grown it will be difficult to judge whether they were the product of Nature or Art Let them incourage Vertue with Honour brand Vice with Infamy and Disgrace excite Emulation by Example these things have a great Effect upon all Tempers tho' more on some than others Those who are of a Generous disposition Glory influences most the Melancholy Ignominy the Cholerick Emulation the Inconstant Fear the Prudent Example which is generally of most efficacy with all especially that of Ancestors for often what the Blood could not Emulation does perform 'T is with Children as young trees on which you must Graff a branch as I may say of the same Father to bring them to perfection These Grafts are the famous examples which infuse into Posterity the Vertues of their Ancestors and bear excellent fruit That therefore it may be conveighed as it were thro' all the Senses into the mind and take deep Root there should be the particular industry of his Instructors and consequently they are not to be proposed to the Prince in ordinary Exhortations only or Reproofs but also in sensible objects Sometime let History put him in mind of the great Atchievements of his Ancestors the glory of which eternized in print may excite him to imitate them Sometimes Musick that sweet and wonderfull Governess of the passions playing their Trophies and Triumphs will be proper to Raise his Spirits Sometimes let him hear Panegyricks recited upon their Life to encourage and animate him to an Emulation of their Vertues now and then reciting them himself or with his young Companions Act over their Exploits as upon a stage thereby to inflame his mind for the force and efficacy of the action is by degrees so imprinted on him that he appears the very same whose person he represents Lastly let him play the part of a King amongst them receive petitions give audience ordain punish reward command or marshal an Army besiege Cities and give Battel In experiments of this nature Cyrus was educated from a little Boy and became afterwards an eminent General But if there be any inclinations unbecoming a Prince discernible in his Infancy he should have the Company of such as are eminent for the opposite Vertues to correct the Vices of his Nature as we see a straight Pole does the Crookedness of a tender Tree tyed to it Thus if the Prince be covetous let one naturally liberal be always at his Elbow if a Coward one bold and daring if timorous one resolute and active if Idle and Lazy one diligent and industrious for those of that Age as they imitate what they see or hear so they also easily copy their Companions Customs To Conclude in Education of Princes too rough Reprehension and Chastisement is to be avoided as a kind of Contempt Too much Rigour makes men mean spirited nor is it fit that he should be servilely subject to One Man who ought to Command all It was well said of King Alphonsus Generous Spirits are sooner corrected by words than blows and â—ove and respect those most who use them so Youth is like a young horse that the Barnacle â—urts but is easily governed by the gentler Bit. Besides that men of generous Spirits usually conceive a secret horrour of those things they learnt thro' fear on the contrary have an inclination and desire to try those Vices which in their Childhood were prohibited them Affections too much confined especially such as nature endows a Prince withall break out at last into Despair as Exhalations hard bound within the Clouds into Lightning He that imprudently shuts the gates upon natural inclinations is the occasion of their attempting to get thro' the Windows Some allowance is to be made to humane infirmity which is by some innocent diversions to be raised to Vertue this method they took who had the Care of Nero's Education 14 Quo facilius lubricam Principis aetatem si verâ—tutem asper nareâ—ur voluptatibus concessus retineret Tac. 13. ann The Tutor ought to chide the Prince in private not before Company least he rather grow obstinate when he sees his Vices are publick In these two Verses of Homer is very aptly contained how a Prince ought to be instructed how to obey Advise Command him and what 's good suggest He will obey when for himself 't is best Hom. 2. Il. EMBLEM III. BY the industry of some ingenious and carefull hand one while watering another time defending it from the injuries of Wind and ill Weather the Rose grows and as the Bud opens unâ—olds its little leaves into a circular form A flower strangely pretty but which flatters only the Eyes and is subject to so many casualties that in this its infinite delicacy 't is by no means secure The very same Sun which saw it bloom sees it also whither and that without any other benefit than just shewing the World its beauty it brings so many months Labour to nothing nay oftentimes wounds the very hand that planted it nor could it be otherwise than that such rank tillage should produce thorns Of Coral a Sea shrub there 's quite another account to be given for that growing under Water and continually tossed by the Violence of Waves and Tempestuous Winds becomes so much the harder and more beautiful nay then first is it more illustriously useful when it has underwent the rage of so many Elements Such contrary Effects arise from the different manner of growing of this Shrub and that Flower in respect of softness and hardness The same happens in the Education of Princes for they who are brought up so tenderly and closely that neither the Sun Wind or other Air can come to them but that of perfumes prove too delicate and little fit for Government they on the contrary are strong and able who inure their Bodies to laborious Exercises It 's also convenient to use ones self to Cold from our infancy as a thing of great advantage to health and that will enable us to undergo Military duties 1 Est etiam utile sâ—atim ab ineunte aetate frigoribus assuescere hoc 〈◊〉 tum ad vâ—letudinem tum ad munera militaâ—ia commodâ—ssimum est Arist. Pol. 7. cap 17. By these Exercises Life is prolonged by Voluptuousness and Luxury shortned a Vessel of Glass formed with a blast of the Mouth is with a blast broken Whereas one of Gold wrought with a hammer resists a hammer 'T is no matter if he that lives a private and retired Life be delicate but one who is to support a Kingdom as Atlas the Heavens upon his shoulders had need be strong and robust A Common-wealth has not occasion for a Prince only for a shew but in the Field also and in time of War and in Scripture we find an effeminate King mentioned as a kind of divine punishment 2 I will give Children to be their Princes and Bâ—bâ—s to rule over them Isaâ— 3. 4. The advantage or disadvantage of this different Education was visible in
Soul exerts it self in the Cradle Hercules Crowned by the Conquest of Two Serpenâ—â— from that day exposing himself to Envy and making Fortune truckle to his Vertue A generous Spirit is conspicuous in the very first Actions of Nature The Infaâ—â—â— of Spain your Highness his Uncle of Blessed Memory saw the Battel of Norlinguen almost even before he knew what War was and even then knew how to Command with Prudence and Act with Vigour Cyrus a very Boy when Elected King by those of his own Age did in that Childish Government such Heroick Aâ—â—â—â—â—s as sufficiently manifested his secret Greatness 〈…〉 and Royal Genius Natures most excellent Proâ—â—ctâ—ons are themselves their own Discoverers Amidâ—â— the rude and unrefined mass of Oar the Diamond â—â—â—rkles and Gold glisters The Young Lion as soon 〈…〉 views his Paws and with a haughty Meâ— shakes his curled Main â—carce yet dry as preparing to Fight Childish Games to which Princes are carried by a natural Impulse are Signs and prognosticks of maturer Actions Nature is never so much as a Moment idle but from the very Birth of it's Off-spring is industrious in a regular Formation of its Mind as well as Body for this Reason she has stampt such an extraordinary Affection upon Parents to excite their Dâ—â—â—gence in well Educating their Children and least they should which is no unusual thing with a strange Nurses Milk imbibe also her Vicious Practices the same Nature provident in her Distributions has dispenced as it were a double Fountain of purer Blood to supply them with Nourishment for their Young Ones But either Idleness or fear of losing their Beauty is frequently the occasion why Mothers not without considerable Detriment to the Commonwealth neglect their Duty and give the suckling of their Children to others which Abuse since it cannot so easily be remedied at least great care should be taken in the Choice of them Let them be Healthy of a good Family and well bred for as from the Conception to the Birth the Child is nourished in the Body of its Mother so is it from its Birth till 't is weaned by the Nurse's Breast and this last Interval being longer than the other the Child must of Necessity imbibe more of the Nature of its Nurse than its Mother Says the Wise King Alphonso who prescribed Laws to Heaven and Earth The Second Obligation Parents lie under is the Education of their Children 3 Hast thou Children instruct them Eccles. 7. 23. there 's scarce any Animal will forsake its Young Ones without Direction given how to provide for themselves Nor are the Advantages of Education less considerable than those of Nature and Children are more ready to embrace their Parents instructions and bear their Reproofs than those of others 4 Educatâ— siquidem recte à parentibus per sanctoâ— justos mores boni merito â—vadent Aristâ—t Oecon. lib. 2. Those particularly who are nobly born disdain to be govern'd by their Inferiours In a Childs first Procreation it Received nothing from the Father but a Body for God alone is the Authour of the Soul which except the Father afterwards Cultivates and improves by Education 5 Wisdom exalâ—eth her Children Eccles. 4. 12. he will scarce deserve the name of a true and absolute Father Nor is it new in holy Scripture for a Master to be called Father For Example Iubal the first Teacher of Musick 6 He was the Father of all such as handle the harp and Organ Gen. 4. 21. And who I pray is fitter to Teach his Son how to appear with Majesty how to keep a Decorum in all things Maintain his Authority and govern his Subjects than the Prince himself 7 My â—on give me thine heart and let thine Eyes observe my ways Prâ—v 23. 26. He only has the full practick Knowledge of Government which others knows only in part and by Speculation Nor without reason did Solomon boast that he Received great Improvement from his Fathers Instructions 8 For I was my Father's Son tender and only belov'd of my Mother he taught me also and said Let thine heart retain my words Prov. 4. 3. however since Fathers sometimes have not themselves the Qualifications requisite for a good Education of their Children or at least have not leisure to take that Trouble upon them Masters must be looked for of an unblamable Life and Conversation eminent withall for Learning and Experience 9 Quarendi sunt liberis Magistri quorum inculpata sit â—ita moâ—eâ— Plut. de Educ such as King Alphonso in his Laws describes in these Words So that for all these reasons Kings ought to takâ— great care of their Children and to choose them Tutours of a good Family and good Livers sound both in Mind and Body and above all faithfull and just firm to the Interest of their King and Country To which I add that they ought to be Men of Valour and a great Spirit well Experienced in Affairs as well of Peace as War such was Seneca whom therefore Agrippina made Choice of for Nero's Master 10 Vtque Doâ—itii jueritia tali Magistro adolesceret coâ—siliis ejusdem ad spem dominationâ—s uteretur Tac. 12. Ann. 'T is impossible without doubt for a Man of an abject and mean Spirit to imprint on a Prince thoughts more sublime than his own Were an Owl to instruct an Eagle she would not teach her to look on the Sun or soar above lofty Cedars her School would be kept altogether in the dark amidst the lower Branches The Master's Image appears in the Scholar and in him he in a manner Represents himself For no other reason did Pharaoh make Iosâ—â—â— Lord of his house and Ruler of all his substance but to teach his Princes to be like himself 11 And he made him Lord of his house and ruler of his substance To biâ—d his Princes at his pleasure and teach his Senaâ—ours wisdom Psal. 105. 21 22. Those who have the tuition and government of Princes Sons ought to be as careful of their tender years as Gardiners are of their most delicate Plants which even before they appear above ground they secure with Fences to prevent their being injured by treading on or handling On the first stroak depends the Perfection of a Picture so does a good Education on what the first years have imbibed before the passions get strength and refuse to submit to reason 12 Bow down his neck while he is young and beat him on the sides while he is a Child least he wax stubborn and be disobedient to thee and so bring sorrow to thine heart Eccles. 30. 12. From a very minute Seed a vast Tree proceeds which however small a twig at first and easily flexible every way when 't is invested with Bark and has diffused it self into Branches stands immoveable The affections in youth are not much unlike poison which having once made its passage into the Heart leaves the paleness
consequent to it incurable Vertues that improve and increase with our Age have not only the precedency of others but excell even themselves 13 Iâ— is good for a Man that he bear the Yoke in his Youth he sitteth alone and keepeth silence because he hath born it upon him Lam. 3. 27 28. Of the four Winged Animals in Ezekiel's Vision the Eagle one of that very number was carried higher than all those four 14 They four had also the face of an Eagle Ezek. 1. 10. for because she as soon as hatcht began to have Wings the others not till long after she not only appeared above them but her self too For want of a suitable consideration of this I Imagine it is that many persons usually commit the Care of their Sons as soon as they come into the World to Women who with the idle fear of shadows agreeable to the genius of their Sex enfeeble their minds and stamp other Effoeminate passions on them which with time take deep root 15 Train up thy child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it Prov. 22. 6. To avoid this inconveniency the Persian Kings Commited theirs to the care of persons of worth and prudence 16 Nutritur puer non à Muliere nâ—trice parum honorifica verum ab Eunuchis qui reliquorum circa Reem optimi videantur Plur. primo Aâ—cib But above all Children's natures are to be taken particular notice of it being impossible without it to draw a true Scheme of Education Now no Age is more proper for it than their infancy when nature as yet free from envy and dissimulation 17 Iâ—venes non sâ—nt maligni moris sed facilis moris propterea quod nondum viâ—â—â—nt 〈…〉 sincerely discloses it self when in their Forehead Eyes Hands their Smiles and other motions of their Body their passions and inclinations appear without disguise The Ambassadours of Bearn having power given them by the illustrious William of Moncada to Choose which of his Sons for their Prince they thought fit upon observation that Ones hand was Clinched the others open Chose this latter interpreting it to be a sign of Munificence and Liberality as it afterwards prov'd If an Infant be of a generous and great Mind at hearing his own commendations he smooths his Brows looks pleasantly and smiles on the contrary when discommended he is concerned blushes and casts his Eyes on the ground if of an undaunted Spirit he looks stern is not terrified with shadows or threats if Liberal he despises toyes and presents or readily parts with them again to others if revengeful he continues Angry is all in Tears till he have satisfaction if he be Cholerick the least trifle puts him in a heat he lets fall his Brows looks dogged and threatens with his fist if Affable with a sweet Smile and alluring Eye he wins favour and acceptance if Melancholy he avoids Company delights in solitude is often complaining seldom Laughs and generally looks sullen if he be Airy he unfolds the Wrinkles of his Forehead and now gratefully fixing his Eyes seems to dart a pleasing light by and by with a kind of Complacency withdrawing them and agreeably pleating his brows betrays the Chearfulness of his Mind Thus does the heart represent the other Vertues also and vices in the face and exterior motions of the Body till more cautious Age has taught it to Conceal them In the very Cradle and Nurse's Arms the whole court admired in your Highness a certain natural pleasantness and grateful Majesty and indeed that grave carriage and presence of Mind which appeared in you Highness when the Two Kingdoms of Castile and Leon took an Oath of Allegiance to you exceeded the ordinary capacity of your years I would not have however these reflections of mine upon infancy be look'd upon as infallible and without exception for nature sometimes deviates from her Common Road and deceives the too curious Enquirer there are some who tho' vitious in their infancy when at years of discretion take up and Reform which happens perhaps because one of a great and haughty Spirit despises Education and consequently is subdued by his natural passions while right reason is too weak to resist them till that getting strength He acknowledges its errours and corrects them effectually 't was a cruel and barbarous Custom therefore of the Brachmans who either killed or exposed their Children after they were Two Months Old in the Woods if there appeared in them any tokens of an ill nature As inhumane were the Lacedaemonians who threw theirs into the River Taygetes Both seemed to make no account of Education of right reason and free-will which usually correct and regulate natural affections This also seems unaccountable when nature joyns some eminent Vertues with the most enormous Vices in the same person as too different slips are often grafted upon two branches which growing out of the same Root produce different nay contrary Fruits bitter and sweet This was Visible in Alcibiades of whom 't was a question whether he was more eminent for his Vertues or Vices And thus Nature works ' ere she has begun to know her self but reason afterwards and industry correct and polish her operations Lastly since I proposed to my self by these Emblems to give an exact Model of a Prince from the Cradle to the Tomb It won't be amiss to accommodate my rudiments and stile to each particular Age as Plato and Aristotle have done At present I Advise that special Care be taken to render his Arms and Legs active by Exercise If by chance any of his Limbs should be crooked they may be straightned by artificial Instruments 18 Caeterum ne propter teneritatem membra torqueantur nationes quibusdâ—â— artificiosis instrâ—mentis utebantur Arist. lib. 7. Pol. cap. 17. Let â—rightful spectacles which may injure the imaginative faculty be kept from him Let him not be suffered to look asquint at any thing Use him gradually to the shaâ—pness of the Air nor should Musick be Wanting to quicken his Spirits now and then for whatever new thing Children meet with that 't is they admire that makes the deepest Impression on their Imagination EMBLEM II. WIth Pencil and Colours Art admirably Expresses every thing Hence if Painting be not Nature it certainly comes so near it as that often its works deceive the sight and are not to be distinguished but by the touch It can't it 's true animate Bodies but it frequently draws the Beauty Motions and Affections of the Soul Altho' indeed it cannot intirely form the Bodies themselves for want of matter yet the Pencil so exquisitely describes them on Canvass that besides Life there 's nothing that you can desire more Nature I believe would envy Art if she could possibly do the same but now she is so kind as in many things to use the Assistance of Art for whatever the Industry of this can perfect that Nature does not finish
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
Vital Warmth which no sooner begins but begins to die too Death is naturally equal to all but is distinguished by the Glory or Oblivion we leave to Posterity Who dying makes Renown a Substitute for Life lives still Strange force of Virtue which even against Nature makes that which is of its self fading and perishable Immortally glorious Tacitus did not think Agricola's Life short though he was snatch'd away in the prime of his Years for his Glory prolong'd his Life 6 Quanquam medio in spatiâ— integrae aetatis ereptus quantum ad gâ—riam longissimum â—evum peregit â—ac in Vir. Agriâ— Let no one despise or slight Posthumous Fame for in as much as the Mind covets it 't is an acknowledgement that one time or other 't is to be enjoyed but they are in the wrong who think it sufficient if they leave it behind them in Statues or in Posterity for in one 't is fading in t'other 't is none of theirs That only is their own which springs from Actions which if not extraordinary Merit no Praise for Fame is the Daughter of Admiration To be Born only to make One in the World is for the Vulgar Rout 't is for Princes to appear perspicuously eminent among others Others study what they think their own Interest but the utmost and only aim of Princes should be Glory 7 Caeteris mortalibus in eo stare consilia quid sibi conducere puteâ—â— Principum diversam esse sortem quibus praecipua rerum ad famam diâ—â—genda Tac. 4. Ann. Avarice and desire of Riches fill their Breasts but a Prince should be inflamed by an Ambition of Fame 8 Argentum quidem pecunia est commoâ—â— omnium possessio at honestum ex eo laus gloria Deorum est 〈◊〉 eorum qui à aiis proximi censentur Polybius A heavenly Heat inspires our Prince's Veins Virg. A generous Spirit knows no mean 't will be either Caesar or no body either a shining Star or a dark Cinder nor will this if honourably extinguished shine less gloriously on Obelisks than t'other Nor indeed is that Soul truly great which like the best Gunpowder fired does not immediately burst the Body that includes it The Breast is too narrow to contain a brisk and active Soul Garci Sancho King of Navarre going to ingage the Enemy trembled all over yet in the Fight behaved himself bravely and couragiously His Body dreaded that great Multitude of Enemies into which his Courage prepared to carry it Let it therefore be the whole Aim of a Prince to live gloriously that he may be a Light in this World 9 Let your Light so shine before Men that they may see your good Works Matth. 5. 12. All other things will come with ease but Fame not without Assiduity and Application 10 Caeteâ—a Principibus statim aâ—â—esse unum insatiabiliter parandum prosperam sui memoâ—â—am Tac. 4. Ann. But if in the beginning of his Reign he loses his Reputation he will very difficultly recover it for what the People once conceive of him they will never afterwards forget He who sets too great a value upon Life avoids Toils and Dangers without which two Honour can never be attained This Tacitus observed in King Marabodo who quitting his Kingdom lazily and shamefully spent his Days in Italy losing much of his Reputation through a too fond desire of Life 11 Consenuitque multum immatatâ 〈…〉 Tac. 2. Ann. Let a Prince so stere his Course be the Sea Calm or Tempestuous as still to keep his Eye upon that shining Beacon of Glory ever and anon calling to mind that he may admit or think of nothing unworthy himself that History will publish his Fame his Exploits and Glorious Atchievements to all Ages and to all Nations Princes have no other Superior than God and Fame they alone by the fear of Punishment and Infamy oblige them to Act honourably for which reason they often fear Historians more than their Enemies and are more aw'd by the Pen than the Sword King Balthasar though he saw only the Hand and Pen as yet not knowing what they would write was so disorder'd That he quaked all over and the Ioints of his Back were loosened 12 Dan. 5. 6. But if they neither regard God nor Glory nothing Glorious or Honourable can be expected For who e're slights Honour despises Virtue A generous desire of Glory avoids the blemish of Vice or Injustice Nor is there a more Savage Brute than that Prince who is neither moved by remorse of Conscience or desire of Glory Nor is there nevertheless no danger in Glory for its brightness often dazles Princes and leads them headlong into Rashness and Temerity That which seems Honourable and Glorious to them is Vanity or Folly sometimes Pride or Envy and oftentimes Ambition and mere Tyranny They propose great matters egg'd on by the Flatteries of their Ministers who set before them many things under the appearance of Glory concealing in the mean time the unjust and inconvenient Means by which they are to be attained by which being seduced they oftentimes find themselves deluded and ruined That Glory is safe which springs from a generous Spirit and keeps within the Bounds of Reason and Possibility Since therefore Honour and Infamy are the strongest Excitements to good Actions and that both are by History delivered down to Posterity 't would be convenient by Rewards proposed to excite Historians to write and to countenance Typography the true Treasury of Glory where the Rewards of greaâ— Actions are deposited to future Ages EMBLEM XVI 'T IS an old saying Purple is to be judged by Purple by which the Ancients signified that things were then best distinguished when one was compared with the other especially if they were such as could not easily be distinguish'd by themselves Thus Merchants do who compare Colour to Colour that they may shew each other and that a surer Judgment may be given of both In the Temple of Iupiter Capitolinus there was a Cloak a Present of some King from Persia of such an excellent Grain that the Robes of the Roman Ladies nay even of the Emperor Aurelian himself compared with it look'd as faint as Ashes If your Royal Highness when raised to the Crown would exmine and know the true worth of the Royal Purple expose it not to the false Light of Flatterers and fawning Knaves for that will never shew you its true Colour Nor rely too much upon self-love for that is like an Eye that sees all things but its self 'T will be therefore necessary that as Eyes are known by their own Species like Forms represented in a Glass so your Highness would compare the Lustre of your Diadem to that of your Glorious Predecessors seriously reflecting if any Virtues shine more bright in theirs than yours by viewing your self in them as in a Glass 1 Tanquam in speculo ornare comparare vitam tuam ad alienas virtutes
to his Subjects 5 Iâ—geus gloria atque eo fâ—rocior subjectis intolerantior Tac. 11. ann If not for fear of danger at least in gratitude a Prince should avoid being terrible to those by whom he reigns Whence that was a very unworthy saying of Caligula Let them hate me so they fear me as if the security of Empire consisted in Fear Whereas no power can be lasting where fear bears the sway And though Seneca said He knows not how to govern who is too fearfull of Hatred Fear defends Kingdoms 'T is a Tyrannick Maxim or is to be understood of that vain Fear which sometimes Princes are in of offending others even when their Commands are just which doubtless is dangerous and not a little derogatory from their Authority He can never reign who wants Constancy and Courage to despise the Hatred of ill men to preserve the good Nor is Caligula's Sentence justifi'd by that of the Emperor Tiberius Let them hate me so they approve me For no action of a person hated is ever approv'd Hatred blames all and puts the worst Construction on every thing When once a Prince is hated his good actions as well as bad are interpreted against him It seems necessary for a Tyrant to keep his Subjects in awe in as much as his Empire being violent must be supported by violent means there wanting those two Obligations of Nature and voluntary Subjection which as Alphonso the Wise says are the greatest Debts a man can owe his Lord. And the Tyrant sensible that without these bands 't is impossible there should be real Love between him and his Subjects endeavours by force to make Fear effect what ought to proceed from natural Affection and as his disturbed Conscience fears Cruelty against it self it exercises it upon others 6 Wisd. 17. 11. But the lamentable examples of all Tyrants abundantly shew how short-liv'd this method is For though we see the Empires of the Turks Muscovites and Tartars have been continued for many Ages by Fear alone yet these barbarous Nations ought not to be made a Precedent Their Manners are so savage that they seem to have more of the Brute than the Man being commonly led more by Punishment than reason and consequently by that only can be kept in subjection as Brutes are not tamed but by Force and Fear Yet generous Spirits suffer not themselves to be compell'd or cheated into Obedience but are induc'd thereto by sincerity and reason For says King Alphonso our people being loyal and couragious their Loyalty ought to be maintain'd by truth and their Courage by right and justice There is usually 'twixt the Prince and his Subjects such a kind of inclination and natural Sympathy as renders him amiable without any more care for a Prince who deserv'd Hatred is sometimes lov'd and on the contrary one hated who merited Love And though eminent Vertues and Accomplishments of Mind and Body are wont of themselves to challenge Love yet they have not always this effect unless accompained with an agreeable kind of Humour a sweet obliging Air which through the Eyes as Windows of the Mind shews the inward Goodness and engages mens Affections Besides that accidents which could not be prevented or some sinister apprehension may so break this Love and good Will between the Prince and Subject that it can never after be re-united yet much may be done in that case by skill and address in knowing how to govern to the satisfaction of the Nobles and Commons avoiding giving them any occasion of displeasure and behaving himself in all particulars so as to create a good opinion of his Government But since the means whereby the Affections of Subjects may be procur'd are every where scatter'd through this Book I shall only say here in general that nothing contributes more to the obtaining it than Religion Justice and Liberality But because without some Species of Fear Love would be soon turn'd to Contempt and the edge of Regal Authority blunted 7 Timore Princeps â—ciem authoritatis suae non patitur hebescere Cic. 1. Caâ— it is highly requisite that Subjects entertain such an awe as arises from Respect and Veneration not thaâ— which is the result of danger from Injustice and Tyranny So necessary it is for a Prince to make himself feared by not suffering Indignities maintaining Justice and abhorring Vice that without such an awe in Subjects 't would be impossible to be long secure For all naturally desire Liberty and the inferior part of man rebells against Reason and is incorrigible but by Fear The Prince must therefore tame his Subjects as the Horse-courser breaks his Colt the figure of the present Emblem who with the same hand strokes and curries him and threatens him with the Whip Both the Rod and the Manna were kept in the Ark of the Tabernacle to intimate as I imagin that Rigour and Clemency should be joyn'd in the Prince's person God's Rod and Staff comforted David for if that wounded this supported him 8 Ps. 22. 4. Exod. 19. When God gave the Law of the Decalogue to the Israelites on Mount Sinai he at once terrified them with Thunder and Lightning and pleasing allur'd them with Heavenly Musick both the one and the other is necessary to preserve a Love and Veneration in Subjects Let this therefore be the Prince's Study to make himself at once lov'd and fear'd lov'd as the Protector of his People fear'd as the Soul of the Law upon which all their Lives and Estates depend lov'd for his Rewards fear'd for his Punishments lov'd for his Goodness fear'd for his Authority lov'd as a Promoter of Peace fear'd as Arbiter of War So that the good in loving him may find cause to fear the Bad in fearing him may find something to love in him This Fear is as necessary to the preservation of the Sceptre as that which proceeds from the Pride Injustice and Tyranny of the Prince is prejudicial and dangerous to it in leading to Despair 9 Ita agere in subjectis ut magiâ— vereantur severitatem quam ut saevitiam ejus detestentur Colum. The one procures his Liberty with the Prince's Ruin God breaking the Staff of the wicked and the Sceptre of such as rule with too much severity 10 Isa. 14. 5 6. Whereas the other by conforming himself to Reason studies to avoid his Anger and Punishment This Fear is of the same brood with Love For there can be no Love without fear of losing the Object lov'd and care to continue in its favour But since 't is not so much in the Prince's power to beget Love as Fear 't is better for him to ground his security on this than that alone which as the product of the Will is various and inconstant nor is any artificial Flattery any forc'd Complaisance sufficient to gain the Hearts of all That Prince I take for a great Governour who alive is fear'd and dead lov'd by his Subjects as Ferdinand
upon Innocence they are as Grains of Salt that preserve Favour and Admonitions not to err or to amend Let him ascribe successful Actions to the Prince but tâ—ke miscarriages upon himself Let him always think his ruin sure and certain waiting for it with Constancy and a free and disinteress'd mind without being over sollicitous to establish his Favour for he falls soonest from a Precipice who fears it most The reflection of the danger disturbs the Brain and we grow giddy with looking from an height Whatever Favourites have been thus giddy have certainly fell when those who have not been so sollicitous have pass'd secure 64 Prov. 10. 9. Among the Ministers of State let him behave himself rather as a Companion than a Master rather as a Defender than Accuser 65 Eccles. 32. 1. Let him encourage the Good and endeavour to reform the Bad. Let him not interpose his Authority in their Preferments or Removals and leave to them their own business Let him not alter the Course of Counsels in Consultations nor deny any access to the Prince If the Prince would have him confer with him let him declare his Sentiments frankly without any other Design than to consult for the best The Court is the most dangerous Rock of Favour and yet all use it to establish and confirm it there is not a stone in it but would strive to fall if in falling it might crush the Statue of the Favourite which is as brittle as that of Nebuchadnezar by reason of the diversity of Metals that compos'd it Not one Courtier is a true Friend to the Favourite if he chooses some he incurs the Hatred and Envy of the rest If he introduces them he is in danger of being supplanted if he does not he makes them his Enemies 'T is thereâ—ore the safest way to walk with indifference to all and not to intermeddle in the Affairs of any one but endeavour to satisfie all and if possible rather to promote than hinder them in their Pretensions and Interest If any one shall have insinuated himself into the Prince's Favour 't will be the best way to keep him there for he who wrestles with another to throw him down usually falls with him and opposition confirms Favour More Favorites have been ruined by striving to displace others than by advancing them Let him slight Accusations or Commendations to the Prince and leave them to Fortune Favour is very subject to the People for if they disapprove the Favourite the Prince can never support him against the common Cry or if he Attempts it the People usually turn his Judges and Executioners we having seen a great many fall by their hands If the People love him to excess he is in danger from thence for that creates Jealousie and Envy in others nay in the Prince himself whence the Peoples Loves are generally short and unlucky 66 Breves infaustos populi Romani amores Tac. 2. ann And so that the Favourite may walk safe between these two Extreams he must avoid all occasions of publick Applause and Acclamations Let him only endeavour to procure to himself a good Esteem by Piety Liberality Complaisance and Affability making it his Care to see Justice duely administred that there may be plenty of all things that the publick Peace be not disturb'd in his time that Privileges be not violated nor Novelties introduced into the Government but above all that there be no Disputes in matters of Religion nor difference among the Clergy For he will soon feel the Peoples Rage if he once incur the name of impious Foreigners who want this natural Love for the Prince depend more upon the Favourite than him whence they pay him most Respect that they may by his means accomplish their Designs to the great dishonour of the Prince and prejudice of his States Nay they often prove the ruin of the Favourite unless he abundantly satisfie them in their Desires and Requests wherefore he ought to beware of their Respect and refuse the incense and worth of Foreigners letting them who would pay him those Honours know that he is only the Curtain before the Image and that 't is the Prince that works the Miracles Ambassadors usually affect the Friendship of the Favourite as the most effectual means to accomplish their Affairs and judging that the disorders which result from Favour will be of Service to them they endeavour to foment it being often introduc'd thereto by the Favourite himself and as they take occasion to commend them in Audiences and seem at first sight free from Interest and Emulation it has often very good Effect yet for all this they are dangerous Friends for the Favourite can't preserve their Friendship without great Detriment to the Prince and State And if in consideration of his Duty he does not abundantly satisfie them they are utter Enemies and leave no stone unturn'd to ruin him 'T is therefore safest not to be more engag'd to them than the Princes Service will permit Endeavouring only to gain the Reputation abroad of a sincere and affable Person and one who would rather preserve the good Correspondences and Alliances of his Prince than break ' em A timely Application of these Preservatives may perhaps prevent a Favourites fall but when he has once incurr'd the Odium and Envy of the people these are look'd upon as Tricks and Artifices and more endanger him As it happened to Seneca who took no method to prevent his Death but endeavouring to moderate his Favour when he found himself persecuted 67 Instituta prioris potentiae commutat proâ—ibet coetus salutantium vâ—tat comitantes rarus per Urbem quasi valetudine infeâ—sa aut sapientiae studiis doâ—◠〈◊〉 Tâ—c 14. ann If notwithstanding the Observation of all these Cautions the Favourite shall fall into Disgrace his fall will be Glorious he having liv'd without the little Fears and the shameful Care of preserving his Favour by methods below a generous Spirit a torment much worse than the disgrace it self If there be any thing valuable in a Princes Favour 't is only the Glory of having merited his Esteem the Continuation of which is full of Cares and Dangers And he is happiest who soonest and with most Reputation quits it I have describ'd Royal Sir the Practices of Favourites but not how a Prince ought to comport himself towards them not supposing that he ought to have any for though he must be allow'd to have more inclination to one than another yet not so as to devolve all his Authority upon one person from whom the people must expect Orders Rewards and Punishments for such Favour is properly an Alienation from the Crown and dangerous to the Government even when Favour succeeds in the Election of the Subject for neither will the people so readily obey nor so awfully respect the Favourite as the Prince nor is he so much concern'd for the welfare of the State nor is he so immediately under the care of
not the Promises of the Lover when she said Our hands are full of eyes what they see they believe and elsewhere she calls the Day quick sighted in which she never traded but for the Ready Blind are Resolves made by Confidence Pythagoras's Motto was Not to shake hands with every Body Credulity to all is very dangerous let a Prince therefore consider well before he ingages himself thinking always that his Friends as well as his Enemies design to cheat him one more the other less one to rob him of his Territories and Riches the other only to reconcile himself to his Favour and Good-will This Pre-supposition should not be deriv'd from Fraud and Villainy giving him the Liberty to forfeit his Word and Promise which would utterly confound the publick Faith and be a great Blot in his Reputation this Caution should be nothing but a prudent Circumspection and piece of Policy That Diffidence the Daughter of Suspicion is then blameable in a Prince when 't is frivolous and vicious which immediately discovers its Effects and proceeds to Execution not that Circumspect and general Distrust which equally regards all without particularizing upon any one until the Circumstances well examined shall dictate otherwise and perhaps you may not sufficiently confide in any one whom you may nevertheless have a good Opinion of for this is not a particular distrusting of him but a general Caution of Prudence there are Forts in the very middle of Kingdoms in which there are Garrisons kept as if on the Enemies Frontiers This Caution is convenient and reflects not upon the Subjects Fidelity A Prince may confide in his Relations Allies Subjects and Ministers yet this Confidence should not be so remiss as to lull him asleep and make him careless of all Accidents by which Ambition Interest or Hatred usually pervert Fidelity breaking the strongest Bars of the Law of Nature and Nations when a Prince had rather chuse to suffer than live in the continual Alarms of so many Cautions and rather let things run on than remedy the Inconveniencies which may happen He makes his Ministers wicked and sometimes treacherous for they imputing his Indulgence to Incapability despise and slight him and each Reigns absolutely in that part of the Government which is allotted him But when the Prince is vigilant and if he does confide in any does it not without Caution when he is always so prepar'd that Treachery shall never find him unprovided when he condemns not without hearing and reprehends not but to preserve Fidelity when 't is in danger he may wear his Crown in safety King Ferdinand the Catholick had no reason to suspect the Fidelity of the great Captain †Gonâ—alez Fernandez of Cordovâ— Mar. Hist. Hisp. nevertheless he kept those people near him who should diligently pry into his Actions that he knowing how narrowly he was watch'd might Act with the more Caution This was not properly an Action of distrust but prudence For all this he must take care that this Suspicion be not groundless and frivolous as was that of the same King Ferdinand to the same great Captain for though after the loss of the Battel of Ravenna he wanted him for the management of Affairs in Italy he would not make use of him when he saw with what eagerness all the people strove to serve and fight under him and so endeavoured by alâ— the means he could to assure himself of Duke Valentine 〈◊〉 that suspecting an experimented Fidelity he exposed himself to one suspected So over jealous Spirits to avoid one Danger fall into a greater though sometimes the refusal of the Services of such great Men may be rather a Princes Envy or Ingratitude than Jealousie or Suspicion It may be also that this wise Prince thought it not convenient to make use of a Man whom he knew to be discontented a Prince must expect little Fidelity from a person of whom he has once shewn a Distrust The more ingenious and generous a Spirit is the more it resents the Suspicion of its Fidelity and so more easily quits it which made Getulius make bold to write to Tiberius That he was Loyal and unless suspected would remain so 4 Sibi fidem integram si nullis infidiis peteretur mansuram Tac. 6. ann A Prince ought to learn by the experience of his own Accidents as well as others how far he ought to confide in his Subjects Amongst the Cautions which King Henry the II. left his Son Don John there was this That he should continue the Rewards given to those who had follow'd his party against King Peter their natural Lord but that he should not put so much Confidence in them as not to have an Eye upon 'em that in Offices and Places of Trust he should make use of those who adher'd to their Master King Peter like true and faithful Subjects and oblige 'em to make amends for past Offences by future Services but that he should not put any Confidence in the Neuters who had shewn themselves more addicted to self Interest than the publick Good Traytors are odious even to those whom they serve by their Treason 5 Quippe proditores etiam iis quos anteponunt invisunt Tac. 1. ann and the Loyal are esteem'd by those against whom they are so upon this ground Otho trusted Celsus who had faithfully served Galba 6 Mansitque Celso velut fat alitâ—r etiam pro Othone fides integrâ— infelix Tac. 1. Hist. 'T is not good to raise a Minister all at once to great Places for it makes other envy him and hate the Prince they taking this sudden Promotion as an Argument of his Levity There is no Minister so modest as not to be affronted nor so zealous as to continue in his Devoir when he sees another so unjustly preferred For one that 's satisfied many are discontented and when the Ministers are disgusted 't is impossible the Government should go well Such Elections are nothing else but abortive Births and Fidelity takes deeper root when it sees that Offices and Imployments are the reward of faithful Services the Prince has in the mean while time to make Tryal of his Minister first in places of small Trust least it should cost him too dear afterwards in places of greater Importance 7 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much Luk. 16. 10. let him examine before he employs him in Affairs of Peace or War what is the most likely to shake his Fidelity what his Birth is what his Reputation and Fortune this Circumspection is particularly necessary in places of Trust which are as 't were the Keys and Security of Governments Augustus would not permit any Senator or Roman Knight to enter Egypt without his special Order because that Province was the Grainary of the Empire and that he who made himself Master of that had the other at Command for the same reason Tiberius sharply reprehended Germanicus for going into
King Alphonso the Emperor was surpriz'd at the Splendour and Magnificence of that Court affirming That he had not seen the like in all that Part of Asia or Europe which he had travell'd through in his Voyage to the Holy Land Such was then â—he Grandeur of one King of Castile though distracted with Civil Wars and the greatest part of his Kingdom possess'd by the Moors There are some Authors affirm That there was in this Kingdom in the time of the Holy War against the Heathens a Rendezvouz of a Hundred Thousand Foot Ten Thousand Horse and Sixty Thousand Waggons and that King Alphonso III. daily paid both the Soldiers Captains and Generals according to their Office and Quality These vast Expences and Provisions which at present seem incredible the single Kingdom of Castile could afford nay and at the same time maintain'd a greater Number of Enemies without the Assistance of Foreign Riches until a certain Biscayner roving upon the Sea by fortune got a sight of this New World either unknown to or forgotten by the Ancients and preserv'd for the Honour of Columbus who after the Death of this Spaniard diligently considering the Observations that he the first Discoverer had made undertook to demonstrate the Discovery of the Provinces which Nature seem'd designedly to separate from us by Mountainous Waves He communicated this his Project to several Princes hoping by their Assistance to facilitate his great and difficult Enterprize But all slighted it as vain and notionary Which if they had done through Prudence and Caution and not Distrust and Misbelief they had merited the same Praise which Carthage gain'd of old which when some Sailors were boasting in the Senate of the Discovery of a wonderful Rich and Delicious Island supposed to be Hispaniola caus'd 'em immediately to be put to Death thinking the Discovery of such an Island would be of more Detriment than Advantage to the Commonwealth Columbus at last applies himself to Their Catholick Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella whose Generous Spirits capable of many Worlds could not be content with one alone So that having received necessary Assistance he put to Sea and after a tedious and hazardous Voyage in which he encounter'd as great Danger from the Diffidence of his Companions as from the Sea it self he at last return'd to Spain laden with Gold and Silver The People flock'd to the Shore of Guadalquivir to admire these precious Products of the Earth brought to light by the Indians and thither by the Valour and Industry of their Countrymen But this great Plenty of them soon perverted all Things the Husbandman soon leaves Plough gets into his Embroider'd Silks and begins to be more curious of his Tawny Sun-burnt Hands the Merchant steps from his Counter into his Sedan and lolls it lazily about the Streets Workmen disdain their Tools and all forsooth must now turn Gentlemen No Money is current now but Silver and Gold and our Coin being wholly unmix'd and pure is coveted and desired by all Nations Gold and Silver now growing common all Things raise their Price In fine It befel our Kings as it did the Emperor Nero whom a certain African put a Trick upon telling him in his Grounds he had found a vast Treasure which he believ'd Queen Dido had buried there either lest too much Riches should enervate the Minds of her Subjects or lest they should invite others to Invade her Kingdom Which the Emperor giving credit to and thinking himself already sure of the Treasure squander'd away the Old Stock upon the Hope of these New-found Riches The Expectation of Riches being the cause of the Publick Want 10 Et divitiarum expectatio inter causas paupertatis publicae erat Tac. 16. Annal. Cheated by the same Hopes we were persuaded that we had no more need of fix'd and standing Treasuries but think our Ships sufficient not considering that all our Power depends upon the Uncertainty of the Winds and Seas as Tiberius said the Lives of the Romans did because their Provisions were all brought them from Foreign Provinces 11 At hercule nemo refert quod Italia externâ—e opis indiget quòd vita populi Romani per incerta maris tempestatum quotidie vivitur Tac. 3. Annal. Which Hazard Aleto consider'd when dissuading Godfredo from going to the Holy Wars he said * Tasso Shall then your Life upon the Winds depend And as Mens Hopes are generally above their Estates 12 Sâ—epe enim de facultatibus suis amplius quam in his est sperant homines Justin. Instit. quibus ex causis man § in fraudem State and Pomp encreases the Salaries Wages and other Charges of the Crown are enlarged out of Confidence and Expectations of these Foreign Riches which being afterwards ill and negligently managed were not sufficient to defray such Expences and this made way for Debts and those for Usury and Interest Necessity daily encreas'd and occasion'd new Expences But nothing was so prejudicial to the Publick as the Alteration of the Coin which though not consider'd should be preserv'd in as much Purity as Religion it self the Kings Alphonso the Wise Alphonso XI and Henry II. who did offer to alter it endanger'd both themselves and Kingdoms and their Misfortunes ought to have been a Warning to us But when Ills are fatal neither Experience nor Example can move us King Philip II. deaf to all these Cautions doubled the Value of Copper Coin which was before convenient for common Use and answerable to bigger Money Foreigners coming to understand the Value that the Royal Stamp gave to this paultry Metal began to Traffick with nothing else bringing us in vast quantities of Copper ready Coin'd in Exchange for our Gold Silver and other Merchandise Which did us more Damage than if all the Monsters and venomous Serpents of Africa had been brought among us And the Spaniards who us'd to ridicule the Rhodians for their Copper Money became themselves the Jest and Laughing-stock of the whole World Trade was ruin'd by this troublesome scoundrel Metal all things grew dearer and by degrees scarcer as in the time of Alphonso the Wise. Buying and Selling ceas'd and at the same time the Revenues of the Crown were diminish'd so that new Impositions and Taxes were unavoidable whence for want of Commerce the Wealth of Castile was spent and the same Inconveniencies renew'd proceeding one from another in a pernicious Circle which will at last prove our Ruine unless a Remedy be timely apply'd by reducing that king of Money to its former and intrinsick Value Who would not think that this World must be subdu'd by the Riches and Wealth of the other And yet we see there were greater Exploits perform'd formerly by pure Valour than since by all these Riches as Tacitus observ'd in the time of Vitellius 13 Vires luxu corrumpebantur contra veterem disciplinam instituta majorum apud quos virtute quam pecunia res Rom. melius stetit Tac. 2. Hist.
to Dissemble or Punish with Rigour The prudentest Counsel certainly in the World For the Common People can never keep a Medium between two Extremes but always exceed in the one or the other 5 Alâ—i fortioribus remediis agendum nihil in vulgo modicum terrere ni paveam ubi pertimuerint impunè contemni Tac. 1. Annal. If the Matter require Expedition it is certain Ruine not to venture enough or not to use sufficient Precaution as it happened to Valens who wavering between the Counsels that were given him could not come to any determinate Resolution 6 Mox utrumque consilium aspernatur quod inter ancipitia deterrimum est dum media se quitur nec ausus est satis nec providit Id. l. 3. Hist. In Affairs of War Fear would sometimes appear prudent and to that end suggests Moderate Resolutions which serve but to encourage the Enemy and give him Time to look about him As King Iohn I. found who pretending the Crown of Portugal was devolved on him by the Death of Ferdinand his Father-in-Law resolved to enter that Kingdom alone and to have his Army follow whence the Portuguese gained Time to take up Arms in the interim which had never been done had he immediately fell upon them but he to avoid War left his Right to the Decision of Justice Threats signifie little if the Hand lifted up have no Weapon in it and do not sometimes punish Disobedience in earnest The Hastiness of the French makes them regard neither the past nor present Time and through the Heat of their Minds they are too adventurous and too precipitous in their Resolutions However this very thing oftentimes gives Success to them for by this means they avoid Luke-warmness and dispatch every thing in a trice The Spaniards on the other side are Dilatory that they may by long and much Consideration proceed with more Caution and out of an Affectation of Prudence use to Hesitate nay while they take Time to Consult lose the Opportunity of Execution The Italians know better how to make their Advantage both of the one and the other using the Opportunities as they present themselves Not like the Germans who are slow in Resolving lazy in Executing and consult only the present Time without any regard to the past or future Their Minds change with Events which is the reason they have so little advanced their Fortune it being otherwise a Nation which considering its innate Courage might extend its Dominions far and near To the same Cause may be ascribed the long Continuance of the Civil Wars the Empire is harrass'd with at this day which undoubtedly by resolute Counsel and Expedition might have been laid asleep long ago whereas by slow Counsels which yet pass'd for Prudent we have seen vast Armies upon the Rhine which might have made way even into France and forced it to an Universal Peace a thing has done them more prejudice than if they had lost several Battels For there can be no greater Overthrow than for an Army insensibly to waste and perish within it self It is this has made Havock of their own Country and the Places adjacent through which War ought to be carried when now its Seat is in the very Heart of Germany In all other Affairs of Civil Government Middle-Counsels may have place because of the Danger of Extremes and because it is of great Importance ever to take away from which you may afterwards in case of Necessity come to any one of the two with the less inconvenience Between these two Extremes the Ancients placed Prudence represented by the flight of Daedalus who came neither too near the Sun nor too near the Sea lest the excessive Heat of the one should melt or the Moisture of the other wet his Wings Iâ— Countries whose Inhabitants are not of a Servile Nature but of a Polite Genius and Generous Spirit the Reins of the People ought to be govern'd with so much Caution and Address that neither too much Indulgence shall breed Arrogance nor too much Rigour Aversion It is equally dangerous to curb them with Bits and Barnacles and turn them loose without a Bridle for they can neither endure all Liberty nor all Slavery as Galba told Piso of the 7 Neque enim hic aut in caeteris gentibus quae regnantur certa Dominorum Domus caeteri servi sed imâ—eraturus es hominibus qui neâ—â—otam servitutem pati possunt nec totam libertatem Tac. l. 1. Hist. Romans Always to execute Power is to wear out the Chain of Servitude 'T is a kind of Tyranny to go about to reduce Subjects to the model of an absolute Perfect State in that the Condition of Humane Nature admits not of it It is not necessary for a Government to be such as it ought to be but as it is capable of being for all things that are expedient are not possible to Humane Infirmity It is an Absurdity to wish there may be no Defect at all in a Common-wealth There will be Vices as long as there be Men. Excess of Zeal is the Spring of many Mistakes in Governors in not knowing how to conform to Prudence The same is Ambition when Princes affect to pass for Severe and imagining their Reputation consists in Ruling their Subjects so that they shall never in the least degree swerve from Reason and the Laws 'T is a dangerous Strictness which consults not the ordinary Passions of the Vulgar Open Address prevails more than Power Example and Complacency than Inhuman Severity Let the Prince therefore rather make believe he finds his Subjects good than value himself upon making them so which Tacitus commends Agricola for in his Government of Britain 8 Maluit videri invenisse bonos quam fecisse Tacit. in Vit. Agric. Let him not suffer himself to be deceived in the past Times so as to wish he could see those Good Manners he fancies were in those Days For Malice was ever the same in all Times but 't is a fault of our corrupt Nature always to like the Past better than the Present 9 Laudamus veteres praesentes carpimus annos Besides granting that Severity and Obedience were greater formerly yet this Age will not bear it if those Ancient Manners are alter'd in it This Mistake cost Galba both his Life and Empire 10 Nocuit antiquâ—s rigor nimia severitas cui pares non sumus Tac. l. 1. Hist. EMBLEM LXXXVI MAN's Mind has not been satisfy'd with the Speculation of Terrestrial Things but impatient that the Knowledge of the Heavens should be deferred so long as till after Death has broke the Prison of the Body and soar'd above the very Elements to find out by Reasoning what it could not by Touching Sight and Hearing and to this end hath form'd in Imagination an Idea of that most Beautiful Fabrick contriving a Sphere with such various Circles Equations and Epicycles as aptly represent the several Motions of the Planets
Peace Now Caesar 's Grandeur Caesar 's Glories reign His Conqu'ring Arm sheathing his Sword again * Propert. Nothing in the World is more an Enemy to Possession than War It is a wicked as well as foolish Doctrine which teaches that Seeds of Hatred should be nourished that Matter for War may be furnished whenever it shall be thought fit 12 Semina odiorum jacienda omne scelus externum habendum cum laetitia Tac. Annal. l. 12. He always lives in War who has it always in his Thoughts The Advice of the Holy Spirit is much more wholsom Seek Peace and pursue it 13 Psal. 34. 14. When a Peace is once Concluded the Laws of God and Man oblige to a faithful Observance of it even although transacted with one's Predecessors without any Distinction between the Government of One and Many both the Kingdom and Commonwealth for the Benefit and upon the Faith of which the Contract was made being always the same and never dying Time and Common Consent have Passed what was once Agreed upon into a Law Nor is Force or Necessity a sufficient Excuse for making War For if the Publick Faith might be violated for these things there would be no Capitulation no Treaty of Peace but might be broken under the same colour Francis I. was blamed for declaring War against Charles V. contrary to the Agreement made during his Imprisonment under pretence of Constraint By such Artifices and Equivocal Negotiations it comes to pass that none at all are firm so that to establish them it is necessary to demand Hostages or detain some considerable Place things which embarrass a Peace and fatigue the World with perpetual Wars The Prince then being free from the Toils and Dangers of War should apply himself wholly to the Arts of Peace according to Tasso Learning and Arts promote throughout your Realm Divert your Subjects Minds with Plays and Balls With equal Iustice punish and reward And out of Danger stand upon your Guard Yet not without reflecting how soon War may possibly disturb his Rest. Let not his Eye quit the Arms his Hand has laid down nor those old Medals influence him upon the Reverse of which Peace was described burning Shields with a Torch This was far from being a prudent Emblem for there is nothing so necessary after War as the preserving of Arms to keep Violence from making any attempt against Peace None but God alone could when he gave it to his People break the Bow as the Psalmist expresseth it cut the Spear in sunder and 〈◊〉 the Chariots in the fire 14 Psal. 46. 9. forasmuch as he being the Arbiter of War needs not Arms to maintain Peace withal But among Men there can be no Peace where Ambition is not restrained by Fear or Force This gave Occasion to the Invention of Arms which Defence found out before Offence The Plough marked out the Walls before the Streets were disposed and almost at the same time Tents were pitched and Houses built The Publick Repose would never be secure did not Care armed guard its Sleep A State unprovided with Arms awakens the Enemy and invites War Never had the Alps heard the Echo's of so many Trumpets had the Cities of the Milanese been better fortify'd This State is as it were an Outwork to all the Kingdoms of the Spanish Monarchy and each ought for its own Security to contribute to its Strength which joined with the Power of the Sea would render the Monarchy firm and unshaken Mens Hearts were they of Adamant could not supply the Defect of Walls King Witiza by demolishing these made the Moors so bold as to invade Spain when those Banks were gone which till then had stopt their Inundations 15 Mar. Hist. Hisp. Augustus was not guilty of this Negligence in that long Peace he enjoyed but appointed a Publick Treasury as a Provision against a War Except Forces be Exercised in Time of Peace and the Mind disciplin'd in the Arts of War it will not easily be done when Danger of Invasion shall have put all Men in a Consternation and they be more intent on flying and saving what they have than on their Defence There is no greater Stratagem than to leave a Kingdom to its own Idleness When Military Exercise fails Valour does the same Nature produces in all Parts great Souls which either Occasion discovers or want of Business burieth Past Ages have not furnish'd braver Men in Greece and Rome than are at this day born but they then appeared so Heroical because Desire of Rule made them use themselves to Arms. Let not a Prince be discouraged at the Sluggishness of his Subjects Discipline will fit them either to preserve Peace or to maintain War Let him keep them always employed in the Exercise of Arms for he that desires Peace must prevent War EMBLEM C. IT is a short breathing between the Cradle and the Tomb short I say yet 〈◊〉 of occasioning considerable Evils if ill employed Often does a Commonwealth lament whole Ages the Errour of one Moment On this Point turns the Fall or Rise of Empires One bad Counsel in a Minute throws down what has cost Valour and Prudence many Years to build 1 〈…〉 Taâ— Annal. l. 5. And therefore it is not enough in this Amphitheater of Life to have run well if the Course be not equal to the End He only receives the Crown who has lawfully touch'd the last Goal of Death The Foundation of Houses consists in the first Stones that of Renown in the last except they be Glorious it soon falls and is buried in Oblivion The Cradle does not flourish until the Tomb has first and then even the Briars of past Vices turn to Flowers for Fame is the last Spirit of our Actions which thence receive their Beauty and Lustre a thing never seen in an infamous Old Age that rather effacing the Glory of Youth as it happened to 2 Cesserunt que primâ— postremis boâ—aâ— juventae senectus flagitiosâ—â—â—â—teravit Tac. Annal. 1. 6. Vitellius The most perfect Stroaks of the Pencil or Chizel are not esteemed if the whole Work remain imperfect And if ever Fragments were regarded it was for being the Reliques of a once perfect Statue Envy or Flattery while Life lasts give different Forms to Actions but Fame unbyass'd by those Passions pronounces after Death true and just Sentences which the Tribunal of Posterity confirms 3 Sâ—â—m â—uique decus posteritas rependit Tac. Annal. 1. 4. Some Princes are sensible enough of how great Consequence it is to Crown their Life with Vertues but they are mistaken in thinking to supply that by leaving them described in Epitaphs and represented in Statues not considering that they blush to accompany him in Death whom they had not accompanied while alive and that the Marbles are as it were in Indignation to see the Counterfeit-Glory of a Tyrant inscribed on them but seem to soften to facilitate the engraving of that
l. 2. every one already knowing that a new Phoenix must arise out of the Ashes of the old one and that even now this Successor has taken Root and got Strength by making himself beloved and feared as an old Tree shoots out of its Stump a young Sprig which in time comes to grow in its place 30 Ex â—rbore 〈…〉 trunco novam producit quâ—â— anteqâ—am antiqua decidat jam radices vires accepit Tol. de Rep. l. 7. c. 4. â— 1. Nevertheless if it lie in the Prince's Breast to appoint the Successor he is not to make such use of this Advantage as to preferr the Interest of his Kindred to that of the Publick Moses distrusting the Abilities of his own Sons left to God the Choice of a new Captain of his People 31 Let the Lord the God of the spirits of all flesh set a man over the congregation Numb 27. 16. And Galba gloried in having had more Regard to the Publick Good than to his Family and having chosen a Person out of the Commonwealth to succeed him 32 Sed Augustus in dâ—mo successorem quaesâ—vit ego in Republica Tac. Hist. l. 1. This is the last and greatest Benefit the Prince is capable of doing his States as the same Galba told Piso 33 Nunc â—o â—ecessitatis jampridem ventum est ut nec mea senectus conferre plus populo Romano possit quâ—m bonum successoreâ— nec tua plus jâ—venta quà m bonum Principeâ— Tac. Hist. l. 1. when he Adopted him 'T is a Noble Instance of the Prince's Generosity to strive to make his successor better than himself He has but a mean Opinion of his Merit who seeks a Name only by the Vices of him that comes after and by the Comparison of one Reign with another Herein Augustus himself was faulty in chusing Tiberius upon the same motive 34 Ne Tiâ—erium quidem caritate aut Reipublicae cura successorâ—m â—dscitum sed quoniam arroganâ—iam saevitiamque introspexerit comparâ—tione deterrima â—ibi gloriam quaefiâ—isse Tac. Annal. l. 1. without considering that the glorious or infamous Actions of a Successor are charged upon the Predecessor who was concerned in his Election This Care to provide a good Heir is a Natural Duty in Parents and they ought to attend it with utmost Application since in their Sons they in a manner live for ever And indeed it were against Natural Reason to envy the Excellency of their own Image or leave it unpolish'd And though the Institution of a Great Person be generally the Occasion of Domestick Dangers inasmuch as Mens Ambition is proportion'd to the Capacity of their Souls 35 Optimos quippe mortâ—lirum altissima cupere Tac. Annal. l. 4. and though oftentimes by the subversion of the Ties of Reason and Nature Children grow weary of expecting the Crown so long and seeing the Time of their Pleasure and Glory waste as it was with Rhadamistus in the long Reign of his Father Pharasman King of Iberia 36 Is modiâ—um Hyberiae regnum senecta patris detineri ferocius crebriusque jactabat Tac. Annal. l. 12. although too it was the Counsel of the Holy Spirit 37 Give him no liberty in his youth and wink not at his folly Ecclus. 30. 11. to Fathers not to give their Sons Liberty in their Youth nor wink at their Follies yet for all this I say a Father ought to spare no Pains that may contribute to the good Education of his Son which is the second Obligation of Nature nor let fall his Hopes and Confidence for a few particular Cases No Prince was ever more jealous of his Children than Tiberius yet he absented himself from Rome to leave Drusus in his Place 38 Vt amoto Pâ—tre Drusus munia consulatuâ— solus impleret Tac. Annal. lib. 3. But if the Prince would prevent these Suspicions by Politick Methods let him allow his Son a part in the Administration of Affairs both Civil and Military but never in the Dispensation of his Favours for by the former the Applause of the People is not so much got who are apt to be taken with the Liberal and Obliging Temper of the Son a thing not very pleasing to the Fathers who sit on the Throne 39 Displicere regnaâ—ntibus civilia filiorum ingeniâ— Tac. Annal. l. 2. In a word he may be admitted into the Secrets of State not into the Hearts of the Subjects Augustus who well understood this when he desired to have Tiberius made Tribune commended him with so much Artifice that he discovered his Faults in excusing them 40 Quâ—nquam â—onorâ—â—â—atione quâ—dam de habitu â—â—ltuqâ—e institutis ejâ—s jecerat quâ— velâ—t excuâ—ando exprobraret Tac. Annal. l. 1. And it was believed that Tiberius to render Drusus odious and make him pass for one of a cruel Temper gave him leave to frequent the Sword-Plays 41 Ad oâ—teâ—tandâ—â— saevitiam inâ—vendâ—sque pâ—pull offâ—nsioâ—â—â— concessâ—m fâ—lio materiam Tac. Annal. l. 1. as he was glad when any Contest arose between his Sons and the Senate 42 Lâ—tabatur Tiberiâ—â— quum inter filios leges Senâ—tus disâ—eptâ—ret Tac. Annal. l. 2. But these Artifices are more hurtful and treacherous than becomes the Sincerity of a Father it is more prudent to join with the young Prince some Confident in whose Power the Direction and Management of Affairs may be as Vespasian did when her gave the Praetorship to his Son Domitian and assigned Mutian for his Assistant 43 Caesar Dâ—mitianus Prâ—â—turam capit Ejus 〈◊〉 epistoliâ— edictisque proponebatur vis penes Mutianum erat Tac. Hist. l. 4. But if the Son shall seem to harbour great and enterprising Thoughts such as may give just Apprehension of some ambitious Design against the Respect due to a Father out of impatience of his long life the best way will be to employ him in some Undertaking that may wholly engage those Thoughts and cool the warmth and vigour of his Mind It was this made Pharasman King of Iberia put his Son Rhadamistus upon the Conquest of Armenia 44 â—gitur Pharasmanes juvenem potentiae promptae studio popâ—darium accinctum vergentibus jam armis suis metuens aliaâ— ad spem traâ—ere Armeniam oftentare Tac. Annal. 1. 12. But as this Caution of Honouring the Son and employing him in Places of Difficulty is absolutely necessary so also must care be taken to put the Command of the Armies in the Hand of another for whoever is Master of them rules the whole State To this end Otho gave his Brother Titianus the Name and Reputation of the Supreme Command yet left all the Authority and real Power lodged in Proculus 45 â—rofecto Brixellum Othone honor imperii penes Titianum fratrem â—is ac potestas penes Proculum Praefectum Tac. Hist. l. 2. And Tiberius when the Senate had decreed Germanicus all the Provinces beyond the Seas made Piso Lieutenant of