From Rise of Protestantism in France to Publication of the Institutes - James Aitken Wylie

the echoes of the bull in which the German heretics
had been cursed, and which had been issued by the
man with whom Francis had been closeted these
many days past! And not less strange the spot
chosen for the concoction of these projects, a city
which was a second Rome, the very dust of which
was redolent of the footprints of the Popes, and
whose streets and palaces recalled the memories of
the pride, the luxury, and the disorders of the Papal
court.
The key of the policy of Francis was his desire
to humble his dreaded rival, Charles V. Hence his
approach to the Pope, on the one hand, and to the
Protestant princes, on the other. For the Papacy he
did not greatly care; for Lutheranism he cared still
less: his own ascendency was the object he sought.
The political project came first and sped best.
An excellent opportunity for broaching it presented
itself just at this time. Charles V. had carried away
by force of arms the young Duke of Wurtemberg.
And not only had he stolen the duke; he had stolen
his duchy too, and annexed it to the dominions of
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