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
2 Otium enim tum ad virtutes generandas 〈…〉 civilia munera obeunda requiruâ—â—tur Arist. Pol. l. 7. c. 9. like the Stream of a Fountain the Figure of the present Emblem when stopp'd by the Hand A seasonable Rest Refreshment gives And weary Valour after Ease revives For this Reason Day and Night have divided the Hours into Labour and Rest. While half the World wakes th' other sleeps And the Ancients feign'd that even Iove himself sometimes eas'd himself by laying the Burthen of the World upon the Shoulders of Atlas The most Robust Constitutions are not able continually to bear the Fatigues of Government Continual Toil weakens the Body and besots the Mind so does also too much Ease 3 Nascitur ex assiduitate laborum animorum hebetatio quaedam lâ—nguor Senec. de Tranquil Anim. It should be therefore only as a Watering to Plants which refreshes not drowns them or like Sleep which if moderate corroborates if excessive rather enervates the Body There are no Diversions better than those which at the same time recreate and instruct the Mind as does the Conversation of ingenious and learned Persons Such the Emperor Adrian always entertain'd at his Table which for that reason Philostratus call'd A Rendezvouz of the Learned The same Pliny commends in Trajan and Lampridius in Alexander Severus 4 Cum inter suos convivaretur 〈◊〉 Vlpianum aut doctos homines adhibebat ut habere fabulas literatas 〈◊〉 se recreari dicebat pasci Lamp in Vit. Alex. Sev. Alphonso King of Naples always retir'd with them after Dinner into another Apartment that he might as he us'd to say feed his Mind as he had done his Body Tiberius never travell'd from Rome without Nerva and Atticus Men of excellent Learning to direct him 5 Coâ—ceius Nerva cui legum peritia eques Romanus praeter Sejanum illustribus Curtius Atticus â—aeteri liberalibus artibus praediti ferâ—â— Graeci quorum sermonibus levaretur Tac. 4. Annal. Francis the First King of France learn'd so much from his constant and continual Conversation with such learned Men that though he had never apply'd himself to Literature he would discourse very pertinently upon any Subject But this commendable Custom is out of date and instead of it Princes keep Buffoons Jesters and Ridiculous Fellows for their Entertainment at Table The Errors and Shame of Nature are become now their Diversions They love to hear themselves prais'd though undeservedly And though Reason and Modesty would reject those Praises as coming from some Fool yet Self-conceit easily receives them and the Ears being by degrees us'd to them soon give way to Flatterers and Pick-thanks Their Jests impose upon the Will being generally obscene sometimes vicious And if such Buffoonry can divert the Mind how much more will the neat and witty Discourses of the Learned who not being too grave and rigid as they are sometimes can be facetious and witty upon occasion If there be any Diversion in looking upon some mishapen ridiculous Monster What Satisfaction will it be to hear of the prodigious Works of Nature and to discourse of her Wonders and Secrets Athenaeus mentions of Anacharsus that some of these Buffoons being once brought to Table to promote Mirth he remain'd grave and serious but laught heartily at the sight of an Ape saying That thâ—â— Animal was naturally ridiculous but Man only by Art and base Affectation 6 Accitis in convivium peritis ad risum commovendum hominibus 〈◊〉 omnium non risisse post autem inducta simia in risum solutum dixisse Natura id Animal ridiculum hominem autem arte studio eoque paâ—â—â— honesto Athen. l. 4. This Composure was great and becoming the Dignity of a Prince These Fools are a kind of Publick Spies in Courts Corruptors of Manners and very often Plotters against the Prince and State For which Reason the Emperors Augustus and Alexander Severus would never entertain them If they are good for any thing 't is for the Truth they tell the Great Ones by way of Jest. Some Princes through the Glory and Ambition of Affairs think themselves sufficiently eas'd in resting from Matters of Importance and employing themselves in those of less moment as the Hair of a Mad Dog cures his Bite But because then all Minds are not diverted by this means and that there is no Affair though never so little but requires Attention enough to tire the Mind 't is necessary to be sometimes wholly unemploy'd and to quit for a time the Trouble and Toil of Government 7 Satis Onerum Principibus satis etiam potentiae Tac. 3. Annal. Business ought to be so mix'd with Diversion and Pastime as that the Mind may neither be oppress'd by the first nor enervated by the latter It being like a Mill which having nothing to grind wears out it self Pope Innocent VIII sometimes laid by the Helm of the Church and diverted himself in his Garden in planting Trees In these Truces of Repose Age Time and the Quality of the Diversion ought also to be consider'd So that Gaiety mayn't be offensive to Reserv'dness Ingenuity to Gravity nor Recreation to Majesty For some Pastimes not only debase the Mind but also diminish the Prince's Authority So Artaxerxes was infamous for Spinning Viantes a King of Lydia for fishing for Frogs Augustus for playing at Even or Odd with the Boys Domitian for killing Flyes with a Bodkin Solyman for making Pins and Selim for Embroidering with the Women While the Prince is young there are no Diversions more proper than such as confirm the Mind and Body such as Fencing Horse-races Tennis and Hunting and also those Noble Arts of Musick and Painting which we elsewhere commended in a Prince's Education which are very requisite to refresh the Spirits when exhausted by Assiduity of Affairs provided they be us'd with Moderation So as not to waste that Time therein which should be employ'd in Matters of State King Ferdinand the Catholick diverted himself so profitably that even amidst his Recreations he forgot not his Affairs but while a Hawking he gave ear to the Journals and Dispatches which his Secretary read to him and at the same time observ'd the Game Emanuel King of Portugal never deny'd Audience amidst his Diversions A Prince should divert himself upon Affairs as the Dolphin does upon the Waves though never so deep not seeking the quiet Retreat of some River His Repose should not be Idleness but Refreshment 'T will be convenient sometimes to entertain the People with Publick Diversions that they may breath a little and return more vigorously to their Work upon which their Thoughts are employ'd For if they are always sad and melancholy they turn them against the Prince and Magistracy whereas if they are allow'd some Refreshment and Recreation they submit their Necks to any Burthen and losing their Heat and Restiness live in Obedience For this reason Croesus told Cyrus That he must learn his Lydians to Sing
things says K. Alphonso a Prince will be oblig'd to take to his assistance one who does understand them and he may experience what King Solomon said That he who entrusts his secret with another makes himself his slave whereas he who can keep it â—imself is Master of himself which is infinitely requisite in a Prince For the Office of a King requires a great understanding and that too illustrated with Learning for without doubt says K. Alphonso in the same Law no man can acquit himself of an Office of such importance as this at least without great understanding and wisdom whence he who scorns the favours of Knowledge and Education will be scorn'd by God who is the Author of them Other Sciences have been divinely infused into many none but Solomon was ever inspired with Politickss For Tilling ground Agriculture prescribes certain Rules the Art of Taming wild Beasts has also its Methods but 't is easier to command any Animal than Man 't is necessary therefore that he be endued with an extraordinary portion of Wisdom who has Men to govern 5 Omni animali facilius imperabiâ— quam homini ideo sapientissimum esse oportet qui hominibus regere veâ—it Xenoph. The different Customs and Dispositions of Subjects canâ—t without considerable Sagacity Application and Experience be discovered and consequently no man requires Wisdom more than a Prince 6 Nullâ—s est cuâ— sapientia magis conveniat quam Principi cujus doctrina omnibus debet prodesse subditis Veget. T is that makes Kingdoms happy Princes feared and reverenced Then was Solomon so when the World became acquainted with his Knowledge renders a Prince more formidable than Power 7 Wisd. 5. 26. A wise King says the holy Spirit is the upholding of the people But an unwise King destroyeth them 8 Eccl. 10. 3 All which shews how barbarous the Opinion of the Emperour Licinius was who cryed out upon the Sciences as a publick Plague Philosophers and Orators as Poison to a Commonwealth nor does that of the Goths appear less absurd who found fault with Athalaricus's Mother for instructing him in good Letters as if he was thereby rendred incapable of publick Business Silvius Aeneas had quite other sentiments of them when he said they were Silver in the Commonalty Gold in the Nobility and in the Prince Jewels Alphonso of Naples upon hearing once a certain King say That Learning did not become a Prince Replyed immediately That 's spoke rather like a Beast than a man 9 Eam vocem bâ—vis esse non â—ominis Panorm lib. 4. Well therefore said K. Alphonso †lib. 16 c. 5. p. 2. That a King ought to be assiduous in Learning the Sciences for by them he will learn the Office of a King and know better how to practise it Of Iulius Caesar 't is related that he would have the Statuary form him standing upon a terrestrial Globe with a Sword in one Hand in the other a Book with this Motto Ex utroque Caesar thereby intimating that as well his Learning as his Arms was instrumental in getting and preserving to him the Empire Lewis the XIth of France did not esteem Learning at this rate for he would not permit his Son Charles the 8th to apply himself to it because he found himself thereby so obstinate and opinionative as not to admit the Counsel of any which was the reason why Charles proved afterwards unfit to govern and suffered himself to be led by the Nose by every one not without great Dishonour to himself and detriment to his whole Kingdom Extreams therefore in that as in all other things are to be avoided supine Ignorance breeds Contempt and Derision besides it is exposed to a thousand Errours on the other side excessive Application to Studies distracts the Mind and diverts it from the Care of Government The Conversation of the Muse is very pleasant and agreeable and no oâ—â— would without Reluctancy exchange it for the Fatigâ—â— and Trouble of Audiences and Consultations Alphonâ—â— the Wise knew the Causes of Earthquakes but coulâ— not regulate the Commotions of his Kingdoms thâ— Coelestial orbs his Ingenuity penetrated yet knew noâ— how to defend the Empire offered and Crown haereditary to him The Sultan of Egypt upon his famâ— sent Embassadours to him with very considerable presents in the mean time almost all the Cities of Castilâ— revolted Thus it usually happens Princes too mucâ— addicted to the Studies of Wisdom advance their Reputation among Foreigners and lose it with their Subjects Their Learning is admired by those to these sometimes prejudicial for Men of mean parts are generally better Governours than men of ingenuity 10 Hebetiores quam acutiores ut plurimum melius Rempub. administrant Thucyd. lib. 3. A Mind too intent upon Speculation is usually slow in Action and fearful in Resolution for of necessity many different and contrary Reasons must occur to such a Person which either wholly take away or obstruct the liberty of his Judgment If an Eye looks upon Objects by the Sun 's Light reflected it clearly and distinctly sees them as they are whereas if it be fixed directly against the Sun's Rays 't is so dazled with too much lustre that it can't so much as distinguish the Colours and Figures of them It happens thus to Wits those who too eagerly apply themselves to the Studies of Wisdom and Learning are less fit for publick business Right Reason never judges better than when free and disengaged from the Disputations and Subtilties of the Schools nor without Reason did the wise K. Solomon call that the worst of Travails which himself had tryed 11 I gave my Heart to search out by Wisdom concerning all things that are done under Heaven This sore Travail hath God given to the Sons of Men to be exercised with â—â—â—les 1. 13. For there are some of the liberal Sciences which to have a superficial Knowledge of is commendable but to make them ones whole Business and desire to attain a Perfection in them very prejudicial 12 Sunt enim quaedam ex liberalibus scientiis quos usque ad aliquid discere honestius sit penitus vero illis tradere atque usque ad extremum persequi velle valde noxium Arist. lib. 8. Pol. Wherefore 't is very convenient that prudence moderate a little that desire of knowledge which is usually most vehement in the best Wits as we read Agricola's Mother did who cooled the heat of her Sons Mind when in his youth he seem'd to follow the study of Philosophy more eagerly than was allowable for a Roman and Senatour 13 sed in prima juventa studium Philosophiae acrius quam concessum Rom. â—c senatâ—ri hausisse ni prudentia matris incensum ac flagrantem animum coercuisset Tac. in vâ—t Agr. As in Vices so in Learning there is excess 14 Retinuitque quod dâ—fficillimum est ex sapientia modum Ibid. and this is as hurtful to the
in Injuries as well offered as received let him always use the same Crystal of right Reason through which he may see every thing equally without disguise or â—allacy That Indifference and Justice in giving a due Estimate of things becomes none more than a Prince who ought to perform the same Office in his Kingdom as the Tongue of a Balance in a pair of Scales and agreeable thereto pass a true and sincere Judgment of all things that his Government may be just whose Balance will never hang even if the Passions have place or all things be not weighed in the Scale of right Reason Upon this account Masters ought to come with singular Caâ—e and Industry to instruct the Prince's Mind discovering those Errors of the Will and the Vanity of its Perswasions that free and disengaged from Passion he may pass an unprejudiced Judgment on every thing For really if we throughly examine the fall of so many Empires so many Revolutions in States such a multitude of Kings and Princes deposed and murthered we shall find the first Origin of these misfortunes to have been the Passions having shaken off their Obedience and their refusal to submit to Reason whose Subjects they are by the Law of Nature Nor is any thing more pestilent to a Commonwealth than those irregular Appetites or the particular Ends which every one as he pleases purposes to himself I don't hereby contend to have these Passions wholly razed or extinguished in a Prince for without them he would be absolutely incapable of any generous Action Nature having not furnished us with Love Anger Hope Fear and other the like Affections to no purpose for though these are not Virtues they are however their attendants and means without which they are neither attainable nor practicable 'T is the abuse only and inordinacy of them I disapprove of those are to be corrected that a Prince's Actions be not guided by Passion but his whole Government by Prudence and Policy Those things which are common to other Men are not allowable in a Prince 5 Regum est ita vivere ut non modo homini sed ne cupiditati quidem serviant M. Tull. in Orat. Syll. Charles the Fifth if at any time he would indulge Anger or Indignation did it in private and remote from Company not publickly when he represented the Person and Majesty of an Emperor for in this Capacity a Prince is rather the Idea of a Governor than a Man and rather his Peoples than his own Man Nothing is then to be determined out of Affection but all things examined by the Rule and Standard of Reason not by his Inclination but Art A Prince's Behaviour should be rather Political than Natural his designs proceed rather from the Heart of the Commonwealth than his own Private Persons usually make their own Interest and Advantage the Measure of their Actions Princes are to have the Publick Good in view In a private Man to conceal his Passions is look'd upon to be a sign of too close and reserv'd a Temper in Princes even Policy sometimes require it There appeared not the least Symptom of Passion in Tiberius when Piso presented himself to him after having according to his order dispatched Germanicus which occasioned no small Jealousy in Piso 6 Nullâ— magis exterritus est quam quod Tiberium sine miseratâ—ne sine ira obstinatum â—lauâ—umque vidit ne quo affectu perumperetur Tac. 3. Ann. He who Commands many should with many vary his Affections or if possible appear free from them 7 〈◊〉 est sapere qui ubicumque opus sit aniâ—â—um possis flectere Terent. endeavour in the same Hour as occasions differ to seem Severe and Courteous Just and Merciful Liberal and Frugal 8 Tempoâ—i apâ—ari decet Sen. in Mâ—d. Tiberius was a great Master 9 Haâ—d fâ—cile qâ—i despexerit illa in câ—gniâ—â—sne mentem Principis 〈…〉 misouit â—ra â—lementiae signa Tac. 3 Ann. of this Art whose Mind it was not easy to discover he knew so well how to mingle the Symptoms of his Anger and Satisfaction A good Prince commands himself and serves his People but if he neglect to break or conceal the natural Tendency of his Mind his Actions will be always uniform whence every one will presently see the Scope of his Designs contrary to one of the principal Maxims of Policy which for this very reason recommends variety of Methods in Acting that the Prince's Designs may not be known Nor is it by any means safe for him to let others discover his Nature and Inclinations For there 's no easier access to his Mind than that which 't is necessary he keep free and reserved if he desire to have his Kingdom well-governed For as soon as his Ministers have once discovered his Inclination immediately they flatter him and encourage the same in themselves If in any thing the Prince be obstinate and opinionative they are so too and now nothing but perversness governs But if it shall be at any time the Prince's Interest to court the Peoples Favour and Applause let him rather so behave himself that what the People like or dislike he may seem to have a natural Inclination or Aversion for Aristotle puts Bashfulness in the number of the Passions denies it to be a Moral Virtue because a fear of Infamy and therefore seems incompatible with a great Man whose Actions being all squar'd by the Rule of right Reason he has nothing to be ashamed of According to St. Ambrose however 't is a Virtue which regulates our Actions 10 Pulchra virtus est verecundia suavis gratia quae non solum in factis sed etiam in ipsis spectatur sermonibus ne modum praetergrediaris loâ—uendi ne quid indecorum sermo resonet tuus St. Ambros. by which I conceive he means that ingenuous and liberal Shame or rather Modesty which like a Bridle restrains us from the Commission of any ignominious or unseemly Action and is a token of a good Genius and no small argument that there remain in that mind some Seeds of Virtue though not yet deeply rooted I am apt to believe Aristotle speaks of another vitious and irregular Bashfulness which is an obstacle to Virtue we may say of both as of Dew which falling moderately nourishes and refreshes Corn but when thick like small Snow burns up and kills it No Virtue can be freely exercised when this Passion has once prevailed nor is any thing more Pernicious to Princes for this reason above all that it has the appearance of Virtue as if it were in a Prince a sign of Candor and not rather of a mean and abject Spirit not to be able to deny contradict reprehend or correct without a Blush Such as these straiten themselves too much in their Grandeur are in a manner afraid of Shadows and what is worse make themselves Slaves to those they ought to govern Besides how unbecoming is it to see in
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
should raise himself upon his Legs again Even after Daniel was thrown among the Lions Darius thought him not yet secure enough from those who envied him the King's Favour and so fearing more Mens Envy than the Wild Beasts Cruelty he sealed the Stone which was laid upon the Lions Den with his own Signet and with the Signet of his Lords that no mischief might be done him 9 That the purpose might not be chang'd concerning Daniel Lat. Vers. Ne quid fieret contra Danielem Dan. 6. 17. Sometimes to avoid Envy and its Inconveniences 't were advisable to embark those in the same Fortune whose Emulation may be feared Thus the Remora which sticking to the outside of the Ship stops its Course loses its strength when taken in 10 Peculiâ—riter miratum quo mode adhaerens â—enuisset nec idem polleret in navigiâ—â— recepâ—us Plin lib. 32. c. 1. Envy does not always gnaw lofty Cedars sometimes she tires her Teeth and bloodies her Lips with the lowest Thorns which Nature her self seems to have in a manner hated Insomuch as not to look on even the Miseries and Calamities of others without Spite and Indignation whether it be that her Malice is wholly mad and unreasonable or because she cannot endure the Sufferer's strength of Mind and Constancy or the Fame Fortune's Injuries usually beget There are to be found in the Person of the present Author many things to make his Case deservedly deplorable none or very few to render him envied nevertheless there are some who envy him these continual Cares and Fatigues though little acknowledged or requited There seems to be something of fatality in this Emulation against him it produc'd it self without any reason and often asperses him with things he had by hear-say from others before he could have so much as imagined Notwithstanding his mind so full of Candor and mindful of his Duty is so far from being disturbed at these things that he rather loves that Envy and Indignation perceiving it to awaken his Courage and daily excite it to make a further Progress Princes therefore who are so far in Degree and Dignity superior to others ought chiefly to endeavour to despise Envy He that has not Spirit enough for that how will he have enough to be a Prince To go to subdue it by kindness or rigour were plain Imprudence All other Monsters Hercules tamed against this neither Force nor Obligations were to any purpose Nothing can silence the Peoples Clamours for whatever Favours you confer they take for Debts nay always promise themselves greater than they receive Obloquy and Detraction ought not to quench in a Prince the desire of Glory nor deter him from executing his Enterprizes Dogs bark at the Moon but she easily despises them and proceeds in her Course The principal Art of Government is to be able to endure Envy Envy is not very prejudicial to Monarchies but rather generally enflames Virtue and makes it more illustrious especially if the Prince be Just and Constant and donâ—t too easily give credit to Calumnies But in Republicks where each Man goes for a part and can execute the Desires of his Passions with the help of Friends and Relations 't is very dangerous raising Difcord and Clandestine Conspiracies whence afterwards arise Civil Wars which are the Causes of all Revolutions in States 'T was that in former times ruined Hannibal and many other great Men and in this our Age has called in question the unparallelâ—d Fidelity of Angelo Baduero that famous Venetian whom you may deservedly call the Glory and Ornament of that Commonwealth A Man so desirous of and pasâ—ionate for the Publick Good that even while under banishment and unjustly oppressed and persecuted by envious Men he was in all things strangely sollicitous for the Preservation and Welfare of his Country The most Sovereign Remedy against Envy in Republicks is an Equality of all the Members of them so as that all Pomp and Ostentation be prohibited for nothing so excites Emulation as the Splendor and Plenty of Riches This made the Romans take so much care to regulate and reduce the superfluous Expences of Feasts and to divide their Lands and Possessions that their Citizens might be all equal in Strength and Estate Envy in Princes is very unbecoming their Eminency and Grandeur as well for its being the Vice of an Inferior towards his Superiors as because it must be but a very inconsiderable Glory which can't shine without obscuring others The Pyramids of Egypt were reckoned among the Seven Wonders of the World for receiving Light on all sides of them without casting the least Shade on any Bodies near 11 Pyramides in Egypto quarum in suo statu se umbra consumeâ—t ultra constructionis spatia nulla paâ—te respicitur Cassiodor l. 6. Var. Epist. 16. 'T is a sign of weakness to want that which we envy in others But nothing is more unworthy a Prince than to envy the Excellence and Prudence of his Ministers for they are in a manner Parts and Members of him the Head envies not the Feet for being so strong as to support the Body or the Arms because they can labour it glories rather in being furnished with such Instruments However self-love sometimes is the reason that as Princes are Superior to others in Power so also they are desirous to surpass them in the Gifts of Mind and Body Even the fame of Lucan's Verses was a disturbance to Nero in the midst of all his Grandeur 12 Lucanum propriae causae accendebant quod famaâ— carminum ejus premebat Nero. Tac. lib. 15. Ann. Wherefore those who have to do with Princes ought to be very cautious not to seem to enter into a Dispute with them for Knowledge or Ingenuity or if at any time they are by some accident obliged to it submit rather and voluntarily yield them the Victory this being not only Prudence but Respect due to Princes The Cherubims those Spirits of Knowledge and Wisdom which stood before the Throne of God in Ezekiel's Vision with singular Modesty covered their Hands with their Wings 13 And there appear'd in the Cherubims the form of a Man's hand uâ—der their Wings Ezâ—k 10. 8. This I wish indeed that the Prince would be jealous of that Veneration which some to get the greater Interest in him too ambitiously demand and accordingly moderate a little the excess of those his Favours Yet by what Charm I know not this love and kindness inchants a Prince's Mind and blinds Envy Saul could not but look upon David with an ill Eye when he saw his great Exploits though done for his Service more applauded than his own 14 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward 1 Sam. 18. 9. Whereas Abasuerus could easily suffer Haman that great Favourite of his to be worshipped and honoured by all as a King 15 And all the King's Servants that were in the 〈◊〉 bâ—w'd and reverenced Haman for the King had so commanded
rendred suspicious they ought then to be Grave without Moroseness Graceful without Affectation of Force without Roughness lastly Common not Vulgar Even with God Words well ordered seem to have most weight and influence 15 Job 41. 3. But the Tongue and Pen require no where more prudent Moderation than in Promises in which Princes either out of a natural Generosity or to obtain their Ends with more ease or to avoid a Danger are usually extravagant which when they can't perform they lose their Credit and procure themselves Enemies so that it had been better not to have been so lavish of them There have been more Wars occasioned by the Breach of Promises than by Injuries For Interest is seldom in these so much concerned as in them And Princes are generally moved more by their own Advantage than by Injuries received To make large Promises and not keep them is interpreted by a Superior an Affront by an Equal Injustice by an Inferior Tyranny 16 Better is it that thou shouldest noâ— vow tâ—an that thou shouldest vow and noâ— pay Eâ—cles 5. 5. The Tongue therefore should not be too forward to promise without assurance that the Promise can be performed 17 â—e not hasty in thy Tongue and in thy Deeds slâ—ck and remisâ— Eccl. 4. 29. In Threats also the Tongue easily goes beyond its Limits for the Heat of Anger soon puts it in Motion and when Revenge can't equal the Passion of necessity Prudence nay and Supream Power must lâ—se not a little of their Credit 'T is therefore much more adviseable to dissemble Injuries that the Effects of Satisfaction may be considered before the Prince threatens it He that uses Menaces before his Hands designs either to make them the only Instruments of his Revenge or to give his Enemy warning There 's no more terâ—ible threatning than Silence If mine 's already let oâ—â— no one is afraid those are always more formidable that lie still conceal'd under-ground for the Effects of the Imagination are usually greater than those of the Senses Detraction has in it a great mixture of Envy and Ostentation it is always almost of an Inferior towards his Superior and consequently much below a Prince by whose Lips no Man's Honour ought to be brought in question If he sees Vices he should punish them if other small Defects correct or connive at them The praise of brave Actions and Services is a part of their Reward excites the Person commended to as it were an Emulation of himself and is a Spur to others However to commend all Subjects indifferently is not without danger For the Judgment they pass on them being various and uncertain and that Praise a kind of definitive Sentence time may discover to have been rashly given in the mean time the Prince's Honour will oblige him not to retract easily what he has once approved As well therefore for this reason as not to give occasion to Envy great Circumspection is required in praising Persons which is also one of the Holy Spirit 's Oracles Iudge no one blessed before his Death 18 Vid. Lat. Vers. Ante mortem ne laudes hominem quenquam Eccles. 11. 30. It was a principal Maxim among the Stoicks to commend no one rashly because scarce any thing can be aâ—firmed with certainty and we are often deceived in things that appear to us most praise-worthy EMBLEM XII THE Heart of Man Nature that skilful Architect has hid in the most retired part of the Breast however least probably seeing it self thus concealed and without Witnesses it should do any thing against the Law of Reason she has withal given Man that native Colour or Fire of Blood for Modesty to inflame his Countenance withal and accuse his Heart if it deviate from Honour in any thing or think otherwise than the Tongue speaks both which ought always to have the same Motion and a mutual Agreement in all things But Malice by degrees effaces that Mark which is used in Children to shew its self Hence the Romans well-knowing the importance of Truth for the establishment of Society and maintaining Commerce in the Commonwealth and desiring nothing more than to preserve the shame of deserting it among Men hung about their Childrens Neck a Golden Heart which they called Bulla an Hieroglyphick says Ausonius invented by Pythagoras to signify the Ingenuity Men ought to profess in Conversation and the Sincerity they should observe in Truth wearing at their Breast a Heart uncovered as it were and open the Genuine Emblem of that Truth And this we commonly mean when speaking of a Man of Veracity we say he carries his Heart in his Hands or that he is open-hearted The same the Egyptian Priests signified by the Sapphire they put upon their Princes Breasts to represent emblematically the same Truth as their Ministers of Justice also used to wear about them some Figure of it Nor should any one imagine that for the Prince to be so sincere and professed a Lover of Truth would perhaps but give an occasion to Deceit and Cozenage for on the contrary nothing is more effectual in preventing those Cheats and driving away Lyes which never dare look Truth in the face The same Observation I take that advice of Pythagoras to allude to never to speak with one's Back towards the Sun thereby intimating that nothing ought to be uttered repugnant to Truth for a Liar can't bear the bright Rays of Truth signified by the Sun upon a double account both because of the Sun's Unity as for that it disperses Darkness and drives away Shades restoring to all things their true Light and proper Colours as the present Emblem shews where as soon as that Luminary is got above the Horizon the Obscurity of Night immediately flies and the Nocturnal Birds retire to the Woods dark Coverts which in that 's absence and favoured by the Silence of Night use while others sleep to seek their Prey What Confusion is the Owl in if by chance she comes into the Sun's presence In that glittering Light she Staggers to and fro and is confounded that Splendor quite blinds her and frustrates all her Tricks Can any one have so much Subtilty and Craft but they will presently fail him when he comes before an ingenuous Prince and one that is a particular Friend to Sincerity and Truth 1 Magni praesentia veri Virgil. There 's no force able to penetrate into the Designs of a candid Mind if that Candor want not some Retirements for Prudence Is there any thing more open and evident to the Eyes of the World any thing more resplendent more opposed to Shadows and Darkness than the Sun Nevertheless if any one will look stedfast upon its Rays he will discover I know not what Abuses as 't were and Obscurities of Light which so darken the Eyes that what they saw they can't tell Thus Knavery is blinded with the Light of Truth and its Foundations overturned nor can it find any more a way
Ann. Not all Nero's Liberality nor feigned Piety could wash away his Infamy for having set the City on Fire 5 Non ope humana non largitâ—onibus aut Deûm placamentis decedebat infamia quiâ— jussum incendium crederetur Tac. 13. Ann. Flattery 't is true can take care that Slanders come not to the Prince's Ears but can't help but there will be Slanderers A Prince who forbids his Actions to be spoke of renders them suspected and as the Commonalty are apt to presume the worst they are published for bad Those things are least aggravated which are not much valued Vitellius forbad any one to mention his bad Actions hence many who if they had been at liberty would have said otherwise meerly because of the Prohibition spoke more to his disadvantage 6 Prohibiti per civitatem sermones eoque plures ac si liceret vera narraturi quia vetabantur atrociora vulgaverunt 〈…〉 A Prince ought to pass over Commendations and Invectives so as not to be tickled with them nor by these dejected If Praises please him and he give ear to them every one will try to make himself Master of his Mind by Flattery if Murmurers be a disturbance to him he will decline difficult and glorious Enterprises and become sluggish in his Government To be vainly puft up at ones Praises is a sign of a slender Judgment to be offended at every thing is for private Men. To connive at many things is the part of Princes to pardon nothing that of Tyrants This those Great Emperors Theodosius Arcadius and Honorius very well knew when they commanded Ruffinus their Captain of the Guards not presently to punish the Peoples Clamours against them for said they if they proceed from Inconstancy they are to be despised if from Madness or Folly to be pitied if from Malice and a design to injure us to be pardoned 7 Quoniam si id ex levitate processerit contemnendum est si ex insania miseratione dighissimum si ab injâ—ria remittendum L. unica C. si quis imperat Malediâ— Once while the Emperor Charles the V. was at Barcelona an Accusation was brought him in Writing against some who had traduced his Actions in order to consult with him about the Sentence to be passed upon them but he inraged at the Person who presented it threw the Paper immediately into the Fire by which he then accidentally stood and burnt it It belongs I know to a Prince to inform himself of all things but nicely to examine each Word is unworthy a generous Breast 8 Omnia scire non omnia exequi Tac. in Vit. Agr. In the Roman Republick Actions only were punished not Words 9 Facta arguebantur dicta impunè erant Tac. 1. Ann. There 's a wide distance between inconsiderately speaking and maliciously acting 10 Vana à scelestis dicta à maleficiis differunt Tac. 3. Ann. The Crown would be too Thorny did the least thing prick it thus That Injury which the Person against whom it was designed don't look upon as such is very little if at all offensive 'T is too much easiness in the Prince and a sign he has a mean Opinion of himself to be moved at every trifling Report and 't is an ill Conscience that incites Men to punish Detracters a Mind pure and undefiled despises things of that Nature If the Aspersion be true the Prince's Amendment must wipe it off if false it will of its self disappear For Contempt makes such things wear off Resentment iâ— a seeming acknowledgment of them 11 Namque spreta exolescunt si trascare agnita videntur Tac. 4. Ann. The Roman Senate commanded Cremutius's Annals to be burnt which made the People more eager and desirous to read them 'T was the same with the Scurrilous Pamphlets of Vejentus which were eagerly search'd for and frequently read while not to be had without danger but by being licensed soon forgot 12 Conquisites lectitatosque donec cum periculo parabantur 〈◊〉 licentia habendi oblivionem attulit Tac. 4. Ann. Curiosity submits to no Judges fears no Punishment What is most forbid it chiefly engages The very Prohibition inhances the Value of Satyrical Pieces and when Men of Wit are punished their Authority increases 13 Punitis ingeniis gliscit Authoritas Tac. 4. Ann. Noâ— have those Kings who have used such Rigour procured themselves any thing but Disgrace but to the Author's Honour and Esteem 14 Neque aliud externi Reges 〈◊〉 qui eadem saevitia usi sunt nisi dedecus sibi atque illis gloriam peperere Tac. 4. Ann. Now as 't is much for a Prince's advantage to know what Ill others speak of him so it is not a little prejudicial to be too ready to hear Defamers For as we easily believe what is accused in others to be true 't is very obvious for the Prince either to be deceived make some unjust Resolution or err in giving Judgment This is a thing very dangerous especially in Courts where Envy and the gaping after Preferment and the Favour of Princes are Whet-stones to Defamation and Courtiers are usually like those Locusts in the Revelations having Mens Faces but Lions Teeth with which they gnaw and feed on Honour as Ears of Corn 15 Rev. 9. 5. The Holy Spirit compares their Tongues to a sharp Sword 16 Psal. 56. 5. as also to Arrows that privily strike the Innocent 17 Psal. 10. 2. David destroyed them as Enemies 18 Psal. 100. 6. No Court where they are tolerated can be at rest and their Whispers will give the Prince no less trouble than Publick Affairs The Remedy is not to hear them setting two Porters at the Ears Reason and Judgment that they be not opened without considerable occasion A Guard is no less necessary at the Ears than the Palace-Gates and yet Princes are mighty sollicitous about these take little or no care about them He that gives ear too easily to Detracters makes them audacious No one traduces others but before one who loves to hear it It would do well also to bring these Bablers and the Person accused face to face telling him what they say that for the future they may be ashamed to be the Authors of Discord This if I mistake not is meant by the Holy Spirit in these Words Hedge thy Ears about with Thorns 19 Eccl. 27. 23. Lat. Vers. That he that should put his Mouth to them to tell malicious Stories might there find his Punishment The Prince has reason to be jealous of one who dares not publickly speak what he is not afraid to whisper 20 Et hanc velim generalem tibi â—â—â—stituas regulam ut omnem qui palam veretur dicere suspectum habeas S. Bern. 1. 4. de Cons. ad Eug. c. 6. and although this care may conceal abundance of Truths from the Prince which indeed 't is for his advantage there being many Domestick things 't
were better for him to be ignorant of than to know and the best way to banish all Defamation in general yet when Accusations proceed not from Malice but a kind of Zeal to serve the Prince 't is by all means requisite to hear and well examine them looking on them as Informations absolutely necessary not only for good Government but his own Security also Hence the Emperor Constantine in a Law for that purpose assigns a Reward to those who would accuse his Ministers and Domesticks of any real Crime 21 Si quis est cujuscunque loci ardinis dignitatis qui se in quemcunque Iudicum Comitium Amicorum Palatinorum meorum aliquid veraciâ—er manifeste probare posse confidit quod non integre atque juste gessisse videatur intrepidus atque securus 〈◊〉 interpellet me ipse audiam omnia ipse cognoscam si fuerit comprobatum ipse me vindicabo L. 4. C. de Accus This is absolutely necessary that the Prince may know all that passes in his Palace at his Council-Board and in the Courts of Judicature where Fear stops the Mouth and the Favours of the Prince conferred by his Ministers make the Persons gratified dumb and not dare to discover their Faults as if forsooth this were to acknowledge the good Office and to shew their Gratitude which is rather to be esteemed Disloyalty and Treason For that Obligation they lie under to undeceive their Prince and if they observe his Ministers to be faulty to inform him is a natural Obligation of Fidelity and more binding than any other 'T is an infinite prejudice for a Prince to distribute his Favours by the Hands of his Favourites for these buy as it were others aâ— the price of them who are assisting to the neglect of their Duty at least approve and defend it and thus deluding the Prince are the reason he continues his Affection to them The Ancient Republicks very sensible how conducive Satyrs were to restrain Vice by the fear of Infamy allowed them upon Publick Theatres but these from a general Censure of Mens Morals insensibly degenerated into particular Reflections not without considerable Injury to the Honour of some hence proceeded Factions and from them popular Insurrections For as the Holy Spirit says a backbiting Tongue disturbs the Peace and is the Ruin of whole Families and Cities 22 Curse the whisperer and double tongued for such have destroyed many that were at Peace Eccles. 28. 13. So least the Correction of Manners should depend on the Malice of the Tongue or Pen there were instituted Censors who by Publick Authority took cognizance of every one's Behaviour and corrected their Vices That Office was in those times of great use and continued long in Vogue because its Jurisdiction was upheld by Modesty however in ours 't is impossible to be executed For Pride and Libertinism would presently make all the Opposition to it imaginable as they now resist the Magistracy however armed with the best Laws in the World and Publick Authority and consequently Censors would be ridiculous not without great danger to the State there being nothing more hurtful nothing that makes Vice more arrogant and insulting than for such Remedies to be applied to it as Delinquents turn into Contempt and Ridicule But as the Office of Censor was introduced for the Reformation of Manners so was it also to Register the Goods and Estates of every Citizen and to take the number of them and although that Custom prevailed a long time both among the Greeks and Latins with great Advantage to the Commonwealth yet at this day 't would be very odious and subject to vast Inconveniencies for to know so accurately the Number and Effects of Subjects is of no use but to burthen them with more Taxes and Impositions That numbring of the People of Israel under King David God punished as a most heinous Crime 23 2 Sam. 24. 10. For what is so hard and inhuman as by publishing and proclaiming every ones Estate at once to discover the advantages of Poverty and expose Riches to Envy Avarice and Rapine But if in those States the Office of Censor could heretofore be executed without these Inconveniencies 't was because its being newly instituted made it generally received and approved or else because People were then less proud and assuming less Rebels to Reason than in these our Times 24 Quid enim tam duâ—um tamque inhumanum est quam publicatione pompâque rerum famiâ—iarâ—um 〈◊〉 detegi utisitatem invidiae exponere aivitiaâ— L. 2. C. 〈◊〉 â— quiâ— quam pars EMBLEM XV. HOW I wish I could read on all Princes Breasts the Symbol of the present Emblem and that as Balls of Fire flying in the Air imitate the Splendor of the Stars and shine immediately from their being thrown out of the Hand till they turn to Ashes so in them also for the Holy Spirit compares them to â— bright Fire 1 Eccles. 50. 9. would continually burn the desire of Fame 2 Fax mentis honestae gloria nor should they much care for that Flames wanting Matter to feed on or that what burns most fiercely is withal soonest consumed For though length of Life be the common desire of Man and Beast yet have these no other end than meer living but Man of living uprightly 'T is no happiness to live but to know how to live nor does he live most who lives longest but who lives best for Life is not measured by time but the use that 's made on 't He whose Life like a Star in the midst of a Cloud or like the Full Moon shines upon others with Rays of Bounty and Munificence in its Season does undoubtedly live long 3 He was as the Morning Star in the midst of a Cloud and as the Moon at the Full. Eccles. 50. 6. As on the contrary he who lives only to himself though he lives to a great Age lives but little The Benefits and Improvements which flow from a Prince upon the State number the Days of his Life 4 Eccles. 41. 16. those who live without them Oblivion deducts from the Sum 5 The number of years is hidden to oppressors Iob 15. 20. Titus Vespasian the Emperor calling to mind once at Supper that he had done nothing for any one that Day pronounced that remarkable and justly admired Sentence Friend I have lost a Day And 't is reported of Peter King of Portugal that he was wont to say That he deserves not to be a King who does not each day bestow some Favour or Benefit upon the State No Man's Liâ—â—'s so short but it affords time enough to execute some glorious Exploit A brave Spirit in one Moment resolves and in few more executes its Resolutions What matter 's it if he falls in the attempt if the Memory he left behind raises him to Life Eternal It only can be called Life which is bounded by Fame not that which consists in Body and
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
Pluâ—arch Let your Highness I say compare your own Actions to those of your Ancestors and you will easily see the difference between yours and theirs that you may either give a true Colour to their Actions or rejoyce in the Worth of your own if in any thing you happen to have out-done your Predecessors Let your Royal Highness therefore please to consider whether you Equal your Father in Courage your Grandfather in Piety Philip the Second in Prudence Charles the Fifth in Greatness of Spirit Philip the First in Affability Ferdinand the Catholick in Policy in Liberality that Alphonso who was Nick-named from his broken Hands in Justice King Alphonso the Eleventh and lastly King Ferdinand the Holy in Religion And that moreover your Highness would be stir'd up by a generous Emulation to a glorious Desire of imitating these Great Men. Quintus Maximus and Publius Scipio were used to say that when e're they beheld the Images of their Ancestors their Souls were fired and excited on to Virtue Not that they were moved by the meer Wax or Stone but that comparing their own Actions to those of others they could not rest till they equall'd them in Glory and Renown Elogies inscribed on Tombs speak not to the Dead but to the Living They are certain Summaries which for Memory's sake the Virtue of the Predecessor leaves to the Successor Mattathias said That by calling to mind the Actions of their Ancestors his Sons should acquire present Glory and eternal Renown 2 Call to remembrance what Acts our Fathers did in their time so shall ye receive great Honour and an everlasting Name 1 Macc. 2. 52. For which Cause also the High Priests who were Princes of the People wore upon their Breasts the Virtues of the Twelve Patriarchs their Predecessors engraven upon as many Stones 3 And in the four Rows of Stones was the Glory of the Fathers graven Wisd. 8. 24. In effect it becomes a Prince to vie with his Ancestors in Glory not with his Inferiors for 't is no praise to excel them and to be out-done by them the greatest Scandal The Emperor Tiberius observed as Law all the Sayings and Exploits of Augustus 4 Qui omnia facta dictaquâ— ejus vice legis observem Tac. 4. Ann. Moreover let your Highness compare the Purple you wear at present to that you wore formerly for we are oftentimes desirous to forget what we have been for fear of upbraiding our selves with what we are Let your Highness consider whether you are grown better or worse for we find it often happens that at the beginning of their Reigns Princes minds are gloriously bent upon the Execution of their Office in which afterwards they grow more remiss Almost all begin their Reigns with Great and Glorious Spirits but at last by degrees either they sink under the Weight of Affairs or grow Effeminate by Luxury and Ease with which they easily suffer themselves to be taken forgetting they are obliged to keep and preserve their once gotten Glory This very thing Tacitus remarks in the Emperor Tiberius that at last after a long Experience in Affairs he was altered and ruined by the mere force of Government 5 An cum Tiberius pâ—st tantam â—erum experientâ—am vi dominationis convulsus 〈◊〉 sit Tac. 6. Ann. A long Reign creates Pride and Pride the hatred of the People as the same Author observes in King Vannius 6 Prima Imperii aetate clarus acceptusque popularibus mox diuturniâ—atem in superbiam mutans odio accolarum sâ—â—al 〈…〉 circumventis Tac. 12. Ann. Many begin their Reigns with extraordinary Modesty and Justice but few continue so because their Ministers are Flatterers by whom they are taught to Act boldly and unjustly As it happened to Vespasian who in the beginning of his Reign was not so much bent upon Injustice until by the Indulgence of Fortune and Advice of Evil Counsellors he learnt it 7 Ipso Vespasiano inter initia Imperii ad obtinendas iniquitates hanâ— perinde obstinato donec indulgentia fortunae praâ—is Magistris didicit ansusque est Tac. 2. Hist. Let your Highness compare not only your own Virtues and Actions but those of your Ancestors with one another by confronting the Purple of some stain'd with Vices to that of others glossy and shining with great and noble Actions For Examples never move us more than when they are confronted one with another Let your Highness compare the Royal Robe of King †Marian. Hist. Hisp. Hermenigildus with that of Peter the Second King of Arragon one glittering with Stars and died with Blood which he had gloriously spilt in the War against Leuvigildus his Father who was infected with the Arrian Heresy the other trampled under the Feet of Horses in a Battle at Girone when he brought Succours to the Albigensians in France Let your Highness cast your Eyes back upon past Ages and you will find Spain ruined by the licentious Lives of the Kings Witiza and Roderick but recovered again by the Piety and Courage of Pelagius You 'll see Peter deposed and killed for his Cruelty and his Brother Henry the Second advanced to the Crown for his singular Mildness You 'll see the Glorious Infant Ferdinand blessed by Heaven with many Kingdoms for that he would not accept of that of his Grandson King Iohn the Second although there were those who freely offered it him On t'other side the Infant Sancho accused by his own Father of Disobedience and Ingratude before Pope Martin the Fourth for that he would have usurped the Throne in his life-time This Comparison your Highness may follow as a sure Guide in the Management of your Affairs for though by Discourse and Conversation you may know the Lustre and Brightness of Heroick Exploits as also the Baseness and Infamy of Ill Actions yet all these move us not so much considered in themselves as in those Persons whom they have made Glorious in the World or Despicable EMBLEM XVII A Tree bedeck'd with Trophies is still a Trunk as afore those which were an Honour to others are but a burthen to it So truly the glorious Exploits of Ancestors are but a Shame and Disgrace to the Successor unless he imitates the same Nor does he inherit their Glory but their Actions only by an Imitation of which he will obtain the other Just as light is reflected from a Diamond because it finds substance but quickly pierces Glass which is thin and transparent so if the Successor be Stout and Brave the Glory of his Predecessors adds yet a greater Lustre and Brightness to him but if like thin and paultry Glass he can't withstand the Lustre it serves only to discover his vile and abject Soul The Actions of Ancestors which are only Examples to others are Laws to the Successor for the whole Esteem and Prerogative of Nobility is grounded upon this Supposition that the Descendants will imitate the Actions of their Forefathers He who
not be govern'd without them call'd them Two Gods of the World They are the Poles of the Orb of Civil Authority the two Lights of a State without which it would be overwhelm'd in foggy darkness They are the Props of Princes Thrones 6 For the Throne is establish'd by righteousness Prov. 16. 12. For this reason Ezekiel commanded King Zedekiah to lay down his Crown and 〈◊〉 Regalia as being unworthy of them in that he could not distribute Rewards with Justice 7 Remove the Diadem and take off the Crown c. Ezek. 21. 2â— The Prince in acknowledging Merits acknowledges a Reward due for they are Relatives and if he gives not that he is unjust The importance of Rewards and Punishments was not well consider'd by the Legislators and Lawyers who have been altogether upon Penalties and Punishments without ever mentioning Rewards That wise Legislator of the Partidas consider'd â—elter of this for that he might join one with the â—â—her he intituled it particularly of Rewards Since therefore Rewards and Punishments are so necessary for a Prince that without this Balance he can't walk steadily upon the Rope of Government he ought well to consider the right use of them For this reaâ—â—n the Lictors Rods were bound up but the Crowns â—eing made of Leaves which soon fade were wrought 〈◊〉 the Victory that while those were loos'd and these were finish'd some time might interfere between the Fault and the Punishment between the Desert and the Reward and that the Merit and Demerit might be duly consider'd Rewards inconsiderately given scarce merit thanks He soon repents who bestows them rashly nor is Virtue safe from him who punishes without Discretion If the Punishment be extravagant the People excuse the Fault and blame the Severity If Virtue and Vice be equally rewarded the one is disgusted the other becomes insolent If in equality of Merit one is rewarded above the other it creates Envy and Ingratitude for Envy and Gratitude for the same thing can never go together also the method of dispensing Rewards and Punishments ought to be consider'd for Rewards ought not to be deferr'd till they grow despicable as being despair'd of nor Punishments till they seem not due as being aton'd 〈◊〉 by length of time or as not being now exemplary to others for as much as the Cause is wholly worn out of Memory King Alphonso the Wise one of your Highness's Progenitors very judiciously admonish'd his Posterâ—ty how they ought to behave themselves in Rewards and Punishments saying That we ought to behâ—vse our selves with Moderation as well in the Good we do as in the Ill we punish for that in both the one and the other we must have regard to the Circumstances of the Person Time and Place and that the World properly speaking is supported but by the Observation of these two things Rewarding those that do well and Punishing those that do otherwise Sometimes 't will be convenient to defer the distribution of Rewards that they may not seem due from Justice and that those who expect them flush'd with those hopes may more vigorously perform their Duty nor is there any Merchandise cheaper than that which is bought with the hopes of Reward 'T is certain Men do more out of hopes than for Rewards already receiv'd Whence it appears how prejudicial is Succession in Publick Offices and Rewards which Tiberius consider'd when he oppos'd the Proposal of Gallus that the Candidates should be nam'd every five Years who should succeed in the Lieutenancies of Legions and the Praetorship for that others for want of hopes would flag in their Duty and Service 8 Subverti leges quae sua spatia exercendae Candidatorum 〈◊〉 quaerendisque hand potiundis honoribus statuerint Tac. 2. Ann. In which Tiberius did not only respect the publick Detriment but also that he should hereby lose the Prerogative of distributing Rewards in which he conceiv'd the strength of his Government consisted 9 Hand dubium erat eam sententiam altius penetrare arcana iâ—perii teâ—tari Tac. 2. Ann. And so by a plausible Oration he retain'd his Authority 10 Atque ita favorabili in speciem eratione vim imperii retinuit Ibid. Court Favourites uncertain of the continuance of their Power â—â—rely remedy this inconvenience of future Succession thereby to adjust their own Actions to weaken the Prince's Power and free themselves from the importunity of Petitioners A Prince being as it were the Heart of his State as King Alphonso said The vital Spirits of Riches and Rewards should by it be imparted to the other Members even the reâ—â—otest Parts though they cannot injoy his Presence should nevertheless participate of his Favours Princes are seldom mov'd by this consideration They usually Reward those only who are about them being overcome either by the importunity of Petitions or by the flattery of their Courtiers or through want of Resolution to refuse them And so as Rivers only refresh the Grounds through which they run so they gratify and reward those only who are near them unmindful of the Pains and Perils their Foreign Ministers undergo to preserve their Authority and to do that which they themselves cannot All Favours are shared among Courtiers and Parasites those Services are most valued which smell of Civet and Pulville not those which are smear'd with Blood and Dust those which are seen not those which are heard of at a distance as well because flattery sooner strikes the Eyes than Ears as because the Mind is tickled with the vain Glory of present Submissions and Acknowledgements For these Reasons CourtServices are sooner rewarded than Desert Ambition before Zeal and Complaisance before Fatigue and Toil. A Splendor which pays it self He who does Absent Services may perhaps be commended not rewarded He will be for a while fed with vain Hopes and Promises but will at last die starv'd with Despair The Remedy is coming sometimes to Court for no Letters or Memorials are so perswasive as Presence The Buckets of Pretention are not to be fill'd unless they are dipp'd into the Court-waters The Presence of Princes is as fertile as that of the Sun All things flourish when that shines but fade and wither in its absence To him who stands under the Tree the Fruit drops into his hand Whence all covet to live at Court and decline Foreign Employments in which the Prince has most need of Ministers This would be remedied if the Bait of Rewards was thrown farther off if they were bestow'd where deserv'd not where they are begg'd without need of Petitions or Importunities King Theodorick comforted the absent saying That from his Court he observ'd their Actions and discern'd their Merits 11 Abunde cognoscetur quisquis fama teste laudatur quapropter longissime constitutum mentis nostrae oculus serenus inspexit vidit meriâ—um Cassid lib. 9. cap. 22. Pliny said of Trajan that it was easier for his Eyes to forget the Persons of the absent than
it And if this Dissimulation be a politick Artifice to unite Peoples Minds and to maintain the State true Religion would better do it than false for this is fading that Eternal Many Empires founded upon false Religions proceeding from Ignorance God has preserv'd a long time rewarding by that means their Morality and blind Worship and barbarous Sacrifices with which they fought him not that they were acceptable to him but for the religious Simplicity wherewith they were sometimes offer'd But has never preserved those Empires which counterfeited Religion more through Malice and Artifice than Ignorance St. Isidore at his Death foretold the Spaniards that if they stray'd from the True Religion they should be subdu'd by their Enemies but if they persisted in it their Grandeur should be rais'd above all Nations Which was verified by the Yoak of the Africans which began from the time that Witiza deny'd Obedience to the Pope after which liberty of Worship and licenciousness of Vice disturbed the Publick Peace and ruined Military Discipline which brought heavy Misfortunes upon the King himself and his Sons as well as upon the Kingdom till being subdu'd and chastis'd Spain acknowledg'd its Errors and again found Heaven propitious in that little handful of Christians with which Pelagius retir'd into a Cave in the Mountain Ausena call'd Cavâ—longa where the Arrows and Stones of the Moors were miraculouâ—ly retorted upon themselves †Mar. Hist. of Spain From that the Monarchy began to revive and rose though after a long time to that greatness which it at present enjoys as a Reward of its constancy in the Catholick Religion Since then Religion is the Soul of Governments a Prince ought to use all possible care to preserve it The first Spirit which Romulus Numa Lycurgus Solon Plato and other Founders infus'd into them was Religion 1 Omnium primam rem ad multitudinem imperitam efficacissimam Deorum metum injiciendum ratus Liv. for that unites Mens minds more than necessity The Emperors Tiberius and Adrian prohibited all Foreign Religion and were wholly intent upon the Preservation of their own As also Theodosius and Constantine who established Laws and Punishments against those who revolted from the Catholick Faith Their Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella never tolerated the Exercise of any other Religion In which commendable was the Constancy of King Philip the Second and his Successors who could never be induc'd to compose the Seditions of the Netherlands by Toleration of Liberty of Conscience though they might thereby have retainâ—d those Provinces and sav'd those Immense Treasures which were expended in the War They preferr'd the Honour and Glory of God to their own Ease and Tranquility imitating Flavius Jovianus who being proclaim'd Emperor by the Army excus'd himself saying That he was a Christian and that 't was not fit he should Command them who were not so and would not Consent till all the Soldiers had promis'd to turn Christians Though he might inherit this pious Constancy from his Ancestors since the Eighth Council of Toledo mentions the same thing of King Recefuinthus 2 Ob hoc sui Regni apicem à Deo solidari praeoptaret si Catholicae fidâ—i per euntium turmas acquireret indignum reputans Catholicae fidei Principeâ— sacrileges imperare Conciâ— Tol. 8. cap. 11. Of which Piety your Royal Highness's Father Philip the Fourth of glorious Memory is a signal Example to your Royal Highness In the beginning of whose Reign it being argu'd in Council whether the Truce should be continued with the Dutch and some of his Counsellors urging that it was not Policy to begin War or any change of Affairs in the beginning of a Reign he oppos'd them saying That he would not have his Name branded with the Infamy of having maintain'd one hours Peace with the Enemies of God and his Crown and so immediately broke the Truce For this ardent Zeal and Constancy in the Catholick Religion King Recaredus merited the Name of Catholick as long before the Kings of France that of most Christian In the Third Council of Toledo and in that of Barcelona which Title the Kings Sisebutus and Ervigius kept which their Successors afterwards lost till re-assum'd by King Alphonso the First to distinguish him from Hereticks and Schismaticks Though 't is a King's Duty to maintain Religion in his Realms and to promote the Worship of God as his Vicars in Temporal Affairs that they may Govern to his Glory and their Subjects Safety yet they ought to know that 't is not in them to decide Controversies in Religion and Divine Worship for the care of this belongs directly to the Spiritual Head of the Church to whom alone Christ has given this Authority the Execution Preservation and Defence thereof only is committed to Kings as that Head shall order and direct The Priests sharply check'd King Uzziah and God severely punish'd him because he offer'd Incense 3 And they withstood Vzziah the King and said unto him it appertaineth not unto thee Vzziah to burn Incense unto the Lord but to the Priests 2 Chroâ— 26. 18. 'T is necessary for the Preservation of the Purity of Religion that it be the same in all the Parts of the Christian World True Worship would soon be lost if each Prince might accommodate it to his own Ends and Designs In those Provinces and Kingdoms where this has been attempted there searce remain any Tracts thereof so that the poor distracted People are wholly ignorant of the True Religion The Spiritualty and Temporalty are two distinct Jurisdictions this is adorn'd by the Authority of the other and that is maintain'd by the others Power 'T is an Heroick Obedience which submits to the Vicar of him who disposes of Crowns and Scepters As arbitrary and free from the Laws as Princes pretend to be they must still pay Obedience to the Apostolick Decrees and are oblig'd to give force to them and see them strictly observ'd in their Dominions especially when 't is not only expedient for the Spiritual but also the Temporal Good that those Holy Decrees be put in Execution nor should they suffer any one to violate them to the dammage and prejudice of their Subjects and their Religion EMBLEM XXV THE Stork builds its Nest upon the Church Steeple and by the Sanctity of the Place makes its Succession secure The Prince who founds his Kingdom upon the Triangular stone of the Church renders it strong and lasting The Athenians once consulting the Oracle of Delphi how they might defend themselves against Xerxes who with a vast Fleet of twelve Hundâ—ed Sail was coming to fall on them were answer'd That if they could fence their City with a wooden Wall they should get the better Themistocles interpreted Apollo's meaning to be that all the Citizens should go on Ship board which done they obtain'd a Victory over that prodigious Fleet. The same Success will attend a Prince who shall embark his Grandeur in the Ship of the Church for
ones is often highly extoll'd The same thing is usual in Virtues the same shall create one Prince a good another an ill Character this is the Times and Subjects If the Nobility be unruly the Commonalty dissolute and licentious the Prince that tries to reduce them to Reason will not escape the name of bad Every Kingdom would have a Prince of its own Stamp Whence 't is that though a Prince govern by the same good Methods as have in anothers Government been applauded yet shall he not be so well receiv'd nor equally commended excepâ— the Subjects of both alike good Hence t is not without danger for a Prince to bâ— wholly guided by Examples it being veâ—y difficult iâ— not absolutely impossible that in any one Case thâ—â— should be an equal Concurrence of all those very Circumstances which are in another These Second Causâ—â— of the Coelestial Orbs turn round continually and form each Day new Aspects of Constellations by which they produce their Effects and the Changes oâ— Things And as the Stars once appearing never retuâ—â— exactly in the same manner again so neither have thâ—â— the like Operations upon things here below and by the Variation of some Accidents the Successes too 〈◊〉 varied in which Chance has sometimes more Efficaâ— than Prudence Others Examples in my Opinion deceive Princes no less than to follow none at all Wherefore what has happened to others deserves Conâ—ideration to establish a prudent Policy not that all its Maxims should be squared by â—heir Rule and that exposed to the Hazard and Uncertainty of Casualties Others Events are to be an Instruction not a Law 1 Plures aliorum eventis docentur Tac. 4. Ann. Those Examples alone can be imitated with any Assurance that result from Causes and Reasons essentially good and common to the Law of Nature and that of Nations for they are at all times the same As aâ—so those of such Princes as have preserved themselves in Credit and Honour by Religion Justice and Clemency and other Virtues and Moral Actions Yet in these Cases too careful Attention is required for Manners and the Reputation of Virtues often change nor is it new or unusual for a Prince to be ruined by the â—ame that at another time made him flourish All these things therefore Prudence ought to consider aâ—d not put too much Confidence in its self but consult the various Accidents that every day happen not looking upon things to come as certain however discâ—eet Judgment and Diligence seem to have seaâ—cht and provided â—gainst them For Events are not always correspondent to their means nor do they at aâ—l times depend upon the ordinary Connexion of Causes where Humane Counsels usually take Effect but on that supeâ—ior Cause which directs all other This makes our Thoughts and Suppositions so uncertain and the hopes â—ounded thereon so subject to Disappointment No one was in all Mens Opinion farther from the Empire than Claudius yet Heaven had then design him for Tiberius's Successor 2 Quippe faâ—â— spe veneratione potius omnes destinabantur Imperâ—â— quam quem fatuâ—â—m Principem forâ—una in occulto teneâ—â—t Tac. 3. Ann. This is more common in the Eâ—ection of Popes wherein humane Industry is very often baffled Divine Providence does not always use natural Means at least sometimes produces by the same different Effects drawing streight Lines by a crooked Rule so what should have been advantageous proves frequently prejudicial to the Prince The same Pillar of Fire in the Wilderness gave Light to God's People and filled the Enemies Camp with Darkness The greatest Humane Prudence is oftentimes at a loss wheâ—e a Man expected Secuâ—â—ty he sometimes finds Ruin as it happened to Viriatus who was betrayed and killed by those very Ambassadors he had sent to the Consul Servilius A Misfortune we have once sustained we don't easily believe we shall suffer again but on the contrary presently persuade our selves Prosperity will continue oâ— at least return This Confidence has been destructive to many in that it disarms Prudence This World is a vast Sea of Events tossed by various and unknown Causes Let us not be too much elated if by chance we bring our Nets to shore full with the Success of our Wishes nor on the other side dejected if they prove empty we ought always to cast them and expect the Consequence with the same equality of Mind 'T is impossible for that Man to enjoy any Rest who promising himself a prosperous Issue of his Design sees a contrary Event and is destitute of a Remedy for it Misfortunes cannot surprize one that expects the worst nor will disappointed Hopes expose him to Ridicule as they did the Persians in the War against the Athenians who had a great while before furnished themselves with Marble from Paros to inscribe the Victory on which their hopes had long ago anticipated but being afterwards overcome the Athenians made use of that very Marble to erect to Revenge a Statue an everlasting Monument of the Persian Folly To presume to know things to come is in a manner a Rebellion against God and a foolish Contention with Divine Wisdom which has indeed permitted Human Prudence to guess at but not foretel things of this Nature that in this uncertainty of Accidents it may acknowledge it self more subject to and dependent on its Creator This makes Policy so cautious and provident in its Resolutions well knowing how short sighted the greaâ—est Humane Wisdom is in Futurity and how â—ncertain those Judgments are which are grounded upon Presumption If Princes could foreseeu future Contingences their Councils would not so often miscarry And this I take to be the Reason that as soon as Saul was elected King God infused into him the Spirit of Prophecy 3 1 Sam. 10. 6. From what hath been said may be gathered that although Antiquity be venerable and there be really something Royal in the ways she hath opened to Posterity for Experience to pass more securely yet 't is visible many are ruined by time so that they grow impassable and consequently the Prince ought not to be so diffident of himself so religiously to tread his Ancestors Steps as not upon occasion to venture to go another way of his own Innovations are not always dangerous it is sometimes convenient to introduce them Were there no Alterations the World would never be perfected which advances in Wisdom as it does in Age. The most ancient Customs were new And what we now see without Example will be hereafter a Precedent What we now follow by Experience was begun without it Our Age also may leave many glorious Inventions for Posterity to imitate nor is every thing the Ancients have done the best no more than all the Moderns do now will be approved by After-ages Many Abuses have descended to us from our Ancestors and many severe Savage Customs of the Ancients time has mitigated and changed for the better EMBLEM XXX INgenious Rome that Virtue and Valour might
reconciling Enemies fitter to be Informers than Mediators Affairs require Persons of very different Qualities to Administer them That Man is above all the most proper who in his Air and Words discovers a Soul of Candor and Veracity whose private Person procures him Love and Esteem in whom Jealousy and Cunning are from Art not Nature who can keep them in the most secret Place of his Breast when they require Concealment who proposes with Sweetness hears with Patience replies with Force dissembles with Discretion urges with Attention who obliges by Liberality persuades by Reason and convinces by Experience who in a word designs prudently and executes effectually It was with these Ministers King Ferdinand the Catholick was able to succeed in all his Enterprizes The good Choice of these is of no leâ—s Consequence than the Conservation and Enlargement of any State for as much as all depends upon their Administration more Kingdoms having been destroyed by their Ignorance than by that of Princes Let this therefore be your Highness's chiefest Care to examine diligently all the Qualities of your Subjects and after having given them any Place look now and then into their Actions and not be presently taken with and deluded by the Draught of their Memoirs There being very few Ministers who in them draw themselves to the Life In Effect who will be so candid so much a Stranger to self-love as to confess what good he has neglected to do what Evil to prevent It will be much if he with Sincerity relate what he has actually done some using to write to the Prince not what they have done or said but what they ought to do or say They have thought of and designed every thing â—â—fore-hand they foresaw nay and executed all-Affairs enter their Closets like mishapen Logs but immediately come out again as from some Statuaries Shop exquisite Figures 't is there they are varnished giâ—â—ed and painted to beautify them and enhance their Value There Judgments are form'd and abundance of Preventions devis'd ever after the Success there they are more powerful than God himself make the past Time present and the present past by changing the Date of their Actions as they see convenient They are Ministers who transact Affairs in Imagination only Men that court Applause and steal Rewards by their false Letters Whence proceed the greatest Inconveniences in the World in that the Prince's Privy Counsellors being directed by those Intelligences and Advices if they are false the Orders and Resolutions founded upon them will necessarily be so too The Holy Scripture teaches us how Ministers and particularly Ambassadors are oblig'd punctually to execute their Commissions for we see in that Hazael had from Benhadad King of Syria to consult the Prophet Elisha about his Disease he chang'd not one word nor dared so much as to speak in the Third Person 8 2 Kings 8. 9. Ministers of extraordinary Experience are sometimes dangerous either for that the Prince puts too much Confidence in them or because biassed by Self-love or presuming upon their own Abilities they seldom think thoroughly of Affairs and born as 't were to overcome the most violent Tempests despise the small Storms of Inconveniences and Difficulties whereby they evidently expose themselves to Danger Those are in some Cases much safer who 〈◊〉 yet Novices in Navigation keep close to the Shore Though both together compose the best Counsels in that the Experience of those is qualified by the Timorousness and Caution of these in Debates between the Flegmatick and Cholerick the Bold and Circumspect the Quick and Slow there results a wholsome Composition of Opinions as there does in Bodies from the contrariety of Humours EMBLEM XXXI A Pillar supports it self balanced by its own weight If it once leans on either side it presently falls and that the sooner the heavier it is Thus Empires stand and are preserv'd by their own Authority and Repute when they begin to lose that they begin to fall nor is any Earthly Power sufficient to strengthen and prop them 1 Nihil rerum mortalium tam instabile ac flâ—xum est quam famae potentiae non sua vi niâ—a Tac. 13. Ann. Let no one trust too much to a streight Pillar when it inclines never so little the weakest Hand promotes its Ruin that very leaning I know not how inviting to push it but when falling the strongest is unable to uphold it One single Action sometimes overthrows the best establish'd Reputation which a great many can't erect again For scarce any Stain can so thoroughly be washed out but some sign of it will remain nor any Opinion in Mens Minds that can be entirely effaced Dress the Infamy as carefully as possible it will still leave some Scars Wherefore if the Crown stand not fixed and firm upon this perpendicular Pillar of Reputation it will soon fall to the Ground Alphonso the Fifth King of Arragon by his Credit not only preserved his own Kingdom but conquered that of Naples At the same time Iohn the Second King of Castile for his mean Spirit was so far the Contempt of his Subjects that he admitted what Laws they thought fit to impose The Provinces which under Iulius Caesar and Augustus Princes of great Esteem were Firm and Loyal rebell'd in the Reign of Galba a Man slothful and universally despised 2 Melius Divo Iulio Divoque Augusto notos eorum animos Galbam infracta tributa hostiles Spiritus induisse Tac. 4. Hist. Royal Blood and Large Dominions are insufficient to maintain Reputation where private Virtue and Magnanimity are wanting as it is not the Frame of a Glass but its Intrinsick Excellency makes it valuable Regal Majesty has not more Force than Respect which usually arises from Admiration and Fear and from these Obedience and Subjection without which the Princes Dignity cannot long maintain it self being founded upon the Opinion of others and the Royal Purple will be rather a Mark of Derision than Eminence and Majesty as was visible in Henry the Fourth It is the Spirits and Native Heat that keep the Body upright the Legs alone would not be a sufficient Basis. And what is Reputation but a kind of fine Spirit kindled in all Mens Opinions which raises and supports the Scepter Let the Prince therefore take all possible care that his Actions may be such as will nourish and foment these Spirits The Parthians grounded their Petition upon Reputation when they asked Tiberius to send as of his own accord one of Phraates's Sons to Rome 3 Nomine tantum auctore opus ut sponte Caesaris ut genus Arsacis ripam apud Euphratis cerneretur Tac. 6. Ann. This Repute and Authority has yet greater Influence in War where Fear is of more Efficacy than the Sword and Opinion than Strength whether of Mind or Body and therefore to be taken no less Notice of than Force of Arms. This made Suetonius Paulinus very prudently advise Otho to endeavour always to keep the
principatus resolveret cuncta ad senatum vocando Tac. 1. Ann. Any one Resolution the Prince shall have taken very opportunely without anothers Advice One Resentment and to have once shewn the Extent of his Power though upon the slightest Occasion make him fear'd and respected as does Constancy of Mind in both Fortunes for the People look upon it as supernatural not to be puff'd up by Prosperity or by Adversity dejected they believe there is something more than Humane in such a Prince Equality in Actions is another thing that greatly advances a Prince's Character it being a sign of a serene and prudent Judgment if he dispence his Favours or revenge Injuries out of Season he will indeed be fear'd but not esteem'd as Vitellius experienc'd 23 Viteâ—â—um subitis offensis aut intempestivis blanditiis mutabilem contemnebant metueâ—antque Tac. 2. Hist. Farther to maintain Reputation Prudence not to attempt what cannot be obtain'd very much contributes For so his Power will seem infinite if the Prince engage in no War wherein he cannot Conquer or demand nothing of his Subjects but what is just and feasible not giving the least ground for Disobedience To enterprize and not accomplish is in a Prince inglorious in Subjects rash Princes are valued at the same Rate they set upon themselves For altho' Honour consists in the esteem of others yet this is generally form'd out of a preconceiv'd Opinion of every one which at least if prudent is greater or less according as the Mind gathers strength from the Valour it finds in it self or loses it if without Merit The greatest Souls are most aspiring 24 Optimus quisque mortalium altissima cupere Tac. 4. Ann. the Cowardly dare attempt nothing judging themselves unworthy the least Honour Nor is this always a virtuous Humility and Modesty in this sort of Men but a baseness of Mind which renders them deservedly contemptible to every one while they pretend they aim at nothing higher because they are sensible of their want of Merit Blaesus almost seem'd unworthy the Empire merely for refusing the offer of it 25 Adeâ— non Principatus appetens ut parum effageret ne dignus crederetur Tac. 3. Hist. Unhappy is that State whose Head thinks himself undeserving the Title of Prince or who presumes he Merits more the first is meanness of Spirit this latter is accounted Tyranny In these Endowments of the Mind Chance also has place for a Prince happens often even with them to be despised when Prudence is unhappy or Events answer not Designs Some Governments good in themselves are notwithstanding so unfortunate that nothing succeeds under them which is not always the Fault of Humane Providence but the Divine so ordains when the particular Ends of this Inferior Government agree not with those that Superior and Universal one proposes This I add withal that all these good Qualities of Mind and Body are not sufficient to maintain the Prince's Reputation if his Family be dissolute it is on that depends all his Authority nor is any thing more difficult than a regular Management of a Family It usually seems easier to Govern a whole Country than one House either because a Prince intent on greater things is negligent of this or Self-love is an Obstacle or for want of Courage or out of a natural Slothfulness or at least because his Attendants so blind his Eyes that his Judgment can't apply Remedies It was none of the least Commendations of Agricola that he had curb'd his own Family never suffering his Domesticks to intermeddle with Publick Affairs 26 Primum domum suam coercuit quod plerisque haud minus arduum 〈◊〉 quam Provinciam regere nihil per liberâ—os servosque publicae rei Tac. in Vir. Agr. Galba was a good Emperor but an ill Master of his Palace no less Vices reigning there than in that of Nero 27 Iam afferebant cuncta venalia praepotentes liberâ—i servorum manus subâ—tis avidae tanquam apud senem festinantes Tac. 1. Hist. Tiberius among other things was commended for having modest Servants No Government can be well instituted where Courtiers Command and Rob or Prostitute its Authority by their Pâ—ide and Vices 28 Modesta servitia Tac. 4. Ann. If they are good they make the Prince the same if wicked he though really otherwise will appear so too From them the Prince's Actions have their value on them depends his good or ill Character in as much as others Virtues and Vices are wont to be imputed to him If his Domesticks are prudent they conceal his Faults nay as much as possible vindicate every Action of his and by extolling render them more illustrious they relate them with a Grace that challenges Admiration Whatever comes from the Prince into Publick is great in the Peoples Eyes Princes in their Palaces are like other Men but Respect makes them imagined greater and their Retirement from common Conversation covers their Sloth and Weakness Whereas if their Servants are guilty of Imprudence or Infidelity the People by them as through Chinks discover it and quit that Veneration they before had for them The Prince's Reputation redounds from that of the State if this be provided with good Laws and Magistrates if Justice be observ'd and one Religion maintain'd therein if it pay due Respect and Obedience to Majesty if Care be taken of Corn and Plenty if Arts and Arms flourish and one may in all things see a constant Order and Harmony proceeding from the Prince's Hands and lastly if the States Happiness depends upon the Prince himself For if that can be injoy'd without this they will soon despise him The Labourers in Egypt regard not the Skies 29 Aratores in Aegypto Coelum noâ— suspiciunt Pliâ— for the Nile by its Inundations watering and making their Land fertile they have no need of Clouds EMBLEM XXXII THE Oyster conceives by the Dew of Heaven and in its purest Womb the Pearl that most beautiful Embryo is born No one would imagine its exquisite Delicacy to see so course and unpolish'd an outside It is thus the Senses are usually deceiv'd in their Censure of Exterior Actions when they judge only by the outward appearance of things without searching the inside Truth depends not upon Opinion Let the Prince despise that if he be sensible he act agreeable to Reason He will never dare enterprize any thing difficult or extraordinary if Fear prompts him to consult the Sentiments of the Mob In himself he should look for himself not in others The Art of Government suffers not it self to be disturb'd by those thin Shadows of Reputation The King has the greatest who knows perfectly how to manage Affairs both of Peace and War The Honour of Subjects the least thing blemishes whereas that of Kings is inseparable from â—e Publick Good this continuing that increases â—â—ling it perishes Besides Government would be too dâ—ngerous had it no better Foundation than the Laws of Reputation instituted by
afterwards his great Soul to be broken by the contrary Success though he saw his States ruined and the King of Sweden and Frederick Count Palatine in his Palace of Monaca a Fabrick worthy so great a Prince and tho' he found the Duke of Frizeland as much his Enemy as the other two Let Envy and the fickleness of Times divide and dash into never so many pieces the Glass of tates yet in every of them however small Majesty will remain entire Whoever is born to a Scepter ought not to be chang'd at any Event or Accident whatever nor think any so grievous and insupportable as for it to abâ—â—don himself and dissemble the Person he bears King Peter even when he fell into the Hands of his Brother and deadly Enemy conceal'd not who he was may when it was question'd if it were he or not he cried out aloud It is I it is I. This very Constancy in preserving a Grandeur and Majesty in misfortunes 〈◊〉 sometimes the best and only Remedy against them as it was with Porus King of the Indies who being taken Prisoner by Alexander the Great and demanded how he would be treated Made answer Like a King And when Alexander ask'd him whether he desired nothing more He replied That Word comprehends all Which Heroick Answer so affected Alexander that he not only restored his Kingdom but gave him other Countries besides To yield to Adversity is as it were to side with it Valour in the Conquered pleases the Victor either because it renders his Triumph more glorious or because such is the intrinsick Energy of Virtue The Mind is not subject to Violence nor has Fortune any Power over it The Emperor Charles the Fifth used severe Threats to Iohn Frederick Duke of Saxony to oblige him to Surrender the Dutchy of Wirtemburg To which his Answer was His Imperial Majesty may indeed do what he pleases with my Body 〈◊〉 shall never be able to strike fear into this Breast Which he really shew'd on another occasion of much greater Danger for it happened as he was playing at Chess with Ernest Duke of Brunswick he heard Senâ—â—nce of Death was pass'd upon him which he receiv'd with no more Trouble than if the News had not concern'd him but chearfully bid the Duke play on which generous Carriage wiped off in some measure the Infamy of Rebellion and procured him Glory One great Action even upon a forced Death leaves a Luster and Repute to Life As has in our own time â—appned Rodrigo Calderon Marquiss de Sieviglâ—sias or â—â—ven Churches whose truly Christian Valour and Heâ—â—ick Constancy were the whole World's Admiration in so much as to turn Envy and Hatred things comâ—â—on to one of his Fortune into Pity and Commendaâ—â—â— None are delivered from violent Casualties by Timorousness nor does Confusion any way lessen Danger whereas Resolution either overcomes or at least renders it illustrious The People gather what Peril they are in from the Princes Countenance as Mariners do the danger of the Tempest from that of their Pilot. For that Reason ought he to appear equally serene in Prosperity and Adversity least Fear dash or Pride exalt him and others be able to judge of the State of Affairs This made Tiberius take so much care to hide every unsuccessful Accident 5 Haec audita quanquam abstrusum tristissima quoque maxiâ—â— occultantem Tiberium pertuleâ—unt Tac. 1. Ann. All is in Disorder and Confusion when in the Princes Face as that of Heaven the Tempests which threaten the Commons are discernible To change Colour at every Breath of Fortune betrays a light Judgment and mean Spirit Constancy and an even Look inspire Subjects with Courage strike Enemies with Admiration All Men fix their Eyes upon the Prince and if they see Fear there they fear Thus 't was with those who were at Otho's Table 6 Simul Othâ—â— vultum intnâ—eri atque eveâ—t inclinatis ad suspicionem mentibus cum tiâ—â— ret Otho timebatur Tac. 1. Hist. Besides there can be no Fidelity where Fear and Distrust find Entertainment 7 Fides metu infracta Tac. 3. 〈◊〉 Which however I would have understood of those Cases wherein it is convenient to dissemble Dangers and conceal Calamities for in others to join in publick Expressions of Sadness don't ill become the Prince as that which manifests his Love to his Subjects and engages their Hearts The Emperor Charles the Fifth put himself in Mourning and express'd his Sorrow for the Sacking of Rome David upon the news of the Death of Saul and Ionathan took hold of his Cloaths and rent them 8 2 Sam. 1. 11. The same did Ioshua for the loss received by the Men of Ai And he fell to the Earth before the Ark of the Lord 9 Jos. 7. 6. And indeed what can be more just than in a common Calamity thus to submit to God 't is a kind of Rebellion willingly to receive Good only at God's Hands and not Evil also 10 Job 2. 10. He that is humble under Correction moves to Pardon Here it may be disputed whether this Steddiness of Mind be commendable in an Inferior when he needs the Aid of the more Potent the Solution of which Doubt requires a peculiar Distinction He who is under Oppression and craves anothers Assistance should not do it with too much Cringing and Solicitude least he make his Fortune desperate there being no Prince who out of pure Compassion will reach his Hand to a Man fallen or undertake the Defence of one that has already abandon'd all hopes of himself and his Affairs Pompey's Cause lost not a little in the Opinion of Ptolomy when he saw so much Submission in his Ambassadors The King of the Cherusci shewed much more Courage when upon the loss of his Kingdom thinking it his Interest to procure the Favour of Tiberius He wrote to him not like a Fugitive or Beggar but as one who remembred his former Fortune 11 Non ut profugus aut supplex sed ex memoria prioris fortunae Tac. 2. Ann. Nor is the Example of Mithridates les Illustrious who being overthrown by Eunon is said with a Resolution truly Royal to have thus bespoke him Mithriâ—ates so many Years sought by the Romans by Sea and Land here voluntarily Surrenders himself do what you please with the Off-spring of the great Achemenes the only thing my Enemies cannot deprive me of 12 Mithridates terra marique per tot annos Romanis quaesitis sponte adsum utere ut voles prole magni Achemeis quod mihi solum hostes non abstulerunt Tac. 12. Ann. Which Words prevailed with Eunon to intercede with the Emperor Claudius in his behalf 13 Mâ—taâ—â—â—e rerum prece haud degenerare permotus Tac. 12. Ann. Let him who hath faithfully served his Prince speak boldly if he find himself injured as Herman Cortez did to Charles the Fifth and Segestes to Germanicus 14 Simul Segestes ipse ingens
the Catholick was for if he be not lov'd 't will suffice that he is esteem'd and fear'd EMBLEM XXXIX THere is an ancient Medal to be seen upon the Reverse of which is engraven a flash of Lightning upon an Altar to signifie that a Prince's severity ought to yield to Prayers an Emblem offensive to the Eyes the Lightning of Punishment being represented so lively and so near to Pardon that fear may be apt to dash all hope in the goodness of the Altar And though it be fit sometimes that the looks of the Prince before whom the criminal bends should at once represent the Terror of Justice and Mildness of Mercy yet this is not always proper for that were contrary to the advice of the H. Spirit who would have Life and Clemency shine in a King's Countenance 1 Prov. 16. 15. In this Emblem therefore instead of the Lightning I have plac'd upon the Altar the Golden Fleece introduc'd by Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy not to signifie as many imagin the fabulous Fleece of Colchos but that of Gideon which for a token of Victory was moistned with the Dew of Heaven when all the Country about it was dry 2 Jud. 6. 37. A Symbol whereby Meekness and Humility is express'd as the same is signified by that immaculate Lamb the Son of God offer'd for the World's Salvation The Prince is a Victim devoted to Fatigues and Dangers for the common good of his Subjects A precious Fleece rich in Dew and other Blessings of Heaven Here they ought at all times to find wherewithal to quench their Thirst to redress their Grievances let him be always affable always sincere and benign towards them which will be more effectual than severity Upon the sight of Alexander's pleasing Looks the Conspirators immediately threw down their Arms. The serenity of Augustus tied the hands of the Gaul who went to throw him down a Precipice in the Alps. The modest and sweet Temper of King Ordonno the first strangely won the Hearts of his Subjects Sancho the Third was called the Desired not so much for the shortness of his Life as for his Affability And the Arragonians received Ferdinand the Infant King Martin's Nephew to the Crown upoâ— a liking they took to his obliging Demeanour Modesty and good Humour all must love Obedience is sufficiently heavy and odious of it self let not the Prince add Rigour to it for that is a File wherewith natural Liberty generally cuts the chains of Slavery If Princes in Adversity think Complaisance and Humanity to be used for a remedy why should it not as well in Prosperity for a Preservative The benign Aspect of the Prince gains a pleasing Empire over mens minds 't is a dissimulation of Sovereignty By Complacency I do not here mean that which is so vulgar that it begets Contempt but which has so agreeable a mixture of Gravity and Authority as leaves room for Love but a Love attended with respect for where this is wanting that is apt to turn too familiar and aspire to an Equality And if the august part of Majesty be not maintain'd there will be no difference between the Prince and Subject 3 Comitas facile faustum omne atterit in familiari consuetudine agrè custodias illud opinionis augustum Herod lib. 1. Some ornament of the Person as has been before hinted and a well temper'd Gravity is requisite to support the Royal Dignity for I can by no means approve of a Prince's making himself so familiar with every one that it may be said of him as it was of Agricola who was so plain in his dress so condescending and familiar that many sought his Fame in his person but few found it 4 Cultu modiâ—us seâ—mone facilis adeo ut plerique quibus magnos viros per ambitionem astimare mos est viso aspectoque Agricola quaererent famam pauci interpretarentur Tac. in vit Agr. For what is common no one admires and respect is the genuine effect of admiration Some grave severity must appear in the Prince's face and something extraordinary in his Carriage and Royal Port to shew supreme power but this severity should be so qualified by Sweetness that jointly they may beget Love and Reverence in the Subject not Fear 5 Et videri velle non asperum sed cum gravitate honestum talem ut eum non timeant obvii sed magis revereantur Arist. Pol. lib. 5. c. 11. The Sword has been often drawn in France against the Regal Majesty for being too familiar Affability must not diminish Authority nor Severity Love a thing Tacitus admir'd in Agricola 6 Nec illi quod rarissimum est aut facilitas authoritatem aut severitas amorem diminuit Tac. in vit Agr. and commended in the Emperor Titus who appear'd affable to his Soldiers without derogating from his Authority as General 7 Atque ipse ut super fortunam crederetur decorum se promptumque armis ostentabat comitate alloquiis officia provocans ac plerumque iâ— opere in agmine in gregario militi mixtus incorrupto ducis honore Tac. 5. hist. Let the Prince compose his Looks that they may at once assert Authority and invite Love let him appear grave not austere animate not drive into Despair looking always with a gracefull agreeable Smile using words complaisant and gravely courteous Some think themselves no Princes except they shew something irregular in their Expressions Looks and Port contrary to the common way of other men so ignorant Statuaries think the art and perfection of a Coloss consists in having bloated Cheeks blubber Lips lowring Brows and squint Eyes True Greatness doth not consist in mighty State †Claud. In lofty Mein and Words or haughty Gate King Aâ—asuerus was of so terrible an Aspect that Queen Hester coming into his presence fell into a Swoon 9 Hâ—sther 15. 11. and had not recovered but that the King his Spirit being changed by a divine Impression 10 Ibid. held out the Scepter 11 Ibid. to shew her it was but a piece of gilded Wood and himself a Man not a Vision as she imagined 12 Ibid. If Majesty too severe and disorderly could produce this Effect in a Queen what will it in a private person oppressed with Poverty and Affliction The Holy Scriptures call a Prince Physician 13 Isai. 3. 7. and Father 14 Eccl. 4. 10. and neither this cures nor that governs with Inhumanity But if upon occasion the Prince frowns upon a Subject let his Reprimands begin with an Encomium on his Virtues afterwards laying before him the Deformity of his Crime and thus strike him with a generous Fear in as much as the shadow of Vice is most conspicuous when oppos'd to the light of Vertue care also should be taken that the reproof be not so harsh and publick that the Subject losing his Reputation shall withal lose all hopes of retrieving it and
faults they then most accuse them So Augustus reprehended the Vices of Tiberius 3 Qâ—anqua◠〈◊〉 orâ—â—tâ—one quaedam de habitu cultuque institutis ejus fecerâ—tâ— quae velut excusandâ— exprobraret Tac. 1 ann Others there are who to cover their Malice and gain credit under pretence of Goodness begin under the title of Friendship with the praises of him whom they would remove extolling some little insignificant Service and at the same time by a feign'd zeal for the Princes interest which they pretend to prefer before all Friendship and Relation gradually discover his faults which may procure his Disgrace or loss of Place But if their Ambition and Malice can't procure this they at least establish their own Reputation by carping at their Friends faults and gain themselves Glory by his infamy 4 Unde amico infamiam parat inde gloriam sibi reâ—ipere Tac. 1. ann Alphonso the Wise King of Naples was well acquainted with all these practices wherefore when he heard one full of the praises of his Enemy Observe says he the Artifice of that man and you will find that the drift of these commendations is only to do him more mischief And so it fell out when he had for six Months endeavour'd to gain credit to his intentions that he might afterwards the sooner be believ'd in what he should say against him Mines are always sprung at a distance from the Walls where they are to do execution Those Friends who praise you are worse than Enemies who murmur at you 5 Pessimum iniâ—icorum genus â—â—udantes Tac. in vit Agric. Others that they may cheat more securely praise in publick and in private scandalize 6 Secrâ—tis cum criminationibus infaâ—â—nâ—verat ignarum quo cautius decâ—peretur palam laudatâ—â—â— Tac. 1. hist. Nor is their subtilty less malicious who so adorn their Calumnies that they look like praises as Aleto did in Tâ—sso Gran fabro di calumnie adorne in modi Novi che sono accuse e payen lodi These the Psalmist meant when he said They were turned aside like a deceitful bow 7 Psal. 78. 57. Or as Hosea the Prophet says like a deceitfull bow which 〈◊〉 at one place and hits another 8 Hos. 7. 16. Some extoll their Rivals to that degree that It may Plainly appear they don't speak seriously and really as was observ'd in Tiberius when he prais'd Germanicus 9 Multaque de virtute ejus memoravit magis in speciem verbis adâ—rnata quam ut penitus sentire crederetur Tac. 1. ann Others make use of these commendations to raise their Enemy to such posts as may at last ruin them or at least procure their removal from Court though to his greater advantage which I believe was among others the reason why Ruigomez caus'd Ferdinand Duke of Alba to be sent into Flanders when those Provinces revolted With the same in t ntion Macian prais'd Anthony in the Senate and proâ—pos'd for him the Government of the Neither Spain 10 Igitur Mucianus quia propalam opprimi Antonius nequibat multis in senatu laudilâ—s cumulatum sâ—cretis promissis onerat Citerierem Hispaiam ostentaâ—s discessu Cluvii Rufi vacuam Tac. 4. hist. and to facilitate it he divided his Offices and Honours among his Friends 'T is scarce credible how liberal Envy is when it would remove him who eclipses its Glory or obstructs its Rise 't is a wave which drives him who can't swim upon the Shore of Fortune Sometimes Commendations are us'd with a design of creating Envy to the party prais'd a strange way of striking with others Vices Many endeavour to introduce their own Creatures with such Artifice as no one can penetrate their designs and to that end they first carp at some trivial faults committed by others in the same Offices then praise and cry up others as more fit for those places and sometimes they entertain them as if they had no knowledge of them as Lacon did Piso that he might be adopted by Galba 12 Sed callidè ut ignotum 〈◊〉 Tac. 1. ann Others the better to conceal their Passion lay their Plots at a distance and instill their hatred gradually into the Prince's Mind that being at last full he may burst upon their Enemies These means Sejanus us'd to alienate the Mind of Tiberius from Germanicus 13 Odia in longum jacens quae reconderet auctâ—que promâ—râ—t Tac. 1. ann And these the Holy Spirit seems to condemn under the Metaphor of plowing Lyes 14 Devise not Lat. noli arare a lye against thy Brothers Eccl 7. 13. Which is the same as sowing Tares in the Mind that they may afterwards reap the fruit of Wickedness 15 Ye have plowed wickedness ye have reaped iniquity ye have eaten the fruit of Lyes Hos. 10. 13. Some not with less cunning first deceive those Ministers in whom the Prince has most confidence by insinuating into them some Falshoods which they afterwards imprint in the Prince This was the art of that lying Spirit of the Prophet Micaiah which propos'd to deceive King Achab by being in the Mouth of all his Prophets and God permitted it as the most effectual means 16 And he said I will go forth and be a Lying Spirit in the mouth of all his Prophets 1 Kin. 22. 22. There are others who make advantage of the injuries the Prince has receiv'd and perswade him to revenge either that they may themselves be thereby reveng'd of their Enemies or else cause him to be turn'd out of Favour and Trust. By this Artifice Iohn Pacheco perswaded King Henry the IVth to apprehend Alphonso Fonseca Archbishop of Sevil and afterwards advis'd him privately to provide for his own safety These are the usual practices of Courts and though they are oft discover'd yet they never want Patrons nay there are those who will suffer themselves to be cheated twice whence we often see bare-fac'd Impostors remain at Court so long an effect of the weakness of our deprav'd Nature which is more taken with Lyes than Truth We are more apt to admire the Picture of a Horse than a real one that being but a Lye of th' other What is Rhetorick with all its Tropes and Figures but a kind of Falshood and Cheat From all which we may see how much danger there is of a Prince's being deceiv'd in his opinion unless he with great application and diligence examine things suspending his belief untill he not only sees the things themselves but also as it were feels them those especially which he has only by hear-say For the Breath of Flattery and the Winds of Hatred and Envy enter at the Ears and raise the Passions and Affections of the Mind before there can be any Certainty of the truth of the thing 'T would therefore be very convenient for a Prince to have his Ears near his Thoughts and Reason As are the Owl's for that reason perhaps sacred to Minerva upon the top
deceiv'd by the Flattery of the people that he believ'd they could not bear his absence from Rome though for never so small a time and that his presence comforted them in their Adversity 15 Vidisse civium moestos vultus audire secretas quarimonias quod tantum aditurus esset iter cujus ne modicos quidem egressus tolerarent sueti adversum fortuit a aspectu Principis refâ—veri though he was really so odious that the Senate and Nobility were in doubt whether he was more cruel in his Absence than his Presence 16 Senatus Primatâ—â— in incerto erant procul an coram atrocior haberetur Tac. 15. ann There are other ways to know Flattery but few Princes care to make use of them it being so agreeable to their inclinations and nature and so we see Coiners punish'd but not Flatterers though the last are most guilty these gild and counterfeit our Money those our Vices putting them off even to our selves for Vertues This is a great fault which is still decry'd yet still maintain'd in the Courts of Princes where Truth appears not without danger especially with haughty and passionate Princes 17 Contumacius loqui non est tutum apud aures superbas offensioni proniores Tac. 4. ann Bernardo de Cabrera lost his life for his friendly advice in some affairs to Peter the IVth of Arragon notwithstanding his signal Services and his having been his Tutor He who advises or informs another seems to accuse his Actions and Judgment which Princes won't endure for they think he don 't sufficiently respect them who talks to them freely Gutierrez Fernandez of Toledo with an honest and well-meaning Sincerity told King Peter the Cruel what he thought of his Government and advis'd him to moderate his Severity which meritorious Advice the King took for such a crime that he caus'd him to be beheaded for it * Mar. hist. Hisp. A Prince looks upon him as his Judge who observes his Actions nor can he endure him who finds fault with them The danger is in admonishing a Prince what he should do not what he would do 18 Nam suadere Principi quod oporteat multi laboris periculi Tac. 1. hist. which is the reason Truth is so timorous and Flattery so audacious But if any Prince would be so generous as to think it base and mean to be coax'd by Flattery and look upon it as a contempt for others to pretend to impose upon him by false praises and speak more of his Grandure than his Person 19 Etiam ego tu simplicissimè inter nos hodie loquimur caeteri libeâ—tius cum fortunâ quam nobiscum Tac. 1. hist. he would soon be rid of this sort of cattle by arming himself with severity for none will dare attempt a stanch and severe Prince who fathoms the truth of things and has learnt to contemn vain Honours Tiberius with the same composure of countenance heard the freedom of Piso and the Flattery of Gallus 20 Audiente hâ—c Tiberio ac silente Tac. 2. ann And though he dissembled so well he knew the Flattery as he did that of Ateius Capito considering their Thoughts not their Words 21 Intellexit haec Tiberius ut erant magis quam â—t dicebantur Tac. 3. ann Let a Prince also publickly gratifie those who shall be so ingenuous as to tell him Truth Thus Clisthenes the Tyrant of Sicily did who erected a Statue to one of his Counsellors who contradicted his Triumph by which he wonderfully gain'd the hearts of his Subjects and encouraged his other Counsellors to speak their Sentiments more freely King Alphonso the Twelfth being once advising about an affair of great moment with his Sword in his right hand and his Sceptre in his left spoke to this effect Come says he speak all your minds freely and frankly advise me what you think for the glory of this Sword and the advantage of this Scepter * Mar. hist. Hisp. Happy that Kingdom in which Counsel is neither embarrass'd by Respect nor aw'd by Fear All men know the baseness of Flattery but they know too the inconveniencies of Truth and see more danger from this than that Who would not speak with more sincerity and zeal to Princes were they all of the same temper with Iohn the Second King of Portugal who when one petition'd for some vacant Office reply'd That he had long since promis'd it to a faithfull Servant who never spoke to please but to serve him and the State †Mar. hist. Hisp. But this generous Sincerity is very rarely to be found Princes being usually of King Achab's mind who calling a council of Prophets would have Micah excluded because says he he doth not prophecy good concerning me but evil 22 1 Kings 22. 8. For this reason Ministers often run great Risques who through zeal are too forward in telling their Thoughts of future dangers that they may be seasonably prevented For Princes had rather not know them than fear them their ears are prepar'd for the soft Harmony of Musick but can't bear the jarring sounds of impending dangers Whence they chose for their Counsellors and Confidents such as will tell them nothing but what they approve of 23 After their own Lusts they shall heap to themselves teachers 2 Tim. 4. 3. and not what God inspires as the Prophet Micah did 24 And Miâ—ah said as the Lord liveth even what my God saith that will I speak 2 Chron. 18. 13. What wonder then if without the light of Truth they lose their way and are lost Would these Tell-truths be guided by Prudence doubtless a Prince would more value Truth than vain and empty Flattery but there are few who use it seasonably or with that Modesty and Address that is requisite For all that are free are morose and offend Princes with the asperity of their Looks especially when arm'd with Truth for some Vertues are odious such as obstinate Severity and a Spirit not to be gain'd by favours For Princes think themselves slighted when they see those measures which are usually taken to obtain their favour are contemn'd thinking he who does not study to acquire them neither acknowledges himself their Subject nor has occasion for them The Superiour uses the Lancet or incision Knife of Truth to cure the distempers of the inferiour but this only a caustick which without pain benumbs and wears away the parts infected in the Superiour To be troublesome with unseasonable and improper Truths is rather Malice than Zeal rather Sauciness that Admonition God himself uses singular Prudence and Caution in revealing them for though he might have told Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar their future Calamities by Ioseph and Daniel yet he chose rather to do it by Dream when the Senses were â—ull'd and Majesty buried in Sleep and even then not clearly but by Figures and Hieroglyphicks that there might be some time allow'd for their Interpretation to avoid
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
Alexandria without his leave 8 Acerrimè increpuit quod contra institutum Augusti non sponte Principis Alexandriam introisset Tac. 2. ann but for the greater Security and the better to keep the Minister in obedience 't would be convenient to allow a little more Authority to the Magistracy of the Province for there are no Curbs stronger than that nor more ready to oppose the Faults of the Governor Mean and abject Spirits such as have no Ambition of Glory or thirst for Preferments are fit for no Employ The chief Quality which God found in Ioshuah to introduce him into the management of Affairs was that he had a great Spirit 9 Numb 27. 18. But yet the Courage should not be so great as to repine at his being born a Subject and not be contented with his Condition for the Loyalty of such is in great Danger because they aspire always to the highest step which if they attain not 't is either for want of Power or Wit besides they soon flag in their Zeal for the Publick and Obedience to their Prince Great Spirits are not less dangerous at least if they are not docile and modest for being very positive and conceited of their own Opinions they are apt to slight Commands and believe that all should be governed at their Pleasure A person is as troublesome for his good Qualifications as for his having none at all for there is no satisfying him who presumes too much upon his Merit Tiberius never desired great Vertues in Offices of Trust and hated Vices too for from one he feared Danger to himself from t' other Scandal to the Government 10 Neque enim imminentes virtutes sectabatur rursus vitia oderat ex optimis periculum sibi à pessimis dedecus publicum metuebat Tac. 1. ann Nor are those fit for Ministers who are rich and of great Families for having no need of the Prince and flowing in plenty of all things they won't expose themselves to Perils and Toils nor can nor will they be under Command 11 Qui in affluentia fortunae virium opum amicorum aÌ„lioruamque talium constituti sunt Reginaeque obâ—dire norunt Arist. 4. Pol. c. 11. Whence Sosibius Britannicus us'd to say Princes can't endure Riches in the Commons 12 Auri vim atque opes Principibus infensas Tac. 11. ann When a Prince shall have made Choice of a Minister with all due Circumspection let him seemingly put an entire Confidence in him but always keep an Eye upon his Actions and Intelligences and if they are any ways suspicious let him be removed to another Post where he will want opportunity to make a party to execute his ill Designs for there is more prudence and kindness in preventing a Crime than in forgiving it when committed if Germanicus's Victory and the Soldiers Applause pleas'd Tiberius on one hand on t' other they made him jealous and uneasie 13 Nuntiata ea Tiberium laetitia curaque affecere Tac. 1. ann And understanding the Commotions in the East he was glad of a Pretence ea expose him to Dangers by making him Governour of those Provinces 14 Ut to specie Germanicum suetis Legionibus abstraheret novâ—sque Provineiis impositum dolo simul casibus objectaret Tac. 2. ann Now if any Minister is to be removed it should be done under the pretence of Honour and before the Reasons are known with such prudence as mayn't give him Reason to mistrust the Princes disgust for as fear of being cheated is the way to be cheated so Suspicion of Loyalty makes Traytors for which Reason Tiberius having a mind to recall Germanicus to Rome did it under a pretence of a Triumph which he design'd him 15 Acriùs modestiam ejus aggreditur alterum Consulatum offerendâ— Tac. 2. ann offering him other Preferments of which Princes are very liberal when they would free themselves from their Jealousies If a Subject once loses the Respect he owes his Prince after Confidence will never secure him Sancbo the first King of Leon pardoned Count Gonzalo for having taken up Arms against him endeavouring to reconcile him by his Favours but those by which he thought to have oblig'd him only gave him opportunity to poyson him When Princes are concerned with one another there is no Obligation of Friendship or Affinity a sufficient Reason for their trusting each other Don Ferdinand the great King of Castile and his Brother Garcias of Navarre were at difference he as he lay sick at Nacar had a design to seize his Brother who came to pay him a Visit but his Design not succeeding he had a mind to dissemble his Intent by visiting his Brother who caused him to be apprehended * Mar. Hist. Hisp. Revenge and State-Policy is of greater Force than Friendship or Consanguinity The same befel Don Garcias King of Galicia for having trusted his Brother Alonso King of Castile the most irreconcileable falling out is that between Relations and dearest Friends 16 Difficiles fratrum dissentiones qui valdè amâ—nt valdè edio habent Arist. 7. Pol. c. 6. and perfect Hatred is the result of perfect Love from all which we may infer how difficult a thing 't is for a Prince to trust himself in the hands of his Enemies it cost the King of Granada his Life for going though with a Pass port to ask assistance from King Peter the Cruel Lewis Forza Duke of Milan was more cautious refusing an Interview with the King of France unless in the midst of a River or upon a broken Bridge A true piece of Italian Policy not to trust where they have once shew'd a Jealousie for which Reason the Italians were much admir'd at the Interview between the great Captain and King Ferdinand the Catholick as also at that between the same King and the King of France his Enemy In some Cases Confidence is more safe and necessary to gain peoples Affections than Distrust Don Alonso VI. having lost his Kingdom of Leon liv'd retir'd at the Court of the King of Toledo who was a Moor when upon the Death of Don Sancho his Sates recalled him to his Throne with the greatest privacy imaginable fearing lest if it should come to be known by the Moors they might retain him by force he like a prudent and grateful Prince discovered the whole Affair this Confidence so oblig'd the Barbarian King who before understood the Intrigue and design'd to seize him that he not only let him go free but also furnished him with Money for his Voyage See the power of Gratitude which disarms even the most savage Spirits * Mar. Hist. Hisp. Distrusts between Princes can't be cur'd by Satisfactions or Excuses but by their contrary if time won't heal them diligence never will these are a kind of wounds which the Probe and the Hand does but more exulcerate and a sort of apparent Jealousies which are an Introduction to Infidelity EMBLEM LII
Tongue and the Pen are the most dangerous Instruments of the heart by these 't is usually expos'd either through Levity or Vanity to be thought the Repositories of very important Secrets by discovering them either by discourse or writing to those from whom they should conceal 'em So that he is not fit for the Charge of a Secretary who can't modestly hear others rather than talk himself without changing the Air of his Face at any thing for oft-times the Secrets of the heart are discovered thereby EMBLEM LVII THE wheels of a Clock perform their Office with such silence that their Motions can neither be heard nor perceived and though the whole Contrivance depends upon them yet do they not attribute to themselves the Honour of it but lend to the hand its Motion which alone distinguishes and points out the hours and is esteem'd by all the only Rule and Measure of time This mutual Correspondence and Agreement should be between the Prince and his Counsellours for 't is highly convenient to have them for as King Alphonsus the Wise said Though Emperours and Kings are great persons yet can neither of them by themselves do more than a single Man ‖ L. 12. tiâ— 1. p. 2. and the Government of a Nation requires many but them so modest as not to attribute their successful Resolutions to their own Counsel but to the Princes let 'em share the Trouble but not the Power let 'em be Ministers not Companions let 'em know that the Prince can govern without them but not they without him Where a Prince can shew his Authority and Greatness without the assistance of others let him do it In Aegypt where the heat of the Sun is more powerful than in other parts it breeds Animals without any assistance if a Prince does nothing without Advice he 's more like a Client than a Prince The force of Government is lost unless the Summ of Affairs be reduced to one 1 Neve Tiberius vim Principatus resolveret â—uncâ—a ad senatum vocando eam conditionem esse â—mperanâ—â— ut non aliter ratio constâ—t quam si uni reddatur Tac. 1 ann Monarchy is distinguished from other methods of Government in that one only Commands and the rest obey and if the Prince shall permit several to rule 't will not be a Monarchy but an Aristocracy there is no Command where all are Masters The Holy Spirit takes this for a punishment of the Sins of the people 2 For the transgression of a Land many are the Princes thereof Prov. 28. 2. and on the contrary a Blessing when only one Commands 3 And I will set up one Shephâ—rd over them Ezâ—â— 34. â—3 when the Ministers shall find a Prince so careless as to let others Reign they usurp to themselves what Authority they can Pride and Emulation grows among them every one tears a slip from the Royal Robe so that at last it remains a mere Ragg The people confounded between so many Masters no longer acknowledge their true and lawful one and so begin to despise and contemn the Government For they believe nothing can be well done but what they think the Prince does of himself whence they prepare a Remedy by force Histories furnish us with deplorable Examples of this in the Deposition and Death of Garcias King of Galaecia who would not be so much as the Index to point out the Motion of the Government but left all to the management of a particular Favourite of his who was afterwards kill'd with him We find Sancho King of Portugal depos'd because his Queen and a few other Scoundrel Servants had the whole management of Affairs the same thing beâ—el King Henry IV. for being so easie as to Sign all Dispatches which his Ministers brought him without ever reading or knowing the Contents of ' em The Prince exposes himself to all manner of Inconveniencies who without perusal or consideration agrees to whatever others desire him for upon him as upon soft Wax every one makes what impression he pleases so it was with the Emperour Claudius 4 Nihil arduum videbatâ—r in aniâ—o Principis 〈◊〉 non judiciuâ— non odium erat nisi indita jâ—ssa Tac. 12. ann God plac'd the Government upon the Princes own Shoulders not upon his Ministers 5 Isâ—â— 9. 6 as Samuel intimated to Saul at the Entertainment when he anointed him King when he on purpose ordered the Cook to set by for him a shoulder of Meat 6 And the Cook toâ—k up the Shoulder c. 1 Sam. 9. 24. Yet would I not have a Prince like a Camel merely to bear Burthens but his Shoulders should be full of Eyes like the Animals in Ezekiel's Vision 7 Ezek. 1. 18. lm LXX that they may see and know what they bear Elisha call'd Elias the Chariot and Horsemen of Israel because he sustain'd and manag'd the Government †2 Kings 2 12. He does not deserve the name of Prince who cannot of himself give Orders and contradict 'em as is visible in Vitellius who not being capable of commanding nor punishing was no longer Emperour but only the cause of War 8 Ipsâ— nâ—qâ—e jubâ—ndâ— neque viâ—anâ—i potâ—ns non jam Imperator sed tantum 〈…〉 Tâ—c 1. Hâ—st wherefore a Pâ—ince should not only perform the part of the hand in the Clock of the Government but that also of the Peâ—dulum which regulates the Motions of the Wheels In short upon that depends the whole Art of Government Not that I would have a Prince perform the Office of a Judge Counsellour or President for his Dignity is far above it 9 Non Aedilis aut Praetoris aut Consulis Partes sustineo majus aliquod excelsius à Principe postulatur Tac. 3. Hist. if he apply'd himself so to all Business he would want time for Affairs of greater moment He ought says King Alphonso to have Understanding Loyal and Trusty Persons to assist him and serve him faithfully in all things as well to advise him as to administer Justice to his People for he can't of himself duely weigh and examine all things so that he has need of some in whom he can confide He should use them as the Instruments of Government and let them operate yet so as he may inspect what they do with a superiour Direction more or less immediate or assistant as the importance of Affairs requires Those things which properly belong to the Ministers let the Ministers perform Those which are peculiar to the Princes Office let him only manage For which Reason Tiberius check'd the Senate for leaving the whole Burthen of Affairs to him 10 Et proximi Senatus die Tiberius castigatis per literas oblique Patribus quod cunctâ— curarum ad Principem rejicerent Tac. 3. ann the weighty thoughts of Princes ought not to be disturb'd by â—rivolous Consultations when without any offence to their Majesty they may be decided by the Ministers Wherefore Sanguinius advised the
setled upon the Throne shall neglect and think it beneath your Grandeur to stoop to and that your Presence is sufficient without this troublesome Assiduity leaving that to your Ministers I dare averâ— from the excellent Constitution and order of this Government both in its Courts and Counsels your Highness might finish your Course without any considerable Danger but you would be no more than the hand to the Clock wholly govern'd by the Whâ—els nor would there appear any thing conspicuous or glorious in your whole Reign as there will if which God grant your Highness imitating Augustus shall make your Remarks upon each Kingdom distinctly with an Addition of all Garrison'd Towns also of all persons famous for War or Peace with their Qualifications Characters Services and the like particularly inserting all Aâ—fairs of great Concern what has been their Issue in what they succeeded in what fail'd and several other Observations which are instructive in the Art of Government Hence proceeds the Harmony in the Order of the Jesuits which all so much admire for every three years the General has a particular Account of all things that have pass'd together with a private List of those of the Order who because they may in time alter their Nature and Manners these Catalogues are renewed every Year besides he has particular Informations every Year of what ever in necessary for him to know By which they always succeed in their Elections by suiting the Capacity of the Person to the Office not the Office to the Person And if Princes had such Characters of things and persons they would not be so often deceived in their Resolves and Counsels they would be better instructed in the Art of Government and need not depend wholly upon their Ministers and these would serve the Prince with more Care and Circumspection when they knew that he understood and took notice of all things and so these gross Faults which we see at present I mean in not timely providing Necessaries for Peace and War would never be committed in a word the fear of this Catalogue would make Vertue flourish and Vice perish nor would these short Memoirs breed any confusion especially if some were made by the Princes own hands and others by his chief Ministers who are persons of Understanding and whom he can trust to do it sincerely and carefully wherefore if as Cicero says this Knowledge is necessary for a Senatour 27 Est senatori necessarium nosse Rempub. quà m latè pâ—tet quid habeat Militum quid valeat aerarium quoâ— socios Resp. habeat quos amicos quos â—ipendiarios qua quisque sit lege conditione foedere c. Cicero who is but a small Member of the Government how much more is it for a Prince on whom depends the universal welfare of his State And if Philip King of Macedon caus'd the Articles of the Roman League to be read over to him twice every day why should a Prince disdain to read in one Book an Epitome of the whole Body of his Empire viewing in that as in a Map all the parts of which it consists EMBLEM LVIII HONOUR is one of the chiefest Instruments in the Art of Government if it were not the Off-spring of Glory I should think it a politick Invention it is the Prop of Empires without it none could stand long a Prince without it wants a Guard for his Vertues the Spur of Renown and Bond which makes him to be loved and respected a Thirst for Riches is Tyrannick but for Honour Royal 1 Velle pecuniis excellere Tyrannicum Hâ—noribus vero magis Regium Arist. Poâ— lib. 5. nor is Honour less requisite in the Subject than the Prince for without that the Laws would not be able to keep the people in their Devoir it being certain that they are more restrain'd by the fear of Infamy than punishment The Economy of Government would soon be ruined were not Obedience Loyalty Integrity and such like Vertues in esteem Ambition for Honour preserves the Authority of the Laws to attain it we inure our selves to Labour and Vertue That Government is in as much danger where all would be Slaves as that in which aâ—l would be Masters A Nation too abject and base is a prey to every Invader and soon forgets its Duty to its lawful Prince but that which is of a more lofty Spirit and which sets a value upon Honour slights all Toils and Perils nay even despises its own Ruine to remain firm in its Obedience and Loyalty what Wars Calamities and Devastations by Fire and Sword has not the Dutchy of Burgundy felt for preserving their Faith and Allegiance to his Catholick Majesty neither the Tyranny and Barbarity of their Enemies nor the infection of the Elements though all seem'd to conspire against them could shake their Constancy They might indeed take from those Loyal Subjects their Estates their Countrey and their Lives but not their sincere Faith and generous Loyalty to their lawful Prince The usual Remedies against intestine Disorders is to make the People strangers to Honour and Reputation which piece of Policy is us'd in China which is in no danger but from its own Subjects but in other Kingdoms which are exposed to Invasions Glory and Renown is absolutely necessary for the Subjects that they may have Courage to repulse an Enemy â—or where there is no Honour there is no Valour That Prince is not truly Great who does not command great Spirits nor can he ever without such make himself formidable or enlarge his Territories The Subject's Honour obliges them to procure the Prince's for upon his Grandeur depends their's The very shadow and empty appearance of Honour makes 'em assiduous in Labours and valiant in Dangers What Treasures could make sufficient Compensation for the Estates and Blood which Subjects squander away for the Prince's Will and Fancy were it not for this publick Coin of Honour wherewith every one pays himself in his own Opinion 'T is the best Price of worthy and brave Exploits the cheapest Reward that Princes could have found so that if not for their own Grandeur they ought at least for their Conveniency and Interest maintain it among their Subjects by either taking no notice of or lightly punishing the Faults which they commit to defend it and on the contrary by encouraging with Rewards and publick Acknowledgments such Actions as are generous and honourable But they should beware of giving the least Incouragement to that vain fantastical Honour so much in Vogue which depends upon peoples Fancies not true Vertue thence proceed Disputes among the Ministers about Precedence to the prejudice of the Publick and the Prince's Service Hence Duels Affronts and Murthers and from these come Tumults and Seditions This makes Obedience stagger and defiles it with the Prince's blood for if once the Subject shall be perswaded in his own Opinion or by the common Cry that he is a Tyrant and not fit to live he soon contrives his Death
to obtain the Honour of Assertor of his Countrey 's Liberty 2 Itaque Monarchas non ut sibi vendicent Monarchiam invadunt sâ—d ut famam gloriam adipiscantur Arist. Pol. 5. cap. 10. It should therefore be the Princes Care to abolish this Superstition of false Honour and to promote the Worship of the true Let not a Prince disdain to honour Merit either in Subjects or Strangers for this does not derogate from the Prince's Honour no more than the light of a Torch is diminished by the lighting of another by it for which Reason Ennius compares the Charity of a person who instructs a wandring Traveller in his way to a Flame He who t' a wandring Man his way has shewn Lights t'others Torch and never hurts his own * Ennius From whence proceeds Cicero's Advice that whatever kindness can be done another without Detriment to ones self let it be done even to a Stranger 3 Ut quicquid sine detrimento accommodari possit id tribuatur velignoto Cicero From both these Sentences the present Emblem is taken a lighted Candle in a Candlestick the Emblem of Divinity and supream Authority at which two others are lighted to signifie that a Prince may bestow Honour upon those who deserve it without Detriment to his own His Honour is borrowed not his own who is afraid of wanting it when he confers it on others Springs continually flow and are never empty The Fund of Honour in Princes is inexhaustible be they never so profuse All respect them as the only Magazines of Honours from whence every one expects his share so the Earth with its Vapours refreshes the Air which returns them in Dew upon the Earth again And this mutual Correspondence between the Prince and his Subjects King Alphonso the Wise knew when he said that these in Honouring him honour'd themselves because from him they expect Honour and Preferment where this mutual Honour is there Affairs flourish in Peace and War and the Government is established Nor does a Prince shew his Majesty more in any thing than in the Honours he confers All natural Bodies the more noble they are are the more generous and free of their Vertues and Gifts To give Riches is humane but the distribution of Honour belongs to God or his Vicegerents In these Maxims I would perfectly instruct your Highness especially in that of honouring the Nobility who are the main support of Monarchy Let your Highness hearken to your glorious Predecessor King Alphonso the Wise who in laying down Maxims for his Successors speaks to this Effect Furthermore he ought to respect and honour the Nobility for their Riches and for that they are an Honour to his State and he should respect and honour the Gentry as being his Guard and the Bulwark of his Kingdom Without Rewards Services flag but rewarded they flourish and make the Kingdom glorious Under an ungrateful King never any great Action was aâ—chieved nor any glorious Example transmitted to Posterity Those three brave Souldiers who broke through the Enemies Squadrons and fetch'd water from the Cistern scarce did any thing else remarkable because David did not gratifie them A Prince by once rewarding the Merits of a Family binds them to his Service for ever The Nobility is as much urg'd to Glory by the noble Exploits of their Ancestors and by Honours with which they were rewarded as by those which they themselves expect 't was upon this Account that your Royal Highnesses Predecessors bestowed eternal marks of Honour upon the Services of some great Families of Spain So King Iohn II. rewarded those of the Counts Ribadeo by permitting them to eat at the King's Table upon Twâ—lfth-day and to have the same Coat which his Majesty wore that day his Catholick Majesty granted the same Honour to the Marquess of Cadiz And order'd that they should have the Coat which he wore upon the Feast of the Blessed Virgin to the Marquesses of Moya he gave the Cup which the Kings should drink out of upon St. Lucia's Day to the Earls of Roca of the Family of Vera and to all of that House a Grant for each to exempt thirty persons from all Taxes the same King Ferdinand when he met the King of France at Savona invited the great Captain Gonsalvo to Table with him at whose house also he staid at his Entry into Naples and what wonder since he ow'd him his Kingdom and all Spain its Glory and Success †Mar. Hist. Hisp. Of him might well be said what Tacitus says of another brave and valiant General In his Body was all the beauty of the Cherusâ—i and whatever was done with Success was the result of his Counsel 4 Illo in corpore decus owne Cheruscorum illius consilia gesta quae prosperâ— ceâ—idâ—rint testaâ—atur Tac. 2. ann The Valour and Conduct of one Minister is often the Foundation and Rise of a Kingdom That which is founded in America is owing to Herman Cortez and the Pizarrs The single Valour and Industry of the Marquess of Aytona kept the Netherlands from revolting upon the Death of the Infanta Isabella and some of our present Ministers have been the chief Instruments in preserving the Empire in the House of Austria and of the Tranquility which Italy has so long enjoyed whose great Rewards have been a spark to kindle a glorious Emulation in others By recompencing one Service you purchase many more 't is a noble Usury which enriches Princes and enlarges and secures their Estates the Ottoman Empire flourishes because it encourages and prefers Valour in whomsoever it is conspicuous The Fabrick of the Spanish Monarchy arrived at this Perfection because King Ferdinand the Catholick and after him Charles V. and Philip II. knew how to hew out and proportion the Stones to its bigness Princes complain of this Age of being barren and not productive of such great Spirits not considering that the Reason is that they don't look for them or if they do find them that they don't give them sufficient Encouragement but only promote those who are about them which depends more upon Chance than Choice Nature always produces some great Genius's but Princes don't always make use of them How many excellent Genius's and great Spirits are born and die in Obscurity who if they had been imployed and exercis'd in Business had been the Admiration of Mankind Ossat had died Chaplain of St. Lewis in Rome without the Glory of having done so many signal Services to France had not Henry IV. of France observing his great Abilities procur'd him a Cardinals Hat If a Prince suffers a great Soul to herd with the common Rout he will live and die like one of them without performing any thing remarkable or glorious Christ went up to the Mountain Tabur with three of his Disciples only leaving the rest with the multitude upon which their Faith immediately cool'd 5 Nam quod Domino in monte demorante ipsis cum turba
and courageous in Words but cowardly and base in Action They rise upon the least occasion and are soon compos'd Do not lead but follow bear themselves the same to all are sooner forc'd than perswaded In Success arrogant and impious in Adversity timorous and superstitious as prone to Cruelty as Mercy Equally blind in their Favours as their Persecutions they abuse Clemency by Licenciousness and rebel against strict Discipline if they once shall attack the Rich neither Reason nor Shame will reclaim them They raise and are fond of Stories and by their own Credulity enlarge them they follow the Advice of the many not the wise few they attribute ill Success to the Malice of the Magistracy and common Calamities to the Prince's fâ—ult Nothing makes them more supple and obedient than Plenty of Provisions for upon that their Care and Thoughts are fixt Interest and Dishonour soon put them in Commotion Loaden they fall lighten'd they kick back they love hot and rash Spirits and an ambitious and turbulent way of Government they are never content with the present State of Affairs but are always greedy of Change A servile Imitator of the Vertues and Vices of those in Authority They Envy the Rich and Wealthy and plot against them are mighty fond of Plays and Shews nor is there any other way than that to gain their Favour Superstitious in Religion paying more respect to the Priests than their Principles These are the chief Qualities and Affections of the Mob But a Prince may be satisfied that there is no Community or Councel though never so great and grave and of Select Persons in which there is not something of the vulgar and which does not in many things resemble the Popularity The Court makes another part of the strings of this Harp which if a Prince can't touch with great Prudence and Dexterity the whole Harmony of Government is spoil'd wherefore that he many know to tune them well 't is necessary he should know their Nature The Court is presumptuous and inconstant changing its Colour Camelion like each moment according as the Wind of Prosperity or Adversity blows though it all speaks one Language yet all don 't alike understand it it Worships and Adores â—he rising Prince but slights him when declining towards his West it censures and carps at his Actions and yet imitates them it hawks after his Favour with the Nets of Flattery ever bent upon Ambition and Self-interest it lives by Lyes and hates Truth Easily swallowâ— Vice but Vertue not without Difficulty loves Change and Novelty fears every thing and distrusts all Haughty and arrogant in Authority servile and cringing in Obedience Envys even it self as well as others wonderful cunning and dissembling in concealing its Designs it veils its Hatred with Smile and Ceremony Praises and commends in publick and defames privately Is its own Enemy fantastical in its Appearance and unperforming in its Promises This Instrument of Government being known and the Qualities and Sound of each string the Prince ought to touch 'em with that Dexterity that they may all sound Harmoniously without jarring in which he ought to keep time and measure and not favour one String more than another in those which are to make the Consort and wholly forget others for in this Instrument of the Government all have their proper Functions tho' they are unequal and easily jarr which Discord is very dangerous when he shall grant too great Authority to the Magistracy or too much Favour the Commons and slight the Nobility or Administer to some and not to others or confound Offices Military with Civil or does not well know to sustain his Majesty by Authority his Kingdom by Love the Court by Gravity the Nobility by Honour the People by Plenty Justice by Equality the Laws by Fear Arms by Rewards Power by Frugality War by Riches and Peace by Reputation every one of these Instruments are different both in their Nature and the Disposition of the Strings which are the Subjects and so should be manag'd and play'd upon by different ways and a different hand one Kingdom is like a Harp which not only requires the softness of the Fingers ends but also the hardness of the Nails too Another is more like an Organ which requires both Hands to express the Harmony of the Pipes The third is so delicate like a Guitarre that it won't bear the Fingers but must be touch'd with a fine Quill to make it exert its Harmony A Prince ought therefore to be well vers'd in the Knowledge of these Instruments and their Strings to keep 'em always in Tune and to take Care not to strain too hard upon the Notes of Severity or Avarice as St. Chrysostom observ'd in God himself 2 Neque nervum intendit neque remittit ultra modum nè harmiâ—â—iae consensum laedat Chrysost. for even the best String when too much strain'd if it does not break at least spoils the Sweetness of the Consort EMBLEM LXII THE ingenuous and industrious Bee cautiously conceals the Art by which it makes its Combs They are all busie and none can find out their Oeconomy and method of Government And if any one more curious than ordinary shall endeavour to inspect it by means of a Glass Hive they soon plaister it over with Wax that they may have no Spyes nor Witnesses of their Domestick Transactions O prudent Commonwealth Mistress of the World Thou hadst long since extended thy Empire over all Animals had Nature furnish'd thee with Strength equal to thy Prudence Let all others come to thee to learn the importance of Silence and Secrecy in the management of Affairs and the Danger of discovering the Artifice and Maxims of Government Negotiations and Treaties Counsels and Resolutions the Ails and inward Infirmities of States if Drusus the Tribune had duly consider'd this Prudence of Bees when a Builder promised him to make the Windows of his house so that no Body should look in he had not given him this Answer Rather says he so contrive my House if you can that all may see what I do 1 Tu vero inquit siquid in te artis est it a compone doâ—num meam ut quicquid again ab omnibus perspici possit Vell. Pat lib. 2. this was a piece of Pride of an open ingenuous Spirit or the confidence of a private Person not of a publick Minister or a Prince in whose Court there should be some Retirements where they may unseen treat and deliberate of Affairs Counsel is like a Mystery to be communicated but to few 2 Judith 2. 2. Ancient Rome erected Altars to the God whom they called Consus who presided over Counsels but they were Subterraneous ones to intimate that Counsels ought to be private by the benefit of which Secrecy it grew to that Greatness and maintain'd it self so long For Silence is the best and strongest Bond of Government 3 Taciturnitas optimum atque tutissimum rerum administrandarum Vinculum
Germanicus his Death durst not appear in publick 20 Anne omnium oculis vultum eorum scrutantibus salli inteliigerentur Tac. 3. ann The Tongue is not the only blabb of the Secrets of the Heart Man has many as great Tell-tales as that about him as Love which being a Fire gives light to and discovers the darkest Designs Anger which froths and boils over fear of Punishment violence of Sorrow Self-interest Honour or Infamy Vain-glory of our own Thoughts which prompts us to disclose them before they are put into Execution In short the weakness of the Mind either from Wine or any other Accident No caution can deceive these natural Spies Nay the more Care is taken to blind them the sooner they discover the Secret As it befel Sevinus in a Conspiracy which he was concern'd in who discover'd his Care and Concern through all his pretended Joy 21 Atque ipse moestus magnae cogitationis manisestus erat quamvis laetitiam vagis sermonibus simularet Tac. 1â— ann and though long use may in time correct Nature and make it more retentive as Octavia who though very young could hide her Grief and other Affections 22 Octavia quoque quamvis rudibus annis omnes affectus abscondere didicerat Tac. 13. ann and Nero who beside his natural Propensity had almost an acquir'd Faculty of disguising his Hate with false Flatteries 23 Factus Natura consuetudine exercituâ— velâ—re odium fallacibus blanditiis Tac. 14. ann yet Art can't be so vigilant and attentive as not sometimes to forget it self and give Nature its free Course especially when urg'd and provok'd by designing Malice which is done many ways which I will here describe that the Prince may beware of them and not suffer any one to fathom his private Sentiments Malice then sometimes touches the peccant Humour that it may exert and declare it self 24 Eccles. 22. 24. So Sejanus Egg'd on Agrippina's Relations to incense her haughty Spirit that she might be urg'd to discover her desire of Reigning and so give Tiberius occasion to suspect her 25 Agrippinae quoque proximi inliciebantur pravis sermonibus tumidos Spiritus perstimulare Tac. 4. ann Injuries and Affronts also do the same being the Keys of the Heart As close and reserv'd as Tiberius was in his Thoughts he could not contain himself when Agrippina affronted him 26 Audita haec raram occulti pectoris vocem elicuit correptamque Graeco versu admonuit ideo laedi quia non regnaret Tac. 4. ann He who concealing his real Sentiments pretends contrary ones will soon discover peoples thoughts of them with which Artifice the Emperour Tiberius us'd to fathom the Thoughts of the Senate making a shew as if he would not accept of the Empire 27 Postea cognitum est ad introspiciendas etiam procerum vâ—luntates inductam dubitaâ—ionem Tac. 1. ann There is yet another piece of Cunning which insinuates 〈…〉 or discommending that 〈…〉 bottom of 〈…〉 be of the Party to gain Credit and induce the other to disclose his Sentiments This way Latiaris by commending Germanicus pitying Agrippina's misfortune and accusing Sejanus so ingratiated himself with Sabinus that he discover'd to him his Aversion to Sejanus 28 Tac. 4. ann Many Questions ask'd at a time are like so many Bullets discharged at once which no Caution can avoid and which disarm the most retentive Breast as were those of Tiberius to Piso's Son 29 Crebris interrogationibus exquirit qualem Piso diem supreâ—â—â— Noctemque exegisset atque illo pleraque sapientèr quaedam inconsultius respâ—â—dente Tac. 3. ann the Mind is also confounded by sudden and unexpected Questions as Tiberius onâ—â— found by those of Asinius Gallus 30 Perculsus improvisa interrogatione paululum reticuit Tac. 1. ann when though he had taken time to answer yet he could not hide his Concern so but that Afinius took notice of it 31 Etenim Vultu offensionem conjectaverat Ibid. The Authority of the Prince and the Veneration due to Majesty are means to discover Truth and sometimes more than Truth as Tiberius found as often as he examin'd the Criminals himself 32 Non temperante Tiberio quin premeret voce Vultu â—ò quod ipse â—reberrimè interrogabat neque refellere aut eludere dabatur ac saepe etiam confitendum erat nè frustra quesivisset Tac. 3. ann By Discourse and Talk which some can promote with great Dexterity the Mind is discover'd as by joyning the several pieces of a torn Letter you may read the Sence of it and by this method the Conspirators against Nero knew that Fenius Rufus was of their Party 33 Crebrâ— ipsius sermne factâ— fides Tac. 15. ann From all which a Prince may inferr how difficult a matter 't is to keep a Secret and if it is safe within our own Breasts it is much less so when committed to others wherefore it should without absolute necessity be entrusted to none 't is like a Mine which if it has too many Vents the force of the Powder is lost and it proves ineffectual but if there is a necessity of a Prince's communicating his Secrets to his Ministers and he seeing 'em divulg'd would know by whom let him feign several important Secrets and commit one to each and by that which he hears of first he will find who was Tardy before Let not these Cautions seem frivolous for from very small Causes great Commotions often proceed 34 Tac. 4. ann The most Potent Empires are in danger of being sapp'd by the Sea if its Curiosity could find but the least Chink to enter at When this Worm has once found the Root of the Secret it soon brings the tallest Tree to the ground EMBLEM LXIII IN all Affairs the Beginnings and Ends ought mutually to correspond the Form should be perfect and not easily to be chang'd The Potter does not give his Wheel so much Liberty nor use his hand so carelesly as to form a different Pot from what he began Let any undertaking be uniform and agreeable to its self * Ld. Roscom Hor. Art Poet. When you begin with so much Pomp and Shew Why is the End so little and so low Be what you will so you be still the same There is nothing more pernicious than this inequality of Actions and Government when the Beginnings don't answer the Ends. He makes himself ridiculous to all who begins his Reign with Care and Diligence and afterwards grows negligent and careless It had been better always to have kept the same Pace though dull and slow the Commendation which the beginning of his Reign merited accuses the end Galba lost his Reputation for that at the beginning of his Empire he promis'd to reform the Militia and afterwards admitted Persons wholly desertless 1 Nec enim ad hanc forman caetera erant Tac. 1. ann Many Princes seem very good and are very bad Many Talk and Discourse
requires Conduct and Valour one to form and t'other to execute them to a resolv'd and brave Spirit nothing is difficult but he who is scrupulous and timorous meets with a world of Difficulty and loses many lucky Opportunities Great Men are long in their Deliberations and jealous of what may happen but once resolv'd they Act with Vigour and Confidence 10 Vir ea ratione fiet 〈◊〉 si in deliberando quidem cunctetur praetimâ—â—t quicquid potest 〈◊〉 in agendo autem â—â—nfidat Herod without which the Courage sails and not applying convenient means wholly desists from the Enterprize There are few Affairs which cannot he accomplished by Wit or which time and Opportunity cannot facilitate wherefore 't is not proper wholly to confound them but to preserve 'em entire Chrystal once broken can't be rejoyn'd and so Affairs be the Tempest never so great â—tis safer to keep some Sail abroad than to fuâ—l all Most Affairs die by being despair'd of ' Tiâ— also highly conducive that he who is to execute Orders should first approve them otherwise he will not â—hink 'em necessary or else find Difficulties in them and so â—ot apply himself to them as he ought not caring whether they succeed or no. That Minister is most proper to exeâ—ute who first gave the Counsel For his Honour and Reâ—utation 〈◊〉 concern'd in its Success EMBLEM LXV A Stone cast in a Pond creates such a continual Series of Waves that they at last become innumerable and wholly disturb that transparent Element and calm Looking-Glass from which the Species of things which were before distinctly represented appear now in Disorder and Confusion 'T is the same with the Mind in which from one Errour proceeds many so that the Judgment being confounded and blinded and the Waves of Passion raised the Understanding can't perceive the truth of things represented but striving to remedy the first Errour falls into another and thence into a third which at length become infinite and the further they are from the first the greater they are like Waves that are most distant from the Stone that caus'd ' em The Reason of this is That the Beginning is said to be half of the whole so that a small Errour in the Beginning correspond to the other Parts 1 In principio enim peccatur principium autem dicitur dimidium tâ—tius itaque parvum in Principio erratum correspondens est ad alias partes Arist. pol. lib. 2. cap. 4. Wherefore great Care of the first Errour should be taken for from thence all others proceed 2 Cum fieri non possit ut si in primo atque principio peccatum fuâ—rit non ad extremum malum aliquod evadat Arist. pol. 5. cap. 2. This is visible in Mâ—smissa who being checked by Scipio for marrying Sophonisba thought to remedy that Fault by a far greater in poisoning her King Witiza by his Vices obscured the Glory of the Beginning of his Reign and that the number of the Mistresses he kept might not seem scandalous he allow'd all his Subjects the same Liberty nay and made a Law for impowering the Clergy to marry and at last finding his Errours contradictory to Religion he deny'd the Pope's Authority and thence incurr'd the Odium of the whole Kingdom wherefore to prevent their rebelling he demolish'd the Fortifications of most Cities and Castles and so laid all Spain open to the Incursions of the Moors * Marian. Hist. Hisp. lib. 6. cap. 19. and all these Faults proceeding as you see at last occasion'd his Death The same Series of Crimes is visible in Duke Valentine He endeavoured to build his own Fortune upon the Ruin of others to which End he omitted no sort of Tyranny one piece of Cruelty being follow'd by a greater 3 Ferox scelerum quia prima provenerant volutare secum quonam modo Germaâ—i liberos perverteret Tac. 4. ann which at last cost him his State and Life too proving himself an unfortunate Scholar and Machiavel a pernicious Master The Faults of Princes are Difficulty corrected for that they usually affect many or sometimes because of Obstinacy or Ignorance Great Spirits which are often more ingenuous and tractable than others easily acknowledge their Errours and being convinced of them study to amend them pulling down the ill built Edifice Stone by Stone to rebuild it with more firm and durable Materials The Motto of the Emperour Philip III. was Be not asham'd to alter that which was ill began He who returns by the same way he went will find his mistake and soon recover the right Road Repentance would be afterward insignificant To own you have at last your Errour found * Claud. Is of small use when once the Ship 's aground Policy is a certain Chain in which if one Link be broken the whole is useless unless soon solder'd A Prince who knows the Danger of his Resolutions yet still persists in them is a greater Lover of his own Opinion than his Countrey esteeming an empty shadow of Glory more than Truth and while he would be thought constant he is stubborn and perverse 't is the general Vice of Sovereign Power to think it beneath 'em to retire when they have once advanced He thinks it Brave †Seneca Who grasps the Scepter in his Royal Hand Not to retreat Though the Emperour Charles V. was better advised who having Sign'd a Grant which he was afterwards informed was illegal and disallowable order'd it to 〈◊〉 brought him and immediately tore it I had rather sayâ— he tear my writing than my Soul To know ones â—â—rours and still to persist in them is tyrannick Obstinacy but to defend themâ—upon pretence of Honour is to resolve to Sin on and to incourage Ignorance and Folly 't is gilding Iron with Gold which soon wears of and the Iron appeaâ—â— in its rusty Hue. An Errour corrected makes us more caâ—tious for the future and to commit Faults sometimes is a means to prevent greater So small is our Capacity that we are to be instructed by our very Faults and are taught by them how to Act discreetly 'T is certain that the beâ— Laws and Examples proceed from others Crimes 4 Usu probatum est P. C. leges egregias â—â—â—pta honesta apud bonos ex delictis aliorum gigni Tac. 15. ann The most prudent State committed many miscarriages before it arriv'd to Perfection God alone could compleat the Fabrick of this World without Errour and yet even he did afterwards in a manner repent him that he had made Man 5 Gen. 6. 6. We are sometimes more indebted to our miscarriages than to our Success for those instruct us but these are only the Seeds of Pride and Vanity The Patriarchs Instruct not onâ—y the Wise but the Sinful 6 Instruunt Patriarchâ— non solum docentes sed etiam errantes Aâ—b lib. 〈◊〉 de Aâ—â— C. 6. 't is the Shades give light to a Picture to them we owe the Excellency of
and Constellations and though he be not positively assured whether the thing be really so he hath however acquired this Glory that he can now conceive how this World is or at least how it might have been created Neither does the Mind stay here but restless and venturesom in its Researches has imagin'd another quite different Hypothesis and would persuade others that the Sun is the Center of those Orbs which move round it and have their Light from it An Hypothesis impious and directly contrary to Natural Reason which gives Rest to heavy Bodies repugnant to Holy Writ which says the Earth stands for ever 1 Eccles. 1. 4. lastly inconsistent with the Dignity of Man as if he must be moved to enjoy the Sun's Rays and not the Sun to bring them him when yet this as all other Creatures was made only for his Service 2 This Opinion was embraced and maintâ—iâ—ed by Copernicus Rheticus Rothmannus Kepler Galilaeus Des Cartes and Gassendus by whom all Arguments to the contrary are fully answer'd It is certain then that this Prince of Light who has in Charge the Empire of all Things here below illuminates and by his Presence informs them by going without intermission from one Tropick to the other with a Contrivance so wonderful that all Parts of the Earth receive from him if not an equal Heat at least an equal Light whereby the Divine Wisdom has prevented the Evil that would unavoidably ensue if the Sun should never leave the Aequator for then its Rays would utterly burn up some Countries while others would freeze and be involved in perpetual Darkness This Natural Example teaches Princes how much it advances the Publick Utility for Them like that Swiftest of the Planets continually to move about their States to warm the Affection of their Subjects and give Life to their Affairs 3 Velocissimi sideris more omnia invisere omnia auâ—ire Plin. Jun. This is what the Royal Prophet would intimate when he says God has placed his Tabernacle upon the Sun 4 Psal. 19 4. which never stands still but is present on all Occasions King Ferdinand the Catholick and the Emperor Charles V. kept not their Courts in one certain Place by which means they atchieved many Notable Things which they could not possibly have done by Ministers who although dexterous and careful enough yet never perform what the Prince would were he present in Person because they want either Orders or Power Our Saviour Christ no sooner came to the Sheep-pool but he healed the Paralytick 5 Rise take up thy bed and walk Iohn 5. 8. which the Angel could not do in Eight and thirty Years whose Commission being only to trouble the Water he as a Minister could not go beyond it 6 For an Angel went down at a certain season and troubled the water Ibid. 4. 'T is impossible for States to be well govern'd by the bare Relations of others and therefore Solomon advises Kings to give â—ar to their Subjects themselves 7 Give ear you that rule the people c. Wisd. 6. 2. ibid. ver 4. for this is a part of their Office and to them not to their Ministers is given of the Lord that Power and Vertue which accompanies the Scepter only wherein it infuses the Spirit of Wisdom and Counsel of Courage and Piety nay I may say a kind of Divinity enabling the Prince to foresee Things to come so as that he cannot be put upon either in what he sees or hears 8 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Isai. 11. 2. Nevertheless in Time of Peace some fix'd Place of Residence seems by no means inconvenient and it will be sufficient by going a Progress round each Country to have once visited his States Nor indeed are any Treasuries capable of defraying the Expences frequent Removals of a Court will require nor can they be made without considerable Detriment to the Subject without disturbing the Order of Councils and Tribunals and retarding the Proceedings of Government and Justice King Philip II. throughout his whole Reign scarce ever went a step out of Madrid But in Occasions of War it appears more adviseable for the Prince to be himself present and to Head his Subjects For 't is for that Reason the Scared Writings call him Shepherd and Captain 9 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them and they shall fear no more c. Jer. 23. 4. Thus God commanding Samuel to anoint Saul does not say to be King but to be Captain over Israel 10 And thou â—â—alt anoint him to be a Captain over my people Iâ—rael 1 Sam. 9. 16. intimating that this was his principal Office and in effect that this was the Practice of all Kings in former Ages Upon this it was that the People grounded their Petition for a King that they might have one to go out before them and fight their Battels 11 Rex enim Dux erat in Bello Arist. l. 3. Pol. c. 11. Nothing encourages Soldiers more in War than their Prince's Presence 12 Nay but we will have a King over us That we also may be like all the â—â—tions and that our King may judge us and go out before us and â—â—ght our battels 1 Sam. 8. 19 20. The Lacedaemonians thought theirs even while in their Cradles had the same Power and therefore carry'd them in their Infancy into the Field Antigonus the Son of Demetrius took his Presence in a Sea-fight to be equivalent to a great many Ships of the Enemy 13 Mevero inquit praesentem 〈◊〉 multis navibus comparas Plut. in Epâ—ph Alexander the Great animated his Men by representing to them that he first exposed himself to Dangers When the Prince in such a case is upon the Place great Exploits are often performed which no one in his absence would dare to undertake Nor is there need to wait for Orders from Court whence they generally come too late after the Opportunity is gone and always full of vain Apprehensions and impracticable Circumstances a Thing we have often experienc'd in Germany not without great Prejudice of the Publick There 's nothing kindles Spirits so generously nothing that inspires such Lofty Thoughts in the Minds of Soldiers as to have the Prince in whose Hand is Reward an Eye-witness of their Bravery 14 Ego qui nihil 〈◊〉 unquam praecepi quin primus me periculis obtulerim qui saepe cive◠〈◊〉 clâ—peo texi Curt. l 8. This Argument Hannibal made use of to inflame the Courage of his Men There 's none of you said he whom I am not a Witness and Spectator of and cannot too in convenient Time and Place requite where I observe Merit 15 Nemo vestrum est cujus non idem ego spectator testis notata
the Contriver and Maker of all Things yet without laying any Obligation upon his own Power or 8 Etiam merito accidisse videtur casus in culpam transit Velleius Man's Will has wrote their Changes and Vicissitudes in Characters of Light for the Glory of his Eternal Wisdom which past Ages have the present do and those to come will for ever read Greece was heretofore flourishing both in Arms and Arts it left Rome enough to learn but little to invent but now it lies buried in the Depth of Ignorance and Degeneracy The Wits in Augustus's time exceeded even Expectation but under Nero they began to flag so that all the Pains and Industry in the World was not sufficient to save the Arts and Sciences from Destruction Unhappy are those great Genius's who come into the World when Monarchies are declining in that they either are not employed or if they be cannot withstand the weight of their Ruine or perhaps miserably fall with them without Honour or Renown nay sometimes their Fate seems deserved and they are blamed for what was the effect of Chance 9 Cujâ—scunque fortunam mutare constituit consilia corrumpit Velleius God lays no Constraint upon Free-Will but yet either the course of Causes draws it on or for want of that Divine Light it stumbles of it self and its Designs are overthrown or executed too late Princes and Councellors are the Eyes of Kingdoms and when God Almighty determines the overthrow of these he blinds them that they may neither see Dangers nor know their Remedies 10 For the Lord hath poured forth upon you the spirit of deep sleep and hath closed your eyes the prophets and the rulers and the seers hath he covered Isai 29. 10. That which they think to succeed most by leads them most into Miscarriages They see Accidents but do not prevent but rather as much as in them lies forward them A Dangerous Instance of this Truth we have in the Swiss-Cantons ever so prudent and stout in defending their Country and Liberty but now so negligent and supine that themselves are the Cause of the Ruine that threatens them The First Author of Monarchies had situated their Republick between the Outworks of the Alpes and the Rhine and environ'd it with the Countries of Alsace Lorrain and Burgundy against the Power of France and other Princes and when they were farthest from the Fire of War in the Fruition of a happy and desired Peace they of themselves called and encouraged One upon their own Borders standing by and seeing the Ruine of those Provinces redounding afterwards to their own Prejudice they not considering the Danger of a neighbouring Power superiour in Strength and whose Fortune must of necessity be raised out of their Ashes May I be deceived but I fear this Body of the Switzers is already at its full growth and that it will begin to decay when those Spirits and Forces are spent which supported its Reputation and Grandeur Empires 't is certain have their Periods That which has endured longest is nearest its Ruine EMBLEM LXXXVIII WHat strange Force has the Loadstone to produce such Wonderful Effects What so Amorous Correspondence with the Polar Star that although because of its Weight it cannot always gaze on its Beauty yet the Needles it touches should What Resemblance can there be betwixt these two What so great Virtue that is not lost at so wide and remote Distances And why does it encline to that Star or Point of Heaven rather than to any other Were not the Experience common Ignorance would be apt to impute it to Magick as it does all other Extraordinary Effects of Nature when it cannot penetrate the Obscurity of its Operations Nor is the Loadstone less admirable in that other Virtue of Attracting and Lifting up Iron against its Innate Gravity nay even this carried by a kind of Natural Tendency to obey that Superior Power closes with it and does voluntarily what one would think could not but be violent How much were it to be wish'd that the Prince would by this Example learn to know that concourse of Causes which as hath been said sets up or pulls down Empires and how to carry himself therein so as not to encrease their Force by a too obstinate Opposition nor by a too easie Yielding to facilitate their Effects it being with this Series and Connexion of Causes moved by the First Cause as with a River 1 Fluminum instabiliâ— natura simul ostendereâ— omnia 〈◊〉 Tac. Annal. l. 6. which while it streams in its ordinary Current is easily parted into several Branches or by Banks cast up turned this or that way and suffers Bridges to be made over it but when swelled by continual Rains or melting Snows admits of no Resistance and for any one to contend with it does but augment its Force and put it in a condition to carry all before it Hence the Holy Spirit admonishes us not to strive against the Stream 2 Eccles. 4. 32. Patience surmounts that Violence which in a moment loses both its Power and Being Upon which account it was look'd on as an ill Omen to the War of Vitellius in the East that Euphrates overflowed and bubbled into a kind of Frothy Crowns by those who consider'd how Transitory these were When therefore many Causes conspiring together attend the Victories of aâ— Enemy and open an happy Way to his Military Expeditions it will be great Prudence to allow them Time to disperse sensibly of themselves not that they lay any necessity upon the Freedom of the Will but because this Freedom has power only over the Motions of the Mind and Body not over those External Things It may indeed give way to Accidents but cannot avoid being overwhelmed by them Constancy in Expecting is infinitely more valuable than Valour in Fighting This Fabius Maximus well knew and therefore let that Torrent of Hannibal run by till having by long Delays weakened he at length surmounted it and saved the Roman State Successes get strength from one another and by the Reputation Opinion gives them suddenly encrease to that degree that no Power is able to grapple with them The Spanish Monarchy render'd Charles V. Fortunate and Glorious and he by his Prudence Courage and Vigilance made the Empire happy Which eminent Qualities were followed by the general Acclamations and Applause of all Nations All Men joined with his Fortune and the French King Francis I. emulous of so great Splendour striving to eclipse it lost his own Liberty What Terrors does Lightning strike us with when it breaks out of the Clouds Then first exerting its Force when it meets with Resistance without that vanishing into Air. Such was that Thunderbolt raised out of the Exhalations of the North within a few Days it triumphed over the Empire and struck almost the whole World with Terrour And yet one leaden Bullet piercing it made it presently disappear There is nothing so frail and uncertain as the
sides yet could they never take away Iacob's Distrust who notwithstanding endeavoured all he could to be severed from him and secure himself * Gen. 33. 12. Renewed Friendship is like a vessel of Metal which to day shines and to morrow is covered with Rust 4 Never trust thine enemy for like as iron rusteth so is his wickedness though he humble himself and go crouching yet take good heed and beware of him Eccl. 12. 10. Nor are all the good offices in the World capable of making it firm because the remembrance of Injuries is never quite erased out of the Mind Ervigius after the Usurpation of Wamba's Crown marry'd his Daughter Cixilon to Egica a very near Relation of that King 's and afterwards nominated him for his Successor but even this could not keep Egica from giving some marks of his Hatred to his Father-in-Law as soon as ever he came to the Crown * Mar. Hist. Hisp. The Scars of Wounds made by Injuries on the Mind always remain in the Person wrong'd and upon the first motion bleed afresh Injuries are like Marshes which though dried up are easily filled with Water again There is a certain Shadow always betwixt the Offender and the Offended which no Light of Excuse or Satisfaction can dispell Nor is Friendship secure on the former's side in that he never is persuaded the other has really and from his heart forgiven the Injury and always looks on him as an Enemy Besides that it is natural to hate one you have injured 5 Proprium humani ingenii est odisse quem laeser is Tac. Vit. Agric. This is what happens in the Friendship of private Persons but 't is not so in those of Princes if indeed there be any true Friendship to be met with between them for Self-Interest makes them Friends or Enemies and though the Friendship be broke a thousand times yet it is presently renewed again by hopes of Advantage and as long as this may be executed continues firm and constant Wherefore in such Friendships as these no regard is to be had to the Ties of Blood or Obligations of Favours received for these are things disowned by Ambition Their Duration is to be esteem'd by Utility in that all Friendships now-a-days are like those of Philip King of Macedon who made Interest not Faith the Measure of them In these Friendships which are more Reason of State than any Mutual Harmony of Wills Aristotle and Cicero would never have so sharply reprimanded Bias for saying We ought to love no otherwise than if we were to hate again For a Prince would be deceived in his Confidence should he ground it upon such Friendship It is best then for Princes to be Friends so to day as to think they may possibly fall out to morrow But although this Precaution is not to be found fault with yet Interest and Self-ends are not to be preferred to Friendship ever the more for that 't is common for others to do so Let Friendship fail in others but not the Prince we propose to form by these Emblems whom we exhort to Constancy in his Actions and Obligations All that has been said hitherto has respect to such Friendships as are betwixt neighbouring Princes between whom there is some Emulation of Grandeur for among others sincere Amity and a reciprocal Correspondence may have place Power should not be so over-careful as to trust no one Like a Tyrant he will be ever in Fear who puts no Confidence in his Friends Without these the Crown is Slavery not Majesty 'T is an unjust Empire that deprives Princes of Friendships Not Armies nor Treasures are the Defence of a Kingdom but Friends 6 Non exercitus neque thesauri praesidia Regni sunt verum amici Sallust 'T is not the Golden Scepter that protects a King but abundance of Friends those are the truest those the securest Scepter 7 Non aureum istud sceptrum est quod Regem custodit sed copia amicorum ea Regibus sceptrum tutissimum Xenoph. Nor is there any greater Instrument of good Government than good Friends 8 Nec â—llum majus boni Imperii instrumenâ—um quam boni Amici Tac. Annal. l. 4. Friendship between great Princes should be maintained rather by a good Correspondence than by Presents for Interest is always ungrateful and insatiable For the sake of that Friendships are pretended never really contracted as Vitellius found who thinking to preserve his Friends by the Richness of his Presents not by his Merit deserved rather than had them 9 Dum amicitias magnitudine munerum non constantia morum continere putavit meruit magis quam habuit Tac. Hist. l. 2. Friends are to be kept by Iron not Gold for Fear of Arms creates more of them than Desire of Money Pecuniary Subsidies enervate the Giver and the greater they are the lesser time can they be continued and as fast as the Prince's Coffers empty his Reputation diminishes Princes are esteem'd and lov'd for the Treasures they still have not those they have already squandered away more I say for what they can give than for what they have given For Hope prevails much more with Men than Gratitude He who buys Peace is unable to uphold it with Arms. This is a Fault which almost all Monarchies fall into when arrived to some height of Grandeur they strive to maintain it by Money not Arms and thus consuming their Treasures and oppressing their Subjects to raise Contributions for neighbouring Princes to keep the Circumference quiet they weaken the Center And though that Greatness be supported for a time yet 't is at the Price of a greater Downfall for that Weakness being known and the Frontiers once lost the Enemy without Opposition makes way to their Heart Thus it befell the Roman Empire when after having been at so many useless Expences and wasted their Strength the Emperors went about to gain the Parthians and Germans by Presents which was the first beginning of their Ruine Hence Alcibiades advised Tisaphernes not to be so liberal of his Succors to the Lacedaemonians but to remember that it was not his own but another's Victory he promoted and that he was to support the War so as not to be obliged to abandon it through Want 10 Ne tanta stipendia classi Lacedaemoniorum praeberet sed nec auxiliis nimis enixe juâ—andos quippe non immemorem esse debere alienam esse victoriam non suam instruere eatenus bellum sustinendum ne inopia deseratur Trog l. 5. This Counsel we may make our Advantage of by taking care what is expended on Favour of Foreign Princes to the great prejudice and weakening of Castile which yet as being the Heart of the whole Monarchy should be furnish'd with the greatest quantity of Blood to distribute Vital Spirits to all the other Parts of the Body as Nature her self the best Mistress of Politicks instructs who fortifies with the strongest Fences the interiour Parts
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