Selected quad for the lemma: honour_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
honour_n	earl_n	lord_n	viscount_n	2,547	5	11.7917	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00982	The nine English worthies: or, Famous and worthy princes of England being all of one name; beginning with King Henrie the first, and concluding with Prince Henry, eldest sonne to our Soueraigne Lord the King.	Fletcher, Robert, purveyor of carriages to Queen Elizabeth.	1606 (1606)	STC 11087; ESTC S118024	29,385	76

THE NINE ENGLISH WORTHIES Or Famous and Worthy Princes of England being all of one name Beginning with King HENRIE the first and Concluding with Prince HENRY eldest Sonne to our Soueraigne Lord the King AT LONDON Imprinted by H. L. for John Harrison the yonger and are to be sold at his shop in Pater-noster rowe at the signe of the blue Anchor 1606. TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE HENRY Eldest Sonne to our Souereigne the Kings most Excellent Maiestie RIght High Right Excellent and gracious sweete Prince in all humilitie I beseech your Highnesse to pardon me in that being one of the meanest among the King your Fathers seruants I haue presumed to Dedicate this simple small Treatise to your Excellencie the Subiect whereof is notwithstanding such and so great as may seeme vnmeete to bee tearmed a Subiect For it treateth onely of Kings and Princes all excellent Worthies a matter I confesse much vnbefitting my slender capacity and lesse learning to deale with In which regard I cannot but acknowledge the true Prouerbe most fitte to bee applied against me Blinde Bayard is the boldest horse in the Cart. Notwithstanding that which hath spurred me forward to commit the fault may I hope in some measure qualifie and excuse it to weet my seruent loue and zealous heart which cānot endure your Grace should passe by me without some little testimony of my great ioy zeale and bounden duety howsoeuer in the maner of expressing it my discretion may perhaps be worthily taxed and my insufficiencie layed open to the world But to proceede on The Worthies here recorded are nine in number all Henries al mighty Potentates eight of which haue already been Souereigne Kings of this renowmed Nation seuen of them excelling in Martiall valour and conquest one of them namely King Henry the sixt in vertue and pietie the conquest of sinne and himselfe and none of them much inferiour to some of the ancient nine Worthies Now your Highnesse being of the same name with them and Heire apparant to the same Dominions which those eight Worthies your glorious Ancestors sometime held and the blessed sonne of a mighty Monarch the eye of the World is vpon you and lookes for a transparent passage of their vertues into you and a reflexion from you the ioy and comfort of this famous Realme of Great Britaine aswell in Church as Common wealth is set and settled in and vpon you next to our King and present sauing Gouernour And their hopefull expectation hath already installed you the ninth Worthy as being likely in time I say not to equall the eight but euen to surmount and exceed them For as the ages since theirs haue been illustrated with more learning Religion and diuine wisedom so besides your gifts of Nature who in perfections hath not been niggardly towards you your Highnesse taking also your princely and happie education in a time of peace and that vnder the wings and eyes of the most learned King your father vertuous Queene mother and such a Councel of settled and deep wisedom as not the like in Europe your Highnesse I say hath herein meanes examples and leasure to heare learne behold and obserue the singular goodnesse of God in that which hereafter shall be your owne greatnesse and happinesse And here I may not forget your chiefest honour nobilitie and worthinesse that you are descended of the eldest and highest house of the blood royall of Heauen the child and sonne of God and consequently coheire with Christ our great Lord to the immortall Crowne Now the same God your heauenly Father who hitherto in rich mercie hath showred downe abundantly his graces vpon you vouchsafe to continue and increase them in you guiding al your princely affections and actions to the glorie of his name the benefit of the Church the good of this whole Monarchie the vnspeakeable ioy of your royall Parents and blesse both them and you as with much health long life and glory here so with eternall happinesse hereafter July the 4. Your GRACES most humbly deuoted ROBERT FLETCHER TO THE RIGHT HOnorable my very good Lords the Earles of Oxenford and Essex with my Lord Vicount Cranborne and the other yong Lords Knights and Gentlemen attending the Princes Highnesse health honour and happinesse NObles and Gentlemen Please yee to peruse the Chronicles of this Realme you may therein reade of many your famous and worthy Progenitors who some of them by Valour the rest by Wisedome and their other vertues haue growen great in Souereignes fauour been preferred to high Place in Common wealth liued and died in much glorie leauing an ouer-plus of honour and dignitie by many descents to you their children The consideration hereof may and I doubt not wil incite and egge you on who are already well entred the way to tread the same steps of honour by imitating those your worthy Ancestors in their vertuous actions For your tender yeeres are not ignorant that The readiest way to get and surest to hold true honour is to deserue it and consequently that Vertue onely which first began Nobilitie must still maintaine it whereas contrariwise by degenerate and base conditions many forfeit their Nability ere they come at it For who knowes not that Nobilitie without Vertue is but apocryphate Gentry and that therefore as it began in vertuous Ancestors so it endeth in their wicked progenie We see The strongest wine becomes the sharpest vineger and The most Noble by nature are made most vile by negligence Of which Ranke and sort are chiefly such as hold learning in scorne and the attaining of knowledge not worth the while In reproofe of whom truely and eloquently was it long since written by M. Ascham The fault is in your selues ye Noble-mens sonnes and therefore ye deserue the greater blame that commonly the meaner mens children come to be the wisest Counsailors greatest dooers in the weighty affaires of this Realme and why For God will haue it so by his prouidence because yee will haue it no otherwise by your negligence And againe It grieueth me to say but it helpeth not to hide what euery man sees T is seldome seene that the sonne of an excellent man prooues excellent I graunt that in excellent men Nature must frame the chiefest parts but learning addeth a further ornament groundeth a deeper iudgement and formeth perfection and excellencie in shorter time The best learned are best aduised And No man is deceiued but in those things whereof he is ignorant In a word What soeuer may bee saydin dispraise of Ignorance is the praise of Learning and Knowledge Wherefore I trust your Honours and the rest wil thinke it as great shame which also are M. Aschams words to be valiant and Courtly without Learning as to be studious and bookish without Valour My seruent prayers to almighty God shall be so to direct your generous hearts to the studie of good literature with the loue of vertue and true valour that you alwayes not onely in time