Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	king_n	law_n	legal_a	2,470	5	10.2354	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97148	The vindication of the Parliament and their proceedings. Or, Their military designe prov'd loyall and legall. A treatise, wherein these things are ingeniously and sincerely handled; to wit, 1. That the militia as setled by the Parliament is lawfull. 2. That it is lawfull for us to obey it, so setled by them. 3. That the Parliament is not by us to be deserted. 4. That in aiding the Parliament the king is not opposed. 5. That the Parliament (as the case stands) may not confide in the king. 6. That this necessary defensive warre of theirs is indubitably justifiable. Pulchrum pro Patria mori,	Ward, Richard, 1601 or 2-1684.	1642 (1642)	Wing W808aA; Thomason E122_19; ESTC R19259	30,017	36

Houses of Parliament I imagiue may be disobeied For I do conceive that no lawyer will say that suppose the King should take the broad Seal of England from the Lord Keeper into his own hands that all the writs whatsoever he should issue forth signed with his own hand and sealed therewith ought to be obeyed for it is not the stamp and impression of the Seale which makes a thing lawfull but the Keeper thereof ought to be a Lawyer and by his place should not for feare or favour signe any Writs there with but such as are legall and if he do otherwise he is lyable to be questioned and censured by a Parliament And therefore doubtlesse when Writs and Precepts are issued forth without the broad seal or without a regall that is legall authority as of all the Writs and Commissions for executing the Commission of Array are as is proved both by the Parliament and others they may be disobeyed and withstood especially when they are destructive to the Common-wealth Answ 4 Fourthly Princes by Parliaments may be withstood when they desire or endeavour those things which tend to the envassailing of their people Kings we know sometimes have loved their enemies more then their friends and have marched forth amongst their enemies to encounter with their friends As for example Richard 2. thought Spencor and his confederates his best friends though they were base sycophants and bainefull foes and conceited that his Peers who were his loyallest Subjects were the truest Traitors And hence Princes being abused by the slattery of private persons for some wicked ends of their own have followed their private perverse counsels before the grave loyall and faithfull advice of their sage Senate Now that it is lawfull for Parliaments to withstand Princes who make unlawfull Warre upon their people is so evidently proved by the Author of that lately come forth and learned and pious Treatise called A Soveraigne Antidote to prevent Civill Warres Pag. 6 7 8 9 c. that at present I wholy silence it Answ 5 Fiftly the matter with us is quite and generally mistaken and the Question altogether wrong stated viz. Whether we should obey the King or Parliament for the King and Parliament are not like two parallell lines which can never meet nor like two incompatible qualities which cannot be both in one subject nor like the Arke and Dagon whom one House will not hold nor like God and Mammon which one man cannot serve for by siding with and assisting of the Parliament in those things which are according to Law we side with and serve the King Two things are here distinguishable to wit 1. In our obeying of the Parliament according to Law we obey the King This his Majesty grants commands and commends yea professeth that he requires no obedience of us to himselfe farther then he enjoynes that which is Law lawfull and just And 2. In our obeying of the Parliament in this present Military and Martiall designe we stand for the King not against Him that is for the good of his soule person estate honour and posterity of which a word or two severally 1. They stand for the Soule of their Soveraigne who withstand him having a lawfull call and warrant thereunto from doing those things which if he doe he can never justifie in the Court of Conscience nor at the great chancery day of Judgement but must sinke under the sentence of condemnation for those unlawfull and unjustifiable facts And therefore the Parliament and we in obedience unto Them are friends unto the Soule of our dread Soveraigne in not obeying aiding and assisting of Him to make unnaturall unlawfull and unwarrantable Warres upon his Parliament and people which can never be defended or justified before or unto God to whom the Mightiest as well as the meanest must give a strict account of all their actions at the last day And 2. They stand for the Kings Person who obey joyne and side with the Parliament His Majesties Person is now environed by those who carry Him as far as the eye of humane probability can see upon his own ruine and the destruction of all his good people which the Parliament seeing they labour to free him from such false hands by this twosold meanes viz. 1. By perswading beseeching and most humbly soliciting his Majesty to forsake them and to rejoyce and make glad the hearts of his Parliament and People by conjoyning himselfe with Them But this request suit and supplication will not yet be granted though with much importunity and many loyall expressions desired And 2. By labouring to take his evill Councellors from Him they being confidently assured and piously perswaded of the Kings sweet disposition and readinesse to comply with them in any thing which might conduce to the good either of Church or Common-wealth if he were not overswayed and deluded by the fained flattering and crafty counsell of those about Him who look with a sinister eye upon our State Now this seemes to me to be all that is aimed at in this present Military and Martiall designe for the Parliament doe not purposely and in their first intentions intend by their Souldiers to cut off any for if any be slaine by them it is by accident but to preserve and keep the peace of the Kingdome to maintaine the priviledges of Parliament the Lawes of the Land the free course of Justice the Protestant Religion the Kings authority and Person in his royall dignity and to attach arrest and bring such as are accused or imagined to be the disturbers and firebrands of the Kingdome unto a faire just equall and legall triall which no man can think unlawfull in our Law-makers And therfore both Senatours and Subjects in the prosecution of this Designe stand for the safety of their Princes Person And 3. They stand for his State Wealth Honour and reputation for I conjoyne all these together Kings acquire and accumilate more honour respect wealth and power by their meeknesse towards tender love of and vigilant care for their Subjects and their safety as we see in Qu Elizabeth and Tiberius so long as he was such then by tyrannizing over and cruelly oppressing and handling of them as we see in Caligula If our gracious Soveraigne would be but pleased to consider the honour and prosperity which his predecessors have enjoyed by following the Advice of their Parliaments and the dishonour our Nation hath in divers designes received abroad and the grievous troubles vexation and discord we have had at home since Parliaments have bene disused and laid asleepe he would then certainely see that they seeke his wealth honour reputation and welfare who desire to reconcile and conjoyne him unto his Parliament and advise him to governe his people by Parliaments and endeavour to free him from the power and hands of those who being themselves desire likewise to make him an enemy unto Parliaments And 4. They stand for his Posterity For as evill gotten goods slip and wast

might much easilier attaine those by complying with then by opposing the designes and personall commands of the King It is or at least hath been an approved Maxim that a community can have no private ends to mislead it and to make it injurious to it selfe and I never heard nor read so much as one story of any Parl. freely elected and held that ever for any ends of their own did injure a whole kingdom or exercise any tyranny over the land but divers Kings have done sundry acts of oppression for nothing can suit or square with the common Councell but only the common good and therfore it is great reason that we should beleeve obey them And 2. Because no benefit at all can redound unto them by faigning forging or counterfeiting of false fires feares chymera's and dangers which are not And therfore we may they better beleeve what they say And 3. Because we never yet found them false uuto us It was the saying of one If my friend deceive me once I wil blame him but if twice my self meaning that he would never trust him the second time who deceived him once Now charity perswades us to hope aud believe where we see nothing to the contrary and give credit to them in whom we never saw any designes or indeavours to betray us or our liberties but rather alwayes the contrary And 4. Because they know more then any one of us Two eyes we say sees more then one and the Parliament is the eies and the eares of the re-publique and their information conference intelligence experience knowledge c. doth afford unto them some sight and insight into all things passages occasions affaires negotiations c. both at home and abroad And therfore it is not without cause that we should beleeve them And 5. Because they never shewed any disloyalty unto the King that ever yet was observed by the Commons or Commonwealth whom they represent We find in all their Petitions royall expressions humble suits hearty intreaties unto his Ma to comply with them for his owne honour safety cordiall Potestations of the sincerity of their intentions towards his Ma and free and full promises neither to spare pains purses persons nor estates for the defence of his person preservation of his honor yea unwearied beyond humane patience continued supplications to his notice of personall imputations yea reproachfull aspersions that hath bin cast upon them still taking as much as possibly they can all blam from his Majesty and laying it upon his evill counsell And 6. Because the King himselfe doth not accuse the Parliament but onely some few particular persons therein and therefore that which comes or is commended unto us by the whole Parliament we may believe and obey his Majesty promising to protect them and their priviledges and to except them in all his taxes and accusations And 7. Lastly we may believe obey and adhere unto the Parliament because the King of Kings seemes to favour their proceedings How doe we see the Lord blowing upon all the devices of their enemies sometimes turning them back upon themselves and sometimes turning their wisedome into foolishnesse Or what counsels what letters what plots and practises what words and passages against Kingdome and Parliament hath strangely been discovered prevented and come to light to the joy and rejoycing of Parliament and people and the terrour and amazement of the contrivers and authors of them How extraordinarily hath the Lord assisted that honourable Assembly with zeale courage wisedome discretion prudence moderation patience and constancy in all their consultations and desires How hath the Lord preserved their Persons from imminent perill and given them favour in the eyes of all Counties notwithstanding the base and bitter aspersions cast upon them by some When they had cause to be discouraged by reason of the strong opposition of Delinquents and disaffected persons what encouragments have they even then found from the Petitions Promises and resolutions of divers Shires Wherefore seeing these are blessings and such as belong unto the godly we may perswade our selves that the Lord seeing the sincerity of their intentions doth in much mercy shew his gratious acceptation of their zeale for the good of our Church King and Common-wealth I conclude this particular if the Lord seeme to say to our grave and gratioos Senators as he said unto Joshua Iosh 1.5 6 There shall be none able to withstand you because I will be with you yea I will not leave you nor forsake you therfore be strong and of good courage then let none who would be the Lords souldiers and servants desert the horsemen of Israel and the Chariots thereof yea the Lords Captains who fight his battels And thus by a serious consideration of these grounds we may easily conjecture yea abundantly satisfie our selves in this point That the Parl. is not to be deserted or forsaken by us I proceed now unto the next Quaere which is Quest 5 Whether may the King be disobeyed and his commands withstood or not Whether He is to be opposed in his proceedings by any command of the Parl. Or whether are we now to obey King or Parliament Ans 1 First some Princes think that they may lawfully do whatsoever they have power to do or can do but the contrary seems truer both by light of reason religiou ●l power intrusted by law in the hands of any viz. that Princes have no power to do but what is lawful and sit to be done Ans 2 Secondly personall actions of superiours be disobeyed The Gramarians say Rex regis à rego the word King comes from Governing because Kings are no other but more high and supreme Governours and Magistrates Now some hold and I think warrantably that if any Magistrate or Judge do pursue a man not judicially and by order of Law but invade him by violence without any just cause against all law that then in so doing he is to be held as a private person and as such we may defend our selves against him As for example a woman may defend her selfe own body against an adulterer though a Magistrate A servant may hold his Masters hands if he seek to kill wife or children in his rage Marriners and Passengers may resist him who stands at helme if they see that he would run the ship against a rock yea they might hold the Princes hands if being at the helme he misgoverns the ship to theia certain shipwrack without prevention because by his so governing thereof He hazzards both his owne life and theirs and they by holding of his hands prevent both his and their own ruine which seems to be our present case and therefore much more may the whole Body defend it self against any such unjust and unlawfull invasion as will indanger the safety and welfare of all Ans 3 Thirdly the Kings personall that is verball commands without any stamp of his anthority upon them and against the order of both

of are of that nature that if they should fall upon us which the Lord in mercy forbid we would thinke that it were better for us to have no being then such a miserable being The present Case seemes to many who see throwly into things to be threefold viz. 2. Whether Popery or Protestanisme and this doubt arises from the Kings Assistants and Agents in his designes or some who are in neere trust and of great power with his Majesty who for the most part are either of no Religion or of any Religion or of the Popish Religion or popishly inclined and effected And 2. Whether slavery or liberty and this doubt arises from the doctrines counsels and perswasions of those about the King who perswade Him that it is lawfull for him to doe what he list And 3. Whether estates or none and this doubt arises from some speeches fallen from some in place and authority that all we have is the Kings that when there is necessity he may command of or take from us what he please and that he alone is the sole Judge of this necessity The Case being thus with us it seemes unnaturall that any Nation should be bound to contribute its own inherent puissance meerely to abet tyranny and support slavery that is to fight themselves slaves or to affoord aide assistance and succour either with persons or purses to those who desire and endeavour to introduce popery and heresie into their Church and to bring themselves into such slavery and bondage that they may tyrannize over them at pleasure And thus the Necessity of this Warre shewes the lawfullnesse thereof Answ 5 Fiftly Defensive Warres are alwayes held lawfull Now the nature and quality of our Warre is defensive and so the more justifiable For 1. The Kings Majesty mislead by Malignants and malevolent Persons made preparations for Warre before any such thing was thought upon by the Parliament And 2. We intend not the hurt of others but our own peace and preservation the designe being but to suppresse riots to keep the peace and to bring Delinquents to a faire just and legall tryall And 3. Our Armes will be laid down as soone as we are assured of a firme peace and to be ruled as becommeth a free people who are not borne slaves Sixtly we may guesse at the nature of this Defensive Warre An. 6. by divers particulars as namely First by the Persons against whom this Designe is undertaken which is not the King as was proved before and shall be further enlarged by and by but the Malignants of the Kingdome which we labour to suppresse and to bring to punishment in a legall way We goe against the Troublers of Israel the fire-brands of Hell the Korahs Balaams Doegs Rabshakaes Hamans Tobiahs and Sanballats of our time And Secondly by the Persons most favouring and furthering of this Defonsive warre who are in every place those who stand most cordially affected to the good of the Common-wealth and most sincerely addicted to the purity of the Church and the intire profession and practise of Religion And Thirdly by the mercy and favour of God towards the Parliament the principall Agents and Authors of this Designe If we consider 1. How the Lord preserved their persons from the malicious intentions of the Cavaliers when they went to the very doore of the House And 2. How He discovered the plots and practises which were intended for the bringing up of the Army out of the North against Them And 3. How He directed them in their setling of Hull the Militia and Navy when things were almost come to their height And 4. How he hath from time to time and still doth encourage them with or by the Love Loyalty Fidelity Faith and firme Resolutions of the most part of all Counties to stand and fall live and dye with them And 5. How hitherto He hath extraordinarily turned all the plots of their enemies against themselves and produced effects quite contrary to those they intended and frustrated all their hopes If I say we consider these things we cannot but say of the Parliament House and Parliament-men Surely God is in this place and in the midst of you and present with you and president amongst you and we confidently hope that the Lord will preserve and keep you and finish the work he hath begun by you to your comfort His glory and our good And Fourthly we may guesse at the goodnesse of the Designe by the time when it was undertaken for it was not begun untill all other Meanes failed and therfore may be called ultimum unicum remedium the last and only meanes left The old Rule was observed by them Non recurrendum est ad extraordinaria inijs quae fieri possunt por ordinaria they tried all fair and ordinary means and never had recourse to extraordinary and extreame courses untill no other would prevail We and They have again and again petitioned the King but cannot prevail and therfore all other politique means failing us we ought generally seeing the misery which is threatned is generall to joyn heads hearts hands and estates together to sight for our King Country Parliament selves Religion Laws Liberties lives and all that is ours because now all is at stake And Lastly we may cleerly see the lawfullnesse of this Defensive warre if we but look upon the Causes and Ends therof which are many as namely 1. The glory of God 2. The good of the Church 3. The propagation of the Gospell 4. The peace of the Kingdome 5. The prosperity of the Common-wealth 6. The maintenance of the Kings honour authority and person in his Royall dignity 7. The liberties and immunities of the Commons 8. The preservation of the representative Body of the Realme 9. The Priviledges of Parliament 10. The Lawes of the Land And 11. The free course of Justice But I will reduce all these to foure Heads to wit Gods Glory the Kings honour the Parliaments safety and the Kingdomes preservation First This Defensive warre is undertaken by the Parliament for Gods Glory and the maintenance of true Religion Now we may yea ought to fight to maintaine the purity and substance of Religion that it may neither be changed into the Ceremonious formalities of Popery nor our consciences brought into the subjection of Romish and Antichristian slavery Secondly This Defensive warre is undertaken by the Parliament for the Kings honour and safety Now we are bound by the duty of allegiance to defend and maintaine the Kings person honour and estate and therefore 1. It is our duty to labour by all lawfull meanes to free his Person from those Assassinates who violently by their wicked councell assistance and perswasion carry him upon his owne danger and the destruction of his liege and most loyall Subjects And 2. It is our duty to labour to maintaine the Kings honour and therfore when he is over-ruled by those who through their subtilty work so upon his mild and pliant temper that they make him appeare to his Subiects yea forraigne Nations to be a Defender of Delinquents and evill Counsellours against his loving Subiects and loyall Parliament which tends infinitely to his dishonour it is then our duty to labour to unwinde and disentangle him from their practises or by force plucke away their Persons from about Him And 3. It is our duty to maintain his Maiesties estate Now as the Lord Burleigh would often say to Q. Elizabeth Madam get but your Subiects hearts and you need not feare their purses so I may say that the love and affection of the Kings Subjects which his Parliament labours to enrich him withall and to possesse him of will be more advantagious unto him for matter of estate then all the Prerogatives and Priviledges which his obscure Counsellours perswade and indeavour so much for against the will and welfare of his people And if we compare our Q. Elizabeth who would have nothing but by and from the Parliament with the love and affection of her people with the king of Spain who by an arbitrary power tyrannizeth over his Subjects we shall then see as cleare as the Sun that where Princes by joyning with Parliaments labour to unite the hearts and affections of their people unto them there riches abound more both with Prince and people than in those Kingdomes where all cruell courses are taken by the King to impoverish the Commons Thirdly this Defensive warre is under-taken by us at the Parliaments command for their safety Now both Reason and Religion will teach us that if our pious Parliament and sage Senate for the maintaining of our lives liberties and lawes and in or for opposing of it selfe not against the Kings Person honour or estate but against his affections mislead by evill Counsellours shall be exposed to danger dissolution or death then it is our duty by defensive Warre to withstand that power or force which is levied against them Fourthly this Military Designe is undertaken for the Kingdoms preservation Now both the Laws of God and man as is against all contradiction proved in the Treatise called A Soveraigne Antidote to prevent and appease our civill warres will beare us out for taking up Defensive Armes for the safety of out Kingdome and Common-wealth That is if we see indeavours and designes a-foot for the reducing of the Government of this Kingdom to the condition of those Countries which are not governed by Parliaments and established Laws but by the will of the Prince and his Favourites then it is lawfull for us to assist the representative body of the Land whom we entrust with our laws and liberties against those who resist and oppose them that they may the more easily prevaile against and make good their designes upon us And therfore although we will never cease to sue unto the King and humbly to supplicate the King of Kings for peace and unity yet if we cannot obtain it without the dishonour of God the losse of our Religion Priviledges Liberties and Laws the endangering yea exposing of our most faithfull Parliament to imminent perill and the hazard of his Majesties Person honour and estate we may then with the peace of God his holy Angels and of our own consciences take up Arms for the Defense of all these FINIS