MY Maisters, vnto you doe I complaine both in body & com­mune, and yet cannot beleeue that you all are led by one selfe spirite in whatsoeuer is contri­ued against me. You cannot be ignoraunt what moderation I haue euermore vsed in your behalfes, euen in the ri­gours of armes, neither are you to seeke of those iust necessities whereinto I haue sometimes bene reduced, & I assure my selfe that euen in your con­sciences you are able to lay the fault wher it ought. Thus much I can say, that I neuer enfringed the peace of any iolitie, but may truely affirme that I haue attributed my iust sorowes & discontentmēts, and that in diuers sorts, vnto the welth and quiet of this Estate. Those men, my Maisters, if you marke them well, whom with your habilities you doe assist to my destruction, haue not taken the like course: of perticuler ambition they haue made zeale to the Church, & of their priuate dislikes a publick warre: neither haue they moreouer made any conscience to kindle the fire throughout y ^e fower quarters of this Realm, so to enioy the pleasure of putting the King to trouble, and hauing by an vniuersall calamitie found meanes to reuenge such disgraces as they [Page] imagine themselues to haue receiued at his hands. The Lord open your eyes and graunt you grace to enter into the bottome of their entents. I feare not (as knoweth God) the mischief that may befall me, either of your coyne or their weapons: both the one and the other haue often enough bene employed in vaine: I lament for the poore innocent people, who, almost alone, doe beare these follies: I moane euen a great number of you that doe contribute to the ambition of these perturbers, you of your pouertie, they hardly of their haboundance: and principally I be waile the fault that you all doe commit, some vpon one affection, others of an other, who one day shall be to aunswer to this Realme and your Coun­trie for so many miseries and hazardes whereinto (euen to your costes) you doe plunge it: you, who by your vocations ought to bee the pillers of publicke tranquilitie, shall aunswere before God for so much innocent bloud spilled: for such disorders, and vices of that warre that you nourish, which bringeth in the howlings, cryes and languishing, of so many poore families whome your aboundaunce ought either to nourish or relieue, which you make instruments of their miserie, cause of their hunger and scourges of the Commonwelth. You may alleadge zeale of the Church, and I am content to beleeue that some of you are driuen thereby. What shall the posteritie then say, that you haue neclected my proffers? that you haue wished rather to bring all into confusion then to frame your selues to a Counsaile, which in [Page] my expresse declaration I required at the Kinges hands? That you had rather proceede euen to bloud then quietly to cōferre vpon the sence of the Scrip­tures? That you haue preferred the meanes to sub­uert the Estate, before the way to conuert the soules which you thinke to be strayed, yea euen my person beeing therein touched, whom truely you ought ra­ther to enstruct then to destroy? Those persons that doe abuze your zeale doe well enough knowe that it is vnpossible for them to performe their promesse, I say, by force of armes to roote y ^t Religion where­in I doe liue. They seeke not the reunion but de­struction of the Realme: and call to mind that here­tofore in vaine vnder the same pretence they caused you to sell your Temporalties: remember also that your coyne was consumed and your deuotion to fur­nish them, quenched, before you could finde euen a­ny small successe in your deliberations. They pro­ceede further: some of the Cleargie, (I will not be­leeue that many of them haue consented to such a confederatie) haue sollicited the Pope against me, and at his hands haue obteyned a certaine declara­tion wherby I am exhibited for a pray, and declared vnhable the succession of this Realme. Thincke not my Maisters that these Thunderbolts doe any whit astonish me, for it is God y ^t disposeth both of Kings and Kingdomes, and your predecessors, who were both better Christians and better Frenchmen then the fautors of this Bull, haue sufficiently taught vs that Popes haue not to deale with this Estate. On­ly [Page] it grieueth mee that contrary to all good maner there should be to be found any so inconsiderate per­sons as at Roome to procure the consulting vpon and deciding of the succession of a liuing King and that in the flower of his age: For whereto may that bee good, except to raise vs vp in this Estate either many dispersers or one vsurper. I am sorie that we should let forraine Nations know that our Nation heretofore so deuoute to our Princes, should bring foorth in this age such Monsters, as for either their pleasures or ambition doe put foorth the Common­wealth for a pray, & willingly enuite all their neigh­bours to the spoyle of this Estate. For, as for my in­terest GOD hath preserued me that my hope pene­trate not beyond the life of my Prince. God in his iust wrath cōfound al such as shall build their great­nesse vpon his Toumbe, euen those that are so pro­uident as to anticipate his death by their coūsailes. But leauing these speeches I will accompt better of you then your actions doe will me, and I had ra­ther iudge you by my selfe then by your dealings. They haue procured me much mischiefe, I wil not impute it generally to all: I will thinke it a conspi­ratie but of some who are otherwise vrged thereto, and that peraduenture at the instigation of the Ie­suites, the seedes of Spayne and enemies to the wealth of this Estate, and God graunt them to bee as readie to abstaine from the mischiefe to come, as I am now willing to forgiue them. The rest that I haue to say vnto you is that God hath caused me to [Page] be borne a Christian Prince, I desire the establish­ment, encrease, and peace of Christian Religion: we all beleeue in one God: wee all confesse one Iesus Christ: we all receiue one Gospell, if vpon the inter­pretation of the selfe same textes wee fall into con­trouersie, I suppose the short waies that I haue pro­pounded might bring vs to agreement: I beleeue that the Warre that you so sharply doe prosecute is vnworthy all Christians, yea vnworthy to be amōg Christians, especially those that pretend themselues Doctors of the Gospell. If Warre doe so much de­light you: If you conceiue gre [...]r felicitie in a bat­taile then in a disputation: in a [...]oudie conspiratie, then in a Counsaile, I wash my handes, that bloud that may bee thereby shed bee vpon your heades. I knowe the curses of those that shall suffer cannot light vpon me: for my patience, my obedience and my reasons are well enough knowne. I will expect the blessing of God vpon my so iust defence, whom I beseech to graunt vnto you the spirite of peace and vnion, to the peace of this Estate and vnion of his Church Amen.

MY Maisters, such is your birth that nere enough you approach vnto the affayres of Estate whereby to attribute the right or wrong where it apperteyneth, and therefore wee shall neede no long speech to open your eyes. You haue euen in full peace perceiued the originall of the broyles of the League contrary to the quiet of this Realm: you know my patience, notwithstanding they tooke me for their contrary and made me the subiect and pretence of their wea­pons. You haue seene the Leaguers pronounced Rebelles by the King, and for such prosecuted in all Courts of Parliaments: your selues haue you sene commaunded, armed and fighting against them by the Kings expresse will vnder the authoritie of the Princes of his bloud with the Peeres and princi­pall Officers of his Crowne. I doubt not therfore but vnto you it seemeth straunge to beholde, as in a moment, this alteration: to see your selues armed against the bloud of France: commanded by straun­gers whom you fought against as perturbers, and which is worse, against those who three daies before were for the seruice of the King and Realme sent for, and commaunded as you, ranged vnder the same auncients and of like will as your selues: But withall you can iudge that the first precepts procee­ded [Page] of the Kings proper motion, and those that haue followed, of the violēce of the perturbers. For what haue these of the League since done, euen betweene both, whereby to lose the qualitie of Rebelles guil­tie of Treazon, perturbers of the peace, which by so many decrees haue to them bene attributed? either what offence haue those of the Religiō committed, by liuing vnder the benefite of the Edicts, whome his Maiestie indifferently summoned to his seruice, who also equally opposed them selues against the common flame, that now they should at the appetite of the sayd perturbers bee expelled the Realme and on euery side pursued to the death? If it be for mat­ter of Religion, was there not expresse Edicts ther­fore? Were not the same newly reiterated? Can that which is permitted by the lawes of the Realme be accompted an offence? May it be prosecuted with any paine? If it be (as in troth it is) for contrarying the purposes of the League, are not your selues ac­cessaries to that offence? bee not you subiect to the same payne? doe you then seeke your owne ouer­throwe? For what offence are they burdened with except that they are and wil be no other but French­men? Now I come to my selfe, whether you will iudge of me by my self, or by comparison with those of the League: well I knowe that you can not lay the fault vpon me: yea, I knowe that euen in your consciences you doe attribute it to my enemies: They meddle with talke of my Religion, you that know the preeminence of the bloud of France, that [Page] can well say that you owe no duetie but to the same, shall it bee sayde that I must giue accoumpt to the straunger? Is it not enough for mee to satisfie the King and all Fraunce? Hath any one complained that I haue violently entreated him for his Reli­gion? What more could I doe either with reason or Christianlike, thē to craue a good Counsaile? They are also offended with the gouernment of the estate, and haue endeuoured to prouide for the succession thereof: They haue procured the Pope to decide the same at Roome: you therefore that hould the chiefe roume in this Realme, if necessitie had so required, could you be so carelesse as to suffer straungers to preuent you in that office? Haue you no regarde to your posteritie? Could you ouersleepe this duetie? For in all these broyles what haue appeared but Lorrain? But in troth either to reforme or trāsforme the estate according to their desires they needed not your helpe: to passe ouer the Estate into a forraine hand was a worke fit for straungers onely to enter­prize: to expell France out of France, the processe could not be determined in Frāce, she was to much suspected in such a cause and therefore it must be de­cided in Italie. They haue directly opposed them selues against mee: I haue offered the combat: I haue stooped beneath my selfe: I haue not disdained to fight with them: I haue done it (God is my wit­nesse) for the preseruing of the people from destruc­tion, and the sparing of your bloud: Of yours, I say, which is principally shed in these miseries. If they [Page] had any thing to say against mee, had not this bene most honorable for them? If in heart they sought the wealth and benefite of this Estate, did not I set them in a fayre way? There haue bene such found as haue hazarded their liues for the safegarde of their Countrey, what iudgemēt then may you giue of those who for sauing themselues out of daunger can be cōtent to see the ouerthrow of a whole estate?

You professe your selues to be men of honor, what wrong then doe they to their honors who will not accept of so good a way? or what iniurie doe you to your owne in accompanying them against me? You that would make a conscience in assisting a fauorite against one of your neighbours. Thincke not my Maisters that I feare them, I know what strength may doe against me: sooner shall they bee wearie of assaulting me then I of defending my selfe: many a yere haue I borne their brunt whē they were much stronger and my selfe farre weaker then now. You haue experience and iudgement, the passed may re­solue you of that that is to come. Truely I bewaile your bloud shed and spilled in vaine which ought to be spared for the preseruation of France: I doe la­mēt that that should be employed against me which ye should keepe for me being that which God hath made me in this Realme, for the ioyning vnder the authoritie and good successe of the King, France to France, where now it serueth to driue it out of France: I doe also moane it that it shall neither be payed or mourned for almost of any: for the King, [Page] being forced in his will doth not holde himselfe ser­ued of those that force him, on the other side those that doe force him wil neuer con you thanke for this seruice, as knowing that it is the Kings name and not theirs that you doe serue. My maisters, GOD graunt you well to consider hereof. The French Princes are chiefe of the Nobilitie I loue you all, I feele my selfe wast and weaken in your bloud, a straunger can haue no feeling thereof. The straun­ger beareth no interest in this losse. I might com­plaine of some, I had rather bewaile them, and am readie to embrace you al: My greatest griefe is that those whom in minde I doe distinguish, whom also I knowe to haue bene circūuented, I cannot make any difference of in the hazard of armes: But God knoweth my hart: Their bloud be vpon the authors of these miseries. For my part, my Maisters, I doe and incessantly will beseech him that it may please him to open the way whereby his name may be ser­ued & honored, the King obeyed, the State quieted, and all orders and degrees of this Realme reduced to their pristinate dignitie, prosperitie and eminen­tie Amen.

MY Maisters, I neede not many words to open vnto you the equitie of my cause. Call to mind that when these broyles be­gan wee liued in peace and daylie went forward better and better. Remember also that not­withstanding the same tended directly against mee, yet for eight moneths space I stirred not, my pa­tience passed all bounds: neither forget that I sawe those armies that had bene meetest for me, ioyned to my enemies and comming against me before I was resolued to defend my selfe. And I sweare vnto you my Maisters, that the horror of a ciuill warre and the sensible apprehension of the miserie and calami­ties that it bringeth foorth euen benumbed mee and tooke away my sences to my owne domage, had I not perceiued that my ouer long patience redoun­ded to the daunger and destruction of this Realme by giuing the perturbers leisure violently to haue fulfilled their pleasures. In case Religion was the matter, I submitted my self to a Counsaile: if com­plaints concerning the estate, to an assembly of the Estates: yea, I wished to drawe vpon my owne per­son the whole perrill of France for sauing it out of miserie, voluntarily yeelding my selfe equall with those whom nature hath made my inferiours, wher­as they of their owne interest haue made a common [Page] calamitie, and of their priuate quarelles a publicke confusion. I might complaine that my iust offers were not accepted: But to you I do complaine, and yet for you, not for my selfe: I lament these extremi­ties whereby the extreme iniurie to me done hath brought me to that passe that I may not defend my selfe without the detriment of the innocent people. I bewaile my owne condition, that for the warran­ting of my life you must feele harme and paine, you, for whose relief and wealth I was readie to shed my bloud, if my enemies had not coueted rather to re­deeme themselues from the combat, whereto I cha­lenged them, by a paricide against this Estate and by an uniuersall combustion. But herein I take comfort, that your selues can consider the nature of euilles to bee such as cannot bee healed but by some euilles, the cause whereof you are not to attribute to the Surgeon whose purpose is to heale, but ra­ther to him that made the wound, and so consequent­ly in this wound all the griefes ensuing: That in a short space God will graunt me the grace after so many labours to fee this Estate purged of those that doe molest it, also to see you enioye so certaine and assured quiet as in small time may cause vs to forget all passed trauailes. Iudge by the effects, I beseech you, of the entents of men to make you re­ioyce in these troubles. These men would put you in hope that they reforme the abuses of the Treaso­rie, that they would deminish taxes and subsidies, that they would reduce all thinges to the tyme of [...] already (if they might haue bene [Page] beleeued) would haue beene surnamed fathers of the people. What is come of it? Their warre ha­uing strangely deuoured on euery side, haue bene de­termined by a peace wherein they haue had respect onely to their perticuler profite, without any men­tion of you: and which is worse, their peace is as so­denly couerted to a warre against those that remai­ned quiet, whereby the King is forced to double the Impostes, the people exhibited in pray to the man of warre, and France (without the helpe of God) boūd to bee murdered of her selfe. For what other is that Edict that is wrested out, but a necessitie layd vpon the King to destroye his people, and with his owne hand to make away himself? At the least if they mēt not to relieue the people, why were they not cōtent to abuze them? or what had they done that they must be ouerthrowne? They couer these mischiefes with zeale to the Church: The heate of this zeale ought to haue appeared in charitie, & charitie in the vnion of both Religions. What charitie, which endeuourd onely to roote out? What heate of zeale, which hath fiered all the Countrey, and hath set a whole estate in combustion? In the meane tyme vnder pretence that the Clergie hath payed some portion aforehand for the encouraging the Soldiour to begin y ^e wars, ye see them on the way. The people must couer it with some two hundred thousand Crownes or ther­about, which shall binde them hereafter to millions: and to bee briefe, some of the Cleargie to the great griefe of the King, yea and of their owne members [Page] haue for their owne perticuler passions concluded vpon the bargaine and aduaunced the earnest peny, then must the poore people fulfill and furnish the rest whatsoeuer it cost him that cannot doe withall, who onely must beare the losse and can hope for no fruit, beare the whole burden, and endure all the ca­lamitie that may come thereof. My Maisters, this doe I repeate vnto you: I am a Christian Prince borne: I haue sought out and propounded the most Christian meanes to make vp this Estate & reunite the Church. I am a Frenchman borne, I beare part of your calamities, I haue sought all meanes to exempt you from ciuill miseries, I will neuer spare my life to abridge you of them: I knowe that for the most part you are subiect to this violence, I cōfesse your willes to be thralled, I will not impute to you your actions, you are Frenchmen, I had rather im­pute vnto you your willes: I desire of you all, who according to your vocatiōs are more subiect to beare the mischief, then to doe it, only your vowes, wishes and praiers. Pray vnto God, my Maisters, that by his iudgements he will distinguish those that seeke the felicitie or mishap of this estate, all publicke pro­speritie or calamitie. For my part I take him to wit­nesse that I desire only y ^e welth of this Realme & of you al: I take him for my Iudge whether ambition or particuler passion hath vrged or any whit stirred vp my weapons.

MY Maisters, gladly doe I write vnto you as accoumpting you the mirror or abstract of this Realme, and yet not to enforme you of the equitie of my cause which I knowe is sufficiently knowne vnto you: but contrari­wise to take you to witnesse: euen you who through the multitude of your good eyes are able to behold and penetrate déepest into al that haue passed in this Estate. Ye wot what iudgement the King hath gi­uen of the authors of these miseries, what in your eares he hath declared and pronounced them to be: He required your assistance against them as against publicke enemies, and that at such time as his will was perfect and free, before violence had wonne a­ny thing at his hands. Whatsoeuer alteration hath since fallen out I know you will impute, not to his wil, but vnto force. And in deede I am not ignorant that sone after being required to furnish the expen­ses of this warre you could well aunswer that these troubles were neuer begon by your aduice, and that they that had begon them were to beare y ^e charges, and not you: which was such an aunswer as you ne­uer make in matter concerning the seruice of the King or wealth of the Realme. For in such respect [Page] neuer were subiects more liberall then you? But vndoubtedly when you perceiue that your money goeth not to the reparations, as aforetime you haue bene perswaded, but to the destructiō of the Realm: when you clerely see that they request not your Ie­welles to supply the raunsome of King Frances or his children, or of a King Iohn, but rather to extin­guish the bloud and posteritie of France, and to re­duce your King to bondage and prison. I know ve­ry well that the King hath liked of you therfore, and all good Frenchmen are therein bound vnto you, and especially my selfe in respect of y ^e degree where­in God hath ordeyned me in this Realme and for be­ing (sith it hath so pleased him) of the houshold chil­dren. Iudge what neede you had of this warre: you knowe that this Estate daylie waxed capable more and more of peace. If any thing were to be altered in matter of Religiō, there needed no more (without any innouation) but the summons of a good Coun­saile: If in the gouernment of the Estate, the King would not haue refused the ouerture of an assembly of the Estates. And for preuenting these mischiefes, you knowe that by expresse declaration I haue sub­mitted my selfe euen by a cōbat to determine what­soeuer these perturbers could perticulerly pretend against me. Those therefore that refuse such good meanes are authors of the warre, and of an vnneces­sarie and therefore an vniust warre. I who haue de­sired the same and voluntarily therto submitted my selfe doe finde my selfe discharged of whatsoeuer ca­lamities [Page] may ensue, for from lawfull meanes they haue taken pleasure to driue me into extreme extre­mities, wherby the armes that I haue taken in hand are naturall and necessarie and so most iust. To bee briefe, compare my obedience with their rebellion, my patience with their rash hastinesse, my modest dealings with their immodest passions, and with all this, waye with your selues what they are in this Realme and what I am, so will you conclude that they do me so extreme iniurie y ^t there is no Gentle­man in this Realme but would enforce himself, and to whome it were not lawfull to haue reuenge. I speake this in trueth and doe conceiue the conse­quences hereof, I see the innocent must beare it, but still haue in your mindes that my enemies are those that haue bene declared enemies to the King & the Realme, that they haue troubled the quiet peace, called in straungers, procured the rooting out of the houshold seruaunts, borrowed the enemies and em­ployed their meanes, not to my destruction onely, but to the confusion of the whole Estate. Then wil you, my Maisters, impute to their offences all such inconueniences as a iust defence may bring in: you will con them small thanckes for the ensuing cala­mities, like as you confesse thē authors and causers of the first: for my selfe I shall be sorie for my owne mishap that I shall not be able to put away the vni­uersall mischiefe without some mischiefes. At the least I shall reioyce in my owne integritie who would haue redemed them euen with my life, which [Page] euermore I shall accoumpt wel bestowed in the pre­seruation of this Estate and of you all. Now, my Maisters, to conclude, I will say vnto you, that of you I doe and still will attende whatsoeuer maye and ought to be looked for of true Frenchmen, and of the rule and example of the French nation, and of me likewise expect whatsoeuer may or ought of a French and Christian Prince be expected concer­ning the vnion of the Church, the King my Soue­raignes seruice, the welth of the Realme, the reliefe of the people, and the contentation of all good men. I beseech God, my Maisters, to take pitie and com­passion of this Realme, and to graunt vnto vs all god counsaile to his glorie and our benefite.