the the king of France, a cardinal to whom the king
his master lends the treasures of the state, his arm, his counsel, such
a man would be acting with twofold injustice in applying these mighty
resources to France alone. Besides," added Aramis, "you will not be a
king such as your father was; delicate in health, slow in judgment, whom
all things wearied; you will be a king governing by your brain and by
your sword; you would have in the government of the state no more than
you could manage unaided; I should only interfere with you. Besides, our
friendship ought never to be, I do not say impaired, but in any way
affected, by a secret thought. I shall have given you the throne of
France, you will confer on me the throne of St. Peter. Whenever your
loyal, firm, and mailed hand shall have joined in ties of intimate
association the hand of a pope such as I shall be, neither Charles the
Fifth, who owned two-thirds of the habitable globe, nor Charlemagne, who
possessed it entirely, will be able to reach to half your stature. I
have no alliances, I have no predilections; I will not throw you into
persecutions of heretics, nor will I cast you into the troubled waters
of family dissension; I will simply say to you: The whole universe is
our own: for me the minds of men, for you their bodies. And as I shall
be the first to die, you will have my inheritance. What do you say of my
plan, monseigneur?"

"I say that you render me happy and proud, for no other reason than that
of having comprehended you thoroughly. Monsieur d'Herblay, you shall be
cardinal, and when cardinal, my prime minister; and then you will point
out to me the necessary steps to be taken to secure your election as
pope, and I will take them. You can ask what guarantees from me you
please."

"It is useless. I shall never act except in such a manner that you are
the gainer; I shall never ascend the ladder of fortune, fame, or
position, until I shall have first seen you placed upon the round of the
ladder immediately above me; I shall always hold myself sufficiently
aloof from you to escape incurring your jealousy, sufficiently near to
sustain your personal advantage and to watch over your friendship. All
the contracts in the world are easily violated because the interest
included in them inclines more to one side than to another. With us,
however, it will never be the case; I have no need of any guarantees."

"And so--my brother--will disappear?"

"Simply. We wi