Prince and them Such Councellours had Rehoboam King of the Jews who when hls Subjects complained unto him of heavy burthens laid upon them by his Father by the advise of his Councell answered them that his little finger should lie more heavy upon them then all his Fathers body my Father chastned you with whips but I will chasten you with Scorpions such a kinde of fellow was Nicholas Gara a Count Palatine of the Kingdome of Hungarie who being exceeding powerfull with Queene Mary the daughter of Lewis the first gave his Counsell that she should not suffer her Peers to become too powerfull as wee hear'd before but how his Counsell took effect I have before remembred and what befell to the Councellours of Rehoboam every one can tell Sleidan reports that William Poyets the French Kings Chancellour was by the Kings speciall command taken out of his bed and cast into Prison with the generall applause of the people for that during the foure yeares that hee held his office he had offended all sorts of people Such is generally the end of these sort of people for when the Prince is once fully informed of their conditions to satisfie the people they punish them to their ruine and destruction Examples hereof wee have in Cleander Peter Lindais George Peiras and others concerning whom Philip Comines demands this queston and gives this answer who dares saith hee enquire into the actions of these Grandees who dare call them in question who dare bee the Iudge to execute judgement upon them if they offend the answer is the inquisition will bee the lamentation and cries of the people whom they have mercilesly opprest and trampled upon in every kind the teares of the Widowes and Orphans whose Husbands and Fathers they have put to death and generally all they whom they have persecuted either in their Bodies or Estates these will bring in an inquisition against them and deliver them over to receive their doom of him who is the onely true judge that will not peradvanture expect any other evidence but will punish them in this life so much hath Philip Comines * 50 Lex talionis 50 the Law of Talio is justly inflicted upon them It is good justice that they who have despised and contumeliously behaved themselves to wards others should be despised and contumeliously handled by others that they who proudly insulted over others should be reproachfully spoken of by others that they who by rapine and fraud have gotten the Estates of others should suddainly have their Estates by others taken from them that they that shewed no mercy should expect no mercy that they that commanded others to bee dragg'd to execution should bee dragg'd themselves that they that caused others that stood for the Church to be put to death should in the Church bee put to death themselves that they that endeavoured to deprive the Subject of his rights and priviledges should not onely lose the benefit of them but the benefit of the Law of Nations that they that caused others to bee put to death against the Law should before they bee heard or accused be put to death themselves that they which caused the rigour of the Law to be inflicted upon others should have the same measure measured unto them as is reported of * 51 Perillus. 51 Perillus who was the first that felt the punishment of the torment that hee himselfe invented These punishments doe not onely belong unto them that attaine unto their greatnesse by undue meanes but likewise unto them who being deservedly preferred do in the due execution of their places misbehave themselves for * 52 Non sufficet bene coepisse 52 it is not sufficient to begin well but wee must prosecute our good beginnings with sutable proceedings which is a very hard thing for him to do who hath attained to a great fortune for * 53 Fortuna est coena eos efficet caecos quoâ—om plexa est 53 fortune being blind her selfe makes them blinde likewise for the most part whom shee doteth upon and favoureth for while we are lulled asleep in her lap we grow carelesse and give occasion to such as love us not to circumvent us so as when there is no other cause yet too too great prosperity willl finde in it selfe sufficient cause to bring us to our graves with shame and ignorance Therefore it is no wonder if such as have power to doe what they will standing in feare of none become proud and insolent and have their imperfections made knowne unto the world for being on high they can do nothing but notice is taken of it whereas if they lived in a mean rank their faults would passe unregarded our nature is such there is no good thing in the world but it abuseth but most of all the prosperity and good fortunes wee injoy And why because our wils being prone to all wickednesse our prosperity adds spurs unto it and doth not onely move but continually administer occasion unto us to satisfie our unbridled lusts and affections Such as have attained to the greatest favour with their Princes by reason of their daily familiarity with them have in the end become most odious and contemptible in their height Sejanus Tiberius onely minion for the time for that he stiled himselfe Emperour and Tiberius governour of a poore Island Tiberius hated and detested the servant that hath beene delicately brought up from a Childe will challenge to himselfe the priviledge of a sonne at last saith Solomon For presuming upon the favour of their Princes they make them the subject of laughter neglect their commands vilifie them and mocke them assuming the honour of what is done to themselves attributing nothing to the power of the Prince So Joab slew Absalom the sonne of King David with his owne hand of his owne accord without the Kings approbation And though it was told him when hee was about to doe the deed that it was the Kings will to have his life saved and that he would call him to an account for it yet hee went on grieving the perplext King with most unbeseeming and unmannerly tearms but such things as these Princes forget not but keep them in a Register Tacitus reports how that Pallas through his pride exceeding the bounds of a free man drew hatred upon himselfe and how that Narcissus for that hee slew Messalina the Wife of Claudius without his consent put Claudius into a kinde of a phrensie and made him in passion say that Narcissus durst never attempt those things upon his Wife though she had deserved it unlesse that hee had first despised her Husband Such another was the Earle of St. Paul that was Constable of France of whom I have spoken before who upon all occasions relying on the favour of the Duke of Burgondy and the King of England would rise in rebellion against his Prince and that his power and greatnesse might still continue together with his stipends from the King
too high a pitch but had confined himselfe within a meane if one man might have deserved so mâ—ch as he had hee might have deserved it for that I cannot finde that ever hee reflected his thoughts upon himselfe to rayse any house of his name but ever sent forth his Treasure in handfulls that came in in spoonesulls and what he had the King knew the Kingdome knew because he exposed it daily to view hee that diligently reades this story will find that the King from the beginning used the Cardinall but as a sponge vid. Godw. de Epis Angl. G. Cavend in vita Wolsaei Polyd. lib. 27. m. H. S. Thu. lib. 1. * 30 Inter tres Principes Hee carried himselfe indifferently between the King his Master the King of England and the Duke of Burgondy Never did the Kingdome of France produce a more turbulent spirit then this Constable hee was the only Incendiary between the King his Master the King of England and the Duke of Burgondy and his ambition ever was rather to bee feared then loved for which hee grew a Odimus accipitrem qui semper vivit in armis contemptible and his death often threatned before it happened Commines writing of the tumultuous broyles that hapned between these Princes shews that there were two principall motives that occasioned the Constable and the Duke of Guyen to kindle the fire one was their own safety for they did conceive if there were a peace concluded that either the one or the other would fall fowle upon them the other was to compell the Duke of Burgondy by a War if they could not otherwise prevaile to marry his daughter being his daughter and heire to the Duke of Guyen and these designes were manifested to the Duke of Burgondy upon the delivering up of St. Quintins and Amiens to the King for the Duke beeng much troubled for the losse of these townes in a friendly manner writ unto the Constable not to presse a Warr being that there was no defiance offered unto whom the Constable perceiving that hee stood in feare of him which was the thing hee aymed at returned a peremptory answer to this effect that there was but one way for him to help himselfe which was to bestow his daughter upon the Duke of Guyen which if hee would doe not onely the said Duke but divers other Lords would declare themselves for him against the King and hee would redeliver St. Quintins and Amiens unto him and assist him with all his power otherwise hee would pursue the War which answere the Duke having received resolved to undergoe any misery rather then to have his daughter taken from him in that way and thereupon forthwith acquainted the King with those and the like letters which he had sent to the King of England who immediately revived the agreement made at Bonvines concerning the death of the Constable Of the letters which the Constable sent to the Duke of Burgondy and the King of England see Commines lib. 4. c. how the agreement at Bonvines was afterwards ratified and hee delivered by the Duke of Burgondy comming to him upon safe conduct see Commin lib. 4. See more of the Constable in the generall History of France in Lewis the 11. * 31. Peculasus accusatus suspendio affectus Enguerrande for robbing the Kings Treasure was accused and hanged Enguerrande was Earle of Longuevill and Superintendent of the Treasure under Philip the fourth called the fair and did him good service but Charles the Kings brother conceiving inplacable hatred against him in the beginning of the raign of Lewis Hutin accused him for robbing the Kings Treasure and gave this in evidence against him rerum vires nervusque pecunia est te interrogo Enguerranâ— cujusnam pecunia arcaque recondita clausaque cupiditati tuae fuerit non interrogo quam amplum patrimonium relictam tibi a Parentibus fuit tu te creasti tu te genuisti ingredere fiscum Regis inopiam invenies ingredere aedes istius gurgitis gazam Persicam invenies an virtute parta quae virtus in tali monstro potest esse and upon this evidence prevailed to have him hanged upon a gallowes set up at Mountfalcon See Paul Aemil. lib. 8. * 32. Petrus Laudoicus apud ducem Britaniae Peter Landais was in the like favour with the Duke of Britaine Peter Landais was the sonne of a very meane man of Vitry in Britanny and came to the Court very poore whom the Duke at the first imployed to carry his amorous Letters to his Ladies after made him the Master of his Wardresse then his Treasurer and in the end his power was so great that he did in a manner what he would hee was the man that caused the Duke to suffer Chauvin his Chancellour to dye miserably in prison of hunger and cold which so incensed the Nobility that they resolved to ease the Duke of him whereupon John of Chalon Prince of Orange and son to one of the Dukes Sisters and John of Rieux Marshall of Britanny and one of the greatest men in Court together with the Nobility resolved to surprise him in the Castle of Naâ—â—s or wheresoever they could finde him though in the Dukes presence which they performed And so Peter was arraigned condemned and hanged priusquam causam sciret dux as Paulus Aemilius hath it Vid Paul Aemil. l. 10. c. 8. supplem ad lib. 6. Com. Observations There is no man so vile and contemptible in the world but is good to some body this Peter that was thus hanged did one of the greatest curtesies to King Hen. the 7th that ever was done to him When King Edw. the Fourth sent unto Francis Duke of Brittany Doctor Stillington with others-laden with Gold to request him to deliver unto them the Earle of Richmond being his Prisoner upon pretence to unite the two houses by an alliance the Duke conceiving that hee intended to marry Elizabeth his Eldest Daughter unto him without any scruple took their Gold and delivered him but being informed afterwards by Peter his favourite that it was but a pretence and that hee meant to cut off his head sent him post after them who finding them at Saint Mallo staying for a winde took a course to have the Earle conveyed into the Sanctuary there yet possessed the Doctor and his fellowes that hee had no hand in it but that hee escaped of himselfe and when they prest to have him redelivered hee told them it could not be without his Masters consent and that they should very speedily know his minde therein So Peter sent to the Duke and the Duke sent a peremptory answer that hee had once delivered him and being that through their negligence they had suffred him to take Sanctuary hee would not take him out but would keep him there or in his own Palace for them so Peter cosened them of their mony and adventure as he had cosened his Master all his life time and sent them home without either
est 23 Plautianus was apprehended and being convicted by the Command of Anthony in the presence of Severus was put to death Vnto these Roman examples I will add one of the Graecians with Philip of Macedon the last King of that name There was a young man called Apelles that was so powerfull that hee might more properly bee called a King then a Favorite for that every City in Greece more observed and feared him then they did the King the King therefore by the advice of Aratus taking it to heart that this man looked after nothing more then the Empire * 24 Authoritatem omnem momento ademit 24 on a suddaine cast him off whereupon hee was thrown into Prison and shortly after put to death Polybius writing this History takes occasion to shew how happy and unhappy they that live in Princes Courts may be in a very moment of time he compares them unto suffrages which are accustomed to be given in Common-councells for as in Counsells saith hee it is in the power of the Senators to give Brasse or Silver so in the Courts of Princes it is in the power of the Prince to give honor or dishonor to make their servants either happy or miserable Hiero King of Syracuse in Sicilie when he dyed left his Kingdome to Hieronymo his Nephew and for that he was a child hee appoynted fifteene to see him vertuously educated amongst whom was Andronorus his sonne in law but the King was scant laid in his grave but Andronorus ambitious of Command eased the rest of that office of trust which was committed unto them affirming that Hieronymo was old and able enough himselfe to governe the Kingdome but by waving of the office which to him with others was joyntly committed hee got all the power into his own hand Hieronymo being young and vitiously addicted fell into all manner of evill courses and suddainly came to an untimely end Vpon whose death Andronorus possessed himselfe of the Tower and a great part of the City and fortified it with Garrisons for he he thought it more safe to run with the current and to yeild himselfe into the hands of the Senate though his Wife the daughter of King Hiero mad after Soveraignty often put him in minde to the end to encourage him to proceede in the course hee was in of what Dionysius was used to say that a man needed not to saddle a horse to leave a Kingdome hee might doe it well enough on foot intimating that it is an easie thing when a man will to part with a fortune but not easie to attaine unto it yet I say he thought it more safe for the present to submit o the Senate who made him one of their pretors but * 25 Nulla quies inâ—st animo dominandi Iibidine capto 5 his thoughts bein once possessed with a desire of Soveraignty he could not finde contentment in any thing else * 29 Vxore illum praesertim instigante 26 his wife principally animating him thereunto t lling him that now is the time if ever to stirr in it whilst the waters are troubled whilst the Souldiers are ready to accept of better pay then the Kings and whilst Hannibals Captaines are there ready to further his designe Which perswasion so prevailed with him that a second time hee took it into consideration how he might attaine to the Kingdome which being discovered he together with Themistius to whom hee had disclosed the whole matter was in the Senate house put to death Wee will passe from hence to the Historyes of other Countreyes and Ages Richard the first King of England reposed so much trust in William Bishop of Ely as that hee made him Chancellour of England Keeper of his great seale and Lieuetenant of the Tower of London at the same time hee prevailed with the Pope to make him Legat à Latere of England France and Jreland and when hee was to passe the Seas to wage Warr with the Saracens he left the Government of the Kingdome wholly to him and gave this charge to his Subjects that as they loved him and his Kingdome and as they desired to live in peace and prosperity and to enjoy their Possessions in safety that they would shew themselves obedient to his trusty and well-beloved Chancellour in all things that he should direct them that did concern him as if that hee were personally present so this man is now the greatest man in all the Western parts being in the Kings absence the Metropolitan of all England * 27 Dignitates quas pretio com paraverat immodetatè exercuit 27 hee executed the Diginities which hee purchased at deare rates with excessive cruelty and oppression and all respect of honesty set apart bent his thoughts only how he might fill the baggs again which hee had emptied to attain unto them he turned Vsurer and executed the office of Legat à latere which cost him a thousand pound with such cruelty that he became a burthen and eyesore to all the clergy of England he seldome rid with a lesse number then fifteene hundred of the Clergy to attend him and a band of Souldiers as if he had been a King as my Author saith and not a Bishop he was attended by the Sons of the Nobility whom he married to his kindred and happy did he think himselfe that could be gracious in his eyes there was no Land to be sold which he bought not no Church or Dignity void which he did not either bestow upon his friends or himselfe the keeping of all Castles and Townes by one meanes or other he engrossed and prevail'd so by his power that hee did what he would and no man durst once open his mouth to contradict him in any thing But it so happened that Iohn Earle of Mortaigne the Kings Brother calling the Peeres together to consult of the affaires of the State sent for this man likewise assuring him that he should safely come and goe but he suspecting them instead of coming unto them betooke himselfe for refuge to the Tower of London whereupon it was agreed by the Lords that he by whom the Church of God and People had received so much detriment should no longer govern in the Kingdom This Chancellour and his Adherents had so deceived the Kingdom of the Treasury that there was scarce any man that wore a girdle that had any silver in it any woman a chaine any Noble man a ring or any Iew had mony and indeed scarce any thing of worth was left in the Kingdome The Kings Treasury was emptied and nothing but the keyes and empty vessells found there The State of the Kingdome standing thus it was decreed that he should take an oath to relinquish all the power he had not to beare any sway any longer in the Government of the Common-wealth and to yeild up all the Castles that were committed to his charge especially the Tower of London These things hee put in pledges to
performe and left his Office of Legate à latere which he executed a yeare and a halfe to the great prejudice of the Church of England and the sea of Rome at last he put off his accustomed habit and in a womans apparell hee determined to crosse the Seas but at Dover his dalliance with a wench being discovered by a Marriner he was hill at beaten and afterwards drag'd through the streets to prison from whence as soon as he was fully delivered he most ignominiously and basely stole into Normandy his end was the more miserable by how much his fortunes were the greater Afterwards there * 28 Fuit quidam Comes Warwicensis qui à Rege E. 4. â—summam potestatem erectus oral 28 was an Earle of Warwick in the same Kingdome that was raised to such a height both of power and Estate by King Edward the fourth that he was not afraid to lay violent hands upon the Queenes Father and with many of his children and nearest friends to put him to death he placed such Officers about the King as he thought would do him best service and in the end took him Prisoner But not longe after the King escaping into Burgondy being assisted by Charles the then Duke he returned home overcame the Earle and made him fly for succour into France the Earle thence returning being assisted with divers Attendants put the King to the worst and made him fly into Holland for succour A second time the King returning being assisted by the aforesaid Duke set upon him overcame him and slew him with his Brother and many others In the Raign of King Henrâ— the eighth there was one named * 29 Tho. Wolsâ—us sub H. 8. 29 Thomas Wolsey that was very great with the King a man meanly descended but so proud and haughty that he became an eyesore not only to the Peeres and Nobility but even the King himselfe By the Kings speciall grace and favour he was promoted to the highest dignities to be Arch-Bishoh of York Bishop of Winchester to be a Cardinall to be sent Ambassadour and indeed next to the King to beare the greatest sway in the Kingdom but amongst other acts of his this was not the least that brought him in disgrace when King Henry began to distast Queene Catherine and to dote upon Anne of Boloyne this man undertook to procure a dispensation from the Pope which taking not so well as the King and he thought it would have done by degrees he fell out of the Kings favour and being apprehended by Thomas Duke of Norfolk was banished the Court and confined to his Bishoprick of Winchester which hee taking to heart with very griefe dyed The Kingdome of France will afford us many Examples in this kinde and amongst those it is reported of the Earle of S. Paul that having been advanced by Lewis the eleventh to bee Constable of France and to many other honours and preferments out of which he raised a very great revenue that in the end he somuch forgate himselfe that he studyed how to make the King stand in awe of him and for that purpose * 30 Mediocriter se gessit inter tres principes 30 he ever carried himselfe indifferently between the King his Master the King of England and the Duke of Burgondy one while standing for the one another while for the other ever desiring to keepe them at variance that so the one or the other might still stand in need of him And so it happened that the King his Master desiring to speak with him hee would not come unto him but with a power able to withstand him if occasion were offered he met him upon a Bridg where he talked with him as sawsily as if he had been his equall and familiar supposing that to be the way to preserve and increase the power he had obtained but he was deceived for all men seeing his malepertnesse and insolency were offended at him and studyed how to pull him down And it so happened that coming to the Duke of Burgondy upon safe conduct the Duke apprehended him and sent him to the King his Master with all such Letters as he had formerly written to him against the King Vpon which being araigned as also upon such Letters as he had written unto the King of England was thereupon condemned his estate confiscated and he put to death In the same Kingdome under Philip the faire one Taggerrandus Marrianus attained to so much power that nothing was done in the Kingdome without his approbation * 31 Peculatus accusatus suspendio affectus est 31 yet this man for robbing the Kings Treasures was accused condemned and hang'd * 32 Petrus Landaicus apud ducem Britaniae potens 32 Peter Landais likewise with the Duke of Brittaine attained to the like favour yet by the violence of the multitude he was taken from the Duke and judicially condemned and hanged as Paulus Aemilius in his History of France relates the story To passe over into Spaine in the Kingdom of Castile there was * 33 Alvarus de Lunâ 33 Alvarus de Luna borne in Arragon of a Noble house but a Bastard borne out of Wedlocke that grew to such a heighth of power with King John that no man in the Kingdome was so powerfull as he he tooke armes against John King of Navarre and used all meanes to oppresse Henry Knight of the order of Saint James but it so fell out that the Queen opposing him by the assistance of the second King of Navarre and Henry Knight of the order they surprized the King and compelled Alvarus to live upon his owne possessions and happy had hee beene if hee could have so contented himselfe but hee that once tasted of the sweetnesse of Soveraignty can hardly finde contentment in a private life hee begins then a second time to bethink himselfe how hee might attaine to his former height from which hee was throwne downe hee sets the King at liberty installs him in the Kingdome sits at the sterne keeps under his Enemies and incenses the King against them but this prosperity continued not and brought him to an untimely death for when as by the Kings speciall Commandement one of the Nobility delivered a message unto him which was not pleasing he caused the Messenger to be throwne out of the window for the which the King did afterwards ever more hate him then he did formerly love him for caused him to be apprehended and being judicially condemned to be put to death Vnto the former I will adde the Example of a Germane out of the seventh book of the Annals of Aventinus With Rudolfe Palsgrave of Rheyne and Duke of Bavaria there was Ortho Crondorser in the greatest grace and favour he came of meane Parentage and comming to Court by his double diligence in readily observing and gravely executing whatsoever was committed to his charge within a very short time became very gracious in the eyes of the Prince by
which were exceeding great hee ever laboured to keep the King in Warr that so he might be beholding to him to assist him when occasion offered it selfe for he together with his associats did rather aime at their private good then the good of their Countrey But these and the like devises as they are most ridiculous in themselves so they are to none more pernicious then to the Projectors as is manifested in the History of the Constable before mentioned most exactly written by Philip Commines Nicholas Picunnes Generall of the Army of Philip Duke of Millane after that he had brought the Earle of Francisfort and the Army of his confederates into such a straight that he was assured of the victory he broke forth into such a height of insolency that forgetting himselfe and the charge that was committed unto him he calls to minde how long he had served the Duke in the Warrs and that during all that time he had not gotten so much land in his service as would cover his body when he was dead and therefore he began to expostulate what reward should be given for all his services and because it lay in his powet to deliver into the Dukes hands the whole Conntrey of Lumbardy and all those Enemies that did oppresse him he required of the Duke as a reward for his service the City of Placentia the which unlesse hee would grant hee plainly told him he would return home and leave the field this mans insolency so much offended the Duke that rather then he should have his will he was content to leave an assured victory so suffered himselfe to be carried away with the insolency of this man whom no danger or feare of Enemies could ever move a jot wherefore hee concluded Peace with the Earle and commanded Pricinius with his Army to quit the Country accusing fortune as a step-dame whereas there was no fault in her but in Pricinius insolency Tacitus reports of Lentulus Getulicus being made Generall over the Army of the upper part of Germany and being suspected and accused by reason of the inward familiarity between him and Sejanus was so bold as to send Letters unto Caesar shewing that the familiarity between him and Sejanus was not occasioned of his own head but by the advice of Tiberius and therefore it was nor strange but that he as well as Tiberius might be deceived neither could that be imputed unto him as an errour of wilfulnesse for that he ever carried an honest heart to him and resolved ever so to do though he had been often tempted to quit his allegiance and could endure no more to heare that Sejanus should succeed in the Empire then he could endure to heare of his damnation But in conclusion Tiberius and Getulicus made a League as it were that Tiberius should enjoy his Dominions and Getulicus his Province Tacitus affirmes that the bold menacing Epistles which Getulicus writ unto Tiberius did him no hurt at all for Tiberius wisely considering in what case hee stood how he was growen old and not beloved of his Subjects and that he had not power of himselfe suffered him alone of all Sejanus his adherents to live in peace and enjoy his favour But without doubt this did much trouble Tiberius that was of a cholerick disposition and a high spirit and if hee had lived long he would have called him to an account but hee considered that Getulicus lived farr from him and what hee writ proceeded from the bottome of a good conscience and out of an honest heart There is another thing that doth commonly happen to such as are grown proud with prosperity that the same cruelty which they have without controule executed upon their equals and inferiours in the end they execute upon their Soveraign Experience hereof we have in England in Richard Nevill Earle of Warwick who being highly advanced by the King after that he had compassed the death of the Queenes Father her children and many others that were neare and deare unto the King at last was not afraid to rise in Rebellion against the King wherefore * 54 Ne quempiam suorum nimia potestate afficeret 54 Moecaenas wisely counselled Augustus that he should not suffer any of his Subjects to grow too great least thereby they should grow so powerfull as to dare to attempt any thing against him There are others that carry themselves more moderately and warily that relinquish the service of their Prince that raignes and follow and adore the rising Sunne apply themselves to him that is to succeede in the Empire as Macro did but these kinde of people never continue long in favour for by their behaviour to the former Prince they are deservedly had in suspition by the later and undergoe the punishment in his time which they deserved in his praedecessours peradventure they which saucily upbraid their Prince as Clytus did Alexander with what they have deserved are not so much to be condemned as the former that abandon their service yet it is most distastefull to a Prince to be told of any such thing for that they are more pleased in hearing what rewards they have conferred then in hearing what any man hath deserved The deserts of a Subject are so long acceptable to the Prince as it is in the Princes power when hee will to come out of his debt but when he thinkes he hath deserved so much that hee cannot well requite him then doth hee requite him with perpetuall hatred for this very cause did Adrianus Caesar remove Tatianus and his fellow from their jurisdiction and government to whom he was indebted as much as his Empire came to as Spartianus saith but it was imputed to their popularity and if there were no other cause to make a man hatefull in the eyes of his Prince this alone were sufficient for there is no Prince of so poore a spirit or slender capacity that will indure such malepert fellowes for it is naturally ingrafted into Princes not to suffer an equall or a competitor And there is good cause why such men should be ever had in suspition and be neglected by them for that they are easily corrupted and drawn into Rebellion and it is wonderfull to see how that they who have attained to the greatest favour with their Princes are ever buzzing into their eares that they should not suffer their Subjects to grow too great and how in the mean time they so dote upon them that they doe not perceive that they alone are the men of whom they admonish the Prince to have an eye but in the end the Prince by one meanes or other being made sensible of the burthen hee beareth and being weary of them casts them down and if there were no other motive to induce them therunto the too much liberty those men do assume to themselves of doing what they wil and the fear they stād in by reason of them were sufficient to occasion their removall this was the cause why
Nero removed Seneca of whom for a long time he stood in awe hee was used to say he knew not where to hide himselfe from Seneca no not within his skin unlesse hee did dispatch him out of the way Councellours were not wanting that did suggest unto him that hee being past a Childe growne to mans estate hee should cast off his Master having Senators at hand that could better advise him so Tiberius the Emperour for a long time for the love that the Souldiers and People bare unto Germanicus reverenced him insomuch that during all the time that hee was advised by him he carried himselfe very moderately in the Empire yet in the end for the same cause hee hated him and secretly caused him to bee put to death For the same cause likewise Nero caused Octavia his beloved Wife who ever carried her selfe modestly and obediently towards him to bee removed So * 55 Galfridus Iustitiarius Angliae sub Iohanne 55 Jeffrey a Justiciary of Enâ—land that flourished in the dayes of King Iohn being one that was well experienced in the Law and by reason of his riches his allies and his honours was become the most powerfull man in the Kingdome was in the end more feared then beloved of the King insomuch that when the King heard of his death he brake out and swore by the feet of God that then and not before was he King and Lord of England Wherefore Alvarus Castro perswaded Sebastian King of Lusitania who died in Africa that hee was in some sort oppressed by his Subjects Martianus Gousalesius and his adherents and that they were the very King and he bore but the shape and shew of a King insomuch that when his Secretary brought unto him a Charter of small consequence to bee signed by him by the perswasion of Alvarus and his associates he affirmed that he could do it safely without any scruple for that hee made no doubt of his Soveraignty untill he came to Lizborne For the same cause likewise that is because hee challenged a kinde of Soveraignty over his fellows was Duke Albinus hated of Charles the Emperour but more of Philip although hee observed them both and did them faithfull service from his childe-hood to his old age for the space of sixty yeares wherefore it befalls these en as Titus Livius reports of the Romane Empire that arising out of the dust it grew to such a greatnesse that in the end it became a burthen to it selfe for as our bodies when they grow and swell too much as we have seen a man in Luxenburgh are burthens to themselves unhealthfull and subject to diseases So it happens with them that out-strip their fellowes in magnificence their greatnesse is oftentimes the cause of their ruine and destruction as they which climb on high whilst they cast their eyes alwaies upward never downwards are brought at length to such a streight that they cannot looke downe without being giddy nor stand where they are in safety nor come downe without danger So it fares with them that sâ—rmount the ordinary pitch of their fellowes being in as great danger as hee that holds a Woolfe by the eares and as John Hannois a Captaine of the Gauntois was who being circumvented in a certaine Temple by the Souldiers of the Earle of Flanders when they set fire on the Temple hee betooke himselfe to the Steeple for refuge and when the fire came neare him hee was put to his choice whether he would dye upon the speare or be burnt in the fire and he chose whereby wee may perceive how dangerously they which are on high do stand to dye by the speare wherefore it is reported that Maecenas should say unto Octavius Caesar of Agrippa whom hee had preferred to the highest degree of honour that thou must make him thy son in Law or put him to death greatnesse is attained with no lesse danger then Vsurpers doe attaine a Kingdome which to doe is unjust to relinquish dangerous wherefore Julius Caesar was used to say that they which have once attained to greatnesse can never after endure to lead a private life which saying of his wee shall finde to bee most true if wee looke into the lives of the best men in whom their â—reatnesse hath occasioned their ruine and destruction wee may read of many that have been for a time without exception for life and conversation and by their good services have purchased their Princes favour yet in the end have been questioned for their lives upon a small occasion and feined suspition Example hereof we have in Seneca neither is it strange it should be so for they that stand on high are not only troubled with the vertigo in their heads but with infirmities in their leggs as they cannot stand without feare so they cannot come down without danger so that Tacitus affirmes * 55 Fatum potentiae est quod rarò sit sempiterna 56 That is destinated unto greatnesse not to be of long continuance and he produceth Maecenas for an example where likewise he speaketh of Salustius Crispus so long as Maecenas saith he was but the second in the Empire so long he lived securely and happily but when hee came to be the chiefe man even hee into whose bosome the Emperour did empty all his secrets then he began to decline and to loose the favour which hee had formerly gained so that what Tacitus affirmes of greatnesse is most true if it be not founded upon a sure foundation Fortune is alwaies fickle and every thing that mortall men enjoy upon earth uncertain as it is in the Comaedian and so much the more uncertain by how the greater a man is the greatest honours are attended with the greatest cares and feares neither is there any state more uncertain then the estate of great men wherefore they have need when they have attained their wished desires to pray to God to preserve them in the state which they have long desired and prayed for A chiefe cause hereof is for that the favour of Princes is subject to alteration which Tacitus glanceth upon in the examples of Maecenas and Salustius before alledged where he shews a twofold cause thereof the one of destiny of which we have spoken before the other their own greatnesse and fulnesse when the Prince hath given them so much that hee can give no more and they receive so much that they can crave no more then doth he ease them of the burthen as Amiratus hath at large dscovered but the true cause thereof is for that Princes are men and subject to the infirmities of men and the minde of man is of a fiery nature and changeable upon every light occasion for as the imagination of man will in a short time well conceive a thousand severall things passe over a thousand severall places so the minde of man will in a moment be of a thousand severall opinions therefore it is truly said that the minde of man delighteth in novelties Wherefore
the French Knig Lewis the eleventh after he changed his bed-chamber men and others that waited upon him was used to answer all such as taxed him for it that nature delighted in novelties many other causes may be added as the naturall inclination and disposition of man and accidents which do often fall out which doe alter and change the minde of the Prince as Spartianus affirmes that Adrianus the Emperour had an open eare to heare any thing that could be told him of them unto whom he professed the greatest love wherefore all those that he most affected and advanced to the highest degree of Honour in the end he esteemed no better then enemies so Henry the third King of England esteemed of * 57 Hugo de Burgo pro to justiâ—iarius Angliae sub H. 3. 57 Hugo de Burgo cheife Justice of England being one that deserved well both of King and Common-wealth who for the love that he bore unto him and to the safty of the Realme did incurr the displeasure of all the Nobility of the Kingdom for by instigation of Peter Bishop of Winchester he did not only withdraw his affections from him but deprived him of his office and persecuted him with all extremitie But most memorable are the examples of the Earle Vlrick Cilensis and Vlrick Eizingerus in the Country of Austria when Ladislaus sonne of Alburt King of Hungary and Bohemia and Arch-Duke of Austria took upon him the Government of the Kingdome during his minority both the King and Kingdome were in the power of the Earle who being an eyesore to many especially to Vlricus Eizingerus a man most powerfull with the King he privily acquainted him how odiour the Earle was among many of the inhabitants of Austria and unlesse hee did take some course with him hee did verily perswade himselfe they would rise in rebellion for that hee injuriously took from them their mony pillaged the Common-wealth filled his own emptied the Kings Treasury and I may Boldly say his power was so great that he ruled as King and did what he would only he left the bare title of King unto the King There is nothing that makes us more degenerate from our selves and transgresse the lawes of God and men then ambition it was not enough for him to enjoy the second place of the Kingdom but he must covet after the first neither is it a marvell that he that of late would not endure an equall should not now admit of a Superiour wherefote Vlricus perswaded the King speedily to banish him the Court who departed thence with four Knights only left his place to Eizingerus * 58 Cum quatuor tantum militibus insultante plebe vix manibus temperante ex urbe proficiscitur 58 the people rejoycing thereat and hardly forbearing to lay violent hands upon him But this Eizingerus not long after being complayned of to the King by Pancratius Plankenstanius the King before the yeare came about sent for the Earle and honourably received him and restored him to his former dignity Eizingerus left the Court with much grace and favour wisely yeilded unto the times and betooke himselfe to live upon his own Possessions and it is said that the Earle did much applaud him for so doing for that hee had learned by his own example that the minds of Monarks are carried hither and thither in a moment which Gerardus de Roo taking into consideration commended the saying of him who compared the Minions of Princes unto counters with which wee cast account which being removed from place to place stand sometimes for much sometimes for little and sometimes for nothing A cause likewise wherefore Princes doe withdraw their affections from their Minions is to give their Subjects satisfaction whom they have grieved and oppressed examples whereof we have before alledged unto which we may add the example of Duke Borgio Valentino whom Nicholas Machivell hath remembred who after that hee had reduced Flaminia to his obedience hee made Remerus Orcus a cruell man and a great undertaker governour thereof who so carried the matter that in a short time hee had every man at his beck yet not without a great deale of cruelty which drew the hatred of all men upon him insomuch that the Duke to winn their hearts againe was faine to acquaint them that if any exorbitances were committed in Flaminia by Orcus it was done of his own accord without his consent or approbation and so he took that occasion early in the morning to have his body divided into two parts and girding a sword by his side with a wooden scabberd exposed him to the view of the multitude in the market place which when the people saw they went home every one well satisfied Envy is ever an attendant of such a man and not undeservedly for whosoever is advanced by meer favour without any desert of his owne or approbation of the people to have rule and authority over others of more worth the people will hate and despise for the favour of a Prince is like unto a faire Virgin whom many affect and will not indure that she should looke more favourably walke or talke more frequently with any then with themselves so that between men of this condition there is seldome or never any true friendship or familiarity for upon every light occasion they study how to bring one another in disgrace Tully well saith there is no faith or friendship observed when a Kingdome is at stake for whatsoever is of that nature that many may contend for yet but one can injoy The contention is great but faith and honesty little hee that dotes upon one seems to neglect all others And hee is a very bold Prince as Christopher Besoldus observes that for the love of one will draw the hatred of the multitude upon him Examples hereof we have before alledged in Nicolas Gara Count Palatine of Hungary and in others and during the raigne of the French King Henry the second in Amiralius Comestabilius and the Chancellour who having attained to the chiefest degrees of honour envied each others prosperity How incertaine the condition of mortall men is upon Earth Sleidan hath sufficiently shewed by his owne example And who is ignorant of the civill Warres which have been in France both in the dayes of our progenitors and in our owne memories for this cause onely that the government of the Kingdome hath been committed unto such unto whom it did not belong This Hanniball the great Captaine of the Carthaginians found to be true by wofull experience for he being forced to leave his Country betook himselfe to Antiochus King of Asia who so well behaved himselfe during the time that he was with him that within a very short time hee became very gracious in his eyes therefore when the King made warre against the Romanes hee would have made him commander of his fleet had not Thoas Aâ—tolus disswaded him to the coÌ„trary saying it was too much honor unto him
of Croatia and within short time took him Prisoner caused his hands to bee bound to hot irons and his flesh with burning pincers to bee pull'd from his body and what remained to be divided into four parts and to be hanged upon the Gates of the City the rest that were accessaries to the Queens death hee caused to be beheaded Observations upon the usurpation of Carolus Whatsoever is gotten by usurpation is never of any long continuance Henry the Fourth King of England and King Henry the fift may peradventure for a time enjoy the Scepter but de male quaesiitis non gaudet tertius haeres the Grandchilde Henry the sixt shall never enjoy it quietly Richard the third may peradventure for a time flourish and prosper but God in the end will release a poore Prisoner out of Brittany to take revenge of the bloud of his Nephews King Hen. the 7th was 15 yeares a Prisoner with the Duke of Brittany Com. lib. 6. Carolus of Apuleia may for a moment insult over the weaker Sexe and usurpe upon Maria but in the end 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 right will prevaile Leo minimarum avium pabulum fiet and the Crowes shall prognosticate his destiny ferunt enim as saith Bonfinius quod paulo post Coronationem Caroli innumera multitudo Corvorum regiatecta circumvolabant tuâ—matim fenestras impetabant veluti strangulati crocitabant nulla vi repellipotuissent Bonf. lib. 3. dec 1. CHAP. II. * 36. Quisque peculiari munere devinctus est Every one is called to one calling or other SAint Gregory condemneth the vaine conceit and presumption of those Astrologers that attribute so much unto the Planets that say if a man be borne under Iupiter he is destinated unto riches and honour if under Mercury unto Wisedome and Knowledge that give the reason wherefore seldome is the rich man wise or the wise man rich for that these Planets are seldome in conjunction Jupiter being the slowest of the Planets and not being able in a lesse space then twelve yeares to compasse the Earth and Mercury being the swiftest of them every yeare going about it so as they seldome meet or if they doe they stay not long together this foolish conceit every Christian ought to reject for that wee are taught that there is nothing done in the World without the divine providence of the Omnipotent the World is a Stage and every one that commeth into it hath his part to act assigned him from Heaven to one the part of a King to another of a Subject to one of a Priest to another of a Prophet to one this to another that David Cyrus Paul Ieremy had their severall parts David had his dixit Dominus Prophetae surge unge hunc hic est ille the Lord said unto Samuel rise up annoint him for this is the man Cyrus had his propter servum Iacobum Isralitum electum meum propterea me vocasti de nomine tuo cognominavi te quamvis ignores me Saint Paul had his Paulus apostolus non ab hominibus neque per hominem sed per Iesum Christum ac Deum patrem qui suscitavit eum â—â— mortuis and the Prophet Ieremy had his cum nondum formavissem te in utero matris agnovi te cum non prodiisses e vulva sanctificavi te Prophetam ipsis gentibus constitui te There is no man so meane and contemptible but hath his part assigned him and though in the first or second scene hee may personate some fisher-man shepheard or heardsman yet oftentimes in these poore men doth God shew his power and omnipotency Daâ—id was for many yeares 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a poore shepheard forlorne and neglected and not esteemed as one of the sonnes of lesse for when the Prophet came unto Bethlem and invited lesse with his Sonnes to a Banquâ—t David was not amongst them Sala and Nathaniel Rael and Asam were there but as for David he was in the fields with his flocks and when as the Prophet would have annointed one of them because they were faire and of comely countenances the spirit of God sharply reproved him saying God judgeth not as men do by the outward lineaments of the body but by the inward perfections of the mind and that the man that hee look't after was not there the Prophet then enquiring what other Sonnes hee had David was then made know unto him and of him he said hic est ille and thereupon Vngitur Iessaides qui regia sceptra gubernat David was annointed * 37. Contemptus inter fratres Ioseph was hated of his Brethren Hee was hated even unto death for had not Ruben stickled for him and shewed them how abominable a thing it was to murther a Brother an innocent Brother of tender yeares whose yeares required their tuition and for no other cause but because of the blessings which God had bestowed upon him of which they might be partakers by reason of their neernesse in bloud unto him they had killed him * 38. Venditus in servitutem Ioseph was sold into bondage The Merchants that bought him were cer aine Merchants of Arabia that carried Spices from the Country of Galedena into Aegypt who sold him againe to Potiphar the Steward of King Pharoh his house in whose service he behaved himselfe so well that his Mistresse fell in love with him and because he would not yield to her amorous encounters shee accused him to her Husband that hee attempted to sollicite her Chastity and to defile his bed * 39. Conjectus in Carcerem Ioseph was cast into prison Vpon the false accusation of his Mistresse hee was cast into prison where hee remained for the space of two yeares but in the end God delivers him and verifies the vision which hee saw in his dreame that his Brothers sheafes of Corne worshipt his and that the Sunne Moone and Eleven Starres humbled themselves before him Exod. 37. * 40. Per aequa iniqua gratiam Principis quâ—runt They seek by fraud bribery and all other unlawfull meanes to attaine their ends Nemo unquam imperium flagitio quaesitum bonis artibus exercuit saith Tacitus with whom agrees Josephus in his seventh Book of the antiquity of the Iewes saying that he that hath attained to any honours and preferments by undue meanes will not stick to use meanes more pernicious to continue the same So did Ioab as wee have said before to support his magnificence murder Abner and Amasa so did Sejanus to support his greatnesse make love unto Livia the Wife of Drusus and procured her to bee accessary to her husbands death as Tacitus hath it in the fourth Book of his Annalls So did Tigellinus by his wicked practises wherein onely he did excell oblige Nero unto him Tacitus lib. 14. So did Perennis advise Commodus to take his pleasure in the Countrey Dion Cas lib. 72. * 41 Ministri facinorum ut exprobrantes aspiciuntur Princes ever behold the instruments of villany with threatning
Non sufficit benè caepisse It is not sufficient to begin well If hee that plants a vineyard be not as carefull to hedge it in as hee was to plante it he shall receive but little fruit of his labour if he that builds a ship bee not as carefull to furnish it with tacklings as hee was to build it his ship will doe him but little service if he that wins a Castle be not as provident in the keeping of it as hee was in the getting it had been better for him in the beginning to have sate still and done nothing in vaine doe wee plow sowe reap thrash winnowe and bring our corne unto the mill if the mill be out of order and shall spoyle it after so much paines taken finis coronat opus if Nero his last daies had been like to his quinquennium hee had been one of the most renowned Princes of the world if Tiberius had ended his raign as he began hee had excelled Augustus but because they desisted the wayes of vertue their faults were more conspicuous and it had been better for them never to have known them then having known them to abandon them againe so as it is not sufficient to begin well * 53. Fortuna caeca nos efficit caecos Fortune being blinde blindeth them whom shee doteth upon The Heathens of old time deified fortune under which name they comprehended worldly prosperity for a blinde Goddesse that sits at the doore of felicity and keeps out mortals from comming to the tables of the Gods k Improba non novit leges fortunae illa odit plerumque bonos blanditur iniquis that rules upon earth without reason and understanding that makes fooles her favorites and wisemen her vassals that is as variable as the Moon and whom at first shee most affecteth at last she most neglecteth that begets children like herself mad and blinde and brutish lifteth them up to the clouds where shee suffers them for a time to domineere over the inferiour bodyes and afterwards to make her selfe merry throwes them down with a vengeance and sits laughing at them Ridendo fallere novi Sub risus specie deprimo quem que mei * 54. Ne quenquam suorum Mecenas counselled Augustus not to suffer any of his Peeres to grow too great It hath been a custome amongst the Turks as we may read in their generall History in the raign of Amurath the third for the Princes assoone as they have been Crowned to put to death their younger brethren that so the eyes of their Subjects may wholly bee fixt upon them in other Countryes it hath been a custome to oppresse and keep under the Nobility for feare of Rebellion but these bloody and barbarous customes have been used only amongst barbarous men in debellatis regionibus and in Countryes that have been conquered but in every Christian settled Common-wealth the Peers are to the Prince as the stars to the firmament their greatnesse is his glory for the greater they are the greater must hee needs bee that commands them it was the common saying of Ptolomy King of Egypt quod regalius est super divites dominari quam divitem fore when Maximilian the Emperour would at any time set forth the glory and magnificence of the Romane Empire he was used to say that the Emperour of Germany was Rex regum for that hee had a superintendency over such as had power to make lawes raise Souldiers and coyne mony whereas other Princes had not so when a controversy grew between two great Lords upon this occasion quod alter altero potiorem se esse dixisset that the one should say hee was a better man then the other it was thus decided that the one should acknowledge that the other commanded better men then he The wise King saith in multitudine populi consistit dignitas Regis in the multitude of Subjects consisteth the glory of a Prince n Huc valdè pertinet illud Castilionis si Circe aliqua Gallos omnes in feras commutaret nonne Gallorum Regem Principem despicatissimum diceres etiamsi imperium in tot belluas haberet e contâ— a si omnia armenta quae in montibus circumvagantur in potentes sapientes transfererntuâ— nonnè pastores harum belluarum tanquam dominos poâ—entissimos aestimares it is as true in magnitudine populi in the greatnesse of Subjects consisteth the glory of a Prince every meane cotrager hath pira cerasa Peares and Cherryes in his Orchard but every meane Cottager hath not Palmas Cedros Palme and Cedar trees every meane Gentleman hath his horses and dogs but noâ— his Pumiliones Leones Tigres his Dwarfs Lyons and Tigers m Animalia rara apud principes olim in pretio fuere Dicitur de Ludovico ii quod valde operosus erat in raris animalibus comparandis e Britannia canes grandi pecunia summa comparabat ex Sicilia mulos a Neapoli spetiosos equos ab Africa genus parvulorum leonum Com. lib. 9. these rarityes are ensignes of greatnesse and provided for Princes an great personages Every petty Prince and meane Lord hath the command of macellarios usurarios ferrarios of Butchers Brookers and Braziers but every meane Lord hath not a command of a loyall gentry and prudent nobility Renegathoes are fit attendants for Turkes and Tyrants but for Christian Princes Potentes Nobiles Ier. 1. Lam. 15. wherefore the Prophet Jeremy doth not complaine in his lamentations that God tooke from him his macellrios vel usurarios sed abstulit magnificos meos de medio mei hee took his nobles from him but yet as it is in the naturall body if the foot shall swell and equalise the head in greatnesse there is a depravation of nature and a deformity in the body so it is in the politique if any one of the Peeres shall so farre out-strip his fellowes in magnificence that the rest must depend upon him here are two Sunnes in the Firmament and this body is out of order wherefore Maecenas wisely councelled Augustus that hee should not suffer any of his Peeres to grow too great what inconveniences have growen by suffering of Peers to grow too great see Com. lib. 3. of the Earle of Warwick lib. 4. Of the Constable of France Iean du Seres Of the Majors of the Kings Palace in Clotaire Clovis 2. Thiarry 2. Childerick 5. and in Pippin and Dion Case of Sejan lib. 57 59. * 55. Galfridus Iustitiarius Angliae Geffry a Iustitiary of England by reason of his allies was more feared then beloved of the King Offences are sometimes taken not given Matthew Paris speaking of this Iustitiary giveth this Encomium of him that he was firmissima regni columna and that after his death the Kingdome was quasi navis sine gubernaculo Mat. Paris in Ioh An. 1213. * 56. Fatum potentiae est quod raro sempiterna It is destinated unto greatnesse not to be of long continuance The world by the
ancients is aptly termed a game of inconstancy wherein there is nothing but shufling and cutting the Card that now is on the top anon is in the bottome anon discarded Tib who whilome rul'd as Commanders the next dealing if trump withdraw his Colours are of no better esteem then a common Card vix horae momentum nonnunquam inter est inter solium solitudinem saith Seneca heur malheur se suivent tour a tour good lucke and bad follow each other turne by turne O dii boni saith the Orator quid est in hominis vita diu O good God what is there of any continuance in the World 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as are most powerfull with their Princes are aptly compared to counters which now stand for a â—ound anon for a Cipher every mortall thing is fading fleeting and transitory n De Ludovico iidicitur quod dicere solebat naturaÌ„ hominis novitate delectari ideoque crebro mutasse cubicularios Com. lib. 9. The mindes of men are desirous of changes and alterations and those whom we now most affect anon after wee most neglect Besides the many examples which our author hath set forth see one memorable one in the generall History of the Turkes in the raigne of Solyman the magnificent of Abrahem the Visier Basse President of the Councell * 57. Hugo de Burgo proto-justitiarius Angliae Hugh de Burge chiefe Iustice of England Invidia virtutis comes besides the testimony which our Authour hath given of Hugh de Burgh Matthew Paris goes further and saith that hee was miles strenuus fidelis Constable of Dover Castle which hee stoutly defended against Lewis of France and the Barons of England in the behalfe of the King who when Lewis sent unto him after the Kings death Mat. Par. in Ioh. An. 1213. to have him deliver up the Castle with large promises that he would make him one of his Councell and confer upon him many honours returned this answer though the King bee dead yet he hath left behinde him filios filias qui ei debent succedere and that to the uttermost of his power hee would in their behalfe defend and keep it Mat. Par. in H. 3. initio ne illud turpiter reddendo notam proditionis incurreret yet notwithstanding by the instigation of Peter Bishop of Winchester the King did not onely withdraw his affections from him and deprive him of his Offices but prosecuted him with all severity * 58. Plebe vix manibus temperante The people hardly forbearing to lay hands upon him Demosthenes being banisht Athens lifting up his hands towards the City made a bitter invective against it saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O Minerva that hast the government of the City committed unto thee why dost thou harbor within thee three most insufferable beasts the Nightbird the Dragon and the Common-people hee rankes the multitude in Athens with the most unlucky creatures and not without cause 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the common sort of people in Athens are a most ingratefull and barborous kinde of people persecuting them most that have most deserved of them nullum fretum nullus Euripus tantas tam varias habet agitationes fluctuum the Sea doth not so often ebbe and flow as the unstable multitude change their mindes if one sheep transgresse the bounds of the pasture all the rest will follow after and for no other reason but because hee went before When Earle Vlrick Ciliensis was banisht by Ladislaus the peoples hatred was such unto him that had not the Marquesse of Brandenburgh brought him to the Gates of Vienna the people would have stoned him yet when the King the next yeare received him into favour againe Aeneas Sil. Hist Europ c. 22. eadem plebs as Aeneas Sylvius observes quae paulo ante lâ—tum lapides in fugientem jactare tentavit sternere viam floribus qua redeunti transitus fuit non dubitavit the very same people that threw dirt in his face the yeare before strowed flowers in his way the yeare after When the Nobility of Hungary deposed Maria and set up Carolus Parvus the common people cried susus colus sunt arma mulierum imperium mulieri non aliter quam clitella bovi convenit down with her down with her for that it is against the Law of nature that men should bee subject unto women Spindles and Distaffes doe better become women then Scepters yet not long after as soone as ever hee was Crowned Bons dec 3. lib. 1. â—eruÌ„ Hungar they fell off from him quem iniquè as saith Bonfinius imprudenterque multitudo affectavit mutatis subinde animis oderit whom not long before they so much affected without any reason within a short time after they hated and neglected cum fortuna statque caditque fides populi * 59 Inquilini sui putant juris esse Natives thinke it their Birth right to be governed by men of their owne Nation Some have been of opinion that there is no better way to advance the good of a City then to open the gates to let in strangers into it for that therby the City is empeopled which is the glory of a City but these men neither tooke into their consideration either that of Eunius Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque that thereby the foundation of the City the ancient Lawes and Customes are endangered for that strangers desire to be governed by their own Lawes or the seditious and tumultuous Insurrections which thereby usually are occasioned for that Natives will not endure that strangers should carry away the fat and sweetnesse of their Countrey or the Lawes of Lycurgus who by his Lawes advenas in urbe residentes abegit ne alieujus noxae doctores forent others have gone further and have thought it a speciall meanes to advance the good of a City to suffer strangers to execute places of authority there because thereby correspondency is kept with Forraigne Nations but King James utterly opposeth it and therefore amongst many other things which hee giveth in charge to Prince Henry in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee giveth him this Caveat cavendum est ut ne peregrino homini publicum mupus committas and Lipsius shewes the inconveniences thereby saith hee the Prince draws much hatred upon himselfe for when the Natives of a Countrey where many able men are to be found doe perceive the Prince to preferre strangers before others they doe alien their affections from them and oftentimes betake themselves to the service of Forraine Princes Again the Commonwealth cannot bee well governed for that it is impossible that strangers should know the manners and conditions of the people or the state of the Common-Wealth in any degree like unto Natives or if they did yet generally they fayle in fidelity and true affection nam qui potest in alienam remp benè agere in qua illud semper