honour'd with a Scepter and his Head with a Diadem as a Badge of the Power and Sovereignty which they had conferr'd upon him which should principally consist in Justice by which he should preserve and defend his Subjects in Peace so that without that there is no Order of Government 2 Nam Respub nulla â—st ubi leges non teâ—ent Imperium Arist. Pol. 4. cap. 4. and all Kingly Authority ceases as it happened in Castile which was reduc'd to the Government of Judges the Kings being excluded for the Injustice of Ordonno and Fruela This Justice could not be well administer'd by the mere Law of Nature without imminent Danger to the Commonwealth for since 't is defin'd to be a constant and perpetual desire of giving to every one their own 3 For Justice is immortal Wisd. 1. 15. it would be very dangerous if it should depend upon the Opinion and Judgment of the Prince and not be written nor can mere natural Reason though free from Affections and Passions give true Judgment in such variety of Cases as happen continually So that 't was necessary for States to arm themselves with Laws deduc'd from long use and experience as well Penal as Distributive these to punish faults and those to give every one his own Penal Laws are represented by a Sword the Emblem of Justice as Trajan intimated reaching a Sword to the Captain of his Guards with these Words Take this and if I govern well use it for me if not against me Equally sharp on both sides as well for the Rich as the Poor not with one Edge blunt and t'other sharp to spare one and hurt another Distributive Laws are represented by a Rule Square which measures indifferently the Actions and Rights of all 4 Legâ—m scimus Iusti injustique regulam esse Seneca By this Rule of Justice things ought to be measured not this Rule by things as the Lesbian Rule was which being made of Lead easily adapted it self to all shapes of the Stone The Prince ought to give Life and Vigour to both King Alphonso the Wise said That a King was the Heart and Soul of the State And in another place he says That Rex a King is the same with Regula a Rule Rex a King and Lex a Law differ but in one Letter and what else is a King but the speaking-Speaking-law and the Law but a dumb King so much King that could it exert it self it should govern alone Prudence has as it were divided the Power of Princes and yet in their Persons it remains whole yet it has subtilly transferr'd part thereof to Paper so that it has left Majesty written and expos'd to the view of all for the exercise of Justice so that Justice and Chastisement by means of the Law anticipating Crimes the Sentence might not be ascrib'd to the Will Passion or Interest of the Prince and that he might avoid the Odium of his Subjects The Law is an excuse for Rigour a discountenancer of Favour an invisible Arm of the Prince with which he holds the Reigns of the Government There is no better way to make Authority respected and obeyed for which reason the Law should be punctually observ'd nor should force be us'd in any thing which may be decided by Law 5 Nec utendum imperio ubi legibus agi possit Tac. 3. Ann. When once a Prince proceeds that way the Laws will soon lose their force and efficacy 6 Minui jura quoties gliscat potestas Tac. 3. Ann. Crimes will be reckon'd Innocence and Justice Tyranny 7 The work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever Isaiah 32. 17. Nor is the Power of the Prince a little diminish'd for that is ever more effectual with the Law than without it 'T is the Law that crowns defends and confirms a Prince 8 Inauditi atque defensi tanquam innocentes peritant Tac. 1. Hist. without it there would be no difference between Subjection and Command True Policy is founded upon the Law not upon Arbitrary Sway. They are the true Rule of Government the Roads of Policy by them as by certain Lines the Ship of the State fails securely they are the Walls of Civil Power the Eyes and Soul of the State the Fetters of the Mob and the Bridle the present Emblem which Guides and Curbs it 9 Factae sunt autem leges ut eorum metu humana coerceatur audacia tutaque sit inter improbos innocentia in ipsis improbis reformidato supplicio refraenetur audacia nocendi facultas Isid. lib. 2. Etymol L. legibus C. de leg Even Tyranny it self can't subsist without them The Determination of Justice could not be safely committed to the inconstancy of the Will which is subject to so many Affections and Passions and of it self perfectly blind but it was necessary that it should be restrain'd by certain fix'd Decrees and Statutes founded upon Reason and Prudence which should without distinction be Obligatory to all Such are the Laws which experience of past Accidents has provided for future ones and since they can't explain themselves but are mere Bodies which receive Soul and understanding from the Judges with whose Tongues they speak and by whose Pens they are explain'd and apply'd to particular Cases it being impossible to comprehend all let a Prince be very careful to whom he commits them for in them he entrusts his very Being and the chief Instruments of Government but the choice being once rightly made let him not hinder the free exercise and ordinary course thereof but leave it wholly to the Magistrate but if Princes will through Clemency or Arbitrary Power intermeddle with the Exposition of the Laws all this Politick Structure will fall and those Laws which should prop and support it rather cause its ruin Tyranny is nothing else but an ignorance and contempt of the Laws assuming to it self their Power and Authority This Rome of old bewail'd as the chief cause of its Slavery Augustus arrogating to himself the chiefest Offices in the Law that he might the better play the Tyrant 10 Insurgere paulatim munia senatus Magistratuum legum in se trabere Tac. 1. Ann. When Caesar to himself assum'd the Laws Poor Rome grew soon degenerate and base Forgot her War and slept in servile Peace Claud. A Prince in obstructing the Laws encourages Vice as it happ'ned in the time of the Emperor Claudius 11 Nam cuncta legum Magistratuum muâ—ia in se trahens Princeps materiam praedandi patefecit Tac. 11. Ann. â— Multiplicity of Laws are very dangerous to a State for they destroy one another being too numerous they create Confusion and Oblivion or when they can't be observ'd are despis'd A sure sign of a dissolute and corrupt State one contradicts another and makes room for sinister Interpretations and different Opinions whence arise Disputes and Contentions The greatest part of the People are
Alexandria without his leave 8 Acerrimè increpuit quod contra institutum Augusti non sponte Principis Alexandriam introisset Tac. 2. ann but for the greater Security and the better to keep the Minister in obedience 't would be convenient to allow a little more Authority to the Magistracy of the Province for there are no Curbs stronger than that nor more ready to oppose the Faults of the Governor Mean and abject Spirits such as have no Ambition of Glory or thirst for Preferments are fit for no Employ The chief Quality which God found in Ioshuah to introduce him into the management of Affairs was that he had a great Spirit 9 Numb 27. 18. But yet the Courage should not be so great as to repine at his being born a Subject and not be contented with his Condition for the Loyalty of such is in great Danger because they aspire always to the highest step which if they attain not 't is either for want of Power or Wit besides they soon flag in their Zeal for the Publick and Obedience to their Prince Great Spirits are not less dangerous at least if they are not docile and modest for being very positive and conceited of their own Opinions they are apt to slight Commands and believe that all should be governed at their Pleasure A person is as troublesome for his good Qualifications as for his having none at all for there is no satisfying him who presumes too much upon his Merit Tiberius never desired great Vertues in Offices of Trust and hated Vices too for from one he feared Danger to himself from t' other Scandal to the Government 10 Neque enim imminentes virtutes sectabatur rursus vitia oderat ex optimis periculum sibi à pessimis dedecus publicum metuebat Tac. 1. ann Nor are those fit for Ministers who are rich and of great Families for having no need of the Prince and flowing in plenty of all things they won't expose themselves to Perils and Toils nor can nor will they be under Command 11 Qui in affluentia fortunae virium opum amicorum aÌ„lioruamque talium constituti sunt Reginaeque obâ—dire norunt Arist. 4. Pol. c. 11. Whence Sosibius Britannicus us'd to say Princes can't endure Riches in the Commons 12 Auri vim atque opes Principibus infensas Tac. 11. ann When a Prince shall have made Choice of a Minister with all due Circumspection let him seemingly put an entire Confidence in him but always keep an Eye upon his Actions and Intelligences and if they are any ways suspicious let him be removed to another Post where he will want opportunity to make a party to execute his ill Designs for there is more prudence and kindness in preventing a Crime than in forgiving it when committed if Germanicus's Victory and the Soldiers Applause pleas'd Tiberius on one hand on t' other they made him jealous and uneasie 13 Nuntiata ea Tiberium laetitia curaque affecere Tac. 1. ann And understanding the Commotions in the East he was glad of a Pretence ea expose him to Dangers by making him Governour of those Provinces 14 Ut to specie Germanicum suetis Legionibus abstraheret novâ—sque Provineiis impositum dolo simul casibus objectaret Tac. 2. ann Now if any Minister is to be removed it should be done under the pretence of Honour and before the Reasons are known with such prudence as mayn't give him Reason to mistrust the Princes disgust for as fear of being cheated is the way to be cheated so Suspicion of Loyalty makes Traytors for which Reason Tiberius having a mind to recall Germanicus to Rome did it under a pretence of a Triumph which he design'd him 15 Acriùs modestiam ejus aggreditur alterum Consulatum offerendâ— Tac. 2. ann offering him other Preferments of which Princes are very liberal when they would free themselves from their Jealousies If a Subject once loses the Respect he owes his Prince after Confidence will never secure him Sancbo the first King of Leon pardoned Count Gonzalo for having taken up Arms against him endeavouring to reconcile him by his Favours but those by which he thought to have oblig'd him only gave him opportunity to poyson him When Princes are concerned with one another there is no Obligation of Friendship or Affinity a sufficient Reason for their trusting each other Don Ferdinand the great King of Castile and his Brother Garcias of Navarre were at difference he as he lay sick at Nacar had a design to seize his Brother who came to pay him a Visit but his Design not succeeding he had a mind to dissemble his Intent by visiting his Brother who caused him to be apprehended * Mar. Hist. Hisp. Revenge and State-Policy is of greater Force than Friendship or Consanguinity The same befel Don Garcias King of Galicia for having trusted his Brother Alonso King of Castile the most irreconcileable falling out is that between Relations and dearest Friends 16 Difficiles fratrum dissentiones qui valdè amâ—nt valdè edio habent Arist. 7. Pol. c. 6. and perfect Hatred is the result of perfect Love from all which we may infer how difficult a thing 't is for a Prince to trust himself in the hands of his Enemies it cost the King of Granada his Life for going though with a Pass port to ask assistance from King Peter the Cruel Lewis Forza Duke of Milan was more cautious refusing an Interview with the King of France unless in the midst of a River or upon a broken Bridge A true piece of Italian Policy not to trust where they have once shew'd a Jealousie for which Reason the Italians were much admir'd at the Interview between the great Captain and King Ferdinand the Catholick as also at that between the same King and the King of France his Enemy In some Cases Confidence is more safe and necessary to gain peoples Affections than Distrust Don Alonso VI. having lost his Kingdom of Leon liv'd retir'd at the Court of the King of Toledo who was a Moor when upon the Death of Don Sancho his Sates recalled him to his Throne with the greatest privacy imaginable fearing lest if it should come to be known by the Moors they might retain him by force he like a prudent and grateful Prince discovered the whole Affair this Confidence so oblig'd the Barbarian King who before understood the Intrigue and design'd to seize him that he not only let him go free but also furnished him with Money for his Voyage See the power of Gratitude which disarms even the most savage Spirits * Mar. Hist. Hisp. Distrusts between Princes can't be cur'd by Satisfactions or Excuses but by their contrary if time won't heal them diligence never will these are a kind of wounds which the Probe and the Hand does but more exulcerate and a sort of apparent Jealousies which are an Introduction to Infidelity EMBLEM LII
them but Succession makes these negligent and careless Whence 't is an Observation that those who acquire Kingdoms usually keep 'em and those who receive them lose them 27 Qui occuparunt imperia eoâ—um plerique eadem retinuâ—runt qui vero tradita ab aliis accepere hi statim ferâ— omnes amiserunt Arist. 5. Pol. 9. The Holy Spirit says that Kingdoms pass from one Nation to another because of Injustice Injuries and Deceit 28 Eccles. 1. 8. I conclude the present Discourse with two Cautions first that the Preservation of States does not always depend on their being far from the Causes of their Ruin but sometimes on their being near them 29 Conservantur etiam Respub non solum quiâ— procuâ— sunt ab iis â—uae interitum affâ—runt sed etiam quia prope sunt nam Timor intentiore curâ— Râ—iâ—ab consulâ—re câ—gis Arist. 5. pol. cap. 8. for Fear creates Care and Diligence the other is that 〈◊〉 in the Person of the Prince or in the Body of the State the least ill should be taken most Care of for they increase insensibly without being perceived till they are past Remedy 30 Ibid. A small Worm destroys the tallest Cedar the little Remora stops the Course of a Ship under sail frivolous Losses caus'd the Ruin of the Roman Empire A slight disorder of Body is often more dangerous than a real Sickness for that is not minded this diligently taken Care of We immediately apply Medicines to a Fever but never heed a Cold from which the greatest Distempers proceed EMBLEM LXI AN Harp Forms a compleat Aristocracy compos'd of Monarchy and Democracy understanding Presides several Fingers govern and many Strings obey not with a particular but general and common Harmony so that the Disproportion between the great and little ones don't spoil the Tune One may justly compare to a a Harp every Republick in which long Practice and Experience have appointed who shall command and who obey in which they have establish'd Laws elected Magistrates distinguished Offices prescribed set Rules and Methods of Government and instituted in each part of the Republick such Customs and Laws as are most conformable and consentaneous to its Nature This makes the first Institutions durable and not easie to be chang'd This Harp of Kingdoms and Commonwealths being thus fitted up and all the Strings tun'd and dispos'd in Order though any one should â—ansie he could better tune any one of them he ought to have a better opinion of the Prudence and Judgment of his Ancestors whom long Practice and dear bought Experience had instructed for some Ways and Methods of Government though they have some Inconveniences are yet better born with than alter'd A prudent Prince tunes the strings in the same Order they stand in not changing them without time or other accidents have so discompos'd them that they can't perform the Office they were first design'd for wherefore a Prince should perfectly understand this Harp of his Empire and the Grace and Majesty that attends it and be throughly vers'd in the Nature Qualities and Genius's of the Nobility and Commons which are its main Strings For as King Alphonso says in one of his Laws A King 's greatest Care should be to know Men for since tis them he has to do with an exact Knowledge of them is absolutely necessary * L. 13. tit 5. p. 2. In this consists the principal Art of Government To know his Subjects is a King 's best Art †Maâ—â— Those who have most apply'd themselves to this Study have govern'd with most Success Many take this Harp in their hand but few can finger it with Judgment few understand its Nature and can touch it agreeably Let therefore a Prince know that a Kingdom is nothing but an Union of many Cities and People and a joynt Consent to the Command of some one and the Obedience of the rest which Consent Ambition and Force introduc'd Concord at first rais'd and Concord preserves it Justice and Clemency keep it alive 't is the Care of others Safety its Spâ—rit consists in Unity of Religion its Increase Preservation or Ruin depends upon the Parts of which it is compos'd It admits of no Companion is expos'd to all Dangers In it more than any thing Fortune shews her Inconstancy 'T is liable to Envy and Emulation 't is in more danger in Prosperity than Adversity for then it lives in Security which creates Pride from whence proceeds its Ruin when young 't is weak and when old decrepid 't is as much in danger in continual Peace as in War It falls of its self when not exercis'd by foreign Arms and when it once begins to fall it cannot stop it self there is no Interval between its highest Elevation and its Ruin Emulation sometimes raises it and sometimes oppresses it If it be small it can't defend it self if great it can't govern it self it is better govern'd by Art than Force 't is fond of Novelties though they are its bane Vertue is its Health and Vice its Sickness Labour raises it and Idleness is its Ruin 't is fortified by Forts and Alliances and establish'd by Laws the Magistracy is its Heart Counsel its Eyes Arms its Hands and Riches its Feet This Harp is attended with a certain Majesty which is a Harmony springing from the strings of the People and approv'd by Heaven 1 1 Kings 2. 24. An Emblem of Power and Splendour of supream Jurisdiction a certain Force which draws Authority and Obedience to it the Safeguard and Preservation of the Government Opinion and Fame give it Life Love Security Fear Authority Ostentation Greatness Ceremony Reverence Severity Respect Pomp Esteem in Retirement the more venerable 't is in danger of Contempt and Hate It neither bears Equality nor Division for it consists in Admiration and Unity 't is constant in either Fortune Respect strengthens it Arms and the Laws maintain it it lasts not in Pride nor falls in Humility It lives by Prudence and Beneficence and dies by Force and Vice The strings of a Harp are the People which are naturally monstrous different from themselves inconstant and various govern'd by outward appearances without searching to the bottom of things they take Counsel of Report so void of means and reason that they cannot distinguish Truth from Falshood always prone to mischief The same minute of two contrary Affections by which they are always guided not by Reason by Violence not Prudence by the shadow not the reality Only to be tam'd by Punishment Their Flatteries are an aukward medly of Truth and Falsity they know no Medium they love or hate to Excess are extreamly Complaisant or extreamly Insolent either fear or frighten and when they fear are most contemptible Small Dangers at hand terrifie them strangely but great ones at a distance they are unconcern'd at If a Servant slavish if a Master haughty know not what Liberty is themselves and will not suffer it in others Bold
Courage that is without Reason provoked In a word no Vice is more unbecoming a Prince than that for to be angry supposes contempt or an injury received nor is any thing so disagreable to his Place and Office in as much as nothing so obscures the Judgment which should in a Governor be serene and clear A Prince that is exasperated and passionate upon any slight occasion gives his Heart into the Hands of the Person who provokes him and is subject to his pleasure If not a wrinkle in a King's Coat can be disordered without offence what will it be if he suffer any one to disturb his Mind Anger is a kind of Moth which Purple breeds and nourishes Pomp engenders Pride Pride Passion and Impatience is as it were a Propriety of Power The Sense of Princes is something too delicate a Looking Glass which the least breath sullies a Heaven that with the least Vapour is clouded and breaks out into Thunder A Vice that generally seizes great and generous Spirits as the Sea however vast and powerful is with the least blast of Wind raised into horrid Disorders and Tempests with this only difference that they are of much longer continuance in Princes Minds than in the Sea especially if their Honour be concerned which they imagine 't is impossible to retrieve without Revenge What a trifling piece of incivility was that Sancho King of Navarre put upon Alphonsus the Third after the Battel of Arcos in returning without taking leave of him Which however this so highly resented that he could never forget it or rest till he had got him out of his Kingdom The Anger of Princes is like Gun-powder which no sooner takes Fire but has its effect the Holy Spirit calls it the Messenger of Death 3 The Wâ—ath of Kings is as Messengers of Death Prov. 16. 14. and barely on this account 't were sufficiently reasonable to curb and restrain it 'T is very indecent for one in Authority to submit to this Passion Let Princes remember that nothing is put in their Hands for a Scepter with which they can hurt And if sometimes a naked Sword is carried before Kings 't is in token of Justice not Revenge and then 't is carried in another's hand to intimate that between Anger and Execution there ought to intercede a Command The publick Safety depends on Princes which will easily be in danger if they hearken to so rash a Counsellor as Anger Who can escape its hands For 't is like a Thunder-bolt when it comes from Supreme Power And because says King Alphonso Anger is stronger in a King and more dangerous than in others in that he can more readily satisfy it he ought to be more prepar'd to curb and correct it †L. 10. tit p 2. If Princes in a Passion could look upon themselves they would find a Countenance unbecoming such Majesty whose Tranquility and agreeable Harmony both of Words and Actions ought to please rather than terrify to acquire Love rather than Fear A Prince therefore should quench the Heat and Violence of Anger if he can't do so at least to defer the Fury and Execution of it for some time For as the same King Alphonso has said A King ought to keep in his Anger till it is over this will be of great advantage to him for so he will be able to judge truly and act justly in all things * L. tit 5 p. 2. The Emperor Theodosius experienced this in himself and for this reason enacted a Law That Capital Punishments should not be executed till thirty Days after Sentence passed Which Tiberius had before him decreed though for only ten Days and without giving the Senate power to revoke the Sentence once pronounced 4 Idque vitae spatium damnatis prorogaretur sed non senatui libertas ad poenitendum erat Tac. 3. Ann. Which indeed had been commendable if his design had been to make room for Pardon or give time for a second hearing of the Cause But Tiberius was a Man of too much Cruelty and Rigor to give that Indulgence 5 Nâ—que Tiberius interjectu temporis mitigabatur Tac. 3. Ann. It was the Counsel of Athenodorus to Augustus Caesar to determine nothing in a Passion till he had repeated the Twenty four Letters of the Greek Alphabet Since then Anger is a short Madness directly opposite to mature Deliberation there is no better Antidote against it than prudent Reflection that the Prince be not too hasty in Execution before he has had Council to examine a matter throughly King Ahasuerus when his Queen Vashti refused to come at his Command though he had reason to think himself contemned and highly resented the Affront yet would not be revenged till he had first called a Council and taken the Advice of his Noblemen 6 Esth. 1. 2. To talk of an Injury received inflames Anger more hence that of Pythagoras Stir not Fire with a Sword for Motion increases the Flame nor is there any more effectual Remedy for Anger than Silence and Solitude By its self it insensibly consumes and wears off whereas the most softning Discourse is often like the Water Smiths use to make their Fire burn fiercer Farther Anger has its seat in the Ears or at least keeps watch there these therefore a Prince is to secure that they be not too ready to hear ill Reports that may enrage him 7 Let every man be swift to hear slow to â—â—ak flow to wrath Iames 1. 19. This I imagine was the reason the Statue of Iupiter Cretensis had no Ears because they do more mischief to Governors than good However I think them necessary for Princes provided they be cautious and ruled by Prudence and let not themselves be moved at the first hearing of every trifling Story Anger is to be commended when kindâ—ed by Reason and moderated by Discretion without such as that there can be no Justice 8 Nunc Irasâ—i â—onvenâ— justitiae 〈◊〉 Sâ—ob Serm. 20. Too much Indulgence gives license to offend and makes Obedience bold To endure all things with content is igâ—orance or shews a servile Temper of one who has a â—ean Opinion of himself To continue in Anger when 't is to punish Offences or make Examples of such as affront Regal Authority is no Vice but a Virtue and by no means derogates from Mildness and Clemency Was any one more meek than David 9 Lord remember David and all his Afflictions Lat. Vers. 〈◊〉 suetudinis ejus Psal. 131. 1. a Man after God'â— own Heart 10 I have found David the Soâ— Iesse a Man after mine own heart Acts 13. 22. So mild in Vengeance in Anger so moderate that when he had Saul his greatest Enemy in his power was satisfied with cutting off the Skirt of his Robe and even that afterward repented of 11 And it 〈◊〉 to pass afterwards that David's heart smote him because he had 〈◊〉 off Saul's Skirt 1 Sam. 24. 5. Nevertheless with
severity did he revenge the Injury King Hamm did to his Ambassadors David had sent them to comfort the King for the Death of his Father but he groundlesly suspecting they came rather to spy out the State of his Kingdom sent them away with the one half of their Beards shaved off and their Garments obscenely cut off in the middle David a Man otherwise very peaceable could not brook this Affront but made War against him and all the Cities of his Kingdom which he took he utterly demolished and the People that were therein to use the Scriptureâ— words he brought forth and put them under Saws and 〈◊〉 Harrows of Iron and under Axes of Iron and 〈◊〉 them pass through the Brick-kiln 12 2 Sam. 12. 31. This may seeâ— to be Cruelty and an Excess of Anger to any oneâ— that knows not that the Wounds injuries make 〈◊〉 fometimes to be so cured as not so much as 〈◊〉 should be left Artaxerxes threatned Fire and Swoâ—â— to some Cities if they obey'd not an Edict he had puâ—â—lished resolving if they refused to make so severe 〈◊〉 Example of their Contempt and Disobedience as shoulâ— extend to Brutes as well as Men 13 Esth. â— 24. The most 〈◊〉 God taught us this piece of Policy when with the 〈◊〉 most Rigour yet without prejudice to his Infinite Mâ—â—cy he punished the Syrians Army for blasphemouâ—â— calling him the God of the Hills 14 Because the Syrians have said the Lord is the God of the Hills but he is not God of the Vallies therefore will I deliver this great multitude into thine hand and ye shall know that I am the Lord 1 Kings 20. 28. The Supreme Authority and Power of Princes makes a part of a Commonwealth so that they can't put up Affronts and Injuries at all times That Anger too is praise-worthy in Princes and profitable to a State which kindled by Incentives of Glory elevates the Mind to difficult and noble Enterprizes for without it nothing extraordinary nothing great can be undertaken much less perfected and accomplished That that is it which nourishes the Heart of generous Spirits and raises it above its self to despise Difficulties The Academicks called it the Whetstone Plutarch the Companion of Virtue But particularly in the beginning of his Reign the Prince ought to lay aside Anger and forget past Injuries as Sancho Sirnamed the Brave did when the Succession of the Crown of Castile fell to him With Government a Prince changes as 't were his Nature why should he not also his Affections and Passions 'T were an Abuse of Government to take Revenge of one who already acknowledges himself your Subject Let the Person offended think he has Satisfaction in having got Authority over him who before injured him Fortune could not give him a nobler kind of Revenge So Lewis XII King of France thought and therefore when some perswaded him to revenge the Injuries he had received while Duke of Orleans he made answer That it did not become the King of France to revenge the Quarrels of the Duke of Orleans Particular Injuries done to his Person not Dignity a Prince ought not to vindicate with his utmost Power for though they seem inseparable yet 't is convenient to make some Distinction between them least Majesty become odious and too formidable To this tended that of Tiberius when he said That if Piso had committed no other Crime but the rejoycing at Germanicus's Death and his grief for it he would revenge those Injuries done him as a private Person not as a Prince and in a publick Capacity 15 Nam si legatus officii terminos obsequium erga Imperatorem exuit ejusdemque morte c. luctu meo laetatus est odero seponamque â— domo meâ privatas inimicitias non Principis ulciscar Tac. 3. Ann. On the other side those done to his Dignity or Publick Station he ought not to vindicate as a private Person so as in a transport of Passion to think his Honour and Reputation lost except he have immediate Satisfaction especially when it were fitter to be deferred for Anger should not be a Motion of the Mind but of the Publick Good and Advantage King Ferdinand the Catholick undoubtedly had this before him when the King of Granada refused to pay him Tribute as his Ancestors had done and withal insolently sent him word that they were long since dead that in his Mints they laboured not to Coin Silver or Gold but Forge Swords and Launces †Marian. Hist. Hisp. lib. 24. cap. 16. Ferdinand concealed his Resentment of this Liberty and Arrogance for a time and made a Truce with him deferring Revenge till his Affairs were more quiet and settled in which he consulted more the Publick Good than his own Particular Affections 16 A Fool 's wrath is presently known but a prudent Man covereth shame Lat. Vers. Injuriam dissimulat Prov. 12. 16. Nor is it less prudent to dissemble Anger when one has reason to presume that a time will come when it will be for our disadvantage to have shown it For that reason King Ferdinand the Catholick though highly affronted by the Grandees of his Kingdom yet when he abdicated that of Castile and retreated into Arragon very discreetly concealed that Indignation of Mind took no notice of the Injuries he had received but shewed himself friendly and affectionate to all as if he then foresaw he should be sometime restored to his Kingdom as indeed it afterwards happened A generous Mind hides its Resentments of Injuries and strives not by the impetuousness of Anger but rather by noble Actions to smother them the best certainly and a truly heroical kind of Revenge When King Ferdinand the Holy besieged Sevil a certain Nobleman reproached Garcias Perez de Vargas for wearing a waved Shield which was not allowed his Family he then pretended to take no notice of the Affront till the Siege of Triana where he fought with so much Valour that he brought his Shield back stuck with Darts then returning to his Rival who was then in a secure Post and shewing him the Shield You have reason says he to think much that I wear this Shield that expose it to so many Dangers without doubt no one deserves it beyond your self who would take so much care to preserve it Those ordinarily bear Affronts most patiently who are the least subject to give them nor is it a less Virtue to Conquer this Passion than an Enemy To kindle a Prince's Anger is no less dangerous than to set Fire to a Mine or Petard and though it be done in our own behalf 't is prudence to moderate it especially if against Persons in Power for such Anger 's generally fall on the Author's own Head This was the reason the Moors of Toledo took so much pains to pacify King Alphonso the Sixth's Wrath against the Archbishop of that place and the Queen who had taken without his Order their Mosque from them
Sonat vitium percussa malignè Respondet viridi non cocta fideliâ— limo Speech is the minds Countenance by that is discovered whether it be sound or not 2 Oratiâ— vultus aniâ—â— est si cirâ—umtoâ—sa est fucata manufâ—cta oâ—tendiâ— illum non esse 〈◊〉 habere aliquid â—racti Sen Episâ— 115. To represent this I have made use of another nobler Emblem and more accommodated to the Subject 't is a Bell the true Emblem of a Prince for as that is hung up in the most eminent place of the City it times and regulates all the Citizens Actions and if the Metal be not good or it has any other fault in 't 't is by its Sound presently discerned 3 Vas fictilâ— ictu sono hâ—mo sernione pâ—oâ—atuâ— Meliss Serm 48. Tom. â— Bâ—bl So a Prince is a kind of general Clock to all his Subjects who in a great measure depend as I may say upon the Motion of his Words and by them he either gets or loses a Reputation every one giving himself to gueâ—s at his Genius Wit and Inclinations by his Discourse Not a Word escapes his Hearers each one makes a deep Impression on their Memory they are repeated to others and exposed to the Censure of all who usually put various Constructions upon them as they think fit Nay even what comes from him in private and unawares passes for profound and mysterious and not for casual and accidental It were therefore very proper for them not to be extemporary but premeditated 4 A Fool travaileth with a Word as a Woman in labour of â— Child Eccles. 19. 11. not spoken without a previous Consideration of all the Circumstances of Time Place and Persons For Nescit vox missa reverti as Horace says seconded by King Alphonso For this reason all Men especially a King ought to take great care of his Words before he utters them for when they are once out of the Moâ—th there is no Man can recal them †L. 1. tit 4. part 2. Whence may arise very great Inconveniences for the Words of Kings are the principal Instruments of Government 5 Where the Word of a King is there is power Eccl. 8. 4. Death and Life are in the Power of the Tongue 6 Death and Life are iâ— the Power of the Tâ—ngue Prov. 18. 21. as also the Honour and Ignominy the Prosperity and Ruin of Subjects This made Aristotle when he sent Callisthenes to Alexander the Great advise him to talk little with him and only upon agreeable Subjects for that 't was a dangerous thing to Treat with one who carried the Power of Life and Death at his Tongues end There 's not a Word comes from a Prince's Mouth without a peculiar Emphasis Is it about Business they are Commands if of Crimes they are Sentences if of Promises Obligations by his Words he is either obeyed or disobeyed Let Princes therefore take care how they use this Tongue of theirs which Nature has not meerly by chance fenced and inclosed with as it were a Wall of Teeth nor is there less need of a Bridle for the Tongue than for a Horse 7 Eccl. 28. 29. 'T is it is true one of the least Members of the Body but 't is like the Rudder of a Ship on whose Motion the loss or safety of the whole Vessel depends The Tongue is placed in a wet place and so easily slips unless stai'd by Prudence Hence that Prayer of David Set a Watch O Lord before my Mouth keep the Door of my Lips 8 Psalm 140. 3. For a Prince to condescend to a familiar Conversation with any one lessens his Character prostitutes his Authority and brings many other Inconveniences upon him unless he do it for Information for every Man desires to have a wise Prince and one that understands his Affairs very well which is next to an impossibility for a Prince can't know all things 9 Neque â—â—sse Principem sua scientia cuncta complecti Tac 3. Ann. and if he answer in the least from the purpose he shall be presently condemned for Insufficiency or Negligence Besides that Princes Talents and Endowments very rarely answer the generally received Opinion of them therefore to avoid the danger of this the Roman Emperors chose to Treat with their Subjects by Notes and give them Answers in Writing as well to get time for Deliberation as because the Pen is less subject to mistake than the Tongue for this can't handsomely defer an Answer that can Sejanus however great a Favourite of Tiberius's conferr'd only with him by way of Memorial 10 Componit ad Caesareni codicillâ—s moâ—is quippe tum erat quamquam praesentem scâ—ipto adiâ—e Tac. 4. Ann. There are however some Affairs which may be better treated of by Word of Mouth particularly when thereâ—s something of danger in leaving ones Sentiments in anothers hands which are a kind of perpetual Evidence and more liable to be wrested to different meanings than Words which as they quickly pass and stick not deep in the Memory are not so easily actionable But whether a Prince gives his Answers this or the other way he should always remember that brevity is the most prudent and most becoming a Princes Majesty 11 Multum brevi sermone inest â—rudeâ—tiae Sopnâ—cl Hence Tacitus gives that Epithet Imperial to Brevity 12 Imperatoria brevitâ—â—e Tac 1. Hist. You should use the Tongue as your Sword that is not lay your self too open to your Adversary he that discloses his whole Mind exposes himself to Danger Concise Discourses have the greatest Efficacy and leave most room for Reflection Nothing 's so like a King as to talk little and hear much Nor is it less requisite for him to know how to be silent than how to speak In this Men are our Masters In that God himself who always injoyns Silence in his Mysteries He resembles the Divinity most who has learnt to hold his Peace Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise and he that shutteth his Lips is esteemed a Man of understanding 13 Proâ— cap. 17. The heart of fools is in their mouth but the mouth of the wise is in their heart 14 Eccles 21. 29 This is Prudence to avoid both Extreams for each has its danger All to Talk or none Are distant and yet neighbouring Faults Auson 'T is then only convenient to speak when Silence prejudices either the Prince or Truth Majesty by a Nod only sufficiently explains its self Silence well-timed is in Princes great Eloquence and a grave and modest Carriage are usually more significantly expressive of one's Thoughts than Words themselves But if one's obliged to use these at any time they ought to be sincere and with liberty in thinking becoming a King Your free Conceptions dress in plain Words Tass. For by too many Asseverations Oaths and unnecessary Proofs they either quite lose their Credit or at least are
firm and lasting Empire if they were good if wicked but of short continuance King Ferdinand who from his great Virtues was sirnamed the Great did by these wonderfully increase the Glory of his Kingdom and establisht it to Posterity His Piety was so great that when the Body of St. Isidore was carried by Sevil he and his Sons barefoot carried these Holy Relicks from the River Durio quite to St. Iohn's Church in the City For 't is God by whom Kings Reign and upon whom all their Power and Felicity depends they could never err if they would make him their only Object The Rays of the Sun never forsake the Moon she as if she knew she received all her Light from the Sun looks on him continually that she may be enlightned by him which Princes must so imitate that they may always have their Eyes fixt upon that Eternal Light which affords Light and Motion to the World and from which Empires take their encrease and decrease as is intimated in the present Emblem by the Scepter on the top of which is the Moon looking towards the Sun the true Emblem of God as well because no other thing comes nearer his Omnipotency as also because that alone gives Light and Being to all Which 'cause it solely all Surveys Is properly call'd Sol. Boet. For there is no Power but from God 10 Rom. 13. 1. Kings are crowned in his Eternal Mind before they are here on Earth He who gave the Orbs Coelestial first motion gives it also to Empires and Republicks He who has appointed a King over Bees has not left meerly to Chance or Humane Choice these Second Causes of Princes who are his Vice-Roys upon Earth and as like him as may be 11 Principes quidem instar deorum esse Tac. 3. Ann. being represented in the Revelations by those Seven Planets which God held in his Hand 12 And he had in his right hand seven Stars Revel 1. 16. upon them he darts his Divine Rays the Reflection of which gives them the utmost Power and Authority over their Subjects Without that Splendor all Power how great soever is in a manner dark the Prince who slighting this Light shall follow another an appearance may be of some good which his own convenience not right reason offers will soon see the Orb of his Power eclips'd and darken'd What e'er avoids the Sun must necessarily be in darkness The Moon although it finds its self oft'times quite dark does not therefore turn away from the Sun but looks on 't with so much the more eagerness till at last 't is again enlightned by it Let a Prince hold his Scepter fixt and steady having always a regard to Virtue as well in Prosperity as Adversity For the same Divine Sun which either for Punishment or Exercise of his Virtues permitted his decrease as a recompence of his Constancy will again promote and encrease his greatness Thus 't was with the Emperor Ferdinand the II. who was often reduced to that extremity of Fortune that his Empire and Life too seem'd desperate Yet he was resolved never wholly to despair nor to turn his Eyes from that Eternal Sun the Maker and Governor of all things whose Divine Providence freed him from all Perils and advanced him far above all his Enemies Moses's Rod which was the Emblem of a Scepter did Wonders whilst he held itâ— in his Hand upright t'wards Heaven but as soon as he cast it upon the Ground 't was turn'd into a venomous Serpent dreadful even to Moses himself 13 And he cast it on the ground and it became a Serpent and Moses â—led from before it Exod. 4. 3. Whilst the Scepter like Iacob's Ladder touches Heaven God himself supports it and Angels descend to its assistance 14 And he dreamed and behold a Ladder set upon the Earth and the top of it reached to Heaven and behold the Angelâ— of God ascending and descending on it Gen. 18. 13. This the Egyptians knew who on the top of their Scepters were used to engrave the Head of a Stork a Religious Bird and Pious t'wards its Parents but on the bottom the Foot of a Sea-Horse an impious and ungrateful Animal which Plots to kill his Father that he may the more freely enjoy his Mother By which Hieroglyphick they meant nothing but that Princes ought always to prefer Piety to Impiety Machiavel would have his Prince to learn this Hieroglyphick but in quite another Sence for he would have Piety and Impiety placed at each end that he might turn it as he pleased and hold that upwards which tended most to his Preservation and Advantage For which reason he thinks 't is not necessary for a Prince to be Virtuous 't is enough if he pretends to be so for to be really so and to act according to the Dictates of Virtue would he says be pernicious but that 't is most advantageous to be thought so for by this means he will be so disposed as to know how to shift upon occasion and so to act in all things as advantage or opportunity shall require And this he says is principally necessary for Princes newâ—â— come to the Crown who ought to be quick and ready to spread their Sails to every breath of Fortune and as necessity requires Impious and foolish Counsel that would insinuate that Virtues need not be real and genuine but only counterfeit and imaginary for how can the Shadow be as effective as the Substance What Art or Pains can bring Chrystal to that perfection as it shall equal the Diamond in lustre and brightness Won't any one at first sight discover and laugh at the Cheat. A true Glory takes root and flourishes thaâ— which is not falls like Blossoms nor can any thing be lasting that is counterfeit 15 Vera gloria radices agit atque etiam propagatur ficta 〈◊〉 celeriter tanquam flosculi decidunt neque fimulatum quidquam potest 〈◊〉 diuturnum Cic. lib. 2. de Off. cap. 32. There 's no Art or Cunning so great as to make a vicious Inclination appear truly good and virtuous For if we so easily fail in real Virtues so agreeable to our Nature and Inclination what shall we do in false and imaginary ones How will the Subjects when they discover the Cheat be able to endure the Stench of this Sepulchrâ— of abominable Vices without any ornament of Goodness How can they turn their Eyes from that inward Wound when the Patch under which it lurk'd being drawn off 't is openly exposed to the sight of all 16 And all our righteâ—â—â—nesses are as filthy rags Isaiah 64. 6. Whence a Prince will be contemptible and ridiculous to his own People at home and suspected by Foreigneâ— abroad He will be surely odious to both for neither can live securely under him Nothing renders Tyraâ—ny more grievous than when the Prince dissembles Virtue For from thence oft-times greater Vices spring for this Reason many were afraid of Otho
comes upon this great Theatre of the World to act the part of a Prince and that he having his discharge another shall succeed to those Robes which he shall leave and that of both of them only this will remain that they once were Lastly Let him know that these Robes wherewith he is cloathed are not his own but the States which that only lends him that he may be a while its Head and may consult for the Preservation Increase and Prosperity thereof as we have said before When therefore a Prince has once begun to run the Race of this Life furnished with the lighted Torch of his State let it not be his only business to prolong his Race for the Goal is already fixt beyond which he can't go and who knows but that he may be now very near it the Flame being exposed to every blast of Wind. One single Gale wrenched it from the Hands of King Henry the First er'e he was fourteen Years old Also a fall from a Horse prevented Prince Iohn Son of their most Catholick Majesties from taking hold on 't Let a Prince consider also the fitness of his hand the occasion and right that he mayn't rashly grasp at more of these Torches than either Succession or lawful Election shall grant him Had Frederick Count Palatine considered this he had never lost his Electoral Dignity his Places and Titles so unfortunately for being ambitious of the Kingdom of Bohemia And truly Charles King of Naples had ended his Race more successfully had he been contented with the Torch of his own Kingdom and not attempted to grasp at that of Hungary where he was therefore poisoned Let not a Prince too readily trust his Torch to another nor suffer any one to touch it with so great Authority For Empire admits of no Companion The Infant Sancho attempted to snatch this Torch from his Father King Alphonso the Wise by the same Power and Authority which he receiv'd from him Nor were there wanting Pretences for the Infant of Portugal to attempt the same against his Father Dionysius These Torches of Kingdoms lighted by ill Methods are commonly soon extinguish'd for no Power acquired by wickedness is lasting King Garcias forc'd his Father Alphonso to quit his Kingdom but could not enjoy the Crown so gotten above three Years Fruela the Third possess'd but fourteen Months the Kingdom which he had attain'd rather by Force than Election Violent Counsels h'an't always their desired Success Ramon hop'd certainly to inherit the Throne of Navarre if he could make away with his Brother Sancho but the People abhorr'd him who had conceiv'd such a horrid Villainy and so offer'd it to Sancho King of Arragon his Uncle Let not a Prince unadvisedly trust his Torch out of his own Hands in his Life-time least if he should afterwards repent it should befal him as it did King Alphonso the Fourth who having once resign'd his Kingdom to his Brother Ramiro could never afterwards retrieve it though he desir'd it Ambition while in Possession regards not Justice having always Arguments and Pretences at hand to defend it self And who will not be mov'd by the difference between commanding and obeying Though these Torches do pass from Father to Son yet let Kings remember that they receive them from God and that when he pleases they are to Surrender them to him that they may know to whose Gift they ought to ascribe them and how strict an Account they are to give of them This King Ferdinand the Great did who with his last Breath pronounc'd these Words Thine O Lord is Power Empire is thine Thou art Supream King of Kings all things are under thy Providence The Kingdom which from thy Hand I receiv'd unto thee I resign The same Words did King Ferdinand the Holy use at the point of Death 'T is a glorious though laborious Race which Heaven has design'd for your Royal Highness which must be run not with one but with several Torches of shining Diadems which like the Sun but without ever leaving us in the dark will diffuse their extended Light from East to West Furious Winds rising from each part of the Horizon will perhaps threaten them but since God has lighted them to preceed the Standard of the Cross and to give light upon the Holy Altars of the Church it may well be hop'd that these may shine like that 2 I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou maist be my Salvation to the end of the Earth Isaiah 49. 6. especially if your Highness's Faith and Holy Zeal would by holding them upright make their Flame burn more clear and bright its natural tendency being towards Heaven and he who holds them obliquely will make the Flame its self feed upon and wast them but he who turns 'em directly downwards opposite to Heaven will immediately extinguish them for the Matter which would else nourish them will then extinguish them Let your Highness therefore take care with these Lights to finish your Course with Glory and Surrender them bright and flaming to your Successor not meerly such as you receiv'd them but illustrated and augmented with new Rays For God weighs both Kingdoms and Kings when they begin to Reign that he may afterwards require a just Account from them thus he did with King Balthazar 3 Thou art weigh'd in the balance and found wanting Dan. 5. 27. And if Otho thoguht himself oblig'd to deliver up the Empire to Posterity such as he had receiv'd it from his Ancestors 4 Vrbi nostrae institutum à Regibus usque ad Principes continuum immortalem sicut à Majoribus accepimus sic posteris tradamus Tac. 1. Hist. your Highness must acknowledge no less an Obligation deriv'd to you from your glorious Predecessors So the Emperor Charles the Fifth resign'd his while he was yet living to his Son Philip the Second And though the wickedness of some can't attend the end of their Career for fear of adverse Winds already rais'd as was the Case of Alphonso King of Naples who seeing he could not resist Charles the Eighth of France surrendred the Crown to his Son Ferdinand Duke of Calabria yet certain 't is that his design was to make a timely Restitution of his Crown to God and prepare himself for another not Temporal but Eternal one which once obtain'd may be securely enjoy'd without fear of ever being lost EMBLEM XX. AMONG the Ceremonies of the Athenians at their Marriages a certain little Boy with a Basket of Bread in his Hand and a Crown of Thorns upon his Head went before the Bridegroom by which I believe they intimated that Matrimony was not instituted for Pleasure only but also for Cares and Labours By the same if Emblems will admit Human Figures might also be meant a Prince For what thorny Cares does not he feel who endeavours to maintain his State in Justice Peace and Plenty What Difficulties does he experience What Dangers is he
liable to who commands other 1 Quam arduum quam subjectum fortunae regendi cuncta onus Tac. 1. Ann. His Fatigues should be the Peoples Rest his Dangers their Security his Vigilance their Sleep But we have here represented the same thing by a Crown fine indeed and charming to â—ight but within full of Thorns and Briars with this Motto of Seneca the Tragedian False good What Cares dost hide Under the appearance of a gay outside Who viewing those Pearls and Diamonds and those Flowers which adorn a Crown would not fancy that the inside was much more fair and beautiful yet is there nothing but sharp Thorns which continually prick and scratch the Head and Breast There is not a Pearl in a Crown but which is Sweat nor a Ruby but which is Blood nor a Diamond without some asperity or roughness 't is a Circumference without a Center of rest a perpetual Motion of Cares * Sâ—rabo for this reason Kings anciently wore a Crown made like a Ship to represent its Inconstancy Trouble and Dangers †Valer. Max. This he well knew who when a Crown was offered him laid it down with these Words Let him take thee up who does not know thee Instead of Crowns they at first us'd Fillets not as a Badge of Majesty but only to bind and preserve the Head 2 Let them set a fair Miâ—re upon his Head Zach. 3. 5. So heavy are the Cares of a Crown'd Head that it had need to be fore-arm'd for to Reign is nothing but three continual Sighs and Toils in preserving acquiring and losing Therefore did the Emperor Mark Anthony say That Empire was the greatest of Troubles Princes are born to labours let them therefore inure themselves thereto The Kings of Persia had a Chamberlain who wak'd them betimes in the Morning with these Words Arise O King to look after the Affairs of your Kingdom Some Princes now-a-days would not endure such disturbance for they perswade themselves that Ease Voluptuousness and Vices are the Rewards of Princes but that the Shame and Disgrace thereof belong to others Whereas some Princes shamefully neglect their Duty it is because as we shall mention elsewhere they take the Kingdom for their Inheritance and Propriety which they may use as they please and think that their Authority and Sovereign Power is subject to no Laws but altogether free to act as it list in which Flattery encourages them insinuating that without that freedom and liberty of living a Kingdom would be the worst of Slavery more intolerable than the meanest Condition of Subjects Whence resigning themselves to Luxury and Pleasure their Strength and Spirits flag and themselves become wholly unfit for Government Hence I believe it is that among so many Princes there are so very few good Governors not that they want Natural Parts for in those they usually exceed others as being born of better Blood but because that through Ease and Luxury they don't make use of them nor do their Courtiers suffer it for they make their Fortunes with more ease under a negligent than careful Prince The Remedy against these Inconveniencies consists chiefly in two Things The first is That a Prince should from his Youth as soon as he has the use of Reason be accustomed to the Management of Affairs even before the Death of his Predecessor thus God did with Ioshua And if in Matters of Concern and Trust it be not convenient for Reasons which I shall shew in the last Emblem but one yet in other things it is that his Mind may be diverted from Debauchery This made the Roman Senate introduce their Youth to their Consultations By the benefit of this many Popes Nephews though they have been admitted very young to the Administration of Affairs have in a few years made experienc'd Statesmen The other is That those that are near the Prince should dexterously endeavour to root out of his Mind certain vain Opinions of his Greatness and let him know that 't is the common Consent of all that gives Power and Authority to the Scepter for Nature made no Kings That his Purple is an Emblem of Blood which he should be ready upon occasion to shed for the People 4 Consulaâ—es fasces praetâ—â—tum curulemque sellam nihil aliud quam pompam funeris putent claris insignibus velut inâ—â—sis velatos ad moâ—t 〈◊〉 destinari Liv. 2. Hist. that it was not given to breed and nourish the Moâ—hâ— of Vices That he is born a Prince by chance that Virtue only is the proper good of Man that his Dominion is Government not absolute Power and that his Vassals are Subjects not Slaves This Document the Emperor Claudius gave to Meherdatus King of Persia 5 Vt non dominationem servos sed rectorem cives cogitaret Tac. 12. Ann. Let them advise the Prince so to do by those whom he Governs as he would be done to were he a Subject so Gaiba instructed Piso when he adopted him his Son 6 Cogitare quid â—ut 〈◊〉 sub alio Principe aut volueris Tac. 1. Hist. No Prince was ever elected only to be so but that being so he might be serviceable to the rest King Antigonus considering this advis'd his Son not to abuse his Power not to be proud or use his Subjects ill Knowest thou not my Son said he that our Kingdom is but a noble Slavery 7 An Ignoras 〈◊〉 mi nostrum Regnum essâ—â— nâ—bilem servitutem Upon this the Woman grounded her Answer to the Emperor Rodolphus who telling her he was not at leasure to hear her Then says she you are no more Emperor Subjects are not born for the King but the King for the Subjects 'T would be too hard a Bargain for them to sell all their Liberty to the King if in return they could not promise themselves Justice and Protection from him to which end they voluntarily submitted themselves to his Command The Romans in their Triumphs were crownâ—d with their own Shields 8 With fâ—vour wilt thou compass him as with a Shield Psalm 5. 〈◊〉 made into the circular Form of a Crown whence were introduc'd the Diadems of the Saints who were Victorious against the Common Enemy A Prince deserves not a Crown unless also he use it as a Shield to ward the Stroaks of adverse Fortune from his Subjects To Reign is rather an Office than a Dignity an Authority of a Father over his Children 9 Vt enim gubernatio patrisfamilias est Regia quaedam potestas domi ita Regia potestas est civitatis gentis unius aut plurium quasi domestica quaedam gubernatio Arist. Polit. 3. cap. 11. and if the Subjects find not that Fatherly Care and Affection in the Prince they owe him no Respect or filial Obedience King Ferdinand the Holy look'd upon his Government as an Office which consisted in protecting his Subjects in administring Justice in chastising Vice and procuring the Enlargement
case is condemn'd So it was enacted by Philip the Second and once when his Grandson Philip the Fourth your Highness's Father was present in Council upon a Debate of a Case relating to the Exchequer neither the Judges wanted Integrity to give it against him nor his Majesty Temper to hear it without Resentment Happy is that State in which the Prince's Cause is the worst 28 Quae gloria tua est praecipua saepe vincitur Fiscus cujus mala causa nunquam est nisi sub bono principe Plin. in Pan. EMBLEM XXII THough the Peoples Consent confers the Power of Justice upon Princes they receive it immediately from God as being his Vicars in Temporal Affairs They are the Royal Eagles the Ministers of Iove 1 For he is the Minister of God to thee for good but if thou do that which is evil â—e afraid for he beareth not the Sword in vain Rom. 13. 4. who Administer his Thunder and supply his place in punishing Vice and administring Justice in which they have need of three Qualities of the Eagle sharpness of Sight to inspect Crimes swiftness of Wing for Execution and strength of Talons that they main't fail therein The Injury done by a certain Nobleman to a poor Peasant though in the remotest Corner of Galicia could not escape the quick sight of King Alphonso the Seventh call'd Emperor who disguising himself went immediately to punish him with such speed that he apprehended him before he knew any thing of his coming O lively and ardent Soul of the Law to be himself Judge and Executioner to satisfy an Injury done to a poor Peasâ—nt and to punish the unjust Oppression of the Grandee The same did King Ferdinand the Catholick who being at Medina went privately to Salamanca and seized Roderigo Maltonado who exercis'd great-Oppressions in the Castle of Monleon 2 Mâ—r. Hist. of Spain Who would ever transgress the Laws if he always fear'd such a surprise One such as this would frighten and reform a whole Kingdom But it is not always expedient for Majesty it self to imitate such Examples When the State of the Kingdom is well settled when the Courts of Judicature are open and the fear of the Law is fresh and lively 't is sufficeint for a Prince to see Justice administer'd by his Ministers But when all is in Confusion when Obedience staggers when the King's Authority is slighted as 't was in those times then some such suddain and severe Punishment will be seasonable that the People may know the Power of their Prince and understand that as in a Humane Body so in a Kingdom the Soul of Majesty is all in all and all in every part Yet 't will be very necessary to moderate this severity when the Distemper is inveterate and the Kingdom confirm'd in Vice for if Virtue should be too severe upon Vice and endeavour to reform all at once 't would be esteem'd rather Cruelty than Justice Time must recruit that which time has weakned to precipitate a Cure is dangerous and may make the Prince experience the Rage of the incens'd Multitude Connivance and Dexterity is often more effectual than force In this King Ferdinand the Catholick was excellent and by this King Peter was deceiv'd who relying wholly upon Severity got the Name of Cruel Though Justice be one single Virtue yet has it various Effects according to the difference of time Sometimes the People wholly reject it and become more Insolent sometimes they acknowledge the damage of their excess and co-operate with the Prince to remedy it and suggest the most severe means against their own Liberty by which the Prince acquires the Name of Just without danger Let not a Prince remit the Punishment of such Offences against the Government in which few are concern'd but pardon those in which many are involv'd Agrippa being put to Death in the Isle of Planasia by the Order of Tiberius a certain Slave who was very like him stealing away his Ashes pretended that he was Agrippa the Romans believ'd it the Report spread and caus'd a Tumult with evident danger of a Civil War Tiberius caus'd the Slave to be apprehended and put to Death privately and though many Gentlemen and Senators of his own Family were said to have assisted him with Money and Advice 3 Et quanquam multi ex ejus domâ— equites ac senatores sustentasse opibus juvisse consillis dicerentur Tac. 2. Ann. yet would he suffer none to speak in his behalf Thus Prudence triumph'd over Cruelty and by Silence and Connivence he appeas'd the Disorder Let a Prince pardon small Offences and punish great ones sometimes let him be content with Repentance which Tacitus commended in Agricola 4 Parvis peccatis 〈◊〉 magnis severitatem commendare nec poena semper sed saepiùs pâ—nitentia contentus esse Tac. in Vit. Agâ—ic He is not the best Governor who punishes with most Severity but he who pardons with such Discretion and Circumspection as not to give any occasion to the Delinquents to transgress again No body commends a Chirurgeon for cutting off many Legs and Arms no body hates a Prince for punishing provided he does it with Reluctancy and Grief but him who delights in it and eagerly carps at all opportunities of doing it To punish for Example and amendment is Mercy but to do it through Passion or Avarice is Tyranny Let not a Prince suffer any one to think himself so great and free from the Laws as to dare to oppose the Ministers of Justice and those who represent its Power and Authority for so the Pillar of Justice can't stand secure 5 Hanc P. C. curam sustinet Princeps hâc omissâ sunditus Remp. trahet Tac. 3. Ann. when such boldness once takes place contempt will by degrees undermine it and bring it to the Ground The chief Foundation of the Spanish Monarchy and that which has rais'd it to such an height and keeps it so is the inviolable Observation of Justice and Rigour by which its Kings have always taken care to make it respected and esteem'd of all No Violation of it goes unpunish'd though great be the Dignity and Authority of the Delinquent A certain Judge at Corduba was by the Command of King Ferdinand the Catholick enquiring into some Misdemeanor whom when the Marquiss of Puego had arrested the King so resented it that all the Signal Services of that Family of Corduba could not hinder him from punishing him very severely afterwards he put himself wholly into his Majesty's Hands by the Advice of the Great Captain who seeing the heinousness of the Crime which would not admit of Pardon wrote to him to cast himself at the King's Feet by which he might perhaps expiate his Crime but if not he would certainly be ruined 6 Mar Hist of Spain Nor ought a Prince only to punish Crimes committed against his own Person or during his Reign but those also which were acted in the last though
take their Course and be sensibly cured by Time than precipitate a Remedy wherein there is more Danger If before we could not foresee and prevent at least let us learn to bear them after They are increas'd by Opposition A Danger conceal'd or not taken notice of thereby becomes publick and lays greater Impediments in his way who thought to stop it Fear imprudently arm'd against a Superior Power does but find it Exercise and render it more powerful by the Addition of its own Spoils This Method Cerealis took to compose the Minds of those of Treves least they should take up Arms against the Romans saying A Fabrick as that was which had been the Product of Eight hundred years Success and Industry could not be pull'd down but its Ruin must of necessity bury the Authors of it 5 Octogentorum annorum fortuna disciplinaque compages haec coalâ—â— quae convelli sine excidio convellentium non potest Tac. 4. Hist. Many things would not succeed so ill did not our Fear and Imagination act with too much Precipitation Apprehension and Jealousy of Tyranny when once discovered make it begin to be really though it were not before Whence in such like Cases 't is a piece of no less Courage to know how to dissemble than to be too rash in remedying The former is the genuine Effect of Prudence this generally the Result of Fear EMBLEM XXXV THE closer the Breath is pressed in a Trumpet with the greater Harmony and Variety it goes out of it thus 't is with Virtue which is never more clear and harmonious than when suppressed by Malice 1 Multorum improbitate depressa veritas emergit innocentiae desensâ— interclusa respirat Cicero The Flame of Valour is apt to die if the Wind of Adversity don't revive it that awakens the Mind and makes it look about for means to amend it Happiness like the Rose grows out of Thorns and Miseries Alphonso the Fifth King of Arragon was vanquishâ—d and taken in a Sea-fight with the Genoeze and that which in all probability was like to retard his Expedition against the Kingdom of Naples was the very thing that furthered it with greater Happiness and Power for by making a League with Philip Duke of Milan who retain'd him Prisoner he obtain'd both his Liberty and Forces for the Conquest of that Kingdom Necessity compell'd him to get his Host of his side for in Prosperity indeed every one lives to himself alone but in Adversity for himself and others Those disclose the Passions of the Mind otherwise forgetful of it self Whereas by this it learns Caution and arms it self with Virtues as means to attain real and lasting Happiness 2 Secundae res acrioribus flimulis animum exploravit quia miseriâ— toler antur felicitate corrumpimur Tac. 1. Hist. Whence it is not a little easier to escape bad than be continued in good Fortune In Prison first appeared Alphonso's extraordinary Endowments and Ornaments of Mind which till then had lain hid and the Duke of Milan charm'd with them was ambitious of his Friendship and laid these Obligations upon him He obtain'd more by losing the Victory than he could have expected had he been Victor Fortune sports between Extreams and takes delight in shewing her Power in skipping from one to another There is no Virtue but will shine in Adversity as no Star but sparkles with greatest Lustre in the darkest Night Then the weight shews the Palm's Strength when this is raised higher under it The Rose preserves its Leaves longer fresh among Nettles than Flowers Did not Virtue exert it self in Adversity too it would not deserve Victories or Truimphs 'T is its Property to Conquer by suffering Whence it evidently appears how impious the Error confuted by us in another place of those is who advise the Prince not to be bigotted to Virtue but to comply with Vice when necessity shall require a time in which he ought more particularly to approve himself constant in it with greater hopes of Success As it usually happned to the Emperor Ferdinand the Second of Blessed Memory who in his greatest Dangers would resolutely affirm He 'd rather lose the Empire and all he had and with his whole Family beg from Door to Door than to commit an unjust thing to maintain his Grandeur Words truly worthy so Pious a Prince whose exemplary Piety and Faith were so acceptable to God Almighty that he vouchsafed to take the Imperial Scepter and perform his Office here on Earth giving him several signal and miraculous Victories In the greatest Dangers and Distresses when all hope fail'd and humane Prudence and Valour were destitute of means he always came off with most Success and greatest Triumph The Roman Emperors of old lived in Affluence of Peace and all manner of Delights yet were tyrannized over by their own Passions and rack'd by a thousand Fears But this Pious Hero found Repose and Tranquility of Mind amidst the raging Tempests which the Fury of Rebels raised against his Empire and most August House The just sings amidst Misfortunes and the wicked Man weeps in his Impiety Thus the fiery Furnace was as a Choire to the three Children 3 Dan. 3. 50. Miseries and Hardships are attended with great Advantages they correct the Prince's Pride and reduce him to Reason with what fury does the Wind sometimes storm How arrogantly does the Sea swell and rage its foaming Billows like Mountains threatning Heaven and Earth And yet a small Shower composes and calms it Thus Misfortunes raining from Heaven allay the Prince's Pride and Presumption They make a just Governor of a Tyrant of a Prince careless and negligent of his Affairs one careful and circumspect For then even Necessity obliges him to take Care of his People to esteem Nobility honour Valour do Justice and respect Religion Power is never in greater Danger than when all things flow prosperously For Cares being then laid aside too much Security is apt to stifle Counsel and Prudence Ease and Idleness has been the Ruin of more Princes than Labour 'T is with them as with Bodies which are kept in Vigor by Motion without which they languish and decay Whence it appears farther how erroneous we are in our Judgments of Good and Evil scarce ever knowing what is most for our Advantage Adversity we look on as Rigour and Chaâ—fisement when it is really Warning and Instruction The Present of Ear-rings and a Sheep which Iob's Friends and Relations made him seems to intimate that he should endure all things with a patient even Temper 4 Job 42. 12. and that those Afflictions were precious Admonitions of God whisper'd in his Ear. God's afflicting us sometimes is wonderful Mercy and on the contrary his Recompences are Punishments for by these he clears as it were the Bill of our Debts and by paying for some of our Merits remains Creditor to our Offences whereas by afflicting us he at once pays himself and excites us to Amendment EMBLEM
XXXVI THE expert and prudent Seaman is not always carried at the Pleasure of the Wind but rather by 〈◊〉 Benefit of it so disposes the Sails of his Ship that 〈◊〉 arrives at the desired Port and with the same Wind 〈◊〉 at which he pleases of two opposite Shores withâ—â— endangering his Voyage But when the Heaven 's calm by the help of Sails and 〈◊〉 he out strips even the Wind it self With no less 〈◊〉 and Diligence the Prince ought to Steer the Vessel of 〈◊〉 State in the tempestuous Sea of his Reign so attenâ—â—vely observing all Storms that he may with Prudence and Valour make use of the same in their time and place He is a Pilot to whose Conduct the Life and Safety of all is committed nor is any Ship more hazardous than a Crown exposed to so many Winds of Ambition so many Rocks of Enemies and Storms of People King Sancho the Brave needed all his Industry to arm himself against Fortune and secure the Right of his Crown Almost the whole Science of Politicks consists in knowing how to discern Times and make use of them A Storm sometimes bringing a Ship sooner into Harbour than a Calm He who can break the force of ill Fortune renders it favourable and one that knowing a Danger yields to it and gives it time at length surmounts it When the Sailor finds there is no contending with the Billows he strikes Sail and abandons himself to them and because his Resistance would rather add force to the Wind uses some narrow Creek to rest his Ship in and shelter it from the Waves Something must be granted Dangers if one would escape them Iames the First King of Arragon was sensible of the Aversion his Noblâ—s and People had to him and that it was by no means convenient to increase their Fury by an untimely Opposition but rather to give it time to sink of it self as Rivers do whose Waters in a Tempest swell and overflow their Banks voluntarily suffer'd himself to be play'd upon and as it were imprisoned till he restored all things to their former Calmness and Tranquility and reinstated himself in the Throne The same discreet Moderation Queen Mary used when by siding with the Grandees and satisfying their Ambition she preserved the Crown of Castile during the Minority of her Son Ferdinand the Fourth †Mar. Hist. Hisp. Did the Sailor think it a dishonour to yield to a Storm and were resolved with Sails and Oars to withstand it his Ruin would be inevitable Constancy consists not in unseasonable struggling bâ—â— in hoping and so enduring Danger without letting Fortune get the upper hand of one In such Cases the Glory is to escape safe What seems Baseness of Mind in them is afterwards Magnanimity crown'd with Success When King Alphonso the Wise saw himself deprived of his Kingdom putting his whole Confidence in the King of Morocco's Assistance made no difficulty to beg of Alphonso de Guzman Governor of St. Lucar de Barameda who upon some Disgust had retired to that Prince's Court that forgetting all former Injuries and remembring their ancient Amity and his Nobility he would stand his Friend and endeavour to be an Instrument of that King 's supplying him with Men and Money Which Letters are to this Day kept in that most Illustrious and Ancient House Nevertheless Kings ought not to yield to their Subjects violence unless in Cases of Extremity for he very little consults his Authority who debases himself by too much Condescention The dishonourable Terms King Ferdinand the Holy constrain'd by his Non-age made the House of Zara no way appeased them Nor could Isabella reclaim Alphonso Carillo Bishop of Toledo though she honour'd him with a Visit at Alcala I confess in desperate Cases prudence is wont to try all ways that Chance can render possible It is great Courage and Strength of Reason on Occasions of that Nature to restrain the Spirits and weigh the present Necessity and greatness of the Danger against such means as may contribute more to the State 's Preservation No one was ever more Jealous of his Grandeuâ— than Tiberius yet he dissembled the Boldnâ—sâ— of Lentulus Germanicus who having the Command of the German Legions was so audacious as to write to him with Threats not to send him a Successor covenanting as 't were to let his Prince enjoy the Empire provided he were continued in his Province 1 Reputante Tiberio publicum sibi â—dium extremam aetatem magisque fama quam vi stare res suaâ— Tac. 6. Ann. and he who could not put up the Emulation of his Sons took this slight patiently Not but he knew the ill Consequence of letting such Disobedience go unpunished but if he opposed it he consider'd he should incurr the publick Odium that he was now in Years and in a State where his Affairs depended more upon Reputation than Strength Subjects would be little beholding to the Valour of the Prince who governs them if he should presently in ill Fortune submit to Necessity and on the other side as little to his Prudence if when that Fortune can't be overcome he will however withstand it Courage should be moderated by Prudence and Address and what cannot be effected by Strength should be the Work of Art and Industry 'T is no less glorious to avoid than to surmount a Danger To fly it always is Sloth to expect Ignorance or Surprize to despair Cowardice Men of Courage make Head against Fortune her self The Princeâ—s Duty and End is not lightly to contest with his State upon the Billows but to conduct it to the Haven of Preservation and Safety That is esteemed valiant Wisdom which draws Benefit out of Adversity as also that which by struggling compasses its Ends sooner Kings the Masters of Times and Things are always followed never led by them There 's no Building but whose Ruins with what Addition Industry is wont to make may Erect a more stately Fabrick Nor any State so intirely abandon'd by Fortune that Valour cannot preserve and even advance provided it consult Prudence upon Events and know how to make right use of them or at least to turn them to its Advantage Ferdinand the Catholick and Lewis the Twelfth of France had divided between them the Kingdom of Naples and the great Captain knowing the Circle of a Crown to have but one Center and that Empire admits of no Companion endeavoured immediately to get his Master's Share into his Hands that in Cafe of after Disputes which he foresaw would arise between those two Kings he might be the more at leasure and use them afterwards to disposses the King of France of his Part as in Effect it happned Accidents it is true have some force but we increase or diminish them according to our Carriage under them Our Ignorance gives Divinity and Power to Fortune in that we lightly resign our selves to her Vicissitudes Did we change our Customs and Measures as oft as she does the Times she
more influenc'd by Ambition than Clemency so that he deprived him of his Kingdom and Title Thus Dangers deceive us and we find that to be the greater which we chose as the lesser There can be no assurance in Counsel grounded on Principles that depend on anothers pleasure We deceive our selves in supposing others will act nothing but what is agreeable to Religion Justice Relation or Friendship or but what is consistent with their Honour and Interest Not considering that Men are not always guided by their Advantage or Duty but rather by their private Passions and Sentiments and consequently their Actions are not only to be examined by the Rule of Reason but also by that of Malice and the Experience of the ordinary Injustices and Tyrannies of the World Dangers are a Prince's best Masters The past teach 〈◊〉 to remedy the present and prevent the future Those of others are 't is true instructing but they are easily forgot Our own leave in the Soul some Marks and Scars of the losses sustain'd as that which has once wounded the Imagination does fear Let not then contempt or forgetfulness ever erase them especially when having escapâ—d a Danger we fancy the same will never return or if it does will not annoy us for though some one Circumstance which is very unlikely to happen a second time may remove Dangers yet other succeeding new ones make them unavoidable EMBLEM XXXVIII FROM Nature this universal Commonwealth of things and Empire of mixt Bodies derive their Original the supreme Government of which she lays claim to and for the more firm establishment and more secure maintaining of it has made her self so loved by them that the Elements even in the midst of their contrariety with an admirable consent conspire to preserve it All things would be soon dissolv'd did they hate Nature their Princess and Sovereign who with mutual ties of Love and Benevolence as with the fastest knot unites them It is this Love which holds the Earth in Aequilibrio and makes the Orbs of Heaven whirl round it Let this Monarchy of things created founded in their first Being be a Lesson to defend their Persons and Subjects by affection the most faithfull guard they can have about them 1 Corporis custodiam tutissimam esse putatam in virtute amicorum tum in benevolentia civium esse collocatam Isocr ad Nic. Claud. Not Guards nor Groves of Pikes defend like Love This is the only impregnable Fort 2 Salvum Principem in aperto clementia praestabit vivum erit inexpugnabile monument â—n amor civium Sen. de Clem. lib. 1 ca. 19. For which reason the Bees elect a King without a Sting for he has no need of Arms who is beloved by his Subjects Nature would by no means have it in his power to hurt whose duty 't is to govern least he become odious and promote his own ruin The greatest and most absolute power a Prince can have says K. Alphonso is when he loves his People and they reciprocally love him The body defends the Head upon account of the Love it bears it in consideration that this directs and preserves it else would it not hold up its arm toward the threatning blow Who would expose himself to Hazards except he had a Love for his Prince Who protect and defend his Crown The whole Kingdom of Castile sided with the Infant Henry against K. Peter the Cruel because the one was beloved by all the other as universally hated The first Principle of the ruin of Kingdoms and all the Revolutions in States is Hatred The Kings Ordonno and Fruela the Second were so abominated by their Subjects that the very name of King became odious Castile was reduc'd into a Commonwealth and the Government divided between two Judges one of which administred affairs of Peace the other those of War †Mar. hist. Hisp. Portugal never took up Arms against its Kings nor revolted from its obedience the reason is it bears a sincere affection towards them and if at any time it has excluded one and admitted another 't was because one was belov'd the other for Male-administration hated It was the advice of Iames the First of Arragon to Alphonso the Wise to seek rather the Love than Fear of his Subjects and to ingratiate himself with the Clergy and Commons that he might be the better able to grapple with the Nobility which Counsel if he had follow'd he had never lost the Crown Nero no sooner ceas'd to be lov'd than Conspiracies were form'd against him a thing which Subrius Flavius upbraided him with to his face 3 Nec quisquam tibi fidelior militum â—uit dum amari meruisti odisse â—aepi postquam parricida Matris Uxoâ—is auriga histrio incendiarâ—us extitisti Tac. 15. ann A King's Power and Majesty consist not in his own Person but in the Affection and good Will of his Subjects If they be disaffected who will oppose his Enemies 'T is Preservation makes the people want a King but that can never be expected from one who makes himself hated The Arragonians prudently foresaw this when having call'd to the Crown Peter Altharez Lord of Borgia from whom the most ancient and illustrious Family of the Dukes of Gandia is descended they afterwards repented and would not have him for their King because they saw he us'd them with Austerity and Rigour even before his Election Contrary to what Ferdinand the First King of Arragon did who by Love and Benevolence engag'd the hearts of all in that Kingdom as also in Castile during his Reign there We have seen many Princes ruin'd by Fear none ever by Love If therefore a Prince would be formidable let it be to his Enemies but let him endeavour to be belov'd by his Subjects without which though he come victorious over them he will at last fall by the hands of these As it befell Bardanus King of Persia 4 Claritâ—â—ine paucos inter senatum Regum siperinde amorem inter populares quam metum apud hostes quaesivisset Tac. 11. ann Love and Respect may be joyned but not Love and servile Fear He who is fear'd is hated and he who is hated is by no means secure Quem metuunt oderunt Quem quisque odit periisse expedit Enn. He who is fear'd by many also fears many And what greater misfortune is there than to command those who obey through Fear and govern Bodies rather than Minds The difference between the just Prince and the Tyrant is That one uses Arms to maintain his Subjects in Peace the other to protect himself against them If the strength and power of a Prince hated be small he is much exposed to danger from his Subjects if great yet much more For the greater their fear is the more sollicitous are they to provide for their Security as apprehending his cruelty will encrease with his Grandeur as in Bardanus King of Persia whose Glory made him more severe and insupportable
Charles of Navarre call'd the Noble gain'd the Love of all by his Liberality King Henry the Second did thereby wipe out the Murder of his Brother King Peter and established his Right to the Crown What cannot a liberal Prince do What can't a golden Scepter oblige to Even Tyranny 3 Prov. 19. 6. is conniv'd at and born with when the Prince knows how to give especially when it gains the Applause of the people by supplying the publick Necessities and rewarding persons of Merit This vertue in my opinion maintain'd Tiberius in the Empire for this he always practis'd 4 Quam virtutem diu retinuit cum caeteras 〈◊〉 Tac. 1. ann But there is nothing more pernicious to a Prince than Liberality and Goodness for they usually go together if not used with Moderation Liberality says King Alphonso the Wise becomes all men of power but principally a King when he uses it to purpose and as he should Garcias Sancho King of Navarr lost his Subjects affections by the same Liberality with which he hop'd to have gain'd them for to maintain it he opprest them with Taxes and Impositions Prodigality is little distant from Rapine or Tyranny for when the Treasury is drain'd by Ambition it must of necessity be recruited by ill and indirect means 5 Ac velut perfringere aerarium 〈◊〉 si 〈◊〉 exhauserimus per scelera supplendum â—rit Tac. 2. ann He who gives more than he is able says Alphonso the Wise is not liberal but prodigal and when his own stock fails he will be obliged to make use of others so that if on one side he â—â—kes Friends by what he gives he on th' other side makes Eâ—â—mies by what he takes away Diego d' Arias Treasurer to King Henry the Fourth least he should fall into this inconâ—enience represented to him the Extravagance of his Liberality and that 't was convenient that his Retinue should be reduc'd to a lesser number and that the Salaries allow'd to such as did not actually serve or were any ways incapacitated might be taken off to whom the King made this Answer I too were I Arias should more respect my Money thâ—n my Liberality you say well as to your self but as for me I 'll act as becomes a King without fear of poverty or exposing my self to the necessity of raising new Taxes 'T is the duty of a King to give and to measure his Authority by the publick Good not his own particular which is the true fruit of Riches To some we give because they are good to others that they may 〈◊〉 be bad Words truly worthy a King if he had been guided by these considerations but his gifts were always excessive and without order without the least regard to the Merit of the Party as his Brother-in-law King Ferdinand observed in one of his Laws saying That he gave Rewards for Shew not for Merit Whence we may observe the circumspection a Prince ought to observe in his Liberality for fear of giving occasion to his Subjects to acknowledge his Authority only to receive from him not to obey him An extravagant Subject ruins only himself But a Prince himself and State too The Treasury would be soon at an ebb if the Prince should be extravagantly liberal without considering that they are the Magazines for publick Necessities The Mountains don't squander away the Snow which the Vapours of the Fields and Valleys heap upon its top but on the contrary preserve it against Summer and then in gentle Streams returns it upon the same grounds it was attracted from They don't descend all at once for so they would not answer their design and would be slighted as useless for Liberality is the greatest Enemy to Liberality nor do they immediately mix with the Rivers leaving the Plains and Vallies dry as Princes usually do who give to the Rich what ought to be distributed among the Poor and drain the thirsty sands to supply the brimfull Lakes which have no need of it 'T is a great fault to gain the favour of the Rich at the expence of the poor and by vain extravagance to oppress the body of the State whose ruin is always promoted by the pride and vanity of a few The people cannot brook to see that power vainly squander'd away which ought to be employ'd to the preservation of them and the Prince's dignity The rewards of a Prodigal are not esteem'd because they are common and proceed from the vice of Extravagance not the vertue of Liberality and by giving all to a few he offends many that which is given to some particular ones being wanted in general by all He who gives without care or choice enriches indeed but rewards not to give to those who deserve 't is necessary to be sparing to others So that a Prince ought to use great Prudence and Judgment in the Distribution of Rewards 6 Psal. 98. 4. For when they are well distributed though they fall on but few they affect many The Scriptures command all Offerings to be made with Salt which is the same as Prudence 7 Levit. 2. 14. Eccl. 35. 11. equally distant from Prodigality and Avarice But because a Prince ought to be generous to all let him imitate Aurora which as it passes always leaves something tho' but Dew and Flowers Nay often satisfies only with its Beauty and Pleasantness Let him give to all but with such Moderation that without putting it out of his power to give more he may content them Some by Presents some by Words and some by Affability 8 Eccl. 35. 11. for oftentimes the Eyes give more than the Hands Liberality is the only Vertue which should be sometimes in the opinion of others more than in the person of the Prince Experience teaching us that 't is sufficient that he express some Demonstrations with such Address that he may be generally esteem'd liberal so that he must avoid Refusals for 't is a great trouble to receive them from a Prince What he cannot give to day he may give to morrow and if he cannot 't is better to let time discover it than to tell it himself He who refuses either does not distinguish Merit or shews his want of Power or Will and neither of these Declarations become a Prince whose Power and Grandure the Petitioner acknowledges Let a Prince be generous in the Reward of Vertue but let it be with Offices and Imployments and other Revenues already allotted to Liberality not with the Crown-Rents and Treasury reserv'd for greater uses King Ferdinand the Catholick was very liberal but not to the Prejudice of the Crown He was at his first coming to the Crown slow in the Distribution of Offices the better to gain mens minds and to reward those who had followed his Party He knew with great Prudence to mingle Liberality with Frugality Of which he has not only left us an Example but also a Law in these words Kings ought not to be so generous and
bountifull as that it may be term'd Extravagance for this vertue of Liberality ought to be used with order and measure without Detriment to the Crown and Royal Dignity †L. 3. tit 10. lib. 5. Recop To lay up the better to employ is not Avarice but premeditated Liberality To give inconsiderately is either Vanity or Folly By this Parsimony King Alphonso the Wise rais'd the Monarchy and lost the Crown by his profuse Extravagance one of the principal Complaints the Kingdom made against him was That he had given the Empress Marthâ— thirty thousand Marks of Silver to redeem her Husband Baldwin whom the Sultan of Aegypt retain'd Prisoner in which he was more vain than prudent King Henry the Second found the damage of having weakned the power of his Crown by his too great Bounty and therefore revok'd it by his last Will. Time and Opportunity ought to guide Princes in their Liberality sometimes it ought to be moderated when the Expences of War and the publick Necessities are great and to be apply'd to avert Dangers and to facilitate Designs in which he saves most who spends most for he who gives by little and little spends his Money without attaining his end War is avoided and Victory and Peace purchased by Liberality 9 Prov. 22. 9. The Prodigality of a Prince may be corrected by committing the management of his Treasures to thrifty frugal Ministers as may his Avarice by generous ones 'T is necessary sometimes to let a Prince see the summ of his Liberality for Grants are made sometimes without consideration and if the Prince kept an account of his Expences he would doubtless moderate them and 't is not always Liberality to grant Gratuities for Avarice is often vanquish'd by Importunity or sometimes weary with contending grants them through Despair 'T is natural to all Princes to give to those who have most I know not whether through Fear or Esteem of Power This that great Courtier Ioseph well understood when calling his Father and Brothers into Aegypt and offering them in Pharaoh's name all the Good of that Kingdom 10 Gen. 45. 18. he bid them bring with them all the Riches and Goods that they had 11 Ibid. ver 20. knowing that if they came rich the King would be more liberal to them so that he who expects Bounty from a Prince must not represent to him his Poverty and Misery There are no more ready means to have than to have 12 Luke 19. 26. EMBLEM XLI THE Motto of this Emblem has been famous to all Antiquity Some attribute it to Bias to Pythagoras Thales and Homer but I think 't is more reasonably ascrib'd to the Delphick Oracles for it seems rather a Divine than Humane Sentence fit to be engraven on all the Crowns Sceptres and Rings of Princes To this is reduc'd the whole Science of Government which consists in avoiding Extreams and loves the middle where Vertue keeps its Sphere 'T was ask'd Socrates Which was the properest Vertue for a young Man and he answer'd Nothing to Excess by which he comprehended all To this Motto the body of the present Emblem seems well suited Corn lay'd by the violence of unseasonable Rain when gentle Dews were sufficient 1 Magni animi est magna contemnere prudentis est mediocria malle quam nimia ista enim utilia sunt illa quòd superfluunt nocent Sic sâ—â— getem nimia sternit ubertas sic Rami onere franguntur sic ad maturitaâ—em non pervenit nimiâ— foecunditas Sen. Epist. 39. Honours by being too great suit ill with Subjects and rather disgrace than adorn them There are some favours so out of season that they pass for Injuries What avails it for the Prince to do a benefit if by his austere Looks and rugged Words he seems as 't were to throw it at one or does it so unseasonably that it does no kindness The Benefit and Favour is lost and the hand abhorr'd that gave it Which made King Alphonso the Wise say That Rewards should be given so â— propos that they may be beneficial to the Receiver †L. 1. tit 21. p. 2. As there are errors in Excess of Rewards and Favours so there is also in Punishments Such an exact Rigour better becomes a Minister of Justice than a Prince he is not at his Liberty but the Prince has the Keys of the Law in his own hand 'T is not Justice which is too severe nor Mercy which is not moderate and so of other Vertues The same Moderation a Prince out to observe in the arts of Peace and War so guiding the Chariot of the Government as they did in the Games of old that the Wheels may not touch the Goals for so they would be broken the art of the ancient Racers consisted in measuring the distance so exactly as to pass as near as possible without touching eitheâ— end What a Prince ought to take most care of is the Moderation of his Passions governing them with such Prudence that he may neither desire hope love or fear with too much Ardour and Violence rais'd by the Will not by Reason The desires of private persons may be easily accomplish'd but those of Princes not for those are proportion'd to their conditions and these are usually greater than the force of their Grandure tending always to Extreams Almost all Princes either ruin themselves or run into great inconveniences through Excess of Ambition mans desire being unlimited and the possibility of things very narrow it rarely happens that the first are measured by the latter or that there is any Justice between them Hence Princes seek pretences to rob their Neighbours nay their greatest Friends aspiring ever at the enlargement of their State without measuring their bodies with their Strength and their Government with Humane Capacity which cannot maintain all that may be acquired The Grandure of Empires lies upon their own Shoulders and are always ready to fall oppress'd with their own weight Let Princes therefore endeavour to maintain their States which either Succession or Election has given them and if any just occasion shall offer of enlarging them let them make use of it a God's name but with such caution as the Event shall shew to Prudence Ambition is not less dangerous in the Excess of its Fears than of its Desires especially in that which is acquired by Violence Fear suggests no means which are not immediately made use of for its preservation There is none of the line of the party wrong'd or any one who has the least pretension to the State though never so remote but is fear'd Tyranny usually proposes nothing less than a general ruin Thus Mucianus practis'd killing the Son of Vitellius 2 Mansuram discordiam â—btendens â—i semina belli restrinxisset Tac. â— ann The same also is taughâ— in the School of Machiavell whose Scholars forgetting the Example of David who sought out Saul's Relations that they might partake of his Mercy
are occasions when he must put on the Lion's Skin that his Subjects and Enemies may see his Claws and that he may be thought so severe that Fraud may not have the boldness to attack him with Flattery which way it uses to tame the minds of Princes This it seems the Aegyptians would intimate by putting a Lion's Skin upon their Prince's head There is no Respect nor Reverence where there is no fear The People perceiving their Prince can't be angry and that nothing can alter his mild Temper always despise him but this Severity need not immediately come to Execution 'T is not necessary for a Prince to be really angry but only to appear so The Lion without discomposing himself or thinking of hurting any other Animals with his very Looks infuses dread into all such is the Majestick force of his Eyes 5 A Lion which is the strongest among Beasts and turneth not away for any Prov. 30. 30. But because 't is convenient sometimes to gild force with craft and indignation with mildness to dissemble a little and accommodate himself to the times and persons therefore in the present Devise the Lion's head is not crown'd with the little tricks of the Fox which are mean and base and below the Generosity and Magnanimity of a Prince but with Serpents the Emblem of carefull and prudent Majesty and in the sacred Writs the Hieroglyfick of Prudence for their cunning in defending their heads in stopping their Ears against all Inchantments and in other things only tending to their own preservation not the prejudice of others For the same reason and the like accidents I have made use of these words as a Motto to the present Devise that he may know how to reign taken from the Motto of Lewis the Eleventh King of France who knows not how to dissemble knows not how to reign In which the whole art of Government is briefly comprehended but there is need of great Prudence and Circumspection least this Power should turn to Tyranny and this Policy to Fraud These Mediums nearly bordering upon Vices Iustus Lipsius defining Fraud in matters of Policy says 't is shrewd Counsel deviating from Vertue and the Laws for the good of the King and Kingdom by which avoiding the Extremes of Machiavel and finding also that 't is impossible for a Prince to govern without some Fraud and cunning he advises a little tolerates Mediocrity but forbids Extremes bounds very dangerous to a Prince For who can exactly describe them there ought not to be such Rocks so near politick Navigation The malice of Power and ambition of Rule act sufficiently in many if Fraud be vicious 't is vicious in its least parts and therefore unworthy of a Prince The worth and dignity of the Royal Purple disdains the least â—spot The minutest Atom is visible and blemishes the Rays of these terrestrial Suns And how can it be suffer'd that his actions should deviate from Vertue and the Laws who is the very Soul thereof There is no Fraud without a mixture of malice and falshood both opposite to Royal Magnanimity though Plato says That Falshood is superfluous in the Gods they having no need on 't but not in Princes who have great occasion for it and that therefore it may be allow'd them sometimes That which is unlawfull ought not to be allow'd nor ought we to make use of means in their own nature wicked to obtain just and honourable ends Dissimulation and Cunning are then only lawfull when they don't drive to Knavery and prejudice the Authority and Reputation of the Prince in which case I don't esteem them as Vices but Prudence or the Daughters thereof being both advantageous and necessary to a Commander which would be if Prudence respecting its own preservation would make use of Fraud according to the different circumstances of time place and persons so as the Heart and Tongue the Mind and Words may ever agree That Dissimulation ought to be avoided which with fraudulent intentions belyes the things designed That which would make another understand that which is not not that which would make him not understand that which is For this end one may sometimes use indifferent and equivocating words not with a design to cheat but to secure ones self and prevent being cheated and for other lawfull ends Thus we see the Master of truth himself pretended to his Disciples who were going to the City Emmaus that he was going farther 6 And he made as though he would have gone farther Luke 24. 28. The counterfeit folly of David before King Acâ—is 7 And he changed his behaviour before them and feign'd himself mad in their hands and scrâ—bbled on the doors of the gate and let his Spittle fall down upon his Beaâ—â— 1 Sam 21. 13. the pretended Sacrifice of Samuel 8 And the Lord said take a Heifer with thee and say I am come to sacrifice to the Lord 1 Sam 16. 2. the Kids skins fitted to Iacob's hands 9 And he put the skins of the Kids of the Goats upon his 〈◊〉 and 〈…〉 the smooth of his neck 〈◊〉 27. 16. were all lawfull Dissimulations the intent not being to cheat but only to hide another design nor are they the less allowable because one foresees that another will thereby be deceiv'd for that knowledge proceeds not from malice but a kind of caution And these arts and practices are then chiefly to be made use of when we treat with designing and crafty Princes for in such case Distrust Cunning Hypocrisie ambiguous Replies prudent Equivocation least a Prince should be insâ—ared and give occasion for others Plots and Machinations defending himself with these arts and not offending or violating his publick Faith what is this but being upon his Guard That Ingenuity is foolish which frankly discovers its secret Sentiments and the State would be in danger without some caution 'T is a dangerous sincerity to speak truth always since secrecy is the chief instrument of Government Whatever Prince intrusts a secret to another at the same time intrusts his Sceptre too It does not become a Prince to lye but it does to be silent or to conceal truth not to trust or confide in any one rashly but to be wary and circumspect that he mayn't be cheated This caution is extremely necessary for a Prince without which he would be expos'd to many and great dangers He who knows and sees most believes and trusts least because either Speculation or Practice and Experience renders him cautious Let a Prince's mind therefore be sincere and pure yet skill'd in the arts and practices of others Experience will shew in what cases it becomes a Prince to use these arts that is when he shall observe that the Malice and Stratagems of those with whom he deals requires it In all other actions a Prince ought to discover a Royal Candor sometimes even to those who would deceive him for if they interpret it favourably their designs are broken and begin
understood Tiberius's meaning and that he was recall'd from Germany only to stop the progress of his Glory readily obey'd without seeming to understand 14 Haud â—â—â—â—ctatus est ultra Germanicus quanquam fingi ea seque per invidiam â—â—rto jam decori abstrahi intelligeret Tac. 2. ann Since Princes commands can't be declin'd 't is prudence to obey them chearfully pretending ignorance of the motives to avoid danger Thus Archelaus though he knew he was call'd to Rome by Tiberius's Mother through Craft and Treachery yet he dissembled it and fearing violence if he should be thought to understand it made what hast he could thither 15 Si intelligere videretur vim metuens in urbem properat Tac. 2. ann And this Dissimulation is yet more necessary in the Errors and Vices of Princes for they esteem them as enemies who are acquainted therewith In the Banquet at which Germanicus was poison'd some ran for 't but the more prudent fat still looking upon Nero that they might not be thought to mistrust the Murther but rather to believe that it was natural 16 Trâ—pidaâ—â—â— Ã circumsedentibus diffugiunt imprudentes at quibus altior intellectus resistunt defixi Neronem intuentes Tac. 13. ann EMBLEM XLV THE Lion the body of this devise was among the Aegyptians the Emblem of Vigilance and us'd to be set in the Frontispieces and Porches of their Temples Hence Alexander the Great was engraven upon his Coin with a Lion's skin upon his head to intimate that he was not less carefull and vigilant than valiant for if at any time affairs requir'd that he should not spend much time in sleep he was us'd to lie with his arm out of bed holding a Silver ball in his hand that if he should fall asleep that falling into a brass Bason set underneath for that purpose might waken him He had never conquer'd the world had he been sleepy and lazy he ought not to snore away his time who has the Government of People committed to him †Non decet ignavum totâ producere somnum Nâ—cte virum sub consilio sub nomine cujus Tâ—t populi degunt cui rerum cura fidesque Credita summarum est Thus the Lion knowing himself to be King of Beasts sleeps but little or if he does 't is with his Eyes open he does not confide so much in his Empire nor relie so much on his Majesty as not to think it necessary to seem to be awake even while he sleeps The Senses do indeed require rest sometimes but even then 't is necessary Princes should be thought to be awake A sleeping King differs not from another man This Passion he ought to conceal from Friends as well as Enemies he may sleep provided others think him waking Let him not depend so much upon his Authority and Power as to shut his Eyes to Care and Circumspection 'T is a cunning Dissimulation in the Lion to sleep with his Eyes open not with a design to deceive but only to hide his sleepiness And if any one designing against him be deceiv'd finding him awake whom he thought he had seen sleeping 't is his own fault not the Lion's Nor is this pretence below the greatness of his Mind no more than that other piece of cunning of smoothing over the Tract of his feet with his Tail to deceive the Huntsmen There is no Fortress secure unless guarded by Vigilance The greater the Prince is the greater care he ought to be crown'd with not with the Sincerity of innocent Doves but the prudence of subtle Serpents For as when the Lion enters the Field the other Beasts lay aside their natural Enmity and give over fighting and with joint force combine against him so among men all arm and unite against the strongest Nothing is more pernicious to the Kingdom of England than the greatness of the Dutch for they take from them the Dominion of the Seas nothing more prejudicial to France than the Grandure of those same Rebels who once breaking down the Dikes oppos'd by Spain would like an Inundation soon o'erwhelm the Kingdom of France as King Henry the Fourth wisely observ'd and yet what weigh'd more with both these two Crowns than their danger their hatred I mean and fear of the Spanish Monarchy rais'd that people to that Grandure and Power which upon alteration of affairs they may fear against themselves We are more sollicitous and carefull to avert present dangers than future ones though these are often greater Fear obstructs the Senses nor permits the Mind to survey things at a distance A groundless Fear is often of more force than the greatest reason of State The power of Spain in Italy is a preservative against the distempers of the Genoese liberty the same also preserves the Dukedom of Tuscany augments the Spiritual Empire of the Church maintains the Authority of the House of Austria and secures the Venetians from the Tyranny of the Turks yet I know not whether the Ministers of these Princes will acknowledge this or act conformable to this their Interest Such Jealousies as are not guided by reason work their own ruin They who thought they should be safe in disarming the Emperour Ferdinand the Second sound afterwards that they had need of those arms which they had caus'd him to disband Many Provinces which for Reasons of State sought the ruin of the Roman Empire lost their own liberty with its ruin Let not a Prince put much confidence in exterior respect and ceremony for 't is all feign'd and far from what it appears to be Complaisance is Flattery Adoration Fear Respect Force and Friendship Necessity The good opinion which a Prince conceives of others they make use of to circumvent and betray him All watch his motions to make a prey of him all strive to overcome him by Stratagem whom they can't by force few or none act sincerely with him for he who is fear'd seldom hears truth and therefore he ought not to sleep in confidence of his own power Let him oppose Stratagem with Stratagem and Power with Power A generous mind closely and cautiously prevents or couragiously resists dangers But though in the present Emblem we allow of the arts of Dissimulation nay and think them necessary with the aforesaid restrictions yet does it more become the Ministers than the Princes themselves for in them there is a certain occult Divinity which is offended at that care Dissimulation is usually the Daughter of Fear and Ambition neither of which ought to be discover'd in a Prince The conveniences of Dissimulation he ought to supply by silence and reservedness A Prince is more belov'd for being prudent and wary provided he act with a Royal Sincerity All hate Artifice and on the contrary a natural and open freedom is agreeable to all as Tacitus remarks in Petronius 1 Dicta factaque ejus quanto solutiora quandam sui negligentiaâ— praeferentia tantò gratius in speciem simplicitatis accipiebantur
whether our Conduct and Prudence can without ambition and peril find a secure path between a froward Obstinacy and a despicable Slavery There seems to be a certain occult force which if it does not compell does at least move our Will and incline it to one more than another and if in the Senses and natural Appetites there is a Sympathy and Antipathy to things why not in the Affections and Passions They may perhaps have more power and force over the Appetite than the Will because that is more a Rebell to Free-Will than this but it can't be deny'd but that the inclination too is of great force being generally attended by reason especially when Art and Prudence know how to adapt themselves to the humour of the Prince We see in all things as well animate as inanimate a secret Correspondence and Friendship whose chains are easier broken than parted Neither the injuries nor adversities which King Iohn the Second suffer'd for his affection to Alvarez de Luna nor the apparent danger of the latter could dissolve that firm bond of Friendship with which their Souls were united And though this inclination be not natural yet gratitude for past Services or the extraordinary merits of the Subject usually produce it Vertue is of it self amiable and gratefull to the Will 'T would be barbarous to oblige a Prince to balance his affections with indifferency to all for they proceed from the heart by the Eyes and Hands what stanch severity can always resist the charms of favour How reserv'd was Philip the Second Yet had he not one but many particular Favourites God himself had some whom he peculiarly favour'd giving them power to stop the course of the Sun and Moon 1 And he said in the sight of Israel Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou Moon in the valley of Ajalon Jos. 10. 12. The Lord obeying the voice of man 2 The Lord harkened to the voice of man for the Lord fought for Israel Ibid And why as King Peter observ'd is particular Friendship allow'd to private persons and not to Princes Many are the troubles of Government to alleviate which 't will be necessary to have some one near you in whom you can put a more particular Confidence There are many difficulties in it which are not to be surmounted by one The burthen of a Crown is too weighty and cumbersome for one to bear the strongest yield to it and as Iob says bend under it For this reason though God was assistant to Moses and supply'd him with ability and instructions to administer his Office yet he commanded to make use of the elders in the Government of his people that they might help to bear the burthen 3 And they shall bear the â—urthen of the people with thee that thou bear it not thy self alone Nâ—â—b 11. 17. And Iethâ—o his Father-in-Law thought the burthen greater than he was able to bear 4 For this thing is too heavy for thee thou art not able to perform it thy self alone Exod. 18. 18. Alexander took Parmeno to his assistance David Joab Solomon Zadock Darius Daniel by whose directions they succeeded in their affairs No Prince is so prudent and discreet as of himself to know all things nor so carefull and diligent as to manage all affairs alone Which natural impotency oblig'd Princes to erect Courts and Counsels and to create Presidents Governours and Viceroys in whom the power and authority of Princes might reside For alone says King Alphonso the Wise they can't penetrate and examin all things but have need of the assistance of others in whom they can confide who should use the power which they receive in performing those things which Princes can't do themselves †L. 3. tit 1. p. 2. And if Princes use the assistance of Ministers abroad why should he not in the more private affairs of his Cabinet 'T is necessary he should have some one near him whom he may deliberate with about the Advice and Counsel which is given him That he may with him compare his own Scruples and Propositions and be by him instructed Whom in fine he may safely trust to expedite and execute Affairs 5 Solatium curarum frequenter sibi adhibent maturi Pâ—eges hinc meliores aestimantur si soli omnia non praesumunt Cassiod lib 8. epist. 9. Would it not be worse if embarrass'd with such weighty cares he should communicate himself to none Besides 't is absolutely necessary that the Prince should have some assistant who disengag'd from all other business should be as a Mediator between him and his people Otherwise it would be impossible for him to hear and satisfie all nor would it suit with his Majesty For this reason the Israelites besought Moses that he would speak to God for them for they themselves were afraid of his Presence 6 Exod. 20. 19. And Absalom that he might render David odious to the people urg'd that he had no Ministers about him to receive the complaints of the distressed 7 Thy matters are good and right but there is no man deputed of the King to hear thee 2 Sam. 15. 3. The Zeal and Prudence of a Favourite may with ease rectifie the defects of Government and the inclinations of Princes 8 Qui in regiae familiaritatis sacrarium admittuntur multa facere possunt dicere quibus paupcrum necessita sublevetur faveatur religio fiat aequitas Ecclesia dilatetur Petr. Blis Epist. 150. Agricola by his prudent address reclaim'd Domitian and though Sejanus was bad Tiberius was worse when without him he follow'd his own inclinations 9 Obtectis libidinibus dam Sejanum dilexit timuitve postremò in scelera simul at dedecora prorupit postquam remoto pudore metu suâ— tantum ingenio utebatur Tac. 6. ann And truly by such Favourites God-often saves a whole Kingdom as he did Syria by Naaman and Aegypt by Ioseph 10 2 Kings 5. 1 Since then 't is necessary that the weight of Government should be divided 't is natural in the choice of such an assistant to be guided in some measure by inclination or some secret Sympathy in the persons of each which choice if it be founded upon desert can be no ways dangerous nay 't is requisite that the humour of the party whom the Prince takes to assist him should be chosen to him The question is Whether one or many should be chosen to this Office if many equally favour'd and respected Emulation will arise and their Counsels will thwart one another to the detriment of the State So that it seems more agreeable to natural order that affairs should be committed to one alone who should supervise the rest and by whom affairs should come digested and methodized to the Prince who should only substitute him to his cares and trouble not his power and authority in his Counsels not his Rewards The Sun alone imparts Light to the whole world and when he
sets he leaves not many but only one Vicegerent the Moon with a Lustre much greater than that of the other Stars who seem but as so many inferiour Ministers to assist her Yet neither this nor those shine with their own but borrow'd Light which the Earth acknowledges receiv'd from the Sun Nor does this favour misbecome Majesty when a Prince devolves part of the burden of Affairs upon his Favourite so as to preserve the sovereign power and authority to himself for this is not favour but imployment not so much an obligation as a communication of trouble nor is this so much to be envied if Princes would be so prudent as to give it another name as President of the Council or Chancellour as the Magistrates call'd Praefecti at Rome incurr'd no Envy though they were second Caesars The felicity of Subjects consists not in the Prince's being like a loadstone attractive of Iron and not of Gold but in his knowledge in chusing such a Minister as will attribute whatever is great and commendable to him and take all the Reflections and Odium of the people upon himself one whose mind is wholly bent upon the publick good who manages affairs without Ambition hears without Disdain and debates without Passion whose Resolves and Determinations have no respect to self-interest In a word whose whole aim is the service and advantage of his Country not himself or the preservation of his Master's favour By this rule one may know whether this Familiarity proceed from pure Zeal or Tyranny Princes ought to take great care in the choice of such a Minister endeavouring not to be byass'd by Affection or fansifull Inclination but by rare and excellent Qualifications and Merits for sometimes such Friendship is not the result of deliberation but accident it is not favour but diligence Courts usually erect and adore some Idol which they deify and treat with Royal Splendor and Magnificence they worship it upon their Knees burn Tapers and offer Incense to it imploring its assistance with Prayers and Vows 11 And so the multitude allured by the grace of the work took him now for a God which a little before was but honoured as a man Wisd 14. 20. As industry can change the course of Rivers and turn them another way so it often happens that those who have business at Court not regarding the Prince the true channel of affâ—irs apply themselves to the Favourite whose arts do by this so secure the Prince's favour that he can never disengage himself from it No Prince was more cautious none more free than Tiberius yet was he subject to his Favourite Sejanus 12 Tiberium variis artibus devinxit adeo ut obscurum adversus alios sibi uni incautuin intectumque efficereâ— In which case 't is difficult to say whether such favour be human choice or some superiour power for the greater good or ill of the Commonwealth The Holy Spirit says 't is a particular judgment of God 13 Prov. 29. â—6 Tacitus attributes the favour and fall of Sejanus to the anger of the Gods for the ruin of the Empire 14 Nâ—â— tam solâ—rtia quippe iisdem artibus victus est 〈…〉 pari exâ—tio viguâ—t â—â—â—iditque Tac. 4. ann A misfortune scarce avoidable when this favour falls upon a person of great quality as it usually does in Courts where the chief of the Nobility are Ministers For he who is once possess'd of it will by the preheminence of his Birth and Grandure of his Family endeavour what he can to preserve it nor will he easily suffer himself to be supplanted by any one As was seen in Iohn Alphonso Robles in the time of King Iohn the Second †Mâ—r. 〈…〉 lib. 20. l. 25. The heart of a Prince is never safe in the power of a Subject whose Nobility and Authority make him too much respected by others Though this inconveniency is lessen'd when this favour falls upon some great man who is truly zealous and intent upon his Prince's Service and the honour and welfare of his Country for then the people's Envy and Odium will not be so great and the orders which are dispatch'd through the hands of such a one will be the more readily observ'd yet 't is always highly necessary if a Prince could balance his favour between his own Authority and the Merits of his Favourite to commit only that part of the administration to him which he cannot manage himself for should he commit it wholly to him he would experience the same misfortunes with King Ahasuerus when he entrusted Hamon with the Government of his people 15 Esth. 3. 11. Let him not give by another's hand what he can dispose of with his own nor borrow others Eyes when he can see with his own As to what is done in Courts of Justice and Councâ—ls let him afterwards consult the Presidents and Secretaries from whose relations he may receive a just account of the affairs therein transacted and his Resolutions will be more concise and ready when he confers with those by whom the affâ—irs â—ave been managed This method the Popes and Emperâ—â—â—se as did also the Kings of Spain â—ill Philip the Second who being an excellent Pen-man introduc'd the custom of taking debates and consultations in writing which afterwards prevailing gave rise to private favour for the Kings being embrass'd with such a vast number of writings were oblig'd to communicate them to some one and this must of necessity be a Favourite On such a one let a Prince bestow more peculiar marks of favour and benevolence For he who merits his favour and shares his trouble ought to have Pre-eminence above others The shadow of St. Peter worked Miracles 16 Acts 5. 15. What wonder then if a Prince's Favourite who is but his shadow acts with more Authority than others Nevertheless some favours should be reserv'd for others nor should those other be so great as to exceed the condition of a Subject and make him equal to the Prince so as to have Court made to him as Co-partner in the Empire and to draw the whole body of affairs after him which derogates much from the Authority and Esteem of the Prince A Favourite should act as the shadow not the Substance In this the Kings of Castile who in times past had Favourites runâ— great Risques for as the power of the Kings being then not so large how little soever they granted it endanger'd the whole Kingdom as it befell King Sancho the Strong for his favour to Lopez de Hara King Alphonso the Eleventh for his to Count Alvaro Osorio King Iohn the Second and King Henry the Fourth for theirs to Alvaro de Luna and Iohn Pacheco The whole point of Favouritism consists in the Prince's knowing how much he ought to allow his Favourite and he how much he ought to receive from his Prince Whatever exceeds this rule creates as we shall mention anon Jealousie Envy and Danger 17 Sed uterque
ill Consequence is it less inconvenient not to declare his mind at all for so that Counsel which seems best may with more Secrecy be executed Henry King of Portugal proposed matters with so much Discretion in his Council that it could not be discover'd either by his Words or Looks which way he inclined whence came the Custom of Presidents and Vice-Roys not giving their Votes in Council which is an anciâ—nt Practice and was used by the Etolians But in a matter in which the Prince desires rather their Approbation than Advice he may open his mind and declare his Opinion for he will find they will generally â—ide with him either through a desire to please or because we naturally incline to follow our Superior In Affairs of War especially when the Prince is involv'â— therein his Presence in Council is of more importance 〈◊〉 well for the above-mentioned Reasons as that he thereby animates them and that their prudent Resolves may be puâ— in speedy Execution and least while they are brought to him the opportunity be slipt He must know that some Minisâ—ers desire to be thought vigorous and active ratheâ— than discreet and so in the Princes Presence oâ—tâ—n are the Authors of rash Counsel not that they would be thâ— persons that should execute them nay they have a particular aversion to all Danger as it was with those who advis'd Vitellius to take up Arms 18 Sed quod in cjusmodi rebus accidit consiliâ—m ab omnibus datâ—â— est periculum pauci sensere 'T is a common Question among Politicians whether 〈◊〉 no a Prince himself should not assist in the Courts of Justice 't is a too weighty Employ and would take up 〈◊〉 much of that time which is necessary for Affairs of State and the Administration of the Government Though Tibâ—rius after he had assisted in the Senate went to the Courtâ— of Judicature 19 Nec patrum cognitionibus satiatus Iudiciis adsidebat in coâ—nu tribunalis Tac. 1. ann King Ferdinand the Holy was ofteâ— present in those Courts where he heard and defended the Poor and protected the weak from the strong K. Alphonâ—â— the Wise ordain'd that the King himself should undertake the Causes of Widows and Orphans For tho' says he he is oblig'd in general to defend his Subjects yet ought he particularly to assist them because they are more helpless than others * L. 20. tit 23. p. 3. Solomon's great Judgment in the Decision of Causes got him the general Esteem of all 20 And all Israel hâ—ard of the Judgment which the King had judged and they feared the King for they saw that the Wisdom of God was in him to do â—udgment 1 Kin. 3. 28 the Israelites desired a King who as in other Nations might be Judge over them 21 Now make us a King to judge us like all the Nations 1 Sam. 8. 5. the Presence of the King makes Judges just and his Power only can defend the poor 22 A King that sitteth in the Throne of Judgment scaâ—â—ereth away all evil with his Eyes Prov. 20. 8. the chief Reason why God chose David King was because he who had freed his Flocks from the jaws of the Lion 23 Psalm 9. 14. best knew how to protect the Impotent from the powerful 24 1 Sam. 17. 31. so grateful and acceptable is this Care to God that for that only he promises to blot out all the rest of his Sins and make them as white as Snow 25 Isa. 1. 17. Wherefore I can't deny that this is the main part of a Prince's Duty yet I think he fulfils it if he chooses Persons of Integrity for his Ministers of Justice and takes Care that they justly and uprightly perform their Offices 'T will suffice sometimes in the most important Cases I mean such as may be oppress'd by Power to be present at their giving their Opinions so as to make the Judges always in fear least he should be in some corner of the Court and hear all that is said and done For which Reason all the Judges live in the Royal Palace at Madrid and in the Courts where they sit there are windows from whence his Majesty uses to hear all that passes The same is usual in the Turks Divan where when the Bassa's meet to treat about Affairs he hears them when he pleases from a window cover'd with Sarcenet And this Harmony of the Clock and the mutual Agreement between the Wheels and the Hand which points the hours is evidentlâ— visible in the Government of the Kingdom of Spain which is so well constituted that those Kingdoms and Provinces which Nature has dis-joyn'd she unites by the prudence of her Government Each has its particular Court at Madrid Câ—stile Arragon Pâ—rtugal Italy the Netherlands and the Indies to which there is but one President they take Cognizance of all Affairs whether of Justice or Rewards belonging to any of these Kingdoms or Provinces And their Debates are brought to the King who orders what he thinks fit so that the Councils are as 't were the Wheels and his Majesty the Index or they the Optick Nerves by which visible Species are transmitted to the Prince and the King the common Sense which discerns and Judges them The Affairs of the Kingdom being so dispos'd and presented to his Majesty all 's manag'd with that ease and prudence that for above a hundred years since it began to flourish there has happened no considerable mis-carriage which is almost incredible in such a dis-united Body The Roman Empire was more succinct and yet it almost continually felt Convulsions and Disorders an undeniable Proof that ours is better founded than their's and govern'd by Men of greater Judgment Prudence and Integrity Since then the Summ of all Affairs should be reduc'd to the Prince he should not only be a Father to the Republick in Love but Economy too nor should he think it sufficient to have Counsellours and Ministers to manage his Affairs but he should also keep by him a certain private Memoir of them by which he should be guided in all things as Merchants keep their Accounts in a particular Book for that purpose such a Book as this the Emperour Augustâ—s kept In which he took an account of the Revenue of the number of the Citizens and Auxiliaries in his Service also oâ— the Fleets Kingdoms Provinces Tributes Taxes and Gratuities all which he wrote with his own hand 26 Opes publicae continebantur quantum civium sociorumque in â—â—mis quot Classes Regna Provinciae Tributa Necessitates ac Largitiâ—nes quae cuncta sua manu perscripserat Augustus Tac. 1. ann the Memory is the Treasury of Experience but is very short and weak without the assistance of the Pen to strengthen and perpetuate it upon Paper He 'll find a great advantage who for Memory's sake takes an account of all Actions good or ill in his Book which Diligence if your Royal Highness when
residâ— tibus quidâ—m tepor eorum fidem retardaverat Hilar. cap. 7. Sup. Matth so that they could not cure a possesâ— person 6 And I brought him to thy Disciples and they could not cuâ— him Matth. 17. 15. Great Spirits do not flourish nor Blossom unless they are water'd by the Dew of Favour That Prince therefore who shall sow Honours shall reap able Statesmen But he ought to sow them in Season and to have them always ready upon all Occasions for then they are rarely tâ— be found In this Princes are usually careless while they liâ—â— in Peace and Quiet thinking they shall never have need oâ— them Nor should a Prince honour and prefer only his Nobility and Ministers but also all others of his Subjects whose Actions shall be meritorious As King Alphonso prudently advises in his Laws where he says that a Prince ought to honour Vertue wheresoever he finds it though it be in the very meanest of his Subjects A Prince ought to be very cautious in the Distribution of Honours considering the time and weighing the Qualifications of the persons that they may be exactly adapted to their Merit For that distinguishes Dignities as the intrinsick worth of a Diamond makes it more valuable if Honours were all equal they would be less valued 't is a kind of Tyranny not to reward Desert and nothing more incenses the People than it a whole Government is disordered by the unequal Distribution of Preferments Rewards above Desert are a Scandal to the receiver and an Affront to those who deserve better One is gratified many offended To gratifie all alike is â—o reward none Vertue thrives not by equality nor will Valour ever attempt any considerable Action without the hopes of some particular Reward A Statue erected for one affects many with a glorious Desire of obtaining the same Honour In a word Honour suited to a persons Merit is a Spur to him an Encouragement to others and a means to preserve Obedience in the people But though nothing more firmly settles or more gloriously adorns a Prince's Throne than Distribution of Honours yet ought he diligently to take Care not to Grant away those which are proper to his own Dignity and distinguish him from others For they are not like Flames which passing to another Subject still remains entire in its own but all such which he shall confer on others will no more shine in him so that Majesty will be obscur'd nor will any make their Applications to him but to them to whom he has granted such Honours Tiberius would not permit even his Mother Livia to receive those particular Honours which the Senate design'd because he thought 't would diminish his Authority 7 Caeterum anxius invidia muliebâ—e fastigium in diminutionem sui â—ccipiens ne lictorem quiâ—â—em ei decern◠〈◊〉 Tac. 1. ann Even Ceremonies which were introduced either by Chance or Flattery and are now peculiar to the Prince he ought not to make common to others For though they are vain and empty they mark out the Borders of Majesty to Respect and Veneration Tiberius was disgusted that the same publick Prayers were made for Nero and Drusus which were made for him tho' they were his Sons and Successours in the Empire 8 Tum verò aequari adolescentes senectae suae uis hoentèr indoluit Tac. 4. ann the Honour of Princes vanishes when made common by promiscuous Flattery 9 Vanescit Augusti honor si promisâ— noribus vulgâ—tur Tac. 4. ann sometimes though as when Ministers do personate the Prince in his absence the same Honours and Ceremonies are to be paid them as are due to the Prince if present as we fee in Vice-Roys and Courts of Supream Authority which like Stars shine in the Suns absence but not in his Presence for then those marks of Honour are paid to the Royal Dignity represented in the Ministers who are as it were the Pictures of Majesty and the reflection of Supream Authority EMBLEM LIX NATURE the provident Disposer of all things has divided Countries from one another and hedg'd 'em in sometimes with Mountains like â—ast Walls sometimes entrenched 'em about with deep Rivers and sometimes with the Ocean it self that she â—ight put a stop to the Designs of humane Ambition for â—he same Reason she has constituted different Climates Naâ—ures Languages and Customs that in this great Diversity of Nations each might live amicably and in Unity among themselves not easily giving way to the Power and Tyranâ—y of Invaders Yet are not all these bars and fences of Nature able to check this insatiable Desire of Rule for Ambition is so great and so deeply rooted in Man's heart â—hat it thinks the five Zones too narrow for it Alexander â—hey say wept that he had no more Worlds to Conquer All the Blessings of Life nay Life it self for all our natural Inclinations to preserve it are all slighted for a moments Reign Humaya going to invade the Kingdom oâ— Cordova some of his Friends diâ—swaded him from it urging the danger of the Attempt Call me King to day sayâ— he and to morrow kill me there is no Passion in Maâ— more blind and dangerous than this This has cost many their Lives as well as Estates which they would have there by enlarged A certain Prince of Tartary usually drank ouâ— of a Cup on which was engraven the Head of a Prince oâ— Muscovy who in invading his Kingdom lost his own witâ— his Life about the edge of which was this Inscription This Prince by coveting mine lost his own Almost the same thing befell King Sancho who woulâ— have rob'd his Brothers of the Kingdoms which their Father King Ferdinand had divided between ' em Ambitioâ— is in danger when it but puts its Arm out of its Territories like the Snail which runs a Risque whenever it peeps out oâ— its shell 1 Testâ—dinem ubi collecta in suum tegmen est tutam ad omnes 〈◊〉 esse ubi exerit partes aliquas quodcunque nudavit obnoxium at que iâ— mum habere Cic And though Tyridates said That 't is for private Men to maintain their own but for Kings to invadâ— others 2 Et sua retinere privatae domus alienis ceâ—â—â— Regiam laudem esse Tac. 15. ann yet this is only then when reason and prudenâ—â— advise it and when Power has no other Tribunal than that oâ— Arms for whoever unjustly robs another of his Kingdom gives others opportunity and right to do the same to him first let a Prince consider the Danger of his own before 〈◊〉 thinks of invading another's Kingdom 3 Suam quisque fortunam in 〈◊〉 â—â—lio habeat cum de â—lieno deliberat Curtius for which Reâ—son the Emperour Rodolphus I. us'd to say 'T was bettâ—â— to govern well than to enlarge a Kingdom if King â—phonso the Wise had took this Advice he had never pursuâ— his Pretentions to the Empire to the so evident peril his own Kingdom
so that the comparison of Alphonso Kiâ—â— of Naples was very applicable to him That such ambitâ—ous Princes were like Gamesters who cheated by a vain hope of winning lose even what they had To defend â—his State is a Prince's Duty but to invade another's is â—erely Arbitrary Ambition hurries Men to new and dangerous Attempts 4 Quibus nova ancipitia praecolere avida plerumque fallax 〈◊〉 est Tac. 14. ann and the more it has the more it coâ—ets It encreases with Empire 5 Vetus jampridem insita Mortalibus 〈◊〉 cupido cum imperii Magnitudine adolevit erupitque Tac. 2 〈◊〉 Opportunities and the easiness of the means charm Princes Eyes and Hearts and hinder them from understanding that they ought not to covet all that they can obtain a generous mind should be regulated by Reason and Prudence he is not safest who â—ossesses most but he who possesses most lawfully Too great an extent of Power creates Emulation and Envy and â—ncreases Danger For they arm and unite against the â—trongest as the Kings of Spain did against Alphonso III. whose Greatness and Prosperity they suspected For which Reason 't is more desirable to have Power well grounded and â—stablish'd than to exercise it for there is as much Danger â—n maintaining as in procuring it Were there no foreign Enemies affluence of Plenty would sufficiently enervate it â—s the Grandeur of old Rome found 6 Et quae ab exiguis profecta initiis â—o â—reverit ut jâ—m Magniâ—â—ine laboraret sua Liv. lib. 1. which Augustus â—oreseeing proposed to Remedy it by prescribing Bounds to â— 7 Addideratque consilium coercendi inâ—â— terminos imperii Tac. 1 ann which the Emperour Adrian afterwards effected Let a Prince bridle his Felicity and he will Reign well 8 Iâ—pone felicitati tuâ— fraena faciâ—â— reges Curtiâ— T is no difficult matter for Injustice and Tyranny if arm'd with Power to raise and extend Kingdoms the Difficulty â— in the preservation thereof it being a harder matter to Govern well than to Conquer 9 Faâ—ilius est quâ—dam vincere quam tenere Curt. For in Arms usually Fortune takes place but Governâ—ent depends on Prudence 10 Fortunam 〈…〉 invenies quam retineas Publ. Success enters the gate â—ithout being called by Merit or Industry but 't is Pruâ—ence only that keeps her there Alphonso the Wise gave this Reason why 't was less difficult to get than to maâ—â—tain when got Because the preservation depends upoâ— Judgment but the Acquisition upon Chance Hoâ— Fortune with both hands or she 'll slip from you 11 Fortunam tuam pressis manibus tene lubrica Curtius A Hedge-hog from whence I took this Emblem is fouâ— with ease but to hold it requires Prudence that is yoâ— must apply your hand so as gradually to smooth down 〈◊〉 thorny Bristles which when erected resemble a Squadrâ— of Pikes Claud. Arm'd with her self she does securely go Her self the Quiver Arrow and the Bow Scarce were the Arms of Spain retir'd from the Netherlandâ— in the time of Don John of Austria when those of the Râ—bels enter'd 'T was an easie matter for the King of Frâ—â— against the Laws of God and Man to seize upon the Dutchâ— of Lorrain but to maintain it now he finds it expensive aâ— dangerous so he is oblig'd always to keep an arm'd haâ— upon it and the Causes which occur in the Acquisition doâ— always in the Preservation But if 't is once setled time will help to fix it whence happens that sometimes one person may easily maintain Government which was not rais'd but by the great Toâ— and Perils of many Wherefore since 't is a Prince's chief Duty to preserve 〈◊〉 States I will here subjoyn the means which it may be doâ— by whether they descend by Succession or are acquir'dâ— Conquest or Election I first premise the general Causâ— which usually concur in attaining and maintaining the and those are God that is when he assists us with Religiâ— and Justice Opportunity when a concurrence of Causes pen the way to Grandeur and Prudence either in makiâ—â— these Opportunities or in using them when offer'd The are other Instruments common to the Art of Governmeâ—â— as Valour the Prince's Assiduity and Prudence the Peopâ—â— Esteem Respect and Love for him the Reputation of â— Crown the force of Arms Unity in Religion a due Administration of Justice the Authority of the Laws the Distribution of Rewards the Severity of Punishments the Integrity of the Magistracy the good Election of Ministers the Preservation of Privileges and Customs the Education of Youth the Modesty of the Nobility the Purity of the Coin the Encrease of Trade and Arts the Peoples Obedience Concord Plenty and publick Riches By these means all States are maintain'd and though the Government of each requires great Care and Attention yet do those which descend lineally from Father to Son require â—east for Sovereign Power and Obedience being become habitual and as it were natural to the Subjects they forget that it was of their own Institution not an original Proâ—riety No one dares deny him Respect and Veneration whom he has own'd for his Lord from his Birth all are â—w'd by fear of Punishment from the Successour for Crimes which they shall commit in the present Reign The Subâ—ects easily bear and wink at his Failures The very Tide of Affairs which long Custom and Experience has conâ—in'd to a Channel secures him though he be incapacitated for Government provided he be of an easie docile Nature â—nd one that will Act for the best in all things and can â—ake Choice of good Ministers or should happen on them â—y Chance But those States which descend by an indirect Line or â—y Marriage a Prince ought to manage with particular Care and Circumspection especially at the beginning of is Reign in this those Princes run great Risques who thro' â—o much Zeal or too fond a Desire of Glory reverse the â—ctions and Institutions of their Predecessours introducing â—ovelties of their own without that due Moderation and â—rudence which is necessary even in changing 'em into betâ—er for Plato's Opinion that all change is dangerous except â—om bad must not be understood of Governments which 〈◊〉 great Risques unless remedied by degrees according to 〈◊〉 Order of Nature which does not leap from one exâ—eam to the other but interposes the Temperature of the â—ring and Autumn between the Extremities of the Winters cold and Summers heat A sudden and violent changâ— is troublesome and doubtful that which is slow and grâ—dual is always more easie 12 Anceps operosa nimis est mutatio quae subitò cum quâ—â— violentiâ suscipitur facilior autem quae sensim paulatim de liâ—â— fit Arist. 6. Pol. 'T is dangerous in sailing to shift the Sails upon a contrary mind because they muâ— on a sudden be changed from one side of the Ship to thâ— other Wherefore 't is requisite
these seeing I have lost my Children and am desolate a Captive and removing to and fro and who hath brought 〈◊〉 these Behold I was left alone these where had they â—een 12 Isai. 49. 21. 'T would be also conducive that if as the Romans formerly establish'd Garrisons at Constantinople Rhodes â—pon the Rhine and at Cadiz as in the four principal Angles of the Empire so now the Spaniards should erect Military Orders in several Places in the Mediterranean and Ocean who might Cruise about the Seas and clear them of Pyrates and secure our Trade with other Nations These Badges of Honour and Nobility are sufficient Rewards for Vertue and Valour and the Presidency of these Orders are rich enough to give a Beginning to so Glorious and Royal an Undertaking But if their Revenues should not suffice nor the Crown be willing to be depriv'd of so many Noble Posts the Administration of which is invested in it by the Apostolick See some Ecclesiastical Rents might be apply'd to that use This was the Advice of King Ferdinand the Catholick who would have Constituted the Knights of St. Iames at Oran and the Orders of Alcantara and Calatrava at Bugia and Tripoli having obtained leave of the Pope to convert the Revenues of the Convenâ—â— del Villar de Venas St. Martin in the Diocese of Saint Iames and that of Oviedo to that use But by reason of the War which soon after broke out in Italy this Design was not accomplish'd or perhaps because God reserv'd the Glory of this Institution for some other King Nor is the State-Objection against Intrusting such Potent Offices to the Nobility of force Military Orders were 't is true the Occasion of so many Rebellions in Castile yet now when the Power of our King is enlarg'd by the addition of so many Crowns thaâ— Inconveniency is not to be fear'd especially if these Orders were setled out of Spain and the Presidency of them Ingrafted as it were in the Crown EMBLEM LXIX DIvine Providence would not suffer this Monarchy of the World to be one moment without Gold and Iron one to preserve and the other to defend it For if it did not create them at the same time with the World yet did the Sun the Second Governor of all things immediately after its Creation operate in Purifying and Refining the Mineral Matter and locking it up in Mountains as in publick Treasuries where also Mars after the Matter was harden'd and reâ—in'd into Iron and Steel erected his Armory Arms are the Hands of Governments and Riches their Blood and Spirit And if these don't supply the Hands with Strength and they again preserve and defend them the whole Body will soon fall and be expos'd to Ruine and Violence Pliny tells of a sort of Ants in India which instead of Grains of Corn heap up Grains of Gold Nature has not granted those laborious Animals the Use of this Metal yet it would have them like Masters inform every Government of the Importance of laying up Treasure And though it be the Opinion of some Statesmen That hoarding up Riches serves for nothing but to invite Enemies as Hezekiah found when he had shewn his Treasure to the Embassadors of Assyria 1 2 King 20. 13. and as the Egyptians knew who for this Reason employ'd all their Royal Revenues in Building yet are their Reasons invalid and these two Examples of no force For 't was not Hezekiah's shewing his Riches that brought the War upon him but his Vanity and Pride in putting his Trust in them more than in God 'T was this that made Isaiah prophesie That he should lose all that he had 2 Ibid. ver 17. Nor did the Egyptians employ their Treasure in Building through fear of losing it but through Vain-glory and a design to amuse the Peoples Minds as we shall observe in its proper place If a Prince amasses Treasure through Avarice not making use of it when Occasion requires to defend his Country and offend his Enemy and to save Charges leaves his State unprovided of Arms and Men he will soon invite his Enemies to forge Keys to open his Chests and plunder him of his Riches But if he applies those Treasures to the Use and Service of his State he will at once strike an Awe and Respect into his Enemies For Riches are the Nerves of War 3 Sed nihil aquâ— fatigabat quam pecuniarum conquisitio eos esse belli civilis nervos dictitans Tac. 2. Hist. 'T is they procure Friends and Allies In a word A Full Exchequer does more Execution than Artillery Fleets or Armies When thus apply'd hoarding Riches and Moderation of Expences are not Avarice but Prudence as was that of King Ferdinand the Catholick who while living was call'd Miserable and Covetous but after his Death was clear'd of that Aspersion he leaving behind him but a very inconsiderable Summ whatever he hoarded he used to expend upon the Fabrick of the Kingdom placing his Glory not in spending but in having what to spend It must be observ'd That Treasures are sometimes collected with a true and Heroick Design to execute some Great and Glorious Action yet does this by degrees dwindle into Avarice and the Ruine of States happens before the Treasury is open'd for their Relief Man's Mind is easily taken with the Love of Riches and is wholly possess'd with a desire of obtaining them Nor is it sufficient that these Treasures be divided among the whole Body of the State as Chlorus in Eutropius desired 4 Melius publicas opes à privatis haberi quam intra unum claustrum asservari Eutrop. For Riches secure the Prince but endanger the People Cerealis told the People of Treves That their Riches were the chief Cause of their Wars 5 Penes quos Aurum opes praecipuae bellorum causae Tacit. 6. Hist. When the Publick is Poor and private Persons Rich Misfortunes arrive before they can be prevented Counsels are prejudiced for the People avoid those Resolutions which seek to redress the Publick Grievances at the Expence of particular Persons so that they can very difficultly be induced to make War Aristole for this Reason blam'd the Constitution of the Common-wealth of Sparta it having no Publick Treasury 6 Male eâ—iam circa pecunias publicas constitutum est apud illâ—s quia neque in publiâ—o habent quicquam magna bella gerere coacti pecunias agre conâ—erunt Arist. l. 2. c. 6. Pol. And if the People are more intent upon their own private than the Publick Interest with how much Regret will they be induced to remedy the Grievances of the Publick at their own particular Expence 7 Privato usui bonum publicum postponitur Tac. 6. Annal. The Republick of Genoa feels this Inconveniency And Plato ascribes the Ruine of that of Rome to no other Cause in an Oration which Sallust says he made in the Senate against the Accomplices of Cataline's Conspiracy having
prudently Enacted by the Kingdom of Arragon That all their Kings thenceforward should take an Oath not to alter any thing about the Coin This is the Duty of a Prince as Pope Innocent III. wrote to the same King Peter when his Subjects began to rebell against him Of which this seems to be the Reason That the Prince is subject to the Law of Nations and as Publick Trustee ought to take care that there be no Alteration in the Nature of the Coin which consists in Matter Form and Quantity nor can any Kingdom be constituted where that is not pure But not to be wholly silent in a Matter so Important to Government I 'll mention Two things First That Money is then Just and Convenient when the Coin or Stamp adds nothing to the Intrinsick Value of it and when the Gold and Silver have the common Alloy of other Nations for this will prevent its being Exported The other is That it should be of the same Weight and Value with that of other Nations permitting also the Currency of Foreign Coin Nor will it at all derogate from the Prince's Authority since the Coin serves only to shew the Weight and Value of it And this seems most commodious iâ— those Kingdoms which hold Correspondence and Trade with many Nations EMBLEM LXX EMPIRE admits of no Companion nor can Majesty be divided For it is impossible that each should Command and Obey at the same time especially since Power and Accidents cannot be so nicely shar'd between them both nor Ambition so equally balanced but that one will desire to be above the other or that Envy and Emulation will disturb their Agreement * Lucan Rivals in Empire still mistrustful are Nor can Authority a Part'ner bear It seems next to an Impossibility that the Orders and Commands of two Governors should not thwart one another Moses and Aaron were Brothers and yet when God made them Part'ners he thought it necessary to be in the Mouth of one and in the Mouth of the other and to teach them what to do lest any Dissention should arise between them 1 Exod. 4. 15. A Republick has but one Body and should therefore be guided but by one Soul 2 Vnum esse Reip. Corpus atque unius animo regendum Tac. 3. Annal. A King will hardly entertain even a depos'd Prince within his Kingdom This was the King of Portugal's Excuse for not admitting King Peter when depos'd by his Brother Henry Nothing but Matrimony which unites Bodies and Souls and the singular Prudence of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella could have prevented the Inconveniencies of their Joint-Reign in the Kingdom of Castile For Power and Concord are very rarely found together 3 Quanquam arduum sit eodem loci potentiâ—â—â— concordiam esse Tac. 4. Annal. And though there was some Consent and Union in the Joint-Empire of Dioclesian and Maximinian yet was not that without its Troubles and Inconveniencies for which Reason the Roman Consuls used to Command by Turns But if there be occasion for more Princes than One 't is better to have Three for the Authority of One will check the Ambition of the other Two There can be no Faction where there is no Equality which was the Reason why the Triumvirates of Caesar Crassus and Pompey and of Anthony Lepidus and Augustus continued for sometime The Kingdom was well govern'd during the Minority of King Henry III. by his Three Guardians * Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 15. c. 12. Upon which Consideration King Alphonso the Wise propos'd That during the Nonage of Kings the Administration of Affairs should be committed to One Three Five or Seven Which not being observ'd in the Minority of Alphonso XI the Kingdom of Castile felt great Commotions from the Government of the two Infants Iohn and Peter which at last oblig'd the Royal Council to take upon 'em the Administration Though Empires are always violent and of short continuance which are divided and depend not upon one as it happen'd to Alexander's which vast as it was ended with his Life for that after him 't was divided among many That which the Moors had founded in Spain had lasted longer had it not been divided into many Kingdoms This is represented in this present Emblem by a Crown'd Tree which signifies a Kingdom To intimate that if two Hands tho' of the same Body should pull this Tree two different ways they would rend burst and ruine the Crown For Humane Ambition sometimes forgets the Bonds of Nature When States are divided among Brothers the Crown can never remain entire and in Union for every one is for himself and grasps at the whole Sceptre as his Father held it So it befell King Sancho the Elder Divine Providence united all the Kingdoms of Spain to his Empire that by their Joint-Force they might expell the Moors and free themselves from their Tyrannick Slavery But he through Fatherly Affection rather than prudent Policy divided his Kingdoms among his Children thinking that so they would be stronger and more ready to unite against the Common Enemy * Mat. Hist. Hisp. l. 9. c. 1. But instead of that each of the Brothers set up for King himself So that the Crown being thus rent in pieces lost its Strength and Splendour And as Domestick Feuds and Grudges are more inveterate than other they soon grew to Civil Wars each endeavouring to depose his Brother to the utmost Detriment of the Publick This Example might one would have thought have been a Warning to all Princes for the future yet we find King Ferdinand the Great the Emperor Alphonso and Iames I. King of Arragon guilty of the same fault dividing the Command of their Kingdoms among their Children †Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 9. c. 8. I know not whether this be the Effect of Self-Conceit or Humane Nature ever greedy of Novelty and fond of old rejected Opinions thinking that best which was done by their Ancestors if 't is not that we seek for Examples to excuse our own Resolutions Iames II. King of Arragon was more prudent upon this score when he firmly Enacted That the Kingdoms of Arragon and Valence and the Province of Catalonia should never be separated * Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 15. c. 19. Nor can these Errors be excused either by the Law of the Twelve Tables or the Common Law which shares the Father's Estate equally among the Children or by Natural Reason which seems to urge that as the Children receiv'd their being in common from their Father they should also be Sharers of his Estate For a King is a Publick Person and ought to act as King and not as a Father and ought rather to attend the Good of his Subjects than his Children Besides a Kingdom is a kind of Publick Chattel and so belongs to no one in particular it not being in the King's Power to dispose of that as of his own private Goods For the Subjects in submitting themselves to
both which neither submit to Reason nor Danger and hate to measure themselves by their Abilities Wherefore the Prince ought to weigh well what his Sword is able to strike what his Shield to defend always remembring this that his Crown is a finite and limited Circle King Ferdinand the Catholick in all his Undertakings never failed to consider every Circumstance of them their Cause Disposition Time Means and End He who attempts nothing but what he can effect will pass for Invincible whereas one that aspires to a Thing impossible or too difficult discovers the Bounds of his Power and the frustrated Designs are as 't were publick Records of his Weakness There is no Monarchy so Potent but it is upheld more by Opinion than Reality by Reputation than Strength Desire of Glory and Sovereignty hurry us on so that all things seem easie but in the end we meet with Difficulties unobserved before Almost all Wars might be avoided were their Means and End throughly examined at first It is therefore incumbent on the Prince before he engage in them perfectly to know his Forces as well Offensive as Defensive the State of his Malitia and what Officers he has to Command them the Substance of his Coffers what Contributions he may expect from his Subjects and whether they be like to continue Loyal in Adversity also by Study Reading and Conversation to instruct himself in the Disposition and Situation of Countries in the Customs of Nations the Natures of his Enemies their Wealth Auxiliaries and Allies Let him measure every one's Sword and examine wherein his Strength consists Henry King of Castile notwithstanding his Sickness never neglected this but sent several Embassadors as far as Asia to inform him of the Manners and Customs of those Parts The same did Moses before the Israelites entred the Promised Land 1 See the land what it is and the People that dwell therein whether they be strong or weak few or many Numb 13. 18. And lest the Prince we frame by these Emblems should want this Matter also I shall here in general touch upon some Points of it with what brevity the present Design requires Nature willing to shew her Beauty and Power by the variety of her Productions has stampt a Difference not only upon the Faces but also on the Minds of Men there being a vast Disagreement between the Tempers and Morals of Nations To this end she has variously disposed the Causes themselves which either jointly all operate in some Places or separately in these some in those others Geographers have divided the Globe of the Earth into divers Climates each of which is subject to a particular Planet as to the principal Cause and Fountain of that Diversity And because the First Climate which is drawn through Meroe an Island of the River Nile is subject to Saturn they say its Inhabitants are Black Barbarous Rough Suspicious Treacherous and Cannibals That those of the Second which is attributed to Iupiter and passes through Siene a City of Egypt are Religious Grave Honest and Prudent Those of the Third which is subject to Mars and reaches through Alexandria are Restless and Warlike Those of the Fourth which is under the Sun and is stretch'd through the Isle of Rhodes and the Midst of Greece are Men of Learning Orators Poets and Ingenious Artists Those of the Fifth which passes through Rome dividing Italy from Savoy and is ascribed to Venus are Effeminate Lovers of Musick and Luxury Those of the Sixth govern'd by Mercury and passing through France are Fickle Inconstant and addicted to Sciences Lastly Those of the Seventh where the Moon presides and which is extended through Germany the Low-Countries and England are Flegmatick Lovers of Good-Fellowship Fishing and Trading Nevertheless this one Cause seems not to be always uniform nor sufficient For under the same Parallel or Climate with the same Elevation of the Pole and an equal Rising and Setting of the Stars we see opposite Effects particularly in the Climates of the Lower Hemisphere In Aethiopia for Instance the Sun's Beams scorch and blacken Mens Bodies but in Brasil which has the same Latitude their Skins are White and the Air Temperate and Agreeable The Ancients held the Torrid Zone for its excessive Heat to be uninhabitable yet in Armenia it is very Temperate and well Peopled And though those Eternal Luminaries of Heaven have some energy yet the Disposition of the Earth contributes more for we find the Effects of their Rays to be greater or varied according to the various Situation of Hills and Valleys and temper'd even by Rivers and Lakes This is undeniable That Nature is wonderful in her Works and that she sometimes seems to swerve from the ordinary Laws of Causes and from Reason as it were on purpose to baffle Humane Curiosity Who can account for what we see happen in the Country of Malabar where Calecut is Vast high Mountains which touch the very Clouds and end in a Promontory call'd anciently Corus now Cape Comorin divide this Country into two Parts and altho' both have the same Elevation of the Pole yet when on this side the Mountains Winter begins and Neptune's Billows rage and swell on the other side the Fields and Towns are burnt up with the scorching Heats of Summer and the Waters continually calm This Diversity then which is in Climates in the Situation of Places the Temperature of the Air and Food variously distinguishes Mens Complexions and these again their very Natures For the Manners of the Mind follow the Temperament and Disposition of the Body The Northerns by reason of the Sun's Remoteness and the Coldness of their Countries are Sanguine Robust and Valiant whence they have almost ever had Dominion over the Southern Nations 2 Homines qui frigida hâ—â— Europamque habitant sunt illi quidem 〈◊〉 Arist. l. 7. Pol. c. 7. the Assyrians over the Chaldaeans the Medes over the Assyrians the Parthians over the Greeks the Turks over the Arabians the Goths over the Germans the Romans over the Africans over the French the English and over these the Scotch They love Liberty as those also do who inhabit Mountains as the Switzers Grisons and Biscayners their Temperament being not much unlike the Constitution of the Northerns In Nations very near the Sun Excess of Heat quite dries up the Blood which makes the Inhabitants Melancholy and Profound in the Penetration of Nature's Secrets whence all other Northerly Nations have received the Mysteries of Sciences from the Egyptians and Arabians Those Countries which lie between the two Torrid Zones enjoy a favourable Air and there Religion Justice and Prudence Flourish 3 Graecorum autem genus ut locorum medium tenet sic ex utrâ—qâ—â— naturâ praeditum quippe animo simul intelligentia valet Arist. l. 7. Pol. c. 7. But because every Nation differs from others in many Particulars although they are all situate under one Climate I shall here set down what I have by long
them The Customs then of Nations being known the Prince will be able far better to manage Affairs whether of Peace or War and know how to rule Foreign Countries every one of which enclines to a particular Manner of Government 7 Natura enim quoddam hominum genus proclive est ut imperio herili gubernetur aliud ut regio aliud ut civili horum imperium cujusque aliud est jus alia commoditâ—s Arist. l. 3. Pol. c. 12. as conformable to its Nature They have not all an Uniform Reason of State no more than one Medicine is a Cure for all their Diseases And herein Unexperienc'd Counsellors are generally out who think others can be govern'd by the Maxims and Principles of their own States The Bit which is easie to the Spaniard is not so to the Italian and Netherlander And as the ways of Dressing Managing and Breaking the Horses of Spain Naples and Hungary are different though they are all of one Species so Nations also should be differently govern'd according to their Natures Customs and Habits From this variety of Peoples Conditions we may gather how careful the Prince ought to be in sending Embassadors to see that they be not only endued with all the Qualifications necessary for the Representation of his Person and Exercise of his Power but withal that their Natures Wit and Manners agree with those of the Nation they are to treat with For if this Conformity be wanting they will be fitter to kindle War than to make Peace to excite Hatred than procure Love Hence God himself was as it were in Suspence and Dubious in the Choice of a Minister to send to his People and therefore deliberates thus with himself Whom shall I send and who will go for us 8 Isai. 6. 8. Every Court requires a Minister suitable to its Nature In that of Rome Men of Thought are approved who are perfectly versed in the Art of Dissimulation so as not to betray any Passion either in their Speech or Looks such as appear Sincere and are Subtile and Prudent who know how to Oblige all Men and be Obliged to none are Civil in Negotiations Easie in Treaties Reserved in Counsels Constant in Resolutions Friends to all Intimate with none The Emperor's Court requires a Man who maintains his Authority without Pride who Speaks with Sincerity Proposes with Modesty Answers with Truth and Expects with Patience who anticipates not Accidents but makes use of them when they happen who in a word is Cautious in Promising Exact in performing The French Court likes Men of Facetious Pleasant Humours that can mix Seriousness with Gaiety that neither despise nor very much regard Promises who change with the Times though more according to the present than future In England the Grave and Reserved are commended such as are slow both in Negotiations and Dispatches At Venice are valued Men of Eloquence of a Ready lavention Ingenuous in Reasoning and Proposing and Quick-sighted into others Designs At Genoa Persons of Frugality loving rather to compose than breed Dissention who keep up their Authority without State are Patient and Time-Servers The Suissers require such as can upon occasion lay aside Publick Grandeur and be Familiar in Conversation as have learn'd to ingratiate themselves by Presents and Hopes to have Patience and watch their Opportunities for they have to do with a Subtile and Jealous People differing from each other in Religion Factions and Methods of Government but are unanimous in their Resolutions and Decrees and in their Counsels avoid Extremes which each Canton afterwards executes according to its own Method Now as these Qualities are proper for every Court before-mention'd so are Complaisance Civility and Splendour of universal use in all if accompany'd with a good Mien and Carriage with some Learning and Knowledge of Languages particularly the Latine for these affect every body procure the Applause and Esteem of Foreigners and Credit to one's own Country As Nations differ in Manners so do they also in Strength That of the Church consists in the Respect and Obedience of Christian Believers that of the Empire in Reputation of Grandeur of Spain in its Infantry France in the Nobility of England in the Sea of the Turks in their Number that of Poland in its Cavalry that of the Venetians in their Prudence of the Savoyards in their Judgment Almost all Nations differ from each other in Arms both Offensive and Defensive which are adapted to the Genius and Disposition of each Country wherein it is principally to be considered which are the most common and general and whether those of our own Country are inferior to others that the most advantageous may be made use of for Excellency in one kind of Weapons or the Novelty of the late-invented ones often give or take away Empires The Parthians enlarged theirs by the use of Darts The French and Northerns opened a way to theirs by that of the armed Lance forc'd on by the Swiftness of their Cavalry The Art of Fencing which the Romans practis'd in their Publick Sword-Plays wherein Judgment has great effect made them Masters of the Universe And the Spaniards have conquer'd a New World and establish'd a Monarchy in Europe by the Invention of several sorts of Fire-Arms for these above all require Courage and Resolution which are the particular Vertues of that Nation To this Element of Fire the very Earth has opposed it self so that now all the Four Elements conspire the Destruction of Mankind and by introducing the Pick-ax and Shovel the Industry of the Dutch has made such advances as to be able to resist the Valour of Spain The greatest Politicians often mistake the Balance of Governments particularly some of the Italians who vainly strive to keep them always in Aequilibrio for that Government is not the most Dangerous or Potent whose Dominions are of the Largest Extent or Subjects most Numerous but which knows best how to use its Strength If you put the Forces in a pair of Scales and one fall down the other hang in the Air yet upon adding to this but one drachm of Prudence and Valour or else if the quantity of Ambition and Tyranny exceed in that the former shall poise if not out-weigh the latter They who have raised their Fortune in this World and ruled it have all had but slender Beginnings The Grandeur of the House of Austria inflamed the Envy of many and all conspired to bring it down while not one so much as thought of Sweden which had undoubtedly enslaved Germany and perhaps Italy too had not the King's Death prevented it Powers that begin to grow are more to be feared than those that are already grown for in these their Declension is Natural as in those their Encrease The one strive to preserve themselves by the Publick Quiet the other to advance themselves by disturbing Foreign Dominions Suppose one Power be in it self stronger than another this has not therefore less Valour than
That Charles the Wise of France without any Armies by writing Letters only did him more mischief than his Father or Grand-father had done with all theirs The Sword can exert its Force but in a few Places good Management is of Universal Influence Nor does Princes being remote one from another signifie any thing For as Trees have Communication with and are united to each other by the means of Roots their Activity being a very large Extent so they by their Embassadors and secret Practices may do the same Policy makes the Strength of Foreigners its own by Alliance having the Common Interest in view A Prince may do more from a private Closet than in an open Plain King Philip II. never went out of Madrid yet kept the World in Awe and Obedience He made himself more Formidable by Prudence than by Power The Power that makes use of Address is in a manner Infinite Archimedes often said If he had a Place to stand on he could with his Machines move this Terraqueous Globe Any Potent Monarchy might easily attain to an Universal Empire if to its Strength were joined Skill and Industry But lest this should be that Primum Mobile of Empires permits the Great Ones to want Prudence and wholly trust to their Power More Affairs are transacted by Counsel and Conduct than by Blows 7 Pleraque in summa fortuna auspiciis consiliis magis quam â—elis â—â—nibus geri solent Tac. 13 Annal. Power with Rashness is as dangerous as Rashness without Power Abundance of Wars between Christian Princes might be avoided by Industry but either Judgment is insensible of their Inconveniencies and cannot find a way to decline them Honourably or it does not regard them Ambition blinding Prudence or else Vanity and Haughtiness look on it as a piece of Bravery voluntarily to face them and thus are tickled with a Counterfeit-Glory of War which as it is a Publick Action whereon the Common Preservation of all depends ought not to be measured by thin Shadows of Honour but by the Publick Advantage and Utility yet so that the Prince must in the mean time leave no Stone unturn'd to shun War cutting off all Occasions before they happen or if they be already getting the Hearts of such as by their Counsel can promote Peace Let him find out all endearing ways imaginable to preserve Friendship Let him embrace his Enemy both within and without his Realms and by crossing his Designs and entring into Leagues and Alliances Defensive terrifie him And to these Humane Means let him join the Divine Assistances of Prayer and Sacrifice and apply himself to the Pope as the Common Father of Christendom ingenuously telling him his Intentions and Desire of the Publick Quiet of the Injury received or the Reasons that induce him to take up Arms if Satisfaction be not made him Whence the Matter being also carry'd to the College of Cardinals and the Authority of the Apostolick See interposed either the War will be avoided or the Prince justifie the Cause of it at Rome where is the Tribunal at which all Princes Actions ought to be judged and their Controversies decided Nor is this a Mean-spiritedness but rather a Christian Generosity and Political Provision for the maintaining Amity among Nations and the avoiding of Emulations and the Confederacy they occasion EMBLEM LXXXV WHen the Bear has got a Bee-Hive he finds no better way than to plunge it under Water for any other would rather hinder his Design of getting the Honey and escaping the Stings of the Bees By this Example the present Emblem shews the Inconveniencies of keeping a Mediocrity in Counsels experienc'd in that which Herennius Pontius gave the Samnites when they had got the Romans in a narrow Pass who seeing his first Advice rejected which was to let them all go was for putting them all to the Sword And being ask'd why he thus went from one Extreme to the other when the Middle-way might be taken of giving them their Liberty after the Imposition of certain Laws as being Conquer'd He answer'd That it was necessary either to shew themselves generous to the Romans by so signal a Kindness to establish a firm and inviolable Peace with them or else to give such a Blow to their Forces that they should never again be able to make Head against them Any way between these two said he will neither make Friends nor take away Enemies 1 Neutralitas nec amicos paâ—it nec inimicos tollit Polyb. Hence that of Aristodemus to the Aetolians We must have the Romans either our Allies or Enemies there 's no Middle-way 2 Romanos 〈◊〉 socios habere oportuit aut hostes media via nullâ— est Aristodem In those Cases where any one would oblige a Friend or Enemy Moderate Expressions of Kindness do nothing For Gratitude always looks upon the Omissions are made and seldom fails to find a Reason not to think it self Obliged Thus Francis I. King of France laid not aside his Enmity to the Emperor Charles V. notwithstanding he set him at liberty because his Captivity was not so generous as that of Alphonsus King of Portugal who being taken in a Battel by Ferdinand King of Leon was treated by him with all the Humanity imaginable his Wounds dress'd carefully and himself set at liberty after his Recovery Favours which wrought upon him to lay his whole Kingdom at the Conqueror's Feet But Ferdinand refused the Offer satisfied with the Restitution of such Places as had been lately taken in Galicia The same Consideration had Philip Duke of Milan when having taken Prisoners the Kings of Arragon and Navarr the first of which was Alphonsus V. he call'd a Council to deliberate what should be done with them and while some were for having them pay a Ransom others for binding them to certain Conditions and lasty others for freely Dismissing them without either he took this last Advice thereby to lay the greater Obligation upon them and so engage their Friendship When Kingdoms are embroil'd in Civil Wars there 's nothing more dangerous than standing Neuter as Henry the Infant endeavoured to do during the Troubles of Castile occasion'd by the Nonage of King Ferdinand IV. by which means he lost his Friends without obliging his Enemies Nor is it less dangerous in the Punishments of the Multitude to inflict them promiscuously on all wherefore it seems most adviseable either wholly to connive at their Faults or to make a severe Example of some one Hence Germanicus was counsell'd in the Rebellion of the German Legions either to grant All or None of what the Soldiers demanded 3 Periculosa severitas flagitiosa lâ—rgitio seu nihil militi seu omnia concedereniur in ancipiti Republica Tac. 1. Annal. and deservedly blam'd for indulging them Part taking a Middle-way 4 Satis superque missione pecunia mollibus consulâ—is peccatum Id. Ibid. Thus Drusus in another Occasion of the like nature was advised either
and Constellations and though he be not positively assured whether the thing be really so he hath however acquired this Glory that he can now conceive how this World is or at least how it might have been created Neither does the Mind stay here but restless and venturesom in its Researches has imagin'd another quite different Hypothesis and would persuade others that the Sun is the Center of those Orbs which move round it and have their Light from it An Hypothesis impious and directly contrary to Natural Reason which gives Rest to heavy Bodies repugnant to Holy Writ which says the Earth stands for ever 1 Eccles. 1. 4. lastly inconsistent with the Dignity of Man as if he must be moved to enjoy the Sun's Rays and not the Sun to bring them him when yet this as all other Creatures was made only for his Service 2 This Opinion was embraced and maintâ—iâ—ed by Copernicus Rheticus Rothmannus Kepler Galilaeus Des Cartes and Gassendus by whom all Arguments to the contrary are fully answer'd It is certain then that this Prince of Light who has in Charge the Empire of all Things here below illuminates and by his Presence informs them by going without intermission from one Tropick to the other with a Contrivance so wonderful that all Parts of the Earth receive from him if not an equal Heat at least an equal Light whereby the Divine Wisdom has prevented the Evil that would unavoidably ensue if the Sun should never leave the Aequator for then its Rays would utterly burn up some Countries while others would freeze and be involved in perpetual Darkness This Natural Example teaches Princes how much it advances the Publick Utility for Them like that Swiftest of the Planets continually to move about their States to warm the Affection of their Subjects and give Life to their Affairs 3 Velocissimi sideris more omnia invisere omnia auâ—ire Plin. Jun. This is what the Royal Prophet would intimate when he says God has placed his Tabernacle upon the Sun 4 Psal. 19 4. which never stands still but is present on all Occasions King Ferdinand the Catholick and the Emperor Charles V. kept not their Courts in one certain Place by which means they atchieved many Notable Things which they could not possibly have done by Ministers who although dexterous and careful enough yet never perform what the Prince would were he present in Person because they want either Orders or Power Our Saviour Christ no sooner came to the Sheep-pool but he healed the Paralytick 5 Rise take up thy bed and walk Iohn 5. 8. which the Angel could not do in Eight and thirty Years whose Commission being only to trouble the Water he as a Minister could not go beyond it 6 For an Angel went down at a certain season and troubled the water Ibid. 4. 'T is impossible for States to be well govern'd by the bare Relations of others and therefore Solomon advises Kings to give â—ar to their Subjects themselves 7 Give ear you that rule the people c. Wisd. 6. 2. ibid. ver 4. for this is a part of their Office and to them not to their Ministers is given of the Lord that Power and Vertue which accompanies the Scepter only wherein it infuses the Spirit of Wisdom and Counsel of Courage and Piety nay I may say a kind of Divinity enabling the Prince to foresee Things to come so as that he cannot be put upon either in what he sees or hears 8 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Isai. 11. 2. Nevertheless in Time of Peace some fix'd Place of Residence seems by no means inconvenient and it will be sufficient by going a Progress round each Country to have once visited his States Nor indeed are any Treasuries capable of defraying the Expences frequent Removals of a Court will require nor can they be made without considerable Detriment to the Subject without disturbing the Order of Councils and Tribunals and retarding the Proceedings of Government and Justice King Philip II. throughout his whole Reign scarce ever went a step out of Madrid But in Occasions of War it appears more adviseable for the Prince to be himself present and to Head his Subjects For 't is for that Reason the Scared Writings call him Shepherd and Captain 9 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them and they shall fear no more c. Jer. 23. 4. Thus God commanding Samuel to anoint Saul does not say to be King but to be Captain over Israel 10 And thou â—â—alt anoint him to be a Captain over my people Iâ—rael 1 Sam. 9. 16. intimating that this was his principal Office and in effect that this was the Practice of all Kings in former Ages Upon this it was that the People grounded their Petition for a King that they might have one to go out before them and fight their Battels 11 Rex enim Dux erat in Bello Arist. l. 3. Pol. c. 11. Nothing encourages Soldiers more in War than their Prince's Presence 12 Nay but we will have a King over us That we also may be like all the â—â—tions and that our King may judge us and go out before us and â—â—ght our battels 1 Sam. 8. 19 20. The Lacedaemonians thought theirs even while in their Cradles had the same Power and therefore carry'd them in their Infancy into the Field Antigonus the Son of Demetrius took his Presence in a Sea-fight to be equivalent to a great many Ships of the Enemy 13 Mevero inquit praesentem 〈◊〉 multis navibus comparas Plut. in Epâ—ph Alexander the Great animated his Men by representing to them that he first exposed himself to Dangers When the Prince in such a case is upon the Place great Exploits are often performed which no one in his absence would dare to undertake Nor is there need to wait for Orders from Court whence they generally come too late after the Opportunity is gone and always full of vain Apprehensions and impracticable Circumstances a Thing we have often experienc'd in Germany not without great Prejudice of the Publick There 's nothing kindles Spirits so generously nothing that inspires such Lofty Thoughts in the Minds of Soldiers as to have the Prince in whose Hand is Reward an Eye-witness of their Bravery 14 Ego qui nihil 〈◊〉 unquam praecepi quin primus me periculis obtulerim qui saepe cive◠〈◊〉 clâ—peo texi Curt. l 8. This Argument Hannibal made use of to inflame the Courage of his Men There 's none of you said he whom I am not a Witness and Spectator of and cannot too in convenient Time and Place requite where I observe Merit 15 Nemo vestrum est cujus non idem ego spectator testis notata
Fame of a Power that stands not upon its own Bottom 3 Nihil rerum mortalium tam instabile ac fluxum quam fama potentiae non suî vi nixae Tac. Annal. l. 13. All those Efforts of several Causes concurring are very brittle in that they hinder each other and are subject not only to various Accidents but to Time also which by degrees brings their Effects to Nothing Many Wars hot and impetuous at the first vanish by Delay 4 Multa bella impetu valida per tâ—edia moras evanuisse Tac. He who can but a little while bear up against the Forces of Confederate Enemies certainly gets the better of them at last For as they are many they have different Causes different Interests and Designs and if they happen to disagree in any one thing part and leave one another There was never a greater League than that of Cambray against the Republick of Venice yet the Resolution and Prudence of this Valiant Senate soon broke it All things in the World arrive to a certain Period after which they decline again Were that Critical Minute known it would be easie to overcome them 5 Opportunos magnis conatibus transitus rerum Tacit. Hist. l. 1. 'T is for want of this Knowledge which sometimes consists in the least Delay imaginable that we sink under Accidents Our Impatience or Ignorance aggravates them in that often not sensible of their Force we voluntarily submit to them or else perhaps promote them by the violence of those very Means we take to shun them God had undertaken the Grandeur of Cosmo de Medicis and they who strove to put a stop to it by Banishing him from the Republick of Venice were the Instruments of making him Master of it Nicholas Vzanus observ'd with much greater Prudence the Torrent of that Fortune and lest it should encrease by Opposition thought it most advisable as long as he lived to give him no Occasion of Displeasure but with his Death the Consideration of such discreet Counsel fell Nor is it possible for the greater Force of such like Cases to be concealed forasmuch as all things conspire to their Success though they appear at first sight directly contrary to that end And therefore it is then best to Endure what you cannot Mend and quietly to conform to God by whose Appointment all Things come to pass 6 Optimum est pati quod emendaâ—re non possis Deum quo Authore â—uncta eveniunt sine murmure â—omitari Sen. Ep. The Iron should not obey the Loadstone more readily than we the Divine Pleasure He comes to less Harm who lets himself be carried down by the Stream than he that struggles against it It is a foolish Presumption to think to overthrow the Decrees of the Almighty The Predictions of the Statue with Feet of Clay in Nebuchadnezzar's Dream was never the less certain for his making another of Gold and commanding it to be worshipped 7 Dan. 3. 1. However this Resignation of our Will to the Divine must not be so Brutish as that we should believe all Things were so Ordain'd from Eternity that nothing can be Improv'd by our Diligence and Conduct for this would be the very Weakness of Mind which had given occasion to that Divine Decree We are to Act as if all depended on our Will for God makes use of our Selves to bring us to Happiness or Misery 8 Eccles. 10. 5. We make a part of the Creation and that no small one and though Things were set in order without us yet they were not made without us 'T is true we cannot break that Web of Events wrought on the Loom of Eternity but we might very well concurr to the weaving of it The same that ranged the Causes foresaw their Effects and permitted their Course yet so that it should be still at his Command He has saved from Danger whom he thought fit and left others in it by abandoning them to their liberty If the first was an Effect of his Mercy or our Merit this is of his Justice Our Will involved in the Ruine of Accidents falls with them and as this most Wise Contriver of the Universe is the Supreme and Absolute Arbitrator he might break his Vessels as he pleased and make one to Honour another to Dishonour 9 Rom. 9. 21. In the Eternal Disposal of Empires their Progresses Revolutions or Ruines that Sovereign Governor of the Orbs had always present in his Mind our Valour and Vertue our Negligence Impudence and Tyranny And upon this Prescience it was that he disposed the Eternal Order of Things in conformity to the Motion and Execution of our Choice without the least Violence done to the same For as he lays no Constraint upon our Free Will who discovers its Operations by Reasoning so neither does the Supreme Being who by his Immense Wisdom foresaw them long ago He forced not our Will in the Alterations of Empires but rather altered Empires because our Wills freely and deliberately deviated from Justice The Cruelty exercised by King Peter was the cause of his Brother Henry's succeeding him not on the contrary this the Occasion of that For the Mind has more Power than any Fortune turns its Affairs which way it pleases and is the sole Cause of a Happy or Miserable Life 10 Valentior enim omni fortuna animus est in utramque partem res suas ducit Sen. Epist. 98. To expect Fortune from Chance is Heartlesness to think it prescribed and already determined Desperation At this rate Vertue would be useless and Vice excusable by Compulsion Let your Highness but look upon your Glorious Ancestors who have raised the Greatness of this Monarchy and I am assured you will see it was not Chance that Crowned them but Vertue Courage and Fatigues and that it has been supported by the same Means by their Descendants to whom an equal Glory is due he no less contributing to the Fabrick of his Fortune who maintains it than he that at first raised it 'T is a thing equally difficult to get and easie to lose One Hour's Imprudence ruines what cost many Years to acquire By Labour and Vigilance alone is procured God's Assistance and the Grandeur of Princes is deriv'd from Eternity 11 Non enim votis neque suppliciâ—â— muliebribus auxilia Deorum parantur vigilando agendo prosperè omniâ— cedunt Sallust EMBLEM LXXXIX THE smallest things encrease by Concord by Discord the greatest fall to the ground Those which being divided were weak and impotent when united resist any Force whatever 1 A three-fold cord is not quickly broken What Arm can pull off a Horse's Main when the Hairs are not parted or break a Bundle of Arrows And yet either of these of it self is unable to withstand the least Violence By these Emblems Sertorius and Scilurus the Scythian express'd the Force of Concord which of many distinct Parts makes one united and consequently strong Body
Eternal Artificer we cannot suffer any other Adoration to be paid him than what we judge to be true and Orthodox And altho' the Friendship of Infidels were never so good yet Divine Justice permits us not to obtain our Ends by the means of his Enemies nay usually chastises us by the very Infidel's Hand that Sign'd the Treaty The Emperor which Constantine the Great translated into the East was ruin'd by the Alliance of the Palaeologi with the Turk God permitting it to remain to Posterity for an Example of his Correction but not any living Memorial of that Family But if by reason of the Distance of Places or Disposition of Things the Chastisement cannot be inflicted by those very Infidels God uses his own Hand What Calamities has not France suffered since Francis I. more through Emulation of Charles the Fifth's Glory than forced by any Necessity made a League with the Turk and called him into Europe This Fault he acknowledged in the last moments of his Life expressed his utmost Detestation of it in Words which piously we ought to impute to a Christian Compunction though otherwise they seemed to proceed from extreme Despair God pursued his Chastisement in some of his Successors by taking them off with violent and unhappy Deaths Now if this Just Judge be thus severe on Princes who do but ask the Aid of Infidels and Hereticks what will he do to those who assist them against the Catholicks and are the reason of their making such great Progresses The Example of Peter II. of Arragon will tell us 2 Mar. Hist. l. 12. c. 2. This King stuck with all his Forces to the Faction of the Albigenses in France and though he fought at the Head of One hundred thousand Men against the Catholicks who were but Eight hundred Horse and a Thousand Foot lost at once both his Life and the Battel Iudas Machabaeus no sooner joined with the Romans tho' only to defend himself against the Grecian Power but the two Angels that stood by his side left him and he was slain The same Punishment and for the same Cause suffered Ionathan and Simon his Brothers and Successors Nor is the Excuse of Self-Defence always sufficient for all the Conditions and Circumstances that make such Confederacies allowable very rarely concurr and are of greater weight than that universal Scandal and Danger of defiling the true Religion with Errors the Communication of Hereticks being a Poison apt to infect a Gangrene that soon spreads where Minds are enclined to Novelty and Licentiousness 3 And their word will eat as doth a canker 2 Tim. 2. 17. Policy distrusting the Divine Assistance and wholly relying upon Humane Artifices may indeed deceive it self but not God at whose Tribunal meer Appearances of Reason are not received Baasha King of Israel built a Fortress in Ramah the last City of the Tribe of Benjamin in the Kingdom of Asa and so stopt its Avenues that no one could go in or out of it with safety 4 In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah 2 Chron. 16. 1. This occasion'd a War between those two Kings and Asa fearing the Alliance of Ben-hadad King of Syria with his Enemy contrived first to break that and then enter'd himself into a Confederacy with Ben-hadad which when Baasha heard he left off building the Fortifications of Ramah 5 And it came to pass when Baasha heard it that he left off building of Ramah and let his work cease 2 Chron. 16. 5. Nevertheless though Asa made this League out of Necessity and only for his own Defence whereof the good Effect soon appeared yet God was displeased that he put more confidence in the King of Syria than in him and sent Hanani the Prophet to represent his fault to him and threaten him with Wars as a Punishment 6 Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria and not relied on the Lord thy God therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand c. Herein thou hast done foolishly therefore from henceforth thou shalâ— have wars 2 Chron. 16. 7 9. which accordingly happened Whence it will be easie to gather how much France has incurred the Divine Displeasure by the Alliances it has now engaged it self in with those of another Religion to oppress the House of Austria Where is no room for the Pretence of Self-Preservation in extreme Necessity since without any Provocation or Reason he has sided with all its Adversaries and made War upon it fomenting it out of their States and enlarging these by the Usurpation of foreign Provinces and assisting the Hereticks and their Allies with Counsel and Arms to conquer the Catholicks no one in the mean time coming thence to the Treaty of Peace at Cologne although the Pope the Emperor and King of Spain had all sent their Plenipotentiaries thither Nor is it unlawful only to make Leagues with Hereticks but even to make use of their Forces The Holy Scriptures give us an illustrious Instance of this in the Person of King Amasiah who having hired an Army of the Sons of Israel was commanded of God to dismiss it and reproved for not rather relying on him 7 O king lâ—t not the army of Israel go with thee for the Lord is not with Israel to wit with all the children of Ephraim But if thou wilt go do it be strong for the battel God shall make thee fall before the enemy for God hath power to help and to cast down 2 Chron. 25. 7 8. And because he presently obeyed without any regard to the Danger or to the hundred Talents he had given them God gave him a signal Victory over his Enemies Confederacy with those of a different Religion is lawful when its End is the Intermission of War and Liberty of Commerce such as that was which Isaac made with Abimelech 8 We sâ—e certainly that the Lord is with thee and we said Let there be now an oatâ— betwixt us even betwixt us and thee and let us make a covenant with thee That thou shalt do us no hurt Gen 26. 28 29. and as now is between Spain and England When any Treaty is made with Hereticks provided it interfere not with Religion or Good Manners and be confirmed by Oath the Publick Faith is by all means to be kept with them for in the Oath God is called to be a Witness to the Agreement and as it were a Surety for the Performance of it both Parties consenting to make him Judge of it to punish the Perjurer And certainly it were a hainous Sin to call him to witness to a Lye Nations have no other Security of the Treaties they make than the Religion of Oaths which if they should make use of to deceive there would be an end of Commerce in
18. 2â— 'T is a piece of Cruelty to stand with Arms a-cross at the sight of other Mens Calamities Should a Father stand still while his Children quarrel he would be deservedly blamed for whatever mischief they should do one to another he ought sometimes by Rigour sometimes by good Words to part them putting himself betwixt them or if need be espousing one's Cause the better to reduce the other to Agreement Thus if Princes refuse to hearken to the Fatherly Admonition of His Holiness if they pay not the Respect due to his Authority and there be no hopes of ever recovering them it seems best to declare in favour of the most just Side always having regard to the Publick Quiet and the Advancement of Religion and the Church to assist that till the other be brought to its Duty For he that approves the Cause of the one and the other will be thought to co-operate with both * A whole Page is here omitted in the French In Italy more than in any other Part of the World this Care of the Popes is necessary 4 Zurit Hist. Arragon l. 13. c. 13. For if once they so openly betray their Inclination to the French that they may promise themselves their Aid and Favour they will soon bring their Arms thither This Consideâ—â—tion prevailed on some Popes to shew themselves more addicted to Spain the better to keep France within Bounds and if at any time any one induced by an appearance of Good or through Partiality or Self-Interest and a Forgetfulness of this Caution has used Secular Arms and called in the Aid of Foreigners he 〈◊〉 given occasion to great Commotions in Italy as Historians observe in the Lives of 5 Mar. Hist. Hisp. Vrban IV. who sent for Charles Count of Anjou and Provence to 〈◊〉 Relief against Mainfroy King of both Sicilies Of Nicholas III. who being jealous of the Power of King Charles had recourse to Peter King of Arragon Of Nicholas IV. who enter'd into a League with Alphonsus â—f Arragon against King Iames Of Boniface VIII who â—ppealed to Iames King of Arragon and called in the Assistance of Charles of Valois Count of Anjou against â—rederick King of Sicily Of Eugenius IV. who sided with the Faction of Anjou against Alphonsus King of Nâ—ples Of Clement V. who sought the Aid of Philip of 〈◊〉 against the Viscounts of Milan Of Leo X. and câ—â—ment VII who made a League with Francis King of France against Charles V. to throw the Spaniards out of Italy This Inconveniency proceeds from the Weight of the Apostolick See it being so great that the Scale wherein 't is put must necessarily fall very much It is probable that some Appearance of Good moved those â—â—pes to do thus but certainly in some of them the 〈◊〉 was far from answering their Intention But as it is the Duty of the Popes to endeavour to â—â—intain Princes in Peace and Tranquility so ought these out of Interest were there no Divine Obligation for it as there really is to have continually their Eyes like the Heliotrope upon that Sun of the Pope's Triple-Crown which always shines and never sets and to be â—â—edient to and protect it Hence Alphonsus V. King of Arragon upon his Death-bed charged his Son Ferdinand King of Naples to esteem nothing beyond the Authority of the Apostolick See and the Favour of the Popes and to take care not to disgust them whatever Reason he had on his side 6 Zurit Ann. de Arrag Impious or Imprudent Princes think it a piece of Bravery to carry themselves haughtily towards the Popes but such an Humility is so far from being a Weakness that 't is a Religious Act 't is no Dishonour but a Glory The most submissive Deferences paid them by the greatest Princes are but a pious Magnanimity that teaches Subjects what Respect is to be paid to all that is Sacred they beget not any Infamy but rather an Universal Applause No one condemned the Emperor Constantiâ—â— for taking a low Seat in a Council of Bishops 7 Euseb. in Vit. Const. nor King Egica for prostrating himself upon the Ground in another held at Toledo 8 〈…〉 Reg. Goth. No one ever succeeds in opposing the Popes those are Quarrels that nevâ—â— have a good end And who can separate the Interâ—â—â— of the Temporal Prince from that of the Head of the Church Injury and Authority are so joined that the greater that is the more it derogates from this The Pontifical Dignity when armed with both the Temporal and Spiritual Sword withstands the greatest Power It meets with an unshaken Obedience in Foreign Kingdoms and if it once goes to make War upon them the People's Piety grows cold and from fighting with Arms they come to that of Books Allegiance tottâ—â— and Religion being confounded changes of Governmâ—â—â— ensue and the overthrow of Kingdoms whose only Bottom is the Reverence and Respect of the Priesthood 9 Honor 〈…〉 Tac. Hist. l. 5. which made some Nations unite it to the Reâ—â— Dignity Princes ought therefore to carry themselâ—â— with so much Prudence as to decline as much as 〈◊〉 sible giving any Occasion of Distaste to the Popeâ—â— which they will do if they pay a due Respect to 〈◊〉 Apostolick See maintaining its Privileges Rights 〈◊〉 â—munities inviolable and asserting their own with â—urage and Resolution when they interfere not with â—â—â—m without admitting any Innovations prejudicial to â—â—eir own States and which tend not to the Spiritual â—ood of their Subjects When Charles V. went into â—ely to be Crown'd the Pope's Legates would oblige â—â—â—m to take an Oath to preserve the Rights of the Church â—o which he answer'd That as he would not alter them 〈◊〉 neither would he on the other side do any thing against 〈◊〉 Constitutions of the Empire Which he said upon the â—â—count of the Fiefs which the Church preâ—ded on Parma and Placentia * A Page and an half is here omitted in the Italian King â—dinand the Catholick was so exact in this â—at one may in a manner say he fell â—to Excess judging it not fit to transgress â—â—e Limits of Rights and Privileges the â—st in the World because when the Foot is once â—â—ed it presently defends the Place it stands on as a â—â—â—ssession and insensibly goes farther when by briskly â—â—posing its first steps much greater Losses might be â—â—oided Iohn King of Arragon refused to ratifie the â—â—ant of the Archbishoprick of Saragossa made by Pope â—â—tus IV. to Cardinal Ausias Dezpuch because he did not â—ominate him as was then the Custom but causing the â—â—rdinal's Goods and Revenues to be seized and misâ—ing his Relations forced him to quit the Pontificate â—â—ich he afterwards conferred upon his Nephew Alâ—â—â—sus 10 Zur Hist. Arrag Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 24. c. 16. Such another Dispute a little after arose â—â—on the Subject of the Church of Tarrassona which a â—rtain Temporal Judge having been made Bishop
of 〈◊〉 ordered him to leave it instantly threatning if he â—â—d not to drive him and all that belong'd to him out 〈◊〉 his Kingdom The same did his Son Ferdinand in 〈◊〉 the Bishoprick of Cuenca to which Pope Sixtus had â—â—â—ated Raphaël Galeot a Relation of his own 11 Anton. â—eb Hist. Hisp. For â—â—e King incens'd that it should be given to a Foreigner and without his Nomination enjoined all the Spaniards to leave Rome protesting he would call a Council upon that and some other Matters and when the Pope afterwards sent his Nuncio into Spain he bid him return complaining that His Holiness did not use him as such an obedient Son of the Church deserved and wondred that the Embassador should undertake such a Commission But he humbly making answer That he would renounce the Priâ—â—es of an Embassador and submit wholly to His Majesty's Pleasure by this and the good Offices of the Cardinal of Spain he was admitted and all the Differences adjusted But unless for Self-Preservation or otherwise the Case be extremely dangerous recourse should not be had to these Methods and it is befitting the Paternal Affection of the Popes not to give Occasion to them behaving themselves so Courteous always so as thereby to maintain a good Correspondence with Princes For although they have in their Hand as was said the two Swords of Spiritual and Temporal Authority yet this ought to execute nothing but by the Arms of Emperors and Kings as Protectors and Defenders of the Church Which makes it as Alphonsus the Wise says * In Proem p. 2. of so much concernment for those two Powers always to agree so that each may help the other when Occasion requires I doubt not but all those whom God hath placed in this High Station have this Care deeply rooted in their Hearts but yet it is often-times perplexed by the Courtiers of Rome whose only business is to sow Discords as also by the Ambition of some Ministers who think to wind themselves into the Favour of the Popes and to procure the best Preferments by their Independency on Princes and by the Aversion they bear them always inventing Pretences to reject their Petitions and taking all occasions of Affronting their Embassadors and who to appear Stout suggest violent Counsels under colour of Religion and Zeal all which ruine the good Understanding of the Popes and Temporal Princes to the great prejudice of the Christian Commonwealth and chills the Veins of Piety for want of Love the Artery that cherishes them and maintains their warmth EMBLEM XCV THE Isthmus maintains it self between the Force and Power of two contrary Seas as their common Arbiter not enclining more to this than that Hence what one takes from it the other restores again and by the conflict of both it is preserved entire for if the Waves of either should once swell and overflow the whole Tract of Ground they would spoil its Jurisdiction and it would be no longer an Isthmus This Neutrality betwixt two great Powers supported for a long time Peter Ruiz d'Azagra in his Government of Albarraein situate on the Frontiers of Castile and Arragon 1 Mar. Hist. Hisp. l. 11. c. 16. for each of these Kings took care not to let it be oppress'd by the other and those Emulations kept the Freedom of that little State untouch'd By this the Dukes of Savoy may see how much it is their Interest to stand Neuter between the two Crowns of France and Spain and to keep in their Hands the free Disposal of the Passes into â—â—aly by the Alps as a thing whereon their Grandeuâ— their Conservation and the Necessity of their Friendship entirely depends it highly concerning each of these Crowns not to let them be subdued by the other Hence the Spaniards have so often marched to the Aid of Charles Emanuel and recovered such Places as the French had taken from him I know only one Case wherein it is better that these Princes breaâ— this Neutrality and side with one of the two Crowns and that is when the other attempts the Conquest of their Dominions particularly that of France For if once the French should drive the Spaniards out of Italy they would become so powerful considering they have already eâ—tended their Dominions from the very utmost Limits of the Ocean as far as the Mediterranean through Calâ—â—ria that over running the States of Savoy and Piedmont they must of necessity either unite them to the Crown of France or but then them with an intolerable Slavery which the whole Body of Italy would soon feel the Effects of without hopes of redeeming their Liberty again and for Spain ever to retrieve their Losses or balance their Forces would be extremely difficult considering the vast distance between them too This Danger the Republick of Venice with a great deal of Prudence weighed when seeing Charles the Eighth's Power encrease in Italy they struck up that which was called the Holy League From that time one may say Divine Providence began to contrive the Security and Preservation of the Apostolick Chair and of Religion and to prevent its falling under the Tyranny of the Turk or being infected with the Heresies then taking root in Germany advanced the Greatness of the House of Austria and establish'd the Spanish Monarchy in the States of Naples Sicily and Milan that Italy might have a Catholick Prince to defend it on all sides And to restrain the Power of Spain and make it content with the Rights of Succession Fiefs and Arms it raised it a Rival in the Person of the King of France to lay its Kings under a necessity for their Preservation of gaining the Love and Good-will of their Subjects and the Esteem of other Princes by maintaining Justice among them with these Peace without giving the least Occasion to War which always hazards the Rights and Designs of the most Powerful This Advantage which Italy reaps from the Power of Spain is by some unjustly traduced as a Yoke of Slavery when on the contrary it is the only Instrument of its Repose of its Liberty and Religion The Mistake proceeds from their not well knowing the Importance of this Counterpoise A Person ignorant in Navigation seeing the Bottom of a Ship filled with Sand and Stones thinks it carries the Cause of its Wreck in this Weight whereas they who are acquainted with Sea-Affairs know that without this Ballast the Lightness of the Ship could never subsist long against the Agitation of the Waves Nicephorus speaking of this Aequilibrium between two Crowns looks on it as a Common Advantage to the Subjects of both Kingdoms when he says That he could not enough admire the inscrutable Wisdom of God who makes two directly opposite Means tend to the same End as when he would keep two Powers at variance without however subjecting the one to the other he either gives to both Commanders whose Capacity and Courage discover the Artifices and oppose the Attempts of the adverse