for a kyng to graunt the people their willes by doing whereof sayde they he shoulde receyue lawe of them to whome he ought to gyue lawe and subiecte him selfe to them that ought to be subiecte to him but rather that he ought to make them knowe hym for their Prince and soueraigne Lorde whose office was to commaunde and theirs absolutely to obey Roboam folowing this opinion woulde needs lay great taxes and impositions on his people by reason whereof the most part of them that is to say tenne partes of twelue rebelled against him and raysed for their Kyng one Ieroboam Wherevpon the sayd Roboam prepared an armie of 80000. men for the repressing of those rebelles wherein he lost both his labour and time for Ieroboam continued King in peace And from that time forth that kingdome remained deuided in two King Lewes the eleuenth as fine subtil a prince as euer was in Fraunce at his comming to the crowne gouerned him selfe very yll in displacing and hindering of many good and ancient seruitours that had don great seruice to Charles the seuenth his father in the recouering of his realme the most part whereof the Englishmen long time enioyed Wherewith the nobles being discontented raysed against their sayde king a ciuill warre which they called the commoÌ„ welth To them many townes and commonalties also adioyned them selues by reason of the great impostes that the king put vpon them But the wise king knowing his faulte sought all the meanes possible for the appeasing of that warre therein folowing the aduice and councell of his good friend Fraunces Sforze the Duke of Millaine which councelled him for the obtaining of peace to deny nothing of their demaundes And in deede by graunting their requests he appeased those ciuil warres and was al his life after serued of those noblemen gentlemen that were against him in the same towards whom he neuer reserued so much as any desire of reueÌ„gement It may be sayd that what the king did herein was done vpon policie But howe so euer it was done the Frenchmen till these dayes were neuer so Italionated as to beare malice long in their heartes And this wise king woulde neuer hazarde his common wealth by giuing of battell vnto his people saying that he would not commit his estate which was so good and so great as the king of a royall Realme to the perill of so vncertaine a thing as a battell And after the peace made hee frankely confessed that hee sawe him selfe in great perill of loosing his kingdome and had determined in his mynd to haue saued him selfe at Millaine or else amongst the Switzers if Paris had not helde with him but bene wonne and possessed by his aduersaries Edwarde the seconde of that name King of Englande for the pleasure of Hugh Spencer his chiefe mynion made warre against his subiectes and put to death many of his Princes and nobles without anye order of iustice in so muche as Queene Isabell his wife with his sonne and hirs to shunne his furie and crueltie were fayne to flee into Fraunce who after returned agayne into Englande with hyr sayde sonne and a small force which she had gotten by the meanes of a meane Gentleman called syr Iohn of Henawd brother to the Earle of Henawd And being aryued in Englande founde all the people readie at hir commaundement as those that had taken a great displeasure agaynst the King by reason of his crueltie So as she besieged hir sayde husbande tooke him prysoner and bestowed him in the Tower of London Then caused she all the estates of the realme to be assembled by whome Kyng Edward the seconde for his crueltie committed agaynst his nobilitie was founde and pronounced vnworthy to be Kyng any longer and so was depriued of his dignitie And whyle he was yet aliue and prysoner in the sayde Tower of London the sayde estates crowned his sonne Edwarde the thyrde their Kyng of whome I haue spoken afore and shewed that he did the like to his mother Tarquine the proud a King of the Romanes was by his people driueÌ„ out of Rome as well for his gouerning ouer proudly as for suffering his sonne to violate a woman of honour named Lucrecia and being thence banished he sent his embassadours thither for the procuring of his peace and restablishement of his estate many gaue their consents to restore him and had he proceeded in gentle and tractable maner there had bene great likelyhoode of the recouerie of his kingdome But being vnable to maister his own pride he gathered together as many as he coulde get to take his part and with Porsena kyng of the Hetrurians whome he raysed vp to ayde him made warre againste the Romanes This war procured him such hatred of the Romanes which hadde bene his subiectes as they would neuer after returne vnder his obeysance in so much as both he and all his posteritie were depriued from off the kingdome and the estate of that Monarchie changed into a publike state And from that time forth the name of King was deadly hated and abhorred among the Romanes And no maruell though the name of King were so sore hated of the Romanes for one mans faulte that euen when the same state returned againe to a Monarchie vnder Iulius Caesar neither he nor his successours wold be called kings but Emperours For it hath happened so to dyuers other names The name of Tyrant which at this day soundeth so yll and is of euerie man hated was amongst our Elders an honourable name signified none other thing but lord insomuch that Virgil whose onely drift in his Aeneiadâ—s was to aduaunce the godlynesse vertue of his Aeneas calleth him Tyrant Likewise the name of Iudas which signifieth a Confessour was in times past reputed honourable and yet by reason of one mans faulte it is nowe taken for a traytour And before the Emperour Neroes time this name Neron which in the olde Sabin tong signifieth noble was esteemed as a glorious name especially after the days of Claudius Nero which ouercame Asdrubal Hannibals brother his 50000. men but for the offences of one only man the same is now taken for a tyrant So much may the wickednesse of one man do to the vtter defacing of a faire honorable name for euer God grauÌ„t that the vices of some of vs frenchmeÌ„ do not bespot the name of FreÌ„chman which hath heretofore bin esteemed and honored throughout al the world which thing I am sore afeard of if we mend not the soner for alreadie in Germanie they cal al frenchmen indifferently Schelmes Continuing our examples I will recite you one which is the more to be noted for that it was done by the way of iustice After the death of the great Herode king of Iudea Samaria Galile and Idumea there arose a strife and contention betweene Archelaus and Herodes Antipas his sonnes Archelaus would needs make wars against his subiectes vpon a verie slyght occasion in
Almanackes macke that feaste wyth blackt â—…teâ—s in token of heauynesse sorow and blot euerlasting Where me thinkes if rather deserued to haue dwelte in red letters in remembrance that the same day all Fraunce was dyed red wyth the bloude of hir childreÌ„ And though nothing else I say were to be weyghed the losse of so many notable Gospellers yet is it nothing to haue soft so many valiaÌ„t and noble Catholiques Is it little to haue lost Fraunces of Lorraine Duke of Guise great maister of Fraunce verily a good and valiant Captaine and an alter Charles Martel which Ronsard thus writeth of Among the frenchmeÌ„ Martell raignes with fame As king of kings though not a king in name Is it nothing to haue lost the good 〈◊〉 d'Aumale his brother the lustie Count Brisooke the curteous Count Martignes wyth a greate number of other wherethrough there remayneth at this day fewe good souldiers in Fraunce the nobilitie thereof being also well next extincte through these in the ciuill warres yea but some maister 〈◊〉 maye chaunce to say that the nobilitieâ— may sone be renued for the Kyng hath â—…wer of villaines to make noble men 〈◊〉 confesse that your Maiestie of ignoble 〈◊〉 make noble so farre foorth as to the inioyâ—ing of the priviledges of nobilitie and 〈◊〉 aduauâ—dâ—ment of the persons to great estatâ—… and preheminence but I beleeue not thâ—… a Kyng of a Clowne or base artificer 〈◊〉 make a noble Gentleman no 〈…〉 of a Bâ—zarde or Kestrell can be made 〈…〉 Hawke Nobilitie must from noblâ—â—…ture naturally proceede And it can 〈◊〉 be denyed but there is commonly 〈◊〉 apparance of generositie in suche as 〈◊〉 descended of nobilitie than in fuâ—… 〈◊〉 lineally proceeded from parentes of meaâ—… degree For as sayth Hoâ—… Each breedes his like the Bull a Bull the warlike horse a horse The cruell Eagle breedeth not 〈◊〉 Doue deuoyd of force Yet will I not altogether deny but some issued out of the meane places become honorable personages and are replete with noblenesse vertue and knowledge but those are verie rare And therefore they that to encourage you to the prosecuting of the warres against your fithâ—…es say ye may all newe make nobilitie speake bothe without reason and good consideration and there suche speaches are odious But again to returne to Augustus Caesar It is certaine that in the ciuill warres as the gaine to be gotten by the vanquishing of the gospellers can at the best hand be but smal so may the losse to growe thereby be at the wâ—… hand very great euen to the daungering of the state if it should so fal out that the 〈…〉 with good policie should bounde vpperâ—ood And that is a thing not altogether impossible though your Maiestie to your late brother haue hitherto had the 〈◊〉 for the wars are â—…iable the adueÌ„tures of the same daungerous so as he that loseth this day is commonly a winner to morowe The Beniamires after the ouercomming of their aduersaries in two seuerall battelles were in the thirde of the same aduersaries ouercome And I woulde verie fayne aske of those that counselled you to the besieging of Pouzin and Graue howe well they vnderstoode that saying of Augustus was not that the right fyshing with a hooke of golde broken off and lost cost not those two peeces fiftie tymes more than they were worth neyther Pouzin nor Graue with al their reuenues goods men women and children being solde to the vttermost farthing shall euer be so muche worth Now coming to entreate of the goodnesse of this peace alas my desire to see it well stablished in Fraunce doth so rauishe me as I knowe not at which ende thereof to begin willingly would I prognosticate that like honor and glory should happen vnto your Maiestie if the Lorde were so pleased as in time past hapned to Augustus Caesar who after the ciuill warres were ceased in the Romane Empire wherein him selfe had bene a partie stablished throughout the same a perfect good and sure peace therewith setled the people in rest and tranquillitie Wel I wil in hope of good hap that may folowe my happy desire write this verse whiche Horace song in the honour of Augustus and so apply it to your Maiestie AS I the deeds of Mars did mynde in meetre for to briâ— And of his prayses to my harpe a dittie for to sing Apollo did by wordes expresse commaund me for to ceasâ— And for to turne my note to sing of glad and ioyfull peace Which thou king Henrie shouldst in France establish so as 〈◊〉 Of corne wine all good fruits should plentie haue by theâ— Thou thou art he I say that shal the golden age renue By meanes wherof immortal fame shal vnto thee insue The doores of Ianus thou shalt shut the terror of thy mace All euill and vngracious deeds by holy lawes shall chace And vnder thee all holesome artes shall flourish new ageinâ— Which in the east shal spred abroad the honor that doth reigâ— Within thy royal Maiestie So daunted Marâ— shall be In Henries reigne that ciuill warres we neuer more shal seâ— There shall no warre nor trouble be in field nor yet in towâ— His power the frenchmeÌ„ shal coÌ„pell their choller to lay dowâ— Which draue them to such miseries Al quarters of this lanâ— Shall humbly and obediently submit them to his hande Ther shal be neither great nor smal that dare once break his heâ— To heauen we shall aduance his praise in quiet peace and reâ— Beseching God to graunt the house of Valoys to reteine The royal mace eternally for aye in Fraunce to reigne Many are the commodities sir that a good peace might bring to your people which are as it were the husbands traders by whose meanes your realme might become plentiful in corne wine siluer gold and al other needful pleasant and profitable things thereby thinke I your state royall should be greatly augmented For the chiefe part of a princes greatnesse is the prosperitie and wealth of his subiectes who bring poore their prince can not be riche nexte the whiche a Princes force dependeth vpon his peoples willing obedience but that render they not so willingly when they are oppressed with warrs and want wherewith to furnishe them as when they are maynteined in peace and by their tillage traffike haue those wantes supplyed And surely the money that mainteyneth these vnhappy warres employed vpon the entertaynment of straungers and liberally bestowed vppon the well affected towardes you woulde purchase you no small strength And might the Polonians once vnderstand that your Maiestie had established a perfecte good peace in Fraunce to the contentment of the professours of both the religions as it is not to be doubted but they woulde yeelde you muche the more affection and obedience so is it to bee feared if it should otherwyse fall out that they wil prouide them of some other king And somuch the rather for that their late king Sigismond did alwayes maynteine
bare to their vsuries wherevppon they yet vse this prouerbe when any is noted for a great vsurer He is in vsury a very Iewe. Vpon the whiche occasion also the Italians heeretofore called Lombards whiche with their great vsuries did robbe as still they do the realme of the treasure haue bin chased out of Fraunce In the best townes whereof yea and that in the very harte of the same where diuers streetes and places yet beare the names of Iewries the Iewes shuld now dwell at their ease as well as euer they did were there none other matter to let them than their onely religion whiche though it bee muche contrary to that of the Catholiques was neuer the cause of their chasing out of Fraunce where before their expulsemente they hadde dwelte many hundred yeeres Neyther can it bee denied that the Paynims Religion is cleane contrary to that of the Catholiques and yet haue diueâ—s Paynim Emperours suffered as many as wold to become Christians vnder them as Nerua Anthonius Pius and Alexander Seuerus Traian also did secretly suffer them likewise to do withoute any search made after them And those Emperours dyd not so in respecte of any good thyng they founde in the Christian Religion the professors whereof they beleeued to be the wickeddest people in the worlde in somuche as among the Paynim people the only name of Christian was detested and abhorred witnesse heereof Suetonius whych called the Christians men of a newe and malitious superstition And Tacitus sayd that the people vsed the name of Christian as a matter of mockery and derision the professours whereof were hated bycause of their wickednesse Wherein Suetonius and Tacitus shewed them selues good courtiers taking pleasure with lying to please the princes and the people Pliny the seconde though hee was a Painim as they were and lyued in their time durst not lye so impudently but of the liues of the Christians to the Emperour Traian rendred a good testimonie as in his Epistles is to bee seene Seeyng then the Painim Emperoures had so euill opinion of the christians wherefore suffered he them to be Christened Euen for the benefyte of peace The Emperours Dioclesian and Maximian did greatly persecute the Christians and that of purpose to roote them out in whyche persecution they did to deathe an infinite number but when they sawe theyr crueltie nothyng to paruayle but that for euery one they kilde ten other encreased Maximian at the last suffered who so woulde to become Christened and to exercise that Religion As much myghte bee sayde of the Christian Emperours which did as well detest the Painims Religion as dyd the Painims that of the Chrystians yet woulde they neuer take vppon them she constraint of their consciences but suffered to continue Painims as many as woulde The Historiographer Marcellinus witnesseth that the Emperoure Valentinian whyche was a Christian vsed not to molest any person for matters of Religion nor euer commaunded that any shoulde worship eyther this or that with one fashion or other Likewise also the Emperours Honorius and Theodosius whyche were Christians woulde not that the Painims should be forced to be Christened but caused an expresse lawe to bee made that none should offende them eyther in their persons or their goods vnder the pretence of Religion If then the Christians haue suffered the Painims Religion and the Painims haue likewise suffered the Religion of the Christians Wherefore to winne peace will not the Catholiques suffer that Religion of the Gospellers Those two religions haue bin seene sir to dwel peaceably togither within your realme of Poland as also in many towns of Almaine and wherefore should they not as well dwell peaceably togyther in Fraunce Are the French men more hard to be tamed more disobediente or more barbarous and fierce than other nations It appeareth cleane contrary For vpon the Edict of Ianuary the Catholiques were not greeued at all to see the Gospellers vse the exercise of their religion though it were somewhat newe vnto them but liued the one with the other togither in good peace wherein also they had till this time continued if the vnhappy execution of Vassi which was the welspring of all our warres and of all the miseries and mischiefes which we haue since that time suffered or yet doe suffer had not happened I will not denie but the warres and acts of hostilitie passed betweene the one the other haue bredde in the hartes of men hautie minds euil dispositioÌ„s which may be som cause that the Catholiques will now more hardly thaÌ„ in the beginning suffer to come so neere them the exercise of the Religion and the rather for that many esteeme the same Religion to bee the cause of all the sayde miseries and mischiefes whiche they feare would exceede if it shoulde againe be reestablished in Fraunce Wherevnto I answere that the people of any good iudgemeÌ„t are not of that opinion as those that well knowe and it is in deede most true that the ambition of some with the desire they haue to commaunde and their greedinesse by the robberie of other to enrich them selues haue bene and are the only causes of our troubles and that there the name of Religion hath bene vsed but as a cloake or a curtaine to couer those pretences For some say they wyll not suffer in Fraunce any other religion thaÌ„ the Catholike as the most auncient and that hath bene receiued from time out of mynde since the time of great king Clouis and other some say they will folowe the religion refourmed that was not only before Clouis but also before the realme of Fraunce and that they ought not in their consciences to be forced vpon the which controuersie these ciuill warres haue bene builded but the chiefe aduauncers of the cause haue had in their hartes another maner of zeale than of religion as men of iudgement haue well perceyued the common people which iudge all things rashly for that they esteeme religion to be the cause of our warres and calamities stande in feare that it taking place the olde woundes woulde breake out and bleede againe This vulgar opinion is not much to be passed on bycause it always readily rangeth to the strongest parte But for myne owne part I beleeue that the best part of nobilitie of the commonaltie yea of the cleargie for the obtayning of peace would easily consent that the Gospel should freely be stablished in Fraunce till such time as God to whome onely the clearing of mans heart by the light of his truth appertayneth myght knit vs all in one kynde of religion whiche we are to hope that he who is the father of knowledge and discouerer of all things will doe after men shall awhyle haue reposed them from the ciuill warres and cast quite off thâ—… stoutnesse and hatred whiche nowe blindeth their iudgementes There is at this present no order bycause each to the side be standeth on sticketh fast each 〈◊〉 saith to him selfe my
Realme in to the auncient estate of quietnesse and tranquillitie by meanes of suche peace as we intende to giue to our subiectes and the clemencie we purpose to vse towardes them forgetting all that is passed without remembring any part thereof and intending that none of all our subiectes of what qualitie degree or condition so euer they bee or for what cause so euer may bee pretended to haue bene doone and committed by them during the troubles or by their occasion shall any way be disquieted molested or syfted by vs or oure officers eyther in their persons goodes or honours but that they may lyue in their houses in all assurance rest and tranquilitie both they their families and posterities And therefore we folowing conforming our selues to our sayd first letters mynding moreouer so greatly the benefit of peace that we will not in any wyse haue them syfted distressed nor troubled for their consciences but doe vtterly forbid it and for the same wyll make all necessarie prouision to be put in readynesse And to the ende that those which are willing to come to vs to shewe vs their griefes may doe it safely and so likewise returne We will that these presents shall serue them for safeconduct Prouided alwayes that as well for theyr comming as theyr going they take safeconductes and Pasportes of the gouernours and Lieftenantes generall of our prouinces by which they passe Whom we commaunde to deliuer the same vnto thē without refuse or delay Enioyning also all gouernours Captaynes of places our iusticers and officers Sherifes of Townes and other our subiectes according to theyr dueties to suffer all suche trauellers to come and goe safely without giuing or suffering to be giuen any molestation or impeachement And we promise in the faith and word of a king and vpō our honor to accomplish and performe that which is by these presents and shall be by vs after accorded and assured And for more greater suretie it shall be allowed and approued as matter of recorde throughout all the courtes of Parliamentes of our Realm by the Princes of our bloud Lordes Gentlemen Mayors Sherifes and principall dwellers of oure Townes and others if neede shall require Thus wee gyue commaundemente to our trusty and welbeloued officers of our Courtes of Parliamentes and our sayde Liefetenantes generall gouernours Baylifes Stewardes and other deputies to keepe and obserue inuiolably these presentes without contradiction or suffering any contradiction in what sort or manner soeuer it be putting our atturney generall and all others vnto silence For so is our pleasure In witnesse whereof we haue caused our seale to be put to these presentes Giuen at Lions the thirtienth day of October in the yeare of grace .1574 and of our raigne the first So signed HENRY And vpon the reply By the king being in his councell at Neufville And sealed with double labels in yellowe waxe ¶ A declaration to the most Christian king Henrie the thirde of that name king of Fraunce and Poland SYr the two Edictes that your maiestie hath caused to be published since youre newe comming to the Crowne which GOD make prosperous vnto you doe make great shewe that your sayde Maiestie is desirous to see a good peace in France And truly al good people do greatly praise God for the good wil fatherly affection that he hath put into your heart towards your sayde subiects and desire that the same may there take so deepe and liuely roote as it may vtter it selfe more and more in deede and effect But according to your sayd Maiesties complaint in the last of those Edictes many are so full of mistrust as they can hardly beleue such affection of peace to be yet throughly imprinted in your heart the rather for that they see your Maiestie to make warre against them to whom you say you intende to giue peace in so muche that seeing on the one side a pretence of your will tending to peace and on the other side an execution of warre they knowe not what to determine thereof Some say they must rest them selues rather on the deede than on the word paper or ynke Other some thinke that the worde and promise of a King is ground sufficient to reste vppon excusing youre Maiesties making of warre with the same excuse that is contayned in your last Edict that is to say that your Maiestie assembled not those forces but hauing found them readie furnished at your cōming to the crown thought it more requisite to imploy them than to suffer them to be idle specially seeing that the entertaining of them was so chargeable they must needs be payd whether they serue or no. Some say moreouer that what so euer your Maiestie hath doone touching the execution of war was but to sharpen mens apetites vnto peace which held your townes in their hands were in armes against you bycause feare is a ready meane to make the weaker craue peace of the stronger Othersome say further that a noble prince oughte to behaue him selfe mildely towardes suche as humble them selues vnder his obeysance and to tame and represse suche as make resistance against him and that therefore your Maiestie hathe iust cause to make warre against those your subiects whiche will not yeeld you their obedience to whome neuerthelesse ye would giue peace if they woulde put off armor desire it of you with humblenesse But to speake the trueth all these reasons can not make the greater number to hazard them selues by beleeuing the contrary say they to that which they haue seene and yet doe see with their eyes And especially those that be in armes who thinke yee meane to make of them a matter seruiceable to your glory and triumph as did the ancient Emperours those barbarous nations whom they subdued And they groūd their beleefe vpon your first Edict by the whyche your said Maiestie seemeth to take for great victorie and matter of triumph the lamentable aduentures happened in the warres passed in the late king your brothers tyme against those that named them selues youre subiectes and were in deede Frenchmen borne Again they graūt that a prince ought to represse and tame suche as will not obey him and that God and nature doe teache vs to obey our princes and soueraigne Lordes but they also say that God and nature doe likewise teach vs to preserue our liues and that to the obedience due to princes ought to be ioyned the assurance of the subiectes lyues which should not be taken away but by order of lawe and that if they were assured of that point vppon any other pledges than paper and ynke there were nothing in the world that they woulde more willingly do than the yelding vnto you theyr whole obedience and seruice and that therefore they are not to bee accompted as traytors and rebels though they submit not themselues without assurance of their liues bycause the former time serueth them for a sufficient example and lesson to learne by the
harmes of their kinsfolke friendes neyther to be light of beleefe nor to hazard their liues but vpon good warrant They furder discourse hereof in many other sortes your Maiestie may well consider that to such as liue in feare of their liues all things are holden suspect For some bycause them selues are desirous of peace are easily perswaded that your maiestie desireth the same and othersome for the doubt they stand in of their liues are loth to beleeue any thing and all generally hang in the ballance betweene hope and dread and knowe not what to trust vnto nor whiche way to turne them Now sir seeing the world in this maner is tossed I haue aduentured to take vppon me the humble presentment of this little declaration vnto your maiestie thereby to giue you knowledge of three points of great importance whiche I intende to verifie by examples notable and worthy of memorie One is that neuer Prince founde it good to make warre againste his subiectes nor to deale rigorously and cruelly with them Another is that a good peace would not onely make your realme of France to florishe and your poore subiects to prosper which are now at the last cast but also make you the greatest king that euer was in France yea without exceptioÌ„ of Charlemaine Clowis or any other And the third point is that a good peace is not so impossible to bee made as many iudge it to be But before I enter into the discourse of these three points I wil here recite one historie much to the purpose of my former saying that the poore preteÌ„ded rebels are in such wise tossed betweene hope and dread as they know not where they are And God graunt your maiesty a willing desire to folow the exaÌ„ple of this historie which I shall declare The Romanes had in â—imes past muche war with the Latines which were their neybors as it were subiect to theÌ„ by reason of their neere neighborhod But the Romanes hauing ouercome them in many victories would needes constrayne them to the yeelding of a good part of their goodes and possessions by way of an amendes making for that the Latins had broken the treatie of theyr assotiatioÌ„ were becom rebels against theÌ„ The pore Latines being sore troubled vexed knew not which way to wind them for it greeued theÌ„ extreamely to indure so great a losse ioyned with suche shame and dishonour on the other side they sawe no meane left them whereby to maintaine the warres any longer Herevpon one Furius Camillus a braue and valiant Captaine and then CoÌ„sull of Rome declared to the senate that hee knew a very good an assured meanes how to make that the Latins shoulde neuer after that rise vp in armes against the Romaines but euer liue in peace and fidelitie togyther with them Then demaunded they of hym what that meanes was Euen this sayde he that nowe when they are vanquished and so troubled as they knowe not what to doe we receyue them for Citizens of Rome as our selues to enioy the like profites commodities and priuileges as we do for they looke not for so great a benefite at our handes but prepare them selues both to doe and receyue all hostility And herein is offered vnto vs a very faire occasion to increase oure glory whiche wee oughte not to let slippe bycause there is not a surer nor a longer lasting gouernemeÌ„t than that which is plausible vnto the gouerned But we must make hast to the intente that nowe while they looke for warre and prepare for it we may preuent them with so great a benefyte When Camillus had so put foorth his mind and opinion the voices ranne whereof the greater nuÌ„ber stayed vppon his sayings and his aduice was followed for the receyuing of the Latins to be Citizens of Rome to the enioying of the like rightes and priuileges as the Citizens did And from that tyme forwarde they were alwayes so firmely vnited to the Romanes as there was neuer any warre or deuision betweene them Now then if your Maiestie would voutchsafe to imitate thys noble and honorable manner of taking perpetuall peace with the poore pretended Rebels which are your subiects your goodnes gentlenesse and liberalitie shewed towards them which deserue it not would very gretly increase your glory And so much the greater would the benefyte be bycause they looke not for it but are vtterly perswaded that youre maiestie wil either haue no peace at al or else such a peace as shal only tend to your owne aduantage And therefore they be fully bent rather to endure all extremitie than to trust any more to those fruitelesse peaces whiche they cal Paix fourrees wherwith say they they haue alwayes heretofore bin entrapped I wil herevppon recite one other historie muche to the purpose In the time that the Romanes were at war with the Samnites a war like people it happened that Porthumius and Veturius consuls and captaynes of the Romane armie were by occasion of euill conduct enclosed in a streight of disaduantage And for lacke of a better remedy they entred into an entreaty of peace with the Samnites which so in that straight held their enclosed The Captain generall of the Samnites was a braue yong gentleman named Pontius whose father called Herennius had of long time gouerned the state of the Samnites The aduice of this good old man was asked for the making of peace he answeared that they must set goe the Romans whom they held already couped vp as Captiues without any harme or violence This aduice was not very well liked of by Potius his sonne which eftlones asked him whether he knew no better way than that for the bringing of the peace to passe To whom the good olde man answeared that if they misliked of that his firste opinion his nexte aduice was that they should kill all the Romanes which they held then enclosed without suffering of any one of them to escape For said he there is betweene both no meane that may auaile to the winning of a good peace the same must of necessitie be gotten either by the vertue of some benefite bestowed vpon the enemie or else by the so weakening of them through the putting of the whole armie to the sword as in a long time after they shall not be able to recouer again their force Neither the one nor the other of this good mans opinions were followed but in the ende a dissimuled peace was made whiche was not only shamefull to the Romanes but also by them incontinently broken to the vtter ruine decay of the Samnites whiche vnderstood in the ende that the counsell of the good old Herennius had bin the best to haue bin folowed Hereof sir I mean to coÌ„clude that for asmuch as the Hugonots cannot al be enclosed in one strayte that if they could to kil them al being your subiects not your enemies it were a thing neither reasonable nor coÌ„uenieÌ„t ye could not do better
than to agree to suche a peace as might to each parte be both profitable and agreeable which would cause it to be of continuāce In this respect the great warrior Hāniball demanded peace of the valiant happy Scipio after this maner It is I Hānibal that do demaund the peace which I would not demaunde if it might not be profitable and hauing obteyned such a one I wil willingly keepe it for the very same profit for the which I required it for to bee shorte a good peace ought not to be made in hast but rather to be digested with meere deliberation loking to none other end than the profite of the common weale And for this cause was it by Tullus Hostilius king of the Romanes saide that the mutual entercourse of commodities was the true band of peace But cōming now to intreat of those three points whiche before I proponed as subiect to this declaration Touching the first whiche is that a prince ought not to take in hand the making of wars against his subiects I set down for a true cōsequēce that a people do neuer die The perticulars or seueral parts of the same do die in deede but they leaue alwayes behind such as do succeede them not only in their inheritāces but also in their quarels passions so as seldome or neuer dieth ther any so very a caytife vnfortunate wretche that leaueth not another yea two or three eyther children brethren parēts or friēds which wil be sorie for his death seeke reuēgemēt of it if it wer violētly procured Wherfore who soeuer hath to do with a people by killing of the perticulars profiteth little bicause they leaue alwais to succede thē such as are as it were maried to their quarels The same is at thys day to be sene by the Gospellers so do I tearm them in stead of Hugonots and catholikes in stead of Papists as did the Lord of Valence in his declaratiō made to the Poloniās for within these .xv yeres what by the warres what by iustice and what by murthers there hath bene done to death more than 200000. and yet for all that there are still so great a number of them as it may seeme there hath not any one dyed There is very apparant reason why it should be so namely for that a people dyeth not bicause the perticulars haue alwayes other perticulars to succede them not onely in their inheritances but also in theyr maners instructions and other conditions But contrarywise the great Princes dye as the late king your brother is deade and many of his best seruitors are deade your selfe also are mortall and your best seruitors be mortall wherthrough it is commonly seene that great mens great deuices vanish away in the smoake bycause that for the moste parte their successours are not of the same humor and will but vse their gouernment farre otherwise the one vndoing what by the other was done In so much as it is sene that ordinarily they pull downe whome their predecessours had set vp Whereof among others master Enguerran of Marigny may be a witnesse which hauing bin in great credite and authoritie in the time of king Philip the faire was by his brother and successor king Lewes Hutin so abased as he therethrough became a poore man without any cause apparant other than for the enuie hate borne to the greatnesse that he had gotten Also the wise Courtiers which will not their liues honors and goods to depend vpon the life of one onely man are accustomed not onely to please him that presently raigneth but also him that is like to succede him For as Pompei said vnto Scilla there be moe that doe worship the sunne rising thā the sunne setting Alexander the great did in his time many wonderful incredible things For with an armie of .30000 Macedons he ouercam Darius the great monarch of al the east leuant in three battels In the first wherof Darius had 300000. mē which was twentie against one In the .2 he had .600000 which was .20 against one And in the third he had a Missiō which was thirtie against one He subdued al the Empire of Darius as the Persians the Medes the Parthians the Armenians the Babylonians with Egypt Palestine and Syria and generally all the lande habitable of Europe and Asi from Macedonie eastwarde vnto India But all those faire conquestes vanished like smoke and in the ende came to nothing for he him selfe died yong and left not successors of like noblenesse and valiācie as he was Whervpon Titus Liuius putteth forth this question If Alexander the great had taken in hande the warres of his time against the Romanes whether he should as easily haue ouercome them as he did Darius he answereth no. For though saith he Alexander was a valiant king and a stout braue warriour yet was he but one in hauing to do with Darius he had to do but with one head Where had he had to do with the Romanes he must haue fought with a number of braue Captaines one after another As Valerius Coruinus Martius Rutilius Caius Sulpicius Manlius Torquatus Publius Philo Papirius Cursor Fabius Maximus Lucius Volumnius the two Decians Marcus Curius and many other which would from hand to hande haue receyued him so as he shoulde haue knowne that they vnderstoode the mysteries of the warres And as concerning Councell Alexander whiche was a yong Prince could haue no better than they that were guided by the heades of a whole Senate The conclusion saith Titus Liuius is That the Macedons had but one Alexander but the Romanes had many captaines which woulde haue matched him of whome euerie one should haue liued and dyed without perill or danger to the state publike Whereas by the death of Alexander the state of his Monarch was rent and torne in peeces The experience of this discourse of Titus Liuius was well seene in the warres that Hanniball had against the Romanes For he was a wise and valiaunt Captaine and knewe as well howe to guide his armie as when to fight Neyther was he ignorant of the stratagemes or policies of warre And in deede he ouerthrew many of the Romane Captaines as Flamminius Paulus Emilius Terencius Varro Marcellus and many other But in the ende he was repulsed by Claudius Nero Fabius Maximus and other and last of all so vtterly ouerthrowne by the great Scipio the Affricane as he founde well that it was no small thing to haue to doe with a people which do dayly breede newe Captaines and men of warre And that wel the perticulars of a people may be vanquished and ouerthrowne but the whole people neuer According to this saying of the philosophers A generall kinde is immortall by reason of the succession of perticulars which succeede one another though euerie perticular in it selfe be mortall And this reason aduiseth a Prince not onely to forbeare to striue with his people but also to shunne the euill will of
bludsucker he was Also this other good qualitie he had that Sardanapalus was neuer plunged more deepely in disordinate lecherie and voluptuousnesse than he These two faire properties of crueltie and lecherie caused the most part of the prouinces of the Empire to reuolt from his gouernment In so much that in dyuers countries there rose vp against him eyght and twentie captaines whereof one got one prouince another got another so as a great part of the nations subiecte to the Empire of Rome did cut them selues quite off from their obedience to the Empire which coulde neuer after that recouer againe his dominions but being extremely hated was slayne by a captaine of Sclauonie And when one came to him and sayd syr Fraunce is reuolted against you Well well sayd he shal we leaue our good chetre for those pyde coates for the Frēchmen then ware their garmēts embrodered with coloures And whē another sayde vnto him that Egypt was reuolted from his obeysance Wel wel quoth he cannot we forbeare the surplices of Egypt The like wordes vsed he of other Prouinces when tydings was brought him of their reuolting Wherevpon by the way I note howe welnere ordinarily it happeneth that when one Prouince or towne reuolteth the reuoltes of other doe easily folowe bycause naturally men desire change and are neuer contented with their present state but hope still vpon better when it turneth commonly into worse The example of which manner of reuoltment is well to be seene in this Historie of Gallien for after Fraunce was reuolted the other Prouinces ensued one after another It was also to be seene in that I sayde before of Nero from whome as firste Fraunce and then Spaine reuolted so the other Prouinces folowed When Hanniball had wonne the iourney of Cannas against the Romanes a great part of their subiectes one after another forsooke them and willingly yeelded them selues to Hanniball The like may be learned of the warres which the Romanes had againste their confederates which reuolted one after another yea and banded them selues together against them Caesar doth also write that after he had brought vnder his obeysance the townes of Fraunce they of Autun which were the first that drew him into Fraunce were also the firste that withdrewe them selues from him and made the most part of the other townes to doe the like in such sort as he founde more painefull his gouerning therin at the last thā he did his conquering of them at the first Wherevpon hee saide that the french men are naturally enclyned to reuolting when the way is once opened to thē I could alledge an infinit nūber of other examples to this purpose but the matter is cleare inough of it selfe requireth no large discourse and therefore I wil now returne to my purpose Lewes the last Earle of Flaunders for after him the Earldome fell into the house of Burgoign and from thēce into the house of Austrich wher it now tarieth made great and grieuous warres against his subiectes of Gaunt bycause they were not to him so obedient as he woulde them as people that in deede were alwayes too stubborne against their Prince He hauing then continued a long and sharpe siege by cutting off their victuals brought amongst them a maruellous famine wherethrough they were driuen into an vtter dispaire The poore people desired the Dutches of Brabant the Bishop of Liege and certaine other of the nobilitie to entreate for some good peace with the said Earle their Lorde The which the sayde Lords tooke great paynes to do but the Earle would in no wise agree to any other ende than that all the inhabitantes of Gaunt should in a certain place come before him barefoote and bare headed with halters about their neckes demaunding pardon for their rebellion and their pardonings neuerthelesse to stande vpon his pleasure Whē the poore Gauntois vnderstoode no better remedy to be hoped for thā that they desperatly determined rather than so to hazard them selues to dy with their swords in their hāds Whervpō out of the town there issued about 5000. Gauntois compelled therto by famin as the wolfe is to the wood which sped them towards Bridges where the Earle their lord then lay with his power And when they came somewhat neare the sayde towne of Bridges their captaines and certain Fryers that were with them beganne to encourage them tolde them that their case was like to the children of Israell which had humbled thē selues as much as might be vnto Pharao and yet he had neuer the more pitie vpon thē And that euen as God had drowned Pharao in the depth of the sea for his rygour reached out to the Israelites so woulde he punishe Lewes their Lorde for his crueltie extended to the Gauntois Whilest the Fryers were thus preaching to the poore hungerstarued people beholde the armie of the Earle which were fourtie thousande men in good aray came raunging towardes the sayde fiue thousande famished Gauntois who on the one side being past all hope of any fauor at their Lordes hande and on the other side readie to be swalowed vp by famine determined verily to vanquishe or to dye and therevpon fought so valyantly and desperately as they ouerthrewe the Earles armie sacked his houses and tooke his towne of Brudges and gate vnder their gouernment all his townes of Flaunders Audenarde only excepted The Earle saued him selfe within Brudges after the ouerthrowe of his armie And when Brudges was taken he hid himself in the house of a poore woman which bestowed him in a garret vnder a little couch vpon the which hir yong children were layde to sleepe The next morning he founde the meanes to steale out of the towne secretly disguised in a Costerdmongers apparell wherwith he gat into Lisle where he taryed in safetie But after that time neuer lyued peaceably in his countrey for whereas before he had but only the Gauntois agaynst him whiche hee might easily by gentle meanes haue brought vnder his obeysante he was after that banded agaynst by all the whole countrey Roboam Kyng of Israell a Prince euill aduised althoughe he were the sonne of Salomon a wise father Woulde needes put vpon his people greater tributes and subsidies than euer his sayde father dyd The people opening to him their griefes by way of complayntes shewed them selues vnable to sustayne so great charges Wherevpon Roboam brought the matter to his counsell to the ende they myght determine what best therein was to be done The olde and sage Counsellours were of opinion that his best was to graunt to his subiectes their demaunde in not augmenting of their impostes wherethrough he might at his newe comming to the Crowne winne the hearts of his people to the rendring of their obedience and franke good wil to hys seruice The counsellours whiche were yong as well in iudgement as in yeeres and suche as at this day there are too many of were of the contrary opiniō saying that it was not mete
assemblies secretely in the Townes and exhorting the people no longer to suffer neyther the continuaunce of the tributes wherewith the Emperour oppressed them nor the pride and crueltie wherewith the Magistrates sente thyther from Rome ouerburdened them Also they reuolted vnder the Emperour Nero as well for his greate crueltie as for his ouercharging them wyth greate paymentes of money by mee before spoken of Lykewise vnder the Emperour Gallien for hys greate riot and whoredome as before I haue touched For the Frenchmen sayeth Pollio were in those dayes of suche disposition as they coulde not abide a vicious Prince And agayne after they reuolted from the Emperoures Probus Dioclesian and others tyll they hadde quite cut off them selues agayne from the Empyre and politiquely broughte their countrie into a self settled Monarchie the which the Lord long mayntayne Who soeuer woulde take vppon him the discouering of the infinite number of examples whiche touche the alterations that haue happened in publique estates from Monarchies into common weales and from common weales into Monarchies when corruption hadde once caughte them shoulde neuer make an ende but to mee it suffiseth to haue touched these fewe to the ende that youre Maiestie by youre wisedome myghte prouide that the corruptions whiche are nowe crept into France and are dayly like to creepe further bring not with them a change to the state which God forbid For truely there is nothing that more foresheweth the alteration of an estate than when corruption is seene to spread ouer farre into it I knowe well that men can not be without faultes neyther can Monarchies nor common wealthes bee so gouerned as there may not in the gouernement be found matter of reproofe but when al things in the fame are to be seene turned the vpside downe when vice is made vertue and vertue made vice when good men are hated and euill men aduanced in summe whē corruption hath recouered the highest degree that it may reache to then may it well bee sayd according as men do see continually that an exchange of state approcheth Wherwithall is to be noted that by the ordinarie course of worldly things no one state can endure for euer And syr seeing that your kingdome hath endured this twelue hundreth yeeres and more you ought so muche the rather to feare least in the state thereof some alteration shoulde happen And if in Iulius Caesars time the strangers drawen into Fraunce coulde fynde the way to winne the same it is not to bee doubted but if it may lye in their power they will nowe doe the lyke The Frenchmen when they sawe the euill dealing of Caesar repented their calling him into Fraunce but then it was too late Let vs therefore in tyme bee warned by the harmes of our auncestours so to prouide for our safeties as we be not ouertaken as were the Troyans whiche became wise but not til after such time as they were vtterly ouerthrowen The seconde point HItherto I haue I thinke sufficientlye spoken of the firste poynte of my treatie that is to saye that a Prince shall not fynde profitable his making of warres agaynste his subiects It foloweth now that I come to say somewhat of the seconde whiche entreateth of those miseries that ciuill warres do engender and the profit that a good peace might bryng to youre Crowne and poore Subiects Of the calamities that from ciuil warres do proceede we neede not to make any long discourse eache seeing and feeling the same in a thousand sortes of afflictions touchyng their persons losse of goodes and deathe of parents and friends and each knoweth that hath any iudgemente the mischiefes thereof to be such as wil if they continue bring the realme to vtter destruction For ther is none that seeth what we see and knoweth what wee knowe but may thinke that the ciuill warres enduring it will happē vnto France as it happened to the two fighting Frogges whiche when they had fought till they were weery were by the Kyte that came to parte them in eache foote one carried away And it is not to bee doubted but the straungers whiche to that warre encouraged vs are as gladde to see vs togither by the eares as was the Kyte soaring ouer the Frogges to see them fyght whose fyghting he meant to make a furderaunce to his pray as they hope ours shall one daye bee to theirs when wee shall bee vnable any longer to mayntayne warres And therefore it is that some on the one syde and some on the other to the proceeding on both sydes gyue so great encouragemente Ah Syr sayth one will you lose the glorious title of most Christian King heeretofore gotten by youre auncestours through their maineteyning of the Romane Churche Will you sir cryeth another suffer your Subiectes to prescribe lawes vnto you and to bring into youre Realme a newe Religion maugre youre will will not you perfourme the agreemēt of the holy league whiche is to abolishe whatsoeuer in fayth is contrary to the holy Church of Rome The Frenchmen haue aforetime had this honor to haue often passed the mountaynes and to haue made beyonde the seas many iourneyes for the defence of the catholique religion holy sea of Rome and must they now lose that glory Philip August king of France ouerthrew the Albegeois his subiects made of thē a great slauter for that they would haue intruded into their countrey a new kinde of Religion which by the executiō was put away abolished Why folow you not then the exāple of the good king your predecessour These such other proper deuises put forth by the Spanyards Popes Pencionaries to encourage you to the setting on fire the foure corners yea and middle parte of your Realme But in the meane season none dothe saye vnto you Sir you spyll and vtterly spoyle youre Realme in making warre against your subiects whych kind of warre no Prince did euer finde profytable There is none that sayth vnto you Sir you bring your selfe in hatred of youre neighbours the Almaines Englishmen Scots and Flemings from whom in time of neede more amitie might be drawen than may eyther from the Italians or Spaniardes None dare to you say Sir this cause of religion is not yet so broughte out of doubte that the gospellers be vanquished in the error of their fayth for they presented themselues at Poissi in the time of your late brother to mainteine the poyntes of their Religion but my maisters the Prelates were as then at no leysure to confute them so that whether in fayth they erre or not is as yet vndetermined And therefore you shoulde not be so greatly moued as to execute them before they were condemned And touchyng the councell of Trent they say it is as it were a determined sentence giuen of a selfwil and that they ought neuerthelesse to be hearde at the least in purging themselues of stubborne dealing as in deede they may well doe Besides this there are that beate downe the sayd
counsell as a thing of no force as the late master Charles of Molin a very lerned lawyer doth who hath taken .xxx. or fortie exceptions to the saide counsell And there are some of opinion that men ought to be admitted to haue a writ of error against the same counsell as wel as against a wrong iudgement in the Parliament of Paris giuen vpoÌ„ the hearing of the parties Wherefore to execute the poore gospellers to roote them out by peremptorie iudgemeÌ„t before they be duly condemned and their reasons and defences herd were too wroÌ„gful vnreasonable dealing seeing that ouerhastie iudgements are not vsed in lesser matters Yea but say they they be rebellious and seditious ha that is another maner of matter The things that I say at this present are but to disproue the reasons of such as help to kindle the fire in FraÌ„ce vnder pretence of rooting out the enimies of the faith for in that respect I saye that that point is not voyde â–ª Touching that which is said that the gospellers should be rebels they flatly denie it put the case they 〈…〉 it cannot be denied but they haue these be 〈◊〉 bin compelled by sundry greate 〈…〉 yet wer it no hard matter by 〈…〉 to reduce them to obedience Those which so sound the trumpet to prouoke vs to the warrs to the staying of one another care not much by what makes they do it so it be don For the marke that they 〈◊〉 at is that we destroy ourselues with our owne proper forces a thing to them indâ—…end so it be done without their cost The Spaniardes stande in hope to become greates by our becomming lesse and would gladly vnite Spayne with the lowe countrie they could by the gayning of France that â—iâ—…d betweene both And the potentates of Italy know very well that were the Frenchmen once at rest they would by and by vndertakâ— some voyages thither for the recouerie of the realmes of Cycill Naples and the Dutchy oâ— Millaine as did the late kings of happy memorie Charles the eight Lewis the twelfth Frauncis the firste and Henry the seconde They 〈◊〉 be further the like part and noâ—… 〈…〉 the doing in as mâ—ch not to bee 〈…〉 Henry the thirde wherwith also they sâ—and â—n feare least vnder the colour of suâ— voâ—ages Italy will one day be encouraged to crye liberty liberty if they shal once see suche mother King in Fraunce as was Châ—…tes the â—…ght So take they pleasure to see vs at warre whilst they as lookers on lye at their â—aâ—e in peace But doth they and we it we did wel should more aduisedly looke to the matter than eyther to runne one vpoÌ„ another or to nourish ciuill diuetioÌ„s amoÌ„gst our selues For within little more than .80 yeeres the Turk hath taken Constantinople from the Christians since he neuer ceassed the enlarging of his limites vpoÌ„ ChristeÌ„dom aswel with the Iland of Rhodes Cipres as in the land of Hungary other places And diâ—ring our deuisioÌ„s he worketh his aduaÌ„tage wherof may beare good witnes the prises by him of late taken at the Goletta at Tunis with the ouerthrow of the Spanyardes wherthrough he hath made open the passages for the enbarquing of himselfe at his pleasure eyther into Spayne Cicill Italy Marcelles or Narbone without any stoppe or stay And might he once enter into Italy as god forbid he shuld it were greatly to be feared that he woulde make him selfe Pope with a shorte roabe Wherefore holye Saint Peeter might do wel to looke to his own busines rather to solicite matter of peace to the ChristiaÌ„s thaÌ„ to mayntayn in Fraunce such ciuill warres as is lyke to consume the strength of that Realm which might in time to come be a necessary neighbour for Italies defeÌ„ce But are not wee maruelously blinded in our passions For those my masters the potentates of Italie which haue their factours in FraÌ„ce of great credit are the chiefe means that we with ciuill warres are entertayned taking pleasure to see vs buckle togither no more nor lesse than did the auntiente Romanes when in their theatres they sawe the sword players kill the one the other This was a kind of pastime accustomed to be shewed to the people who tooke greate pleasure to behold such cruel spectacles so full of impiety they wer euer accustomed to the shedding of bloud And truly we FrenchmeÌ„ are now become the right successors to those auntient Romanes successors I say to their vices not their vertues in the vsing our slaughters desperate skyrmishes as sportes pastimes to please theÌ„ withall I will not say holy S. Peter himselfe reioiceth in the effusion of french bloud for that were an errour in the fayth of holy church after whom we must beleeue that it can doe speake nor thinke any thing that is euil but what was his meaning in making in Rome so greate bonefiers for ioye and iolly generall processions in the yere 1572. in September vpon the ariuall of the newes of the Bartholmew conspiracie To conclude vpon this poynt certaine it is that our ciuill warres if they continue will bring muche pleasure and pastime to strangers and it may be much profite to but not without our preiudice and vtter destruction For what other may we looke for than that those of vs which shall happen to escape the sworde be they Catholikes be they Gospellers shal not escape famine and those that escape famine it may be shall not escape the hande of the strange enimie to whome they must then become seruants and slaues Then will they lament those deade in the warres wishing for death and can not dye Besides this syr your Maiestie can not looke after ought else than reuolts rebelloins disobediences hatred of subiects and lastly the vtter ruine and ouerthrowe of your estate whiche God forbid And whylest these mischiefes are in hand and before the storme come you shal reape none other fruites than displeasures heauinesse despites angers treasons troubles and suche like that may hinder the health of your person wherewith also ye must taste part of the peoples pouertie that will not or can not so fully furnishe you with money as the necessitie of your case shall require Otherwise is there not occasion to feare some perticular daunger Childerick kyng of Fraunce for hauing onely offended a meane Gentleman named Bandille whome he caused to be scourged was slayne in ambush by him What became of it Bandille was not somuch as once serched for by Childericks successor and as touching the fact it was esteemed as a thing well done in reuenging such an iniurie And the gentleman was for that deede commended by the historians as he was also of Ronsard where he speaketh of the king Childerick thus The King vnable for to rule him selfe through heate of wrath The valiant Knight syr Bandil to a post last tyed hath In publike place and causing him starke naked to be stript From top to toe most
cruelly with passing rage him whipt Now Bandil stout and fierce of minde conceyuing more disdayne Of so outrageous villanie than passing for the payne And feeding in his pensiue hart on purpose to requite Will wisely for a time let slip the wreaking of that spite But afterward the shamefulnesse so sore his hart doth sting He burning in disdaine and rage against the cruell king And hauing no regard at all of scepter crowne or state Will pay him home his hastie mode with stroke of blouddy fate His hart will neuer be at rest vntill his hand haue shed His lord and maisters bloud and wrought reuengement on his head And is it not to be presumed that there be at this day a thousād Bandils which feel thē as much offēded as he did your maiestie perseuering in the taking away of their goods and liues And shall ye not as readily finde Ronsards to prayse and set them forwarde in such enterprises Be there not nowe also Magiciens that can torment and by little little consume a body by his image or coūterfait as well as were in the time of Valens and Valentinian the Emperours Yes this worlde is at this day more poysoned with Magitiens Enchauntours and Sorcerers than it was these fiue hundred yeeres past But these Hugonots will some say be of too good conscience to vse those kynde of people I answere therevnto that there be of diuers sortes some haue a right good conscience and some none at all There be wise there be foolish there be sufferers there be reuengers but moe without comparison out of order than reformed And be there not numbers also of Catholikes not contented and of Atheists not satisfied which will make small scruple to employ those Magiciens in reuenging of them selues But to encounter with those enterprises you shall do well sir to take councell of that gentle prince Arnus sonne to Porsena King of the Hetrurians Porsena in the quarell of another that is to say to maynteine the tyrannie of Tarquin the proude vndertooke the warres against the Romanes who seeing this King to make them warre for a thing that nothing touched him tooke the matter verie haynously in so much as there was founde amongst them three hundred Gentlemen whiche conspired to goe in counterfet apparell to King Porsenas campe to the ende there to kyll him Q. Mutius was one of the conspirators who being come inot the saide campe seing one of the kings seruantes set in a chayre brauely furnished taking him for the king him self killed him with the stroke of a dagger hauing giuen this blow he was taken and caried to the king who demaunded of him for what cause he had so slayne his seruant to whome Mutius wyth a greate courage putting his hande into the fire that then presently there burned answered after this manner This is the hande that committed the faulte in killing thy seruant where I ment to kyll thee and therefore it is reason it suffer the payne due to such desert Hereat was none more abashed than Poisena him selfe who seeing the magnanimitie of this iolly yong gentleman commaunded him to be set at libertie Mutius who looked for none other than death seeing the Kyngs noble disposition sayde vnto him Sir for as much as thou hast towardes me vsed a farre greater clemencie thā I could in any respect haue looked for I wil in recōpence of that thy goodnesse do thee truly to vnderstand that there are of vs .300 Romane Gentlemen which haue conspired thy death for the preuenting wherof it shal be good that thy guard haue a good eye vnto thee Porsena vpon those words more astonyed than before caused an assembly of his councell to consult what guarde he might best entertayne for the keeping of him from those conspiratours Amongst whome the gentle Prince Arnus his sonne was of opinion that he was not so muche to consider of what guard he shuld vse as he was to prouide for his hauing no neede of a guard Then his father asked hym how that myght be done in making sayth he the Romanes of enimies to become your friendes which you may and were best to doe if you make more account of your life than ye do of the maintenance of Tarquins wicked cause The King beleeued his sonne made peace with the Romanes and departed in safetie A number of other miseries and calamities that hang on ciuill warres myght heere be discouered whereof when I thinke me semeth to see a Chimere or other hideous monster accompanyed with all the euils mischieses and miseries that are in earth sea or hell whereof as of a detestable thing it grieueth me to speake or once to thinke neyther woulde I serue as a Nosterdame to our poore Realme of Fraunce in the foreshewing of those calamities and desolations whiche dayly doe threaten vs if oure sayde ciuill warres continue but had rather to stande as a Ionas in praying vnto God for his dealing towardes vs as hee dealt towardes that great citie Niniuie from whome for one amendment he turned away the destruction before threatned vnto them we haue already endured miserie inough both to make vs wise and to prouoke vs to amendment if neither wisdome nor amendment haue folowed thereof let it nowe doe It is better late than neuer I wil herevnto adde as it were in the detestatiō of war a sentence of the great Emperours Augustus Caesar worthy by al princes to be noted That good Prince was wont to say that warres should neuer be taken in hande but where hope maketh more shewe of profit than feare can do of losse meaning where victorie may bring great profite and vanquishment small losse for those sayth he which will seeke small profite and hazarde therefore great losse may well be likened to him that fisheth with a hooke of golde which broken off and caryed away bringeth more losse to the fisher than much fishe can recompence Let vs a little consider I pray you sir what aduantage may growe to you by vanquishing all the Gospellers is it the chasing of the Religion quite out of youre realme Let it be so yet can you not for all that so chase it out of the worlde but that it may after your time returne agayne into Fraunce And before ye attayne to that smal profite ye are like inough to lose what of your nobles and of your commons an infinite number of Catholikes as the late king your brother in his warres late passed the more is the pitie hath done For let it be counted a small losse the losing of so many braue Gospellers as the curteous and right noble Lewes of Burbon Prince of Conde the valiaunt Dandalot the wise Admirall the good Count Rochfoucault the honest Teligni the braue captaines Bruoquemauds father and sonne Pilles Monius the Pardillans with a number of like other Yea let the Bartholmewe iourney be reckoned for a braue politike exployre although the Gospellers so confesseth not but doe rather in their
them not onely in good peace but also in the exercise of bothe the religious the altering of their libertie wherein can not but be to them a thing both newe and troublesome The Almaines also which amongst them selues for Religion haue had great warres and by whose harmes we might learne that force and violence hath not power to commaund the conscience the guiding whereof is to be lefte to God onely are people that woulde greatly esteeme of you syr if once they vnderstoode that you had in Fraunce framed a peace to the lyking of bothe the Relygions Yea they woulde be so glad of your neyghborhood as ye myght and should commaunde their friendships in any necessitie of war. A commoditie of no small value considering that Almaine is the storehouse of souldiers whereout may be leuyed armie vpon armie without disfurnishment of the countrey that neuer can be made barren of men of warre And when I consider the small number of Christian Princes that liue in these dayes wherein the Emperour is alreadie decaying and that the lawe of creating Emperours called Le bulle doree forbiddeth the chosing of any moe than foure Emperours together out of one house and howe there haue bene diuers of the house of Austriche as Albert Frederike Maximilian Charles the fift Ferdinando and Maximilian nowe raigning chosen one after another Me thinkes there is no prince in the worlde that might better aspire to the Empire than your Maiestie But to bring the same to passe it beloueth you to winne the loue and fauour of the Almaines whiche ye can no way better do thā by the erecting of a good peace in your realme plausible to both religious in the exercise whereof they now both gouerne are gouerned and haue their chamber composed of persons professing the one and the other True it is that bothe the sayde Religions through out all Almaigne be not vsed bycause ther are not in all places people of both sortes some place consisting of gospellers and some of Catholiques but in places where people of both be both religions are exercised If it then pleased God that youre maiestie might come to be emperour as that way yee might easily do was there euer so great a king of France as you shoulde then be mighte yee not then march from one of your Realmes to another though they bee 200. leagues asunder still in your owne dominions And hauing the forces of Almaine at commaundement with those of both your realmes should there Moskouite or Turke be comparable to youre greatnesse Some will answeare me and saye that the Turke is a mightie and a puissant gouernour holding vnder his obeysance many realmes and prouinces I frankly confesse it but I reply therevnto as did Quintius a generall of the Romane army to the vaunting and bragging messengers of King Antiochus This king was a great and mighty monarque in the East who lacked little of the Turke in the enlargemēt of his dominions His Ambassadours willing to feare thys braue Captayne Quintius and thereby to make him retire out of Greece where hee was sayd vnto him that their master brought towardes him an infinite number of people all well expert in warre passing well appoynted and such as shot on horseback And the more to astonishe him they named vnto him diuers sortes of nations to be in Antiochus campe some of the which this Captain Quintius had neuer heard named before as Dahans Elimeens Cadusiens suche others Adding further that hee shoulde not haue to do with Hanniball of Carrhage nor yet with king Philip of Macedony but with the greatest part of Asia and Europa Well answered Quintius I will say vnto you that youre talke putteth mee in minde of a Supper whiche mine host of Chalchis a good companion once made me I being hys guest in the Sommer time when the weather was very hote greatly maruelled from whence hee had gotten the sundrye sortes of venison wherewith we were serued Vppon which my maruelling this good felowe that vaunted not as you doe began for to laugh confessing all those diuersities of seruices to haue bin made of a tame swine but dressed with varietie of sawces Euen so said he all those sortes of people which you haue nowe named with diuers names are all but Syrians for all theyr sundry names Commyng agayne to my purpose I say that all those Nations vnder the Turkes obeysance bee all but Easterlings betweene whome and the westerne people touching their men of warre there is a great difference For al the histories beare witnesse that those of the West with their small numbers haue alwayes vanquished them of the East with their greate numbers as appeareth by the warrs which the Romanes haue made thē If it bee replyed to me that the Turkes bee at thys daye more valiaunt than were the auncient nations of the east as being issued out of the warlike nations inhabiting the South I wil therevnto answeare and that by two reasons The one is that how warlike soeuer the Turkes are supposed to be they haue by the Frēch oft times bin vāquished as in the voiage which they made into Leuant vnder Godfrey of Bulloigne when they conquered Greece India and Asia the lesse with their confines euen to the mount Taurus And not only so conquered those countries but also them selues and theyr successors raigned ouer them .26 yeeres in the ende whereof those successors fell in deuision and banded the one againste the other and by that occasion they were all expulsed thence My other reason is that it is very likely that the Turkes since they came from the South partes to dwell in Greece and other the East countries are muche degenered from their naturall and firste noblenesse as were the French that sometime went to dwel in that part of Greece which after was called Gallo Grecia For the firste that went thither were so braue so valiant and so warlike a people as they not onely enioyed the countrie at their pleasure but by their vertues and valiances kept in awe all the kings and coūtries that were round about them so far foorth as they were glad to yeeld them tribute for the enioying of their fauours But in processe of time that race so degenered as Attalus a King in Asia first refused the paiment of the tribute by his predecessors before payed by whom when they had long therefore assayled him with warre they were in the ende ouercome and after that they became euery daye more cowardly than other so as they were againe vanquished by the Romanes vnder the conduct of Captayn Manlius And what should let your maiestie from doyng as much as did sometime those of the Frēch nation vnder the conduct of that gētle Godfrey of Bulloigne Seeing that the people of that countrie namely the Greekes desire nothing more than their cutting off from their obediēce to the Turke which is a barbarous tyrant enimie to all lawes godlynesse knowledge yea to learning whereof that
countrie of Greece was wont to bee the nourishing mother It is also well knowen that the King of Moscouia is a very cruell tyrant and so cruelly and barbarously reigneth ouer his subiectes as they woulde most gladly be vnyoked from his subiection Of other countries of Christendome I speake not leauing for euery man of iudgemente to thinke whether welneere anye thing shall be impossible to your maiestie hauing linked the forces of your two realms with those of Almaine and especially when your gouernement shall be fauourable and agreeable to youre subiectes wherethrough also other nations will become desirous to submit them selues to your obeysance We read that Charlemain your predecessour was so wise so good a prince that all Italy desired him for their Lorde And it came to passe that by the meanes of that good liking which the world had of him hee was chosen Emperour Xenophon writeth that Cirus the greate Monarche in Leuant was so gentle modest in his gouernmeÌ„t y those nations that neuer sawe but had oneâ—y heard speaking of him desired to becomes his subiects and this propertie he had that he woulde leaue to euery nation their lawes customes liberties and religions without chaunging in the same any thing contrary to their consentes which the Greekes called in one word Autonomie The graunting of which hath alwayes bin and is the very ready way to walke in for any Prince that would either gaine any strange natioÌ„ or winne the harts of his own subiecte So vseâ— Aleâ—…der the great his conquests contenting himselfe with the soueraigntie ouer those nations which he subdued without altering of theyr estates or forcing of their religions The like whereof vsed the aunciente Romanes when vnder their gouernment they brought any nation for they willingly altered not the state of the countries which they conquered nor forced the people to the receyt of theyr lawes or religion if they made any change it was in diminishing the tributes for the drawing vnto them the loue of the people and Iulius Caesar did euen so in his coÌ„quests of Fraunce for hee altered nothing of the states of those Cities whiche hee conquered but vsed them with as muche curtesie and gentlenesse as he possible might If any citie rebelled by gentle meanes he soughte to reduce theÌ„ vnder his obedience And though he was oft constrayned to fetche them in by force he vsed not being victour his victories cruelly but was alwayes enclined to pardoning To the vnfaythfull he forbare the rendring of vnfaythfulnesse as one that in such 〈◊〉 woulde take no example of his aduersaries â–ª And of a trueth there was nothing more furthered 〈…〉 Alexander Cyius the 〈…〉 Caesar and suche other greate 〈…〉 â—han did the graunt of that 〈…〉 little care tooke the people for 〈…〉 resistance when they 〈…〉 by being to their gâ—ue 〈◊〉 submitted theyâ— cases shoulde rather be much 〈◊〉 shall any whit appâ—iâ—ed The Switchâ—… 〈…〉 day with muche 〈…〉 entreat their subiects saying 〈…〉 stroÌ„ger castels nor more 〈…〉 than those shal bee builded within the hands of the subiects Who so woulde take vpon him the â—…â—rring at large of the greate benefites that a good peace would bring to your crowne and poore subiects might find matâ—… 〈◊〉 to fill a great volume but I shall contente mee with what before is saide adding only thys vnto it that in hauing a good peace yâ—e shall shunne all the mischiefes and miseries that warres alwayes bring with them though there grewe therevpon none other commoditie yet were the same alone sufficiente to moue you to the procuring of peace Whych 〈…〉 grace foâ—…ke 〈…〉 of yourâ—o◠〈…〉 to the 〈…〉 of 〈◊〉 people The 〈◊〉 God 〈…〉 you 〈◊〉 happy 〈…〉 Augustus which 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 warres 〈…〉 good and perdâ—… peace throughout the Empire of Romes The thirde poynt 〈◊〉 resteth nowe that I â—…ate vppon the 〈◊〉 point of the which I say that it iâ— not so muche impossible to establisâ— a good 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 as many iudge it to be for the better 〈…〉 I will first answer to the difficulties whiche therein are alledged It is sayde that a peace cannot be made throughout all 〈◊〉 withoute the permitting of the 〈◊〉 of both the 〈…〉 a thing 〈…〉 bycause it holdeth the Subiectes in â—…alities and deâ—ision I can â—…tentedly confesse that peaâ—…â—…nnot otherwise be made but I denie it to be a thing insufferable The Turkes by their Alcaron are bounde to become perpetuall sworne enimies to the Christians and to detest Iesus Christe in denying hym to be God to reiect the holy Trinitie neyther may they beleeue the holy Scriptures of the Bible and they neuer crowne Emperoure but they solemnelye sweare him to continuall warre with the Christians All the which notwithstaÌ„dyng the Great Turke doth suffer the Christians vnder his obeysance to enioy theyr Religion wherein paying their tributes they liue peaceably without controlement or murmure of the people And euery man seeth the Turquish Religion to be much more contrary to the Catholiques than is that of the Gospell For the Gospellers acknowledge Iesus Christe for God and man and to bee the mediatour betweene God his Father and men they allow of the Trinitie and holy Scriptures of the Bible Yea they agree with the Catholiques in the Articles of the Fayth Wherefore then shoulde these two religions bee insufferable the Catholiques and the Turkes being togither tollerable The Iewish Religion was and is mâ—ch contrary to that of the Painims for neuer did nation so much detest images and numbers of Goddes as dyd the Iewes notwithstanding that they haue had and yet haue an infinite number of Ceremonies perticular to them selues and contrariwise the Paganes haue had an infinite number of Gods with their temples full of images and their ceremonies and traditions cleane contrary to those of the Iewes And is there not amoÌ„gst all the nations of the Painims as Greekes Parthians Medes Elamites Mesopotamians and generally throughout all the East and West peoples Sinagogues of the Iewes Yea and it is lawfull to the Painims amongst whome they dwell to make them selues Iewes after the which done they are called by the name of Proselites We reade also of diuers Romane Emperours aswel Painims as ChristiaÌ„s which haue suffered the Iews to dwel vnder the obeysance of the Empire as Nerua Antonius Pius Constantine Theodose Valentinian Gratian Honorius Arcadius Iustinian other And at this day the Pope the VenetiaÌ„s many townes of Italy Almaine suffer sinagogs of the Iewes vnder obeysance and yet is the Iewish Religion muche more contrarie to the Catholiques than is that of the Gospellers Some peraduenture will say that the French men wyll not suffer any Iewes in Fraunce but haue alwayes expulsed them I confesse that they haue châ—…ed them away yet not for matters of religion but partly for their cruelties committed vpon yong children whom they robbed from the Christians as the histories make mention and especially for the hatred that they
religion is good and I will not steppe one foote from it For wherefore saith he shal I now change my faith and beliefe seeing I haue fought and borne armes in defence of the same Beholde the reason men make at this day of whome ye shall haue none other matters But if their heartes were once a little vnfraighted of their stoutnesse and malice they shoulde all easily see that for hauing borne armes of any side they shoulde not forbeare to folowe the trueth nor willingly seeke their owne damnatioÌ„ StaÌ„ding theÌ„ at this present without any order to ioyne as in one religion euerie wise man may see that to this point it muste come either we must nourish wars al the days of our life in Fraunce or in the same suffer the vse of both the religions and of two necessities the least is to be chosen For to think that the Gospellers will be easily rooted out and wholly dispatched away it were a meere madnesse the experience of xv yeres hauing shewed vs the contrarie And the histories beare witnesse that often the smaller number hath ouercome the greater and that one thousande souldiers brought into extreame necessitie are many times more worth than tenne thousande other There is surely as much difference betweene murther â—ight 〈◊〉 the conseruation of their consciences winâ—… children and goods and suche as sight onely for wages as there is betweene that one wolfe whiche in his den defending hir yong ones is assayled and that other whiche hauing no yong through the wood at pleasurâ— is chased Nowe if ye must in Fraunce eyther haue your ciuill warres continued or both religions suffered who seeth not of the two suche sufferances to be most expedient Yea but say they neyther the people nor the cleargie will therevnto agree I knowe not their mindes nor willes but I shall prescribe such a reasonable meane as woulde easily I am sure procure their consentes and that without constraynt the meane fyr is this Let your Maiestie commaunde that patentes be dispatched to all the communalties of your townes and to the Chapiters and Colleges of your clergie wherethrough they may be done to vnderstande bowe you are destrâ—… that your realme of Fraunce should be restored to reste and peace and that the same can not be done but by the one way of these two that is eyther by warre to ouercome and cleane note out all the pretended rebels or by giuing them peace with the graunting to them the vse of their religion Wherevpon your pleasure is that they deliberate in their assemblies and of their resolute aduices aduerâ—iâ— you which of those two ways they finde moste expedient without vsing in the same eyther circumstance or any if And let it further to them be knowne that suche shall prosecute the warres against the sayde pretended rebelâ—… at the charges of their townes communalities Chapiters and Colleges as 〈◊〉 most expedient the folowing of the same from the which charge also shall be exempted all â—…he as for the hauing of peace are willing to accept the exercise of religion And I â—…y thinke syr that vpon the putting foorth of such patentes all the realme will sone be sient to encline them selues to peace â—…le one being glad rather to accept the exercise of that religion yea within their chiefe and fayrest Churches than to maynteine at their charges a wâ—…te the ende and victorie whereof is so vncertaine For touching the first they can not deny it for a thing verie reasonable that those whiche woulde haue wars should beare of wars the charge and those desirous of peace should from such charge be free it is a thing ordinarily vsed in the ministratioÌ„ of iustice where they condemne in costes damages and intrestes such as prosecute any processe to the diffinitiue sentence and discharge thereof such as in time breake off their sute and let it so in this case he determined and the charges arising to the rest will appeare no small portion For the furnishing and entertayning of an armie of 25000. footemen and fiue or sixe thousande horsemen will require no lesse charge than three hundred thousande crownes a moneth which amounteth in the yeere neare to foure Millions of gold If any shal say that many souldiers will be found which in this warre wil serue gratis I can not beleue it for there are at this day both footmen horsemeÌ„ much grieued for their nonpayments Wherefore the best they could doe were first to pay those arrearages And if they say that your ordinarie finaunces may beare some part of such charges the contrarie is well knowne they are otherwise bestowed For the summes of your reuenue are no more than sufficient to the ordinarie entertaynment of the estate of your Court and officers of your crowne and the money ordinarily raysed of your tarts and subsidies doth but discharge so many Garrizons as are this daye in the Realme whiche in all your good townes and castels must of necessitie be entertayned else woulde the pretended rebelles with some of them be at hoste The ordinarie treasure of your fynaunces then being otherwise employed it shall be necessarie that my sayd Maisters of the townes and Chapters which are desirous of warre wyllingly determine them selues to furnishe yeerely vnto youre Coffers foure Millions of golde and that thereof they make to you an estate as of an yeerely rent not to cease in their time for it had neede to be a greate reuenue that shoulde maynteyne those warres all our life But what answere will the aforesayde maisters of the townes and Chapters make me thinkes I heare alreadie what my maisters the Parisians will answere a sirra let al alone for by Saint Iohn we had rather the Hugonots preached where they listed than we would disburse so much money as should maynteine warres against them and after if in the ende they should get the better hande they woulde robbe and spoyle vs of all that we haue and theÌ„ what gaines win we thereby And my maisters of Lions what will they answere Our traffikes will they say by these ciuill warres are decayed and nothing is left wherewith to sustaine vs but the stockes of our shoppes For since the decay of those Hugonots in this good towne we haue seene nothing else but miserie and hell There were many good men of them that loued well the profit of this towne and therin maynteined such a good trade of marchandise as the towne was muche the better for and the merchantes well liked of and were we not better to suffer them with their Religion than to aduenture the losse of all that we haue They of Roan Orleans Tholosa and all other good townes of Fraunce will answere no lesse And to be shorte ye shall finde few of such courage but they will stoupe to the sufferance of the exercise of the sayde religion both within their townes and without to purchase peace for the auoyding of such burthens as the charges of those warres will require And
as for my masters of the clergie they will be somewhat loth to agree herevnto Neuerthelesse when they shall see them selues driuen to the disbursment of so great summes about a thing the successe whereof they shall finde doubtfull and incertaine they will looke better about them Herewith it may also like your Maiestie to doe them to vnderstande that if they haue such zeale to chase this newe Religion which they call heresie out of the realme of Fraunce they must shewe their sayd zeale not only in contributing of their money but also in folowing of the warres by seruing in their owne proper persons The Leuites folowed the warres and so did the Byshoppes and Prelates of Almaine The Cardinall Fernase went also against the Protestantes and why may not the clergie of Fraunce doe the lyke Set foorth the yong Monkes that are vnder three score yeeres and let those that be aboue tarie at home to say their Masses They will answere by the wordes of Dauid Zelus domus tuae comedit me The zeale of thine house hath eaten the vp That is to say say they that the Priestes ought to keepe their houses but vnder correction they take that passage of the Scripture amisse for to the keeping well of Gods house their own it behoueth them to passe through a number of dangers Of truth if these good people were but somewhat neare touched with their being set forwarde in their furnitures to marche in the warres their change of countenance would soÌ„ne be seene Iâ— would seeme to theÌ„ a straÌ„ge Metamorphosis in lieu of a surplis to put on a corslet in place of a myter to weare a morioÌ„ or burgâ—ner in steade of a crosse or an holie water sprinkle to bandle a launce or an harquebouse where these were wont to be mouÌ„ted vpon mules to ride vpon barbed horses or fierce coursers or else to trot on foote and as they lay erst vpon their soft beds to lodge now vpon the hard ground yea and that at the signe of the star I am wel assured that their only apprehension of so straunge an exchange would driue them to yeelde euen the leauing of their Temples to the preachers of the Gospell Marrie it is not to be doubted but that vpon this Marte they would be assured that those preachers nor their preachings should be preiudiciall to their goods and reuenues a poynt verie requisite to be agreed vpon For they haue good reason not to consent to the forgoing of their goods the sale of the same being to them forbidden vnder the payne of excommunication and their reuenues are needefull to their sustentation of life The wise Salomon that sendeth vs to the Ante sheweth vs say they that we ought not to suffer our Garners to be emptie The argument is good For if the small beasts as the Antes haue some care for what to liue by how muche more for liuing then ought to be the care of the great This way sir shal not be impertinent to make the harts of your good subiectes to consent to the acceptation of peace And if they refuse peace you are by that meanes to enioy their money wherewith they can no lesse doe than furnish you to the mayntenance of the warres that make choyce of the same But I verily iudge they will like best of peace as therevnto moued in respecte of their profite and quietnesse And this poynt being gayned that your subiectes wil agree to the exercise of both religions for the obtaining of peace all other meanes to bring the same to passe shall easily be compassed For in that the Gospellers desire a reformation of iustice the Catholiques and they agree both feeling it good to haue iustice iustly administred And it shuld be very necessarie that a good search and suruey through your Parliamentes shoulde be made as well of the highest as of the lowest members thereof among whome shoulde many be fouÌ„d napping and faultie that haue pouled and pilled good men to their vtter vndoings I meane not the sifting of the same too neare only the notorious and grosse offeÌ„ders for their offences are to be touched And such a search or suruey shuld be no new thing We haue of the like many examples In the time of the Romane ciuill warres betweene Scilla and Marius Pompei and Caesar many were dispossessed of the Senators estate yea euen by those with whome they tooke part For euerie of those great contenders sought the mean to make many friends in the Senate But Augustus Caesar after he had gotten the goale from his competitours was peaceably possessed of the Empire and had established peace amoÌ„gst his subiects he streight sought reformation of the states and offices And a speciall tryall made he of the Senate as thervnto had slipped by vnlawful means purging the same of such vnworthy persons and so restored he it to the auncient beautie and dignitie The like sir were needefull in your Parliaments and other places of iustice in Fraunce For the wise and good that now be there shall not be grieued that the corrupt whiche are among them by vnlawfull meanes entred should be cut off to the encrease of the honour of such as shal remaine We reade that one of the principall charges of the Censours of Rome was the chastising and displacing of the vnwise and vnworthy Senators which were many times chastised euen for very small faultes and what inconuenience were it if at this day the office of censure were somwhat amnogst vs brought in vre Besides these points of the exercise of the Euangelicall religion and reformation of iustice there be many other necessarie points to the making and perfiting of a good peace whiche I meane to forbeare heere to touche as things not expedient I wyll nowe shew the meane howe suche a peace may be concluded vpon and made For the bringing to passe wherof it shoulde me thinkes be verie good your Maiestie dyd as your predecessours haue done when they would yeelde a rule for any good peace of iustice or policie to passe in Fraunce Their manner was to put their truste in certayne personages that were faythfull and wyse suche and so many as myght suffise to the bodye of a CouÌ„cell to any kingly estate for their vnderstanding in the formalities of iustice in the poyntes of right and in the perticulars that in any policie were to be considered of And if it myght likewise please youre Maiestie to coÌ„mit to a dozen or such other lyke number of personages the entreatie of all the perticulars of a peace it seemeth to be the onely waye whereby all manner of matters doubtes and difficulties might be decided and resolued But it shall sir be needefull that you shewe so muche fauour to the Gospellers as they may nominate one dozen of such persons as they shall thinke meete prouided that they be good wilâ— and apte men out of the which number you â—way those sixe to be of the number of the 〈◊〉 by you
an indifferent place therefore by the iudge was to be chosen and by shal reason may all the townes in Fraunce be suspected For if the suspition of a place be curiously to be looked to and aduoyded in small things how muche are they to bee looked to in a matter of so greate a weight as is the seeking and concluding of a peace And where I sayd it should be meete that when the commissioners coulde not 〈◊〉 vpon some articles of the treaty they whiche refused to agree and goe through shoulde giue out by their writings the reasons of their dissenting and standing aloofe to the end the worlde mighte see who were in the fault it is not a matter vnreasonable For such as shall yeeld as meete is to the agreement of all things that right and reason shal finde expedient for the common profit shall not finde it euill that a reason be rendred by them that otherwise in their passions will bee wilfull and therefore if any refuse so to do it shal seeme that they want good wil to see the way that shuld bring al things in froâ— that are to be fouÌ„ded vpoÌ„ equitie coÌ„mon profit Neyther aught to to be euil taken what I spake touching othes For as the common saying is he that wil wel pay wil willingly become bound And your maiesty already by youre saide last Edict of October approued this poynt when ye promised in the word of a king to cause to be obserued whatsoeuer should be agreed vpon and to make the fame passe in maner of a recorde with the consents of your Parliamentes towns and commonalties of your realme I shall thinke my selfe wel â—…iffied syr in all humilitie and reuerence to haue shewed vnto you as to my naturall prince the three poyntes whereof I haue before entreated Most humbly beseeching your Maiestie to take the saâ—… in good part as in that is proceeded from the heartie affection of a good french subiect that wisheth all encrease of honor and prosperitie to your crowne and quietnesse to your poore subiectes And if it shall please God to moue you to thinke so well of this plot layd for the building of a peace as you will appoint and charge commissioners with the dealing in the same I wil settle my selfe to the opening of suche other perticular meanes for the bringing thereof to passe as are not meeâ—e at this present in writing to be discouered But amongst other things I will open vnto them howe needfull it were that a good 〈◊〉 should be made for the banishing of Machiâ—aeâ— for euer out of Fraunce as one that hath bene the greatest lyar imposture that euer was in the World the ancient Romanes Greekes and Frenchmen and all other well ruled commonwealthes hauing bin ruled â—leane contrarie to his doctrine And that his disciples whiche haue brought into Fraunce the obseruation of his precepts haue bene the very cause of the ciuill warres and miseries of the realme It may be that his precepts be good and necessarie for those of his nation for they reach among other things the nonmaking of account of any religion otherwise than for the keping of the people in a superstitious feare and obedience vpon which his opinion might be inferred that the Turkish religion wherefrom God deliuer vs might safely of any be receiued for by the same the Turks holdeth his subiectes vnder suche feare and obedience as they refuse not at his commaundement the murthering of them selues thinking therevpon to flee straight to their Paradise that floweth with mylke and hony He sheweth also that a Prince should beare good countenance to all promise muche and keepe touche in nothing more than sireâ—th to his aduantage Moreouer his disciples vse these faire persuasions If it be profitable to a Kyng say they to tooke out and destroy such houses and such olde him doe it without taking any aduise 〈◊〉 what may folowe of his so doing Such as haue brought into Fraunce the obseruation of Machiauels precepts haue not well considered that the Frenchmen in nature farre differ from their nation The French are naturally religioÌ„s louers of vertue and take no pleasure neyther in falsifying of their fayth contemning of their honor and reputatioÌ„ nor in the sheading of bloud If the Macheuilians be endued with those good qualities let them there kepe them and folowe their Doctors doctrine that was the greatest Atheist that euer the worlde bred with his companion the Aretine as their writings doth openly shew so as they keepe them selues from poysoning of our Frenche nation with those their abhominable vices But I will reserue till another time when it shall better fall out to the purpose the speaking more largely to my Lords Maisters the Macheuilians whome I will then shew that al their policie sufficieÌ„cie is none other than a brutish ignorance accompanyed with a wicked heart and will and that they neuer read the good histories writteÌ„ in Greeke Latin or Frenche or if they haue read they neuer well vnderstoode them I will for this time proceede no further but make an end of this present declaration the which I once againe most humbly beseech your Maiestie to take in good part so as it may passe from this good towne of Frankford to your handes Praying the Creatour of all things to endue you with his grace shortly to establish a good peace in your poore Realme so muche torne and spoyled by these warres paste by meane whereof all your subiectes may render vnto you their good and willing obedience The same also preserue you in happy prosperitie and encrease you with much power and honour FINIS i. Liuius b. 9. deca 1. â—ionisius â—alic lib. 3. Plutarch in Alexandro Liuius lib. 9. deca 1. Ti. Liuius lib. 2. deca 1. Suâ—… in Calig cap. 30. 3â— 49. 56. Dion ibid. Capitolinus in Maximino Ti. Liuius lib. 2. deca 1. Ti. Liuius lib. eodem Suetonius in Nerone ca. 38. 40. 42. 47 48. 49. Dion eodem Suetonius Dion in Nero. Cor. Tacitus Annalium libr. 13. 14. Horace lib. 1. Sermo Satira 2. Lampridius in Alexandro Herodianus lib. 6. Lampri in Heliogaba Dion in pseudo Antonino Froyssart lib. 1. cap. 4 15. 24. Titus li. 17. Sueton in Vitel. 10. cap. 10. Trebellius Pollio in Gallieno in Ingenio tyranno Ti. Liuius lib. 3. dec 3. Ti. Liuius lib. 7. de 1. Appianus de bello Social De bello Gal. lib. 7. cap. 19. Frois lib. 2. cap. 95. 96. 97. 98. 3. Re. cap. 12. Philip de CoÌ„mnies lib. 1. cap. 3. Froissart lib. Dionis Hal. 4. 5. Virgil Eneidâ— lib. 7. As Iosephus De bello Iud. lib. 18. cap. 1. 2. 3. Cesar de bello gall lib. 1 cap. 13. Salust de bello Iugurthino Plutarch in Caesare Cor. Tacitus Annal. Trel Pollio in Gallienno Dion in Nerua capitolinus in An Putat C. de Iudeis Gelic Dion iâ— Nerua Apio Lampridius in Alexandro Suetonius in Nerone Cap. 16. Tacitus Annalium lib. 15 Am. Marcellinus libro 30. I. Christianis C. de paganis Sueto in Augusto cap. 35. Treb. Polli in Valeriano
suche wise as for the giuing of one blowe he caused three thousand persons to be slaine by his horsemen whome he made to trauerse and runne through the whole assembly of his people Wherevpon his brother Antipas sped him strayght vnto Rome where before Augustus Caesar he accused Archelaus for at that time welneere all the Kings of the world were subiect to the Romane Empire The Iewes also sente from Iudea to Rome fiftie Ambassadours to accuse hym before Augustus and to shewe how vnworthy he was to raigne that had vpon his people committed suche crueltie and that also there was no better curtesie to be loked for at his handes that woulde so soone after the death of his father and immediatly vpō hys entrie commit actes so cruell and vnnaturall In consideration wherof they besought Augustus to gyue them rather Antipas for their king Augustus Caesar tooke knowlege of this matter neuerthelesse for that hee bare some fauour and friendship to Archelaus be confirmed his succession in Iudea Samaria Idumea and assigned Galile to Antipas But therewith hee exhorted Archelaus to the gouerning of him selfe thencefoorth more mildly and gently towards his subiects Archelaus returning into his coūtrey with so good speede at Augustus hande behaued him selfe there more cruelly than before Wherevpon hee was agayne accused at Rome and there condemned by the Senate to whome Augustus had referred the examination of the matter in somuche that all his goodes were confiscate to the Emperour by sentence of the Senate and hee him selfe was banished to Vienna in Dauphine there to ende hys dayes as he miserably did After this iudgement Iudea Samaria and Idumea were ruled by suche gouernours as the Emperour did establishe as by Coponius and Annius Rufus in the raigne of Augustus Caesar and by Valerius Gratus and Pontius Pilate that cruell man whiche iudged our Sauiour to death during the dayes of Tiberius The conclusion is that Archelaus for his warring and ouerrigorous dealing with hys subiectes miserably ended his dayes and was the causer of the alteration of the state of hys countrie Vpon this matter of alteration of states I say by the way that it hath often fallen out and still dothe that when Monarchies haue bin excessiuely corrupted with vice they haue bin changed into common weales and likewise when the common weales haue once bin corrupted they also haue bin changed into Monarchies and kingdomes The example heereof was seene in the nation of the Iewes at whose beginning euen from the tyme of Moyses and Iosua that people was gouerned in the fourme of a Monarchie for those two were as chiefe gouernours one after another Afterwarde in the time of the Iudges was the same state chaunged to the fourme of a common weale for the people were gouerned by a chosen number of auncients except in time of warre when God alwayes raysed vp to them a Captayne which they called their iudge But againe in the dayes of Samuell it altered from a common wealth to a Monarchie at whiche time Saul was chosen king After that in the time of the Machabees it was changed from a Monarchie to a popular state howbeit that to say the truth it was a confused state whiche had no manner of forme of good gouernement and yet afterwarde it returned to the manner of a Monarchie in the raign of Herode the great and was lastly put into the forme of a prouince vnder the Romane Empire Likewise the estate of the Romanes was gouerned as a Monarchie frō the raigne of Romulus till the time of Tarquine the proud whose pride and euill gouernemente was the cause that the same state was changed into the forme of a common wealth In that state the Romanes continued vnto the dayes of Iulius Caesar at which time it was so corrupted with riot auarice ambition whereof the ciuil warres betweene Scilla and Marius and betweene Caesar and Pompei may be a witnesse that it could not but alter and come agayne to a Monarchie Since the which time that great Romane Monarchie hathe bene piteously wasted by the euill gouernmentes of many Emperours And of the wast of the same haue bin erected many common wealthes and great kingdomes as Fraunce Spayne Englande and other greater and smaller Monarchies To bee shorte these chaunges haue bene seene in the state of the Romane Empire in lesse than .1500 yeare France before the time of Iulius Caesar stood in the state of small common wealthes which gouerned themselues apart the one by the other by cōfederations that they had together to reuēge them vpon strangers as the Cantons do at this day But ambition made them bandie and make warre eache agaynste other to proue whiche shoulde be the greatest Of whome when they of Autun had gotten the vpper hand as the stronger those of Sequanois their neighbours feeling them selues the weaker called the Almaines to their succors against them of Autun The Almaines comming downe vnder the conduct of Arionistus serued them and occupied a good part of the countrie Sequanois for their wages They of Autun on the other syde demanded succor of the Romanes wherevppon Caesar came into France and vnder the colour to succour them of Autun and to chace Arionistus from the countrie that he occupied he wonne to himselfe the whole countrie of France So as it may truely be sayd that that change of the Frenche state happened through the diuision that then was in Frāce without the which deuision Caesar had neuer vanquished them what Caesar soeuer he had bin And truely we see by the histories that alwayes till then the Frenchmen had well canuassed the Romanes yea and taken and burned Rome In somuch that as sayth Salust the Romanes so feared them that alwayes when they hearde the Frenche to be in armes yong and old priestes and lay-men none excepted or excused amongst thē were commaunded to arme them Yea they would openly confesse that against all other nations they warred for the gaining of honor and glory but ageinst the French men for the preseruation of their liues But Caesar finding them in deuision added oyle to the flame of their furie partly by whiche policie and partly by his valiancie he set vppon them and ouercame them changed their state from sundry common wealthes to one only Monarchie Yea thus muche more hee did that as with the Romane power he vāquished the Frenchmen so with the French mens money he obteyned the Romane Empire another very good policie for with the money that he gate in Fraunce he corrupted the chiefe of Rome through the fauour of whome he was chosen Dictatour perpetual which is as much to say as Monarch of the Romanes So was the Realme of France by Caesar vnited to the Romane Empire from the whiche they often after soughte to cutte them selues off as in the ende they did In the tyme of the Emperour Tiberius one Iulius Sacrouir of Autun made parte of Fraunce to reuolt raysing certayne small