Minister is to be furnished with his Prince's Maxims so also should he be with his Majesty Valour and Magnanimity EMBLEM XXXIV WHoever looks on the Thorns and Prickles of the Roseâ— Tree will hardly be perswaded a Daughter so beautiful as the Rose could proceed from so deform'd a Mother One had need be indued with a great Measure of Faith to water it and wait till it be cloathed with Verdure and blossom into that wonderful pomp of Flowers of so delicate a Smell Yet by Patience and long Expectation we at length find the labour not lost nor that Care ill imployed which has produced such Beauty and Fragrancy The first Branches of Virtue are harsh and thorny to our depraved Nature but after some time its Flower of all other the most beautiful begins to Bloom Let not the first sight of things discourage a Prince for the outside of very few in Government are pleasant they all seem full of Thorns and Difficulties but Experience has found many easy which appeared much otherwise to Sloth The Prince therefore should not be disheartned for in lightly yielding to them he will be overcome by his own Apprehension rather than any thing real Let him endure with Courage and Hope with Patience and Perseverance still keeping the means in his Hand He that hopes has a good and faithful Companion on his side I mean Time Whence Philip the Second used to say I and Time against any two Precipitation is the effect of Madness and generally the occasion of great Perils Theobald Earl of Champagne put his Succession to the Crown of Navarre very much in Question by not having patience to wait for his Uncle King Sancho's Death but underhand conspiring with the Nobles to possess himself of the Kingdom in his Life-time for this put Sancho upon adopting Iames the First of Arragâ—n his Heir Patience obtains many Trophies This was Scipio's Excellency who though he had infinite occasions of Displeasure was yet so patient as never to let â— passionate Word fall from him 1 Vt nullum ferox verbum excideret Tit. liv which thing gave sucess to all his Designs He that suffers with Expectation vanquishes the slights of Fortune and obliges her to take his Part that Confidence among all her Vicissiâ—â—des like Flattery winning upon her Columbus not without great hazard exposes himself to the Ocean 's incertain Waves in quest of new Countries Neither Hâ—rcule's Ne plus ultra at Caspe and Abyla nor the Mountains of Waters that seem to oppose his Enterprize deter him from it he by Sailing tells the Sun's Steps and steals from the Year its Days from the Days their Hours his Needle wants the Pole his Charts the lines his Companions patience all things conspire against him but his Hope and Patience rub through all Difficulties till at length a new World recompences his invincible Constancy Ferendum Sperandum was a saying of Empedocles and afterwards the Emperor Macrinus's Motto whence that of this Emblem is borrowed Some Dangers are more easy to surmount than avoid As Agathocles well knew when being beaten and besieged in Syracuse he did not basely Surrender to the Enemy but leaving a sufficient Body of Men for the Defence of the City marched with the rest of his Army against Carthage and he who could not be victorious in one War by this means obtain'd a double Triumph Rashness frequently overcomes a Danger and despising it often confounds an Enemy When Hannibal saw the Romans after the Battel of Cannae send Succours into Spain he began to fear their Power and Strength No one ought to trust Prosperity too much or despair in Adversity Fortune lies between both as ready to advance as depress Let the Prince therefore keep in the one and the other a Constancy and Strength of Mind prepared to encounter any Accident and not suffer the Threats of the greatest Tempest to disturb him For sometimes the Waves have cast a Man out of one Ship that is to be wreck'd into another that is to be saved A great and generous Soul Heaven it self favours Let not the Prince rashly despair for anothers Dangers or those which Chance brings with it He that observeth the Wind shall not sow and he that regardeth the Clouds shall not reap 2 Eccl. 11. 4. Let him not imagine he obliges any one by his Afflictions Tears are Womanish nor is Fortune appeased with such Sacrifices A great Soul endeavours to give it self Satisfaction or Comfort by some heroick and generous Action Thus Agricola when he heard of his Son's Death took not the Accident as generally Men do ambitiously nor in Tears like Women but by War diverted his Grief 3 Quem casum neque ut plerique fortium virorum ambitiosè neque per lamenta rursus ac terrorem multebrem tuliâ— in lustu bellum inter remedia erat Tac. in Vit. Agr. To be wholly insensible is either Vain-glory or Excess of Consternation In suing for Offices and Honours the Design of this Emblem is very useful He that can bear and hope knows how to get the better of his Fortune Whereas one that impatient of delay thinks it base to be beholding and submit shall be despised and abandon'd by the whole World To look on it as a point of Honour not to obey any is the way to command none The means are to be measured by the end if in obtaining this there be more Honour got than is lost by them certainly they ought to be used Impatience of Sufferings we take for Generosity of Mind when it is imprudent Haughtiness Honour once attain'd the Tracks made in ascending them presently wear out To endure much in order to Advancement is not base Degeneracy but extraordinary Strength of a Mind elevated and aspiring Some Tempers there are which can't abide to wait that would have all things ended in a Moment desiring now to exceed their Equals by and by their Superiors and in a little while even their own Hopes These hurried by this Violence of Ambition despise the most secure means as slow and choose to employ the shortest though most hazardous But it usually fares with them as with Buildings raised in haste before the Materials have had time to dry and settle which immediately fall down again The Master-piece of Government consists in hoping and enduring in that these are the only means to do things in time without which nothing can possibly come to maturity Trees that at the Springs first warmth bear Flowers soon lose them for not waiting till the Winters cold was quite gone He who would ripen Affairs with the Hand cannot have the Satisfaction of tasting the Fruit of them Impatience is the cause of Miscarriages and Dangers 4 Prov. 14. 17. it creates Periâ—s which by being uneasy under and too hasty to escape we augment Therefore for those Evils as well Internal as External which have by our negligence been increas'd in the Commonwealth 't is better to let them
Pluâ—arch Let your Highness I say compare your own Actions to those of your Ancestors and you will easily see the difference between yours and theirs that you may either give a true Colour to their Actions or rejoyce in the Worth of your own if in any thing you happen to have out-done your Predecessors Let your Royal Highness therefore please to consider whether you Equal your Father in Courage your Grandfather in Piety Philip the Second in Prudence Charles the Fifth in Greatness of Spirit Philip the First in Affability Ferdinand the Catholick in Policy in Liberality that Alphonso who was Nick-named from his broken Hands in Justice King Alphonso the Eleventh and lastly King Ferdinand the Holy in Religion And that moreover your Highness would be stir'd up by a generous Emulation to a glorious Desire of imitating these Great Men. Quintus Maximus and Publius Scipio were used to say that when e're they beheld the Images of their Ancestors their Souls were fired and excited on to Virtue Not that they were moved by the meer Wax or Stone but that comparing their own Actions to those of others they could not rest till they equall'd them in Glory and Renown Elogies inscribed on Tombs speak not to the Dead but to the Living They are certain Summaries which for Memory's sake the Virtue of the Predecessor leaves to the Successor Mattathias said That by calling to mind the Actions of their Ancestors his Sons should acquire present Glory and eternal Renown 2 Call to remembrance what Acts our Fathers did in their time so shall ye receive great Honour and an everlasting Name 1 Macc. 2. 52. For which Cause also the High Priests who were Princes of the People wore upon their Breasts the Virtues of the Twelve Patriarchs their Predecessors engraven upon as many Stones 3 And in the four Rows of Stones was the Glory of the Fathers graven Wisd. 8. 24. In effect it becomes a Prince to vie with his Ancestors in Glory not with his Inferiors for 't is no praise to excel them and to be out-done by them the greatest Scandal The Emperor Tiberius observed as Law all the Sayings and Exploits of Augustus 4 Qui omnia facta dictaquâ— ejus vice legis observem Tac. 4. Ann. Moreover let your Highness compare the Purple you wear at present to that you wore formerly for we are oftentimes desirous to forget what we have been for fear of upbraiding our selves with what we are Let your Highness consider whether you are grown better or worse for we find it often happens that at the beginning of their Reigns Princes minds are gloriously bent upon the Execution of their Office in which afterwards they grow more remiss Almost all begin their Reigns with Great and Glorious Spirits but at last by degrees either they sink under the Weight of Affairs or grow Effeminate by Luxury and Ease with which they easily suffer themselves to be taken forgetting they are obliged to keep and preserve their once gotten Glory This very thing Tacitus remarks in the Emperor Tiberius that at last after a long Experience in Affairs he was altered and ruined by the mere force of Government 5 An cum Tiberius pâ—st tantam â—erum experientâ—am vi dominationis convulsus 〈◊〉 sit Tac. 6. Ann. A long Reign creates Pride and Pride the hatred of the People as the same Author observes in King Vannius 6 Prima Imperii aetate clarus acceptusque popularibus mox diuturniâ—atem in superbiam mutans odio accolarum sâ—â—al 〈…〉 circumventis Tac. 12. Ann. Many begin their Reigns with extraordinary Modesty and Justice but few continue so because their Ministers are Flatterers by whom they are taught to Act boldly and unjustly As it happened to Vespasian who in the beginning of his Reign was not so much bent upon Injustice until by the Indulgence of Fortune and Advice of Evil Counsellors he learnt it 7 Ipso Vespasiano inter initia Imperii ad obtinendas iniquitates hanâ— perinde obstinato donec indulgentia fortunae praâ—is Magistris didicit ansusque est Tac. 2. Hist. Let your Highness compare not only your own Virtues and Actions but those of your Ancestors with one another by confronting the Purple of some stain'd with Vices to that of others glossy and shining with great and noble Actions For Examples never move us more than when they are confronted one with another Let your Highness compare the Royal Robe of King †Marian. Hist. Hisp. Hermenigildus with that of Peter the Second King of Arragon one glittering with Stars and died with Blood which he had gloriously spilt in the War against Leuvigildus his Father who was infected with the Arrian Heresy the other trampled under the Feet of Horses in a Battle at Girone when he brought Succours to the Albigensians in France Let your Highness cast your Eyes back upon past Ages and you will find Spain ruined by the licentious Lives of the Kings Witiza and Roderick but recovered again by the Piety and Courage of Pelagius You 'll see Peter deposed and killed for his Cruelty and his Brother Henry the Second advanced to the Crown for his singular Mildness You 'll see the Glorious Infant Ferdinand blessed by Heaven with many Kingdoms for that he would not accept of that of his Grandson King Iohn the Second although there were those who freely offered it him On t'other side the Infant Sancho accused by his own Father of Disobedience and Ingratude before Pope Martin the Fourth for that he would have usurped the Throne in his life-time This Comparison your Highness may follow as a sure Guide in the Management of your Affairs for though by Discourse and Conversation you may know the Lustre and Brightness of Heroick Exploits as also the Baseness and Infamy of Ill Actions yet all these move us not so much considered in themselves as in those Persons whom they have made Glorious in the World or Despicable EMBLEM XVII A Tree bedeck'd with Trophies is still a Trunk as afore those which were an Honour to others are but a burthen to it So truly the glorious Exploits of Ancestors are but a Shame and Disgrace to the Successor unless he imitates the same Nor does he inherit their Glory but their Actions only by an Imitation of which he will obtain the other Just as light is reflected from a Diamond because it finds substance but quickly pierces Glass which is thin and transparent so if the Successor be Stout and Brave the Glory of his Predecessors adds yet a greater Lustre and Brightness to him but if like thin and paultry Glass he can't withstand the Lustre it serves only to discover his vile and abject Soul The Actions of Ancestors which are only Examples to others are Laws to the Successor for the whole Esteem and Prerogative of Nobility is grounded upon this Supposition that the Descendants will imitate the Actions of their Forefathers He who
much more accomplished Princes if substracting their Vices their Virtues only had remained 28 Egregium Principatus temperamentum si demptis virtutibus utriusque vitiis solae virtutes miscerentur Tac. 2. Hist. If it be convenient for a Prince to be vicious that he may distinguish the good from the bad 't will be sufficient only to know how to be so without being practically so Let him therefore be virtuous but let him be so circumspect and prudent that no Cheat or Knavery may scape him no Villany but which he may see through so by throughly observing each Man's Manners and way of Life he may Govern them the better And in this Sense may their Opinions be taken who think that Princes are so much the more secure by how much they are more wicked than their Subjects 29 Eo Munitiores Reges censentur quo illis quibus imperitant nequiâ—res Salust This sort of Vice relating to the knowledge of wickedness is very expedient to know how to chastise and also to bear with humane Frailties Without that knowledge severe Virtue is too rigid and dangerous for Government Whence 't is that in a Prince manly Virtues are most requisite such as are appropriated to Empire not those monastick Melancholy ones which make him timorous slow and unsteady in his Resolutions averse to Humane Conversation and more intent upon his own private Perfections than the Government of the Publick The greatest Perfection in a Prince is to answer the Obligations laid upon him by God Almighty Machiavel would not have a Prince counterfeit Virtues at certain times only but he endeavours also to establish a sort of Policy upon Vice by shewing how by help of this the other may be advanced to the highest pitch and by asserting that Men are ruined because they know not how to be wicked as if there might be a certain Science to be form'd of it This Doctrine has made many Princes Tyrants and ruined them Men are not ruin'd because they know not how to be wicked but because wickedness it self can't long defend its self for there is no Villainy so cunning and cautious as to prevent its self from being caught at last in its own Snares What skill can instruct a Man to keep a sound Judgment in his Vices whose Sins trouble his Conscience which though 't is in us yet by a certain Divine Impulse operates without us being both Judge and Executioner of our Actions whose Tyranny Nero felt after he had commanded his Mother to be kill'd fearing that the Light which gave Life to others brought his Death 30 Sed à Caesare profecto demum sceleris magnitudo intellecta est reliquo noctis modo persaepius pavore exurgens mentis inâ—ps operiebatur tanquam exitium allaturam Tac. 14. Ann. The most resolv'd Spirit sometimes hesitates and is confounded at the sight of Villainy So it happened to Sejanus when he plotted to extinguish the Family of Tiberius he was confounded by the greatness of the Crime 31 Sed magnitudâ— facinoris metum prolationes diversa interdum consilia adferebat Tac. 4. Ann. God taketh the wise in their own craftiness 32 Job 5. 13. Vice is ignorance opposed to Prudence 't is a Violence that toils to its own Ruin 't is a dangerous Building which falls upon his Head who built it No Judgment is so great as to correct lesser Tyrannies by greater and to what a vast Bulk might Men raise it That very Example of Iohn Pagola of Peru which Machiavel makes use of to confirm his Assertion makes it evident enough how dangerous 't is to walk upon those Precipices when though he had procured the Death of Pope Iulius the Second he could by no means accomplish his Villainy The same also befel D. Valentine whom he proposes as an Idea as 't were to Princes for he that he might upon the Death of Pope Alexander the Sixth secure his own Affairs drank to some of the Cardinals of the contrary Faction in a Bowl of Poison but the Cups being by mistake changed he and Alexander drank the Poison upon which the Pope died suddenly and Valentine was so ill upon 't that he could not be present at the Conclave which mischance all his cunning could not foresee and prevent whence it happen'd too that whom he desired was not elected and he himself lost all that he unjustly possessed in Romania Divine Providence does not permit Tyrants to thrive in their Designs 33 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise Iob 5. 12. 'T is Virtue only that has the Power to make God propitious to us not wickedness If any Tyrant has long enjoy'd his unjust Usurpations 't is the effect of some eminent Virtue or Natural Endowment which hides his Vices and makes him obey'd by the People But Malice ascribes this to tyrannical Artifices and from Examples of that Nature picks out some impious and erroneous Maxims of State to the ruin both of Princes and Empires Besides all don't Reign who have the Scepter in their Hands or the Crown upon their Heads for Divine Justice though it leaves them the Kingdom takes away the Command by permitting them to be Slaves to their Passions and their Ministers and to be oppressed by Misfortunes and Seditions So was Samuel's Prediction to Saul fulfilled that as a Punishment for having disobeyed God he should be no more King 34 Because thou hast rejected the Lord he has also rejected thee from being King 1 Sam. 15. 23. For though he lived and died King yet was his Reign but perfect Slavery EMBLEM XIX IN the Games of Vulcan and Prometheus several Persons being placed in a Row imployed themselves thus The first came out with a lighted Torch in his Hand which he gave to the second and he to the third and so from one to t'other whence came thâ— Proverb Cursu lampada trado apply'd to those things which past as 't were by Succession from one to another In which Sense Lucretius Et quasi cursores vitai Lampada trado Which he seems to have borrowed from Plato when perswading Men to Propagation he says 't is necessary that Life which Men received from their Predecessors they should like a flaming Torch deliver down to Posterity 1 Vt vitam quam ipsi à majoribus accepissent vicissim quasi tâ—dam ardentem posteris tradant Plato What else is a Scepter but such a Torch as this which passes by Succession from one to another What is it therefore that Majesty assumes to its self in this so short and transitory Greatness Many things are common to a Prince with other Men there 's but one thing and that accidental too which makes the difference All those don't humble his Mind yet does this single accident puff him up above others Let him think that he is a Man and that he governs Men let him consider well that he
comes upon this great Theatre of the World to act the part of a Prince and that he having his discharge another shall succeed to those Robes which he shall leave and that of both of them only this will remain that they once were Lastly Let him know that these Robes wherewith he is cloathed are not his own but the States which that only lends him that he may be a while its Head and may consult for the Preservation Increase and Prosperity thereof as we have said before When therefore a Prince has once begun to run the Race of this Life furnished with the lighted Torch of his State let it not be his only business to prolong his Race for the Goal is already fixt beyond which he can't go and who knows but that he may be now very near it the Flame being exposed to every blast of Wind. One single Gale wrenched it from the Hands of King Henry the First er'e he was fourteen Years old Also a fall from a Horse prevented Prince Iohn Son of their most Catholick Majesties from taking hold on 't Let a Prince consider also the fitness of his hand the occasion and right that he mayn't rashly grasp at more of these Torches than either Succession or lawful Election shall grant him Had Frederick Count Palatine considered this he had never lost his Electoral Dignity his Places and Titles so unfortunately for being ambitious of the Kingdom of Bohemia And truly Charles King of Naples had ended his Race more successfully had he been contented with the Torch of his own Kingdom and not attempted to grasp at that of Hungary where he was therefore poisoned Let not a Prince too readily trust his Torch to another nor suffer any one to touch it with so great Authority For Empire admits of no Companion The Infant Sancho attempted to snatch this Torch from his Father King Alphonso the Wise by the same Power and Authority which he receiv'd from him Nor were there wanting Pretences for the Infant of Portugal to attempt the same against his Father Dionysius These Torches of Kingdoms lighted by ill Methods are commonly soon extinguish'd for no Power acquired by wickedness is lasting King Garcias forc'd his Father Alphonso to quit his Kingdom but could not enjoy the Crown so gotten above three Years Fruela the Third possess'd but fourteen Months the Kingdom which he had attain'd rather by Force than Election Violent Counsels h'an't always their desired Success Ramon hop'd certainly to inherit the Throne of Navarre if he could make away with his Brother Sancho but the People abhorr'd him who had conceiv'd such a horrid Villainy and so offer'd it to Sancho King of Arragon his Uncle Let not a Prince unadvisedly trust his Torch out of his own Hands in his Life-time least if he should afterwards repent it should befal him as it did King Alphonso the Fourth who having once resign'd his Kingdom to his Brother Ramiro could never afterwards retrieve it though he desir'd it Ambition while in Possession regards not Justice having always Arguments and Pretences at hand to defend it self And who will not be mov'd by the difference between commanding and obeying Though these Torches do pass from Father to Son yet let Kings remember that they receive them from God and that when he pleases they are to Surrender them to him that they may know to whose Gift they ought to ascribe them and how strict an Account they are to give of them This King Ferdinand the Great did who with his last Breath pronounc'd these Words Thine O Lord is Power Empire is thine Thou art Supream King of Kings all things are under thy Providence The Kingdom which from thy Hand I receiv'd unto thee I resign The same Words did King Ferdinand the Holy use at the point of Death 'T is a glorious though laborious Race which Heaven has design'd for your Royal Highness which must be run not with one but with several Torches of shining Diadems which like the Sun but without ever leaving us in the dark will diffuse their extended Light from East to West Furious Winds rising from each part of the Horizon will perhaps threaten them but since God has lighted them to preceed the Standard of the Cross and to give light upon the Holy Altars of the Church it may well be hop'd that these may shine like that 2 I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou maist be my Salvation to the end of the Earth Isaiah 49. 6. especially if your Highness's Faith and Holy Zeal would by holding them upright make their Flame burn more clear and bright its natural tendency being towards Heaven and he who holds them obliquely will make the Flame its self feed upon and wast them but he who turns 'em directly downwards opposite to Heaven will immediately extinguish them for the Matter which would else nourish them will then extinguish them Let your Highness therefore take care with these Lights to finish your Course with Glory and Surrender them bright and flaming to your Successor not meerly such as you receiv'd them but illustrated and augmented with new Rays For God weighs both Kingdoms and Kings when they begin to Reign that he may afterwards require a just Account from them thus he did with King Balthazar 3 Thou art weigh'd in the balance and found wanting Dan. 5. 27. And if Otho thoguht himself oblig'd to deliver up the Empire to Posterity such as he had receiv'd it from his Ancestors 4 Vrbi nostrae institutum à Regibus usque ad Principes continuum immortalem sicut à Majoribus accepimus sic posteris tradamus Tac. 1. Hist. your Highness must acknowledge no less an Obligation deriv'd to you from your glorious Predecessors So the Emperor Charles the Fifth resign'd his while he was yet living to his Son Philip the Second And though the wickedness of some can't attend the end of their Career for fear of adverse Winds already rais'd as was the Case of Alphonso King of Naples who seeing he could not resist Charles the Eighth of France surrendred the Crown to his Son Ferdinand Duke of Calabria yet certain 't is that his design was to make a timely Restitution of his Crown to God and prepare himself for another not Temporal but Eternal one which once obtain'd may be securely enjoy'd without fear of ever being lost EMBLEM XX. AMONG the Ceremonies of the Athenians at their Marriages a certain little Boy with a Basket of Bread in his Hand and a Crown of Thorns upon his Head went before the Bridegroom by which I believe they intimated that Matrimony was not instituted for Pleasure only but also for Cares and Labours By the same if Emblems will admit Human Figures might also be meant a Prince For what thorny Cares does not he feel who endeavours to maintain his State in Justice Peace and Plenty What Difficulties does he experience What Dangers is he
reconciling Enemies fitter to be Informers than Mediators Affairs require Persons of very different Qualities to Administer them That Man is above all the most proper who in his Air and Words discovers a Soul of Candor and Veracity whose private Person procures him Love and Esteem in whom Jealousy and Cunning are from Art not Nature who can keep them in the most secret Place of his Breast when they require Concealment who proposes with Sweetness hears with Patience replies with Force dissembles with Discretion urges with Attention who obliges by Liberality persuades by Reason and convinces by Experience who in a word designs prudently and executes effectually It was with these Ministers King Ferdinand the Catholick was able to succeed in all his Enterprizes The good Choice of these is of no leâ—s Consequence than the Conservation and Enlargement of any State for as much as all depends upon their Administration more Kingdoms having been destroyed by their Ignorance than by that of Princes Let this therefore be your Highness's chiefest Care to examine diligently all the Qualities of your Subjects and after having given them any Place look now and then into their Actions and not be presently taken with and deluded by the Draught of their Memoirs There being very few Ministers who in them draw themselves to the Life In Effect who will be so candid so much a Stranger to self-love as to confess what good he has neglected to do what Evil to prevent It will be much if he with Sincerity relate what he has actually done some using to write to the Prince not what they have done or said but what they ought to do or say They have thought of and designed every thing â—â—fore-hand they foresaw nay and executed all-Affairs enter their Closets like mishapen Logs but immediately come out again as from some Statuaries Shop exquisite Figures 't is there they are varnished giâ—â—ed and painted to beautify them and enhance their Value There Judgments are form'd and abundance of Preventions devis'd ever after the Success there they are more powerful than God himself make the past Time present and the present past by changing the Date of their Actions as they see convenient They are Ministers who transact Affairs in Imagination only Men that court Applause and steal Rewards by their false Letters Whence proceed the greatest Inconveniences in the World in that the Prince's Privy Counsellors being directed by those Intelligences and Advices if they are false the Orders and Resolutions founded upon them will necessarily be so too The Holy Scripture teaches us how Ministers and particularly Ambassadors are oblig'd punctually to execute their Commissions for we see in that Hazael had from Benhadad King of Syria to consult the Prophet Elisha about his Disease he chang'd not one word nor dared so much as to speak in the Third Person 8 2 Kings 8. 9. Ministers of extraordinary Experience are sometimes dangerous either for that the Prince puts too much Confidence in them or because biassed by Self-love or presuming upon their own Abilities they seldom think thoroughly of Affairs and born as 't were to overcome the most violent Tempests despise the small Storms of Inconveniences and Difficulties whereby they evidently expose themselves to Danger Those are in some Cases much safer who 〈◊〉 yet Novices in Navigation keep close to the Shore Though both together compose the best Counsels in that the Experience of those is qualified by the Timorousness and Caution of these in Debates between the Flegmatick and Cholerick the Bold and Circumspect the Quick and Slow there results a wholsome Composition of Opinions as there does in Bodies from the contrariety of Humours EMBLEM XXXI A Pillar supports it self balanced by its own weight If it once leans on either side it presently falls and that the sooner the heavier it is Thus Empires stand and are preserv'd by their own Authority and Repute when they begin to lose that they begin to fall nor is any Earthly Power sufficient to strengthen and prop them 1 Nihil rerum mortalium tam instabile ac flâ—xum est quam famae potentiae non sua vi niâ—a Tac. 13. Ann. Let no one trust too much to a streight Pillar when it inclines never so little the weakest Hand promotes its Ruin that very leaning I know not how inviting to push it but when falling the strongest is unable to uphold it One single Action sometimes overthrows the best establish'd Reputation which a great many can't erect again For scarce any Stain can so thoroughly be washed out but some sign of it will remain nor any Opinion in Mens Minds that can be entirely effaced Dress the Infamy as carefully as possible it will still leave some Scars Wherefore if the Crown stand not fixed and firm upon this perpendicular Pillar of Reputation it will soon fall to the Ground Alphonso the Fifth King of Arragon by his Credit not only preserved his own Kingdom but conquered that of Naples At the same time Iohn the Second King of Castile for his mean Spirit was so far the Contempt of his Subjects that he admitted what Laws they thought fit to impose The Provinces which under Iulius Caesar and Augustus Princes of great Esteem were Firm and Loyal rebell'd in the Reign of Galba a Man slothful and universally despised 2 Melius Divo Iulio Divoque Augusto notos eorum animos Galbam infracta tributa hostiles Spiritus induisse Tac. 4. Hist. Royal Blood and Large Dominions are insufficient to maintain Reputation where private Virtue and Magnanimity are wanting as it is not the Frame of a Glass but its Intrinsick Excellency makes it valuable Regal Majesty has not more Force than Respect which usually arises from Admiration and Fear and from these Obedience and Subjection without which the Princes Dignity cannot long maintain it self being founded upon the Opinion of others and the Royal Purple will be rather a Mark of Derision than Eminence and Majesty as was visible in Henry the Fourth It is the Spirits and Native Heat that keep the Body upright the Legs alone would not be a sufficient Basis. And what is Reputation but a kind of fine Spirit kindled in all Mens Opinions which raises and supports the Scepter Let the Prince therefore take all possible care that his Actions may be such as will nourish and foment these Spirits The Parthians grounded their Petition upon Reputation when they asked Tiberius to send as of his own accord one of Phraates's Sons to Rome 3 Nomine tantum auctore opus ut sponte Caesaris ut genus Arsacis ripam apud Euphratis cerneretur Tac. 6. Ann. This Repute and Authority has yet greater Influence in War where Fear is of more Efficacy than the Sword and Opinion than Strength whether of Mind or Body and therefore to be taken no less Notice of than Force of Arms. This made Suetonius Paulinus very prudently advise Otho to endeavour always to keep the
more influenc'd by Ambition than Clemency so that he deprived him of his Kingdom and Title Thus Dangers deceive us and we find that to be the greater which we chose as the lesser There can be no assurance in Counsel grounded on Principles that depend on anothers pleasure We deceive our selves in supposing others will act nothing but what is agreeable to Religion Justice Relation or Friendship or but what is consistent with their Honour and Interest Not considering that Men are not always guided by their Advantage or Duty but rather by their private Passions and Sentiments and consequently their Actions are not only to be examined by the Rule of Reason but also by that of Malice and the Experience of the ordinary Injustices and Tyrannies of the World Dangers are a Prince's best Masters The past teach 〈◊〉 to remedy the present and prevent the future Those of others are 't is true instructing but they are easily forgot Our own leave in the Soul some Marks and Scars of the losses sustain'd as that which has once wounded the Imagination does fear Let not then contempt or forgetfulness ever erase them especially when having escapâ—d a Danger we fancy the same will never return or if it does will not annoy us for though some one Circumstance which is very unlikely to happen a second time may remove Dangers yet other succeeding new ones make them unavoidable EMBLEM XXXVIII FROM Nature this universal Commonwealth of things and Empire of mixt Bodies derive their Original the supreme Government of which she lays claim to and for the more firm establishment and more secure maintaining of it has made her self so loved by them that the Elements even in the midst of their contrariety with an admirable consent conspire to preserve it All things would be soon dissolv'd did they hate Nature their Princess and Sovereign who with mutual ties of Love and Benevolence as with the fastest knot unites them It is this Love which holds the Earth in Aequilibrio and makes the Orbs of Heaven whirl round it Let this Monarchy of things created founded in their first Being be a Lesson to defend their Persons and Subjects by affection the most faithfull guard they can have about them 1 Corporis custodiam tutissimam esse putatam in virtute amicorum tum in benevolentia civium esse collocatam Isocr ad Nic. Claud. Not Guards nor Groves of Pikes defend like Love This is the only impregnable Fort 2 Salvum Principem in aperto clementia praestabit vivum erit inexpugnabile monument â—n amor civium Sen. de Clem. lib. 1 ca. 19. For which reason the Bees elect a King without a Sting for he has no need of Arms who is beloved by his Subjects Nature would by no means have it in his power to hurt whose duty 't is to govern least he become odious and promote his own ruin The greatest and most absolute power a Prince can have says K. Alphonso is when he loves his People and they reciprocally love him The body defends the Head upon account of the Love it bears it in consideration that this directs and preserves it else would it not hold up its arm toward the threatning blow Who would expose himself to Hazards except he had a Love for his Prince Who protect and defend his Crown The whole Kingdom of Castile sided with the Infant Henry against K. Peter the Cruel because the one was beloved by all the other as universally hated The first Principle of the ruin of Kingdoms and all the Revolutions in States is Hatred The Kings Ordonno and Fruela the Second were so abominated by their Subjects that the very name of King became odious Castile was reduc'd into a Commonwealth and the Government divided between two Judges one of which administred affairs of Peace the other those of War †Mar. hist. Hisp. Portugal never took up Arms against its Kings nor revolted from its obedience the reason is it bears a sincere affection towards them and if at any time it has excluded one and admitted another 't was because one was belov'd the other for Male-administration hated It was the advice of Iames the First of Arragon to Alphonso the Wise to seek rather the Love than Fear of his Subjects and to ingratiate himself with the Clergy and Commons that he might be the better able to grapple with the Nobility which Counsel if he had follow'd he had never lost the Crown Nero no sooner ceas'd to be lov'd than Conspiracies were form'd against him a thing which Subrius Flavius upbraided him with to his face 3 Nec quisquam tibi fidelior militum â—uit dum amari meruisti odisse â—aepi postquam parricida Matris Uxoâ—is auriga histrio incendiarâ—us extitisti Tac. 15. ann A King's Power and Majesty consist not in his own Person but in the Affection and good Will of his Subjects If they be disaffected who will oppose his Enemies 'T is Preservation makes the people want a King but that can never be expected from one who makes himself hated The Arragonians prudently foresaw this when having call'd to the Crown Peter Altharez Lord of Borgia from whom the most ancient and illustrious Family of the Dukes of Gandia is descended they afterwards repented and would not have him for their King because they saw he us'd them with Austerity and Rigour even before his Election Contrary to what Ferdinand the First King of Arragon did who by Love and Benevolence engag'd the hearts of all in that Kingdom as also in Castile during his Reign there We have seen many Princes ruin'd by Fear none ever by Love If therefore a Prince would be formidable let it be to his Enemies but let him endeavour to be belov'd by his Subjects without which though he come victorious over them he will at last fall by the hands of these As it befell Bardanus King of Persia 4 Claritâ—â—ine paucos inter senatum Regum siperinde amorem inter populares quam metum apud hostes quaesivisset Tac. 11. ann Love and Respect may be joyned but not Love and servile Fear He who is fear'd is hated and he who is hated is by no means secure Quem metuunt oderunt Quem quisque odit periisse expedit Enn. He who is fear'd by many also fears many And what greater misfortune is there than to command those who obey through Fear and govern Bodies rather than Minds The difference between the just Prince and the Tyrant is That one uses Arms to maintain his Subjects in Peace the other to protect himself against them If the strength and power of a Prince hated be small he is much exposed to danger from his Subjects if great yet much more For the greater their fear is the more sollicitous are they to provide for their Security as apprehending his cruelty will encrease with his Grandeur as in Bardanus King of Persia whose Glory made him more severe and insupportable
bountifull as that it may be term'd Extravagance for this vertue of Liberality ought to be used with order and measure without Detriment to the Crown and Royal Dignity †L. 3. tit 10. lib. 5. Recop To lay up the better to employ is not Avarice but premeditated Liberality To give inconsiderately is either Vanity or Folly By this Parsimony King Alphonso the Wise rais'd the Monarchy and lost the Crown by his profuse Extravagance one of the principal Complaints the Kingdom made against him was That he had given the Empress Marthâ— thirty thousand Marks of Silver to redeem her Husband Baldwin whom the Sultan of Aegypt retain'd Prisoner in which he was more vain than prudent King Henry the Second found the damage of having weakned the power of his Crown by his too great Bounty and therefore revok'd it by his last Will. Time and Opportunity ought to guide Princes in their Liberality sometimes it ought to be moderated when the Expences of War and the publick Necessities are great and to be apply'd to avert Dangers and to facilitate Designs in which he saves most who spends most for he who gives by little and little spends his Money without attaining his end War is avoided and Victory and Peace purchased by Liberality 9 Prov. 22. 9. The Prodigality of a Prince may be corrected by committing the management of his Treasures to thrifty frugal Ministers as may his Avarice by generous ones 'T is necessary sometimes to let a Prince see the summ of his Liberality for Grants are made sometimes without consideration and if the Prince kept an account of his Expences he would doubtless moderate them and 't is not always Liberality to grant Gratuities for Avarice is often vanquish'd by Importunity or sometimes weary with contending grants them through Despair 'T is natural to all Princes to give to those who have most I know not whether through Fear or Esteem of Power This that great Courtier Ioseph well understood when calling his Father and Brothers into Aegypt and offering them in Pharaoh's name all the Good of that Kingdom 10 Gen. 45. 18. he bid them bring with them all the Riches and Goods that they had 11 Ibid. ver 20. knowing that if they came rich the King would be more liberal to them so that he who expects Bounty from a Prince must not represent to him his Poverty and Misery There are no more ready means to have than to have 12 Luke 19. 26. EMBLEM XLI THE Motto of this Emblem has been famous to all Antiquity Some attribute it to Bias to Pythagoras Thales and Homer but I think 't is more reasonably ascrib'd to the Delphick Oracles for it seems rather a Divine than Humane Sentence fit to be engraven on all the Crowns Sceptres and Rings of Princes To this is reduc'd the whole Science of Government which consists in avoiding Extreams and loves the middle where Vertue keeps its Sphere 'T was ask'd Socrates Which was the properest Vertue for a young Man and he answer'd Nothing to Excess by which he comprehended all To this Motto the body of the present Emblem seems well suited Corn lay'd by the violence of unseasonable Rain when gentle Dews were sufficient 1 Magni animi est magna contemnere prudentis est mediocria malle quam nimia ista enim utilia sunt illa quòd superfluunt nocent Sic sâ—â— getem nimia sternit ubertas sic Rami onere franguntur sic ad maturitaâ—em non pervenit nimiâ— foecunditas Sen. Epist. 39. Honours by being too great suit ill with Subjects and rather disgrace than adorn them There are some favours so out of season that they pass for Injuries What avails it for the Prince to do a benefit if by his austere Looks and rugged Words he seems as 't were to throw it at one or does it so unseasonably that it does no kindness The Benefit and Favour is lost and the hand abhorr'd that gave it Which made King Alphonso the Wise say That Rewards should be given so â— propos that they may be beneficial to the Receiver †L. 1. tit 21. p. 2. As there are errors in Excess of Rewards and Favours so there is also in Punishments Such an exact Rigour better becomes a Minister of Justice than a Prince he is not at his Liberty but the Prince has the Keys of the Law in his own hand 'T is not Justice which is too severe nor Mercy which is not moderate and so of other Vertues The same Moderation a Prince out to observe in the arts of Peace and War so guiding the Chariot of the Government as they did in the Games of old that the Wheels may not touch the Goals for so they would be broken the art of the ancient Racers consisted in measuring the distance so exactly as to pass as near as possible without touching eitheâ— end What a Prince ought to take most care of is the Moderation of his Passions governing them with such Prudence that he may neither desire hope love or fear with too much Ardour and Violence rais'd by the Will not by Reason The desires of private persons may be easily accomplish'd but those of Princes not for those are proportion'd to their conditions and these are usually greater than the force of their Grandure tending always to Extreams Almost all Princes either ruin themselves or run into great inconveniences through Excess of Ambition mans desire being unlimited and the possibility of things very narrow it rarely happens that the first are measured by the latter or that there is any Justice between them Hence Princes seek pretences to rob their Neighbours nay their greatest Friends aspiring ever at the enlargement of their State without measuring their bodies with their Strength and their Government with Humane Capacity which cannot maintain all that may be acquired The Grandure of Empires lies upon their own Shoulders and are always ready to fall oppress'd with their own weight Let Princes therefore endeavour to maintain their States which either Succession or Election has given them and if any just occasion shall offer of enlarging them let them make use of it a God's name but with such caution as the Event shall shew to Prudence Ambition is not less dangerous in the Excess of its Fears than of its Desires especially in that which is acquired by Violence Fear suggests no means which are not immediately made use of for its preservation There is none of the line of the party wrong'd or any one who has the least pretension to the State though never so remote but is fear'd Tyranny usually proposes nothing less than a general ruin Thus Mucianus practis'd killing the Son of Vitellius 2 Mansuram discordiam â—btendens â—i semina belli restrinxisset Tac. â— ann The same also is taughâ— in the School of Machiavell whose Scholars forgetting the Example of David who sought out Saul's Relations that they might partake of his Mercy
But this Doctrine of Ministers being continued in Offices but for a time must not be understood of those supream Offices of the Princes Counsel or of Justice But on the contrary they ought to be fixt and continued because of the advantage of their Experience and Knowledge of Affairs depending These kinds of Offices are in Governments like the Poles in the Heavens about which the lesser Orbs move so that if they should be chang'd or removed the whole Universe would be endanger'd by the disorder of its natural Motions Solon knew this Inconveniency in the four hundred Senatours which were yearly Elected by Lot at Athens and therefore he established a Senate of Sixty worthy Men who were called Areopagites and while this continu'd the Republick flourished 'T is moreover very dangerous to commit the Government of Kingdoms during the Minority to persons who have any Pretentioâ—s thereto though never so unjust so it fell out in Arragon by the Imprudence of those who committed the Government to Sancho Duke of Roussillon until King Iames I. came to age Those Persons who have no manner of Pretention to the Crown either by Birth or any other Cause often thirst after it how much more then those who in Pictures and Images see their Ancestours brows incircled with it This Age as well as the pass'd gives us many deplorable Examples of Relations who have treacherously usurped Kingdoms which they were entrusted with Those of the Royal Blood are more prone to Tyranny in that they never want means to accomplish their Designs Few can be perswad'd of the Justice of that Law which prefers Birth to Vertue and every one thinks he better deserves a Crown than another and if this Reason should be of force in any one he is in danger from his Favourites who hoping to participate of his Grandeur strive to procure it by violent means and to raise Jealousies amongst his Relations If King Philip had any Jealousie of Don John of Austria they flow'd from this Spring A glorious Example of this Policy we find in the Infant Ferdinand refusing the Crown which was the Right of his Nephew Don John II. by which generous Recusance of that Crown on Earth he merited many more in Heaven The generous Loyalty which the Infants of that Name have paid the Kings of their Race is of an ancient Date Nor do we find less in this present Infant towards the present King whose Respect and Obedience is more like that of a Subject than of a Brother The heavenly Spheres pay not a more ready Obedience to the first mover than his Highness does to his Majestys Will. O truly Noble Prince whose glorious Birth though the greatest in the World is yet the least of his Excellencies the Effect of Divine Providence that in a time of such troublesome and tedious Wars which strain'd the very Axle-tree and Poles of the Government to raise us up an Atlas to support it by his Valour Conduct and Prudence EMBLEM LV. ARISTOTLE the better to instruct Alexander the Great in the Qualities of Counsellours compared them to Eyes which comparison Don Alonso the Wise makes use of in his Books of Laws Nor is this thought new for the Kings of Persia and Babylon call'd 'em their Eyes their Ears and their Hands according to the Offices in which they officiated The seven Spirits God's Ministers sent all over the Earth were the Eyes of a Lamb without spot or blemish 1 Apoc. 5. 6. A Prince who ought to see and comprehend so many Affairs should be all Eyes and all Ears 2 Superior debet esse totus mens c totus oculus S. Antioc Hom. 5. and because he can't be so he must make use of the Eyes and Ears of other Whence there is no Prince though never so prudent and intelligent but haâ— occasion for Ministers and to make use of them as his Eyes Ears and Hands 3 Nam Principes ac Reges nunc quoque multos sibi oculos multas aâ—res multas item manus atque pedes faciunt Arist. Pol. 5. c. 12 This is not of small advantage to him if he knows how to make a right use on 't for by thiâ— means he sees with every Body's eyes hears with their Ears and takes advise from them all 4 Hâ—â— enim ratione omnium oculis cernet omnium auribus audiet omnium denique consiliis in unum tendentibus consultabit Sines ad Arcad The Aegyptians meanâ— this by the Eye which they placed upon their Scepter for Counsels are the Eyes by which we inspect Futurity 5 Consilium oculus futurorum Arist. lib. 6. de Regim This Ieremiah seem'd to allude to when he said Virgaâ— vigilantem ego video 6 â—erem 1 11. Vid. Version Vulgar For this Reason in this present Emblem you see a Scepter full of Eyes to give the Prince to understand that he ought to inspect all Affairs of the Government by his Ministers nor is it to be wonder'd at that we place the Ministers in the Scepter for formerly their Names were engrave on the Crowns of the Emperours and Kings of Spain nor without Reason for they shine brighter than the Diadems themselves This Emblem of Eyes sufficiently shews the Qualifications that a Minister ought to be endued with For as the Sight extends to all things far and near so should the active Spirit of the Counsellour inspect all things present past and future that he may make a right Judgment of things and give a true Opinion of all Affairs which can't be done without much Reading great Experience and a continual Commerce with foreign Countries For if the Counsellours ben't perfectly versed in the Princes Nature and the Manners and Genius of the people they 'll ruine both themselves and the Government 7 Morum animorâ—mque Provincie nisi sâ—â—gneri qui de ea consulant perdant se Râ—mpub Cicero And to know this requires use for the Eyes don't know things which they have never seen he who has had Experience and Knowledge of things will readily find Expedients and Remedies 8 Eccles 3. 4. There is such a correspondence between the Eyes and Heart that the Affections of the one immediately strikes the other when this is sad they weep when this glad they smile if the Counsellour has not a particular Esteem for his Prince he will take but little care of his Affairs and is therefore very little to be trusted so said King Alphonso the Wise * L. 5. tit 9. p. 2. That Councellours ought to be the Princes true Friends otherwise he would be in great Danger for those who hate a Person will never advise him cordially The Eye won't suffer the Finger to touch its inside but upon its approach immediately sculks within the Lids how wise and learn'd soever the Minister is in his Counsels if he is easie and free of his Secerts if he suffers his Finger to probe his Heart he
King is his People when they are well defended according to a saying of the Emperor Iustinian that the Kingdom was always rich and the Exchequer full when the Subjects were wealthy and the Land plentiful * Lib. 15. tit 5. p. 2. When therefore a Prince raises Taxes with this Moderation the Subjects ought chearfully to pay them nor can they without a sort of Rebellion refuse them for Sovereignty has no other Portion nor publick necessity any other Assistance there is no Peace without Soldiers no Soldier without Pay no Pay without Taxes 6 Neque quies gentium sine armis neque arma sine stipendiis neque stipendia sine tributis haberi queunt Tac. 4. Hist. For this Reason when Nero would have remitted the Taxes the Roman Senate oppos'd him saying that without them the Empire would be ruin'd 7 Dissâ—lutionâ—m Imperii docendo si fructus quibus Resp. sustinetur 〈◊〉 Tac. 13. ann Taxes are the Prince of Peace but if they are too heavy and the People not well satisfied of their necessity they soon rebel against their Prince 'T was for no other Reason that King Alphonso Sirnamed the Great grew so odious to the People that after many Troubles and Vexations he was oblig'd to quit his Crown for the same also Garcios King of Galicia lost both his Kingdom and Life too †Mar. Hist. Hisp. lib. 9. cap. 8. K. Henry III. consider'd this Danger when being advised by some to raise new Taxes to defray the Expence of War he answer'd I fear the Discontent of my People more than my Enemies Money collected from unjust Taxes is mingled with the Subjects Blood as was seen to drop from that piece which St. Francis of Padua broke in the Presence of Ferdinand King of Naples and this ever crys for Vengeance against the Prince Great Taxes therefore ought not to be rais'd till the People be well convinced of the Necessity oâ— them for when they are satisfied of that and of the Justice of the Cause they patiently bear the heaviest Impositions as we see in those which were rais'd by K. Ferdinand IVth and in the Grant which the Parliament of Toledo made of a Million in the times of Henry III. permitting him also to raise more of his own accord to carry on the Wars against the Moors For though 't is not for private Persons to examine into the Justice of Taxes though they cannot often apprehend the Causes of Expences nor can they be communicated to them without evident Danger 8 Tibi summum rerum judicium dii dedere nobis obsâ—quii glâ—â—ia relictâ— est Tac. 6. ann yet are there some general Reasons which they may without Damage be inform'd of and though Natural and Divine Reason do allow the Power of levying Impositions to the Prince without the Subjects Consent when they are just and necessary as King Alphonso us'd to say yet will a prudent Prince so manage the matter and dispose the Minds of his Subjects that it may seem to be done with their Approbation Taxes are according to the Scripture the Bridle of the People 9 2 Sam. 8. 1. Vide. they keep them in Obedience and uphold the Prince's Authority Those who are free from all Taxes are ungovernable yet this Bridle should be so easie as not to gall them too much as King Flavius Herwegiâ—s prudently consider'd in the Thirteenth Council of Toledo saying That that Government was best which neither oppress'd the People with too great Taxes nor made them remiss and negligent by too little * Ut nec incauta exactio populos gravet nec indiscreta râ—missio statum gentis fociat deperire Concil Tol xiii The Command which Princes have over the Lives of their Subjects is executed without Danger it being done by Law which punishes some as Examples to the rest but not so that Command which they have over their Goods and Estates for that comprehendâ— all in general and People are more sensible in what concerns their Estates than their Bodies especially when they are got by Sweat and Blood and are to be imployed to supply the Prince's Luxury In which that remarkable Action of K. David ought to be consider'd when he refus'd to drink the water which his three Soldiers brought him from amidst the Enemies Camp least he should seem to drink the Blood of those Men 10 2 Sam. 23. 17. 'T is no good Policy to impoverish the People by Taxes the better to keep them in Obedience for though Poverty whether Original or Accidental debases our Spirits which always rise and fall with our Condition yet does Oppression provoke our Minds and urge us to Rebellion 11 Ferocissimo quoque adsumpto aut quibus ob egestatem ac metum ex Flagitiis maxima peccandi necessitudo Tac. 3. ann All the Israelites that were in Distress and every one that was in Debt and every one that was discontented joyn'd David against Saul 12 1 Sam. 22. 2. The People are always most obedient when they are richest The plenty of Egypt made the People of God though very severely us'd forget their Liberty but afterwards when they came to want in the Wilderness they complain'd heavily of their Slavery and Bondage When a Kingdom is given upon Condition that no Taxes shall be levy'd without its Consent or if this be afterwards provided by some general Decree as was in the Parliament of Madrid in the time of King Alphonso XIth or when it has acquired this Privilege by long Prescription as in Spain and France in such Cases the Prince must wait the Consent of the Parliament least he should expose himself to the same Danger as Charles VIIth of France did formerly when he went to raise a certain Tax without communicating it to his Council 'T is also of great advantage to a Prince to be so well esâ—eem'd of his People that from their Opinion of his Zeal for their Good they may think whatever Taxes he imposes upon them are just and reasonable and blindly agree to whatever he proposes committing themselves wholly to his Prudence and Management as the Egyptians did to Ioseph's when he exacted the fifth part of their Estates 13 Gen. 47. 25. When the People have once this Confidence in the Prince he ought diligently to take Care not to burthen them without sufficient Cause and mature Deliberation But if necessity does require it let him at least take Care that the Taxes be well expended for the People take nothing more hainously than to see no advantage from their Oppressions and to see their Estates squander'd away to no purpose They are also very uneasie to see Taxes continued when the Occasion for which they were rais'd is over As 't was in Vespasian's time when the Taxes rais'd for the necessity of War were continued in time of Peace 14 Necissitate armâ—rum excusorta etiam in pace mauâ—erâ— Tac. 2. ann For afterwards Subjects dread them and grudge to pay
them though never so small thinking that they will be perpetual Queen Mary gain'd the Hearts of her Subjects and preserv'd their Loyalty in the most difficult times by remitting the Excise which her Husband King Sancho IVth had laid upon Provisions 'T is difficult to perswade People to part with their Money to maintain a foreign War nor can they easily apprehend how much it conduces to their Interest to keep War from their own Doors and maintain it in foreign States and how much safer is the Defence of a Shield than that of a Helmet that being farther distant from the Head The Purblind Mobb can seldom see so far They weigh rather the present Burthen than the future Benefit not thinking all the Riches of the Kingdom will be afterwards too little to make good the Damage they have suffer'd by their obstinate Negligence 15 Plerumque accidit ut quae provinciae pecuniae parcendo â—mota pericula contemnunt incumbentibus demum malis desperatâ— sâ—pe remedio graviora sentiant detrimâ—nta Paul Jov. It requires therefore all the Prudence and Dexterity of a Prince to make them know their Interest In raising Taxes Care ought always to be taken not to oppress the Nobility for Exemption from Taxes being the chief Distinction between them and the Commons they can't brook to see themselves degraded and their Privileges violated which were acquir'd by the Valour and Vertue of their Ancestors This was the Reason why the Nobility of Castile took up Arms against Henry III. who tax'd 'em at fiâ—e Marvedees of Gold apiece towards the Charge of the War Neither should Taxes be laid upon such things as are absolutely necessary for Life but rather upon Toys Curiosities Pride and Vanity for so besides correcting Luxury they would fall in the greatest measure upon the Rich and would be Encouragement to Husbandmen and Tradesmen which part of the Government ought most to be cherished and supported so the Romans laid great Taxes upon the Spices Pearls and Jewels which were imported from Arabia as Alexander Severus did upon those Offices which tended more to Debauchery than Use and Necessity 't is the readiest way to Reformation to inhance the Price of Vanity There are no Taxes paid more easily than those which are laid upon Commodities imported for the greatest part of them is paid by Foreigners wherefore in England the Royal Revenue is very prudently raised from these kind of Taxes the Kingdom it self being Exempt The greatest Inconveniency in raising Taxes and Excise is in the Collectors and Receivers who are often more burthensome than the Taxes themselves for there is nothing that the Subjects take more grievously than the violence and importunity of these sort of Men in collecting their Money 'T is an Observation that only Sicily endur'd them with Patience God himself complains of them by the Prophet Isaiah that they oppress'd his People 16 Isa. 3 12. Vid. In Egypt some Prophet was always President of the Customs for they thought it not safe to trust 'em to any but God's immediate Servant but now they are committed to Pedlars and Broakers who wreck a Ship in Port which had escaped the Fury of the Wind and Sea 17 Portus nostros navis veniens non paveseat ut certum nautis possit esse naufragium si manus non incurrereâ—t exigentium quos frequenter plus affligunt damna quam solent naufragia Cassiod lib. 4. Ep. 19. like Robbers plundering Travellers of their Goods and Money What wonder therefore that Trade decays and that Riches and Merchandice are not imported if they are expos'd to such as these who plunder 'em by Authority what Wonder I say That the People complain of Taxes if for one Shilling that comes to the King ten goes to the Collectors and Receivers for this Reason when in the Parliament of Guadalâ—jara the Kingdom of Castile offer'd to raise 150000 Ducats it was upon Condition that they themselves should keep Books of the Receipts and Disbursements of it that they might know what was imployed to the publick Interest and how it was expended without trusting it to the Management of those who had the Government of the Kingdom during the Kings Minority For the same Reason the People of France propos'd to King Henry II. that if he would discharge his Collectors they would themselves pay in their Assessments where-ever he should Order which the King had agreed to had not some of his Ministers disswaded him The Kingdoms of Castile have often offer'd the same thing nay and also to pay off the Crown Debts but 't was judg'd that it would be a Diminution to the Royal Authority to be instructed and tutor'd by the Kingdom and besides that such a Power could not be without Danger But I believe the true Reason was that the Court was unwilling to lose so many beneficial Offices and such ready means of getting Money A Prince's Credit consists not in the Administration but in the Possession of Riches The Roman State was not less careful of their Authority than any other yet by Reason of the Trouble and Charge of Collecting it order'd each Province to Collect and pay in their own Taxes taking Care to keep the Officers in their Duty that they might not oppress the People through Avarice and Extortion in this Tiberius took particular Care 18 Ne Provinciae nobis oneribus turbarentur utque vetera sinâ— a varitia â—ut crudelitate Magistratuum tolerarent Tac. lib. 4. ann Modesty in the Collecting of one Tax obliges the People more readily to grant others EMBLEM LXVIII THE Ingenious Greeks included in certain pretty Fables as the Aegyptians in Hieroglyphicks not only all Natural Philosophy but also Moral and Politick either to hide them from the Vulgar or else that they might be the better imprinted in their Minds by these pleasant and delightful Fictions So to represent the Power of Navigation and the Riches thereby acquir'd they feign'd that the Ship Argo which was the first that durst venture upon the main Ocean obtained the famous Fleece which instead of Wool yielded Gold for which glorious Exploit it was consecrated to Pallas the Goddess of War and placed amongst the Constellations as a Reward of such dangerous Voyages shewing the World that by the Help of Oars and Sails they might make Way through Mountains of Waves and by the Assistance of the Wind carry Arms and Merchandise all the World over This Morality and the Preferment of that Ship to the Skies occasion'd me to draw two in this present Emblem as the Poles of the Globe Terrestrial to shew that Navigation is the Support of the World by Commerce and Arms These Poles are Movable but in their Motion consists the Stability of Empires There 's scarce any Monarchy which has not receiv'd its Rise and Preservation from thence If the Grandeur of Spain were not supported by both those Poles the Mediterranean and Ocean it would soon fall For 't is evident that Provinces
prudently Enacted by the Kingdom of Arragon That all their Kings thenceforward should take an Oath not to alter any thing about the Coin This is the Duty of a Prince as Pope Innocent III. wrote to the same King Peter when his Subjects began to rebell against him Of which this seems to be the Reason That the Prince is subject to the Law of Nations and as Publick Trustee ought to take care that there be no Alteration in the Nature of the Coin which consists in Matter Form and Quantity nor can any Kingdom be constituted where that is not pure But not to be wholly silent in a Matter so Important to Government I 'll mention Two things First That Money is then Just and Convenient when the Coin or Stamp adds nothing to the Intrinsick Value of it and when the Gold and Silver have the common Alloy of other Nations for this will prevent its being Exported The other is That it should be of the same Weight and Value with that of other Nations permitting also the Currency of Foreign Coin Nor will it at all derogate from the Prince's Authority since the Coin serves only to shew the Weight and Value of it And this seems most commodious iâ— those Kingdoms which hold Correspondence and Trade with many Nations EMBLEM LXX EMPIRE admits of no Companion nor can Majesty be divided For it is impossible that each should Command and Obey at the same time especially since Power and Accidents cannot be so nicely shar'd between them both nor Ambition so equally balanced but that one will desire to be above the other or that Envy and Emulation will disturb their Agreement * Lucan Rivals in Empire still mistrustful are Nor can Authority a Part'ner bear It seems next to an Impossibility that the Orders and Commands of two Governors should not thwart one another Moses and Aaron were Brothers and yet when God made them Part'ners he thought it necessary to be in the Mouth of one and in the Mouth of the other and to teach them what to do lest any Dissention should arise between them 1 Exod. 4. 15. A Republick has but one Body and should therefore be guided but by one Soul 2 Vnum esse Reip. Corpus atque unius animo regendum Tac. 3. Annal. A King will hardly entertain even a depos'd Prince within his Kingdom This was the King of Portugal's Excuse for not admitting King Peter when depos'd by his Brother Henry Nothing but Matrimony which unites Bodies and Souls and the singular Prudence of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella could have prevented the Inconveniencies of their Joint-Reign in the Kingdom of Castile For Power and Concord are very rarely found together 3 Quanquam arduum sit eodem loci potentiâ—â—â— concordiam esse Tac. 4. Annal. And though there was some Consent and Union in the Joint-Empire of Dioclesian and Maximinian yet was not that without its Troubles and Inconveniencies for which Reason the Roman Consuls used to Command by Turns But if there be occasion for more Princes than One 't is better to have Three for the Authority of One will check the Ambition of the other Two There can be no Faction where there is no Equality which was the Reason why the Triumvirates of Caesar Crassus and Pompey and of Anthony Lepidus and Augustus continued for sometime The Kingdom was well govern'd during the Minority of King Henry III. by his Three Guardians * Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 15. c. 12. Upon which Consideration King Alphonso the Wise propos'd That during the Nonage of Kings the Administration of Affairs should be committed to One Three Five or Seven Which not being observ'd in the Minority of Alphonso XI the Kingdom of Castile felt great Commotions from the Government of the two Infants Iohn and Peter which at last oblig'd the Royal Council to take upon 'em the Administration Though Empires are always violent and of short continuance which are divided and depend not upon one as it happen'd to Alexander's which vast as it was ended with his Life for that after him 't was divided among many That which the Moors had founded in Spain had lasted longer had it not been divided into many Kingdoms This is represented in this present Emblem by a Crown'd Tree which signifies a Kingdom To intimate that if two Hands tho' of the same Body should pull this Tree two different ways they would rend burst and ruine the Crown For Humane Ambition sometimes forgets the Bonds of Nature When States are divided among Brothers the Crown can never remain entire and in Union for every one is for himself and grasps at the whole Sceptre as his Father held it So it befell King Sancho the Elder Divine Providence united all the Kingdoms of Spain to his Empire that by their Joint-Force they might expell the Moors and free themselves from their Tyrannick Slavery But he through Fatherly Affection rather than prudent Policy divided his Kingdoms among his Children thinking that so they would be stronger and more ready to unite against the Common Enemy * Mat. Hist. Hisp. l. 9. c. 1. But instead of that each of the Brothers set up for King himself So that the Crown being thus rent in pieces lost its Strength and Splendour And as Domestick Feuds and Grudges are more inveterate than other they soon grew to Civil Wars each endeavouring to depose his Brother to the utmost Detriment of the Publick This Example might one would have thought have been a Warning to all Princes for the future yet we find King Ferdinand the Great the Emperor Alphonso and Iames I. King of Arragon guilty of the same fault dividing the Command of their Kingdoms among their Children †Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 9. c. 8. I know not whether this be the Effect of Self-Conceit or Humane Nature ever greedy of Novelty and fond of old rejected Opinions thinking that best which was done by their Ancestors if 't is not that we seek for Examples to excuse our own Resolutions Iames II. King of Arragon was more prudent upon this score when he firmly Enacted That the Kingdoms of Arragon and Valence and the Province of Catalonia should never be separated * Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 15. c. 19. Nor can these Errors be excused either by the Law of the Twelve Tables or the Common Law which shares the Father's Estate equally among the Children or by Natural Reason which seems to urge that as the Children receiv'd their being in common from their Father they should also be Sharers of his Estate For a King is a Publick Person and ought to act as King and not as a Father and ought rather to attend the Good of his Subjects than his Children Besides a Kingdom is a kind of Publick Chattel and so belongs to no one in particular it not being in the King's Power to dispose of that as of his own private Goods For the Subjects in submitting themselves to
One have requir'd a Right to be preserv'd defended and maintain'd by him which is inconsistent with the Division of the Empire And since this Right is Common and Universal it ought surely to be preferr'd to private Love and Paternal Affection or to Desire of making Peace among his Children by the Ruine of the Publick Besides instead of making them agree it arms 'em with Power to quarrel with one another about the Dividends which cannot be made so equal as to satisfie all Brothers would live much more quietly if their Maintenance should depend upon him who Commands in Chief for so each would receive a Revenue sufficient to support the Grandeur of his Birth Thus Iehosaphat did 4 2 Chron. 21. 3. There being no Occasion for that barbarous Custom of the Turks or that Impious Policy of some who think no Government firm and secure unless its Foundation be mix'd with the Blood of all such who have but the least Pretensions to it as if that like Cement or Mortar fasten'd the Stones of the Building For the said Reason almost all Nations preferr Succession to Election well knowing that an Interregnum is liable to Dissentions and Civil Wars and that 't is safer to accept a Prince than to seek one 5 Minori discrimine sumi principem quà m quaeri Tac. 1. Hist. Wherefore since Succession is best 't is most agreeable to follow the Course of Nature preferring him whom she first sent into the World so that neither Minority nor any other Natural Defect is a sufficient Objection to this Right especially when there are greater Inconveniencies attend the admittance of another of which the Scriptures afford us very many Examples There is the same Reason and Right for the Succession of Women to the Crown in default of Heirs Male for otherwise the Crown would be subject to Divisions by Collateral Pretensions And though the Salique Law under the Pretence of the Frailty and Imbecility of that Sex if it mayn't rather be call'd the Envy and Ambition of Men does contrary to the many glorious Examples of the Valour and Conduct of the Female Sex urge many Inconveniencies which may seem to exclude them from the Administration yet is there none so weighty as to balance the Advantage of preventing an Interregnum Nay there are strong Reasons why they ought to be admitted it preventing Pretensions and Civil Wars about the Succession And besides matching the Heiress to some Great Prince there acceeds a considerable Addition to the Crown as it happen'd to the Kingdom of Castile and the House of Austria If the above-mention'd Inconveniencies are ever of weight 't is in small Principalities where the Heiress marrying with other Princes the Family may become extinct and one State be confounded with the other EMBLEM LXXI WHAT does not Labour overcome It subdues Iron softens Brass draws out Gold into the finest Wire and cuts the hardest Diamonds A soft Rope does by continual Motion wear the Marble Edge of the Well By this Consideration St. Isidore when he apply'd himself to Study overcame the Dulness of his Genius What Fort was ever so strong as that Assiduity could not conquer it The continued Force of that Engine which the Ancients call'd a Ram would make a Breach in the thickest and strongest Walls And we see now a-days that Castles though defended by Artillery Walls Ramparts and Ditches are at last forced to yield to the Spade and Mattock No Difficulty retards or checks a Constant Spirit The Temple of Glory is not situated in a delightful Valley nor in a delicious Plain but upon a rugged Mountain's Top not to be arriv'd at but by rough uncouth Paths over-run with Thorns and Brambles The Temples of Minerva Mars and Hercules Deities glorious for their Vertue were not built of Corinthian or Carv'd Work finely imbellish'd with curious Engravings as were those of Flora and Venus but after the Dorick Fashion rough and unpolish'd Nor did the Cornices and Chapiters of the Pillars shew any thing but that they were built by Labour and Industry not by Luxury and Ease 'T was not the Ship Argos's lying at Anchor in Port that preferr'd it to the Skies but it s daring the Wind and Sea and resolutely exposing it self to all Dangers and Difficulties Never did any Prince Enlarge his Territories by Effeminacy Luxury and Ease Labour Traffick and Industry are necessary to all but to none more than to a Prince for others are born only for themselves but a Prince for All. A Kingdom is not an Office of Repose and Rest. Certain Courtiers once were discoursing before Alphonso King of Arragon and Naples against the necessity of a Prince taking Pains Do you think then says he that Nature gave Princes Hands to do nothing That wise Prince had doubtless considered the admirable Composure of them their Joins their Readiness to open and their Strength to hold and also their mutual Aptness to do whatever the Mind proposes being as it were the Instruments of all Arts Whence he concluded that this exquisite Structure was not accidental or merely for no Use but for Pains and Toil Labour and Industry The Prince whose Hands are careless and unclinched will soon drop his Sceptre and give his Courtiers opportunity of catching at it As it befell King Iohn II. who so wholly gave himself up to the Diversions of Poetry and Musick that he could not endure the Weight of Affairs and either carelesly transacted them himself or left 'em totally to the Management of his Ministers rather chusing this sottish Ease than the glorious Labour of Government not at all regarding the Examples of his Heroick Predecessors So we often find that the Vertue and ardent Courage of Ancestors is wholly extinguish'd in their Posterity by the Luxury and Voluptuousness of Empire and so the Race of great Princes becomes degenerate as we see in Horses when they are remov'd from a dry and lean Pasture into one too fat and fertile This Consideration mov'd Frederick King of Naples upon his Death-bed to write to his Son the Duke of Calabria to inure his Body to Military Exercise and not suffer himself to be debauch'd by Pleasures nor vanquish'd by Difficulties and Dangers * Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 28. 11. Labour and Employment is as it were the Anchor of the Mind without which it would be toss'd about with the Waves of Passion and dash'd to pieces upon the Rocks of Vice God enjoyn'd Labour to Man as a Punishment yet so as it might be at the same time the Means of his Quiet and Prosperity 1 Gen. 3. 19. Those Foundations and noble Superstructures of the Monarchies of the Medes Assyrians Greeks and Romans were not founded by Sloth and Laziness but by Toil and Labour It was that which so long supported their Grandeur 't is this which still preserves Oeconomies in Kingdoms For since it partly depends upon the mutual Assistance of Peoples Labours when they flag all those Conveniencies at the
sides yet could they never take away Iacob's Distrust who notwithstanding endeavoured all he could to be severed from him and secure himself * Gen. 33. 12. Renewed Friendship is like a vessel of Metal which to day shines and to morrow is covered with Rust 4 Never trust thine enemy for like as iron rusteth so is his wickedness though he humble himself and go crouching yet take good heed and beware of him Eccl. 12. 10. Nor are all the good offices in the World capable of making it firm because the remembrance of Injuries is never quite erased out of the Mind Ervigius after the Usurpation of Wamba's Crown marry'd his Daughter Cixilon to Egica a very near Relation of that King 's and afterwards nominated him for his Successor but even this could not keep Egica from giving some marks of his Hatred to his Father-in-Law as soon as ever he came to the Crown * Mar. Hist. Hisp. The Scars of Wounds made by Injuries on the Mind always remain in the Person wrong'd and upon the first motion bleed afresh Injuries are like Marshes which though dried up are easily filled with Water again There is a certain Shadow always betwixt the Offender and the Offended which no Light of Excuse or Satisfaction can dispell Nor is Friendship secure on the former's side in that he never is persuaded the other has really and from his heart forgiven the Injury and always looks on him as an Enemy Besides that it is natural to hate one you have injured 5 Proprium humani ingenii est odisse quem laeser is Tac. Vit. Agric. This is what happens in the Friendship of private Persons but 't is not so in those of Princes if indeed there be any true Friendship to be met with between them for Self-Interest makes them Friends or Enemies and though the Friendship be broke a thousand times yet it is presently renewed again by hopes of Advantage and as long as this may be executed continues firm and constant Wherefore in such Friendships as these no regard is to be had to the Ties of Blood or Obligations of Favours received for these are things disowned by Ambition Their Duration is to be esteem'd by Utility in that all Friendships now-a-days are like those of Philip King of Macedon who made Interest not Faith the Measure of them In these Friendships which are more Reason of State than any Mutual Harmony of Wills Aristotle and Cicero would never have so sharply reprimanded Bias for saying We ought to love no otherwise than if we were to hate again For a Prince would be deceived in his Confidence should he ground it upon such Friendship It is best then for Princes to be Friends so to day as to think they may possibly fall out to morrow But although this Precaution is not to be found fault with yet Interest and Self-ends are not to be preferred to Friendship ever the more for that 't is common for others to do so Let Friendship fail in others but not the Prince we propose to form by these Emblems whom we exhort to Constancy in his Actions and Obligations All that has been said hitherto has respect to such Friendships as are betwixt neighbouring Princes between whom there is some Emulation of Grandeur for among others sincere Amity and a reciprocal Correspondence may have place Power should not be so over-careful as to trust no one Like a Tyrant he will be ever in Fear who puts no Confidence in his Friends Without these the Crown is Slavery not Majesty 'T is an unjust Empire that deprives Princes of Friendships Not Armies nor Treasures are the Defence of a Kingdom but Friends 6 Non exercitus neque thesauri praesidia Regni sunt verum amici Sallust 'T is not the Golden Scepter that protects a King but abundance of Friends those are the truest those the securest Scepter 7 Non aureum istud sceptrum est quod Regem custodit sed copia amicorum ea Regibus sceptrum tutissimum Xenoph. Nor is there any greater Instrument of good Government than good Friends 8 Nec â—llum majus boni Imperii instrumenâ—um quam boni Amici Tac. Annal. l. 4. Friendship between great Princes should be maintained rather by a good Correspondence than by Presents for Interest is always ungrateful and insatiable For the sake of that Friendships are pretended never really contracted as Vitellius found who thinking to preserve his Friends by the Richness of his Presents not by his Merit deserved rather than had them 9 Dum amicitias magnitudine munerum non constantia morum continere putavit meruit magis quam habuit Tac. Hist. l. 2. Friends are to be kept by Iron not Gold for Fear of Arms creates more of them than Desire of Money Pecuniary Subsidies enervate the Giver and the greater they are the lesser time can they be continued and as fast as the Prince's Coffers empty his Reputation diminishes Princes are esteem'd and lov'd for the Treasures they still have not those they have already squandered away more I say for what they can give than for what they have given For Hope prevails much more with Men than Gratitude He who buys Peace is unable to uphold it with Arms. This is a Fault which almost all Monarchies fall into when arrived to some height of Grandeur they strive to maintain it by Money not Arms and thus consuming their Treasures and oppressing their Subjects to raise Contributions for neighbouring Princes to keep the Circumference quiet they weaken the Center And though that Greatness be supported for a time yet 't is at the Price of a greater Downfall for that Weakness being known and the Frontiers once lost the Enemy without Opposition makes way to their Heart Thus it befell the Roman Empire when after having been at so many useless Expences and wasted their Strength the Emperors went about to gain the Parthians and Germans by Presents which was the first beginning of their Ruine Hence Alcibiades advised Tisaphernes not to be so liberal of his Succors to the Lacedaemonians but to remember that it was not his own but another's Victory he promoted and that he was to support the War so as not to be obliged to abandon it through Want 10 Ne tanta stipendia classi Lacedaemoniorum praeberet sed nec auxiliis nimis enixe juâ—andos quippe non immemorem esse debere alienam esse victoriam non suam instruere eatenus bellum sustinendum ne inopia deseratur Trog l. 5. This Counsel we may make our Advantage of by taking care what is expended on Favour of Foreign Princes to the great prejudice and weakening of Castile which yet as being the Heart of the whole Monarchy should be furnish'd with the greatest quantity of Blood to distribute Vital Spirits to all the other Parts of the Body as Nature her self the best Mistress of Politicks instructs who fortifies with the strongest Fences the interiour Parts
of 〈◊〉 ordered him to leave it instantly threatning if he â—â—d not to drive him and all that belong'd to him out 〈◊〉 his Kingdom The same did his Son Ferdinand in 〈◊〉 the Bishoprick of Cuenca to which Pope Sixtus had â—â—â—ated Raphaël Galeot a Relation of his own 11 Anton. â—eb Hist. Hisp. For â—â—e King incens'd that it should be given to a Foreigner and without his Nomination enjoined all the Spaniards to leave Rome protesting he would call a Council upon that and some other Matters and when the Pope afterwards sent his Nuncio into Spain he bid him return complaining that His Holiness did not use him as such an obedient Son of the Church deserved and wondred that the Embassador should undertake such a Commission But he humbly making answer That he would renounce the Priâ—â—es of an Embassador and submit wholly to His Majesty's Pleasure by this and the good Offices of the Cardinal of Spain he was admitted and all the Differences adjusted But unless for Self-Preservation or otherwise the Case be extremely dangerous recourse should not be had to these Methods and it is befitting the Paternal Affection of the Popes not to give Occasion to them behaving themselves so Courteous always so as thereby to maintain a good Correspondence with Princes For although they have in their Hand as was said the two Swords of Spiritual and Temporal Authority yet this ought to execute nothing but by the Arms of Emperors and Kings as Protectors and Defenders of the Church Which makes it as Alphonsus the Wise says * In Proem p. 2. of so much concernment for those two Powers always to agree so that each may help the other when Occasion requires I doubt not but all those whom God hath placed in this High Station have this Care deeply rooted in their Hearts but yet it is often-times perplexed by the Courtiers of Rome whose only business is to sow Discords as also by the Ambition of some Ministers who think to wind themselves into the Favour of the Popes and to procure the best Preferments by their Independency on Princes and by the Aversion they bear them always inventing Pretences to reject their Petitions and taking all occasions of Affronting their Embassadors and who to appear Stout suggest violent Counsels under colour of Religion and Zeal all which ruine the good Understanding of the Popes and Temporal Princes to the great prejudice of the Christian Commonwealth and chills the Veins of Piety for want of Love the Artery that cherishes them and maintains their warmth EMBLEM XCV THE Isthmus maintains it self between the Force and Power of two contrary Seas as their common Arbiter not enclining more to this than that Hence what one takes from it the other restores again and by the conflict of both it is preserved entire for if the Waves of either should once swell and overflow the whole Tract of Ground they would spoil its Jurisdiction and it would be no longer an Isthmus This Neutrality betwixt two great Powers supported for a long time Peter Ruiz d'Azagra in his Government of Albarraein situate on the Frontiers of Castile and Arragon 1 Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 11. c. 16. for each of these Kings took care not to let it be oppress'd by the other and those Emulations kept the Freedom of that little State untouch'd By this the Dukes of Savoy may see how much it is their Interest to stand Neuter between the two Crowns of France and Spain and to keep in their Hands the free Disposal of the Passes into â—â—aly by the Alps as a thing whereon their Grandeuâ— their Conservation and the Necessity of their Friendship entirely depends it highly concerning each of these Crowns not to let them be subdued by the other Hence the Spaniards have so often marched to the Aid of Charles Emanuel and recovered such Places as the French had taken from him I know only one Case wherein it is better that these Princes breaâ— this Neutrality and side with one of the two Crowns and that is when the other attempts the Conquest of their Dominions particularly that of France For if once the French should drive the Spaniards out of Italy they would become so powerful considering they have already eâ—tended their Dominions from the very utmost Limits of the Ocean as far as the Mediterranean through Calâ—â—ria that over running the States of Savoy and Piedmont they must of necessity either unite them to the Crown of France or but then them with an intolerable Slavery which the whole Body of Italy would soon feel the Effects of without hopes of redeeming their Liberty again and for Spain ever to retrieve their Losses or balance their Forces would be extremely difficult considering the vast distance between them too This Danger the Republick of Venice with a great deal of Prudence weighed when seeing Charles the Eighth's Power encrease in Italy they struck up that which was called the Holy League From that time one may say Divine Providence began to contrive the Security and Preservation of the Apostolick Chair and of Religion and to prevent its falling under the Tyranny of the Turk or being infected with the Heresies then taking root in Germany advanced the Greatness of the House of Austria and establish'd the Spanish Monarchy in the States of Naples Sicily and Milan that Italy might have a Catholick Prince to defend it on all sides And to restrain the Power of Spain and make it content with the Rights of Succession Fiefs and Arms it raised it a Rival in the Person of the King of France to lay its Kings under a necessity for their Preservation of gaining the Love and Good-will of their Subjects and the Esteem of other Princes by maintaining Justice among them with these Peace without giving the least Occasion to War which always hazards the Rights and Designs of the most Powerful This Advantage which Italy reaps from the Power of Spain is by some unjustly traduced as a Yoke of Slavery when on the contrary it is the only Instrument of its Repose of its Liberty and Religion The Mistake proceeds from their not well knowing the Importance of this Counterpoise A Person ignorant in Navigation seeing the Bottom of a Ship filled with Sand and Stones thinks it carries the Cause of its Wreck in this Weight whereas they who are acquainted with Sea-Affairs know that without this Ballast the Lightness of the Ship could never subsist long against the Agitation of the Waves Nicephorus speaking of this Aequilibrium between two Crowns looks on it as a Common Advantage to the Subjects of both Kingdoms when he says That he could not enough admire the inscrutable Wisdom of God who makes two directly opposite Means tend to the same End as when he would keep two Powers at variance without however subjecting the one to the other he either gives to both Commanders whose Capacity and Courage discover the Artifices and oppose the Attempts of the adverse
grown it will be difficult to judge whether they were the product of Nature or Art Let them incourage Vertue with Honour brand Vice with Infamy and Disgrace excite Emulation by Example these things have a great Effect upon all Tempers tho' more on some than others Those who are of a Generous disposition Glory influences most the Melancholy Ignominy the Cholerick Emulation the Inconstant Fear the Prudent Example which is generally of most efficacy with all especially that of Ancestors for often what the Blood could not Emulation does perform 'T is with Children as young trees on which you must Graff a branch as I may say of the same Father to bring them to perfection These Grafts are the famous examples which infuse into Posterity the Vertues of their Ancestors and bear excellent fruit That therefore it may be conveighed as it were thro' all the Senses into the mind and take deep Root there should be the particular industry of his Instructors and consequently they are not to be proposed to the Prince in ordinary Exhortations only or Reproofs but also in sensible objects Sometime let History put him in mind of the great Atchievements of his Ancestors the glory of which eternized in print may excite him to imitate them Sometimes Musick that sweet and wonderfull Governess of the passions playing their Trophies and Triumphs will be proper to Raise his Spirits Sometimes let him hear Panegyricks recited upon their Life to encourage and animate him to an Emulation of their Vertues now and then reciting them himself or with his young Companions Act over their Exploits as upon a stage thereby to inflame his mind for the force and efficacy of the action is by degrees so imprinted on him that he appears the very same whose person he represents Lastly let him play the part of a King amongst them receive petitions give audience ordain punish reward command or marshal an Army besiege Cities and give Battel In experiments of this nature Cyrus was educated from a little Boy and became afterwards an eminent General But if there be any inclinations unbecoming a Prince discernible in his Infancy he should have the Company of such as are eminent for the opposite Vertues to correct the Vices of his Nature as we see a straight Pole does the Crookedness of a tender Tree tyed to it Thus if the Prince be covetous let one naturally liberal be always at his Elbow if a Coward one bold and daring if timorous one resolute and active if Idle and Lazy one diligent and industrious for those of that Age as they imitate what they see or hear so they also easily copy their Companions Customs To Conclude in Education of Princes too rough Reprehension and Chastisement is to be avoided as a kind of Contempt Too much Rigour makes men mean spirited nor is it fit that he should be servilely subject to One Man who ought to Command all It was well said of King Alphonsus Generous Spirits are sooner corrected by words than blows and â—ove and respect those most who use them so Youth is like a young horse that the Barnacle â—urts but is easily governed by the gentler Bit. Besides that men of generous Spirits usually conceive a secret horrour of those things they learnt thro' fear on the contrary have an inclination and desire to try those Vices which in their Childhood were prohibited them Affections too much confined especially such as nature endows a Prince withall break out at last into Despair as Exhalations hard bound within the Clouds into Lightning He that imprudently shuts the gates upon natural inclinations is the occasion of their attempting to get thro' the Windows Some allowance is to be made to humane infirmity which is by some innocent diversions to be raised to Vertue this method they took who had the Care of Nero's Education 14 Quo facilius lubricam Principis aetatem si verâ—tutem asper nareâ—ur voluptatibus concessus retineret Tac. 13. ann The Tutor ought to chide the Prince in private not before Company least he rather grow obstinate when he sees his Vices are publick In these two Verses of Homer is very aptly contained how a Prince ought to be instructed how to obey Advise Command him and what 's good suggest He will obey when for himself 't is best Hom. 2. Il. EMBLEM III. BY the industry of some ingenious and carefull hand one while watering another time defending it from the injuries of Wind and ill Weather the Rose grows and as the Bud opens unâ—olds its little leaves into a circular form A flower strangely pretty but which flatters only the Eyes and is subject to so many casualties that in this its infinite delicacy 't is by no means secure The very same Sun which saw it bloom sees it also whither and that without any other benefit than just shewing the World its beauty it brings so many months Labour to nothing nay oftentimes wounds the very hand that planted it nor could it be otherwise than that such rank tillage should produce thorns Of Coral a Sea shrub there 's quite another account to be given for that growing under Water and continually tossed by the Violence of Waves and Tempestuous Winds becomes so much the harder and more beautiful nay then first is it more illustriously useful when it has underwent the rage of so many Elements Such contrary Effects arise from the different manner of growing of this Shrub and that Flower in respect of softness and hardness The same happens in the Education of Princes for they who are brought up so tenderly and closely that neither the Sun Wind or other Air can come to them but that of perfumes prove too delicate and little fit for Government they on the contrary are strong and able who inure their Bodies to laborious Exercises It 's also convenient to use ones self to Cold from our infancy as a thing of great advantage to health and that will enable us to undergo Military duties 1 Est etiam utile sâ—atim ab ineunte aetate frigoribus assuescere hoc 〈◊〉 tum ad vâ—letudinem tum ad munera militaâ—ia commodâ—ssimum est Arist. Pol. 7. cap 17. By these Exercises Life is prolonged by Voluptuousness and Luxury shortned a Vessel of Glass formed with a blast of the Mouth is with a blast broken Whereas one of Gold wrought with a hammer resists a hammer 'T is no matter if he that lives a private and retired Life be delicate but one who is to support a Kingdom as Atlas the Heavens upon his shoulders had need be strong and robust A Common-wealth has not occasion for a Prince only for a shew but in the Field also and in time of War and in Scripture we find an effeminate King mentioned as a kind of divine punishment 2 I will give Children to be their Princes and Bâ—bâ—s to rule over them Isaâ— 3. 4. The advantage or disadvantage of this different Education was visible in
the Two Kings Iohn the Second and Ferdinand the Catholick one of which had his at Court the other in the Camp that among Women this among Soldiers that entring his Government seem'd to sail into a strange Gulf and leaving the Helm committed the guidance of it to his Ministers this was neither ignorant of nor unacquainted with Government but knew how to Rule even in another's Dominion and force Subjects to their Duty that was contemn'd this honoured and esteemed by all that ruined his Kingdom this advanced to a Monarchy 'T was upon this consideration that King Ferdinand Sirnamed the holy was desirous to breed his Sons Alphonso and Ferdinand Soldiers And what else was it rendred the Emperour Charles really great as well as titularly so was it not his continual Travels and indefatigable Labours Nor had Tiberius any other thoughts when he design'd his Sons Germanicus and Drusus for the Army chiefly for these four Reasons that they might accustom themselves to War gain the Soldiers hearts be free from the Debauchery of the Court and Lastly that himself might live in more security when both his Sons commanded his Legions 3 Vt suesceret Militiâ—e sâ—udiaque exercitui pararet siâ—ul juventutem urbanâ— luxu lascivientem medus in castris haberâ— Tiberiâ—s sâ—que 〈◊〉 rebatur utroque filio legiones obtinente Tac. 2. ann He that lives in a Camp by the many Experiences he has there spends his time to advantage the Courtier utterly loses his in Riot Ceremonies and trifling Diversions At Court a Prince studies more how to set off his Body than improve his Mind And tho' this latter is rather to be regarded yet Ornaments of the Body and a comely Presence should not be wholly neglected For those captivate the Eyes as this does the Eyes and Soul God himself seemâ—d pleased with the shape and proportion of Saul 4 And when he stood among the people he was higher than any of the people from the shoulders upwards 1 Sam. 10. 22. Ethiopians and Indians in some parts choose them Kings whom the most Majestick Mien recommends as the Bees do the biggest among them and that of the most shining Colour People Judge of a Prince's Actions by his Presence and think him the best who is the Comeliest Galba's very Age says Tacitus was ridiculed and sâ—orn'd by those who were used to Nero's blooming Youth 5 Ipsa â—tas Galbae irrisui fastidio erat assuetis juventae Neronis Imperatores forma decore corporis ut est mos vulgi comparantibus Tac. 1. Hist. A handsome face joyned with a kind of Majesty encreased Vespasian's fame 6 Augebat famam ipsius decor oris cum quadam Majestate Tac. 2. Hist. Thus Beauty strikes the Eyes and thro' them wounding the Soul engages Mens affections and good opinions 't is a particular privilege of nature a pleasing Tyrant over the affections and a certain Sign of a well disposed mind and tho' the holy Spirit for more security advises us not to judge by exteriours yet do we seldom find a generous Soul in a deformed body 7 Commend not a Man for his beauty neither abhor a man for his outward appearance Eccles. 11. 2. 'T was a saying of Plato's that as a Circle can't be without a Center so neither can external Beauty Consist without interiour Vertue King Alphonsus therefore well advised to have a Prince Marryed to a handsome Woman that says he the Children may be beautifull as a Prince's ought to be that they may be above other men The Lacedaemonians fined their King Archiadinus for Marrying a little Woman however Wittily he excused himself by saying of two Evils he had chose the less Beauty of the Body is the image of the Soul and picture of Goodness 8 Species enim corporis simulacrum est menâ—is figuraque probitatis Ambr. 2. de vir It nevertheless happens sometimes that nature intent upon outward perfections forgets inward which are more desirable So it was with Peter the Cruel whose savage and rough disposition Nature had concealed under an agreeable Person Pride and Ostentation of Beauty easily discompose the Modesty of Vertue a Prince therefore should not esteem feminine and affected Charms which serve only to inflame another's Lust but those which usually accompany true Vertue for the Soul is not to be adorned with the Beauties of the Body but this rather with the Ornaments of the Soul A Commonwealth requires a Prince perfect in mind rather than One so in Body tho' t were a great ornament if he were eminent for both Thus the Palm is singularly commended as well for the neatness of its Trunck and Leaves as for the pleasant Fruit it bears and other excellent qualities of it being a Tree so usefull that Plutarch says the Babylonians reckoned 360 Vertues in it these I conceive the Complement of the Coelestial Bridegroom points at Thy stature is like to a Palm Tree 9 Cant. 7. 7. For by these words he would commend not only the beauty of his Spouse's Body but the endowments also of her Soul signified by the Palm as 't is an Emblem of Justice and Fortitude of Justice because its leaves hang in aequilibrio of Fortitude upon the account of the admirable strength of the Boughs which the more weight they are loaded with the more forcibly grow up 'T is further an Hieroglyphick of Victory because in the Games and Exercises of the Ancients the Victors were crowned with Branches of it The Cypress was never esteemed at this Rate however flourishing and green it always is lifting its self even up to heaven in form of an Obelisk for that its beauty is meer outside without any good quality inherent in it it 's of a slow growth bears useless fruit bitter leaves has a strong smell and taste a thick and melancholy shade To what purpose is a Prince of a delicate Body if he only satisfies the Eyes and does not discharge his Duty There needs no more in him than an agreeable harmony of parts to shew a generous and well disposed mind into which afterwards Art and Industry may inspire Motion and Vigour for without that every Action of a Prince will be dull and rather cause Ridicule and Contempt than procure Authority with his Subjects But sometimes these extraordinary Endowments of the Mind don't render a Prince amiable as when the State is distempered and inclined to Change its Government which Ferdinand King of Naples had once Experience of nay sometimes Vertue her self is unhappy and a good Prince often odious as on the other side his Vices taking as were those of Vitellius 11 Studia exe citus raro câ—iquam bâ—â—is arâ—ibus quaesâ—ta perinde ad fuere quam â—uic per ignaviam Tac. 3 Hist. But for the generality humane Will embraces that which is most perfect and it will be therefore a Prince's interest as well in publick as private Exercises to study by them to supply
things says K. Alphonso a Prince will be oblig'd to take to his assistance one who does understand them and he may experience what King Solomon said That he who entrusts his secret with another makes himself his slave whereas he who can keep it â—imself is Master of himself which is infinitely requisite in a Prince For the Office of a King requires a great understanding and that too illustrated with Learning for without doubt says K. Alphonso in the same Law no man can acquit himself of an Office of such importance as this at least without great understanding and wisdom whence he who scorns the favours of Knowledge and Education will be scorn'd by God who is the Author of them Other Sciences have been divinely infused into many none but Solomon was ever inspired with Politickss For Tilling ground Agriculture prescribes certain Rules the Art of Taming wild Beasts has also its Methods but 't is easier to command any Animal than Man 't is necessary therefore that he be endued with an extraordinary portion of Wisdom who has Men to govern 5 Omni animali facilius imperabiâ— quam homini ideo sapientissimum esse oportet qui hominibus regere veâ—it Xenoph. The different Customs and Dispositions of Subjects canâ—t without considerable Sagacity Application and Experience be discovered and consequently no man requires Wisdom more than a Prince 6 Nullâ—s est cuâ— sapientia magis conveniat quam Principi cujus doctrina omnibus debet prodesse subditis Veget. T is that makes Kingdoms happy Princes feared and reverenced Then was Solomon so when the World became acquainted with his Knowledge renders a Prince more formidable than Power 7 Wisd. 5. 26. A wise King says the holy Spirit is the upholding of the people But an unwise King destroyeth them 8 Eccl. 10. 3 All which shews how barbarous the Opinion of the Emperour Licinius was who cryed out upon the Sciences as a publick Plague Philosophers and Orators as Poison to a Commonwealth nor does that of the Goths appear less absurd who found fault with Athalaricus's Mother for instructing him in good Letters as if he was thereby rendred incapable of publick Business Silvius Aeneas had quite other sentiments of them when he said they were Silver in the Commonalty Gold in the Nobility and in the Prince Jewels Alphonso of Naples upon hearing once a certain King say That Learning did not become a Prince Replyed immediately That 's spoke rather like a Beast than a man 9 Eam vocem bâ—vis esse non â—ominis Panorm lib. 4. Well therefore said K. Alphonso †lib. 16 c. 5. p. 2. That a King ought to be assiduous in Learning the Sciences for by them he will learn the Office of a King and know better how to practise it Of Iulius Caesar 't is related that he would have the Statuary form him standing upon a terrestrial Globe with a Sword in one Hand in the other a Book with this Motto Ex utroque Caesar thereby intimating that as well his Learning as his Arms was instrumental in getting and preserving to him the Empire Lewis the XIth of France did not esteem Learning at this rate for he would not permit his Son Charles the 8th to apply himself to it because he found himself thereby so obstinate and opinionative as not to admit the Counsel of any which was the reason why Charles proved afterwards unfit to govern and suffered himself to be led by the Nose by every one not without great Dishonour to himself and detriment to his whole Kingdom Extreams therefore in that as in all other things are to be avoided supine Ignorance breeds Contempt and Derision besides it is exposed to a thousand Errours on the other side excessive Application to Studies distracts the Mind and diverts it from the Care of Government The Conversation of the Muse is very pleasant and agreeable and no oâ—â— would without Reluctancy exchange it for the Fatigâ—â— and Trouble of Audiences and Consultations Alphonâ—â— the Wise knew the Causes of Earthquakes but coulâ— not regulate the Commotions of his Kingdoms thâ— Coelestial orbs his Ingenuity penetrated yet knew noâ— how to defend the Empire offered and Crown haereditary to him The Sultan of Egypt upon his famâ— sent Embassadours to him with very considerable presents in the mean time almost all the Cities of Castilâ— revolted Thus it usually happens Princes too mucâ— addicted to the Studies of Wisdom advance their Reputation among Foreigners and lose it with their Subjects Their Learning is admired by those to these sometimes prejudicial for Men of mean parts are generally better Governours than men of ingenuity 10 Hebetiores quam acutiores ut plurimum melius Rempub. administrant Thucyd. lib. 3. A Mind too intent upon Speculation is usually slow in Action and fearful in Resolution for of necessity many different and contrary Reasons must occur to such a Person which either wholly take away or obstruct the liberty of his Judgment If an Eye looks upon Objects by the Sun 's Light reflected it clearly and distinctly sees them as they are whereas if it be fixed directly against the Sun's Rays 't is so dazled with too much lustre that it can't so much as distinguish the Colours and Figures of them It happens thus to Wits those who too eagerly apply themselves to the Studies of Wisdom and Learning are less fit for publick business Right Reason never judges better than when free and disengaged from the Disputations and Subtilties of the Schools nor without Reason did the wise K. Solomon call that the worst of Travails which himself had tryed 11 I gave my Heart to search out by Wisdom concerning all things that are done under Heaven This sore Travail hath God given to the Sons of Men to be exercised with â—â—â—les 1. 13. For there are some of the liberal Sciences which to have a superficial Knowledge of is commendable but to make them ones whole Business and desire to attain a Perfection in them very prejudicial 12 Sunt enim quaedam ex liberalibus scientiis quos usque ad aliquid discere honestius sit penitus vero illis tradere atque usque ad extremum persequi velle valde noxium Arist. lib. 8. Pol. Wherefore 't is very convenient that prudence moderate a little that desire of knowledge which is usually most vehement in the best Wits as we read Agricola's Mother did who cooled the heat of her Sons Mind when in his youth he seem'd to follow the study of Philosophy more eagerly than was allowable for a Roman and Senatour 13 sed in prima juventa studium Philosophiae acrius quam concessum Rom. â—c senatâ—ri hausisse ni prudentia matris incensum ac flagrantem animum coercuisset Tac. in vâ—t Agr. As in Vices so in Learning there is excess 14 Retinuitque quod dâ—fficillimum est ex sapientia modum Ibid. and this is as hurtful to the
than Wisdom 12 What is richer than wisdom that worketh all things And if prudence work who of all that are is a more cunning workman than shee Wisd. 8. 5. 'T was by this kind of Traffick with the Inhabitants of Tarsis and Ophir the same Solomon got his vast Riches for which he had never prepared so many and great Fleets exposed to so many and great Hazards at Sea if he could have saved the labour with a Crucible It is likely that he who could speak well of all things 13 And he spake of Trees from the Cedar-tree that is in Lebanon even unto the Hysop that springeth out of the Waâ—l 1 Kings 4. 33. who was endued by God with a Supernatural Knowledge should never find out this Secret also or actually have used it had it been feasible Besides 't is not credible that God will ever permit it for thereby in probability an end would be put to all Commerce which is maintain'd by nothing so much as by a Species of Money common to all the World and that made of some scarce and precious Metal EMBLEM VII THE Affections are born with us Reason comes not till many Years after when they are already possess'd of the Will and this deluded with a false appearance of good submits to them and owns no other Empire but theirs till Reason recovering strength by Time and Experience takes upon it the Right of Government it had by Nature and begins to make Head against the Tyranny of our Appetites This Light usually rises later in Princes because the Delicacies of the Court which they 're used to render their Affections more prevailing besides that their Courtiers strive generally to get their Favour which they know rather depends upon the Will than Reason hence all use the art of Flattery and make it their business to engage that but cast a Cloud on this A Prince ought therefore to be well acquainted with these Artiâ—ices and arm himself not against his own Passions only but all such Persons as would abuse them to govern him This is a great and general Negligence in those who undertake to form Princes Minds Useless and unfruitful Weeds which grow among Corn we spend time in â—â—adicating yet suffer vicious Passions and Inclinations that wage War with Reason to grow To cure a Prince's Body many Galens are always ready the Mind often has scarce one Epictetus though this is subject to no less Infirmities than the Body and those so much worse as that is more excellent than this If its countenance were visible and we could discover in it its ill and distempered Affections we should pity the Condition of many we at present take for happy Men whom that feverish Heat of depraved Appetites so miserably preys upon If the Hearts of Tyrants could be opened one might see Bruises and Wounds 1 Si recludantur tyrannorum mentes posse aspici laniatus ictus quando ut corpora verberibus ita saevitia libidine malis consultis animus dilaceretur Tac. 6. Ann. Alas What Tempests of Confusion and Distraction is a Mind in that Condition rack'd with It s Light is all obscured his Reason so disturbed that all things appear to him far different from what they really in themselves are Hence proceeds that variety of Judgments and Opinions in the World hence few weigh things aright but pass a different estimate according to the light by which they see them For 't is with the Affections as with Tellescopes which at one end magnify at the other diminish Objects The Crystals are the same the Objects nothing alter'd this only is the difference that the visual Rays falling inâ— at one end are dilated from the Center to the Circumference and consequently diffuse themselves and multiply more whereas at the other end they are contracted from the Circumference to the Center and so represent Objects considerably less Such is the difference between these two ways of looking upon things At the same time tho' in different Kingdoms the two Infants Iames the Son of Iames the Second King of Arragon and Alphonsâ— Son of Dionysio King of Portugal had in view the Succession of their Fathers Crown But see in how different a manner the first against his Father's Will refused to accept the other contrary to the Laws of Piety by force of Arms attempted to snatch it from the Head of his One considering the vast Cares and Dangers of Government bid adieu to the World and preferr'd a Monastick Life as the more quiet and happy the other look'd upon Life without Sovereignty to be burthensome and unprofitable and had more respect to his Ambition than the Law of Nature This look'd upon the Circumference of the Crown which border'd with Flowers was an agreeable sight that consider'd rather the Point and Center of it whence the Lines of Labour and Care are drawn All Men propose something that has the appearance of good as the end of their Actions 2 Omnia namque ejus quod speciem boni praefert gratiâ omnes agunt Arist. Pol. 1. Cap. 8. but because we are deceived in the knowledge of this Good hence proceeds our Error The greatest thing imaginable when in our own Power appears little and inconsiderable in others great and magnificent Our own Faults we are not sensible of those of others we easily discover Other Mens defects seem like Giants ours scarce so big as Dwarfs Nay further we know how to new-name Vices and give them the Colour of Virtue Ambition we call greatness of Mind Cruelty Justice Prodigality Liberality Rashness Valour In short few can with Prudence distinguish Honesty from its contrary what 's profitable from the prejudicial 3 Pauci prudentia honesta à deteriorâ—bus uttlia ab noxiis discernunt Tac. Lib. 4. Ann. 'T is thus we are deceived when we look on things by that end of the Prospective which Passions and Inclinations stop I know nothing but Benefits that are to be looked upon through both ends those we receive ought to appear great to us those we confer little This was King Henry the Fourth's Custom nay he seldom so much as remembred Kindnesses he had done others on the contrary those he had received he never let slip out of his Memory being always careful the first opportunity to repay them as a Debt A Prince ought not to imagine that a Courtesy is as it were a Mark of Slavery on the Person gratified I should not call that Generosity but Tyranny rather and a kind of Traffick for Mens Affections which the Prince buys at the price of Favours as they do Slaves for Money on the Coasts of Guinea He who does a good Office should not think he lays an Obligation he who receives it ought to think himself obliged In a word A Prince should imitate God Almighty who giveth to all Men liberally and upbraideth not 4 James 1. 5. In undertaking and carrying on Wars in procuring and establishing Peace
Courage that is without Reason provoked In a word no Vice is more unbecoming a Prince than that for to be angry supposes contempt or an injury received nor is any thing so disagreable to his Place and Office in as much as nothing so obscures the Judgment which should in a Governor be serene and clear A Prince that is exasperated and passionate upon any slight occasion gives his Heart into the Hands of the Person who provokes him and is subject to his pleasure If not a wrinkle in a King's Coat can be disordered without offence what will it be if he suffer any one to disturb his Mind Anger is a kind of Moth which Purple breeds and nourishes Pomp engenders Pride Pride Passion and Impatience is as it were a Propriety of Power The Sense of Princes is something too delicate a Looking Glass which the least breath sullies a Heaven that with the least Vapour is clouded and breaks out into Thunder A Vice that generally seizes great and generous Spirits as the Sea however vast and powerful is with the least blast of Wind raised into horrid Disorders and Tempests with this only difference that they are of much longer continuance in Princes Minds than in the Sea especially if their Honour be concerned which they imagine 't is impossible to retrieve without Revenge What a trifling piece of incivility was that Sancho King of Navarre put upon Alphonsus the Third after the Battel of Arcos in returning without taking leave of him Which however this so highly resented that he could never forget it or rest till he had got him out of his Kingdom The Anger of Princes is like Gun-powder which no sooner takes Fire but has its effect the Holy Spirit calls it the Messenger of Death 3 The Wâ—ath of Kings is as Messengers of Death Prov. 16. 14. and barely on this account 't were sufficiently reasonable to curb and restrain it 'T is very indecent for one in Authority to submit to this Passion Let Princes remember that nothing is put in their Hands for a Scepter with which they can hurt And if sometimes a naked Sword is carried before Kings 't is in token of Justice not Revenge and then 't is carried in another's hand to intimate that between Anger and Execution there ought to intercede a Command The publick Safety depends on Princes which will easily be in danger if they hearken to so rash a Counsellor as Anger Who can escape its hands For 't is like a Thunder-bolt when it comes from Supreme Power And because says King Alphonso Anger is stronger in a King and more dangerous than in others in that he can more readily satisfy it he ought to be more prepar'd to curb and correct it †L. 10. tit p 2. If Princes in a Passion could look upon themselves they would find a Countenance unbecoming such Majesty whose Tranquility and agreeable Harmony both of Words and Actions ought to please rather than terrify to acquire Love rather than Fear A Prince therefore should quench the Heat and Violence of Anger if he can't do so at least to defer the Fury and Execution of it for some time For as the same King Alphonso has said A King ought to keep in his Anger till it is over this will be of great advantage to him for so he will be able to judge truly and act justly in all things * L. tit 5 p. 2. The Emperor Theodosius experienced this in himself and for this reason enacted a Law That Capital Punishments should not be executed till thirty Days after Sentence passed Which Tiberius had before him decreed though for only ten Days and without giving the Senate power to revoke the Sentence once pronounced 4 Idque vitae spatium damnatis prorogaretur sed non senatui libertas ad poenitendum erat Tac. 3. Ann. Which indeed had been commendable if his design had been to make room for Pardon or give time for a second hearing of the Cause But Tiberius was a Man of too much Cruelty and Rigor to give that Indulgence 5 Nâ—que Tiberius interjectu temporis mitigabatur Tac. 3. Ann. It was the Counsel of Athenodorus to Augustus Caesar to determine nothing in a Passion till he had repeated the Twenty four Letters of the Greek Alphabet Since then Anger is a short Madness directly opposite to mature Deliberation there is no better Antidote against it than prudent Reflection that the Prince be not too hasty in Execution before he has had Council to examine a matter throughly King Ahasuerus when his Queen Vashti refused to come at his Command though he had reason to think himself contemned and highly resented the Affront yet would not be revenged till he had first called a Council and taken the Advice of his Noblemen 6 Esth. 1. 2. To talk of an Injury received inflames Anger more hence that of Pythagoras Stir not Fire with a Sword for Motion increases the Flame nor is there any more effectual Remedy for Anger than Silence and Solitude By its self it insensibly consumes and wears off whereas the most softning Discourse is often like the Water Smiths use to make their Fire burn fiercer Farther Anger has its seat in the Ears or at least keeps watch there these therefore a Prince is to secure that they be not too ready to hear ill Reports that may enrage him 7 Let every man be swift to hear slow to â—â—ak flow to wrath Iames 1. 19. This I imagine was the reason the Statue of Iupiter Cretensis had no Ears because they do more mischief to Governors than good However I think them necessary for Princes provided they be cautious and ruled by Prudence and let not themselves be moved at the first hearing of every trifling Story Anger is to be commended when kindâ—ed by Reason and moderated by Discretion without such as that there can be no Justice 8 Nunc Irasâ—i â—onvenâ— justitiae 〈◊〉 Sâ—ob Serm. 20. Too much Indulgence gives license to offend and makes Obedience bold To endure all things with content is igâ—orance or shews a servile Temper of one who has a â—ean Opinion of himself To continue in Anger when 't is to punish Offences or make Examples of such as affront Regal Authority is no Vice but a Virtue and by no means derogates from Mildness and Clemency Was any one more meek than David 9 Lord remember David and all his Afflictions Lat. Vers. 〈◊〉 suetudinis ejus Psal. 131. 1. a Man after God'â— own Heart 10 I have found David the Soâ— Iesse a Man after mine own heart Acts 13. 22. So mild in Vengeance in Anger so moderate that when he had Saul his greatest Enemy in his power was satisfied with cutting off the Skirt of his Robe and even that afterward repented of 11 And it 〈◊〉 to pass afterwards that David's heart smote him because he had 〈◊〉 off Saul's Skirt 1 Sam. 24. 5. Nevertheless with
severity did he revenge the Injury King Hamm did to his Ambassadors David had sent them to comfort the King for the Death of his Father but he groundlesly suspecting they came rather to spy out the State of his Kingdom sent them away with the one half of their Beards shaved off and their Garments obscenely cut off in the middle David a Man otherwise very peaceable could not brook this Affront but made War against him and all the Cities of his Kingdom which he took he utterly demolished and the People that were therein to use the Scriptureâ— words he brought forth and put them under Saws and 〈◊〉 Harrows of Iron and under Axes of Iron and 〈◊〉 them pass through the Brick-kiln 12 2 Sam. 12. 31. This may seeâ— to be Cruelty and an Excess of Anger to any oneâ— that knows not that the Wounds injuries make 〈◊〉 fometimes to be so cured as not so much as 〈◊〉 should be left Artaxerxes threatned Fire and Swoâ—â— to some Cities if they obey'd not an Edict he had puâ—â—lished resolving if they refused to make so severe 〈◊〉 Example of their Contempt and Disobedience as shoulâ— extend to Brutes as well as Men 13 Esth. â— 24. The most 〈◊〉 God taught us this piece of Policy when with the 〈◊〉 most Rigour yet without prejudice to his Infinite Mâ—â—cy he punished the Syrians Army for blasphemouâ—â— calling him the God of the Hills 14 Because the Syrians have said the Lord is the God of the Hills but he is not God of the Vallies therefore will I deliver this great multitude into thine hand and ye shall know that I am the Lord 1 Kings 20. 28. The Supreme Authority and Power of Princes makes a part of a Commonwealth so that they can't put up Affronts and Injuries at all times That Anger too is praise-worthy in Princes and profitable to a State which kindled by Incentives of Glory elevates the Mind to difficult and noble Enterprizes for without it nothing extraordinary nothing great can be undertaken much less perfected and accomplished That that is it which nourishes the Heart of generous Spirits and raises it above its self to despise Difficulties The Academicks called it the Whetstone Plutarch the Companion of Virtue But particularly in the beginning of his Reign the Prince ought to lay aside Anger and forget past Injuries as Sancho Sirnamed the Brave did when the Succession of the Crown of Castile fell to him With Government a Prince changes as 't were his Nature why should he not also his Affections and Passions 'T were an Abuse of Government to take Revenge of one who already acknowledges himself your Subject Let the Person offended think he has Satisfaction in having got Authority over him who before injured him Fortune could not give him a nobler kind of Revenge So Lewis XII King of France thought and therefore when some perswaded him to revenge the Injuries he had received while Duke of Orleans he made answer That it did not become the King of France to revenge the Quarrels of the Duke of Orleans Particular Injuries done to his Person not Dignity a Prince ought not to vindicate with his utmost Power for though they seem inseparable yet 't is convenient to make some Distinction between them least Majesty become odious and too formidable To this tended that of Tiberius when he said That if Piso had committed no other Crime but the rejoycing at Germanicus's Death and his grief for it he would revenge those Injuries done him as a private Person not as a Prince and in a publick Capacity 15 Nam si legatus officii terminos obsequium erga Imperatorem exuit ejusdemque morte c. luctu meo laetatus est odero seponamque â— domo meâ privatas inimicitias non Principis ulciscar Tac. 3. Ann. On the other side those done to his Dignity or Publick Station he ought not to vindicate as a private Person so as in a transport of Passion to think his Honour and Reputation lost except he have immediate Satisfaction especially when it were fitter to be deferred for Anger should not be a Motion of the Mind but of the Publick Good and Advantage King Ferdinand the Catholick undoubtedly had this before him when the King of Granada refused to pay him Tribute as his Ancestors had done and withal insolently sent him word that they were long since dead that in his Mints they laboured not to Coin Silver or Gold but Forge Swords and Launces †Marian. Hist. Hisp. lib. 24. cap. 16. Ferdinand concealed his Resentment of this Liberty and Arrogance for a time and made a Truce with him deferring Revenge till his Affairs were more quiet and settled in which he consulted more the Publick Good than his own Particular Affections 16 A Fool 's wrath is presently known but a prudent Man covereth shame Lat. Vers. Injuriam dissimulat Prov. 12. 16. Nor is it less prudent to dissemble Anger when one has reason to presume that a time will come when it will be for our disadvantage to have shown it For that reason King Ferdinand the Catholick though highly affronted by the Grandees of his Kingdom yet when he abdicated that of Castile and retreated into Arragon very discreetly concealed that Indignation of Mind took no notice of the Injuries he had received but shewed himself friendly and affectionate to all as if he then foresaw he should be sometime restored to his Kingdom as indeed it afterwards happened A generous Mind hides its Resentments of Injuries and strives not by the impetuousness of Anger but rather by noble Actions to smother them the best certainly and a truly heroical kind of Revenge When King Ferdinand the Holy besieged Sevil a certain Nobleman reproached Garcias Perez de Vargas for wearing a waved Shield which was not allowed his Family he then pretended to take no notice of the Affront till the Siege of Triana where he fought with so much Valour that he brought his Shield back stuck with Darts then returning to his Rival who was then in a secure Post and shewing him the Shield You have reason says he to think much that I wear this Shield that expose it to so many Dangers without doubt no one deserves it beyond your self who would take so much care to preserve it Those ordinarily bear Affronts most patiently who are the least subject to give them nor is it a less Virtue to Conquer this Passion than an Enemy To kindle a Prince's Anger is no less dangerous than to set Fire to a Mine or Petard and though it be done in our own behalf 't is prudence to moderate it especially if against Persons in Power for such Anger 's generally fall on the Author's own Head This was the reason the Moors of Toledo took so much pains to pacify King Alphonso the Sixth's Wrath against the Archbishop of that place and the Queen who had taken without his Order their Mosque from them
of Mind We see many who seem to be born of themselves as Tiberius used to say of Curtius Rufus 8 Videntur 〈◊〉 ex se nati Tac. 11. Ann. To such as these Claudian's Praise of a good choice of Ministers is well adapted Mirit not Birth he does prefer †Claud. Nor cares he whence but what they are But if the Nobility be corrupted by Ease and Luxury 't were adviseable to reform it by Rewards and Exercise rather than to institute an entire new set Silver and Gold are easily purified and clean'd but to make Gold out of Silver is a vast labour beyond the Art of Chymistry to perform Henry the Fourth was therefore very ill advised by some to ruin all the Grandees of his Kingdom and to promote those of mean Fortune Though the Licentiousness and Disobedience of the Nobility may sometimes require that it be a little humbled for too much Greatness begets Pride and an Aversion to Subjection and Obedience 9 Et revocante Nobilitate cui in pace durius servitium est Tac. 11. Ann. The weakest always seek Justice and Equity but the stronger trouble not themselves with it 10 Nam Imbecilliores semper equum justum quaerunt potentiâ—ribus autem id nihil curae Arist. Pol. 6. C. 2. and the People are generally more quiet when there are no Great Ones to protect them and to foment their Innovations 11 Nihil ausuram plebem principibus amotis Tac. 1. Ann. For this reason the Laws of Castile don 't allow two Great and Noble Families to incorporate that so the Estate might be more divided and that it might not creat Jealousy and Envy among others 12 Commodum est etiam ut haereditates non donatione sed jure agnationis tradantur utque ad eundem una non plures haereditates perveniant Arist. Pol. 5. c. 8. There are ways under the pretext of Honour and Favour to remedy excess of Riches in giving opportunity of employing it to the Service of the Prince and People But Prodigality and Luxury are now grown to that height that there is no occasion for such means for all the Nobility are so much straitned by Debts and necessary Expences that they want means to execute such Thoughts or to attempt Innovation While they would be great beyond what they can they become even less than what they are 'T is certain that the noblest and most renowned Families are ruined by a desire of Grandure and Magnificence 13 Dites elim familiae nobilium aut claritudine insignes studio Magnificentiae prolabehantur Tac. 3. Ann. But as too much Riches are dangerous so also is extream Poverty For when any of these Great Ones have squandred away their Estates they presently set up for Innovation 14 Sed cum ex Primariis aliqui bona dissiparunt hi res novas moliuntur Arist. Pol. 6. c. 12. EMBLEM XVIII VIRTUE has given Empire to many Vice to few In these the Scepter was a violent and dangerous Usurpation in those a just Title and lasting Succession Virtue by a certain occult and secret Force does as 't were compel Men to love and admire it The Elements obey the Heavens for the Perfection and Excellency of them so Men too think none worthy the Sovereign Power but those of Sovereign Justice and Virtue For which cause Cyrus thought no one was fit to govern but he who was better than those he governed 1 Non censebat conveniâ—e cuiquam Impertiâ—m qui non melior esset iis quibus imperaret Xenoph lib. 8. Subjects pay more Reverence to a Prince in whom they discern more than ordinary Endowments of Mind the greater they are the greater is their Respect and Esteem for all believe that to such a Prince God is more propitious and ready to assist him in all things and to direct his Government 'T is this alone made Ioshua's Name celebrated all the World over 2 So the Lord was with Ioshua and his fame was noised throughout all the Country Iosh. 6. 27. All the Actions and Counsels of a good Prince the People receive with Joy and through a certain zealous Confidence promise themselves Success from them but if it fall out otherwise they persuade themselves that for some supernatural and unknown Reasons 't is convenient it should be so For the same cause among some Nations the High Priests were Kings 3 Rex enim Dux erat in beâ—h Iudex in iis quae ad cultum Deorum pertinerent summam potestaâ—â— habebat Arist. Pol. 3. 13. that the People receiving Holy Ceremonies and Divine Worship from them might acknowledge in them a certain more sublime Nature more allied and familiar to God himself which as a Mediatrix they might make use of in their Prayers and against which they durst not attempt any thing 4 Minusque insidiantur iis qui Dâ—â—â— auxiliares habent Arist. Polit. The Crown upon Aaron's Mitre attracted the Eyes and Desires of all 5 He set a Crown of Gold upon the Mitre wherein was engraved Holiness an ornament of Honour a safety-work the desires of the Eyes goodly and beautiful Eccl. 45. 12. Iacob worshipped Ioseph's Scepter on the top of which was a Stork the Emblem of Piety and Religion 6 And he worshipped leaning upon the top of his Staff Vid. Laâ— Vers. Et adoravit fastigium virgae ejus Heb. 11. 21. Let none imagine that the time is lost which a Prince employs in the Exercise of Goodness and Virtue nay God does then chiefly dispose and direct the Events of things Ferdinand Antoline was at his Devotions while Count Garcias Fernandez fought the Moors at the River Duero and an Angel in his likeness supplied his place in the Fight by which he not only escaped the discredit of not being at the Battel but also gained the chiefest Praise of Honour of the Victory Something like this is related of that Renowned General Count Tilly that true Christian Ioshua not less Holy and Religious than Warlike and Brave that while he was at Prayers the Army was drawn up by another in his shape The Emperor Ferdinand the Second had more Standards and Trophies presented to him in the time of Divine Service than many of his Ancestors had gained from the Enemy 7 Fear ye not stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord which he will shew you to day Exod. 14. 13. The Israelites stood still and God wrought Wonders for them 8 And the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel Josh. 10. 42. That Crown which like Ariadne's shines with refulgent Stars of Virtue shall last to Eternity 9 And that turn not aside from the Commandment to the right or to the left to the end that he may prolong his days in his Kingdom he and his Children in the midst of Israel Deut. 17. 20. The Emperor Septimus told his Sons as he was dying That he left them a
firm and lasting Empire if they were good if wicked but of short continuance King Ferdinand who from his great Virtues was sirnamed the Great did by these wonderfully increase the Glory of his Kingdom and establisht it to Posterity His Piety was so great that when the Body of St. Isidore was carried by Sevil he and his Sons barefoot carried these Holy Relicks from the River Durio quite to St. Iohn's Church in the City For 't is God by whom Kings Reign and upon whom all their Power and Felicity depends they could never err if they would make him their only Object The Rays of the Sun never forsake the Moon she as if she knew she received all her Light from the Sun looks on him continually that she may be enlightned by him which Princes must so imitate that they may always have their Eyes fixt upon that Eternal Light which affords Light and Motion to the World and from which Empires take their encrease and decrease as is intimated in the present Emblem by the Scepter on the top of which is the Moon looking towards the Sun the true Emblem of God as well because no other thing comes nearer his Omnipotency as also because that alone gives Light and Being to all Which 'cause it solely all Surveys Is properly call'd Sol. Boet. For there is no Power but from God 10 Rom. 13. 1. Kings are crowned in his Eternal Mind before they are here on Earth He who gave the Orbs Coelestial first motion gives it also to Empires and Republicks He who has appointed a King over Bees has not left meerly to Chance or Humane Choice these Second Causes of Princes who are his Vice-Roys upon Earth and as like him as may be 11 Principes quidem instar deorum esse Tac. 3. Ann. being represented in the Revelations by those Seven Planets which God held in his Hand 12 And he had in his right hand seven Stars Revel 1. 16. upon them he darts his Divine Rays the Reflection of which gives them the utmost Power and Authority over their Subjects Without that Splendor all Power how great soever is in a manner dark the Prince who slighting this Light shall follow another an appearance may be of some good which his own convenience not right reason offers will soon see the Orb of his Power eclips'd and darken'd What e'er avoids the Sun must necessarily be in darkness The Moon although it finds its self oft'times quite dark does not therefore turn away from the Sun but looks on 't with so much the more eagerness till at last 't is again enlightned by it Let a Prince hold his Scepter fixt and steady having always a regard to Virtue as well in Prosperity as Adversity For the same Divine Sun which either for Punishment or Exercise of his Virtues permitted his decrease as a recompence of his Constancy will again promote and encrease his greatness Thus 't was with the Emperor Ferdinand the II. who was often reduced to that extremity of Fortune that his Empire and Life too seem'd desperate Yet he was resolved never wholly to despair nor to turn his Eyes from that Eternal Sun the Maker and Governor of all things whose Divine Providence freed him from all Perils and advanced him far above all his Enemies Moses's Rod which was the Emblem of a Scepter did Wonders whilst he held itâ— in his Hand upright t'wards Heaven but as soon as he cast it upon the Ground 't was turn'd into a venomous Serpent dreadful even to Moses himself 13 And he cast it on the ground and it became a Serpent and Moses â—led from before it Exod. 4. 3. Whilst the Scepter like Iacob's Ladder touches Heaven God himself supports it and Angels descend to its assistance 14 And he dreamed and behold a Ladder set upon the Earth and the top of it reached to Heaven and behold the Angelâ— of God ascending and descending on it Gen. 18. 13. This the Egyptians knew who on the top of their Scepters were used to engrave the Head of a Stork a Religious Bird and Pious t'wards its Parents but on the bottom the Foot of a Sea-Horse an impious and ungrateful Animal which Plots to kill his Father that he may the more freely enjoy his Mother By which Hieroglyphick they meant nothing but that Princes ought always to prefer Piety to Impiety Machiavel would have his Prince to learn this Hieroglyphick but in quite another Sence for he would have Piety and Impiety placed at each end that he might turn it as he pleased and hold that upwards which tended most to his Preservation and Advantage For which reason he thinks 't is not necessary for a Prince to be Virtuous 't is enough if he pretends to be so for to be really so and to act according to the Dictates of Virtue would he says be pernicious but that 't is most advantageous to be thought so for by this means he will be so disposed as to know how to shift upon occasion and so to act in all things as advantage or opportunity shall require And this he says is principally necessary for Princes newâ—â— come to the Crown who ought to be quick and ready to spread their Sails to every breath of Fortune and as necessity requires Impious and foolish Counsel that would insinuate that Virtues need not be real and genuine but only counterfeit and imaginary for how can the Shadow be as effective as the Substance What Art or Pains can bring Chrystal to that perfection as it shall equal the Diamond in lustre and brightness Won't any one at first sight discover and laugh at the Cheat. A true Glory takes root and flourishes thaâ— which is not falls like Blossoms nor can any thing be lasting that is counterfeit 15 Vera gloria radices agit atque etiam propagatur ficta 〈◊〉 celeriter tanquam flosculi decidunt neque fimulatum quidquam potest 〈◊〉 diuturnum Cic. lib. 2. de Off. cap. 32. There 's no Art or Cunning so great as to make a vicious Inclination appear truly good and virtuous For if we so easily fail in real Virtues so agreeable to our Nature and Inclination what shall we do in false and imaginary ones How will the Subjects when they discover the Cheat be able to endure the Stench of this Sepulchrâ— of abominable Vices without any ornament of Goodness How can they turn their Eyes from that inward Wound when the Patch under which it lurk'd being drawn off 't is openly exposed to the sight of all 16 And all our righteâ—â—â—nesses are as filthy rags Isaiah 64. 6. Whence a Prince will be contemptible and ridiculous to his own People at home and suspected by Foreigneâ— abroad He will be surely odious to both for neither can live securely under him Nothing renders Tyraâ—ny more grievous than when the Prince dissembles Virtue For from thence oft-times greater Vices spring for this Reason many were afraid of Otho
taken up in Law there want Men to manure the Ground for Offices and War A few good support many bad and many bad lord it over the few good The Courts of Judicature are Harbours for Pirates and Receptacles for Thieves Those very Men who should be the Assertors of the Peoples Liberty are the heaviest Fetters of their Slavery 12 Deditque jura queis pace Principe uteremur acriora ex 〈◊〉 vincula inditi custodes Tac. 3. Ann. Too many Laws are not less pernicious to a State than Vices 13 Vtque antehac ftagitiis ita nunc legibus laborabatur Tac. 3. Ann. He who makes many Laws sets many Traps in which all must be caught So Caligula when he had a design upon the Innocent established many Laws written in so small a Character that they could be hardly read And Claudius published Twenty in one day which so puzzled the People that 't was more difficult to know than to observe them Therefore Aristotle said That few Laws were sufficient for the weightest Cases and that the rest ought to be left to natural Reason Nothing is so prejudicial to State as multiplicity of Laws Hence God threatened Israel as a Punishment for their Sins that he would multiply their Laws 14 Because Ephraim hath made many Altars to Sin Altars shall be unto him to Sin Scribaâ—â—i multiplices leges meas says the Latin Version Hos. 8. 11 12. To what purpose is it to make an Addition of new Laws upon every slight occasion when there is no case which has not happ'ned before nor any inconveniency which has not been already consider'd of and by Observation and Experience provided for Those which are now introduc'd into Castile as new may be all found in the Ancient Records The Observation of these would be much more agreeable to the People and would create less Odium to the Prince than the Promulgation of other new ones In those Judgment acquiesces in these 't is dubious and unsteady those seem to be founded with care the Authority of these is questionable those may safely be renew'd these can't be introduc'd without danger To make Experiments of new Medicines is dangerous to Health and Life many Herbs before the way of preparing them were known were Poison Better is that State govern'd whose Laws though imperfect are settled than that which is continually changing them The Ancients to intimate that Laws ought to be perpetual wrote them upon Tables of Brass 15 Vsus â—ris ad perpetuitatem monumentoâ—um jampridem translatus est tabulis aereis in quibus constitutiones publicae inciduntur and God engrav'd them with his Eternal Finger upon Stone 16 And he gave unto Moses when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai two Tables of Testimony Tables of Stone written with the Finger of God For this reason Augustus advis'd the Senate that they should preserve their Laws intire without altering them for that tho' they were bad they were more beneficial to the State than new ones 17 Positas semel leges constanter servate nec ullam earum immutate nam quae in suo statu eademque maâ—â—nt etsi deteriora sint tamen utiliâ—ra sunt Reipublicae his quae per innovationem vel meliora indacuntur Dion l. 52. There is no Kingdom but is provided with Laws sufficient but care ought to be taken least the variety of Interpretations should render them ambiguous and obscure and occasion Disputes and Controversies This ought to be prevented which might with â—ase be done in Spain if some King upon this account not less a Restorer than Pelagius would abbreviate all Processes and leaving the Civil Law would make use only of those of the Kingdom which are not less prudent and learned than just and reasonable This King Recesewind meant when in one of his Laws he said Also King Alphonsus the Wise commanded his Iudges This their Majesties Ferdinand and Ioan afterwards confirm'd as did King Alarick who laid severe Penalties upon the Judges for admitting the Pleas of the Roman Laws Nor does it a little derogate from Supream Jurisdiction to be govern'd by Foreign Laws To this I foresee two Objections first that if these Laws were written in Spanish the Latin Tongue would be lost and the Lawyers would apply themselves wholly to the Study and Explanation of them only besides that without the knowledge of the Civil Law from whence they are deriv'd they could not be well understood The other is that since the Civil Law is Common to almost all Europe according to which causes ought to be decided and that the Rights and Privileges of Princes are often to be determinâ—d in Foreign Parliaments and Courts of Judicature it will be very necessary to have Men well vers'd in the said Law Which inconveniences will be easily remedied by erecting and indowing some places for Civil Lawyers in the Universities as though upon different Motives King Ferdinand did But if this can't be effected the foremention'd inconveniences may be thus remedied first by prohibiting such a vast number of Books to be imported which serve only to clear the Pockets not the understanding nor is Printing any thing else now-a-days but Merchandize and Trade This variety confounds the Senses embarrasses and puzzles the Judgment 'T would be more adviseable where the written Laws are not full enough for the Decision of any Controversy to be guided by Reason that living Law rather than to grope for Justice in the obscurity of such diversity of Opinions equally favourable to each side and subject to Subornation and Passion Next by shortening the tedious Methods of the Law as King Philip the Second design'd to do at Milan when he consulted with the Senate about that Affair In which he not only respected the good of the Subject but also that in that State which is the Bullwark of the Kingdom there might be more Men of the Sword than the Gown The same was attempted by the Emperors Titus and Vespasian Charles the Fifth their Catholick Majesties Peter King of Portugal James the first of Arragon and Lewis the Eleventh of France none of them being 〈◊〉 to effect it nor can any one else hope to bring 〈◊〉 about since for the reforming the Practice of the â—â—nch the Judges themselves must be of Counsel whose Interest it is to prolong Suits as 't is that of Soldiers to continue War 'T was pure necessity oblig'd the most Serene Queen Isabel of her own accord to make use of this Remedy when being at Sevil harrass'd with vexatious Appeals she commanded all Suits depending to be by the assistance of able and learned Men decided in her presence without the noise of the Bar and that Accumulation of Informations and Processes and truly successfully enough as experience has shewn The Cantons of Switzerland are very prudently govern'd because there are no Lawyers among them the Witnesses are heard and without writing down any thing except the
case is condemn'd So it was enacted by Philip the Second and once when his Grandson Philip the Fourth your Highness's Father was present in Council upon a Debate of a Case relating to the Exchequer neither the Judges wanted Integrity to give it against him nor his Majesty Temper to hear it without Resentment Happy is that State in which the Prince's Cause is the worst 28 Quae gloria tua est praecipua saepe vincitur Fiscus cujus mala causa nunquam est nisi sub bono principe Plin. in Pan. EMBLEM XXII THough the Peoples Consent confers the Power of Justice upon Princes they receive it immediately from God as being his Vicars in Temporal Affairs They are the Royal Eagles the Ministers of Iove 1 For he is the Minister of God to thee for good but if thou do that which is evil â—e afraid for he beareth not the Sword in vain Rom. 13. 4. who Administer his Thunder and supply his place in punishing Vice and administring Justice in which they have need of three Qualities of the Eagle sharpness of Sight to inspect Crimes swiftness of Wing for Execution and strength of Talons that they main't fail therein The Injury done by a certain Nobleman to a poor Peasant though in the remotest Corner of Galicia could not escape the quick sight of King Alphonso the Seventh call'd Emperor who disguising himself went immediately to punish him with such speed that he apprehended him before he knew any thing of his coming O lively and ardent Soul of the Law to be himself Judge and Executioner to satisfy an Injury done to a poor Peasâ—nt and to punish the unjust Oppression of the Grandee The same did King Ferdinand the Catholick who being at Medina went privately to Salamanca and seized Roderigo Maltonado who exercis'd great-Oppressions in the Castle of Monleon 2 Mâ—r. Hist. of Spain Who would ever transgress the Laws if he always fear'd such a surprise One such as this would frighten and reform a whole Kingdom But it is not always expedient for Majesty it self to imitate such Examples When the State of the Kingdom is well settled when the Courts of Judicature are open and the fear of the Law is fresh and lively 't is sufficeint for a Prince to see Justice administer'd by his Ministers But when all is in Confusion when Obedience staggers when the King's Authority is slighted as 't was in those times then some such suddain and severe Punishment will be seasonable that the People may know the Power of their Prince and understand that as in a Humane Body so in a Kingdom the Soul of Majesty is all in all and all in every part Yet 't will be very necessary to moderate this severity when the Distemper is inveterate and the Kingdom confirm'd in Vice for if Virtue should be too severe upon Vice and endeavour to reform all at once 't would be esteem'd rather Cruelty than Justice Time must recruit that which time has weakned to precipitate a Cure is dangerous and may make the Prince experience the Rage of the incens'd Multitude Connivance and Dexterity is often more effectual than force In this King Ferdinand the Catholick was excellent and by this King Peter was deceiv'd who relying wholly upon Severity got the Name of Cruel Though Justice be one single Virtue yet has it various Effects according to the difference of time Sometimes the People wholly reject it and become more Insolent sometimes they acknowledge the damage of their excess and co-operate with the Prince to remedy it and suggest the most severe means against their own Liberty by which the Prince acquires the Name of Just without danger Let not a Prince remit the Punishment of such Offences against the Government in which few are concern'd but pardon those in which many are involv'd Agrippa being put to Death in the Isle of Planasia by the Order of Tiberius a certain Slave who was very like him stealing away his Ashes pretended that he was Agrippa the Romans believ'd it the Report spread and caus'd a Tumult with evident danger of a Civil War Tiberius caus'd the Slave to be apprehended and put to Death privately and though many Gentlemen and Senators of his own Family were said to have assisted him with Money and Advice 3 Et quanquam multi ex ejus domâ— equites ac senatores sustentasse opibus juvisse consillis dicerentur Tac. 2. Ann. yet would he suffer none to speak in his behalf Thus Prudence triumph'd over Cruelty and by Silence and Connivence he appeas'd the Disorder Let a Prince pardon small Offences and punish great ones sometimes let him be content with Repentance which Tacitus commended in Agricola 4 Parvis peccatis 〈◊〉 magnis severitatem commendare nec poena semper sed saepiùs pâ—nitentia contentus esse Tac. in Vit. Agâ—ic He is not the best Governor who punishes with most Severity but he who pardons with such Discretion and Circumspection as not to give any occasion to the Delinquents to transgress again No body commends a Chirurgeon for cutting off many Legs and Arms no body hates a Prince for punishing provided he does it with Reluctancy and Grief but him who delights in it and eagerly carps at all opportunities of doing it To punish for Example and amendment is Mercy but to do it through Passion or Avarice is Tyranny Let not a Prince suffer any one to think himself so great and free from the Laws as to dare to oppose the Ministers of Justice and those who represent its Power and Authority for so the Pillar of Justice can't stand secure 5 Hanc P. C. curam sustinet Princeps hâc omissâ sunditus Remp. trahet Tac. 3. Ann. when such boldness once takes place contempt will by degrees undermine it and bring it to the Ground The chief Foundation of the Spanish Monarchy and that which has rais'd it to such an height and keeps it so is the inviolable Observation of Justice and Rigour by which its Kings have always taken care to make it respected and esteem'd of all No Violation of it goes unpunish'd though great be the Dignity and Authority of the Delinquent A certain Judge at Corduba was by the Command of King Ferdinand the Catholick enquiring into some Misdemeanor whom when the Marquiss of Puego had arrested the King so resented it that all the Signal Services of that Family of Corduba could not hinder him from punishing him very severely afterwards he put himself wholly into his Majesty's Hands by the Advice of the Great Captain who seeing the heinousness of the Crime which would not admit of Pardon wrote to him to cast himself at the King's Feet by which he might perhaps expiate his Crime but if not he would certainly be ruined 6 Mar Hist of Spain Nor ought a Prince only to punish Crimes committed against his own Person or during his Reign but those also which were acted in the last though
the State were then under the Power of an Enemy For Presidents of Disobedience and Contempt of Authority being conniv'd at or rewarded are dangerous even to Successors Dignity is ever the same being always espoused to him who possesses her Wherefore he defends his own Cause who takes care of his Predecessor's Honour though 't was not wounded in his time A Prince ought not to leave behind him the Memory of one who has been so impudent as to affront Authority unpunish'd for iâ— once Subjects are perswaded that they may raise their Fortunes or satisfy their Passions by the Death or Abuse of the Prince none will be able to live secure The Punishment of Impudence to the Predecessor is the security of the Successor and a warning to all from daring to attempt the like For which reason Vitellius put all those to Death who petition'd him for Rewards for the Murther of Galba 7 Non honore Galbae sed tradito principiâ—â—â— more munimentum ad praesens in posterum ultionem Tac. Hist. lib. 1. Every one is treated as he treats others Iulius Caesar commanding the Statues of Pompey to be erected confirm'd his own If Princes should not unite against Contempt and Treason Authority and Loyalty would be in danger In Cases where the same circumstances concur a Prince ought not to connive at some and punish others for nothing renders them more odious than partiality 8 Cavendum est ne iisdem de caussis alii plectantur alii ne appellantur quidem 〈◊〉 de Off. Whence the Egyptians signified the Equality which should be observ'd in Justice by the Feathers of an Ostrich which are equal on both sides 'T is great Prudence in a Prince to find such sorts of Punishments as will expiate the Offence with the least damage to the Delinquent Certain Noblemen fomented Disturbances in Galicia and though they deserv'd Death King Ferdinand the Fourth callâ—d them to him and gave them employs in the Army where some of them were punish'd by the Enemy others by the Hardships and Toils of War and so that Province was reduc'd to its former Tranquility As in time of Peace Justice and Mercy are very advantageous so in War are Rewards and Punishments because there the Dangers are so great as would not be attempted without great hopes and nothing but fear could restrain the Licentiousness of the Soldiers In so much as without these two things says King Alphonso The Faults which are committedâ—in War are much more dangerous for if Men have so much to do to defend themselves from the Mischief of their Enemies how much more have they from that which accrues from their own Faults For which reason the Romans inflicted divers sorts of Infamy and Punishment upon the Soldiers who fail'd in their Duty or in any dangerous Attempt or Military Affair whence they were less afraid of the Enemy than the Punishment and chose-rather to die bravely in Action than to lose their Honour or Lives afterwards with perpetual Ignominy and Disgrace In those times none durst Desert because he could not shelter himself in any part of the Empire Now-a-days Deserters are not only not punished when they return to their own Country but sculking from Battel they March from Milan to Naples where as if they had serv'd under some other Prince they are again listed into his Majesty's Service to the great detriment thereof In which the Vice-Roys should follow the Example of the Roman Senate who after the Battel of Cannae though they were in extream want of Soldiers could not be induc'd to redeem six thousand Prisoners which Hannibal offered them thinking them not worth Redemption who suffer'd themselves ignominiously to be taken Prisoners when they might have died gloriously The Errors of Generals committed through ignorance ought rather to be conniv'd at than punish'd least the fear of being punished or reprimanded should make them too timorous Besides the greatest Prudence may be confounded in Accidents of War whence they deserve Compassion rather than Punishment Varro lost the Battel of Cannae and at his return the whole Senate went out to receive him thanking him for that in such a total Defeat he had not wholly despair'd of Affairs When connivence is not convenient but the Execution of Justice is required let it be done with readiness and resolution He who does it privately and by stealth is more like an Assassine than a Prince He who checks the Authority which the Crown gives him either doubts his Power or Merit from the Prince's distrust of himself proceeds the Peoples disrespect Whose Opinion of him is answerable to what he has of himself King Alphonso the Wise lost the esteem of his People by doing Justice in private This can be convenient only in troublesome times when greater Dangers may be fear'd if the People don't see the Authors of Seditions punish'd e'er they know they are taken Thus Tiberius acted for fear of this Inconveniency 9 Nec Tiberius poenam ejus palam ausus in secreta palatii parte interfici jussit corpusque clam auferri Tac. 2. Ann. In other Cases let a Prince execute that Office boldly and vigorously which he holds in the Name of God and the People for 't was Justice that at first gave him his Scepter and 't is that which must preserve it 'T is the Will of God the Harmony of Government and the Protection of Majesty If the Laws be once suffer'd to be broken unpunish'd there will be neither Fear nor Modesty and without them no Peace nor Quiet 10 Si prohibita impunè transcenderis neque metus ultrà neque pudor est Tac. 3. Ann. Yet let Princes consider that they are like Masters of Families nay that they really are such in respect to their Subjects and therefore let them temper Justice with Clemency They ought to drink the Sins of the People as God intimated to St. Peter by that Vessel of unclean Animals out of which he commanded him to eat 11 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted Beasts of the Earth and wild Beasts and creeping Things and Fowls of the Air and there came a Voice unto him Rise Peter kill and eat Actâ— 10. 12 13. A Prince should have the Stomach of an Ostrich so hot with Mercy as to digest Iron and should be also an Eagle with the Thunder of Justice which by striking one terrifies all For if all were to be punish'd who transgress'd there would be none left for the Prince to Command for there is scarce any Man so just as not to have one time or other deserved Death 12 Vix enim quisquam adeò mali expers ut non aliquam mortem meyeatur Tac. 2. Ann. The Rigour of Justice is not less dangerous to the Crown Life and Empires than Injustice Of this King Iohn the Second is an Example who for his great Severity became odious to his People And King Peter the Cruel lost thereby his Kingdom and Life too
if this by the Testimony of another Oracle not fabulous and uncertain but infallible and divine cannot be sunk neither can that which is embark'd in it For this reason your Highness's glorious Ancestors were us'd to consecrate part of the Spoils they took in War from their Enemies to God as the Lord of Victories who fought for them offering for his Worship very considerable Revenues and Possessions whence innumerable Foundations and Endowments of Churches Cathedrals and Convents took their rise having built in Spain above Seventy thousand Churches Of which Samy the first King of Arragon alone built a Thousand consecrated to the Blessed Virgin which his Munificence was amply rewarded by the many Conquests he made and Victories he won having fought Thirty three Battels in all which he came off victorious These pious Works were like Religious Colonies render'd by their Spiritual Arms not less powerful than Military ones for Artillery make not so great Breaches as Prayer The Prayers of the Israelites for seven Days beat down the Walls of Iericho 1 And the People shouted with a great shout that the Wall fell down flat so that the People went up into the City every Man strait before him and they took the Ciâ—y Ios. 6. 20. Riches are therefore better reposited in Temples than Treasuries not only against extream necessity but that as by them Religion flourishes the State may with it The Athenians kept theirs in that of Delphi as did many other Nations What better Guardian than the Sovereign Arbitrator of Kingdoms Our Hearts at least will be in the Churches if our Treasures are there 2 For where your Treasure is there will your Heart he also Mat. 6. 21. Wherefore their Council 〈◊〉 no less impious than imprudent who under the â—lightest pretence of publick Necessity are for pillaging them He is not worthy the Protection of Divine Providence who diffident of God's Power upon every accident has his Eye upon the Furniture of his House When King Ferdinand the Holy wanted Money to carry on the Siege of Sevil and some advis'd him to supply the Deficiency of his Exchequer out of the Church-Treasures He made answer I promise my self more from the Prayers and Sacrifices of the Priests than from their Riches which Piety and Confidence God abundantly recompenc'd the very next day by the Surrender of the City Those Kings who have done otherwise have left severe Examples of their Sacrilegious Presumption Gunderick King of the Vandals going to Plunder St. Vincent's fell down dead as he was entring it The great Misfortunes of Alphonso King of Arragon were thought to be God's Judgmentâ— upon him for having robbâ—d his Sacred Houses Queen Uraca died at the very Door of St. Isidore's at Leoâ— the Treasures of which she had embeziled Saneâ—â— King of Arragon was shot through the Arm with 〈◊〉 Arrow for that he had defilâ—d his Hands with thâ— Plunder of Churches And though in St. Victorio's aâ— Rota he publickly confess'd his Crime and with Tears and all imaginable Signs of Contrition offering Râ—stitution and Amendment yet it pleas'd God to publish his Offence in his Punishment as a warâ—ing to others King Iohn the First was routed and kill'd aâ— the Battel of Aliubanota for having made use of the Treasures of the Church of Guadaloupâ— Upon the Surrender of Cajeta to Frederick King of Naples the Frenâ—h loaded two Ships with the Plunder of the Churches both which were lost But in all these Cases extream necessity had not place for then right Reason allows Princes for their Preservation to make use of such Riches as out of â— pious Liberality themselves have laid up in these Holy Places provided it be with a Resolution to restore them when the Prosperity of their Affairs shall put them in a Capacity As their Catholick Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella did having obtainâ—d a Grant from the Parliament of Medina del Campo of the Church-Plate to defray Expences of War And the Sacred Canons and Councils have prescrib'd certain Cases and Circumstances of Necessity or Danger wherein Ecclesiasticks are bound to assist the Publick with their Contributâ—ons and certainly 't would be inexcâ—â—able Avaâ—â—câ— in them not to regard Common Necessities They are the most noble and principal Part of a State and if for them or for Religion others are oblig'd to expose their Lives why not they their Riches If the State maintains and keeps them it may very justly expect a reciprocal Relief from them for its Conservation and Defence The People would be diâ—courag'd from paying Tyths and other Church Duties if in Common Calamities there were none to ease them of extraordinary Burthens they will blame their own Piety and their Zeal and Devotion for any new Offerings Donatives and Legacies to the Chuâ—ch will slacken 'T is therefore highly reasonable that the Clergy in Cases of this Nature aid the Publick with their Revenues not only for that the danger or benefit equally respects all but withal least the Goods and Estates of the Laity be so oppress'd that Tillage and with it Tythes and other pious Works must fail In such cases Church-Plate shews better in Bars in the Mint than in Chalices and Cups in the Vestry This Obligation upon the State Ecclesiastical is more strict in the more urgent necessities of the Sâ—â—nish Kings for almost all the Foundations and Endowments of Churches being the Effects of their pious Liberality â—hey are in Justice bound mutually to relieve their Patrons in necessity and oblige them to continue their Munificence in better times These and many other Reasons have prevail'd with the Apostolick See to be so liberal to the Kings of Spain in granting them the use of the Church goods to maintain their Wars against the Infidels Gregory the Seventh granted Sancho Ramiâ—ez King of Arragon the Tythes and Revenues of all the Churches either newly built or gain'd from the Moors to dispose of as he pleasâ—d The same Grant also Pope Urban made to Peter the First King of Arragon his Successors and Grandees of his Kingdom excepting the Churches of Residence Innocent the Third granted the Bull of the Croisade for the War of Spain which was call'd the Holy War which favour Pope Calixtâ—s afterwards in Henry the Fourth's time extended both to the living and the dead Gregory the Tenth gave King Alphonsus the Wise the third Part of the Tythes which were design'd for Building This began afterwards to be perpetuated in Iohn the Second's Reign and Alexâ—nder the Sixth extended it also to the Kingdom of Granada John the Twenty Second granted the Tythes of the Church Revenues and the Croisade to King Alphonsus the Eleventh Urban the Fifth a third Part of the Benefices of Castile to Peter the Cruel Sixtus the Fourth consented to have the Clergy contribute at one time an hundred thousand Ducates for the War of Granada which favour several other Popes continued Iulius the Second granted Emanuel King of Portugal the third Part of the Revenue which
visu memor ia bonae societatis impavidus verba ejus in hunc modum fuere In other Cases prudence should examine Necessity Time and the Things themselves having attentive Respect to the following Maxims That a Superior takes boldness in an Inferior for an Affront imagining he aspires to be his equal or disparages him and on the other side is very apt to slight one he sees too abject and submissive It was for this reason Tiberius nominated none to be Senators but such as were of a servile Nature and though such Persons were necessary for his Service yet could be not endure that Baseness of Mind 15 Etiam illum qui libertatem publicam nollet tam projectae serviâ—ntium patientiae cedebat Tac. 3. Ann. Thus we see Princes are competent Judges of every ones natural Vigour and Alacrity and are apt to put Affronts upon those whom they know will take them Vitellius had not took the liberty to keep Valerius Maximus so long from the Consulate which Galba had conferr'd on him but that he thought his meek Temper would not resent the Injury 16 Nulla offensa sed mitâ—â— injuriam segniter laturum Tac. 2. Hist. For this reason a resolute kind of Modesty and a modest Courage will be highly requisite in a Prince who if he must of Necessity be ruined had better be so with a Mind great and noble than base and degenerous This Marcus Hortalus consider'd when Tiberius refused to assist him in the extremest Necessity 17 Avitae nobilitatis etiâ—â— inter angustias fortunae retinens Tac. 2. Ann. When the more powerful denies another the Honour due to him especially in Publick Actions it is more adviseable to snatch and as I may say steal than dispute them He that doubts distrusts his Merit the Dissembler tacitly owns his want of it and Modesty is afterwards but laugh'd at He who handsomely assumes the Preference due to him easily preserves it afterwards Thus it happ'ned once to the German Ambassadors who seeing those of such Nations as surpassed in Valour and constant Alliance with the Romans seated among the Senators in Pompey's Theatre said No Men in the World were preferable to the Germans for Arms and Fidelity 18 Nul ' os mortalium armis fide ante Germanos esse Tac 13. Ann. and immediately took Place with the Senators every one being taken with their generous Freedom and noble Emulation 19 Quod comiter à visentibus exceptum quasi impetus antiqui bona â—mulatione Tac. 13. Ann. As to Favours and Gratuities which depend wholly upon the Prince's pleasure although they seem due to Merit or Virtue the Subject ought not to murmur if they be not conferr'd upon him On the contrary rather give thanks under some honest Pretext following the Example of some Officers who were displac'd in Vitellius's time 20 Actaeque insuper Vitellâ— gratiae consuetudine servitii Tac. 2. Hist. For a discreet Courtier usually lets acknowledgments close all his Discourse with the Prince This piece of Prudence Seneca shewed after his Conference with Nero about the Crimes laid to his Charge 21 Seneca qui finis omnium cum dominante sermonum gratias agit Tac. 14. Ann. He that complains declares he has been ill us'd and Princes have very little Confidence in one they think dissatisfied all of them affecting to be like God in that of whom we never complain in our Affliction nay we rather give thanks for them In Accusations also Constancy is of very great Consequence he that gives way to them makes himself a Criminal The Innocent Person who disowns his Actions does in a manner plead guilty A good Conscience arm'd with Truth triumphs over Envy If that be degenerate and resist not the Stream of Misfortunes their Waves will overwhelm him as a River by the force of its Current throws down the weaker Trees whereas the deeply rooted stand immoveable All Sejâ—nus's Favourites fell with his Fortune Marcus Terentius alone who couragiously acknowledge he had courted and esteemâ—d his Friendship as that which procured him the Emperor Tiberius â— Favour was acquitted 22 Constantia orationis quia repertus erat qui efferret quae omnes animo agitabant c. Tac. 6. Ann. and all other Evidences either banished or executed In some Cases this firm assurance is absolutely necessary that Innocence defend not it self by Excuses for fear of betraying Timorousness nor good Services be taken Notice of least they be thought to be upbraided Thus Agrippina did when accused of having procured Plautus the Empire 23 Vbi nihil pro innocentia quasi diffideret nec beneficiis quasi exprobraret disseruit Tac. 3. Ann. Nor should the Prince's Person only be a Looking-Glass to his Subjects but he is to shew himself such by his State also which is as it were his Picture and so in that no less than his own Person Religion Justice Clemency and all other Imperial Virtues ought to be conspicuous And in as much as Councils Seats of Justice and Courts of Chancery are Parts of this Glass in them the same Qualities should be found as are in the whole nay in all particular Ministers who represent it for it very much lessens the Prince's Reputation to appear favourable to every Pretender to dismiss them with fair Promises and give Incouragement to their Hopes and on the other side put off his Counsellors and other Ministers to deter them by rough Usage from pursuing their Petitions An Artifice that will soon discover it self to be unworthy a Generous and Royal Breast The Minister is a piece of publick Coin stamp'd with the Prince's Image which except it be of good Allay and represent him to the Life will be refused as Counterfeit 24 Praefectus nisi formam suam referat mali fati instar subditis efficitur Them Orat. 17. If the Head which Governs be of Gold the Hands also which serve should be so too as were those of the Spouse in the Holy Scripture 25 Cant. 5. 11 14. Farther Ambassadors are also principal Parts of this Glass as Persons in whom the Prince's Authority is lodged And certainly it would infinitely prejudice the Publick Faith to have his Words and Veracity not found in these And as they are the Lieutenants of his Power and Courage so ought they on all Occasions to manifest them as if the Prince were present in Person Thus did Anthony Fonseca after he had proposed to Charles the Eighth in his Catholick Majestys Name that the Kingdom of Naples should not be invaded till it had been judicially determin'd whose Title was best and saw it came to nothing with singular freedom of Mind he openly declared his King had now satisfied his Conscience that he was at liberty to take which side he thought most just and immediately in the presence of the King and Council broke the Treaties of Peace before made between the two Crowns As the
XXXVI THE expert and prudent Seaman is not always carried at the Pleasure of the Wind but rather by 〈◊〉 Benefit of it so disposes the Sails of his Ship that 〈◊〉 arrives at the desired Port and with the same Wind 〈◊〉 at which he pleases of two opposite Shores withâ—â— endangering his Voyage But when the Heaven 's calm by the help of Sails and 〈◊〉 he out strips even the Wind it self With no less 〈◊〉 and Diligence the Prince ought to Steer the Vessel of 〈◊〉 State in the tempestuous Sea of his Reign so attenâ—â—vely observing all Storms that he may with Prudence and Valour make use of the same in their time and place He is a Pilot to whose Conduct the Life and Safety of all is committed nor is any Ship more hazardous than a Crown exposed to so many Winds of Ambition so many Rocks of Enemies and Storms of People King Sancho the Brave needed all his Industry to arm himself against Fortune and secure the Right of his Crown Almost the whole Science of Politicks consists in knowing how to discern Times and make use of them A Storm sometimes bringing a Ship sooner into Harbour than a Calm He who can break the force of ill Fortune renders it favourable and one that knowing a Danger yields to it and gives it time at length surmounts it When the Sailor finds there is no contending with the Billows he strikes Sail and abandons himself to them and because his Resistance would rather add force to the Wind uses some narrow Creek to rest his Ship in and shelter it from the Waves Something must be granted Dangers if one would escape them Iames the First King of Arragon was sensible of the Aversion his Noblâ—s and People had to him and that it was by no means convenient to increase their Fury by an untimely Opposition but rather to give it time to sink of it self as Rivers do whose Waters in a Tempest swell and overflow their Banks voluntarily suffer'd himself to be play'd upon and as it were imprisoned till he restored all things to their former Calmness and Tranquility and reinstated himself in the Throne The same discreet Moderation Queen Mary used when by siding with the Grandees and satisfying their Ambition she preserved the Crown of Castile during the Minority of her Son Ferdinand the Fourth †Mar. Hist. Hisp. Did the Sailor think it a dishonour to yield to a Storm and were resolved with Sails and Oars to withstand it his Ruin would be inevitable Constancy consists not in unseasonable struggling bâ—â— in hoping and so enduring Danger without letting Fortune get the upper hand of one In such Cases the Glory is to escape safe What seems Baseness of Mind in them is afterwards Magnanimity crown'd with Success When King Alphonso the Wise saw himself deprived of his Kingdom putting his whole Confidence in the King of Morocco's Assistance made no difficulty to beg of Alphonso de Guzman Governor of St. Lucar de Barameda who upon some Disgust had retired to that Prince's Court that forgetting all former Injuries and remembring their ancient Amity and his Nobility he would stand his Friend and endeavour to be an Instrument of that King 's supplying him with Men and Money Which Letters are to this Day kept in that most Illustrious and Ancient House Nevertheless Kings ought not to yield to their Subjects violence unless in Cases of Extremity for he very little consults his Authority who debases himself by too much Condescention The dishonourable Terms King Ferdinand the Holy constrain'd by his Non-age made the House of Zara no way appeased them Nor could Isabella reclaim Alphonso Carillo Bishop of Toledo though she honour'd him with a Visit at Alcala I confess in desperate Cases prudence is wont to try all ways that Chance can render possible It is great Courage and Strength of Reason on Occasions of that Nature to restrain the Spirits and weigh the present Necessity and greatness of the Danger against such means as may contribute more to the State 's Preservation No one was ever more Jealous of his Grandeuâ— than Tiberius yet he dissembled the Boldnâ—sâ— of Lentulus Germanicus who having the Command of the German Legions was so audacious as to write to him with Threats not to send him a Successor covenanting as 't were to let his Prince enjoy the Empire provided he were continued in his Province 1 Reputante Tiberio publicum sibi â—dium extremam aetatem magisque fama quam vi stare res suaâ— Tac. 6. Ann. and he who could not put up the Emulation of his Sons took this slight patiently Not but he knew the ill Consequence of letting such Disobedience go unpunished but if he opposed it he consider'd he should incurr the publick Odium that he was now in Years and in a State where his Affairs depended more upon Reputation than Strength Subjects would be little beholding to the Valour of the Prince who governs them if he should presently in ill Fortune submit to Necessity and on the other side as little to his Prudence if when that Fortune can't be overcome he will however withstand it Courage should be moderated by Prudence and Address and what cannot be effected by Strength should be the Work of Art and Industry 'T is no less glorious to avoid than to surmount a Danger To fly it always is Sloth to expect Ignorance or Surprize to despair Cowardice Men of Courage make Head against Fortune her self The Princeâ—s Duty and End is not lightly to contest with his State upon the Billows but to conduct it to the Haven of Preservation and Safety That is esteemed valiant Wisdom which draws Benefit out of Adversity as also that which by struggling compasses its Ends sooner Kings the Masters of Times and Things are always followed never led by them There 's no Building but whose Ruins with what Addition Industry is wont to make may Erect a more stately Fabrick Nor any State so intirely abandon'd by Fortune that Valour cannot preserve and even advance provided it consult Prudence upon Events and know how to make right use of them or at least to turn them to its Advantage Ferdinand the Catholick and Lewis the Twelfth of France had divided between them the Kingdom of Naples and the great Captain knowing the Circle of a Crown to have but one Center and that Empire admits of no Companion endeavoured immediately to get his Master's Share into his Hands that in Cafe of after Disputes which he foresaw would arise between those two Kings he might be the more at leasure and use them afterwards to disposses the King of France of his Part as in Effect it happned Accidents it is true have some force but we increase or diminish them according to our Carriage under them Our Ignorance gives Divinity and Power to Fortune in that we lightly resign our selves to her Vicissitudes Did we change our Customs and Measures as oft as she does the Times she
so obstinately persist in his fault Let Anger therefore and Mildness Punishment and Rewards be so intermixed as in the Golden Fleece the Steels and Flints are knit together and between them Flames of Fire to signifie that the Prince's Heart should resemble the Fire-stone or Flint which keeps the sparks of its Anger shut up least they should hurt any one rashly yet in such a manner that if it happen to be struck by Injury or Contempt it immediately breaks out into fire of Revenge and Justice yet those not so quick in execution but it has the Dew of the Fleece at hand to extinguish at least to moderate them God said to Ezekiel as Adamant and Flint have I made thy fore-head 15 Ezek. 3. 9. signifying by that the constancy of Justice and by this the fire of Piety But if the Prince cannot break his rough and savage Nature let him at least keep an obliging Family to supply his place giving a courteous reception to all Business and Petitions A Prince is often beloved or hated upon account of his Servants they very much cloak their Master's roughness if they have the skill to moderate it or to excuse it by their Affability and Discretion Some Nations hide the Royal Majesty behind Veils and Curtains when he gives Audience without exposing him to the people A Custom inhumane to the Prince severe and cruel to the Subjects who usually find comfort in their Prince's presence if not in his hands This Retreat may make the Prince more fear'd but never more beloved 'T is through the Eyes and Ears that Love strikes the Heart What we neither see nor hear we can't love A Prince who refuses the sight and speech of his Subjects refuses to hear their Necessities and to remedy them the Tongue is an easie instrument that ought to reconcile the Minds of all let not the Prince make it harsh and dis-agreeable King Iohn the First because he was short and had an impediment in his Speech lost the Portuguese in his Pretension to that Crown upon the death of King Peter 'T is not sufficient for the Prince to dispatch business by Memorials and Petitions for by them the Sentiments are not so well express'd They not being attended with Sighs and other moving Actions they are but dry Tears and have not that force upon the Prince The doors of Temples are always open so also should be those of Palaces for Princes are God's Vicegerents and the Altars as we have said which the people fly to in their Afflictions and Calamities 'T would be a scandalous thing for a Soldier to find it more easie to charge through a Squadron of Pikes than to come to the presence through the midst of Swiss and Dutch Guards who like armed Hedg-hogs are neither gain'd by Prayers nor Civility Let people come to me says the Emperor Rodolphus for I am not Emperor to be shut up in a box This retirement makes the mind savage 16 Etiam fera animalia si clausa teneas virtutis obliviscuntur Tac. 4. Hist. Attention to Government and Communication soften the temper and render it easie Princes like Hawks are tam'd by the assiduity of Affairs and by familiarity with Men. The Kingdom of Leon rebell'd against King Ramirez the Third for his difficulty of Access King Ferdinand the Holy was deny'd to none and every one had admittance even to his most private Apartment The Kings Alphonso the Twelfth and Henry the Third gave publick Audience three times a Week as did also their Catholick Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella †Mar. hist. Hisp. Nature has put doors to the Eyes and Tongue but has left the Ears open that they may be ready to hear at all times Let not a Prince then stop 'em but hearken favourably to those that would speak to him Let him comfort either by Reward or Hope for that is one kind of satisfaction which supports Merit Let him not always use set Forms and general Answers for those which are given to all satisfie none nor is it a small trouble to the Petitioner to receive an answer that he knew before Let him not always hear let him ask sometimes 17 Eccl. 23. 12. for he who does not enquire will never be well inform'd Let him throughly know the state of affairs and let his Audiences be instructive not merely ceremonial as were those of Ferdinand the Holy Alphonso King 〈◊〉 Arragon King Ferdinand the Catholick and the Empeâ—â—â— Charles the Fifth by which they were beloved and reâ—â—ected by their Subjects and esteem'd by Strangers As â—â—e Audience should be easie so it ought also to be speedy â—â—r the delay of a benefit diminishes the Obligation Tho' there are some affairs of that Nature that 't is better to let time undeceive them than either the Prince or his Miniâ—â—â—rs For all had rather be entertain'd with Hope than be dispatch'd with Despair which in prudent Courts is â—ound not given I don't approve of the Prince's exposing himself in the Streets and publick Places for the People 't is true admire him the first time observe him the second and slight him the third 18 Continuus aspectus minus verendos magnos homines ipsa societate fâ—it Liv. That which is not seen is respected most 19 Arcebantur conspectu quo venerationis plus inesset Tac. 4. hist. â—nd the Eyes often despise what the opinion esteem'd 'T is not convenient the people should know whether the chain of their Slavery be of Iron or of Gold passing judgment upon the parts and qualifications of the Prince We respect that most which is farthest distant 20 Cui major è lâ—nginquo reverentiâ— Tac. â— ann Some Nations take the Prince's Affability and Complaisance for a Vice Others dislike his reservedness and would have him mild and courteous as the Portuguese and the French The Extreams in one and t'other are always dangerous and he will be best able to moderate them who in his Actions and Government remembers that he is both Prince and Man EMBLEM XL. THE Scriptures call Princes Mountains and the rest of Mankind Hills and Valleys 1 Ye Mountains of Israel hear the word of the Lord God 〈◊〉 saith the Lord God to the Mountains and to the Hills to the Rivers and to the Valleys Ezek. 6. 3. This compâ—rison comprehends the great Affinity between them for Mountains are Princes of the Earth as being nearâ—â— Heaven and superiour to the other works of Nature as also for their Liberality by which from their own generouâ— Bowels they supply with continual Streams the droughty Plains and Vallies beneath cloathing them with Flowers and Verdure this being the true property of Princes By this vertue more than any is a Prince ally'd to God who 〈◊〉 ever giving to all plentifully 2 â—ames 1. 5. 't is this renders obedience more prompt for a Present from him who could command forces Obligation Subjection is agreeable when 't is beneficial King
3 2 Sam. 9. 3. follow that of some Tyrants as if all were not ruin'd by these pernicious practices and if any one has been preserv'd as we shall observe 't was by changing them for the better Most Kingdoms are augmented by Usurpation and afterwards maintain'd by Justice and legitimated by time Extreme violence is extreme danger Cyrus invaded Lydia and dispossess'd King Croesus But had he had any of our Politicians they would have advis'd him for his greater Security to have taken him off Yet Cyrus restor'd him one City by which he might support his Royal Dignity and 't is certain he had provok'd the Hatred and Arms of all Greece if he had shew'd himself cruel 4 Hec clementia non minus utilis victori quam victo fuit Tac. 2. hist. Tyranny is equally hatefull to God and Man nor are there wanting in such cases some mild means by which the mind may be diverted from shedding Blood from breaking the Line of Succession from diminishing or transferring the greatness of States and taking off those who may aspire to the Crown which had they been observed in Portugal that people had never revolted When the danger is so evident that it obliges to Defence and natural Preservation the Prince ought to strike at the Root that it may not sprout again keeping a watchfull Eye upon it least it should happen as it did to the Philistin Princes who having cut off Sampson's hair wherein lay all his Strength began to ridicule him not considering that it might grow again as it afterwards did 5 Judg 16. 21. when he pull'd the Temple upon their Heads 6 Ibid. killing more Enemies dying than he had done living 7 Ibid. Inordinate Ambition moreover perswades the Oppression of the liberty of the people the humbling of the Nobility the weakning of the potent and rich and the reduction of all to the Royal Prerogative thinking that the more absolute the more firm it is and that the lower the people are reduc'd the higher its Glory rises an error by which Flattery gains the Hearts of Princes and leads them into great dangers 'T is Modesty that preserves Empires so correcting the Prince's Ambition that it may maintain it within the bounds of Reason the power of his Dignity the honour of the Nobility and the liberty of the people for no Monarchy is lasting which is not mixt that is compos'd of Aristocracy and Democracy 8 Quae ex pluribus constat resp melior est Arist. 2 Pol. c. â— Absolute Power is Tyranny Whoever promotes that promotes his own ruin A Prince ought not to govern as the Lord but as the Father the Protector and Governour of his States 9 Huc enim sunt omnia reducenda ut iis qui sub imperio sunt non Tyrannum sed patrem-familias aut regem agere videatur c. Arist. Pol. 5. c. 11. These disorders of Ambition proceed from a long use and abuse of Dominion which covets all for it self in which 't is necessary Princes should conquer themselves and submit to reason however difficult the attempt appear for many can conquer others few themselves This Victory is of Force that of Reason 'T is not Valour to conquer in Battle but to subdue the Passions Obedience and Necessity make Subjects humble and modest Superiority and Power render Princes proud Pride has destroy'd more Kingdoms than the Sword more Princes have ruin'd themselves than have been undone by others The remedy consists in the Prince's knowledge of himself by retiring within himself and considering that though the Scepter distinguishes him from his Subjects they much exceed him in endowments of Mind more noble than his Grandure That if Reason might take place the most accomplish'd man would be King That the hand with which he governs the World is of â—lay and Subject to the Leprosie and all other human Miseries as God gave Moses to understand 10 Exod. 4. 6. that knowing his own Miseries he might pity those of others 11 Hebr. 5. 2. That a Crown is a very unsafe Possession for between the utmost height and the lowest fall there is no Interposition 12 Quod regnum est cui parata non sit ruina proculcatio dominus carâ—fex Nec ista intervallis divisa â—ed horâ—e momentum interest inter soliâ—m aliena genua Senec. That he depends upon the Will of others since if they would not obey he would be but like other men The greater the Prince shall be the more he ought to esteem this Modesty since God himself does not disdain it 13 Modestia fama quae neque summis mortalium spernenda est à diis aestimatur Tac. 15. ann Modesty which hides Greatness under it is like rich Enamel upon Gold which gives it the greater Value and Esteem Tiberius had no Artifice more cunning than to appear modest to gain Esteem He severely reprehended those who call'd his Occupations Divine and him Lord 14 Acerâ—éque increpuit eos qui divinaâ— occupationes ipsumque Dominum dixerunt Tac. 2. ann When he went into the Courts of Justice he would not suffer the President to quit his seat but sat down upon one corner of the Bench 15 Assidâ—bat in cornâ— Tribunalis Tac. 1. ann He who is gotten to the highest step among men cannot rise but by stooping Let all Princes learn Modesty of the Emperor Ferdinand the Second who was so familiar and affable to all that he made himself lov'd rather than reverenc'd In him Goodness and Modesty were conspicuous and Majesty found but by Attention He was not the Imperial Eagle with a sharp Beak and bare Talons threatning all but the tender Pelican continually digging his own Intrails to feed his people as his own young It cost him no pains to humble his Grandure and make himself equal to others He was not the Master but Father of the World and the excess of Modesty often causes Contempt to the ruin of Princes to him it created more Respect and oblig'd all Nations to his Service and Defence See the force of true Goodness and of a greâ—t Soul which triumphs over it self and is superiour to Fortune He has left us in the present Emperour his Son the lively Portraicture of all these qualities with which he steals the Hearts both of Friends and Enemies There is no vertue more agreeable to a Prince than Modesty all others would be foolish in him if that did not adjust his Looks and Actions not permitting them to exceed themselves In Government 't is very convenient not to touch upon Extremes for too great Condescension is not less prejudicial than a haughty Grandure Monastick Communities may perhaps suffer the Rigour of Obedience but not popular ones Such rigid Discipline may keep a few in awe but not many Civil Happiness consists in vertue which consists in the middle as does civil Lâ—fe and the Government of States for the nature
understood Tiberius's meaning and that he was recall'd from Germany only to stop the progress of his Glory readily obey'd without seeming to understand 14 Haud â—â—â—â—ctatus est ultra Germanicus quanquam fingi ea seque per invidiam â—â—rto jam decori abstrahi intelligeret Tac. 2. ann Since Princes commands can't be declin'd 't is prudence to obey them chearfully pretending ignorance of the motives to avoid danger Thus Archelaus though he knew he was call'd to Rome by Tiberius's Mother through Craft and Treachery yet he dissembled it and fearing violence if he should be thought to understand it made what hast he could thither 15 Si intelligere videretur vim metuens in urbem properat Tac. 2. ann And this Dissimulation is yet more necessary in the Errors and Vices of Princes for they esteem them as enemies who are acquainted therewith In the Banquet at which Germanicus was poison'd some ran for 't but the more prudent fat still looking upon Nero that they might not be thought to mistrust the Murther but rather to believe that it was natural 16 Trâ—pidaâ—â—â— Ã circumsedentibus diffugiunt imprudentes at quibus altior intellectus resistunt defixi Neronem intuentes Tac. 13. ann EMBLEM XLV THE Lion the body of this devise was among the Aegyptians the Emblem of Vigilance and us'd to be set in the Frontispieces and Porches of their Temples Hence Alexander the Great was engraven upon his Coin with a Lion's skin upon his head to intimate that he was not less carefull and vigilant than valiant for if at any time affairs requir'd that he should not spend much time in sleep he was us'd to lie with his arm out of bed holding a Silver ball in his hand that if he should fall asleep that falling into a brass Bason set underneath for that purpose might waken him He had never conquer'd the world had he been sleepy and lazy he ought not to snore away his time who has the Government of People committed to him †Non decet ignavum totâ producere somnum Nâ—cte virum sub consilio sub nomine cujus Tâ—t populi degunt cui rerum cura fidesque Credita summarum est Thus the Lion knowing himself to be King of Beasts sleeps but little or if he does 't is with his Eyes open he does not confide so much in his Empire nor relie so much on his Majesty as not to think it necessary to seem to be awake even while he sleeps The Senses do indeed require rest sometimes but even then 't is necessary Princes should be thought to be awake A sleeping King differs not from another man This Passion he ought to conceal from Friends as well as Enemies he may sleep provided others think him waking Let him not depend so much upon his Authority and Power as to shut his Eyes to Care and Circumspection 'T is a cunning Dissimulation in the Lion to sleep with his Eyes open not with a design to deceive but only to hide his sleepiness And if any one designing against him be deceiv'd finding him awake whom he thought he had seen sleeping 't is his own fault not the Lion's Nor is this pretence below the greatness of his Mind no more than that other piece of cunning of smoothing over the Tract of his feet with his Tail to deceive the Huntsmen There is no Fortress secure unless guarded by Vigilance The greater the Prince is the greater care he ought to be crown'd with not with the Sincerity of innocent Doves but the prudence of subtle Serpents For as when the Lion enters the Field the other Beasts lay aside their natural Enmity and give over fighting and with joint force combine against him so among men all arm and unite against the strongest Nothing is more pernicious to the Kingdom of England than the greatness of the Dutch for they take from them the Dominion of the Seas nothing more prejudicial to France than the Grandure of those same Rebels who once breaking down the Dikes oppos'd by Spain would like an Inundation soon o'erwhelm the Kingdom of France as King Henry the Fourth wisely observ'd and yet what weigh'd more with both these two Crowns than their danger their hatred I mean and fear of the Spanish Monarchy rais'd that people to that Grandure and Power which upon alteration of affairs they may fear against themselves We are more sollicitous and carefull to avert present dangers than future ones though these are often greater Fear obstructs the Senses nor permits the Mind to survey things at a distance A groundless Fear is often of more force than the greatest reason of State The power of Spain in Italy is a preservative against the distempers of the Genoese liberty the same also preserves the Dukedom of Tuscany augments the Spiritual Empire of the Church maintains the Authority of the House of Austria and secures the Venetians from the Tyranny of the Turks yet I know not whether the Ministers of these Princes will acknowledge this or act conformable to this their Interest Such Jealousies as are not guided by reason work their own ruin They who thought they should be safe in disarming the Emperour Ferdinand the Second sound afterwards that they had need of those arms which they had caus'd him to disband Many Provinces which for Reasons of State sought the ruin of the Roman Empire lost their own liberty with its ruin Let not a Prince put much confidence in exterior respect and ceremony for 't is all feign'd and far from what it appears to be Complaisance is Flattery Adoration Fear Respect Force and Friendship Necessity The good opinion which a Prince conceives of others they make use of to circumvent and betray him All watch his motions to make a prey of him all strive to overcome him by Stratagem whom they can't by force few or none act sincerely with him for he who is fear'd seldom hears truth and therefore he ought not to sleep in confidence of his own power Let him oppose Stratagem with Stratagem and Power with Power A generous mind closely and cautiously prevents or couragiously resists dangers But though in the present Emblem we allow of the arts of Dissimulation nay and think them necessary with the aforesaid restrictions yet does it more become the Ministers than the Princes themselves for in them there is a certain occult Divinity which is offended at that care Dissimulation is usually the Daughter of Fear and Ambition neither of which ought to be discover'd in a Prince The conveniences of Dissimulation he ought to supply by silence and reservedness A Prince is more belov'd for being prudent and wary provided he act with a Royal Sincerity All hate Artifice and on the contrary a natural and open freedom is agreeable to all as Tacitus remarks in Petronius 1 Dicta factaque ejus quanto solutiora quandam sui negligentiaâ— praeferentia tantò gratius in speciem simplicitatis accipiebantur
whether our Conduct and Prudence can without ambition and peril find a secure path between a froward Obstinacy and a despicable Slavery There seems to be a certain occult force which if it does not compell does at least move our Will and incline it to one more than another and if in the Senses and natural Appetites there is a Sympathy and Antipathy to things why not in the Affections and Passions They may perhaps have more power and force over the Appetite than the Will because that is more a Rebell to Free-Will than this but it can't be deny'd but that the inclination too is of great force being generally attended by reason especially when Art and Prudence know how to adapt themselves to the humour of the Prince We see in all things as well animate as inanimate a secret Correspondence and Friendship whose chains are easier broken than parted Neither the injuries nor adversities which King Iohn the Second suffer'd for his affection to Alvarez de Luna nor the apparent danger of the latter could dissolve that firm bond of Friendship with which their Souls were united And though this inclination be not natural yet gratitude for past Services or the extraordinary merits of the Subject usually produce it Vertue is of it self amiable and gratefull to the Will 'T would be barbarous to oblige a Prince to balance his affections with indifferency to all for they proceed from the heart by the Eyes and Hands what stanch severity can always resist the charms of favour How reserv'd was Philip the Second Yet had he not one but many particular Favourites God himself had some whom he peculiarly favour'd giving them power to stop the course of the Sun and Moon 1 And he said in the sight of Israel Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou Moon in the valley of Ajalon Jos. 10. 12. The Lord obeying the voice of man 2 The Lord harkened to the voice of man for the Lord fought for Israel Ibid And why as King Peter observ'd is particular Friendship allow'd to private persons and not to Princes Many are the troubles of Government to alleviate which 't will be necessary to have some one near you in whom you can put a more particular Confidence There are many difficulties in it which are not to be surmounted by one The burthen of a Crown is too weighty and cumbersome for one to bear the strongest yield to it and as Iob says bend under it For this reason though God was assistant to Moses and supply'd him with ability and instructions to administer his Office yet he commanded to make use of the elders in the Government of his people that they might help to bear the burthen 3 And they shall bear the â—urthen of the people with thee that thou bear it not thy self alone Nâ—â—b 11. 17. And Iethâ—o his Father-in-Law thought the burthen greater than he was able to bear 4 For this thing is too heavy for thee thou art not able to perform it thy self alone Exod. 18. 18. Alexander took Parmeno to his assistance David Joab Solomon Zadock Darius Daniel by whose directions they succeeded in their affairs No Prince is so prudent and discreet as of himself to know all things nor so carefull and diligent as to manage all affairs alone Which natural impotency oblig'd Princes to erect Courts and Counsels and to create Presidents Governours and Viceroys in whom the power and authority of Princes might reside For alone says King Alphonso the Wise they can't penetrate and examin all things but have need of the assistance of others in whom they can confide who should use the power which they receive in performing those things which Princes can't do themselves †L. 3. tit 1. p. 2. And if Princes use the assistance of Ministers abroad why should he not in the more private affairs of his Cabinet 'T is necessary he should have some one near him whom he may deliberate with about the Advice and Counsel which is given him That he may with him compare his own Scruples and Propositions and be by him instructed Whom in fine he may safely trust to expedite and execute Affairs 5 Solatium curarum frequenter sibi adhibent maturi Pâ—eges hinc meliores aestimantur si soli omnia non praesumunt Cassiod lib 8. epist. 9. Would it not be worse if embarrass'd with such weighty cares he should communicate himself to none Besides 't is absolutely necessary that the Prince should have some assistant who disengag'd from all other business should be as a Mediator between him and his people Otherwise it would be impossible for him to hear and satisfie all nor would it suit with his Majesty For this reason the Israelites besought Moses that he would speak to God for them for they themselves were afraid of his Presence 6 Exod. 20. 19. And Absalom that he might render David odious to the people urg'd that he had no Ministers about him to receive the complaints of the distressed 7 Thy matters are good and right but there is no man deputed of the King to hear thee 2 Sam. 15. 3. The Zeal and Prudence of a Favourite may with ease rectifie the defects of Government and the inclinations of Princes 8 Qui in regiae familiaritatis sacrarium admittuntur multa facere possunt dicere quibus paupcrum necessita sublevetur faveatur religio fiat aequitas Ecclesia dilatetur Petr. Blis Epist. 150. Agricola by his prudent address reclaim'd Domitian and though Sejanus was bad Tiberius was worse when without him he follow'd his own inclinations 9 Obtectis libidinibus dam Sejanum dilexit timuitve postremò in scelera simul at dedecora prorupit postquam remoto pudore metu suâ— tantum ingenio utebatur Tac. 6. ann And truly by such Favourites God-often saves a whole Kingdom as he did Syria by Naaman and Aegypt by Ioseph 10 2 Kings 5. 1 Since then 't is necessary that the weight of Government should be divided 't is natural in the choice of such an assistant to be guided in some measure by inclination or some secret Sympathy in the persons of each which choice if it be founded upon desert can be no ways dangerous nay 't is requisite that the humour of the party whom the Prince takes to assist him should be chosen to him The question is Whether one or many should be chosen to this Office if many equally favour'd and respected Emulation will arise and their Counsels will thwart one another to the detriment of the State So that it seems more agreeable to natural order that affairs should be committed to one alone who should supervise the rest and by whom affairs should come digested and methodized to the Prince who should only substitute him to his cares and trouble not his power and authority in his Counsels not his Rewards The Sun alone imparts Light to the whole world and when he
sets he leaves not many but only one Vicegerent the Moon with a Lustre much greater than that of the other Stars who seem but as so many inferiour Ministers to assist her Yet neither this nor those shine with their own but borrow'd Light which the Earth acknowledges receiv'd from the Sun Nor does this favour misbecome Majesty when a Prince devolves part of the burden of Affairs upon his Favourite so as to preserve the sovereign power and authority to himself for this is not favour but imployment not so much an obligation as a communication of trouble nor is this so much to be envied if Princes would be so prudent as to give it another name as President of the Council or Chancellour as the Magistrates call'd Praefecti at Rome incurr'd no Envy though they were second Caesars The felicity of Subjects consists not in the Prince's being like a loadstone attractive of Iron and not of Gold but in his knowledge in chusing such a Minister as will attribute whatever is great and commendable to him and take all the Reflections and Odium of the people upon himself one whose mind is wholly bent upon the publick good who manages affairs without Ambition hears without Disdain and debates without Passion whose Resolves and Determinations have no respect to self-interest In a word whose whole aim is the service and advantage of his Country not himself or the preservation of his Master's favour By this rule one may know whether this Familiarity proceed from pure Zeal or Tyranny Princes ought to take great care in the choice of such a Minister endeavouring not to be byass'd by Affection or fansifull Inclination but by rare and excellent Qualifications and Merits for sometimes such Friendship is not the result of deliberation but accident it is not favour but diligence Courts usually erect and adore some Idol which they deify and treat with Royal Splendor and Magnificence they worship it upon their Knees burn Tapers and offer Incense to it imploring its assistance with Prayers and Vows 11 And so the multitude allured by the grace of the work took him now for a God which a little before was but honoured as a man Wisd 14. 20. As industry can change the course of Rivers and turn them another way so it often happens that those who have business at Court not regarding the Prince the true channel of affâ—irs apply themselves to the Favourite whose arts do by this so secure the Prince's favour that he can never disengage himself from it No Prince was more cautious none more free than Tiberius yet was he subject to his Favourite Sejanus 12 Tiberium variis artibus devinxit adeo ut obscurum adversus alios sibi uni incautuin intectumque efficereâ— In which case 't is difficult to say whether such favour be human choice or some superiour power for the greater good or ill of the Commonwealth The Holy Spirit says 't is a particular judgment of God 13 Prov. 29. â—6 Tacitus attributes the favour and fall of Sejanus to the anger of the Gods for the ruin of the Empire 14 Nâ—â— tam solâ—rtia quippe iisdem artibus victus est 〈…〉 pari exâ—tio viguâ—t â—â—â—iditque Tac. 4. ann A misfortune scarce avoidable when this favour falls upon a person of great quality as it usually does in Courts where the chief of the Nobility are Ministers For he who is once possess'd of it will by the preheminence of his Birth and Grandure of his Family endeavour what he can to preserve it nor will he easily suffer himself to be supplanted by any one As was seen in Iohn Alphonso Robles in the time of King Iohn the Second †Mâ—r. 〈…〉 lib. 20. l. 25. The heart of a Prince is never safe in the power of a Subject whose Nobility and Authority make him too much respected by others Though this inconveniency is lessen'd when this favour falls upon some great man who is truly zealous and intent upon his Prince's Service and the honour and welfare of his Country for then the people's Envy and Odium will not be so great and the orders which are dispatch'd through the hands of such a one will be the more readily observ'd yet 't is always highly necessary if a Prince could balance his favour between his own Authority and the Merits of his Favourite to commit only that part of the administration to him which he cannot manage himself for should he commit it wholly to him he would experience the same misfortunes with King Ahasuerus when he entrusted Hamon with the Government of his people 15 Esth. 3. 11. Let him not give by another's hand what he can dispose of with his own nor borrow others Eyes when he can see with his own As to what is done in Courts of Justice and Councâ—ls let him afterwards consult the Presidents and Secretaries from whose relations he may receive a just account of the affairs therein transacted and his Resolutions will be more concise and ready when he confers with those by whom the affâ—irs â—ave been managed This method the Popes and Emperâ—â—â—se as did also the Kings of Spain â—ill Philip the Second who being an excellent Pen-man introduc'd the custom of taking debates and consultations in writing which afterwards prevailing gave rise to private favour for the Kings being embrass'd with such a vast number of writings were oblig'd to communicate them to some one and this must of necessity be a Favourite On such a one let a Prince bestow more peculiar marks of favour and benevolence For he who merits his favour and shares his trouble ought to have Pre-eminence above others The shadow of St. Peter worked Miracles 16 Acts 5. 15. What wonder then if a Prince's Favourite who is but his shadow acts with more Authority than others Nevertheless some favours should be reserv'd for others nor should those other be so great as to exceed the condition of a Subject and make him equal to the Prince so as to have Court made to him as Co-partner in the Empire and to draw the whole body of affairs after him which derogates much from the Authority and Esteem of the Prince A Favourite should act as the shadow not the Substance In this the Kings of Castile who in times past had Favourites runâ— great Risques for as the power of the Kings being then not so large how little soever they granted it endanger'd the whole Kingdom as it befell King Sancho the Strong for his favour to Lopez de Hara King Alphonso the Eleventh for his to Count Alvaro Osorio King Iohn the Second and King Henry the Fourth for theirs to Alvaro de Luna and Iohn Pacheco The whole point of Favouritism consists in the Prince's knowing how much he ought to allow his Favourite and he how much he ought to receive from his Prince Whatever exceeds this rule creates as we shall mention anon Jealousie Envy and Danger 17 Sed uterque
Alexandria without his leave 8 Acerrimè increpuit quod contra institutum Augusti non sponte Principis Alexandriam introisset Tac. 2. ann but for the greater Security and the better to keep the Minister in obedience 't would be convenient to allow a little more Authority to the Magistracy of the Province for there are no Curbs stronger than that nor more ready to oppose the Faults of the Governor Mean and abject Spirits such as have no Ambition of Glory or thirst for Preferments are fit for no Employ The chief Quality which God found in Ioshuah to introduce him into the management of Affairs was that he had a great Spirit 9 Numb 27. 18. But yet the Courage should not be so great as to repine at his being born a Subject and not be contented with his Condition for the Loyalty of such is in great Danger because they aspire always to the highest step which if they attain not 't is either for want of Power or Wit besides they soon flag in their Zeal for the Publick and Obedience to their Prince Great Spirits are not less dangerous at least if they are not docile and modest for being very positive and conceited of their own Opinions they are apt to slight Commands and believe that all should be governed at their Pleasure A person is as troublesome for his good Qualifications as for his having none at all for there is no satisfying him who presumes too much upon his Merit Tiberius never desired great Vertues in Offices of Trust and hated Vices too for from one he feared Danger to himself from t' other Scandal to the Government 10 Neque enim imminentes virtutes sectabatur rursus vitia oderat ex optimis periculum sibi à pessimis dedecus publicum metuebat Tac. 1. ann Nor are those fit for Ministers who are rich and of great Families for having no need of the Prince and flowing in plenty of all things they won't expose themselves to Perils and Toils nor can nor will they be under Command 11 Qui in affluentia fortunae virium opum amicorum aÌ„lioruamque talium constituti sunt Reginaeque obâ—dire norunt Arist. 4. Pol. c. 11. Whence Sosibius Britannicus us'd to say Princes can't endure Riches in the Commons 12 Auri vim atque opes Principibus infensas Tac. 11. ann When a Prince shall have made Choice of a Minister with all due Circumspection let him seemingly put an entire Confidence in him but always keep an Eye upon his Actions and Intelligences and if they are any ways suspicious let him be removed to another Post where he will want opportunity to make a party to execute his ill Designs for there is more prudence and kindness in preventing a Crime than in forgiving it when committed if Germanicus's Victory and the Soldiers Applause pleas'd Tiberius on one hand on t' other they made him jealous and uneasie 13 Nuntiata ea Tiberium laetitia curaque affecere Tac. 1. ann And understanding the Commotions in the East he was glad of a Pretence ea expose him to Dangers by making him Governour of those Provinces 14 Ut to specie Germanicum suetis Legionibus abstraheret novâ—sque Provineiis impositum dolo simul casibus objectaret Tac. 2. ann Now if any Minister is to be removed it should be done under the pretence of Honour and before the Reasons are known with such prudence as mayn't give him Reason to mistrust the Princes disgust for as fear of being cheated is the way to be cheated so Suspicion of Loyalty makes Traytors for which Reason Tiberius having a mind to recall Germanicus to Rome did it under a pretence of a Triumph which he design'd him 15 Acriùs modestiam ejus aggreditur alterum Consulatum offerendâ— Tac. 2. ann offering him other Preferments of which Princes are very liberal when they would free themselves from their Jealousies If a Subject once loses the Respect he owes his Prince after Confidence will never secure him Sancbo the first King of Leon pardoned Count Gonzalo for having taken up Arms against him endeavouring to reconcile him by his Favours but those by which he thought to have oblig'd him only gave him opportunity to poyson him When Princes are concerned with one another there is no Obligation of Friendship or Affinity a sufficient Reason for their trusting each other Don Ferdinand the great King of Castile and his Brother Garcias of Navarre were at difference he as he lay sick at Nacar had a design to seize his Brother who came to pay him a Visit but his Design not succeeding he had a mind to dissemble his Intent by visiting his Brother who caused him to be apprehended * Mar. Hist. Hisp. Revenge and State-Policy is of greater Force than Friendship or Consanguinity The same befel Don Garcias King of Galicia for having trusted his Brother Alonso King of Castile the most irreconcileable falling out is that between Relations and dearest Friends 16 Difficiles fratrum dissentiones qui valdè amâ—nt valdè edio habent Arist. 7. Pol. c. 6. and perfect Hatred is the result of perfect Love from all which we may infer how difficult a thing 't is for a Prince to trust himself in the hands of his Enemies it cost the King of Granada his Life for going though with a Pass port to ask assistance from King Peter the Cruel Lewis Forza Duke of Milan was more cautious refusing an Interview with the King of France unless in the midst of a River or upon a broken Bridge A true piece of Italian Policy not to trust where they have once shew'd a Jealousie for which Reason the Italians were much admir'd at the Interview between the great Captain and King Ferdinand the Catholick as also at that between the same King and the King of France his Enemy In some Cases Confidence is more safe and necessary to gain peoples Affections than Distrust Don Alonso VI. having lost his Kingdom of Leon liv'd retir'd at the Court of the King of Toledo who was a Moor when upon the Death of Don Sancho his Sates recalled him to his Throne with the greatest privacy imaginable fearing lest if it should come to be known by the Moors they might retain him by force he like a prudent and grateful Prince discovered the whole Affair this Confidence so oblig'd the Barbarian King who before understood the Intrigue and design'd to seize him that he not only let him go free but also furnished him with Money for his Voyage See the power of Gratitude which disarms even the most savage Spirits * Mar. Hist. Hisp. Distrusts between Princes can't be cur'd by Satisfactions or Excuses but by their contrary if time won't heal them diligence never will these are a kind of wounds which the Probe and the Hand does but more exulcerate and a sort of apparent Jealousies which are an Introduction to Infidelity EMBLEM LII
be granted to none else for he exposes Loyalty to evident Danger who grants any one a Power too absolute The Royal Crown put upon a Subjects Head tho' but in jest will make him proud and think himself above what he is The mind of a Subject should not experience this Royal Grandeur and Glory of reigning for afterwards abusing it he usurps it and that it mayn't return to him from whom he had it he Plots and contrives his Ruine the Divine Writ in one Chapter gives us Examples of Kings put to Death by the hands of their Subjects for having raised them too high Solomon for all his Wisdom fell into this misfortune and ran the same Risque for having made Ieroboam President of all the Customs of the House of Ioseph 2 1 Kin. 11. 28. and we read that he had the Impudence to lift up his hand against his King 3 1 Kin. 11. 26. Let Princes then take it for a Maxim of State not to promote one too much above others or if they are oblig'd to it let it not be one but several that they may Balance one another and mutually keep each other in their Devoir by a reciprocal Examination of one anothers Actions and Designs 4 Est autem omnis Monarchiae cautio communis neminem facere nimis magnum aut certè plusquam unum facere ipsi enim inter se quid quisque agat observant Arist. 5. Pol. c. 11. The Emperour Ferdinand II. did not sufficiently observe this piece of Policy when he gave the absolute Command of his Armies and Provinces to the Duke of Fridland whence sprang so many misfortunes and amongst the rest the loss of that great Man which was meerly the effect of too much Power Let not Princes be deceived by the Example of Pharaoh who committed all his Power into the hands of Ioseph who preserv'd his Kingdom 5 Gen. 41. 40. for Ioseph was the Emblem of Christ and there are very few Ioseph's to be found now adays Each would depend upon himself and not upon the Body which this present Emblem represents by a Branch encircled with a wicker Basket filled with Earth such as Gardiners use where it by degrees takes root and so being cut off insensibly becomes a Tree independant of the Stock without the least respect to its Greatness This Example shews the Danger in making Governments of Provinces perpetual for Ambition having once taken root claims 'em as its Property he who is so accustom'd to command will afterwards scarce be brought to obey France shews us many Examples of this written in its own Blood Even God's Ministers in the Kingdom of Heaven are liable to slip 6 Job 4. 18. the Perpetuity of great Offices is an Alienation from the Crown the Scepter will be useless and of no force and will stand in awe of that very Power it has been so prodigal of Liberality will want a Dowry and Vertue a Reward The Minister becomes a Tyrant in the Government which he is sure of for Life that Prince whom he sees preserves his Authority he respects as his Master but him who does not he despises and at last rebells against him Therefore Iulius Caesar limited the Pretorship to one Year and the Consulship to two And the Emperour Charles V. advised his Son Philip II. not to continue Ministers in Office too long especially in places Military to give the greatest to persons of mean Fortune and Embassy's to the rich thereby to weaken ' em The Bravery of the great Captain in Italy made King Ferdinand the Catholick suspect him so that he recall'd him and if he did not then wholly mistrust him at least he would no longer hazard his Loyalty by the Continuation of the Vice-Royship of Naples And though that great Politician Tiberius continued Ministers in Posts all their Life-time but this was upon such Tyrannick Considerations as ought not to enter into the Thoughts of a prudent and just Prince 7 Id morum Tiberii suit continuare Imperia ac plerosque ad fine◠vitae in eisdem exercitibus aut Iurisdictionibus habere Tac. 5. ann Princes ought therefore to take advice from Nature the Mistress of true Politicks who does not allow its Celestial Ministers of light a perpetual Authority and Government of the World but certain fixt Seasons as we may see in the Motion and Reigns of the Planets that they mayn't lose the right of disposing of 'em and to prevent the usurping her Authority and Power besides she considers that the Earth would be ruined if it should always be governed by the Melancholy of Saturn or the heat and fury of Mars or the severity of Iupiter or the subtilty of Mercury or the levity of Venus or the inconstancy of the Moon In removals of this Nature great Care ought to be taken that Ministers should not take it to be a slur upon their Reputation to be removed from greater to lesser Places for since there are not many that Minister would be of no use who when he has been employ'd in the highest would refuse to Officiate in lower Places and though Reason requires that Rewards should be equal to Deserts yet in this Point the Subjects reason should be guided by the Princes interest when his Service or the publick Advantage is in the Case not that he ought to be put into any inferior Post out of Contempt or Disgrace for so the importance of the Negotiation makes amends for the meannes◠of the Office If any Offices may be continued long they are Embassies◠for their Business is only to intercede not Command not to give Orders but to negotiate at their Departure all Acquaintance with their native Countrey dies and all Intimacy with the Prince with whom they negotiate and his Ministers cease Forts and Garrisons which are as it were the Keys of the Kingdom should be at the immediate Power and Disposal of the Prince King Sancho was ill advised when by reason of the Minority of his Son Don Alonso III. he order'd those of the Nobility who were Governours of Cities to remain till his Son was fifteen years old which occasioned many grievous Calamities to that Kingdom As for other Offices let 'em be but for a time for their too long continuance makes the Ministers proud and endangers their Loyalty This Tiberius knew though he did not practise 8 Superbire homines etiam annua designatione quid si honorem per quinquennium agitent Tac. 2. ann Vertue is tired by Industry and Expectation yet should not Offices be of too short continuance so as the Minister can reap no benefit or experience in 'em or so as to make him too ravenous like Hawks in Norway because of the shortness of the day but in troublesome and dangerous times publick Offices and places of Trust ought to be continu'd longer least they should upon removal be conferr'd upon raw unexperienced Persons So Augustus did upon the defeat of Quintilius Varus
ill Consequence is it less inconvenient not to declare his mind at all for so that Counsel which seems best may with more Secrecy be executed Henry King of Portugal proposed matters with so much Discretion in his Council that it could not be discover'd either by his Words or Looks which way he inclined whence came the Custom of Presidents and Vice-Roys not giving their Votes in Council which is an anciâ—nt Practice and was used by the Etolians But in a matter in which the Prince desires rather their Approbation than Advice he may open his mind and declare his Opinion for he will find they will generally â—ide with him either through a desire to please or because we naturally incline to follow our Superior In Affairs of War especially when the Prince is involv'â— therein his Presence in Council is of more importance 〈◊〉 well for the above-mentioned Reasons as that he thereby animates them and that their prudent Resolves may be puâ— in speedy Execution and least while they are brought to him the opportunity be slipt He must know that some Minisâ—ers desire to be thought vigorous and active ratheâ— than discreet and so in the Princes Presence oâ—tâ—n are the Authors of rash Counsel not that they would be thâ— persons that should execute them nay they have a particular aversion to all Danger as it was with those who advis'd Vitellius to take up Arms 18 Sed quod in cjusmodi rebus accidit consiliâ—m ab omnibus datâ—â— est periculum pauci sensere 'T is a common Question among Politicians whether 〈◊〉 no a Prince himself should not assist in the Courts of Justice 't is a too weighty Employ and would take up 〈◊〉 much of that time which is necessary for Affairs of State and the Administration of the Government Though Tibâ—rius after he had assisted in the Senate went to the Courtâ— of Judicature 19 Nec patrum cognitionibus satiatus Iudiciis adsidebat in coâ—nu tribunalis Tac. 1. ann King Ferdinand the Holy was ofteâ— present in those Courts where he heard and defended the Poor and protected the weak from the strong K. Alphonâ—â— the Wise ordain'd that the King himself should undertake the Causes of Widows and Orphans For tho' says he he is oblig'd in general to defend his Subjects yet ought he particularly to assist them because they are more helpless than others * L. 20. tit 23. p. 3. Solomon's great Judgment in the Decision of Causes got him the general Esteem of all 20 And all Israel hâ—ard of the Judgment which the King had judged and they feared the King for they saw that the Wisdom of God was in him to do â—udgment 1 Kin. 3. 28 the Israelites desired a King who as in other Nations might be Judge over them 21 Now make us a King to judge us like all the Nations 1 Sam. 8. 5. the Presence of the King makes Judges just and his Power only can defend the poor 22 A King that sitteth in the Throne of Judgment scaâ—â—ereth away all evil with his Eyes Prov. 20. 8. the chief Reason why God chose David King was because he who had freed his Flocks from the jaws of the Lion 23 Psalm 9. 14. best knew how to protect the Impotent from the powerful 24 1 Sam. 17. 31. so grateful and acceptable is this Care to God that for that only he promises to blot out all the rest of his Sins and make them as white as Snow 25 Isa. 1. 17. Wherefore I can't deny that this is the main part of a Prince's Duty yet I think he fulfils it if he chooses Persons of Integrity for his Ministers of Justice and takes Care that they justly and uprightly perform their Offices 'T will suffice sometimes in the most important Cases I mean such as may be oppress'd by Power to be present at their giving their Opinions so as to make the Judges always in fear least he should be in some corner of the Court and hear all that is said and done For which Reason all the Judges live in the Royal Palace at Madrid and in the Courts where they sit there are windows from whence his Majesty uses to hear all that passes The same is usual in the Turks Divan where when the Bassa's meet to treat about Affairs he hears them when he pleases from a window cover'd with Sarcenet And this Harmony of the Clock and the mutual Agreement between the Wheels and the Hand which points the hours is evidentlâ— visible in the Government of the Kingdom of Spain which is so well constituted that those Kingdoms and Provinces which Nature has dis-joyn'd she unites by the prudence of her Government Each has its particular Court at Madrid Câ—stile Arragon Pâ—rtugal Italy the Netherlands and the Indies to which there is but one President they take Cognizance of all Affairs whether of Justice or Rewards belonging to any of these Kingdoms or Provinces And their Debates are brought to the King who orders what he thinks fit so that the Councils are as 't were the Wheels and his Majesty the Index or they the Optick Nerves by which visible Species are transmitted to the Prince and the King the common Sense which discerns and Judges them The Affairs of the Kingdom being so dispos'd and presented to his Majesty all 's manag'd with that ease and prudence that for above a hundred years since it began to flourish there has happened no considerable mis-carriage which is almost incredible in such a dis-united Body The Roman Empire was more succinct and yet it almost continually felt Convulsions and Disorders an undeniable Proof that ours is better founded than their's and govern'd by Men of greater Judgment Prudence and Integrity Since then the Summ of all Affairs should be reduc'd to the Prince he should not only be a Father to the Republick in Love but Economy too nor should he think it sufficient to have Counsellours and Ministers to manage his Affairs but he should also keep by him a certain private Memoir of them by which he should be guided in all things as Merchants keep their Accounts in a particular Book for that purpose such a Book as this the Emperour Augustâ—s kept In which he took an account of the Revenue of the number of the Citizens and Auxiliaries in his Service also oâ— the Fleets Kingdoms Provinces Tributes Taxes and Gratuities all which he wrote with his own hand 26 Opes publicae continebantur quantum civium sociorumque in â—â—mis quot Classes Regna Provinciae Tributa Necessitates ac Largitiâ—nes quae cuncta sua manu perscripserat Augustus Tac. 1. ann the Memory is the Treasury of Experience but is very short and weak without the assistance of the Pen to strengthen and perpetuate it upon Paper He 'll find a great advantage who for Memory's sake takes an account of all Actions good or ill in his Book which Diligence if your Royal Highness when
to obtain the Honour of Assertor of his Countrey 's Liberty 2 Itaque Monarchas non ut sibi vendicent Monarchiam invadunt sâ—d ut famam gloriam adipiscantur Arist. Pol. 5. cap. 10. It should therefore be the Princes Care to abolish this Superstition of false Honour and to promote the Worship of the true Let not a Prince disdain to honour Merit either in Subjects or Strangers for this does not derogate from the Prince's Honour no more than the light of a Torch is diminished by the lighting of another by it for which Reason Ennius compares the Charity of a person who instructs a wandring Traveller in his way to a Flame He who t' a wandring Man his way has shewn Lights t'others Torch and never hurts his own * Ennius From whence proceeds Cicero's Advice that whatever kindness can be done another without Detriment to ones self let it be done even to a Stranger 3 Ut quicquid sine detrimento accommodari possit id tribuatur velignoto Cicero From both these Sentences the present Emblem is taken a lighted Candle in a Candlestick the Emblem of Divinity and supream Authority at which two others are lighted to signifie that a Prince may bestow Honour upon those who deserve it without Detriment to his own His Honour is borrowed not his own who is afraid of wanting it when he confers it on others Springs continually flow and are never empty The Fund of Honour in Princes is inexhaustible be they never so profuse All respect them as the only Magazines of Honours from whence every one expects his share so the Earth with its Vapours refreshes the Air which returns them in Dew upon the Earth again And this mutual Correspondence between the Prince and his Subjects King Alphonso the Wise knew when he said that these in Honouring him honour'd themselves because from him they expect Honour and Preferment where this mutual Honour is there Affairs flourish in Peace and War and the Government is established Nor does a Prince shew his Majesty more in any thing than in the Honours he confers All natural Bodies the more noble they are are the more generous and free of their Vertues and Gifts To give Riches is humane but the distribution of Honour belongs to God or his Vicegerents In these Maxims I would perfectly instruct your Highness especially in that of honouring the Nobility who are the main support of Monarchy Let your Highness hearken to your glorious Predecessor King Alphonso the Wise who in laying down Maxims for his Successors speaks to this Effect Furthermore he ought to respect and honour the Nobility for their Riches and for that they are an Honour to his State and he should respect and honour the Gentry as being his Guard and the Bulwark of his Kingdom Without Rewards Services flag but rewarded they flourish and make the Kingdom glorious Under an ungrateful King never any great Action was aâ—chieved nor any glorious Example transmitted to Posterity Those three brave Souldiers who broke through the Enemies Squadrons and fetch'd water from the Cistern scarce did any thing else remarkable because David did not gratifie them A Prince by once rewarding the Merits of a Family binds them to his Service for ever The Nobility is as much urg'd to Glory by the noble Exploits of their Ancestors and by Honours with which they were rewarded as by those which they themselves expect 't was upon this Account that your Royal Highnesses Predecessors bestowed eternal marks of Honour upon the Services of some great Families of Spain So King Iohn II. rewarded those of the Counts Ribadeo by permitting them to eat at the King's Table upon Twâ—lfth-day and to have the same Coat which his Majesty wore that day his Catholick Majesty granted the same Honour to the Marquess of Cadiz And order'd that they should have the Coat which he wore upon the Feast of the Blessed Virgin to the Marquesses of Moya he gave the Cup which the Kings should drink out of upon St. Lucia's Day to the Earls of Roca of the Family of Vera and to all of that House a Grant for each to exempt thirty persons from all Taxes the same King Ferdinand when he met the King of France at Savona invited the great Captain Gonsalvo to Table with him at whose house also he staid at his Entry into Naples and what wonder since he ow'd him his Kingdom and all Spain its Glory and Success †Mar. Hist. Hisp. Of him might well be said what Tacitus says of another brave and valiant General In his Body was all the beauty of the Cherusâ—i and whatever was done with Success was the result of his Counsel 4 Illo in corpore decus owne Cheruscorum illius consilia gesta quae prosperâ— ceâ—idâ—rint testaâ—atur Tac. 2. ann The Valour and Conduct of one Minister is often the Foundation and Rise of a Kingdom That which is founded in America is owing to Herman Cortez and the Pizarrs The single Valour and Industry of the Marquess of Aytona kept the Netherlands from revolting upon the Death of the Infanta Isabella and some of our present Ministers have been the chief Instruments in preserving the Empire in the House of Austria and of the Tranquility which Italy has so long enjoyed whose great Rewards have been a spark to kindle a glorious Emulation in others By recompencing one Service you purchase many more 't is a noble Usury which enriches Princes and enlarges and secures their Estates the Ottoman Empire flourishes because it encourages and prefers Valour in whomsoever it is conspicuous The Fabrick of the Spanish Monarchy arrived at this Perfection because King Ferdinand the Catholick and after him Charles V. and Philip II. knew how to hew out and proportion the Stones to its bigness Princes complain of this Age of being barren and not productive of such great Spirits not considering that the Reason is that they don't look for them or if they do find them that they don't give them sufficient Encouragement but only promote those who are about them which depends more upon Chance than Choice Nature always produces some great Genius's but Princes don't always make use of them How many excellent Genius's and great Spirits are born and die in Obscurity who if they had been imployed and exercis'd in Business had been the Admiration of Mankind Ossat had died Chaplain of St. Lewis in Rome without the Glory of having done so many signal Services to France had not Henry IV. of France observing his great Abilities procur'd him a Cardinals Hat If a Prince suffers a great Soul to herd with the common Rout he will live and die like one of them without performing any thing remarkable or glorious Christ went up to the Mountain Tabur with three of his Disciples only leaving the rest with the multitude upon which their Faith immediately cool'd 5 Nam quod Domino in monte demorante ipsis cum turba
residâ— tibus quidâ—m tepor eorum fidem retardaverat Hilar. cap. 7. Sup. Matth so that they could not cure a possesâ— person 6 And I brought him to thy Disciples and they could not cuâ— him Matth. 17. 15. Great Spirits do not flourish nor Blossom unless they are water'd by the Dew of Favour That Prince therefore who shall sow Honours shall reap able Statesmen But he ought to sow them in Season and to have them always ready upon all Occasions for then they are rarely tâ— be found In this Princes are usually careless while they liâ—â— in Peace and Quiet thinking they shall never have need oâ— them Nor should a Prince honour and prefer only his Nobility and Ministers but also all others of his Subjects whose Actions shall be meritorious As King Alphonso prudently advises in his Laws where he says that a Prince ought to honour Vertue wheresoever he finds it though it be in the very meanest of his Subjects A Prince ought to be very cautious in the Distribution of Honours considering the time and weighing the Qualifications of the persons that they may be exactly adapted to their Merit For that distinguishes Dignities as the intrinsick worth of a Diamond makes it more valuable if Honours were all equal they would be less valued 't is a kind of Tyranny not to reward Desert and nothing more incenses the People than it a whole Government is disordered by the unequal Distribution of Preferments Rewards above Desert are a Scandal to the receiver and an Affront to those who deserve better One is gratified many offended To gratifie all alike is â—o reward none Vertue thrives not by equality nor will Valour ever attempt any considerable Action without the hopes of some particular Reward A Statue erected for one affects many with a glorious Desire of obtaining the same Honour In a word Honour suited to a persons Merit is a Spur to him an Encouragement to others and a means to preserve Obedience in the people But though nothing more firmly settles or more gloriously adorns a Prince's Throne than Distribution of Honours yet ought he diligently to take Care not to Grant away those which are proper to his own Dignity and distinguish him from others For they are not like Flames which passing to another Subject still remains entire in its own but all such which he shall confer on others will no more shine in him so that Majesty will be obscur'd nor will any make their Applications to him but to them to whom he has granted such Honours Tiberius would not permit even his Mother Livia to receive those particular Honours which the Senate design'd because he thought 't would diminish his Authority 7 Caeterum anxius invidia muliebâ—e fastigium in diminutionem sui â—ccipiens ne lictorem quiâ—â—em ei decern◠〈◊〉 Tac. 1. ann Even Ceremonies which were introduced either by Chance or Flattery and are now peculiar to the Prince he ought not to make common to others For though they are vain and empty they mark out the Borders of Majesty to Respect and Veneration Tiberius was disgusted that the same publick Prayers were made for Nero and Drusus which were made for him tho' they were his Sons and Successours in the Empire 8 Tum verò aequari adolescentes senectae suae uis hoentèr indoluit Tac. 4. ann the Honour of Princes vanishes when made common by promiscuous Flattery 9 Vanescit Augusti honor si promisâ— noribus vulgâ—tur Tac. 4. ann sometimes though as when Ministers do personate the Prince in his absence the same Honours and Ceremonies are to be paid them as are due to the Prince if present as we fee in Vice-Roys and Courts of Supream Authority which like Stars shine in the Suns absence but not in his Presence for then those marks of Honour are paid to the Royal Dignity represented in the Ministers who are as it were the Pictures of Majesty and the reflection of Supream Authority EMBLEM LIX NATURE the provident Disposer of all things has divided Countries from one another and hedg'd 'em in sometimes with Mountains like â—ast Walls sometimes entrenched 'em about with deep Rivers and sometimes with the Ocean it self that she â—ight put a stop to the Designs of humane Ambition for â—he same Reason she has constituted different Climates Naâ—ures Languages and Customs that in this great Diversity of Nations each might live amicably and in Unity among themselves not easily giving way to the Power and Tyranâ—y of Invaders Yet are not all these bars and fences of Nature able to check this insatiable Desire of Rule for Ambition is so great and so deeply rooted in Man's heart â—hat it thinks the five Zones too narrow for it Alexander â—hey say wept that he had no more Worlds to Conquer All the Blessings of Life nay Life it self for all our natural Inclinations to preserve it are all slighted for a moments Reign Humaya going to invade the Kingdom oâ— Cordova some of his Friends diâ—swaded him from it urging the danger of the Attempt Call me King to day sayâ— he and to morrow kill me there is no Passion in Maâ— more blind and dangerous than this This has cost many their Lives as well as Estates which they would have there by enlarged A certain Prince of Tartary usually drank ouâ— of a Cup on which was engraven the Head of a Prince oâ— Muscovy who in invading his Kingdom lost his own witâ— his Life about the edge of which was this Inscription This Prince by coveting mine lost his own Almost the same thing befell King Sancho who woulâ— have rob'd his Brothers of the Kingdoms which their Father King Ferdinand had divided between ' em Ambitioâ— is in danger when it but puts its Arm out of its Territories like the Snail which runs a Risque whenever it peeps out oâ— its shell 1 Testâ—dinem ubi collecta in suum tegmen est tutam ad omnes 〈◊〉 esse ubi exerit partes aliquas quodcunque nudavit obnoxium at que iâ— mum habere Cic And though Tyridates said That 't is for private Men to maintain their own but for Kings to invadâ— others 2 Et sua retinere privatae domus alienis ceâ—â—â— Regiam laudem esse Tac. 15. ann yet this is only then when reason and prudenâ—â— advise it and when Power has no other Tribunal than that oâ— Arms for whoever unjustly robs another of his Kingdom gives others opportunity and right to do the same to him first let a Prince consider the Danger of his own before 〈◊〉 thinks of invading another's Kingdom 3 Suam quisque fortunam in 〈◊〉 â—â—lio habeat cum de â—lieno deliberat Curtius for which Reâ—son the Emperour Rodolphus I. us'd to say 'T was bettâ—â— to govern well than to enlarge a Kingdom if King â—phonso the Wise had took this Advice he had never pursuâ— his Pretentions to the Empire to the so evident peril his own Kingdom
and populous which acquir'd him the Affections of all The other was Alphonso V. King of Naples who made himself extreamly beloved by the People by his care and prudence in Affairs by a due Disposal of Rewards and Punishments by Liberality Complaisance and Easiness of Access by his Love for the publick Well-fare and by so exact a Conformation to the Manners and Customs of the Kingdom that he seem'd a natural not a foreign Prince Those Kings who have their Residence among their Subjects may gain their hearts more easily than those who reside in distant Provinces for if their Loyalty does not grow quite cold 't is at most but Luke-warm and nothing but the Excellence of the Constitution can preserve its heat that is by providing able Ministers and by severely punishing their Faults especially those which they commit against Justice and the Reputation and Estates of others all the Comfort absent Subjects have is that if the Prince be good they shall feel the Effect of it as well as if present but if otherwise they should be least under the Lash of his Tyranny 25 Laudatorum Principum usuâ— ex aequo quamvis prout agentibus sâ—vi proximis ingrâ—nt Tac. 4. Hist. But because such Kingdoms love Novelty and Change and require the Presence of the Prince himself to govern them the Confidence which he puts in them should be arm'd and senced from all Accidents using the same means which we prescrib'd for the preservation of a Conquer'd Kingdom Elective Kingdoms which are obtain'd by Favour are also maintain'd by the same though this very rarely continues long And though all new Empires begin with Applause yet in this 't is but short and soon over amidst the very Acclamations when Saul was anointed King the People began to distrust and slight him though he was chosen by God himself 26 1 Sam. 10. 27. But there are Ways by which the person Elected may preserve the Peoples good Opinion of him that is to say by maintaining those Vertues and Qualifications which made him at first thought worthy of the Crown for Men usually change their Manners with their Fortunes Tiberius had a very good Character and Reputation while he was a private Person and liv'd under Augustus 27 Egregium vita famaque quoad privatus vel in imperiis sub Augusto fuit Tac. 6. ann as also had Galba let him be Courteous and obliging to all 28 Major privato visus dum privatus fuit Tac. 1. Hist. Grateful and Liberal to those who Elected him civil to those who gave their Votes against him let him be a zealous Lover of his Countrey And a vigorous Assertor of its Laws and Privileges let his Council be compos'd of the Natives of the Countrey imploying them alone in Offices and places of Trust not admitting Foreigners and Relations let him maintain his Family with modesty let him temper Majesty with Consideration and Justice with Clemency let him so govern as if his Kingdom came by Descent which he should transmit to his Posterity not as if it were Elective fleecing it of what he can during his Reign according to the Poet. A short Reign never spares the People 29 Non parcit populis Regnum breve Statius For 't is very difficult to be moderate in Grandeur which must die with us 30 Difficilius est temperare felicitati qua te non putes diâ— usâ—rum Tac. 2. ann The Prince ought moreover to be peaceable not an Invader of others for Elective Kingdoms fear such a Master whose mind is bent upon Conquering others but they love him who is only careful in preserving his own as we see in Poland for 't is evident that all Kingdoms were at first Elective and that 't was only Ambition of enlarging them by invading their Neighbours by which so many have lost that Liberty which they would have taken from others Nor is it possible that among so many Casualties and Dangers of Election this Enlargement of States should be lasting for those very Arms which make those additional Conquests will reduce them to Hereditary Kingdoms which was 31 Si immensum Imperii corpus starè ac librari sine rectore posset dignus eram à quo Respub inciperet Tac. 1. Hist. Galba's excuse for not converting the Empire into a Commonwealth Elective Monarchies love Liberty and so ought not to be governed without it and since Election is the Scale in which they weight it the Prince should always stand on that side for if he gives the least Suspicion that he intends to make the Crown Hereditary he will certainly lose it In States acquir'd by Conquest there is more difficulty in attaining than preserving them for they are like wild Colts in which the main Trouble is backing them for afterwards they willingly take the Bitt and submit to the burthen Fear and Flattery open the way to Dominion the first Ascâ—nt of which is steep and difficult 32 Prima dominandi spes in arduo ubi sis ingressus adsunt studia Ministri Tac. 4. ann but once setled you want neither Partizans nor Ministers yet since these Services are generally forced and counterfeit they easily revolt when they have opportunity and are therefore to be entertain'd and cherish'd with great Care especially at first since from the first Actions we easily Judge of the future Government as Vitellius experienced who grew hateful and odious to all for the Death of Dolabella 33 Magna cum invidia novi Principatus cujuâ—â—oc primum specimen nosceâ—atur Tac. 2. Hist. And though Piso said that a Kingdom acquir'd by ill Practices could never be maintain'd by good ones 34 Nemo enim unquam imperium flagitio quaesitum bonis artibus exercuit Tac. 1. Hist. yet King Sancho did this way establish his doubtful Title to the Kingdom which he got by Conquest Princes are soon ruin'd by striving to preserve that by Force which they got so This pernicious piece of Policy has been the ruin of all Tyrants and if any one has preserved himself 't is because he chang'd his Tyranny into Benevolence and his Cruelty into Clemency Vice cannot subsist long unless Vertue be its substitute Ambition unjust in acquiring at first must change into Zeal for the publick Good to maintain it self Subjects love their Prince for the publick and their private Interests and when they succeed in both their Fear soon changes into Reverence and their Hatred into Respect but Care must be taken that this Reformation of Vices which are now publickly known be not so sudden nor affected as to proceed from Design not Nature whose Operations are slow and methodical so Otho thought that a sudden Modesty or affected Gravity could not preserve the Empire which he had attain'd by Villany 35 Simul reputans non posse Principatum scelere quaesitum subita modestia prisca gravitate retineri Tac. 1. Hist. The People are more apprehensive of such
Communities proceeded common Government in which not to admit Sovereignty is the means to preserve their Freedom but if the Seeds of Royalty are once sown they will produce the Desire of Monarchy which puts an end to their Liberty In a word 't is Peace alone as we shall shew elsewhere that preserves aâ—quir'd Kingdoms provided that Peace be cautious and arm'd For so it gives opportunity to Possession to settle its Government and justifie its Title without the trouble of War which confounds all Right and gives opportunitâ— to turbulent uneasie Spirits and robs the Commander oâ— his Authority Wherefore a Prince ought not only to endeavour to procure Peace to his new Kingdoms but also to the neighbouring Provinces for the same sparks of Fire easily catch and the fury of Arms soon embroils those that are near them This was the Reason that King Philip III. took up Arms against Emanuel Duke of Savoy when he would have taken Monferrat from the Duke of Mantua his Majesty endeavouring to decide those Pretentions by Justice not Force nor would he suffer the Ambition of one person to disturb the Quiet of all Italy The same Danger is at present to be fear'd unless these Animosities which have put so many Princes in Arms be accommodated for the Sword once drawn either revenge thinks of satisfaction for Affronts received or Justice of recovering her Right or Ambition of extending its Dominions or Mars himself of trying his Strength I conclude this Discourse with four Verses of Tasso in which he very judiciously and concisely comprehends the true Grounds upon which any new Kingdom should be established EMBLEM LX. AN Arrow sent from a Bow either mounts or falls without suspending in the Air like time present which is so imperceptible that it no sooner is but is past Or like Angles in a Circle where the acutâ— becomes obtuse without ever forming a right Angle The first point of the Arrows consistence is the first of its Declination the higher it mounts the nearer 't is to its fall All things when they arrive at their highest Pitch muâ—â— necessarily decline Hippocrates observ'd this in humanâ— Bodies that when they are past thriving they immediately begin to decay 1 Nec enim in melius verti nec diu sistere valent reliquum est â—t 〈◊〉 deterius dilabantur Hippoc. Nothing in Nature is Permanent the Heavens themselves never rest no more do their Effectâ— which they imprint on things below for which Reason Socrates attributed all changes of Government to them 2 Qui causam esse tradit quod nihil perpetuò maneat sed omnia motu quâ—dam orbicular mutentur Arist. 5. Pol. Monarchies differ not from Animals and Vegetables they are born live and die like them nor have they any time of Consistence so that their falls are natural 3 Naturales esse conversâ—â—â—es Rerumpub Cic. lib. 2. de nar Deor. In not increasing they decrease There is no interval in the fall of the highest Fortune when it once begins to fall 't is impossible to stop it 't is more difficult for the Majesty of Princes to fall from the highest Pitch to the middlemost than from thence to the lowest Degree 4 Regum majestatem dissiâ—ilius à summo fastigio ad medium detraâ—i quam a mediis ad ima praeâ—ipitari Livius But all Kingdoms don't rise and fall by the same Degrees when they are got up to the highest Point they fall with more speed than they rose 5 Fati maligna perpetuaque in ommbus rebus Lex est â—t ad summum perducta rursus ad infimum velocius quidem quam ascenâ—erunt relabantur Seneca Alexander was twelve years in raising his Kingdom which decay'd in a very small time being rent and divided at first into four and afterwards into more Principalities The Causes of the Rise and Fall of States are many those who attribute them to Motion or the power of the Stars or the number of Plato or Climacterick years deny Providence the care of Sublunary things He who has design'd to make the World will not disdain to govern it Nay to create and not take care of the World would be disapproving his own work If God vouchsafed himself to paint the Peacocks Tail and the Butterflies Wings shall we think he will commit to Chance the management of Empires and Monarchies upon which depend the Happiness or Ruin of Mankind for whom all things were created 'T would be impious to believe it and to attribute the Success of things to our own Counsels the highest Arrogance By him Kings Reign and with his own Hands he disposes of Scepters and though in their Preservation he give their free Course to those natural Inclinations which were either born with us or imprinted in us by some other influence without giving any check or restraint to Free-Will yet does God himself order and dispose them 〈◊〉 that no Government was ever ruin'd without the intervâ—ning of some humane Folly and Bindness 6 Ego ita comperi omma Regna Civitâ—tes Nationesque usque eo prospâ—â— imperium habuâ—sse dum apud eos vera consilia valuerunt ubicunque Grâ—â— Timor Voluptas â—a corruptâ—re post paulo immâ—nutâ— opes deinde 〈◊〉 in perium postremè servitus imposita est Sallust I cannot forâ—bear thinking that Empires would be pepetual if Princeâ— would accommodate their Will to their Powâ—â— their Power to their Reason and their Reason to Accidents Since then Prudence and humane Counsel have their 〈◊〉 in the falls of Empires we may easily find the Causes therâ— of which are either general or particular general which comprehend all Kingdoms whether acquir'd by Successioâ— Election or Conquest and are many but may be reduâ—â— to four Principal ones from whence proceed the rest 〈◊〉 in the Horizon of the World from the four Cardiâ—â— Winds proceed many collateral ones These Causes are Râ—â—ligion Honour Life and Estate for the Conservation 〈◊〉 which Civil Society was first instituted and the People â—â—â—came subject to the Government of one a few or many and whenever they find themselves oppres'd in any one 〈◊〉 these four they rebel and change the Form of the Governâ—ment We will therefore touch upon these with as muâ—â— brevity as the Subject will admit Though Religion as we said before be the strongâ— Bond of Governments yet is it that which disunites thâ—â— most and reduces them into many Forms when it is 〈◊〉 universal for those who are of different Opinions 〈◊〉 God never live in Unity among themselves If they â—â—â—gree and quarrel about trivial Customs and Manners 〈◊〉 much more will they about their Affection and Loyaâ— due to the Creator of all things and furious Zeal of â—â—â—derstanding things of such importance Liberty of Câ—â—â—science is the ruin of any State Those who disagree matters of Religion are to one another as the Holy Sâ—â—rit says Pricks in their Eyes and Thorns in their Sides 7 Numb 33. 5. The Duty
of Subjects and the greater Ties of Friendship and Relation are loos'd and broken upon account of Religion King Witeric was put to Death by his own Subjects for endeavouring to introduce Arianism the same befel Witiza for altering the Rites and Ceremonies of Divine Worship Galicia rebelled against King Froilus for the abuse of the Marriage of the Clergy As soon as Dive sity of Religions was introduced among the Dutch they rebell'd against their lawful King and Master So Honour as it is the Defence and Preservation of States and the chief Spur to Loyalty so it also disturbs them to clear it self from Affronts Contempt and Injuries the People preferring Honour before Life and Fortune 8 Honor quoque quantâ—â— valeat quomodo sit causa seditionis 〈◊〉 est Arist. 5. Pol. c. 3. Count Iulian invited the Moors into Spain because he suspected that King Roderick had violated the Honour of his Daughter Cava the Nobles of Castile took up Arms against Alphonsus III. for that he would infringe their Privileges and oblige 'em to pay Taxes as did the Subjects of Ramires III. King of Leon for his severe and servile usage of them For Affronts received by the People always provoke to Revenge upon the Prince 9 Et multae conspirationes invasioâ—s in Monarchas propter pudendas contumelias in corpus illatas factâ— sunt Arist. 5. Pol. l. 10. and Contempt creates Seditions 10 Propâ—er contempâ—um etiam seditiones conspiratâ—â—â—quâ— fâ—â—nâ— Aâ—â—st 5. Pol. c. 3. And this either when the Prince contemns the People or the People the Prince which is when they don't find him fitly qualified thinking it base to obey one who knows not to Command and make himself respected and takes no Care of the Government So the People of Arragon served their King Iohn I. the same thing befel Iohn II. of â—astile for his insufficiency Henry IV. for his Vices and Alphonso V. of Portugal for suffering himself to be govern'd by others Nor do Subjects take it as â— less Injury and Contempt for the Prince to make Foreigners his chief Ministers and to dispose of all Dignities and Preferment among them for as King Henry said That is declaring plainly that his own native Subjects are insufficient and unworthy * L. 14. tit 3. lib. 2. recop This was the cause of the Commotions of Castile in the time of the Emperour Charles V. The same thing happens upon an unequal Distribution of Honours for that Men of great Spirits can't brook 11 Non multitudo quâ—dem gravitâ— fert inaequalitatem patrimoniorum praestantes autem honorum inaequalitatem Arist. lib. 2. Poâ— c. 5. and take it as an Affront that Men of leâ—â— Desert are preferr'd before them 12 Nam homines tum quod ipsi inhonorati fiunt inovent seditiones tum quod alios videant in honore Arist. 5. Pol. 3. The greatest Disease of a Government is Incontinence and Lust in the Governours hence proceed Seditions and Revolutions of States for that violates the Honour of many and is severely punished by God One such Action buried Spain in ashes for many Ages the same call'd down great Plagues upon Egypt 13 Gen. 12. 17. And David suffered great Troubles both in his own Person and in his Posterity 14 2 Sam. 12. 10. who were continually persecuted and destroy'd by the Sword There is danger in those States where many are excluded from Offices for they are all so many Enemies 15 Cum enim multitudo inâ—pum est in civitate eademque ab honoribus exclusa necesse est eam civitatem plenam hostium Reipub Arist. lib. 3. Pol. c. 7. no Man is so stupid as not to desire Honour and take it ill to be deprived of it 16 Honori incumbit tam ignarus quam bonus Arist. 2. Pol. 5. Those States also are subject to the same Inconveniency in which the Magistracy is divided among a set number of the Nobility all the rest being excluded The third Cause of the Revolutions and Troubles of States is the desire of preserving Life that is when the Subjects think the Prince so Lazy and Cowardly as that he can't preserve and defend them or else when they hate him for his Severity as they did King Alphonso III. or for his Cruelty as they did King Peter or for his Injustice and Tyranny which endangers all their Lives as they did King Ordonius for the ill usage and Murther of the Counts of Castile whence proceeded the Change of his State * Mar. Hist. Hisp. The last is Estates that is when a Prince idlely squanders away his Subjects Fortunes which occasion'd Garcias King of Galicia to lose both Kingdom and Life too or when he extravagantly spends his Revenues which was Ramon's Pretence for killing â— his Brother-in-Law Sancho King of Navarre or when he is very covetous as was King Alphonso or when through his ill management the State suffers by Scarcity or when the Price of things rises or Trade fails which render'd the same Alphonso so odious or when the Coin is bad as 't was in the time of Peter II. King oâ— Arragon and in many other Kings Reigns or when Places of Profit or Riches are unequally despos'd of For Envy and Necessity take up Arms against the Rich and so raise Commotions 17 Insuper seditiones oriuntur non solum ob patrimoniorum verum etiam ob honorum inaequalitatem Arist. lib. 2. Pol. 5. This also happens from the Male-administration of Justice from the quartering of Souldiers and from other Burthens which oppress the Subjects Estates and Goods Besides these general Causes there are others particular to the three Distinctions which I made of Kingdoms in the last Emblem which may be inferr'd from what I propos'd for their Preservation for the Knowledge of preserving a State implys the Knowledge of what will ruin it and so on the contrary 18 Sed illud primum omnium dubitarâ— non potest quin cognitis iis quae Reipub interitum important ea quoque quae salutem afferunt intelligantur Arist. lib. 5. pol. cap. 8. for all this I cannot but enlarge a little though I run a Risque of repeating what has been already said Hereditary States are usually ruined for want of Care and Diligence in the Successour especially when they are considerable for then their Greatness makes him secure and negligent careless of all Danger and dubious in his Councels In Execution timorous least he should disturb the Quiet he injoys he takes no Care to prevent misfortunes but thinks it sufficient if he can remedy them not considering that this latter is more chargeable and less effectual 19 〈…〉 diora sunt remedia quam mala Tac. in vit Agr. He thinks Bravery too dangerous and in procuring Peace by certain idle and uncertain means he brings a War upon himself and so ruins himself by the very means he us'd for his Preservation This is the misfortune
the Inconveniencies and Remedies of which I have set down elsewhere The Court is also a great Cause of the want of People for as a hot Liver draws all the natural Heat to it self leaving other parts of the Body spiritless and faint so the Pomp Ease Delight Profit and hopes of Reward at Court allure the Minds of most especially of the Artificers and Tradesmen who think it a more pleasant and easie Life to serve some Person of Quality than to toil at their own Trade the Nobility also invited by the Prince's Presence or the Charms of the Court leave their Estates in the Countrey for a Court Life whence not being able to look after them but spending their Revenuâ—s upon extravagant and unnecessary Expences their Estates become pooâ— and uninhabited whereas they would have been rich and populous had their Lord resided there The Emperor Iustiâ—â—n prudently reflected upon these Inconveniencies and appointed an Officer on purpose to prevent them 16 Invenimâ—â— enim quia populatim Provinciâ— suis habitatoribus spolrâ—â—â—â— Magno vero haec nostra civitas populosâ— est turbis diversorâ—â—â— hâ—minum maxima Agricolarum suas civitates culturas relinquentiam Auth de Quaest. King Iohn II. also order'd that all the Nobility at his Court should at certain times visit their own Estates as also the Emperor Trojan did before him Birth-right also especially in Spain is very prejudicial to Propagation for the eldest Brother Claims the whole Estate which King Theodorick thought very unjust 17 Iniquum est enim ut de una substantia quâ—bus competit aequa successio alii abundantèr affuant alii paupert atiâ— râ—commâ—dâ—â—â—gemiscunt Cass. lib. 1. Epist 7. so that the youngest not having wherewithal to maintain a Family instead of marrying either shut themselves into Convents or turn Soldiers For this Reason Plato call'd Riches and Poverty the ancient Plagues of Commonwealths knowing that almost all their misfortunes proceeded from an unequal Distribution of Riches If the Citizens had all an equal Dividend State would undoubtedly flourish more But though the advantage redounding from hence wouâ—d be great the Preservation of the Nobility by means of Fieâ—â— would not be less for by that means they would be in a Capacity to serve the Prince and State so that those may be allowed to the ancient Nobility not to the modern by making a Law that all Relations to the fourth Degree should be joynt Heirs if not of the whole yet of the greatest part of the Estate 18 Commodum est etiam 〈…〉 donatiâ—â—e sed jure cognitionis tradantur Arist l. 5. pol. 8 thus the Inconveniencies of Legacies and Gifts would be prevented which are more the Effects of Vanity than a design to serve the Publick as also of that religious Prodigality which observing neither Bounds nor Proximity of Blood gives all to the Church not leaving so much as Subsistence to Brethren or any other Relations whence Families become Extinct the Royal Revenues are exhausted the People impoverish'd and unable to pay Taxes the Power of those who are exempted is increased and the Authority of the Prince diminished This Moses considering 19 Exod. 36. 5â— forbid by Edict any one from offering any more towards the Work of the Sanctuary 20 Exod. 36. 6. though God himself was the Author of those Offerings and thâ—y were offer'd through pure Devotion 21 Exod. 35. 29. the Republick of â—eâ—ice have made very prudent Provisions against this 'T is necessary also that a fit time should be observed in Marriages for if too late the Succession is endanger'd and the Government would be too much expos'd to the Incontinency of Youth And if soon the Children being almost of the same Age with their Fathers would soon forget their Duty and grudge 'em the time they live EMBLEM LXVII THE Policy of our Times presupposes Malice and Fraud in all things and therefore arms it self with greater without any regard to Religion Justice or Honour It thinks nothing disallowable that is advantageous but as these Practices are now common they must need justle and confound one another to the Detriment of the publick Tranquility and without obtaining their propos'd Ends. But let a Prince cautiously avoid such Doctrine and learn rather of Nature the Mistress of true Policy without Malice Fraud or any ill Practice there being none so certain firm and solid as that which she observes in the Government of Vegetables and Animals more especially that which she dictates to every Man by his Reason Particularly to Shepherds and Husbandmen for the Preservation of their Flocks and improvement of their Ground Hence may be 't is that those Kings who have been chosen from the Crook or the Plow have made the best Governours Though the Shepherd whose Office is almost the same of a Prince's 1 Jerem. 23. enjoys the Benefit of the Wool and the Milk of his Flock yet 't is with such moderation that he neither draws Blood from their Duggs nor shears their Skin so close as to leave 'em wholly expos'd to the Inconveniences of cold and heat So a Prince says King Alphonso ought more to value the common Good of his People than his own particular Interest for the common Good and Riches of his Subjects are as it were his own * L. 19. tiâ— 2. p. 3. The Husbandman cuts not down the Body of the Tree for his Domestick occasions but only Lops the Branches and not all of them neither but leaves enough to sprout out and serve his Occasions the next Year but the Farmer is not so careful who is for making the best of his Farm while his Lease continues not caring how much he impoverishes his Ground for his Landlord 2 Alitèr utimur propriis alitèr commodatis Quint. de Orat. This is the difference between a lawful Prince and a Tyrant in respect of Taxes and Impositions This having an unjust Title and fearing soon to be dethron'd makes the best use of his time stocking up all by the Roots fleaing instead of shearing his Flock instead of feeding them he gluts himself 3 Ezek. 34. 2. and instead of defending them leaves them a naked Prey to every Wolf 4 John 10. 12. But a just and lawful Prince in imposing Taxes considers the Justice of the Cause the Quantity Quality and Occasion and also Proportions them to his Subjects Estates and Persons treating his Kingdom not as a Body which is to die with him but to remain to his Posterity knowing that though Princes are Mortal States are Eternal 5 Principes mortales Rempub. aeternam esse Tac. 3. ann and since he expects a new Crop from his Kingdom every Year he preserves it carefully as his best Treasury which he may make use of upon urgent Occasions for as King Alphonso said in one of his Laws borrowing his Thought from a Precept of Aristotle to Alexander the Great The best and most lasting Treasure of a
King Alphonso the Emperor was surpriz'd at the Splendour and Magnificence of that Court affirming That he had not seen the like in all that Part of Asia or Europe which he had travell'd through in his Voyage to the Holy Land Such was then â—he Grandeur of one King of Castile though distracted with Civil Wars and the greatest part of his Kingdom possess'd by the Moors There are some Authors affirm That there was in this Kingdom in the time of the Holy War against the Heathens a Rendezvouz of a Hundred Thousand Foot Ten Thousand Horse and Sixty Thousand Waggons and that King Alphonso III. daily paid both the Soldiers Captains and Generals according to their Office and Quality These vast Expences and Provisions which at present seem incredible the single Kingdom of Castile could afford nay and at the same time maintain'd a greater Number of Enemies without the Assistance of Foreign Riches until a certain Biscayner roving upon the Sea by fortune got a sight of this New World either unknown to or forgotten by the Ancients and preserv'd for the Honour of Columbus who after the Death of this Spaniard diligently considering the Observations that he the first Discoverer had made undertook to demonstrate the Discovery of the Provinces which Nature seem'd designedly to separate from us by Mountainous Waves He communicated this his Project to several Princes hoping by their Assistance to facilitate his great and difficult Enterprize But all slighted it as vain and notionary Which if they had done through Prudence and Caution and not Distrust and Misbelief they had merited the same Praise which Carthage gain'd of old which when some Sailors were boasting in the Senate of the Discovery of a wonderful Rich and Delicious Island supposed to be Hispaniola caus'd 'em immediately to be put to Death thinking the Discovery of such an Island would be of more Detriment than Advantage to the Commonwealth Columbus at last applies himself to Their Catholick Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella whose Generous Spirits capable of many Worlds could not be content with one alone So that having received necessary Assistance he put to Sea and after a tedious and hazardous Voyage in which he encounter'd as great Danger from the Diffidence of his Companions as from the Sea it self he at last return'd to Spain laden with Gold and Silver The People flock'd to the Shore of Guadalquivir to admire these precious Products of the Earth brought to light by the Indians and thither by the Valour and Industry of their Countrymen But this great Plenty of them soon perverted all Things the Husbandman soon leaves Plough gets into his Embroider'd Silks and begins to be more curious of his Tawny Sun-burnt Hands the Merchant steps from his Counter into his Sedan and lolls it lazily about the Streets Workmen disdain their Tools and all forsooth must now turn Gentlemen No Money is current now but Silver and Gold and our Coin being wholly unmix'd and pure is coveted and desired by all Nations Gold and Silver now growing common all Things raise their Price In fine It befel our Kings as it did the Emperor Nero whom a certain African put a Trick upon telling him in his Grounds he had found a vast Treasure which he believ'd Queen Dido had buried there either lest too much Riches should enervate the Minds of her Subjects or lest they should invite others to Invade her Kingdom Which the Emperor giving credit to and thinking himself already sure of the Treasure squander'd away the Old Stock upon the Hope of these New-found Riches The Expectation of Riches being the cause of the Publick Want 10 Et divitiarum expectatio inter causas paupertatis publicae erat Tac. 16. Annal. Cheated by the same Hopes we were persuaded that we had no more need of fix'd and standing Treasuries but think our Ships sufficient not considering that all our Power depends upon the Uncertainty of the Winds and Seas as Tiberius said the Lives of the Romans did because their Provisions were all brought them from Foreign Provinces 11 At hercule nemo refert quod Italia externâ—e opis indiget quòd vita populi Romani per incerta maris tempestatum quotidie vivitur Tac. 3. Annal. Which Hazard Aleto consider'd when dissuading Godfredo from going to the Holy Wars he said * Tasso Shall then your Life upon the Winds depend And as Mens Hopes are generally above their Estates 12 Sâ—epe enim de facultatibus suis amplius quam in his est sperant homines Justin. Instit. quibus ex causis man § in fraudem State and Pomp encreases the Salaries Wages and other Charges of the Crown are enlarged out of Confidence and Expectations of these Foreign Riches which being afterwards ill and negligently managed were not sufficient to defray such Expences and this made way for Debts and those for Usury and Interest Necessity daily encreas'd and occasion'd new Expences But nothing was so prejudicial to the Publick as the Alteration of the Coin which though not consider'd should be preserv'd in as much Purity as Religion it self the Kings Alphonso the Wise Alphonso XI and Henry II. who did offer to alter it endanger'd both themselves and Kingdoms and their Misfortunes ought to have been a Warning to us But when Ills are fatal neither Experience nor Example can move us King Philip II. deaf to all these Cautions doubled the Value of Copper Coin which was before convenient for common Use and answerable to bigger Money Foreigners coming to understand the Value that the Royal Stamp gave to this paultry Metal began to Traffick with nothing else bringing us in vast quantities of Copper ready Coin'd in Exchange for our Gold Silver and other Merchandise Which did us more Damage than if all the Monsters and venomous Serpents of Africa had been brought among us And the Spaniards who us'd to ridicule the Rhodians for their Copper Money became themselves the Jest and Laughing-stock of the whole World Trade was ruin'd by this troublesome scoundrel Metal all things grew dearer and by degrees scarcer as in the time of Alphonso the Wise. Buying and Selling ceas'd and at the same time the Revenues of the Crown were diminish'd so that new Impositions and Taxes were unavoidable whence for want of Commerce the Wealth of Castile was spent and the same Inconveniencies renew'd proceeding one from another in a pernicious Circle which will at last prove our Ruine unless a Remedy be timely apply'd by reducing that king of Money to its former and intrinsick Value Who would not think that this World must be subdu'd by the Riches and Wealth of the other And yet we see there were greater Exploits perform'd formerly by pure Valour than since by all these Riches as Tacitus observ'd in the time of Vitellius 13 Vires luxu corrumpebantur contra veterem disciplinam instituta majorum apud quos virtute quam pecunia res Rom. melius stetit Tac. 2. Hist.
all turbulent and seditious Men to their Colonies or Armies Publius Aemilius transported the chief Authors of Seditions to Italy as also Charles V. did the Nobles of Saxony Rutilius and Germanicus instead of Punishing some Mutineers made 'em Freemen Drusus appeas'd the Mutinous Legions by separating them from one another 7 Tyronem à veâ—erano Legionem à Legione dissociant Taâ— 1. Annal. Loyalty and Military Vertue are maintain'd by Division because it hinders Forces and Vices from joyning For this Reason the Armies were separated in the time of Galba 8 Longis spatiis discreti exercitus quod saluberrimum est ad â—ontinendam â—ilitarem fidem ne vitiis nec viribus misâ—ebantur Tac. 1. Hist. 'T is for this Reason that many think it requisite to prohibit all Cabals and Meetings of the People For the same Cause Grand Cairo was divided into several Districts or Parishes by very high Walls that the People might not so easily associate Nor is it any thing else that has so long preserv'd Venice in quiet than that all its Streets are divided by the Sea Separation makes People dubious and unresolv'd not knowing which Part is safest but without that they would all unanimously side with the Strongest 9 Quod in seditionibus accidit unde plures â—rant omnes fuere Tac. 1. Hist. This made Pisander sow Discord among the Athenians that he might divide and separate them In Military Seditions 't will be sometimes conducive to set them together by the Ears 10 Dux ad solvendam militum conspirationem alterum in alterum concitat S. Chrysost. for one Mutiny is generally remedied by another The Roman Senate was advis'd upon a certain Popular Insurrection to appease the Mobb by the Mobb 11 Remedium tumultus fuit alius tumultus Tac. 2. Hist. weakning their Force by Division And doubtless this is the meaning of that Law of Solon which Condemn'd a Citizen who in a Sedition did not adhere to some one Party But this is rather to enflame than quench and divide it since at this rate there would remain none who might be Mediators to compose it There is also another effectual Remedy which is the Presence of the Prince bravely and resolutely confronting the Fury of the People For as the Sea which foams and dashes against Rocks and Hills runs smooth upon the even Sand so is the Mobb hush'd and quieted by the serene Presence of its Prince Augustus with his Looks frighted the Actian Legions into Obedience 12 Divus Augustus vultu aspectu Actiacas Legioneâ— exterruit Tac. 1. Annal. In the Disorders of the German Legions when the Soldiers look'd upon the Multitude they shouted but when again they cast their Eyes upon Caesar they seemed to tremble 13 Illi quoties oculos ad multitudinem retulerant vocibus truculâ—â—â—â—â—repere rursum viso caesare trepidare Tac. 1. Annal. Sedition is soon quash'd by Authority and Presence As the Blood hasts to the Assistance of the Part wounded so ought the Prince to assist with his Presence at the Disorders of his State Majesty easily reduces Subjects to their Obedience for in that Nature has plac'd a certain Occult Force which often produces wonderful Effects Certain Conspirators had enter'd the very Palace of Peter IV. King of Arragon with a Design upon his Life and he readily going to meet them quite dash'd their Resolutions The Rebellion in the Belgick Provinces had never gone so far had Philip II. been himself upon the Spot But this Remedy ought well to be weigh'd and consider'd of whether or no absolute Necessity requires it for 't is the last and if that fails there is no other For this Reason Tiberius sent Drusus and Germanicus to compose the Mutinous Legions in Hungary 14 Resâ—stâ—â—â—â—esque Germanico Druso posse à se mitigari vel infringi quod aliud sâ—â—sidium si Imperatorem sprevissent Tac. 1. Annal. The Prince's Presence is also dangerous if he be hated or a Tyrant for then the Subjects are willing and eager to shake off the Yoke of Obedience But if any Kingdom be divided into Factions by the private Grudges of Families one to another 't is Prudence to prohibit their Names from being mention'd Thus did King Francis of Navarr forbidding any one upon severe Penalties to be call'd Agramont or Biamont which were two Families in that Kingdom at continual Enmity But if the Peoples Dissatisfaction and Sedition proceed from the Male-Administration of some Minister there is no Dust more effectual to appease them than the Punishment of that Person If they impute to the Minister that which is really the Prince's fault and so rise against him their Errour must have its free course since neither Force nor Reason can stop it without greater Detriment to the Publick Innocence 't is true will thereby suffer but not through the Prince's fault In all such great Accidents there is no Remedy without Injustice which is compensated by the Publick Good 15 Habet aliquid ex iniquo omne magnum exemplum quod contra 〈◊〉 utilitate publica rependitur Tac. 14. Annal. Sedition is a Poison which strikes at the Heart and 't is therefore necessary sometimes to lop off a Limb to save the Body and to give way to the Torrent of Fury though disagreeable to Reason and Justice Thus did Queen Isabella in a Rising of the People of Sevill For when they insisted upon her turning Andrew Cabrera Governor of the Palace out of his Office and were running on to further Demands she cut 'em off short Gentlemen says she what you demand I had before resolv'd on Go remove not only the Governor but also all my other Domesticks By which Answer she seem'd to command that which she was forc'd to and the Mutineers took it as her Favour and Kindness and having satisfy'd their Rage by tumbling down those headlong whom they found upon the Towers they were quiet and afterwards she upon Examining the Accusations which they laid to the Governor's Charge finding them unjust and groundless restor'd him to his Office When the Mutineers think that the Punishment of the Heads of the Sedition will be sufficient they spare none hoping by that means to expiate their Crime as the German Legions did 16 Gaudebat caeâ—â—â—â—s miles tanquam semet absolvereâ— Tac. 1. Annal. though Patience and Connivance did encrease their Insolence 17 Nihil â—â—â—ci Patientia nisi ut graviora tanquam ex facil tolerantibus imperenâ—â—â— Tac. in Vit. Agr. and the more you grant them the more they crave as did the Soldiers which Flaccus sent to Rome 18 Et Flaccus multa concedendo nihil aliud 〈◊〉 quâ—m ut acrius exposcâ—rent quae sciâ—bant negaturum Tac. 4. Annal. Yet this chiefly happens when the Person so Granting is but of small Authority among them as was Flaccus whom the whole Army despised 19 Superior exercitus Legatum Hordenium Flaccum spernebat Tac. 1.
Hist. But in the fore-mention'd Case of Germanicus the Demands of the Mutineers ought to be comply'd with though violent and unreasonable that their Fury might have been qualified or that he might have had some honourable Pretence to wave their Punishment He knew the Injustice and Inconvenience of a general Punishment and that it would of necessity involve the Innocent But though it could not wholly be avoided it seemed not to be done by his Command but was rather to be imputed to Chance and the Fury of the Seditious 20 Nec Caesar arâ—ebat quando nihil ipsius jussu penes â—osdâ—â— saevitia facti invidia â—rat Tac 1. Annal. The fault of the Minister ought to be excused as a piece of Policy when by Popular Constraint he becomes Head of the Sedition that he may afterwards when their Fury begins to abate with more ease reduce them to Obedience So Spurinna gave way to the Soldiers Rage and pretended to Countenance them that he might preserve his Authority among them when they began to repent 21 Fit temeritâ—â—â—â— alienae comes Spurinna primo coactus mox velle simulans quo plus auctoâ—itatâ—â— inesseâ— consiliis si seditio mitescereâ— Tac. 2. Hist. Sometimes the People upon pretence of Preservation of their Liberties and Privileges encroach upon the Royal Prerogative A piece of Arrogance that ought by no means to be connived at lest they should thence become more saucy In this Case the Punishment of the Delinquents should be speedy and the Heads of the Promoters stuck up as a Terrour to the rest when they least think on 't For there is nothing quells their Insolence more than the Punishment of their Leaders 22 Neque 〈◊〉 glisâ—entis discordiae remedium quà m si unus altâ—â—ve maximè prompti subverterentâ—r Tac. 4. Annal. it being an approved Truth That the Body of the Mobb dare attempt nothing without them 23 Nihil ausuram plebem principibus amotâ—â— Tac. 1. Annal. Ramirus King of Arragon being embroil'd in the Insurrections of his People ask'd Advice of the Abbot of Tomer Who gave him no Answer but with his Switch imitating Periander 24 Nam Periander caduceatori per quem Thrasybulus consilium ejus exquirebat nihil respondisse fertur sed sâ—icis eminentibus sublatis segetem adâ—quasse Arist. Pol. 3. c. 9. lopt off the Heads of the Tallest Flowers in his Garden where he was then walking and by that shew'd him what he was to do Upon which he Beheading the chief Authors of the Rebellion and restor'd Peace to his Kingdom The same was the Advice of Don Lopez Barrientos to King Henry IV. Yet will it be convenient to use this Method with such Moderation as that the Execution may fall but on few But those who cannot be punish'd must be conniv'd it or so dealt with as that their Affections may be gain'd as we read Otho did when his Army Mutiny'd 25 Eâ— oratio ad perstringendos mulcendosque militum animos severitatis modus neque enim in plures quà m in duos animadverti jusserat gratè accepta compositique ad praesens qui coerceri non poterant Tac. 1. Hist. Severity with Moderation appeases all Commotions For when the Bad begin to fear the Good will obey as Vocula found who in a general Mutiny of the Legions punish'd but one Man 26 Et dum mali pavent optimuâ—â—â—isque jussis paruere Tac. 4. Hist. The Method also of the Punishment ought to be so mild as not to give the People occasion to resent it as a National Grievance for that would make them more Resolute Slavery Wounds and all the Miseries of War were not so grievous to the Germans as that Trophy which Germanicus erected out of the Spoils of the Rebellious Provinces 27 Haud periâ—de Germanos vulâ—era luctus excidia quà m ea species dolore ira adfecit Tacit. 2. Annal. Ferdinand Duke d'Alba did not forget this Precept when he erected a Statue of the Rebels Heads Nor had he omitted it though he had read or heard that Vitellius would not put to Death Iulius Civilis a Man of great Authority among the Dutch lest he should thereby alienate the Minds of that Warlike People 28 Iulius igitur Civilis periculo exemptus praepotens inter Bataâ—â—s ne supplicio ejus ferox gens alienaretur Tac. 1. Hist. for he thought a severe Animadversion more proper which nevertheless created no Disturbance though there were not wanting those who urg'd it as an Aggravation to make that People revolt There is another sort of Disobedience which proceeds from a too zealous and inconsiderate Fidelity in which case the Subjects are to be brought to their Duty by benign and mild Means Such as Iohn II. King of Arragon us'd in an Insurrection at Barcelona upon the Death of his Son Prince Charles For he wrote to that City That unless compell'd by Necessity he would never use violent Methods but that if they would return to their Obedience he would use them as his own Children This Mildness and his Promise of a General Pardon reduced them all to their Devoir A Prince ought always to discover an Inclination to Clemency for without Hopes of that Criminals grow desperate For which Reason Valentinus after he had mov'd the People of Treves to a Rebellion order'd the Roman Embassadors to be kill'd that he might by the Peoples Despair strengthen his Crime 29 Quo minor spes veniae cresceret vinculum sceleris Tac. 4. Hist. Sedition turns to Obstinacy where there is no Hopes of Pardon and the Seditious had rather die Rebels than Malefactors Upon this account those who follow'd the Faction of Vitellius were Pardon'd 30 Tac. 4. Hist. This Generosity is particularly necessary in Insurrections of the Mobb This King Ferdinand the Holy us'd in the Commotions of Castile and Iohn I. in the Convention of the States of Guadalajara pardoning all those who sided with the Portuguese But if a Prince has lost his Reputation and is in contempt with his Subjects then I confess Clemency will be of small use nay those very Remedies which should cure these Wounds do more exulcerate and render them incurable For his Authority once lost he can neither maintain the Severity of Punishment nor terrifie the Offenders by Example so that he must give way to his Misfortunes and as prudently as he can circumvent them by Policy and Stratagem Thus Vocula did when he saw he was unable to punish the Mutinous Legions 31 Sed vires ad coercendum deerant in frequentibus infidisque Legionibus c. Tac. 4. Hist. For the same Reasons King Iohn II. releas'd those Noblemen whom he had in Prison Nor are those Favours and Benefits more effectual in appeasing Seditions which proceed from a Prince who has lost his Reputation For the Receiver either imputes them to Cowardice or persists in Rebellion to preserve them 32 Nihil spei nisi per
so great that some Philosophers have doubted whether it did not participate of Reason Cardan says that it surpasses all Birds in Ingenuity and Quickness of Apprehension and that it not only learns to Speak but also to Meditate with a Desire of Glory 1 Inter aves Ingenio Saâ—â—citateque praestat quod grandi sit câ—pite atque in India coelo sincero 〈◊〉 undè didicit non solum loqui sed etiam meditari meditatur ob stâ—dium Gloriae â—ardan This Bird is very Candid and Ingenuous the Quality of Great Spirits yet is not its Candour exposed to Deceit but she knows how to prevent it and as sly and crafty as the Serpent is it evades his Artifices and to secure its Nest from him it hangs it at the end of the highest and slenderest Twig of a Tree in the manner here represented that when he would pass by them to devour its young ones he falls by his own weight So Artifice must be frustrated by Artifice and Counsel by Counsel In which Case King Ferdinand the Catholick was an Exellent Master for Princes as he sufficiently shewed in all his Designs particularly in his Marriage with Germana de Foix Niece to Lewis XII of France to break the Peace clapt up at Hagenaw between the Emperor and his Son-in-Law King Philip I. without his knowledge and to his prejudice Nor did he use with less Address the Opportunity offer'd by the same King of France 's desiring a League with him to get liberty to Invade the Kingdom of Naples contriving the Matter so that he might recover the Governments of Rousillon and Sardinia And when he saw the French King had already made an Inroad into Italy with that Intent and withal how dangerous a Neighbour he would prove to the Kingdom of Sicily which his Eye was upon he put a stop to his Progress broke the Treaty and denounc'd War against him entring into an Alliance with the Republick of Venice and other Princes And these Weapons are more necessary in War than Peace for their Wit does more than Strength And certainly that Commander deserves no small Praise who despising the Vain-glory of Conquering his Enemy with the Sword steals the Victory and triumphs by Policy and Stratagem whereby the Law of Nations is not the least violated 2 Cum justè Bellum suscipitur ut aperte pugnet quis aut ex Insidiis nihil ad Iustitiam interest D. Aug. For if the War be Just the Methods thereof are so also 3 Dolus an Virtus quis in Hoste requirat Virg. 'Twixt Force and Fraud what Difference in War And indeed what Reason can be given why you may not deceive him whom it is lawful even to kill It is a piece of Magnanimity to preferr the Publick Safety before a Triumph and make sure of Victory without exposing it to the manifest Fortune of War when there 's none in Humane Judgment can appear so certain but it is subject to a thousand Chances In countermining the cunning Designs and Intrigues of an Enemy we must not always regard what a Prudent Man would do in the like case though to have also some Fore-thought of that were adviseable but a Judgment must be formed from the Condition and Capacity of the Person to be dealt with for all Men take not always the most proper and prudent Methods Ferdinand Duke of Alba 's entring Portugal with an Army upon King Sebastian 's Death was Amazing by several blamed as a very Dangerous Enterprise in a Person so eminently versed in the Art of War To whom he reply'd That he was not ignorant of the Danger but he trusted in having to do with a Nation which by a continued Enjoyment of Peace had probably forgot the Affairs of War Even when we have to do with Men eminent for Prudence the Judgment and Conjecture we pass upon their Actions even by the Rule of Reason and Prudence is not infallibly certain for sometimes they suffer themselves to be carry'd away by Passion and the wisest Men are now and then guilty of the greatest Errors Self-conceit rendring them negligent or too much Confidence in their Discretion making them presume that though they have a little lost their Way they can easily find it again Sometimes in Things they presuppose Time and other Events deceive them Wherefore it is the safest way ever to suspend one's Judgment in Things that depend upon another's Pleasure and not to go about to regulate them by our own Private Discretion for every one has his particular Reasons unknown to others and consonant to his Nature which are the Spring of his Actions What to one seems impossible another thinks easie And there be some Genius's that fear not the most hazardous Enterprises some that are guided by Reason others that are utterly averse to it The most secret Artifices of Enemies or those who under colour of Friendship aim wholly at their own Interest are such particularly whereby they make their Proposals with so much Subtilty that they seem to redound to the Prince's Advantage when they really tend to his Ruine a Thing his Integrity is easily deluded in if he want Experience or smell not their Drift It requires therefore no small Prudence and Attention to turn such Counsels to the Destruction of the Authors thereof Into what Precipes will that Government fall which is directed by Foreign Councils contrary to the Advice of the Holy Ghost 4 Receive a stranger into thine house and he will disturb thee and turn thee out of thine own Eccles. 11. 34. But although an Enemy's Designs are usually discoverable by bare Reasoning yet is it convenient to trace them also by Spies the principal Instruments of Government without which a Crown can never be secure or admit of Encrease nor a War be carry'd on with Success 5 Ignarus militiae improvidus conâ—ilii quis ordo Agminis quae cura explorandi quantus urgendo trahendove Bello modus Tac. Hist. l. 3. Vitellius was condemned for being improvident in Council in Warfare ignorant how to draw up an Army what belong'd to Scouts when to prosecute when protract a War And indeed of what ill Consequence this Negligence is Germany can abundantly testifie which has lost several advantageous Opportunities and its Soldiers been oftentimes surprized and cut off in their Quarters for want of Intelligence of the Enemies Designs and Marches 6 And Joshua sent out two men to spy secretly Ios. 2. 1. Ioshua made use of Spies though God himself took care of his Arms 7 And the Angel of God which went before the camp of Israel remov'd and went behind them and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood behind them Exod. 14. 19. Moses never March'd but an Angel carry'd a Pillar of Fire before him to shew where to encamp yet by God's Command he sent out Men to search the Promis'd Land 8 Send thou men that they may search the
That Charles the Wise of France without any Armies by writing Letters only did him more mischief than his Father or Grand-father had done with all theirs The Sword can exert its Force but in a few Places good Management is of Universal Influence Nor does Princes being remote one from another signifie any thing For as Trees have Communication with and are united to each other by the means of Roots their Activity being a very large Extent so they by their Embassadors and secret Practices may do the same Policy makes the Strength of Foreigners its own by Alliance having the Common Interest in view A Prince may do more from a private Closet than in an open Plain King Philip II. never went out of Madrid yet kept the World in Awe and Obedience He made himself more Formidable by Prudence than by Power The Power that makes use of Address is in a manner Infinite Archimedes often said If he had a Place to stand on he could with his Machines move this Terraqueous Globe Any Potent Monarchy might easily attain to an Universal Empire if to its Strength were joined Skill and Industry But lest this should be that Primum Mobile of Empires permits the Great Ones to want Prudence and wholly trust to their Power More Affairs are transacted by Counsel and Conduct than by Blows 7 Pleraque in summa fortuna auspiciis consiliis magis quam â—elis â—â—nibus geri solent Tac. 13 Annal. Power with Rashness is as dangerous as Rashness without Power Abundance of Wars between Christian Princes might be avoided by Industry but either Judgment is insensible of their Inconveniencies and cannot find a way to decline them Honourably or it does not regard them Ambition blinding Prudence or else Vanity and Haughtiness look on it as a piece of Bravery voluntarily to face them and thus are tickled with a Counterfeit-Glory of War which as it is a Publick Action whereon the Common Preservation of all depends ought not to be measured by thin Shadows of Honour but by the Publick Advantage and Utility yet so that the Prince must in the mean time leave no Stone unturn'd to shun War cutting off all Occasions before they happen or if they be already getting the Hearts of such as by their Counsel can promote Peace Let him find out all endearing ways imaginable to preserve Friendship Let him embrace his Enemy both within and without his Realms and by crossing his Designs and entring into Leagues and Alliances Defensive terrifie him And to these Humane Means let him join the Divine Assistances of Prayer and Sacrifice and apply himself to the Pope as the Common Father of Christendom ingenuously telling him his Intentions and Desire of the Publick Quiet of the Injury received or the Reasons that induce him to take up Arms if Satisfaction be not made him Whence the Matter being also carry'd to the College of Cardinals and the Authority of the Apostolick See interposed either the War will be avoided or the Prince justifie the Cause of it at Rome where is the Tribunal at which all Princes Actions ought to be judged and their Controversies decided Nor is this a Mean-spiritedness but rather a Christian Generosity and Political Provision for the maintaining Amity among Nations and the avoiding of Emulations and the Confederacy they occasion EMBLEM LXXXV WHen the Bear has got a Bee-Hive he finds no better way than to plunge it under Water for any other would rather hinder his Design of getting the Honey and escaping the Stings of the Bees By this Example the present Emblem shews the Inconveniencies of keeping a Mediocrity in Counsels experienc'd in that which Herennius Pontius gave the Samnites when they had got the Romans in a narrow Pass who seeing his first Advice rejected which was to let them all go was for putting them all to the Sword And being ask'd why he thus went from one Extreme to the other when the Middle-way might be taken of giving them their Liberty after the Imposition of certain Laws as being Conquer'd He answer'd That it was necessary either to shew themselves generous to the Romans by so signal a Kindness to establish a firm and inviolable Peace with them or else to give such a Blow to their Forces that they should never again be able to make Head against them Any way between these two said he will neither make Friends nor take away Enemies 1 Neutralitas nec amicos paâ—it nec inimicos tollit Polyb. Hence that of Aristodemus to the Aetolians We must have the Romans either our Allies or Enemies there 's no Middle-way 2 Romanos 〈◊〉 socios habere oportuit aut hostes media via nullâ— est Aristodem In those Cases where any one would oblige a Friend or Enemy Moderate Expressions of Kindness do nothing For Gratitude always looks upon the Omissions are made and seldom fails to find a Reason not to think it self Obliged Thus Francis I. King of France laid not aside his Enmity to the Emperor Charles V. notwithstanding he set him at liberty because his Captivity was not so generous as that of Alphonsus King of Portugal who being taken in a Battel by Ferdinand King of Leon was treated by him with all the Humanity imaginable his Wounds dress'd carefully and himself set at liberty after his Recovery Favours which wrought upon him to lay his whole Kingdom at the Conqueror's Feet But Ferdinand refused the Offer satisfied with the Restitution of such Places as had been lately taken in Galicia The same Consideration had Philip Duke of Milan when having taken Prisoners the Kings of Arragon and Navarr the first of which was Alphonsus V. he call'd a Council to deliberate what should be done with them and while some were for having them pay a Ransom others for binding them to certain Conditions and lasty others for freely Dismissing them without either he took this last Advice thereby to lay the greater Obligation upon them and so engage their Friendship When Kingdoms are embroil'd in Civil Wars there 's nothing more dangerous than standing Neuter as Henry the Infant endeavoured to do during the Troubles of Castile occasion'd by the Nonage of King Ferdinand IV. by which means he lost his Friends without obliging his Enemies Nor is it less dangerous in the Punishments of the Multitude to inflict them promiscuously on all wherefore it seems most adviseable either wholly to connive at their Faults or to make a severe Example of some one Hence Germanicus was counsell'd in the Rebellion of the German Legions either to grant All or None of what the Soldiers demanded 3 Periculosa severitas flagitiosa lâ—rgitio seu nihil militi seu omnia concedereniur in ancipiti Republica Tac. 1. Annal. and deservedly blam'd for indulging them Part taking a Middle-way 4 Satis superque missione pecunia mollibus consulâ—is peccatum Id. Ibid. Thus Drusus in another Occasion of the like nature was advised either
to Dissemble or Punish with Rigour The prudentest Counsel certainly in the World For the Common People can never keep a Medium between two Extremes but always exceed in the one or the other 5 Alâ—i fortioribus remediis agendum nihil in vulgo modicum terrere ni paveam ubi pertimuerint impunè contemni Tac. 1. Annal. If the Matter require Expedition it is certain Ruine not to venture enough or not to use sufficient Precaution as it happened to Valens who wavering between the Counsels that were given him could not come to any determinate Resolution 6 Mox utrumque consilium aspernatur quod inter ancipitia deterrimum est dum media se quitur nec ausus est satis nec providit Id. l. 3. Hist. In Affairs of War Fear would sometimes appear prudent and to that end suggests Moderate Resolutions which serve but to encourage the Enemy and give him Time to look about him As King Iohn I. found who pretending the Crown of Portugal was devolved on him by the Death of Ferdinand his Father-in-Law resolved to enter that Kingdom alone and to have his Army follow whence the Portuguese gained Time to take up Arms in the interim which had never been done had he immediately fell upon them but he to avoid War left his Right to the Decision of Justice Threats signifie little if the Hand lifted up have no Weapon in it and do not sometimes punish Disobedience in earnest The Hastiness of the French makes them regard neither the past nor present Time and through the Heat of their Minds they are too adventurous and too precipitous in their Resolutions However this very thing oftentimes gives Success to them for by this means they avoid Luke-warmness and dispatch every thing in a trice The Spaniards on the other side are Dilatory that they may by long and much Consideration proceed with more Caution and out of an Affectation of Prudence use to Hesitate nay while they take Time to Consult lose the Opportunity of Execution The Italians know better how to make their Advantage both of the one and the other using the Opportunities as they present themselves Not like the Germans who are slow in Resolving lazy in Executing and consult only the present Time without any regard to the past or future Their Minds change with Events which is the reason they have so little advanced their Fortune it being otherwise a Nation which considering its innate Courage might extend its Dominions far and near To the same Cause may be ascribed the long Continuance of the Civil Wars the Empire is harrass'd with at this day which undoubtedly by resolute Counsel and Expedition might have been laid asleep long ago whereas by slow Counsels which yet pass'd for Prudent we have seen vast Armies upon the Rhine which might have made way even into France and forced it to an Universal Peace a thing has done them more prejudice than if they had lost several Battels For there can be no greater Overthrow than for an Army insensibly to waste and perish within it self It is this has made Havock of their own Country and the Places adjacent through which War ought to be carried when now its Seat is in the very Heart of Germany In all other Affairs of Civil Government Middle-Counsels may have place because of the Danger of Extremes and because it is of great Importance ever to take away from which you may afterwards in case of Necessity come to any one of the two with the less inconvenience Between these two Extremes the Ancients placed Prudence represented by the flight of Daedalus who came neither too near the Sun nor too near the Sea lest the excessive Heat of the one should melt or the Moisture of the other wet his Wings Iâ— Countries whose Inhabitants are not of a Servile Nature but of a Polite Genius and Generous Spirit the Reins of the People ought to be govern'd with so much Caution and Address that neither too much Indulgence shall breed Arrogance nor too much Rigour Aversion It is equally dangerous to curb them with Bits and Barnacles and turn them loose without a Bridle for they can neither endure all Liberty nor all Slavery as Galba told Piso of the 7 Neque enim hic aut in caeteris gentibus quae regnantur certa Dominorum Domus caeteri servi sed imâ—eraturus es hominibus qui neâ—â—otam servitutem pati possunt nec totam libertatem Tac. l. 1. Hist. Romans Always to execute Power is to wear out the Chain of Servitude 'T is a kind of Tyranny to go about to reduce Subjects to the model of an absolute Perfect State in that the Condition of Humane Nature admits not of it It is not necessary for a Government to be such as it ought to be but as it is capable of being for all things that are expedient are not possible to Humane Infirmity It is an Absurdity to wish there may be no Defect at all in a Common-wealth There will be Vices as long as there be Men. Excess of Zeal is the Spring of many Mistakes in Governors in not knowing how to conform to Prudence The same is Ambition when Princes affect to pass for Severe and imagining their Reputation consists in Ruling their Subjects so that they shall never in the least degree swerve from Reason and the Laws 'T is a dangerous Strictness which consults not the ordinary Passions of the Vulgar Open Address prevails more than Power Example and Complacency than Inhuman Severity Let the Prince therefore rather make believe he finds his Subjects good than value himself upon making them so which Tacitus commends Agricola for in his Government of Britain 8 Maluit videri invenisse bonos quam fecisse Tacit. in Vit. Agric. Let him not suffer himself to be deceived in the past Times so as to wish he could see those Good Manners he fancies were in those Days For Malice was ever the same in all Times but 't is a fault of our corrupt Nature always to like the Past better than the Present 9 Laudamus veteres praesentes carpimus annos Besides granting that Severity and Obedience were greater formerly yet this Age will not bear it if those Ancient Manners are alter'd in it This Mistake cost Galba both his Life and Empire 10 Nocuit antiquâ—s rigor nimia severitas cui pares non sumus Tac. l. 1. Hist. EMBLEM LXXXVI MAN's Mind has not been satisfy'd with the Speculation of Terrestrial Things but impatient that the Knowledge of the Heavens should be deferred so long as till after Death has broke the Prison of the Body and soar'd above the very Elements to find out by Reasoning what it could not by Touching Sight and Hearing and to this end hath form'd in Imagination an Idea of that most Beautiful Fabrick contriving a Sphere with such various Circles Equations and Epicycles as aptly represent the several Motions of the Planets
upon this Division so moderating it that it shall neither come on the one hand to absolute Rupture nor on the other to unlawful Combinations The same thing should be done between Ministers that some kind of Emulation and Diffidence one of another may make them more attentive of their Duty for if once through a neglect of this they Dissemble and conceal one another's Faults or with one consent join the pursuit of their own Interests there will be an end of the Prince and the State without the possibility of a Remedy in that none can be apply'd but by their Hands But if this Honest and Generous Emulation should degenerate into Aversion and Enmity it will create the same Inconveniencies for they will then be more intent on contradicting and thwarting one another more solicitous to overthrow each others Counsels and Actions than to promote the Publick Good and their Prince's Service Every one has his Friends and Creatures and the Common sort of People are apt to be â—ead into Factions whence generally arise Tumults and Dissentions For this Reason Drusus and Germanicus â—oined themselves lest the Flame of the Differences â—indled in Tiberius's Palace should be encreased by the â—last of their Favour Whence it is apparent how â—â—roneous the Judgment of Lycurgus was who sowed Dissentions among the Kings of Lacedaemon and ordained that when Embassadors were to be sent afar off such Persons should be made choice of as had some grudge to each other We have not a few Examples in this Age of Publick Losses occasion'd by the clashing of Ministers joined in one Commission upon a Supposition that this very Emulation would incite them to execute it carefully The Prince's Service is One and cannot be perform'd but by Persons Unanimous Whence Tacitus commends Agricola for one who was far from envying his Colleagues 8 Procul ab aemulatione adversus collegas Tac. in Vit. Agric. And certainly it is less dangerous for an Affair to be managed by one Bad than by two Good Ministers if they don't agree which rarely happens The Nobility is the Prince's greatest Security or greatest Hazard being a Powerful Body that draws most of the People after it Spain and France furnish us with many Bloody Instances of this Truth that in former Ages this in all The best Remedies are by the means of Emulation to keep them divided from the Commons and themselves yet with the Moderation above-mention'd To multiply and level the Titles and Dignities of the Nobles to spend their Estates upon Publick Ostentations and their Great Souls in the Toils and Dangers of War to divert their Thoughts by Employments of Peace and humble their Exalted Spirits by the servile Offices of the Court. EMBLEM XC KINGS in Holy Scripture are compared to Rivers for so the Prophet Habakkuk is to be understood when he says God would cleave the Rivers of the Earth 1 Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers Habaâ— 3. 9. meaning that God would divide the Forces of those who took up Arms against his People As David actually found he did in his Defeat of the Philistines and therefore openly confessed that the Lord had divided his Enemies before him as Waters are divided 2 The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me as the breach of waters 2 Sam. 5. 20. Division is the most effectual means to pull down any Power the very greatest if divided being uncapable of making any further Resistance How impetuously does a River stream down the midst of its Channel breaking through its very Banks to open it self new Passages yet if parted into several Rivulets it loses its strength and becomes passable to all Thus it happened to the River Gyndes where a beloved Horse of Cyrus's having been drowned it so enraged him that he immediately commanded it to be cut into an Hundred and sixty Canals by which means it lost both its Name and Greatness and that which before would scarce bear Bridges might afterwards be easily forded This the Counsel had regard to which some gave the Roman Senate to weaken the River Tiber by turning the Course of the Lakes and Brooks that discharged themselves into it 3 Siamnis Nar id enim parabatur in Rivos diductus supernavigasset Tac. Annal. l. 1. to rid the City of continual Fear and Danger of its Inundations But the Senate refused to do it as unwilling to deprive the Tiber of its Glory 4 Quin ipsum Tiberim noâ—â—e prorsus accolis fluvâ—s â—â—batum minori gloria fluere Ibid. All these things have given occasion to the present â—mblem which by a River parted into several Branches shews of what consequence it is to distract the Forces of Puissant Princes For the greater the Power is the more Forces and Expence its Defence requires nor is it hardly possible to find Officers and Soldiers enough for it or to prevent all Mischances Courage and Prudence are confounded when Dangers threaten thus on all sides Besides this is the most secure and the cheapest Method that can be taken inasmuch as a Trumpet on a sudden sounding an Alarm in several Parts of a Kingdom has abundantly greater Effects than a War solemnly denounced It is always the best and securest way to divide Enemies Forces and sow seeds of Dissention within their States 5 Prudentis est Ducis inter bostes discordiâ—e causas serere Veget. Nothing so much exposing to Plots and Invasions as Discord and Sedition 6 Discordia Seditio omnia facit opportuniora insidiantibus Livy By these Artifices the Phoenicians established their Dominion in Spain dividing it into various Factions The same did the Carthaginians against them Therefore the Counsel of the Marquess of Cadiz was not at all imprudent when having taken Boabdili King of Grenada he moved Ferdinand the Catholick to set him at liberty that his Presence might foment the Factions a foot between him and his Father about the Crown which had distracted the Kingdom into a great many Parties When the Roman Empire says Tacitus began to decline and hasten to decay nothing greater could be desired of Fortune than the Discord of its Enemies 7 Vrgentibus Imperii Romani fatis nihil jam praesâ—are fortuna majus â—â—tuit quam hostium discordiam Tac. de Mor. Germ. No Money is laid out to more Advantage none with less Bloodshed or Danger than that which is employed in encouraging the Dissentions of an Enemy's Kingdom or in getting another Prince to make War upon it for the Charges and Damage become hereby much more inconsiderable But this matter demandeth extraordinary Advertency for sometimes upon a mis-grounded Apprehension Money is expended to no purpose and the Discovery of the ill Intention begets open Hostility A thing we have many Instances of in those who without any Provocation or the least Prospect of Advantage have countenanced the Adversaries of the House of Austria to keep its Hands full by continual Wars in the mean
time unprofitably exhausting their Treasuries without considering that if they should once be attack'd by those of this House it would be much better to have still by them for their own Defence what they had laid out upon the Diversion of their Forces And this whole Doctrine has place without any scruple in Policy in an open War where the Reason of Self-Preservation is more cogent than other Considerations less solid and the same Cause that makes the War lawful justifies also this Discord But when the case is nothing but an invidious Emulation of Grandeur these Artifices are not warrantable for he who stirs up the Subjects of another Prince to Rebellion at the same time teaches his own to be Traitors The Emulation should be between the Persons not the Offices Dignity is of the same kind in all its parts that which wounds one wounds all Passions and Hatreds are transient but Bad Examples remain for ever It is the Interest and Concern of every Prince not to suffer the Dignity of another to be injured by Contempt or Disobedience or his Person by Treason 'T is an Action unworthy of a Prince to conquer by Poison not by the Sword It was ever accounted base among the Romans 8 Non fraude neque occultis sed palam armatum populum Romanum bostes suos ulcisci Tac. Hist. l. 2. and is to this day with the Spaniards who have been so far from making use of such secret Practices against their Enemies that they have often been assisting to them A remarkable Example of which our Catholick King left your Highness when he sent an Army to aid the French King against the English who had possess'd themselves of the Isle of Rhea not regarding the Duke of Roan's Advice which was to divide the Kingdom into several Governments And another time when His Majesty offered by Monsieur de Maximi the Pope's Nuncio to assist the same King in Person to subdue the Hugonots of Montauban and drive them out of his Country Which Signal and Heroick Kindness had no other Return but Ingratitude leaving a Lesson to Reason not to let it self be too easily touch'd with Compassion towards a Foreign State From what hath been said it is obvious to deduce how much the Agreement of Subjects Minds and the Union of States contribute to their Common Defence If I say every particular Person did look on the Danger of his Neighbour as his own be it at never so remote a distance and accordingly endeavour all ways both with Men and Money to relieve him that the whole Body may be preserved But not a few are deceived in this Point they who are far off flattering themselves with the Thoughts that the Danger will never reach them or that they are no way obliged to anticipate such Expences and that it is greater Prudence to keep their Forces entire till the Enemy come nigher But alas then all the Difficulties being surmounted and those States taken which served them for Out-works the rest will never be able to hold out This was the Fate of the Britains of whom thus Tacitus Heretofore they were under Kings now are by petty Princes distracted into Factions nor does any thing further our Designs against the strongest Nations than their not consulting the Common Good Seldom above two or three Cities associate to repell the Common Danger Thus while every one fights single all are overcome 9 Olim Regibus parebant nunc per Principes factionibus studiis trabantur nec aliud adversus validissâ—mas gentes pro nobis â—â—ilius quam quod in commune non consulunt Rarus duabus tribusve civitatibus ad propulsandum commune periculuâ— conventus ita dum singuli puâ—nant universi vincuntur Tac. in Viâ— Agric. The Kingdoms of Spain and Provinces of Italy Burgundy and Flanders are sensible of this Danger with a greater Prudence a more eminent and exemplary Piety Zeal and Affection towards their Lawful Lord in that with a generous Emulation they voluntarily offer His Majesty their Lives and Fortunes to protect them from their Enemies who with joint-Forces conspire the Overthrow of the Catholick Religion and that Monarchy Let Your Highness ingrave these Services on your tender Breast and let the Gratitude and Esteem due to Subjects so Loyal encrease with your Glorious Years Then you will judge which is most excellent To Rule the World or such a Government * Cam. Lus. EMBLEM XCI FRiendship seems to restrain a Government more and to have been more considered by Law-Givers than Iustice. For if all Men were Friends there would be no need of Justice but though all were Just yet would they want the Protection of Friendship 1 Videtur amicitia magis continere majore quam justitia in studio fuisse Legislatoribus Nam si amicitia inter omnes esset niâ—il esset quod justitiam desiderarent at si justi essent tamen amicitiae praesidium requirerent Arist. Ethic. l. 1. Friendship is the greatest good Mankind enjoys a sure Sword always by one's side both in Peace and War a faithful Companion in both Fortunes With this Prosperity is crown'd and Adversity becomes more easie For it neither is diminished by one or encreased by the other In one it is guided by Modesty in the other by Constancy in the one and the other always at hand as if by both it were like to gain Consanguinity may be without Kindness and Affection Friendship cannot This comes from our own Choice that from Chance That may be without the Bond of Communication and Mutual Assistance this cannot forasmuch as there are three things which as constituent parts of its Being unite it Nature by the means of Resemblance the Will by that of Good Humour and Reason by that of Honour Hereunto certainly King Alphonsus the Wise alludes when he accuseth a certain Person of Cruelty and Injustice for carrying away Prisoner one of two Persons who were endeared to each other by Consanguinity and Friendship 2 L. 19. Tit. 2. p. 2. The more tried therefore and sincere the Friendship has been so much the less valuable will it be when once violated A Crystal crackt is good for nothing The Diamond loses all its Worth when divided into Pieces A Sword once broken can never be solder'd again Whoever trusts to reconciled Friendship will find himself deceived for upon the first Blow of Adversity or Prospect of Advantage it will presently relapse again Neither David's Mercy in sparing Saul's Life nor the Acknowledgments and fair Protestations of Saul confirmed by Oath were sufficient to make the first think himself e'er the safer for this Reconcilement or the last to cease Plotting against him 3 And Saul went home but David and his men gat them up unto the hold 1 Sam. 24. 22. Esau with Embraces and Tears in his Eyes tried to regain the Favour of his Brother Iacob and though there passed great Signs and Expressions of Friendship on both
Eternal Artificer we cannot suffer any other Adoration to be paid him than what we judge to be true and Orthodox And altho' the Friendship of Infidels were never so good yet Divine Justice permits us not to obtain our Ends by the means of his Enemies nay usually chastises us by the very Infidel's Hand that Sign'd the Treaty The Emperor which Constantine the Great translated into the East was ruin'd by the Alliance of the Palaeologi with the Turk God permitting it to remain to Posterity for an Example of his Correction but not any living Memorial of that Family But if by reason of the Distance of Places or Disposition of Things the Chastisement cannot be inflicted by those very Infidels God uses his own Hand What Calamities has not France suffered since Francis I. more through Emulation of Charles the Fifth's Glory than forced by any Necessity made a League with the Turk and called him into Europe This Fault he acknowledged in the last moments of his Life expressed his utmost Detestation of it in Words which piously we ought to impute to a Christian Compunction though otherwise they seemed to proceed from extreme Despair God pursued his Chastisement in some of his Successors by taking them off with violent and unhappy Deaths Now if this Just Judge be thus severe on Princes who do but ask the Aid of Infidels and Hereticks what will he do to those who assist them against the Catholicks and are the reason of their making such great Progresses The Example of Peter II. of Arragon will tell us 2 Mar. Hist. l. 12. c. 2. This King stuck with all his Forces to the Faction of the Albigenses in France and though he fought at the Head of One hundred thousand Men against the Catholicks who were but Eight hundred Horse and a Thousand Foot lost at once both his Life and the Battel Iudas Machabaeus no sooner joined with the Romans tho' only to defend himself against the Grecian Power but the two Angels that stood by his side left him and he was slain The same Punishment and for the same Cause suffered Ionathan and Simon his Brothers and Successors Nor is the Excuse of Self-Defence always sufficient for all the Conditions and Circumstances that make such Confederacies allowable very rarely concurr and are of greater weight than that universal Scandal and Danger of defiling the true Religion with Errors the Communication of Hereticks being a Poison apt to infect a Gangrene that soon spreads where Minds are enclined to Novelty and Licentiousness 3 And their word will eat as doth a canker 2 Tim. 2. 17. Policy distrusting the Divine Assistance and wholly relying upon Humane Artifices may indeed deceive it self but not God at whose Tribunal meer Appearances of Reason are not received Baasha King of Israel built a Fortress in Ramah the last City of the Tribe of Benjamin in the Kingdom of Asa and so stopt its Avenues that no one could go in or out of it with safety 4 In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah 2 Chron. 16. 1. This occasion'd a War between those two Kings and Asa fearing the Alliance of Ben-hadad King of Syria with his Enemy contrived first to break that and then enter'd himself into a Confederacy with Ben-hadad which when Baasha heard he left off building the Fortifications of Ramah 5 And it came to pass when Baasha heard it that he left off building of Ramah and let his work cease 2 Chron. 16. 5. Nevertheless though Asa made this League out of Necessity and only for his own Defence whereof the good Effect soon appeared yet God was displeased that he put more confidence in the King of Syria than in him and sent Hanani the Prophet to represent his fault to him and threaten him with Wars as a Punishment 6 Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria and not relied on the Lord thy God therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand c. Herein thou hast done foolishly therefore from henceforth thou shalâ— have wars 2 Chron. 16. 7 9. which accordingly happened Whence it will be easie to gather how much France has incurred the Divine Displeasure by the Alliances it has now engaged it self in with those of another Religion to oppress the House of Austria Where is no room for the Pretence of Self-Preservation in extreme Necessity since without any Provocation or Reason he has sided with all its Adversaries and made War upon it fomenting it out of their States and enlarging these by the Usurpation of foreign Provinces and assisting the Hereticks and their Allies with Counsel and Arms to conquer the Catholicks no one in the mean time coming thence to the Treaty of Peace at Cologne although the Pope the Emperor and King of Spain had all sent their Plenipotentiaries thither Nor is it unlawful only to make Leagues with Hereticks but even to make use of their Forces The Holy Scriptures give us an illustrious Instance of this in the Person of King Amasiah who having hired an Army of the Sons of Israel was commanded of God to dismiss it and reproved for not rather relying on him 7 O king lâ—t not the army of Israel go with thee for the Lord is not with Israel to wit with all the children of Ephraim But if thou wilt go do it be strong for the battel God shall make thee fall before the enemy for God hath power to help and to cast down 2 Chron. 25. 7 8. And because he presently obeyed without any regard to the Danger or to the hundred Talents he had given them God gave him a signal Victory over his Enemies Confederacy with those of a different Religion is lawful when its End is the Intermission of War and Liberty of Commerce such as that was which Isaac made with Abimelech 8 We sâ—e certainly that the Lord is with thee and we said Let there be now an oatâ— betwixt us even betwixt us and thee and let us make a covenant with thee That thou shalt do us no hurt Gen 26. 28 29. and as now is between Spain and England When any Treaty is made with Hereticks provided it interfere not with Religion or Good Manners and be confirmed by Oath the Publick Faith is by all means to be kept with them for in the Oath God is called to be a Witness to the Agreement and as it were a Surety for the Performance of it both Parties consenting to make him Judge of it to punish the Perjurer And certainly it were a hainous Sin to call him to witness to a Lye Nations have no other Security of the Treaties they make than the Religion of Oaths which if they should make use of to deceive there would be an end of Commerce in
Peace Now Caesar 's Grandeur Caesar 's Glories reign His Conqu'ring Arm sheathing his Sword again * Propert. Nothing in the World is more an Enemy to Possession than War It is a wicked as well as foolish Doctrine which teaches that Seeds of Hatred should be nourished that Matter for War may be furnished whenever it shall be thought fit 12 Semina odiorum jacienda omne scelus externum habendum cum laetitia Tac. Annal. l. 12. He always lives in War who has it always in his Thoughts The Advice of the Holy Spirit is much more wholsom Seek Peace and pursue it 13 Psal. 34. 14. When a Peace is once Concluded the Laws of God and Man oblige to a faithful Observance of it even although transacted with one's Predecessors without any Distinction between the Government of One and Many both the Kingdom and Commonwealth for the Benefit and upon the Faith of which the Contract was made being always the same and never dying Time and Common Consent have Passed what was once Agreed upon into a Law Nor is Force or Necessity a sufficient Excuse for making War For if the Publick Faith might be violated for these things there would be no Capitulation no Treaty of Peace but might be broken under the same colour Francis I. was blamed for declaring War against Charles V. contrary to the Agreement made during his Imprisonment under pretence of Constraint By such Artifices and Equivocal Negotiations it comes to pass that none at all are firm so that to establish them it is necessary to demand Hostages or detain some considerable Place things which embarrass a Peace and fatigue the World with perpetual Wars The Prince then being free from the Toils and Dangers of War should apply himself wholly to the Arts of Peace according to Tasso Learning and Arts promote throughout your Realm Divert your Subjects Minds with Plays and Balls With equal Iustice punish and reward And out of Danger stand upon your Guard Yet not without reflecting how soon War may possibly disturb his Rest. Let not his Eye quit the Arms his Hand has laid down nor those old Medals influence him upon the Reverse of which Peace was described burning Shields with a Torch This was far from being a prudent Emblem for there is nothing so necessary after War as the preserving of Arms to keep Violence from making any attempt against Peace None but God alone could when he gave it to his People break the Bow as the Psalmist expresseth it cut the Spear in sunder and 〈◊〉 the Chariots in the fire 14 Psal. 46. 9. forasmuch as he being the Arbiter of War needs not Arms to maintain Peace withal But among Men there can be no Peace where Ambition is not restrained by Fear or Force This gave Occasion to the Invention of Arms which Defence found out before Offence The Plough marked out the Walls before the Streets were disposed and almost at the same time Tents were pitched and Houses built The Publick Repose would never be secure did not Care armed guard its Sleep A State unprovided with Arms awakens the Enemy and invites War Never had the Alps heard the Echo's of so many Trumpets had the Cities of the Milanese been better fortify'd This State is as it were an Outwork to all the Kingdoms of the Spanish Monarchy and each ought for its own Security to contribute to its Strength which joined with the Power of the Sea would render the Monarchy firm and unshaken Mens Hearts were they of Adamant could not supply the Defect of Walls King Witiza by demolishing these made the Moors so bold as to invade Spain when those Banks were gone which till then had stopt their Inundations 15 Mar. Hist. Hisp. Augustus was not guilty of this Negligence in that long Peace he enjoyed but appointed a Publick Treasury as a Provision against a War Except Forces be Exercised in Time of Peace and the Mind disciplin'd in the Arts of War it will not easily be done when Danger of Invasion shall have put all Men in a Consternation and they be more intent on flying and saving what they have than on their Defence There is no greater Stratagem than to leave a Kingdom to its own Idleness When Military Exercise fails Valour does the same Nature produces in all Parts great Souls which either Occasion discovers or want of Business burieth Past Ages have not furnish'd braver Men in Greece and Rome than are at this day born but they then appeared so Heroical because Desire of Rule made them use themselves to Arms. Let not a Prince be discouraged at the Sluggishness of his Subjects Discipline will fit them either to preserve Peace or to maintain War Let him keep them always employed in the Exercise of Arms for he that desires Peace must prevent War EMBLEM C. IT is a short breathing between the Cradle and the Tomb short I say yet 〈◊〉 of occasioning considerable Evils if ill employed Often does a Commonwealth lament whole Ages the Errour of one Moment On this Point turns the Fall or Rise of Empires One bad Counsel in a Minute throws down what has cost Valour and Prudence many Years to build 1 〈…〉 Taâ— Annal. l. 5. And therefore it is not enough in this Amphitheater of Life to have run well if the Course be not equal to the End He only receives the Crown who has lawfully touch'd the last Goal of Death The Foundation of Houses consists in the first Stones that of Renown in the last except they be Glorious it soon falls and is buried in Oblivion The Cradle does not flourish until the Tomb has first and then even the Briars of past Vices turn to Flowers for Fame is the last Spirit of our Actions which thence receive their Beauty and Lustre a thing never seen in an infamous Old Age that rather effacing the Glory of Youth as it happened to 2 Cesserunt que primâ— postremis boâ—aâ— juventae senectus flagitiosâ—â—â—â—teravit Tac. Annal. 1. 6. Vitellius The most perfect Stroaks of the Pencil or Chizel are not esteemed if the whole Work remain imperfect And if ever Fragments were regarded it was for being the Reliques of a once perfect Statue Envy or Flattery while Life lasts give different Forms to Actions but Fame unbyass'd by those Passions pronounces after Death true and just Sentences which the Tribunal of Posterity confirms 3 Sâ—â—m â—uique decus posteritas rependit Tac. Annal. 1. 4. Some Princes are sensible enough of how great Consequence it is to Crown their Life with Vertues but they are mistaken in thinking to supply that by leaving them described in Epitaphs and represented in Statues not considering that they blush to accompany him in Death whom they had not accompanied while alive and that the Marbles are as it were in Indignation to see the Counterfeit-Glory of a Tyrant inscribed on them but seem to soften to facilitate the engraving of that
Syria to be a Check to his Hopes and Designs 46 Quâ— Syriae imponeretur ad spes Germanici coercendas Tac. Annal. l. 2. Indeed the Constitution of States and Governments in Europe is such that there is little fear of those Dangers yet if the Genius of the Son should be so violent and terrible that the Remedies mentioned cannot sufficiently provide for the Father's Security let him consider whether it be proper to apply that which Philip II. used with his only Son Don Carlos the execution of which made Politicks admire its own Power struck Nature with Amazement and the whole World with Horrour But if he distrust the Fidelity of his Subjects because of their Aversion to his Son there is usually no better Remedy than to have him educated in some other Court and under the Protection of some greater Prince provided there be no danger of any Emulation between them with whom he may afterwards establish an Alliance This Motive prevailed with Phraates King of Parthia to bring up Vonones in the Court of Augustus 47 Partemque prolis firmandae amicitiae miserat â—aud perinde nostri meâ—u quam fidei popularium diffisus Tac. Annal. l. 2. Though this oftentimes produces a contrary effect the People being apt to hate him afterwards as a Foreigner who returns to them with strange Manners which was the Case of the same Vonones 48 Quamviâ— gentis Arsaciâ—arum ut externâ—m aspernabanâ—ur Tac. Annal. l. 2. In the Disposal of his Dominions to his Children the Prince cannot be too cautious inasmuch as it is sometimes the Advancement sometimes the Ruiné of a Kingdom especially in the Younger Sons who generally envy the Elder his Prerogative and in the Daughters matched with his own Subjects whence arise Jealousies and Uneasinesses which end in Civil Wars Augustus reâ—â—â—â—ting upon this refused his Daughter to a Roman Knight who might occasion Disturbance 49 Immensumqâ—â— attolli proâ—ideret qâ—em conjunctione taâ—â— super alios 〈◊〉 Tac. Annal. l. 4. and proposed Procâ—dejus and others who lived a calm and retired Life and intermedled not with Affairs of State 50 Proculejum quosdaâ— in sermonibus 〈…〉 Reip negotiis permixtoâ— Tac. Annal. l. 4. The Choice of a Tutor for the Son who is to succeed in his Non-age is another thing which demands all the Skill and Prudence the Father is Master of there being nothing more exposed to Casualties than that as we see present and read of past Examples of many Princes who during their Minority have lost their Lives and Kingdoms at least been reduced to great Distress 51 Wo to thee O land when thy king is a child Eceles 10. 16. For if the Guardianship be left to the Mother though that may be looked upon as most secure yet the Prudence and Experience requisite for such a Task are rarely to be met with in a Woman and most of that Sex want Courage to awe Subjects and gain Respect But should it fall to the Uncle Ambition of Rule is wont to break the strongest and most close Ties of Blood If it light upon the Ministers every one of them is wholly devoted to his private Interest which occasions Divisions among them Besides Subjects despise the Government of their Equals which is the Rise of Troubles and Civil Commotions and therefore out of all these Dangers and Inconveniencies the Prince must chuse the least considering the Nature of the State and of the Persons most capable of the Education of his Son and picking out a Class of Subjects whereby the Security of the Pupil may be so provided for that they cannot possibly unite and conspire to ruine him In this Case it is highly requisite that they be immediately brought into Business who are to have after the Father's Death the Tuition and Guidance of the Heir and Administration of the Government Nor is it the Prince's only Duty to get the Successor secured and instructed but he is also to prevent the Accidents of his new Government and their ill Consequence for when the Sails are changed the Ship is endanger'd and by the Introduction of New Forms Nature suffers because Things end faintly but begin with vigour 'T is from this Vicissitude of Things that those Dangers proceed which threaten upon the meeting of the Waves of both Reigns as it happens when one rapid River runs violently into another of an equal Current The Authority of the Successor is easily lost and Conspiracies and Innovations contriv'd against him 52 Quando ausuros exposcere remedia nisi novum nutantem aâ—hus Principem precibus vel armis adirent Tac. Annal. l. 1. and therefore the Prince should endeavour to make the latter part of his Reign so calm that the new one may be entred on without the least hazard and as Seamen when they enter the Port quit their Oars and furl their Sails so ought he to close his Government by laying aside all thoughts of Enterprizes and Wars by confirming ancient Alliances and making new ones particularly with his Neighbours that Peace may be setled in his Realms 'T is no less worthy Praise when Age draws on To settle Peace and Quietness at Home That no Intestine Broilâ— subvert the State Or pow'rful Neighbours War without create * Tasso Let him dissemble Injuries us Tiberius did with Getulicus 53 Mâ—ltâ—que gratia manâ—it reputante Tiberiâ— publicum sibi odium extreâ—am â—â—atem magisque fama quam viâ—stâ—re res suas Tac. Annal. l. 6. and Philip II. with Ferdinand de Medicis for at such a time the most prudent Princes order a Rainbow to be put over their Tombs for a Token of Peace to their Successors not a Lance fixed in the Earth to prompt them to revenge their Quarrels as the Athenians used to do Let him govern his foreign Provinces with Counsel and Address not Arms 54 Consilis astu res externaâ— moliri armâ— procul baâ—ere Tac. Annal. l. 6. and see that the Governors he sets over them be Eloquent Lovers of Peace and unexperienc'd in War lest they kindle it as it was done in the time of Galba 55 Hispaniae praeerat Clâ—vius Rufâ—â— vir faâ—undâ—s pacis artibus belli ineâ—pâ—â—tâ—â— Tac. Hist. l. 1. Let him compose the Minds of his Subjects and reconcile their Differences protect them from Injâ—ries moderate their Taxes and reâ—ove all Norâ—lties odiovs to the People Let him make choice of prudent Ministers Friends to peace and the Publick Quiet for by this means his Subjects Minds being formed to Ease and gentle Usage will promise themselves the same from the Successor and so not attempt any Innovation EMBLEM CI. MAny great Men have laboured by Speculation and Experâ—ence to form the Idea of a Perfect Prince It hath 〈…〉 this Royal Porcelain this 〈◊〉 Vessel of Earâ—â— no less brittle than others and more subject to Casualties than any particularly when the Potter is of the School of Matchiavel whence all
for a Prince at the begiâ—ning of his Reign to observe the methods of the last 〈◊〉 king Care to reform it by Degrees with that easiness aâ— moderation that the People shall find themselves on t'otheâ— side without knowing how they got over Tiberius duâ— not at the beginning of his Reign abolish the publick Sportâ— introduc'd by Augustus 13 Sed populum per tot annos mollitèr habiâ— nondum audebat ad duriora vertere Tac. 1. ann Galba reigned but a fâ—â— Months because immediately upon coming to the Thronâ— he began to punish past Crimes to moderate extravagaâ— Donatives and to curb the Licentiousness and Insoleâ— which the People had been so us'd to in Nero's time 14 〈◊〉 veterem disciplinam atque ita quatuordecim annis à Nerone 〈◊〉 ut haud minus vitia Principis amarent quam olim virtutes 〈◊〉 rabantur Tac. Hist. 1. that they as much loved their Princes Vices as former they esteem'd their Vertues The same befel the Emperoâ— Pertinâ—x for designing to reform the Militia enervaâ—â— under the Luxurious Reign of Commodus Lewis XI Kiâ—â— of France fell into the same Errour for that he began 〈◊〉 Reign with the severe Punishment of some of his principâ— Nobility The Excellence of a new Government ought 〈◊〉 be Benignity since too much Rigour and Severity is 〈◊〉 Vice of an old one What dare not old Kings do The softest Chaiâ— Of Kingdoms is in a new Princes Reign To settle a Government is a work of time for 't is troublesome to reform as to new model one 15 Non minus negotii est Remp. 〈◊〉 quam ab initiâ—â—onstituere Arist. 4. Pol. cap. 1. for 〈◊〉 reason David excus'd himself from punishing Ioab for the Murther of Abner as being weak and newly anointed King 16 2 Sâ—m 3. 39. that is he fear'd by too much Severity he should make his new gotten Government odious Rehoboam had never ruined himself had he considered this when by the Counsel of the young Men he answer'd the People of Israel who desir'd he would treat 'em with less Severity than his Father had done My Father made your Yoke heavy and I will add to your Yoke my Father also chastised you with Whips but I will chastise you with Scorpions 17 1 Kings 12. 14. There is nothing more serviceable to a Prince at his entrance upon the Government than to signalize himself by some glorious Exploits for Reputation once got is not immediately lost for which Reason Domitius Corbulo when he was sent into Armenia took particular Care to raise his Reputation 18 Ubi famae inserviret 〈◊〉 in novis câ—ptis validissima est Tac. 13. ann The same Agricola did in his Government of Britain knowing that the Reputation of his first Actions would byass all the rest 19 Non ignarus instandum faâ—â—ae prout prima â—essissent fore universa Tac. in vit Agr. The comparison which the People make between the past and present Administration is always of ill consequence when they don't find in this the same Felicity they did in t'other or don 't perceive the same Parts and Qualifications in the present Prince as in his Predecessor let him therfore take Care as much can be that there be no difference but that the same hand may seem to hold the Reins But if the Prince either cannot or knows not how to adjust his Actions to the Peoples humour as his Predecessour did let him more particularly avoid occasion which may breed Comparisons Which was the reason that Tiberius was never present at publick Shews fearing that his rough melancholy Temper compar'd to the complaisant Gaiety of Augustus would be offensive to the People 20 Cur abstinuerit Spectaculo ipse variè trahebant aliâ— taedio caetus â—â—idâ—m tristitia ingenii metâ— comparationis quia Augustuâ— comiâ—er â—â—â—fuisset Tac. 1. ann Wherefore as soon as a Prince comes to the Helm of Affairs he should diligently enquire what things were distasteful in the past Reign that he may avoid them this was Nero's Maxim at his Accession to the Throne prescribing it as a Plan of his future Government sedulously declining those things which had lately bred Disgust 21 Tum formam futuri Principatus prâ—scripsit ca maximè declinâ—â— querum recens flagrabat invidia Tac. 13. ann Let a Prince also adjust his Actions to the Customs of the Countrey and methods of his Predecessor for even the Vertues of the Successour which are new and such aâ— the Predecessour and the Nation in general were unacquainted with the People look upon as Vices and loath ' em The Parthians demanded Vono for their King a Person endu'd with the Gentile Accomplishments of Rome where he had been as Hostage but those Vertues lost him the Affections of his People who regarded them as nothing but new Vices 22 Sed prompti adius obvia comitas ignotae Parthis Vertutes nova vitia Tac. 2. ann they were disgusted that he did not give his mind to Horses and Hunting as his Predecessors did and on the contrary they all loved Nero because he accommodated himself to their Customs 23 Quod hic prima ab infantia instituta cultum Armeniorum 〈◊〉 latus venatu epulis quae alia barbari celebrant proceres plebemâ—â— juxta devinxerat Tac. 2. ann And if this difference of Manners in the Princes Person produces these Effects how much greater will the Alteration of the Customs and Ways of the People create But if Correction be necessary it must be apply'd with such Moderation as may neither make the Prince seem severe nor remiss but when the negligence of the Predecessour was very great and the People require a Remedy then the Activity and Diligence of the Successour is very opportune as was visible in the first Years of your Royal Highnesses renown'd Father 'T is a generous piece of Justice for a Prince to begin his Reign with pardoning all offences against himself and punishing those committed against others nothing gaiâ—â— People's esteem and respect more than this 24 Novum Imperium inchoantiâ—â— utilis clementia Tac. 4. Hist. As the Emperours Vespâ—siâ— and Titus found as also Charles VII King of France Upon this Consideration Witiza remitted the Banishment of those whom his Father had condemned and caused their Tryals to be burnt by this great means the better to secure the Crown upon his Head Though these Acts are highly requisite yet the main Point is the gaining the Love and Obedience of the Subjects which two Kings of Arragon were absolute Masters of †Mar. Hist. Hisp. One was King Alphonso I who going to take Possession of the Kingdom of Castile for his Wife Terraca behaved himself with great Complaisance and Affability to all he heard Causes and administer'd Justiâ—e himself he protected Widows and Orphans reliev'd the Poor honour'd and reward'd the Nobility according to their Desert prefer'd Vertue and made the Kingdom plentiful
Abilities and that they penetrate all things report to the Prince for Certainty not that which is but that which they fansie may be they are too prone to Suspicions which they form from the least Shadow and then give credit to them whence proceed great Equivocations and Errors and is the chief cause of Quarrels and Wars among Princes for no Minister but has Power to promote Broils and Discord 2 In turbâ—s discordiâ—s pessâ—mo cuique plurima vis Tac. 4. Hist. Let Princes therefore be cautious of giving Credit to the first Relations of their Ministers but compare them first with those they receive from others And to form a more certain Judgment of what is written to them let them be perfectly acquainted with their Humour and Genius and with their Method of Conceiving Things whether they act by private Interest and Passion for it happens sometimes that the Minister is taken with a Love for the Country or Prince with whom he Treats and thinks all things Right and Just and sometimes suffers himself to be oblig'd by their Favours and Civilities and being naturally Grateful is of their Side and acts their Cause Sometimes is deluded by plain Appearances and by contrary Reports cunningly spread and so easily deceives his Prince for there is none more apt to deceive others than one who has been impos'd upon before Many Ministers are mov'd by slight Reasons or by some Passion or private Aversion which disturbs their Judgments and turn every thing to ill There are some also naturally enclin'd to Misconstrue all Actions and Designs whereas others are so Frank and Generous that they think nothing ill design'd Both the one and the other are dangerous and these last not less so than the others Sometimes the Minister thinking it part of his Duty to discover to the Prince his Enemies and that by that means he shall gain the Character of a Zealous and Understanding Person becomes so nicely suspicious that no one is safe from his Tongue and Pen and to make his Surmises and Apprehensions sure gives occasion by his Distrust to Friends to become Enemies to the great Detriment of the Prince to whom it were much better to have a good Confidence in all or for the Minister to apply Remedies to cure not to infect the Minds and Wills of the Subject Ministers also weary of Embassies that they may retire to enjoy the Conveniencies and Ease of a Domestick Life stick not to promote a Rupture between the Princes they assist or at least to suggest Counsels not less pernicious Princes are much deceived who think their Ministers act always as Ministers and not as Men. If it were so they would be much better served and find less Inconveniencies But they are Men and their Office does not strip 'em of their Inclination to Ease and to the Pleasures of Love Anger Revenge and other Affections and Passions which Zeal nor Duty are not always capable to correct But let Princes be apprized that those who can't seduce Good and Loyal Ministers for that they fathom their Artifices and Counsels and know what is their Prince's Interest what not they traduce them as Distrustful Passionate Perverse and Obstinate and therefore endeavour to remove them from the Management of Affairs and to introduce others less Knowing or to treat immediately with the Prince himself tendring him specious Propositions which oblige him to Resolves more prejudicial He must not give the least grounds to any one to think that he can't change the course of Affairs or displace Ministers for if such Thoughts take place the Prince will be ill served For such Confidence causes Disdain and Disobedience in the Accuser and the Fear of it discourages the Minister The Errors of these are less dangerous than those to admit the Accusations against them especially if they are Foreigners And were they true yet 't is more Prudence to deferr the Remedy till he from whom they came can't ascribe it to himself EMBLEM LXXVII THE farther those two Luminaries of Day and Night are distant from each other the greater their Influence and Light is Below But when they are in Conjunction their being Brethren does not prevent the one from obscuring the other's Rays and such Eclipse creates Shadows and Inconveniencies to the Earth Princes by the benefit of their Ministers and Letters maintain and uphold mutual Correspondence with each other But if they should Conferr Personally with one another their Interview would create shadows of Suspicion and Jealousie which would put all their States in Confusion for that they never find in one another what they promis'd to themselves and that neither measures himself by his own Rule but pretends always to much more than his Due An Interview of two Princes is almost like a Duel in which they fight with Ceremonies each endeavouring to conquer t'other The Families of each assist at the Engagement like two Hostile Troops each being zealous for his Prince's Triumph over the other in Personal Accomplishments or Grandeur and as in such a number all can't be Men of Prudence some light Expression or slight Affront causes Dissatisfaction in the rest So it happen'd in the Interview between King Henry and Lewis XI of France in which the Spaniards exceeding them in Pomp and Greatness and scouting the Meanness and Slovenliness of the French those two Nations departed Enemies who had till then maintain'd a good Correspondence together * Mar. Hist. Hisp. The Hatred between Germanicus and Piso was private till they saw one another 1 Discesserâ—ntque opertis Odiis Tac. 2. Anâ—al The Interview between Ferdinand IV. of Castile and Dionysius his Father-in-Law King of Portugal caused great Disorders as did that of King Philip I. and King Ferdinand And though the Meeting of Iames I. and King Alphonso produced very good Effects yet is it the safest way for Princes to manage their Affairs by Embassadors Sometimes Favourites sow Discord between the Prince and those of the Blood-Royal as we have before observ'd of which there are many Examples in our Histories Don Lopez de Haro procured a Separation between King Sancho the Strong and the Queen his Consort The Domesticks of Queen Catharine Mother to King Iohn II. incens'd her against the Infant Don Ferdinand Don Alvarez de Lara endeavoured thereby to keep the Government in his own Hands to persuade King Henry I. that his Sister Queen Berenguela design'd to poison him Those who were interested in the Quarrels between the Infant Sancho and King Alphonso the Wise his Father took what care they cou'd to prevent their Meeting and Agreement The Grandees of Castile hindred the Reconcilement of King Iohn II. to his Son Henry Don Alvarez de Luna that of King Iohn of Navarre to his Son Prince Carlos of Viana The Favourites of King Philip I. dissuaded him from an Interview with King Ferdinand Such Artifices we have seen us'd in France in these Times to the Detriment of that Kingdom and
of all Christendom The only Remedy is to despise the Difficulties and Inconveniencies which these Favourites represent and to come to an Interview when the secret Operation of the Blood has appeas'd their Minds and discover'd the Malice of those who procur'd the Misunderstanding Upon these Reasons King Ferdinand gave a Meeting at Segovia to King Henry IV. his Brother-in-Law not fearing the Danger of exposing himself to the Resentment of an offended King who either through Natural Affection or to disguise his Infamy procur'd his Daughter Ioanna 's Succession to the Crown * Mar. Hist. Hisp. For though he was sufficiently pre-advis'd by his Ministers of the Danger of the thing yet in the Scales of Prudence this Consideration out-weigh'd That no Force nor Treaty was so effectual as Presence EMBLEM LXXVIII WHAT we see of the Mermaid is Beautiful what we hear Melodious that which the Intention conceals Pernicious and that which is hidden under Water Monstrous Who could imagine so great an Inequality in so fair an Appearance Such Beauty as to charm the Mind and such Harmony as to intice Ships upon Rocks Antiquity admir'd this Monster as an extraordinary Prodigy yet is nothing more frequent Courts and Palaces are full of them 1 Isai. 13. 22. How often is a fair smooth Tongue the Snare to entrap a Friend 2 Prov. 29. 5. How often does a Friendly Smiling Look conceal a Heart full of Rancour and Malice How often are Tears forc'd from a Spring of Joy 3 Peractis tritsitia imitamentis Tac. 13. Annal. Those who shew'd most Sorrow for the Death of Germanicus were those who rejoyc'd most 4 Periisse Germanicum nulli jact antius moerent quam qui maxime laetantur Tac. 2. Annal. When the Head of Pompey was brought to Caesar he by his Tears dissembled the Satisfaction of the Sight Caesar at first his Gift would not refuse Nor turn his Eyes away but fix'dly views Till he perceiv'd 't was true and plainly saw 'T was safe to be a pious Father-in-Law Then shed forc'd Tears and from a joyful Breast Drew Sighs and Groans as thinking Tears would best Conceal his inward Ioy * May's Version of Lucan We see much of the Syren in the Pretexts of some Princes How full of Religion and Concern for the Publick Good How Obliging Kind and Promising And what Cheats do they impose upon each other under these Feints and Appearances They have the Face of Angels but end in Serpents and Embrace only to Sting and Poison The Wounds of a Well-meaning Sincerity are more wholsom than the Kisses of such Lips 5 Prov. 27. 6. The Words of those are smooth and balmy but of these sharp-pointed Arrows 6 Psal. 54. 22. How often has Treason took Rise from Honours Tiberius designing the Death of Germanicus as jealous of the Glory of his Victories and to extinguish thereby the Race of Augustus call'd him to Triumph and made him his Companion in the Empire By such Arts he strives to disguise his Mind He burns with Envy of Germanicus and makes his Glory blaze more only the sooner to extinguish it What appears is Honour and Affection what is conceal'd is Hatred and Malice 7 Nec ideo sincerae charitatis fidem adsecutus amoliri juvenem specie hoâ—oris statuit struxitque causâ—s aut fortè oblatas aâ—ripuit Tac. 2. Annal. The more Frank and Sincere a Man appears the more Fraud and Design he harbours We are not so apt to be deceiv'd by Muddy as by Clear Fountains which hide their Poison and invite by their Clearness For this Reason Prudence should be upon her Guard to penetrate these Arts of Princes suspecting them most when they seem most fair and obliging and acting against their Custom and Nature as Agrippina did changing her morose Temper into good Humour and Dalliance to take Nero off from the Love of his Slave 8 Tum Agrippina verâ—is Artibus per blandimenta juvenem aggredi suum potiùs cubiculum ac sinum offerre contegendis quae prima aetas summa fortuna expeterent Tac. 14. Annal. Which Alteration was suspected by Nero and his Friends who advis'd him to beware of her Subtilties 9 Quae mutaâ—iâ— nequâ— Nerâ—nem fefellit proximi amicorum metuebant orabantque caverâ— inâ—idis mulior is semper â—trocis tum falsae Tac. 13. Annal. We should be more cautious against what Princes conceal than against what they shew more against what they are silent of than what they declare The Elector of Treves delivers up that City to the French King to put therein a Garrison though he knew 't was Imperial and under the Hereditary Protection of the King of France as Duke of Luxemburgh and Lord of the Lower Burgundy and that thereby he not only ran counter to that Protection but also to the Constitutions of the Empire for which Reason the Troops of Spain surprize this City from the French and accidentally detain the Person of the Elector and treat him with all Respect due to his Dignity And the King of France having Eighteen Days before concluded a League with the Hollanders against the Netherlands makes use of this Pretext though happening afterwards and enters with his Forces in their behalf under pretence of setting at liberty his Friend and Allie He who seeks Occasions easily finds or makes ' em Malice is like Light which enters at the least Chink and such is our Inclination to Liberty and so blind our Ambition that there is no Pretence which respects either of them but we immediately embrace it suffering our selves to be deceived by it though never so unlikely or unreasonable Italy does not yet apprehend the Designs of France to Lord it over her under pretence of Protection though she has seen the Publick Faith so often violated as in the Treaties of Ratisbon Carasco and Monâ—on the Usurpation of Montferrat the Valtoline and Pignerol and a Garrison put into Monaco By such Pretexts Princes mask their Ambition their Avarice and Designs to the expence of the Lives and Fortunes of their Subjects Hence proceed all the Commotions and Wars that the World labours under As Interests alter so also do these Pretexts for they give Umbrage to them and follow them The Republick of Venice enter into League with the Grisons the French oppose it lest it should diminish their Alliance with them Whereupon the People are divided into Factions to the prejudice of the Catholicks whom the Protestants endeavour to extirpate The Switzers hereupon summon a Diet and can find no better Remedy than to invite the Spaniards into the Valley an Expedient before thought on by Pope Clement VIII in the Instructions given to the Bishop of Veglia when sent to the Catholick Cantons in Quality of Nuncio Which Method was also approv'd of by Gouffier who managed the Affairs of France and who persuaded Count Alphonso Casati Embassador from Spain to the Switzers to write to the Duke of Feria to