ccupied with the
wars and intrigues of Francis, Charles, and Clement. Vettori, it may be
said in passing, records a very unfavorable opinion of the Marquis of
Pescara, who was, he hints, guilty of first turning a favorable ear to
Moroni's plot and then of discovering the whole to his master.[1] A few
days after his breach of faith with the Milanese, he fell ill and died.
'He was a man whose military excellence cannot be denied; but proud
beyond all measure, envious, ungrateful, avaricious, venomous, cruel,
without religion or humanity, he was born to be the ruin of Italy; and
it may be truly said that of the evil she has suffered and still
suffers, a large part was caused by him.'

[1] Pp. 358, 359.

Of the breach of faith of Francis, after he had left his Spanish prison,
Vettori speaks in terms of the very highest commendation.[1] His refusal
to cede Burgundy to Charles was just and patriotic. That he broke his
faith was no crime; for, though a man ought rather to die than forswear
himself, yet his first duty is to God, his second to his country,
Francis was clearly acting for the benefit of his kingdom; and had he
not left his two sons as hostages in Spain? The whole defense is a good
piece of specious pleading, and might be used to illustrate the chapter
on the Faith of Princes in the _Principe_.

[1] P. 362.

By far the most striking passage in Vettori's _Sommario_ is the
description of the march of Frundsberg's and De Bourbon's army upon
Rome.[1] He makes it clear to what extent the calamity of the sack was
due to the selfishness and cowardice of the Italian princes. First of
all the Venetians refused to offer any obstacles before the passage of
the Po, feeling that by doing so they might draw trouble on their own
provinces. Then the Duke of Ferrara supplied the Lutherans with
artillery, of which they hitherto had stood in need. The first use they
made of their fire-arms was to shoot the best captain in Italy, Giovanni
de' Medici of the Black Bands. The Duke of Urbino, the Marquis of
Saluzzo, and Guido Rangoni watched them cross the river and proceed by
easy stages through the district of Piacenza, 'following them like
lacqueys waiting on their lords.' The same thing happened at Parma and
Modena, while the Duke of Ferrara kept supplying the foreigners with
food and money. Clement meanwhile was penniless in Rome. Rich as the
city was, he had so utterly lost credit that he dared not ask for loans,
and wa