Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/358

11 332 WARS AND POLITICS OF ITALY. PART the veil of hypocrisy thrown over it in this corrupt age. The true reasons for the confederacy are to be found in a speech delivered at the German diet, some time after, by the French minister Helian. " We," he remarks, after enumerating various enor- mities of the republic, " we wear no fine purple ; feast from no sumptuous services of plate ; have no coffers overflowing with gold. We are barbarians. Surely," he continues in another place, " if it is de- rogatory to princes to act the part of merchants, it is unbecoming in merchants to assume the state of princes."^ This, then, was the true key to the conspiracy against Venice ; envy of her superior wealth and magnificence, hatred engendered by her too arrogant bearing, and lastly the evil eye, with which kings naturally regard the movements of an active, aspiring republic.^ To secure the cooperation of Florence, the kings of France and Spain agreed to withdraw their pro- tection from Pisa, for a stipulated sum of money. There is nothing in the whole history of the mer- chant princes of Venice so mercenary and base, as this bartering away for gold the independence, for ■^ See a liberal extract from this tion, with which Martyr, a Milanese, harangue, apud Daru, Hist, de predicts (Opus Epist., epist. 410.), Venise, torn. iii. liv. 23, — also and Guicciardini, a Florentine, re- apud Du Bos, Ligue de Cambray, cords, the humiliation of Venice. torn. i. p. 240 et seq. — The old (Istoria, lib. 4, p. 137.) The ar- poet, Jean Marot, sums up the sins rogance of the rival republic does of the republic in the following not escape the satirical lash of verse ; Machiavelli ; "Autre Pieu n'ont que Tor, c'est leur "San Mnrco, impctuoso ed iraportuno, crinnce." Credcndosi haver sempre il venlo In poppa, (Eiivres de Clement Mnrot, avec Non si euro di roviiiare ognniio ; les Ouvrnfies do Jonii jMarot, (Ln N4 vidde come la potenz-a Iroppa Haye, 1731,) torn. v. p. 71. Era nociva." 8 See the undisguised satisfac- Dell' Asino d' Oro, cap. 5.