Clement had listened with great attention; he understood the mischief and the danger which the Bishop of Aosta had pointed out, and the dignitaries and other priests around him seemed still more affected. Thoroughly versed in philosophical and theological questions, endowed with a perspicacity that penetrated to the very heart of the most difficult matters, the pope saw how great the danger would be if _heresy_ should find in the south, at Geneva, a centre that might become far more _pernicious_ than even Wittemberg; he felt also the necessity of having a prince, a zealous catholic, to guard the French and Italian slopes of the Alps. This pontiff, perhaps the most unlucky of all the popes, saw the Reformation spreading under his eyes over Europe without having the power to stop it, and whatever he did to oppose it served but to propagate it more widely still. Now, however, he met with a sympathising heart. He wished to prevent Geneva from being reformed, and to save a fortress from being delivered up to the enemy; while a powerful prince offered to carry out the necessary measures. Clement therefore received Gazzini's overtures very graciously; and yet he was ill at ease. In the Piedmontese ambassador's speech there was a word, one word only, that embarrassed him—the subsidy: in fact, he had not recovered from the sack of Rome. Clement VII. replied: 'I look upon his highness as my dearest son, and I thank him for his zeal; but as for money, it is impossible for me to give him any, considering the emptiness of the treasury.' Then, appealing to the wants of the Church and the duty of princes, who ought to be ready to sacrifice for it their wealth, their subjects, and their lives, the pope added: '_I pray the duke to keep his eye particularly upon Geneva. That city is becoming far too Lutheran, and it must be put down at any risk._'[812] Gazzini, having been attended to the gates of the palace by the pontifical officers, regretted his failure in the matter of the subsidy. His chief object, however, had been attained: the papacy was warned; it would watch Geneva as a general watches the enemy. [Sidenote: INTERFERENCE OF THE EMPEROR.]