THE Political Testament OF M. Jean Baptist Colbert Minister and Secretary of State THE Political Testament OF M. Jean Baptist Colbert Minister and Secretary of State Wherein is contain'd All that hath pass'd under the Reign of LEWIS the XIV unto the Year 1684. With Remarks upon the Government of the Kingdom of France Translated out of French LONDON Printed for R. Bentley at the Post-House in Russel-Street in Covent-Garden M DC XCV TO THE Right Honourable SIDNEY Lord Godolphin Baron of Rialton One of the Lords Justices for the Administration of Affairs in the absence of the King first Commissioner of the Treasury and one of his Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council My Lord ALL who have the happiness to be acquainted with Your Lordship know how litttle You love or want a Dedication and I should not have presum'd to fix Your Name to this were there not a kind of necessity for it but when I reflect on the Character of my Author so like and in so many circumstances agreeing with Your Lordships where can I draw so exact a Parallel where could I make choice of so fit a Patron For whether I consider the late Famous Monsieur Colbert either in his publick or private Capacity in justice to his Memory I must compare him to Your Lordship being otherwaies unable to describe him as he deserves and in this I am sure I have outdone the Original tho' I fall much short of it in the Translation The Reader may observe he was Comptroller general of the Finances in France the most like to a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in England a Station Your Lordship hath long maintain'd with so great Honour Justice Integrity and Prudence that You never deservedly made an Enemy nor undeservedly preferr'd a Friend I may well say long considering the different prevailing Parties in our Nation but You have still preserv'd Your Interest by the same Merit You acquir'd it what ever Changes have happen'd You have never deviated from Your own just Principles and none hath better demonstrated that Infallible Maxim an Honest Man is the best Politician But tho' Honesty is the best and ought to be the chief Ingredient in a Statesman there are other extraordinary Qualifications Stars of a lesser Magnitude which shine bright in Your Lordship a sound and steady Judgment a clear and ready Wit a quick Apprehension a perfect Knowledge of Languages Foreign Courts and Customs an absolute Command of the Passions an easie and affable Behaviour and a true Application to Business without its tedious forms and incumbrances 'T is these Exemplary Vertues that justly recommend Your Lordship to all Good Men and all Good Men to Your Lordship It is very difficult to quit so fruitful a Subject but I am to remember to whom I am speaking and tho' I cannot say enough to my Reader I must not say too much to Your Lordship I will therefore trouble You no longer hoping the Honesty and Usefulness of the Subject will atone for the Imperfections of the Translation and the importunity of MY LORD Your Lordships Most Faithful and Obedient Servant William Granvill THE EPISTLE TO THE KING SIR GOD hath so visibly appear'd in Protecting your Majesty's Reign that I am verily persuaded your Majesty doth in no-wise attribute to your Own good Conduct those happy Events which have made your Kingdom so Glorious and humbled its Enemies GOD answer'd the Prayers of all your good Subjects and gave You to them in a time when there was little hope of their being heard since it was not till after Twenty three Years Barrenness he began by the Miracle of your Birth to declare He had chosen you from all Eternity to be one of the most perfect Works that have been for a long time upon Earth So certain a Truth and so generally acknowledg'd by all your Subjects ought also to be known to Strangers that they may be convinc'd the Mighty Hand of GOD acteth for you against your Enemies But seeing there is in almost all other Courts but a meer outward appearance of Piety while it shines so bright in yours they attribute all your Majesty's Prosperity only to your good Fortune without lifting up their Eyes to Him who is the Lord of Hosts and without whosâ— Aid 't is impossible for any one to expect Victory It were to be wish'd your Enemies had been sooner undeceiv'd and in good time convinc'd That it is GOD alone who protects you then there had not been so much Blood spilt in the War which you have so gloriously ended and the Lives of an infinite Number of Men might yet be spar'd who seem destin'd to perish in the same Quarrel For your Majesty by having given a Peace to Europe hath not quite extinguish'd the Jealousie of many Potentates wherewith they feel themselves disquieted When they see what great Things are done by you they do but watch for an Opportunity to be reveng'd and rather than they will yield to those Submissions which one of your Ministers requires from them 't is very likely they will hazard All to keep All. But SIR may I be so bold to ask Whether all that this Minister doth be any Service to your Majesty I fear you may think the little good Correspondence which hath hitherto been between us puts me upon this Questâ—on The deep Wounds which your Majesty knows better than I he hath endeavour'd to give me by his frequent Addresses to your Majesty to make you suspect my Fidelity may incline you to believe That my Resentments are still great enough to prompt me to do by him as he hath dealt with me But GOD forbid that I should be more concern'd for my own Interest than for your Majesty's having no other aim but to represent faithfully to your Majesty how things are A Great KING who hath in his Hands the Government of a large Kingdom doth not always know what his Ministers do especially when he gives them the same Authority which you do to the Marquess of Louvoy Publick Ministers Faults are usually imputed to their Master and if War happen to ensue How many People suffer for the Guilt of one particular Person It seems to me that Monsieur Louvoy was the cause that the War lasted so long 'T is true the end of it hath prov'd glorious to your Majesty but it cannot be said you owe it to his good Conduct 'T is evident that by him the Safety of your Realm was brought into danger out of which nothing but the Hand of GOD deliver'd you He is then answerable to all your People for the Blood he hath cost ' em Besides had your Majesty been less respected and admired he might have perhaps made you lose the Love of your Subjects for you who are their Father ought to be as sparing of their Blood as of your own Is it not likewise very strange that a Minister who never saw War but in Paint should pretend to know more of it than all yonr
totally defeated that they have never since been able to recover their loss But without robbing that Prince of any part of his Glory we may say That this success was owing to none but God for had he not taken your Majesty into his Protection the Enemy might have advanced to the head of a narrow Way through which the General must have past in their presence They might also have fallen upon him when by the inconvenience of the Ways he was oblig'd to divide his Army But beside all these Difficulties there was an apparent danger in giving Battel for had it been lost the Enemy might have march'd to the very Gates of Paris But 't is sometimes God's Will that neither Party shall think of doing that which they should do and then he leads those step by step whom he hath resolv'd to protect The happy success of this Battel of Rocroy was follow'd with a Joy that was the more sincere because your Subjects had a tender Love for your Majesty and the Queen your Mother The Persecution she had suffer'd as well as Mary de Medicis during Cardinal Richelieu's Ministry procur'd your Mother a great deal of pity and as Pity is usually accompany'd with Esteem the more unhappy she had been the more People resolv'd to follow her Fortune However it ought to be observ'd it was otherwise with Mary de Medicis for all People saw her departure out of the Kingdom with dry eyes no body was concern'd but her own particular Servants and Domesticks Upon which may be made this very good Reflection That Princes soon lose the Love of their best Subjects by their ill Government She had shewn too much Favour to Mareschal d'Ancre and his Wife both of her own Country to be pity'd by the People And as in France as well as in other Places they do not love to obey Strangers the Grandees murmur'd at it and left the Court because the Queen little regarged their Complaints The King your Father also grew jealous of their Power which caus'd the Assassination of the Mareschal and the tragical end of his Wife However it was very ill digested and God be thanked we have not seen your Majesty's Reign stain'd with any thing like it A King never doth well to dip his Hands in the Blood of his Subjects When they deserve Punishment they ought to be legally prosecuted in a Court of Justice which perhaps sometimes cannot be safely done when a Subject becomes so great that his Master hath just cause to be afraid of him Wallestein was such a one and therefore the Emperour Ferdinand III. was excusable for commanding he should be kill'd Henry III. had the same reason to rid himself of the Duke of Guise when he was upon the point of usurping his Kingdom and shutting him up in a Monastery But except in such cases a Criminal is to be put into the hands of Justice not only for the Prince's own sake but because it is necessary the People should know that the Person is guilty Henry IV. took this course with Mareschal Biron for tho' he fear'd that if Biron perceiv'd his Designs were discover'd he might raise Troubles in the Kingdom yet that did not hinder the King from having a greater regard to what he ought to do for his own sake than for what might thappen The Queen your Mother SIR had done well had she taken example by that which befel Mary de Medicis she had not then brought the State as she did within so near being lost by the choice she made of Cardinal Mazarin to succeed Cardinal Richelieu His being a Stranger made all your Subjects forget the Obedience that was due to their Soveraign It was to no purpose to tell them He had already done great Services to the Crown and was still able to do greater because he understood foreign Affairs better than any other Person which indeed is absolutely necessary for a Publick Minister But they fancy'd these Reasons not so good as their own nor could they be beaten out of their Opinion That he being born a Subject of the King of Spain was never to be trusted And accusing the Queen-Mother of being more a Spaniard than a French-Woman they seem'd to repent the Pity they had had for her which appear'd in their confessing Cardinal Richelieu had reason to persecute her tho' all the Sufferings she had endur'd had no other foundation than a pretended private Intelligence she kept with the King of Spain her Brother But so People might satisfie their Passion they car'd not at what Price they did it I have reason to call all that Passion which was done a little after the Death of the King your Father since it is certain that your Subjects do not alway call Reason to their Aid If they had they would have seen that the Queen your Mother was not so much to be blam'd as they thought seeing she had preferr'd before others a Man that was able to keep up the Reputation the Crown had gotten in foreign Countries and knew what course was to be taken to meet there with success 'T is that which all the World doth not know tho' it be a thing of very great Consequence My Brother whom your Majesty Honour'd with making him Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs took the liberty many times to represent it to your Majesty but the Marquess Louvoy who hath Maxims very contrary to those Great Men's who have preceeded him in the Administration of the Kingdom destroy'd in a moment all that he strove to do But I know not whether the Marquess will always have Reason on his side because he makes use of the Strength only of your own Subjects which Cardinal Richelieu who knows as much as he did not do when he carried the War into Germany made Catalonia and Portugal revolt and led the way to the low'ring of the House of Austria Indeed tho' your Kingdom be very powerful and your Majesty hath a third part at least increas'd its Strength by your Conquests yet 't is contrary to good Sense to exhaust all its Forces Your Majesty will be better able to maintain the War by arming other Princes in your Favour But to do that you must treat them like Soveraigns as they are and not pretend as Monsieur Louvoy doth because they are your Majesty's Inferiours they ought to look upon themselves as Slaves Your Majesty perhaps knows not what Answer he made to the Elector Palatine's Envoy who complaining at the beginning of the Holland War That his Master was no better treated than those who were actually in Arms against you the Marquess told him That it did not become such a petty Prince as his Master to make so great a Noise about so small a Matter That your Majesty was not bound to give an account to any Man of your Actions And That the Elector's standing so much on his Points was the way to lose the Honour of your Friendship Such great Words SIR may
Pennance for his Faults because it brings him again to himself and there is nothing which makes us wiser than those Mortifications which we did not expect they that have the Wind still with them run the hazard of never knowing themselves The Prince having quitted his party your Majesty thought rather of pacifying your Kingdom than of driving the Enemy from the Frontiers which you flatter'd your self might be easily done when it was at Peace within it self The Province of Guyenne was still in Arms for the Prince of Condé the Prince of Conti was in Bourdeaux where as a Prince of the Blood he was so considerable as to draw many to take part with him in his Disobedience the Count d'Ognon was in Brouage where ill Example made him play the Tyrant Great Forces were requir'd to reduce those People because of their Intelligence with the Spaniards from whom they receiv'd Assistance But your Majesty considering it wou'd be easier to gain them by fair means you made the one Mareschal of France upon Condition he deliver'd up the Place he kept into your Majesty's Hands and granted the other very considerable Terms if he wou'd quit his Brother's Party Your Majesty who had found a way to make Cardinal Mazarin return and to settle Peace in Paris where you had again fixt the Parliament in its usual Seat And having now no more Domestick Troubles to fear you did not only raise Forces to secure your Frontiers but to raise your Reputation very much lessen'd abroad You had lost all you had in Catalonia your Affairs in Italy were also in an ill Condition those in Flanders not in a much better Case and of so many Conquests which I have already mention'd no more remain'd to your Majesty but Arras in Campagn the Enemy kept St. Menehout Mouzon and Rhetel upon the Frontier of Picardie Le Catelet and Capelle in Bourgundy Bellegard wherein were the remains of the Prince of Condé's Faction Here was work enough for a young Prince who had not yet the experience of Riper Years but your Majesty having prudently begun with that which seem'd to be of greatest Consequence you besieg'd Bellegard and became Master of it having thereby cut off the Head of the Rebellion You hardly knew what to do next so much were you press'd on all sides The Prince of Condé was enter'd into Picardy where he had taken Roye the Arch-Duke threaten'd Campagn these two Places were of like Importance to you but you cou'd not remedy all at once the Forces of your Kingdom were exhausted so that your Majesty was oblig'd to do things by degrees one after another You march'd to the Relief of Picardy made the Enemy quit Roy and afterwards besieg'd Rhetel which being taken you made your self Master of Mouzon In the mean time the Enemy possess'd themselves of Rocroy for which you were reveng'd by reducing St. Menehout to your Obedience Your Arms in Catalonia began to be dreaded you took there several strong Places and you had taken the Town of Gironne had it not been for a Miracle wrought by Heav'n in favour of your Enemies They plac'd on the Rampart a little Cabinet wherein were the Reliques of a holy Bishop of that City and presently there appear'd such an infinite number of Flies which fell upon your Army that all your Cavalry was astonish'd at it The Horses not being able to abide it broke their Bridles and run cross the Fields they roll'd themselves in the Mire to get rid of the Flies and many perish'd so that seeing the Enemy was ready to make use of the Advantage they had by so favourable an Accident it was thought fit to raise the Siege In Italy you carry'd the War into Milanez where the Count de Grancé whom you had made a Mareschal of France took Carpignan and beat the Marquess Caracene whom the King of Spain sent against him You were now oblig'd to acknowledge the Government of England tho' at the same time your Kindness and Justice led you to protect him who was the lawful Prince thereof But the Spaniards who sought to make an Advantage of your Aversion to Cromwell's Usurpation and were treating with him to your Prejudice you had recourse to the only means left you to secure your self against the Mischief they intended you You offer'd him your Mediation to accomodate the differences amicably which were then between England and Holland of which you were very willing to see an End because they might have proved very much to your Enemies Advantage This was a great deal for a State which had been so Sick to be free from Convulsions which had like to have brought it to its Grave But as in long Sicknesses there are often Relapses Count Harcourt whom your Majesty had made use of to reduce the Rebels to their Duty became one himself He found a way to get into Brisac where the Garrison being at his Devotion he design'd to erect a Kind of Soveraignty in Alsatia if he had been strong enough to support the Burthen The Spaniards did all they cou'd to oblige him to put the Place into their Hands but not offering enough to tempt him he refus'd them and thought of agreeing with the Duke of Lorrain who had enough to pay him well for there was not a Prince who had so much ready Money as he but being an Idolater of it he could not resolve to part with so much as Count Harcourt demanded so that the Business hanging long in Suspence it came at last to nothing because the Spaniards who distrusted him caus'd him soon after to be arrested Your Majesty to whom this Business appear'd to be of great importance as indeed it was sent often to and again to make him return to his Duty But seeing he cou'd not come to any Resolution you besieg'd Beffort to cut off all Relief which he might hope to have from that side you made your self Master of it in the midst of Winter for it is fit the French should learn to make War in any Season they who under your Majesty ought to despise Heat and Cold and to habituate themselves to either This Conquest joyn'd to the very good Terms you offer'd Count Harcourt prevail'd with him to accept 'em You gave him the Government of Anjou you let him enjoy all his Estate and his Place of Grand Ecuyerr he being to deliver up all he held in Alsatia This Business being thus over and so well for your Majesty you next thought of re-taking Rocroy where the Garrison spoil'd all the Country round about it under the Command of a Governour who was not a sleep and had learnt his Trade under the Prince of Condé I mean Montall whom your Majesty hath so succesfully employ'd and who did you great Service in the last War But you believ'd the taking of Stenay was of much greater Advantage and therefore you march'd your Army thither under the command of Mareschal Fabert This General was much to be valued
Affairs ought to have taken care the Vessel had been good but it having been visited by experienc'd Shipwrights before it was put to Sea your Majesty who doth Right to all the World was not at all displeas'd with me The Fault was that the Ship had not for a long time been in Service which doth Vessels more harm than if they were continually at Sea This ill News because it came after that which is better did not make that impression which otherwise it might have done upon your Majesty's Mind You were pleas'd with the good News you receiv'd out of Hungary where your Arms had acquir'd you no little Glory and where without them the Emperour who had already receiv'd a Check had been totally defeated For when the right Wing of his Army had been beaten by the Turks which gave them hopes of an entire Victory your Troops which were in the Left charg'd so bravely that they trod down all that oppos'd 'em and having by their making a Stand renew'd the Fight they beat the Turks shewing so much resolution and Courage that the Emperour instead of returning them Thanks grew Jealous of 'em and instead of resolving to improve the Victory which had caus'd a great Consternation among the Turks he made a precipitate Peace as if he had been afraid your Trops would have taken his Crown from him These two particular Events of good and bad Fortune hinder'd your Majesty from mounting to that high pitch of Glory where you now are The excellent Order which you setled ev'ry where throughout your Kingdom which was still sensible of the Abuses which in Cardinal Mazarin's Time had crept into it are an evident Proof that you were a great King You reform'd the Order of St. Michel which before that of the St. Esprit was the Reward wherewith Kings your Predecessors honour'd the greatest Men in their Kingdom but was so little estem'd after the Institution of the other that all Sorts of People were indifferently receiv'd into it and at last became like the Order of the Star which in time was so despis'd that one of your Predecessors to make it more Vile and Despicable bestow'd it upon the Archers of the City Watch. Your Majesty prudently resolv'd to reform this Abuse especially because the Order of St. Michel is joyn'd to that of the St. Esprit and that the Knights of this last Order could not be receiv'd into it unless they had been before of the first However I must say that your Majesty did not so throughly purge it of the mean Persons that were in it but that some still remain For it is the inevitable Misfortune of all Princes that when they rely wholly upon others it would be a wonder if Favour or Faction should not prevail against Justice Therefore if Princes would have things done according to their own directions they ought to overlook those they depute to see their Pleasure perform'd For if they trust wholly to their Fidelity 't is the way to have their work but half done Your Majesty for the good of your Kingdom Incorporated likewise a Company for the Trade of the Indies and indeed a Kingdom cannot flourish so long as that Trade is driven by Strangers It should be taken out of the hands of the English and Dutch who were suffer'd by your Predecessors to be the sole Masters of that Commerce This Establishment very much displeas'd those two Nations who were so jealous of one another that after some coldness they were ready to quarrel 'T is Interest that sets all People together by the Ears After some flashes of Lightning followed Thunder and after a Breach the English and Dutch came to an open War Your Majesty offer'd to both your Mediation that things might go no further but the English who pretend to the dominion of the Sea and to impose Conditions upon all others stood so stiff upon their Points that your Majesty thought your self oblig'd to take the part of your Ancient Friends against the Old Enemies of your Crown Your Majesty put out a Fleet at Sea in favour of the Hollanders and equipp'd another at the same time against the Algerines The Duke of Beaufort who commanded it having receiv'd your Orders fought the Algerines with such success that he beat them twice in three Months he took several of their Ships among which was the Admiral This Advantage wrought a good Effect among those Barbarous People who endeavour'd to lessen your Reputation by what had happen'd at Gigeri But that which increas'd their Terrour was your setting out new Ships on the Ocean and in the Mediterranean which made all Europe think that in a little time you would be in a Condition not only to dispute the Empire of the Sea with the English but with any other Nation whatever Beside these Ships which considerably increas'd your Fleet you had Magazines full of Stores Materials and Workmen you wanted no Seamen or Pilots so that it was thought you intended to dispute that Dominion which belongs only to him that is strongest I do not pretend to magnifie my self by what I have said tho' I have done the best I could in it To speak the truth I must confess this Design was not mine I did but finish what Cardinal Richelieu first began I know it was he that put the King your Father upon augmenting his Power at Sea or I should rather say to make himself known there For before him all his Predecessors even Henry the 4 th himself had not one single Ship But this Project was but lamely carried on under the ministry of that great Man so that it may be truly said the Glory of it was reserv'd for your Majesty About this time your Majesty did two things very much for the good of your self and People and which the deceased King your Father attempted in vain You reduc'd Persons of Quality and those of the Long Robe to perfect Obedience You did the one under the pretence of Justice the other by your absolute Power Many Gentlemen by the licentiousness of the times had usurp'd so much Authority that they were in their Provinces like so many petty Tyrants and made all tremble under ' em The Judges in those Provinces who were bound by the Duty of their Places to oppose such Innovations did not dare to do it in a time when they fear'd to be run down Beside they were unwilling to concern themselves for People commonly prefer their private Interest before the publick good They were afraid to contest with those petty Kings of the Country so that they stirr'd no more than as if all that past had been indifferent to ' em But your Majesty who thought your self oblig'd not to suffer such Abuses because none but you could pretend to Supremacy being bound to protect your Subjects and secure them from Violence your Majesty I say not being any longer able to suffer what was derogatory to your Authority and so contrary to the Peace of
Divinity There is no Prince be he never so little that will suffer those to whom he commits his Authority to be despis'd and there is nothing more common than to pay them the respect they require from us This is not only observ'd to the Governour of a Province but even to the meanest Judge and proceeds from the Character wherewith the Prince hath honour'd them in which 't is his Interest to support them how can it then be believ'd that God is less jealous of that Authority which he hath intrusted in the hands of his Ministers and upon which depends the safety of Religion I know very well that the Kings of the Earth are the Lord 's Anointed and for that reason are exalted above all other Men but yet they must know their Rights are distinct and different from those of the Church and as the Church never allows Subjects upon any account to be disobedient to their Prince so a Prince ought not to permit his People to refuse paying Obedience and respect to the Church If the Church had continued in the state it was in in the time of the Apostles and had not joyn'd the Sword to the Mitre things would have been in another condition than now they are but since what hath been done hath been by God's permission we ought to submit to what he hath ordain'd and not give a new occasion of scandal I know that Churchmen have gone beyond the bounds of their Duty and that Bishops and Popes have had their faults yet by whatever they have done they cannot lose their Character and since it is to this Character our respect is due they cannot by any of their actions lose or be depriv'd of it The case is the same with Crown'd Heads who tho' they do not their Duty yet Subjects cannot dispence with the obedience they owe them Would to God Sir your Ministers had well consider'd this Truth they would not then have exalted the Authority of your Crown so far above that of the Mitre I very much doubt whether Equity hath been the rule of their Actions Had I been Learned and able enough to have decided this great Controversie which you have had with Rome concerning the Regale and some others that have follow'd it I would have determin'd the question positively without a perhaps and speaking doubtfully but I confess my self too ignorant to give a definitive Judgment in things above my reach Now if any ask since I confess my incapacity why then do I condemn rather than approve what hath been done I pray Your Majesty to consider that you have had not only Rome against you in this business but many Bishops and Doctors of your own Kingdom who have been always thought examples of Piety and Vertue and have liv'd very exemplarily We see also they have chosen to suffer Exile and Imprisonment rather than submit to that which they believe is unjust to say that what they have done is because they are opinionative and obstinate is to impose only upon the simple for wise men are of another mind Is it likely they could premeditately design to displease their Master especially you that are the greatest King upon Earth and so much respected and esteem'd by all your Subjects It is much more reasonable to think that Your Majesty seeing these things with those persons eyes on whom you relye the desire they have to make themselves necessary hath put 'em upon doing what they cannot justifie before an Impartial Tribunal They do not consider that they expose Your Majesty to new Enemies whose number they need not increase since you have already made your self too many by your Conquests would they but reflect upon what some persons at least as wise as themselves who have grown old in Embassies have represented to the Kings your Predecessors they would proceed a little more warily he deceives himself who weighs what he undertakes only by the power of him for whom he acts if Justice do not hold the Ballance it were a thousand times better nothing had ever been attempted I would fain have these Great Politicians tell me with what Lawrels they have Crown'd Your Majesty by the Banishment and Imprisonment of so many Pious and Learned Persons whom the Pope in his Bulls hath not only declared to be such but hath likewise exhorted them to suffer for the love of Truth I wish they would also tell me what Victory they expect by those Orders of Council which might I dare say so do without any regard had to the Bulls of his Holiness so insolently command the Literal execution of all that which they in the fits of their Frenzy have decreed There are milder ways and more befitting a Most Christian King to determine those Differences which may happen between Your Majesty and Rome It doth not become a Son to rebell against his Father who is to be disarmed by Kindness and Submission rather than by holding a Cudgel over him Tho it be glorious for a Man to have the better of his Enemies yet it is shameful to desire like a Master to command those to whom he owes obedience and respect So that should Your Majesty take Rome and conquer all the Ecclesiastical State yet you are prudent enough to know you would get the same reputation by it that Charles the Fifth had in the like occasion faithful and impartial Historians have represented him to be a Prince that had no Religion and who never kept his word and tho they that flatter him most have been forc'd to cast a Veil over his taking of Rome yet the foulness of that action appears plainly through it I know very well there will be a gloss set upon what Your Majesty doth to secure your Glory but you will not find that all Pens are to be bought and kept in your Pay there will be some left that may go to the bottom of this business and give the World a true account of it Slander is generally better receiv'd than Truth and if it be true as we must agree it is that the greatest Kings cannot hinder People from taking the liberty to examine their actions how many will say that a Prince had better see with his own eyes than trust to other Mens Besides when a Man is about to do a thing he ought to consider what may be the end and the consequences of it I would ask the Archbishop of Paris and all others on whose advice Your Majesty relyes in Ecclesiastical Matters what is to be got by Quarreling with the Pope certainly nothing for if Religion be not totally destroy'd by it all your Attempts against his Holyness will recoil back upon you The Reason is because Europe cannot continue in the same State it is now and the Pope's Authority being so great as it is as well in Temporal as in Spiritual Cases he becomes an Enemy to you no only in his own Person but in that of his Successors and a dangerous Enemy who hath
better than what is given to most of the Maids of St. Cir. Where tho the House be under the care of very great Persons yet one who hath a heart as great as her Birth is often forc'd against her Will to Marry a Tax or Toll gatherer Those who have other Sentiments are not truly noble but only so in shew and appearance To prove what I say I need only tell what lately happen'd in the House of a great Lady where a Young Woman very well born by the baseness of her Parents who Sacrifis'd her to their Private Advantage was forc'd to marry one of their Domesticks she died with Grief And the Man that married her now courts another who may she have her Will will never have him but because some in very great Power are for him he will certainly marry her in spite of all she and her Guardian can do to the contrary Your Majesty is much dishonour'd by interposing your Authority in such cases for these things are commonly done by Letters under the Privy Signet by Vertue of which Daughters are taken from their Parents and forc'd to enter into Religion where they are necessitated to be disobedient being oblig'd to do that which by the Laws of God and Man they are forbidden to do How many Women that are Heiresses to good Estates are sacrific'd in this manner and they that do it never consider how your Majesty loses the hearts of the Gentry whom it concerns The Countess of Tallard and the Marchioness of Thiange were married against the Will of their Parents and tho' to Persons of Quality yet what Satisfaction is that to a Father or Mother who perhaps had taken other Measures and thought themselves secure under your Majesty's Reign from any such Violence The Gentry stand in need of another Help which they can expect from none but your Majesty They are up to the Ears in Debt out of which if you do not take some course to deliver them they will be all undone it is not very difficult and 't will be an act of Justice in your Majesty for you will restore that repose to them which they have lost on your Account it being a certain Truth that they have been ruin'd in your Service Moreover you will infinitely oblige their Creditors by saving them the trouble and Charge of a multitude of Suits which the Malice of Judges and the Knavery of Lawyers will make endless Your Majesty needs do no more than order all Debtors to sell to their Creditors such a Portion of Land as is worth the Money they owe them which Land shall be valued at a reasonable Price not at the rate it goes now but as it went Twenty five Years ago For Gentlemen would be quite undone should their Estates be valued at no higher Rate than the present Rents the misery of the Times which cannot always continue having made Land less worth by a third Part than formerly it was 'T is manifest that when better Order is taken Lands will return again to their former Value But that Creditors may not complain your Majesty will do well to reduce all Land to five and twenty Years purchase and all Money to Four per Cent. Interest and then let the Creditors take their Choice whether they will have their Principal and Interest at that Rate or take the Land that is offered them Julius Caesar did almost the same thing for when he saw the Romans so much in debt that they were not able to clear themselves he order'd they should pay their Creditors in the manner I have propos'd and that their Creditors should be satisfied with it If your Majesty would do this you would find a great Advantage by it For Gentlemen would not only be in a better condition to serve you but when your Majesty wanted Money you might if you pleas'd have all in the Kingdom at Five per Cent. Interest for every one would rather lend his Money to your Majesty than to any body else Were so good an Order once establish'd it would be observ'd for the Future Were that done which was intended Twelve Years ago but not put in execution because there were such contests about it in Parliament there should be Registers appointed to record all Obligations and Contracts then no body could be deceiv'd or cheated for by looking over the Register every Man's Debts might be known and a Man might presently see whether he that desir'd to borrow Money could give good Security for it The Parliament had no mind this should be done because it would have cut off the Hydra's Head of all Process and Law Suits by which they grew Rich. Their Pretence against such a Register was that all the Grandees of the Court as well as others would be ruin'd by it for owing more than they had wherewith to pay they would not be able to borrow Sixpence when their Debts came to be discover'd So that prevailing by this Pretence with many considerable Persons to be of their Mind they so caball'd together that your Majesty revok'd the Edict you had made concerning it But this was too weak a Reason to hinder the doing of so much good It is absolutely necessary to oblige People to deal faithfully and honestly one with another and they that lend Money ought to have good Security for it Private Men's Credit must likewise be kept up otherwise when they have occasion for Money tho' they have an Estate they will not be able to borrow because they are thought to owe more than really they do and it must appear plainly to Lenders that they have good Security When such a Register is establish'd it will not be in Peoples Power to cheat one another as they now daily do There is another Benefit which your People will have by it against which there can be no Objection which is when Men want Money they now apply themselves to Usurers by whom they are soon and certainly undone But when Registers are settl'd they will have no occasion to deal with them for whoever hath an Estate in Goods or Land may have what Money he wants at reasonable Interest and then they that have nothing will not be able to deceive any body CHAP. XIII Of Lawyers or those concern'd in the administration of Justice IT may be thought strange I should maintain that they who are employ'd in the administration of Justice are a Sort of People that ought to be destroy'd As if I thereby design'd to introduce Libertinism and Violence two Things intolerable in a Kingdom But tho' I maintain that the rooting out of these People is the way to reform all Abuses and make the Kingdom flourish yet let it not be thought I any more intend Justice should be banish'd than the Fear of God and the King There are ways of doing Justice without making it so chargeable to the People and it may be done with ease by putting what I am about to say in practice That which