audacious man conceived such despite on account of half a ducat, amounting to five denarii, which was refused to him, that he opposed the State; he offended the king, who had brought him up; and brought his country, for which he should have died, into peril. For the affair reached such a pitch that the danger of a perilous war impended over the commonwealth. I do not know, indeed, whence so barbarous a custom has crept into the State: for, whilst the name of a traitor is not only hateful and hated, but also burns in the stain of everlasting dishonour upon a whole posterity; yet men who determine upon breaking their faith, and opposing their kings or states, may reject the favours they have received by formal letters, may abjure their fealty, and despoil themselves of the rights and duties of the State; they bid the king keep for himself that which belongs to him, and they attest that thenceforward they will have nothing in common with their country; then, at length, they contend that it is allowable for them to commence war against their country. Be it so: reject favours if it please you; contemn the liberality of your country; grumble as much as you please, that a reward equal to your dignity has not been granted. But by what means can you betray the faith which you have plighted? My country has inflicted on me a severe outrage; it has inflicted, indeed, the worst. But an outrage is not to be avenged, either upon parents or upon one's country. I have abandoned, he says, all that I had received from my country. Have you then rejected life, disposition, and education? By no means. But all these things; you received them, in the first place, from God, and then from the laws, customs, and institutions of your country. It will never be allowable to combat nature, to injure your country, or to break faith, even should you be laden with every injury. Nay, your life should be given up, and the most extreme punishments should be undergone, sooner than break your faith, or betray your duty. Abjure fealty as much as you please, attest your perfidy by public letters, leave to posterity a notable memory of un-
