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Rh by employing against them arms of his own choosing in ruining those powerful neighbours who could annoy him. To secure and increase his conquests, it was only wanting that he should have nothing to fear from the King of France. He was conscious that this prince, who had, though Jate, perceived his error, would not suffer his aggrandisement. He sought, therefore, in the first instance, to form new connections and alliances, and he adopted a system of tergiversation with France at the moment when his arms were employed in Naples against the Spaniards, who had laid siege to Gaëta. His design was to fortify himself against them, and he would certainly have succeeded if Alexander the VIth had longer lived: such was his conduct in the exigencies of that moment.

But the approaching dangers were still more to be dreaded: he had reason to fear that the new pope would be inimical to him, and seek to deprive him of what had been bestowed on him by his predecessor. He endeavoured, therefore, to ward off these dangers, and destroyed, in the first place, the race of all those nobles whom he had despoiled, in order to deprive the future pope of a pretext of doing it himself; secondly, he attached to his interests all the gentry of Rome, in order, by them, to controul the people; thirdly, he gained as many creatures as he was able in the