and his Ministers exercised in Ierusalem and in other Cities and Townes of the Kingdome of Iudaea of that great Captaine Mattathias and his fiue Sonnes hee speaketh thus Hi vederunt mala quae fiebant in populo Iuda in Ierusalem which the vulgar renders thus Now when they saw the blasphemies which were committed in Iuda and Ierusalem These saith he saw the euills that were committed in Ierusalem And my thinkes here must the question be asked Why all they of that Common-wealth suffering so many oppressions and so many afflictions in their Houses in their own Persons those of their children onely Mattathias and his Sonnes are here said to haue seene these euills and these blasphemies The answer hereunto makes notably for our purpose because it expresseth that which we go inforcing â—To wit That to see businesses is truely and properly to vnderstand them and to put our helping hand vnto them And because Mattathias and his Sonnes were the onely men that were sensible of the hard measure they receiued and the first that rose vp and opposed themselues against the furie of the Tyrant for the remedying their so many and so great Calamities that sacred Historian saith That they onely had eyes and saw the affliction of Gods people This kinde of sight best be fitteth Kings as they are heads of their Kingdomes and Common-wealthes and it is likewise necessary that they haue their sight Large Cleare and Sharpe that they may reach to see euen those things that are most secret and most remote as doth that princely birde the Eagle which houering aloft in the ayre descryes the fishes that are in the deepe Or be like vnto that Maiesticall Creature the Lyon who both waking and sleeping keepes his eyes open The Holy Ghost saith That a wise man hath his eyes in his head Sapientis oculi in capite eius And it seemeth that by Contrapositions he would giue vs thereby to vnderstand that a foole hath his eyes in his feete Which as they discouer but little so are they lyable to a thousand offences and deceits But the wise man beholds from high and as from a watch-Tower discouers things a farre off and is thereby better able to take notice of them and more punctually to comply with his obligation to the state and to that which neede shall require in those accidents that may occurre This is that sight which as before hath beene said befitteth Kings for that they are the Heads of their Common-wealths and therefore are to reserue for their own view those the more weighty businesses of their subiects there being a great deale of reason that they should see them as they say with their owne eyes For this end are those Visitations ordayned and those Entrances in State which Kings are wont to make into the Cities and Prouinces of their Kingdomes When the arrogant and vaine presumption of men grew to that passe that for to celebrate their name they went about to build that proud Tower of Babel with intent to touch euen heauen it selfe with the top thereof and to liue free from all feare of a second â—lood that sacred Historie tells vs Descendit autem Dominus vt videret Ciuitatem Turim quam aedificauerint filij Adam That the Lord came downe to see the Citie and tower which the sonnes of men builded God came down himself to see this their so great insollencie that he might punish them accordingly as he did with such a confusion of languages that one could not vnderstand another and were amongst themselues as so many strangers without being able to communicate and conuerse together so that they were driuen to diuide themselues into different Countries and were scattred from thence vpon all the earth And in the said Historie of Genesis we read that when that abhominable filthines of the Sodomites grew to that highth of impudencie that it prouoked God vnto Wrath and in a manner bound him to consume them with fire from heauen he vttered vnto Abraham these words worthy the noting Clamor Sodomorum Gâ—morrhaeorum multiplicatus est peccatum eorum aggrauiAtum est nimis Descendam videbo vtrum clamorem qui venit ad me opere compleuerint an non est ita vt sciam Because the cry of Sodome and Gomorrha is great and because their sinne is exceeding grieuous I will goe downe now and see whether they haue done altogether according to the cry which is come vnto me And if not that I may know As if he should haue sayd Howbeit the abomination of these accursed Sodomites and Gomorrhaeans hath so farre increased that it doth cry aloud vnto me for vengeance and chasticement and hath pierced the heauens and come vnto mine eares yet notwithstanding because it is a thing that concernes a whole Common-wealth and a busines of that weight as to deserue exemplary punishment I will goe downe and see whether it be so or no as the report goes of it Though most certaine it is that God hath no need to come downe from heauen to take a particular viewe of the things of this world for he is present in all places here there and euery where he filleth all seeth all and with his infinite wisedome comprehendeth all But the Scripture speakes in this kinde of language that it may accommodate it self to the stile and capacitie of men for to instruct Kings in this place that graue and weighty businesses they are not to transferre them ouer vnto others but of and by themselues to see and looke vnto them nor ought they too be to facile in giuing credit to fame and report especially of the vulgar without hauing first fully informed himselfe thereof and that by themselues they should be able to dis-deceiue themselues and to see and consider things with attention and with a desire to search out the truth and to rectifie what is amisse In the Kingdomes of Castile there is a very commendable custome and of great authoritie and Maiestie worthy those most prudent Kings which first ordeyned it And this is that Consultâ— which euery friday towards the Euening the President of Castile makes with those of his Maiesties Councell Royall wherein an Account is giuen vnto his Maiestie of all the weightiest businesses and wherein the opinion and the authoritie Royall is necessarie And this is not without example in the sacred Scripture For in the first chapter of Deut. it is written That when that great Law-giuer Moses had named for good and quicke dispatch such Counsellours as before specified giuing them in charge what they were to keepe and obserue and how to administer Iustice with equalitie and without exception of persons he told them Quod si difficile vobis visum aliquid fuerit referte ad me ego audiam The cause that is too hard for you bring vnto me and I will heare it You shall consult with me in that case that I may heare it and take such
and Earth and reuenge thou those the open wrongs that are offred vnto vs. And these Petitions commonly finde there such quicke dispatch that presently hee nominateth Captaines leuieth forces and formeth a mightie Armie of enemies to disturbe and destroy that kingdome And though some may conceiue that the cause of those and the like troubles are the crosse Incounters of Kings and Princes amongst themselues or the greedy desire of warre for spoyle and pillage which pardoneth no manner of persons yet in realtie of truth it is not so but the wrongs of Ministers exercised vpon the poore the fatherlesse and the widowe are the occasion that huge and powerfull Hostes of enemies in their reuenge enter the gates of a Kingdome and make wast and hauocke thereof For this cause were the Amalechites captiuated and put to the sword and for the same likewise the soldiers entred into Iudaea and sackt it Whence we draw this cleare and conclusiue truth that the best and the safest course to conserue a kingdome to gaine others and to abound in riches is to vndoe wrongs done not to dissemble iniuries to punish thefts and robberies and to execute iustice towards all Iuitium viae bonae facere institiam The first step to goodnesse is to doe Iustice. For without it the foot that sets forward falls backward and a King hath not where withall to relye on his power his forces his wisedome and experience in gouernment if he be defectiue in this For kingdomes last no longer then Iustice lasteth in them And true it is that there is no winde shut vp in the bowells of the earth which causeth therein such violent effects of Earth-quakes as in those kingdomes which thinke themselues surest and firmest doe the complaints and greiuous sighes of the wronged poore And therefore let none whatsoeuer be they Kings great Ministers or Counsellours of State slightly reckon of the cries of the poore For they referring their reuenge to God they draw him downe from Heauen to right their quarrell And the basest and most barbarous man in the world when he sees himselfe wronged and can finde none vpon earth to pleade his cause or to doe him right he presently lifts vp his eyes vnto Heauen and makes his addresse vnto God assuring himselfe that his helpe will come from thence And it was well said of a Wise man That the wronged are like vnto those that are ready to be drowned who if they fasten vpon any thing neuer let it goe so these men when they are in danger to be sunke by being forcibly kept vnder water by the oppressours hand lay fast hold on complaints cryes sighes and teares as the last remedy allotted them by God who saith That he will heare the petitions and receiue the Memorialls of the afflicted which are written with teares A maxilla enim a scendunt vsque ad caelum For from the cheeke they ascend vp to heauen They trill downe the cheekes till they fall to the ground and from thence they mount vp as high as Heauen for being water they rise as much as they fall And when God sees they haue reason on their side and that they onely call vnto him for iustice it being so proper an Attribute vnto him in the end he grants and signes their request Nor is it much that he should shew them this fauour his bowells being moued to compassion in seeing his creatures in such extremities of affliction Let Kings therefore beware and take heede and their Ministers bethinke themselues that in such a case an Inundation of teares is of more force and more danger then that of the swiftest Torrent vpon a mighty flood CHAP. XVIII Of the sense of hearing And of the Audiences which Kings ought to giue PVrsuing stil the Metaphore of the head whereon hitherto we haue insisted occasion is now offred vnto vs to treat of the sense of Hearing which hath some certaine excellencies aboue the rest For thereby we come to vnderstand the hidden secrets of the heart and the most inward thoughts of the Soule which being clad and apparrelled with that out-side and exterior part the Voyce and put vpon the Hearing of that person with whom we talke and discourse it knoweth that which the vnderstanding of neither Men nor Angels once is able to comprehend And that which we haue spoken of the sence of the sight ought likewise to be said of this For as far forth as is the perceiuing of a Voyce or some other noyse or sound by the hearing so farre is it common as well to brutes beastes as to Men. But it is proper only vnto Man by hearing a significatiue voyce to discourse thereof and to vnderstand the inward conceipt of him that speaketh And from hence will we draw what ought to be heard by the Head of a Common-wealth who is not onely to content himselfe with hearing the bare externall Voyce but to heare it in such maner as the holy Scripture telleth vs God heareth the voyces of those which call vpon him in the time of their trouble which is a vsuall and plaine kinde of Language in the Diuine Writt And when it is sayd that God heareth vs it is ioyntly sayd that he graunteth our petition Whereof many Testimonies are found in the Psalmes of Dauid and in diuerse other places Cùm inuocarem exaudiuit me Deus iustitiae meae Dominus exaudiet me cum clamauero ad cum c. The God of my righteousnesse heard me when I called vpon him And anone after The Lord will heare when I call vnto him In the twentie one of Genesis it is there twice repeated that God heard the voyce of Agars childe who was Abrahams bond-woman which the mother had left all alone in the wildernesse of Bersheba vnder a certaine tree and sitting downe ouer against him a farre off about a bow-shoote that shee might not see him perish for want of water Dixit enim non videbo morienâ—em puerum For shee said I will not see the death of the childe In the very next Verse following a double mention is made That God heard the voyce of the childe Which was in effect to say that he did releiue him and refresh his thirsty Souâ—e and granted that which the infant and his mother desired And the Apostle Saint Paul in that Epistle which hee wrote to the Hebrewes saith of our Sauiour Christ That Offerens preces ad deum cum clamore valido et lachrymis exauditus est pro sua reuerentia Offring vp prayers and supplications to God the father with strong crying and teares he was also heard in that which he feared Which was all one as if he should haue said That his father dispatcht him and granted what he petitioned in that his prayer So that in rigour of holy Writ Gods Hearing and Gods Granting is all one But in that common Commerce with men and in that style which Kings and their Ministers vse it is not so For
themselues to be absolute and to cumply in all things with their affections and desires nor to exercise any other personall passion For the vse and custome of absolute power is dangerous for Kings odious to the subiect and offensiue both to God and Nature And for that the last Kings of the Romanes vsed this power the name of King grew so hatefull that those that afterwards succeeded in the Romane gouernment durst not take vpon them the name of Kings but that of Emperours Which is by so much the more absolute by how much Imperare doth differ from Regere Yet notwithstanding the people of Rome did not so much feare this name of Emperour as that of King because those that last bore that name exercised on them this their absolute power So that it is not the name nor the office but the ill vsing thereof that makes it odious For it is neither the Title nor the Man that moueth or altereth the honest meaning minde of the plaine downe right subiect but deeds and actions that are done contrary to all right and reason Whereas on the contrary good vsage and good treatment keepes them in loue and peace and drawes them after him as it were in a string and to offer vp for his sake a voluntary sacrifice of their liues Let Kings consider that the Crowne speakes as much which they weare on their heads in forme of a Sphericall round figure which signifies limitem or terminum a limit or bound or rather that Circle out of which it is not lawfull for them to go no not one steppe The Crownes I say that they weare are Circles and Limits seruing to put them in minde that their power is limited and measured out vnto them that they may not passe the bounds of reason nor doe any thing but what is iust and lawfull Let the great Kings and Potentates of the earth moderate themselues and refraine from making themselues Gods by exercising this their absolute power let them acknowledge ouer them a God as well on earth as in heauen That hee may not grow wearie of their Monarchies and their gouernments as he did of that of the ancient Romanes and vtterly ouerthrow them prouoked and incited thereunto by the abuse of humane power For as Seneca saith Quod non potest vult posse qui nimium potest But the God of heauen is very nice and tender in admitting companions in any kinde of manner whatsoeuer but much more daintie in matter of iurisdiction and absolute power punishing the same with grieuous chastisements and many demonstrations of his fearefull anger and displeasure Aristotle saith that through the gouernment of those that are too absolute in their rule and command the gouernment is changed kingdomes altered and petty Princes rise vp against them who in such sort abate and bring downe their pride that they come to serue those whom before they did command Tully tearmes them of all other the most miserable which make their will a Law and thinke that they may doe all that they can Nero did then leaue off to be cruell when he vnderstood that he was permitted to doe what hee listed and that many did approue all his actions for good It is the ancient language of adulation to speake absolute power vnto Princes and to perswade them to follow their owne free will But this is a very dangerous thing if they once giue way thereunto and lâ—t such flatteries dwell in their eares for the resolutions of such a power will not suffer themselues to be so subiect as they ought to the iudgement of reason nor humane discourse In such a case a power from heauen is more needfull And this errour is now come to be in such request that to agree in all things with the will and pleasure of Kings is now made in the minds of some not onely a meanes of hope but esteemed as a great seruice and pledge of merit to receiue honours and rewards But this deceitfull meanes whereby they thinke to thriue shall when God shall see it fit be the onely knife to cut their throates for such kinde of men neuer escape punishment and most commonly receiue it from their Kings owne hand In strange and extraordinary cases and vpon iust occasions and iustifiable meanes Kings may somewhat inlarge the limits of their power so as they doe not go beyond that which reason and Christian prudence permitteth Plato saith that Prudence and power are to embrace each other and to walke hand in hand Qualities which ought to concurre in a good King signified in that Scepter with eyes which Ieremy saw power being in the one and wisdome in the other And in that other old ancient portraiture of a good King being a Lion placed on the top of Mercuries Mace which is a Scepter with two Snakes twining about it This signifying prudence and wisedome and that fortitude which should neuer be separated from a King By his power he is feared respected and obeyed he commands prohibites and executes By his wisedome he auerreth the truth of his actions and doth nothing but what is lawfull Wisedome tempereth power and both together vphold the world But if power forsake the fellowship of wisedome it growes to be absolute and runnes into a thousand indiscretions and commits as many wrongs and iniuries wherewith it desolateth and destroyeth euen the greatest States For there is not that ill wherein power doth not exceed if it haue not wisedome for it's bridle And for that a powerfull hand is so dangerous a thing Nature hath ordained and so ordered the businesse that the braine where wisedome hath it's residence should bee placed ouer it Which those ancient Doctors amongst the Gentiles did point at when they placed Minerua the Goddesse of wisedome vpon Iupiters head who of all the Gods is the most powerfull And therefore it was well said of him whosoeuer hee were that said Que vale mas saber que auer y poder Wealth and power are not comparable to wisedome Which saying is confirmed by the holy Ghost Melior est sapientia quam vires Et diuitias nihil esse duxi in comparatione illius Wisedome is better then strength I set more by her then by kingdomes and royall seates and count riches nothing in comparison of her The aduantage whereof is signified in that Hierogliffe of the Cocke who with his crowing makes the Lion to flie As Saint Ambrose and Aelian haue well obserued And that wise and iust man Iob doth much commend him for his knowledge and vnderstanding And Saint Gregory declareth that by him is to bee vnderstood a wise and prudent man who taketh hold on a fit and conuenient time for businesses and not onely aduiseth of but preuenteth all dangers and whatsoeuer hurt may befall The particular and generall experience which we haue of Histories teacheth vs how much it importeth for the conseruation and augmentation of a great Empire and Monarchie that he that is
nothing is done For as the Philosophers tearme it Applicat potentias ad operandum she sets these faculties a worke and findes them hands The Vnderstanding confesseth this is true but with all saith it is he that nods and winckes vpon her makes signes and tokens vnto her is as it were the Watch-word doth expose vnto her whether she will this or that for the better ordering disposing of it The Will she on the other side replyes that she likewise fomenteth and affectionates the Vnderstanding and doth excite and sollicite him that he study thinke and dwell vpon that which she best liketh But leauing the resolution of this Controuersie to your Thomists and Scotists who dispute it at large the Vnderstanding as I said before is a Regall power which ruleth gouerneth in man and is that Starre which guideth and giueth light to the whole house of the soule yet is the Will so much Mistresse that nothing is done without her Nor can God himselfe by violence draw a yea or a nay from it without trespassing vpon that liberty wherewith he created it for in it 's owne nature it is free and as Philosophy informeth vs it cannot be forced Caeterae potentiae possunt capi non tamen voluntas But the common receiued opinion is that both the one and the other must concurre for the effecting of any free worke Insomuch that it is impossible to performe any action of importance vnlesse that both doe intend that same We must plucke the reynes of both hold both of them in our hands if we meane to rule and gouerne the soule as we ought the Vnderstanding directing and the Will operating And therefore a deuout King after that hee hath begg'd vnderstanding of God that hee may be able to study and meditate on the obseruance of his diuine Law for the conseruation of himselfe and his kingdome finding that this is not sufficient if the Will should draw another way let him presently pray vnto him that he incline his Will and so dispose thereof that he may not onely will his Will but that hee may take pleasure to put it in practise In strictnesse and in rigour that is not Wisedome nor deserueth the name thereof which is bung'd vp in the Head and goes not from the Vnderstanding to the hand and from the Will to the Worke. Non enim sapientia est saith S. Bernard quae quod sapit non exercet Wisedome without practise is not Wisedome There are some of whom all men sticke not to say that he is of great vnderstanding a man of admirable abilities singular wisedome c. And yet no man knowes wherein his Knowledge lies nor can discerne his Wisdome in his Actions It is necessary that this opinion should be ratified and confirmed by exterior Actions and some publique demonstrations Of King Dauid the holy Ghost saith that hee did gouerne his people with the vnderstanding of his hands Et in intellectibus manuum suarum deduxit illos It is a cleare case that the hands haue no other particular vnderstanding in a distinct manner or distinguished from that which the soule hath and this is in the Head and not in the hands But the meaning of that place is that in the Workes of his hands and in all his Actions the King manifested his great Vnderstanding and Wisedome Which if it remaine onely in the huske or shell it is good for nothing Sicut fides ita sapientia sine operibus mortua est Wisedome saith S. Bernard is like Faith without good Workes it is dead That King therefore that shall haue wisedome inough in and for himselfe and shall execute and shew the same in the gouernment of his kingdome and exercise the same amongst his Subiects he shall be great in all his kingdomes heere on Earth and great likewise in the kingdome of Heauen Salomon when God had giuen him wisedome did not onely attend the speculatiue part but the practicke which is the principall thing in him that ruleth Apposui cor meum vt viderem sapientiam occupationem for so the Septuagint translate it But rendered by the vulgar I applyed mine heart to know wisdome and to see the businesse that is done vpon Earth for in Wisedome and the good exercise thereof consisteth all the good gouernment of a Common-wealth This being presupposed and what else in the subsequent Chapters shall be spoken hereof I say That it is not required of Kings that they should be so wise and skilfull in all Arts and Faculties as King Salomon was and others which make profession thereof nor yet so illiterate as the Emperour Licinius which was such an Idiot and such a beast that he knew not how to firme or set his hand to any Deâ—d or Writing Or as that other Michael Balbo which was such an enemy vnto Learning that hee would neither study good Letters himselfe nor suffer the children of his time to be bâ—ed vp therein That which is to be required of euery good King is that he haue so much wisedome as to be able to aduise himselfe and to make benefit of the Councell of others That he be wise enough to know what is good and iust and what is bad and ill that he may vse the one and shun the other Is enim moderatus est sapiens saith Socrates that hath Courage to execute and Will to doe On those Bases which the most wise King Salomon placed in the Temple hee commanded Lions Oxen and Cherubins to be ingrauen in signification of so many the like qualities which Kings ought to haue who sustaine the whole weight of a kingdome He must be in perpetuall labour signified in the Oxe he must be endued with courage expressed in the Lion and he must abound in knowledge notified in the Cherubin Wherefore Cicero likewise maketh mention Hae sunt saith that Heathen Orator virtutes Imperatoriae Labor in negotijs Fortitudo in periculis Industria in agendo To assist in businesses to be stout and valiant in dangers to be dextrous and wise in acting and aboue all to haue a liberall will without subiection and readily disposed for execution are vertues befitting an Emperour For to gouerne well great strength great courage great wisedome great power and a great willingnesse will be required For though a King know much and can doe much yet if he will not exercise his knowledge nor make vse of his power it is all one as if he neither knew nor could doe any thing The Leaper said to our Sauiour Christ Domine si vis potes me mundare If thou wilt thou canst make me cleane And Christ made him answer not in word onely but in deed Volo mundare I will be thou cleane CHAP. VI. How Kings ought to carry themselues in those businesses which their vnderstanding comprehendeth not IN regard that the Vnderstanding is amongst all other faculties the Noblest it is that without doubt which doth least render and yeeld it selfe
caused to be beheaded Plato would make it arul'd case That that Iudge should dye the death that should take a bribe yet notwithstanding neither the feare of death of iudgement nor of hell it selfe is sufficient to represse the loue of money Disputante Paulo de judicio futuro tremefactus est Felix Paul reasoning of the iudgement to come Felix trembled who was President or Ruler of Cesarea And yet the feare of that terrible day of iudgement was not able to bridle his Couetousnesse He trembled for feare and yet his eyes and heart were placed vpon that money which hee hoped to receiue from that blessed Apostle Feare is not of force to detaine the Couetous For Couetousnesse is a huge great riuer which if it once begin to make it's Current bee it which way it will there is no withholding of it If you stop it's course one way it breakes out another way So it did with that naughty Prophet who hasted with great furie to curse Gods people that he might finger his promised gold And though an Angell stood before him and stopp't his way hee tooke another way and brake through thicke and thin as they say that hee might not loose his reward so farre saith Iosephus did the promises and gifts of the Moabites preuaile with him that hee chose rather for his priuate interest to please a King of the earth then him of Heauen The Kings of Spaine haue likewise made some Lawes with very sharpe and rigorous punishments but all not worth a pinne because they are not executed So that this bad custome alone is of more force then all the lawes These are written with inke on paper Those with letters of gold on the heart The Lawes threaten with roughnesse and rigour Money perswades with softnesse and gentlenesse and carryes mens mindes after it without contradiction The Lawes haue few to defend them to put them in execution But this euill custome is of more force then the Law hath stronger Abettors In a word terrible are the forces and skirmishes of this foule assaulting vice become now as it were naturall vnto vs and more vsed in these then any other Times whatsoeuer Demosthenes ask't the Athenians those which are may aske of those that haue bin what were in those times which are not in these And himselfe makes the answer That one thing was now wanting vnto them whereby those that liu'd then alwayes went away with the victory mainned their libertie Which was The perpetuall hatred which they bore vnto those who suffered themselues to be corrupted with mony In stead whereof it is now come to that passe that to receiue a bribe is onely a nine dayes wonder if the same be confest it is made a matter of laughter if proued he that receiues receiues a pardon for it and he that informes sent away with a flea in his eare and in stead of a reward receiues a round checke for his labour growes a hated man and troublesome member in a Common-wealth But vnfortunate is that Common-wealth where Corruption liues vncontrolled And because this Vice goes daily taking deepe roote and grows still stronger and stronger inuenting new impudencies new slightes and subtilties it is needefull that Kings should hunt Counter and finde out some new Tricke to take these olde ones in the Trap. And this one me thinks would be a pretty remedy for this disease That a Law were made That of all those that should be nominated for Ministers and Officers publike and particular in any Tribunall or Ministry what soeuer as well of Iustice and gouernment as of the publike Treasurie there should an Inuentorie be taken by some deputed for that purpose of all their rents and goods moueable and vnmoueable and when they are to take their oath as the fashion is at their entrance into their Office the said Inuentory should be presented in open Court and there they made to sweare and take a solemne oath that this is a true Inuentorie and that their Estate is thus and thus neither more nor lesse or much there abouts to the end that when their states come to be increased and their wealth makes a great noyse in the world it may vpon better inquirie be knowen how and which way they came by it For experience daily teacheth vs that your Iudges your Exchequer men and other publike Officers enter into the Office with little and goe out with much And I would that the Kings Atturney generall or one of like nature should enter an Action against all those Augmentations of their Estates whereof they should not be able to render a good Account I could likewise wish that they might be sworne to that Law of Theodosius That they neither gaue nor promised by themselues or by any other person or persons any thing at all for the foresaid Offices Neither that they shall receiue any thing of free gift be it offred with neuer so good a will Which oath the Ancient Romans swore vnto And if at any time it shall be proued against them that they haue either giuen or taken that they incurre the punishment of priuation of Office and Confiscation of goods And this Course being taken these cannot offend againe and if their dealing hath beene vpright and faire as good men will not refuse a iust tryall but rather out of loue to goodnesse imbrace it God forbid but they should bee well rewarded by the State for their good and faithfull seruice And this is no new doctrine but shall finde it if we looke backe to former times practised long a goe And the Emperour Antoninus Pius did likewise ordaine that all Liuetenants and Gouerners before they went to serue in their Residencies and Offices they should bring in an Inuentorie of all they had that when the time of their Gouernment was expired by coating and comparing the one with the other they might see how and in what manner they thriued thereupon Audist is saith he Praefectum Praetorij nostri antè Triduum quà m fieret mendicum pauperem sed subitò diuitem factum Vndè quaeso nisi de visceribus Reip. qui ob hanc causam Prouincias sibi datas credunt vt luxurientur diuites fiant c. You haue heard that our Praetorian Praefect some few dayes since was a very beggar but now sodainely become rich Whence I pray should this come but from out the bowells of the Common-wealth who for this cause thinke Prouinces are committed vnto them that they may therein riot and grow rich Setting at nought the Lawes the respect vnto their Kings their feare towards God and the shame of the world Truly saith Plato that publike Minister may be had in suspicion who in his office is growne rich For he that only gets by lawfull meanes can hardly liue at so high a rate as some of his fellowes doe build such sumptuous and costly houses and leaue so faire and great an
course therein as is fitting And if to this so commendable a Consulta of euery Friday weekely there should bee added another Meeting some certaine dayes in the yeare to the end that the President and those of the Kings Camaera should carry with them the Consulta of the Offices and should treate and conferre thereof by word of mouth with our Lord the King it would be one of the most important things in the iudgement and opinion of many graue men whom I haue consulted with in this particular that could be or-ordained for the good of these Kingdomes Whereby many of those inconueniences would be auoyded which wise and Christian Counsellours haue found out by many yeares experience And none of the meanest amongst the rest is the remitting by writing so weightie and important a thing as the Election of Officers recommending the same to a dead Letter which can make no replie And that paper which passeth through so many hands cannot come so clean as it shuld but be sullyed especially if it come to such hands as are not clean but corrupted with gifts presents And because this Course is taken the loue respect due to their Kings is lost who like Creatures to their Creator ought to acknowledge althat thev hauâ— from his hands Wheras now they giue this respect vnto his Maiesties Ministers with whom they haue held correspondency as knowing that their Prouision must solely passe through their hands and that their good or bad dispatch consistes in them or in a lesse full or more effectuall Relation inclosed in the paper of their Consulta Which cannot be carryed thus when the President and those of the Camera shall haue propounded the same and deliuered their opinions in the presence of their King And questionlesse they that by this meanes shoulâ— be prouided for would esteeme in more and treat with more punctuality and truth the things appertaining to his Office considering that the King himselfe taketh particular knowledge of them For as we said before it is very meete and conuenient that Kings should know and communicate with if not all yet at least those who are to be placed in your greater kinde of Offices and dignities And amongst aâ—l other businesses this is that which with most reason doth require the Kings eyes and presence his remembrance and mature Counsaile For such are the Citizens as are their Gouernours and the Parishioners as their Pastors And though this perhaps cannot be performed so punctually and preciseâ—y as were to be wished yet at least it will be needfull that those persons of whom they take testimonie and receiue information in so graue and weighty a busines should be of that prudence learning and authoritie and so beyond all exception that the world which is apt to take exceptions may be perswaded that the Election could not but be passing good being that it past through such iudicious mens hands For whatsoeuer shall come forth decreed by them it is not fitting that it should bee subiect to their censures who either haue not the said qualities or are much inferiour in them or faile in their zeale to God or their Loyaltie and Loue to their King being Narcissus-like inamoured with their owne shadow and led away with the blindnesse of their passion Woe be vnto that Common-wealth King and Kingdome where one out of blindnesse or selfe willfull-nesse shall vndoe that which other men haue done with many and those the clearest eyes For as the Wise man saith Vnus acdificans vnus destruens quid prodest illis nisi labor When one buildeth and another breaketh downe what profit haue they then but labour CHAP. XVII Hee prosecuteth the same matter and shewes how Kings ought to carry themselues towards those that finde themselues aggrieued HAuing spoken of some Cases reserued for Kings and such as require their sight and presence it here now offers it selfe in this place to know how a King ought to carry himselfe towards those that finde themselues iniuryed and aggrieued And in the opinion of vnderstanding people it seemeth that nothing is more properly his then to quit wrongs and remooue iniuries For if we shall but consider that first beginning which Kings had that which the Ancient said of them and that which the holy Scripture teacheth vs wee shall finde that this Occupation is very properly theirs and that this Care appertaines of right to their greatnesse That most wise King Salomon in the fourth of Ecclesiastes saith That when he saw the teares of the Innocent and the wrongs they receiued and no body to helpe them or to speake so much as a good word for them it seemed a thing more terrible vnto him then to dye or neuer to haue beene borne Vidi calumnias quae sub caelo geruntur lachrymas innocentium neminem Consolatorum neque posse resistere eorum violentiae cunctorum auxilio destitutos laudaui magis mortuos quà m viuentes foeliciorem vtroque iudicaui qui nec dum natus est I turned and considered all the oppressions that are wrought vnder the sunne And behold the teares of the oppressed and none comforteth them And loe the strength is of the hand of them that oppresse them and none comforteth them Wherefore I praised the dead which now are dead aboue the liuing which are yet aliue And I count him better then them both which hath not yet beene And not onely King Salomon but euen God himselfe was so highly offended with those wrongs and oppressions which the children of Israel suffred in Egypt that he thought it a thing worthy his presence and his comming downe from heauen to see the same with his own eyes Vidi afflictionem populi mei in Egypto clamorem eius audiui propter duritiem eorum qui praesunt operibus et sciens dolorem eius descendi vt liberem eum I haue seene the trouble of my people which are in Egypt and haue heard their crie because of their Taske-Masters And for I know their sorrowes therefore I am come downe to deliuer them c. Teaching Kings That in matter of grieuances and oppression of the Innocent they are not content to themselues with remitting them ouer vnto others but to looke thereunto themselues And if need were to come from forth their princely pallaces and to forgoe for a while their pleasures and their ease till they haue reformed what is amisse The first words the diuine Scripture storieth which the first King whom God chose for his people said were these Quid habet populus quod plorat What ayleth this people that they weepe Who no soner saw himselfe Crowned King and put by Gods hand into the possession of that kingdom but applying himselfe to that which he ought first of all to doe as one of the mainest points of his dutie he hearkned vnto the cryes of the people who were oppressed by the Philistims and with great speede and feruent zeale did roundly set himselfe
to the redressing of that oppression And I verily perswade my selfe that all good Kings wouâ—d doe the like if they should see their subiects ready to fall into their enemies hands with whom they wage open warre But from those more close and secret enemies which are together with vs subiects Citizens neighbours Countrymen and Ministers of the same Kings and of whom there is held so much trust and confidence who goes about to free the wronged What reparation is there for receiued iniuries Are they not much greater then those that the Philistims offered to Gods people and more remedilesse As for professed Enemies against them we may make open resistance and euery man that is not vnnaturall or a Traytour to his Country will put to his helping hand and seeke to repell force by force reuenge the wrongs that are done them But for these our domestick enemies these our home-borne foes feigned friends who vnder the shew of friendship and vnder cloake and colour of being the Kings Ministers oppresse the poore and such as haue little power to oppose their greatnesse who shall be able to resist them If he that suffers shall pretend to doe it doth he not put himselfe in manifest danger of suffring much more if not of loosing all that hel hath And it is worthy your consideration that in those words related in Exodus it is not said that God went down to see and remedy the wrongs which that Tyrant king Pharaoh did vnto the children of Israel but that which was offred them by his chiefe Ministers Propter duritiem eorum qui praesunt For the hard-heartednesse and cruelty of those which were set in authoritie ouer them As if he should haue said The Affronts and Iniuries done by a Kings principall Officers are not so easily remedyed as those of particular men They require a powerfull hand they require Gods presence and assistance and will craue a Kings especiall care For your Councells cannot doe it nay are not able for to doe it of themselues alone be they the greatest and the highest in the Kingdom be they neuer so zealous of Iustice neuer such true louers thereof and neuer so desirous to doe right And the reason therof in my poore opinion is for that in regard the burthen of ordinary businesses is so great that only they are not able to attend the quitting of those agrauios and greiuances with that speedines and efficacie as were needefull but rather that they themselues without so much as once dreaming thereof doe vse to make them farre greater then otherwise they would bee for want of time and strength of body to cumply with so many and so great businesses And it oftentimes so commeth to passe that those that â—ue for reliefe in stead of being eased of their wrongs receiue further wrong either because they cannot finde fit place and time to be heard or because being heard they are soone forgot or because they that wrong them finde meanes to couer their faultes And if they cannot couer them and so should be lyable vnto punishment yet they that lent them their hand to lift them vp to the place wherein they are will likewise lend them a hand to defend their disorders And it hath beene already and is yet daily to be seene that a Iudge in Commission who for his wickednesse and euill dealing deserued exceeding great chastisement yet for that he hath this Patron and Angel of Guard for in your greater Tribunalls these are neuer wanting the businesse is husht and the party peccant neuer questioned And because he shall not be disgraced if the matter proue fowle against him by putting him out of his place he that tooke him into his protection will intercede in his behalfe to haue him remoued from that Office and preferred to a better A case certainly worthy both punishment and remedy if there be any vpon earth And if there be any helpe to be had it must be by the sight and presence of the King for without this it is not to be hoped for The Courtes of Kings much more then other places are full of humane respects and these haue taken so great a head and are growne so strong that in businesses they ouerthrow that which truth and iustice ought to vphold And therefore my aduise vnto Kings is that being they are men that are or may be free if they will themselues from these poore respectiue considerations and are supreme Lords and absolute soueraignes in their kingdomes they would be pleased to dis-agrauiate those that are iniuryed respecting onely wronged right and oppressed Truth But because such as are wronged and finde themselues agrieued haue not that easie accesse and entrance into Princes Courtes or to their persons either in regard of their great and weighty Imployments or some other lawfull Impediments it shall much importe that in their Courtes they should haue some person or persons of great zeale and approued vertue and prudence to whom those that are agrieued should haue recourse For many suffer much that cannot come to be admitted to the sight or speech of their King whereas if there should be a person appointed for to heare their Complaints they would cry out with open mouth for iustice and should be righted in their receiued wrongs And that person or persons thus deputed by their Maiesties hauing first well weighed and examined the reasons of their Complaints should afterwards represent the same vnto their Kings and giue them true information thereof to the end that they may forthwith by expresse Command put thereunto a speedy and fitting remedie And this I assure you would be a great bridle to restraine the insufferable insolencie and Auarice of Princes Ministers Who questionlesse would carry themselues much more fairely and vprightly when as they shall know that their disorders shall faithfully be represented Whereas on the contrarie it is not to be imagined with what a bold nay impudent daringnes they outface goodnesse when as they conceiue that of their kings which was vttred by that vnwise and foolish Atheist In corde suo non est deus The foole hath said in his heart there is no God Or that which those ignorant and troublesome friends of Iob breathed forth against God himselfe Circa cardines coeli perambulat nec nostra considerat He walketh in the Circle of heauen and the cloudes hide him that he cannot see and consider the things vpon earth Or which those other wicked Villaines vented Non videbit dominus neque intelliget Deus Iacob The Lord shall not see neither will the God of Iacob regard it So in like sorte say these bad Ministers Tush this shall neuer come to our Kings knowledge hee is taking his pleasure in his gardens he is thinking on his Hawking and Hunting or some other sports and pastimes to recreate himselfe withall nor shall Tricks and inuentions be wanting vnto vs to stop vp all the passages to his eares but say open way
they heare and hearing answer that they haue heard that which they neuer meane to grant And there is no worse Answer for a suitor then to make this answer to his petition That it hath beene heard And it is very fit that they should reply in this kinde of phrase for thereby is giuen to be vnderstood the great obligation they haue to heare as well those that haue iustice as those that pretend to haue it although they haue it not In signification whereof the two eares are placed on the two contrarie sides of the head one opposite to the other because affording one eare to the Plaintiffe we must reserue the other for the defendant And because God would haue it so that Hearing should be the ordinary meanes for the receiuing of the diuine Light and attaining to the knowledge of those supreme truthes by so superexcellent and high a gift as that of faith Quomodo credent ei quem non crediderunt How shall they beleeue in him of whom they haue not heard As also that Kings may haue an intire light of humane Truthes it is requisite that they should lend a willing eare to those that craâ—e Audience of them For in this sense of all other saith Saint Bernard Truth hath it's seate and Mansion In auditu veritas Truth is in Hearing And in example of this hee alleageth that which passed betwixt good old Isaac and his two sonnes Esau and Iacob who by reason of his olde age fayling very much in all the rest of his senses that of his hearing continued still in it's full perfection The other deceiu'd him and this onely told him the Truth Vox quidem vox Iacob manus autem manus sunt Esau. The voyce is Iacobs voyce but the hands are the hands of Esau. Wherein he was out In Gods Schoole where faith isprofessed great reckoning is made of Hearing Quia fides ex auditu Because faith comes by hearing For a man may heare and beleeue though he cannot see But in the Schoole of the world we must haue all these and all is little inough We must see heare and beleeue And when Kings haue both seene and heard and throughly informed themselues of the whole State of the busines that they may not be deceiued in their iudgement then let them presently proceede to touch it as we say with the hand to fall roundly to worke and in that maner and forme as shall seeme most fitting to finish and make an end of it Dominus de coelo in terram aspexit vt audiret gemitus compeditorum c. The Lord looked downe from the height of his Sanctuary Out of the Heauen did the Lord behold the earth that he might heare the mourning of the prisoner and deliuer the children of death This looking downe of the Lord from the highest Heauens and from the throne of his glory vpon the earth to heare the grieuous groâ—nings and pitifull complaints of poore wretched creatures which call and cry vnto him for iustice should my thinkes be an admirable good lesson for Kings that they should loose somewhat of their sportes and recreations and of that which delighteth the eye and the eare to bestow them both on those who humbâ—y petition him that he will be pleased to both see and heare their cause Of Philip King of Macedon though some put it vpon Demetrius it is reported by Plutarke in his life that going one day abroad to take his pleasure and pastime an olde woman came vnto him besought him to heare her and to do her Iustice. But he excusing himselfe and telling her he was not now at leysure to heare her shee made answer Proinde nec Rex quidem esse velis Sir if you be not at leysure to heare your subiects will not giue them leaue to speake vnto you leaue to be king for there is no reason he should be a king that cannot finde a time to cumply with his dutie Conuinced with this reason without any more adoe he presently gaue a gracious Audience not onely to her but many moe besides For Kings which doe not heare by consequence do not vnderstand And not vnderstanding they cannot gouerne And not gouerning they neither are nor can be Kings The Cretans painted their God Iupiter without eares because he was that supreme king that gaue lawes and iudged all And therefore ought to cary an equall eare indifferently to heare all parties after one and the same selfe manner Other some did allow him eares but so placed them withall that they might heare those least that were behinde him Which was held a fault in their God as likewise it is in King not to heare any but those that stand before them or side by side are still weighting at their elbow Kings should heare as many as they possibly can and which is the onely comfort of suitors in that gratious and pleasing kinde of maner that no man should depart discontented from their feete being a maine fundamentall cause to make all men to loue reuerence and esteeme them and likewise to oblige Princes to lend the more willing and patient eare to their subiects And of this subiect Pliny in commendation of his Emperour Traiane tells vs that amidst so many cares of so great an Empire as his was he spent a great part of the day in giuing Audience and with such stilnes and quietnes as if he had beene idle or had nothing to doe And that he knowing the content that his subiects tooke in their often seeing of him and speaking with him so much the more liberally and longer he afforded them occasion and place for to inioy this their content For nothing doth so much please and satisfie the heart of a Prince as to conceiue that he is beloued and generally well affected of all his subiects Let a King then this course being taken perswade himselfe that his people loueth him and desireth to see him and to speake dayly if it were possible with him And that they take a great deale of comfort that they haue seene him and he heard them And that of two things which all desire To wit To be heard and relieued The first intertaines and comfortes the suitor and makes him with a cheerefull minde to hope well of the second Let him heare though it be but as he passes by from place to place and let him not let any day passe without giuing ordinary Audience at a set hower and for a set time And in case any shall require a more particular and priuate Audience a gods name let him grant it them For euery one of these to conceiue the worst cannot deceiue him aboue once And it is to be supposed that they will not be so vnciuill or so foolishly indiscreete as to craue the Kings priuate eare but in a case of necessitie or where there is some especiall cause or extraordinary reason for it And I farther affirme that Audience being giuen in this
with the fewest Many moe therebe which speak much in matter of tongues and languages vsed throughout the world But I will onely treate of those which imports Kings and Kingdomes Such as is that truth and sinceritie wherewith they are to treate that faith and word which they are to cumply withall and that secret which they are to keepe Two things sayth Pythagoras did the moderate men of the earth receiue from heauen well worthy our consideration in regard of the great fauour done them therein The one that they should haue the power to be able to doe good vnto others And the other to treat Truth And that in them they should hold competition with the Gods Properties both of them well befitting Kings Of the power that Kings haue to doe good vnto their friends and to defend themselues from their enemies wee haue already signified vnto you how proper it is to the greatnesse of a King and how like therein hee is vnto God But the sayd Philosopher being demanded wherein man was likest vnto God made answer Quandò veritatem sciuerit When hee shall know the Truth For God is truth it selfe And that man that treates truth resembles him in nothing more and it is so proper to our vnderstanding that it intertaines it for it's obiect and still goes in search thereof the contrary whereof is repugnant to the nature as likewise to the essence and greatnesse of Kings from whom wee are euer to expect the iudgement of truth Non decet Principem labium mentiens Lying lipps becometh not a Prince It is the saying of a King and of a King that was a Salomon who spake with the tongue of the Holy Ghost and it is an avouched and ratified Conclusion that the pen and the tongue of a King should alwayes tell the truth though it were against himselfe As likewise for to teach and instruct his subiects that they doe the like as also all others that shall treate with them For in vaine doth hee desire to heare truth that will not deale truly And perhapps for this cause the shortest of all other your words in allmost all Languages are your Yea and Nay There can be no shifting or doubling in them no going about the bush These words will admit no other construction but a bare affirmation or negation In the fewest words are the least falsehood and the least quarrell to be pick't against them Men cannot expatiate their excuses as they may where larger Language is vsed And therefore the other as it is the shortest so it is the surest way Wherefore Kings ought all wayes and in all and with all to treate truth being that it may be vttred with so much ease and facility and to suffer himselfe to be plainely vnderstood Contrary to the Tenent of a sort of vp-start Hereticks which these Times tearme Politicians who for to make good their Policie and Tyrannicâ—ll gouernment affirme That a King may for reason of State if hee see it may make for the conseruation thereof Dissemble deceiue breake his word and plight his faith without any purpose or meaning to keepe it fraud dissimulation and deceit of what condition soeuer it be being contrary vnto truth and contrary to the Law of nature which in all that it treates requireth truth and contrary to the Diuine Law which condemneth him that speakes not the truth but goes about to deceiue And our Sauiour Christ calls King Herod Foxe reprouing his wily shifts and deepe dissimulations and more particularly in putting on a face of sorrow before his Guestes that he feasted when he commanded Iohn Baptist's head to be smitten off it being the onely thing that hee most defired And hee likewise condemneth those Pharisaicall Hypocrites who by exteriour showes would haue that to be supposed of them which they neuer interained in their heart And the Angelicall Docter renders the reason of this Truth To dissemble saith he is to lye in the deed or thing it selfe For a Lye doth not cease to be a Lye nor to alter it's nature be it either in workes or in words So that a Lye may be found in the behauiour gesture or semblance that one maketh wherewith to deceiue and to giue vs to vnderstand that which is not As also in the manner of the word spoken or some circumstance to be gathered out of it Now that which makes it culpable is the doublenesse in the heart Which S. Austen subtlely considereth in that incounter of a mans meaning with his wordes Wherein there ought to be all equalitie and consonancie which is not truly kept when in our words wee shall say the contrary to that which is in our mindes Therefore a Christian King or his Minister may silence some things cast a cloake ouer them and not suffer themselues to be vnderstood and cunningly to dissemble that which they know of them as long as they shall thinke it necessary to be kept close and secrete for the good expedition of that which is in Treaty But a King or his Minister may not faigne deceiue dissemble or to giue that to be vnderstood by any open Act of his which he had not in his heart and bosome to doe All which hath no place in that which appertaineth vnto Faith wherein by the Law of God we haue obligation not onely to beleeue but also to confesse with all truth and plainnesse that which we beleeue without giuing to vnderstand by the least word or gesture ought to the contrary nor for the least moment of time though thereby we might saue our liues Whereby Kings and Christian Ministers are admonished how they may vse dissimulation how farre and for what time without treading in the path of their priuate profit through which your Politicians pretend to leade them leauing the high way of Truth wherewith accordeth whatsoeuer is iust and right shunneth all manner of lying which Truth and Time will at last bring to light It was the saying of King Theopompus That kingdomes and great Estates were conserued by Kings speaking Truth and by suffring others to speake the Truth vnto them For they being those whom it most importeth to heare truths none heare lesse King Antiochus all the time of his raigne sayd that he did not remember that euer hee had heard any more then one only truth It being the plague of Kings and Princes to haue that verified in their Pallaces and Courtes which was deliuered by Democritus Quod veritas in profundo puteo demersa latet That Truth lâ—es buryed in a deepe pit You shall scarce meete with one in an Age that dare tell Kings the Truth there being so many about them that sooth them vp with lyes and flatteries Seneca saith That of ten hundred thousand souldiers which Artaxerxes had in his Army there was but one onely that told him the truth in a case wherein all the rest did lye And amongst innumerable Prophets which concealed the truth from the king only Michah made
though otherwise they bee of better parts better qualified and of stronger abilities are left vnrewarded and are quite forgotten And these that are thus made vp in haste and so suddenly raised from that nothing which they were to that greatnesse wherein they are must of force sometimes with the same haste and speedinesse though fore against their wills for the auoiding of inconueniences bee pulled downe from this their high seate and placed in some other that may seeme to sute better with them wherein the like suspition may iustly bee conceiued of their insufficiencie This great Fauourite had likewise so good a Head-peece and knew so well how to gouerne vpon all occasions and all the accidents of that age as well the good as bad the fortunate and vnfortunate successes of those times that howbeit many were the changes of those Kings yet was he still in the same height of esteeme was superiour vnto fortune being in all those alterations her Lord and Master All the Kings of the Gothes whom hee serued did him very particular fauours And although King Theodoricus was a very fortunate and valiant Prince yet did a great part of his happinesse and felicitie consist in this in hauing his Fauourite Cassiodorus alwayes at his elbow and in receiuing his good proiects and sound aduice which when occasion offered were neuer wanting vnto him That being according vnto Seneca the best part of counsell which comes in it's due time and season Whereas that comes too late and without any fruit which is not ready at hand For occasion whereunto wee must occurre oftentimes betakes her selfe to her wings and flies out of our reach if we be not quicke and nimble in laying hold on her foretop So that all the while that this Cassiodorus was in their seruice their kingdome and Signorie continued in a most flourishing estate So much can a man of such courage and counsell doe in a commonwealth For with such a Ministers presence all things stand vpright and go well and handsomely on but in his absence and when he is wanting all things go backward For being that all these things depend next after God on the worth and wisedome of him that hath the managing of them by his death or absence they runne a great hazard of miscarrying or suffer some great hurt or detriment as was to be seene in those successes of the Grecian Empire which no sooner was that great gouernour Alexander dead vnder whose protection it went increasing and liued in so much peace and securitie but it vanished like so much froath For of how much the more price and esteeme peace is by so much the more is it hazarded in the losse of those that maintaine and vphold it Now this so excellent and worthy a Minister when as nothing was wanting vnto him saue the putting on of a Kings Crowne refused it became a Friar and tooke vpon him the habite of the order of San Benito And did so exercise himselfe in continuall prayer and contemplation that euen whilest he liued here vpon earth they held him for a Saint And if he were so worthy a man in that age seruing the Kings of the earth with so much punctualitie and sinceritie it is not to be doubted but that hee was as precise in his sanctitie and holinesse of life when he rendred himselfe a slaue and seruant to his Lord and Master the King of heauen For your excellent wits which know how to make aduantage of all things and that nothing comes amisse vnto them when they are once resolued to serue God they do truly humble themselues and with a strong determination tread and trample the world vnder their feet and whatsoeuer therein is and imbrace and take hold on Christ. And being thus occupied in holy exercises laden with yeares hee departed out of this life to that which was eternall hauing inioyed some yeares of that quietude and abundance of peace wherewith he did essay to die well which being so dangerous so difficult and darke a passage too little care is commonly had therein hee passed from this short stride betwixt life and death to the eternitie of such an estate as we yet know not what it shall be the extreames being as we see so farre distant All that hath beene hitherto said both in generall and particular concerning a Monarchie and kingdome shall not be fruitlesse nor the time lost that hath beene spent in the writing or shall be spent in the reading of this Treatise if it be well and truly considered For by the perusall thereof Kings and Princes may come to know a thousand seuerall semblances of Ministers and disguised countenances of hypocriticall Courtiers and the diuers dispositions and humours as well of the ambitious as the couetous their affections conditions and naturall inclinations whether they be by nature of great and vnruly spirits or whether they bee by fortune put into great places For this without doubt changeth man from his first estate and apparrelleth him with other particular affections And in the true knowledge of these consisteth the augmentation conseruation and good gubernation of kingdomes and commonwealths as also the reputation credit opinion and authoritie of Kings In a word they may out of these doctrines and aduertisements collect and know how at one time the naturall dispositions customes and manners of the vulgar stand affected and how at another time those that are not so vulgar and of so low a ranke and how at all times to make vse of this knowledge for the better increasing and inlarging of their power and greatnesse and how and in what manner they are to carry themselues towards them as also those other that are to aide and assist in gouernment For there is not any thing of more price or more to be valued by Kings then this knowledge of the affections as well for the discerning those of others as the moderating of their owne And as it were to make a iudgement and to prognosticate by them the end of the actions of those that 〈◊〉 about and where they intend to make their stop and set vp their rest be they foes or friends And by the actions of those that are present be they Confederates Ministers and dependents their ends designes and preâ—ensions And particularly in those who cleaue closer to their Kings fortune then his person Points whereon doth hang the hinge and wherein are included and shut vp all both the particular and generall passages of gouernment and of that art and science which they call by the common name of Reason of State And although I know for certaine that there will not such be wanting that will laugh and scoffe at these my Politicall Aduertisements some because they would be accounted the onely men seene in this Science and would make themselues the onely admired men amongst the vulgar and that there is not any one that is a professour in that Art that vnderstandeth their plots and designes Others lesse malignant