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THE HISTORY OP THE ORDER OF [book m.

offer of any of the Templars’ spoils. A base offer!but worse, a plot to ruin us. 1 Bulls misled us intoexpenses that indeed are ruinous ; effeminate vices(not the Rhodian war) generated the consequentdestructive and shameful debts, and were bene-ficial to none but villanous usurers. Behold therolls of those royal and imperial folk 2 —whom I can-not much blame, since they possibly act in favourof their own dominions. Rely on those despots,who will! Few of them but take the Templars’property to themselves, under a thousand excuses.So we incur all the odium, and they have all theprofit; even so, it is better for us not to have ill-gotten goods. It were a profanation, a desecration,an infamy never to be washed out. Besides I tellyou what has been often told you by revered lips,that it is the work of infernal conspirators. Insteadof vainly descanting on that, let us bend to ne-cessity, and allow that there is a relaxation ofdiscipline which ought to be amended by obligingall the commanders to leave off loitering in Europe,and remove to head quarters, wherever it be, forat least some years, under pain of losing their com-

1 Cod. Dipl. Geros., ii, Num. xxii., xxiii., xxiv., xxxviii.,xxxix., xl., xli., liv., Ivin.—Giunt. Yatic., iii., iv.,v.—Appendix,cxxvi., cxxvii.

2 Cod. Dipl. Geros., ii., Num. xxvii, xxx., xxxi., xxxii.,xxxiii., xxxiv., xxxv., lvi.