more ease to recover what he hath lost and that in weakening me he might make use of this Conjuncture to satisfye the ambition which he hath alwaies had to seize on my Empire and to cause the Imperial Crown to pass into his family But by the means of these violent proceedings he hath cooperated in the Election of my Son to be King of the Romans who was thereupon constituted my Successor and I am sofar from being oppress'd as this new enemy hop'd that I find myself in a condition vigorously to oppose the assaults of these two Potentates and the Reverend Fathers the Jesuits give me reason to hope that if I continue the War against the Infidels I shall be able to set up the Cross in the City of Constantinople but on the other hand all my Allies represent to me the devastations and calamities that the French have caus'd in Germany and that to conquer certain barren Lands in Bulgaria several fair Provinces on the Rhine are ruin'd What measures then are most expedient to be taken by me in such an exigence being urg'd on one side by the the desire of destroying the Infidels and incited on the other by the cruelties and outragious combustions of the French THE ORACLE Peace in the East and suffer not thy self to be seduc'd VII The King of the Romans having accompanied the Emperor to the Temple his Imperial Majesty advis'd him to consult the Oracle who said I have been contrary to the expectation of the enemies of the Emperor my Father elected King of the Romans and appointed Successor of the Empire in a time of trouble and in the midst of War and all the means that France hath us'd to avoid this blow in favour of the Dauphin could not hinder my Election from being made without any opposition all the promises and efforts of my Competitor have prov'd vain and ineffectual and the just reputation and good Reign of the Emperor my Lord and Father hath prevail'd over all the intrigues and artifices of the French Emissaries This is such a happiness that I could not expect so soon for which I 'm come to render thanks to Heaven as the principal cause and to be inform'd of the second THE ORACLE The Revolution of England but especially become Caesar and not a Jesuit VIII All the Electoral Princes having accompanied the Emperor and the King of the Romans the Elector of Mentz advanc'd near the sacred Den and spake to this effect I have been tormented and my Territories have been taken as a prey relying to much on the illusory promises that were made to me on behalf of the King of France moreover as an addition to my misfortunes I found out the cheat only with the loss of my Country and receiv'd not a penny of all the money that was promis'd to me and if the Emperor at length had not had more consideration for me than I had at the beginning fidelity to him or regard to the welfare of the Empire thô my Quality of Elector and Prince of the Empire obliged me thereto I should have utterly perish'd I stood on the brink of a dangerous precipice where my head began to turn but thanks to his Imperial Majesty who hath extended his gracious hand to me and hath as it were snacht me out of the abyss of destructions wherein the Emissaries of France had almost plung'd me contrary to my own peculiar Interest But forasmuch as in adversity and perils we are most apt to reflect on our former errors and miscarriages I 'm come to make a solemn protestation in this Temple that I will never depart from the true interest of the Empire and that I am resolv'd for the future either to overcome or to perish together with it THE ORACLE Offend no more lest a worse thing happen unto thee IX The Elector of Triers approach'd and said I have fought the good fight for the Empire and have remained faithful to the Emperor neither promises nor threats have been able to move me nor to separate me from the Empire which is my true interest I confess my Tertitories have suffer'd but I take comfort in this that it was for a good cause and that I have persever'd in all the parts of my duty and fidelity and I patiently expect the deliverance of my Country by the hand of my Allies and the consolation of my People that groan under the oppression of the Usurper THE ORACLE Deliverance attends the just and Heaven it self shall make a breach in the Royal mount where thou art detain'd X. The Elector of Colen not having obtain'd an oppertunity to consult the Oracle since the death of his Uncle was ravish'd with joy at this it being the first that happen'd since his election to the Electorate and said The Negociation of my friends hath prevail'd over the pretensions of the Coadjutor that was chosen by the Chapter and all the machinations of France are frustrated Since my election all the great designs of Lewis XIV begin to fail and the Crown of the King of the Romans hath prov'd only imaginary to the Dauphin his Son My election hath serv'd as a bridle to restrain his ambition Colen hath limited his conquests Rhinberg Keiserwert and Bonne have been such hard morsels that the Cardinal of Furstemberg could not digest them notwithstanding his taking a dose of Spiritus Gall. he was oblig'd to disgorge them at the first emetic potion given him by the Allies not being any longer able to bear the Quality of Arch-Bishop of Colen however for his consolation I consent that he may please himself with that title during the War Lastly my election hath been an eclipse of this French Sun that was about to set the whole World in a flame but thanks be to my good Allies the States General of the United Provinces and to the care of his Highness the Prince of Orange now King of Great Britain to whom my election hath serv'd as the first step to ascend the Throne Thus am I now become the peaceable possessor of my Uncle's Arch-Bishopric who was indeed blinded by France to deprive the thereof on the simple promise of the Cardinal to give me the Coadjutorship But this was least in the thoughts of Lewsi XIV his interest obliging him to keep this Electorate in the hands of his Creatures therefore it hath been preserv'd by Divine Providence that extracts sweet out of bitter and I may justly affirm that the treachery of France hath open'd to me a passage into the Electorate The People of my Jurisdiction passionately desire my presence by reason of the Calamities in which many of them are now involv'd but I comfort them rather at a distance since during my minority I leave the Revenues to satisfye the debts of my Countrey However I hope that the War being ended the Pope will grant me a dispensation to exercise the Spiritual function and then I shall go and take possession of both at once In the
with whom we are now to contend and who are resolv'd not to hearken to any Peace till France be abased but it is my misfortune that in this abasement I shall find my own The King will not give Ear to my Counsel and perhaps when he shall have a mind to take my Advice it may then be too late He always thinks that he hath strength enough to break thro' the multitude of his Enemies and to make way for a favourable Peace but this account is very different from that of the Confederates who advance on all sides to enter into France Peradventure if I were Master and should make propositions to them they would hearken to me but the King will never consent to this till the last extremity Therefore I come hither to know to which Party I ought to adhere in case the Enemies should invade the Kingdom THE ORACLE The Success of the Campain of the Year 1691 shall shew it to thee XXII THE Duke of Orleans tir'd with doing nothing and vex'd to see himself rejected and despis'd went to consult the Oracle saying I have always very well discharg'd my Trust whensoever the King hath thought fit to require my Service witness the Battel and Taking of St. Omer and altho' his Majesty hath been pleas'd to express the satisfaction he receiv'd from the Glory that I had there obtain'd nevertheless I remain without Employment and the King neither talks nor takes no more notice of me than if there were no such Person in the World Whence does this proceed THE ORACLE The King would not have his Actions Eclips'd by thine neither doth he desire any other Glory but that which he acquires himself XXIII THE King of Sweden having declar'd that he is very willing to assist his Allies but withal to keep a Neutrality with France that he might thereby promote the Commerce of his Subjects whilst the most part of other Nations were engag'd in a tedious War went to consult the Oracle saying The King of France offers great advantages to hinder me from affording any Supplies to the Confederates and to induce me to stand Neuter He hath propounded an Expedient to stop the Vessels that I am oblig'd to send to the Hollanders by vertue of a Treaty made with the States General and if I have a mind to enter into Pomerania he will not only pay all arrears and summ's of money due to me but will also restore the Dutchy of Deux ponts and defray the charge of the War moreover he promiseth that the King of Denmark shall make no attempt upon my Countrey but shall likewise remayn neuter on my account and that we shall both enter into a Treaty of Commerce with France and make a league together to oppose all that shall endeavour to incommode or disturb us therein Whereas on the one side I am allur'd by the advantage of Traffic on the other the treachery and ill usage that I have receiv'd from France deters me all these fair propositions being only the product of that necessity with which he finds himself urg'd what then shall I do THE ORACLE Relye not on a reconcil'd enemy XXIV The King of Denmark being sollicited on the one side by the fair offers of France and detain'd on the other by the interest of Prince George who stands in need of King William's assistance to establish the Crown in the Family and knowing not what to determine to preserve both came to consult the Oracle on this occasion saying The present offers of the King of France are fair and good but they are not to be compar'd with the advantages that will hereafter accrue to my Countrey by a strict union with England for if the Princess of Denmark should ascend the Throne there would be a great and indissoluble band of unity between England and my Dominions besides that the assurances which the King of Great Britain now reigning hath given me at present of his amity and the sincerity that I have always found in the word of this Prince have oblig'd me to send Forces to assist him in finishing the Conquest of Ireland my own interest also exciteth me to afford him this supply against King James since the later design'd to exclude the Princesses his Daughters and their off-spring from the Crown to transfer it to a stranger whose extraction is unknown but I would willingly assist the King of England without leaving the King of France who considering his present circumstances will not be offended as he would have been heretofore at the aid that I have sent into Ireland since he is now as Meek as he was haughty in times past THE ORACLE Beware of the French disease for that of England had its original in France XXV The King of Poland being sufficiently disgusted at France when he had caus'd the Sieur Granville to depart out of his Dominions and having declar'd to the Queen that after the marriage of the Royal Prince his Son with the Princess of Nieubourg he would no longer hearken to the Ministers of France thô they were able even to bestow on him the same faculty as Midas had heretofore of turning every thing he should touch into Gold came in this resolution to consult the Oracle saying The French baits have caus'd me to lose the high reputation that I had acquir'd before Vienna I confess my weakness hitherto in placing my Summum bonum in a little yellow clay which I have kept more carefully than holy Relicks and I have often look'd on the effigies of the Louys d'Ors as a Tutelary God and the object of my happiness However I now begin to understand that these material goods are but froth in comparison of the worth of real glory which alone can set my Son on the Throne I know that the taking of Caminiec can at present contribute more thereto than all the treasure of France but on this occasion my Allies have at least this consolation that I have taken more from the French than from the Turks and that to exhaust is to weaken That War can be but of little moment where the danger and the honour are not great therefore for the future after the example of Hannibal I shall turn to the side of glory as soon as the marriage of the Royal Prince with the Princess of Nieubourg shall be accomplish'd and to that end I have stopt my ears against all the Syrens of France since I observe that their King will have enough to do to preserve his Crown for his own Son and that the Emperor alone can establish mine on the head of my heir I am come hither to receive your wholsom Counsel THE ORACLE Endeavour thy self by thy own valour to secure the Crown for thy posterity XXVI The King of Portugal after his Alliance with the House of Nieubourg thought himself also oblig'd to imbrace the interest of the Empire and the common cause of his Allies but the French who are alwais pregnant of politic contrivances
forseeing that this marriage especially at this present juncture of affairs might alienate that Kingdom from their interests to amuse the Portuguese Court propounded another between their Infanta and the Dauphin and that the issue of that Bed should succeed to the Crown of Portugal on condition nevertheless that the King of Portugal should declare War against Spain and that France should bear a part of the charge wherefore his Portuguese Majesty in this perplexity went to consult the Oracle and spake thus The Ministers of France continually represent to me how much both my Predecessor and my self have been oblig'd to them on the account of the Pyrenean peace insinuating that the Grandeur of Spain might hereafter produce my abasement but they would furnish me with means in this conjuncture whereby to deliver my self from all pretensions that that Court might make to my Countrey for the future Now since I have an oppertunity to serve France with my Commerce to remain neuter and to procure the Traffic of the other Princes engaged in War why should I not improve it to the enriching of my Subjects by furnishing the French with all manner of ammunitions that they shall want in this present War THE ORACLE Thou dost not yet know the force of Spiritus Gall. XXVII The Grand Signior after so many losses notwithstanding his affiance in Mehemet Rasoul and after the return of his Dervishes from Mecca not knowing any longer to which Saint of the Alcoran to make his addresses determin'd to go and consult the Oracle and to try if he could there find any hopes of deliverance Being arriv'd at the Sacred cave he spake after this manner I have offer'd to the Emperor of the Christians my enemy all that my Law allows me to give notwithstanding the perswasions of France without being able to obtain any thing I have lost my best Janizaries in battel and my Dervishes are weary with crying throughout all the Mosques my Treasures are exhausted and my People raise commotions in divers Places demanding Peace The Women with Child miscarry at the approach of the uncircumcised and I durst not venture to return to Constantinople with out a peace The Cham of Tartary indeed hath promis'd to come to my assistance and the great Sultan of France to pay him and that he will send the young Sultan his Son to the River Rhine to compel the Christians to depart out of my Dominions but especially he that will never make Peace till all my Territories that I have lost in Hungary be restor'd to me provided that I maintain the War as long as he But my Forces are broken the enemy stands at my gates and I am continually terrified with great alarms being doubtful whether I ought to give credit to this Sultant that bears the name of Christian He hath often abus'd me and the necessity of my affairs hath hitherto forc'd me to hearken to him He proffers to swear by my Alcoran that he will keep his word but since all his promises have had no effect what resolution shall I take and on whom shall I relye THE ORACLE On thy own Forces XXVIII The Deputies of the States General of the United Provinces being come to consult the Oracle said It was necessary for the security of our State to set the Prince of Orange on the Throne of Great Britain to secure us from the threats of France and the assurance that the count d' Avaux gave us of a strict alliance between the two Kings hath open'd our eyes to the end that we might take away from the King of France the means of being able to hurt us We have by our own aid disengag'd ourselves from a very great incumbrance and perplexity and by placing the Prince on the Throne we have well provided for our safety for the future by that indissoluble Union that will alwaies be maintain'd between the two States but since all things in this sublunary World are subject to variety of changes and revolutions what course must we take to preserve that high reputation which we have acquir'd to our selves in Europe THE ORACLE Be alwaies Masters of your own Forces XXIX The most Serene Doge of Venice being ready to return laden with the Laurels and Trophies of his Victories was extremely glad of an oppertunity to consult the Oracle and said The most Serene Republic having been hitherto the terror of the Infidels hath compell'd her haughty enemy to sue for a Peace but the advantage of have a Pope descended from her own loins obliges her to continue the War and not to separate from her Allies thô Poland stands as an idle Spectator therefore it is time to think of a Peace and so much the rather by reason that a great fire is kindl'd in the neighbourhood of this Republic that is capable of inflaming all Italy if it be not soon prevented What is most requisite to be done on this occasion THE ORACLE Make Peace and return from the farthest to succour the nearest XXX The Duke of Savoy having for some time amus'd the King of France who only sought to seize on his Countrey and having thoroughly penetrated into the subtil intreagues as well as the danger in which he was involv'd by confiding in the French remembred the example of the Duke of Lorrain and resolv'd to take new measures contrary to the interest of France and such as were only able to secure his preservation for the better pursuing of which he thought fit to consult the Oracle and coming to the Temple spake thus It was generally believ'd that I was so strictly united to Franc◠that I durst not separate my self nor undertake any thing without the consent of their King but the event hath shewn the contrary and that I knew my own true interest as well as the King's intentions but if I have dissembl'd for some time it was only that I might seek myown advantage and to engage my Allies neither the tears of the Royal Dutchess nor the fair promises of the Duke of Orleans could prevail with me to alter my resolution nor never shall the bowl is cast and cannot return again for if I had receiv'd the French troops into the Citadel of Turin I should have had nothing else to do but to go and keep my Country-house in France with the Prince of Utopia but not being willing for the future to depend on any but God and my Sword I have made it appear to the whole World that I 'm Master within my own Dominions by the return of my Subjects of Piedmont into their Valleys and without delay I have embrac'd the common cause of the Emperor and his Allies who will not abandon me nor invade my Territories And if the Cantons of Switzerland would do the same and shake off the yoak of France we should find employment for their Monarch on the side of Dauphine I am come hither to know what success will attend me THE ORACLE Pignerol shall open its Gates