Selected quad for the lemma: state_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
state_n	great_a	king_n	monarch_n	1,055	5	9.5526	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36827	A new voyage to the Levant containing an account of the most remarkable curiosities in Germany, France, Italy, Malta, and Turkey : with historical observations relating to the present and ancient state of those countries / by the Sieur du Mont ; done into English, and adorn'd with figures.; Nouveau voyage du Levant. English	Dumont, Jean, baron de Carlscroon, 1667-1727.	1696 (1696)	Wing D2526; ESTC R9818	264,606	436

of which they were ignorant before In short she 's in all respects an admirable Person Judge Sir whether I can think the time tedious which I spend in such agreeable Company and in a House where I 'm so kindly entertain'd and whether you can blame me for not hastening my departure I 'm resolv'd to expect an occasion for Venice and I believe 't will be a long time before I can find one because the Venetian Vessels never venture to appear in this part of the Sea till the Turkish Fleet be laid up tho' they have no great reason to dread it since the Grand Signior for all his Grandeur is Master only of Eleven Ships of War 'T is true if all his Galleys wou'd put to Sea their number might at least amount to 200 but as Affairs are manag'd at present his Navy makes no great Figure You may expect a more particular Account of these things in my next In the mean time I am SIR Your c. Smyrna Apr. 1691. LETTER XIX SIR YOU might justly accuse me of Laziness or want of Complaisance if I shou'd not employ the leisure I enjoy at present in recollecting my Observations concerning the Government Religion Manners and Customs of the Turks I shall endeavour therefore to satisfie your Curiosity by entertaining you with a short account of these Subjects avoiding all impertinent Repetitions of those obvious and common Remarks that are to be met with in almost every Book of Voyages And I hope the Points I propose to handle will furnish me with sufficient Matter for Three Letters the first of which shall treat of the Government the second of the Religion and the third of the Manners and Customs of the Turks The Turkish Empire according to the primitive and fundamental Constitution of the Government is absolutely and entirely Despotic that is a Supream and Arbitrary Power is lodg●d in the Person of the Emperor whose Will is the only Law by which he Rules and who acknowledges no other Maxim of Government than Sic volo sic jubeo He is not curb'd by any written Law or Custom and those whom he Oppresses have not so much as a right to Complain He may take away any Man's Estate and either keep it or give it to another Sometimes he passes by the most ancient Bassa's and in one day advances a simple Chiaux or even a Cook to the Dignity of Grand Visier He sends for the Heads of those whom he has a Mind to be rid of who are Murder'd without any Trial or Form of Justice and even without knowing the Reason of his Displeasure In one Word his Pleasure is the supreme and uncontroulable Law This unlimited Power of the Sultan is founded on the Mahometan Religion which enjoins a blind Obedience to all his Commands under Pain of Damnation But the Turks of late have render'd their Slavery more tolerable for tho' they have made no Alteration in the Constitution of the Government their Practices are very different from what they were heretofore The Grand Visier is the Chief Minister of State and is call'd King by the Turks to shew how much the Sultans slight and undervalue that Title in Imitation of the Old Roman Emperours who bestow'd Kingdoms on their Favourites This is the Reason why the Grand Signior stiles himself The Protector of Persecuted Kings and the Distributer of Crowns tho' he wears none himself not even on the Day of his Public Inauguration for the only Badge of his Imperial Dignity is a magnificent Sabre enrich'd with precious Stones which the Mufti girds to his Side The Grand Visier is entrusted with the whole Management of Affairs and his Power is almost equal to the Sultan's He is in a great measure the Arbiter of Peace and War and creates the Fortune of all the Great Officers in the Empire 'T is true he ought not to do any thing without the Advice of a Council compos'd of seven Bassa's call'd the Visiers of the Bench but they have only a Shadow of Authority which scarce deserves to be mention'd The next in Order are the Bassa's who are a sort of Vice-Roys in the Provinces Their Office is to administer Justice exactly and to keep the People in Subjection to the Government They are also oblig'd to pay a yearly Tribute to the Grand Signior both of Money and Slaves without reck'ning the Carache Customs and other Imposts that are usually exacted This is the utmost Extent of the Legal Authority of the Bassa's but they commonly abuse their Power and are more arbitrary Tyrants than the Grand Signior himself Their principal Aim is to raise their Fortune speedily and in order to that they rob the Widow and Orphan and fill the Land with Spoil and Oppression never scrupling to commit a gainful Crime tho' attended with the basest Circumstances The Sultan is forc'd to dissemble his Knowledge of these Disorders for want of Power to suppress 'em for every Bassa maintains some standing Forces at his own Charge whose Assistance he may command upon all Occasions if their Payment be not wholly neglected Whereas the Sultan who for the most part wants Money to pay his Army and perhaps does not shew himself twice in his Life to the Soldiers is so far from being Master of 'em that he is almost always constrain'd to submit to their Authority This is the fatal Source of all those Seditions that have so often shaken and will at last overturn the Empire For how can we suppose that Subjects will either love or fear a lazy Prince that takes no Share in the Business of State or War a Prince that contents himself with a Chimerical Show of Grandeur and Power and seems rather to be a mock-Mock-King in a Farce than a Ruler of Kingdoms 'T is plain both from Reason and Experience that a great Monarch who wou'd be the absolute Master of his Subjects ought to apply himself to the Execution and Reformation of the Laws and above all to gain the Esteem and Affection of his Soldiers whom he ought to look upon as the surest Prop and Support of his Authority An Army in a State cannot remain indifferent they must and will have a Master and will either continue faithful to the Crown or espouse the Interest of some designing Subject And therefore it ought to be the Prince's Care to discover their Inclinations and to act accordingly Kings are as feeble Creatures as other Men and as unable to perform any Great Action by their own Power but when they are at the Head of 100000 Men all devoted to their Interest 't is then they become the Terrour of the World and their Power is almost as boundless as their Ambition The Fate of Monarchs depends on their Armies and without these neither Alexander Caesar nor Lewis XIV cou'd have gain'd one Inch of Ground This is so evident and certain a Truth that never any Person had the Confidence to controvert it and I believe the Ottoman Emperours are

the Port and the other under the Baraque of Italy commonly call d The great Basilisk and carrying 120 pound Ball. The next Year the Great Master de la Valette laid the Foundation of the New City and call'd it by his own Name I may venture to say without an Hyperbole that this is the strongest City in the World I never saw so many nor better contriv'd Works and besides the Strength of the Place is very considerably augmented by the Advantages of its Situation for all the Half-Moons and Bastions are cut out of the Rock as well as the Counterscarp that defends 'em and the Ditches which in some places are sixty Foot deep and proportionably broad The Castle of S. Angelo is in the Old City which is separated from the other by a double Port consisting of two Harbours divided by a Neck of Land which have but one Mouth At the end of this Isthmus stands the Castle of S. Elm defending the Entry of both Ports in one of which the Ships that arrive are oblig'd to perform their Quarantain having the conveniency of a little Island which serves as a Lazaretto for the Passengers and their Goods On the other side is the great Harbour frequented by those who are permitted to converse with the Inhabitants Both these Harbours are safe and convenient but the Entry is extremely dangerous by reason of the Rocks that lie hid under the Water The New City call'd Valette is seated partly on the Top and partly on the Declivity of a rising Ground descending to the Shoar The Streets are streight running in parallel Lines both thro' the Length and Breadth of the City and are so contriv●d that the Ascent is only discernable in four or five the rest being exactly level The Houses are generally fair built after the Italian Fashion with Platforms on the Top so that the Sketch of the New City resembles perfectly a Rectilinear Amphitheatre The Old City is not so beautiful and is at present only inhabited by the Common People yet 't is the Seat of the Bishop and his Chapter which may vie with any Society of that Nature in Italy being compos'd of four and twenty Canons who wear the Episcopal Habit and have each a Thousand Crowns a Year There is but one publick Place or Square in the City Valette which is considerable for its Beauty adorn'd with a Fountain in the middle the Water of which falling into a Basket of Stone so artificially cut that it seems to be transparent makes one of the pleasantest Cascades in the World The Front of the Great Master's Palace makes one intire side of the Square There is nothing admirable either in the Inside or Outside of this Structure 't is of a Square Figure and separated from the Neighbouring Buildings by four Streets 'T is divided into the Winter and Summer Apartments The first which is the most ancient and least beautiful is painted throughout with the Representations of Victories obtain'd over the Turks and particularly the raising of the Siege of Malta accompany'd with Explanatory Inscriptions The Summer Apartment was built by the late Great Master Vignacourt who beautify●d Malta with so many Ornaments and wou'd have certainly made this a very Magnificent Palace if Death had not interrupted his Designs That which is chiefly remarkable in it is the Hall of Arms where there are 30000 Muskets as many Bandaliers 10000 Cuirasses and Helmets with a proportionable Number of Swords Pikes Pistols and Scimitars all rank'd in the finest Order imaginable There is an incredible number of cast Pieces of Cannon in this City for tho' I never reckon'd 'em my self I 'm assur'd by Persons of unquestion'd Credit that there are 1060 and all of a considerable bigness The Churches of Malta are incomparably beautiful the Italian Neatness reigns throughout and they are every where adorn'd with Painting and Gilding The principal Church is dedicated to S. John Baptist the Patron of the Order The Prospect of it is not very pleasant but to make amends for the Defects of the Outside I never saw any thing that cou'd with Justice be compar'd to the Richness and Beauty of the Inside 'T is as light as an open Field and all its Ornaments appear with so unclouded a Lustre and so charm the Eye of the Spectatour that I believe never any Man came out of it without Reluctancy 'T is pav'd throughout with large pieces of black and white Marble The Walls and Columns are lin'd to the very Cornices with curious Wainscotting which hardly obstructs the Sight and the Life of S. John is painted in Fresco on the Vault by the Hand of the Chevalier Mathias But the finest Work of that Nature in the Church is the beheading of the Holy Baptist represented in a Chapel of the same Name by the Hand of Michael Angelo this Picture was presented to the Order by one of the Dukes of Florence and may be reckon'd a very considerable Complement since the Princes of that Family are seldom wont to part with such rare and beautiful Pieces The many and magnificent Epitaphs of the Great Masters and Grand Crosses with their Scutcheons are none of the least remarkable Ornaments of this Church and among the rest the Great Master Vignacourt's Epitaph is extremely beautiful Every one of the Seven Languages has a peculiar Chapel in this Church which they strive to adorn in Emulation of one another There is not a Church in the World where Vessels of Gold and Silver are more common than in this Among other curious Works there are two Angels of the last of these Metals as big as the Life But the most finish'd Piece is a golden Sun of Filagram-Work to receive the Holy Sacrament of which the Workmanship alone cost 2000 Crowns The Treasury is so full of Relicks that 't wou'd be an endless Labour to describe ●em and therefore I shall only tell you that the finest Piece I saw in it is the Bishop's Mitre set all over with the richest Jewels The Great Altar in the Nave is esteem'd one of the most magnificent Works of that Nature in Europe It stands by it self after the Modern Fashion like that of Strasburg which it exceeds both in Largeness and Richness I saw the Grand Prior of the Order say Mass here in Ceremony and after the same manner as the Pope does at Rome His Habit is not different from that of a Bishop but he is serv'd by eight Deacons and Sub-Deacons with a great deal of State and Ceremony The place where he sits while the Epistles and Gospels are read is on the Right-hand as you go to the Altar and directly opposite to the Great Master who sits in an arm'd Chair on the Left-hand unde a Canopy two Pages standing behind to serve him The Grand Crosses are seated in the middle of the Nave on a double Row of Benches with Rails or Backs which enclose the place The Bailiffs and Commanders are plac'd on the Seats behind and the

Difficulty I shall only repeat what I have already told you that 't was never my Custom to make my Judgment a Slave to Authority or to regulate my own by the Opinions of others I 'm persuaded that a blind Submission to Vulgar Notions is one of the most fertil Sources of Error and that there is nothing so variable and uncertain as the Sentiments of Men in different Places and Ages I confess the other part of the Objection contains a greater and more puzzling Difficulty But tho' the Conduct of the Venetian Senate in this Case seems at first View to depend upon some secret Reasons of State the Mystery lies not so deep but that it may be easily unriddl'd by a moderate Degree of Application You know that the Government of Venice is purely Aristocratical and that the Revolutions which happen in such Constitutions are usually occasion'd by suffering one of the Members of the Body in which the Government is lodg'd to over-top the rest For an Ambitious Person may be easily tempted by so inviting an Opportunity to establish the Grandeur of his Family by oppressing his Fellow-Citizens and to erect a Monarchy upon the Ruines of the Republick History and Experience furnish us with so many Instances of such Revolutions and these Examples are so universally known that 't wou'd be needless either to cite 'em or to alledge any other Arguments to prove so well-attested a Truth Now the Senate of Venice whose Maxims are without Controversie grounded on the most refin'd Politicks making a wise use of the Misfortunes of other States and being well acquainted with the weak part of their own have endeavour'd to prevent the Inconveniences that might arise from that necessary Flaw in their Constitution by the most prudent Laws and Proviso's that ever were invented and their Care for the Preservation of the State has been attended with such excellent Success that the Republic continues still to subsist on the same Foundations on which 't was first establish'd To give you a Specimen of the admirable Politicks of that wise Body I shall briefly take notice of some of those Laws and Customs that are interwoven with the Constitution of their Government The Doge is entrusted with so small a Share in the Management of the State that he may be justly call'd a meer Shadow of Grandeur There are Inquisitors appointed to have an Eye upon his Actions who may call him to an Account when they please He is not allow'd the Liberty of public and familiar Conversation nor suffer'd to appear in the City but on certain Days of Ceremony The Nobles are forbidden to entertain any correspondence with Foreign Princes or their Ministers They are not permitted to wear Arms to use any Ornaments of Gold or Silver to keep a numerous Train of Servants or to affect any Marks of Grandeur The Custom of walking in the Broglio was introduc'd to prevent the dangerous Consequences of private Cabals The Inquisitors of State were establish'd for the Security of the Government and 't is the same Consideration that moves 'em to entertain above a Thousand Spies And to conclude that illustrious Body in which the Government is lodg'd the celebrated Senate of Venice which knows so well how to maintain its Honour on other Occasions keeps neither Guards about the Place of its meeting nor a Garrison in the Town wisely considering that if ever an Insurrection shou'd happen those Mercenary Soldiers however appointed for the Defence and Preservation of the State wou'd be made the Instruments of its Ruine I will not trouble you with a particular Account of all the Laws and Regulations that were instituted for the same end and are still observ'd in this place But from what has been said on this Subject you may easily perceive that those prudent Senatours make it their principal Care to prevent Intestine Disorders and to render the Nobles incapable of invading the Public Liberty Now if the Senate shou'd order a Citadel or Fort to be built at Venice they might with Justice be accus'd of contriving the Instruments of their own Ruine and of undermining that Noble Fabric which they have taken so great Care to secure But they are too wise to be guilty of so fatal a Blunder and 't is better to be in some measure expos'd to the Insults of Foreign Invaders than to lie at the Mercy of Domestic Enemies Besides they have no Reason to be afraid of their Neighbours for 't is the Interest of all the Princes and States of Italy to preserve the Republic that it may continue to be the Bulwark of Christendom on that side and to counter-balance the Power of the House of Austria And as for the Turks they are at too great a Distance to undertake an Expedition against the City Thus you see that there are several weighty Considerations that deter the Senate from fortifying their Capital City and there are no less pressing Reasons that oblige 'em to encourage the Vulgar Opinion of its pretended Impregnability If I shou'd send you a particular Description of this City I cou'd only entertain you with a Repetition of what you have read perhaps in a hundred Authors And therefore I shall content my self with communicating some of my Remarks to you in a loose and familiar manner Some pretend that Venice is built on seventy two Islands or Lagunes which are separated by such narrow Chanels that they seem to form one little Continent and there are others who reject this Opinion I will not undertake to decide the Controversie but only tell you what I have seen and leave the whole Matter to your Judgment 'T is certain that Venice is founded on a Spot of Ground that rises at least to the Surface of the Water for the Earth appears in the Streets Keys public Places and Houses 'T is true they are forc'd to make use of Piles because the Ground is not firm enough to support the Weight of a large Palace without sinking but that ought not to make us doubt the Truth of a thing that is confirm'd by the Testimony of our own Eyes for the same way of Building is generally us'd in all Moorish or Fenny Places and particularly in Holland 'T is no less certain that this Spot of Ground is at present a Mass of Islands so that it remains only to consider whether the Canals that separate these little Islands be Natural or Artificial This Question is not easily to be determin'd for one may alledge very plausible Arguments either for the Affirmative or Negative part 'T is probable the Venetians might dig these Chanels for the more convenient Carriage of Goods which by this means are brought to their Doors and for the Embellishment of the City which is the only Town in the World that can boast of such a Situation But there are so many and so considerable Reasons which favour the contrary Opinion that I 'm almost entirely convinc'd of the Truth of it In the first place 'T