Selected quad for the lemma: prince_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
prince_n bear_v young_a youth_n 70 3 7.4292 4 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A85750 A treatise of the antiquity of the commonwealth of the Battavers, which is now the Hollanders first written in Latin by Hugo Grotius, advocat fiscall of Holland, Zealand, and Westfriesland, &c. And afterwards translated into the Netherlandish Dutch, and perused by the author himselfe. And now again translated out of both the Latin and Dutch, into English, by Tho. Woods, Gent.; De antiquitate Reipublicae Batavicae. English. Grotius, Hugo, 1583-1645.; Woods, Thomas.; Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682, engraver. 1649 (1649) Wing G2127; Thomason E1303_2; ESTC R202252 40,326 171

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

wherefore that these old Customs were so strictly maintained by these People as well in particular as also in publick matters which tend more to an outward shew then to any powerfull effect of Government I could easily perswade my selfe that even of old time they have had such Lawes concerning the Government as the Custome of succeeding times hath declared Yet must wee make enquiry in whom was this highest power or Soveraignty besides in the Kings and Generals I finde that by the Germans excepting the Clergy that there was two sorts of States amongst them viz. the Princes and the Comonalty now when I speak of Princes I do not understand nor mean those that each of them had their Authority over a whole Nation like as that name is commonly used for such Princes were the Kings and the Generals themselves whereof we have already spoken But they were such as that each of them took care for one part of the Nation which parts being great were called Quarters and being little were called Villages of which Caesar thus speaketh They have no common Magistrate but the Princes of the Countreys and of the Quarters doe minister Justice unto them which are under them and doe decide the Controversies Tacitus saith that those Princes doe minister Justice both in the Quarters and in the Villages Tacitus also sheweth unto us that those Princes were usually chosen where he saith In that Convocation were also the Princes chosen But they went so to work that ever after they had regard unto those that were nobly born and of the choycest of the Nobility or rather the meritorious deeds of their Predecessors being applyed even to their young Youths did afford them that worthinesse to bee Princes From whence I believe is come that those Jurisdictions both of Quarters and Villages having long continued in the Houses of the Nobility are at last become hereditary By reason whereof those Princes by the worthinesse of their Offices their ensuing Posterity afterwards were those which were called Barrons and Nobles yet the Government was not so much in their persons that the Common People were held as Slaves like as the Walloons were in the time of Caesar But unto each Prince as Tacitus testifieth were adjoyned a hundred men which were chosen out of the Comonalty to be as their Companions serving for Counsell and Estimation Those were the Princes that Caesar reporteth who together with the Officers divided the Lands into Portions and Pastures So then were those same Regions governed partly by those which were chosen out of the Common People and partly by those Princes of each Common-Wealth And they in this manner governed each of them their Quarters having being altogether the Soveraignty of the whole Common-wealth and that by a form of Convocation Tacitus saith that of all the small matters the Princes did consult upon but the great Affairs were dispatched by the Princes in generall yet in such a manner that whatsoever was decreed by the generall Princes the Comonalty was acquainted withall He saith that the Convocations of the Germans was of two sorts whereof the one was little in the which the daily Affairs which often hapned were decided and this Convocation consisted only of the Princes And the other was greater in whom was the power of deciding even of the most highest and weightiest Affairs and this consisted of both the States For whereas Tacitus saith in generall that same is not so to be understood as if every one should come thither like as it usually hapned upon the Assemblies of the Romans in such manner that every man should leave his house and home for such could not conveniently be amongst so great a popularity especially like as the Battavers were among whom Pliny reckoneth up seven Nations as the Battavers which were properly so called the Kennemers the little Freises the Friesiabonds the little Cauches the Tusians and the Marsacians Now these altogether were called the Convocation it self whereunto some persons were sent from each Region and State Tacitus expoundeth that same where hee speaking of the Semnomes saith that all the people of one discent assembled together at appointed times by those that were deputed thereunto in a wood the which was sanctified by the old Devotion and Prophecies of their Ancestors And of the Germanes in generall hee saith thus that they assembled upon certaine days unlesse that accidentally any thing happened which required haste and was some extraordinary matter And there after he saith thus This abuse proceeded of their liberty that they did not assemble altogether nor yet when as they were commanded or warned but oftentimes they let passe two or three dayes before they did assemble so that then the Soveraignty was in the persons of this Assembly of both the Estates whereupon he saith thus Before this Assembly was any man to be accused and challenged upon life and death Againe hee saith In this same Assembly the Princes were elected and also those hundred men which were chosen out of the Commons and adjoyned as companions unto them The Kings themselves and the Generals were heard in this Assembly as is before said more with Authority to counsell then with any power to command And although this was common unto all the Germanes and not appertaining unto the Battavers as being not able to attaine thereunto Yet the History of Civilis approveth that the Battavers had this manner of Government to the end that the wars might orderly be decreed against the oppression of the Romanes for that end saith he hee assembled together the Princes of the Nations and the ablest of the common people Wherein appeareth then that the Battavers used the government of Nobles and yet in such sort that there was a Principality annexed thereunto which was either continually under the name of a King or temporally under the name of a Generall That also the Nobles were of two sorts that is of the Princes the which were called the first and the greatest and those that were elected out of the Common people these two being conjoyntly in the Assembly had the Soveraignty of the publike matters but in regard that this same Assembly did seldome meet the matters were commonly dispatched by the Kings according to the advice of the Princes That also the Government of each quarter was in such manner in each of these Princes which had their owne Jurisdiction as in those Magistrates which were chosen out of the second State the which in such a wonderfull musicall consort doth expresse that Government which Plato so much commendeth in which the Nobles together with the mutuall agreement of the Common People had the Soveraignty Yet this must be added hereunto That in one matter the Battavers doe seeme to differ from other Germans as namely That the Germans dwelt all in open Villages and had no fenced Cities nor walled Towns On the contrary part it is apparent that the Battavers as soon as they had Possessed the Iland made fenced Cities to
case I should seek for a Forraign example to this purpose I can finde none more like hereunto then in the Common-Wealth of the Lacedemonians the which by Plato Polybius and very many wisemen yea by Apollo himselfe is affirmed so to be and is by them commended before all other for in these the Kings succeeded one after another by the order of their Consanguinity in so much that in place of the Kings those that were the Protectors or Dictators which they called Prodicos had the Authority in their hands But the Kings were not admitted to the Authority before they had taken their Oath to use their Authority according to the Custome of the Lawes of the Land Now the Kings had power over each one but above the Kings were the Survayers or Ephori together with the Councell The Ancient Fathers doe very much commend a notable Speech of Theopompus King of the Lacedemonians who being disdainfully reproved by his own wife because that hee had diminished his own Highnesse by the Institution of the Office of the Survayers hee Answered thereunto That he should leave unto his Children a lesser but yet a more permanent Authority For of a truth it is even so as the Ancient Fathers used truly to report That every Common-wealth consisteth in a certain melody or consort the which being once broken all cometh to naught which melody in my opinion consisteth not in any sound or in strings but in the well tempered unity of the Prince with the People and of the People with the Prince or of severall States the one with the other In this melody have the Princes the Nobility and the Comonalty long time flourished when as each one respected the Prince and the Prince himself respected the Laws and the common Assemblies and whilst the Nobility kept their Reputation and the Comonalty their Liberty From hence issued the good successe of Warre from hence it proceeded that this Nation like as in former times they were Confederates with the Romans even so thereafter though being little have sought unto great Alliances Hereof the Treatises of the Confederacies do plainly shew for presently at the very birth as it were of the Principality there were two Dedericks as it is generally believed who were Brothers in-law unto the Kings of France Arnolffe the third Earl had to wife a daughter of the Emperour of Constantinople whose sister was marryed unto the Emperour of Germany Divers others that succeeded were marryed unto the House of Saxon who then possessed the Empire Florence the third was marryed unto the House of the King of Scotland William the Second of that name Earl of Holland was elected Emperour of Germany and as I think for no other cause but for that he was used in his own Countrey unto such a moderate Government This mans Sonne Florence the Fourth was earnestly solicited unto on the one side by the King of England and on the other side by the King of France for his Confederacy with the presentation of each of their Daughters in marriage with great gifts But Iohn his Son with the advice of the chiefest Nobles of the Land marryed the daughter of England And presently after William the Sixth marryed the daughter of the King of France Again the daughters of the Earls were bestowed into very great Houses as the Lady Margarite the daughter of William the Fourth unto an Emperour of the House of Beyeren Iacoby unto a Dolphin of France And all these whilst they were but only Earls of Holland and Zealand and some of Henault After that by the daughter of Albrecht who was marryed unto one of the house of Burgondy did Holland obtain the same Prince who was before Prince of Brabant and of Flanders and many other Nations And by this meanes were severall Nations not differing in manners Lawes and Customes from each other being at a speciall unity and under one publick Authority thereby the more fortified Thereafter the Lady Mary of Burgondy had by her Husband the Arch-Duke of Austria a Sonne unto whom befell for his marriagegood the greatest part of Spaine and with Spaine the expectation of Terra nova and many other Titles which are spread far and wide over divers Countreys But from this great Magnificence of the Prince proceeded a great alteration in the Government the which I will briefly touch The sixth Chapter How that the intended Alteration of the Government was the occasion of the Warres THe nature of man is much addicted and is easily inclined to domination from whence according to the saying of Aristotle proceedeth Tyrannicall Government especially when as the Prince transgresseth the limits of the Laws of the Land And it seldom hapneth but that men attempt the taking of more in hand then they are able to perform unless the very hope of the performance of that which is desired be utterly extinguished Therefore those ancient Princes whose hope and repose depended altogether upon their Native Countrey as having no expectation of Forraign power to relie upon were obedient unto the Lawes were lovers of equity were respecters of the States as well knowing upon whose power and meanes both their honour and reputation consisted The Burgondians descended of Royall Progeny were the first that climbed up the first step unto domination yet very secretly the Liberty continuing never the lesse not only in outward shew but also for the greatest part thereof in her full face Afterwards Charls being Emperour and King of other Countrys was not therewithall well contented that herewithall he should be called but a Prince But yet he for affection and some certaine respects was restrained in regard that he was born and brought up here in the Countrey and besides did exceedingly respect this People as being very convenient Instruments for the enterprising of any great exploit and such as were of themselves very faithfull but yet very soon displeased and exceeding powerfull when as their Liberty should be but once toucht Now the Church of God at that time being overwhelmed and poysoned with palpable Heresies and longing for a wholsome medicine to purge the same yet he resolving by violence to maintaine that which was in use amongst them sent his bloody Commissions that whosoever should bee found to be of any other Religion should bee punished with death never respecting nor enquiring what was the meaning and resolution of the States in so weighty a businesse But his Son Philip being of that unsatiable nature that was content with nothing else but with an absolute power envied all Nations that would prescribe a Law unto their Prince The which the People of Aragon to their great ruine have proved The Spaniards who had the Education of King Philip in his youth took hold of this occasion very earnestly to prosecute the same against the Hollanders and the rest of the Netherlanders since which time there hath been a continuall jealousie and contention betwixt them which of them should bee best in the Princes favour whereupon