Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	great_a	king_n	people_n	9,166	5	4.4099	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89890	A plea for the King, and kingdome; by way of answer to the late remonstrance of the Army, presented to the House of Commons on Monday Novemb. 20. Proving, that it tends to subvert the lawes, and fundamentall constitutions of this kingdom, and demolish the very foundations of government in generall.	Nedham, Marchamont, 1620-1678.	1648 (1648)	Wing N402; Thomason E474_2; ESTC R202961	27,530	32

The first is the Government of a Monarch or King the second that of States the third is Democraticall or Popular Now though it cannot be denied that the power of a King may be more or lesse absolute according to the severall Qualifications or Restrictions laid upon it by the mixture of any other Power with it as by the constitution of this Kingdome there is a mixture of all the three Powers in King Lords and Commons yet if either of these Powers incroach upon the other they change their nature As for example if the Aristocraticall part prescribe rules to the Monarch and take away his Negative Voice it can be no longer a Monarchie or Kingdome and so if the Popular presume to take away Ius imperii from the Aristocracy it can be no longer a Government by States so that the Remonstrants in allowing us an elective King but denying Him a Negative voice the very substance of Soveraignty do but delude us with a Mockery and by placing the supreme power of making and repealing Lawes in the People do aime to establish a meere popular Tyrannie which they will assume unto themselves under the Nation of the PEOPLE to the destruction of our Laws and Liberties For it is a sure Rule That those that seeke to make themselves Lords by force of Armes over their fellow-subjects under pretence of reforming their Princes defects in government are alwaies if they have successe more cruell and tyrannous then those against whose government they fancied Exceptions and regard the common-good no further then it conduceth to their own wicked ends and purposes There are too many evidences of this Truth to be found in History I shall instance onely in two most notable and which come close to our Time The first is fetch'd from the City Syracusa which had been long governed by hereditary Kings virtuous and just save onely Thrasihulus the last of the race of Gelon was suspected to be a Tyrant and therefore the Syracusians deposed him after ten monethes government After they had deposed him to prevent the greatnesse of any one among them for the future they devised a kind of Banishment of such among them as should at any time be suspected taking pattern from the Athenian ostracisme and this their new devised judgement they called Petalismus wherein every one wrote upon an Olive-leafe as at Athens they did upon shels the name of him whom they would have expelled the City and he that had most suffrages against him was banished the City for five years Hhereby in a short time it came to passe that the Nobility having learned to banish one another the State became wholly popular which was a curse sufficient to their City since nothing is so terrible in any State as a powerfull and authorised ignorance This Democracy carried it self so wickedly that God raised up Dionysius the Tyrant to take vengeance as well of their cruelty toward strangers as their owne best Citizens for they had made it their pastime to reward the worthiest with disgrace or death So that the meanes by which Dionysius got their favour grew from his accusing the principal men It is the delight of base people to domineere over their betters wherefore he helpe them to breake as Fetters imprisoning their liberty the Bars that held it under safe Custody And after that he had usurped the Government to himselse I pray God our Cromwell take not after him for he hath traced him thus far already he spared none of his known nor suspected Enemies he was the greatest Robber that ever lived in any State and the most impartially cruell rnd so proved a fit scourge to them for expelling their Kings and erecting a popular Government But my second instance and the most notorious one is from Athens This City and Territory of Attica had been originally governed and very prosperously by hereditary Kings And because that Codrus the thirtieth King of that Race willingly died for the safety of his People he was therefore so honoured as thinking none worthy to succeed him they changed their former government from Monarchicall to Princes for tearme of life of which Medon the son of Codrus was the first of whom his successours by election which were twelve in number were called Medontidae But after experience that those Elective Princes who had no hereditary right to the Crowne but only a limitation of government to their lives and for that onely reason made a prey of the People studied more to rob them for particular advantage then to manage the government for the publique good they laid aside that forme of Government and appointed Archons or Decennall Governors that is one Prince for ten years but finding the like inconvenience in that with somewhat a more swift rapine because their time of gaine was shorter then after the tryall of seven of these Decennall Governors they buried that Forme and set up annuall or yearly Magistrates But their oppression was so great that that Forme continued but seven successions of whom Solon that most excellent Lawgiver was the last And and so after many experiments this giddy People finding no better rest then in Monarchy submitted againe to it under Pisistratus who left the Crowne to his Son Hippias and then another Toy taking these inconstant Athenians they drove him out of his Kingdome and enforced him to flye unto Darius King of Persia to crave aid for restitution which was the onely cause of all the Wars Commotions and Troubles that followed in Greece for 300. yeares after to the utter ruine and inslaving of the Nation After Hippias was thus driven out they erected a pure Democracy or Government by the people Herein they were so insolent that no Integrity no good desert was able to preserve the estate of any such as had born any great Office longer then by flattering the rascall Multitude he could form all his words and Actions to their good liking behold here O ye Nobles and Gentry of England and yee wealthy Citizens of London what ye must come to Nay they banished their famous Generall Themistocles looke to it then Fairfax who had been their only deliverer from the fury of the Persian onely for indeavouring to restraine by wise counsels the riotous excesse of their extreame folly and Madnesse At length the principall men of Athens conspiring with the Captaines abroad caused them to set up the Forme of an Aristocracy in the Townes of their Confederates in a short time the Majesty of Athens was usurped by foure hundred men who imbroyled the State in a bloody and furious War with the Peloponesians which was the ruine of their City and subversion of their Wals. After a time reviving againe in hope to better their distracted condition they chose thirty Governours commonly called the thirty Tyrants of Athens These having by degrees drawne all Power into their hands were more carefull to hold it then deserve it and imployed it onely to oppression and shedding the Blood of all those whom they made or counted their Enemies that they might in rich themselves and friends with their Lands and possessions And the better to maintaine and secure themselves in these cruell courses after they had by Force over-awed all the Territories of that State round about they made a Faction of their owne in the City of Athens as our Remonstrants have now in London which being done they disarmed all others whom they could not draw to their Party and setled a Militia of three thousand Citizens to keepe the rest of their fellows in subjection Looke to thy selfe then London for if they cannot worke thee to ingage with them they must of necessity take the same course with thee to carry on their designe And then thou must looke to fare no better then did the poor Athenians For when the thirty Tyrants had thus established their Tyrannie they far exceeded their former Villanies plundring all without fear or shame dispoyling them of Lands and Goods and forcing them to flye into Banishment to save their lives In conclusion the City being tired out with these outrages and extremities when they had smarted sufficiently began to find their owne strength and all as one man rose up and slew them which done to avoid future inconveniences all was salved up with a generall Act of Oblivion and the State recovered its former Peace and Tranquillity Many more instances might be given but none more pat then these for the present occasion wherein as in a glasse every man may behold those fatall miseries and confusions that must needs ensue a change of the Kingly to a popular or as the case now stands with us to a Military Government which I have proved clearly unto the world to be the designe of this Remonstrance to the utter subversion of our Laws the fundamentall constitutions and Priviledges of Parliament with the destruction of the King and His Posterity and the inslaving of the Kingdome What remaines then but that the Lords and Commons in Parliament doe stand up now for their Priviledges the Laws and the maintenance of Monarchy and yet if it be possible revive the dying hopes of the Nation with an Agreement by this Treaty for as much as His Majesty is and of necessity must be the Basis of a settlement Let the people understand how much you abhor the contrary and then you can never want their hearts and hands to assist you And if any of you should miscarry and be purged out of the House as some of you have been heretofore by this Faction and forced to banishment it will be your chiefest glory in time to come that you suffered in the behalfe of your King and Country If I perish I perish Nec me vidêre superbum Prospera fatorum nec fractum Adversa videbunt FINIS