Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	esq_n	sir_n	thomas_n	4,066	5	9.8451	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26186	The lives of all the princes of Orange, from William the Great, founder of the Common-wealth of the United Provinces written in French by the Baron Maurier, in the year 1682, and published at Paris, by order of the French King ; to which is added the life of His present Majesty King William the Third, from his birth to his landing in England, by Mr. Thomas Brown ; together with all the princes heads taken from original draughts.; Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de Hollande et des autres Provinces-Unies. English	Aubery du Maurier, Louis, 1609-1687.; Brown, Thomas, 1663-1704.	1693 (1693)	Wing A4184; ESTC R22622	169,982	381

THE LIVES Of all the Princes of Orange FROM WILLIAM the Great Founder of the Common-wealth of the United Provinces Written in French by the Baron Maurier in the Year 1682 and published at Paris by Order of the French King To which is added the Life of His Present Majesty King William the Third from His Birth to His Landing in England By Mr. Thomas Brown Together with all the Princes Heads taken from Original Draughts Chara Deo Soboles Virgil. LONDON Printed for Thomas Bennet at the Half-Moon in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1693. To his Honoured Friend THOMAS CHAMBERS OF Hanworth Esq SIR THough I know what a just aversion you have to the common strain of Dedications yet with the usual assurance of an Authour of the Town I have presumed to inscribe this History to you so much too powerful was either my gratitude or my interest for the Complaisance I ought to have had for your Modesty As I have received too many Obligations at your hands not to endeavour at some sort of a requital if Addresses of this Nature don't rather serve to increase the Debt than to acquit it so I am too well acquainted with your Temper to offer at any thing that may look like Flattery 'T is I confess somewhat hard to be avoided upon these occasions and few Patrons quarrel with the poor Slaves that make these Applications to them for being too liberal of their Incense But you need not fear any such dreadful Entertainment from me For contrary to the received Practise of all my Predecessors in Dedication I intend not to say one Word in your Praise Nay what is more surprizing instead of being a Panegyrist I here come publickly to reproach you and that freedom as gross as it looks I know you will much sooner excuse than being praised I must therefore though it is much against my inclination to be the bearer of ill News take the boldness to inform you that the World speaks very strange things of you and such as I am afraid you will find it a difficult matter to justifie without the affectation of being singular It complains in the first place that in a time of Universal perfidiousness and degeneracy when the profession of Friendship serves only to usher in some piece of Treachery with a better grace you have the opiniatreté to be sincere and undesigning that at an Age wherein others of your quality wholly abandon themselves to their pleasures and generously neglect the pursuit of every thing besides you are so ill-natured as to use them only en passant and cannot be brought to allow that Learning sits ill upon a Gentleman and lastly that amidst so vast a Wealth which uses to have no other effect upon the rest of Mankind but either to make them neglect themselves or despise others you obstinately continue to be unfashionably virtuous and condescending I could tell you of several other objections of the like terrible importance that are frequently made against you but as by these I have mention'd you may sufficiently judge what malicious Worlds thinks of you I shall forbear to recount the rest And now Sir if I may be permitted to speak something of the following Translation I hope it is a Present not altogether unworthy of your Acceptance There is this at least to be said in the behalf of it which very few done out of the same Language can pretend to and that is the extream Scarcity as well as Excellence of the Original there being as far as I can inform my self not above four or five of them in England That very Book which my Friends and I made use of for you must give me leave here to inform you that I have but a small share in this performance and is now in the Possession of a Learned Gentleman had formerly passed the Hands of King Charles the Second for he having received a mighty Character of it was so impatient to read it over that he could not stay to be furnished with one of them from France but sent to borrow this As for the Author though I ingenuously own that I am so uncharitable to his Country-men as to believe they are for the general part as unfit to write History as Dutch-men are to write Epic Poems for Dutch Epic Poetry is down-right History disguised with Metre and French History as far as Fiction will make it so is down-right Poetry yet he has happily escaped the Genius of the rest of his Nation who are so apt to run out into strange Love-adventures and other Chimera's even upon the most solemn occasions and as appears by his Writings was a Person of great Quality Probity and Experience If he has any fault 't is this that he is now and then too much upon the Narrative but his Old-Age will excuse that Infirmity As for the rest he was a passionate Lover of Truth and an Adorer of true Merit where-ever he found it whether in Catholic or Hugonot Difference in Religion not being able to prepossess him to any Man's disadvantage if he were otherwise valuable In short he has discovered several important Matters of State which till he revealed them were Mysteries to all the World and I shall but do him justice when I say that he has joyned the unaffected Simplicity of Philip de Comines to the Veracity of the great Thuanus The last Life has been done by a modern Hand but though it does not come up to the former seems to be written with great Impartiality and Freedom I have thus given you a short Account of the Author It now remains that I should conclude which I find I must do in a different manner from most Dedications For whereas they generally end with some devout Wishes for the Person to whom they address you have been so eminently well treated both by Nature and Fortune that I can wish you nothing but what you possess already Therefore not altogether to depart from so ancient and received a Custom I will pray but it shall be for my self who need it most My first Petition is that you would be pleased to forgive all the defects in the Translation I mean in my own Part of it and my second that when your Candor has forgiven them you would once more employ it and pardorn this Presumption in Sir Your most Humble and Most Obliged Servant T. Brown The TABLE A. DUke of Alva sent to succeed the Dutchess in the Government of the Low Countreys page 19. Establishes a Councel of Twelve called the Councel of Blood p. 20 21. The Arch-Duke Brother to the Emperour Rodolphus chosen Governour of the Netherlands p. 64. Amsterdam surrendred to the States p. 65. Duke of Anjou invited into Holland p. 73. Retires into France and dies p. 113. Arminius and Gomarus their Quarrel p. 160 161 c. B. BArnevelt's Story p. 156 157 c. Bon besieged p. 240 241. And taken p. 242. Marquess de Bellefonds banished by the French King p. 251.