whensoever there hath been any concurrence of their Councils and Forces they were meerly forced to it by their interest and security the truth is as often as she could safely cross the Spanish designs she hath done it as it hath appeared upon several occasions about the affairs of Milan Germany the Low Countries but especially in the cases of the Valteline and of Sabionetta neither have they neglected in the Courts of other Princes any thing which might prejudice the Spanish interest and indeed that enmity is mutual and reciprocal between them because the Venetians having observed the great designs of that Crown to subdue Italy ever senced against it with the utmost of their power and the more because they being their next Neighbours by the way of Milan they were exposed to her first attempts On the other side the Spaniards look't upon Venice as the Champion of the Italian Liberty and the great let and hindrance in his way as being judicious and able to oppose him neither can he forget that Venice hath dismembred from the Dukedom of Milan and united to her State these three considerable places Brescia Bergamo and Crema with their annexes and dependencies and as they are as high and as crafty as the Spaniard so they would not suffer themselves to be led by the nose or any wayes to promote his interest No greater demonstration can be given of this disaffectedness then this is The Republick hath kept correspondency and friendship with the Enemies of that Crown especially with Protestant Princes and States whose interest she knew it was to oppose the house of Austria and the Spanish Ministers at Venice have taken notice of it and confessed this disaffectedness of the Republick to their Monarchy There are two things which do declare the good will or the bad of one Prince or State towards another one is the words and the other the effects Spaniards do complain that the good words of the Republick to them ever proved empty and fallacious because the effects have not answered thereto the same they say of the effects because say they in all manner of negotiations either publick or private upon their account or that of the Arch Dukes of Austria and Inspruck they ever met with great difficulties even in those things which were easie clear and ought to have admitted none But this hath been done with so much dexterity on the Venetians side that as the heart of man is hard to be known the Spaniards were satisfied or seemed to be so of such dealings and have been mistaken therein but the Nature of the Venetian well known to them upon other accounts made them judge aright of their proceedings But this more is to be observed that although the greatest part of the Venetian Noblemen be enemies to Spain which hath proved to them so potent and so dangerous a Neighbour yet as that Crown is very liberal in bestowing monies upon those who to them may be usefull so as to get their confidence and friendship and as in such a number of Nobility there are enmities discontents and animosities as in a great body by reason of fulness of Stomack and surfeits bad humours do abound and so one member or other will suffer because in the distribution of places and offices every one cannot have his desire so in some there remains a disposition to make themselves amends another way for that which as they think their merit and vertue have been unjustly deprived of and to disturb others in the administration of what they have obtained to their prejudice therefore they dare somtimes hearken to proposals from publick Ministers and receive their gifts and pensions I say they dare for they venture much it being as I told before as much as their life is worth but somtimes covetousness discontent ambition and desire of revenge make men hazzard all to satisfie their passions which an active vigorous and dexterous Minister will lay hold on to the advantage of his Masters affairs Besides other means to preserve States two chiefly are the props of them the one is strength and the other is Reputation Strength is the ground basis and foundation of them and Reputation hath so much authority in it self that when Forces have been wanting this hath not only upheld them but also overcome greater Powers Now to conclude this particular I say that the power of the Spaniard and his Neighbourhood to the Venetians besides that of other Dominions of the House of Austria and those who depend thereupon will ever make the Republick look upon him as dangerous to her state and liberty This in time of peace is the right and true sence of the Republick in relation to the Princes and States I mentioned for with the Swedes Danes and Polanders she hath little to do onely inasmuch as some of them had to deal against the house of Austria and upon this account she hath been very glad to see Portugal withdrawn from under the Spanish Yoke But now as change of condition and the like accidents oblige men to new resolutions and practises so the demonstration of this especially disaffectedness hath been suspended since the beginning of the present War with the Turk for the Venetians having their hands full that way instead of disobliging they must of necessity Court and please those from whom they may expect some succours Upon this account they were so earnest in the late War between the Pyrenean Treaty to mediate a peace between the two Crowns thereby to receive some assistance from both which would be a president to others it being the common interest of all Christians to act against the Turk and because they are the Bulwark of that part of Christendome But this remote interest is not so strong as a neerer one for Christian Princes have interests contrary one so another which oppose the carrying on of the great and publick one for 't is to be feared if one Prince did send any considerable Forces against the Common Enemy some of his Neighbours would take advantage of their absence and so fall on him at home after the sad experience of Don Sebastian King of Portugal of the Kingdome of Navarre and of other instances which History relates Princes have great reason ever to stand upon their guards And this it is which exposes the Christian Cause to so many dangers and that betrays if I may so say the Venetians to that dreadful Enemy But something is to be said of the Republicks inclination to the Turk him she ever feared more then she loved whom she was content in time of peace to pay a Tribute to for some Islands as we said before that she might be at rest and not fall out with so potent an Enemy But the Gran Signior by the Advise of that notable States-man Kupriuli the Gran Visier being resolved upon any account to be rid of many Janisaries because of the frequent mutinings they were fallen into which proved not only so pernicious
Chief Citizens who are appointed for that purpose by vertue of an ancient priviledge of the City of whom one half are Gown-men and the other half are Trades-men and they ever have a share in matters of justice with the Rettore and his Court and this jurisdiction is called the Consolaria whence it is that constantly they over-vote the Potesta this is the name of the Chief Magistrate in every City and his Court This is their way of absolving or chastizing the guilty for the faults which daily are committed amongst them but because the Republick took notice that in crimes of a higher nature justice was not duly administred after a debate upon the matter it was resolved to elect an extraordinary Magistrate called Avogadore who upon occasion of hainous faults should go into the City to get secret informations of the whole business which being done he brings it to Venice where sentence is pronounced Thus great mischiefs are restrained and justice is duly executed but this manner of proceeding displeases very much and causes great alterations in the minds of those high spirits who see their priviledges are thereby weakned and derogated from however the Vicentines seeing they have in their hands no strong holds nor none that can be made such think it fit to yield obedience in a thing which is just in it self Now follows the City of Verona which hath six miles in circuit she is one of the fairest within the Venetian Dominions with a very large Ditch Counterscarps and good Bulwarks in the midst of it is the Castle very strong stored with all manner of provision and ammunition the City is strongly seated in the midst of a great open and champion Country and in a place somewhat high 't is backt with some little hills upon the which is another Castle with other strong fortifications which command the Countrey about and through the middle of the City runs the River Agide very great and navigable which falling into the Gulf of Venice the City may easily receive thence supplies of men and provision She is one of the Chief Keyes of Italy towards Germany as it appeared clearly in the wars of Maximilian and Charles the fifth Emperours against the Republick That it hath been a considerable City the Amphitheatre there which is the least defaced of any in Italy doth testifie and Histories tell us that when some of the Family Seala were Lords of it she was the head of a potent State of which Padoa Vicenza Treviso Ceneda Belluno Feltre Brescia Parma and Luca were members Part of its Territory is barren of sixty miles in length but for the unfruitfulness there is never great plenty in the City which as well as Vicenza hath the Consolaria and though those of Verona be not so bad as the Vicentini nor do not so many mischiefs yet upon extraordinary cases the Avogadore is sent to them which the more it appears unjust the more 't is unsufferable for them to see this breach made to their priviledges and they are the more exasperated when they see that Governours act sometimes contrary to their Laws and Customes Within the Jurisdiction of this City are two indifferent good strong holds one is Legnago towards the Mantoan which also doth defend that part of the Padoan the other is Peschigra of a far greater concernment then the former for 't is accounted to be the Key of all other places beyond the River Mincio whence 't is easie to make incursions upon all other places thereabouts if once this were lost all the rest would be in a great danger Those of Verona are accounted to be of a proud nature of a fantastical humour To this purpose I think it not amiss to mention a Proverb usual in those parts when some great mischief hath been committed there which happens very often they use to say Such a mischief hath been committed according to the custome of Padoa Vicenza and Verona whereby is meant the number of murthers without grounds which is according to the temper of the people The truth is a great number of murthers and of like mischiefs is daily committed in those Countries and in the rest of the Republick and as far as I could observe this is chiefly caused by the example of some of the Nobles and by the favour they shew to delinquents in such cases 'T is very strange that upon a Tryal for a mans Estate no body will speak a word for him for in this matter they are just enough but upon life and death for murther or any other wicked act provided it be not against the State there will be friends enough to speak on ones behalf So that in this justice often is corrupted by favour Those of Verona are further of a High and Lordly carriage because they are very rich but spend it very profusely and often they run very deep into debts Then is Brescia a very Noble City sited in a levelled ground yet at the foot of some hills it hath four miles and two hundred paces in circuit Upon the hill is a Castle of very great strength with Ravelins Bullwarks and sure places for succours infallibly to come in with such store of provision and ammunition that according to probability they may hold out for several years in their own defence There are also springs of very good water with a matter of six score pieces of Ordinance Between the City and the Castle are places under-ground and Vaults very deep through the which can come to them all manner of relief Above the City is a ditch of thirteen paces broad with Bullwarks and the Walls have good Ramparts in it are above 62000 Inhabitants who are so throug'd by reason of the great quantity of Wares especially of all manner of Armes that in it there is no place empty and as Verona is the fairest this is the richest and the most Merchant of all others There are not many fine houses for those of Brescia do not much care for the Magnificence of Palaces The Territory is 100 miles in length and 50 in breadth and about 300 in compass and is full of all things This City hath within her Jurisdiction above 240 Towns wherein are accounted to be 350000 Souls Moreover the City enjoys a very noble priviledge viz. That no man of what Nation soever he be though he were a Venetian may purchase any Lands within her Territory except he be a Brescian and herein doth consist the safety and the greatness of that people all the States thereabouts remaining incorporated to the Citizens So that for this as other Concessions which the Republick hath granted them Namely That the Citizens are chosen to be Rectors Potestá or Magistrate of all Towns and Castles within their Jurisdiction Brescia is the happiest of all other Cities within the State of the Republick They have further in their hands two Fortresses of concernment viz. Asola and Orcinvovi which last hath been of late repaired and reduced to
and none hath enough to cause or reason to wish for disturbances being a counterpoise one to anther and every one having some ground of satisfaction and content though some more and some less there is no danger that the lean Kine shall devour the fat nor shall the fat devour the lean This truth is confirmed by the wise man Give me neither Poverty nor Riches the first to the end I do not steal and the last that I grow not proud Having spoken of the Riches of the Republick I must in the next place discourse of her Government and of the Order of her Councils The Prince called Doge or Duke is the head of the Republick who though he hath the Name of Prince yet he hath no Authority without the Council he may not so much as open a publick Letter without one of the six Councellours neither doth he keep a Court as other Princes but only a handsome Family He is ever in a Dukal dress and in such cloaths as make him appear venerable He wears a Cap which behind riseth up like a horn or if I may so call it a crimson kind of Mitre with a gold border and a thin Coise under it his upper Garment is like a cloak hanging down to the ground He hath on his shoulders Ermin skins which hang round about him to his middle and are closed before with precious stones about his Waste he wears a rich embroidered girdle set with many Jewels of great price the Bells of St. Mark ring when he goes out of his Palace and before him are carried some little spread flags and also are sounded some silver Trumpets of an extraordinary bigness then are carried the Cushion and the golden chair after follows the Prince under the Vmbrellon or Parasol instead of a Canopy between two of the Chief Ambassadours who are present last of all come a matter of thirty ranks of two in a rank of Noblemen all cloathed in Red and he who is at the right hand of the first rank bears the Sword naked in his hand and this is done when he marches in State So then the whole Authority of this Government doth depend upon some certain Noble Families which almost from the beginning of the Republick were united together and to them upon several occasions others have been added so there hath been some alteration of this Nobility when by reason of some wars the door into it hath been open to some Families who though they exceeded others in riches yet were very short of them in Nobleness of blood and extraction Hence have sprung some Emulations or Envyings of one against another as 't is expressed in their Baloting or voting whereby sometimes are named to Offices not they who have most merit but they who have most friends and most favour but these things happen every where else Because I will draw no inference to disparage either their Persons or their Government it being natural to every one to promote his friends and relations rather then an enemy or a stranger All these Families may be reduced to the number of 150 which make up about 3000 Noblemen of all Qualities and Conditions out of whom are chosen the Consiglieri in this manner First there is the Gran Consiglio the Great Council which is the Assembly of all the Venetian Nobility from 25 years of age upwards But first it is necessary for one to prove he is so many years old to which effect he presents himself to the Avogadori di Commune and the Oath of the Parents and of the next relations is taken to confirm he is 25 years Old then there must be two credible witnesses to affirm that he is such a Noblemans Son which being done he may go into the Great Council there are also some few others of the Nobility who may be present at this Council after they are 21 years Old which they obtain by lot in this manner It is the custome on St. Barbara's day in remembrance of a great Victory obtained upon that day for all those young Nobles who are entred into the 21 year of their age to give in their names which are put in a box out of which some are taken and put into another with the Golden Balls and he whose name is taken out is made of the Council and the rest whose number is sometimes greater and sometimes lesser must stay till another year Now this Gran Consiglio is the basis and foundation of the Republick in it are created all the Magistrates not onely of the City of Venice but also of the whole State it commonly consists of 1500 Noblemen who meet usually every Sunday and almost every Holy day Then follows the Council called Pregadi which is one of the Chief members of the Republick for in it are treated of and decided all the great affairs of the State it consists of 120 Noblemen of whom ordinarily five may be of one Family besides some other Councils and Magistrates some whereof have right of Balloting or giving in their Votes by way of Balls others have it not only they may hear what passes there Therefore they who enter into this Council are first the Doge the six Consiglieri the Consiglio di dieci the Avogadori all the Procuratori the Quarantia Criminale the three Consiglieri dà basso the two Censori the three Sopra gli atti the Sopragastaldi the three Governours dell'entrale the three Lords Soprà le biade the four Lords over the Salt the three Chamberlains di Commune the three Lords of the Raggioni Vecchie the three of the Raggioni nuove the three Proveditori di Commune the three Lords over the Arsenal the three proveditori sopra le Camere the three Proviseri delli dieci Savi and the three Cattaveri or inquisitors of truth All these names I set down in Italian there being hardly in English any to express them but hereafter I will make out how they are to be understood Those who have no vote in Pregadi are the Colledge of the Savii the three Delle Sanità over the health the three over li daci gabels or customes the Provisori over the Costimo of Alexandria the three over that of Damascus and the twelve over that of Candia all these together make up the Council of Pregadi which meets whensoever it pleases the Collegio and the Bell rings when they are to meet they are also called to it by publick Officers appointed to that effect This Pregadi may take no resolution except there be in it four Consigliori and at least sixty of the Noblemen who have Vote to make a Quorum All matters of great concernment to the Republick are treated of in this Council namely the resolutions about Peace War or Truce Leagues and Confederacies of the wayes of raising monies of giving assistance to Princes of making new Laws chusing new Generals and high Officers of the Fleet and Army and of the electing the Savi of the Land of the
actions they avour one another not knowing how soon it may happen to be the turn of every one of them upon this account they go unpunished so that of a hundred hardly the third part is accused and of these the proofs are clear hardly against the half and those who are convinced are but slightly punished so that this proceeding encourages them to be imperious peremptory and unjust to others Yet the fault of this is not to be attributed to the Magistrates for in things of concernment they are very exact in doing justice when they who are wronged apply themselves to them for redress But the question is how they may bring in their complaints to them which is very difficult not only because clear proofs are not easily brought in against them some of their excesses being committed either in the dark and secretly or very dexterously but chiefly because as soon as a Nobleman hath misdemeaned himself he stops proceedings against him either with threatnings or flatteries promises and if need be with money which indeed is the last remedy they use but for the most part they lay the fault upon the Bravi that is in plain English the Hectors who being men of no fortune do for a subsistance accompany them and act according to their orders or else upon some of their Servants whom they send out of the way or they induce some to be false witnesses for them whereby they put a cheat upon the Lawes and Justice whence we see that in Venice they have also as in other places a new Logick and a way of drawing strange consequences as this He is a gallant man for he hath three or four thousand pound a year because by the strength of his monies he can come off with any bad and base actions like great flyes who having strong wings fly through cob-webs when poor weak ones are caught So that if sometimes it falls out that a Nobleman be punished with Exile or Prison in a short time he is released by the means of friends and monies This shews how the best things are apt to be corrupted and that this Republick so famous and so excellent doth degenerate in her members which in time may infect the head and the whole body for bad humours of this kind are apt to break out at one time or other especially in this place where the old as the young Noblemen are divided into factions and parties and have intestine hatred one for another and against the Citizens with the former by reason of envyings in point of honour and dignity with the latter upon the account of Riches and this ever causes corruption in a Common-wealth Hence it is that on the other side Subjects of all degrees and qualities are dissatisfied for things named before and particularly seeing themselves deprived of their goods upon slight grounds and that they cannot enjoy charges and offices wherein they think themselves used not as patriots but like strangers Merchants also and Tradesmen have some grounds of discontent because the Nobles having of late turned their Trade which was by Sea into that which is by Land either by Authority or by strength of monies have ingrossed it to themselves whether it be Corn Wine Silks Iron Wool Timber Coals and any other considerable commodities which is the cause of complaints and miseries pitty-worthy for the Nobles being monied men they get things over the head of their inferiours But the worst is that these excesses are committed in a cruel manner and they in great numbers are sent into all parts of the Dominions where they extort from the Subjects monies to satisfie their Covetousness and Ambition and act many unjust things which are effects of their tyranny but are the cause of the damages and injuries of Subjects whereby justice is perverted charity destroyed honesty suppressed the fear of God removed from before their eyes and the people defrauded of the protection they have a right to expect whence sad consequences may be drawn against those States where crimes go unpunished for 't is not enough to see good actions rewarded if bad ones be not discountenanced though as I have already expressed the Magistrate is not to be blamed for these miscarriages yet in time these things cause ruine and destruction to States A great prosperity is the greatest enemy of men for it makes them insolent licentious bold to do evil and even apt to disturb their own rest and of others and 't is certain that usurpation abuses and other injuries take so deep roots in the breasts of Subjects that upon a favourable occasion they will resent it These corruptions as they are prejudicial to the States wherein they are spread so they prove oftentimes beneficial to forraign Publick Ministers who know how to use the Covetousness of some useful persons and their Masters monies according to the fidelity they ought to have for his interests and 't is a thing which Venetians practise and the Spaniards most of all other Nations to leave it to the discretion of their Ministers in forrain places to distribute that way what sums they think fit for which they take their word and ask no further account of it knowing that to stint and confine would not onely discourage them but also prove prejudicial to their affairs no monies being better employed then those which are laid out upon such occasions and though they should amount high yet a good advice or another good affair pays for all And in this case no manner of friendship is to be slighted or rejected though it were never so low and contemptible because it may be profitable upon some accounts and it may serve at one time or another Now as to matter of Trade which just now I was speaking of although it be commonly known to be beneficial to Nations yet because every one is not well acquainted with the reason and causes of it 't will not be amiss to say something about it not as to the particulars of it for it would take up too much time there being so many and several wayes according to the nature of places and Countries and those who understand well the manner of it are to be esteemed in a State and their advice is to be taken about the way of settling and improving it by Princes and their Ministers the truth of which is so well known and so important that in all Countryes there are Councels and Committees settled about it who are willing to hear any thing that may be proposed tending to the advantage of it and they who make a constant practice and profession of it must needs by their own experience be able to give light and directions about it and herein their opinion is to be taken as soon if not sooner then that of the greatest Statesmen if reason be joyned to their experience The truth is I look upon this as the ground and bottome of Policy for let the occasions of the State as to charges be
between Christians themselves and that is the Protestant interest which is grounded not onely upon differences about Religion but also upon reason of State for alas as the world goes now men are not much acted with principles of Religion except there be with it one thing or other of temporal concernment Policy is the great mobile of the actions of States-men but if Religion be brought in 't is more the name then the power of it and according to the rule of Machiavel as a shew and a pretence only Therefore I say that Protestant Princes and States are not to neglect the Protestant Cause in the defence of which lyes the safety of their persons and preservation of their States and Authority for as ever it is the Popes interest so his constant endeavours are either to bring again into his Church all those who make profession of the Protestant Religion or else to destroy them And as it is natural for a man to wish that every one would be of his Religion So he is countenanced and assisted by those Princes who are of his perswasion wherein the house of Austria hath been so forward that 't is believed thereby she hath brought upon her self the heavy hand of God which at present hath so much humbled her I further assert another truth that the Pope is more dangerous to Protestants then the Turk First by reason of the distance of places for Providence hath so seated the States of the Protestants that excepted Transylvania and Hungary which yet belongs in part to a Roman Catholick Prince he cannot come nigh to them but the Pope and his upholders are close by and so the more formidable because in some sence he is a domestick enemy who ever is at work how to bring out some occasion which when he seeth he soon layes hold on 't which advantage the Turk is deprived of for though an opportunity was offered to him it would be lost before he were ready to make use of it Secondly The Turk comes in by meer force and violence which his Neighbours being warned of do provide against with the utmost of their Power but the Pope hath his Devices and his Depths whereby he plots and contrives designs destructive to others he hath his Thunderbolts of Excommunication which Protestants and at present some other States laugh at He takes upon him to dispense Subjects from the obedience they owe to their Soveraigns and an absolute Authority in every Ecclesiastical affair and over all Ecclesiastical persons in the Dominions of others a thing so unjust that some States of his perswasion especially France and Venice have denyed it to him He attributes to himself an unquestionable authority over Consciences of binding and loosing all spiritual things under which name of spirituals all moral things may directly or indirectly be reduced so that thereby he must take from Princes in their own Dominions the Sword of Justice and punish Adulterers Thieves Murtherers and all crimes expressed or implyed in the Decalogue or Ten Commandments And what else is this but to divest Princes of the Authority they ought to have within their own Dominions and to pull down their Tribunals and Seats of Justice to set up his own upon their ruines From this let every one judg how much all Princes are concerned to oppose this pretended and usurped Authority so destructive of their own Besides all this he takes upon himself to dispense with divine Precepts and yet he absolutely commands the observation of his own under pain as he saith of eternal damnation And when all these things cannot serve he hath Ravaillacs and such Emissaries who have vowed a blind obedience to his orders so that St. Pauls Sword doth cut what St. Peters Keyes cannot open But the Turk hath none of these helps Moreover The Turk is acted only by a principle of ambition but the Pope acts out of a desire of revenge The Turk pretends no right upon others but that which the Sword gives him but the Pope pretends a divine and spiritual right made over to him by Christ and so looks upon all Protestants as rebels to him because they are withdrawn from his obedience and consequently he is the more bitter enemy to them and wheresoever he could reach any of them he made the Sword the Fire the Gibbet and Prison instruments of his vengeance So that when a hundred thousand have had their throats cut in one night at Rome there hath been for it publick and extraordinary expressions of joy Fourthly The Turk hath no Inquisition within his States contrariwise by the means of an yearly Tribute he allows Protestants that liberty of Conscience which is denyed them by some Princes of the Roman perswasion and this very thing hath strengthened his interest in Hungary where whole Towns have somtimes submitted to his yoke so that in this the Popes and Turk's interests are contrary for the former will admit of no such tolleration and consequently by reason of his interest is more dangerous to Protestants then the other Yet for all this I do no wayes derogate from what I said before of the common interest of all Christians against the Turk provided the Protestant can be secured which can be done no better then by uniting the whole body under one head settling between all the Members a good correspondency grounded upon their common interest and safety having them all knitted in affection and as much as may be in judgment and concerning themselves in the affairs one of another being tender hearted and charitable to those members who are persecuted for Religion sake assisting each other and by no means suffering one Prince or State of the same profession to be oppressed upon any pretences whatsoever and they must watch and oppose the designs of those who are able and likely to carry on the Roman Interest out of the discovery which may be made of their Councils and in all these things Protestants ought to carry themselves unanimously and with vigour After this there is no danger for the chief amongst them and those who are able and can conveniently assist the Venetians to do it the question being not to assist the Pope but a Republick which hath had several fallings out with the See of Rome about priviledges and jurisdiction and which is moderate in the point of Inquisition besides that this is a matter of State and not of Religion and if the Pope were in the same condition as Venice he might be assisted Salva Conscientia by Protestant Princes just as are the outworks of a Town by those who are in the Town who have reason to concern themselves in their preservation for if once they be taken the Enemy will draw nearer to the City and make use of them against it so that when any Christian Prince doth repel the violence offered to another he doth nothing else but meet with that which is preparing against him he hastens to quench the fire which is in his
use of them for wrong ends and contrary to those for which they were given yet in all this the State and Soveraign Authority must find their safety Now to the second extremity whether it be better for a State that all the subjects of it should be kept low and poor I will omit particular customes and constitutions of some Countries grounded upon their manner of Government and temper of the people to come to a general and I think a rational Rule I say therefore that to oppress people who are Obedient to Authority meerly to keep them poor and low or under pretence of taking from them the means and occasions of troubles and seditions is a thing unmerciful unjust and unsafe First unmerciful One of the characters which Scripture gives of a righteous man is that he is merciful to the beast which God was pleased not only to have some respect to when he prescribed the observation of the Sabbath but also to take a special care of when he forbids his people Not to muzzle the Oxe which treads the Corn because he ought to have some fruit of his labours much more is God mindful of men created all of one and the same lump after his own Image and likeness therefore the Son of God commands us to be merciful even as our Heavenly Father is merciful who causes his Sun to shine upon all men and sends his rain for the benefit of all Tenderness is becoming Princes and Rulers who must be fathers and protectors of the people knowing also they have a Lord and a Master in Heaven who is no excepter of persons therefore in those things they exact from subjects they ought to consider their strength and abilities so as not to require brick where there is no straw and not inflict upon them a greater curse then that which God pronounced in the beginning In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread Indeed according to this they must work hard to have it but what a crying sin is it after they have as it were sweated out their heart to deprive them of the end and benefit of their labours which was to get bread in the sweat of their face this is to be neither 〈◊〉 nor Christian But I must shew how unjust this is for though men are to pay Tributes Customes and indeed till the last farthing of their purse and the last drop of their blood to contribute to the relief of the necessities of the State yet extraordinary occasions ceasing in justice they ought to be eased of their burthens for the cause ceasing the effect must also cease And in all sorts of ranks and qualities there is a right of propriety which if you take away all the world shall go up-side down there is that meum and tuum which ought to be preserved to every one If Princes do give way to the disturbance of the propriety of the Subject unawares they may happen to give presidents and lay a foundation of destroying in time their own right and prerogative When the Rubicon is once past and men are engaged in a wrong way there is no end and things may go much further then they thought at first they could go and this shews the danger of such practises Furthermore there ought to be a difference between subjects and slaves the former depends upon Laws and the latter upon the will and fancies of men not only as to goods if any they have but also as to their persons and lives yet this is only amongst Infidels and Barbarians Now when a man engages himself to be a servant to another it is upon certain conditions so tollerable as he intends not to give his Master an absolute and despotick power over his goods and person this same consideration must be supposed to have been had by those who first of all freely and willingly submitted to Authority yet still with this vaste difference that men are servants by their choice but subjects by birth and nature so that one may not be a servant but of unavoidable necessity he is a Subject and so with stricter bonds tyed to his Sovereign more then any servant is to his master however this shews what I said That there ought to bounds and limits to the sufferings and burthens of subjects as all created things have without exception the will and power of God alone being boundless and unlimited Neither is it safe for States to keep subjects exceeding low and poor for people are thereby reduced to wants and to despair which put them upon any extremities they are apt to raise Tumults and Seditions for nothing in the world spurs on men so much as want and necessity do Men who have nothing to lose care not what they do but will seek to fish in troubled waters for they are sure to lose nothing but a poor life which may be they are weary of and they are in hopes perhaps not without probability of getting something That State is in a dangerous condition whose subjects are in great poverty not only by reason of the disturbance which thereby may arise within but also because upon occasion no great help can be expected from them against a forreign Enemy the Rulers having already lost the hearts of the people who have no purse to assist them nor hardly hands to lend poverty taking away the heart and the spirit of men whereby they are unresolved wanting experience and capacity to do any service so that the Prince alone or very weakly assisted must curb troubles within and repel hostilities from without for the most part these sort of subjects being like fit-sick folk a bed who think to ease themselves by often turnings and changings of place Rehoboams words My father chastised you with whips but I will chastise you with Scorpions cost him very dear seeing he lost thereby Ten Tribes which God forbid I should speak as to the right but only as to the matter of fact knowing also there was a special hand of God in it but to my mind this makes the danger of this practice very palpable Therefore the safety and prosperity of a State doth consist in a middle way between two extremities that is in a mediocrity of means and riches of subjects and these questionless are the strength of a Nation who are not so rich so credited nor so strong of themselves as to oppress others or attempt any thing against the Government or so poor as to undertake any thing to get bread or to seek their fortune in the troubles and ruines of the State seeing they have enough of their own to live upon according to their quality which they are afraid to lose and would not hazzard upon any uncertainty it being a great folly in a man who ventures to lose more then probably he can gain and certainly the more these means or riches are dispersed the better and safer it is for the State and the Publick for so every one hath something