But we have reason to believe that God had otherwise ordained it, as a punishment for his late disloyalty to the Count of St. Paul, Constable of France, of which you have heard elsewhere in these Memoirs; how he seized upon his person, contrary to his solemn promise and engagement, delivered him to the king to be put to death, and sent all his letters and contracts to serve as an evidence against him at his trial. And though the duke had just reason to bear a mortal hatred against the constable, and to pursue him even to death, yet he should have done it without breaking his faith; nor can all the reasons that could be alleged in this case extenuate the crime, or cover the dishonour that will always be a stain and blot on the duke’s character; for notwithstanding the safe-conduct and protection that he granted the constable, he yet seized upon him afterwards, and sold him for covetousness, not only to obtain the town of St. Quentin and other fortresses, inheritances and moveables belonging to the constable, but also in the hope of taking Nancy the first time he besieged it; for after many excuses and dissimulations he delivered up the constable, for fear that the king’s army in Champagne might interrupt his enterprise; his majesty having threatened to do so by his ambassadors, unless he should perform his articles, by which the first that took the constable was obliged to deliver him up within eight days, or to see him executed himself. But the duke had deferred his surrender for several days longer than was agreed upon between them; and the fear of being called to account for this, and of being interrupted in the siege of Nancy, prevailed with him to deliver up the constable, as you have heard. And it is worthy of our observation, that as, in his first siege of Nancy, he was guilty of that dishonourable action towards the constable; and in his second, he ordered Cifron to be hanged (for he would not hear him, like a person whose understanding was infatuated, and his ears stopped to his own ruin)—so, in the same place he was deceived and betrayed himself by the very person in whom he reposed most confidence (and not altogether unjustly, if we reflect upon what has been said before), both in regard to the constable and Nancy. But the determination of such events depends only upon God; and I have given my opinion only to illustrate my proposition, that a good prince ought never to consent to such a base and ignominious action, whatsoever plausible reasons may be urged in vindication of it; for it often happens that those who give their advice in such an affair do it either out of flattery, or fear of contradicting their prince, though, when the thing is done, they are heartily sorry for it, knowing how liable they are to be punished in this world and the next; however, such counsellors as these are better far off, than near any prince.