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l\U)lM>wd Jiil_y n>'' lUo^ hj LorL,inion.Ifiir.--r, A'.-,-... .v.- i''riiir,ru^fnt:>j'bw- Jt.aiv

THE
LIFE OF

THUANUS, \ WITH \ I
SOME ACCOIJNT OE^HIS WRITINGS,

TRANSLATION

PREFACE TO HIS HISTORY,

BY
The Rev. J. COLLINSON, M. A.
ii>
of gUEEN'S COLLEGE, OXFOKD.

LONDON:
PBINTEB FOR LONGMAN, HURST, EEE^»AND OBME,
PATEKNOSTER HOW.
1807.

•^

J)C 13^.<=I
Tb

l.D. Dewick, Printer, Aldersgate Stfeet.

TO THE
REV. DR. COLLINSON,
PaOVOST OF QUEENS COLLEGE, OXFORD, &<,
THIS WORK IS INSCRIBED,
AS A TESTIMONY OF GR4TITUDE
AND RESPECT, BY
THE AUTHOR.
.EAST SHI^EJf, Julj/Sdf 1807.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFA-GE.
A ESTIMONIES to the merit of Thuanus as an
historian — By King James I. p. 6— By th^
Histojian Gr'amOndj p. 7 — By Mezerai^ p. 8 —
By M. Sorel, p. 9. and from Jugerpens des
Scavans, ih.— By M. Perault, p. 10— .By M.
de Vigneul Marville, p. 11 — M. le Gendr^
13 — Ahhe de Fresnoy, ib. — Niceron, 13 — M
Dacier, Voltaire, and Lord Carteret, 14 — Dr.
Kmx, 17— Dr. Johnson, and Mr. Pitt, 19.
LIFE OF THUANUS. h
Account ofhis birth ahd family, p. 1 and 3.
— Education at the Burgundian College, 3.—
Early habits of reflection, 4. — Studjas the
civil Law at Orleans, attends Cujacius, forms
a friendship with Joseph Scaliger, 6. — ^Thie
Massacre of St. Bartholomew takes place
while he is at Paris, 9 — Proposes to take
prders, ' resides with his uncle, the Bishop of

vi CONTENTS.
Chartres, begins to collect his library, and
forms the plan of his history, 11.— Goes to
Italy, in the Suite of De Foix, 13,— Account
of De Foix's studies j and Journey to Rome,
13, 14, 15. '--Interesting (ionversation of one
of the cardinals with De Foix, 16.— Thuanus
returns to Paris, his studious habits, and the
friendships he formed, 18.— Makes an excur
sion to the Netherlands, 19,— Receives his
first public honors, and chosen counsellor in,
the parliament, 20, — His repugnance to public
life, 3L— Accompanies his sick brother to the
waters of Plombieres, 33. — Visits Strasburg,
Ulm, Constance, 34, — Thuanus retires to the
Touraine-io avoid the plague, 35. — Appoint
ed one of the commissioners to Guieune, and
deputed to visit the young King of Navarre,
^7» -^Anecdotes, 39, 33. — Thuanus's return to:
Paris, 33 and 34;^-Funeral ofhis father, 35,
-¦—Character of his father, 36^ 37,
Thuanus quits the ecclesiastical profession^,
40. -'--Obtains the reversion of the office of
President of the Parliament, 44. — Marries,
45.— Day of the Barricades, 48.^~The King
flies from Paris, 49.— Thuanus made a Privy
Cpiingellor, 50,~rCo!iversatipn with Mon

CONtEIs^Ts. v»
talgrie, 5l»— -with the Duke of Giiise, 53. —
In danger of being killed by the rebels, 55. —
troes into Germany with Schomberg, 59.—*
Conversation with Henfy IV. 66,~.Resides in
the cstrnpi 71. ---Begins his history, , 73.---
Verses to posterity^ 76. — Thuanus made Pre<^
sident a.Mbrtier, 87.' — Writes td Casaubon on
the subject of Pithou's death, 89 and 93.—
Amiens surprised, 100; r~ Verses on Rabelais,
104. --^-Oii the reception of the Council of
Trent, 108.— His wife dies/llO.
Publica,tion of his history, 113.— Its recep
tion at the court of Rome, from 113 to 119. —
Spanish inquisitidn> I19.---Scioppius's attack
on Thuanus, ISL-^-Machaud^ the Jesuit, at
tacks Thiianus, 136i—- Reception ofthe history
in Englandi and the author's Correspondence
with Cartiden, Sir Henry Saville, from 139 to
155; — Reception in other parts of Europe, and
general correspondence from 156 to 175.-*-
Reception in the Court pf France, and letters
from Henry IV- from 175 to 183.— Thuanus
continues his history, conclusion of book 136,
183. — Interesting letter to the President Jean-
tiin, 185.-— Letter from the Cardinal Joyeuse

viii CONTENTS.
and Isaac Casaubon to Thuanus, after his re
pulse at court,--207 and 309.
Our 'Author continues his history, 330. —
Fine Exordium ofthe 137th bpok, 320.— Pri
vate and domestic life of Thuanus, 328. — Cha
racter of our author's friend Le Fevre, 333. —
Account of Thuanus's library, 337. — Of the
king's library, 340. — Thuanus appointed one
ofthe commissioners at Loudun, 346. — Death
of his second wife, 347. — Elegant letter on the
occasion from Daniel Heinsius, 348, — Thu
anus's will, 354. — Account of his last illr
ness, 254. — Of his children, who survived
him, 263.— Of the fate ofhis library, 367;—
His monument, 370. — His character, 371.
ON THE HISTORY OF THUANUS.
Its first publication, 379. — Its publication
after his death, 381. — The edition prepared
by Carte, 385.— Printed by Buckley, 393.—
French and English translations, 394, 395. —
Outline of the history, 396. — The first book,
297.— Henry II. 's reign, 305.— Speech ofthe
Duke of Guise at Metz, 309. — Death and cha
racter of Henry II. 324. — Francis II. 339. —
Charles IX. succeeds to the throne, 334 — Death

CONTENTS.
of Montmorenci, 335. — Massacre of St. Bar
tholomew, 339.— Character of Charles IX.
340. — Accession of Henry III. 343. — Assassi
nation of Henry, Duke of Guise, 345.— His
character, 348. — Character of Henry III. 351.
— Accession of Henry IV. 355. — Flourish
ing state of France under his government, 357.
Parallel passage fron Sully's Memoirs, 359.
CHARACTERS FROM THUATMUS.
Character of Cornaro, 363.~Of Michael de
L'Hopital, 363.— Of Catherine de Medicis,
365.— Of Elizabeth, Queen of England, 370.
— Character of Thuanus's History, 380.
THE PREFACE OF THUANIIS.
Design of the author, 389.— His impar
tiality, 393. — Fears censure on account ofhis
opinions on the subject of .religious dissen
sions, 393.
, Religion not to be commanded, 395. — Con
stancy of religious martyrs, 396. — St. Au
gustin recommends lenity towards Sectaries,
398. — The primitive church abhorred blood
shed, 400.— Heresy of Priscillian, 403.— Per
secution of the Vaudois, 405. — Wise princes
lenient to heretics, 407.

¥i tiONTENfS.
Transition to the author's own tinies, 409.---
Unhappy effects df persecution in France,410;
—In the Netherlands, 413; — Impolitic con
duct of the French government, 416. ---Civil
wars, 417.— Henry IV. a friend to religious
toleration, 431.— Similar sentiments of the
ancient fathers, 433; — Thuanus himself mode^
rate towards the Protestants, 423. — The true
mode of preventing abuses in the state, 424i
— And in the church, 436. --^Exhorts the King
to prosecute the work of reform, 427.
Further vindication of the design of thtf
history, 429. — The author's patriotism, 430;
— The preservation of the law* the Palla-'
dium of the country, 431 . -
Encomium of Henry IV. 433;. — Thuanus
writes his history under the conviction of
being allowed to speak his sentiments wift*
freedom, 437. — If the king approves his
work, he disregards common censure, 440^—*
His prayer, 440. .
APPENDIX.
Latin verses addressed to posterity, 445. — =
Specimien of Scioppius's remarks, 458. — Ex^
ordiuin of the 137th book, 459* — Thuanus's
will, 463.

ERRATA.
Preface, p. vii, 1803 /or 16^03, Julian style
Page 51 Tremesque/or Tremensque
68 Tirenne/or Turenne
71 Brion/jr Biron '
78 Trinmp/or triumpb
78 How /or now
122 1707 /or 3i607
1 49 Naziaozeu/er Nazianzum
243 Plendid /or splendid.
272 Singular for signal.

PREFACE.

ThUAKUS wa« a President of the
Parliament of Paris, and a confidential
minister to two Kings of France, Hemy
IIL and Henry IV. surnamed the Great;
but be is chi^T^ known to posterity, as
the author of a history of his own times,
fi?®n the year 1546 to 1608. The follow
ing testimonies will serve to shew the re*
puted merk of this work, whidi is written
in Latin, a language general among
scholars, and particulady used before the
modern languages were as fixed as they'
now are. So prevalent was it, at a c^tain-
^riod after the revival of learning, that the
Latin appellations are often more 'femiliar

¦w PREFACE.
to our ears than those of the veriiaculai'
tongue; for instance, Thuanus is more
common than De Thou, Grotius than De
Groot. Extract ;of a letter written in FrencK
lay King James I. of England to Thuanus:
" With respect to your book, we have
not as yet had leisure to read more than
half of iti anfd that cursorily ; but we have
nevertheless plainly discovered the ability
of the author, and have received much
delight from the perusal, as well on ac-s
cOunt of -the style as the matter. We are
particularly gratified in observing, that,
conformably to the advice you give
others, partiality, the too common bane of
history, is banished from . your work.
What w^e have seen encreases our desire
to have, the sequel of so admirable a com-
. position ; and we entreat and require you
to- gratify, in this respect, the eager curi-
0^ity -of youE friends. Be assured, M.
President, no one. will be more desirous to

PREFACE, vii
acknowledge and honor your merit and
virtue than Your afiectionate friend, James R.
Dated Westminster, March 4, 4*e*. /io3
From Gramond's History of France,
folio, p. IQO, 1043 :
" In the year 1617. died the President
.Thuanus, a man of illustrious family, of
rare learning and experience in public af
fairs. The history which he composed is
an ample record of his early predilection
for the liberal arts and sciences, and his
affection to learned men, united with the
most ardent patriotism. Foreign nations
have received this work with thanks and
profuse applause : but he needs not their
, praise, for his life and writings are the
heralds ofhis fame. The Latin of Thu
anus is pure and terse, his style easy, but
- sometimes too diffuse ; for he seems to
have aimed at that ^ode of writing in
which nothing is omitted, and which i

viii PREFACE.
readily understood. This diffuse, eaSy, elo
quent style pleases some readers.
t: ^hile asa good statesman, he defended
the rights of the French Church, and the
prerogative of the French Kings, he in
curred suspicion at Rome ; but it is cer-
tain he was a good Catholic, and that tlje
suspicion was unjust and false. *
Mezerai, History of France, tom. 3,
p. 282, folio, 1651.
" The immorlal works of Thuantis, in
defiance of envy arid bad Frenchmen, will
testify to all posterity the authors uncom-^
mon learning, wonderful sincerity and
candot, his piety without affectation, his
disinterested integrity, and above all, the
well-grounded zeal which actuiated hifti
for the gVahdeur and prosperity of the
state." M. Sorei, Bibliotheque Fran5ois€, iGO?.
" The history ofthe President Thuanus
deserves an honorable plaee. The author

preface;. , ix
gives, the eulogiiinj of tliQ ce]e^r^te4
characters of the age; a^d Off^Hs no faqt pf
note. He has sppken of th*? Pope, pfthe
flionks, and of Jthp Jeague, precisely a§ ^
loy^l subject of his fi^jng ought to sppa^."
Jugemens des Scavans, by Baillet, vol.
1, p. 337, 1725.
" Not only Frenchmen, but foreigners
also, judge Thuanus to be superior to all
modern historians, and equal to the .an-
cientSj in the dignity aud arrangement of
his subject, and in the choice of a style
suited to the majesty of history."
Ibid, val. 2, p. 250-
" ThuaijJJS is distinguished from most of
the writers pf hi§ age, by a spirit of
genuine fre^dpin,. which epabl^d bim,
with equal wisdom, to avoid the extremes,-
into which zealous Catholic? pn one side,
and most Pfpteftant writers on the otjier,
have Mien. This circumstance gives him
a, peculiar advantage over the three ce
lebrated Cardinals, JBaronius, Bellarmjij,

X . PREFACE.
r
and Du Perron ; since, being exempt
from their priejudices and interests, he
suffef-'s neither ffear nor hope, nor any other
passion, to bias his pen or his judgment.
It must be confessed he makes too favor
able mention of a crowd of writers who
have not passed mediocrity ; yet these
short biographical sketches at the end of
each year, form one of the most interest
ing parts ofthe work."
Our Historian was considered hostile
to the Jesuits, and a favourer of the Pro
testants ; yet Paj)irius M^sso, who was a
Jesuit, says that, " to blame his history
for its freedom, is the same thing as to re^
ject wine on account of its strength ;" and
the continuator of Baronius, La Sponde,
terms it "the great history of a great
man.". M. Perrault, * after saying that Thu
anus united in his own personall the good

* Lives of Illustrious' Persons,- torn, ij p. 41. fol,
1696.

PREFACE. xi
qualities ofhis ancestors, " a good heart,
a love of justice, and all that is req^uisitc
for forming a complete, character in the
points of probity, courage, wisdom, and
science ;" praises his history for its " un
exampled accuracy and fidelity. This
noble and generous boldness," he adds,
•" gained him the praise of all the great
men of his time, particularly of Papirius
Masso ; and his writings would perhaps
be superior to many left by Latin au
thors, had he not too much attempted to
imitate their language, and, thus dis
figured in a strange manner the names of
persons and places." .
: M. de Vigneul Marville* notices the
same defect, but praises Thuanus for a
purity and eloquence of style. These are
also his words : " Cannot France boast of
possessing a Livy in this author ? - The in
trigues ofthe cabinet were no mystery
to him-; he thoroughly knew the in-
* Melanges de Litterature and d'llistoire, torn, 3^
pv312, 1725.

xii PREFACE.
terests of the different princes in Europe,
snd their schemes in negociating. He
is always acciirate and judicious, and,
what is still more necessary in an historian,
devoid of prejudice and passion,"
M. Le Gendre (History of France, tom.
1, p. 56), thinks the history in question
too prolix ; but bestows abundant com-
meridatioh upon it, similar to what has
been already adduced.
The Ahbe^du Fresnoy* expresses his
S'Urprize, '-that a thousand insignificant
books should have found editors and priri-
ters, and that no person should yet have
thought of giving a good edition of the
history of Thuanus, a work so useful and
even necessary, and which is certainly
much more, valuable than the body of
Italian Antiquities published by Grevius
lii forty folio voluraes. "-j-
* Metbode povir etudier I'HistQire, torn, 4, p. 98,
1729. t Most of the above extracts are collected in tlie
7tl\ vol. of Buckley's edition of Thuanus, to whick

PREFACE. xiii
This collection of testimonies in favor
of Thuanus might be much extended;
but it will be sufficient for the present pur
pose to add tbe following, in which «ome
names of great authority in our own
country bear part.
The learned Niceron, in his Memoirs of
Illustrious Persons, has compiled an am
ple and judicious account of this author
and his writings. He passes a general
encomium upon the merit ofhis history ;
and particularly commends the Preface,
as a master-piece of its kind, with which,
hesays,only two other similar compositions
deserve to be placed on a level, the Dedi
cation of Calvin's Institutes to Francis the
First, and of Casaubon's Polybius to Henry
the Fourth. This passage of Niceron pro-
the reader, who wishes for farther details on the sub
ject, is referred : and also to the History of the Roya]
Academy of Inscriptions, vol. 13, p. 691, and vol.
43, p. 598 ; to Les Jugemens des Scavans by Baillet,
vol. 1, p. 113 J 2, 84 J 4, 166 ; 5, 131 j 8, 127 } to
Moreri's Dictionary, Article De Thou; and to Ni
ceron 's Memoirs of Illustrious Persons, vol. 9, p. 309.

xiv PREFACE.
bably sugg€;sted to Dr. Warton a remarl;
to the same purpose, which occurs in his
Essay on the Genius pf Pope.
. M, Dacier in. the Preface to his trans
lation pf Plutarch, pses thpse expressions
respecting Thuanus : .'¦' This great his
torian sustairfs the honor of France, ;n
that Ijiranc h of . literature, in competition
with the T^-riters of Greece and Rome.
His works are as remarkable for depth and
energy pf thought> as for sincerity and
truth." Voltaire * places Thuanus in the same
rank with Guicciardini and Hume, and
calls him " an historian distinguished for
eloquence and veracity."
The next encomium is a translation
.from a copious critique, written in Latin
by the celebrated Lord Carteret. *<» Thu
anus deserves to be ranked among his-;
torians of the first erninence, on account
of the copiousness and dignity of his sub'?
* See Index to his " Moeurs^"

PREFACE. XV
, ject : and he has illustrated it with singu
lar propriety of style. No writer ever
offered a more splendid tribute ^to the
honor of his country. He was a stre
nuous defender of the constitutional rights
of the French nation, and supplied his
countrymen with most powerful argu
ments in their support. He has placed in
the clearest light the rights of the House
of Bourbon.
• ' The work taken altogether is long ;
but its different parts, considered sepa
rately, will not be found so. He takes his
reader the circuit of the globe, always af
fords delight, and generally instruction of
the most useful kind. The merit of the
history chiefly consists in what relates to
the courts of Rome, France, and Spain :
and here he may justly be deemed an origi
nal source of information. The relations
of different courts with that of France he
has collected with diligence ; and the
variety of matter continually captivates
the reader.

jpri PREFACE.
«' Iri this extensive worlfe vari^i|s. his-r
tories, distinct from, the general heads, are
comprized, Th? progress of literature 15
beautifully interwpven in th? - narr^,ti.pa
with wonderful address aud labor : and
splendid encomiums ar^ bestpwed QQ
more than four hundred of tlie autbor*§
contemporaries, who gained celebrity by
their writings in different partiS pf the
world. :•
" The mildness of his censures convey a
favoi|rable impression of bis dispositio.fi :
but upon merit, wherever it is found, he
bestows just and impartial praise, without
regard to nation or religion. On this ac-.
count the Court of Rome persecuted him
with implacable hatred.
" The construction pf the whole compoT.
sition deserves the highest commendation...
It contains matter so abundant and so.
various, that frora this single work, might-
be formed several distinct histories, brief.
yet complete, , full of impprtant and
curious information, and which most, jear

preface: xva
ders would receive with avidity. But col
lected as they now are, in one mass, so
many fbliP volumes, composed in Latin,
and comprising the events of only sixty
years, deter many frora the perusal.
" The edition Mr. *Buckley is pfeparihg
for the press, will reflect honor on the En
glish nation, by assertingthe due lustre and
dignity of one of tbe best historians, and
most upright champions of freedom, the
world ever saw."
Dr. Knox, Essay 5Q : " The history of
Thuanus excites a great share of respect
immediately on entering on theperusai df
it. The solemn declaration in which lie
calls God and man to witness, thai he
wrote his history for the glory of God,
¦and the good of mankind, without resent
ment or partiaility ; the strong atid repea
ted protestations that truth is his only
gtiide, wa¥mly interest the reader ih his
faYor, and open his mind for a reception
'i^, ^-it-'-- — }¦¦ ¦--- —  ¦.,--¦-•  ¦ T - - '--r-r  .
* Bifcfeley's edkion was paUisHfed in If 33.

Xviii PREFACE.
of all that follows. The very serious
prayer which closes the first book, dis
plays a venerable appearance of sincerity
and dignity ; and there is every reason to
believe, that it proceeded from a mind
sincerely pious, and firmly resolved 'to
propagate the truth and the truth only,
as far as human sagacity can develope it."
Dr. Knox proceeds thus, " If Thuanus
does not equal, he approaches in the ex
cellence of his style, in dignity and in co
piousness, the best models of antiquity.
One circumstance has contributed to di
minish the graces of his style ; which he
could not well avoid. Modern names of
places and persons must abound in a work
of this kind ; but modern names have in
general a barbarous sound in a work writ
ten in Latin. Thuanus did right in la
tinizing them, but he has taken too great
liberties. He has totally disguised them.
Who but anCEdipus could discern that
Quadrigarius was the Latin name of
Chartier, or Interamnas of Entragues.

PREFA(^. xix
t)€smarets is translated ;Paludanus ; Du
bois, Sylvius, &c.- This defect has been
in a great measure remedied by the dili
gence of _ the last editor (Buckley), whp
has supplied to each page. the modern ap
pellations." Dr. * Johnson seriously entertained
thoughts of translating Thuanus, and thus
suflSciently evinced the opinion he had of
his excellence. And Mr. Pitt, f in the
House of Commons, bestowed upon our
author, a tribute of no light comrften-
dation. Since the French historian of his own
times has been thus highly estimated in
the opinipn of competent and impartial
judges, his life and writings appear to be
just objects of literary curiosity.
The great work of Thuanus has yet a
higher claim to attention. It records a
series of events, unparalleled in the history

* See Boswell's Life, vol.3, p. 69 1.
t Pitt's Speeclies, vol. 2, p. 94.

XX . PREFACE.
of the Christian Church, and more impoi*-
tant to the political state of Europe,, than
any that have otxurred in modem times,
except only those of a very recent date.
It is no small advantage to have this mo
mentous period treated by an historian*
who was riot only an eye-witness, but ac
tively and honorably engaged in the pas^
sing scenes ; and whose eharacter is so
well established in the essential points of
fidelity and judgment. ,

THE LIFE

PF

T H U ANU S.

' 1 HE chief materials of the subsequent
life, and the passages with inverted
commas in particular, are taken from
the Latin Memoirs of Thuanus; who,
under the character of a third person,
speaks of himself without unbecoming
egotism. This work was first published
after the author's decease, with some
immaterial additions, by his friends and
executors, Rigaltius and Du Puy.
James Augustus Thuanus, or De
Thou, was born at Paris, October ©th,
1553. His ancestors, two hundred years
before, ppssessed a dpmain near Orleans,
in the reign of Philip de Valpis.

2 THE LIFE OF [1563,
At a subsequent period his family
removing to Paris, rose to distinction in
the law ; and his grandfather and father
successively filled the ofiice of first Presi
dent of the Parliament,* which is the
highest dignity in that profession.
His father, Christopher, had by his
wife, Jacqueline Tulleau, four daughters,
and two other sons, John and Christopher.
The subject of these memoirs, who
was the youngest son, passed his child
hood with very delicate and precarious
health; and, on this account, the business
of education was in part neglected, and
, at all times conducted with indulgence.
Yet he gave proofs of much facility in
learning; and, instead of the common
sports of his age, amused himself with
copying with a pen Albert Durer's
engravings. By the same practice he
learned to write before he could read.

* The parliament of Paris was then the supreme
court of judicature in France.

m. 10.] THUANUS. 3
At the age of ten he was sent to the
iPurgundian College, in the university of
Paris : but a violent fever occasioned him
to be carried home'again within the year.
So little hope was entertained of his reco
very, that his bed was removed from the
anti-room of his father's chamber, that he
might not die there. During his illness,
Gabrielle,. a lady of the illustrious family
of Mareuil, attended him with the most
tender solicitude. "Being desired not to
fatigue herself in a case which had been
pronounced desperate, she said that she
had conceived more favorable hopes, and
thought also that her charge gave signs
of an excellent disposition, which would
one day repay the care of his friends."
Seven months passed before he returned
to school ; and his health was probably
still unsettled, as it is mentioned that
four of his tutors were of the medical pro
fession. In the account ofhis boyish years,
that observant turn of mind, solid judg
ment, frankness.and sensibility of temper,
B 2

4 THE LIFE OF [1563,
which formed the distinguishing features
of his character, already display them
selves. At this early period he " remarked the
error of parents, who, having delivered
their children into the hands of instructprs,
think farther superintending care unne
cessary : thpugh greater wisdpm would
be shewn in appointing trusty attendants,
who might prevent them from wasting
time, and from acquiring improper and
immoral habits. From the consideration
of what he then experienced, he learned
to be more attentive in the education of
his own children. But excessive appli
cation, at a premature age, he ever dis
approved, and wondered, in this respect,
at the conduct of so great a man as
Quintilian,, whose son, a youth of great
promise, fell a victim to intense study.
To this event posterity is indebted for
that admirable specimen of eloquence at
the beginning of the sixth, book of his
Institutes.

M. H).] THUANUS. 5
" Thuanus possessed greater love of
learning than strength of genius or me
mory; and profited more by cultivating
the society of eminent men, than by any
application of his own> the fatigue of
which his constitution could not bear.
He enjoyed the most perfect liberty,
particularly in his studies; and being left,
as it were, to the guidance of his own
discretion, marked out a plan of conduct
for himself. It was his earnest desire to
be admitted tp the company of celebrated
literary characters ; and having seenTur-
nebus * a little before his death, the im
pression made upon his imagination was
so lively, that the image of this great
man appeared continually in his drca*ms."
After a residence of five years in the
same college, he attended the lectures of
Dionysius Lambiniis in polite learning,
* A man of consummate erudition, and equal
modesty. See Montaigne Essay on Pedants, to
whom he brings Turnebus as a contrast.

6 THE LIFE OF [1570,
and the royal professor of Greek, Pel-
lerin. By a talent for poetry he ingra
tiated himself with the noted Ronsard.
At the age of seventeen he went to
Orleans to study the civil law; but had
scarcely remained there a year, when the
fame of Cujacius * drew him into Dau-
phiny; and in his way he spent some
months at Bourges, with the celebrated
civilian, Hotman,
While in Dauphiny, he commenced a
friendship with Joseph Scaliger, which
continued unabated during thirty-eight
years. "This friendship is the pride and
pleasure of his life ; and all the calumnies,
inconvenience, and danger, which it has
occasioned him, are in his mind amply
balanced by the bare recollection of an
* The learned and amiable Cujacius obtained the
title of father of his scholars. When his opinion
was asked upon religious questions, then agi
tated with warmth, he used to say, Nil hoc ad
edictum prtetoris — " This is not a lawyer's bu
siness."

.fit. 17.] THUANUS. » <j
intercourse so agreeable. And this is all
the reply he desires to make to the
virulence of his malicious accusers. He
can, indeed, solemnly affirm that he never
heard this great man dispute on the con
troverted points of religion; and he is
well assured that he never did discuss
them but upon provocation, and then ,
unwillingly. What ! independently of
religious opinions, were there not in
Scaliger the most transcendant attain
ments of human erudition, from which
those who associated with him might
justly hope to profit? And did not the
singular endowments bestowed upon him
by heaven claim the veneration and,
esteem of all worthy men ? Alas ! Reli
gion, which formerly rested on the pillars
of faith, hope, and charity, is now
thought to need ' the aid of faction, and
the intrigues of human subtlety. Man,
presumptuous man, attributing too much
to his own powers, derogates in the same
proportion from that over-ruling provi-

S THE LIFE OF [1571,
dence which directs and governs all
things. Hence God's indignation is
abroad : he has suffered us to be blinded
by our passions ; ^nd it is to be feared
that corruption, spreading like a gan
grene, may be permitted to devour his
primitive establishment, and that while
the kingdom of .Christ is sought in one
place and another, only a scanty rem
nant may escape to serve him in the spirit
of unity, truth, and moderation.
" Many persons have heard Thuanus,
and his admirable friend, Nicholas le
Fevre,^ conversing together, after this
manner, concerning the degenerate state
jof Christianity; cpnfirming each other in
(their obligations of duty, and in the
resolution of dying, upon extremity, like
brave soldiers, at their post, regardless
of affliction, hatred, and obloquy, which

* A critic and scholar, of great mildness and piety.
He was preceptor to the Prince of Condi, and to
Lewis XIII. son of Henry IV.

fit. IS.] THUANUS. 3
are trials allotted to the best men, and
should be considered, indeed, as testimo
nies of divine favor.'*
The following year his father, " per
haps foreboding some melancholy event,''
recalled him to Paris ; "which city, at
that time, resounded with preparations
for the nuptials of the young king of
Navarre, with Margaret of Valois, sister
to Charles IX. King of France. Thuanus,
w^ith some difficulty, gained admission to
the ceremony, and took particular notice
of tbe celebrated Coligni, chief of the
^otestant party, and who, not many
days after, was wounded by a concealed
assassin. This occurrence first inter
rupted tbe public tranquillity; and on the
24th of August, six days after the nuptials,
ensued the dreadful massacre of St. Bar
tholomew. Of this transaction, Thuanus
expresses his decided detestation, and
defends his opinion against the prevailing
arguments of the time, by the example
of his father, an acknowledged CathoHc,

10 THE LIFE OF [1572,
whom he considers an unexceptionable
guide in all pohtical and religious^ con
cerns, and who applied to that day these
verses of Statius :
Excidat ilia dies sevo, nee postera credant
Sfficula ; nos certi taceamus, et obruta mpM
Nocte tegi noslrae patiamur crimina gentis.
May that foul day be blotted in time's flight.
And buried in th' oblivious gloom of night:
We will at least forbear the deed to name.
Nor let posterity believe our shame. -
As he went to mass, for the festival
of St. Bartholomew took place that year
on a Sunday, he was forced to behold
some of the mangled bodies, and " to
suppress his tears, which even the
slaughter of beasts vrould have excited
in one of his tender disposition," he re
tired from the tumult to a house of his
brother Christopher's, near Montmartre,
from which place the body of Coligni,
suspended on a gibbet, was discernible.
" Haying lately seen that victorious ge
neral crowned with honor and triumph,

JEt. 19.] THUANUS. 11
he was induced to reflect on the vicissi
tudes of life, and silently to adore the
wonderful judgments of God, which
continually remind man of his frail and
perishable state."
At the age of twenty, Thuanus went
to reside at Paris, with his uncle Ni
cholas, Bishop of Chartres, and continued
fourteen years under his roof. He resided
in the cloister of the cathedral of Notre
Dame, and was appointed to a canonry
in that church, w^hich his uncle, upon
taking the bishopric, had resigned. As
it was intended that he should pursue the
ecclesiastical profession, and succeed his
uncle in the bishopric, he applied himself
assiduously to the study ofthe canon la^v,
and of the Greek language. At that
time he began to collect his library,
afterwards so distinguished for extent and
value ; and we shall goon observe that
he had already formed the design of
his great historical work. Of such ex
cellence and magnitude were the plans

12 THE LIFE OF [1573,
¦which occupied Thuanus, at a period of
life generally devoted, without censure,
to pursuits of little moment: and we
know not which most to adraire, that
early ripeness of intellect, which could,
by its own unassisted -vigor, cpnceive
them, or the consistent steadiness of
character that persevered in bringing
them to completion.
An ardent wish to see the classical
land of Italy procured him another
honorable engagement. He obtained
admission into- the suit of Paul de Foix,
who was preparing to set out on an
embassy from Charles IX. to the Pope,
and other Italian princes. De Foix was
a leanied and accomplished nobleman;
and his character is thus summed up,
" Wherever he went he gave universal
satisfaction, but Thuanus could never
satisfy himself in praising him, always
leaving something unsaid."
The account of his domestic studies is
curious, as it contains many things very

^ m] THUANUS. 13
opposite to modern manners. Regular
lectures, at different times of the day,
were read to bis household in physics,
law, and polite learning; and De Foix
himself sometimes expounded these sub
jects. He joined in the general homage
then paid to Aristotle; and used to quote
a saying of one of his admirers, " that
if he were not a Christian, he would
follow Aristotle in all things," And in
the course of his embassy, he would not
.admit to a conference some student who
had broached heretical opinions concern
ing this philosopher.
The celebrated D'Ossat, afterwards
Cardinal, made one of the suite, who is
said to have united the . greatest probity
with the most consummate skill in politics.
" In their morning rides he used to ^ve De
Foix the substance of Plato's Dialogues,
and because he was fond of the concise
ness of the Peripatetic school, reduced
within a narrow compass the florid co
piousness of those beautiful compositions.'*

U THE LIFE OF [1574,
The following are the most memorable
occurrences before the arrival of the em
bassy at Rome. " At Mantua they were
shewn a sleeping Cupid, carved in
marble by Michael Angelo. After they
had gazed on it for some time, in high
admiration of the workmanship, another
was produced from a silken bandage, by
some ancient artist (as he is represented
in the Greek epigrams), so exquisitely
finished, that it quite eclipsed the firsts
and made it appear nothing but an inani
mate block. It was said, Michael Angelo
had the greatness of mind to desire they
might always be exhibited in that

manner."

At Venice, Thuanus took care to be
accommodated in the only lodging then
of good repute in that vicious and dissi
pated city.
At Florence they were introduced to
Cpsmo, pnce the most illustrious of all
the Italian princes of his tirae, but then
a decrepid, superannuated invalid. In the

Mt. 21.] THUANUS. 15
library at this town, Thuanus saw a large
commentary on Aristotle, never pub
lished, entitled, "The Ocean;" a MS.
Virgil, in capital letters ; and, in parti
cular, examined the famous original
Pandect, taken at Constantinople. " Cu
jacius had in vain desired to borrow this
volume for a year, on a pledge of two
thousand gold crowns. He declared
that of all . his wishes for the promotion
of science, this alone remained ungrati-
fied, and would continue, even in his
dying moments."
At Sienna, Thuanus, having already
conceived the design of his history, took
an accurate survey of the place, me
morable for the long siege it sustained,"
in the year 1555.
When they arrived at Rome, Thuanus
was admitted, with the rest pf the em
bassy, tp pay the usual hpmage pf kiss
ing the Pppe's fppt. In a shprt time the
news pf the king's death reached them ;
and De Foix departed fpr the Venetian

I6 THE LIFE OF [1574
territories to pay his respects to the new
king, Heniy IH. whp was expected there
in his way frpm Poland.
During their residence at Rome, the
following interesting communication was
made privately, and in the presence only
of Thuanus, by one of the cardinals to
De Foix, who- had a vexatious cause
pending iu the ecclesiastical court. "Our
court," said the Cardinal di Santa Croee*
" is disposed, -when it can really exercise
severity with impunity, to oppress fo
reigners, and to protract the causes jof
men of rank by unnecessary delays, for
tbe purpose of making our name reve
renced and feared abroad. The papal
power flourishes indeed through tbe
prevalence of weakness and superstition;
and, as the crafty Florentine * says, is
supported by those acts which prove
ruinous to other empires. When the
parties discover vigor and spirit, this
  I nil m'
* Machiavelli.

mt. 21.] THUANUS. 17
severity is relaxed cautiously, and with
much dissimulation. For instance, the
Chevalier de St. Goard (who I am in
formed is now your ambassador at the
court of Spain) had directions from the
King of France to reclaim one of his
subjects, who had been unjustly seized by
the Holy Office. After much expostu
lation and solicitation, continued from
day to day, he at length, with a resolute
air, told the Pope in council, that he had
orders from the king his master to depart,
and to take the French ambassador with
him, unless satisfaction were given ; ^d,
having thus said, left the spot. The
Pope * "was much enraged, abused him,
after he was gpne, in violent terms, and,
tossing about his arms, cried out that
the papal authority woUld be extinct, if
thus braved w^ith impunity by a boy.
The result, however, was, that the gen
tleman in question was shortly released.
* Pius IV.
c

IS THE LIFE OF [U75,
Let me recommend you. Sir, to profit
by this example ; and, remembering the
advice, to forget the monitor."
Perhaps it may not appear unworthy
pf remark in this place, that, in the
rnanagement pf this cause pf De Feix,
D'Ossat first displayed his abihties for
business, and laid the foundation of his
future fame and success in life.
Thuanus, after paying a short visit to
his brother John, Master of the Requests,
at Lyons, and another to his father, re
turned to Paris, with many valuable
purchases, of bppks, collected in his way
frpm Rome ; and there " devoted himself,
for four years, to a life of literary appli
cation. He n\ade still greater improve
ment by frequenting the society of emi
nent scholars, among whom were the
two Pithpus, L'Oisel, HouilUer, Du Puy,
and particularly that excellent man, Ni-
^cholas le Fevre."
- This year Thuanus did not . quit his
books, except to attend, with his father

Mt-ZS.] THUANUS. 19
¦^ y
and brother, at the marriage of the king
with Louisa of Lorraine, which took
place at Rheims.
In 1576 he made an excursion into the
Netherlands, and observed at Antwerp,
that Plantin the printer, though his busi
ness was declining, had no less than
seventeen presses at work. He was pre
vented from passing into Holland by the
troubles which were then breaking out
in that country, on account of religion.
Upon his return he found every thing in
agitation, from the same cause, at home:
but the disorders occasioned by violent
councils, were happily appeased by a new
edict of pacification.
The next year, when the king resided
at Poictiers, Thuanus's brother, John,.
was employed by him as the bearer of
important dispatches. " Being a young
man of great strength and spirit, he
undertook too much during the intense
heat of summer, and exhausted himself
by a journey of uncommon expedi-
c 2

20 , THE LIFE OF [1578,
rion.* He fell in consequence into- a
lingering illness, and Thuanus had the
inexpressible grief of seeing^ his vital
powers gradually decline."
In the year 1578 he received his first
public honors; and was chosen, Coun
sellor of the Ecclesiastical Order in Par
liament, in the room of La Garde. " Yet
while this gentleman was lying .ill, he
sincerely prayed for' his recovery; for
being of -a modest retiring disposition,
fond of honorable leisure, he was un^vvij,-
ling to relinquish his studies, and engage
in the tumult of active life. He did not
so much decline honors, as experience a
secret terror and repugnance to appear in
any office of public distinction, while he
sensibly felt his own deficiencies, and fear
ed that he might disappoint expectation.
He w;ished to follow rather than . to guide
the course of fortune, and to commit

* He went from Poictiers to Longjumeau in
twenty-four hours.

fit. 25.] T' THUANUS. -21
himself and his concerns in confidant 'se-
'curity to the paternal guidance of provi
dence. But far from being careless of
the public welfare, it was the object of
his constant solicitude, to so great a de
gree, that while he has borne doraestic
afflictions with fortitude, he has often
suffered seriously in his health, from a
keen sense of national calamities. These
he has generally predicted, and bis feel
ings on the subject of public raisfortunes
are still as acute as ever, notwithstanding
the kind reraonstrances ofhis friends.
?^" On the present occasion, as iti was
agreeable to his father's wishes that he
should not appear inattentive to his proper
interests, and those of his family, he
submitted to the custoraary examination
in the''' laws, which lasted two hours
before a numerous court. He went pale
and trembling (pallens trem^que), and
not as those generally do,' who- approach
that awful place with a brazen forehead
and Stentorean voice.

22 THE LIFE OF [1579,
" In the office ^itself this was his con
duct: he listened attentively and spoke
little ; he treated the presidents with due
respect, his colleagues with honor; he
paid great deference to the old and
experienced, and cultivated a frank and
generous friendship with the young. In
delivering his opinion, he contented
himself with referring to that judgment,
already given, which seemed to him
most equitable, and seldom added raore
Words, except by way of confirmation.
" At the beginning of a speech he was
agitated ; his voice gained strength as he
proceeded. In consequence ©f this agi
tation, rauch that he had premeditated
used to escape his memory, naturally not
vexy retentive. This defect he candidly
acknowledged, and, in order to remedy
it, accustoraed himself to commit his
thoughts to writing, and to speak as it
were from a brief ; and this method he
afterwards practised in causes of the first
importance. At first, as has been said,

fit. 26.] THUANUS. ^s
he felt embarrassed, and though his
judgment was seldom very erroneous,
his expressions and arguments were
broken and defective, like the conclusion
of alape verse."
In 1579 Thuanus accompanied bis sick
brother and his wife to the waters of
Plombieres, but unhappily the use of
them was without effect. When his
brother was settled at Plombieres, Thu
anus made a short excursion into Ger
many. At Strasburg he visited L^nguet,
the illustrious prime minister of the
Elector of Saxony, who gave him much
valuable information respecting the Ger
manic constitution. " From him he
learned that the abolition of celibacy had
greatly distressed the German princes
and nobles, as they were now obliged to
bestow their daughters in marriage, with
a portion, whom they formerly dedicated
to a religious life, with the prospect of
their becoming abbesses of rich convents."
This remark tends to prove that these

24 THE LIFE OF - [1580>
German nobles did not embrace the re
formed religion from interested motives.
He took Ulm and Burgaw in bis route,
which last town is " the only part of the
Archduke Ferdinand's immense domini
ons appropriated to his children by Phil-
lippine Welser. A strong instance of
the respect paid to the marrirge institution
by the Germans, who do not perrait the
children by a clandestine or unequal
union, to be reputed legitiraate, or to
claim inheritance." It is to be feared,
that since the time of Thuanus these ele
vated sentiments, and the vigor of the
German empire, have declined together.
' '¦' The sight of Constance brought to
his recollection the famous council as
sembled there in 1414, which so happily
healed the schisms of the Papacy ; and he
felt an anxious wish that the same
influence might operate in his own
times." • (;
Upon his return he found no amend
ment in his brother's health, and had

fit. 27.] ' THUANUS. 25
him conveyed back to Paris ; wliere,
after lingering a few months longer, he
expired, repeating this verse of the 50th
Psaira, ".Cast rae not away from thy
presence, O Lord, and take not thy Holy
Spirit frora me."
¦ After this melandioly event, his uncles,
Nicholas, Bishop of Chartres, and Au
gustin, King's Advocate, urged his father,
considering the small number to which
their faraily was reduced (for Christopher,
the second son, died young), to think of
altering the destination of Thuanus in life.
The father assented, hut neither he nor
his son being earnest in the business, it
was suffered for the present to fall to the
ground. This year, to avoid the plague which
broke out in Paris, Thuanus retired into
the Touraihe, and araused hiraself with
travelling along the coast. At Caen he
visited the torab of William of Normandy,
King of England ; and, in the hall ofthe
abbey, saw, wrought in clay, the arms

26 THE LIFE OF [158^2,
of the knights who attended him in Ms
expedition to that country. " The cita
del, which had some time before surren
dered to Coligni, Queen Catharine said
might have been defended by women
with their distaffs."
Continuing his journey he passed near
Avranches, St. Michael's Mount, a mo
nastery remarkable for its singular scite,
on a naked rock, some leagues in the sea.
In 1581 commissioners were appointed
from the parliament to administer justice
in the province of Guienne, and Thuanus
was admitted araong them, together with
bis friends, Pithou and L'Oisel.
" His uncles again pressed their form^
remonstrances ; which his father, natu
rally dilatory, waved on the plea of the
urgencyof public business: but he begaa
to think seriously of the matter himself.
When at Venice, in 1574, Du Ferrier,
an old friend of his father, had admonished
him not to enter into the ecclesiastical
profession frora the mere hope of temporal

^t 29.] THUANUS. 27
advantage: and this exhortation, which
at the time raade great impression, now
recurred to his mind with encreased effect.
He revolved in his thoughts the high
importance of^the sacred office, and his
own inability ; and whether it were not
better to pursue his inclination for retire
raent, and to decline the splendor of an
exalted station. In conclusion, he tacitly
inclined to quit bis profession, and bent
his thoughts to marriage, if an opportu
nity should offer."
Upon the arrival ofthe comraissioners
in Guienne, Thuanus was deputed bj
them to w^ on the Prince of Conde,
and the young King of Navarre, after
wards Heony IV. and experienced a
most gracious reception from both these
princes. The eourt sate at Bourdeax; but Thu
anus did not suffer the business of it to
interrupt his studious habits. On the
contrary he carefully profited by an inter
course with persons who could, in any

28 THE LIFE^ OF [15S2,
way, proraote the historical undertaking
he had in contemplation. Montaigne,
author pf the Essays, " at that time
mayor of the town, a gentleritian of frank
temper, and independent of parties^ com
municated much valuable information."
During the vacations the comraissioners
made several excursions for the sake of
relaxation. Rarabling cross the Garonne,
into the beautiful country of Medocj
along the Bay of Biscay, they compared
themselves to Scipio and Laelius, gather^
ing shells and pebbles on the shores of
Caieta and Lauren tura.*
. At the Easter vacation they made a
tour into Gascony. " A Protestant mi
nister of one of the towns, had, by com
mand of Joan, Queen of Navarre, trans
lated the New Testament and Catechism
(Catechismum) into the Gascon, or
Biscayan language, which, like the
Bas Breton, and the Irish, was cpnsi-
* See Cicero de Oratore, lib, ii, s. 22.

fit. 29.] THUANUS. 29
dered incapable of being committed to
writing.':'. «.,At Bayonne they were struck' with the
singular dresses of the women, which
varied with their ages and conditions, and
appeared Uke raasquerade.
The following incidents, related in the
raeraoirs, though not strictly connected
with the. purport of this work, are ad
mitted here because they shew the man
ners of the times, the w^eakness which had
prevailed in the administration of justice
in those countries, before the arrival of
the Parisian commissioners, and the in
tegrity with which they executed their
office. " One Gaillard, an officer in the
army, had conceived an animosity against
a; person of his own profession, who
lived in thje neighbourhood : and attended
by a band of- ruffians, broke open his
house by night. The man, startled and
surprized, leaped up in his shirt, and
made a brave defence with his sword.'
He ¦was, however, murdered, with his

30 THE LIFE OF Ci582,
brother, wife, and a small number of
servants. Vengeance quickly pursued the
assassins ; for, as they roamed about the
house in search of plunder, a barrel of
gunpowder accidetitally blew up. Some
were crushed in the ruins ; others re
mained extended on the ground, naked,
scorched, half dead. In this condition
the officers of justice found them no longer
formidable, and conveyed them in a cart
into the town, where they presented a
miserable spectacle, black, disfigured,
and retaining nothing huraan, except
their horrid cries. After a short exami
nation they were all broken on the wheel.
Gaillard himself, a fine man in person,
had suffered like the rest, and had besides
received a wound in the head, at the be
ginning of the fray ; but he behaved intre
pidly to the last, avowing the whole, and
accusing, with insolent obstinacy, the
poor murdered man of having caused the
destruction of so many brave soldiers;
so he called his infamous associates.
2

fit 29] THUANUS. 31
" At another time, a young person of
condition withdrew herself, under the
plea of religion, frora her mother, and
married a . young man in inferior life.
As this union had not been consum
mated, the coraraissioners declared it
null and void, .and forbade the young
man, on pain of death, to have any inter-;
course with her ; but at the sarae time
restrained the mother frora using arbitrary
measures on the subject of her daughter's
religion. This decree w:as meant as a
check upon clandestine marriages, and
to prevent the disorders of this nature
which had invaded many families of
rank." Thuanus prepared to return to hi-s
father, who had raade interest for his
recall, " Perhaps (as he says in his
fondness for presages) forboding his own
decease." Travelling, with his friend Pithou,
through Languedoc and Provence, they
stopped at the castle of Leytour, in

3i THE LIFE OF [1582,
Armagnac, where the Count d'Armag-
nac was murdered, it is thought, with
the privity of Louis XI. " And the stain
of his blood cannot be effaced from the
walls." :,
An occurrence had taken place here,
not unlike the ferocious act of Gaillard.
" The sister of the late Governor De Ba-
leines had been seduced by an officer,
who afterwards married another person.
The , injured woman, in the bitterness of
resentraent, told the secret to her brotha?,
who desired the whole affair raight be
left to him. The seducer was invited to an
entertainment, where 'every thing passed
in the usual manner; but when, the
guests retired, he ^vels seized, and put in
chains. Then followed a trial ; the sister
appeared and confirraed his guilt, of
which he was conderaned to raake a
written acknowledgeraent. To complete
this remarkable scene, De Baleines, who
had acted the part of judge and examiner,
M'as also the executioner, and plunged a

fit. 29.] THUANUS. 33
poniard in the bosom of his guest. He
wrote a., defence of his conduct to the
King of Navarre, who, not thinking it a
time for severity, only reraoved hira frora
his situation."
As the two friends pursued their jour
ney, in the church of St. Oren, they re-
raarked very antique altars, not fiat, but
of a gibbous forra, with the Greek ini
tials of the narae of Christ ; and at Tou
louse, (the next city to Paris in extent
and beauty) a statue of the Virgin Isaura,
who instituted a prize for poetry in the
14th century.
' ' At Pezenas, Thuanus raet with a flat
tering reception from the Prince of Cond6;
and at his table the practice of fighting
duels was condemned.
He then passedArles, an archiepiscopal
see, cpnsecratedf to Trophimus, perhaps
the same raentioned by St. Paul. In the
journal of this excursion, of which'it is
needless to enter into all the particulars,
mention is made of a poem, which Thu-
D

34 THE LIFE OF [1582,
anus composed about this time on the
Art of Falconry.
At Clermont Achilles Harlay, President
of the Parliament, who had raarried hi«i
sister, received him with great affection,
" Near his residence is a spring whic^ pe
trifies from its source."
Thuanus, still proceeding on his jour
ney, carae by way of Thiers to Lyons;
and while he reraained in that city, hii?
father died,* but he was not inforraed of
the event, until he approached Paris.
Before his arrival there, indeed, he visited
on the road several friends, who knew
the circiurastance, but were unwilling to
infprra hira. Arapng thpse were Bru-
lard, one of the first presidents; and the
Abbot of the Cisterian Monastery, " the
most eminent in Christendom, for on it
are dependent monasteries to the number
of one thousand and seventy, and nearly
as many nunneries."
* In November, on the Feast of All Saints, 1588.

fit. 290 THUANUS. 35
" At Boissy, the last stage to Paris, his
attendants revealed to him the loss he had
sustained ; and mounting his horse, he
finished the journey in absence of thought,
and profound grief at so unexpected a ca
lamity. " The body had on that very day been
interred; and the city was still full ofthe
mournful pomp. The funeral had been
delayed until the I5th day by the King's
direction, that it might take place with
greater magnificence; and all the pro
perty of the deceased^ amounting to 4000
gold crowns, were expended on it. He
indeed had been too disinterested to ac-t
cumulate wealth, and was only careftil to
be free from debt. The -widow, thus left
without provision, made no complaint
when the *King and Queen-Mother made
her a visit of condolence. She was only
heard to say that Providence had been
sufficiently bountiful to her and her fa-

* Henry III. and Catherine of Medecis,
D 2

36 ' THE LIFE OF [1582,
piily, and that with the blessing of di-vine
grace, she wanted nothing. The King
was confounded, and quitted the pla<^e
somewhat indignant and mortified that
he had not an opportunity to manifest
his generosity, which the unworthy were
accustomed to share in lavish profusion."
At the end of the , 75th book of his
History, Thuanus relates more particulars
respecting his father, and informs us that
he incurred the King's displea,sure by the
honest freedom of his expostulations.
" On one occasion, when he recommend-
ed moderatipn in levying taxes, lest the
pepple shpuld be incited tp discpnt^t,
Henry III. turning to his courtiers, said,
* The good man is in his dotage.' This
insult, Thuanus adds, his father disregard
ed ; but at the same time ascribes his
^death to chagrin arising from the unhap
py state of public affairs. He had how
ever entered upon his 75 th year, and had
iDeen married 50 years. He died univer
sally respected and lamented, and th^

fit. 29.] THUANUS. 37
same king, who could not brook his ad
monitions, when afterwards encompassed
with troubles, did justice to his memory
by saying, that Paris would not have
revolted from its Sovereign if the Presi
dent Thuanus had been alive.^'
These circumstances serve to account
for that proud independence of spirit, with
which the widow rejected the royal prof
fers of assistance.
ThuanUs, with much warmth of filial
affection, expatiates both in his raemoirs
and his history, on the virtues of his fa
ther. He extols his legal science, reli
gion, unaffected gravity of manners, and
innocence of life; on which accounts no
person possessed greater popularity and
influence in Paris.
" A physician of eminence dissected
the body, and expressed much admiration
at the close and full structure of the
brain ;" the testimony of the same person
is adduced to the conjugal happiness of
the President and his wife, founded upon

38. THE LIFE OF [1584,,
primitive simplicity of character and every
domestic virtue.
" The pious son, prevented from re
ceiving his fether's last breath, deter
mined at least to transmit his memory to.
posterity. He erected two monuraents^
one in a private family chapel, and the
other in the church of St. Andrew of the
Arches ; and at the end of two years,
when they were completed, celebrated a
public funeral, at wliich the friends of the
deceased in France, the Netherlands-,
Gerraajiyj and Italy, were present by in
vitation." Affection to his friends and relation^
was pne pf the most prorainent features of
Thuanus's character. His qualities in
deed bore a general resemblance to thPse
pf his father, but they were mpre distin
guished. In the merapirs raany things, unccuri
nected with the life pf the Authpr, are
occasipnally related in the manner pf a
diary pr cpmmpn-place bppk; and arapng

fit. 31.] THUANt?^. 39
otibers an account is gi-v'cn, at the conclu
sion of this year, of a singular religious
procession which took place in the streets
of Paris at midnight. The company of
each sex and all ages, to the nuraber of
si:!t thousand, with the clergy at their
head, passed under ornamental archesy
singing hymns, in solemn supplication;
and at intervals tables were laid with re-
^eshments. The ceremony was confined
to one parish, and appears designed for
extraordinary occasions of public joy or
grief. No account appears of the next year.
In 1584 Thuanus had the raisfortune to
lose his sister, wife of the Chancellor du
Chiverni. ** 'Having now desisted for some time
§sam perforraing the offices of the church,
and resigned most of his benefices, he
was pressed by his mother to disengage
hiraself entirely from the ministry. As
a step to this, he obtained, through the
interest of the Queen-Mother,^ the place

45 THE LIFE OF [1585,
of Master of the Requests, which it was
the custora to grant indiscriminately to
clergymen and laymen."
" In order to relieve his mind from the
severe affliction which he felt on account
of the death of his father and sister," he
engaged, at this mature period of life, in
a new course of study; and read through
Euclid with Proclus's Coraraentaries,
imder the direction of Bressiau, Royal
Professor of Mathematics. His attention
was also vigorously directed to other
pursuits: he undertook to prepare for the
press an edition of the poeras of the cele
brated Michael de I'Hopital; and he be
gan a poetical paraphrase of the Book of
Job, in Latin verse. " This work was
completed in the course of two years,
and published with a dedication to his
friend Pithou, of whose critical advice he
Always availed himself, persuaded that
what passed the ordeal of his judgraent
would raeet with general approbation."
" Frequently had Augustin, his uncle.

fit. 32.] THUANUS. 41
King's Advocate, pressed Thuanus to
solicit the reversion of his place, Tvhich
he candidly acknowledged he owed to his
father. He was at this time offered the
situation of President a Mortier,* but
would not accept it until his nephew.
had bound himself by a religious obliga
tion to exert all his interest in obtaining a
nomination as his successor. Thuanus
himself consented) with some reluctance,
to this agreement, and also to a pro
mise of using greater diligence and
exertion in the conduct of his private
affairs," Upon the death of Pope Gregory XIII,
the Cardinal de Vendorae (of the house
of Bourbon) was appointed the King's
Ambassador to Rome. " The Cardinal,
from his love of letters, had formed an

* So called from their velvet caps with gold tassels,
which were anciently worn by the Kings of France.
The Presidents a Mortier were inferior coadjutors to
the First Fresideiit.

43 THE LIFE OF [1591
intimacy with Thuanus, and was thought*
in public matters, to pay great consider^
ation to his advice. Our author now
proposed accompanying him to Rome,
and was bound for a large sum of money
on his behalf; which circumstance/ aftey
the Cardinal's death, occasioned him
much trouble and inconvenience,
" It was indeed ever his fortune to fona
connections with the great during their
adversity, without the* prospect of other
reward than the treasure of a good con
science. On the other hand, he has
quietly withdrawn frora the sun-shine o£
their prosperity, and raade room tor a
swarm of faithless courtiers, whose flat
tery becomes too agreeable, and by its itt^>
fl,uence' renders truth unpalatable. Hence
the seed of good offices ¦««fhidi he sowed
(forgive the invidiousness of the remark)
has perpetually produced the harvest of
ingratitude. The consistency of his own
character is however dearer to hira than
any thing else ; and he is resolved to

Xt, 33.] THUANUS. 43
persevere with patience in well-doing.
It is impossible for him to repent of
ha-ving preserved his innocence and honor,
imblemished by a servile obsequiousness ;
and no sufferings can produce in this
respect an alteration in his conduct,"
FFom the general terms here used, the
charge of ingratitude seeras to extend to
King Henry IV. especially as he raakes
little mentitm of that prince in any wri
tings subsequent to the dedication of his
history. After patronizing this -work for
some time, Henry yielded to the clamour
raised against it, fearful perhaps of en
gaging himself in religious disputes,
which might again kindle the flame of
discord in the realm ; but he never with
drew his protection from the person of
Thuanus. Mieanwhile, in compliance with his
mother's repeated solicitations, he re
moved his residence to her house. But
he continued negligent in making interest
forthe office of President, giving as a
2

44 THE LIFE OF [1517,
reply to his uncle Augustin's expostula-;
tions, that when a. system of favouritism
prevailed, nothing was bought dearer
than with entreaty. Du Choesne, how
ever, an old friend, by application to the
Duke de Joyeuse, brought the matter to
a conclusion in one morning ; and Thu
anus then blushed for his own remiss
ness. ¦ The parliament, with many congratu
lations, welcomed' his accession to that
office which his grandfather, father, and
uncle, had enjoyed. Thuanus was th6n
in his thirty-fourth year, and an act was
passed, restraining him, in case of his
uncle's death, from giving judgment as
president, until he attained the legal age
of forty.
" The next step was to remove all im^
pediments to his marrying ; and for this
purpose a petitiPn was presented ^tp the
ecclesiastical cpurt. His uncle, the
Bishpp pf Chartres, and his rapther, de-
ppsed that he had entered into the Ipwer

Mt. 34.] THUANUS. 45
orders of the church only in compliance
with his father's wishes, and not from
inclination. He was then absolved from
his engagements, and pronounced at li
ber^ to marry.
This year was checquered with joy and
sorrow ; but the latter unfortunately pre
dominated. Thuanus happily married
Mary de Barbanson, of a distinguished
family in Hainault. " The ceremony,
took place with the full approbation of
the relations on both sides; and his mo
ther voluntarily bestowed upon him that
part of her property which he would
have been entitled to at her death, toge
ther with his father's house. As the pa
rents of his wife had formerly professed
the Protestant faith, she confessed, and
received absolution frora the Vicar-gene
ral of Paris. These circurastances are
alledged with a view to silence that ma-
., lice, which, not content with calumni
ating his writings, has presumed to
asperse his private life."

45 THE LIFE OF [1587,
This joyful event was damped by two
afflictions, the one private, the other
public: the loss of bis mother, and the
defeat and death of the Duke of Joyeuse,
at the battle of Coutras in Xaintong^.
" Thuanus mourned for a parent who
had given faim proofs of the most partial
affection ; and, who • having seen her
fevourite child settled to her wish, had
now no remaining desire but to join her
departed husband.* In the other case he
lamented over his benefactor, cut off iu
the flower of youth, in the career <^
glory : he laraented over the hope and
strength of the French nobility destroyed
¦with him by the madness of faction.
These were the first-fruits (such is the
eloquent language of Thuanus) of that
lamentable war, excited by turbulent

* His friend Pithou said thaJ she left the world
with the same composure as, when tired of the city,
sbe would have gone for a few days to her country
seat.

Mt.3f.] THUANUS. 47
minjls under the infliience pf foreigners.*
Then followed the ravages of unbridled
hatred and ambition ; the execution of
the laws was obstructed; and few
braces of that religion, which was made a
pjetence of war, were visible in cities— in
the country none ; but its ministers, un-
mindftil of their office of charity, went
about fanning the flame, and scattering
in declamatory pulpit hiarangues, con
tention, malevolence, and the fury of re
venge,, through families, houses, and towns,
" The obligation of gratitude which
bound Thuanus to the Duke de Joyeuse,
he traasferred to his sole surviving bro
ther, the Cardinal ; and little thought at
that time of the closer connection, which
his raarriage with the Cardinal's cousin
(after the death of liis first wife) occa
sioned. The faction of'the league had now raa-
tured their force, and their measures be-
*.:The Court of Spain.

45 THE LIFE 6F [1589,
came more bold from the dilatory tem
per, timidity, and irresolution of the kiiig.
" Ih the midst of these evils, Thuanus
felt some comfort in the completion of
his presages, for he had long foreseen
them. On the fatal day of the barricadigs
he went to the Louvre, and remarked the
feebleness and imprudence of the royal
councils. From thence his curiosity Jed
hira to the Duke of Guise's, -whom he
found vV^alking in front ofhis house, with
the Archbishop of Lyons, issiuing various
orders with a serenity and firmness' of
countenance that augured well to his
cause; while the populace stood rouod
in mute admiration. Upon his atterapt
ing to return, he found the streets block
aded with barrels, and did not escape
home without considerable difficuky and
danger. -
" The night passed in fear and tumult ;
and the next day the king adopted the
ignominious resolution of leaving the city.
After his departure, or rather flight,

Mt. 35.] THUANUS. 49
Guise became absolute, and the Queen-
mother, who had remained for that pur
pose, in vain endeavoured to promote an
accommodation. The king therefore
thought it expedient to send commission
ers into the provinces to strengthen his
cause, and to proclaim a meeting of the
states. Thuanus, who with his friend
General Schomberg, had followed the
King in the course of three days to Char
tres, -was sent into Normandy. Some
places he found inclined to the League :
others, though loyally disposed, were not
eager in declaring themselves, supposing
that Henry was deficient in spirit, and
that he would purchase tranquillity even
with a diminution of the dignity of the
crown." " Upon his return, the King had re
moved to Rouen, and there araused him
self in frivolous shews. Thuanus receiv
ed a second coraraission into Picardy.
While waiting in one of the towns for
the governor, he set aside several valuable
£

50 THE LIFE OF [1588,
books in the public library, which had
already been exposed to plunder. But
the ensuing disturbances rendered his
caution fruitless, for they werCvaU de
stroyed. These (he exclairas) are the
wages of civil war: this is the temporal
reward of a religion, propagated hj fire
and sword."
When our author had concluded this
commission, he had the distinguished ho
nor of being made a privy counsellor at
Chartres by the King ; who at this time
adjusted his differences with the Duke cf
Guise, on the condition that both parties
should unite against the King of Na^
rarre. " Thuanus, observing the feebleness of
the royal authority, foresaw more trou
bles, and reraoved his plate, jewels, and
valuable furniture, from Paris. The pre
caution proved ineffectual ; and his loss
in the civil wars may be estimated at
10,000 crowns: yet upon the restoration
of tranquillity, he uttered no complaints.

^t. 35.] THUANUS. &.1
nor instituted any suits, as many did, to
recover what had been lost."
" To fulfil the duties of his netv office
he repaired to the meeting of the states
at Blois; and in his way he visited his
brother-in-law, the Chancellor Chiverni,
who had formed a judgment of the King's
disposition different from the coraraoft
one, but more correct. He said, when
Henry should find that his system of dis
simulation and forbearance only invited
fresh outrage, his anger would at length
arise, and gathering courage from despair,
he would have the Duke of Guise poig-
narded." At Blois, the celebrated Montaigne,
who had rauch intercourse with all par
ties, told Thuanus, that " he firmly be
lieved that nothing but the death of one
of the leaders would put an end tp these
comraotions; for the Duke of &uise fear
ed for his life, while 'the King of Navarre's
affairs prospered; who, on the other hand,
thought his succession to the crown in-
E 2

32 THE LIFE OF [1588,
secure, as long as the Duke of Guise
should survive. Religion he said was the
pretext of their partizans; but neither of
the principals were in earnest on that
subject." The Duke raean while was busy in soft
ening his opponents, and raade advances
with great affability to Thuanus, who on
his part shewed much reserve on the oc
casion. " Guise coraplained of his be
haviour to Schoraberg; to whora Thuanus
excused himself, alleging that he was
well aware of the honor and advahtage to
be derived from the Duke's countenance;
but that observing few good citizens
araong his party, and that he himself had
daily altercations with the King, he should
under these circumstances prefer growing
old in obscurity to a life of splendor.
Guise, when this was told him, replied,
that if the good citizens withdrew from
his advances, he should be obliged to emr
ploy in his cause the best adherents he
could find.

M.3^.] THUANUS. S3
'* De Beaulne, Archbishop of Bourges,
spoke for the clergy at this assembly of
the states at Blois. Among other topics,
he introduced the modern prevalence of
luxury, and as a conspicuous example of
the opposite virtue, instanced Thuanus's
mother; who instead of using a chair, or
acarriage, modestly contented herself with
riding on horseback behind a servant.*
" There were at that time, (says our Au
thor) only two chariots at court, the
Queen's carriage, and that of Diana, natu
ral daughter of Henryll. This fashion was
just introduced from Italy, at the latter
end of Francis the First's reign. The first,
in the city, belonged to Christopher Thua
nus, after he was chosen President of the
Parliament: but neither he nor his wife

* ** Cim lectic^, ut aulicae principales matronae et
virgines semper ant^a consueverant, et carruc^, cujus
tunc ususrarus, vehi posset, tamen ut modestis casteris
instar esset, in equo post tergum sessoris domestic;
tapeti et stapedae insidens per vices portabatur."

54 THE LIFE OF [158S,
used it except^ for excursions into the
country. *Now (fifty years after Franeig
the First's time) these conveyances are as
coraraon as the gondolas at Venice."
Thuanus, during the raeeting of the
states, had used his best endeavours to
promote peacie and conciliatory measures
between all parties ; but at length, griev
ed and disgusted with the visible decline of
the royal authority, he departed for Paris.
Frora attachment to the King he had
concerted raeasures with the Governor of
Orleans for preventing that place from
falling into the hands of Guise ; but while
he was busied in raising money for the
purpose, the news of the Duke's f death
reached Paris, and the scheme dropped of
course. This event caused gr^at commo
tion in the city, and Thuanus, being a
* It is not very easy to ascertain the precise date
here meant by the word now. Perhaps this last sen
tence was added by the executors.
t He was assassinated at Blois^ Dec. 83, 1588, by
the King's order.

Mt.SS.] THUANUS. 55
known enemy of the League, was ex
posed to so rauch danger that he was
Qb%ed to sluft his lodgings frequently in
the dark* and after sorae tirae took refuge
in the Convent of St. Francis ; while his
wife was coraraitted to the Bastile. But
though detained himself, he had interest
enough to procure the liberty of the Ger
man Critic Ohsopoeus ; and sent by him
into Germany a copy of the History of
Zosimus, tmnscribed from the authentic
MS. of Leuenclavius, who translated the;
work. In consequence of Thuanus's care
in this respect, an edition of this Author
was published two years after at Franc
fort. t e:i
" The troubles now increased .at Paris,
and all worthy citizens took to flight.
Thuanus disguised himself as a cpraraon
soldier; liis wife rauffied herself in the
dress of a citizen's wife upon a hack
horse, ahd thus they both contrived to
effect their escape.
When these exiles reached Chevreuse

56 THE LIFE OF - [1589,
in safety, the disguise of their -vulgar ha
biliments afforded them rauch mirth.
He laughed at his wife's strange head-'
dress,* and she at his thread-bare coat. ¦
They proceeded into the Chartrain to
Chiverni's seat, from whom Thuanus
collected many authentic particulars as
materials for his history. '
The Duke of Mayenne (brother to
tl^e deceased Duke of Guise) having ta
ken Orleans, was now raarching trium
phantly to Paris, and the Royalists were
every where defeated. Thuanus was
again in great peril ; and would certainly
have been detained by the enemy, had it
not been for a stratagem of his friend
Schomberg, who prevailed upon the dow-
agei: Duchess of Lorraine to write him a
fetter including him in her suite, with
which she was proceeding to her betroth
ed husband the Grand Duke of Tuscany;
This letter he showed as his passport ; and
* Coliendrum.

m.36.l THUANUS. * 57
proceeded to Blois, at which place he
found the unhappy king confined in sick
ness and solitude. Thuanus joined his
entreaties to those of the few gentlemen
remaining about the royal person, and
they at length obtained permission to
make proposals to the King of Navarre.
Du Plessis Mornay was sent for ; and the
business secretly concluded between hira,
Schomberg, and Thuanus.
Henry de Bourbon, Prince of Dombes,
carae to court about this tirae, and Thu
anus presented to him a translation of the
book of Ecclesiastes into Latin verse.
" The Prince wrote a short compli
mentary epistle in return, which was
printed with the work; and gradually
contracted so intimate and firm a friend
ship with the author, that as long as he
hved he scarcely took any step in politics
or important matters without his advice
and concurrence."
" The King reraoved to Tours^ and a
deliberation was held on constituting a

58 ^HE LIFE OP [158P,
lawful parliament, in opposition to the
parliament at Paris, which had revolted
against the sovereign; but a difficulty arose
from the circumstance of there being no
president. It was necessary to elect one,
and the unanimous suffrage fell, in his
absence, on Thuanus. " He, however,
with many acknowledgments of the
honor proposed, resolutely declined it,
upon this plea, that either from modesty
or a certain rusticity of raind, he had
ever shuddered at elevation. He coveted
not so much the dignity in question
itself, as the reputation of being worthy, of
i^t ; and this, if he was fortupate enough
to possess, he would not forfeit by a pre
mature acceptance, but preferred waiting
for the time of regular succession."
" Having such an opportunity of re-
maining'^at home with more than Coraraon
honor, Thuanus chose to accompany his
friend Schomberg into Germany, and to
partake of his toils and difficulties in
raising men and money. They judged that

^t. 36.'] THUANUS. 59
the safest, and eventually the most expe
ditious road, would be through the towns
occupied by the King of Navarre's gairi-
sons. This opinion was partly formed
on a precedent which occurred in the life
of the unhappy King of Portugal, An
tonio, who, flying from Philip II. of
Spain, and taking refiige in La Rochelle,
said that he had never experienced greater
faith than araong the unfaithful, raeaning
the Protestants."
The friends proceeded through Xain-
tonge by the field of battle at Coutras
and carae to Montagne in Perigord.
A singular incident occurred to Thu
anus in this journey at an inn where
they slept. In the middle of the night
he was awakened by a noise in his bed-
charaber, and looking up perceived a fe
male figure in a strange dress, standing
by the fire and drying her hair which was
wet. Presently she approached his bed,
and in a solemn voice said, " I am the
Queen of Heaven." He had presence of

60 THE LIFE OF [1589,
mind to conjecture the true cause of this
extraordinary visit; and suspecting the
woman to be deranged in her mind, call
ed for assistance, and had her properly
taken care of.
When they reached Mande, the bishop
of the place, entertained thera in the most
sumptuous manner for some days. They
perceived that the game at table generally
wanted a wing or a leg, and sometimes
the head ; on enquiry they were surpriz
ed to hear that it was supplied from the
nests of eagles in the neighbouring cliffs.
The peasants build sraall hovels or huts
near, to screen themselves from the fury
of the parent bird, which brings food for
its young, and after the spoil is deposited,
flies away. The peasants then hasten to
remove what they find, chickens, hares,
partridges, or pheasants, and throw in gar
bage to the eaglets ; but some portion of
the prey is generally devoured. Three or
four nests supply an elegant table through
the year, and chains are fastened round

JEt. ^.] THUANUS. 61
the young, to prevent their flying as
soon as they otherwise would. Thuanus
had the curiosity to ascend to one of these
nests, and was a witness of the scene de
scribed. Crossing the frightful mountains ofthe
Cevennes, they passed through several
small places to Frejus; and from thence
took ship to Genoa, which place they
found so favorably disposed to the royal
cause, that a vessel, from Marseilles, hav
ing lately entered the harbour without
hoisting the French flag, was sunk by the
populace. Schomberg went to Florence in dis
guise to procure raoney. Thuanus hav
ing contracted a disorder in his storaach
on the voyage, reached Placentia; but un
able longer to bear the jolting of a horse,
took a vessel which conveyed hira down
the Po to Venice.
" On the day he arrived there, August
14th, an express brought the news of the

65 THE LIFE OF [158^i
detestable * parricide of the King; but
the general grief was converted into joy
three days after by the account that the
King of Navarre had bden raised to the
throne. " His virtues (as it was declared
in the senate of Venice) rendered him
¦worthy of it, even if he had not been the
legitimate heir."
" Thuanus raade diligent enquiry con
cerning the lives of learned and celebrated
men, both Italians and Spaniards, that he
might approve himself, as an historian,
an impartial admirer of merit. Unfortu
nately he has never experienced more in-,
gratitude than from the latter nation."
" Schomberg went to Germany, and
his companion journeyed through the
beautiful tract of the Valteline and the
Grisons to Coire, an episcopal see. The
cathedral is now in ruins; for the pre-*
lates, who hold it with the title of prin
ces, are contented with merely maintain-
* Henry III. was assassinated by Jaraes Clement,
on the eleventh^ of August, V589.
2

^t. 36.] THUANUS. 63
ing the name, and enjoying the revenues
without residence." In crossing the lake
to Zurich in an open boat a storm arose,
and he was in imminent danger of being
drowned with the rest of the passengers.
*' Thuanus viewed with much plea
sure the town which had been from the
earliest times the chief of the Swiss can
tons; and did not depart without -visiting
the hurable habitations in which Gesner
and Wolfe were borri. While in this
country he accidentally met his friend de
Sillery, envoy from the King, and they
united in strengthening the royal interest
in Switzerland, where the inhabitants
were already well-affected to the cause;
and in the different towns on the road to
France." Thuanus at length reached Chalons,
and Chateau-Thierri, while Paris was sus
taining the King's siege. At the latter
plaee he met with one Picherel, a learned
man, who informed him he had that day
corapleted his 79th year, and had studied

64. THE LIFE OF [1589,
fourteen hours in order to finish a com
mentary on St. Paul's Epistles. This is
an instance of extraordinary ardor in the
cause of literature, which seems in some
measure characteristic of the age. It is
related that Cardinal Tournon, on his
journeys and embassies, always had mules
to carry boxes of books, and his first care,
on arriving at any place, was to have
these opened, and placed in order for the
students of his suite.
Leaving Chateau Thierri below him,
he proceeded to Chateau-neuf in the Thi-
merrais by night, (for by day the jour
ney was dangerous) and the company
twice upon alarm given, prepared their
weapons. It proceeded however from
two litters conveying to interment the
bodies of two young noblemen, the Duke
de Monbazon and the Count de Roney,
who were killed at the battle of Arques.
Thuanus lamented their fate in two
copies of extemporary verses. One ot
them is here subjoined.

Mt. 36.] THUANUS. 65
To Arete, or Virtue.
Flere tuum non est^ Arete ; sed solvere crines
Te modo, et attritas usque rigare genas.
Vidimus, et curvis contundere pectora palmis.
In Monbazonii funere. Diva, tui.
Scilicet ille Deus,— Diis cert^ proximus heros ;
£t decet heroum morte dolere Deos.
Virtue, thou shouldst not marks of sorrow bear j
Yet we behold you tear your flowing hair.
You beat your bosom, tears your cheek disfain j
You grieve for Monbazon in battle slain.
A hero he, and godlike was his fame ;
And such a goddess' tears may justly claim.
At Chateaudun he presented himself to
the King, who received him most gra
ciously, and raade enquiries concerning the
state of affairs in Italy, Germany, and Swit
zerland. Thuanus gave sorae intiraation of
the match with Mary of Medicis,which took
place ten years afterwards. The Venetian
and Italian states wished the King to em-
brace.the religion of his ancestors, but
being with reason afraid of Spain, were
desirous to be on good terms with France,
and privately reraitted a sura of money,
F

66 THE LIFE OF [lS89^
net very ccnsiderable. " His Majesty .
conversed at gr?at length on the subject,
and said that Divine Providence having-
raised him beyond his hope or desire, to
an eminence which few pbtain without
cpmraittiiig viplence and oiitrage; he
hoped the exaraples of his iraraediate pre-
decessors would be ever as a warning.
before his eyes.. He was disposed tp think
of raarriage that he raight not die child
less, as most of them had done: in reli
gion, he professed himself an enemy tp
all animosity, and a friend to Christian
charity ; but -with respect to the differeirt
tenets of ecclesiastical establishments, hq
would not be found obstinate in shutting
his ears to better instruction than he had
hitherto received. At the same time h«^
was not to be compelled on this point ;
and he wished in a matter of so great im-»
portance that not himself alone, but raany
others raight be benefited. For this reason
he inclined to hope a general, or even
natj^al council, or at least a qonferoic^
2

Mt. 36,] THUANUS. 67
might be instituted. In the raean tirae,
the force, which he deprecated in his own
person, he would offer to none; but
would religiously uphold the Catholic
faith, defend those -who differed frora its
persuasion, and provide as rauch as in
him lay, in all cases, for the safety and
trinquillity of the realm. This, and
much iftOre, the prince Said with an im
pressive eloquence, natural to him, and
with tears : which m|rks of feeling
proved that he spoke the real sentiments
of his heart."
Thuanus was sent this jesLr on a
mission from the King to the Cardinal of
Vendome. On the 14th of March the
battle of Ivry took place ; and the King
was afterjvards engaged in taking several
tbtvns. " A comraon saying of that day
-^^as, that Henry had raised the siege of
Dieux to gain the battle of Ivry, and had
retreated frora Sens to take Paris. This ,
ftOwever was not the cas^:', for he pro
tracted the siege that the" capital of the

68 THE LIFE 6f [1590,
kingdom might not be given up to plun
der; so that humanity occasioned his
want of success." Meanwhile Thuanus
obtained leave to visit his wife, whom
he had not seen for a year. He was also
deputed to fetch the Chancellor Chiverni,
and almost lost his life frora travelling in
the heat. He lay sick of a fever for
twenty-one days in the castle of Nan-
touillet, the government of which bad
been entrusted to him.
When the siege of Paris was raised,
Thuanus, taking with him his wife and
all the valuables he could collect, set out
from Nantouillet, on his way to the Tou-
raine, where he intended to reside. They
were raet by the enemy, and being with
out the means of resistance, he escaped
only by the swiftness of his horse, but his
goads were plundered, and his wife taken
prisoner ; aqd her release was not obtain
ed without difficulty.
The Viscount de Tirenne proceeding tp
Germany to levy troops, it was proposed.

Mt37.] THUANUS. 69
that Thuanus shpuld accompany him,
unless his continiiance at horae should be
necessary for the purpose of rendering as
sistance to the Chancellor Chiverni in the
dispatch of business. But upon the re
port of the appearance of a third faction,
the King finally resolved to send him to
Tours for the purpose of strengthening
his interest with the Cardinal de Ven
dome. ** The report was not without founda
tion, and some tumults arising at Tours,
the King, when, after the taking of
Chartres, his affairs wore a better aspect,
summoned the Cardinal and his adherents
to court at Mantes, where he himsel t
then was; and this sagacious prince tool
care to receive them with such flattering
hopes of emolument, that he gained many
over, and made them spies upon the con
duct of the rest."
*' Thuanus received a coraraission to
raise raoney frora all ranks of people,
cither by way of loan or gratuity ; and

70 THE LIFE OF [1590,
took a letter from the King to the Count
de Soissons who had been confined at
Tours by a quartan ague, occasioned by
chagrin at not being present at the battle
of Ivry.
'•' Before he left Mantes the death of
Amypt, Bishpp pf Auxerre, Grand Al-
iripner and Rpyal Librarian, was knpwn ;
whp was the translator of Plutarch, andhad
been tutor to Charles IX. and Henry III.
The place of librarian -vyas conferred
upon Thuanus.
" When he returned in February to the
camp at Darnetal, the King had just re
ceived a slight wound frora the van
guard of the Duke of Parma's army. It
occasioned great consternation, as the
public safety was considered to depend on
his life."
" Henry asking one ofhis officers, who
had been taken prisoner by the Duke • of
Parma, what that nobleman said of the
late skirmish, he at first declined answer
ing, but being pressed, said, ' the Duke

iEt.37.] THUANUS. ^'I
had expressed his surprize that so great
a prince should expose his person unne
cessarily, and without an adeqnate ob
ject.* This judgment being, more conso
nant to truth than to the King's expec-
tation^ he exclaimed with warmth, ' that
it was no woE^r a general should form
this opinion, who fought at the command
of another, neither with his own troops
nor money: for his part, he sustained the
whole \are of the war himself, and
through impatience of vexation and sus
pense, was often induced to seek a termi
nation of his troubles with the hazard of
his life."
" The blarae of this bloody engagement
was attributed by Marshal Brion to
Grillon,* who coming after dinner into
the King's cabinet to excuse hiraself, pro-

* Tbis is the same person to whom Henry wrote
after the battle of Arques — *' Hang thyself, brave
Grillpn ; we have fought at Arques, and thou wert
not there."

73 THE LIFE OF [1593,
Ceeded to altercation, mixed with oaths
and insolent expressions. The king often
bade him begone, and turned pale with
anger, so that the bye-standers thought he
would have seized a sword and stabbed
hira. He afterwards said that having
found himself in his youth prone to
passion, he kept a guard over himself
that he raight commit no rash action
under its influence. All the tirae of the
contention Brion lay, to appearance,
asleep upon a chest, and the louder it be
came, the more profound were his slum
bers, though- Grillon called him in his
ear a snarling raangy cur. ' He did well
to leave to the King the whole dispute
with this brave but quarrelsoraeraadraan."
Thuanus, who had brought 30,ooo
crowns with hira, -was again sent on a simi
lar commission to Tours. On his road he
was attacked by a violent fever, occasioned
by a stay of four months in the pestilent
tial air of the camp. Malignant pimples
broke out over his loins, but he was at

iEt.40.] THUANUS. 73
lettgth cured by application of the bezoar
ston'e. In order to shew his gratitude to
God, he published a work in imitation of
the Prometheus of ^schylus, and dedi
cated it tP his dearest friends Thumeri
and Du Puy."
A cpnference was this year instituted
between the King and the Duke of May
enne ; and " the people, having a little
breathing-tirae, became as fond of peace,
as they had before been of war."
" At this time, Thuanus began his his
torical work, on account of which chiefly
these raemoirs were written. He had
formed the plan of it fifteen years before.
So far from deriving his authorities, as
his calumniators assert, frora ruraours
and scattered paraphlets only, he drew
thera from the very fountain-head of truth,
from materials collected on his journies
in the course of an intimacy with many
persons of eminence ; frora the papers
of persons employed in public affairs.

74 THE LIFE' OF [1593,
and those of the four Secretaries of State.
It is true that he read the publications
produced on both sides, during the heat
of faction ; but he diligently reduced
them to the scale of truth. Those who
know him, well know, that however nu
merous his faihngs, he was always supe
rior to falsehood ; and that like Epami-
nondas, he never allowed hiraself to utter
an untruth even in jest. They well
know that from the 20th year of his age,
he has lived in intimacy with men of the
first repute ; that he has been entrusted
with various important concerns, and is
to this day, with the same established
character for probity and virtue. Let him
be compared with other writers, and it
will be found that he has continually mi
tigated the animosity of contending in
terests by temperate language, and as a
judge in law questions, ever leaned to the
least invidious side: besides the daily
prayers, which every Christian ought to

ML 40,] THUANUS. 75
offer at his rising, he has told me^ that
he made one applicable to his work, and
never sate down to composition without
first begging God to enlighten him with a
knowledge of the truth, and enable him to
follow its dictates without flattery or de
traction. This indeed he trusts he has. ac
complished, except where his judgment
may be deficient, and he confidently com
mits his work to the unbiassed sentence
of posterity. To this impartial judge
Thuanus permitted a friend to inscribe
some verses in his name.'*
These verses are inserted at length in
the Appendix. The English reader may
form sorae notion of the sentiments they
contain from the subjoined concise trans
lation. The criticism of Horace upon Lucilius
is too applicable to the poetry of Thu
anus:

* Thuanus, it must be remembered, speaks of him-
self continually in the character of a friend.

76 THE LIFE OF [1593,
Cum flueret lutuJentiis, erat quod tollere velles;
Garrulus, atque piger scribendi ferre laborem,*
With careless indolence he pour'd his song;
You'd think it muddy, garrulous, too long.
" To Posterity.
(Written March 15, 1611.)
'^ I'M' blamed at Paris and at Rome, because
A foe to vice, the champion of free laws.
From this harsh censure whither shall I flee ?
Posterity, impartial judge, to thee.
Be thou my patron : hear my plain defence^.
My honest boldnes.s gives it seems offence.
What if servility had marked my pen.
Should I not ineet wilh equal cenS^ure then ?
Is not Truth virtue, which its blame bestows
On guilty friends, praise on deserving foes t
Blame on, ye sycophants, who courts infest.
Ye swarm of drones ! my conscience is at rest.
The man, who will his trust, without a stain.
In risk of life and fortune's goods maintain j
Who, when his duty calls, despises gain
And prostituted rank J who strives to be
And not to seem — that man and only he
Of a good citizen deserves the fame ;
All others are pretenders to the name.
* I Satyr, lib. l. 10. v. SO,

}

Mt 40.] THUANUS. 77
" 'Tis said I'm tame, from favor free and hate.
Towards the sectaries in Church and State. —
My pen gives Catholics no fulsome praise.
Yet their just meed to several pontiffs pays !
Perfection is not, but in Heaven above;
Some of them err, and there I disapprove.
Should I conceal ? Ah ! 'tis not to be done;
The actions of the great are always known.
'Tis well at least they think so ; for remove
The dread that after-ages will reprove.
The public censur&j and you leave behind
No check that can restrain a prince's mind.
Thou, who wouldst rule a wiHing people right,.
Live in thy house, expos'd to public sight :
Be a Publicola ! and fear discard ;
Conscience, in stormy times, shall be thy guard.
" Some liberty besides, the times permit.
Frequent in pasquinades and scurril wit.
These sarcasms touch not doctrine sound at all.
Nor that true faith, which Peter sealed and Paul,
-Sealed with their blood — which from our fathers pstst.
In every place the same, and still to last.
" In uttering simple truths, blunt tho' I be.
And zealous too, 'tis not Apostacy.
With sects I leagued not, this Perron can tell.
And D'Ossat, did he live, who knew me well.
The Protestants you praise, whamerit hate.
Granted : the learn'd and wise, the truly great.
Genius and worth, whatever country bore.
These have I prais'd, as good men did before.

78 THE LIFE OF [1593;
Lo, great Erasinus ! Should I rail in vAiri,
At one, who stainds the first in Learning's train ?
Forbid it. Heaven 1 His faults are not denied :
He erred as man, as man let him be tried.
" Second divinities the laws I nairte :
All social rights from Heaven their sources claim.
And thosfe, who erring would the thought explode,
Know not that lai^ful pow'f springs from God.
" Th' account of *Pisa's syiiod some accuse ;
I tell a well-known f^ct without abuse.
But you obliquely lash the Holy See;
You who assert the charge, accuse not nie.
My life and habits, but bare words proclaim |
And here th' event has justified theblame.
** Then the Pragmatic Saiiotion — fmore dispute :
Yet France prais'd this, when heresy vvaS mute.
Shall we beneath a yoke now first incline.
And ancient liberty of speech resign ?
" I blame the Paris massacre, and hence
The last and flagrant capital offence.
In barb'roiis triump round Rome's trophied hall.
How at this day remains the pictuicd wall :%
* Assembled in 1410, when two contending pontiffs
were deposed, and one other chosen.
t Instituted in 1461. It maintained the authority
of General Councils to be superior to that of the
Popes. X The massacre of St. Bartholomew was represented
in paintings in Constantine's Hall.

ML 40.] THUANUS. 79
But no good Frenchmen in tbis point agree,
Tljeir cruel mockery we with horror see.
They celebrate the woes of France, her shame.
Afoul and bloody deed, unfit to name,
Condemn'd by edicts, an eternal blot :
Do I then praise this act ? I praise it not.
No ; I condemn and execrate the plan.
Which set at nought the laws of God and man.
Rome, should thy gates again admit the foe.
Then wilt thou learn to pity human woe.
** Ah ! should religious wars again return.
How will the desolated country mourn :
Deluged in blood, in jarring conflicts tost.
Behold her lutppiness, her honor lost.
Deform'd is then each peaceful rural scene.
The village- priest is no where tobe seen:
In waHed towns only he appears, and still
The people hunt him as the cause of ill.
Alas ! what part has Christ in this fierce strife }
Where is obedience^ innocence of life.
And bond of loVely- Charity ?— Search through
A civil war,* no good appears to view.
* The ori^nal conveys a very quaint metaphor:
Belli civilis in asse
Si totam excuties, non est semuttcia recti,
Non fidei aut priscse pietalis scrupulus-unus.
In a pound of civil war, there is.not half an ounce
of integrity, and not one scruple of piety.

so THE LIFE OF [159.%
Your carnal arms, O seed of Troy, decline.
Take the Lord's sword> and panoply divine.
Schism is in some a weakness, and no sin.
And these persuasive language best will win.
*' When thus escaped from Envy's toil, and clear,
My father's name is whisper'd in my ear.
The grave you open, break its calm repose.—
Do I in aught my father's will oppose?
Disturb his lov'd remains I And is this said
Of me, before whose eyes that form, tho' dead.
Lives in imagination night and day;
Excites to noble deeds, and poinis the way ?
My guardian angel he each thought inspires.
And bids me emulate my virtuous sires.
And witness, shades revered, first of my line.
Your spotless name-I spotless shall resign ;
I've shunn'd no dangers in my country's cause.
My purpose has at least deserv'd applause : . ."
My soul shall join you, pure from modern stain.
My honor in the silent grave remain.
Fall'n on ill days, to envy now I yield.
Resign my functions, quit the dubious field.
Old as I am, I do this with good will.
And my own former prophecy fulfil."
This is the prophecy to which he al-
jludes, which occurs at the conclusion of
** The Art of Falconry," written about
the vear 1575.

^t.40.] THUANUS. 81
" Over roy humble grave it will be said :
Thuanus, 'mid the smiles of Fortune bred.
Of an illustrious race, who did before
Preferment's honorable path explore;
- By this example, by ambition fir'd.
And by his father's recent fame inspi'r'd ;
Yet shunn'd the Court;, a shore where tepipests beat.
And sought the Muse's haunts in calm retreat.
Early he sought the meed of letter'dease;
Vain pomp, which pleas'd the many, fail'd to please
His mind, nor could the hope of wealth allUre—
Wealth, gain'd by spoiU, that made a nation poor.'*
The following passage, which is sub
joined to the verses in tbe Meraoirs, was
perhaps written "by Du Puy, who was in
dignant at the censure thrpwn on bis
friend's W'Ork.
" Since, therefore, Thuanus made no
sacrifice to hatred, or aflection, or arabi
tion; since the sole aira of his work was
to advance the glory of God and the pub
lic good (which requires the publication
of the truth to be transmitted to posteri
ty;) since he asserted nothing but on
sure testimony and great authorities ; — ^^it
G

82 THE LIFE OF [l593^,
is matter of astonishment to me that a
man who injured none, but often repaid
good for evil, should have experienced
so much the raalice of detractors, who
have even descended to asperse his private
life and domestic habits.
"He said himself he was aware of no
reasons for their outrageous hatred, but
such' as were latent, and which his ca
lumniators would not avow. I began
therefore to consider what these might
be, and upon mature reflection believe
the cause of offence to be, the detestation
he always expressed of war entered upon
on account of religion, and the advice he
gives for restoring primitive discipline in
the Chucrh, and for convoking general
councils at stated times. His enemies
are particularly stung by what is said con
cerning the national laws, " the preroga
tive, liberties, privileges, and lastly the
*palladium of the realra." For in a word,
¦  s  _.,
* See Thuanus's Prefage, p.

Mt 40.] THUANUS. 83
they are a company of Sinons, who watch
opportunities of enriching themselves by
the ruin of others ; of invading the liber
ties of oppressed kingdoms ; of making a
vast parade of exorbitant power by tram
pling on the crown, even at the hazard of
destruction to the Church,
" They are vexed, and wrung to the
heart at the exposure of their wiles.
Hence, and from no other source, arise
those animosities, calumnies, and that
torrent of scandal. Hence an unlimited
censure was passed at Rome, without
any cause assigned, on the entire history
of Thuanus, w^hen only a part had been
published: published indeed with that
preface which galls them to the quick.
• " The lapse of *ten years has not
quenched the fury of these zealots. They
would willingly procure the breach of
the peace we enjoy; for ieffectuating
which the author took so much pains, by
* The History was first published in 1604.
/ G 2

84 THE LIFE OF [1593,
command of the great Henry, thirteen
years before. They have no contrition, no
resignation, no dependance on Providence;
but think the cause of religion requires
for its support conspiracies, wars, and
bloodshed. Against those, who speak
with moderation of the Protestants, who
implore the aid of councils, they inveigh
as separatists, lukewarm, suspicious cha
racters. Proud and vain-glorious, they
delight in outward pomp, and arbitrary
sway : covetous, without mercy or bro
therly love, full of the wisdom of the
world, during peace they make ready for
war, and wherever they meet opposition,
persecute and demolish iraplacably with
fire and sword.
" Such are the raen with whora the
writer of the Annals is at variance. To
maintain (as he has done) the national
liberties and honor against foreign arti
fice, to vindicate the King's power by a
sketch of the Gallic laws, and to ward
the sword from his sacred person, is at
2

MU 40.] THUANUS. «5
the present day conside^isd a crirae and
treason against God. Time was, that he
who acted thus, would have been deemed
worthy ofan oak^i crown, and a triumph,
but now our enemies have sp far prevailed
in trampling on the dignity of the nation
and of the sovereign, that the same per
son is considered as prophane, and ex
communicate —
Triste jacet cunctis evitandumque Vidental .
As if blasted hy li^tning, to be shunn'd by ail
mankind.
But I eheck my pen, and beg pardon of
the reader, if in so just a cause, and in the
defence of an innocent person, I have
launched out too far and with some de
gree of heat, which he would neither
have done nor consented to."
Thuanus resided at Tours the remain
der of the year, with his wife, and was
employed in the coraposition of his his
tory, having previously furnished hirase'f
with books and materials from his library
in Paris.

86 THE LIFE OF ^ ^ [1£95,
The following year," the King being re
conciled to the ChUrch, though not yet
favoured by the Pope, was consecrated at
Chartres by Niqjiolas, bishop of the place,
and uncle to Thuanus. Paris was like
wise delivered to the Royalists by the
Governor .Brissac. " It was hoped that
the Parliament "would not be restored
until the return of those faithful adhe
rents to the Ring, namely Harlay, Thu
anus and others, who had exercised.juris-
diction for five years .at Tours. But the
intrigues of Francis d'O, who thought to
obtaih popularity by depressing the Par
liament, prevailed so far as to frustrate
this expectation."
" This year the Jesuits were banished,
a measure which Thuanus approved as
conducive to the public good, but grieved
at the same time to lose the society of
their provincial, Du J^uy, his intimate
friend." Charles, Duke of Guise, son of Henry,
who was ass9.ssinated at Blois, made his

MtA,2.] THUANUS. ¦ 8?"
peace with 'the King; and the Duke of
Sully and Thuanus arranged the condi
tions. He then returned to his studies, which
were only interrupted by his attendance
on the Venetian emhassadorsi who came
to Paris with great pomp. He wrote
also a copy of verses, containing 120 lines,
expressive of the unwillingness with
w^hich he had first joined the Court, and
the joy it would afford hira to leave it.
They coficlude thus— -
Jamque adeo ad Musas atque otia blanda relabor ;
Sera licet, certa est, quae venit iad^ salus.
Back to the Muse I steal, and calm repose,
Whence happiness, tho' late, securely flows.
This year Augustin, President a Mor
tier, died; and Thuanus succeeded to the
reversion of his place, " He shewed his
moderation before, when he would not
accept the office at Tours ; and he would
not now enter the Parliaraent, till he had
paid due respect to his uncle's reraains,"

88 THE LIFE OF [159S,
Upon sorae alarra which had arisen
among the Protestants, lest their interests
should not be sufficiently consulted, the
King appointed a coraraissioner to treat
with thera; and his nomination fell on
Thuahus, " He being busily occupied in
private with his history, and the arrange
ment of his domestic affairs, received the
information very unexpectedly ; and ap
prehensive, from experience, of incurring
odium and calumny both in France and
at Rorae in the conduct of so delicate an
affair, resolutely after repeated solicita
tions, declined engaging in it. He hoV-
ever went with Schomberg into the Tou-
raine, for the purpose of treating with
Louise, widow of Henry HI. and the
Duke de Mercoeur her brother."
There he received the distressing ac
count of the death of his friend Peter
Pithou, the companion and director of
his studies. His spirits were much de
pressed by this event ; and he had even
thoughts of abandoning his historic^

^t. 43.] tHUANUS. 89
work. To Hthou the world is indebted
for the first publication of Phoedrus' fa
bles, and for raany other literary works.
He Was in all respects one of the raost
eminent men of his age ; and Thuanus
has delineated his character with all the
¦<varrath of affection in his history, and in
a letter written about the time of his
death to Casaubon. As these accounts
throw some light upon the character of
the author, as well as of his friend, they
are here in part subjoined,
* " Pithou was born at Troyes, and
descended frora an illustrious family, and
deserves to be ranked araong the greatest
men of our time, on account of his inte
grity, imafected piety, genius, deep and
extensive knowledge, and acute discern
ment. He was continually occupied for
the |)ublic good, particularly in searching
out and elucidating the remains of ancient
literature, and in encouraging and assist-
* Hi^. lib. 117.

90 THE LIFE OF ' [159&,
ing others who fead the satne object in
view. Le Fevre said with justice;, that
no person knew any one author better
than Pithou knew the works of all the
Greek and Latin writers ; which he had
perused, without a single exception. He
had gained a raost accurate knowledge of
all particulars relative to French history,
customs, manners, and descriptions of
places ; and had transcribed with his own
hand many old records belonging to mo
nasteries, towns, and public archives. ,
" In civil law, so great were his attain-.
ments, that it was said of him and his il
lustrious preceptor, Cujacius, " If the tutor
prevented his pupil from being the first,
the pupil on the other hand prevented him
from being the only civilian."
?' These excellent accomplishraents would
separately starap a dignity on any cha
racter; united together, they give the
highest lustre to that of Pithou. ret
how little a part do they all form of
that essence pf wisdom, whigh by a

Mi.J3.] THUANUS. gl
happy corabination of talent and judg
ment, perfected in a course of study,
reading, and habitual experience, he had
extracted from the rich stores, of anti
quity ? How far short are they of that
prudence in affairs which enabled him
not only to judge wdth equal facility and
equit} of private business, and of legal
concerns, but also to deterraine wisely
concerning the best interests of the state,
to look forward to remote events, and to
guard against impending and dreadftd
contingencies ?
''Although he was of all men raost free
frora ambition, and the only splendor of
his life was that which he derived from
his virtues, and although he always re
jected honors, even if voluntary offered ;
yet feeling, as he did, an ardent desire
tp benefit his country, he never desisted
from admonishing and exhorting those
who happened to be placed at the head
of affairs, and suggesting to thera any
approved exjpedients which his knowledge

98 THE LIFE OF [15^,
tjf antiquity supplied, or whidi, from a
peculiar acuteness and solidity of judg
ment, he had himself discovered. On
their part, they never entered upon any
affair of great raoment till they had pre
viously consulted Pithou, so that he
may be said to have transacted the public
business in retirement, and to have beeft
aperpetual magistrate "svithout the insi^ia
of office. The innocence and undeviating
tenor of probity which characterized his
life, procured him the reputation not
merely of a most learned lawyer, and
a most prudent civilian, but of an honest
patriot, and a truly good man. He died
on his bir4h-day, at the age of fifty-
seven. " Upon the death of my incomparaMe
friend, the partner of all my cares, my
counsellor in literary studies, and in po
litical counsels, tbe web of history
which I had begun to weave fell from my
hands ; and I- should never have resumed
my labors, unless I had thought it a tri-

ML 43.] THUANUS. 93
bute due to the raemory of a man who
had merited so much from me and from
my country, to complete with what as
sistance I could procure, a work com
menced at his instigation, which he con
sidered likely to be of public benefit, and
which I had it in contemplation to con
tinue under the sanction of his concur
rence alone."
The following letter Thuanus addressed
to Casaubon on the same subject. It is
dated Tours, Nov. 25, 1596.
*' When I was lately at Angers (whi
ther I had been sent by the King, with
the illustrious Gaspard de Schomberg,
for tbe business of reconciling Bretagne to
the peace), I received the raelancholy
news of Peter Pithou's death. I was con
founded, as you raay well imagine, by so
unexpected a calamity ; and having no
person near me, who entertained a just
sense of my loss, or into whose bosom I
could pour ray grief, I becarae inconso
lable. Forgetting myself, I alraost for-

94 THE LIFE OF [159^,
got my office and dignity. 1 seek' not to
excuse to you this weakness and imbeci
lity of mind to which I yielded for the
same circumstance might have happened
to a person of the greatest resolution.
How good and great a man Pithou
was, you know, who had no personal ac
quaintance with him ; his merits are
known ' to those whom a still greater^
distance separated from us: you will
therefore less wonder that those who en
joyed his familiar friendship and agreeable
intercourse, should receive his death with
a degree of impatience.
" For, let me ask, what pleasure can be
more sweet than the conversation of a
friend alike pious and wise, and learned"
beyond imagination ?
" Besides an uncomraon and accurate
science, and a knowledge of all ancient
history, particularly ecclesiastical, of civil
law and polite learning, he possessed
the strictest probity of morals, without
dissiitiulatirsu or ambition, and the raost

Ml 43.] THUANUS. 93
consummate skill and prudence in world
ly affairs. In public business especially
he had such discernment and foresight,
that though he lived in retirement, those
who directed the helm of state, applied to
him for advice as to an oracle, and be
lieved their counsels to be better calcu
lated and established, as often as he ad
vised or approved them. Therefore no
matter of great and serious moment was
privately debated by the best of our great
men either at the court or in the city, or
carried from thence to a public consulta
tion, which had not been first communi
cated to him, and submitted to his exami
nation. These things those who never
saw him knew not, though in other re
spects they may be no strangers to the
name of Pithou.
" For my part, I was happy in his
friendship, as long as it was al
lowed me to enjoy it; and as by his
death I lost the only assistant and guide
of my counsels and studies, I felt so much

96 THE LIFE OF [159ij,
concern, that I should have be^n disposed
to bid fareweU to all my studies, and even
to the Commonwealth itself (to which it
had pleased God to render rae in some
way serviceable), if I bad not been
withheld by the noble admonitions of
that very man, whose decease fills me
with so much grief, remaining fresh in
my memory. For it carae into ray mind,
that whenever he saw me in dejection
and despair at the aspect of public affairs,
he used to raise my spirits by this argur
ment, viz. that although his own presages
on the subject were no less dismal than
mine, yet good citizens, like brave sol'
diers, were placed by the chief coramandT
er in a certain station, which ought not
to be deserted in the worst of tiraes.
" In a word, he was a raan born for
for the public good : — having by the great
ness of his genius and talents erabracedja
knowledge of universal science, and by
his admirable prudence attained consuiU',
mate skill in public business, he suffered

^t 43.] THUANUS, 97
no time to pass unemployed in serious
occupations; but either with a view of
doing service to posterity published the
monuraents of antiquity, discovered and
illustrated by his own diligence, or was
engaged in promoting the endeavors and
labors of others for the general good, or
lastly assisted his friends with prudent
advice. Therefore those persons, upon
whom God has betowed great talents,
ought industriously to emulate so laud
able a disposition for proraoting the best
interests of mankind, and thus recom
mend to posterity the meraory of so great
a raan. " For you, most learned Casaubon, he
always entertained a more than comraon
affection, and used to say that you were
the only raan of the age, who, notwith
standing the banishraent of learning du
ring the civil wars, kept alive the hope
of its return, and prevented us frora
thmking its state desperate. I particu
larly remeipber that, in a conversation
H

98 THE LIFE OF [11^95,
on literary subjects, I once showed him
a letter of my friend Scaliger' s, in which
he said that even envy allowed you to
have obtained the principal place amongst
the learned : and Pithou was highly
pleased with that great man's testimony
iji your favor, and used to express his sa
tisfaction, that God had raised you up to
oppose the barbarous ignorance (so he
termed it) which impended over us.
Accordingly it was by his advice that I
sent yoii an invitation to come amongst
us ; and I fancy he pressed the same thing
himself in letters that passed between
you. That good man, who had the pub
lic good solely in view, hoped some ad
vantage might result to the world from
your mutual comroutiication, and that he
should give you no reason to repent of
a familiar - intercourse with him . A gretat
number of things, either from declining
age or from the burthen of business, he
was himself unable to attend to ; which
he would willingly have delivered to your

At. 43.] THUANUS. • 99
management, who were both younger
and had raore leisure, and which he
thought you would not have been disin
clined to undertake.
" These arrangeraents, in consequence
of his death, are partly lost, partly in such
confusion, that Nicholas Le Fevre (an
excellent man and his dear friend, with
whom he lived in the city during the ca
lamitous tiraes in perfect union, and who
for that reason was admitted to a know
ledge of his schemes) is the only person
who can collect, put together, and com
plete thera in such a manner as to render
them of general benefit. I shall not cease
to solicit him with repeated exhortations
to make the atterapt.
" Meanwhile I hope you will not be
displeased at this perhaps too prolix ac
count of my grief ; and -with your usual
goodness oblige me, since I kno"w you
will participate in my concern, by testi
fying it in your writings to posterity. He,
if any man. of the age, certainly deserved
H 2

iOO TOE LIFE OF [1597,
that his name,, sufficiently celebrated in it
self, should be transmitted with the honor
able panegyrics of his illustrious contem
poraries. That you will do this yoursdf^
(for you are able) and exhort others who
are competent to do the same, I cannot
but earnestly entreat.
" Farewell ; and remember to acquaint
me often with your concerns and studies:
for be assured, that, in this sea of human
troubles, nothing affords rae more com
fort thanyour letters. Once more fare well."
The life of ThuanUs, on account of his
public isituation, necessarily includes at
tliis period some account of national af
fairs. The winter was spent in a fruitless
negociation with the Duke de Mercosur ;
and the commissioners appointed to con
fer with the Protestants had no better
success. Schomberg, and Thuanus, not
withstanding his forraer scruples, were at
length joined in this commission.
'* The surprisal of Amiens by the Spa
niards at this time spread consternation
2

At. 44.] THUANIJS. 101
throughout the kingdom. It was feared
that the old troubles would arise again ;
and the Protestants, alarraed lest their
persecutors should obtain superiority, fled
to arras, and entered into secret le^ues
among themselves for ensuring not only
their own safety, but that of the king
dom. The King took measures for dis
possessing the Spaniards, which were
finally successful, and by his valor and
conduct restored tranquillity to the realm.
The Protestants, placing a dependance on
his resolution, began to hope for a per
manent establishment under him ; and
thus a foundation was laid for the edict,
allowing thera the free exercise of their
religion, which passed in the following
year, and was named the edict of Nantes,
from the place where it was first promul
gated. " During the siege of Amiens by the
King, "two Protestant nobleraen, the
Dukes de Bouillon and De la Tremouille,
who had received orders to levy troops.

102' THE LIFE OF [159S,
neglected to advance in support of the
royal troops. Henry conceived great dis
pleasure at their remissness in this point
of duty, ahd even shewed himself offended
with Thuanus, because he had attempted
to palliate their conduct by letter, though
at the same time he expostulated sharply
with them in private. His defence of the
young Prince of Conde and his mother,
two years before, had brought him into
much trouble, though he acted on this as
on all other occasions, with the most up
right intentions.
-" While Thuanus, with the other com
raissioners, Calignon and de Vic, waited
at Chinon, to lay before the King condi
tions proposed by the Protestants, relative
to the edict afterwards passed at Nantes ;
circumstances occurred not perhaps un
worthy of finding a place in a familiar
narrative like the present. The Commis
sioners lodged at the best house in the
place, which had foriherly belonged to
Francis RabeMs, a gentleman, who, not-

ML 45.] THUANUS. 103
withstanding his erainent skill in the
Greek and Latin languages, and in his
prpfession of physic, laid aside serious
studies, and abandoned himself to de
bauchery and intemperance. Addicting
himself to the *art of laughing (which he
used to say was peculiar to man) with the
freedora of a Democritus, and in a scurri
lous stilci he wrote a raost ingenious
book ; wherein, under feigned names, he
brought all sorts of raen and characters,
as it were, upon the stage, and exposed
thera to ridicule. "The circurastance of
his house being at that time converted
into an mn, where there were perpetual
carousals, suggested to Thuanus the fol
lowing verses, which were written with
out premeditation." Their hght style
proves that he possessed considerable ver
satility of talent.
Ipse RABIL.SSIUS YEAtafoTroio; loquitur.
Sic vixi, ut vixisse mihi jocus, atque legeSti
Quos vivos scrips! sit jocus usque jocos.
* Artem Ridendi.

104 THE LIFE OF [1598,
Per risum atque jocos homini data vita fruenda,'
Inter amarescit seria felle magis.
Et nunc ne placidos laedant quoque seria manes.
Cavil Echionii provida cura Dei :
Nam quse a patre domus fuerat Chinone relicta.
Qua vitreo Lemovix amne * Vigenna fluit,
Postquam abii, communi.s in usum versa tabernas,
Leetifico strepitu nocte dieque sonat.
Ridet in h^c hospesi pernox, ridetur in horto.
Cum populus festo cessat in urbe die,
Tibiaque inflalo sallantes incitat utre.
Tibia Pictonicos docta cieremodos.
Et quae musseum domino, quae cella libellis,
Nectareo spumat nunc apotbecA mero.
Si mihi, post minimum vitse tam suaviter actum,
' Dent hodi6 ad priscos fata redire jocos,
Non alia patfias aedes mercfede locare,
Vendere non aliS. conditione velim.
Rabelais, the Jester, speaks.
A life of laughter I thought best.
And made of life itself a jest.
A jest my witty writings are.
Perpetual antidotes to care :
Man wants a laughing lively scene.
To dissipate his gath'ring spleen.
Now I'm dead, the god of wine,
preserves to me this love of mine,
* A river in the Limoisin.

^L 45.] THUANUS. 105
Making of my paternal house
An inn, a place where all carouse.
From morn to night, and all night long
The guest there sings his merry song ;
With merriment the rooms resound^
And the gardens farthest bound.
My study, doom'd its form to lose.
Now is turn'd to better use ;
No musty books they there consign.
But store of casks of gen'rous wine.
Could I life's little span renew.
And earthly regions once more view.
Oh, how happy should I be
In this scene of jollity.
On no terms could I so well.
My paternal mansion sell.
" One Beaumont, calling himself a gen
tleman, being found guilty, of magic at
Angouleme, had appealed to the parlia
ment." In his way to Paris, a lady of
quaUty detained him, from curiosity, at
Chinon; and there he avowed, in the
presence of Calignon, that he entertained
commerce with aerial and heavenly spi
rits, who were by nature beneficent.
Sorcerers, on the contrary, he said, were

106 THE LIFE OF [1599,
governed by terrestrial and subterraneous
demons, of malignant qualities. Thuanus
calls his pretence vain and impious ; but
it appears that he was executed after
wards at Paris, upon an alleged convic
tion of the crime of magic.
" A priest was accused, while the King
was at Nantes, of contriving his Majesty's
death by magical arts, and of concealing
in a secret chamber an image of wax,
stuck with pins, intended to represent
the King, and to influence his health."
These incidents shew the popular su
perstition of the times, which an age of
greater knowledge and refineraent dis
cards with contempt. The trials for
witchcraft in England, which occurred
not long after the period here -spoken of,
are notorious.
** Thuanus continued to employ upon
his history what leisure hours he could
snatch from business. After the edict
was concluded and sealed, he was dis
patched to Paris to manage its promul-

ML 46.] THU.A.-NTS. 1&7
gation in the parliament, and to procure
that it should be passed with tranquillity,
before the faction ofthe League, still for
midable, though depressed, could effect
any opposition to it. His presence was
considered pf so much importance on
the occasion, that his appointment of am
bassador to Venice, to which he had been
nominated, was transferred to another.
He experienced this year deep affliction
from the death of his friends, Schomberg
and Chiverni,
As the King had shewed kindness to
4he Protestants by the edict of Nantes,
he found himself compelled on the other
hand to concede something to the Pope,
and for this purpose the reception of the
decrees of the Council of Trent was agi
tated. " This matter is slightly touched
in the history, and requires therefore a
farther explanation in this place from
Thuanus's common-place* book,"
* This sentence, taken from " The Memoirs," in
dicates that they are a compilation.

WSr THE LIFE OF [1599,
" The courtier^ and heads of the Pro
testant party were first gained over to this
measure ; and the next step, was to in
fluence the parliaraent. The King sent
notice to the First President, de Harlay
who was considered adverse to it, that he
would corae and visit hira, in order that
he might confer on the matter; for the
President was ill in bed. The CathoUcs
hoped that the surprize and honor of the
royal visit would prevent his opposition.
But he declined the meeting on account
of the state of his health, and they were
thus disappointed. ^
" The King had already set out in his
chariot, and turned aside to the hotel of
Zamet, Thither Thuanus repaired by
summons, and the King privately in
formed hira of the business. But he;,
finding hiraself the only President present,
thought the raore caution necessary; aind
declined giving an opinion, lest it should
embarrass his future conduct, when the
matter came before Parliament. The

JEA.4S.] THUANUS. 109
King, however, insisting upon it, he at
last said, * That he foresaw the measure
would be attended with great difficulty ;
for that there was no instance in the his
tory of the French monarchy of a recep
tion of a council into the kingdoin. The
only precedent at all in point was the
Pcagmatic sanction, and ninety out of
one hundred counsellors would refer to
it ; which reference would certainly give
much umbrage to the Pope.^' Upon this
the King, who had a great share of pru
dence, but had been in this instance ill-
advised, broke up the njeeting, by saying,
"Do not suppose that you are called
hither to determine ultimately on the
publication ofthe Council of Trent, but
rather to consult some method of satisfy
ing on this head, the Pope, the realm,
and all parties, as much as maybe,"
*' Soon after follo^d the conference be
tween Du Plessis Mornay and the Bishop
of Evreux, at Fontainebleau ; and the
King's expedition into Savoy.

110 THE LIFE OP [1601,
" Thuanus met with ill- will from ithe
promulgation of a body of statutes for
the University of Paris. On account of
the new doctrine disseminated by foreign
ers, of deposing and murdering kings,
some articles were inserted in them which
secretly galled the factious. These per
nicious notions have however gained
ground." In l6o], our author was elected Tem
poral Father and Protector of the Order
of St. Francis, throughout the kingdom
of France.
In the same ye^f he had the misfortune
to lose his wife, who died on the Sth of
August, the fourteenth anniversary of
their marriage, in the thirty- fifth year of
her age. He erected a marble monument
and statue to her in the church of St. An
drew of the Arches, and gave immediate
vent to his grief by an effusion of unpre
meditated verses to the number of a hun
dred ; which express much pious resigna
tion, and celebrate the tender disposition,

ML 48.] THUANUS, 111
and domestic virtues ofthe deceased, who
is said to have raade a constant practice of
praying three tiraes daily, to have dedi
cated the raorning to theperusalof the
scriptures and devout raeditation, and to
have employed the remainder of her tiine
in attention to family affairs. She left
no children, but iu the opinion of the
afflicted poet, " Her virtues leave suffi
cient pledges to recal to your raind,
O Thuanus, the lively image of your be
loved consort; and will serve as an in
structive lesson to teach you how to die,
when the appointed hour arrives."
The Memoirs of Thuanus here termi
nate abruptly ; and what relates to the
publication of his history, and the re
gaining sixteen years ofhis life (for he died
in 1O17) is to be gathered from other
sources. Buckley has printed, in the
seventh volume of his edition, an ample
and judicious collection of materials re
lative to his author. From these the fol-^
fowing account is principally derived.

112 THE LIFE OF [I601,
Thuanus's Preface, addressed to King
Henry IV. is dated 1601, and alludes to
the birth of the Dauphin, afterwards
Lewis XIII. which took place in Sep
tember of that year. The licence for
printing was not issued till two years
after, Oct. l603, and the first part ofthe
history, consisting of eighteen books, was
first published at Paris in 1 6o4.
The reception the. work met with at
Rorae raay be collected frora the follow
ing extracts of letters, written by Thua
nus to his friends, the Cardinal Joyeuse
and M. Du Puy, who were then at Rome.
They evidently allude to some strictures
on the history, which had reached the
author's ears.
" The latter part ofthe fourth book, and
the beginning of the fifth, where the
narration relates to the Popes Paul III.
and Julius. HI. I wish xmsaid and un
written, out of that reverence to the Holy
See, which I have during ray life enter
tained, and will preserve until death.

ML4&.] THUANUS. 113
For I do not think that a laxity of morals
can dissolve the obligations to doctrine
and dis'cipline incumbent upon all. These
are also my sentiments, concerning other
sirailar passages, if such occur, in the
history. ' f' ' 1
" With regard to the expression,"^ he
departed -to a better life," I do not re
member to have used it concerning, any
notorious -heretic, or one who engaged in
theologicaL controversies. But I may
perhaps- have applied the words, without
reflection, to some worthy Protestant.
Indeed Christian charity obliges us to
hope the best in eases respecting persons,
who have not erred wilfully, but have
imbibed their tenets in consequence of an
education! among Sectaries. Neither do I
write in-the character of^ a , Theologian,
but as a //lan, who has compassion for his
brethren ; and who is obUged to regulate
his conduct towards all mankind by the
laws and customs of the times, particu
larly those of his Pwn nation."
I

114 THE LIFE OF [1601,
Thuanus defends in general terfni^, the
freedom and impartiality of his pen, as
necessary, and the duty of an Historian',
But he wishes to hear all objections, add
ing " that as he has spoken freely .of
others, it is but right, he should submit to
the same freedom- in return."
In one letter he mentions that his work
is in many parts ai defence of the house of •
Bourbon; and with just policy, recom
mends it to hiss friends to caution the
court of Rorae against irritating,, by its
censures, the princes of thaC family,^ his
powerful patrons.
He is willing that any objectionable
parts be retrenched, provided nothing be
added. He even expresses his regret that
he was constrained to let his history be
edited during his life-time; constrained,
be saySj because he had been threatened
with the publication of a garbled copy,
which had found its way into Germany, by
means of a treacherous Amanuensis of that
country, whom he employed.

.St. 48:] THUANUS. 115
He is anxious that the court of Rome
shPuld at kast suspend its censures, until
the appearance of a second edition, which
he was prepjaring With numerous alter-
atipns. He continually alludes to the state of
his raind, devoid of vanity and ambition :
" he has biddeh adieu he says to hope and
to fortune, and is therefore enabled, to re
nounce the court usually paid to great
fiien in pow^er." Against calumny he
appeals, to the innocence of his life ;
declares that in his compositions, he had,
no other purpose but to promote the glory
of God, and that he should not have set
his name to his history, except with a
view to give it credit and authority. Some
times his resolutions of patience fail, and
he breaks forth in eloquent indignation :
" It is easy for those who are removed
from peril, to judge boldly of others.—
Meanwhile where is charity ? Have men
no compassion after forty years passed
full of continual miseries? Have they no
I 2

11^ THE LIFE OF [1601,-
fear, after the loss of the Netherlands,
occasioned by that frantic obstinacy,
which marked the times ? In this country
we ma} be good Catholics, and obedient,
in all points of doctrine, to the Holy See,
without maintaining the bloody propo
sition, that Religion is to be established by
force and by arms. Therefore I shall nie-
ver repent of haying said of it, in the
placie I .hold, what I have always said ;
still less of what I have written. For one
thing I grieve, that this alone has occasi
oned my book to be examined with so much
rigour, amounting even to calumny."
The letter from which this passage is
an extract, is dated Feb. 12, l6o0. It
was addressed to his friend and relation
M. Du Puy, and the animated expressions
which I have cited, were occasioned by
a censure lately passed on his work at
Rome, and published with the signa
ture of one CaracioU, a regular among
the Clergy.
The following sentences, which were, in
this censure, enjoined to be erased, will

yEt.48.] THUANUS. 117
shew the design ofthe whole, and the ten
derness with which the court of Rome
felt the slightest attack :
" Erasmus, the great glory of this age, lib, i, p, 105,*
Altho' the Pontiff was enraged, p, 182.
Boniface Sth, a man of proud and restless temper, p. 362.
In conclusion Caracioli says, " of this
book and its author my judgment is that
the book ought to be altogether con
demned and destroyed ; and that the au
thor is a Calvinist, and a Heretic of the
first class."
Thuanus, however. Was not without en
couragement even from Rome. Three or
four Cardinals spoke favorably of his
work, and his friends succeeded for a
time in making his cause good with Pope
Clement VIII. The Cardinal du Perron
writes, " that the general approbation
bestowed on his book, for it was ranked
next to Sallust and Tacitus, must be an
agreeable recompense of his labors. As
Alexander was solicitous to be praised by
* Buchley's edition.

118 THE LIFE OF [i60].
the Athenians, so ought you to receive
with the greatest satisfaction, applauj^e
from Rome, the most polished part of
the world."
Seguier, however, one of his CorreS'-
pendents, says " That whatever is cora
posed in elegant and classical Latin, is gns-
pected at Rome of impiety."
* It is observable that Thuanus did not
think it prudent to insert in this public
cation, the History of the Council of
Trent, The fraud of the German Araanuensis
had extended farther than to ] 8 books ;
and the historian was not deferred from
publishing in the year 1 6o0, a second part,
carried on to 1 572, and including the mas^
sacre of St, Bartholomew. In a letter to
M. Du Puy, dated April 1 0o6, he mentions
this publication, and says he has, within
few days, carried his work in manuscript,
down to the birth of the Dauphin in
1 6o I . The second part shared the fate of
the first eighteen books in incurring the

MLii.] THUANUS. 119
censure of CaradolL " My judgment," he
sa.ys, " is the same concerning both these
pubUcations : In the second as in the first
Tolurae, Thuanus brings into debate the
council of Trent ; he continually censures
the Sovereign Pontiffs ; and praises Here
tics, particularly the Prince of Conde,*
the king of Navarre, the Duke of Mont
morency, the authors of the French sedi
tion, and favorers of tlie Sectaries. Let
the illustrious Cardinals Perron and Du
Henry who know him, judge if this au
thor ought not to be reckoned in the first
dass of Heretics."
.Tn lOog, Thuanus's History is found in
the list of books formally prohibited at
Rome, The inquisition in Spain was particu
larly severe on the work, and swept away
in one clause, seven folio pages of the
.Prefacc-f * Condoeum, Navarrum, &c.
t From sect, 5, at the words " will continue to afflict'
down to " from our vices,," in sect. 19.

120 THE LIFE OF [1601,
Thus violently was the Papal autho
rity exerted against Thuanus in the two
countries, in which alone at that time its
plenitude of power remained. With what
justice these censures were directed against
-him, it may be interesting to consider,
after the entire course of his life shall
have been laid before the reader. Mean
while it is obvious to remark how much,
in the present times, the question of to-
Jeration in Religion has shifted its ground,
since it is no longer matter of debate, at
least in our own country, whether or not
those who difler from the establishment
shall enjoy perfect liberty of opinion and
practice ; but whether . or not sectaries
shall be admitted to a participation .of
all privileges belonging to the National
Church, The arm of papal power was extended
against Thuanus only at Rome and in
Spain ; but attacks frpm a private quar
ter on the same account caused hira more
yexation and trouble, than even the cen-

;Et.48.] THUANUS. 121
-sures ofthe church coraing with authority.
The Court of Rome had indeed lost much
of its power; yet we shall see that it
found at that time adherents and cham
pions, well qualified in point of talent,
and certainly npt deficient in fervor. The
attacks alluded to, proceeded from two
persons of this description, who, though
not acting in concert, pleaded the same
cause with equal vehemence. One of
these was the noted German critic, Sciop
pius ; famous for acuteness and extensive
learning, and for the virulent and scurri
lous invectives, which he poured out in
discriminately against men of merit, and
hence obtained the surname of the Gram
raatical Cur, The other opponent Was
one Machaud, a Jesuit, who published
under a fictitious name.
Scioppius" twice aspersed Thuanus in
his writings; in the " Scaliger * Hypobo-
* This word, which signifies " supposititious,"
coifveys a sarcastic allusion to iScaliger's birth, who

122 THE LIFE DF [l60i,
liraeeus," published in 1 ^Q^ ; and in the
" Ecclesiasticus," which appeared in l6l i,
and was chiefly directed against the theo
logical opinions of King James the First
of England, His reraarks shew rauch
scholastic acuteness, and abound with
sentiments of the following tenor.
He would have heretics " shunned,
condemned, anathematized ; put to death,
even if friends and sons; stoned, and
finally never treated with the smallest
mark of common humanity." It occurs
to him that these notions may be thought
tmcharitable ; and he thinks it' necessary
to support them by referring to St. Paul's
address to the Sorcerer Elymas, and to
this expression of St. John, " If any re
ject this doctrine, do not receive him into
your houses, nor bid him God-speed."
He delights in quoting St. Cyprian,
who says that a heretic, professing Chris-?
*  .' -I --" J -I I , — " - ^ ' ' ' '
boasted, on no very good grounds, that he was de
scended froTO the ancient princes of Verona.
2

^L 48.] THUANUS. 133
tianity, is no more a Christian than Satan
is Christ, as often as he assumes his form.
From St. Chrysostoih he produces a cu
rious speciraen of logic against the Arians:
''He is an Arian, therefore he is the
Devil," Arianus est, ergo Diabolus est.
After distorting the meaning of the ve
nerable fathers of the Church, it is not
surprising that this furious polemic should
proceed to exaggerate any expressions
and passages he can find in the New Tes
taraent, which seem convertible to his
purpose, *' Weare not," he says, " to de
bate with heretics, because the Holy Ghost
forbids to cast pearls to swine, or to give
the children's raeat to dogs," In St. Luke
he finds, " Whoever comes to me, and
hates not his father ar^d his mother, can
not be ray disciple ;" and in St. Matthew,
*' I came to divide father and son, &c,"
" I came not to send peace on earth, but
a sword," These expressions, however,
giving but slender support to his sangui
nary doctrines, he ransacks the Old Test

124 THE LIFE OF [l6oi,
tamerit with somewhat more success;
ahd brings the examples of Moses, Phi
neas, and Elias, to justify homicide. His
arguments are conducted in this manner :
" As the House of David could have no
peace until Absalom was cut off", neither
can the Church, unless heretics are de
stroyed, — Josaphat was a pious king, but
God punished him for not bearing a
righteous hatred to the enemies of the
Church.^ — God promises that the .wolves
shall be destroyed from araong the flock :
but heretics are wolves, and are therefore
to be destroyed,"
- In reasoning upon passages which sup
port the doctrine of corapulsion ih ' reli
gion, he continually asks, " Are we then
to believe God or Thuanus ?"
^' Amongst us Germans, (says Sqiopr
plus) if any artizan were to promulge
such opinions, he would he e^^cornmuni-
cated and interdicted frora his trade,
How scandalous then, that, a president
should do this with impunity, in Pa^is^'

^t. 4S.] . THUANUS, 135
He calls Philip the Second of Spain a
saint ; but fears lest Henry of Bourbon,
by the protection he afforded to heretics,
may have forfeited the hope of eternal
happiness. In both these works, the Scaliger Hy-
poboUmasus, and the Ecclesiasticus, Sci
oppius shews an intimate acquaintance
with the writings of the fathers; and
quotes Pindar, Homer, Seneca, and . Aris
totle. He repeatedly uses the grossest
language, in detecting what he calls the
falsehood and hypocrisy of Thuanus.
The latter work was prohibited by the
Parliament of Paris, on account pf its
outrageous abuse of the meraory of Henry
the Fourth,
Our historian will suffer little in his
reputation from that censure, which is at
the same, time directed against his Royal
Master, Scioppius, in a third work, en
titled, " A Critique on the Style proper
for History," attacks his language; but
the errors he has comraitted are not many.

U$ THE LIFE OF [160I,
even by the computation of his adversary,
and candor will shelter him from the lash
of a censor, keen enough to accuse Cicero
of writing barbarous Latin, A speciiuen
of these remarks is given in the Appendix,
No, 2, They do not exhibit much taste
in classical elegance, but are chiefly gram
matical, and confined to verbal criticism.
Thuanus, in hisJetters, speaks of Sci
oppius in t6rms of contempt, and c£ills
him a shabby pedant, hired by the Court
of Rome, to snarl at men of worth. His
friend, the Cardinal Perron, endeavoured
in vain to silence this troublesome oppo
nent. Machaud, the Jesuit, published his at
tack at Ingoldstadt in 1014. It perha|)s
originated in the hatred his society bore
to Thuanus, be6ause he had favored the
measure of their expulsion from France,
and had imputed to them some dangerous
doctrines, particularly that of its being
lawful, under certain circumstances to
murder sovereigns ; with the propagation

Mt. 48.] THUANUS. 127
©f which they had at one period, been ge
nerally stigmatized. The Jesuit's charges
are divided into twelve h^ds, but they
have not all a distinct raeaning : — 1. The
futility of the hi;storian. 2. His adraira
tion of heretical writers. 3. His use of
heterodox expressions. 4. Unworthy
speeches which he has attributed to Popes
and Catholic Doctors. 5. His propensity
to praise and commiserate suffering sec
taries. 6. His hostiUty to worthy Ca
tholics, particularly to the House of
Guise. 7. The war of extinction which
be wages against the Jesuits- &. His con-
tum/dious reraarks on the conduct of fhe
most Christain kings of France. 9. His
continual aspersions of Sovereign Pontiffs^
10. His implacable hatred to the See of
Rome. II. His false divinity. 12, His
malicious frauds in favor of the Calvin
ists, These strictures are written in the same
spirit with those of Scioppius, but not
with equal acuteness and abiEty, The

12S THE LIFE OF [l6oi,
two critics agree in censuring Thuanus
for those very qualities, to which he is
indebted for his repute with posterity;
and in branding his impartiality and love
of truth, with the dreadful name of he
resy. These works are so far curious as
they assert, in times of comparative re
finement, the infallibility and supreme
dominion of the. papacy, and are speci
mens of the zeal employed to support
that tottering power. . < i
The Jesuit's annotations were immedi
ately prohibited' by the Parliament of
Paris; and the exclamation of Casaubon
is just, " That Thuanus was honored by
this accusation." He did not condescend
himself to reply to either of these adver
saries, but seems to have prepared his
memoirs, with the design of. refuting
their accusations; and in the conscious
ness, that an explicit avowal of all the
actions ahd plans of an innocent and vir
tuous life, would form the best answer to
unfounded calumny.

^1.48.] THUANUS. 129
If the publicatiPn of his history pro
cured the Author considerable obloquy,
it in return brought him a harvest of
praise, mixed indeed with some censure,
frora erainent men in all parts of Europe,
Those communications, which appear
most deserving of the reader's attention,
are here inserted.
Thuanus sent his work, as soon as it
was published, to King James the First
of England, accompanied with the follow
ing letter in Latin.
" To the Most Serene King of England,
Scotiand, and Ireland.
*/.Your Most Serene Majesty wUl per
haps be surprised at the boldness of this
intrusion upon your time at the present
moment, by a stranger. The report of
your Majesty's virtues, like the efflilgence
of the rising sun, your sincere friendship
with our King, the bond of agreement
now so closely drawn between the two
nations of France and Great Britain, the
K.

130 THE LIFE OF [l60],
eminent regard you have shewn to men
of letters and to literature itself, and your
character for general courtesy; all these
causes have conspired to facilitate my ac
cess to your Majesty, and have made me
indulge the hope, that you would gra
ciously and favorably accept this produc
tion of my industry, such as it may be,
presented to your Majesty by the King's
embassador, who is my near relation, I
have not taken this step without the con
currence of my Royal Master ; I may add
that he advised and commanded it, and
said also, that a work, which related
events of so much consequence, if it had
not been dedicated to him, ought to have '
been inscribed to your Majesty. You
will find many things weU done, the
larger part otherwise; the history of your
own and our people; you willalso find
examples of salutary precepts, which you
have consigned to all posterity, in a book*
* Basilicon Doron.

ML 48.] THUANUS. 131
that deserves to-be written in letters of
gold. This account will suffice to your
Majesty; your own experienced judgment,
and that discernment in which you so
much excel, wiU lead to every just ob
servation. " I pray Almighty God to preserve the
Most Christian King to his people, and
your Majesty to your subjects, and both
for the general benefit of Christendora.
And, as he has lately incUned your minds
to cultivate, by aU good offices and friendly
services, a closer bond of mutual amity;
so may he dispose the hearts and turn the
attention of both, by joint consent, to
restore concord in the Church; lest, in
ratifying articles of peace, ye may seem
to have been more intent on strengthen
ing your respective territories, than in
exalting the glory of the supreme Lord
of aU, I take my leave of your Most Se
rene Maj est}'', wishing you prosperity,
and that you may condescend to extend
to me that kindness, which so conspicu-

132 THE LIFE OF [1^01,
ously manifests itself towards all your
friends. Your Majesty's raost devotedj,i
Jac. Aug. Thuanus,
Paris, Jan. 31, 16o^ "

4

There is ah honest simplicity and a
frankness in the concluding part of this
letter, rarely discoverable in addresses to
cro^Arned heads. That it was well re
ceived appears from the following letter
written in French by the King's embassa
dor, the gentleman alluded to above, who
appears to have been a son of the Presi
dent De Harlay by Thuanus's sister.
" To M. De Thou, Privy Counsellor of
the King, and President in His Majesty's
Court of Parliament.
**SlR, " I HAVE presented your letter,
with your book, to the King; who re
ceived it with such marks of esteem, for
the Author, and has since spoken so
2

¦.Mt.M.] " THUANUS, 133
highly ofit in public, that you have eve/y
reason to be satisfied with liis approba
tion, and to console and fprtify yourself
by his testimony again^ the attacks of
envy and calumny, by which I imder-
stand you have been assailed from various
quarters. Hie King promised me that
he would answer your letter, w^ith the
style of which he was extremely pleased.
He bas perused your dedication of your
history to His Majesty King Henry, and
said that it was one of the finest pieces of
writing he had ever read, not excepting
the works of antiquity: and sincerely,
for my own part, the more I read it, the
more I find my admiration of its beauties
-encreased, *' You have undertaken a
¦great Work," magnum opus aggressuses,"
as worthy -of your free and courageous
spirit, as the slavery of the age in which
we live, is unworthy of it. 1 -thirtk you
wiU do well ibr the present- to defer
printing your materials down ^to the year
go ; for I should fear you w.puld not .be

134 THE LIFE OF [1601,
able to resist the opposition of those w^ho
are chagrined to see their fathers marked
with disgrace,
*^ King James is about to send a gen
tleman to the Court of France, upon the
death of Madame Le Bar,* I will en
deavor that' he shall carry his Majesty's
thanks and a letter to you, I now hum
bly kiss your hands, and shall pray God,
Sir, to grant you, with health, a long and
happy life,
" Your obedient nephew and servant,
" De Harlay."
London, March lo, lOo4.
King James did write aletter in French
to Thuanus about this time, an extract
from which has been given in the Pre
face; but it may perhaps be interesting
to the reader to peruse it entire.

* Sister of Henry IV. and married to the Duke of
Baryof the House of Lorraine.

ML 48.] THUANUS. 13.S
" To M. De Thou, President of the Par
liament of Paris.
" M, President, " We thank you very kindly for
the letter you addressed to us, and for the
book you have sent, the production of your
own labor ; for the compliment, as well as
for the present. You manifest the re
spect and good- will you bear to our per
son, which we receive and acknowledge
with a return of affection, and take in
good part the exhortation, which, in the
sincerity of an honest heart, you make on
the subject of using our efforts to forward
union in the Church, by an elucidation
and adjustment of religious differences.
To this measure we assure you that we
are, and always shall be not only disposed,
but earnest in promoting it ; and on all
occasions, every exertion that depends on
us, shall be employed for so laudable an
object. We have never, we thank God,
entertained a spirit of sectarism, nor dis-

136 THE LIFE OF " , ' (1601,
regarded the general good of Christen-
doiii, and we cannot but Wish that all
princes and potentates Were actuated by
the same inclinations a^nd desiffes with
ourselves on this pPint, that the road
might be smoothed for bringing so Wor
thy and important a business to some
desirable conclusioui which liiight tend to
the happiness and trarfquijlity of all Chris
tian people^ They might theii unani*
mpusly direct their efforts against the
common enemy."
For the remaining part of this letter
see the Preface,* The following is ad
dressed to the celebrated Camden, who
appears to haye paid some attention to
Thuanus's history, probably in making
remarks on the account of English affairs.
The Author profits by the opportunity of
eommenciflg a correspondence with his
critic, and shews a laudable solicitude to
obtaih farther information, which might
* Page 2.

ML 48.] THUANUS. jSf
confirm the authenticity of his narra
tive. f J. A, Thuanus to the very learned
W. Camden,
" 1 THANK you, most learned Sir, for
the extraordinary services which you
have rendered rae with so rauch polite
kindness. I had scarcely hoped that you
would have done that at my request,
which you have performed at the mere
suggestion of one of my friends. For
what am I, that I should at all interrupt
your serious studies ? Does Camden throw
aw^y his well-spent time in reading any
thing of mine; and oblige, by so great a
favor, a person unknown to him ? Since
however you are so forward in doing
good offices, you shall find me unmerciful
in tasking your kindness. The attention
you have paid to ray history of your own
affairs, I wish you to extend to those of
Scotland ; ih which I fear I have made
some mistakes. I wish particularly, to

13S THE LIFE OF [1601,
have your advice, in what manner I can
relate the affairs of Scotland during the
year 1566,* (which part ofthe history is
now in the press) without giving offence,
and yet with truth. Here I ara at a
stand, having already experienced the en
vy and ill-will of our own people on other
accounts ; nor do I wish to commit my
self so far, as to incur the charge of im
prudence among you, or to be said to
have done any thing of which he f might
justly complain, who has lately honored
me with a letter, and exhorted me to
publish the rest of my work, which I
have carried down to the year 1596, with
equal candor and attachment to truth.
" Buchanan has perhaps recorded the
events to which I allude, with too rauch

* He alludes to Mary. Queen of Scot's marriage
with Earl Bothwell, who was supposed to have been
concerned in the murder of her former husband^ Lord
Parpley, t King James.

ML 48.] THUANUS, 139 '
bitterness, and I understand that the pupil
has^ on this account, conceived some dis
pleasure towards his tutor; and yet,
since they did take place, they cannot be
concealed without discredit to the histo
rian. Write, and, refuse not your advice
to a friend who is at a loss how to pro
ceed. A hint will be sufficient, and you
need not explain yourself in too plain
terms. Whatever you write, I shall con
sider not only as advice, but as a com
mand. In the next edition of the part
already published, you will discover how
much I esteem, as I ought, your admoni
tions, In your Irish affairs I am com
pletely a stranger, nor have I met with
any person, who has been either an eye
witness of them, or gathered any persona^
information concerning them. Little, as
you know, has been written on the sub
ject; and except *Stanyhurst, and the
* .^n Irish historian and poet of the sixteenth cen
tury, '

140 THE LIFE OF ' [l60i,
maps ofthe island lately published, and
what you have added to your immortal
Britannia, I have had no documents from
which I could gain instruction, I have
as yet neither seen nor heard of any ac
count of the last* war. I wish to know
what information you possess on this sub
ject and what I may expect from your
country; in the first place concerning
Lord Tyrone, with whom you were en
gaged ; his family, origin, the quality and
number of his adherents, his manners and
talents, and the motives which induced
him to contend with so great a power as
that of Elizabeth, lastly the conditions on
which he submitted.
" I lament, that none of your country
men have as yet committed to writing
the exploits of that great queen. For my
own part, if I possessed power of mind,
and talent worthy of the subject, leisure.

* He alludes to the Irish Rebellion in 1599, headed
by Lord Tyrone.

ML 48.] THUANUS. 141
and an intimate knowledge of your af
fairs, and proper raaterials for the work,
I should have considered it an honor, to be
disputed with any raan, to be the herald
of her fame. But I fear, lest this should
seem to you too arrogant a speech : but
it is to be excused, as proceeding from ray
extraordinary predilection in favor of that
sovereign; which caused rae to form pre
sumptuously, not indeed a hope, but a
wish, that sorae part of her glory might
be reflected upon me. See the farailiarity
with which I treat you, in consequence
of the kindness you have expressed. In
retum, I entreat you to eraploy rae, as one
who is raost bound to you.
" Adieu, my friend Camden : continue
to love me, which I consider as the highest
felicity, and forget not to shew that love,
by writing to rae, when your leisure per
mits. Once raore adieu, Paris, Fe
bruary loth, 1 605."
Caraden's answer is dated in May of the
same year.

142 THE LIFE OF [l60U
" W* Camden to the illustrious J, A.
Thuanus, Greeting,
" I AM much vexed and distressed, il
lustrious Sir, that by some accident or
negligence, I did not receive your letter,
dated February loth, until the 13th of
April ensuing. It has happened inconve
niently ; for besides, that you must suspect
me of the fault of negligence, of which I
am really innocent, desiring nothing more
earnestly than to make a suitable return to
your much-valued affection ; the fact is, I
am now hindered by business from exe
cuting that, which I could have done with
the greatest ease last month. Meanwhile
the powerful and zealous nature Pf my
attachment, has impelled me to send the
present account to you. With regard to
the account of Scotch affairs, already sub
mitted to the press, I-see not how I can
assist you; but all the exertions of my di
ligence and zeal are at your service.
" In the transactions of the year 1566,,
you must proceed cautiously, ^ith regard

ML 48:) I THUANUS. 143
to the Lords Murray and Hamilton, the
queen, the king, and the partizans of dif
ferent sides : a middle course will be the
safest, James, Earl of Murray, natural
brother to Queen Mary, and Hamilton,
Duke of Chatellerault, separately aspired
to the throne; the latter by hei-editary
right, for his Grandmother was daughter
of King James the second, Murray, of
a lofty spirit, imagined some solemniza
tion of marriage between his father and
mother, and hoped to supply the defect
of liis birth, by a specious pretext of at
tachment to the reformed religion, by his
personal merit and the strength of his
party. Each, when the queen returned
to Scotland frora France, wished her al
ready in Heaven ; each, inflaraed by his
own particular ambition and hope of suc
cess, officiously raised obstacles to her
marrying again, Murray exerted himself
the most ; by his artifices he paved the
way for Mary's abdication and exile,
making use of the assistance of Bucha-

144 THE LIFE OP |l6oi,
nan, (the " Archbellows, which excited
the flame of rebellion," as our king some
times calls him;) who, attacking the queen
with infaraous libels, fastened upon her
character raany f^lse aspersions: so that,
whatever credit he raay generally deserve,
you must not lightly believe what he re
lates in regard to the queen and her na
tural brother. Mary, full of youth and
vivacity, unused to govern, freely in
dulged in the enjoyment of her prosperity :
the *king likewise, young and inexpe
rienced, credulous, lighter than a feather
or a leaf, was neither capable of judging
well for himself, nor of adopting wise
advice, and the' secrets of state were a
burden to him. Hence he lost the queen''s
affections ; the factious laid snares for him,
and finally succeeded in taking his life.
Elizabeth, our queen, was a spectatress of
these scenes, and often commiserated the
queen of Scotland ; but less than she
would otherwise have done, on account of
* Lord Darnley..

JEt.4S.] THUANUS. 145
her having usurped the title and arms of
England, and because the Romanists
amongst us had placed all their depend
ence upon her. I can only hint at this
account of the matter, which men of pru
dence and moderation here believe to be
the least removed from truth ; you must
use your own judgment and your own
pen." This brief and masterly sketch of an
important period of Scottish History is
particularly interesting, on account of the
circumstances under which it is given.
The remainder of Camden's letter relates
to 'the affairs of Ireland, and is too long,
as the object of it^is irrelevant to the pre
sent work, to be inserted.
Camden's defence of Maiy Queen of
Scots, in the above extract, is evidently
forced : he joins the relation of her de
crease of affection towards her husband,
and ofhis violent end, in the same sen
tence, and his style is both hurried and
obscure. In consequence of his connec-
L

146 THE LIFE OF [iGoi,
tion with the English Court, he cannot
be supposed to have had the free exercise
ofhis pen on this point. Thuanus was
not subject to the sarae erabarassraent,
and indeed appears to have been incapable
of concealing or disguising his real opi
nion, on any occasion, from motives of
personal consideration. In a subsequent
letter to Camden, dated August, i OoO, he
mentions the publicationof asecond vo
lume of his History; and expresses his
fears, that in the relation of Scotch affairs,
he raay not have preserved that exact line
of prudent raoderation, which his friend
recoraraended. He enters into a discussion
of facts, which he thinks unfavourable to
the reputation of the unfortunate Mary:
he blaraes her precipitate and " scanda
lous" raarriage with Bothwell, and con
siders her, if not accessary to the death of
her forraer husband, at least extiemely
reprehensible in favouring those to whom
the suspicion of having murdered him
so notoriously attached.

Ml 48.] THUANUS. 147
Thuanus sent his History to that emi
nent and liberal-minded scholar. Sir Hen
ry Savile, who had travelled in France,
and seeras to have forraed an intiraacy of
sorae standing with hira. Sir Henry's
answer in J..atin, frora which the follow
ing extract is raade, is dated London, De
ceraber, 1O07. Thuanus had expressed an
apprehension that sorae parts of the work
inight give offence to King James.
" That every part of your History, il
lustrious Sir, is written with becoraing
raoderation, no one doubts, who is at aU
acquainted with you and your accustoraed
candor. But he who writes a history
must incur various censures from various
quarters ; this you know by experience,
and all the world is witness of the fact.
What our great raen think of your second
volume (for I wrote to you concerning
the *first before), I have not thought it
necessaiy to enquire very anxiously, for
fear of opening afresh those wounds
which I cannot heal. There are some
• This letter does not appear,
L 2

148 THE LIFE bF [1^1.
wounds, which the gentlest touch will
exulcerate; and your known prudence
raust have taught you, that with persons
of tender and delicate ears, silence on many
subjects is better than an apology. How
ever, as far as I understand, no anger is
conceived against you here : the favor you ,
gained by your first volume, continues un
impaired and undiminished,
^' With regard to the general voice of
people, who read irapartially, and have no '
cause for hatred or affection in the case,
I have no occasion to speak; for all, with
out a word from me, exclaim that our age
has not produced a work more true, more
useful, or more classical.
** I will forward the edition of Chry
sostom, a laborious and difficult work,
with all possible expedition. It would
have been already completed, had not
your printers refused me the use of your
types, and even your king denied them,
though his majesty made the request
through his embassador. But I will en-
* The Greek types at Paris were at that time the
best extant. >

jEt.48.] THUANUS. ug
deavor to surmount these difficulties ; and
you shall,' frora tirae to time, know my
success. I ara very much obUged by your
granting to my fripnds a free access to
your library, and for the copy of St, Grer
gory of Nazianzen ; and perhaps posterity
may be equally indebted, ''
AU the circumstances here alluded to
cannot at this distance of time be ascer
tained with precisipn ; but it may be
plainly understood from this account, that
Thuanus paid a truly laudable attention
to eveiy object of literature.
In the same year, 1O07, Caradei; tr§,nsr
mitted sonie remarks on the History,
which are not of great importance. They
accorapanied a present of hi§ Britannia,
in a new edition ; in which he says he
has but slightly mentioned Scotland, being
a stranger to that cpuptry, and fearing also
that he might disappoint the nationality
pf the people, who, he says, are not satis,-
fied, as he has experienced, unless Scotr
|an.(^ be preferred to England, (which thp

150 THE LIFE OF [ifiOl,
sPil and cliraate forbid), or at least be
placed on a level with it. This remark
was perhaps intended as a friendly inti
mation to Thuanus, whose history he
declares to be the constant object of his
attentiX)n, as a raodel both for sentiraent
and style. He adds, " In your account of
Scotch affairs, you have observed a truly
discreet raoderation by refraining from
invectives. Yet our king, who has con
ceived great hostility to Buchanan, lays
the chief blarae to the Earl of Murray,
as the source and foundation of his rao
ther's calamity ; he has learnt this, it is
said, frora those who were privy to state
matters at that time ; and has urged some
person, I understand, to write her life,
but I cannot suppose it will ever be
published. " Your fidelity, as an historian, so far
from wanting a defence^ appears so truly
candid, araidst these religious dissensions
of the age, that it is a subject of general
admiration and deUght ; and your serious-

*:t.48.] THUANUS. 15 1
ness entirdy dissipates certain stale calum
nies and infamous aspersioi^s. Proceed
as you have begun, and both the present
age and posterity will applaud your vera
city joined with integrity of heart.
" You will find that I have not been
so busy in the second part, as I was in
the first; your diligence has prevented
me, by obtaining an accurate knowledge
of facts. If you think it worth while,
you raay correct a few trivial errors,
which I have noted, in regard to proper
naraes. Receive the best wishes of a
friend, and fail not to acknowledge Cara
den as one of the raost ardent proraoter^
of your farae." London, Noveraber 22,
1O07. King James was by no means satisfied
with Thuanus's account of those circum
stances in his mother's history, which at
that period required suchr delicacy in the
narration. The author< sensibly felt all
his difficulties, and in a letter addressed to
Camden, in 1O08, says, ** The Histo-

152 THE LIFE OF " [16OI,
rian's province, if he be resolved to do
his duty, is indeed a painful one ; for the
law of history obliges him, not only to say
nothing false, but to be bold in, deliver
ing the whole truth."
The learned Casaubon came over to
England in lOlo, by invitation from the
king ; and in a letter to Thuanus, thus
explains his majesty's sentiments on the
subject in question.
" The letter which you lately sent to
me, illustrious President, I put into the
hands of his most excellent majesty for
his perusal, I had long wished that his
majesty might be made acquainted wilh
your, respect for hini, in your own words;
and might know with what esteera and
reverence you regard his many virtues
and extensive learning. I w^as well as
sured that such Were your sentiments,
and have not hesitated, since my residence^
at this court, whenever your name has
been raentioned, to affirm, in the strong
est terms, that there exists not;apei:^Qn;

ML 48.] THUANUS, 153
who entertains more exalted ideas of his
majesty's character,' or who commends
it with greater warmth and satisfaction,
than yourself. Your letter, therefore, in
which you confirmed these assertions by
your own words, came exactly at a pro
per season, and nothing could be more
gratifying to me. The king, being a
lover of truth himself, was much pleased
with that love of truth which your letter
expresses. He was also rauch pleased
with your candor in acknowledging, that
if you had in any part of your narration
coramitted a mistake, you would gladly
correct it, upon receiving more accurate
information. You act, in this re
spect. Illustrious President, upon motiA^es
worthy of yourself, like a man who has
made a regard to truth his chief study,
throughout the whole tenor of his life ;
and particular^ in the character of an
historian. " With this impression upon his mind
of your disposition, his raajesty, though

154 THE LIFE OF [i601, ^
of the mildest temper, sees, not without
impatience, that you have been raisled by
a certain party ; and have been trans'-
ported beyond the bounds of truth, in
repeating in your letters, and relating with
a diligent and scrupulPus rainuteness, re
ports to the prejudice of his blessed rao
ther of glorious raeraory. These his raa
jesty knows, and knows with certainty,
to be false, and to have been .the fabri
cation of a set of raen, rebels to her
power, and who exerted theraselves by
every possible raeans in harassing her and
bringing destruction on her head."
Casaubon proceeds to say, that King
Jaraes has given it in charge to an Eng
lish Baronet (Sir Robert Cotton) to pre
pare sorae raeraoirs upon this subject,
more consonant to truth than the state
raent of Buchanan, frora whom Thuanus
derived his account. These raemoirs were
finished and transraitted to Thuanus in
1 0 1 1 ; and he professes, in a subsequent
letter to Casaubon, to have made use of

iEt.48.] THUANUS, 155
them in correcting a second edition for
the press. This part of his_ history, how
ever, (in the 40th book) still conveys an
imputation upon Mary's conduct, by
dwelling on the disgust she had con
ceived for Lord Darnley, her indecent
appearance in pubhc only twelve days
after his death, and her notorious fond
ness for the suspected Bothwell, whom
she afterwards married.
Sir Robert Cotton's Memoirs, here al
luded to, are supposed to have been in
serted in ^* Camden's Annals of Queen
Elizabeth;" and Buckley,* in his edition of
Thuanus, mentions, that some manuscript
remarks upon this part of his history,
then preserved in the Cottonian Library
in the hand-writing of Casaubon, were
said to have been dictated by King
James. Such was the reception Thuanus's his
tory experienced in England. Opinions,
* Vol. VII.

^^ THE LIFE OF [l6oi,
^hich deserve great consideration, \yere
passed upon its raerits in pther quarters ;
^nd a reference to them, at the same time
that it makes a part of the present
subjpct, in some reigpects presents a view
of the state of literature at that period,
and of thp cortirppn bon4 of intiraacy
which it fprmpd betweien person^ of dift
ferent ranks, and nations, and prpfession§
of faith.
The Elector-palatine, Frederick the
Fourth, addressed a letter to his dear
friendThuanus, dated Heidelbe:rg> J^ec
10, lOoO. He thanks him for a present
received of the secpnd publication of hi?
history, and adds : " By this most usefuj
wprk, whic|i is consecrated tp eterrii|;y,
you have made us and our posterity youi^
debtors ; ypu have happily, atid by mean?
of great and indefatigable industry, ascer
tained the truth of facts, which is generally
buried amidst the conflict of parties ; antj
have most meritoriously asserted it, for
the benefit of succeeding generations,"

Ml is.] THUANUS, 157
The second letter is in French, from a
Venetian nobleman, dated 1004, who
terms Thuanus's history " an excellent
and immortal work;" and particularly
commends it on the grounds of veracity,
and purity of language. This letter is
remarkable for the explicit sentiments it
contains respecting religion, which it is
reasonable to conclude, secretly prevailed
amongst manyraoderate roraanists of that
time ; and probably influenced Thuanus
himself. This writer does not hesitate to
acknowledge the corruptions of the
Romish church, but asserts that, " cor
rupt as it is, it is nevertheless the catholic
church." He wishes Thuanus to under
take the conversion of Casaubon, and,
says, " that good man is mistaken in
supposing there is no difference between
a Catholic and a Papist," There can be
little doubt that the vCourt of Rome
Would not have been satisfied with these
opinions, but would have condemned
^hera a^ heretical. The sarae letter raen-

358 THE LIFE OF '[16OI,
tions that a copy of the history has been
sent to Father Paul, and that he raeans to
write by the next opportunity ; but un
fortunately no letter appears from this
great man.
The following is an extract of a letter,
written by Thuanus to Joseph Scaliger,
in 1004.
" You will receive >yith this three co
pies of my history, which you may dis
pose of at your pleasure. If you have
leisure to look at it, I beg you to send me
ypur opinion, and to acquaint me honestiy
with ray faults, as you have been used to
do : I will take pains to correct thera in
the next edition. I fear their nuraber is
so grpat, as to astonish and deter you from
this office ; but I also know that you love
me, and ara on this account eraboldened
to urge ray request. I suppose your prin
ters are already at work upon your Euse
bius; their diligence will never keep pace
with the desire we have of seeing it, on
account of the benefit every one hopes to

^t. 48.] THUANUS- 159
derive from it. I am particularly influ
enced by the * honor that awaits me frora
its publication, an honour which I esteem
to be greater than any ray services have
merited. May God preserve your health,
that you may be enabled to complete this
work, and others which may serve as bar
riers against present and future irruptions
of barbarism."
. Scaliger's answer, in French, is dated
from Leyden, in the same year :
" Sir, " I return my hurable thanks for the
three copies of your history, which you
have been so good as to send rae. In the
first place, I read with attention your pre
face, and was absolutely charraed by
the purity of the style, and the honest
boldness of the sentiraents, I shall not
quit the work till I have read it through.

* It was dedicated to Thuanus,

ido THE LIFE OF [l66l,
I have seen the honorable testimony* of
coramendation you have been pleased to
bestow on my father; who, worthy as he
was of being praised, could not have
found a better panegyrist. As for my
self, upon whom you pass an encomiuni
worthy of a better subject, I shall only
say that the reader will suppose that the
merit of the father, and the friendship
the historian entertained for the son,-
induced him to praise both."
Justus Lipsius advised the correction of
some parts of the work, written with more
freiedoin than was suited to the age;'
Thuanus complains of this censure in a
letter to Joseph ScaUger, who laughs at
Lipsius, and calls the preface " a divine
composition,' in which the reader will find
the dignity of the senator, the fidelity of
the historian, and the elegance of the
Scholar," In lOoO he published his Eu
sebius, with a dedication addressed to
* See the 21st Book of the History.

Mt 48.] THUANUS. l6l
Thuanus, which coraraences with these
terras : "To whora should I rather dedi
cate this work than to you, pf whose
raental ^endowraents, integrity, mild dis
position, and singular raoderation, even if
I had not known thera by experience, the
voice of coraraon farae had inforraed
me. Daniel Heinsius admires the history
altogether, and in particular its undaunt
ed freedom. Grotius is astonished that
" araidst the fatignie of business, the
author should have found leisure to cora-
pose a work, in which all kinds of learn
ing are united with true wisdora." He
says to one pf his correspondents, that
Thuanus writes Latin with so rauch ele
gance, he is almost deterred from using
the same language. The following ex
tracts of letters frora this" celebrated raan
to Thuanus, raay be interesting, in prov
ing the respect and esteera, in which our
Author was held by the learned and dis
tinguished cha.racters of his age.

vT62 the life OF [1601,
*' Most Noble Sir,
" I STAID a year in Fr&nce ; I saw
the first of kingdoms, the first of kings, the
first nobles in the World. This gives me
great pleasure; but I saw not you, which
grieves me. I conld not insinuate myself
into an intimacy with you ; all that re
mains for rae, is to endeavor to corapefl-
sate, by an epistolary correspondence,
that point in which I personally failed.'-'f*'
•' Delft, April i, isgg. : •-•*
Extract of another letter frora Grotius,
dated lOoi: —
" I am wholly employed in making
PoUections, which may be of use to you
in the composition of your annal9;of
France; for I think it important to my
country, that it should profit hy so admi
rable an opportunity of having its exploits
published, together with the history of
neighbouring states. I shall also be dih
gent in exaraining, as you desire^ the
exact place and time at which learned

Ml 48.] THUANUS. 163
men of our nation have died. Happy
are you, who ca^i make that the employ
ment of your leisure hours, which I can
easily conceive are but few, which would
be a work much beyond the ability of
others, who should devote their time to it.
Happy is France, in being governed by
men, who, whatever portion of time they
may have at their disposal after executing
public business, employ it with liberal
spirit in the service of literature. May
I be happy enough, at some future period,
to enjoy in that country the society of her
illustrious characters. I do not despair
that this period raay soon arrive, whilst I
hope that I shall not forfeit your fa-
vor. Grotius was born in 1583, and was
therefore a veiy young raan when he first
addressed Thuanus, and presented him
with his edition of Martianus Capella (a
Latin poet of the Sth century) the first
fruits of his studies, and dedicated to the
Prince of Conde. The friendship thus
M 2

164 THE LIFE OF [ifioi,
commenced between them, continjjed
until the death of Thuanus.
Meursius, another learned Dutchman,
in a letter to Casaubon, points out some
errors, which Thuanus committed in
the History of the Netherlands, and gives
a list of mistaken names. Thuanus finds
his criticisms too severe, and though he
desired they might be continued, his sub
sequent letters manifest considerable cool
ness to Meursius.
Lingelsheim, of Heidelberg, who took
the charge of- editing the entire history
after the author's death, is the raost lavish
of his applause ; and language seeras to
fail him, whilst he expresses his astonish-
pient at the beauties of Thuanus's work.
He calls him one of the greatest of men,*
Their correspondence partly turns on edit
ing the works of Occara ; a coraraission
which Thuanus entrusted to M. Bongars,

* Sumtne virorum.

ML 48.] THUANUS. l65
a learned man, and confidentially em
ployed by King Henry IV. in Germany.
Occara -was a scholastic divine of the
14th century, of the order of Cordeliers,
and by birth an Englishraan. He was
stiled by his party the invincible Doctor,
and wrote against the power of the
Popes. Thuanus's instructions, on the
present occasion, with regard to the pub
lication of his -works, are interesting, as
they shew his desire of counteracting the
pretensions of papal authority; which he
particularly says Cardinal Bellarmine has
extended too far, and thinks it ought to,
be reduced to its " legitimate and primi
tive Umits." Bongars delivered Thuanus's
instructions on this subject, which are
very particular, to Melchior Goldast, who
published some of Occam's treatises at
Francfort, in 1012.
Ubbo Eraraius consults Thuanus con
cerning his ^decades of, the history of
Friesland. He addresses him in the most
respectful manner, using three epithets.

i66 THE UFE OF [l6oi,
and sometimes more, " most noble, most
illustrious, raost learned."
Scipio Gentilis praises the history in
terras so sirailar to those alrmdy cited
frora other panegyrists, that it is needless
to insert thera. He urges Thuanus in the
prosecution of his work, to make such
just and favorable raention of the Univer
sity of Altorf, of which he is a meraber,
as may serve to invalidate the injurious
stateraent of Osiander; who, in his Eccle
siastical History, had charged it with
giving support to Calvinism,
Smetius, at the age of seventy, appears
to have perused Thuanus's work, with
more alacrity than any other of his criticg;
and his remarks display great accuracy
and acuteness. He wishes, the modern
names to be subjoined, as the ancient or
latinized names are difficult to be under
stood. He complains that there are no
breaks in the pages, even when thp sub-^
ject changes; by which circumstance. the
e^e is fatigued. He objects tp the wprtis

Ml 48.] THUANUS. ie>r
*^ nos et nostra," *' us and our," applied
to France, as iraplying partiality.
Smetius raakes other pertinent*remarks
on the afeptation of <Usguising naraes of
persons and places in order to preserve
latinity. '* You do not write (he says)
for Caesar, or Sallust, or Tacitus ; but it
is necessary to render your work intelli
gible to our posterity." The critic obtained
no answer for eight months, and anxiously
enquired if he had given offence. He
then received a very * friendly letter; but
afterwards,, observii^ that in a new edi
tion his strictures were entirely disregard
ed, he expresses hiraself doubtful whether
or not to continue them.
Octavius Meninius, after rauch consider
ation, judges Thuanus to be the raost erai
nent Uterary character in Europe; and
therefore he paid him the compliment,
though not personally known to the histo
rian, to dedicate some verses to him. They

168 THE LIFE OF [16OI.
are in Alcaic measure, and entitled, " The
Immortality of the Writings of the illus
trious Thuanus," The principal thought
jn them turns upon the superiority of.
mental productions, in point of duration,
over other monuments of human skill.
These are sorae pf the best stanzas ;
Ter 0 beati, qui sibi consulunt,
.^ternitatem nominis et parant
Poctas per artes ; nunc legendo
Quae veterum vigilata curA,
Nunc lucubrando postera quae legens
Mii-^tur aetas : Tuque potissimitm
Thuane, fejix ter quaterque,
Cujus opus itumero carentes
Vivet per annos. Unicfe Galliae
Florentis, o flos, r^raque gloria,
Thuane, musis invidenda
Ausoniis, Latioque coelo.
Tu namque motus, inclyte, publicos
Praesentis aevi, bellaque tristia,
Causasque bellorum, modosque.
Historic celebras disert^.
Et nunc triuniphos nobilium Ducum,
Kuuc magna narras funera principum,
Fractasque regnorum columMas,
£t penitus quate&cta, sceptre.

ML 48.] THUANUS. i69
Mns stfepentis jam videorsonum
Audire, stricti jam gladii micant :
Jam pallor, horror, morsque saeva
Fer medias equitat catervas.
Jam jam tremeudam fulminis in modum
Henricus hastam torquet, et agniina
Frosternit; hosti lenis idem
Fostmodo dat veniam jacenti,
Happy are they, in Fame's bright list enrolFd,
Who read and imitate the wise of old ;
And thou, Thuanus, happiest of those:
Who, in tlie texture pf thy numerous prose.
Hast dared the cause and fate of wars to trace.
Thrones rent, and kingdoms shaken to the base.
Is it a dream? or do I hear the din
Of arms; and deeds of bloodshed now begin 1
Pale fear, and flight, and horror, hover nigh.
And death exulting gluts his cruel eye,
I see great Henry shake his thundering lance.
And like a God o'er prostrate foes advance ;
And now in mercy bending o'er the plain.
He Ufts the fallen, and relieves their pain.
This poet writes frora Venice, which
place seeras to have manifested particular
favor towards Thuanus. His chief corre
spondence is with a cluster of Gerraan
scholars, who formed one of the many
constellations which had long begun to

170 THE LIFE OF £l6oi,
arise, and gives light to the literary world.
The letters are somewhat dry and formal,
when compared with the epistolary wri
ting of a later age; the Latin style of
thera is raore remarkable for perspicuity
than elegance, and is intermixed with
Greek , phrases, which custom Thuanus
himself avoids.
To the number of those, whose obser
vations have been already considered,
might be added the names of Velserus,
Vossius, Marquard Freher, Andreas Sehot-
tus, and other scholars of equal note ; but
a repetition of compliments and stric
tures, not differing much in phrase or
signification, would be uninteresting to
the reader.
Two letters however from Spanish
gentleraen, from their singularity,, are not
to be passed over in silence. The fir|t
correspondent (in lOls) is a young man
under thirty, envoy at Lisbon from the
King of Spain, He begins his letter wilh
praising Thuanus without measure, and

MA. 48.] THUANUS. I7I
ranks him as an historian above Sallust
alid Tacitus, He then proceeds to give a
sort of history of his own life : " I knew
Latin at twelve years of age. After Phi
losophy and the Humanities, I studied
'Greek, and read all the best authors in
that language. I know Hebrew as well
as my own tongue; I read Chaldee,
4:rabic, Italian, French, and German a
little," In History, he says, it is incre
dible how much he has read : he is versed
in all parts of the Mathematics, from
which he has extracted the theory of
Music; but his chief object is Algebra.
That he might pursiie his studies in tran
quiUity, he tells Thuanus, he embraced
the ecclesiastical profession ; and that he
might secure this tranquillity, he obtained
^ competent provision of benefices and
pensions. The greatest defect he finds in
himself is that he has not travelled; but
he indulges the hope of being able shortiy
$0 visit France, and to converse " with
tM. ora<;Ie of wisdom, Thuanus, much

172 THE LIFE OF [iffOl,
more worthy to be consulted than Livy
was," Our historian in reply, is not back
ward to repay this profuse panegyric.
The other Spaniard is not so courteous.
He has never been in France, but having
conceived a great affection for that coun
try, proposes to write its history. In
order to gain a raore accurate knowledge
of facts, he wishes to peruse the work of
Thuanus, particularly that part of it
which relates to the civil wars. Unfor
tunately he is precluded frora reaping the
desired advantage, by his imperfect know
ledge pf the Latin language. He waits
therefore until the history be translated*
into French; and meanwhile contents
himself with blaming, in severe terras,^
some of its faults, which he seems to
have discovered frora general report, par
ticularly the favor shewn by the Aiithor
to Calvinists, and his consequent want of
^eal for the papal interests.
To this letter, dated lOlO, there is no
reply from Thuanus. He was perhaps in

.iEt,4S.] THUANUS, 173
too great afllicfton. Besides the distress
occasioned by some public troubles, the
death of his second wife, Gasparde de la
Chastre, daughter of the Count de Nan
cy, had taken place in that year. He
had married her in the year l0o2, and
had by her three sons, and three daugh
ters, Camden, in a subsequent letter to those
already considered, notes some few errors
coraraitted by Thuanus, in the names of
places in England and Ireland. He
praises the work " for judgment, dili
gence, and fideUty," and exhorts his
friend not to be deterred, from prosecuting
it, by calumny, which was to be expect
ed; " for (he adds) the historian's task
is in the beginning envy, in the continua
tion labor, in the end hatred,"
. Casaubon says, thi^t " different persons
admire the divine history of the great
Thuanus on different accounts ;" he thinks
the " correct judgment passed in it on so
inany learned men by no means its least

174 TBE LIFE OF [1^61,
excellence." At another time Casaubon
writes, " a person may receive without
hesitation, as a work of raerit, any book
that has been approved by Thuanus."
There are some notes extant on the
history by the celebrated Du Plessis
Mornay, who, in tbe time of King Henry
the Fourth, obtained so rauch considera
tion among his party, that he was called
the Pope of the Protestants. These re
marks are made upon particular passages,
and relate chiefly to some circurastances^
of which Du Plessis Mornay had^ a per
sonal knowledge. Like the observations
on Thuanus, scattered in different parts
of Bayle's Dictionary, they are raore
interesting to the readers of the history
itself, than to those who wish only to be
acquainted with its general character,
Thuanus, at the end of his 127th book,
giving an account of Francis Junius, fa
ther of the graramarian, represents him
as a raan " of unstable genius, who at
tempted many things, but, with respect

^t 48.] THUANUS. 175
to his success, learned men must decide."
Gerard Vossius, son-in-laW to Junius,
entered into a vindication of him from
this aspersion; and Bayle agrees with
Vossius in pronouncing the censure un*
just. Having thus considered, in one point of
view, the reception which the history of
Thuanus experienced among foreigners;
it remains that we relate its fate in
France, and collect the materials, which
are but scanty, relative to the remaining
years of our Author's life.;
The two subjoined letters, addressed to
him by King Henry the Fourth, and dated
in 15Q8, will suflicientiy shew the esteem
and regard that monarch entertained for
him, before the publication of his histo
rical work. They are written in Freneh.
" M. President, " I HAVE received so many con
vincing proofs of yonr affection for my
service, and am so much pleased with
3

Ij^S Tri£ LIFE (5P ti66U
them, that I have determined to delay no
longer to testify my feelings on the sub
ject, and to raanifest the esteem which
your talents, probity, and raanly spirit,
have raised in ray raind. These qualities
are particularly coraraendable in this age,
which has been so rauch depraved by the
iniquity of tiraes past. Wishing therefore
to make all the world acknowledge your
merit, as I acknowledge it; and on this
account to bring'you nearer my person,
and employ you in more important affairs,
I have caused a coraraission pf counsellor
of state and of finance to be raade out,
and now send it you. 1 desire and intend,
that you should in future be present and
assist at all my councils, and I proraise
myself that your service will not be less
faithful and affectionate than it has hither--
to been : I hopie it will be continued, and
you are to expect from me all the re
turn a good master, and one who loves
you, can make; as events shaU convince
you.

.^t.53.] THUANUS. 177
" I Wrote to you sorae tirae since td
reraove from the hands of the nephew of
the late Abbe of Bellebranche, the Ubrary
of the late Queen-Mother* of ray lord the
King; and if you have not already exe
cuted this commission, I again desire and
comraand it; as a thing which I desire
and wish and have rauch at heart, in order
that no part of it raay be lost, and that
you may add it to ray own coUection.
Adieu, M, President. ** Henry."
Monceaux, Nov. 4, lUgS.
*' M. President, ''Before you could Write to rae,
or any person in the w^orld speak to me in
your behalf, as soon as I heard the news
of the death of the Bishop of Chartres
your uncle, I reraerabered the reversion of
the Abbey of Bellefontaine, which I had
granted to you on his death. Such are
the proofs I wish to give of ray remem-
* Catherine de Medicis,
3sr

IfS , THE LIFE OF [1606,..
brance of your services ; as also the com
mission of Counsellor of State, founded
on the confidence I have always had in
your fidelity and attachment. Upon the
same ground you shall always, upon oc
casion, find me as much disposed to shevf
my acknowledgement, as I now sincerely
pray God, M, President, to have you in
his holy keeping, " Henry."
Monceaux, Nov. 10.
There is no date of the year, but the
Bishop of Chartres, died in 1598.
The King expressed hiraself extremely
pleased with our Author's preface, and had
it translated into French . He could not have
been offended at the general tenor of a
work, which defended the rights of his
crown, and in religious a,flairs extolled that
moderation, ^yhich he had hiraself used.^
Nevertheless the clouds of royal dis
pleasure soon began to appear, and seeni
to have been caused by the apprehension.
3 ¦ ' '

JEt, is.] THUANUS, 179
flpnry felt of entangling himself in fresh
disputes with the CPurt of Rorae. In a
letter to his embassador at that place,
dated May 4th, lOo4, he says: " When
the Pope's nuncio spoke to me, in terms
of complaint, against the President's book,
I let him know my disapprobation of it,
and that I had stopped its sale, which
has been done."
Extract of a letter frora Mv PPter du Puy
to Joseph Scaliger, dated Paris, Nov.-
ig, I0d4.
" The President's work is, I under-
stand, an adrairable composition; and yet
has been attacked with much slander and
calumny by the Jesuits, and other people
of that sort, who do not deserve to See it,
less to read it, and much less to date give'
ari- opinion Oh it. He informed rae the
other day, of a singularinstance of ground
less acciasatioh. At the beginnitig of his
third book he Sayisthat Henry, King of
England- declared himself head of his
Church, and " upon the whole (these are
N 2

180 THE LIFE OF [1606,
his words) ordained good and learned
bishops," The Jesuits and their party
blame this manner of speaking. Now he
jfias discovered that Senders, who wrote
' Of the State of the English Church,'
(his book is printed at Rome) when he
speaks of these bishops, calls them * by
no means bad,' Yovl see then. Sir, in
what trouble those who wiU write in these
times involve themselves; for if they do
not write according to the humour and.
disposition of these people, censure is ira
mediately abroad, and they sift even to
the veiy expression for a fault." This
account must be understood with some
limitation, for one of our Author's friends
about this time, writes that a new edition
is in the press, and that no copies of the
old can be procured.
Our author himself, writing to a friend;^
speaks in these terms of his history : the
letter is in French, dated Paris, September
8, 1 Oo4 : ** The trouble I have experienced
on account of my historyi^nd the ill-will.
* Minimi malos.

321, S3.] THUANUS, 181
it has caused me, almost extinguish the
desire I had of continuing a work which
from its subject must have been useful to
the public, and my fidelity and diligence
might haye encreased its importance. But
I have learnt frora sad experience that the
wages of those who erabrace truth, is ha
tred from the great, who wish at all events
to be flattered: so that if after having
praised them where they deserve praise,
you happen tp surprize them in some fault,
(as it is impossible that those who are ex
posed to the sight of all the world; and
employed in public affairs, should not
waver spraetimes,) they are angry and
forget all the past. Then it happens, ac
cording to the proverb, that for a broken
glass ten years of service shall be lost.
Against all this I seek consolation in my
conscience, &c,"
It appears that King Henry, in conse
quence of the clamour raised, thought it
necessary seriously to discountenance the
work. The foUowing extract is part of

J 82 TIIE LIFE OF El6'4
a letter from Be ViUeroi, his miniatpr, to
the. King's erabassador at Rome, diate^;
May 5, l0o5.
" I believe the President repents of
having published his history, and that he.
would not proceed to such lengths, if th©
thing- were to bp done again. We raust
contrive with as little noise as possible^
to apply some reraedy ; a,nd there is no
other but to prevent its re-publication,
I have spoken to him by his Majesty's
desire ; and he says he will be the first to
bury it in pbliyion, and to prevent farthey;
discourse on the subject. Not-that he.
thinks he has failed in this work, nor baa
he in the least altered his opinion on relir,
gious topics; but he woul4 npt dp any
thing disagreeable to his Majesty, or pre-r
judicial tq his interests." Thpse sentir
ments are very creditable to him. Though,
the avenues tp public fayor were thus in
sorne pleasure clpsed, our Author contir
nued, without remission, to prosecute ir$
private his.fayorite pursuit.

Mt53.] THUANUS, ISS
In the year lOoO, he brought his his
tory down to the year lOoi, and con
cluded it with the event of the Dauphin's
birth. " Upon this occasion," he says,*
" the Parisians and aU the cities throughout
the realm, testified the pubUe joy by the
fostive firing of canon. Thanksgivings
Were offered in the churches, and the
minds of all men w^ere animated by the
prospect of acertain succession in the royal
family, and of tranquillity thus ensured to
posterity. The public peace would still
have appeared insecure, if this inheritor of
the crown had sprung from any other
than that same gre^t raan, to whom all
individually and collectively, owed their
safety. Under him it was reasonable to
hope, that the dominion established by the
valor of the father, would hereafter be
administered by the son, in uninterrupted
peace, to the glory of God and the hap
piness of the people. Proceed, (he con-

Lib, 1?6, ^t tjie end.

164 THE LIFE OF [i6q6.
tinues) under these prosperous auspices,
O child, beloved of Heaven; and whilst'
you renew the narae of Dauphin, which
so long threatened to be extinct, establish
the splendor of thp regal dignity, which*
these comraotions tarnished, in the rainds
of the French. Proceed to unite those
discordant inclinations already joined by
your illustrious father, directing especially
all your councils, and energies, to promote
the glory of God, by whora and for
whom kings reign. Be just; be peace
able towards your neighbours ; benign to
your subjects ; order your government so
as to give dignity to virtue, and rewards
to raerit, to the extinction of vile corrupt
tion, the pasture on which avarice fattens.
Establish a strict rule of equity araongst .
all ranks, that the sacred rainisters may
have nothing to complain of in respect^
of God's worship, or of reverence to them
selves; that the nobiUty may find no defi
ciency of honors and dignities, nor the
people of that attention which is their
due,"

ML 58.] THUANUS, 185
The adrainistration of Louis XIII, w^as
triumphant, though perhaps not so vir
tuous, under Cardinal Richelieu, as com
pletely to fulfil the hopes of Thuanus.
His wishes on another point were frus
trated; for, in the year lOlo, a sacrile
gious hand prematurely intercepted the
glory and the life of the great Henry^
There is a letter from our author to the
President Jeannin, dated lOli, which
bears every raark of authenticity, and is
extreraely curious from the undisguised
manner, in which it displays his feelings
and opinions. It contains also a sort of epi
tome ofhis life, and w^as coraposed on the
foUowing occasion : Harley, Thuanus's
brother-in-law, resigned his office of First
President of the ParUaraent, tmder the
conviction that Thuanus would be ap-;
pointed to the vacancy, by the Queen Re
gent, Mary of Medicis, But those eneraies,
whom his writings had raised, found
means to occupy the sovereign's ear to
his prejudice, and he met with a repulse.

186 THE LIFE OF r [l6n.
Under the influehce of chagrin and re-
sentment, occasioned by this circurastance,
the letter in question was written. It
fiUs seven folio pages.
He begins by acknowledging the kind
friendship of Jeannin, in coming to his'
house to console him, upon the subject of
this repulse ; and in persevering in ther
Gonversatibn, thpugh Thuanus at first de
clined it, considering the matter to be
incapable of redress. He had determined
also that no bitter expression should
escape hig lips, while the cause of grief
was yet fresh in his mind; and wished -
to take time for debating w^ith himself,
and consulting his friends, upon the line
of conduct proper to be pursued. He
has now had leisure to do this, but pro
fesses himself to be still in doubtj, whether
to resurae the functions of the law in his
old office, or, as inclination leads, to retire
into privacy frora courtiy splendor and
tumult. The reasons on bpth sides, as
they occurred to him at his cpumtry house

ML 58.] THUANUS. jgf
at Villeboii, while considering the subject,
and begging God to direct hira right, he
wi^hes to submit, without order, to his
friend ; and, knowing his candor and pru
dence, constitutes him sole director of the
conduct, which he ought, as an honest
man and a gentieraan, to adopt.
« I grieve," he says, *' for the injury I
have sustained in ray own person ; I grieve
raore, because greater injury has been of»
fered to the commonwealth, I have ne
glected, ray private a^irs, but the woUnds
of ray country never : none can accuse
me of avarice or ambition ; and if, in the
present instance, ray cause can in any
way be separated frora that of the public,
I ara content to be silent.
" My ancestors, on both sides, rank
among the principal dignitaries of the
law. My father instiUed into me the
principles of pure patriotism ; and, in the
beginning of my legal career, I gained
the friendship of noblemen who enter
tained simUar opinions. My reputation

188 THE LIFE OF [l6lt,
encreased, and procured rae the notice of
kings and princes. To ray sovereign.
King Henry IIL I was an active and
feithful servant, whilst the storm of cala
mity was upon him : I executed his com
missions to the chief magistrates of the
provinces,. was chosen of his privy coun
cil, and, far from consulting ray own
ease, accorapanied Schoraberg in his expe
dition to Italy and Germany. At Venice,
I received the afflicting information of my
sovereign's assassination.- Upon my re
turn, I waited on the new king at Cha
teaudun, and gave hira intelligence re
specting the two countries I had visited.
" For five years I reraained in the campi
with the exception of sorae short excur
sions, on the business of the state ; and
when at length peace was established,
I retired to ray books and my family,
happy, in addition to the coraraon bless
ing, in possessing a good conscience and
unshaken loyalty, I supposed, indeed,
that the King would not forget my ser-

ML 58,] THUANUS. igg
vices during these five years, and that I
had suffered the wreck of all ray property;
and had never yet received pension or re
ward. His Majesty allowed ray disin
terestedness, and contrasted it with the
cPnduct of others, to ray coraraendation.
The honor of that coramendation was all
I gained : the King's raind changed with
his fortunes : I had the raortification to
experience that the favor of princes fluc
tuates ; that they gladly forget their asso
ciates in adversity, and consider any
attempt at reviving in their minds the
memory of past events, iii the light of
reproach. Why do I enlarge on this
topic ? That you may be convinced of the
hardship of ray destiny, which has made
me the sport of ingratitude.
^. *^-Thus a chilling silence was observed
towards me for two years. Discontents
then arose araong the Protestants, and
Thuanus's services forsooth were again
found .necessary. But I excused myself
at first from engaging in the negociation

m THE LIFE OF [l6n,
with them, because I foresaw the burderi
of ill-will 1 should derive from it, Ac^
eordingly I was employed for two years
in other commissions, and at leisure
hours in the composition of my history.'
As this work is the chief ground of accu
sation against me, and I have how men*
tioned it, suffer rae to say a few word^
on the subject,
'* I always considered that I was not
bom for myself alone, but for my friends*
and for^my country; ajid ray inclinationr
leading me to history, I thought, by com
posing a' relation of the events of our own
times, I should perforrti an act h-pnorable
to myself, and npt without advantage to
the public, I entertained this thought
from my early youth, and never lost
sight of it, during the various avocations
of my Ufe; but continued tP coUecf ne
cessary documents, published and un-
pubUshed, from the commentariels of ge
nerals; acts of legations, and papers of
the secretaries of state. These malerialiS'

ML 58] THUANUS. igj
I further reduced to the scale of truth,
hy consulting the opinion of many emi
nent persons of the time, wfep honored
me with their friendship. Such were
De Foix, Pibrac, and Schomberg.
" Thus prepared, I began to writf, be
fore the civU war was yet extinguished.
That I have preserved the most uncor
rupt fideUty, without hatred or afiEection,
with no other object in view but the
glory of God and the public good, 1 call
God himself to witness, who endowed
me with ability to coraplete so volurai
nous a work, in the raidst of nuraerous
avocations. I do nojt presurae to think
myself equal to many of ray predecessors
in the graces of style, in lurainous arrange
ment, or weight of sentiraent ; but in
i|iligpnce and fidelity I yield to none.
Of this, be you and posterity my judges.
"My progress was considerable, when
I heard that a copy of the first parts>
which.the curiosity of a German amanu-
•SKsis-had induced him to transcribe, had

192 THE LIFE OF [i^ll,
found its way into that country, and was
on the point of being edited. What could
I do ? I thought of regaining the trans-
script, but it had probably been copied
again and again. It remained therefore
that I should myself publish the work ;
and it was not from ambition I added my
name; but because I preferred risking
favor at court, fortune at home, and re
putation abroad, to the chance of invalid
dating, by affected prudence, the credit of
a work executed with great labor, for the
public weal.
" I expected the attacks of raaUce, but
the event exceedpi^ ray expectation.
Some noblemen (a class of persons who
do not see with their own eyes) suffered
themselves to imbibe a prejudice against
me; my cause was judged among my
enemies at Rome ; and by an absurd sen
tence, the entire work was there con
demned, while as yet only a third part
was before the world. It was conceived
that this would be an obstacle to my

^t580 THUANUS.. 153
attainment of the dignity in question, to
which I had even then received the de
signation, in the wishes of aU good men.
" The King was at first my protector;
but the subtlety of my enemies, more
than their open slander, induced hira to
waver. The death of some of ray friends,
in particular of the Cardinals Serafih and
D'Ossat, and the coolness and inactivity
of others, left rae Avithout support.
Sillery especialty was silent in ray behalf
to the King, and I think I have reason
to coraplain of his pride or his prudence.
After I had sent hira my book, it was an
insult not to read the preface : but if he
had read it, and forbore to use the defence
there adduced, his caution was greater
than his friendship. I confess I was in-
^gnant, and said, that if even Spain had
been my native country, I should have
received there the honor denied me in
France. " These circumstances combined to
make me an object of easy oppression to

194 THE LIFE OF [i6vt^
the court of Rome, Their censures were
levelled at two marks, viz. the concerr^
I had in framing the edict in favor of the
Protestants, and the freedora of my his
tory, particularly in defending the rights
ef my country,
" I became their victim. The Queen
meanwhile was m}^ friend, continually
employed my services, and strongly en
couraged me to aspire to the dignity in
question. Her kindness was repeatedly
confirmed to mc by her treasurer, who
went between us secretly on account of
the suspicious temper ofthe King. I only
entreated from her Majesty a continuance
of her regard, and that .she would in this.
affair chiefly consult her own interest, and
that of the state.
" Upon the almost miraculous event of
the King's death, amidst the general con
sternation, the parliament performed their
duty in declaring the Queen regent ; and
Harlay and myself exceeded our colleagues
in alacrity on the occasion. Four daj'S

Ml 6$.] THUANUS, , 19
after, when I went to pay my respects to
her Majesty, she made me the most ex
plicit declarations of favor; not that I
earnestly courted any thing, but rather
sought to make myself worthy of the
dignity, than to possess it. But I soon ex
perienced in the Queen the same change
the King had manifested. What was the
cause of this alteration I am yet to seek,
I hear that the friendship of the Prince of
Conde was considered as a ground of ob
jection to me. Unhappy that I am, whom
both friends and enemies conspire to in
jure ! I declare I never ingratiated myself
with the Prince of Conde, but for the
public good. And when I recomraended
to King Henry IV, to invite this yoUng
prince to court, it was with the concur
rence of raany loyal nobleraen, and at a
time when the King had no offspring and
was unmarried, and without thought of
marriage. The last services which I per
formed forthe Prince of Conde, are bind
ing on the conscience of the Queen her-
o 2

196 THE LIFE OF [l6u,
self Her Majesty was concerned in the
transaction, and as the secret is raore hers
than raine, I forbear to di\Tilge it.
" Frora concern for the public welfare,
I afterwards took great pains to reconcile
the Prince to the Queen ; but so far was
I frora consulting my own interest, that
I would not suffer any raention to be
made of myself, I might have extorted
the office, which is now refused to rae,
as a condition frora my eraployers; but I
preferred owing it to her Majesty's free
favor, and thought this raodesty and rao
deration of mine would be properly appre
ciated. But I find to my misfortune that
deceit and falsehood are the passpwt to
courtly honors; and that whoever lias
most impudence and least probity acquires
in proportion extensiye influence. I may
say with the poet of Aquinum, * What
should I do at Rome ? I cannot lie.*
" The conclusion of the Prince of
Conde's affair proved ray integrity : and
my adversaries turned their thoughts to

ML 5S.] THUANUS. 157,
fasten another accusation upon my cha
racter. Tliey laid to my account the
severe decree of parliament, issued against
Cardinal Bellarmine's book; and per
suaded the Queen that these disputes with
the papal court would have no end, if I
succeeded to Hariay's situation. It was
farther insinuated that the Prince of Cond6
w^ould not now take umbrage at my re
pulse: and indeed there was a coolness
between us, because I would not be sub
servient to all his designs.
" Thus was Lexcluded frora parliament
and from favor at court. This flagrant
ingratitude, of which all must be sensible,
makes ray private injury a pubUc concern,
on account of the example which it
•affords. The measure of this unjust re
turn to my important exertions is farther
encreased by a , comparison of my rival, a
new man, unknown, one confessedly infe
rior to raany who yielded to ray pretensions,
and who began his race of favor by
shameftiUy supplanting another. More-

198 THE LIFE OF [iSll,
over if there was a determination to crush
rae, instead of raaking rae wait in at
tendance and suspence, it would have
been merciful to haVe destroyed ray hopes
at once,
'* During this tirae I made no irapor-
tunate solicitations ; I did not even use
the interference of nobleraen who volun
tarily offered it ; but comraitted myself to
the Queen's bounty. How did 1 then
deserve, by a life of innocence and disin
terestedness, to be deluded at last to ray
¦ so great disgrace ? I assurae no merit
on the ground of family and connections.
Yet even these adventitious ornaments de
serve respect, as illustrating the dignity, of
virtue. " In a lawyer's life, I commend mode
rate wealth, frugal splendor, courteous
gravity. Disproportionate pride, luxury^
and thirst of power, I cannot endure.
Corruption, and even the suspicion ofit,
which whether truly or not attaches to
yny competitor, I hold in scorn ; and de-.

Ml 58.] THUANUS. 1S9
test brothels, dice, and free living, those
incitements to immodesty. These senti
ments turn my private injury into a public
concern. " I have shewn that I could endure a
superior, when he was a man of gravity,
and unimpeachable conduct.
"In the parliament I can no longer
retain that character which belongs to me.
But you invite me to try my fortune at
court ; that is to say, amongst harpies,
chimieras, mPnsters. You transform me
to an Ixion, and present rae with a cloud
to fiU my erabraces. No ; I devote my
self to solid Virtue, seated on a Cube;
alike incapable of deceiving and 'of being
deceived, which rejoices in the truth, and
abominates disguise. Such has been my
Ufe, that I can never stoop to supplicate,
to obsei^e the nod of another, to flatter
and feign and grow old in the practice
of falsehood, vanity, and dissimulation.
" But, (I will suppose my -friends to
suggest this) you have been lately made

209 THE LIFE OF [l6n,
one of the three Directors of the Finances.
Do you hold in such slight estimation
a place which has been the object of rauch
corapetition ? When this place was given
me, my disgrace was already in contem
plation: therefore I wished to excuse
myself from accepting it ; and nothing;.
would have induced me to accept it but
the positive commands of the Queen, and
the fear that my refusal would be attri-:
buted to pride. Besides, holden up as I^
heve been to suspicion, what have I to do
with the finances ?
. " Tell me, am I to pass my life in
petty financial disputes ? Am I to" die in
them? Who would have thought that
Thuanus, attached from his early youth
to letters, whom the courtiers, in female
assemblies, commonly call the philoso
pher, (a name honorable in itself, though
designed for ridicule) should have to pass,
in the decline of life, from the seat of
Justice to the tables of money-changers ?
Thus ray unhappy fortune has converted
I

ML-5S.] THUANUS. 201
into disgrace that which would have been
honor to another,
" Considering the party now in power,
I do not see rauch prospect for me at
Court. The same causes which deprived
me of senatorial honors, would exclude
me from the royal favor.
** It is pubUcly remarked, that the fac
tious and iiiscohtented now bear sway ;
the same spirit prevails which shook the
kingdom twenty-five years ago, and ruined
it under King Henry IIL and was in con»
tinual hostiUty to his iUustrious successor.
People now begin to talk of the promul
gation of the edicts of the Council of
Trent, and express their fears of the ex
tent to which the papal authority raay be
estabUshed during the rainority of the
King. These public raurraurs proye that
the injury done to rae, is inseparably con
nected with the coramon cause.
"If indeed, after this repulse, any mark,
pubUc or private, of the Queen's kindness
were conferred on me, it wtmld be a con-

202 THE LIFE OF [1611,
soiation to my own mind, and a palliatiotj
of ray disgrace to my friends, I might
then hope that the clouds of suspicion
and calumny w^ould in time be dispersed,
? " But since I have only been baffled
and araused by fair words, and have been
consoled by no reality for the present, by
no hope for the future, it reraains for rae -
to adopt the words of the poet :
,Spes et fortiina, valete ;
Vos alias posthac ludificate animas.
Hope and Fortune, farewell ;
Hereafter make your sport with others.
Being considered either useless, or an ob
ject of suspicion, I raust live retired; and
before I feel the weight of years, resort
to my Original refuge, the asylum of the
Muses, " Thus have I poured into your bosomi
O ray gentle and friendly counseUor, my
sorrows, and the reasons that weigh with
rae on this occasion, Ahd I desire to be
determined by your opinion with respect

^t. 55.] THUANUS. 203
to my future conduct ; for it will be a
mitigation of misfortune and disgrace, if
any should hereafter befal me, to have
acted by the advice of my friends*
" Farewell : and continue to loyp me,
whether as your colleague at court, or
your friend in retireraent."
Dated ViUebon, Apiil 30, lO'ii.
This proUx effusion of our author be
trays some querulous vanity, and a degree
of anguish under disappointment, which
is inconsistent,with the principles he pro
fesses. His extreme fastidiousness in re
ceiving public honors, and his a^ctation
of disregarding thera, at the same time
that he is evidently hurt w^hen they
are denied, are points unworthy of his
general character. He seems to have
leaned too much to an absurd system of
phUosophy, which requires a frigid indif
ference to all the usual objects of attrac
tion to mankind. Naturam expellas farck
tamen usque, recurret. — " Nature, how-

204 THE LIFE OF [l6ll,
e'er restrain'd, is nature stUl." It is
plain, though he was unwUling to confess
it to hiraself, that his raind was not in
sensible to the public distinctions of fame
and power, obtained by honorable raeans.
The object of his arabition does not
require defence. He failed in attaining it:
and this failure was erabittered by addi
tional circurastances of an unpleasant
kind. In this situation it must be allowed
that disgust and chagrin would be felt by
most men ; and that the expressions used
in this letter, though unfit for the pen of
Thuanus, are still very applicable to the
occasion. He thought himself deserted and treated
with ingratitude by the great, whom he
had served, and spoke the language of
acute and wounded feelings. His com
plaints were probably not w ithout found
ation. The same governmeni which
neglected the great Sully, after King
Henry's death, raay be presuraed capable
of overlooking the semces of Thuanus.

ML 58.] THUANUS. 205
The opinions expressed in his history,
were indeed offensive in many points to
those in power ; and his manners were
perhaps unbending and without conciU-
ation. It appears that among gay and
dissipated courtiers, he was exposed to
ridicule as a demure and formal lawyer,
or a grave phUosopher. StiU Mary of
Medicis must have known bis merit,
and cannot easUy be acquitted of ingrati
tude, and even of a want of faith, in thus
suddenly frustrating the just expectations
of a zealous and tried adherent.
Our author makes the conduct of the
deceased sovereign, with respect to him
a subject of complaint also. It would
have been consistent with the raagnani
mity of a raan of spirit and honor, openly
to have expressed the dissatisfaction he
had conceived, during the life of King
Henry, rather than have waited to pour
it forth untU the grave had closed upon
his royal master.

,'

206 THE LIFE OF [ieil<
Henry was sometimes accused of being
deficient in recompensing those who
served him : and with respect to Jeannin,
the friend to whom Thuanus addresses
this letter, hcTiimself frankly said, " Many
of my subjects I load with wealth, to
prevent them from exerting their malice,
but for the President Jeannin I always say
rauch and do. little." But the King was
not so remiss with regard to our author :
it appears from two letters quoted above,
written in I5y8, that he bestowed on him
some substantial marks of favor, expressly
as a recompense for past services. It is
true that he abandoned the cause of his
¦%¦'''history, and yielded to the efforts of its
adversaries, and in this point perhaps the
sovereign may be justified. As the ruler
of a great kingdom, he might neither
feel it a raatter of inclination nor of duty
to embroil the state with foreign powers
on account of an individual, who gave
pubUcity to his opinions voluntarily, for

-^t. 58.] THUANUS. 207
liis own private purpose, and who was
perhaps imprudent in so doing. '
. The failure of his exj>ectations with
regard to the office of First President of
tjie Parliaraent, was the most severe
vexation which our author - experienced
from the malice of his enemies. But his
real friends did not desert him at this
conjuncture. Cardinal Joyeuse, a dis
tinguished character, and a relation of his
wife, and Casaubon, addressed letters to
him, written in terras of affectionate at
tachraent, and suggesting consolation on
the raost soUd grounds.
"A M. Le President De Thou.
*' Sir, " Having. learned, since ray de
parture from court, the result of that
affair of which we have often talked ;
my resentraent and disgust on the occa
sion haye ,been equal to that affection
which would haye made rae warmly par-

20B tHE LIFE dP [iSit,
ticipate in any thing that raight contribute
individually to your satisfaction, and at the
same time promote the public good.
But since it has pleased God to order
matters otherwise, you are not a person
to whom it is necessary to inculcate obe
dience to his will, and resolution in con
tinuing to serve your countiy. That
country, observing your wise and up
right deportment, will always acknow
ledge its loss to be greater than your own ;
for you Were influenced in this business
more by the wishes of others than by your
own inclination, or by raotives of private,
interest. Those frequent exaraples the
world has had of raen excluded froni
offices to ys^hich their raerit designated
thera, and their behaviour under such
turns of fortune; such exaraple and such
conduct we henceforth expect to copy
from you.
" At present I shall only assure you of
the continuance of my affection, which-
partictilarly impels me to do you honor

ML 58.] THUANUS, 209
and service ; and I would not proceed
farther on my journey without reminding
you of it, and proving the desire I have
to preserve your good will, and to deserve
it, I commend rayself to your favor, and
pray God, Sir, to give you a long and
happy life,
" Your very affectionate cousin,
" At your sertice,
" The Cardinal de Joyeuse,"
Marseilles, April 25, lOl l.
The following interesting letter is from
Isaac Casaubon to Jac, Aug, Thuanus.
" Most Hon. President,
" Although, from my great love
and respect for you, I suddenly felt extreme
concern upon hearing that a due eonsider-
ation was not paid to your dignity. Which
your extraordinary services to your coun
try demanded, and aU good men hoped
and wjshed ; yet soon, recovering from
the feeling of indignation; and reflecting

210 THE LIFE OF [l6n,
on the present state of things in France,
I was induced, from reasons of weight in
my mind, to think that tbis occurrence
was perhaps altogether conducive to your
interest : and I applied to it the ancient
saying, ' Chance often provides better for
us than we do for ourselves.' I confess
that it is a hardship to be frustrated in
that hope, which sprung not from arro
gant vanity, but from a consciousness of
merit ; which was raoreover repeatedly
cherished by those, who had it in their
power to avoid appearing to have trifled
with the feelings of a person of gravity
and consequence. But you are perfectly
aware, my wise friend, that according to
the condition of human things, events,
which no one had supposed either would
or ought to take place, oftener come to
pass than those which fulfil the sugges
tions of sound reason. This observation
holds good universally in Ufe, but parti
cularly in the distribution of honors,
which are rather bestowed according to
1

Ml5s.] THUANtlS, 2U
the will of courtiers, thart regulated by
the judgment of princes themselves, who
are in the power of their servants.
" As therefore no sensible man will b6
surprized, in the present state of moral*
particularly, that any soldier's bpy,
cook, pander, or leader of panders,
should acquire a plentiful fortune, and
even the command of provinces; so
neither can he wonder that the avenues
to the highest dignities should be closed
to men of probity, learning, and virtue,
and that the rewards due to merit should,
be transferred to obscure and vulgar per
sons. Why do we complain } Why are
we astonished? This is the lot and the
express condition of our being: nor as
long as human nature endures, will this
evil be remedied. Let us bear then, my
illustrious friend, let us bear with equa
nimity, that course of things which it is
impossible to amend. Let us at the same
time contemplate and adore the over
ruling providence of God. FPr While
p 2

212 THE LIFE OF [161I,
we see the order of things raoved and
changed continually, as it were by chance,
it is the Almighty Being, who in reality
regulates all; nor does any event take
place which he has not long before de
termined and decreed, though the foot
steps of his wisdom are not known.
Let us shew our detestation of the miser
able counsels of wicked men, and acqui
esce in humble dependence on the inscru
table wisdora of God, who disposeth
every thing for the best,
" Adorned and furnished, as you are,
by Heaven itself, with so many real ad
vantages, of w^hich no external violence
can deprive you,- I sincerely think that,
considering your own benefit, and not
that of your country; considering your
friends, your favorite studies, and your
domestic convenience, you have the
greatest reason to rejoice upon the present
occasion. Let me ask you, can you sup
pose that, if you had possessed the office
in question, you would have enjoyed one
1

.Et. 58.] THUANUS. 21*
tranquil day, when all your eneraies
would have eagerly and industriously
exerted theraselves to vex you; those
eneraies, who hate you, ' with a perfect
hatred,' on account of your piety, ypur
love of truth, and your other numerous
virtues? Think you that you would have
been suffered to guide the state according
to the rule of your own irreproachable
raorals, by those raen who are deter
rained to reraove, by whatever means,
all w^ho stand in opposition to their ne
farious designs? I say this with more
boldness, because I have lately read
raany books, the composition of those
pests of society, full of their diaboUcal
doctrine. I shudder to think only of the
sentiments I have read, and which are
inculcated as articles of faith. The fury
of this party encreases daily; their audacity
encreases, fostered by success. That doc
trine, to which I allude, lately deprived us
of our great king: yet that same doctrine,
in the very city where this noble sovereign

214 THE LIFE OF [l6u.
was murdered, I may say but yesterday,
has already found defenders and abettors.
While all of you, who sit at the helm of
state, shut your eyes to their proceedings ;
they, in their publications, condemn
Mariana,* indeed, as far as the expression
goes, but avowedly praise,, not to say ex
cuse, all the other teachers of perfidy,
treason, and parricide. What tiroes!
What morals !
" Will any man, of an honest heart
then, think it a desirable thing to obtain
a situation of eminence among such pert

* Mariana vvas a Spanish historian and a Jesuit,
He published a book entitled, " Of Kings and their
Authority," in which he justified James Clement for
assassinating Henry 1,11. of France, The whole order
of Jesuits were accused, though perhaps unjustly, of
maintaining the doctrines of Mariana ; and Papists
and Protestants joined in condemning them, particu-
cularly after the atrocious act of Ravaillac, who was
said to have been instigated to assassinate Henry IV,
by the perusal of Mariana's book. To these circum^
stances Casaqbon's animated expressions allwde,

Mt 58] THUANUS. 2i5
sons, in which he must bear with these
atrocities, and even by his silence sanction
them ? Plato, it is reported, used to say
to his friends, as an excuse for not having
attained power, that he had purposely
abstained from interfering in poUtics, as
soon as he perceived that his country
was governed by laws and principles, to
which he could not assimUate his notions
of raorality. Who can indeed struggle
perpetually against a rapid stream ?
" I should entreat you, my illustrious
friend, to recal to your memory these
and other similar examples and precepts,
if, as has happened to many great cha
racters, you should be entirely removed
from business of the state. But now
what need of this ? for if I have been told
the truth, you are exalted by your de
pression, and your affairs are in a better
situation than they would have been, if
different events had taken place, I sin
cerely wish this may be the case, and
pray to God that he would so ordain it.

216 THE LIFE OF [l6li,
I received two letters frora you four days
ago; one of thera I sent to the King,
'and expatiated largely to hira on the sub
ject of your integrity. Sir Robert Cotton
proceeds in his history, which he raeans
to spnd you, I say nothing of ray own
concerns, for my wife will give an ac
count of thera; and I suppose, under
Providence, that you will soon see her in
France. Adieu,"
London, April 20, lOll,
This is Thuanus's ansyver, written in
French :
" Sir, " I HAVE received your letter
dated the !20th of last month. I cannot
sufficiently thank you for the sympathy
you manifest in every circumstance that
affects me. If the refusal I have expe
rienced concerned only my private injury,
and did not extend to a public wrong, I
should not have felt so much pain as Ihave.

.^Et 58.] THUANUS. 217
You know that I am free from ambition
and avarice, raore inclined to a Ufe of re
pose than to the labour of so irksorae an
office, by natural disposition, exclusively
of the reasons deduced with so rauch ele
gance in your letter, which I confess
has, araidst this pubUc sorrow, afforded
me more consolation than all the empty
compliments, and lip-service, as we say,
of our courtiers. For I ara not a man to
feed myself with airy hopes. If they will
permit rae to retire, and to live in do
mestic privacy, without injury, they
cannot bestow on rae any recompense so
gratifying to my feelings. In a Word,
L am resolved to follow His will, who,
by ways inscrutable to raen, regulates
human affairs, and governs the universe.
" I am here in ray own house, pre
paring for that honorable leisure with all
possible content ; except that I am de
prived of your corapany, my mild and
learned friend ; I entreat you therefore, by
your love for me, to write frequently and

'218 THE LIFE OF fl6n.
at length : your longest letters are the
most agreeaible to rae.
" That good man, M. Le Fevre, is dan
gerously ill. What affliction for me, in
ray present state, if it should please God
to deprive me of him in your absence !
I should esteem myself utterly forsaken :
but we must submit every thing to the
ordinance of the Almighty, who never
forsakes his faithful servants.
" I wait for what his most exceUent
Majesty of Great Britain shall please to
send me; and following your advice shall
do all I can to satisfy his Majesty, I
shall also pay attention to your concerns,
I suppose your nephew has told you that
I have taken away the keys,* because I
understood at court that some intruders
hovered about, whom I have thus pre
vented. You will find every thing in its
former state when you return ; and you
should, in all letters to your correspond-
* Probably of his house.

ML 68.] THU.'VXUS. 219.
ents, particularly to noblemen, thixjw
out expectations of returning, that you
may preserve in safety what you have left
here. Command me, and make use of
my services. My mfe kisses your hands.
I hope that we shall soon see your lady in
good health. I now pray God, Sir, to
send you his grace and health.
? *' Your very humble
*' And very affectionate servant,
"De Thou."
ViUebon, May 7, jOu.
There are two more letters, dated in
the sarae year, from the Cardinal Joyeuse
and Casaubon, exhorting their friend not
to retire entirely from all connection with
public affairs, and to consider that he
was born for his country, and ought not to
consult his private convenience and grati-
Hmtion solely. In fact he never did retire,
but tjontinued in the service of the court
until his death : and from some expressions
iu his letter to Jeannin, it may be sus-»

220 " THE LIFE OF [l6l2,
pected that, notwithstanding his general
protestations, he was not sorry to expe
rience a renewal of kindness on the part
of the Queen,
Misfortune and added years did - not
impair the vigour of ottr Author's genius,
and in lOl2, we find him again engaged
in prosecuting his historical work. The
exordium of this * continuation has been
esteemed the finest writing in the whole
composition. As it relates, in a great
measure, to his private sentiraents, a
translation of it is here given ; and the
original is inserted in the AppendLx;,f as a
specimen of his style.
" Six years have elapsed since I con
cluded my history with the auspicious
birth of that prince , who now reigns
by the beloved name of Lewis ; and I
did not then imagine that any cause
would induce me to continue a work
which I considered not as interrupted,
* Lib, I, 127. + Appendix III.

ML 59.1 THUANUS. 251
but coraplete, I thought I had perforraed
enough for the public curiosity, ,and
enough for my own fame, in bringing
the thread of my narration through our
jnore than civil wars, down to the peace
attained for all Christendom, by the
courage and virtue of the great Henry.
From that period scarce any thing occurs
to illustrate the annals of our country :
only some events of a domestic nature,
chiefly of mournfol import, and not to
be compared with the preceding exploits.
" Many circurastances conspired also to
deter rae frora the attempt,- I keenly felt
the ungrateful recompense ray laborious
services in the public cause, for the glory
of France, had received : and the imme
diate aspect of affairs, considered with
reference to the past, perraitted rae not
to form happier omens of the future ; par
ticularly since ray lot was cast araongt
those, whom I had originally found
hostile, and frora whom, therefore, if I
persisted, I could expect no mercy.

521 THE LIFE OP [f^fj,
" This was the completion of all my
roisifortunes; that when I seriously thought
Cff retiring, I was again carried by a con
trary current against the rocks of the
court, w^here my mind suffered continual
tortures. There, I Mho had been ac-
customedto lead a tranquil life in obedience
f o the laws, having exchanged my service
of freedom for one of real slavery, drew
as it were, precarious breath, depending
on the will of another. Therefore, either
by the intrigues or envy of those W'ho
will not suffer me to live in privacy, an
ungrateful task is forced upon me, and I
have moreover a dangerous contest to fight
with malipe, and the hatred of powerful
men; if I yield, I shaU be aPcused of
cowardice; if I persevere, of obstinate
contumacy. It is not to be told, what a
raeasure of hatred, the innocence of ray
past Ufe, and my notorious love of truth
have heaped upon me ; what a weight of
enmity has been excited by my ingenuous
freedom, and my disincliAation to parade

JEt. 59.] THUANUS. 223
and faction. My future performances, if
humble, wiU be ascribed to fear; if spirited,
to a desire of revenge. This will be the
language of those who form the strongest
party of the day : who estimate the fame
and character of others, not according to
reason and equity, but by their o^n
humour and prejudices.
" These and other similar considerations
were of a nature to deter the most reso
lute from prosecuting any honorable de
sign. , They admonished me, broken as I
was by adversity, to consult the ease suit
ed to my time of life ; and no longer to
consume my labor on a fatiguing and in-
yidious task. But a man of patriotic mind,
who always preferred what was right and
honorable to emolument and his own cen-
venience, was easily driven frora his
opinion, especially when the public good
was at variance with his personal feelings.
Some, indeed, of my friends in France,
fearing for my safety, recommended re
tirement to me ; while others, and foreigners

224 THE LIFE OF [l6[2,
also, removed from peril, in Spain, Italy,
Germany, Britain, Belgium, Hungary, and
even as far as Bohemia, continually ex
horted me by letter to pursue my under
taking, and left no arguments untried to
rouse ray drooping spirit, and by proposing
the public advantage as my object, to re
vive that alacrity, of which, disgust at the
ingratitude ofthe age had deprived rae, I
therefore suffered rayself to be persuaded, if
leisure should be granted to rae, to satisfy,
at the same time, to the best of ray abi
Uty, the wish of ray friends, and to pro-
\ ide for the public advantage.
" Yet ray raind was either depressed by
the raelancholy state of public affairs, or
indolent through want of practice in com
position, or gloomy from the reraembrance
of the cup of trouble I had drained to the
dregs; and I procrastinated the matter
from day to day; until an event occurred,
which can only be called a prodigy; I
mean the death of the great Henry, a
source of lamentation not only to France,
but to all the world.

MtS9] THUANUS. ^5
*' This circumstance was of great weight
in reraoving my hesitation. Such a prince,
the especial gift of Heaven, in our de
plorable times, all good men remember
ing his exploits, wished to survive thera ;
and even bad raen thought their safety
depended on his life. The minds of all
were therefore variously affected by his
unmerited fate; some grieved forthe pri
vate loss they had sustained; some,
mindful of his great and raeritorious ac
tions, commiserated the state, not without
a mixture of indignant feeling; others,
fuUy sensible of present calamities, not
without confusion and great constema
tion, revolved those which were still
impending. For my own part, pierced
with the most affectionate sorrow, I
could not satisfy myself without paying,
in ray peculiar function, ray tribute of
respect to the raeraory of a prince, who
claimed the gratitude of all Christendom.
i" Sufering myself therefore to be over
come with the same facility, that first in-
Q

22^ THE LIFE OF [1^12,
duced rae to engage m a work of this
raagnitude, I prepared to rescue the me
raory of past transactions from eternal
oblivion ; and to perform my proraise
to my friends, with a mind fortified
against raalice and detraction, defended
by the shield of conscience, and therefore
without solicitude. Since the Alraighty
has been pleased, contrary to ray hopes
and my wishes (praeter spera et contra
votum) to ordain that I should survive
this great King, I have resolved to dedi
cate what leisure I have from my service
at court, to the relation of what passed
during ten years, the reraainder of his
life ; which are not coraprehended in the
former part of ray history,"
Our Author's reasons are so nicely
balanced, that they seera brought forwai^
rather to raake a skilful display of argu
raent, than for any serious purpose. The
plea of writing, on account of the irapor-
tunity of friends, would now be deemed
affectation, and would raeet with little

^t. 59.] THUANUS. 227*
r
raercy frora critics of the present day ;
and even the curiosity of a treacherous
araanuensis would hardly shelter a mo
dern author from the imputation of vanity.
Thuanus did not live to coraplete
his undertaking. The continuation of
his history only extends, in eleven books,
to the year l Oo 7 , He spent the reraainder
of his life in the service of the court, in
tranquUUty, and surrounded with friends
whora he loved, and who respected him.
His raost intiraate associates were Ri
galtius and Peter Du Puy, who were
much younger men than himself, and
surviving hira, becarae his faithful execu
tors, Du Puy was born in 1583, and
his mother was our historian's first cousin,
Rigaltius was born in 1577 : his " Funus
Parasiticum," published in 159O, first in
troduced him to the notice of Thuanus,
who sent his carriage to convey him to
Paris, and they never afterwards sepa
rated, -A very pleasing picture of the
familiarintercourse of these three friends
Q 2

62« THE LIFE OF [ifflS,
»
is given h'y Rigaltius in the life of Du
Puy, whora he survived two years^ " For
eighteen years, (says Rigaltius,) we lived in
the raost strict friendship, and daily habits
of intercourse with Thuanus. There was
the greatest freedora of opinion ; we
asked questions, and discussed subjects
without reserve : but great attention was
¦paid to the due preservation of honor and
respect. Fidelity, candor, and sincerity,
forraed our bond of union, Du Puy
formed hiraself upon the raodel of Thu
anus, whora he studiously imitated in the
division of his time, apprppriating part of
the day- to public business, part to the
study of ancient authors, ahd devoting
sorae hours to the society of his friends.
Such was the agreeable and dignified tenor
of his Ufe, Thuanus repaid his atten
tions with equal affection ; and in propor
tion as my -friend and I mutually regarded
each other, with encreasirig friendship did
that great raan continue to ceraent this
amiable union. Thus we spent some

ML 59.] THUANUS, 229
years ; and participating in all the fortunes
and plans of our beloved Thuanus, whe
ther of a joyful or melancholy nature^
we were even unwilling to separate from
him when he retired to his country seat
of ViUebon, and were always mutually de
sirous of the company of each other.
" Thuanus during his leisurefrom Parlia
raentary occupations, - coraposed his his
tory, and soraetiraes poeras ; Du Puy
made observations relative to the state of
the kingdom, and conducive to the public
welfare ; for my part, I busied myself in
preparing annotations, which might serve
to illustrate and restore passages in ancient
authors, particularly Christian writers.
An unreserved and iramediate corarauni
cation subsisted between us, of all valuable
inforraation acquired either by reading, or
composition, and especially by conversa^on .
Thuanus took the lead in these comrauni
cations ; for frora the dignity of his rank
and the authority he possessed, his house
was every day crowded with a leyee of il*

230 THE LIFE OF [l6l2,
lustrious characters ; and I can truly say
we always departed from hira wiser and
better raen : so scrupulously did he weigh
every thing in the scale of his severe
judgeraent," Heinsius, in the following verses, which
are included in a long Poera, entitled
" The Apotheosis of Thuanus," describes
the raanner of his life at his country seat ;
Saep^ etiam culti libabat gaudia ruris ;
Muscosi caput ad fontis projectus, et undae
Ingenua fugientem incitans murmure somnuin,
Rostrorum oblitus trabeaeqne, oblitus honorum.
Nee pudor aut peptini inalo subducere rorem,
Aut vitem. manibus duxisse, aut arboris altae.
Nee jam ultro ferrum metuentis, stringere rainuin.
Sic Divi vixere olim : sic dulcia rura
" Ipsos jam pertsesa homilies Astraea colebat.
Hie Sopliie jucilndai domos diffusa per omnes,
Constrictos vario solvebat nectare sensus :
Seu Stagira suas argute efFunderel artes ;
Sive animorum ortus et djae semina mentis
"Magnus AlriStocles subiimi panderet ore,
Nonunquam ct cbari leoibat conjuge curas,
Uanimq dulci quae respondebat amoie.
TRANSLATION.
His mind unbent from law, and splendid care,
He oft seeks tranquil rural scenes ; ahd there

ML 69.] thuanus: 231
His careless limbs beside some fountain throws.
Whose natural murmurs lull to sweet repose.
He blushes not to train the vine's young shoot.
And brush tlie morning dew from ripening fruit.
Thus liv'd the Gods, ere Justice left mankind ;
Thus wisdom dwells, as her true vot 'ries find.
Now commerce with the mighty dead he holds,
Tbe Stagirite's close and learned page unfolds :
Now turns to speculations more refin'd.
High abstruse thoughts of matter and of mind.
These varying scenes hi^ consort's charms improve.
Who meets his tenderness with answering love.
In the " Thuana," a small collection,
which affords no great interest to the rea
der, are contained some particulars which
perhaps may be inserted with propriety
in this place. " Thuanus found the com
position of his history a task at first very
laborious, as he had never before written
Latin prose" : but practice gave him facility.
Several raen of erainence adopted a custora
pf assembling every Sunday and holiday in
the cloisters of the Cordeliers, from eight
o'clock till eleven. The party consisted of
the two Pithous, Du Puy, Le Fevre, Thu
anus, HouUlier, Hotraan, and sometimes
2

232 THE LIFE OF [l6l3,
Servin (advocate-general), who contri
buted to their raerriraent. They commu-.
nicated letters, and other informatipn, and
it was necessary to be well grounded
(bien fonde) to join in their conversation."
" As for me," says Du Puy, who pomt
pUed the Thuana, '-' I was but a listener,
They came to my house on holidays after-
dinner, an(i Scaliger pften joined ua, I
ara indebted, for all the knowledge I pos
sess to this society." Du Puy mentions
also that a sort of scholastic examination
was held at Thuanus's house, of two ma
thematical professors, who contended for
the chair of Ramus, the e^ninent profesr
sor, who lost his life in the massacre of St.
Bartholoraew. De Foix presided upon
the occasion,
The most distinguished of our author's
friends, ~^ mentioned abpve, was N. L.e
Fevre, The great opinion Thuanus en:-.
tertained of his raerit h^ been already
* stated ; and I may perhaps be exqused
* See pp. 8 and 18.

JEt, 59.] THUANUS. 233
for adding sorae few circumstances re
lative to so singular a character, " Le
Fevre possessed," says M, de * Perrault,
*' two qualities, which are rarely united in
the sarae person — a profound erudition and
an extrerae siraplicity," When a boy,
as he was raending a pen, a piece of the
quUl flew info his right eye; and, putting
up his hand in consequence of the pain,-
he inadvertently thrust the pen-knife into;
it. The result of this painful accident
was the loss of that eye; but the sight of
the other seeraed to gain additional power.
He was gifted with a rapst tenacious rae
mory, and lived to araass an astonishing
store of erudition : and alraost all the
learned raen^^ who were his conterapora-t
ries, bear witness to bis piety, learning,
and raUd and inoffensive disposition.
Being pressed, when young, by a friend,
to make some advances towards an ad-
vantageoaiB raarriage, he replied, '^ I wish
I may be aa firm in aU my gopd resohir
f Eloges des Hommes Illustres,

234 THE LIFE OF [ifiig.
tions through life, as I ara in the determi
nation of never raarrying," He persevered
in this resolve, and devoted hiraself- to a
course of uninterrupted study. His bio
grapher, M , Le Begue, relates this parti
cularity in his raanner of life : — " After
waking frora his first sleep, he regularly
left his bed, and, wrapping a raonk's
hood round his head, in winter, eraployed
two hours in prayer and reading. Hp
then enjoyed a light sleep, and arose again,
in suraraer, with the dawn of day, and in
winter at five or six o'clock." M, de
Begue continues, '* Obnoxious to no set
pf raen, Le Fevre attacked no person — he
was attacked by none ; and being always
raoderate in disputes concerning raatters of
religion or literature, he was beloved
and caressed, not only by raen of piety
and learning, but by nobles and courtiers."
Peter * Pithou, having left unfinisBed
at his death a collection of the historical
fragraents of St, Hilary, a bishop of
* gee page 80,

EL 59.] THUANUS. " 235
poictiers, who Uved in the fourth century;
Le Fevre undertook to coraplete the work,
and published it with a dedication to
Thuanus, " This work (these are his
words) cannot but be acceptable to you,
illustrious President, who are skilled in
all the raodes of discipline ; who are so
devotedly attached to the safety and
honor of France, and a zealous adrairer
of primitive piety and faith. It cannot
but be most grateful to your feelings to
have rescued, by your authority, from
a long obscurity, and brought to light this
Work, the production of an antient
French writer, the most celebrated and
eloquent of all the Theologians who have
adorned the western empire; the lofty
tree, as St. Jerome calls him, by which
the edifice of the Church of God has been
raised, and who was also a most intrepid
champion ofthe faith."
We have already seen that Thuanus
promoted, with great assiduity, every de-
Sign that could tend to the advanceraent
of literature. Some letters from Danid

236 THE LIFE OF [l6l2.
Heinsius, in which hie refers to an edition
he is preparing of George Cassander's
Works, and a paraphrase of Aristotle's
Politics, afford a farther proof of our Au
thor's zeal on this subject. He paid
great attention to a plan proposed by some
* Maronites for instituting a college at
Paris, which raight prepare religious
books and educate raissionaries, with a
design of propagating Christianity in cer-.
tain parts of Asia and Africa; and, from
a passage in the forty-first book of his
histpry, it appears that, in consequence of
his exertions, the only copy extant in
Europe of the Ecclesiastical History of
Nicephorus was transraitted fronj Ger-t
piany to France, and there translated,
But our Historian especially proraoted
the cause of letters by fornishing a library,
which, in the points qf raagnificence and
judicious selection, has, perhaps, never
* The Maronites, so called from Maron their
founder, inhabited the conntry about Moupt Liei.
Ija.iiort, They were Monothelites.

Ml 5&.] THUANUS. 237
been surpassed by any private collection.
It was called the Parnassus of the Muses,
and was so celebrated that it has been
said, those who had not seen the Ubrary of
Thuanus, had not seen Paris. He was era
ployed forty years in raaking this collec
tion, which consisted of eight thousand
volumes. This must have been an araple
nuraber at that period of time, and they
v^^ere of the raost rare and excellent
kind, procured throughout Europe at an
imraense expense, and all bound in a
sumptuous raanner. There were besides,
about a thousand raanuscripts of great
value. Henry Stephens, the great printer, and
lexicographer, writing to Thuanus, raakes
an allusion to the ridicule which Lucian
casts upon sorae person who bought a
great nuraber of books, but at the same
time was not competent to understand
their contents. " The satyrist," he adds,
" would have honoured you, Ulustrious
President, who, being so versed in every
science, have eagerly and diligently em-

m THfi LIFE OF [i6l4,
ployed yourself in accumulating books
from all parts, and have spared no expense
in storing your library with the works of
all authors, particularly those in the Greek '
and Latin languages. You exercise great
judgment, also, in the choice of printed
editions ; and, in proportion to the cost of
any copy, the more sumptuous is the bind
ing you allot to it. Lucian would, I ima
gine, haye praised your care in this re
spect. For my part, I am not only de
sirous of praising your ardent wish of
continually adding to your library ; but I
should be proud likewise to contribute to
its accoraplishment,"
In this library Thuanus received the
visits of learned men with affability and
politeness ; and, with that liberality of
mind which a genuine love of literature
inspires, freely opened the treasures of his
collection to all, who were likely to pro
mote the general interests of science and
polite learning. "At Thuanus's house,"
says Du Puy, "there were regular meet
ings of the Uterati of the time ; men of

^t. 50.] THUANUS. 239
rank and erudition were admitted frora
the city, frora the provinces, and from
foreign countries ; and the discourse turn
ed upon all occurrences worthy of notice,
whether of a pubUc or doraestic nature, or
relating to some novel intelUgence from
abroad." It has been already stated that our Au
thor, upon the death of M. Amyot, was
appointed to the vacant office of Royal
Librarian. " This faraous library," says
M. Perrault, "the finest in the world,.
after that of the Vatican, was never cora
mitted to the care of a more worthy per
son : and on this occasion it both received
and conferred honor. This repository of
literature becarae raore than ever the
rendezvous of the raost conspicuous cha
racters, who united science and learning
¦with virtue ; and under his management
afforded particular gratification, as weU by
concentrating the societyof scholars, who
came thither to confer on every branch of
knowledge, as by the opportunity it sup
plied of consulting the best dead authors."

uo THTR LIFE OF [l6l5,
At the recommendation of Thuanus,
Casaubon, and after him Rigalttius, were
appointed under-Ubrarians. The follow
ing short account of the formation of this
collection by the different Kings of France,
may be acceptable to the reader. It is
extracted from a treatise, by Father Jacob,
". On the Finest Libraries," printed at
Paris, in lG44.
" Charlemagne was the first French
King who collected a library, at Aix la
Chapelle, and at Lyons. About the year
1400, Charles V. founded the present
munificent Royal Library, at Fontaine
bleau. Charles VI. his son, brought this
library to the Louvre, and raade additions
to it. Sorae instruments are still to be
seen which relate to the librarian's office,
dated 1412.
" Lewis XI. borrowed a book from the
Schools of Medicine upon the pledge of a
silver vessel,
" The final establishment of the Royal
Library is due to Francis I, who em
ployed learned raen and professors tp

Ml 6?.] THUANUS, 2-11
collect books in all languages. He re
placed the library at Fontainebleau,. and
had his books superbly bound.
" Catherine of Medicis brought with her
to Hen. II, the raanuscripts of the cele
brated Medicean Library, She was a pa
troness of learning. .- :j
" Henry IV, in 15Q-4, had all this
Queen's cPllection added to the Royal
Library, and appointed Thuanus librarian.'
They thus reraained as goods of the
crown, and the greater part were surap-r,
tuously bound in crimson Morocco, the
expense of which was defrayed from the
rents of the expelled Jesuits.
" Two copies of every book printed irt
France are deposited in the Royal Library;*
persons are appointed to collect the best
books printed throughout Europe,"
From the preceding statement, it is evi
dent that the close of our Author's life was
consistent with the beginning of it : he
* A similar deposit is made in the King of Eng
land's hbrary.

242 THE LIFE OF [l6l5,
preserved the sarae purity of conduct, and
tbe same attachment to learning. The un
corrupt and ardent spirit of patriotism,
which had led him, in the earlier part ofhis
life, resolutely to brave the loss of fortune,
and death itself, in the service of his coun
try, now remained undiminished, in spite
of personal raortifications, and the ingrati
tude of those whora his public conduct
had obliged. The testimony of an ap
proving conscience was his reward; and
his time passed, as we have seen, in an
agreeable variety of occupations, divided
between the engagements of his office as
one of the directors of finance, his books,
his friends, and in the bosom of a rising
family. His reputation and fame were
established on firra grounds ; and he pos
sessed an affluent fortune.
The Cardinal Joyeuse died in l6l5.
Upon his death-bed he wrote an affecting
letter, addressed jointly to Thuanus and
his wife, naming them his executors : it
is dated Avignon, Aug. 23d.

Ml 62.] THUANUS. <243
Heinsius, who appears to have enter
tained a most sincere respect for our Au
thor, though personally unacquainted
with him, and whose letters are the most
ekgMit in the collection, wrote to him
this year a letter, dated the Hague, Sep
tember 6, which contains the followin|,^
compliment :
" An age w^iU, without doubt, arrive,
in which an unbiassed judgment will be
formed of our times ; which will scruti
nize our vs^ritings without partiality,
which will attribute all that weight to
truth, which now attaches to personal in
fluence. An appeal to this judgment be
longs only to those who now have to
struggle against envy, which attacks not
imlgar souls while living, and cannot
taint the memory ofthe great when dead.
For ray part, when I reflect on your cha
racter, and that greatness of raind which
you possess, and w^hich posterity w^ill be
hold interwoven, as in an attic veU, in
that plendid raonuraent you have ra's:d
- R 2

244 ' THE LIFE OF [iSld,
(I mean your history), I declare I would
willingly take to myself the envy of all
who are now enemies of truth, provided
I could share the hundredth part of that
praise which the friends of truth owe to
you, and will continue to owe as long as
any regard for that virtue shall exist in
the world. If the Almighty does not
mean to visit mankind in w^rath, believe
me, there will always be persons who
will be disgusted with the hypocri--
tical and fallacious statements of the
timesy and will admire the more the con
trast forraed by your incorruptible fidelity.
They will see that neither the general
schisra in religion, nor the particular pre
judices of opinion to which vre are all
subject by birth and education, (and which
are a heavy burden and yoke, that not
one man in a thousand extricates hiraself
frora, even so far as to be able to form
a right judgment of his neighbour), they
will see that neither these circumstances,
nor the avithority of princes haye cast any

ML 63.] THUANUS. 245
cloud before your eyes, which might have
prevented your discerning the truth ; and
that you have not been impressed, by them
with any fear or apprehension, but have
boldly expressed the sentiments which you
judiciously conceived,"
The year l6i6 was attended with the
nK)st melancholy events to Thuanus^ both
of a public" and of a domestic nature.
" Mary de Medicis, who governed the
kingdom during the minority of her son,
Lewis XIIL, was entirely guided by the
opinion of Concini, an Italian of low
origin. She created him Marquis d' Ancre,
and all the honours and eraoluments of
the state' were at his disposal, and that of
his wife; who possessed such unUmited in
fluence over the Queen's mind, that she
was considered by the populace as a sor
ceress. General discontents arose through
out the* country in consequence of the
bad administration of affairs, and insurrec:-
tions took place in many parts. The
|*rince of Conde, the Duke of Bouillon,

2-4>6 THE LIFE OF [l6l6,
and other nobles retired from cpurt, and
assembled troops with the avowed design
of obtaining a change in the King's
councils, and the Protestants joined thera.
Many conferences were held for the
purpose of restoring tranquUUty and
preventing civil war, and articles of peace
w^ere at last signed and ratified at Loudun,
Thuanus was one of the coraraissioners on
the occasion ; and a long letter is extant
written by him frpm that place to his
friend Thumeri. That he w^as not very
favourable to the Queen's ministers may
be gathered from the appellations he as
signs to them: .he calls ViUeroi "The
Debtor," on the supposition that he had
in a great measure occasioned the war,
and therefore peace was a debt he owed
the nation. He styles the Chancellor
Sillery, " A Fox,"" and the MarshaJi
d'Ancre's wife, " Canidia," ¦ He com>?
plains in this letter of an indisposition
which had affected hira for nine raonths,
and of being torraented with frequent

^t. 63.] THUANUS, 247
attacks of cholic pains; and, notwith
standing the ratification of peace, he
argues gloonuly of the state of the
country. The joining with these comraissioners
was the last public act of our Author's
Ufe, and is particularly congenial to his
character, which always led him to pro
mote peace. The restoration of national
tranquUUty^eemed not then to rest on very
secure grounds, and this thought occasion
ed hira to feel great and serious disquietude.
Shortly after the conference at Loudun^
he was dooraed to experience a domestic
calamity of the severest kind, in the loss
of his second wife, who died in the thirty-
ninth year of ber age, after haying been
united to hira fourteen years. On this
mournful occasion a letter, in Latin, was
addressed to hira by Daniel Heinsius,
which, though the language is in sorae
places, perhaps, too poetical, is not un
worthy to be corapared with the cele
brated letter pf Seyvius Sulpicius to Cipera

24S THE- LIFE OF [1616,
on the death of his daughter Tullia. A
coraparison of these two corapositions
with each other will also shew hpw rauch
superior and raore ^olid are the grounds
of consolation in affliction, which our re
ligion presents, to those with which unr
assisted reason furnished the ancients,
The heathen reasons in this manner: —
" Every thing on earth partakes of a fragile
and perishable condition ; and great cities
and empires themselves are subject to
dissolution. What, therefore, is man,
that he.should grieve because he and those
who are dear to hira are not exempt from
the common lot of mortality.^" On the
other hand, the Christian, in addition to
such arguments as these, comforts his
friend, by assuring him that she whom
he loved ha,s attained a state of happiness
not subject to interruption or decay ; and
that he hiraself may hereafter both wit
ness and participate this happiness.
Heinsius begins the letter, to which I
am a-Uuding, by stating, that he had heard.

ML 63.] THUANUS, 243
frora coramon report, of the great loss
sustained by Thuanus, who filled so dis
tinguished a situation, that every event
which occurred to him was soon notorious,
even in foreign countries. He reminds
hira that posterity, viewing his works
with adrairation and delight, would be
desirous of knowing the character of the
author hiraself, and whether or not he
endured affliction with fortitude.
He confesses, when he first received
the information that so great a raisfortune
had befallen a person whora he had long
considered an object of the highest vene
ration, he was struck with sorrow and
dejection. He could not but reflect upon
the general happiness proraoted among
mankind by the conjugal union, which is
so congenial and so necessary to their con
dition. He reflected on the particular
circumstances of the present case, viz,
that Thuanus ^vas returning home from
^ troublesorae commission, feeble in body

250 THE LIFE OP [1618.
and depressed in raind, anxious to seek
relief in the tender attentions of his wife,
and in the suggestions of her raature
judgraent. The society of his children,
too, formerly a source of the highest
pleasure, M^ould now only revive the. sad
recollection of their raother.
Heinsius, by this preamble, appears
desirous of shewing that he sensibly felt
the whole extent of his friend's misfor
tune. He then proceeds ; " After indulg
ing in these reflections (for I never havp
approved ' that iron-hearted wisdpm of
the Stoics), I began on the other hand to
consider your character," He considered
that. Thuanus had imbibed, " with his
piilk,'-' those precepts which inculcate a
contempt of life and of the inconstancy
of fortune ; that " after the completion of
his early studies, he had been convert
sant, not only with books, but with
raen and manners, and all the vicis
situdes of life, in the court and in the

Ml 63.] THUANUS. 251
senate." He knew hiiu to have been born
in a country, the people of which excel
in talents, learning and judgment ; in a
country, that had for the greater part of
a century, been exposed to the most dread
ful civil wars, of which religion was the
pretext, and ambition the cause. He
knew hira to have been an eye-witness of
too raany of these cpntests, comrao
tions, and raassacres. " Turn your eyes,"
he suddenly exclaims, " to that period
w^hen the erapire itself was widowed
^nd desolate, in consequence of the loss
of the great Henry, the delight not of one
nation only, but of mankind ; who in one
and the same instant of time was the fa
vourite of fortune and a corpse. Think
ofthe towns, lands, and possessions, which
have been laid waste, and tom from the
proprietors ! think of the raen of princi
ple who have resigned, or have been dri'^
yen from, their condition in society ; last-?.
ly of your country itself, which lay a spoil
and prey at the feet pf the contending

25a THE LIFE OF [I6l6,
parties, and is still agitated, like the sea
after a storm. If amidst these surround
ing calamities, you have only to lament
your present loss, truly you are more for
tunate than many others. You have in
deed experienced the greatest of domestic
afflictions in the loss of your wife ; but
it is nevertheless a misfortune, to which
all are exposed, and which in fact raany in
the single city of Paris raust daily suffer,
Alas ! how raany lose their country ?
How many erainent and virtuous charac
ters, and of equal rank with yourself have
been expelled by an ungrateful country,
which forgot their services !
" I will not adduce exaraples frora Plu*
tarch, Tivy, and Xenophon. Thuanus, in
his admirable memoirs of the times, af
fords rae sufficient examples, I do not
speak of the Scipios, the Coriolani, the
CarailU, but of those illustrious characters
whom you have immortalized. For in
stance, that great man De L'Hppital, if hp'
pould rise from the peaceful grave, might

Ml 63.] THUANUSi 253
be iraagined to address you, by whose la
bors he still survives, and to exhort you
by his own example, ' You have lost,'
thus he raight say, ' an admirable wife, and
worthy of yourself. Does this then ap
pear to you an uncommon event ? Have
you no consideration for the state, emi
nent as you are, and so iraportant a raem
ber of it ? If your country is safe, let
that be your consolation : if it is destroyed
andextinct, the extent of your lossis dimi
nished." Imagine that in similar lan
guage, all the celebrated and excellent
men who now survive, entreat you to be
reconciled to God, to your country, to
your books, especially your own immortal
works, and lastly to yourself. You may
indeed reflect that you are deprived of a
consort of extraordinary merit, the delight
of your life; but when you have thus
considered, add that you are a man born
to eminence, an example of learning and
wisdom. Think then, what she has lost;
—nothing but what is most painful to you

iJ54 THE LIFE OF [1616,
and all good men, a country, the prosper*
ity of which is decUning : think what
she has gained ; a life exposed to no mis
fortune, a kingdom torn by no factiohs,
governed by one king imraortal and eter
nal ; the company of the holy angels, of
the blessed Martyrs, of Jesus Christ, You
aspire to this happiness yourself: do not
therefore grieve that she enjoys it before
you, "The world has seen in you a model of
candor, generosity, erudition ; it now ex
pects a lesson of fortitude,"
Arasterdam, August; 1616.
Soon after the death of his wife, Thu
anus made his will :*
"In the narae of the holyand undi'-
vided Trinity,"
He begins by stating that the death of
his wife, younger than hiraself, adrao-
nishes hira, the greatest of sinners, to think
seriously of his own.
* The original will be found in tbe Ajipendix, No; IV.

Ml 63.] THUANUS. 253
He first thanks God that he was born of
reUgious parents, and that he has been
brought up in the true faith of Christ, by
which alone salvation can be obtained.
He professes that he has lived in this
faith, and prays for the grace of the Holy
Spirit that he raay die in the sarae, and be
immediately received into Abraham's bo
som. He appoints guardians to his children.
He wishes his goods and costly furni-
. ture not to be sold, but divided araong his
heirs. His valuable Ubrary, the collection of
forty years, he forbids to be sold; but
leaves it to his sons, for their use, and that
of the literary world. And until they
grow up, coraraits it to the care of Peter
Du Puy.
He requests the sarae friend, in conjunc
tion with Nicholas Rigaltius, to watch
over their education.
He leaves to their care also the prepared
edition of his history ; and all his other
compositions.

256 THE LIFE OF [16l7j
He requests his wife's sisters to take
part in superintending the education of his
children; and particularly to pay attention
to the daughters, whether in marrying
thera, or giving them the veil, which he
forbids to be done before the legal age, or
by Constraint.
He desires to be buried near his vs^ife,,
whora he says, " he pan never narne with-c.
out expressions of honor, and a sense of
the bitterest sorrow."
These are the concluding words of , the
Willi " I, Jarae:^ Augustus Thuanus,
being of sound health, but like a Chris
tian, intent upOn the thoughts of death,
as if it were just approaching, h^ve writ-.
ten and subscribed this with my own hand.
Done in the house of the illustrious Achil
les du Harlay, formerly the raost .worthy..
President of . the Parliament, my sister's
husband : whither I had retired, for the
benefit and comfort of solitude, under my
present affliction."
Dated July 1 3, l0i6.

ML 63.] THUANUS, 257
Though Thuanus here describes himBclf
to be in good health, yet the vigour of his
constitution seeras to have been irapaired,
by the shocks he had experienced which
affected his raind, rather than by a natural
decay. He shortly fell into a lingering
and fatal illness ; which his physician
Renaulrae de Blois, describes to have been
occasioned by an obstruction that had
been forming in the Uver for sorae years,
and impeded digestion. His studious and
sedentary habits, and depression of spirits,
encreased the disorder of his stomach,
and produced scirrhous tumours. The
glands were hardened, and refused to per
form their functions, and the patient was
thrown into a fever, and subject to acute
pains ; the paroxysms of which were so
severe, as to deprive him in sorae raeasure
of his natural patience and resolution.
The faculties of his mind must have
remained unimpaired to the last ; for the
following Iambic verses are datai on the
day of bis death, which took place May 7,

S58 THE LIFE OF [1617,
1617, ten months after the death of his
wife: Vigesimus praleriit et centesimus
Dies, reclini corpore ex quo in cellula
Humili recumbo, sternor aut supra lorum j
Tandemque plane clinicus jaceo domi.
Inter dolores languidum corpus trahens,
Pejor priore semper et sequens fuit,
Tentata, le mohente, tiequicquam omnia.
Amice Thumeri, debeo cui vitam hactenus.
Asclepiadum cessit in vanum labor :
Frustra rogatus et bonus Renealmius
Peculiaris abdila artis pandere,
Stertit profundum nocte, dum crucior miser.
Quid jam ampliusmoramur in lerrestribus
Graviora morbo el experimur remedia?
Tentanda caelo per pias preces via :
Nee vita tanti est, tamdiii, ut vivas, mori.
" A hundred and twenty days have
now passed, since I have been stretched in
a recumbent posture, either on a low couch,
or on my bed. I am now quite unable to
rise through languor; and as I thus drag on
ray existence in pain, every day is worse
than the preceding. By your advice,
my beloved Thumeri, to whom I hitherto

*t. 64.] THUANUS. 259
owe ray life, all remedies have been tried
in vain : in vain has the good Renaulm
been solicited to eraploy the raore rayste
rious powers of his art. He sleeps pro
foundly, while I alas ! pass the nights in
tbrraent. Why should I linger stUl upon
earth, and continue to try reraedies, which
are worse than the disease ? Rather let
rae strive by pious prayers to attain Hea
ven : that life, which approaches to the
likeness of death, is not worth preser-
• 99
ving. Rigaltius, in the life of Du Puy, has
this passage : " Tiraes arose pregnant
with opinions, equally defective in sense
and probity, and indiscriminately ap
plied to good and evil. This caused
disgust and chagrin to Thuanus, who was
always impatient of the attacks of ca
lumny and raalice. Scarce arrived at old
age, as yet firra in raental and bodily vi
gor, a burden to none but hiraself, he
was overpowered by the additional afflic
tion caused by his wife's death, and died,
s 2

269 THE LIFE OF [l6lf^
ten months after her, of a scirrhous tu
mour in the stomach, which turned to a
gangrene," Du Puy in a letter to Camden, dated
June 38th, 1O17, says "His mind is so
depressed by the death of Thuanus, that
solitude alone is acceptable to bim. Alas I
he is gone, the lurainary of France and of
Europe, whose breast was the seat of can
dor, probity, and erudition." In the zeal
of friendship, he adds, " Now nothing but
barbarism is left, particularly in our coun
try, where we are slaves to fallacious ap
pearances, and neglect, and even despise
true raerit." Camden says " that the
history is encreasing in reputation in Eng
land, and that his copy of it is scarcely
ever at home," He sends sorae verses
composed on the occasion of his friend's
death, though he describes himself as
" not born a favorite of the Muses (Mu
sis arridentibus,)" Other learned men in
different parts of Europe paid similar tri^
butes of respect to our Author'? mempry.

Ml 64.] THUANUS. S6l
and besides Caraden's, there are verses
written by Raphael Thorius, Salraasius,
and Heinsius; and a Greek idyl, in the
Doric dialect, the author of which is not
naraed. The poera of Heinsius, entitled
the " Apotheosis of Thuanus," is the best
in the coUection, but is too long to be in
serted. It opens w^ith an account that
Thuanus, immediately after his death,.
was transported to Olympus :
Quo postquam maxima rerum
Qua: nunc sidereos inter Dea volvitur axes,
Justitia aspexit venientem, occurrit, el omnem
Splendore insolito assurgens implevil Olympum.
Justice, first of created things, wjjQ there
Presides a Goddess, 'mid the heav'nly sphere.
Arose to meet her fav'rite, while around.
Unusual splendor iiU'd Olympus' bound.
Rehgion and Liberty greet his arrival :
Slabant et casto, Juveni sua gaudia, Musje,
|JoH quas Pindus alii, nee quas Parnassia rypes ;
Sed quales Solyine, magnarum consci^ rerum^
Ante omnes, gremioque suo produxit Idume.

262 THE LIFE OF [1617,
The Muse was there, who first inspir'd his yoiith.
Not from Parnassus, but allied to truth.
Holy and pure, from Solyma she came ;
Sacred her theme, and touch'd wilh heav'nly flame.
The Poet turns to a description of
Thuanus's character and the honorable
avocations of his life, which we have al
ready had occasion to quote in part:
Quaecunque sevo memoranda priori,
Et praesens defuncta malis ingentibus aetas
Perlulit, aut fati domitrix dedil ignea Virtus,
Laudum argumenta magnarum, et grandia coepta,
Mandabat chartis ; seque intexebat et illis.
The memorable deeds of former limes.
And those, which, struggling thro' a mass of crimes.
The present age, superior to its fate,
Achiev'd, with Virtue's ardent power elate ;
These themes of mighty import he recites.
And his own merits shine forth, as he writes.
The poem finishes with allusions to
the happiness which the subject of it en
joys in his everlasting abode.
The two executors our Author named
in his wUl, were faithful and vigilant in

.^t. 64.] THUANUS. 263
discharging the trust coramitted to them,
both in regard to the care of his writings
and of his family. Before we enter into
a detail of circumstances relative to the
posthumous publication of his history,
or an exaraination of its general raerits,
it raay be proper to give a brief account
of our Author's faraily and of the fate of
his library,
Thuanus left six children, three sons
and three daughters, the eldest of whom
w^as not more than ten years of age. The
daughters, when arrived at maturity, raar
ried into respectable farailies.
Francis Augustus, thp eldest son, ap
plied to the study of the law, and rose to
be a Counsellor of State, and Master of
the Requests. Unfortunately he becarae
privy to the conspiracy against the State,
which M. de Cinq Mars, in concert with
the Dukes d'Orleans and de Bouillon,
Princes of the blood, projected in 1642.
The plot, though in reality directed against
the exorbitant and invidious power of Car-

264 ., THE LIFE OF [l6ir
dinal Richelieu, araounted to high trea
son; and young Thuanus, being treated
as an accomplice in it, was beheaded at
Lyons, September I2th, l642. He was
in his 36th year, and suffered with great
fortitude. It has been asserted, perhaps without
sufficient grounds, that Richelieu instiga
ted this apt of severity, in revenge of an
unfavorable but just character of his un
cle, which had appeared in the history of
Thuanus. Voltaire speaks of this transaction in
the following* terms: " Thuanus, who
was only accused of having known the
conspiracy, and who - had disapproved of
itj was condemned to death, because he
had not revealed it. In vain he repre
sented that it was irapossible for him to
haye proved his deposition; and that if he
had accused the King's brother of high
treason, without being able to prove the
¦- - -. ,.ll ¦¦-  -  .J^....— - II |»i . .H... I.I .T-l .1 ¦¦ !¦¦¦ IIHIWI..
* See his Moeurs, Vol. 4, p. 121,

:Et,64.] THUANUS. S65.
crirae, he should have deserved death
rauch raore. This clear justification was
not adraitted by the Cardinal, who \^as
his personal eneray. The Judges con
deraned hira by virtue of a law made by
Lewis Xlth, whose name alone is suffi
cient to shew that the law was cruel."
Huygens, father of the great matheraa
tician and astronoraer, raade the follow
ing distich upon this young raan's punish-
raent: O Legum subtile nefas, quibus inter amicos
Nolle fidem frustra prodere, proditio est.
The play of words is not translatable,
but the thought is: " How unjust is the
subtUty of those laws, which raake it
treason iri a raan, not to corarait a use
less breach of faith towards his friend,"
AchiUes Augustus, the second son of
our Historian, was a CounseUor in the
Parliaraent of Bretany, and died in 1035.
James Augustus, the youngest son, na
med after his father, died in 1677, aged

iSS THE LIFE OF [1617,
69. He made additions to hiis father's li
brary, as Du Puy had also done during the
minority of the children, and imitated his
attentions to learned raen, who continued
their meetings at his house. He went em
bassador to the Hague from Lewis XIV.
in 1 60 1 , and seems to have behaved with
great spirit there in a dispute with the
Spanish embassador. Living abroad in a
style of great splendor, which he thought
necessary in order to support the dignity
of his Court, he injured his fortune. In
order to defray his debts, he was indu
ced, with great regret, to make a propo
sal of selling the library, that had belong
ed to his father, to the King, for the use
of the Dauphin. This proposal was made
through the intervention of the learned
Huet, Bishop of Avranches, who was
preceptor, under Bossuet, to the Dau
phin; but, the offer being declined on the
part of the King, this raagnificent collec
tion came to public sale after the death
of the owner.
I

Ml 64.] THUANUS, 267
After this event a catalogue of the
books, digested by James and Peter Du
Puy, M^as published by Joseph Quesnel, a
librarian at Paris,^in l07g. In a preface
to it, he expatiates on the great care and
expense that had attended the forming
of this collection, and particularly adds
that the charge of fitting it up alone, (ad
solara corapactionera,) had amounted to
the sura of 20,000 crowns, about four
thousand pounds.
A letter frora Grasvius, dated May 7 th,
1O80, alludes to the sale ; and it is added,
that the books were disposed of, for less
money than the bindings of them had cost
Thuanus. The Bishop of Avranches mentioned
above, in his commentaries, published in
1718, confirms this statement. He says,
that the Ubrary was sold to satisfy the
demands of the embassador's creditors ;
and that though 100,000 livres had been
expended upon the arrangement and de-

268 THE LIFE OF [l6l7,
coration of the books, (in compingendis
et concinne ac suraptuose convestiendis
libris) they did not produce one third part
of that sum.
The following passage is taken from
" Melanges de Litterature," by M. de
Vigneul-Mvilie, vol . i, p. 20. Ed. Paris,
1725. " The family of Thuanus and the Cu
rators of his library, went to the expense
of having one copy or more of every valu
able work pubUshed in Europe, printed
on particularly fine paper raade for the
purpose ; and they soraetiraes selected the
choicest leaves from two or three differ
ent copies or editions. The President
Menars, and after him the Cardinal de
Rohan, purchased the collection, that it
raight still be preserved entire."
Buckley, whose edition of Thuanus has
been so often referred to, has added this
inforraation upon the present subject, viz,
that the Minister Colbert bought the ma-

ML 64.] THUANUS. -269
nuscripts, which, in the year 1730, were
purchased and deposited in the King's
Library at Paris,
Unfortunately for the interests of lite
rature, the library of Thuanus has proba
bly long since been dispersed, and if not
destroyed, exists no more as an uniform
collection. The last of his descendants
whora I find mentioned, was an Abbe,
son of the embassador, who was Uving
at Paris at the time of the publication of
Buckley's edition.- He bore the narae of
his father and grandfather, Jaraes Augus
tus; and in his person apparently termi
nated the faraUy of Thuanus, which,
though distinguished through a long line
of genealogy, has received the brightest
ornament of its reputation from the pen
of our Historian.
Thuanus was buried at Paris, in the cha
pel belonging to his faraily in the church
of St. Andrew of the Arches ; a raonuraent
between those ofhis two wives, was erect".
ed to him, with this inscription ;

270 THE LIFE OF [1617,
" Jacobo Augusto Thuano Christophori
filio, in regni conciliis assessori ; amplissi-
mi Senatiis Praesidi ; literarum, quae res
divinas & humanas araplectuntur, raagno
bonorura & eruditorura consensu, peritis-
simo; variis legationibus surama sincerita-
te ac probitate functo ; viris principibus
jevo suo laudatissimis eximife culto; His
toriarum scriptori, quod ipsa; passim lo-
quuntur, celeberrimo ; Christianae pietatis
antiquee retinentissirao, Vlxit annos 63,
Menses 0, dies 29,
Obiit Lutetiae Parisiorum
Nonis Maii, 161 7.
Parcissime censuisse videtur, qui tali viro
saeculum defuisse dixit.
" To the Memory of James Augustus
Thuanus, son of Christopher ; one of the
King's Privy Counsellors ; President a Mor
tier in the Parliament of Paris; a pro
found Theologian and Scholar, in the es
tiraation of worthy and learned men ;
successfully employed in various public

ML 64.] THUANUS. 271
comraissions, and with the highest repu
tation for sincerity and probity; caressed
by those raen in power w^ho bore the best
character in his tirae ; the author of a his
tory, w^hose merit is so weU known as to
need no praise ; and firmly attached to the
primitive Christian faith. He lived 63
years, six raonths, 29 days ; and died at
Paris, May 7th, 1617. It appears to be a
very inadequate etdogy, to affirm that he
was superior to the age in which he
lived." Our Author's character bears consider
able resemblance in raany points to that
of Lord Clarendon; and there is a remark
able coincidence in raany leading circum
stances of their lives. Each was born of
a good faraily, and raised himself by rae
rit to a station of the highest dignity in
the legal profession : each was the object
of his widowed mother's partial affection,
and indebted to her bounty for an early
establishment in life. Both, in tempes
tuous times, were firm adherents to the
Crown, and confidential ministers to two

272 THE LIFE OF [1617,
sovereigns; both experienced an unjust
reverse of favor, and were exposed to the
aspersions and ridicule of dissipated and
licentious courts. Lastly, each composed
a history of his own times, in a style of
singular candor and raoderation.
The parallel between these two illus
trious characters raight be farther ex
tended to their exemplary raoral and re
ligious habits, Thuanus was accused by
the Papists of his tirae, of ineli^iing to
Protestantism : and the author of his epi
taph thinks it necessary to say that he
adhered firraly "to the ancient Christian
faith," Ancient is a very moderate word,
if applied by a meraber of the church of
Rorae, to his own establishment; and
proves that the Protestants had begun to
obtain some consideration and respect.
But it is very probable that the word
" ancient," is here meant to refer to the
priraitive. Apostolic usages.
From the attention our Author employ
ed to pfbcure a republication of Occam's
Works, from raany passages in his his-

Ml 64.] THUANUS, 27»
tory, and from the opposition he invaria
bly raade. to the Papal claim of dominion
over the church and kingdom of France,
it is evident, that he did not assent to the
doctrine; of the Pope's infallibUity and su
premacy in temporal things. This fact is
farther proved, by a preface written by
Le Fevre to Thuanus's History of the
Council of Trent, published separately
from his great work. Le Fevre, address
ing his friend, says, " You wish to know
what opinion is to, be forraed of the Coun
cil of Trent,, the authority of which we
have for . forty years hesitated to admit.
I know that you are attached to all the
articles of primitive faith ; and therefore,
your difficulty must lie with regard to
the use of the keys, the dispensation of
benefices, the morals of ecclesiastics, the
power of the court . of Rome, and other
matters of this kind, which the council
has determined upon," Le Fevre is too
prudent to express his own opinion, but
the passage ascertains our Author's doubts
T

874 THE LIFE OF [1617,
It is also evident that Thuanusdisapp roved
persecution, and did not believe that those
who dissented from the Church of Rome
were excluded from all hope of salvation.
These two tenets, of the Papal infallibi
lity, and of the final perdition of all who
are not of the Romish Coramunion, have,
perhaps, never been strongly raaintained
by sensible and humane Romanists. They,
indeed, bear no relation to the Gospel of
Christ ; but it must be allowed that th^are
powerful instruments to sway the minds
of the multitude, and have actuaUy been
at the root of the most dreadful tumults
and excesses.
If Thuanus was not a good Papist,
we may be allowed to caU him a good
Christian ; for his sincerity in religion cmi-
not be doubted by those who attend to
the language he uses. It is probable that
he saw many errors in the Church of
Rome, and wished that it might silentLjr
reform the abuses that had crept into it,
ar.d thus obviate schism and contention.

Ml 64.] THUANUS. 275
His poUtical principles were of the
purest kind. Fortune, dignity, life itself,
were never by him put in corapetition
with his duty and the suggestions of his
conscience. The irabeciUty of King
Henry III. did not raake him desert his
eause in diffieirlty, nor was he detached
from it by the inviting smiles and profes
sions of the Duke of Guise. Yet was his
service given raore to his country than to
the monarch. He always raaintained the
independence of the parhament ; and, in
a memorable passage of his preface, ex
horts the amiable Henry IV, to remember
" that Frenchmen were all servants of the
laws, in order that they raight be free."
Learned hiraself, he was a raunificent
patron of literature ; and, by his lavish
praises of scholars, seems to have enter
tained a predilection for poUte learning,
above any other attainment. His talents,
if ndt of the first-rate, were directed to the
best purposes, with sound judgment and
unwearied application^
t2

276 THE LIFE OF [l6l7.
His conduct, in private life, was raost
amiable and attractive. We may wish
for more familiar and rainute particulars
and anecdotes of his manners and disposi
tion ; but it is sufficiently evident that he
was without any disguise or concealraent,
of great simplicity, plain, sincere, and af
fectionate. He was a tender husband and
a provident father ; and it is pleasing to ob
serve, from his will, that he would not
have his daughters forced to take the veil
against their inclinations.
Those who wish to be acquainted with
the shades of our Author's character, will
perhaps discover that he felt a too great
consciousness of his own merit, which
made the gravity of his manners appear
formal and unbending, and sometiraes de
generated into expressions of vanity and
pride. Though in raost respects superior
to the idle prejudices of the age in which
he lived, he was a believer in omens and
presages ; and the following singular in
stance is recorded of his unsuspicious cre
dulity :

ML 64.] THUANUS. S77
In the reign of King Henry II, it was
reported that an Indian came to Paris,
bringing with him a wonderful stone,
which is thus described (in Latin) by Fer-
nelius, a gentleman who was about the
court at that time : " The stone shines
with the splendor of light itself, and,
darting its rays around, fills the air with
its beams. Leaving the earth, it leaps
spontaneously upwards. It cannot be re
strained, but requires a free and ample
space ; it has the greatest purity and
brightness, and retains no dirt or pollu
tion. It has no fixed form, but frequently
changes its appearance. It is unsafe to
handle ; but is useful, and even necessary
for raany purposes of Ufe," This fanciful
description, which is an enigma, signifying
fire, deceived Thuanus, and he had the
misfortune to insert in his history some
incidental account of the supposed rarity ;
but the passage was afterwards expunged.
To be gratified with the incense of
flattery is so general a tendency of human

278 THE LIFE OF THUANUS. [1617.
nature, that it can hardly be ascribed as
a pecuUar failing to Thuanus.
His weaknesses never amounted to
vice ; but the energy he possessed was all
employed on the side of virtue. So severe
and nice were his principles, that he seems
unwilling to allow that he regarded in
any action the praise even of good and
wise men ; but endeavoured to regulate
his whole conduct upon religious motives.
He was uniform and consistent in the
practice of virtue ; and was one of the
few * " of whora to record the truth is
their best praise," The words which
Tacitus applies to the expression of Agri-
cola's coiratenance, raay, with some pro
priety, be adopted in summing up the
general character of Thuanus, " Bonum
virum facile dixeris, magnura libenter :"
" You pronounce him without hesitation
to haye been a good man ; you feel will
ing to rank him araong the great."
* Sir W, Forbes's Life of Beattie, Vol. 2, p. 342.

OU THE
HISTORY OF THUANUS.

We have already bad dCcasion to ols-
serve, that our Autfior, himself, publish
ed dighty books ot his history- at differ
ent times. The first publication was in
folio, from the widow .*Fatisson's pfesS
at Paris; it came forth in l604, and doh-
tained the preface, and a narration of
events from the year 1546 to I560, in
e^hteen books.
This work was, in a second edition,
divided into tWenty-srx books : and, in
1606, twenty-three additional books Were
published from the press of two brother^,
named Drouart, which brought the his
tory down to the year 1572.
Thuanus continued to publish additions
to his history in 1607 and 1609, Wheri it
* She was a daughter of the celebrated Robert
Stephens.

280 ON THE HISTORY
was completed to the year 1584, in eighty
books, and formed four volumes in folio,
from the press of Drouart,
This portion of the work was also
printed in 8yo and 12rao at Frankfort
and at. Pant, during-the Author's lifetime.
On account of the violent clamour
raised by the Papists ,and Jesuits against
the history, which we have noticed in the
account of his life, he never ventured to
pubUsh more than these eighty books ; but .
was engaged in revising thera again for
the press, when death put a period to hi^
labors, in 1617, One volume only of
this new edition was completed and print
ed by Robert Stephens (son of the cele
brated author of the Thesaurus), who
published it at Paris, in 16 18, with a pre
face of his own, in which he notes some
errors of the Frankfort printers, and em
ploys many Latin phrases to stigmatize
them as * " obstinate blockheads," Ste-
* Is fuit praeduri capitis stupor, ut peryicacit^F
obsurduerit, &c.

OF THUANUS, 281
phens's preface alludes also to a design
of pubUshing the whole history, " when
the truth should no longer be unpalata
ble," i.
In 1619 the eighty books were again
edited at Paris, in duodecimo; and no
part of the original work has since been
printed in France,
Thuanus, by his will, left a copy of his
entire history prepared for the press,
(paratam editionera), to the care of Du
Puy and Rigaltius, in case he died before
it should be published ; and he requests
thera to consult with two brothers of the
jiame of St, Marthe on the subject, who, he
says, had already rendered him material
assistance. Our Author was happy in
the choice of his friends, for they seem
to have executed the trust reposed in
thera with equal fidelity, zeal, and judg
ment, Frora the odiura the first part of
the work had incurred, and the power
which those who conderaned it possessed,
its publication was an undertaking of no

282 ON THE HISTORY
small difficulty, and required very deUcate
manageraent. The executors found they could not
print the MS. at Paris ; and, therefore,
concealing any share they had in the trans
action, they privately sent it to Lingel*
shiem, at Geneva, with whose attachraent
to our Author the reader has been already
made acquainted. Lingelshiera superin
tended the printing of the work at the
Geneva press ; and, in order still farther
to screen Rigaltius and Du Puy, he pub
lished it with a preface, which states that
he had in vain waited for an editicm of
Thuanus's history frora the hands of his
executors, and therefore deterrained t6
publish a copy transmitted to him from
the Author, As if these precautions
were insufficient, it was thought expedi
ent to dissemble the real narae of the
place frora whence the work issued, and
Orieans was substituted instead of Geneva,
as raay be now seen in the title page of
the first editions. This project is disclosed

OF THUANUS, 283
by Lingelsheim to Hugo Grotius, in a
letter dated Heidelberg, l6l8.
Under all these disadvantages, the His
tory of Thuanus, coraplete in one hundred
and thirty-eight books, was first publidi-
ed in 1620, together with the addition of
six books of raemoirs of his life.
Though the executors thought it im
prudent openly to appear concerned in
this affair, they were by no means forget
ful of the obUgation incumbent upon
them to fulfil the wishes of their deceased
friend; but were vigilant in discharging
it to the utmost of their power. They
possessed an autograph of the history;
and each separately corapared the Geneva
edition with this manuscript, and raade
his own reraarks, corrections and addi
tions. Their labour and attention did
not cease at this point : Du Puy published,
in a concise forra, a judicious and spirited
defence of the history against the ca
luranies of it's eneraies ; and, with the
assistance of his brother James, made an

284 ON THE HISTORY
index, or clavis, of the proper names.
Rigaltius, besides furnishing a preface to
the memoirs, added a continuation of three
books to the history, and brought it down
to the death of Henry IV. in ]6l0, ac
cording to the author's original design.
Another edition came out at Frankfort,
and a second at Geneva, which was begun
in 1626, and finished in l630. Rigal
tius and Du Puy carefully, though clan
destinely, revised the press; but the text is
said to differ little frora the first Geneva
edition of 1620.
In both, the volurae published by
Robert Stephens was taken as an authentic
standard as far as it went, because it had
received the author's own correction.
But in all these publications, some pas
sages (chiefly relating to the Popes), were
omitted, which had appeared iri the earliest
edition, by Patisson's widow, which were
found in the autograph, and which Rigal
tius and Du Puy inserted in their collec
tion of not^ and emendations.

OF THUANUS. 285
. Copies of this collection were dispersed
. throughout Europe, and sorae found their
way to Holland, England, and even to
Copenhagen, Frora one of these one
Abraham Wicfort published, at Amster
dam, in 1663, a small work in duodecirao,
entitled " Thuanus Restitutus," which is
accounted very defective and incorrect.
The Geneva editions, though the text is
correct, are unpleasant to read, as there
are no breaks in the pages, no notes, index,
or explanations of any kind : and it was
not without reason that a better edition
of the history, and one more correspond
ent to its merit, was thought necessary in
the learned world. The credit of pre
paring such a pubUcation was reserved for
an Englishman,
Our learned historian, Thomas Carte,
being exposed to a charge of high- treason
on account of his attachment to Bishop
Atterbury and the Stuart faraily, fled to
France in the year 1722, and remained
at Paris six years, under the assumed narae

286 ON THE HISTORY
of PhiUps. In order, he says himself, to
avoid an idle life, which was his aversion,
and to engage in some raeritorious lite
rary employment, he directed his thoughts
to Thuanus's history, and first entertained
the design of translating it into English.
He found it expedient, however, to alter
his intention, and preferred engaging in
preparing for the press a full and correct
edition of the original text. He gives the
foUowing account of his unwearied dili
gence in the prosecution of this task.
He had access to two original raanu
scripts of the history, one of which was
deposited in the King's Library, and the
other in the Library of the Fathers of the
Oratory, in the Seminary of St, Magloire.
" The MS. in the King's Library,"
says Carte, " consists of six voluraes in
folio. The two first, as appears frora a
note in the title page, are in the hand
writing of Thuanus hiraself, and contain
almost twenty-two books, according to
the present division. An hiatus then oc-

OF THUANUS. 287
curs, for the continiiiatian opens with the
eighty first book. The third, fourth,
and fifth volumes were written by the
brothers St. Marthe, and they complete
the narration without interruption to the
end of the 126th book.
" The sixth volume which finishes the
history in 138 books, is again an auto
graph: but the hand-writing of Thuanus
never very legible, is here so smaU and in
distinct, that the characters cannot be read
without the greatest strain to the sight,
and in innumerable passages glasses are
necffisary. The sheets of this last volurae
were besides separate frora each other, and
thrown in disorder ; but it raust be consi
dered extreraely precious, for there is no
other manuscript copy extant of the last
twelve books,"
The decyphering of this text was of
course a work of tirae and iraraense la
bour ; but no difficulties could relax the
persevering industry of Carte, who peru
sed it several times, and found it to be per-
2

28S ON THE HISTORY
feet, and that it had been faithfuUy copied
in the printed edition of Geneva, with the
exception of one single oraission.
The same volume contained the me
moirs of the life of Thuanus also in his
own hand- writing. To these six volumes
already mentioned, two were joined, writ
ten by the brothers St. Marthe, which
contained the raeraoirs, and the contents
of each book as far as the I26th, These
formed the whole set, and Carte believes
that it was never raore complete than
when he saw it. Probably no alterations
were necessary in the printed text from
the 22d book to the eighty first, and the
hiatus in this manuscript might therefore
be intentional.
The other Parisian manuscript, to
which Carte had access, in the Seminary
of St, Magloire, was in the hand-writing
of the St. Marthes, and contained, in ele
ven volumes, 126 books coraplete. It is
reasonable to suppose that this was the
original of the Geneva edition, which the

OF THUANUS. 289
author's executors afterwards corrected by
a comparison with his autograph. And
the two last voluraes of the autograph,
containing the final twelve books, raight
have been sent for a time to Geneva, for
the purpose of being printed.
Carte likewise perused two other ma
nuscripts, one Latin,, the other French,
consisting of passages, which had been
omitted ©r altered in the Geneva editions,
supplied frora the author's autograph.
These he describes as iraperfectiy put to
gether, as weU as the " Thuanus Restitu
tus," which was copied frora some work
of the same kind, AU these coUections
of emendations were in the first place de
rived from the remarks of Rigaltius and
Du Puy, which Carte saw and esteemed
very valuable. Those of Rigaltius were
preserved in the library of St, Genevieve ;
and Du Puy's in the Royal library. They
do not differ, he says, frora each other, ex
cept in sorae iraraaterial passages of the
memoirs,to which Rigaltius added a preface.

-290 ON THE HISTORY
Our countryman had not yet eoraple-
ted his design ; but after these sucoessful
eScertions, employed himself in making a
cbllectipn of letters addressed to Thuanus,
on the subject of his history, by learned
men in different parts of Europe. This
compilation he made from manuscripts in
private libraries ; and it forms the chief
part of the seventh volume of Buckley's
edition, ,
Du Puy, in his explanatory notes, had
corrected some casual errors ofthe author;
and Carte, foUowing his exaraple, made
sirailar eraendations in those parts of the
history, which relate to English affairs. It
reraained only to give an elucidation of
the Latin proper naraes, which all critics
agree have been unreasonably distorted by
Thuanus, who has thus thrown an ob
scurity over his work : and Carte affirms
that this part of his undertaking was by far
the raost laborious. He does not scruple
to say, that this defect alone " has ren
dered unpopular the immortal history of

OF THUANUS. 2^1
Thuanus, a work which relates, with per
spicuity and elegance, the iraportant and
glorious events of a raost difficult and
dangerous period, adjusted in appropriate
order, with exquisite judgraent, unbias
sed candor, and undeviating veracity."
The reader has already been inforraed
that Du Puy, with the assistance of his
brother Jaraes, published an Interpretatiojti
of the proper naraes in the vernacular lan
guage. Carte perused the original raanu
script, written by Du Puy hiraself, and
which was at that tirae in the possession
of the Abb6 Thuanus, grandson of tiis His
torian, These interpretations, as far as
they extend, are annexed to every page
in Buckley's edition ; but raany were
still wanting ; in supplying which. Carte
says that he bestowed *' iramense labors
and the study of many weeks." In nur
merous instances, he was obliged to search
the records of the Tower of London, to
discover the disfigured appellations ; and
finally he perused aUthe authors, whose
V 9

292 ON THE HISTORY
works Thuanus used in the compilation
of his history, and several genealogical ta
bles, and thus at last succeeded in forming
a perfect glossary.
Carte was encouraged to persevere for
so long a time, in accomplishing his pro
posed undertaking, by the patronage ofthe
learned and liberal-minded Dr, Mead,^who
probably gave him pecuniary assistance.
The . care of arranging the materials,
which Carte has the raerit of coUecting,
was by Mead's recoramendation, entrust
ed to Samuel Buckley, a person who is de
scribed as every way fit for the employ
raent: and whose success completely jus
tifies the trust reposed in him.
His proposals for publishing an edition
of Thuanus are mentioned in the Gentle
man's Magazine* for 1734, and in the
.Journal des S9avans for 17^1 and 1732,
The terms of subscription were nine
• Page4C5. An Act of Parliament was granted to
Buckley, prohibiting the importation and saleof any
..edition reprinted beyond the seas, for fourteen years.
Before, such restrictions extended only to English boojis,

OF THUANUS. 29-3
guineas, and twelve guineas for a copy on
fine paper.
In 1/33, this beautifur and excellent
edition raade its appearance, " frora the
press of S. *Buckley, London," as the title-
page imports, in seven voluraes, folio, and
dedicated to King George the Second.
Froni the account a.lready given of
Carte's diUgence, it raay be concluded,
tliat this edition of Thuanus is the raost
full and correct that ever was published.
The type is large and clear; and besides
the continual glossary, and the collection
of letters which we have already men
tioned, the reader is presented with the
continuation, in three books, by Jtigal-
tius. The raeraoirs of the author's life are
also inserted, which, according to Carte,
do not vary in the Geneva edition frora
the autograph; a letter from Thuanus,
-— ¦ '  '¦-"¦¦ - ' ¦- ¦ " . - .- • J -¦¦-¦— — —IT^-— ¦^
* Buckley is, in the Journal des Spavans, called
*' a Bookseller :" in his edition a note occurs, in
which he desires, that any communications may be
addressed to hira, at the Secretary of Slate's OiBce,
Whitehall.

S.94 ON THE HISTORY
concerning the treaty at Loudun; and
another to the President Jeannin ; short
lives of several ofthe Historian's friends;
a defence of his son, who was executed at
Lyons; and several other authentic pieces.
In a word, no information seems omitted
that was found to bear any relation to
the subject, Buckley prefixed three in
teresting letters, on the subject of his edi
tion, written in Latin, and addressed to
Dr, Mead.
From Buckley's edition, a French trans
lation was made and published at Lon
don, in isixteen volumes, quarto : a French
abridgment, in ten volumes, duodecimo,
was also published at the Hague.
L' Abb6 de Fresnoy, in his " Method
of studying History," published at Paris,
in I72y, and whose opinion of our Au
thor has been already cited in the preface,
says, that a M. Du Ryer had translated
about half the history; but that his work
" did not sell well, either because it was
not coraplete, or because the translation
was but indifferently executed,"

OP THUANUS. 295
Bernard WUson, A, M, vicar of New
ark upon Trent, and prebendary of Lin
coln, published, in two volumes, an Eng
Ush translation of part of Thuanus, which
is in plain, correct language, and very
faithful to the original. The first volume
is dated 1729, and dedicated to the Duke
of Newcastle: the second is dated the
year following, and is dedicated to John,
Duke of Rutland. The two volumes
contain a translation ofthe Author's Pre
face, of his Memoirs, and of the first
twenty-six books of the History.
These are the most material publica
tions respecting Thuanus,* of which I
have obtained any information : but some
works of inferior moment, for instance,
•—  :;  -» —
* In a catalogue of Sir C, C. Dormer's books,
published in 1 764, one of the numbers is " a Thu
anus, by Buckley, on large paper, in 14 vols, folio;
a pnagDificent copy, illustrated with many beanlifbl
and rare portraits of eminent characiers, meintioiM;d
by De Thou," See " The Director," a periodical
paper, for May % 1807, No, 16. p, 117.

296 ON THE HISTORY
the "Thuana," and a collection of biogra
phical sketches, taken frora the History,
have frequently been given to the public.
Our Author's great work coraprehends
in 138 books the events of raore than sixty
years, frora A, D. 1546 to 1607 inclu
sive; and he was occupied about thirteen
years in the coraposition of it. In the
ppriod of which it^ treats, five sovereigns
reigned in France, Henry II. Francis II.
Charles IX. Henry III. and Henry IV.
It coraprehends the erection of the Uni
ted Provinces into a free repubUc; and
the glorious reign of EUzabeth in, Eng
land. • Charles the Fifth was Eraperor of
Gerraany and King of Spain, and was
succeeded oiv <he , Spanish throne by his
son, Philip the Second : Solyraan, the Mag
nificent, reigned part of the tirae in Tur
key, and there were several Popes, of
whora we shall have occasion to speak,
in giving, briefly, a general outline of this
important History,

OF THUANUS. 297
The first book serves as an introduc
tion, and opens with a view of the state
of Europe, and its different powers, a lit
tle before the death of Francis the First,
of France, about the year 1546, The
Author first treats of the French and Spa
nish kingdoms, and gives an account of
the rise and progress of their greatness ;
which France gradually acquired from
the natural advantages of the country ;
Spain, on the other hand, rose late and
rapidly into erainence, chiefly in conse
quence of the unprincipled, but profound,
policy of Ferdinand of Arragon, whose
power and wealth were encreased by the
discovery of the New World, Thuanus
takes a brief survey of the reign of Lewis
XIL of France, who pursued the scheraes
of conquest and aggrandiseraent in Italy,
which had originated with his predeces
sor, Charles the Eighth, He attributes
the bad fortune, which attended the en
terprises of this popular Monarch, to the
connection which he entered into with
J

2S8 ON THE HISTORY
Alexander the Sixth; nor does he scrujfjle
to condemn, in strong terms, the infa
mous conduct, and profligate morals, of
this Pope ; and the violence of his succes
sor, Julius the Second : and these are some
of the passages, which gave so rauch
offence to the court of Rorae,
Then follows a compendium of the
reign of Francis the First, his unsuccess
ful atterapts upon the IV^Uanese, and the
perpetual struggle he maintained against
the exuberant power of Charles the Fifth,
who succeeded to the dominions of Fer
dinand in the Old ahd New World, and
possessed, in addition, the imperial crown
of (jtermany. The Historian blames the
conduct of Pope Leo the Tenth in issuing
the sale of indulgencies, in order to sujp-
ply his turn f<xr extravagahce, which gave
rise to the Reformation iu Germany; and
al^, in granting to Francis the First the
power of api'pointing to vacant benefices
in the church, which used to be disposed
of by elerlion. The account concludes

OF THUANUS. 299
with the treaty of Crespy, formed by
Francis, in the year 1544, viith the Em
peror; which was destined, like former
treaties which took place i>etween them,
to be soon dissolved.
The affairs of England are discussed in
the same cursory manner. The abroga
tion of the Papal authority, by Henry the
Eighth, is ascribed to his extravagant pas
sion (insanura araorera) for Anne Bcieyn;
and his capricious and cruel conduct to
his subjects is related in these terras:
" The King declared hiraself head of the
Church ; but though he thus chained its
discipline, he perraitted no alteration in
doctrinal points, and alike punished, with
death, those who adopted the opinions ot
Luther and Zuinglius, and the defender^
of Papal authority," Thuanus adds, that
it was reported, the University of Paris
was bribed to pronounce a sentence in
fevor of Henry's divorce; and that he
would have continued in subjection to the
See of Rome, if he had raet with easier

500 ON THE HISTORY
and more prudent Popes. England was
not included in the treaty of Crespy, and
Henry, shortly after it was concluded,
fitted out an expedition against France,
and took Boulogne. .
The state of Russia is scarcely noticed:
Poland, Dehraark, and Sweden, are de
scribed as unsettled, and subject to intes
tine turaults; and Hungary, from its un
fortunate situation, was exposed to the
continual irruptions of Solyraan the Mag-
riificent, Thuanus, after raentioning the
conquests of this Sultan in Egj^pt, and
the East, adds, " In the distribution of
empire among so many great princes at
the same time, I think I perceive the dis
pensation of Divine Wisdom, providing
that each, by rautual emulation, and
through fear of his rival, might be kept
within the bounds of duty, and the cou
rage of one be restrained by the bravery
of another, frora running into licentious
extrayagance,"

OF THUANUS. 301
The thread of narration is continued tQ
Italy, "which country lay," says Thuanus,
" as it were, the prize of conquest between
two raost powerful* princes^ and in it,
as in a theatre, a tragedy, of uncertain
event, had been acted for a long time,"
The Republic of Venice is described as
wavering, from motives qf policy; Genoa
inclined to the Emperor; Cosmo, Duke
of Tuscany, of the Medicean family,
courted the Emperor's favor likewise, and
sagaciously used it to advance his risihg
fortunes; while the ancient and iUustrious
house of Este declined in dignity and
power. The separate petty states were
employed in a constant struggle, either
againsteach other, or against some foreign
power, to maintain a feeble and precari
ous independence.
Switzerland was occupied with reU
gious contentions; for raany of the can
tons, chiefly through the influence of
* Charles and Francis.

362 ON THE HISTORY
Zuinglius, had erabraced the doctrines of
the Reforra ers.
In Gennanyi these doctrines had made
so great a progress in the course of thirty
years, which had elapsed since they were
first inculcated by Martin Luther, that
nearly half the empire had revolted from
the Papal authority. The Protestant
princes and nobles began to assume a
high tone in demanding the free exercise
of religion; and the Eraperor became jea
lous of their growing power, and alarm^
ed, lest not only the established church,
Ibut his own (Ugnity also, should sink into
disrepute before it. He long dissembled
his hostile intentions ; bnt having con
cluded the treaty of Crespy with the King
of France, and being joined by the Pope,
Paul the Third, he now prepared to sub
due the Protestants iu his dominions by
force of arms; and the attention of all
Eiurope was directed to the progress of
the German war.
At this conjuncture, the regular history
of Thuanus opens; and he finishes his

OF THUANTIS, 303
introductory book in these terms : " I
shaU now proceed to give a raore copious
and accurate relation of events, in an un
varnished style, and, as I professed in the
beginnUig, without favor or prejudice; and
with my whole heart and repeated pray
ers, I intreat the Bestower of all graces to
enable rae to execute this deterraination."
It is not ray purpose to follow the
author in detaU, The most striking and
iraportant part of his work is allowed to
be that which relates to his own country :
and to this I shall principaUy confine ray
self, while I endeavour to give the reader
sorae idea of the manner, in which Thu
anus treats his subject.
The rapid and comptete success of the
Emperor 'is enterprize against the Protest
ants inOermany, alarmed the neighbouring
powers. The Pope began to penetrate his
ambitious designs, and to dread his pre^
dorainating influence. He therefore recall
ed his forces, and withdrew a councU, as
sembled to regulate the affairs of religion.

¦ 30^ ONTHEHISTOkY
from Trent to Bologna, which place was
more under his own jurisdiction. He was
farther irritated by the murder of his
natural son, Lewis Farnese, Governor of
Placentia, and the subsequent seizure ofthe
place by the IraperiaUsts; and also by the
publication of the . Interim, a religious
edict, in which the Emperor took upon
him to regulate ecclesiastical affairs and
modes of worship.
The King of France, viewing the en-
creasing' power of his ancient rival with
simUar jealousy, took vigorous raeasures
for checking it, and, with this desigUj
formed an alliance with the Pope and the
Venetians; and even negociated with the
confederated Protestants, and with the
Turks : but death intercepted his prepara
tions. According to the general accepta
tion of his character, Francis I, is described
by Thuanus as a high-spirited,accoraplished
Prince, who, among other virtues, justly
deserved the title of " Fatiier of Learn
ing ;" which our historian deems a far su-

OF THUANUS. 305
perior glory to that contended for, by other
Kings, his contemporaries, in conquest,.
and extent of dominion.
He" was succeeded on the throne by his
son, Henryll. who had attained his thirty-
first year, and had occasionally com
manded the Frerich forces erigaged against
the Emperor, with no common reputa
tion ; but his abilities were not equal to
those of his father, and, either from mis
fortune Or imprudence, his reign proved a
source of great calamities to France.
Fourteen years before his accession to
the crown, Henry raarried Catherine de
Medicis, a niece of Pope Cleraent VII.
andhad by her a nuraerous issue; but his
affections were fixed with a degree of
fatuity on Diana de Poictiers, whom he
created Duchess de Valentinois, and who
ruled his rairid with uncontrolled influ
ence. The populace, at a loss to account
for this devotion of their King to a woman
quite in the decUne of life, ascribed it to
the supernatural effects of raagic art.
X

3<^S ON THE HISTORY
Henry prosecuted his father's schemes
of checking the ambitious designs and
growing power of the Eraperor. But
Charles foujnd a much more formidable
opposition in tbe arms of his own Geinian
subjects, as well Papists as Protestants.
For when it was perceived thathe was aim
ing to oppress their liberties,, to make the
crown hereditary in his family, and to raise
the fabric ofhis own aggrandizemeB,t upon
the ruins ofthe Germanic constitution ; the
Princes of the Erapire, with the artful and
intrepid Maurice of Saxony at their head,
took measures for resisting thisplan of ag
gression,. So vigorous and steady was
their confederacy, and the hostility of the
nation so decided,, that, though the Em
peror finally succeeded in dissipating the
force df his opponents, yet he dared
not afterwards revert to his former pro
jects, but was obliged to, abandon alto
gether bis favourite dream of grandeur.
The King of France, as has been said^
entered the lists, with the Emperoj?, and

OF THUANUS. 307
endeavoured to wrest some possessions
frora hira in the Netherlands and in Italy ;
he also eraployed himself, not without
some imputation of cruelty, according to
our historian, in suppressing the Protestant
religion, which began to raake considerable
progress in his dominions : but he neg
lected to restraam a domestic power, which
was, in reality, much more tobe dreaded.
On the contrary, he nourished and fos
tered it, to the subversion ofhis own royal
hoiuse, I allude to the influence which
tiie femUy of Guise acquired during this
reign, the fatal effects of which Francis I.
foresaw and feared, and, upon his death
bed, exhorted his son, by timely caution,
toprevent; but his admonition was in vain.
It bad been the policy of the Sovereigns
of the House of Valois, Lewis XL, XII.,
and their successors, to depress the Bour
bons, who were next heirs to the crown,
being descended from a junior branch of
the family of St, Louis. The way was
thus left unobstructed for the elevation of
x2

36s ON THE HISTORY
two ancient farailies, those of Guise and
Montraorenci, who both rose to dis
tinction in the reign of Francis I.
Anne de Montraorenci traced his pedi
gree to one ofthe Barons, who were com
panions of Phararaond, He was invested
with the high dignity of Constable of
France, and obtained great consideration
and authority by a character for prudence,
raoderation, and political ability.
Francis, Duke of Guise, of still nobler
birth and larger possessions than the Con
stable, gained the favor of the King and
the nation, by popular raanners and the
briUiance of his railitary virtues. He de
scended frora a younger branch of the
Sovereign and independent Princes of
Lorraine, and was son to Claude, who
came into France in the reign of Fran
cis I. to take possession of the Dutchy of
Guise, and distinguished himself at the
battle of Marignan,
Montmorenci acted with unpopular and
injudicious severity in quelling a tumult in

OF THUANUS, 309
Guienne, in the early part of Henry's
reign. At the sarae tirae Guise gained
upon the affections of the people by his
spirited and hazardous defence of the city
of Metz, when it was besieged by the Era
peror, He threw himself into the place,
with the flower of the French nobility
under his coraraand, and shared every
toil and peril. The Ernperor had effected
a breach in the walls, and made prepara
tions for a last assault, when Guise ar
ranged his corapanions in order of battle,
and addressed them, according to * Thu
anus, in an eloquent harrangue to the
following effect : —
" If his Majesty, the King of France,
had not considered this city of great ira
portance to his affairs, and did not place
the utraost confidence in your valor, my
lords and fellow-soldiers, he would not
have charged you with the defence of it
against so powerful an enemy. Neither
»¦¦¦¦ ¦ I'lmiii .-¦¦¦¦. ¦ I- ¦' — ¦- I. ¦.! .I— -III III.''
* See History^ lib, xi.

310 ON THE HISTORY
can you think me so void of understand
ing, that I woxdd expose so many princes
of the blood, and other vk^arriors ennobled
by their birth and courage, to raanifest
hazard, and even inevitable destruction,
by suffering them to shut tiiemselves up
with me in these waUs, if I were not
confident that they are called hither by
Providence to reap imraortal honor, and
to brand the eneray with eternal dis
grace. " Be assured, that the Eraperor is not
excited to this enterprize by any confi
dence in his own strength ; but, stung
with shame for the affront he has * this
year received in Gerraany, he is come,
urged by despair, to make the last trial of
his fortune. , Though insatiable arabition,
and desire of French blood rage without
dirainution in his breast, yet are we suffi
ciently provided with strength and courage
¦  ¦ -¦'- --   • — --*¦¦¦ ¦ -.—¦¦-¦ . d
* Charles had been obliged lo fly from Inspruck'
before the confederated princes.

OF THUANTJS, 3ll
to maintain our righteous cause against
the unjust attempts of an old man, impo
tent in mind and body,
" Jjet us not doubt of God's protection,
who defends the just, and rejoices in the
name of Lord of Hosts, Let us en
tertain no dreadfol apprehensions of the
enemy, unless, indeed, "we set greater
yalue upon erapty titles and prOud affec
tation of grandeur than upon genuine and
unvarnished worth, which needs no ad«-
ventitious support. For what, let rae ask,
renders hira so formidable ? Is it the
battie of Pavia ? That victory was gain
ed indeed, under his banners, but in his
absence ; he owed more to the courage of
others, and (to our sorrow be it said), of
the French in particular, who fought
there against their countrymen, than to hii
own. The advantage which he reaped
from the calamity of others, may be as
cribed to fortune, which is changeable,
rather than to the fixed and inflexible
quaUty of virtue : but we may no w prog-

312 ON THE HISTORY
nosticate a raore favourable event, "Wheri
Frenchmen join unanimously in their
country's cause,
" Upon what, theh, does this eneray oi
ours value himself? Upon his trium
phant return frpm the expedition to Tunis?
Let him remember that those very troops
were ruined without a battle, in Provence;
and found, by dear experience, that a vic
tory was not so easily obtained over the
French gentry, as over the Moors,
" Does he boast of towns taken in Ju-
liers, and of the prostrate submission of
the Duke of Cleves himself at his feet ?
Yet this precipitate career of victories was
checked hy the little town of Landrecy,
held by our men,
" But let us allow hira to exult in the
pride of his faraily : let hira relate his ad
vantage over the Turks, whora he has
twice driven frora the frontiers; since he
has been oftener repulsed himself from
our frontier, with exceeding loss and dis
grace,

OF THUANTJS. 313
" Let him boast of the Duke of Saxony's
being conquered and taken prisoner by
him at the Elbe; but let hira not forget
the blow we gave him, a little before, at
Carignan. He has taken, indeed, Stenay,
in Lorraine ; but has had cause sufficient
to repent of this charge and trouble, since
we so easily recovered it. But what do I
say? We have this year taken Mont-
raedy, Tvoy, DanviUiers, Rocheraars,
Bullion, and raany other places, and re
tain thera still before his face,
"This is the man, therefore, whose
forces we exhausted in Provence, broke at
Landrecy, defeated at thesiege of Carignan.
Yet at that time, his circumstances were
flourishing ; the Italians, Spaniards, Ger
mans, and EngUsh, were united to him,
and the state of his health was prosperous.
Now the EngUsh are his enemies, the Ger
mans disaffected, the Italians fluctuating
with factions ; and lastly, the Spaniards
theraselves are generally rautinous. What
great efforts can we suppose hira likely to

314 ON THE HISTORY
make, since his ignominious flight from
Inspruck, now his health is broken and
his friends are at variance, against a vic
torious King, who is in the flower of his
age, has always been a favourite of for
tune, and is surrounded with an una
nimous nobility, such as I see before rae,
and so raany powerful arraies ?
" Come on, therefore, noble lords and
fellow-soldiers ; assure yourselves that the
cause and fortune of France depend on
this event : unsheath your swords for your
altars and your families, and advance
with intrepidity against the enemy. Be
confident that ye will receive from God
an eternal recorapense of happiness for the
good service yielded unto your country,
titles and honors frora a raost raunificent
sovereign, and frora posterity an eternal
and unfading raced of glory,"
This is one of the raost spirited passages
in Thuanus, who always speaks with ani^
mation ofhis country. Notwithstanding
the fidelity with which he relates events,
2

OF THUANUS, 3!5
it is easy in raany parts to perceive a de
gree of nationality, which requires, per
haps, sorae indulgence.
This harangue is not unworthy of being
corapared with the orations, which classi
cal authors of antiquity put into the
mouths of their great characters, " It
was delivered," says our historian, ** with
manly eloquence, and had great effect :"
and the Emperor was in fact obUged to
raise the siege of Metz;
It is observable that Thuanus, in his ac
count of the siege of any place, particu
larly raentions the number of cannon-
shot, fired against the walls. Thus the
town of Metz, he says, sustained four
teen thousand discharges of cannon,
" ictus torraentorura displosos." By the
laws of war at the tirae, a garrison which
suffered the cannon to play, when the
walls would not sustain the discharge, was
put to * death. The institutions of chi-
* The Marquis de Marignan put this law in execu
tion, after besieging a small lown in the Sienese. See
Thuanus, lib. 14,

316 ON THE HISTORY
valry were not yet extinct : at the siege
of Metz a Spanish cavalier sent a chal
lenge to the garrison, which was accepted,
and the two opponents encountered each
other four times with lances.
A succession of wars, and an ardour
for ' military glory, produced in this age
many examples of heroic resolution,
which are probably not surpassed in the
annals of the world, Erainent instances
of this deterrained fortitude are to be
found in the account of the seiges of Mag-
debourg, Metz, and of Sienna, At this
latter place the citizens, "contending for
their liberties, under the coraraand of the
intrepid Frenchman, Monluc, sustained a
siege of ten raonths from the Imperial
forces. They were reduced to all the
horrors of famine, and even w^ater faded ;
they dismissed their auxiliaries, and were
driven to the painfol necessity of excluding
from the walls raore than four thousand
infi^rm inhabitants of both sexes, who were
thus exposed to the insults of the enemy.

OF THUANUS. 317
« A miserable spectacle," says * Thuanus,
" and an act bordering upon inhumanity, if
it were not raade excusable by the exi
gence of affairs, and the Uberty of the
state, to which aU things ought to yield,"
The garrison obtained at last honorable
conditions, arid if fame beany recompense
for noble actions the efforts of the brave.
Sienese were not without success.
The capitulation of Sienna, was not the
only unprosperous event, which befel the
French arms in Italy. An army sent by
King Henry to the relief of the town, was
totally routed with a terrible slaughter at
Marciano, by the Imperialists, under the
command of the Marquis of Marignan.
With a view of repairing these disasters,
the Duke of Guise was sent to take the
command in Italy ; and the King entered
into an unfortunate connection with Pope
Paul f IV, and his ambitious relations the
* Lib, 15.
t Thuanus particularly condemns .this Pope for
his severity in the establishment of the Inquisition.

SIS ON THE HISTORY
Caraffas, who hoped to aggrandize their
family with the spoils of the Imperial pos
sessions in Italy.
At their instigation, Henry suddenly
broke a truce' he had formed with Spain,
at the time the Emperor, resigned his
crown to his son Philip, in the year 1556.
But this breach of faith was severely pu
nished by the defeat, the French, under
Montmorenci, received soon after at St,
Quintin ; which was so complete, that no
thing but his own want of enterprize,
prevented Philip from prosecuting his ad
vantage, and taking Paris itself.
On the 2 1st of September, 1558, died
Charles V. at the retreat in Spain, in
which, with peculiar eccentricityof dispo
sition, he had secluded himself after abdi^
eating the throne. His character is drawn
by our Historian (in his twenty-first book)
in the most favourable terms, chiefly on
account of the resolute zeal he displayed
in promoting general councUs for the pur
pose of settUng religious affairs, and the

OF THUANUS, 319
piety he shewed at the close of life. He
expatiates on the glory and good fortune
that attended his long reign, but acknow
ledges that in particular instances his con
duct was too cautious and subtle. The
Emperor left, besides his legitiraate off
spring, two natural children ; but he
never brought them or their mothers for
ward into public notice. In relating this
circum^stance, our good Author, with his
usual attention to propriety of conduct,
remarks, that " It affords a salutary ex
ample to Princes, whose Uves have so
much influence on the manners of their
subjects; and an admonition that, if they
do offend, it should at least be in
secret." The French sustained another defeat,
near Gravelines, alraost as decisive as that
of St. Quintin; and these repeated mis
fortunes checked the martial ardor of
Henry, and made hira incline to peace^
A treaty was accordingly concluded at
Chateau, in Cambresis, between the

320 ON THE HISTORY
French and Spaniards, in Feb, 1559 ; and
so general was the spirit of pacification,
that " an agreement seemed to be re
established," says * Thuanus, " amongst
all the princes and states of the Christian
world. But," he adds, " through the per
verse judgment of the two Kings (Henry
and Philip), and the pernicious advice of
their ministers, the issue of it was detri
mental to France and the Netherlands, in
consequence ofthe rise of commotions, far
worse than a foreign war. For frora that
the tirae clandestine projects of the Cardinal
of f Lorraine and the Bishop of J Arras,.
for the detection and capital punishment of
sectaries (sectariis), were renewed : upon
which occasion secret schemes were laid
on both sides, which, in France, under
color of reUgion, through the weakness
or negligence of government during, the
rainority of our Kings, having been dis-.
* Lib. 22, t Brother lo the Duke of Guise,
X Granvelle,. Philip's Minister.

OF THUANUS. 321
sembkd and palliated for a long time,
broke out at last in open rebellion against
the royal majesty,"
After the peace of Chateau Cambresis,
the Pope, Paul IV. the great promoter of
the Inquisition, the King of Spain, and
the King of France, seem to have direct
ed all their thoughts to the extirpation of
the reformers, Henry, in particular, in
stituted the most violent proceedings
against thera, being instigated by the
Duchess of Valentinois on one hand, who
grasped at the spoils of their confiscated
property ; and on the other by the
Guises, who courted popularity in a dis
play of zeal for the Church of Rorae,
Finding the Parliaraent not disposed to
be subservient tohis views on this subject,
the King adopted the arbitrary raeasure
of entering the council-chamber in the
midstof their deliberations, attended hythe
princes ofthe blood, in order to intimidate
the members, and to overawe their vote?.
But, notwithstanding the royal presence.

322 ON THE HISTORY
many, and araongst them Christopher de
Thou, father of our Historian, were not
deterred from speaking the dictates of
their conscience in favor of toleration.
Some were bold enough to inveigh against
the corruptions of the Church of Rorae,
and to recommend the institution of an
(Ecumenical Council ; and one meraber
went so far as to make an allusion to the
retort which Elijah made to this question
of King Ahab, " Who art thou that
troublest Israel ?"
The King shewed his displeasure by
imprisoning those who were raost violent
in opposition ; and Thuanus condemns, in
strong terras, his conduct "in thus coraing
into the ParUament to subvert his own
laws; and by a too great easiness of
temper, rendering hiraself disgracefully
subservient to the unlawful schemes of
his presumptuous advisers.'* He pro
ceeds to say, " that while a miserable
class of men were every where hurried to
judgraent and execution, on account of
2

OF THUANUS. 323
religion, and their friends were constrained
through fear, to keep a raelancholy si
lence ; the state of the kingdora forraed a
dreadfol contrast to the gaiety of the
court. There nothing but the sound of
joy was heard, while preparations were
raaking for the approaching nuptials of
the Duke of Savoy, with the Princess
Margaret, the King's sister; which had
been arranged in an article of the late
treaty," This scene of festivity was suddenly
overclouded by a terrible accident. The
King had instituted a tournaraent, of
which exercise he was very fond, and
jousted himself with the count of Mont
gomery, who was esteeraed the raost
powerfol knight in France, The lances
of the two combatants brake, and Mont
gomery being carried forward by the
impetuosity of his horse, the stock of his
weapon entered the vizor of the King's
helmet, pierced his right eye, and injured
the brain. The unfortunate raonarch
r2

324, ON THE HISTORY
reeled" from his horse, arid survived not
raany days.
Our Historian sums up his character in
the following impartial terras :* — " Sorae
persons think that Henry's reign cannot
be too rauch extolled. T'hey denorainated
hira a warlike and high-spirited King,
who, from the tirae of his accession to
the throne, was engaged in various enter
prises, generally with success. They
raention, to his honor, his extention of
the dorainion of France by the conquest
of the greater part of Italy, and the re
duction of the power of Scotland and
Corsica. They say, that he forced the
Eraperor Charles to fly at the battle
of Renty, and corapelled him, through
chagrin, to retire to a private life;
that afterwards, frora an extraordinary
sense of piety towards the Church of
Rorae, he renewed the War, in order to
succour Pope Paul IV, and raet the nu
merous forces of Spain and Englknd,
* Lib. 23.

OF THUANUS. • 325
united to invade, his realm. They add,
that he had concluded a peace, if not upon
favourable terms, -yet advantageous to the
kingdom and the people ; and had farther
provided for> the national tranquillity, by
arranging an intermarriage between his
family and that of his adversary. Lastly,
it is said that, like a brave, generous, and
accomplished prince, he had died in arras,
to. the incredible grief ofhis subjects,
;" An opposite party affirraed that the
King. had. tarnished the glory of his first
exploits by a disgraceful and faithless
violation of the truce ; although the fault
was not so rauch his own, but attached
more to the instigators of this unfortunate
war. They added, that, -in this expedi
tion, thCiWealth of the kingdora was idly
layished, and its.principal strength irapair
ed, ,and that it had occasioned defeats too
foul to be named. . or remembered : that
the King and nobles of ^France had been
dupes to the pride and- treachery of the
Caraffas, and the narae of the French

326 ON THE HISTORY
alraost obliterated in Italy ; that some few
troops, rescued frora slaughter, and nearly
destroyed by faraine, had been recalled
horae to defend the state in its exigency :
that a peace had, indeed, been raade, and
\vas very desirable, but, at the same time,
it was attended with dishonor ', and the
nuptials served only as a veil to that dis
grace : in fine, that the King, who had
been inured to serious and foreign war
fare, had fallen at horae like a comraon
soldier, araidst pastiraes and revels, and
had brought destruction upon himself
whilst he designed to make an exhibition
of his prowess.
" Neither were his domestic affairs con
cealed; that a harlot had been introduced
over his consort's head, that she fascinated
the king's raind by her sorceries (vene-
ficiis), and, having taken possession ofthe
palace, bore the chief sway while he
lived : and hence arose prodigality
and luxury, and insatiable covetousness
araong the courtiers.

OF THUANUS. 32?
" Among the testimonies of a cor
rupt age, the French poets, with whose
productions Henry's court swarmed,
were not the least : abusing their talents,
they made court, by vile flatteries^ to an
ambitious avoman ; in the raean tirae, de
bauching the minds of youth by their im
purities, turning the raen frora the pur
suit of real knowledge, and banishing
shame and virgin modesty frora the fe
male sex.
" Upon the whole, therefore, we raay
say, without partiality or prejudice, that
Henry was a wariike prince; and, from
this disposition, he rejected the pacific
counsels which Montraorenci continually
insinuated, and while fortune favored
bim, erabraced all opportunities of war: in
other respects mild and easy, and yielding
to the influence of those about his persOn.
People who looked into futurity, consi
dered his death as a public raisfortune;
for, as his sons were left alraost infants
under the care of a raother fond of sway.

328 ON THE HISTORY
and the court was divided into factions,
they conjectured that the peace would not
be permanent ; and that doraestic storras,
if not maturely preverited, woUld soon
follow the late foreign war.
" Now," continues our Historian,
" omitting to relate the excellent sayings
and actions of our ancestors in peace and
war, I pass on to a scene of domestic
iriiseries, and, indeed, of our own vices,
which have, for forty years, harassed and
afflicted this once flourishing kingdora.
But first, I must premise, that, without
raalignity or favor, I draw the following
relation frora facts, and frora such publica
tions, as were written indeed, very early,
whilst the contention was fresh, but which
I afterwa.rds raeasured by the standard of
the best Uving authorities. I entreat pardon,
in the raean time, for any occasional cen
sures of the ambition, avarice, perfidy,
frauds, and pernicious counsels against the
state, of certain persons. For this is the
rule, which, with teraper, and apart from

OF THUANUS, 329
detraction, must be observed by the faith
ful historian. For my own part, I hope
the distance of time wUl vindicate rae from
the charge of > raalice; and the corarao-
tions and various calamities, which have
since taken place, wiU folly enable pos
terity to judge, whether or not I stand
chargeable with falsehood,"
Henry II, left four sons, three of
whora successively filled the throne of
France, Fancis II, Charles IX, and
Henry III, during a period of the greatest
national turaultand calaraity , The twenty-
third book of Thuanus opens > with an
animated description of the state of the
kingdom at the accession of Francis, who
was then brily sixteen ye^^s of age, and
weak and irabecUe both in raind and
body. He had raarried Mary^ the Queen
pf Scotland, afterwards so celebrated, v^^^ho
was one year older than hiraself ; she was
niece to the Duke of Guise and the Car
dinal of Lorraine, and thus the influence
of these princes was rauch augmented."

330 ON THE HISTORY
Deserting the Duchess of Valentinois, who
was now banished from court, and de
prived of her property, they ingratiated
themselves with the Queen Dovirager,. Ca
therine of Medicis, and strove to depress
their rivals in power, the party of Mont
morenci and the Bourbon princes ; and
to place creatures of tiieir own in offices
of trust.
" The Cardinal," says Thuanus, " was
iramoderately insolent and haughty ; and,
from his subtle contrivance, generally
proceeded those schemes, which his bro
ther, the Duke of Guise, a man of greater
courage, and more noble sentiments, car
ried into execution. Between thera, they
governed France : for the nobiUty, which
in tumultuous times use to have great in
fluence, were now wearied with a suc
cession of wars, and desirous of domestic
ease, eagerly retired from the bustle of poli
tics to their private seats. The body of
the people, groaning under the weight of
taxes, provided they were relieved from

OF THUANUS. 331
this burden, were little solicitous in whose
ha ds the administration rested. There
StiU remained the Clergy, an honorable
and opulent class of men, and w^bohadthe
chief irifiuence in the ParUament; which
assembly, next to the King's Privy Coun
cil, has the greatest authority in the.realm.
These the house of Guise industriouidy
courted by a pretence of defending the
antient religion, and an ostentation , of
violent hatred against the Sectaries.
Many were intimidated ; and remember
ing the violent proceedings of the late
King, kept silence in Parliament, froni fear
of giving offence,"
StUl farther to strengthen their power,
the Lords of Lorraine persuaded Catherine
to have recourse to a measure, which our
author justly calls, " disgraceful and in
sidious;'* viz, the imploring succour from
Philip II, of Spain against the ene
mies of the Regency, By the interposi-
tiwi of EhUip, they hoped to overawe the
Princes of Bourbon, who, by right of

323 ON THE HISTORY
hlood, hiad the first claim to the adrainis-*
tijation of affairs; and particularly Anthony
de Bourbpn, who had raarried Joan d6
Albret, Queen: of Na,varre. That little
coun,t;ry, from, its eontiguity to Spain, lay
too much exposed to the incursions of
its superior power, and had been wrest
ed frora the lawful possessors by Ferdi
nand of Arragon, and PhUip, still retained
great part of it. :; ,,•. ,. ;
Anthopy de tBourbon himself was of an
indolent, dilatory; disposition : but the
Prince of Conde, his brother, who was of
raore active spirit, became indignant atthe
insult and injustice shewn to his family,
and, took the resolution of joining the
Reformers,, or * Hugonots, as they were
terraed, yy^ho were now persecuted with
the utmost. rigour. , Oppression increased,
instead of d^piinishing their nurabers ; and
aniraated hythe countenance ofthe Prince
* The origin of this name ^oes not seem to be pre -
cisely kncfwn.

OF THUANUS, 333
of Conde, they entered into a conspiracy
for seizing the person of the King, and
reinoving the Guises frora the Govern
ment. It was caUed the conspiracy of.
Amboise, frora the narae of the Castle,
where the King resided ; and being de-.
tected, the Hugonots w^ere treated with
additional severity. The Prince of Conde
hiraself would have lost his life, had not
the death of the King intervened, f after
a reign of littie raore than a year.

* Two circumstances are recorded about this
lime by Thuanus, which shew the ferocious man
ners of that unhappy period. The first is, that,
when the King held his court at Fontainebleau, and
many persons resorted thither " with petitions for
deljts, rewards and favors," a gibbet was erected,
by the advice of the Guises, with a proclamaiion lo
this purport — " That all petitioners should leave
the court within twenty-four hours, under penalty
of being hanged on that 'gibbet, in case of. disobe
dience," The other anecdote is of Philip II,
who was in danger from a tempest on his voyage to
Spain, and thought the most acceptable return he
could make to i^rovidepce for his deliverance, would

331 ON THE HISTORY
His brother, Charles IX, succeeded to
the throne, in the eleventh year of his
age. This change raade little alteration
in the. affairs of the kingdora; but the
Queen-Mother, alarraed at fhe aspiring
teraper of the * House of Guise, began to
shew more favor to the Princes of Bour
bon, and the Protestants, with the hope
that the power of one party raight forra a
check to that of the other.
Montraorenci forraed a separate in
terest frora both, and placing reUgion out
of the question, professed a concern only
for the political state ofthe country,
A raeeting of the states was convoked
at Orleans, a raeasui'e which Thuanus

be the public executioa of all Sectaries through.
out his dominions. In the prose cution of this
cruel purpose, *' he aeluaMy be'hdd," says our author,
" the burning of 2S of his nobility at the stake, in the
lown 0,f Valladolid,"
* They traced their pedigree to the Cariovingian
race of Kings, and boastfed of a claitn to the throne,
prior lo that of the descendants of Caipet,

OP THUANUS 533
approves, as calculated to promote that
proper connection, and mutual depen
dence, which ought to subsist between a
Sovereign and his free people.
In 1562, an edict was issued, permitting
the exercise of their religion to the Pro
testants. But the Duke of Guise entering,
with his attendants, a village where they
were assembled at public worship, a dis
pute and skirmish arose, and many of the
Protestants lost their Uves. This was the
signal for arras, and the beginning of
civU wars, which lasted, with short inter
missions, for ten years. During their
continuance, many thousand lives were
lost, and the chief leaders on either side
fell by vioknt deaths. The Duke of Guise
was assassinated: the King of Navarre,
the Prince of Cond^, and the Constable
Montraorenci, were kUled in battle.
Montraorenci was in his eightieth year ;
and Thuanus thus * describes the. fatal
—  ' ' ' *  ——________
* Lib. 42.

33S ON THE HISTORY
event which caused his death, at fh^
battle of St Dennis, A, D, 1567, In that
corabat, the royal forces were in part vic
torious over the Protestants, coraraanded
by the Prince of Conde, and the celebrated
Admiral Coligni; but the General himself,-
m the quarter where he fought, was much
pressed by a furious attack of the eneray.
"After having perforraed," says our author,
" the duty not only of a coraraander in
chief, but of a private soldier, this illus
trious veteran at length sustained the
shock of battle in his own person, and re
ceived a wound in his face, Robert
Stuart, a Scottish coraraander, then called
upon him to surrender ; but Montriio-
renci, though surrounded on all sides,
with an arra still vigorous, struck the
pommel of his sword against his cheek,
with sufficient force to beat out three of
his teeth, Iraraediately, either Stuart en
raged with tiie anguish of the ¦ wound;
or else sorae person in the crowd, aimed, a
pistol (scloppeti ictum) at Montmorenci's.
2

OF THUANU^. 337
bl.<^b The ball easily penetrated through
his coat of raail, which will not resist pis
tol-shot; and With a deadly'blow, Ifevel-
led him on the ground," He* died the
next day, and is described by Thuanus as
a man of principle, courage, and ability,
bat unfortunate. f» Voltaire has almost
Uterally copied this character of Montrao
renci; .In the raidst of these civil contentions,
the royal authority was rauch weakened.
Catherine de Medicis wished to rescue it
from subjection to aey party; and despair
ing of effecting her purpose by open force,
made choice of an expedient, which it is
said, was suggested to her raind by the
writings of Machiavel, and by her educa
tion and intercourse with Italians, She
resolved to treat the Protestants with spe
cious kindness, and to destroy them,
* It was Mootmorenci, who said to his conftSsor,
" Do you think, I have lived fourscore years, without
learning to die a quarter ofan hour."
t Sec " Mflenrs." VoK 4, p,' 202.
z

338 ON THE HISTORY
when lulled into security. The temper
ofthe times, too conversant in bloodshed,
contributed to the execution of this fero
cious design ; and the house of Guise is
implicated in the guilt of it. Thuanus
says that it was only in part revealed
to the young King : and that Catherine
hoped that, after the extinctionof the Pro
testants, the odium of this sanguinary
measure raight fall upon the Guises ; and
she raight be enabled, by a poUtic interpo
sition, to exterminate at once, both these
formidable rivals of the royal power.
A deceitful peace was granted to the
Protestants, and every step was taken-
that could allay suspicion. A marriage
was concerted between the King's sister
and the young King of Navarre, after
wards * Henry IV. who was then about
nineteen years of age, and the ndmkial
head of the reformed party, Coligni, a

* Henry was born in 1553, the same year with
Thuanus.

of THUAMUS, 339
man of undaunted resolution, and fertile in
resources, was in effect their leader: and he,
and his chief associates. Were invited to
Paris, at the solemnization of the nuptials.
They fell too supinely into the snare;
and six days after the marriage ensued the
massacre of St. Bartholeraew, an act
which admits neither of aggravation nor
excuse. On the 24th of August, 1672,
before day -break, the King hiraself, ''ac
cording to our author, gave orders for the
bell of the Palace to be tolled, which was
the expected signal. The work of death
immediately began, and as it was a pre -
concerted scheme, in the course of a few
days, 30,000 Protestants were slain in
cold blood, throughout the kingdoraof
France : but Thuanus adds, " he believes
the nuraber to be somewhat less," " ali-
quanto rainorera."
* Charles the IXth survived but two

* He died in great anguish, of an uncommon and
frightful disorder,' His blood issued at all his pores.
Z 2 '

340 ON THE HISTORY
years, and our Historian's character of hira
is here subjoined. His reign continued
fourteen years, and occupies 3 1 books of
the history we are considering, frora the
27th to the 5 gth. The reader who wishes
to consult it, will find an interesting ac
count of the French affairs, of the rise of
the Waldenses, and of the Peers of France,
in the 2 7 th book ; of the society of Jesuits,
in the 37th book ; and the raassacre of St.
Bartholoihew in the .52d : but these de
tached parts of history are all too long to
be here inserted,
* " Charies the JXth died on Whit
sunday, in the, year ,1574, aged 24 years,
10 months and 30 days, and after having
reigned JSyeai's, 5 months, and 25 days^.
^^" He was born yv^ith a good disposition,
and endowed with great virtues, but a bad
education, and his raother's indulgence, de
praved the gifts of nature. He possessed
a lofty raind equal to his exalted condi
tion, a fond of sagacity and acuteness,
* Thuanus lib.'' 57, at the end.

OF THUANTJS, 541
manly eloquence, and prudence beyond
his years : but it often degenerated into
cunning. His penetration in discerning
the qualities of other raen was reraark
able : cautious in dispensing benefits, and
raorose in estiraating each person's raerit,
he was accused of want of liberality by
the courtiers, who raeasure a prince's
worth by the rule of their own insatiable
covetousness, " It must be confessed that he was
prone to sudden gusts of passion ; which
disposition was cherished, by the constant
and violent exercise he used in hunting; and
by forbearance of sleep : and though he
was by nature a complete hypocrite, he
sometiraes broke forth into absolute fury.
His stature was of the largest size, his
body bent, his neck stiff, witha stern eye, a
hooked nose, and of a pale and leaden
complexion. His limbs were well formed,
and his frarae rauscular, Hewas patient
pf labor, and fasted long ; and his death
is thought to have been hastened by abste-
jniousness.

342 ON THE HISTORY
" He indulged an unreasonable fondness
for hunting, and frora the custora of em-
bruing his hands with the blood of beasts,
his teraper becarae raore savage ; and he
was transported to acts of cruelty, iri pro
portion as his blood becarae heated by ex
ercise. After hunting he did not rest, but
used severe exercise at * foot-ball, oriramo-
derate dancing, or in fabricating armour
at the forge. He was, however, on this ac
count less prone to sensual indulgencies,
" He was tetmperate in food, and sleep.
After the massacre of St. Bartholomew his
sluiribers used tobe broken by nightly hor
rors ; and rausicians were then adrait
ted to his chamber in order to compose
his raind,
" Araidst all his extravagant and vio
lent amusements, he was fond of rausic
and poetry, and raade verses himself. He
paid great honor to poets, particularly to
the celebrated Ronsard ; but used to say
that, like high-spirited horses, they were
to be fed, and not parapered."
* Ascobolo.

OF THUANUS. 343
Aftei' t^e death of Charles, Henry IH,
his brothfer, who had been elected King of
Poland, succeeded to the throne of France ;
and, by his weak and impolitic conduct,
fomented the dissensions, which now raged
in the nation at their height. The im
prudence and unpopularity of the King
encouraged Henry Duke of Guise (son of
Francis, who had been assassinated), to
prosecute those schemes, which his father
and uncle had planned. He possessed all
his father's popular qualities, with an
arabition more aspiring, and greater energy
of raind.
He began his public career, Uke all
demagogues, with professions of disin
terested attachraent to the public good;
and the pecuUar teraper of the tiraes en
abled hira to assurae, in addition, the
mask of reUghons zeal. It soon appeared
that his object was of a selfish nature, and
that, in the pursuit ofhis own agraisdize-
ment, he disregarded the Jaws of his
2

344 ON THE HISTORY
country, and the allegiance which he owed
to his King,*
The life of our A-Uthor, and the preface
to his history, present an epitorae of this
unhappy reign, of the rebellion of Guise,
the fprniation of the League, and the in
sidious plans which Philip II, fraraed for
the purpose pf dirainishing the power of
the French raonarchy, and of placing it
in a state of dependance upon Spain,
The last act of this tragical history was
the assassination of the Duke of Guise ; a
base and atrocious measure, which the
King adopted with a resolution, which
despair soraetiraes coraraunicates to weak
rainds. It took place at Blois, where the
King held his court, on the 23d of Decera
ber, 158S. Our Author, in his ninetyr
third book, relates what passed on the ocr
casion with much particularity. Guise had
received sorae intiraations of the King's
* By the side of the Princes of the House of Lor
raine, il was said that the rest of the nobility ap
peared like common personages.

OP THUANUS. 345
design, and his friends exhorted him to be
cautious of his safety. The day before,
at an entertainment, a note was folded in
his napkin, containing expressions to the
sarae purport : but, after having read i^,
he wrote at the bottora, " The King dares
not," and threw it beneath the table.
Early in the morning of the 23d,
Henry assembled some of his confidential
ministers, and Thuanus ascribes to
him a speech of sorae length, in which
the design of taking the Dukes life is
opened, and the raeasure justified upon
the plea of its necessity, A councU had
been sumraoned, to which, at the usual
hour, the Cardinal of Lorraine and the
Archbishop of Lyons repaired. The
Duke himself arose late from the arras of
one of the ladies of the court, and carae
last into the apartraent, where were his
brother and the Archbishop, He had
been accustomed to treat their apprehen
sions with contempt ; but now, notwith
standing his efforts to conceal his feelings.

346 ON THE HISTORY
a sudden chUl carae over hira, though he
was seated close to the fire; and, either
from fear Or lassitude, his nose bled pro-
fosely. The attendants brought some
* confections ; and he delayed going in to
the King, until at last a gentleman came
to desire his attendance. The Duke im
raediately arose, and, coraposing' his
countenance, saluted with dignity the
persons present. He then went forward
to the King's charaber, the door of which,
as usual, was iraraediately bolted, and
proceeded to a cabinet on the left hand.
He lifted up the tapestry to enter, and
was imraediately stabbed w^ith several
wounds by persons who were placed there
for the purpose. He had no power to
cry out, but, turning round, had only
strength sufficient to struggle back upon
his knees into the charaber, and there
died without a groan. The King ordered
the body to be covered with a carpet, and

* Dulciaria.-

OF THUANUS, Slf
entered the chamber. He then adraitted
the other coui^ellors, and said to the
Cardinal of Vendome, " Now I am, in
deed, a King,"
Meanwhile the Cardinal of Lorraine
and the Archbishop of Lyons had started
from their seats, on hearing the turault.
Immediately su^ecting the cause of it^
they ran each in different directions ; the
Cardinal to make his escape, but the Arch*-
Inshop towards an opposite door, with
the design of assisting the Duke, They
were both taken into custody by the
guards attending, and conveyed to an
upp«: room, where they remained in con
finement that day and the ensuing night.
The Cardinal uttered sorae violent and
threatening expressions; and the King,
fearing his vindictive teraper, had him
privately put to death.
Our Historian faUs not to express his
detestation -of these comphcated acts of
atrocity. He gives the character of
Henry, Duke of Guise, in terras to the

348 ON THE HISTORY
following effect :— " The Duke acquired
popularity, in the first place, frora the
esteem in which the raemory of his father
Francis was held, and encreased it by the
intrepidity and conduct he displayed, on
many occasions, as a miUtary coraraander.
He possessed, besides, a winning affability
of manners, mixed with gravity, a species
of eloquence raore adapted to persuade in
priyate than in public, unbounded liber
ality, universal politeness, a coraraand
ing person, and a dignified grace and
composure, which diffused over his coun
tenance, mien, and whole deportraent,
the marks of a great soul and lofty spirit.
He readily endured excess of heat or cold,
hunger, and thirst; and, though bred up
with the raost refined delicacy, coraplied,
when in camp, with a soldier's fare. He
was sparing of sleep, active, always of a
cheerful countenance; and the detail of
business was so easy to him, that he seera
ed to raake a diversion and amusement of
the most serious affairs.

OF THUANUS, 349
" These excellent endowments were
counterbalanced by inordinate ambition,
accompanied by a crafty and versatile ge
nius. Dissimulation and deceit were
familiar to hira ; he was accustoraed to
vary from hiraself, and did not scruple to
fabricate one falsehood upon another, in
such a raanner, as to produce the raost
plausible reasons, at the raoraent he was
acting with the greatest duplicity, and^in
order to attach blarae upon others,
" This defect his intiraate associates
alone perceived ; and his want of fidelity
and truth occasioned the dereliction or
secret displeasure of raany of his friends.
So notorious was it, that the ladies at court
proverbially talked of Guise, as " the
pleasing * irapostor."
TheassassinationoftheDukeandbisbro-
thergaverise tb the most alarming comrao
tions. The city of Paris, under the controul
* Davila, who wished to palliate the faults of this
iiobleman, gives nearly the same character of him.
See his history, under the year 1588,

350 ON THE HISTORY
of sixteen rebels, who had formed them
selves into an association, in favor of the
league, openly declared against the King.
He was excoraraunicated by the Pope : the
two deceased Princes of Lorraine were
called raartyrs to the cause of reUgion ; "
and, in a word, all France was in a state
of anarchy and revolt. The Duke of
Mayenne, brother to the late Duke of
Guise, was at the bead of the insurgents.
Henry, weak, timid, and without deci
sion, foundhimsclfunequal to this emergen
cy. His most faithful and judicious coun
sellors, araong whom was our Historian
himself, recomraended him to have re
course to the aid of the King of Navarre,
upon whose integrity and honor the firm
est reliance could be placed. That ge
nerous prince, forgetting personal injuries
and religious differences, hastened with an
array to his succour : and the two raon-
archs proceeded together to besiege Paris,
Preparations were raade for an assault,
but, on the day before it was projected.

OF THUANUS, 331
Jaraes Cleraent, a fanatick monk, gained
access to the King, and, as he was reading
a letter which he had presented, stabbed
hira with a knife. The assassin iramedi
ately perished by the swords of the King's
attendants ; and Henry hiraself died of
the wound, on the sarae night, in the
thirty-ninth year of his age, and the six
teenth of his reign.
" This Prince," says our * Historian,
" was endowed with raany uncommon
perfections' both of mind and body; but he
was in the habit of debasing them by an
indolent, slothfol, and voluptuous Ufe.
" He adhered tenaciously to the ancient
religion, and w^as a resolute assertor of
justice-; he possessed great prudence, and
a grave eloquence; his countenance shone
with an expression of truly royal raajesty,
terapered witti urbanity and obliging raan
ners. One quality was pre-erainent in
his character, generally an object of
* Lib, 96,

5'6'i ON TflE HISTORY
admiration, but which proved fatal to him j
he set no bounds to his profusion, and^
consequently, the taxes and imposts uf)ori
the nation were immoderate. Thus he
became odious to his people, and exjJeri-
enced little gratitude from the objects of
his excessive liberaUty, for tbey attributed
it to the overflowing bounty of an easy
disposition, rather than to judgment.
' " His treasury being exhausted, and the
minds of his subjects alienated from him,
the additional circumstance of his afect-
ing the severities of a private and monas
tic life, contributed to render hira an object
of conterapt: and thus his foreign and
doraestic eneraies were eraboldened in
their projects of disturbing the realm."
Thuanus ascribes to Henry III, a root
ed hatred of the Protestants, and says that
he used to boast of being the advisej' of
the raassacre of St. Bartholoraew. He
blaraes the weakness of his conduct with
respect to the Duke of Guise ; and con
tinues in these terrns : " It was Henry's

OF THUANUS. 353
disposition to pay raore regard to private
attachraents, than to the welfare of the
state, to be the friend of others, and his
own eneray. He was so liberal and pro-
fose a benefactor, that he oppressed the
raodest, and wearied even the impudent
by his unexpected gifts, yet never satisfied
hiraself, 
" Iraraersed in indolence, he atterapted
not easily great things ; slow in delibera
tion frora a natural dilatoriness, which
bordered on infatuation rather than
frora fear, and too intent on the present
to provide for the future, he often neg
lected the fittest opportunities for exer-.
tion. He was unwilling to incur danger,
intrepid when actuaUy exposed to it,
and forgetful of it when past, ""
" In order to gratify his favourites, he
opened a door to foul corruption and vena
lity in the first offices of state ; which
finally proved destruction to himself. He
sustained the greatest injuries from those,
upon whom he had heaped honors and
A A

354 ON THE HISTORY
wealth ; and in like raanner, as he had
always entertained a respect and predilec
tion for all orders of raonks, he was assas
sinated by a monk when he least expect- >
ed it. In person he was tall and upright,
of a grave aspect, a^ble in conversation,,
a patient bearer, and teraperate in reply ;
cheerful in priyate society, serious in pub
lic. Upon all occasions, he raanifested a
fondness for porap and shew. Nature
/ had given hira a strong and healthy con
stitution, but he impaired it, when young,
by interaperanee. He afterwards con
ned himself to a raore regular life, chiefly
in consequence of the advice and exaraple
of * Christopher Thuanus, President of
the Parliament. From that tirae he en
joyed good health ; but in winter, and
excessively cold weather, he was observed
by his attendants to be raorose and rae
lancholy," Our Historian remarks, that
it was at such a season, the assassination
of the Duke of Guise took place.
* Father of our Historian.

OF tiiUAisrus, 355
After the death of Henry III. the last
monarch ofthe House of Valois, the King
of Navarre possessed a legitiraate title to
the crown. The wiser and better part of
the nation favoured his cause ; but he had
many obstacles to encounter. The Duke
of Mayenne, at the head of the remains of
the league, was a forraidable eineriiy ; and,
in order to strengthen his cause, he pro
fessed to support the Cardinal of Bourbon,
uncle of Henry IV, a weak old man,
pretending that he had a prior claira to
the throne, as Henry was a heretic. The
Pope favoured the league, and (" with an
arrogance and want of moderation highly
unbecoming," says Thuanus, " his pas
toral character,") extolled, in full consis
tory, the act of James Cleraent, Philip of
Spain ranged hiraself on the sarae side,
and discovered the purpose which long
secretly actuated hira, by proposing Isa
bella, his daughter by Henry III.'s sister,
as Queen of France.
A succession of wars took place during
A A 2

336 ON THE HISTORY
several years, before Henry IV, gained
secure possession of his dominions : but
his courage and conduct finally triumphed
over all opposition.
" At that tirae," says Davila,* " it was
raanifestly seen, what great things the
resolution of one man could effect ; for
the King, without money, without being
supported by confederates, without friends,
and, in a manner,, without any towns, in
a few months traversed all France, and
took more strong places than there are.
days in the year."
The exploits of Henry the Great,
during this period, forra, it is well known,
the action of Voltaire's Henriade ; and he
must be allowed to have selected a hero
in every respect suited to the dignity of
an epic poem :
f Qui par de longs malheurs appril a gouverner,
Calmales factions, sut vaincre, & pardonner, '
* Hist. lib. ii, an, 1590.
t Henriade, chant, 1. v, 3,''&c.

OF THUANUS. 357
Confondit ct Mayenne, & la Ligue & L'Ibere,
Et fill de ses sujets le vainqueur & le pere,
Train'd in adversity, he learn'd lo reign ;
Defeated Mayenne, and the League, and Spain :
, The factious, like a parent he forgave ;
His triumph, peace.!— he conquered but to save.
f
As our Author's history was left, at his
death, incoraplete, it contains no account
of the last years of King Henry's reign,
rior a sketch of his character. There is,
however, in the hundred and twenty-ninth
book, the following relation of the mea
sures pursued by him to promote the
wealth and prosperity of France :
" The King, from his natural sagacity,
perceived that, as the realm had been
drained by long civil vp-ars, it needed, for
the purpose of recruiting its opulence, not
only a season of peace, but the benefits of
a free commerce. He saw that it was
necessary not raerely to prohibit the ex
portation of coin, but to use every effort
for procuring an influx of it into the
country. With this design he encouraged

358 ON THE HISTORY
all French manufactures, which pro
mised to be saleable in foreign countries,
and were Ukely to produce a deposit of
money in our own. Accordingly the
growth of silk was promoted, which had
now become an article of general use ;
mulberry-trees were planted, by the
King's order, throughout the kingdorn,
and the eggs of the worms were imported
from Spain,
" Henry IV. sent also to Flanders for
artists skilful in weaving tapestry, and
settled thera at Paris ; he restored the
raanufactories of glass and earthenware ;
and, lastly, established workshops for
making linen at Mante upon the Seine.
"In repairing and beautifying works
of ancient architecture, in raising new
edifices, in forraing repositories for differ
ent aniraals, -and in laying out extensive
gardens, this great raan continually ex
ercised a spirit of truly royal magnificence.
He thus, apparently, aspired to rival, and
even to surpass the glory of his ancestor.

OF THUANUS, 359
Francis I, and was gratified in being
thought to resemble that monarch in
countenance, raanners, and a noble
mind." I subjoin a parallel passage from the
Memoirs of Sully, that great raan, who
Was at the same tirae a patriotic rainister,
and attached, by personal friend&hip, to
his King. Thuanus was a colleague of
the Duke of Sully, in many commissions
appointed for the national benefit ; but
the history makes, 1 believe, no important
mention of him. The passage in question
is in the twenty-first book of the raeraoirs
of Sully, under the year l6o5 :
" I shall content myself with barely
fiien tioning, as an eternal raonuraent of
Henry's glory, the flourishing condition
into which the wisdora of his governraent
had already brought France. The foreign
and doraestic expenditure was regularly
supplied, and no hardship w^as Sustained
by any of his subjects, either in conse
quence of those payments or the current

360 ON THE HISTORY
expenses of the year ; although the King
continued to apply very ample suras in
rebuUding, furnishing, and adorning his
palaces; in repairing old fortifications,
and erecting new, and upon all public
buildings, churches, hospitals, convents, &c,
" Plenty and affluence began now to be
felt over the whole kingdora. The nobi
lity and the array were delivered frora.
their tyrants in the revenue; the peasant
sowed and reaped in fuU security ; the
artist enriched hiraself by his profession ;
the raeanest tradesraan was happy in the
free enjoyraent of his profits; and the
nobleman in the cultivation and improve
ment ofhis estates."
The happy condition of France under
this * " patriot King," historians describe

* Henry used to wish " that every peasant in, his.
dominions should have a fowl for dinner on Sundays,"
" A trivial expression this," says Voltaire, " but the
sentiment it conveys is worthy of the father of his
people,"

OF THUANUS, 361
with pecuUar coraplacency and delight ;
and the excellence of his governraent was
more sensibly felt, on account of the dark
and storray period which preceded it.
Sorae obvious faults attach to Henry's
character ; but as a King, great alike in
peace and war, ever anxious for the hap
piness ofhis subjects, brave, sincere, open,
huraane and accoraplished, the annals of
France produce not his equal.
Contrast the character of Charleraagne;
his selfish restless arabition, attended with
perfidy, and bloodshed. Obscured by
such enorraities, the talents of this power
ful emperor, his victories, and the ener
gies of his raind, erait a faint and glooray
lustre. . How inferior, considered in the light of
a model for imitation, is such a sovereign
to Henry IV. who united goodness of
heart with exalted abUities, and truly de
served the naine of great, as a benefactor
to raankind.
The following characters are added to

362 ON THE HISTORY
this account, as farther speciniens of our
author's manner.
Character of Lewis Cornaro, a Venetian of
noble Birth, Author of the well-ktio'wn.
Treatise v/pon Health, %c. — Froin Thua
nus, lib. 38, anno 1566.
" Those bodily infirraities which
Cornaro had contracted by juvenile intera
peranee, he reraedied by sobriety and re
gular living, and by the force of reason
Subdued his propensity to anger and pas
sion. Thus, though in the flower of
youth he had been an invalid in body,
andhad no coraraand over his mind, his
old age was attended with sound health,
and a mild disposition.
" At that period of life, he wrote a
treatise on the subject of his early dissipa
tion and subsequent reform ; and what i^
reraarkable, promises hiraself a very pro
tracted existence> He was not deceived
in this expectation, and outlived his hun
dredth year. He died at Padua, in bia

OF THUANUS, 363
favourite residenee, placidly and without
pain : his wife, who had attained nearly
the same age, soon foUowed hira, and they.
v^ere buried, according to their desire,
without pomp, in one grave."
Character of the iUustrious Michael de L'
Hopital,lib. 56, arewo 1583,
" In this year France was deprived of
sorae of her brightest lurainaries, and of
one, whose dignity is pre-erainently con
spicuous. Michael de L'Hopital passed
the subordinate degrees of the laws, with
the highest character in point of learning,
of integrity, and of judgraent. He at
length attained the highest situation in his
profession, (solstitiura honorum) and was
i^ppointed chancellor of France, during a
most turaultuous period ; and even the
fajetious promoted his appointment, on
account of his estabUshed reputation for
virtue and firmness, .
" Envy, the inseparable attendant of
lUerit, failed not to attack him. He main-

364, ON THE HISTORY
tained a long struggle against her with
unshaken magnanimity, and finally, not
conquered, but victorious in subraission,
retired with honor into the bosora of do-^
raestic tranquillity,
" Whilst at court, he was often grieved
by experiencing ingratitude, but fixed in
his purpose of correcting the defects
which came iraraediately under his pro
fessional jurisdiction, he proraulgated
those pure laws, which wUl carry the rae
mory of their conscientious founder to all
posterity, " He died in the seventieth year of his
age, and his will, which gives a suraraary
of his life, is an authentic raeraorial of the
piety, patriotism, genius, wit, and prit-
dence of this great raan. His writings on
the subject of law haye long lain in ob
scurity, but they have a claira to iramor-
tality, and I trust will soon be brought;
forward to the public.
" His corapositions in verse have been
already objects of attention to his friends.

OF THUANUS, »65
and to me araongst others. They are worthy
of antiquity in purity and terseness of style,
inpoint, and weight of sentiraent, Ina word
they properly exhibit the character of their
author, who not only resembled Aristotie
in countenance, (as the busts of both tes
tify) but may be corapared to hira and aU
the wisest legislators of antiquity in the
virtues of wisdora and integrity. Experi
ence enabled hira to add to these qualities
a settled prudence, which was raanifested
in all his actions, both public and priyate,"
Character of Catherine de Medicis.
Thuanus, lib. 94, anno 1589.
Catherine, the Queen-Mother, died in
January of an inveterate dropsy ; and the
disorder was^ aggravated by chagrin. She
was a woraan of insatiable raind, proud
and luxurious : she foraented and allayed
national coraraotions for a period of thir
ty years, and araidst the contentions and
aniraosity of the nobility, reaped from
public calamities the advantage of con-

356 ON THE HISTORY
centrating all authority in her own per
son. Dedicated to raanly occupations
she divested herself of female vices, and
for the purpose of feeding her ambition,
took care that the minds of her sons should
be engrossed by idle and voluptuous
amuseraents. Her adrainistration was
alike prejudicial in peace and war, from
her distressing the people, as soon as they
began to breathe frora internal turault,
with a burden of extravagant expendi
ture, in order to procure new pageants of
kingdoras for her sons. Astrologers had
told her, that she should see all her sons
kings, and that she raight not have the
grief of witnessing their successive pro
raotion to the throne of France, she wished
thera to acquire foreign crowns,
" She was particularly prodigal in build
ing, and be^n in various places iraraense
raasses of architecture, but never finished
any, from the surperstitious impression
that her death would iramediately follow
their corapletion. She long deluded

OF THUANUS. 367
France by the mask of virtue; but find
ing her power contracted, and that others
had gained an ascendancy over her son's
mind, she, in despair, kindled the flaraes
of the last war. The conflagration that
ensued exceeded expectation ; and, when
Catherine perceived that it threatened
destruction to the kingdora, and that she
was an object of suspicion to the King,
she began to n^lect her own concerns
and those of the state, either frora hypo
crisy, or because advanced age had brought
disgust with it, Frora that tirae she con
tented herself with the gratifications of
external parade and homage, of which the
King, even in his displeasure, never de
prived her,
" She was subject to a slight fever, and'
the unexpected catastrophe ofthe Duke of
Guise at Blois, and some consequent ex
postulation she had with the Cardinal
Bourbon, affected her so much that it en
creased to a fatal degree. The King,
with great attention, seated hiraself by

S^S ON THE HISTORY.
the side df her bed, and dictated her wUI,
for her senses failed her at that moraent.
" She made a natural son of Charles IX.
her heir, contrary to her marriage con
tract, and bequeathed hira very araple pos
sessions; but, as her debts were iraraense,-
rauch of this property carae to public
sale. " She Was much addicted to judicial as
trology, and had been told by those who
professed the art, to beware of Saint Ger
main. She would never, therefore, re
main long at the palace of St. Gerraain ;
and, as the Louvre is situated in a parish
of the same name, she erected a magnifi
cent mansion at immense expense, at a
little distance. Notwithstanding all her
precautions, the fatal name still claimed
its ^ascendency, and a confessor, called
St. Germain, attended her during her last
Ulness. " Upon his mother's decease the King,
fond of palrade, even in grief, besides the
general court-mourning, had the tapestry

ON THE HISTORY 36y
removed, and the walls of the palace as- ,
sumed a representation of sorrow. A bad
omen this at that crisis, (says our Histo
rian, in his peculiar manner,) for he seem
ed to celebrate the obsequies not of his
raother only, but of France itself,"
This character of Catherine is suflicientiy
severe ; but even * Davila, who experi
enced her patronage, though. he praises
her able poUcy and firraness of raind, yet
aUows that she was " hypocritical, after
the raanner of the times; prodigal of
blood; and, provided she approved of any
design, thought all means allowable to
procure its execution."f See Davila, tom.
l,anno 1588.
* Davila received the baptismal names of" Henrico
Calerino," from his two royal sponsors, Henry III.
and Catherine de Medicis.
t In the second canto of the Henriade, is a cha
racter of Catherine, which concludes wilh these lines :
Esclave des plaisirs, mais moins qu'ambitieuse j
Infidele'i sa secte, el superstitieuse ;
Possedanlen un mot, pour n'en pas dire plus,
Les defauts de son se.xe, & peu de ses vertus.
B B

370 ON THE HISTORY
Character of Elizabeth, Queen of England.
Thuan. lib. 129, anno 1603.
" About this time died Elizabeth, Queen
of England, full of glory, and the most
fortunate woman who ever filled a throne,
I reraeraber that the illustrious lady Anne,
of the House of Este, raother of the Dukes
of Guise and Neraours, bore this testi
mony to her raerit, which raust have
been irapartial, because an hostility had
always subsisted between their farailies.
She used, indeed, these very expressions
to rae, on the same day the news arrived,
at my house, (where she paid an obliging
visit with her accustoraed politeness,) after
the first compliraents, and before she sat
liown, "I forbear, in this place, to speak ofthe
events which befel her, during the life of
her sister Mary ; for they have been
already related. After she ascended the
throne, so celebrated was her fame,
hat no year could pass without adding to

OF THUANUS. 371
the renown of this great Queen, who,
being destined all her life to contend with
great events, performed noble actions with
a masculine greatness of raind, and, ac
cording to the eulogiura of the Princess of
Este, with as rauch glory as good fortune.
" Her genius and disposition raay be
described in few^ words. She had by
nature, a lofty and raasculine spirit; and
when she came to the crown, in the
twenty-fifth year of her age, brought no
chUdish notions of governraent, but a
judgment matured and exercised in adver
sity. She vras not swayed by the opinion
of others, but freely used her own talents,
and united moderation vsrith the most
consumraate prudence ; shewing severity
towards a haughty and unbridled nobility,
and a raild deraeanor to the rest of her
subjects, so that, frora the beginning of
her reign she irapressed fear and rever
ence on the rainds of the aristocracy, and
raade herself generaUy popular; and such
was the even tenor of her fortune, that
BB 2

372 ON THE HISTORY
she experienced an unchangeable course of
prosperity to the end of her life. She was
munificent in the dispensation of favors, biit
always with a regard to justice; frugal in
gifts, lest the treasury raight be exhausted,
and her subjects burdened, but she deserves
to be praised for her foresight, rather than
censured as avaricious. She enjoyed her
erainence and dignity, not in the varied
indulgence of amuseraents, but eraployed
by those cares for futurity, which are
worthy of a wise prince. She was fond
of peace, yet occasionally found it neces
sary to arm her people ; for the English
are warlike, and apt to be ungovernable
when long in tranquillity : thus she suffer
ed not her subjects, though under the
governraent of a woraan, to lose any por
tion of their military farae. She sent
auxiliary forces into Scotland and the
Netherlands, and raost seasonable succours
to our King HeUry, in his difficulties, to
whom she was strongly attached. Under
her auspices successful and celebrated

OF THUANUS, 3^3
voyages were undertaken to the Indies;
Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the
globe, and a way was discovered of in
vading the possessions which the Spaniards
were amassing for themselves, and which
the Dutch afterwards followed with equal
success, " Almost her whole reign was peace
able; some coraraotions arose about the
tenth year of her reign in the northern
parts of the kingdora, but they were soon
appeased, and then, for seventeen years,
she enjoyed internal tranquillity; and,
although the change of religion produced
sorae secret enemies to her power, she
preserved, during that period, a modera
tion, which she had by nature, free from
bloodshed and cruelty, to which she after
wards seemed inclined. She made her
own feelings the raeasure of her judgraent
with regard to others, and thought that
violence was not to be ofiered to the con
sciences of raen : but, nevertheless, deem-
idit exhe^ient to limit this indulgence, and

374 ON THE HISTORY
not to [termit this allowed freedom qf
conscience to disturb the [lublic tranquil
lity, under the pretext of religion. As
the approaching storra of conspiracy
began to be felt, she gave a keener edge
to the laws, following not so rauch the
bent of her own disposition as that of her
subjects, who probably feared as rauch
for theraselves as for their sovereign. She
opposed strict edicts to guard against ira
pending dangers, and, as they rather
affected the possessions of men than their
persons, she incurred the charge of ava
rice, but that odium would with raore
propriety haye attached to her rainisters.
" One eminent instance of her good
fortune appeared in the destruction of the
Spanish fleet, the labor of so many years,
and appointed at such imraense expense,
which perished more by divine interposi
tion than by human force : and thus was
ambition chastised, and the unlawful de
sire of invading others perished by a judg
ment of Providence. PhUip, a prudent

OF THUANUS. 37a
Prince, was, by this stroke of misfortune,
admonished to think seriously of laying
asi4e the enraity which he had too rauch
encouraged against Elizabeth, and, as he
felt^ to his own detriraent. He had raade
peace with us, and, before he died^ wished
to conclude it with the English also. Eli
zabeth by no raeans rejected it, for her
mind was secretly prepossessed in favor
of Philip, from a sentiraent of gratitude,
on account of a favor conferred upon her,
when she vras in iraminent danger, at the
time when he was married to her sister
Mary. This favor she used freely to ac
knowledge ; but public animosities, and the
contentions of the two nations, predorai
nated over private gratitude, A reconci
liation was atterapted to be brought
.about by the mediation of the French
King, a proper place of accommodation
was fixed in one county for the.purpose,
and a conference of delegates appointed ;
but the design proved abortive.

376 ON THE HISTORY
¦^ The Queen of England possessed a
facility in learning, and an attachraent to
science. She understood Latin, and
spoke it readily, Gerraan also she was
well instructed in, particularly as being
the source of her vernacular language ;
she conversed frequently in French, but
with a bad accent ; in Italian w^ith great
elegance. She took great delight in rausic
and poetry, and was rauch captivated by
the verses of our country raan, Ronsard,
w^hora she once saw in England as he was
returning from Scotland, and he then
composed a pleasing copy of verses in her
praise. She afterwards conceived some
displeasure towards hira on account of
a free jest concerning her raarriage, in
serted in sorae elegant verses of his, en
titled " Nufees;" and she said, that it did
not become a raan of noble birth, wan
tonly apd scurrilously to asperse a power
ful Queen, who was his friend, and to
collect the rumours whicji malignity ha4

OF THUANUS. 37*
forged against her character. When
Ronsard understood this, he repented, and
Suppressed the verses ; but they were added
to his works by his friends after he was
dead, and the danger of offence was no
more. " Religious animosity cast many asper
sions on EUzabeth, which the even tenor
of a long Ufe, accompanied to its close by
the inscrutable blessing of Providence,
tended, in a great raeasure, to confute.
She seeraed to wish to be courted and
flattered for her beauty, and to seem sen
sible to the incense of love even in her de
clining years. This raode of relaxation
frora severer cares revived at her court the
memory of those fabled islands, inhabited
by errant knights and brave men, who, in
the cause of love, divesting the passion of
its impurity, continually exercised them
selves in generous acts of virtue and valor.
But if she thus somewhat injured her re
putation, she by no raeans irapaired thq

378 ON THE HISTORY
dignity of the sovereign, nor suffered the
helra of government to be turned from its
just direction. She was all her life averse
to marriage, and those about her person
suggested, through her physicians, that
there was danger of her not surviving
child-birth, with a view of raaintaining
their power over her ; yet she seriously
thought of wedding the Duke of Alen9on,
and the raatter was nearly brought to a
conclusion, " Conscious of innate raerit, she seera
ed to wish to borrow nothing frora
fortune and her royal station, but to
possess a fund of greatness in the qualities
of her own raind, and in a private and mo
derate station would have been an object
of praise and veneration. It has been
- surmised that she was fond of life, and
{bought, with pain, of de^ith and a succes
sor : yet raany years before her decease,
she used pleasantly to call herself an old
woraan, as in her youth she terraed her
self a virgin. It is certain that, in giving

OF THUANUS. 379
directions for an inscription on her raonu
raent, she wished only her narae to be
mentioned, that she had lived a Virgin
Queen, the length and prosperity of her
reign, and her attachment to religion and
to peace. Neither was she negligent in
appointing a successor, or careless of the
opinion of posterity : for the subject
being alluded to in discourse, she once,
after a profound reverie, started from her
seat, and said she knew her place would
not be left vacant for a raoraent ; w^hich
eventuaUyproved true.
" It was considered part of her feUcity
to transrait her kingdqm in peace to the
legitiraate heir, and to leave peace as a
kind of legacy to her people.
" In a w^ord, Elizabeth possessed virtues
becoraing the raanly character, and there
fore suited to a great king ; and she had
few faiUngs, and such as, considering her
sex, are excusable, Sorae ill-will attach
ed to her on account of religion, and she
suffered under an iraputation of cruelty ;

380 ON THE HISTORY
but tirae will be her best panegyrist, aiid
probably never has produced, or will pro
duce, a woraan superior to her. Her sta- '
ture was tall and coraraanding ; her health
good, and she felt few of the inconve
niences of old age, A tranquil death,
like that of Augustus, corapleted her for
tunate life : she suffered no pain of raind
pr body ; but her nerves becarae stiff, and
her voice and intelligence failed. She
died at Richraond in the 70th year of her
age, and 45th of her reign,"
After a perusal of about thirty books
of Thuanus's work, I am inclined to
think that there would be only one, but
at the same time, perhaps an insurmoun
table obstacle to its becoining popular in
a translation ; I raean its prolixity, It is,
I believe, the longest history ejctant, M,
le Gendre, author of a history of France,
computes that a person, who should give
his attention to \t for four hours a day,
would not finish the perusal in twelve
pionths : and he with justice adds, t|i^ti

OF THUANUS 381
as it comprehends the events of only 64
years, it is too voluminous.
Minute occurrences are related in a cir
cumstantial raanner; and the author's
style is upon all occasions very redundant.
The tree flourishes, but its fruit is irapo-
verished by an exuberance of leaves and
branches. The precept of Horace * is no
less appUcable to corapositions in prose,
than tg poetry :
Close be your language ; let your sense be clear j
Nor with a weight of words fatigue the ear, FilANCIS,
It cannot be expected that a raodern
writer of Latin should rival the Roman
classics ; but our Historian's style has
much pecuUar raerit. It is entirely origi
nal, and his own, free frora affected irai
tation, , correct, equable, and flow^s with

* Est btevitale opus, ut currat sententia ; neu se
Impediat verbis lassas onerantibus aures.
Hor. lib. 1, Sat. 10,v, 9.

382 ON THE HISTORY
copious and dignified eloquence. It is
also plain and perspicuous ; and the rea
der has seldora occasion to re-consider a
sentence, in order to understand it, ex
cept frora its length.
Thuanus gives what may be terraed a
microscopic view of history ; and treats
his subject accurately and distinctly in
its parts, rather than coraprehensively as
a whole. He makes few reflections, and,
for the raost part, leaves the reader to
draw his own conclusions frora the facts
before hira. Many accounts of sieges,
battles, embassies, public acts, and other
matters, he apparentiy derived frora per
sons who bore a part in thera. Hence
he details thera with a rainuteness of in
forraation, which is arausing and instruc
tive, and forras a characteristic feature of
his work. His history raay be consider
ed as a safe and ample repository of the
memorials of past times : but those parts
of it, which relate to foreign nations, are
sometimes tedious and indistinct.

OF THUANUS. 383
His fideUty and candor have been the
theme of continual praise. The cotem
porary historians, SuUy and Davila, appear
to agree with his general statement of the
affairs of France. Davila, the advocate of
the Catholics, is evidently erabarrassed
with sorae parts of his subject, particu
larly the raassacre of St. Bartholoraew.
Voltaire never raentions our author with
out coraraendation : he w^rote an aniraa
ted defence of hira, in reply to sorae ob
servations of a M. Buri, who, in a life of
Henry IV. accused Thuanus of pedantry.
Our author's preface has been placed in
the sarae rank with two corapositions of
a sirailar kind, written by Calvin and
Casaubon, Calvin's dedication of his
" Institutes," to Francis the First, is
chiefly reraarkable for an austere spirit
of religion, strongly expressed, Casau
bon's preface to his Polybius is indeed
viTitten with peciUiar elegance of style,
and his critiques, on the subject of the an-
^ cient classical historians, are deservedly
2

384 ON THE HISTORY
celebrated. But if a comparison were
instituted, I believe Thuanus would be
found superior to both in mildness, since-.
rity, good sense, and a most happy Union
of freedom and moderation.
Perhaps in that passage, where he pro
fesses his readiness to abide by the king's
judgment of his work, the reader, who
considers the length of it, may be' incli
ned to smile at his simplicity, in suppo
sing that his writings were capable of in
spiring Majesty with a perseverance in
study, adequate to the task of perusal.
To praise Thuanus as a good writer
and a faithful historian, is to mention not
the raost important part of his raerit.
He was a raan of principle and a Christian :
and probably never wrote a line, which
from its raoral tendency, he ciuld wish
at his decease to be obliterated. He disco
vers in every page, a desire *" of discoun
tenancing vice, and of proraoting the best
* Cowper's Letters.

OF THUANUS. 385
interests of mankind." Yet, in censuring
Ucentiousness, his language is temperate,
and he is of too pure a mind to enter, as
some satyrists have done, into its disgust
ing detail. In a word, the observation
which his friend Rigaijtius makes with re
gard to his conversation and society, may
be appUed to his writings ; namely, " that
they are calciUated to render those, who
attend to them, better and wiser raen."

C B

THE PREFACE

OF

THUANUS ;

OK,

DEDICATION OF HIS HISTORY

TO

HENRY IV.

C c 2

DEDICATION TO
HENRY IV.
THE
MpST CHRISTIAN KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE.

SlRE,
When the design of Writing a his^
tdry 6f these times first engaged my
Ihbughts, it did not escape me that such
a work, however executed. Would be ex
posed tb various censures ; but I knew
that ambition was not ray raotive, and
consoled rayself with the reward to be
derived only from a good conscience.
I hoped also that, in proportion as time
gradually abated personal anirtiosities, a
love of truth raight succeed, especially
Under the government of your Majesty;
who, by the signal favor of Providence,
after crushing the monstrous brood of re-

850 THE PREFACE
hellion, and extinguishing faction in its
embers, have given peace to Frapce, and
at the same time united liberty and regal
power, two things usually thought incora-;
patible. The * passions of aspiring men then
forraed a constant source of civil war,
and all hopes of peace were excluded frora
the public councils of the realra. Such a
conjuncture I laraented for the sake of
ray country, but it appeared propitiopjs to
the historian, who, avoiding detraction,
wished to write with freedom. On this
point, howeyer, my sentiments have alter
ed with the times. I was induced, as I

" The faction of the League, wilh the Duke of Guise
at its head, foriried firstof all against the Protestants
in 1575, and which afterwards opposed the king him
self, Henry III.
Des Guises cependant le rapide bpnheur
Sur son abaissement elevait leur grandeur :
Us formaient dans Paris, cette ligue falale,
De sa foible puissance orgueilleuse rivale.
Henriade, canto 1. v. 40..

OF THUANTJS. 391
have said, to begin to write in camps, in
the midst of sieges and the noise of arms,
when my raind was engrossed by the
variety and importance of events, and
sought, in composition, a relief from
public calamity. My work has been con
tinued and completed in your Majesty's
court, amongst the oppressive labours of
the law, foreign journies, and other avo-
cdtions ; and, upon reflection, I have be
come apprehensive that what might have
pleased, or at least have been excused in
tumultuous times, raay now give less
satisfaction, and even offend certain
raorose persons. For, by the infirmity
of our nature, we are raore incUned to do.
ill, than to hear of what we haye ill done.
It is the first law of histoiy to fear
to record what is false, and, in the next
place, not to wapt courage in relating the
.truth. And I cap aflirra that I have taken
sincere pains to discover, tq extricate, to
display tlie truth, when obscured pr bui ied
. Under party contentions, and on all occa-

39t THE PREFACfi
sions to deliver it with unblehiishedintegri-'
ty to posterity, I should have been ashanied
to prevaricate in a cau^ so honorable,
dnd through an absurd affectation of pru
dence, do injustice to the singular happi"
ness of your Majesty's times, in which
every one is allowed to think what he
fleases, and to speak what he thinks.
. 4, With respect to myself, I trust ^
who know me (and I hiVe not lived in
obscurity) know how far I am from disi-
simulation. Since, by your Majesty's
clemency, we have been all restored t6
favor, I have utterly discarded all sense of
any private injuries, and may, with justice,
be confident that no person, however pre
judiced, will accuse rae of want of candot
and^temper, in all that relates topast trans
actions. I raay appeal to the testiraony
of those very persons, whose naraes Occur
often in these books, who have always
found me ready to do thera all honor
able service, according to the extent
of the powers, entrusted to rae by yodr
Majesty,

OF THUANUS, Sgs
"Viliat upright judges ought to do in
determining of the fortunes and lives of
men, that I have done in this work, in
terrogating rayself at different times, whe
ther or not any personal pique might
©perate to give my opinion a wrong bias.
I have sometimes covered the harehness
of actions with gfentle expressions, conti
nually repressed ray own judgment, and
abstained frora digressions. Lastly I have
aimed to acquire a plain and simple style,
the image of a raind averse from vain
and ostentatious ornament, equally free
from asperity and adulation.
In return I request of ray readers to lay
aside private prejudices, and forbear to
decide upon ray history, until they have
perused it with attention.
The undertaking is perhaps beyond my
abilities ; and ray iraperfections will be
raanifest on raany occasions. But the
public good, and an ardent desire to raerit
the good opinion of mine own age and of
posterity have so far prevailed, that I had
1

394 THE PREFACE
rather be thought wanting in caution,
than in ray affection for their service.
I ara not so rauch in pain about ray
fideUty, of which I am thoroughly cour
scions. My industiy, too, has been such,
as wUl perhaps meet with indulgence
frora your Majesty, and the candid reader.
But what unfortunately constitutes the
greatest part of ray work, wUl, I fear,
prove offensive and unpalatable to raany,
who, being removed (as they think) frora
danger in their own persons, want both
feeling and justice, in estiraating the cala
mities of others,
5. I allude to the religious ^j dissensionSe
which, in addition to other evils, have
infested this corrupt age, Tliis raalady
has for a century afliicted the Christian
world, and will continue to afllict it, unless
seasonable remedies, and therefore differ
ent frora such as have been hitherto used,
be applied by tlio.«c whoso province it is.

'' Between the Roniani^^ts and Protestants,

OF THUANUS. 395
Experience has taught ns, that fire and
sword, exile and proscription, rather irri
tate than heal the disteraper, that has its
seat in the raind. These only affect the
body ; but judicious and edifying doctrine,
gently instiUed, descends into the heart. .
Other things are regulated at the dis
cretion of the civil raagistrate, and con
sequently of the sovereign. Religion
alone is not subject to command, but is
infosed into well prepared minds from a
pre-conceived opinion of the truth, with
the concurrence of divine grace. Torr
tures have no influence over her; in fact,
they rather tend to raake raen obstinate,
than to subdue or persuade thera. What
the stoics boasted, with so rauch parade, of
their wisdora, applies with far raore jus
tice to religion. Afiliction and pain have
no power over the religious man. "All
misfortunes are overborne, and vanish
before the virtuous resolution, which that
pre-conceived opinion inspires. Confiding
ill the support of God's grace, he is conr

^9fi THE PREFACE
tent to Suffer; and the ills, to which mor
tality is liable,, he takes to hiraself without
coraplaint. He knows and glories in his strength.
Let the executioner stand before hira; let
him prepare tortures, whet the knife, and
kindle the pile, he will still persevere:
and his raind wUl dwell, not upon what
he is to endure, but upon the part which
it behoves him to act. His happiness is
within his oWn bosom, and whatever
assails him outwardly is trivial, and only
grazes the surface Of the body. Even
Epicurus, whom other phUosophers ac
cused of impurity, says of his wise-man,
that, if burning in the bull of Phalaris,
he would exclaim, " It is pleasant, and
does not affect rae in the least," Now
can we suppose that those persons had
less courage, who perished by torture, a
hundred years ago, for their religious
opinions? And would not the sarae causfc
inspire the same resolution, in tiraes to
come?

OF THUANUS. 397
Consider the conduct of one of them
when bound to the stake. He began with
bended knees to sing an hyran, regardless
of the smoke and flaraes : and when the
executioner would have set fire to the
pile behind hira, " Corae hither," said he,
" and kindle it before my face ; if I could
have felt ^ny dread, I should have avoided
coming to this place,"
Tortures therefore by no raeans repress
the ardor of innovators in religion: but
their minds are rather hardened by them,
to suffer and attempt raore. From the
ashes of those who perished, others arose;
and as their nurabers encreased, patience
was converted into fury. Those who
bad been suppliants for mercy, began to
expostulate, to raake deraands with im
portunity: those who had fled from pu
nishment, now boldly betook themselves
to arras.
France has now witnessed this visita
tion for forty years, and the Netherlands
nearly as long. Th^ evil is become s^

3-93 THE Preface.
aggravated, that it cannot now be rooted
©ut, as it perhaps might have been origi
nally, by one or two public acts of pu
nishment. It has pervaded whole coun
tries, whole nations, and in fact the greater
part of Europe: and now, not the secular
arm of the magistracy, but the sword of
the Lord only can avail. Mild persuasion
and amicable conference mav still conci-
Uate those, whom force cannot subdue.
St. Augustin writing to Proculianus, one
of the followers of Donatus, was of this
mind, and even entreated the Proconsul of
Africa for those sectaries, that they raight
not be put to death. ' It becarae, he said,
the professors of the true religion, never to
recede from the purpose of overcoraing
evil with good. He tells Cascilianus that
fanaticisra is a tumor, which it is better to
suppress by terror, than forcibly to cut
away. And in his celebrated letter to
c Boniface is this passage. " in cases of
c Tribune with authority in Africa, St, Augustin.
was born in Africa about A. D, 350, and died in 430.

OF TIIU.\NUS, 3g$
serious discussion, when the public tran
quiUity is endangered, it is proper to re
lax from severe discipline, and to invoke
the healing influence of charity."
This opinion was transcribed raore than
once into^^Gratian's decree. The mild
and pious father, averse to harsh and im
perious raeasures, thought raore wasgained
by teaching than coramanding, by admo
nition than by threats. When the num
ber of offenders is small, he admits that ri
gour may be judicious : but then it should
be administered with evident regret and
grief of heart, -and the dread of punishment
inculcated from the Scriptures; that so
He was famous for his genii^s, and voluminous wri
tings, which are still extant in ten volumes folio.-
The sect of the Donalists arose in Africa, in the 4lli
ceiUury, in consequence of a struggle between the
churches for the election of a Bishop, Their chief
peculiar tenet consisted in pronouncing all churches
but their-own impure and erroneous. The Donatists
(so called from their kader Donatus) opposed the
election of Caecilianus, probably the same person,
who is mentioned in the text. See Fleury's Eccla.
tost. lom. 5, p. 363 and 461.
^ The Roman Emperor.

400 THE PREFACE
the raagii^trates may not be feared for
tlieir own power, but God himself ap
pear terrible in their ministration. This
he says in his letter to Bishop ^ Aurelius.
In a word, it must be acknowledged
that the records of sacred antiquity afford
no example, to sanction the capital punish
ment of heretics. The priraitive Church
abhorred blood^shed ; and if it soraetiraes
took place, the truly pious bishops always
expressed a sincere detestation of such
severity. This appeared in the instance of
PriscUUan,a preacher of heretical and perr
picious doctrine, throughout France, an4
^specially in Guiepne. Maxiraus, (who,
after killing Gratian at Lyons, usurped th^
e Bishop of Carthage.
f Priscillian was a Spaniard by birth. He maintain
.ed the Manichsean errors, with some alteratioq ;^ but
his peculiar tenet was " That it is lawful for aman to
make false oaths, in support ofhis religious interests."
See Fleury, tom. 4,p. 460 ^nd 528, who u^es the san?,e
words with Thuanus, from Sulpicjiis Sevgrus, For
an account of this jJrsf czVz7perse<;qlion, and thebgse
character of Ilhacius, see Mosheim, vol, 1. p, 42^
and Sulpicius Severus. lib. 3, p, 448;, Leydeit). E^t

OF THIJANUS, 4pi
erapire, but was, in other respects, a good
prince) putf^^ to ^e^thv^illjji^s .follow
ers at Treves, A, D, 383 ; aJtUpugh St..?
Martin had drawn aproraisefrom him that
their lives should .be spared, and ^hqd ad
monished Itacius and others'^to desist from
instigating the Einperor to this deed,
Tlie rest of the bishops alsp^ disalJI^owed
it ; Itacius withdrew hiraself for fear of
scandal. But he was condginnjpd by The-
ognistus; andSt, Martin, not vyithout gr,ea|.
difiiculty, und upon extrerae necessity,
prevailed upon himself ^to Ijpld corarau
nion with the Itacian faction, St, Ara-
brbse, who was sent (by the young Empe
ror Valentinian, brother of the, deceased
Gratian) to Maximus upon that account,
testifies in his relation, that when at
Treves, he forbore any intercourse with.,
those bishops who coihmunicated with
Itacius, and deraanded the death of all
wJ^p went astray frora the faith.
8 The truly Apostolical Bishop of Toars.

40^ THE PREFACE
In compliance with the advie^e of those
furious bishops, Maxiraus a^'^rwards re
solved to send Inquisitors, into Spain
with full power to try Heretics, and de*
prive the guilty of Ufe and estate. But
the same St, Martin by his importunity^
extorted a repeal of this decree. This
|uous man's concern extended to tiie deli
verance, not only of the Christians, who
upon that occasion would suffer trouble,
but even of the Heretics themselves. He
foresaw, that such a storm, if not diverted,
would end in the dispersion of a gr^eafe
number of holy persons ; and that littlp.
discriraination would be made, when
people were singled out by sight alone,
and judged to be Heretics by the paleness
of their countenance, or the singularity of
their garb, rather than by any peculiar
profession of faith.
After the death of PriscUUan what oc
curred? The heresy, which he had; pro*
pagated, far from being, suppressed, re-*
ceived strength, and spread raore widely.

OF THUANUS. 463
Those who' had honored him as a saipt,
now venc|al^ed him as a- martyr; the
bto^es of tiie slain were carried back
"kito Spain, and their funerals celebrated
tvith pbmpotts obsequies. Nay, so great
was t6e superstition, that to swear by
P#iscUlian was considered a most sa^^red
ob^gatioPi FroiA thence a strife broke
but ansor^st the bishops &f the GalUean
Church, w^iteh flamed for fifteen years,
and tbe rettiaims of it were \^ith difficulty
catitj^shed long afterwards; the flock
of Christ, in the mean time, and the best
men bdirig every where exposed to scorn
a&d reproach.
f. I never read the account^ of those
tittses in ""Sulpicius^ Sevefus, who wrote
^e; translactions of that age IvitW equal
'^gapee aiid fidelity, but the scenes of my
^Udhood recur to my mind, during the

. h This ecclesiastical historian flourished at the
' b^lnuihg of ^e fifth century', atid hs^ been Styled
^e Christian Sallust.
D D 2

404 THE PREFACE
first religious comraotions in France. At
that tirae raen were not judged by their
raanners, or the innocency of their past
life, but suspected frora their countenances
or cloaks; and from thence raarked out
by the eye for slaughter. The flaraipg
zeal, the raalignity of factions, tore the
kingdora to pieces, and endangered reli
gion itself, while our rulers added not a
little to these evils by partiality, fear, in
constancy, lethargy, sloth, and arrogance,
8, Frora the sera of St. Martin down
wards, raore lenity has been shewn to
schisraatics. . They have suffered banish
ment, or pecuniary mulcts, hut their lives
have always been spared. In the year
1 060, when the followers of "Berengarius
spread his doctrine in sorae part of the.
Netherlands, Bruno, Archbishop of Treves,
contented himself with expelling them
from' his diocese.

• Berengarius denied the real presence in the
Eucharist.

OF THUANUS. 405
This mild system prevailed till the time
of the ^ Vaudois. Persecution had then
no effect ; but the wound rankled under
this improper treatraent. The number of
sectaries daily encreased,' complete arraies
were raised by their party ; and at length,
a crusade, no less important than that
which our ancestors headed against the
Saracens, was decreed against them.
What ensued ? They were defeated, put
to flight, slain, spoiled of property and
honors, but they were not so convinced of
their error as to be brought to a sound
mind. By arras they defended them
selves—by arms they were subdued, and,
fleeing into Provence, and the Alps bor
dering upon France, found there an asy-

^ Peter Waldus, an opulent merchant of Lyons,
founded this sect, A. D, 1 160, Having procured a
translation of the gospels, he from thence discovered
the-degeneracyof the prevailing religion, Hp denied
^he Pope's supremacy, and his tenets were, in other
respects, similar to those which Luther afterwards ,
promulgated.

40S THE PREFACE
lum for their lives and opinions, Part
retired to Calabria, and kept themselves
there even till the pontificate of 'Pius IV.
Sorae passed into Gerraany, and others
found a refuge ip England. Frora the
reranant of this sect, John Wicliff is sup-i
posed to have i^prung. He taught long at
Oxford ; apd, ^bout three hundred years
ago, after ipany religious contentionsj
died there a patura,! death. The seculaf
punisl^mept only affected his dead l?ody?
and, lopg after his decease, his hones were
publicly burnt.
0. A succession of contests continued
until our own age, in which^ after an un
happy atterapt at punishment, w|iat begap
in dissension terminated in open w^^r and
revolt in Gerraany, Englapd, and FrancSi
A schism being thus pia4e ^nd confirpied,
and too long neglected by those wh^
could and ought to have reraedied it, it i^
uncertain whether the public tranquiUity^
••;: '.'rt":.-.-.  ¦¦  —  ¦¦¦¦ ¦:¦¦ ¦'— ' ¦-
] A.D, 1566.

OF THUANUS, 407
or religiofl itself, has been the greater suf
ferer. I do not wish to revive the old question
of fttiQishing heretics. That controversy
would ill suit my time of life or condi
tion. But I am desirous to shew that
those princes have acted witij prudence,
«nd, conformably to the institutions of
the ancient church, who have judged it
ri^t to appease religious contests even
upon disadvantageous terms, rather than
suppress thera by force of arras.
™ Ferdinand, a wise prince, observed
this. From experience in ip:iportant and
^ngerous wars under his brother, Charles
V. in Gerraany, he learnt that hostUities
fegainst the Protestants always failed of
success. As soon as he entered upon his
4]^picious reign, he secured the peace of
reUgion by a solejnn decree; and confirm*
ed it by repeiited sanctions. Gonsidering

"" King of Hungary, and afterwards successor tp
Charles V. on the imperial throne.

408 . THE PREFACE
that the interests , of religion were raost
advanced by friendly discussions (of which
raethod he had raade freqUent trials at the
diets holden under his brother at Ratisbon
and Wornis) , A little' before his death, after
the close of the council of Trent, he de
sired to give satisfaction to the Protestants>
who had not repaired to it, and designed,
by the advice of his son Maxirailian, a
most prudent prince, to institute a new
conference with them. For this purpose he
selected George Cassander, a learned and
moderate man, who was, in an araicable
raanner, to reconsider the controverted
articles ofthe Augustan confession with
the pastors of the other party. Unfor
tunately, the ill health of this excellent
raan, and the precipitate deaths of him
and Ferdinand, deprived Gerraany of the
happy fruits, which raight have been ex
pected frora these plans.
The nobles of Poland, after the ex-
ainple of the Gerraans, followed the same
cpurse afterwards in their republic.

OF THUANUS. 409
Emanuel Phifibert, indeed, Duke of
Savoy, when, under favor of the peace
concluded with France, he had r^ained
the possession of his ancient dominions,
whether to raise his reputation in Italy, or
to gratify others even at his own expense,
involved himself in a ruinous contest with
the ° ConvaUenses. But, perceiving his
error, he amended it by tiraely repent
ance, aUowed the people, otherwise in
nocent, religious freedom, and never after
wards disturbed it.
10. The progress of events brings me
now to our own tiraes : and I ara pre
paring to handle a sore, barely to touch
wMch, I fear, yviU be to ray prejudice.
But since I have entered on this topic, I
will disraiss it in one word, and ingenu
ously say, (under your Majesty's reign
this raay be done) that war is not the le
gitiraate raode of removing schism from
the church.
n The remnant ofthe Vaudois, ox WalfeuBes, in
habiting the valleys of Piednjont.

410 TOE PREFACE
Is it not true that the Protestants
araongst us, whose credit and numbers
sunk every day during peace, always gain-
led strength in the midst of arms and
discord ?° Apd certainly the foniepteis
qf these bloody contests, (so often under
taken -sp often comprpraised) whether
actuated by mistaken zeal, or by private
views, have coramitted a most pernicious
error to the misfortune of Fiance, and the
hazard of reUgion » Why ^uld I say
more ? The facts speak loudly for them
selves. After various disturbapces, and
the consequent sacking qf ipnumerablq
cities, the peace of 03, like the siiix breafc?
ing forth after storras, diffused a serene
calra throughout the land, How joyful
was ti^at ipteryal of four years to all good
men, by the security of religion, and the
o Father Paul computes that in -the J^etherlandst:,
alone 50,000 persons perished by different tortures,
for the sake pf religion. And he subjoins, that the
progress of the new opinions was rather forwarded
than checked by these precautions.

OF THUANUS, 41 1
care ©fa most upright ^ judge in fratning
those excellent laws, of which France
will never have reason to repent. But
our good fortune declined ; we began to
grow weary pf the public safety, so
well ^settled by those laws, ^nd reject-
i^ pacific councUs ; ipcUned to a war,
which proved fatal, not only to us, but
jn the end to those who have adyised it,
The persons I allude to yyill be known
by those, who are acquainted with what
paired at the unfortunate conference of
qBayopne, From that time, deluded by
foMgn intrigueS; we bent our thoughts to
artifice and hp;Stility, At that juncture

P The Chancellor de I'Hopital is probably meant.
q In 1564, Charles IX. then about fourteen
years of age, was taken by his qiother, Catherine
de Medicis, through, the different provinces of h^is
kingdom. At Bayonne they tpet the King ap4
Queen of Spaipj and there it is thought a scheine
yvas formed by palheripp and the Duke of Alva, and
the Guises, to extirpate the heads of the Pfotestant
party. Scf Hume, Elizabeth, ch, 39.

412 THE PREFACE
also the Duke of Alva was sent into the
Netherlands with a powerful array, after
the abdication of ^Margaret of Parraa,
who had governed those provincss with.
the greatest raoderation. He carried, fire^
and sword with hira ; built citadels in all
places ; gave a death blow to liberty by;
the irapbsition of unusual taxes : in a
word, every thing was thrown into confu
sion ; and the raost opulent cities, op
pressed by an intolerable yoke, wasted
away, like strong bodies drained of nutri
ment. These cruel and headstrong raea
sures weire followed by the despair, and
lastly, by the revolt of the people ; and, in
the issue, the chief and raost considerable
part of the provinces, and that which was
'^ Margaret, Duchess of Parma, natural daughter,
of Charles V, and sister to Phihp II, King of Spain,
by whom she was appointed regent of the Netherlands,
in 1560. After endeavouring to check the persec*^
tion of the imfortunate people, she resigned in 1569.
The merciless tyranny of the Duke of Alva folloiyed,.:
at the command of the bigoted Philip,
1

OF THUANUS, 415
most commodious for navigation, (which
is their great support) separated itself from
the rest. It is now governed by the au-
thorityiof the states, and has long carried
on war with success, not only against the
other part, but against the combined, force
pf Spain,
Francis Baldwin of Arras, a celebrated
civUian of our age, had long before ad
vised the chief lords of the Netherlands
to present a petition to PhUip in behalf of
the Protestants ; that the severity of capi
tal punishments and of the Inquisition
might bc' reraitted. He had also written
a book in French, proving that by confer
ences and an irapartial distribution of
justice to dissenters, religious controver
sies raight be brought to a better conclu""
sion than by violence and arras. If they
proceeded in these raeasures, he foretold
that the power of the Protestants, at that
time feeble and dispersed, would be con
centrated, and war and defection would
succeed to verbal contentions.

4,U THE PREFACfi ¦
T,Ms ;^resage of a Fleming, Concern?-
ing Pkraash affairs, t more, willingly
relate to your Majesty, because,- after
having erabraced ths^ Protestas^ faith.
in the beginning of life, he was^ induced
by a diligent perusal of the fathers, to
change his opinions, But instead, of being
transported (as is the general case) with
implacable hatred towards those whom he
bad left, he preserved constant modeF^jf
tion, and affordeda signal lesson to this age
of Christian charity. From a sense of his
own error he felt compassion for othersj
a®di took all pains that the offences
coraraitted through rashness and- a lofs^e
®f novelty, raight be industriously correct*
ed by reviving the raeraory of soupder
antiquity. Returning from Germany into
Fmmee, he easily gained tlie approbation
of your raOst serene "" father to his equallj^r
prudent and pious proposali and held an
honourable place in his fkraily ; being ad
mitted sometiraes to council, and intrust-
«" Anthony de Bourbon.

OF THUANUS. 415
ed with the tration of youE Majiesty's na
tural brother.
12, Away therefore with those imper
tinent 4)oasts in which sorae persons have
indulged themselves to the scandal of the
French name, because they have admitted
no peace with Heretics. O the extraor
dinary love which they bear to relgion !
— Adunrable counsellors, behold your
triumph in the loss of many * flonrishing
provinces, behold it in the wreck of your
estates miserably swaUowed up with them,
^id laraent over your own work.— How
glad would these persons now be to
adopt wisdora from onr example, which
then they so artfully pretended to detest ?
At wl^t price would they not redeem the
' It is probable that France would have been in a .
more deplorable situation, than when the English
possessed one half, and the nobles separately tyran
nized over the other. The Duke ofMayenne hadBupr
gundy, the Duke of Guise Rheimsi, and part of
Cfiampagne, the Duke of Mercoeur ruled in Brittany^,
&c. — See Voltaire, Hist. Gen. torn. 4, p, 369,
3

41S THE PREFACE
waste of SO raany years, in the course of
which, by judicious policy, the coraraon
eneraies of 'Christendom raight have been
expelled with equal glory and advantage,
out of Hungary and both the Mauritanias.
13. But 1 ara not without apprehen
sion, that impartial judges raay discover
in us that iraprudence, of which we cora
plain in the present instance, Interape^
rate zeal, or pernicious counsels, gave
occasion on our part to the raost grievous
excesses. Cities were sacked, churches
(which the rage of the first coraraotions
had spared) rased to the ground, and pro
vinces desolated. Enraity and suspicion,
which had been appeased by the short
interval of tranquillity, were on all sides
inflaraed, and arras laid down only to be
resuraed with fiercer animosity. Yet after

•The Turks had greatly extended their power, under
the mighty Sultan Solyman in Hungary, and under
Barbarossa and Hascen in Africa. See Robertson's
history of Charles V. under the year 1641.

OF THUANUS. 417
all these things "peace was at length con
cluded again, and the more joy; it pro
duced, with so ihuchgreater iniquity (may
it be buried in eternal oblivion!) was it
violated, by the ''massacre, two years
after; in which you. Sire, whom God
had long before destined to be the restorer
()f Fraince, narrowly escaped destruction, r
To those who escaped this ''Gapbareus,
within the space of two years other rppks
occurred, upon which ^the same impru
dence suffered shipwreck. ; The wrath of
God tarried but little, and inflicted ven
geance on an offending land by the death
of a generous Prince,^ who erred more by
'¦ In 1569, From 1548 to 1569 — during the reigns
of H'enry II, Francis II. and Charles IX, the most
dreadful civil wars raged in France,
^ It took place on St, Bartholomew's day, August
24th, 1572. ¦¦
y A dangerous rock, on the Euboean shore, where
partof the Grecian navy was wrecked, on its return
from Troy, .Euboicicautes, ultorque Caphareus.
Virg.\yEn. 11,260.
z Charles IX, died ih 1574, May 30th, in the 24ih
year of bis age, and the 14lh of; his reign. His blood
E E

418 THE PREFACE
the fault of others, than by any evil pro7
pensity of his own. What was the con
duct of his successor ? * Upon his return
from Poland, rejecting the salutary coun
sels of the Emperor Maximilian, and the
Venetian Senate, (by whora he was enter
tained in his journey) he began, his reign
with a war, which they dissuaded, and
which the Protestants hurably deprecated
at his bands. He had leisure to repent of
these raeasures, and, three years after
wards, framed the edict of pacification,
which he Was accustomed to call peculi
arly his own. For seven years there was
h profound peace, with only some few
accidental interruptionsfrora the ravages
of the soldiery. Then certain persons,
irapatient of rest, and provoked that

issued through all his pores, an extraordinary malady.
Occasioned, it is said, from a vitiation of the liver, by
blowing the horn constantly in hunting. Catherine
de Medicis, his mother, niece of Pope Clement VII.
was the chief ofhis evil counsellors.
aH^nry III, of the branch of Valois. H« had
been chosen king of Poland,

OF THUANUS. 419
the country, frora its flourishing state,
should be able to dispense with their
services, excited at an unseasonable tirae
a raortal war. The ill-advised '' King, by
a fatal blindness, suffered hiraself to be
forced into it by his courtiers ; and the
peril, which was at first directed in ap
pearance against your Majesty, after
wards recoiled on hiraself.
My mind shudders at the recollection
of the detestable ^parricide, which will be
an eternal disgrace to the Frdhch narae,
and which ended in the infamy of those
who rgoiced in it. It would have in
volved the kingdom and reUgion itself
in inextricable ruin, unless Providence,
(always watching over our safety) had
reserved your Majesty to be our deliverer.

b Henry III, was at first seduced to join the league
against the Protestants, but afterwards united with
the King of Navarre, when the Duke of Guise was
discovered to be aiming at the throne.
c Henry III, was assassinated the 12 th of August,
1589, by James Qeuvait, a fanatic mopk, U is
thought by the instigation of the League,
E E2

420 THE PREFACE,
You, Sire, stood forth the pillar of the
tottering state; and by your virtue
stopped the precipitate course of pubUc
calaraity, which bore all before it, like
a wheel rolling down a steep descent.
Your Majesty afforded, in your own
person, an illustrious proof of the truth of
what I have stated, that though all other
things are subject to human laws, religion
cannot be comraanded. During all the cala-
raities with which you had struggled from
a. child in the raidst of those civil wars, in
which you had been surrounded by many
hostile armies at the same tirae ; during so
many defeats, partly given and partly re
ceived (for to conquer and be conquered
w^ere then equally disastrous) you always
persisted ip your resolution, and bravely
maintained your groupd, unshaken by
allurements or terror. But at the rao
ment when j^ou perceived all things yield
ing to your merit, you voluntarily com
plied with the entreaties of your friends;
and submitting to be arrested in the

OF THUANUS. 421
career of victory, with the concurrence of
the Divine Grace, devoted yourself to the
religion of your ancestors,**
15, Tour Majesty then exercised that
moderation and lenity, the benefit of
which you had in your own person ex
perienced. The edicts published against
the Protestants, contrary to the will of
your predecessor, were revoked, and after
making peace at horae and abroad with
great honor, you confirraed two decrees
successively raade in their favor by
a third, which reinstated thera in their
estates and good narae. Many were ad
vanced to the first places of dignity : and
you judged that thus concord would be
more commodiously ceraented, and the
ferment in the rainds of men subsiding,
the clouds of passion and prejudice would
disperse, and they would discern what is
the best, that is, the most ancient religious
constitution, d Henry renounced the. Protestant religion, July
25th, 1593,

422 THE PREFACE
16, Of old the good fathers of the
church acted thus, towards those who
•went astray in consequence of depraved
opinions, or inflamed by secret rancour,
that they miglit shew themselves to be
influenced by charity, not by a desire of
conquest. St. Augustin every where
calls the Pelagians brethren: Optatus,
Bishop of Milevi, stiles the Donatists
hrethren. Before them St. Cyprian de
clared it to be his wish, study, and advice,
that, if possible, none of the brethren
raight perish ; and that the Church, a
joyful mother, might enfold all her ac
cordant sons in one embrace.
17. Many who differ from us are se
cretly resolved (to use the very words of
St. Augustin), to corae back again, when
the storra shall be passed. But, if it con
tinues, or if tljey fear that their return raay
occasion another, and perhaps a worse ca
laraity, they will naturally retain a dispo
sition to help the weaker part, and defend
to death (vyithout resorting to separate

OF THUANUS, 423
conventicles) the known doctrine ofthe
CathoUc Church. For the sake of the
church's peace, they will bear patiently
injuries and insults ; and give an exarapfe
with what affection and sincerity of cha
rity God ought to be served.
18. Taught, therefore, by experience,
and your Majesty's example, I have ab
stained from opprobrious language, and
have always made honorable raention of
the Protestants, especially those who ex
ceUed in learning. Neither have I con
cealed the faults of our own party ; for I
think, as the best men have e thought, that
the manifold heresies, which agitate the
world at this day, have gathered strength.

¦= *' It would have been easy to restrain the Pro
testants, Such had been always the advice of the
wisest heads, of such men as a Chancellor de L.'Ho-
pital, a Paul de Foix, a Christopher de Thou (father
of the historian who unites eloquence and veracity),
of a Pibrac, a Harley, But the favorites thought to
gain by the war, and promoted it," "Voltairej Hist.
Gen.vol.4, p. 338.

424 THE PREFACE
not raore frora the raalice and intrigues of
their supporters, than frora our vices,
IQ, By one raode both these evils, the
error of dissenters and the vices of our
own people, raay be provided against :
namely, by banishing the scandalous prac
tice of corruption from church and state,
and bestowing the direction of spiritual
raatters upon men of piety, erudition, and
approved morals, who have already given
proofs of moderation and prudence : by
giving virtue its due reward, and by con
ferring honors, not through favor or pur
chase, notiipon novices, but on men of
tried integrity, who fear God and detest
covetousness, and come recoraraended by
raerit alone.
When the good andhad are indiscrimi
nately admitted to equal advantages, no
peace can have long duration : no state
but raust fall to decay, if the governors
cannot discern between honest and
wicked men, and (according to the pro
verb) suffer those advantages to be intev'

OF THUANUS, *25
eepted by drones, which ought to be en
joyed by the industrious bees.
! Nothing is so prejudicial to the duty,
which we, who hold any raagistracy or
office of trust, owe to God, and, after God,
to your Majesty and the people subraitted
to your' rule, as a lust of sordid lucre.
Frora hence, if we at first derive our
coraraissions, it may well be feared, that
we shaU in time be entirely devoted to
this base passion, and that mercenary
traffic wiU be the pole-star of our
thoughts; till, blinded by avarice, we
cast off all. honesty, and violate our fide
lity to God and man. Covetousness is a
wild head-strong beast, neither to be
endured nor satiated. Add to the im
mense wealth of France the golden
mountains of Persia, and the treasures of
both the Indies, all would fail to satisfy its
ravenous appetite.
Vices know no mean ; they rush head
long in their career, nor cease but with
utter extinction.

45^ THE PREFACE
On the contrary, virtue (according to
the saying of Siraonides) is like a cube,
compact and steady to resist every motion
of fortune, and all huraan vicissitudes.
Self-balanced and content, she accora-
modates herself to nature (which diversi
fies the conditions of mankind), and pre
serves the temper of the soul free and
uncontaminated. If proper honor and value be assigned
to this quality, which forras the charac
ters I have been describing, there will be
enough to bestow on the deserving, with
out burden to the treasury, and with alle
viation to the people,
20, That the sarae may take place in
the Church, if it is not your Majesty's pro
vince absolutely to effect, yet is it an
object worthy of royal solicitude, to press,
to entreat, to interpose your authority
with those whose business it is, that it be
not neglected. O may your Majesty
make this new field of glory your own ;
and reflect that we cannot hope long to
1

OF THUANTIS, 427
enjoy these happy raoraents of ease, the
gift of God, unless we heartily apply our
selves to magnify his honor, and to cora-
pose religious dissensions.
21. I seera, perhaps, to propose a great;
raatter, and, in the judgraent of sorae,
(who through love of the present, hate
to think of salutary provisions for the
future) not hastUy at this tirae to be un
dertaken. But of great cares great is the
reward; and superior genius, such as
Heaven has bestow^ed upon your Ma
jesty, is not to be occupied by trifles.
Certainly after the stop * put to the U-
centiousness of profusiop and rapacity, and
the proportioning every raan's domestic
expense to his circumstances (upon which
accounts France owes and will still con
tinue to owe more to your Majesty, than
can be expressed) you can attempt no
thing raore becoraing the high station you
adorn, than the reduction of the civil and
* The prosecution of extortioners, and those guilty
of embezzling the public money. See Sully's Me
moirs, lib, 21, anno, 1605.

42S THE FUEFACE
spiritual laws (which the intestine trou
bles of so many years have thrown into
confusion) to order and regularity. These
fruits will follow, that, the divine wrath
being pacified, by the cordial labours of
Bishops and Magistrates in their several
functions, truth will prevail over false
hood, candor and sincere charity over de
ceit and hypocrisy, and the laws over cove
tousness and luxury, which two opposite
vicies an age perverse in wickedness has
contrived to unite. Good raorals will
flourish with chastity and raodesty, which
.have been hitherto exposed to ridicule ;
in fine, raerit being restored to its due ho
nor, the value, lustre, and influence of
raoney will be seen to decrease.
This is your Majesty's wish, for I have
heard you declare,- that yOu would pur
chase such felicity to the kingdora even
with the loss of your limbs. This is the
wish of all your Majesty's true friends ;
and such are my sentiraents concerning
the welfare of the country.

of THUANUS. 42f
22, If I have expatiated with freedom
and at length on this topic, your Majesty
will regard w^ith indulgence a raodest raan,
and ope educated in that liberty, the res
toration of which we owe to your Ma
jesty, I thought it expedient at the be
ginning of ray vrork to guard against ca
lumny, and to soften raalignity, and trust
this will be ray excuse for detaining your.
Majesty with a long discourse,
23, I thoughtthat what has been already
said, would have been sufficient for the
excuse or vindication of ray work ; but
behold I ara adraonished by my friepds,
that there are not wanting persons, who
will contend, that an exact enumeration
of particulars relating to our liberties, im
munities, laws, and rights, might well have
been spared ; and say that it will not tend.
somuch to your Majesty's dignity, and that
ofthe realpi, as to the injury of others.
To all such ray answer is ready, and it,
diall be brief. To use raany words.
would seera an affectation of fighting

430 V- THE PREFACE
with shadows, but to be quite silent might
give a handle to malevolent censure.
The education I received from my
father, (an excellent raan, as is well
known, and very tenacious of the old re
ligion); the traditionary lesson, if I raay
so speak, deUvered frora ray grandfather
and great-grandfather, and my own dispo
sition upon taking a part in public affairs ;
all have concurred to make the loye of my
country, next to reverence of the suprerae
Being, the strongest passion of ray heart.
I do not put in corapetition with it pri
vate affections, and private gratifications.
I entirely adopt the sentiraent of the an
cients, that our country is a second God,
and the laws of our country other deities.
Whoever violates thera, whatever color of
piety he raay assurae, is sacrilegious, and a
parricide. These rights, these laws, are the foun
dation upon which France has raised her
self to her present extent of dominion, and
eminence of grandeur.

OF THUANUS. 431
If thea"e be any (and I wish there were
not) w^ho would by degrees subvert these
by mines and secret engines, aware that
open force would not avail, we should
not be good citizens, we should be un
worthy of the name of Frenchmen, if we
did not raake resistance unto death.
It is the voice of our ancestors, men
eminent for piety, that the preservation of
the laws is the heavenly pledge of pubUc
safety, the paUadinm of our country.
WhUe we keep it in custody, we raay defy
foreign machinations; but if it be lost,
we are no longer secure. If through our
cowardice or reraissness this should ever
be stolen, there is no doubt but the robber,
another Ulysses skilled in Grecian wiles,
will, by suborning some Sinon, introduce
into France a fatal horse pregnant with
foreign soldiers. Then wiU this most
flourishing part of Europe be laid waste
by a conflagration, like that which level
led Troy with the ground,
God grant us a better &te ! nor have we

4S2 THE PREFACE
this, to fear, while your Majesty and the
^Dauphin are preserved tous. '
24. The occasion would here require
me to enlarge on your Majesty's virtues;
to which we owe our lives, our country,
and all that raakes life desirable. But this
will be expected by those who consider
rather the ample ground of praise in the
subject, than the raoderate ability of the
w^riter. .. ,
I have not indeed intended a panegyric,
and I know your Majesty to be raore
gratified in the consciousness of perform
ing good actions, than by the celebration
of your praise. >
25, You, Sire, deriving your pedigree
upon certain testimonies from the raale
line of the most ancient and raost noble
faraily that ever swayed the sceptre, were
born among the distant Pyrenees, and
grew up amidst perils in the lap of adver-

f Afterwards Lewis XIII, born September 23, l6oi.

OF THUANUS. 43.'3
sityi^' After happily eluding the snares
which encorapassed your childhood,^ at a
more mature age you repelled with signal
bravery the assaults of your enemies. In
the hour of danger you carae frora the re
mote province of Guienne ^to assist the
King either voluntarily or at his request ;
and the hand of Providence seeraed to di
rect your steps, that a lawful heir raight
not be wanting to occupy the throne, des
tined to be soon vacant,
g Henry I'V, was born al Pau, the capital of Beam,
in 1553, of Anthony de Bourbon, Duke of 'Ven
dome, and Joan d'Albret, He descended from
Robert deClermont, 5th son of Lewis IX. (St Louis)
Robert married the heiress of the Lord of Bourbon,
and his descendants took the naine,
t.The King of Navarre was just dead. His death
indeed left a prince and a king 15 be head of the re
formed religion in France : but this prince was a
child of seven years of age, and the mark at which all
the blows of the new council (directed by ttie Queen-
!ffilolher and the Guises) were aimed, vvho acted in
concert with the Pope, the Emperor, the King of
Spain, and all the Catholics of Europe.—Sully, vol, 1,
p. 12.
F F

434 THE PREFACE
When in possession of pow-er you tefti'
pered it with benignity and clemency,
wishing to restrain disaffected rainds by
benefits rather than by fear. Such con
fidence did your virtue inspire, that ^our
eneraies placed their security more in your
mercy, than in the defence provided by
their own arms. Their grief, at their
own defeat, was not so great as their joy,
that you were the conquerx)r. From sup
pliants they immediately found themselves
in the situation of friends and intiraates :
and the delinquents retained a more acute
sense of their past oflences tbap your
Majesty, who, by your mildness ipade
them regret that tbey had not sooner
araended their error. This formed a
inuch surer ground of dependance than
the hazard of battle : and they could not
but submit to him, whose career of glory
was so irresistible, that the fortune of war
no longer appeared impartial, nor victory
winged, but both seemed inseparable from
your Majesty's arms,
3

OF TllUANUS, 435
This felicity was crowned by vigUance,
by unwearied labor, by patience of cold
and heat, and hard fare. Assiduous by
day and by night in military duties, in
frost and rain, sparing of sleep, (which
you took at intervals, on horseback, or
wrapped in your cloak, on the bare ground,
without detriment to your health,) you
preserved by example, the raost persua
sive mode of ruling, necessary discipline.
This, when the soldier's pay is interrupt
ed, others with difficulty ensure by arbir
trary power.
The enemy, even when superior in
numbers, was taught to think you for
midable : they retired into fortified places,
and clairaed frora successful defence that
honor, which victory conferred on your
majesty. Under these circurastances it is
not surprizing that they should eagerly
embrace an opportunity, offered by Provi
dence, of reconciliation.
Terrible in war, you assurae the raost
amiable character during peace. The fine
F F 2

43() THE PREFACE
arts regard you as their patron: and those
immense edifices, i raised with incredible
celerity, with all their costly raagnificence
of tapestry, painting, scujpture, in the
most exquisite workmanship, are monu
ments of the greatness of your mind, and
of your attachment to peace, which no
time will deface, 4
¦ What is more than all, the rauses, driven
from their ancient seats by the rage of
war, congratulate you as their restorer.
Under your auspices, the university of
Paris has revived ; and by the accession
of Isaac Casaubon, that lurainary of the
age, to the custody of your Majesty's truly
royal library, it has lately-acquired a splen
did ornarnent.
Thus it is plain that the uninterrupted
course of so many triumphs did not serve
so much as a state of progression to raore
ambitious projects, as it inspired you with
the resolution of cultivating peace with
' The Louvre, Fontainebleau, &:c.

OF THUANUS. 437
your neighbours, and giving rest to your
weary harassed people. Proceed, Sire, in
tills generous design ; pursue the plan of
confirming the peace, purchased at the ex-
pence of so many labors, by restoring
vigour and authority to the laws. Assure
yourself that the life and soul and judg
ment and understanding of the country
center in the laws ; and that a state
without law, Uke a body deprived of its
animating principle, is defunct and lifeless
in its blood and njembers. Magistrates
and judges are rainisters and interpreters
of the laws : and in fine, we are all
SERVANTS OF THE LAWS, THAT WE MAY
BE FREE.
26, In the confidence of enjoying thi.'^
freedora, I have coraposed my history,
the first part of which I here present to
the public, and dedicate it to your august
nanie, for raany just reasons, which con
cern both the author and the subject
raatter itself,
1

438 THE PREFACE
It Would be ingratitude in me to for
get the addition made by your Majesty
to th^t honor, which I first received at
the hands of your predecessor of blessed
meraory. In the course of ray services
in courts and in caraps, I have been in
trusted with raany negocia!tiohs of import
ance ; and have thus obtained much of the
knowledge requisite for a work of this
kind. Profiting by mv intercourse with
several illustrious persons, who had
grown old in the court, I have reduced
to the scale of truth many things that
have appeared in scattered publications,
or on uncertain authority. Whilst I
forraed part of your Majesty's retinue, I
exerted ray diligence on this object, until
the obligation of ray office confined rae to
this slavery of the bar,
I have had the honor to be known to
your Majesty, not of yesterday, or for a
short tirae — two-and-twenty years have
^lapsed sipce I carae to you in Gi^ienne,

OFTHU.\NUS.- 439
pn a mission from the king, with other
delegates frora the illustrious body of Par
liament. From the urbanity and bene
volence, with which you then treated me,
I was induced at that tirae to hope that
if ever ray feeble talents produced any
fruit, it would not be altogether unaccept
able to your Majesty.
Another reason for inscribing this his
tory to you is, that, as I have undertak-en.
a work full of dangerous hazard, I stood
in need of powerful patronage to screen
me frora the caluranious and raalcvolent ;
and also of that discerning judgment
which your Majesty displays ih the eon-
duct of national affairs, to examine the
truth of ray relations.
By this judgment I have deterrained, as^
I ought, to abide, whether your Majesty
shall recoramend the publication of the
remainder, or the suppression of this part,
which is now not so much published, as
presented to you by way of specimen.

440 THE PREFACE
Tour determination or comraands I shall
consider as the words of a divine oracle.
What you approve, I doubt not .will be
universally approved. If any differ frora
your Majesty's opinion, certainly it will
be that class of raen, whom the sport of
fortune has elevated to an erainence ; but,
having performed no action of note,;
they think a true relation of facts injuri
ous to their reputation.
As it would be inconsistent with ray
honor to be subservient to the unjust ex
pectations of these persons ; so I should
make it a matter of conscience to pass.
over in silence their vices, which have
often involved the country in calamities.
My preface concludes with a prayer : —
O God, the giver of all good things,
who, with the only-begotten Son and the
Holy Spirit art three ; and in power, wis
dora, and goodness, one ; who art in all
things, didst exist before all things ; and

OF THUANUS. 4U
who, by thy Providence, orderest and dis-
posest lawful governraents, v^dthout which
no faraily, city, or nation —not the whole
race of raankind, nor the universal nature
of things, created by thee out of nothing,
can subsist : unto thee I raake my public
prayer for the welfare of my country.
Confirm, I beseech thee, to us, that
which thou hast brought to pass so much
for the advantage of France, and therefore
of all Christendom : prosper thine own
work ; perpetuate the great benefits thou
in thy mercy hast bestowed ; and, by pre
serving the King and the Dauphin, in one
simple and coraprehensive gpnt, fulfil all
our petitions.
In their welfare, our peace, our security,
our wealth, all our desires are coraprised.
Direct the councUs of the sovereign to the
establishment of that erapire, which he
rescued frora destruction ; until his son
shall attain raature age, flourishing like a
plant by the side of sorae pleasant river.

442 THE PREFACE
Under his shelter raay posterit.y, in thei
enjoyraent of leisure and tranquillity, cul
tivate the illustrious arts of peace, and
proraote true piety and erudition.
But first vouchsafe to hear the prayers
of pious Frenchraen, and grant to these
princes a long united reign ; renew, under
their influence, primitive faith and re
ligion, priraitive raanners, the institutions
of our forefathers, and the laws of. our
country. Confound the raonstrous devices
of new sects, the new-fangled notions
in religion, and all other inventions sub-
tilly iraagined in fimes of ease for the
delusion of persons of siraple mipds.
Deliver us from schism, and let there be
peace and security in the house of God,
in raen's consciences, and throughout the
land. FinaUy, O thou best and greatest of
Beings, I beseech thee, through grace of
thy Holy Spirit, without which we are
nothing, and can effect nothing, that

OF THUANUS. 443
liberty, fidelity, and truth, raay be raani
fested in ray writings to the present and
future generations ; and may they be as
free frora the suspicion, as they are exerapt
from the necessity, of flattery and male-
vplence, A.D, lOoi,

APPENDIX, No. I.

POSTERITATI.
Libertatis ego nimiae, verique quod acer
Assertor fuerim, viliorumque horridus osor,
Et Romae, et nostra passim traducor in aula.
Quid faciara ? quomevertam? quojudicecausam
Defendam ? Judex idem accnsalor et index,
Tu modo, Posteritas, ades incorrupla roganti,
Et patrocinium deserlae suscipe causae :
Scripsimus ista libi, nil nos ingrata moramur
Judicia, et viii plausus mercede redemptos
Nil admirantis praster prassentia vulgi,
Tempus erit, quo, nunc quae non ita grata, placebunt }
Cumque odio fuerit satis invidiaque litainm,
Prsemia pro meritis conslabunl j usta labori.
Interea liceat mihi simplice crimina versu
Diluere objecta, et nostro jus praeter inuslas
Cum venia auctorum detergere nomine labes.
Libera lingua mihi est: quid si servilis ? an is qui
Me nunc accusal, non et reprehenderet idem
-Tanquam vaniloquum, tanquam candoris inanem i

446 APPENDIX.
Primus amor Veri rectis in menlibus esse
Debet, ut in caris etiam execremur amicis
Omne anirei yitrum, contra admireiniir in hoste
Virlutes, Graius Pellaeo judice necne
Barbarus ille fuat, nullo discrimine habenteS.
Hoc toto exacti decursu fecimus asvi.
Nee fecisse piget; lauSentculpentque susurris,
Pruritum ad leneras quod mollibus excitel aureS,
Magnaturrt circa yolitantes atria muscse,
Et fuci el parasit* etnrgtEe nomine ficuS
Indigitanda cohors, nostrie insidiosa quieti,
Ille born dignu§ mlhi civis habetm- honore,
Cui servare fidem vel cum discrimine vilse
Jacturave^ sua didicit, qui spernil honores,
Dfitestatur avariliam,.fra.udesque nefandas,
Intus et esse pius mavult, quam fronte videri.
Nulla Jides hodi^ barbae, impexoque capillo.
Nulla supercilio, rugjsque severa prof/essis.
Impontint externa oculis ; Deus abdita novit
Solus, et arcanos rimatur peclore sensus,
Arguit ecce alius, quod amore odioque prOcul sim^
: f^erpetui quod non usque ad faslidia laude,
Putidushos oneretn, non illos asper acuto
Dente secern plenisque voniam convicia buccis.
Atqui Gregorios laudavinius et Marcellps,
Atque Pios, illumque imprimis, Hadfia nomen
Cui dedit, et Paullum privatit laude merentem
Aiscribi anliquis ; habuit nam Koma probatoS
Pontifioes ; ahos minus his et semper habebit j
SiQ. sunt res hominum; nihil omni ex parte beatuni*

APPENDIX. Uf
Cubcti ad mensuram Superi Regnator Olympi
Mensurs ipse expers, tribuit mortalibus segris.
Nam quid Alttxandro fiet, qui sacra profanis
Miscuit, et gladio nil non et pyxide fecit ?
In caros quid avo nimium indulgenle nepotes ?
Altius ut repelem, quid Julius tfw; Apuo;,
Italise cunclos qui non errante subegit
Clave Duces ? contra quid Julius alter ab illo,
AUia qui vacuo dum grandia mordet in horto,
Poslhabuit levibus se digna negotia ludis ?
Multa legi sed en'un, quam efferri in luminis auras
Expedit. O Corydon, Corydon! arcana potentunx
IJlla putas ? ut sint, minime illos credera par est :
Laudanda ut faciant, audere ul turpia cessenl j
Semper adesse putent, qui crimina lecta revelet,
Et si quid peccent, nunquam sinat esse sepultum.
Sola libidinibus lex est base dicta polentum,
Ut metuant de se coram quid fama susurret
Publica, quid veniens olim pronunciet %tas.'
Ill medio, quisquis rerum moliris habenas.
Sic positas aedes le crede habitare, theatro.
Liber uti partem pateat prospectus ad omnem,
Perque gradus sedeant tanquam ad spectacula cives,
Sic foris atque domi, sic corpore tutus aperto,
Poplicola alter eris, ipso te teste bealus;^
Invida nee metues plebeiae verbera linguae.
Nee Siculas inter menses, lautosque paratus
Distrielum: eerviee super trepidabis ob ensem.
Quid quoc} scribendi petulantiiis, atque loqiiendj
In jyo^er^itn mores ips^ mps natus in urbe ?

448 APPENDIX.
Fescennina quis ignorat ? quis ovata jocosls
Inter cornicines nescitdicteria pompis ?
Pasquilli cui sunt ignota sophismata ? cui sunt
E medio responsa foro, quae reddil amicus
Vix pra!textatis vix et referenda cinaedis ?
Annum Silvester claudit : vis caetera dicam ?
Esuriunt vales: noscis quiddeind^ sequatur.
Hactenus et nullis lasciva protervia pocnis
Frsenari potuit ; frustra custodia mutas;
Excubat ad statuas, vigihque satellite ^servat.
¦ Pasquillus nusquam furto deprensus in ipso est,
-Marforius semper loquitur, semperque loquetur.
Doctrinam at sanam nihil haec dicteria tangunt,
.^ternamque fidem, quam Petrus in urbe cruore
Et Paulus sanxere suo, quamque ordine longo.
Semper eandem el ubique el ab omni gente probatam
Inde ad nos series deducta ostendit avorum.
Non siquis liber, si verum dicere gaudet,
Laudatorque boni, vitiis si parcere nescit.
Continue nigfir est, tibi vel, Romane, cavendus ;
Non pietati adeo libertas pugnat avitae,
Ingenua siquid sum simplicitate loculus.
Liberies siquid subitove quid excidit asstu,
Non ego proplerea lactantis ab ubere matris
Abscessi el gremio : desertis non ego castris
Miles in adversum migravi transfuga vallum.
Non ego Smalcadicaejuravi fcedera pacis,
Namnetumve dedi dextram inconsultus in urbe,
Ambosiae turres frustra tentare paratus.
Sed procul a turbis, omnique cupidine vitam >¦.

APPENDIX. 449
Majorum constans in religione peregi.
Semper el abstinui rebus per bella novandis.
Ossatum sit fas post tempera summa citare,
Ossalum lestem, qui me juvenemque virumque
Inque toga el trabea, qui me intus el in cute norat.
Viverel ! baud tristis vexet censura columbas,
Cunclave permiltet laxata licenlia corvis.
Illumnc appellem, qui nunc superatque vigelque
Perronum, Aonidum spem praesidiumque Sororum ?
Unus pro cunctis magni pars magna Senates,
Tu, Francisce, mihi es, rerum O tutela mearura.
Tu mecum, tanto lu me complexus amore,
Partiri suetus curas : scis strenuus in me
Quid solidum crepet, aut mendoso linniat aere,
Candoremque tneum, qui sit, re saep^ probasti,
Sponsorem le proind^ ac prscdem hue denique sisto ;
Ne, Francisce, bonae vadimonia dcsere causae.
At Protestantes laudas, quos nempi Valini
Debueras odisse odio, et cane pejus et angue.
Eloquium quidni laudem, ingeniumque colendis
Arlibus, et si quid calamo vel voce valebant ?
Nam Siculi exemplo Diodori instructa paratur
Bibliotheca viris, quos Mars amat atque Minerva,
Guos Clarius, Clarii quos dilexere sorores.
Hermeias hoc fecit idem, & fecisse disert^
Gaudet, et hoc minimi facto peccasse fatetur.
Ergo Leunclaius, Gesnerus, Fabriciusque
Dictus honorifice, Camerarius atque Xylander,
Junius et Votonus et Aschamus et Buchananus,
Laudati Stephani, queis lota Lycaea recuses
c 6

450 APPENDIX.
Egregie ob veterum libros henh grata precantur,,
Insup6r el plures alii ; quid magnus Erasmus ?
Mene in eum, cui res taritum literaria debet.
El debebit adhuc, genuinum stringere ? crimen,
Vos, veneror, manes, hoc a me deprecor absit.
At peccavit ; homo fuit atque humanus Erasmus ;
Humanfe et carpi voluit, placid^que moneri.
Hem quis homo es, qui ferre alium nequis impro-
be lapsu
Peccantem humano, cum tu deterrima pecces
Interea, inque homines Divosque injurius ipsos,
Obscaenasque cavo luctantis pectoris antro
Admoti doleas face perlucere latebras ?
Sunt hominum aetates variae : juvenillt^r ilium
Exultasse stylo fateor ; verum ultima semper
Distractae studiis spectanda est clausula vitae.
Quae pulchra in Batavo fuit irreprehensaque cycno.
Ad Belgas testis quam scripsil epistola fratres,
Hinc alii atque alii insurgunt, quibus altera leges
Numina quod patrias dixi moresque receptos,
Displicet, ignaris fundata crepidine qua stet
Publica res, quantoque tot usurpata per annos
Legitime in regno mutentur jura periclo,
Imperiorum auctorDeus, imperii.sque regendis
Constituit leges, quas qui violaveril olim,
Ultricem scial ille paratam numinis iram.
In Tiberim Sejanus ut alter scilicet unco
Ducendus, nieritaque adfectus morte Cethegus,
Nunc et sacra vide quid in hanc rem pagina dicat
Ne tu limitem agro positum metasve revelle ;

APPENDIX, 451
Frigidus ecce rubos inter latel anguis acutos.
Si sapis, O mediam, pastor, ne dirue sepem,
Offendil Synodi Pisanae et mentio quosdam,
Quam pius el memori recolendus peclore Gallis
Indixit Lodoicus, ut importuna minacis
Arma coerceret Juli, ccetfisque iidelis
Tunc pulchro haerentes abolere et corpore sordes,
Narravi hisloriam ; lotum quae nota per orbem.
An narrasse nefas, et erit narratio fraudi ?
Propositum sed enim laudati principis ipse
Laudasti, et Sedem oblique sermone notasli.
Tu qui me arcessis, vitam non ant^ peractam
Arguis aut mores, sed verba jacentia tollis.
Emendari el quse fieri meliora necesse
Tunc erat, ac peniliis Babylonis nomina perdi.
Id non in tanto summ6 laudabile Rege
Procurare fuit, totasque impendere vires,
Sponsa Dei ne qua vilescerel obsita ruga,
Ullius offensoeve querelje aut causa subesset ?
Atque utinam optatum potiOis sortita fuissent
Consilia eventum, quam postquam Julius omnem
Miscuit Italiam, ferre grassatus el igni :
Hand meliora vi^ Leo grassarelur et ipse,
Cuncla suis sibique indulgens ac sacra profanans;
Accensa cineris concluso e fomite flammS,
Quae totam serpens invasil protinus orbem.
Non reliquo avulsi nunc corpore Teutoneserrent,
Anglia non laxis impulsa feratur habenis,
Anglia Aboriginummox signa secula suorum.
Rursus Pragmaticam objectant Caroli atque beati
Gg2

452 APPENDIX,
Laudalam Lodoisi, indignanlurque repostum,
Oblivi caeca mallenl quod nocte sepultum.
Quid facias ? Galli pridem, dum fata sinebant
Felices, hoc passim usi sunt jure, priusquam
Ulla infecissel miseros sectaria labes.
Nunc quia Germanos vexanl vexantque Brilannos
Panneriiasque duas longi conlagia morbi.
Jure suo Gallos prehibent el legibus uti,
Et scriptis mandare quod usu et more receptum.
Tempore quod rebiis tanto fuit utile nostris.
Idne aequum, cives, aut aeqnS, mente ferendum ?
Poslremo mihi crimen alrox et morte piandum
Objicilur, verbis quod sum insectatus amaris
Urbe Parisiaci lanienam man6 patratam j
In Conslantini quae nunc & visilur aul&,
Prcaeipuos inter Romae depicta triumphos.
Tempera nil opus hie, loca sed distinguere ; monies
Hanc cilra vobis liceat, pia lurbaQuirites,
Illuslreni laudare diem, el celebrare quotannis.
Per Vaticanas alternis dicere cellas,
Eumenides Siculae, sacra vespertina canamus,
Non eadem Gallis, Italis quae laeta videntur :
Quisque suo gaudet sensu, Tu mellea credis,
Allerius quae sunt absinthia tetra palate,
Laudem ego, tanterum quod apud nos causa malorum
Exstitit, et porro seclis erit usque fuluris ?
Quod cunclas gentes inter populosque propinquos
Gallorum infami deturpat crimine nomen,
Quodque lot edictis damnavimus ? hoc ego laudem,
Implevit trepidas quod sutpicionibus urbes.

APPENDIX, 453
Libertalem odiis dedil, immanique cruoris
Per caedes populos fundendi accendil amore ?
Non execrer ego potiiis, dirasque nefando
Indicam sceleri, legum quod vincla resolvit.
Quod pacem turbat, regni qua publica constat
Alma Salus, summo quam passim Ecclesia tota
A rerum Domino concept^ voce precatur,
Temporibusque suis optal contingere supplei ?
Vos quoque, Dardanius Sanguis, quibus otia blanda,
Et plumae melles, et corda oblita laborum
Securam spondent sElern^ in pace quietem,
Damna aliena ad vos qui nil spectare putatis ;
Ex improviso si marlius ingrual horror,
Hispanisqiie ferox opibus post funera victor
Carolus in mediS, ponat vexilla Suburra,
Noctumisve dolis Albanus moenia pulset ;
Sera licet, tandem capiet miseratio nostri,
Invisaeque adeo pacis pia cura subibit.
Quod mihi, quod cuiquamve, potest contingere cuivis.
Sunt exempla domi, Sclt dives Avenio quondam.
Qui Serbelloni luerit mercede furorem
Roma polens, quanlisque laboribus atque periclis
Consliterit saevas expertus Arausio flammas,
Veb nimium veslris vicinus Arausio terris.
Quid si animis idem redeat furor, et quod ubiqu«
Multi urgent laris cxpertes et jura gravati
Exlegesque, domi nascens lachrymabile bellum
Invadat placidas lurbato foedere gentes ;
Naufraga si toties puppis non horreat undas,

454 APPENDIX,
Nee foedis pelagi tot conflictata procellia
lUisum trepidet scopulis affigere rostrum j
O quanti ex illo motus errore sequentur ?
Quae tantas inter sat erunt solatia clades,
Lymphatus cum vasta dabil Mars omnia circum.
Sanguis ubique fluel, deserto nullus in agro,
Vallate rarus visetur in urbe sacerdos.:
Si quis erit, diris probrisque a plebe petetur,
Fons quasi tantorum fomesque capulque malorum,
Et san6 ut fuco verum quaeramus omisso,
Quam partem in turbis Christus sibi vindicat istis ?
Cognatas^ socialis amor qui jungere raentes
Debet, ubi est, sine quo virtutum caelera turba
Friget ? ubi innocuus pudor, et reverentia legum,
Queis servire bono libertas maxima civi ?
Ut verbo expediam, belli civilis in asse.
Si totum excutias, non est semuncia recti,
Non fidei aut priscae pietatis scrupulus unus,
Ponite jam gladios igitur, qui corpora Ijedunl,
TrojugenBBj ferrumquc animas quod dividit anceps
Sumite, siderei ferrum fornace recoctum,
Et lachrymis precibusque Deum placate potenteni,
Haec vos arma decent : multis sectaria pestis
Non culpa est, culpae sed debita peena putatur.
Quo minus in tali licet excandescere casu.
Si vitie humana lapsae, non crimine, mentes
Poctrinae cujusque leves agitanlur ab aura ?
His blandi affatus monstris, mansuelaque cordaj
^is opponenda est melior doctrina piorufn

APPENDIX. 435
E prisco ponenda penu ceilaque parentum ;
Non tela atque cruces, quibus irritabile turbae
Segregis ingenium tantos ciet orbe tumultus,
Jamque mihi opposites casses livoris iniqui
Retiaque et nodos pius evasisse videbar.
Cum subito a laeva purgatam vellicat aurem,
Ingeminatque Patris monitor venerabile nomen:
Cujus ego cineres el manes rite sepultos
Sollicitavi amens, conturbavique quietem,
Invitum excusasse diem cum diximus illam,
Obligat infando qu£e Gallica sceptra piaclo,
Patris ego cineres placidos manesque revelli ?
Patris ego nomen laesi ? pro numine nomen :
Quod mihi semper erit, cujus spiransquerecensque
Usque magis noctem atque diem observatur Imago,
Quicquid ago, quicquid meditor vel mente revolvo.
Semper adest; culpae tanquam objurgater acerbus.
Si quid deliqui ; si quid laudabile Conor,
Instat agens, stimulosque animis properantibus addit,
Ille mihi ante ocnios majorum exempla meorum,
Dictaque praeclare, generose el facta repenit,
Ille refert proavos ad moenia celsa Genabi
Fortiter occubuisse feces arasque tuentes :
Ille refert Mariam bis centum circiter ante
Palati Quaestorem annos, equitumque Magistrunij
Ambos devotos, ambos pro rege ruentes,
Immanae plebis rabidae satiasse furorem.
Jam Deganaium quid ego, pacalis Olivae
Heroem quid ego memorem de nominedictum.
Officio, atque arcta consanguinitate propinquos ?

456 APPENDIX.
Nee me degenerem venlura redarguet aetas,
Plura habiti cupidtim non incusabit babendi,
Praefocanle animos non ambilione furentem,
Non simulatricis grassantem fraudibus artis
Infestas quae nunc virlutibus obsidel aulas,
Et caliganlum praestinguit lumina Regum,
Vos, O majorum cineres, teque optime longis
Soliciti genitor defuncte laboribus aevi
Testor, pro patria nullas regnique salute
Vilavisse vices, vestri virtute meaque
Indignnm nil fecisse, et, si fata lulissent,
Prodessem ut patriae, patriae succurrere, livor
Absistal, pietate mea meruisse petenli.
Pura ad vos anima, atque hodiernae nescia culpae
Descendam, quandoque novissima venerit hora,
Noslraque sub tacitos ibit fama Integra manes.
Nunc quia fata ebstanl, manifest^ & percitus iri
Consiliis placidas sanis Deus obstruit aures.
Quod puer augurium praesago pectere feci.
Cum canerem aerias acies, pugnasque volant^m.
In flexu aetatis seniique in limine firmo,
Invidiae cedo, & fasces trabeamque resigno.
March 15, l6l\.
This is the Prophecy lo which he alludes, written
twenty-seven years before, at the end of his Art of
Falconry ;
ATauE aliquis longo cineres post tempore nostros
Miratus viridi turn lates cespe, dicet.

APPENDIX. 457
Huic quanquam in plumis fortunaque amplS.
Contigcrit nasci, el superarent gratia opesque,
Quas leneris hodi^ cuncti mirantur ab annis,
Majorum quamvis repetentem exempla suorum
Gentis hones et laudis amor, clarique Parentis
Fama recens majora etiam sperare juberet ;
Otia Musarum tamen, ignolosque recessus
Maluit ille sequi, scopulosque aulaeque procellas
Effugere, & vanes hominum contemnere fumos.
Maluit ille hederas, et lauros sponte virenles,
Quam spolia, et macra pingues de pace triumphos.

( 458 >

APPENDIX, No. II.
A SPECIMEN OF SCIOPPIUS'S CRITIjCISMS
ON THUANUS'S STYLE.

BARBARISMS.
AbolelHS — for abolitus,
CoUturus — for culturus, SOLECISMS.
Intro erant — for intiis erant.
Incommodare aliquem — for alicui.
rOREI&N IDIOMS,
Cumte.mpore — for procedente tempore inposterum,&c.
Probare — for experiri.
Ad minus— for saltem, duntaxat.
MODERN IDIOMS.
Vir nupsil puellae — for uxorem ducit puellam.
Ad mortem damnare — for capitis cendemnare.
Per transennam — for prseterire in transitu, &c.
There is only one obsolete expression — vitulalundus.

( *59 )

APPENDIX, No. III.
THE EXORDIUM OF THE 127th BOOK OF
THUANUS'S HISTORY,

In desideratissimi Principis, qui nunc jucundo Lu
dovici nomine feliciter imperat^ auspicate natali, cura
antfe sexennium scribendi finem fecissem, non puta-
bam fore, ul ulla ratione addnclus finite potiiis quam
intemiisse eperi manum denue admeverem. Satis
quippfe publicae expectationi, satis ad famam factum
existimabam, historia per bella plusquam civilia ad
pacem toto orbe Chrisliano Henrici Magni virtute
ac beneficio partam deducts. Nam ab eo tempore
nihil fere memerabile apud nos gestum : lantum
quaedam domeslica, ac majorem partem tristia occur-
runt, nequaquam cum superioris aevi rebus compa-
randa, Multa etiam conantem deterrebant, recenli
adhuc sensu indignae gratiae mihi pro tot evigilatis in
publicam ulililatem ad nominis Gallici gloriam labo
ribus repensae, quae in praeterila & instantia respici-
enlem melius de futuro ominari non sinebant ; prae^
sertim ciim mihi deinceps cum iis vivendum esset,
quos iniquos ab initio expertus, si ultra pergerem,
implacabiles habiturus eram.

460 APPENDIX.
Nam ad caeteras molestse fortunae imporlunitatcs
hie cumulus accessit, ut cum serio de secessa cegi-
tarem, aestu contrario abreptus in aulas scepulos reji-
cerer, quibus affixus animi in boras penderem, &
qui in legum obsequio antea conquiescebam, nunc
pristina libertate novo servi tie emancipate, precarium
veluti spiritum alieno nutu ducerem.
Ita cum per illorum ipsorum, quibuscum mihi res
est, sive astum, sive livorem, private vivere non liceat,"
non solum laberis ingrati necessitas imposila est, sed
adversus invidiam & polentiorum odium periculosum
certamen propositum ; in quo si succumbam ignaviae,
si pertendam, contumacise pertinacis crimen mihi
subeundum sentio, Vix enim dici potest, quantum
vitas praeteritae innocentia, ac praecipuum veritatis
studium mihi inter nostros odium cenciliaveril,
quam graves inimicitias ingenua mea libertas, &
alienus ab omni fuco ac factione animus excitaverit,
ut quicquid deinceps facturus dicturusque sim, si re-
missius ad metum, si generosiiis ad ultionem sunt ii
relaturi, qui majorem partem hodie efficiunl, & de
aliorum fam^ et existimatiene ex sue sensu, non
recta ratione, plerumque judicium ferunt,
Haec & alia, quae deliberanti in mentem veniebant,
ejusmodi erant, ut constantissimum quemque ab
omni pneclaro consilio delerrere potuerint : me vero
assiduis fortunae adversaniis ictibus fraclum istuc
aetatis admonere, ut quieti consulerem, nee in in-
vidioso opere industriam meam diutius fatiga-
rem.

APPENDIX. 461
Sed facil8 fuit hominem patriae earilatis amore
captum, quique recta consilia et honesta emolumen-
tis omnibus el commodis semper anteposHit, in re
praeserlim, in qua publica ulilitas cum privatis ratie-
nibus certal, a sententia dimevere. Nam cum
amici non in Gallia solum, ubi plerique mihi metu-
entes potiiis quiescendum suadebant, sed externi a
periculo remotiores ex Hispania, Italia, Germania,
Britannia, Belgio, Pannonia, atque adeo ultima Li
vonia perliteras quolidie ad rem persequendam horta-
rentur, nihilque reliqui facerent, quo me jacenlem
erigerent, & alacrilatem pristinam, quam saeculi in-
gratitudinem pertaesus amiseram, proposita publica
utilitate in me renovarenl, eorum tam enixam stu
dium in cam, quam ipsi volebant partem, interpre-
tatus, mihi tandem persuaderi sum passus, ut si
otium nactus essem, eorum desiderio simul, 8c pub-
liccB utilitali aliquando satisfacerem,
Sed sive ad tristem rerum faciem hebescente,
sive desuetudine scribendi pigreseente animo, sive
denique ob recentem molesliarum exantlatarum me-
moriam reslilanle, rem de die in diem protelabam ;
cum casus inlervenit prodigio propier, non solum
Gallis sed cunctis orbis nationibus lamentabilis, in-
terilus Henrici mag;ni, qui magnum momentum ad
omnem dubietalem tollendam attulit, Enimvero
cum principem his deploratissimis temporibus quasi
coelo delapsum post tot egregia facta omnes sibi boni
superstitem cuperenl, mali etiam in ejus longiore
Tita praesidium sibi repositum putarent, fieri non

462 APPENDIX.
poluit, quin tam indigna ejus merle varie animi sint
affecti, cum alii prepriam jacturam dolerent, alii
rerum merita reputantes publica commiseratiene
non citra indignatienem moverentur; alii denique
prassentium sensu in impendentium malorum con-
siderationem non sine ingenti animorum consterna-
tione rapei-entur. Ego certe, qui praecipue pietatis .
sensu tangerer, minime mihi satisfactum pulabam,
nisi Principis de orbe Chrisliano lam bene meritt
manibus singulari ac peculiari officio parentarem,
Itaque eadem facilitate qua tantas molis opus ab
initio sum aggressus, nunc quoque me vinci passus
sum, ut preeleriterum memoriam sempilerna obli-
vione erueremj & obfirmato contra calumnias &
obtrectationes animo, intus conscientii tutus, de
caetero securus, fidem amicis datam liberarem. Et
quande Deus Opt, Max, me tanto Principi praeter
spem & contra votiam superesse voluit, qualecunque
otium in hoc aulico coniitatu nactus, decrevi re'i-
qua vitae ejus, hoc est decennii quod sequitur res
g@stas scriptis commendarem.

( 463 )
APPENDIX, No. IV.
TBUANI TESTAMENTUM.

In nomine sanctae el individuae Trinitatis.

QuoNiAM Deo ita visum ut uxor mea carissima
Gaspara Chastrea, quam mihi fore superstitem sem
per speraveram et optabam, turbato ordine nature,
prior decesserit, ego Jacobus Augustus Thuanus,
omnium maximus ac miserrimus peccator, morte
ejus lucluossima admeneor, ut de mea seri6 cogitem,
et de rebus meis hoc ultimae voluntatis meae el<^io
slatuam. Ante omnia gratias quam possum maximas ago
Deo omnipotenti, quod me ex fidelibus parentibus
nasci voluerit, in ecclesia sua per sacrum lavacrum
regeneraverit, meque in ea sacramentorum suorum
participem effecerit, & fidem vivam, non mortuam
in animo meo impresserit, adjuncta aeternae vits spe,
quae in eo consistit, ut credamus in Deum, el quem
misit, filium dilectissimum, Verbum aeternum ante
saecula genitum, Jesum Christum ; qui concep-
tus de Spiritu sancto in ulero beatissimae Virginis
Mariae carnem in saeculo sumpsit ; in e^ natus, passus.

464 APPENDIX.
mortuus, et sepultus est ; in ck resurrexil, ascendit in
ccelum, caplivam ducens captivitalem, & ind& lar->
gissimfe dona hominibus distribuil, pro censumma-
tione promissorum misso Spirilo Sancto a Patre Filio-
que procedente.
In hac fide me vivere profiteer ; et ul in ek ad
ultimum vitae spiritum constanter ac sine haesitalione
perseverem, assiduis quantum possum precibus ac
lachrymis a Deo contendo : immensamque ipsius cle-
mentiam oro et obtestor, ut me in peccalis et iniqui-
tatibus conceptum ab humanae infirmitatis pollulioni-
bus repurget, dignumque ex indigno permisericordiam
suam efficiat, in quo tanquam in templo suo habitare
dignelur, mihique passionis fiHi sui dileclissimi Jesu
Christi meritum ad expiationem peccatorum appli-
cet ; ut quum novissima vita hora non improvisa
venerit, ab angelis suis in sinum Abrahae raptus cum
Sanctis el electis suis aeterna felicitate perfruar,
Haec praefatus, liberis meis, quos ex humanissimi
et insolabiliter, nisi quateniis in resurrectiene spes,
mihi semper higendi conjuge suscepi, tuteres do no-
minoque Henricum Chastraeum Nancaei cemitem illius
fralrem, Henricum Burdeliae Vice-comilem Petrocori-
orum praesidem, Ludovicum vicinum ab Ambra, soro-
rios mcos ; el quia propter locorum distantiam semper
adesse non possunt, eis adjungo Joannem Thumerium
Bossissium sacri consistorii adsislorem, Renatiim
Thuanum Bonnolium fratris filium, Jacebum Gillo-
tum, Cyprianum Perrotum, senatores Parisienses :
quos omnes et singulos rogo ut educationis liberorum

APPENDIX, 465L
meorum et administrationis bonorum curam habeant,
cousilioque suo et auctoritate juvent eum quem onera-
rium lutorem nomino ac constituo Martinum Paridem
iq Senatu adtooatum, aniicum ac familiarem meum ;
cui et gus uxori, quam mea semper unicS dilexit,
habitalionem in aedibus meis hac in urbe, quam com
mode fieri poterit, ex tulorum consilio assignandam,
do, lego, quamdiu tutela durabit.
Bona ,mea mobilia et pretiosam supellectilem, si
fieri potest, vendi ac distrahi nolo : sed quae servari
poterunt, eousque servari cupio, quousque eormn inter
baeredes meos fisjl divisio,
Bibliothecam meam XL, amplius annorum spatio
magna diligentia. an sumptu congestam, quam inle-
gram conservari non solum familiae meae, sed etiam
rei literariae interest, dividi, vendi, ac dissipari veto,
eamque communem cunj numismatis autiquis aureis
argenteis el aereis inter filios, qui Uteris eperam nava-
bunt, facio, ila.ut etiam exteris aliisque philologis ad
usum publicum pateat. Ejus custodiam Peiro Pute-
ano cognato meo et multis nominibus mihi caro,
donee filii adolescant, committo, qui el libros MSS.
iis qui opus habebunl utendos dare poterit, modo ds
illis restituendis idonee caveatur,
Eum praeterea el Nicolaum Rigaltium in Senatu
advocalum et regiae bibliothecae curatorem, virum doc-
lissimum ac juxta probum, rogo, ul filiorum meorum
in Uteris instilutionem consilio et industria sua adju-
vent, amicitiaeque noslrae memores eos offieiose in-
visanl, et praeceptoribus eorum praesto sint,
H H

466 APPENDIX.
Historiarum mearum quas ad Dei gloriam et publi
cam ulilil»tem sine odio et gratia, Deum ipsum testor
et homines, conscripsi, paratam edilionem, si ante
quam ipsa edatur moriar, iisdem committo ; praecipid-
que ut e^ in re Sammarthanerum fratrum, qui me in
tote opere multiim operi sui et diligentia adjuverunt,
consilio utantur,
Lucubrationes item omnes alias meas fidei eorun->
dem Puteani et Rigaltii committo, '
Dominam a Burdelia et Dominam ab Ambr^ dileo-.
lissimae uxoris nuper defunctae sorores enixe ac de-
misse quantum possum obsecro, ut qui pietate et
caritate matrem com'plexae sunt, eadem liberos ejus
prosequantur, ac praasertim filiarum curam comm'en..-
dat^m habeant, sive in iis matrimonio dignl elocandis
sive velandis ; quod ante astalem legibus praescriplam
et coactfe fieri veto.
Corpus meum quandocunque etubicunque me mori
contigerit, juxta corpus uxoris nunquam sine honoris
elogio et acerbitatis sensu nominandae tumulari mando,
quod ubi futurum sit, nondum decrevi, el codicillo
seorsim, si longior vita suppetet, indicabo-; que et
mihi integrum servo de rebus aliis meis, legatis et
largitionibus in eos qui nunc sunt, et post in mei fa-
milia erunt, erogandis amplius statueridi, ita tamen ut
nihil huic meae voluntatis testationi deregetur, quan^
firmam, validam ac ratam esse vole.
Ego Jac, Aug, Thuanus corpore validus, cetenini
de morte quasi In propinquo sit Chritianfe cogilans,
propria manu scripsi ac subjcripsi. Actum in £edibu§

APPENDIX, 467
Palatitiis illuslrissimi Achillis Harlsei quondam sena-
tus principis meritissimi, sororii mei, ad quas dolori
tanto solitudinem quserens me contuleram. July 13, 1616.

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