Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	david_n	king_n	saul_n	5,115	5	10.1244	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85295	The necessity of the absolute power of all kings: and in particular, of the King of England.	Filmer, Robert, Sir, d. 1653.	1648 (1648)	Wing F917; Thomason E460_7; ESTC R202077	8,854	14

and in effect incompatible and such as cannot be imagined For Soveraignty being of it selfe indivisible how can it at one and the same time be divided betwixt one Prince the Nobility and the people in common The first mark of Soveraign Majesty is to be of Power to give Lawes and to command over them unto the subjects and who should those subjects be that should yeeld their obedience to the Law if they should have also Power to make the Lawes who should he be that could give the Law being himselfe constrained to receive it of them unto whom he himselfe gave it so that of necessity we must conclude that as no one in particular hath the Power to make the Law in such a state that there the state must needs be popular Never any Common-wealth hath been made of an Aristocracy and Popular Estate much lesse of the three Estates of a Common-wealth Such States wherein the Right of Soveraignty are divided are not rightly to be called Common-weales but rather the corruption of Common-weales as Herodotus hath most briefly but truly written Common-weales which change their State the Soveraigne Right and Power of them being divided find no rest from Civill warres If the Prince be an absolute Soveraign as are the true Monarchs of France of Spaine of England Scotland Turkey Muscovy Tartary Persia Aethiopia India and almost of all the Kingdomes of Africk and Asia where the Kings themselves have the Soveraignty without all doubt or question not divided with their subjects In this case it is not lawful for any one of the subjects in particular or all of them in generall to attempt any thing either by way of fact or of justice against the Honour Life or Dignity of the Soveraign albeit he had comitted all the wickednesse impiety and cruelty that could be spoke For as to proceed against him by way of justice the subject hath not such jurisdiction over his Soveraign Prince of whom dependeth all Power to Command and who may not onely revoke all the Power of his Magistrates but even in whose presence the Power of all Magistrates Corporations Estates and Communities cease Now if it be not lawful for the Subject by the way of justice to proceed against a King how should it then be lawful to proceed against him by way of fact or Force for question is not here what men are able to do by strength and Force but what they ought of Right to do as not whether the subject have power and strength but whether they have lawful power to condemne their Soveraign Prince The subject is not onely guilty of Treason in the highest Degree who hath slain his Soveraign Prince but even he also which hath attempted the same who hath given Counsell or consent thereto yea if he have concealed the same or but so much as thought it Which fact the Lawes have in such detestation as that when a man guilty of any offence or Crime dyeth before he be condemned thereof he is deemed to have dyed in whole and perfect Estate except he have conspired against the Life and Dignity of his Soveraign Prince This onely thing they have thought to be such as that for which he may worthily seeme to have been now already judged and condemned yea even before he was thereof accused And albeit the Lawes inflict no punishment upon the evill thoughts of men but on those onely which by word or deed break out into some Enormity yet if any man shall so much as conceit a thought for the Violating of the Person of his Soveraign Prince although he have attempted nothing they have yet judged this same thought worthy of death notwithstanding what repentance soever he have had thereof Lest any men should think Kings or Princes themselves to have been the Authors of these Lawes so the more straitly to provide for their own safety and Honour let us see the Laws and examples of holy Scripture Nabuchodonosor King of Assyria with fire and sword destroyed all the Country of Palestina besieged Jerusalem took it rob'd and rased it down to the ground burnes the Temple and defiles the Sanctuary of God slew the King with the greatest part of the people carrying away the rest into Captivity into Babylon caused the image of himselfe made in gold to be set up in publick place commanding all men to adore and worship the same upon pain of being burnt alive and caused them that refused so to do to be cast into a burning Furnace And yet for all that the holy Prophets Baruch 1. Jeremy 29. directing their letters unto their brethren the Jewes then in Captivity in Babylon wil them to pray unto God for the good and happy life of Nabuchodonosor and his children and that they might so long Rule and Reign over them as the Heavens should endure Yea even God Himselfe doubted not to call Nabuchodonosor his servant saying that he would make him the most Mighty Prince of the world and yet was there never a more detestable Tyrant then he who not contended to be himselfe worshiped but caused his Image also to be adored and that upon pain of being burnt quick We have another rare example of Saul who possessed with an evill Spirit caused the Priests of the Lord to be without just cause sl●ine for that one of them had received David flying from him and did what in his power was to kill or cause to be kill'd the same David a most innocent Prince by whom he had got so many victories at which time he fell twice himselfe into Davids hands who blamed of his Souldiers for that he would not suffer his so mortall Enemy then in his power to be slain being in assured hope to have enjoyed the Kingdome after his death he detested their Counsell saying God forbid that I should suffer the Person of a King the Lords Anointed to be violated Yea he himselfe defended the same King persecuting of him whenas he commanded the Souldiers of his guard overcome by wine and sleep to be wakened And at such time as Saul was slaine and that a Souldier thinking to do David a pleasure presented him with Saul's head David caused the same Souldier to be slaine which had brought him the head saying Go thou wicked how durst thou lay thy impure hands upon the Lords Anointed thou shalt surely die therefore And afterwards without all dissimulation mourned himselfe for the dead King All which is worth good consideration for David was by Saul prosecuted to death and yet wanted not Power to have revenged himselfe being become stronger then the King besides he was the chosen of God and anointed by Samuel to be King and had married the Kings Daughter And yet for all that he abhorred to take upon him the title of a King and much more to attempt any thing against the Life or Honour of Saul or to Rebell against him but chose rather to banish himselfe out of the Realme then in any sort so seek the

Kings destruction We doubt not but David a King and a Prophet led by the Spirit of God had alwayes before his eyes the Law of God Ex. 22.28 Thou shalt not speake evill of thy Prince nor detract the Magistrate neither is there any thing more Common in Holy Scripture then the forbidding not only to kill or attempt the Life or Honour of a Prince but even for the very Magistrates although saith the Scripture they be wicked and naught The Protestant Princes of Germany before they entred into Arms against Charls the Emperour demanded of Martin Luther if it were lawful for them so to do or not who frankly told them that it were not Lawfull whatsoever Tyranny or impiety were pretended yet was he not therein by them believed so thereof ensued a deadly and most lamentable warre the end whereof was most miserable drawing with it the Ruine of many great and noble houses of Germany with exceeding slaughter of the Subjects The Prince whom you may justly call the Father of the Country ought to be to every man dearer and more Reverend then any Father as one Ordained and sent unto us by God The subject is never to be suffered to attempt any thing against the Prince how naughty and cruel soever he be lawful it is not to obey him in things contrary to the Lawes of God to flie and hide our selves from him but yet to suffer stripes yea and death also rather then to attempt any thing against his life and Honour O how many Tyrants should there be if it should be Lawfull for subjects to kill Tyrants How many good and innocent Princes should as Tyrants perish by the Conspiracy of their subjects against them he that should of his subjects but exact subsidies should be then as the vulgar people esteeme him a Tyrant He that should rule and command contrary to the good liking of the people should be a Tyrant He that should keep strong guards and Garrisons for the safety of his Person should be a Tyrant He that should put to death Traitors and Conspirators against his State should be also counted a Tyrant How should good Princes be assured of their lives if under colour of Tyranny they might be slaine by their subjects by whom they ought to be defended In a well ordered State the Soveraigne Power must remaine in one onely without communicating any part thereof unto the State for in that case it should be a popular Government no Monarchy wise Polititians Philosophers Divines and Historiographers have highly commended a Monarchy above all other Common-weales it is not to please the Prince that they hold this opinion but for the safety and happynesse of the subjects And contrarywise when as they shall limit and restrain the Soveraign Power of a Monarch to subject him to the generall Estates or to the Councell the Soveraignty hath no firm Foundation but they frame a popular confusion or a miserable Anarchy which is the Plague of all Estates and Common-weales The which must be duly considered not giving credit to their goodly discourses which perswade subjects that it is necessary to subject Monarchs and to prescribe their Prince a Law for that is not onely the Ruine of the Monarch but also of the subjects It is yet more strange that many hold opinion that the Prince is subject to his Lawes that is to say subject to his wil whereon the Lawes which he hath made depend a thing unpossible in Nature And under this colour and ill digested opinion they make a mixture and confusion of Civil Lawes with the Lawes of Nature and of Cod. A pure absolute Monarchy is the surest Common-weal and without Comparison the best of all Wherein many are abused which maintaine that an Optimacy is the best kind of Government for that many Commanders have more Judgement Wisdome and Councell then one alone But there is a great difference betwixt Councell and Commandment The Councel of many wise men may be better then of one but to Resolve Determine and to Command one will alwaies performe it better then many He which hath advisedly digested all their opinions will soon resolve without contention the which many cannot easily performe it is necessary to have a Soveraign Prince which may have Power to Resolve and Determine of the opinions of his Councell The End