Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	david_n	king_n	saul_n	12,106	5	9.9774	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04705	Policie vnveiled vvherein may be learned, the order of true policie in kingdomes, and common-wealths: the matters of justice, and government; the addresses, maxims, and reasons of state: the science of governing well a people: and where the subject may learne true obedience unto their kings, princes, and soveraignes. Written in Spanish, and translated into English by I.M. of Magdalen Hall in Oxford.; República y policía christiana. English	Juan de Santa María, fray, d. 1622.; Mabbe, James, 1572-1642?; Blount, Edward, fl. 1588-1632, attrib. trans.	1632 (1632)	STC 14831A; ESTC S102311	349,848	530

iustice in all Causes Answering to that his owne saying By me Kings reigne c. Which is as if he should haue said That their power is deriued from God as from the first and primary cause The signification likewise of this word King or Rex is and me thinks farre better declared if we shall but refer i'ts originall to another word of the primitiue Language where the Hebrew word Raga signifies amongst other it's significations To feede And in this sense it is to be found in many places of holy Scripture And from this Raga is deriued Rex Rego or Regno And Regere and Pascere amongst the Poets and euen also amongst the Prophets are promiscuously vsed Homer Virgil and Dauid put no difference betwixt Reges and Pastores styling Kings Shepheards Shepheards Kings And therefore in the 23. Psalme where the vulgar Latine reades Dominus regit me S. Ieromes Translation hath it Dominus pascit me The Lord is my Shepheard therefore can I lack nothing he shall f●ede me in a greene pasture and leade me forth besides the waters of comfort And Homer he styles a King Pastorem populi the Shepheard of his people in regard of that sweetnesse of Command wherewith he gouerneth them and the gentle hand that hee carries ouer them feeding but not fleecing of them Xenophon saith that the actions of a good shepheard are like vnto those of a good King So that the name of King doth not onely signifie him that ruleth but him that ruleth like a shepheard And the better to instruct vs herein the Prophet Isaiah speaking of that which the true Christian King our Sauiour should doe when he should come into the world saith Sicut Pastor gregem suum pascet in brachio suo congregabit agnos in sinn suo levabit foetas ipsa portabit Hee shall feede his flocke like a shepheard hee shall gather the Lambes with his armes and carry them in his bosome and shall guide them with young He shall perfectly performe all the Offices of a shepheard by feeding of his sheepe and by bearing them if neede be vpon his shoulders And of the selfe same King Christ God said in respect of his people Ipse pisect eos ipse erit eis in pastorem I will set vp a shepheard ouer them and he shall seed them And in the next words following he cals him ioyntly King and shepheard Servus meus David Rex super eos Pastor unus erii omnium eorum My seruant Dauid shall bee the Prince amongst them and they shall all haue but one shepheard And they shall dwell safely in the wildernesse and sleepe in the woods and none shall make them affraid And for the clearer signification hereof the first Kings that God made choise of and commanded to be anoynted hee tooke them from amidst their fl●cks The one they sought after the other they found feeding of his flocke The Prophet Samuel whom God commanded to annoynt for King one of the sons of Ishai hauing scene the elder and the other seuen all goodly handsome men of a good disposition had no great liking to any one of them but asked their father Whether he had no more children but those And he said vnto him Adhuc reliquus est parv●lus pascit oves There remaineth yet a little one behind that keepeth the sheepe And the Prophet willed him that he should send for him for we will not sit downe till he be come hither shewing that to be a shepheard and to feed the flock was the best Symbole and most proper Embleme of a King And therfore I would haue no man to imagine that which Philon did feare that when we come to make a King we must take away the Crooke and put the Scepter in his hand The Office of a King I tell you and the Arte of ruling will require a great deale of study and experience For to gouerne the bigger sort of beastes and those that are of greatest price a man must first haue learned to ●aue gouerned the lesser It is not meete to Popp into great places vnexperienced persons and such as know not what belongs vnto businesse nor the weight of the charge that they are to take vpon them For indeede great Matters are not handsomely carryed nor well managed but by such as haue beene formerly imployed in businesses of an inferiour and lower nature And this choyse which God made of Dauid iumpes with this our intent He doth not say that he tooke him on the sodaine from the sheepefold and presently clapp't a Crowne vpon his Head but first bred him vp to feede the house of Iacob and his family and that he should exercise himselfe therein For a well ordered house and a family that is well gouerned is the Modell and Image of a Common-wealth And domesticall authoritie resembleth Regall power And the good guidance of a particular house is the Exemplary and true patterne of a publicke State It imbraceth and comprehendeth in it all the sorts of good gouernment It doth treate and set in order those things that appertaine to Policie Conseruation and the direction of Men as well in regard of Commanding as obeying What other thing is a house with his family but a little Citie And what a Citie but a great House Many houses make a Citie And many Cities make a kingdome And in point of gouernment ihey onely d●ffer in greatnesse for howbeit in the one they are busied more and in the other lesse yet they tend all to one end which is the common good And therefore S. Paul and other Saints and wise men are of opinion that hee that knowes not how to gouerne his own house well will hardly gouerne another mans The Emperour Alexander Severus visiting the Roman Senate did inquire how the Senators did rule and gouerne their owne priuate Houses and families and sayd That that man who knew not how to command his wife and his Children to follow his owne businesses to make prouision for his house and to gouerne his familie it were a madnesse to recommend vnto that man the gouernment of the Common-wealth Amongst those the famous Gouernours Cato the Roman was preferred before Aristides the Grecian because the former was a great Pater familias or father of a familie and the latter was noted to be defectiue in that kinde So that the life of a shepheard is the Counterfeit or Picture of gouernment as is to be seene by his assistance in his Office in the care of the wellfare of his flocke in the obligation of the Account that he is to make in the offence that he is to finde by Wolues and Theeues and in the solicitude and watchfullnesse which those ordinary dangers doe require wherein his flocke stands and more especially when the shepheard is wanting vnto them And it is so proper vnto a King to feede his flocke that when our Sauiour Christ fed that multitude of people which followed him in

themselues wronged and their worth vnderualewed to haue all one Audience with the ordinary sorte of people So that with one the same Act he discontents all of them Let there be dayes houres appointed for the one the other naturalls strangers let euery man know his set day and houre For this being without distinction what doth it serue for but multitude and confusion And to haue all of all sortes to assist there continually to heare and nourish the Complaints of particular persons and to make report thereof by Letters to their seuerall nations and Countries and to put a Glosse vpon them to shew their owne wit And though this at the first sight may seeme to be a thing of small importance yet such a time may be taken that it may proue a matter of great consequence CHAP. XIX He goes on with the same matter Treating of the Audiences of Ministers and Counsellours KIngs saith Xenophon haue many eares For they heare by their owne and by those of their Fauourites Ministers Counsellours And it is no more then they stand in neede of For they must heare all Great and Small Naturall and Stranger without acceptation of persons these as well as those and deny no man their eares lest they giue them iust cause to grieue and complaine that for them onely there is neither King Fauourite nor Minister to haue accesse vnto This Rapsodye and multitude of eares and the difference between the one and the other King Dauid giues vs to vnderstand in that his Audience which he crau'd of God Domine Exaudi orationem meam ●uribus percipe obsecrationem meam Heare my prayer O Lord bow downe thine eare and hearke● vnto my supplication He saith Heare me O Lord but how or in what maner With thine eares I beseech thee Tell me thou holy king why dost thou say with thine eares Might not that phrase of speech beene spared Or wouldst thou happely that God should heare thee with his eyes or his mouth No certainly But because it is a vsuall custome with Kings that gouerne great Monarchies who by reason of the varietie and multitude of businesses cannot by themselues giue eare vnto all and informe themselues of the truth to remit part of them to others that they may heare the Parties and informing themselues of the busines may send it afterwards to the Consulta there to be debated One comes with his Memoriall to the King The King wills him to speake vnto the President or to such a Secretary that he may inform But Dauid here saith Remit me not O Lord vnto any other for remissions are remissions the very word telling vs that to remit a busines is to make it remisse and slow and that there is vsed therein so much remission that a mans life is oftentimes ended before his busines Auribus percipe Doe thou thy selfe heare me with thine owne eares without remitting me to the hearing of others But to heare all and in all partes without remission to other mens eares who can doe this saue onely God And for my part I am of opinion that they alluded vnto this who as wee told you painted their God without eares for to giue vs thereby to vnderstand that it is peculiar onely vnto God to heare without eares and to heare all without standing in neede of other Oydos or Oydores For such a necessitie were in God a defect But in Kings it were a defect to doe otherwise for they are notable to heare all of themselues and therfore must of force make vse of other mens eares And therefore as Nature in Mans body hath disposed different Members necessary for it's proper conseruation as the eyes to see the eares to heare the tongue to talke the hands to worke the feete to walke and all of them to assist to the Empire of the soule So in like manner this Mysticall body of the Common-wealth whereof the King is the soule and Head must haue it's members which are those his Ministers which are Subiect to the Empire of their king by whom hee disposeth and executeth all that which doth conuene for it's Gouernment conseruation and augmentation Aristotle renders the reason why your huge and extraordinary tall men are but weake And as I take it it is this The rationall Soule saith he is solely one indiuisible and of a limited vertue or power and that it cannot attayne to that strength and force as to giue vigour to those partes that are so farre distant and remote in a body beyond measure great Now if the body of this Monarchie be so vaste and exceeding great and goes dayly increasing more and more and that the Soule of the King which is to gouerne it to animate it and to giue it life doth not increase nor is multiplyed nor augmented at least in it's Ministers How is it possible that a King of himselfe alone should bee able to afford assistance to all And to giue life and being to so many partes and members that are set so far assunder so great is the Office of a king especially if he be Master of many Kingdomes that it is too great a Compasse for one mans reach and it is not one man alone that can fill and occupie a whole Kingdome and be present in all it's partes And therefore of force he must make vse of other folkes helpe and more particularly of those which serue him instead of eares such as are all your superiour Ministers of Counsells These great Officers are called in the Spanish Oydores of Oyr To heare And the eares of the head are c●lled Oydoras of their hearing And your Iudges of the land Oydores Hearers of Mens causes And as they are alike in name so ought they likewise to be alike in Office and to resemble the Originall which it representeth to the life and it 's true nature Now what Office is most proper and most naturall to the eares you will all grant mee that it is to heare alwayes neuer to be shut Your eyes haue their port-cullis which they open or shut as they see cause The mouth hath the like But the eares like bountifull house keepers haue their doores still open and those leafes which they haue on either side are neuer shut neuer so much as once wagge And it is Pliny's obseruation That onely man of all 〈◊〉 creatures hath his eares immobile and with out any the least mouing And Horace holdes it an ill signe to wagg them but a worse to stop them Sicut aspides surdae obturantes aures suas Like deafe adders stopping their eares that they may not heare sicut Aspides which are fierce and cruell creatures and of whom it is sayd that they are borne as deafe as a doore naile and to this their naturall deafenes they adde another that is artificiall whereby they grow more deafe by poysoning that part and by winding their tayle close about their head and sometimes laying the one

seruos suos cum eo et vniuersum Israel et vastauerunt filios Ammon et obsederunt Rab●a Dauid autem remansit in Hierusalem Dum haec agerentur accidit vt surgeret Dauid de strato suo post meridiem et deambularet in solario domus regiae viditque mulieremse lauantem ex aduerso super solarium suum c. And it came to passe that after the yeare was expired at the time when Kings goe forth to battel that Dauid sent Ioab and his seruants with him and all Israel and they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabbah But Dauid tarryed still at Ierusalem And it came to passe in an Euening tyde that Dauid arose from his bed and walked vpon the roofe of the Kings house and from the roofe hee saw a woman washing her selfe and the woman was very beautifull to looke vpon c. What a companie of aggrauating circumstances did heere precede the sinne of Dauid It fell out about that time of the yeare when Kings vsed to goe into the field against their enemies and to muster vp their souldiars But instead of going himselfe in person hee sent forth his Captaine Ioab with all the choyse men of Israel himselfe remaining in the meane while sporting and recreating himselfe in his princely Pallace And not thinking on those cares which so dangerous a warre did at that time require hee rose one day after dinner from his Table and went to walke in a gallerie or Tarras that lay open to the Sunne and from thence it was his chance to espie Vriahs wife washing and bathing of her selfe in a place of the like nature right ouer against him who likewise on her part gaue occasion to this sinne for that her husband being abroad in the warres and exposing himselfe to so many troubles and perills she should take pleasure in washing her hayre and in the curious decking and dressing her person in a place from whence shee might be so easily seene Whom he no sooner saw but coueted and no soner made loue vnto but he inioyed her And that he might possesse her with the more safety and cloake the adulterie the better and the childe wherewithall shee went hee gaue order for the making away of her husband vpon the neck whereof an infinite number of other euills did insue When Kings wage warre and their subiects fight their battailes hazarding therein their liues or when any other common calamities happen as of Famine or Pestilence in their Kingdomes they are not then to follow their pleasures and intertainments but to abstaine from them and to shew and make knowen to the world that they haue a fellow-feeling of these common euills and generall afflictions For so did the King of Niniue as soone as hee was informed what the Prophet Ionas had preached in his Court threatning them with the punishment which God would send vpon that Citie And the holy Scripture saith That the King himselfe was the first man that forsooke his pleasures layd his roabe from him and couered him with sack-cloath and sate in ashes and caused it to be proclaimed through Nineue saying Let neither man nor beast heard nor flocke tast any thing let them not feede nor drinke water But let man and beast be couered with sack-cloath and cry mightily vnto God yea let them turne euery one from his euill way and from the violence that is in their hands c. And this was the Course that hee tooke for to appease Gods anger When King Dauid heard of the great slaughter which the Pestilence had wrought in his Kingdome sorrowing exceedingly that the Plague was so hot amongst his people and shewing that it grieued his very heart and soule hee cryed out vnto the Lord and sayd Ego sum qui peccaui ego qui iniquè egi c. Vertatur obsecro manus tua contra me et contra domum patris mei I haue sinned and I haue done wickedly but these sheepe what haue they done Let thine hand I pray be against me and against my fathers house King Ioram reigning in Israel there was so great a Famine and so fore a Death in that Kingdome that two women by consent did agree to kill their children and to eate them by turnes Which the King had no sooner heard of but that he was so inwardly grieued therewith that in expression of his sorrow he rent his garments according to the custome of the Hebrewes on such like sad occasions and put on sack-cloath within vpon his flesh Because Prince Ionathan did but dip the tippe of his rod in the hony-combe when as his father King Saul and all his men of warre were fighting against the Philistins God was much offended with it Thereby teaching Kings that on the like occasions they ought to be the first that should abstaine from their pleasures and delightes signified by the Hony-combe That valiant Captaine Vrias was a good master of this doctrine who being returned from the Armie to the Court called thither by the King would by no meanes be perswaded to goe home to his owne house to refresh himselfe and make merry with his wife though his Maiestie willed him so to doe And the reason which he rendred why he would not doe it was this Arca Dei et Iuda habitant in papilionibus c. The Arke and Israel and Iudah abiding in Tents and my Lord Ioab with the whole Army lying incamped in the open fields without any other shelter and being in that great danger that they are shall I then goe into mine house to eate and to drinke and to lye with my wise Per salutem tuam et per salutem animae tuae non faciam rem hanc As thou liuest and as thy soule liueth I will not doe this thing And not only in the common calamities of a whole Common-wealth but also in those particular ones of great persons that haue beene seruiceable to the state it is fit and requisit and well will it become Kings that they make shew of their sorrow by laying aside their feastings and all other kinde of solacings and mirthfull Intertainments When King Dauid vnderstood of the death of that braue Commander Abner he wept bitterly before the people and commanded that none should taste bread or ought else till the Sunne were downe saying vnto his seruants Num ignoratis quoniam princeps et Maximus cecidit hodiè in Israel Know yee not that there is a Prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel But some will say that we do not well in aduising Kings or the Common people on sad occasions to forbeare their sports and pastimes it seeming vnto them that they ought rather then to seeke after them for the diuerting of melancholy and banishing of sorrow Vrging Plutarkes authoritie who reprehendeth those men who when they are already merrily disposed hunt after intertainments and pastimes wishing them to doe that when they finde themselues sad and heauie for then

but to vse stratagemes and politicke deuises for to defeate and deceiue the enemies spyes and Intelligencers And I very well remember that my selfe communicating this conceit vpon occasion with one of the learnedst men and greatest Platonists that this Age afforded he approued of it and did much commend it for as concerning that truth and faith whereof we now treate Plato himselfe and all other the good Philosophers teach the rigour and strictnesse wherewith men ought to keepe their word In the booke of Iosua is recounted the craft wherwith the Ghibeonites mooued the Princes of Israel to plight them their faith that they would doe them no harme And though afterwards this their cunning dealing was discouered and brought to light and that all the people were willing that this promise should not be kept yet the Princes of the people made answer thereunto that they could not but cumply with their word especially hauing confirmed it with an oath Iurauimus eis in nomine Domini Dei Israel idcircò non possumus eos contingere We haue sworne vnto them by the Lord God of Israel and therefore wee may not hurt them And because many yeares after King Saul out of a zeale to the good of his people broake that their word and promise there fell vpon him and his people a great famine which continued for the space of three yeares King Don Sancho whom they slew by treason confessed that that death lighted worthily vpon him because hee had broaken his word giuen to his father King Don Fernando to passe the partition made with his brethren And the constancie of Dauid is knowen to all in keeping that his word which all the while he liued hee gaue to Shimei that hee would not put him to death according to the desert of his irreuerent language and disrespect to his person And both diuine and humane Letters are full of the seuere chasticements which God hath inflicted vpon those who haue not beene faithfull in the keeping of their faith and word For being that he himselfe is most faithfull and doth boast himselfe to bee so he will likewise that men should be so one towards another S. Isidore with a great number of words affirmeth That we ought not to deceiue any man and that all infidelitie is sinne That no man ought to faile in that which he hath promised That it is requisite in all men that their workes concurre with their words without admitting any exception more then in two Cases As when that which is promised cannot be performed without sinne Or when the businesses or the persons admit some notable change And hee citeth the example of Saint Paul Who promised to go to Corinth but could not be as good as his word for those lawfull impediments which hindred this his intended Iourney Whence it followeth That things continuing in the same Estate a man may not for the conueniences of his priuate profit be wanting to his promise And to maintaine the contrarie is to lay trapps against the truth of faith and to arme policie against the religion of an oath In a word all doe resolue that all promises are to be kept and that no deceite or faithlesse dealing ought to be tolerated And the reason whereupon they ground it is common for that fidelitas est fundamentum Iustitiae Faithfullnesse is the foundation of Iustice and all Contractation And that this being taken away all commerce amongst men must expire with it without the which the world cannot be conserued For they not resting assured that that which is promised shall be performed they will not trust one another Marcus Tullius sayth very well that this humane faith is so necessary amongst men that euen Thieues and Pyrates could not liue if they were not true amongst themselues and kept their word one with another And though all euen the meanest ought to keepe their word yet much more carefully ought Kings and Princes for there is nothing more vnworthy them then to fayle in their faith and word which aboue all earthly things they ought to keepe and cumply with all because they are as Gods vpon earth and the Head of their people Wherefore their single word ought to be as an Oracle and to be more firme sure and of greater credit then any bond or obligation whatsoeuer that is sealed and signed with an oath Let the Politicians say what they please and that it is good and sound aduise that a Prince for to conserue his State may do an act contrary to Fa●th Religion and neither keepe his word nor oath yet must I be bold to tell them that this is wicked vngodly and beastly Counsaile and contrary to the whole Schoole of learned Doctors and holy fathers who affirme that a Prince is bound to keepe his word though hee take not an oath for the performance thereof but much more if he shall sweare and binde it by an oath And if they will not yeeld to this let these Politicians plucke off their maske and let those that be their sectuaries speake plaine language and tell mee what they thinke of those Princes as of Sigism●nd and others who made no reckoning of that they promise and sweare when as by the breach thereof they haue beene vtterly ouerthrowne when they most assured themselues of Victorie I doubt not but they will hold it for a foolish reason of State For by this falsifying Princes shall presently loose all their credit and reputation and all their cunning shall not profit them for they will neuer afterwards be beleeued As it is in one of the lawes of the Partida No le creerian los homes que le oyessen maguer que dixessen verdad Men will not beleeue what they heare from them though they speake truth Titus Liutus holdes it a barbarous Act That Princes should tye their faithfullnesse to Fortune to runne along with the times and to shift sayles with euery winde For by this meanes the word of a Prince will come to be like vnto the Lesbian rule which changeth and altereth it selfe according to the building and is crooked and streight short or long sutable to the bignesse or proportion of the stone or timber which the carpenter or mason heweth or cutteth But let vs conclude this second point with this That realitie and sinceritie both in words and deedes is very necessary for all sortes of persons but more particularly for Kings and Princes who should rather see Heauen and earth to fayle then that they should faile in their promises Let them first well weigh and consider with themselues what they either say or promise that it be agreeable to the Law of God and to the precepts of the Church but afterwards let them infallibly obserue and keepe the same For in this consisteth the conseruation and augmentation of great States And is that true reason of State which makes Kings more powerfull more rich more esteemed and more obeyed For hee that keepes his faith

will he trust only to his own opinion but calleth another vnto him aduiseth with him takes his Counsaile and puts himselfe vnder his cure Eurigius king of the Gothes said in the Toletane Councell That euen those workes which in themselues were very good and did much import the Common-wealth wereby no means to be done or put in execution without the Counsaile of those that were good Ministers and well affected to the State vpon paine not onely of losse of discretion but to be condemned as the onely ouerthrowers of the Action Things being so various and so many and weighty the businesses as are those which come vnder the hands of Kings and craue their care to bee treated of the successe of them must needs run a great deale of danger when there precedeth not some diligent and mature Counsaile Kings I assure you had neede haue good both Counsailours and Counsaile hauing so many eyes as they haue vpon them some of iealousie and some of enuie so many that goe about to deceiue and doe deceiue them and many that doe not loue them as they ought I say they had neede of good both Counsailours and Counsaile and such a Councell as is more close and priuate as that of the Councell of State and sometimes and in some cases with a little more restriction and reseruednesse making choise of one two or more of their faithfullest and sufficientest Counsellours with whom they may freely Communicate their greater and lesser affaires and be resolued by them in matters of greater moment and such as importe their own proper preseruation and the augmentation of their Kingdome such as the Historians of Augustus paint forth vnto vs which kinde of course the Princes before and since his time haue taken and now at this present doe From the poorest Plowman to the Potent'st Prince from the meanest Shepheard to the mightiest Monarke there is a necessitie of this Counsaile And in effect euery one as hee can comformable to his Estate and calling must Consult with his Wife his Sonne his Friend or himselfe if his fortune afford him not a Companion whom he may trust or make his Confident How much doth it concerne Kings who possessing such great Estates and being subiect to so many Accidents haue need of a more perfect and Complete Councel And not any thing so much importeth them for the conseruation and augmentation of their Kingdomes as to haue about them iust prudent dis-interessed persons to aduise them with a great deale of faithfullnesse and loue and with free libertie of Language to represent the truth of that which to them and their Common-wealth is most fitting and conuenient Who for this purpose are as necessarie as great treasures and mighty Armies That holy King Dauid was more a fraid of the aduise of one wise Counsellour which his son Absolon had with him then of all the Men of Warre that followed him and his fortunes Plutarke and Aristole floute at Fortune in businesses that succeede well when men doe gouerne themselues by good Counsell And for this cause they stiled Counsaile the eye of those things that are to come because of it's foresight And for that wee haue treated heeretofore of the qualities of all sortes of Counsailours I now say That with much deliberation and aduise Kings are to make choise of those persons which are to aduise and Counsaile them For from their hitting or missing the marke resulteth the vniuersall good or ill of the whole Kingdome It is the common receiued opinion That the maturest and soundest Counsaile is to be found in those men that are growne wise by their Age and experience which is the naturall Daughter of Time and the Mother of good Counsaile Tempus enim multam variam doctrinam parit It is Euripides his saying Suting with that of Iob In antiquis est sapientia in multo tempore prudentia In the ancient is wisedome and in much time prudence Long time is a great Master which doth graduate men in the knowledge of things and makes them wary prudent and circumspect which is much if not wholly wanting in young men And therefore Aristotle saith of them that they are not good for Counsaile because Wit more then Wisedome in them hath it's force and Vigour Et tenero tractari pectore nescit saith Claudian And S. Ierome is of the minde that young Witts cannot weild weighty matters And that their Counsailes are rash and dangerous like vnto that they gaue King Rehoboam By whose inconsiderate aduise hee lost his Kingdome The same course hauing cost others as deare as is proued vnto vs out of S. Austen And therefore the Grecians Romans Lacedemonians Carthaginians and other Common-wealthes which were good obseruers of their Lawes and Customes did ordaine That a young man how wise so euer hee might seeme to be and of neuer so good and approued iudgement should not be admitted to the Counsell Table till he were past 50. yeares of Age who being adorned with Vertue and experience might assure them that hee would keepe a Decorum in all his Actions and performe his dutie in euery respect Lex erat sayth Heraclides ne quis natus infrà quinquaginta vel magistratum gerat vel Legationem obiret In fine for Councell Seneca and Baldus affirme That the very shadow of an old man is better then the eloquence of a young man But because good Counsailes are not in our hands but in Gods hands who as Dauid saith Dissipat consilia gentium reprobat consilia principum The Lord bringeth the Counsaile of the Heathen to nought hee maketh the deuises of Princes of none effect And the wisest of Kings tells vs. Non est sapientia non est prudentia non est consilium contra Dominum There is no Wisedome no vnderstanding no Counsell against the Lord. And in humane things there are so many Contingencies that mans wisedome is not alwaies sufficient to determine the best nor to hit aright in his Counsailes vnlesse the Holy Ghost be interuenient interpose it selfe and assist in them For let Priuie-Counsellours beate out their braines with plodding and plotting let them be neuer so vigilant neuer so studious they shall erre in their ayme and shoote beside the butt if hee direct not the arrow of their Councell and wisedome if he do not in Secret illighten their hearts illuminate their vnderstanding and dictate vnto them what they are to doe Which is done by the infusiue gift of the Holy Spirit co-operating in vs which is a diuine impulsion which doth eleuate raise vp our vnderstanding to hit the white and to choose that according to the rule the Diuine Law which is fit to be followed as also to be avoided And this is the gift of Councell giuen by God vnto his friends and such as serue him truly to the end that by his helpe they may light aright vpon that which of themselues they could neuer come

and the good will and loue of all men And of Dauid it is sayd Erat rufus pulcher aspectu facieque decora That hee was ruddy and withall of a beautifull countenance and goodly to looke to He was of a louely and gracious aspect milde affable and aboue all a great friend vnto goodnesse and well doing onely with his pleasing presence hee drew the eyes of all the people after him who ioyed in the fight of him And with this did he winne their hearts got their good wills and gayned the kingdome When by a good and painefull industrie and a sweet behauiour the hearts are first seazed on it is an easie matter to conquer Kingdomes In the sacred Historie of the Machabees are recounted the heroyicall Acts which that great Captaine Iudas and his brethren atcheiued in Spaine the Kings and Kingdomes which they subdued the nations which they conquered and made tributary to their Empire and the great treasure of gold and siluer which they purchased And all this they effected by their good Counsayle gentlenesse and patience giuing Kings thereby to vnderstand that if they be of a meeke peaceable and noble condition they shall be Lords and Masters of mens wealths and hearts And this made Polibius to say that a courteous and peaceable King conquers all with quietnesse euery man being willing to yeelde and submit himselfe to a soft and generous disposition that is free from anger and full of clemencie And this is that Legacie which God allotted and left vnto them long agoe in the olde Testament Mansueti haereditabunt terram The meeke shall inherit the earth And afterwards in the new Testament he renewes this promise Ipsi possidebunt terram They shall inherit the earth They shall be Lords of the earth That is of the men vpon earth and of their possessions For by this earth which God promiseth vnto them S. Bernard vnderstands the same earth whereof men are formed And it is vsuall in Scripture to call men earth And thereby is likewise vnderstood that of this world which wee heere inhabit the possessions thereof it 's gouernment Scepter and Monarchie for all this is but a Patrimonie bequeathed to a kinde smooth and louing nature The best Titles that a King can present before God for to pretend the preseruation and perpetuitie of his Kingdome are meekenesse and gentlenesse These Dauid represented vnto him when hee petitioned him that hee would be pleased to continue and confirme his kingdome in his sonne Memento Domine Dauid omnis mansuetudinis eius Lord remember Dauid and all his lowly carriage Whose heart was not haughty nor his eyes lofty but behaued and quieted himselfe as a childe that is weaned of his Mother And presently God collated this benefit vpon him saying Com cumpleti suerint dies tui suscitabo semen tuum post te firmabo regnum eius When thy dayes be fullfille● and thou shalt sleepe with thy fathers I will set vp thy seede after thee which shall proceede out of thy bowells and I will establish his Kingdome Such effects doth the smooth breast and soft heart of a King worke And this is so sure a Tenet that for to keepe a Kingdome secure and to be Lord of many moe there needeth no other claime then that which Loue and Gentlenesse maketh For in regard that the heart of man is generous it will not be led by the necke with a halter nor will subiects long indure the yoake of a Tyrannizing and proud Lord whereas on the contrary they are easily led a long by a smooth and gentle hand And reason teacheth vs as much for by how much the more easily is the heart of man moued by conueniences then by menaces by faire meanes then by foule by so much the better is it to gouerne by meekenesse and gentlenesse then by force and rigour Whence we draw this Conclusion That too much sharpnesse and excesse of rigour in a Prince procuteth hatred and affabilitie and clemencie Loue. Which is that which Kings ought most to seeke after as by and by we shall shew vnto you when wee come to tell you that these two qualities of blandure and clemencie so befitting a supreme Lord are quite contrarie to that good expedition of Iustice and that integritie which God doth require in a Iudge whom hee willeth and commaundeth That in matter of iudgement hee shall not pittie the case of the poore According to which Instruction it of force followeth that a King must represent two contrary persons that of a kind and pittifull Father and that of a iust and angry Iudge For if in his owne nature hee be kinde and tender hearted there is not that offender which will not be set free by the power of Intreaties and Teares weapons wherewith the hardest and cruellest hearts suffer themselues to be ouercome And if he be otherwise what can the delinquents hopes end in but death and despaire Againe if he be vertuous and seuere it is impossible that he should not hate the vicious and grow into choller when hee shall heare of their cruell outrages and insolencies Now what remedy in this case is to be vsed Saint Ierom and Saint Austen are of opinion that a King by his owne person is to punish and premiate to execute chasticement with iustice and to mitigate it with mercy Nor is it vnworthy our consideration nor lyable to inconueniencie that a King should represent two persons so contrary in shew as iudging with Iustice and Mercie For two vertues cannot bee contrary And as the Saints and holy Doctors say and they are in the right Mercie doth not hinder the execution of Iustice but it moderateth the crueltie of the punishment And it is very necessary in a good Iudge that hee should haue a true and faithfull paire of balance in his hands and in either scale to put rigor and equitie that hee may know how to correct the one by the other The Kings of Portugall especially Don Iuan the third did vse to iudge Capitall crimes accompanied with his Councell and were alway accounted fathers of the people because with them Iustice and Mercie walked hand in hand shewing themselues iust in punishing the fault and mercifull in mitigating the punishment By which meanes they were of all both feared and beloued And let not Kings perswade themselues that this doth lessen their authoritie and take of from their greatnesse but giues an addition and the oftner they sit in iudgement they shall doe God the more seruice and the Kingdome more good And in conscience the surest and safest course for that reciprocall obligation which is between the King and his subiects For they owe obedience seruice and acknowledgement to him as their Lord and Master And he vnto them Iustice Defence and Protection For to this end and purpose doe they pay him so many great Tributes and Taxes Nor is it enough for him to doe it by others but