Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
land_n rent_n service_n tenant_n 1,953 5 9.7129 5 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A39782 A Discourse concerning militia's and standing armies with relation to the past and present governments of Europe and of England in particular. Fletcher, Andrew, 1655-1716. 1697 (1697) Wing F1294; ESTC R5238 13,616 32

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

produced so great a Change And it will at first sight seem very strange when I shall name the Restoration of Learning the Invention of Printing of the Needle and of Gunpowder as the chief of them things in themselves so excellent and which the last only excepted might have proved of infinite Advantage to the World if their remote Influence upon Government had been obviated by sutable Remedies Such odd Consequences and of such a different Nature accompany extraordinary Inventions of any kind Constantinople being taken by Mahomet the Second in the Year 1453 many Learned Greeks fled over into Italy where the favourable reception they found from the Popes Princes and Republicks of that Country soon introduced amongst the better sort of Men the study of the Greek Tongue and the Antient Authors in that Language About the same time likewise some Learned Men began to restore the Purity of the Latin Tongue But that which most contributed to the Advancement of all kind of Learning and especially the study of the Antients was the Art of Printing which was brought to a great degree of Perfection a few Years after By this means their Books became common and their Arts generally understood and admired But as Mankind from a natural propension to Pleasure is always ready to chuse out of every thing what may most gratify their vicious Appetites so the Arts which the Italians first applied themselves to improve were principally those that had been subservient to the Luxury of the Antients in the most corrupt Ages of which they had many Monuments still remaining Italy was presently filled with Architects Painters and Sculptors and a prodigious Expence was made in Buildings Pictures and Statues Thus the Italians began to come off from their frugal and military way of living and addicted themselves to the pursuit of refined and expensive Pleasures as much as the Wars of those times would permit This Infection spread it self by degrees into the Neighbouring Nations But these things alone had not been sufficient to work so great a Change in Government if a preceding Invention brought into common use about that time had not produced more new and extraordinary Effects than any had ever done before which probably may have many Consequences yet unforeseen and a farther Influence upon the Manners of Men as long as the World lasts I mean the Invention of the Needle by the help of which Navigation was greatly improved a Passage opened by Sea to the East-Indies and a new World discovered By this means the Luxury of Asia and America was added to that of the Antients and all Ages and all Countries concurred to sink Europe into an Abyss of Pleasures which were rendred the more expensive by a perpetual Change of the Fashions in Clothes Equipage and Furniture of Houses These things brought a total Alteration in the way of living upon which all Government depends 'T is true Knowledg being mightily increased and a great Curiosity and Nicety in every thing introduced Men imagined themselves to be gainers in all Points by changing from their frugal and military way of living which I must confess had some mixture of Rudeness and Ignorance in it tho not inseparable from it But at the same time they did not consider the unspeakable Evils that are altogether inseparable from an expensive way of living To touch upon all these tho slightly would carry me too far from my Subject I shall therefore content my self to apply what has been said to the immediate Design of this Discourse The far greater share of all those Expences fell upon the Barons for they were the Persons most able to make them and their Dignity seemed to challenge whatever might distinguish them from other Men This plunged them on a sudden into so great Debts that if they did not sell or otherwise alienate their Lands they found themselves at least obliged to turn the military Service their Vassals owed them into Money partly by way of Rent and partly by way of Lease or Fine for paiment of their Creditors And by this means the Vassal having his Lands no longer at so easy a Rate as before could no more be obliged to military Service and so became a Tenant Thus the Armies which in preceding times had been always composed of such Men as these ceased of course and the Sword sell out of the hands of the Barons But there being always a necessity to provide for the Defence of every Country Princes were afterwards allowed to raise Armies of Volunteers and Mercenaries And great Sums were given by Diets and Parliaments for their Maintenance to be levied upon the People grown rich by Trade and dispirited for want of Military Exercise Such Forces were at first only raised for present Exigencies and continued no longer on foot than the Occasions lasted But Princes soon found Pretences to make them perpetual the chief of which was the garisoning Frontier Towns and Fortresses the Methods of War being altered to the tedious and chargeable way of Sieges principally by the Invention of Gunpowder The Officers and Souldiers of these Mercenary Armies depending for their Subsistence and Preferment as immediately upon the Prince as the former Militia's did upon the Barons the Power of the Sword was transferred from the Subject to the King and War grew a constant Trade to live by Nay many of the Barons themselves being reduced to Poverty by their expensive way of living took Commands in those Mercenary Troops and being still continued Hereditary Members of Diets and other Assemblies of State after the loss of their Vassals whom they formerly represented they were now the readiest of all others to load the People with heavy Taxes which were employed to increase the Prince's Military Power by Guards Armies and Citadels beyond Bounds or Remedy I am not ignorant that before this Change Subsidies were often giv●● by Diets States and Parliaments for maintaining Wars but these were small and no way sufficient to subsist such numerous Armies as those of the Barons Militia What I have said hitherto has been always with regard to one or other and often to most Countries in Europe What follows will have a more particular regard to England where tho the Power of the Barons be ceased yet no mercenary Troops are yet established The Reason of which is that England had before this great Alteration lost all her Conquests in France the Town of Calais only excepted and that also was taken by the French before the Change was thorowly introduced So that the Kings of England had no Pretence to keep up Standing Forces either to defend Conquests abroad or to garison a Frontier towards France which was their formidable Enemy since the Sea was now become the only Frontier between those two Countries Henry the Seventh seems to have perceived the Alteration before-mentioned more than any Prince of his time and obtained several Laws to favour and facilitate it But the succeeding Princes were altogether improper