Notwithstanding these correspondences and truces, the hatred between the king and the Duke of Burgundy rather increased than diminished. The Duke of Guienne, upon his return into his own country, solicited the Duke of Burgundy very hard to marry his daughter; which proposal the Duke of Burgundy did willingly entertain, and indeed so he did whoever was proposed; so that I am of opinion he had no mind to have a son-in-law, nor that his daughter should marry in his life-time, but chose rather to keep her as a decoy to allure princes to his party, and bind them to his assistance; for he had so many and so great enterprises in his head, as could not be compassed in one man’s life. Besides, to speak the truth, they were but little better than impossible, for one half of Europe was not sufficient to content his insatiable desire of extending his dominions. He had courage enough to undertake the most difficult enterprises, his body was capable of as much pains and fatigue as was necessary; he was powerful in men and money; but he was defective in judgment, and in the cunning management of his affairs: and if a prince be deficient in that point, let him be every way as complete and as nicely qualified for heroic actions as he will, it signifies nothing; so that I look upon sense as proceeding entirely from the grace of God. In short, he that could have taken part of the king’s qualities, and mingled them with the duke’s, might have made a perfect prince; for certainly the king was much superior to him in judgment and management, and the end sufficiently demonstrated it to all the world. CH. IV.—Of the Civil Wars between the Princes in England, during the Difference between Louis XI. and Charles, Duke of Burgundy.—1470. In mentioning the preceding passages, I had almost forgotten to speak of Edward, King of England; for those three great princes, King Louis XI. of France, King Edward IV., and Charles, Duke of Burgundy, were contemporaries. I shall not here observe the method and order of writing which is usual among historians, nor name the years and moments of time when every action happened; neither shall I produce any examples out of history (of which you know enough, and it would be like talking Latin to monks). I shall only give you a plain account of what I have seen, known, and heard of these three great princes above mentioned. In my judgment, you that live in the age when these affairs were transacted, have no occasion of being informed of the exact hours when everything was done.