2. Que el Rey es Vicario de dios para hazer iusticia en to dos los cosas That a King is Gods Vicar for to doe 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 Psal 23. 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 feede 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 Isai 40.11 in brachio suo congregabit agnos in sinu 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 Ezech. 34.23 Christ God said in respect of his people Ipse pascet eos ipse erit eis in pastorem I will set vp a shepheard ouer them and he shall feed them And in the next words following he cals him ioyntly King and shepheard Servus meus David Rex super eos Pastor unus erit 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 flocks 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 seene 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 parvulus 1 Kings 16 11. 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 become 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 haue 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 De post fottantibus accepit eum pascere Iacob Servum suum Israel haereditatem suam 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 â—hat a Citie but a great House Many houses make a Citie And many Cities make a kingdome And in point of gouernment they onely differ 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
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 auribus percipe obsecrationem meam Psal 143.1 Heare my prayer O Lord bow downe thine eare and hearken 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 Arist de Anima 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 partnes 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 called 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 Plin. natur Hist lib. 2. of all other creatures hath his eares immmobile 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 Psal 58.5 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 eare close to the ground and stopping the other with the tipp of their tayle that they may stop and damme vp all the wayes by which the Voyce of the Charmer might enter in Vnto whom Dauid compares those who being Oydos del Rey the Kings eares or to speake in the vsuall phrase Oydores del Reyno the Kingdomes eares doe shut and stop their eares that they may not giue due and fitting Audience Being naturally enemies to their owne profession which is to heare seeking out shiftes and tricks that the Cryes and Complaints of the poore may not come to their eares There is not any crueltie comparable to this to see a poore suitor trot vp and downe a moneth or two together labouring to haue Audience and in stead of letting him in hath the doore still shut against him Nature would not allow doores to the eares yet these that are the Common-wealths eares make profit of the doores of their houses and command them to be kept shut your suitors they come and goe but my sennior Oydor my Lord iudge he that should haue his doores open to giue open hearing to all Comers is shut vp in his closet and cannot be spoken withall
voluptuousnesse and let vs leaue tokens of our ioyfullnesse in euery place Let God doe what hee list in Heauen and let vs laugh and be merry here on earth We haue but a little time to liue let vs therefore take our pleasures while wee may This is all the care the wantons of this world take who do not thinke that there in an eternitie onely they study how they may best inioy themselues and their pleasures not once dreaming that there is a God or a iudgement to come to make them stand in awe of him but as men that make a scoffe and iest of that other world and that other life they wholly wed themselues to this Making that good which Salomon sayd Eccl. 8.15 Quod non esset homini bonum sub sole nisi quod comederet biberet atque gauderet Man hath no better thing vnder the Sunne then to eate and to drink and to be merry A Language onely beseeming such men as are to be carbonadoed for hel and made a dish for the Diuell for their disseruice towards God and their seruice to their belly Which kind of men Saint Paul lamenteth with teares flowing from his heart as being enemies to the Crosse of Christ and abhorred of God and his Saints CHAP. XXVIII When and at what time sports and pastimes are worthyest reprehension in Kings TO euery thing there is a season saith the Wiseman There is a time to weepe and a time to laugh A time for recreation and a time for labour Tempus plangendi Tempus saltandi Tempus amplexandi Eccl. 3.5 Tempus longe fieri ab amplexibus A time to mourne and a time to dance A time to imbrace and a time to refraine from imbracing The Chalde Paraphrase reades Opportunitas omni rei There is an opportunitie or fit season for euery thing And this opportunitie is a great matter in all whatsoeuer wee doe for it teacheth vs to take our due time and season To weepe when we should laugh is a ridiculous thing And to laugh when wee should shed teares is no lesse For Kings to play away so many thousand Ducatts and to spend I know not what meerely for their owne pleasure whilest their souldiers are ready to perish through hunger for want of pay and their house-hold Seruants runne in debt because they cannot receiue their wages in due time this sorteth not with that rule which the wise man would haue vs to obserue And is it not I pray you a disproportionable and vnseasonable thing to spend the time in intertainments and sports which is due vnto publicke causes and businesses of State In the second booke of the Kings is set downe a notable case wherewith God was highly offended And the case was this Factum est autem vertente anno eo tempore quo solent Reges ad bella procedere misit Dauid Ioab seruos suos cum eo 2 King â—1 1 et vniuersum Israel et vastauerunt filios Ammon et obsederum Rabaa Dauid autem remansis in Hierusalem Dum hac agerentur accidit vt surgeret Dauid de strato sâ—â— post meridiem et deambularet in solario demus regiae viditque mulierem se 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 wherewith all 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 them 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 Ionah 3.6 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 2 King 24.17 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
another mans faith and credit by telling him hee lyes And it is a thing much to be laughed at or to say better much to be lamented to see the great folly and rash proceeding which passeth in this kinde and concerning this matter for they acknowledging in these their Lawes and Duels what a great obligation they haue to maintaine this their faith reputation and credit by alwayes saying and treating truth vpon the very least aspersion shadowe or note of falshood they risent it so much that they sticke not to fall into a worse sinne such as is a very Lye it selfe a loude lye by lying so easily and ordinarily as some doe I aske the question which is worse to bee lame or crooked or to say such a one is so when as there is no such thing Certainly it is much worse to be so then to be sayd to be so And to him that is not so me thinkes he should make but little reckoning of what they say in that kinde and should rather indeauour to flye from any default in himselfe then from the bare opinion and shadowe thereof Now a lye being a greater ill and a farre fouler default then all these men fall so easily thereinto and make so little scruple of Lying and more Lying vying Lye vpon lye yea euen those that will lay downe their life rather then indure that men should tell them they Lye though themselues know they lye and that they lye not who tell them they lye being onely offended with them that they will not take a Lye for a truth or at least let them goe away with it without the least reproofe or contradiction which ingenious natures can hardly indure especially when they know that they are in the right and the other in the wrong Certainely of all other Vices Lying is the most vnworthy noble and gentle blood And it is such a Labrinth that the more a man seekes to get out of it the more he findes himselfe out of the way So that a man striuing to get out of one lye falls into another and from that to a third and all of them worse then the former Heere I will aduertise by the way that it is a common and vsuall Language with your Courtiers which may seeme to carrye a shew of truth but indeede is full of lyes and falsehood And this it is When they will cumply in words with them who recommend themselues or their suites vnto them they say Sir vse you your best diligences for I will doe my part and God knowes that I haue and doe that which belongs to mee And true it is for God knowes that his part is to lye and onely to compliment with this poore pretender and to doe nothing at all in that which he pretendeth I apply my selfe to that olde and ancient language of the Noblemen of Castile ingrauen on the sword of Cid Rui DiaZ Si fi no no yea yea nay nay which is a Lesson that is taught vs by our Sauiour Christ in his holy Gospell This is that which befitteth all men but more especially Kings for to indeare this or that mans truth we vsually say Que tiene palabra de Rey That a King cannot keepe his word better then hee doth or is more precise of his promise And therefore I hold for certaine that that which Plato yeelds vnto Kings and Magistrates concerning this point if it bee well vnderstood is not to lye 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 Iosh 9.15 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 Isidor lib. 2. Synonimorum D. Th. 2.2 q. 100. art 4. ad 5. 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 2 Cor. 1.19 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
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 Heraclides in Politicis Senec. Epist 60. Bald. in cap. 1. de renun 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 Psal 33.10 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 Prou. 21.30 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 burt 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 a voided 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 neere And he that is not Gods friend nor studies by his Actions to be so let him shake hands with the Holy Ghost let him bid this blessed Spirit farewell this diuine gift Greg. Nyss lib. de lib. arbitrie which is the best saith Nissenus and the most perfect that is in Man so that for to giue Counsaile and Aduice yeares experience and gray hayres suffice not vnlesse his soule be as white as his head and his conscience be pure and cleane from corruption Cani enim sunt sensus hominis The good abilities Galen decognosc curand animi morbis cap. 3. and wise apprehensions of man are those true siluer haires those hoary locks which countenance him and adde authoritie vnto him and not those snowie flakes nor hoare-frost that lies vpon his bearde Aetas Senectutis Vita immaculata Wisd 4.9 Wisedome is the gray hayre vnto men and an vnspotted life is old age So the wiseman renders it of vertuous olde men Galen saith that they haue the facultie of aduising and that of them wee must aske Counsaile God Commanded Moses that he should make choise of the Elders of Israel to gouerne his people De senibus Israel quòs tu nosti Numb 11.16 quod senes populi sint Gather vnto me 70. men of the Elders of Israel whom thou knowest to be the Elders of the people Hoary-headed men accompanied with much vertue an approued life soundnesse of Religion and much prudence are those that are worthy to giue Counsaile and those which Kings are to make choyse of for their seruice The Emperour Charles the fift sayd it was fit that Princes should be serued by men that were learned and vertuous and that the Counsaile and companie of those which were not so were very preiudiciall and hurtfull Counsailours likewise must be of that greatnesse of courage and magnanimitie as may correspond with the Dignitie royall For Kings that haue not had in themselues any great courage haue still honoured noble-minded Counsailours whereas the contrary haue bin disgraced and degraded of their honours by Kings that were naturally magnanimous For it is the condition of cowardly hearts and of base Counsailours en cuerpo y alma as they say in body and soule to propose vnto their Kings base and vnworthy meanes for the remedying of some mischiefes whereon others follow that are farre greater And let them not perswade them that this Age is barraine of vertuous dispositions and Noble mindes which produceth as well as former times whatsoeuer is necessary and needefull for them For the diuine prudence to which particularly appertaineth the conseruation of kingdoms is neuer drawen dry neuer waxes weary And if such men are wanting and appeare not to the eye of the world it is because they are not sought after or not admitted to Councell for the chastisement and punishment of our great and heinous sinnes Besides this one benefit Kings haue aboue others that all good men would be glad to serue them and many do sue and seeke after them and offer their seruice vnto them So that they haue store of choise and may easily make good election if therein they will strip and cleanse themselues of their affections and passions which Eclipse and darken the true iudgement of man And these that I now speake of when they haue found them and made choise of them to be of their Councell let them loue them honour them and trust them And as they shall receiue ease and honour by their good Aduise So let them reward them and conceiue of them as king Alexander did of his Master and Counsellour Aristotle of whom he said that he ought no lesse respect vnto him then vnto his owne father For from his father he had his life his honour and his kingdome but from Aristotle his Instructions Counsailes and directions how he should order himselfe in all his affaires And Scipio doth attribute all the honour of his Victories to his faithfull friend and Counsellour Laelius And Cicero to the Philosopher Publius Cicero lib. 4. epist fam epist vltima for those notable things of his gouernment which he performed in his Consullship so that good and faithfull Counsailours are of great honour profit and ease vnto Kings But let Kings take heede least they strike a feare into their Counselours through their absolute and free condition and make them to withdraw themselues from aduising them what is fitting by seeing them so wedded to their owne opinion and to excuse themselues from giuing Counsaile for that they are dis-heartned discountenanced by them for deliuering their mindes freely for their profit honour Of the Emperour Adrian it is storyed that hee had so noble a condition Vt libenter patiebatur admoneri corrigi
bring them forth together And in another place as if God did answer these the desires of the Iust he sayth Ierem. 23.5 Ecce dies veniunt dicit dominus suscitabo Dauid germen iustum regnabit Rex Sapiens erit faciet iudicium et iustitiam in terra Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will raise vnto Dauid a righteous branch and a King shall raigne and prosper and shall execute iudgement 3 King 3. and Iustice in the earth And in the third booke of the Kings God being willing to grace and autorize the person of Salomon who was the Type figure of the true King of Kings our Sauiour Iesus Christ had no soner the Crowne set on his head the possession of the Kingdom settled vpon him but there was presently offred and put into his hands a great occasion for to shew his prudence and wisedome and his great noblenesse and courage for to do iustice The Case was a common and knowen Case it was betwixt two women that were friends and Companions who leading a lewd and dishonest life were deliuered or brought to bed both at one time and sleeping together in one bed the one of them being oppressed with a heauie sleepe ouer-layd her childe and when she awaked shee found it to be dead And at the same instant without being felt or perceiued bv her Companion she puts me the dead childe by her and tooke the liuing childe to her selfe But this theft could not be so couered for all her cunning carriage but that the other knew that the dead childe which was layd by her side was not hers but the liuing The other with a great deale of impudencie and dissimulation deny'de it And because they could not agree vpon the busines they resolued to goe to King Salomon before whom the busines was continued with the like stiffenesse and obstinate contestation giuing each other the Lye and other the like bold and vnciuill speeches as is vsuall with such kinde of women The King finding no more proofe nor reason of credit in the one then the other commanded a caruing Knife to be brought into the open Courte that diuiding the liuing childe in the middst the one halfe should be giuen to the one and the other to the other Thereupon the true Mother trembling and quaking and feeling that knife already in her owne bowels which was to part her childe in twaine besought the King that this his sentence might not be executed but that the childe might be deliuered ouer whole to the other Which being well weigh'd and considered by this wise King and good Iusticer he knew thereby that she was the true Mother and so gaue order that the childe should be restored vnto her And the holy Scripture saith That the same of this notable peece of Iustice was divulged farre and neere and that there grew thence a great respect in all the people of Israel towards this their most prudent King who had with so much iudgement and wisedome administred Iustice Audiait itaque omnis Israel iudicium quod iudicasset Rex 3. King 3.28 et timuerunt Regem videntes sapientiam Dei esse in illo ad faciendum iudicium All Israel heard the iudgement which the King had iudged and they feared the King for they saw that the wisedome of God was in him to doe Iustice So that when they saw how iust a King he was and with what a deale of vprightnes he did administer Iustice the people shouted for ioy and cryed out that his wisdome was from heauen and though he were then very young they began to feare and reuerence him very much And therefore if a king will be beloued esteemed and respected of his subiects he must be a iust King For most certaine it is that if Kings will pretend honour authoritie credit estimation and respect they cannot take any better course for it then by giuing to euery one that which appertaineth vnto him with a iust hand Summum in regibus bonum est saith Saint Gregory iustitiam colere Greg. lib. 7. Epist 120 ac sua cuique iura seruare It is the greatest goodnesse and highest commendation in Kings to honour iustice and let euery man enioy his proper rightes and priuiledges And so it is that there is not any thing whereby Kings doe more gaine the Common voyce for the augmentation of their authoritie and increase of their Estates or that doth more incline the minds of their subiects to respect obedience then to know that they are wise sincere full of integrity of great zeale in the administratiō of Iustice For then all wil willingly obay him heartily loue him liuing in an assured hope that all his actions wil be measured weighed and crownd with Equity and Iustice Let therefore the Conclusion of this discourse be That according to Plato the greatest prayse that can be giuen to a King is in consideration of this Vertue for as wee will shew you by and by it imbraceth all vertues in it selfe And there is not any Title more honourable or that doth so quadrare so square and sute with a King as that of lust whereby a King is made as it were a God vpon earth and becomes like vnto him in rewarding and punishing Anaxagoras and Homer called Kings Iovis discipulos Iupiters Schollers because in imitation of the Gods they did administer Iustice And anciently they were tearmed sacratissimi most sacred In effect Iustice is a vertue truely regall and most proper vnto Kings because it appertaines vnto them by Office and doth constitute them in their being of Kings Diodor. Sicul. lib. 4. c. 1. for without it they cannot be And therfore your Aegyptian Theologians with one and the same symbole which was an open-Eye did signifie both a king and Iustice For neither a king without it nor it without a King can performe their office And therefore Plato calls her the Ouerseer Plato lib. 9. delegibus and the Reuenger of all things in regard of that great vigilancie which Kings ought to haue in executing Iustice and in seeing and knowing what passeth in the kingdome for kingdomes for this cause are content to become subiect vnto them out of a confidence they haue that they shall be protected by them This is the thing saith Osorrus that Kings must looke vnto Osor lib 4 de reg Instit This must be their cheife care and study In studium iustitia omnes regis curae et cogitationes omnes labores atque vigiliae omnia denique studia consumenda sunt Ea namque à principio Reges creauit The doing or not doing of Iustice is that which either sets vp or puls downe Kings And that King must make a new conquest of Kingdomes If those which he hath already gained be not conserued and defended by the force and power of Iustice which is the maine pillar and onely prop to speake of that
esteeme and made it the top of their glory for by this meanes they came to be as great in the loue of their subiects as in their rule and Command Of whose examples humane Histories are full but I shall only cite those are that Diuine which neither adde nor diminish by indeering things more then they deserue Where it is storyed of that great Captaine and Gouernour of Gods people that he was of the mildest and peaceablest condition and of so soft and sweete a â—â—ture that the world afforded not his like Erat Moses vir mitissimus Num. 12.3 super omnes hâ—mines qui morabantur in terra Moses was very meeke aboue all the men which were vpon the face of the earth And he of all other had most neede of this most noble qualitie for to beare with the bitter taunts and reproachfull words of that stiffe-necked and vnthankfull people And this is indeared by Saint Ambrose Ambr. lib. 2. Offi. cap. 7. and Philo Iudaeus both of them affirming That towards God onely hee shewd himselfe as stout as a Lyon and full of courage resisting the vengeance that God would haue taken of his people but with them was as meeke and gentle as a Lambe A generous breast and the courteous and plaine carriage of Kings ouercometh all pacifieth all and leuelleth the vneuenest and crookedest dispositions Which we may well exemplifie in Iacob and Dauid Of the former the Scripture saith Gen. 27.11 Erat homo lenis He was a smoth man He was smooth in his countenance sweete in his conuersation and naturally of a generous and peaceable condition Now see what he got by this Hee gayned his fathers blessing his brothers birth right his Vnckles daughters and wealth and the good will and loue of all men And of Dauid it is sayd Erat rufus pulcher aspectu facieque decera 1 King 16.12 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 sight 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 1 Macab â— are recounted the heroyicall Acts which that great Captaine Iudas and his brethren atcheiued in Spaine the Kings and Kingdomes which they subdued the 〈◊〉 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 Psal 37.11 The meeke shall inherit the earth And afterwards in the new Testament he renewes this promise Ipsi possidebunt terram Mat. 5.5 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 Psal 131.1 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 fuerint dies tui susâ—â—â—bo semen tuum post â—e 2 King 7.12 firmâ—bo regnam eius When thy dayes be fullfilled 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 procureth 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 kinde 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 Hier. Sup. Ierom.