Pagina 5 de 310

Now I say that those dominions which, when acquired, are added to

an ancient state by him who acquires them, are either of the same

country and language, or they are not. When they are, it is

easier to hold them, especially when they have not been

accustomed to self-government; and to hold them securely it is

enough to have destroyed the family of the prince who was ruling

them; because the two peoples, preserving in other things the old

conditions, and not being unlike in customs, will live quietly

together, as one has seen in Brittany, Burgundy, Gascony, and

Normandy, which have been bound to France for so long a time:

and, although there may be some difference in language,

nevertheless the customs are alike, and the people will easily be

able to get on amongst themselves.