The overt venality of its leaders and their scandals caused widespread revulsion. While bribery could be related, nepotism clearly has no literal similarity or correlation with venality. John XV's venality and nepotism allegedly made him very unpopular with the citizens of Rome. The public regarded this as the height of venality and cynicism. Soon the "good old days" of nepotism and venality were restored. Demosthenes accused the other envoys of venality and of facilitating Philip's plans with their stance. The hard-won victories of Charles V had been lost through the venality of his successors. The rumours about his venality did not diminish.