet were there Paynims which had the other two parts which Iethro required in a Magistrate When Cato the elder was sent governour lieutenant general for the Romanes into the Isle Titus Livius lâ—b 2. Dec. 4. of Sardaigne hee found that the people of the countrey had alreadie a custome for many yeeres before to expend and bestow great charges at the receit and for the honour of all the governours which were sent from Rome hee found also through all that countrey a great companie of bankers and usurers which ruinated and eate out the people by usuries As soone as hee was arived in his goverment he cassed and cut off this and would not suffer them at his arrivall to bee at any charge for his entertainment Hee also drave out of the countrey at once all the said bankers and usurers without any libertie given them to stay upon condition to moderate their usuries which some found hard and evill thinking that it had beene better to have given to these bankers and usurers a meane to their usuries beyond which they might not passe than altogether to take from them the meane to give and take money to profit a thing seeming prejudiciall to commerce and trafficke But so much there wanted that Cato stayed not upon these considerations beleeving that the permission of a certaine might easilie be disguised and perverted and that men which bee subtill in their trade might easily in their contracting and accompting make them lay downe eight for ten or twelve for fifteene Briefely Cato governed himselfe so in his estate and government that the fame of his reputation was of an holy and innocent person Hee was in all matters assuredly a brave man hee was a good souldiour a good lawyer a good orator cunning both in townes and in rurall affaires proper in time Titus Liviuâ— lib. 9. Dec. 4. of peace and as proper in time of warre a man of severe innocencie and who had a tongue that would spare no mans vices even publikely to accuse them as indeed in all his life hee never ceased to accuse vicious and evill living people to make them bee condemned by Iustice and especially in his age of nintie yeeres hee accused one Sergtus Galba This man stepped one day forward to demaund the
his father made good profit of these excellent commands and maintained the kingdome in good peace and great prosperitie during his raigne For an end heereof I doe note in this good king Lewis That it is very true which the scripture witnesseth unto us That the lust shall spring up and receive of God the blessing of a good and long generation For there were more than three hundreth yeeres that the race of this good king held the crowne of France yea there was no more any other race of the blood royall but his For the house of Valois and the house of Burbon have issued from this good king God by his mercie graunt grace to princes of this time which are discended from so good a roote that they may engrave in their hearts the godly commandements of this king whose meaning verily was not onely to prescribe to the said king Philip his sonne but generally to all his posteritie 36. Maxime Gentlemen which hould Castles and Jurisdictions are very great enemies of commonweales THe Leages and Cantons of Almaigne saith Machiavell live very peaceably and at their ease because they observe Discourse lib. 1. cap. an equalitie amongst themselves and suffer no gentlemen in their country and those fevv they have they so hate them that vvhen by adventure any of them fall into their hands they put them to death and take none to mercie saying they are they vvhich destroy all and hould schooles of wickednesse I call saith hee them gentlemen vvhich live of their revenew without giving themselves to any trade These in a countrey are very dangerous and above all high Iusticers vvhich hould Castles and fortresses and which have a great number of vassailes and subiects which owe them faith and homage The kingdome of Naples the land of Rome Romaigne Lombardie are full of such manner of men and they are the cause that hitherto no good estate politicke can bee constituted in those places for they are formall and capitall enemies of the civile estate of common-weales THey which have frequented the countries of Almaigne and of Suises may well give Machiavell the lie for that he saith in this Maxime for in those countries may bee found many gentlemen great Iusticers having under them men jurisdictions and castles which were not onely maintained in their nobilitie and authoritie but also are there greatly respected and imployed in publike affaires And so much there wanteth that there they hould a schoole of wickednesse that contrary onely they hould the countries in peace every one in his owne countrey and doe see justice administred to their subjects I will not denie but there are gentlemen in Alemaigne in the countrey of Suisses in France and other where which are bad inough and which are violent and vitious yet for some few wee must not condemne all in generall as Machiavell doth heere who saith they bee dangerous people in a countrie and that they are enemies to an estate politicke I know not if those hee named bee such namely the gentlemen of Naples of Romania of Lumbardie and of Rome and I am content to confesse unto him because I will not contest and strive against him upon a fact which hath some appearance of truth But I deny unto him that on this side the mounts they are such but contrary wee see that it is onely the Nobilitie of France and other neighbour countries which authorize protect justice and which make it to bee obeyed Yet will I also confesse that the gentlemen on this side the mounts are very dangerous and great enemies unto such a politicke estate as Machiavell hath builded by his writings that is a Tyrannicall For hystories tell us that our ancestors especially the barons lords gentlemen have vigorouslie alwaies opposed themselves against tyrannies and would never suffer them long to grow up or take roote which is a naturall thing in the French Nobilitie good though evill for the Machiavellistes strangers which are come into France to practise their tyrannies for by Gods grace they shall with much a doe take any deepe roote there 37. Maxime The Nobility of France would overthrow the estates of that kingdome if their Parliaments did not punish them and hould them in feare THe kingdome of France saith Nicholas is a kingdome more living under lawes than any other whereof their Parliaments Discourse lib. 1. cap. 1. are the gardiants and maintainers especially that of Paris And hitherto that kingdome is maintained because the Parliaments have alwaies beene obstinate executors and resisters against the Nobilitie without which the kingdome of France had come to ruine MAchiavell had done much better to have medled onely with the estate of Florence for hee shewes well his ignorance and that hee never knew the estate of France nor how it hath beene governed by our ancestors For I pray you where hath hee found this that the kingdome of France would dissolve and come to ruine but that the Parliaments are executors against the Nobilitie Is not this as much to say as the French Nobilitie will ruinate the kingdome if it bee not brideled and held short by Parliaments and that it were better there were none I doubt not but that Machiavell thus though For wee see it by the practise of the Machiavellists which never shot at other marke than to ruinate in France all the Nobilitie the better to establish their tyrannie at ease without contradiction And for this effect have they cassed violated and overthrowne all the good lawes of the kingdome by the meanes of which it hath alwaies hitherto been maintained and Machiavell confesseth and said true which his disciples having well marked and desiring to ruinate the said kingdome have not fayled to beginne by the lawes thereof knowing well Since what time Parliaments of France were instituted Before Parliaments the kingdome was no lesse florishing in peace and good iustice than since that having ruinated her foundations she will be easily dissolved and overthrowne But to confute this Maxime I will alledge no other thing but that wee see in our French hystories That our kingdome was as much or more flourishing and better governed before there were any Parliaments in France than since For the Parliament of Paris which is the ancientest was established and constituted in the time of king Philip le Bel Anno 1294. That of Tholouse during the raigne of Charles the seventh Anno 1444. That of Bourdeaux in the time of the same king Anno 1451. That of Daulphin in the time also of the same king but by the authoritie of king Lewis the eleventh his sonne then Daulphin and then inhabiting in Dauphine in Anno 1453. The Parliaments of Dijon and of Provence in the time of the said king Lewis the eleventh That of Rovan in the time of king Lewis the twelfth in Anno 1499. And that of Bretaigne was erected onely in the time of king Henry the second in Anno 1553 But before there was any
respected and doubt honoured for as the Poet Euripides saith At the good accounted â—â— of Noble blood to bee Euri. in Hecu. But double is his honour whom wee vertuous doe see Heere will I ende these present discourses exhorting and praying the French Nobilitie and all other persons which love the publike good of France to marke and earnestly consider the points which above wee have handled against Machiavell For so may they know how wicked impious and detestable the doctrine of that most filthie Atheist is who hath left out no kind of wickednesse to build a tyrannie accomplished of all abhominable vices They which know this I beleeve will couragiouslâ—e employ themselves to drive away and banish from France Machiavell and all his writings and all such as maintaine and follow his doctrine and practise it in France to the ruine and desolation of the kingdome and of the poore people I could much more have amplified this discourse if I would have examined all the doctrine of Machiavell For hee handleth many other very detestable and strange things as the meanes to make conspirations and how they must bee executed as well with sword as with poyson and many other like matters But I abhorre to speake of so villanous and wicked things which are but too much knowne amongst men and have contented my selfe to handle the principall points of his doctrine which merit to bee discovered and brought to light I pray God our Father and Creator in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ our onely Saviour and Mediator that he will preserve his Church and his elected from the contagious and wicked doctrine of such godlesse and prophane men as are too common in the world and that he will not suffer them which are of his flock to bee tossed and troubled by a sort of turbulent and ignorant spirits But that he will grant us grace alwaies to persevere in his holy doctrine in the right way which he hath shewed us by his word and well to discerne and know abusive lying and malitious spirits to detest and flie them and continually to follow his truth which will teach us his feare and his commandements and by his grace will bring us unto eternall life So bee it FINIS THE INDEX OR TABLE OF Machiavels Maximes confuted in those discourses divided into three parts The Maximes of the first part doe handle such Counsell as a Prince should take A Princes good Counsell ought to proceed from his owne wisedome otherwise he cannot be well counselled Max. 1. The Prince to shun and not to bee circumvented of Flatterers ought to forbid his friends and Counsellors that they speake not to him nor counsell him any thing but only in those things whereof hee freely begins to speake or asketh their advice Max. 2. A Prince ought not to trust in Strangers Max. 3. The Maximes of the second part handling the Religion which a Prince ought to observe and be of A Prince above all things ought to wish and desire to bee esteemed Devout although he be not so indeed Max. 1. A Prince ought to sustaine and confirme that which is false in Religion if so be it turne to the favour thereof 2. The Paynims Religion holds and lifts up their hearts and makes them hardie to enterprise great things but the Christian Religion persuading to Humilitie humbleth and too much weakeneth their minds and so makes them more readie to be injured and preyed upon 3. 4. The great Doctors of the Christian Religion by a great ostentation and stiffenesse have sought to abolish the remembrance of all good letters and antiquitie 4. When men left the Paynim Religion they became altogether corrupted so that they neither beleeved in God nor the Divell Max. 5. The Romane Church is cause of all the calamities of Italie Max. 6. Moses could never have caused his lawes and ordinances to bee observed if force and armes had wanted 7. Moses usurped Iudea as the Gothes usurped a part of the empire 8. The Religion of Numa was the cheefe cause of Romes felicitie 9. A man is happy so long as Fortune agreeth to his nature humor 10. The Maximes of the third Part entreating of such Policie as a Prince ought to have That Warre is just which is necessary and those Armes reasonable when men can have no hope by any other way but by Armes Max. 1. To cause a Prince to withdraw his mind altogether from peace agreement with his adversarie he must commit and use some notable and outragious injurie against him Max. 2. A Prince in a conquered countrey must establish and place Colonies or Garrisons but most especially in the strongest places and to chase away the naturall and old inhabitants thereof Max. 3. A Prince in a countrey newly conquered must subvert and destroy all such as suffer great losse in that conquest and altogether root out the blood and race of such as before governed there 4. To be revenged of a citie or countrey without striking any blow they must be filled with wicked manners 5. It is follie to thinke with Princes and great Lords that new pleasures will cause them to forget old offences 6. A Prince ought to propound unto himselfe to imitate Caesar Borgia the sonne of Pope Alexander the sixt 7. A Prince need not care to be accounted Cruell if so be that hee can make himselfe to be obeyed thereby 8. It is better for a Prince to be feared than loved 9. A prince ought not to trust in the amitie of men 10. A prince which would have any man to die must seeke out some apparent colour thereof and then hee shall not bee blamed if so be that he leave his inheritance and goods unto his children 11. A prince ought to follow the nature of the Lyon and of the Fox yet not of the one without the other 12. Cruelty which tendeth and is done to a good end is not to be reprehended Max. 13. A Prince ought to exercise Crueltie all at once and to doe pleasures by little and little Max. 14. A vertuous Tyrant to maintaine his tyrannie ought to maintain partialities and factions amongst his subjects and to slay and take away such as love the Commonweale Max. 15. A Prince may as well be hated for his vertue as for his vices 16. A prince ought alwaies to nourish some enemie against himself to this end that when he hath oppressed him he may be accounted the more mightie and terrible 17. A prince ought not to feare to be perjured to deceive and dissemble for the deceiver alwayes finds some that are fit to be deceived 18. A Prince ought to know how to wind and turne mens minds that he may deceive and circumvent them 19. A Prince which as it were constrained useth Clemencie and Lenitie advaunceth his owne destruction 20. A wise prince ought not to keepe his Faith when the observation therof is hurtful unto him that the occasions for which he gave it be takeÌ„ away 21. Faith Clemencie and Liberalitie are vertues very domageable to a prince but it is good that of them he only have some similitude likenes 22. A Prince ought to have a turning and winding wit with art and practise made fit to be cruell and unfaithfull that he may shew himselfe such an one when there is need 23. A prince desirous to breake a peace promised sworn with his neighbor ought to move warre against his friend with whom he hath peace 24. A prince ought to have his mind disposed to turne after every wind and variation of Fortune that he may know to make use of a vice when need is 25. Illiberalitie is commendable in a prince and the reputation of an handicrafts man is a dishonour without evill will 26. A prince which will make a strait profession of a good man cannot long continue in the world amongst such an heap of naughty wicked people 27. Men cannot be altogether good nor altogether wicked neither can they perfectly use crueltie and violence 28. He that hath alwayes caried the countenance of a good man and would become wicked to obtain his desire ought to colour his change with some apparent reason 29. A prince in the time of peace maintaining discords and partialities amongst his subjects may the more easily use them at his pleasure 30. Civile seditions and dissentions are profitable and not to be blamed 31. The meanes to keepe subjects in peace and union and to hould them from rebellion is to keepe them alwayes poore 32. A Prince which feareth his subjects ought to build fortresses in his countrey to hold them in obedience 33. A Prince ought to commit to another those affaires which are subject to hatred and envie and reserve to himselfe such as depend upon his grace and favour 34. To administer good Iustice a Prince ought to establish a great number of Judges 35. Gentlemen which hold Castles and Jurisdictions are very great enemies of commonweales 36. The Nobility of France would overthrow the Estates of that kingdome if their Parliaments did not punish them and hould them in feare 37. FINIS