284 OF A WAR WITH SPAIN. 



knowledge, how the princes, states, and councils of 

 Europe, at this day, stand affected towards Spain ; 

 for that trencheth into the secret occurrents of the 

 present time, wherewith, in all this treatise, I have 

 forborn to meddle. But to speak of that which 

 lieth open and in view ; I see much matter of quarrel 

 and jealousy, but little of amity and trust towards 

 Spain, almost in all other estates. I see France is 

 in competition with them for three noble portions of 

 their monarchy, Navarre, Naples, and Milan ; and 

 now freshly in difference with them about the Valto- 

 line. I see once in thirty or forty years cometh 

 a pope, that casteth his eye upon the kingdom of 

 Naples, to recover it to the church : as it was in the 

 minds of Julius the second, Paul the fourth, and 

 Sixtus the fifth. As for that great body of Germany, 

 I see they have greater reason to confederate them 

 selves with the kings of France, and Great Britain, 

 or Denmark, for the liberty of the German nation, 

 and for the expulsion of Spanish and foreign forces, 

 than they had in the years 1552 and 1553. At 

 which time they contracted a league with Henry the 

 second the French king, upon the same articles, 

 against Charles the fifth, who had impatronized 

 himself of a great part of Germany, through the 

 discord of the German princes, which himself had 

 sown and fomented : which league at that time did 

 the deed, and drave out all the Spaniards out of that 

 part of Germany ; and reintegrated that nation in 

 their ancient liberty and honour. For the West- 

 Indies, though Spain hath had yet not much actual 



