Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	king_n	say_a	sovereign_a	23,708	5	10.0425	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17337	The orator handling a hundred seuerall discourses, in forme of declamations: some of the arguments being drawne from Titus Liuius and other ancient vvriters, the rest of the authors owne inuention: part of which are of matters happened in our age. Written in French by Alexander Siluayn, and Englished by L.P.; Epitomes des cent histoires tragicques. English	Le Sylvain, ca. 1535-ca. 1585.; Pyott, Lazarus.; Munday, Anthony, 1553-1633, attributed name.	1596 (1596)	STC 4182; ESTC S106976	248,629	426

answere of the possessors WE doe allow the same law which you alleage to be iust right but we know not whether we should account you amongst the liuing or the dead seeing that not onlie the people haue accounted you dead but the law it selfe hath adiudged you both for a dead man and also hath caused those to die who confessed that they killed you What witnesse is more like to be true then that which is aduouched by twaine not onelie to their owne hurt against themselues but to the detriment of their goods their honour and their liues If the testimonie which those miserable men haue produced against themselues hath been sufficient to cause them to lose their goods honour yea and their liues Why should not the same be of force to maintaine those in their possession which haue publikely bought an inheritance of him who by the witnesse aforesaid had power to sell and surrender the same If you haue anie interest therein take it you of them who are the cause of your hurt that is of the foresaid witnesses of the Iudge of the lord that tooke you prisoner or of your selfe who could take no order in your owne affaires or seeing you would not agree could not keepe you from your enemies it was no couetousnesse that made vs to buy your heritage but the zeale of the Commōwealth who are interessed when the lands are vnthriftilie wasted likewise you iudge amisse of vs if you think that the desire which we had of your death induced vs to beleeue the same for it was more hurtfull then profitable vnto vs because it was no small contentment vnto vs to haue so good a neighbour as wee haue alwaies esteemed you to be and for that we would be no more in danger to haue so bad a one as your sonne was or a worse we did buy his inheritance the which as our desire is that you should not lose the same so also would not we lose our siluer for the recompence of our care in preseruing your goods amending your heritage of all matters in strife the possessor being on the surer side hath the aduantage We haue nothing to proue against you but it is you that ought to prooue our bargaine to be fraudulent or of no worth and we beleeue that the Iudges will remember that we are not the causers either of your pouertie or age Furthermore they are not ignorant that the chiefest point which ought to be obserued in the Commonwealth is that cuerie one should bee maintained in the quiet possession of that which he hath iustlie gotten and paied for as wee haue done the inheritance which you doe wrongfullie require at our hands This former processe is true and hath been reported vnto me by the lord Iohn Chastillier Knight one of the Kings Counsell and surueior of his Maiesties treasure who assured me that hee was in Piemount during the foresaid processe And moreouer the said lord told me that after long arguing and much controuersies it was iudged that the plaintife should inioy his inheritance during his life without impairing or alieating the same but after his deceasse it should whollie reuert vnto those which did possesse and had bought the same of the said plaintifes sonne Declamation 88. Of Horatius who after he had himselfe alone vanquished the three Curiatij slew his sister that bewailed the death of her husband ABout that time as Rome began to flourish those of Alba an ancient cittie and to say the truth the very same from whence the Romanes had their beginning had some grudge towards Rome through which there arose a mortal war between them the which after many skirmishes and sundrie combates they agreed to end in this sort vz. That the three brethren of the Albanois named the Curiatij should fight hand to hand against other three brethren of the Romanes called the Horatij vpon condition that those which were ouercome their cittie and Commonwealth should for euer bee subiect vnto the other without contradiction or refusall wherevpon the said combattants being entred the lists the elder and the second brethren of the Horatij were suddainlie slaine the which the yoongest perceiuing he fained to run about the field as though he had beene ouercome wherfore the others were ashamed to pursue him altogether so that one alone following him eagerly Horatius suddainly turned backe and slew him and in the same sort he slew the second that was somwhat too slow in seconding his brother then making head against the last who had maried the sister of the said Horatij he likewise slue him not without receiuing also manie wounds himselfe whereof when he was healed hee came in triumph to Rome al the people and the noblest matrons of the citie meeting him by the way amongst whom by the commandement of her father his sister also went who had lost her said husband in the combat she seeing her brother triumph ouer the death of her husband her brethren in law lost all patience and setting apart al respect instead of welcomming him home she said vnto him Thou cruel menster how haddest thou the heart to slay my husband and saying so she burst forth into abundance of tears wherwith he being inraged answered art thou she alone amongst so many honorable ladies that art sorrie for the prosperitie and libertie of Rome or that repinest at my victory and saying so he gaue her a blow with his sword on the breast afterwards suddainly repenting himselfe for the deed hee alighted from his triumphant chaire indeuouring if it had ben possible to haue gotten life in her again but he could not for she suddainly died being great with child For which deed those that maligned the glory of Horatius tooke occasion to accuse him so sharply as he was cōdemned either to bear the yoke of an exe vpon his neck through Rome in signe of bondage or to bee whipped with rods and hanged vpon a crosse vntill hee were dead but he appealed from this sentence and his father pleaded for him in this sort WHether are your hearts and vnderstandings caried O you Romanes that you will thus persecute your redeemer Doe you not know that aboue all other vices Ingratitude is most displeasing vnto the gods How can you then prosper Surelie it is impossible Will you oppresse him that could not bee dismaied with the death of his two brethren much lesse discouraged with the presence of his three enemies Will you despise him whom the gods haue caused to be borne for the libertie and honour of Rome Know you not that in all this none hath been harmed but I Is it not sufficient that I haue lost two sonnes and a daughter but that I must also lose this son too who onlie is left to be the staffe of my age and comfort to my forepassed afflictions why would you make him a bondman that hath been the cause of your freedome Doe you not feare that this is an vnluckie token which threateneth all your

appeare either by your owne confession or by the triall which your selues shall make in drinking of your water Here is to be noted that these two womē did voluntarily drinke of their water and died rather then they would confesse the truth which the Senators knew alreadie for within a few daies after more then two hundred and seuenty women were condemned and there was neuer before that any accusation of impoysoning Declamation 94. Of an Earle of Flanders who by a wile did hang foure gentlemen for a robbery AN Earle of Flanders named Baldwin and surnamed Apquin was a very iust Prince and kept a great court Whervpon it happened that certaine Merchants being Iewellers came to visit him and they sold him certaine Iewels aterwards departing from thence they were pursued and robbed by foure Gentlemen in great fauor with the Earle who being accused by the said Merchants and they not being able to denie the deed the Earle was in such an exceeding rage as hee swore that hee would not sleepe before he saw them hanged by the necke but the goods being restored vnto the merchants many lords and ladies came to intreat for the gentlemen being prisoners vnto whome the Earle after long sute and much intreatie gaue some good hope Afterwards before he would goe to bed hee caused the prisoners to be brought into the hall and made foure towels to bee fastened to a beame vnder the which hee commanded a table to bee set then hee said vnto the prisoners You know the oath which I haue made wherefore I will fasten these towels about your necks then each of you list or draw vp your legs in such sort as I may say that I haue seene you hanged and afterwards setting your feet downe againe vpon the table you may vntie the towels and say that my oath is accomplished but another time bee better aduised The prisoners did the Earles commandement who seeing them well fastened to the towels threw the table to the ground and leauing them in that sort hanged he shut the hall dore where at the last they were strangled of themselues but their kinsfolke accused the Earle before his Soueraigne Lord the French King saying IF your Iustice and mercie most redoubted Soueraigne were not equall to your greatnesse in vaine should we haue recourse vnto your maiestie to haue right of your vassall our Earle who conuerteth Iustice into crueltie and especiallie against his gentlemen who for their vertue and valor are odious vnto him the which hate springeth of no other cause but onlie of a feare which he hath that they will not alwaies endure his cruelties For cruell men are naturallie cowards and consequentlie subiect to feare which proceedeth from the sting of their owne conscience that doth secretlie and continuallie accuse them now how sarre vnbeseeming cowardise and feare is for the nature of a French man the taking of Rome and winning of so manie Prouinces as well in Italie as in Greece Spaine and other countries doe witnesse and the rather because this warlike Nation could neuer be subdued by the Romans nor by anie others had it not ben for Ciuile discention amongst themselues So that it seemeth that the men of this Nation chieflie the gentlemen and chiefest of all he which ruseth being neither hardie nor couragious degene●●eth frō the worthinesse of that Nation and so consequentlie maketh himselfe vnworthie as being vild and abiect the which may be seene by our Earle if he may be so called that is an enemie of Nobilitie for what act can be more vild in a great lord then to vsurpe and take vpon him to execute the hangmans office and with his owne hands to hang the gentlemen of his train for a light fault which may rather be called a tricke of youth In Spain a man shall verie hardlie find one amongst the theeues in prison which would promise to be a hangman fiue years to saue his life Nay in euerie countrie there are none of that office but such as are murtherers or theeues How odious then ought that office to bee vnto a free man but more vnto a Nobleman and most of all vnto a Prince of a countrie who ought to be a spectacle vnto all men and a true patern of Nobilitie And so much the more odious is this fact because those that are common hangmen doe execute none but such as are condemned but these men were hanged before they were condemned If our Earle will not affirme that hee was both accuser Iudge and hangman altogether and that which was worst of all hee put them to death without confession not suffering them to haue onely so much leisure as to vnburden their consciences but euen vnder the coulor of sauing them he hath slain them Flaminius was accused of the Romane Censors because he being Praetor in Gaule caused a malefactor to be beheaded before him whilest he was at supper and our Earle thinketh that hee hath not done amisse to hang three Gentlemen betwixt his supper and his bed time a thing far differing from the clemencie required in a lord so great for euery lord that ruleth a country ought to take example by the Princes of the bees who either haue no sting at all or if they haue anie yet do they not vse it Finally if it please your Maiesty we are not alone wronged by this fact for your Maiestie hath lost foure seruants who if need had beene would not onlie haue imploied their wealth and their liues for your seruice but also might haue induced many others to doe the like for a valiant Gentleman draweth mens hearts after him The Commonwealth doth lose therby losing those who either for your Maiesties seruice or the countries safetie might haue ben conducters or leaders to the rest Moreouer by such liberal and noble persons diuers men doe gaine their liuing and others increase their wealth but alasse all this notwithstanding they are dead not by right but by the Earles rigor who was afraid least Iustice should haue ben done vnto them but who would not tremble in hearing it onelie repeated that an Earles hall hath serued for a prison his table for a ladder the beame for a gibbet and he for a hangman And yet the same is happened and hee himselfe dooth boast therof for such is the custome of those which resemble him that of vice they make vertue which is the greatest mischiefe that can happen in a Prouince and chiefly when the same commeth from the Prince Had it not ben most reasonable first to haue known whether the fault was committed and what was the cause with the rest of the circumstances therof And then to haue proceeded lawfully and rightlie against the offenders But it seemed that the Earle was afraid that hee should not haue found neither sergeant prison Iudge hangman ladder halters nor gallowes to execute these gentlemen for which cause he desired that all these foresaid mischiefes should bee found in his hall and in his person A man

may say that I speake with small respect vnto my lord but we protest that from henceforth we will neuer so account him and if wee cannot obtaine from the King the hoped remedie of our due reparation we make a vow that we our children parents kindred alies friends and whosoeuer els dependeth vpon vs will rather goe dwell amongst the Scithians or anie other more cruell nation then we will remain any longer vnder the gouernment of a man so infamous The earles Answere THe same Iustice mercie and Maiestie of the King which you imploy against me shall yeeld mee reason against all you and shall in my behalfe punish you for your no lesse vain then outragious and vnreuerent speeches wherefore I doe not refuse the iudgement of his Maiestie although the matter concerneth his highnes nothing at all in as much as those whom you speak of were no Gentlemen but robbers and theeues and for such haue I punished them and if anie would know why I did it not after the vsuall manner as there shall no reasons be wanting so am I not bound to tell them vnto anie but vnto such as it shall please my selfe therfore I will only say that they being in that sort put to death their ingrateful kindred towards me haue receiued lesse dishonour thereby then if they had beene made a publike spectacle to the people Likewise the nobilitie of Flanders are become so insolent as they stand in no aw at all of Iustice wherefore this Iustice no lesse suddaine then iust will make them to bethinke themselues twice before they will commit the like offence againe Moreouer you were resolued to saue them either by intreaties or otherwise therefore I desired to take away all occasion to ad vnto their death not onlie yours but also other mens destructions for he may be tearmed wise and vertuous which by one smal mischiefe can eschew farre greater mischances but he that dooth neuer so great good vnto the ingratefull receiueth nothing but hate and reproch for his reward euen so hath it happened to me herein If you who say that you are noble did know what nobilitie is and wherein it consisteth you would say that these robbers were no Gentlemen seeing that gentilitie cannot be grounded but only vpon vertue and as thereby the base borne attaine to nobilitie euen so he which continueth not therein loseth that nobilitie which his father hath left him to the intent that hee should bee vertuous for nothing is more pernicious in a Commonwealth then he who dooth falselie vsurpe the title of Nobility I do demand of you whether the sonne of a good musition may inherit his fathers cunning renoume chieflie to be a good musition without learning and thorowly exercising of musicke It seemeth not if then in an art of so small consequence a man cannot attaine vnto the fame or facultie of his father without he be the same in effect although it should not preiudice the Commonwealth in any sort how then can they inherit nobility who make no proofe therof by vertue by the which our ancestors haue gained it If nobility came but by descent it would be no lesse weake then of small continuance considering the multitude of those that die in the wars but vertue which doth thereby nobilitate others doth still maintain the same I haue then caused these villains to die secretly for the respect I had vnto their kindred who desired to remaine noble in following vertue for those which doe swarue from it a man may rightly say that nobility doth end in them and they which follow it cannot chuse but be noble indeed the which Cicero knew very well how to applie when Claudius said vnto him that he was no gentleman Truly said he in me doth the nobilitie of my race begin to bud as in you the gentrie of your stocke is alreadie blasted And since that I being so exceedingly bound vnto vertue as God hath made me by birth more noble and greater then any other of my countrie I haue done but my dutie in executing good speedie and short Iustice for Iustice surely is not the least kind of vertue and not to execute Iustice were cruelty wherefore I am not cruell much lesse a coward neither doe they speake the truth which doe say that I am an enemie to gentlemen or that I fear them but I am indeed an enemie to the vicious and I fear least they should hurt the good or that they should be corrupted by them now haue I been their executioner or hangman as you affirme but they themselues according to their deserts haue ben the butchers of their owne liues and were it otherwise yet is he rather a hangman which robbeth or killeth an honest man thē is he which executeth malefactors This Spanish pittie proceedeth of no other cause but onely for that they would not execute those which are of their profession yet to betray or murther good men they are nothing scrupulous The Prince of a countrie cannot shew anie better example then in performing Iustice the which I haue done And know you that the Iudges are not necessary but where the Prince is not present for proofe whereof Salomon himselfe iudged causes yet no other but the King can iudge me As for Flaminius he put a condemned man to death vpon pleasure onely to content an harlot but I haue executed foure to obserue Iustice But for any seruice that they might haue done for the King a man may as well say the like of all other theeues for such people can easilie assemble a great number of such worthlesse lewd fellows as they are Likewise it is not a small mischiefe that prodigalitie is wrongfully held for liberalitie as if the prodigall did not commit a thousand mischiefes to get wherewith to performe their follies as these foure did who by their prodigality became theeues Wherefore it may be affirmed that they and such as would maintaine them are those that esteeme vice to be vertue and villaines to be Gentlemen As for the small respect that you haue vsed in slandering me it is therein that I may shew my clemencie for it is true Magnanimitie to pardon great faults especially when none is offended therby by only he which pardoneth the same as I doe not only pardon you but also doe further beseech the King not to punish you because it may bee at your owne choice either to remaine in your countrie or to forsake the same not for that I care for such subiects as you are which disdaine me to be their lord but because I would not against my custome shew my selfe rigorous towards those who being ouercome by passiō do but offend me in words the rather because they which speake more then they should doe thereby but procure their owne shame And to conclude there is no reason that you should be beleeued concerning the dead But it may please the Kings Maiestie to bee better informed vpon this matter if it