speedy Peace and to preserve you for this Kingdom with your Servants of which I esteem my self one of the meanest instead of leaving this Advice by Testament I hope to accomplish it my self SECTION VIII Which shews in few words that the utmost point of the Power of Princes must consist in the Possession of their Subjects Hearts THe Finances being manag'd as above written the People will be absolutely eas'd and the King will be Powerful by the Possession of his Subjects Hearts who considering his care of their Estates will be inclin'd to love him out of Interest * Philip de Valois Formerly the Kings thought themselves so happy in the Possession of their Subjects Hearts that some were of opinion that it was better by this means to be King of the French than of France And indeed this Nation had formerly such a Passion for their Princes that some Authors praise * Ammian Marcellin Lib. 16 and 17. them for being always ready to spill their Blood and to spend their Estates for the Service and Glory of the State * That Policy was grounded upon the saying of a great Prince who tho' depriv'd of the Light which consists in Faith nevertheless was so clear sighted by Reason that he thought he could never want Money in his necessities since he was belov'd by his People who had enough for him Cyrus and Xenophon Book the 5th of his Institution Under the Kings of the first second and third Race until Philip le Bell the Treasure of Hearts was the only publick Wealth that was preserv'd in this Kingdom I am sensible that former times have no relation nor proportion to the present that what was good in one Age is often not permitted in another But tho' it is certain that the Treasure of Hearts cannot suffice at present it is also very certain that the Treasure of Gold and Silver is almost useless without the first both are necessary and whoever shall want either of them will be necessitous in Wealth CHAP. X. Which concludes this Work in showing that whatever is contain'd in it will prove ineffectual unless the Princes and their Ministers are so mindful of the Government of the State as to omitt nothing which their Trust obliges them to and not to abuse their Power IN order to conclude this Work happily I am now to represent to your Majesty that Kings being oblig'd to do many things more as Soveraigns than as private Men they can never swerve so little from their Duty without committing more faults of omission than a private person can do of commission It is the same with those upon whom Soveraigns discharge themselves of part of the burthen of their Empire since that Honour makes them liable to the same obligations which lie on Soveraigns Both of them being consider'd as private persons are liable to the same faults as other Men but if we regard the Conduct of the publick which they are intrusted with they will be found liable to many more since in that sence they cannot omit without sin any thing they are oblig'd to by their Ministry In that consideration a Man may be good and virtuous as a private person and yet an ill Magistrate and an ill Soveraign by his want of care to discharge the obligation of his Trust In a word unless Princes use their utmost endeavours to regulate the divers orders of their State If they are negligent in their choice of a good Council if they despise their wholsom Advice Unless they take a particular care to become such that their Example may prove a speaking voice If they are negligent in establishing the reign of God that of Reason and that of Justice together If they fail to protect Innocence to recompence signal Services to the Publick and to punish disobedience and the Crimes which trouble the order of the Discipline and Safety of States Unless they apply themselves to foresee and to prevent the evils that may happen and to divert by careful Negotiations the Storms which Clouds easily drive before them from a greater distance than is thought If Favour hinders them from making a good choice of those they honour with great Imployments and with the principal Offices of the Kingdom Unless they are very careful to settle the State in the Power it ought to have If on all occasions they do not preferr Publick Interest to Private Advantages tho' otherwise never so good livers they will be found more guilty than those who actually transgress the Commands and Laws of God it being certain that to omit what we are oblig'd to do and to commit what we ought not to do is the same thing I must moreover represent to your Majesty that if Princes and those who are imploy'd under them in the first Dignities of the Kingdom have great advantages over private Men they injoy that benefit upon hard conditions since they are not only liable by omission to the faults I have already observ'd but also that there are many others of commission which are peculiar to them If they make use of their Power to commit any injustice or violence which they cannot do as private persons they are guilty of a sin of Prince or Magistrate by commission which their sole Authority is the source of and for which the King of Kings will call them to a very strict account on the day of Judgment Those two different kind of faults peculiar to Princes and to Magistrates must needs make them sensible that they are of a far greater weight than those of private persons by reason that as universal Causes they influence their disorders to all those who being submitted to them receive the impression of their movements Many would be sav'd as private persons who damn themselves as publick persons One of the greatest of our Neighbouring Kings being sensible of this Truth at his Death cry'd out that he did not stand in so much dread of the sins of Philip as he was apprehensive of the King 's His thought was truly Pious but it would have been much better for himself and for his Subjects to have had it before his Eyes in the heighth of his Grandeur and of his Administration than when in discovering the importance of it he could no longer make that use of it which was necessary for his Conduct tho' he might for his Salvation I humbly crave your Majesty would be pleas'd to reflect this very moment on that which that great Prince perhaps only thought on a few hours before his death and to invite you to it by Example as much as by Reason I promise you that I will spend no day of my life without endeavouring to introduce that into my Mind which ought to be there at the hour of my Death in what relates to those Publick Affairs which you are pleas'd to intrust me with THE END Historical Observations ON THE Political Testament OF Cardinal de Richelieu Book 1. Chap 1. Page 4â— of the
with that Conquerour until Sin Months after his entring into Germany which evidently justifies that the Conditions that were made with the said Prince were the Remedy of the Evil of which they could not be esteem'd the Cause The Treaties that were made not only with that Great King but also with many other Princes of Germany are the more just in that they were absolutely necessary for the safety of the Duke of Mantua unjustly attack'd and for that of all Italy over which Spain had no less Right than over the Dominion of that poor Prince since they thought their Convenience a sufficient Right The Danger this Kingdom had been reduc'd to by the Division the Spaniards had openly somented in your Royal House oblig'd your Majesty to seek out proper Expedients to resettle it Monsieur having lest the Court of France for the third time by divers Artifices which the Spaniards certainly were the principal Authors of and the Cardinal Infant having receiv'd the Queen your Mother in Flanders as he did at that time it is natural to conclude that unless those good Neighbours had been employ'd at home they would have proceeded farther and would have employ'd themselves at your Majesty's Cost in this Kingdom It was absolutely necessary to remove the Storm and moreover to prepare to sustain the Effort of it in case it could not be avoided For that reason after your Majesty was assur'd of a potent Diversion you did like those who in order to prevent the Plague which the Corruption of the Air threatens them with carefully purge themselves being perswaded that the best and safest way to secure themselves from external Injuries is to cleanse the Inside God's Providence prov'd so favourable to you on that occasion that those who animating the Queen and Monsieur against France thought thereby to put them in a way to do it a great deal of Harm only rendred them incapable of doing any and your Conduct appear'd so much the more wonderful on that occasion that in recalling the one and desiring the return of the other your Goodness towards them was evident to all the World while the Effects of your Justice fell upon those who had advis'd them to take such ill Measures The Duke de Bellegarde was depriv'd of the Government of Burgundy and consequently of the Keyes of the Gates he had open'd to Monsieur to let him out of the Kingdom The Duke d' Elboeuf was likewise turn'd out of that of Picardy which your Majesty had lately given him The Duke of Guise being conscious of his Faults retiring into Italy when you call'd him to Court there to give an Account of his Actions that Criminal Retreat made him lose the Government the late King your Father had honour'd him with Thus your Majesty was deliver'd of ungrateful faithless Governours and Burgundy Picardy and Provence Provinces of great Consideration remain'd in your Hands free from those dangerous Spirits You gave the first to the first Prince of your Blood who was passionately desirous of it and thereby you prudently interess'd him in the Affairs of the Time and fill'd Monsieur with anxious Thoughts who with reason dreaded nothing so much in the World as the Establishment of a Person who came up so close to him You bestow'd the Second on the Duke of Chevreuse a Prince of Lorrain to shew that Faults are personal and that your Indignation extended only on those of that Family who had made themselves guilty by their ill Conduct You gratify'd the Marshal de Vitri with the Third as well upon the account of his Loyalty as because that being upheld by your Authority he was naturally capable to oppose him who had lost it In the mean time the Declarations you caus'd to be Register'd in the Parliament were highly approv'd of by every body seeing that in condemning the Authors and Adherents of the Queen and of Monsieur's Flight you excus'd those two Persons who are as dear as nearly related to your Majesty altho' the contrary had been done formerly on the same occasions Your Majesty eluded with a great deal of Vigilancy divers Designs and many Enterprizes meditated and attempted in the Queen and Monsieur's Names and you shew'd so much Patience on those unhappy Occurrences that I may almost affirm that you made nothing known of their Ill Conduct but what you could not dissemble Nevertheless in order to stop the Course and remove the License wherewith all things seem'd lawful to be undertaken under their Shadow you caus'd the Marshal de Marillac's Head to be cut off with so much the more reason that being condemned with Justice the present Constitution of the State requir'd a great Example Those great and vexatious Affairs did not hinder you from repressing with as much Authority as Reason certain Enterprizes of the Parliament of Paris which had been tolerated in many other occasions which is more remarkable in that it was done during the Heat of the Discontents of the Queen and of Monsieur and of all their Adherents than for the thing it self Afterwards Monsieur enter'd France with Sword in Hand at the Instigation of the Spaniards and of the Duke of Lorrain with Forces of which those good Neighbours had furnish'd the greatest part One should have thought that the News your Majesty receiv'd at that time of his being expected in Languedoc by the D. de Montmorency who had a great Authority in that Province which he was Governour of should have put a stop to the Design which had led you in Lorrain to disingage that Duke out of the ill Party he had espous'd â—ut finishing what you had begun to so good an end you caus'd Monsieur your Brother to be pursu'd so close by the Marshal de Schomberg and you follow'd him so soon your self after having receiv'd three Places from the Duke of Lorrain as Pledges of his Faith that all the Efforts of those who were Leagu'd against you prov'd ineffectual The Victory which your Majesty's Forces commanded by that Marshal obtain'd at Castelnaudari was as certain an Argument of the Blessing of God on your Majesty as the Favours you afterwards granted to Monsieur and to his Followers when the ill state of his Affairs might have induc'd you to use them otherwise was an evident Testimony of your Goodness The Sincerity wherewith you observ'd all the Promises which were made to them in your Name at Beziers tho' you were sensible that Puy-Laurens's only Design was to avoid the Danger he was in under the pretence of Repentance which he could avoid no other way was also as Authentick a Proof of your Majesty's great Courage as of your inviolable Faith The Chastisement of the Duke de Montmorency who never could contain himself from making an Inlet to all manner of dangerous Rebellions at all times and particularly when an Heir apparent of the Crown made himself by ill Counsel Head of those who swerv'd from their Duty shew'd all the World that your Steadiness equal'd your
all your Enemies to agree with you This glorious Action which restor'd Peace in Italy was no sooner atchiev'd but your Majesty whose Mind and Heart never found any rest but in Labour pass'd directly into Languedoc where after having taken Privas and Alez by force you reduc'd the rest of the Huguenot Party throughout your Kingdom to Obedience and by your Clemency granted a Peace to those who had presum'd to wage a War against you not by granting them Advantages prejudicial to the State as had been done till then but by banishing him out of the Kingdom who was the only Head of that miserable Party and who had all along fomented it That which is most considerable in so glorious an Action is that you ruin'd that Party absolutely at a time when the King of Spain endeavour'd to raise it again and to settle it more than ever He had newly made a Treaty with the Duke of Rohan to form in this State a Body of Rebellious States to God and to your Majesty at once in consideration of a Million of Livres which he was to pay him yearly for which he made the Indies Tributaries to Hell But their Projects prov'd ineffectual And whilst he had the Mortification to hear that the Person he had employ'd to be the Bearer of so glorious an Establishment was executed upon a Scaffold by a Decree of the Parliament of Thoulouse before whom he was Try'd your Majesty had the Satisfaction and Advantage to pardon those who could no longer defend themselves to annihilate their Faction and to use their Persons well when they expected nothing but the Chastisement of the Crimes they had commited I am sensible that Spain thinks to excuse so ill an Action by the Succours you granted the Hollanders but that Excuse is as ill as their Cause Common Sense will convince every body that there is much difference between the continuation of a Succours established upon a Lawful Subject if Natural Defence is so and a new Establishment manifestly contrary to Religion and to the Lawful Authority Kings have received from Heaven over their Subjects The late King your Father never enter'd into a Treaty with the Hollanders until the King of Spain had form'd a League in this Kingdom to usurp the Crown This Truth is too evident to be question'd and there is no Theology in the World but will grant without going against the Principles of Natural Reason that as Necessity obliges those whose Life is attempted to make use of all Helps to preserve it so a Prince has the same Right to avoid the loss of his State That which is free in the beginning sometimes becomes necessary in the sequel Therefore no body can find fault with the Union your Majesty maintains with those People not only in consequence of the Treaties of the late King but moreover because Spain cannot be reputed otherwise than as an Enemy to this State whilst they retain part of its ancient Demeans It is evident that the Cause which has given a Rise to those Treaties not being remov'd the continuation of the Effect is as lawful as necessary The Spaniards are so far from any Pretence of being in the same case that on the contrary their Designs are so much the more unjust that instead of repairing the Injuries they have done this Kingdom they increase them daily Moreover the late King never join'd with the Hollanders until they were entred into a Body of State and was constrain'd to it by an Oppression which he could not wholly avoid He neither occasion'd their Revolt nor the Union of their Provinces And Spain has not only often favour'd the Revolted Huguenots against your Predecessors they also endeavour'd to unite them in a Body of State in yours A holy Zeal has induc'd them to be the Authors of so good an Establishment and that without any Necessity and consequently without Reason unless the Continuation of their ancient Usurpations and the new ones they design rectifie their Actions so much that what is forbidden to all the World besides is lawful in them upon the account of their good Intentions Having treated this matter more at large in another Treatise I will leave it to continue the Sequel of your Actions The ill Faith of the Spaniards having induc'd them to attack the Duke of Mantua again to the Prejudice of the Treaties they had made with your Majesty you march'd the second time into Italy where by the Blessing of God after having gloriously cross'd a River the Passage whereof was defended by the Duke of Savoy with an Army of 14000 Foot and 4000 Horse contrary to the Faith of the Treaty he had made with your Majesty the Year before You took Pignerol in sight of the Emperour 's and King of Spain's Forces and of the Person and all the Power of the Duke of Savoy and that which renders that Action the more Glorious in sight of the Marquess de Spinola one of the greatest Captains of his Time By that means you took Susa and overcame at once the three most considerable Powers of Europe the Plague Famine and the Impatiency of the French of which there are not many Examples in History After which you Conquer'd Savoy driving an Army of 10000 Foot and 2000 Horse before you which had a better Advantage to defend it self in that Mountainous Country than 30000 to attack them Soon after which the Combats of Veillane and of Coriane signaliz'd your Arms in Piemont and the taking of Valence Fortify'd by the Duke of Savoy in order to oppose your Designs made the World sensible that nothing could resist the Just Arms of a King as Fortunate as Powerful Cazal was reliev'd not only against the Opinion of most Men but even against the very Thoughts of the Duke de Montmorency who had been employ'd to that end and against the Opinion of Marillac who was substituted in his Place who both publickly declar'd that it was an impossible Enterprize The Relief of the said Place was the more glorious in that a stronger Army than your Majesty's retrench'd at the Head of the Milaneze which furnished them with all sorts of Conveniencies and shelter'd under the Walls of Cazal which had been consign'd in their Hands was constrain'd to quit it and five other Places at the same time which the Spaniards held thereabouts in the extent of Mont-Ferrat Those who know that in the very height of that Design your Majesty was reduc'd to the utmost Extremity by a Fit of Sickness and that tho' your Person was dangerously Ill your Heart was yet in a worse Condition If they consider that the Queen your Mother at the Instigation of some malicious Persons form'd a potent Party which weakning you considerably strengthen'd your Enemies If they also consider that they daily receiv'd Advice that your Majesty's most faithful Servants whom they both did hate and dread would not much longer be in a Condition to do them any harm they must needs acknowledge that
Incroachments severely In which case the Church being satisfy'd with such an Order will be the more careful to administer Justice when they do receive it from their Prince SECT IV. Which shews the Consequence of the Regalia pretended by the Holy Chappel of Paris over the Bishops of France and opens a way to suppress the same ALtho' the Canons of the Holy Chappel * By Letters Patent of 1453. Charles the 7th granted that favour to the Holy Chappel instead of the Gift Charles the 5th had made to them of the remainder of all the Accounts deliver'd in the Chamber which he desir'd to be employ'd for the Reparation both of the Palace and of the Holy Chappel of Paris maintain that the Regalia was given them by St. Lewis their Founder Yet it is most certain that the first Grant we find of it is of Charles the 7th which allows them for three years only the right of enjoying the Temporal Revenue of the vacant Bishopricks over which the Regalia should be found to have a Right The time of the said Grant being expir'd he continu'd the same for three years longer and for the four following the whole on condition that one half of the Money arising thereby should be imploy'd for the maintenance of the Chanters who were to perform the Service and the other for the Reparation of the Glass Windows and Ornaments and for the maintenance of the Choiristers according as it should be ordain'd by the Chamber of Accounts of Paris Charles the 7th being dead his Son Lewis the 11th continu'd the same Favour to the Holy Chappel during his Life which was look'd upon to be so extraordinary that the Chamber of Accounts would only verifie the Letters Patents thereof for Nine Years After the Reign of Lewis the 11th his Successors Charles the 8th Francis the 1st and Henry the 2d continu'd the same Favour during their Lives Charles the 9th went farther * By the Edict of Febr. 1569. and granted to Perpetuity to the Holy Chappel what his Predecessors had only granted them for a time The Intention those Princes had is praise-worthy since they gave a Right which did belong to them to a good end But the Use those of the Holy Chappel have made of it can never be sufficiently blam'd since that instead of being satisfy'd with what was given them they have endeavour'd under that pretence to make all the Bishopricks of France subject to the Regalia The Parliament of Paris which pretend to be the only Judges of the Regalia have been blinded to that degree by Self-interest as to make no Scruple to declare even all those Bishopricks †The Bishop du Bellay which in our days have been united to the Crown liable to that Servitude and to order the Advocates in proper terms no longer to question but that the extent of the Regalia was as large as that of the Kingdom This Incroachment being too visible to produce any Effect induc'd the Churches which were not liable to that Right no longer to acknowledge that Tribunal for Judges and the Kings to refer all such Causes to their Council The extent of that Right over all the Bishopricks of the Kingdom is a Pretension so ill grounded that in order to discover the Injustice thereof it will be sufficient to read a Deed * The Deed begins with these words Dominus Rex the Original of which is in the Chamber of Accounts which the President Le Maitre caus'd to be printed which gave an Account of the Bishopricks that are subject to the Regalia and of those that are free from it Formerly the common Opinion was that there was no Regalia beyond the River Loire †The Ordinance Dum Episcopus alicujus Episcopatus ubi Rex habet Regaliam Philip the 4th in his Philippines of the Year 1302. uses these words In aliquibus Ecclesis Regni Philip the 6th in his Ordinance of the Year 1334. speaks thus In the Bishopricks in which we have a Regalia Lewis the 12th in his Ordinance of 1499. cited by the first President Le Maitre We have and do forbid all our Officers in the Archbishopricks Bishopricks Abbies and other Benefices in which we have no Right of Regalia or of Guard to establish any there on pain of being punish'd as guilty of Sacrilege Pasquier in the 3d Book of Enquiries chap. 13. The late King Henry the 4th by his Edict of the Year 1606. Art 17. We only design to enjoy the Rights of the Regalia as our Predecessors and our selves have done heretofore without extending the same to the Prejudice of the Churches that are exempted from it And that good Prince believing that the Parliament of Paris would judge to the contrary suspended all the Causes about the Regalia for a year by his Letters Patent of the 6th of Octob. 1609. The King now Reigning having inherited his Piety as well as his Kingdom declares by the Ordinance of 1629. Art 16. That he only designs to enjoy the Regalia as it has been done for the time past And the Clergy having complain'd that those Terms were not express enough H.M. order'd his Commissioners to make this Answer That the Ordinance being refer'd to that of 1606. those Terms were sufficient to satisfie the World that he did not desire to enjoy the Regalia in those places where it has not been enjoy'd for the time past The Ordinance Dominus Rex makes use of these Words Consuevit capate Regaliam Philip the 4th in his Ordinance of 1302. says Regalias ques Nos Praedecessores nostri consuevimus precipere And the Philippine of the Year 1334. Our Predecessors Kings upon the Account of the Regalia and the Nobility of the Crown of France have us'd and have been accustom'd to be in Possession and Seisin And since all the Kings in their Ordinances have only spoken of the Custom and of their Possessions the Kings Lewis le Gross and Lewis the Young exempted the Archbishoprick of Bourdeaux and the Suffragans thereof of the same Raymond Count of Tholouse granted the same Favour to the Bishops of Provence and of Languedoc which was afterwards confirmed to them by Philip le Bell and St. Lewis yielded the Regalia of all Brittany to the Dukes of the Country by the Treaty he made with Peter Mau-clerc which shews that he did not give it to the Holy Chappel when he founded it Several other Bishopricks as Lyons Autun Auxerre and divers others are so undoubtedly free from that Subjection that no body calls it into question The Ordinances made at divers times shew clearly that the Kings of France never did pretend to have a Regalia over all the Bishopricks and that Truth is so evident that Pasquier the King's Advocate in the Chamber of Accounts is forc'd to confess that he who maintains that Doctrine is rather a Court Flatterer than a French Lawyer These are his very Words The Ignorance or rather the want of Spirit and Interest of
Employment who would by no means accept of it at present because it is usurp'd by Persons who do not deserve it And all Gentlemen will willingly accept of it upon the account of the access it will give them at Court where a Chance and some Acquaintance may advance their Fortune in an instant Your Majesty will also receive another Benefit by the said Establishment in that as it will lessen the Number of the * Yeomen or all those who are not of the Order of the Nebility or Gentry Roturiers who are freed of the Tailles by the Places they enjoy in your Houshold it will encrease the Number of those who are to help the People to bear the Burthen they are over-whelmed with at present The fourth is That your Majesty should give all the Places of your Houshold gratis without allowing them to be sold upon any Consideration whatever It may be urg'd perhaps That it is not reasonable that those who have bought Places very dear should not be allow'd to sell them again but as it is impossible to make any Settlements of great use for the Publick without their being attended with some Inconveniencies for private Persons the said Inconvenience is not considerable seeing that as they did not buy their Places with an assurance of leave to sell them again like those Officers who pay an Annual Duty to the King they may be depriv'd of the Hopes they had fram'd to themselves without any Injustice And though some private Persons may find themselves griev'd by such an Alteration all the Nobility and the Greatest will find a notable Advantage by it in that whereas they were formerly oblig'd to sell a considerable part of their Estates to get Places which has often ruin'd the best Famiies of the Kingdom there will be no means left to expect them but Merit which will hinder them from ruining their Estate and will oblige them to acquire Vertue which is despis'd in this Age because the Price of all things only consists in Money Moreover there will be so many means to satisfie those who upon the account of any particular Consideration will deserve to be exempted from the general Rule That the Publick will receive the Benefit of the Advantage your Majesty will be pleas'd to procure them and yet such private Persons as might have cause to complain with Justice will receive no prejudice by it As it is impossible to question the Usefulness of these Propositions the Facility to put them in Execution is evident since as abovesaid it only requires a firm and constant Resolution in your Majesty to reap the Benefit of the same and to restore your Houshold to its former Greatness CHAP. VIII Of the PRINCE's Council SECT I. Which shews that the best Prince stands in need of a good Council IT is no small question among Politicians to know Whether a Prince who Governs a State by his own Head is more desirable than he who not confiding so much in his own Abilities relies much on his Council and does nothing without their Advice Whole Volumes might be compil'd of the Reasons which might be alledg'd for and against it But referring this Question to the particular Fact which obliges me to introduce it in this place after having preferr'd the Prince who acts more by his Council than by his own Opinion to him who prefers his own Head to all those of his Counsellors I cannot forbear saying That as the worse Government is that which has no other Spring than the Head of a Prince who being incapable is so presumptuous as to slight all Counsel the best of all is that of which the main Spring is in the Sense of the Soveraign who though capable to Act by Himself has so much Modesty and Judgment that he does nothing without Advice upon this principle That one Eye does not see for well as many Besides that Reason discovers the Solidity of this Decision Truth obliges me to say That Experience has convinc'd me so much of it that I cannot forbear affirming it without doing my self a Violence A Capable Prince is a great Treasure in a State a Skilful Council and such as it ought to be is no less considerable But the Concert of Both together is of an inestimable Value since thereon depends the Felicity of States It is certain that the most happy States are those in which Princes and Counsellors are the Wisest It is also certain That there are few Princes capable to Govern States alone and moreover though there were many they ought not to do it The Almighty Power of GOD his infinite Wisdom and his Providence do not hinder Him from making use in things which he might do by his bare Will of the Ministry of Second Causes and consequently Kings whose Perfections are limitted instead of being infinite would commit a notable Fault in not following his Example But whereas it is not in their power as in GODs to supply the Defects of those they employ they must be very careful to chuse them as perfect and as accomplish'd as possible can be Many Qualifications are requir'd to make a perfect Counsellor nevertheless they may be reduc'd to Four viz. Capacity Fidelity Courage and Application which includes many others SECT II. Which represents what Capacity is requir'd in a good Counsellor THe Capacity of Counsellors does not require a pedantick Knowledge None can be more dangerous in a State than those who will Govern Kingdoms by the Maxims they find in Books They often ruin them thereby because the Time past has no relation to the present and that the Constitution of Times Places and Persons is different It only requires Goodness Steadiness of Mind Solidity of Judgment true Source of Prudence a reasonable Tincture of Letters a general Knowledge of History and of the present Constitution of all the States of the World and particularly of that in which they are Whereupon two things ought particularly to be consider'd The First That the greatest Wits are more dangerous than useful in the Management of Affairs unless they have a great deal more Lead than Quicksilver they are no ways fit for the State Some are fertile in Inventions and abounding in Thoughts but so variable in their Designs that those of the Morning and of the Evening are never alike and have so little connexity and choice in their Resolutions that they alter the good as well as the ill ones and never remain constant in any I may say with truth as knowing it by Experience that the Levity of such Men is no less dangerous in the Administration of Publick Affairs than the Malice of many others Much is to be dreaded from Minds whose Vivacity is accompanied with little Judgment and tho' those who excell in the Judicious part should not have a great reach yet they might be useful to States The Second Remark to be made on this Subject is That nothing can be more dangerous in a State than to give a great
which they can see nothing God only being able to see the ultimate end of things it often suffices to know that the Projects we form are Just and Possible to undertake them with Reason God concurs to all the Actions of Men by a general Co-operation which seconds their designs and it is their part to use their freedom in all things according to the Prudence Divine Wisdom has indu'd them with But when Men are ingag'd in great undertakings which concern the Conduct of Mankind after having discharg'd the obligation they are under to open their Eyes doubly the better to take their measures after having made use of all the considerations Human Minds are capable of it is their Duty to rely upon the goodness of the Spirit of God which sometimes inspiring those thoughts into Men which are set down in his Eternal Decrees leads them as it were by the Hand to their proper ends CHAP. V. Punishment and Reward are two Points absolutely necessary for the Conduct of States IT is a common but a very true saying which has ever been in the Mouths and Minds of Men that Punishments and Rewards are the two most considerable points for the Conduct of a Kingdom It is most certain that tho' no other Principle be us'd in the Government of States but that of being inflexible in Chastising those who act against them and Religious in rewarding those who procure them any notable advantage They cannot be Govern'd amiss since all Men may be kept within the bounds of their Duty either by Fear or Hope I place Punishment before Reward because that if there were a necessity to be depriv'd of one of them one might better dispense with the last than the first As good is to be imbrac'd for its own sake there is no Reward due to those who perform it taking it in the strictest Sence But as there is no crime which does not violate that to which Men are oblig'd there are none but what require the Punishment which is due to disobedience and that obligation is so strict that in many occasions a fault cannot be left unpunished without committing a new one I speak of faults which affect the State and are committed with premeditation and not of many others which happen by chance and by misfortune for which Princes may and ought to use Indulgence Tho' to Pardon in such cases is a laudable thing not to Punish a considerable Fault the impunity of which opens a door to Licenciousness is a criminal omision Theologians allow it as well as Politicians and all agree that on certain occasions in which the Prince would be to blame not to Pardon those who are intrusted with the Government of the Publick they would also be inexcusable if instead of a severe Punishment they should use Lenity Experience teaching those who have had a long practice of the World that Men easily lose the remembrance of Favours and that when they are loaden with them the desire of increasing them often makes them Ambitious and Ingrateful together shows us also that Punishment is a more certain way to keep Men within the bounds of their Duty since they are not so soon forgotten by reason that they make a stronger impression on the sences of most Men than Reason which has but little power over many To be severe towards Private Men who make it their Pride to despise the Laws and Ordinances of a State is to be kind to the Publick And the greatest crime one can be guilty of against the Interest of the Publick is to be indulgent towards those who violate them Among many Combinations Factions and Seditions that have been made in my time in this Kingdom I have never observ'd that Impunity ever inclin'd any one naturally to correct his evil Inclination But on the contrary that they return'd to their old Vomit and often with more success the second than the first time The Indulgency hitherto practis'd in this Kingdom has often reduc'd it to very great and very deplorable Exremities Faults not being Punish'd every Man has made a Trade of his Place and without regarding what he was oblig'd to do to discharge his Trust worthily he only consider'd what he could do to get the more by it If the Ancients have been of opinion that it was dangerous to live under a Prince who will remit nothing of the Rigor of Right they have also observ'd that it was more dangerous to live in a State in which Impunity opens a door to all sorts of Licenciousness Some Princes or Magistrates will be afraid of being faulty by too much Rigor who would be accountable to God and must needs be blam'd by all Wise Men unless they exerted that which is prescrib'd by the Laws I have often represented it to your Majesty and it is my humble Petition still that you would be pleas'd to remember it carefully by reason that as there are Princes who want to be persuaded from Severity to avoid Cruelty to which they are naturally inclin'd your Majesty wants to be diverted from a false Clemency more dangerous than Cruelty it self since Impunity obliges to use a great deal in the end which can only be prevented by Punishment The Rod which is the Emblem of Justice must never be useless I own at the same time that it ought not be so much accompany'd with Rigor as to be destitute of Goodness but that last qualification does not consist in the Indulgency which authorizes disorders which tho never so inconsiderable are often so prejudicial to the State that they may prove it's ruin If any are so ill advis'd in this Kingdom as to condemn the severity which is necessary in States because it has not been practis'd hitherto let them only open their Eyes and they will find that Impunity has been too common in it hitherto and the only cause that Order and Rule have not been observ'd and that the Continuation of Disorders obliges to have recourse to the utmost Extremities to put a stop to them The only Source of all the Parties that have been form'd heretofore against Kings has been their over much Indulgence Finally those who are acquainted with our History cannot be ignorant of this Truth of which I produce a Testimony which is the less to be suspected in this case because it is taken from the Mouth of our Enemies which almost in all other occasions would make it suspicious Cardinal Sapata a Man of good Sence meeting Baraut and Bautru in the King his Master's Antichamber a quarter of an hour after their having receiv'd the News of the Duke de Montmorency's Execution put this question to them Which was the chief cause of that Duke's death Hautru answer'd immediately according to his flery temper in Spanish Sus falsaâ— No reply'd the Cardinal Pero la Clemensia de lors Royes antepassados which was as much as to say that the Punishment of the said Duke was more to be imputed to the faults the King's
exempted from many accidents which often trouble their quiet but they would enjoy unexpressible Felicities I am sensible that it is very difficult to meet Subjects which have all the Qualifications requir'd for the Places they are design'd for but at least they must have the Chief and when none that are accomplish'd can be found it is no small satisfaction to chuse the best that can be found in a barren Age. If the mask most Men put on and if the Artifices they usually practise to disguise themselves and to conceal their Defects deceive us insomuch that being once settl'd in great Places they appear as malicious as they were esteem'd full of Virtue when they were chosen the said mistake must be rectifi'd immediately and tho Indulgence may induce to Tolerate some small Incapacity it must never excuse malice which is so to prejudicial to States to be Tolerated in consideration of Private Interest It is on this Occasion our Duty obliges us to represent freely to Princes to what degree they are answerable before God when they give Places of great Trust out of pure favour which can never be possessed by mean Capacitys without prejudice to the State It is on the said Occasion we are oblidg'd to show that tho we do not absolutely Condemn particular Affections which have no other foundation but that natural Inclination which Men have rather for one Person than for another we cannot excuse Princes who suffer themselves to be prevail'd upon so far as to give those they Love thus Places in the administration of which they show themselves as prejudicial to the State as useful to themselves Those who have the happiness to Injoy the favour of Princes by the force of their Inclination must not be depriv'd of receiving Advantages from them tho they have not all the Qualifications requir'd to make them worthy of the same and the Public can not complain of it with Reason unless they are Immoderate But it is a sinister Omen for a Prince when he who is the most Considerable for his Interest is not the most consider'd by his Favour and States are never in a worse Condition than when the Inclinations the Prince has for some particular Persons prevail before the services of those that are more useful to the Public In such a Case neither the Esteem of the Soveraign nor the Affection one has for him nor the hope of reward do any longer excite Virtue Men remain on the contrary in an Indifference of Good and Evil and Envy and jealousie or Spite Induce all Men to neglect their Duty because that in performing it they have no prospect of reward A Prince who desires to be belov'd by his Subjects must fill up all the Places of Trust and the first Dignitys of his State with Persons so much esteem'd by every one that the Cause of his Choice may be found in their merit Such Men must be carefully sought after throughout the State and not receiv'd by importunities or chosen in the Croud of those who press most about Kings and about their Favourites If Favour has no hand in Elections and Merit be the Sole foundation of them besides that the State will be well serv'd Princes will avoid a great deal of Ingratitude which is often met with in certain Men who are the less grateful for the favours they receive in that they least deserve them It being most certain that the same Qualifications which render Men worthy of favours are the same which make them Capable and desirous to acknowledg them Many have good sentiments in the moment you Oblige them but the Constitution of their Nature sways them soon after and they easily forget what they owe others because they only love themselves and as Fire converts all things into its own substance they only consider Public Interests to convert them to their one advantage and equaly despise those who do them Good and the States in which they receive it Favour may innocently be allow'd in some things but a Kingdom is in a sad Case when the Throne of that false Goddess is raised above Reason Merit should always turn the Scale and when Justice is on our side favour cannot prevail without Injustice Favourites are the more dangerous in that those who are raised by Fortune seldom consult Reason and whereas it seldom favours their designs it proves commonly Ineffectual to stop the Course of those they form to the prejudice of the State In my opinion nothing is more likely to Ruin the most flourishing Kingdom in the World than the Apetite of such Men or the inordinate Passions of a Woman when a Prince is possessed by them I am the bolder in advancing this Proposition because there are no Remedies against those Evils but such as depend altogether on Chance and Time which often suffering the Sick to dye without any assistance must be look'd upon as the worst Physician in the World As the greatest Light in Nature cannot make the blind perceive one glimpse of their way so there is no Ray capable to unseal the Eyes of a Prince when they are seal'd by Favour and Passion Those whose Eyes are blinded can never make good Choices unless by Chance and therefore since the welfare of the State requires them ever to be made with Reason it also requires that Princes should not be possessed by Persons who deprive them of the Light they stand in need of to see the Objects which are put before their Eyes When the Hearts of Princes are ingag'd by such means it is almost Useless to do well because the Craft of those who are in possession of their Affections tarnish the lustre of the purest Actions and make the most signal Services pass for Offences Many Princes have undone themselves by preferring their particular Affection to Public Interest Such misfortunes have befallen some by the unruly Passions they have had for Women Some are fallen into the like Inconveniences by such a simple blind Passion they have had for their Favorites that in order to raise their Fortune they have ruin'd their own There have been others who having no natural Inclination for any thing have nevertheless been sway'd with so much Violence in favour of some particular Persons that they have occasion'd their Ruin Men perhaps will wonder at this Proposition which is nevertheless as True as it is easy to be conceiv'd and if Men consider that such Motions are distempers to the Minds that are influenc'd by them and that as the Cause of Feavours is the Corruption of Humors one may also say That those sorts of Violent Affections are rather Grounded on the defect of the Person in which we find them than on the Merit of those who receive the Eflect and Advantage of them Such Evils commonly carry their Remedy along with them in that being Violent they are not lasting but when they continue they often occasion Death as well as the Feavers of that Kind or a want of health