death so that by the incestuous mariage wherewith Claudius had contaminated and poysoned his house he and his naturall sonne who by reason should have been his successor were killed with poyson We read likewise that the Emperour Bassianus Carracalla Spartian in Carac beholding one day Iulia his mother in law with an eye of incestuous concupiscence She said unto him Si tu le veux tu le peux If thou wilt thou maiest Knowest thou not that it belongs unto thee to give the law not to receive it which talke so enflamed him yet more with lust that he tooke her to wife in marriage Hereupon Hystoriographers note that if Bassianus had knowne well what it was to give a law he would have detested and prohibited such incestuous and abhominable copulations and not to have authorised them For breefely a Prince may well give lawes unto his subjects but it must not be contrary to nature and naturall reason This was the cause why Papinian the great Lawyer who well understood both naturall and civile law loved better to die than to obey the said Emperor Bassianus who had commanded him to excuse before the Senate his parricide committed in the person of Geta his brother For Papinian knowing that such a crime was against natural right so much there wanted that he would have obeied the Emperor if he had commanded him to have perpetrated and committed it that he would not obey him so far therein as to excuse it Wherein the Paynim Lawyer may serve for a goodly example to condemne many Magistrate Lawyers of our time which not only excuse but also cause to be executed unnaturall murders and massacres against all law divine and humane But now we have spoken of a Princes absolute power let us come to the other The other power which we call Civile is that which is governed and as it were The Civile power temperateth the Absolute limited within the bounds of Reason of right and equitie and which we must presume that the Prince will use and useth ordinarily in all his commaunds unlesse expressely he shew and declare that he willeth and ordaineth this or that of his absolute power and of his certaine knowledge This is that second power which is guided by prudence and good Counsell and which giveth a sweet temperature and counterpoise to that absolute power no more nor no lesse than the second motion of the Sunne tempereth the course of the first as we have abovesaid This is that power which establisheth and conserveth in assurednesse kingdomes and empiers and without which they cannot stand but incontinent shal be ruinated annihilated and laid on the ground This is that power which all good Princes have so practised letting their absolute power cease without using any unlesse in a demonstration of Majestie to make their Estate more venerable and better obeyed that in all their actions and in all their commands they desire to subject and submit themselves to lawes and to reason And in this doing they never thought or esteemed to doe any thing unworthie of their Majestie but contrary have ever accounted that there was no thing more beseeming the majestie of a soveraigne Prince than to live and carrie himselfe in all his actions according to right and equitie And that the domination and power of a Prince that so governeth himselfe is greater more secure and more venerable than his which governeth himselfe after the absolute power And truly all the good Romane Emperours have alwayes held this language and have so practised their power as we read in their hystories Yea the Emperour Theodosius L. digna Vox C. de Lege made an expresse law for it which is so good to be marked that I thought good to translate it word by word It is the majestie of him that governeth to confesse himselfe to be bound unto lawes so much doth our authoritie depend upon law And assuredly it is a farre greater thing than the Empire it selfe to submit his Empire and power unto lawes And that which we will not to be lawfull unto us we shew it unto others by the oracle of this our present Edict Given at Ravenna the eleventh day of Iune the yeare of the Consulship of Florentius and Dionisius To come then to our purpose you must understand that de Comines spoke of this second power in the place above alledged and not of the absolute power of a Prince for by that power it is certain that the Prince hath good authority to enterprise wars to levie imposts upon his subjects without their consent Because that by the roiall law above mentioned the Roman people gave all the like power unto the Prince as Dion de August ◠I. D. de Constit. Princ. they had themselves to use it towards the people against the people gave him absolute power without any astriction or bond to laws to do what he would We see also by the law of God the same absolute power is given unto kings soveraign Princes For it is written that they shall have full power over the goods persons of their subjects And althogh God have given them that absolute power as to his ministers 1. Sam. 8. lieutenants on earth yet wold he not have thē use it but with a temperance moderation of the second power which is ruled by reason equitie which we call Civile For so much there wanteth that God would that Princes shold use the said absolute power upon their subjects as he wold not so far constrain them as to sell their goods as is declared unto us in the example of Naboth For most unlikely is it that God 1. King 22. the great Dominator and Governor of al Princes would have Princes to abuse their powers with cruelties rapines injustices or any other unreasonable way of absolute power But as God by justice punisheth the wicked and by kindnesse and clemencie maintaineth the good and rightly and most holily useth his divine power so would he that Princes which are his lieutenants on earth should do the like not in perfection for that they cannot but in imitation To conclude then now our talke concerning the place of Comines certaine it is that a Prince may well make warre and impose tallies without the consent of his subjects by an absolute power but better it is for him to use his civile power so shuld he be better obeyed And as for Aydes and Subsidies whereof Comines speaketh some say they are not at this day levied by an absolute power but by the peoples consent Because in the time of Charles the seventh who had great and long warres against the English the Estates generall of the kingdome agreed unto him to levie Aydes and Subsidies every yeare without any more calling them together for that the warres endured so long and that their every yeares assembly would have come to great expences so that if the cause had alwaies continued then necessarily
laythe precedent nights Which Curius being drunke to enjoy his courtizan discovered unto her that the former nights he had been in a company with whom he should make an enterprise which would make him rich for ever As soone as Fulvia knew all the conjuration shee discovered it to the Consull Cicero Cicero did what he could truly to open all the enterprise but all the conspirators held so well their horrible oth that not one of so great a number would ever reveale a word But yet Cicero found meanes to know all by the declaration which the Allobroges made which Catiline had appointed to furnish him with people for the execution But the end of Catiline was such that he was slain fighting with a great number of others and the cheefe of his complices were executed by justice Breefely all they which have practised that wicked doctrine of Machiavell to commit outragious acts to bee irreconcilable their ends and lives have alwayes proved very tragaedies 3. Maxime A Prince in a conquered countrey must place colonies and garrisons especially in the strongest places to chase away the naturall and old inbabitants thereof THe best remedie saith M. Nicholas to conserve a countrey or Cap. 3. of â— Prince a province newly conquered is to erect colonies placing straÌ„gers there and from thence banishing all the princes ancient and naturall inhabitants For by that meanes the prince should keepe that countrey vvith a small charge vvithout troubling the countrey vvith great garrisons onely iniuring such as hee expulseth those places to make roome for new inhabitants And as for them vvhich are chased away he need not feare them for they vvill be but some small portion of the inhabitants of that province vvhich remaining poore and exiled shall from thenceforth be little able to hurt and as for such as shall be left in peace it is likely that they vvill enterprise nothing fearing by their rebellion to procure a banishment also to themselves as the others have For men must be tamed by a certain kindnesse either in not foyling or altogether discouraging such as are left in the province or els ought he utterly to destroy and impoverish them all as in chasing away and exiling the inhabitants of those places vvhere he vvill establish colonies for iniuries done to a man ought to be executed in such sort as they may not bee subiect to feare of vengeance The Romans knew well how to observe this Maxime sending colonies to all the nations vvhich they vanquished by the means of vvhich Colonies they held the most feeble in their vveaknesse not suffering them to gather strength and they also vveakened the power of such as vvere great and most iminent THe distinction of the proprietie of the goods of this world wherby every man ought to be master and assured possessor of his owne hath been introduced by the law and right of nature which wils That to every man beyeelded that which belongeth unto him or els by the right of nations which comes all to one end This distinction of proprietie maintaineth the commerce and trafficke The proprietie of goods is from the right of nature amongst men it entertaineth buyings and sellings permutations loanes and such like which are the bonds of all humane societie and if the distinction of proprietie of goods be not maintained in the world all commerce is destroyed all consocietie decayed and resolved For although some poets and philosophers praise the communitie of goods remembring us of that old golden world of Saturne yet it is plainely evident to all people of judgement that communitie induceth and brings a carelesnesse idlenesse discord and confusion into the commonweale as learnedly Aristotle demonstrateth in his Pollitiques Therefore very necessary it is that the naturall right therein be observed and every man maintained in the enjoyance of his owne good and that to every man be rendered that which is his owne yea this right ought to bee so observed that it is not lawfull for the prince to breake or violate it because by reason of naturall right it is inviolable and none can derogate from it And hereunto agreeth the divine right whereby it is shewed unto us that Achab a king ought not to take away the vineyard from Naboth his subject and hereunto also accord the rules of civile right whereby it is said That the right naturall and the right of nations are inviolable in such sort as that right civile and positive neither can nor ought to derogate any thing from them Hereby therefore is seene the absurditie and manifest iniquitie of this Maxime of Machiavell who counselleth a prince as soone as hee hath conquered a new countrey to dispossesse the masters and right owners of their goods in townes and places where he shall know it to be expedient to make himselfe strong and to place there other new masters and possessors of his owne nation in their places who are dispossessed and banished For if the prince use this Maxime certaine it is first that he violateth the right and law of nature which hee ought not to doe secondly hee acquireth the enmitie of the inhabitants of that new conquered countrey which may be a meanes to deject him from all For in the love of subjects and in their voluntarie obedience lieth the firmenesse and assurance of a princes estate as wee shall speake in another place It is folly to alledge that there will bee no malecontents but only they which are driven away For such sayth Machiavell as remaine in the countrey will be satisfied because they abide still but as I say it is folly to thinke so For certainely alwaies every one feareth that which he seeth happen to his neighbours and further not onely our owne losses engender in us miscontentment but also others losses as of our parents friends allies yea of such as are not joyned unto us with other bond than to be of our countrey of our tongue or of our religion although that in all these there is a distinction of more and lesse Thirdly they whom the prince chaseth from their possessions and goods will ever be so deadly enemies that all their lives they will leave no stone to remove to have right and vengeance of such injustice done against the law of nature And the prince hath no cause to think they cannot hurt him because they are poore banished people for it is certain that there is no little enemie but will be hurtfull Of how small a beginning did Sertorius arise He was but a simple Romane gentleman without authoritie and meanes yet with certaine troupes of Barbarians trained as well as he could he possessed a good Plâ—â— in Sertorio Crassâ— Florus lib. 52 55 56. part of Spaine The Romanes sent against him Metellus with a great hoast which could do nothing to him insomuch as they were yet forced to send Pompeius with an armie whom Sertorius braved calling him the little prentice of Silla and it appeared
so doe and behave your selves as this altar may bee more holily and chastly reverenced than this chappell heere Behould heere a contention worthie of vertuous and sage ladies But at this day ladies contend who shall best dance paint and decke themselves and to doe such like thjngs as doe not leade them into the chappell of the Romane Patricians nor to the altar of Verginia her Chastitie but rather doe leade them cleane contrary 31. Maxime Seditions and civile dissentions are profitable and blamelesse I Say against the advice of many saith master Nicholas that dissentions and civile seditions are good and profitable and that they vvere rhe cause that Rome is mounted into the loftie degree of empire vvherein it hath beene I know well that some hold that it vvas rather her valiancie in armes and her good fortune vvhich so high hath lifted her up But they which hold this doe not consider that deedes of armes cannot bee conducted vvithout good order and good policie and that is it policie vvhich commonly leadeth to good fortune But certaine it is that seditions have beene cause of good order and of the good policie vvhich vvas established at Rome And in summe all the goodly acts and examples of the ancient Romanes have proceeded from this fountaine of seditions For good examples proceede from good nurture and education good nurture proceedes from good lawes and policies and the mother of good lawes are seditions and civile dissentions which inconsideratly most men condemne IT were to bee desired that Machiavell and his nation which esteeme Seditions and civile dissentions so profitable had reserved them for themselves with all the utilitie and profit that is in them and not have participated them with their neighbours As for France they might well have spared the Seditions and partialities which the Italian Machiavelists have sowne on this side the mounts which caused so much bloodshed so many houses destroyed and so many miseries and callamities as every man feeles sees and deplores Would to God then all civile dissentions had remained amongst the Florentines and other Italians who doe love finde them good so that the French men had beene without them then would not France bee so rent and torne in pieces as it is and it should not bee enfeeblished more than halfe in his forces the people should not bee so poore as wee see them nor so naked of his substance and all good meanes For civile dissentions have brought to the realme such a ransacke and discomfiture of goods and have so abandoned and overthrowne all free commerce and good husbandry which are the two meanes to store and fill a countrey with abundance of goods that at this day there are seene no good houses but they which were wont to bee are ruinated and altogether impoverished and made barren Seditions cause of ravishments of goods of cessation of commerce and agriculture And truely it is as in a forrest when a man sees all the goodly oakes hewen downe and that there remaineth no more there but thornes shrubs and bushes For even as such a forrest which either hath none or few trees in it meriteth rather the name of a bush than of a forrest so the kingdome or commonweale whose good ancient houses are impoverished deserveth rather to be named by the name of a desart than of a kingdome or commonweale Moreover the reason which Machiavell alledgeth whereby hee would proove Seditions to bee good is very grosse and foolish for follow with this Because Seditions are sometime not the cause but the occasion that there are made some good lawes and rules That they are therefore good This reason is like the argument of a certaine philosopher whom Aulus Gellius mocketh who would maintaine that the fever quartaine is a good thing because it makes men sober and temperate and to guard themselves from eating and drinking too much Such philosophers as delight to broach such absurd opinions deserve to bee left without answere with their Seditions and fever quartaines to draw out such profit from them as they say doe proceede out of them Doth not the common proverbe say That from evill manners doe proceede good lawes and doth it therefore follow that evill manners are goods that is doth it follow that white is blacke or blacke white The grossest headed fellowes know well that law makers never set downe lawes but onely to reforme vices and abuses which are in a people so that indeede no lawes would have beene made if the people walked uprightly and committed no abuses nor had any vices For lawes are not set downe but for transgressors and to hould intemperate persons within limits and bounds Heereof followeth it that abuses vices straying and lusts are occasions of good lawes and prudent princes and law makers are the efficient causes of them but it doth not therefore follow that vices abuses and straying lusts are good things Moreover it is not alwaies true that which Machiavell saith That Seditions are causes or occasions of having good lawes and rules The Seditions which were raised up at Rome by Tiberius Gracchus and Caius his brother Tribunes of the people which were so great and sanguinary were not cause of any good lawes They were the cause that they both were massacred as they merited but they were neither cause nor occasion of any good law or rule and how should they bee cause thereof seeing they tended to authorise and make passe wicked lawes and to despoile true masters and proprietors of their goods For Tiberius Gracchus pursued by his Seditious faction that a law called Agraria might bee received and authorised whereby it was not lawfull for a Romane citizen to possesse above ten acres land which was as much to say as to take away the more from them which had more And because Marcus Octavius his companion in the Tribunate opposed himselfe to hinder the passage of this law as both wicked and unjust Gracchus would needes have had him dispatched of his estate and sought to make a Triumvirate of himselfe of his brother and of his father in law to divide amongst the people rich men goods This was the cause that the great lords of the citie by the advice and counsell of Scipio Nasica who was accounted the best man thereof slew him in the Capitoll and caused his body to bee cast into Tiber His brother Caius Gracchus beeing Tribune of the people a certaine space after sought againe to bring up that law Agraria and would needs devise one out of his owne braine whereby it was ordained that in all judgements and conclusions of affaires there should be 600 knights and 300 Senators all having voices this did he to have the pluralitie of voices at his command knowing that the knights would alwaies easily encline to his pursutes and so could hee not faile to obtaine what hee would if at all deliberations there were twise as many knights as Senators But this was a wicked law tending to
wee come to alledge For they said That men must not stay upon fishing for froggs but men must catch in their nets the great Salmons that one Salmons head was more worth than tenne thousand froggs and that when they had slaine the cheefetaines of pretended rebels that they should easily overthrow the rude and rascally multitude which without heads could enterprise nothing These venerable enterprisers should have considered that which here their Doctor Machiavell saith which also since they have seen by experience That a people cannot want heads which will alwayes rise up yea even those heads which bee slaine If they had so well noted practised this place of Machiavell as they do others so much blood would never have ben shed their tyrannie it may be had longer endured than it hath done For the great effusion of blood which they have made hath incontinent cried for vengeance to God who according to his accustomed justice hath heard the voice of that blood and for the crie of the orphant and widdow hath laid the axe to the root of all tyrannie and alreadie hath cut away many braunches thereof and if it please him will not tarry long to lay all on the ground and so establish Fraunce in his auncient government As for Fortresses in frontiers of countries they have been long time practised and are profitable to guard from incursions and invasions of enemies and to the end such as dwell upon the borders may the more peaceably enjoy their goods Wee reade That the emperour Alexander Severus gave his Fortresses upon frontiers to Lamprid. in Alex. Pomp. Laetus in Constant Magno good and approoved captaines with all the lands and revenewes belonging unto them to enjoy during their lives to the end saith Lampridius that they might be more vigilant and carefull to defend their owne And afterward the emperour Constantine the Great ordained That the said Fortresses with their grounds and revenewes should passe to the heires of the said captaines which held them as other manner of goods and heritages And hereupon some say have come such as the civile law call Feudi 34. Maxime A Prince ought to commit to another those affaires which are subiect to hatred and envie and reserve to himselfe such as depend upon his grace and favour A Prince vvhich vvill exercise some cruell and rigorous act saith cap. 7. 14. of a prince M. Nicholas he ought to give the commission thereof unto some other to the end he may not acquire evill vvill and enmitie by it And yet if he feare that such a delegation cannot bee vvholly exempted from blame to have consented to the execution which was made by his Commissarie he may cause the Commissarie to be slaine to shew that he consented not to his crueltie as did Caesar Borgia and Messire Remiro Dorco THis Maxime is a dependancie of that goodly doctrine which Machiavell learned of Caesar Borgia which although it was very cruell yet meaning to appeare soft and gentle following therein the Maxime which enjoyneth dissimulation committeth the execution of his crueltie to Messire Remiro Dorco as at large before wee have discoursed that hystorie And because we have fully shewed that all dissimulation and feignednesse is unworthie of a prince we will stay no longer upon this Maxime Well will I confesse that many things there be which seeme to be rigorous in execution although they be most equall and just which it is good a prince doe commit to others to give judgement and execution by justice as the case meriteth For as the emperour Marcus Antonine said It seemeth to the world that that which the prince doth hee doth it by his absolute authoritie and power rather than of his civile and reasonable power Therefore to shun that blame and suspition it is good that the prince delegate and set over such matters to Iudges which are good men not suspected nor passionate not doing as the emperour Valentinian did who would never heare nor receive accusations against Iudges and Magistrates which hee had established but constrained the recusators or refusers to end their cause before those Iudges only Whereby he was much blamed and his honor impeached and disgraced For truly the cheefe point which is required to cause good Passionate Iudges cannot judge well justice to be administred is That Iudges be not suspected nor passionat because the passions of the soule and heart doe obfuscate and trouble the judgement of the understanding and cause them to step aside and stray out of the way It is also a thing of very evill example when a prince with an appetite of revenge or to please the passions of revengefull great men dooth elect Iudges and Commissaries that bee passionate and which have their consciences at the command of such as employ them As was done in the time of king Lewis Hutin in the judgement of Messire Enguerrant de Marigni great master of Fraunce and in the time of king Charles the sixt in the judgement of the criminall processe of Messire Iean de Marests the kings Advocate in the parliament of Paris And a man may put to them the judgements given in our time against Amie du Bourg the kings Counsellor in the said parliament and against captaine Briquemand and M. Arnand de Cavagnes master of the Requests of the kings houshold and against the countie de Montgomerie and many others For the executions to death which followed manifested well That the Iudges were passionate men their consciences being at the command of strangers which governed them 35. Maxime To administer good Iustice a Prince ought to establish a great number of Judges TO have prompt and quicke expedition of good Iustice saith Machiavell many Iudges must be established for few can dispatch Discourse lib. 1. cap. 7. few causes and a small number is more easie to gaine and be corrupted than a great number And vvithall a great number is strong and firme in Iustice against all men EXperience hath made us wise in France that this Maxime of Machiavell is not true For since they multiplied the Officers of Iustice Multiplicitie of Officers cause of the corruption of â—ustice in Fraunce in the kingdome by the encrease of Counsellours in parliaments by erection of Presidents seats by creation of new or alternative Officers we have processes and law causes more multiplied longer and worse dispatched than before insomuch as by good right and by good reason the last Estates generall held at Orleance complained to king Charles the ninth of that multiplication and multitude of Officers which served not as it doth not yet but to multiplie law causes to ruinate and eat up the people and yet no better expedition of Iustice than before but rather worse and notoriously more long and of greater charges to the parties Vpon which complaint it was holily ordained That offices of Iustice which became vacant by death should bee suppressed and that none should come in their
in Italie or that wee had warre heere against a lesser captaine than Anniball so that there were place to amend and correct a fault when it were made wee would not hould him well advised that would hinder your election and as it were withstand your libertie But in this warre against Anniball wee have made no fault but it hath cost us a great and perillous losse therefore am I of advice that you doe elect Consulls which match Anniball For as wee would that our people of warre were stronger than our enemies so ought wee to wish that our heads and cheefetaines of warre were equall to them of our enemies Octacilius is my nephew who espoused my sisters daughter and hath children by her so that I have cause to desire his advancement But the commonwealthes utilitie is more deere unto mee And withall that no other hath greater cause than my nephew not to charge himselfe with a waight under which hee should fall The Romane people found his reasons good therefore revoked their election and by a new suffrage elected Fabius himselfe and gave him for a companion Marcellus which assuredly were two great and sage captaines This rule to elect magistrates equall to every charge above all ought to bee well practised in the election of soveraigne judges for after they have judged if they have committed a fault it cannot but very hardly be repaired so that the reason which Fabius alledged having place in the election of soveraigne judges the provision which followed it meriteth well to bee drawne into an example and consequence for the good and utilitie of the princes subjects The particular qualities required in a Magistrate cannot better nor more briefely Particular qualities required in a Magistrate bee described than by the counsell which Iethro gave to Moses For hee advised him to elect people fearing God true and hating covetousnesse Surely this counsell is very briefe for words but in substance it comprehendeth much For first the Magistrate which shall feare God will advise to exercise his Office in a good conscience Exod. cap. 18. and after the commandements of God and above all things will seeke that God bee honoured and served according to his holy will and will punish â—uch as do the contrary If the Magistrate feare God hee will love his neighbour as himselfe because God so willeth and by consequent he will guard himselfe from doing in the exercise of his estate any thing against his neighbor which he would not should be done against himselfe Briefely hee will in a booke as it were write all his actions to make his account to that great Lord and master whose feare hee hath in him Secondly if the Magistrate bee veritable and a lover of truth it will follow that in the exercise of his Office as well in civile as criminall matters hee will alwaies seeke out the truth and shut his eares to impostures and lies of calumniators and slanderers which is no small vertue wherein Iudges often erre Also a magistrate that loveth truth by consequent shall bee of sufficiencie knowledge and capacitie to exercise his estate for Ignorance and Truth are no companions because Truth is no other thing but light and Ignorance darkenesse And for the last point If the Magistrate hate covetousnesse hee will not onely guard himselfe from practising it but also he will correct it in others and by cutting of this detestable vice the root of all evill he shall keepe downe all other vices which be like rivers proceeding from this cursed and stinking spring And as wee see that the covetousnesse of wicked magistrates is cause of the length of law causes because they have a desire that the parties which plead before them should serve their turnes as they say as a cow for milke whereby it followeth that the poore people are pilled and eaten even to the bones by those horseleaches Also contrarie when the Magistrate hateth covetousnesse hee will dispatch and hasten Iustice to parties and not hould them long in law neither pill and spoile them a thing bringing great comfort and help to the people Briefely then if these three qualities which Iethro requireth in Magistrates and Officers of Iustice were well considered by the prince in such sort as he would receive none into an Office of Iustice who feared not God loved not veritie and hated covetousnesse certainelie Iustice would bee better administred to his great honour and the utilitie of his subjects I will not say that amongst the Paynims there were Magistrates which had the true feare of God for none can have that without knowing him and none can truly know him but by his word whereof the Paynims were ignorant yet were there Paynims which had the other two parts which Iethro required in a Magistrate When Cato the elder was sent governour lieutenant general for the Romanes into the Isle Titus Livius lâ—b 2. Dec. 4. of Sardaigne hee found that the people of the countrey had alreadie a custome for many yeeres before to expend and bestow great charges at the receit and for the honour of all the governours which were sent from Rome hee found also through all that countrey a great companie of bankers and usurers which ruinated and eate out the people by usuries As soone as hee was arived in his goverment he cassed and cut off this and would not suffer them at his arrivall to bee at any charge for his entertainment Hee also drave out of the countrey at once all the said bankers and usurers without any libertie given them to stay upon condition to moderate their usuries which some found hard and evill thinking that it had beene better to have given to these bankers and usurers a meane to their usuries beyond which they might not passe than altogether to take from them the meane to give and take money to profit a thing seeming prejudiciall to commerce and trafficke But so much there wanted that Cato stayed not upon these considerations beleeving that the permission of a certaine might easilie be disguised and perverted and that men which bee subtill in their trade might easily in their contracting and accompting make them lay downe eight for ten or twelve for fifteene Briefely Cato governed himselfe so in his estate and government that the fame of his reputation was of an holy and innocent person Hee was in all matters assuredly a brave man hee was a good souldiour a good lawyer a good orator cunning both in townes and in rurall affaires proper in time Titus Liviuâ— lib. 9. Dec. 4. of peace and as proper in time of warre a man of severe innocencie and who had a tongue that would spare no mans vices even publikely to accuse them as indeed in all his life hee never ceased to accuse vicious and evill living people to make them bee condemned by Iustice and especially in his age of nintie yeeres hee accused one Sergtus Galba This man stepped one day forward to demaund the
rather to discharge him of his Office than constraine him to doe a thing against his conscience The prince then which will make a good election of magistrates ought to take care to chuse persons which like Cato will not winke at vices and which will patiently heare parties and judge equally as did Quintius which will be diligent well to draw out the truth of the fact before he give judgement upon any as did Sulpitius which may be such persons as feare to offend their consciences like Helpidius And briefly that they be fearers of God lovers of truth not covetous according to Iethro his counsell Thus doing hee need not feare to have his justice well ruled and holily administred He must take heed he doe not like the emperour Tiberius who gave his Offices to great drinkers and gourmandizers taking pleasure to see a man tunne up much wine and viands into his bellie Neither ought hee to imitate the example of Suet. in Tib. cap. 42. Aâ— Marcel lib. 23 27. the emperour Iulian the Apostata who for a Iudge one time gave to the towne of Alexandria in Aegypt a most cruell and turbulent man And when it was told him that this Iudge was a man very unwoorthie of such an Office I know nor sayth hee how unworthie he is but because the Alexandrians be turbulent and covetous persons I will give them a like Iudge which may deale with them after their merits This was a very inconsiderate part of this emperour to give a wicked magistrate to a corrupted people for their amendment for that is as if one should give unto a diseased person a wicked physician to heale him There was the like fact committed in our time by the Machiavelists but no marvaile if Atheists follow the traces of an Apostata for the one is as good as the other Neither ought the prince also to doe as the emperor Valentinian who constrained the parties to subject themselves to the judgment of suspected Iudges to bee their enemies For all these said emperours were greatly blamed by authors of their time and are yet by all hystories for their so evill choise of unworthie men in Offices which rather they ought to have recoiled and dejected as many other emperors did which for farre lesse causes have cassierd and dispatched them out of their Offices as some have written That Augustus Caesar cassierd a magistrate as ignorant and incapable because hee writ Ixi in place of Ipsi And Vespasian cassierd another because he perfumed himselfe smelled of muske saying he would have loved him better if he had smelled of Garlicke And Domitian cassierd another because he delighted in dauncing and puppet playes for Domitian although otherwise very wicked had this good in him that he caused wel to be chastised all such as our Machiavelists are at this day Likewise also Fabricius Censor cassierd out of the Senate Cornelius Rufinus Senator because hee had vessels of silver weighing tenne marks which at this time comes to 40 crownes But I leave you to thinke if they would not then have rigorously punished such as doe spoile and eate the people which sell Iustice or which commit like abuses which at this day are manifestly tollerated in France since they cassierd men out of their Offices for farre lighter causes as to faile in the orthographie of a word to smell of a perfume to daunce to have plate of the value of tenne pound for these things seeme not to be great faults but at this time men do rather make vertues of them But it is not ynough that a prince make good election of his Officers and Magistrates by the consideration of each mans particular vertues but also in seats where he must needs establish many Iudges together hee ought to take good advisement well â—o compose the bodie of that assembly by considering the qualities required to give a good harmonie and temperature to all the bodie And for this purpose hee ought to compose and temper it of persons of divers estates and divers countries as for example A parliament and judgement seat which ought to bee composed of many ought not to be made of men all of the Nobilitie or of the Clergie or of the third estate but some of every estate Likewise it ought not to be composed of men all of one towne but they ought to bee taken from divers jurisdictions or diocesses And those two points have aunciently been observed in France according to royall ordinances so enjoyning But in the time wherein we are wee may adde by the like reason That in a parliament or the like seat they ought not all to be Catholike Romanes and none of the Reformed Religion For if the estate of the Clergie for the conservation of her priviledges hath well obtained that in all such places there be magistrates of the Clergie although they bee of the same religion in all points with the Catholike Lay-men why should they denie it to men of the profession of the Gospell To this purpose we reade That at Rome there was a time wherein there was many more knights in the assembly of Iudges soveraigne of causes than of Senators insomuch as by soveraigne judgement Publius Rutilius who was a good and sincere man was condemned to banishment because hee had repressed the excessive and undue exactions of Publicans in Asia being evill beloved of the knights which were the greater number of the assembly The Senatours disdaining and grieving at this wicked judgement stirred up Livius Drusus Tribune of the people at whose pursute there was a law made That from thence forward the Senatours and knights should be of a like number in the judgements of causes Which law was found good and profitable to the commonweale as by the contrary they found not good that law which before Caius Gracchus who also was a Tribune of the people would have caused to passe wherby he sought to these that in the judgement of causes there might be two knights against one Senator For herein there is no equalitie nor equitie and therefore by good reason that law was rejected yea and to the ruine of Gracchus who was slaine in the too earnest pursute of that law Iosaphat also king of Iudea after he had established good magistrates through the townes of his kingdome and expressely enjoyned them to execute good justice Paral. lib. 2. cap. 1410. Antiq. lib. 9. cap. 2. to every man without having any regard but to the feare of God and not to the riches nor the dignitie of persons finally established a seat like a parliament in the towne of Ierusalem composed of persons elected from all the lines and families of his kingdome as Iudges holding the degree of supreame jurisdiction unto which men might only appeale from the sentences of inferior Iudges The same temperature kept also the ancient Romanes in all sorts of their magistrates For they not only had of their nobilitie but also of their knights and of
length behould our miseries But O hovv happy are yee both because you have so gratious a Queene also for that the infectious Machiavelian doctrine hath not breathed nor penetrated the intrails of most happy England But that it might not so doe I have done my endeavour to provide an Antidote and present remedie to expell the force of so deadly poyson if at any time it chance to infect you For vvhen I thought it meete and right especially in such a confused disorder of matters and times to impart as vvell to our Frenchmen as to other nations these discourses first vvritten by a man of most singular learning and vvisedome I vvillingly undertooke this labour vvhich I have performed to the uttermost of my povver and novv I vvholy refer my selfe and my travaile to serve for the benefit of publicke utilitie Yet I properly dedicated and inscribed it in your names both because although I never savv England yet it might serve as a pledge to testifie my thankfull minde tovvards your countrymen vvhose singular courtesie kindnesse shevved to my bretheren vvhen they vvere banished for the profession of the Gospell hath generally bound mee to all Englishmen but privately to you as also that by vvay of exhortation I might enflame you being most vertuous Gentlemen to study and follovv the contents of this booke but especially the artes and vertues therein published almost in every vvord therof so highly commended vvhich indeede is no other thing than you doe alreadie For the beholding of your ancestors monuments of their vertues vvhich are both many and famous doth move you thereunto more than the directions drawne from all ages and examples here delivered Therfore my deare friend Francis amongst so many notable examples of your realme treade the steps of your unckle the right honourable earle of Huntington a man most admirable and ilustrious as well for godlinesse and other noble vertues as for noble parentage honour rhat you mayshew your selfe vvorthie of your place and kindred And you good Edward imitate the vvisedome sanctimonie and integritie of your Father the right Honourable Lord Nicholas Bacon keeper of broade Seale of England a man right renowned that you may lively expresse the image of your Fathers vertues in the excellent tovvardnesse vvhich you naturally have from your most vertuous Father If you both do daily ruminate and remember the familiar best known examples of your ancestors you cannot have more forcible persuasions to moove you to that which is good and honest But I vvill continually pray God to prosper that good hope vvhich your parents and kinsfolkes have of you your good studies also and that he vvill plentifully blesse and beautifie you with all the gifts of his spirit that you may become profitable members of the Church your countrie and commonweale and may live long and happie daies Kalends Augusti Anno 1577. ⧠Greeke Latine and French Authors out of which are extracted the Hystories and other things alledged in these Discourses against Machiavell Ammianus Marcellinus Annales of France Aristotle The Bible Capitolinus Cicero Comines Dion Dionysius Halicarnasseus Du Bellay Aeschylus Eurypides Florus Froissart Herodianus Homerus Horatius Iosephus Iuvenall Ius Civile Canonicum Lampridius Molineus Monstrelet Munsterus Papon Paulus Aemylius Plinius Iunior Platina Plutarchus Pomponius Laetus Sabellicus Salustius Sleidanus Sophocles Spartianus Suetonius Tacitus Titus Livius Thucydides Trebellius Pollio Virgil Vopiscus Xenephon A Preface to the first Part entreating what Counsell a Prince should use ARistotle and other Philosophers teach us and experience confirmeth it unto us that there are two wayes to come unto the knowledge of thâ—â—gs The one when from the causes and Maximes men come to knowledge of the effects and consequences The other when contrarie by the effects and consequences wee come to know the causes and Maximes As for example when we see the earth waxe greene and trees gather leaves we know by that effect that the sunne which is the cause thereof approcheth nigh us and we come to receive this Maxime That the sunne gives vigour and force unto the earth to bring forth fruits And by the contrarie also when we have knowledge of this cause and Maxime we come to know the effect to conclude the consequence which is That that sunne comming nigh us the earth bringeth foorth her fruits and withdrawing from us the earth leaveth to bring forth The first of these two wayes is proper and peculiar unto the Mathematicians which teach the truth of their Theoremes and Problemes by their demonstrations drawne from Maximes which are common sentences allowed of themselves for true by the common sence and iudgement of all men The second way belongs to other sciences as to Naturall Philosophie Morall Philosophie Physicke Law Policie and other Sciences whereof the knowledge proceeds more commonly by a resolute order of effects to their causes and from particulars to generall Maximes than by the first way although it is certaine that sometimes they also helpe themselves both with the one and the other way In the Politicke Art then whereof Plato Aristotle and other Philosophers have written bookes men may well use both these wayes For from the effects and particulars of a civile government men may come to the knowledge of Maximes and rules and by the contrarie by the rules and Maximes men may have the knowledge of effects So that when we see the effects of a politicke government which is of no value and which is pernitious and evill men are hereby brought to the knowledge of the Maximes and rules which are of the same sort and by the good and profitable effects men are also led to the notice of good rules and Maximes And on the other side good or evill rules and Maximes do leade to the knowledge of like effects Yet although the Maximes general rules of the Politicke Art may something serve to know well to guide and governe a publicke estate whether it bee principalitie or free cittie yet can they not bee so certaine as the Maximes of the Mathematicians but are rules rather very dangerous yea pernitious if men cannot make them serve and apply them unto affaires as they happen to come and not to apply the affaires unto these Maximes and rules For the circumstances dependances consequences and the antecedents of every affaire and particular businesse are all for the most part divers and contrarie insomuch that although two affaires be like yet must not men therefore conduct and determine them by one same rule or Maxime because of the diversitie and difference of accidents and circumstances For experience teacheth us that in one same act that which is good in one time is not in another but rather hurtfull and that which is convenient for some nations is not good for others and so of other circumstances They then which deale in the affaires of publicke estate had need to know not onely the Maximes and rules of the Politicke Art but also they
called with these gracious names Subsidies Subventitions Aydes Grants not with these tearmes Tailles Imposts Tributes Impositions which were tearmes more hard and odious Examples appeare of the first cause when the generall Estates assembled at Paris after the death of king Charles le Sage to provide for the government as well of king Charles the sixt being under Annal. upon An 1380 and Fross li 2. cap. 58. 60. age as of the kingdome which government they gave unto three of the kings uncles namely to the Duke of Berry Languedoc to the Duke of Bourgoigne Picardie and Normandie and to the Duke de Aniou the remainder of all the realme and the rule of the young kings person was committed to the said Dukes of Berry and Bourgoigne So was there ordained during the said kings life another ordinance In like manner the generall Estates were held at Tours after the decease of king Lewis the eleventh to purvey for the government of king Charles the eighth under Annal. upon An. 148. and Coâ—â—n â—ib 1. ca. 109. age and of the kingdome And by the same Estates was established a Counsell of twelve persons good men and of good calling to dispatch the affaires of the kingdome yet in the kings name and under his authoritie And the rule of the young kings person was committed unto Madame de Beavien his sister When king Charles the sixt le bien aime was come to the age of one and twentie yeares his uncles were discharged from the government of the kingdome by the Froiss lib 1. cap. 134. lib. 4. cap. 44. advise and deliberation of the kings great Counsell But this good prince by an accident of sicknesse fell a certaine time after into a frenzie which sometimes bereaved him of his sences insomuch that the Estates assembled at Paris gave the government of the kingdome during the kings indisposition to his two uncles the dukes of Berrie and Burgoigne The yeare 1356. that king Iohn was taken prisoner nie Poictres at the journey of Annal. upon An. 1356 and Fross li. 1. cap. 170. 171. Maupertins with his sonne Philip after Duke of Burgoigne and that they were led into England there remained in France three of the said king Iohns children namely Charles Dauphin and duke of Normandie Lewis duke de Aniou and Iohn duke of Berrie There was a question about the providing for the government of the kingdome because of the kings captiuitie but none of them would enterprise the mannaging thereof of himselfe insomuch that the generall Estates were assembled at Paris whereby were elected thirtie six persons some say fiftie to governe the affaires of the kingdome with Monsieur le Dauphin who at the beginning called himselfe the Lieutenant of the king his father but afterward he named himselfe Regent The yeare 1409. during the raigne of Charles the sixt king of France were held Monstrelet lib. 1. ca. 59. the generall Estates at Paris for the reformation of abuses in the kingdome And there it was ordained that all accountants for the kings revenues and rents should make their accounts By the meanes of which reformation great summes of money were recovered upon the same accountants and there were also made some good lawes and ordinances In other conventions of Estates the money and coine hath been reformed from weake and light unto thicke and of good waight and goodnesse Also of late at the generall Estates held at Orleans were made manie goodly ordinances for the good and comfort of the poore people reformation of justice and for the cutting off of manie abuses which were committed in plaies at Cardes and Dise in superfluitie of apparell and in matter of benefices But commonly commeth such euill hap that all good things which are introducted and ordained vpon good reason and to a good end incontinent vanish away and wicked examples are alwaies drawne into consequence As for the last cause for which we haue said the generall Estates in old time were called namely for the graunt of Helps Subsidies ther are manie examples in our Histories As in the time of king Iohn wherein the Estates accorded great subventions Froiss lib. 1. cap. 155. Annal. upon An 1354 58. 59. or subsidies to make warre against the English men which then held a great part of the kingdome And after he was taken prisoner and led into England the said Estates agreed to give vnto Monsieur le Dauphin his soune great summes of money to pay for the said kings raunsome and for Philip his sonne being also a prisoner And well to be marked it is that our histories doe witnesse that all the people of France generally were meruailously anguished grieved with the prisonment captivitie which they saw their king suffer but especially the people of the countrey of Languedoc For the Estates of the said countrey ordained that if the king were not delivered within a yeare that every one both men and women should lay by all coloured garments such also as were jagged and cut and such as were enriched with gold silver or other strange and costly fashion Likewise to make cease all stage-plaies morrisdauncings piping yea and plaies pastimes and daunces in signe and token of their mourning and lamentation for their princes captivitie A thing whereby appeared the great and cordiall affection of this people towards their king As truely the Frenchmen have alwaies been of great love and affection towards their kings unlesse they were altogither tyrants But to make an end of this point Certaine it is that before king Charles the seventh called le Victorieux no Subsidies were imposed without assembling the generall Estates And that our kings used thus to do was not because they had power by an absolute authoritie to impose tallages and subsidies without calling the Estates but it is to the end they may be better obeyed with a voluntarie and unconstrained obedience and to shunne all uprores and rebellions which often happen upon that occasion And truly the French people have alwaies been so good and obedient unto their kings that they never refused him any thing if there were but any appearance of reason to demand it Yea often the Estates have granted their king more than he would demand or durst looke for as is seene by that which our histories write of the Estates held for Subsidies But because Aydes and Subsidies were customably granted for the making of De Com. lib. 5. cap. 18. warres M. Philip de Comin saith That kings should also communicat and consult with their Estates whether the causes of such warres be just and reasonable and that the Prince cannot nor ought not otherwise to enterprise a warre For it is reason that they which defray the charges and expenses should know something But yet he passeth further and saith There is no Prince in the world which hath power to lay one pennie upon his subjects without their grant and consent unlesse he will use tyrannie and
shuld the imposition have continued But certaine it is that this consent delivered by the said Estates concerned only the English warres which ending the said consent finished yet afterward the said consent and accord of the Estates was drawne into a custome In the time of king Charles the eight the Estates generall at Tours were convocated as well to provide for the government of the king and of the kingdome for his majestie was under age as also for Aydes and Subsidies which were freely graunted by the said Estates although the people of Fraunce were then very poore and ruinated And the abovenamed Comines sheweth one thing that is very true That the holding of the said Estates is very good and profitable for a king of France whereby he is both stronger and better obeyed but he complaines That in his time there were men as there are at this day unworthie to possesse those offices which they held who all they could hindered the holding of the Estates least their evill behaviors and incapacities should be espied and knowne Such men are of like humors as the unworthie Emperours Caligula Maximinius Commodus others whereof we have spoken above which hated the Senat of Rome because they would not have such correctors and controulers Let us now come to Machiavell to proove his Maxime which we have aboue The counsell of many is better than the counsell of oâ—e alone confuted by good reasons and examples He alleadgeth two reasons The one is that if a Prince governe himselfe by one Counsell alone it would proove dangerous for feare that the Counsellor seeke to occupie the Estate Whereunto I answere that that were considerable if principalities were at this day given by tumultuarie elections of souldiers as in times past the Romane Empire was given for he that could obtaine the favour of the men of warre either by love or money carried it away But in our time principalities are hereditarie or are given by grave and deliberate election of more staid and discreet people than were the Praetorian souldiers of Rome Yet doe not I approove that a Prince should be governed by one alone when he may have a greater number of good Counsellors for they that have so done in times past have found it evill and have repented it as more fully shall be shewed in the next Maxime The reason also is evident because one alone cannot so well by his wisdome examine and search out a matter or cause nor so well can prevent difficulties occurrents consequents that may happen as many can do Therfore also the wise Salomon approveth the counsell which is compounded of many The other second reason of Machiavell is that he saith That in a Counsell compounded Discordant opinions comming to one end is not to be feared of many there are alwaies discordances and contrarieties of opinions that they cannot accord Whereunto I answer That if a Counsell be compounded of good and fit men they will alwaies sufficiently agree in their opinions as experience sheweth it in the Counsels of many Princes and in the body of Common-weales although they disagree in motives reasons allegations and in other circumstances These discordances are often very profitable and necessarie if so be they all looke to one end which is the good of the Commonwealth As happened in the Counsell of the Senate which was held at Rome about that horrible and straunge conspiration of Catiline who with his companions went about to destroy his countrey with fire and sword For in that Counsell Caesar reasoned so gently as it seemed he made small account of the matter and in respect of his authoritie others after him reasoned in like manner so mildly and gently as Catiline and his partakers were in a good way to have been absolved But when it came to Cato his ranke he reasoned in another sort yea even plainely to rebuke such as spoke before him Great pitie it is sayth he that we are in such a time when men attribute the name of wicked things to such as are good Now is it accounted liberalitie to give the goods of another man it is magnanimitie to use violence and boldnesse it is mercie and clemencie to plucke criminall and condemned persons out of a Iustices hands And I pray you is it so small a thing to have conspired our destruction and the effusion of our bloud Another crime might be punished after it should be committed but who should punish Catiline after the execution of his conspiration and that we shal be all dead They which before have delivered their opinions seeme to be very liberall of our blouds and of the bloud of so many good men within Rome to spare that of a sort of wicked conspirators If they be not afraid of this conspiration so much the more my masters have we cause to feare to watch hold us upon our guards without too much trusting them which are in such assurance For our auncestors have made themselves great by diligence justice by good counsell free from all covetousnesse and viciousnesse Vnto them which are vigilant take paines and use good counsell all things succeed well but sluggards and cowards had need implore aid of the gods for no doubt they are both contrarie and angry with them And therefore my advise is that they which have confessed the fault should die the death of their desert Cato in this manner reasoning against the advise of others which had been before him greatly to his commendation drew the rest at the last to his opinion yet not more to his honour than to the dishonour of Caesar So then it is not ever evill that in a Counsell there should be sometimes Catoes and Appius Caludius and such like persons which often hold strong against others for affaires and businesses are so much the better cleared and boulted out It also holds other better in order which otherwise by too great facilitie and fear to contradict suffer themselves to be carried after the first opinion without debate or due consideration And truly in all Counsels there are but too many such as were Valerius Publicola Maenenius Agrippa Servilius Pompeius Caesar and such like which alwaies reasoned gently and mildly in all things but too few Catons Appius Claudius Quintus Cincinnatus and such like which in Senates hold rigorous opinions For although for the most part such rigorous opinions ought not to be followed yet they being mingled and dispersed amongst others they r serve well to bring to passe a good resolution and so doe make a good and sweet harmonie in a Counsell or Senat as Titus Livius sheweth in many places And therefore contradictions of opinions whereof Machiavell speaketh are not so much to be feared in Princes Counsels Against whose Maxime I conclude That the Prince which governeth himselfe by the counsell of men that be wise honest and experienced shall prosper in all good he that ruleth himselfe by his own head shall ruinate himselfe
lib. 15. cap. 9. li. 16. cap. 3 4 13. lib. 17. and Idumia for the favour of Marcus Antonine a Romane capitaine and by decree of the Romane Senate he espoused a noble Ladie who was of the kings race of that countrie called Mariamme by whom he had two children Alexander and Aristobulus but Herodes had a sister called Salome who was a very Tisiphone and served for nothing but to kindle and light fires in the kings court by false reports which she invented and this infernall furie did so much as she perswaded the king her brother that Mariamme sought to poison him by his cup-bearer and brought out certaine false witnesses to proue it so that the king beleeved it and put to death his wife one of the fairest princes of the world and of whose death there was after infinit griefes and repentances But as one sinne draweth after it another Salome fearing that those two aforesaid children would feele afterward the outragious death of their mother she machinated and resolved in hir spirit that they must also dye So began she straight to forge false reports false tokens and false accusations insomuch as she perswaded Herodes the father that these two children Alexander and Aristobulus spake alreadie of revenging the death of their mother and by the same meanes to vsurpe the kingdome Herodes suffering himselfe to be persuaded by the calumniations and slaunders of his sister Salomē tooke his iourney to Rome having his two children with him where he accused them to have fought his death before Augustus Caesar he began to descipher his accusatorie oration and to deduct set out the means whereby he pretended that his two children should go about his death When it came to their turne to speake for their defence they began to weepe and lament Caesar knew well thereby that the poore children were full of innocencie So he exhorted them from thence forward to carry themselues in such sort towards their father that not only they should not doe against him any thing vnworthy or greevous but also should doe so much as to bring themselves farre from all suspition He exhorted also Herodes to use his sonnes well and to keepe them in his favor Then fell the children on their knees before their father with great effusion of teares crying him mercy by which meanes they were reconciled unto their father But after the returne of Herodes and his children this furie Salome not contented with this reconciliation which Caesar had made began to lay new ambushes by false reports that she made to Herodes wherein she mixed some truth to give the better taste Herodes who was very credulous in such matters made Augustus understand that his children had againe conspired his death Augustus answered him That if his children had done against him the thing which merited punishment that he should chastice them as he thought good and that he himselfe gave him power and permission so to do The abovesaid Herodes joyful to have received this power being led with an irreconcileable rage by the meanes of Salome caused the two poore children Alexander and Aristobulus to be strangled Salome ayded her selfe in all this businesse with one other sonne of Herodes borne of another woman called Antipater God would that Herode should discover that the accusations against his two dead children were but slaunders and that Antipater who had aided to forge them had himselfe conspired to poison his father Whereupon he caused him to be called before Guintius Varius the governor of Syria for the emperour The cause being long pleaded and debated Antipater could not purge himselfe of the sayings and proofs against him and did no other thing but make great exclamations nothing appertaining to the matter holding on that God knew all unto whom he recommended his innocencie Varus seeing that he could not wel justifie himselfe wished Herodes to imprison him and so he did Certaine dayes after Herodes fell sicke which comming to the notice of Antipater in prison he rejoyced greatly Herodes advertised that Antipater wished his death and rejoyced at his sicknesse sent one of his guard into prison to slay him which he did Five daies after Herodes died like a mad man for the evill haps he had in his children and this rage lighted a fire in his entrailes which rotted him by little and little wherupon engendred worms which eat him alive with horrible languishments before his death And who was the cause that Herodes thus contaminated his hands and all his house with the bloud of his owne children Even that most wicked reporter Salome who devised false accusations and slaunders which she blew in the king her brothers eares Besides those kind of flatterers whereof we have spoken above which are janglers Coūsellors flatterers and Marmosets there is yet a third kind which under the name and title of principall Counsellors and under the pretext and colour of conducting the affaires by good counsel they abuse the princes authoritie who are greatly to be feared To shun the mischeefe that may come therupon there is nothing better than to follow the precept of Comines namely That the king have many Counsellors and that hee Comines lib. 1. cap. 27. lib. 2. cap. 44. never commit the conducting of his affaires to one alone and that he hold as nigh as he can well his Counsellors equall For if hee commit much more to one than to another he wil be master and the others dare not reason against him freely or els knowing his inclination dare not contradict him Therefore in a criminall cause handled before the Senate of Rome against a gentlewoman of a great house called Lepida accused of treason the emperour Tiberius although he were very rude in Cornel. Tacitus annal lib. 3. li. 5. such cases would not suffer his adoptive sonne Drusus to reason first least sayth Tacitus thereby had been laied and imposed a necessitie for others to have consented unto his opinion And in another cause of like matter where Granius Marcellus was accused in a certaine place to have set his owne image above the emperors When the cause came to handling Piso whose opinion the Emperour desired first began thus to say And you Sir in what place will you reason for if you reason last I feare that by imprudencie I shall not dissent from you For that cause Tiberius declared that he would not reason at all indeed the accuser was absolved although the Emperour had shewed a countenance to be angry against him as he heard the accusation rehearsed And there is no doubt but that the counsell of one alone is Counsell of one alone dangerous perillous to the prince because naturally men are divers waies passionate and that which shall be governed by one alone is often by passion guided Also the indisposition of mens persons causeth that every one hath not alwaies his head well made as they say nor are wise at all seasons and
alwayes see that darkenesse vanisheth and disperseth away by the light the shaddow also flieth the Sunne and hideth it selfe alwayes behind some opposit Therefore have the auncient doctors of the Church said and held for a principle of Theologie That much better it were a scandale and offence should come than that Truth should be forsaken Which sentence even the Popes themselves have caused to be placed amongst their rules of Cannon right and would to God they had observed it But I see well it is to no purpose to alleadge reasons against this Atheist and his Reg. 1. de Reg. Iuris in VI. disciples which beleeve neither God nor Religion wherefore before I passe any further I must fight against their impietie and make it appeare to their eyes at the least if they have any not by assailing them with armes of the holy Scripture for they merit not to bee so assailed and I feare to pollute the holy Scriptures amongst people so prophane and defiled with impietie but by their proper armes and weapons whereby their ignorance and beastlinesse defendeth their renewed Atheisme They then tooke for a foundation humane reason and prophane and Paynim authors but in truth both the one and the other foundation are so much against them as even by them I will prove our Christian Religion For first if wee consider the least creature in the world and sound the causes of his essence and nature it will Every creature leadeth maÌ„ to God leade us by degrees to one God Take an ante or a flie and consider the causes which makes these little creatures moove you shall finde it is heat and moisture which are two qualities consisting in all living creatures nourishers of nature for assoone as heat moisture faile in any living thing it can no more live nor moove straight is the body occupied with contrarie qualities coldnesse and drought the enemies of nature Mount and ascend vp higher and consider what is the cause that in the little bodie of an ante or flie there are found the two qualities of heate and moisture you shall find that it is because all living creatures are composed of the foure elements of fire of aire of water and of earth in which the said foure qualities of heat moisture colde and drinesse do consist and whilest heate and moisture raigne in the bodie it liveth but when colde and drought doe dominiere therein than dieth it Consider further what is the cause of the heate and the moisture and the other qualities which we see in the foure elements and in the bodies made of them you shall finde that the Sunne is cause of the heate and the Moone cause of the moisture as sence and experience shew it Let us yet passe further and seeke the cause wherefore the Sunne is hoate and the Moone moiste and from whence come unto them these qualities of heate and moisture wee must necessarilie now come to a first and sovereigne cause which is one God for the Sunne or Moone which are corporall and finite things as we see with our eyes cannot be God who is of infinite essence Behold then how the least creature of the world is sufficient to vanquish by naturall reason the opinion of the Atheists how much more if wee come to consider other creatures and especiallie the composition of mans body for there shall you contemplate without going any further so well ordered a rule that of necessitie must be concluded That there is a most ingenious and excellent workeman other than the Sunne and Moone which hath disposed that architecture and building for within mans bodie you shall see appeare an harmonie verie like a well governed common-wealth you see the minde and understanding of man which is as the king that is set in the highest place as in his throne and from thence commandeth all the parts you see also the heart the seat of amitie clemencie bountie kindnesse magnanimitie and other vertues all which obey the understanding as their king but the heart as the great master hath them all under his charge it hath also under his charge envie hatred vengeance ambition and other vices which lodge in the heart but they are holden mewed and bridled by the understanding after you have the liver which is the superintendent of victuals which it distributeth unto all the parts of the bodie by the meanes of his subalterne and inferiour officers as the bellie veines and other pores and passages of the bodie brieflie a man may see within man an admirable and well ordeined disposition of all the parts and it brings us necessarilie and whether we will or no to acknowledge that there must needs be a God a sovereigne architect who hath made this excellent building and by these considerations of naturall things whereof I do but lightlie touch the points the auncient philosophers as the Platonists the Aristotelians Stoickes and others have beene brought to the knowledge of a God and of his providence and of all the sects of philosophers there was never any which agreed not hereunto unlesse it were the sect of the Epicures which were gluttons drunkards whoremongers which constituted their sovereigne felicitie in carnall pleasures wherein they wallowed like brute beasts Out of this schoole Machiavell and the Machiavelists come which are well inough knowne to be all very Epicureans in their lives caring for nothing but their pleasures which also have no knowledge of good letters contenting them selves with the Maximes of that wicked Atheist Touching the doctrine of the Trinitie which we hold it must bee confessed that the philosophers understood nothing thereof and that by humane reason wee can not well be lead to the knowledge thereof but this knowledge is manifested unto us by the witnesses of God himselfe which are so cleare and evident in the holy scripture as nothing can be more but I have no purpose here to recite them yet will I say That the doctrine which I hold in this place is not repugnant nor contrary unto The dâ—ctâ—in of the Tâ—initie is not repugnant to human reason humane reason but consonant enough although the ancient philosophers have not penitrated so far For by their owne Maximes a very true thing it is That God who is an eternall and infinit spirit is not passible of any qualities or accidens so that that which is a qualitie in men as bountie love wisedome an essence in God This presupposed as a thing confessed of the philosophers themselves it followeth That that infinit admirable wisdome wherby God knoweth himselfe is an essence and not a qualitie in God yea it is one the same essence yet is it a distinct subsistence or hypostasis from him For the Wise and Wisedome cannot be without distinction This Wisdome then is the second person of the Trinitie which the scripture calleth the Word or the Sonne Neither also is it repugnant to humane reason to say That these two persons in one
delivering his â—are to such as would shew him the truth and to dispoile himselfe of all pietie conscience and religion There remaines now to handle the third part of his said doctrine which concerneth Pollicie whereof there are many parts for in it are comprehended such Maximes as concerne Peace War Faith Promise Oth Clemencie Crueltie Liberalitie Covetousnesse Constancie Craft Iustice and other vertues and vices considerable in publike and politike persons All these things Machiavell handles in such sort as it is easie to know that his onely purpose was to instruct a prince to bee a true tyrant and to teach him the art of tyrannie In which art verily hee hath shewed himselfe a great doctor yea far greater than Bartolus for Bartolus who was a renowmed doctor in the civile law in his treatise written of tyrannie wades no thing so deepe in the matter as Machiavell doth although reading the treatise of Bartolus it seemes that Machiavell hath learned a great deale of his knowledge but Machiavell applieth it contrary seeking that men should hold it for good whereas Bartolus speaketh of it as of a damnable thing which men ought to repulse and shun with all their power and to conferre a little thereupon I will here summarily recite certaine points of doctor Bartolus touching this matter of tyrannie to shew that which Machiavell hath stolne yet would applie it to the dutie of a prince whereas Bartolus attributeth it to the iniquitie and mallice of a tyrant First Bartolus constituteth two kinds of tyrants the one in title the other in exercise A tyrant in title saith he is hee which without any title or els with a bad title usurpeth a domination and seignorie A tirant in exercise is hee who having a lawfull title to dominier and rule ruleth not iustly and loyallie as a good prince ought to doe after this hee numbreth ten sorts of actions whereby a tyrant is manifested to be a tyrant in exercise The first action is when he puts to death the mightiest and most excellent persons amongst his subiects for feare they should arise against his tyrannie The second when he troubleth and afflicteth good and wise men of his domination least they should discover his vices to the people The third action when he seekes to abolish studies and good letters to the end wisdome may not be learned The fourth when he forbiddeth lawfull and honest assemblies and congregations fearing men will arise up against him The fift when hee hath spies in all places fearing men speake evill of his evill actions The sixt when hee maintaines divisions amongst his subiects to the end one part may feare another and so neither the one nor the other arise against him The seventh when he seekes to hold his subiects poore to the end that they being occupied in the meanes to get their living they may machinate nothing against him The eight when he seekes to maintaine warre to effeeblish his subiects and to abolish studies and to make himselfe strong when he needs The ninth when hee trusteth more in strangers than in his owne subiects and that he be takes himselfe unto a strange guard And the tenth action is when there is partialitie amongst his subiects and he adhereth more to the one than the other Which tenne kinds of action Bartolus proveth by reasons of law to be truly tyrannicall by which a tyrant in exercise is known and manifested to be a tyrant and especially sayth he by these three kinds when hee maintaineth division amongst his subiects when he empoverisheth them and when he afflicteth them in their persons and goods insomuch that the most part of the people are miscontented And finally he concludeth That to such tyrants by right and reason men ought not to obey nor appeare before theÌ„ but that they ought to be dispossessed of their estates But in all this doctrine of Bartolus can you find one onely point that Machiavell would not have applied and taught to a prince All these tenne kinds of tyrannicall actions set down by Bartolus are they not so many Maximes of Machiavell his doctrine taught to a prince Saith he not That a prince ought to take away all vertuous people lovers of their commonwealth to maintain partialities and divisions to impoverish his subiects to nourish warres and to doe all other the aforesaid things which Bartolus saith to bee the works of tyrants We need then no more to doubt that the purpose of Machiavell was not to forme a true tyrant and that hee hath not stolne from Bartolus one part of his tyrannicall doctrine which he teacheth which yet he hath much augmented and enriched For he hath added That a prince ought to governe himselfe by his owne counsell and he ought not to suffer any to discover unto him the truth of things and that hee ought not to care for any Religion as we have shewed before neither that he ought to observe any faith or oth but ought to be cruell a deceiver a fox in craftinesse covetous inconstant unmercifull and perfectly wicked if it be possible as we shall see hereafter So that hereby apparently may be seene That Machiavell is a farre greater doctor in the art of tyrannie than Bartolus yet I compare them not together For that which Bartolus hath written of tyrannie was to discover and condemne it but that which Machiavell hath written was to cause princes to practise and observe it and to sow in their hearts a true tyrannicall poyson under the pretext and name of a princes dutie and office Finally there is no cause nor reason to compare this beastly Machiavell a simple burne-paper-scribe of the towne-house of Florence with this great Doctor Bartolus who was one of the excellentest Lawyers of his time and for one such is yet acknowledged But now let us enter into the matter 1. Maxime That Warre is just which is necessarie and those Armes reasonable when men can have no hope by any other way but by Armes MAchiavell exhorting the magnificent Lawrence de Medicis to get all Italie persuadeth him by this Maxime He shewes him that Italie is fit and readie to receive a new prince because it is now falne into extreame desolation more than ever the Iewes vvere in the servitude Hebrewes of Aegypt And that this miserable province hath attended to be delivered from her servitude by a prince meaning king Charles the eight vvhich shee esteemed should bee sent of God but that by his acts it appeared that he vvas reproved and abandoned of Fortune and that now there vvas no other hope to be delivered from their miserie but in that illustrious house of Medicis vvhich might vvell enterprise to make it selfe cheefe of that redemption vvith the Churches helpe vvherupon she ruled meaning of Pope Leo x. with the aid also of his owne vertue and his owne fortune favoured of God And that the magnificent Lawrence might vvell bring it to passe in proposing to himselfe for imitation the examples of
instigation of flatterers and envious people An example hereof is memorable of king Lewis the twelfth who was called the Father of the people For in his time certaine Cardinals and Prelates persuaded him to exterminate and utterly to root out all the people of Cabriers and Merindol in Provence which were the reliques of the Christians called Albi then sore persecuted for Christ telling him That they were sorcerers incestuous Molinaeus de la Monarchia deâ— Francois Anno. 155. persons and heretickes They of Merindol and Cabriers having some sente of the aforesaid accusation sent certaine of their wisest men to remonstrate to the king their justice and innocencie As soone as these men were arrived at the Court the said Cardinals and Prelates did what they could to hinder that they should not be heard and indeed told the king that he ought not to heare them because the Cannon law holds That men ought not to give audience to heretickes nor communicate with them The king replied That if he had to make warre upon the Turke yea against the divell himselfe he would heare them This was an answere worthie of a king For seeing kings hold in their hands the scepter of justice this is not to use but to abuse To condemne any not to heare them The said king Lewis then hearing the said messengers of Cabriers and Merindol they shewed him in all humilitie that their people received the Gospell the Bible the Apostles Creed the commaundements of God and the Sacraments but they beleeved not in the Pope nor in his doctrine and that if it pleased his Majestie to send to enquire of the truth of their speeches they were contented all to die if their words were not found true This good king would needs know if it were so and indeed deputed M. Adam Fumee his master of Requests and one M. Parvi a Iacobin his Confessor to go to Cabriers and Merindol to enquire of the life and religion of the inhabitants in those places which they did and after they had seene and knowne all they made their report unto the king That in those places their children were baptized they taught them the articles of the Faith and the commandements of God that they well observed their Sabboths alwayes preaching thereon the word of God and as for sorceries and whoredomes there were none amongst them moreover they found no images in their temples nor ornaments of the Masse The king having received this report what judgement gave he of it did hee condemne them straight because they had no images nor ornaments of the Masse No he presently swearing by his oth pronounced That they were better men than he or all his people Here may princes learne how to use themselves in supporting against slanderers such in whom there is no appearance of error But leaving this question and againe taking our purpose certaine it is That a prince ought not lightly to attempt warre as Machiavell persuadeth and upon A prince ought to seeke all meanes to put out war by a peace some necessitie having warre in hand he ought to search out and accept all honest conditions to get out of it For sometimes the prince which refuseth honest and reasonable conditions upon hope that his forces are great falleth oftentimes into great distresse and it hath been many times seene that pettie captaines have made head against great and strong powers of mightie princes In the time of the battaile of Poictiers where king Iohn was taken the prince of Wales before the battaile offered the king to yeeld him all that both hee and his Froisar lib. 1 cap 161. Annales upon Anno 1356 Annales upon Anno 1433. people had conquered since his departure from Bourdeaux also to yeeld him all the pillage but the king would not accept this offer but withall asked that the prince and foure of the greatest lords of the armie should yeeld themselves at his will The prince who was generous chose rather to fight it out than to accept so shamefull and dishonorable an accord so hee and his army fought valiantly insomuch that a very little numbar of English overcame great forces of the French and the king was taken and many other great princes and lords for which to redeeme the kingdome was so emptied of silver that they were compelled to make money of leather which in the middest had onely a note of siluer and from this battaile proceeded infinite evils miseries and calamities which had not happened if the king had beene so well advised as to have forgone that war by soft and assured meanes rather than by the hazard of the battaile But contrary to king Iohn king Charles the seaventh reconquering Guienne and Normandie upon the English never refused any proffer or composition sought alwaies to recover that which his predecessors had justly lost without effusion of bloud The Romane hystories are ful of such like examples For that which overthrew the Carthaginians the king Perseus the king Mithridates that which abated the pride of Philip king of Macedon of that great king Antiochus and of many others was they could never accept the good and reasonable conditions of peace which was offered unto them by the Romanes but would rather experiment what force founded upon a good right could doe I say founded upon good right because a small force which hath right with it oftentimes abateth a great force which is not founded on a good right the reason is evident because hee that knoweth hee hath just cause to make warre and which seeth that his adversary trusting much in his forces will not come to any reasonable composition redoubleth his courage his heat and fighteth more valiantlie than hee which is driven thereunto rather upon pride than of any generositie of heart but the principall reason thereof is that God who giveth victories inclineth most often to the rights side and although sometimes it seemes that the wrong carrieth away the victorie yet alwaies God shewes by the end issue according to which we must judge that hee is fot the right Above all the prince ought to appease the warres in his owne countrey whether A prince ought to appease war in his owne countrey they be raised by strangers or by his owne subjects for as for such warres as he may have in a strange land against strangers it may happen they will not prove so evill but hee may provide good souldiers in his neede and especiallie this point is considerable when a princes subjects are naturallie enclined to warre as is the French nation for then necessarily they must bee emploied in that wherein is their naturall disposition or els they will move war against themselves as Salust saith in these words If saith hee the vertue and generositie of princes captaines and men of warre might so well be emploied and shew it selfe of such estimate in peace as in warre humane things would carry themselves more constantly and men
man guards himselfe from them as from a furious beast and the first that can get him at advantage thinkes he doth good to the common weale when he riddeth him from the world yea each man watcheth to catch him in his snare Therefore no man will give a prince so dangerous and so detestable counsell as to use Borgia for a pattern of imitation unles he would carry him unto the top and fulnesse of all wickednesse and cruell tyrannie which seemeth to bee the end whereat Machiavell aimeth as wee shall see more at large heereafter But whereas Borgea saith hee caused the head to bee taken from Messier Romiro Dorco the executioner of his crueltie I confesse it was true and avow that he did well therein For if Messier Romiro would excuse himselfe and say that his master Borgia commanded him to doe such cruell executions that were no good excuse because hee should rather have forsaken his estate and goverment than to commit cruelties without any forme of justice against the law of God and reason The civile lawes themselves willeth that none should obey his prince when hee commandeth any massacre or unjust slaughter till thirtie daies bee past after the command that in the meane time either their friends or the magistrate may persuade the prince to pacifie his choller and to hearken unto reason And because the law hereupon made by the emperours Gratian Thesiodus and Valentinian is worthie to be marked I doe thus translate it If it happen that heereafter say they wee command any rigorous vengeance contrarie to our accustomed manner against any we will not that straight they suffer punishment nor that our command be straight way executed but that the execution surcease the space of thirtie daies and that in the meane time the magistrate keepe the prisoner safely Given at Verone the fifteenth of the kalends of September in the yeere of the consulship of Antonius and Syagrius It is then seene by this law that Messier Romiro was justly punished as a man too prompt and forward to execute crueltie And if this law had been well observed in France there had not beene found so many and such rash massacres but the commonwealth had beene in farre better estate and the meanes of peace more facile and easie Moreover the prince which will propose one man alone as his patterne and exemplar True patterns which a prince ought to propose to imitate to imitate hee shall finde many which have beene as vertuous as Caesar Borgia was vicious But seeing the greatest and most excellent persons at all times were ever men that is to say not every way absolute but defectuous and vicious some way it is best therefore that a prince doe adict himselfe to imitate all vertuous men in generall and each of them in their particular vertues As if wee speake of heathen princes hee may propose to imitate the clemencie of Iulius Caesar in using his victorie for hee ever simply contented himselfe to vanquish without crueltie and with out bloodshed as farre as hee could Hee may propose to follow the moderation of Augustus Caesar in the government of the commonweale and his dilligence to establish peace in the whole Romane empire For he never omitted any thing which might bee a meane to bring all the world to peace and tranquilitie after the civile warres and he managed the commonweale with such moderation as it seemed rather a civile government than a monarchie He had also another vertue well worthie of imitation for he was a good justicer and himselfe not only dealt in making laws and ordinances according to the rules of justice but also he himselfe often heard mens causes and judged them their right hee was also a lover of learned men and of knowledge and greatly rewarded them and these vertues of Augustus were fit for a prince to imitate The bountie and lenity of Traianus the love of peace in Pius the deepe wisedome the humanitie and facilitie to pardon and the love and studie of good letters in Marcus Antonine are also worthie vertues for a prince to follow But without any longer stay upon Paynim princes which had not the knowledge of Christian religion a prince shall finde sufficient to imitate yea and not to goe farther than the kings of France Charlemaine was as generous and victorious as ever was Caesar yet besides this hee was very liberall towards good people a prince continent gentle facile to pardon enemies and endowed with a singular pietie and feare of God For hee caused ordinarily the Bible and S. Augustine to be read unto him and nourished poore people in his pallace which sometimes served himselfe at the table Saint Lewis was a good and wise king fearing God and a good justicer for hee often sent into all his provinces commissaries to bee informed of the abuses covetousnesse and rapines of magistrates and caused them which were found faultie to bee well punished Wee reade one thing of him not unworthie to be remembred That one day as hee was praying unto God reciting certaine petitions of the psalmes of David fit for that action one comes sodainely unto him to desire a pardon for one that had committed a fault which was death by law hee as sodainely graunted it but straight falling into a verse of the psalme which saith Beati qui faciunt Iustitiam in omni tempore Blessed are they which doe justice at all times hee immediately called him againe unto whom hee had graunted the said pardon and revoked it with this notable sentence That the prince which may punish a crime and doth it not is as culpable himselfe as hee that committed it and that it is a worke of pietie and not of crueltie to doe justice Besides he was very chast far from all lubricitie and never thirsted after revenge Charles le Sage was a very benigne and humble prince who did nothing but by well digested counsell without rashnesse loving the good and safetie of his subjects hee was also a prince that very much feared God he tooke great delight in reading the Bible and would his people should reade it and to that end he caused it to bee translated into French The Prince then which will determine with himselfe onely to imitate those three kings in the aforesaid vertues certainely hee shall have for himselfe a true pattern and example such as Christian prince ought to have and not to propose to himselfe this bastard priests sonne who was a very monster and an exemplar of all wickednesse I name him a bastard because according to the divine and civile law hee was not legitimate although by the cannon law the Pope may legitimate priests bastards and by consequent his owne as hath beene above touched Yet notwithstanding this question is not without doubt whether the Pope can legitimate his owne bastards Question if the pope can legitimate his owne children and the reason of the doubt is because the doctors of law hould That legitimation is
say they he cannot have bastards which are not alwaies bastards illegitimate and he cannot justly legitimate them because hee cannot exercise an act of jurisdiction in his owne cause or action These are the reasons of such as hold the negative part of our question True it is that they accord well that by plenitude of power the Pope may legitimate his owne bastards when hee expresly declareth that he will have it so of his full and absolute power and herein all the Cannonists agree For when they speake of the fulnesse of the Popes power they speake as of a deepe pit which is bottomelesse from whence none can come out when they are once in no more than if a man were sunke into some unmeasurable infinit deepe gulfe of the sea For they hold that it is an infinite thing which hath neither end nor beginning neither up nor downe neither banke nor bottome neither middest nor extremitie yet without wading too farre in it we will speake a little thereof something merrily for the matter is pleasant ynough as it hath been handled of the doctors of the facultie of Theologie which doe not well accord in this point with the Cannonists and Decretists Of the power of the pope and of their counsels We must then presuppose and understand that there is an old and ancient question which is not yet decided for want of a judge that is Which is the great master the Counsell or the Pope This question hath been many times disputed upon but it could never find a competent judge to dissolve it For who durst take upon him to judge the Pope seeing kings and emperours are his subjects and vassales as hee saith and doe owe him obedience and are bound to hold his bridle and stirrops when he mounteth on horsebacke The subject and inferior cannot be a judge over his lord and superiour this is certaine And indeed there was never found king nor superiour which durst enterprise to end that strife betwixt the Pope and the Counsell so that untill this day it remaineth undecided yet during this said strife contention the Cannonists have alwayes firmely held their opinion which is that the Pope is the greatest master but the doctors of the facultie of Theologie have held and practised the contrarie that the Councell is cheefe master The Cannonist doctors doe found upon many reasons which seeme not to bee weake nor evill to such as will not examine things too subtillie For say they the Pope and the Counsell represent God and the Church and even as God is above the Church so the Pope ought to be above the Counsell Moreover a certaine thing it is that every Counsell is compounded of men in kind I doe discreetly say in kind to cut off an objection namely that the Counsell might be composed of beasts in wit and knowledge But the Pope is more than a man and by consequent is greater than the Counsell As for this point that the Pope is more than a man there need no doubt be made therof for there are expresse texts ynough in the Cannon law which hold C. quanto sim ex de traÌ„slat episâ—o resolve it in proper tearmes These Cannonist doctors also hold upon this point That the Pope is neither God nor man not that therefore they meane that hee is a beast but that there is a certaine thing betwixt them which is more than a man and lesse than God The third argument of the Cannonists is that they say That the Pope representeth the great and cheefe shepheard and the Counsell the pettie and underling shepheards and that therfore the Pope must needs be above the Counsell as the head shepheard is above inferiour shepheards The fourth argument is because the keyes of Paradice were given to S. Peter who after left them unto the Popes his successors not to the Counsell So that say they if the Pope would rigorously deale with them of the Counsell hee would not suffer them to enter into Paradice for to enter into it we must only speake unto him seeing he only carieth the keyes thereof yet he will not doe his worst unto them although they give him great occasions calling themselves greater masters than he The doctors of the facultie of Theologie to sustaine the contrarie and to make appear that the Counsell is greater than the Pope use many subtile and speculative arguments into which every man cannot enter for their great subtiltie for when they speak of this matter they seeme to beat into as smal dust as Epicures Atomes the subtilties of S. Thomas de Aquin and Scotus For they destinguish the Pope from the papalitie and say that there is a spirituall papalitie and a potestative papalitie and that both of them are not alwayes concurrent in one papall subject For the spirituall papalitie may bee deficient in the subject by a defectuositie of science and the potestative by a defectuositie in the election After this they give many limitations to the said double papalitie according to which they say the Popes power and actions ought to be governed But without entring into these so subtile arguments out of which I cannot dispatch my selfe with credit I will only touch such as may best be comprehended of men of meane understanding They first say that the Counsell may create and depose the Pope as hath been many times seene therfore the Counsell is greater than the Pope for hee that hath power over another to make and unmake must needs be the greater master Secondly they say the Counsell representeth the universall Church which cannot erre in faith and the Popes have often erred in faith and amongst them have beene found many heretickes which for such have been condemned in Counsels and therfore men ought rather to preferre the Counsell which cannot erre before the Pope which is subject unto error They also say that even after the Cannons themselves the Pope alone cannot decide the articles and differences of faith but that it appertaineth to the Counsell and therefore that the Counsell which hath a more excellent power than the Pope must needs be reputed greater than hee Fourthly the Pope although he be president of the Counsell yet he neither hath nor ought to have but one voice no more than a simple bishop and therfore all the body of the Counsell must needs be more than hee as the body of a court of parliament is more than one of the presidents thereof Fiftly they say that when our Lord promised to give the keyes of paradice hee said thus I will give you the keyes of the kingdome of heaven Here you must note that he speaketh in the plurall number addressing his speech to many namely to all his Apostles not to S. Peter alone and he speaketh also of many keyes which can be in no lesse number than two seeing there is a plurall number but these two keyes are the keyes of knowledge and the key of power wherof the
theft and they wicked men as they are although most subtillie they play the Foxes according to their masters doctrine yet in the end they wil be alwaies known Murder is alwaies murder to whatsoever end it bee done for Foxes And though they sometimes deceive before they bee knowne they are therefore after double punished in regard of the profit they get by deceiving when none will beleeve or trust them in any manner no not even then when they have an intention and will not to deceive at all For alwaies men presume of them as men ought to presume of deceivers and wicked men which are without faith and promise for men hold them for such and they can bee held for no other in regard of their actions and behaviours of their lives past This then is the first evill proceeding from Machiavells doctrine which is that they themselves which practise it bring evill to themselves and are discryed hated and evill beloved of all men The other inconvenience which followeth this Maxime is that if the prince permit Crueltie overthroweth justice men to commit murders under colour of a good intent and end hee shall breake the order of justice which hee ought to observe in the punishment of offenders and so shall turne all upside downe and bring his estate and countrey into confusion and perill for when justice goeth evill all goes evill when well all goes well as in another place shall bee shewed more at full Murders and massacres also never remaine long unpunished for God incontinent sendes them their reward as came to Romulus Machiavells owne example who was an unjust murtherer and in the end was murdered himselfe And in our time wee see examples enough and I beleeve wee shall see more in such as the hand of God hath not yet touched But amongst these evills and inconveniences which ordinarily lay hold of these murderers and follow them even to their graves with furies feares and torments which vexe their consciences I could heere alledge for a confirmation of this Maxime that which S. Paul saith That we must not doe evill that good may come thereof But I have alreadie said in another place thar I will not imploy the sacred armour of the holy scripture to fight against this profane and wicked Atheist but I will still give him this advantage to contend with his owne armes namely with profane authors which were not Christians and which heerein alone resemble him for in other things hee holds nothing of them and especially in the matter whereof wee speake they have beene most farre from his detestable doctrine When Tarquin the proude king of Rome saw that hee had so behaved himselfe Titus Livius lib. 1. 21. Dec. as he had utterly lost the amitie of his subjects then resolved to cause himselfe to be obeyed by feare and to bring it to passe hee tooke to himselfe the knowledge of capitall causes against great men which before appertained to the Senate to make himselfe the better feared and obeyed and so hee put to death such as he thought good under certaine pretextes and colours thinking thereby the better to assure his estate But how did hee assure it Thus hee so practised this doctrine of Machiavell that hee became extreamely hated of all men in such sort as his subjects not being able to beare his tyrannie did drive him out of his kingdome where hee miserably died And so much there wanteth that the ancient Romanes delighted in massacring and slaying that they hated even the too rigorous punishments of offenders as the punishment of Metius Suffetius Albanois who was with foure horses drawne to death for a strange and damnable treason by him entended For although he merited to bee so handled yet the Romanes had the crueltie of the punishment in so great disdaine and detestation that every body turned away their eyes saith Titus Livius seeing so villanous a spectable And it was the first and last time that ever they used that rigorous punishment Likewise it greatly displeased the Romanes that some thinking to doe well caused to bee slaine a Tribune of the people a very seditious man called Genutius who ceased not to trouble the commonwealth by divisions whereby hee stirred the common people to uproares If Genutius had had his lawfull tryall it is likely hee would have beene condemned but therein there was this mischiefe that none durst lay hold upon him for the reverence of his estate during that yeere but hee must needes have beene suffered either to doe what hee would or els to resist his dessignes by other meanes then by accusation and not at all to condemne him before hee were out of his office This seemed a goodly colour to dispatch him to shun seditions and troubles which this Tribune raised yet the execution which was made without course of law was found nought and of an evill example and consequence and was the cause of great mischiefes and broyles which followed after And as for that which Machiavell writeth that Romulus caused to slay Tatius Dioni Halic lib. 2. Titus Livi. lib. 1. Dec. 8. his companion in the kingdome the better to rule and governe the towne of Rome this is false for histories doe witnesse that after hee had caused this execution to be made hee became cruell and proud towards the Senators exercising tyrannie in many things insomuch as the Senators themselves slew him even in the senat house and cut him in little pieces whereof every man tooke one piece in his bosome so that the bodie of Romulus was not found for they hired one to say that hee did see the bodie flie into heaven and the said Senators helping this bruite and report Plutarch in Romulo placed him in the letanie of their Gods and persuaded the people that hee ascended into the heavens both in body and soule But they gave Romulus his reward for the murdering of his brother Remus and his companion Tatius and they murdered him as hee had done them For briefely it is a generall rule that murderers are alwaies murdered which rule hath seldome any exceptions But whereas Machiavell saith That well to rule and governe a common wealth there would bee but one person to medle therein there hath beene alwaies the contrarie Tituâ— Livi. lib. 3. Dec. 8. practised When the Romanes thought it good by good lawes and ordinances to governe the estate of their common weale they considered that the number of two Consuls which were their soveraigne magistrates were too few and therefore they abrogated and tooke them cleane away and elected ren men in their places Dionisius 14 Halic lib. 10 unto which they gave the same authoritie which the Consuls before had and especially gave them power and expresse charge to make lawes and ordinances for the pollicie government and justice of the common weale They made the lawes of the twelve tables which endured long after them yea at this day some of these are
Scipio said That it was a great shame that every man esteemed that the citie of Rome governesse of the whole world was as it were hid under the shaddow of Scipio as though he alone should and ought to have all the honour and credit of the whole commonwealth and to hold it covered under his shaddow Scipio replied nothing to this accusation neither knew he indeed what to replie unlesse hee had said that there was no reason his vertue should hurt him but knowing well that his citizens could not abide him he banished himselfe from Rome and withdrew himselfe to Liternum into a rurall house which hee had there where he finished his dayes Breefely then it may bee said that men are sometimes made suspected but especially to the common sort of either base or no vertue because of their great and iminent vertues but yet neither hated nor despised But in a prince this ought to have no place for the more vertuous that men bee Excellent vertues ought not to be suspected of a prince the more they ought to love and honour them and to serve themselves with them for in so doing the vertues of such good and vertuous servants are imputed unto the prince himselfe as we have before shewed neither can a prince ever draw any great services from men of small vertue for good services are the effects of vertue And as no man out of a bush or bramble can get good peares or other pleasant fruits because such kind of plants have not that kind of vertue in them to produce such kind of fruits in like sort a prince cannot looke for gallant and good services from vicious men of base vertue A prince also can have no just occasion to hold for suspected men of great vertue for many reasons first because such persons have in greater recommendation the integritie of their fame and honour than men have which are of meane fortune or as they say of a base hand and therefore will not easily attempt any filthie or wicked thing which may turne to their dishonor Secondly because seeing themselves beloved honoured and recompenced for their good services by their prince their love and desire well to serve him will more and more encrease and so prove a meanes directly contrary to all evill enterprises Thirdly because men of excellent vertue are alwaies of generous and great courages minds but it is a thing altogether repugnant to all generositie to commit wicked enterprises against a good prince yea and a worke of faint-hearted villaines Finally in the time wherein wee are principalities and kingdomes being bestowed either by hereditarie succession or by the election of certaine nobles and not by an election tumultuarie and violent of corrupted persons they should be very madde to aspire to his place or to enterprise any evill against him to deprive themselves of that good they alreadie enjoy without all likelyhood to attaine unto better And if with al this a vertuous man have any feare of God he will enterprise no evill against his prince even for this only cause that God willeth and commandeth that we obey our prince and that we honour him above all things in the world so that he which disobeyeth him disobeyeth God and who despiseth him despiseth God also And hereunto more than to any other reason ought all such as account themselves Christians to have especiall regard to deliver faithfull voluntarie obedience seeing God commands it to their lawfull prince And as for that which Machiavell sayth That the emperour Pertinax was hated Capitol in Peâ—â—in Herod lib. 6. of his men of warre for his vertue is very false for although in all other things hee was a notable good and vertuous prince yet was he much and sore spotted with that filthie vice of covetousnesse and illiberalitie which hereafter Machiavel teacheth to be a notable vertue for a prince insomuch as being come to that high degree of a Romane emperour yet commonly dealt he in the traffique of merchandize for the inordinate desire of gaine and as soone as he was created emperour yea and even by his people of warre yet was hee so farre from being bountifull in recompensing them that he cut off from his souldiers certaine pensions which the emperour Traian his predecessor had given them for their nourishment maintenance This covetousnesse was the cause he was despised of them and slaine And as for Alexander Severus it was also the covetousnesse of Mammaea his mother which was the cause that the people of warre hated them yea and slew them both together as Herodian witnesseth who lived at that time And therefore the examples of Pertinax and of Alexander are by Machiavell to no purpose alledged to shew that princes are hated for their vertues yet although it were true that such souldiers as slew Pertinax were people hating vertue as also they which slew Alexander Severus which had gathered all corruption of vices under his predecessor Heliogabalus it followeth not that of such examples we must make a rule and Maxime For theeves and murderers doe hate justice and magistracie yet followeth it not that a prince is not alwaies more loved than hated by doing good justice Breefely such examples are exceptions and defailances of the rule which notwithstanding doe not cease to remaine alwaies true and certaine no more nor no lesse as philosophers say that that rule is certaine and true That the Summer is hoter than Winter although there be some daies in Winter more hot than there be other some daies in Summer 17. Maxime A Prince ought alwayes to nourish some enemie against himselfe to this end that when he hath oppressed him hee may bee accounted the more mightie and terrible PRinces saith our Florentine make themselves great wheÌ„ they Cap. 19. Of the prince overcome vvaightie and difficult things vvhich hinder their deseignes Therefore a good and vvise prince vvith a certaine ingenious care vvill nourish some enemie against himselfe to the end that happening to oppresse him his riches and greatnesse may the better encrease For such an enemie shall serve him as a sufficient matter to encrease his greatnesse and as a ladder to ascend the higher BEhold a Maxime of the same note as the former hereunto tending That a prince doe alwayes seeke meanes to make himselfe to Tyrants want not enemies be feared rather than loved But a prince which observeth the doctrine of Machiavell needs take no great care to seeke meanes to nourish an enemie against himselfe for there will bee ynow and more than one would both within and without his countrey yea in his owne house But to say that he can oppresse them all to make himselfe feared and redoubted that is no assured thing but rather contrarie he may assure himselfe that in the end either one or other will oppresse and ruinate himselfe When Milicus Cornel. Tacit. Annal. 15. had discovered to Nero a great conjuration practised against him hee performed
the Romanes our allies The Chalcedonians then governed themselves after this answere and it happened well unto them But the Aetolians were almost all ruined and lost by practising their foolish opinion to entertaine both the Romanes and Antiochians together for so were they of necessitie forced to seeke practises alwayes to maintaine warre betwixt that king and the Romane commonweale to the end that the two powers might alwayes stand on foot without abilitie one to overthrow another because otherwise could they not attaine to their desseigne and purpose which was to keepe themselves in friendship with both parties yet thus seeking and practising to sustaine them both and maintaine them enemies they made themselves hated of both So that after the retreat of Antiochus into his countrey these miserable Aetolians fell into a desperate case like to have torne one another in pieces burdening and accusing mutually one another to be the inventors of that wicked counsell yet in the end by the Romanes clemencie and bountie which pardoned them they had a certaine subsistence though in a meane sort In the towne of Ardea a neighbour of the Romanes there was a like partialitie Titus Livius lib. 4. Dec. 1. as there is at this day at Genes for now at Genes the people is banded against the nobles and they will by no meanes receive any for duke of Genes of the nobilitie insomuch as all dukes of Genes must needs be villaines and base men of race and it may be there will be found in France of the like race as at Genes The like partialitie I say being in the towne of Ardea betwixt the nobilitie and the people it happened that two young batchelers one of the people and another of the nobilitie fell at debate one against another about the obtaining in marriage a yong maid of excellent beautie but of a base and carterly race Great bandying there fell out about this mariage they of the nobilitie all casting their heads and employing their abilities for their gentleman who loved and desired that maid and they obtained so much as they got the maids mother on their side who affected that her doughter might bee placed in a noble house But contrarie the people which were for the other young man of their owne race and qualitie did so much for him as they gained the maids tutors which thought that it was more reasonable that their pupill should espouse an husband of her own qualitie than to mount into an higher degree for that equalitie ought as much as might be to bee observed in marriage Vpon altercation of this marriage the parties were drawn unto justice and the maid was adjudged to the gentleman after the advice of the mother yet although by law the gentleman got the cause by force he could not for the tutors with strong hand forced the maid from her mother The gentleman unto whom she was adjudged being almost enraged at this tape and injurie that was done him gathered together a great companie of other gentlemen his parents and friends and gave charge upon those which had taken away his betrothed wife Breefely there was a great stirre and noise through the towne and a great number slaine on both sides and at last the gentlemen remained masters of the towne and the people were driven away The people straying about the fields ruinated the houses and possessions of the nobles The abovesaid nobles sent to Rome embassadors for succours The people likewise sent to the Volsques people of Tuscane for their aid By this meanes the Romanes and the Volsques fell to warre one against another But the Romanes carrying away the victory beheaded the principall authors of the insurrection which happened for this marriage in the towne of Ardea and confiscated all their goods which was adjudged to the communaltie of the Ardeates Here you see how the partialitie which was in the towne of Ardea was cause of that great calamitie and combustion and therefore well to be noted are these words of Titus Livius The Ardeates saith he were continually in an intestine warre the cause and commencement whereof proceeded of the contention of partialities which alwaies have and will bee ruinous and domageable to people farre more than externe warres than famine than pestilence or than all other evils which the gods doe send upon citties which they will altogether destroy These words are full contrarie to the Machiaveline doctrine as indeed they are the words of another manner of author than Machiavell at whome I doe much marvell that he dare attempt to write discourses upon Titus Livius since any may see be understands him not and his doctrine is also cleane contrarie to that of Titus Livius Vnto the said sentence of Titus Livius I will adde that which he reciteth from Quintius Capitolinus who admonishing the souldiors of his armie Our enemies said hee come not to assaile us upon any trust they have in our cowardize or their owne vertue for many times alreadie they have assayed both the one and the other but it is for the confidence they have in our partialities and contentions which now are betwixt the Patricians and the people for our partialities are the venome which empoysoneth and corrupteth this citie because we are too imperious and you too unmeasurably desirous of libertie The partialities of the Carthaginians were they not cause of their utter ruine There were two factions at Carthage the Barchinian whereof was Annibals house Titus Livius lib. 1. Dec. 3. and the Hannoenne contrarie As soone as Amilcar the father of Anniball was dead the Carthaginians elected for captaine generall of their armie Asdruball their citizen one of the Barchian faction which they sent to make war in Spaine with a great armie This Asdruball had learned his art of warre under Amilcar which was the cause why he sought to have Anniball nigh him who at that time was very yong to administer unto him the same benefit which he had received at his fathers hands and therefore writ to the Senate of Carthage The Senate brought this to deliberation and Hanno his advice being demanded he reasoned in this sort Masters said he me thinkes the demaund of Asdruball is very equall yet I am not of opinion his request should be graunted him For it is equall in that hee desireth to restore a like benefit to the sonne as he hath received of the father yet may not we herein accommodate our selves to his will and give him our youth to nourish after his fancie I am then of advice that this young Anniball be nourished and educated in this cittie under the obedience of lawes and magistrates and that he be learned to live after justice and in egalitie with others least this little fire do one day raise up a farre greater The wisest and best advised of the Senate were of this opinion but the pluralitie which was of the Barchian faction was to send young Anniball into Spaine to the warre who as soone as he
overthrow and weake the authoritie of Senators and therefore they hindered it For Lucius Opimius Consull by the decree of the Senate caused the people to arme themselves and to goe assaile Caius Gracchus with the seditious of his troupe and in the conflict Gracchus was slaine with Flacchus his fellow in the Triumvirate Finally the seditions of these two bretheren Gracchi tended but to bring forward wicked lawes and heereof came no good but they were cause of infinit murders and of great effusion of bloud The seditions also which were raised up at Rome by the Triumvirate of Octavius Antonius and Lepidus what good brought they to the commonwealth They Dion in Augusto were cause of infinit mischiefes of great and long civile warre of the death of an infinit number of persons of the ruine impoverishment and pillage of the provinces of the empire and finally of the change of the estate of the commonwealth into a monarchie And although that the subjects of the Romane empire did not then feele any harme by that change because they light on a good prince Augustus yet after they felt it under five or sixe emperours all which successively followed Augustus that is to say Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Otho and Vitellius all which were bad emperours and governed very tyrannicallie Herodianus writeth That the Greekes were first subjugated and brought under subjection by the Macedonians and after by the Romanes because of their accustomed Herod lib. 3. seditions whereby they bannished or caused to die ordinarilie the most valiant and generous persons that they had in their commonwealth And yet after they were brought under the Romanes yoke they could not hould themselves from beeing seditious yea even when there were many competitors to the empire for ever they banded for some one which was after cause oftentimes of the racing ruinating and destroying of their best townes as happened in the time of Severus to such as partialized for Niger Before the Romanes had subjugated the Gaulois Gaule was divided into pettie commonweales as Iulius Caesar saith in the commentaries which notwithstanding were leagued together and held a diet once a yeere at Dreux to parlie and confer of the whole countries affaires But at last there fell a partialitie amongst them insomuch as there became great warre betwixt the Sequanois and the Autunoys The Sequanois drew to their succours the Alemains under the conduction of Ariovistus and the Autunois the Romanes under the conduction of Caesar Caesar ariving in Gaule to succour the Autunois did so well as hee planted greater division and sedition through all Gaul and by that meanes subjected it to the Romane empire And it was a province which the Romanes esteemed most opulent and rich of all them under the empire so made they their account to draw ordinarilie out of it greatest store of silver And indeede after Gaul was made subject unto the Romanes it was alwaies much vexed with imposts and tributes and with the extorcions pillages of governours which to cover their robberies with some coulour said it was needefull to hould the Gaulois poore least they rebelled against the Romanes against whom they had aunciently made warre and obtained upon them many victories The tenne Potentates which were created at Rome in the place of Consul would Dionis Halic lib. 11. needs usurpe a tyrannie and continue in their estate beyond the time established by lawes But what meanes used they even sedition For so long as they could maintaine sedition betwixt the people and the Patricians their tyrannie was in some assurance but as soone as great and small of the citie were at an accord the ten Potentates were withall straight ruined and overthrowne But this example is very fit to confirme the Maxime of Machiavell according to the end whereunto it tendeth which is to establish a tyrannie for seditions and civile dissentions may something serve a tyrants turne to maintaine him in his tyrannie but because heeretofore wee have sufficiently parlied of tyrannicall actions and alledged many examples which in their places may bee found wee passe on 32. Maxime The meanes to keepe subiects in peace and union and to hould them from Rebellion is to keepe them alwaies poore THe townes saith Machiavell which are placed in leane Discourse lib. 1. Cap. 22 lib. 2. cap. 7. lib. 3. cap. 16. and 25 and barren soiles are customably united and peaceable because the inhabitants there being ever occupied in ploughing and labouring the earth have no other meanes nor leasure to thinke upon seditions rebellions And contrary townes situated in fat and rich countries are easily enclined to stirres and disobediences For truly strifes debates which arise every day amongst men proceede onely of riches and abundance of goods rich people will not suffer themselves to bee handled as wee commonly see Therfore did the Romanes maintaine in poore estate their Colonies and assigned them small possessions least they should rise up against them yea even within their owne towne a long time raigned a very great Povertie notwithstanding which the citizens left not to bee vertuous people imploied in great publike charges as were Quintus Cincinnatus Marcus Regulus Paulus Aemilius and many others which were very poore yet executed great things And surely wee have ever seene that povertie hath produced better fruits than riches and that a people being rich and fat have alwaies beene more prompt to rebellion and disobedience Therefore it is an healthfull and good remedy to hould subiects poore to the end that by their riches they neither may corrupt themselves nor others HEere may a man see the very counsell which Guiemand gave to Giles governour for the Romane emperour in the towne of Soisons and the neighbour countries Chilperick the fourth of that name king of France had for one of his most especiall friends and counsellors this Guiemand who was a valiant and sage French baron This king sometimes led a slipperie and disordinate life so that to furnish his pleasure and unmeasurable expences hee was constrained to impose upon the people great imposts and to commit great exactions The French which at that time were of an austere courage saith the hystorie begun to hate him and beare him evill will and to resolve amongst themselves to seize his person and to appoint a tutor for him and so to take from him all his young and bad counsellors about him which he perceiving demaunded Guiemand his advice what he should doe Guiemand counselled him to flie and to give place to the French ire which in his absence hee would appease and as soone as they were quieted hee would recall him He also parted a gold ring in two and gave one moietie to the king saying Sir when I send you this other halfe which I keepe it shall be unto you a certain token that you may boldly come againe and without feare Chilperick then retired towards the king of Thuringe and in his absence the French
doing good to their said Covents By this meanes also they drew to them the practise of burials and confessions insomuch as every man and woman went to the Mendicants to be shriven which failed not but alwayes enjoyned them for pennance to give something to their Covents and to cause Masses to be said for them And whensoever it came to the extreame confession in the article of death they exhorted the diseased to elect their sepulture in their Covents and so to give them good legacies and benefites Breefely they wrought so well and diligently by practise upon practise that legacies and benefits even rained on all sides upon them to the great prejudice of Curates which lost almost all their auncient and accustomed oblations and which saw their offertories and suffrages to goe to nothing in their open sights to their great greefe This was the cause that about the yeare 1311 the Curates being countenanced Cap. 1. De Sepult in extravag by bishops complained much to Pope Boniface the eight saying that the Mendicants troubled them in their auncient possessorie of Sermons Confessions and Sepultures and that they thought it was most reasonable that they to whome appertained the charge of soules should also have the bodies of the dead to burie and that they should heare them in confession unto whom they administred the sacraments Moreover they shewed that the Mendicants invented many novelties as to preach within their Covents at the same houre that the Curates said their parochiall masses and that they also preached withour their Covents without either the Bishops license or the Curate of the place And by such practises and novelties the said Mendicants had taken away from the said Curates the most part of their obventions and revenues and so brought their estates almost to nothing therefore most humbly they besought his Paternitie to remedie those abuses and to maintain them in their auncient possessions Pope Boniface upon this complaint of the Curates for which all Bishops and Prelates entreated would give provision and by his ordinance which he made with the advice of his brothers Cardinals he exhorted much the Curates to take patiently that the Mendicants have right authority to preach confesse and burie shewing them that it was free to the people to goe heare a sermon to confesse themselves and to chuse their scpulture where they thought good Moreover to doe them right in this that the Mendicants frustrared the said Curates of their practickes and obventions hee ordained That from thence forward the said Curates least they carried the name of Curate in vaine and without profit constituted by Apostolicall authoritie that they should levie and retract a fourth part from all legacies foundations and other obventions which the said Mendicants could obtaine and might any way fall and come unto them by meanes of the said Sermons Confessions Sepultures or otherwise forbidding the said Mendicants for no cause to preach in their Covents at the houre that parish Masses or at the houre that Bishops or their Vicars doe preach And not to preach out of their Covents without the permission of the Bishop or the Curate of the place Exhorting moreover the said Curates and Mendicants respectively to live and carry themselves together from thence forward in good peace and concord and by no meanes to suffer that the spirit of division the enemie of human nature be so familiarly acquainted with them The Pope Boniface having made this ordinance and rule betwixt the Curates and Mendicants soone after they entred further than ever into contentions and debates For when Curates went into the Mendicants Covents to aske their fourth part of the practickes and obventions of the said Mendicants they would straight joine altogether and make such a shouting braying and hissing at the poore Curat calling him beast ideot asse and saying he could not well reade his Masse nor decline their name And further would aske them certaine pettie questions out of Grammer and bid them turne something into Latine to shame them And thinkest thou beast said they that we have taken paines to prepare meat to put in thy mouth Belongeth it unto the Asse to reape that which wee sowe Goe goe beast to thy Breviarie if thou canst reade it come not into our Covent to beg any thing unlesse thou wilt have our discipline goe and studie thy Dispauterie and Amo Quae Pars and come not hither to trouble and defile the pure fountaine of holy Theologie wherein thou understandest nothing some others cried come come unto our Refectorie and wee Cap. 1. De Privileg in etravag will lay the Trebelliane fourth part on their shoulders These poore Curates then seeing the said Mendicants approch them beating one hand against another letting downe their coules and lifting up their fists in a great feare retired out of their Covents And knowing no way possibly to obtaine their due which had been granted them by Pope Boniface they offered their greefes and sorrowfull complaints to Pope Benedict the eleventh in the yeare 1304 or thereabouts But the Mendicants were not cowards to remonstrate also their good right on their side and amongst other reasons especially shewed that as by good right none wil withdraw a Falcidie or fourth part from devout godly legates so none ought to take a fourth Trebelliane from their practickes and obventions seeing they were bestowed on them for godly causes also Pope Benedict after good deliberation upon this waightie matter with the advice of his Cardinals and of certaine other good old doctors of Law found that the Mendicants their reasons were well founded in right and that there was no apparent reason wherefore they should pay to the said Curates the fourth part of their practickes and obventions For although there was some colour in that that the Curates said That they ought to have the fourth part of obventions and revenues of Mendicants because they had the name and title of Curates even as an heire ought to have the fourth Trebelliane free because he hath the name and title of heire yet in this rule there is a fallacie said these old doctors in regard of Legates for godly and devout causes For Legates are exempt from delivering of fourth parts such like as those which Mendicants take of godly Christians And for confirmation of their opinion they alledged Godfredus in Summa Azo Hugolinus de Fontava Guilliermus de Cuneo Rainerius de Foro Livio Hubertus de Bobio Petrus de bella Pertica Oldradus de Ponte and many other old doctors of Law They alledged also certaine strong pillars out of Bartolus and Baldus upon which they said their opinion was founded And therefore Pope Benedict mooved with their allegations and with equitie rased and made of no validitie the ordinance of Pope Boniface in that case taking away and utterly abolishing the said fourth part yet something to content the Curates he ordained that they should have the halfe of the funerals of such as were buried
there is no more comparison to be made betwixt their speeehes and our sermons than to compare a calfe to an asse Moreover if wee should come to a disputation to speake Latin were these Curates to be compared unto us the least novices in our covents shall alwaies say a lesson more sufficiently than these Curates if they will but learne it Finally all this lent passed in sermons and contersermons of the said Mendicants and Curats all which of the one part and the other sought to winne the peoples favour and devotion to enjoy the fruits revenewes of Cures After the Lent was passed they came to justice for the Mendicants pursued the reception and enrowling of their bulls entreating the court of Paris to admit and allow them whereupon the said Curates of Paris formed an opposition As the parties proceeded in their causes they respectively alledged by intendits replies duplications triplications the reasons and meanes touched before and farre more reasons which touched the quicke But the evill luck was for the Mendicants for upon the point of their good hope to obtaine the cause on their side Pope Alexander died Then the Curates beganne to oppose against them that the said bulls had no force nor vigour in them unlesse they were confirmed by Pope Iohn the foure and twentie of that name successor of the said Alexander The Mendicants much grieved heereat sought to obtaine a confirmation but could not For the Curates got before them insomuch as the poore Mendicants seeing themselves out of hope to obtaine the reception and enrowling of their said bulls resolved to leave the pursute thereof and the Iacobines first left the cause and the others consequently So that the Curates were maintained diffinitively in the possession and enjoyance of their cures and of the revenewes depending thereunto and the Mendicants were maintained in their possession and season of their beggery with expresse inhibitions accorded by the consent of the said Curates not to trouble nor molest them in any sort and each to beare his part of the law charges These Mendicants seeing themselves fixed fastened to their Povertie more than ever tooke it with the best patience they could possibly for so were they forced to do Yet notwithstanding some particulars amongst them which were the most angry had most credit did so much as they obtained for them provisions and reservations from the Pope of certaine cures and other benefices with dispensation to hould and possesse them notwithstanding their vow of Povertie The abovesaid Curates of France fearing the consequence made their complaints to king Charles the sixt then raigning The king by the advice of his Counsell made an ordinance in the yeere 1413 wherein hee much praiseth the rules of the Mendicants founders in that by them it is ordained that they ought to live in Povertie and Mendicitie without having any thing in common or in particular saying that such an ordinance is both salutarie and good And that Povertie is so annexed to the Monachall profession of Mendicants that the Pope himselfe cannot separate them which considered hee forbiddeth expreslie that none shall have regard to the said provisions obtained by any Mendicants upon cures or other benefices and if any bee in possession that hee bee taken out and they which are not yet received that none should receive them in And commanded all baylifes stewards and other officers of the realme not to suffer so pernitious yea so superstitious a thing to have place but rigorously to punish such as stand against this ordinance notwithstanding all bulls provisions and dispensations of the people to the contrarie So that by this the kings ordinance the Mendicants were more strongly tyed to the possession and enjoyance of their Povertie and beggerie as well in generall as particular this happened at the pursute of the said Curates their adversaries But yet a strange case it is that the passions and hatred of men should bee such as they have no end The said Mendicants were so farre from contentment at this ordinance that they bare great mallice to all Curates yea the one beheld the others with an evill eye and could not hould themselves from reciprocall detractions and evill speaches and from blazing on another in pulpits taxing the abuses and heresies one of another and describing one anothers marchandize When Pope Sixtus the fourth came to his papacie in the yeere 1472 the Mendicants became very proude because hee was a fryer minor and waxed insolent and audatious against Curates assuring themselves that the Pope would support them in all things The Curates then not beeing able to suffer the detractions skoulding and insolences of these Mendicants complained to the Pope who could doe no lesse than seeke to accord them For this effect hee deputed foure Cardinals that is the Cardinall of Hostia of Praeneste and of S. Peter ad Vincula and of S. Sixtus to heare the differences of the said Curates and Mendicants and in quietest manner to compound them The Cardinalls heard the parties in their alligations and did so much with them as they submitted themselves to their finall judgement After this to set a firme Cap. 2. De Treâ—ga pace in exâ—ra Articles of peace betwixt the Curats and the Mendicants and finall peace betwixt the said parties they pronounced for them an amiable sentence which was authorised by the Pope in Anno 1478 and containeth the Articles following That Curates from thence forward should no more say that the Mendicants were authors of heresies seeing that the Faith hath beene greatlie brought to light by them And likewise the Mendicants shall preach no more that parishoners are not bound to heare the parochiall Masse of their Curate on Sundaies and solemne feasts seeing that by the Cannons they are thereunto restrained and obliged Item that neither the one nor the other shall any more sollicit persons to chuse a sepulchre in their churches but shall leave it at the free election of every man Item that the said Mendicants shall preach no more that the parishioners are not bound to confesse themselves to their owne Curates at the least at Easter since that by right they are bound thereunto and that every good parishioner ought to make his Easter with his owne Curate without any thing derogating by that article from the priveledge which Mendicants have to heare confessions and to enjoyne pennance to confessed and repentants Item that the Mendicants in their actions of preaching of saying Mattins and ringing their Bells doe not enterprise upon the houres that Curates say their service unlesse it bee by the consent of the parties Item that the Mendicants shall no more turne away persons and parishioners from their parish Masses neither shall Curates take away the devotion of parishioners from the Mendicants but rather aide and succour them Behold in summe the articles of this peace and arbitrarie sentence betwixt the Mendicants and Curates which the Pope Sixtus greatly approved and
place untill these Offices were reduced to their auncient number as it was in the time of king Lewis the twelfth And by the same meanes it was also ordained That the said Offices should be no more sold but conferred and bestowed by the king at the nomination of men notable and of qualitie in every place to persons having good reputation of honestie and whose abilitie in knowledge shall bee examined extemporally at the opening of a booke before their reception But the Machiavelists have rased and quashed these two articles The Machiavelists have made deare Offices in France the last to have silver for the sale of Offices and the first to bring foyson and abundance of marchandize for the greater number there are of Offices so much the better is the trafficke and commerce because there are every day more times of respite whereof to make money And wee must not thinke that the abundance of Offices hath brought a low prise cheapnesse to their marchandize For contrary it hath made them dearer by a third or halfe within this tenne yeares insomuch as an Office of a Counsellor in a parliament which was not wont to cost past three or foure thousand Franks will now cost two or three thousand crownes of the Sunne And the Offices of Presidents and Procurers Generall which were not woont to be sold are within this little time sold as all other Offices at the tax and price of tenne twelve fourteene yea twentie thousand franks according as they are and according to the greatnesse of the parliaments For they are not all at one price But I pray you upon whom do our Machiavelists of France bestow these Offices upon beasts or ambitious men For learned men will not buy them if they be not drawne on by ambition but they had rather be reputed as Cato said being put by the Praetorship which he demanded worthie to be Presidents or Counsellors than to be so in effect by the price of silver As for them which are beasts and ignorant they have some reason to make provision for that marchandize to get whereof to live and pay their debts otherwise should they die for hunger or els bee despised and pointed at with the finger for that by reason of their ignorance they shall be employed in no affairs of Iustice and shall have no practise And truly these be they which within this little time have made this kind of marchandize so deare For because they are in great number thy run thither fast with great desire to have Which is the cause that the Machiavellists seeing so many marchants to arrive so exceeding eager to buy doe hold up without all reason the price of their marchandize and will by no meanes depart with it but to him that offereth most But I will not here stay to dispute against these buyers and sellers For I am of opinion that all their processes shall bee made at the first Estates that are holden By the resolution then of the Estates of Orleance it is seene That this Maxime of Machiavell was reprooved and condemned and that it is neither good nor profitable for the commonwealth that there should bee a great number of Officers of lustice but that it were better there were a meane number of them And this might easily be judged and knowne by naturall reason For the prince which shall establish a great number of Officers to administer Iustice either he must make a multiplicitie of degrees of Officers or he must establish many in one same degree If he make many degrees of Officers then Iustice shall be longer and more prolonged and pernitious because they which plead must passe through the hands of many Officers by many instances from one degree to another And therefore it is evident that the multiplicitie of Officers in degree cannot bee but domageable and pernitious If the prince make a multitude of Officers in one same degree as was done in Fraunce when Presidiall seats were instituted when new Counsellors of parliament were added to the old and when many lieutenants and other Officers were new created the great number will not cause Iustice to bee better nor more promptly ministred but contrarie shall bee the cause of great charge and procrastination For much time goes away whilest many Iudges are gathered together to one place to reason one after another and after as saith the Proverbe Affaires to many committed Are alwayes carelesly regarded Moreover suters alwayes desire with their owne mouthes to informe the Iudge of the principall points of their cause fearing something should bee left out either by negligence or too much hast And withall which is said in a common proverb That the lively voice toucheth better than the writing and better engraveth a thing in the spirits of men This desire of the parties to cause the Iudge well to understand their right is not reprehensible but just and reasonable and which ought not to be denied them yet in the meane time the multiplicitie and great number of Iudges maketh this point very difficult and uneasie For men have not so soone spoken to all and finding one he straight finds not another Moreover if the matter to judge be easie and without difficultie wherefore serves it to assemble a great sort of Iudges to decide the cause since one alone can as well dispatch it as many And withall that one alone can rid more matters in his studie in a day or two than an assembly can doe in a moneth For a man may labour his cause at all houres in the morning all the day at night by candle light on holy dayes and working dayes whereas the bodie of an assemblie will not travailene sit but certaine houres and on certaine daies If the matter to be judged be difficult hard it may seeme at the first that many can better judge of it than one alone because many eyes see clearer than one eye alone and withall there is not so great appearance of corruption in many as in one alone But for these difficulties there are other easier provisions than by multiplication of Officers For there needs but good consideration to establish in every subalterne seat one Officer alone which were a good man of good knowledge and well stipended For being a just man and well stipended he will not be easily corrupted lesse a great deale it may bee than a great number of such as are at this day and beeing learned and of good knowledge hee will easily resolve difficulties withall also in a case of difficultie he may take for an assessor some one of the most sufficient Advocates of his seat privatly heare in his studie the parties and their Counsell upon their hearing to resolve of the difficultie in deed and in right yea he himselfe with wise inspection into all things with the helpe of his bookes may dispatch and rid himselfe out of all difficulties being learned and of good judgement as he had need be Moreover
inferiour Iudges can hardly judge evill unlesse they erre either in Fact or Right from which they shall guard themselves if supreme Iudges performe well their duties by not sparing the personall adjornaments against such as by grosse ignorance doe erre in Right or which by the negligent inspection into their causes do erre in Fact And assuredly if such Iudges have good Censors which will marke their faults and will reproove and correct them Iustice shall bee as well administred by one alone in every inferiour seat as by many But our soveraigne Iudges are glad of the faults of their inferiours For their evill judgements brings the greater practise unto them to fill their purses to pay for their Offices to glut their avarice and to furnish the unmeasurable pompes of themselves and their wives So that to Iustice the same happeneth which dooth to an humane bodie For when the head is whole it will purvey and provide for the necessities and maladies of the members and seeke out all things fit for that purpose but when the head is diseased all the members feele it So the corruption which is in parliaments makes that all Iustice in inferiour courts is depraved and corrupted I resolve then against the saying of Machiavell That it were better that ther were but one person in every estate or degree of inferior justice than a great multiplicitie of Officers but my meaning is not to stretch this unto soveraigne Iustice but contrarie I thinke that it is good and necessarie that judgement bee executed by more than one person namely by a meane number of good and well chosen men For a judgement given by a notable companie hath more waight and gravitie as a soveraigne judgement ought to have than that which comes from one alone Also because a soveraigne judgement may sometimes take his foundation upon the pure and simple equitie which sometimes directly repugneth the locall customes ordinances and lawes written it is good and necessarie that equitie bee juged to bee equitie by the braine and judgement of many and it is not meete that one alone should take upon him that great licence to depart from authentike and received lawes to follow his owne opinion which hee will call equitie For that should bee as it were to give power to every particular Iudge to judge after his fantasie against received and approoved right and so to suffer to passe under the name of equitie huge iniquitie Since then none may easily and without great reason depart from received and approoved lawes it followeth that none may easily also induce an equitie against the said lawes unlesse to induce it hee use great and deliberate consideration and examination and doe well ponder the circumstances consequences by a good and experimented judgement which one alone cannot doe except hee bee of some exceeding invention knowledge and experience and of a good and sound judgement such a one as can hardly bee found Therefore it is much better to commit to many not to every one but unto such as are well chosen that power to induce equitie against received lawes than to one alone Besides this it appertaineth unto soveraigne judges to examine the new edicts and lawes of princes to marke and note if there be any thing hard in them which it were good to mitigate and lenifie which they must either themselves doe before they allow or divulge them or else must they signifie to the prince a cause why they approove them not This one alone can never so well doe as many how great and wise so ever hee bee because the spirit of one man alone is not capable to see and comprehend all the particular cases which may bee applied to the matter of an edict neither in memorie or cogitation can hee comprehend whatsoever absurditie incommodity or iniquitie can bee in a law But many casting and discoursing in their mindes every thing one foreseeing one thing and another another by examining and disputing upon the matter may the better perceive and comprehend the law and inconveniences thereof For it is not to bee doubted but that by the dispute of learned and sufficient men which doe examine by a good judgement reasons contrarie likely conjuncts and adjuncts of every thing may farre better comprehend the difficulties and in commodities of a edict than by the reasoning of one alone The manner which the Romanes anciently observed in the making of new lawes shewes this for they which proposed and preferred them were commonly men of good spirit great judgement and experience in the affaires of the common weale but yet every man great and small was heard to contradict that law which was proposed yea sometimes it was found and often that a base person of small estimation which had neither great knowledge nor experience yet hath noted in that law absurdities and inconveniences which were causes of rejection or at the least of moderating and correcting it Againe for that soveraigne judges are as it were censors and correctors of of inferior judges it is very requisit that they bee many in number because it will seeme hard for a magistrate to bee corrected by one alone unto whom it may be hee would not give place in any thing either in good knowledge or experience Finally because corruption is more to be feared in soveraigne judges which have none above them to correct their faults than in subalterne and inferiors who themselves may bee corrected therefore it is requisit that soveraigne judges bee in number for many are more uneasie to bee corrupted than one alone I confesse then in the soveraigne degree of justice of a prince it is good and expedient that hee have a sufficient number of persons to exercise it provided alwaies the number be not too great and unbrideled for the qualitie is therein more requisit than the quantitie The like is to bee of the kings Counsell where it is good and requisit there bee many heads as we have said in another place For confirmation of my saying I will alledge no other thing than the example of our ancestors For in the time and before king Lewis the twelfth inferior Officers were not many in one seate and degree of justice for there was but one in every seate thereof to administer it namely a Provost or ordinarie judge in the first degree a lieutenant generall or bayliffe as they call him or steward in the second degree but in soveraigne courts of Parliaments and the great Counsell they were many yet not in so great number as they bee at this day But seeing wee are in hand with meanes to establish a good justice I will touch therein some small points which I have marked in histories Wee must then presuppose Good Iustice consisteth in good lawes and good Magistrates that to cause good Iustice to bee administred a prince must needes have good lawes and create good Magistrates and Officers As for lawes some concerne the decision of matters and other the
formalitie of processe Touching such as concerne the decision of matters it seemeth well that there hath beene sufficiently provided by the locall custome of every countrey and by the right or law written Well might it bee desired that the doctrines of the docters of the civile and cannon law were well chosen and the good set a part and authorised For though in judgements wee can hardlie lacke them yet are they so confused and wrapped with contrarie opinions that they which hope to finde in the doctors gloses and commentaries the solution of some doubtfull question doe often fall into inexplicable laborinthes and for treasure doe finde coales Which would not come to passe if the good doctrines which often come in use and which are founded upon reason and equitie were separated and distinguished from the troupe and mixture of those doctors writings And touching lawes which concerne the formalitie and conduction of processe and litigations it seemes to mee there hath beene sufficient provision in France by Royall ordinances But it seemes not to bee sufficient that a prince make good lawes well and rightly to conduct and leade to the end the processes and contentions of subjects but it wil bee very requisit and necessarie that hee make lawes to prohibit and hinder the birth of these processes and contentions for otherwise good Iustice and readie expedition of causes shall indirectly serve for an occasion to increase and multiplie because men will bee made prompt and voluntarie to move actions when they are assured to have speedie and good Iustice So that to shunne this and to make that the thing which of it selfe is good and holy bee neither cause nor occasion of evill it shall bee as I have said very requisit to have good lawes to hinder the birth and originall of contentions wherein it seemes to mee that the said Royall ordinances are defectuous and maimed So is there great neede of some Licurgus or Solon to make those said laws mens wits are so wilde and their spirits so mervaisously plentifull and fertill to bring forth contentions and differences and so easily to discent one from another yet notwithstanding I thinke not that it is impossible something though not altogether to represse this arising and secunditie of law causes but because it will bee too long now to discourse wee will reserve it for another time But it is nothing to have good lawes if there bee not withall good magistrates for their execution for the magistrate is the soule of the law who gives it force vigour action and motion and without whom the law is but a dead and an unprofitable thing A good magistrate then is a most excellent thing yea the most excellent in the world yea he is a very rare thing at the least in his time yet might there bee sufficient in a mediocritie if they were well chosen and sought for But now the first that payeth most is received without any care to chuse the fittest Dion writeth That the emperor Caius Caligula had an horse called Velocissimus which he so much loved that he made him often to dine and sup at his table and caused him to be served with barley in a great vessell of gold and with wine in great caldrons of gold also Not contented thus to honour his Velocissmus hee determined with himselfe to advance him unto estates and offices and to the goverment of the commonwealth Caligula would make his horse a consul of Rome and so resolved to make him Consull of Rome and had done it saith Dion if hee had not beene prevented by death The Machiavellistes of this time which reade this in Dion can well say that this was an act of a sencelesse and mad man to give such an estate to a beast Yet doe they finde it good at this day to give estates to as sencelesse beasts more dangerous than Velocissimus was for if the worst had falne if Velocissimus had beene created Consull of Rome hee could have done no other harme to the commonwealth nor to particulars unlesse it had beene a blow with his foote to such as had saluted him too nigh but hee would never have made any extortions pillings or other abuses which the beasts of our time commit which are placed in Offices And this is it which Horace saith That wee mocke him which is evill favouredly powled and him that weareth a rent shirt under a silke coate or Epist 1. lib. 1 that hath his gowne on the one side long and on the other short but he is not mocked who wasteth great goods riotouslie who overthroweth right and committeth infinit sinnes and abuses in his charge men will peradventure say hee doth evill but not that hee ought to bee punished How many Offices bee there in France more fit for Velocissimus than for them which hould them And that which is least perilous every man doth laughat but this which is most dangerous to a commonweale no man dare so much as say it ought to bee amended much lesse corrected For there is a simple beastlinesle and ignorance and a malitious beastlinesse and ignorance The simple ignorance is like to that of Velocissimus which can doe neither good nor evill but malitious beastlinesse and ignorance is a beastly ignorance of all good and right things but of a great capacitie to hould all vices and wickednesse such as our Machiavellistes If then a man must needes choose one of the two who sees not that it were more expedient to choose a simple beastlinesse Can any then denie but it were better to have for a magistrate Velocissimus than some of our Machiavellists or our Office-cheators which comes by retaile unto that which they bought in grosse But the prince who resolves with himselfe to establish good Magistrates without which hee can have no good justice though his lawes bee the best in the world he must consider and note many things both in particular persons and in bodies in generall for hee should take notice what an office it is for which hee should provide an officer and accordingly seeke a person whose vertue and sufficiencie may be Proportion geometricall to bee observed in providing of Officers Aristo lib. 1. Ethniks correspondent and equall unto the functions of that estate For a farre greater sufficiencie is required in a President than in a Counsellor and in a Councellor than in an inferiour Iudge and in a Iudge than in a Chatellaine or castle guarder Heere it is where ought to bee observed the Geometricall proportion whereof Aristotle speaketh by giving to the most fittest and sufficientest the greatest estate to them which are meanely fit meane offices and estates and the least to such as are least sufficient This it is which Fabius Maximus shewed to the Romane people when they would needs create Consulls two yong lords that is Titus Octacilius Fabius his nephew Aemilius Regillus when Anniball made warre in Italie Masters said hee if wee had peace
Office of Censor which was an Office very meete for him because he delighted more to blame and reprehend the vices of men than praise their vertues In the pursute of this Office of Censor hee had many competitors which also demanded this estate not so much for the desire they had to have it For they did well forsee that if Cato were Censor hee would practise a rigorous Censorship and that he would disgrade many Officers and Magistrates as this lay in the Censors power which were far from good And this which feared them most was that Cato himselfe as hee sued for that Office said openly that if hee were chosen Censor hee would bring to their tryall an heape of vitious corrupted Magistrates and would reforme offices by redusing them into the first forme and disgrading inculpable and unworthie officers and that they which opposed themselves to the pursute heereof did it for no other cause but because they feared the touch Bâ—iefely hee did so much that not onely hee was elected Censor but also gave him for a companion in his Censorship Lucius Valertus whom he demanded because he was like humorous as himselfe These two being Censors they failed not to remove many out of their places for they cassiered many Senators and Magistrates yea such as were of great houses and nobilitie They caused their houses to bee demolished and overthrowen which had builded on publike ground They caused divers ponds and lakes to be paved which were full of mudde and durt and to repurge all the gutters sinkes and jakes of the citie They greatly heightened and raised the farmes of the commonwealth hands which before had beene held at a low price by persons which by complots and intelligences had let them out farre dearer Briefely they administred a very lowable and profitable Censorship whereupon Cato was surnamed Censorius Would to God wee had at this day such men and that princes would employ them for the commonwealth stands in great need so to bee purged of so many evills and corruptions as doe infect and ruinate it King Charlemaine and S. Lewis may in this place serve for examples to all kings Annales upon Anno 809. and 2253. and princes For we reade That these two good kings true lovers of good Iustice performing the Office of good Censors sent often in their time commissiaries and enquestors through all provinces to bee informed against the abuses of Magistrates and such as they found in fault and did not well observe all edicts and ordinances they were rigorously punished Insomuch as during their raignes Iustice was exceeding well administred to the great help and comfort of the people The prince ought also in his election of Magistrates to advise himselfe well to chuse officers which in judgement will have no respect of persons For the Magistrate ought to yeeld right egally to the poore as the rich according to the merit of the cause and not after the desert of persons From the beginning of the Romane commonwealth they had either none or few lawes written to end contentions differences amongst them but Iudges ought to haâ—e no acception of persons they were ended as seemed good to Magistrates which alwaies gave a coulour to their sentences by certaine decrees and judgements which they said had ben before given in like cases By this palliation and deceit saying that they had been so before judged they administred Iustice after their owne fantasies yea in such sort as they almost Dion Halic lib. 10. alwaies carried away the gaining of the cause for Magistrates which were at their command supported and favoured them The meanest sort of people perceiving that under coulour of former judgements they were abused and so that they almost alwaies lost their causes against the great men of the citie many beganne to quarrell and complaine Insomuch as that the Tribunes publikely proposed that it was necessarie there were ten potentates elected in the place of two Consuls to administer the commonwealth and write lawes ordinances wherby from thence forward the differences and law controversies might bee decided and not after the fantasies and former judgements of Iudges Magistrates The great men after their custome opposed themselves against this Heereupon there arose a great stirre and sedition within the towne of Rome which neither the Consuls nor Senate could any Good Iustice cause of peace evill cause of Sedition way appease But at the new creation of Consuls it happened that Lucius Quintius who dwelt in the fields in a little husbandry hee had was elected Consul and sent for to his village where they found him at his ploughes taile ploughing his finall possessions This good person was honourably brought as soveraigne Magistrate into the towne as soone as hee was arrived hee beganne to exercise his estate and to administer justice to every man as well poore as rich without respect or exception of persons He in a little time dispatched all ould causes which had long hanged in suspence by the meanes of prorogations which rich men made and behaved himselfe so discreet and just in the handling of all causes as he was generally esteemed a good and equall judge Hee abode all day in the pallace to heare and dispatch causes and hee gave audience to every man very patiently and benignely and used speedie and good Iustice to one and others indifferently having no regard to persons but to the merits and to the Iustice of the cause then in the question onely By this meanes Quintius brought to passe that not onely the great men were no more suspected judges to the meanest but also Iustice was so agreeable and plausible to the people that the sedition ceased and all the people were appeased so that none demanded any more to have new lawes whereby to judge causes but every man greatly contented himselfe to have for a law so good and equall a judge and Magistrate And surely there is nothing in the world which sooner ceaseth seditions and stirres nor that better maintaineth publike peace and tranquilitie than a good Iustice administred by good and equall Magistrates But on the contrary a wicked Iustice is often cause of uproares insurrections and civile warres as poore France can say at this day The example of both these cases appeared certaine yeeres after Quintius was Dion Halic lib. 10. 11. out of his magistracie for they which succeeded him had not that grace nor dexteritie well to administer Iustice insomuch as the Tribunes tooke up againe their determination to create ten Potentates to write lawes and ordinances after which men might bee judged in all causes And indeede the Senate as it were constrained accorded to this creation there were chosenten Potentates which with great deliberation composed the lawes of the twelve Tables which were found very good and equall and not onely they proposed and made in publike places the said lawes and engraved them in Tables of brasse but which more is
respected and doubt honoured for as the Poet Euripides saith At the good accounted â—â— of Noble blood to bee Euri. in Hecu. But double is his honour whom wee vertuous doe see Heere will I ende these present discourses exhorting and praying the French Nobilitie and all other persons which love the publike good of France to marke and earnestly consider the points which above wee have handled against Machiavell For so may they know how wicked impious and detestable the doctrine of that most filthie Atheist is who hath left out no kind of wickednesse to build a tyrannie accomplished of all abhominable vices They which know this I beleeve will couragiouslâ—e employ themselves to drive away and banish from France Machiavell and all his writings and all such as maintaine and follow his doctrine and practise it in France to the ruine and desolation of the kingdome and of the poore people I could much more have amplified this discourse if I would have examined all the doctrine of Machiavell For hee handleth many other very detestable and strange things as the meanes to make conspirations and how they must bee executed as well with sword as with poyson and many other like matters But I abhorre to speake of so villanous and wicked things which are but too much knowne amongst men and have contented my selfe to handle the principall points of his doctrine which merit to bee discovered and brought to light I pray God our Father and Creator in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ our onely Saviour and Mediator that he will preserve his Church and his elected from the contagious and wicked doctrine of such godlesse and prophane men as are too common in the world and that he will not suffer them which are of his flock to bee tossed and troubled by a sort of turbulent and ignorant spirits But that he will grant us grace alwaies to persevere in his holy doctrine in the right way which he hath shewed us by his word and well to discerne and know abusive lying and malitious spirits to detest and flie them and continually to follow his truth which will teach us his feare and his commandements and by his grace will bring us unto eternall life So bee it FINIS THE INDEX OR TABLE OF Machiavels Maximes confuted in those discourses divided into three parts The Maximes of the first part doe handle such Counsell as a Prince should take A Princes good Counsell ought to proceed from his owne wisedome otherwise he cannot be well counselled Max. 1. The Prince to shun and not to bee circumvented of Flatterers ought to forbid his friends and Counsellors that they speake not to him nor counsell him any thing but only in those things whereof hee freely begins to speake or asketh their advice Max. 2. A Prince ought not to trust in Strangers Max. 3. The Maximes of the second part handling the Religion which a Prince ought to observe and be of A Prince above all things ought to wish and desire to bee esteemed Devout although he be not so indeed Max. 1. A Prince ought to sustaine and confirme that which is false in Religion if so be it turne to the favour thereof 2. The Paynims Religion holds and lifts up their hearts and makes them hardie to enterprise great things but the Christian Religion persuading to Humilitie humbleth and too much weakeneth their minds and so makes them more readie to be injured and preyed upon 3. 4. The great Doctors of the Christian Religion by a great ostentation and stiffenesse have sought to abolish the remembrance of all good letters and antiquitie 4. When men left the Paynim Religion they became altogether corrupted so that they neither beleeved in God nor the Divell Max. 5. The Romane Church is cause of all the calamities of Italie Max. 6. Moses could never have caused his lawes and ordinances to bee observed if force and armes had wanted 7. Moses usurped Iudea as the Gothes usurped a part of the empire 8. The Religion of Numa was the cheefe cause of Romes felicitie 9. A man is happy so long as Fortune agreeth to his nature humor 10. The Maximes of the third Part entreating of such Policie as a Prince ought to have That Warre is just which is necessary and those Armes reasonable when men can have no hope by any other way but by Armes Max. 1. To cause a Prince to withdraw his mind altogether from peace agreement with his adversarie he must commit and use some notable and outragious injurie against him Max. 2. A Prince in a conquered countrey must establish and place Colonies or Garrisons but most especially in the strongest places and to chase away the naturall and old inhabitants thereof Max. 3. A Prince in a countrey newly conquered must subvert and destroy all such as suffer great losse in that conquest and altogether root out the blood and race of such as before governed there 4. To be revenged of a citie or countrey without striking any blow they must be filled with wicked manners 5. It is follie to thinke with Princes and great Lords that new pleasures will cause them to forget old offences 6. A Prince ought to propound unto himselfe to imitate Caesar Borgia the sonne of Pope Alexander the sixt 7. A Prince need not care to be accounted Cruell if so be that hee can make himselfe to be obeyed thereby 8. It is better for a Prince to be feared than loved 9. A prince ought not to trust in the amitie of men 10. A prince which would have any man to die must seeke out some apparent colour thereof and then hee shall not bee blamed if so be that he leave his inheritance and goods unto his children 11. A prince ought to follow the nature of the Lyon and of the Fox yet not of the one without the other 12. Cruelty which tendeth and is done to a good end is not to be reprehended Max. 13. A Prince ought to exercise Crueltie all at once and to doe pleasures by little and little Max. 14. A vertuous Tyrant to maintaine his tyrannie ought to maintain partialities and factions amongst his subjects and to slay and take away such as love the Commonweale Max. 15. A Prince may as well be hated for his vertue as for his vices 16. A prince ought alwaies to nourish some enemie against himself to this end that when he hath oppressed him he may be accounted the more mightie and terrible 17. A prince ought not to feare to be perjured to deceive and dissemble for the deceiver alwayes finds some that are fit to be deceived 18. A Prince ought to know how to wind and turne mens minds that he may deceive and circumvent them 19. A Prince which as it were constrained useth Clemencie and Lenitie advaunceth his owne destruction 20. A wise prince ought not to keepe his Faith when the observation therof is hurtful unto him that the occasions for which he gave it be takeÌ„ away 21. Faith Clemencie and Liberalitie are vertues very domageable to a prince but it is good that of them he only have some similitude likenes 22. A Prince ought to have a turning and winding wit with art and practise made fit to be cruell and unfaithfull that he may shew himselfe such an one when there is need 23. A prince desirous to breake a peace promised sworn with his neighbor ought to move warre against his friend with whom he hath peace 24. A prince ought to have his mind disposed to turne after every wind and variation of Fortune that he may know to make use of a vice when need is 25. Illiberalitie is commendable in a prince and the reputation of an handicrafts man is a dishonour without evill will 26. A prince which will make a strait profession of a good man cannot long continue in the world amongst such an heap of naughty wicked people 27. Men cannot be altogether good nor altogether wicked neither can they perfectly use crueltie and violence 28. He that hath alwayes caried the countenance of a good man and would become wicked to obtain his desire ought to colour his change with some apparent reason 29. A prince in the time of peace maintaining discords and partialities amongst his subjects may the more easily use them at his pleasure 30. Civile seditions and dissentions are profitable and not to be blamed 31. The meanes to keepe subjects in peace and union and to hould them from rebellion is to keepe them alwayes poore 32. A Prince which feareth his subjects ought to build fortresses in his countrey to hold them in obedience 33. A Prince ought to commit to another those affaires which are subject to hatred and envie and reserve to himselfe such as depend upon his grace and favour 34. To administer good Iustice a Prince ought to establish a great number of Judges 35. Gentlemen which hold Castles and Jurisdictions are very great enemies of commonweales 36. The Nobility of France would overthrow the Estates of that kingdome if their Parliaments did not punish them and hould them in feare 37. FINIS
in this world yet assuredly in the other Yea will some say but who will informe against them or dare stand before God for that purpose I answere that the complaints teares and clamours of the people will bee informers and shall complaine before God against princes the dolorous and sorrowfull lamentations of orphants and widowes whose fathers and husbands they have caused to die shall stand as complainants before God and generally all they which they have afflicted and persecuted in their persons or in their goods shall present themselves before our lord the true judge with pittious teares and doloures and shall serve for witnesses and accusors and God who is a just judge shall punish such princes as doe not feare him and it may bee will not attend to punish them in the other world but in this world But let them know that when it pleaseth God to punish princes as they are greater than simple people so hee will bring them to a greater fall and a true token that God beginneth to ruinate a prince is when hee so diminisheth his sences that he makes him flie the counsell of the wise and elevateth into Signes of a princes ruine credit with him new people violent unreasonable and foolish slothfull and flatterers which doe and speake all things to please them for when wee see this happen to a prince wee may well say that God prepareth his ruine Behold in somme in his proper tearmes the opinion of that wise knight Messire Phillip de Comines of the cause why God raiseth enemies unto princes which opinion truely is very christian and proceeding from a man of a wise judgement and well experimented in affaires of State wherin the said Comines was exercised by the space of thirtie yeeres in the time of king Lewis the eleaventh and Charles the eight his sonne in embassages and other great and honourable charges Hee was no such pettie burnepaper as Machiavell who dealt in nothing but in registring and writing of the small broiles and troubles of one house of the towne of Florence and comming out of no better aschoole dare deale to give lessons and documents to princes and mightie kings to teach them how they should governe or rather how they should become tyrants But contrary he that will reade the hystorie of Comines shall finde many good precepts which that good knight hath marked by experience in his time which indeede are good and proper as well to informe and instruct a good prince as they of Machiavell are to informe a most wicked tyrant Vpon this speach above alledged of Comines that God diminisheth the sences of such princes as hee will ruinat I will adde for a confirmation the saying of an ancient wise man alledged by the poet Sophocles Agreeing well to veritie The saying of the wise man is Sophocl in Aulig That which most evill you do trie Most good it seemes to you iwis Thus when wee stir up God to ire Hee plagues us much for our desire 18. Maxime A prince ought not to feare to bee periured to deceive and dissemble for the deceiver alwates findes some which are fit to bee deceived THe prince saith master Nicholas which will become great Discourse lib. 2. cap. 13. cap. 18. of the prince and make great conquests it is necessarie that hee learne well the occupation and art of deceiving as John Galeace did who by that art tooke the dutchie of Millan from Messire Bernard his uncle The Romanes also under that name of allies and confederates so deceived the Latine people and many others that they reduced them into a servitude and subiection yet they never espied it untill the end True it is in this art of trompery deceit men must needes use great fainednesse dissimulations and periuries and the prince which shall bee heereunto as it were made by nature and art shall alwaies obtaine prosperous successe in his affaires For men are commonly so simple and doe so soone bend to present necessities that the deceiver alwaies finds some which will suffer themselves to be deceived Heereupon we may alledge infinit examples of peace truce and promises which have beene broken by princes yet have had good event And heereof wee may alledge one example of fresh memorie of Pope Alexander the sixt who never did other thing but made an art of abusing men neither ever applied his minde to other studie neither ever was there found man that would confirme his promises with more horrible othes nor that lesse kept and observed them Yet his tromperies and periuries succeeded all well unto him for hee knew vvell enough therein how all sorts of men must be handled IN this Maxime is an amplification of that which hath beene before set downe by Machiavell when hee said That a prince ought to know how to play the Fox for now explicating what it is to play the Fox hee saith it is to know how to deceive to dissemble and to bee perjured and that a prince ought to bee adorned with these goodly vertues of trompery dissimulation and perjurie But as for trompery which men call subtiltie wee have of it above sufficientlie spoken And as for perfidie and perjurie wee shall afward speake in another Maxime and therefore heereupon wee will make no long discourse because wee will not often repeate one same thing And withall that there is no man in the world of so small a judgement who doth not well see that this Maxime containeth a detestable doctrine altogether unworthie not onely of a prince but of every man of what condition so ever hee bee And I doe not beleeve that the Bohemians who goe from countrey to countrey telling good fortunes juglers or rather runnagate roagues which make an occupation of deceits and abusing of the world will not condemne this Maxime as wicked and abhominable if they bee made judges And as for that which Machiavell saith That the deceiver will alwayes find some that will suffer themselves to bee deceived I confesse there will bee ever found some idiot fooles and sots that he may deceive yea that sometimes he may deceive sharp witted and wise men yet notwithstanding it is as certaine that there is not so great a deceiver but he is sometimes deceived For as soone as a deceiver is discovered to be one every man takes heed to negotiate and traffique with him or if they bee forced to have to do with him for feare to be deceived they will do their best to deceive The deceiver is often deceived him And herein the most part of the world make no conscience but thinke it not onely lawfull but praise-worthie to deceive a deceiver insomuch as he which hath once a name to be a cousener and deceiver all men will dispence with themselves to deceive him if thēy can and by that meanes the deceiver having cause to take heed of many sundry persons it is impossible but he should be often deceived and be often catched in
his owne nets Therefore Machiavell his reason That the deceiver shall alwayes find them which will be deceived doth not so well conclude as it seemeth For if the deceiver find alwaies some to deceive he shall also find some which will deceive him and it may be sometimes for one that he deceiveth hee may find sixe which will deceive him because none can bee so perfect in the art of trompery which art Machiavell so much recommendeth to a prince but also hee shall alwaies finde others which know more than himselfe in some points and many together doe know more than one alone in all points of that art one in one point and another in another So that in the end hee himselfe shall see alwaies according to the common proverbe the deceiver shall bee deceived As it happened even to Pope Alexander the sixt whose example Machiavell heere alledgeth for the end of all his tromperies and perjuries was to make his bastard Caesar Borgia lord king of all Italie and after of all christendome if he could But the issue of his desseignes and purposes was a tragicall act as wee have before discoursed in another place Moreover the cause why that many times this Pope deceived christian princes and even the king of France Lewis the twelfth was For that in that time men so greatlie feared the Popes bulls and interdictions and that they beleeved him to bee a true lieutenant of God on earth so that they durst not discredit any thing hee did but rather beleeved all his wordes as oracles but at this day children would mocke at his actions and few men will bee baited with his allurements But for whereas Machiavell saith That the ancient Romanes under the deceit of The Romanes allies subjects were not slaves those names Allies and confederats brought into their subjection and servitude the Latin people their neighbours is a plaine and pure lie For they subjugated all men by warre at divers times as wee reade in hystories True it is that after once they vanquished and brought them under they then made treaties of peace and confederations which were not greatly to the advantage of such as were overcome as in reason they might For if by the right of nations such as are vanquished by warres may be bondslaves of the vanquishers by a stronger reason may the vanquishers reserve to themselves some preheminence over the vanquished But the preheminences which commonly the Romanes reserved to themselves in all their treaties were that the allies and confederats should not make warre upon any without their consent and that they should contribute unto their souldiers in their warres Moreover they left to all people their franchises liberties goods religion magistrates and all other things without altering any thing and without imposing upon them tributes of mony or such like This cannot bee called a servitude as Machiavell calls it or if it bee a servitude there are no people in christendome whether they be subjects of princes or common wealthes which are not in a double and quadruple servitude And whereas Machiavell saith That a prince ought to know the art of trompery and deceit some will aske to take heede of it which are the precepts of the art Wherunto I answere for Machiavell that no man can give precepts practicale or singular which may bee applied to every busines to avoide deceit and fraude But the generall precepts of art which the philosophers call Axiomes in philosophie are these Bouldly to forsweare themselves Subtilly to dissemble to infinuate into mens minds and to prove them To breake faith and promise and such like as heeretofore wee have handled and shall doe heereafter But heere we must note one thing which is That one well experienced in the art of trompery will not alwaies practise that principle To breake faith for if he ordinarilie doe it hee shall offend against another principle which commands To dissemble subtilly For by every where and ever breaking of faith hee shall discover himselfe to bee a manifest deceiver whereas hee ought to dissemble and to make an outward countenance not to bee so but rather to bee a good and an honest man And therefore to observe all the principles of that art together without breaking one in observing another hee shall in small matters keepe his faith to breake it in great things and in matters of consequence Heereof Fabius Maximus admonisheth Scipio to take heede Thou desirest Scipio Titus Livi. lib. 8. Dec. 3. saith hee to make warre upon the Carthaginians in Affricke under an hope thou hast to have the favour of king Siphax and of the Numidians which have promised thee aide and succours But take good advice how thou trustest in the barbarous nations which commonly make no account to breake their faith to deceive True it is in small matters they will keepe their faith with thee well to assure thee in their promise and loyaltie that they may afterward breake it to their great profit and advantage as soone as they see they have meanes and occasion in their hands altogether to ruinate thee This was the admonition which that wise Fabius gave to Scipio then a yong captaine What then should a man doe to guard himselfe from such deceitfull faith of deceivers which appeeres and shewes it selfe in little things and is defective in great matters A man must doe that which Scipio answered to Fabius I know well lord Fabius saith hee how a man must leane upon the evill assured faith of Syphax and the Numidians I thinke so much to leane and rest my selfe upon them as may serve my turne so that yet alwaies I hold my selfe upon my guardes to warrant my selfe from all perfidie and treacherie Moreover there is yet another remedie against such deceivers and dissemblers which promise much and in their hearts have no other intention then in no thing to keepe their promises that is to shun and flie from them as from hell and from more than capitall enemies as Homer teacheth us Hee that one thing in heart another in mouth doth beare Fly him an enemie thine and as hell-fire him feare Homer Iliad lib. 9. 20. Maxime A prince who as it were constrained useth Clemencie and Lenitie advanceth his owne destruction IN an hundred times saith Machiavell it vvill scant happen Discourse lib. 1. cap. 32. once that the good and comfort vvhich a prince doth to his subiects vvhen he seeth himselfe as it vvere forced to doe it by feare of rebellion or otherwise is gratefully received of them For commonly the people for benefits so granted by their prince are not thankefull but rather thinkes themselves beholden to such as draw their prince unto the bestowing of such benefits upon necessitie and constraint And this is often the cause that the people seeketh occasions and meanes to draw the prince into that necessitie And therfore a prince ought never to attend that extreame necessitie to shew himselfe kind and liberall for