iustice in all Causes Answering to that his owne saying By me Kings reigne c. Which is as if he should haue said That their power is deriued from God as from the first and primary cause The signification likewise of this word King or Rex is and me thinks farre better declared if we shall but refer i'ts originall to another word of the primitiue Language where the Hebrew word Raga signifies amongst other it's significations To feede And in this sense it is to be found in many places of holy Scripture And from this Raga is deriued Rex Rego or Regno And Regere and Pascere amongst the Poets and euen also amongst the Prophets are promiscuously vsed Homer Virgil and Dauid put no difference betwixt Reges and Pastores styling Kings Shepheards Shepheards Kings And therefore in the 23. Psalme where the vulgar Latine reades Dominus regit me S. Ieromes Translation hath it Dominus pascit me The Lord is my Shepheard therefore can I lack nothing he shall fâ—ede me in a greene pasture and leade me forth besides the waters of comfort And Homer he styles a King Pastorem populi the Shepheard of his people in regard of that sweetnesse of Command wherewith he gouerneth them and the gentle hand that hee carries ouer them feeding but not fleecing of them Xenophon saith that the actions of a good shepheard are like vnto those of a good King So that the name of King doth not onely signifie him that ruleth but him that ruleth like a shepheard And the better to instruct vs herein the Prophet Isaiah speaking of that which the true Christian King our Sauiour should doe when he should come into the world saith Sicut Pastor gregem suum pascet in brachio suo congregabit agnos in sinn suo levabit foetas ipsa portabit Hee shall feede his flocke like a shepheard hee shall gather the Lambes with his armes and carry them in his bosome and shall guide them with young He shall perfectly performe all the Offices of a shepheard by feeding of his sheepe and by bearing them if neede be vpon his shoulders And of the selfe same King Christ God said in respect of his people Ipse pisect eos ipse erit eis in pastorem I will set vp a shepheard ouer them and he shall seed them And in the next words following he cals him ioyntly King and shepheard Servus meus David Rex super eos Pastor unus erii omnium eorum My seruant Dauid shall bee the Prince amongst them and they shall all haue but one shepheard And they shall dwell safely in the wildernesse and sleepe in the woods and none shall make them affraid And for the clearer signification hereof the first Kings that God made choise of and commanded to be anoynted hee tooke them from amidst their flâ—cks The one they sought after the other they found feeding of his flocke The Prophet Samuel whom God commanded to annoynt for King one of the sons of Ishai hauing scene the elder and the other seuen all goodly handsome men of a good disposition had no great liking to any one of them but asked their father Whether he had no more children but those And he said vnto him Adhuc reliquus est parvâ—lus pascit oves There remaineth yet a little one behind that keepeth the sheepe And the Prophet willed him that he should send for him for we will not sit downe till he be come hither shewing that to be a shepheard and to feed the flock was the best Symbole and most proper Embleme of a King And therfore I would haue no man to imagine that which Philon did feare that when we come to make a King we must take away the Crooke and put the Scepter in his hand The Office of a King I tell you and the Arte of ruling will require a great deale of study and experience For to gouerne the bigger sort of beastes and those that are of greatest price a man must first haue learned to â—aue gouerned the lesser It is not meete to Popp into great places vnexperienced persons and such as know not what belongs vnto businesse nor the weight of the charge that they are to take vpon them For indeede great Matters are not handsomely carryed nor well managed but by such as haue beene formerly imployed in businesses of an inferiour and lower nature And this choyse which God made of Dauid iumpes with this our intent He doth not say that he tooke him on the sodaine from the sheepefold and presently clapp't a Crowne vpon his Head but first bred him vp to feede the house of Iacob and his family and that he should exercise himselfe therein For a well ordered house and a family that is well gouerned is the Modell and Image of a Common-wealth And domesticall authoritie resembleth Regall power And the good guidance of a particular house is the Exemplary and true patterne of a publicke State It imbraceth and comprehendeth in it all the sorts of good gouernment It doth treate and set in order those things that appertaine to Policie Conseruation and the direction of Men as well in regard of Commanding as obeying What other thing is a house with his family but a little Citie And what a Citie but a great House Many houses make a Citie And many Cities make a kingdome And in point of gouernment ihey onely dâ—ffer in greatnesse for howbeit in the one they are busied more and in the other lesse yet they tend all to one end which is the common good And therefore S. Paul and other Saints and wise men are of opinion that hee that knowes not how to gouerne his own house well will hardly gouerne another mans The Emperour Alexander Severus visiting the Roman Senate did inquire how the Senators did rule and gouerne their owne priuate Houses and families and sayd That that man who knew not how to command his wife and his Children to follow his owne businesses to make prouision for his house and to gouerne his familie it were a madnesse to recommend vnto that man the gouernment of the Common-wealth Amongst those the famous Gouernours Cato the Roman was preferred before Aristides the Grecian because the former was a great Pater familias or father of a familie and the latter was noted to be defectiue in that kinde So that the life of a shepheard is the Counterfeit or Picture of gouernment as is to be seene by his assistance in his Office in the care of the wellfare of his flocke in the obligation of the Account that he is to make in the offence that he is to finde by Wolues and Theeues and in the solicitude and watchfullnesse which those ordinary dangers doe require wherein his flocke stands and more especially when the shepheard is wanting vnto them And it is so proper vnto a King to feede his flocke that when our Sauiour Christ fed that multitude of people which followed him in
did intend it Let euery good King begge of God and let vs all ioyne in the same prayer that in our times it may not come to these termes and that Kings will striue and studie to quench these sparkes before they breake forth into a flame and to put out the fire whilest it is but newly kindled lest it take hold on the whole building and helpe come too late And because there are so many sortes of vices that it is not possible to procure an vniuersall cure for them all that which is likeliest to doe most good will bee that selfe same medicine mentioned before in dyet and apparrell to wit the good example of Kings and in imitation of them that of the great Lords of the land and those that are nearest in Court about their persons ioyning herewith the feare of their disfauour letting them both see and know that the vicious fall backward and the vertuous come forward in honour and that onely vertue is the true meanes and surest way to bring men to great place and preferrement in the commonwealth Let Kings hate these idle droanes these honey-suckers of other mens labours that liue all vpon the waste and spoile Which kinde of people euen in reason of state are not good for the quiet of a kingdome in regard of the euill cogitations and dangerous deuises that are bred in their mindes and in their time breake out I would haue this imitation to bee the remedie for this so great an ill for neither penalties nor feare of punishment will doe any good vpon them For hee that will not forbeare to sinne for feare of Gods Law will hardly refraine from mans Let Kings therefore say and doe those things that they would haue their Subiects say and doe And let their fauourites and those that are nearest about them runne the like course and let it extend to the better sort and those that are of ranke and qualitie for by this meane it will descend to those likewise that are of meaner condition and then shall they see how much more good it will worke then either lawes or punishment And this is the more naturall of the two for the one is founded vpon imitation and the other grounded vpon feare And men doe more easily imitate those better things which they see actually put in execution then depart from those worser things which they either heare or know to be prohibited And when they shall see that their superiours and those that are in place and authoritie command one thing and doe another they neither dread their threatnings nor obey their commandements For perceiuing that they doe but imitate their actions they perswade themselues that none can without blushing punish the same sinne in them Salust did aduise Caesar in the entrance to his Empire that if he would order his commonwealth aright he should first of all begin with reformation in himselfe and his as Pliny saith Vita Principis censura est eaque perpetua ad hanc dirigimur ad hanc conuertimur The life of a Prince is a perpetuall censure and according thereunto doe we guide and gouerne our selues And let it not seeme vnto any that this remedie of the imitation of Kings is slow and long and will aske a great deale of time for where there is met together as it were in it's center whatsoeuer may corrupt and hurt that which is capable of being corrupted when as neither Kings nor their Lawes are able to hinder it in vaine is it indeuoured or to be imagined that that may bee cured in a few yeares which hath layen sicke so many But till such time as men grow vp like new plants and haue accustomed themselues to vertue to the end that through the tendernesse of their youth they may not grow awry Being therein likewise holpen by the example of their betters for there is not any Artifice so powerfull and effectuall as that of imitation which I now speake of for it being a cure so conformable vnto nature it will worke by degrees whereof we shall not know the benefit till we haue enioyed it And because there are both diseased persons and diseases as Saint Chrysostome hath obserued which are neither remedied by sweet potions nor purged away by bitter pills A maine reason whereof is because they themselues are not willing to be cured nor will admit of the example of Kings nor the feare of their Lawes it is fit this other remedie should be vsed of punishment and chastisement without dissimulation For many times the motiue of sinning is the facilitie of forgiuing And it is a knowne case that people by punishment become obedient but by pardoning proud and insolent The ill and vicious are so possessed and inabled in their vices by their long continuance that if Kings should not shew some mettall and courage they would possesse the world and carry all things away before them in that violent manner that the good should not be able to liue amongst thē By chastising the bad saith Baldus the good liue in safety And for this cause and not in vaine according to Plato and others were Lawes instituted and regall power the stroke of the sword the discipline of the Clergie and the common hangmans whip all of them as necessary for mans life as those 4. Elements by which we liue breathe Let Kings take this from me and beleeue it That that commonwealth is in great danger where the Kings reputation goes decaying and the force of Iustice looseth it's strength For thereby vices assume licence vnto themselues and their owners perseuere and go on in them Here a remisse Prince is a sharpe sword and doth neuer more grieuously punish then when hee doth most pardon Punishment and chastisement onely offend the delinquent but remission la ley al Rey y la Grey the Law King and people By remission Lawes and Kings grow in contempt and the whole commonwealth infected Whereas by chastisement the Law is obeyed and kept the King feared and honoured and the kingdome maintained in peace and iustice I doe not treat here of those cruell and rigorous punishments which some seuere Iudges inflict for remedies and cures of so much rigour are violent and do sooner kill and make an end of their Subiects then heale and recouer them by little and little Wherefore in point of correction a commonwealth must vse a great deale of caution and prudence And for that hee who pretends by maine strength to resist the furious current of a swift riuer or by roughnesse to tame a head-strong horse shall shew himselfe as insolent as impertinent rigour with gentlenesse and iustice with mercie will doe well which if they go not hand in hand and kisse each other they are both but the occasion of greater corruption For it is an erronious discourse in those that thinke that publike conseruation consisteth in the execution of cruell chastisements and sharpe and rigorous sentences bee they of death
the desert they no sooner saw that he had satisfied them but they were desirous to make him a King and to clap the Crowne on his head And for this cause in the 3. Chapter of Esay he that saw he was vnprouided of bread would not accept the Votes of the people that were willing to nominate him for their King saying thus vnto them Non sum medicus in domo mea non est panis neque vestimentum nolite constituere me principem populi There is no bread in my house nor cloathing I cannot be an helper vnto yee therefore make me no Prince of the people And therefore with very good reason and with a great deale of proprietie a King and a Shepheard is all one In the Greeke tongue a King is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quasi basis fundamentum populi As if hee were the basis and foundation of the people And of your Kings sayth Rabbi Abraham those words are to bee vnderstood of Iob Qui portant orbem Who sustaine the weight of a kingdome and beare the loade thereof vpon their shoulders And a Hierogliffe heereof is the Crowne which they weare vpon their head in manner of a Citie circled about with Townes and battlements signifying thereby that the strong brayne and the good and wise head and sound sconce of a King doth fortifie and vphold the whole weitht and burthen of all the Cities of his kingdome And this is S. Gregories Interpretation vpon of his place Some others conceiue that this name was giuen it in consideration of that creature called the Basiliske who is the king of the venomous creatures and hath this euil qualitie with him that he kills with his lookes onely And doe not the kings sometimes kill their fauourites and those that are neerest about them with the knit of the brow and a sower looke And some such Kings there be or at least haue beene in the world that take it offensiuely if their frownes and disfauours doe not kill like poyson But this Etymologie hath little ground for it For the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in that language signifies a king is much different from that of Bisiliscus a Basiliscke For it is more proper to Kings to cure and heale then to kill and slay As the forecited place of Esay teacheth vs where he that would not take the Crowne vpon him excuses himselfe not onely for that he had not bread to feede others but also because he was not a Physitian Non sum Medicus in domo mea non est panis presuposing that a good King ought to be a Physitian to his people and ought to helpe and feede his subiects And the sayd Prophet when in the person of Christ he relateth how the eternall Father had annoynted him and Crowned him for King saith spiritus domini super me eò quod vnxerit me vt mederer contritis corde And Christ himselfe being calumniated by the Pharisees because he did conuerse and eat with Publicans and Sinners hee made them this answer Non est opus valentibus medicus sed malè habentibus They that bee whole neede not the Physitian but they that be sicke Patricius Senensis calls Kings and Princes Medicos vniuersales reip Vniuersall Physitians of the Common-wealth And S. Austen tell vs that to them appertaineth the remedy of all the sicke and the cure of all the diseases and other those crosse and repugnant humours which reigne in a Kingdome and to apply a medicine to euery particular person agreeable to that humour wherein hee is peccant And the Office of a shepheard which is so proper vnto Kings as already hath beene said hath with it this obligation to cure his flocke And therefore in the 34 of Ezechiel God doth lay a heauie Taxe vpon those shepheards because they were faulty in this their Office of Curing Quod infirmuÌ„ fuit non consolidastis quod aegrotum nonsanaest is c. The diseased haue yee not strengthened neither haue yee healed that which was sicke neither haue yee bound vp that which was broken neither haue yee brought againe that which was driuen away neither haue yee sought that which was lost but with force and with crueltie haue yee ruled them yee eat the fat and yee cloath ye with the Wooll yee kill them that are fed but yee feede not the flocke And heere that third signification sutes well with this name of King which is the same as Father As appeareth in that of Genesis where the Sâ—chemites called their King Abimilech which is as much to say As my Father or my Lord And anciently their Kings were called Patres reip Fathers of their Common-wealths And hence is it that King Theodoricus defining the Maiestie royall of Kings as Cassiodorus reporteth it speakes thus Princeps est Pastor publicus Communis A King is the publicke and common shepheard Nor is a King any other thing but the publicke and common Father of the Common-wealth And because the Office of a King hath such similiancie with that of a Father Plato stiles a King Patrem familias A father of a familie And Xenophon the Philosopher affirmeth Bonus Princeps nihil differt à bono patre That a good Prince differs nothing from a good Father The onely difference is in this That the one hath fewer the other more vnder his Empire Command And certainly it is most sutable vnto reason that this Title of Father be giuen vnto Kings because they ought to be such towards their subiects and kingdomes carrying a fatherly affection and prouidence towards their wellfare and preseruation For reigning or bearing rule saith Homer is nothing else but a paternall gouernment like that of a father ouer his owne children Ipsum namque regnum imperium est suapte natura paternum There is no better habit of gouerning then to haue a King cloath himselfe with the loue of a father and to haue that care of his subiects as if they were so many children of his owne loynes The affection of a father towards his children his care that they shall lacke nothing and to be one and the same towards them all carrieth a great proportion with a Kings pietie towards his subiects Hee is called a Father so that the very name obligeth him to answer this signification in workes not in word but to shew himselfe a true father indeed Againe for that this name father is very proper vnto Kings if wee shall well and truly weigh it amongst all other Attributes and Epithites of Maiestie and Signorie it is the greatest vnder which all other names are comprehended as the Species vnder their Genus being subordinate thereunto Father is aboue the Title of King Lord Master Captaine and the like In a word it is a name aboue all other names that denotate Signorie and prouidence Antiquitie when it was willing to throw it's greatest Honour vpon an Emperour it called him
so not complying as indeed they cannot with their obligation businesses are retarded and goe not on in that good way as they should and both they themselues and they that put them into these places liue with little or no securitie of conscience But if it be the Kings will and pleasure and that hee thinke it fit for his greater satisfaction that some one particular man that is eminent in the profession of that businesse which is to be treated shall treate thereof and shall see and peruse it a gods name if he will haue it so let his will be fulfilled yet with all let his Maiestie take his opinion as of a particular person and hauing receiued it let it be disputed discussed and debated by the body of the Councell such as haue beene beaten in these kinde of businesses and are throughly acquainted with these matters for by this meanes that which is pretended shall the better be effected and many the fore-mentioned inconueniences be excused Amongst those Ancient Romans when that Common-wealth was sole Mistris of all the world and when it was likewise vnder the Empire and Command of one onely Monarke we neuer read that it euer admitted of more then the Ordinary Councells for the dispatch of businesses Augustus Caesar a Prince of excellent prudence and his great Minion Mecaenas in matter of Counsaile can sufficiently confirme this Doctrine being that he himselfe was one of those that treated businesses in the ordinary Councells And he had a respect and consideration thereunto in that extraordinary cause of Piso touching the death of Gerâ—onicus wherein the iudgement of the people and the Senate was so much interessed Tiâ—erius the Emperour who was one of the subtilest and craftiest Princes that euer the Roman Empire knew would not for all his great strength of wit cunning dissimulation wherein he was his Arts-Master venter vpon any innouation farther then this to passe ouer his opinion to this or that other Councell but neuer appointed any particular Iunta for the same as one who knew very well that onely in so doing he should haue but laded his own shoulders with the weightinesse of the Case and the successe of the Cause Onely your Iuntas are to be vsed vpon some great and extraordinary occasion and not vpon euery trifling businesse as is now and hath these many yeares beene in vse much more time being imployed in particular Iuntas then publicke Councells touching the peâ—sons of these Councells If the number be not sufficient for the dispatch of businesses let it rather be increased then that by this other course he that is Master and Lord of all should likewise make himselfe Master of all wrongs and grieuances and of that which the aggrieued will conceiue of him which hatching imagination of theirs will bring forth that Cocatrice of Kings most venemous hatred By that which wee haue both read seene and heard it is easie to be collected that this was meerely an Introduction of the Ambitious who indeauoured by this meanes to haue all things passe through their hands and depend vpon their will And this as if it had beene a thing of inheritance hath gon along in descent from one age to another euen to these our present times That particular Councell which Kings formerly had and in effect all of them still haue that more reserued secret Councell with whom they communicate their in wardest thoughts let it a Gods name be superiour to all the rest which supplying as in those three potentiae or faculties the very place and soule as it were of the Prince it is very fit and conuenient that it should iudge of the actions and Resolutions of all your Ordinary Councells and that they should all wayte vpon this and attend their pleasure and that they should likewise treate of all those great businesses which the Ancient and more especially Augustus Caesar called Arcanaimpery Misteries of State and secrets of the kingdome But for the rest let them be left to their Ordinary Councells for so shall they receiue quicker dispatch and all sutes be more easily ended and things carryed with lesse labour of the one and fewer complaints of the other And let it likewise suffice euen the greatest intermedlers of these Ministers that they haue a hand in publicke businesses without offering for their priuate interest to draw things out of their ordinary course and Common tracke whereinto they were put making themselues thereby hated and abhorred of all those that haue any thing to doe with them For at last they will come to sent and winde out their driftes to know all their doublings and shiftings and to watch them at euery turne and when they haue them at aduantage neuer poore Hare was so hardly followed by Hounds as these will be pursu'd to death by them whom the others powerfullnesse with his Prince did seeke to crush and keepe vnder It were well that these great Ministers would weigh and consider with themselues that as they haue their hands already too full of worke so haue they more complaints against them then they would willingly heare of and more enuie at the heeles of them then they can well shake of and therefore if they were wise they would anoyd as much as in them lyes to draw these mischiefes more and more vpon themselues In great resolutions indeed Kings are not to giue way that they should be taken out of the Councells of State and warre nor yet that they should be conluded without them For the gâ—ory of all good successefull Actions shall be his as hauing their reuolution and motion from him as from their Primum Moâ—ile Nor is it any wisedome in a King to lay the misfortunes and vnhappy Accidents that may befall a State vpon his owne shoulders Which will be qualified for such by his Priuy Counsellours as finding themselues iustly offended in that hee hath not imparted his minde vnto them nor communicated with them in the Common wealths affaires especially if they be of consequence The principall cause why there was ordained a Councell of State was That it might serue to helpe the king whom principally this Body representeth to beare the Popular charge which euermore iudgeth of things by the euents and though now and then they fall out ill and the people thereupon ready to murmure and mutinie yet are they the better bridled and appeased by the power and authoritie of these Counsellours The Office of a King hath trouble inough with it burthen inough and therefore they should not aduise him to lay more vpon himselfe without lawfull and necessary cause And because when I treated of the qâ—alitâ—es of Counselours I reserued those for this place which more properly appertaine vnto them that are of this Counsell I will breifely deliuer what they are and how necessarie for those that are elected thereunto And I will content my selâ—e with no lesse then those of that great Common-wealths man and Counsel our Pericles And besides to those
in regard of that great vigilancie which Kings ought to haue in executing Iustice and in seeing and knowing what passeth in the kingdome for kingdomes for this cause are content to become subiect vnto them out of a confidence they haue that they shall be protected by them This is the thing saith Osorius that Kings must looke vnto This must be their cheife care and study In studium iustitiae omnes regis curae et cogitationes omnes labores atque vigiliae omnia denique studia consumenda sunt Eâ— namque à principio Reges creauit The doing or not doing of Iustice is that which either sets vp or puls downe Kings And that King must make a new conquest of Kingdomes If those which he hath already gained be not conserued and defended by the force and power of Iustice which is the maine pillar and onely prop to speake of that vpholdeth Kingdomes without which they cannot long last and continue For God will most iustly punish them by taking those from them which they haue if they dissimulate iniustices and if they suffer themselues to be carryed away contrary to all right and reason and permit notorious faults to passe without punishment Other faults are not so much risented in Kings and Kingdomes are content to tolerate them be they neuer so great But should they haue neuer so many other good partes if they be faulty in this which is of so great importance they shall presently see and perceiue a publicke face of sorrow and a generall discontent in all their subiects And God oftentimes makes it a meanes for the punishment and amendment of Kings and Kingdomes It is the saying of Iesus the sonne of Syrach That by Counsaile and Iustice Kingdomes are maintained And for default thereof Scepters and Crownes are lost and Kingdomes transferred from one people to another And those brought to serue which were borne to command But the King that administreth Iustice without respect of persons shall haue his succession perpetuall for that is the very ground and foundation of a Throne royall Aufer impietatem de vultu regis et firmâ—bitur Iustitia thronus eius Take away the wicked from the King and his throne shall be established in righteousnes That is His Issue his House and his Kingdome Iustice is that which foundeth Kingdomes which enlargeth them and conserueth them That which establisheth peace and resisteth warre Without it there is neither King nor Kingdome nor Common-wealth nor Citie nor any other Communitie which can be conserued And all whatsoeuer that haue beene ruined and destroyed hath beene for want of Iustice. For this cause the Kings of Egypt and in imitation of them some others did which all good Kings ought to do sweare their Presidents Ministers and Magistrates that they should not obay their mandatums nor execute their orders and decrees if they found in them that they commanded any thing contrary vnto Iustice and the Lawes of the Kingdome Philip the Faire King of France and his successor Charles the seuenth enacted a Law that the Iudges should make no reckoning of the Kings Letters nor those his royall scedules vnlesse they seemed vnto them to be iust and lawfull The Catholike Kings Don Fernando and Donna Isabella and their Nephew Charles the fift by their well ordained Lawes Magistracies and Tribunals of so much power and authoritie exceeded all before them that fauoured Iustice. Which were augmented and inlarged by King Philip the second who was more particularly zealous of Iustice. And his sonne King Philip the third was a great fauourer and louer of Iustice and obseruer of the Lawes submitting vnto them his person and his goods Who might very well say that which the Emperour Traiane said conferring great power on his Gouernour in Rome Thou shalt vse this sword in our name and for Vs as long as we shall command that which is iust and against vs if we shall command the contrarie For it is alwayes to be presumed of the Intention of Kings that they euermore command Iustice to be done but neuer the contrary though it make against themselues Dauid gaue thankes vnto God that hee had set him in the way of Iustice that is That he had giuen him an vpright heart and informed his vnderstanding with so right a rule that it inclined his disposition to doe iustice though it were against himselfe The cause saith Diuus Thomas why God for so many yeares did inlarge the Empire and Monarchie of the Romanes with so much power so much treasure and so many great victories was for that their rectitude and iustice which they obserued towards all But in that instant that they fell from this their Empire likewise began to fall Of these Examples all Histories both humane and diuine are very full yet all will not serue the turne they doe little or no good Let Gods mercie supply this defect and worke this good And let not the poore bee discouraged and disheartened but let them comfort and cheere vp themselues with this that their righteousnesse and their patience shall not perish for euer God hath spoke the word and he will keepe it The poore saith the Psalmist shall not alwayes be forgotten nor shall the hope of the afflicted perish for euer For he will take the matter into his owne hands and will breake the arme of the wicked and malitious and will helpe the fatherlesse and poore vnto their right that the man of earth bee no more exalted against them Woe vnto those that are rules of the people Woe vnto those that are vniust Kings Which make Lawes like Spiders cobwebbs whereinto little starueling flies fall and die but your fat Bulls of Basan breake through and beare them away in triumph on their homes But that wee may touch no more vpon this string we will here holde our hand and and goe on in treating of Iustice and it's parts A matter no lesse profitable then necessary for Kings and their Ministers CHAP. XXI Of the Parts of Iustice in common and in particular of Iustice commutatiue TO the end that we may proceede with more distinction and clearenesse in this Chapter we are to presuppose with Diuus Thomas and others that Iustice may be sayd to be in Common two manner of wayes First of all vnder this generall name of Iustice is comprehended all kinde of vertue thereof in this sense saith the Philosopher that Iustitia est omnis virtus Iustice includeth in it selfe all sortes of vertues whatsoeuer so that a iust Man and a vertuous man is all one And in this sense Christ conceiu'd it when he said Nisi abuâ—dâ—uerit Iustitia Except your righteousnesse exceede c. And in another place Attendite ne iustitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibuâ— Take heede that yee doe not boast your righteousnesse before men to be seene of them Of iustice considered thus in the generall we will not now treate of in this place for in rigour and
Scribes and Pharisees moued against him was the people for they knew well enough that without them they could not awe and feare Pilate nor moue him by their accusations and false witnesses to condemne him In the next place they had recourse to the particular conueniency of the Iudge that he should not be a friend vnto Caesar but should loose his loue if vpon this occasion the people should rise and rebell by which tricke they inclined him to their partie and wrought him to preferre his priuate Interest before publicke Iustice and his owne preseruation before that which was both honest and reasonable Againe it is more secure to procure the fauour and loue of the people and more easie to effect his purpose by them More secure because without their loue and assistance no alteration in the state can take effect This their loue doth vphold Kings and gets them the opinion of good and vertuous Princes This qualifieth all wrongs or makes the offenders pay soundly for them against whom none dare seeme to be singular Lastly for that the common people hauing onely respect to their particular profit their own priuate Interest cannot desire nor pretend that which your greater Peeres and principall men of the State do who alwayes out of their ambition aspire to more and stand beaâ—ing their braines how they may compasse that which their imagination tells them they want And by so much the more doth this their Ambition increase in how much the greater place they are and in a neere possibilitie of that which they desire I sayd before more easie because the people content themselâ—es with aequalitie and his likewise makes well for Kings with the administration of Iustice with common ease and rest with plenty and with the mildenesse gentlenesse and peaceablenesse of him that ruleth ouer them Now that Kings may procure this popular loue it is fit they should make choyse of such Ministers as are well beloued of the people that will heare them with patience comfort and hearten them vp that they may the more willingly beare the burthens that are laid vpon them the Tributes Taxes and troubles of the Kingdome which in the end must light all vpon them For it is not to be doubted and experience teacheth the truth of it That the Ministers and seruants of a Prince make him either beloued or hated And all their defects or Vertues turne to his hurt or profit And let not Kings make slight reckoning thereof nor let them colour it ouer with Reasons of State For he that once begins to be hated out of an ill conceiued opinion they charge him withall that is either well or ill done For there is nothing be it neuer so good which being ill interpreted may not change it's first qualiâ—â—e in the eyes of men who iudge things by apparences Which is another principall cause why Princes ought to procure the loue of the people For in conclusion most certaine it is that the Common people is not onely the Iudge of Kings but is their Attourny also whose censure none of them can escape And is that Minister which God makes choyse of for to punish them in their name and fame which is the greatest of all Temporall punishments Suting with that which we sayd heeretofore of the voyce of the people that it is the voyce of God For his diuine Maiestie vseth this as a meanes to torment those who haue no other superiour vpon earth And therefore it behoueth them to preuent this mischiefe and to winne vnto them the peoples affection by as many wayes as possibly they can deuise as by their owne proper person with some with other some by their fauourites and familiar friends and with all by their Ministers For there is not such a Tully nor Demosthenes withall their eloquence for to prayse or disprayse the Actions of a King either to salue or condemne them as is the peoples loue or hatred A great cause likewise of procuring this loue and to winne the hearts of the people to giue them all good content will be if Kings would be but pleased who are Lords of many Kingdomes and Prouinces to haue neere about them naturall Ministers and Counsaylours of all the sayd seuerall Kingdomes and Prouinces For Common-wealths kingdomes risent it exceedingly to see themselues cast out of administration and gouernment when they doe not see at the Kings elbow or in his Counsell any one of their own nation and countrie conceiuing that they doe either basely esteeme of them or that they dare not trust them Whence the one ingendreth hatred and the other desireth libertie Let a King therefore consider with himselfe that hee is a publicke person and that he ought not to make himselfe particular that he is a naturall Citizen of all his Kingdomes and Prouinces and therefore ought not willingly to make himselfe a stranger to any one of them That he is a father to them all therfore must not shew himself a Step-father to any And therefore let him still haue some one naturall childe of euery Prouince in his Councel For it is a great vnhapines to a kingdome not to haue any one childe of theirs amongst so many by the Kings side with whom the Naturalls thereof may holde the better correspondencie For these more speedily with more diligence and loue treate and dispatch their businesses then strangers either can or will who must be sued vnto and will do nothing but vpon earnest intreaty or by force and compulsion or like good wary Merchants by trading for ready mony Let Kings weigh with themselues that it is as naturall a worke in them to afforde fauour vnto all as in a tree to afford fruit And it is a great glorie to a king to oblige all nations to loue him For that King much deceiueth himselfe who will make himselfe King of this or that Prouince and no more Sithence that God himselfe whom he representeth on earth professes himselfe to be Lord of t'one and t'other and of all And therefore hee that is Lord of many should not throw all his loue and affection on a few Let him in such sort conferre his fauours on the one that he may not giue occasion of affront and disgrace to the other For these generall fauours make much for the honor and estimation of Kings It faring with them as it doth with those trees when all sorts of passengers goe gathering inioying their fruits I say farther that for the augmentation and conseruation of the loue of Common-wealths and Kingdomes towards their Kings a maine and principall point which oâ—ght to be esteemed in more then other great treasures it will be very conuenient and is the Counsayle of persons of great prudencie throughly acquainted with Kings and Kingdomes that they should haue some person or persons of these good parts and qualities To wit Men of good naturall abilities of great wisedom to whom in particular they should ommit the care to
Subiects treating them as if they were his children and procuring that not any one of them may depart discontented from his presence which would be the the onely Load-stone to draw all their loue and affection towards him So did that great Fauourite of the King of Syria Naaman whom all the people with a full and open mouth called Father corresponding with him in the loue of so many sonnes or children For those that are seated in so high a place haue great cause for many reasons to procure publike loue and together with the grace of their Prince to haue the good wills and affections of the people for this makes the other to be more durable and firme For this is the naturall miserie of great and powerfull persons that Enuie and Greatnesse go alwayes hand in hand the one still accompanying the other And there is not any poyson like vnto it which moues and stirres vp such violent pangs and passions in the stomacke and more especially if it worke vpon the priuacie and inwardnesse of Fauourites with their Kings as if that it selfe were not a true and sufficient strong poyson Seeing that it is held for certaine that one word of a King nay which is more one angry looke or bended brow hath sent many a Fauourite to his graue For as Salomon saith the life of the Subiect depends on the countenance of the King And if we will not beleeue him let vs see and obserue how many Fauourites escape which doe not dye of that wound or the feare thereof and more particularly with those Kings which are of that condition as one said that there is not two fingers breadth betweene their smile and their sword to the end that this their priuacie might bee had in the lesse esteeme For your best Fauourites are but like your better sort of fruits which are soonest subiect to be worme-eaten For Enuie is a very worme and hath the same qualities as a worme hath and spreads it selfe so farre that it extends it selfe euen to those that haue beene benefited by the Fauourite the couetousnesse and risentment of that which they doe not receiue working more vpon them then the Law of thankfulnesse or of a gratefull acknowledgement for that which they haue receiued So that wee may say That few are they who loue those from whose hand they haue receiued some good because it was no greater And those that haue receiued none that they are therein iniured and wronged So that to qualifie and temper this inconuenience it shall be wisedome in Fauourites and it will concerne them to vse all the meanes they can deuise to effect it to procure to bee wellbeloued And no lesse in Kings to seeke out such as are modest louing affable vertuous honest well beloued and of a gratefull and thankfull disposition CHAP. XXXV How Kings ought to carry themselues towards their Fauourites FOr to resolue this Question and to giue satisfaction to that which is here proposed in this Chapter it being a matter of so tender and dangerous a touch I will first lay for my foundation a true point of doctrine in naturall Philosophie celebrated with that sentence of the glorious Saint Austen Amor meus pondus meum illo feror quocunque feror The plummet which peaseth man and the wings wherewith the heart makes it's flight is loue which doth leade the dance to all the other passions of the soule And as those that saile in a deepe sea with full sailes runne on their course without any danger but when they draw neare the shore they take them downe and ruffle them that they may not runne their ship vpon some shelfe or split it selfe against some rocke so likewise when the heart is lifted vp vnto the loue of God which is infinite goodnesse it may without perill plough the seas of this world and with full sayles cut the Maine without danger of shelues quick-sands or rockes For according to that saying of the glorious Saint Bernard as the cause of our louing God is God himselfe so the measure of louing him is to loue him without measure Causa diligendi Deum Deus est modus dilectionis sine modo diligere As the cause of our loue is infinite so must it be without taxe or limitation wherein there can be no excesse But when the heart drawes but little water and touches too close vpon these things of the earth which haue their goodnesse much limited it will be high time and very fit and conuenient to strike the sayles of our loue and to go on with a great deale of caution and consideration lest this our vessell should sticke in the sands neuer to bee gotten out againe or fall vpon some rocke or other of vnaduisednesse and indiscretion And this is so certaine a truth that albeit the loue to our parents be so naturall and obligatory and so giuen vs in charge by God with the promises of so many blessings on those children which shall cumply with this loue and with so many threatnings on those that shall faile therein yet notwithstanding God himselfe will that therein there should be a limitation and moderation Qui amat patrem aut matrem plus quam me non est me dignus He that loueth father or mother more then me is not worthy of me And the common old Adage saith That friendship must go no further then vsque ad ar as and stop there And howbeit some would haue the limit which is here put to loue to be Death I say that it's limit is Reason and obedience to Gods Commandements For when our Loue shall come to encounter with them it is to make a stand and go no further Our second ground or foundation whereon we shall build is this That in Kings next vnto the loue of God and his Christian Religion no loue ought to be like vnto that which they ought to beare vnto their kingdomes and common-wealths for the end for which Kings were first instituted and ordained was the common good of their kingdomes And as children haue a naturall obligation to loue their parents because from them they haue receiued their naturall being so Kings owe the like to their kingdomes and Commonwealths because next vnder God they gaue them their being of Kings and that power and authoritie whereby they were to protect defend and augment them Vpon these grounds and foundations must that loue and friendship be laid which is to be held with Fauourites Louing them and giuing them power and authoritie conformable to that which for this end shall be thought most conuenient For albeit they as Seneca saith keepe the key of their Kings heart and in matters of secresie and benefits are preferred before the rest yet this must be done with a Christian kinde of prudence and discretion Hauing euermore an especiall care that the force of his loue be not so violent and so boundlesse that to giue content to one sole Fauourite hee discontent all the rest
him as it pleased him He told him that solitude was the best and onely course for the resoluing of the graue and weighty affaires of the Empire which otherwise by diuersion might receiue the same hurt and hinderance as they were wont to haue heretofore And what with this and with giuing him to vnderstand that he would quit him of all the ordinarie cares and troubles of Court most men vsually desiring to shunne trouble and to take their ease and pleasure hee perswaded him to go to Capri that hee in the meane while might rule and gouerne all And in the end grew to be so great and powerfull and to take such state vpon him that hee would not giue audience to any reducing them to those tearmes that they should speake and negociate by writing to the end that nothing might bee treated or resolued of without his priuie saying That by reducing businesses to papers and memorialls answer might bee giuen vnto them with more deliberation and better consideration then by word of mouth A meere Artifice cunning trick of his own inuention to make himselfe absolute Master of all and which is more of the heart of his Prince God deliuer vs from such ambitious interessed and couetous Ministers whose maine care is their owne particular and to heape vp riches for himselfe and his and make it their whole study and onely end to keepe and continue themselues in their kings grace and fauour and to deale with their Prince as the Ante doth with the corne which that it may not grow againe and that hee may the better and more conueniently make profit thereof presently eates out the heart of it God likewise free Kings from this base subiection and insensibilitie and from men of that qualitie and condition which desire to rule and command all For the one cannot escape a storme and the other must runne great hazard of being drowned therein Let the last aduertisement bee the example of a great Fauourite whose name is Aurelius Cassidorus borne in the Prouince of Calabria and highly aduanced in Magistracies and Gouernments of both Empires Rome and Constantinople who being renowned for his cheualrie and noble feates of armes defended the Islands of Sicily and Calabria from many and those very powerfull enemies In his younger yeares he attained to all the liberall arts in that perfection that hee made the present and succeeding times to admire him And for his great parts and abilities was entertained by Theodoricus King of the Ostro-Gothes hee was receiued into his seruice and grew so farre into his fauour by reason of his vnderstanding wisedome and dextrousnesse in treating businesses that he first of all made him his Secretarie in which Office he behaued himselfe so well that by degrees he went climbing vp to the high Offices and dignities in the State which in those dayes were not conferred out of fauour but meere desert From being Secretary he came to bee Lord Chancellour and Senatour in the Citie of Rauenna being honoured besides with diuerse offices in the Kings Court Afterwards he was made Viceroy of the Prouinces of Sicilia and Calabria and for addition of honour had the title of Patritius giuen him which in those dayes was in great esteeme Hee was Lord Treasurer and Master of the Palace which was as it were a superintendent ouer the Palatines being an order of Knights and Gentlemen that had Offices and other preheminences in Court He held the dignitie of Praefectus Praetorius being as it were the second person of the King to whom the weightiest businesses of peace and warre were remitted and what therein he determined and resolued vpon was receiued as an oracle that could not erre Though now adayes little credit is giuen to the words of great persons and powerfull Ministers and not without cause for that many of them say and do not promise much and performe little And your Fauourites which haue great both place and power about their Kings are in such good opinion and credit likewise with the world that they presently beleeue whatsoeuer they say and see what they professe is approued by them as if it were a sentence pronounced from the mouth of a most iust Iudge And therefore they ought well and wisely to consider what they speake and not to inlarge themselues in words putting those that are pretenders in great good hopes Which if they shall not afterwards take effect will proue to bee no other then that faire and beautifull fruite whose sight pleaseth the eye but whose taste killeth the body In conclusion this Fauourite by round after round clambred vp to all the honourablest offices and greatest dignities of the kingdome He came to bee Consull which charge hee administred with extraordinary integritie and vertue All the Magistracies Offices and Gouernments which he held were but as so many steps one to the other which the Princes vnder whom he serued went still increasing and augmenting For he carried himselfe so wisely and discreetly in them that there was not that office that hee bore which did not make him the meritour and deseruer of another farre greater and better then it And all did acknowledge and confesse that his merits and deserts were farre greater then all the offices put together which hee enioyed and administred In those whom he represented and recommended to his King to the end that his Maiestie might conferre some one fauour or another vpon them he euermore had an eye to the necessitie of the office and the qualitie of the person Things wherein Fauourites ought to bee very carefull when they imploy their fauour in furthering any man as whether they be moued thereunto vpon a iust or ill affection or by the sole vertue and merit of the person c. And not to thinke with themselues that because they are in great grace and fauour with their King that it is lawfull for them to violate the Law of Iustice which ought to bee equall to all which in eyes not blinded with passion and couetousnesse she her selfe makes it plainly appeare and to thrust the better deseruer besides that dignitie and office which is due vnto him Which is a Law that obligeth all for that it is a naturall obligation and hath all the Lawes of reason on it's side which are more powerfull then either the will of Kings or their Fauourites The not keeping whereof is but a large and swift running fountaine of complaints and distasts The one to see themselues reiected and excluded from publike honours The other to see them put forward whom nature hath not adopted nor learning nor vertue but either good or bad diligences And that these shall haue preferments and get the start of other men it is because either loue or interest makes them to be held more worth when as the other onely for that they are not in the like fauour or not so fit for their ends for Fauourites fauour few saue such as will bee instruments of their wills
POLICIE VNVEILED VVHEREIN MAY BE LEARNED The Order of true Policie in Kingdomes and Common-wealths The Matters of Iustice and Governement The Addresses Maxims and Reasons of STATE The Science of governing well a People And where the Subject may learne true Obedience unto their Kings Princes and Soveraignes Written in Spanish and translated into English by I. M. of Magdalen Hall in OXFORD LONDON Printed by Thomas Harper for Richard Collins and are to be sold at his Shop in Pauls Church-yard at the signe of the Three Kings 1632. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE IAMES HAY EARLE OF Carlile Viscount Doncaster Lord HAY of Sauley Gentleman of the Bed-Chamber to our Soueraigne Lord King CHARLES Knight of the most Noble order of the Garter and one of the Lords of his Maiesties most Honorable Priuy Councell Right Honourable KNowing no man better verst in publique affayres then your selfe I could not more fitly addresse this Discourse then to you without the rifling of any particular mans merit for I may ascribe as much to the praise of your exercise as any can assume to his priuate Notions or Publique Obseruations To speake the story of your true and ingenious acts in forraigne and in those forraigne the most subtile and actiue parts would rather seeme a Tract then a Dedication of a Booke but here you are onely Patron though I know you might by your naturall gifts and obseruations be Author of a farre better piece You haue been long the intrusted seruant of your Prince which should employ you the darling of his people and truly you ought to bee so whilst Truth relates the story of deseruing men or Honesty reads their merit What and whose worke of politique gouernment this is your eyes may at leysure looke ouer while your quicker eyes I meane your discerning minde may perhaps correct yet I hope not chide his labour who was willing though not able to serue you in a piece worthy your obseruation If in the translation there be any thing that hath forsaken the Originall it was intention and not negligence of which there needs no accompt My good Lord there is nothing left but to implore your pardon for the preferring this worke which if it shall appeare vnworthy your graue perusall yet at the least forgiue his intention who conceiued it a direct way of expressing himselfe to be Your Honours truely deuoted EDWARD BLOVNT THE AVTHORS EPISTLE DEDICATOrie to the King of SPAINE Sir THe cause why the Ancients by fire signifie Loue is for that this Element is the hardest to be hid For the more a man seekes to couer it the more it discouers it selfe and blabbs the place where it is Of this quality is Loue and truly participateth of the nature of fire I came saith our Sauiour Christ to put fire into the world And the holy Ghost which is the true God of Loue came and shewed it selfe in the shape and figure of fire So that Loue is a kinde of extraordinary actiue fire Nor can it where soeuer it be be hid or idle Operatur magna si est saith Saint Gregory si autem non operatur amor non est Loue will be alwayes in action alwayes in working it worketh by benefits it worketh by good workes and by friendly offices and charitable seruices And when it cannot worke what it would or when the subiect whereon it would worke hath no need thereof it supplyeth that defect with good desires and words God who needeth not the seruice of any contents himselfe with this in those that are his seruants accepting when they can no more the will for the deed And the Kings which here vpon earth represent his person doe not require tribute and seruice saue onely in that which euery one is able to giue That which I am able to affoord and doe here offer vnto your Maiestie forced thereunto by the loue of my seruice howbeit my desire hath euermore had a larger extent is onely a parcell of words which if they proceed from the soule and come truly and sincerely from the heart are of some worth and estimation and perhaps vpon occasion may proue likewise profitable and aduantagious Howsoeuer it may serue at least to expresse that my seruice and deuotion which euer hath beene is and shall be ready prest to serue your Maiestie And I am willing to shew it in this little that I may not wholly seeme vnprofitable And therefore with this affection of Loue sutable to my subiect ouercomming those feares which are wont and not without reason to withhold those that treate with great Kings Princes and Monarckes and write of such and the like subiects I presume to aduertise them and in this paper to propone vnto them that which I finde written of those that are past and gone and seemeth very fit and conuenient for the conseruation and augmentation of the authoriâ—y and greatnesse of those that are now liuing and present amongst vs and will with all possible breuity procure a full resolution and distinction herein And as Seneca saith Totum comprehendere sub exiguo To comprise much vnder a little For as that is the better sort of money which in the matter is the lesser but the greater in value so likewise that Learning is the best which is briefe in words and large in sentences It is Maximus his counsell that Multa magna breuiter sunt dicenda Matters that are many and great are briefly to be deliuered For this breuities sake therefore as also for the greatnesse of your Maiesties employments and the great burthen of so many weighty businesses that lye vpon you I will not here interpose any large discourses and long disputations wherewith to entertaine and spend the time but briefe certaine and generall Doctrines such as are of most profit comprehend most subiects and may be applyed to particular both persons and things all taken out of the Politicks the law of nature and men that are Statists and no way contrary to the Law of God and Christian Religion As likewise out of ancient Philosophers and wise men both Lawyers and Law-makers Accompanied wholly for to giue credit to the cause and that the subiect may not be disesteemed as an egge of mine owne hatching with the examples of Kings and Emperours if the examples of Kings may moue Kings and with those which cannot but moue bee esteemed and beleeued being drawne out of the holy Scripture Which being well obserued and put in execution by Kings they shall obtaine that end for which they were intended To wit to maintaine and preserue their Kingdomes in peace and iustice Reade it therefore I beseech your Maiestie and take it to heart for it is a piece of worke that is directed to the seruice of Kings of their Fauourites and Ministers And let them not say that they are Metaphysicall and impracticable things or in a manner meere impossibilites but rather that they are very conformable to our possibilitie and practised by our
estimation of â—ound iudgements and accounted wise in all kind of faculties haue held this to be the best and perfectest gouernment and with out it neuer Citie nor kingdome hath beene taken to be well gouerned Your good Kings and great Gouernours haue euer fauoured this Course whereas on the contrarie your bad kings and euill Gouernours transported with their pride haue runne another way And therefore in conformitie heereunto I dare confidently affirme if a Monarke be hee what he will be shall resolue businesses alone on his own head how wise soeuer he thinke himself without hauing recourse to his Councell or against the opinion of his Counsellours although he do Acertar and hit right in his resolutions yet therein he breakes the bounds of a Monarchie and enters into those of a Tyranny Of whose Examples and the euill successes insuing thereupon the Histories are full But one shall serue instead of many And that shall be of Tarquinius Superbus taken out of the first Booke of Titus Liuius who out of his great pride and haughtinesse of minde that he might rule all himselfe and haue none else to haue a hand in any businesse made it his Master peece to weaken the authority of the Roman Senate in lessening the number of Senatours Which he purposely did that he wholy and solely by himselfe might determine all whatsoeuer that occurred in the kingdome In this Monarchie or Kingdome there are three parts or parties to be considered of whom principally we are to treate The King The Ministers and the Vassalls And if in a humane body the Anatomie consideration of the Head be the nicest subtillest and most difficult what difficultie will it not be and what a daintie hand will it not require to touch talke and treate of a king who is the head of the Commonwealth And hence I inferre that for to treate of Kings and to prescribe them Precepts and Documents touching a Kingdome he ought to be such a wise King as was Salomon Who considering the difficulties and dangers which may in this matter offer themselues aduiseth all without any difference that they should not seeme to be desirous to seeme wise before their Temporall kings For no man howsoeuer fulfill'd with wisedome is speaking in his kings presence secure and safe Penes Regem noli velâ—e videri sâ—piens Boast not thy wisedome in the presence of the Kiâ—g The reason is for that he that is the supreme soueraignâ—â—n Temporall power whom all acknowledge and obey as their Superiour risenteth it much to see himselfe inferiour in a thing of so greate esteeme as is wisedome and discretion Xenophon laying his foundation on this opinion introduceth Cambises instructing his sonne Cyrus King of Persia how he ought to carry himself in his Kingdome As also Alexander who receiued his Militarie Precepts from his father Philip and not from any other that was inferiour vnto him It is written of Agasicles king of the Lacedemonians that he refused to learne Philosophie of a famous Philosopher of those times it seeming vnto him that being a king it was not fitting he should be his Scholler whose sonne he was not As if he should haue sayd That he onely by a naturall obligation acknowledged him alone and that he contented himselfe with that which he had learned from him and would not acknowledge any other inferiour vnto him in birth though neuer so much before him in learning and knowledge But this difficulty I purpose to ouercome by proposing in this my Treatise vnto kings not mine owne Reasons nor those which I might draw from great Philosophers and humane Histories but from the words of God and of his Saints and from Histories Diuine and Canonicall whose Instructions kings may not disdaine nor take it as an affront to submit themselues thereunto be they being Christians neuer so powerfull neuer so supreme because the Author that dictates these Lessons vnto them is the Holy-Ghost And if I shall at any time alleage the Examples of heathen Kings and shall make some good benefit of Antiquitie and serue my selfe with the sentences of Philosophers that were strangers vnto Gods people it shall be very sparingly and as it comes in my way and as one that ceazeth vpon his owne goods if he fortune to light vpon them and taketh them from those that vniustly detaine and possesse them CHAP. II. What the name of King signifieth THis name of King in Diuine and humane Letters is very ancient and so old as is the first Man For in Gods creating of him euen before that there were many Men he made him King ouer all the beastes of the field And it is a most noble Appellatiue and that which is better and more neerely representeth vnto vs the Maiestie of God who very frequently in the holy Scriptures and with much propriety is called King And it is the common opinion of the Wisest that it signifieth one that rules and gouernes being deduced from the Latine word Regere which is to rule or gouerne Reges a regendo dicti sunt saith S. Isidore Ideò quilibet rectè faciendo regis nomen tenet sed peccando amittit And considering with more attention this it 's true Etymologie he is properly sayd to be a King who ouer mastring his passions doth first rule and gouerne himselfe cumplying as he ought with the obligations of his Estate without offence either to God or his neighbour and next hath a care to rule others and to procure all he can that all may doe the like And he that shall do the contrary laying his foundation on humane wisedom and reason of State regardeth more his own temporall commoditie and proper Interest then the good of the Commonwealth This suteth not with the name he holdeth nor may he be called a king neither is he so for himselfe nor for others because he neither knowes to rule himselfe nor others Malus si regâ—et saith S. Austen servus est He hath the Appellation and honourable name of a king but in very truth see how many vices reigne in him so many times is hee a servant nay a very slaue It was the aduice of Agapitus to Iustinian the Emperour that he should haue an eye ouer himselfe and looke well to his actions for albeit he were a King and a great Prince yet the Title of King did then convene to him when he should be Master of himselfe and curbing his unruly appeâ—ites should of a King become a Vassall to Reason and Iustice. Hee that is good and iust is a God vpon earth and from thence is the name of King deriued vnto him and is his Vicar in all causes for to maintaine his Subiects in Justice and Truth by his Empire and Command and to sustaine all things in Order Policie and Peace And therefore a Law of the Partida sayes thus Qâ—â—el â—ey â—s Vicario de dios para hazer iusticia en todos los cosas That a King is Gods Vicar for to doe
and white-liuerd persons are not fit Ministers for a State Noli quaerere sieri iudex nisi vale-as virtute irrumpere iniquitates He that hath not a face to out-face a Lye and to defend the truth let him neuer take vpon him the Office of a Minister of Iustice. In the booke of Daniel it is storyed that King Nabucodonozor was resolued to haue done some cruell chastisement vpon his Princes and Counsellours for that hauing asked them the Interpretation of a troublesome dreame hee had none of them could declare the meaning of it And howbeit they told him that they could not tell what to make of it plainly confessed the truth yet notwithstanding the King conceiued that hee had good reason to except against them For thought hee if you know it and for feare will not tell it me yee are Cowards And if you know it not yee are ignorant and either of these is a great fault in Counsailours afford sufficient cause why ye should be punished in that yee would offer to take that Office vpon yee which first of all hath neede of stoutnesse of courage and secondly to be learned and expert in so many and various things as a King hath occasion to vse yee in And therefore that wise Iethro after the word Viros Men puts sapientes Wise Or as the 70. and others translate it potentes sortes Because in Ministers and Counsellours of State strength courage constancie and wisedome should walke hand in hand The Courts and Pallaces of Kings and Princes that which they are least stored with all is Truth They scarce know her face nay not so much as of what colour or complexion shee is the onley Minions there made of being flatteries and lyes A wise and stout man is daunted with nothing is neuer troubled nor altered he stands vpon his own worth and sinceritie is Lord and Master of his reason he speakes with libertie and freedome hee represents the truth to his King and maintaines it Pie quedo as they say stiffely and stoutly without respect to any thing no not so much as his owne proper life hee ouerthrowes plots discouers the impostures deceits and Lyes of flatterers for the which he had neede of courage and wisedome Now let vs see what that wisedome is which a King is to require in his Ministers Not worldly wisedome wherof S. Bernard saith That those which inioy it boasting themselues thereof very wisely goe to Hell The question that I aske is Whether they should be Philosophers Diuines or Lawyers or in what kinde of faculties they should be wise Heereunto first I answer that questionlesse it would be a great helpe to the making of a good Counsellour to bee seene in these Sciences and to haue spent some time of study in them But in case they haue no skill in these it shall suffice that they are wise in that which belongeth vnto that Ministry for which they are nominated and called to wit To be a Counsailour which is a person that is fit sufficient and able for that charge which he is to administer That hee haue a nimble wit and quicke apprehension for without that the rest serues to little purpose Whereas he that is furnished therewith with a little helpe attaineth to much He knowes things past vnderstands the present and giues his iudgement of things to come That hee be well read in ancient and moderne Histories wherein are contained the sentences and opinions of wise men of elder times by which they ordred their Common-wealths and maintained them in Peace For this kinde of reading doth indoctrinate more in a day then Experience hath taught others in many yeares which must by no meanes be wanting in a Counsellour for that ordinarily in them are found Prudence Authoritie and Experience That he haue happy memorie which is the Archiue of the Sciences and Treasure of Truths for without it to reade and studie is as they say Coger aqua en vn harnero to gather water in a fiue and it importeth much in regard of the diuersitie of businesses and persons with whom hee is to treate That hee haue trauailed and seene forraine Countries That hee be skill'd in the Languages and haue in all of them the Arte and garbe of speaking and discoursing well That he more esteeme the seruice of his King and the publicke good then his own priuate gaine That hee be courteous humble affable and yet of a good spirit That hee lend an attentiue eare and that hee keepe that gate open for great and small rich and poor But aboue all these he must be of approued vertue for without it all the rest are of no esteeme Hee that shall haue more or lesse of these qualities which are for all in Common shall bee the more or lesse sufficient Counsellour As for Vice-royes Gouernours Ambassadors and other great Gouernments of the Kingdome such are to be chosen who together with the foresaid quaâ—ities haue studied and spent some yeares in the Schoole of experience and hauing beene conuersant at the Kings elbow aâ—d in his Courte and Counsailes not only for the greatnesse of those mindes and stomacks which are bred there a necessary qualitie for to occupie great places and not to bee bred vp with a poore portion of Treating and Vnderstanding which begets mindes according to the same measure but likewise because there by their Treating with Kings Princes and other great persons assisting them in their Counsells and graue consultations communicating with great Ministers and Counsellours of State diuerse cases and businesses the Practick of all affaires is thereby the more and better apprehended As your practitioners in Physicke by conferring with great Physitians He therefore that shall haue both Learning and Experience shall amongst all men be the most remarkable But Quis est hic laudabimus eum Shew mee this Man and we will commend him For Mans life is short the Arte long and experience hard to be atchieued But to summe vp this discourse and giue an ende thereunto I say That he that is to bee made a Counsellour of Warre should therein haue beene exercised many yeares And that he that is of the Councell of State should haue a full knowledge of all and should be very dextrous in matters of gouernment both publike and particular and well verst in military discipline because hee is to consult both of warre and peace Which because they are things so opposite and contrary a man cannot iudge well in the one vnlesse he know and vnderstand aright the other As wee shall shew heereafter when we shall more in particular treate of this Counsell Other qualities are competible more in especiall to Iudges Iustices and Presidents to whom that particularly appertaineth which is deliuered in that word Sapientes That they well vnderstand the facultie of the Lawes and that corresponding with their name they be Iuris-prudentes well seene in all matters carrying an euen hand towards all and administring Iustice without partialitie
without respect to any mans person or dignitie they should equally iudge all For they hauing as they haue heere vpon earth the power of God they ought not to feare any other but him He that preuaricates Iustice in relation to great persons makes them greater and more powerfull then God who giues vs this short but stoute Lesson Feare not him that can kill the body and take away thy life but feare thou him that can kill the soule and depriue thee of lifeeuerlasting And in another place he saith Thou shalt not forsake the poore for feare of the rich nor iudge vniustly nor doe the thing that is vnequall for feare of the powerfull but keepe iustice in it's true weight and measure without any humane respect or vaine â—eare King Iehosaphat aduiseth the Iudges of Israel that in their iudgements they feare none but God alone and all the Law-giuers as Lycurgus Solon Numa and a number of others together with the chiefest of all Moses who gouerned Common-wealths and made Lawes founded them with Religion and the feare of God These are the first and last Letters of the Lawes of Christian gouernment wherewith that wise King did summe vp the booke of those which hee made for the gouernment of Men. Deum time mandata eius obserua hoc est omnis homo Feare God and keepe his Commandements for this is the whole dutie of man With this he receiueth the stabilitie and permanencie of man The contrary whereof is to be a beast and worse then a beast According to that of S. Bernard Ergo si hoc est omnis homo absque hoc nihil est homo If this be the whole duty of man without this man is nothing But as a man that hath no vse of reason breakes all lawes Facile deuiat à justitia qui in causis non Deum sed homines formidat He easily swarues from Iustice which in causes feareth not God but Man I will heere conclude with that which Esay saith A wonderfull Counsellour is the mighty God And he is to be our chiefe Counsellour and more inward with vs then any King or Counsellour And Kings and Counsellours are to craue his Councell For Councell being his gift he doth not communicate the samâ— to any saue such as loue and feare him and take Councell of his diuine Law As did that holy King Consilium meum Iustificationes tuae Let euery one enter into his Councell of knowledge let him consult himselfe the best that he can yet when he hath done all that he can let him aduise with the Law of God For if he do not know well how to aduise himselfe how shall he giue Counsaile to others And he that knowes not how to rule gouern himselfe how shall he command a whole kingdome Qui sibi nequam est cui alij bonus crit He that is euill to himselfe to whom will hee be good Alexander said He hated that wise man that was not wise for himselfe CHAP. XI Of other Courses and meanes which Kings may take for the notice of such persons in whom the said Qualities concurre ONe of the greatest mischiefes incident vnto Kingdomes is That Kings haue not true notice giuen them of worthy persons for to imploy them in his seruice A great cause whereof is that your vndeseruing or at least lesse sufficient are clapt in betwixt them and home Those are the men that are most intermitted take most vpon them and procure by their Negociating and Plotting to occupie the best places and not contenting themselues therewith seeke to shut the doore against men of merit and to keepe them out to the end that their owne defects by this course may receiue the lesse discouery For this is the nature of things opposite each to other that the neerer they are one to the other the more excellent lays it's Contraryes defect the more open Now to occurre to this mischiefe wise Iethro aduised his sonne in Law that he should seeke out men of good parts and choose them as we sâ—yd before from amongst all the people And we shall better perceiue what that Counsaile comprehendeth if we will but consider that other place of Deuteronomy Where Moses discoursing with the people what diligence he had vsed on his part it is there mentioned that he spake vnto them and admonished them to the end that the Election of the Ministers might take the better that they themselues likewise would vse their diligences and then giue him notice of those persons which they held in greatest esteeme amongst them and were in the generall opinion the ablest men Date ex vobis â—iros sapientes gnaros quorum Conuersatio sit probata in Tribubus vestris vt ponam eos vobis Principes Take yee wise men and vnderstanding and knowen amongst your Tribes and I will make them Rulers ouer you And indeed the best and surest course that Kings can take to come to that notice or knowledge they desire is to lay holde on those persons whose approbation is so notorious that all the people giue good Testimonie of them For as a wise man hath well obserued the generall opinion is that Touchstone which proueth or reproueth For it cannot be that One should deceiue All. And happily from hence grew that Common Adage Vox populi vox Dei The Peoples voyce is Gods voyce We must giue Credit to the fame and report that goes of Men. For as Tacitus saith she sometimes makes the choyse of Ministers it being his meaning that this satisfaction should be giuen to the people that those that are to gouerne them should be chosen and elected by that common fame and good report that goes of them And heere by the way let me tell you that it is not much amisse that some Offices and Preferments be in a dissembled kinde of disguise purposely published before they be bestowed to see how it will be intertained and receiued by the people to whom it is fit some satisfaction should be giuen as being the body that is to be commanded This is a Trick of State whereof vpon some occasions Fernando surnamed the Wise made good Vse For when he was to goe any great Voiage vndertake any Warre or attempt some new Enterprise or any other action of importance he would not publish nor iustifie the same to the world till he had vsed some art and cunning imploying some persons fit for that purpose before his designes were throughly vnderstood to giue it out That the King should do well to make such or such a waâ—re to make this or that prouision for this or that reason So that first of all the vulgar were made acquainted therewith and rested satisfied with the reasons that were rendred for it And then afterwards it comming to be published that the King had done or would doe such a thing it is incredible to beleeue with how much ioy loue and applause of the people and whole
Nabuchodonazars image but that all the whole body be one and the selfe same flesh and bone all of the same matter and informed with the same forme That bundle of sheafes which Ioseph saw his like the King-sheafe lifting vp his head higher then the rest and if we may beleeue the Rabbins reaching as high as heauen and those of his brethren prostrate on the ground doing homage thereunto is the Embleme of the body of a Councell it's President like vnto that of king Pharaoh And the sacred Text doth not say that that tall and high sheafe was different in matter from the rest but that all were of the same eare and stalke giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that he that is to be the Head or President of the whole body of a Councell though he be to be higher then the rest in the dignitie and hight of his Office yet for all this God would not that he should be made of any other kinde of matter then were the rest of the members That he should not besome great block-headed Lord or a man without wit or learning that in his carriage and manner of life he should seeme to be cut out of another peece of cloath but that hee should bee of the selfe same qualitie fashion and profession And that the President of euery Councell should be chosen from amongst the Counsailours themselues that they be moulded out of the same Masse and lumpe as well the feete as the head that there goe as we say but a payre of sheares betweene them and that they be clad all in one and the same liuerie And God giuing order to his Vice-roy and in it to all Kings how he was to choose a President that should be the Head and ruler ouer his people saith thus vnto him Eum constitues quem Dominus tuus elegerit de numero fratrum tuorum Thou shalt in any wise set him King ouer thee whom thy Lord thy God shall choose One from among thy brethren shalt thou set King ouer thee And howbeit God had heere exprest himselfe so plainely and that he himselfe had the nominating of the person and therefore there could be no errour in the Election yet it seemeth God was not satisfied heerewith but comes presently with another Prouiso and a second Mandatum saying Thou mayst not set a stranger ouer thee hominem alterius gentis which is not thy brother He must not be of another people or of another familie As if he should haue said not of another Councell Doubtlesse saith S. Chrysostome this is a businesse of great consequence and we are to insist much thereupon considering that God himselfe doth recommend and repeate it so often vnto vs to the end that it may be imprinted in the hearts of Kings And in Reason of State and matter of gouernment it is the greatest benefit they can do to their Kingdomes And therefore amongst other those great and many fauours which God promâ—sed to conferre vpon his people speaking vnto them in the similistude of the Vine he indeareth this as the greatest That he will set a guard about them and Gardiners or vineyard-keepers that shall be within the precincts thereof Dabo ei vinitores ex eodem loco I will giue her her Vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for a doore of hope But my good Lord within the precincts of a Vineyard what can be had there but hedges and Vine-plants Had it not beene better to giue vnto this Vineyard a lusty strong Laborour to dresse and prune it and to keepe and defend it from passengers The Chalde â—xpounds this place very well For in stead of Vinitores he puts Gubernatores Which are Rulers and Presidents And for to be as they ought to be we haue said already that they should be vniforme with the members For if they be the Vine he must likewise be a Vine that must be â—â—eir Head Christ himselfe that he might be the Presiden◠〈◊〉 Head of that Apostolicall Councel where the Apostles were as tender plants and had the same proprieties made himselfe a Vine to conforme himselfe vnto them Ego sum vitis vera vos palmites I am the true Vine and yee the branches To the end that Kings may vnderstand and all the World may know of how great importance it is that the Members and Head Counsailours and Presidents should in their qualities and conditions be very conformable sithence that heerein he would not dispence with himselfe much lesse therefore with others and for this cause Presidents ought still to be chosen out of the same Councells Ex eodem loco eiusdem gentis de numero fratrum suorum Out of the same place the same people and from amongst their brethren And if Counsailours might haue the hope of such increase of honour in their persons it would make them much better then they are and they would study to win themselues credit and to cumply in all things with their obligation seruing with carefullnesse and satisfaction as well to give their Kings good content as that they againe might take notice thereof and in their greatest occasions imploy them in their seruice This rule did that great gouerner of Gods people Moses obserue who hauing as wee savd vsed diligence for to seeke out persons which might helpe him furnished with those qualites afore-mentioned made a distribution and diuision amongst them allotting them places and Offices answearable to their Talent And which is worthy the noting that as he himselfe affirmeth in another place the noblest and wisest amongst them he made rulers ouer the rest For when in noblemen concurre the qualities of wisedome and prudence and other the Vertues there is a great deale of reason nay a strong obligation lyes vpon it that Presidentships and the greatest dignities pâ—aces of honour should be bestowed vpon them especially when not degeneraâ—ing from the Vertue of their Ancestors but surpassing them therein they haue the aduantage of noblenesse of blood vpon which vertue like a Diamond set in gold shewes it selâ—e the better and appeares the more beautifull The words of that most wise Law-giuer wheron this discourse will be the better grounded are these Tuli de Tribubus vestris viros sapientes nobiles constitui eos Principes Tribunos Centuriones Quinquegenarios ac Decanos qui docerent vos singula I tooke the cheife of your Tribes wise men and knowen and made them Heads ouer ye Captaines ouer thousands and Captaines ouer hundreds and Captaines ouer fifties and Officers amongst your Tribes Out of euery Tribe he chose the worthiest and most sufficient men and made them Heads and Presidents in that gouernment And he that was so zealous of the Lawes and good gouernment valiant Mattathias in that prouision of Offices which he distributed at his death he said of Simon Scio quod vir consilij est ipsum audite semper And because he was so wise a Counsailour
which I shall now speake of may be râ— duced those which are to be required in their 〈…〉 Councell of State is a Councell of peace and War And as Plato saith is thesoule of Republike and the very Anchor wheron wholy dependeth aâ— the liabilitie firmenesse assurance of the State King and Kingâ—ome 〈…〉 or preferuation Whose chiefe aime and principall intent is the good Gouernment of the Common-wealth and that it and euery member thereof should liue happily and be conserued in peace and iustice And for this cause onely are we to make war Ob eam causam suscipienda sunt bella vt sine iâ—iuria in pace vivatur It is Câ—ero's saying And the Emperour Charles the fifth was wont to Say That the Councell of State is the whole wisedome power and vnderstanding of the King That it is his Eyes his hands and his feete And that himselfe should often sit in Counsell and without it not to do or conclude any thing that is of any weight or moment The qualities required to make a perfect Counseller in this Councell are many As that he be a man of much courage truth and integritie and well seene in matters of State and Gouernment publick and pâ—â—uate of peace and of warre for he is to aduise in all A man of good yeares great vertue much authoritie and of no meane credit and reputation That he be very skilful in those businesses which he treateth That he vnderstand them well and be his Crafts-Master in that facultie That he be of a prompt and sharpe wit That his tongue be well hangd and be able to expresse himselfe so happily that he may be truly vnderstood That he haue a minde free from all by respects that neither Loue nor Feare may detaine him from vttering what he thinketh That he beare an especiall loue and affection to his King That he keepe his hands cleane and not suffer himselfe to be ouercome by couetousnesse For he that in whatsoeuer is propounded presently apprehends what is best and vnderstands what is proffitable and conuenient yet neither knoweth nor hath fiâ—ting words to declare himselfe it is all one as if he vnderstood it not And he that can play both these parts passing well yet loueth not his Master his conseruation and augmentation of honour this man will hardly be true and trusty vnto him and scarcely adiuse him to that which is fitting for him But suppose he hath all these good qualities yet if he giue way to be won by the loue of money and greedinesse of gaine all that shall be treated with him shall be saleable no whit weighing the benefit and authoritie of his King if the insatiable hunger of riches be put in the scale And I say moreouer that he that shall want these two qualities and shall not loue his King and yet loue Couetousnesse though he be indewed with all the rest he shall thereby be so much the worse and more dangerous for hauing his will depraued and his vnderstanding ill affected hauing these two Vices attending on him how much the more shall his sharpnesse of wit be and the greater his force of Eâ—quence the worse effects will it worke and the more remedilesse Let Counsellours therefore haue these two qualities Loue of the heart and cleannesse of the hand together with good naturall partes as a quicke wit and nimble apprehension for the speedier determining of present businesses and not onely to giue sodaine but sound aduise in them And that in future cases they may be able by naturall discourse to giue a guesse how things are like to succeede as also that they may by good discourse and debating of businesses attaine vnto those things whereof as yet they haue not had particular experience That they be prudent discerners of the better and the worse in Cases doubtfull that they may not be to seeke but to goe through stitch therewith and be prouided for all commers In a word let them be excellent sodaine speakers vpon all occasions assisted as well by a naturall kinde of gift they haue that way as by the exercise of their wit All which will not serue the turne nor make the Mill go so roundly as it would vnlesse there be much amitie amongst them and a conformitie of good agreement and a willing helping and assiting one of another in businesses For from Competitions and Contestations amongst themselues haue insued the losse of Kingdomes and States and other great losses and Calamities They must bee of one accord and one will with their King and still aduise him to the best hauing an eye both to him and themselues that they doe not erre or doe any thing contrary to that which is right and iust And then is it to be vnderstood that they beare true loue to their King and Countrie and that they apply themselues to all that which concernes the common good and their owne particular seruice when they take ioy and comfort that they concurre and runne all one way without diuision or distraction And if this vnitie be not amongst them it is to be imagined that they loue not so much the King and State as their owne priuate interest Being thus qualified they shall be fit Ministers and Counsellors for so great a Counsell for they shall therby be able to rid as many businesses as shall be brought before them and giue them good and quicke dispatch well vnderstanding what is needefull to be done and knowing as well how to declare themselues in that which they vnderstand And in this or any other Councell there ought according to Fadrique Furio a care to be had to examine the merits and dismerits of euery one informing themselues of his life behauiour and abilities as also the Actions of those who without suing deserue for their vertue to haue fauour showen them and likewise to take notice of those who desire this preferment And that for this purpose there be a Register or Bookâ— kept of the merceds and fauours to be conferred and of the persons that are well deseruing to the end that those honours and fauours may be thrown vpon them according to the vertue sufficiencie and merits of the men For he that depriues Vertue of that honour that is due thereunto doth in Cato's opinion depriue men of vertue it selfe And when fauours are afforded those which not deserue them or are forborne to be bestowed on those that merit them vertue receiues a great affront and the Common-wealth a notable losse And it will proue the greater if honour be added to the bad and taken from the good and that vice shall be better rewarded then vertue For where she is not esteemed and rewarded the vertuous liue like men affronted and that are banished the Court. King Nabucodonosor Assuerus and others haue kept such a booke as this wherein were commanded to be recorded the seruice that were done them and the persons deseruing to the end they might gratifie them and cast their
they heare and hearing answer that they haue heard that which they neuer meane to grant And there is no worse Answer for a suitor then to make this answer to his petition That it hath beene heard And it is very fit that they should reply in this kinde of phrase for thereby is giuen to be vnderstood the great obligation they haue to heare as well those that haue iustice as those that pretend to haue it although they haue it not In signification whereof the two eares are placed on the two contrarie sides of the head one opposite to the other because affording one eare to the Plaintiffe we must reserue the other for the defendant And because God would haue it so that Hearing should be the ordinary meanes for the receiuing of the diuine Light and attaining to the knowledge of those supreme truthes by so superexcellent and high a gift as that of faith Quomodo credent ei quem non crediderunt How shall they beleeue in him of whom they haue not heard As also that Kings may haue an intire light of humane Truthes it is requisite that they should lend a willing eare to those that craâ—e Audience of them For in this sense of all other saith Saint Bernard Truth hath it's seate and Mansion In auditu veritas Truth is in Hearing And in example of this hee alleageth that which passed betwixt good old Isaac and his two sonnes Esau and Iacob who by reason of his olde age fayling very much in all the rest of his senses that of his hearing continued still in it's full perfection The other deceiu'd him and this onely told him the Truth Vox quidem vox Iacob manus autem manus sunt Esau. The voyce is Iacobs voyce but the hands are the hands of Esau. Wherein he was out In Gods Schoole where faith isprofessed great reckoning is made of Hearing Quia fides ex auditu Because faith comes by hearing For a man may heare and beleeue though he cannot see But in the Schoole of the world we must haue all these and all is little inough We must see heare and beleeue And when Kings haue both seene and heard and throughly informed themselues of the whole State of the busines that they may not be deceiued in their iudgement then let them presently proceede to touch it as we say with the hand to fall roundly to worke and in that maner and forme as shall seeme most fitting to finish and make an end of it Dominus de coelo in terram aspexit vt audiret gemitus compeditorum c. The Lord looked downe from the height of his Sanctuary Out of the Heauen did the Lord behold the earth that he might heare the mourning of the prisoner and deliuer the children of death This looking downe of the Lord from the highest Heauens and from the throne of his glory vpon the earth to heare the grieuous groâ—nings and pitifull complaints of poore wretched creatures which call and cry vnto him for iustice should my thinkes be an admirable good lesson for Kings that they should loose somewhat of their sportes and recreations and of that which delighteth the eye and the eare to bestow them both on those who humbâ—y petition him that he will be pleased to both see and heare their cause Of Philip King of Macedon though some put it vpon Demetrius it is reported by Plutarke in his life that going one day abroad to take his pleasure and pastime an olde woman came vnto him besought him to heare her and to do her Iustice. But he excusing himselfe and telling her he was not now at leysure to heare her shee made answer Proinde nec Rex quidem esse velis Sir if you be not at leysure to heare your subiects will not giue them leaue to speake vnto you leaue to be king for there is no reason he should be a king that cannot finde a time to cumply with his dutie Conuinced with this reason without any more adoe he presently gaue a gracious Audience not onely to her but many moe besides For Kings which doe not heare by consequence do not vnderstand And not vnderstanding they cannot gouerne And not gouerning they neither are nor can be Kings The Cretans painted their God Iupiter without eares because he was that supreme king that gaue lawes and iudged all And therefore ought to cary an equall eare indifferently to heare all parties after one and the same selfe manner Other some did allow him eares but so placed them withall that they might heare those least that were behinde him Which was held a fault in their God as likewise it is in King not to heare any but those that stand before them or side by side are still weighting at their elbow Kings should heare as many as they possibly can and which is the onely comfort of suitors in that gratious and pleasing kinde of maner that no man should depart discontented from their feete being a maine fundamentall cause to make all men to loue reuerence and esteeme them and likewise to oblige Princes to lend the more willing and patient eare to their subiects And of this subiect Pliny in commendation of his Emperour Traiane tells vs that amidst so many cares of so great an Empire as his was he spent a great part of the day in giuing Audience and with such stilnes and quietnes as if he had beene idle or had nothing to doe And that he knowing the content that his subiects tooke in their often seeing of him and speaking with him so much the more liberally and longer he afforded them occasion and place for to inioy this their content For nothing doth so much please and satisfie the heart of a Prince as to conceiue that he is beloued and generally well affected of all his subiects Let a King then this course being taken perswade himselfe that his people loueth him and desireth to see him and to speake dayly if it were possible with him And that they take a great deale of comfort that they haue seene him and he heard them And that of two things which all desire To wit To be heard and relieued The first intertaines and comfortes the suitor and makes him with a cheerefull minde to hope well of the second Let him heare though it be but as he passes by from place to place and let him not let any day passe without giuing ordinary Audience at a set hower and for a set time And in case any shall require a more particular and priuate Audience a gods name let him grant it them For euery one of these to conceiue the worst cannot deceiue him aboue once And it is to be supposed that they will not be so vnciuill or so foolishly indiscreete as to craue the Kings priuate eare but in a case of necessitie or where there is some especiall cause or extraordinary reason for it And I farther affirme that Audience being giuen in this
according to Saint Gregory it hath foure most potent opposites which make the rod of Iustice to bow and turne crooked and to falsifie the tongue and beame of the ballance To wit Hatred Fauour Feare and Interest Now Iustice is diuided into two parts which are the honour of God and the loue of our neighbour Aristotle did likewise consider two other parts of Iustice. One common which is ordayned for the Common-wealth and the other particular which is instituted for our neighbour Which by another name they call Equitie which man vsing with reason dea'es so with others as he would be dealt withall himselfe vpon the Common which imbraceth includeth all the rest Patritius founded his Common-wealth And Plaâ—o his vpon the particular Others diuide it into foure parts or species into Diuine Naturall Ciuill and Iudiciall Which the Schoolmen do define and declare at large vnto whom I remit the Reader But laying aside these diuisions which make not for our purpose the most proper and essentiall diuision of Iustice is into Commutatiue and Distributiue Which as Diuus Thomas saith are the partes Subiâ—ctiuae or subiectiue parts of this Iustice that is to say it 's essential Species And therefore we will treate of these two and that very briefly And first in the first place of the Commutatiue and in the second of the distributiue Iustice Commutatiue Contractiue or Venditiue for all these names your Authors giue it for the matter of Commutations Contracts and Sales wherein it is exercised is considered betwixt two party and party which are a part of that whole body of the Common-wealth which giue and take betweene themselues by way of Contract or Sale It 's end and obiect is equalitie and proportion betweene that which is giuen and that which is receiued without respect vnto the persons which buy and sell but to that which is contracted solde or commutated that there may be an equalitie and proportion had betwixt that which is giuen and taken And when in this there is a defection it is contrary to Commutatiue Iustice. The distributiue is considered betweene the whole and it's parts The Medium of this Vertue doth not consist in the equaltie of thing to thing but of the things to the persons for as one person surpasseth another so the thing which is giuen to such a person exceedeth that part which is giuen to another person So that there is an equalitie of proportion betweene that which is more and that which is lesse but not an equalitie of quantitie to wit So much to the one as to the other For those which in a Common-wealth are not equall in dignitie and desert ought not equally to enioy the Common goods thereof when they are reparted and diuided by the hand of distributiue Iustice As we shall shew you by and by when we come to speake of the Commutatiue which treates of equalizing and according that whch mens disordinate appetites and boundlesse couetousnesse doth disconcerte and put out of order euery one being desirous to vsurpe that for himselfe which of right appertaines and belongs to another whence arise your cosenages and deceits in humane Contracts and whence doe resulte those contentions dissensions and sutes in Law And to occurre and meete with these inconueniences from the Alcalde of the poorest Village to the highest and supremest Tribunall those pretenders may appeale if they cannot obtaine Iustice in those inferiour Courts And therefore in Castile in the Counsell Royal it is called by way of excellencie Conseiode Iusticia The Counsel of Iustice. And in all well ordred Monarchies and Common-wealths there is euermore carefull prouision made for this necessitie dispersing in diuers Tribunalls the fittest men for administring Iustice as we haue formerly related of that great Law-giuer Moses And in the second booke of the Chro. it is said of King Iehosâ—phat that he appointed Audiences and Tribunalls in all the principall Cities of his kingdome and those euer at their very gates and entrance that the Negociants and suitors might the more easily meete with the Ministers of Iustice for this is the chiefest prouision which a King should make for kis Kingdome indearing to them all the faithfull administration thereof and that with such graue words and such effectuall reasons that they deserue to be written in golden Letters vpon all the seates Tribunalls of your Iudges Videte quid faciatis non enim hominis exercetis iudicium sed Domini Et quodcunque indicaueritis in vos redundabit Sit timor domini vobiscum cum diligentia cuncta facite non est enim apud dominum deum nostrum iniquitas nec personarum acceptio nec cupido munerum Take heede what ye doe for yee execute not the iudgement of man but of the Lord and he will be with yee in the cause and iudgement Wherefore now let the feare of the Lord be vpon yee Take heede and doe it for there is no iniquitie with the Lord our God neither respect of persons nor receiuing of reward The first thing that he admonisheth them of is Videte quid faciatâ—s Take heede what yee doe Looke well about yee and haue an eye to what ye doe Heare see and consider take time and leysure be not ouer-hasty in sentencing a sute till yee haue studied the case well and throughly and are able as well to satisfie others as your selues Vsing that care and circumspection as did that iust man Iob. Causam quam nesoiebam diligentissime inuestigabam When I knew not the cause I sought it out diligently As if his life had lyen vpon it Alciat saith That the Tribunes had at the gates of their houses the Image of a King sitting in his throane hauing hands but no eyes And certaine Statuas about him seeming to be Iudges hauing eyes but no hands Whereby they declared the Office of a King and the duty of Iudges painting him with hands and them without them but with as many eyes as that fabulous Argos had or like vnto those Mysticall beastes which Saint Iohn saw full of eyes within and on euery side To shew that they should study see and examine causes and all whatsoeuer passeth in the Common-wealth and to informe the King thereof who is to haue hands and Armes courage and power for execution Againe that good King puts them in minde that it is not mans but Gods Office that they take in hand whose proper Office is to iudge And therefore in the Scripture your Iudges are called Gods And since that they are his Lieuetenants let them labour for to doe Iustice as God himselfe doth For I must be so bold as to tell them that there is a reuiewing of the businesse and a place of Appealing in the supreme Counsell of his diuine Iustice. And there the Party pretending doth not deposite his thousand and fiue hundred ducats but the Iudge who lyes at stake for it and if he shall Iudge amisse he is
he must also doe it by himselfe For neither that great Gouernor of Gods people Moses nor any other after him is in all the whole body of the Bible to be found that euer yet condemned the occupation of iudging the people to bee vnworthy royall Maiestie nor contrarie to the reputation of a King I know no other preiudice in it saue that it is impossible for one sole man to vndergoe so great a taske And this impossibilitie ariseth from the multitude of subiects and in that case they aduise That a King should not wholly take away his hand from the doing of Iustice but that the lesser and more ordinary businesses hee should remit and referr them to different Ministers and the weightier causes take to his owne charge and be present in person when they come to be sit vpon and determined as formerly haue done the wisest and greatest Monarkes that euer were in the world Who did euer equall King Salomon in wisedome greatnesse and Maiestie yet did hee hold it no disgrace vnto him to humble himselfe to heare suitors iudge their causes and to doe them Iustice. The Kings of the Hebrew people were called Iudges because they did glorie in nothing so much as to heare and iudge the people And in all Nations this hath alwayes beene the principall Office appertaining vnto Kings And the Holy Ghost saith That the King that faithfully iudgeth the poore his throne shall be established for euer §. III. That it much importeth Kings to haue the good Loue and affection of their Subiects KIngs as already hath beene sayd are the Heads of their Kingdomes Their Estates serue them as Members Without which it is impossible they should be that which their name speakes them And therefore it is not onely conuenient but necessarie that they should seeke to gaine the good wills of all suting themselues though they force their owne to the nature of their subiects and beholding them as if they were his children Which is the best course to keepe them well affected and contented and to be beloued and obayed by them Which they may easily doe if they will but thinke themselues that they are sheepheards and fathers of those people which God hath recommended vnto them easing them of those wrongs and grieuances which they vniustly suffer laying no more vpon them then they are able to beare suffring them when reason shall require to take their ease and their quiet and helping to sustaine them when they grow poore and are decayd Plato tells vs That for a Prince to be good and to be beloued of all hee must bestow all his loue and his whole heart vpon the Common-wealth his will on the Gods his secret on his friends and his Time on businesses For by thus reparting himselfe with all he shall haue a part in all by all of them comming to vnite themselues with him Onely in this good Correspondency of Loue betweene Kings and their subiects wise Periander placeth all the safetie and good fortune of Kings and Kingdomes Agesilaus King of Lacedaemon was once askt the question How a King might liue secure For that it is oftentimes seene that neither multitude of seruants nor a guard of Halbardiers can defend them from violence To which demand hee returned this answer Si suis populis ita imperet vt parentes filijs If he so rule ouer his people as a father doth ouer his children The King that loueth his subiects and is againe beloued by them neede no guarde they are his guard For Loue where it is true and faithfull plainesheth the knottiest peece of timber smootheth the roughest and most vnhewen disposition and makes all faire safe and peaceable It is a most strong wall and more durable yea then Kings themselues With this no difficulty can offer it selfe vnto them which they may not ouercome no danger whose impetuousnesse they may not oppose no command which they will not obay For as Kings desire no more of their subiects but to be well serued by them so subiects pretend nothing from their Kings but to be beloued by them And indeede the one dependeth on the other For if a King loue not his subiects he shall neither be well serued beloued nor obayed by them And as little if he loue himselfe too much For the more care he takes of himselfe and attends his owne particular so much the more his subiects loue departs from him For the harmonie of a Common-wealth consisteth in that all should liue by the Kings fauour and they by their subiects loue For they ought to be vigilant in all that belongs to their seruice and Kings most watchfull in that which concernes their generall good So that none is to haue lesse part in the King then the King himselfe And because it is impossible to content all by reason not onely of their different but contrary natures it is necessary at least to content the most There are two differences of States or two sorts of people to be considered in a Kingdome The Citizens or which comprehendeth all the common people Or your Peeres and such as either are persons of Title or aspire to be It shall be good discretion prudence to procure to content the people especially in a Kings first entrance into his raigne in that which is reasonable and honest And if their demaunds shall be otherwise to dissemble with them and to take time to consider of it and so by little and litle let their blood goe cooling This was the Counsayle of your olde Counsailours Which had it beene followed by that young King Rehoboam his people had not rebelled against him nor hee in the beginning of his Empire before he was scarce warme in his throne haue lost ten Tribes of the Twelue The Common people are alwayes grumbling and complayning and ready to runne into rebellion as being fearelesse in regard of their multitude and carelesse for that they haue little or nothing to loose The Minor Plinie after that hee had made a large Catalogue of the naturall vertues of the Emperour Traiane after that he had shewen what great account he made of the Common people he sayth Let not a Prince deceiue himselfe in thinking that hee is not to make any reckoning of the common people for without them he cannot sustaine nor defend his Empyre And in vaine shall hee procure other helpe for that were to seeke to liue with a head without a body which besides that it were monstrous it must needes toter and tumble downe with it's owne weight because it hath nothing to beare it vp And if Kings will needes know what kinde of thing the Common people is and what able to doe vpon all changes and alterations let them take into their consideration that which passed at the arraignment and death of our Sauiour Christ where there was not that Rule of reason of State in the vilest manner which was not then practized And the first stone that the Princes of the
heare those that are wronged and male-content For the graces and fauours of Kings as proceeding from humane power which cannot doe all it would haue euermore beene lesse in number then the pretenders And therefore must of force follow that there must needs bee a great number of discontented persons in all Kingdomes euen in the best and most sweetely gouerned Some holding themselues wronged induced thereunto by their own opinion others by disfauours Some by bad dispatch others by delayes And some and those perhapps the most by finding themselues deceiued in their pretensions A thing that ought much to be thought on though there be few that take pleasure to heare on that eare These men I say troubled with cares and transported with passion thrust themselues into all Companies great and small high and low entring into discourse with Male-Contents and laying open their wounds vnto them which kinde of men I would haue to be kindly dealt withall that the Kings Ministers should giue them the hearing that they should temper and allay this their passion that they should hearten and encourage them and indeede make shew in some things to goe hand in hand with them though it be in some sort against their king and Master seeking reasons to maintaine their part and that hee cannot blame them if they complaine hauing so much cause laying the fault either on the iniquitie of the times or the carelessenesse of those through whose fingers these things were to passe and that as it was no fault of the Kings for not hauing beene truly informed so can hee not but rest well assured of their good bowells and sound intention to his Maiestie and the State This is a cunning artifice and admirable art against that deadly poyson of those mens hatred and discontent which repute themselues wronged and disgraced And the better will this take with them if this care be committed to such either person or persons that are well liked and beloued of the people and haue together with their naturall grace the grace of heauen a gift which Kings can neither giue nor take away howbeit they giue that grace and fauour whence resulteth the peoples respect For it will not alwayes serue the turne to bee beloued of all nor will this generall loue sometimes excuse him from being hated of many And therefore in this the grace of heauen must bee sought after and such a man made choyse of as hath this naturall gift for by the helpe thereof hee shall be the better beloued and ouer them all haue the more commaund This Counsayle was well esteemed and approued by that wise and prudent King Don Philip the second as a very necessary conuenient meanes for to temper mens mindes to get generall notice of all that passeth either in word or deed and thereupon be able to giue all possible remedie thereunto And this aduice pleased him so well that hee committed the execution thereof to him that gaue it him and purposely remitted some businesses vnto him that he might haue the better occasion to sound mens mindes and to effect what he pretended by that kinde of course And in short time gaue good satisfaction by the proofe and made knowen to his Maiestie how much good was inclosed in this Artifice for the conseruation of Kings and Kingdomes §. IIII. Of the sagacitie sharpenesse of wit and quicknesse of apprehension which Kings ought to haue GEnebrard and other graue Authors say That this statly Tower and nose of the Spouse whereof wee discourse signifieth those which gouerne the Church or the Kingdome and such as excell the rest in vnderstanding iudgement sagacitie and prudence The Egyptians likewise in their Hieroglyphicks by a high rising nose vnderstand a wise and sage minde that hath an eye vnto dangers fore-sees mischiefes and takes order for them in time that it may not be ouertaken by them And such a one as this a King ought to haue And certaine it is that if that olde Serpent had not had that hap in that first deceit exercised on our first Mother Eue it had beene needelesse for one man to watch another and to be so wary and circumspect as now they are But because he with such great craft and subtletie did powre forth this his poyson into the originall fountaine of our nature it was necessary that against this his venome we should take this Antidote and Treacle for a preseruatiue and preuent one poyson by another And as Treacle being made of poyson serues as a remedie against poyson it selfe so for to resist that poyson which that Serpent by his subtletie scattred and spred abroad amongst vs it is needefull that men following the Counsayle which our Sauiour Christ gaue vnto his Disciples Be yee wise as Serpents and harmelesse as Doues should ioyne these two together For of these two is made that fine Treacle whereof we intend to speake Not of simplicitie alone nor prudence alone but of both together This is that true and perfect Confection for prudence without a sound and harmelesse Intention is but meere craft and subtletie as Aristotle sayth and produceth nothing but trickes and deuises to delude and deceiue And a plaine and sincere intention deuoyd of prudence doth but deceiue and damnifie a mans selfe I meane particular persons For in Kings this want of warinesse and prudent sagacitie will procure greater hurt to the generall affayres of the Common wealth Too notorious and well knowen is that sentence of the glorious S. Ierome Sancta rusticitas solum sibi prodest Holy plainenesse and simplicitie doth onely profit a mans selfe That is some particular person But Kings besides their good intention and sinceritie of minde must haue prudence sagacitie for to resist the plots and traps of the ambitious who still lye in wayte watching a fit occasion for to deceiue them vnlesse they be minded to loose their reputation their authoritie and their Kingdome all at once This is not a Prognostication broached out of mine owne braine but vented by the holy ghost That an imprudent King shall ruine a Kingdome Rex insipiens perdet populam suum An vnwise King destroyeth his people The Prophet Esay after he had made a recapitulation of the graces and gifts of wisedome vnderstanding counsayle might knowledge and diuerse other wherewith the holy-Ghost was to adorne the person of our Sauiour Christ that King of Kings and liuely patterne and true example of all good Kings sayth Et replebit eum spiritus timoris Domini And the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall rest vpon him Now the Hebrew Rabins whom Pagninus and Vatablus follow reade Olfactio odoratus eius erit cum timore Domini The pleasant sent of his sweete odour shall be with the feare of the Lord. That is to say Together with the feare of the Lord and all other vertues hee shall haue an admirable vnderstanding and a dainty delicate iudgement Odorari faciam eum I will make him
moderation Insomuch that they being to repart and diuide the time betweene themselues and the Common-wealth they should so employ it that it might not be wanting vnto them for their businesses nor super-abound vnto them for their Vices Yet for all this doe not I pretend it being the least part of my meaning to take from Kings their intertainments but rather much desire that they would take them with moderation and without neglecting businesses of State and after that they shall haue fully cumply'de with the Common-wealths affayres To the end that all the world may see that these their pleasures are not as principall but accessary and as an ayuda de costa an ayde and helpe the better to beare their trouble to wade through that wearisomenesse which the continuall assistâ—nce on graue and weighty occasions causeth Intertainments and sports must be like vnto salt wherewith if â—our meâ—te be sprinckled but a little and in a moderate kinde of manner it makes them sauoury and seasons them in that good sort that they doe not onely relish but digest the better and breede better nutriment But if your hand be too heauy and that you lay on loade as they say without measure or moderation it marrs your meate and makes it sower and vnsauory And for mine owne part I am of opinionâ— thâ—t there was neuer any time wherein Kings had more cause or greater obligation to moderate their pleasure then at this present it being the onely thing that is now in request amongst your great persons and the onely talke that passeth amongst them how they shall passe the time My thinkes that time is here represented vnto me which the Apostle Saint Paul inspired by the Holy Ghost did prophecie foretell vnto vs That in the last dayes perillous times shall come which are now wholly and truly ours wherein men shall be louers of their owne selues and their pleasures more then louers of God and shall regard more their owne particular then either their neighbour â—ustice or the coÌ„mon good In a word they shall take more care to fulfill their lusts and their delights then to please God and therefore shall fall into innumerable sinnes The Apostle Saint Peter and Saint Iude doe much indeare the great euills which vsually arise from corporall pleasures the terrible chasticements which are reserued for those that giue themselues over vnto them The vniust sayth Saint Peter the Lord will reserue vnto the day of iudgement to be punished but cheifly them that walke after the flesh in the lust of vncleannesse that are presumptuous selfe willed c. And Iude hee pronounces condemnation against those vngodly men that turne the grace of God into lasciuiousnesse c. And this hath and doth still increase dayly in such sort that the madnesse and dotage of those wicked times seemeth to be againe renewed in the world mentioned in the booke of Wisedome where a companie of gallants and boone-Companions banketting and making merry amongst themselues vttred this Epicuraean Exiguum cum taedio est Tempus vitae nostrae Our life is short and tedious and in the death of man there is no remedy neither was there any knowen to haue returned from the graue c. Venite â—rgò fruamur bonis quaesunt Come on therefore let vs inioy the good things that are present Let vs eate and drinke quaffe and carowse and be merry and let vs speedily vse the creatures like as in youth Vinâ— pretioso vnguentis nos impleamus Let vs fill our selues with costly wines and oyntments Let vs be puruayours and Caterers to our owne bodies let vs prouide the pleasingest obiects for our eyes the sauourest meates for our tastes the sweetest Musicke for our eares the softest silkes for our feeling and the daintiest perfumes for our smelling Coronemus nos rosis antequam marcescant nullum pratum sit quod non pertranseat luxuriâ— nostra Let vs Crowne our selues with rose-budds before they bee withered And let no flower of the spring passe by vs. Let none of vs goe with out his part of voluptuousnesse and let vs leaue tokens of our ioyfullnesse in euery place Let God doe what hee list in Heauen and let vs laugh and be merry here on earth We haue but a little time to liue let vs therefore take our pleasures while wee may This is all the care the wantons of this world take who do not thinke that there in an eternitie onely they study how they may best inioy themselues and their pleasures not once dreaming that there is a God or a iudgement to come to make them stand in awe of him but as men that make a scoffe and iest of that other world and that other life they wholly wed themselues to this Making that good which Salomon sayd Quod non esset homini bonum sub sole nisi quod comederet biberet atque gauderet Man hath no better thing vnder the Sunne then to eate and to drink and to be merry A Language onely beseeming such men as are to be carbonadoed for hel and made a dish for the Diuell for their disseruice towards God and their seruice to their belly Which kind of men Saint Paul lamenteth with teares flowing from his heart as being enemies to the Crosse of Christ and abhorred of God and his Saints CHAP. XXVIII When and at what time sports and pastimes are worthyest reprehension in Kings TO euery thing there is a season saith the Wiseman There is a time to weepe and a time to laugh A time for recreation and a time for labour Tempus plangendi Tempus saltandi Tempus amplexandi Tempus longe fieri ab amplexibus A time to mourne and a time to dance A time to imbrace and a time to refraine from imbracing The Chalde Paraphrase reades Opportunitas omni rei There is an opportunitie or fit season for euery thing And this opportunitie is a great matter in all whatsoeuer wee doe for it teacheth vs to take our due time and season To weepe when we should laugh is a ridiculous thing And to laugh when wee should shed teares is no lesse For Kings to play away so many thousand Ducatts and to spend I know not what meerely for their owne pleasure whilest their souldiers are ready to perish through hunger for want of pay and their house-hold Seruants runne in debt because they cannot receiue their wages in due time this sorteth not with that rule which the wise man would haue vs to obserue And is it not I pray you a disproportionable and vnseasonable thing to spend the time in intertainments and sports which is due vnto publicke causes and businesses of State In the second booke of the Kings is set downe a notable case wherewith God was highly offended And the case was this Factum est autem vertente anno eo tempore quo solent Reges ad bella procedere misit Dauid Ioab
with the fewest Many moe therebe which speak much in matter of tongues and languages vsed throughout the world But I will onely treate of those which imports Kings and Kingdomes Such as is that truth and sinceritie wherewith they are to treate that faith and word which they are to cumply withall and that secret which they are to keepe Two things sayth Pythagoras did the moderate men of the earth receiue from heauen well worthy our consideration in regard of the great fauour done them therein The one that they should haue the power to be able to doe good vnto others And the other to treat Truth And that in them they should hold competition with the Gods Properties both of them well befitting Kings Of the power that Kings haue to doe good vnto their friends and to defend themselues from their enemies wee haue already signified vnto you how proper it is to the greatnesse of a King and how like therein hee is vnto God But the sayd Philosopher being demanded wherein man was likest vnto God made answer Quandò veritatem sciuerit When hee shall know the Truth For God is truth it selfe And that man that treates truth resembles him in nothing more and it is so proper to our vnderstanding that it intertaines it for it's obiect and still goes in search thereof the contrary whereof is repugnant to the nature as likewise to the essence and greatnesse of Kings from whom wee are euer to expect the iudgement of truth Non decet Principem labium mentiens Lying lipps becometh not a Prince It is the saying of a King and of a King that was a Salomon who spake with the tongue of the Holy Ghost and it is an avouched and ratified Conclusion that the pen and the tongue of a King should alwayes tell the truth though it were against himselfe As likewise for to teach and instruct his subiects that they doe the like as also all others that shall treate with them For in vaine doth hee desire to heare truth that will not deale truly And perhapps for this cause the shortest of all other your words in allmost all Languages are your Yea and Nay There can be no shifting or doubling in them no going about the bush These words will admit no other construction but a bare affirmation or negation In the fewest words are the least falsehood and the least quarrell to be pick't against them Men cannot expatiate their excuses as they may where larger Language is vsed And therefore the other as it is the shortest so it is the surest way Wherefore Kings ought all wayes and in all and with all to treate truth being that it may be vttred with so much ease and facility and to suffer himselfe to be plainely vnderstood Contrary to the Tenent of a sort of vp-start Hereticks which these Times tearme Politicians who for to make good their Policie and Tyrannicâ—ll gouernment affirme That a King may for reason of State if hee see it may make for the conseruation thereof Dissemble deceiue breake his word and plight his faith without any purpose or meaning to keepe it fraud dissimulation and deceit of what condition soeuer it be being contrary vnto truth and contrary to the Law of nature which in all that it treates requireth truth and contrary to the Diuine Law which condemneth him that speakes not the truth but goes about to deceiue And our Sauiour Christ calls King Herod Foxe reprouing his wily shifts and deepe dissimulations and more particularly in putting on a face of sorrow before his Guestes that he feasted when he commanded Iohn Baptist's head to be smitten off it being the onely thing that hee most defired And hee likewise condemneth those Pharisaicall Hypocrites who by exteriour showes would haue that to be supposed of them which they neuer interained in their heart And the Angelicall Docter renders the reason of this Truth To dissemble saith he is to lye in the deed or thing it selfe For a Lye doth not cease to be a Lye nor to alter it's nature be it either in workes or in words So that a Lye may be found in the behauiour gesture or semblance that one maketh wherewith to deceiue and to giue vs to vnderstand that which is not As also in the manner of the word spoken or some circumstance to be gathered out of it Now that which makes it culpable is the doublenesse in the heart Which S. Austen subtlely considereth in that incounter of a mans meaning with his wordes Wherein there ought to be all equalitie and consonancie which is not truly kept when in our words wee shall say the contrary to that which is in our mindes Therefore a Christian King or his Minister may silence some things cast a cloake ouer them and not suffer themselues to be vnderstood and cunningly to dissemble that which they know of them as long as they shall thinke it necessary to be kept close and secrete for the good expedition of that which is in Treaty But a King or his Minister may not faigne deceiue dissemble or to giue that to be vnderstood by any open Act of his which he had not in his heart and bosome to doe All which hath no place in that which appertaineth vnto Faith wherein by the Law of God we haue obligation not onely to beleeue but also to confesse with all truth and plainnesse that which we beleeue without giuing to vnderstand by the least word or gesture ought to the contrary nor for the least moment of time though thereby we might saue our liues Whereby Kings and Christian Ministers are admonished how they may vse dissimulation how farre and for what time without treading in the path of their priuate profit through which your Politicians pretend to leade them leauing the high way of Truth wherewith accordeth whatsoeuer is iust and right shunneth all manner of lying which Truth and Time will at last bring to light It was the saying of King Theopompus That kingdomes and great Estates were conserued by Kings speaking Truth and by suffring others to speake the Truth vnto them For they being those whom it most importeth to heare truths none heare lesse King Antiochus all the time of his raigne sayd that he did not remember that euer hee had heard any more then one only truth It being the plague of Kings and Princes to haue that verified in their Pallaces and Courtes which was deliuered by Democritus Quod veritas in profundo puteo demersa latet That Truth lâ—es buryed in a deepe pit You shall scarce meete with one in an Age that dare tell Kings the Truth there being so many about them that sooth them vp with lyes and flatteries Seneca saith That of ten hundred thousand souldiers which Artaxerxes had in his Army there was but one onely that told him the truth in a case wherein all the rest did lye And amongst innumerable Prophets which concealed the truth from the king only Michah made
bold to tell it him And only Solon did the like with king Croesus Seldom times doth the truth enter into the Kings priuy-chamber and when it enters they scare expresse it in that bare and naked maner as did Iohn Baptist. And for this cause did Demetrius the Philosopher wish king Ptolomie to reade bookes Histories which treated of Precepts for Kings and Captaines for they would tell him that which none durst deliuer vnto him Socrates sayd That there was not any one that made open protestation to speake the truth that attained as he did to the age of 70. yeares And certaine it is that Kings cannot indure to heare those plaine and naked truths which the common people and other their subiects are able to tel them and proue vnto them nor must they that are in place presume to vtter them for feare of indangering their authoritie and reputation And therefore it is fit that they should haue some such persons about them which should both heare and vnderstand them and take their time to informe them of them And this is a rul'd Case taken out of those great Instructions and wise Aphorismes which Mecaenas gaue to Augustus worthy to be taken notice of and to be kept and obserued as coming from so great a Counsailour and proposed to a Prince who was so wise in this kinde To wit That Kings ought to giue libertie and way that their subiects vpon occasion might be admitted to tell them the Truth assuring them on their part that they will not bee offended with that which they shall say vnto them For it is permitted vnto a Physician to prescribe corrasiues and to cut away the dead flesh till it come to the quicke And it may as well be lawfull for a good subiect a faithfull Minister and Counseller of state to speake freely vnto his King with respect and reuerence to their royall dignitie the truth of that they thinke and to condemne him in his iudgement or otherwise when he shall goe about to doe any thing contrary to Iustice and reason Nor ought this to seeme oftensiue to any man nor to the King himselfe who if he haue a Christian feeling will approue in his minde vnderstanding the reasons that they shall represent vnto him so that if he be willing to heare the truths they shall tel him it may turne much to his profit And if he like not well of it there is no harme done neither doth he receiue any preiudice by it And if he shall thinke it fit for the furthering of his ends to follow the Counsaile of any let him coÌ„mend honour that person For by that plot which he shall haue deuised inuented he shall gaine honour and greatnesse by it And it is meete conuenient that he should incourage both him and others with thankes and rewards Because this is the sunne which giues life and the heaâ—e which warmes good wits and makes them actiue nimble And in case he shall not admit of his aduise let him not disgrace him nor finde fault with him for his good will and the desire that he hath to do him seruice But like a great Prince wherein he shall shew his goodnesse let his eye rather looke on the good desire and affection wherewith he doth it then on the effect thereof As likewise because others may not be disheartned for there is not any the poorest plante that hath not some vertue in it nor any brayne so barrene whence at one time or other some fruite may not be gathered for the publickegood I conclude then this first point of that plaine and sincere truth which Kings are to treate and wherewith they are to be treated in signifying vnto them that their own and the Kingdomes safety relyes on searching out the truth and in hauing those about them which will freely speake it a thing so necessarie for to gouerne vprightly and to reward him though it cost him well that shall tell him For Kings shall meete with few that will tell it them as they say for a song For considering the danger whereinto they put themselues by speaking the truth it costes them much And it is an old and ancient kinde of cosenage and deceit which Kings and Princes suffer in not hearing truthes contenting themselues with applause and adulation of that only which pleaseth their humour though it be in thingâ— of much importance and such as neerely concerne them A notable example whereof we haue in the Tri-partite Historie reported by Sozomenus of the Emperour Constantine the great who being one day desirous of make triaâ—l of the integritie and truth of those that seru'd him hee called them all before him and toâ—d them My good friends it is now many yeares that I haue liued vnder the obseruance of the Christian Law but now I grow weary of it for it is a very painefull and troublesome thing to submit our necke to the yoake of the Gospell and to submit ouâ— selfe to a Law that will not allow vs so much libertie as to swarue one tittle from it I pray you let me haue your opinions in it for we for our part are resoâ—ued what we will doe When the Emperour had thus exprest himselfe those that were flatterers Sycophants and time pleasers sayd vnto him Wee thinke your Maiestie shall doe well in so doing and wee shall be obedient to what you shall ordaine therein But those good and faithfull seruants which desired the good and prosperous estate of their Prince both in soule and body humbly besought him on their knees saying Sir For Gods honour and your own doe not doe so vile a thing for it is neither fitting nor lawfull nor shall wee follow you therein or serue you one day longer Then did the Emperour know by this which were good seruants and of greatest trust and presently dismiâ—sed the other Credens nunquam eos circa principem suum fore dâ—bitos qui suerunt Dei sui sic paratissimi proditores Perswading himselfe that they would neuer be faithfull to their Prince that would so soone turne traytours vnto God And if Kings would know how true this is and the errour wherein they liue by hauing the truth kept from them let them at some one time or other when they see fit make shew to affect the contrary to that which before they were hot vpon and did earnestly desire and then shall they see that those very men which approued the one will likewise make good the other and then will they know how in the one or in the other nay in all they are deceiued by them or at least that they dare not plainely and simply tell him that truth which their hearts thinke If they be Ministers and Counsellours of State if they once finde out their Kings homour and the ayre that most delightes his eare they play vpon that string If they be bed-chamber men or the like familiar Attendants about his person they haue naturally a
what is hidden there And therefore he must haue such a secret heart as S. Austen speakes of Coraltum That is Cor secretum or as others reade it profundâ—m an inscrutable heart or so deepe that none shall be able to diue into it And some compare a kings heart vnto punctum a little point or pricke which to diuide or to draw any thing out of it is if not impossible at least very difficult The heart of a king must be closed and shut vp like this punctum whence there shal be an impossibility or at least a great deale of difficulty in extracting any one word or secret recoÌ„mended vnto him Salomon sayth That the hearts of Kings are in the hands of God and are guided directed by him And that therfore their secretes mysteries are not to be divulged and made common no not to his neerest Minions and Fauourites when at most but to some one particular priuado and that vpon very good iust cause Our Sauiour Christ once vpon necessary occasioÌ„ discouered a secret to his great Priuado or fauourite S. Iohn but it was with these circumstances That thee told it him in his eare forbidding him to speake therof vnto any And because neither by signes or any other outward demonstration he might make it knowen he bound vp all his senses in a deepe and profound sleepe to the end that by none of them he might expresse that which it behooued him to conceale Great is the importancie of secrecie the authoritie which it giues to the iudgements motiues of those that gouerne For if all might know the causes which moue a Prince to make this or that prouision to giue this this or iudgement to pardon or to punish to craue or to giue many censures wold passe vpoÌ„ it it might cause many scandalls alterations in a CoÌ„mon-wealth And therfore it much concerneth so supreme a Maiesty not to suffer the secret which is shut vp in his bosome to be published to the world And in some cases it may come to be a morâ—al sin when such things as are aduertised a king such Memorials as are giuen him firmed signed with this or that mans hand he shal shew them to the parties whom they touch and concerne be they sters or fauourites in regard of the great hurt opposition and dissention which there-fro may arise But hee may doe this in case it may well sort with the secret it selfe to take out the pithe and substance of it and without shewing any firme or vttring any word whereby the Author may be knowen and shew it to the Delinquent if so he thinke fit for his correction and amendment And when hee findes that to be true which hath beene told him and that it cannot be denyed let him apply a due and fitting remedy For many times Dissimulation in the Prince not seeming to take notice of a fault causeth but the more dissolutenesse in the subiect This is so farre forth as concerneth Kings for whom may suffice that aduice of Caelius Rodiginus who tells them more at large how considerate they ought to be in this particular For many Cities and Kingdomes haue beene lost and ouerthrowen for want of secrecie But let vs now begin to speake of Ministers and Secretaries of State in whom vsually lyes the greater fault And to whom by their Office secrecie more properly belongs The name it selfe expresing as much For out of that obligation which they haue to be secret they are called Secretaries and are the Archiues and Cabinets of the secrets of the King and the kingdom Though this name through the soothing and flattery of your suitors hath falsely extended it selfe to those which neither keepe secret nor treate of such businesses as require secrecie And it is fit that these names should not be thus confounded or that that Honor and Title should be giuen to him to whom by Office it not appertaineth Secretaryes I say shut vp with that secrecie as was that booke of those secret Mysteries which Saint Iohn found sealed with seuen seales which none but the King himselfe could open Sacramentum Regis bonum est sayd the Angel Raphael to Toby opera autem Dei reuelare honorificum est It is good to keepe close the secret of a King but it is honourable to reueale the worke of God Which is as much to say as that the determinations of a King should be kept secret but that the effects and execution of them should be published and made manifest when it is fitting for the seruice of God and the Kingdome For a Kings secret is his heart and till that God shall moue him to expresse it by some outward worke there is no reason that any one else should discouer it To reueale a secret is by the Lawes of God and Nature and by all men generally condemned and all Lawes and Nations doe seuerely punish the same for the great hurt and many inconueniences that may follow thereupon The Lawes they are defrauded the resolutions of Kings they are hindred their enemies they are aduertised their friends they are offended mens mindes they are perturbed kingdomes they are altered peace that is lost the delinquents they are not punished And lastly all publicke and priuate businesses are ouerthrowen And there is not any thing that goes crosse or amisse in a State or that miscarryes or is lost but by the reuealing of the secrets of Kings and of their Counsells As that great Chancellour Gerson told the King of France touching the ill successe of some things in his time for that some of his Ministers did publish that which was treated and determined at the Counsell-Table And the like befell Enrique King of Portugall Who because hee was deafe they were faigne to speake so loud vnto him that all men might heare what they said Valerius Maximus much commendeth the secrecie of the Romane Senate and says that for this cause that Consistorie was held in high esteeme and that it was a great occasion of inlarging their Empire And they and the Persians did keepe with that faith the secrets of their Kings that there was no feare of plumping them or being able to draw any thing from them no not so much as the least word whereby to discouer the businesse Vse together with the feare of punishment and hazard of their liues had so settled and confirmed this silence in them For they did punish no offence with greater rigour then that of vnfaithfullnesse in matters of secrecie and with a great deale of reason because it is in so neere a degree vnto Treason and I thinke I should not say amisse if I stiled it in the highest Regis proditor Patriae euer for aestimandus est saith Osorius such aone is to be held a Traytour to the King and a subuerter of the state A Law of the Partida sayth That those Counsellours which reueale their Kings secretes commit
detrahentem audire quid horum damnabilius sit non facile dixerim To detract or to heare him that detracteth which is the more damnable I cannot easily define But more especially in Kings persons of authoritie who with a blast only of their breath or with a sower looke may make them hold their peace I leaue the charge of this vnto them and charge their consciencs with it And for the discharge of mine owne I will now aduertise them of another sort of people whom for their tongue and talke none can exceede §. IIII. Of Flatterers and their Flatteries AMongst those infinite hurtes and mischiefes which an euill tongue causeth one amongst the rest and not the least is that of Adulation and flattery Which is so much the greater by how much the more dissembled and feigned it is The sacred Scripture tearmes it absolutely a sinne and says that a flatterer is absolutely a sinner So some doe paraphrase vpon that Verse Oleum autem peccatoris The oyle or balme of a sinner For in it is included all sortes of sinne whatsoeuer and aboue all a great neglect and contempt of God for although this be to be seene in all kinde of sinnes yet doth it more particularly expresse it selfe in those which draw not with them any delight which they doe as it were vnprofitably and sine pretio for it brings them no profit at all vnlesse when most a little Vanitie which they more esteeme then God These that they may gaine the kings elbowe or that they may not bee put from it speake alwayes vnto him in fauour of that which hee desireth and all their Artifice and cunning is to conceale the Truth and that the doore may be shut against him that may tell it him or those that know not like themselues how to please the Kings palate And being confident that they will giue eare to euery word which they speake they lay falsehoods and lyes athwart their way fathering such Actions of Prowesse and valour vpon Kings that they haue much adoe to for-beare laughing that heare their folly For there are some prayses that are dis-prayses and redound much to the disgrace and dishonour of Princes For by those vntruths wherewith they sooth and flatter them they breed suspition of that good which is in them And because they make pleasing the marke whereat they shoote they neuer looke whether it be a lye or a truth which they deliuer nor haue an eye more vnto good then ill iuste or vniust against God or his neighbour all is one Cannonizing their King for a Saint though they know the contrary These saith Nazianzene are like to your Sorcerers of Egypt which were about Pharaohs person who with feigned Prodigies did pretend to ease his heart of that griefe which those plagues did cause in him Ambitious and proud men are these which thus resist the truth and that they may not fall from their bias oppose themselues to those that speake the truth and minde nothing else but to cast a fayre colour on those things whereunto they see their Prince stands affected They come of the race of your Cameleons which liue by the ayre and cloath themselues with the colour of that whereunto they approach neerest If they see the King troubled they are troubled if merry they are merry if sad they are sad Hauing their teares as neere at hand as their smiles for to deceiue him And the better to content him they change themselues into a thousand colours in all they imitate him in all doe they labour to represent him to the true life There is not that glasse which so liuely represents the face the semblance and actions of those that looke therein as the flatterer who is that shadow which alwayes followes the body of him hee flattereth doth his Kings countenance his motions his postures his gestures his saying and his doings For as they see him either say or doe so doe they Being like vnto the Echo which answereth to the last syllable of euery word that is voyced in the Ayre These are the Kings Echos which answer him in all not onely in that which the voyce soundeth but in that which they imagine to be to his liking Being herein very like vnto those lying Hypocrites which thinke one thing and make shew of another But they are presently discouered and this their second intention soone vnderstood which is To lye and flatter to make themselues gratious and to bring their businesses the better about though it be to the hurt of others With one single truth they will dawbe ouer a thousand lyes As perfumers doe a great deale of Leather with a little Ciuit. And thus soothing and suppling the eares of Princes with a subtill softenesse and deceitful sweetnesse thy powre lyes into them and working them with a gentle hand they passe for truths Whilst these false perswaders falsifie the Truth and are worse members in a Common-wealth then those that falsifie the Kings Coine and sinne more grieuously then those that beare false witnesse For these by their testification deceiue onely the Iudge that is to sentence the cause but these with their faire and false flatteries not only cozen and deceiue Kings but corrupt and infect them make them to perseuere in their errours Per dulces sermones benedictiones seducunt Corda innocentium saith S. Paul by good words and faire speeches they deceiue the hearts of the simple And therefore with the greater and more grieuous punishments ought they to be punished They are not so squezy stomackt as to make dainty of Lying nor make they any bones to tell an vntruth if thereby they thinke they may please And as soone will they lay hold on a Lye as a truth so as they rest well apayd therewith to whom they vent their flatterie and their Leasings And some are so trayned and bred vp to them that they take delight to heare them and doe as verily beleeue them as they doe their Creede And so close doth this falsehood cleaue vnto them that without any occasion or cause giuen they leane thereunto and stedfastly beleeue that they haue that goodnesse in them which they want and not that badnesse wherein they exceede For being sencelesse of their owne defects they no sooner heare themselues commended but they are presently puffed vp and conceit themselues to surpasse all other Princes And thus doe they liue all their life long deluded taking themselues to be othewise then they are being abused and vndone by Lyes and flatteries Whence it is now growne to be a Prouerb Princeps qui libenter audit verba mendacij omnes Ministros habet impios If a Ruler hearken to Lyes all his seruants are wicked For euery man will frame his Tongue according to his eare and feede him with that fruit which they know best pleaseth his palate It being a dangerous disease in Kings not to indure the truth and as mortall in the subiects that they know not well
against these false friends these domesticke enemies for those their soft words oyled ouer with adulation are those darts and brasse Ordnance wherewith they kill and slay Molliti sunt sermones eius super â—leum ipsi sunt iacula The words of his mouth were smoother then butter but warre was in his heart his words were softer then oyle yet were they drawen swords They are men that carry two faces vnder one hood they are counterfaite doblones that haue two seuerall stampes but neither of them golde which God abhorreth and throwes them a thousand Leagues off from him such is the hatred hee beares vnto them Spiritus enim sanctus effugiet fictum For the holy Spirit of discipline will fly deceit and will not abide when vnrighteousnesse commeth in Therein teaching discreete Kings how they ought to avoyde this kinde of vaine men and dissembling dispositions whose pills of poyson are confectioned with Sugar and fairely but falsely gilded ouer The Emperour Tiberius was such an enemie vnto them and to whatsoeuer did sauour of flattery that neuer either in publicke or in secret did hee giue way to intertayning any speech with them and held those hearts to be base and vile which did vse the like feigned courtesies And the two Seueri Alexander Septimus did seuerely prosecute these beasts and pursued them to the death as most mischeiuous to a Common-wealth Theodoricus stabd one of his seruants because thinking thereby to please him and to curry fauour with him he had changed his Religion And the Athenians beheaded an Embassadour of theirs whom they imployed to the King of Persia because in an insinuating and flattering kinde of fashion hee made his entrance when hee came to haue his Audience with great submissions and thereupon enacted a Law whereby they condemned flatterers to death And the Emperours Arcadius and Honorius ordeyned the like in their Lawes And good King Dauid did well instruct Kings how they were to deale with these Traytors in that rigorous chasticement which hee exercised on an Amalakite who thought to winne his fauour by bringing him newes of Sauls death whom presently there vpon the place in his own presence hee caused to be slaine This kingly Prophet did hate them exceedingly and was much the more wary and heedefull of them as being the Diuells Ministers and being instructed by him in the trade of counterfeite gilding and laying oyle colours on rusty yron wherein hee had so played the cunning merchant with our first parents met with such good and rich Indyes And therefore did so earnestly beg of God that not one drop of that oyle of these Traders with Hell might touch his head Oleum autem peâ—catoris non impinguet capuâ— meum Let not their precious oyle make fatte my head For that soft and sweete oyntment of theirs is full of poyson Others translate it Non srangat Let it not breake my head For though their words seeme to be like oyle or Balsamum that is powred forth yet are they sharpe arrowes and deadly Darts This oyle or Balsamum saith Casiodorus is flatterie which is an inuention of the Diuells to bereaue men of their sences He tooke this course with the first of men and neither hath nor will giue ouer till hee haue made an end if hee can with the last For great is that vngodly gaine which hee maketh by this kinde of merchandise With this pleasant bath and mouth-oyntment hee came to our first parents and began to smooth and annoynt them with his inticing flatteries telling them that they should be no whit inferiour vnto God if they would but taste of the forbidden fruit They vnfortunate therein beleeu'd it And who is he that knowes not what a bad bargaine they made of it and what great losse they sustained And what an ill market they make and what they loose by their trading who by these fomentations suffer the crowne of their head to be annoynted The fall of that Prince is very neere at hand if not very certaine that lets his eares lye open to the like lyes for by listning vnto Sycophants and Flatterers good kings haue become bad and by dancing after their pipe and gouerning themselues by their aduise Kings and kingdomes haue come to ruine Commodum iuuenem imperatorem perdiderunt saith Herodian They vndid thereby the young Emperour Commodus They likewise saith Plutarke were the cause of the disastrous death of Iulius Caesar and of diuerse others And as some wise and holy Saints haue obserued many more Kings and kingdomes haue beene vndone by flatterers then by the warrs for they are the rootes and beginning of all mischiefes and all the publicke miseries of Common-wealths are to be attributed vnto them Let Kings in this particular be well aduised and not suffer themselues to be deceiued nor to haue dust throwen in their eyes that they may not see the hurt which flattery causeth S. Ierom saith that it is an vnlucky starre and an vnfortunat fate or Constellation that thus leades the soule and heart aside with flatteries and carries them which way they list For although by fits we see the face of our owne shame vn-masked and know our selues to be vnworthy of what we heare yet inwardly wee reioyce thereat like vnto those who by fortune-tellers being told their good fortune take pleasure in hearing of it though they finde it afterwards to bee bad The remedy against this is that which the Holy Ghost setteth downe vnto vs. To wit That wee should sowe our eares with bushes and thornes that they may paine and pricke his tongue that shall come to court them with flatteries Let Kings haue reprehension and chasticement in readinesse against these plotters and impostors Plus enim persequitur lingua adulatoris quà m manus interfectoris For a flatterers tongue does more harme then a murderers hand Seneca in his Epistles tells vs how exceedingly Alexander the Great was incensed against his friends because they tolde him that hee was the Sonne of a God Hee told them they ly'd And hee was in the right For all that flatter lye and that is not to be beleeu'd which they say but that which euery man knowes of himselfe and what his owne conscience dictates vnto him And what good doth their commendation doe mee if that accuse mee And in case that they doe not doe this base office but that they themselues sooth vp themselues and beleeue that of themselues which they are not this of all other adulation is the worst and the most incurable because it ariseth from selfe-loue and a proper estimation of our owne worth which is that inward flatterer which we all beare about vs in our owne bosomes and are willing to intertane his false perswasions For hee that is flattered by another doth sometimes know that all is Lyes and adulation which they tell him and makes a game and scoffe of it which hee doth not doe when it proceedes
the houses of Princes and great Persons these things are in greatest request Ecce qui in veste pretiosa sunt delicijs in domibus Regum sunt Behold they which are goâ—geously apparel ed and liue delicately are in Kings Courts So says our Sauiour Christ. And many dangers doe they runne who measure out all their life by the Compasse of Contents and passe times that goe cloathed in Silkes and Veluetts and are continually conuersant amidst the sweetest perfumes the purest Holland the finest Damaske and the richest c'oathes of Silke and Gold Yet for all this doe not I say That Princes and great Lords liuing in this State and Pompe cannot â—o nomâ—ne bee saued but to shew that in all Estates there is a great deale of danger but much more in your daintier and nicer sort of people Nor will I with all my force straine this vnto Kings as well witting what their Estate and Greatnesse doth admit and require And that as Nature did dâ—fference them from the rest both in blood and birth so likewise ought there to be a distinction in their diet raiment and in the furnâ—shing and adorning of their houses But I say that which cannot be denied that in excuse of this their state and conueniencie they take vnto themselues heerein too large a licence and passe to soone from the foote to the hand from the hand to the mouth making of an inch an ell and of an elll an Aker So hard a matter is it for great Princes to moderate themselues and vse a meane And that Heathen was not much wide of the marke who sayd in the Senate That that is an vnfortunate Estate that obligeth a man to liue alwayes vp to the eyes grazing in his pleasures and delightes And that it is a very bad Omen for a man to liue all his life time according to the sauour and guste of his palate Consuetudinem nullam peiorem esse quà m vt semper viuat quis ad voluptatem There is not any custome so bad as that of a mans liuâ—ng according to his owne pleasure Such men are rather to be pittied then enuied for there is not that hower of their contents and deâ—ightes which doth not pay it's tribute of teares and sorrow Onely for to please and satisfie this sense and to recreate that of the sight haue so many Artes beene inuented so many sorts of Trades and Trades-men set a worke so much varietie of fashions and costly cloathes such a world of curious Silkes Lawnes Cambricks and Hollands such large beds rich bedding sumptuous bed-steds so sensuall and so ouer nice and dainty that it may well be questioned whether is greater the costlinesse or the curiositie the richnesse or the ryot occasioned by them Nor which is the miserie of it is it yet known whether or how farre this Humour will extend it selfe But sure I am that thereby houses are disordred much monyes consumed ancient Inheritances solde away and a thousand other inconueniences introduced And to say the truth this sense hath not neede of so much nicetie but abuse hath now brought it to that passe that it hath no sooner a liking to a thing but it greedily runn's after it as a beast that is put into a fresh ground runnes vp and downe smelling out the choice grasse and will not bite but at the sweetest But he that doth Regalar and pamper vp this sense most doth most of all make it his enemie Which will neuer giue him ouer till it haue vndone him This is so large a Theame and so copious a subiect that if I should heere write and set downe all that which in this kinde would fairly offer it selfe I must be driuen much to inlarge my pen. But it is not my Intent to set my cloath on the Tenters nor in this little Loome to weaue large Histories and long discourses but onely to giue a short touch and away of the effects which this sence causeth and of the miseries and misfortunes which are incident to Touching and that all the worke paines which it does and takes for it's friends and best well-wishers is not so freely bestow'd nor that good assurance giuen thereof but that this it 's momentary pleasure makes quick payment in groanes in diseases and in Temporall and Eternall Death The condition of the obligation being drawen and signed by no worse a Scriuener then Saint Paul Si enim secundum carnem vixeritis morieimni For if yee liue after the flesh yee shall dye Wee haue examples of Kings good store and of ancient and moderne Kingdomes forraine and domestick The first shall be of Charles the 8. King of France in whom voluptuousnesse and delights wrought so great an alteration in that his most fortunate and happy entrance which hee made into Italy where without putting hand to his sword hee became Master of all the whole Kingdome of Naples and did so amuze and affright all the World that the Great Turke was afraid of being ouer-runne by him and many of his Commaunders which had the keeping of his Fortes on that Coast forsooke them and fled And if that King had but well followed that Enterprize hee had beene Lord of all Greece But being a young Gentileman hee suffered himselfe to be ouercome by the Dainties and Delicacies of that Countrie spending his Time in delightes banquets shewes maskings dancings and feastings So that hee who had so soone filled the world with feare was as soone ouercome by yeelding to the pleasure of this sense For hee and his did so glut themselues with the fruites of that Country and so followed the delights of the flesh that hauing entred victorious they became subiect and were subdued by that new and loathsome disease which possesseth the whole body and to dissemble it's name they call it Corrimiento which in plaine English is the French Pocks There and then it was where and when it first began to rage and from thence spred it selfe hither and thither and now is so generally knowen in all parts of the world and which by Touching onely cleaues close vnto man And this had it's roote and beginning in carnall delight as it was resolued in a Consultation of Physitians which King Don Alonso called together in Toledo which is another notable Example who hauing wonne that Citie from the Moores and many other places ioying themselues in the victorie layd aside their Armes and gaue themselues in that manner to their pleasures and delights that within a few dayes they were growen so lazye and so weake that they were not able to fight nor to beare armes against the enemie and being forced to take them vp in a certaine skirmish which they had neere vnto Veles they were ouerthrowen and shamefully put to flight leauing dead in the place the sonne of their King Who being very sensible of this so great an infamie consulted his Physicians what should be the cause of this so great a weakenesse both in the strength
with them then the punishment or feare of the Lawes And this is a sure and sound point of doctrine and of that great consequence that it neuer ought to slip out of the memorie and good liking of Kings and their principall Ministers as being the mirrour or looking glasse wherein the Subiects see and behold whether their manners be foule or faire become or not become them according to the liking which they take from their superiours Of Augustus Caesar Dion reporteth That because hee would not weare such clothes as were prohibited by his Lawes there was not a man in all his Empire that did offer to put them on Componitur Orbis saith Claudian Regis ad exemplar nec sic inflectere sensus Humanos edicta valent quà m vita regentis The whole world shapes and fashions it selfe according to the patterne their King sets before them nor can Edicts and Decrees worke so much vpon mens humours as the life of him that ruleth Of all the reasons whatsoeuer that the wit of man can deuise there is not any more effectuall to perswade hard and difficult things then the example of Kings Let therefore a Prince lay a more hard and cruell punishment vpon them then either imprisonment banishment or some sound fine or pecuniary mulct as not to doe them any grace or fauour or not to affoord a good looke on him that shall not imitate and follow his fashion For there is no man such a foole that will loose the fruite of his hope for not apparelling himselfe after this or that manner as he sees the Prince himselfe is contented to go Let Kings amend this fault in themselues and then his Peeres and other their inferiours will not be ashamed to imitate them I pray tell me if men of the baser and meaner condition should onely be those that were vicious in their meate and clothes who would imitate them therein Assuredly none All would be Noblemen or Gentlemen or at least seeme to be so in their fashion and apparrell howbeit they would bee lesse curious and dainty if they saw those that were noble or gentile go onely plaine and handsome That ancient Romane pure neate cleane and comely attire of those who conquered the world did then wholly loose it selfe when your great and Noble persons of that commonwealth left it off For in all things but more especially in those that are vicious men seeke to make a fairer shew then their estate will beare and thereby procure to content and please their Kings vnder whom they liue knowing that there is no intercession or fauour like vnto that as the similiancie of manners and the kindred which this doth cause Let Kings by their example cut off the vse of costly clothes and sumptuous banquets and whatsoeuer in that kinde is vicious and superfluous and they shall straightway see how a great part of the greedinesse of gaine and couetousnesse of money will cease and many other euils and mischiefes which proceed from thence which would not be sought after nor esteemed were it not for the execution of the appetite and fulfilling of our pleasures And for this end and purpose money is kept with such great anxietie and trouble but procured and sought after with much more because it is the master and commander of all pleasures and delights whatsoeuer For which we will buy and sell and giue all that we haue The second point concerning vices and sinnes common and publike the hurt that comes thereby is well knowne both to God and man and is harder to be reformed then the former That is moderated either with age or necessitie but this neither necessitie nor time can lessen but with it increaseth and shooteth forth new sprigges and suckers neuer before seene nor vsed in the world against which neither suffice Lawes nor Statutes And that doctrine of Tacitus is now come to bee verified That there is not any greâ—ter signe of corruption of manners then multiplicitie of Lawes And we now liue in those dangerous times whereof Saint Paul speaketh and I know not whether I may be so bold as to say That it is likewise an argument or signe that the Subiect is neare it's end or at least daily growes decaying wherein these signes and tokens are to bee seene One disorder begetting another which is the order which Nature keepes with things that are to perish till at last all comes to ruine and this vniuersall fabricke sinkes to the bottome neuer more to be repaired I wot well that whilest there be men there must be vices and sinnes and that few or none will cease to bee that which they are in regard of humane weakenesse and mans propension and inclination to sinne and that there are not any remedies which will serue and turne wholly to cure and cut them off it being a thing impossible for that their beginning and cause doth proceed from Nature it selfe being corrupted That which the worth and wisedome of Kings and their Ministers may be able to effect is That they may daily proue lesse and lesse preiudiciall to the publike and that the dissembling of abuses in the beginning before they take head be not a cause of seeing our selues brought to that estate which Salust writeth Rome was found in in Catilines time there being so good cause for to feare it As also that they will draw after them Gods comminations and chastisements When a kingdome saith hee comes to the corruption of manners that men doe pamper and apparell themselues in curious manner like women and make no reckoning of their honestie but deale therewith as with any other thing that is vendible or set out to sale and that exquisite things for to please the palate are diligently sought after both by sea and land that they betake themselues to their ease and sleepe before the due time of their rest and sleepe be come that after their bellies be as full as euer they can hold they neuer cease crauing and cramming till it be noone that they doe not forbeare from eating and drinking till they be either hungry or thirsty not that they ease themselues out of wearinesse or keepe themselues warme against the extremity of the weather but that they do all these things out of viciousnesse and before there is neede well may that Empire be giuen for lost and that it is drawing neare to its last gaspe For the people thereof when their owne meanes shall faile them for to fulfil their appetites out of a thirsting and greedy desire of these things what mischiefes will not they moue or what villanies will not they attempt For the minde that hath beene ill and long accustomed to delights can hardly be without them And that they may enioy them by hooke or by crooke by one meanes or another though neuer so vniust and vnlawfull they will make a shift to get themselues into money though they spend it afterward idly vainly in that profuse and lauish manner for which they
and aboue all what may make most for their good and aduantage That they be wise discreet experienced patient without passion disinteressed and more zealous of the publike good then of their priuate profit For if they shall regard their owne interest and proper commoditie they are neither good for the seruice of their Kings nor for the gouernment of the commonwealth For in going about to measure out their priuacie by the yard of their particular profit they will make merchandise of all and their doing good to others shall bee for the benefiting of themselues Nothing comming vnder their hands whereof that they may not be accounted bad Cookes they will not licke their owne fingers The clingenst and strongest affection is that of couetousnesse it is like the headâ—ch which hindereth the free vse of mans faculties and senses not suffering him to doe any thing that is good And though it bee true that there are other vices of greater offence to God and more hurtfull to a mans neighbour yet this hath I know not what mischiefe in it and more particularly in publike persons which doth shew it selfe more openly then all the rest and doth breede and nourish other sinnes as the roote doth the tree Radix omnium malorum cupiditas Quidam appetentes errauerunt à fide Couetousnesse of money is the roote of all euill Which while some lusted after they erred from the faith and tangled themselues with many sorrowes Ex auaritia profecto saith Saint Ambrose septem nequitiae procreantur scilicet Proditio fraus fallacia periurium inquietudo violentia contra misericordiam obduratio There are seuen kinde of sinnes that proceed from couetousnesse viz. Treason Fraud deceit Periury Inquietude Violence and which shuts the doore to all pitie and compassion Hardnesse of heart Vpon this foundation of couetousnesse is built whatsoeuer tyrannicall imagination and many through it haue and doe daily loose the faith and that loyaltie which is due vnto God and their Kings Auri cupiditas saith the same Saint materia est perfidiae The loue of gold is the cause of the losse of faith When this pulls a Fauourite it easily drawes him aside and carries him headlong to all these vices for it is of more force then the Load-ston and drawes him more after them then that doth the iron And is holpen on the more by the winde of vanitie and ambition The Philosopher Herâ—â—litus saith That those that serue Vanity and Couetousnesse suddenly depart from Truth and Iustice and hold that onely for iust and most right which is directed aright to their owne priuate interest And this onely doe they make their aime in all whatsoeuer they aduise their King as was to be seene in that so often repeated case of King Assuerus with his great Fauourite Amann of whom hee demanded what grace and fauour should bee showne to that Subiect whom for his good seruices hee desired to honour Whereupon the winde of vaine-glory working in the head of him and thinking this could be no man but himselfe shewed himselfe very magnificent and liberall in ordaining the honours and fauours that were to be done vnto him The vaine conceit of a couetous man cuts out for himselfe large thongs out of another mans leather And when hee growes a little warme in the King his Masters bosome poore snake as hee was with a false and feigned loue hee goes hunting after his commoditie and this failing his loue also faileth For his heart stretcheth it selfe no farther to loue then what his hands câ—n come to take hold on Elpan comido y la compania desecha saith the Prouerbe No longer Cake nâ— longer company Of such friends as these the Prophet Michah bids vs beware For no friend that seeketh his owne gaine can euer according vnto Aristotle be faithfull and loyall to his King Let Kings I say consider once againe and haue an especiall care that those Fauourites whom hee maketh choice of for his friends be out of his owne proper election and approued by his owne minde and by the opinion and fame of their vertue and not intertaining them at any time by the sole intercession of others especially such as are great and powerfull nor let them suffer themselues to be carried away with the secret considerations of those familiar and particular persons which are about them nor by the insinuating and soothing perswasions of your flatterers and Sycophants Who as they are men worke vpon discourse and corporall meanes altogether framing them in order to their owne ends Let them not giue beliefe and credit vnto them but to the common fame and good report that goes of them and thereon let them place their eares and their vnderstanding For as Tacitus saith that is it which vsually makes the best choice For it is not to bee doubted but that concerning such a ones vertues or goodnesse we ought rather to giue credit to the generall report then to the voices of one or two For one may easily bee deceiued and deceiue others by his tricks and his particular interest but neuer yet could one deceiue all nor is it possible that all should in that their approbation deceiue another As for those other seruants which are to attend and waight vpon the Kings person more for dignitie of place and for outward apparence and ostentation of greatnesse then for vse and conueniencie which likewise in their kinde are very necessarie let Kings a Gods name receiue them into their seruice either vpon the intercession of others or out of other particular respects For in this there is little hazard and may easily chop and change them if they proue not good and fit for their turne But in the choice of the former a great deale of care must be taken for the choppâ—ng and changing of them is very dangerous and vnlesse there be very great cause for the doing of it it breeds an opinion of inconstancie which as it cannot but be hurtfull vnto all so is it of great dishonour vnto Kings much weakening their authoritie But say there be iust cause of remouing them why it is but as a Vomite which howbeit it be true that it remoueth the malignant humour and expells it from the stomacke yet withall it carries the good likewise away with it and makes an end of that Subiect it works vpon if it be too often vsed For our horses wee seeke bits and bridles wherewith to make them to go well and handsomely and if with those they do not raigne and carry themselues according to our mind we take others and when we finde once that they are fitted as wee would haue them we neuer chop nor change but still vse the same In like manner it is not good to chop and change either Fauourites or priuie Councellours too often but to seeke out such as are fit for their turne and to carry such a hand ouer them as to bridle their insolencie and to reyne them in hard if they
now growne rich which before they would haue taken for a great fauour when they were poore Thus doe we grow vnthankfull and thus doe we grow forgetfull being vainly carried away with the conceit of what we are And we loose the sight of that low and meane estate wherein we were by being raised to that highth and eminencie wherein wee see our selues to bee seated A naturall fault in mans eye-sight which knowes not how to looke downeward and as vnwilling to looke backward but as much forward as you will But these forward birds doe well deserue to haue the waxe wherewith their wings are fastened to be melted by that very Sunne that gaue them their first warmth and light and by their fall to be left an example to the world to terrifie others And in case for some especiall respect Kings shall resolue with themselues that all the beames of their greatnesse shall illighten and giue life to one particular person let the foundation of their fauours bee layed vpon those qualities desarts and seruices which ought to concurre on those persons on whom they purpose thus to particularize Kings likewise are to consider the Petitions of those that sue vnto them which is my second obseruation and taught by Christ himselfe Potestis bibere calicem quem ego bibiturus sâ—m Can ye drinke of the cup that I drinke of Iudging by himselfe in this demand which hee makes to these his Fauourites who so rashly and vnaduisedly came vnto him to petition him for the two principall places that for to possesse them they should haue all sufficient and requisite necessaries vpon which point Christ examines them and the like examination ought Kings to make of those qualities specified by vs touching both Pretenders and Fauourites The third thing which I recommend to your consideration and which Christ teacheth Kings is the great caution and warinesse which they are to vse in not being too facile in granting all that their Fauourites shall require of them Which is to bee gathered out of the last words of this his answer Non est meum dare vobis It is not mine to giue Which to my seeming soundeth thus It will not stand with my truth and iustice to giue for kindreds-sake or other humane respects that which my eternall Father hath prepared for those which deserue best Kings ought to bee very circumspect in promising and not ouer easie in granting for if he shall be facile in granting what others shall desire hee may haue cause to repent himselfe and if he promiseth hee looseth his liberty A great gentleman of qualitie whom King Philip the second much fauoured for his worthy parts and great abilities talking one day with him and walking a good while with his Maiestie after that hee had discoursed with him of diuers things to the Kings so great good content and liking that hee thought with himselfe that there was now a faire occasion offered vnto him to propound vnto him as he did a businesse of his owne He told a friend of his anon after that hee came from him that in that very instant he proposed it he cast such a strange and austere looke towards him as if hee had neuer seene him before Which was no want of affection in the King towards him for hee had had many sufficient testimonies thereof but because it was fitting for so wise and prudent a King to haue that circumspection lest this his affection might minister occasion vnto him to call his discretion in question in granting or not granting that which either is not or at least shall seeme vnto him not to be conuenient for him For Kings must haue recourse to these two things To haue a good and safe conscience with God and intire â—â—â—horitie and good opinion with men For with none doth that holy and prudent counsell of Saint Paul suite more properly then with them Prouidemus bona non solum coram Deo sed etiam coram hominibus Prouiding for honest things not onely in the sight of the Lord but in the sight of men Which cannot be when as Fauourites either doe all what they list of themselues or get their Kings to doe it for them When the Sensitiue appetite effecteth whatsoeuer it affecteth the vnderstanding which is the soules king remaines oppressed and disgraced and with that soule note which the kingly Prophet Dauid giues it Homo cum in honore esset non intellexit comparatus est iumentis insipientibus similis factus est illis Man being in honour hath no vnderstanding he is like the beasts that perish And therefore when Kings out of their particular affection or for the auoiding of trouble and the fuller inioying of their ease and pleasure shall giue absolute power to their Fauourites to doe and vndoe as they please presently one blot or other which they will hardly euer get out will bee laid vpon their royall persons Nor need wee here to relate the hurt which comes thereby and the occasion which it giues vnto the Subiects neither to thnke nor speake of their Princes with that respect which is fitting especially when the Fauourites are none of those which helpe to beare the weight and burthen of businesses but shake them off from their owne shoulders and lay them vpon other that are fitted to their hand and of whom they rest well assured that they will doe nothing but what they will haue them to doe working their will and pleasure in all that they are able And this is not that which Kings and Commonwealths need but it much importeth that their Fauourites should bee of that good and quicke dispatch in businesses that all the people might loue them for it for from the contrary great inconueniences are wont to arise When the Shechemites were so vnmannerly and vnciuill in their language against their King Abimilech amongst other things which they vttered and alledged against him they said this in scorne of him Nunquid non est filius Ierobael constituit Principem Zabul seruum suum super viros Hemor patris Sichem cur ergo seruiemus ei Who is Abimelech that we should serue him Is not he the sonne of Ierubbaal and Zebul his Officer why should wee serue him c. They tooke it very ill that the King should raise his seruant Zabul to thaâ— heighth of honour and greatnesse that he should be made Prince as it were ouer all the people of Hemor and Sichem And howbeit the naturall obligation which Subiects owe to their Kings is so great that they are bound to obey them in all that which is not against God And that it is a token of great noblenes to suffer with a good courage whatsoeuer burthens be they neuer so heauy which they lay vpon them yet notwithstanding they haue no such obligation to their Fauorites For they may for their pleasure or their profit substitute other their Fauourites and oblige the people that they either negociate with or buy
out their negociation of them The History of King Don Iuan the second of Castile doth affoord sufficient examples of the great persecutions that followed by letting that his Fauourite haue so great a hand in businesses For the people seeing their King so led by the nose as it were and to yeeld to all that he would haue him doe were verily perswaded that he was bewitch't for he had such power ouer the will vnderstanding of the King that he neither vnderstood what he gaue nor knew not how or at least had not the face to deny him any thing that hee was willing either to aske or take whilst like the vnthankfull yuie he went sucking away all the iuyce and sappe of the tree all that good Kings wealth and substance his being his authoritie and little lesse then his kingdome And lost by this meanes so much of his authoritie that some of the Grandes of the kingdome and the Infantes his brethren and the Kings of Aragon and Nauarre betooke them to their Armes and made warre against him he seeing himselfe vpon some occasions disobeyed by his sonne and Prince and forsaken of his wife and Queene Whereupon grew many ciuill broyles and all vnder the title and pretext of recouering their libertie and of pulling their neckes from vnder the yoke of that slauery and subiection wherein they were rendering that reason in their excuse which all the whole kingdome could but take notice of That all businesses past through his Fauourites hands and that the King did not negociate in his owne person The prosecution whereof I remit to those Histories that make mention thereof And it cannot bee denyed that this Fauourite notwithstanding had many good things in him that might very well deserue his Kings loue for he had serued him valiantly in great and vrgent occasions and had put his person and life in perill for his sake But as his priuacie and fauour went increasing so with it increased his ambition and couetousnesse and that in that high degree that he grew hatefull to the whole kingdome and in the end no lesse odious to the King himselfe who comming at length vnto himselfe fell into the account of those damages and losses which he had receiued in his kingdome both in his reputation and authoritie by putting the reines wholly into his hands taking thereby too much libertie to himselfe and ruling the State as he listed The Grandes represented to his Maiestie the abuses that insued thereupon as the ingrossing of the greater Offices and selling of the lesser and ouerswaying the Courts of Iustice And vsing many other effectuall perswasions grounded vpon other iust complaints proposing for remedie and redresse thereof the interest profit that might accrew vnto him by calling him to account and that he might thereby get into his hands an infinite deale of treasure the King liked very well of their propositions and admitting their reasons he fell off from his Fauourite waging warre against him with his owne money wherewith hee thought if neede should serue to sustaine and vphold himselfe This slippery footing haue all those things which haue not their hold-fast in God For they turne to the hurt of those that put their trust in them And it is his mercie to mankinde that they should pay for it in this life howsoeuer they speed in the life to come which we will leaue to Gods iustice and the strict account that will be taken of them In conclusion this great Fauourite dyed being fallen from his priuacie with his Prince depriued of all that wealth and treasure which he had so greedily scraped together ending his life with a great deale of sorrow and discontent and to the great reioycing of his opposites Though this did not serue for a warning to those that came after him but without feare of the like terrible and desperate falls they ranne themselues out of breath in the pursuite of the like priuacie Saint Iohn Baptist we know was Christs great Fauourite and the Gospell stiles him to be Amicus Sponsi the friend of the Bridegroome But his great goodnesse and holinesse of life did the more gloriously shew it selfe in this that by how much the more Christ did in-greaten and authorize him by so much the more did hee lessen and humiliate himselfe and laboured by all possible meanes by diminishing his owne to increase the authoritie and credit of his Lord and Master saying Illum oportet crescere me autem minui He must increase but I must decrease And this is that glasse wherein the Fauourites of Kings are to looke taking into their consideration that by how much the more they seeke to greaten themselues in making ostentation of their power and authoritie by so much the more they lessen and dis-authorise that of their Kings with whom is so dangerous any whatsoeuer shew or shadow of equalitie or competition that euen in the highest top of priuacie the more certaine and lesse reparable vsually is the fall How iocond and how well contented went Haman out of the palace when Queene Esther inuited him to dine with the King and her selfe When loe the very next day after they draggd him from that banquet and royall Table to the gallowes And therefore let no man trust or relye on the fauour of Kings be he neuer so rich or neuer so fortunate for in them it is ordinarily seene that all these faire shewes are commonly conuerted into manifest demonstrations of hatred Out of all this that hitherto hath beene said let Fauourites make vnto themselues this vse and instruction to know the danger and slipperinesse of the place wherein they stand euen then when they finde themselues most of all inthronized For most true is that saying of Fulmen petit culmen The highest Towers and the highest hills are most of all subiect to Ioues thunder-bolts and lightning And let Kings likewise take this into their consideration by way of aduice That when they shall haue found their Fauourites to be furnished with those qualities before specified and that they are such that thereby they may merit their grace and fauour and so great both place and part in their heart it stands with very good reason that they shouâ—d bee honoured by them with particular mercedes and fauours because they helpe them to beare the burthen of their cares and are exposed to great dangers and greater enuyings as it happened to that great Fauourite of the King of Persia whom the Princes of his kingdome did pretend to remoue from the Kings elbow and to put him in the denne amidst the Lions that by them hee might be there rent in peeces Whereof no other cause could be found against him but his Kings fauour bearing enuie to his priuacie that common Moath to high places from which none be he neuer so good neuer so honest can escape For it is very naturall in men to risent that hee should out-strip them who but yesterday was their
there are some cases wherein Experience hath taught the profit that may be taken therefro for the vse and conseruation of mans life And on the other side there is nothing so precious so estimable and so wholsome which is alwayes and at all times profitable For there are some as also some infirmities which would proue mortall should they bee applyed vnto them And therefore mans prudence doth come to consist in this to know it's qualitie and to vnderstand aright the estate and complexion of the man and according thereunto to make vse thereof and of it's vertue And therefore hee that hath by his Kings fauour the supreme disposall of all let him consider and know either by himselfe or by others that are his confident friends being as free as free may bee from naturall affections the dispositions and inclinations of men and together with this the qualitie of the offices and persons which are to gouerne and bee gouerned and let him imply euery one in that for which hee shall bee found fit and good And keeping this course he shall cumply with his owne inclination and naturall desires And shall therein do his King and countrey good seruice But for a conclusion and vpshot of all that is past let those aduertisements serue which follow in the subsequent Chapter CHAP. XXXVII The Conclusion of the former Discourse with some Aduertisements for Kings and Fauourites ALL those that write of the qualities of a good Prince doe agree in this that he ought to haue his will free independent subiect onely to God and his diuine Law without subiecting or submitting it to any other loue For it booteth little that he be Lord of many kingdomes if he be a slaue to that which hee extremely loueth That he ought to bee of a good courage and of a sound and setled iungement not suffering a superiour or equall in his gouernment For as wee said in the beginning of this Discourse kingdomes are by so much the more sustained and augmented by how much the more neare they approach to the gouernment of one Whereas on the contrary they runne much hazard when the reynes of the Empire are diuided and put into seuerall hands The Romanes neuer enioyed so much peace and plenty as after that Augustus Caesar was declared sole Lord of the Empire without dependance on any other Which aduise amongst many other good instructions the Emperour Charles the fifth gaue likewise vnto the King his Sonne to wit That he should be a very precise louer of Truth That hee should not giue himselfe ouer vnto Idlenesse And that he should alwayes shew himselfe a free and independant King not onely in apparence but in substance For it is very proper vnto Kings to rule not to be ruled And to administer their kingdomes themselues by their owne will and not by anothers For he will not be said to be a King who being to command and correct all should easily suffer himselfe to be led away and gouerned by others And therefore it is fit that hee should alwayes stand vpon his owne bottome and in none of his actions expresse himselfe to depend on the aide and opinion of others For this were to acknowledge a Superiour or a Companion in gouernment and to discouer his owne weaknesse Infirma enim est potentia saith Patritius quae alienis viribus nititur That 's but a poore power that must bee vnder-propt by the strength of others In stead whereof I would haue him to fit in Councell and to treate and communicate businesses with such persons to whom it appertaineth as heretofore I said Saying onely now That that King is in a miserable and lamentable case that must depend on anothers helpe Vpon a certaine occasion Alexander the Great said Se malle mori quam regnarerogando That he had rather die then raigne by supplicating and intreating And no otherwise doth that King raigne who shewes himselfe a Coward and suffers the excellencie of his courage to bee ouerwhelmed and carried away with the current of hard and difficult things which many times offer themselues leauing the resolution of all to the mercie and fauour of others by whose helping hand it seemeth that he liueth and raigneth This said the Emperour Vespasian is to dye standing And as that King is dead which leaues that to another which hee can doe himselfe and which doth properly appertaine vnto his office and as he shall not truly cumply with his obligation if he should go about to draw solely to himselfe the gouernment of his whole kingdome much lesse in like manner shall he cumply therewith if hee should cast off all care from himselfe and relye wholly vpon others For Extreames in all things are ill And an extreme thing it were that hee should take vpon himselfe the whole weight and burthen of businesses and to haue all things passe through his owne hands it being likewise no lesse if he should shift off all from his owne shoulders and put his hand to nothing as did Vitellius and Iouinianus who did in such sort dis-loade themselues of their offices and ridde their hands of all matter of gouernment that all was ordered and gouerned by other mens arbitrement and none of theirs Of the former it is reported that he forgot that hee was Emperour And of the other that hee intended nothing but eating and drinking gaming and whoring So that both of them came to such miserable ends as their retchlesse and carelesse kinde of liuing had deserued Childericke King of France and third of that name is and not without iust cause condemned by the writers of those times for that hee did wholly quit himselfe of businesses and led so idle and vnprofitable a life that he tooke care of nothing recommending all to his great Fauourite Pipine who did rule and gouerne him as hee listed And there was not any meeting or conuersation throughout the kingdome wherein men did not mutter and murmure at it For their nimble and actiue nature could by no meanes indure that their King should be but the shadow of a King and stand for a Cypher sheltering himselfe vnder the shade of another Which could not choose considering how vsuall a thing it is but put spirit into Pipine and adde mettall to his power For it is very proper to the condition of men the more high they are in place and dignitie to desire the more honour and the more wealth There are but few of your great and powerfull persons which are not hydropicall and doe not thirst after new honours and new aduancements And some haue proceeded so farre in their pretensions that they haue presumed as this Fauourite did to quit the King of his Crowne Willingly hearkening vnto those flatterers about him which did whisper this in his eare and egge him on vnto it It likewise began to bee treated of amongst the great Lords of that kingdome How much better command and rule were in one Head then in two And how that
in the same streake or line with his Master For if God who surpasseth in glory and from whom it is impossible to take the least atome thereof and is able to turne all that he hath created into dust will not admit of a companion in matter of adoration and worship How much more will Kings of the earth bee offended and how ill must they take it that any Subiect should equall his shoulder or share with him in his greatnesse being his honour is so shortned and his power so limited For if out of their loue to the person of the Fauourite they beare with him for a while either for to shew themselues thankfull for his good seruices or haply to make him the instrument to worke their reuenge on others Yet these affections and proofes which I speake of being once passed ouer there enters presently in the place thereof a naturalâ—â—â— are and iealousie of their authority and greatnesse which doth much more sway with them then the loue and affection which they beare to the Fauourites person Enuie likewise she comes in and playes her part which is a neare neighbour and still ready at hand in Princes Courts and Pallaces as if she were Attorney generall of all those great places and â—omes forth her venome secretly lying in waite and watching her time to doe mischiefe stabbing suddenly deaths wound being giuen before it be dream't on and great is the hurt which this so neare a neighbour to the Kings elbow doth and out of an in-bredspleene aymeth at nothing more then the downfall of Fauourites Complaints and grieuances they also make their appearance in Court being the maine witnesses that Enuie and Passion bring into the Court to make good their plea. Next after these comes in the respect not to say the feare of those that are discontented in all states for no King will be willing that their Subiects vpon this ground should build their rebellion and cause an alteration in the kingdome and will be as loath to bee ball'd on by grieued and discontented persons vpon iustly pretended complaints nor will he be so vnwise for feare of other claps to fauour one to offend many All of them being shrewd blowes for to allay if not quell the courage of the most passionate King towards his dearest Fauourite and are such fierce and terrible conflicts that they tosse his iudgement to and fro with farre greater violence then a strong raging winde doth the waues of the Sea Gouernours and such as sit at the sterne of a Common-wealth and such vnto whom Kings haue deliuered vp the keyes of their heart and hold the rudder of the Monarchie in their hands to steare and shape their course as they will themselues there is no question to bee made of it but that they are in great danger vpon euery storme thâ—t shall arise for looke what misfortune shall befall the Commonwealth the blame shall be laid vpon them and the fault imputed either to their ill counsell or their ignorance or their passion For ordinarily nay I may say continually the misfortunes and ill successes of Kings and kingdomes I say the cause of them is attributed to those that are nearest and dearest about the Kings person and possesse the highest places And euery one running along with the common opinion and few are they which haue not a smacke or taste thereof laboureth to lay the fault on his neighbour though he be of his owne proper flesh and bloud And this is an inheritance which wee haue from our father Adam And no man is ashamed thereof for we are all of vs his heires and therefore ought to endeuour as much as in them lies that the peace and quiet of the kingdome bee not disturbed or troubled in the time of their gouernment As well for their glorie and reputation to haue in all their proceedings carried themselues in such sort that no ill accident hath betided them or any maine disgrace as also for the not subiecting of themselues to the vncertaine chances of fortune which are ordinary vpon euery alteration and may serue to worke their ruine and perdition Let therefore those haue an eye I say it and say it againe that are Priuie-Councellours to their King and more particularly the Fauourite to whom hee shall haue deliuered vp the possession of his heart that the aduice and counsell which they shall giue vnto him bee good pure and cleare water issuing from forth a pure cleane and disinteressed bosome Such is the water saith Aristotle as is the earth through which it passeth if through mynes of brimstone it scaldes and burnes if through craggy rocks it cooles and stupefies and if through salt-pits it is brinish and brackish The like iudgement may wee make of counsell if it proceed from a breast and heart that is foule and filthy it teacheth filthinesse if from a pure and cleane honestie and cleannesse if from a libeâ—â—ll it doth good vnto all if from a couetous it aduiseth nothing but gripping and wring ng of the Subiect So that counsell is figured forth vnto vs in water which in it's softnesse sauour colour and sent is perfectly knowne whether the myne be good or bad through which it passeth And such is their opinion and that which they aduise as is the humour that is predominant in their stomacke Euerie one casts his eye vpon his owne particular approuing and accounting that for iust which tends to his profit and condemning the contrary God deliuer Kings from such Councellours and let them take heed that they doe not erre in their aduise and in those medicines and remedies which â—hey prescribe vnto their Kings for it is as it were a remediâ—â—â—â—nd irrecouerable errour and theirs must bee the fault and many times the punishment but alwayes the note and infamie of their Kings erring Nor let those that haue the Kings eare make a mockerie of my words for it is a very dangerous and ticklish place that they possesse Where to erre is an easie thing but to hit right hard and euen then when they least thinke of it their preciousest Iewells their richest Mettalls and their greatest treasures are turned into coales and the like trash like those moneyes of your Hobgoblins Fairies and Robin good-fellowes It is an old thred-bare saying That ill counsell turnes to the Councellours owne hurt Consilium malum consultori pessimum saith Plutarch And the holy Ghost That the first with whom ill counsell meets is it's Authour Facienti nequissimum consilium super eum deuoluitur For as he that casteth a stone on high it shall fall vpon his owne head And as hee that smiteth with guile woundeth himselfe And whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein And he that layeth a stone in his neighbours way shall stumble thereon And he that layeth a snare for another shall be taken in it himselfe so whoso giueth a wicked noysome counsell it shall come vpon himselfe and he shall not know from whence Wicked counsell
the Father of the Common-wealth Which was more then Caesar or Augustus and whatsoeuer other name most glorious in the world whether it were conferr'd vpon them either for to flatter them or to oblige them to those great effects which this name Father tyes them vnto In conclusion by this word Father it is giuen Kings to vnderstand what they ought to doe To wit That they are to rule gouerne and maintaine their Common-wealths and Kingdomes in Iustice and in Peace That they are to feede like good shepheards these their rationall sheepe That they are like skilfull Physitians to heale and cure their maladies And that they are to haue that care of their subiects as fathers haue of their children watching ouer them with prudence and with Loue respecting more them then themselues For Kings are more obliged to the Kingdome and the Common-wealth then vnto themselues For if we shall but looke into the Originall and Institution of a King and a kingdome we shall finde that a King was ordained for the good of the kingdome and not the kingdome for the good of the King CHAP. III. Whether the name of King be a name of Office LEt vs not detaine our selues in the ill apprehension of those who conceiue that the name of King is a Title onely of Honour and Dignitie and not of Charge and Office For if as wee said before in our 1. Chapter a King in a Common-wealth holdes that place as the Head doth in a humane body where all the Corporall Members haue their particular Offices and euen the most and most principall then most certaine it is that a King in his kingdome is to be the most Eminent in the Gouernment so that we are not only to acknowledge that a King is an Officiall but euen the greatest of all Officialls and that of all Offices his is the chiefest and of greatest dignitie Etenim sayth S. Chrysostome imperare non solum dignitas est imò ars est â—rtium omnium summa To rule is not onely a dignitie but an Art also and of all Artes the greatest Diuine Plato Diuus Thomas likewise affirme Inter omnes artes viuendi regendi ars amplior superior est The Art and office of gouerning a Common-wealth and a kingdome is a Regall knowledge a Princely science and which particularly appertaineth vnto Kings it is an Arte of Artes the most difficile to learne and the most dangerous to practise And Nazianzene renders the reason Quia inter omnes animantes homo maximè moribus varius voluntate diuersus Because amongst all liuing Creatures man is most various in his maners and most diuerse in his will He is most mutable in his opinions most deceitfull in his words of more colours foldings and doublings then any other creature whatsoeuer worst to be knowen and hardest to to be ruled and aboue all most ingrate and vnthankfull vnto him that is set in authority ouer him And Plato more particularly tells vs that he held it in a manner a thing impossible for any one to haue such a Wit that alone of himselfe he should be sufficient to gouerne well it being so hard a matter to do though a man haue neuer so good partes and abilities to performe that function Ptolomy King of Aegypt considering the great difficulties which accompanie gouerning and reigning began to weigh the qualitie of each difficultie and comparing some with other some he knew not which to ranke formost or to preferre before his fellow It seemed wonderfull hard vnto him to know the Talent and parts of persons for the conferring of Offices and places vpon them a businesse whereon good gouernment mainely dependeth Hee likewise found it as difficult to make good Lawes and Statutes As also to rule so many Townes and so many people as are listed vnder a Crowne and name of King As likewise to dresse so many dishes for so many different palates so many things to the gust and content of so many sundry wills and a thousand other difficulties which daily offer themselues in the ruling and gouerning of men For as Seneca saith Nullum animal maiori est arte tractandum quam homo There is not that creature like vnto Man for whose gouernment more Arte more prudence more wisedome more discretion and sagacitie is required No man can denie but that to beare on his shoulders the weight of a kingdome with obligation to attend on such and so great a diuersitie of things as of Peace and Warre and of so many graue and weightie businesse and of so great importance without fayling one point or tittle therein is an intollerable trouble a most heauy burthen and most difficult Office And in this respect so few haue there beene that haue knowne perfectly to cumply therewith And it is worthy our consideration that there being so many Histories and Bookes of the Liues of Kings and Emperours of the Gentiles there is not one amongst them all to be found who hath not bin noted of many faults Alexander the Great who for his famous Acts great Courage had the sirname giuen him of Great had many things in him worthy reprehension and vnbeseeming royall dignitie And howbeit Xenophon in his Cyropedia would giue vs to vnderstand that King Cyrus had all those vertues and greatnesses which are there represented vnto vs yet many wise men are of beliefe that that was no true History which he wrote of that King but an Idea or Patterne that Kings might draw from thence what they ought to bee Like vnto those Bookes of Cicero which he wrote de Oratore Who painteth forth the properties which hee that will be a good Orator ought to haue though that man was neuer yet found that had them Besides if we shall turne our eyes towards those ancient Kings of Gods people the sacred Scripture doth dis-deceiue vs. For out of the whole packe of them hee picks out but three onely that were good Praeter Dauid Ezechiam Iosiam â—omnes Reges peccatum commiserunt Excepting Dauid Ezechias and Iosias all the rest of the Kings committed sinne Not that these three had not their sinnes for the holy Scripture taxeth them of some and those no small ones but because they had not sinned in the Office of Kings And because in it's administration it is an Office so full of difficulties the Apostle S. Paul admonisheth all the faithfull that they alwayes make earnest Prayers for them which is still vsed to this day in all your Catholike Churches Moreouer that the name of a King is the name of an Office it is confirmed by that common saying Beneficium dâ—tur propter Officium And therefore Kings being so greatly benefitted not onely by those great Tributes which are giuen them by the Common-wealth but likewise by those which they receiue from the Benefices and Rents of the Church it is an vndoubted truth that they haue an Office and of Offices the greatest
and for this cause the whole Kingdome doth so freely and liberally contribute vnto them Which is specified by S. Paul in a Letter of his which hee wrote vnto the Romans Idâ—ò tributa praestatis c. For this cause pay you Tribute also For they are Gods Ministers attending continually vpon this very thing c. Kingdomes doe not pay their taxes idly and in vaine So many sessements so many Subsedies so many impositions so many great rentes so much authoritie so high a Title and so great a Dignitie is not giuen without charge and trouble In vaine should they haue the name of Kings if they had not whom to rule and gouerne And therefore this obligation lyes vpon them In multitudine populi dignitas regis The honour of a King is in the multitude of his People So great a dignitie so great reuenewes such a deale of Greatnesse Maiestie and Honour with a perpetuall Cense and rate vpon his Subiects Lands and Goods binde him to rule and gouerne his States conseruing them by Peace and Iustice. Let Kings therefore know that they are to serue their kingdomes being they are so well payd for their paines and that they beare an Office which tyes them necessarily to this trouble Qui praeest in solicitudine saith S. Paul He that ruleth with diligence This is the Title and name of King and of him that gouernes Not of him that goes before others onely in his Honour and his pleasure but of him that excells others in his solicitude and his care Let them not thinke that they are Kings onely in name and representation and that they are not bound to any more but to bee adored and reuerenced and to represent the person royall with a good grace and to carry themselues with a soueraigne kind of State and Maiestie like some of those Kings of the Medes and Persians which were no more then meere shadowes of Kings so wholy neglectfull were they of their office as if they had beene no such manner of Men. There is not any thing more dead and of lesse substance then the image of a shadow which neither waggs arme nor head but at the Motion of that which causeth it God Commanded his people that they should not make any grauen Image nor any feigned Pictures or counterfeit paintings which shew a hand where there is none discouer a face where there is none and represent a body where there is none expressing therein actions to the life as if the Image or Picture did see and speake For God is no friend of feigned figures of painted men nor of Kings that are onely so in shape and proportion being in fashion like vnto those of whom Dauid sayd Os habent non loquuntur oculos habent non videbunt c. They haue mouths but speake not eyes haue they but they see not They haue eares but heare not and hands haue they but handle not And to what vse I pray serues all this They are no more then meere Idolls of Stone which haue no more in them of Kings but onely an externall representation To be all name and authoritie and to be Men in nothing else doe not sute well together Woe to the Idoll Shepheard saith Zacharie that leaueth the flocke The sword shall be vpon his arme and vpon his right eye His arme shall be cleane dryed vp and his right eye shall be vtterly darkeneds it is written in the Reuelation Nomen habes quod viuas mortuus es Thou hast a name that thou liuest and art dead The names which God setteth vpon things are like vnto the Title of a Booke which in few words containeth all that is therein This name of King is giuen by God vnto Kings and therein includeth all that which this their Office tyes them to doe And if their workes and actions doe not answer with their name and Title it is as if one should say yea with his Mouth and by making Signes say no with his head What aiest and mockerie is this How shall such a one bee truely vnderstood It were Cosenage and deceit in that Golde beater who writes vpon his Signe Heere is fine gold to be sold when indeed it is but Orpine and base gold for Painters The name of King is not an Attribute of Idlenesse A person regall must haue reall performance As his name soundeth so let him serue in his place it is the people that proclaime the King but it is the King that must proclaime his loue to the people Hee that hath the name of ruling and gouerning a Gods name let him rule and gouerne They are not to be Reyes de anillo as it is in the Prouerb that is to say nominall Kings only praeter nomen nihil hauing nothing else in them In France there was a time when their kings had nothing but the bare name of Kings their Liuetenants Generall gouerning and Commanding all whilest they like so many beastes did busie themselues in nothing else but following the delights and pleasures of Gluttonie and Wantonnesse And because it might be known and appeare to the people that they were aliue for they neuer came abroad once a yeare they made shew of themselues on the first day of May in the Market-place of Paris sitting in a chaire of State on a throne royall like your kings amongst your Stage-players and there in reuerence they bowed their bodies vnto them and presented them with giftes and they againe conferred some fauours on such as they though fit And because you may see the miserie whereunto they were brought Eynardus in the beginning of that Historie which he writes of the life of Charles the Great says That those Kings in those dayes had no valour in them in the world made no shew of Noblenesse nor gaue so much as a tast of any inclination thereunto but had onely the empty and naked name of King For in very deede they were not Kings nor had actually and effectually any hand in the gouernment of the State or the wealth and riches of the Kingdome for they were wholly possessed by the Praefecti latij whom they called Seneshalls or Lord high Stewards of the Kings House Who were such absolute Lords and of that vnlimited power that they ruled the roste and did what they list leauing the poore seely King nothing saue onely the bare Title who sitting in a Chaire with his Perriwigge and his long beard represented the person of a King making the world beleeue that hee gaue Audience to all Ambassadours that came from forraigne parts and gaue them their answers and dispatches when they were to returne But in very truth he sayd no more vnto them saue what hee had beene taught or had by writing beene powred into him making shew as if all this had beene done out of his owne Head So that these kinde of Kings had nothing of the Power-Royall but the vnprofitable name of King and inutile
should make him be so As a painted man which is no man cannot properly be said to be a Man The holy Scripture styles those Hypocrites which doe not administer Iustice for they haue no more in them of Kings then the apparent or outward shew as the Scepter and the Crowne and other their regall roabes and ornaments And it is worthy your consideration and it is no more then what their holy Doctors and learned Interpreters of diuine Letters haue obserued That a good King and Iustice are brothers and sisters and so neerely twinn'd that you can scarce make mention of the one without the other The Prophet Esay representing the feruent desire of all the world and the voyces and cryes of the Patriarkes who with such instance and earnestnesse did call for the comming of tâ—-Sonne of God saith Rorate coeli desuper nubes plâ—nt iustum iustitia oriatur simul Ye heauens send the â—eaw from aboue and let the cloudes drop downe righteoâ—snesse let the earth open and let saluation and Iustice grâ—we forth let it bring them forth together And in another place as if God did answer these the desires of the Iust â—e sayth Ecce dies veniunt dicit dominus suscitabo Danâ—â— germen instum regnabit Rex Sapiens erit faciet udicium et iustitiam in terra Behold the dayes come â—â—ith the Lord that I will raise vnto Dauid a righteous â—â—nch and a King shall raigne and prosper and shall execâ—â— iudgement and Iustice in the earth And in the third bâ—â—ke of the Kings God being willing to grace and autorize the person of Salomon who was the Type figure of the true King of Kings our Sauiour Iesus Christ had no soner the Crowne set on his head the possession of the Kingdom settled vpon him buâ— there was presently offred and put into his hands a great occasion for to shew his prudence and wisedome and his great noblenesse and courage for to do iustice The Case was a common and knowen Case it was betwixt two women that were friends and Companions who leading a lewd and dishonest life were deliuered or brought to bed both at one time and sleeping together in one bed the one of them being oppressed with a heauie sleepe ouer-layd her childe and when she awaked shee found it to be dead And at the same instant without being felt or perceiued by her Companion she puts me the dead childe by her and tooke the liuing childe to her selfe But this theft could not be so couered for all her cunning carriage but that the other knew that the dead childe which was layd by her side was not hers but the liuing The other with a great deale of impudencie and dissimulation deny'de it And because they could not agree vpon the busines they resolued to goe to King Salomon before whom the busines was continued with the like stiffenesse and obstinate contestation giuing each oâ—â—er the Lye and other the like bold and vnciuill speeches as â— vsuall with such kinde of women The King finding no moâ—e proofe nor reason of credit in the one then the other commanded a caruing Knife to be brought into the open Couâ—â—e thaâ— diuiding the liuing childe in the midâ—st the one haâ—â— should be giuen to the one and the other to the other Thereuâ—on the true Mother trembling and quaking and feeling that knife a ready in her owne bowels which was to part her â—â—ilde in twaine besought the King that this his sentence migâ—t not be executed but that the childe might be deliuered oâ—r whole to the other Which being well weigh'd and consiâ—â—red by this wise King and good Iusticer he knew thereby that she was the true Mother and so gaue order that the childe should be restored vnto her And the holy Scripture saith That the same of this notable peece of Iustice was divulged farre and neere and that there grew thence a great respect in all the people of Israel towards this their most prudent King who had with so much iudgement and wisedome administred Iustice. Audiait itaque omnis Israel iudicium quod iudicasset Rex et timuerunt Regem videntes sapientiam Dei esse in illo ad faciendum iudicium All Israel heard the iudgement which the King had iudged and they feared the King for they saw that the wisedome of God was in him to doe Iustice. So that when they saw how iust a King he was and with what a deale of vprightnes he did administer Iustice the people shouted for ioy and cryed out that his wisdome was from heauen and though he were then very young they began to feare and reuerence him very much And therefore if a king will be beloued esteemed and respected of his subiects he must be a iust King For most certaine it is that if Kings will pretend honour authoritie credit estimation and respect they cannot take any better course for it then by giuing to euery one that which appertaineth vnto him with a iust hand Summum in regibus bonum est saith Saint Gregory iustitiam colere ac suae cuique iura seruare It is the greatest goodnesse and highest commendation in Kings to honour iustice and let euery man enioy his proper rightes and priuiledges And so it is that there is not any thing whereby Kings doe more gaine the Common voyce for the augmentation of their authoritie and increase of their Estates or that doth more incline the minds of their subiects to respect obedience then to know that they are wise sincere full of integrity of great zeale in the administratioÌ„ of Iustice. For then all wil willingly obay him heartily loue him liuing in an assured hope that all his actions wil be measured weighed and crownd with Equity and Iustice. Let therefore the Conclusion of this discourse be That according to Plato the greatest prayse that can be giuen to a King is in consideration of this Vertue for as wee will shew you by and by it imbraceth all vertues in it selfe And there is not any Title more honourable or that doth so quadrare so square and sute with a King as that of lust whereby a King is made as it were a God vpon earth and becomes like vnto him in rewarding and punishing Anaxagoras and Homer called Kings Iovis discipulos Iupiters Schollers because in imitation of the Gods they did administer Iustice. And anciently they were tearmed sacratissimi most sacred In effect Iustice is a vertue truely regall and most proper vnto Kings because it appertaines vnto them by Office and doth constitute them in their being of Kings for without it they cannot be And therfore your Aegyptian Theologians with one and the same symbole which was an open-Eye did signifie both a king and Iustice. For neither a king without it nor it without a King can performe their office And therefore Plato calls her the Ouerseer and the Reuenger of all things
their nature and disposition then on the Law of obligation and thankfulnesse for these are but weake bonds and easily broken And because I know not whether I shall hereafter come to light vpon the like occasion I will here propose that Question which is disputed and doubted of by some and may likewise serue for an Auiso vnto Kings whether it be better that the great Lords should be farre off from them or neare about them The Emperour Charles the fifth of famous memory amongst other Aduertisements which hee gaue to his sonne Philip one was That he should not let the great offices of the kingdome nor places of great command rest any long time in one mans hands nor should put his Grandes and great Lords into them but Gentlemen of good qualitie such as were creatures of his owne making And as for his Grandes hee should honour them with some places and offices neare about his person which would be a greater grace both to himselfe and his Court. Others are of a quite contrary opinion and alledge reasons for the maintenance thereof Great men they say if they be not like those little ones which Christ speaketh of are ordinarily of an extraordinary spirit and endeauour all they can increase of honour till they come to occupie the highest place And then will it bee seene of what little esteeme are those great fauours which they haue already receiued There is not that friendship that kindred nor any other bond be it neuer so strong which is not broken through the greedy ambition of ascending to some higher throne For to bee a King saith Euripides all Law is broken For this Appetite is of that force and strength that it breaketh all Lawes both Diuine and Humane For proofe whereof they cite many examples which I purposely omit that I may not offend and tire out the Reader All of them admonishing Kings that they should throughly weigh and consider where and in what places they put them For if they be neare about their royall person it is the torment of Tantalus vnto them to see the water and the fruit so neare their mouth that greatnesse and power I meane and not to enioy it Which will but prouoke a more hungry appetite in those which doe not possesse it and will breake through hedge and ditch and runne as they say through fire and water transported with this so faire and beautifull a prize as is set before their eyes neuer being at quiet till they come to enioy it For there is not that loue to any thing here vpon earth which doth so much alter suspend and seaze on the minde and hâ—art of man as that of ruling and commanding and to grow great therein And when they see things succeed not according to their minde yet at least in satisfaction of their enuie they will be well content that the waters should be troubled and the world be turned topsie-turuy taking pleasure therein though it be to their owne hurt And what King can secure himselfe that such ambitious persons being neare about him will not at one time or other attempt their ends For greatnesse say they after that it is once possessed quits the memory of the meanes whereby it came to bee so great and findes a thousand excuses for it's weaknesse in offending And the rather for that ill vse hath taught all men this lesson That the reputation of an honest man is not to be preferred before his proper profit and greatnesse Lastly they say That he that ouercommeth and makes good his clayme by his sword needeth not to study excuses and to make Apologies let those doe that that haue the worst end of the staffe and stand at the mercy of the Conquerour In conclusion they resolue this question thus That it is very fit that your great Noble-men should rather liue farre from Court then neare about their King For all of them will be of good vse for the gouernment of Prouinces and Armies whereby both the one and the other will be secured And when they cannot content them in all that they would haue they may entertaine them with these which will be a good meanes to diuert their thoughts and to bridle those Prouinces that are committed to their charge with whom the Maiestie and greatnesse of their Gouernours will be able to doe much And there they are not of that danger For in kingdomes by succession and well setled and where there is no colour of wresting the Scepter out of the bloud-royall there is no feare of trusting the Grandes and great Noblemen with these kinde of Gouernments but it is rather requisite that it should be so For like vnto starres in heauen and their influences on earth they serue for ornament and conuersation in those kingdomes and Prouinces wherein there are ancient and noble Houses for which they are to seeke out men of Noble bloud and good qualitie and of knowne greatnesse to bee conuersant amongst them For the Nobilitie of those kingdomes and Prouinces will thinke themselues not well dealt withall if they shall haue but an ordinary man set ouer them to be their Gouernour be he neuer so wise or neuer so valiant For being that they are to attend all at the gates of him that holdeth that place they may esteeme it as an iniurie to see themselues obliged to acknowledge homage vnto him whom out of that place they would scarce vouchsafe him their companie Besides that greatnesse and largenesse of minde and heart that knowes not how to shrinke or be deiected with aduerse fortune a thing so necessary in him that gouernes will sooner bee found in these then men of meaner ranke For as Saint Ierome saith hee that owes much to his bloud and familie will alwayes beare that obligation about him and neuer faile therein Againe he that is borne to command will be lesse insolent in his gouernment as hauing that noble qualitie from his cradle And the people on the other side will more willingly obey him whom they haue alwayes knowne to haue liued in honour and greatnesse And his example will bee of greater importance to reforme the disorders and abuses that shall there be offered Ouer and aboue they further adde That your Grandes and great Noblemen may and haue obligation to content themselues with their present estate if they will but weigh the difference of that it was with that which it is now did not men that are now in honour grow forgetfull of their former meane condition That grieuing them more which falls short of their desire then that doth please and content them which fortune hath with so liberall a hand bestowed on them For no man rests contented with his present estate and condition nor doe we esteeme that so much which wee possesse as the lacke of that we desire doth torment vs. And therefore doe they say that they are not so good to be about Kings and more particularly those which are so qualified for they
are like a lingring kinde of Calenture or aguish Feuer which makes an end of vs before we are aware of it working it's effect before wee can looke into the cause Or like vnto the hand in a Clocke or Dyall which tells out the houre and strikes without perceiuing how it moues or goes Or like vnto those plants of your tallest trees which grow to their full height whilest neither our eyes nor our vnderstanding can scarce comprehend how this comes to passe so insensibly doth it sproute and shoot vp This is the question and these in briefe the conueniences which for mine owne part I know not what they are vnlesse such conueniences as are proper to euery one in their owne estate But be it as it may be and let them say what they list let Kings resolue by the illumination of that light which they haue from heauen on that which shall be best for them That which I say is this That it will well become them to liue with a great deale of warinesse and circumspection and not to trust or relye too much vpon fortune For this Lady howbeit sometimes shee suffers her selfe to bee commanded by them yet now and then she ouerrules them as she doth the rest And therefore it shall bee good discretion and prudence to feare both her and her frequent mutabilities and changings as it behoueth euery man to doe the like For she without any respect or distinction of persons will oftentimes lash out from that way and course wherein she is and runne a quite contrary bias and commit the current of those effects to time and Nature Let Kings likewise take heed that they doe not put offended persons into such places where they may reuenge themselues For a receiued wrong or iniurie leaues still some roots behinde which when occasion is offered will bud forth most bitter and venemous plants Nor are there any rewards or benefits be they neuer so great that can blot out the print of that impression which an iniurie stampeth in the minde and heart of man Courtesies are soone forgotten by them for it seemeth a troublesome thing vnto them to endure the weight and burthen of so great a debt and obligation but a receiued wrong or iniurie that shall euer be remembred because they hold reuenge to be the character of courage and the badge of a noble minde and braue spirit Puluere qui laedit scribit sed marmore laesus He that does a wrong writes it downe in dust but he that receiues it in marble Tacitus teacheth vs to know this minde of man and it's passions telling vs that the greatest and strongest inclination in man is to receiue satisfaction of the iniuries done vnto them for thankfulnesse lyes as a heauy loade vpon them whereas they make light of those benefits they receiue Esteeming the latter to be a diminution of their greatnesse and the former to wit reuenge to bee a great gaine vnto them for they imagine that they gaine thereby in their authoritie in their reputation and in the manifestation of their valour when the world shall take notice that they haue righted themselues Such as these can neither bee good as they are Fauourites nor as they are Councellers For out of the desire and pleasure they take in reuenge they will rather aduise that which shall seeme conuenient for the execution thereof then for the authoritie and profit of the Prince whom they aduise They will aduise him I say to venture himselfe vpon some voyage to enter into a warre to go himselfe into the field with a royall army or to vndergo some dangerous enterprise for the better effecting of their designes plotting a thousand mischiefes to bring him vnto ruine And let them say what they will yet shall they neuer perswade me that this proceeds out of the loue which they beare vnto their King and his increase of honour but out of hatred to his person their owne proper satisfaction thinking that by that meanes they may worke their reuenge And hereunto I adde that no man can bee found of so perfect a minde of so temperate a nature and so vertuous but that in the first place he will treate of his owne businesse and that treating of this particular the eye of his thought still ayming to hit this white will not sticke to aduenture any danger in hope of reuenge And therefore I shall aduise Kings that of necessitie must sometimes giue eare and credit to these or the like persons if they chance to bee preferred to great places that they be very carefull how farre forth they trust them for they are a dangerous kinde of people vnsafe and more couetous of their owne priuate interest then carefull of the publike perill or common hurt For this loue vnto themselues and hatred vnto others couered and strewed ouer with the cloud and ashes of iniuries and offences either receiued or conceiued doth reuiue and quicken the coales by those blasts of fauour and greatnesse that are blowne on them procuring though to others cost to vphold themselues therein and to ingage Kings in that which they pretend for their reuenge and satisfaction God shield and protect Kings from such persons as shall with the snake take vp their poyson againe to vent the venome of their rancour and reuenge vpon an old quarrell and let them likewise take heed how they imploy their forces and their power in countenancing and protecting those whom they haue offended and discontented This saith the said Emperour Charles the fifth is an aduice of great importance for the safetie quietude and good gouernment of kingdomes States and Signiories which for that they are so many so great and so farre distant one from another it is impossible that they should be visited by your selfe in person so often as is requisite And therefore I aduise you that you haue a great care that your Viceroyes and Gouernours that shall be sent thither be such and of such parts as shall conuene for such an imployment men of experience and conscience of wisedome prudence and discretion and well seene in matters of State and Gouernment Well disposed and free from couetousnesse briberie and corruption seeking out rather men for Offices then Offices for men Lastly let them be such persons from whom you may receiue that good satisfaction that by their residence there may bee found no misse of their Kings presence For this is properly to bee Vice-royes Moreouer you must instruct them in that which appertaineth vnto them for the good gouernment of the Commonwealth and those Subiects which are committed to their charge maintaining them in equall iustice and good manners giuing them good example by their owne blamelesse conuersation There is nothing that doth so much oblige Vassals and Subiects to keepe the Statutes and Lawes which are ordained as to see them well kept and obserued by their betters And so it is that it is vniustly commanded which hee that commands keepes not himselfe if