in regard of that great vigilancie which Kings ought to haue in executing Iustice and in seeing and knowing what passeth in the kingdome for kingdomes for this cause are content to become subiect vnto them out of a confidence they haue that they shall be protected by them This is the thing saith Osorius that Kings must looke vnto This must be their cheife care and study In studium iustitiae omnes regis curae et cogitationes omnes labores atque vigiliae omnia denique studia consumenda sunt Eâ— namque à principio Reges creauit The doing or not doing of Iustice is that which either sets vp or puls downe Kings And that King must make a new conquest of Kingdomes If those which he hath already gained be not conserued and defended by the force and power of Iustice which is the maine pillar and onely prop to speake of that vpholdeth Kingdomes without which they cannot long last and continue For God will most iustly punish them by taking those from them which they haue if they dissimulate iniustices and if they suffer themselues to be carryed away contrary to all right and reason and permit notorious faults to passe without punishment Other faults are not so much risented in Kings and Kingdomes are content to tolerate them be they neuer so great But should they haue neuer so many other good partes if they be faulty in this which is of so great importance they shall presently see and perceiue a publicke face of sorrow and a generall discontent in all their subiects And God oftentimes makes it a meanes for the punishment and amendment of Kings and Kingdomes It is the saying of Iesus the sonne of Syrach That by Counsaile and Iustice Kingdomes are maintained And for default thereof Scepters and Crownes are lost and Kingdomes transferred from one people to another And those brought to serue which were borne to command But the King that administreth Iustice without respect of persons shall haue his succession perpetuall for that is the very ground and foundation of a Throne royall Aufer impietatem de vultu regis et firmâ—bitur Iustitia thronus eius Take away the wicked from the King and his throne shall be established in righteousnes That is His Issue his House and his Kingdome Iustice is that which foundeth Kingdomes which enlargeth them and conserueth them That which establisheth peace and resisteth warre Without it there is neither King nor Kingdome nor Common-wealth nor Citie nor any other Communitie which can be conserued And all whatsoeuer that haue beene ruined and destroyed hath beene for want of Iustice. For this cause the Kings of Egypt and in imitation of them some others did which all good Kings ought to do sweare their Presidents Ministers and Magistrates that they should not obay their mandatums nor execute their orders and decrees if they found in them that they commanded any thing contrary vnto Iustice and the Lawes of the Kingdome Philip the Faire King of France and his successor Charles the seuenth enacted a Law that the Iudges should make no reckoning of the Kings Letters nor those his royall scedules vnlesse they seemed vnto them to be iust and lawfull The Catholike Kings Don Fernando and Donna Isabella and their Nephew Charles the fift by their well ordained Lawes Magistracies and Tribunals of so much power and authoritie exceeded all before them that fauoured Iustice. Which were augmented and inlarged by King Philip the second who was more particularly zealous of Iustice. And his sonne King Philip the third was a great fauourer and louer of Iustice and obseruer of the Lawes submitting vnto them his person and his goods Who might very well say that which the Emperour Traiane said conferring great power on his Gouernour in Rome Thou shalt vse this sword in our name and for Vs as long as we shall command that which is iust and against vs if we shall command the contrarie For it is alwayes to be presumed of the Intention of Kings that they euermore command Iustice to be done but neuer the contrary though it make against themselues Dauid gaue thankes vnto God that hee had set him in the way of Iustice that is That he had giuen him an vpright heart and informed his vnderstanding with so right a rule that it inclined his disposition to doe iustice though it were against himselfe The cause saith Diuus Thomas why God for so many yeares did inlarge the Empire and Monarchie of the Romanes with so much power so much treasure and so many great victories was for that their rectitude and iustice which they obserued towards all But in that instant that they fell from this their Empire likewise began to fall Of these Examples all Histories both humane and diuine are very full yet all will not serue the turne they doe little or no good Let Gods mercie supply this defect and worke this good And let not the poore bee discouraged and disheartened but let them comfort and cheere vp themselues with this that their righteousnesse and their patience shall not perish for euer God hath spoke the word and he will keepe it The poore saith the Psalmist shall not alwayes be forgotten nor shall the hope of the afflicted perish for euer For he will take the matter into his owne hands and will breake the arme of the wicked and malitious and will helpe the fatherlesse and poore vnto their right that the man of earth bee no more exalted against them Woe vnto those that are rules of the people Woe vnto those that are vniust Kings Which make Lawes like Spiders cobwebbs whereinto little starueling flies fall and die but your fat Bulls of Basan breake through and beare them away in triumph on their homes But that wee may touch no more vpon this string we will here holde our hand and and goe on in treating of Iustice and it's parts A matter no lesse profitable then necessary for Kings and their Ministers CHAP. XXI Of the Parts of Iustice in common and in particular of Iustice commutatiue TO the end that we may proceede with more distinction and clearenesse in this Chapter we are to presuppose with Diuus Thomas and others that Iustice may be sayd to be in Common two manner of wayes First of all vnder this generall name of Iustice is comprehended all kinde of vertue thereof in this sense saith the Philosopher that Iustitia est omnis virtus Iustice includeth in it selfe all sortes of vertues whatsoeuer so that a iust Man and a vertuous man is all one And in this sense Christ conceiu'd it when he said Nisi abuâ—dâ—uerit Iustitia Except your righteousnesse exceede c. And in another place Attendite ne iustitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibuâ— Take heede that yee doe not boast your righteousnesse before men to be seene of them Of iustice considered thus in the generall we will not now treate of in this place for in rigour and
sences As Seeing Hearing Smelling Tasting Touching and other faculties and vertues wherewith the life of man is sustained and gouerned And therfore S. Ambrose calls it Imperialem Aulam the Imperiall Court because therein resides the Imperiall power or that Empresse the Will which ruleth and Commandeth all those powers and faculties as being obedient and subiect vnto her And wee may also stile it Regalem Aulam the Princes Pallace for therein abideth assisted by it's operations the Vnderstanding as a King in his Court. For if the Will bee tearmed an Empresse of it's Empire and rule The Vnderstanding is called a King because it directeth and gouerneth in Man and vnto Man all his operations guiding them to their due and fit ends Lactantius contrary vnto Galen sayth of the Head that it is the first member that is formed in Man and hath the Primacie ouer all the rest And is for this cause called Caput which is the same with Principium as some Doctors doe expound it And in the Spanish tongue they call the first lines of a Processe Cabeca de Processo the head of the Processe or the beginning of it And it carryes the same signification in the Latin In capite libri scriptum est de me id est in principio Libri And for this we haue not onely Varro's but also Robertus Stephanus his Confirmation Caput dicitur quod inde initium capiant Sensus It is called Head because from thence the sences haue their Head and Beginning As also for that the Head is the Well-head of Mans life From it haue their originall and in it do all the Sences liue It Sees Heares Smells and Tastes not onely for it selfe but for the whole body that is for the good and benefit of all the members and parts of the body Hence it followeth that the Institution of the State-royall or of a King which is represented in the Head was not ordained onely for the Kings owne vse and profit but for the generall well-fare of his Kingdome And therefore hee ought to See Heare Taste and vnderstand not only by him selfe or for himselfe but by all and for all He ought not onely to haue an eye to his important affayres but likewise to the good of his Subiects Being that for them and not for himselfe onely a King was borne to the World Aduerte saith Seneca to the Emperor Nero rempublicam non esse tuam sed te reipublicae Consider that the Common-wealth is not thine but thou the Common-wealths Those first men who leauing solitude assembled themselues to liue in a Community knew full well that naturally euery one careth for himselfe and his owne people but no man that taketh care for all in generall And therefore they did agree amongst themselues to choose one of more especiall valour and worth to whom all might haue recourse And that he who among them all should be most renowned for his vertue prudence and fortitude should preside ouer all the rest and should rule and gouerne them that he should be watchfull ouer all of them that he should be solicitous of the common good and profit of them all and to be as carefull of them as a father would be of his children or a Shepheard of his sheepe And weighing with themselues that such a kinde of Man as this ought to be imploying himselfe not in his owne but other mens businesses could not be able to maintaine himselfe and his familie for then all did eate of the labour of their owne hands and the sweate of their browes they did ioyntly resolue to finde his house and to sustaine and maintaine him that hee might not be withdrawen by other by businesses but apply himselfe wholy to those of the Common good and to publicke gouernment For this end were they established This was the beginning that Kings had and it ought to be the care of a good King to care more for the publike then his owne particular good All his Greatnesse is at the cost of a great deale of care trouble vexation and inquietude both of Soule and Body He is wearinesse to himselfe to others he is their ease their sustenance and their defence Like vnto your fayrest flowers and fruits which although they beautifie the tree they are not so much for it or for it's owne respect as for others Let not any Man thinke that all the good doth consist in the beauty and brauery wherewith the flower doth flourish and in the goodly shew wherewith the Great ones of the world doe gallant it your powerfull Kings and Princes are flowers but flowers which fade and wither wast their life to preserue others drawing care vpon themselues and affording comfort vnto others others more inioying the fruit then they themselues For as Philon Iudaeus saith A King to his Kingdome is that which a wise man to the ignorant a sheepheard to his sheepe a father to his children light vnto darkenesse and that which God heere on earth is to all his creatures For this Title he gaue vnto Moses when he made him King and Ruler ouer his people Signifying vnto him that he was to be as God the common father of them all For to all this doth the Office and dignitie of a King oblige him Omnium domos illius vigilantia defendit omnium otium illius labor omnium delitias illius industria omnium vacationem illius occupatio His subiects houses are guarded and secured by his Vigilancie their ease procured by his labour their delights inioyed by his industry and their merry vacations by his painefull imployments And therfore the Prophet Samuell sayd vnto king Saul anon after he was annointed King ouer Israel declaring vnto him the obligations of his Office Behold Saul now that God hath annointed thee King ouer all this Kingdome that thy Office ties thee to it 's generall gouernment Thou wast not made King to sleepe and take thine ease or to honour and authorize thy selfe by the dignitie Royall but that thou shouldest gouerne and maintaine the people in peace and iustice and that thou shouldest protect and defend them from their enemies Rex Eligitur non vt sui ipsius curam habeat sayth Socrates et sese molliter curet Sed vt per ipsum ij qui eligerunt bene beatéque viuant Kings are not chosen that their whole care should be for themselues to pamper the flesh and to liue nicely and daintily but that by him they who had elected him might liue well and happily vnder him They were not created nor introduced into the world for their owne commoditie and their owne pleasure and that all the good morsels should be for their owne trencher for if it should be so no man would willingly be subiect vnto them but for the publicke profit and common good of all his subiects for their happy gouernment for their safe protection their augmentation conseruation and in a word for their seruice and without
nothing is done For as the Philosophers tearme it Applicat potentias ad operandum she sets these faculties a worke and findes them hands The Vnderstanding confesseth this is true but with all saith it is he that nods and winckes vpon her makes signes and tokens vnto her is as it were the Watch-word doth expose vnto her whether she will this or that for the better ordering disposing of it The Will she on the other side replyes that she likewise fomenteth and affectionates the Vnderstanding and doth excite and sollicite him that he study thinke and dwell vpon that which she best liketh But leauing the resolution of this Controuersie to your Thomists and Scotists who dispute it at large the Vnderstanding as I said before is a Regall power which ruleth gouerneth in man and is that Starre which guideth and giueth light to the whole house of the soule yet is the Will so much Mistresse that nothing is done without her Nor can God himselfe by violence draw a yea or a nay from it without trespassing vpon that liberty wherewith he created it for in it 's owne nature it is free and as Philosophy informeth vs it cannot be forced Caeterae potentiae possunt capi non tamen voluntas But the common receiued opinion is that both the one and the other must concurre for the effecting of any free worke Insomuch that it is impossible to performe any action of importance vnlesse that both doe intend that same We must plucke the reynes of both hold both of them in our hands if we meane to rule and gouerne the soule as we ought the Vnderstanding directing and the Will operating And therefore a deuout King after that hee hath begg'd vnderstanding of God that hee may be able to study and meditate on the obseruance of his diuine Law for the conseruation of himselfe and his kingdome finding that this is not sufficient if the Will should draw another way let him presently pray vnto him that he incline his Will and so dispose thereof that he may not onely will his Will but that hee may take pleasure to put it in practise In strictnesse and in rigour that is not Wisedome nor deserueth the name thereof which is bung'd vp in the Head and goes not from the Vnderstanding to the hand and from the Will to the Worke. Non enim sapientia est saith S. Bernard quae quod sapit non exercet Wisedome without practise is not Wisedome There are some of whom all men sticke not to say that he is of great vnderstanding a man of admirable abilities singular wisedome c. And yet no man knowes wherein his Knowledge lies nor can discerne his Wisdome in his Actions It is necessary that this opinion should be ratified and confirmed by exterior Actions and some publique demonstrations Of King Dauid the holy Ghost saith that hee did gouerne his people with the vnderstanding of his hands Et in intellectibus manuum suarum deduxit illos It is a cleare case that the hands haue no other particular vnderstanding in a distinct manner or distinguished from that which the soule hath and this is in the Head and not in the hands But the meaning of that place is that in the Workes of his hands and in all his Actions the King manifested his great Vnderstanding and Wisedome Which if it remaine onely in the huske or shell it is good for nothing Sicut fides ita sapientia sine operibus mortua est Wisedome saith S. Bernard is like Faith without good Workes it is dead That King therefore that shall haue wisedome inough in and for himselfe and shall execute and shew the same in the gouernment of his kingdome and exercise the same amongst his Subiects he shall be great in all his kingdomes heere on Earth and great likewise in the kingdome of Heauen Salomon when God had giuen him wisedome did not onely attend the speculatiue part but the practicke which is the principall thing in him that ruleth Apposui cor meum vt viderem sapientiam occupationem for so the Septuagint translate it But rendered by the vulgar I applyed mine heart to know wisdome and to see the businesse that is done vpon Earth for in Wisedome and the good exercise thereof consisteth all the good gouernment of a Common-wealth This being presupposed and what else in the subsequent Chapters shall be spoken hereof I say That it is not required of Kings that they should be so wise and skilfull in all Arts and Faculties as King Salomon was and others which make profession thereof nor yet so illiterate as the Emperour Licinius which was such an Idiot and such a beast that he knew not how to firme or set his hand to any Deâ—d or Writing Or as that other Michael Balbo which was such an enemy vnto Learning that hee would neither study good Letters himselfe nor suffer the children of his time to be bâ—ed vp therein That which is to be required of euery good King is that he haue so much wisedome as to be able to aduise himselfe and to make benefit of the Councell of others That he be wise enough to know what is good and iust and what is bad and ill that he may vse the one and shun the other Is enim moderatus est sapiens saith Socrates that hath Courage to execute and Will to doe On those Bases which the most wise King Salomon placed in the Temple hee commanded Lions Oxen and Cherubins to be ingrauen in signification of so many the like qualities which Kings ought to haue who sustaine the whole weight of a kingdome He must be in perpetuall labour signified in the Oxe he must be endued with courage expressed in the Lion and he must abound in knowledge notified in the Cherubin Wherefore Cicero likewise maketh mention Hae sunt saith that Heathen Orator virtutes Imperatoriae Labor in negotijs Fortitudo in periculis Industria in agendo To assist in businesses to be stout and valiant in dangers to be dextrous and wise in acting and aboue all to haue a liberall will without subiection and readily disposed for execution are vertues befitting an Emperour For to gouerne well great strength great courage great wisedome great power and a great willingnesse will be required For though a King know much and can doe much yet if he will not exercise his knowledge nor make vse of his power it is all one as if he neither knew nor could doe any thing The Leaper said to our Sauiour Christ Domine si vis potes me mundare If thou wilt thou canst make me cleane And Christ made him answer not in word onely but in deed Volo mundare I will be thou cleane CHAP. VI. How Kings ought to carry themselues in those businesses which their vnderstanding comprehendeth not IN regard that the Vnderstanding is amongst all other faculties the Noblest it is that without doubt which doth least render and yeeld it selfe
not forget whence he came and yet represent what he was caused to be set on his Court cupboord vessells of earth with this Letter Haeac fecimus These we once made and vessells of gold with this other Letter Ista facimus These we now make I say that it is a matter of much importance and I purposly forbeare to speake so much as I know in this point for the conseruation of Kingdomes As also how fit it is that their Maiesties both in regard of that respect which is due vnto Kings and to the right and true administration of Iustice should by their seueritie temper and moderate the excesse of those which cloath themselues with the Kings royall command as with a garment and beare themselues too insolently-high vpon the Title of their Offices and vnder colour and zeale to the seruice of their Kings will make themselues their Tutors Masters of their libertie Lords ouer their vassalls and sole Commanders of the whole Kingdome like vnto that great Leuiathan or huge Whale in the Sea of whom holy Iob saith Before his face is pouertie and want for he spoyleth and deuoureth all that stands in his way and trusteth that he can draw vp Iordan into his Mouth CHAP. XV. Whether it be fitting for Kings to vse much the remitting of businesses ALthough in the former Chapter something hath beene spoken which may tend to this Question yet shall it be necessary to answer heere thereunto in a more direct and clearer manner And howbeit the word remitting or referring doth seeme to notifie the care and poruidence which a Prince oweth vnto businesses certaine it is that it shall well beseeme him sometimes so to doe For amongst many other the miseries of humane nature this is one that it's forces as well internall as externall as well of the Soule as of the body are much limited and restrained and haue much need of many helpes Wherefore I say that Kings not being able as they are not to attend of themselues so many businesses as howerly occurre nor to comprehend so great variety and difference of things they ought to remit some nay many of them to persons deputed for their ease and discharge of their Consciences Let a King examine those businesses which are fit to be reserued for himselfe And those that hâ— cannot let him remit them vnto others because of himselfe he is not able to dispatch all of them And in fauour of this Doctrine we haue Iethro's Counsaile to his sonne in Law Moses Who seeing him so ouer imployed in the businesses of his people to his intollerable trouble said vnto him Stulto labore consumeris elige tibi Viros c. Thou wearyest thy selfe greatly and this people that is with thee prouide thee men c. I neede not repeate all vnto you hauing spoken thereof largely heeretofore I shall now therefore represent vnto you That there are two kinds of Remitting The one for to vnloade himselfe of that charge and trouble that he may liue himselfe at ease and out of his authoritie lay the burthen vpon others and command them to end such or such a businesse Which is now too commonly vsed and practised For euery one as much as in him lyes striues to be superiour in this kind Taking that to himselfe which is most pâ—easing and easiest for him and remitting the hardest and harshest to other mens hands And hence it hapneth that from the first remitting the King makes your poore Negocianâ—s like so many Tennis balls are tost from one to another Nay their fortune is farre worse for the Ball which is racketed by the one Player the other with great nimblenesse and care runnes forth to receiue it But the poore Negociant who in these Remitments serues in steed of the Ball they doe not onely not receiue him readily but shut the doore vpon him obliging him to solicite his entrance one while by fauour another while by giftes And although this be too vsuall a practise in all Tribunalls and with all Iudges and vpon all differences of businesses yet is it there most practised where matters of goods and Titles of Lands are treated wherein the Pretenders doe not only sweate and take a great deale of paines but are forced to pay as much for the dispatch of 10000. Marauedis as if they were so many Ducats And this may be confirmed with the example of a poore honest widow who as it is well known spent much time and that little mony which she had in Negociating the dispatch of a small debt And when after a long and tedious suite she had at last got an order against her Aduersarie yet was she neuer the neerer getting of her money for that it was ordred in Court that shee should be payd out of such Rents which vpon some pre-morgage or some other cunning Conueiance could not be recouered These remittings I doe not finde how they can be defended or salued in the Sacred Scripture But there are many reasons for the condemning of them and for the obliging of Kings to referre them The other kinde of remitting is When either the order and qualitie of the businesse or the lawfull Impediment of him that remitteth doth so require it For which we haue our Sauiour Christs warrant in that admirable Conuersion of the blessed Apostle S. Paul For albeit he himselfe by his powerfull hand threw him downe from of his horse and made him so farre forth to yeeld himselfe his that he vttered these wordes so full of submission Domine quid me vis facere Lord what wilt thou that I doe Yet did he not then giue him a present absolute Dispatch but remitted him ouer to another Disciple which was named Ananias It being held fit it should be so for those reasons which are rendred by the Saints and holy Fathers The like course hee tooke with Cornelius the Centurion in that great businesse of his Saluation putting him ouer to S. Peter And when he saw the Petition of those ten Lepers who besought him that he would make them whole how beit he granted them their request for the recouery of their health yet did he remit them ouer to the Priests and Commanded them to present themselues before them because in those kinde of infirmities they were to be Arbitrary Iudges what was to be done in that case And to the Disciples of Iohn Baptist which he sent vnto him when he was in prison to the end that they might informe themselues who he was and whether it was he that should come or were to looke for another He remitted them backe to their Master with this Answer Ite renunciate Ioanni quae audistis vidistis Goe and shew Iohn what things yee heare and see As he should haue said For as much as Iohn is my Voice by him is the truth to be declared which you seeke after touching the Diuinitie of my Person All these Remittings were plaine and dispatched without reply
and his Ministers exercised in Ierusalem and in other Cities and Townes of the Kingdome of Iudaea of that great Captaine Mattathias and his fiue Sonnes hee speaketh thus Hi vederunt mala quae fiebant in populo Iuda in Ierusalem which the vulgar renders thus Now when they saw the blasphemies which were committed in Iuda and Ierusalem These saith he saw the euills that were committed in Ierusalem And my thinkes here must the question be asked Why all they of that Common-wealth suffering so many oppressions and so many afflictions in their Houses in their own Persons those of their children onely Mattathias and his Sonnes are here said to haue seene these euills and these blasphemies The answer hereunto makes notably for our purpose because it expresseth that which we go inforcing â—To wit That to see businesses is truely and properly to vnderstand them and to put our helping hand vnto them And because Mattathias and his Sonnes were the onely men that were sensible of the hard measure they receiued and the first that rose vp and opposed themselues against the furie of the Tyrant for the remedying their so many and so great Calamities that sacred Historian saith That they onely had eyes and saw the affliction of Gods people This kinde of sight best be fitteth Kings as they are heads of their Kingdomes and Common-wealthes and it is likewise necessary that they haue their sight Large Cleare and Sharpe that they may reach to see euen those things that are most secret and most remote as doth that princely birde the Eagle which houering aloft in the ayre descryes the fishes that are in the deepe Or be like vnto that Maiesticall Creature the Lyon who both waking and sleeping keepes his eyes open The Holy Ghost saith That a wise man hath his eyes in his head Sapientis oculi in capite eius And it seemeth that by Contrapositions he would giue vs thereby to vnderstand that a foole hath his eyes in his feete Which as they discouer but little so are they lyable to a thousand offences and deceits But the wise man beholds from high and as from a watch-Tower discouers things a farre off and is thereby better able to take notice of them and more punctually to comply with his obligation to the state and to that which neede shall require in those accidents that may occurre This is that sight which as before hath beene said befitteth Kings for that they are the Heads of their Common-wealths and therefore are to reserue for their own view those the more weighty businesses of their subiects there being a great deale of reason that they should see them as they say with their owne eyes For this end are those Visitations ordayned and those Entrances in State which Kings are wont to make into the Cities and Prouinces of their Kingdomes When the arrogant and vaine presumption of men grew to that passe that for to celebrate their name they went about to build that proud Tower of Babel with intent to touch euen heauen it selfe with the top thereof and to liue free from all feare of a second â—lood that sacred Historie tells vs Descendit autem Dominus vt videret Ciuitatem Turim quam aedificauerint filij Adam That the Lord came downe to see the Citie and tower which the sonnes of men builded God came down himself to see this their so great insollencie that he might punish them accordingly as he did with such a confusion of languages that one could not vnderstand another and were amongst themselues as so many strangers without being able to communicate and conuerse together so that they were driuen to diuide themselues into different Countries and were scattred from thence vpon all the earth And in the said Historie of Genesis we read that when that abhominable filthines of the Sodomites grew to that highth of impudencie that it prouoked God vnto Wrath and in a manner bound him to consume them with fire from heauen he vttered vnto Abraham these words worthy the noting Clamor Sodomorum Gâ—morrhaeorum multiplicatus est peccatum eorum aggrauiAtum est nimis Descendam videbo vtrum clamorem qui venit ad me opere compleuerint an non est ita vt sciam Because the cry of Sodome and Gomorrha is great and because their sinne is exceeding grieuous I will goe downe now and see whether they haue done altogether according to the cry which is come vnto me And if not that I may know As if he should haue sayd Howbeit the abomination of these accursed Sodomites and Gomorrhaeans hath so farre increased that it doth cry aloud vnto me for vengeance and chasticement and hath pierced the heauens and come vnto mine eares yet notwithstanding because it is a thing that concernes a whole Common-wealth and a busines of that weight as to deserue exemplary punishment I will goe downe and see whether it be so or no as the report goes of it Though most certaine it is that God hath no need to come downe from heauen to take a particular viewe of the things of this world for he is present in all places here there and euery where he filleth all seeth all and with his infinite wisedome comprehendeth all But the Scripture speakes in this kinde of language that it may accommodate it self to the stile and capacitie of men for to instruct Kings in this place that graue and weighty businesses they are not to transferre them ouer vnto others but of and by themselues to see and looke vnto them nor ought they too be to facile in giuing credit to fame and report especially of the vulgar without hauing first fully informed himselfe thereof and that by themselues they should be able to dis-deceiue themselues and to see and consider things with attention and with a desire to search out the truth and to rectifie what is amisse In the Kingdomes of Castile there is a very commendable custome and of great authoritie and Maiestie worthy those most prudent Kings which first ordeyned it And this is that Consultâ— which euery friday towards the Euening the President of Castile makes with those of his Maiesties Councell Royall wherein an Account is giuen vnto his Maiestie of all the weightiest businesses and wherein the opinion and the authoritie Royall is necessarie And this is not without example in the sacred Scripture For in the first chapter of Deut. it is written That when that great Law-giuer Moses had named for good and quicke dispatch such Counsellours as before specified giuing them in charge what they were to keepe and obserue and how to administer Iustice with equalitie and without exception of persons he told them Quod si difficile vobis visum aliquid fuerit referte ad me ego audiam The cause that is too hard for you bring vnto me and I will heare it You shall consult with me in that case that I may heare it and take such
let the tree stand might haue pleasurd a many and that many a time and oft whereas now it could but content a few for the present and peraduenture not so well pleased neither because thereby all hope was taken from them of hauing the like againe Alexander the great who was very liberall in his gifts said once to this purpose I like not that Gardiner that puls vp the trees of his garden by the roote Giuing thereby to vnderstand that a King is a faire beautifull and dainty delicate Garden wherein like so many trees are planted the Kings rents and juros reales and whiles the rayzes or roote of them shall remaine aliue and whole they may yeelde good store of fruit but if they come once to be rooted vp they presently grow dry and wither away In the fourth Chapter of the Prophesie of Daniel is set downe that dreame wherein the King of Babylon Nabucodonosor saw that huge high tree whose top did reach vp to Heauen and whose boughes did stretch and extend themselues to the vttermost ends of all the earth and so laden with fruit that there was prouision and sustenance sufficient for all the Men and beasts of the world and was a shadow and shelter vnto all that came vnder it And Daniel by the helpe of the diuine Spirit declaring this dreame told him Arborem quam vidisti tu es Rex The tree that thou sawest is thou O King That tree was an expresse signification of that King and of the Vastnes and greatnesse of his Monarchie and of that which conueneth and is proper to such Monarckes Which is To communicate their fruit to all To sustaine and maintaine their subiects and to hugg and defend them vnder the shadow of their wings And this is said to haue beene and to haue contineued with that Monarke whilest the tree stood whole and sound But the Dreame and it's declaration proceeded farther and Daniel told the King That after he had seene the beautie and greatnesse of that tree he heard likewise a most strong and fearefull voyce from Heauen pronouncing a most heauie and rigorous sentence that the tree should be hewen downe and the boughes lopt off and so wholy and vtterly destroyed that the creatures that came thither and were fed and maintayned by it's fruit fled thence and forsooke it Yet the stump of the rootes thereof was left in the earth and bound about with a bond of brasse and yron c. In this dreame were signified three things declared by the selfe same Prophet with the same Spirit of God First The fall of that King and Kingdome in those lopt boughes and the hewing of it downe and leauing it fruitlesse Secondly That which vsually befalls Kings who not hauing wherewithall to giue all those doe leaue and forsake him which before did follow him Thirdly That when the rootes remaine there is hope that it may be restored and returne to it's former greatnesse As was to be seene in this King whom God so seuerely punished for his sinnes For the rootes of the said tree remained still whole and sound and were a most certaine prognostication and assured hope that hee was to be restored to his former Estate So that when in Kingdomes the Rayzes of the rents royall remaine whole and intire though in the giuing away of the fruites there be much bounty and liberalitie vsed those breaches may be made vp againe which are occasioned by so large a hand But when the rayzes are grub'd vp when the roote that should giue sap and life is gone there is not any means of restauration to be made or found though Kings should charge their Kingdomes with neuer such excessiue tributes and draw as they say the very heart blood from forth their subiects bodies In a word therefore there ought to be had in giuing Order Moderation and Temperance For a Prince that giues without these conditions is not Liberall but Prodigall a great scatterer and waster and if not contenting himselfe with the fruites of the tree he will haue a pull at the rootes Lord haue mercy on that Land for it is to be feared that King will turne Destroyer Giuing hath it's times its taxe it's limits and it 's orderly maner in the doing thereof The excesse whereof doth crosse and contradict distributiue Iustice. Wherein is to be considered the kings abilitie then the seruices and merits of the persons and last of all the Distribution it selfe which must be done with discretion and prudence For all must not be throwen vpon one either part or partie nor kings be like riuers which rising out of their bedds breaking forth beyond their bounds vndoe some and enrich others robbing many to raise one God free euery good Common-wealth from such distributions as these which are rather destructions then distributions and actions of Iniustice not of Iustice. And God I beseech him so illighten the vnderstanding and heartes of Kings that they may in an orderly kinde of manner conferre their fauours and giue rather reasonable rewards to many then extrauagant ones to a few For the raine doth then most good when all haue the comfort of it But when it powres downe in one place alone that marr's and spoyles all Some grounds for want thereof are parched and dryed vp and other some by too much are ouerflowen and made fruitlesse In like manner a King showring downe all the water of his liberalitie vpon one particular person it cannot but breede a generall discontent and languishment in all the rest of his subiects And more is the hurt which resulteth from those that are offended with the great fauours conferred on others then the good that ariseth from those that are benefitted by them For the first neuer forget the wrong they thinke they haue receiued And the second treate of that they haue receiued as of a due debt And all these and a great many more inconueniences grow from the not true obseruing of this distributiue Iustice. Let Kings conferre fauours on their publicke Ministers and vpon such persons as haue done them great and notable seruices both in Peace and in Warre for this will be well pleasing and very acceptable vnto all and will oblige them all to new seruices And such a generall content will it cause in all sortes of people that it will make them to brook with the better patience those great fauours which are vndeseruedly done vnto others being in themselues men of no merit in the world I would not haue Kings to be too much carried away with the inclination of their own mindes for as they are Kings they will euermore be apt to giue much But I would haue them to place their eyes as also their consideration vpon the qualitie of the person to whom they giue according to the rules of Distributiue Iustice. For from that in the receiuer and this in the Giuer is formed that Temperance Moderation and Equitie which giues liberality it's being and makes it to be
ought to bee nominated for the sayd Offices LLet vs consider a King saith the Philosopher in his Kingdome as we would a father of many children in his familie Societas enim Patris ad filios Regni praese fert effigiem The societie of a father towards his children represents the true forme of a kingdome Let any man compare the power royall to what hee will and according to Aristotles opinion hee shall finde no one thing that doth fit so well with it or giues it so much fullnesse as the Title of father who day and night beates his braines and imployes all his whole study on that which is most fitting for his children regarding more the good which hee may bee able to doe them then any profit that he expects to receiue from them How many times whilest his children are a bed and a sleepe doth the father lye awake casting and deuising with himselfe how he may mantayne them and better them in their Estate What a deale of care doth hee take to get his daughter a good Husband who is dearer vnto him then himselfe Great is his care but much more ought the care of a king to bee in giuing to their kingdome good faithfull and diligent Ministers to the end that they may doe all possible diligences as hath beene sayd heeretofore fixing alwayes their eyes on the Common good and directing likewise their owne particular in the same way That which I would say to expresse it in plainer termes is this That they are not to subiect the Offices to the commoditie of the men but to seeke out men that are fit and sufficient for them When Saul was resolued to recommend vnto Dauid that Duell or single Combat against the Gyant Goliah the better to accommodate him as also therein to honour him the more hee put his owne rayment vpon him and an helment of brasse vpon his head and a brigandine and all the rest of his owne compleat Armour but Dauid who was a man of little stature and not accustomed to shut vp in harnesse found the weight thereof to be too heauie for him and very troublesome to his body yet notwithstanding to obey the Kings Command and that hee might not seeme to reiect the honour the king was pleased to doe him hee was willing to make tyrall Si armaâ—us posset incedere Whether hee could goe in it or no for he had neuer proued it But when hee found hee could hardly goe in it and that he had not the free libertie and command of his body hee sayd vnto the King Non possum sic incedere quia non vsum habeo I cannot goe with these for I am not accumstomed And therefore rather made choyse to betake himselfe to his sheepheards staffe his stones and his sling which he knew well how to vse then to put on the Kings royall rayment together with his rich Armour and afterward to giue an ill account of what was committed vnto him But where shall you meete with the man in these dayes that is like vnto Dauid Nor is it fit for Kings in this particular to imitate Saul for we dayly see notable Losses in matters of Warre and Peace by accommodating and honouring such persons with Offices as had neuer beene trayned vp in them wanting that sufficiencie of knowledge which is fitting for the administration of them As for your Prebends and other Ecclesiasticall Dignities whose nomination appertaineth vnto Kings they had neede take the greater care therein by so much the more by how much spirituall things are of more importance then Temporall Your ancient Canons and Councells will bee your direction in this case and teach yee what yee are to doe and doe inforce it with such weighty and effectuall reasons that they are worthy to be read and considered by Kings when they make the like Elections or Nominations to the end that they may not erre therein And heere will I bring to their remembrance that which God did when that famous and ancient Tabernacle was to be built which was to be a figure of his holy Church Who as the Scripture tells vs nominated Bezaleel a curious workeman in all manner of workemanship whom he filled with his holy Spirit and indewed him with wisedome and knowledge from heauen that hee might finish that worke and bring it to perfection God himselfe hauing drawen the plot and being the chiefe and principall Contriuer thereof And if for that dead Edifice for which humane skill and dexteritie might seeme to haue beene sufficient there was made choice of a man of such singular wisedome and such admirable partes as is there mentioned in Exodus for the gouernment of a kingdome for the ordring of a Common-wealth for to put euery thing in it's right place and to administer Iustice equally to all giuing euery one that which is his things all of them of such great importance and which doe so much beautifie and grace this mysticall body of the Church what ministers will it bee necessary that Kings should seeke out and inquire after Namely Men that are full of the spirit of God wise vnderstanding men good Christians and adorned with all manner of Vertues And if they will not beleeue me let them looke vpon that first Election which the Apostles made when Iudas turned Apostata despayr'd and hung himselfe In which Election they made choyse of Saint Mathias a man well knowen as one that had beene bred vp amongst them and from whom they had receiued very good satisfaction Oportet ex his viris qui nobiscum sunt congregati in omni tempore quo dominus c. Testem resurrectionis eius nobiscum fieri vnum ex istis Wherefore of these men which haue accompanied with vs all the time that the Lord Iesus was conuersant amongst vs c. Must one of them be made a Witnesse with vs of his Resurrection I say that when Kings finde sufficient partes and aduantagious abilities in those whom they know and haue neere about them and in their Court the Election may in all likely-hood seeme to light more safely and happely vpon them then any other For they who being still in our eye discouer no faultes it may be presumed that they haue not any For if they had in such persons they would hardly be hid And let this be exemplified in some nay many of those your pictures which being beheld a farre off seeme to be curious peeces but drawing neere vnto them appeare to be but course worke and discouer great faultes And therefore Diogenes sayd you must stand aloofe to looke vpon great Statuas And I say That he who in his speech seemeth to be wise and discreete ought to be taken for no lesse For by a mans silent reseruednesse and holding his peace it is not much if he passe for a wise man because the Holy-Ghost saith Stultus quoque si tacuerit sapiens reputabitur Euen a foole when he holdeth his peace is
Romane Senate did ordaine that the Consullship and other the chiefe Magistracies should not be giuen to any saue such as sued for them This Law at first was good for then none durst presume to sue for them but those who in the peoples opinion did well deserue them and tooke it for a great affront that they should receiue a deniall So that by this meanes euery one did labour by his noble Actions to deserue that Dignitie as also that all the people might thinke him worthy thereof Afterwards this proued to be a very pernicious Law for noâ— those who by their vertues and heroicall Acts did deserue this Honour but those that were the most powerfull did sue for it whilest others for feare of these durst not shew themselues in the busines and so were vtterly excluded from those honourable Offices This inconuenience was taken notice of and Publicola the Consull made a Law vpon paine of death wherewith he was to be punished who without approbation from the people of Rome should sue for any of the said Offices And likewise for the curbing of this Vice was the Calphurnian Law enacted But now for our finnes hath crept in amongst vs that Greekish infection wherof I Socrates saith that Ambition at that time was growen to that extreamitie and to that hight that in stead of putting ambitious pretenders to death those honourable places were not bestowed but vpon those which did shame-fully sue for them and could best negociate by their power purse or friends whichis was and will be an occasion in all times and places that with scandalous corruption and Simoniacall trading Offices and Benefices shall be giuen and solde to him that will giue most Not the better person but the better purse shall carry it The inconueniences that follow the so much fauouring of suitors and being vn-mindfull of those who tend nothing else but to serue and deserue well are very great and not vnknowen to all those that are Statists and good Common-wealths men And if the shortnesse which I desire to obserue in this Discourse did not hinder mee a large field would here discouer it selfe vnto me wherein to enter and expatiate my selfe and might take occasion to treate of the false hoods shiftes deceits and iniustices which are dayly vsed in such like pretensions and petitions which haue beene the cause of the destruction and ruine not only of particular Common wealthes but of whole Kingdomes And this which I speake is of so much truth that some of the Hebrew Doctors hold for certaine that the Monarchie of the House royall of Dauid was ouerthrowne by giuing credit to the malice and deceit of a couetous pretender and that of twelue Prouinces which his heyres possessed of those twelue Tribes two onely remayned intire vnto him The case was this King Dauid hauing in performance of that oath and promise which he had made vnto Ionathan giuen vnto his sonne Mephibosheth all those heredements messuage and goods which were King Sauls And commanding Ziba that hee and his sonnes and his seruants should serue him and till his land for him and bring him in foode to eate there entred into Ziba's minde a diuelish pretension to beg all Mephibosheths estate for himselfe And thereupon tooke hold of such an occasion as seemed fittest vnto him to worke this his treacherie and deceite When King Dauid fled from his sonne Absalon to the mountaines Ziba the seruant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of Asses sadled and vpon them two hundred cakes of bread and an hundred bunches of Raysons and an hundred of dryed Figgs and a bottle of Wine and other the like commodities for the refreshing of Dauid and his followers And hauing a Lye ready at hand which he had thought on before hee castes himselfe downe at the Kings feete and telling him a thousand leasings raised false witnesse against Mephibosheth informing his Maiestie that Mephibosheth was in Ierusalem and tolde him This day shall the house of Israel restore mee the Kingdome of my father Is it euâ—n so sayd the King Behold Thine are all that pertained vnto Mephibosheth And truly this businesse was strangely carryed For notable was the facilitie where with the King gaue credit to the calumniation of this pretender and the remissenesse which he shew'd in punishing so loud a lye and so great a treason when the truth of the matter and the innocencie of Mephibosheth was afterwards made knowne vnto him And that which I conceiue concerning this point is That the cause why hee did not punish this so fowle a treacherie was Either for that he was conscious to himselfe of the fault which he had committed in hauing giuen such easie beliefe there vnto or for that the rootes of this suspicion and iealousie did remaine still deepely grounded in his heart For the calumnies and cautelous suggestions of Pretenders carry this mischiefe still with them that they pierce euen to the very heart and are hardly remooued from the minde of him that giues eare vnto them Verba susurronis quasi simplicia ipsa perueniunt ad intima cordis The words of a Tale-bearer are as flatterings and they goe downe into the bowells of the belly And therefore the Holy Ghost adviseth vs that when such men come to speake with vs in secret and to whisper things in our eare that wee should not hearken vnto them Quando submiserit vocem suam ne credid eris ei quoniam septem nequitiae sunt in corde illius Though hee speakes fauourably beleeue him not for there are seuen abhominations in his heart Which in plainer language speakes thus vnto vs When a flatterer shall talke vnto thee in a low voyce and whisper thee softely in thine eare that hee may not be heard of the standers by caste him out for an eare-wigg and doe not giue credit vnto him for there are seuen nay seuenty malitious purposes in that mans heart And it would be a great ioy and comfort vnto mee that God would discouer vnto Kings these persons and their diuelish practises that such base and vnworthy people might not vnder the colour and shew of good and worthy men thus abuse and deceiue them In a word mens hearts and their tongues doe not alwayes go together Nor is the speech and the thought all one Quia labia doloso in corde corde locuti sunt They speake deceitfully euery one with his neighbour flattering with their lippes and speake with a double heart But God destroy such deceitfull and lying tongues to the end that truth may finde entrance in the Courtes of Kings O how many inconueniences would be excused if those persons to whom the charge is committed of distributing Offices and rewarding of seruices would take the care to conferre them on those that deserue them and not on those that negociate and sue for them then would there not be so much libertie nor so many tricks vsed in petitioning nor so many Orators
what is hidden there And therefore he must haue such a secret heart as S. Austen speakes of Coraltum That is Cor secretum or as others reade it profundâ—m an inscrutable heart or so deepe that none shall be able to diue into it And some compare a kings heart vnto punctum a little point or pricke which to diuide or to draw any thing out of it is if not impossible at least very difficult The heart of a king must be closed and shut vp like this punctum whence there shal be an impossibility or at least a great deale of difficulty in extracting any one word or secret recoÌ„mended vnto him Salomon sayth That the hearts of Kings are in the hands of God and are guided directed by him And that therfore their secretes mysteries are not to be divulged and made common no not to his neerest Minions and Fauourites when at most but to some one particular priuado and that vpon very good iust cause Our Sauiour Christ once vpon necessary occasioÌ„ discouered a secret to his great Priuado or fauourite S. Iohn but it was with these circumstances That thee told it him in his eare forbidding him to speake therof vnto any And because neither by signes or any other outward demonstration he might make it knowen he bound vp all his senses in a deepe and profound sleepe to the end that by none of them he might expresse that which it behooued him to conceale Great is the importancie of secrecie the authoritie which it giues to the iudgements motiues of those that gouerne For if all might know the causes which moue a Prince to make this or that prouision to giue this this or iudgement to pardon or to punish to craue or to giue many censures wold passe vpoÌ„ it it might cause many scandalls alterations in a CoÌ„mon-wealth And therfore it much concerneth so supreme a Maiesty not to suffer the secret which is shut vp in his bosome to be published to the world And in some cases it may come to be a morâ—al sin when such things as are aduertised a king such Memorials as are giuen him firmed signed with this or that mans hand he shal shew them to the parties whom they touch and concerne be they sters or fauourites in regard of the great hurt opposition and dissention which there-fro may arise But hee may doe this in case it may well sort with the secret it selfe to take out the pithe and substance of it and without shewing any firme or vttring any word whereby the Author may be knowen and shew it to the Delinquent if so he thinke fit for his correction and amendment And when hee findes that to be true which hath beene told him and that it cannot be denyed let him apply a due and fitting remedy For many times Dissimulation in the Prince not seeming to take notice of a fault causeth but the more dissolutenesse in the subiect This is so farre forth as concerneth Kings for whom may suffice that aduice of Caelius Rodiginus who tells them more at large how considerate they ought to be in this particular For many Cities and Kingdomes haue beene lost and ouerthrowen for want of secrecie But let vs now begin to speake of Ministers and Secretaries of State in whom vsually lyes the greater fault And to whom by their Office secrecie more properly belongs The name it selfe expresing as much For out of that obligation which they haue to be secret they are called Secretaries and are the Archiues and Cabinets of the secrets of the King and the kingdom Though this name through the soothing and flattery of your suitors hath falsely extended it selfe to those which neither keepe secret nor treate of such businesses as require secrecie And it is fit that these names should not be thus confounded or that that Honor and Title should be giuen to him to whom by Office it not appertaineth Secretaryes I say shut vp with that secrecie as was that booke of those secret Mysteries which Saint Iohn found sealed with seuen seales which none but the King himselfe could open Sacramentum Regis bonum est sayd the Angel Raphael to Toby opera autem Dei reuelare honorificum est It is good to keepe close the secret of a King but it is honourable to reueale the worke of God Which is as much to say as that the determinations of a King should be kept secret but that the effects and execution of them should be published and made manifest when it is fitting for the seruice of God and the Kingdome For a Kings secret is his heart and till that God shall moue him to expresse it by some outward worke there is no reason that any one else should discouer it To reueale a secret is by the Lawes of God and Nature and by all men generally condemned and all Lawes and Nations doe seuerely punish the same for the great hurt and many inconueniences that may follow thereupon The Lawes they are defrauded the resolutions of Kings they are hindred their enemies they are aduertised their friends they are offended mens mindes they are perturbed kingdomes they are altered peace that is lost the delinquents they are not punished And lastly all publicke and priuate businesses are ouerthrowen And there is not any thing that goes crosse or amisse in a State or that miscarryes or is lost but by the reuealing of the secrets of Kings and of their Counsells As that great Chancellour Gerson told the King of France touching the ill successe of some things in his time for that some of his Ministers did publish that which was treated and determined at the Counsell-Table And the like befell Enrique King of Portugall Who because hee was deafe they were faigne to speake so loud vnto him that all men might heare what they said Valerius Maximus much commendeth the secrecie of the Romane Senate and says that for this cause that Consistorie was held in high esteeme and that it was a great occasion of inlarging their Empire And they and the Persians did keepe with that faith the secrets of their Kings that there was no feare of plumping them or being able to draw any thing from them no not so much as the least word whereby to discouer the businesse Vse together with the feare of punishment and hazard of their liues had so settled and confirmed this silence in them For they did punish no offence with greater rigour then that of vnfaithfullnesse in matters of secrecie and with a great deale of reason because it is in so neere a degree vnto Treason and I thinke I should not say amisse if I stiled it in the highest Regis proditor Patriae euer for aestimandus est saith Osorius such aone is to be held a Traytour to the King and a subuerter of the state A Law of the Partida sayth That those Counsellours which reueale their Kings secretes commit
did intend it Let euery good King begge of God and let vs all ioyne in the same prayer that in our times it may not come to these termes and that Kings will striue and studie to quench these sparkes before they breake forth into a flame and to put out the fire whilest it is but newly kindled lest it take hold on the whole building and helpe come too late And because there are so many sortes of vices that it is not possible to procure an vniuersall cure for them all that which is likeliest to doe most good will bee that selfe same medicine mentioned before in dyet and apparrell to wit the good example of Kings and in imitation of them that of the great Lords of the land and those that are nearest in Court about their persons ioyning herewith the feare of their disfauour letting them both see and know that the vicious fall backward and the vertuous come forward in honour and that onely vertue is the true meanes and surest way to bring men to great place and preferrement in the commonwealth Let Kings hate these idle droanes these honey-suckers of other mens labours that liue all vpon the waste and spoile Which kinde of people euen in reason of state are not good for the quiet of a kingdome in regard of the euill cogitations and dangerous deuises that are bred in their mindes and in their time breake out I would haue this imitation to bee the remedie for this so great an ill for neither penalties nor feare of punishment will doe any good vpon them For hee that will not forbeare to sinne for feare of Gods Law will hardly refraine from mans Let Kings therefore say and doe those things that they would haue their Subiects say and doe And let their fauourites and those that are nearest about them runne the like course and let it extend to the better sort and those that are of ranke and qualitie for by this meane it will descend to those likewise that are of meaner condition and then shall they see how much more good it will worke then either lawes or punishment And this is the more naturall of the two for the one is founded vpon imitation and the other grounded vpon feare And men doe more easily imitate those better things which they see actually put in execution then depart from those worser things which they either heare or know to be prohibited And when they shall see that their superiours and those that are in place and authoritie command one thing and doe another they neither dread their threatnings nor obey their commandements For perceiuing that they doe but imitate their actions they perswade themselues that none can without blushing punish the same sinne in them Salust did aduise Caesar in the entrance to his Empire that if he would order his commonwealth aright he should first of all begin with reformation in himselfe and his as Pliny saith Vita Principis censura est eaque perpetua ad hanc dirigimur ad hanc conuertimur The life of a Prince is a perpetuall censure and according thereunto doe we guide and gouerne our selues And let it not seeme vnto any that this remedie of the imitation of Kings is slow and long and will aske a great deale of time for where there is met together as it were in it's center whatsoeuer may corrupt and hurt that which is capable of being corrupted when as neither Kings nor their Lawes are able to hinder it in vaine is it indeuoured or to be imagined that that may bee cured in a few yeares which hath layen sicke so many But till such time as men grow vp like new plants and haue accustomed themselues to vertue to the end that through the tendernesse of their youth they may not grow awry Being therein likewise holpen by the example of their betters for there is not any Artifice so powerfull and effectuall as that of imitation which I now speake of for it being a cure so conformable vnto nature it will worke by degrees whereof we shall not know the benefit till we haue enioyed it And because there are both diseased persons and diseases as Saint Chrysostome hath obserued which are neither remedied by sweet potions nor purged away by bitter pills A maine reason whereof is because they themselues are not willing to be cured nor will admit of the example of Kings nor the feare of their Lawes it is fit this other remedie should be vsed of punishment and chastisement without dissimulation For many times the motiue of sinning is the facilitie of forgiuing And it is a knowne case that people by punishment become obedient but by pardoning proud and insolent The ill and vicious are so possessed and inabled in their vices by their long continuance that if Kings should not shew some mettall and courage they would possesse the world and carry all things away before them in that violent manner that the good should not be able to liue amongst thē By chastising the bad saith Baldus the good liue in safety And for this cause and not in vaine according to Plato and others were Lawes instituted and regall power the stroke of the sword the discipline of the Clergie and the common hangmans whip all of them as necessary for mans life as those 4. Elements by which we liue breathe Let Kings take this from me and beleeue it That that commonwealth is in great danger where the Kings reputation goes decaying and the force of Iustice looseth it's strength For thereby vices assume licence vnto themselues and their owners perseuere and go on in them Here a remisse Prince is a sharpe sword and doth neuer more grieuously punish then when hee doth most pardon Punishment and chastisement onely offend the delinquent but remission la ley al Rey y la Grey the Law King and people By remission Lawes and Kings grow in contempt and the whole commonwealth infected Whereas by chastisement the Law is obeyed and kept the King feared and honoured and the kingdome maintained in peace and iustice I doe not treat here of those cruell and rigorous punishments which some seuere Iudges inflict for remedies and cures of so much rigour are violent and do sooner kill and make an end of their Subiects then heale and recouer them by little and little Wherefore in point of correction a commonwealth must vse a great deale of caution and prudence And for that hee who pretends by maine strength to resist the furious current of a swift riuer or by roughnesse to tame a head-strong horse shall shew himselfe as insolent as impertinent rigour with gentlenesse and iustice with mercie will doe well which if they go not hand in hand and kisse each other they are both but the occasion of greater corruption For it is an erronious discourse in those that thinke that publike conseruation consisteth in the execution of cruell chastisements and sharpe and rigorous sentences bee they of death
que hiziere para la grey Let the King that law keepe which he makes for his sheepe Lastly that they bee very carefull and watchfull ouer the whole kingdome but more particularly ouer the Court for from thence is diffused all the good or ill as likewise in curtalling the excesses of apparrell the superfluities of feasts and banquets of gaming of sports and pastimes of lightnesse in behauiour of licentiousnesse in courting of women and of those wastefull expences which might very well be excused in weddings in iewells and dressings both in the women and the men Then began Rome to grow ranke in Luxurie and prophanenesse when your gilded bed-steds your costly pauilions your stately canopies your ritch hangings your curious tables your glorious cupboords of plate your gybing Iesters and your various Instruments of Musicke were brought in which were then in great vse and request for to prouoke and stirre vp the appetite in those their tedious and sumptuous suppers as if for to go to hell there were neede of such a wind-lace or wheeling about the way being as it is so easie and direct that a man may go it blindfold Causes all of them of iust feare and fore-runners likewise of the ruine and perdition of any Monarchy whatsoeuer as they haue beene heretofore of others that haue been ouerthrowne by the like meanes But to conclude with this sense and to shut vp the doore likewise to all the rest wee are to presuppose that which is very common both in diuine and humane Letters That by the hands wherein particularly consists the Touching are vnderstood workes because they are the Instruments by which they are done Moses deliuering vnto vs that the Hebrewes did see the wonders which God had wrought in their fauour saith Viderunt manum magnam quam exercuerat Dominus They saw that great worke which the originall renders that great hand which the Lord exercised vpon the Aegyptians And besides this it hath another signification as is obserued by Pierius Valerianus an open hand being the Symbole of eloquence expressing that efficacy and perswasiue power that lies in well couched words Works and words being both very necessary in Kings Execution in the one and Elocution in the other And because all Princes cannot performe these offices of doing and saying by themselues they must haue another tongue and other hands by which they must speake and doe and the tongue whereby they must speake and the hands whereby they must touch and handle all things for their owne are not able to doe it must bee their fauourites Policratus in his booke directed to Traiane saith That your great Lords in Court and Kings fauourites are the hands of the kingdome And as in mans body they are naturally disposed and ready prepared for to succour and assist all the other members so they should be at hand for to helpe and reliue all the necessities of the kingdome and to be the formost in all dangers and a thousand other occasions that will offer themselues which neither are nor can bee wanting to Kings and kingdomes And therefore the Philosopher said of the hands that they are the Instrument of Instruments For without them nothing can be done neither can Kings of themselues do all They haue need of their Ministers and Fauourites which are their feet and their hands In the subsequent Chapters we shall discourse somewhat a little of them God grant that little or somewhat what ere it bee may worke some good And first of all we will treate whether it be fitting to haue Fauourites CHAP. XXXI Whether it be fit for Kings to haue Fauourites FAuourites being as they are the workmanship of Kings receiuing their forme and fashion from their good liking which creatures of their making wee haue mentioned in the former Chapter We shall handsomely fall here vpon that which in this is put to the question Nor is the answer thereunto very easie For a Fauourite being of the same nature as a particular friend and friendship being to bee inter aequales betweene those that are of equall condition it seemeth that those that are Subiects and seruants to their King and Master can not hold it with him whom they are to behold and treate with with a great deale of reuerence respecting alwayes his royall Maiestie which according to that other Poet No cabe en vn saco con el Amor is not in one and the same sacke with loue And without loue there is no friendship True it is that Aristotle and some other Philosophers affirme that this difference may easily bee reconciled forasmuch as hee that is in the higher and more eminent place may stoope so low and fashion himselfe in that euen measure to his Inferiour that they may both remaine vpon equall tearmes But this can hardly square and suite well with Kings towards their Fauourites For as it were an indecorum and vnseemely thing in a humane bodie that the head should abase it selfe and become equall with the shoulder so were it prodigious and monstrous that Kings which are Heads and hold that Soueraigntie which God hath giuen them should stoope so low to their Subiects that the eminencie should not appeare they haue ouer them And that other meanes which may be vsed in raysing a subiect or Fauorite to that hight that hee may be equall with his King bringeth with that a great inconuenience For a Crowne Scepter royall cannot endure any fellowship with equality And therefore these two meanes may pare and fit well with friends that hauing professed friendship when their estates were equall the one growes inferiour to the other eyther good fortune or good diligence hauing preferred his fellow and friend But with Kings there cannot be held this correspondency and equality And it is King Salomons counsaill who saith That it is not fitting for any man to entertaine friendship and communication with those that are too mighty Ditiori te ne socius fueris Quid communicabit cacabus ad â—llam Quando enim se colliserint confringetur Haue no fellowship with one that is mightier and richer then thy selfe For how agree the Kettle and the earthen Pot together For if the one bee smitten against the other it shall be broken And againe if you will but diligently obserue the sacred history of the Kings which were ouer Gods people you shall there finde little mention of Fauorites On the other side it will likewise seeme vnreasonable that kings should be debarr'd that without which to all mens seeming mans life cannot bee well past ouer â—Nemo sine amicis spectet viuere said the said Philosopher Let no man looke to liue without friends And the holy Scriptures are full of the commoditie and benefit which faithfull friends afford being as necessary for the life of man as fire and water and for no estate so important as for that of Kings who for that they haue so many so weighty and so secret businesses their estate were
the arrogancie of one of his Fauourites and not being able longer to endure it caused him to be staked and the stake to be set on the top of an high hill giuing him a death answerable to his vanitie For although Kings loue them and in some sort acknowledge a kinde of beholdingnesse yet they vsually withdraw their fauour quite from them and are oftentimes ashamed of their choice whereunto being added the complaints of the people and other principall persons offended with the iniuries offered vnto them remoue that scandall by remouing their Fauorite and make them satisfaction by making him be punished neuer in this case aduising with any nor so much as hearing what the Fauourite in his owne discharge can say for himselfe for in such desperate cases when things are brought to that extremitie Kings vse to take that course as your Protâ—medici and skilfuller sort of Physitians doe with their inferiours who in weightie and vrgent occasions fall speedily to worke themselues without any further consultation but in ordinarie diseases heare resolue and consult with others Againe let Fauourites for their learning reade the Histories and peruse the generall booke of Time and they shall there finde a thousand of these examples and other as many faire warnings worthy their sight and knowledge for the admonishing of men for to feare their priuacie with Kings and to tremble at humane prosperitie and the securitie wherein they liue And hee that shall diligently reade these things will seeke to come fairely off from these his high fortunes and fauours For ordinarily from a prosperous and high-raised estate great disasters haue had their beginning as from your highest places come your greatest falls And peraduenture because this desenganno and dis-deceiuing of our selues doth so much import mankinde and that men might liue in this feare God hath and doth permit of such like examples and admonitions And it may likewise be beleeued that such violent and sudden accidents haue not onely happened through the default of those that fall or for want of wisedome but by a diuine prouidence and permission for their owne particular sinnes or for that God was wiâ—ling as being the master workeman and onely Potter of these our earthen vessells to breake these with a rodde of iron and to choose others for vessells of honour through which the holy liquor of his Gospell and other good graces might be poured forth and diffused throughout the world CHAP. XXXIII Whether it be fit for Kings to haue any more then one Fauourite THe name wherewith the Greekes named God is deriued from a word which signifies to see So that to say God is to say Hee that sees For as the Apostle Saint Paul and faith teacheth vs all is subiect to Gods view and vnto Kings who are his Lieutenants here vpon earth nothing can conuene so well with them as to seéme to the world to haue so quicke and large a sight that they may see all whatsoeuer mans capacitie is able to reach vnto And because they cannot doe this alone by themselues Xenophon said very well and wisely that it was needfull that they should haue other eyes whereunto to trust as much as vnto their owne and to see as it were by spectacles for Kings are so vnhappy that they cannot come to see all without them And those as the same Philosopher said are those friends and Fauourites who are to see and know that which passeth in the world as also what is needfull in common-wealths and to giue notice thereof vnto their Kings and to helpe them to ordaine and execute that which is fitting and conuenient And Fauourites being intertained as we said before for this end and for the publike good of the common-wealth it is requisite that Kings should not haue one onely but many One day some about the person of Alexander the Great shewed him a maruellous faire Pomegranate which being cut in two discouered a great company of kernels and one of them asking him of what he would wish to haue such store as of those Pomegranate kernels which appeared vnto him He answered that he would wish that hee might haue so many Zâ—piri This Zopirus being a Fauourite of his and one that was very faithfull vnto him and of great abilities For it is not contrary to royall greatnesse to haue many but very necessary for the better dispatch of businesses For if they should passe onely through the hands of the Prince their dispatch would bee very slow and subiect likewise to many errours whereinto they would ordinarily runne for want of their care and assistance Darius King of Persia tooke three Fauourites vnto him to whom the rest of the Princes rendered an account of all the affaires of the kingdome And from the beginning of the world euen to this present time Kings haue had some more and others lesse For this must be regulated and ordered according to the greatnesse of the kingdomes For by how much the more they are in number and greatnesse so much the more increase haue those weightie affaires which are necessarily to haue their recourse to their royall persons and according to the measure of them is there an addition to be made of those that are to assist and attend businesses to passe through all to prouide for all and in all places The people of Israel when Moses gouerned them were all ioyntly together in one body in forme of an Armie and all that made not vp so much as a meane kingdome and they remaining as then they did without possessions incamped in a desart and being all Israelites it seemeth in all likelihood that their ordinary businesses could not be either so many or so great as those which are incident to a King who is Lord and Master of diuers kingdomes and Prouinces and of sundry seuerall Nations And yet notwithstanding that great Gouernour Moses by negotiating from morning vntill night without diuerting himselfe could not giue conuenient dispatch vnto all but was forced as is before specified to take vnto him no lesse then seuenty assistants all chosen men and endewed with those good qualities whereof we now treate Let Kings therefore haue many for to aide and helpe them and let them be the Ministers of his minde and the Conducts whereby to conuay his will and pleasure to his Subiects For in the administration of publike affaires it is euermore to bee indeauoured that many beare a part therein As well for the common satisfaction that shall thereby be giuen vnto all as also for that they may be able to make the better account of all businesses bee they neuer so many And likewise for that few being instructed and experienced in them occasion may not bee giuen that those failing the commonwealth and publike gouernment may thereby incurre any danger This was Augustus his conceit deliuered by Suetonius which that he might the better execute and that his bounty might inlarge it selfe towards the more persons he inuented new publike
as is in all well gouerned kingdomes Referring as we said before to the ordinary Councells and Tribunalls ordinary businesses consulting with their Kings those that are of most importance And these Kings by themselues as before mentioned ought to dispatch if therein they be not hindered by default of their health and not to remit and referre them to their Fauourites who in matter of Iustice were it but distributiue should haue no lande of power For thereby they oppresse those Tribunalls and seates of iustice together with their Ministers and Officers who for that they know they must haue much dependancy on the Fauourite if he shall haue a hand in Courts of Iustice and distribution of Offices cannot but remaine much oppressed and debarred of their libertie and the more if they haue any pretension for their owne interest or increasing of their estate and honour And the reason of all this will plainly appeare if wee will but weigh those words of the wise man Per me Reges regnant Legum conditores iusta decernunt Through me Kings raigne Through mee Councellours make iust Lawes Whereby is giuen to vnderstand the particular fauour which God giues to the lawfull Kings and Gouernours of their kingdomes and commonwealths to hit right in that which appertaineth vnto gouernment And therefore was it well said of that wise King Salomon Diuinatio in labijs Regis in iudicio non errabit os eius Prophecie is in the lippes of the King his mouth shall not go wrong in iudgement And your Diuines are of opinion that Kings haue more helpe and aide from their Angels of guard then other men haue And besides all this the publike prayers that are poured forth throughout all their kingdomes and Prouinces are of most great vse for Gods illightning of their vnderstanding And therefore for these reasons aforesaid although your Fauourites and more secret Councellours of State may be very learned and wise vnderstanding men yet is there a great deale of reason why in graue and weightie causes they should craue and attend their Kings opinion esteeming it as the more certaine being it comes from a head so much fauoured by God and so well assisted and strengthened on all sides Which doth not concurre in Fauourites for God hath not made that promise vnto them as he hath vnto Kings nor peraduenture doe they deserue it And if he bee the sole and onely Fauourite much lesse can hee presume that either his opinion or paines can be greater or surer then that of so many learned Councellours and Councells that haue met and sate thereupon and haue spent so much time and studie in State-affaires Nor is it to bee imagined that when Councellours doe consult and craue their Kings opinion and resolution that they doe it to that end that they should receiue it from another inferiour person whom let Kings loue them neuer so much or conferre all that they can vpon them they cannot giue them more vnderstanding or more knowledge nor a better minde and disposition then what they haue already for this is reserued for God onely as also it properly belongeth vnto him to giue light vnto Kings that they may giue a fitting and direct answer to that point wherein they are consulted who alwayes supplyes them with that knowledge which is needfull for them if they shall but begge it at his hands and make good vse thereof Hence are two things inferred which are very sure and true The first That Kings are bound in conscience to attend in their owne person graue and weightie businesses for that this is their principall office which is euidently proued by this reason Whosoeuer beares an Office and hath salarie for the same is thereby obliged to cumply fully therewith Sub poena peccati vpon penaltie of sinning And by so much the more grieuous shall the sinne be by how much the greater is the Office and by how much the more the stipend is augmented Now Kings you will confesse vnto me haue the greater office and greater stipend in all things and therefore shall they more grieuously sinne if they do not cumply therewith And this is made good in the sixth of Wisedome wherein these very words it is expresly said Potentes potenter tormenta patientur fortioribus fortior instat cruciatio A sharpe punishment shall be to them that be in high places and the mighty shall bee mightily tormented The second That Fauourites are obliged on paine of the said penaltie to serue their Kings in their owne persons well and faithfully in those businesses which they shall commit to their charge and that in taking their pleasure and ease more then their Kings themselues and substituting others to performe that trust and charge which is put vpon them they cannot iustly enioy that authoritie nor those interests and profits which doe result from their priuacie And let they themselues tell me what title they haue to enioy so much as they doe when they take lesse paines then their Kings but pleasure more And to conclude with that which is here questioned in this Chapter I say That admitting Fauourites to bee such as they ought to be it is fit notwithstanding that there should be more then one or two For thereby Kings shall haue the more helpe and out of that emulation and zeale which is wont to bee amongst them each of them will striue to bee more considerate and better aduised in commanding others and in begging and applying things to himselfe and his owne priuate profit and more solicitous in doing seruice to the State lest others might get the start of him in his Kings fauour And howbeit the name of fauourite seemeth not to indure a companion yet if they fixe their eyes on that which they ought which is the common good of the common-wealth and the seruice of their Kings it would neuer grieue them that there should bee others to assist for the same end and purpose but like that great Fauourite and friend of God Moses they would say Vtinam omnes prophetarent Would to God they did all prophecie CHAP. XXXIIII Of the Conditions and Qualities of Fauourites SVpposing that that then which hath beene said in the former Chapters and that Kings are to haue such persons about them who with proprietie may hold the name of friends for such qualitie and condition must they be of who possesse the bosome and soule of their Master by the communication of the greatest and most secret affaires and performe the office of Fauourites For although it be true that it cannot properly be said that Kings haue friends for that all saue of their owne ranke are inferiour vnto them yet is it likewise true that the holy Scripture as we shewed you before stiles Fauourites friends For the force of loue is of that great power that it remoueth and lifteth vp things from their point and center giuing the name of friend to a seruant and subiect Qui diligit cordis
their nature and disposition then on the Law of obligation and thankfulnesse for these are but weake bonds and easily broken And because I know not whether I shall hereafter come to light vpon the like occasion I will here propose that Question which is disputed and doubted of by some and may likewise serue for an Auiso vnto Kings whether it be better that the great Lords should be farre off from them or neare about them The Emperour Charles the fifth of famous memory amongst other Aduertisements which hee gaue to his sonne Philip one was That he should not let the great offices of the kingdome nor places of great command rest any long time in one mans hands nor should put his Grandes and great Lords into them but Gentlemen of good qualitie such as were creatures of his owne making And as for his Grandes hee should honour them with some places and offices neare about his person which would be a greater grace both to himselfe and his Court. Others are of a quite contrary opinion and alledge reasons for the maintenance thereof Great men they say if they be not like those little ones which Christ speaketh of are ordinarily of an extraordinary spirit and endeauour all they can increase of honour till they come to occupie the highest place And then will it bee seene of what little esteeme are those great fauours which they haue already receiued There is not that friendship that kindred nor any other bond be it neuer so strong which is not broken through the greedy ambition of ascending to some higher throne For to bee a King saith Euripides all Law is broken For this Appetite is of that force and strength that it breaketh all Lawes both Diuine and Humane For proofe whereof they cite many examples which I purposely omit that I may not offend and tire out the Reader All of them admonishing Kings that they should throughly weigh and consider where and in what places they put them For if they be neare about their royall person it is the torment of Tantalus vnto them to see the water and the fruit so neare their mouth that greatnesse and power I meane and not to enioy it Which will but prouoke a more hungry appetite in those which doe not possesse it and will breake through hedge and ditch and runne as they say through fire and water transported with this so faire and beautifull a prize as is set before their eyes neuer being at quiet till they come to enioy it For there is not that loue to any thing here vpon earth which doth so much alter suspend and seaze on the minde and hâ—art of man as that of ruling and commanding and to grow great therein And when they see things succeed not according to their minde yet at least in satisfaction of their enuie they will be well content that the waters should be troubled and the world be turned topsie-turuy taking pleasure therein though it be to their owne hurt And what King can secure himselfe that such ambitious persons being neare about him will not at one time or other attempt their ends For greatnesse say they after that it is once possessed quits the memory of the meanes whereby it came to bee so great and findes a thousand excuses for it's weaknesse in offending And the rather for that ill vse hath taught all men this lesson That the reputation of an honest man is not to be preferred before his proper profit and greatnesse Lastly they say That he that ouercommeth and makes good his clayme by his sword needeth not to study excuses and to make Apologies let those doe that that haue the worst end of the staffe and stand at the mercy of the Conquerour In conclusion they resolue this question thus That it is very fit that your great Noble-men should rather liue farre from Court then neare about their King For all of them will be of good vse for the gouernment of Prouinces and Armies whereby both the one and the other will be secured And when they cannot content them in all that they would haue they may entertaine them with these which will be a good meanes to diuert their thoughts and to bridle those Prouinces that are committed to their charge with whom the Maiestie and greatnesse of their Gouernours will be able to doe much And there they are not of that danger For in kingdomes by succession and well setled and where there is no colour of wresting the Scepter out of the blood-bloud-royall there is no feare of trusting the Grandes and great Noblemen with these kinde of Gouernments but it is rather requisite that it should be so For like vnto starres in heauen and their influences on earth they serue for ornament and conuersation in those kingdomes and Prouinces wherein there are ancient and noble Houses for which they are to seeke out men of Noble bloud and good qualitie and of knowne greatnesse to bee conuersant amongst them For the Nobilitie of those kingdomes and Prouinces will thinke themselues not well dealt withall if they shall haue but an ordinary man set ouer them to be their Gouernour be he neuer so wise or neuer so valiant For being that they are to attend all at the gates of him that holdeth that place they may esteeme it as an iniurie to see themselues obliged to acknowledge homage vnto him whom out of that place they would scarce vouchsafe him their companie Besides that greatnesse and largenesse of minde and heart that knowes not how to shrinke or be deiected with aduerse fortune a thing so necessary in him that gouernes will sooner bee found in these then men of meaner ranke For as Saint Ierome saith hee that owes much to his bloud and familie will alwayes beare that obligation about him and neuer faile therein Againe he that is borne to command will be lesse insolent in his gouernment as hauing that noble qualitie from his cradle And the people on the other side will more willingly obey him whom they haue alwayes knowne to haue liued in honour and greatnesse And his example will bee of greater importance to reforme the disorders and abuses that shall there be offered Ouer and aboue they further adde That your Grandes and great Noblemen may and haue obligation to content themselues with their present estate if they will but weigh the difference of that it was with that which it is now did not men that are now in honour grow forgetfull of their former meane condition That grieuing them more which falls short of their desire then that doth please and content them which fortune hath with so liberall a hand bestowed on them For no man rests contented with his present estate and condition nor doe we esteeme that so much which wee possesse as the lacke of that we desire doth torment vs. And therefore doe they say that they are not so good to be about Kings and more particularly those which are so qualified for they
POLICIE VNVEILED VVHEREIN MAY BE LEARNED The Order of true Policie in Kingdomes and Common-wealths The Matters of Iustice and Governement The Addresses Maxims and Reasons of STATE The Science of governing well a People And where the Subject may learne true Obedience unto their Kings Princes and Soveraignes Written in Spanish and translated into English by I. M. of Magdalen Hall in OXFORD LONDON Printed by Thomas Harper for Richard Collins and are to be sold at his Shop in Pauls Church-yard at the signe of the Three Kings 1632. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE IAMES HAY EARLE OF Carlile Viscount Doncaster Lord HAY of Sauley Gentleman of the Bed-Chamber to our Soueraigne Lord King CHARLES Knight of the most Noble order of the Garter and one of the Lords of his Maiesties most Honorable Priuy Councell Right Honourable KNowing no man better verst in publique affayres then your selfe I could not more fitly addresse this Discourse then to you without the rifling of any particular mans merit for I may ascribe as much to the praise of your exercise as any can assume to his priuate Notions or Publique Obseruations To speake the story of your true and ingenious acts in forraigne and in those forraigne the most subtile and actiue parts would rather seeme a Tract then a Dedication of a Booke but here you are onely Patron though I know you might by your naturall gifts and obseruations be Author of a farre better piece You haue been long the intrusted seruant of your Prince which should employ you the darling of his people and truly you ought to bee so whilst Truth relates the story of deseruing men or Honesty reads their merit What and whose worke of politique gouernment this is your eyes may at leysure looke ouer while your quicker eyes I meane your discerning minde may perhaps correct yet I hope not chide his labour who was willing though not able to serue you in a piece worthy your obseruation If in the translation there be any thing that hath forsaken the Originall it was intention and not negligence of which there needs no accompt My good Lord there is nothing left but to implore your pardon for the preferring this worke which if it shall appeare vnworthy your graue perusall yet at the least forgiue his intention who conceiued it a direct way of expressing himselfe to be Your Honours truely deuoted EDWARD BLOVNT THE AVTHORS EPISTLE DEDICATOrie to the King of SPAINE Sir THe cause why the Ancients by fire signifie Loue is for that this Element is the hardest to be hid For the more a man seekes to couer it the more it discouers it selfe and blabbs the place where it is Of this quality is Loue and truly participateth of the nature of fire I came saith our Sauiour Christ to put fire into the world And the holy Ghost which is the true God of Loue came and shewed it selfe in the shape and figure of fire So that Loue is a kinde of extraordinary actiue fire Nor can it where soeuer it be be hid or idle Operatur magna si est saith Saint Gregory si autem non operatur amor non est Loue will be alwayes in action alwayes in working it worketh by benefits it worketh by good workes and by friendly offices and charitable seruices And when it cannot worke what it would or when the subiect whereon it would worke hath no need thereof it supplyeth that defect with good desires and words God who needeth not the seruice of any contents himselfe with this in those that are his seruants accepting when they can no more the will for the deed And the Kings which here vpon earth represent his person doe not require tribute and seruice saue onely in that which euery one is able to giue That which I am able to affoord and doe here offer vnto your Maiestie forced thereunto by the loue of my seruice howbeit my desire hath euermore had a larger extent is onely a parcell of words which if they proceed from the soule and come truly and sincerely from the heart are of some worth and estimation and perhaps vpon occasion may proue likewise profitable and aduantagious Howsoeuer it may serue at least to expresse that my seruice and deuotion which euer hath beene is and shall be ready prest to serue your Maiestie And I am willing to shew it in this little that I may not wholly seeme vnprofitable And therefore with this affection of Loue sutable to my subiect ouercomming those feares which are wont and not without reason to withhold those that treate with great Kings Princes and Monarckes and write of such and the like subiects I presume to aduertise them and in this paper to propone vnto them that which I finde written of those that are past and gone and seemeth very fit and conuenient for the conseruation and augmentation of the authoriâ—y and greatnesse of those that are now liuing and present amongst vs and will with all possible breuity procure a full resolution and distinction herein And as Seneca saith Totum comprehendere sub exiguo To comprise much vnder a little For as that is the better sort of money which in the matter is the lesser but the greater in value so likewise that Learning is the best which is briefe in words and large in sentences It is Maximus his counsell that Multa magna breuiter sunt dicenda Matters that are many and great are briefly to be deliuered For this breuities sake therefore as also for the greatnesse of your Maiesties employments and the great burthen of so many weighty businesses that lye vpon you I will not here interpose any large discourses and long disputations wherewith to entertaine and spend the time but briefe certaine and generall Doctrines such as are of most profit comprehend most subiects and may be applyed to particular both persons and things all taken out of the Politicks the law of nature and men that are Statists and no way contrary to the Law of God and Christian Religion As likewise out of ancient Philosophers and wise men both Lawyers and Law-makers Accompanied wholly for to giue credit to the cause and that the subiect may not be disesteemed as an egge of mine owne hatching with the examples of Kings and Emperours if the examples of Kings may moue Kings and with those which cannot but moue bee esteemed and beleeued being drawne out of the holy Scripture Which being well obserued and put in execution by Kings they shall obtaine that end for which they were intended To wit to maintaine and preserue their Kingdomes in peace and iustice Reade it therefore I beseech your Maiestie and take it to heart for it is a piece of worke that is directed to the seruice of Kings of their Fauourites and Ministers And let them not say that they are Metaphysicall and impracticable things or in a manner meere impossibilites but rather that they are very conformable to our possibilitie and practised by our
your meaner sorte of people are gouerned more by their owne vnruly appetites and womanish longings then by reason and discretion And your base and cruell Vulgar which vpon the least occasion suffers it selfe to be led away by hatred and reuenge presently falls to taking of stones in their hands tearing vp the pibbles in the streetes as Cicero sets downe vnto vs that in the popular assemblies of Rome it so fell out that oftentimes they drew their naked swordes that the stones were seene to flye about their eares on all sides And when this head strong multitude hath once broken the reines there is no keeping of them in nor can the wit of man deuise how to bridle them In a Monarchy the Monarke In an Aristocratia your Noble men are supreme Iudges and Arbitrators and by this their supreme and absolute power they many times compose the differences of the subiects But in a Democratia and Popular Estate they are the supreme power and they themselues bandy one against another the fire of faction setting them in a consuming flame without acknowledging any superiour to decide the quarrell and compose their differences And therefore Aristotle sayd That there was not any Tyrannie either greater or more pernicious then that of an intire Communaltie which of it selfe is inclined to crueltie The Monarchy or Kingdome is freer from these burning feuers and by all is ranked in the best place and is stiffely maintained by the grauest Authors Of this onely shall I treate at this present It is called a Monarchy of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in Greeke signifieth One and of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the same with Prince which is as if we should say a Principalitie or a Kingdome where one alone is hee that commands and gouernes and the rest all obey All these three kindes of Popular Aristocraticall and Monarchicall gouernments were vsed in Greece and more particularly in Rome But Rome neuer came to be Mistresse of the World till shee was reduced to a Monarchie in the time of Caesar Augustus There are found therein 8. differences of States Husbandmen Trades-men Merchants Souldiers Iudges Cleargie-men the Nobility and the King which to speake more properly and as in diuers places it is deliuered by the blessed Apostle S. Paul is a Misticall Body which we call a Kingdome with it's Head For a king is the supreme Lord subiect onely vnto God That in S. Augustines and Diuus Thomas his opinion as also sundry other Authors of diuers faculties amongst which are Aristotle and Plato the most excellent gouernment is that which acknowledgeth a Superior one King and one Head For all naturall and good gouernment proceedeth from One and that which comes neerest vnto Vnitie hath most similitude with that which is diuine and is by much the most perfect By God Kings reigne according to that of the wise man Per me reges regnant Per me Principes imperant By me Kings reigne and Princes decree iustice And God being one and most simple in his Being and Nature the Head of all the whole Vniuerse by Whom and Which all is gouerned with admirable and ineffable prouidence and is the Idea of all good and perfect gouernment it is not a thing to be doubted but that that shall be amongst vs the best which is most agreeable with his And if the Members of the body being many and bearing different Offices therein admit to be gouerned by a Head and that God and Nature hath so ordained it Why should not a Monarchicall gouernment be the best Most certaine therefore is it that it is mainely to be preferred before the other two Some will haue this Monarchicall gouernment to be the most ancient and that it had it's beginning from Cain Adams eldest sonne who was the first that did gather people together built Cities and did shut them vp and fortifie them with walls After the stood Nimrod the sonne of Chus and nephew vnto Cham a man of valour and amongst those of those times the most able and strongest man was the first that reduced men to liue in a Communitie and to be obedient to one only King possessing himselfe of the Kingdome and Signorie of the World And before these euen in the very beginning of the Creation God began to establish this gouernment forme of a Commonwealth For as S. Paul saith God would that all Mankinde should descend from one Man And Gods chosen people did euermore maintaine a Monarchie and did ordaine that the Supreme power should reside and remaine in One. The first gouernours of the world were Monarkes did gouerne with this Title all the Common-wealthes of the World haue generally desired to be gouerned by one king As appeareth by those of the Gentiles euery particular state hauing his peculiar King And were it not a great monstrousnesse in nature that one body should haue two Heads Much more were it that one kingdome should be gouerned by two persons Vnitie is the Author of much good and Pluralitie the causer of much ill The Roman Commonwealth did suffer much miserie and calamitie not because all would not obey One but because many would command All. And therforein their greater necessities they did create a Dictator so called because all did obay whatsoeuer he dictated and sayd vnto them For they knew well enough and did clearely and plainely perceiue That in the Empire of One the authoritie was the greater greater the obedience freer their determinations firmer their Councells speedier their resolutions and more prompt the execution of their designes In a word Command Signorie and Supreme power does better in one head then in many And therefore all doe vnanimously and vndoubtedly conclude That the Monarchie is the ancientst and the durablest of all other and it 's gouernment the best yet would I haue it to helpe it selfe with the Aristocratia in that which may be vsefull for it's aduantage That in regard of it's strength and execution doth by it's greater Vnion and force excell the rest This other which is composed of a few noble wise and vertuous persons because it consistes of more hath the more intirenesse prudence and wisedome and by conioyning and intermixing the one with the other resulteth a perfect absolute gouernment So that a Monarchy that it may not degenerate must not goe loose and absolute for Command is a madd-man and power Lunaticke but must be tyed to the Lawes as far forth as it is comprehended vnder the Law And in things particular and temporall must haue reference to the body of the Councell seruing as the brace or ioyning peece of timber betweene a Monarchie an Aristocracie which is the assistance and aduise of the chiefer and wiser sort For from a Monarchy not thus well and orderly tempred arise great errours in gouernment little satisfaction to the State and many distastes amongst those that are gouerned All men that haue had the
estimation of â—ound iudgements and accounted wise in all kind of faculties haue held this to be the best and perfectest gouernment and with out it neuer Citie nor kingdome hath beene taken to be well gouerned Your good Kings and great Gouernours haue euer fauoured this Course whereas on the contrarie your bad kings and euill Gouernours transported with their pride haue runne another way And therefore in conformitie heereunto I dare confidently affirme if a Monarke be hee what he will be shall resolue businesses alone on his own head how wise soeuer he thinke himself without hauing recourse to his Councell or against the opinion of his Counsellours although he do Acertar and hit right in his resolutions yet therein he breakes the bounds of a Monarchie and enters into those of a Tyranny Of whose Examples and the euill successes insuing thereupon the Histories are full But one shall serue instead of many And that shall be of Tarquinius Superbus taken out of the first Booke of Titus Liuius who out of his great pride and haughtinesse of minde that he might rule all himselfe and haue none else to haue a hand in any businesse made it his Master peece to weaken the authority of the Roman Senate in lessening the number of Senatours Which he purposely did that he wholy and solely by himselfe might determine all whatsoeuer that occurred in the kingdome In this Monarchie or Kingdome there are three parts or parties to be considered of whom principally we are to treate The King The Ministers and the Vassalls And if in a humane body the Anatomie consideration of the Head be the nicest subtillest and most difficult what difficultie will it not be and what a daintie hand will it not require to touch talke and treate of a king who is the head of the Commonwealth And hence I inferre that for to treate of Kings and to prescribe them Precepts and Documents touching a Kingdome he ought to be such a wise King as was Salomon Who considering the difficulties and dangers which may in this matter offer themselues aduiseth all without any difference that they should not seeme to be desirous to seeme wise before their Temporall kings For no man howsoeuer fulfill'd with wisedome is speaking in his kings presence secure and safe Penes Regem noli velâ—e videri sâ—piens Boast not thy wisedome in the presence of the Kiâ—g The reason is for that he that is the supreme soueraignâ—â—n Temporall power whom all acknowledge and obey as their Superiour risenteth it much to see himselfe inferiour in a thing of so greate esteeme as is wisedome and discretion Xenophon laying his foundation on this opinion introduceth Cambises instructing his sonne Cyrus King of Persia how he ought to carry himself in his Kingdome As also Alexander who receiued his Militarie Precepts from his father Philip and not from any other that was inferiour vnto him It is written of Agasicles king of the Lacedemonians that he refused to learne Philosophie of a famous Philosopher of those times it seeming vnto him that being a king it was not fitting he should be his Scholler whose sonne he was not As if he should haue sayd That he onely by a naturall obligation acknowledged him alone and that he contented himselfe with that which he had learned from him and would not acknowledge any other inferiour vnto him in birth though neuer so much before him in learning and knowledge But this difficulty I purpose to ouercome by proposing in this my Treatise vnto kings not mine owne Reasons nor those which I might draw from great Philosophers and humane Histories but from the words of God and of his Saints and from Histories Diuine and Canonicall whose Instructions kings may not disdaine nor take it as an affront to submit themselues thereunto be they being Christians neuer so powerfull neuer so supreme because the Author that dictates these Lessons vnto them is the Holy-Ghost And if I shall at any time alleage the Examples of heathen Kings and shall make some good benefit of Antiquitie and serue my selfe with the sentences of Philosophers that were strangers vnto Gods people it shall be very sparingly and as it comes in my way and as one that ceazeth vpon his owne goods if he fortune to light vpon them and taketh them from those that vniustly detaine and possesse them CHAP. II. What the name of King signifieth THis name of King in Diuine and humane Letters is very ancient and so old as is the first Man For in Gods creating of him euen before that there were many Men he made him King ouer all the beastes of the field And it is a most noble Appellatiue and that which is better and more neerely representeth vnto vs the Maiestie of God who very frequently in the holy Scriptures and with much propriety is called King And it is the common opinion of the Wisest that it signifieth one that rules and gouernes being deduced from the Latine word Regere which is to rule or gouerne Reges a regendo dicti sunt saith S. Isidore Ideò quilibet rectè faciendo regis nomen tenet sed peccando amittit And considering with more attention this it 's true Etymologie he is properly sayd to be a King who ouer mastring his passions doth first rule and gouerne himselfe cumplying as he ought with the obligations of his Estate without offence either to God or his neighbour and next hath a care to rule others and to procure all he can that all may doe the like And he that shall do the contrary laying his foundation on humane wisedom and reason of State regardeth more his own temporall commoditie and proper Interest then the good of the Commonwealth This suteth not with the name he holdeth nor may he be called a king neither is he so for himselfe nor for others because he neither knowes to rule himselfe nor others Malus si regâ—et saith S. Austen servus est He hath the Appellation and honourable name of a king but in very truth see how many vices reigne in him so many times is hee a servant nay a very slaue It was the aduice of Agapitus to Iustinian the Emperour that he should haue an eye ouer himselfe and looke well to his actions for albeit he were a King and a great Prince yet the Title of King did then convene to him when he should be Master of himselfe and curbing his unruly appeâ—ites should of a King become a Vassall to Reason and Iustice. Hee that is good and iust is a God vpon earth and from thence is the name of King deriued vnto him and is his Vicar in all causes for to maintaine his Subiects in Justice and Truth by his Empire and Command and to sustaine all things in Order Policie and Peace And therefore a Law of the Partida sayes thus Qâ—â—el â—ey â—s Vicario de dios para hazer iusticia en todos los cosas That a King is Gods Vicar for to doe
the desert they no sooner saw that he had satisfied them but they were desirous to make him a King and to clap the Crowne on his head And for this cause in the 3. Chapter of Esay he that saw he was vnprouided of bread would not accept the Votes of the people that were willing to nominate him for their King saying thus vnto them Non sum medicus in domo mea non est panis neque vestimentum nolite constituere me principem populi There is no bread in my house nor cloathing I cannot be an helper vnto yee therefore make me no Prince of the people And therefore with very good reason and with a great deale of proprietie a King and a Shepheard is all one In the Greeke tongue a King is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quasi basis fundamentum populi As if hee were the basis and foundation of the people And of your Kings sayth Rabbi Abraham those words are to bee vnderstood of Iob Qui portant orbem Who sustaine the weight of a kingdome and beare the loade thereof vpon their shoulders And a Hierogliffe heereof is the Crowne which they weare vpon their head in manner of a Citie circled about with Townes and battlements signifying thereby that the strong brayne and the good and wise head and sound sconce of a King doth fortifie and vphold the whole weitht and burthen of all the Cities of his kingdome And this is S. Gregories Interpretation vpon of his place Some others conceiue that this name was giuen it in consideration of that creature called the Basiliske who is the king of the venomous creatures and hath this euil qualitie with him that he kills with his lookes onely And doe not the kings sometimes kill their fauourites and those that are neerest about them with the knit of the brow and a sower looke And some such Kings there be or at least haue beene in the world that take it offensiuely if their frownes and disfauours doe not kill like poyson But this Etymologie hath little ground for it For the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in that language signifies a king is much different from that of Bisiliscus a Basiliscke For it is more proper to Kings to cure and heale then to kill and slay As the forecited place of Esay teacheth vs where he that would not take the Crowne vpon him excuses himselfe not onely for that he had not bread to feede others but also because he was not a Physitian Non sum Medicus in domo mea non est panis presuposing that a good King ought to be a Physitian to his people and ought to helpe and feede his subiects And the sayd Prophet when in the person of Christ he relateth how the eternall Father had annoynted him and Crowned him for King saith spiritus domini super me eò quod vnxerit me vt mederer contritis corde And Christ himselfe being calumniated by the Pharisees because he did conuerse and eat with Publicans and Sinners hee made them this answer Non est opus valentibus medicus sed malè habentibus They that bee whole neede not the Physitian but they that be sicke Patricius Senensis calls Kings and Princes Medicos vniuersales reip Vniuersall Physitians of the Common-wealth And S. Austen tell vs that to them appertaineth the remedy of all the sicke and the cure of all the diseases and other those crosse and repugnant humours which reigne in a Kingdome and to apply a medicine to euery particular person agreeable to that humour wherein hee is peccant And the Office of a shepheard which is so proper vnto Kings as already hath beene said hath with it this obligation to cure his flocke And therefore in the 34 of Ezechiel God doth lay a heauie Taxe vpon those shepheards because they were faulty in this their Office of Curing Quod infirmuÌ„ fuit non consolidastis quod aegrotum nonsanaest is c. The diseased haue yee not strengthened neither haue yee healed that which was sicke neither haue yee bound vp that which was broken neither haue yee brought againe that which was driuen away neither haue yee sought that which was lost but with force and with crueltie haue yee ruled them yee eat the fat and yee cloath ye with the Wooll yee kill them that are fed but yee feede not the flocke And heere that third signification sutes well with this name of King which is the same as Father As appeareth in that of Genesis where the Sâ—chemites called their King Abimilech which is as much to say As my Father or my Lord And anciently their Kings were called Patres reip Fathers of their Common-wealths And hence is it that King Theodoricus defining the Maiestie royall of Kings as Cassiodorus reporteth it speakes thus Princeps est Pastor publicus Communis A King is the publicke and common shepheard Nor is a King any other thing but the publicke and common Father of the Common-wealth And because the Office of a King hath such similiancie with that of a Father Plato stiles a King Patrem familias A father of a familie And Xenophon the Philosopher affirmeth Bonus Princeps nihil differt à bono patre That a good Prince differs nothing from a good Father The onely difference is in this That the one hath fewer the other more vnder his Empire Command And certainly it is most sutable vnto reason that this Title of Father be giuen vnto Kings because they ought to be such towards their subiects and kingdomes carrying a fatherly affection and prouidence towards their wellfare and preseruation For reigning or bearing rule saith Homer is nothing else but a paternall gouernment like that of a father ouer his owne children Ipsum namque regnum imperium est suapte natura paternum There is no better habit of gouerning then to haue a King cloath himselfe with the loue of a father and to haue that care of his subiects as if they were so many children of his owne loynes The affection of a father towards his children his care that they shall lacke nothing and to be one and the same towards them all carrieth a great proportion with a Kings pietie towards his subiects Hee is called a Father so that the very name obligeth him to answer this signification in workes not in word but to shew himselfe a true father indeed Againe for that this name father is very proper vnto Kings if wee shall well and truly weigh it amongst all other Attributes and Epithites of Maiestie and Signorie it is the greatest vnder which all other names are comprehended as the Species vnder their Genus being subordinate thereunto Father is aboue the Title of King Lord Master Captaine and the like In a word it is a name aboue all other names that denotate Signorie and prouidence Antiquitie when it was willing to throw it's greatest Honour vpon an Emperour it called him
the Father of the Common-wealth Which was more then Caesar or Augustus and whatsoeuer other name most glorious in the world whether it were conferr'd vpon them either for to flatter them or to oblige them to those great effects which this name Father tyes them vnto In conclusion by this word Father it is giuen Kings to vnderstand what they ought to doe To wit That they are to rule gouerne and maintaine their Common-wealths and Kingdomes in Iustice and in Peace That they are to feede like good shepheards these their rationall sheepe That they are like skilfull Physitians to heale and cure their maladies And that they are to haue that care of their subiects as fathers haue of their children watching ouer them with prudence and with Loue respecting more them then themselues For Kings are more obliged to the Kingdome and the Common-wealth then vnto themselues For if we shall but looke into the Originall and Institution of a King and a kingdome we shall finde that a King was ordained for the good of the kingdome and not the kingdome for the good of the King CHAP. III. Whether the name of King be a name of Office LEt vs not detaine our selues in the ill apprehension of those who conceiue that the name of King is a Title onely of Honour and Dignitie and not of Charge and Office For if as wee said before in our 1. Chapter a King in a Common-wealth holdes that place as the Head doth in a humane body where all the Corporall Members haue their particular Offices and euen the most and most principall then most certaine it is that a King in his kingdome is to be the most Eminent in the Gouernment so that we are not only to acknowledge that a King is an Officiall but euen the greatest of all Officialls and that of all Offices his is the chiefest and of greatest dignitie Etenim sayth S. Chrysostome imperare non solum dignitas est imò ars est â—rtium omnium summa To rule is not onely a dignitie but an Art also and of all Artes the greatest Diuine Plato Diuus Thomas likewise affirme Inter omnes artes viuendi regendi ars amplior superior est The Art and office of gouerning a Common-wealth and a kingdome is a Regall knowledge a Princely science and which particularly appertaineth vnto Kings it is an Arte of Artes the most difficile to learne and the most dangerous to practise And Nazianzene renders the reason Quia inter omnes animantes homo maximè moribus varius voluntate diuersus Because amongst all liuing Creatures man is most various in his maners and most diuerse in his will He is most mutable in his opinions most deceitfull in his words of more colours foldings and doublings then any other creature whatsoeuer worst to be knowen and hardest to to be ruled and aboue all most ingrate and vnthankfull vnto him that is set in authority ouer him And Plato more particularly tells vs that he held it in a manner a thing impossible for any one to haue such a Wit that alone of himselfe he should be sufficient to gouerne well it being so hard a matter to do though a man haue neuer so good partes and abilities to performe that function Ptolomy King of Aegypt considering the great difficulties which accompanie gouerning and reigning began to weigh the qualitie of each difficultie and comparing some with other some he knew not which to ranke formost or to preferre before his fellow It seemed wonderfull hard vnto him to know the Talent and parts of persons for the conferring of Offices and places vpon them a businesse whereon good gouernment mainely dependeth Hee likewise found it as difficult to make good Lawes and Statutes As also to rule so many Townes and so many people as are listed vnder a Crowne and name of King As likewise to dresse so many dishes for so many different palates so many things to the gust and content of so many sundry wills and a thousand other difficulties which daily offer themselues in the ruling and gouerning of men For as Seneca saith Nullum animal maiori est arte tractandum quam homo There is not that creature like vnto Man for whose gouernment more Arte more prudence more wisedome more discretion and sagacitie is required No man can denie but that to beare on his shoulders the weight of a kingdome with obligation to attend on such and so great a diuersitie of things as of Peace and Warre and of so many graue and weightie businesse and of so great importance without fayling one point or tittle therein is an intollerable trouble a most heauy burthen and most difficult Office And in this respect so few haue there beene that haue knowne perfectly to cumply therewith And it is worthy our consideration that there being so many Histories and Bookes of the Liues of Kings and Emperours of the Gentiles there is not one amongst them all to be found who hath not bin noted of many faults Alexander the Great who for his famous Acts great Courage had the sirname giuen him of Great had many things in him worthy reprehension and vnbeseeming royall dignitie And howbeit Xenophon in his Cyropedia would giue vs to vnderstand that King Cyrus had all those vertues and greatnesses which are there represented vnto vs yet many wise men are of beliefe that that was no true History which he wrote of that King but an Idea or Patterne that Kings might draw from thence what they ought to bee Like vnto those Bookes of Cicero which he wrote de Oratore Who painteth forth the properties which hee that will be a good Orator ought to haue though that man was neuer yet found that had them Besides if we shall turne our eyes towards those ancient Kings of Gods people the sacred Scripture doth dis-deceiue vs. For out of the whole packe of them hee picks out but three onely that were good Praeter Dauid Ezechiam Iosiam â—omnes Reges peccatum commiserunt Excepting Dauid Ezechias and Iosias all the rest of the Kings committed sinne Not that these three had not their sinnes for the holy Scripture taxeth them of some and those no small ones but because they had not sinned in the Office of Kings And because in it's administration it is an Office so full of difficulties the Apostle S. Paul admonisheth all the faithfull that they alwayes make earnest Prayers for them which is still vsed to this day in all your Catholike Churches Moreouer that the name of a King is the name of an Office it is confirmed by that common saying Beneficium dâ—tur propter Officium And therefore Kings being so greatly benefitted not onely by those great Tributes which are giuen them by the Common-wealth but likewise by those which they receiue from the Benefices and Rents of the Church it is an vndoubted truth that they haue an Office and of Offices the greatest
and for this cause the whole Kingdome doth so freely and liberally contribute vnto them Which is specified by S. Paul in a Letter of his which hee wrote vnto the Romans Idâ—ò tributa praestatis c. For this cause pay you Tribute also For they are Gods Ministers attending continually vpon this very thing c. Kingdomes doe not pay their taxes idly and in vaine So many sessements so many Subsedies so many impositions so many great rentes so much authoritie so high a Title and so great a Dignitie is not giuen without charge and trouble In vaine should they haue the name of Kings if they had not whom to rule and gouerne And therefore this obligation lyes vpon them In multitudine populi dignitas regis The honour of a King is in the multitude of his People So great a dignitie so great reuenewes such a deale of Greatnesse Maiestie and Honour with a perpetuall Cense and rate vpon his Subiects Lands and Goods binde him to rule and gouerne his States conseruing them by Peace and Iustice. Let Kings therefore know that they are to serue their kingdomes being they are so well payd for their paines and that they beare an Office which tyes them necessarily to this trouble Qui praeest in solicitudine saith S. Paul He that ruleth with diligence This is the Title and name of King and of him that gouernes Not of him that goes before others onely in his Honour and his pleasure but of him that excells others in his solicitude and his care Let them not thinke that they are Kings onely in name and representation and that they are not bound to any more but to bee adored and reuerenced and to represent the person royall with a good grace and to carry themselues with a soueraigne kind of State and Maiestie like some of those Kings of the Medes and Persians which were no more then meere shadowes of Kings so wholy neglectfull were they of their office as if they had beene no such manner of Men. There is not any thing more dead and of lesse substance then the image of a shadow which neither waggs arme nor head but at the Motion of that which causeth it God Commanded his people that they should not make any grauen Image nor any feigned Pictures or counterfeit paintings which shew a hand where there is none discouer a face where there is none and represent a body where there is none expressing therein actions to the life as if the Image or Picture did see and speake For God is no friend of feigned figures of painted men nor of Kings that are onely so in shape and proportion being in fashion like vnto those of whom Dauid sayd Os habent non loquuntur oculos habent non videbunt c. They haue mouths but speake not eyes haue they but they see not They haue eares but heare not and hands haue they but handle not And to what vse I pray serues all this They are no more then meere Idolls of Stone which haue no more in them of Kings but onely an externall representation To be all name and authoritie and to be Men in nothing else doe not sute well together Woe to the Idoll Shepheard saith Zacharie that leaueth the flocke The sword shall be vpon his arme and vpon his right eye His arme shall be cleane dryed vp and his right eye shall be vtterly darkeneds it is written in the Reuelation Nomen habes quod viuas mortuus es Thou hast a name that thou liuest and art dead The names which God setteth vpon things are like vnto the Title of a Booke which in few words containeth all that is therein This name of King is giuen by God vnto Kings and therein includeth all that which this their Office tyes them to doe And if their workes and actions doe not answer with their name and Title it is as if one should say yea with his Mouth and by making Signes say no with his head What aiest and mockerie is this How shall such a one bee truely vnderstood It were Cosenage and deceit in that Golde beater who writes vpon his Signe Heere is fine gold to be sold when indeed it is but Orpine and base gold for Painters The name of King is not an Attribute of Idlenesse A person regall must haue reall performance As his name soundeth so let him serue in his place it is the people that proclaime the King but it is the King that must proclaime his loue to the people Hee that hath the name of ruling and gouerning a Gods name let him rule and gouerne They are not to be Reyes de anillo as it is in the Prouerb that is to say nominall Kings only praeter nomen nihil hauing nothing else in them In France there was a time when their kings had nothing but the bare name of Kings their Liuetenants Generall gouerning and Commanding all whilest they like so many beastes did busie themselues in nothing else but following the delights and pleasures of Gluttonie and Wantonnesse And because it might be known and appeare to the people that they were aliue for they neuer came abroad once a yeare they made shew of themselues on the first day of May in the Market-place of Paris sitting in a chaire of State on a throne royall like your kings amongst your Stage-players and there in reuerence they bowed their bodies vnto them and presented them with giftes and they againe conferred some fauours on such as they though fit And because you may see the miserie whereunto they were brought Eynardus in the beginning of that Historie which he writes of the life of Charles the Great says That those Kings in those dayes had no valour in them in the world made no shew of Noblenesse nor gaue so much as a tast of any inclination thereunto but had onely the empty and naked name of King For in very deede they were not Kings nor had actually and effectually any hand in the gouernment of the State or the wealth and riches of the Kingdome for they were wholly possessed by the Praefecti latij whom they called Seneshalls or Lord high Stewards of the Kings House Who were such absolute Lords and of that vnlimited power that they ruled the roste and did what they list leauing the poore seely King nothing saue onely the bare Title who sitting in a Chaire with his Perriwigge and his long beard represented the person of a King making the world beleeue that hee gaue Audience to all Ambassadours that came from forraigne parts and gaue them their answers and dispatches when they were to returne But in very truth he sayd no more vnto them saue what hee had beene taught or had by writing beene powred into him making shew as if all this had beene done out of his owne Head So that these kinde of Kings had nothing of the Power-Royall but the vnprofitable name of King and inutile
throne of State and a personated Maiestie that lay open to nothing but scorne and derision For the ture kings and those that commanded all were those their Minions and Fauorites who oppressed the other by their potencie and kept them in awe Of a King of Samaria God sayd That hee was no more but paululum spumae a froathy bubble Which being beheld a far off seemeth to be something but when you draw neere and touch it it is nothing Simia in tecto Rex fatuus in solio suo He is like vnto an Ape on the house-toppe who vsing the apparances and gestures of a man is taken for such a one by them that know him not Iust so is a foolish King vpon his Throne your Ape likewise serueth to entertaine children and to make them sport And a King causeth laughter in those who behold him stript of the actions of a King without authoritie and without gouernment A King appareled in Purple and sitting with great Maiestie in his Throne answerable to his greatnesse seemeth in shew graue seuere and terrible but in effect nothing Like vnto the Picture of that Grecians limming which being placed on high and beheld from a farre seemed to be a very good Peece But when you came neerer vnto it and viewed it well it was full of Blots and Blurs and very course stuffe A King vnder his Canopie or Princely Pall expresseth a great deale of outward State and Maiestie but himselfe being narrowly lookt into is no better then the blurred Character of a King Simulachra gentium Dauid calleth those Kings that are Kings onely in name Or as the Hebrew renders it Imago fictilis contrita An image of crack't earth which leaketh in a thousand places A vaine Idoll which representeth much yet is no other then a false and lying shadow And that name doth very well sute with them which Eliphas falsly put vpon Iob who being so good and so iust a man did mocke at him vpbrayding him that his foundation was in the dust that he was not a man of any solid and sound iudgement but onely had some certaine exteriour apparences calling him Mimicoleon which is a kinde of creature which in Latin they call Formicaleo Because it hath a monstrous kinde of Composture in the one halfe part of the body representing a fierce Lyon which was alwayes the Hierogliffe of a King and in the other halfe an Ante or Pismire which signifieth a weake thing and without any substance Authoritie Name Throne and Maiestie doth well become Lyons and powerfull Princes And hitherto it is well But when we looke on the other halfe and see the being and substance of a Pismire that goes hard There haue beene Kings who with their very name onely haue strooke the world into a feare and terrour But they themselues had no substance in them and were in their Kingdome no better then Ants and Pismires Great in name and Office but poore in action Let euery King then acknowledge himselfe to be an Officer and not onely to bea a priuate but a publicke Officer and a superintendent in all Offices whatsoeuer For in all hee is bound both to speake and doe S Austen and D. Thomas expounding that place of Saint Paul which treates of Episcopall Dignitie say That the Latin word Episcopus is compounded in the Greeke of two words being in signification the same with Superintendens The name of Bishop of King and of whatsoeuer other superior is a name that comprehendeth Superintendencie and assistance in all Offices This the royall Scepter signifieth exercised by Kings in their publicke acts a Ceremonie vsed by the Aegyptians but borrowed from the Hebrews who for to expresse the obligation of a good King did paint and open eye placed alofte vpon the top of a rod in forme of a Scepter signifying in the one the great power that a King hath and the prouidence and vigilancie which hee is to haue In the other that he doe not onely content himselfe in possessing this supreme power and in holding this high and eminent place and so lye downe and sleepe and take his ease as if there were no more to bee done but hee must bee the first in gouernment the first in Councell and all in all Offices hauing a watchfull eye in viewing and reuiewing how euery publicke Minister performes his duty In signification whereof Ieremie saw the like rod when God asking him what hee saw hee sayd Virgam Vigilantem ego video Well hast thou seene and verily I say vnto thee That I who am the head will watch ouer my body I that am the shepheard will watch ouer my sheepe And I that am a King and Monarke will watch without wearinesse ouer all my Inferiours The Chalde translates it Regem festinantem a King that goes in hast For though hee haue eyes and see yet if he betake him to his ease be lull'd asleepe with his delightes and pleasures and doth not bestirre himselfe visiting this and that other place and seeke to see and know all the good and euill which passeth in his Kingdome hee is as if hee were not Let him bethinke himselfe that he is a Head and the Head of a Lyon which sleepes with his eyes open That he is that rodde which hath eyes and watcheth Let him therefore open his eyes and not sleepe trusting to those that perhaps are blinde or like Moles haue no eyes at all or if they haue any vse them no farther then for their own priuate profit And therein they are quicke sighted These haue the eyes of the Kyte and other your birdes of rapine but it were better that they had no eyes at all then haue them all for themselues CHAP. IIII. Of the Office of Kings HAuing proued that the name of King is not of Dignitie onely but likewise of Occupation and Office it is fit that we should now treate of the qualities and partes thereof For the better vnderstanding whereof wee must follow the Metaphor or resemblance of Mans body whereof the Apostle S. Paul made vse thereby to giue vs to vnderstand the place and Office which euery Member is to hold in the Common-wealth All the Members of the body saith he haue their particular Office but the Occupations and functions of euery one of them are diuerse and different The most important and of greatest Excellencie are those of the Head which is the superiour part of the bodie In which the Soule doth exercise her principall operations as those of the Vnderstanding and Will the instruments whereof haue their habitation in the head There is seated the Sensus Communis or Common-sense so called because it 's knowledge is common to all those obiects of the exteriour or outward sences There likewise is the Imaginatiue the Estimatiue the Phantasie and the Reminiscentia Corporall faculties which serue to those that are Spirituall as are the Vnderstanding and the Will In the Head are likewise placed the exteriour
any vnmannerlinesse we may well tearme it so for albeit in outward appearance the Scepter and the Crowne haue the face of Empire and Signiory yet in strictenesse and in rigour it is but the Office of a Seruant Servus Communis siuè Servus honoratus The Common-wealths seruant or a more honourable kind of Seruant This is the attribute which some giue vnto a king Quia à tota republica stipendia accipit vt serviat omnibus Because he receiues stipends from all that he may serue all And the Pope of Rome holds it no dishonour vnto him to be stiled Servus servorum Dei The Seruant of Gods seruants And howbeit anciently this name of seruant were infamous yet after that our Sauiour Christ had in his own person taken it vpon him it hath since beene accounted honorable And as it is not repugnant and contradictory to the Essenceand nature of the sonne of God no more is it any preiudice or disparagement to the Maiestie and greatnesse of Kings And this was well vnderstood by Antigonu◠King of Macedonia who reprehending his sonne for carrying too hard a hand ouer his Subiects thus checkt his immoderate Empire An ignoras fili mi Regnum nostrum nobilem esse seruitutem Wootst thou not my sonne that our kingdome is a Noble seruitude Answering to that of Agamemnon We liue saith hee in the opinion of the world in much greatnesse and in high Estate but in effect are but seruants and slaues to our Vassals This is the Office of good Kings to serue in this honourable manner For in being Kings their Actions depend not on the sole will of their owne persons but of the Lawes and Statutes which they haue giuen and allowd of and those conditions wherewith they accepted this their Soueraigntie And though they should bee wanting to these which are no more then a humane Conuencion Couenant or agreement betwixt Prince and people yet may they not be defectiue in those which the naturall and diuine Law hath layd vpon them the Lady and Mistris as well of Kings as subiects All which are in a manner contained in those words of Ieremy in which according to S. Ieromes opinion God sets downe the Office of Kings Facite iudicium iustitiam liberate vi oppressum de manu calumniatoris aduenam pupillum viduam nolite contristare neque opprimatis iniquè sanguinem innocentem ne effundatis Execute yee iudgement and righteousnesse and deliuer the spoyled out of the hand of the oppressour and doe no wrong doe no violence to the stranger the fatherlesse nor the widowe neither shed innocent blood c. This is the Summe wherein is cyphered vp the Office of a King These the Lawes of his Court whereby he is bound to mantaine in peace and Iustice the fatherlesse and the widowe the poore and the rich the mighty and the weake To his Account are put the Agrauios and wrongs which his Ministers doe vnto the one and the Iniustice which the other suffer The wretched estate of those that are necessited the cry of the distressed and the teares that are shed out of anguish of heart and a thousand other loades euen wane-loades of cares and obligations lye vpon the shoulders of him that is the Head and King of a kingdome And albeit he be the head in commanding and in gouerning yet in bearing if not often ouercharged therewith the heauie weight and loade of all hee must be the feete or supporters to beare the burthen of the whole body of the Common-wealth Of Kings and Monarkes the iust men Iob sayth that by reason of their Office they carry like Poters the world on their shoulders vnder which burthen the proudest helpers must stoope In consideration whereof it is sayd in the booke of Wisedome In veste ponderis quam habebat summus sacerdos totus erat orbis terrarum In the long garment was the whole world The Latin translation In veste ponderis carryes more weight with it so that in taking vpon thee to be a King thou must make account to take so great a charge vpon thee and so heauie a load as the strongest Carte will hardly be able to beare it And this Moses knew well enough whom God hauing made his Vice-roy his Captaine Generall and sole Liuetenant in the Gouernment in stead of giuing him thankes for this so honourable a Charge committed vnto him made his moane and complaint for hauing layd so heauy a loade vpon his shoulders Cur afflixisti seruum tuum Cur imposuisti pondus vniuersi populi huius super me Wherfore hast thou afflicted thy seruant And wherefore haue I not found fauour in thy sight that thou layest the burthen of all the people vpon me And proceedeth farther with his complaints saying Nunquid ego concepi omnem hanc multitudinem Aut genut eam vt dicas mihi Porta eos Haue I conceiued all this people Haue I begotten them that thou shouldest say vnto me Carry them in thy bosome as the nursing father beareth the sucking child c. Where it is worthy the noting That God said not any one such word vnto Moses But only commanded him that he should rule and gouerne his people that he should be their Captaine and their Leader And yet he heere sticks not to say that hee layd the burthen of all the people vpon him with this Motto added thereunto Porta eos Carry them c. A man would thinke hee complaineth heere without a Cause for God says no more vnto him but that hee be their Captaine and that hee take vpon him the rule Command and Gouernment of them But to this it is answered Al buen entendedor pocas palabras To a wise man halfe a word is enough And he that is wise and well vnderstands what it is to gouerne and to be a Head knowes that Gouernment and Charge or Loade is all one And that the words themselues Regere and Portare are Synonomyes and haue one and the selfe same signfication For there is not any Gouernment or charge which is without it's burthen and trouble In that repartment and diuision of Offices which Iacob conferr'd vpon his children he marked out Reuben to be the first in Inheritance and the greatest in gouernment Prior in donis maior in imperio Thou art my first in the excellencie of dignitie the excellencie of power which S. Ierome renders Maior ad portandum The greatest to beare For Empire and bearing are both one thing And by how much the Empire is the greater by so much the greater is the toyle and trouble and the burthen the heauier St Gregory in his Moralls saith That the power Dominion and Signorie which Kings haue ouer their subiects ought not to be esteemed an honour but a trouble Potestas accepta non honor sed onus aestimatur And the blindest Gentiles did attaine to this light of truth And one of them vsed the selfe same phrase of
speech speaking of another that was much puffed vp and well contented with the charge and office which Apollo had allotted him Laetus erat mixto oneri gaudebat honore So that to rule and Command is a Mixture of a little honour and much trouble And the Latin word which signifieth honour doth not differ more then in one Letter from that which signifieth a loade or burthen Onos onus For H. is but an aspiration Nor was there euer that man yet wanting nor euer will be to take for Honours sake this burthen vpon him Though all of them can be well content to take as little of the loade as they can vpon them but as much of the Honor as you will howbeit this is not the securest Course But I shall conclude this Chapter with this Aduiso That the Office of a King consists not so much in the outward operation though in thâ—s hee is not to faile as in the inward apprehension Which in it's own nature may imbrace infinite things not as infinite but as such as may be reduced to a few points nor no more then shall be pointed at in this Treatise Which ought alwayes of a wise prudent King to be well vnderstood to make vse of as many of them as hee can and which do more particularly appertaine vnto his Office and to leaue the rest vnto his Ministers A King must be like the Heart in the Body which solely of it selfe cannot performe all those offices which all the members more particularly may But by the helpe and meanes of diuers Instruments members and Organs diffusing sending forth their vertue vnto them it findes it selfe in the operation of them all The king is the heart of the kingdome and must worke therin like it not doing all by himselfe for that is impossible and instead of doing good would do hurt by keeping himselfe in his proper Station without transiliating that Circle which more particularly belongeth vnto him and performing those Offices which another cannot execute for him by his great power and vertue he may in a diffusiue manner haue recourse to all the parts euen the most remote of his kingdome take a care of all and haue a hand in all And this care is as proper to a King as it is to the heart it being impossible for the heart to liue without care And from thence it takes it's name and Appellatiue Cor saith Isidore dicitur à cura Cor which is the Heart is so called à Cura from it's care For it is that which takes care of Mans life Ego dormio Cor meum vigilat I sleepe but my Heart waketh While Man sleepes the heart still beates and taketh care of the life and conseruation of the whole body sending forth to all the parts thereof it 's naturall vertue and heate without the least dis-carefullnesse in the world loosing it's owne quiet to giue Man ease And therefore the Spouse called her Beloued her Heart because hee performed this office with her And the like must a King doe in his Kingdome He must watch and forgoe his owne sleepe and quiet that his Vassalls may take their ease and rest vpon paine of being vnfaithfull and defectiue in that fidelitie which is due vnto the office of a King This made S. Paul to say Si quis suorum curam non habet sidem negauit If any prouide not for his owne hee hath denied the faith and is worse then an Infidel The heart likewise hath another property very proper vnto Kings which is it 's continuall beating on the left side The Author of Nature being desirous by this secret to teach Kings that they should apply themselues with more care to the weakest part and that which hath most neede of their helpe The right side is more assisted with naturall heate and blood then the left which is more stript of these fauours And in this the Heart showes that Kings should shew their King-craft and the finenesse of their care towards poore needy people and such as are destitute of all humane fauour For to the rich and mighty blood aboundeth and nothing is wanting vnto them God doth illighten Kings which are the Heads of the people to the end that they may doe in their Kingdomes all that which a good Head ought to doe with it's body by whose offices wee will goe discoursing those of the mysticall Head of this body of a Common-wealth which is the King beginning first with the vnderstanding and it's pertinencies or whatsoeuer appertaineth thereunto which is the first in perfection and whereunto in regard of it's Actiue beginning and end the rest of the Sences are in ordination According to that measure of Light which he shall vouchsafe to Communicate vnto vs who is that true Light which illighteneth euery Man that commeth into the world CHAP. V. Of the reason and vnderstanding of Kings and of their wisedome IN good and true Philosophy and the best receiued Diuinity it is auerred that the vnderstanding and naturall reason is the most principall power that is in Man by which he is distinguished from Beasts and is the principium radix the ground and root of wisedome And by how much the more ingenious a man is of better vnderstanding by so much the more is he capable thereof and the more intensiuely doth he loue it And for this cause did Pythagoras call wise men Philosophers Louers or coueters of Wisdome because the possession thereof doth set an edge on the desire and makes a man to couet it the more for it's treasure is infinite and no man can exhaust it And therefore the more a man hath of it the more he desireth it It is the retreit and receptacle of faith and of all the Arts and Sciences both practicke and speculatiue hauing an vniuersall aptitude to receiue them all into it selfe and vpon the apprehension of them to put them in execution And although it be a potentia or faculty of a limited power yet so great is it's capacity and of that amplenesse and ablenesse to receiue and containe that it seemeth infinite for let a man know neuer so much yet can he not fill vp his knowledge For such and such notions dispose the vnderstanding for others Knowledge begetteth knowledge and the more things a man knoweth so much the more easily doth he apprehend those he knoweth not till he come to the perfect inquiry and knowledge of the truth and by conuersing with the wise and exercise of good Letters hee goes still rising higher and higher And by how much the more a man is aduanced in his vnderstanding so much the more aduantage shall he haue of those which haue not the same measure Suting with that saying of the Comicke Poet who wondering to see the great difference betweene man man cryes out Homo homini quid praestat So much doth one man differ from another in wisdome and prudence that they seeme to
be different species And hence is it that the aduantage which a wise man hath ouer those that are not so is to make him King ouer all the people Which lesson God taught vs in the first King he made choice of for his people who standing in the midst of his Subiects was taller then any of them from the sholders vpwards so that his head shew'd it selfe aboue them all And the word Melech which in the originall signifieth a king in that large eminent Letter which stands in the midst of it doth mistically giue vs to vnderstand the excellency that aboue others Kings ought to haue And therefore Plato stiled a prudent and wise Gouernour Virum divinum a diuine man presupposing that he should be somewhat more then a man and exceed in diuine wisedome all other Gouernours whatsoeuer Vbi sapiens ibi est Deus in humano corpore And therefore as God by way of eminency containeth the perfections of all the Creatures so as farre forth as a Creature can a wise King should and that with much aduantage possesse the perfections of all his people And the holy Scripture teacheth vs that God created man after his own image and likenesse giuing him Vnderstanding Memory and Will And hauing created him made him King ouer all he had created Vt praesit piscibus Maris volatilibus Coeli bestijs vniversae Terrae c. To haue dominion ouer the Fish of the Sea and ouer the Fowle of the Aire ouer the Cattle c. And this was granted him and did accompany the common nature of men But to rule and command to be Lord and Gouernour ouer men themselues as are Kings is a farre greater matter and such as requireth a greater measure of Vnderstanding and Wisedome and he that hath most store thereof shall reape the most profit by it as he that wants it shall contrarywise finde the lacke of it Solomon the wisest of Kings as he was both wise and a King could better then any other informe vs of what importance are Vnderstanding and Wisdome in Kings In whose name he speaketh when he saith Per me Reges regnant per me Principes imperant By me Kings reigne and Princes decree iustice To the wiseman the Scepter and Crowne of right belongeth For wisdome her selfe as being the most essentiall forme of Kings makes him King and Monarch ouer others And in all Nations almost they gaue the same name and the same Ensignes to Empire and Wisdome And S. Paul makes them Synonomies and will haue them to signifie one and the same thing She alone by keeping Gods commandements will be sufficient in a King to make him pleasing and acceptable vnto God and to be cut out according to the measure of his own heart And though some are of a larger heart and vnderstanding then other some yet with God to be wise is that which conueneth most both to King and Subiect By Esay the Prophet God promiseth to all his people a golden age happy dayes and fortunate times wherein all shall haue a share of happinesse peace equity iustice health content and abundance of fruits But comming vnto Kings he saith no more but that there shall not be any one that shall be a foole Non vocabitur vltrà is qui insipiens est Princeps This is a great happinesse But O Lord let mee aske thee Is a King of worse condition then his Subiects that thou shouldst promise so many good things vnto them and but one alone vnto him The answere hereunto is that our good God giueth vnto euery one according to his state and calling that which is fittest for him The Subiect who hath one to rule and gouerne him hath need of one to minister iustice vnto him to conserue him in peace and to make such prouision that he may haue wherewith to eate and the like But a King who is to rule and gouerne hath need of wisedome which is the life and soule of Kings which sustaineth the weight of a Kingdome and without which be they neuer so rich neuer so powerfull they shall be as fit for gouernment as a body without a head or aâ—â— head without a soule And as from the soule the Sences are origined and from that essence result your passions so in like sort from wisedome resulteth vnto King and Kingdome all that good and happinesse that can be desired Rex sapiens stabilimentum est Ciuitatis A wise King is the vpholding of the people And a foolish King the ruine of his Subiects You shall not name that Nation either barbarous or ciuill which where Kings were made by election did not make choice of a wise and prudent King In that generall Dyet whereall the Nations of Trees and Plants met seeing that without Law and without a King they could not conserue themselues in peace and iustice the first resolution they tooke was to choose a wise King And in the first place they nominated the Oliue a tree of many good parts and qualities and amongst other this the chiefest that it was the Symbole or Hierogliffe of wisedome which is all whatsoeuer can be desired in a King This alone did King Dauid desire for himselfe Intellectum da mihi vivam Giue me vnderstanding and I shall liue He did not desire life nor health nor riches but onely vnderstanding and wisedom And with this alone did he promise to himselfe eternall life and a durable Kingdome And therefore Si delectamini sedibus sceptris ô Reges populi diligite sapientiam vt in perpetuum regnetis If your delight be in Thrones and Scepters O ye Kings of the people honour wisedome that ye may raigne for euermore Happy is that Common-weaâ—th saith Plato which hath a wise King And vnhappy that saith another Philosopher which hath a King without wisedome Aristotle tearmed the Thebans happy all the while that they were gouerned by those that were wise Of such consequence is wisedome in a King that vpon the very rumour that he is a wise Prince all presently obay and sooner submit themselues then at the noise of his power As was to be seene in King Salomon whose wisedome was no sooner knowen to the people but they began presently to respect and feare him But let me aske this question Shall it suffice a King to haue vnderstanding and wisdome vnlesse he make vse thereof and shew a willingnesse to execute what he knowes No certainly For the greatnesse of a power or faculty consisteth in it's operation The Vnderstanding without Intelligence like the Will without Loue serues to little or no purpose And it is doubted as I toucht in the beginning vpon which of these two potentias or faculties is that arme and hand whereby the soule operateth it's most excellent workes The vnderstanding alleageth for himselfe that it is he that in the kingdome of our soule doth ordaine dispose and gouerne The Will she saith that without her
but is most sencible of the offence it receiueth in submitting it selfe Whereupon oftentimes it sticketh close to it's opinion and what it hath once intertained it obstinately maintaineth and defendeth And therefore the Philosopher said Amicus Plato sed maior Veritas Plato is my friend but the truth more In confirmation whereof we daily see that the dearest and neerest friends and that are one and the same in their will and affection in their vnderstanding and opinion are diuerse and different Each of them maintaineth his owne particular Tenet and yet without offence continew still good friends In a word in matter of Knowledge and Vnderstanding because it is a thing that cannot be measured out by the yard or meate out by inches there is not that Man that can indure Maioria or that another should goe before him or get the start of him in that kinde Euery one resteth satisfied with his owne Vnderstanding and conceiues that his reason is the best and few will bee brought to acknowledge that they are in an errour And in a manner all men flatter themselues with their owne opinion and thinking they are in the right they are so farre from yeelding that they stiffely maintaine what they haue vndertaken you shall not beate them out of it as being perswaded that they haue the better end of the staffe in their hands And hence arise those earnest contentions and endlesse questions in your Consultations and debating of Causes those crosse incounters and differences in determining great businesses persisting violently in their opinion though it bee neuer so contrary vnto reason And though this be a common infirmitie and a generall fault in all of what state and condition soeuer yet your great persons in this point runne the greatest perill For as the sonne of Sirach saith all doe approue and celebrate their sayings not in that onely wherein they speake home to the purpose but when they speake foolishly and vtter things not to bee spoken Locutus est diues omnes tacuerunt verbum illius vsque ad nubes perducent When a rich man speaketh euery man holdeth his tongue and looke what he saith they extoll it to the cloudes For opinion being now as long since Mistris of the World shew ouerswaies substance and authoritie checketh reason It is not Goodnesse but Greatnesse that strikes the stroke But if a Prince would bee so holy and so zealous of the good of his Kingdome haue hee neuer so able a braine neuer so much Knowledge and Vnderstanding acknowledging what a large extent of Wisedome is required for the gouerning of a Kingdome as it ought to be gouerned that hee would be pleased to receiue some helpe and assistance hee hath very secure and certaine remedies in this case and all of them ordred and ordained by the Holy Ghost The first is To begge of God and that with a great deale of faith and Confidence Light and Wisedome Conforming himselfe to that of S. Iames Si quis vestrum indiget sapientia postulet à deo qui dat omnibus affluenter non improperat dabitur ei If any of you lacke wisedome let him aske of God that giueth to all men liberally and vpbraideth not and it shall be giuen him And for asmuch as in Kings this acknowledgment is vsually more difficult for that they are free and without dependance on any in their owne kingdomes so much the more acceptable in this kind are their prayers vnto God As King Salomon exemplifieth it vnto vs who confessing the shortnesse of his vnderstanding and his want of Wisedome for to gouerne so great a people that could not bee numbred nor counted for multitude acknowledging himselfe to be but as a little child and that hee knew not how to goe out or come in and humbly beseeching God that hee would be pleased to supply this defect he found so much fauour in his sight that he appeared vnto him after a solemne sacrifice and said Postula quod vis vt dem tibi Aske what I shall giue thee And this young King with a great deale of thankefulnesse and submission sayd Domine deus tu regnare fecisti servum tuum c. O Lord my God thuo hast made thy Seruant King in in stead of Dauid my father c. And thy seruant is in the midst of the people which thou hast chosen a great people c. Giue therefore thy Seruant an vnderstanding heart to iudge thy people that I may discerne betweene good and bad and be able to goe in and out before thy people And howbeit this discreete young King saw the doore of Gods mercie set thus wide open vnto him and what a liberall offer he had made vnto him to bestow fauours vpon him according to the measure of his owne desire yet did hee neither set his eyes nor his heart vpon Gold Siluer Riches or long life but as one that knew so well how to aske desired that he would out of his grace and mercy giue him the gift of Wisedome that hee might know how to gouerne his State and Kingdomes and to conserue them in peace and Iustice. And God was so well pleased with this his Petition that he did not onely bestow that vpon him but many other blessings with it and as the Apostle saith affluenter in a great aboundance making him the wisest the discreetest and the greatest king that euer was in the world And besides gaue him all that which hee omitted to desire or might haue desired To wit long life full of prosperitie honour and riches He did not account of these in comparison of wisedome and yet all those other fauours were conferred vpon him Quia hoc magis plaucit cordi tuo non postulasti diuitias c Because this was in thy heart and thou hast not asked riches wealth or honour nor yet hast asked long life but hast asked Wisedome and knowledge for thy selfe that thou mayst iudge my people ouer whom I haue made thee King Wisedome and Knowledge is granted vnto thee and I will giue thee Riches and Wealth and Honour such as none of the Kings haue had that haue beene before thee neither shall any after thee haue the like This very goodnesse this same Wisedome did his father Dauid beg of God Bonitatem disciplinam scientiam doce me Teach me good iudgement and knowledge Which is all that can be wish't or desired for to gouerne well In a word most certaine it is that Wisedome is the gift of God and that it is purchased as was that of Salomon with humble perseuering and confident prayer God can and doth make of Stones sons of Abraham which according to the Language of the holy Scripture are wise and prudent men Sambucus saith that Apollo being consulted with touching the helpe of wisedome made answer that hee knew no other remedie for it but silence For he that is ignorant of a thing by his talking bewrays
will he trust only to his own opinion but calleth another vnto him aduiseth with him takes his Counsaile and puts himselfe vnder his cure Eurigius king of the Gothes said in the Toletane Councell That euen those workes which in themselues were very good and did much import the Common-wealth wereby no means to be done or put in execution without the Counsaile of those that were good Ministers and well affected to the State vpon paine not onely of losse of discretion but to be condemned as the onely ouerthrowers of the Action Things being so various and so many and weighty the businesses as are those which come vnder the hands of Kings and craue their care to bee treated of the successe of them must needs run a great deale of danger when there precedeth not some diligent and mature Counsaile Kings I assure you had neede haue good both Counsailours and Counsaile hauing so many eyes as they haue vpon them some of iealousie and some of enuie so many that goe about to deceiue and doe deceiue them and many that doe not loue them as they ought I say they had neede of good both Counsailours and Counsaile and such a Councell as is more close and priuate as that of the Councell of State and sometimes and in some cases with a little more restriction and reseruednesse making choise of one two or more of their faithfullest and sufficientest Counsellours with whom they may freely Communicate their greater and lesser affaires and be resolued by them in matters of greater moment and such as importe their own proper preseruation and the augmentation of their Kingdome such as the Historians of Augustus paint forth vnto vs which kinde of course the Princes before and since his time haue taken and now at this present doe From the poorest Plowman to the Potent'st Prince from the meanest Shepheard to the mightiest Monarke there is a necessitie of this Counsaile And in effect euery one as hee can comformable to his Estate and calling must Consult with his Wife his Sonne his Friend or himselfe if his fortune afford him not a Companion whom he may trust or make his Confident How much doth it concerne Kings who possessing such great Estates and being subiect to so many Accidents haue need of a more perfect and Complete Councel And not any thing so much importeth them for the conseruation and augmentation of their Kingdomes as to haue about them iust prudent dis-interessed persons to aduise them with a great deale of faithfullnesse and loue and with free libertie of Language to represent the truth of that which to them and their Common-wealth is most fitting and conuenient Who for this purpose are as necessarie as great treasures and mighty Armies That holy King Dauid was more a fraid of the aduise of one wise Counsellour which his son Absolon had with him then of all the Men of Warre that followed him and his fortunes Plutarke and Aristole floute at Fortune in businesses that succeede well when men doe gouerne themselues by good Counsell And for this cause they stiled Counsaile the eye of those things that are to come because of it's foresight And for that wee haue treated heeretofore of the qualities of all sortes of Counsailours I now say That with much deliberation and aduise Kings are to make choise of those persons which are to aduise and Counsaile them For from their hitting or missing the marke resulteth the vniuersall good or ill of the whole Kingdome It is the common receiued opinion That the maturest and soundest Counsaile is to be found in those men that are growne wise by their Age and experience which is the naturall Daughter of Time and the Mother of good Counsaile Tempus enim multam variam doctrinam parit It is Euripides his saying Suting with that of Iob In antiquis est sapientia in multo tempore prudentia In the ancient is wisedome and in much time prudence Long time is a great Master which doth graduate men in the knowledge of things and makes them wary prudent and circumspect which is much if not wholly wanting in young men And therefore Aristotle saith of them that they are not good for Counsaile because Wit more then Wisedome in them hath it's force and Vigour Et tenero tractari pectore nescit saith Claudian And S. Ierome is of the minde that young Witts cannot weild weighty matters And that their Counsailes are rash and dangerous like vnto that they gaue King Rehoboam By whose inconsiderate aduise hee lost his Kingdome The same course hauing cost others as deare as is proued vnto vs out of S. Austen And therefore the Grecians Romans Lacedemonians Carthaginians and other Common-wealthes which were good obseruers of their Lawes and Customes did ordaine That a young man how wise so euer hee might seeme to be and of neuer so good and approued iudgement should not be admitted to the Counsell Table till he were past 50. yeares of Age who being adorned with Vertue and experience might assure them that hee would keepe a Decorum in all his Actions and performe his dutie in euery respect Lex erat sayth Heraclides ne quis natus infrà quinquaginta vel magistratum gerat vel Legationem obiret In fine for Councell Seneca and Baldus affirme That the very shadow of an old man is better then the eloquence of a young man But because good Counsailes are not in our hands but in Gods hands who as Dauid saith Dissipat consilia gentium reprobat consilia principum The Lord bringeth the Counsaile of the Heathen to nought hee maketh the deuises of Princes of none effect And the wisest of Kings tells vs. Non est sapientia non est prudentia non est consilium contra Dominum There is no Wisedome no vnderstanding no Counsell against the Lord. And in humane things there are so many Contingencies that mans wisedome is not alwaies sufficient to determine the best nor to hit aright in his Counsailes vnlesse the Holy Ghost be interuenient interpose it selfe and assist in them For let Priuie-Counsellours beate out their braines with plodding and plotting let them be neuer so vigilant neuer so studious they shall erre in their ayme and shoote beside the butt if hee direct not the arrow of their Councell and wisedome if he do not in Secret illighten their hearts illuminate their vnderstanding and dictate vnto them what they are to doe Which is done by the infusiue gift of the Holy Spirit co-operating in vs which is a diuine impulsion which doth eleuate raise vp our vnderstanding to hit the white and to choose that according to the rule the Diuine Law which is fit to be followed as also to be avoided And this is the gift of Councell giuen by God vnto his friends and such as serue him truly to the end that by his helpe they may light aright vpon that which of themselues they could neuer come
neere And he that is not Gods friend nor studies by his Actions to be so let him shake hands with the Holy Ghost let him bid this blessed Spirit farewell this diuine gift which is the best saith Nissenus and the most perfect that is in Man so that for to giue Counsaile and Aduice yeares experience and gray hayres suffice not vnlesse his soule be as white as his head and his conscience be pure and cleane from corruption Cani enim sunt sensus hominis The good abilities and wise apprehensions of man are those true siluer haires those hoary locks which countenance him and adde authoritie vnto him and not those snowie flakes nor hoare frost that lies vpon his bearde Aetas Senectutis Vita immaculata Wisedome is the gray hayre vnto men and an vnspotted life is old age So the wiseman renders it of vertuous olde men Galen saith that they haue the facultie of aduising and that of them wee must aske Counsaile God Commanded Moses that he should make choise of the Elders of Israel to gouerne his people De senibus Israel quos tu nosti quod senes populi sint Gather vnto me 70. men of the Elders of Israel whom thou knowest to be the Elders of the people Hoary-headed men accompanied with much vertue an approued life soundnesse of Religion and much prudence are those that are worthy to giue Counsaile and those which Kings are to make choyse of for their seruice The Emperour Charles the fift sayd it was fit that Princes should be serued by men that were learned and vertuous and that the Counsaile and companie of those which were not so were very preiudiciall and hurtfull Counsailours likewise must be of that greatnesse of courage and magnanimitie as may correspond with the Dignitie royall For Kings that haue not had in themselues any great courage haue still honoured noble minded Counsailours whereas the contrary haue bin disgraced and degraded of their honours by Kings that were naturally magnanimous For it is the condition of cowardly hearts and of base Counsailours en cuerpo yalma as they say in body and soule to propose vnto their Kings base and vnworthy meanes for the remedying of some mischiefes whereon others follow that are farre greater And let them not perswade them that this Age is barraine of vertuous dispositions and Noble mindes which produceth as well as former times whatsoeuer is necessary and needefull for them For the diuine prudence to which particularly appertaineth the conseruation of kingdoms is neuer drawen dry neuer waxes weary And if such men are wanting and appeare not to the eye of the world it is because they are not sought after or not admitted to Councell for the chastisement and punishment of our great and heinous sinnes Besides this one benefit Kings haue aboue others that all good men would be glad to serue them and many do sue and seeke after them and offer their seruice vnto them So that they haue store of choise and may easily make good election if therein they will strip and cleanse themselues of their affections and passions which Eclipse and darken the true iudgement of man And these that I now speake of when they haue found them and made choise of them to be of their Councell let them loue them honour them and trust them And as they shall receiue ease and honour by their good Aduise So let them reward them and conceiue of them as king Alexander did of his Master and Counsellour Aristotle of whom he said that he ought no lesse respect vnto him then vnto his owne father For from his father he had his life his honour and his kingdome but from Aristotle his Instructions Counsailes and directions how he should order himselfe in all his affaires And Scipio doth attribute all the honour of his Victories to his faithfull friend and Counsellour Laelius And Cicero to the Philosopher Publius for those notable things of his gouernment which he performed in his Consullship so that good and faithfull Counsailours are of great honour profit and ease vnto Kings But let Kings take heede least they strike a feare into their Counselours through their absolute and free condition and make them to withdraw themselues from aduising them what is fitting by seeing them so wedded to their owne opinion and to excuse themselues from giuing Counsaile for that they are dis-heartned discountenanced by them for deliuering their mindes freely for their profit honour Of the Emperour Adrian it is storyed that hee had so noble a condition Vt libenter patiebatur admoneri corrigivel ab humili persona That he willingly submitted himselfe to be admonished and reproued of the meanest person It is proper to gentile brests generous hearts to listen with delight to the good reasons Counsailes of others though they be inferiour in qualitie vnto them for sometimes a poore man hits right when a rich man misses the marke And a Country Clowne may aduise that which a king knowes not of And if he do perswade himselfe that he knoweth all and vnderstandeth all and that his opinion alone is the certainest surest he but shuts the doore to the discouery of his errour One of the two things saith Hesiod which euery man of reason wisdome and vnderstanding that shall be sufficient to gouerne that which shall be committed to his charge ought to haue is a great blandure smoothnesse and softnesse of heart to follow the opinion aduise and Counsaile of those that are the wisest and know most This blandure and doctlitie is likewise a part of Prudence and we shall finde it set downe in expresse words in those two Petitions which Salomon made vnto God For in the second of the Chron. It is written that he sayd Da mihi sapientiam Giue me wisedome And in the first of the Kings Dabis ergo seruo tuo cor docile Giue therefore thy seruant an Vnderstanding heart Vnderstanding for to know and an obedient heart for to heare the Aduise of others But this second part of being obedient to other mens opinions is vnprofitable for gouernment without the first which is prudence and wisedome for to choose and know the best For by following bad Counsaile he shall erre as much as if he followed his owne proper errour and sometimes more And I should hold it the lesse euill that a king were not ouerwise if presuming that he is he should relie too much vpon himself scorne to take counsaile then if he were lesse wise but knew how to benefit himselfe and make good vse of the Aduise of prudent and wise Counsailours A Prince of a docile and ingenious disposition is well disposed to intertaine all good Counsaile and doctrine He easily learneth the languages of all those nations which are vnder his Empire doth all things with as much facilitie as if he had beene bred vp in euery one of them And therefore sayd Heredotus Omnia sapientibus
facilia To the wise all things are easie And therefore your wise men giue the first place vnto that man who of himselfe knowes that which is fitting And the second to him that knowes how to follow good Counsaile But he that neither is wise nor will be ruled by the wise they know not in what forme to place him nor what name to giue him Plato calls them Children and further saith That such men as are not wise though they be neuer so aged are still Children And Seneca proueth that they begin euery day to liue because they vnderstand no more then the child that is new borne And Strabo is of the same minde Omnes Idiotae doctrinarum expertes quodammodo pueri sunt appellandi All Idiots and illiterate persons are after a sort to be called Children And because in the Chapters that are to follow by and by we are to treate more at large of this matter I conclude this with saying That Kings for to hit the nayle on the head and not to faile in the carriage of their businesses must alwayes take counsaile of wisemen such as are of knowne vertue and experience and not giue credit vnto any that prate and talke with a great deale of libertie and licence of those things they vnderstand not as if they were graduated in them from their Mothers wombe And only for a more happy in shew then prudent wit Least that happen vnto them which befell king Ahab who admitted to his Counsell a false Prophet that made great osteniation of that spirit which he had not Hee put the gouernment into his hands and all was gouerned by his Counsaile And because he did not speake by the spirit of God nor he himselfe well vnderstood what he sayd businesses went a misse the kingdome suffred and it cost the king his life And therefore we are not more to desire any thing of God for the good gouernment conseruation and augmentation of Kings and kingdomes then that he will be pleased to furnish them with good wise and prudent Counsailours such as are sound at the heart cleane from corruption and blamelesse in their conuersation For such as these will serue them in stead of Eyes and vnderstanding both wherewith they may see and vnderstand all that passeth in their kingdomes O how without eyes how blinde is that king who hath imprudent couetous and ill inclined Ministers And if he will conserue himselfe and his kingdome well he ought not so much to flye from those Physitians who either out of ignorance or particular hatred approue and consent to his eating of such meates as are hurtfull and contrary to his health as from ignorant Counsailours who either out of Adulation or for their particular Interest make all that lawfull which his free and absolute will shall lead him vnto For such Eare-wiggs as these will quickly spoyle the prosperitie of the kingdome ouerthrow the life of the king and prouoke the patience of the Subiect CHAP. VII A Prosecution of the former discourse shewing how Kings are to take Counsaile and what signes they are to marke and obserue for their better knowledge IT is a Prouerbe much celebrated amongst the Grecians That Consiliumest res sacra Counsaile is a sacred thing And as Diuus Thomas declares it it is a Light wherewith the Holy Ghost illightneth the vnderstanding to chose the best Others say That it is a science which doth weigh and consider How and When things are to be done that they may succeed well Aristotle saith That it is a well weighed and considered reason whether such a thing shall be done or not done And the Law de la Partida That it is good Aduice which a Man takes vpon things that are doubtfull that they may succeede well And indeede Counsaile is in all things exceeding necessary For without it can we neither treate of peace nor war Consiliis tractanda sunt bella Euery purpose is established by Counsell and with good aduise make war It is the saying of the Holy Ghost Ibi salus vhi multa consilia Much Counsell bringeth much safety Nor can there be any thing more preiudiciall nor any meanes more effectuall to destroy kings and kingdomes then to alter and peruert counsailes And this the Prophet Micah teacheth vs in a vision which he had in this forme God represented himself sitting on his Throne and all the Hoast of heauen standing by him on his right hand and on his left consulting with them what course he should take to destroy Ahab And euery one hauing deliuered his opinion there came forth a malignant and lying spirit like another Cayphas and gaue his verdit saying I will goe forth and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his Prophets I will instruct the Counsailours of Kings Ahab and with a lye cloathed with the appearance and likenesse of truth I will deceiue and destroy him This course was approued and held to be the fittest most effectuall for the kings vtter ruine and destruction And albeit in this diuine Vision and reuelation manifested for the disâ—deceiuing of Kings and to put them out of their errour there were many things worthy obseruation and consideration yet the principall note in my iudgement is That neither Ahabs want of vnderstanding nor his being head-strong nor wilfull in his opinion nor his being ouer-rash and vnaduised in what he vndertooke but his own sins and the sins of his people had put him in that estate and condition that dismeriting Gods fauour and the light of heauen the diuel did deceiue him guiding the tongues of his false Prophets telling them falsehoods for truthes doubtfull things for things certaine and by perswading him that that which was to be his destruction should turne vnto his profit honour S. Paul tells vs that Satan often times transformes himselfe into an Angell of Light and represents lyes and falshoods vnto vs in the shape figure of truth And the mischiefe of it is That the same which the diuell wrought vpon Ahabs Counsailours feigned friends and professed enemies haue and doe the like on some occasions procuring by secret meanes to introduce persons who making profession to side and take part with the king perswade him to do that which is least fitting for them and most vsefull for their own ends This is one of the greatest darings and insolencies that may in matter of State be attempted God free all good kings from such Counsailes and Counsailours When king Dauid saw how his sonne Absolon persecuted him and thought to go away with the kingdome he feared not any thing so much as the plots and Counsaile of Achitophel who was both a subtile Statist and a valiant Souldier and by whose aduise Absalon was wholly ruled and gouerned For the repairing of which mischiefe he got Hushai the Archite who was no whit inferiour vnto him in valour and prudence in a dissembling and disguised manner to offer his seruice
vnto Absalon and to worke himselfe in to be of his Councell of war and State that he might be the better able to oppose the able and sound aduice of Achitophel as he did euen then when his Master had most need of his seruice By which discreete carriage Dauid was freed of his fear and Absalons businesses went backward till himselfe and his whole Armie were vtterly ouerthrown Which story ye may read more at large in the second of Samuel Two things therefore are to be considered for to know which is the best and safest Counsaile The one on the Kings part who craues it the other on his part that giues it And on either part that which most importeth is purenesse of intention a desire to incounter with Truth Not like vnto those who hearken vnto good and disappassionated Counsailes with passion and onely desire to be aduised that the Councell may conclude what is meerely their Wil not otherwise And in their sittings at the Counsaile-Table which are ordained to this end they doe not so much treate whether that they pretend be iust or no but with what colour of Iustice they may effect what they desire The vnderstanding saith Salust which we will and with better reason or more properly tearme the Will ought to be free and dis-incumbranced of affection or particular passions as well in asking as giuing Counsaile And because if there be any of this reigning in the brest it cannot alwaies nay scarce any long time be dissembled but will like fire breake forth from vnder the ashes that couer it fitting it is That Kings should seldome assist personally in Counsaile for their Voting in his presence is done with awfulnesse and great respect but in his absence they vtter their mindes with a little more freenes and libertie of language And euermore your first opinions of your Ministers and Counsailours of State before they be toucht with the Ayre of the Kings will are the best and the sincerest as produced from that vnforst motion and naturall inclination which is in their owne particular hearts and bosomes If the King desireth to haue this or that thing passe and for to authorize and qualifie this his desire he craueth their Counsell howbeit hee meete with many which conforme themselues thereunto follow his gust and liking yet such Counsaile or aduice in such a Case ought to be esteemed as little secure as there is great reason for it to hold it suspected Especially if the foresaid Counsailours by some meanes or other come to haue an inckling that this way the King is inclined and this is that which will giue him content And though we might as well out of Diuine as Humane Letters cite heere many examples for that this is a thing so vsuall and so well receiued both by Princes and by Priuy-Counsailours Or to speake more truly and plainely by those that sooth and flatter them I will onely alleadge that which passed with that vnfortunate King Ahab who out of his proud and haughty spirit and the desire that he had to make warre and to take a place of importance from the King of Syria propounded his intent or to say better his Content to those of his counsell The businesse was no sooner in treatie and the proposition for the vndertaking of this action proposed vnto them but forthwith 400. Counsailours with a ioynt consent conformed themselues to his opinion And to sooth vp this his humour the more one amongst the rest bobb'd him in the mouth with an intollerable Lye affirming that God had reuealed vnto him that he should haue the glorie of the day that the successe of the battaile should be prosperous vnto him This was apprehended with a great deale of content by the King but was finished with his vnfortunate end himselfe being slaine in that battaile and his Army routed and ouerthrowne By which we may see how much it concerneth Kings if they will receiue good Counsaile that they dissemble as much as they can their particular good will and liking in the businesse proposed But that which is heere of greater consideration is the vertue fidelitie and truth of a Counsailour a minde without passion disinteressed and pure For it oftentimes hapneth that he that craueth Counsaile hath not his intention so sound as is requisite nor his iudgement so strong as to reduce him into the right way and being set in it to follow the best But to grow to a Conclusion that cannot faile which Truth it selfe our Sauiour Christ said in his Gospell A good tree cannot bring forth had fruit nor a bad tree good And the badge or cognisance of good or bad Counsaile shall doubtlesse be the goodnesse or badnesse the wisedome or ignorance of the Counsailour And therefore I importunately presse that it mainly importeth a Prince to beware of whom he taketh Counsaile For by how much the more profitable is a wise vpright Counsailour by so much the more preiudiciall is he that is vniust and vnstreight And therefore the Holy Ghost saith Consilum semper a sapiente perquire Aske Counsaile alwaies of the wise And in another place Pacifici sint tibi multi Consiliarius sit tibi vnus de mille Amongst a 1000. Men scarce will there be found one that is fit to giue Counsaile For some want wisedome prudence othersome purenesse and cleannesse of heart and a third sort are so ouerswaied with passion that they do not simply sincerely perswade the truth A cleare Example wherof we haue in King Rehoboam the sonne and successour of King Salomon who though he succeded his father in so rich a Kingdome and so inured to peace and obedience to their King yet notwithstanding was in an instant vndone vtterly lost by bad both Counsaile and Counsailours For good Counsellours are the life and soule of a Kingdome And when it is not vnderpropped with such like a body without a soule it presently sinke falls from it's state wherin it stood And therefore the holy King sayd O culi mei ad fideles terrae vt sedeant mâ—cum Ambulans in via immaculata hic mihi ministrabit Non habitabit in medio domus meae qui facit superbiam qui loquitur iniqua non direxit in conspectu oculorum meorum Mine eyes shall be vpon the faithfull of the Land that they may dwell with me Hee that walketh in a perfect way hee shall serue me Hee that worketh deceit shall not dwell in my house hee that telleth lyes shall not tarry in my sight And in this particular Kings ought to be very wary and circumspect In the next Chapter we will treate of the Care which they are to take in choosing their Counsellours of State for the errour in this one is the fountaine of all errours and the totall Perdition of Kings and kingdomes CHAP. VIII Of the Diligences which Kings are to vse in the Election of their Ministers and Counsellours IT is a
question that hath beene much sifted and winowed amongst your Morall Philosophers as also your Diuines whether Eâ—ection be formally a worke of the Vnderstanding or the Will Gregory Nyssenus saith That it is composed of both partes To wit of the Act of the Will and of the Vnderstanding And hee said well For therein is required both a fullnesse of Knowledge and a freenesse of Will And it is the Doctrine of Diuus Thomas who saith That it is not of the will alone but also of the Vnderstanding because the electiue Act of the Will conference consultation Iudgement is to precede which is the proper Act of the Vnderstanding But the mischiefe of it is That in Elections wee many times see the contrary and what a strange diuorcement and seperation there is heerein from this true Philosophie For that which now a dayes most of all discouers it selfe in these Elections is our proper gust will and affection And therefore to remedy so great a malady it shall be requisite that the Prince who desireth to tread sure to hit the marke he aymes at and to please God in those whom he electeth and calleth to his Counsell that hee follow the Example of our Sauiour Christ written for our instruction by the Euangelists S. Mathew and S. Luke who recounting the Election of S. Peter and of S. Andrew and other the Apostles as his principall Ministers there preceded a long and prolixe Oration or prayer full of feruour of zeale and of the Spirit and retyred himselfe into the desart and there fasted 40. dayes Et erat pernoctans in Oratione Dei And continued all night in prayer vnto God Which as S. Ambrose and other fathers haue well obserued Christ did not doe that hee had any neede of these Dispositions and Preambles for to iumpe right in that Election but to teach kings and all other Princes that if they will hit right in their Elections they are to vse the like Diligences They are by good and pious workes to procure this fauour at Gods hands and to direct all their actions to this end Nor would hee that this Election should be left wholly to the declaration of those Saints for our Sauiour did declare himselfe more particularly in the 10. of S. Luke Where speaking with the 70 Disciples which had nominated them he sayd vnto them Messis quidem multa operarij autem pauci rogate ergo Dominum Messis vt mittat operarios in messem suam The Haruest truly is great but the Labourers are few Pray yee therefore the Lord of the Haruest that hee would send forth Labourers into his Haruest And though in those former times these words were very seasonable yet now in this present age it 's necessitie is better knowne as likewise the truth thereof For the Haruests being so many and so great I meane so great and so many the varietie and multitude of important businesses for the welfare of the Common-wealth the Labourers are very few But to expresse my self a little more fully I say That very few are they that enter or seeke to enter into Offices for to labour and paines but for to liue at their pleasure to heape vp riches that they may increase the more in ambition and more freely take their ease The remedie of this consisteth in that which our Sauiour Christ commandeth vs To wit That we in defatigably pray vnto him that he will be pleased to send forth faithfull Ministers and good Labourers into his Common-wealth Ministers of knowen trust zeale vertue to whom may sute the name of Counsellours and not of Babblers of worthy men not of wordly men And kings to whom properly this Office of Election doth belong must put the more force insist the more in this prayer begging that which the wisest of Kings Salomon petitioned of God Da mihi sedium tuarum assistricem sapientiam vt mecum sit mecum laboret vt sciam quod sit acceptum coram te omni tempore O God of my fathers send me wisedome out of thy holy heauens and from the Throne of thy Glory that being present shee may labour with me that I may know what is pleasant vnto thee c. This wise and discreete king was not contented with that guide and light which humane wisedome might afford him but had recourse by prayer to that diuine Light and Wisedome which is that that guideth Kings without stumbling or feare of falling into errour For as Wisdome saith of her selfe Per me reges regnant c By me Kings reigne and Princes decree Iustice. As if shee should haue sayd By the hand and Light which I reach forth vnto Kings they goe rightly on in their iudgements and their Elections so that they reigne and conserue themselues in quiet possession of their Kingdomes The drift of my discourse is this That when a King shall come to elect and make choise of his Ministers his first care must be to pray heartily vnto God that hee will direct this his choise and election And so much the more diligence hee ought to vse therein by how much of more importance and of greater qualitie the Minister shall be that is to be imployed After Prayer which is diuine other humane diligences are to bee followed Whereof the chiefest is that the Prince informe himselfe of the good sufficiency the honest life and faire carriage of those whom hee is to choose And that heerein he may not be deceiued it is necessary that with Christ he goe vp vnto the Mount That is To eleuate his Consideration vnto God and to auoide vulgar opinions To strip himselfe of passion and not to strike hands with those that are not Gods friends To forget all kindred and Alliance Not to take in the infectious Ayre of fond affection Not to apply himselfe to that which the importunat intercessions and requests of a fauourite or kinsman shall seeke to draw from him for their priuate benefit Nor to hearken to the negotiation of cunning and subtile pretenders but onely to the good of the Common-wealth and the quicke dispatch of businesses and other the like offices that are to be exercised by men of their place And albeit it was my purpose not to serue my selfe in this discourse but with the Testimonies and Examples of holy Scripture and the Doctors that are Expositors thereupon Yet can I not omit to exemplifie heere in one of King Don Philip the second of this name whose soule doth rest in peace being that for his great prudence and zeale to Iustice and for his good gouernement all the Kings of the world may acknowledge him their Master The case is this A President of his time hauing proposed a Person for a place relating vnto him the qualities which concurred in him for the meriting thereof hee farther added That the Lady Infanta did much desire this prouision should bee made him Heereunto his Maiestie with a great deale of iudgement
and grauitie made answer Y miâ—hya que sabe desso What Has my Daughter a hand in this Can she iudge of his worth Giuing his President by this his Answer to vnderstand that he should not haue alleaged vnto him that for to make a good election which should passe the bounds of the consideration of those parts and qualities wherewith hee was to be furnished were his pretension neuer so much fauoured by the mediation and intercession of great persons And heereunto I farther adde that a king should in no hand content himselfe with the bare knowledge of those onely whom he knowes by sight and walke dayly vp and downe in his Court but that hee should take leysure to informe himselfe of as many as hee can and to follow the ancient custome in giuing order to his Generalls Vice-kings Prelates and Gouernours of euery Prouince to giue him information of the best and sufficientst subiects that are in their Gouernment and that after due consultation had with them they should nominate three or foure vnto him that from amongst many good hee might choose the best And the rest to bee listed and taken notice of that vpon occasion they might receiue imployment From whence likewise this good will arise that All in all partes great and small will study the Science and Arte of good gouernment fly Vice and follow Vertue that they may in their due time be numbered amongst the Chosen Let a King goe Con su spassos contados as they say with a slow foote in those Elections which he is to make giuing way vnto Time and to information Which hee ought willingly to heare neither in all giuing credit to all nor being as many are too incredulous Let him remit things to Tryall and Examination it being a thing needefull for him so to doe For if it be not wisedome to lend a facile eare to all that we heare for the wise man saith Qui citò credit leuis est corde So likewise doth it betoken little prudence to liue alwaies suspicious and distrustfull Something must be left to Experience But to come to the qualifying of persons if the one's qualities be of ten the other of nine quilates and all of them necessarie for the Office of a Counsellour the first ought to be preferred though the other out strip him in Estate in fauour in riches and greatnesse For in that Ministry there ought respect to be had onely to the aduantages of sufficiencie and not of power Nor seruices albeit two be equall in sufficiencie must loose their place and right But that hee who hath done the greater seruices for his King and Countrie ought to bee preferred before the other Now there is this difference amongst many others betwixt a good Prince and him that is not so that a good Prince conferrs his Offices according to the sufficiencie and vertue of the Minister he maketh choise of the other vpon fauour and humane respects vsing therein his power but not attending distributiue Iustice which rewardeth euery one according to his deserts without respect either vnto persons or particular intents CHAP. IX Of the Qualities which Kings are to consider in those whom they are to make choise of for Ministers and Counsellours WE may very well answer that which is heere questioned with that which is recounted in the 18. Chapter of Exodus where it is said That Iethro seeing his son in law Moses wearyed and tyred out in the gouernment of that great body of Gods people and that it was more then one mans worke to giue sufficient dispatch to so many businesses did aduise him to choose but a certaine number of Ministers and Counsellours that might helpe to ease him of that burthen which was too heauy for his shoulders Vltra vires 〈◊〉 est negotium solus illud noâ— poteris sustinere This thing is too heauy for thee Thou art not able to performe it thy selfe alone Cadendo cades saith another Letter By falling thou shalt fall and all this people that is with thee Daras de ojos as they say à cada passo Thou must looke well about thee And ioyntly with this hee propounded the qualities which hee ought to consider in those whom hee was to choose for that Ministrie Proinde ex omni plebe viros sapientes timentes deum in quibus sit veritas Or as another letter hath it Viros veridicos qui oderint avaritiam Thou shalt prouide out of all the people able men such as feare God men of truth hating Couetousnesse c. Now let vs goe pondering euery word in particuler and in them the qualities of Ministers The first is Prouide Which signifieth not onely to prouide but to fore-see and consider For the election of a Minister is a businesse of great prouidence and consideration and the most important and necessarie for a King in matter of gouernment On the good or bad Election of Counsellours dependeth the whole honour and profit both of King and Kingdome And he that erres in this must necessarily erre in all For the spring of a fountaine being spoyled all the water is spoiled And a King failing in this Principle all goes to destruction For without doubt all good dispatch growes from the force and vertue of good Counsaiâ—e Then therefore is a King held to be wise and prudent when he hath wife and prudent Counsailours Hee succeedeth well with all his Intentions and inioyeth same credit and reputation both with his subiects and with strangers Of the one he is beloued and obayed and of the other dreâ—ded and feared and of all esteemed and commended The whole kingdome resteth contented and satisfied And though in something hee sometâ—me erre none will beleeue it But when Priuie-Counsailours are no such manner of men all murmur and proclaime to the world That there is not an able man in all the Counsell and if in some one thing or other hee hap to haue good successe few or none will giue credit thereunto but rather conceiue it was done by Chance The sacred Text says farther De omni plebe Out of all the People As if he should haue said out of all the 12. Tribes or families of this people thereby to giue vs to vnderstand That for to make a good Election it is requisit that there should not remaine a nooke or corner in all his kingdomes where diligence should not be vsed as before hath beene sayd to search out the fittest Ministers And likewise it may in this word be giuen vs to vnderstand that in matter of Election wee are not to haue respect to Linage Kindred or Parentage but to vertue sufficiencie and courage accompained with other good qualities which adapt a man to be a Counsellour And therefore it is said anon after Viros sapientes Wisemen men of vnderstanding heads and stout hearts which dare boldly and plainely to speake the truth and to maintaine and put it in execution when they see fit time for your pusillanimous
he might destroy the workes of the Diuell Whereby he shewed no lesse courage then gained reputation And it is one of the most preiudiciall things that can befall Common-wealths to seeke to honour such persons in whom doe not concure those qualities nor the knowledge of such Ministers and giuing them the Title of Counsellours which haue neither that sufficiency of knowledge nor wisedome which is necessary for to giue a good and sound opinion in graue and weighty matters And as it were a foolish and vnaduised thing in him that hath neede of a payre of shoes to go to looke them at a Barbers and not at a shomakers shop so is the case alike when wee leaue wise and experienced men in a Common-wealth lurking in a corner and put those into eminent places which neither know how to begin nor end businesses nor what course in the world they are to take That which is fittest for them but much more for a King and kingdome is to let them alone in their ignorance Quia tu scientiam repulisti repellam ego te saith God Because thou hast reiected knowledge I will also reiect thee For one foolish Minister alone is an intolerable burthen for a Kingdome Arenam salem massam ferri facilius est ferre quam hominem imprudentem fatuum Sand and salt and a masse of yron is easier to be borne then a man without vnderstanding Three things saith hee which are the heauiest to beare are more easie to bee borne and with more patience to be indured then the imprudencies of an vnwise and foolish Minister CHAP. X. Hee continues the Discourse of the qualities of Ministers and Counsellours THe last words of Iethros Aduice were Et qui oderint Auaritiam hating Couetousnesse A qualitie no lesse necessary then those before specified The 70. Interpreters translate it Et qui odio habent superbiam Hating pride There are some men which rake vp a great deale of wealth and are couetous only to keepe and make the heape the bigger liuing for this cause miserably vnto themselues and deepely indebted to their backe and belly Others there are that scrape and scratch by hooke or by crooke all the money they can finger that they may afterwards prodigally spend it and maintaine their vaine pride and ostentation But in what sort so euer men be couetous sure I am That Couetousnesse is one of the worst notes and basest markes wherewith Kings Ministers and Counsailours of State can be branded Auaro nihil est Scelestius saith Ecclesiasticus There is not a more wicked thing then a couetous man And from those that are toucht with this infection Kings are to flye as from a plague or Pestilence and be very circumspect and wary that they be not admitted to the Councell Table and to remoue those from thence that haue receiued any bribe For it is an incurable disease a contagious corruption which like a Leprosie goes from one to another and clingeth close to the soule Besides to receiue is a sweete thing and leaues the hand so sauory and so well seasoned that it hath no sooner receiued one gift but it is presently ready for another a third a fourth and so in infinitum And the end of that which is past is but a disposition for that which is to come Like a hungry Curre who hath no sooner chopt vpone morsel but he is ready for another And he perhaps who at first was contented with a little could say Esto basta â—y sobra This is inough and too much afterwards much too much and more then too much will not satisfie his hungry mawe Infinita enim est et insatiabilis cupiditatis n-atura Infinite saith Aristotle and insatiable is the gut of couetousnesse And the Holy Ghost tells vs Auarus non implebitur pecunia He that loueth siluer shall not be satisfied with siluer nor he that loueth aboundance with increase For it is a kind of salte and brackish water wherewith couetous mans thirst cannot be quenched for when he hath taken this and that other and a world of things he gapes still for more He is better satisfied by denying him that which hee desireth then by giuing him that which he craueth And therefore publicke Ministers if wee will credit Diuinitie should be so noble and so free that they should not onely not be couetous but quite opposite thereunto and to hold a particular hatred and perpetuall enmitie with couetousnesse That they should not onely not receiue giftes and presents but that they should hate and abhorre them and cause those to be informed against that either shall giue a bribe or pretend to giue For most true is that saying of the sonne of Sirack Munera dona excaecant oculos Iudicum Presents and gifts blind the eyes of wise How sone is a couetous man blinded when he beholdes the baite of his Passion Nor is there any thing more often repeated in sacred and prophane writ then the putting vs in minde of force and efficacie which gifts haue to wrest Iustice and peruert iudgement Moses saith of them That they blinde the eyes of the wise and that they turne and winde the words of good men chopping and changing one for another to serue their purpose Qui quaerit Locupletari peruertit oculum suum The gift blindeth the wise and peruerteth the words of the righteous By which is vnderstood the Intention which is easily wrested when interest puts to a helping hand which is that Loade-stone which drawes the yron after it and causeth them to erre that suffer themselues to be carryed away therewith If a Iudge be couetously giuen he will soone varie his opinion and make no scruple to condemne the poore who hath nothing to giue him and absolue the rich who giues him all that hee hath For mony is an able Aduocate and pleads hard And Iustice sayth Isidore is strangled with gold The times are ill when that which cannot be obtained by Iustice must be procured by Money Fiue hundred yeares and more was Greece gouerned by Lycurgus his Lawes to the great happinesse of the Naturalls of that Countrie and admiration of strangers without the breach of any one Law by meanes whereof that Common-wealth was sustained with admirable peace and Iustice because priuate interest had no power with the Iudges of the Land But when money came to beare sway and that men tooke pleasure therein and made it their happinesse the Common-wealth was made vnhappy and the Lawes and Iustice were trodden vnder foote He saith the wise man that is greedy of gaine troubleth his own house Qui autem odit munera viuet But hee that hateth gifts shall liue And I doe not see how hee can liue who receiuing so much so often and of so many sees himselfe so laden and so inuironed and beset with obligations which are so opposite and contrary one to another I say contrary because the Pretenders are so amongst
estate behind him to his Heyre And he who heerein does more then he can will likewise do more then he ought For he that will seeke to out-doe his meanes will not sticke to out-doe his honestie In a word gifts haue euermore bred a iealousie of Corruption and in Iudges esteemed the foulest fault Oh of how little worth is a little gift and yet what a great hurt to a Ministers honour A gift saith Nazianzene is a secret Tyrant which doth subdue and tread all vnder foote And to giue is of all other the greatest Tyranny and the greatest violence It is Senecas Counsell That he that will inioy his owne freedome must not receiue anothers benefit Foâ— to giue is to in-slaue And the receiuer is the giuers slaue Gifts are but Gyues and chaines wrought of strong linkes The ending of one being the beginning of another And where the first ends the second begins And this as they say dispone la trabaion para otrâ—s muchos serues but as a Timber peece to couple and fasten many others Take heede therefore saith the Emperour Iustinian of receiuing giftes which quit our libertie blinde our vnderstanding incline our wills and defame our honour But make thou much of cleane hands for he that shall keepe his hands cleane and shall not suffer himselfe to be corrupted by priuate Interest shall haue much honour and fame in this life and a great place prouided for him in that other Qui excutit manus suas ab omni munere iste in excelsis habitabit Regem in decore suo videbunt oculi eius hee that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes hee shall dwell on high And his eyes shall see the King in his beauty All this and more shall they attaine to that are truly of pure heart and cleane hands All this say they that you say is true We confesse as much But withall we must tell you That that which we receiue is subsidium gratuitum a free gift a â—eere gratuitie with a great deale of loue and good liking of the Giuer And we affirme That all for the most part that is giuen is respectiue and is in that Predicament which the Logicians tearme Ad aliquid Whereby he that receiueth a courtesie is bound to returne a courtesie And those which giue hope to receiue from such Ministers that which they cannot iustly giue them With these conditions a gift is lawfull and esteemed to be lawfully receiued when it comes free vnclogg'd disinteressed without pretension and without respect of requitall or reference to any recompence or retribution That is a gift which goes dis-roabed of all respects which is neither a friend nor kindsman nor kindswoman of the party that giues it and hath no obligation no Interest no necessitie but is all pure loue and is freely giuen of grace onely to do him good that receiues it The rest is Vsurie Loane brâ—bery and hope of gaine And if they will see that this is true let them come downe from that high place wherein they are let a Visitation goe forth against them and they shaâ—l quickly see how euery man longs and desires that that may bee returned to the Owners which they haue got by foule play It is a great blindenesse in Ministers to imagine that what is giuen them proceedes from liberalitie and out of the good will and loue they beare vnto them God he knowes it is no such matter but what they do in this kinde is only to corrupt them and to oblige them to do that which they neither may nor ought Let them beleeue me and not deceiue themselues For to giue and receiue is a cunning peece of businesse a thing of great artifice wit and subtiltie and on whatsoeuer occasion it worketh it workes Miracles But in case gifts should not corrupt at least they appease and moue affection Being as that wise King Salomon saith like vnto the wâ—ues of the Sea which make the tallest ship to reele be she neuer so weâ—l ballasted And waues neuer come single Aâ—d if they be strong waues indeede they ouerturne her and sinke her in the Sea Repromâ—sâ—io nequiâ—â—â—ma mâ—ltos perdidit Commouit illos quasi fluctus maris Let them looke well to themselues that receiue gifts for they run a great deale of hazard let them take heede least some storme arise that may drowne their ship euen then as often hath beene seene when she is deepest and richest laden And let them not trust to their taking in secret nor of such and such a person for the Diuine Sunne of Iustice whom they offend will discouer and bring all to light And though no body should see or know it it is enough that God and his own Conscience knowes it which are two sure Witnesses besides many other which time will produce They likewise alleage That they haue leaue and licence of their Kings to receiue gifts Whereunto first of all I answer that it is not to be beleeued that Christian Kings will grant such Licences as these which are so preiudiciall pernicious scandalous and so contrary to the Common good and good gouernment of their Kingdomes Secondly I say speaking with that reuerence and respect which is due vnto the authoritie of Kings that it cannot be grounded on good Diuinitie that they may giue any such leaue or licence vnto their Ministers Againe they vrge that sometimes in some particular case gifts haue beene giuen to some great Priuado or fauourite of the King It may be so But sure I am that to no Counsellour of Iustice can it euer iustly be or may be done But because this will fall within the compasse of our insuing discourse I will cite those words Timentes Deum Fearing God Which follow anon after the beginning For well will it suite that with these we conclude this Chapter because the feare of God is the beginning of wisedome And from whence as from their fountaine are deriued all those other good qualities that are in man Timor Domini super omnia se superposuit There is none aboue him that feareth the Lord. Et beatus homo cui donatum est habere illum And happy is that man to whom it is giuen For he that hath the feare of God hath all the good that can be desired Plenitudo sapientiae est timere Deum To feare the Lord is fullnesse of wisedome He that would be a generall Scholler in all kinde of knowledge be well seene in all the Artes and Sciences and haue all those good parts and qualities combined and ioyned together let him loue and feare God For he that feares him and hath him alwayes before his eyes hath libertie and power to ouercome the feare and dread of the mightie whereof the World doth stand and all for want of this feare too much in awe Among the Lawes of Moses Iosephus relateth one wherein he willeth Iudes that they should aboue all things preferre Iustice and that
without respect to any mans person or dignitie they should equally iudge all For they hauing as they haue heere vpon earth the power of God they ought not to feare any other but him He that preuaricates Iustice in relation to great persons makes them greater and more powerfull then God who giues vs this short but stoute Lesson Feare not him that can kill the body and take away thy life but feare thou him that can kill the soule and depriue thee of lifeeuerlasting And in another place he saith Thou shalt not forsake the poore for feare of the rich nor iudge vniustly nor doe the thing that is vnequall for feare of the powerfull but keepe iustice in it's true weight and measure without any humane respect or vaine â—eare King Iehosaphat aduiseth the Iudges of Israel that in their iudgements they feare none but God alone and all the Law-giuers as Lycurgus Solon Numa and a number of others together with the chiefest of all Moses who gouerned Common-wealths and made Lawes founded them with Religion and the feare of God These are the first and last Letters of the Lawes of Christian gouernment wherewith that wise King did summe vp the booke of those which hee made for the gouernment of Men. Deum time mandata eius obserua hoc est omnis homo Feare God and keepe his Commandements for this is the whole dutie of man With this he receiueth the stabilitie and permanencie of man The contrary whereof is to be a beast and worse then a beast According to that of S. Bernard Ergo si hoc est omnis homo absque hoc nihil est homo If this be the whole duty of man without this man is nothing But as a man that hath no vse of reason breakes all lawes Facile deuiat à justitia qui in causis non Deum sed homines formidat He easily swarues from Iustice which in causes feareth not God but Man I will heere conclude with that which Esay saith A wonderfull Counsellour is the mighty God And he is to be our chiefe Counsellour and more inward with vs then any King or Counsellour And Kings and Counsellours are to craue his Councell For Councell being his gift he doth not communicate the samâ— to any saue such as loue and feare him and take Councell of his diuine Law As did that holy King Consilium meum Iustificationes tuae Let euery one enter into his Councell of knowledge let him consult himselfe the best that he can yet when he hath done all that he can let him aduise with the Law of God For if he do not know well how to aduise himselfe how shall he giue Counsaile to others And he that knowes not how to rule gouern himselfe how shall he command a whole kingdome Qui sibi nequam est cui alij bonus crit He that is euill to himselfe to whom will hee be good Alexander said He hated that wise man that was not wise for himselfe CHAP. XI Of other Courses and meanes which Kings may take for the notice of such persons in whom the said Qualities concurre ONe of the greatest mischiefes incident vnto Kingdomes is That Kings haue not true notice giuen them of worthy persons for to imploy them in his seruice A great cause whereof is that your vndeseruing or at least lesse sufficient are clapt in betwixt them and home Those are the men that are most intermitted take most vpon them and procure by their Negociating and Plotting to occupie the best places and not contenting themselues therewith seeke to shut the doore against men of merit and to keepe them out to the end that their owne defects by this course may receiue the lesse discouery For this is the nature of things opposite each to other that the neerer they are one to the other the more excellent lays it's Contraryes defect the more open Now to occurre to this mischiefe wise Iethro aduised his sonne in Law that he should seeke out men of good parts and choose them as we sâ—yd before from amongst all the people And we shall better perceiue what that Counsaile comprehendeth if we will but consider that other place of Deuteronomy Where Moses discoursing with the people what diligence he had vsed on his part it is there mentioned that he spake vnto them and admonished them to the end that the Election of the Ministers might take the better that they themselues likewise would vse their diligences and then giue him notice of those persons which they held in greatest esteeme amongst them and were in the generall opinion the ablest men Date ex vobis â—iros sapientes gnaros quorum Conuersatio sit probata in Tribubus vestris vt ponam eos vobis Principes Take yee wise men and vnderstanding and knowen amongst your Tribes and I will make them Rulers ouer you And indeed the best and surest course that Kings can take to come to that notice or knowledge they desire is to lay holde on those persons whose approbation is so notorious that all the people giue good Testimonie of them For as a wise man hath well obserued the generall opinion is that Touchstone which proueth or reproueth For it cannot be that One should deceiue All. And happily from hence grew that Common Adage Vox populi vox Dei The Peoples voyce is Gods voyce We must giue Credit to the fame and report that goes of Men. For as Tacitus saith she sometimes makes the choyse of Ministers it being his meaning that this satisfaction should be giuen to the people that those that are to gouerne them should be chosen and elected by that common fame and good report that goes of them And heere by the way let me tell you that it is not much amisse that some Offices and Preferments be in a dissembled kinde of disguise purposely published before they be bestowed to see how it will be intertained and receiued by the people to whom it is fit some satisfaction should be giuen as being the body that is to be commanded This is a Trick of State whereof vpon some occasions Fernando surnamed the Wise made good Vse For when he was to goe any great Voiage vndertake any Warre or attempt some new Enterprise or any other action of importance he would not publish nor iustifie the same to the world till he had vsed some art and cunning imploying some persons fit for that purpose before his designes were throughly vnderstood to giue it out That the King should do well to make such or such a waâ—re to make this or that prouision for this or that reason So that first of all the vulgar were made acquainted therewith and rested satisfied with the reasons that were rendred for it And then afterwards it comming to be published that the King had done or would doe such a thing it is incredible to beleeue with how much ioy loue and applause of the people and whole
Kingdome this his Resolution was receiued But mistake me not I pray I do not say that this is to be done alwayes but on some occasions or great preparations And Kings in this case must haue a care that they haue faithfull Centinells that may truly certifie them how that Newes takes and what exception if any arise they make against it and vpon what grounds that if any thing had beene omitted it might be amended A President not vnlike to this had the Roman Common-wealth in those it's first flourishing dayes Which did cause their Lawes to be set vp in publike for 27. dayes together before they should be of force to the end that the people might peruse them and thinke well vpon them How much more ought this Course to be taken in Legibus viuentibus in those liuing Lawes which are your greater and principaller sort of Ministers and such as are to command and gouerne a Common-wealth who ought to be well beloued and well recâ—iued of the people that they may loue them respect them and beleeue them in all they shall say as they would their own fathers I well perceiue that there may be much deceit in the world and that there are some men so subtile and so cunning that only with a pen in their hand they make themselues Masters of other mens studies and labours and by this tricke gaine the credit and opinion of able and sufficient men when as indeed they are nothing lesse And this deceit takes more in matter of learning and wisedome which as we said before cannot be measured out with the yard And in no place is this so common as in the Courts of Kings where your purpurated persons saith Seneca meaning those that abound in riches and other corporall ornaments stand a loofe of from the Vulgar and yet vse to be vulgar in their vnderstanding to the preiudice of the good and true esteeme of things and amongst these kinde of men those easily get the name and fame of wise who talke boldly and spinne out a large discourse of those things which they well vnderstand not And it is daily seene that some of these superficiall fellowes haue beene preferr'd to better places by these their false ostentations and feigned knowledge then great Learned Clarkes by shewing themselues humble-minded temperate in their talke and moderate in their conuersation could euer attaine vnto And if this did happen only in those Sciences and faculties which they call depone lucrando which are studied for to get temporall riches it were tolerable because for this end opinion is of more profit for them then Truth But the griefe of it is that this passeth forward euen vnto those that are professours of that Science which as it is in it selfe superiour so ought it to make those which professe the same superiour in minde and vnderstanding and make them much more to esteeme the truth and existency of wisedome and knowledge then false opinion falsly gained amongst the lesse wiser sort of men Now for the auoyding of these inconueniences it importeth much that a King do not rely too much vpon the opinions of the Vulgar which in particular are various and ill grounded but when they shall heare it generally spoken that such a one is an eminent man in this or that other thing and that he hath not his fellow in the kingdome for these and these abilities let the Counsell be called the Partie thus recommended examined and let the King take information from them that are euery way as able as he euen in that wherein he professes himselfe his crafts-master whether they giue vp the same verdit of him or no So that the fame and opinion of a good Souldiers of a good Captaine and of a good Gouernour must be confirmed by the Testimonie of those that are the best both Souldiers Captaines and Gouernours By this line may you leuell by this course secure the approbation of all other Offices And in those whose sufficiencie may be seene and measured out by the suruay of Officialls there cannot be so much deceit therein but in those who are to serue a King and State with great studies and with the knowledge of diuers faculties as are your greater dignities and Ecclesiasticall functions where as we are taught by the Apostle S. Paul there is necessarily required great learning great integritie of life and great prudence and therefore had more neede of examination and triall And I hold it for a great inconuenience that the iudgement of things of so high a nature should be remitted to the relation of those who are not onely farre from being able to iudge but scarce know how to speake truly of them By meanes whereof it is very vsuall with them to suffer themselues to be ouercome by deceit and ouerswaied with passion holding those for the best and worthiest and recommending them to the King for those high Ministeries and Offices to whom either they or their friends and kinse folke beare most affection or are most beholding But opinion ought not to carry these things vnlesse it be confirmed with very good and sure Testimonies Much of this mischiefe will be remedied if for these and such like great Dignities and Offices we should not rely only vpon Fame or that voice and report which comes a far off and somtimes painted ouer with apparencies and in the maske and disguise of truth being nothing else saue meere passion but that we should looke a little neerer into the inside of these persons and grow by communication into a fuller knowledge of them Not that knowledge which some Ministers speake of who are sayd to know only those whom they preferre or are willing to preferre and only for that they haue heard them talke in ordinary matters of complement and base flatteries which they vse more which haue all their wisedome in their lips then those that are truly graue and learned men Mens witts are not like the water of a fountaine which at the first draught our palate findes to be thicke or thin salt or sweete It is like a Sea without a bottome or like vnto a deepe riuer to know whose depth we must wade through it from side to side Sicut aqua proâ—unda Sic consilium in corde viri saith the holy Ghost Counsaile in the heart of a man is like a deepe water Sed homo sapiens exhauriet illud But a man of vnderstanding will draw it out And it is the learned and wise that must make iudgement of wise and learned men In the sacred history of Genesis we reade that when the holy Patriarke Isaac determined to giue the benediction of the primogenitureship to his elder sonne Esau Iacob came athwart him and feigned himselfe to be Esau whom his aged father meant to blesse and in a distinct and cleare voyce sayd vnto him I am thy first begotten sonne Esau To whom the Patriarke made answer Thy voyce seemeth not to be the voyce of Esau but
Nabuchodonazars image but that all the whole body be one and the selfe same flesh and bone all of the same matter and informed with the same forme That bundle of sheafes which Ioseph saw his like the King-sheafe lifting vp his head higher then the rest and if we may beleeue the Rabbins reaching as high as heauen and those of his brethren prostrate on the ground doing homage thereunto is the Embleme of the body of a Councell it's President like vnto that of king Pharaoh And the sacred Text doth not say that that tall and high sheafe was different in matter from the rest but that all were of the same eare and stalke giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that he that is to be the Head or President of the whole body of a Councell though he be to be higher then the rest in the dignitie and hight of his Office yet for all this God would not that he should be made of any other kinde of matter then were the rest of the members That he should not besome great block-headed Lord or a man without wit or learning that in his carriage and manner of life he should seeme to be cut out of another peece of cloath but that hee should bee of the selfe same qualitie fashion and profession And that the President of euery Councell should be chosen from amongst the Counsailours themselues that they be moulded out of the same Masse and lumpe as well the feete as the head that there goe as we say but a payre of sheares betweene them and that they be clad all in one and the same liuerie And God giuing order to his Vice-roy and in it to all Kings how he was to choose a President that should be the Head and ruler ouer his people saith thus vnto him Eum constitues quem Dominus tuus elegerit de numero fratrum tuorum Thou shalt in any wise set him King ouer thee whom thy Lord thy God shall choose One from among thy brethren shalt thou set King ouer thee And howbeit God had heere exprest himselfe so plainely and that he himselfe had the nominating of the person and therefore there could be no errour in the Election yet it seemeth God was not satisfied heerewith but comes presently with another Prouiso and a second Mandatum saying Thou mayst not set a stranger ouer thee hominem alterius gentis which is not thy brother He must not be of another people or of another familie As if he should haue said not of another Councell Doubtlesse saith S. Chrysostome this is a businesse of great consequence and we are to insist much thereupon considering that God himselfe doth recommend and repeate it so often vnto vs to the end that it may be imprinted in the hearts of Kings And in Reason of State and matter of gouernment it is the greatest benefit they can do to their Kingdomes And therefore amongst other those great and many fauours which God promâ—sed to conferre vpon his people speaking vnto them in the similistude of the Vine he indeareth this as the greatest That he will set a guard about them and Gardiners or vineyard-keepers that shall be within the precincts thereof Dabo ei vinitores ex eodem loco I will giue her her Vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for a doore of hope But my good Lord within the precincts of a Vineyard what can be had there but hedges and Vine-plants Had it not beene better to giue vnto this Vineyard a lusty strong Laborour to dresse and prune it and to keepe and defend it from passengers The Chalde â—xpounds this place very well For in stead of Vinitores he puts Gubernatores Which are Rulers and Presidents And for to be as they ought to be we haue said already that they should be vniforme with the members For if they be the Vine he must likewise be a Vine that must be â—â—eir Head Christ himselfe that he might be the Presiden◠〈◊〉 Head of that Apostolicall Councel where the Apostles were as tender plants and had the same proprieties made himselfe a Vine to conforme himselfe vnto them Ego sum vitis vera vos palmites I am the true Vine and yee the branches To the end that Kings may vnderstand and all the World may know of how great importance it is that the Members and Head Counsailours and Presidents should in their qualities and conditions be very conformable sithence that heerein he would not dispence with himselfe much lesse therefore with others and for this cause Presidents ought still to be chosen out of the same Councells Ex eodem loco eiusdem gentis de numero fratrum suorum Out of the same place the same people and from amongst their brethren And if Counsailours might haue the hope of such increase of honour in their persons it would make them much better then they are and they would study to win themselues credit and to cumply in all things with their obligation seruing with carefullnesse and satisfaction as well to give their Kings good content as that they againe might take notice thereof and in their greatest occasions imploy them in their seruice This rule did that great gouerner of Gods people Moses obserue who hauing as wee savd vsed diligence for to seeke out persons which might helpe him furnished with those qualites afore-mentioned made a distribution and diuision amongst them allotting them places and Offices answearable to their Talent And which is worthy the noting that as he himselfe affirmeth in another place the noblest and wisest amongst them he made rulers ouer the rest For when in noblemen concurre the qualities of wisedome and prudence and other the Vertues there is a great deale of reason nay a strong obligation lyes vpon it that Presidentships and the greatest dignities pâ—aces of honour should be bestowed vpon them especially when not degeneraâ—ing from the Vertue of their Ancestors but surpassing them therein they haue the aduantage of noblenesse of blood vpon which vertue like a Diamond set in gold shewes it selâ—e the better and appeares the more beautifull The words of that most wise Law-giuer wheron this discourse will be the better grounded are these Tuli de Tribubus vestris viros sapientes nobiles constitui eos Principes Tribunos Centuriones Quinquegenarios ac Decanos qui docerent vos singula I tooke the cheife of your Tribes wise men and knowen and made them Heads ouer ye Captaines ouer thousands and Captaines ouer hundreds and Captaines ouer fifties and Officers amongst your Tribes Out of euery Tribe he chose the worthiest and most sufficient men and made them Heads and Presidents in that gouernment And he that was so zealous of the Lawes and good gouernment valiant Mattathias in that prouision of Offices which he distributed at his death he said of Simon Scio quod vir consilij est ipsum audite semper And because he was so wise a Counsailour
he made him President of the Councell Iudas Machabaeus fortis viribus à juuentute suâ— Iudas Machabaeus was a valiant man from his youth he had beene alwayes bred vp in the warres Sit vobis princeps militia and therefore he made him Generall of the Armie For as Plato saith Quilibet ad ea idoneus est inquibus sapit Euery man is fittest for those things wherin he hath best skill Now when kings shall haue found out such fit persons as haue bin by vs propounded they are to distribute order their Councells and Counsailours to appoint their President charging them to keepe euery one his proper place and Station that they enuy not one another nor sue to be preferred to a supremer Councell and to haue a care that each man in his owne Councell be rewarded according to his good seruices For it is impossible but that he that treateth in all businesses must needs erre in some nor can he that is ouer charged with businesses giue good satisfaction vnto all But there are some that loue to double their files would if they could haue a 100. Offices at once pretending that there is want of fit men for those Offices seeking that they may be doubled redoubled and quadrupled on themselues They are like vnto another Gerion of whom it is sayd that he is in Hell because hee would be Three instead of One What will become then of those that would be twenty yea a hundred nay inioy all the Offices in a Kingdome These had neede of another farre greater Hell if that be not hell enough they haue already With the foresayd distinction and diuision of Councell and Counsailours farre better and more speedily will businesses be dispatched and the King shall be at more ease in his person and more at quiet in Conscience And the Counsailours themselues shall leade an easier life haue lesse time of trouble and more to study on State-businesses whereby with moderate paines they shall giue a quicker Dispatch to those things which come vnder their debating Let this therfore serue as a Conclusion to this discourse that in no kinde of hand Offices be doubled vpon one particular person nor put out of their hinges by the passion or pretension of those that haue a hand therein nor let Counsellours bee chopt and changed from one place to another nor your Councells confounded For this argues but small satisfaction in the Ministers and much distrustfullnesse in the Prince But let vs passe on CHAP. XIII The Author prosecutes the same subiect and shewes how Kings ought to carry themselues with their Counsells and Counsailours THis Order being thus settled for Kings they likewise are to haue a care that they keepe it by not altering businesses nor remouing either them or the men therein imployed out of their proper places for from the trucking and bartring of these things from this chopping and changing great inconueniences and mightie troubles are wont to rise in gouernment What a strange thing would it be nay what would become of vs all if that order which God placed as we told you in this Machina of the World should he altred if the earth should get vp aboue the Ayre and the Ayre should passe beyond the Spheare of fire what were this but to destroy the World So good gouernment in like manner is destroyed by the Ambition and Couetousnesse of those who not contented with their imployments and places draw businesses out of their right Current for to make themselues Lords and Masters of all and to pursue by this meanes their idle vanities ambitious humours and particular interest The Holy Ghost in that Misticall booke of the Canticles compares the Gouernment of the Church to a well ordred Army or pâ—tch't field where the pikes are ranked on the one side the shot on the other the horse in a third and all the rest in their due places appointed for them And in this well ordring and marshalling of the Men consisteth the strength of an Army A Christian and Church like Common-wealth by the good order that is kept therein is as Terrible as an Army with banners to it's Enemies and as beautifull as Tirzah and comely as Ierusalem in the sight both of God and Man And when Kings do hit right the distribution of their Offices and in giuing to euery one that which is fitting for him according to his condition and qualitie most certaine it is that euery man shall get aduantage thereby and proue morè excellent in his proper place and Office then those can be who haue beene imployed in other Offices and places And that they who haue beene deputed to such a Councell and well exercised therein shall far better know what belongs thereunto then those that haue not had experience and knowledge thereof Euermore presupposing that with the foresayd care and diligence choise hath beene made of the most sufficient For which reason we are to giue credit to euery one in particular and to all ioyntly in their Ministries as to selected persons and such as are their crafts-Masters in these kinde of matters For as the holy Ghost saith Vnusquisque in arte sua sapiens est Euery one is wise in his owne Art Knowing therein both how to speake and do According to this ground Kings cannot doe any thing better or surer for the good gouernment of their Kingdomes and satisfaction of their Consciences then to giue credit to each Councell in that which appertaineth vnto them and to leaue vnto their ordinary Councellours and Councels the Dispatch of all your running businesses without any particular Consultation vnlesse it shall more neerely concerne the State whereof as the King ought onely to be the Iudge and to giue his resolution what he will haue therein to be done So likewise must he lend them his hand and authoritie as far forth as is fitting proportionable to the bulke and qualitie of their Office without which they cannot well exercise the same Where as not to giue them that which they iustly deserue is a great impediment to their cumplying with the occasion to which are the substantiall part of their obligation and giues occasion to others not to yeeld them obedience respect which are the raines of that bridle wherwith the people are to be restrained and ruled And together with this they themselues must helpe to sustaine the weight and charge of gouernment wherein they haue so great a portion The Emperour Charles the fift of glorious memorie was much commended for the great care he tooke in conseruing the authoritie of his Ministers And it is not to be doubted but those ancient graue Ministers whom the people reuerenceth and respecteth for the place wherein they are and for the opinion which they haue gained by their yeares and experience and for the authoritie they haue to do either well or ill and for that power they possesse and which the Lawes grant vnto them ouer mens liues and
which I shall now speake of may be râ— duced those which are to be required in their 〈…〉 Councell of State is a Councell of peace and War And as Plato saith is thesoule of Republike and the very Anchor wheron wholy dependeth aâ— the liabilitie firmenesse assurance of the State King and Kingâ—ome 〈…〉 or preferuation Whose chiefe aime and principall intent is the good Gouernment of the Common-wealth and that it and euery member thereof should liue happily and be conserued in peace and iustice And for this cause onely are we to make war Ob eam causam suscipienda sunt bella vt sine iâ—iuria in pace vivatur It is Câ—ero's saying And the Emperour Charles the fifth was wont to Say That the Councell of State is the whole wisedome power and vnderstanding of the King That it is his Eyes his hands and his feete And that himselfe should often sit in Counsell and without it not to do or conclude any thing that is of any weight or moment The qualities required to make a perfect Counseller in this Councell are many As that he be a man of much courage truth and integritie and well seene in matters of State and Gouernment publick and pâ—â—uate of peace and of warre for he is to aduise in all A man of good yeares great vertue much authoritie and of no meane credit and reputation That he be very skilful in those businesses which he treateth That he vnderstand them well and be his Crafts-Master in that facultie That he be of a prompt and sharpe wit That his tongue be well hangd and be able to expresse himselfe so happily that he may be truly vnderstood That he haue a minde free from all by respects that neither Loue nor Feare may detaine him from vttering what he thinketh That he beare an especiall loue and affection to his King That he keepe his hands cleane and not suffer himselfe to be ouercome by couetousnesse For he that in whatsoeuer is propounded presently apprehends what is best and vnderstands what is proffitable and conuenient yet neither knoweth nor hath fiâ—ting words to declare himselfe it is all one as if he vnderstood it not And he that can play both these parts passing well yet loueth not his Master his conseruation and augmentation of honour this man will hardly be true and trusty vnto him and scarcely adiuse him to that which is fitting for him But suppose he hath all these good qualities yet if he giue way to be won by the loue of money and greedinesse of gaine all that shall be treated with him shall be saleable no whit weighing the benefit and authoritie of his King if the insatiable hunger of riches be put in the scale And I say moreouer that he that shall want these two qualities and shall not loue his King and yet loue Couetousnesse though he be indewed with all the rest he shall thereby be so much the worse and more dangerous for hauing his will depraued and his vnderstanding ill affected hauing these two Vices attending on him how much the more shall his sharpnesse of wit be and the greater his force of Eâ—quence the worse effects will it worke and the more remedilesse Let Counsellours therefore haue these two qualities Loue of the heart and cleannesse of the hand together with good naturall partes as a quicke wit and nimble apprehension for the speedier determining of present businesses and not onely to giue sodaine but sound aduise in them And that in future cases they may be able by naturall discourse to giue a guesse how things are like to succeede as also that they may by good discourse and debating of businesses attaine vnto those things whereof as yet they haue not had particular experience That they be prudent discerners of the better and the worse in Cases doubtfull that they may not be to seeke but to goe through stitch therewith and be prouided for all commers In a word let them be excellent sodaine speakers vpon all occasions assisted as well by a naturall kinde of gift they haue that way as by the exercise of their wit All which will not serue the turne nor make the Mill go so roundly as it would vnlesse there be much amitie amongst them and a conformitie of good agreement and a willing helping and assiting one of another in businesses For from Competitions and Contestations amongst themselues haue insued the losse of Kingdomes and States and other great losses and Calamities They must bee of one accord and one will with their King and still aduise him to the best hauing an eye both to him and themselues that they doe not erre or doe any thing contrary to that which is right and iust And then is it to be vnderstood that they beare true loue to their King and Countrie and that they apply themselues to all that which concernes the common good and their owne particular seruice when they take ioy and comfort that they concurre and runne all one way without diuision or distraction And if this vnitie be not amongst them it is to be imagined that they loue not so much the King and State as their owne priuate interest Being thus qualified they shall be fit Ministers and Counsellors for so great a Counsell for they shall therby be able to rid as many businesses as shall be brought before them and giue them good and quicke dispatch well vnderstanding what is needefull to be done and knowing as well how to declare themselues in that which they vnderstand And in this or any other Councell there ought according to Fadrique Furio a care to be had to examine the merits and dismerits of euery one informing themselues of his life behauiour and abilities as also the Actions of those who without suing deserue for their vertue to haue fauour showen them and likewise to take notice of those who desire this preferment And that for this purpose there be a Register or Bookâ— kept of the merceds and fauours to be conferred and of the persons that are well deseruing to the end that those honours and fauours may be thrown vpon them according to the vertue sufficiencie and merits of the men For he that depriues Vertue of that honour that is due thereunto doth in Cato's opinion depriue men of vertue it selfe And when fauours are afforded those which not deserue them or are forborne to be bestowed on those that merit them vertue receiues a great affront and the Common-wealth a notable losse And it will proue the greater if honour be added to the bad and taken from the good and that vice shall be better rewarded then vertue For where she is not esteemed and rewarded the vertuous liue like men affronted and that are banished the Court. King Nabucodonosor Assuerus and others haue kept such a booke as this wherein were commanded to be recorded the seruice that were done them and the persons deseruing to the end they might gratifie them and cast their
imitates her all she can And by so much the more perfect an Artificer and more cunning workeman is he accounted who shall seeme to come neerest in his worke to that great Master and Maker of Nature and whatsoeuer is naturall wherein as hath already beene sayd is conserued and kept that firme and constant Law and first commandement which he imposed vpon all things in the beginning of their creation Who likewise hath and doth still keepe a wonderfull correspondency in those very things conseruing them in their operations working and operating continually by their meanes and helpe and honouring them with the name and essence of secundary Causes though he himselfe be the primary naturall cause in that working So hat the fire hath alwaies perfourmed that Office wherin God placed it to wit To burne or heate And when he hath beene pleased to worke these effects he hath made vse of them for that purpose as well vpon occasion of his wrath and chasticement as of his loue and cherishment When he was willing to destroy and consume those Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah he did not make vse of water but of fire which he sent among them to execute his iudgement vpon that occasion And for to Regular and make much of that Mirrour of patience Iob and to exercise him in that vertue Ignis cecidit è caelo tactas oues puerosque consumpsit The fire of God is fallen from heauen and hath burnt vp the sheepe and the seruants c. For to throw downe the house and at one blow to kill all his children that were met together to make merry he made vse of the Winde For to drowne the world he serued himselfe with the water and in the desert he drew water out of the Rocke to quench the thirst of his people and to preserue them from perishing So that Life Death and Health which God can giue solely of himselfe yet will he haue it be wrought by the helpe and meanes of those secundary naturall Causes And euen at the day of iudgement he will make vse of all these for the punishment of the wicked as we haue it set downe in the booke of Wisedome Et pugnabit cum illo orbis terrarum contrà insensatos And the world shall fight with him against the vnwise This order and naturall Law wherewith God conserueth and gouerneth the world Kings ought to imitate and follow in the gouernment of their Common-wealths giuing their Ministers iurisdiction and Authoritie proportionable to their Office without the which they cannot well exercise the same And as long as these his Ministers shall go on in an orderly Course or shall imitate in their constancie those naturall causes and shall be punctuall and faithfull in their Ministries the gouernment ought not to be altered or receiue any change But when they shall faile in their obligation another order must be taken with them And therfore I say that in some cases the best surest course that can be taken is That Kings proceede after another kinde of manner by being serued by other Ministers and Counsellers that they may comply with that which tends to the seruice of God and the good of their kingdomes Especially when as hath bin said Ministers abuse that power which is giuen them make it the meanes to afflict the good and to doe other wrongs and iniuries And this the sacred Scripture teacheth vs in that History of Daniel where it is reported that when Shadrach and his two Companions were cast into the fiery fournace the kings Ministers caused the fournace to be heated so hot that the flames of fire ascended some 49. Cubits high But by how much the more power the fire had for to burne those innocent children in that occasion by somuch the more to the greater astonishment of the standers by God slaked the force thereof causing that in that very place where for to consume these Saints the fire was most kindled a coole fresh ayre entred in and did refresh them And the King himselfe who came to see this wonder told them that he espied in the companie of these three children a fourth man which seemed to be like vnto the son of God For indeed so it was that this his Diuine goodnesses did not content it selfe with deading the force of that intensiue flame but made meanes by his Angell to come free these Innocents from that torment Therein instructing kings That albeit it be fit that ordinarily they should suffer businesse to passe by the hands of those Ministers to whom they belong yet when the subiect is extremly wronged iniustice offred by them against the Innocent Kings ought not to respect the Order and ordinary course of Law but to take another course with them and if neede be wholy to change and alter it and in his own proper person to direct things to their due ends taking from the fire it 's Actiuitie instead thereof senâ—ing a pleasing coole gale of wind as God did For experience teacheth vs that this ill seede or bad race of Ministers makes post-hast quickly ouerrunnes a Common-wealth as ill weedes doe a ground to the great dishonour of kings and diminution of their credit and to the notable dammage and destruction of kingdomes Oh how doth it discouer it selfe in these our vnhappy and miserable times how much more and how many Cubits higher then it was wont doth the fire of Ambition and Auarice mount in many Ministers who grow by this meanes to be so great and so high that they quite loose the sight of themselues and goe beyond the reach of their own knowledge being in a manner besides themselues puft vp with their promotion and the high places they possesse seeming to be another kind of men then they were wont to be And this their folly and madnesse extends it selfe so farre that they will not suffer themselues forsooth to be seene or knowne by those whom not long since God he knowes they adored as Gods but now are growne so proud and into so good a conceit of themselues that they thinke themselues to be something more then men Of these S Bernard giues this admirable good note You shall see saith he many in the Chruch of God as also in Kings Courts without noblenesse made noble and of poore become rich to be sodainly puffed vp with pride forgetting their former Estate to be ashamed of their Ancestors and disdainfull towards their poore kinsefolke and by a strong hand and with lyes and falshoods they seeke and procure that which Nature hath deny'd them and being not noble by birth nor innobled by vertue set a good face on the matter and by such art and cunning as they will vse would seeme to the world to be great Princes and to be well descended fetching their feigned Pedigrees as farre as Noahs flood Farre vnlike vnto him who by his vertue came from a Potter to be a King who that he might
And those doubtlesse condemned which are now daily vsed passing things ouer from one to another as if men were to deale with children who asking a companie of them that are playing together Is your Mother at home All make answer This boy can tell you or that other boy can tell you So that many mens liues are ended before their businesses can be ended Their suites growing older then them selues wasting both their wealth and their persons to no purpose It is recounted in the Acts of the Apostles That they being so busily imployed in the Preaching of the Gospell that they could not ioyntly with it attend those workes of Charitie and Almes-deedes which were exercised in the Primitiue Church by feeding those that were conuerted they did remit the care thereof to seuen Deacons chosen out from amongst them all for that Ministrie And heere is to be confidered a point of Doctrine of great importance That the Apostles as there it is mentioned albeit they saw what a great charge they had and how much trouble with daily Preaching and continuall Praying they did neither omit nor remit this businesse but were wonderfull carefull that those to whom this care was remitted should be persons of great approbation and fulfilled with the Holy Ghost and with wisdome as were S. Steuâ—n and others which were elected and ioyned in Commission with him Considerate ergo fratres viros ex vobis boni testimonij Septem plenos Spiritu Sancto sapientia quos constituamus super hoc opus c. Wherefore brethren Looke you out among you seuen men of honest report and full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdome which we appoint to this businesse Which is a Lesson for Kings that when they vnderstand that the persons to whom they vseto remit businesses are not such as they ought to be either for their want of wisdome or experience in those things or that their minde is not cleare and free from passion couetousnesse they in no manner of wise discharge their Consciences in making such remitments and references but ought rather to reserue the dispatch therof vnto themselues or to remit them to such Ministers that are able to giue good satisfaction therein and of whose goodnesse and sufficiencie the world rendreth publicke Testimony In a word I am of opinion that to remit businesses is a matter of necessity in regard of the shortnesse of our vnderstanding which is imbroiled and mightily hindred with this multiplicitie of affayres and oftentimes choaked and stifled and made defectiue in those matters that are most necessary And as for our bodily strength the force thereof is so small and so weake that we had neede to preserue the same by easing it of that burthen which is too heauy for it to beare Yet withall there must a great care be had that these remitmenâ—s be not made meerely that the King might liue at ease and be idle but because weighty businesses and such as haue neede of new Examination and new diligencies doe require it or because the King as already hath beene sayd may haue some lawfull impediment Let Kings haue recourse vnto God and he will illighten them and their faces shall not suffer confusion nor their Kingdomes see alterations ruines nor destructions Erudimini qui iudicatis terram Be wise therefore yee Kings be learned yee Iudges of the earth CHAP. XVI Of the Sence of the sight That is Of those businesses which Kings ought to reserue for their own view and dispatch with their owne hands ARistotle saith that the soule is Quod ad modum omnia in a manner all things in regard of the Vnderstanding which in it comprehendeth all whatsoeuer And the same may likewise be said of the sence of the fight wherin is cyphred the greatnesse of the Vniuerse for therein is inclosed all whatsoeuer is visible in the world as the Heauens the Earth Elements Birdes Plants Beastes c. And all that be it more or lesse enters into our Soule by this doore It is the most principal part of the head the most artificiall the most excellent and most precious of all other the Sences because it 's action is more liuely and spirit-full and giues vs more to know and vnderstand the differences of things By the eyes are manifested a great part of the affections and passions of the Minde In oculis animus inhabitat The mindes habitation saith Pliny is in the eyes In them is seated Clemencie Mercy Anger Hatred Loue Sorow Ioy and the like Ex visu cognoscitur vir We may know a man by his lookes As whether he be wise or foolish simple or malitious c. These are those windowes by which the light entreth into the Vnderstanding and which shew the good or bad disposition both of body and Soule And there are not some wanting who affirme that they are the first which God and Nature delineate and paint forth in that tender paste and soft dough of the Creature as being the most principall the most beutifull and the most delicate And therefore that Diuine Artizan did place a greater gard about that for it's safetie then about all the rest And therfore Aristotle saith That we make more reckoning of this sence then of all the other It 's Site or place which is the highest and most eminent in the head doth declare it's greater dignitie and is in man as is the Sunne and Moone in the world Quod sol luna in Coelo hoc sunt oculi in homine saith S. Ambrose The vse of the sight is two-fold One materiall and grosse which only attendeth things as they thus materially represent themselues without making any farther discourse or Consideration And this kind of seeing is common to all creatures both rationall and irrationall indowed with or without reason The other is more eleuated and more spirituall and flies a higher pitch as when it discernes things with Aduice and discourse and when it perceiues what that is that it sees and this appertaineth onely vnto Man But in Kings and those that are good Gouernours the consideration thereof must extend it selfe a great deale farther As to treate of the remedy which those things require and stand in neede of which they haue seene But not like those Kings that visited holy Iob who although they saw him and were seuen dayes with him yet did they not see what they saw My meaning is That albeit they did see the great affliction and extreme miserie wherein poore Iob was their eyes passed it slightly ouer they did not dwell vpon it nor tooke any course to giue him remedie And when this is not done their seeing is no seeing but are like vnto those spoken of by the Psalmist That haue eyes and see not Dull Idolls To this purpose there is a prety place in the first of the Machabees where after the Author hath made report of the great wickednesse and Tyrannies which that accursed King Antiochus
course therein as is fitting And if to this so commendable a Consulta of euery Friday weekely there should bee added another Meeting some certaine dayes in the yeare to the end that the President and those of the Kings Camaera should carry with them the Consulta of the Offices and should treate and conferre thereof by word of mouth with our Lord the King it would be one of the most important things in the iudgement and opinion of many graue men whom I haue consulted with in this particular that could be or-ordained for the good of these Kingdomes Whereby many of those inconueniences would be auoyded which wise and Christian Counsellours haue found out by many yeares experience And none of the meanest amongst the rest is the remitting by writing so weightie and important a thing as the Election of Officers recommending the same to a dead Letter which can make no replie And that paper which passeth through so many hands cannot come so clean as it shuld but be sullyed especially if it come to such hands as are not clean but corrupted with gifts presents And because this Course is taken the loue respect due to their Kings is lost who like Creatures to their Creator ought to acknowledge althat thev hauâ— from his hands Wheras now they giue this respect vnto his Maiesties Ministers with whom they haue held correspondency as knowing that their Prouision must solely passe through their hands and that their good or bad dispatch consistes in them or in a lesse full or more effectuall Relation inclosed in the paper of their Consulta Which cannot be carryed thus when the President and those of the Camera shall haue propounded the same and deliuered their opinions in the presence of their King And questionlesse they that by this meanes shoulâ— be prouided for would esteeme in more and treat with more punctuality and truth the things appertaining to his Office considering that the King himselfe taketh particular knowledge of them For as we said before it is very meete and conuenient that Kings should know and communicate with if not all yet at least those who are to be placed in your greater kinde of Offices and dignities And amongst aâ—l other businesses this is that which with most reason doth require the Kings eyes and presence his remembrance and mature Counsaile For such are the Citizens as are their Gouernours and the Parishioners as their Pastors And though this perhaps cannot be performed so punctually and preciseâ—y as were to be wished yet at least it will be needfull that those persons of whom they take testimonie and receiue information in so graue and weighty a busines should be of that prudence learning and authoritie and so beyond all exception that the world which is apt to take exceptions may be perswaded that the Election could not but be passing good being that it past through such iudicious mens hands For whatsoeuer shall come forth decreed by them it is not fitting that it should bee subiect to their censures who either haue not the said qualities or are much inferiour in them or faile in their zeale to God or their Loyaltie and Loue to their King being Narcissus-like inamoured with their owne shadow and led away with the blindnesse of their passion Woe be vnto that Common-wealth King and Kingdome where one out of blindnesse or selfe willfull-nesse shall vndoe that which other men haue done with many and those the clearest eyes For as the Wise man saith Vnus acdificans vnus destruens quid prodest illis nisi labor When one buildeth and another breaketh downe what profit haue they then but labour CHAP. XVII Hee prosecuteth the same matter and shewes how Kings ought to carry themselues towards those that finde themselues aggrieued HAuing spoken of some Cases reserued for Kings and such as require their sight and presence it here now offers it selfe in this place to know how a King ought to carry himselfe towards those that finde themselues iniuryed and aggrieued And in the opinion of vnderstanding people it seemeth that nothing is more properly his then to quit wrongs and remooue iniuries For if we shall but consider that first beginning which Kings had that which the Ancient said of them and that which the holy Scripture teacheth vs wee shall finde that this Occupation is very properly theirs and that this Care appertaines of right to their greatnesse That most wise King Salomon in the fourth of Ecclesiastes saith That when he saw the teares of the Innocent and the wrongs they receiued and no body to helpe them or to speake so much as a good word for them it seemed a thing more terrible vnto him then to dye or neuer to haue beene borne Vidi calumnias quae sub caelo geruntur lachrymas innocentium neminem Consolatorum neque posse resistere eorum violentiae cunctorum auxilio destitutos laudaui magis mortuos quà m viuentes foeliciorem vtroque iudicaui qui nec dum natus est I turned and considered all the oppressions that are wrought vnder the sunne And behold the teares of the oppressed and none comforteth them And loe the strength is of the hand of them that oppresse them and none comforteth them Wherefore I praised the dead which now are dead aboue the liuing which are yet aliue And I count him better then them both which hath not yet beene And not onely King Salomon but euen God himselfe was so highly offended with those wrongs and oppressions which the children of Israel suffred in Egypt that he thought it a thing worthy his presence and his comming downe from heauen to see the same with his own eyes Vidi afflictionem populi mei in Egypto clamorem eius audiui propter duritiem eorum qui praesunt operibus et sciens dolorem eius descendi vt liberem eum I haue seene the trouble of my people which are in Egypt and haue heard their crie because of their Taske-Masters And for I know their sorrowes therefore I am come downe to deliuer them c. Teaching Kings That in matter of grieuances and oppression of the Innocent they are not content to themselues with remitting them ouer vnto others but to looke thereunto themselues And if need were to come from forth their princely pallaces and to forgoe for a while their pleasures and their ease till they haue reformed what is amisse The first words the diuine Scripture storieth which the first King whom God chose for his people said were these Quid habet populus quod plorat What ayleth this people that they weepe Who no soner saw himselfe Crowned King and put by Gods hand into the possession of that kingdom but applying himselfe to that which he ought first of all to doe as one of the mainest points of his dutie he hearkned vnto the cryes of the people who were oppressed by the Philistims and with great speede and feruent zeale did roundly set himselfe
to the redressing of that oppression And I verily perswade my selfe that all good Kings wouâ—d doe the like if they should see their subiects ready to fall into their enemies hands with whom they wage open warre But from those more close and secret enemies which are together with vs subiects Citizens neighbours Countrymen and Ministers of the same Kings and of whom there is held so much trust and confidence who goes about to free the wronged What reparation is there for receiued iniuries Are they not much greater then those that the Philistims offered to Gods people and more remedilesse As for professed Enemies against them we may make open resistance and euery man that is not vnnaturall or a Traytour to his Country will put to his helping hand and seeke to repell force by force reuenge the wrongs that are done them But for these our domestick enemies these our home-borne foes feigned friends who vnder the shew of friendship and vnder cloake and colour of being the Kings Ministers oppresse the poore and such as haue little power to oppose their greatnesse who shall be able to resist them If he that suffers shall pretend to doe it doth he not put himselfe in manifest danger of suffring much more if not of loosing all that hel hath And it is worthy your consideration that in those words related in Exodus it is not said that God went down to see and remedy the wrongs which that Tyrant king Pharaoh did vnto the children of Israel but that which was offred them by his chiefe Ministers Propter duritiem eorum qui praesunt For the hard-heartednesse and cruelty of those which were set in authoritie ouer them As if he should haue said The Affronts and Iniuries done by a Kings principall Officers are not so easily remedyed as those of particular men They require a powerfull hand they require Gods presence and assistance and will craue a Kings especiall care For your Councells cannot doe it nay are not able for to doe it of themselues alone be they the greatest and the highest in the Kingdom be they neuer so zealous of Iustice neuer such true louers thereof and neuer so desirous to doe right And the reason therof in my poore opinion is for that in regard the burthen of ordinary businesses is so great that only they are not able to attend the quitting of those agrauios and greiuances with that speedines and efficacie as were needefull but rather that they themselues without so much as once dreaming thereof doe vse to make them farre greater then otherwise they would bee for want of time and strength of body to cumply with so many and so great businesses And it oftentimes so commeth to passe that those that â—ue for reliefe in stead of being eased of their wrongs receiue further wrong either because they cannot finde fit place and time to be heard or because being heard they are soone forgot or because they that wrong them finde meanes to couer their faultes And if they cannot couer them and so should be lyable vnto punishment yet they that lent them their hand to lift them vp to the place wherein they are will likewise lend them a hand to defend their disorders And it hath beene already and is yet daily to be seene that a Iudge in Commission who for his wickednesse and euill dealing deserued exceeding great chastisement yet for that he hath this Patron and Angel of Guard for in your greater Tribunalls these are neuer wanting the businesse is husht and the party peccant neuer questioned And because he shall not be disgraced if the matter proue fowle against him by putting him out of his place he that tooke him into his protection will intercede in his behalfe to haue him remoued from that Office and preferred to a better A case certainly worthy both punishment and remedy if there be any vpon earth And if there be any helpe to be had it must be by the sight and presence of the King for without this it is not to be hoped for The Courtes of Kings much more then other places are full of humane respects and these haue taken so great a head and are growne so strong that in businesses they ouerthrow that which truth and iustice ought to vphold And therefore my aduise vnto Kings is that being they are men that are or may be free if they will themselues from these poore respectiue considerations and are supreme Lords and absolute soueraignes in their kingdomes they would be pleased to dis-agrauiate those that are iniuryed respecting onely wronged right and oppressed Truth But because such as are wronged and finde themselues agrieued haue not that easie accesse and entrance into Princes Courtes or to their persons either in regard of their great and weighty Imployments or some other lawfull Impediments it shall much importe that in their Courtes they should haue some person or persons of great zeale and approued vertue and prudence to whom those that are agrieued should haue recourse For many suffer much that cannot come to be admitted to the sight or speech of their King whereas if there should be a person appointed for to heare their Complaints they would cry out with open mouth for iustice and should be righted in their receiued wrongs And that person or persons thus deputed by their Maiesties hauing first well weighed and examined the reasons of their Complaints should afterwards represent the same vnto their Kings and giue them true information thereof to the end that they may forthwith by expresse Command put thereunto a speedy and fitting remedie And this I assure you would be a great bridle to restraine the insufferable insolencie and Auarice of Princes Ministers Who questionlesse would carry themselues much more fairely and vprightly when as they shall know that their disorders shall faithfully be represented Whereas on the contrarie it is not to be imagined with what a bold nay impudent daringnes they outface goodnesse when as they conceiue that of their kings which was vttred by that vnwise and foolish Atheist In corde suo non est deus The foole hath said in his heart there is no God Or that which those ignorant and troublesome friends of Iob breathed forth against God himselfe Circa cardines coeli perambulat nec nostra considerat He walketh in the Circle of heauen and the cloudes hide him that he cannot see and consider the things vpon earth Or which those other wicked Villaines vented Non videbit dominus neque intelliget Deus Iacob The Lord shall not see neither will the God of Iacob regard it So in like sorte say these bad Ministers Tush this shall neuer come to our Kings knowledge hee is taking his pleasure in his gardens he is thinking on his Hawking and Hunting or some other sports and pastimes to recreate himselfe withall nor shall Tricks and inuentions be wanting vnto vs to stop vp all the passages to his eares but say open way
should be made and that the King should take notice of this or that misdemeanour it shall be dawbd vp so handsomely such a faire varnish set vpon it and so ful of excuses that it will be all one as if he had neuer heard of it or any such thing bin at all Presuming that Kings rather then they will be troubled with businesses of clamour and noyse will for their owne ease slightly passe them ouer Wherein as they haue oftentimes found themselues so it is fit they should still be deceiued And truly to no man can with better Title his Entrance be giuen nor this golden key to the Kings Chamber be committed then to him who with the integritie and zeale of an Elias should trample and tread these Monsters vnder foote and roundly and throughly to take this care to task which without al doubt would be one of the gratefullest and most acceptable seruices which can be done vnto God both in matter of pietie and of pitie But what shall I say of the Kings happinesse in this case With nothing can he more secure his conscience then with this As one who is bound out of the duty of his place to haue a watchfull eye ouer all his Ministers but more narrowly and neerely to looke into the water of those that are the great Ones being likewise obliged graciously and patiently to heare those that shall complaine of them it not proceeding out of spleene and malice but out of a desire to iustâ—fie the truth to make good a good cause and that the fault mâ—y be punished with whom the fault is truly found For when the subiects iust Complaints are not heard besides that his conscience is charged and clogg'd therewith the Ministers themselues become thereby much more absolute and more insolently Imperious Insomuch that the subiect seeing that they are neither heard nor eased of their grieuances they grow desperate And what fruites despaire bring forth I neede not tell kings that know either men or bookes There is not in holy Scripture any one thing more often repeated then the particular care which God hath of the oppressed In the seuenty second Psalme where the Greatnesses of King Salomon are set forth but more particularly those magnificencies of that true King Salomon Iesus Christ whose figure he was amongst other his Excellencies for the which he ought to be much estemed beloued and adored of all the Kings of the earth and serued by all the nations of the world this which followeth is not the least Adorabunt eum omnes reges terrae omnes gentes seruient ei quia liberauit pauperem à potente paâ—perem cui non erat adiâ—tor All Kings shall worship him all nations shall serue him For he shall deliuer the poore when he cryeth the needy also and him that hath no helper And in another place he makes the like repetition Eâ— vsuris iniquitate redimet animas eorum Propter miseriam inopâ—m etgemitum pauperum nunc exurgam dicit dominus Now for the oppression of the needy and for the sighes of the poore I will vp sayth the Lord and will set at libertie him whom the wicked hath snared And in the first Chap. of Esay it seemeth that God doth proclaime a plenary Indulgence and full Iubile vnto those Kings and Gouernours who apply themselues to the easing of the oppressed Subuenite oppresso iudicate populo defendite viduam et venite arguite me dicit dominus si fuerint peccata vestra vt coccineum quasi nix dealb ab untur at si fuerint rubra quasi vermiculus velut lana alba erunt Relieue the oppressed iudge the fatherlesse and defend the widowe though your sinnes were as crymson they shaâ—l be made white as snow though they were red like skarlet they shall be as wool you see then that all sinnes are forgiuen that King that is a Louer of Iustice and a friend vnto the poore and needy that takes paines in relieuing the oppressed and in defending the widowe and protecting the distressed They may stand with God in iudgement alleage for themselues his Iustice his righteousnesse who haue dealt iustly vprightly with their subiects and mantained the weake and needy against those powerfull Tyrants which seeke to swallow them vp as your greater fishes doe the lesser Qui deuorant plebem meam siâ—ut escam panis Who eate vp my people as they eate bâ—ead And howbeit Iustice ought to be one and the same both to poore and rich yet God doth more particularly recommend vnto their care and charge that of the poore For as it is in the Prouerb Quiebra sa soga por lo mas delgado Where the corde is slendrest there it breaketh soonest For a powerfull man will defend himselfe by his power and great men by their greatnesse And would to God that they had no more to backe them then a iust defence for then the poore should not neede to stand in feare of them But that is now to passeable in these times which the Apostle Saint Iames found fault with in his Quod diâ—ites per potentiam opprimunt vos et ipsi trahunt vos ad iudicium That the rich oppresse the poore by tyrannie and draw them before the iudgement-seates When Kings doe cumply with this their obligation when they free the oppressed and defend the wronged Orphane and Widowe Godsends downe vpon them his light his grace and other extraordinary gifts whereby they and their states are conserued and maintayned Whose ruine and perdition doth euermore succeede through the default of him that gouerneth for if Kings would gouerne according vnto equitie and iustice they and their kingdomes should be as it were in a manner perpetuall and immortall For as it is in the Prouerbs of Salomon Rex qui indicat in veritate pauperes Thronus eius in aeternum firmabitur A King that iudgeth the poore in truth his throne shall be established for euer Whereas on the contrary most certaine it is that the King and kingdome haue but a short continuance where the Iudges and Ministers are swayed by passion and thereby the subiects abused It is the saying of the holy Ghost Regnum à gente in gentem transfertur propter iniustitias et iniurias et contumelias et dolos Because of vnrighteous dealing and wrongs and riches gotten by deceit the Kingdome is transferred from one people to another No one thing drawes such assured and apparent perils of warre vpon kingdomes as the wrongs that are done to the poorer sort of subiects Clamor eorum in aures domini Exercituumintroiuit The cryes of them haue entred into the eares of the Lord of Hosts And there before his Counsell of Warre they present their Memorialls and their Petitions with such a loud language and discomposed deliuery that they pierce through his eares when they call vpon him saying since thou art the Lord God of Hoasts raise thou Armies both in Heauen
and Earth and reuenge thou those the open wrongs that are offred vnto vs. And these Petitions commonly finde there such quicke dispatch that presently hee nominateth Captaines leuieth forces and formeth a mightie Armie of enemies to disturbe and destroy that kingdome And though some may conceiue that the cause of those and the like troubles are the crosse Incounters of Kings and Princes amongst themselues or the greedy desire of warre for spoyle and pillage which pardoneth no manner of persons yet in realtie of truth it is not so but the wrongs of Ministers exercised vpon the poore the fatherlesse and the widowe are the occasion that huge and powerfull Hostes of enemies in their reuenge enter the gates of a Kingdome and make wast and hauocke thereof For this cause were the Amalechites captiuated and put to the sword and for the same likewise the soldiers entred into Iudaea and sackt it Whence we draw this cleare and conclusiue truth that the best and the safest course to conserue a kingdome to gaine others and to abound in riches is to vndoe wrongs done not to dissemble iniuries to punish thefts and robberies and to execute iustice towards all Iuitium viae bonae facere institiam The first step to goodnesse is to doe Iustice. For without it the foot that sets forward falls backward and a King hath not where withall to relye on his power his forces his wisedome and experience in gouernment if he be defectiue in this For kingdomes last no longer then Iustice lasteth in them And true it is that there is no winde shut vp in the bowells of the earth which causeth therein such violent effects of Earth-quakes as in those kingdomes which thinke themselues surest and firmest doe the complaints and greiuous sighes of the wronged poore And therefore let none whatsoeuer be they Kings great Ministers or Counsellours of State slightly reckon of the cries of the poore For they referring their reuenge to God they draw him downe from Heauen to right their quarrell And the basest and most barbarous man in the world when he sees himselfe wronged and can finde none vpon earth to pleade his cause or to doe him right he presently lifts vp his eyes vnto Heauen and makes his addresse vnto God assuring himselfe that his helpe will come from thence And it was well said of a Wise man That the wronged are like vnto those that are ready to be drowned who if they fasten vpon any thing neuer let it goe so these men when they are in danger to be sunke by being forcibly kept vnder water by the oppressours hand lay fast hold on complaints cryes sighes and teares as the last remedy allotted them by God who saith That he will heare the petitions and receiue the Memorialls of the afflicted which are written with teares A maxilla enim a scendunt vsque ad caelum For from the cheeke they ascend vp to heauen They trill downe the cheekes till they fall to the ground and from thence they mount vp as high as Heauen for being water they rise as much as they fall And when God sees they haue reason on their side and that they onely call vnto him for iustice it being so proper an Attribute vnto him in the end he grants and signes their request Nor is it much that he should shew them this fauour his bowells being moued to compassion in seeing his creatures in such extremities of affliction Let Kings therefore beware and take heede and their Ministers bethinke themselues that in such a case an Inundation of teares is of more force and more danger then that of the swiftest Torrent vpon a mighty flood CHAP. XVIII Of the sense of hearing And of the Audiences which Kings ought to giue PVrsuing stil the Metaphore of the head whereon hitherto we haue insisted occasion is now offred vnto vs to treat of the sense of Hearing which hath some certaine excellencies aboue the rest For thereby we come to vnderstand the hidden secrets of the heart and the most inward thoughts of the Soule which being clad and apparrelled with that out-side and exterior part the Voyce and put vpon the Hearing of that person with whom we talke and discourse it knoweth that which the vnderstanding of neither Men nor Angels once is able to comprehend And that which we haue spoken of the sence of the sight ought likewise to be said of this For as far forth as is the perceiuing of a Voyce or some other noyse or sound by the hearing so farre is it common as well to brutes beastes as to Men. But it is proper only vnto Man by hearing a significatiue voyce to discourse thereof and to vnderstand the inward conceipt of him that speaketh And from hence will we draw what ought to be heard by the Head of a Common-wealth who is not onely to content himselfe with hearing the bare externall Voyce but to heare it in such maner as the holy Scripture telleth vs God heareth the voyces of those which call vpon him in the time of their trouble which is a vsuall and plaine kinde of Language in the Diuine Writt And when it is sayd that God heareth vs it is ioyntly sayd that he graunteth our petition Whereof many Testimonies are found in the Psalmes of Dauid and in diuerse other places Cùm inuocarem exaudiuit me Deus iustitiae meae Dominus exaudiet me cum clamauero ad cum c. The God of my righteousnesse heard me when I called vpon him And anone after The Lord will heare when I call vnto him In the twentie one of Genesis it is there twice repeated that God heard the voyce of Agars childe who was Abrahams bond-woman which the mother had left all alone in the wildernesse of Bersheba vnder a certaine tree and sitting downe ouer against him a farre off about a bow-shoote that shee might not see him perish for want of water Dixit enim non videbo morienâ—em puerum For shee said I will not see the death of the childe In the very next Verse following a double mention is made That God heard the voyce of the childe Which was in effect to say that he did releiue him and refresh his thirsty Souâ—e and granted that which the infant and his mother desired And the Apostle Saint Paul in that Epistle which hee wrote to the Hebrewes saith of our Sauiour Christ That Offerens preces ad deum cum clamore valido et lachrymis exauditus est pro sua reuerentia Offring vp prayers and supplications to God the father with strong crying and teares he was also heard in that which he feared Which was all one as if he should haue said That his father dispatcht him and granted what he petitioned in that his prayer So that in rigour of holy Writ Gods Hearing and Gods Granting is all one But in that common Commerce with men and in that style which Kings and their Ministers vse it is not so For
themselues wronged and their worth vnderualewed to haue all one Audience with the ordinary sorte of people So that with one the same Act he discontents all of them Let there be dayes houres appointed for the one the other naturalls strangers let euery man know his set day and houre For this being without distinction what doth it serue for but multitude and confusion And to haue all of all sortes to assist there continually to heare and nourish the Complaints of particular persons and to make report thereof by Letters to their seuerall nations and Countries and to put a Glosse vpon them to shew their owne wit And though this at the first sight may seeme to be a thing of small importance yet such a time may be taken that it may proue a matter of great consequence CHAP. XIX He goes on with the same matter Treating of the Audiences of Ministers and Counsellours KIngs saith Xenophon haue many eares For they heare by their owne and by those of their Fauourites Ministers Counsellours And it is no more then they stand in neede of For they must heare all Great and Small Naturall and Stranger without acceptation of persons these as well as those and deny no man their eares lest they giue them iust cause to grieue and complaine that for them onely there is neither King Fauourite nor Minister to haue accesse vnto This Rapsodye and multitude of eares and the difference between the one and the other King Dauid giues vs to vnderstand in that his Audience which he crau'd of God Domine Exaudi orationem meam â—uribus percipe obsecrationem meam Heare my prayer O Lord bow downe thine eare and hearkeâ— vnto my supplication He saith Heare me O Lord but how or in what maner With thine eares I beseech thee Tell me thou holy king why dost thou say with thine eares Might not that phrase of speech beene spared Or wouldst thou happely that God should heare thee with his eyes or his mouth No certainly But because it is a vsuall custome with Kings that gouerne great Monarchies who by reason of the varietie and multitude of businesses cannot by themselues giue eare vnto all and informe themselues of the truth to remit part of them to others that they may heare the Parties and informing themselues of the busines may send it afterwards to the Consulta there to be debated One comes with his Memoriall to the King The King wills him to speake vnto the President or to such a Secretary that he may inform But Dauid here saith Remit me not O Lord vnto any other for remissions are remissions the very word telling vs that to remit a busines is to make it remisse and slow and that there is vsed therein so much remission that a mans life is oftentimes ended before his busines Auribus percipe Doe thou thy selfe heare me with thine owne eares without remitting me to the hearing of others But to heare all and in all partes without remission to other mens eares who can doe this saue onely God And for my part I am of opinion that they alluded vnto this who as wee told you painted their God without eares for to giue vs thereby to vnderstand that it is peculiar onely vnto God to heare without eares and to heare all without standing in neede of other Oydos or Oydores For such a necessitie were in God a defect But in Kings it were a defect to doe otherwise for they are notable to heare all of themselues and therfore must of force make vse of other mens eares And therefore as Nature in Mans body hath disposed different Members necessary for it's proper conseruation as the eyes to see the eares to heare the tongue to talke the hands to worke the feete to walke and all of them to assist to the Empire of the soule So in like manner this Mysticall body of the Common-wealth whereof the King is the soule and Head must haue it's members which are those his Ministers which are Subiect to the Empire of their king by whom hee disposeth and executeth all that which doth conuene for it's Gouernment conseruation and augmentation Aristotle renders the reason why your huge and extraordinary tall men are but weake And as I take it it is this The rationall Soule saith he is solely one indiuisible and of a limited vertue or power and that it cannot attayne to that strength and force as to giue vigour to those partes that are so farre distant and remote in a body beyond measure great Now if the body of this Monarchie be so vaste and exceeding great and goes dayly increasing more and more and that the Soule of the King which is to gouerne it to animate it and to giue it life doth not increase nor is multiplyed nor augmented at least in it's Ministers How is it possible that a King of himselfe alone should bee able to afford assistance to all And to giue life and being to so many partes and members that are set so far assunder so great is the Office of a king especially if he be Master of many Kingdomes that it is too great a Compasse for one mans reach and it is not one man alone that can fill and occupie a whole Kingdome and be present in all it's partes And therefore of force he must make vse of other folkes helpe and more particularly of those which serue him instead of eares such as are all your superiour Ministers of Counsells These great Officers are called in the Spanish Oydores of Oyr To heare And the eares of the head are câ—lled Oydoras of their hearing And your Iudges of the land Oydores Hearers of Mens causes And as they are alike in name so ought they likewise to be alike in Office and to resemble the Originall which it representeth to the life and it 's true nature Now what Office is most proper and most naturall to the eares you will all grant mee that it is to heare alwayes neuer to be shut Your eyes haue their port-cullis which they open or shut as they see cause The mouth hath the like But the eares like bountifull house keepers haue their doores still open and those leafes which they haue on either side are neuer shut neuer so much as once wagge And it is Pliny's obseruation That onely man of all 〈◊〉 creatures hath his eares immobile and with out any the least mouing And Horace holdes it an ill signe to wagg them but a worse to stop them Sicut aspides surdae obturantes aures suas Like deafe adders stopping their eares that they may not heare sicut Aspides which are fierce and cruell creatures and of whom it is sayd that they are borne as deafe as a doore naile and to this their naturall deafenes they adde another that is artificiall whereby they grow more deafe by poysoning that part and by winding their tayle close about their head and sometimes laying the one
eare close to the ground and stopping the other with the tipp of their tayle that they may stop and damme vp all the wayes by which the Voyce of the Charmer might enter in Vnto whom Dauid compares those who being Oydos del Rey the Kings eares or to speake in the vsuall phrase Oydores del Reyno the Kingdomes eares doe shut and stop their eares that they may not giue due and fitting Audience Being naturally enemies to their owne profession which is to heare seeking out shiftes and tricks that the Cryes and Complaints of the poore may not come to their eares There is not any crueltie comparable to this to see a poore suitor trot vp and downe a moneth or two together labouring to haue Audience and in stead of letting him in hath the doore still shut against him Nature would not allow doores to the eares yet these that are the Common-wealths eares make profit of the doores of their houses and command them to be kept shut your suitors they come and goe but my sennior Oydor my Lord iudge he that should haue his doores open to giue open hearing to all Comers is shut vp in his closet and cannot be spoken withall vnder a couple of Capons The Tribunes of the people of Rome a Magistracie ordained for defending of the Communaltie kept their gates still open that men at all houres might vpon all occasions come and treat with them If that young man which was Saint Pauls sisters sonne who heard the Conspiracie which the â—ewes had plotted against him and went to giue aduise thereof to the Magistrate had not found such easie entrance into the Tribunes house as he did without doubt it had cost Paul his life For fourty men had taken a solemne oath to kill him as he came forth of prison to his Triall and bound themselues with a curse that they would neither eate not drinke till they had killed him Now when this young man came to the Chiefe Captaine and told him that he had something to say vnto him The Text there saith that the Captaine tooke him by the hand and went a part with him alone and asked him What hast thou to shew to me c. With this facilenes did the Ministers of that Heathen-people giue Audience How much more ought Christian Ministers to doe the like The open doore and the giuing of Audience in some open Hall or in some outward Court whereunto all are admitted to enter would giue much content vnto many but these close doores and close Audience to very few which is purposely done for to pleasure their friends and seruants for from this their hard accesse and difficile entrance they likewise make their gaine and are not ashamed now to demand that for a see which if they were well serued should be recompenced with a halter And looke what I haue said of your Oydores which are your Iudges in Chanceries and other the chiefe Courtes of Iustice I say the like of other Ministers who though they haue not the same name yet doe they serue as eares to their king And then are their eares shut and growne deafe when they will not heare making thereby his Maiestie to be found fault withall to receiue a hard censure from his subiects when he is innocent blamelesse and drawing a thousand other mischiefes vpon the Common-wealth And it is a most shamefull thing and worthy reprehension redresse that when kings shall bee liberall in this kind their Ministers should be so short cutted and that a man should be at more cost and trouble to get Audience of them to negociate a busines then of the king himself And the mischiefe of it is that they procure and pretend now as in former times the greatest fauours the highest places honors dignities whilst in the mean while it is not thought vpon nor taken â—nto consideratioÌ„ that besides the offence which is done herein vnto God the Common-wealth that it is one of the most preiudiciall things in the world for the quiet peace of States the conseruation of kingdomes And this was well vnderstood by Absolon the son of Dauid pretender to the Crowne of Israel Who perceiuing that the king his father through his great imployments in the Wars could not so well attend his giuing Audience to all his subiects and that they to whose charge care it was committed did not cumply therin with their obligation he placed himselfe at the entrance of the Citie whether the suitours repaired and seeing how much they distasted it that they had not that quicke Audience and dispatch as they expected and desired he insinuates himselfe into them and speaking very kindly and louingly vnto them he tolde them Videntur mihi Sermones tuiboni iusti sed non est qui te audiat constitutus à Rege Thy matters are good and righteous but there is no man deputed of the King to heare thee And this is it that puts all out of frame and order O quoth he that I were made Iudge in the land that euery man which hath any matter of controuersie might come to me that I might doe him Iustice c. And it followeth anon after in the Text Quod solicitabat corda virorum That by this means he stale away the hearts of the men of Israel And that thereupon there shortly after insued a great rebellion which put the king the kingdom in great ieopardie Which may serue as a lesson for a good Minister to teach them what they ought to do not to think they do that which they ought when for fashion sake they giue short and crowding Audiences where that which enters in at one eare goes out as they say at another But that so much time should be allowed for the hearing of them as the qualitie off the busines shall require without cutting those off who go rendring their reasons For he that hath not the patience to heare them either he not vnderstandeth them or is afraid to meddle with them With this therefore I conclude this and the former discourse That the first Office of a King is To heare all his subiects And it being supposed that he alone cannot doe it it is fit he should haue Oydores that should heare for him and be his eares And for that as by the eares of the head there runn's along a certaine secret nerue by meanes wherof that which is heard is presently conuaied to the braine there to be registred and consulted on by the Common sense So these Oydores ought to holde their secret Consulta wherein they ought to make relation vnto the King of all that they haue heard But let them weigh with all what a short Cut it is from the eare to the braine and the small stay that is made in this Iourney or passage to the end that by this natural course which is so quicke speedy they may see their errour and perceiue what a great fault it
should make him be so As a painted man which is no man cannot properly be said to be a Man The holy Scripture styles those Hypocrites which doe not administer Iustice for they haue no more in them of Kings then the apparent or outward shew as the Scepter and the Crowne and other their regall roabes and ornaments And it is worthy your consideration and it is no more then what their holy Doctors and learned Interpreters of diuine Letters haue obserued That a good King and Iustice are brothers and sisters and so neerely twinn'd that you can scarce make mention of the one without the other The Prophet Esay representing the feruent desire of all the world and the voyces and cryes of the Patriarkes who with such instance and earnestnesse did call for the comming of tâ—-Sonne of God saith Rorate coeli desuper nubes plâ—nt iustum iustitia oriatur simul Ye heauens send the â—eaw from aboue and let the cloudes drop downe righteoâ—snesse let the earth open and let saluation and Iustice grâ—we forth let it bring them forth together And in another place as if God did answer these the desires of the Iust â—e sayth Ecce dies veniunt dicit dominus suscitabo Danâ—â— germen instum regnabit Rex Sapiens erit faciet udicium et iustitiam in terra Behold the dayes come â—â—ith the Lord that I will raise vnto Dauid a righteous â—â—nch and a King shall raigne and prosper and shall execâ—â— iudgement and Iustice in the earth And in the third bâ—â—ke of the Kings God being willing to grace and autorize the person of Salomon who was the Type figure of the true King of Kings our Sauiour Iesus Christ had no soner the Crowne set on his head the possession of the Kingdom settled vpon him buâ— there was presently offred and put into his hands a great occasion for to shew his prudence and wisedome and his great noblenesse and courage for to do iustice The Case was a common and knowen Case it was betwixt two women that were friends and Companions who leading a lewd and dishonest life were deliuered or brought to bed both at one time and sleeping together in one bed the one of them being oppressed with a heauie sleepe ouer-layd her childe and when she awaked shee found it to be dead And at the same instant without being felt or perceiued by her Companion she puts me the dead childe by her and tooke the liuing childe to her selfe But this theft could not be so couered for all her cunning carriage but that the other knew that the dead childe which was layd by her side was not hers but the liuing The other with a great deale of impudencie and dissimulation deny'de it And because they could not agree vpon the busines they resolued to goe to King Salomon before whom the busines was continued with the like stiffenesse and obstinate contestation giuing each oâ—â—er the Lye and other the like bold and vnciuill speeches as â— vsuall with such kinde of women The King finding no moâ—e proofe nor reason of credit in the one then the other commanded a caruing Knife to be brought into the open Couâ—â—e thaâ— diuiding the liuing childe in the midâ—st the one haâ—â— should be giuen to the one and the other to the other Thereuâ—on the true Mother trembling and quaking and feeling that knife a ready in her owne bowels which was to part her â—â—ilde in twaine besought the King that this his sentence migâ—t not be executed but that the childe might be deliuered oâ—r whole to the other Which being well weigh'd and consiâ—â—red by this wise King and good Iusticer he knew thereby that she was the true Mother and so gaue order that the childe should be restored vnto her And the holy Scripture saith That the same of this notable peece of Iustice was divulged farre and neere and that there grew thence a great respect in all the people of Israel towards this their most prudent King who had with so much iudgement and wisedome administred Iustice. Audiait itaque omnis Israel iudicium quod iudicasset Rex et timuerunt Regem videntes sapientiam Dei esse in illo ad faciendum iudicium All Israel heard the iudgement which the King had iudged and they feared the King for they saw that the wisedome of God was in him to doe Iustice. So that when they saw how iust a King he was and with what a deale of vprightnes he did administer Iustice the people shouted for ioy and cryed out that his wisdome was from heauen and though he were then very young they began to feare and reuerence him very much And therefore if a king will be beloued esteemed and respected of his subiects he must be a iust King For most certaine it is that if Kings will pretend honour authoritie credit estimation and respect they cannot take any better course for it then by giuing to euery one that which appertaineth vnto him with a iust hand Summum in regibus bonum est saith Saint Gregory iustitiam colere ac suae cuique iura seruare It is the greatest goodnesse and highest commendation in Kings to honour iustice and let euery man enioy his proper rightes and priuiledges And so it is that there is not any thing whereby Kings doe more gaine the Common voyce for the augmentation of their authoritie and increase of their Estates or that doth more incline the minds of their subiects to respect obedience then to know that they are wise sincere full of integrity of great zeale in the administratioÌ„ of Iustice. For then all wil willingly obay him heartily loue him liuing in an assured hope that all his actions wil be measured weighed and crownd with Equity and Iustice. Let therefore the Conclusion of this discourse be That according to Plato the greatest prayse that can be giuen to a King is in consideration of this Vertue for as wee will shew you by and by it imbraceth all vertues in it selfe And there is not any Title more honourable or that doth so quadrare so square and sute with a King as that of lust whereby a King is made as it were a God vpon earth and becomes like vnto him in rewarding and punishing Anaxagoras and Homer called Kings Iovis discipulos Iupiters Schollers because in imitation of the Gods they did administer Iustice. And anciently they were tearmed sacratissimi most sacred In effect Iustice is a vertue truely regall and most proper vnto Kings because it appertaines vnto them by Office and doth constitute them in their being of Kings for without it they cannot be And therfore your Aegyptian Theologians with one and the same symbole which was an open-Eye did signifie both a king and Iustice. For neither a king without it nor it without a King can performe their office And therefore Plato calls her the Ouerseer and the Reuenger of all things
strictnesse this is not true iustice though it haue some similitude therewith Now Iustice is taken after another manner for a particular virtue To wit that which is one of the foure Cardinall vertues which hath for it's obiect and end as we shall tell you by and by to giue vnto euery man that which is his right and his due Of this which is properly Iustice do we here meane to treate of whose Excellencies all bookes are full and whereof the Ancients said That it is a celestiall and diuine vertue seated by God in the mindes of men Vlpian saith That it is Constans et perpetua voluntas quae tribuit cuique suum A constant and perpetuall Will attributing to euery man his owne Plato he goes a little farther adding that it is singulare et vnicum donum c. The onely singular gift the greatest good that God communicated vnto Mortalls here vpon earth For from thence ariseth Peace Concord This is it's worke the end it pretendeth According to that of Esay Opus iustitiae pax And the worke of iustice shal be peace euen the worke of Iustice and quietnesse and assurance for euer And God himselfe the Author Cause fountain of Iustice the first Title name that he tooke when he created the world before that hee had created Angels men and Beastes was that of Iudge Wherby we are to vnderstand that there was a Iudge and Iustice in the world before any other thing was created For to haue created a world without a Iudge or iustice to gouerne it and to punish humane excesses and disorders had beene to make a denne of Thiefes and Robbers For all Kingdomes and Common-wealths without Iustice saith Saint Austen had beene nothing else but so many Armies of Out-Lawes Rebells and high-way Robbers Remota Iustitia quid sunt regna nisi magna latroicinia Take away Iustice and what are kingdomes but Latrocinations all kind of theft's spoyles and rogueries Certaine it is that the first Iudge and Minister of Iustice that was in the world was God himselfe who appointed Lawes and Precepts who did rule and gouerne without Kings or other their substitutes till Noahs time who was the first Gouernour of his people to whom he gaue order that he should liue in iustice and righteousnesse doing the like afterwards to Moses and after him to his annoynted Kings And therefore Esay stiles him Legislatorem a Law-giuer Dominuâ— Legifer noster The Lord is our Iudge the Lord is our Law-giuer the Lord is our King he will saue vs. c. And then in those dayes by the sole power hand of their Kings was Iustice administred And they were called Iudges because they did iudge according to the Lawes And they tooke this name from Iustice it selfe Iudex dictus est quasi ius dicens populo non ergò est Iudex si iustitia in eo non est He is called Iudge of iudging the people vprightly And he is no Iudge if Iustice be not in him His Obiect is Ius or that which is iust and lawfull And his office to offend no man to doe right vnto all to giue euery one that which is his and what of right belongs vnto him This Iustice hath power to determine how how much and when the good are to be rewarded and the bad punished it is the harmonie of all good gouernment and whereby the world is sustained and wherewith as with meate and drinke the life of man is preserued And if Iustice should faile the world would presently returne to that Chaos and confusion wherein it was at the first And for that this Vertue is so necessary for mans life Saint Austen saith that your ancient Kings did build and consecrate a Temple thereunto And that on the high Altar there were ingrauen certaine Letters which spake thus Iustice that is vpright and free from loue or hatred is the strongest chaine that a Kingdome hath Which suteth with that which one of the seuentie Interpreters told King Ptolomy as Aristeas reporteth it who being demanded by him how he might sustaine himselfe in his Kingdome and hold concord and good correspondencie with so great a multitude and varietie of men as were therein replyed By preseruing Iustice and giuing to euery one what was fitting and not otherwise And this is so manifest a truth that Plutarch affirmeth That not Iupiter himselfe though the greatest of the Pagan Gods could be a good Gouernor without Iustice. In it saith S. Ambrose is found the Concordancie of all vertues without it there is neither consonancy nor harmony It is the Mistresse of Mans life the extirper of Vice the mother of peace the defence of the Kingdome the treasure of a Common-wealth the ioy of men the comâ—ort of the poore the cure of the sicke and the medicine of the soule Cicero calls her the Queene and Lady of the Vertues Plutarke would haue her to be in respect of the rest as the Sunne amongst the Starres Firmaianus affirmeth that shee is the mother of them all And as the Mother is before the Daughters So Iustice hath the precedencie of all other Vertues Scotus surnamed the Subtile together with Anselmus say that if betweene Gods iustice and mercâ—e there were any precedencie Iustice would haue the prime place In fine it is the foundation and ground of all other vertues and by which all ought to bee regulated and ordered And we cannot indâ—are it more then in saying That if Iustice should fayle all the Vertues would fayle And if that onely be kept there will be liâ—le neede of the other So said King Agesilaus And it is Aristotles Tonent That if Iustice were publickly and truly administred Fortitude and other the Vertues would be superfluous For one not iniurying another all would be peace loue and charitie And it is a vertue very naturall vnto Man who in his owne nature abhorreth Vice and loueth goodnesse and what is honest And therefore amongst other things that are controuerted Cicero saith that there is not any thing more certaine to be knowne then that Man was borne for to doe Iustice. It is she that ordaines things for the common good and the good of our neighbour And by how much the common is greater then the particular So much doth this Vertue exceede others that are ordayned to a particular person or a mans owne selfe Finally it is very necessary for the conseruation of the body and the Saluation of the Soule Diuus Thomas and others whose names I silence say That 24. Vertues side and take part with her which they tearme Adâ—utrices Helpers which doe serue and accompany her in all her Actions And making vse of them as of Counsaylours and Aduisers she determines what is iust the good which is to be followed and the ill which is to be auoided there being nothing that hath not neede of it's fauour and helpe For
according to Saint Gregory it hath foure most potent opposites which make the rod of Iustice to bow and turne crooked and to falsifie the tongue and beame of the ballance To wit Hatred Fauour Feare and Interest Now Iustice is diuided into two parts which are the honour of God and the loue of our neighbour Aristotle did likewise consider two other parts of Iustice. One common which is ordayned for the Common-wealth and the other particular which is instituted for our neighbour Which by another name they call Equitie which man vsing with reason dea'es so with others as he would be dealt withall himselfe vpon the Common which imbraceth includeth all the rest Patritius founded his Common-wealth And Plaâ—o his vpon the particular Others diuide it into foure parts or species into Diuine Naturall Ciuill and Iudiciall Which the Schoolmen do define and declare at large vnto whom I remit the Reader But laying aside these diuisions which make not for our purpose the most proper and essentiall diuision of Iustice is into Commutatiue and Distributiue Which as Diuus Thomas saith are the partes Subiâ—ctiuae or subiectiue parts of this Iustice that is to say it 's essential Species And therefore we will treate of these two and that very briefly And first in the first place of the Commutatiue and in the second of the distributiue Iustice Commutatiue Contractiue or Venditiue for all these names your Authors giue it for the matter of Commutations Contracts and Sales wherein it is exercised is considered betwixt two party and party which are a part of that whole body of the Common-wealth which giue and take betweene themselues by way of Contract or Sale It 's end and obiect is equalitie and proportion betweene that which is giuen and that which is receiued without respect vnto the persons which buy and sell but to that which is contracted solde or commutated that there may be an equalitie and proportion had betwixt that which is giuen and taken And when in this there is a defection it is contrary to Commutatiue Iustice. The distributiue is considered betweene the whole and it's parts The Medium of this Vertue doth not consist in the equaltie of thing to thing but of the things to the persons for as one person surpasseth another so the thing which is giuen to such a person exceedeth that part which is giuen to another person So that there is an equalitie of proportion betweene that which is more and that which is lesse but not an equalitie of quantitie to wit So much to the one as to the other For those which in a Common-wealth are not equall in dignitie and desert ought not equally to enioy the Common goods thereof when they are reparted and diuided by the hand of distributiue Iustice As we shall shew you by and by when we come to speake of the Commutatiue which treates of equalizing and according that whch mens disordinate appetites and boundlesse couetousnesse doth disconcerte and put out of order euery one being desirous to vsurpe that for himselfe which of right appertaines and belongs to another whence arise your cosenages and deceits in humane Contracts and whence doe resulte those contentions dissensions and sutes in Law And to occurre and meete with these inconueniences from the Alcalde of the poorest Village to the highest and supremest Tribunall those pretenders may appeale if they cannot obtaine Iustice in those inferiour Courts And therefore in Castile in the Counsell Royal it is called by way of excellencie Conseiode Iusticia The Counsel of Iustice. And in all well ordred Monarchies and Common-wealths there is euermore carefull prouision made for this necessitie dispersing in diuers Tribunalls the fittest men for administring Iustice as we haue formerly related of that great Law-giuer Moses And in the second booke of the Chro. it is said of King Iehosâ—phat that he appointed Audiences and Tribunalls in all the principall Cities of his kingdome and those euer at their very gates and entrance that the Negociants and suitors might the more easily meete with the Ministers of Iustice for this is the chiefest prouision which a King should make for kis Kingdome indearing to them all the faithfull administration thereof and that with such graue words and such effectuall reasons that they deserue to be written in golden Letters vpon all the seates Tribunalls of your Iudges Videte quid faciatis non enim hominis exercetis iudicium sed Domini Et quodcunque indicaueritis in vos redundabit Sit timor domini vobiscum cum diligentia cuncta facite non est enim apud dominum deum nostrum iniquitas nec personarum acceptio nec cupido munerum Take heede what ye doe for yee execute not the iudgement of man but of the Lord and he will be with yee in the cause and iudgement Wherefore now let the feare of the Lord be vpon yee Take heede and doe it for there is no iniquitie with the Lord our God neither respect of persons nor receiuing of reward The first thing that he admonisheth them of is Videte quid faciatâ—s Take heede what yee doe Looke well about yee and haue an eye to what ye doe Heare see and consider take time and leysure be not ouer-hasty in sentencing a sute till yee haue studied the case well and throughly and are able as well to satisfie others as your selues Vsing that care and circumspection as did that iust man Iob. Causam quam nesoiebam diligentissime inuestigabam When I knew not the cause I sought it out diligently As if his life had lyen vpon it Alciat saith That the Tribunes had at the gates of their houses the Image of a King sitting in his throane hauing hands but no eyes And certaine Statuas about him seeming to be Iudges hauing eyes but no hands Whereby they declared the Office of a King and the duty of Iudges painting him with hands and them without them but with as many eyes as that fabulous Argos had or like vnto those Mysticall beastes which Saint Iohn saw full of eyes within and on euery side To shew that they should study see and examine causes and all whatsoeuer passeth in the Common-wealth and to informe the King thereof who is to haue hands and Armes courage and power for execution Againe that good King puts them in minde that it is not mans but Gods Office that they take in hand whose proper Office is to iudge And therefore in the Scripture your Iudges are called Gods And since that they are his Lieuetenants let them labour for to doe Iustice as God himselfe doth For I must be so bold as to tell them that there is a reuiewing of the businesse and a place of Appealing in the supreme Counsell of his diuine Iustice. And there the Party pretending doth not deposite his thousand and fiue hundred ducats but the Iudge who lyes at stake for it and if he shall Iudge amisse he is
be Kings and Iudges this to be common fathers to all poore and rich great small meane and mighty Audite illos saith God et quod iustum est iudicate siue Ciuis illesit siue perigrinus nulla erit distantia personarum ita paruum audietis vt magnum nec accipietis cuiusquam personam quia dei iudicium est Heare the controuersies betweene your brethren and iudge righteously betweene euery man and his brother and the stranger that is with him Yee shall haue no respect of person in iudgement but shall heare the small as well as the great ye shall not feare the face of man for the Iudgement is Gods CHAP. XXII Of Iustice Distributiue IT appertayneth to distributiue Iustice as we told you in the former Chapter to repart and deuide in a conuenient and fitting manner the goods the honours dignities and Offices of the Common-wealth For as Dionysius saith Bonum est diffusiuum Good is a diffusiue kinde of thing it is a scatterer and of it selfe a spreader of it selfe And by how much the greater the good is by so much with the greater force doth it communicate it selfe And hence doth it come to passe that God is so liberall and so exceeding bountifull as he is that I may not say prodigall with men by communicating himselfe vnto them by all possible meanes euen to the communicating of himselfe by that most excellent and highest kinde of manner that he could possible deuise which was by giuing himselfe to himselfe and by submitting himselfe so low as to become true man that man might be exalted so high as to be made equall with God by that ineffable and diuine vnion which the Diuines call Hypostaticall So that you see that Good in it's owne condition nature hath this propertie with it to be communicable by so much the more by how much the more great it is And herein kings ought to be like vnto God whose place they supply hereon earth for certainly by so much the more properly shal they participate of good Kings by how much the more they shall haue of this Communicatiue qualitie And so much the neerer shall they resemble God with by how much the more liberalitie they shall repart and diffuse these outward goods whose distribution appertaineth vnto them And to him cannot the name of King truely sute who hath not alwayes a willing minde and as it were a longing desire to communicate himselfe Now for to temper and moderate this generall longing and inflamed desire this so naturall and proper an appetite of bestowing and diuiding the riches and common goods of the Common-wealth this part of Iustice which they call Distributiue was held the most necessary Which Aristotle says either is or ought to be in a King as in such a Lordly subiect and person to whom this repartition and communication properly belongeth Wherein aboue all other things Kings ought to vse most circumspection prudence and care for that therein they vsually suffer most cosenage and deceit For in regard that to giue is in it selfe so pleasing and delightfull a thing and so properly appertaining to their greatnesse and State they doe easily let loose the reines to this noble desire and send giftes this way and that way in such poste-baste that within a few dayes they run themselues out of all and draw dry not onely the Kings particular wealth and treasure but the riches of the whole kingdome were they neuer so great So that what is done in this kinde with so much content and pleasure ought to be done but now and then for such great courtesies and extraordinary kindnesses must not be made too common for feare of drawing on a dis-esteeme of them nor done but in their due time and season not vnaduisedly before hand and vpon no merit or desert but when others want and necessitie and his owne honour and noblenesse shall oblige him to expresse his bounty And in good sooth there is not any Moathe which doth so consume nor any Caterpiller or Grasse-hopper that doth so crop and destroy the power of well doing and the vertue of Liberalitie as the loose hand that can hold nothing and in a lauish and disproportionable manner scatters it's Donatiues with so vnequall a distribution that the dignitie of the gift is drowned in the indiscretion of the giuer And therefore as it is in the Spanish Prouerb which speakes very well to this purpose Para dar y tener seso es menester A very good braine it will craue to know when to spend when to saue Yet mistake me not I beseech you for it is no part of my meaning nor did it euer come within my thought or desire to perswade Kings to be close-fisted and couetous a Vice to be hated and abhorred in all men but in them much more That which I say is That to the end that may not be wanting vnto Kings which doth so much importe them and is so proper vnto them as to giue rewards and bestow fauours it is fit that they should doe these things so that they may be able to doe them often And according to the olde saying To giue so at one time as we may giue at another Your Trees in holy Scripture are sometimes taken for the Hieroglyffe or Embleme of Kings for that they are in some things like vnto them Wherof we shall speak hereafter But that which makes now for our present purpose is That the tree shewing such a largenes spreadingnes and bountifullnesse in discouering it's fruit through it's boughes and branches and it 's inuiting vs and presenting it's prouision vnto vs first in the flower and blossome to the end wee may come to gather that fruit which yearely it bringeth forth in it's due time and season and yet notwithstanding hideth and concealeth it's rootes all that it can because there lyes that fountaine from whence all this good doth spring As also for that if in that part it should suffer any hurt or detriment all the rest would cease nor would it flourish and fructifie any more And I am of opinion that when Kings cannot content themselues with conferring of fauors and bestowing of gifts out of those fruites and profits Which shall arise out of their yearely reuenewes but that the very rents rayzes and juros reales shall be giuen away in perpetuitie or for one or two lifes which is a kinde of rooting or grubbing vp of the tree the King shall thereby be disinabled and depriued for euer of the fruit of those mercedes and fauours which he might from time to time not onely yearely but daily and howerly haue afforded many of his good and well deseruing subiects As did that other who because they should not trouble him with comming vnto him to craue of the fruite of a very good tree which he had in his Garden caused it to bee rooted vp and to be sent amongst them to make their best of it whose fruite had he
greatnesse and authoritie on that as did your Heathen Kings and those that were without the light of faith Who pretended nothing else in their gifts and fauours but vaine-glory and the idle applause of the world According to that saying of our Sauiour Iesus Christ. Reges gentium dominantur eorum quipotestatem habent super eos benefici vocantur The Kings of the Gentiles raigne ouer them and they that beare rule ouer them are called Bountifull True authoritie and Greatnesse doth not conâ—ist in Magnificencies and Prodigalities which are not regular and ruled by reason Which requireth to cumply first with what is due and that neither Kings nor their subiects should thrust themselues into necessity and want to satisfie the ambition and couetousnesse of those who as Salomon sayth like vnto Horse-leaches Semper dicunt Affer Affer still cry Giue Giue That which distributiue Iustice requireth is That Kings should repart the common goods of the Republicke conformeable to the meritts and seruices of euery one preferring alwayes the publicke before any particular good and ioyntly with this that they goe clinching the hand for a while that they may afterwards stretch it out more at large when it shall be fitting for them so to doe And this is Liberalitie that vertuous and noble Meane betweene those vicious Extreames Auarice and Prodigalitie When our Sauipur Christ had sufficiently fed that great multitude which followed him into the desert they no sooner found themselues full but they presently resolued amongst themselues to make him their king And this their determination grew from two things which they saw to bee in him The one his noble disposition in affording them such free and plentifull intertainment The other for his great prudence and good gouerment in giuing order that the peeces of bread and other the fragments that were left should be gathered vp Colligite quae super auerunt fragmeta ne pereant Gather vp the broaken meate which remayneth that nothing be lost Nor did he doe this that he had neede to set it vp or keep it to serue at some other time vpon the like occasion for he could as often as he would haue made bread of stones but to instruct and teach Kings to knowe both to spend and saue to giue and hoord vp where how and when it is fitting in regard that their power is limited Moreouer Kings are to consider that they who at one clap receiue much from them grow so fat and purâ—ie that they are not able to serue and follow them as they were wont and sometimes they retire themselues and nere returne againe to see either King or Court vnlesse meere Couetousnesse and greedinesse of gaine draw them thither to beg more and more to cramme their purses Being like vnto that Crowe which Noah sent out of the Arke who as soone as he had found firme footing and whereon to feede his fill neuer came back again Kings Palaces are like Noahs Arke where there is a great diuersitie in the Conditions of men and generally you shall meete there with more Crowes then Doues And here I will with your good leaue take a little libertie to diuert my selfe from the Testimonies of Holy Scripture to those of Great Kings and Monarckes some of one nation and some of another And the first that I shall begin withall shall be king Don Alonso of Sicily who walking along by the Sea-side caused many gobbets of flesh some great and some small mingled one amongst another to be brought vnto him and still as the Crowes which were many came about him to some hee threw out the lesser to other the larger morsells Those that went away with the great gobbets came no more in sight but fled their way but those that had but a small pittance and were not so full gorged they followed the King whether so euer he went and neuer forsooke him Who tolde those that were then about him In this my Masters yee may see how much it importeth Kings to distribute their fauours with moderation and temper Philip King of Macedon did much reprehend his sonne Alexander for being too lauish of his fauours and too excessiue in his giftes Telling him that thereby hee peruerted the mindes of those that were to serue him who in stead of seruing him with that loue loyalty which in duty they were bound vnto they would now onely serue him for their owne particular interest and proper commoditie making by this meanes affection and fidelitie become a kinde of trading and merchandizing And certainely so it is that when mens mindes make interest their Aime and daily to get more and more they become saleable and tender their seruice to those that wil giue them most And they which doe thus accustome themselues to craue and take the loue of friendship and that thankefull acknowledgement which is due to the Doner is turned into interessed Loue which is called by the name of Concupisence And are as the Comicke Poet saith like vnto those lewd huswifes which Amoreâ—carent munâ—â— amantis amant Loue not so much the man as his money nor his person as his purse You shall seldome see a man that is as they say a Pediguenâ—â— a crauing Companion one that is still begging one thing or other that hath not some touch of Couetousnesse and some tincture more or lesse of vnthankefullnesse For in regard that these men loue themselues and their owne interest so well they haue not one drop of loue left for others and if any doe remaine they conferre it on a third person through whose hands that which they pretend is to passe And the King and Prince to whom all is due rest depriued of two things that are the most substantiall and of most importance for the conseruation perpetuation and augmentation of his Kingdome which are their subiects Loue and Thankes For the truest kinde of Raigning and the likest to Gods kingdome is to gaine the heartes of their subiects and to make themselues as much as in them lyes Lordes and Masters of their good Wills And it is our dayly experience to see persons that haue beene highly and richly gratified and extraordinarily well rewarded to haue proud very vnthankfull For this fault great benefits haue with them and such as are dis-equall to the deserts of those persons that receiue them that they are not thankfully accepted of And those that are benefitted to the end that they may not bewray this their imperfection being such as it is no lesse then so great a sinne as ingratitude they soone learne to forget them but those that are conferred on others neuer slip out of their remembrance In a word of all that that is begg'd and of all them that begg few there are that forbeare to goe this way In confirmation whereof we may alleadge heere that question which Christ made to one of those ten Leapers which hee healed shewing himselfe not halfe well pleased with the rest of his
fellowes Nonne decem mundati sunt Et nouem vbi sunt Non est inuentus qui rediret dares gloriam Deo nisi hic Alienigena Are there not ten cleansed But where are the nine There is none found that returned to giue God prayse saue this stranger In Kings Pallaces your strangers and those that are newly come to Court are your onely thankfull men For those that are well acquainted with the Court familiarly attend the person of the King and are still assistent vnto him vpon all occasion neuer acknowledge the fauours that are done them bee they neuer so great They are alwayes crauing but are neuer satisfied they swallow downe whole riuers and wonder not at it they thinke all Iordan is too little for them and that they shall no soner open their mouth but they must presently sup it vp And the reason hereof is because they verily perswade themselues that all whatsoeuer you giue them be it neuer so much is due vnto them for their seruices and their dayly Assistencies I therefore say and therein say but the trut That one of the greatest happinesses that can befall Kings is to be serued by noble persons and men of honour gente granada as the Spaniards tearme them iolly strong lusty people proper comely men and persons of best and most account both for riches and honour But this is the mischeife of it that this golde which should make such a glorious shew in Court and shine both in honour and goodnesse is canckred and rusted by Auarice and Ambition which eates into all mens mindes and wholly possesseth them So that from the highest to the lowest they are all well read in the Schoole of Couetousnesse Dissimulation and deceit And your Priests and those that weare Miters on their heads are not in this kinde the meanest Schollers amongst them All complaine they are not rewarded that they haue nothing giuen them if they haue any thing giuen them they thinke it is all too litle And betwixt this their complayning their thankefull acceptance there is set vp such a strong partition that it neither suffereth them to acknowledge a benefit nor to intertaine it with that thankfullnesse as they ought All now a dayes attend their own interest and not their kings seruice Who may say that of them which God spake by Malachie Who is there euen among you that would shut the doores of my house or kindle but a coale on mine Altar in vaine Not one I assure you but will be well payd for his paines There is not that Sexton that Cloyster Cleanser nor scullion of the Kitchen but will haue good wages other ayudes de costa or by-helps This great traine saith Seneca of seruants and Attendants seeke not so much after a Master as Money a friend as a fortune Miserable is the condition of kings whom none loue for themselues but for their owne ends and the good they expect from them so that this their priuate interest fayling them their seruices faile with it likewise faileth so says S. Isidore that loue Loyalty which is due vnto them Non sunt fideles quos munus non gratia copulat nam citò deserunt nisi semper accipiant Those whom Lucre not Loue linketh cannot bee faithfull For vnlesse they be still on the taking hand they vanish and are quickly gone Yet is it not my intent and purpose in that which I haue sayd to condemne those who demaund their pay and satisfaction for their seruices to relieue their necessities For therein they doe but vse that lawfull course which is appointed for them by way of petition Howbeit Aristotle Plato and other Philosophers would haue subiects to be solicitous not in sueing but in seruing And I farther affirme that Princes are to take it to their charge to content those that haue done them good seruice it being the principall Office of distributiue Iustice carefully vigilantly to distribute riches and honours to those that haue deserued them And this vndoubtedly is one of the most effectuall meanes for the good gouernment of a Common-wealth For as those three diuine vertues Faith Hope and Loue are increased and augmented by praying vnto God so on the contrarie are they lessned and diminished by sueing vnto Men. For when subiects serue and not sueing obtaine that which they deserue humane Faith Hope and Loue is augmented in them because thereby they are taught to rely on the vertue and wisedome of their Soueraigne who applyes himselfe to euery mans meritts and the iustnesse and vprightnesse of his cause For which cause they will loue him much but much more when he giues without being importuned with petitions And it seemeeth vnto them that hee giues not more willingly then he doth wisely in applying himselfe onely to reason and Iustice and not to the importunate Petitions of Pretenders And therefore Kings are not to content themselues onely with paying that which they owe and to doe mercedes and fauours to them that serue them but that these should likewise goe accompanied with Loue and Good Will for with remuneration are the seruices requited and with Loue are they obliged to doe them still more and better seruice In that Case which the Scripture recounteth of King Assuerus who one night being not able to sleep and take his rest commanded Lights to be brought in and some that were about him to take that booke and read vnto him wherein were written the notable things that past in his raigne and amongst the rest there was mention made of a great peece of seruice which Mardochee did him freeing him from that death which two of his Eunuches had plotted against him by discouering this their treason demanded of those there present What honour and dignitie hath beene giuen to Mordochee for this his fidelitie towards me and the good seruice he hath done mee And the Kings seruants that ministred vnto him sayd There is nothing done for him Whereupon he presently bestowed vpon him such great honors and dignities that vnlesse he should haue giuen him his kingdome he could not well haue giuen him more Thus was this good seruant rewarded honoured and graced by his Lord and Master who without being importuned gratiously called his good seruices to remembrance and honoured him aboue all the Princes of his Kingdome And I could wish that all that are rewarded by their Kings might receiue their recompence vpon the like good tearmes of Reason and Iustice. But now a dayes poore and slender seruices the more is the pitie finde copious and plentifull rewards and those ordinarily accompanied with ingratitude A thing which Nature it selfe abhorreth And which tyes Gods hands from giuing who is so liberall and so rich and dryes vp that ouerflowing fountaine of his boundlesse mercies from affording vs any farther fauour or Comfort CHAP. XXIIII Of the repartment and Diuision which is to be vsed in the Conferring of Offices And of the knowledge of such persons as
counted wise In like manner may he seeme to be a good Man that is a great way from vs because we neither see his deedes nor heare his words And peraduenture for this reason it was ordayned that the Pope could not be chosen vnlesse he had beene one of the number and fellowship of those Cardinalls there present at the time of the Election And when kings cannot meete with sufficient persons amongst those whom they know they must looke others out though they bee farther off For so did the wisest King that euer was King Salomon who vsed diligences out of his owne Kingdome for to seeke out the best Artificers and such as were the fittest and ablest men for the building of the Temple He could not content himselfe with good workemen onely but he sought out those likewise that were the best and the worthiest The like course ought Kings to take who alwayes in those Elections that they make for the building and vpholding of this Edifice of the Church should not content themselues with electing onely those that are good but in seeking out the best and the worthiest Whereby their Conscience shall rest the more secure and freer from opinion Whereas in doing the contrary those that are the wisest and the most learned affirme That their Conscience is not onely charged therewith but that they are likewise bound to the restitution of the robbery that is therein done to the Church And it is a lamentable thing that for to pleasure a priuate subiect that he may eate and drinke his fill and triumph in his pleasures a King should put himselfe in hazard of going to Hell But aboue all the foresayd diligences Kings ought to haue recourse vnto Prayers supplications beseeching Almightie God that he will illuminate their vnderstandings that they may elect the best For so did the Apostles who being to picke out two of of the best out of the whole pack of those that were there at the time when they were to proceede to the Election they betooke themselues to prayer vttering these words so full of meekenesse and humilitie Tu domine qui nosti corda omnium Ostende quem elegeris ex his duobus vnum accipere locum Ministerij huius Thou Lord which knowest the hearts of all men shew whether of these two thou hast chosen that hee may take the roome of this Administration and Apostleship For being that mens goodnesse and sufficiencie principally consisteth in the inwardst part of the heart which is so close and so subiect to change that God onely can truly know it it is fit that we should refer the Mayne of these our Elections to him to the end that they may be guided by his Holy Spirit and that hee may be the chieâ—e and principall Elector in them This which we haue said touching prouision of those that are knowen in Court it seemeth that it may open a gap for those that are tumultuous Pretenders and ambitious Courtiers to carry all before them and let nothing that falls scape their fingers For these are much better knowen then those wise and vertuous men who ordinarily liue retyred and attend more to the Complying with obligations of their profession and function then to the Compliments of those who spend their whole life in pretensions And it hapneth not once nor twice but dayly and ordinarily that they who follow the Court and frequent Princes Pallaces haue not so much followed their studies and frequented the schooles And few there are of them which take pleasure in reading of bookes to informe their knowledge and to supply that which is defectiue in them concerning the knowledge of businesses and the true vnderstanding and execution of their Offices But the miserie of it is that if a wise and prudent Man shall seeke to make his entrance and accesse to the King the Porters will shut the doore against him And fooles hauing such free entrance it is no wonder that wise men are kept out As it hapned to that wise Philosopher who being clad in a meane but honest habit pressed amongst the rest to the Kings Antecamera or with-drawing Chamber where hee vsed to giue Audience hauing very necessary occasion to speake vnto him But as hee offered to come in the Porter still clappt the doore against him and would not suffer him to enter Hee being a discreete man presently entred into the reckoning of it and seeing how the world went shifted himselfe out of the companie and changing his poore for a rich Habit and being in the fashion as others vse to be that are not knowen to make them selues knowen in Court way was made him and he presently let in And at his going in hee kissed his cloake and sayd Honoro honorantem me quia quod virtus non potuit vestis obtinuit I honour thee that hast honourd me for what vertue could not effect my costly cloathing hath obtained For he that is rich and well clad is commonly the best knowen and most respected Vir benè vestitus pro vestibus esse peritus Creditur à mille quamuis Idiota â—it ille He that goes in gay Cloathes A wise man is held to be Though some know ther 's not so Arrant a Cocks-combe as he Et sapiens non accedit ad fores quas durus Ianitor obsidet But your Men that are wise discreete and vertuous beare not so base a minde as to go thither where they either know or haue cause to feare that they shall be debarrâ—d of entrance so that for the most part the most deseruing are the least knowen To this point therefore I reply that those men which are to be nominated for Offices and Dignities may be knowen two manner of wayes First by that good fame and report which goes of them and that opinion of vertue learning and wisedome which the world holdeth of them Which we may rightly compare to the sweete and fragrant odour of that pretious and costly oyntment which the blessed Mary Magdalen powred forth on our Sauiours feet Wherof it was said Repleta est domus ex odore vnguenti That the whole house was filled with the Sauour of the oyntment When either in Court Citie or Countrie there is found a man who is like a sweete Sauor in the nostrills of all men and beares about him and scatters in what companie soeuer he comes a most odoriferous and pleasing perfume of his Vertue Holinesse and Learning which is as Saint Paul says of himselfe and his fellow Labourers the sweet sauour of Christ there is no neede to seeke for any other knowledge or to make any farther Inquiry for this is sufficient of it selfe to make choyse of him and to conferre vpon him the greatest Offices of trust It being safer to put them into his hands then into many of those men that are more in his Maiesties eye and by sight better knowen vnto him For the best knowledge of man is by the eare And he that will not
to foresee that also which is to come And this prouidence circumspection or prudencie sound alike and are in a manner one and the same thing The Ancient did so artificially paint prudencie that shee seemed to looke euery way and to haue her eyes fixed on whatsoeuer did behold her For prudence as it is silent so it is searching nothing escapes her knowledge And it is a vertue that maketh Kings like vnto God For as hee by his diuine prouidence doth foresee all and gouerne all and hath all things present before him so they by their humane prudence which participateth of the diuine behold things past dispose of things present and prouide for things to come Some call her Filiam Dei Gods daughter because it seemed vnto them that shee had something of the Deitie in her that shee was his Minister in the creation of the world and disposition of all things and ought likewise to be the Mistris of Kings vpon all their occasions For as Aristotle and Plato avouch no man can gouerne well that is not prudent In ancient times the Common people were of opinion that Prudence was annexed vnto Kings and that they had a particular gift to fore-see that which was to come And such as were prouident and prudent they held to bee Diuine True it is that wisedome is the gift of God and wee must craue it of him as did Moses Ioshua Dauid Salomon and other wise Kings Which to obtaine wee must shunne and flye from sinne for it is impossible that hee should bee prudent that is not vertuous And so much hath a man of prudence as hee hath of vertue And according to this measure shall the authoritie credite and opinion bee which hee shall hold with the people The Offices and effects which Prudence doth and causeth are many And some of them are collected out of the many and various expositions which the Doctors attribute to this Tower and nose of the Spouse which we will goe disposing by it 's Paragraphes in this chapter §. I. Of the Magnanimitie of minde which Kings ought to haue BY this high Tower and nose of the Spouse some vnderstand the Pope Quia in facie Ecclesiae eminet Because he is an eminent man in the face of the Church But Rabbi Kymki and Philo Iudaeus will haue it by the selfe same reason to bee vnderstood of a King Adding withall that the nose doth betoken Maiestie Grauitie Longanimitie and excellencie of minde wherein a King ought to exceede all other And therefore the Persians would neuer choose him to be their King who had not a hooke nose like the Eagle well shap't and proportioned which is the ensigne of a magnanimous minde And hence it is that they say of the God of the Hebrewes that hee hath great and large nostrils So sounds that word of the Psalmist Longanimis multum misericors id est longus naribus The Lord is mercifull and gracious slow to anger and plentious in mercie that is Of wide nostrills full of sufferance and patience for the smoake of fury and choler doth not so soone runne vp the chimney as in those which haue straight and narrow nostrils who are soone hot and sodainely incensed to anger And the selfe same Philo saith that in the Leuiticall Law they were not admitted to the Preisthood who had either a little crooked or disproportioned nose as being lesse fit for that Ministery The one are hot and cholerick the other ill-inclined Those againe which haue too great a nose are naturally cruell and proude and these are mislik't of all but that as much commended which signifies magnanimitie bountifullnesse and generousnes and is of sufficient largenesse to suffer and dissemble anger and not to haue the chimney choaked with a little smoake A qualitie so much importing Kings that from thence did arise that Prouerb Qui nescit dissimulare nescit regnare Hee that knowes not how to dissemble knowes not how to rule And there was a King of late times which stickt not to say that hee would not haue his sonne know any more Learning then that which this sentence doth containe for that it was so good and profitable a Lesson for Princes Tiberius Caesar did glorie in no one thing more then in the Arte of Dissimulation wherein he was so excellent that neuer any vpon any though neuer so great occasions giuen by him could search into his intents or diue into his thoughts In the story of the Kings it is written That at the very same time that God commaunded the possession of the Kingdome to be giuen vnto Saul which was the first King he had nominated some ill disposed persons that were malitiously bent against him did murmure at him and speake ill of him seeming to scorne and set light by him But God had giuen him such a measure of wisedome and discretion that although all that they had sayd came to his eare Ipse verò dissimulabat se audire Yet hee held his peace and would not seeme to take notice of it For when Kings come newly to their Crownes and that the things of the Kingdome are not yet throughly settled it is great prudence to reserue with dissimulation the punishment of great persons that with better occasion and in a better coniuncture he may proceed against them as reason and Iustice shall require That King shall not be accounted wise that shall pretend execution of Iustice with the danger of Insurrections and seditions nor shall the iustification of his intent suffice to execute his rashnesse in the meanes vnlesse hee first ballance the businesse and see which way the scale will incline as to see how farre hee may rely vpon the loue of his subiects and how the end may sorte with his designes lest the danger of the scandall disobedience may proue to bee greater then the profit that can arise from the execution of Iustice. For in such cases it is great wisedome in a King to conforme himselfe according to the times And that that which at one time is worthy of punishment should be dissembled and reserued to be punished at another time Which course as Saluste reporteth was in Catilines time taken with that great and powerfull Courtier Crassus The Emperour Iustinian hee likewise aymes at this marke And it is the Counsayle which S. Isidore giues vnto Kings The like did King Dauid when Ioab so treacherously slew Abner Onely to some few that were very inward with him he discouered the reason that mooued him to dissemble the matter and not to punish him with death for the present telling them with a great deale of griefe Ego autem adhuc delicatus sum vnctus Rex I am this day weake or as the Hebrew renders it tender though annoynted King As if he should haue sayd To see the affaires of my Crowne and Kingdome in that tender and ticklish estate wherein they stand obligeth me not to make that demonstration of rigour
and the good will and loue of all men And of Dauid it is sayd Erat rufus pulcher aspectu facieque decora That hee was ruddy and withall of a beautifull countenance and goodly to looke to He was of a louely and gracious aspect milde affable and aboue all a great friend vnto goodnesse and well doing onely with his pleasing presence hee drew the eyes of all the people after him who ioyed in the fight of him And with this did he winne their hearts got their good wills and gayned the kingdome When by a good and painefull industrie and a sweet behauiour the hearts are first seazed on it is an easie matter to conquer Kingdomes In the sacred Historie of the Machabees are recounted the heroyicall Acts which that great Captaine Iudas and his brethren atcheiued in Spaine the Kings and Kingdomes which they subdued the nations which they conquered and made tributary to their Empire and the great treasure of gold and siluer which they purchased And all this they effected by their good Counsayle gentlenesse and patience giuing Kings thereby to vnderstand that if they be of a meeke peaceable and noble condition they shall be Lords and Masters of mens wealths and hearts And this made Polibius to say that a courteous and peaceable King conquers all with quietnesse euery man being willing to yeelde and submit himselfe to a soft and generous disposition that is free from anger and full of clemencie And this is that Legacie which God allotted and left vnto them long agoe in the olde Testament Mansueti haereditabunt terram The meeke shall inherit the earth And afterwards in the new Testament he renewes this promise Ipsi possidebunt terram They shall inherit the earth They shall be Lords of the earth That is of the men vpon earth and of their possessions For by this earth which God promiseth vnto them S. Bernard vnderstands the same earth whereof men are formed And it is vsuall in Scripture to call men earth And thereby is likewise vnderstood that of this world which wee heere inhabit the possessions thereof it 's gouernment Scepter and Monarchie for all this is but a Patrimonie bequeathed to a kinde smooth and louing nature The best Titles that a King can present before God for to pretend the preseruation and perpetuitie of his Kingdome are meekenesse and gentlenesse These Dauid represented vnto him when hee petitioned him that hee would be pleased to continue and confirme his kingdome in his sonne Memento Domine Dauid omnis mansuetudinis eius Lord remember Dauid and all his lowly carriage Whose heart was not haughty nor his eyes lofty but behaued and quieted himselfe as a childe that is weaned of his Mother And presently God collated this benefit vpon him saying Com cumpleti suerint dies tui suscitabo semen tuum post te firmabo regnum eius When thy dayes be fullfilleâ— and thou shalt sleepe with thy fathers I will set vp thy seede after thee which shall proceede out of thy bowells and I will establish his Kingdome Such effects doth the smooth breast and soft heart of a King worke And this is so sure a Tenet that for to keepe a Kingdome secure and to be Lord of many moe there needeth no other claime then that which Loue and Gentlenesse maketh For in regard that the heart of man is generous it will not be led by the necke with a halter nor will subiects long indure the yoake of a Tyrannizing and proud Lord whereas on the contrary they are easily led a long by a smooth and gentle hand And reason teacheth vs as much for by how much the more easily is the heart of man moued by conueniences then by menaces by faire meanes then by foule by so much the better is it to gouerne by meekenesse and gentlenesse then by force and rigour Whence we draw this Conclusion That too much sharpnesse and excesse of rigour in a Prince procuteth hatred and affabilitie and clemencie Loue. Which is that which Kings ought most to seeke after as by and by we shall shew vnto you when wee come to tell you that these two qualities of blandure and clemencie so befitting a supreme Lord are quite contrarie to that good expedition of Iustice and that integritie which God doth require in a Iudge whom hee willeth and commaundeth That in matter of iudgement hee shall not pittie the case of the poore According to which Instruction it of force followeth that a King must represent two contrary persons that of a kind and pittifull Father and that of a iust and angry Iudge For if in his owne nature hee be kinde and tender hearted there is not that offender which will not be set free by the power of Intreaties and Teares weapons wherewith the hardest and cruellest hearts suffer themselues to be ouercome And if he be otherwise what can the delinquents hopes end in but death and despaire Againe if he be vertuous and seuere it is impossible that he should not hate the vicious and grow into choller when hee shall heare of their cruell outrages and insolencies Now what remedy in this case is to be vsed Saint Ierom and Saint Austen are of opinion that a King by his owne person is to punish and premiate to execute chasticement with iustice and to mitigate it with mercy Nor is it vnworthy our consideration nor lyable to inconueniencie that a King should represent two persons so contrary in shew as iudging with Iustice and Mercie For two vertues cannot bee contrary And as the Saints and holy Doctors say and they are in the right Mercie doth not hinder the execution of Iustice but it moderateth the crueltie of the punishment And it is very necessary in a good Iudge that hee should haue a true and faithfull paire of balance in his hands and in either scale to put rigor and equitie that hee may know how to correct the one by the other The Kings of Portugall especially Don Iuan the third did vse to iudge Capitall crimes accompanied with his Councell and were alway accounted fathers of the people because with them Iustice and Mercie walked hand in hand shewing themselues iust in punishing the fault and mercifull in mitigating the punishment By which meanes they were of all both feared and beloued And let not Kings perswade themselues that this doth lessen their authoritie and take of from their greatnesse but giues an addition and the oftner they sit in iudgement they shall doe God the more seruice and the Kingdome more good And in conscience the surest and safest course for that reciprocall obligation which is between the King and his subiects For they owe obedience seruice and acknowledgement to him as their Lord and Master And he vnto them Iustice Defence and Protection For to this end and purpose doe they pay him so many great Tributes and Taxes Nor is it enough for him to doe it by others but
he must also doe it by himselfe For neither that great Gouernor of Gods people Moses nor any other after him is in all the whole body of the Bible to be found that euer yet condemned the occupation of iudging the people to bee vnworthy royall Maiestie nor contrarie to the reputation of a King I know no other preiudice in it saue that it is impossible for one sole man to vndergoe so great a taske And this impossibilitie ariseth from the multitude of subiects and in that case they aduise That a King should not wholly take away his hand from the doing of Iustice but that the lesser and more ordinary businesses hee should remit and referr them to different Ministers and the weightier causes take to his owne charge and be present in person when they come to be sit vpon and determined as formerly haue done the wisest and greatest Monarkes that euer were in the world Who did euer equall King Salomon in wisedome greatnesse and Maiestie yet did hee hold it no disgrace vnto him to humble himselfe to heare suitors iudge their causes and to doe them Iustice. The Kings of the Hebrew people were called Iudges because they did glorie in nothing so much as to heare and iudge the people And in all Nations this hath alwayes beene the principall Office appertaining vnto Kings And the Holy Ghost saith That the King that faithfully iudgeth the poore his throne shall be established for euer §. III. That it much importeth Kings to haue the good Loue and affection of their Subiects KIngs as already hath beene sayd are the Heads of their Kingdomes Their Estates serue them as Members Without which it is impossible they should be that which their name speakes them And therefore it is not onely conuenient but necessarie that they should seeke to gaine the good wills of all suting themselues though they force their owne to the nature of their subiects and beholding them as if they were his children Which is the best course to keepe them well affected and contented and to be beloued and obayed by them Which they may easily doe if they will but thinke themselues that they are sheepheards and fathers of those people which God hath recommended vnto them easing them of those wrongs and grieuances which they vniustly suffer laying no more vpon them then they are able to beare suffring them when reason shall require to take their ease and their quiet and helping to sustaine them when they grow poore and are decayd Plato tells vs That for a Prince to be good and to be beloued of all hee must bestow all his loue and his whole heart vpon the Common-wealth his will on the Gods his secret on his friends and his Time on businesses For by thus reparting himselfe with all he shall haue a part in all by all of them comming to vnite themselues with him Onely in this good Correspondency of Loue betweene Kings and their subiects wise Periander placeth all the safetie and good fortune of Kings and Kingdomes Agesilaus King of Lacedaemon was once askt the question How a King might liue secure For that it is oftentimes seene that neither multitude of seruants nor a guard of Halbardiers can defend them from violence To which demand hee returned this answer Si suis populis ita imperet vt parentes filijs If he so rule ouer his people as a father doth ouer his children The King that loueth his subiects and is againe beloued by them neede no guarde they are his guard For Loue where it is true and faithfull plainesheth the knottiest peece of timber smootheth the roughest and most vnhewen disposition and makes all faire safe and peaceable It is a most strong wall and more durable yea then Kings themselues With this no difficulty can offer it selfe vnto them which they may not ouercome no danger whose impetuousnesse they may not oppose no command which they will not obay For as Kings desire no more of their subiects but to be well serued by them so subiects pretend nothing from their Kings but to be beloued by them And indeede the one dependeth on the other For if a King loue not his subiects he shall neither be well serued beloued nor obayed by them And as little if he loue himselfe too much For the more care he takes of himselfe and attends his owne particular so much the more his subiects loue departs from him For the harmonie of a Common-wealth consisteth in that all should liue by the Kings fauour and they by their subiects loue For they ought to be vigilant in all that belongs to their seruice and Kings most watchfull in that which concernes their generall good So that none is to haue lesse part in the King then the King himselfe And because it is impossible to content all by reason not onely of their different but contrary natures it is necessary at least to content the most There are two differences of States or two sorts of people to be considered in a Kingdome The Citizens or which comprehendeth all the common people Or your Peeres and such as either are persons of Title or aspire to be It shall be good discretion prudence to procure to content the people especially in a Kings first entrance into his raigne in that which is reasonable and honest And if their demaunds shall be otherwise to dissemble with them and to take time to consider of it and so by little and litle let their blood goe cooling This was the Counsayle of your olde Counsailours Which had it beene followed by that young King Rehoboam his people had not rebelled against him nor hee in the beginning of his Empire before he was scarce warme in his throne haue lost ten Tribes of the Twelue The Common people are alwayes grumbling and complayning and ready to runne into rebellion as being fearelesse in regard of their multitude and carelesse for that they haue little or nothing to loose The Minor Plinie after that hee had made a large Catalogue of the naturall vertues of the Emperour Traiane after that he had shewen what great account he made of the Common people he sayth Let not a Prince deceiue himselfe in thinking that hee is not to make any reckoning of the common people for without them he cannot sustaine nor defend his Empyre And in vaine shall hee procure other helpe for that were to seeke to liue with a head without a body which besides that it were monstrous it must needes toter and tumble downe with it's owne weight because it hath nothing to beare it vp And if Kings will needes know what kinde of thing the Common people is and what able to doe vpon all changes and alterations let them take into their consideration that which passed at the arraignment and death of our Sauiour Christ where there was not that Rule of reason of State in the vilest manner which was not then practized And the first stone that the Princes of the
Scribes and Pharisees moued against him was the people for they knew well enough that without them they could not awe and feare Pilate nor moue him by their accusations and false witnesses to condemne him In the next place they had recourse to the particular conueniency of the Iudge that he should not be a friend vnto Caesar but should loose his loue if vpon this occasion the people should rise and rebell by which tricke they inclined him to their partie and wrought him to preferre his priuate Interest before publicke Iustice and his owne preseruation before that which was both honest and reasonable Againe it is more secure to procure the fauour and loue of the people and more easie to effect his purpose by them More secure because without their loue and assistance no alteration in the state can take effect This their loue doth vphold Kings and gets them the opinion of good and vertuous Princes This qualifieth all wrongs or makes the offenders pay soundly for them against whom none dare seeme to be singular Lastly for that the common people hauing onely respect to their particular profit their own priuate Interest cannot desire nor pretend that which your greater Peeres and principall men of the State do who alwayes out of their ambition aspire to more and stand beaâ—ing their braines how they may compasse that which their imagination tells them they want And by so much the more doth this their Ambition increase in how much the greater place they are and in a neere possibilitie of that which they desire I sayd before more easie because the people content themselâ—es with aequalitie and his likewise makes well for Kings with the administration of Iustice with common ease and rest with plenty and with the mildenesse gentlenesse and peaceablenesse of him that ruleth ouer them Now that Kings may procure this popular loue it is fit they should make choyse of such Ministers as are well beloued of the people that will heare them with patience comfort and hearten them vp that they may the more willingly beare the burthens that are laid vpon them the Tributes Taxes and troubles of the Kingdome which in the end must light all vpon them For it is not to be doubted and experience teacheth the truth of it That the Ministers and seruants of a Prince make him either beloued or hated And all their defects or Vertues turne to his hurt or profit And let not Kings make slight reckoning thereof nor let them colour it ouer with Reasons of State For he that once begins to be hated out of an ill conceiued opinion they charge him withall that is either well or ill done For there is nothing be it neuer so good which being ill interpreted may not change it's first qualiâ—â—e in the eyes of men who iudge things by apparences Which is another principall cause why Princes ought to procure the loue of the people For in conclusion most certaine it is that the Common people is not onely the Iudge of Kings but is their Attourny also whose censure none of them can escape And is that Minister which God makes choyse of for to punish them in their name and fame which is the greatest of all Temporall punishments Suting with that which we sayd heeretofore of the voyce of the people that it is the voyce of God For his diuine Maiestie vseth this as a meanes to torment those who haue no other superiour vpon earth And therefore it behoueth them to preuent this mischiefe and to winne vnto them the peoples affection by as many wayes as possibly they can deuise as by their owne proper person with some with other some by their fauourites and familiar friends and with all by their Ministers For there is not such a Tully nor Demosthenes withall their eloquence for to prayse or disprayse the Actions of a King either to salue or condemne them as is the peoples loue or hatred A great cause likewise of procuring this loue and to winne the hearts of the people to giue them all good content will be if Kings would be but pleased who are Lords of many Kingdomes and Prouinces to haue neere about them naturall Ministers and Counsaylours of all the sayd seuerall Kingdomes and Prouinces For Common-wealths kingdomes risent it exceedingly to see themselues cast out of administration and gouernment when they doe not see at the Kings elbow or in his Counsell any one of their own nation and countrie conceiuing that they doe either basely esteeme of them or that they dare not trust them Whence the one ingendreth hatred and the other desireth libertie Let a King therefore consider with himselfe that hee is a publicke person and that he ought not to make himselfe particular that he is a naturall Citizen of all his Kingdomes and Prouinces and therefore ought not willingly to make himselfe a stranger to any one of them That he is a father to them all therfore must not shew himself a Step-father to any And therefore let him still haue some one naturall childe of euery Prouince in his Councel For it is a great vnhapines to a kingdome not to haue any one childe of theirs amongst so many by the Kings side with whom the Naturalls thereof may holde the better correspondencie For these more speedily with more diligence and loue treate and dispatch their businesses then strangers either can or will who must be sued vnto and will do nothing but vpon earnest intreaty or by force and compulsion or like good wary Merchants by trading for ready mony Let Kings weigh with themselues that it is as naturall a worke in them to afforde fauour vnto all as in a tree to afford fruit And it is a great glorie to a king to oblige all nations to loue him For that King much deceiueth himselfe who will make himselfe King of this or that Prouince and no more Sithence that God himselfe whom he representeth on earth professes himselfe to be Lord of t'one and t'other and of all And therefore hee that is Lord of many should not throw all his loue and affection on a few Let him in such sort conferre his fauours on the one that he may not giue occasion of affront and disgrace to the other For these generall fauours make much for the honor and estimation of Kings It faring with them as it doth with those trees when all sorts of passengers goe gathering inioying their fruits I say farther that for the augmentation and conseruation of the loue of Common-wealths and Kingdomes towards their Kings a maine and principall point which oâ—ght to be esteemed in more then other great treasures it will be very conuenient and is the Counsayle of persons of great prudencie throughly acquainted with Kings and Kingdomes that they should haue some person or persons of these good parts and qualities To wit Men of good naturall abilities of great wisedom to whom in particular they should ommit the care to
heare those that are wronged and male-content For the graces and fauours of Kings as proceeding from humane power which cannot doe all it would haue euermore beene lesse in number then the pretenders And therefore must of force follow that there must needs bee a great number of discontented persons in all Kingdomes euen in the best and most sweetely gouerned Some holding themselues wronged induced thereunto by their own opinion others by disfauours Some by bad dispatch others by delayes And some and those perhapps the most by finding themselues deceiued in their pretensions A thing that ought much to be thought on though there be few that take pleasure to heare on that eare These men I say troubled with cares and transported with passion thrust themselues into all Companies great and small high and low entring into discourse with Male-Contents and laying open their wounds vnto them which kinde of men I would haue to be kindly dealt withall that the Kings Ministers should giue them the hearing that they should temper and allay this their passion that they should hearten and encourage them and indeede make shew in some things to goe hand in hand with them though it be in some sort against their king and Master seeking reasons to maintaine their part and that hee cannot blame them if they complaine hauing so much cause laying the fault either on the iniquitie of the times or the carelessenesse of those through whose fingers these things were to passe and that as it was no fault of the Kings for not hauing beene truly informed so can hee not but rest well assured of their good bowells and sound intention to his Maiestie and the State This is a cunning artifice and admirable art against that deadly poyson of those mens hatred and discontent which repute themselues wronged and disgraced And the better will this take with them if this care be committed to such either person or persons that are well liked and beloued of the people and haue together with their naturall grace the grace of heauen a gift which Kings can neither giue nor take away howbeit they giue that grace and fauour whence resulteth the peoples respect For it will not alwayes serue the turne to bee beloued of all nor will this generall loue sometimes excuse him from being hated of many And therefore in this the grace of heauen must bee sought after and such a man made choyse of as hath this naturall gift for by the helpe thereof hee shall be the better beloued and ouer them all haue the more commaund This Counsayle was well esteemed and approued by that wise and prudent King Don Philip the second as a very necessary conuenient meanes for to temper mens mindes to get generall notice of all that passeth either in word or deed and thereupon be able to giue all possible remedie thereunto And this aduice pleased him so well that hee committed the execution thereof to him that gaue it him and purposely remitted some businesses vnto him that he might haue the better occasion to sound mens mindes and to effect what he pretended by that kinde of course And in short time gaue good satisfaction by the proofe and made knowen to his Maiestie how much good was inclosed in this Artifice for the conseruation of Kings and Kingdomes §. IIII. Of the sagacitie sharpenesse of wit and quicknesse of apprehension which Kings ought to haue GEnebrard and other graue Authors say That this statly Tower and nose of the Spouse whereof wee discourse signifieth those which gouerne the Church or the Kingdome and such as excell the rest in vnderstanding iudgement sagacitie and prudence The Egyptians likewise in their Hieroglyphicks by a high rising nose vnderstand a wise and sage minde that hath an eye vnto dangers fore-sees mischiefes and takes order for them in time that it may not be ouertaken by them And such a one as this a King ought to haue And certaine it is that if that olde Serpent had not had that hap in that first deceit exercised on our first Mother Eue it had beene needelesse for one man to watch another and to be so wary and circumspect as now they are But because he with such great craft and subtletie did powre forth this his poyson into the originall fountaine of our nature it was necessary that against this his venome we should take this Antidote and Treacle for a preseruatiue and preuent one poyson by another And as Treacle being made of poyson serues as a remedie against poyson it selfe so for to resist that poyson which that Serpent by his subtletie scattred and spred abroad amongst vs it is needefull that men following the Counsayle which our Sauiour Christ gaue vnto his Disciples Be yee wise as Serpents and harmelesse as Doues should ioyne these two together For of these two is made that fine Treacle whereof we intend to speake Not of simplicitie alone nor prudence alone but of both together This is that true and perfect Confection for prudence without a sound and harmelesse Intention is but meere craft and subtletie as Aristotle sayth and produceth nothing but trickes and deuises to delude and deceiue And a plaine and sincere intention deuoyd of prudence doth but deceiue and damnifie a mans selfe I meane particular persons For in Kings this want of warinesse and prudent sagacitie will procure greater hurt to the generall affayres of the Common wealth Too notorious and well knowen is that sentence of the glorious S. Ierome Sancta rusticitas solum sibi prodest Holy plainenesse and simplicitie doth onely profit a mans selfe That is some particular person But Kings besides their good intention and sinceritie of minde must haue prudence sagacitie for to resist the plots and traps of the ambitious who still lye in wayte watching a fit occasion for to deceiue them vnlesse they be minded to loose their reputation their authoritie and their Kingdome all at once This is not a Prognostication broached out of mine owne braine but vented by the holy ghost That an imprudent King shall ruine a Kingdome Rex insipiens perdet populam suum An vnwise King destroyeth his people The Prophet Esay after he had made a recapitulation of the graces and gifts of wisedome vnderstanding counsayle might knowledge and diuerse other wherewith the holy-Ghost was to adorne the person of our Sauiour Christ that King of Kings and liuely patterne and true example of all good Kings sayth Et replebit eum spiritus timoris Domini And the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall rest vpon him Now the Hebrew Rabins whom Pagninus and Vatablus follow reade Olfactio odoratus eius erit cum timore Domini The pleasant sent of his sweete odour shall be with the feare of the Lord. That is to say Together with the feare of the Lord and all other vertues hee shall haue an admirable vnderstanding and a dainty delicate iudgement Odorari faciam eum I will make him
to sent and winde out So that hee shall nose out any thing whatsoeuer though neuer so farre off and without seeing or hearing them be they neuer so secret and hid shall make a right and true iudgement of things By this quicknesse of sent they vnderstand that nimblenesse of apprehension sharpenesse of vnderstanding and sagacitie which a King ought to haue borowing the Metaphore from your Line-hound or blood-hound who running vpon the sent and nosing the footing of what he is put vpon discouers the game he pursues be it in the thickest brakes and closest bushes in the Forrest Hee must be so subtill and so quicke of sent that nothing must escape his knowledge nothing be hidden from his vnderstanding he must like a Surgeon search into the depth of the wound there is no mysterie so secret which hee must not pry and diue into he must nose from a farre the impstoures artifices fraudulent dealings and cunning disguises of those that go about to deceiue him When wee will signifie such a mans trace or which way hee tends Wee vsually say Ya yo avia olido algo desso Now I begin to smell his drift I haue an inckling what hee intends But Kings must haue more then an Inckling they must haue a full knowledge of all There must not be that thing in the world which mainely concernes them and their Kingdomes which they must not winde and sift out And from that high place wherein they are seated they are like sentinalls in a watch-Tower to see and make discouery of all the cunning practises and diuelish plots deuised against them and of the slye and subtile carriage of such crafty and double-dealing men with whom they treate be they Naturells or Strangers For as it is in the Prouerb La nistad del anno viuen con arte y engâ—nno y la otra parte con enganno y arte One halfe part of the yeare they liue by arte and deceit The other halfe part by deceit and arte And because these workers of mischiefe arme themselues with the more care and lye in closer ambush against Kings and their great Estates it is necessary that they likewise should stand vpon their guard and be very vigilant and circumspect not only for to discouer their proiects and to defend themselues from their designes but to take them in the manner Or as it is in the Spanish prouerb Cogerles con el hurtoen las manos Whilest the theft is yet in their hands to lay hold on them One of the greatest Attributes and noblest Titles which holy Iob giueth vnto God is that where he sayes Apprehendit sapientes in astutia eorum That hee taketh the wise in their owne craftinesse He well vnderstands vpon what point insist the Sophistries and fallacies of the wise men of this world and at what marke their Counsailes ayme Et consilia prauorum dissipat He disappointeth the deuises of the crafty and scattreth the Counsayles of the wicked And what they haue forget in their hearts hee hammereth in that sort that they shall not fulfill their desires Cogitationes malignorum The cogitations of the wicked So sayth another letter Hee calls them Malignos that are men of a noble heart That haue a thousand turnings and windings Another Letter hath Versutorum Variable oft changing subtile shifting being all of them true Epithetes of a double disposed and crafty generation Ne possint implere manus eorum quod coeperunt That their hands cannot performe their enterprise nor make an end of the web which they haue begun to weaue but their Counsell is carryed headlong meeting with darkenesse in the day time being taken in their owne net as Absalon was with his owne hayre neuer being able to set the same foote forward againe Christ calls these kinde of men Foxes which neuer goe on in a straight and direct way but crossing from one side to another and making many doubles as he doth that hath doubling thoughts and playes with the Foxe Wyly beguile yee And by this beast did the Egyptians signifie that man which vseth double dealing and in his words and workes is nothing but impostures tricks and deuices Vae duplici corde labijs scelestis terram ingredienti duabus vijs Woe to the double heart to deceitfull lips and to the sinner that goeth two wayes To deale with these men will be required a great deale of prudence and sagacitie a Countermine must be made and a pit digg'd whereinto they may fall that like silk-wormes they might be wrapped and inuolued in the same bottome that themselues haue wrought to their vtter vndoing In insidijs suis capientur iniqui saith the wise man The transgressours shall be taken in their owne naughtinesse Their plots and proiects shall make for their finall perdition When the Pharisees with soft smooth words questioned our Sauiour Iesus Christ what should be done with that woman whom they had newly taken in the Act of adulterie made vse of that his admirable prudence and wisedome accompanied with the simplicitie and harmelessenes of the Doue saying vnto them Qui sine peccato est vestrum priâ—â—us in illam lapidem mittat He that is without sinne among you let him first cast a stone at her And presently thereupon hee stouped down and fell to writing with his finger on the ground to the end that without making them farther ashamed being conuicted by their own conscience they might one by one get them gon and leaue the poore woman free These men came armed with the Serpentine subtletie of the Diuell and presuppossing that he would haue absolued her of that crime they would then haue accused him for an infringer and breaker of the Law And in case hee should haue condemned her they would haue charg'd him with crueltie But our Sauiour was euery way well prouided for them and to this their pestiferous poyson he applyed the pure and perfect Treacle of his prudence The like trick they would haue put vpon him with no lesse cunning when they demaunded of him whether it were lawfull to pay tribute vnto Caesar or no Conuincing them with the very same peece of money which they brought vnto him telling them Reddite ergo quae sunt Caesaris Caesari quae sunt Dei Deo Render therefore vnto Caesar the things which are Caesars and vnto God the things that are Gods It is a great happinesse for prudent Kings and for those Princes also that haue not as yet gained with all men the opinion of wise that some occasions might be offered vnto them wherein they might catch these crafty subtill Foxes And they ought purposely to hunt after them to perfourme some exteriour and publick actions in order to this end And so to carry them that all the people may take notice of them For therby they shall gaine a great deale of authoritie and reputation throughout the Kingdome And of all both subiects and
strangers be feared esteemed for men of wisedome worth and prudence As it befell King Salomon at his first comming to the Crowne when the peopâ—e of Israel perceiued the discretion and prudence wherwith he had proceeded in deâ—iding that difference betweene the two women touching the liuing childe which each of them pretended Insomuch that when they saw how wisely how iustly it was carryed by him they shouted aâ—l for ioy saying surely the wisedom of God is in him And from thence forth they began to respect feare him Yet mistake me not I beseech yee For I do not say that Kings should desire that any ill should betide any man but that they ought may desire that some such occasion might be offered vnto them wherein they might shew their zeale and loue vnto Iustice and manifest to the world that they are wise enough of themselues to execute the same For there is nothing that makes a King more worthy of his Monarchie as to win by meanes of his good Counsel and gouerment greater credit and authoritie then what he had when he began first to gouern For a kingdome is only the gift of fortune but this other argues his owne wisedome and iudgement But that which I shall conclude this point withall is this That this prudence sagacitie of the Serpent so much commended by Christ ioyned with the Doues simplicitie produceth two effects of much importance in kings which are these Neither to deceiue nor to be deceiued Simplicitie is without welt or garde plaine true and knowes not how to deceiue any man Prudence on the other side is very wary circumspect and will not suffer her selfe to be deceiued by any man Nay it goes a little farther for it perfecteth the whole essence and being of prudence and causeth a certaine dexteritie in the dispatch of businesses which is a great help vnto Princes and is the only Mistris to make them to vnderstand iudge things aright And likewise to see and discerne them by outward actions and the exterior sences The eye the foote the hand shall not wag moue or stirre but it shal discouer the inward thought Lastly it is it 's proper office Reason assisting and the discourse of the vnderstanding to anticipate occasions and to diuert in time the euill that may happen For as Tully sayth and very truly Nihil turpius in sapiente est quam dicere non putaram Nor ought it to be the Language of kings to say I did not thinke on such a thing I did not dreame that things would haue fallen out thus thus or that I did not throughly vnderstand the busines For in Kings it is no lesse shame to suffer themselues to be deceiued or to be ouercome by Artes and tricks then to be subdued in the open field by force of Armes Kings therefore being necessarily to heare and negociate with so many and so sundry persons to free themselues from the slightes subtleties of some must make vse of this circumspection and sagacitie Homer representeth vnto vs a most prudent Prince who though vnlearned yet for that he was very crafty subtile did gouerne very well and freed himselfe from many great dangers Subtletie and Sagacity accompanied I say with a sound intention and a good conscience for that is it weâ— aime at in gouernment proceedeth not from sagacity and subtletie but from goodnesse and Iustice. §. V. Of the Discretion which Kings ought to haue VEnerable Beda and S Gregory say of the nose and it's nostrills that they are the Instrument or Conduite to conuay all sorts of sents vp to the head And that they are purposely placed in so high a Station that they may the better discerne the good and the bad And they signifie thereby the vertue of discretion which is the knowledge of good and ill and by Reasons helpe distinguisheth the one from the other Per nasum discretio exprimitur per quam virtutes eligimus delecta reprobamus By the nose is vnderstood discretion by which wee make choyse of vertue and reiect our pleasures And is of that great excellencie that the Ancient made her Reginam virtutum the Queene of the Vertues reducing all the rest vnto it Another call'd her the Mother A third the fountaine or well-spring of the Vertues A fourth will haue euery particular vertue to beare the name of Discretion And there is not one wanting who affirmeth that these did not hit the marke aright for farre better saith hee might they haue said that there is no vertue at all without discretion For albeit the Vertues in themselues be perfect and full and doe qualifie the person that possesseth them as Fortitude makes a man valiant Iustice makes a man iust Wisedome makes a man wise And so in the rest Yet if the vse of discretion be wanting to any one of these they loose their Punctum medium wherein they consist and light vpon the extreames So the Liberall turnes Prodigall the Valiant foole-hardy The wise imprudent and the Iust iniurious Discretio sayth S. Bernard omni virtuti ordinem ponit Discretion is the rule by which euery vertue is directed And in matter of Counsell the Vote of discretion strikes a great stroake for it distinguisheth falsehood from truth things certaine from things doubtfull and from amidst what is ill maketh choice of that which is good It qualifieth all things and puts them in their punto and proper being And the Philosopher sayth That it is a vertue proper vnto Kings Princes and Gouernours to whom by office it belongs to intermeddle and haue a hand in such a world of businesses as require their direction and discretion wherewith all they must help themselues for the better disposing and ordring to a good end the affayres of the Common-wealth It is a neere neighbour vnto prudence and bordreth much vpon her these vertues as we sayd before being so inchained and interlinked one with another that we cannot touch one peece without trenching vpon the other And are both so necessarie that though I should say neuer so much of them I could not out-speake them But to come to the point Let the first point of aduise and discretion in a King be not trust so much to his own wise and discretion as to forbeare out of a presumption of his owne sufficiencie to treate and Consult businesses with persons of prudence and vnderstanding For being that so and so various are the cases which dayly offer themselues vnto Kings and so graue and weighty the businesses whereof they treate they must be canuased to and fro and well and throughly debated for the better ordring and setting of them making former errours to serue as land-markes for the avoyding of those to come And like a wise and experienced Physitian let him apply that medicine there and in that case where for want thereof he had formerly erred Out of ignorance to draw knowledge out of errours certainties
let vs set vp our rest vpon this which is such and so good that no vertue without it is pleasing and acceptable vnto God as no Sacrifice was without salte So that chastitie and cleanesse it selfe a vertue so high prized by God and allianced so neerely with the Angels is of no reckoning without prudence And that his best beloued beautifullest and fairest Spouse should shee be wanting in this he would repudiate her and abhorre her Wee read in Saint Mathewes Gospell of ten handsome Virgines well attyred and fitted for to attend the bridegromes comming whereof fiue of them for their imprudencie were shut out and not suffred to goe in with him to the wedding So that it is good for all and without it all is as nothing Omnia operatur prudentia saith S. Ambrose Wisedome worketh all things It doth not onely put mans reason and will in the right way direct his forces and faculties and order all his actions but without it man is no man but the Counterfaite and figure of a man Fortherein consisteth the absolutenesse and perfection of man and that similitude and likenesse which he hath with God in his being capable of Reason and prudence By his Memorie he makes that which is past present by his wisedome he foresees that which is to come and by his Counsell and aduise he disposeth and ordereth the present estate of things which are those parts of prudence which we specified before CHAP. XXVII Of the sence of Tasting and of the vertue of Temperance and how well it befitteth Kings AMongst the many miseries which accompaine man euen from the cradle to his graue and from his mothers wombe to that of the Earth the mother of vs all that hungry appetite and precise necessitie of eating and drinking is not the least It is as S. Isidore saith a rigorous a cruell and importunat creditour Nullus hominis tam improtunus exactor est quà m venter bodie suscipit cras exigit There is not any so earnest and eager an Exactor on man as is the belly It receiues to day and requires the same againe to morrow It is continually demaunding that troublesome tribute of meate and drinke of recreation and pleasure and all other things necessary for the body for all these passe and are registred vnder the sense of the Taste Which albeit it be lesse noble then the rest yet is it more necessary then all of them For as S. Ierom sayth and experience teacheth without it wee cannot liue long but without the other we may Aristotle sayth that this sence directs it's eye to these two obiects to the pleasure it receiueth in eating and to the delight it taketh in drinking Both being very powerfull and walking still hand in hand the one seconding the other taking their seuerall turnes And their Signorie so farre extends it selfe that it trenches vpon the rest of the sences and all of them are willing to accompaine him For Hearing Seeing and Smelling neither like vs nor last long vnlesse they haue the fellowship of the Taste Yet are they differenced in this that the Species of those things that are to be seene heard and smelt are to passe by the Medium or meanes of another kinde of transparent body as is the Ayre Whereas those that are to be tasted are to touch immediatly vpon the tongue and to haue their dwelling and abiding in the palate that it may the better relish distinguish the seuerall sorts of Tastes And it is worthy our obseruation that in that part of the Head which is the mouth where principally the Taste hath it's seate though it's Iurisdiction be so short and so curtall'd that it scaree occupieth the least space of the Tongue and that it's delight is so short that it indureth but for a moment yet it should come to be of that power and force that it forced the wise man to say That it was insatiable And though it alwayes hath and doth still shew it's rule and Empire ouer all mortall men yet does it make it's greatest oftentation in Kings in Princes and your great and principall persons who are most subiect to it's Command Some compare it to the fire whereinto the more fuell you fling the more infinite is it's power and rests neuer satisfied In like manner such a Tyrant is the Taste that be our riches rents and patrimonies neuer so great like fire it wastes and consumes them though it selfe remaine still whole and intire without being lessened or diminished Nor will I heere cite the Examples of prophane Kings and Emperours giuen ouer to the pleasure of their palate and sensuall delights to the losse of great Estates and Kingdomes and the scandall of their suiects because my purpose is to quote some places of the sacred Scripture dictated by the Holy Ghost the Author of Truth It is reported of King Salomon that being so wise so rich and so powerfull a Prince that hee did in such sort let loose the reines to his vnbridled appetite as if there were not the least footing of wisedome or reason to be found in him Hee himselfe says as much in Ecclesiastes where as one that saw at last his owne errour hee expresseth his minde in this manner Dixiin corde meo Vadam affluam delicijs sruar bonis I sayd in mine heart Goe to now for so the vulgar renders it I will proue thee with mirth therefore inioy pleasure I sayd so and as I sayd so I did Vadam I will goe That is to say after my appetite I will abound in wealth I will inioy the good things of this world by which are vnderstood all sortes of delights and pleasures as eating drinking intertainments recreations sportes and pastimes and whatsoeuer in that kinde may be conceiued or imagined Omnia quae desiderauerunt oculi mei non negaui eis c. Whatsoeuer mine eyes desired I kept not from them I with-held not my heart from any ioy For my heart reioyced in all c. And at last hee conclndeth with this saying Quis it à deuorauit delicijs affluit vt ego Who of all the Kings that euer were in the world could eate more then I Or who could hasten more thereunto then I hauing the world so much at will and more then all they had Was it not a thousand pities thinke you to see so wise a King to become Tributary and subiect to so vile a slaue as is the belly I haue often times mused and wondred with my selfe at the blindnesse of our noble men of these times who making it such a point of honour and standing so strictly vpon it not to pay any taxe or tribute though it amount not to aboue a blanke and that they will sooner loose their liues then acknowledge themselues Tributaries and yet that these the more noble and greater Lords they are should the more glory to be Tributaries and render and submit themselues most to this infamous tribute and
tyrannicall taxe which is payd to the palate What sumptuous tables What costly diet What dainty dishes What exquisite curiosities What rich and precious wines What Regalos And what recreations more befitting Heathens then Christians And all for to pay the Taste this vnlawfull custome Which in plaine language is a greater taske and a greater Tribute then the poorest labourer or the meanest hedger and ditcher is seassed at For when he pays this Tribute it is onely with a peece of houshold bread and a dish of small drinke and other the like poore contentments denying to his Taste those excessiue Tributes which your Kings and greater persons pay being in this particular better gentlemen then they O the blindnesse of our Christian Nobilitie Let me put this question vnto you when the Collector of Subsedyes comes to a poore husbandmans house to demand so much of him as he is â—eassed at if hee should pay him more then is due vnto him by the Law or any Act ordained in that kinde or should be earnest with him to take more then hee is set at would not all men thinke him to be a foole and a very simple fellow The like errour doe they commit who consume their goods their lands and their whole Estates in seruing the belly and satisfying the Taste with such diuersitie of delicate Viands and choyse wines when as they may well pay this Tribute with that little or small modicum mentioned by the Apostle Habentes alimenta quibus tegamur his contenti simus Hauing foode and raiment let vs be therewith contented And with this let vs goe dayly redeeming those seassements and Tributes which were imposed vpon vs by sinne and in particular this sinne of eating and drinking wherewith so often euery day we make such large payments And if wee cannot quit the whole score let vs doe herein like your bad paymasters who doe huck and pinch and pay as little as they can But this the more is the pitie is not in vse amongst them For men when they are call'd vpon to pay either priuate debts or publick seassements they driue the demander off with delayes and when they should make payment fall a caffling and refuse to lay downe what is due But in eating and drinking they will pay much more then is due and presse the belly to take more then either it is willing or able to receiue When Caesars Collectors came to demand Tribute of our Sauiour Iesus Christ hee put this question to Saint Peter Reges terrae à quibus accipiunt Tributum velcensum A filijs an ab Altenis The kings of the earth of whom doe they receiue Tribute Of the Children or of strangers To whom Peter answered of strangers Thereupon our Sauiour persently replyes Ergo liberi sunt filij Therefore the children are free And if Kings and their children are and ought to be free from this royall Tribute it standeth with much more reason that they should be freed as much as is possible from the Tribute of their proper gusts and pleasures which is much more preiudiciall vnto them then that can be should they pay it For that payment is made but once yeare at most or from halfe yeare to halfe yeare and it is payd in money But this is daily and howerly and must be payd with a mans wealth with his Health with his life and with his honour A man cannot lap vp in a little peece of paper the misbehauiours and misdemeanors which Princes haue fallen into by giuing themselues to riotous banqueting nor the excesses which they haue beene forced to commit when they haue broke the bounds of Temperance There are two things sayth the Wise man which disquieteth the world and turneth it topsie-turuy To see a slaue when he reigneth And a foole when hee is filled with meate And therefore the sayd Wiseman forbiddeth wine vnto Kings And Seneca doth much reproue Alexander the Great and Marcus Antonius for their distemper in their diet A thing so vnworthy the royall dignitie that Cicero did affirme that cruditie of the stomack in Princes was a great indignitie and altogether vnbeseeming them For by delighting in drinking they dull their spirits enfeeble their strength and discouer a thousand weaknessâ—s to the world the concealing whereof did import them very much and neerely concerne them King Salomon sayth in his Prouerbs Much more strong is that man which ouercomes himselfe and subdues his owne affections then hee that getteth great victories ouer his enemies Suting with that vulgar saying Fortior est quise quà m qui fortissima vincit moeâ—a And therefore it not so much importeth Kings to conquer others and to make themselues Lords of new Prouinces and Kingdomes as not to become perpetuall slaues to their proper gustes appetites For this doth not fit and sute so well with the greatnesse of their Office nor is eating in it selfe so generous an Act that they ought so much to prize and esteeme it In the booke of the Iudges we finde a Parable of the trees who hauing resolued with themselues to choose a King to whom all the rest should owe homage they came first to the Oliue afterwards to the Fig-tree and lastly to the Vine intreating them that they would be pleased to take the Crowne vpon them and to raigne ouer them The first answered That he could not leaue his fatnesse to goe to be promoted ouer the Trees The Fig-tree hee excused himselfe in the like manner saying Hee could not forsake his sweetnesse and his good fruite for the inioying of a Crowne And the Vine he plainly told them that he would not leaue his wine which cheereth God and Man to become a King The purpose and intent of Parables according to the doctrine of glorious S. Austin and other holy Doctors is to infold in them the truth And in this is it giuen Kings to vnderstand that excesse in their Tastes and delicious meates is not compatible with their Estate nor doth it become a Crowne Royall that wee may say all we can though we somewhat exceede from the obiect of the Tast to loose it's time in pleasures and pastimes but that in that very instant wherin Kings take them they should as sodainly leaue them in regard that they haue so many and so great businesses committed to their charge wherein if they should bestow all their time they haue scarce time enough Which requiring so much as it doth the assistance and obseruation of kings if they should mis-spend this time in sports and intertainements they must of necessitie want time for that which is more necessary be driuen considering that there is not any thing that doth cause a greater relaxation and distraction in the vnderstanding and that more abateth the edge and vigor of graue and weighty consideration then sports pastimes and pleasing of their owne gustes and palates to neglect State-businesses vnlesse they will be pleased to vse them seldome and with
seruos suos cum eo et vniuersum Israel et vastauerunt filios Ammon et obsederunt Rabâ—a Dauid autem remansit in Hierusalem Dum haec agerentur accidit vt surgeret Dauid de strato suo post meridiem et deambularet in solario domus regiae viditque mulieremse lauantem ex aduerso super solarium suum c. And it came to passe that after the yeare was expired at the time when Kings goe forth to battel that Dauid sent Ioab and his seruants with him and all Israel and they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabbah But Dauid tarryed still at Ierusalem And it came to passe in an Euening tyde that Dauid arose from his bed and walked vpon the roofe of the Kings house and from the roofe hee saw a woman washing her selfe and the woman was very beautifull to looke vpon c. What a companie of aggrauating circumstances did heere precede the sinne of Dauid It fell out about that time of the yeare when Kings vsed to goe into the field against their enemies and to muster vp their souldiars But instead of going himselfe in person hee sent forth his Captaine Ioab with all the choyse men of Israel himselfe remaining in the meane while sporting and recreating himselfe in his princely Pallace And not thinking on those cares which so dangerous a warre did at that time require hee rose one day after dinner from his Table and went to walke in a gallerie or Tarras that lay open to the Sunne and from thence it was his chance to espie Vriahs wife washing and bathing of her selfe in a place of the like nature right ouer against him who likewise on her part gaue occasion to this sinne for that her husband being abroad in the warres and exposing himselfe to so many troubles and perills she should take pleasure in washing her hayre and in the curious decking and dressing her person in a place from whence shee might be so easily seene Whom he no sooner saw but coueted and no soner made loue vnto but he inioyed her And that he might possesse her with the more safety and cloake the adulterie the better and the childe wherewithall shee went hee gaue order for the making away of her husband vpon the neck whereof an infinite number of other euills did insue When Kings wage warre and their subiects fight their battailes hazarding therein their liues or when any other common calamities happen as of Famine or Pestilence in their Kingdomes they are not then to follow their pleasures and intertainments but to abstaine from them and to shew and make knowen to the world that they haue a fellow-feeling of these common euills and generall afflictions For so did the King of Niniue as soone as hee was informed what the Prophet Ionas had preached in his Court threatning them with the punishment which God would send vpon that Citie And the holy Scripture saith That the King himselfe was the first man that forsooke his pleasures layd his roabe from him and couered him with sack-cloath and sate in ashes and caused it to be proclaimed through Nineue saying Let neither man nor beast heard nor flocke tast any thing let them not feede nor drinke water But let man and beast be couered with sack-cloath and cry mightily vnto God yea let them turne euery one from his euill way and from the violence that is in their hands c. And this was the Course that hee tooke for to appease Gods anger When King Dauid heard of the great slaughter which the Pestilence had wrought in his Kingdome sorrowing exceedingly that the Plague was so hot amongst his people and shewing that it grieued his very heart and soule hee cryed out vnto the Lord and sayd Ego sum qui peccaui ego qui iniquè egi c. Vertatur obsecro manus tua contra me et contra domum patris mei I haue sinned and I haue done wickedly but these sheepe what haue they done Let thine hand I pray be against me and against my fathers house King Ioram reigning in Israel there was so great a Famine and so fore a Death in that Kingdome that two women by consent did agree to kill their children and to eate them by turnes Which the King had no sooner heard of but that he was so inwardly grieued therewith that in expression of his sorrow he rent his garments according to the custome of the Hebrewes on such like sad occasions and put on sack-cloath within vpon his flesh Because Prince Ionathan did but dip the tippe of his rod in the hony-combe when as his father King Saul and all his men of warre were fighting against the Philistins God was much offended with it Thereby teaching Kings that on the like occasions they ought to be the first that should abstaine from their pleasures and delightes signified by the Hony-combe That valiant Captaine Vrias was a good master of this doctrine who being returned from the Armie to the Court called thither by the King would by no meanes be perswaded to goe home to his owne house to refresh himselfe and make merry with his wife though his Maiestie willed him so to doe And the reason which he rendred why he would not doe it was this Arca Dei et Iuda habitant in papilionibus c. The Arke and Israel and Iudah abiding in Tents and my Lord Ioab with the whole Army lying incamped in the open fields without any other shelter and being in that great danger that they are shall I then goe into mine house to eate and to drinke and to lye with my wise Per salutem tuam et per salutem animae tuae non faciam rem hanc As thou liuest and as thy soule liueth I will not doe this thing And not only in the common calamities of a whole Common-wealth but also in those particular ones of great persons that haue beene seruiceable to the state it is fit and requisit and well will it become Kings that they make shew of their sorrow by laying aside their feastings and all other kinde of solacings and mirthfull Intertainments When King Dauid vnderstood of the death of that braue Commander Abner he wept bitterly before the people and commanded that none should taste bread or ought else till the Sunne were downe saying vnto his seruants Num ignoratis quoniam princeps et Maximus cecidit hodiè in Israel Know yee not that there is a Prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel But some will say that we do not well in aduising Kings or the Common people on sad occasions to forbeare their sports and pastimes it seeming vnto them that they ought rather then to seeke after them for the diuerting of melancholy and banishing of sorrow Vrging Plutarkes authoritie who reprehendeth those men who when they are already merrily disposed hunt after intertainments and pastimes wishing them to doe that when they finde themselues sad and heauie for then
with the fewest Many moe therebe which speak much in matter of tongues and languages vsed throughout the world But I will onely treate of those which imports Kings and Kingdomes Such as is that truth and sinceritie wherewith they are to treate that faith and word which they are to cumply withall and that secret which they are to keepe Two things sayth Pythagoras did the moderate men of the earth receiue from heauen well worthy our consideration in regard of the great fauour done them therein The one that they should haue the power to be able to doe good vnto others And the other to treat Truth And that in them they should hold competition with the Gods Properties both of them well befitting Kings Of the power that Kings haue to doe good vnto their friends and to defend themselues from their enemies wee haue already signified vnto you how proper it is to the greatnesse of a King and how like therein hee is vnto God But the sayd Philosopher being demanded wherein man was likest vnto God made answer Quandò veritatem sciuerit When hee shall know the Truth For God is truth it selfe And that man that treates truth resembles him in nothing more and it is so proper to our vnderstanding that it intertaines it for it's obiect and still goes in search thereof the contrary whereof is repugnant to the nature as likewise to the essence and greatnesse of Kings from whom wee are euer to expect the iudgement of truth Non decet Principem labium mentiens Lying lipps becometh not a Prince It is the saying of a King and of a King that was a Salomon who spake with the tongue of the Holy Ghost and it is an avouched and ratified Conclusion that the pen and the tongue of a King should alwayes tell the truth though it were against himselfe As likewise for to teach and instruct his subiects that they doe the like as also all others that shall treate with them For in vaine doth hee desire to heare truth that will not deale truly And perhapps for this cause the shortest of all other your words in allmost all Languages are your Yea and Nay There can be no shifting or doubling in them no going about the bush These words will admit no other construction but a bare affirmation or negation In the fewest words are the least falsehood and the least quarrell to be pick't against them Men cannot expatiate their excuses as they may where larger Language is vsed And therefore the other as it is the shortest so it is the surest way Wherefore Kings ought all wayes and in all and with all to treate truth being that it may be vttred with so much ease and facility and to suffer himselfe to be plainely vnderstood Contrary to the Tenent of a sort of vp-start Hereticks which these Times tearme Politicians who for to make good their Policie and Tyrannicâ—ll gouernment affirme That a King may for reason of State if hee see it may make for the conseruation thereof Dissemble deceiue breake his word and plight his faith without any purpose or meaning to keepe it fraud dissimulation and deceit of what condition soeuer it be being contrary vnto truth and contrary to the Law of nature which in all that it treates requireth truth and contrary to the Diuine Law which condemneth him that speakes not the truth but goes about to deceiue And our Sauiour Christ calls King Herod Foxe reprouing his wily shifts and deepe dissimulations and more particularly in putting on a face of sorrow before his Guestes that he feasted when he commanded Iohn Baptist's head to be smitten off it being the onely thing that hee most defired And hee likewise condemneth those Pharisaicall Hypocrites who by exteriour showes would haue that to be supposed of them which they neuer interained in their heart And the Angelicall Docter renders the reason of this Truth To dissemble saith he is to lye in the deed or thing it selfe For a Lye doth not cease to be a Lye nor to alter it's nature be it either in workes or in words So that a Lye may be found in the behauiour gesture or semblance that one maketh wherewith to deceiue and to giue vs to vnderstand that which is not As also in the manner of the word spoken or some circumstance to be gathered out of it Now that which makes it culpable is the doublenesse in the heart Which S. Austen subtlely considereth in that incounter of a mans meaning with his wordes Wherein there ought to be all equalitie and consonancie which is not truly kept when in our words wee shall say the contrary to that which is in our mindes Therefore a Christian King or his Minister may silence some things cast a cloake ouer them and not suffer themselues to be vnderstood and cunningly to dissemble that which they know of them as long as they shall thinke it necessary to be kept close and secrete for the good expedition of that which is in Treaty But a King or his Minister may not faigne deceiue dissemble or to giue that to be vnderstood by any open Act of his which he had not in his heart and bosome to doe All which hath no place in that which appertaineth vnto Faith wherein by the Law of God we haue obligation not onely to beleeue but also to confesse with all truth and plainnesse that which we beleeue without giuing to vnderstand by the least word or gesture ought to the contrary nor for the least moment of time though thereby we might saue our liues Whereby Kings and Christian Ministers are admonished how they may vse dissimulation how farre and for what time without treading in the path of their priuate profit through which your Politicians pretend to leade them leauing the high way of Truth wherewith accordeth whatsoeuer is iust and right shunneth all manner of lying which Truth and Time will at last bring to light It was the saying of King Theopompus That kingdomes and great Estates were conserued by Kings speaking Truth and by suffring others to speake the Truth vnto them For they being those whom it most importeth to heare truths none heare lesse King Antiochus all the time of his raigne sayd that he did not remember that euer hee had heard any more then one only truth It being the plague of Kings and Princes to haue that verified in their Pallaces and Courtes which was deliuered by Democritus Quod veritas in profundo puteo demersa latet That Truth lâ—es buryed in a deepe pit You shall scarce meete with one in an Age that dare tell Kings the Truth there being so many about them that sooth them vp with lyes and flatteries Seneca saith That of ten hundred thousand souldiers which Artaxerxes had in his Army there was but one onely that told him the truth in a case wherein all the rest did lye And amongst innumerable Prophets which concealed the truth from the king only Michah made
bold to tell it him And only Solon did the like with king Croesus Seldom times doth the truth enter into the Kings priuy-chamber and when it enters they scare expresse it in that bare and naked maner as did Iohn Baptist. And for this cause did Demetrius the Philosopher wish king Ptolomie to reade bookes Histories which treated of Precepts for Kings and Captaines for they would tell him that which none durst deliuer vnto him Socrates sayd That there was not any one that made open protestation to speake the truth that attained as he did to the age of 70. yeares And certaine it is that Kings cannot indure to heare those plaine and naked truths which the common people and other their subiects are able to tel them and proue vnto them nor must they that are in place presume to vtter them for feare of indangering their authoritie and reputation And therefore it is fit that they should haue some such persons about them which should both heare and vnderstand them and take their time to informe them of them And this is a rul'd Case taken out of those great Instructions and wise Aphorismes which Mecaenas gaue to Augustus worthy to be taken notice of and to be kept and obserued as coming from so great a Counsailour and proposed to a Prince who was so wise in this kinde To wit That Kings ought to giue libertie and way that their subiects vpon occasion might be admitted to tell them the Truth assuring them on their part that they will not bee offended with that which they shall say vnto them For it is permitted vnto a Physician to prescribe corrasiues and to cut away the dead flesh till it come to the quicke And it may as well be lawfull for a good subiect a faithfull Minister and Counseller of state to speake freely vnto his King with respect and reuerence to their royall dignitie the truth of that they thinke and to condemne him in his iudgement or otherwise when he shall goe about to doe any thing contrary to Iustice and reason Nor ought this to seeme oftensiue to any man nor to the King himselfe who if he haue a Christian feeling will approue in his minde vnderstanding the reasons that they shall represent vnto him so that if he be willing to heare the truths they shall tel him it may turne much to his profit And if he like not well of it there is no harme done neither doth he receiue any preiudice by it And if he shall thinke it fit for the furthering of his ends to follow the Counsaile of any let him coÌ„mend honour that person For by that plot which he shall haue deuised inuented he shall gaine honour and greatnesse by it And it is meete conuenient that he should incourage both him and others with thankes and rewards Because this is the sunne which giues life and the heaâ—e which warmes good wits and makes them actiue nimble And in case he shall not admit of his aduise let him not disgrace him nor finde fault with him for his good will and the desire that he hath to do him seruice But like a great Prince wherein he shall shew his goodnesse let his eye rather looke on the good desire and affection wherewith he doth it then on the effect thereof As likewise because others may not be disheartned for there is not any the poorest plante that hath not some vertue in it nor any brayne so barrene whence at one time or other some fruite may not be gathered for the publickegood I conclude then this first point of that plaine and sincere truth which Kings are to treate and wherewith they are to be treated in signifying vnto them that their own and the Kingdomes safety relyes on searching out the truth and in hauing those about them which will freely speake it a thing so necessarie for to gouerne vprightly and to reward him though it cost him well that shall tell him For Kings shall meete with few that will tell it them as they say for a song For considering the danger whereinto they put themselues by speaking the truth it costes them much And it is an old and ancient kinde of cosenage and deceit which Kings and Princes suffer in not hearing truthes contenting themselues with applause and adulation of that only which pleaseth their humour though it be in thingâ— of much importance and such as neerely concerne them A notable example whereof we haue in the Tri-partite Historie reported by Sozomenus of the Emperour Constantine the great who being one day desirous of make triaâ—l of the integritie and truth of those that seru'd him hee called them all before him and toâ—d them My good friends it is now many yeares that I haue liued vnder the obseruance of the Christian Law but now I grow weary of it for it is a very painefull and troublesome thing to submit our necke to the yoake of the Gospell and to submit ouâ— selfe to a Law that will not allow vs so much libertie as to swarue one tittle from it I pray you let me haue your opinions in it for we for our part are resoâ—ued what we will doe When the Emperour had thus exprest himselfe those that were flatterers Sycophants and time pleasers sayd vnto him Wee thinke your Maiestie shall doe well in so doing and wee shall be obedient to what you shall ordaine therein But those good and faithfull seruants which desired the good and prosperous estate of their Prince both in soule and body humbly besought him on their knees saying Sir For Gods honour and your own doe not doe so vile a thing for it is neither fitting nor lawfull nor shall wee follow you therein or serue you one day longer Then did the Emperour know by this which were good seruants and of greatest trust and presently dismiâ—sed the other Credens nunquam eos circa principem suum fore dâ—bitos qui suerunt Dei sui sic paratissimi proditores Perswading himselfe that they would neuer be faithfull to their Prince that would so soone turne traytours vnto God And if Kings would know how true this is and the errour wherein they liue by hauing the truth kept from them let them at some one time or other when they see fit make shew to affect the contrary to that which before they were hot vpon and did earnestly desire and then shall they see that those very men which approued the one will likewise make good the other and then will they know how in the one or in the other nay in all they are deceiued by them or at least that they dare not plainely and simply tell him that truth which their hearts thinke If they be Ministers and Counsellours of State if they once finde out their Kings homour and the ayre that most delightes his eare they play vpon that string If they be bed-chamber men or the like familiar Attendants about his person they haue naturally a
treason yea though secrecie be not inionyed them nor they charged there with But hee that takes an oath to be secret and reuealeth any thing contrary thereunto besides that he is a periur'd and infamous person hee sinnes mortally and is bound to satisfaction of all the harme that shall happen thereby and incurres the punishment of depriuation of his Office For if hee be sworne to secrecie or bee made a Secretary and hath silence for the seale of his Office he is iustly depriued thereof if he vse it amisse And the Law of the Recopilation saith that hee is lyable to that punishment which the King will inflict vpon him according to the qualitie of the offence or the hurt thereby receiued And the Imperiall Law chapter the first Quibus modis feudum amittit that hee shall loose the fee which hee holdes of his Lord. Plutarke reporteth of Philipides that he being in great grace and fauour with Lysimachus King of Lacaedemonia begged no other boone of him but this That he would not recommend any secret vnto him As one that knew very well that saying of one of the wise men of Greece That there was not any thing of more difficultie then to be silent in matters of secrecie As also for that it being communicated to others though it come to be discouered by anothers fault and none of his yet the imputation is laid as well vpon him that was silent as on him that reuealed and so must suffer for another mans errour And in case any man shall incurre any iust suspition thereof let the King withdraw his fauour from him dismisse him the Court and put another in his place that shall be more secret for that which they most pretend is their fidelitie in this point And howbeit they haue neuer so many other vertues and good abilities yet wanting this they want all and are of no vse no more then were those vessells in Gods House which had no Couers to their mouthes For such open vessells are they that cannot keepe close a secret and altogether vnworthy the seruice of kings The substance and vertue of your flowres goes out in vapours and exhalations of the Lymbecke And heate passeth out through the mouth of the fornace and a secret from betweene the lipps of a Foole it being a kinde of disease amongst those that know least to talke most and to vent through their mouth whatsoeuer they haue in their heart In ore fatuorum Cor illorum sayth the Wise man in corde sapientium os illorum The heart of fooles is in their mouth but the mouth of the wise is in their hearts Cogitauerunt et locuti sunt Looke what a Foole hath in his head hee will presently out with it But a wise man will not speake all that hee knowes And therefore your Naturallists say that Nature placed two vaines in the Tongue the one going to the heart the other to the braine To the end that that which remaines secret in the heart the Tongue should not vtter saue what reason and the vnderstanding haue first registred conformable to that Order which is betweene the faculties of the Soule and of the Body it being fit that the Imagination should first conceiue and the Tongue afterwards bring forth that thinke the other speake Not like vnto that foole who vnaduisedly and without premeditation went all day long babbling vp and downe Tota die iniustitiam cogitauit lingua tua Thy tongue all day-long deuiseth mischiefe That is whatsoeuer it imagineth it easily vttreth nay sometimes the Tongue speaketh without booke and runnes riot afore euer it is a ware But let vs conclude this with that of Salomon That Death and Life are in the power of the tongue A dangerous weapon in the hands of him that is not Master thereof and knowes not how to rule it For all Mans good or ill consisteth in the good or ill vse of this Instrument The well gouerning whereof is like a good Pilot that gouerneth a ship and the ill guiding of it like a dangerous rocke whereon men split their honour and often loose their liues And therefore the Diuell left patient Iob when all the rest of his body was wounded with sores his tongue whole and sound Not with intent to doe him any kindnesse therein but because hee knew very well that that alone was sufficient if hee were carelesse thereof for to make him loose his honour his life and his soule For all these lye in the power of the Tongue Qui in consideratus est ad loquendum sentiet mala He that openeth wide his lipps shall haue destruction And the plagues which shall befall him will bee so remedilesse that he shall not meete with any medicine to cure them Nor is there any defence against the carelesse negligences of a babbling tongue which are so many that the Holy Ghost stiles such a kinde of tongue the Vniuersitie or Schoole of wickednesse Vniuer sitas iniquitatis Wherein is read a Lecture of all the Vices Whereas on the contrary Vir prudens secreta non prodit Tacenda enim tacet et loquenda loquitur A wise man will not betray a secret But silenceth those things that are to be silenced and vttereth those things that are to be vttered It is worthy our weighing how much importeth the warinesse in our words for Gods honour and the Kings credit and authoritie which is much abused and lessened by futile and flippant tongues to the great hurt of a kingdome and the good gouernment of the Common-wealth And let Kings correct this so great a disorder in the disclosing closing of secrets either out of their respect to such and such persons or for their particular Interests or out of the weakenesse of a slippery tongue Let Priuie-Counsellours I say and Secretaries of State bridle their tongues If not let Kings if they can restraine them And if they cannot do it of themselues let them petition God as Dauid did In camo et fraeâ—o maxillas eorum constringe Hold in their mouth with bit and bridle For I am of Saint Iames his beliefe Nullus hominum domare potest The tongue can no man tame it is an vnruly euill I say moreouer that the harmes which the Tongue doth are so many and in such a diuerse manner that the euill consisteth not onely in speaking but many times likewise in being silent and saying nothing by forbearing to speake the truth in that which is fitting and when it ought to speake as already hath beene sayd and in not reprouing and amending his neighbour being obliged thereunto by the Law Naturall Diuine and Positiue And in not reprehending Murmurers and Backbiters for then for a man to hold his peace and not to checke them for it is to consent and concurre with them and to approue that which they say And S. Bernard tells vs that he cannot determine which of the two is worser Detrahere an t
against these false friends these domesticke enemies for those their soft words oyled ouer with adulation are those darts and brasse Ordnance wherewith they kill and slay Molliti sunt sermones eius super â—leum ipsi sunt iacula The words of his mouth were smoother then butter but warre was in his heart his words were softer then oyle yet were they drawen swords They are men that carry two faces vnder one hood they are counterfaite doblones that haue two seuerall stampes but neither of them golde which God abhorreth and throwes them a thousand Leagues off from him such is the hatred hee beares vnto them Spiritus enim sanctus effugiet fictum For the holy Spirit of discipline will fly deceit and will not abide when vnrighteousnesse commeth in Therein teaching discreete Kings how they ought to avoyde this kinde of vaine men and dissembling dispositions whose pills of poyson are confectioned with Sugar and fairely but falsely gilded ouer The Emperour Tiberius was such an enemie vnto them and to whatsoeuer did sauour of flattery that neuer either in publicke or in secret did hee giue way to intertayning any speech with them and held those hearts to be base and vile which did vse the like feigned courtesies And the two Seueri Alexander Septimus did seuerely prosecute these beasts and pursued them to the death as most mischeiuous to a Common-wealth Theodoricus stabd one of his seruants because thinking thereby to please him and to curry fauour with him he had changed his Religion And the Athenians beheaded an Embassadour of theirs whom they imployed to the King of Persia because in an insinuating and flattering kinde of fashion hee made his entrance when hee came to haue his Audience with great submissions and thereupon enacted a Law whereby they condemned flatterers to death And the Emperours Arcadius and Honorius ordeyned the like in their Lawes And good King Dauid did well instruct Kings how they were to deale with these Traytors in that rigorous chasticement which hee exercised on an Amalakite who thought to winne his fauour by bringing him newes of Sauls death whom presently there vpon the place in his own presence hee caused to be slaine This kingly Prophet did hate them exceedingly and was much the more wary and heedefull of them as being the Diuells Ministers and being instructed by him in the trade of counterfeite gilding and laying oyle colours on rusty yron wherein hee had so played the cunning merchant with our first parents met with such good and rich Indyes And therefore did so earnestly beg of God that not one drop of that oyle of these Traders with Hell might touch his head Oleum autem peâ—catoris non impinguet capuâ— meum Let not their precious oyle make fatte my head For that soft and sweete oyntment of theirs is full of poyson Others translate it Non srangat Let it not breake my head For though their words seeme to be like oyle or Balsamum that is powred forth yet are they sharpe arrowes and deadly Darts This oyle or Balsamum saith Casiodorus is flatterie which is an inuention of the Diuells to bereaue men of their sences He tooke this course with the first of men and neither hath nor will giue ouer till hee haue made an end if hee can with the last For great is that vngodly gaine which hee maketh by this kinde of merchandise With this pleasant bath and mouth-oyntment hee came to our first parents and began to smooth and annoynt them with his inticing flatteries telling them that they should be no whit inferiour vnto God if they would but taste of the forbidden fruit They vnfortunate therein beleeu'd it And who is he that knowes not what a bad bargaine they made of it and what great losse they sustained And what an ill market they make and what they loose by their trading who by these fomentations suffer the crowne of their head to be annoynted The fall of that Prince is very neere at hand if not very certaine that lets his eares lye open to the like lyes for by listning vnto Sycophants and Flatterers good kings haue become bad and by dancing after their pipe and gouerning themselues by their aduise Kings and kingdomes haue come to ruine Commodum iuuenem imperatorem perdiderunt saith Herodian They vndid thereby the young Emperour Commodus They likewise saith Plutarke were the cause of the disastrous death of Iulius Caesar and of diuerse others And as some wise and holy Saints haue obserued many more Kings and kingdomes haue beene vndone by flatterers then by the warrs for they are the rootes and beginning of all mischiefes and all the publicke miseries of Common-wealths are to be attributed vnto them Let Kings in this particular be well aduised and not suffer themselues to be deceiued nor to haue dust throwen in their eyes that they may not see the hurt which flattery causeth S. Ierom saith that it is an vnlucky starre and an vnfortunat fate or Constellation that thus leades the soule and heart aside with flatteries and carries them which way they list For although by fits we see the face of our owne shame vn-masked and know our selues to be vnworthy of what we heare yet inwardly wee reioyce thereat like vnto those who by fortune-tellers being told their good fortune take pleasure in hearing of it though they finde it afterwards to bee bad The remedy against this is that which the Holy Ghost setteth downe vnto vs. To wit That wee should sowe our eares with bushes and thornes that they may paine and pricke his tongue that shall come to court them with flatteries Let Kings haue reprehension and chasticement in readinesse against these plotters and impostors Plus enim persequitur lingua adulatoris quà m manus interfectoris For a flatterers tongue does more harme then a murderers hand Seneca in his Epistles tells vs how exceedingly Alexander the Great was incensed against his friends because they tolde him that hee was the Sonne of a God Hee told them they ly'd And hee was in the right For all that flatter lye and that is not to be beleeu'd which they say but that which euery man knowes of himselfe and what his owne conscience dictates vnto him And what good doth their commendation doe mee if that accuse mee And in case that they doe not doe this base office but that they themselues sooth vp themselues and beleeue that of themselues which they are not this of all other adulation is the worst and the most incurable because it ariseth from selfe-loue and a proper estimation of our owne worth which is that inward flatterer which we all beare about vs in our owne bosomes and are willing to intertane his false perswasions For hee that is flattered by another doth sometimes know that all is Lyes and adulation which they tell him and makes a game and scoffe of it which hee doth not doe when it proceedes
the houses of Princes and great Persons these things are in greatest request Ecce qui in veste pretiosa sunt delicijs in domibus Regum sunt Behold they which are goâ—geously apparel ed and liue delicately are in Kings Courts So says our Sauiour Christ. And many dangers doe they runne who measure out all their life by the Compasse of Contents and passe times that goe cloathed in Silkes and Veluetts and are continually conuersant amidst the sweetest perfumes the purest Holland the finest Damaske and the richest c'oathes of Silke and Gold Yet for all this doe not I say That Princes and great Lords liuing in this State and Pompe cannot â—o nomâ—ne bee saued but to shew that in all Estates there is a great deale of danger but much more in your daintier and nicer sort of people Nor will I with all my force straine this vnto Kings as well witting what their Estate and Greatnesse doth admit and require And that as Nature did dâ—fference them from the rest both in blood and birth so likewise ought there to be a distinction in their diet raiment and in the furnâ—shing and adorning of their houses But I say that which cannot be denied that in excuse of this their state and conueniencie they take vnto themselues heerein too large a licence and passe to soone from the foote to the hand from the hand to the mouth making of an inch an ell and of an elll an Aker So hard a matter is it for great Princes to moderate themselues and vse a meane And that Heathen was not much wide of the marke who sayd in the Senate That that is an vnfortunate Estate that obligeth a man to liue alwayes vp to the eyes grazing in his pleasures and delightes And that it is a very bad Omen for a man to liue all his life time according to the sauour and guste of his palate Consuetudinem nullam peiorem esse quà m vt semper viuat quis ad voluptatem There is not any custome so bad as that of a mans liuâ—ng according to his owne pleasure Such men are rather to be pittied then enuied for there is not that hower of their contents and deâ—ightes which doth not pay it's tribute of teares and sorrow Onely for to please and satisfie this sense and to recreate that of the sight haue so many Artes beene inuented so many sorts of Trades and Trades-men set a worke so much varietie of fashions and costly cloathes such a world of curious Silkes Lawnes Cambricks and Hollands such large beds rich bedding sumptuous bed-steds so sensuall and so ouer nice and dainty that it may well be questioned whether is greater the costlinesse or the curiositie the richnesse or the ryot occasioned by them Nor which is the miserie of it is it yet known whether or how farre this Humour will extend it selfe But sure I am that thereby houses are disordred much monyes consumed ancient Inheritances solde away and a thousand other inconueniences introduced And to say the truth this sense hath not neede of so much nicetie but abuse hath now brought it to that passe that it hath no sooner a liking to a thing but it greedily runn's after it as a beast that is put into a fresh ground runnes vp and downe smelling out the choice grasse and will not bite but at the sweetest But he that doth Regalar and pamper vp this sense most doth most of all make it his enemie Which will neuer giue him ouer till it haue vndone him This is so large a Theame and so copious a subiect that if I should heere write and set downe all that which in this kinde would fairly offer it selfe I must be driuen much to inlarge my pen. But it is not my Intent to set my cloath on the Tenters nor in this little Loome to weaue large Histories and long discourses but onely to giue a short touch and away of the effects which this sence causeth and of the miseries and misfortunes which are incident to Touching and that all the worke paines which it does and takes for it's friends and best well-wishers is not so freely bestow'd nor that good assurance giuen thereof but that this it 's momentary pleasure makes quick payment in groanes in diseases and in Temporall and Eternall Death The condition of the obligation being drawen and signed by no worse a Scriuener then Saint Paul Si enim secundum carnem vixeritis morieimni For if yee liue after the flesh yee shall dye Wee haue examples of Kings good store and of ancient and moderne Kingdomes forraine and domestick The first shall be of Charles the 8. King of France in whom voluptuousnesse and delights wrought so great an alteration in that his most fortunate and happy entrance which hee made into Italy where without putting hand to his sword hee became Master of all the whole Kingdome of Naples and did so amuze and affright all the World that the Great Turke was afraid of being ouer-runne by him and many of his Commaunders which had the keeping of his Fortes on that Coast forsooke them and fled And if that King had but well followed that Enterprize hee had beene Lord of all Greece But being a young Gentileman hee suffered himselfe to be ouercome by the Dainties and Delicacies of that Countrie spending his Time in delightes banquets shewes maskings dancings and feastings So that hee who had so soone filled the world with feare was as soone ouercome by yeelding to the pleasure of this sense For hee and his did so glut themselues with the fruites of that Country and so followed the delights of the flesh that hauing entred victorious they became subiect and were subdued by that new and loathsome disease which possesseth the whole body and to dissemble it's name they call it Corrimiento which in plaine English is the French Pocks There and then it was where and when it first began to rage and from thence spred it selfe hither and thither and now is so generally knowen in all parts of the world and which by Touching onely cleaues close vnto man And this had it's roote and beginning in carnall delight as it was resolued in a Consultation of Physitians which King Don Alonso called together in Toledo which is another notable Example who hauing wonne that Citie from the Moores and many other places ioying themselues in the victorie layd aside their Armes and gaue themselues in that manner to their pleasures and delights that within a few dayes they were growen so lazye and so weake that they were not able to fight nor to beare armes against the enemie and being forced to take them vp in a certaine skirmish which they had neere vnto Veles they were ouerthrowen and shamefully put to flight leauing dead in the place the sonne of their King Who being very sensible of this so great an infamie consulted his Physicians what should be the cause of this so great a weakenesse both in the strength
contentment in these outward things that hath it not within himselfe Iulius Caesar wearyed out with his want of health did hate and abhorre his life For as the wise man saith Melior est mors quà m vita amara Better is Death then a bitter life A sicke life is no life nor is there any happinesse where health is wanting And all things without it are as nothing For to liue without paine is more to be prized then all And this doth Temperance effect This preserued Marcus Valerius more then a hundred yeares sound in iudgement and strong in body And by this Socrates liued all his life time free from sicknesses and diseases It was the saying of the elder Cato that hee gouerned his house increased his wealth preserued his health and inlarged his life by Temperance In multis escis erit infirmitas saith Ecclesiasticus Qui autem abstinens est adijciet vitam Excesse of meates bringeth sicknesse By surfeiting haue many perished but hee that taketh heede prolongeth his life King Masinoja was wonderfull temperate his fare was ordinary and with out curiositie which made him liue so sound and so healthy that at 87. yeares of age hee begat a Sonne and at 94. wanne a battaile wherein he shewed himselfe a very good Soldiar but a better Captaine And therefore let those dis-deceiue themselues and acknowledge their errour who thinke they shall preserue their life by faring deliciously Pliny saith of grasse That Quanto peius tractatur tanto prouenit melius The worse it is vsed the better it proues As with it so is it with man Homo sicut faenum Man is but as grasse or as the flower of the field Which is no sooner vp but is cut downe no sooner flourisheth but it fadeth and all it's beautie no sooner appeareth but it perisheth and withereth away and is no more to be seene And the more wee make of much our selues the lesse while we liue We are alwayes crazy soone downe but not so soone vp Quickly fall into a disease but long ere we can get out of it Loosing our strength before we come to it and waxing olde before euer wee be aware of it But if a man will lay aside this Cockering and pampering vp of himselfe and habituate himselfe to labour and trauaile he shall passe his life the better For health neuer dwells with delights nor strength ioyne hands with choice fare Nor shall hee euer doe any famous Acts and worthy renowne that feares to take paines and is willing to take his ease The Emperour Hadrian was singular herein Frigora enim tempestates ita patienter tulit vt nunquam caput tegeret Hee did indure colds and all kinde of fowle weather with that patience that hee neuer put on his hatt but alwayes went bare-headed And Alexander the Great would tell his Soldiars that it was for lazy Companions and effeminate fellowes to apply themselues to the pleasures and contentments of this life but for Noble hearts and generous spirits to accustome themselues to labour and to take paines In a word Temperance is a vertue very necessarie for all estates it will sute well with all but more particularly with Kings and Princes and great persons because it is in it selfe a vertue so gentleman-like so worthy Noble persons and so proper for royall Maiestie As likewise for that they liue as they doe amidst so many regalos and delights so many curious meates and a thousand other occasions whereby if they doe not arme themselues with this vertue not onely their liues but their soules are like to incurre the great danger For like theeues in a mans owne house or close traitours lurking in secret corners some while one some while another are neuer from their elbow till they deliuer them ouer into the hands of death or at least hoxe their courage and cut off their health Which in good Kings so much importeth and which all men desire may be long and prosperous The want whereof in a particular person importeth little but in them it mattereth much in regard of the great losse which the Common-wealth thereby receiueth For on their welfare dependeth the generall comfort and gouernment of the whole kingdome which when it is wanting in them that want is common to all Let then the conclusion of this discourse be That Kings ought to keepe an orderly and temperate diet hauing more regard to the law of Nature and vnto Christian reason then to their greatnes of state and Maiestie of Empire And to carry themselues amidst so many occasions of pleasures and delights with that modestie and moderation as if they were without them if they haue a minde to preserue their bodies and their soules healths and to giue vnto all a good example which is another as already hath beene said so powerfull a remedy for to perswade other Princes and Potentates of his kingdome to the embracing of this vertue And besides that obseruation of Hipocrates Quod plures cecîdit gula quam gladius That surfeiting hath killed more then the sword Let those that place all their care in these their delights and pleasures consider that saying of Cato That our much carefulnesse in this causeth much forgetfulnesse of God And there are some that count it an honour and reputation vnto them to eate and to drinke though Sanitas est animae corporis sobrius potus and because they are great in estate they will also be great feeders Which indeed is not Greatnesse nor Lordlinesse but great basenesse and vnbeseeming their authoritie to suffer themselues to be giuen to gluttony and to the excesse of eating and drinking Saint Bernard did blesse himselfe and much wonder at so much time and wealth as herein was spent and at so many Cookes and other Officers herein employed And that he should be the most commended and best rewarded that could inuent any other new kinde of choice dish then had by gluttonies curious enquiry been as yet found out And all to giue gust to the Gust and to please the palate with the losse of their honour the wasting of their wealth and to their great hurt both of bodies and soules But these must I inroll in the list of vnfortunate persons and account that kingdome happy as the wise man saith where the King and his Peeres liue soberly and temperately Beata terra cuius Rex nobilis est cuius Principes vescuntur in tempore suo ad reficiendum non luxuriandum Blessed art thou O Land when thy King is the sonne of Nobles and thy Princes eate in due season for strength and not for drunkennesse §. II. Of another remedie against excesses and superfluities depending on the example of Kings A King being as hath beene said the soule and heart of a kingdome and like another Sunne which with its light and motion affoords light and health to the world being the true picture and liuely Image of God vpon earth and he that is most
being iust like vnto him hath a great and precise obligation lying vpon him both by his life and example to giue life vnto his kingdome and to set himselfe as a patterne before his subiects that and they being that mysticall bodie whereof he is the head And see what dependencie the members in mans bodie haue on the head the same or little lesse haue subiects on their Kings And if that be sound and good it is well with all the members but if ill affected all of them suffer with it The Prouerbe saith Cum caput dolet caetera membra dolent When the head aketh the rest of the members ake with it And as it is so true as nothing more so it it more in Common-wealths then mens bodies For as the humours of these are in or out of order according to those which the head communicateth vnto them So likewise the composition of a whole kingdome dependeth on the good or ill composition of their King and Head Whence it followeth that the same necessitie which a body hath of a good head the very selfesame hath a kingdome of a good King being that he as hee is King as already hath beene deliuered doth therein supply the Office of the Head And therefore it was well said of Plato That the inclining of a King to good or ill is the inclining of the whole kingdome according to his scale or ballance they bend all the same way follow him as the shadow doth the body Mouetur cū Principe mobile vulgus As the Prince moues so doth the wauering multitude In vaine do we seeke to rectifie the shadow if the body be crooked The waues of the sea go that way as the winde driues them and the vulgar are led along by the example of those their Kings that gouerne them Aquae multae populi sunt The common people are as many waters The spirit and winde that moues them is the King who with great force carries the mindes of his subiects this way or that way as best pleaseth him By onely seeing Saint Peter abstaine from some meate and eate of other some without commanding it or saying any thing thereof to those new conuerted Christians Saint Paul saith that he carried them away and drew them to doe the like For there is neither Law nor Precept nor force can be compared with that which the example of a King works vpon his subiects forcing them to imitate and follow him King Manasses saith the sacred Text fecit malum coram Domino He did that which was euill in the sight of the Lord for he forsooke him to follow strange Gods like vnto the abhomination of the heathen And anon after drawes thence this consequence or conclusion Igitur Manasses seduxit populum vt faceret malum So Manasses made Iudah and the Inhabitants of Ierusalem to erre and doe worse then the heathen c. But tell me I pray how came it to passe that this King should cast such a mist before his subiects eyes that he should thus deceiue them and make them doe as he did For we doe not finde there that he said any one word vnto them or induced them thereunto by any other diligences whereby to perswade them to commit the like sinne Though he did not yet he did enough in doing that which he did as being their King and Head For as the Soueraigne doth so doth the subiect King Hamor and Prince Shechem his sonne by their bare example onely perswaded their people the Shechemites to leaue that law wherein they had beene bred and brought vp and to entertaine that of the Hebrewes though it turned to the losse of all their liues Of Kings saith a Romane Philosopher Quaecunque vitia ipsi concipiunt ea infundunt in ciustates plus exemplo quam peccato nocent Whatsoeuer vices they conceiue they infuse the same into their Cities offending more by their example then by their sinne By the sinne they doe but aggrauate and wrong their owne conscience but by the example the consciences of all the common people which haue no other eyes whereby they see no other rule or square whereby to rule and gouerne themselues in their actions Nor is there any other meanes whereby vices are communicated with more facilitie and larger licence And therefore it concernes them very much not to make any the least breach in good manners nor to turne though neuer so little aside from the way of vertue For they cannot build vp so fast by their good as they pull downe by their bad example Besides the vulgar iudge thei◠vitious actions for vertuous their bad for good And if not so then will they iustifie their owne loosenesse by laying the same on their King Hee doth thus and thus And why should not I This same Regis ad exemplum runnes ouer all the world and men are willing enough to make their aduantage of it Of Dionysius the Siracusan Plutarch reporteth that at first he was very studious and much giuen to his booke and whilest hee so continued all his subiects applied themselues to the exercise of good letters But growing weary of so good a worke he left off his learning and betooke himselfe to the vice of gaming and wantonnesse and presently all his subiects as if they had beene bewitched began to loath their bookes and fall to vice Isidorus saith of the Ethiopians that they were such Apish counterfeits of their Kings that they held it a kinde of reproach and infamie that if their King did want a member or were lame all his houshold seruants were likewise of that fashion and would willingly mayme and dismember themselues that they might be like vnto their King I say therefore againe Let Kings looke well vnto that which they affect and whereunto they are inclined for the same will his Subiects affect and thereunto will they all be inclined And therefore Isocrates did counsell his King that hee should loue and esteeme the Arts and such Offices as might be most profitable for the commonwealth and should abhorre the contrary for these would bring him augmentation of honour when those other would bee forgotten or but ript vp to his shame that he should approue good and reproue bad customes and euill manners that these might fall and those other be in vse For in regard that the King is Censor morum he that censures our manners and behauiour and sets downe and determineth which we are to flie which to follow Looke which he approueth and keepeth are kept and approued by all and euery one does his best to excell therein And those which he shall reproue and mislike all men will shunne and auoide them And more particularly these two pernicious ones which appertaine to Tasting and Touching I desire to haue them be condemned and reproued by the example of Kings such as are excesse in sumptuousnesse of apparell and in meates and drinkes and the like publike and common vices For by these
two abuses great Monarchies haue beene ruined and ouerthrowne Let vs fall a little vpon the first wherein is such excesse and superfluitie in this age as neuer more Howbeit as it was not wanting to former times so was there a great deale of care taken for the reforming thereof Your Romanes made Lawes for to moderate the expences and excesses of apparrell and diet The imperiall Lawes of the kingdome and those of the Partida prohibite it and many other prematicas and Statute Lawes which haue beene made thereupon and confirmed by Act of Parliament And the sacred Scripture likewise in many places doth condemne it And therefore a remedie in this kinde if possibly it can bee procured is very needfull For excesse doth not serue so much for sustentation as for pompe and ostentation wherewith is fomented Ambition vaineglory concupiscence and dishonestie euen to the falling into those vices that were neuer before seene or vsed Their expence that increaseth and their substance decreaseth what wealth can a man haue that will suffice for the arraying and apparrelling of women as also for the clothing of men which is no lesse vicious and expencefull then theirs What doth it benefit vs that the riches of our times are greater then those of our predecessours if our expences be more excesssiue By running on in this lauish course great and ancient houses haue beene brought to nothing and new ones haue started vp in their roome borne and bred in bad Trades and worse manners who alwayes haue a smacke with them or some touch or other of their former meaner fortune And for this cause onely are there so many misfortunes and disorders in the houses of many your ordinary and common sort of people and euen in some of those that are of meaner ranke For they had rather perish and vndoe themselues then to be accounted needy and poore And without doubt the most of their substance is spent in meate and clothes Which vice shame would moderate in them But the feare of seeming to be oflesse abilitie then their neighbours hath quite altered the case and serues to helpe them on to their ruine For euery one counts it a disgrace vnto him that he shall not go as well clad as his neighbour and eate as good meate and drinke as good drinke as he doth though he pay soundly for it both in his honour and estate And hence proceede your briberies corruptions subornations and iniustice For necessitie the mother of vice and that which makes as we say the old wife trott putts them so hard to their shifts that for to free themselues from want there is not that wickednesse which they will not giue way vnto and all because they will not lacke these instruments of their gustes nor want the apparence of Maiestie in their houses And another no lesse mischiefe then the former is the inequalitie in the estates and qualities of the persons and the equalitie wherewith the said accoutrements both in meate and apparrell is vsed For as Plato saith in a well ordered commonwealth all ought to be equall And yet we see that meane women that haue neither meanes nor qualitie weare Kirtles Peticoates and Gownes of cloth of gold and rich imbroderies that Queenes can scarce weare better And as for our ordinary sort of men there are very few of them but will go in such good clothes that Kings can not bee better clad Of the Emperour Tiberius Caesar Tacitus reporteth that by a Decree of the Senate he did prohibite men the wearing of gownes of silke saying That they did disgrace themselues by putting on such an effeminate habite And of the Emperour Aurelius it is noted that hee did not onely not weare silke but would not so much as suffer any to be in his wardrope saying That hee would not buy clothes at the weight of gold And Lampridius saith That the first Emperour that euer had any Wardrobe was that wicked and luxâ—rious Emperour Heliogabalus Scipio Aphricanus and Alexander Magnus were very singular in this carelesse many weare whereof others are so curiously carefull And let vs say no more hereof then what Isocrates said writing to his King Haue a care saith he of the things of particular persons and thinke that those that liue at high and excessiue rates waste and spend out of thy treasure and that those that take paines to scrape vp a little mucke and to get into some wealth by their thrift are the onely men that sâ—ll your coffers and increase your treasure For the Subiects purse is as the Kings owne purse if he rule and gouerne well But when men shall not haue meanes sufficient for to supply that excesse in diet and clothes which vice and mans foolish pride hath introduced how is it possible that they should serue and assist their King in the necessary occasions of the kingdome it is impossible but that there must be a failing in the one being that the ends are so opposite How can they haue any heart or guste for the one hauing placed all their care and content in the other And questionlesse if these superfluities were taken away the Subiect would haue wealth enough and then it would neuer grieue them to part with part thereof to their Kings or to spend it in his seruice But that which is now permitted amongst vs is the same which the Romans permitted and procured in the Nations they had subdued for to consume and eate them out and to keepe them in the better obedience But in their owne commonwealth they did euermore feare it and seeke to excuse it What Prince hath there euer beene either of those that were held to be good or indifferent that did not treate of this remedie Not any Yet they did most of them erre in the manner Now to remedie this excesse experience hath and doth shew vnto vs that it is not the penaltie nor rigour of the Lawes and Statutes that our Ancestours seemed to haue erred in who by those penalties alone thought to amend these extrauagancies in their subiects But the cure of this exorbitancie is that which the Ancient did prescribe and we haue declared touching the example of Kings and of their imitation The desire of giuing them content is more powerfull with them then the feare of punishment This doctrine Tacitus taught rendering the reason of that temperance and moderation which was in the Emperour Vespasian his time in clothes and diet and in the vitious superfluitie of these vices And after that he hath gone varying from one reason to another he saith That this Prince was the principall Author of that sparingnesse and thriftinesse amongst the Romanes of those times in their wastfull expences by exercising himselfe in that their ancient manner of liuing in matter of maintenance apparell and the like And hence it succeeded that all his subiects did the like conforming themselues according to his fashion their respect to their Prince and their desire to imitate him preuailing more
or otherwise For these doe rather dispeople and desolate then correct and amend a kingdome And as it is a signe of bad Physitians or of a corrupt and infectious aire to see many fall sicke and dye so likewise is it of carelesse Ministers and ill preuention and of a contagious corruption of vices and euill manners when there are many criminall iudgements many punishments and cruell chastisements And who is he that knowes the principall cause thereof it may bee this or it may bee that or all together howsoeuer I am sure it is all ill And in a word so great so vniuersall and so pernicious an ill that if Christian Kings carry not a very watchfull eye ouer their Subiects manners in not suffering them to flie out they shall not when they would be able to refraine them and remedie what is amisse for euill custome being once habituated according vnto Galen and others is an acquired nature and engendreth an habite which being mans naturall inclination carries him along after it and so great is his inclination to delights and so many the prouocations and ill examples which draw him thereunto and poure oyle as it were vpon that fire that if there be not the more diligence and care vsed in the quenching of it it must necessarily spread it selfe abroad and extend it selfe daily more and more and more especially into those Cities and countries where there is much commerce and trading in Merchandise and in the Courts of Kings where there is such a concourse of diuerse and sundrie nations there being not any one of them which hath not it's proper and peculiar vertues as also it 's proper and peculiar vices Their vertues men hardly take hold on but their vices those cleaue easily vnto them of themselues and by this their Commerce and Trading remaine engrauen in their hearts And what was before but an inclination being now become a custome vice engendreth vice and one appetite maketh way for another Lycurgus saith That it more importeth a State to see that it's Cities bee not infected with the ill customes and manners of Strangers then to preserue them from the plague the pestilence or other the like contagious diseases For these Time asswageth and consumeth but those are with time increased and augmented Three Embassadours of the Cretans each of them being of a different Sect made their ioynt entrance into Rome The Senate gaue them audience And Cato being there whom for his great authoritie they did much reuerence and was indeed as an Oracle amongst them gaue his vote and opinion that hee would haue them dâ—spatcht thence with all possible speed before the corruption of their manners should corrupt the Romane Common-wealth This care ought Kings to take and so much the rather for that they haue neuer a Cato that will tell them neuer a Councellour that will aduise them that in no kinde of manner nor vpon any occasion whatsoeuer ought they either in their Court or kingdome suffer any man no though hee be an Ambassadour to reside there being different in his Religion manners and Ceremonies For their treating and conuersing with vs serues to no other purpose but to bring in vices and banish vertues to worke vpon weake and wauering mindes and to draw the naturall Subiects of another Prince from Gods true worship and due obseruance of his diuine Law And this was the care of the Ancients of those times who would neuer giue consent and allowance that there should bee any thing intertained or receiued into their commonwealths whereby mens mindes might grow cold or be withdrawne in any one point or tittle from the worship and adoration of their Gods And very fit for these times were that Law of the Persians which did punish him with death that should bring in any new vse or strange custome And the Cretans did in their ordinarie Letanies desire that no new custome might enter into their city which is as a contagious disease and cleaueth as close as the plague or pestilence Nor did the Lawes of Egypt permit any new tune in their Musicke or any new kinde of song vnlesse they were first examined by those that were in place of gouernment For as Plato affirmeth a Commonwealth as well as Musicke admitteth changes And that for the auoiding of this mischiefe it ought not to be permitted that there should be introduced any new kinde of tunes or Musicke together wherewith mens mindes receiue some change and alteration Aristotle did aduise those that would bee vertuous that they should not vse Musicke nor musicall instruments to incite them to be vicious For Musicke being a diuine gift and very powerfull to moue the hearts of men and to perswade the thing that is sung if they accustome themselues to play and sing holy lessons honest songs they therby accustome themselues to be honest and vertuous And therefore anciently your Kings as Dauid the Prophets and Priests the better to apply themselues to contemplation did vse Musicke wherewith they suspended their senses and remained as it were swallowed vp in God In a word many men haue therewith beene robbed of their soules and of their honours and daily much hurt doth ensue thereby For it is able to doe much and greate is the force and power which it hath ouer mens manners And if you will not beleeue me obserue but the hurt which your new wanton tunes together with the lasciuious wordes and gesticulations vsed in them haue wrought of late amongst not onely the common but better sort of people Now to shut vp all that hath beene said in three points First of all I say that it much importeth that a Prince bee good in himselfe for that all men make their Imitation after that patterne that hee sets before them And for this cause God placed him in so high and eminent a place to the end that by the resplendour of his vertues hee should giue light to the whole kingdome and that both by his life and example he should exemplifie and indoctrinate his Subiects for it is not onely included in the name and office of King to rule and gouerne the kingdome by good and wholsome Lawes but likewise to teach and instruct the people by his vertues This ought to bee say Socrates and Plato the end and ayme of Kings to direct their Subiects in the truth they practising it first themselues which is the strongest and forciblest argument to perswade it For the execution of that which is perswaded and commanded doth secure the passage doth make the worke sauourie and doth facilitate the trouble Secondly to the end that the Lawes may bee the better kept Kings must obey and keepe them for it will seeme an vniust thing in them to establish and ordaine that which themselues will not keepe and obserue They must doe as Lycurgus did who neuer enacted any thing which he himselfe did not punctually performe And it was a Romane Edict Vse el Rey de la Ley
intollerable and more then they were able to beare if they might not haue the libertie of hauing friends with whom they might communicate and by whom they might receiue some ease of those troubles and care which great offices ordinarily bring with them Now for to giue satisfaction vnto that which is here pretended to be auerred we are to consider That Aristotle and other both Philosophers and Diuines teach which is no more then what experience plainly prooues vnto vs That there are two sorts of Loue or friendship The one Interessall or cum foenore whose end is its proper profit The other hath with it a more gentile noble intent which is to loue and wish well to that which deserueth to bee beloued and this is called Amor amicitiae the loue of friendship The other Amor concupiscentiae the loue of concupiscence And with very good reason for that therein there is not to be found the face of true friendship From these two Loues as from two diuerse rootes spring forth two different sorts of Fauorites The one who for their great parts and qualities haue deserued to carry after them not only the good wills and affections of their equals but euen of Kings themselues And when these abilities are so extraordinary and aduantagious no man can deeme it inconuenient that Kings should more particularly and in a more extraordinary manner apply their affection vnto them Nay it would rather lay a spot and blemish vpon them if notice should be taken that they equally entertaine all or not esteeme and prize them most that merit most to be esteemed For in all good reason there is no greater inequality then to equall all alike Plato said very well That there is not any virtue of that force and efficacie for to catch and steale away mens hearts Nor herein doe we need the testimonies of Philosophers for the holy Ghost saith Vt mors est dilectio loue is strong as death The coales thereof are coales of fire which hath a most vehement flame it beares all away before it And in this its force and strength friendship and loue are much alike And building on this ground I say That very well there may be said to bee friendship betweene a King and a Fauorite for that their soules haue in their birth and beginning or as I may say their first originall equall noblenesse And your noblest friendship proceeds from the soule Very famous and much celebrated was that friendship betwixt Prince Ionathan the onely heire of the kingdome and that worthy noble Dauid And so great was the loue that was betweene them that the sacred Scripture saith That anima Ionathae conglutinata erat animae Dauid dilexit eum Ionathas quasi animam suam The soule of Ionathan was knit with the soule of Dauid and that Ionathan loued him as his owne soule And I further affirme that it is very fit and conuenient that Kings should loue those with aduantage that haue the aduantage of others in vertue wisedome and learning And such should be those that serue and attend the persons of Princes for ordinarily out of that Nursery are these plants your Fauourites drawne When Nabuchadnezzar King of Babilon besieged and tooke by force of armes the Citie of Ierusalem he carried away from thence great spoiles of gold and siluer but that which hee much more prized then all this Treasure were the sonnes of the chiefest Noblemen and such as were lineally descended of the Kings of that kingdome and gaue especiall order that they should choose and cull out those that had the best and ablest parts both of nature and acquisition those that were of the best disposition the most learned and best taught to the end that being accompanied with these good qualities they might merit to attend in the Court and Chamber of the King Et ait Rex Asphenez Praeposito Eunuchorum vt introduceret de filijs Israel de semine Regio Tyrannorum pueros in quibus nulla esset macula decoros forma eruditos omni sapientia cautos scientia doctos disciplina qui possent stare in palatio Regis And the King spake vnto Ashpenez the Master of his Eunuchs that hee should bring certaine of the children of Israel and of the Kings seed and of the Princes Children in whom was no blemish but well-fauoured and skilfull in all wisedome and cunning in knowledge and vnderstanding Science and such as had abilitie in them to stand in the Kings palace And this election fell out so luckily and proued to be of that profit and benefit that amongst those which indewed with these qualities were made choice of for to serue the King there were three of them did excell but one more then all the rest not onely in vertue but in the knowledge likewise of secret businesses and matters of State and gouernment which was Daniel who so well deserued to be a Fauourite to those Kings of Babylon and more especially to Darius that hee did not content himselfe with making him onely a priuie Councellour but the prime man amongst them For hauing set ouer the kingdome an 120. Princes which should bee ouer the whole kingdome and ouer these three Presidents of whom Daniell was first that the Princes might giue account vnto them that the King might haue no damage And as hee was the greatest Subiect and Fauourite in the world so was hee superiour in the vertues and qualities of his person Igitur Daniel superabat omnes Principes satrapas quia Spiritus Domini amplior erat in illo Therefore was Daniel preferred before the Presidents and Princes because an excellent spirit was in him The holy Scripture likewise tells vs that Ioseph was such a Fauourite of King Pharaoh that hee gaue him absolute power ouer all his kingdome and commanded that in publike pompe he should ride in the Kings owne Chariot and in his owne seate and haue a Crier go before to proclaime the fauour that the King was pleased to doe him Dixit quoque Rex Aegypti ad Ioseph Ego sum Pharaoh absque tuo imperio non mouebit quisquam manum aut pedem in omni terra And Pharaoh said vnto Ioseph I am Pharaoh and without thee shall no man lift vp his hand or foot in all the land of Aegypt And well did hee deserue this honour for by his great industrie and wisedome he freed that King and kingdome from that terrible famine besides those many other great and troublesome imployments wherein he was busied for the space of seuen yeares together In the fourth booke of Kings we reade that Naaman who was Captaine of the host of the King of Syria was the onely Fauourite of the King Erat vir magnus apud Dominum suum honoratus Hee was a great man with his Master and honourable And rendering the reason of this his great priuacie with his King and the honour he had done him it is there
And therefore Kings shall doe well in taking such Fauourites vnto them as shall bee sollicitous and carefull in the dispatching of businesse faithfull in their seruices and endowed with such parts afore specified as were those Fauourites recommended vnto you in the former Chapter For Ioseph as we told you grew in fauour with King Pharaoh for his great wisedome and for his supernaturall knowledge of things to come and reuealing such secret mysteries as other his Ministers could not tell what to make of them The like befell Daniel with the Caldean and Macedonian Kings for before euer he became a Fauourite they saw his great wisedome and constancie in the true seruice of his God his singular prudence and those other his good gifts which are recorded in the booke of his prophesies The extraordinary graces of Peter Iohn and Iames who is he that is ignorant of them Being that the Euangelists say of Saint Peter that his extraordinary loue was examined and proued in those so often repeated questions Petre amas me Simon Iohannis diligis me plus his And againe Simon Iohannis amas me And the Apostle Saint Iames was the first of the Apostles that by his bloud and death gaue testimonie of this his loue And Saint Iohn shewed no lesse at his last Supper at his passion and at the foote of the Crosse hauing followed and accompanied his Master euen to his death when the rest fled and forsooke him But when Kings make not choice of their Fauourites for the foresaid ends and for the publike good but for their owne particular gusts and humours and to let loose the reines with more libertie and freedome to their owne delights and pleasures such kinde of Fauourites set vsually before them the same ends and commonly preferre their owne priuate gustes and interests before those of their Kings or the publike good of the commonwealth and come to be the firebrands and destruction of States This lesson the holy Scripture doth likewise teach vs whose mysteries are so high and so deepe that euen in that which it silenceth it speaketh vnto vs and in saying little instructeth much I haue much obserued that which is recounted in the History of Esther touching the priuacie of that proud and vnfortunate Haman whom King Assuerus raised from so low a degree and from so wicked a race as he came of For according to Iosephus he descended from that Amalakite whom the Prophet Samuel caused to be hewen in peeces And for that it is the condition of Kings when they once begin to fauour a man to make him like froath to rise and swell this fauourite grew to that heighth through his Kings grace and fauour that all the Subiects of that Monarch respected him as a God and kneeled downe in his presence his person being much more adored serued and feared then the Kings because the King had put the staffe as they say into his hands giuing him the absolute command ouer all his estates insomuch that neither in nor out of Court nor elsewhere was there ought done but by the order of Haman and the King himselfe held him in the place of a father And for that Vanitie is the daughter of Pride all this his great fauour and priuacie with his Prince did but make the more for his owne hurt as doth the Ants wings for hers or like those of Icarus which being of waxe the nearer they came to the Sunne the sooner they melted working then his death and downfall when he was at the highest For Haman came to hang and dye on that gallowes which he had prouided for Mardoche and for no other offence in the world but because he would not bowe the knee vnto him and adore him as the rest did So that if you marke the Storie Hamans owne greatnesse and power was the axe which did frame and hew out that gallowes whereon himselfe was hanged And hauing often thought with my selfe on this mans end and considering likewise the beginning of this his priuacie I doe not finde that it was for the excellencie of his merits or for any heroicall vertues that were in him such as were those which King Pharaoh Nabuchadnezzar and Darius did consider in those their Fauourites which they made choice of but for some particular guste and liking that his King tooke to him For the Scripture speakes not one word nor maketh not any the least mention of the merits of this Fauourite nor of any notable thing that hee had done either for the good of the kingdome or the seruice of his King but rather without any preambles to that purpose in the very entrance of the third Chapter we reade thus Rex Assuerus exaltauit Aman filium Amadathi qui erat de stirpe Agag posuit solium eius super omnes Principes quos habebat cunctique serui Regis qui in foribus Palatij versabantur flectebant genua et adorabant Aman King Assuerus did promote Haman the sonne of Amedatha the Agagite and aduanced him and set his seate aboue all the Princes that were with him And all the Kings seruants that were in the Kings gate bowed and reuerenced Haman And in this so true a relation and so fully setting forth the priuacie of this great Fauorite without any foundation or ground of desert the Scripture thereby hath instructed vs how inconsiderately this King did proceed in the choice which he made But he did correct this his errour by opening his eyes and inflicting that punishment vpon him which he deserued and is there set downe I could wish that Fauourites would likewise open their eyes and consider with themselues that the happines which they hold is but borrowed ware lent vnto them but for a short time and that they neither vse nor possesse it as their owne proper good or inheritance And being that by one meanes or other it must leaue them that they would not wholly giue themselues ouer thereunto for it forsaketh few without their finall ruine Let them bire vpon this bit and with the remembrance thereof bridle their pride and insolencie lest howsoeuer they flatter themselues that hand may pull them downe which raised them vp For there are some which will neuer be able to indure this their felicitie and happinesse but one way or other will worke their ouerthrow and make them pay the price of their ambition at too deare a rate Nay the King himselfe will sometimes put to his helping hand as we see King Assuerus did who after that hee had made Haman his onely Fauourite and raised him to that highth of honour as could not well bee more turned his face from him and did so much distaste him for his sower and insolent behauiour that for to make him stoope and hang the head he commanded him to be hanged vpon the same gallowes that he had set vp for another who had deserued well both of the King and State The Emperour Alexander did the like who waxing wearie of
Offices wherein to imploy them But I do not speake this as inferring thereby that there should bee so many but that at least for the foresaid reasons there should bee some And in conclusion more then one because it will bee more easie to negotiate with them and lesse costly and troublesome and bee a meanes that the Prince may be the better eased and freed in great part of those cares and troubles which otherwise must needs weary him out and worke his vnrest and disquiet For his body is not made of brasse nor can he occurre to all occasions Besides being more then one their competition will make them the more both carefull and fearefull as knowing that in case they shall grow carelesse there are persons enough besides of sufficiencie to supply their place Whereas the opinion and conceit of the contrary puffes him vp with pride and vndoes it's Master For they fondly and foolishly perswade themselues that their King and Master cannot liue and subsist without the assistance of their wit and that there is not that fault they commit but must be forgiuen them out of the necessitie of their seruice Forgetting in the meane while that their King may imagine them to bee dead and how that in such a case though it grieue him yet must hee prouide himselfe of others Let Kings therefore bee beaten from this their errour for he that shall otherwise aduise them and seeke to be the onely man in their fauour and seruice and take vnto himselfe both the right side and the left thrusting all others from thence and gouerning both high and low letting nothing escape his fingers which hee pretendeth out of the necessary vse of his person and so absolutely to become Master of their wills and to haue that hand ouer their Kings that they must not looke vpon any but with their Fauorites eyes such a Fauourite I say pretends to tyrannize a kingdome and by little and little will go crushing the Princes of the bloud the ancient Nobilitie and such as are of power to stand in their way thrusting this man out of Court to day and that other to morrow that hee alone may rule all without any contradiction or opposition in the world Let euery man say or thinke as they list for mine owne part I am perswaded that this is his maine end and drift And the cause thereof is his feare of falling knowing besides his owne consciousnes that there are not onely one or two but many in Court that are able to supply his place and farre better deseruing then himselfe Your Alchymists make gold But how Onely in the colour they will not let it come to the Touch nor any other reall Essay neither will they endure to haue it compared with any other minerall gold for feare lest it should bee discouered that theirs hath no more but a bare shew and apparence Let Princes therefore assure themselues that those Fauourites are but Alchimists that will not admit of any other companie as being priuie to themselues that their vnderstanding is not such pure gold that it can abide the Touch nor any reall Essay But say it should passe for currant and that their mindes were all made of pure gold me thinkes they should aduise and consider with themselues that those that are ingenious and wise men will therefore the rather desire that there should be many for by comparing the one with the other the true light shineth the more and makes it selfe knowne whether it be so or no. And onely your fooles and such as are vnworthy of that they possesse are iealous of that good which they feare to loose when by comparing they shall come to be knowne God did not in vaine place so many members in mans bodie and most of them double had it not beene thereby to teach vs that many are needfull in humane actions and that one is not able to doe all without an infinite deale of toyle extraordinary spending of his spirits and the sudden wasting and consuming of his body And here will suite very well to this our purpose that which Tiberius affirmed when feigning not to bee willing to accept of the Empire hee said going about the bush to discouer the mindes of the Romane Nobilitie and Senate that he alone of himselfe was not sufficient nor yet with the helpe of another for so great a gouernment Whereupon Salustius Crispus taking his Qu a great Fauourite of his starts mee vp and makes me a long Harenga or artificiall oration shewing that Signiorie and Empire could not well consist without being conferred vpon one particular person which is the maine foundation and ground-worke of the good and safetie of a Monarchicall gouernment and that therein himselfe if no body else would take the paines would bee as it were another Ioseph his faithfull Viceâ—gerent lest the resolution of things depending on the will of many it might cause a distraction in businesses either by way of competition or of passion In conclusion after Tiberius had heard this and had throughly sounded their mindes he took occasion to tell them That in such a Citie as Rome was sustained and vpheld by so many and such illustrious persons it was not fit that the businesses of State should be remitted to one man alone for many would much more easily execute the offices and affaires of the commonwealth by a fellow-bearing of the burthen For as vnitie in some degrees is both profitable and pleasing so in other some it is hatefull and preiudiciall And therefore out of this consideration I say That a King as the supreme person and principall Head of a kingdome ought to be one alone For the couetousnesse of ruling being insatiable and the nature of power incommunicable it is not possible that two Princes of equall authoritie should continue any long time but both of them suffer in the end or at least the businesses that are committed to their charge But for Fauourites there may bee two or three or more the vnitie remaining reserued for the greater and supremer person And likewise this pluralitie will not be much amisse for if any one of them shall by some accident faile there be others whom the King knoweth and they know him that are fit for his seruice and that haue good experience and knowledge of businesses and all such matters as are current and passable in the commonwealth without being driuen to seeke out new Ministers or to instruct them what to doe in a time of necessitie when things go not well but stand in ill Tearmes laying otherwise hold on the first that offer themselues vnto them to the ouerthrowing of the businesses in hand and the proper hurt and dammage of their Lord and Master at whose cost and by meere erring in great matters they must come to get their learning Let Kings a Gods name reserue for themselues those businesses that are of greatest importance for in this likewise must there bee a setled course and order
munditiam propter gratiam labiorum suorum habebit amicum Regem He that loueth purenesse of heart for the grace of his lippes the King shall bee his friend Aristotle doth admit betwixt the King and his subiect a certaine kinde of friendship howbeit and disparitie and inequalitie bee very great your Histories doe celebrate the friendships of great Princes held with their particular subiects And those which with other their equalls are called faithfull friends with Kings carry the name of Loyall-Subiects Which for that effect which wee pretend importeth little this altering or changing of the name That which most importeth and conueneth most is That we giue you some notice of those qualities which they ought to haue and of those signes whereby those may be knowne that are fittest and best for so great a Ministery There are two qualities amongst the rest which are precisely necessarie in a Fauourite And first I will set downe the first First of all then he must loue his King truly and must not suffer himselfe to be ouercome by couetousnesse and his owne priuate interest In the first particular all doe agree with Aristotle and Plato For no man can more faithfully giue counsell then hee that loues his King more then his gifts Which of all other is the most necessary to make one man trust another and to beleeue that which hee saith For who will not credit that man whom he knowes loues him and in all that he can seekes to procure his good without any respect to his owne particular interest He saith Saint Gregory that is fit to be a Fauourite must haue a loue that is full and dis-interessed Nullus fidelior tibi ad consulendum esse potest quam qui non tua sed te diligit No man can be more faithfull in aduising thee then he that loues not thine but thee This qualitie of Loue and friendship Nazianzene likewise handleth And a certaine Law of the Partida maketh mention thereof saying Que los que han de aconseiar los Reyes han de ser amigos bien entendidos yâ—de buen seso That those that are to counsell Kings must bee friends that haue beene throughly knowne and tried and that are of good vnderstanding and iudgement Salomon saith That hee is a true Fauourite indeed that studies to walke in cleannesse of heart and purenesse of tongue that is to say when hee shall place all his care in seruing his King with Loue and informing him nothing but what is truth and desiring him to walke in that way which shall make most for Gods seruice and the good of the kingdome Qualities sufficient for Fauourites to insinuate themselues into the grace and fauour of good Princes Saint Iohn in the Apocalypse sets before vs though somewhat darkly shadowed a picture of good Fauourites and Councellers Which were certaine old men clothed in white wearing Crownes on their heads To bee somewhat ancient and well stricken in yeares was a qualitie wont to be required in those that were to aduise Kings and giue them good counsell in regard of their great experience and mature iudgement which commonly accompanies such kinde of men And they are said to be clothed in white because this colour signifies a pure heart and a cleare conscience wherewith they ought to bee as it were apparrelled and adorned How can he giue good counsell that is not clothed in white That hath not Cor candidum a white and vpright heart pure and cleane from those affections and passions that may smuâ—t and sullye it And it is there likewise set downe that euery one of them had like a King a Crowne vpon his head To giue vs thereby to vnderstand that hee that is to giue counsell vnto Kings for the maintaining and vpholding of a kingdome and to remedy what is therein amisse may in some sort conceit himselfe to be a King my meaning is that he is to giue counsell as if hee himselfe were the King and to aduise for him as he would for himselfe were he in his place And that hee is to giue his vote and opinion as if the kingdome were his And to be so free from expecting or respecting his owne particular interest as if he were King himselfe Who neither expecteth nor pretendeth any merced or reward nor any addition of honour or otherwise in his kingdome for that hee hath already attained to the highest and supremest dignitie which is the Crowne In like manner Kings Fauourites and Counsellours should liue as free from pretensions as if hauing already got the Crowne they had nothing more to pretend Whose breast and bosome must be as white and as pure as whitenesse it selfe And will be the better able to iudge betwixt white and blacke right and wrong by reason of their many yeares and long experience This kinde of seruants and friends which must be the life and soule of their actions let Kings bee very carefull how they make choice of them and receiue them into fauour For there is not any one thing that doth so much manifest a Kings minde as the election which he makes of his Fauourites and Councellours of State For by them is his naturall inclination as well knowne as in a workeman by his manufactures is discouered the Art and Trade whereunto hee is most inclined And therefore I shall make bold to aduise Kings that they make such their Fauourites that are men of worth wise prudent dis-interessed and of a noble and generous disposition For by their choice men make iudgement of their King accordingly And likewise when the Kings grace and fauour shall fall vpon good Subiects his owne glory will be the greater Let Kings laying aside all affection choose such as are men of knowledge and experience and that are powerfull in perswading and disswading That know how to go in and out with good satisfaction amidst those so many so diuers and such important businesses as daily offer themselues and to giue good subtill and graue answers both by word of mouth and by writing to such Ambassadours and other great persons that shall come to treate and negociate with them That haue seene and read much and haue a generall knowledge in all things but more particularly in the countries and Prouinces that are vnder their Kings command That know what forces they are able to make and to vnderstand the strength as well of their friends as of their foes Let them be of a franke and liberall minde For this vertue the common people much loue and affect and are wonderfully well satisfied therewith And on the contrary couetousnesse is much hated and abhorred by them Let them I say bee bountifull and desirous to doe good to all in common and to euery one in particular In a word let them be men well knowne to be faithfull and trusty and such as loue their Kings so well as that they will preferre their authoritie and reputation before their owne and studie and endeuour in all
Subiects treating them as if they were his children and procuring that not any one of them may depart discontented from his presence which would be the the onely Load-stone to draw all their loue and affection towards him So did that great Fauourite of the King of Syria Naaman whom all the people with a full and open mouth called Father corresponding with him in the loue of so many sonnes or children For those that are seated in so high a place haue great cause for many reasons to procure publike loue and together with the grace of their Prince to haue the good wills and affections of the people for this makes the other to be more durable and firme For this is the naturall miserie of great and powerfull persons that Enuie and Greatnesse go alwayes hand in hand the one still accompanying the other And there is not any poyson like vnto it which moues and stirres vp such violent pangs and passions in the stomacke and more especially if it worke vpon the priuacie and inwardnesse of Fauourites with their Kings as if that it selfe were not a true and sufficient strong poyson Seeing that it is held for certaine that one word of a King nay which is more one angry looke or bended brow hath sent many a Fauourite to his graue For as Salomon saith the life of the Subiect depends on the countenance of the King And if we will not beleeue him let vs see and obserue how many Fauourites escape which doe not dye of that wound or the feare thereof and more particularly with those Kings which are of that condition as one said that there is not two fingers breadth betweene their smile and their sword to the end that this their priuacie might bee had in the lesse esteeme For your best Fauourites are but like your better sort of fruits which are soonest subiect to be worme-eaten For Enuie is a very worme and hath the same qualities as a worme hath and spreads it selfe so farre that it extends it selfe euen to those that haue beene benefited by the Fauourite the couetousnesse and risentment of that which they doe not receiue working more vpon them then the Law of thankfulnesse or of a gratefull acknowledgement for that which they haue receiued So that wee may say That few are they who loue those from whose hand they haue receiued some good because it was no greater And those that haue receiued none that they are therein iniured and wronged So that to qualifie and temper this inconuenience it shall be wisedome in Fauourites and it will concerne them to vse all the meanes they can deuise to effect it to procure to bee wellbeloued And no lesse in Kings to seeke out such as are modest louing affable vertuous honest well beloued and of a gratefull and thankfull disposition CHAP. XXXV How Kings ought to carry themselues towards their Fauourites FOr to resolue this Question and to giue satisfaction to that which is here proposed in this Chapter it being a matter of so tender and dangerous a touch I will first lay for my foundation a true point of doctrine in naturall Philosophie celebrated with that sentence of the glorious Saint Austen Amor meus pondus meum illo feror quocunque feror The plummet which peaseth man and the wings wherewith the heart makes it's flight is loue which doth leade the dance to all the other passions of the soule And as those that saile in a deepe sea with full sailes runne on their course without any danger but when they draw neare the shore they take them downe and ruffle them that they may not runne their ship vpon some shelfe or split it selfe against some rocke so likewise when the heart is lifted vp vnto the loue of God which is infinite goodnesse it may without perill plough the seas of this world and with full sayles cut the Maine without danger of shelues quick-sands or rockes For according to that saying of the glorious Saint Bernard as the cause of our louing God is God himselfe so the measure of louing him is to loue him without measure Causa diligendi Deum Deus est modus dilectionis sine modo diligere As the cause of our loue is infinite so must it be without taxe or limitation wherein there can be no excesse But when the heart drawes but little water and touches too close vpon these things of the earth which haue their goodnesse much limited it will be high time and very fit and conuenient to strike the sayles of our loue and to go on with a great deale of caution and consideration lest this our vessell should sticke in the sands neuer to bee gotten out againe or fall vpon some rocke or other of vnaduisednesse and indiscretion And this is so certaine a truth that albeit the loue to our parents be so naturall and obligatory and so giuen vs in charge by God with the promises of so many blessings on those children which shall cumply with this loue and with so many threatnings on those that shall faile therein yet notwithstanding God himselfe will that therein there should be a limitation and moderation Qui amat patrem aut matrem plus quam me non est me dignus He that loueth father or mother more then me is not worthy of me And the common old Adage saith That friendship must go no further then vsque ad ar as and stop there And howbeit some would haue the limit which is here put to loue to be Death I say that it's limit is Reason and obedience to Gods Commandements For when our Loue shall come to encounter with them it is to make a stand and go no further Our second ground or foundation whereon we shall build is this That in Kings next vnto the loue of God and his Christian Religion no loue ought to be like vnto that which they ought to beare vnto their kingdomes and common-wealths for the end for which Kings were first instituted and ordained was the common good of their kingdomes And as children haue a naturall obligation to loue their parents because from them they haue receiued their naturall being so Kings owe the like to their kingdomes and Commonwealths because next vnder God they gaue them their being of Kings and that power and authoritie whereby they were to protect defend and augment them Vpon these grounds and foundations must that loue and friendship be laid which is to be held with Fauourites Louing them and giuing them power and authoritie conformable to that which for this end shall be thought most conuenient For albeit they as Seneca saith keepe the key of their Kings heart and in matters of secresie and benefits are preferred before the rest yet this must be done with a Christian kinde of prudence and discretion Hauing euermore an especiall care that the force of his loue be not so violent and so boundlesse that to giue content to one sole Fauourite hee discontent all the rest
out their negociation of them The History of King Don Iuan the second of Castile doth affoord sufficient examples of the great persecutions that followed by letting that his Fauourite haue so great a hand in businesses For the people seeing their King so led by the nose as it were and to yeeld to all that he would haue him doe were verily perswaded that he was bewitch't for he had such power ouer the will vnderstanding of the King that he neither vnderstood what he gaue nor knew not how or at least had not the face to deny him any thing that hee was willing either to aske or take whilst like the vnthankfull yuie he went sucking away all the iuyce and sappe of the tree all that good Kings wealth and substance his being his authoritie and little lesse then his kingdome And lost by this meanes so much of his authoritie that some of the Grandes of the kingdome and the Infantes his brethren and the Kings of Aragon and Nauarre betooke them to their Armes and made warre against him he seeing himselfe vpon some occasions disobeyed by his sonne and Prince and forsaken of his wife and Queene Whereupon grew many ciuill broyles and all vnder the title and pretext of recouering their libertie and of pulling their neckes from vnder the yoke of that slauery and subiection wherein they were rendering that reason in their excuse which all the whole kingdome could but take notice of That all businesses past through his Fauourites hands and that the King did not negociate in his owne person The prosecution whereof I remit to those Histories that make mention thereof And it cannot bee denyed that this Fauourite notwithstanding had many good things in him that might very well deserue his Kings loue for he had serued him valiantly in great and vrgent occasions and had put his person and life in perill for his sake But as his priuacie and fauour went increasing so with it increased his ambition and couetousnesse and that in that high degree that he grew hatefull to the whole kingdome and in the end no lesse odious to the King himselfe who comming at length vnto himselfe fell into the account of those damages and losses which he had receiued in his kingdome both in his reputation and authoritie by putting the reines wholly into his hands taking thereby too much libertie to himselfe and ruling the State as he listed The Grandes represented to his Maiestie the abuses that insued thereupon as the ingrossing of the greater Offices and selling of the lesser and ouerswaying the Courts of Iustice And vsing many other effectuall perswasions grounded vpon other iust complaints proposing for remedie and redresse thereof the interest profit that might accrew vnto him by calling him to account and that he might thereby get into his hands an infinite deale of treasure the King liked very well of their propositions and admitting their reasons he fell off from his Fauourite waging warre against him with his owne money wherewith hee thought if neede should serue to sustaine and vphold himselfe This slippery footing haue all those things which haue not their hold-fast in God For they turne to the hurt of those that put their trust in them And it is his mercie to mankinde that they should pay for it in this life howsoeuer they speed in the life to come which we will leaue to Gods iustice and the strict account that will be taken of them In conclusion this great Fauourite dyed being fallen from his priuacie with his Prince depriued of all that wealth and treasure which he had so greedily scraped together ending his life with a great deale of sorrow and discontent and to the great reioycing of his opposites Though this did not serue for a warning to those that came after him but without feare of the like terrible and desperate falls they ranne themselues out of breath in the pursuite of the like priuacie Saint Iohn Baptist we know was Christs great Fauourite and the Gospell stiles him to be Amicus Sponsi the friend of the Bridegroome But his great goodnesse and holinesse of life did the more gloriously shew it selfe in this that by how much the more Christ did in-greaten and authorize him by so much the more did hee lessen and humiliate himselfe and laboured by all possible meanes by diminishing his owne to increase the authoritie and credit of his Lord and Master saying Illum oportet crescere me autem minui He must increase but I must decrease And this is that glasse wherein the Fauourites of Kings are to looke taking into their consideration that by how much the more they seeke to greaten themselues in making ostentation of their power and authoritie by so much the more they lessen and dis-authorise that of their Kings with whom is so dangerous any whatsoeuer shew or shadow of equalitie or competition that euen in the highest top of priuacie the more certaine and lesse reparable vsually is the fall How iocond and how well contented went Haman out of the palace when Queene Esther inuited him to dine with the King and her selfe When loe the very next day after they draggd him from that banquet and royall Table to the gallowes And therefore let no man trust or relye on the fauour of Kings be he neuer so rich or neuer so fortunate for in them it is ordinarily seene that all these faire shewes are commonly conuerted into manifest demonstrations of hatred Out of all this that hitherto hath beene said let Fauourites make vnto themselues this vse and instruction to know the danger and slipperinesse of the place wherein they stand euen then when they finde themselues most of all inthronized For most true is that saying of Fulmen petit culmen The highest Towers and the highest hills are most of all subiect to Ioues thunder-bolts and lightning And let Kings likewise take this into their consideration by way of aduice That when they shall haue found their Fauourites to be furnished with those qualities before specified and that they are such that thereby they may merit their grace and fauour and so great both place and part in their heart it stands with very good reason that they shouâ—d bee honoured by them with particular mercedes and fauours because they helpe them to beare the burthen of their cares and are exposed to great dangers and greater enuyings as it happened to that great Fauourite of the King of Persia whom the Princes of his kingdome did pretend to remoue from the Kings elbow and to put him in the denne amidst the Lions that by them hee might be there rent in peeces Whereof no other cause could be found against him but his Kings fauour bearing enuie to his priuacie that common Moath to high places from which none be he neuer so good neuer so honest can escape For it is very naturall in men to risent that hee should out-strip them who but yesterday was their
the Kings house and without his house and in places of gouernment persons that were tyed and wedged to his house either by see-tayle or by friendship I referre my selfe to that which the sentence saith speaking in the person of King Don Iuan the second And it is not to be doubted that when Fauourites shall wholly apply themselues to seaze vpon all the Ports thereby to know all and so to stoppe vp all the doores and passages that none can come to negociate with their Kings but by their hands it is no other but a binding of their Kings hands and to oppresse them with a palliated and cloaked kinde of tyranny with relation to their priuate Interest And because from our very first entrance into this our discourse our purpose was to confirme whatsoeuer we proposed by the testimonies of holy Scripture to the end that no man vpon any false presupposall should so much as surmise or thinke that we go about to tread too neare vpon the heeles of Fauourites I will likewise remit my selfe in this particular to that Letter registred in the Scripture which that great King Artaxerxes wrote to all the Dukes and Princes and to all his vassalls of 127. Prouinces of his kingdomes wherein with indeared reason hee propoundeth the insolencies and tyrannies exercised by Fauourites who vsing amisse the fauours and mercedes which their Kings doe them seeke to carry all things before them with a high hand And for that the holy Ghost would haue all this set down in the sacred History we may here very well intersert some part thereof which is well worthy the noting Multi bonitate principum honore c. Many the more often they are honoured with the great bounty of their gracious Princes the more proud they are waxen And indeauour to hurt not our Subiects onely but not being able to beare abundance doe take in hand to practise also against those that doe them good And take not onely thankfulnesse from among men but also lifted vp with the glorious words of lewd persons that were neuer good they thinke to escape the iustice of God that seeth all things and hateth euill Oftentimes also the faire speech of our friends put in trust to mannage the affaires haue caused many that are in authoritie to bee partakers of innocent bloud and hath inwrapped them in remedilesse calamities Beguiling with the falsehood and deceit of their lewd disposition the innocencie and goodnesse of Princes c. And it oftentimes commeth to passe that the good actions and intentions of Kings are hindered and the light of their Iustice eclipsed by the interposition of some terrestriall bodie which doth darken the glory thereof as the interuention of the earth obscureth the Sunne And the publike misfortunes which befall the common-wealth and the particular wrongs and iniustices which men by this meanes must indure euen vnder the raigne of a iust and religious King make his Empire hatefull for it is a naturall property incident to the vulgar when any misfortune shall befall a State to remoue the blame from themselues and to lay the fault vpon those that are of greater ranke and quality But to returne to our intended purpose I say That in the Offices of Iustice I meane wherein distributiue Iustice requireth consideration of merit way is not to bee giuen to the friends and kinsfolke of Fauourites but respect rather to bee bad to the common good wherein is to bee vsed the fore-specified warinesse and circumspection And in such sort may the risentment and complaints of the kingdome increase that howbeit the said friends and kinsmen should in their abilities haue the aduantage of others yet ought they to be excluded For this reason in point of weale publike is of more weight and consequence then any sufficiencie whatsoeuer in those other pretenders Marry in those other offices which we call Offices of grace for that they neither haue the administration of Iustice nor gouernment the hand may be stretched out in a freer manner vnto those that haue any reference of amitie or alliance vnto Fauourites But these offices are but few and of no great importance and in case an exact consideration should bee had there being not that office bee it neuer so small wherein a man shall not meete with some opposites and pretenders wee must not be too hasty but hold the hand awhile that fitting prouision might be made according to the qualities and merits of the person One that was a principall Councellour of State certified a certaine graue and worthy person that he being Alcalde de Corte the common hangmans office fell voide and that hee was so earnestly sued vnto and such intercessions therein vsed that he was faigne to make two the better to cumply with his owne obligation and their importunitie And of the Catholicke Queene Donna Isabel it is said That when she gouerned the State together with King Don Fernando her husband there fell by chance a paper from forth her sleeue wherein shee had written with her owne hand Let the Cryars place of such a Citie be bestowed vpon such a one for that he hath the best voice And if in so meane an office these Catholicke and prudent Princes had such great care and respect to the qualities of the persons what care ought there to bee had in those of Iustice and gouernment What in Ecclesiasticall dignities which are the pillars of our sacred Religion When the day of that strict and rigorous account shall come which God shall require at their hands they will then see how much this did import them Let then the finall resolution of this question be That supposing that the naturall inclination of Fauourites is to benefit all and that those that are nearest vnto them for what respect soeuer it be are to bee preferred vnto Honours and Offices I will not straighten them so much nor my words and counsell and seeme to be too much republike and intire in condemning all their actions for that it hath been a thing alwayes permitted to those that are put in such high places But I would not haue it passe for a rule in the prouision of publike offices through which haue past such persons as well vnderstood what belonged to State affaires and the conseruation of Kings and their kingdomes and that were complete in all kinde of good learning and knowledge who witting that those who had power with their Kings would fauour those that were theirs out of that inclination which is common to all men haue not stickt to say that this may be done but with this consideration that it bee not to the hurt of the commonwealth For there is not that ground plant or man so barren but hath some vertue in it and is good for some Ministrie or other In confirmation whereof wee are likewise to consider that in naturall things there is not any so vile and so base which alwayes and at all times is vnprofitable And
there are some cases wherein Experience hath taught the profit that may be taken therefro for the vse and conseruation of mans life And on the other side there is nothing so precious so estimable and so wholsome which is alwayes and at all times profitable For there are some as also some infirmities which would proue mortall should they bee applyed vnto them And therefore mans prudence doth come to consist in this to know it's qualitie and to vnderstand aright the estate and complexion of the man and according thereunto to make vse thereof and of it's vertue And therefore hee that hath by his Kings fauour the supreme disposall of all let him consider and know either by himselfe or by others that are his confident friends being as free as free may bee from naturall affections the dispositions and inclinations of men and together with this the qualitie of the offices and persons which are to gouerne and bee gouerned and let him imply euery one in that for which hee shall bee found fit and good And keeping this course he shall cumply with his owne inclination and naturall desires And shall therein do his King and countrey good seruice But for a conclusion and vpshot of all that is past let those aduertisements serue which follow in the subsequent Chapter CHAP. XXXVII The Conclusion of the former Discourse with some Aduertisements for Kings and Fauourites ALL those that write of the qualities of a good Prince doe agree in this that he ought to haue his will free independent subiect onely to God and his diuine Law without subiecting or submitting it to any other loue For it booteth little that he be Lord of many kingdomes if he be a slaue to that which hee extremely loueth That he ought to bee of a good courage and of a sound and setled iungement not suffering a superiour or equall in his gouernment For as wee said in the beginning of this Discourse kingdomes are by so much the more sustained and augmented by how much the more neare they approach to the gouernment of one Whereas on the contrary they runne much hazard when the reynes of the Empire are diuided and put into seuerall hands The Romanes neuer enioyed so much peace and plenty as after that Augustus Caesar was declared sole Lord of the Empire without dependance on any other Which aduise amongst many other good instructions the Emperour Charles the fifth gaue likewise vnto the King his Sonne to wit That he should be a very precise louer of Truth That hee should not giue himselfe ouer vnto Idlenesse And that he should alwayes shew himselfe a free and independant King not onely in apparence but in substance For it is very proper vnto Kings to rule not to be ruled And to administer their kingdomes themselues by their owne will and not by anothers For he will not be said to be a King who being to command and correct all should easily suffer himselfe to be led away and gouerned by others And therefore it is fit that hee should alwayes stand vpon his owne bottome and in none of his actions expresse himselfe to depend on the aide and opinion of others For this were to acknowledge a Superiour or a Companion in gouernment and to discouer his owne weaknesse Infirma enim est potentia saith Patritius quae alienis viribus nititur That 's but a poore power that must bee vnder-propt by the strength of others In stead whereof I would haue him to fit in Councell and to treate and communicate businesses with such persons to whom it appertaineth as heretofore I said Saying onely now That that King is in a miserable and lamentable case that must depend on anothers helpe Vpon a certaine occasion Alexander the Great said Se malle mori quam regnarerogando That he had rather die then raigne by supplicating and intreating And no otherwise doth that King raigne who shewes himselfe a Coward and suffers the excellencie of his courage to bee ouerwhelmed and carried away with the current of hard and difficult things which many times offer themselues leauing the resolution of all to the mercie and fauour of others by whose helping hand it seemeth that he liueth and raigneth This said the Emperour Vespasian is to dye standing And as that King is dead which leaues that to another which hee can doe himselfe and which doth properly appertaine vnto his office and as he shall not truly cumply with his obligation if he should go about to draw solely to himselfe the gouernment of his whole kingdome much lesse in like manner shall he cumply therewith if hee should cast off all care from himselfe and relye wholly vpon others For Extreames in all things are ill And an extreme thing it were that hee should take vpon himselfe the whole weight and burthen of businesses and to haue all things passe through his owne hands it being likewise no lesse if he should shift off all from his owne shoulders and put his hand to nothing as did Vitellius and Iouinianus who did in such sort dis-loade themselues of their offices and ridde their hands of all matter of gouernment that all was ordered and gouerned by other mens arbitrement and none of theirs Of the former it is reported that he forgot that hee was Emperour And of the other that hee intended nothing but eating and drinking gaming and whoring So that both of them came to such miserable ends as their retchlesse and carelesse kinde of liuing had deserued Childericke King of France and third of that name is and not without iust cause condemned by the writers of those times for that hee did wholly quit himselfe of businesses and led so idle and vnprofitable a life that he tooke care of nothing recommending all to his great Fauourite Pipine who did rule and gouerne him as hee listed And there was not any meeting or conuersation throughout the kingdome wherein men did not mutter and murmure at it For their nimble and actiue nature could by no meanes indure that their King should be but the shadow of a King and stand for a Cypher sheltering himselfe vnder the shade of another Which could not choose considering how vsuall a thing it is but put spirit into Pipine and adde mettall to his power For it is very proper to the condition of men the more high they are in place and dignitie to desire the more honour and the more wealth There are but few of your great and powerfull persons which are not hydropicall and doe not thirst after new honours and new aduancements And some haue proceeded so farre in their pretensions that they haue presumed as this Fauourite did to quit the King of his Crowne Willingly hearkening vnto those flatterers about him which did whisper this in his eare and egge him on vnto it It likewise began to bee treated of amongst the great Lords of that kingdome How much better command and rule were in one Head then in two And how that
all kingdomes had euermore a desire to haue but one Prince And that all prudent and wise men haue in reason of State held this gouernment to be the best and surest and that it was not fit that the vniforme body of a commonwealth or kingdome should bee subiect and obedient to two Heads To wit that one should enioy the name and title of King and the other possesse the power And that it were better that all should obey one that had wisedome and experience and that had beene bred vp in businesses and the mannaging of State-affaires whereby to gouerne them in peace and Iustice. And sithence that in Pipine these qualities did concurre and that on him all the businesses of importance did depend it were good that hee should bee their King and that Childericke should take his ease and pleasure Hereupon they treated with Pipine who though hee gaue eare vnto what they said yet would not rashly aduenture himselfe to accept of the Crowne vnlesse Pope Zacharias might first be consulted therein Whereupon they sent their Embassadours who had instruction to render such reasons to the Pope that might moue him to approue thereof and iudging Childericke to bee vnfit for the gouernment might absolue the French of their oath which they had taken and that obedience which they ought to their King and that he should depriue him of the kingdome and further declare That since Pipine did rule and command all and had so many good indowments that hee might likewise be inuested with the title of King And the Archbishop of Maguncia was the man that was nominated to set the Crowne on his head and to declare him to bee King of all France Being thus back't they summoned a Parliament degraded the poore seely king and thrust him into a Monastery and Pipine was sworne and proclaimed King of those so many kingdomes and Signories as were then subiect to the Crowne of France Hence had it's first beginning and that hand and power giuen vnto Popes in so great a businesse as the setting vp and pulling downe of Kings and which is more of creating new Emperours and depriuing the old ones of their Empire Whereof there are many examples And that which this Pope did with that King who had no more then that vmbratill and apparent power other Popes afterwards did the like with Henries and Fredericks and other Tyrants of great puisance and power The one offend in the more the other in the lesse The one out of the ambition that they haue to bee Kings that they may command and doe all loose all and so go to hell And the other go the same way for that they will not bee as they should be Kings but giue themselues wholly vnto idlenesse It was the Emperour Galba's vtter ouerthrow that he had put the whole gouernment into onely three mens hands which he brought along with him possessing them with so much power that hee was not Master of himselfe depending still vpon their wil and through that great authoritie which they had they ouerthrew all whatsoeuer their King did ordaine thrusting their armes as we say vp to the elbowes in all affaires and making vse of their present fortune And for that this vnfortunate Emperour could take notice of no more then what hee had from them for none without their permission could or see or speake with him they made him to do that which that other Potter did who going about to make a pot to boyle meate in made a larre to put drinke in And he thinking to substitute Iudges that should administer Iustice appointed theeues in their place which robbed the Commonwealth All which was imputed vnto him And for that Vanity is the mother of so many vices all this their great fauour serued to no other vse but to cause their Soueraigne to commit many actions of iniustice and indiscretion and of vnheard of and vnthought of wrongs violently breaking through the ordinary course of Iustice. By which exorbitant proceedings this imprudent Emperour grew to be hated and abhorred of all and not being able longer to beare with him they depriued him at once of his life and Empire And these kinde of Caterpillars said the Emperour Sigismund make those Kings vnfortunate that put their affiance in them At this carelesse ward liued at first Agesilaus King of the Lacedemonians though afterwards like a wise Prince hee did rectifie this errour And the case was this Hee let his friend and Fauourite Lisander carry a great hand ouer him and did honour him in all that he could expressing alwayes much loue vnto him Lysander puft vp herewith tooke great state vpon him being attended with a great traine and manifesting in his very gate a kinde of extraordinary grauitie and Maiestie and all did so farre forth serue and obey him that it seemed he had vsurped the dignitie royall and the Empire leauing good honest Agesilaus onely the bare Titulary name of King Which his Maiestie taking into his consideration to the end that the people might not say that hee raigned by Lysanders helpe he withdrew the dispatch of businesses fromforth his hands and would not remit any thing vnto him and if he spake to him touching this or that businesse he made as if he did not heare him or not well vnderstand him dispatching all himselfe to the good contentment of his Subiects Hereupon Lysander began to cast vp his accounts with himselfe and forbore from that time forward to conferre fauours or to promise Offices and told such suiters as came vnto hâ—m that they should go themselues to petition the King and would by no meanes permit that they should accompany him to Court as before And yet notwithstanding all this he assisted very carefully in all such seruices as were by his Maiesty recommended vnto him without any the least shew of discontentment Within a while after occasion was offered vnto him to speake with the King and talking with him hee told him O King how well hast thou learned to make thy friends lesse yes quoth the King when they will make themselues too great The King played his part well so did the Fauourite and all ought to doe the like Kings must bore a hole in that ship with their owne hand to stop it's course when it hoyseth it's sayles too high and goes with too still a gale For the taking notice of their Fauourites ambition is that ballast which doth secure them against those their windes and puffes of vanitie Let then the first aduice and which is of greatest importance for Kings and Christian kingdomes bee that which amongst other the Catholicke King of Spaine and Emperour Charles the fifth left vnto his sonne King Philip the second wherein with many indeared and effectuall words he recommends vnto him the obseruing augmenting and defending of the Christian faith in all his kingdomes States and Signiories seuerely punishing with all rigâ—ur and iustice without exception of persons all such as
should bee either suspected or found culpable in points of Heresies Errours and depraued Sects contrary to the Catholicke saith For therein consisteth all our good words all of them worthie consideration and worthy so Catholicke a Prince esteemed approued and perpetually obserued by his most happie sonne howbeit to his great cost As one that knew very well that in the obseruance of Religion and Catholicke faith all the happinesse that we can hope for in this or that other life dependeth thereupon and hath it 's sure ground and foundation And therefore Saint Paul calls it Substantiam rerum sperandarum c. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the euidence of things not seene c. For it is the foundation whereupon is built in our soules all our spirituall good insomuch that the selfe same Apostle said Sine fide c. Without faith it is impossible to please God And seeing it is a Iewell of such great worth and value Kings are to make that esteeme of it that they doe not onely retaine it but maintaine and defend it especially in their owne kingdomes and in all other places where they haue any power For besides the obligation which they haue as Christian Kings it concernes them likewise in their owne proper interest For in giuing way to their Subiects that they be not faithfull vnto God it will pull that punishment vpon them that they shall not be loyall vnto them And most certaine it is that they who shall not cumply with the greater obligation shall easily faile in the lesser And this is made cleare vnto vs in the sacred History of the Kings where whosoeuer shall diligently obserue the same hee shall finde That after Ieroboam King of Israel had set vp those Idolls in Dan and Bethel of purpose to withdraw the people from the true worship of God were commenced and continued as there wee may reade the treasons and rebellions of the Subiects against their Kings For this vnfortunate Prince thought with himselfe that for to settle and secure himselfe in the kingdome by those ten Tribes which had rebelled and made choice of him for their King that it would be a good meanes to induce them to his deuotion to draw them to forgo the adoration of the true God which they were wont to performe in the holy Citie and Temple of Ierusalem and to humble and prostrate themselues before those Idolls But the iust vengeance of God ouertooke him for instantly thereupon he lost his eldest sonne who dyed a violent death For Baasha the sonne of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him and smote him at Gibbethon and anon after all the house of Ieroboam not leauing vnto him any that breathed And not onely hee and his did miscarry but the whole kingdome was laid waste and desolate for that sinne and led away captiue And as when one man hath receiued from another some extraordinary great wrong he can hardly forget it so vpon all occasions wherein mention is made of the sinnes of the Kings which afterwards succeeded and of the punishment which they deserued for them still is the remembrance reuiued of this most grieuous sinne of Ieroboams and are attributed vnto him as being the first that opened the gappe vnto them And all those troubles which are there particularly set downe in those sacred bookes befell that kingdome for a punishment to them and a warning to all Christian Kings that by how much the greater light they haue for to know the excellencie of Faith and the truth of Christian Religion so much the lesse are they to be obeyed and the more seuerely to bee punished if they should be wanting to so great and so apparent an obligation Let Christian Kings therefore know that if they shall continue firme in the faith and cause all their subiects to continue constant therein God will protect both King and people and will establish their kingdomes and all shall obey and feare them but if they shall faile therein all runs to wracke and vtter ruine So that as a naile if you will haue it to hold must be fastened in some other thing that is firme and strong lest it and all that hangs thereon come tumbling downe to the ground So in like manner if a King will vphold himselfe firme and sure in his power Maiestie and greatnesse hee must be firmely fixed to the faith strongly vnited with God and close wedged to his diuine will but if he begin once to sinke or shrinke in this all his kingdomes or whatsoeuer depend thereon come tumbling downe to the ground with a sudden and fearefull fall For nothing doth more vphold a sociable life a Monarchie and kingdome then Religion linked with Iustice. Noah for his Religion and Iustice was after the Flood obeyed by all The Romans for the vpholding and inlarging of their Empire held not any meanes comparable to that of Religion and Iustice wherein they surpassed all of those times The Emperour Seuerus being at the point of death which is a time for men to speake truth ended his life with these words Firmum impeâ—ium filijs meis relinquo si boni erunt Imbecille si mali A strong Empire leaue I to my Sonnes if they proue good a weake if bad For the greatest force and strength of a kingdome both for the present and the future is the vertue of it's king So that with no lime and sand are the walls and foundations of States more firme and surely setled for lasting and continuance then with a Kings vertue and goodnesse Which is that recompence and reward which God promised to his most faithfull seruant Dauid for his vertue Firmaboregnum eius stabiliam thronum regni eius in sempiternum I will establish his kingdome and I will stablish the throne of his kingdome for euer That is the title and dignitie of a King should bee continued and confirmed vnto him tanquam in vsum proprietatem for euer and euer This firmnesse in the faith and this obseruance of Religion and Iustice are those strong pillars and columnes which being truly cumplyed withall do not onely vphold for the present but doe likewise increase and perpetuate kingdomes If good King Iehosaphat had not entred into league and amitie with King Ahab the Idolater it had not fallen out with him so ill as it did nor his life beene put to that danger as it was Iudas Machabeus heard tell of the great and famous deeds that the Romanes had done in feates of Armes being a stranger-Nation to Gods people Whereupon he sent his Ambassadours vnto them to make a perpetuall league and confederation with them Wherewith God was much displeased and so hurtfull vnto them was this amitie and alliance that many haue obserued that after this Peace was concluded betweene them Iudas neuer after obtained any victory ouer his enemies but was flaine in the first battell that he fought And some say the like succeeded to
both his brothers Ionathan and Simeon Let vs draw then from this discourse and sound aduice of this Catholike Emperour how much it importeth Kings to maintaine their faith and Religion and to conserue and vphold the same in all their kingdomes and dominions Now for to conserue the faith it is likewise requisite that there be great care had in procuring that the commonwealth be purged and cleansed of it's vices and sinnes For as the Apostle Saint Paul saith when vices grow to that head and ranknesse that they come to make men to be of a bad and corrupt conscience they go disposing such to suffer shipwracke in the faith as it hath happened in these our times in many parts of Europe The second aduice that I shall giue vnto Kings is that they carry themselues so in the dispatch of businesses that notice may not bee taken that they are dispatched by any other arbitrement but their owne For most certaine it is that if it come to be knowne that all the Orders that come forth passe through the Fauourites hands and as hee shall giue direction they loose much of their force and efficacie and the King much of his reputation and credit His subiects will grow to contemne him and strangers will make little reckoning of him and many other mischiefes will ensue thereupon Amongst the Romanes it was held for a great affront and dishonour that the Emperour should dispatch as they say porcarta-pacio by a note booke or some penn'd thing for him or like some young practitioner in physicke by his Masters Recipes And therefore in those generall processions which they made they besought God that hee would not punish them by giuing them Princes which had need to be ruled and guided by Gouernours and Tutors For they knew well enough that when God is angry offended with the sinnes of the people he punisheth them by sending them Princes without knowledge and wisedome that are not able to gouerne of themselues but to doe as others shall aduise them Wherein they did confesse and acknowledge That to be a King consisteth in being knowne and reuerenced of all to be an independant Lord not relying vpon any other whose Mandates and Decrees all should subscribe vnto and obey whom all should seeke vnto with whom all should negociate that are pretenders from whose liberalitie resolution and will they onely should acknowledge all the graces and fauours that are done them and from no other hand For if they should giue way thereunto their Subiects will bee induced easily to beleeue that together with this they will giue away their greatnesse and minister occasion to loose that common loue and respect which solely and properly is due vnto them For Subiects vsually honour no other Sunne but that from which they receiue their light They naturally abhorre that man that does them hurt and loue that person who does them good bee he what hee will be good or bad all is one They call God Optimum maximum because he both doth and is able to do them good And he himselfe doth glory therein as being vnwilling that men should acknowledge the good they receiue from any other What wisedome then can there bee in that King that shall suffer a Fauourite to haue all the thankes and all the honour and glory of those fauours and rewards whereof he is the owner and donor Reseruing for himselfe nothing but the scorne and contempt of his Subiects then the which there is no miserie can be greater God forbid that Kings should permit any such lessening of their power and authoritie which is the necessariest thing that can bee for the conseruation of their estates and kingdomes Likewise in regard of their owne proper particular it will be a very good lesson for them for if their subiects are beholding for the good they receiue vnto another they will loue him more then them and when occasion shall serue will not sticke to shew it though it bee to their owne hurt Examples hereof there are good store amongst those ancient Kings and kingdomes of elder times that by this meanes haue beene ouerthrowne and brought to ruine We finde it storied that the Emperour Claudius at the intercession and instance of Agrippina made such a one Generall of his Army Cornelius Tacitus toucheth vpon this Mysterie and saith of him that hee was a man of much fame and renowne and very expert in militarie discipline yet knowing very well withall by whose good will and furtherance that command was conferred vpon him he could not when occasion should offer bee behinde hand for so great an honour done vnto him but recompence it to the vtmost of his power Such great places of imployment ought to be bestowed by no hand but by Kings and that immediately lest another may go away with the thankes And he shall doe well if hee take the like course in all other Offices that are in his gift for if it were possible it is fit that all should stand bound and obliged to him Let Kings likewise bee aduised that they carry a watchfull eye ouer those that are ambitious which are either so naturally or by conuersing and communicating with others are made so for this is an infectious disease and the more the more it taketh hold on great persons and men of an extraordinary spirit for they are as dangerous as theeues where there is store of treasure to bee had For questionlesse such kinde of men do vsually labour to increase their estate For it is very naturall to this passion as to those other affections neuer to giue ouer till they come to the end and full satisfaction of that which their appetite or desire representeth vnto them neither the Law of God nor of thankfulnesse sufficing to moderate their mindes and to keepe them within the due and lawfull bounds of their dutie In that houre and in that very instant of their rising nay before they come to that greatnesse there is little trust to be giuen vnto them for nothing workes vpon them but their proper honour and profit And all the rest they esteeme as nothing in comparison of bettring their owne fortune But if of necessitie some must bee raised to honour Si quem extollere oporteat saith the Philosopher non tamen eum qui sit moribus audax Nam huinsmodi homines aptissimi sunt ad inuadendum circa res omnes Let them not be of base and meane condition nor such as are naturally proud and haughty for being vainely transported with their fauour and priuacie they thinke with themselues that they haue already clapt a nayle in fortunes wheele and that they cannot fall from the top of their felicitie And being thus blinded with their ambition there is not any thing which they dare not aduenture on Let Kings therefore well weigh and consider with themselues what manner of men they put into great places and neare about their persons that they may relye more on the goodnesse of
themselues to be absolute and to cumply in all things with their affections and desires nor to exercise any other personall passion For the vse and custome of absolute power is dangerous for Kings odious to the subiect and offensiue both to God and Nature And for that the last Kings of the Romanes vsed this power the name of King grew so hatefull that those that afterwards succeeded in the Romane gouernment durst not take vpon them the name of Kings but that of Emperours Which is by so much the more absolute by how much Imperare doth differ from Regere Yet notwithstanding the people of Rome did not so much feare this name of Emperour as that of King because those that last bore that name exercised on them this their absolute power So that it is not the name nor the office but the ill vsing thereof that makes it odious For it is neither the Title nor the Man that moueth or altereth the honest meaning minde of the plaine downe right subiect but deeds and actions that are done contrary to all right and reason Whereas on the contrary good vsage and good treatment keepes them in loue and peace and drawes them after him as it were in a string and to offer vp for his sake a voluntary sacrifice of their liues Let Kings consider that the Crowne speakes as much which they weare on their heads in forme of a Sphericall round figure which signifies limitem or terminum a limit or bound or rather that Circle out of which it is not lawfull for them to go no not one steppe The Crownes I say that they weare are Circles and Limits seruing to put them in minde that their power is limited and measured out vnto them that they may not passe the bounds of reason nor doe any thing but what is iust and lawfull Let the great Kings and Potentates of the earth moderate themselues and refraine from making themselues Gods by exercising this their absolute power let them acknowledge ouer them a God as well on earth as in heauen That hee may not grow wearie of their Monarchies and their gouernments as he did of that of the ancient Romanes and vtterly ouerthrow them prouoked and incited thereunto by the abuse of humane power For as Seneca saith Quod non potest vult posse qui nimium potest But the God of heauen is very nice and tender in admitting companions in any kinde of manner whatsoeuer but much more daintie in matter of iurisdiction and absolute power punishing the same with grieuous chastisements and many demonstrations of his fearefull anger and displeasure Aristotle saith that through the gouernment of those that are too absolute in their rule and command the gouernment is changed kingdomes altered and petty Princes rise vp against them who in such sort abate and bring downe their pride that they come to serue those whom before they did command Tully tearmes them of all other the most miserable which make their will a Law and thinke that they may doe all that they can Nero did then leaue off to be cruell when he vnderstood that he was permitted to doe what hee listed and that many did approue all his actions for good It is the ancient language of adulation to speake absolute power vnto Princes and to perswade them to follow their owne free will But this is a very dangerous thing if they once giue way thereunto and lâ—t such flatteries dwell in their eares for the resolutions of such a power will not suffer themselues to be so subiect as they ought to the iudgement of reason nor humane discourse In such a case a power from heauen is more needfull And this errour is now come to be in such request that to agree in all things with the will and pleasure of Kings is now made in the minds of some not onely a meanes of hope but esteemed as a great seruice and pledge of merit to receiue honours and rewards But this deceitfull meanes whereby they thinke to thriue shall when God shall see it fit be the onely knife to cut their throates for such kinde of men neuer escape punishment and most commonly receiue it from their Kings owne hand In strange and extraordinary cases and vpon iust occasions and iustifiable meanes Kings may somewhat inlarge the limits of their power so as they doe not go beyond that which reason and Christian prudence permitteth Plato saith that Prudence and power are to embrace each other and to walke hand in hand Qualities which ought to concurre in a good King signified in that Scepter with eyes which Ieremy saw power being in the one and wisdome in the other And in that other old ancient portraiture of a good King being a Lion placed on the top of Mercuries Mace which is a Scepter with two Snakes twining about it This signifying prudence and wisedome and that fortitude which should neuer be separated from a King By his power he is feared respected and obeyed he commands prohibites and executes By his wisedome he auerreth the truth of his actions and doth nothing but what is lawfull Wisedome tempereth power and both together vphold the world But if power forsake the fellowship of wisedome it growes to be absolute and runnes into a thousand indiscretions and commits as many wrongs and iniuries wherewith it desolateth and destroyeth euen the greatest States For there is not that ill wherein power doth not exceed if it haue not wisedome for it's bridle And for that a powerfull hand is so dangerous a thing Nature hath ordained and so ordered the businesse that the braine where wisedome hath it's residence should bee placed ouer it Which those ancient Doctors amongst the Gentiles did point at when they placed Minerua the Goddesse of wisedome vpon Iupiters head who of all the Gods is the most powerfull And therefore it was well said of him whosoeuer hee were that said Que vale mas saber que auer y poder Wealth and power are not comparable to wisedome Which saying is confirmed by the holy Ghost Melior est sapientia quam vires Et diuitias nihil esse duxi in comparatione illius Wisedome is better then strength I set more by her then by kingdomes and royall seates and count riches nothing in comparison of her The aduantage whereof is signified in that Hierogliffe of the Cocke who with his crowing makes the Lion to flie As Saint Ambrose and Aelian haue well obserued And that wise and iust man Iob doth much commend him for his knowledge and vnderstanding And Saint Gregory declareth that by him is to bee vnderstood a wise and prudent man who taketh hold on a fit and conuenient time for businesses and not onely aduiseth of but preuenteth all dangers and whatsoeuer hurt may befall The particular and generall experience which we haue of Histories teacheth vs how much it importeth for the conseruation and augmentation of a great Empire and Monarchie that he that is
experience and honestie appointed for the good managing and ordering of it vsing their best care and helpe that it may bee preserued and continued and that it may not be exhausted and drawne dry And more particularly Kings themselues the Grandes and Peeres of the kingdome as also the commonwealths and your Cities should carefully looke hereunto Being that they do most participate of the profits which issue from a warre And most certaine it is that nothing is more necessarie in a Monarchie then this particular treasure or that causeth more respect in our friends or feare in our enemies Or that with more commoditie and conueniencie puts in execution all plots and proiects in this or that other enterprise of what qualitie or condition soeuer they bee And to this aduice I shall adde that which followeth All wise and prudent Princes in Empires that are runne out to waste and decrease of wealth haue euermore held it for the onely remedie of their reparation and conseruation to excuse vnnecessarie expences And that their Ministers take this businesse into consultation and to cast vp all accounts and to see what the Kings rents and in-comes are for the defraying of the charge he is at and by comparing one with the other and seeing how they will answer each other if they finde the expence to exceed the In-come to cast about which way it may be best spared and to husband the businesse so that there may be some ouerplus still remaining for the publike treasurie For if by disorder ill gouernment the Kings coffers shall come to be emptie it will bee if not impossible at least very hard to fill them againe For if there be daily more spent then is to be or can be had that stocke will in a short time decay and come to nothing as wee see it fareth in euery other humane subiect that hath not fresh supply Which lauish and vnproportionable spending not liuing according to the rate of their rents hath been the vndoing of many particular houses families as also the impouerishing and ouerthrowing of Empires kingdomes And therefore to auoide this inconuenience was that booke of Accounts or Memoriall made which the Ancient called Breuiarium Imperij a briefe abridgement of the Empire which Augustus Caesar left to his successours written with his owne hand wherein was particularly set downe in a true and iust account the full number of all the kingdomes and Prouinces of the whole Romane Empire As likewise the number of all the Citizens and Souldiers which were in euery one of them together with their forces and strength and to what quantitie came all the rents and tributes that hee had what aide-money and other helpes hee receiued from his Confederates and the whole charge he was at As also his Councels ordained by him either for the inlarging or shortning of his hand in these his expences So that hauing still before his eyes the wealth and substance of his Empire he might alwayes see how the world went and how to make his best benefit thereof for the conseruing and vpholding of his Empire Such a Register or rent-roll as this much importeth Kings It is said of that wise and prudent King Don Philip the second that in his time he had such another as was this And the like ought all Kings to haue and at all times but more especially when their power is lessened their rents diminished their forces wasted and those of their enemies augmented For we see the like care to bee taken in particular houses and therefore ought much more to bee looked into in Monarchies which are composed of all those houses and families amongst which that which spends beyond it's meanes consumes it selfe For supposing such a one hath an 100. V. Ducats of rent or set reuenue and that euery yeare ten thousand more is spent then the rent comes to in a few yeares all will come to nothing and by running still on in debt and taking no course to come out of it by liuing still at the same height he must bee inforced in the end to sell and deliuer ouer the luster maiestie and greatnesse of his house to other families which were before little better then dust taken out of the dunghill And most certaine it is that they that will not cast vp their accounts and looke throughly into their estates and see in what state they are must bee either men that are willing to vndoe themselues and their whole posteritie and must bee either Atheists or almost as bad if not worse meere Epicures who carry in their mouths and in their hearts those words of your vnthriftie gallants Comedamus is that nothing is more necessarie in a Monarchie then this particular treasure or that causeth more respect in our friends or feare in our enemies Or that with more commoditie and coâ—ueniencie puts in execution all plots and proiects in this or that other enterprise of what qualitie or condition soeuer they bee And to this aduice I shall adde that which followeth All wise and prudent Princes in Empires that are runne out to waste and decrease of wealth haue euermore held it for the onely remedie of their reparation and conseruation to excuse vnnecessarie expences And that their Ministers take this businesse into consultation and to cast vp all accounts and to see what the Kings rents and in-comes are for the defraying of the charge he is at and by comparing one with the other and seeing how they will answer each other if they finde the expence to exceed the In-come to cast about which way it may be best spared and to husband the businesse so that there may be some ouerplus still remaining for the publike treasurie For if by disorder ill gouernment the Kings coffers shall come to be emptie it will bee if not impossible at least very hard to fill them againe For if there be daily more spent then is to be or can be had that stocke will in a short time decay and come to nothing as wee see it fareth in euery other humane subiect that hath not fresh supply Which lauish and vnproportionable spending not liuing according to the rate of their rents hath been the vndoing of many particular houses families as also the impouerishing and ouerthrowing of Empires kingdomes And therefore to auoide this inconuenience was that booke of Accounts or Memoriall made which the Ancient called Breuiarium Imperij a briefe abridgement of the Empire which Augustus Caesar left to his successours written with his owne hand wherein was particularly set downe in a true and iust account the full number of all the kingdomes and Prouinces of the whole Romane Empire As likewise the number of all the Citizens and Souldiers which were in euery one of them together with their forces and strength and to what quantitie came all the rents and tributes that hee had what aide-money and other helpes hee receiued from his Confederates and the whole charge he was
in the same streake or line with his Master For if God who surpasseth in glory and from whom it is impossible to take the least atome thereof and is able to turne all that he hath created into dust will not admit of a companion in matter of adoration and worship How much more will Kings of the earth bee offended and how ill must they take it that any Subiect should equall his shoulder or share with him in his greatnesse being his honour is so shortned and his power so limited For if out of their loue to the person of the Fauourite they beare with him for a while either for to shew themselues thankfull for his good seruices or haply to make him the instrument to worke their reuenge on others Yet these affections and proofes which I speake of being once passed ouer there enters presently in the place thereof a naturalâ—â—â— are and iealousie of their authority and greatnesse which doth much more sway with them then the loue and affection which they beare to the Fauourites person Enuie likewise she comes in and playes her part which is a neare neighbour and still ready at hand in Princes Courts and Pallaces as if she were Attorney generall of all those great places and â—omes forth her venome secretly lying in waite and watching her time to doe mischiefe stabbing suddenly deaths wound being giuen before it be dream't on and great is the hurt which this so neare a neighbour to the Kings elbow doth and out of an in-bredspleene aymeth at nothing more then the downfall of Fauourites Complaints and grieuances they also make their appearance in Court being the maine witnesses that Enuie and Passion bring into the Court to make good their plea. Next after these comes in the respect not to say the feare of those that are discontented in all states for no King will be willing that their Subiects vpon this ground should build their rebellion and cause an alteration in the kingdome and will be as loath to bee ball'd on by grieued and discontented persons vpon iustly pretended complaints nor will he be so vnwise for feare of other claps to fauour one to offend many All of them being shrewd blowes for to allay if not quell the courage of the most passionate King towards his dearest Fauourite and are such fierce and terrible conflicts that they tosse his iudgement to and fro with farre greater violence then a strong raging winde doth the waues of the Sea Gouernours and such as sit at the sterne of a Common-wealth and such vnto whom Kings haue deliuered vp the keyes of their heart and hold the rudder of the Monarchie in their hands to steare and shape their course as they will themselues there is no question to bee made of it but that they are in great danger vpon euery storme thâ—t shall arise for looke what misfortune shall befall the Commonwealth the blame shall be laid vpon them and the fault imputed either to their ill counsell or their ignorance or their passion For ordinarily nay I may say continually the misfortunes and ill successes of Kings and kingdomes I say the cause of them is attributed to those that are nearest and dearest about the Kings person and possesse the highest places And euery one running along with the common opinion and few are they which haue not a smacke or taste thereof laboureth to lay the fault on his neighbour though he be of his owne proper flesh and bloud And this is an inheritance which wee haue from our father Adam And no man is ashamed thereof for we are all of vs his heires and therefore ought to endeuour as much as in them lies that the peace and quiet of the kingdome bee not disturbed or troubled in the time of their gouernment As well for their glorie and reputation to haue in all their proceedings carried themselues in such sort that no ill accident hath betided them or any maine disgrace as also for the not subiecting of themselues to the vncertaine chances of fortune which are ordinary vpon euery alteration and may serue to worke their ruine and perdition Let therefore those haue an eye I say it and say it againe that are Priuie-Councellours to their King and more particularly the Fauourite to whom hee shall haue deliuered vp the possession of his heart that the aduice and counsell which they shall giue vnto him bee good pure and cleare water issuing from forth a pure cleane and disinteressed bosome Such is the water saith Aristotle as is the earth through which it passeth if through mynes of brimstone it scaldes and burnes if through craggy rocks it cooles and stupefies and if through salt-pits it is brinish and brackish The like iudgement may wee make of counsell if it proceed from a breast and heart that is foule and filthy it teacheth filthinesse if from a pure and cleane honestie and cleannesse if from a libeâ—â—ll it doth good vnto all if from a couetous it aduiseth nothing but gripping and wring ng of the Subiect So that counsell is figured forth vnto vs in water which in it's softnesse sauour colour and sent is perfectly knowne whether the myne be good or bad through which it passeth And such is their opinion and that which they aduise as is the humour that is predominant in their stomacke Euerie one casts his eye vpon his owne particular approuing and accounting that for iust which tends to his profit and condemning the contrary God deliuer Kings from such Councellours and let them take heed that they doe not erre in their aduise and in those medicines and remedies which â—hey prescribe vnto their Kings for it is as it were a remediâ—â—â—â—nd irrecouerable errour and theirs must bee the fault and many times the punishment but alwayes the note and infamie of their Kings erring Nor let those that haue the Kings eare make a mockerie of my words for it is a very dangerous and ticklish place that they possesse Where to erre is an easie thing but to hit right hard and euen then when they least thinke of it their preciousest Iewells their richest Mettalls and their greatest treasures are turned into coales and the like trash like those moneyes of your Hobgoblins Fairies and Robin good-fellowes It is an old thred-bare saying That ill counsell turnes to the Councellours owne hurt Consilium malum consultori pessimum saith Plutarch And the holy Ghost That the first with whom ill counsell meets is it's Authour Facienti nequissimum consilium super eum deuoluitur For as he that casteth a stone on high it shall fall vpon his owne head And as hee that smiteth with guile woundeth himselfe And whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein And he that layeth a stone in his neighbours way shall stumble thereon And he that layeth a snare for another shall be taken in it himselfe so whoso giueth a wicked noysome counsell it shall come vpon himselfe and he shall not know from whence Wicked counsell
as being ignorant of the secrets of this Science iudging it to be an Art full of impossibilities will not trouble themselues therewithall nor looke into the Mysteries thereof as if by the effects they were not able to iudge of the causes of things and by the carriage and successe of former businesses to diuine of the ends and designes of those which are now on foot And others farre worse then these who although they come to know this truth deny the same and seeke many colours both for the disgracing of it and the Author and for no other reason in the world but because they are professed enemies to whatsoeuer counsell that is not of their owne hatching fearing that it might quit something of the glory of their ambition And for that they will haue nothing thought to be good but what issues from forth their owne braine they blaspheme saith Saint Iames and speake euill of that which they know not and not onely not admit and receiue that good which is propounded vnto them but as that kingly Prophet saith because they will neither vnderstand nor heare it like the Adder they stop their eares with the taile of their ignorance fearing lest they should be charmed by some superiour wit and better vnderstanding Yet notwithstanding fall backe fall edge come what will of it I haue cumplyed with my desire and which is more with my obligation And if it shall proue to be of any vse profit and seruice for Kingâ— and for the great Councellours and Ministers of their kingdomes which haue most need thereof to 〈…〉 goes especially directed and perhaps may be 〈…〉 which are not in that nature And though haply it may not bee auaileable for amendment yet may it serue for a desenganno and dis-deceiuing of those that are in an errour And in case it shall not take this effect there will be no harme done by committing it to the Presse though it bee afterwards buried in the dust as it hath befallen other farre better things then these And Time which couers what is past and discouers what is to come will in it's time discouer this and such other things as are not yet come to light And for this cause they called Archimedes the Syracusan The Inuenter of new Things and the Register of old And certaine it is that amongst the Ancients there was a great agreement and Artifice in the gouernment of some commonwealths as was that of the Aegyptians of the Athenians of the Allmanes and aboue all of the Romane Commonwealth Which Saint Austen did so much admire And men looking no further then to that which is before them haue in a manner quite forgotten that and therefore it is fit that there should bee some Remembrancer that by putting them in minde of that which is past they may the better performe things for the present and prouide for that which is to come For as Plato said though in another sence all our knowledge is but a Recordation of things past and therein he said well For a great part of those nouelties which are daily introduced are but old things that haue layen long in obliuion and that which is done to day we finde is forgotten to morrow And in the reuolution of time comes in after ages to represent it selfe for new And this amongst many others was the maine cause which moued me to write this Treatise and which may incourage me to go on further though I must confesse that my penne hath out runne my intention finding that I haue 〈◊〉 my foot deeper into the stirrop then â— thought to haue 〈◊〉 having made a volumne of that which when I first 〈…〉 I purposed should haue ended in a short 〈…〉 But who can put a bridle vnto loue or restraine zeale and more especially when it is so naturall and proper as that which all and euery one doth or ought to beare vnto his owne King and Lord Adding thereunto mine owne particular respect in regard of my nearer reference to his Maiesties seruice And no small spurre hereunto was my honest true meaning heart and the assurance of a good conscience whose whole studie and desire in this my labour hath beene to hit as right as I could vpon that which might be most conuenient for the augmentation conseruation reputation authoritie and greatnesse of Kings as likewise what I thought would bee most necessarie for the wellfare and good gouernment of kingdomes and particular Commonwealths For this doth depend on that Though I conceiue there be few that thinke thereon For most I feare me treate onely their owne businesse making that the principall and all the rest accidentall Howbeit they will not sticke to say and publish to the world that they onely attend the conseruation of their Kings and Commonwealths Would to God that it might not be said of them which he himselfe said by the mouth of that his Prophet and Prince of his people They honour mee with their lip Cer aute◠〈◊〉 longè est à me But their heart is farre from mee God I beseech thee of thy infinite mercy that the hearts of Kings and their Ministers may not be farre off from thee nor thou from them but that thou wilt vouchsafe to bee euermore neare at hand vnto them and to fauour them and direct them in all their wayes to thy honour and glory Amen Laus Deo FINIS Errata Page 7. line 26. A Cetar reade Acertar p. 13. l 31. his family r. it 's family p. 17. l. 35. denotate r. denotateth p 24. l. 26. though r. thought p. 33. l 29. woorst r. woâ—'st p. 34. l. 34. men r. man p. 53 l. 19. sapientio rerit r. sapientior erit p. 71. l. 20. su spasseâ— r. sus passos p. 87. l 9. wise r. the wise ibid. l. 13. of force r. of the force p 135. l 1. Regular r. Regâ—lar p. 136. l. 15. goodnesses r. goodnesse p. 151. l. 22. content to r. to content p. 156. l. 9. subiect r. subiects p. 157. l. 20. sa soga r. la soga p. 175. l. 24. this answer r. this I answer p. 142. l. 18. careeâ—se r. carelesse p. 245. l. 3. seuerietie r. seueritie ibid. l. 32. are that r. that are p. 261. l. 17. impostoures r. impostures Ibid. l. 3â— nstad mistad p. 273. l. 30. cabines r. cabinets p. 287. l. 14. therein r. there is p. 294. l. 30. requencie r. frequencie p. 320. l. 27. or iudgement r. or that iudgement p. 323. l. 11. inionyed r. inioyned p. 344 l. 12 deliaces r. delicasies p. 352. l. 19. of much r. much of Sen. epist. 84. iâ— princip Valer. Max. Polit. cap 1. lib. 4. cap. 1. Arist. lib. â— Eccl. 7. 27. Aug. lib. 2. de Ciuil Dei D. Tho. de regim li. 1. cap. 2. Arist. Pol. 3. cap. 5. 10. Plat. Dial. de repub Prou. 8. 15. Beros lib. 4. de Flor. Cald. secundum Philon. de Antiq. Act. 17. 26. Liv. lib. 1. Eccl. 7. 5. Aug lib 4.
Predecessors Princes of famous memory for their wisedome and prudence and in Kingdomes and Common-wealths of great Concernment Artifice and Policie in matter of Gouernement and reason of State And viewing those with these times and that which then was with that which now is it will appeare vnto vs that your present Princes doe not come much behinde their good Predecessours And that which is good stands alwayes in a way or degree of ablenesse to become better and that which is not so may be bettered in the end Time is a great proficient it attaineth to all and can doe all And your Maiestie whom God preserue may likewise in time doe the like if you will really and resolutely affect the same and that you will be pleased to put in execution what in these Aduertisements shall seeme good in your eyes And seeme they or not seeme they good vnto you sure I am that my desire in these in the rest and in all shall indeuour to hit the marke whereat it aymeth God direct it as I desire For mine owne part I rest well contented with my paines and hold my selfe well paid for my labour in hauing put them into your Maiesties hands And that you shall vouchsafe to dwell a little vpon them For matters of State Iustice and Gouernment and of things of this high nature is a King-craft and a knowledge or science that deserues your care and discourse Let others doe as they list particular men may follow their particular pleasures and delights But this well becommeth Kings The Argument of this Booke is the Head of Mans body beginning at the vnderstanding till we come to the last of the senses For therein and thence they haue the principium or beginning of their operations And as in mans body so in the mysticall body of a Common-wealth Kings are the Head to whom Regiment Gouernment belongs and what choyce they are to make of those who are to assist them therein the qualities which they ought to haue and how they should carry themselues towards them How they shall come to discouer the humours affections mindes and dispositions of their Ministers And in a word how they ought to behaue themselues in all and with all I search not into the secret closet of any mans bosome nor touch vpon any particular person it being the least part of my intent and purpose I treate onely in the generall and manifest vnto all that what I write being certaine and true and grounded vpon principles and certaine causes may serue to reforme amend and correct and if neede bee alter those fashions and customes they finde to bee amisse This I am bold to vtter vnto your Maiestie and dedicate the same with that securitie and confidence which mine owne knowledge doth promise and prompt vnto mee being not ignorant that I talke and discourse with mine owne proper King and Lord whom I humbly beseech that hee will bee pleased out of his great prudence and naturall pietie to runne all this ouer with his eye and to cast his cloake ouer my faults And though no doubt his Maiestie may meete with some yet my minde telleth me that he may likewise light vpon something in this Treatise that may be of some profit for the seruice of his Maiestie and for the conseruation of that authoritie and greatnesse of place which he so iustly possesseth and for the good of the Common-wealth For there is not that Booke saith Seneca so vnprofitable whence some good may not bee gathered And though this in supposall or it 's owne nature may be small and of little or no price yet is it of no lesse noble and royall a condition to receiue a little louingly and with a gratious acceptance then to giue much liberally All this your Maiestie doth with all and I assure my selfe you will likewise doe the like with me For the naturall Loue which I beare vnto your Maiestie meriteth no lesse nor the minde wherewithall I doe it And herewith I shall in some sort satisfie my desire which is to hit the marke I ayme at and that obligation wherewith I was borne to serue you whom I shall neuer willingly offend And euermore in all my prayers and sacrifices I shall humbly on my knees beseech the Almighty God to preserue your Maiestie to giue you many and those most happie yeares and that hee will conserue you in his diuine grace and humane Greatnesse with much augmentation of Estate both Temporall and Eternall Amen Your Maiesties seruant and Chaplaine Fr. Iuan de Sancta Maria. A Table containing the Chapters and Paragraphes of this Booke Chap. 1. VVHerein it is briefly treated what is comprehended in this word Republicke together with it's definition Chapter 2. What the name of King signifieth Chapter 3. Whether the name of King be a name of Office Chap. 4. Of the Office of Kings Chap. 5. Of the reason and vnderstanding of Kings and of their wisedome Chap. 6. How Kings ought to carrie themselues in those businesses which their vnderstanding comprehendeth not Chapter 7. A prosecution of the former Discourse shewing how Kings are to take Councell And what signes they are to marke and obserue for their better knowledge Chap. 8. Of the diligences which Kings are to vse in the Election of their Ministers and Councellours Chap. 9. Of the qualities which Kings one to consider in those whom they are to make choice of for Ministers and Councellours Chap. 10. Hee continues the discourse of the Qualities of Ministers and Councellours Chap. 11. Of other Courseâ— and Meanes which Kings may take for the notice of such persons in whom the said Qualities concurre Chap. 12. How Kings ought to carry themselues towards those Ministers whom they finde sufficient for the Gouernment both of Peace and Warre Chap. 13. The Author prosecutes the same Subiect and shewes how Kings ought to carry themselues with their Councells and Councellours Chap. 14. It is demanded by way of Question Whether Kings ought inuiolably to obserue the foresaid Order Chap. 15. Whether it be fit for Kings to vse much the remitting of businesses Chap. 16. Of the sence of the â—ightâ—that is of those businesses which Kings ought to reserue for their owne view and to dispetch with their owne â—ands Chap. 17. 〈◊〉 prosecuteth the same matter and shewes How Kings ought to carry themselâ—es towards those that finde themselues aggrieued Chap. 18. Of the sense of Hearing And the Audiences which Kings ought to giue Chapter 19. He goes on with the same Matter treating of the Audiences of Ministers and Councellours Chap. 20. Of the vertue of Iustice the naturall sister and Companion of Kings Chap. 21. Of the parts of Iustice in Common and in particular of Iustice commutatiue Chap. 22. Of Iustice distributiue Chap. 23. How and in what sort limitation in giuing may sute with the greatnesse of Kings Chap. 24. Of the repartment and diuision which is to bee vsed in the conferring of offices And of the
of Iacob And therefore Accede huc vt tangam te fili mi Come neere I pray thee that I may feele thee my sonne whether thou beâ— my very sonne Esau or not Many there are who boast themselues to be elder brothers in vertue and learning and with tricks and deuices clad themselues to shew in sheepes cloathing but inwardly are rauening Wolues and with gifts and presents as Iacob heere did incline or peruert the mindes of Ministers that they giue them credit and beleife stealing by this meanes the blessing away and getting prioritie of place being indeed younger brothers in their deserts And we are to consider that in this History there did concurre two things which were sufficient to deceiue the Patriarke The first that he was blinde or at least very dimme sighted For as wee said before when this propounding or nominating of such persons is left to the will of those that are blinde or ignorant in these matters there is not any thing done therein which is not full of deceit The second That the voyce was far different from the person whom he felt The like vsually happeneth in that matter which we haue now in hand For there shall goe a voyce and fame and a true opinion of such a man that he hath very worthy parts but comming vpon the first sight to those Ministers which are to preferre him he seemeth to be another manner of man from that which hee truly is And the reason of it is for that like the blinde they only feele touch and examine these wise men when as indeede they should conforme themselues to the settled voyce and receiued opinion of the learned who are better seene in these matters and haue a deeper knowledge of them Anciently the people did meere all together and with a generall and common voyce did nominate him to be their Bishop whom they thought to be the fittest man and most worthy the Episcopall Sea And this was then held the fairest and surest Course For to speake morally it is not likely as we said before that one single man should deceiue so many nor draw the votes and suffrages of all the whole multitude vnto him vnlesse he had parts and abilities deseruing this their approbation Many most holy men and great Prelates as Ambroses Gregories Chrysostomes and other learned and graue Diuines haue receiued their preferments by such Nominations as these But this kinde of Election now some yeares since was reduced esteeming it the fittest and the surest way to the voyces and suffrages of your Deanes and Chapters of Cathedrall Churches But because in humane things there is such little stabilitie and firmenesse your popular dissensions inforced them for the greater ease and quiet of the Common-wealth that your Kings by concession of the chiefe Bishops should haue the nominating of them And no doubt but it was well ordained by them in regard that as those their Royall persons are of so superiour a degree and so free from respects of humane businesses for these are wont to worke vpon the mindes of particular men so the nomination that passeth through their hands is by much the more certaine For as they are Kings and Rulers ouer the people God doth inlighten them so as they do not dis-deserue this light or be rebellious vnto him for the making of a good and iudicious choise Diuinatio in labijs regis in iudicio non errabit os ejus A diuine sentence is in the lips of the King and his mouth shall not erre in iudgement For if he be a good and vertuous King God doth assuredly assist his Actions directing him by an especiall grace and particular fauour that he may not erre in a businesse of so great importance And this doth oblige them to looke well what they do and to take a great deale of care and good heed in the nomination of them And let Kings take this into their consideration that being such as they ought to be they haue in some measure a kinde of propheticall gift that they may not will they but strip themselues of passion and craue Gods holy assistance erre in their iudgement Oh what a necessitie is there in them to liue well since that from the innocencie of their life ariseth ordinarily a hitting right in their Actions true Intelligence and a good dispatch in their Negociations CHAP. XII How Kings ought to carry themselues towards those Ministers whom they finde sufficient for the gouernment both of peace and of warre IN the Creation of the vaste Vniuerse God shewed his great Omnipotencie and his infinite wisedome in the disposition of those things which hee placed therein with such a concordance and harmonie that Diuus Thomas confesseth that it could not be mended without some dissonancie and iarring And he citeth the example of a well tuned Viall wherein it is not possible to straine a string but the consonancie in all the rest is quite marred This was that which the Wiseman said That with weight number and measure God had created and ordered all his Creatures So that the parts of the Vniuerse haue amongst themselues that proportion that in euery one and all ioyntly there are found these three Circumstances weight number and measure But that which is spoken in the booke of Wisedome touching the gouernment of all this huge Machina is of greater consideration For God touching as being infinitely powerfull the extremes and ends of all things in the disposing of them he doth it with a great deale of sweetnesse He did set an inuiolable Law a settled and determinate Seate as being the Author of Nature to nature it selfe to the end that euery thing conseruing it selfe with in it's owne proper bounds and limits it should not be confounded with the rest And from hence grew a most sweete and pleasing harmonie of all this great frame of the World so well tuned and so well ordred that it alone voyceth and Proclaymeth the wisedome and omnipotencie of the Creator What a goodly thing is it to see the continuall Motion of the Celestiall bodies The perpetuall influence sixednesse resplendour of the Planets and of other starres The fire in it's sohere The Ayre the Water and the Earth in their most firme and stable Mansions And only by vertue of that first Law which God settled in his first Creation Out of this Composture and admirable accord and agreement of things naturall is to be drawne the politicall consent and attonement of a Common-wealth appointing to euery one his site his place and his certaine limits of Iurisdiction for that Office that shall be put vpon him without once thinking to haue it altered or changed And it is the obseruation of the wise and men of much experience that if it might bee inuioâ—ably kept and might bee established as an inuariable and vnchangeable decrce in the brest of the King and his Counsellours that those of one Counsell should not be transferred and put ouer to another nor be
remoued from that wherein they are already placed vnlesse it be to your Presidentships of your Chanceries and Visits of the Kingdome and that they themselues of euery particular Councell should haue the nominating of their Presidents it would in matter of gouernment be of great importance First of all by these meanes would cease those anxieties vexations and cares wherewith all of them liue of being translated from one Councell to another as also that extraordinary negociating and labouring for this end and purpose Those that are of the Councell of Hazienda pretend to be preferred to that of the Indies de los Ordines And when they haue attained to these they aspire to that of Castile So that out of this ambitious humour none of them sticke fast or keepe firme footing but from the very first day wherein they enter into one of these Councells their mindes are wandring pretending to better themselues by chopping and changing from Councell to Councell And the mischiefe of it is That in these Pretensions they wast and spend that time which they should bestow in studying those points which belong to their own Tribunall For the curing of this sore in the Councell of the Indies in former times those Counsellours had a larger allowance and greater Pension then any of the other Councells obliging them thereby to settle themselues where they were placed without pretending to budge or to leape from one Councell into another making themselues thereby capable of all those difficult businesses of the Indies which good effect then ceased when the Salaries were made all a like And if this Order which I speake of had beene well and truly kept the disorder which is in these pretensions of change had beene remedied and men would haue beene more practicke and better seene in those businesses which are treated in euery one of them being so different and of so great consequence and so hard to be vnderstood that they will require the study and assistance of many yeares to vnderstand and know them aright And as the holy Ghost sayth it is contrarie to the rules of good gouernment and of prudence to put one vpon that he vnderstands not and to commit weighty affayres vnto him who vndertaking them as being tyed thereunto by his imployment knowes not whether he be in the right or no though perhaps he presume he is Likewise there should be much more care had in the prouision of those places of other Audiencies and inferiour Courtes of Chancerie to the end that in them might be bred vp such subiects in qualitie learning and vertue that out of them Election might be made of fit men for greater Counsells And that the Presidents should be chosen out of the said Councells in which they were bred vp it is very conuenient and grounded vpon good reason For hauing beene conuersant in them some yeeres by the concourse of so many things as dayly offer themselues thereby will be better knowen their talent and capacitie their truth their treating their integritie and all the worth and parts of their person whereby the election that shall be made will be much the better more certaine in the things vndertaken and more safe and secure in matter of conscience And who is he can doubt but that those Counsailours which haue beene for a long time in your supremer Councells will haue greater knowledge of the qualitie and substance of those businesses which are treated in them together with those necessary circumstances which make for their better expedition Besides they will more prefectly know the State wherein the businesses of that Tribunall stand without being driuen to haue recourse vnto others to be better informed spending and loosing much time therein Againe they know which is a matter of no small consideration the rest of the Counsailours as also their condition their abilitie their cleannesse of hands and heart and their good or bad parts for there better then else where are they discouered And this knowledge is very necessary in Presidents for to deliberate and make choise vpon all occasions of the fittest persons that are to be trusted with businesses of importance And it is of no lesse consequence to take notice of the suitors and pretenders for to know how to carry themselues towards them to take particular knowledge of the good customes ceremonies preheminencies and priuileges of those Councells that they may be kept and obserued and that the authoritie of the Tribunall may be maintained and all discordes and Competitions a voyded All these things are learned with time and that experience which euery one hath of his proper Councell wherein it is very requisite that the President be a Master and not a Schollar as he is who enters newly into a Councell though he haue serued many yeares in another and of no little inconuenience are the nouelties which they both attempt and do who are admitted without this experience being desirous to accommodate and order things according to the measure of their own dâ—scourse And howbeit the want of experience be in Counsailours a matter of much consideration and may be tolerated and borne withall in some yet in realtie of truth the lacke thereof in a President is intolerable and very preiudiciall to the whole Common-wealth And from thence arise many great mischiefes and those remedilesse For some out of ignorance and some out of flatterie do leane to their opinion whereby many vniust decrees passe whilest the experienced and wiser sort which euermore are the fewer haue not power equall to their sufficiencie to turne the course of the streame And for this reason so many difficulties offer themselues so many differences are raised amongst them and so many resolutions delaâ—d and put off and peraduenture erre in the end too which would haue required a quicke and speedy Dispatch But when a President hath that experience which is needfull he will not gâ—ue way to these delayes but being priuie to his own sufficiencie and confident that he is in the right looke whaâ— he presseth and affirmeth the authoritie of his persâ—â— and place will make it good and strike a great if not the only stroake in the businesse For these and dâ—uerse other reasons in all well gouerned Common-weaâ—ths and Communities I would haue them make choise for Gâ—uâ—rnment of such subiects as haue beene bred vp and â—u'd some yeares in them for they cannot but haue a great aduantage of those that are strangers thereunto tâ—ough otherwise of equall parts And this is the trace and trâ—cke of the Holy Ghost marked out vnto vs by S. Paul Omnis enim Pontiâ—ex ex hominibus assumptus pro hominibus constuâ—itur For euery high Priest taken from among men is ordained for men For it matetreth much that the head be of the same substance as is the body and that all the members be of one and the same kinde not to haue a head of gold a body of braffe and feete of clay like vnto
out of bad successes future warnings is admirable discretion Ex praeteritis conijcientes iudicamus sayth Aristotle By coniecturing of things past wee come to make our iudgement of things to come And it is a very good course to diuine by that which is past and in Kings exceeding necessary to draw experience from some times for other some And to beware as they say not onely by other mens harmes but likewise by their owne For let a man be neuer so wary neuer so circumspect and let him watch and looke about as if his life lay on it hee must either fall or hath fallen at some one time or other or hath err'd in this or that particular whereby his designes haue beene frustrated or hath seene or read the downe falls of others And therfore shall be shew himselfe very discreet if hee shall gather a Doctrine out of these and make such good vse of them that they may serue vnto him for a warning Castigasti me Domine eruditus sum O Lord thou hast chastised mee and after that I was instructed For as it is in the Prouerb Delos escarmentados salen los arteros No men are more their Craft-Masters then those that haue bin most bitten Nor is it much that a man of reason and vnderstanding discoursing with himselfe of forepassed passages should benefit himselfe by comparing cases past with cases present and by experience and knowledge of those which heretofore haue beene remedilesse hee may apply remedy to those which threaten future mischiefe Sithence that brute beastes as it is obserued by S. Isidore and Polybius who haue no discourse but onely a naturall instinct leading them to their conseruation make vse of the like kinde of Accidents not onely when they themselues fall into some quack-mire or otherwise haue runne the danger of this baite or that net but euen then also when they see others fall before them they hang an arse and will not easily suffer themselues to be drawne into the like danger but hold that place euer after in suspicion where they haue seene their fellowes indangered and shunne all that they can that hole or bog whereinto they haue once either fallen or beene myred And shall not men of vnderstanding and good discourse which heare and see what other men suffer as likewise the great hurt which they themselues haue receiued by the like cause shall not they I say grow wise by other mens harmes and their owne shall not they seeke to shunne and auoyd as much as in them lies the like inconueniences but that some pleasing thing shall bee no sooner propounded vnto them but forthwith they will suffer themselues to fall into the pit and to be taken in the snare that lyes before them and will not offer to fly therfro nor forbeare to eate of that deceiuing foode whereunto they are inuited and know for certaine that neuer any did come off with safety He that by the forepassed Accidents and falls of others or of himselfe doth not take aduise and warning the name of beast nay of a senselesse creature will better befit him then of a discreete and well-aduised man This is that complaint which Moses made of that foolish people Vtinam saperent intelligerent acnouissima prouiderent Would to God that they would call to minde and make vse of the so many and various successes which they haue seene and past through and that quoting the present with the past they would be prouident in that which is to come especially since the wise man sayth That the thing that hath beene is that which shall be and that which is done is that which shall be done and that there is no new thing vnder the Sunne Let the conclusion therefore of this discourse be first That it is not heere required of a discreete King that he should beare about him in his â—leeue good lucke and drawe out when he listeth a faire lot and a certaine and happy successe in all his businesses for this is only and wholy in Gods hands and not in his And therefore to require any such thing of him were great indiscretion but that hee should enter into them if time will giue him leaue with sound aduise and mature deliberation and to intertaine them till hee be able to bring his purposes to passe And si sit periculum in mora If there be danger in delay and that they will not suffer the deferring let him call to minde the successe of former businesses and let him well consider with himselfe what in like cases hath vsually succeeded and accordingly let him settle in the present and prouide in the future that which is most fitting euermore hauing respect to the iustnesse of his cause relying altogether vpon God and humbly beseeching him that hee will direct him in all his wayes For as it is in the Prouerbs Cor hominis disponit viam suam sed Domini est dirigere gressus eius A mans heart deuiseth his way but the Lord directeth his steps Suting with that common saying Homo proponit Deus disponit Man purposeth but God disposeth The second thing required of him is That hee looke well about him that he diligently obserue the maner of gouernment throughout his whole kingdome and that he haue a watchfull eye on his publike Ministers and Counsailours of State and more particularly vpon those that are in highest place and authoritie and haue his eare most And that hee likewise labour to know the qualities conditions and naturall dispositions of those that now are and to conferre and compare them with those of former times that hee hath seene and knowen or hath heard and read of in Histories to the ende that by the knowledge of the affections and naturall inclinations of those hee may prognosticate the end whereunto these tend and by those passages and proiects of precedent times make a diuination of the designes of the present For this prudentia in principe quodammodo diuinatio est This prudence and discretion in a Prince is a kinde of diuination And let them not tell mee that mens manners are changed with their names nor their naturall inclinations with the declination of times and that there is no correspondency betwixt those that are now and those of olde for as Cornelius Tacitus saith who was a singular Master in this science speaking of his owne times in respect of the former the men are other but now their manners They are now as they were then and then as now Well may it be that for some considerations men may represse and couer their affections moreat one time then another but not that they are not one and the same those of this time and that and that early or late they doe not the same worke they antiently did For from one and the same causes it must necessarily follow that we must see one and the same effects Let Kings therefore see once more I speake it and consider
well the estate wherein stand the affaires of their Kingdome how it is in the gouernment in their Ministers and their Counsellours what their affections naturall inclinations passions ambitions desires and the like and make a iudgement of the one and the other of the present and the past and they shall finde that these and those great small and all one with another tread in one and the same steps and ayme all at that faire white of their owne black and fowle Interest And weighing likewise with themselues that some if not most of those Kings and Monarkes that haue gone along in that track and held the like course of gouernment and made vse of the like Ministers either haue beene ruined thereby or brought neere vnto it let them stand aloofe from it or them or ought else whatsoeuer whereby they may either see or know other their predecessours haue beene vtterly ouerthrowne For most certaine it is that by the effects of Cases past we may know what were the causes of them and how in the like the like may likewise succeede The science and knowledge of Kings is like vnto that of Astrologie wherein are better skill'd those of latter then former times in regard of those many proofes and experiences which they haue seene heard and read Historie therefore and experience being the fountaines of humane wisedome Princes ought to peruse Histories and procure to know how it hath succeeded with others that thereby they may take aduice and warning in cases to come and from this experience and knowledge of mens naturall inclinations and affections to draw thence a doctrine for to moderate their owne and to know other mens dispositions and withall to take notice that the naturall dispositions of the men of these times are not more strong and able to resist their appetites but are more weake in the naturall and lesse perfect in the spirituall then those of our Ancestors Whence that followeth which wee said before that by the Knowledge of the past wee may prognosticate of the present if wee haue once seene and made triall that it fell out so with other men of the like state and condition So that it may be collected by what hath hitherto beene deliuered how necessarie it is that a King or supreme Lord should exercise himselfe for some few yeeres in the studie of the various Lections of Histories and may if he will come by them to know the customes and inclinations of forraigne nations as well of those that are free States as those that are vnder subiection with whom he must indure so many demaunds and Answeres To the end that the varietie of Accidents may no whit afflict nor trouble him For it were a kinde of disparagement to a great Prince to admire any noueltie whatsoeuer or to seeme a stranger to the strangest Accidents that shall occurre vnto him And hee must necessarily suffer this and other great inconueniences and deceits in matters of State if hee be not well aduanced in the knowledge of them and with the people with whom hee is to treat For many are they that pretend to deceiue him and will not suffer the truth to come to his eares in it's naked nature but shadowed with some colour as shall make best for their pretension For to cut off which mischiefe histories serue the turne which supply the want of experience and set before his eyes in a short peece of paper the successes of an age so large and of such a length that many liues cannot reach thereunto A thing very necessary in Kings whereby to finde themselues prepared for the present and prouided for the future For hee that hath still before his eyes what is past is seldome deceiued in that which is to come And hee that shall turne ouer the Histories of former times shall meete with the nouelties of the present as also with those truths which Sycophants conceale and such as are not flatterers dare not to tell him Onely Histories without feare or dread speake plaine language to Kings and yet remaine as whole sound and intire as they were before Another point of Discretion is That for as much as the aduice and wisdome and more particularly in Kings and persons of great name and ranke is great they should not intermeddle in small matters not shew themselues in your lesser occasions where the glory is none and the losse of reputation great not onely if they be ouercome but also if they doe not ouercome to their great aduantage They ought not likewise lightly and without very good ground to thrust themselues into businesses of great consequence and of that danger and difficultie that they shall not afterwards know well how to winde themselues out of them For it argues but a small talent of wisedome to know dangers then onely when a man is in the midst of them And sauours of much leuitie to put himselfe desperately vpon cases of aduenture And this is no other Counsayle then that which a very graue and wise man gaue the Emperour Vespasian deseruing to be written in letters of gold and in the Cabbinies of Kings Qui magnarum rerum consilia suscipiunt aestimare debent an quod inchoatur reip vtile ipsis gloriosum aut promptum effectu aut certè non arduumsit They that aduise and consult the vndertaking of great enterprises ought to weigh and consider with themselues whether that they goe about be profitable or no for the common-wealth honourable for themselues or whether it may easily be effected or at least without any great difficultie And this is a Lecture which Christ reades vnto all aduising vs that before wee begin any busines of importance wee enter into an account and reckoning with our selues whether wee bee able to goe through with it or noe and when hauing well weighted the difficulties dangeres and expences wee must bee at wee shall finde it to be of more charge then profit to let it alone So shall wee rid our selues of a great deale of care and excuse the murmurings and censure of the people who will much risent it that in businesses wherein the wealth peace and reputation of a Kingdome is interessed Kings should aduenture for the gaining of a little to put themselues in hazard of loosing much As likewise because thereby is giuen occasion of measuring the extent and limits of the power of Kings and of plainely manifesting to the open view of the world that they cannot alwayes doe what they would nor against whom they will and therefore must not giue way that men should enter into iudgement that their power cannot reach whither they themselues will haue it but ought alwayes and by all meanes they can to maintaine the credite and estimation of their power and greatnesse The words of our Sauiour Christ are these Which of you disposed to build a Tower sitteth not downe before and counteth the cost whether he haue sufficient to performe it Lest after hee hath laid