Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	henry_n	king_n	succeed_v	3,874	5	9.6480	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51327	Utopia written in Latin by Sir Thomas More, Chancellor of England ; translated into English.; Utopia. English	More, Thomas, Sir, Saint, 1478-1535.; Burnet, Gilbert, 1643-1715.	1684 (1684)	Wing M2691; ESTC R7176	83,905	208

this he makes no scruple of aspiring to that Character and thinks it is rather meritorious to be ambitious of it when one desires it only for advancing the Christian Religion and not for any Honour or Advantage that may be had by it but is acted meerly by a pious Zeal Therefore I earnestly beg it of you if you can possibly meet with Raphael or if you know how to write to him that you will be pleased to inform your self of these things that there may be no falshood left in my Book nor any important Truth wanting And perhaps it will not be unfit to let him see the Book it self for as no Man can correct any Errors that may be in it so well as he so by reading it he will be able to give a more perfect judgment of it than he can do upon any Discourse concerning it and you will be likewise able to discover whether this Vndertaking of mine is acceptable to him or not for if he intends to write a Relation of his Travels perhaps he will not be pleased that I should prevent him in that part that belongs to the Utopian Common-Wealth since if I should do so his Book will not surprize the World with the pleasure which this new Discovery will give the Age. And I am so little fond of appearing in print upon this occasion that if he dislikes it I will lay it aside And even though he should approve of it I am not positively determined as to the publishing of it Mens tastes differ much some are of so morose a Temper so sour a Disposition and make such absurd Iudgments of Things that Men of chearful and lively Tempers who indulge their Genius seem much more happy than those who waste their time and strength in order to the publishing some Book that tho of it self it might be useful or pleasant yet instead of being well received will be sure to be either loathed at or censured Many know nothing of Learning and others despise it a Man that is accustomed to a course and harsh Sile thinks every thing is rough that is not barbarous Our trifling Pretenders to Learning think all is slight that is not drest up in words that are worn out of use some love only old things and many like nothing but what is their own Some are so sour that they can allow no Iests and others are so dull that they can endure nothing that is sharp and some are as much afraid of any thing that is quick or lively as a Man bit with a mad Dog is of Water others are so light and unsetled that their Thoughts change as quick as they do their Postures and some when they meet in Taverns take upon them among their Cups to pass Censures very freely on all Writers and with a supercilious liberty to condemn every thing that they do not like in which they have the advantage that a bald Man has who can catch hold of another by the Hair while the other cannot return the like upon him They are safe as it were of Gun-shot since there is nothing in them considerable enough to be taken hold of And some are so unthankful that even when they are well-pleased with a Book yet they think they owe nothing to the Author and are like those rude Guests who after they have been well entertained at a good Dinner go away when they have glutted their Appetites without so much as thanking him that treated them But who would put himself to the charge of making a Feast for Men of such nice Palats and so different Tastes who are so forgetful of the Civilities that are done them But do you once clear those Points with Raphael and then it will be time enough to consider whether it be fit to publish it or not for since I have been at the pains to write it if he consents to the publishing it I will follow my Friend's Advice and chiefly yours Farewel my dear Peter commend me kindly to your good Wise and love me still as you use to do for I assure you I love you daily more and more The Discourses of RAPHAEL HYTHLODAY Of the best State of a Common-Wealth Written by Sir Thomas More Citizen and Sheriff of London HENRY the 8th the unconquered King of England a Prince adorned with all the Vertues that become a great Monarch having some Differences of no small Consequence with Charles the most serene Prince of Castile sent me into Flanders as his Ambassador for treating and composing Matters between them I was Collegue and Companion to that incomparable Man Cuthbert Tonstal whom the King made lately Master of the Rolls with such an Universal Applause of whom I will say nothing not because I fear that the Testimony of a Friend will be suspected but rather because his Learning and Vertues are greater than that they can be set forth with advantage by me and they are so well known that they need not my Commendations unless I would according to the Proverb Shew the Sun with a Lanthorn Those that were appointed by the Prince to treat with us met us at Bruges according to Agreement they were all worthy Men. The Markgrave of Bruges was their Head and the chief Man among them but he that was esteemed the wisest and that spoke for the rest was George Temse the Provost of Casselsee both Art and Nature had concurred to make him eloquent He was very learned in the Law and as he had a great Capacity so by a long practice in Affairs he was very dextrous at them After we had met once and again and could not come to an Agreement they went to Brussels for some days to receive the Prince's Pleasure And since our Business did admit of it I went to Antwerp While I was there among many that visited me there was one that was more acceptable to me than any other Peter Giles born at Antwerp who is a Man of great Honour and of a good Rank in his Town yet it is not such as he deserves for I do not know if there be any where to be found a learneder and a better bred young Man for as he is both a very worthy Person and a very knowing Man so he is so civil to all Men and yet so particularly kind to his Friends and is so full of Candor and Affection that there is not perhaps above one or two to be found any where that is in all respects so perfect a Friend as he is He is extraordinarily modest there is no artifice in him and yet no Man has more of a prudent simplicity than he has His Conversation was so pleasant and so innocently chearful that his Company did in a great measure lessen any longings to go back to my Country and to my Wife and Children which an absence of four months had quickned very much One day as I was returning home from Mass at St. Maries which is the chief Church and the most frequented

of discovery when he that can best make it is put out of the way so that the terrifying Thieves too much provokes them to cruelty But as to the Question What more convenient way of Punishment can be found I think it is much easier to find out that than to invent any thing that is worse Why should we doubt but the way that was so long in use among the old Romans who understood so well the Arts of Government was very proper for their Punishment they condemned such as they found guilty of great Crimes to work their whole Lives in Quarries or to dig in Mines with Chains about them But the Method that I liked best was that which I observed in my Travels in Persia among the Polylerits who are a considerable and well-governed People They pay a yearly Tribute to the King of Persia but in all other respects they are a free Nation and governed by their own Laws They lie far from the Sea and are environed with Hills and being contented with the Productions of their own Country which is very fruitful they have little commerce with any other Nation and as they according to the Genius of their Country have no appetite of inlarging their Borders so their Mountains and the Pension that they pay to the Persian secure them from all Invasions Thus they have no Wars among them they live rather conveniently than splendidly and may be rather called a Happy Nation than either Eminent or Famous for I do not think that they are known so much as by Name to any but their next Neighbours Those that are found guilty of Theft among them are bound to make restitution to the Owner and not as it is in other places to the Prince for they reckon that the Prince has no more right to the stollen Goods than the Thief but if that which was stollen is no more in being then the Goods of the Thieves are estimated and Restitution being made out of them the Remainder is given to their Wives and Children And they themselves are condemned to serve in the Publick Works but are neither imprisoned nor chained unless there hapned to be some extraordinary Circumstances in their Crimes They go about loose and free working for the Publick If they are Idle or backward to work they are whipp'd but if they work hard they are well used and treated without any mark of Reproach only the Lists of them are called always at Night and then they are shut up and they suffer no other uneasiness but this of constant Labour for as they work for the Publick so they are well entertained out of the Publick Stock which is done differently in different places In some places that which is bestowed on them is raised by a charitable Contribution and tho this way may seem uncertain yet so merciful are the Inclinations of that People that they are plentifully supplied by it but in other places Publick Revenues are set aside for them or there is a constant Tax of a Poll-mony raised for their Maintenance In some places they are set to no Publick Work but every privat Man that has occasion to hire Workmen goes to the Market-places and hires them of the Publick a little lower than he would do a Free-man If they go lazily about their Task he may quicken them with the Whip By this means there is always some piece of Work or other to be done by them and beside their Livelyhood they earn somewhat still to the Publick They wear all a peculiar Habit of one certain colour and their Hair is cropt a little above their Ears and a little of one of their Ears is cut off Their Friends are allowed to give them either Meat Drink or Clothes so they are of their proper Colour but it is Death both to the Giver and Taker if they give them Mony nor is it less penal for any Free-man to take Mony from them upon any account whatsoever And it is also Death for any of these Slaves so they are called to handle Arms. Those of every Division of the Country are distinguished by a peculiar Mark And it is capital to lay that aside and so it is also to go out of their Bounds or to talk with a Slave of another Jurisdiction and the very attempt of an escape is no less penal than an escape it self it is Death for any other Slave to be accessary to it If a Free-man engages in it he is condemned to slavery Those that discover it are rewarded if Free-men in Mony and if Slaves with Liberty together with a Pardon for being accessary to it that so they may find their Account rather in repenting of their accession to such a design than in persisting in it These are their Laws and Rules in this Matter in which both the Gentleness and the Advantages of them are very obvious since by these Means as Vices are destroyed so Men are preserved but are so treated that they see the necessity of being good and by the rest of their Life they make reparation for the Mischief they had formerly done Nor is there any hazard of their falling back to their old Customs And so little do Travellers apprehend Mischief from them that they generally make use of them for Guides from one Jurisdiction to another for there is nothing left them by which they can rob or be the better for it since as they are disarmed so the very having of Mony is a sufficient Conviction and as they are certainly punished if discovered so they cannot hope to escape for their Habit being in all the parts of it different from what is commonly worn they cannot fly away unless they should go naked and even then their crop'd Ear would betray them The only danger to be feared from them is their conspiring against the Government but those of one Division and Neighbourhood can do nothing to any purpose unless a general Conspiracy were laid amongst all the Slaves of the several Jurisdictions which cannot be done since they cannot meet or talk together nor will any venture on a Design where the Concealment would be so dangerous and the Discovery so profitable and none of them is quite hopeless of recovering his Freedom since by their Obedience and Patience and by giving grounds to believe that they will change their manner of Life for the future they may expect at last to obtain their Liberty and some are every Year restored to it upon the good Character that is given of them When I had related all this I added That I did not see why such a Method might not be followed with more advantage than could ever be expected from that severe Justice which the Counsellor magnified so much To all this he answered That it could never be so setled in England without endangering the whole Nation by it and as he said that he shook his Head and made some grimaces and so held his peace and all the Company seemed to

be of his mind only the Cardinal said It is not easy to guess whether it would succeed well or ill since no trial has been made of it But if when the Sentence of Death were past upon a Thief the Prince would reprieve him for a while and make the Experiment upon him denying him the privilege of a Sanctuary then if it had a good effect upon him it might take place and if it succeeded not the worst would be to execute the Sentence on the condemned Persons at last And I do not see said he why it would be either injust or inconvenient or at all dangerous to admit of such a delay And I think the Vagabonds ought to be treated in the same manner against whom tho we have made many Laws yet we have not been able to gain our end by them all When the Cardinal had said this then they all fell to commend the Motion tho they had despised it when it came from me but they did more particularly commend that concerning the Vagabonds because it had been added by him I do not know whether it be worth the while to tell what followed for it was very ridiculous but I shall venture at it for as it is not forreign to this Matter so some good use may be made of it There was a Jester standing by that counterfeited the Fool so naturally that he seemed to be really one The Jests at which he offered were so cold and dull that we laughed more at him than at them yet sometimes he said as it were by chance things that were not unpleasant so as to justify the old Proverb That he who throws the Dice often will sometimes have a lucky Hit When one of the Company had said that I had taken care of the Thieves and the Cardinal had taken care of the Vagabonds so that there remained nothing but that some publick Provision might be made for the Poor whom Sickness or Old Age had disabled from Labour Leave that to me said the Fool and I shall take care of them for there is no sort of People whose sight I abhor more having been so often vexed with them and with their sad Complaints but as dolefully soeveras they have told their Tale to me they could never prevail so far as to draw one Penny of Mony from me for either I had no mind to give them any thing or when I had a mind to it I had nothing to give them and they now know me so well that they will not lose their labour on me but let me pass without giving me any trouble because they hope for nothing from me no more in faith than if I were a Priest But I would have a Law made for sending all these Beggars to Monasteries the Men to the Benedictines to be Lay-Brothers and the Women to be Nuns The Cardinal smiled and approved of it in jest but the rest liked it in earnest There was a Divine present who tho he was a grave morose Man yet he was so pleased with this Reflection that was made on the Priests and the Monks that he began to play with the Fool and said to him This will not deliver you from all Beggers except you take care of us Friars That is done already answered the Fool for the Cardinal has provided for you by what he proposed for the restraining Vagabonds and setting them to work for I know no Vagabonds like you This was well entertained by the whole Company who looking at the Cardinal perceived that he was not ill pleased at it only the Friar himself was so bit as may be easily imagined and fell out into such a passion that he could not forbear railing at the Fool and called him Knave Slanderer Backbiter and Son of Perdition and cited some dreadful Threatnings out of the Scriptures against him Now the Jester thought he was in his Element and laid about him freely he said Good Friar be not angry for it is written In patience possess your Soul The Friar answered for I shall give you his own words I am not angry you Hangman at least I do not sin in it for the Psalmist says Be ye angry and sin not Upon this the Cardinal admonished him gently and wished him to govern his Passions No my Lord said he I speak not but from a good Zeal which I ought to have for Holy Men have had a good Zeal as it is said The Zeal of thy House hath eaten me up and we sing in our Church that those who mock'd Elisha as he went up to the House of God felt the Effects of his Zeal which that Mocker that Rogue that Scoundrel will perhaps feel You do this perhaps with a goodintention said the Cardinal but in my Opinion it were wiser in you not to say better for you not to engage in so ridiculous a Contest with a Fool. No my Lord answered he that were not wisely done for Solomon the wisest of Men said Answer a Fool according to his folly which I now do and shew him the Ditch into which he will fall if he is not aware of it for if the many Mockers of Elisha who was but one bald Man felt the Effect of his Zeal What will become of one Mocker of so many Friars among whom there are so many bald Men We have likewise a Bull by which all that jeer us are excommunicated When the Cardinal saw that there was no end of this Matter he made a sign to the Fool to withdraw and turned the Discourse another way and soon after he rose from the Table and dismissing us he went to hear Causes Thus Mr. More I have run out into a tedious Story of the length of which I had been ashamed if as you earnestly begged it of me I had not observed you to hearken to it as if you had no mind to lose any part of it I might have contracted it but I resolved to give it you at large that you might observe how those that had despised what I had proposed no sooner perceived that the Cardinal did not dislike it but they presently approved of it and fawned so on him and flattered him to such a degree that they in good earnest applauded those things that he only liked in jest And from hence you may gather how little Courtiers would value either me or my Counsels To this I answered You have done me a great kindness in this Relation for as every thing has been related by you both wisely and pleasantly so you have made me imagine that I was in my own Country and grown young again by recalling that good Cardinal into my thoughts in whose Family I was bred from my Childhood And tho you are upon other accounts very dear to me yet you are the dearer because you honour his Memory so much but after all this I cannot change my Opinion for I still think that if you could overcome that aversion which you have to the Courts of Princes