6

'whenever these traversed his views; or would have reflected upon his reputation or actions, or on the opinion which he desired should be entertained of his fame and achievements.' I have inquired, can any thing under heaven be more contemptible in a hero than such conduct as this? No! I do not intend to make any such inquiry. Well do I know the mean aspirations of the whole class of such persons. They have all been guilty of conduct like unto this from Sesostris to Alexander; from Alexander to Cæsar; from Cæsar to Frederic the Great. Nor is this their worst! Their every step, their every hope, their every thought and impulse had this extent:-all men are mine! Had I a shell,— ' a deep and loud-resounding shell,'-I would echo to the winds of heaven :

No men like these shall ever reign again.'

XLVIII.

POPE ALEXANDER VI.; BORGIA; AND LOUIS XI.

OF Pope Alexander VI., and his son, Cæsar Borgia, the Italians were accustomed to assert, that if the one never did what he said, the other never said what he did their fundamental rule, as Frederic of Prussia has it, being to give their faith to every man, and to keep it with none.' Hence many worthy persons have attributed their successes to the ingenuity of their wickedness: more especially (as Machiavel seems to have known) that they knew well, not only how to deceive, but how to attack all with whom they had any dealings, on the weak side; the sole business and aim of both being to cheat and cozen mankind.

But this, with humility, is only gliding on the surface of things. Pope Alexander, it is true, succeeded to a considerable extent; but less by his own cunning than by the credulity of others, the complexion of the times in which he lived, the animosities of Italian princes, and the rivalship of neighbouring powers. These were his friends!

In respect to his son, Amelot de la Houssage seems to regard him as a good model for usurpers, though not for hereditary princes. In this I think M. de la Houssage very much mistaken; the model being quite as dangerous for the one as it is for the other.

In reference to this prince and the cardinals he had disobliged, it has been insinuated that men are as mischievous from fear as they are from hatred. The canon may be illustrated by referring to Louis XI., who inflicted all manner of punishments, in order to create a fear of him, and that he might run no chance of rebellion. For this reason, as Philip de Comines rightly asserts*, he would make and unmake just whom he pleased; appoint and displace ministers, dispossess < pensioners, and cashier officers so often and so wan'tonly, that no king ever engaged more the conver'sation,' and he might have added, the hatred, of his 'poor unfortunate subjects.'

It could not be said of Louis XI.,

'Without one virtue to redeem his fame+;'

but that, like Philip II.

'He left a name to all succeeding times,

6

Link'd with one virtue, and a thousand crimes ‡.'

Mémoires, iii. c. 8.

+ Duke, from Juvenal, iv. 2.

6 He united,' says Boulainvilliers, all the odious qualities of

The castle of Chinon, standing on the right bank of the Vienne, once a formidable fortress, is still an object of great interest to those who deeply muse upon the history of mankind. For this was the favourite resi

dence of that king of England (Henry II.) who within those walls died-cursing his undutiful children! Here, too, his son, Richard Coeur de Lion, died ten years after. Charles VII. of France lived there, also; and the room is still shown in which the Maid of Orleans pointed him out from his nobles: and within those walls Louis XI. proposed to the Comte de Chabannes the assassination of his father.

Beneath the apartment in which this king usually sat was a dungeon; and he had a hole in the wall of the fire-place, by means of which he could sit and listen to the sighs, tears, and groans of his unfortunate victims; and in this dungeon, a considerable time after, was found by Pontbriandt, governor of the château, the skeleton of a man sitting on a stone bench, leaning his head on his hands. On approaching near to this once unfortunate person, the governor ventured to touch him, when the skeleton, of large dimensions, fell from the pressure. The flesh and the garments were a heap of dust below*.

⚫ several of his family: the fierce and bloody temper of John and 6 Philip of Valois; the foresight of Charles V.; the prodigality of 'Louis of Anjou; the perfidy of Isabella of Bavaria; and the mis'trustful temper of his father, Charles VII.'

*Montesquieu wrote the history of Louis XI., but his secretary, burnt it by mistake.

XLIX.

WHO ADVANCE THEIR INTERESTS BY PROMISES.

THE Emperor of Germany was advised by Kaunitz to give the natives of Brabant kind words. He therefore directed his officers of trust and authority to keep them in good humour by balls and all manner of amusements. Upon this the discontented party advised their friends not to sell their birth-right for a mess of pottage.

When the Poles, resident at Paris, awoke from their delusion of hope, that France would reinstate them in their own country, on the signing of a peace with Prussia, and the guaranteeing to that power the whole of its Polish usurpations, they remonstrated, and were soothed with a declaration (1795), that a peace with Prussia was only a matter of expediency for the present, and could not last long;-a war must ensue; and when it did, France would wrest Poland from the Prussian grasp, and restore it to independence*. How this promise was kept every one, unfortunately, knows.

Some men seem to take lessons from that part of Machiavel's Principio,' where it is written, that since an honest man must go to ruin in the midst of those who are otherwise, a prince ought to be able to use his honesty, or lay it aside, just as his necessities or his interests may require. Upon this principle, a man may be sincere or insincere, faithful and unfaithful, honest or dishonest, at his own discretion; policy and expediency being the only deities he is bound to respect!

* Ozinski, Mémoires sur la Pologne et les Polonais, t. ii., p. 92.

There are two orders of characters, which may be exemplified by recurring to Lord Clarendon's Notes, in respect to Wilmot and Goring. Wilmot violated promises and professions, but only for some great benefit or convenience; Goring, without scruple, out of humour, or for the sake of displaying his wit. He loved no man so well, but he would cozen him; and not only that, but expose him to mirth for having been cozened.

Those who promise largely and freely are seldom to be trusted in any thing; much less if they chance to be persons of political consideration; promises with them being but too often mere bills of exchange, which, as they seldom expect to be ever able to honour, they are almost ever totally indifferent about.

The practice, however, is not so common now, as it was in the time of Sir Robert Walpole; and it must be conceded, that men are made to act by words of promise sooner than by deeds of promise. It is, thence, wise never to pay beforehand for a deed which requires some sacrifice either of labour, convenience, pleasure, or time. Promise the reward,—and labour, convenience, pleasure, and time, will be all cheerfully sacrificed and granted. You can then not only afford to pay the promise, but compound interest arising from delay; for the deed will not only be done, but, most probably, done well.