at a great Expence and that it riseth with much pains and sweat to the Felicity it ought t' Enjoy and is not far from itâ— But as the last slâ—ps of a long Journey are the weariest and most painfull And as the last drops of Potions give the greavest distaste to the sick persons that take them so the Remainder of â—â—â—ill Time which France is to bear and the last breathings the War yields Lay the greatest Weight and Complâ—ats the Wearinâ—ss and Fainting where with she Labours but besides the Brevity of Time it hath to suffer and the fait hopes for the future she ought to Consider as hath been already observed in another place That the past Evill was necessary and that the War which hath â—asted so many years is not of the Cholâ—e of â—â—iclination of the Prince or of his Ministers of State but an they table effect of some Malignant Constellation which affects Christendome or to speak to the Height of our Reason and according t' Experience A fire which th' Enemies of this Staâ—e havâ— voluntarily kindsed and which the King and his Ministers of Staâ—â— what Caâ—â—â—nd Dexterity soover was used could not â—â—stinguish This I will now without any figure of 〈◊〉 bâ—â—orique and Elegant 〈◊〉 sâ—uation discover by a brief and faithfull Relation of what hath passed since the peace of Moâ—tpellion and the Return of the Queen Mother to th' Affalts even to this present Conjuncture In another place I speak of the true and affected Causes of the breach of the Bâ—ace which was attended by the War th' English made in cur Islands and with the third Time of taking up of Armes by th' Hugonots since the Kings Reign The Ministers of State who had neither made not broken that Peace as th' Hugonots pretended and it may be untruly which I will not here discover were obliged to prevent th' Affronts that might b' offered to the state and t' oppose th'Evill others had drawn upon it and whereof they had laid the foundations and sowed the seeds when they had overcome that great storm and that th' Island of Rhé became the Sepulchre of them who would have made it the Seat of their new Domination projected in France The King conceived that the fatal Instant was come wherein the Nest of the Rebellion was to be beaten down and Rochelle the Sanctuary of the discontented Persons What the greatness of that Siege was and what an Incredible Wonder the success will make appear to Posterity 'T is unnecessary to explain it here since no person is ignorant of the proceedings and may Judge of them Whilst that great Affair was in dispute and that all Europe was exercised in th' Expectation of th' Event of so high an Enterprize The Spaniards to make use of th' Occasion made another Attempt upon the States of the Duke of Mantoua and put themselves into a posture to strip him of his New Succession for no other Reason but that it was Convenient for them and that the Duke was not Acceptable to them because he was a French-man How much France was offended with this Assault and what a shamefull Reflection it made upon it in the Ruine of a Prince stript to the shirt for their sake 'T is easie to Comprehend Extreme Remedies nevertheless were not used to revenge the publique Injuries And as before â—ouquingans preparations for Sea and th' Expedition of th' English to th'Island of Rhé an Extraordinary Ambassadour was sent in t ' England to divert the breath was intended And before Engagement in the War of Italy and to pass the Mountains for the relief of Montferral The King had recourse to the Ways of Treaty and sent Sir of Boutru t'offer such Civil and reasonable Conditions of Accommodation that the Spaniards could pretend to Nothing but the Victory of more Advantage This way falling and the Reducement of Rochelle upon whose subsistence the principal Hopes of the good Success of their Armes had been raised having given Means to the King to pass th' Alpes and t 'had on to the Relief of Cazal upon its last breathly He made th' Enemies retire upon a Treaty that left Moitsertan for that time safe and hindred the State of Milan to change it the Master of it That so favourable and obiliging a Treaty should not give an End to that War And that the Spaniards would not observe it so long as they ought to have done to prepare for a new Assault and to return to the List from whence they were come with some loss even of their Reputation but with th' Entire Conservation of what they might have losâ— in Italy was Hard of Belief They behaved themselves nevertheless in that Manner and to pay the Câ—â—tesie done them or to speak according to their sense to revenge th' Affront they had received an fall They caused a part of th' Emperours best Troops to march from Germany into Italy and sent the Marquis of Spinola thither from Spain with much Money and great Forces to renew the Quarrel which we thought had been ended And to deprive us of any thoughts of th' Affairs of the Duke of Mantoua and to force our Armies the second time to pass th' Alpes They had prepared two powerfull Irruptions against France The one in Champaigna by Walsthein to whom the present Duke Charls of Lorrain gave passages through his Countrey and furnisht Victuals for his Army And th' other in Languedoc by the Duke of Feria who drew not thither either for want of Forces or by Reason that Walsthein changed his march towards Ratisbone t' allay the storm that broke upon his head in that Dyeâ— Such was the Spaniards proceedings and the Design they hatched against France whilst we thought only of Composing the differences they had with the Duke of Mantoua in a friendly Manner and caused Endeavours to 〈◊〉 used in Italy and in Germany to withdraw the Spaniards with sweetness from that prejudice whereinto they had Cast the Duke without offence given by him And that the Sir of Sabran was sent to Vienna to make Plausible and Just proffers That undoubtedly th' Emperour had Accepted them if he had been Master of his Desires And if thâ— Spaniards who are predominant in his Counsels had not had the spirit so full fraught with the Thoughts of War that there was no room left for a Thought of Peace nor a Motion which tasted not of Passion and Violence Th' Armes then of th' Empire of Spain and of Savoy Conjoyned against us and against our Allies had in the beginning and in the Sequel of that War Considerable successes Mantoua was lost by surprize and Caâ—ull th' onely Piece saved from the Ruine of the Dukes Fortune and the last Anchor of the safety of Italy was in danger to be lost by Siege But it was relieved by a Miracle and there was made a kind of Accommodation which skinned th' Evil rather than healed it And Fenâ—a who succeeded to Saint Croix in the Government of
Letters in the year 1623. which the Duke of Baviere also Confirmed by his Letters and signified the King He understood that it was only for his Life that his House should Enjoy th' Electoral Dignity and that h' had Accepted it upon Condition of Return to th' House from whence it was taken and should be the Privilege of his Person and not th' Inheritance of his Heirs It was th' Allay that was alwaies Presented to the King of England and wherewith he Suffered himself alwaies to be Surprized And his Inclination naturally disposed to the Sweetness of Rest and to the Delicacies of Peace was Easily diverted by that shew which was made of giving him Content from the Thoughts of Warr which were not Natural to him In th' Expectation of th' Effects of those hopes he finished his Life which from time to time were renewed unto him And th' Earl of Gondemar who had seized upon the Kings Understanding and taken Soveraign Possession of it to Govern him absolutely knew how to represent th' Execution of that Affair so infallible as not only t' Hinder the King from Arming against the Usurpators of his Son-in-Laws Lands but Enclined him also to Lend Ships to his Master to secure against th' Hollanders the Spanish Fleets which Sailed from th' Indies That business hath ever since been in the same Condition on th' Emperours part and stood alwaies floting in Irresolution and Incertitude till the Accident of Northlinghen which was fatal to the Swedes The grearest part of the Princes and free Towns of th' Empire fell from their Confederation and Conspired at Prague with th' House of Austria against the German Liberty Th' Emperour High and Proud with his prodigious Success and believing himself Master of Affairs and Fortune forgetting the Promises he had so Solemnly made to the Late King of England and the Faith h' had so often given him in Favour of his Son-in-Law though nothing had passed against him on that Princes occasion nor by the Means of his Children but a Sad and Lamentable Progress of Calamity and of Disgraces declared by his own Authority though he could not Lawfully do it but by th' Authority of a Lawfull Dyet and all Parties heard declared I say Th' Electorate duely Translated to the Duke of Bavaria and to his Heirs and that it could not Devolve t' any other Family till his was Extinguished Moreover He declared th' Opposition made by the Duke of Newbourge as Prince of the Palatine Family to be Void and that he was not to b' admitted upon his Claim And that this was done upon great and important Considerations known t' his Imperial Majesty That he Maintained and Confirmed in the Partition and Possession of the Palatinate them Wh ' had taken it in his Name and by his Authority with Respect to b' had to the Count Palatines and to the Requests of Princes who should Intercede for them and under such base and shamefull Conditions That he knew well they would never b' Accepted But remembring the Bloody affront done to the present King of England and the Counterpoise that he might bring to the Ballance where the Victory hung betwixt two Parties if he should declare for his Enemy Remembring also the Damages the Low-Country-men would receive in the Cessation of the Recruits th' English might bring them And other Consequences that might arise from th' Hatred of a Prince provoked to Revenge by frequent disdains offered unto him and by th' Extreme injuries done t' his Nephews He re-assumed the Foxes skinn which h' had put off at the Treaty of Prague and Exercised the first Art wherewith h' had so often play'd his Game with the Father t' abuse the Son and to suspend the Resolution he might take to seek by Force what had been denied t' his Intercession and Endeavours He made shew then of Entertaining the profers of Accommodation which were made to Him He received the King of Englands Message for that purpose and seemed to desire a Solemn Embassage t' yield with the greater Honour and to give the more Glory to the Treaty he would Conclude But th' Journey of th' Earl of Arundel The several Distastâ—rs which he there received and the Dissatisfaction which at last he brought back made Clearly manifest to the World the Truth of th' Emperours Intentions and that it was a studied Artifice to gain Time and to try the Fortune of Warr with the more Advantage having to do with the fewer Enemies I speak not of what hapned to the last Ambassadour that was sent from England nor of the success of his Embassy which hath not given the Lye to the former 'T is a matter too new and present to b' unknown by any Person And this may be said in favour of th' House of Austria That it being necessary the Treaty to be Concluded should be debated by the King and Parliament of the Kingdome The time was not proper for it whilst the King and his Parliament were divided That truly is not without Reason and plausible Pretence but the secret of th' Affairs is That so long as the Schism shall last and the Fire which th' English have kindled in the midst of their Country be maintained in Heat and Force The King of Hungary and they of his Party have no Cause to fear their Arms nor t' hasten a Treaty And if it b' Expedient that they treat in Earnest it may be time enough when th' English have reassumed their former Union and the design of restoring the Palatines House and re-establishing of the Princes th' Emperour and his Adherents had stripped to their Shirts That whilst they run th' Hazard of the Warr either they may gain so Considerable Successes and their Power may Encrease so Plentifully That when England shall enter into the League which all sorts of Reasons d'invite it to do and to Joyn his Forces with the Forces of the Confederates They would have nevertheless Cause t' hope for Victory and should not b' obliged to part with that Willingly which they could not take from them by Force These Prejudications which are Offered accompanied with many others shall be set down in the Third Part may suffice to make it appear to our Confederates what Foundation they can raise upon the Duration of particular Treaties to which th' House of Austria doth press and sollicit them And the Swedes above all Persons whom they would debosh from the Confederation of France and against whose Faith they raise their strongest Batteries and Arm their subtilest Artifices are too Dextrous to b' ignorant of the constant Resolution and immoveable Will of those Princes of that House not to Suffer them having advanced their Power so far into Germany to take deep Root there or that so Powerfull a Member and of so Warlike a Nation should b' adjoyned to th' Empire I believe also that they doubt not as to what respects the Duration and Subsistence of the particular Treaty they should have made with
Lands liable to be taken at all hours for a Soveraignty above price and a fortress almost Impregnable And the great pressures they have since made and th' Extream Heat they have since expressed to put a value upon the pretences of the Princess of Stigliana to Sabionere was not to leave her the free disposition of that place But to keep it under her Name and to make it serve as a Bridle and as a Citadelle to three or four Neighbour-states in the midst whereof 't is Inclosed Did they not also in a strange Manner protect the Prince of Monaco ' gainst the pretensions and Designs of the Genoese to that Principality And in What did that protection at last Terminate but in an heavy and severe yoak which oppressed him and compelled him to shake it off to cast himself into th' Arms of a more just power and more humane domination Such and the like Examples which I could bring in great Number make a sufficient Discovery of the Genius of that Nation and of the boundless Avarice which transports them openly to Ceize upon other Mens Lards or with subtilty to Enter upon them by a breach or postern gate Seventh Discourse The second Rule which a Prince ought t' observe in Relieving of his Friends THat notwithstanding what hath been said A Prince that undertakes a War for the Love of his Neighbour may Lawfully pretend t' a Reembursement of part of his Charges If the person whom he relieves hath sufficient Means and may take Cautionary Towns for the security of his Disbursements or for the Retrait of his Troops or for Engagement of the Faith and Constancy of his Neighbour For truly 't is very just That who spares not his own blood nor the life of his subjects to secure his friend from servitude should find Him liberal of the goods and substance of his subjects to preserve in some sort his Protector from dammage and pay willingly some of the Charges for the Remedies that save his Life My meaning is in Case it may Conveniently be done and that th' estate relieved hath not been so much plundred and emptied of victuals and Riches that little remains for life and sustenance and that the least Emanation would serve to make it yield up the Ghost and force it to th' Extremity of th' Evil against which it took up Arms Otherwise th' Aid given Would not be so much a civil Charity as the Supercery of a Robber and of a Pyrate And by killing the sick person to draw away his disease When Matters are in that Condition a Prince ought to Content himself with the glory that shall rebound upon his Name and Conduct in protecting his Neighbour from oppression and with the benefits that redound to his states in breaking the designs and hindring the growth of an Ambitious Master wh ' having devoured the Meaner would infallibly thrust at the greater persons and respects his first victories but as Means and bridges to pass hikm over to new Conquests I say the same and for the same Reasons of those States that have but one fortress wherein all their safety Consists and all their hopes It may be received and kept till th' End of the War as a bridle and a security for the faith of him to whom the Relief is given but not to be râ—teined after the Peace for the Charges have been laid out to Conserve and hold it for that were t' exact the life of a Man for having furnished him with Victuals and speaking generally To seek th' End for the price and Reward of the Means which have been Contributed to produce it And the Prince ought to secure t' his power the Land and goods of his friends Subjects Whereof he is not Proprietary but the Dispensor and Steward and is bound to husband them with more Circumspection and retention than his own Lands and Goods 'T is then an Act of singular prudence and a Maxim of subtle policy to take hold of some important place for security of the Moneys that shall be Lent and advanced for th' Affairs of Allyes or Friends The Venetians have often practised this prudence and many good pawns have remained in their hands for Want of Redemption and and th' Owners have been at last Constrained to pass unto them the Revenue and Inheritance So did Queen Elizabeth of England when after the Defection of th' Hollanders from their Obedience to Spain she relieved them with Money and Men and received Flushing Brill and Ramachin in deposite till she should be reembursed of the moneys lent them which did not happen till the Reign of King James her successor 'T is to b' ignorant of King-Craft and t' offend shamefully against th' Art of Reigning not to demand places for the Retreit of his Troops in case of Disgraces and to want an Haven for Harbout when the Wind is Contrary The Necessity of this is Entire and inevitable to retain by that Bond and hold with that Anchor the Will of them who are relieved lest they Change and faulter after Engagement and leave us to the mercy of Winds and Waves and Accept without our Consent Advantagious Conditions that may be offered them in fear of our Armes and to disingage them from our Allyance The French have often struck against this rock for want of Care and have fallen into these Ambushes for want of foresight It cannot be believed how often their facility and excessive freeness have drawn infidelities and Defection from them who did not seek our Protection or implore our Aid but t' agree with their Enemies to greater advantage and to make at our charges and under the shadow of our Armes a more Honourable peace This Unhappiness happened twice to Henry the second and Octavus Duke of Parma whose defence the King undertook against th' Emperour and the Pope who would have reduced the Duke to his shirt made his peace with them without his Majesties knowledge and participation And in the League which Henry made with th' Elector Maurice and th' other Confederates of Germany against Charls the fifth The King having intelligence of their Treaty of Accommodation and seen Evidences thereof which th' Elector contrived t' our Disadvantage was compelled to decline the faults he had begun in accepting of Ostages instead of Places and to ceize upon the City of Mets with the consent of the Bishop and people as shall be discovered in the Treaty of Monarchy for his security against the Germans who came to fall upon him and to stop the Torrent was ready t' over-flow his Kingdome The present Elector of Saxe a most Worthy Branch of Maurices Blood and a true sprout of such a stock did not degenerate from the faith of his Parent For hee did not onely imitate by the peace of Prague the supercery that was done us at the peace of Passau but the Coppy surpassed th' Original and without finding such advantagious Conditions as th' others were He did not onely abandon the two
it did not begin to settle and draw a free Air but under the protection of Charls the Seventh and received not its entire Consistency and its perfect Establishment but from the Alliance it made with Lewis the Eleventh When the Flemings had resolved to shake off the yoke of Spain and t' adore no longer an ill manag'd Power though it was Lawful They had not held out long if Neighbour Powers had not interessed themselves in their Contests and if several Reliefs had not been drawn unto them from Germany France and England I add to what hath been above-said That when in the time of our Fathers Heresie and Ambition united against Soveraign Power and that from these Two Springs of Rebellion a Party did arise which left to our Kings but a part of their Authority and to this Kingdom but a part of their Forces Though this Party was animated by them of the Blood of our Kings and guided by one of th' ablest Commanders of his time Prince of Condé and Chastillon Admiral of France Though it had all th' Allurements that Novelty gives t'Error and all the Zeal which accompanies the Confederates of growing Sects Though th' Union amongst the Memberâ— could not be greater nor th' Accord of their Wills more Universal 'T is nevertheless certain That with such Advantages and such favourable Encounters they had not maintained themselves as they did nor had made so deep foundations in the State nor stretched so far its Branches â—f Forein Forces had not supported them and if it had not been often relieved by English Gold and German Forces For the Decay and Ruine of that Party was dated effectively from the driness of the Springs which had furnished it with powerful Contributions and that the Veins which had brought it Blood and Life were obstructed and no longer open When Germany fell into an Inability and England became Fearful or Weak and Spain Slow or Irresolute to relieve it Thence it ariseth That the People who study Changes and dispose themselves for bold and violent Resolutions never undertake them but upon some Forein Inspiration accompanied with promises of great Reliefs or in such a Conjuncture of Time and Affairs as makes out unto them some Haven which may put them in safety and secure them in time of Tempest But to speak of present things and of the Rising of the Catalans There 's no question but that th' had never undertaken it what pretence soever they had which is not here to be examined but by favour of their present Conjuncture And though it was contrived long before and the whole matter prepared whereof it was then formed yet it had not issued from the Womb of its Causes not taken Light if th' Arms of France had not been Triumphant in all places If those of Spain had not been unfortunate in Flanders and in Italy and if the Reputation of th' Imperialists had not been abated in Germany In the third place I say That in the Matter of the People's Emotions nothing of certainty can be promised nor of Knowledge of the Duration till they have treated with the Prince from whom they Implored Aid and have given him Pledges of their Faith to content And that there 's no greater or surer Pledge than in giving up themselves Till then he may have cause to doubt that the shew he shall make to protect them will serve onely to raise Jealousie in the Prince whose Subjects they are and provoke him the more to Turn all manner of Wheels and Employ all possible Inventions to reduce them to their Duty and to disolve th' Union that is not well assured Till then I say he will have just cause to distrust an Accommodation with their Prince And lest shaken betwixt th' Apprehensions of the Troubles and Miseries that attend the Victory if it should remain to their Prince and th'offers not onely of Impunity but also of Recompence wherewith h'endeavours to blind them They take th' occasion to return to his favour It being the nature of the People to change readily their passion As to return willingly to a more peaceable condition and to a gentler state than theirs may appear to them in their Revolt That being so there would not be less fear of Evil in their Accommodation than hopes of Good in their Disorder Their Repentance might prove as fatal to him as their Sin favourable and they would b' obliged to purge at his Charges the fault they had committed for the not finishing of it and to turn against him the Forces they had prepared against their Prince That if they resolve not t' undertake by Halfs what otherwise they ought not t' have Begun If they resist th'Offers and the Threatnings of their first Prince and take them as it may be they are for the Snares he lays and for th'Ambushes he sets for them If they perswade themselves That he will not believe himself bound to keep that to them which he had promised with all Ill-will and they had Forced from him nor t' observe the Faith h 'had given them since that he may say he would not break it but for their good and t'hinder them another time to become Rebells But if they pesevere in the desire of shaking off the Yoke wherewith they may believe themselves in time oppressed and t'implore th' Aid and Protection of another Prince There are some Considerations to be had before He consents to their Relief At first sight It seems to be a thing of an ill savour and of a dangerous Example amongst Princes That a Prince should oblige himself by Treaty to defend and protect another Princes Subjects in Rebellion That 't is to wound a Right wherein all Sovereigns are interessed in the Consequence and give Heart to Rebellion to b' in all places more busie and bold than it would be if it did believe it self destitute of Forein Aid and of Auxiliary Forces 'T is not truly to be denied but that generally taken 't is so And it happens not often that Princes declare themselves publickly in favour of the Subjects of other Princes nor that they relieve them openly and with flying Colours When they do it 't is ordinarily done without noise and as it were in private 'T is like hiding th' Arm after the Stone is thrown 'T is either in furnishing of Money secretly as Philip the Second did to the Chiefs of the League during the life of Henry the Third or in Licensing of Troops and permitting them to pass to the Rebel Party as the Venetians did in the War of the Barons of Naples against th' old Ferdinand and the Duke of Calabria his son as it hath been observed in another place In this a Distinction is to b' used which will clear this Doubt and reconcile what may seem to b'opposite and contrary 'T is that neither the Law of Conscience nor that of Civil Prudence doth permit That in time of Peace and Calmness and at least when there 's no
restored to their Honours and Goods by those Treaties But who knows not in what Constitution France was at that time Who knows not that th' Heavens had none but malignant Aspects and froward Influences for it And that Fortune pouring out her Favours upon Spain had forgot she was Changeable It hath been seen what a hard Labour it was some years past t' obtain Pardon for the Marquis of St. George and for some other Montferrans who served the Duke of Savoy in the VVars He had since the death of the late King with the Dukes of Mantoua The difficulty the Genouese Expressed and the Resistance they made against pardoning the Prisoners hath been seen whom th' Accused t' have Conspired against their Country with the Duke of Savoy to give him Entry into Genes And that at last in th' Accommodation the Republique made with the Duke a Means was Invented and a Temper found t'hinder these Criminals of the State to perish And that it might not appear that the Republique had given them grace And in the Treaty of Vervins the Deputies of the late King opposed vigorously the Comprehension of any French-man that had taken part with the Spaniard and to deny any favour to th' Intercession of Strangers of what belonged to the Clemency of a Prince Moreover it was not without a great grief of heart and a great Repugnancy that the Spaniards permitted th' Embassadors of France England and Venice not onely to sign as Moderators but also as Sureties on their Masters behalf the Treaty of Verceil which determined the War raised from the not Execution of that of Ast And nevertheless the Question was not herein of a difference betwixt Subject and Soveraign and of those Quarrels of State which are not Appeased but by the Submission or Punishment of th' One and by th' Indulgency or Justice of th' Other The Question was onely of a Punctilio of Honour and of a Preheminence of Authority which the Spaniards affected to Treat in all Italy as Masters T'â—mpose Laws on Princes To give Form as it shall seem good to them t'Affairs and to put out the Fires which they permitted to kindle by the sole signification of their pleasure and by the single demonstration of their Arms. It angred much those ambitious Persons That a Duke of Savoy had the boldness t' oppose that publick Necessity and to resist the common Destiny of the petty Princes of Italy They could not endure his Thoughts of a Free Pince nor that he should use the Privileges of Soveraignty and Act th' Independent near them It was the cause of the Troubles they raised upon him and renewed two or three Times This obliged France not permit him t' yield under so just a Cause This made France with England and the Republick of Venice t' undertake the Warrantry of what was Accorded to the Duke by the Spaniards and this was the cause of bitterness and grief to them to be constrained for th' Avoiding of worse and to draw upon them with the War Strangers in t ' Italy following the Maxim they then held and which they ought never t' abandon To be compelled I say after th' Offer of all imaginable Advantages to the Duke and search of all possible Expedients to divert the Mediation of the forementioned Ambassadors to consent That they should become Pledges of th' Observation of the Treaty That if we 've seen happen somewhat like it between the King and his Rebel-Subjects And if England mingled with their Affairs and Interposed in the Treaty which was given them before Montpellier 'T is to be considered that 't was permitted by that hard and Inexorable Law which makes the Lesser Evil to b' Accepted t' avoid the Greater and that in respect of the Weariness which oppressed France It was adjudged to be more Expedient to procure its Rest with a Little shame than to Leave it in the Trouble of War with an Extreme peril Or truly it must b' avowed That there was not Vigour and Courage enough in the Councel or Care enough of the King's Honor and of the Dignity of the Crown and that the veins of them who Governed in that Time were not filled with those Generous Spirits and that Magnanimous Blood whereof so great Effects are seen in the present Administration And to speak the Truth these forced Peaces and these violent Reconciliations are not of Long Duration They must quickly break from what side soever the fault comes And the Subjects proud and fierce upon this Forein Protection cannot contain themselves within their Bounds which are marked out unto them or the Prince cannot permit his Subjects t' have relation t' any other Soveraignty than his whereby shadow only of Authority remains t' him and from which he receives onely an Apparence of Affection whilst they give th' Heart and Reality t' another Prince What followed the Peace of Montpellier hath given us occasion to verifie this Truth and shew that it being made of necessity or for fear and Forced rather than freely Accorded That th'Intervention and Warrant of th' English was of use to give the greater Jealousie to the King against them wh'had made Addresses t' England to give him a greater curiosity in th' observance of their Deportments and a greater Inclination t' interpret them with a spirit of distrust That they served onely to make them the more Tender and Sensible of the least scratch they Imagin'd to be given to the Peace to make them the more bold in demanding of Reparation and to demand it with Threatnings T' Encourage them to proceed rather as Equals than Subjects in all these Troubles From what cause it proceeded this is not the time t' enquire after and that I 've design'd it for another place At last all things conspired t' an open breach as hath been observed and from all those Collective Causes was formed the most dangerous War that threatned the State since the birth of Heresie Nevertheless God Converted into Good those sad Apparences and hindred th' Evil t' Accomplish its period He stopt it in the strength of its Motion and in the midst of its Course And raised to the King Ministers of State who would not strip him of his Virtue by their Coldness but give him an Edge by their Courage not to go awry at the sight of the Disorders and to cut off some Branches but t' Assault it in a strait Line and to cut it up by the Roots Not t' Allay for some time the Rebellion with Promises which they knew would not be kept and may be believed ought not to be kept but to put it in a Condition to Capitulate no more with his Master and to take from it for the future the Will to rise in taking from it the Power of Rising And that fell out happily for th' English were beaten and th' Hugonots humbled in that War Rochel fell to the ground and Spain became Blind or Lazre in not furnishing the Relief it had promised to the
of the Romans or a Substitution to the same Kingdome in favour of his Son Philip submitted to what he could not Avoid attended the Destiny which had Enthralled him and delivered th' Empire to his Brother which he could not settle upon the Person of his Successor Sixth Discourse That Philip the Second applied himself principally to the gaining of France t' open the way t' himself of the Monarchy That his Successors have Endeavoured t' Establish themselves in th' heart of Germany to make th' Empire return to their House and pass from thence to the Monarchy PHilip the Second was sick as his Successors have been of Charls's passion and was in Love with the Monarchy as a part of his Heritage but insomuch that England which had much Aided th' Advance of his designs had taken the Wing and that th' Empire which would have furnished him with Pretexts and Forces for th' Execution of many great Enterprizes had failed him He gave rest for a time t' his Passion and made no other Passion t' appear than for the Conservation of what his Father had left him and to fix what he found Changeable in his Countries He gained indeed at that time some Eminent advantages from Henry the Second which had the same Effect upon the Son it had upon the Father and which paid for the breach of the Truce wherein Sirs of Guise the Dutchess of Valentinois and the Caraffs did seduce him by the Loss of the Battels of St. Quentin and of Graveline and by the the Peace made at the Castle of Cambresis where he Delivered up in one day what could not have been taken from him in many years and opened the Gate of Civil Wars in France and shut it for the benefit of their Enemies since the success of the discovery of th' Indies which made him Depopulate Spain and Exchange Men whereof h' had great need for Money whereof h' had not so great Need. The Flemish Defection which he could not prevent by his Power though h' Enjoyed so many Kingdoms nor by his Wisdome though he was called the Solomon of his Age And the Mutinous and Unquiet humour of the Mores gave some allay to his great Design and abated in him that Monarchique Spirit which had so vexed Charls the Fifth But so soon as h' heard the Noise that the differences of Religion made and saw the Troubles which the Civil Wars had raised amongst us H' awakened a Desire which was but laid Asleep H' Embrac'd the occasion which did Smile upon him He resolved to Cut out the way to the premeditated greatness through the Ruins of France He conceived that he could not Work upon a Richer stuff for th' use he had proposed That he might find amongst us what h'unprofitably sought amongst others And the Spaniards having ordinarily that Advantage of us which grows from the Temperament of the Body and from the Constitution of the Climate t' Act with more fore-sight than the French Th' Abundance of Wealth and Men whereof this Kingdome cannot b' Emptied would Cure them of a Defect to which w' are not subject in making the preparations of their Enterprizes with great Slowness and destructive Length But this hath not as yet hapned and the same Providence which to this Time hath not permitted Men to cut the Istmes and the Streights that sever the Seas which God would have divided hath not permitted th' Advantages which one Nation hath upon another to Conjoyn with duration under the Power of a single Person Though Philip set all sorts of Engines in Motion and imployed all manner of Work-men he could never make such a Conjunction And France could not become his Prey though it was his Envy and he could not Enjoy it though he was passionately in Love with it And having lost great Forces and thrown away many Millions amongst us having Trassiqued much and made much War in France and stirred up the good and bad Religion t' attain his Ends nothing remained of Consolation t' him in the failer of the true matter of his Arms and Practices imployed for th' usurpation of the Crown but the Beauty of the Pretext by ' ndeavouring to give us a Catholique King For the Diversion of the Reader I will here observe and for an illustrious Example of the Vanity of Greatness and Instability of human affairs That 't is hardly possible to find a Life more Interwoven with good and bad and more Embrodered with happy and unhappy Accidents than the Life of Philip. 'T is certain that if he got much one way he lost much another way And that if one part of his Designs hath prospered another part hath mis-carried and become abortive Th' Accomplishment of his Marriage with the Queen of England which Encountred with so many Contradictions and Difficulties The Victories of St. Quentin and of Graveline whereof it hath been already spoken The Re-establishment of the Duke of Savoy stripped for th' Interests of his House and the French forced from Italy so many Countries Conquered and Mines discovered in the West-Indies the Succession of Portugal with its Dependences which he secured by his Arms against five famous Confederates The suppression of the Privileges and Liberty of th' Arragons The defeat of the Mores The gain of the Battail of Lepantha wherein h' had so great a share and the Re-taking of Thumis and Gouletta are indeed great Successes and will make a Noise to the Worlds End But on th' other side the Death of the Queen of England without Children and by Consequent the Possession of that fair Kingdome Eclipsed The loss of the true Religion in the Low-Countreys without preserving as our Kings have done the faith and obedience due t' him France delivered out of his hands when he held it as taken Th' Assault of Gelves and the Landing of his Troops in Ireland which were unhappy t' him And th'Invincible Armado that would have put England to the Chain and for which the Rodomonts it carried said That they desired no more of God than that he would not meedle in that Affair and Leave them to themselves That Invincible I say Armado that was but the sport of a grain of wind and th' Example of the greatest Shipwrack that th' Ocean hath disgraced since the time of Tiberius In a word of the three places which his Father had recommended unt ' him to keep with greatest Care and Jealousie as the Key of Spain of the Low-Countreys and of Africa Cadis was taken by th' English Flushing by th' Hollanders and the Goulete by Bosha Pialy These disgraces nevertheless and this variety of Accidents took not from him that Reputation which hath flown through all the places of th' Earth and which will be repeated in all th' Ages of the World And as no wonder or new thing since it hath been the destiny of the greatest part of great persons to b' exposed to the flux and reflux of Fortune and to dye rich in honour after many Losses Though
of a Remedy and t' Insist upon it till it be concluded in the project of a General Peace That it be not declined till it be Accomplished and in such a Defensive League as I 've here above described But lest that in Threatning them with the License which is said Th' House of Austria gives it self to violate all Treaties whose Observation is Damageable and the not Observation Advantagious unto it I may give them a false Alarm and raise fear from a false Imagination It may be that 't is as Carefull to perform what she Promiseth and particularly when the Name of God is Interposed as it hath been th' other specious Apparences of Piety and th' out-side of Exemplary Religion And that it Aims at nothing more than a good Peace and that its Intention is when it hath gained this Haven to put it self no more in danger for the Future unless it be forced upon so Dangerous a Sea as the Warr. I will demonstrate here the Contrary and make it Evident That in truth it gives it self that License and that it doth abuse the Name of God and plaies with the Publick Faith when their Interests require it more than any Prince of the World For this purpose I do not intend to play the Orator nor to make use of an Art which boasts of her Colours and lights to Change when it pleaseth the state of Things and to make them seem Great or Little Fair or Ugly when it shall seem good unto Her This is as much Estranged from my Humours as 't is above my Forces And I do Heartily renounce an Exercise which I should discharge Unhandsomely if I did undertake it I will not here neither produce all the Breaches of the Treaties which this House of Austria hath made nor all th' Infidelities wherewith it hath stained its Conduct Great Volumes are only capable to Contain them I will touch only upon somewhat more Modern as more Sensible and upon what hath passed in these latter times in Germany and Italy As t' Italy who knows not that the last Warrs the Spaniards have made to the Duke of Savoy Grand-father to this Duke have alwaies budded from the Breach on their part of th' Treaties which preceded And so soon as the fear of th' Evil which had Obliged them for Accomodation was over and that the hope of th' End which they had Proposed to their Arms began to Revive They lost the Memory of the Peace they had Sworn and made no Difficulty to renew the Quarrel and to re-kindle the Disorder at the Charges of their Faith and against all Justice So that what Intervened betwixt two Warrs was not so much Peace as a Suspension of Arms nor the Cure of the Feaver as the Remission of th' Access The fire was Covered under th' Ashes but Dyed not in th' Intention of the Spaniards and it hapned t' all that Affair as to Wounds ill Dressed which often break out It was renewed frequently And that Game lasted till new Accidents made the Spaniards take new Designs and that the Troubles of Germany allayed them of Italy I speak not here of the Peace of Suza which they Violated without other Colour than that they were Necessitated to do 't for th' Interest of their Reputation nor of th' Ingratitude wherewith they requited the Courtesie which the King did in their behalf and that rare Moderation which made him bound his Prosperity by the delivery of his Allies and permitted him not t' Overcome but where it found Resistance It hath been spoken of in another place and shall be Spoken of more fully in the Third Part. I remit also to speak there of the Treaty of Cuirasque which the Necessity of the German Affairs forced from them rather than the Love of the Peace of Italy And to which the Resolutions of the Dyet of Ratisâ—one and th' Entry of the King of Swede into Germany where th' Evidences of the Tempest did them Appear which hath since fallen upon th' House of Austria forced them to consent and to set their Hands with design not t' observe it so soon as they had sent us over the Mountains as shall be declared at large in th' Apology of th' Acquisition of Pigneroâ— I will not also Revive here the Deceits they practised towards the Venetians and th' Alterations they gave them upon the business of th' Uscoques It were to repeat but what hath been said I pass also in silence the various â—ricks which at several times they put upon the Grisons and th' Artifices and open Force wherewith they have s ' often assaulted their Liberty against the Faith of the Treaties made with them and with their Allyes That will be seen in the Third Part in th' Apology of the Treaty of Moncon where I give a very Exact Table of th' Affairs of that Common-wealth I come to them of Germany and to what passed upon that Scean not less Famous by the Treaties than by the Warrs which were managed there Who knows not that the Peace of Ulmes Concluded by the Mediation of France gave Means to th' Emperour t' Ease himself of the Weight of the Warr under which he Groaned and t' unravel the Perplexities from which he could not be dis-intangled but by that Expedient And who knows not also That he observed it no longer than was Necessary for to prepare for a Warr which he resolved in Swearing the Peace And that the Ruine of the Count Palatine and of his Friends proceeded only from the Confidence they raised in that Treaty and from that Ruinous Foundation whereupon they trusted as upon an Holy Anchor by the Right of Nations by the Reverence of the Name of God which therein was Interposed and by th' Authority of so Great a Mediator as the King of France After the Gain of the Battel of Prague and that fatal Series of Prosperities which follows great Victories After that th' Imperial Arms had Triumphed over all that favoured the Palatines party and that the Count of Tilly and Marquiss of Spinola had stripped Naked that unhappy Prince Th' Emperour transferred his Electorate to the Duke of Baviere and divided his Country between him and the King of Spain But it being pretended that the Formalities Ordained by the Golden Charter and by th' other Pragmatique Sanctions had not been observed in that Translation and Partition and for fear that proceeding which they supposed to be Violent should Offend th' other Electors by a common Interest and Provoke the King of England to a Revenge and to Prosecute the Reparation of th' Out-rage done to his Son-in-Law Th' Emperour protested in the Dyet of Ratisbone in the year 1662. That h' had transferred th' Electorate to th' House of Baviâ—re for the Dukes Life only that was Invested with it And for what Concerned the Palatinate he would make Reparation to the Count Palatine and give Satisfaction thereupon to his Friends He gave the same Assurances to the King of England by his