annointing from France Well let the ceremonie be taken from whence you please if the oath be no other then you do specifie To obserue peace honour and reuerence vnto Almighty God to his Church and to the Ministers of the same to administer Law and Iustice equally to all to abrogate euill lawes and customes and maintaine good which was the oath of king Richard the first the like whereto was that of king Iohn altered only in the first branch To loue and defend the Catholicke Church If the oath be no other I say I do not see what other answer you need to expect but that it is onely a free royall promise to discharge that duty which God doth impose And this is plainely declared by the speech which you alleage of Thomas Arundell Archbishop of Canterbury to king Henry the fourth Remember saith he the oath which voluntarily you made voluntarily he sayd and not necessarily it was voluntary in oath but necessary in duty That which you report also that Thomas Becket did write vnto king Henry the second importeth nothing else but an acknowledgement of duty Remember said he the confession which you made I cannot omit your description of the manner of the Coronation in England First you say the king i◠sworne then the Archbishop declareth to the people what he hath sworne and demaundeth if they be content to submit themselues vnto him vnder those conditions whereunto they consenting he putteth on the royall ornaments and then addeth the words of commission Stand and hold thy place and keepe thy oath And thus you haue hammered out a formall election supposing that you draw together the peeces of falshood so close that no man can perceiue the seame The truth is that king Henry the fourth being not the nearest in bloud to the inheritance of the crowne did countenance his violence with the election of the people not at his Coronation but in a Parliament that was holden before And therefore you do impudently abuse vs First in ioyning them together as one act Secondly by falsifying diuerse points in both Lastly by insinuating that the same order was obserued by other kings The points which you falsifie are these The interrogation of the Archbishop to the people the absurd straining of these words Stand hold thy place to be a Commission the alleaging also out of Stow 1. That the Archbishop did reade vnto the people what the King was bound vnto by oath 2. That the Earle of Northumberland did shew a ring vnto the people that they might thereby see the band whereby the king was bound vnto them 3. That the king did pray that he might obserue his promise In which composition of conceits you shew how actiue you are in counterfaiting any thing that may make to your purpose perswading your selfe that it is no fraud vnto God to deceiue the world in a lye for aduantage King Edward the fourth also because his right was litigious another was in possession of the crowne strengthened or rather countenanced his title with the approbation of the people But where you write that at the Coronation of King Edward the sixth Queene Mary and Queene Elizabeth the consent and acceptation of the people was demanded First we haue no cause to credite any thing that you say then although it be true yet not being done in Parliament it addeth no right vnto the Prince but is only a formality a circumstance only of ceremony and order Hereupon you conclude that a king hath his authority by agreement and contract betweene him the people insinuating thereby that he looseth the same if he either violate or neglect his word The contrary opinion that only succession of bloud maketh a king that the cōsent of the people is nothing necessary you affirme to be absurd base and impious an vnlearned fond and wicked assertion in flattery of Princes to the manifest ruine of common-wealths and peruerting of all law order and reason I did alwayes foresee that your impostumed stomacke would belch forth some loathsome matter But whosoeuer shall compare this confident conclusion with the proofes that you haue made he will rather iudge you mad then vnwise This bold blast vpon grounds that are both foolish and false bewrayeth rather want then weaknesse of wits I am ashamed I should offer any further speech in so euident a truth but since I haue vndertaken to combate an herisie since the matter is of so great consequence import I purpose once againe to giue you a gorge Learne then heauy-headed Cloisterer vnable to mannage these mysteries of State Learne of me I say for I owe this duty to all Christians the Prophets the Apostles Christ himselfe hath taught vs to be obedient to Princes though both tyrants and infidels This ought to stand with vs for a thousand reasons to submit our selues to such kings as it pleaseth God to send vnto vs without either iudging or examining their qualities Their hearts are in Gods hand they do his seruice sometimes in preseruing sometimes in punishing vs they execute his iudgement both wayes in the same measure which he doth prescribe If they abuse any part of their power we do not excuse we do not extenuate it we do not exempt them from their punishment let them looke vnto it let them assuredly expect that God will dart his vengeance against thē with a most stiffe and dreadfull arme In the meane season we must not oppose our selues otherwise then by humble sutes and prayers acknowledging that those euils are alwayes iust for vs to suffer which are many times vniust for them to do If we do otherwise if we breake into tumult and disorder we resemble those Giants of whom the Poets write who making offer to scale the skies and to pul Iupiter out of his throne were ouerwhelmed in a moment with the mountaines which they had heaped together Beleeue it Cloisterer or aske any man who is both honest and wise and he will tell you It is a rule in reason a triall in experience an authority confirmed by the best that rebellion produceth more horrible effects then either the tyranny or insufficiency of any Prince To the sixth Chapter whereof the title is What is due to onely succession by birth and what interest or right an Heire apparant hath to the Crowne before he is crowned or admitted by the commonwealth and how iustly he may be put backe if he hath not the partes requisite YOV begin after your manner with a carreir against Billay but because both I haue not seene what he hath written and dare not credite what you report I will not set in foote betweene you In breaking from this you preferre succession of Princes before free election as well for other respects as for the preeminence of auncetrie in birth which is so much priuiledged in the Scripture and yet not made so inuiolable you say but vpon iust causes it might be inuerted as it appeareth by the examples of
most worthie successour after this depriuation I will derogate nothing from his worthinesse but there was neuer king in England who without concurrent in the title of the crowne did draw more bloud out of the sides of his subiects Your second example is of king Edward the second whom many of our histories report to bee of a good and courteous nature and not vnlearned imputing his defectes rather to Fortune then either to counsell or carriage of his affaires His deposition was a violent furie led by a vvife both cruell vnchast can with no better countenance of right be iustified then may his lamentable both indignities and death vvhich therupon did ensue And although the nobilitie by submitting thēselues to the gouerment of his sonne did breake those occasions of wars which doe vsually rise vpon such disorders yet did not the hand of God forget to pursue reuenge For albeit king Edward his son enioyed both a long prosperous raign yet his next successor king Richard the second vvas in the like violent manner imprisoned depriued put to death I will prosecute the successiue reuenge which heereof also ensued being a strange matter worthie to be rung into the eares of all ages King Henry the fourth by whom king Richard was deposed did exercise the chiefest acts of his raigne in executing those who conspired with him against king Richard His son had his vertue well seconded by felicity during whose raigne by meanes of the wars in France the humour against him was otherwise imployed spent but his next successor king Henry the sixth was in the very like manner depriued together with his yong son Edward imprisoned and put to death by king Edward the fourth This Edward died not without suspiciō of poison after his death his two sons were in like maner disinherited imprisoned murthered by their cruell vnkle the duke of Glocester who being both a tyrant and vsurper was iustly encountred and slaine by king Henry the seauenth in the field So infallible is the law of iustice in reuenging cruelties and wrongs not alwaies obseruing the presence of times wherein they are done but often calling them into reckoning whē the offenders retaine least memorie of them Likewise the deposition of king Richard the second was a tempestuous rage neither led nor restrained by any rules of reason or of state not sodainely raised and at once but by very cunning and artificiall degrees But examine his actions vvithout distempred iudgement you will not condemne him to be exceeding either insufficient or euill weigh the imputations that were obiected against him and you shall find nothing either of any truth or of great moment Hollingshead writeth that he was most vnthankfully vsed by his subiects for although through the frailtie of his youth he demeaned himselfe more dissolutely then was agreeable to the royaltie of his estate yet in no kings daies the commons were in greater wealth the Nobilitie more honoured and the Clergie lesse wronged vvho notwithstanding in the euill guided strength of their will tooke head against him to their owne headlong destruction afterward partly during the raign of king Henry his next successor whose greatest atchiuements were against his owne people but more especially in succeeding times whē vpon occasiō of this disorder more english bloud was spent thē was in all the forren wars which had ben since the cōquest Three causes are commonly insinuated by you for which a king may be deposed tyranny insufficiencie impietie but what prince could hold his state what people their quiet assured if this your doctrine should take place how many good princes doth enuie brand with one of these markes what action of state can be so ordred that either blind ignorance or set mallice wil not easely straine to one of these heads euery execution of iustice euery demand of tribute or supply shall be claimed tyrannie euery infortunate euent shall be exclaimed insufficiencie euery kind of religion shall by them of another sect be proclaimed impietie So dangerous it is to permit this high power to a heedlesse and headlesse multitude who measure things not by reason and iustice but either by opinion which commonly is partiall or else by report which vsually is full of vncertainties and errors the most part doing because others doe all easie to become slauish to any mans ambitious attempt So dangerous it is to open our eares to euery foolish Phaetō who vndertaking to guid the chariot of the Sun will soone cast the whole earth into combustion You proceede that king Henry the sixth was also deposed for defectes in gouernment Let vs yeeld a little to you that you may bee deceiued a little that you may be carried by your affections how can you excuse these open vntruthes wherein it cannot bee but the diuell hath a finger you cannot bee ignorant that the onely cause which drevv the familie of Yorke into armes against king Henry vvas the title which they had vnto the crowne by vertue whereof it vvas first enacted that Richard duke of Yorke should succeed king Henry after his death but for that hee made vnseasonable attempts he was declared by parlament incapable of succession and afterwards slaine at the battaile of wakefield Then Edward his sonne prosecuting the enterprise hauing vanquished king Henry at the battaile of S. Albons obtained possession of the state caused king Henrye to be deposed and himselfe to be proclaimed crowned king Afterward he vvas chased out of the realme and by act of parlament both depriued and disabled from the crowne Lastly he returned againe and depriued king Henrye both from gouernment from life It is true that some defects vvere obiected against king Henry but this was to estrāge the harts of the peple frō him The main cause of the war did proceed frō the right of the one partie possessiō of the other The contrarietie of the acts of parlament vvas caused by the alternatiue victories of them both Your last example is of king Richard the third of vvhom you vvright First that although he sinned in murthering his Nephewes yet after their death hee vvas lawfull king Secondly that he was deposed by the common wealth who called out of France Henry earle of Richmond to put him downe Philosophers say that dreames doe commonly arise by a reflection of the phantasie vpon some subiect wherof we haue meditated the daie before It may be y◠your drowsie conceit vvas here cast into a dreame of that vvheron it had dozed in all this chapter Or at the best that you are like vnto those vvho haue so often tould a lie that they perswade themselues it is true King Edward the fourth left other children besides those that were murthered the duke of Clarence also vvho vvas elder brother to king Richard lest issue in life all vvhich had precedence of right before him And as for the second point tell mee I pray you by vvhat
sort to excuse them They are the best that your starued both cause and conceipt can possibly affoord and you haue also some fellowes in your folly Heliogabalus did solemnely ioyne the statues of the Sunne and of the Moone in mariage together Nero was maried to a man and tooke also a man to his wife The Venetians doe yearely vpon Ascention day by a ring and other ceremonies contract mariage with the sea But now in earnest men do dye whensoeuer it pleaseth God to call them but it is a Maxime in the common law of England Rex nunquam moritur The king is alwaies actually in life In Fraunce also the same custome hath bene obserued and for more assurance it was expresly enacted vnder Charles the fifth That after the death of any king his eldest sonne should incontinently succeede For which cause the ParliameÌ„t court of Paris doth accompanie the funeral obsequies of those that haue bene their kings not in mourning attire but in scarlet the true ensigne of the neuer-dying Maiestie of the Crowne In regard of this certaine and incontinent succession the Glossographer vpon the Decrees noteth That the sonne of a king may be called King during the life of his father as wanting nothing but administration wherein he is followed with great applause by Baldus Panormitane Iason Carol. Ruinus Andreas Iserna Martinus Card. Alexander Albericus Fed. Barbatius Philip Decius Ant. Corsetta Fra. Luca Matthe Afflict And the same also doth Sernius note out of Virgil where he saith of Ascanius Regemque requirunt his father Aeneas being yet aliue But so soone as the king departeth out of life the royaltie is presently transferred to the next successor according to the lawes and customes of our Realme All Writs go foorth in his name all course of iustice is exercised all Offices are held by his authoritie all states all persons are bound to beare to him alleageance not vnder supposall of approbation when hee shall be crowned according to your dull and drowsie coniecture but as being the true Soueraigne king of the Realme He that knoweth not this may in regard of the affaires of our state ioyne himself to S. Anthony in glorying in his ignorance professing that he knoweth nothing Queene Mary raigned three monâ—ths before she was crowned in which space the Duke of Northumberland and others were condemned and executed for treason for treason I say which they had committed before she was proclaimed Queene King Edward the first was in Palestina when his father dyed in which his absence the Nobilitie and Prelates of the Realme assembled at London and did acknowledge him for their king In his returne homeward he did homage to the French king for the lands which he held of him in France He also repressed certaine rebels of Gascoine amongst whom Gasco of Bierne appealed to the court of the king of Fraunce where king Edward had iudgement that Gasco had committed treason and therupon he was deliuered to the pleasure of king Edward And this hapned before his coronation which was a yeare and nine monâ—ths after he began to raigne King Henry the sixth was crowned in the eighth yeare of his raigne and in the meane space not onely his subiectes did both professe and beare alleageance but the King of Scottes also did sweare homage vnto him What neede I giue any more either instance or argument in that which is the cleare lawe the vncontroulled custome of the Realme Against which notwithstanding your weather-beateÌ„ forehead doth not blush to oppose a blind opinion that heires apparant are not true kings although their titles be iust and their predecessors dead This you labour to prooue by a few drye coniectures but especially and aboue all others you say because the Realme is asked three times at euery coronation whether they will haue such a man to be their king or no. First wee haue good reason to require better proofe of this question then your bare word secondly although we admit it to be true yet seeing the aunswer is not made by the estates of the Realme assembled in parliament but by a confused concurse necessarie Officers excepted of all sorts both of age and sexe it is for ceremonie only not of force either to giue or to increase any right Another of your arguments is for that the Prince doth first sweare to gouerne well and iustly before the subiects take their oath of alleageance which argueth that before they were not bound And further you affirme that it happened onely to king Henry the fifth among his predecessors to haue fealtie done vnto him before hee was crowned and had taken his oath I confesse indeed that Polydore and Stâ—w haue written so but you might easily haue found that they write not true the one of them being a meere straunger in our state the other a man more to be commended for indeuour then for art King Iohn being in Normandie when his brother dyed sent into England Hubert Archbishop of Canterburie VVilliam Marshall Earle of Strigvile and Geoffrie Fitzpeter Lord chiefe â—ustice who assembled the States of the Realme at Northhampton and tooke of them an oath of obedience to the new king Also king Henry the third caused the Citizens of London the Guardians of the Cinque-ports and diuers others to sweare fealtie to Prince Edward his sonne who being in Palestina when his father died the Nobilitie and Prelates of the Realme assembled in the new temple at London and did acknowledge him for their king And in like manner king Edward the third tooke an oath of all the Nobilitie of the Realme of faith after his death to Richard Prince of Wales and so did king Henry the first for his daughter Mawde and her yong sonne Henry After the death of king Henry the fifth that subiects did often sweare alleageance before the coronation and oath of the king you had neither countenance nor conscience to deny but it was neither of these two which did restraine you it proceeded onely from the force of truth which will manifest it selfe whatsoeuer art we vse to disguise it For otherwise what countenance what conscience had you to affirme that it is expresly noted by our English Historiographers That no alleageance is due vnto kings before they bee crowned Who are these Historiographers where doe they so write you that search euery dustie corner of your braines for a fewe ragged reasons to vphold your heresie should not either haue mentioned or omitted such pregnant proofes for in that you affirme and do not expresse them you condemne your selfe by your owne silence If you meane that which you alleadge out of Polydore and Stowe That an oath of fealtie was neuer made before coronation vntill the time of king Henry the fifth it is neither true nor to any such sence If you meane that of Polydore in tearming Henry the fift Prince and not King before he
make shew of care to preâ—erue the state but you are like the Iuy which â—eemeth outwardly both to imbrace and adorne the wall whereinto inwardly it doth both eate vndermine For what meanes either more readie or forceable to ouerthrow a state then faction and intestine quarels and what other milke doe you yeelde what are your opinions what your exhortations but either to set or to holde vp sedition and bloodshead Saint Paule teacheth vs not to resist higher powers although both cruel and prophane you teach vs to resist them what we can the Apostle is followed of al the auntient Fathers of the church you are followed of those only who follow the Anabaptists For my part I had rather erre with the Apostle in this opposition then holde truth with you But I will speake more moderately in a subiect of such nature I wil not say theÌ„ that I had rather erre but that I shall lesse feare to erre in not resisting with the Apostle theÌ„ in resisting with you New councels are alwaies more plausible then safe After you haue plaide the Suffenus with your selfe in setting the garland vpon your owne head and making your imaginarie audience to applaude your opinion as worshipfully wise you proceede to declare what ought chiefly â—o be regarded in furthering or hindering any Prince towards the Crowne Three points you say are to bee required in euerie Prince religion chiualrie and iustice and putting aside the two last as both handled by others and of least importance you assume onely to treate of religion wherein eyther errour or want doth bring inestimable damage to any state You drawe along discourse that the highest end of euery Common-wealth is the seruice worship of God and consequently that the care of religion is the principall charge which pertaineth to a King And therfore you conclude that whatsoeuer prince doth not assist his subiects to attaine this ende omitteth the chief part of his charge committeth high treason against his Lord and is not fit to holde that dignitie though he performe the other two partes neuer so well And that no cause can to iustly cleare the conscience whether of the people or of particular men in resisting the entrance of any Prince as if they iudge him faultie in religion This is neither nothing nor all which you say In electiue states the people ought not to admit any man for King who is eyther colde or corrupt in religion but if they haue admitted such a one with soueraigne authoritie they haue no power at pleasure to remoue him In successiue kingdomes wherein the people haue no right of election it is not lawfull for priuate men vpon this cause to offer to impeach either the entraÌ„ce or coÌ„tinuance of that king which the lawes of the State do present vnto them not only because it is forbidden of God for that is the least part of your regard but because disorderly disturbance of a setled forme in gouernment traineth after it more both impieties and dangers then hath euer ensued the imperfections of a king I will come more close to the point in controuersie and dispell these foggie reasons which stand betweene your eye and the truth There are two principall parts of the lawe of God the one morall or natural which containeth three points sobrietie in our selues iustice towards others and generally also reuerence and pietie towards God the other is supernaturall which containeth the true faith of the mysteries of our saluation and the speciall kind of worship that God doth require The first God hath deliuered by the ministrie of nature to all men the second he doth partly reueale partly enspire to whoÌ„ he please and therefore although most nations haue in some sort obserued the one yet haue they not only erred but failed in the other During the time of the lawe this peculiar worship of God was appropriate only to the people of Israel in a corner kingdome of the world the flourishing Empires of the Assirians Medes Persians AegyptiaÌ„s Graecians Syrians and Romans eyther knew it not or held it in contempt The Israelites were almost alwaies in subiection vnder these both Heathen tyrannicall gouernments yet God by his Prophets enioyned them obedience affirming that the hearts of kings were in his hands that they were the officers of his iustice the executioners of his decrees In the time of grace the true mysteries both of worship and beliefe were imparted also to other nations but the ordinarie meanes to propagate the same was neither by policie nor by power When S. Peter offered prouident counsell as hee thought vnto Christ aduising him to haue care of himselfe and not to go to Hierusalem where the Iewes sought to put him to death Christ did sharply reproue him for it when he did drawe his sword and therwith also drew bloud in defence of Christ hee heard this sentence They that take the sworde shall perish with the sworde Christ armed his Apostles onely with firie tongues by force whereof they maintained the fielde against all the stratagems and strength in the world And when Princes did not onely reiect but persecute their doctrine they taught their subiects obedience vnto them they did both encounter and ouercome them not by resisting but by persisting and enduring This course seemeth straunge to the discourse of of reason to plant religion vnder the obedience of kings not only carelesse therof but cruell against it but when we consider that the Iewes did commonly forsake God in prosperitie and seeke him in distresse that the Church of Christ was more pure more zealous more entire I might also say more populous when shee trauelled with the storme in her face then when the winde was eyther prosperous or calme that as S. Augustine saith Want or weakenesse of faith is vsually chastised with the scourges of tribulatioÌ„s We may learne thereby no further to examine but to admire and embrace the vnsearchable wisedome and will of God Seeing therefore that this is appointed the ordinarie meanes both to establish and encrease religioÌ„ may we aduenture to exchange it with humane deuices Is it the seruants dutie eyther to contradict or dispute the maisters commaundement is there any more readie way to proue an heretike then in being a curious questionist with God is hee bounde to yeelde to any man a reason of his will It is more then presumption it is plaine rebellioÌ„ to oppose our reason against his order against his decree It standeth also vpon common rules That which is contrary to the nature of a thing doth not helpe to strengthen but to destroy it It is foolish to adde externall stay to that which is sufficient to support it selfe It is sencelesse to attempt that by force which no force is able to effect That which hath a proper rule must not be directed by any other And this was both the profession and practise of the auntient Fathers of the
speake otherwise then you thinke There is no authoritie which the people hath in matters of state but it may bee either bound or streightned by three meanes The first is by cession or graunt for so the Romans by the law of royaltie yeelded all their authoritie in gouernment to the Prince Of this lawe Vlpian maketh mention and Bodin reporteth that it is yet extant in Rome grauen in stone So the people of Cyrene of Pergame and of Bithynia did submit themselues to the Empire of the Romanes So the Tartarians commit absolute power both ouer their liues and their liuings to euerie one of their Emperours so haue our people manie times coÌ„mitted to their king the authoritie of the parliament either generallie or els for some particular case For it is held as a rule that any man may relinquish the authoritie which he hath to his owne benefit fauour Neither is he againe at pleasure to be admitted to that which once hee did thinke fit to renounce And as a priuate man may altogether abaÌ„don his free estate and subiect himselfe to seruile condition so may a multitude passe away both their authoritie and their libertie by publike consent The second is by prescription and custome which is of strength in all parts of the world least matters should alwaies float in vncertaintie and controuersies remaine immortall And that this authoritie of the people may be excluded by prescription it is euident by this one reason which may be as one in a third place of Arithmeticke in standing for a hundred Euerie thing may be prescribed wherein prescription is not prohibited but there is no lawe which prohibiteth prescription in this case and therefore it followeth that it is permitted And generallie custome doth not only interpret law but correcteth it and supplieth where there is no lawe in somuch as the common lawe of England as well in publick as priuate controuersies is no other a fewe maximes excepted but the common custome of the Realme Baldus saith that custome doth lead succession in principalities which Martinus aduiseth to fixe in memorie because of the often change of Princes and the particular custome of euerie nation is at this day the most vsuall and assured law betweene the Prince and the people And this doe thâ— Emperours Honorius and Arcadius in these wordes coÌ„mand punctuallie to be obserued Mos namque retinendus est fidelissimae vetustatis the custome of faithful antiquitie must be retained which place is to this sense ballanced by Pau. Gastrensis Frane Aretinus and Phil. Corneus who termeth it a morall text The like whereto is found also in the Canon lawe and noted by the Glossographer Archidiaeonus Romanus and Cepola Neither were the Fathers of the Nicene councel of other opinion who thus decreed Let auncient customes stand in strength Whereto also agreeth that old verse of Ennius Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque Customes and men of oldest sort The Romane state do best support which is cited by Saint Austin and esteemed by Cicero both for breuitie and truth as an oracle To the same sense Periander of Corinth said that old lawes and new meates were fittest for vse which saying Phauorinus in Gellius did in this manner a little vary Liue after the passed manner speake after the present Hereto also pertaineth that edict of the censors mentioned by Suetonius Aul. Gellius Those things which are beside the custome and fashion of our Elders are neither pleasing nor to be adiudged right Of this point I shall haue occasion more particularlie hereafter to write The third meanes whereby the people may loose their authoritie is by way of conquest For howsoeuer Saint Augustine and after him Alciate doe disallowe ambition of enlarging Empire and tearme warres vpon this cause great theeueries Whereupon Lucane and his vncle Seneca called Alexander the Great a great robber of the world Yet there is no doubte but the sentence of victorie especiallie if the war was vndertakeÌ„ vpon good cause as the conqueror being made his own arbitrator wil hardlie acknowledge the contrarie is a iust title of acquisition reducing the vanquished their priuileges liberties and whole estate vnder the discretion of him that is victorious Caesar sayth He geueth all that denieth right which sentence is approoued by Couaruuias affirming that the victor maketh all which his sword touâ—heth to be his owne So sayth Baldus that he doth his pleasure vpon the vanquished and againe Caesar in the speech of Ariouistus it is the law of armes that the victorious should commaÌ„d those whom they haue subdued euen as they please Clemens Alexandrinus saith the goods of enemies are taken away by right of warre Isocrates hath written that the Lacedaemonians did by title of victorie in this sort maintaine their right We hold this land giuen by the posteritie of Hercules confirmed by the Oracle of Delphos the inhabitantes thereof being ouercome by warre Which was not much vnlike that which Iephte captaine of Israell expostulated with the Ammonites Are not those things thine which Chamos thy God hath possessed but whatsoeuer the Lord our God hath conquered pertaineth vnto vs. Yea God doth expressely giue to the people of Israel the cities which they should subdue some into ful possession others into seruitude subiection by which title Iacob also had giuen to Ioseph his partage among his brethreÌ„ euen the land which he had taken froÌ„ the Amorites with his sword and with his bow It was vsuall to the Romans and as Appian saith iust to retaine principall or direct dominion in al thinges which they brought vnder the sway of their sworde Brissonius hath collected certaine examples of the forme of yeelding vnto the Romans whereby al prophane sacred al humane and diuine matters were submitted vnto them Seeing therefore that the people may so many wayes loose both their power and their right in affaires of state is not your ignorance aduenturous so generallie to affirme that if no one forme of gouerment bee naturall there is no doubt but the people haue power both to alter and limit the same as they please Can no lawe no custome no conquest restraine them Your pen doth range and your iudgement rage beyond al compasse and course of reason You should haue said that there is no doubt but if by al or any of these meanes the right both of succession and gouernment be setled in one familie according to propinquitie and prioritie of bloud the people may neither take away nor varie the same and if they doe they commit iniustice they violate the law of nations whereby they expose themselues not onlie to the infamie and hate of al men but to the reuenge of those who wil attempt vppon them
representeth his person who gaue commission and not his owne Herevpon Alexander Panormitane Innocentius and Felinus doe affirme that they may cast their commissioners out of power when they please because as Paulus saith a man can iudge no longer when he forbiddeth who gaue authoritie Further all states take denomination from that part wherin the supreme power is setled as if it bee in one prince it is called a monarchie if in many of highest ranck then it is an aristocracie if in the people then a democracie Whervpon it followeth if the people are superiour to the prince if the prince hath no power but by commission from them that then all estates are populare for we are not so much to respect who doth execute this high power of state as from whō immediately it is deriued Hereto let vs ad that which you haue said in another place that in populare gouernments there is nothing but sedition trouble tumults outragies iniustices vpon euery light occasiō thē we shall perceiue first that you want the art of a wise deceiuer not to be entangled in your tale secondly that this is meere poison which the diuell hath dropt out of your pen to infect christian coūtries with disobedience disorder In a word to the contrary of this your impudent vntruth our laws do acknowledge supreme authority in the prince within the realme dominions of england neither can subiects beare thēselues either superior or equall to their soueraigne or attempt violence either against his persō or estate but as well the ciuill law as the particulare lawes customes of all countries do adiudge it high hainous treasō I will speake now without passion what reason haue we to accept your idle talk for a kind of authority against the iudgement lawes of most nations in the world You proceede that the power of a prince is giuen to him by the common wealth with such conditions exceptions as if the same be not kept the people stand free That the prince receiueth his power vnder plain conditiōs you go about to proue afterward now you hold on that in all mutual contracts if one side recede from promise the other remaineth not obliged this you proue by two rules of the law The first is he doth in vaine require promise to be kept of another man to whom he refuseth to performe that which he promised the other is a man is not bound to performe his oath if on the other part that be not performed in respect whereof he did sweare Poore fellow had you ben as conuersant in the light of law and cleere course of iustice as you are in the smoake dust of some corner of a colledge you wold neuer haue concluded so generally so confidētly vpō any of the rules of law which are subiect for the most part vnto many exceptions Alexander Felinus doe assigne fiue fallencies vnto these rules Socinus giueth the cootrarie rule to him that breaketh his faith or oath faith ought to bee kept thē restraineth it with seauē limitations But all affirme that in those offices which are mutuall between any persōs by the law of nature or of God as between the father the child the husband the wife the master the seruant the prince and the subiect although the same be further assured by promise or by oath the breach of duty in the one is no discharge vnto the other And therfore if the father performeth not his duty towards his children they are not thereby acquitted both of the obedience care which God nature exacteth of them howsoeuer Solon in his lawes discharged children from nourishing their parents if they did not traine them in some trade wherby they might acquire their liuing Much lesse are subiects exempted from obedience if the prince either erre or be defectiue in gouernment because the like respect is not due vnto parents as vnto Princes as I haue somewhat touched before insomuch as a sonne that beareth authoritie hath right both to commaūd and compell the father This was declared among the Romanes by that which Plutarch Liuie Valerius and Gellius doe report of Q. Fabius to whome being consull when Fabius Maximus his father who had bene consull the yeare before did approch sitting vpon his horse the sonne commanded him by a sergeant to allight the father not onely obeyed but highly commended both the courage and iudgement of his sonne in maintaining the maiestie which he did beare and in preferring a publicke both dutie and authoritie beefore priuate Vpon those examples Paulus the lawier did wright that publick discipline was in higher estimation among the Romane parents then the loue of children After an impertinēt discourse that vpon diuers cōsiderations an oath ought not to be performed you annex another cause wherefore subiects may withdraw their alleageāce that is when it should turne to the notable dammage of the common wealth and both these you affirme to be touched in the depriuation of Childeric king of France But I regard not what was touched in the depriuation of Childeric I haue answered to that in the chapter next before I require either arguments or authoritie of more tough temper Well then let vs turne back the leafe and there we shall finde a rule of the law because by rules onely you will beat down rule In euill promises it is not expedient to keepe faith Which is also confirmed by a sentence of Isidorus In euill promises break your word in a dishonest oath change your purpose Well fare your vvits good soule doe you accompt the promise of obedience euill not so I suppose you will say but it turneth to be euill vvhen it turneth to the notable detrimēt of the commō wealth It is one of your peculiar guifts the further you goe the more impious you declare your selfe For if you take the word euill in noe higher sence then for detriment and damage it would follow vpon your rule that a man vvere no further tyed to his promise then the performance thereof were aduantageable vnto him You vvould inforce also that if the father doth dissipate his patrimoniall estate and runne a course to ruine his familie the children and the wife may thervpon disauow their duties But if vvee take a true touch of this point we shall finde that the vices of any Prince are not sufficient of themselues to ouerthrow a state except therevpon rebellions be raised vvhich vvill draw all things into confusion For there is no Prince vvhich either hath liued or can almost be imagined to liue in so little sence of humanitie but generally he both fauoureth and maintaineth some order of iustice onely against particuler persons some of them haue violently bene carried by the tempest of their passion vvhereby notwithstanding the inordinate desires of one man can not possibly reach to
Iacob Iuda and Salomon And this libertie you hold to be the principall remedie for such inconueniences as do ensue of the course of succession as if the next in birth be vnable or pernicious to gouerne in which cases if he be not capable of directions and counsels you affirme that the remedie is to remoue him And so you make succession and election the one to be a preseruatiue to the other supposing that the difficulculties of both are taken away First if ordinarily succession taketh place then if vpon occasion we giue allowance to election For the prerogatiue of birth as also for the speciall choice which God hath often made of the yongest I will remit my selfe to that which I haue written before At once in those particular actions which God hath either done or by expresse Oracle commaunded contrarie to the generall lawes which he hath giuen vs as in the robberie of the Aegyptians the extirpation of the Amalekites the insurrection of Iehu and such like we are bound to the law and not to the example God hath giuen vs a naturall law to preferre the first borne he hath often made choice of the yongest because he commonly worketh greatest effects by meanes not onely weake but extraordinary as it appeareth by the birth of Isaak But that these speciall elections of God are not proposed for imitation to vs hereby it is euident because they haue bene for the most part without defect in the one or demerite in the other And especially in this example of Iacob and Esau Saint Paule sayth that it was not grounded vpon their workes but vppon the will and pleasure of God for before they had done good or euill before they were borne God sayd The eldest shall serue the youngest Which if we might imitate the priuiledge of birth were giuen in vaine For your deuice in ioyning election to succession whereby one of them should remedie the difficulties of the other it is a meere vtopicall conceipt what else shall I tearme it an imposture of state a dreame an illusion fit only to surprise the iudgement of the weake and ignorant multitude These toyes are alwaies hatched by the discoursiue sort of men rather then the actiue being matters more in imagination then in vse and herein two respects do principally oppose against you The first is for that in most nations of the world the people haue lost all power of election and succession is firmely setled in one discent as before I haue declared The second is for that more fierie factions are hereby kindled then where succession or election are meere without mixture For where one claimeth the Crowne by succession and another possesseth it by title of election there not a disunion onely of the people not a diuision in armes but a cruel throat-cutting a most immortall and mercilesse butcherie doth vsually ensue It is somwhat inconuenient I grant to be gouerned by a Prince either impotent or euill but it is a greater inconuenience by making a breach into this high point of state to open a way to all manner of ambitions periuries cruelties and spoile whereto the nature of the common-people would giue a great furtherance who being weake in wisedome violent in will soone wearie of quiet alwaies desirous of chaunge and most especially in matters of state are easily made seruiceable to any mans aspiring desires This I haue manifested before by the examples of king Edward and king Richard both surnamed the Second who were not insupportable either in nature or in rule yet the people more vpon wantonnes then for any want did take an vnbridled course against them And thus is your high pollicie nothing else but a deepe deceipt thus whilest you striue with the wings of your wit to mount aboue the cloudes of other mens conceipt you sinke into a sea of absurdities and errors After this you determine two questions the first is What respect is to be attributed to propinquitie of bloud onely Whereto you answer that it is the principall circumstance which leadeth vs to the next succession of the Crowne if other circumstances and conditions doe concurre which were appointed at the same time when the lawe of succession was established Assuredly you can neuer shewe either when or by whome this lawe of succession was first instituted except perhappes by some Nimrod when hee had brought the necke of a people vnder his sword at which time what conditions hee would set downe to bee required from his successour any ordinarie iudgement may coniecture at ease Well since you set vs to seeke for proofe of this to that which you haue written before I will also send you backe to the same place for your answer The second question is What interest a Prince hath to his kingdome before he be crowned This you resolue by certaine comparisons and first you write that it is the same which the Germaine Emperour hath before his coronation But that is so large that some Emperours haue neuer bene crowned others haue deferred it for many yeares among which Crantzius writeth that Otho the first receiued the Crowne of the Empire in the eight and twentieth yeare of his raigne And yet is not this comparison full to the question propounded because in electiue states there is not held one perpetuall continuance of royaltie as is in those that are successiue And Panormitane saith That an argument a similibus is not good if any difference can bee assigned Much more vnfitly doe you affirme that it is no greater then a Maior of London hath in his office before hee hath taken his oath for it is odiously absurd to compare the authoritie of an absolute Prince by succession to the authoritie of an Officer both electiue and also subiect But it is the example of mariage you say whereby this matter is made more plaine for as in this contract there is an espousall by promise of a future act and a perfect mariage by yeelding present consent the first is when both parties doe mutually promise that they will the second that they do take one the other for husband and wife so an heire apparant by propinquitie of bloud is espoused onely to the Commonwealth and maried afterward at his coronation by oathes of either partie and by putting on the ring and other wedding garments But how were Kings maried in former ages how are they now maried in those countries where they haue neither ring nor wedding garment nor also any oath What is euery office and degree which is taken with ceremonie to be esteemed likewise a mariage Or if you will haue coronation onely to bee a mariage what else can it resemble but the publike celebration of matrimonie betweene man and woman which addeth nothing to the substance of contract but onely manifesteth it to the world These pitifull proofes naked of authoritie emptie of sence deserue rather to be excused then answered I will helpe therefore in some