BEhold Maiſter Pope, wee haue had wonderfull greate windes without anye raine, and I am verily perſwaded that the clowde wherein your Thunderbolt was encloſed was not well compriſed, to make the clap ſound vpon the earth; or elſe, that the Venetian water was of ſo great vertue, yt it extinguiſhed or quencht the fire that threatned to burne and conſume all Italie: But it may be, that therein you immitated Iupiter (of whome you holde the Capitol) and gaue out many threatning wordes, but durſt not ſtrike: contenting your ſelfe to ſhowe what your Cyclops can doe, without making proofe thereof vpon mens heads: which I beleeue to be true, if they had ſought by prayers and Oblations to mollifie and appeaſe your wrath and furious diſpleaſure, and not by obſtinate contempt, or rather (as many men reporte) by an aſſured conſtancie, which the Venetians haue ſhewed in their iuſt & rightfull cauſe. But ſhall I tell you what I thinke? I am of opinion that you feared that the promiſes and the faith of the Spanyards are not ſo ſmoothe as their faces: and that the Venetians ſhold haue ceazed on Boulougne, with other places of ye Churches patrimony, they would make as honeſt and good agreement with them, as they haue lately made with the newe Commonwealth of Holland. Let them ſay what they will of you Maiſter Pope: for my part I perceiue and finde, that you haue done greate good vnto our holy Mother the Church, by diſputation mooued & ſtirred vp between you and the Venetians: In times paſt, there was none but the wicked and peſtiferous Huguenots which diſputed and enueighed againſt the holy Seat of Rome, and would by no meanes acknowledge any of Saint Peters ſwordes to belong vnto you: but now at this time they are your own natural childrē, your tēder & moſt deerly belooued friendes, who perceiuing you to be too much burdenned & ouerladē by bearing of two ſwords, haue pulled out of your hands the one, which is called the temporall Sword, and ſo dulled and blunted the other, that from hence-foorth, it ſhall not cut but in meaſure and reaſon: But to remedy the matter, if you will follow my counſell, you ſhall doe wel and wiſely to excommunicate all Princes and Potentates of Chriſtendome, and to giue their Realms and Dominions to thoſe that haue the beſt Mittens to lay holde of the Catte: But I will tell you what will fall out thereupon: they will all flatlye make anſwer that they wil do nothing, and tell you plainly, that it is not in your power, to take that from them which you neuer gaue them. And to that ende, they will cauſe Acts of Parliaments to be confirmed and ratified within their States and Dominions, and record it as a Decree, or Re iudicata for all poſterities: and ſo you may ſit downe vpon your taile with al your Pretences, and take your eaſe, whilſt men come to kiſſe your feete, and ſo that ſolemne diſputation ſhall bee ended in your time, without taking any great paines to aſſemble a generall Councell, to tell both you and my Lorde Bellarmine, that it is not a matter of Breuiaries to gouern and commaund kingdomes: and that you haue no more authoritie to meddle with ye Temporall power of Princes, then you would haue them to intermeddle with your ſpirituall gouernment. No doubt it will procure great good vnto your ſeate, and ſomewhat abate the papall inſolencies and threatnings, and by that meanes put Rome out of a great fear, and conſequently bereaue it of the hate of many men.

Touching the Venetians, by whom ſo notable and memorable an enterpriſe hath been begun, I am ſure, that you for your part will iudge and eſteeme them to be worthy of a pardon and diſpenſation, to go into paradice, or to hell: and that they may lawfully hereafter bear in their ſhield of armes, a great paire of Sheeres, to witneſſe to all poſteritie, that they were the firſt (among your faithfull Maſſe-mongers) that durſt curtall and clippe your garment, which dagled too long on the ground. I counſelled you before, to giue al the Kingdoms & Dominions of ye princes of Chriſtendome as a pray vnto their enemies: to the end that they may all flatly and plainely tell you, that they wil not daunce after ſuch vnpleaſant muſick. And if you will beleeue me, you ſhall firſt begin with the houſe of Auſtria: and yet I am content that your eares ſhould be cut off, if you doe not finde that it is not Catholike in that point. It is chiefly deuided into three heades: as the Emperor, the King of Spaine, and the Arehduke Albertus: and in which of them (I pray you) doe you not finde iuſt occaſion of depoſition?

Touching ye Emperor, he hath made you the Turks Grandfather, taking him for his Son, and is ſo much buſied with his Mathematiciās, to take the meaſure and compaſſe of the heauens, that he forgetteth and neglecteth his gouernment on the earth▪ Is not this ſufficient to depoſe him, & to raiſe the Duke of Bauaire in his place, as your predeceſſors in times paſt ſought to doe?

As for the King of Spaine, he is already abſolutly excommunicated, ipſo facto: for retaining and witholding Scicilia, and your noble kingdom of Naples from you. Aſke Baronius counſell, and I am aſſured that he will tel you that you may lawfully kill and eat him (according to the commaundement giuen by God vnto S. Peter) & though it were in the middle of Lent: and ſuppoſe I pray you, what ioy & pleaſure it wold be to that good old man, if he could as well take the Crowne from the King of Spaines head, as the King of Spain tooke your place from him?

There reſteth nothing now but to deale with yt Arch-duke Albertus, that durſt be ſo bolde, to make a truce, & to procure a peace with the Heretickes of Hollād: it is not that a ſufficient crime, and a greate offence to incur your ſentence of diſpleaſure? but if you thinke good to ſpare him, in regard of his ancient prieſt-hood, yet you muſt at the leaſt excommunicate Spinolaes purſſe, which is one of the greateſt cauſes of this conuention: but I am verily perſwaded, that at your commandement the Archduke wil alwaies find occaſion to renew the warre: as firſt, that faith ought not be kept and obſerued with Heretickes: and ſecondly, that a prince cannot infranchiſe his ſubiects, & renounce his ſuperioritie ouer them to the preiudice of the eſtate of him & his ſucceſſors: beſides that, there may be a kinde of equiuocation, or mentall reſeruation of ſome words vſed in the making of the treatie of peace: Againe, it is lawfull at al times to make war for our holy mother the Church: & to conclude, the Spaniard will not care greatly to proue periured for his owne profit and commodity.

When you haue excommunicated all theſe of the houſe of Auſtria, then you muſt ſet vpon the King of France, & you may find matter enough to be offended and to take diſpleaſure againſt him, & he meanes enough not to care much for it, and to ſend you bull for bull, letter for letter and if you wil, two blows for one: and finally to proceed to my intent, he wil take an oath of all his ſubiects (ſpecially the Prieſtes) that they ſhall neither beleeue nor teach, that the Pope can directly or indirectly, nor by right or wrong, neither yet by the head or the foot, depoſe a lawful king out of his Throane.

But now we come to another great matter, & the queſtion conſiſteth herin, what wee ſhall doe with the king of England? for aſſure your ſelfe, hee is not for you, & which is worſe you ſhall not find much matter to lay holde vpon touching him, nor his royall proceedings; I am perſwaded that the beſt way for you will be to let him alone, or elſe that you procure his friendſhip & that you wholy renounce all ſuperiority ouer him, as the Spaniard hath done to thoſe of Holland: and in regard therof, he wil make you a great preſent of all the Prieſtes and Ieſuites in his country, which he will ſend vnto you to Rome: and becauſe that England is interdicted, hee will procure that you ſhall be obeyed in that point, and that the Maſſe ſhall be no more vſed in his Dominions.

This maiſter pope I thought neceſſary to be written vnto you, praying you to ſend me good ſtore of holy Medales, but I wold haue them al of pure & fine golde, or elſe they will doe me but ſmall pleaſure: Farewell.