performe and left his Office of Legate à latere which he executed a yeare and a halfe to the great prejudice of the Church of England and the sea of Rome at last he put off his accustomed habit and in a womans apparell hee determined to crosse the Seas but at Dover his dalliance with a wench being discovered by a Marriner he was hill at beaten and afterwards drag'd through the streets to prison from whence as soon as he was fully delivered he most ignominiously and basely stole into Normandy his end was the more miserable by how much his fortunes were the greater Afterwards there * 28 Fuit quidam Comes Warwicensis qui à Rege E. 4. â—summam potestatem erectus oral 28 was an Earle of Warwick in the same Kingdome that was raised to such a height both of power and Estate by King Edward the fourth that he was not afraid to lay violent hands upon the Queenes Father and with many of his children and nearest friends to put him to death he placed such Officers about the King as he thought would do him best service and in the end took him Prisoner But not longe after the King escaping into Burgondy being assisted by Charles the then Duke he returned home overcame the Earle and made him fly for succour into France the Earle thence returning being assisted with divers Attendants put the King to the worst and made him fly into Holland for succour A second time the King returning being assisted by the aforesaid Duke set upon him overcame him and slew him with his Brother and many others In the Raign of King Henrâ— the eighth there was one named * 29 Tho. Wolsâ—us sub H. 8. 29 Thomas Wolsey that was very great with the King a man meanly descended but so proud and haughty that he became an eyesore not only to the Peeres and Nobility but even the King himselfe By the Kings speciall grace and favour he was promoted to the highest dignities to be Arch-Bishoh of York Bishop of Winchester to be a Cardinall to be sent Ambassadour and indeed next to the King to beare the greatest sway in the Kingdom but amongst other acts of his this was not the least that brought him in disgrace when King Henry began to distast Queene Catherine and to dote upon Anne of Boloyne this man undertook to procure a dispensation from the Pope which taking not so well as the King and he thought it would have done by degrees he fell out of the Kings favour and being apprehended by Thomas Duke of Norfolk was banished the Court and confined to his Bishoprick of Winchester which hee taking to heart with very griefe dyed The Kingdome of France will afford us many Examples in this kinde and amongst those it is reported of the Earle of S. Paul that having been advanced by Lewis the eleventh to bee Constable of France and to many other honours and preferments out of which he raised a very great revenue that in the end he somuch forgate himselfe that he studyed how to make the King stand in awe of him and for that purpose * 30 Mediocriter se gessit inter tres principes 30 he ever carried himselfe indifferently between the King his Master the King of England and the Duke of Burgondy one while standing for the one another while for the other ever desiring to keepe them at variance that so the one or the other might still stand in need of him And so it happened that the King his Master desiring to speak with him hee would not come unto him but with a power able to withstand him if occasion were offered he met him upon a Bridg where he talked with him as sawsily as if he had been his equall and familiar supposing that to be the way to preserve and increase the power he had obtained but he was deceived for all men seeing his malepertnesse and insolency were offended at him and studyed how to pull him down And it so happened that coming to the Duke of Burgondy upon safe conduct the Duke apprehended him and sent him to the King his Master with all such Letters as he had formerly written to him against the King Vpon which being araigned as also upon such Letters as he had written unto the King of England was thereupon condemned his estate confiscated and he put to death In the same Kingdome under Philip the faire one Taggerrandus Marrianus attained to so much power that nothing was done in the Kingdome without his approbation * 31 Peculatus accusatus suspendio affectus est 31 yet this man for robbing the Kings Treasures was accused condemned and hang'd * 32 Petrus Landaicus apud ducem Britaniae potens 32 Peter Landais likewise with the Duke of Brittaine attained to the like favour yet by the violence of the multitude he was taken from the Duke and judicially condemned and hanged as Paulus Aemilius in his History of France relates the story To passe over into Spaine in the Kingdom of Castile there was * 33 Alvarus de Lunâ 33 Alvarus de Luna borne in Arragon of a Noble house but a Bastard borne out of Wedlocke that grew to such a heighth of power with King John that no man in the Kingdome was so powerfull as he he tooke armes against John King of Navarre and used all meanes to oppresse Henry Knight of the order of Saint James but it so fell out that the Queen opposing him by the assistance of the second King of Navarre and Henry Knight of the order they surprized the King and compelled Alvarus to live upon his owne possessions and happy had hee beene if hee could have so contented himselfe but hee that once tasted of the sweetnesse of Soveraignty can hardly finde contentment in a private life hee begins then a second time to bethink himselfe how hee might attaine to his former height from which hee was throwne downe hee sets the King at liberty installs him in the Kingdome sits at the sterne keeps under his Enemies and incenses the King against them but this prosperity continued not and brought him to an untimely death for when as by the Kings speciall Commandement one of the Nobility delivered a message unto him which was not pleasing he caused the Messenger to be throwne out of the window for the which the King did afterwards ever more hate him then he did formerly love him for caused him to be apprehended and being judicially condemned to be put to death Vnto the former I will adde the Example of a Germane out of the seventh book of the Annals of Aventinus With Rudolfe Palsgrave of Rheyne and Duke of Bavaria there was Ortho Crondorser in the greatest grace and favour he came of meane Parentage and comming to Court by his double diligence in readily observing and gravely executing whatsoever was committed to his charge within a very short time became very gracious in the eyes of the Prince by
wherefore hee must bee watchfull and use the remedy which I have before prescribed and such others as I shall now acquaint him withall For this purpose the Counsell which Moecenas gave unto Augustus Caesar is not to bee neglected touching his Officers that hee might without danger to himselfe or prejudice to the Common-wealth suffer such as had no power to hurt him to hold their places in perpetuity but not such as had Command of Armyes or Provinces for when they shall consider that within a short time they may bee private men they will be more carefull how they offer any wrong to any man of whose opinion was Seneca who affirmes that there is nothing so profitable to the Common-wealth as * 62 Nihil tam utile Reipub quaÌ„ brevem esse potestatem quae magna est 62 that great offices should ever be at the disposall of the Prince wherefore Mumercus Aemylius being a dictator in the Romane Common-wealth for that hee saw the Censors to continue in their places for the space of five yeares and not without prejudice to the whole Commonwealth called a Councell together to advise touching the liberty of the people where he affirmes that nothing was so prejudiciall to the Common-wealth as to permit Governours that had great power committed unto them to hold their places without any limitation of time that other officers hold their places but for a yeare the Censors for five yeares during the greatest part of which time they gave themseluer wholly to licentiousnesse wherfore hee thought it fit that the office of Dictator should not continue for a longer time then a yeare and six Moneths and so by a generall consent there was a Law made to that purpose and that hee himselfe might bee an example unto them hee spake after this manner that ye may know ye Noble Romans how distastfull a thing it is unto me to see Magistrates continue long in their offices I quit my selfe of my Dictatorship With Aemylius and the others before named accords Nicholas Machiavell in opinion who positively affirmes that it is a most dangerous thing to suffer any one to have a perpetuity in any great place for that hee hath thereby opportunity to effect his designes and this was the cause why the * 63 Decemviri 63 decemviri in Rome did abuse their authority when being * 64 Dictatores 64 Dictators they did not because they had time enough to worke their designes therefore hee saith if wee looke diligently into the form of government of the Romane Common-Wealth wee shall see that the chiefe cause of the ruine of that famous Common Wealth was by reason of the contention that arose among the common people concerning division of grounds and prorogation of magistracie for although that few or none took notice that the prorogation of magistracy was the cause of seditioÌ„ in that Common-Wealth yet it is most manifest that they that continued any long time in magistracy attained to so much power that it became fatall to the Common-wealth it was this alone that administred to Marius to Sylla to Caesar to turne topsie turvy the state of the Common-Wealth Wherefore we learne this of Caesar who after that he had ended the Warres in Affrica made a law that no praetor should hold his office above a yeare or Consul above two years having learn'd ad unguem a lesson which Dion hath in his three and fourtieth book and this hee did by his own example for that hee having had a Command in France for the space of many yeares together he found in himself an ambition to continue that coÌ„manding power still for the attaining of which swelling honor * 65 Atheniensibus inventus est Ostracismus 65 among the Athenians the punishment of Ostracisme and among the Syracusans the punishment of Petalisme was devised which Aristotle and Diodorus Siculus condemne as a remedy too violent and pernicious * 66 Syracusanis Petalismns for it is one thing to make a Law to keep a Subject within a meane that he get no further then the Prince will have him and another thing to banish him his Countrey for no reason but only for that hee excells in vertue and riches therefore both in Prince and People the golden meane is ever requisite Hence a Prince may learn by the eâ—amples of the Majors in France that if at any time he shall be so farr enamoured with any one man as that hee shall commit all power into his hands yet by * 67 Periculosum est ut authoritas in filios descendat 67 no meanes to let that power descend and be hereditary to his Posterity for there is no such inducement to make a man forget himselfe and to raise his thoughts beyond the ordinary pitch as the hope of propagating of honours by his owne witt and industry unto Posterity therefore let a Prince ever use the assistance of many in managing of his affaires and not commit all things to one nor listen to that only which one man can tell him for if any one of a Kings Subjects shall be so great that all the rest shall stand in awe of him hee indeed as Philip Commines observes is very King and Lord therefore * 68 Necessarium est ut Princeps plures oculos plures manus sibi faciat 68 Aristotle admonisheth Princes to use many eyes and many hands in the governing of their affaires which they then do when they use many Councellours for therefore are Princes said to have long hands not that their hands are longer then other mens but because they have many servants by whose help and assistance they can see and heare and manage the affairs in the most remote places of their Dominions for many eyes see more then one and most often that which one man understands not another will and many hands will with more celerity and dexterity dispatch a businesse wherefore Mecenas againe told Augustus that it was the best course to use the helpe of many in the mannageing of the affaires of the Common-Wealth that so the profit might redound unto many and many gaine experience thereby and be enabled to doe him service by which meanes hee should not onely gaine the good will of his Subjects but he should ever have able men at hand to doe him service in every kinde The selfe same counsell doth James King of great Brittaine give unto his sonne that he should not rely wholly upon the counsell of any one man in every thing for such a man in the end will not only be a burthen to his Lord and Master but be subject to the envy and displeasure of all men else as is before shewed againe it is impossible for one man to be able to undergo all businesses as Scipio Amiratus hath at large discovered and before him Aristotle who affirmes * 69 Possimum est unum plures magistratus obire 69 that it is most inconvenient 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
to make him Generall of the Royall Fleet that there ought to bee but one King one chiefe Commander and one Emperour for admit it should so fallout that Hannibal should lose the honour of the day the dammage would redound unto the King but if things should succeed prosperously the honour thereof would redound unto Hannibal and not unto Antiochus and that if fortune should so favour Hannibal to overcome the Romanes what hope could Antiochus have to expect that this man would be true to him that was false to his Country That it was safe for Antiochus to use him as a Councellour but not as a Commander in the Warre By these perswasions for that they were grounded upon good reason did Aetolus alienate the minde of Antiochus from Hannibal and occasioned him to lessen if not to take away all power and authority out of his hands This befals often-times where the Gentry and Nobility be had in estimation especially to such that from the dunghill are raised to an extraordinary greatnesse and want kindred and allies to support them for it is incident to humane nature to looke upon men raised out of the dust with sqiunt eyes and to expect that they of all men who not long before were their equals and companions should not insult and domineer over them therefore did Caius Sinlius of an ancient and noble Family bitterly enveigh against Seneca and resolved rather to undergo any punishment then to submit himselfe to his late purchased Gentry These kinde of men stand upon slippery ground and every man is ready to throw them downe and if they once fall they seldome or never rise againe Of the like condition are they that being borne in another Kings dominion aliens and strangers attaine to honour and authority in a Country where they are meer strangers for no men are more hated then these men * 59 Inquiâ—â—ni sui putant juris esse ut sui generis hominibus gubernacula reruÌ„ committantur 59 Every man thinking it to bee a part of his Birth-right to be governed by men of his owne Nation and not by strangers for this very cause have the subjects of all Nations at one time or other rebelled against their Soveraignes When Albert the first of that name Duke of Austria placed neerest about him Eberhardus Henricus and Vdalricus the brethren of Waser Hermanus Handenburgins with others and advanced them to the highest degrees of honour the native Inhabitants tooke it ill that they who had quit their owne Countries because they had not where withall to give them livelihood should come into the flourishing Country of Austria and there enrich themselves by marriages whilst they being natives were neglected and were not permitted to open their mouths for the common good so that they petitioned the Prince that hee would be pleased to remove the Swedes from having any hand in the managing of the affaires of the Common-Wealth for that they had those amongst themselves that better understood the state of the Common-Wealth and could better mannage the affaires thereof Unto which when the Prince would not listen nor remove from him the aforenamed person the rich powerfull men of Austria especially the men of Vienna joyning their forces with their neighbours raised armes thinking to remove them by force which although it tooke not that effect as they supposed it would have done yet hence we learne how hatefull a thing it is to the natives of a Country to have strangers rule over them and as all strangers are odious and stand upon slippery ground so especially they that quit their owne and fly for refuge into an other Country and there as often it happeneth do attaine to any command and authority This Thoas Aetolus aforenamed objected against Hannibal who being an exiled Carthaginian became so powerfull with Antiochus King of Asia that what with his wit and what with his power within a short time hee was able to alter the Government and therefore Polybius commended Xantippus a Lacedaemonian for this that hee having brought the Common-Wealth of Carthage into a good order hee left it and returned home into his own Country Famous and worthy atchievements are ever attended with envy and malice and it is the condition of the natives of a Country by their friends and allies to vilifie the acts of strangers and to study how to bring them into disgrace and danger To conclude this one thing that is to say to take too great a burthen upon themselves and presume with their owne wit and judgement to mannage and rule whole principalities doth very much hurt these kinde of people for if that one man though qualified with rare and admirable gifts of art and nature cannot so uprightly carry himselfe in the mannageing of a businesse of small consequence but that hee shall deserve reprehension of the multitude and incurre the displeasure of his Prince that laid that burthen upon him how is it possible that one man should mannage as hee ought the state of a Kingdome which will trouble the heads of many men laid together This Tiberius Caesar found to bee true who after that the Senate had setled him in the Empire considering the greatnesse thereof and his owne weaknesse ingenuously acknowledged that the minde of Augustus onely was capable of such a burthen as for himselfe being called to bear but a part of it he found by experience how difficult and dangerous the burthen of a Kingdome was and how much subject it was to change and alter Therefore in a Citie where many able and deserving men are speciall care is to be had that one man beare not the sway alone for that many heads together will with more ease and safety mannage the state and affaires thereof which as it is most true so I desire that they especially take notice thereof who dare of themselves undertake to beare so great a burthen for it cannot bee but that these men which take so much upon them must neglect to do many things which they ought to doe and so deserve a just reprehension it is a common saying that no man can serve two masters Whence Plato in his eighth Booke of Laws affirmes that it is a most difficult thing for a man be hee of ever so good a wit and capacity to excell in two severall arts so that Diodorus Siculus saith with the Indians it is not permitted for any man to apply himselfe to two severall studies Assuredly these men though never so wise vigilant and industrious being ever in the Sea troubles and turmoiles of the world in the end must of necessity fall upon a Rocke and though they forecast all things warily and turne over every stone provide salves for every sore and have ever instruments at hand to execute their commands yet in the end they must come downe and fall full low as mariners be they ever so skillfull if they continue on the Seas when their tacklings faile must of necessity yield
suffer any one man to undergo divers offices for that many men will sooner and better execute the same especially where the Country abounds with able and sufficient men wherefore bitterly doth Waremund of Erenburgh deride certaine Princes of Germany as many of the Nobility saith he doe use one and the same horse sometimes for the Cart sometimes for the Saddle sometimes for the Warre even as they did in ancient time the Delphian sword for divers purposes sometimes to sacrifice to the Gods and sometimes to punish malefactors so doe the Princes make choice of the selfe-same counsels to assist them in all kinde of businesses sometimes to plead causes sometimes to sit as judges sometimes to treat of armes sometimes to make lawes sometimes to play the part of Orators nay sometimes of the Phisitian Mathematician and Artificer whence it commeth to passe that they have neither good Souldiers nor good Councellors It comes into my minde that not long agoe I was told a strange story that a certaine Prince writ that a Doctor of the law might be sent unto him whom he would use as his Councellour and withall declared himselfe how hee would have him qualified that hee should have a head able to carry his cups well but for mine owne part I had rather have a sober man to be my Counsellour and if my judgement faile me not I thinke there is no such plague unto Princes as to have about them these nimble undertakers that dare adventure upon any imployment especially if they bee as usually they are boasters of themselves For these Polypragmons for the most part are never setled in any course but are alwayes desirous to try conclusions and as the winde and tide doe serve so doe they desist their former courses and leave their masters Yet Livy writes that Marcus Cato senior was so rarely qualified that in what place soever he had been in he would have raised a fortune out of it in that he knew what appertained to the duty of a private man and the office of a publique magistrate and that he was experienced aswell in the affaires of the City as the Country and whereas some raised themselves to honour by the law some by warre-like discipline hee was excellent in all and whatsoever he undertooke hee performed with that dexterity that a man would have thought that he had beene borne to doe that onely which he undertooke but such kinde of wits are very rare and there is a great deale of difference between him and such as seem to bee like unto him therefore doth the same Livy write of Scipio Africanus that hee was a man of great account among the Romanes and memorable for many things but yet that hee was better experienced in military discipline then in civill government and this may serve as a motive to a Prince never to trust any man alone but to joyne others in commission with him that may oversee him and observe his actions so will he be more cautelous and wary to do any thing that shall be prejudiciall to the Common-Wealth when hee shall see others to be judges of his actions and to be ready at hand to reprehend him if he doe amisse wherefore Mecaenas againe advised Augustus that he would appoint two ever to guard his person that if the one should go about to ensnare him he might pray in aid of the other so Tiberius Caesar sent Germanicus into the Easterne Countries with a large commission to compose the differences there but yet hee joyned Piso with him that had a great wit and spirit to curb him and keep him a little under As that mariner cannot be said to be wise that trusts only to one anchor so that Prince that relies onely upon one man for what can be the issue of it admit this man should dye or should fall off from him a thousand accidents may happen to occasion him to detest the course he is in and then the Prince should be left alone unarmed as it were unlesse he had imployed others in businesses of the like nature and thereby enabled them to doe him service therefore it is most fit that Princes should use the same order in trayning up of Councellors that huntsmen do in their hounds for as they enter their young whelpes with their old dogs so * 70 Hoc idem oportet principem observare circa consiliarios quod observant venatores in vâ—narionibus 70 Princes should ever with gray head Senators joyne discreet young gentlemen to observe the manners and customes of those aged Fathers but the most sure and soveraign remedy of all other is for a Prince ever to keep the reines of the government of the Kingdome in his owne power Yet I do not speake to this end that I would have a Prince doe every thing by himselfe for that doth Tacitus reprove in Claudius Caesar saying that the Prince that takes upon him the offices of judicature and magistracy hath daily occasion administred him to prey upon his people wherefore Tiberius blamed the Senate for casting all the care of the Empire upon him alone which place of Tacitus Scipio Amiratus persues very farre saying that to lay all the burthen upon the head alone is to make a confusion and to deprive the rest of the members of the body of their proper office in this kinde Bonfinus reports that Matthias the first of that name and one of the wisest Kings of Hungary was faulty who was used to say that he was able to mannage the affaires of his Kingdome of himselfe and to confute his Counsellours when they would perswade him to any thing and further that he often heard him say at Vienna before his death that in the government of his Kingdome he never used another mans advice and that from the beginning of his raign he could not indure to heare the advice and direction of a councellour for a yeare about but what became of it flatterers swarmed in his court and he run into many dangrrous and desâ—erate errours Quintus Curtius in his fourth book writes that Alexander the great would seldome listen to the Counsell of his friends when hee was in greatest danger and that Xerxes was more wilfull then hee who intending to make Warre in Greece having called the Princes together spake in this manner unto them I have called you that I may not seem to doe any thing of my owne head but yet remember that it is your duty rather to obey then to perswade I say I doe not allow of this for a Prince wholly to rely upon the strength of his owne wit and to mannage every thing of himselfe but with Justus Lipsius I would have him to impart the cares of his Kingdome unto others to observe the golden mean not to sit idle and lay the burthen wholly upon others but as the Governour of a Ship allots to every Mariner a proper office whilst he sets at the sterne and over-sees them and as a Generall in the
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
Founder which did not a little move the King but that I impute to the workmen by reason that in a window not much distant the Cardinall to manifest to the World his originall and that whatsoever hee had hee had received by the gracious favour of his Prince (i) Non ignoro quod aliqui sunt qui hoc esse factum in contumeliam suam volunt sicut in Gallia in caenaculo suo insculpsere gâ—lerum Cardin litum cum pâ—tibulo supra caused above his Ensign to bee lively pourtraited for his crest Molossum ovinam scapulam arrodendem a Mastive-dog knawing of a shoulder of mutton because that those kinde of dogs are most commonly kept by Butchers erat enim lanii filius and he was not ashamed of it and therein hee shewed not onely a great deale of humility but a great deale of worth and wisedome for it is no dishonour to descend from mean Parentage by reason the greatest Rivers have their beginnings from little Springs and the greatest Families from meane beginnings but if he had set up the Crest of any great Lord or Prince that would have been a dishonour unto him and shewed a great deale of arrogancy in disclaiming his father that begot him Neither did the Cardinals thoughts rest here upon these foundations but hee raised them a great deale higher for if not at the same time that he laid these foundations yet not long after quasi natus ad splendida tecta erigenda hee built those two Princely Palaces of White-Hall and Hampton Court Novam regiam quae nunc a splendore aula candida dicta c. which doe exceed all other the Kings houses the one for entertainment the other for magnificence which indeed did a little exceed the degree of a Priest I might add a Subject for that in all the Histories that I have read I doe not finde any Subject to have done so great things unlesse it were Cosmo de Medicis a Citizen of Florence who built two Churches in the City and a Monastery and three Monasteries in the Country and an Hospitall at Jerusalem for Pilgrims and endowed them all and for himselfe a house in Florence admired for architecture by the best Architects and in the Country not farre remote from the City foure stately Palaces yet lived as a Citizen married his Daughters to Citizens of his owne rank and dyed a Citizen about the yeare of our Lord 1464 without any title of honour but his Posterity was abundantly rewarded for his good workes for the Florentines out of his Family chose their Dukes which doe continue Dukes of Florence and are named afther his name of the house of Medicis but to come to the Cardinall the retinue of this Cardinall fidem superat and for mine owne part I cannot believe the report which is given of it it is repotted quod assiduo famulitii obsequio aderant Comes unus barones novem multo plurimi equites armigeâ—i that an Earle nine Barons and many more Knights and Esquires were Servants in ordinary to him it may be they might daily resort to his Table quasi famulitii as duly as if they had beene his domestique Servants which they might doe without disparagement of themselves for being that he was quicquid esse voluit whatsoever hee would bee and obtained quodcunque voluerit whatsoever hee asked non domi tantûm sed foris for the King himselfe acknowledged se regem Galliae a Wolsaeo regi I could not blame the Nobility to make in unto him both for their owne good and the good of their friends but that they should stoop so low as to become famulitii quotidiani daily waiters upon him whose beginning was so fresh in memory cannot enter into my thoughts This Cardinall that was so great to day in honors in possessions in attendants I cannot say in treasure for that went out as fast as it came in the next day or within few dayes after became so meane ut non modò supellectilem sed etiam pecuniam under aleretur ab amicis sumere necessum habuerit that hee was enforced to be beholding to his friends not onely for Money but also for necessaries which gave occasion to his Enemies thus but without cause to descant upon him Vilia qui quondam miseris alinenta negavit Nunc mendicato pascitur ille cibo It is reported that upon the Message which the King sent unto him by the Dukes of Suffolke and Norfolke to retire to Asher in Surrey being a house belonging to the Bishoprick of Winchester and not farre from Hampton-Court that hee continued there with his Family twenty dayes without either beds sheets table-clothes or dishes to eat his meat which report I doe not believe and if it be true yet I conceive it was his owne desire to have it so for being that hee wanted no kinde of Provision for his Table as is acknowledged by the same reporter hee could not have wanted those necessaries if hee had desired them of his Servants being persons of quiliâ—y and estate and such as did adhere unto him in both fortunes as namely Sir William Gaescoigne his Treasureur Sadler the Clerke of his Kitching as I take it afterwards Sir Ralph Sadler who left a faire estate in Worcestershire and Cromwell his receiver especially of Cromwell of whom the greatest Enemies to the Cardinall gave this testimony quod nemo erat Caerdinalitam infensus quin Cromwelli fidelitatem summis laudibus extolleret quod dominum suum in summa calamitate non deseruit sed totis viribus defendere conatus est that there was no man so much offended with the Cardinall but highly commended Cromwell for his fidelity to his Lord and Master in his greatest extremity in few words all his Servants loved him and adhered to him to the last and not without cause for as hee waâ— a good Steward to his Master so hee was a better Master to his Stewards and his followers thinking upon nothing more then how to advance them hee was twice accused of Treason but what that Treason was we shall know apud Graecas Calendas for hee was never attainted or convicted onely he submitted to a praemunire brought against him in Parliament by which his estate was confiscate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he dyed of a Flux in the Abbey of Leicester and was buried Divers are the votes that are given of this Cardinall Polydore condemnes him in every thing but Polydore was a stranger an Italian and had his errours as they that are familiar with him know better then I but Cavendish that was his Gentleman Vsher and wrot his life and knew him better then Polydore in most things speaks in another manner of him and for mine owne part I am of his opinion that sayes si ingenii dotes tam habuisset temperatas quam habuit illustres quantum fortunae habuit gloriae cupiit tantum meruisset if hee had not strained his thoughts unto
pallium vestis cineritia zona coriacea animum diabolicum under a rude and rustick vale is couched oftentimes a great deale of honesty and under the the vale of simplicity and sanctity a great deale of villany there are divers degrees of hypocrites in the world but amongst them the last that I have mentioned is the chiefest for without doubt there are none so abominable as they whom our Saviour compares to the Scribes and Pharisees crepantes Christum Christum Templum domini that make religion a vale to cover their villany an open enemy is easily avoided but a white Divell Arsenick infused into Nectar and Ambrosia an enemy that fights under the banner of love and familiarity and dissimulation guilded over with sanctity is hardly avoided Pippin used religion as a cloak to effect his designe see Du. Seres in Childer in fine * 62. Nihil tam utile quam brevem esse potestatem There is nothing so requisite as that great offices should not bee of long continuance It hath been a question amongst such as have written of Common-Wealthes whether it be better for the CommonWealthe to have Magistrates perpetuall or changeable and without question it is better both for Prince and People to have them changeable for if they have any command of Provinces and Armyes and are mischeivously disposed they have opportunity to effect their designes having a perpetuity in their places and the very conceit that they may within a short time be private men will deterr them from committing divers exorbitances yet without doubt it is not good for the CommonWealth for the Prince often to change them and that for divers reasons first the Common-Wealth would suffer much prejudice by it haud pareit populo regnum breve for knowing their time to bee but short they would like the evill spirit in the Gospel goe about seeking whom they might devoure and make a prey of every thing and therefore Tiberius being askt quare ministris diutissimè utebatur adeò ut plerique iisdem muneribus consuescerent why hee would suffer his officers to continue their places untill they came to bee old men gave them this answer o Tac. lib 1. Annal. hirudines quae multo sanguine rumpuntur quiescere solent recentium verò morsus sunc acerrimi hee that is once full will like the leech that is glutted fall off of himselfe but if he should often change them they would like new leeches suck out the very marrow of their bones to which purpose the answer of the fox in the Apologue is very pertinent who being taken in a gin and being much annoied by the flies was asked by a goose whether hee should drive them away but the crafty fox answered deh non far par dio for Gods sake let them alone for if you should drive away those others would come in their places that will more annoy me againe the Common-wealth would in a short time bee turned up side downe for that there being as many severall minds in men as there are men in the world innovations would daily be induced for that new Lords would ever be devising of new lawes againe ars imperandi being ars difficillima there must bee time to learne this art which being attained unto then to remove them were to remove a master to induce his scholler againe able men would not bee found to execute those places for when they know that within a short time they shall be removed they will not forgoe the course of life which they are in for an uncertaine preferment againe no sedition which is the principall cause why the Prorogation of Magistracy is cried down is hence occasioned for when deserving men attaine to dignities per gradum no man will repine at them as o Quicquid subitò inclarescit obnoxium est invidiae unde vox odiosa 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 apud Graecos apud Romanos novorum hominum Cognomen apud utrosque tâ—rrae filiorum è Caelo delapsorum they usually doe at such as attain unto them per saltum and for mony only so that where the Writers of Common-Wealthes cry downe Prorogation of Magistracies they doe intend â—o other then such as in the Persian Dominion was the office of Chiliarchus in Naples of the Demarchus among the Turks the President of the Councell whom they called the Visier Bassa in France the Majors of the Kings Palace and among the Romanes the Dictators * 63. Decemviri The Decemviri were ten select men chosen out of the Nobilitie that did govern the Romane state untill such time as the lawes of the twelve Tables which they had gathered out of the ancient Greek Lawes were confirmed amongst them they held their places without limitation of time and during their Government the authority of the Senatours Consuls and Tribunes were in suspence * 64. Dictatores The Dictators among the Romans had rigidam regiam potestatem a royall power in their hands for the time and were never chosen but upon speciall occasion and continued no longer then for the space of six months at which time they were tyed under a great penalty to yeild up their places according to Livy they were set up in the yeare 253. after the building of Rome to the end to suppresse the suddaine insurrections and tumultuous rebellions which were frequent about that time among the common people the Graecians called him that held the office of Dictatorship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quasi duplicem Consulem or bis Consulem because he had fraenum Reip. the whole power of the Common-wealth in his hand he had power to proclaime peace and warre and in his power were the lives and estates of the Citizens when he went abroad foure and twenty torches and as many axes as ensignes of his power threatning vengeanceâ— to such as should oppose that were carried before him and whatsoever he decreed pro numine habebatur * 65 Ostracismus inventus est Atheniensibus Amongst the Athenians the punishment of Ostracisme The punishment of Ostracisme was a banishment for ten yeares as Aristotle hath it and it was first invented by Chlisthenes as appeares in Sigonius he manner whereof was thus Arist lib. 3. polit c. 9. Sig. lib. 1. Athenien on a certain day every Plebean brought a Shell to the Market place where the Archontes who were the chiefe Officers of the City met them Diod. Sic. lib. 11. Bibleoth and tooke an account first of the number of the persons that brought the shells for if they were not full six thousand there was no sentence given that being done they received the Shells of every one and if the name of any man was found in the greater part of the shels hee was forthwith by the sound of a Trumpet pronounced to bee banisht This punishment Aristides underwent Pluâ— in Aristid for that there being some difference betweene him and Themistocles Themistocles prevailed with the people for that hee was growne popular by
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