dressed to you and
which you sent us; this we return to you with our letter; no one
but ourselves read it. We note the unanimity with which your
Majesty and the cardinal write. His advice shows such solicitude
that it is at once apparent that it is due to his affection and
wisdom. We have considered everything carefully, and it seems to us
that your Majesty can and ought to do what the worthy monsignor
suggests. In fact I think your Majesty is bound to do as he advises
on account of the affection which he displays for you and the
illustrious Don Rodrigo, your son, who, I am told, owes his life to
the cardinal. Although Don Rodrigo will be at a distance from you,
it is better for him to be away and safe than for him to be near
and in danger, as the cardinal thinks he would be. Your mutual love
would in no way suffer by this separation. When he grows up he can
decide, according to circumstances, whether it is best for him to
return to Italy or remain away. The cardinal's suggestion to
convert his personal property into money to provide for his support
and to increase his income--as he states he is anxious to do--is a
good idea. In brief, as we have said, it seems to us that you had
best consent. Nevertheless, if your Majesty, who is perfectly
competent to decide this, determine otherwise, we are perfectly
willing. Farewell.

HERCULES, Duke of Ferrara, etc.

CODEGORIO, _October 4, 1503_.

In the meantime, November 1, 1503, Della Rovere ascended the papal
throne as Julius II. The Rovere, the Borgias, and the Medici, each gave
the Church two popes, and they impressed upon the papacy the political
form of the modern state. In the entire annals of the Church there are
no other families which have so deeply affected the course of history.
Their names suggest innumerable political and moral revolutions. Della
Rovere now released Caesar, whose bitterest enemy he had once been. It
was apparent that Valentino's destruction was imminent.

Elsewhere we may read how Julius II first used Caesar for the purpose of
assuring his election by means of his influence on the Spanish
cardinals, and how he subsequently--after the surrender of the
fortresses in the Romagna--cast him aside. Caesar threw himself into
the arms of Spain, going from Ostia to Naples in October, 1504, where
the great Captain Gonsalvo represented Ferdinand the