He would not have crossed seas and mountains to rescue a captive queen, nor have sought to place her crown on his own head as a reward for his heroism.

He had a single and concentrated kind of character.

He knew precisely the work which Philip required, and felt himself to be precisely the workman that had so long been wanted.

Cool, incisive, fearless, artful, he united the unscrupulous audacity of a condottiere with the wily patience of a Jesuit.

He could coil unperceived through unsuspected paths, could strike suddenly, sting mortally.