Nicholas Machiavell is cride downe for a villaine, neither do I think he deserves a better title, yet when I consider he was not only an Italian but a Courtier, I cannot choose but commi­scrate his fortune, that he in perticular should beare the markes, which belong to the wisest Statesmen in generall.

He that intends to expresse a dishonest man cals him a Machi­avillian, when he might as iustly say a Straffordian or a Can­tabirian; We embrace the first apparition of vertue or vice, and let the substance passe by untoucht.

For if we examine the Life of Lewis the 11 ^th of France, we shall finde he acted more ill, than Machiavill writ, or for ought we know ever thought; yet he hath wisedome inscribed on his Tombe; And had he not kist his Crucifixe ever after the doing a dishonest thing; pronouncing a sentence or two that discovered the complexion of his heart, he might have past for as honest a man as all wise Ancestors or any Prince living in his [Page 2]time, who now lie quiet in their Graves; A favour this man is denied by ignorant and ungratefull posterity.

He was Secretary to the state of Florence, of which he hath written an excellent and impartiall History, he had liv'd in the dayes of Pope Alexander the sixth, been familiar with his Son Caesar, and what these Princes were is sufficiently knowne.

No time was fuller of action, nor shewed the instabilitie of worldly honours than the occurrences that happened in Italy at this time; Now from a man wholly imployed in Court affaires, where it was thought madnesse to looke beyond se­cond causes; worse things might have been with better reason expected, than these so bitterly condemn'd; which are indeed but the Historie of wise impieties, long before imprinted in the hearts of ambitious pretenders, and by him made legible to the meanest understanding, yet he is more blam'd for this faire expression, than they are that daily commit farre greater im­piety, than his or any penelse is able to expresse.

It was his profession to imitate the behaviour of Princes were it never so unseemly; Nay Religion cannot condemne the speculation of ill in Ministers of State without laying her selfe and professours open to all injury.

For upon how great disadvantage should a good Prince treat with a bad Neighbour; if he were not onely familiar with the paths of wickednesse, but knew other wayes to shun them; and how to counterminde their treacherous practizes:

Do any blame Albertus for writing obscenely, nay do they not rather call him the Great, because he hath so plainly set open the Closet of Nature? Indeed if any can pretend a just quarrell to Machiavell, they are Kings; for as it is the ordinary course of light women, to findefault with the broad discourse of that they maintaine their power by; So States-men may best blame the publication of these Maximes, that they may put them in practice with more profit and securitie.

The unjust Steward is commended for his wordly wise­dome; and what doth he say more of Caesar Borgia, than that he was a politike Tyrant? and if without leave of the Text he propose him for an Example, yet it is of ill; And who is [Page 3]more fit to be a Paterne to a Villaine than one of the fame coat.

Most of the Estates in Italy did then voluntarily, or were compelled to change their masters, neither could that Schoole teach him any thing more perfectly than the way to great­nesse, nor he write a more acceptable Treatise then Apho­rismes of State.

He saw the Kingdome of Naples torne out of the house of Angieu by Ferdinand, & the people kept in Tyranny both by the Father and the Sonne; he saw the no lesse mad than dis­loyall ambition of Lodowick Duke of Millan, who tooke the government upon him out of the hands of young Galeas with as much treachery and cunning as Francis Sforca father to Galeas had done from the Dukes of Orleance; he beheld Charles the 8 ^th King of France brought into Italy by the said Duke of Millan to keepe the people at gase, whilest he poyso­ned his Nephew, who was to expect the Dukedome when he came of age; He saw the discent of Charles winked at by Pope Alexander the sixth, in hope to raise a house for his Son Caesar out of the ruines of some of the Princes, in which he was deceived; For the French King made himselfe Master of all Italy, entred Rome twice, put the holy Father to take Sanctua­ry in the Castle Saint Angelo, and there to subscribe to such conditions as the victorious King was pleased to prescribe him; upon which his Holinesse came out: And though Charles in shew of reverence did kisse his foot, yet he tooke his Sonne Caesar for hostage, to secure the performance of his promise, though he covered it with the name of Embassage ever to re­side with the King in token of Amity; and after Caesar had made an escape the Holy Father contrary to his oath made a league against the French King.

He was an eye-witnesse of an Amitie contracted betweene the Vicar of Christ and his knowne enemie the Turke; with whom he agreed for money to poyson his brother, who was fled into Christendome for feare of Bajazet then raigning, and was under the Popes protection at Rome; And might have been of excellent use to any Prince that would have inva­ded the Turke, had not his holinesse observed his promise to [Page 4]this monster, which he seldome kept with the best of men.

After all this he saw the French King loose all Italy with the same dexterity he had gained it, And Pope Alexander and his son both overthrowne by owne draught of poyson, prepared by themselves for others, of which the father dyed presently but the sonne by reason of youth and antedote, had leasure to see what he had formerly gotten, torne out of his hands; And he forced to flee to his father in Law the King of Navarre in whose service he was murthered.

To these ambitious practises of princes, may be added the domesticall impietie of the Pope, who was a corrivall with his two sonnes in the love of his owne daughter the Lady Lucre­tia; whom they all three injoyed; which bred such a hatred be­tweene the brothers that Caesar being jealous that the other had a greater share in her affection; kild him one night, & threw him into Tiber; Nay it could not be discerned when the head of the Church spake truth or falshood but by the extraordinary execrations he used when he meant to deceive.

Neither are these only the commodities of Italy but the usu­all trafique of all the Courts in the world, for the marke that God hath set upon Ieroboam (who according to our dialect) may be stiled the Machiavell of the Iewes,) cannot scare most Princes out of his path; For how many Kings have failed to set up Altars, both at Bethel and Dan, when they thinke their power may be weakned by the people going to Hierusalem; Saul being a private man went to the Prophet to aske after his Fathers Asses, But being a King went to the Divell to know the successe of a battell.

Christ himselfe saith, not many great, not many mightie are called; Men in soft rayment may be found at Court but their consciences are commonly scared and hard.

This makes me thinke the wise men that came from farre to see our Saviour, thought him an earthly Prince and not the King of heaven, else they would never have sought him in the Court of Herod from whence nothing could come but cruelty and oppression.

The Church of Rome that did anciently deserve honour of all [Page 5]the world; After it came to be a Court grew fruitful only in im­piety; and though we doe acknowledge her still to be a Church because shee hath all the liniament of Religion in her, yet they are so blended in superstition, pomp and cruelty, that it is no easy taske to finde the truth amongst them. For as a good fruit-tree leaves not to be the same it was before, though covered and imbraced with ivie and ill weeds, the naturall daughters of time, which neither spare things sacred nor prophane, so Rome may be called a Church stil, though covered with trash and idle ceremonies; in which the Pope and the Cardinals shroud them­selves, so as if knowledge occasioned by the elumination of God, had not houted them out of some corners of the world, they had not onely made good, by an unquestioned prescription those errors in being, but brought in more, and being themselves masters of all temporall estates, and were there nothing else against them but greatnesse and impiety, it were enough to convince them, of falshood and novelty, pride is acknowledged by all to be the root of ill, now where doth it prosper so well or grow so strong as in Princes and such as doe attend on their affairs, the effects of which sinne, can be con­tain'd in no narrower cōpasse, than the whole masse of impie­ty that is apt to cōmit, for it made Phocas kill his Master, Caesar to overthrow the liberty of the bravest Common-wealth that ever the world did or is likely to behold, it prompts the hand of children to pull unseasonably the pillowes from under the heads of their dying fathers, it is this that fils heaven and hell with soules, the earth with bloud, this pride made Charles the fifth to arme himself against his owne Pope, that very yeare in which God had done him the honour to take one of the great­est Monarchs in christendom prisoner, it caused his son Philip to mingle the bloud of his owne child with the infinite quantity hespilt upon the face of Europe, yet his thirst could not be quenshed, though he set a new world abroach in America, which he let runne till it was as void of people, as he was of pitty.

Is a Prince named in any Chronicle, but in read letters, nay what are chronicles registers of bloud and projects to procure [Page 6]it, yet none blames them that write them I doe not intend to make an Apology for him; being so well acquainted with the miseries of those, that are so unhappy as to fall under the go­verment of such principles, all I aime at is, to prove that if he were justly arrained he could not be condemned by men in like place, who ever were his peers if not worse, because advice without execution hurt onely the giver.

Yet Machiavell saith, what Prince had not rather be Titus than Nero, but if he will needs be a Tyrant he shewes him the way that is least hurtfull to his temporall estate, as if he should say thou hast made thy selfe already an eenimie to God and thy people, and hast nothing to hope for, beyond the honour of this world, therefore to keepe thee from the fury of men be sure thou art perfectly wicked, a taske not hitherto performed it be­ing yet beyond example that any Tyrant should performe all the mischiefe, that was requisite for his safety no more than the best Kings, did ever all the good; and of this he makes Caesar Borga Alexander the 6 sonne a patterne, who removed all the impediments that stood betweene him and his desires, and pro­vided against all crosse accidents but his owne, being sick at the time of his fathers death, which hindered him so as he had no leasure to attend his businesse, which was to make one suo­ceed in his fathers place, that might at least have favoured his projects; But I verily beleeve, as I see by daily experience, that those which goe on in the same track, though they have brought their purposes to as happy a conclusion, yet they shall not want impediments, or discontents, that shall out-talke the pleasure of their Ambition, but since it is oftentimes the will of God to give successe to ill meanes wisly contrived, who can advise better than this Florentine a member of the Romane Church, and is in that regard to be lesse blamed, because he had as much Religion as the Pope then in being; with whom all impieties were as familiar as the ayre he breathed in.

Neither are these rules he speakes of omitted in the best Kings, if they be wise; for which of them doth not dispatch his ungratefull actions by deputies; and those that are popular, with his own hands? doe any observe their promise so exactly [Page 7]as not to fayle when they ee the profit greater than can be ex­pected at another time? and all this he saith only to a Prince. For had he given those documents to a Sonne, or any other that had filled any narrower roome than a kingdome; he might with juster reason have undergone all censure; but being to make a Grammar for the understanding of Tyrannicall go­vernment, is he to be blamed for setting downe the generall rules of such Princes? Now if falshood and deceit be not their true dialect, let any judge that reads their stories? Nay co­zenage is reduced into so necessary an art amongst them; that he that knows not how to deceive, knowes not how to live. That breach of faith in private men, is damnable, and dishone­rable, he cannot deny. But Kings seeme to have larger Char­ters by reason of their universall commerce, and as Ambassa­dors may be excused if they lye abroad for the good of their Countrey; because they represent their Masters persons; with farre greater reason may they do it than they that im­ploy them, provided they turne not the edge of these qualities towards their owne people to whom they are tyde in a more naturall, and honest Obligation.

For a Common-wealth is like a naturall body, and when it is all together shewes a comely structure, but search into the entrals from whence the true nourishment proceedes, and you shall finde nothing but blood, filth, and french; the truth is, this man hath raked too farre in this, which makes him smell as he doth in the nostrils of ignorant people; whereas the better ex­perienced know, it is the wholsome favour of the Court, es­pe­cially where the Prince is of the first head.