War was not only his passion, but his trade.

Every one of his campaigns was a speculation, and he had long derived a satisfactory income by purchasing distinguished prisoners of war at a low price from the soldiers who had captured them, and were ignorant of their rank, and by ransoming them afterwards at an immense advance.

This sort of traffic in men was frequent in that age, and was considered perfectly honorable.

Marshal Strozzi, Count Mansfeld, and other professional soldiers, derived their main income from the system.

They were naturally inclined, therefore, to look impatiently upon a state of peace as an unnatural condition of affairs which cut off all the profits of their particular branch of industry, and condemned them both to idleness and poverty.