Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	great_a	law_n	time_n	2,905	5	3.2500	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86626	The instruments of a king: or, A short discourse of the svvord. The scepter. The crowne. ...	Howell, James, 1594?-1666.; Howell, James, 1594?-1666.	1648 (1648)	Wing H3083; Thomason E464_7; ESTC R5326	6,719	15

of 24 howers against his Judges but if ever after he traduces them he is punishable It is no otherwise here where every ignorant peevish Client every puny Barister specially if he become a Member of the House will be ready to arraign and vie knowledge with all the reverend Judges in the Land whose judgement in points of Law shold be only tripodicall and sterling so that he may be truly call'd a just King and to rule according to Law who rules according to the opinion of his Judges therfore under favor I do not see how his Majestie for his part could be call'd injust when he leavied the Ship-money considering he had the judges for it I now take the Sword in hand which is the third Instrument of a King and which this short discours chiefly points at it is aswell as the two first incommunicable and inalienable from his Person nothing concernes his honor more both at home and abroad the Crown and the Scepter are but unweildy and impotent naked indefensible things without it There 's none so simple as to think there's meant hereby an ordinary single sword such as ev'ry one carrieth by his side or som imaginary thing or chymera of a sword No 't is the polemical publique sword of the whole Kingdom 't is an aggregative compound sword and 't is moulded of bell-metall for 't is made up of all the ammunition and armes small and great of all the military strengths both by Land and Sea of all the Forts Castles and tenable places within and round about the whole I le The Kings of England have had this sword by vertue of their royall signory from all times the Laws have girded it to their sides they have employed it for repelling all forren force for revenging all forren wrongs or affronts for quelling all intestine tumults and for protecting the weal of the whole body politike at home The peeple were never capable of this sword the fundamentall constitutions of this Kingdom deny it them 't is all one to put the sword in a mad mans hand as in the peeples or for them to have a disposing power in whose hands it shall be Such was the case once of the French sword in that notorious insurrection call'd to this day La Jaqueris de Beauvoisin when the Pesants and Mechanics had a design to wrest it out of the Kings hand and to depresse all the Peers Gentry of the Kingdom the busines had gone very far had not the Prelats stuck close to the Nobility But afterwards poor hare-brain'd things they desire the King upon bended knees to take it againe Such popular puffs have blowen often in Poland Naples and other places where while they sought and fought for liberty by retrenching the regall power they fool'd themselfs into a slavery unawares and found the rule right that excess of freedom turns to thraldom and ushers in all confusions If one shold go back to the nonage of the world when Governers and Rulers began first one will find the peeple desir'd to live under Kings for their own advantage that they might be restrain'd from wild exorbitant liberty and kept in unity Now unity is as requisit for the welbeing of all naturall things as entity is for their being and 't is a receiv'd maxim in policy that nothing preserves Unity more exactly then Royall Government besides 't is known to be the noblest sort of sway In so much that by the Law of Nations if Subjects of equall degrees and under differing Princes shold meet the Subjects of a King shold take predency of those under any Republique and those of a successif Kingdom of those that are under an Electif But to take up the Sword again I say that the Sword of public power authoritie is fit only to hang at the Kings side so indeed shold the great Seal hang only at his girdle because 't is the Key of the Kingdom which makes me think of what I read of Charlemain how he had the imperiall Seal emboss'd alwaies upon the pommell of his sword and his reason was that he was ready to maintain whatsoever he signed and sealed The Civilians who are not in all points so great friends to Monarchy as the Common Law of England is say there are six lura Regalia six Regall Rights viz. 1. Potestas Iudicatoria 2. Potestas vitae necis 3. Armamenta 4. Bona adespota 5. Census 6. Monetarum valor to wit Power of Judicature power of life and death all kind of arming masterlesse goods Sessements and the value of money Among these Regalias we find that Arming which in effect is nought else but the Kings Sword is among the chiefest and 't is as proper and peculiar to his person as either Crown or Scepter By these two he drawes a loose voluntary love and opinion onely from his Subjects but by the Sword he drawes reverence and awe which are the chiefest ingredients of allegiance it being a maxime That the best mixture of government is made of feare and love With this sword he conferrs honor he dubbs Knights he creates magistrats the Lord Deputy of Ireland the Lord Mayor of London with all other Corporations have their swords from him and when he entreth any place corporat we know the first thing that is presented him is the Sword With this Sword he shields and preserves all his peeple that ev'ry one may sit quietly under his own Vine sleep securely in his own House and enjoy sweetly the fruits of his labours Nor doth the point of this sword reach only to ev'ry corner of his own dominions but it extends beyond the seas to gard his Subjects from oppression and denial of justice as well as to vindicate the publike wrongs make good the interests of his Crown and to assist his confederates This is the sword that Edward the third tied the Flower deluces unto which stick still unto it when having sent to France to demand that Crown by maternall right the Counsell there sent him word that the Crown of France was not tied to a d●staff to which scoffing answer he replied that then he wold tie it to his sword and he was as good as his word Nor is this publike sword concredited or intrusted by the peeple in a fiduciary conditionall way to the King but it is properly and peculiarly belonging unto him as an inseparable concomitant perpetuall Usher and attendant to his Crowne The King we know useth to maintain all garrisons upon his own charge not the peeples he fortifies upon his own charge not the peeples And though I will not averr that the King may impresse any of his Subjects unlesse it be upon an actuall invasion by Sea or a sudden irruption into his Kingdom by Land as the Scots have often don yet at any time the King may raise Volunteers and those who have received his money the Law makes it felony if they forsake his service Thus we see there 's

nothing that conduceth more to the glory and indeed the very essence of a King then the Sword which is the Armes and military strength of his Kingdome wherfore under favor there cannot be a greater point of dishonor to a King then to be disarmed then to have his Sword taken from him or dispos'd of and intrusted to any but those whom he shall appoint for as à minori ad majus the Argument often holds if a privat Gentleman chance to be disarm'd upon a quarrell 't is held the utmost of disgraces much greater and more public is the dishonor that falls upon a King if after some traverses of difference 'twixt him and his Subjects they shold offer to disarme him or demand his sword of him when the Eagle parted with his talons and the Lion with his teeth and ongles the Apolog tells us how contemptible afterwards the one grew to be among Birds the other among Beasts For a King to part with the Sword politic is to render himself such a ridiculous King as that logg of wood was which Jupiter let down among the froggs for their King at the importunity of their croaking 't is to make him a King of clouts or as the Spaniard hath it Rey de Havas a Bean-King such as we use to choose in sport at Twelf-night But my hopes are that the two present Houses of Parlement for now they may be call'd so because they begin to parley with their King wil be more tender of the honor of their Soverain Liege Lord which together with all his Rights and Dignities by severall solemn Oaths and by their own binding instruments of Protestation and Covenant not yet revok'd they are sworn to maintain and that they will demand nothing of him which may savour of Aspertè or force but what may hold water hereafter But now touching the Militia or Sword of the Kingdom I think under favor the King cannot transfer it to any other for that were to desert the protection of his people which is point-blank against his Coronation Oath and his Office What forren Prince or State will send either Ambassador Resident or Agent to him when they understand his Sword is taken from him What reformed forren Church wil acknowledg Him Defender of the Faith when they hear of this Nay they who wish England no good will will go neer to paint him out as not long since another King was with a fair velvet Scabbard a specious golden hilt and chape but the blade within was of wood I hope that they who sway now will make better use of their successes Many of them know 't is as difficult a thing to use a victory well as to get one there is as much prudence requir'd in the one as prowesse in the other they wil be wiser sure then turn it to the dishonor of their King it being a certaine rule that the glory of a Nation all the world over depends upon the glory of their King and if he be any way obscur'd the whole Kingdom is under an eclipse I have observed that among other characters of gallantry which forren Writers appropriat to the English Nation one is that they use to be most zealous to preserve the Honor of their King I trust that they who are now upp will return to the steps of their Progenitors both in this particular and divers other that their successes may serve to sweeten and moderat things and suppresse the popular Sword which still rages And it had been heartily wished that a suspension of Arms had preceded this Treaty which useth to be the ordinary fore-runner and a necessarie antecedent to all Treaties for while acts of hostility continue som ill favour'd newes may intervene which may imbitter and disturb all nor can it be expected that the proceedings will goe on with that candor and confidence while the old rancor is still in action 't is impossible a sore shold heale till the inflamation be taken away To cast water into a wound instead of oyle is not the way to cure it or to cast oyle upon a fire instead of water is not the way to quench it poor England hath had a consuming fire within her bowells many yeeres she is also mortally wounded in all her members that she is still in a high Fever which hath made her rave and speak idle a long time and 't is like to turn to a Hectic if not timely prevented I p●ay God she may have no occasion to make use of the same complaint as Alexander the great made when he was expiring his last Perii turba Medicorum too many Physitians have undon me To conclude in a word there is but one only way under favor to put a period to all these fearfull confusions it is to put the great Master-wheele in order and in its due place again and then all the inferior wheels will move regularly let the King be restor'd and ev'ry one will com to his own all interests will be satisfied all things quickly rectified till this be done 't is as absurd to attempt the setling of peace as if one shold go about to set a Watch by the gnomon of an horizontall Diall when the Sun is in a cloud Dolor Capitis est Caput Doloris Jam. Howell 16. Septemb. 1648.