fulfill a perfidious
agreement.

The holy father, Julius II., outwitted all his accomplices. He secured
from Venice very valuable accessions of territory, and then, recalling
his ecclesiastical denunciations, united with Venice to drive the
_barbarians_, as he affectionately called his French and German allies,
out of Italy. Maximilian returned to Austria as in a funeral march,
ventured to summon another diet, told them how shamefully he had been
treated by France, Venice and the pope, and again implored them to do
something to help him. Perseverance is surely the most efficient of
virtues. Incredible as it may seem, the emperor now obtained some little
success. The diet, indignant at the conduct of the pope, and alarmed at
so formidable a union as that between the papal States and Venice, voted
a succor of six thousand infantry and eighteen hundred horse. This
encouraged the emperor, and forgetting his quarrel with Louis XII. of
France, in the stronger passion of personal aggrandizement which
influenced him, he entered into another alliance with Louis against the
pope and Venice, and then made a still stronger and a religious appeal
to Germany for aid. A certain class of politicians in all countries and
in all ages, have occasionally expressed great solicitude for the
reputation of religion.

"The power and government of the pope," the emperor proclaimed, "which
ought to be an example to the faithful, present, on the contrary,
nothing but trouble and disorder. The enormous sums daily extorted from
Germany, are perverted to the purposes of luxury or worldly views,
instead of being employed for the service of God, or against the
infidels. As Emperor of Germany, as advocate and protector of the
Christian Church, it is my duty to examine into such irregularities, and
exert all my efforts for the glory of God and the advantage of the
empire; and as there is an evident necessity to reestablish due order
and decency, both in the ecclesiastical and temporal state, I have
resolved to call a general council, without which nothing permanent can
be effected."

It is said that Maximilian was now so confident of success, that he had
decided to divide Italy between himself and France. He was to take
Venice and the States of the Church, and France was to have the rest.
Pope Julius was to be deposed, and to be succeeded by Pope Maximilian.
The following letter from Maximilian to his daughter, reveals his
ambitious views at the time