and also how by meanes of erecting Seminaries for the instructing of Youth both in learning and the use of Armes the Valour of his Souldiers may be encreased the Neglect of making use of Which Meanes hath been the cause that the Turk hath overstript us in this particular As concerning the businesse of Mony I conceive there is little or no odds on either side But if the King of Spain would but proceed in that Absolute way of Power over his Subjects that the Turk does over his He might easily surpasse him in Riches The King I confesse wants Mony but I have formerly shewed him by what waies He might gather together Mony enough to maintain a war against the Turk Now the Turk useth infinite Celerity and speed in putting what ever designs He hath in execution sparing no cost or charges for the providing of all things necessary for the same so that with the present Mony that he hath in his Treasury He presently raiseth Men and provides them Armes and gets all things immediately in a readinesse in order to the expedition He is upon and when he hath laid out all the Mony that he had in his Treasurie he then presently falls to filling it up again by laying fresh Impositions and Taxes upon his Subjects It is a necessity that is in a manner Peculiar to the Turk of making War upon his Neighbours round about and as it were in a Circle for they are all his enemies But now the condition of the Spaniard is otherwise For betwixt His Kingdome of Naples and his Duchy of Millan there lye the Pope and the Tuscans who are united unto him by the Tie both of Religion and Friendship He lies something remote indeed from the Netherlands and the West Indies which notwithstanding render him worthy the more admiration because that by reason of his Fleets he lies as it were neer unto them and by meanes of the same he may possibly in time make himself Master of those other Parts also which he hath not yet possessed himself of as we shall shew hereafter The King hath also this advantage that although those Countries lye at so great a distance from one another yet by the Tie of Religion they are all joyned to Spain Lastly whereas in Turky the Eldest sons of the Emperours are wont alwaies to make away with their Younger brothers this piece of Cruelty of theirs does but set a Note of Infamy upon them and it may easily so fall out that some One of these Younger Brothers may get away out of his Elder Brothers power and may be able afterwards to make War upon his Brother And we see that this had been like to have come to passe in Gemes the Brother of Bajazet who having gotten out of prison might have been able to have done his Brother very much Mischief and by the Assistance of the Christians might have made his way into Greece had he not by the Arts his Brother Bajazet used and by the treachery also of the Christians been taken off by Poyson And Selim although He did not desire to make Himself Emperour yet He made himself very strong at first only to preserve himself from being put to death but afterwards taking the Opportunity when it was offered him He turned both his Father and Brother out of the Empire and commanded them to be both put to death at which Juncture of Time that Empire might very easily have been utterly subverted and ruined And truly I conceive that the Total destruction of that Empire cannot be brought about any other way then by this one thing namely their most bloody Cruelty that they Practise upon their nearest and dearest Friends and Kindred For seeing that the great Turk takes as many Wives to himself as he pleases and so gets an Infinite number of Sons by them all which are most certainly assured that when ever their Eldest Brother comes to be Emperour They shall be all of them murdered it is very probable that some time or other there may Civil Wars arise in that Empire by which it may either be totally destroyed or at least may be divided into many parts which would give the Turks enemies an Opportunity of falling upon him and so of ruining him Neither need any one wonder that this hath not as yet happened to this very day seeing that this Empire is not of any so very long standing For Ottoman who was the Founder of it died but in the Year of our Lord 1328. in the time of Pope Benedict XI And yet we know that there have already been bloody Wars amongst them which seems to confirm this our Prognostication and makes me the willinger to give credit to Torquatus the Astrologer who foretold that it would come to passe that in the time of the Sixteenth Emperour of Turky that Empire should fall to the ground namely when the Moon which is the Ensign of that Empire shall begin to decrease that is to say when It shall be divided into Two Hornes by two of the Great Turks Sons rising up one against the other and causing the Empire to be divided into Two parts One of which Brothers turning to Christianity shall come over to the Christians Now these Two Hornes signifie Two Kingdomes for Kingdomes are oftentimes denoted by the Ensigns or Armes of the same as we see in the Revelation of St. John where the Kingdomes themselves are from their Insignia called sometimes Dragons sometimes Eagles and sometimes also Lions and the Prophet Jeremy calleth the Kingdome of the Assyrians by the name of a Dove because the Assyrians had the Figure of a Dove for their Ensign or Devise Now in this Particular the Spaniard is much more happy then the Turk because that His Sons do not fall out or hate each other for any such Cause Yea we see at this day that those of the House of Austria partly by reason of this very thing because they are Brothers and Kindred and partly also through fear of the other Christian Princes and of the Hereticks are at so much the greater Concord and Agreement among themselves And you shall scarse find more Brothers or Kindred in any one Princes Family then in that of Austria and yet have not these ever broken the Bond of Consanguinity one with another nor have ever raised any Commotions in their Republick through Ambitious Ends and Respects but have on the contrary preserved each to other their Just Rights Untoucht and have lived together in so Unshaken a Concord and Union as that they seem to be so many Bodies animated all with One Soul and guided all by One Will. We may adde hereto that the Younger Brothers of this House have hopes either of being made Cardinals or else of being Elected Kings of Poland or of some of the other Forreign Elective Kingdoms so that the House of Austria by reason of the Multitude of Sons growes the Greater whereas the Ottoman House does for the same reason decrease
the Venetians with the Genueses God hath raised up the Turks and hath sent them into both Empires because that the Christians were too gently and lightly punished for their sins by the Arabians Tartars and other forreign Nations as I have already shewed in my Papal Monarchy And the Turk is the same to us at this day who are so distracted and divided by several Heresies that the Assyrians were of old to the Jewes who by faction were divided into the Kingdomes of Judah and Israel except the Good Angell of Spain afford us his assistance as I have elsewhere shewed CHAP. III. Of the First Cause of Empires namely God IT is very evident that neither Prudence alone nor yet joyned with Occasion is sufficient for the attaining to or governing a Kingdome for as much as we know that the Freedom of the Will consists only in the Will it self and not either in Action or Passion For it may so fall out that a man may over night purpose the next morning to go to Sea or to study or to go to plow or to do any other businesse and yet upon a sudden the falling of Rain or unexpected tempestuous and foul weather may crosse that so wise counsel of his so that he must be forced to do not according to his own determination but according as matters shall fall out So that he that knowes how so to order his Counsels and Determinations as that they shall alwaies be subordinate to the Superiour Causes his affaires shall seldom fail of succeeding prosperously Wisemen therefore make it their businesse to labour after the knowledge of these Superiour Causes of God and His Divine Will on which the whole Chain and Series of future things depends And hence it is that some have sought for God in the Stars who hath also answered some by the Stars as namely the Magi or Wisemen at our Saviours Nativity And perhaps a Rainy Morning may have done no hurt at all to this or that Astrologer because they foresaw this Rain and so probably ordered their affaires accordingly having regard to the Will of God herein who out of his singular goodnesse will be found there where we seek him with a sincere heart Nay when the businesse so requires he answereth even those that do not seek him with a sincere heart as we see in Balaam whom he answer'd perhaps when he was not askt And so likewise in King Saul who was informed by Samuel what the Event of things should be though he had by Witchcraft consulted the Divel and not Samuel as Tho Aquinas also is of opinion in his 2.24.140 And therefore we also ought to believe that the True God gave answer to the Diabolical Superstitions of the Romans Gracians and Chaldeans by the Ministry of the peculiar Angel of each of these several Empires For the Inevitable Decree of his Will sometimes exalted and again sometimes depressed and clouded the Majesty of those Monarchies Therefore the Chaldeans and so likewise the Medes whensoever their own Wisdom failed them made their Invocations upon God by the Stars as the Greeks did by their Oracles at Delphos the Romans by their Auguries and Observations of Birds and as the more Sound Philosophers sought Him in the Works of Nature as Pythagoras also did in Numbers which are as a certain Ray of Divinity disseminated and diffused throughout the whole Universe But much more rightly did the Jewes seek after him by the Prophets which were sent unto them Which custome of theirs the Christians also followed when as the Archangel Michael had gone over from the Jewes to the State of the Christians For in all probability we ought to believe that when any Empire is overthrown the Angel of that goeth over to the Conquerour And this is a Secret which was not unknown to the Romans who for this very reason would not have their Tutelar Angel to be known to the end that he might not be invoked by other Nations And therefore we may probably believe that either the Angel of Persia yeelded to that of Greece or else that He went over from the Persians to the Greeks and so consequently that the Angel of Constantinople does at this time fight for the Turks or else having removed his station stands now for Germany and hath joyned himself to Her Angel Now where there are the more of these Tutelar Angels There there is the greater growth and stronger confirmation of Power And therefore being instructed hereto out of the Scriptures I affirm that if at any time God appear to treat either favourably or else contrarily with any Monarchy we are to understand this in reference not to that present Monarchy only but to the succeeding also For unlesse this were so God should not have revealed the Knowledge of Future things to his Church by the Prophets which is an absurd thing to believe and it would also follow that this Knowledge was to be sought for by the Stars or some other things Which things seeing they are partly also forbidden by the Pope we are necessarily to believe that all things are otherwise sufficiently provided for Wheresoever therefore God speaks of the Babylonish Empire we are to understand it as said also of the Persian Grecian and Roman which in their turns succeeded It. And hence it is that St. John calls Rome Babylon And so likewise what is said of the Kingdom of the Jewes the same is to be understood also of the Church of Rome which hath received the Keyes of David and the Name of Jerusalem according to that which is said to the Angel of Philadelphia Now Philadelphia is Brotherly Love as Roma Rome by turning the Letters backward is Amor Love And God oftentimes threatens his Church I will remove thy Candlestick out of its place unlesse thou repent For in like manner the Angel of God may be said to remove from one Church to another as for example from Heretical England to Catholick Borussia as from one Kingdom to another And so what is pronounced by Ezechiel Jeremy and Esay concerning the Prince of Tyre is sometimes to be taken as spoken of the Prince of the Angels that fell from Heaven and were cast out of their Kingdom there Where that also which is said How art thou fallen O Lucifer which is spoken of the King of the Chaldaeans is to be taken as by way of similitude spoken of his Successors and of the Aerial so called Empire of the Great Divel For both Empires and all other Earthly things bear a similitude to the Heavenly as those of the Sea do to them of the Land Whence it is that you have your Bishop-fish your Sea-calf and the Calamary or Sea-Clark for as much as all of them have their dependance from the Prime Reason or the Divine Idea which is the Eternal Word Whence I seem to my self to have found out a Key by which I may find out a passage to the knowledge of the Original Government and end of the
People and them with his own Example Learning and Abundance of good Things and withall defends them by his Armes and Wholesome Lawes And therefore a good King ought to be endued with so much a greater proportion of Learning and Knowledge above his People who do infinitely herein excel Brute Beasts as the Shepheard is above his Mute Flock So that a Prince as Plato said is somewhat above Humane Condition and ought to be esteemed as a kind of God or a Christ or at least is to be reputed as qualified with a certain measure of Divinity and to have some eminent knowledge conferred upon him from above as had that Divine Law-giver Moses and as at this day have the Pope and the Bishops Or if this be not granted to Him he ought however hrough Humane Virtue at least to submit and yield Obedience to the Divine Law-giver as did Charles the Great And there have been some who wisely considering these things have endeavoured to perswade the World that they were Inspired from Heaven as did Mahomet and Minos whose Lawes were thereby held in great Reverence by the People And certainly wheresoever the King shall approve himself to be such the People in general will be made good where as on the contrary if the Prince be Bad the People will be so too And therefore following the Example of the Pope and his Bishops he ought to appear as like them as he can doing nothing at all without their approbation but making a Union betwixt his Kingdom and their Church so to make up one Body of a Republick betwixt them as I have said before and by observing the Ecclesiastical Order and by constituting good Lawes he must render himself Worthy of Reverence from the People which by appearing but seldom abroad among them in Publique he shall be sure to have from them As for those Acts which Humane Nature cannot abstain from as eating and the like these he ought to do privately Or if at any time he do any of them in Publick He must alwaies after the example of Philopâ—emen the General of the Achaeans have some by him to discourse touching Peace and War Our King must not endeavour so much to be Accounted a Vertuous Person as to be so Really for where any one is discovered to have but once played the Dissembler no body will ever believe him again afterwards And because that for want of Issue to succeed him the Kingdome may easily fall to the ground His chiefest care must be that he get children as soon and early as he can And so soon as ever his Eldest Son shall be grown up to any maturity and himself perchance is yet a young man he may then do well to send him to Rome that so he may be instructed both in the affaires of the World and in those of Religion also and withal the Kingdom of Spain may be the more firmly incorporated into the Church by having both the Cardinals and Popes themselves alwayes true to their Faction and also that His Son and the Barons may not dare to joyn together and take up Armes against Him which our King Philip suspected of his Son Charles and so by Obeying he shall learn how to Rule The King of Spain ought also alwayes to design some of the House of Austria to be his successor in case that he should die without a successor of his own Let him alwayes speak the Language of his Native Country and give Audience to such only as speak the same He ought alwayes to keep his Court in Spain the Head of his Empire neither let him ever go out of it unlesse it be to the Wars and leaving his Son behind him Or to suppresse some mutinying Province or some Baron that he suspects He may go and take up his quarters among them that so being thereby reduced to want and scarcity they may be forced to serve the King instead of Souldiers and He by this means may be freed from all fears and jealousies The rest of His Male Children that are not brought up in the hope and expectation of Reigning he may make Cardinals neither ought he at any time to commit the rains of Government to their hands least happily they should be possessed with a desire of Ruling And hence it is that among the Turks it is the Custome alwayes to make away with all the yonger Sons And the King of China shuts up those that are next in blood to Him in large spacious places which abound with all variety both of necessaries and Delights as the King of Ethiopia confines all his to a certain very high and most pleasant Mountain called Amara where they are to continue tell they shall be called to succeed in the Kingdom But yet for all this neither doth the King of China or Ethiopia by confining their nearest of kin nor the Great Turk by killing his nor yet the Moor by putting out the Eyes of his acquit themselves from the danger and fear of Seditions and Rebellions For notwithstanding that the Parents of these confined Persons may haply bear it with a patient and quiet mind enough yet it may possibly be that either the Common People or the Nobles of the Kingdome being moved either with Indignation and Fury or else Fear of Punishment or desire of Revenge may corrupt and provoke those Persons so shut up or by killing their Keepers may carry them away out of their prisons by force and may place them in the Throne as those they call The Common Rebels of Spain attempted to carry away by force the Duke of Calabria who was at that time a Prisoner in the Sciattive Tower And in China many most cruel Tyrants of both sexes both Kings and Queens have been murdered And of late years in Ethiopia Abdimalo was called to the Crown not from out of the Mountain of Amara but from out of Arabia whether he had fled to preserve himself Neither is there any Country where there have been more Civil Wars and Rebellions raised then among the Moors in Mauritania The Kings of Ormus before that that Country was subdued by the Portuguez were wont to kill their Parents which custome was practised also by some Emperours of Constantinople by the Kings of Tunis also and of Marocco and Fez as likewise among the Turks as appears by the Wars betwxt Bajazet and Zerim and of Selim and his father Bajazet the second Therefore this Cruelty of the Turks renders them not much more secure thereby For in other Kingdomes it is onely Ambition and a desire of Honour and Rule that excites men to raise sedition and to take up Armes against the Prince Which Ambitious Desires may either be satisfied some other way or be diverted to some other design or possibly may be overawed and crusht But those of the Blood Royal among the Turks and Moors besides Ambition have a Necessity also of seeking the preservation of their own Lives to force them on to such Attempts
English Genuese or others provided alwayes that into such Councels as concern the State there be taken in some that are of Religious Orders and also some of the Wisest among the Nobility and any others that are well skilled in the Customes Religion Rites Situation and the Policy both Domestick and Military of the several Nations what Country soever they themselves be of I shall here lay down one most Admirable and Profitable Rule more for the King to observe and that is that every Seventh and Ninth year which are the Fatal Numbers He should call together all the Nobility of each of his several Kingdomes every one of which shall come to the Court attended but with three Servants a piece at the most and at the same time let there be sommoned to appear also all persons whatsoever that are the ablest and best seen in the affaires and Secrets of State and of Government and there let him command them to propose every one of them severally what they conceive most advantageous for the promoting of the Greatnesse of the Spanish Monarchy or else for the particular Benefit of their several Provinces and withal to give notice what Errours have been there committed to that very time which it concernes the Publick should be rectified And I would have all the Counsellours also of all the several Councells to be present at this assembly that every one of them in particular may be instructed in what concerns the whole World and may take notice by this meanes wherein he committed any Error for the last Seven yeares and so may either be reproved for the same or may otherwise receive the praise due to him For if this Course were taken the Counsellours of the Several Councels growing Wiser and more Circumspect would take heed how they gave any either Unworthy or Unprofitable Counsels and the King himself would have a greater insight into the Condition of his Monarchy and by discovering New Secrets and Mysteries of State should thereby find out waies of advancing his own Greatnesse more and more every day and the Nobles also would set their braines to work all that Seven years space to find by what means their Princes State might be the most advanced and would not any longer continue in their former Ignorance and both they and the rest of the learned of the Kingdom would utter the Virulency of their Ambition not by their Sword but by their Tongue Now there is none so weak but is able to deliver in words the State of his own Republick seeing that there is no Philosopher but will undertake out of his own brain to give a description or Model of the same Whence indeed are scattered abroad the seeds of Heresy and Sedition But by the taking of this course when any of these kind of Persons hath hopes of being rewarded by the Prince he will conceive it his best way to expect rather to be called to give his Judgment at the Septennial Assembly or else to send it thither in writing and so will suppresse his Opinions till that time And so by this meanes the King shall be rendred the more secure of the Obedience of his Nobility and shall understand who they are that deserve either well or ill of Him Neither shall He be deceived and abused by his Courtiers or Flatterers and shall have the better Opportunity of calling his Ministers of State to an account for their evill Administration of the Provinces they were set over and shall withal very much mend the condition of the said Provinces and shall find many other Advantages to follow hereupon which I am not at present able to reckon up and shall besides bring it so to passe that his Councel shall be both the Wiser and withal the Truer to Him But the Nobles of the New World in case they cannot make their personal appearance at this Meeting may send others in their places Which is the Custome that the Clergy being instructed by a certain Divine Wisdome have alwaies observed in their General Chapters though no Monarch or State hath ever taken the said course except it be the Venetians whose Embassadours when they return home from any Forreign parts are to give an account in the Senate of what they found Observable in the several Countries whither they were imployed Now although our Discourse here hath been concerning the Particular Councels and Kingdoms that belong to the King of Spain onely yet we may not therefore omit to say something of Councels in general seeing that it is certain That More Weighty Affaires are Effected by Good Conduct and Counsels then by Weapons and Hands But because a Dissertation of this nature being besides the intention of our present design would be too prolixe I shall only here touch at some few particulars Such Counsels as are too Subtile and Nice are not much to be regarded because they seldom are brought to any good Issue for by how much the greater Subtlety there is in them so much the more Exactnesse and Punctuality is there required in the Execution of them which is a businesse of the greatest difficulty that can be And hence it is that the Venetians although they are not so Ingenious a People as the Florentines yet are they more happy for the most part in their Consultations then They are as of old the Lacedaemonians were in this particular more Fortunate then the Athenians Those Counsels are not to be much regarded that have no matter of Weight or Eminency in them Yet much lesse are such to be esteemed that aime at too Vast and Immense Undertakings such as for the most part were those that were designed by the Emperour Maximilian and Pope Leo X. the Effecting whereof required both a better Purse a longer Life and greater Abilities then either of them had which kind of undertakings are very pernicious to a State or Kingdom All deseperate Counsells are likewise Dangerous and are commonly attended by Despaire and Misery It remaineth therefore that those Counsells are chiefly to be Embraced that have the greatest both Facility and Security in them and such as are well grounded and upon Mature deliberation resolved upon and as little subject as may be to Casualties and the power of Fortune Slow Counsels become Great Princes for it concerns them to be more careful in the Preserving and making good then in the Enlarging of the Bounds of their Kingdomes But those Counsels that are designed rather for the Acquiring of More then the Preserving only of what they have must be more Quick and Sudden But of this subject I have elsewhere discoursed more largely CHAP. XIII Of Justice and Its Contrary IF the King be just all his Ministers will likewise be just and if the Superiour Ministers of State shall be Unjust the Inferiour will be Unjust also but there is nothing can hurt a Prince more then to distribute the Rewards of Virtue at the pleasure of any Favourite And therefore where Offices are disposed of
among the Venetians and this the King ought to do so much the rather because that he wants young Seamen more then any thing but yet to these he must joyn some Transalpine Seamen for the encreasing of his number There may also be instituted in these Islands two New Orders of Knights such as those of Malta neither ought the Revenewes belonging to the Knights that are of the Order of St James or of any other Order of Knighthood to be bestowed upon Idle Persons that the King may not alwaies be forced to make use of Auxiliary Seamen or else to imploy Mercenaries such as the Genois are In such Islands as these the Barons ought to have a stricter hand held over them then any others because that the Conveniency of the situation of such places may tempt them to take an occasion of Rebelling here rather then in any other places these men being indeed Naturally inclined to be Rebells And therefore the best way would be to send Barons from out of some other Countries into these Islands and of all other those of Spain are the fittest the rather because they lye all in the same Climate and these should be put in trust with all Offices and Seafaring Affaires with whom may be joyned some Transalpines partly to assist them as Souldiers and partly for Procreation of Children Neither ought any Noble men of the Natives to be intrusted with any of the stronger Holds or Castles for these are most commonly the Authors and Ringleaders of all Rebellions as they have alwaies proved against the French especially And yet these men have been since very faithful to the Arragonians by reason of their likenesse both in Temper and Manners In a word there is nothing more Necessary for the making a Prince to reign happily then that he throughly understand the Nature Temper and Inclination of his Subjects For according as He finds these to be so must He order his Government CHAP. XXIII Of Germany COmming now to speak of such Nations as are Enemies to the King of Spain to some of which notwithstanding He hath some Title the Germans first offer themselves unto us whom yet the King needs not fear seeing that the House of Austria is the most powerful in all Germany being now raised up to so great a height of Greatnesse and Power by continual Marriages with great Princes and Hereditary Successions and great Alliances as we see it at this day For Maximilian had the Provinces of the Lower Germany falling to him by Mary his wife who was daughter to Charles the last Duke of Burgundy and Philip. Maximilians Son became possessed of Spain with all its Appurtenances by the marriage of Joan he daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella in which Kingdomes his Son Charles succeeded And in these our daies King Philip the most worthy Son of so worthy a Father hath had Portugal with all its Appurtenances which certainly are very great fallen to Him by the death of his Mother Isabella from which very house is derived the Title of King of Both Spains Now we are to understand that the house of Austria is in league with none save only Catholick Princes such as is the Duke of Bavaria with the German Archbishops Bishops and some few others and therefore it is very necessary that these should still be more and more closely united to each other not only in Religion but also by Marriages into one anothers families and other like ties and bonds of Friendship which as it is the Justest course that can be taken so it is also the safest and is much more firm and durable then any other whatsoever But there must be all the care taken that may be to sow continually the seeds of discord and dissention between the Marquesse of Brandenburg the Landgrave of Hossen the Duke of Saxony the Duke of Brunswick the Count Palatine of the Rhine and also the Duke of Wirtemberg and those other Petty Common-wealths in Germany which may easily be effected by reason of those State Divisions and Emulations that frequently trouble these Republicks and fill them with suspicions and Jealousies of each other And hence it comes to passe that they never come in with their Aides to the Emperours in any seasonable time First because they conceive the Emperours businesse and design to be to bring Hungary in subjection not to the Roman Empire but rather to the House of Austria and then again they are afraid lest the Emperour when he is now grown to so great a height of Power should endeavour to put a yoak upon their necks also and keep them in subjection And therefore they do acknowledge Him to be indeed the Head of their Union but yet they will not yeeld Him any Homage but themselves order matters as they see cause among themselves both in reference to the abolishing of old Lawes and enacting New as also in doing the like in matters of Religion a sufficient example whereof we have both in Norimberg Spires Strasbourg and Frankford Yet I shall here add that this Dissension among the German Princes is in one respect Advantageous to the King of Spain and in an other Prejudicial as it usually proveth to be in reference to all Forreign Powers For the Turk hath already taken away Bosnia Croatia and Hungary from the House of Austria and it is to be feared that possibly he may some time or other force his way even into Austria it self also And then if Germany should find it self to suffer thus under the Protection of this House possibly they may reject It and elect some Heretick to be their Emperour which certainly would prove to be the cause of many Greater Mischeifs And therefore I conceive the King of Spain ought to labour as much as in him lies to bring either the Emperour himself or else his brother Maximilian to enter into a League with the Duke of Transylvania or else with the Muscovites and that they should joyn all their force and strength together to ruin the Turk I would have the Emperour also to engage Himself faithfully both to the Protestant Princes and Free Cities of Germany and also to the Duke of Bavaria that what places soever He shall take in in his Wars they shall be all reckoned as Parts added to the Empire and not be accounted as Additions to his Own House only Then again I would have him during the time of the War to confer upon all such persons of Eminency as shall be sent to his assistance by the Free Cities Lands and Lordships and the like Gratuities by this means to oblige them the more to His service rather then to that of their own Native Country in like manner as Caesar engaged His Army even against Rome it self But this must be the businesse only of some one of the House of Austria that shall be a Person both of great Valour and Wisedom neither can any meaner man undertake it And then having conquered the Turks He must
this particular he must then deal with them that it may be conferred upon some one that they shall pitch upon by way of Election Or else in the last place He must speedily have recourse to the Arts before set down which King Philip failed in before And this manner of Electing a King upon condition that he be a Catholick would very much please the Italians and the Catholick Princes of France also would very willingly assent thereto because that every one of them would have some hope hereby of attaining to the Crown himself And if this should once come to passe it would prove a very great Weakning to the Kingdom of France for during the Vacancy of the Crown there must needs arise very great and long Dissentions amongst them and possibly the King of Spain also being called in by some or other of the Princes might come to have a finger in the businesse Now for as much as Elective Kings are for the most part not much given to trouble themselves about the enlarging the Bounds of their Kingdome because that they know very well that their Sons are not their Successours therefore neither will they expose themselves to danger upon the Account of another mans Interest And this is the onely reason why the Emperours of Germany never trouble themselves about the enlarging of their Empire as neither do the Kings of Poland unlesse they chance to be Persons of a high Warlick Spirit as King Steven was surnamed Battorius and Sigismund both which maintained Wars with the Muscovites Tartarians and others about the Principality of Prussia and some other Territories because they hoped that their Sons should at least have succeeded them in those This Course is of very good use to a Prince for the acquiring of Military Glory and through the Multitude of Victories and the affection of his Souldiers for the bringing his own Country under his subjection which Course I before shewed was to be taken by the Emperour of Germany according to the Example of Julius Caesar Yet notwithstanding this piece of Craft being well understood by the French hath been the cause that they have now laid aside all desires of enlarging their Territories meerly to avoid that Suspition And This Suspition is the reason why the Venetians do not send Commanders of their Own into their Wars but rather chuse to make use of Forraign Commanders whom a Little Mony contents well enough for their Pay For as to this particular it was no small hazard which they heretofore run under Carmagnola and Ludovicus Vrsinus And Francis Sforza who was but a Mercenary Souldier under the State of Venice returning home a Conquerour made himself Duke of Millun For this very cause the Romans heretofore hated the Tarquins their Kings who till that time had alwaies been Elective and this very thing also was the Ruine of the Duke of the Athenians that was Elected at Florence Neither are Opportunities at this time wanting of setting the French together by the ears among themselves for although their Peace is not at this time at all disturbed by any Forraign Enemies yet they being naturally of an Impatient Unquiet spirit are alwaies rising up one against another although it be perhaps but upon their quarrel about the Heresie of the Calvinists and I know not what New Gospel which wheresoever it is preached it bringeth not Joy but Mourning not Peace but horrid Wars and filleth the Minds of Men not with Good Will but with rage and Madnesse This Mischief therefore ought to be taken in due time and have a stop put to it for this Contagion hath already infected above two hundred thousand persons in France For if so be it should spread further and should infect the Nobility also and Peers of the Kingdom it would be much to be feared that there would never be any end of the Troubles of France which is now the Condition of Germany by means of the Dukes of Saxony Hessen and others For as we see such Kingdomes as abound with Nobles are made in a manner Immortal as we may evidently perceive by the examples of France and Persia For when France was heretofore in a manner all subdued and brought in subjection by the King of England yet it was afterwards through the Industry and by the endeavours of the Nobility and Gentry wholly asserted restored again to Its first Natural Lord. And so likewise the Kingdome of Persia which is one while annoyed by the Tartarians and again another while by the Saracens is yet so well defended by the Persian Nobility as that It is kept from falling under either of their Power and Obedience But yet on the contrary side again the very same Kingdomes are by reason of their Nobility also obnoxious to most unavoidable and miserable Calamities seeing they are able at any time either to assist or protect all such as endeavour to introduce any Innovations either in the State or Religion CHAP. XXV Of England Scotland and Ireland ALthough the English seem the least of all to affect an Vniversal Monarchy yet notwithstanding they have been a very great hinderance to the King of Spains designs that way several examples whereof may be gathered from the proceedings of the aforesaid Queen Elizabeth of England who appeared both against the Catholick King in the Low-Countries and against the most Christian King in France by fomenting the corrupt Humours in the subjects of both these Princes and in assisting the Hereticks both with her Counsels and Forces For they possesse an Island that is excellently well furnished both with Shipping and Souldiers and by this means they rob the King of Spain in all places in the North wheresoever he hath any thing and also wander out abroad as far as to the New World where although by reason of the Fortifications made upon the Sea Coast they cannot lay the foundation of any Kingdome yet do they do the Spaniards no small harme there For that same famous Englishman Captain Drake following the example of Magellan who had done the same before him sailed round about the whole World more then once and it is not impossible but that the Kingdom of Bacalaos which lies somewhat near to the English and is very convenient for them by reason of the temperatenesse of the Air may be some time or other seazed upon by them However it is most certain that if the King of Spain could but once make himself Master of England and the Low-Countries He would quickly get to be sole Monarch of all Europe and of the greatest part of the New World But seeing that He is not able to reduce this Island under His Obedience because that It is so exceeding strong by reason both of its Situation and multitude of Inhabitants who Naturally hate the Spaniard and are quite different from them both in their Manners and also their Religion it will concern Him therefore to defend himself as well as he can and to fortifie and set strong
out in reference to the Spanish Monarchy only and the support of the Papacy yet may all wise Judicious men make very good use of the same and apply what Counsells are here given the King of Spain to their own Affaires For if it be good counsel for the King of Spain to take To procure and maintain a peferct Vnion among his own subjects at home but on the Contrary To sow the seeds of Division among his Enemies abroad the same must be as good Counsel for the King of France also to take or any other Prince or Potentate what ever If it be good Counsel to the Spaniard Never to trust so much to any peace made with an Enemy as thereupon quite to lay aside his Armes it is altogether as good Counsel for any other Prince And the same may be said of any other of the General Maxims of Policy delivered here by our Author But as for what in Particular concerns the Advancement of the Spaniard and his Designs in order to the bringing about of his Universal Monarchy whether the Rules by our Author laid down were in sufficient to do the businesse or whether hough they were every way as full and proper as could be yet having not been precisely observed the businesse hath miscarried and the Spaniard hath not as yet arrived and perhaps now is never like to arrive to the end of his Desires all this needs not hinder but that thou shouldest look upon this Author as a man of a most clear wit Judgment and prize him as one that was full of knowledge and experience in the Affaires of the World and a most industrious and studious person In the Third and last place thou art to take notice as concerning this Translation that we have therein dealt so fairely nd Ingenuuosly with our Author as that we have perfectly and entirely preserved his own sense unto him Neither have we stopt his foul mouth where he hath either used ill Language toward any of the Protestant Princes or cast dirt into the faces of the first Reformers Luther Calvin c. For to what end should we falsifie our Original by making our Author more Civil then he had a mind to be seeing we are never a whit the worse for being so miscalled by him nor is he himself a jot the wiser for using us so And to say the Truth we our selves take the same Liberty towards them and therefore for ought I see Hanc Veniam petimusque damusque vicissim We must even be content to allow each other this Liberty on both sides An Index of the CHAPTERS CHAP. I. OF the Causes of Humane Principalities Page 1. CHAP. II. The Causes of the Spanish Empire p. 4 CHAP. III. Of the first Cause of Empires namely God p. 6 CHAP. IV. Of the Spanish Empire considered according to the First Cause p. 9 CHAP. V. Of the Second Cause namely Prudence 15 CHAP. VI. How the Clergy are to be dealt withal 25 CHAP. VII What may be further added concerning Prudence and Opportunity 30 CHAP. VIII The Causes by which the Spanish Monarchy may be enlarged and become lesse 31 CHAP. IX Of the King 32 CHAP. X. What Sciences are required in a Monarch to render Him admired by all 45 CHAP. XI Of Lawes both good and bad 50 CHAP. XII Of Counsel 52 CHAP. XIII Of Justice and its Contrary 57 CHAP. XIV Of the Barons and Nobility of the Spanish Empire 60 CHAP. XV. Of the Souldiery 66 CHAP. XVI Of the Treasure of Spain 81 CHAP. XVII Of the Peoples Love and Hate as also of Conspiracies 93 CHAP. XVIII Of Preachers and Prophesies 105 CHAP. XIX Of such Kingdomes as are properly belonging to the King of Spain and of such also as are his Enemies and of these which are in League with each other and which not 115 CHAP. XX. Of Spain 125 CHAP. XXI Of Italy 129 CHAP. XXII Of Sicily and Sardinia 136 CHAP. XXIII Of Germany 139 CHAP. XXIV Of France 144 CHAP. XXV Of England Scotland and Ireland 155 CHAP. XXVI Of Poland Muscovia and Transylvania 162 CHAP. XXVII Of Flanders and the Lower Germany 165 CHAP. XXVIII Of Africk 185 CHAP. XXIX Of Persia and Cataia 194 CHAP. XXX Of the Great Turk and his Empire 197 CHAP. XXXI Of the Other Hemisphere and the New World 211 CHAP. XXXII Of Navigation 223 The Authors Preface THe Universal Monarchy of the World begining from the East and so coming at length to the West having passed through the hands of the Assyrians Medes Persians Greeks and Romans who were divided by the Imperial Eagle into Three Heads is at length come down to the Spaniard upon whom after so long Slavery and Division it is wholly conferred by Fate and that with greater Splendour then on any of his Predecessors to whom also according to the Vicissitude of Humane Affaires it did of right belong Now although I had not any Intention to write any thing touching either the Government or the Enlargement of the Spanish Monarchy which you most Noble Alfonso have desired me to do yet being at length delivered from my Tedious Sicknesse and my Ten years Afflictions though I am utterly deprived of the help of any Books and am as it were shut up as a Prisoner in this my Cell I shall notwithstanding in a brief and Compendious way give your Lordship an account what my Judgment is concerning this Subject and shall give in the Causes of each several Point in General first not after a Natural nor a Theological but after a Political way and shall afterwards also descend to treat more Particularly of the same Tho. Campanella A DISCOURSE TOUCHING The Spanish Monarchy CHAP. I. Of the Causes of Humane Principalities IN the acquiring and managing of every Dominion and Principality there usually concur three Causes that is to say God Prudence and Occasion All which being joyned together are called by the name of Fate which is nothing else but a concurrence of all the Causes working by vertue of the First And hence also is Fortune sprung which is the Successe of Earthly things whether it be good or evil which if it be rightly known is called Prudence but if otherwise it is then called Fate Fortune or Chance As for example if a man find that which he had long sought after it is called Vnderstanding and Prudence but if he light upon a thing which he did not seek after nor knew where it was it is called Chance or Fortune Among these three Causes One sometimes prevailes in the ruling of things more then Another and perhaps more then the Other two Yet notwithstanding if we will confesse the truth they are all Three Politically concurring in the businesse Do but take notice of the Kingdome of the Jewes wherein God was the Principal Agent who by sending Moses and Aaron furnished out the Other Two Causes For Moses was a person of extraordinary Wisdome and Knowledge not onely in Divine but in Humane things also for he
was well versed in all the Learning of the Egyptians and managed a War for King Pharaoh against the King of Ethiopia whom he vanquished in the War and whose daughter also he took to Wife as both Flavius Josephus and Philo testifie And yet for all this he despised not the advice of Jothro his Father-in-law touching the taking in of a certain number of persons to assist him in the Administration of the Government over the People of Israel And indeed They being sore oppressed and labouring under their Egyptian Slavery took Occasion by his means of shaking that Yoak off their necks whence they were inclined to hearken the more willingly to Him and to follow him whither he would lead them the Occasion also taken from the Wickednesse of those of Palaestine concurring with their Inclinations Besides the Great Monarch of all the Earth God of his own accord and free grace gave Wisdom to his People as he did likewise to the Apostles and to the Bishop of Rome which was also assisted by Occasion which is nothing else but to know how to make right use of the Time whence followed the Division of the Romane Empire but the utter Subversion of the Jewish Yet notwithstanding where the Power of Man only appeared Outwardly there was a concurrence and co-operation of the finger of God though not so visibly seen And thus the Assyrians for some secret Causes were possessed of the Monarchy of the World which Causes notwithstanding have been sometimes apparent as we see in Nabuchodonosor whom God rewarded with the spoyles of Egypt because he had made use of Him against the ingrateful Hebrewes and against Tyre And in Isaiah God reproveth the King of the Jewes for that when by his aide his enemies had been slain and put to flight He notwithstanding had ascribed all to his Own strength Now the Occasion of this was the Wickednesse of the Nations who were governed by no Prudence In the Monarchy also of the Medes the same Occasion carried a great stroke in the businesse when as God as it appears out of Daniel came forth upon the stage and raised up Arbaces the Praefect of Media who was a very wise man against Sardanapalus who wallowed in all Luxury and Womanish delights In the Persian Monarchy the Valour and Courage of Cyrus appeared and Media being destitute of a Successour for the Kingdome afforded him the Occasion of shewing it and God himself in Isaiah calling Cyrus his Anointed instructed him how he should bring the Nations under his Yoake Who makes any doubt of the Prudence and Wisdome of Alexander the Great and knowes not that the Divisions of the Grecians at home and the Loosenesse of Life that the Eastern Nations had at that time given themselves up unto administred unto him an Occasion of making use of it Wherein the Divine Power was most evidently manifested for as much as as the Prophet Daniel testifies the Angel of the Kingdome of Greece laboured much in the businesse In the Roman Empire also Prudence and Valour did very much but Italy's being divided into several Common-Wealths and the Carthaginians Factions among themselves were the Occasion And commonly to that Part that dissolves any great Empire all the rest of the Principalities of the World do incline And certainly God himself was the chiefest Cause of the Prosperity of the Romans because of their Moral Virtues as it is proved by St. Augustine in his book De Civitate Dei Yet no place doth more evidently shew what Occasion can do then Sicily at what time it called forth Peter of Arragon against those of Anjou whence sprang the Proverb of those most famous Vespers Although it cannot be denied but that he was assisted very much in that Undertaking not only by the Pope but also by his own Innate Prudence And truly although Historians seldome make any mention at all of these Three Causes yet the Books of the Kings of the Jewes and the Successions therein laid down before us do sufficiently confirm the same and make it appear that which way soever the Prophesies and the Valour of the Persons inclined that way also did the Fortune of the Kingdom look CHAP. II. The Causes of the Spanish Monarchy THe same Three Causes therefore have concurred in the Spanish Monarchy For after that It had by the Assistance of Almighty God happily maintained War against the Moors for near 800. years space together It at length brought forth such Valiant Commanders and Souldiers that being so fortified both by Strength and Prudence and having overcome the Barbarians they then turned their Armes another way and proceeded on to greater Undertakings And afterwards being as it were by Divine Instinct assisted by the Pope with a great Treasure of Indulgences and Croisados and the King being also honoured by the Title of Catholick that is to say Vniversal It arrived to so great a reputation and glory of Valour that the Genueses were so much the more willingly and readily drawn in to their assistance in the making themselves Masters of the New World And lastly it is most certain that whilest Wars were made with Launces and Horses the Gaules Goths and Lombards enlarged their Dominions but when the Sword was the chief Weapon the Romans then carried all afore them But in after times when Subtlety and Craft was of more Prevalence then Valour and that Printing and Guns were now found out the Chief Power then fell into the hands of the Spaniards who are a People that are both Industrious Active Valiant and Subtle For then did Occasion joyn the King of Arragon with Isabella Queen of Castile who had no Issue Male to succeed her and at the same time also was added to him the Imperial Line of the House of Austria to which likewise through defect of Issue Male in the Burgundian Family there was added a very considerable Inheritance of many Lordships and Provinces in the Low-Countries and in other places Then followes the Discovery of the New World made by Christophorus Columbus and another accession also by the joyning of the Kingdom of Portugal to Spain All which rendred the Monarchy of Spain both Illustrious and Admirable and also besides other things made Her Lady of the Seas to which Advantages was also added the Troubled Condition of the French English and Dutch who were at Variance among themselves about certain Points of Religion by which meanes the Spaniard so easily arrived to this height of Power and Greatnesse it now is in And the King of Spain might grow more Powerful yet and might attain to the Dominion of the Whole World if he would but endeavour the Overthrow of the Turkish Empire as Alexander heretofore did of the Persian and the Romans of the Carthaginean For that Empire got up to this height for the Sins of the Christians and the Angel of that People hath yet the upper hand For while the Imperialists have been at variance with the Pontificians the French with the English
Kings Subjects when they are hardly dealt withal by the Prelats may appeal to the Supreme Councel of Spain Which Assertion is certainly both an unworthy and an Heretical one and is of dangerous consequence also to the King for it tends to the rendring Him odious to his people and diminisheth rather then encreaseth His Authority as we find it testified by daily Experience Or else it may indeed be desired at the Popes hands that it should be so and it may also be declared that the King is willing to yield that in all Causes whatsoever there should be Appeales to the Pope if so be that it may be but every where allowed to appeal first to a Councel of Three Bishops or else that Appeales in all Causes of the Laity shall come at length to the Pope but passing first by degrees through a Councel consisting of two Bishops and a King and so to be referred afterward to a General Councel and last of all to come to the Pope for Appeals from General Councels are very seldome heard of and besides the very Name of a Councel is hateful to the Pope So that in conclusion the determination of all Causes will alwaies rest with the King who by this means shall be a Gainer where he seems to be a Loser CHAP VII What may be further added concerning Prudence and Opportunity THat Prudence ought in the first place to agree in all things with Divine Fate hath already been shewed it remaineth now that we speak of all the rest of the parts of Prudence and shew whitherto all its Vertues and especially Opportunity ought to be referred for as much as it is the property of Prudence to know how to make use of Occasion We have already also declared upon what Interests and under what Confederacy with the Pope the Monarchy of Spain ought to proceed at least as far as was fit to be committed to writing for the most secret Arcana and Mysteries of State are not thus to be made Publick It is therefore Manifest that the Occasion which the King of Spain hath consists chiefly in this that his Neighbouring Enemies are weak and at discord among themselves touching both Points of Religion and matters of State but his Remoter Enemies are more Powerful so that these if his weaker Neighbours were once overcome seem the more easily conquerable The Spaniard hath besides a Notable Occasion from the Extraordinary advantage of Navigation and by his having Dominion in all places round about the whole Earth in a Circle And it seems to me that the attaining to the Empire of the whole World is a very feasible businesse for Him to bring about if there could be such an Uniting of things together by degrees as I shall shew hereafter according to the General Rules of Politick Prudence Where we shall at length come to Particular Actions examined according to Nearer and Remoter Relations But first of all the Politick Relation of Spain at home is to be strengthened and afterwards the Forrain is to be looked after Thus therefore I proceed on to the businesse CHAP. VIII The Causes by which the Spanish Monarchy may be enlarged and become lesse THe Occasions by which the Spanish Monarchy may be kept up or perhaps be enlarged also are these First of all The Virtue of the King Secondly the Goodnesse of the Lawes thirdly the Wisdome of the Councel fourthly the Justice of the Officers of State fiftly the Obedience of the Barons sixtly the Multitude and good Discipline of Souldiers and Commanders Seventhly a Full Treasury Eightly the Mutual Love of the People among themselves and toward their King Ninthly Good Preachers in their Sermons speaking for subjection to Kings Tenthly the Good Agreement betwixt his own Kingdomes and the Disagreement betwixt his Neighbours And on the contrary this Monarchy hath these things that may be the ruine of it as First A wicked King Secondly Bad Lawes Thirdly an Ignorant Councel Fourthly Vnjust Officers of State Fifthly a Disobedient Nobility Sixthly the Want of Souldiers and Commanders and those He hath not well disciplined Seventhly Want of Mony Eighthly The Mutual Hatred of the People among themselves and toward their King Ninthly False Prophets or else perhaps True ones that may rise up against Monarchy Tenthly The Discord of his Own Kingdomes and the Agreement among others All which things are Prudently to be considered and weighed seeing that the present Disagreement among the Enemies of Spain and his Power at Sea all over the World have rendred the Attempt not only of maintaining but of enlarging this so great a Monarchy very feasible CHAP. IX Of the King HE cannot govern the World that cannot govern an Empire neither can he rule an Empire that cannot a Kingdom nor he a Kingdom that cannnot a Province nor he a Province that cannot a City nor he a City that cannot a Village nor he a Village that cannot a Family nor he a Family that cannot a single house nor he a single house that cannot govern himself neither can he govern himself that cannot reduce his affections and bring them within the compasse of Reason which very thing no man is able to do except he submit himself to the will of God For whosoever rebels against God who is the Supreme Wisdom against him shall all things that are subordinate to him rebel also and that justly and by the Law of Retaliation which is most just in all both Governments and Actions of Men. Having therefore weighed in our mind and considered all the Ideas and Formes of Humane Government we say that the King of Spains endeavours must be that He may arrive to the Highest pitch of Wisdom that may be For every Virtue is an Affection of the Mind consisting in a certain Mean beyound which if it arise or fall beneath it it comes to be a Vice Now it is Reason that constitutes this Mean And therefore we are to say that Actions alone do not render a man Vertuous but to this purpose there is required also a Natural Inclination in the Person which is derived both from the Complexion of his Parents from the Aire and from the Stars Seeing therefore that the Kingdom of Spain is not an Electtive one but descends by succession I say that the King ought to have but one wife for to have more is contrary to Reason it self which is to be of a tall Stature and she must be both fruitful and Eloquent and must excel all other women in the endowments both of Body and Mind Neither must he look after the Noblensse of her Family only for so she may chance to be barren or may some other waies be not so pleasing to Him and he should be overwhelmed with all those mischieifs that Henry the Eighth was or the Duke of Mantua Whence Francis the Duke of Tuscany might seem to deserve commendation if he had married Blanch only because he wanted an Heir to succeed him The King is likewise to exercise
which those Heresies that chiefly raign at this day are built upon And therefore on the contrary let him endeavour to bring in the Knowledge of the Arabick Tongue by meanes whereof the Mahumetans may be the better convinced and the troublesome Transalpine Wits may imploy themselves rather in confuting the Turks then in vexing the Catholicks with their Disputes Eighthly Let him also erect Mathematical Schools because this would be of great use and advantage in respect of the New World as well as of the Old because by this means the Peoples Minds will be diverted from creating Us any trouble and will be incited to bend their studies that way which may be useful to the King Then let him get about him the Ablest Cosmographers that he can and assign them Liberall Allowances Whose businesse it shall be to describe those several parts of the World wheresoever the Spaniards have set footing throughout the Compasse of the whole Earth because that Ptolomy knew nothing of most of those Countries at all And let Him by the Industry of these his Mathematicians correct all the Errours of the Ancient Geographers and he may also put forth a Book under the Title of the King of Spains Name wherein he shall set forth the praises due to Christophorus Columbus Magellanus Amoricus Vesputius Ferdinandus Cortesius Pizarrus and others of his Valiant Sea-Commanders whose Posterity He ought to confer Dignities upon for the Incouraging of others to fall upon the like undertakings Let him also send able Astrologers abroad into the New World and especially some of those beyond the Alpes to the end that he may by this means also take them off from their Heresies and filth and let him by proposing rewards to such invite the ablest Wits out of Germany and send them into the New World that there they may give an account of and describe all the new Stars that are in that Hemisphere from the Antarctick Pole to the Tropick of Capricorn and may describe the Holy Crosse whose figure is at that Pole and about the Pole it self they may place the Effigies of Charles V. and of other Princes of the House of Austria following herein the Example of the Grecians and Egyptians who placed in the Heavens the Images of their Princes and Heroes For by this meanes both Astrology and Local Memory will be both learnt together And when any such Illustrious Persons are so advanced to Honour and rendred so Venerable and such Astrologers are encouraged with large rewards it is of no small advantage to the enlargment of a Kingdom For all the Worlds Affections will be inclined toward such a Prince and will desire to serve him We are to know also that the Novelty of Doctrine is a great promoter of Monarchy provided it be not against Religion as was that of Luther but that it rather agree well with it as doth that of Telesius and that which I my self have collected by my reading of the Ancient Fathers of the Church or at least when it doth not contradict the same but rather enlargeth it and renders it admired by all men and takes up the Minds of the People and keeps them in from running after and employing themselves in that which is prejudiciall to the Kingdom Aristotle though his Opinions were impious yet was he in nothing at all any hinderance to Alexander and therefore much lesse can there be any hurt in such a Doctrine as we speak of The King must also take care to have the General Histories and Annals of the Whole World compiled in a compendious and succinct way like that of the Books of the Kings of the Hebrewes and which may also shew from the first building of Rome the whole progresse of this Monarchy down to this present day and may set down the time when the Christian Faith was first embraced by it and may make it known to all so many Kings thereof as were Pious and and Religious men were all of high esteem in the World and reigned happily but those that were Wicked and Ill men were also Unfortunate Let Him likewise cause a Brief Collection to be made of the Lawes of all the several Kingdomes and Principalities of the World digested in their several Orders as also their Religions and Customes and let him make use of the best of these and reject the bad But he must be very careful that He publish not in any place such Lawes as the Nature of that place cannot bear CHAP. XI Of Lawes both Good and Bad. THe King of Spain as well for Theological as Politick reasons can enact no New Lawes For the Christian Law together with the Roman Military Power and Prudence is that which He succeeds in and with which He is to comply He must take heed therefore that He make not many Pragmatical Sanctions And it would be an excellent thing if the Lawes as far as it were possible were all written in the Spanish Tongue that so the whole World might be acquainted and might have some commerce with the Spanish Monarchy both in the Language and the Lawes But seeing that this Monarchy had Its Rise under the Roman Empire and Religion the Latine is a Language that it needs not be ashamed of Let such Lawes therefore be made as the People may keep rather Willingly then by compulsion and through fear of punishment as finding them to be advantagious to themselves For when such Lawes are enacted as make for the Profit of the Prince or some few Particular persons only the People must needs be out of love with them and then do they presently find out waies to elude the same whereupon there strait followes Confiscation of the Subjects Goods with Mulcts Punishments and Banishment Then must we have New Laws made to punish the Transgressors of the Former and then again other New Lawes must be made for the punishing of such as have offended against these latter and thus is the Number of Lawes increased the Princes Authority slighted and the Subjects at length out of hate to their Prince either rise up against Him or else forsake the Kingdom to the very great damage no question of the Prince for by this means both the number of the Souldiery is diminished and besides the Kings Subsidies grow lesse Every Tyrant therefore that maketh Lawes that are for his Own Advantage only and not for his Subjects is a Fool for by this meanes He loseth himself whereas on the other side a wise King while he seems to do things Prejudicial to himself doth himself notwithstanding thereby the greatest Right that can be And we find by Experience that Princes that are Popular are more extolled then those are that admit into their friendship and favour some few Noblemen or Courtiers only as we may observe in the Contrary Examples of Augustus and Tiberius It is moreover necessary that a Law be conformable to the Custome of the place for which it is made for all Northern People love Easie Lawes
and would rather obey out of their own Good Nature then by Compulsion And the not observing of this was the reason of the Dukes D'Alva's losing the Low-Countries The Southern People as those of Andaluzia require strict Lawes the Italians Portuguez and Calabrians desire a Mediocrity and Moderation in their Lawes The King must also consider as touching the New World under what Climate each particular People there lyeth For those that lye under the Equinoctial would have Moderate Lawes but those that are under the Tropicks must have more severe and rigid Lawes as also those that are under the Pole but those that are nearer to the Frigid Zone desire Milder Lawes but those that are more remote and lye nearer to the Tropicks as do the Inhabitants of Siam require Austere Lawes and such as carry a Religious Reverence with them But those that are situate in a Middle Position as the Italians are are of like Nature to those that lye under the Equinoctial When another Country loseth any of its Inhabitants by reason of the difference of Religion New Lawes are presently to be made by some Bishop and some Eminent Commander of War and a Colony of fit persons is to be sent thither as for example Netherlanders may be sent into Africk Italians into the Netherlands and Spaniards into the New World And the fittest time to do this is when the War is on foot there but when they begin once to yield the Lawes may then be altered by little and little as it is fit it should be done in the Low-Countries when the People there shall submit and yield obedience to the Spaniards For then there should be more use made of the Tongue in governing of them then of the Sword and the Inquisition is also to be kept up there under some Other Name and Pretense But if any City or Country that is addicted to the Catholick Religion be taken in it will be sufficient then to send thither some Spaniards onely to guard it and some Wise Persons who by degrees may change the Lawes of the Place but the King must put some of his own Subjects and of his own Country into the highest and chiefest places of trust but with the meaner and lower Offices he may intrust the Inhabitants of the place as Duke Francis did at Sena and the Venetians at Padoua But when the Name of a Spaniard begins once to be hateful among them let Him then send thither such Italians as He may safely trust and employ them as his Ministers there Now what course is to be taken in the several Kingdomes belonging to the Spaniard I shall shew hereafter Onely this I shall say here that the First and Principal Keeper of the Lawes ought to be Honour the Second Love and the Third Fear But where this Order is inverted and runs the contrary way nothing will there prosper Of Counsel CHAP. XII THe Supreme Councel or Court ought to consist of the King and some few of the Wisest of his Nobles with some of the Clergy joyned to them Yet the Court of Grace of which I spake before must be above the Supreme Court of Justice The Councels of that Kingdom are already managed rightly enough yet their Decrees would be observed with greater Reverence and Religion if that course were taken which I before proposed namely of adding to them a greater number of the Prelates for by this means the Clergy will be the easier won and withall the Decrees of the said Councels will be of the greater esteem and reverence We are to take notice also that persons of any Nation whatsoever are not fit to be presently taken in for Counsellours but such only as know the Customes of the Country or are Learned Men as was Plato or else have an excellent dexterity of wit as had Cincinnatus For as much therefore as the Spaniard is a person of good ability in all matters of a subtile Nature and where there is use of Good Language as the Germans abilities lie chiefly in matters that are to be done by the Hand and require Labour and the Italians in matters of State Government and Policy it must therefore be the Kings Care that he make a right Choice of these several persons and according to their different Abilities make use of them in His Counsels My Opinion is therefore that in Maritime Affairs and whatsoever concerns Navigation He ought chiefly to employ the Portuguez and the Genouese But in things which concern Mechanical Arts Artificial Fire-works and Engines of all sorts the Transalpine is the only man but where the Government of State is concerned let the Italian be there made use of but as for Fortifications keeping of Garrisons making Discoveries or giving Intelligence and going on Embassies or whatsoever concerns Religion with any of these let the Spaniard be intrusted And seeing that we would have the King of Spain to be Lord of the whole World it must be his care as much as he can to draw on all Nations to comply with the Spanish Manners and Customes that is let Him make them all Spanish Let Him also make them Partakers as well of Government as of Warfare as the Romans of old did and as the Turks Custome is to do at this day For otherwise the Spaniard will be the lesse couragious in War as not having any to rival him in Military Glory and Renown neither will the Counsellours strive among themselves who shall excell the other in Smartnesse and sharpnesse of Wit when they find that all Forreign Nations are cut off from all hopes of being called to Counsel I say therefore that Spaniards are for the most part though not alwayes to be admitted into the Counsel of Spain and especially those of Religious Orders as being the only persons that have little or no Interest of their own in Secular Affairs Into the Councel of Italy there must be taken in such Spaniards as have lived some time in Italy with some Italians and two out of the Netherlands For by this means all the several Nations will rest satisfied and the Kings Counsels will be the better tempered because the Spaniard will alwayes be of a Contrary Judgment to the Italian as thinking himself the better man and the greater respect and dignity due to him because the Head of the Empire is with Them and the Italian according to the Freedom of spirit of that Nation will boldly give such Counsel as he conceives to be sound and Good and endeavour to curbe and abate the Fiercenesse of the Spaniard and then must the Netherlander come in and reconcile them to each other The Councel of the Netherlands seeing it is already granted that the Councels of all Nations must be held in Spain must be made up of Spaniards Italians and Natives for the same two causes before given in The Councels of both the Indias must consist of Spaniards and such of other Nations as have continued in the same for some time whether
at the will of the Court Favourites nothing ever goes well there And it is so much the worse because that now adaies the Greater Officers sell the Lesser Offices to such Creatures of theirs as shall play the Theeves ever after for them and themselves And thus in Small Countries Common Justice is not observed for these men while they pretend to enlarge the Kings Jurisdiction they render him odious to his people and in the mean time fleece the poor miserable Subjects Therefore let every Officer provide himself to render an Account of his Administration to the People who are to give in Information to the King every ten yeares where they have been honestly dealt with and where not All False Witnesses also of whom the World is so full must likewise be severely punished and there must be care taken also that the Atturnies of the Exchequer may not force men by threatning words and sometimes by blowes too to be Witnesses for them But the best Course would be that the Law of Retaliation should be in force that the Complaint that makes not good his Accusation should suffer the same punishment that the other should have done if found guilty because that now adaies there are more Calumnies brought into Courts then Just Accusations And therefore any Lawyer that shall be found to have suborned any such Witnesse or any Judge that shall be proved to have taken any Bribe to pervert the Lawes should be debarred for ever after either from pleading at any Bar or giving sentence in any Court The King must also take care that Judges give sentence alwaies according to the Lawes and not according as Policy of State as they use to speak shall require and afterward either the King himself or his Viceroy or any other of the Kings Ministers may mitigate the Rigour of the Law as they shall see cause provided it be not in Case of High Treason that by this meanes they may gain the more upon the Peoples Affections And that untoward Custome is to be rooted out of the minds of Ordinary Judges which yet hath taken deeper root in the minds of the Superiour Judges also namely that although they know an accused person to be Innocent yet they will condemn him though it be in a matter of no Moment to the end that the fault may at last light upon Him after the businesse hath been a good while depending under the Judge that so as they use to say there may seem to have been Pregnant Reasons for the long depending of the Cause Whereas they should be so far from aggravating any fault as that they should rather lessen it as much as may be and so they should endeavour the rather to be really Just then to get an Opinion of being so to the great detriment of the People and also of the King himself who through the wickednesse of these Unjust Judges who are hated both by God and Himself is deprived of the Love and Affections of his People which is the main Prop of His Affaires and besides Good Men having lost their reputation desire to change their present state for a better as we see it usually comes to passe And no people have opportunity of offending more dangerously and closely then your Inferiour Officers have and besides these men the more in favour they are with the Prince the more grievously are they wont to aggravate mens crimes And therefore in this case there ought to be certain Commissaries at all times deputed and the same also to be maintained at the Charge of the said Ministers who shall yearly also lay down a certain summe of Mony to be kept in some Common place for the charges of the next Commissaries the following year that by these their Books of Accounts may be examined during the time of their being in Office or afterwards also if need be For by reason of the Corruption of these Inferiour Officers whole Provinces have many times heretofore fallen off from the Roman Empire especially when they have been found to be too ambitious and active in squeezing the Subjects either for the enriching of the Publick Treasury or else for the filling of their own private Coffers And for this reason it was that the Parthians having killed Crassus filled his mouth full of Melted Gold as a certain Spanish Grandee was also served by some Indians in the New World And certainly Covetousnesse and an open barefaced Desire of Gold was the reason that the Affaires of the Spaniards succeeded so ill in the New World into which at first they had so miraculous an Entrance and that the other Nations there perceiving that humour in them stood upon their guard as well as they could against the Spaniard whose Government notwithstanding before they had not refused The same manner of proceeding also in the Netherlands was the cause of the ruining of the Spanish Affaires there Let all Criminal Causes in times of Peace be protracted as much as may be For No delay about the death of any man can ever be too long but this must not be in times of War As for Civil Causes they ought all to be without any demurring or delay heard and determined CHAP. XIV Of the Barons and Nobility of the Spanish Monarchy THe King of Spain to the end that so vast a Monarchy may not fall to decay hath need of such men as are excellent both for Learning and the practise of Armes whom He ought to reward afterwards with Baronies that so being from thenceforth made sharers as it were of the said Monarchy they may to their utmost power endeavour to maintain and make good the same to their Prince Which Baronies notwithstanding when they once fall into the hands of Unworthy persons are the cause of much mischief And they do fall into such hands when they come to be bestowed either upon Buffoons or perhaps such Exchequer Men as have found out new waies of oppressing the Subject or else when they have been conferred at first upon Wise and Valiant men whose Successors for all that may have proved to be Mean Inconsiderable persons or are else riotous and proud and such as laying aside all thought of their Ancestors Virtue take the full enjoyment only of that they have left them and having no worth of their own can onely boast of the Nobility of their Ancestors And hence it is that the King is in want so much of Persons of Worth whilest the number of such Uselesse Drones encreaseth in the Kingdom The Great Turk that he may prevent the latter of these Mischiefs putting by all such as are bottom'd only upon Others Nobility takes notice of such onely as are Eminent for some worth of their own Neither doth he suffer any son to succeed in the Estate or Goods of his Father by Right of Inheritance but he is to receive the same at his hands as a reward of his Service if so be he deserve it But in case he do not he must
also may in like manner be distributed into their several Classes and Ranks And this is much the more honourable and secure way then to cause divisions and sidings into parties among them which is the counsel of some Writers who have a Saying Divide impera Cause Divisions among thy subjects and thou shalt rule them well enough The King must alwayes make much of such persons as are of eminent either Valour or Virtue and must prefer them to dignities and honours In every place also where He hath any Councel sitting He ought to joyn to them one of some Religious Order or other whom he can trust and that for the common security of both parties both Prince and Counsellour And all such persons as shall be admitted to this honour should have an Oath administred unto them or else should have some kind of Obligation by way of some Religious Fraternity with the Crown by which they should be bound in all troublesome and perillous times not only to deliver into the Kings hands all the Gold and Silver they have but that themselves also shall in person serve in the Wars in defence of the Fortune and safety of the Kingdom By which means the King shall prevent all Insurrections among them or in case they should stirr He shall have a sufficient Pledge in his hands as being possessed of all their Treasures in so much that their Wives will not spare in this case to bring in what Rings Bracelets and Chains of Gold or any thing else of value that they have as we read the Roman women did when Rome was distressed by Hannibal and other Enemies and lay them all at the Kings feet And as for Commanders in War those he ought to account the best that were themselves once common Souldiers such as Antonius de Leva and Gonsalvus de Corduba were as those Counsellours also are to be esteemed the ablest that have risen to that height from the lowest and meanest Trusts and Employments And therefore the King shall not take any great care for such Barons as have not been in service abroad before so that they may have thereby rendred themselves fit to discharge the offices of able Commanders in War or to serve the King in his Councells But he must get about him such as have been men of long Experience and are well acquainted with and versed in the Affaires of the World Neither is it a small Calamity that the Kingdom of Spain lieth under by reason of such Quarells and Suits of Law as oftentimes arise among the Nobility about Precedency as they call it which certainly in the time of War must needs be of most dangerous consequence for There Military Valour is onely to be looked after And who knowes whether or no this very thing might not be the cause of the Miscarriage of the Armado that was sent against England in the year 1588. But herein the Barons are of great use and advantage to the King because that in case He shall have any ill successe in any expedition He can immediately make himself whole again by his Barons which the Turks can not do For when he hath once received but one notable Blow and is now much weakened thereby He hath no Barons left him by whose aide he may recover himself again which was the case also of Darius when he was overthrown by Alexander the Great and of the Sultan of Aegypt that was conquered by Selim both which being once beaten were never afterward able to make head again against their Enemy And if so be that Emulation and Envy had not born too great a sway among the Christians in that Memoral Victory obtained at Sea against he Turk in the year 71. Constantinople might at that time have tbeen recovered and the Turk utterly rooted out The King must therefore take especial notice wherein the Barons may be prejudicial to Him and in what they may advantage Him and He must make use of them rather as his Treasurers of his Arms and Monies then make them as it were the Patrons of His State And yet out of these Treasurers of his he may choose out some to be Commanders in his War provided that he lay a Command upon them to set aside their Second Sons to be as a Seminary of Military Valour both for Sea and Land Service as we shall shew hereafter and by this means He shall have their Fathers the Barons themselves as it were bound to be faithful to him by reason of this Engagement of their Sons to the Prince and so He shall be sure to have them at his devotion whensoever he shall have occasion to make use of them as shall be shewed hereafter in the Chapter Of Navigation CHAP. XV. Of the Souldiery THe Souldiery of Spain and consequently the defense and Enlarging of that Kingdom may faile two wayes One is because that Spanish Women by reason of the too great Heat of the Country are not very Fruitful whence it may well so come to passe as that seeing there are very many Spaniards killed both in the Netherlands and in the New World and other of their wars they may want Souldiers As on the contrary the Helvetians and Polonians and all other Northern Nations do abound with Souldiers by reason of the Fruitfulnesse of their Women and especialy because there are so few of them in those parts that put themselves into Monasteries neither do they suffer any Publick Stewes there at all by which it is a wonderful thing to consider how much Humane seed is lost and utterly cast away and also because they deal more openly and freely with each other neither are matches among them so often broke off through the disagreement of Parents about Dowries c. and therefore they Multiply much the faster as having fewer Impediments either from Art or Nature And hence it is that the Franks Goths Vandals Lombards Herulians and other Northern People have alwaies abounded with plenty of Men In so much that by reason of the too narrow Limits of their own Countries they have been fain to leave them and to seek for places of Habitation in ours and other Countries and have like Bees been continually sending forth fresh Colonies into other parts by which means we see it hath come to passe that the Oriental Nations together with the Grecian Italian Spanish and Hungarian are now in a manner quite extinct And therefore the Spaniards being but few in Number have been forced for the reasons afore alleadged quite to clear all the places whatsoever that they conquered of their ancient Inhabitants as appears by the course they took with the Indians in the New World least otherwise they should have lived in a continual fear that the conquered who were much the greater number might rise up and take armes against their Conquerors And this is the reason why by the Ignorant they are accounted Cruel Mercilesse people for such their proceeding against the Indians The number of the
small number it will concern him that he have more of his own Souldiers with him then either of Auxiliaries or Hired Souldiers or of those that are Guarders of the Frontiers least when they come to the point they all run away There are many more Observations required to the making up of a Perfect Commander all which I cannot here set down my design being at present to deliver such things as concern Spain only But above all care must be taken that the Souldiers be not used like Beasts who if they have but their wages duly paid them and if when they are wounded they be carefully looked to and be encouraged also to shew themselves Valiant men through the hopes of Military glory and by hearing good Preachers and by rewards they will then never think either of running away or of Revolting which are two of the greatest Mischiefs that can befal an Army I would also have some persons appointed out of some of the Religious Orders to commit to writing the famous and memorable Acts of each particular Souldier which should be read openly before the King when ever He bestowes rewards upon his Souldiers For this is the reason why the Barons refuse to serve in person in the Wars saying The King himself is not there to be an eye witnensse of my Valour and I cannot confide in the treacherous Memories of Envious Commanders Neither would I have the Souldiers to be rewarded with Mony only but sometimes also with some Coronet either of Oak or of Olive which is a most Magnificent argument of Honour to them and of no charge to the Prince and by this means they will be the more faithful and constant to Him For an other mans Mony may in like manner buy and sell perhaps that Faith which you have so purchased of them but such Honour it cannot seeing it is a most ignominious thing even in the esteem of an Enemy himself for any one to forsake his King And therefore it should be lawful for any man to kill such a one as should begin to run away or that goes abroad a pillaging without the leave of his Commander which very thing hath often hindered the obtaining of Victory against the Enemy and those that are of least account in the Army do by these courses enrich themselves while the Valiant Souldier fights it out to the last drop of blood in his body What Souldier soever shall fill up the place of his slain fellow-Souldier or protects him and saves his life he should have a Coronet of Oak granted him This was called by the Romans Corona Civica That Souldier that shall first get upon the Enemies Walls should have a Mural Coronet made of Herbs wreathed together in form of a Coronet which he should recieve at the hands of the General whiles the rest of the Army standing round about shall celebrate his Gallantry with Acclamations and Songs according to the ancient custome of the Romans For these two things Punishment and Reward are the two Pillars whereon all Military Discipline is founded and built the Former whereof deterrs the Souldier from wicked courses as the latter pricks him on to do gallant things the Former was devised for the restraining of Vile Rebellious spirits as the latter was for the Encouragement of the Generous and Valiant the former serves instead of a Bridle as the later doth of a Spur. Alexander the Great erected for the honour of his Souldiers that were Slain at the River Granicus Statues of Marble in a most stately manner The King of Siam that he might encourage his Souldiers to fight bravely took care to have the names of all those that had behaved themselves Gallantly in the Wars to be registred in a Book and afterwards to be recited before him which was the custome also of King Ahasuerus as the holy Scripture testifieth Whensoever there are any designs on foot for the gaining any large Kingdom or Empire the King ought alwayes to go in person to the Wars because that Princes that are Warlick alwaies get more then those that are sluggish and negligent which is a consideration of great importance for all such Princes as desire to enlarge their Dominions But if they care only to preserve their own they may then stay at home themselves provided that they set Valiant and faithful Commanders over their Souldiers However it will concern a Prince that he get an opinion of being a Warlike man unlesse he mean to be despised by all People or let him make an open shew that he loves Wars And to the end that He may be the more secure of Victory let him alwaies take with him good store of Souldiers that so he may neither lose his reputation nor be despised by his Enemies Those Defeats of his Armies are the least hurtful to Him where He himself was not present at the Engagement Strength of his forces at Sea wherein the Genoese Portugals and Hollanders do most excel is also a most necessary businesse For whoever shall make himself master of the Seas the same shall command all by Land also CHAP. XVI Of the Treasury of Spain IT is necessary that the King have a full Treasury if it be but for the keeping up of his Reputation abroad for as the World goes now a dayes the Power of Princes is valued according to the fulnesse of their Purses rather then the largenesse of their Territories And therefore not only in the time of War but of peace also it behoves a Prince to have alwaies good store of ready Mony by him For it is a very hard and dangerous businesse also especially when He is now already engaged in a War to expect and wait till monies can be raised Tolle moras Semper nocuit differre paratis It is necessary therefore that there be Monies alwayes in a readinesse for the raising of Souldiers in an instant least while you are employed in getting Mony together your Enemy be before hand with you To this end Augustus Caesar erected a Military Treasury as Suetonius testifieth and that he might alwaies and without any trouble be provided of Mony for the raising and paying of his Souldiers he filled the same with New Taxes and Impositions And certainly very many wonder how it comes to passe that the King of Spain whose yearly Revenues amount to above twenty Millions hath not by this time made Himself Universal Monarch of all Christendome nor hath all this while so much as as once set upon the Turk To whom I answer that this is nothing at all to be wondred at if they would but take notice that the reason of this it because He hath not the skill to lay hold on Occasion when it is offered Him which very thing hath hitherto upheld the Fortune of all Great Empires For there was an Occasion given him at the Uniting of the Kingdomes of Castile and Arragon and of Naples and Millan but there was a much fairer offered to Charles the V. who was
possibly they can to get to be admitted into some Covent or other for Friers or Preachers I therefore here leave it to the King to consider whether or no He may not rather be overcome by Gold which is the Cause of so many Evils I say therefore that there are many things here that stand in need of a Reformation that so the Kings Treasury may grow Rich and that He himself may have greater Testimonies of his Subjects Love and Fidelity which might easily be brought about if so be that those Rules before laid down touching the encreasing the Number of the Subjects and the remitting and abating the Taxes and Exactions laid upon them were but observed and if the King going into the Wars Himself in person would by that means chalk out to his Wise and Valiant Commanders and Souldiers the Way to Honour rather then to Covetousnesse and would also propose New Arts and Sciences So likewise if He would make some such Lawes to which those that are Obedient should have their former honours continued to them but the Refractory and Disobedient should have Disgraces cast upon them and to perswade Obedience to which Lawes there should in the Second place some Profit and Advantage be proposed for such but in the Third place before the Disobedient should be laid down the Fear of Punishment to which our Modern Writers absurdly attribute the First Place in Relation to the due Observing of Lawes who having regard to the Time rather then to Religion require Fear in Subjects rather then Love because that the Rulers of the Gentiles preferred this Later before the Former and so taught that Wicked Wretch Macchiavel and other the like Polititians those Rules But if there be no place left for a Reformation it is then necessary that respect being had to the Present Abuses there should be good store of Treasure got up together lest at length the King should be undone by Use-Mony or some other Losses should fall upon him in case the Plate Fleet should not return back from the West-Indies in three or four years together perhaps I shall first therefore lay down the Usual Rules in this case and then such other as I my self have thought upon First therefore there must be matter administred for the promoting of Vsury and Vsurers and every one of them is to be bound under a certain Penalty to have alwaies a stock of Monies lying by them that so when there shall be any Necessity the King may know where to fetch presently good store of Large Summes of Mony Which Course is to be taken in all the chief Cities both in the Kingdome of Naples and of Spain Then when any great War is near at hand the said Summes of Mony are to be called for at the said Usurers hands and that by the intervening too of the Popes Authority that so the King may not draw upon himself alone the Hatred and Ill Will of his Subjects Secondly let him introduce the Tribute of Apulia which was brought up by King Ferdinand through all the Provinces that are under him imposing it either in the same or some other the like Form Thirdly let Him cause all the Barons to bring in what summes of Mony they have binding them thereto in the name of Religion and the Crown of Spain to which they are joyned and engaged Fourthly let Him procure of the Pope Indulgences and Croisados for all his Kingdomes and those Summes of Mony that shall be raised by the same He shall lay up in some Treasury where they may encrease to such a quantity as that an Army may be raised out of them which may be sent into the Holy Land Fifthly let Him get an Injunction from the Pope that for the space of five years all Churches Monasteries Bishopricks and Parishes throughout all his Provinces shall pay in a certain sum of Mony into The Sacred Treasury so called as being collected for the making of a War against the Infidels that is to say Five in the Hundred of all their Revenues but so that every year there should be an abatement made of One As namely the first year they should pay Five in the Hundred the second year Four the third Three and so on till the five years be expired But the Venetians exact the Tenths And this Course may be taken betwixt the King and the Pope under the Pretense of making a War upon the Infidels After all this is done let Him then appoint two Bishops to be the Treasurers of this Mony Sixthly let the King by his Treasurers traffick in every Country with such Commodities as are used there as in Calabria with Silks in Apulia with Wheat in Sicily with Oyl for by this means He will divert his Subjects from applying themselves to Usury and will cause them to attend more the Manuring of the Ground and withal will hereby mightily enrich Himself Seventhly let Him send out into every City and Town especially in the Kingdom of Naples a Commissary having a Counsellour joyned with him who shall be one of the Clergy to make enquiry into all Usurers and to cause Them to make it appear by the testimony of Three Witnesses that they have taken no other Use then what is allowed to be taken by the custome of the Kingdom and where they shall find any to have done otherwise to seize upon all they are worth and carry it away to some publick place for the King's use But then the King may afterwards restore half of it to them again if he think fit as for example suppose his Officers took away from any of these Usurers Ten Thousand Crownes He may then restore to the Owner Five Thousand Crownes of his Mony again For they are a hateful sort of People and are despised by all men so that you need never fear that they will rebel and besides the people when ever they see Them ruined will be very glad of it neither will any of them take their parts and indeed the Usurers themselves when they have half of their estates left them will think themselves very well dealt withal And with the rest of such Monies the King may set up A Bank of Charity where poor people shall take up Monies upon their Pawn but upon this condition that if they redeem not their Pawn by the Limited Time that then it shall be forfeit to the King And afterward with the Mony arising from hence He may drive a Trade of Merchandise as the Usurers themselves use to do or else He may with those monies erect Cloysters or Seminaries for Souldiers and Poor Women as hath been shewed before And if some of the Clergy were sent abroad with the like Commissions to inquire into the Barons also it would do them much good both in reference to their Soul Body and State who otherwise by their arts would swallow up and devour the whole World Eighthly let Him require an Account of all the Kings Ministers and Commissioners for the
Spain as the Alans Goths and Vandals did of old And yet seeing that these Nations differ all in Religion and the King of Spain doth craftily under hand sow new seeds of Dissention amongst them there is no great cause to fear that they should joyn their forces together upon any design Let us now see what Spain is able to do within it self and by what means it may become Greater and enlarge its Territories laying down this for a Ground That for the rendring of any Dominion whatsoever Firm and Durable it is necessarily required that there be first a Natural Sociablenesse and an apt Correspondence among the subjects themselves and then betwixt the Prince and the subjects as there is in Mans body betwixt the Members themselves and also betwixt them and the Head Now this Natural Sociablenesse is founded first in the Man and Wife then in the Father of the Family and his Children with the rest of his Family and then again in several Families being linked and united together then in those also who are allied together by the Bond of Consanguinity or Affinity and likewise those that live in one Common Aire and Climate enjoying the same Temper of the Heavens as also those that agree in their Lawes Manners Customes and studies whereto also we may add their using one Common Language and wearing all one the same Habit in Apparel Neither do I account their Identity of Species or of Humanity to be any small Bond of this Natural sociablenesse namely because they are All Men and wheresoever Many of these Bonds Ties meet together there also must necessarily be a Firmer and more Durable Association made up and a more lasting Dominion setled Hence it is that the Italians and the Spaniards do so readily jump and agree together both because they understand each the others Language and are also like each other in their Manners Bodies and their Rites and Customes which can never be amongst the French because they differ among themselves not only in their Language and Manners but are also of a different Natural Constitution and temper So the Spaniards would much more easily be brought to enter into a league of Society and Friendship with the Africans then with the Netherlanders who are of a much more different Constitution from them For the Spaniards are Naturally Hot and Dry and are therefore Lean and of a Low Stature being withal Sharp-witted Subtle and Talkative But on the Contrary the Netherlanders are Cold Corpulent and Big-boned and are Heavy and Dull and of few words Whosoever therefore is to Rule Several and Different Nations and would keep them all within the bounds of Obedience let him endeavour to reduce them into a conformity as far as he is able and to make them in all things like to each other And this Uniting of Men to one another God himself the Author of all Polity had pointed out unto Men. Now there are Three sorts of this Union we here speak of the First is of Minds which is caused by Religion which is indeed the strongest of all Unions for it uniteth together in Opinion Nations that are at the greatest distance that may be from each other Upon this have both Mens Wills and Actions their Dependancy and in This are both their Tongues Arms united By this the Pope ruleth over Europe Asia Africk and America and in a word over all the Christians in the whole World Whereas on the contrary the Emperour of Germany is scarse able to Rule Germany alone although the People there are otherwise as like and as much agreeing among themselves as may be both in their shape of Body Habit Arms Rites and Customes and all because It wants this first Vnion namely of Religion For there are so many several different Opinions in Religion among the Germans that it may be truly said of them Quot homines tot Sententiae so many Men so many Minds And for this reason the English and Helvetians suffer but two sorts only of Religion in their Countries for that common saying Divide impera that is Divide thy subjects and thou shalt rule them is of no use here but rather on the contrary Divide perdes that is If thou devide thy subjects thou shalt ruin thy self Catharine de Medicis Queen of France that she might contrary to the Salique Law sit at the Helme and have the Government of the Kingdome in her hands complied sometimes with the Catholicks and sometimes with the Huguenots but by this means she brought destruction both upon her self and upon her Sons one of which was Slain by a Dominican Fryer And therefere in this Particular the King of Spain is more happy then any other besides because that his Kingdomes though they lye at a great distance from one another are yet all joyned together and united in one Religion and in this very respect also he stands upon better terms then the Great Turk himself or any other Prince whatsoever because as we have shewed before He converts those that are under his subjection and makes them to be all of one and the same Faith The second is the Vnion of Bodies and in this the Turk goes beyond all other Princes for He hath under his subjection and in perfect Obedience both Mahumetans Christians and Jewes which are all as much differing one from another in their Religions as can be neither doth this their diversity of Religion prejudice him at all because that he brings up their Sons to serve him in his Wars and besides He leaves all such of his Subjects as are not of his Religion without either Armes or any meanes possible of doing him any harm But indeed in case He should intrust any of these with the Government of any part of his Empire and should exercise not a Despotical but a Political Soveraingty over them He would quickly be brought into Sad Straites by them as we see it for example in many of our German Princes at this day or at least all meanes of enlarging his Empire would quite be cut off from him as we see the case now stands with the Emperour and with the King of Poland If haply among the Turks Vassals there should chance to start up some Gallant-Spirited Person he might possibly prove to be the Ruin of his Empire as Scanderbeg had like to have been had he had but the Christians as ready to assist him as the Genueses were to do him a mischief who both to their own and also to the great Losse of Hunniades K. of Hungary were hired for so many Crownes to passe over forty Thousand Mahumetans out of Asia into Europe by which meanes Amurath that was before in a manner utterly broken and had well near lost all was now so well relieved and recruited again as that by these forces He afterwards made himself Master of half Europe I shall not here speake of Moses who was raised up against God by Pharaoh according to which example
next march with his Forces against Germany calling in to his assistance some Spaniards also and Italians For unlesse He do so there is some reason to fear that the King of Spain may receive some prejudice thereby He must therefore take care and to the same end deal both with the Emperour and the Pope that the Right of Election of the Emperour may be put into the hands of such only as are his Friends such as are the Duke of Bavaria and the Archduke for otherwise if it should so chance as that the King of France should be elected Emperour it would very much impede and crosse all his Designs But what course there might be taken so to prevail with the Protestant Party as that they should elect no other for Emperour but only the King of Spain I shall be ready to enform the Kings Majestie himself when He shall please to give me Audience touching these things but I shall forbear to set any thing of This here down in writing If the King desire to make Himself Lord of Germany He must first necessarily get Himself to be elected Emperour of Germany and having brought this about He must then under a pretense of making War against the Turk march into Hungary and so He may upon a sudden fall upon the Protestants before they are aware and while they dream not of any such thing and by this means he may be so much before hand with the Imperial Cities as that they shall not have any time to provide themselves to make any resistance against Him which Course was practised by Charles the Fifth with very good successe And then let Him bring in New Colonies and make New Laws and place Italians over them for his Ministers of State for the Clime will not bear the Temper of the Spaniard neither can this thing be better ordered any other way But indeed the Hungarian Affaires go very ill and They there have very much need of Assistance For if Vienna should be taken the Turk might presently march into Friuli if he would Now what Courses may be taken for the Prevention of this Mischief I shall hereafter declare when I shall come to speak of the Turk The constant Practise of the Turk hath been in his Warres against the Christians never to maintain any long War with any one Prince but to set now upon one and then upon another and to send some to invade one Country and others to invade another and so hath sometimes snatcht away a whole Kingdom at a time from them And least by being continually thus put to it they should so become to be expert in the use of Armes He presently makes either an absolute Peace or else agrees upon a Cessation of Armes with them and then immediately falls aboard of some other not giving them so much as any time to look about them or to provide to make resistance against Him and then having taken some City or some Strong Hold from them He presently makes either a Peace or a Truce with them and so away again By which means it comes to passe that His Armies are all Old Tried Souldiers but Ours are for the greatest part made up of such as are raw and unexperienced in War For the Turk is continually at war with some or other but so have not any of the aforesaid Princes been And hence it is that He hath alwaies been of the gaining hand and that either by taking in and adding to His Empire some new places or else by establishing to himself and making sure what He hath formerly gotten But it is now time to return to our former discourse I say therefore again that it behoves the King of Spain to take care that His Friends be at Unity among themselves but that his enemies especially in Germany be at variance and discord and He must not let slip any Opportunity for the bringing of this about And it would be a most excellent course for the bringing down of the Hereticks courage and taking them off their edge if there should be erected in Germany Schools for Philosophy and the Mathematicks that so by this means the Younger Heads might be busied and taken up with these kind of Speculations rather then spend their time in Heretical Studies And I would have others of them to be imployed in contriving of Engines for War both by Land and Sea and in other Mechanical Operations and let the choicest Wits amongst them be invited by large Salaries to go into the West-Indies and there to apply themselves to the study of Astrology But there is an Admirable way of causing a separation betwixt them which pleaseth me very much and it is done two waies the first is if all desire and willingnesse of meeting one another and laying their heads together to plot or design any thing be quite dasht in them and this is to be done by fomenting what disgusts and Jealousies there are amongst them so that one of them shall not dare to tell his minde to another or to trust any man with any of his secrets And this was an Art that Charles the Great made use of who also besides His Ordinary Tribunals set up a Secret Court of Justice in Westphalin for the keeping of the Westphalians in Order who after they had received Baptism lived very strangely nevertherlesse and not without suspition of being false to the Christian Faith A second way is by hindring them from ever being able to do any thing that may be Prejudicial to the State and this may be done by seeing that there be no Affinities Leagues or other Correspondences contracted between the Principal and most powerful Persons of that Nation and Secondly that no person that is of any very Eminent Account amongst them be suffered to live there but that he be removed some whether else And this course did Charles the Great take to avoid the frequent Combustions that arose in Saxony by sending away all the Nobility of that Province into France Lastly let him be sure to place in all their Councels Colledges and about all Magistrates some of His Creatures to serve him for Spies and Informers CHAP. XXIV Of France SEeing that there is no Christian Kingdome that is more able to oppose and put a stop to the growing of the Spanish Monarchy then France is I speak here of such Kingdomes as are United and lie compacted together all in a body as being the greatest richest and most Populous in Christendome for it hath in it seven and twenty thousand Parish Churches in it and feedeth about a hundred and fifty Millions of Soules and is so fruitful by Nature and so rich through the care and industry of its Inhabitants that it comes behind no other Country whatsoever Adde hereunto that It lies not far from Spain and the Inhabitants thereof do naturally hate a Spaniard and are besides excellent Souldiers and have all but one Head over them residing also in their own Country all which
Land who when they are assembled together in a Body are called in their Language the Parliament carry a great sway with them and have very great Power in so much that they seem to desire to set up an Oligarchy or an Aristocratical State according to the example shewed them by the Netherlanders For all Northern Nations are Naturally impatient of Monarchy or Absolute Power in Princes and the Kings of England were alwaies kept under by the Parliament till that now of later times under pretext of introducing a New Religion they have taken upon them to exercise a more absolute power over their Subjects But in Antient Times the whole Kingdom of England was divided into four lesser Kingdoms as Spain also hath been anciently distributed both into many several Kingdomes both of which Countries did afterwards grow into two entire Kingdomes although it cannot be denied but that the Power of the Kings of England was never so great as that of the Kings of Spain My opinion is therefore that the King of Spain should do well to employ under hand some certain Merchants of Florence that are wise and subtle persons and that traffick at Antwerp who because they are not so much hated by the English as the Spaniards are should treat with some such of the English as are some way or other descended from some of the former Kings of England and should promise each of them severally no one of them knowing any thing what is said to the other all the possible aides that can be from Spain for the restoring of them to their Inheritances Legally descending down to them from their Ancestours and undertake to effect this for them if not as to the whole Kingdome yet at least to some part of it requiring them to engage themselves to nothing else so to give a colour to the businesse save only that they shall not joyn their forces and assist the English in setting upon the Spanish Fleet at its return from the West Indies For by this meanes each of them being puft up with hope will presently fall to question the King of Scots his Title to the English Crown and will endeavour to oppose him in it Let him also send privately to King James of Scotland and promise him that He will assist him to the utmost of his Power in his getting possession of the Kingdom of England upon this condition viz that He shall either restore there again the Catholick Religion for the love whereof His Mother Mary Stuart Queen of Scots refused not to spend her dearest blood and even to lay down her Life too or at least that he shall not annoy or any way disturbe the said Spanish Fleet. But then again on the other side let him under hand labour with the English Peers and the chiefest of the Parliament and egge them on to endeavour to reduce England into the Form of a Republick withal assuring them that the King of Scots when he shall have once gotten into the English Throne must needs prove a cruel Prince to them as having alwaies about him a deep remembrance how injuriously the English have heretofore dealt with the Scots Moreover let Him endeavour to strike a terrour into Queen Elizabeths friends by often putting into their heads that they will find that King James will revenge his Mothers blood upon Queen Elizabeths friends seeing that She is like to leave behind her None of Her Own blood upon whom He might take revenge especially seeing that His Mother Queen Mary when she was now to dye seriously commended unto Him the care of the Catholick Religion and the Revenge of Her Blood The English Bishops are also to be exasperated and put into Fears and Jealousies by telling them that the King of Scots turned Calvinist out of hope and desire of the English Crown and being also forced to do so by his Heretical Barons but that when He shall once be quietly settled in the English Throne He will then quickly restore the Former Religion for as much as not onely His deceased Mother but even the King of France also have both of them very earnestly commended the same unto Him By which means it must necessarily follow that the seeds of a continual War betwixt England and Scotland will be sown in so much that neither Kingdome shall have any leisure to work any disturbance to the Spanish Affaires Or else by buzzing into their ears that in case King James should be possest of this Kingdom He will however be a Friend of Spain that the whole Island would be devided into many Dominions or else that it would come to be an Elective Kingdom by which means the King of it will be the lesse careful of making himself Master of other Countries and of adding them to the English Crown neither indeed though he should never so much desire it would he ever be able to do so as I have before shewed where I speak of France or else that this Country of England will be reduced into the Form of a Common Wealth which will perpetually be at feude with Scotland and that all Actions It shall undertake will be long in bringing to effect and so It will be able to do the lesse harm to Spain The Spirits of the English Catholicks also are to be rouzed up and as it were awakened from sleep and encouraged to Action for by this means so soon as ever the Throne shall be vacant the King of Spain shall come into England under Pretence of assisting them Let Him also deal with those English Nobles who are possessed of some certain circumjacent Islands lying about England that they should exercise an Absolute and full Jurisdiction each of them in their several places and have Peculiar Courts of Justice of their own distinct from those of England which very thing we read to have been Anciently done by them The Chief of the Irish Nobility also are to be dealt with that as soon as they hear of the Queens death they should new model Ireland either into the Form of a Republick or else should make it a Kingdom of it self throwing off all Obedience to the English withal promising aides to each of them in particular and that so much the rather because that in that Kingdome or Island the Catholicks and especially the Friers that are of the Order of S. Francis are very greatly esteemed and beloved There is also much greater agreement and correspondence betwixt the Spaniard and the Irish then betwixt them and the English whether it be by reason of the Similitude of their Manners or else by reason of the Clime and the nearnesse of these two Countries one to the other There are also in Ireland many Vagabond persons and such as have fled their Countries being men that are most impatient of Government and yet are good Catholicks and such as may be able to do good service in this kind as hath been shewed already But this sort of Men is not very rare to
be found either in England or Scotland also These and the like Preparations may be made before hand that so soon as ever Queen Elizabeth is dead they may be immediately put into Execution For there is no man but knowes what horrid Civil Wars and what strange Alterations and Turns have happened several times in England So that what I have here proposed ought not to appear to any man as things either New or Impossible CHAP. XXVI Of Poland Muscovia and Transylvania THe Kingdom of Poland is in Our time the most Potent of all the Northern Kingdomes insomuch that if it were not so divided in it self about Points of Religion as it is and were withal an Hereditary Kingdome and had a Prince that were a Native and were not Elected out of some Forraign Nation as their custome is it would prove a sufficient Terrour to the Great Turk especially if the Great Duke of Muscovia were but joyned with them But the Nobility of that Nation in whose Power the Election of the King is are very much afraid of the King's Power and for that reason They keep as hard a hand over Him as possibly they can The King of Spain therefore must endeavour as much as lies in Him that no King be elected there but such a one as is of the Catholick Religion which course hath hitherto been observed amongst them For should they chuse themselves a King that were of any other Religion He would then very easily be induced to countenance by his Authority the Northern Hereticks who do all agree in these two Points although they differ among themselves almost in all the rest namely that the Pope is Autichrist and that the Arch-Dukes of Austria are all of them such as fight for Antichrist And therefore upon any the least Occasion that could be they would be apt to joyn their forces together against both the Pope and the Emperour their Neighbour had they but any Powerful Prince to head them and to be their General which Charge none is so able to undertake and go through with as the King of Poland is For the King of Denmark is but a weak Prince and the King of Sweden lies too far off and besides is severed from Germany by the Sea The King of Spain must then in the next place by all meanes endeavour that one of the House of Austria may be advanced to the Crown of Poland or at least such a one as is some way or other allied to the House of Austria as the now King of Poland is And lastly he must be such a one as shall alwaies make head against the Turk and that should enter into an Association with the Muscovites who together should to their utmost endeavour as much as in them lies the utter Ruine and Extirpation of the Turks He must also make choyce of some of the Wisest and most Eminent persons of his Kingdom whom He shall send as Embassadours to Cracovia and who by their presence may adde Authority and Weight to the Spanish Union in the Esteem of the Electors of Poland and that may obtain of them that in case the King of Spain should have more Sons then one that then They would Elect one of the Younger of them to be their King for certainly were any of the King of Spain's Sons chosen King of Poland He would never be so simple and foolish as to take upon him to govern the Kingdome of Poland according to his Own Will and pleasure as the King of France's Son endeavoured to do Besides He must deal with the People of Scandia and the Dantzickers by the means of the King of Poland who now is King of Swethland also that they would joyn together and send out a Fleet against the English as hath been said before For by taking this course the Kings expense will not be half so great as his Gains will be He must also labour that the Prince of Transylvania may in like manner enter into a league with the Polanders or else that either He or the great Duke of Muscovia may be chosen King of Poland For seeing that these two Nations are not only Neighbours to the Turks but do also naturally hate them they might easily be able to stop his proceedings And I am verily perswaded that among all the Northern Nations there is not any so fit and able to oppose the Turk as is the Muscovite who would but the Tartarians and the Polanders joyn with him might be able to make Incursions into the Turks Dominions and march up even to the very Walls of Constantinople Neither indeed hath Macedonia or Moldavia or Bulgaria or Thrace ever suffered so much losse by any Nation as by the Muscovites And if there were an Association contracted betwixt the King of Spain and the Muscovite either by Marriage or else by the nearer Tie of Religion brought about there by the Industry of the Jesuites it must needs prove a very advantageous businesse to Him because that Spanish Gold is among these Northern Nations of greater Estimation and Account then any thing else in the world And then must the King of Spain be very careful that as soon as ever he finds he hath wrought up the affections of these people to a Willingnesse to do him any service He set them upon some Notable Expedition or other while they are now ready for it and before they begin to cool again and repent themselves of their forwardnesse For Delay hath alwaies been the Ruine of the King of Spain's Affaires by reason that his Confederates through his slownesse in putting them in execution have alwaies had time enough to smell out the subtilty of His Designs and by this means it comes to passe that he commonly loses his labour and is at charge to no purpose The Bohemians also might be hired by the King of Spain's and the Popes Mony to joyn with the Transylvanians against the Turks because that They are in league with the House of Austria Yet when all is done there cannot be any considerable matter done in this Particular without the Assistance of the Polanders also and the Muscovites and unlesse the Emperour himself also be a Man of a stout and Warlike spirit as we shewed before when we spake of Germany and use his utmost endeavour to stop all growing Mischiess in their very Beginings least by Delay they get head and grow so much the stronger and Intractable CHAP. XXVII Of Flanders and the Lower Germany IT is not without good cause that the King of Spain endeavours by all possible meanes that he can to recover the Low-Countries again about the keeping of that only part whereof which he still possesseth it hath cost him more Humane Blood then there is Water in it and about which He hath spent more Gold then there are stones in it And yet neither is this a matter so much to be wondred at seeing that could He but once make himself Master of those Countries again He
above sixty several Sects The rest of the Kings in Africk have but very small Dominions except only the King of the Abyssines who is commonly called Prester John and hath above fifty smaller Kingdomes under him This King of the Abyssines is a Christian although He doth not professe the Pure Catholick Religion It is necessary therefore that Forces should be brought over thence into Spain seeing that the passage to and fro is very easie For our King is possessed of the Kingdome of Oran there already where He is in continual Wars with the Moors who might easily all of them be conquered if he should but make One Invasion only upon them with an Army of Germans Neither indeed need the King fear any Obstruction to His Spanish Monarchy from those Parts For those Nations are much fitter to serve then to Command and bear Rule neither have They ever been able to conquer any of the Northern Nations but rather themselves have been alwaies conquered by Them excepting only Carthage which was a Colony of Tyre who yet were at length utterly ruined by the Romans And the Arabians also passed over out of Africk into Spain where they kept their footing for the space of Eight Hundred yeares yet were at length quite driven out again Neither indeed were they truly Africans but only the Novelty of their Armes together with that of their Mahometan Religion encouraged them so far as to fall upon so bold an attempt But the Africans at this day are a very Weak unwarlike People and for as much as they are Naturally Envious Crafty and of a servile Nature the King of Spain by making use of one of the little Kings there might in a little time break in upon them and make his way to the most Inmost Countries of all Africk as the Romans of old did by the help of Masinissa And therefore Sebastian King of Portugal did wisely when he made use of the King of Fez his sons for the getting and possessing himself of that Kingdom although he was not so very wise in venturing his own Person in that Expedition And indeed because that the sons of those Kings are wont to kill one another they are so much the more easily conquered if a man do but make any one of them over to him But seeing these People are so much divided among themselves there is no need of fearing them at all The King of Spain ought therefore to get further footing in Africk seeing that he hath opportunity enough of doing so by reason of the many strong Holds that He is Master of all along the Western and Southern Coast of Africk And He should do well to make over to him the above named Prester John whom he should cunningly set against the rest and get him to make War upon them And the King of Spain may very easily contract friendship with this Prester John by means of the Jesuites whom he may send thither And He should also by his Embassadours sent to him for that purpose put him in mind of the Duty and Obedience that he owes to the Pope which was formerly done in the time of Pope Eugenius IV. and Clemens VII by means of the Portuguez and so should make a League with him There should therefore be sent thither such as are both true Catholicks and Learned men to instruct them in the Arts and in the True Religion both which they are as yet Ignorant of For they would be easily converted and that so much the rather because they say it hath been heretofore foretold them by a certain Prophetesse whose name was Sinoda that They were predestinated to joyn with the Latines and to root out the Turk and to set at Liberty the Holy Sepulchre of Christ Seeing therefore that the King of Spain is Master of all the African shores He must make it his care that none may have any Fleets to passe by the said Coasts but that it may be free and safe for the aforesaid Prester John by the assistance of the Portuguez to sayl into Palestine when ever he pleases by the Gulf of Arabia and there to fall upon the Turks and to do them what mischief he can And to this purpose He is to be furnished with all Necessary Means as namely Engines of War and other such Provisions whereby he may be the better enabled to conquer the Turk For if Mahumetanisme should but once be introduced into that Kingdom of his it would prove extreamly prejudicial to the whole Christian World and especially to Spain He may also come in by Egypt and so fall upon the Turk And if there were but a gallant Fleet lying about Naples that might go out at pleasure and scour the Seas all along the Northern Coast of Africk it might easily be brought under the King of Spain's power and those Slaves also that are at Algier and in Cyrene might be dealt with to rise up all at once and rebel in favour of the Spaniard And such a Fleet as I but now spake of might be maintained meerly by the Prizes that they should take and so by that means would both Italy be secured and all such other places also that are now obstacles to the Spanish Monarchy might be taken in CHAP. XXIX Of Persia and Cataia THe King of Spain must endeavour by all Means possible to hinder the Persians and those of Taprobana from putting out any Fleets of Ships to Sea and also the Arabians for these people would questionlesse be a great hinderance to his Affaires in the East-Indies and would annoy His Fleet in its passage that way and might also probably infect the New-converted Christians there with Mahumetanisme He ought therefore to build strong Castles all along the Coasts of Arabia and Ethiopia and so likewise upon the Coasts of the Arabian Gulf and also in all the Southern Islands that lye upon the Coast of Africk and Asia and He should enter into a League with the Persian against the Turk And yet perhaps He need not so much care to have the Turk quite extirpated for whosoever of those two should over come the other whether the Turk or Persian he would thereby become so powerful as that he would be able to conquer the whole Christian World and so consequently to spoyl all the hopes of a Spanish Monarchy and it might prove as Prejudicial to Christendom to have the Turk ruined by any other but some Christian Prince as it would be for the advantage of Christendome that he should be conquered by the Christians themselves alone But yet seeing that the Turk does us continually very much harm breaking in upon us by Hungary Solavonia and Africk it would be good Policy to set the Persian upon him and to take a course that He may have Guns and such like Artillery sent unto him to make use of in his Warres against the Turk For it was meerly the want of these that was the cause that He lost almost all Armenia and that the
Arch-Priest He hath likewise a most Able Souldiery because that He takes all the likeliest boyes and youths through all his Dominions and breeds them up in Seminaries erected for that purpose and these He employes both in his wars abroad and in peace at home making some of them Souldiers and others Judges and Noblemen also Neither hath He any Barons to stand in fear of neither hath He any Brothers to share with Him in the Empire For the Eldest Son comming to the Empire after his Fathers death presently makes away with all his Younger Brothers Neither can He want any Men seeing that He permits every one of his subjects to take as many Wives to him as He is able to keep so that neither Inheritance nor Virginity are any hinderance to the Procreation of Children in his Territories His custome is also in making his Wars 〈◊〉 go as it were round about in a circle and so to deal with his â—eighbouring enemies neither leaving any enemy behind him nor ever going farther from home one way then another as hath been said before And he hath besides an Admirable Art in his making his Cessations from Arms and Truces with his Enemies being sure alwayes to make them for his own Advantage Now the Turk is descended from Iaphet by Magog and he hath the Lawes of Sem derived to Him by Ishmael whence hath sprung Mahumetanisme And of Him God himself foretold Agar that His hand should be against every man and every mans hand against him and that He should dwell in the presence of all his brethren And therefore we see that He hath pitched his Tents at Constantinople in the uttermost Angle of Europe over against Us who are his Brethren descending from Isaac who was both the Legitimate and Natural Brother of Ishmael For as the Spaniards are descended from Tubal so the Turks are descended from Magog who were both the Sons of Japhet And truly the Turk doth put forth his hand every way not only against all Christians but also against Mahumetans now here now there one while on the right hand and then on the left and still goes away the Conquerour He makes use also of another point of subtlety which is that so soon as ever He finds that we are at union amongst our selves He then presently flies to making a Truce with Us which notwithstanding he presently breakes off again so soon as ever he sees us at dissention among our selves And whensoever he is returned Victorious from one Country He presently falls to the making of some other Expedition either against the Persians or the Ethiopians c. as hath been shewed before And yet though all these things be thus yet doth the King of Spain lay claime also to the Dominion of that Empire or at least of part of it and that by reason of his Fraternity both Natural from Japhet and also Legal proceeding from Abraham but yet in respect of this Later he hath the Pre heminence above the Turk For he is descended from Isaac from whom Christ who is also God is descended the Cheif Law-giver of All and He hath also thereby a general Promise made him of the Universal Empire of the World And because He was Blessed also in Abraham the last Kingdome of the Saints which is to succeed after the end of the Four Monarchies and of which Daniel Prophesied belongs unto him But Ishmael from whom Mahomet the Turks Law-giver is descended had no other promise made unto him but that he should be an Absolute Lord and a great and famous Warriour Besides both these Princes are a part of the Roman Empire for after that the Roman Monarchy shall be at an end there shall no other succeed it But according to Esdras the German which is now the same that the Spaniard as hath been said before is the Right Head but the Turk is the Left Head of the Imperial Eagle after that Mahomet fell off from the Emperour Heraclius during whose Reign the Eagle was divided to whom notwithstanding there was no other promise made but that He should Devour the Middle Head namely the Constantinopolitan whereas the Spaniard hath this Promise made him that he should devour the Left Head that is to say the Turk as we have hinted formerly And although that the Spaniard hath above him one that is a Clergy Man and that is also Armed with the Temporal Sword yet doth this make for his advantage both in respect of Fate and of His State as hath been written before for as much as the Spaniard according to the example of Cyrus hath under him the United Monarchy of the Saints and the Pope is also a most sure defence and Safe-guard to Him by whose Assistance he is able to deal well enough with his enemies both with spiritual and Temporall weapons and yet so as that He may easily withal avoid the suspicion either of Covetousnesse or Profanenesse Now as concerning the Absolutenesse of Dominion the Great Turk is herein much above the King of Spain But yet I have formerly shewed that this very thing of his not caring to have any Barons or Nobles under him renders Him and His Condition and State so weak that if he should receive but one sound Blow onely in an open field Battel it would so crush Him as that he would never be able to hold up his Head again Which cannot happen to the King of Spain because that His Nobles and Bishops and also the Pope himself would speedily in such a case send in Relief to Him The Great Turk keeps under all the Great ones among his Subjects least they should attempt any Innovation in the State or act any thing to the Prejudice of His Monarchy as the Nobility of France did heretofore But then in the mean time He doth so weaken them that they are not able to yeild him any Relief or Aide at all in case he should come to have need of it As concerning Military Discipline and the Manner of making War the Turk far excells the Spaniard as I have before shewed yet notwithstanding if the King of Spain would but use all convenient diligence and withal carefully observe those Rules which I have here laid down before him He might even in this Particular surpasse the Turk and the rather if so be He would but go himself in Person to the Wars And as for the number of Men and of Souldiers the Turk goes beyond the Spaniard and indeed in all his greatest expeditions He hath ever done his businesse rather by his Numbers then by valour And yet his Subjects are divided amongst themselves in Religion and then besides all the Lands of every Country are given in Fee only to the Principal Commanders of his Militia whereas the King of Spain hath fewer Subjects indeed in number but yet they are more at unity among themselves But I have already shewn how the Number of the King of Spains Subjects may be encreased by their Marriages with Forraign Nations
out of Nice the Persians out of Antioch and the Saracens out of Ierusalem they afterwards laid wast the whole East and in a short time recovered the Holy Land In which Expedition this especially is to be taken notice of that neither the Emperour himself nor any other King was either their General or so much as went along with them in it And notwithstanding that afterwards indeed the Kings of France and of England as also the Emperours Conrade and Frederick made several expeditions into those parts not for the taking in of any New Countries but only for the keeping of what the others had formerly gotten yet for all there was not any thing at all done by them worth the speaking of But now there ought to be care taken in this businesse that all may share alike in what shall be gotten for otherwise the Design would be quite spoiled and never come to any thing For as in a Clock if there be any one Exorbitant or Irregular Wheel it spoiles the whole Harmony and mutual Agreement that should be in it so likewise in all Associations if there be any Deficiency in one Part it proves to be the cause of the Dissolution of the whole Union A clear example whereof we have in the League that was made betwixt the Popes Paul III. and Pius V. the King of Spain and the Venetians which though it were managed with the greatest diligence and eagernesse on all sides that could be and with Incredible successe also yet it came all to nothing at last and that meerly for this one reason namely because that it did not equally concern the Interests of all of them that That Expedition should be so carefully undertaken and so diligently carried on For Spain hath no great advantage by any thing that is done against the Eastern People which yet is most beneficial to the Venetians in like manner as it is of litle or no concernment to the Venetians what ever is done against Africk which yet is of very great advantage to Spain And this is the reason that the Venetians who stand in fear of the Power the Turk hath in the East and the Spaniards who are afraid of their Neighbours of Algier can never unanimously go on together against the Enemy with equal courage and desires And by this means the Pope lying in the mean time in the midst betwixt them both and being forced to be at a great charge yet hath no benefit at all thereby But to return to our Present discourse again whence we have digressed There is yet another way whereby the Turkish Empire might be over thrown and that is in case that some one of His Chief Commanders in war who was at first a Christian such as were Cicala Occhiali and Scanderbeg should be prevailed withal by such large Promises as should be made him as namely that he should have some Christian Province given him for his reward to betray the Turkish Navy unto us if at least He have it committed to his charge or else in case he hath been appointed by the Great Turk to manage any Kingdom under him as His Viceroy he should then have the possession of that Kingdom promised him as suppose of Tunis Algier or the like For there is no doubt to be made but that such a one had rather be the Sole Absolute Lord of any Kingdom whatsoever it be and so to have the Power of transmitting it over to his Posterity then to be but a kind of Nobler Slave to the Great Turk having neither Power in his life time to give away any thing to his friends nor at his death to leave any thing to them And I am verily perswaded that there is nothing that keeps these men from attempting such a Rebellion against the Turk more then because they dispaire of ever being able to bring any such their Undertakings to effect as not daring to confide in the Christians or to rely upon them for Assistance Yet if they were but sincerely and Ingenuously dealt withal I am clearly of opinion that they might be brought to this It may also so happen that some such Gallant Vindicator of the Peoples Liberty may spring up among the Turks themselves as was Moses the Hebrew among the Subjects of Pharaoh King of Egypt and such a One in case the Great Turk should entrust him with any great Authority or Charge might questionlesse be able to do him an infinite deal of Mischief There might also a General Association be made amongst the Christians by whom He might be brought to a Pitch'd Battel as we said before and might have one or two such Notable Blowes given him by them that he should be never able to hold up his head again because that he hath not any Nobles that might relieve him in such a case And this might the more easily be done because that he hath within his Dominions an Infinite Number both of Christians and Jewes who if they but once saw him overthrown would all presently come over to Us. And yet in the procuring of such an Association as this there would be required either very much Patience in the Pope and the King of Spain or else a very great necessity that should force All of them to joyne together Now these Princes should all be bound by mutual Covenants drawn up betwixt them that every one of them should have a Proportionable Share of what soever shall be gotten by the said expedition and also that those that have gotten possession of their own share shall assist the rest also in the getting of theirs after the Example of Reuben and Dan who after they had possessed themselves of the Country that lay on this side Jordan were then to assist their brethren in the subduing of the further part of it that lay beyond Jordan There ought also to be a persuasion wrought into All and every one of these Princes that by the King of Assyria in the Scriptures is prefigured unto us the Great Turk who after he hath destroyed the Kingdom of Israel that is to say the Kingdom of the East or that of Constantinople He will then next overthrow the Kingdom of Judah that is of the West except they repent them of their Heresy and return again into the Bosome of the Church of Rome which is our Jerusalem as I have written in my Christian Monarchy and that so together with the Empire the Priesthood also will be lost and will passe over into the New World as I have there demonstrated by Political Reasons except they take the Course here set down before them And perhaps also it may hereafter so come to passe And when the Turk who is the Typical Cyrus is destroyed then shall the Church be renewed again It is therefore most Necessary that all Christendom should joyn their forces together for the destruction of this Ravenous Wolf who by his Strength and Cunning hath taken from us Two Empires and Two Hundred Kingdomes mean
Contrary thus uniting the two Kingdomes the more and by this meanes the Kingdom will be the more happily and the more safely admininistred Clergy men should also be frequently sent to these strong Holds and Castles to take a view of them and especially the Capuchins The Authority also of Particular men is to be restrained neither ought too great a Power to be granted to any One man in any matters that are of very great Moment and consequence but these should be transacted by the Personal joynt consent of all or at least by signifying the same by their Letters In like manner as all things that concern the Kings Interest in Italy are by a very wise course therein taken appointed to be considered of by the Kings Embassadour lying Lieger at Rome the Vice-Roy of Naples and the Governour of Millan The Third sort of Union is of Goods and therefore my Opinion is that the King should do well to divide every New discovered Country among the common People and Maimed Spaniards according to the Ancient Roman Law called Lex Agraria joyning with them also such Africans and Indians as he had not long before transported into Africk but still under this Condition namely that None of them all shall account what he possesses to be his own proper Goods but must reckon upon all to be the Kings save onely what belongs to the Clergy And Fields Castles and Offices are to be frequently taken from those that hold them and to be disposed of to others that so the Eyes of all may be upon the King onely in whose gift and at whose disposal all these things are yet the fruits of the Earth of every mans Land they may gather and enjoy as their own There should also Judges be appointed out of the Clergy who should assign every man what is his Due and should allot so much for the Maintenance of the Clergy so much for to pay Souldiers and so much to be paid to the King for a Tribute And these Judges should take care to see that no Spanish Souldier shall possesse any thing as his own save only his Armes unlesse it be by chance some small Orchard or Garden for to recreate himself in but they shall all be maintained at the Publick Charge And as for such sons of Souldiers as shall not be fit to serve in the Wars they may be put to the Plough and in their places to the end that the whole Power may still be solely the Kings there may be some such chosen out among the Husbandmen as shall be thought most fit for that purpose and may be trained up to the use of Armes And thus shall all things be ordered according to the Kings own wish and desire and the King himself also shall be beloved above all things neither will his Subjects desire to have any ample Possessions seeing they all depend upon Military service only by means whereof they are daily enlarged And when it shall be thought convenient so to do there may be Vines and the Seeds of other things sent over to them that so they may have wherewithal to delight themselves but yet let them be so sparingly furnished with these things as that they may alwaies stand in need of us for their support For if that the use of Vines the liberty to till the ground and the exercise of Armes together with the use of Printing and the Building of Ships should be denied them the King might thereby easily incur the Suspition of Tyranny In the most convenient places of that Hemisphere there should be erected Schools for the study of Astronomy the Mathematicks the Mechanical and other Arts and Sciences as hath been formerly shewed that so the Constellations of the Heavens and the Seas and Countries of that Part of the World may be the more fully discovered and made known I would not have either the Kings or lesser Princes of any of those Countries to be killed but rather to be carried over into Spain For that will both adde to the Majesty of the Spanish Empire and will also very much win upon the Affections of the Indians CHAP. XXXII Of Navigation BUt now for the better preserving of this Dominion of the New World entire to himself the King of Spain had need to build him a great number of Woodden Cities and to put them out to Sea which being laden with Commodities may continually passe to and fro betwixt this and the West-Indies and by being perpetually abroad and so scouring those Seas may hinder the English and others from making any Attempts that way For the performing of which Design the King of Spain will have need of very many Ships which should also be very well Manned with a sufficient number of Sea-men which should sayl about to the New VVorld and round about Africk Asia Calicut China Japan and the Islands adjacent subduing all where ere they come And all this might easily be effected if that the King would but give his mind to gather Men together rather then Mony seeing that it appears evidently enough that in those Expeditions of his against England the Netherlands and France He was utterly frustrate and failed of his designs meerly through his trusting too much to his Mony and his want of Able Souldiers First of all therefore in all the Islands of Sicily Sardinia the Canaries those of the Achipelago St. Lazaro in Hispaniola likewise and the Philippine Islands I would have Seminaries to be erected for Mariners and places appointed all along the Coast of Spain where young youths may be taught to build Ships and Gallies and may learn to know the Stars and the use of the Mariners Compasse and of the Sea Tables and Charts all these things I say I would have beaten into the dullest heads And then whensoever He destroyes any Country He ought to have more regard to the Captives then to the spoiles of it and so becomming wiser then formerly He shall change away Gold and Silver for a better sort of Merchandise Secondly at what parts so ever His Navy shall arrive He should make Havens and erect such Work-houses especially at the mouths of Rivers and Bayes He should cause Ships and Gallies to be built in the manning of which He may make use of such Mariners as have been brought up in the foresaid Seminaries Thirdly when He hath thus gotten to be well stored with Men He may then treat with the richer sort among the Portuguezes and the Genois and let them know that they shall have both of them free liberty to build themselves Ships and Gallies and with the same to sayle round about the New World which is now almost wholly the King of Spains and to go into the Havens and to fall upon Towns and Castles there and to keep all the Booty they shall there find to themselves only the places themselves they shall deliver up to the King together with all the Elder Children of both sexes for the supply of His
seeing that those Monuments and short Inscriptions that we see in small Chappels do enflame those that are living through the Desire of Fame and excite them to the study of Virtue what ought we to think it will do when Men shall see that their Names shall be recorded in Annals and Histories and shall be carried throughout the whole World and celebrated to all Eternity In which Particular certainly our Castilians were very much overseen who notwithstanding that they performed things most worthy to be committed to everlasting Memory namely their so frequent Compassing the Earth about their finding out of so many Islands and Continents and which is the most eminent piece of service of all the rest the Discovery of the New World yet did they never all this while take care to employ any Able person in the committing of these famous Acts of theirs to Memory and after the example of the Greeks and Romans to record them in Writing and transmit them over to the Perpetual Memory of Posterity Although that the Portugals have herein gone far beyond the Castilians for they have found out such able persons as have published abroad to the world their gallant Acts both in Latine and in their own Native Language The Second sort of Rewards should respect Profit and this I would have to be the Chiefest Dignity or place of Honour in the Kingdom that should be taken in the King whereof should be carried over into Spain and should there be instructed in the Catholick Religion and there should also be conferred upon him some Barony in Spain to the end that It might so be rendred the more Illustrious and also that the rest of the Indian Princes might be given to understand that we put not to death any of the Kings of such Countries as we subdue if that they will but embrace Our Religion as for instance Motecuma Atabalipa and some other petty Kings that we could name but rather use them with all courtesie and civility that may be For it is Fear of being put to death only that forces those Princes to take up Armes against the Spaniard Businesses of State do all contain in them some Certain thing the not knowing of which makes all other things both Difficult and also Vain and to no purpose as in sayling there are some that spread the sailes and others that ply their Oares and some again are imployed either in casting forth or taking in of Ballast yet are all these things to no purpose unlesse there be joyned with these an able Pilot who by his skilful steerage of the Vessel shall make good and set forward the Labours of all the rest And therefore Spain especially hath very great need of some Wise Person that should know in what thing chiefly consists the Stern as we may call it of the Kingdom without the knowledge whereof all Conceipts Contrivances Labours Charges and Consultations whatsoever will come to nothing After that Pope Clement the VIII began to think of making a Reformation among the Clergy all men were ready to put to their helping hand and assist in the framing of New Lawes Orders and Ceremonies together with appointing of Fasting daies and such Habits as every one should wear But I living at that time at St. Sabines told them plainly that all the endeavours of the Commissaries were vain seeing that the Rule it self was sufficient for the bringing about of all those things neither indeed did they know wherein the main point of the businesse lay I added moreover that the whole businesse of the Reformation consisted in this that no one particular person of the whole company in Monasteries or the like Religious Houses should have a Key or Lock to himself of his Cell but that there should be only One Common Key that should serve both for the Dormitory and also for every mans particular lodging For this would have been a means at once to have put an end to all Proprieties and to have kept out all Wanton Books Gifts and Obscene Poetry But when that the Chief and Principal Governours of this Ship once perceived that all this would redound to Their Losse there was none of Them then that would set his hand to the Stern nor come to the head of the matter but they would onely have some Lawes to be made concerning Novices only and such as were newly entred in Religion but would not hear of any thing at all that touched their own interest And so by this means the good Intention of the Pope was utterly frustrated and came to nothing The Kingdome of Spain therefore hath need of some Wise Palinurus by whose Conduct all things may be rightly managed according to the Rules before laid down Which certainly would much more tend to the advancement of the Majesty of its Empire then any Macchiavilian Suggestions and Cunning Devises whatsoever which have nothing of a Good Conscience in them at all and which besides serve as a Cloak only to disguise the Tyranny and Cruelty of Princes by arming them with the Law of Majesty and which countenance such Abuses as even not silly Women much lesse People that have been accustomed to Liberty can endure And therefore I cannot sufficiently wonder that there should be any that should so extol this Impious Politician to the heavens as they do as if His Writings were a Certain Rule and Idea of a Good and Happy Government And yet this I do not so much wonder as I am angry at when I see that most Vile Maxime in Politicks to be admitted in the Administration of State Affaires namely That some things are Lawful in respect of the State and others in respect of Conscience Then which Opinion there cannot certainly be imagined any thing to be either more Absurd or more Wicked For he that shall take away or restrain that Universal Jurisdiction that Conscience ought to have over All Things as well Publick as Private shewes thereby that he hath Neither any Conscience nor any God The very Beasts themselves are lead by a Natural Instinct to such things as are good for them and refuse whatsoever would be hurtful to them and should the Light of reason and the Dictate of Conscience which were given unto Man that He might know how to distinguish betwixt Good and Evill be utterly Blind in Publick Things and fail in businesses that are of the Greatest Moment I have had I confesse I know not what Itch upon me to give an account in writing of such Points as that Author ought to be chastised for with the Rod of Censure and not onely he himself but all his Disciples I mean the Counsellours of Princes and their nearest Favorites for certainly both all the Scandals of the Church of God and all the Perturbations and hurly burlies that have happened in the whole World have had their rise from hence But yet I have thought fit to hold my hand till some other time seeing that some other have written of the
same Subject already very copiously and also because that the thing is of it self clear enough And therefore I fell upon another Design whereby I might Illustrate the Majesty of the Spanish Empire the conservation whereof is a businesse of much greater difficulty then the Acquisition For Humane Things do as it were Naturally encrease sometimes and sometimes again decrease after the example of the Moon to which they are all subject And therefore it is a most High and weighty undertaking if not such a one as is above the Power of Man to endeavour to Fixe them keep them in one Certain standing Condition that so they fall not from the pitch they had arrived at nor grow worse and fall to decay For in the Acquisition of any thing both Occasion Fortune and also the Enemies Errors and other the like Accidental things do very much assist which are yet all of them placed without a Man But to keep what is got requires both an Excellent Wit and singular Wisedom Valour is of use for the getting but Prudence and that not Ordinary neither for the Keeping what is Gotten For the raysing of Tumults and Sedition the Vilest Persons have power enough but Peace and Quietnesse have need of Art and skill to maintain them The Lacedemonians that they might shew that it was a businesse of greater moment to keep what was Ones Own then to possesse himself of what was another mans appointed punishments for those onely that had lost their shield in fight but not those that had lost their Sword and among the Germans of old it was reputed a most Heynous crime for a man to have left his shield behind him neither was it Lawful for any man in that Scandalous manner to be either present at their Sacrifices or to joyn with them in any of their Meetings The Romans also were wont to call Fabius Maximus the shield of their Commonwealth but Marcus Marcellus The Sword And it is certain enough that they made much more account of Fabius then they did of Marcellus Of this Opinion also was Aristotle who affirmes in his Politicks that the Office and Duty of a Lawgiver doth not so much consist in the constituting and Forming of Cities as in the endeavouring to preserve them when they are formed and to make them stand firm as long as possibly may be Neither need that to trouble us at all that the Propagators of Kingdoms have alwaies been more highly esteemed then the Conservators of the same for the reason of this is because that their Present Acts do more affect and take up the Eyes of men and do make a greater Noyse and shew and are fuller of Ostentation and Novelty which all People so dearly love And this is the reason why most people do more applaud and are delighted to hear of Expeditions and Conquests then they are taken with those other more Peaceful Arts of Preserving what Men had before gotten which Arts notwithstanding by how much the more Tranquillity and Quiet they work withal so much the greater both Judgment and Wit do they argue to be in him whosoever he be that knowes how to make use of them And as Constant Rivers are much more Noble then sudden Torrents that are caused only by the Accidental falling of some Violent Showres of Rain which yet are with more Admiration gazed upon then those more quietly-flowing Rivers Just so is it with the Common People that alwaies have him in greater Admiration and Account that Wins Countries then that preserves them when they are gotten And yet the truth is that it is a much harder Task as Florus hath also observed to preserve and make good a Province then to make one These things are indeed gotten by strength but they are kept by Good Lawes And therefore I shall conclude with that of the Poet Non minor est virtus quam quaerere parta tueri It shews as great a Skill To keep as Conquer still And now I conceive I have treated Copiously enough touching the Prudence and Occasion that the King of Spain ought to make use of both in General and Particular notwithstanding that having been detained ten years in misery and being also sick I could not have the opportunity of furnishing my self with such things as this businesse required nor could have the help of any Books for indeed I had not so much as a Bible by me when I wrote this Discourse so that I shall the more easily deserve the Readers Pardon in case that I shall have any where doatingly failed either by setting down some things in such places as were not proper for them or else by writing some things twice I have done what I was able to do though I could not do what I would willingly have done the fuller handling of all which things notwithstanding I shall reserve for some fitter Opportunity In the mean time I desire that Your Lordship would take the pains to peruse this Tumultuary sudden Piece which yet I hope I shall revise again against the next Easter and therein I shall take the more pains and care and shall take away and adde where I shall see cause This Age of ours hath also Its Solons Lycurgusses and Josephs which are sent by God himself but they are kept under and are not admitted to the Presence of Princes And that Common Saying namely that there are no Solons or Aristotles born now adaies is most false For indeed there are such born even in these our daies and such as are better then they too but they lye hid and concealed whiles that Gentiles are had in admiration but Christians are envied But I would have these things committed to Secret Ears for hereafter when they shall have been viewed over again and corrected they will be more esteemed of then the Sibylls Books were by the Roman King It is not in the power of Envy to hinder me from speaking thus much for when those things which I have here delivered shall but come to be examined and made trial of Spain shall know what It hath to do and shall perceive how great my desire is to assist it in what I may Pro captu Lectoris habent sua fata Libelli Books either fail or hit By th' Scale o' th' Readers Wit And thus I shall now take leave of Your Lordship whose Honours and Deserts I desire and earnestly pray that Almighty God would crown with a happy length of years and a full increase FINIS
Guards upon all such places of His Dominions as lye open to their Incursions least otherwise the English should chance to seaze upon them And such are the Haven Corugna and all the Sea Coast of Galicia Leon Biscay and all the Kingdomes that lie in the other Hemisphere as shall be shewed hereafter But this he must make his cheifest businesse namely to weaken the Power of the English for the effecting of which design it would be sufficient if He could but bring it about that the Hollander and the Freezlander should with their Fleets fall upon the English Forces at Sea as I shall by and by make it plainly appear But seeing He is so far from doing this that his own Navies are very often damaged by the English ships the only Remedy that is left him is to provide himself of some Vast Fleets of ships which should lie at Corugna and Lisbon that when ever the Spanish Fleet shall return from the Indies they may serve as convoys to It and may bring it home safely or else they may be sent forth either against Ireland or England and so may divert them from lying in wait for and infesting of the Spanish Navies And because the King of Spain is to be Lord of the Seas it is very necessary that He build himself many Wooden Cities that is to say great Navies for the securing of His Treasure that he recieves out of the New World It would also be a very good course for him to hire those that are of the greatest strength among the Hollanders though it cost him a Million of mony to guard such Fleets of his as are to passe to and fro in the Northern Seas and to deal in the like manner with such Nations as are better skilled in Nautical affaires then the English themselves are as namely the Danziokers by means of the King of Poland who is allied to the house of Austria likewise with the Gutlanders Swedes Finlanders and the rest that are of Scandinavia Denmark Pomerania and Borussia procuring them to declare against the English and either to set upon some of their Islands or else to invade England it self that so they may divert them from falling upon the Spanish Fleets or else if the King shall think it better to set upon the English Navy it self If I say He would but be at so great a charge as to hire the said Nations to fall upon the English and would besides but give them all the Booties that they should take from the English He might compasse all his desires and besides the seeds of such a Feude once sown would spread far and near and would never be killed and choaked again And therefore I conceive that Mony alone would be able to set these People at Variance and make them fall foul one upon the other And it is certain that England stands in fear of no other Nations so much as of those above named because they are both more fierce and more Populous Nations and also more powerful at Sea then the English themselves are For Spain cannot it self make any considerable opposition against the English unlesse it be by makig use of some such Artifice seeing that they are better acquainted with those Northern Seas then the Spanish are And then England is an Island whose Inhabitants are both very Numerous and they are also a diligent and subtle People and it is besides very strongly fortified both by Sea and Land and withall a deadly enemy to Spain partly by reason of their different Religions and partly because the English claime a kind of Right to that Crown by reason of the Castilian Line which is derived by the House of Lancaster besides diverse of the former Kings of England of the Family of York and others have been allied to Spain Now as concerning the weakning of the English there can no better way possibly be found out then by causing Divisions and Dissentions among themselves and by continually keeping up the same which will quickly furnish the Spaniard with better and more advantageous Opportunities And as for the Religion of that People it is that of Calvin though very much Moderated and not so rigid and austere as it is at Geneva which yet cannot so easily be extinguished and rooted out there unlesse there were some certain Schooles set up in Flanders with which People the English have very great coâ—â—erce by meanes of which there should be scattered abroad the Seeds of Schisme and Divisions in the Natural Sciences as namely betwixt the Stoicks Peripateticks and Telesians by which the Errours of the Calvinists might be made manifest For the truth of it is That Sect is Diametrically contrary to the Rules of Policy for they teach that whether a Man do well or ill he doth all by Divine Impulsion which Plato Demonstrates against Homer to be opposite to all Sounder Policy which sayes that every Man hath Free Liberty of Will either to do Well or Ill so that it is in our own Power either to observe or not observe what is commanded us and from hence we are to expect either our Rewards or Punishments according as I have most evidently demonstrated in my Dialogue touching Policy where I have discoursed of this Point though but briefly and without any flourish of Language which They since they have become Hereticks are grown somewhat subtle in and yet being of a Nature that is still desirous of Novelties and Change they are easily wrought over to any thing As concerning their Dominions and Private Estates the English are divided and live in several Countries whence some time or other the Spaniard may easily light upon some convenient Opportunity of advantage against them For the King of Englands Dominion is divided into Ireland and England which together with Scotland maketh up the Isle of Great Brittain Now Scotland it self hath also many small Islands belonging to it which are called the Orcades And hence it is that the Isle of Great Brittain had alwaies two Kings reigning over it namely one of them was King of England and the other of Scotland who by reason of their lying so near to each other were in a manner continually at wars and invading one anothers Territories for their Kingdomes are severed only by a little small River and some few hills But now the King of Scots hovers as it were at this time over England not only by reason of his Neighbourhood to it but also because of His Right of Succession for His Mother was Niece to King Henry the Eighth who was Father to Queen Elizabeth that now reigneth and if we should confesse the truth there is none so near in blood to the Crown of England as He is And therefore the time now draweth on that after the death of the said Queen Elizabeth who is now very old the Kingdom of England must fall into the hands of their Ancient and continuall Rivals the Scots We may here add that the Peers of the
every day more and more not to say any thing how much the Turk's Subjects are offended with this Tyranny of his Experience also testifies that the Daughters of the House of Austria have by their Marriages with other Princes and the Inheritances thereby fallen to them very much advanced the Greatnesse of the Austrian Family and have enlarged their Dominions in a wonderful manner and besides they have also caused the hearts of their Husbands and of their Subjects to encline to Our King and of this we have a clear Example this day in the Wife of the Prince of Transylvania and likewise in the Duke of Savoy's and the King of Poland's Wife And the women of the Austrian Family are also all of High Spirits and are besides adorned with the Endowments of Vertue and Gravity Whereas on the contrary the Great Turk bestowing his Concubines only upon his own Slaves and Bassaes as they call them gets himself no advantage at all from abroad onely He hereby obligeth these men to be true and faithful to Him And therefore my Opinion is that it would be the best way for the King of Spain never to marry a Wife out of the Austrian Family unlesse He should thereby come to inherit some New Country because that it would be much better that those Daughters should be married abroad to Forreign Princes that so they may turn the hearts and affections of their Husbands toward the King of Spain But seeing that as hath been formerly said the Turk stretcheth forth his hand against All Men whence it comes to passe that All men in like manner stretch forth their hands against Him all whom yet he is frequently wont to delude by his Cessations from Armes and Truces for He keeps his faith with none of them it would be a businesse worth our serious consideration how this Practise of his might be turned against Himself Which that it may the easilier be effected the King of Spain should prevail with the Persians to invade Arabia with a Sufficient Army perswading them that this would be the only means of securing their Own Territories and possessing them withal with this perswasion that the Turk is the Common Enemy and that therefore he ought to be set upon on all sides to the uttermost of their power least after they have once overcome us Christians They themselves should fall to be his next Prey And then that under a Pretense of Zeal for Religion they should possesse themselves of the City of Mecha where is the Sepulchre of Mahomet who was the Head of their Empire which Designs being but once happily and Prosperously accomplished that then all other things would the more easily be brought about Let the King of Spain also take care that there may be a League made betwixt the Persian and Prester John and this Later should be perswaded to send out as great an Army as he could to invade the Common Enemies the Turk's Country which Army should be carried over by the Red Sea by meanes of the Portugals Fleet or else He may send those Forces of his in by Land and that not onely to enlarge their Own Empire and Dominion but also for the Advancement of their Religion namely by recovering of Jerusalem where the Sepulcher of our Saviour Christ is which both We and the Ethiopians too have now so many Ages been deprived of Both Nations therefore ought to bend their whole Forces that way It would also be very Convenient that the Muscovite who should be perswaded to this by some Polonian Oratours should at the same time fall in upon Bulgaria and Moldavia with an Army And the King should so order the Matter that at one and the same time the Emperour and the Prince of Transylvania should fall upon him in Hungary and the Polander upon Macedonia and Mysia that the Turk being by this means so distracted may not know which part to relieve first The Georgians also should be secretly dealt withal to embrace this General Association by the Venetian Merchants and to fall upon Natolia and Trapezond or Macedonia And for the promoting of this Design it would be very convenient that every one should keep to himself what he hath got except Jerusalem only which should be reserved for the King of Spain of which Country the King also should shortly afterward by little and little get the Possession by making use of the Conveniency of the Red Sea I would also advise that the King of Spain and the Venetian together with the Pope entring into a Mutual League together should at the same time also fall upon Morea Cyprus or Egypt for which purpose such a Neapolitan Fleet as we have formerly spoken off would be of very excellent use and Advantage And afterwards they should divide such Countries and Places as they have taken and share them among themselves making the Pope their Judge and Arbitrator herein And this Association and League made betwixt the aforesaid Princes I would have to last for the space of whole ten years For by this means the Turk having his hands full at home would be taken off from making War upon the Christians in the West as he now does to the great detriment of the House of Austria And to this end it would be very Expedient that there were a League made both with the Persians and Prester John for these People might very much annoy the Western Countries And this would also make very much for the Advantage of the Venetians too who stand in no small dread of the Turks whom because they are not able to match them in Power they are fain to pacifie and keep quiet by fair means and Presents There are some that are of opinion that there are two wayes by which an Association or League might be made by the Christians against the Turk if not for his total ruine yet at least to the bringing about of some very good effect And One of these is that all such Princes whose Territories border upon Turky should at one and the same time set all upon him every one of them invading that part of the Turks Dominions that lies next him not with any certain part only of his Forces but with the whole strength and Power that he can possibly make in the World for so all of them should enjoy an equal share in the spoiles that were taken The second and that the more Noble is if that very many several Princes would but resolve for the glory of God and the Propagation of the Church to set upon the Turk either altother from one part or else from diverse parts all at once as we read to have been done in those former Heroick times when as many several Valiant Princes out of Germany the Netherlands France and Italy some of them selling their Territories outright and others of them pawning the same gathered together an Army of above forty Thousand Men and marching with them into the Eastern Countries and there beating the Turks
while that we do nothing but faâ—â— together by the Eares one with another But if this cannot be brought about the Persians must then be persuaded to joyn with the Ethiopians Muscovites and Polonians as hath been said before And I do believe also that the Great Turks Bassaes and other of his Subjects would quickly be got to fall off from him if so be they could but be once fully perswaded assured that they should each of them really be made the absolute Lords of what they now possessed All which things ought to have their Accomplishment in the death of this Mahomet III. now Raigning seeing that That Number is Fatal The Great Turks Younger Sons also are to be seazed upon and conveigh'd away least the Eldest Brother should Murder them according to their usual Custome and this the Venetians may do conveniently enough by their Merchants or else the same may be committed to the Christian Slaves that are there to be done by them After that this Empire shall be thus weakned and divided it would be convenient then to send thether some Preachers who should endeavour to convince the Natives of their Error There should care also be taken by all meanes for the bringing of Printing into Turky by meanes whereof that People may be taken off from the exercise of Arms and may apply themselves to Books and by being taken up with Disputations concerning Points of Divinity and Philosophy both of the Peripateticks Stoicks Platonists and Telesians they may be divided amongst themselves and so be the more weakned For those that give themselves to the study of Books onely usually become a Prey to such as apply themselves to the exercise of Armes and the study of the Arts too as we see in the example of Athens which became a Prey to the Lacedemonians both which Nations Philip King of Macedon by the force of his Armes afterwards subdued being first instructed by Epaminondas by what meanes this was to be effectd Cato was wont to say that the Romans would lose their Empire so soon as ever they should begin to apply themselves to the study of the Greek Tongue and Sciences This the Great Turk who is wiser then We are knew very well and therefore preferred rather the exercise of Armes and got him great Guns and Slaves I mean those Jewes that were sent to him by Ferdinand the last King of Arragon for he knew very well what and how great Advantage might be made by Sâ—â—â—es and that the Children that they should beget were to be brought up in the exercise of Armes and the knowledge of Military Affaires But then on the contrary He would not receive nor accept of those Printing-Presses and Letter for the Printing of the Arabick Tongue that were sent Him by the great Duke of Tuscany because he would not have his Dominions filled with Books because that would much take off the Military Valour of his Subjects and besides because that Mahumetanisme by frequent Disputations about it might easily in a short time have been overthrown It hath also been very prejudicial unto Us that we have had no Law made for the Injoyning of Silence whereby we should have been commanded to conceal some things from others which Law certainly would have been of very good use But now adaies in Germany all things are made Publick and laid open to the whole World and hence it is that we see every one there publisheth in Print a New Bible and that the Empire goes to ruine and that all places are overwhelmed with Luxury and Riot And had not the fear of the King of Spain's Armies kept the Netherlanders in Awe they also would by this time have been as Effeminate and Luxurious as the Germans are And the like would have befallen to the English also So that we might have hopes that unlesse there were a War maintained amongst them to keep them in exercise they would all quickly come to utter ruine after that they should but once come to be Effeminate Heart-lesse and at discord one with another as we have said formerly and that so much the rather because that the Heresie they professe seeing it denyes the Freedom of the Will is repugnant to all Principles of Policy Now all Heresies when they are once gone so far as to Atheisme are reduced again into the way of Truth by some Wise Prophet or other such as were in Italy Thomas Aquinas Dominicus Scotus and others For Heresies also have their Periods as well as States which fall first from being governed by good Kings into the hands of Tyrants from their Tyranny into an Aristocracy from thence into an Oligarchy and so at length to a Democracy and in the end they shift about again and in a Circle as it were return again to their first form either of a Kingdom or a Tyranny CHAP. XXXI Of the Other Hemisphere and of the New World THe Admirable Discovery of the New World which was foreseen by St. Brigitt and expressely foretold by Seneca in his Medea and there lively set forth in its proper Colours and Names according as he had received the same from one of the Sibylls hath been the cause that this Hemisphere of Ours hath been thereby rapt into the greatest Admiration that can be For some of the Ancientest among the Philosophers of which number was Xenophanes were of Opinion that That Other Hemisphere lay all covered over with Water some others as Lactantius and St. Augustine thought that the Earth was not a Perfect Globe about which the Sun was carried in his Diurnal Motion And some others believed among whom was Dante that those Countries were Inhabited and were a certain kind of Earthly Paradise Some there were that doubted hereof amongst whom was Aristotle and again some others of them confidently affirmed that the Earth was an Absolute and Perfect Orbe or Globe and of this number were Plato and Origen And therefore it is but for just cause that all the World admires the Spanish Monarchy as both very Daring and very Powerful seeing that It hath measured and overcome so many Seas and in a short space of time hath put a girdle about the vast Globe of the Whole Earth which neither Carthage nor Tyre were ever heretofore able to do nor yet the wisest of All Men King Solomon whose Fleet making its Voyage as far as Goa only and Taprobane spent alwaies three whole years in the same which yet Our Seamen now adaies perform in three Moneths time So that although the Vast distance of place that there is betwixt the several parts of the Spanish Monarchy seems to render It Weak yet doth their Admirable Skill in Navigation for the shortening of those Distances together with those other Means of Uniting these Parts which the Spaniards daily do make use of or may make use of when they please make the same most Illustrious and more Admirable then some perhaps do imagine However to the end that the King of Spain may not