The history of the government of France, under the administration of the great Armand du Plessis, Cardinall and Duke of Richlieu, and chief minister of state in that kingdome wherein occur many important negotiations relating to most part of Christendome in his time : with politique observations upon the chapters / translated out of French by J.D. Esq.

Politique Observation.

ALbeit, they who have been once vanquished in War, may recover the ad∣vantage which they have lost, either when their forces are recruited with a sufficient strength, or when shame shall excite their courages, yet so it is, that when neither of these two conditions happen, there is a great reason to apprehend the successe of their second attempt. Fortune hath sometimes smiled on those, who formerly never saw but her frowns, but after she hath been once and again discour∣teous, it will be needfull to imploy more force and greater courage; for she is a pro∣fessed friend to the bold and prudent. Great Routs are attended with dangerous consequences, whence Titus Livy, speaking of a certain faction of Marcellus, against Hannibal at Nola, said that it was much more difficult to worst an Army fleshed in Victory, then that which begins to lose its credit. He gives the same rea∣son for that victory, which the Romans under the command of Consul Manlius, obtained against the Gauls in Asia, where he saith, that as Victories do heighten the courage of the Victorious, so they do much abate that of the vanquished; and withall the Victorious are desirous onely to fight as may be observed in the exam∣ple of Pompey's Souldiers after the advantage which they had of Caesar as Plutarch reporteth upon the life of Pompey; whereas they who are worsted, are hard to be drawn to the Battel; for being seised with their usual fear, and the most part of them fighting by constraint; they behave themselves with so little mettle, that they are easily overcome a second time. Thus the Duke of Guise returning from Italy after the Battel of St. Laurence, to command those French Troops which had been rallied and new listed, writ to his Majesty that he had more ado to put them in heart and courage, then to beat the victorious enemy, and therefore he judged it neces∣sary before he hazarded a second Battel, to cure them of their first baffle by getting some little advantage upon the enemy, an advice which he well knew how to exe∣cute, as he did in the taking of Calais, Guines, & Thionville.