that thou takest in hand succeede well unto thee and contrarywise if thou doest not After thou hast done this in the next place pray unto God for grace wisedome and understanding that thou mayst be able to undergoe the office committed to thy charge a right and in this let King Solomon be a pattern unto thee who although hee had a most sanctified man to his Father and a wise man to his Tutor from whom hee might learn touching the Government of his Kingdome as much as the wit of man could instruct him yet hee prayed to God in this manner O Lord God thou hast placed me in the Throne of my Father King David that am a feeble person too weake for the understanding of thy judgements and Laws give mee wisedome that I may bee able to governe thy people in judgement and righteousnesse After thou hast prayed in this manner for such things as are needfull for thee * 79 Exequere munus tuum summe cum cura 79 then goe on cheerefully in thy calling and execute the same with all diligence and integrity meddle with that which belongs to thy selfe only and put not thy sickle in another mans harvest so that no man may justly taxe thee that thou hast omitted any thing which thou oughtest to have done or that another man could have performed the same with more care and diligence which that thou mayst do thou must have a care that thou doest not abuse the power and authority committed unto thee to doe any man wrong for any private grudge or malice conceived neither for hatred nor affection to do any thing that belongs not to thy calling observe ever that rule that our Saviour hath given give unto every one that which is due unto him unto Caesar that which is Caesars and unto God that which is Gods and that of the Apostle it is better to obey God then man honour thy Prince ever and obey him but so that thou must know that above him there is a God whom thou must more honour and obey have a care ever which many doe neglect to say or do any thing to please him which is repugnant to the will of God for though it be a difficult and dangerous thing to oppose a Prince in any thing and so to draw his anger and displeasure upon thy head yet know it for a certainty that if thou shalt feare him more then God by avoiding the smoak thou fallest into the fire cursed is hee that with hope of impunity commits an offence and though such a man may escape for a time yet in the end God will punish him with ruine and destruction for although God bee long suffering and gentle yet when his wrath is once incensed nothing will appease him and be sure of this that God whom thou hast served and obeyed will so assist thee that though thou mayst for a time incurr the displeasure of thy Prince yet in the end thy innocency shall be made known to thy prayse and glory so that the Prince shall not only thank thee when hee shall know thy integrity but shall commend and applaud thee and this was Josephs case whom when his Master had made him Steward of his house and committed all things to his power and authority being sollicited by his Mistris to lye with her he would not consent saying how can I commit this great offence and not sinne against God who though hee was for a time by his Mistris calumniations wrought out of favour with his Master and cast into Prison yer in the end by Gods assistance he was delivered and where before he had but the Command of a private Family hee was advanced to bee the second man in the Kingdom and heard the saying of our Saviour sounding in his eares goe to good servant thou hast been faithfull in a little I have made thee ruler over much enter into thy Masters joy So when the King of Egypt commanded Sephora and Phua the two midwives of the Hebrews to kill all the male children of the Hebrews as soone as they were borne they fearing God did not obey his Command but kept them alive for which God blessed them and built them houses So when Saul commanded his servants to kill the Priests with whom David sojourned his servants would not therein execute his Command Ioab was not so well-minded for he presently upon the Command of King David betrayed Vriah to death and though hee disswaded the King a little to number the people yet when he importuned him thereunto hee listned to his sollicitation and obeyed him but it had been better for him that he had hazarded his displeasure for the present and so have escaped and turned aside the wrath of God and miseries which ensued Therefore let him as much as in him lies carry himselfe uprightly towards all men not somuch to avoid the calumnies of the envious and the backbiter or the displeasure of the Prince as to keep himselfe in grace and favour with God for it is the greatest happinesse to do no wrong to any Let him think with himselfe that * 80 Cogitor multa sibi non licere quae hominibus in angulo jacentibus licent 80 it is not lawfull for him to doe many things which men of mean degree living out of the rode in some corner of the Earth may doe without exception that a great fortune is a great burthen that all his actions are exposed to the view of the world that his thoughts are scarse secret to himselfe because that all mens eyes are fixed and fastned upon him it is not lawfull for him to intend his profit his studies his pleasures nor to addict himselfe wholly to any thing because hee is not his owne but his Princes servant therefore let him eschew Pride Coveteousnesse Cruelty and the like wherewith they that live in high places are usually tainted let him cast his eyes behinde him and see what he was not what he is and at no time behave himselfe violently or insolently towards any man here the Councell of Amuratus is religious that * 81 Non ob propriam virtutem 81 thou shouldst ever thinke that thou art raised to that degree of honour not for any worth or merit of thine owne but by the divine providence of God who hath been pleased to worke upon the affection of the Prince to favour and affect thee above other men this if thou dost duly consider it must necessarily follow that thou wilt ever carry thy selfe respectively to thy Prince and be lowly in thine owne eyes giving the glory to God alone thou wilt be gentle mercifull and liberall and spend and end thy dayes quietly in the peace of a good conscience and that thou maist doe here what Sophocles saith in Ajax Lorar let these Examples move thee that thou dost not grow proud or speake irreverently of the name of God if he hath endowed thee with better endowments or a better fortune then
of Croatia and within short time took him Prisoner caused his hands to bee bound to hot irons and his flesh with burning pincers to bee pull'd from his body and what remained to be divided into four parts and to be hanged upon the Gates of the City the rest that were accessaries to the Queens death hee caused to be beheaded Observations upon the usurpation of Carolus Whatsoever is gotten by usurpation is never of any long continuance Henry the Fourth King of England and King Henry the fift may peradventure for a time enjoy the Scepter but de male quaesiitis non gaudet tertius haeres the Grandchilde Henry the sixt shall never enjoy it quietly Richard the third may peradventure for a time flourish and prosper but God in the end will release a poore Prisoner out of Brittany to take revenge of the bloud of his Nephews King Hen. the 7th was 15 yeares a Prisoner with the Duke of Brittany Com. lib. 6. Carolus of Apuleia may for a moment insult over the weaker Sexe and usurpe upon Maria but in the end 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 right will prevaile Leo minimarum avium pabulum fiet and the Crowes shall prognosticate his destiny ferunt enim as saith Bonfinius quod paulo post Coronationem Caroli innumera multitudo Corvorum regiatecta circumvolabant tuâ—matim fenestras impetabant veluti strangulati crocitabant nulla vi repellipotuissent Bonf. lib. 3. dec 1. CHAP. II. * 36. Quisque peculiari munere devinctus est Every one is called to one calling or other SAint Gregory condemneth the vaine conceit and presumption of those Astrologers that attribute so much unto the Planets that say if a man be borne under Iupiter he is destinated unto riches and honour if under Mercury unto Wisedome and Knowledge that give the reason wherefore seldome is the rich man wise or the wise man rich for that these Planets are seldome in conjunction Jupiter being the slowest of the Planets and not being able in a lesse space then twelve yeares to compasse the Earth and Mercury being the swiftest of them every yeare going about it so as they seldome meet or if they doe they stay not long together this foolish conceit every Christian ought to reject for that wee are taught that there is nothing done in the World without the divine providence of the Omnipotent the World is a Stage and every one that commeth into it hath his part to act assigned him from Heaven to one the part of a King to another of a Subject to one of a Priest to another of a Prophet to one this to another that David Cyrus Paul Ieremy had their severall parts David had his dixit Dominus Prophetae surge unge hunc hic est ille the Lord said unto Samuel rise up annoint him for this is the man Cyrus had his propter servum Iacobum Isralitum electum meum propterea me vocasti de nomine tuo cognominavi te quamvis ignores me Saint Paul had his Paulus apostolus non ab hominibus neque per hominem sed per Iesum Christum ac Deum patrem qui suscitavit eum â—â— mortuis and the Prophet Ieremy had his cum nondum formavissem te in utero matris agnovi te cum non prodiisses e vulva sanctificavi te Prophetam ipsis gentibus constitui te There is no man so meane and contemptible but hath his part assigned him and though in the first or second scene hee may personate some fisher-man shepheard or heardsman yet oftentimes in these poore men doth God shew his power and omnipotency Daâ—id was for many yeares 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a poore shepheard forlorne and neglected and not esteemed as one of the sonnes of lesse for when the Prophet came unto Bethlem and invited lesse with his Sonnes to a Banquâ—t David was not amongst them Sala and Nathaniel Rael and Asam were there but as for David he was in the fields with his flocks and when as the Prophet would have annointed one of them because they were faire and of comely countenances the spirit of God sharply reproved him saying God judgeth not as men do by the outward lineaments of the body but by the inward perfections of the mind and that the man that hee look't after was not there the Prophet then enquiring what other Sonnes hee had David was then made know unto him and of him he said hic est ille and thereupon Vngitur Iessaides qui regia sceptra gubernat David was annointed * 37. Contemptus inter fratres Ioseph was hated of his Brethren Hee was hated even unto death for had not Ruben stickled for him and shewed them how abominable a thing it was to murther a Brother an innocent Brother of tender yeares whose yeares required their tuition and for no other cause but because of the blessings which God had bestowed upon him of which they might be partakers by reason of their neernesse in bloud unto him they had killed him * 38. Venditus in servitutem Ioseph was sold into bondage The Merchants that bought him were cer aine Merchants of Arabia that carried Spices from the Country of Galedena into Aegypt who sold him againe to Potiphar the Steward of King Pharoh his house in whose service he behaved himselfe so well that his Mistresse fell in love with him and because he would not yield to her amorous encounters shee accused him to her Husband that hee attempted to sollicite her Chastity and to defile his bed * 39. Conjectus in Carcerem Ioseph was cast into prison Vpon the false accusation of his Mistresse hee was cast into prison where hee remained for the space of two yeares but in the end God delivers him and verifies the vision which hee saw in his dreame that his Brothers sheafes of Corne worshipt his and that the Sunne Moone and Eleven Starres humbled themselves before him Exod. 37. * 40. Per aequa iniqua gratiam Principis quâ—runt They seek by fraud bribery and all other unlawfull meanes to attaine their ends Nemo unquam imperium flagitio quaesitum bonis artibus exercuit saith Tacitus with whom agrees Josephus in his seventh Book of the antiquity of the Iewes saying that he that hath attained to any honours and preferments by undue meanes will not stick to use meanes more pernicious to continue the same So did Ioab as wee have said before to support his magnificence murder Abner and Amasa so did Sejanus to support his greatnesse make love unto Livia the Wife of Drusus and procured her to bee accessary to her husbands death as Tacitus hath it in the fourth Book of his Annalls So did Tigellinus by his wicked practises wherein onely he did excell oblige Nero unto him Tacitus lib. 14. So did Perennis advise Commodus to take his pleasure in the Countrey Dion Cas lib. 72. * 41 Ministri facinorum ut exprobrantes aspiciuntur Princes ever behold the instruments of villany with threatning
leave Rome and to live farre remote in the country for he thought Tiberius being grown in yeares and retired into the contry that he might with lesse opposition passe through those places which he held he provided likewise that none might have accesse to Tiberius but by him and that he might have the scanning of all such letters as came to the Emperor by the hands of the souldiers but why Tiberius should so much favour this man no reason can be given unlesse it were for that hee once freed him from a danger that was like to befall him when others forsooke him for it happened upon a time 13 when Tiberius was feasted in a howse called Spelunca * 13 Convivium celebratur in villa quae vocatur Spelunca the stones that lay at the mouth of the Cave fell downe and slew divers therein which bred an astonishment in all and caused them that celebrated the feast to runne out to save themselves whilst Sejanus staid with Tiberius hung upon his neck and with all his might and power kept the stones that were ready to fall upon him from him as the Souldiers that came to assist him and saw him hanging related the matter after this Sejanus grew greater and greater and had the eare of Tiberius ready to anything that he would say though it tended to the ruine of the common-wealth in somuch that hee grew into that height of pride and impudency that * 14 Nuptias petebat à Liviâ 14 he presumed to become a suitor to Liâ—ia the neice of Tiberius first wife to Caius Caesar the son of Augustus then to Drusus the son of Tiberius whom hee had secretly poysoned at last hee tooke upon him the state of an Emperor and esteemed of Tiberius no otherwise then the Governor of a poore Iland called by the name of Capreas so that all mens eyes and affections were fixed upon Seianus and happie did hee thinke himselfe that could bee the first to bee admitted unto him unhappy to be the last who as hee observed every thing very diligently so especially the words and very lookes of the peeres of Tiberius by which meanes hee grew so gratious with the Senators end the common people that in every thing they gave the same honor unto him as they did unto Tiberius their statues in brasse were set up alike their names in all writings subscribed alike and the Chariots which carried them unto the Theaters adorned with gold alike nay more it was decreed that when they came unto Rome the Consuls whom they chose every fifth yeare should meete the one in as great state and solemnity as they did the other and should offer the like Sacrifices to the statues of the one as to the other so that nothing being now wanting to Sejanus or rather the Emperour fo so indeed he was having got all power into his hands and wanted nothing but the bare title of the Emperour to make him so Tiberius began to bethink himselfe of the danger he was in but because Sejanus had so glued to himselfe the affections of the Pretorian Souldiers the Senators and such as were neare Tiberius either with rewards or with promises of rewards that nothing could be said or done in Court whereof Sejanus had not presently notice and nothing done abroad that tended to the dishonour of Tiberius that came unto his eares Tiberius wisely by degrees first secretly underhand afterwards more openly tooke a course to ruine Sejanus and to frustrate all his designes Behold here a notable example of humane frailty and a singular patterne for such as are in grace and favour with their Princes to put them in minde the higher they are the more reverently and submissively to carry themselves this man that was in the morning attended upon like an Emperour in the evening was thrown into prison like a beggar whom not long before the people adorned with Crownes of gold not long after they bound with fetters of iron whom as their Lord they honoured they beate as their slave whom they adored and sacrificed unto as unto a God they reviled and dragd unto death most ignominiously like a rogue the same day that the Senate did him all the honour that they could the people would have carbonaded him and have pulled him in peices this man that had so much that he could not desire more either of God or Man to make him happy whilst hee lived before hee dyed had so little that he had not wherewithall to gratifie the hang-man a notable pattern I say of humane frailty yet more of this kinde will I shew unto you In the pulling down of Sejanus Tiberius used the assistance of Nevius Sertorius Macro whom not long before hee secretly made Commander of the Praetorian Company and the Senate conceived so well of him that by a decree they conferred all Sejanus his honours upon him but hee being terrified by an example that was so fresh in memory refused to accept them yet not long after it so happened that hee became exceeding powerfull and applyed himselfe wholy to Caius Caligula and studyed how to make him Emperour after Tiberius insomuch that when Tiberius understood it * 15 Occidentem fugientem orientalem persequentem solem illum exprobravit 15 hee upbraided him for abandoning the setting and adoring the rising Sunne but Caligula in the end requited him for his good will putting him together with his wife to death with Claudius Coesar the most powerfull men were his freed men and amongst them Narcissus and Pallas whom he used to severall purposes the one as his Secretary to write his Letters the other as his Orator to make his speeches whose services hee requited by a decree of the Senate not only with infinite treasure but with places of Authority and Command insomuch that upon a time inquiring what the reason was that his Treasury was so empty answer was made that it would be full enough if that the money that was taken forth of it by Narcissus and Pallas were put into it with these men and their wives Claudius was so enamoured that he became rather their Servant then their Soveraigne at their disposall were all Honours Armies Pardons and Punishments insomuch that Sextus Aurelius was used to call * 16 Narcissum dominum domini appellat 16 Narcissus the master of his master for as Iuvenal saith unto Narcissus Claudius denied nothing nay spared not to kill his wife being commanded by him so to do so that Dion affirmes hee was the most powerfull Man of that age and of the age past having a command over Princes and Cityes and Possessions amounting to more then foure thousand Sesters This man notwithstanding as soone as Claudius was dead Agrippina the wife of Claudius and Neros Mother put to death so that though these kinde of men may peradventure during the lives of the Princes by whom they have beene raised live in grace yet seldome doe they escape the hands of their
est 23 Plautianus was apprehended and being convicted by the Command of Anthony in the presence of Severus was put to death Vnto these Roman examples I will add one of the Graecians with Philip of Macedon the last King of that name There was a young man called Apelles that was so powerfull that hee might more properly bee called a King then a Favorite for that every City in Greece more observed and feared him then they did the King the King therefore by the advice of Aratus taking it to heart that this man looked after nothing more then the Empire * 24 Authoritatem omnem momento ademit 24 on a suddaine cast him off whereupon hee was thrown into Prison and shortly after put to death Polybius writing this History takes occasion to shew how happy and unhappy they that live in Princes Courts may be in a very moment of time he compares them unto suffrages which are accustomed to be given in Common-councells for as in Counsells saith hee it is in the power of the Senators to give Brasse or Silver so in the Courts of Princes it is in the power of the Prince to give honor or dishonor to make their servants either happy or miserable Hiero King of Syracuse in Sicilie when he dyed left his Kingdome to Hieronymo his Nephew and for that he was a child hee appoynted fifteene to see him vertuously educated amongst whom was Andronorus his sonne in law but the King was scant laid in his grave but Andronorus ambitious of Command eased the rest of that office of trust which was committed unto them affirming that Hieronymo was old and able enough himselfe to governe the Kingdome but by waving of the office which to him with others was joyntly committed hee got all the power into his own hand Hieronymo being young and vitiously addicted fell into all manner of evill courses and suddainly came to an untimely end Vpon whose death Andronorus possessed himselfe of the Tower and a great part of the City and fortified it with Garrisons for he he thought it more safe to run with the current and to yeild himselfe into the hands of the Senate though his Wife the daughter of King Hiero mad after Soveraignty often put him in minde to the end to encourage him to proceede in the course hee was in of what Dionysius was used to say that a man needed not to saddle a horse to leave a Kingdome hee might doe it well enough on foot intimating that it is an easie thing when a man will to part with a fortune but not easie to attaine unto it yet I say he thought it more safe for the present to submit o the Senate who made him one of their pretors but * 25 Nulla quies inâ—st animo dominandi Iibidine capto 5 his thoughts bein once possessed with a desire of Soveraignty he could not finde contentment in any thing else * 29 Vxore illum praesertim instigante 26 his wife principally animating him thereunto t lling him that now is the time if ever to stirr in it whilst the waters are troubled whilst the Souldiers are ready to accept of better pay then the Kings and whilst Hannibals Captaines are there ready to further his designe Which perswasion so prevailed with him that a second time hee took it into consideration how he might attaine to the Kingdome which being discovered he together with Themistius to whom hee had disclosed the whole matter was in the Senate house put to death Wee will passe from hence to the Historyes of other Countreyes and Ages Richard the first King of England reposed so much trust in William Bishop of Ely as that hee made him Chancellour of England Keeper of his great seale and Lieuetenant of the Tower of London at the same time hee prevailed with the Pope to make him Legat à Latere of England France and Jreland and when hee was to passe the Seas to wage Warr with the Saracens he left the Government of the Kingdome wholly to him and gave this charge to his Subjects that as they loved him and his Kingdome and as they desired to live in peace and prosperity and to enjoy their Possessions in safety that they would shew themselves obedient to his trusty and well-beloved Chancellour in all things that he should direct them that did concern him as if that hee were personally present so this man is now the greatest man in all the Western parts being in the Kings absence the Metropolitan of all England * 27 Dignitates quas pretio com paraverat immodetatè exercuit 27 hee executed the Diginities which hee purchased at deare rates with excessive cruelty and oppression and all respect of honesty set apart bent his thoughts only how he might fill the baggs again which hee had emptied to attain unto them he turned Vsurer and executed the office of Legat à latere which cost him a thousand pound with such cruelty that he became a burthen and eyesore to all the clergy of England he seldome rid with a lesse number then fifteene hundred of the Clergy to attend him and a band of Souldiers as if he had been a King as my Author saith and not a Bishop he was attended by the Sons of the Nobility whom he married to his kindred and happy did he think himselfe that could be gracious in his eyes there was no Land to be sold which he bought not no Church or Dignity void which he did not either bestow upon his friends or himselfe the keeping of all Castles and Townes by one meanes or other he engrossed and prevail'd so by his power that hee did what he would and no man durst once open his mouth to contradict him in any thing But it so happened that Iohn Earle of Mortaigne the Kings Brother calling the Peeres together to consult of the affaires of the State sent for this man likewise assuring him that he should safely come and goe but he suspecting them instead of coming unto them betooke himselfe for refuge to the Tower of London whereupon it was agreed by the Lords that he by whom the Church of God and People had received so much detriment should no longer govern in the Kingdom This Chancellour and his Adherents had so deceived the Kingdom of the Treasury that there was scarce any man that wore a girdle that had any silver in it any woman a chaine any Noble man a ring or any Iew had mony and indeed scarce any thing of worth was left in the Kingdome The Kings Treasury was emptied and nothing but the keyes and empty vessells found there The State of the Kingdome standing thus it was decreed that he should take an oath to relinquish all the power he had not to beare any sway any longer in the Government of the Common-wealth and to yeild up all the Castles that were committed to his charge especially the Tower of London These things hee put in pledges to
Agrippa Seneca Maecenas Byrrhus whom we have before remembred did hee will doe his uttermost endeavour to perswade the Prince above and before all things in the world to look after that which tends to his own honour and the good of the Common-Wealth for as it is no way profitable to the stomack if at one meale it shall be so glutted that it be ready to burst or in a few daies so much meate be thrown into it as will serve for six months so it is no way profitable to a Prince at once to take all mens estates to himselfe and to care more that hee may have much then well to have gotten it and to enjoy it long therefore if thou wouldst well consider of it thou shalt finde that there are none that do more endammage the Prince then they that do advise him to intend his own private good and indeed if thou wouldst search into it thou shalt see that those men doe not look so much after his private good as the good of themselves and therefore by all manner of meanes they seek his favour but they that seek not somuch their owne good as the good of the Commonwealth have ever a care that as well the people as the Prince without whom he is but a single man may flourish and prosper for the head cannot be perfect if the other members of the body be impotent and not able to performe their proper office Of this Seneca in his Tragedy entituled Octavia takes notice saying * 87 Pulchrum est eminere intervâ—ros illustres 87 It is a famous worthy thing Amidst renowned Lords alone to ring And wisely to care your Country for to save And well your selfe to captive folke behave From cruell brutish slaughter to abstaine And void of mood to wreake your angry paine And to the world a quiet calm to give That all your age the people in peace may live This is a worthy praise without all crime This is the path to Heaven whereby we clime This then is the scope of all that a Princes servant ought so indifferently to carry himselfe between him and his people that as he honours and loves the Prince so he should the people yet not for their sakes but for his therefore let him alwayes be carefull that he may not justly be taxed as Seneca was that he drew the hearts of the Citizens fron the Prince to himselfe for as it * 88 Civilia in genia filiorum regnantibus displicent 88 is distastfull to Princes to see their sonnes have popular wits so it is to see their servants and this he shall bee sure to doe and keep himselfe from all suspition if he follow the Example of Agrippa and so honour his Prince that he may be sure that he studies nothing more then his safety and honour and above all things let him have a special care that he do not provoke him in word or deed for * 89 Pertinax memoria est verborum acerborum 89 bitter words take a deep impression in the mindes of great persons and the deeds which ensue thereupon strike more deep into them and though they doe not for the present either take notice of them or at least revenge them yet when any small occasion is given they are called to remembrance and when they little dream of it they are severely punished for them Joab slew Absalon contrary to the command of the King his father and afterwards seeing him condole his death sharply with menaces upbraided him which the King took very ill and although hee did not at that time inflict any punishment upon him yet upon his death-bed he commanded his sonne to punish him and without doubt for that cause though he did not then expresse it The same doth Alexander the great confesse in the case of Philotas this man saith hee when I writ unto him out of love and familiarity to acquaint him what fortune had befallen me by the oracle of Jupiter Hammon he was so bold as to answer my Letter that he was glad to heare that the gods had accepted me to be one of their company but yet I must have compassion of them that live under me the gods doe not as men doe they give and take nothing from any man these are markes of a minde long ago estranged from me and of a man that envies to see my prosperity which griefe my Souldiers so long as they could for the love they bore unto Philotas prevailed with me to conceal The very same thing doth Chalchas testifie in Homer now saith he doth Jupiter give reines unto his power and now doth hee persecute with eagernesse the man of low degree and though for a time he concealed his wrath and made a faire shew yet afterwards it returned into his bosome againe and would not be satisfied untill it had revenged it selfe Therefore I say he must have a speciall care that hee doe not provoke his Prince with any harsh language especially that hee doe not carry himselfe so that his Prince shall stand in feare of him which wee have before observed to be a great fault in the Earle of St. Paullont of Commines and in Joab that threatned the King that unlesse hee would observe him the people would renounce their Allegiance unto him therefore Philip Commines saith that if that he had a friend he would advise him to carry himselfe so that his Master might love him not feare him for that he never knew man of whom his Master stood in feare that sped not ill in the end Examples whereof wee have very many This presumtion oftentimes proceedeth of the good service he hath done for he thinks his experience so great that hee cannot bee spared and his deserts such that his Master ought to bear all things at his hands but Princes on the contrary side both say and think that hee is bound to doe him service and desire nothing more then to be rid of such malepert fellows and he alledgeth a saying of the King his Master that good servicâ—s sometimes undoe a man and are recompenced with great ingratitude not alwayes by the Masters forgetfulnesse but sometimes by the servants owne fault who presuming upon their good service behave themselves arrogantly either towards their Masters or their fellowes and further touching those that come to court this was his opinion that he is more hapier that receiveth a benefit of the Prince he serveth without any great desert wherby he standeth bound to his Prince then he that hath done so great service that his Prince seemeth indebted to him adding that hee for his part loved those better that were bound to him then they to whom hee was bound Againe let not the servant of a Prince opprobriously be bragging and boasting of his owne merits nor in other affaires be troublesome to him but let him containe himselfe within the bounds of modesty and assume rather too little then too much unto himselfe Quintus Curtius
from idlenesse the seminary of all wickednesse * 27. Dignitates immoderatè exercuit Hee exercised the dignities which hee purchased with excessive usury It is a principle amongst hucksters and such as have dealings in the World that they that buy deare must sell deare It holds in spirituall preferments hee that emptieth his bags in buying of dignities will fill them againe in selling of Benefices and poling of under Officers it was so in the dayes of Richard the First when William Longshampe Bishop of Ely lived and long before him in the dayes of William Rufus when the munke of Malmsbury exclaimed proh dolor Ecclesiae nummis venduntur aere and it will ever bee so Aristotle seems to uphold the trade Consentaneum est saith hee ut ij qui emunt magistratus quaestui habere assuescant remp cum â—d eos largitionibus ascenderunt it is good reason that hee that buyes authority should make some profit of his authority but let us take heed how wee follow Aristotles consentaneum lest wee partake of the Bishop of Ely his supplicium Of the excessive pride and oppression and of the fall of the Bishop of Ely vid. Mat. Paris Anno 1190. in R. 7. Polid l. 14. * 28 Quidam comes Warwicensis ab Ed. 4 An Earle of Warwick raised to such a heighth of power by King Edw. the 4. This is the great Earle of Warwick that set up and pul'd down Kings Richard Nevill the son of Richard Nevill Lord Chancellour and Earle of Salisbury he was Lord high Chamberlain Constable of Dover Castle Lord Warden of the Cinqueâ—orts and Admirall and indeed had the whole power of the Kingdome in his hands I may well say the whole power for he had not only the command of the Ports and Navy but hee had the command of the hearts of the people insomuch that they that knew him say quocunque ille inclinaret populus aut saltem major pars populi inclinabat which way soever hee went as a torrent hee drew the people along with him and to give him his due fuit verè nobilis quasi prae aliis notabilis nam ab ineunte aetate as Historians report of him non solum veris virtutibus mirabilis sed etiam artâ— quadam in ostentatione earum virtutum compositus hee was truly noble for from his childhood hee had not only rare and admirable gifts of nature but hee had art and eloquence to expresse them by meanes whereof hee grew gracious in the sight of the people amongst other his vertues he had two most eminent Magnanimity and Liberality which will win the heart of an enemy his Liberality he dayly shewed in his hospitality his Magnanimity and valour as at divers other times so especially at the first battell at St. Albons Anno. 1455. ubi ille primus omnium regios milites praelio lacessit as my Authour saith where hee himselfe made the first assault against the Kings Army and after a doubtfull warlike dispute which continued for the space of three or foure houres prevailed and slew Henry Lord Piercy the second Earle of Northumberland the Lord Clifford and the Duke of Sommerset Edmond Beauford that Duke of Somerset qui tot annos pro patria strenâ—è pugnasset adversus Francos that adventured himselfe many yeares against the French in the behalfe of his Country miserabile sanè spectaculum quod à suis civibus occideretur as that Authour saith a sad spectacle that he that so often adventured himself for his country should be killed by his country men but in abattell when all parties are in the higth of fury there is no distinction the Earle buried him nobly which was as much honour as hee could doe to one that fought against him the Earle married Anne the Sister and Heire of Henry Duke of Warwick King of the Isle of Wight and the favorite of King Henry the sixt who dyed at Hanly where hee was borne being now the Inheritance of the (g) Sir Iohn Russel of Strencham was Mr. of the Horse to Rich. the Second and many descâ—nts before him was there one Tho. Russel of Strencham the Family quarters many Coates but the paternall Coat as I take it is argent a Cheurom between three Crosses Crosses Sables Russels of Strensham I cannot say the most eminent house of that name but this I say that I cannot finde others peradventure may any family of that name more ancient I will not except the most eminent in whose right hee was Earle of Warwick and had a massy estate by her hee had issue two daughters Isabell and Ann whom hee married into the Royall blood Isabell to George Duke of Clarence the brother of King Edward the fourth the eldest sonne of King Henry the sixt who was slaine after the battell at Tewxbury and afterwards to Richard e This honour is aptly compared to Sejanus his horse Tho. of Woodst Duke of Gloucest was strangled at Callis An. 1397. Tho. L. Spencer Earle of Gloucest was beeheaded at Bristoll An. 1400. Humfrey Duke of Gloucest was strangled in the Abby of St Edinbury An. 1446. Richard Duke of Glou. was slaine at Bosw an 1485. Duke of Gloucester who was slaine at Bosworth this man notwithstanding hee had been thus advanced fell off from the King and the cause of his revolt was for that he being sent into France to treat of a marriage for the King the King in the meane while married with the Lady Grey which the Earle taking to heart conceiving it to be a great wrong unto him to bee so deluded confederated with George Duke of Clarence his sonne in law to set King Henry the sixt at liberty being then in the Tower of London but it is conceived that this was but a pretence and that their intention was to settle the Crown upon the Duke for it is not probable or credible that the Duke would ever agree to settle the Crown out of his owne house upon the house of Lancaster and hereupon there was a bloody battell fought at Danes-moore not farr from Banbury and was called Edgcote field where the Kings Army was defeated and not long after the King taken prisoner at Wolney a village neare to Northampton and conveyed to Warwick Castle and from thence to Middlenam Castle in Yorkshire out of which hee escaped gathered new forces and at Stamford in Lincolneshire encountred and overcame the Earle and made him fly for succour into France but not long after the Earle returned and having assistance from the King of France put the King to the worst made him forsake the Kingdom and fly for reliefe to the Duke of Burgondy which Commines imputes to the Kings credulity in relying too much upon the Marquesse Mountacute who when hee had most need of him revolted to his brother but not long after the King returned and upon an Easter day after a bloody fight at Barnet the King prevailed and slew both the brothers the Earle and the Marquesse which
reason of his justice and integrity to have him banisht by the sentence of Ostracisme Plutarch hath a pretty Tale of a Countryman who going to Market with his shell met with Aristides and not knowing him wisht him to write downe Aristides name upon it Aristides then demanding of him whether the man whose name hee would have written downe ever did him wrong answered no Neque est mihi notus verùm valdè stomachor quod passim justum dici audiam Neither is hee knowne unto me but it troubles me much that he is a most just man This punishment was not inflicted upon Malefactors but upon such as were growne popular by reason of their vertues Plut. in Pericle Nicea Cymon underwent it that had so often enricht Athens with the spoiles of their enemies and because it was inflicted upon so meane a man as Hiperbolus to whom it was accounted rather an honor then a punishment it was utterly aoblisht in the Athenian Common-wealth * 66 Syracusanis Petalismus Among the Syracusans the punishment of Petalisme Petalisme was a banishment for five yeares which was first induced into the City of Syracuse upon this occasion Plut. in Dionys the government being Aristocraticall there was one Tyndaris that endeavoured to reduce the power into his owne hands which the other Lords perceiving made this Law that if any one should attempt to make himselfe absolute Lord of the City that his name should bee written in an Olive Leafe and delivered unto him and without any other Ceremony he should be banisht for five yeares by which meanes the Government in time came to be changed the Lords banisht one another and the Common people came to be Governours So the Common-wealth from an Aristocratie became a Democratie Nam destitutis bonis viris rep pessimus quisque sibi Magistratus poscere caepit * 67. Periculosum est ut authoritas in filios descendat It is a dangerous thing to suffer authority to descend It is a Maxime in the Law that if a man do enter into another mans possessions and hold them peaceably all his lifetime and dye seized of them that the true owner cannot regain them by his entry but must bring his action and in a legall way recover them because by the continuance of possession without interruption and the dying seised the Law doth suppose untill the contrary doe appeare that he hath a right due to them In Eclesiasticall cases nothing is more frequent then for Parishioners to plead a Prescription per modum decimandi after two or three Successions and so debarre the present Incumbent to demand his Tithes in kinde whereas the Composition in the beginning was voluntary It holds in Cases of Honours and Dignities if a Prince shall gratiously conferre any great office upon any of his Peeres during his life and after suffer his heire to enjoy it during his the next heire will not stick to claime it as his inheritance so did the Majors of the Kings Palace in France to the utter extirpation of the Royall bloud wherefore Q. Fabius Maximus whose Father Grandfather and great Grandfather had been consuls and hee himselfe five times seeing the Senate fully determined to conferre that honour upon his Sonne tendring more the welfare of the Commonwealth then his owne private family earnestly desired them us Fabiae genti consulatus non amplius deferretur that they would not settle that honour upon his house or make choice of his sonne not because hee thought him unworthy or lesse deserving then any of his ancesters but because hee thought it a thing of dangerous consequence ut summum imperium in una domo continuaretur Nobile quidem dictum tali viro dignum utinam Germani imperatores summum imperium tanquam jus haereditarum sibi vindicantes illud in memoriam revocent * 68. Necessarium est ut princeps plures oculos c. Aristotle admonisheth Princes to use many eyes and hands c. It is fabled of Juno that in revenge of the wrong which Iupiter did her in bringing forth Pallas without her assistance shee petitioned the Gods that shee might conceive and bring forth a Childe without him and that the gods granted her request and shee brought forth the Monster Typhon who unnaturally rebelled against Iupiter such as seek with the strength of their owne braine to mannage the affaires of a State bring forth Children like unto Typhon that disturbe the peace and tranquility thereof 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the burthen of a Kingdome is too heavy for one man to beare Tiberius being tendred it at the first modestly refused it Tacit. l. 1. Annal. because of the weight of it if Thales himselfe saith Livy were King Liv. l. 44. and would undertake to mannage all affaires with the strength of his own braine superbum potius quam sapientem judicarem I should judge him rather to bee presumptuous then wise Moses the wise Lawgiver Numb 11. considering the weaknesse of humane frailty and his owne infirmity acknowledged non possum solus sustinere hunc populum quia gravis est mihi Pericles is commended because hee ever used the assistance of skilfull men in the mannaging of the affaires committed to his charge Amirat l. 5. dissect polit in rebus forensibus the assistance of Maenippus in rebus domesticis of Esialtes Metiochus is condemned and the fidlers sang it every where Metiochus est dux aedilis omnia pereat wherefore as that Merchant cannot bee said to bee provident that adventures his whole estate in one bottome so hee shall never deserve those attributes that have beene given to the most renowned Princes that relies wholly upon his owne braine or the judgement of any one else Quid gravis Antenor Prianus quid suadeat ipse Consule queis aetas long a magistra fuit Is good Councell and not to be neglected by such as sit at the sterne and governe the Commonwealth magna negotia magnis adjutoribus indigent many weighty affaires doe need the assestance of many ablemen let a man search into all ages and hee shall finde that great States did ever use divers Councellours one man may see some few things at esse debent as Xenophon hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Princes ought to use many eyes King James in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the Prince gives him this advertisement ne uno eodemque homine in omnibus negotiis utaris Xenoph. l. 8. de Paedia and Xenophon gives this testimony of Cyrus quòd numerando honorando that by his liberality and heaping of honours on such as did him faithfull service hee purchased to himselfe many eyes and ears so as nothing could be said or done that tended to his dishonour or the hurt of the State but he had suddainly notice of it Arist l. 3. pol. c. 12. wherefore Aristotle wisely admonisheth Princes to use many eyes and eares * 69. Pessimum est unum magistratus plurimos
to trample upon the world and to neglect it especially that frothy windy honour which consists in popular applause Who have been more renowned in all ages since their time throughout the Christian world then the Patriarkes Prophets and Evangelists and then they who when they were in the world were not of the world but lived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Deserts Heb. 11.38 in Mountaines in dens and caves of the earth who are at this day more honoured throughout the Christian world then S. Peter and S. Paul the way unto honor is humility 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that humbleth himself shall be exalted Luk. 18.14 and hee that out of the pride of his heart thinketh himself worthy of honour for that very reason he is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he that exalteth himlsefe shall be brought low Who more humble then old Father Abraham the Father of the Faithfull then S. Paul one of the chiefe Apostles then the Prophet David a man after Gods owne heart then S John Shall I saith that good old Father speak unto my Lord that am but dust and ashes Gen. 18 27 S. Paul of himselfe acknowledgeth 1 Cor. 15.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he that was not worthy to be called an Apostle David not worthy to be a doore-keeper in the house of God Luk. 3.16 S. Iohn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am not worthy to loose the shooe latchet of my Sâ—viour Yet of these men that were so lowly in their owne eyes the Christian world hath taken more notice then of all the Nobles of the earth God in the dust shewes his power and Majesty hee ever preferres the humble before the proud the youngest oftentimes before the eldest he raised Abel above Cain his elder brother Isaack above Ismael Jacob above Esau Joseph above his brethren and David above his because they were more humble because they were more worthy because they were more vertuous in their conversations then their elder brethren the same stock that brings forth the Rose bring forth the Bryar the same Father that begot Abel begot Cain both were alike nobly-descended but because the one pursued the wayes of honour and the other desisted it therefore was the one enobled and the other a runnagate upon the face of the earth honour is the reward of vertue and hee that will be honourable must first bee vertuous that is the foundation and if that faile the Fabrick cannot stand there may be a resemblance and an imaginary honour without it but no true honour Thersites may peradventure act the part of Achilles in a Comedy an ignoble man of a noble but it is but honos titulo tenus an honour that extends no further then the bare title for when the Comedy is ended hee is Thersites still and no better a man then hee was before it began I have seene saith the Prophet David the wicked in great prosperity flourishing and spreading himselfe like a green Bay tree Psa 3â— 3â— but he suddenly vanished and I sought him but he could not be found Baruc 3.16 17 18. Baruck makes an enquiry where are the Princes of the people that tooke so much pleasure in hunting after the beasts of the earth Where are they that spent their time in hawking after the birds of the ayre And where are they that hoarded up gold and silver Deleti sunt in sepulchrum descenderunt they are in the dust and cleane forgotten The memory of the licentious man is like unto ashes as Job saith and unto chaffe as the Prophet David saith which the wind drives from the face of the earth Iob. 13.12 Psal 1.4 but the memory of Iosias shall be tanquam mel in ore instrumenta musica in convivio Eccl. 49.1 Psal 11â— 6 as a sweet perfume in an Apothecaries shop as Honey in the mouth and as Musick at a Banquet The just shall be had in perpetuall remembrance the meanes then to have thy memory to smell sweetly in the nostrils of posterity is to live justly in this present world this is that one thing that is necessary direct the Compasse of thy affections to this port here thou shalt finde true honour and here thou shalt finde wisdome and knowledge that will so temper and regulate thy prosperity and worldly blessings which God hath given thee that though they bee instruments of shame and confusion as the Wiseman saith to the foole Pro. 1.32 yet to thee they shall bee instruments of honour of praise and of glory Beauty which is to him a stumbling blocke and a meanes to lead captive silly women Gratior est virtus veniens è corpore pulchro shall make thy vertues more transparent through which as through Chrystall they shall appeare more gloriously to the world Riches which to him are like the plague of Flyes to the Aegyptians to thee shal be servants and hand-maids and instruments of Charity and Hospitality Honour which is to him as a phrenzie to make him run hither and thither he knowes not whither like a mad man to thee shall be quasi Chiara lampa che manifesta l'opere buone as the Italian saith as a Lampe to shew others the way to vertue and as his shame shall bee the greater by how much he hath been the occasion by his example to lead others unto ruine and destruction so thy honour shall be the greater by how much thou by thy good example hast beene the meanes to shew others the way to vertue pursue then the wayes of honour yee whom God hath honoured and set above your brethren and spend that short time that is allotted you in that way so shall you have your Coates of Armes beautified and adorned with additaments of Honour and smell like Iosias in the nostrils of posterity otherwise you must expect to heare that of your selves which I have before remembred out of the nine and fortieth Psalme and to have your armes defaced by posterity with gores and gussets Posteritas suum cuique rependet Taâ— l. 4. Ann. which diminutions and abatements incident to such as addict themselves to dishonourable courses So now being at a period I must needs acknowledge with the holy Father Saint Bernard who was used to say Se nullos habuisse magistros praeter quercus fagos intimating that by prayer and meditation among the Trees in the Desart hee composed the greatest part of his Workes that this Meditation of mine upon this Psalme was hatcht amongst his Masters in the Parke of the good old Gentlewoman my worthy Aunt by alliance Mistris Anne Fleete 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whose great Grandfather was High-Sheriffe of the County of Warwicke Anno 1485. and was slaine at the Battell at Bosworth that yeare Conclusio Quà m vana momentanea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sit magnatum potentia opulentia utinam Deus optimus maximus voluisset ut aliundè potiùs quà m domi ex intestinis dissentionibus disceremus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Errors in the Printing PAg. 19. lin 22. r. yet p. 23. l. 13. r. drayned p. 25. l. 28. r. Enguerande p. 29. l. 13. r. but. l. 21. r. and. p. 33. l. 17 r. Iohn p 42. l. 7. r. shame p. 45. l. 5. r. dung p. 49. l. 13. r. supercilious p. 60. l. 22. r. ignominy p. 63. l. 13. r. of a molehill a mountaine p. 77. l. 5. r. yet p. 111. l. 9. r Vopiscus p. 253. l. 8. r. Isabell and Anne whom he married into the royall bloud Isabell to George Duke of Clarence the brother of King Edw. the fourth who was drownd in a butt of Malmsy and Anne first to Edw. the fift In the Margine r. Edmondsbury