Your Majesty's Innocence is the more apparent in that your Ambassador never enter'd into any Treaty with that Conquerour until Six Months after his entring into Germany which evidently justifies that the Conditions that were made with the said Prince were the Remedy of the Evil of which they could not be esteem'd the Cause The Treaties that were made not only with that Great King but also with many other Princes of Germany are the more just in that they were absolutely necessary for the safety of the Duke of Mantua unjustly attack'd and for that of all Italy over which Spain had no less Right than over the Dominion of that poor Prince since they thought their Convenience a sufficient Right The Danger this Kingdom had been reduc'd to by the Division the Spaniards had openly fomented in your Royal House oblig'd your Majesty to seek out proper Expedients to resettle it Monsieur having left the Court of France for the third time by divers Artifices which the Spaniards certainly were the principal Authors of and the Cardinal Infant having receiv'd the Queen your Mother in Flanders as he did at that time it is natural to conclude that unless those good Neighbours had been employ'd at home they would have proceeded farther and would have employ'd themselves at your Majesty's Cost in this Kingdom It was absolutely necessary to remove the Storm and moreover to prepare to sustain the Effort of it in case it could not be avoided For that reason after your Majesty was assur'd of a potent Diversion you did like those who in order to prevent the Plague which the Corruption of the Air threatens them with carefully purge themselves being perswaded that the best and safest way to secure themselves from external Injuries is to cleanse the Inside God's Providence prov'd so favourable to you on that occasion that those who animating the Queen and Monsieur against France thought thereby to put them in a way to do it a great deal of Harm only rendred them incapable of doing any and your Conduct appear'd so much the more wonderful on that occasion that in recalling the one and desiring the return of the other your Goodness towards them was evident to all the World while the Effects of your Justice fell upon those who had advis'd them to take such ill Measures The Duke de Bellegarde was depriv'd of the Government of Burgundy and consequently of the Keyes of the Gates he had open'd to Monsieur to let him out of the Kingdom The Duke d' Elboeuf was likewise turn'd out of that of Picardy which your Majesty had lately given him The Duke of Guise being conscious of his Faults retiring into Italy when you call'd him to Court there to give an Account of his Actions that Criminal Retreat made him lose the Government the late King your Father had honour'd him with Thus your Majesty was deliver'd of ungrateful faithless Governours and Burgundy Picardy and Provence Provinces of great Consideration remain'd in your Hands free from those dangerous Spirits You gave the first to the first Prince of your Blood who was passionately desirous of it and thereby you prudently interess'd him in the Affairs of the Time and fill'd Monsieur with anxious Thoughts who with reason dreaded nothing so much in the World as the Establishment of a Person who came up so close to him You bestow'd the Second on the Duke of Chevreuse a Prince of Lorrain to shew that Faults are personal and that your Indignation extended only on those of that Family who had made themselves guilty by their ill Conduct You gratify'd the Marshal de Vitri with the Third as well upon the account of his Loyalty as because that being upheld by your Authority he was naturally capable to oppose him who had lost it In the mean time the Declarations you caus'd to be Register'd in the Parliament were highly approv'd of by every body seeing that in condemning the Authors and Adherents of the Queen and of Monsieur's Flight you excus'd those two Persons who are as dear as nearly related to your Majesty altho' the contrary had been done formerly on the same occasions Your Majesty eluded with a great deal of Vigilancy divers Designs and many Enterprizes meditated and attempted in the Queen and Monsieur's Names and you shew'd so much Patience on those unhappy Occurrences that I may almost affirm that you made nothing known of their Ill Conduct but what you could not dissemble Nevertheless in order to stop the Course and remove the License wherewith all things seem'd lawful to be undertaken under their Shadow you caus'd the Marshal de Marillac's Head to be cut off with so much the more reason that being condemned with Justice the present Constitution of the State requir'd a great Example Those great and vexatious Affairs did not hinder you from repressing with as much Authority as Reason certain Enterprizes of the Parliament of Paris which had been tolerated in many other occasions which is more remarkable in that it was done during the Heat of the Discontents of the Queen and of Monsieur and of all their Adherents than for the thing it self Afterwards Monsieur enter'd France with Sword in Hand at the Instigation of the Spaniards and of the Duke of Lorrain with Forces of which those good Neighbours had furnish'd the greatest part One should have thought that the News your Majesty receiv'd at that time of his being expected in Languedoc by the D. de Montmorency who had a great Authority in that Province which he was Governour of should have put a stop to the Design which had led you in Lorrain to disingage that Duke out of the ill Party he had espous'd but finishing what you had begun to so good an end you caus'd Monsieur your Brother to be pursu'd so close by the Marshal de Schomberg and you follow'd him so soon your self after having receiv'd three Places from the Duke of Lorrain as Pledges of his Faith that all the Efforts of those who were Leagu'd against you prov'd ineffectual The Victory which your Majesty's Forces commanded by that Marshal obtain'd at Castelnaudari was as certain an Argument of the Blessing of God on your Majesty as the Favours you afterwards granted to Monsieur and to his Followers when the ill state of his Affairs might have induc'd you to use them otherwise was an evident Testimony of your Goodness The Sincerity wherewith you observ'd all the Promises which were made to them in your Name at Beziers tho' you were sensible that Puy-Laurens's only Design was to avoid the Danger he was in under the pretence of Repentance which he could avoid no other way was also as Authentick a Proof of your Majesty's great Courage as of your inviolable Faith The Chastisement of the Duke de Montmorency who never could contain himself from making an Inlet to all manner of dangerous Rebellions at all times and particularly when an Heir apparent of the Crown made himself by ill Counsel Head
of publick Convenience thus the Accessary becomes the Principal And whereas the Service of God should preceed all things and be the Rule of Civil Actions it will no longer be in force than while the Temporal Officers of Princes will be pleas'd to allow it I am very sensible that sometimes the Male-Administration of Justice of those who exert the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and the Tediousness of the Formalities prescrib'd by the Canons give a specious Pretence to the Incroachments of the King's Officers but it cannot be with Reason since one Inconvenience does not establish another but obliges to correct both which is what I design to shew hereafter I would willingly pass under silence the Pretension which the Parliaments have to render every thing abusive which is Judg'd against their Decrees to which by that means they would give the force of Ordinances if I were not oblig'd to shew that this Abuse is the less supportable in that they endeavour by that Encroachment to equal their Authority to that of their Master and of their King The Detriment the Church receives by such Encroachments is the more insupportable in that it hinders the Prelates absolutely from performing their Office When a Bishop designs to punish an Ecclesiastick he strait removes from under his Jurisdiction by an Appeal if in making his Visitation he makes any Ordinance the effect of it is immediately stopt by reason that tho' in matters of Discipline Appeals are only by way of Devolution yet the Parliaments make them suspensive against all manner of Reason In fine we may affirm with Truth that the Church is fetter'd and that if her Ministers are not blind yet their Hands are tied insomuch that tho' they know the Evil it is not in their Power to redress it That which comforts me in this Extremity is that what is impossible to the Church on this Subject will be very easie to your Majesty on whose bare Will the remedy such Disorders depends The first thing that is to be done in order thereunto is to prohibit those Appeals for the future unless in the Case of a visible attempt upon the Royal Jurisdiction and of an evident Transgression of the Ordinances which only relate to the Temporal Authority of Kings and not to the Spiritual Authority of the Church This Ordinance being suppos'd if in order to have it regularly observ'd your Majesty will be pleas'd to make a Regulation containing Six Heads You will at once put a stop to the Incroachments of the Church and of the Parliaments The First Head of that Regulation must order all Appeals of this kind to be seal'd with the Great Seal for the Parliament of Paris and that in all others which the Distance of your Court obliges to make use of the Privy Seal they may not be seal'd before three ancient Advocates have affirm'd under their Hands that there is cause of Abuse submitting to a Fine in case it be found otherwise The Second must declare that all Appeals made in point of Discipline shall be only by way of Devolution and not of Suspension The Third must order the Abuse complain'd of to be specify'd both in the Appeal and in the Sentence that shall be given upon the same which is the more necessary in that it often comes to pass that tho' there is only an Errour in point of Formality or in some particular Head of the Sentence which contains many when the Parliament declares that there is an Error or Abuse the Sentence is held void in all things tho' it ought only to be so in one of its Circumstances which commonly is not very material The Fourth must oblige the Parliaments to enter the Causes of the said Appeals upon the Rolls before any others and to call and judge them preferrably to all others without referring the same to avoid the Delays which are often desir'd by those who only aiming to elude the Punishment of their Crimes endenyour to tire out their ordinaty Judges from whom they Appeal and because it is not reasonable to deprive the Publick of the Administration of Ecclesiastical Justice by making those who are the principal Officers of it bare Sollicitors before a Tribunal which is inferiour to theirs The Fifth must impose a Necessity on the Parliaments to Fine and to Condemn those to pay the Costs who shall appeal without a Legal Cause without the Power of remitting the same on any account or upon any pretence whatever and to send them back again before the same Judges from whom they have appeal'd without a Cause which is the more necessary because that without this Remedy all Criminals would be at liberty to free themselves of the common Jurisdiction by Appealing without a Cause The best Ordinances and the justest Regulations being often despis'd by those who ought to observe them most Religiously and the Licentiousness of Soveraign Courts often proceeding to that degree as to violate or reform your Orders according to their pleasure the best way to render your Will effectual and to make your self to be obey'd in a point of such Consequence is to add a Sixth Head to the Five foregoing which will be as effectual a Remedy to oblige your Officers to perform their Duty on that subject as that of Appeals is excellent to hinder the Ecclesiastical Judges from being wanting in theirs in the Exercise of their Jurisdiction This Remedy requires nothing but to grant the humble Petition of your Clergy that your Majesty would be pleas'd to allow them to Appeal from you to your self by applying themselves to your Council whenever your Parliaments shall be wanting in the Observation of your Orders and Regulations This is the more reasonable in that whereas in order to suppress the Incroachments of the Church by appealing to your Judges Application is made to a Tribunal of an Order different and inferiour by its Nature and that in having recourse to your Council to put a stop to those of your Parliaments Application is made to an Order of the same kind And undoubtedly even those who envy the Franchises of the Church can find no fault with it since that instead of making it independent of Temporal Jurisdiction it adds a Degree to its subjection Finally it will be the more advantagious to your Majesty in that as it will keep the Power of the Church within its own Bounds it will also restrain that of the Parliaments within the just Extent which is prescrib'd to them by Reason and by your Laws And if besides your Majesty's Commands to your Council to exert the Power they have by your Authority to hinder the Encroachments of all your Subjects and particularly those of your Officers who administer your Justice in this Kingdom you take Care to fill it not with Men whose Pretension and Importunity are the best Titles they can produce to obtain their Ends but with Persons chosen for their Merit from among all your Subjects you will have the Satisfaction to
commonly occasion in States and how necessary it is to remove them from Kings and to banish them from their Courts THere is no Plague so capable to ruine a State as Flatterers Detractors and certain Men who apply themselves wholly to form Cabals and Intrigues in their Courts They are so industrious to spread their Venom by divers imperceptible ways that it is difficult to scape it without abundance of care As they are neither of a Quality nor Merit to have a share in the Management of Affairs nor good enough to be concern'd for the Publick Good their only aim is to disturb both and expecting great advantages from Confusion they omit no means to overthrow by their Flatteries by their Crafts and by their Detractions the Order and Rule which deprives them absolutely of all hopes of Fortune since it is impossible to build any in a well disciplin'd State unless it be upon Merit which they are wholly destitute of Besides that as it is a common thing for those who have no share in Affairs to endeavour to ruine them those sort of Men are capable of doing all manner of Evils and therefore it behoves Princes to take all the precautions imaginable against the malice which disguises it self in so many different dresses that it is often difficult to ward it There are some who notwithstanding they have neither Courage nor Wit have nevertheless so much of both as to feign as much steadiness as a profound and severe Wisdom and to set off themselves in finding fault with every body's Actions even when they are most to be commended and that it is Impossible to do better in respect of the thing in question Nothing is so easy as to find apparent Reasons to Condemn what cannot be better done and what has been undertaken upon such Solid Foundations that one could not have done otherwise without committing a notable fault Others having neither Mouths nor Spurs dislike by their Gestures by shaking of their Heads and by aserious Grimace what they dare not Condemn with Words and cannot be blam'd with Reason Not to flatter in what Relates to such Men It is not enough for the Prince to refuse them his Ear he must also banish them from the Cabinet and Court together because that as their facility is sometimes so great that to speak to them and to persuade them is the same thing even when they cannot be persuaded there still remains some Impression which has its Effect another Time when the same Artifice is renew'd And indeed the Little Application they have to Affairs induces them often to Judge the Cause rather by the number of Witnesses than by the Weight of the accusations I could hardly relate all the Evils those Evil Councelors have been the Authors of during your Majestie 's Reign But I have so lively a Resentment of it for the Interest of the State that it forces me to say That there can be no room for mercy for such Men in order to prevent the mischiefs that have been done in my Time Tho a Prince be never so Firm and Constant he cannot without great Imprudence and without exposing himself to Ruin keep ill Men about him who may surprise him unexpectedly as during a Contagion a Malignant Vapor siezes in an Instant the Heart and Brains of the strongest Men when they think themselves soundest Those Public Plagues must be remov'd never to return unless they have cast all their Venom which happens so seldom that the care we ought to have of repose obliges more to the Continuation of their Removal than Charity can Invite to recall them I boldly advance this proposition because I have never seen any of those Lovers of Factions bred in the Intrigues of the Court lose their Ill habit and change their Nature unless for want of Power which properly speaking do's not Change them since the will of doing Ill remains in them when the Power has left them I am sensible that some of those Men may be sincerely converted but experience teaching me that for one who persists in his repentance twenty return to their old Vomit I decide boldly That it is better to use Rigor against one Person who deserves favour than to expose a State to some prejudice by being too Indulgent either towards those who keep their malice in their Heart only acknowledging their fault in Letters or towards those whose levity may give a reason to dread a relapse worse than their former Evil. 'T is no wonder that Angels should never do any Evil since they are confirm'd in Grace but that those who are obstinate in that kind of Malice should do any good when they may do harm is a kind of Miracle which must be wrought by the immediate Powerful hand of God and it is certain that a Man of great Probity will find much more difficulty to subsist in an Age corrupted by such Men than one whose Vertue they will not stand in dread of his Reputation not being so Intire Some are of Opinion that it suits with the goodness of Kings to Tolerate things which seem to be of small Consequence in the beginning but I say That they can never be too careful to discover and to extinguish the least Intrigues of their Cabinets and of their Courts in their Birth Great Conflagrations being occasion'd by small sparks who ever puts out one do's not know what mischief he has prevented but to discover it if he leaves any one unextinguish'd tho the same Causes do not always produce the same Effect he will perhaps find himself reduc'd to such an Extremity that it will no longer be in his Power to remedy the same Whether it be true or no that a little Poyson stops a great Vessel the Course of which it cannot advance of one Moment it is easy to conceive by what Naturalists relate to us of that Poyson that it is absolutely necessary to purge a State of that which may put a stop to the Course of Affairs tho it can never advance it On such occasions it is not sufficient to remove great Men upon the account of their Power the same must be done to the meanest upon the account of their Malice All are equally dangerous and if there is any difference mean Persons as those that are most conceal'd are more to be fear'd than the others As the bad Air I have already mention'd lock'd up into a Trunk often Infects a House with the Plague which afterwards spreads throughout the Town so the Intrigues of Cabinets often fill the Courts of Princes with partialities which finally disturb the body of the State As I may affirm with Truth that I have never seen any Troubles in this Kingdom but what did proceed form thence I answer once more that it is more Important than it seems to be to extinguish not only the first sparks of such Divisions when they appear but also to prevent them by the removal of those who make it their whole business
Officers of this kind to be turn'd out those who will find themselves deprived of their usual imployments will be constrain'd to follow the Wars to ingage into Trade or to turn Labourers If in the next place all Exemptions are reduc'd to the Nobility and to the Officers in ordinary of the King's Houshold it is most certain that the Cities and Communities which are exempted the Soveraign Courts the Offices of the Treasurers of France the Elections the Salt Magazines the Offices of Waters and of Forests of the Demain and of the Tithes the Intendants and Receivers of Parishes which compose a Body of upwards of 100000 exempted persons will discharge the People of more than one half of their Tailles it being also certain that the Richest which are liable to the greatest Taxes are those who get exemptions by dint of Money I am sensible that it will be urg'd that it is easie to make such Projects like unto those of Plato's Commonwealth which tho' fine in his Ideas is a real Chimera But I dare affirm that this design is not only so reasonable but so easie to execute that if God pleases to grant your Majesty a speedy Peace and to preserve you for this Kingdom with your Servants of which I esteem my self one of the meanest instead of leaving this Advice by Testament I hope to accomplish it my self SECTION VIII Which shews in few words that the utmost point of the Power of Princes must consist in the Possession of their Subjects Hearts THe Finances being manag'd as above written the People will be absolutely eas'd and the King will be Powerful by the Possession of his Subjects Hearts who considering his care of their Estates will be inclin'd to love him out of Interest Formerly the Kings thought themselves so happy in the Possession of their Subjects Hearts that some were of opinion that it was better by this means to be King of the French than of France And indeed this Nation had formerly such a Passion for their Princes that some Authors praise them for being always ready to spill their Blood and to spend their Estates for the Service and Glory of the State Under the Kings of the first second and third Race until Philip le Bell the Treasure of Hearts was the only publick Wealth that was preserv'd in this Kingdom I am sensible that former times have no relation nor proportion to the present that what was good in one Age is often not permitted in another But tho' it is certain that the Treasure of Hearts cannot suffice at present it is also very certain that the Treasure of Gold and Silver is almost useless without the first both are necessary and whoever shall want either of them will be necessitous in Wealth CHAP. X. Which concludes this Work in showing that whatever is contain'd in it will prove ineffectual unless the Princes and their Ministers are so mindful of the Government of the State as to omitt nothing which their Trust obliges them to and not to abuse their Power IN order to conclude this Work happily I am now to represent to your Majesty that Kings being oblig'd to do many things more as Soveraigns than as private Men they can never swerve so little from their Duty without committing more faults of omission than a private person can do of commission It is the same with those upon whom Soveraigns discharge themselves of part of the burthen of their Empire since that Honour makes them liable to the same obligations which lie on Soveraigns Both of them being consider'd as private persons are liable to the same faults as other Men but if we regard the Conduct of the publick which they are intrusted with they will be found liable to many more since in that sence they cannot omit without sin any thing they are oblig'd to their Ministry In that consideration a Man may be good and virtuous as a private person and yet an ill Magistrate anâ—ilh Soveraign by his want of care to discharge the obligation of his Trust In a word unless Princes use their utmost endeavours to regulate the divers orders of their State If they are negligent in their choice of a good Council if they despise their wholsom Advice Unless they take a particular care to become such that their Example may prove a speaking voice If they are negligent in establishing the reign of God that of Reason and that of Justice together If they fail to protect Innocence to recompence signal Services to the Publick and to punish disobedience and the Crimes which trouble the order of the Discipline and Safety of States Unless they apply themselves to foresee and to prevent the evils that may happen and to divert by careful Negotiations the Storms which Clouds easily drive before them from a greater distance than is thought If Favour hinders them from making a good choice of those they honour with great imployments and with the principal Offices of the Kingdom Unless they are very careful to settle the State in the Power it ought to have If on all occasions they do not preferr Publick Interest to Private Advantages tho' otherwise never so good livers they will be found more guilty than those who actually transgress the Commands and Laws of God it being certain that to omit what we are oblig'd to do and to commit what we ought not to do is the same thing I must moreover represent to your Majesty that if Princes and those who are imploy'd under them in the first Dignities of the Kingdom have great advantages over private Men they injoy that benefit upon hard conditions since they are not only liable by omission to the faults I have already observ'd but also that there are many others of commission which are peculiar to them If they make use of their Power to commit any injustice or violence which they cannot do as private persons they are guilty of a sin of Prince or Magistrate by commission which their sole Authority is the source of and for which the King of Kings will call them to a very strict account on the day of Judgment Those two different kind of faults peculiar to Princes and to Magistrates must needs make them sensible that they are of a far greater weight than those of private persons by reason that as universal Causes they influence their disorders to all those who being submitted to them receive the impression of their movements Many would be sav'd as private persons who damn themselves as publick persons One of the greatest of our Neigbouring Kings being sensible of this Truth at his Death cry'd out that he did not stand in so much dread of the sins of Philip as he was apprehensive of the King 's His thought was truly Pious but it would have been much better for himself and for his Subjects to have had it before his Eyes in the heighth of his Grandeur and of his Administration than when in discovering the
and of the Councel of the most faithful of the old Duke's Servants to oblige him to come to Bourdeaux to pay a visit to the Minister But they all repented the giving of that advice The said interview spoil'd all instead of contributing towards an accommodation Not but the Cardinal without descending from his Rank which he was incapable of doing paid the Duke a great deal of Respect and caresses even so far as to protest to him that he would stand him instead of a fourth Son but the Duke still preserved that Air of Grandeur with him which he could not lay aside and only receiv'd the Arch-bishop of Bourdeaux whom the Minister presented to him after an apparent reconciliation with a haughty Air and not without some Goldness In 1630 notwithstanding the Cardinal de la Valette his Son had had so great a share as I have said in the day of the Duppes and that in his particular he had received some considerable disgust the preceeding day from the Queen Mother he went to Versailles to see the King upon this great alteration and could never be persuaded by his Friends to step into the next Room where all the Court repair'd in a throng to pay new homages to the restor'd Minister he contented himself with seeing him two or three days after it as if nothing extraordinary had happen'd to him In 1631 the Cardinal seem'd to have a mind to reconcile himself to that Family for he prevailed for the Duke de la Valette who was only a Duke by Breef to be receiv'd into the Parliament in that Quality the same day with him which the Court looked upon as a great Caress But the following year 1632 gave him a new and very considerable cause of displeasure from the old Duke He caus'd him to be sounded by the superintendant de Bullion to try whether he would yield his Government of Mets and of the three Bishopricks to him in exchange upon very advantageous Conditions to which the Duke express'd a great repugnancy Those whose Conjectures always go too far or who reckon upon the easiness of Human minds to pass from desire to desire and from one ambition to another fancy'd that the Cardinal had a mind to make a great and lasting Settlement in that Country to secure himself against all Revolutions for the future to obtain next to that Government the Bishoprick of Mets and the great Abbys of the said City or adjacent Parts In the next place to get that from the King's favour which the Duke had refused from Henry the 3d's To add to the three Bishopricks first in the King's Name and next in his own Dun Scenai Jamets and some other Places of Lorrain Sedâ—â— which might be got out of the House of Bouillon Chateaâ—renaâ—d Charleville and mount Olimpus and finally to compose a little Kingdom of Austrasia capable to maintain it self against all the Neighbouring Powers under a Soveraign of his capacity If this was his design which I would neither affirm ner reject that Instance would discover as much as any thing the Character of his mind more us'd to give than to receive a Law For it is certain that tho he passionately desired the success of Builion's negotiation he broke it first because the Duke without explaining himself clearly and without accepting or refusing talâ—'d of adding to the proposed exchange a Marshal's Staf for the Duke of Candale his Son a Man who indeed deserved that honour being famous throughout Europe for his foreign expeditions but to whom the Cardinal was unwilling to give such a reward for the jests he had made on him Shall I say moreover what others have written and published before me which perhaps will seem frivolous The said Negotiation was set on foot in 1632 in the journey of Toulouse which ended by the Execution of the Duke de Montmorrency They pretend that oh their return two things which in appearence seem'd to be inconsiderable nevertheless sensibly mov'd the mind of that Minister The first as it is reported is that he thought himself neglected by the old Dukâ— who was too busy in receiving the Queen Ann of Austria in his House of Cadillac upon the road to Bourdeaux The Queen was coming back that way to see Rochel and the Cardinal to see Brouage where he had never been since he had made great expences there The Coaches which the Duke had order'd to receive him at his coming out of the Boat were taken up by the numerous Train of the Queen and could not come back soon enough to prevent the Cardinal's arrival who was not expected so soon The Duke after having conducted the Queen to her appartment brought them back to him himself with a thousand excuses that his orders had not been well executed but he could never persuade him to use them and the Cardinal chose rather to walk the remainder of the way a foot notwithstanding he was fatigu'd and incommoded with a distemper which had like to have kill'd him some days after They add in the second place that it prov'd a great deal worse yet at Bourdeaux where his distemper which was nothing but a suppression of Urine oblig'd him to tarry after the Queen The Duke out of respect to that Princess and to keep no mark of Command in her presence had order'd his Guards to put of their Coats and Muskets he ordered them to take them again as soon as ever she was gone and went to visit the Candinal with his usual pomp of Governor and a large attendence of Gentlemen belonging to him or of the Province who did always accompany him It is thought that the Arch-bishop of Bourdeaux and some others who were the Duke's Enemys and were with the Cardinal at that time persuaded him that it was not only done to brave him but perhaps to quarrel him in case of need and to attempt upon his Person so that he excus'd himself from seeing him as being too Ill and almost thought he had scaped a Peril when he found himself in a Condition to leave Bourdeaux The Duke having accompanyed him at his departure with the same train as it were to honour him That which is certain is that the Duke was inform'd some time after it by the Cardinal de la Valette his Son that some had endeavour'd at least to give the Minister those impressions That he took it very Ill from the Arch-bishop of Bourdeaux and made War against him more than ever Their quarels proceeded so far that the Duke having employ'd ways of fact as it were to maintain his Authority of Governor in the Metropolitan City induc'd the Archbishop to excommunicate him The Clergy of France being inspir'd by the Cardinal who put himself at their head declar'd for the abus'd Prelate and demanded reparation for the Injury It was in that great Storm the Cardinal de la Valette his Son and some of his Friends propos'd as a last remedy of reunion the Marriage of Mademoiselle de
and follow'd her Passions I cannot omit the Merit you acquir'd before GOD and before Men in suppressing the Noise her imprudent Conduct would have made had you not wisely wink'd at what you might have repress'd with as much safety as reason The English blindly engag'd in those Cabals Many of the Grandees of the Kingdom enter'd very far into them The Duke de Rohan and the Huguenot Party were to wage War within while the English with a Potent Navy were to attack the Isles and Coasts of this State The Plot seem'd to be so well laid that most Men were of Opinion that it was impossible to resist the Force of the Conspirators Nevertheless the taking off Colonel Dornano the Duke de Vendome and the Grand Prior the Chastisement of Chalais and the removal of some Princesses broke that Cabal insomuch that all the Designs projected in your Majesty's Court were dissipated and had no effect As it was not without a great deal of Goodness and Prudence together your Majesty consented at Nantes to the Marriage of Monsieur your Brother so the Sincerity of your true Servants in taking the boldness to represent to you before-hand the Inconveniences which might attend it was a very great Proof of their Fidelity and a certain Testimony they had no design to surprize you All these Disturbances which seem'd to weaken your Power did not hinder you from putting a stop to the course of Duels by the Chastisement of the Sieurs de Bouteville and des Chapelles I own that my Mind was never more agitated than it was on that occasion in which I had much ado to forbear yielding to the universal Compassion which the Misfortune and Valour of those Young Gentlemen imprinted in the Hearts of all Men to the Prayers of the greatest Persons of the Court and to the Importunities of my nearest Relations The Tears of their Wives mov'd me sensibly but the Sluces of Blood of your Nobility to which nothing could put a stop but the Effusion of theirs incourag'd me to resist my own Inclinations and to persuade your Majesty to cause that to be put in Execution for the good of the Kingdom which was almost against the Sense of every body and against my particular Sentiments As it was not possible to stop the Course of and to hinder the great Preparations the English had made for a War your Majesty was oblig'd to oppose them by Force of Arms. Those ancient Enemies of the State landed in Re and there besieg'd the Fort St. Martin while it was God Almighty's Pleasure to afflict France by the Illness wherewith he visited your Majesty at Ville-Roy This dismal Accident and the Ill Conduct which Le Coigneux and Puy Laurens endeavour'd a-new to inspire into Monsieur did not hinder your good Subjects from opposing the Efforts of that Warlike Nation by the Influence of your bare Name And your Majesty no sooner recover'd your Health but you Reliev'd the Place they had Besieg'd Defeated their Land-Army by a signal Combat and forc'd their Naval Forces to quit your Coasts and to make for their own Ports again After which you Besieg'd Rochel and took it after a Years Siege And your Majesty behav'd your self with so much Prudence that tho' you were sensible that the Spaniards neither desir'd the taking of the said Place in particular nor the Prosperity of your Affairs in general judging that the bare appearance of their Union would be of use in the opinion of the World and that it would be no small matter to hinder them by a Treaty from joining with the English who were your Declar'd Enemies at that time◠you made one with them which produc'd the only Effect your Majesty expected from it The Spaniards who only design'd to deceive you in order the better to cross your Majesty's Designs and the taking of the said City did animate the English as much as in them lay to relieve it And the Cardinal de la Cueva promis'd them positively to that end that his Master would send your Majesty no Succours until you had no further need of it and that he would recall it before it could annoy them Which was so Religiously perform'd that Don Frederick Admiral of Spain who Sail'd from the Coronna with 14 Ships after he was inform'd of the Defeat of the English in Ré refus'd to tarry one day at Rochel upon the Report that a new Fleet was coming to relieve the said City This Assurance incourag'd the English at two several times to attempt the Relieving of it and afforded your Majesty the Glory of taking it with your own Forces in sight of a Potent Naval Army which after two useless Engagements had the Disgrace to see it self wholly frustrated of its end Thus at one and the same time the Infidelity and Cunning of the Spaniards prov'd ineffectual and the English were over-reach'd During this Siege the Spaniards attack'd the Duke of Mantua in Italy They took that time on purpose thinking your Majesty would not be able to Succour him Cardinal de Berule and Marillac the Lord Keeper advis'd your Majesty to abandon that poor Prince to the Injustice and insatiable Avidity of that Nation which is an Enemy to the Repose of Christendom lest they should trouble you the rest of your Council prov'd of a different Opinion both because Spain durst not have taken such a Resolution immediately after your having made a Treaty of Union with the English and that tho' they should have follow'd so ill an Advice they could not have been able to stop the Progress of your Designs They represented to your Majesty that it would be sufficient not to Declare for the Duke of Mantua while you were engag'd in that great Siege and that you could do no more without committing a Baseness unworthy of a great Prince who must never consent to it whatever Advantages might accrue to him by it I should commit a Crime if I did not observe in this place that your Majesty according to the Sentiments of your Heart and your usual Practice took the best and most honourable Party on that occasion which was attended with so much Success that soon after it Rochel was taken and your Arms in a Condition to assist that Prince fo unjustly Attack'd Although at that very time Monsieur your Brother who was become a Widower a Year after his Marriage had a mind to marry the Princess Mary he was so ill advis'd that instead of favouring the Duke of Mantua her Father he cross'd him more than his Enemies by withdrawing from your Majesty and retiring into Lorraine at a time when it was his Interest to be strictly united with you in order to make your Power the more considerable This ill Conduct did not hinder your Majesty from continuing the Journey you had undertaken for a Design so glorious and God bless'd you so visibly that as soon as you came to the Alps you forc'd all the Passages of it in the midst of Winter
beat the Duke of Savoy assisted by the Spaniards rais'd the Siege of Cazal and constrain'd all your Enemies to agree with you This glorious Action which restor'd Peace in Italy was no sooner atchiev'd but your Majesty whose Mind and Heart never found any rest but in Labour pass'd directly into Languedoc where after having taken Privas and Alez by force you reduc'd the rest of the Huguenot Party throughout your Kingdom to Obedience and by your Clemency granted a Peace to those who had presum'd to wage a War against you not by granting them Advantages prejudicial to the State as had been done till then but by banishing him out of the Kingdom who was the only Head of that miserable Party and who had all along fomented it That which is most considerable in so glorious an Action is that you ruin'd that Party absolutely at a time when the King of Spain endeavour'd to raise it again and to settle it more than ever He had newly made a Treaty with the Duke of Rohan to form in this State a Body of Rebellious States to God and to your Majesty at once in consideration of a Million of Livres which he was to pay him yearly for which he made the Indies Tributaries to Hell But their Projects prov'd ineffectual And whilst he had the Mortification to hear that the Person he had employ'd to be the Bearer of so glorious an Establishment was executed upon a Scaffold by a Decree of the Parliament of Thoulouse before whom he was Try'd your Majesty had the Satisfaction and Advantage to pardon those who could no longer defend themselves to annihilate their Faction and to use their Persons well when they expected nothing but the Chastisement of the Crimes they had commited I am sensible that Spain thinks to excuse so ill an Action by the Succours you granted the Hollanders but that Excuse is as ill as their Cause Common Sense will convince every body that there is much difference between the continuation of a Succours established upon a Lawful Subject if Natural Defence is so and a new Establishment manifestly contrary to Religion and to the Lawful Authority Kings have received from Heaven over their Subjects The late King your Father never enter'd into a Treaty with the Hollanders until the King of Spain had form'd a League in this Kingdom to usurp the Crown This Truth is too evident to be question'd and there is no Theology in the World but will grant without going against the Principles of Natural Reason that as Necessity obliges those whose Life is attempted to make use of all Helps to preserve it so a Prince has the same Right to avoid the loss of his State That which is free in the beginning sometimes becomes necessary in the sequel Therefore no body can find fault with the Union your Majesty maintains with those People not only in consequence of the Treaties of the late King but moreover because Spain cannot be reputed otherwise than as an Enemy to this State whilst they retain part of its ancient Demeans It is evident that the Cause which has given a Rise to those Treaties not being remov'd the continuation of the Effect is as lawful as necessary The Spaniards are so far from any Pretence of being in the same case that on the contrary their Designs are so much the more unjust that instead of repairing the Injuries they have done this Kingdom they increase them daily Moreover the late King never join'd with the Hollanders until they were entred into a Body of State and was constrain'd to it by an Oppression which he could not wholly avoid He neither occasion'd their Revolt nor the Union of their Provinces And Spain has not only often favour'd the Revolted Huguenots against your Predecessors they also endeavour'd to unite them in a Body of State in yours A holy Zeal has induc'd them to be the Authors of so good an Establishment and that without any Necessity and consequently without Reason unless the Continuation of their ancient Usurpations and the new ones they design rectifie their Actions so much that what is forbidden to all the World besides is lawful in them upon the account of their good Intentions Having treated this matter more at large in another Treatise I will leave it to continue the Sequel of your Actions The ill Faith of the Spaniards having induc'd them to attack the Duke of Mantua again to the Prejudice of the Treaties they had made with your Majesty you march'd the second time into Italy where by the Blessing of God after having gloriously cross'd a River the Passage whereof was defended by the Duke of Savoy with an Army of 14000 Foot and 4000 Horse contrary to the Faith of the Treaty he had made with your Majesty the Year before You took Pignerol in sight of the Emperour 's and King of Spain's Forces and of the Person and all the Power of the Duke of Savoy and that which renders that Action the more Glorious in sight of the Marquess de Spinola one of the greatest Captains of his Time By that means you took Susa and overcame at once the three most considerable Powers of Europe the Plague Famine and the Impatiency of the French of which there are not many Examples in History After which you Conquer'd Savoy driving an Army of 10000 Foot and 2000 Horse before you which had a better Advantage to defend it self in that Mountainous Country than 30000 to attack them Soon after which the Combats of Veillane and of Coriane signaliz'd your Arms in Piemont and the taking of Valence Fortify'd by the Duke of Savoy in order to oppose your Designs made the World sensible that nothing could resist the Just Arms of a King as Fortunate as Powerful Cazal was reliev'd not only against the Opinion of most Men but even against the very Thoughts of the Duke de Montmorency who had been employ'd to that end and against the Opinion of Marillac who was substituted in his Place who both publickly declar'd that it was an impossible Enterprize The Relief of the said Place was the more glorious in that a stronger Army than your Majesty's retrench'd at the Head of the Milaneze which furnished them with all sorts of Conveniencies and shelter'd under the Walls of Cazal which had been consign'd in their Hands was constrain'd to quit it and five other Places at the same time which the Spaniards held thereabouts in the extent of Mont-Ferrat Those who know that in the very height of that Design your Majesty was reduc'd to the utmost Extremity by a Fit of Sickness and that tho' your Person was dangerously Ill your Heart was yet in a worse Condition If they consider that the Queen your Mother at the Instigation of some malicious Persons form'd a potent Party which weakning you considerably strengthen'd your Enemies If they also consider that they daily receiv'd Advice that your Majesty's most faithful Servants whom they both did hate and dread would
and 't is from thence the Grievances the Church labours under at this time in this Kingdom by the interposition of the King's Officers receiv'd a new Force after the beginning they had had under the Reign of Charles VI. And it is also from thence the Parliaments have taken an occasion to assume the Cognisance of the greatest part of what only belongs to the Tribunal of the Church of God It was very easie for them to attribute to themselves to the Exclusion of subaltern or inferiour Judges what had been at first only committed to them and to extend their Power under that pretence beyond its lawful Bounds since they had none but Inferiours to encounter with In the Establishment of the first Order made to remedy the Infractions of the Pragmatical Sanction Appeals were not allowed of They only chastised such as did obtain Rescripts or Mandates from the Court of Rome against the Common Right upon the bare Complaint that was made and averr'd of the same and that without taking cognisance of the Merits of the Cause After which Time which changes all things being join'd to Power which like Fire attracts all to it self made them proceed from that Order establish'd for the Preservation of the Common Right and the Franchises of the Gallick Church against the Attempts of Rome to the Appeals the abuse of which utterly annihilates the Jurisdiction of the French Prelates as well as of the Holy See I am sensible that the most subtile Adherents of the Parliaments to authorize their Practice may say That the Prelates assembled at Bourges having petition'd his Majesty to hinder the Holy See by his Officers from infringing the Pragmatital Sanction have tacitly given him a Right to oppose the Contraventions that might be made to the same by themselves which authorizes them to take cognisance of the Sentences which are daily given in their Tribunal But the Proverb may be alledg'd in this place which is most true That a Bargain is nothing but what it is made and that it is as certain as evident That the Gallick Church assembled at Bourges never thought on what these Gentlemen pretend and moreover that they had no reason to do it They had recourse to the King against the Enterprizes of Rome by reason that the Holy See having no Superiour Tribunal on Earth Temporal Princes alone as Protectors of the Church can put a stop to the course of the Exorbitances of the Officers of Rome whereas the Attempts of the Bishops may be repress'd by their Superiours to whom one may and ought to appeal Finally he that gives his Friend Arms to defend him can never be suppos'd to give them for his own Destruction The Parliaments cannot pretend that the Protection which the Prelates assembled at Bourges desir'd of the King gives his Officers a Right to oppress their Jurisdiction Nevertheless as Evils are greater in their Progress and in their Periods than in their Beginning the Design of the Parliaments cover'd with divers Pretences for a time began to appear without a Mask in the last Age under King Francis I. who was the first that ever made use of the Name of Appeal in his Ordinances Many knowing the Illegality of that Practice which the Church complains of at present will think perhaps that since it may be abolish'd with Justice it would be proper to do it But I 'm of Opinion that such an Alteration would do more harm than the Evil they would avoid and that nothing but the Abuse of such an Order is prejudicial Whatever Ground the said Practice may have it is certain that when it was first publickly establish'd it was only with a pretence to put a stop to the Encroachments the Ecclesiastical Judges might attempt upon the King 's Royal Jurisdiction In process of time they have not only made use of it against the Transgressors of the Ordinances of the Kingdom which include many matters besides Jurisdiction but they have also extended it to the Infractions of the Holy Canons and of the Decrees of the Church and of the Holy See and finally by excess of abuse to all sorts of Matters in which the Laicks pretend a Lezion of Polity which they maintain only belongs to the King's Officers One might reasonably desire to have the Effect of this Remedy reduc'd to its first Foundation which had no extent beyond Attempts upon the Royal Jurisdiction which is sufficiently regulated by the First Article of the Ordinance of 1539. But to remove all pretence of Lezion from the Officers of the Prince and to hinder them from pretending with any appearance that it is impossible for them to get the Ordinances observ'd by reason of the Enterprizes of the Church I am of Opinion that they may consent to the said Appeals when the Judges shall pronounce directly against the Ordinances which is the only Case in which Charles IX and Henry III. by the 59th Article of the Ordinance of Blois required them to be admitted Provided they be not extended under that pretence to the Transgression of the Canons and Decrees because many Ordinances particularly the Capitularies of Charlemagne often contain the same substance with those of the Church I am sensible that it will be difficult to make so exact an Indiction of the Ordinances to this end but that sometimes there will be abuses in whatever Regulation may be made But it is certain that there is no difficulty in the Will of the King's Officers who shall be employ'd to put his in execution The Order which he will be pleas'd to give them will serve them as a Rule without any trouble The Pretence which the Parliaments use that when Ecclesiastical Judges judge against the Canons and Decrees of which Kings are the Executors and Protectors they have the Power to correct the Abuse of their Sentences is a Pretence so void of all appearance of Justice that it is altogether insupportable Should the whole Church judge against the Canons and Decrees one might say that the King who is the Protector of the same might and ought to maintain them in an extraordinary manner by his own Authority But since when a Judge gives a Sentenee against their Tenor the said Sentence may be revers'd and he corrected by his Superiour the Officers of the Prince cannot without invading the Priestly Office and without a manifest Abuse do that which only belongs to those that are particularly consecrated to GOD And when they do so before the last Sentence of the Church is given their attempt is not only void of Justice but even of all appearance of Justice The Endeavours of the Parliaments also to translate all the Spiritual and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction to the Tribunal of Princes under pretence of Temporal Justice is no less void of Ground and of Appearance And yet there is no Presidial or Judge Royal but will ordain the time of Processions the Hour of High Masses and many other Ceremonies under colour
have bought Places very dear should not be allow'd to sell them again but as it is impossible to make any Settlements of great use for the Publick without their being attended with some Inconveniencies for private Persons the said Inconvenience is not considerable seeing that as they did not buy their Places with an assurance of leave to sell them again like those Officers who pay an Annual Duty to the King they may be depriv'd of the Hopes they had fram'd to themselves without any Injustice And though some private Persons may find themselves griev'd by such an Alteration all the Nobility and the Greatest will find a notable Advantage by it in that whereas they were formerly oblig'd to sell a considerable part of their Estates to get Places which has often ruin'd the best Famiies of the Kingdom there will be no means left to expect them but Merit which will hinder them from ruining their Estate and will oblige them to acquire Vertue which is despis'd in this Age because the Price of all things only consists in Money Moreover there will be so many means to satisfie those who upon the account of any particular Consideration will deserve to be exempted from the general Rule That the Publick will receive the Benefit of the Advantage your Majesty will be pleas'd to procure them and yet such private Persons as might have cause to complain with Justice will receive no prejudice by it As it is impossible to question the Usefulness of these Propositions the Facility to put them in Execution is evident since as abovesaid it only requires a firm and constant Resolution in your Majesty to reap the Benefit of the same and to restore your Houshold to its former Greatness CHAP. VIII Of the PRINCE's Council SECT I. Which shews that the best Prince stands in need of a good Council IT is no small question among Politicians to know Whether a Prince who Governs a State by his own Head is more desirable than he who not confiding so much in his own Abilities relies much on his Council and does nothing without their Advice Whole Volumes might be compil'd of the Reasons which might be alledg'd for and against it But referring this Question to the particular Fact which obliges me to introduce it in this place after having preferr'd the Prince who acts more by his Council than by his own Opinion to him who prefers his own Head to all those of his Counsellors I cannot forbear saying That as the worse Government is that which has no other Spring than the Head of a Prince who being incapable is so presumptuous as to slight all Counsel the best of all is that of which the main Spring is in the Sense of the Soveraign who though capable to Act by Himself has so much Modesty and Judgment that he does nothing without Advice upon this principle That one Eye does not see so well as many Besides that Reason discovers the Solidity of this Decision Truth obliges me to say That Experience has convinc'd me so much of it that I cannot forbear affirming it without doing my self a Violence A Capable Prince is a great Treasure in a State a Skilful Council and such as it ought to be is no less considerable But the Concert of Both together is of an inestimable Value since thereon depends the Felicity of States It is certain that the most happy States are those in which Princes and Counsellors are the Wisest It is also certain That there are few Princes capable to Govern States alone and moreover though there were many they ought not to do it The Almighty Power of GOD his infinite Wisdom and his Providence do not hinder Him from making use in things which he might do by his bare Will of the Ministry of Second Causes and consequently Kings whose Perfections are limitted instead of being infinite would commit a notable Fault in not following his Example But whereas it is not in their power as in GOD's to supply the Defects of those they employ they must be very careful to chuse them as perfect and as accomplish'd as possible can be Many Qualifications are requir'd to make a perfect Counsellor nevertheless they may be reduc'd to Four viz. Capacity Fidelity Courage and Application which includes many others SECT II. Which represents what Capacity is requir'd in a good Counsellor THe Capacity of Counsellors does not require a pedantick Knowledge None can be more dangerous in a State than those who will Govern Kingdoms by the Maxims they find in Books They often ruin them thereby because the Time past has no relation to the present and that the Constitution of Times Places and Persons is different It only requires Goodness Steadiness of Mind Solidity of Judgment true Source of Prudence a reasonable Tincture of Letters a general Knowledge of History and of the present Constitution of all the States of the World and particularly of that in which they are Whereupon two things ought particularly to be consider'd The First That the greatest Wits are more dangerous than useful in the Management of Affairs unless they have a great deal more Lead than Quicksilver they are no ways fit for the State Some are fertile in Inventions and abounding in Thoughts but so variable in their Designs that those of the Morning and of the Evening are never alike and have so little connexity and choice in their Resolutions that they alter the good as well as the ill ones and never remain constant in any I may say with truth as knowing it by Experience that the Levity of such Men is no less dangerous in the Administration of Publick Affairs than the Malice of many others Much is to be dreaded from Minds whose Vivacity is accompanied with little Judgment and tho' those who excell in the Judicious part should not have a great reach yet they might be useful to States The Second Remark to be made on this Subject is That nothing can be more dangerous in a State than to give a great Authority to certain Men who have not Sense enough to Govern themselves and yet think they have too much to stand in need of any body's They are neither capable to take a good Counsel from their own Head nor to follow the Advice of those who are capable to direct them and thus they commit gross Faults Presumption is one of the greatest Vices a Man can be guilty of in publick Employments and if Humility is not requir'd in those who are design'd for the Conduct of States yet Modesty is absolutely necessary since it is most certain that those who have the greatest Parts are sometimes the least capable to admit Society and Counsel Qualifications without which even those to whom Nature has given most Knowledge are not fit for Government Without Modesty Men of great Parts are so wedded to their own Opinions that they condemn all others though better and the Pride of their natural Constitution being join'd to their Authority
absolutely necessary for the Conduct of States IT is a common but a very true saying which has ever been in the Mouths and Minds of Men that Punishments and Rewards are the two most considerable points for the Conduct of a Kingdom It is most certain that tho' no other Principle be us'd in the Government of States but that of being inflexible in Chastising those who act against them and Religious in rewarding those who procure them any notable advantage They cannot be Govern'd amiss since all Men may be kept within the bounds of their Duty either by Fear or Hope I place Punishment before Reward because that if there were a necessity to be depriv'd of one of them one might better dispense with the last than the first As good is to be imbrac'd for its own sake there is no Reward due to those who perform it taking it in the strictest Sence But as there is no crime which does not violate that to which Men are oblig'd there are none but what require the Punishment which is due to disobedience and that obligation is so strict that in many occasions a fault cannot be left unpunished without committing a new one I speak of faults which affect the State and are committed with premeditation and not of many others which happen by chance and by misfortune for which Princes may and ought to use Indulgence Tho' to Pardon in such cases is a laudable thing not to Punish a considerable Fault the impunity of which opens a door to Licenciousness is a criminal omision Theologians allow it as well as Politicians and all agree that on certain occasions in which the Prince would be to blame not to Pardon those who are intrusted with the Government of the Publick they would also be inexcusable if instead of a severe Punishment they should use Lenity Experience teaching those who have had a long practice of the World that Men easily lose the remembrance of Favours and that when they are loaden with them the desire of increasing them often makes them Ambitious and Ingrateful together shows us also that Punishment is a more certain way to keep Men within the bounds of their Duty since they are not so soon forgotten by reason that they make a stronger impression on the sences of most Men than Reason which has but little power over many To be severe towards Private Men who make it their Pride to despise the Laws and Ordinances of a State is to be kind to the Publick And the greatest crime one can be guilty of against the Interest of the Publick is to be indulgent towards those who violate them Among many Combinations Factions and Seditions that have been made in my time in this Kingdom I have never observ'd that Impunity ever inclin'd any one naturally to correct his evil Inclination But on the contrary that they return'd to their old Vomit and often with more success the second than the first time The Indulgency hitherto practis'd in this Kingdom has often reduc'd it to very great and very deplorable Exremities Faults not being Punish'd every Man has made a Trade of his Place and without regarding what he was oblig'd to do to discharge his Trust worthily he only consider'd what he could do to get the more by it If the Ancients have been of opinion that it was dangerous to live under a Prince who will remit nothing of the Rigor of Right they have also observ'd that it was more dangerous to live in a State in which Impunity opens a door to all sorts of Licenciousness Some Princes or Magistrates will be afraid of being faulty by too much Rigor who would be accountable to God and must needs be blam'd by all Wise Men unless they exerted that which is prescrib'd by the Laws I have often represented it to your Majesty and it is my humble Petition still that you would be pleas'd to remember it carefully by reason that as there are Princes who want to be persuaded from Severity to avoid Cruelty to which they are naturally inclin'd your Majesty wants to be diverted from a false Clemency more dangerous than Cruelty it self since Impunity obliges to use a great deal in the end which can only be prevented by Punishment The Rod which is the Emblem of Justice must never be useless I own at the same time that it ought not be so much accompany'd with Rigor as to be destitute of Goodness but that last qualification does not consist in the Indulgency which authorizes disorders which tho never so inconsiderable are often so prejudicial to the State that they may prove it's ruin If any are so ill advis'd in this Kingdom as to condemn the severity which is necessary in States because it has not been practis'd hitherto let them only open their Eyes and they will find that Impunity has been too common in it hitherto and the only cause that Order and Rule have not been observ'd and that the Continuation of Disorders obliges to have recourse to the utmost Extremities to put a stop to them The only Source of all the Parties that have been form'd heretofore against Kings has been their over much Indulgence Finally those who are acquainted with our History cannot be ignorant of this Truth of which I produce a Testimony which is the less to be suspected in this case because it is taken from the Mouth of our Enemies which almost in all other occasions would make it suspicious Cardinal Sapata a Man of good Sence meeting Baraut and Bautru in the King his Master's Antichamber a quarter of an hour after their having receiv'd the News of the Duke de Montmorency's Execution put this question to them Which was the chief cause of that Duke's death Bautru answer'd immediately according to his fiery temper in Spanish Sus falsas No reply'd the Cardinal Pero la Clemensia de lors Royes antepassados which was as much as to say that the Punishment of the said Duke was more to be imputed to the faults the King's Predecessors had committed than to his own In Crimes of State it is absolutely necessary to banish Pity and to despise the Complaints of persons concern'd and the discourse of an ignorant Multitude who sometimes blame what is most useful to them and often absolutely necessary Christians ought to bury the remembrance of private Injuries but Magistrates are oblig'd not to forget those which concern the Publick and indeed to leave themunpunish'd is rather to begin them anew than to pardon and remit them There are many whose ignorance is so stupid as to imagin that a new Prohibition is a sufficient remedy to any Evil but they are so much in the wrong that I may affirm with Truth that new Laws are not so much a remedy for the disorders of States as Testimonies of their Illness and certain proofs of the weakness of the Government by reason that had th' antient Laws been put in execution there would be no necessity to revive them nor
represent freely to Princes to what degree they are answerable before God when they give Places of great Trust out of pure favour which can never be possessed by mean Capacitys without prejudice to the State It is on the said Occasion we are oblidg'd to show that tho we do not absolutely Condemn particular Affections which have no other foundation but that natural Inclination which Men have rather for one Person than for another we cannot excuse Princes who suffer themselves to be prevail'd upon so far as to give those they Love thus Places in the administration of which they show themselves as prejudicial to the State as useful to themselves Those who have the happiness to Injoy the favour of Princes by the force of their Inclination must not be depriv'd of receiving Advantages from them tho they have not all the Qualifications requir'd to make them worthy of the same and the Public can not complain of it with Reason unless they are Immoderate But it is a sinister Omen for a Prince when he who is the most Considerable for his Interest is not the most consider'd by his Favour and States are never in a worse Condition than when the Inclinations the Prince has for some particular Persons prevail before the services of those that are more useful to the Public In such a Case neither the Esteem of the Soveraign nor the Affection one has for him nor the hope of reward do any longer excite Virtue Men remain on the contrary in an Indifference of Good and Evil and Envy and jealousie or Spite Induce all Men to neglect their Duty because that in performing it they have no prospect of reward A Prince who desires to be belov'd by his Subjects must fill up all the Places of Trust and the first Dignitys of his State with Persons so much esteem'd by every one that the Cause of his Choice may be found in their merit Such Men must be carefully sought after throughout the State and not receiv'd by importunities or chosen in the Croud of those who press most about Kings and about their Favourites If Favour has no hand in Elections and Merit be the Sole foundation of them besides that the State will be well serv'd Princes will avoid a great deal of Ingratitude which is often met with in certain Men who are the less grateful for the favours they receive in that they least deserve them It being most certain that the same Qualifications which render Men worthy of favours are the same which make them Capable and desirous to acknowledg them Many have good sentiments in the moment you Oblige them but the Constitution of their Nature sways them soon after and they easily forget what they owe others because they only love themselves and as Fire converts all things into its own substance they only consider Public Interests to convert them to their one advantage and equaly despise those who do them Good and the States in which they receive it Favour may innocently be allow'd in some things but a Kingdom is in a sad Case when the Throne of that false Goddess is raised above Reason Merit should always turn the Scale and when Justice is on our side favour cannot prevail without Injustice Favourites are the more dangerous in that those who are raised by Fortune seldom consult Reason and whereas it seldom favours their designs it proves commonly Ineffectual to stop the Course of those they form to the prejudice of the State In my opinion nothing is more likely to Ruin the most flourishing Kingdom in the World than the Apetite of such Men or the inordinate Passions of a Woman when a Prince is possessed by them I am the bolder in advancing this Proposition because there are no Remedies against those Evils but such as depend altogether on Chance and Time which often suffering the Sick to dye without any assistance must be look'd upon as the worst Physician in the World As the greatest Light in Nature cannot make the blind perceive one glimpse of their way so there is no Ray capable to unseal the Eyes of a Prince when they are seal'd by Favour and Passion Those whose Eyes are blinded can never make good Choices unless by Chance and therefore since the welfare of the State requires them ever to be made with Reason it also requires that Princes should not be possessed by Persons who deprive them of the Light they stand in need of to see the Objects which are put before their Eyes When the Hearts of Princes are ingag'd by such means it is almost Useless to do well because the Craft of those who are in possession of their Affections tarnish the lustre of the purest Actions and make the most signal Services pass for Offences Many Princes have undone themselves by preferring their particular Affection to Public Interest Such misfortunes have befallen some by the unruly Passions they have had for Women Some are fallen into the like Inconveniences by such a simple blind Passion they have had for their Favorites that in order to raise their Fortune they have ruin'd their own There have been others who having no natural Inclination for any thing have nevertheless been sway'd with so much Violence in favour of some particular Persons that they have occasion'd their Ruin Men perhaps will wonder at this Proposition which is nevertheless as True as it is easy to be conceiv'd and if Men consider that such Motions are distempers to the Minds that are influenc'd by them and that as the Cause of Feavours is the Corruption of Humors one may also say That those sorts of Violent Affections are rather Grounded on the defect of the Person in which we find them than on the Merit of those who receive the Effect and Advantage of them Such Evils commonly carry their Remedy along with them in that being Violent they are not lasting but when they continue they often occasion Death as well as the Feavers of that Kind or a want of health which is seldom repair'd afterwards The wisest Princes have avoided those divers kinds of Evils in making Reason the guide of all their Affections Many have cur'd themselves of them after having found to their Cost that unless they did it their Ruin was Inevitable To return precisely to the Point of the Question proposed in this Chapter the scope of which is to show how Important it is to discern those who are the fittest for Employments I will conclude it saying That since Interest is that which makes Men guilty of Male-adminnistration in the Places that are committed to them Ecclesiasticks are often to be preferr'd to many others in what relates to Places of great Trust Not that they are less subject to their own Interest but because they have a great deal less self Interest than other Men since that having neither Wives nor Children they are free from the Bonds which ingage Men most CHAP. VIII Of the Evil which Flatterers Detractors and Intriguers
pag. 171 Sect. I. Which sheâ—â—s that the best Prince stands in need of a good Council ib. Sect. II. Which represents what Capacity is requir'd in a good Counsellor pag. 173. Sect. III. Which represents the Integrity that is requir'd in a good Counsellor pag. 175. Sect. IV. Which represents what Courage and Foree is requir'd in a Counsellor of State pag. 181. Sect. V. Which represents what Application is requir'd in Counsellors of State pag. 184. Sect. VI. Which represents the Number of Counsellors of State that is requisite and that one among them ought to have the Superiour Authority pag. 191. Sect. VII Which represents what the King's Behaviour is to be towards his Counsellors and shews that in order to be well serv'd the best Expedient he can take is to use them well pag. 195. The second PART Chap. I. THe first Foundation of the Happiness of a State is the Establishment of the Reign of God pag. 2. Chap. II. Reason must be the Rule and Conduct of a State pag. 5. Chap. III. Which shows that Public Interest should be the only End of those who govern States or at least that it ought to be preferr'd to particular Advantages pag. 9. Chap. IV. How much Foresight is necessary for the Government of a State pag. 12. Chap. V. Punishment and Reward are two Points absolutely necessary for the Conduct of States pag. 16. Chap. VI. A Continual Negotiation contributes much towards the good success of Affairs pag. 24. Chap. VII One of the greatest Advantages that can be procur'd to a State is to give every one an Employment suitable to his Genius and Capacity pag. 32. Chap. VIII Of the Evil which Flatterers Detractors and Intriguers commonly occasion in States and how necessary it is to remove them from Kings and to banish them from their Courts pag. 38. Chap. IX Which Treats of the Power of the Prince and is divided in to Eight Sections pag. 45. Sect. I. The Prince must be Powerful to be Respected by his Subjects and by strangers pag. 45. Sect. II. The Prince must be powerful by his Reputation and what is necessary to that End pag. 46. Sect. III. The Prince must be Powerful by the force of his Frontiers pag. 48. Sect. IV. Of the Power a State ought to have by its Land-Forces This Section has several Subdivisions upon the account of the abundance of matter it contains which will be specify'd in the Margin pag. 51. Sect. V. Of Natural Power pag. 80. Sect. VI. Which Treats of Trade as a dependency of the Power of the Sea and specifies those which are most Convenient pag. 92. Sect. VII Which shews that Gold and Silver are one of the Principal and most necessary supporters of the State declares the means to make this Kingdom Powerful in that kind shows the revenue of the same at present and how it may be improv'd for the Future in discharging the People of three parts in four of the Burthen which overwhelms them at this Time pag. 140. Sect. VIII VVhich shews in few words that the uâ—most point of the Power of Princes must consist in the Possession of their Subjects Hearts pag. 132. Chap. X. Which concludes this Work in showing that whatever is contain'd in it will prove ineffectual unless the Princes and their Ministers are so mindful of the Government of the State as to omit nothing which their Trust obliges them to and not to abuse their Power pag. 133. THE END * Saxony first abandon'd the King of Sweden Brandenburg the Landgrave of Hesse several Hans Towns Wittemberg Parma and Mantua * The Judges Royal had already begun a little to affect the Cognisance of what only belongs to the Church under pretence of the possission of Benefices of which the Bull of Pope Martin given in the Year 1439. attributed the Cognisance to them * That first Regulation never had the Name End or Effect of Appeals * Ordinances of â—539 †The Word has its Original from the Practice of Attornics and Advocates who according to the Order of applying themselves before the Parliament by way of Appeal gave the same Name to the recourse Ecclesiasticks had there * Regulation of Church-Affairs * The like Remedy was practis'd 15 Years after the Pragmatical Sanction to stop the course of the Secular Judges Vsurpations over the Ecclesiastical furisdiction it was ordain'd That those who had a mind to get Letters out of the Chancery to oppose the Resâ—ripts and Letters of the Popes should â—â— oblig'd to quote evidently the means by which they did pretend to justifie that the Pragmatical Sanction was infring'd †Fifty Years ago this distinction of Priviledg'd Cases and of Common Trespasses was unknown to the Church Common Trespasses are all the Faults the Cognizance whereof belongs to the Ecclesiastical Tribunal * Agreement made between King Francis tâ—â— 1. and Pope Leo the 10. about Benefices * By Letters Patent of 1453. Charles the 7th granted that favour to the Holy Chappel injâ—â—ad of the Gift Charles the â—â—â— had made to them of the remainder of all the â—ccounts deliver'd in the Chamber which he desir'd to be employ'd for the Reparation both of the Palace and of the Holy Chappel * By the Edict of â—ebr 1569. †The Bishop du Bellay * The Deed begins with these words Dominus Rex †The Ordinance Dom Episcopus a â—cujus Episcopaâ—â—â— ubi Rex habet Regaâ—â—â—â— Philip the 4th in his Philippines of the Year 130â— uses these words Io â—â—quibus Ecclesâ—â— Regâ—â— Philip the 6th in his Ordinance of the Year 1334. speaks thus In the Bishopricks in which we have a Regalia Lewis the 12th in his Ordinance of 1499. cited by the first President Le Maitre We have and do forbid all our Officers in the Archbishopricks Bishopricks Abbies and other Benefices in which we have no Right of Regalia or of Guard to establish any there on pain of being punish'd as guilty of Sacrilege Pasquier in the 3d Book of Enquiries chap. 13. The late King Henry the 4th by his Edict of the Year 1606. Art 17. We only design to enjoy the Rights of the Regalia as our Predecessors and our selves have done heretofore without extending the same to the Prejudice of the Churches that are exempted from it And that good Prince believing that the Parliament of Paris would judge to the contrary suspended all the Causes about the Regalia for a year by his Letters Patent of the 6th of Octob. 1609. The King now Reigning having inherited his Piety as well as his Kingdom declares by the Ordinance of 1629. Art 16. That he only designs to enjoy the Regalia as it has been done for the time past And the Clergy having complain'd that those Terms were not express enough H. M. order'd his Commissioners to make this Answer That the Ordinance being refer'd to that of 1606. those Terms were sufficient to satisfie the World that he did not desire to enjoy the Regalia in those