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england_n	france_n	king_n	scot_n	6,682	5	9.6489	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07982	Ciuill considerations vpon many and sundrie histories, as well ancient as moderne, and principallie vpon those of Guicciardin Containing sundry rules and precepts for princes, common-wealths, captaines, coronels, ambassadours and others, agents and seruants of princes, with sundry aduertisements and counsels concerning a ciuill life, gathered out of the examples of the greatest princes and common-wealths in Christendome. Handled after the manner of a discourse, by the Lord Remy of Florence, and done into French by Gabriel Chappuys, Tourangeau, and out of French into English, by W.T.; Considerationi civili sopra l'historie di Francesco Guicciardini e d'altri historici. English	Nannini, Remigio, 1521?-1581?; Traheron, W., attributed name.; W. T., fl. 1601.	1601 (1601)	STC 18348; ESTC S113070	207,479	260

kingdome of Naples Peter hauing resolued to continue constant in the friendship of Alphonse of Arragon King of Naples would neuer giue eare to the French King who desiring to enter into league with him and offered him many faire conditions to which league all the whole citie seemed to leane and to yeeld as inclined and well affected to the French nation For afterwards when the French armies began to haue the better in Italie and the name of the French to be terrible and the affaires of those of the house of Arragon to decline from ill to worse Peter repenting him of his resolute determination to asswage the wrath of Charles 〈…〉 Charles the S. King of 〈…〉 to Peeter de Medicis went to S. Peters to see and speak with him in person where being receiued by the King with better countenance then good will the King made vnreasonable demaunds which were that presently the Fortresses of Serezana and Serezanell which are the keyes of the Florentine Seignorie should be giuen into his hands with the Fortresses of Liuorne and of Pisa and that the Florentines by his meanes should lend him 200000. Ducats and vpon this condition hee would take them into his protection Peter yeelded to all these demands and taking vpon him more authoritie then he ought yeelded the Holds and Fortresses aboue said without out the counsel of the citizens without order from the Magistrates and without giuing the Common-wealth to vnderstand thereof Which being vnderstood at Florence did so moue the harts of the people against him that being returned to the Citie hee was verie vnwelcome Peter de Medicis chased from Florence and by the furie of the Citizens was driuen from the Pallace and out of the Citie and declared and proclaimed a Rebell If in any case it be a matter doubtful yea or very dangerous to passe the bounds of the authoritie receiued and as a man may say play the Prince whereas is no neede it is principally in charges and commaunds in the warres where euery fact done in this manner by a Generall is sufficient to put such iealousie in the hearts of his superiours and make his trust and faith so suspect to the Prince who gaue him such charge that he cannot be put from his gouernment without preiudice of his reputation and daunger of his life Paulo Vitellio a man most valorous and in his time one of the chiefe and most renowned Captaines in Italie being by the Florentines established and made Generall of their armie against the Pisans in that time wherein they were vnder the sauegard and protection of the Venetians for one onely fact wherein he vsurped more authoritie then belonged vnto him put the Florentines in such iealousie and suspition of him that taking all his doings in ill part in the end they bereued him of his life This man being at Casantin against the Venetian armie led by the Duke of Vrbin Bartelmy Liuiano Astor Baglioni and other honourable Captaines all which he did so valiantly resist that he did not onely stop the passage against them but also besieged them with their principall Captaines within Bibienna a Castle of the Casantin The Duke of Vrbin fell sicke in this siege who desired Vitellio to giue him a safeconduct to goe to take Phisicke and to cure himselfe and this Paul vsurping a little too much authoritie Guicciar lib. 4 without acquainting the Florentine Commissioners herewith who represented the state of the Common-wealth gaue safeconduct to the Duke and to Iulian de Medicis a rebell to the Seignorie Common-wealth which made him so suspected that they began to marke his behauiour and the manner of his proceedings for they mistrusted him to haue some secret intelligence with the enemie And for this cause when they afterwards sawe that without any occasion hee abandoned the Fortresse of Stampace which was taken by force and that being able to followe the victorie against the Pisans he tooke no care to pursue them but vsurping supreame power and authoritie hee raised the siege from before Pisa without the leaue or knowledge of the Florentine Commissioners they began to hold for certaine that which before they but doubted Paulo Vitellio condemned to dye by the Florentines in such sort that to rid themselues of this suspition and feare and to giue example to their other Leaders and Commanders of armies they put him to death by order of Iustice But except it were vpon some extreame accident or to auoide some manifest and present danger it were ill done for a man to attribute to himselfe more authoritie then he ought and to promise also that which is not in his power to performe as the Lord of Tremouille who being for Lewes the 12. King of France Generall of his armie against Henry the 8. King of England which made warre against the French King before Terouenne and Tournay The said Generall hauing vnderstood that an armie of 20000. Swissers had besieged Dijon the head Citie of Bourgundy thereby to constraine the French King to giue ouer his claime to the Dutchie of Milan and the said Lord of Tremouille seeing the great danger wherein the realme of France was The Lord of Tremouille with absolute power coucluded a peace with the Swissers notwithstanding that it was vpon very vnworthie conditions hee vsurped and attributed to himselfe more authoritie then to him appertained so as promising that which he could not performe neither had commission to promise he came to parley with the chiefe conductors of the Swissers and promised them that the King of France should surrender the right which he pretended to the state of Milan and to assure his promise he gaue thē 4. French gentlemen in ostage The Lord Generall took this resolution knowing that if the citie of Dijon were taken and lost and that if that nation should not giue ouer to vexe the French King being alreadie tired with warres the Swissers on the one side and the English on the other might without any let march to Paris gates Peter de Medicis might peraduenture haue the same consideration in making his treatie with the King of France who seeing his countrie in great daunger for that the King was in armes victorious displeased with the Florentine Common-wealth and neere vnto Florence but this warlike people easily to bee moued to despite and indignation iudging otherwise of his doings then hee deserued chased him out of the towne and proclaimed him Rebell So as in summe a man ought so moderately to vse the authoritie receiued and to carrie himselfe in such sort that he giue his Prince no cause to be iealous of him by taking vpon him as a Prince when as he is but an inferiour and a seruant it is farre better to shew that he respecteth his Prince by giuing him to vnderstand of all his purposes and enterprises than by vsurping equalitie seeme to make no account of him CHAP. 14. VVhether a publike seruant of a Prince or Common-wealth

as no reckoning was made thereof but of one man onely which was Iohn de Cardine Earle of Colisan who was slaine with a shot in the head which was in the yeere 1522. But before that Pope Eugenius being then liuing who was created in the yeere 1431. Boulogna being reuolted and rebelling against the Church through the occasion of Canedoli the armies of the Pope the Venetians and the Florentines being confederates enforced themselues to get and recouer it againe Nicholas de Tolentin was Captaine of the League and Picinino was chiefe of the enemies they came to giue battaile in the countrie of Imote Tolentin was put to flight and there taken prisoner with fiue principall Colonels and 3500. men at armes Sabellicus and a thousand souldiers besides the dead and in the armie of Picinino died but foure and thirtie were wounded yet neuerthelesse Artillerie and small shot were then vsed although not with such perfection as now we see The hardines of the Swissers at Nouarra was admirable but the battailes and victories repeated were no lesse memorable in which may be seene that the wisedome and discretion of the Captains hath had great part yet neuerthelesse through the valour of the souldiers accompanied with the good counsell and direction of the Captaines happy victories are to be hoped for CHAP. 65. Speeches vsed without consideration haue been the occasion of much euill as well to them which vsed them as to others IN consideration in all things is euill To speake to no purpose is hurtfull but worse in speaking and to babble and prate is a vice blame-worthie in all men but most pernicious and hurtfull to those which haue publike charge and as to speake in time and place is a part of wisedome euen so to speake to no purpose is a principal part of follie I haue euer esteemed more of them which first consider with reason and speake afterward and therefore the Shepheard of Archadia said wisely E pria chio parli le parole mastico Which is to say And before I speake I chew my words This vice besides the blame which it deserueth bringeth with it much danger and oftentimes one only word hath caused the death of him which spake it or hath brought into danger and trouble some other person who by a fit conuenient silence had auoyded it I speake not now of words proceeding frō a passionate man and in choler but of those which through want of wit and iudgement are vttered of persons of whom it had been good to haue beene silent and principally when they manage affaires of importance When as Dionysius was Lord in Siracusa there were certaine young men which went to his Barbers shop to wash or to discourse as the manner is in such shops whither idle persons resort to talke and to heare newes and these young men beginning to talke freely of the gouernment of the Tyrant and to say that it was impossible to bee able to change their Lord because that hee euer had a good guard and that his gouernment might be rightly called Diamantin being impossible to bee broken whereto his Barber without consideration said Wherefore is it impossible to kill him seeing that I euery day haue this Rasour at his throte These words were noted and by his espials reported to Dionysius who made this Barber to be apprehended and quartered This inconsidered word vttered without reason was cause of his death and did aduise Dionysius to trust himselfe no more in the hands of a Barber for he made his daughters to burne the haire of his head and beard with coales because he would haue no more iron come about his head The same Dionysius put a gentleman his very familiar to death for a word by him foolishly spoken who being in companie with certaine gentlemen his friends said Wot you what I dreamed to night that I had cut Dionysius his throte These words were reported to the Tyrant who notwithstanding the great familiaritie betweene them made him to dye saying If he had not first thought it in the day time he had neuer dreamed thereof at night But a man may say that these were common persons which are not worthie to bee alleaged for example therefore I will shew that there haue beene also men of great authoritie which haue fallen into this inconsideration Demaratus which should haue succeeded in the kingdome of the Lacedemonians was depriued of that kingdome by Ariston his father for one onely word vttered without consideration in the Senate which was that newes being brought vnto him that he had a sonne borne he counted vpon his fingers how long his wife had been with him and seeing that there were no more but seuen moneths and that vsually women are deliuered at nine hee said It is not possible that hee should be my sonne This word turned to the great dammage of Demaratus for after the death of Ariston his father the Lacedemonians refused to giue him the kingdome Herodot lib. 6 because the Ephores bare record that Ariston had said that it was not possible that Demaratus borne at seuen moneths end should be his sonne which he confirmed with an oth When Pope Iulius the second attempted to deliuer Italie from the Oltramontani hee sent an Italian Ambassadour to the King of England to perswade him to take armes in his behalfe against the King of France and the Ambassadour hauing deliuered all that he had in charge to say answere was giuen him in the behalfe of the King that he was most readie and willing to defend the Pope but that an Armie was not so soone to be made readie for that the English by reason of their long peace had in a manner lost the vse of armes and becausethey were to goe against a King who was no lesse mightie and puissant then warlike as was the King of France there ought to be a time to make necessarie prouision for a warre of so great importance The Ambassadour presently to no purpose or reason added these words Anchio hodetto piu volte questo medesimo a sua sanctita which is to say And I haue oftentimes said the same to his holines These words which shewed the will of the Ambassadour to be different from that of his Prince The Ambassadour of Pope Iulius was taken for a Spie by the King of England gaue great doubt and suspition to the Kings Counsell and they began to doubt that the Ambassadour was rather inclined to fauour the King of France then the Pope his Master and setting secret Spies about him to take notice of his behauiour it was perceiued that by night hee spake secretly with the French Ambassadour by which meanes he was vndone and if he had fallen into the hands of the Pope he had peraduenture put him to death And so by his answere which was not to the purpose of his charge he wronged himselfe and was the occasion that the King of England was constrained to begin the warre

with tokens of thankfulnes to shew themselues kinde and gracious vnto them both while they are liuing and also after they are dead In this respect the Florentines shewed themselues verie gratefull when they erected publike Statues vnto Iohn Acute an Englishman and the Lords of Venice deserue great praise who haue neuer vsed to estrange from them the harts of those which haue well serued them but their charges being brought to an end they haue returned them verie honourablie and if they died in their seruice in token of thankfulnes good will they haue relieued their children giuing them the charges of their Fathers and the yearelie pensions which their fathers had in their life time and haue erected vnto Captains being dead for the perpetual honourable remembrance of them statues of brasse and marble on horsebacke as a man may see in Gatta Mallata and in Bartelmy de Bergamo and many others in the citie of Venice and the Seignorie therof all which are things fit and proper to incite the hearts of Captaines to vertue loue and fidelitie wherewith a man ought to serue great Princes and honourable common wealths CHAP. 77. A priuate Captaine seruing a Prince or a Generall ought not to receiue any present or gift from the Prince or Generall which is enemie to his Lord and Master AS to gaine the reputation of wise and vertuous One onely foolish act maketh a man to be reputed a foole and one act of infidelitie maketh a man to be for euer h●ld for disloyall many vertuous and wise acts are required but for a man to make himselfe to be esteemed for a foole one onely foolish act sufficieth so to bee esteemed faithfull many proofes of fidelitie are necessarie and to acquire the name of vnfaithfull and disloyall one act of disloyaltie and fault of dutie is sufficient principally in time of warres and suspitions wherein the least suspition that a man sheweth of himselfe and doubt that hee hath some intelligence with the enemie may doe a man great hurt which appeareth when a man vseth to talke often in secret with the enemie or when a man sendeth or receiueth letters when a man receiueth gifts and presents or such like for this is properly to shew a will and inclination to serue him and so consequently a signe of running away or to vse some other meane which may be to the notable losse and dammage of the Lord whom he serueth Tartaglia a valiant souldier and renowned Captaine of his time made warres with Sforce in the behalfe of Lewes of Aniou against Alfonso King of Arragon This Tartaglia by reason of his valour was much beloued by Sforce and seemed to be much respected and esteemed by Braccio de Monton perpetuall enemie to Sforce It happened that in the time of these warres Fazio in his second booke of the act of Alfonso King of Arragon King Alfonso gaue for a present vnto Tartaglia certaine faire horses and there appeared many other signes of Braccio his loue vnto him wherefore Sforce entring into some suspition of euill through Tartaglia his behauiour caused hands to be laid on him and to be apprehended and being conuict of secret practise and intelligence with the enemie hee made his head to be striken off Which may serue for an example to other Captaines which put themselues in great Lords seruice to take heed and beware how they bring their faith and credit in question and suspition for there is no assurance nor securitie to receiue entertainment of two Masters at once which are enemies so as without causing great distrust of himselfe a man cannot make warre for the one and shew himselfe friendly vnto the other CHAP. 78. VVhen an Ambassadour speaketh otherwise then as his Master he deserueth to be had in derision THe office of an Ambassadour Lieger for his Master with some Prince or Common-wealth or which is sent sometime to one place sometime to another about affaires of importance ought alwaies to preserue and maintaine the honour and reputation of his Prince defend his actions exalt his vertues and so to carie himselfe that they with whom he doth negotiate may retaine alwaies a good opinion of him and if he seeth that his Prince committeth an error or takes some course which seemeth vnfit his dutie is to excuse him shewing either the necessitie or the strange and sudden accidents and the sound reasons which might moue him to take this resolution making that to seeme to be wittie and requisit which is vnwittie and an error For an Ambassadour which proceedeth in this manner sheweth that he is a man of spirit and of discretion and hath no neede of a prompter to put it into his braines But when an Ambassadour affirmeth any thing of his Prince which is certainly knowne to be to the contrarie and he saith in one manner and his Prince doth in another it followeth of necessitie seeing the words of the one haue no correspondence with the deeds and actions of the other that that Ambassadour must make himselfe worthie to be mocked or shew himselfe ignorant of the common aduertisements and while as hee thinketh foolishly enough to mock others he himselfe is mocked Which happeneth by so much the more when he will affirme that to be true which is manifestly knowne to the contrarie to bee a lye and cannot be couered King Francis the first of France sent for his Ambassadour Mounsieur de Tarbe then when there was a treatie of peace betweene the Emperour Charles the fift and this King to perswade the Venetians the Duke of Milan the Florentines the Duke of Ferrara confederates allies with the king against the Emperor that they should not thinke that any peace should be concluded and so farre as to aduise them that they should not disunite themselues and to promise and assure them for certaine that if the Emperour came into Italie the King of France would come thither also with great forces and he had also charge from the King to mannage with those of the League the affaires concerning the warre and the conseruation of the said League In this meane season the peace was concluded ratified and published betweene these two Princes with all vsuall solemnitie and for this cause the King of France being ashamed of his doings for certaine daies would not speake with the Ambassadours of the League But the Lord of Tarbe which was in Italie being gone to Venice to Florence to the Dukes of Milan and Ferrara where the conclusion of the peace was alreadie knowne and that the King of France as a man might say had abandoned Italie to the Emperour he gaue them to vnderstand by a ridiculous lye the great preparation for the warres as well on the behalfe of his King as of the King of England and exhorted the said Princes to doe the like when as it was certainly knowne that neither the one nor the other did any thing of that which he reported Wherefore while as

had betrayed Iohn Galeas his Nephew and Bonna the Dutches mother of the said Iohn Galeas in giuing vnto the said Lewes himselfe a port of Tortona wherewith in behalfe of the young Duke and his mother he was put in trust in time of his troubles making no lesse account of the treason then of the Traytor he committed to his charge the keeping of the Towne of Valencia and put him in possession thereof as gouernour and chiefe Captaine of that Towne But Donat Donat Raffignin by treason yeeldeth the Fortresse of Valence to the French who had not changed his nature although he had changed his Master corrupted by the promises of Iohn Iaques Triuulse deliuered the Fortresse of Valencia to the Frenchmen enemies to Lewes and receiued them into the Towne This treason is the more worthy to be remembred for that it happened in the same day wherein twentie yeares before the said Donat had betrayed the little Duke Iohn Galeas and giuen the Towne of Tortona to Lewes his Vncle. Wherein a man may plainely see that Traytors being mischieuous retaine alwaies their wicked disposition and therefore no man ought to trust them when as they are once discouered for such and whosoeuer doth repose trust in him who hath once been a Traytor although the treason were greatly to his profit yet he committeth a great error but he committeth a greater who imployeth him in a gouernment and charge of importance CHAP. 8. Jt is a great fault in any man to giue himselfe to robbing and pilling when he ought to fight which hath been the occasion of the ill successe of many faire enterprises IN mine opinion there is nothing more fit to ouerthrowe an Armie how great and well ordered soeuer it be than the greedie couetonsnes of the Captaines or the extreme rapine of Souldiers who haue more desire to robbe and pill than to fight for leauing the first thought of true militia which is victorie and honour they turne to the second which is the profit and spoyle and remember not that whosoeuer is Master of the bodies hath the goods also in possession and at commandement I speake now of the greedie coueteousnesse of the Captaines and Souldiours which when the victorie and the spoyle being to be seene both at one instant are carried away more with the desire of gaine then of honour This auarice I say hath been the cause of the losse of many faire enterprises yea it hath so corrupted blinded and confounded them that those Captaines and Souldiers who haue caused the losse The greedines of Souldiours and Captaines hath been the losse of many faire enterprises besides the losse of their liues haue purchased perpetuall dishonour and infamie to their name and posteritie which is an euill very hardly to be remedied in the warres now adaies which if not wholy yet for the most part is corrupted It is then the cause of many euils as thus It hindereth the victorie before the fight and in the fight it plucketh it out of their hands and putteth them in danger to lose what they haue newly gotten whereof are most manifest examples Saxon the Grammarian in the 1. book of his histories of Denmark knowing how dangerous the desire of spoyle is through the hindrance and let that it giueth to a manifest victorie Saxon the Grammarian in his first book of the affaires of Denmarke bringeth in the King of England for example vsing these words to his souldiers which hee perswadeth to fight against the King of Denmarke in this manner Ne fatigetis milites opum onere manus praelio destinatas ac scitote triumphum ante carpēdum quam censum Proinde auro spreto auri Dominos insequamini nec aeris sed victoriae fulgorem miremini meminisseque vos decet satius trophaeum pensare quàm quaestum potioremque esse metallo virtutem Which is to say Doe not wearie and encomber with the burthen of riches those hands which are ordained to fight and know that you ought to obtaine the victorie before the spoyle and so despising gold pursue the owners of the gold and fixe your eyes not in the brightnes of the gold but in the glorie of the victorie and it behooueth you also to know that it more auaileth to purchase honour than profit and that vertue is of more worth than mettall This counsell was ill followed by the English souldiers who had more desire to pill and robbe than to fight whereof it followed that they were all cut in pieces by the King of Denmarke who charged thē while as they were lodē with pillage which happened in this manner The greedines of the English souldiers Phroton King of Denmarke being landed in England sacked many places and being loden with the riches of spoyle and bootie tooke his way towards Scotland to haue done as much there as he had done in England The English being aduertised of the harme which the King of Denmarke had done in their Iland and of their departure the King of England therefore with a great armie followed him with intent to giue him battaile and by force of armes to take from him the pray which he had gotten But Phroton seeing his enemies neere at hand and that the English and Scots alreadie in armes did follow him resolued with himselfe to abandon all the goods and treasure which hee had gotten in England and caused it to be cast away strawing the gold siluer and other goods of the English abroad in the fields thinking indeed that they would stay to gather and heape the same together and so being loden hee would runne vpon them and ouerthrow them And notwithstanding that a certaine old Captaine did gainsay the counsell and will of Phroton alleaging that the souldiers would be very vnwilling to leaue that which they had gotten with the perill of their liues and that it was against all reason to leaue that spoyle in pray to an enemie whose force as yet they had not seene notwithstanding all this by the generall aduice and opinion of all the bootie was left and cast abroad in diuers places of the fields according to the Kings commaundement When the English came where their goods and riches were disperst and scattered abroad the King commaunded that no man should touch the same but that they should pursue the enemie whom when they had ouercome they should then haue time enough to recouer and againe gather together the goods which they had lost But there was a Knight of the Brittons amongst them which against the Kings commaundement said That it was no wisedome but a signe of great feare to doubt to take their owne goods wheresoeuer they found them and seeing that the enemie of their owne accord did voluntarily forsake and abandon the bootie which they would haue had by force and hazard of their liues for the recouerie thereof hee found it not expedient with the price of their blood and great daunger to buy that which they might

this Ambassadour was executing his charge he was held for a foole and a man of small iudgement seeing that it was well knowne that his Kings doings were cleane contrarie to his sayings and the publication of the peace was so manifest that it could not be hidden by any meanes in the world It had been more for his honour to haue attended a new commission or to haue executed that which hee had more moderatly which had made him to haue been accounted and esteemed for a man of vnderstanding knowing how to accommodate himself with the time But hee which would excuse the Lord of Tarbe might say that the King had deceiued him in giuing him this charge seeing it is a common saying that when one Prince will deceiue another he will first deceiue his owne Ambassadour whom he sendeth CHAP. 79. VVhen an Ambassadour so handleth his Masters businesse that it is at the point to be laught at he cannot auoide the bearing of blame SPeaking of the charge of an Ambassadour I remember to haue said that an Ambassadour ought to be wise of a quicke spirit and readie in resolutions and answeres and when hee hath to mannage matters of importance that he first think well thereupon and be aduised to speake with grauitie that which hee speaketh not letting scape out of his mouth any speeches which may shew any mocking or iesting at the affaires which are in question for therein hee shall giue occasion to him to whom hee speaketh be hee a Prince or seruant to a Prince to yeeld some answeres which may displease him besides this that the Ambassadour acquireth vnto himselfe the report to be a man ill framed and fashioned for affaires of importance And when a man is confuted by the reasons of him which speaketh it were better for the present to seeme to yeeld to his reasons Affaires of importance are not to be treated of in iest demaunding time to answere then not knowing how to defend and vphold the wrong wherein he is to expose all to be laughed at purchasing to his Soueraigne the name of vniust and vnwise and to himselfe the blame to haue taken vpon him to defend a matter which he can bring to no good end And when affaires of importance are exposed to be mocked at they lightly turne to the losse and dammage of him which causeth them to be taken in hand and to the shame and disgrace of him which mannageth the same The Sienois rebelled against Charles the 5. at what time as Don Hugo de Modozza was gouernour of their town The said Sienois sent to Florence for their Ambassadour Alexander Sansedonio where it seemeth that the Emperor was desirous to reduce the Citie to his deuotion in friendly maner and that by meanes of his seruants and officers the affaires might be carried so that the Sienois should haue humbled themselues and haue acknowledged their fault It happened vpon a day that one of the Emperours Agents talking with Sansedonio of this matter The foolisp answere of San sedonto Ambassadour of Stena and blaming the Sienois and reciting the iniurie done by that Citie to the Empire Sansedonio answered to al sometimes in denying sometimes shewing the sinister and ill informations then excusing the Sienois of things done by them But the Emperours Agent persisting in repeating and declaring one offence after another and finding alwaies new saying what will you answere to this and continuing what will you answere to that other and then how excuse you such an iniurie and then how will you maintaine that other Sansedonio feeling himself oppressed and ouercome and hauing no answere fit for the purpose to excuse and iustifie his Lords said with a loud voice exposing in a manner all the matter to be laughed at What a diuell shall not wee of Siena bee excused seeing wee are knowne to bee fooles A scoffe vsed by an Agent for Charles the fift To whom the Agent made answere Euen that shall excuse you but vpon the condition which is fit for fooles which is to be kept bound and inchained Some write that this happened at Siena in the presence of the Magistrate de Balia but howsoeuer it was Sansedonio shuld not haue hazarded affaires of so great importance to be laught at neither haue made his Lords and Masters to haue bin accounted fooles and himselfe vnwise and ill aduised but hee ought to haue found meanes to thinke vpon his answeres and deferring them to another day to haue taken time to shew some apparant excuse for that which was happened Let euerie Ambassadour then be well aduised that hee put not the affaires which hee mannageth in daunger to be laught at for that it is not agreeing with the maiestie of the Prince which employeth him neither with the grauity of the Ambassadour which handleth the matter for being laughed at it is esteemed to be a matter of small importance and seldome taketh any good effect CHAP. 80. VVhen a Rebell or a banished man by his Princes grace and fauour is pardoned and permitted to returne againe into his countrie he ought not to doubt of his Princes faith CLemencie in a Prince is highly extolled when hee resolueth to pardon a subiect and to restore a banished Rebell to his countrie and by how much the subiects offence hath been the more hainous by so much is the Princes clemencie the more praise worthie And to the contrarie when a subiect hauing grace doubteth of the faith of his Lord and doth distrust him he deserueth much blame Wherefore they which being permitted to returne to their countrie and hold themselues in the fields aloofe off flying their Princes presence and shew either in speeches or in their manner of liuing a feare and distrust such as that they seeme to haue the Sergeants and other officers at their backes besids that they leade an vnhappie life they do their Prince great wrong as if that hee had betrayed them and not pardoned them And there are some so constant in this conceit that to the end that they would not liue in this manner but bee free from this feare and suspition loue better to rebell againe then ciuilly to take the benefit of their Princes fauour and clemencie of which number there were certaine Florentine gentlemen in the time of the warres of Siena which being recalled to their countrie by Duke Cosmo and so consequently were receiued with great curtesie into grace and fauour some accepted the returne and promised to raise companies but afterwards moued with this feare and distrusting that promise should not bee held with them resolued with themselues to stay abroad and serue those which rebelled against their countrie and some there were which did serue in that warre and hauing obtained the victory euen then when they should haue endeuoured to haue maintained themselues in the fauour of this most gentle Prince being fearefull went out againe and would neuer returne to their countrie both the one and the other were with