Above all, and here is the invariable end of Sr de Bellièvre’s embassy, and the center where all his care must end, he will try to nourish and foment in such a way the division of the Independents with the Presbyterians and Scots, that they can never agree and unite to extinguish royalty and set themselves up as a republic.

It is an evil which could receive no comparison for us, and it would be far less harmful to us if the King of Great Britain were restored to his original authority, although we were certain that he must be our enemy, than if a republic of England and Scotland were formed, uncertain whether it would be a friend or an enemy of this Crown.

The reasons for this difference are easy to understand.

It’s a gist from the secret instruction to the French ambassador sent to England to “reconcile” King and Parliament. The translation is jerky, done automatically, using an online service. I wish someone who knows French well would do a literary translation of this unique self-disclosure document.

Monty Python - Oliver Cromwell