the State were then under the Power of an Enemy For Presidents of Disobedience and Contempt of Authority being conniv'd at or rewarded are dangerous even to Successors Dignity is ever the same being always espoused to him who possesses her Wherefore he defends his own Cause who takes care of his Predecessor's Honour though 't was not wounded in his time A Prince ought not to leave behind him the Memory of one who has been so impudent as to affront Authority unpunish'd for iâ— once Subjects are perswaded that they may raise their Fortunes or satisfy their Passions by the Death or Abuse of the Prince none will be able to live secure The Punishment of Impudence to the Predecessor is the security of the Successor and a warning to all from daring to attempt the like For which reason Vitellius put all those to Death who petition'd him for Rewards for the Murther of Galba 7 Non honore Galbae sed tradito principiâ—â—â— more munimentum ad praesens in posterum ultionem Tac. Hist. lib. 1. Every one is treated as he treats others Iulius Caesar commanding the Statues of Pompey to be erected confirm'd his own If Princes should not unite against Contempt and Treason Authority and Loyalty would be in danger In Cases where the same circumstances concur a Prince ought not to connive at some and punish others for nothing renders them more odious than partiality 8 Cavendum est ne iisdem de caussis alii plectantur alii ne appellantur quidem 〈◊〉 de Off. Whence the Egyptians signified the Equality which should be observ'd in Justice by the Feathers of an Ostrich which are equal on both sides 'T is great Prudence in a Prince to find such sorts of Punishments as will expiate the Offence with the least damage to the Delinquent Certain Noblemen fomented Disturbances in Galicia and though they deserv'd Death King Ferdinand the Fourth callâ—d them to him and gave them employs in the Army where some of them were punish'd by the Enemy others by the Hardships and Toils of War and so that Province was reduc'd to its former Tranquility As in time of Peace Justice and Mercy are very advantageous so in War are Rewards and Punishments because there the Dangers are so great as would not be attempted without great hopes and nothing but fear could restrain the Licentiousness of the Soldiers In so much as without these two things says King Alphonso The Faults which are committedâ—in War are much more dangerous for if Men have so much to do to defend themselves from the Mischief of their Enemies how much more have they from that which accrues from their own Faults For which reason the Romans inflicted divers sorts of Infamy and Punishment upon the Soldiers who fail'd in their Duty or in any dangerous Attempt or Military Affair whence they were less afraid of the Enemy than the Punishment and chose-rather to die bravely in Action than to lose their Honour or Lives afterwards with perpetual Ignominy and Disgrace In those times none durst Desert because he could not shelter himself in any part of the Empire Now-a-days Deserters are not only not punished when they return to their own Country but sculking from Battel they March from Milan to Naples where as if they had serv'd under some other Prince they are again listed into his Majesty's Service to the great detriment thereof In which the Vice-Roys should follow the Example of the Roman Senate who after the Battel of Cannae though they were in extream want of Soldiers could not be induc'd to redeem six thousand Prisoners which Hannibal offered them thinking them not worth Redemption who suffer'd themselves ignominiously to be taken Prisoners when they might have died gloriously The Errors of Generals committed through ignorance ought rather to be conniv'd at than punish'd least the fear of being punished or reprimanded should make them too timorous Besides the greatest Prudence may be confounded in Accidents of War whence they deserve Compassion rather than Punishment Varro lost the Battel of Cannae and at his return the whole Senate went out to receive him thanking him for that in such a total Defeat he had not wholly despair'd of Affairs When connivence is not convenient but the Execution of Justice is required let it be done with readiness and resolution He who does it privately and by stealth is more like an Assassine than a Prince He who checks the Authority which the Crown gives him either doubts his Power or Merit from the Prince's distrust of himself proceeds the Peoples disrespect Whose Opinion of him is answerable to what he has of himself King Alphonso the Wise lost the esteem of his People by doing Justice in private This can be convenient only in troublesome times when greater Dangers may be fear'd if the People don't see the Authors of Seditions punish'd e'er they know they are taken Thus Tiberius acted for fear of this Inconveniency 9 Nec Tiberius poenam ejus palam ausus in secreta palatii parte interfici jussit corpusque clam auferri Tac. 2. Ann. In other Cases let a Prince execute that Office boldly and vigorously which he holds in the Name of God and the People for 't was Justice that at first gave him his Scepter and 't is that which must preserve it 'T is the Will of God the Harmony of Government and the Protection of Majesty If the Laws be once suffer'd to be broken unpunish'd there will be neither Fear nor Modesty and without them no Peace nor Quiet 10 Si prohibita impunè transcenderis neque metus ultrà neque pudor est Tac. 3. Ann. Yet let Princes consider that they are like Masters of Families nay that they really are such in respect to their Subjects and therefore let them temper Justice with Clemency They ought to drink the Sins of the People as God intimated to St. Peter by that Vessel of unclean Animals out of which he commanded him to eat 11 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted Beasts of the Earth and wild Beasts and creeping Things and Fowls of the Air and there came a Voice unto him Rise Peter kill and eat Actâ— 10. 12 13. A Prince should have the Stomach of an Ostrich so hot with Mercy as to digest Iron and should be also an Eagle with the Thunder of Justice which by striking one terrifies all For if all were to be punish'd who transgress'd there would be none left for the Prince to Command for there is scarce any Man so just as not to have one time or other deserved Death 12 Vix enim quisquam adeò mali expers ut non aliquam mortem meyeatur Tac. 2. Ann. The Rigour of Justice is not less dangerous to the Crown Life and Empires than Injustice Of this King Iohn the Second is an Example who for his great Severity became odious to his People And King Peter the Cruel lost thereby his Kingdom and Life too
discordias habeant Tac. 11. Annal. and sometimes sets up another King by whose Protection he may enjoy them As did those who Conspired against King Henry IV. for they would never be obliged by his Favours though never so great and numerous When a Prince resolves to quench the Fire of Sedition 't will be conducive that those Resolutions should be thought to proceed from his own Vertue not from the Persuasions of others for the People are generally more Incens'd when they find the Prince does nothing but by the Instigation of his Ministers But when a General Pardon is once granted the Prince ought punctually to observe it wholly forgetting all former Offences and Injuries for otherwise he would give occasion for fresh Commotions As Ferdinand King of Naples did when he offer'd to punish some Noblemen whom he had already pardon'd and who had put themselves under the Protection of King Ferdinand the Catholick But if they are afterwards found Delinquent they should be punish'd with the utmost Rigour of the Law to curb them and prevent others from abusing the Prince's Authority In these and all other Remedies there is nothing more useful than Expedition 33 Nihil in discordiis civilibus festinatione tutiâ—s â—â—i facto magìs quam conâ—ulto opus est Tac. 1. Hist. For the People grow Arrogant and Saucy when their Insolence meets wiâ—h no Check nor Opposition Time confirms them in their Revolt and makes those who were Dubious declare for them and so endangers the most Loyal Therefore Artabanus endeavoured with utmost Speed and Diligence to compose the Commotions of his Kingdom 34 Pergit properus praâ—veniens inimicoâ—um actus amicorum â—â—â—â—iteâ—tiam Tac. 6. Annal. As Seditions are suddenly raised they ought suddenly to be remedied There is more need of Action than of Consultation before the Venom takes Root and spreads When the People are once us'd to Murther Rapine and all other Ills that Sedition brings with it 't is very difficult to recall and pacifie them This King Henry well knew when upon the Death of his Brother King Peter he immediately seized upon the chief Cities and Garrisons of the Kingdom and by this Diligence soon establish'd its Tranquility Seditions therefore and Civil Wars being Distempers which consume the Life of the State 35 Paul ad Gal. 5. 15. and enervate the Prince by the Losses which he receives and the Gratuities which he is oblig'd to give 't is the best way to compose them upon any Terms This mov'd King Ferdinand the Catholick to agree with Alphonso King of Portugal in his Pretensions to the Crown of Castile For in such Disorders the Weakest and most Oppress'd are strongest 36 Quippe iâ— turbis discordiis pessimo cuique plurima vis Tac. 4. Hist. Princes are at the Discretion of those who have their Arms in their Hands and the Soldiers have more Authority than their Commanders 37 Civilibus bellis plus militibus quam ducibus licere Tac. 2. Hist. EMBLEM LXXIV ANIMALS naturally endeavour nothing but the Preservation of their Individuals and if at any time they injure one another 't is generally from that Reason and a certain Natural Fierceness which is not subject to the Command of Reason On the contrary Man animated with that Celestial Flame which gives him the Command of all Things easily persuades himself that he is not born only to live but also to enjoy all those Things even beyond the Bounds which Reason has prescribed him and his Imagination being cheated by the false Appearance of Good seeks this Enjoyment in several Objects and therein places his Felicity and Satisfaction Some think it consists in Riches others in Dainties and Luxury others in Dominion and every one in what the Errors of his Appetite or Fancy suggest for the Enjoyment of which they apply those Means which their rambling and unquiet Minds prompt 'em to though never so unjust 1 Vnâ— ac ca vetus causa bellandi profunda libido imperii dâ—â—â—tiarum Sal. in Cons. Catil Whence proceed Murthers Rapine and Tyranny which make Man the most unjust of all Animals And since one cannot be secure from another several kind of Arms were invented to repell Villany and preserve Innocence and Liberty and so War was introduced into the World 2 Iam. 4. 1. This was the Original of this Monster unless it came from Hell after the Fall of the Rebellious Angels War is so hateful to God that he would not permit David as Just as he was to build the Temple because he had shed much Blood 3 1 Chron. 22. 8. All good Princes dread it as knowing the various Events and Success thereof 4 2 Sam. 11. 25. War disturbs the Order and Harmony of States changes Religion violates Justice silences the Laws destroys Friendship and Relation makes Arts forgot Agriculture cease ruines Trade depopulates Cities and alters Governments King Alphonso calls Wars the Alienation from Peace the Disturber of Quiet and the Destruction of Order A Civil War is like a Burning Fever which soon scorches up the State A Foreign War cuts its Veins and dreins it of its Riches Strength and Vigour War is a Vice contrary to Reason Nature and the End of Man for God created him after his own Image and gave him the Command of all Things here below not to destroy them by War but to preserve 'em by Peace He did not create him for War but Peace not for Rage but Quiet not to Ruine but to Preserve For which Reason he sent him into the World Naked without Arms to offend others or a thick Hide to defend himself so indigent of the Assistance and Government of others that even in his most flourishing Estate he can't subsist without foreign Aid This Necessity oblig'd him to Society and Civil Correspondence from which by the Joint-Labour of all he might be supply'd with necessary Conveniencies for Life and that this Politick Felicity might unite all in the firmest Bonds of mutual Friendship and that one Country haughty with its own Riches might not disdain Communication with the rest he has shar'd his Blessings among all Wheat he has given to Sicily Wine to Crete Purple to Tyre Silk to Calabria Aromaticks to Arabia Gold and Silver to Spain and the West-Indies Diamonds Pearls and Spices to the East-Indies The Desire and Want of the Riches and Rarities creating Commerce by which the whole World became as one common House and that they might understand one another in this Correspondence and mutually express their Affections of Love and Benevolence he endued them with a Voice Articulate smooth and pleasant to explain their Conceptions Laughter to shew their Satisfaction Tears to shew their Sorrow Hands to exert their Faith and Liberality Knees their Submission and Obedience Which are all Tokens of a Civil Benign and Pacifick Animal But those Animals which Nature designed for War she created with Arms Offensive and Defensive for that
purpose to the Lion she has given Claws to the Eagle Talons to the Elephant a Trunk to the Bull Horns to the Bear Fangs to the Porcupine sharp Quills she has made Adders and Vipers formidable by their Poison for their Defence consists in our Danger and their Security in our Fear For which Reason she has cloathed almost all Beasts with a thick Skin for their Defence the Crocadile with a Breast-Plate Serpents with a Coat of Mail Scorpions with Scales She has given all an Aspect terrible and a Voice horrible and dreadful Let therefore Savage War be for them not for Man in whom Reason is predominate over Rage Nature has hid Iron Steel Gold and Silver in the Bowels of the Earth lest Men should make ill Use of them but Revenge or Injustice has found them even there some for the Instruments and some for the Price of Murther 5 Video serrum ex iisdem tenebris esse prolatum quibus Aâ—rum Argentum ne aut instrumentum in caedes mutuas deesset aut Pretium Senec. Great Abuse of Mankind to employ Gold and Silver to the Destruction of Life which was given for its Preservation But because many Men as we have said more Savage than the very Beasts themselves are more sway'd by Lust and Ambition than Reason and so unjustly covet to oppress and govern others War became necessary for Natural Defence for there being two Methods of deciding Matters one by Justice the other by Force which is common to all Animals when the one can't be us'd the other must 6 Nam cum duo sint genera disceptandi unum per disceptationem alterâ—â— per vim cumque illud proprium sit hominis hoc belluarum confugiendum eâ—â— ad posterius si â—ti non licet superiori Cicero provided the Cause and Intention be just and the Authority of the Prince be lawful in which also nothing should be resolv'd on without due Deliberation So the Athenians us'd to consult their Orators and Philosophers about the Legality of their Wars for 't is in our Power to begin but not to end them he who undertakes them in haste will repent at leisure War says King Alphonso ought to be well weigh'd e're 't is begun that it may be agreeable to Reason and Iustice for from hence proceed three great Advantages The first is That God favours those who do so The second is That they themselves are more encourag'd upon Confidence of their Iustice The third is That those who know it if they are Friends join more chearfully if Enemies they have the less hopes of Success * L. 2. tt 23. p. 2. War ought not to be undertaken for slight and frivolous Matters such as were those which mov'd Xerxes to bring War upon the Greeks and the Lumbards to make an Irruption into Italy That Prince is a Tyrant who wages War for another State but he Just and Commendable who does it for the Defence of his own or the Recovery of unjust Usurpations in such case especially where Justice cannot be obtained otherwise or where it is more securely decided by the Sword than the Book so subject to Deceit and Cavil 7 Castrensis jurisdictio secura obtusior plura manu agens calliditatem fori non exerceat Tac. in Vit. Agric. The Success of War is a Just Judge giving the Right of Victory to him to whom it belongs King Philip II. was so desirous to clear his Right to the Crown of Portugal upon the Death of King Sebastian that after having had the Opinions of many Divines and Lawyers and his Army being then upon the Frontiers he stopp'd to conferr with them further about it A Prince who desires gradually to raise his Fortune may do it by War provided he has just Occasion But he who is already in quiet Possession of a competent Greatness ought diligently to consider how he engages himself in War and to endeavour as much as possible to avoid it by honourable Means without loss of Authority and Reputation for if he loses them the Refusal will rather kindle it The Emperor Rodolphus I. us'd to say That 't was more commendable to Govern a State well than to Enlarge it 'T is not less Glorious for a Prince to preserve Peace with his Sword than to Conquer in War Happy is that Kingdom in which the Reputation of Arms maintains Plenty and where Lances support the Vines and Olive-Trees where Ceres is protected by Bellona's Head-piece The greater the Courage is the more averse 't is to War as knowing to what it must be obliged Many times Cowards advise and promote it and the Brave act it 8 Sumi Bellum etiam ab ignavis tenuâ—ssimi cujusque Periculum geri Tac. 4. Annal. If War is commenc'd for the sake of Peace what need of that when we may enjoy this The Choice of it ought not to proceed from the Will but from Force or Necessity 9 Paâ—em habere debet Voluntas Bellâ—m Necessiâ—â—s De August Epist. 207. Tom. 2. The Ancients feign'd that Pallas was born out of the Head of Iupiter to intimate that War ought to proceed from Prudence not from the Perverseness of the Mind Sebastian King of Portugal who carried it into Africk more by the impulse of his Courage than Counsel with his Blood imprinted on those Sands the Truth of this Precept The Bees don't chuse an armed King that he mayn't be given to War and neglect the Government of his own State for foreign Conquests If Francis King of France and Gustavus King of Sweden had duly consider'd this the first had not been taken at Pavia nor the last kill'd at Lutzen Ambition of Rule is that which begins the Ruine of many States This Hanibal knew at last when he told Scipio That ' t would have been better had the Gods given Men more modest Thoughts that the Romans might be content with Italy and the Carthaginians with Africk Great Princes ought to carry on War with their utmost Power and Vigour that they may the sooner end it as the Romans did for the Protraction of it is both chargeable and dangerous The Enemy is also thereby disciplin'd and forewarn'd and encouraged Power without Vigour loses its Esteem For these Reasons two Wars ought not to be commenc'd at the same time for the Forces being divided they can't be ended so soon nor is any Power sufficient to maintain 'em long nor Subjects capable to Command them The Romans ever endeavoured as do the Turks at this day not to be engaged in two Wars at a time Upon this were grounded the Threats of Corbulo to the Parthians telling them That all the Empire enjoy'd a firm Peace and that they had only that War 10 Tac. 15. Annal. EMBLEM LXXV MEDEA to facilitate the Conquest of the Golden Fleece sowed Serpents Teeth in Colâ—hos whence immediately sprang Troops of armed Men who falling together by the ears destroyed one another So some
Minister is to be furnished with his Prince's Maxims so also should he be with his Majesty Valour and Magnanimity EMBLEM XXXIV WHoever looks on the Thorns and Prickles of the Roseâ— Tree will hardly be perswaded a Daughter so beautiful as the Rose could proceed from so deform'd a Mother One had need be indued with a great Measure of Faith to water it and wait till it be cloathed with Verdure and blossom into that wonderful pomp of Flowers of so delicate a Smell Yet by Patience and long Expectation we at length find the labour not lost nor that Care ill imployed which has produced such Beauty and Fragrancy The first Branches of Virtue are harsh and thorny to our depraved Nature but after some time its Flower of all other the most beautiful begins to Bloom Let not the first sight of things discourage a Prince for the outside of very few in Government are pleasant they all seem full of Thorns and Difficulties but Experience has found many easy which appeared much otherwise to Sloth The Prince therefore should not be disheartned for in lightly yielding to them he will be overcome by his own Apprehension rather than any thing real Let him endure with Courage and Hope with Patience and Perseverance still keeping the means in his Hand He that hopes has a good and faithful Companion on his side I mean Time Whence Philip the Second used to say I and Time against any two Precipitation is the effect of Madness and generally the occasion of great Perils Theobald Earl of Champagne put his Succession to the Crown of Navarre very much in Question by not having patience to wait for his Uncle King Sancho's Death but underhand conspiring with the Nobles to possess himself of the Kingdom in his Life-time for this put Sancho upon adopting Iames the First of Arragâ—n his Heir Patience obtains many Trophies This was Scipio's Excellency who though he had infinite occasions of Displeasure was yet so patient as never to let â— passionate Word fall from him 1 Vt nullum ferox verbum excideret Tit. liv which thing gave sucess to all his Designs He that suffers with Expectation vanquishes the slights of Fortune and obliges her to take his Part that Confidence among all her Vicissiâ—â—des like Flattery winning upon her Columbus not without great hazard exposes himself to the Ocean 's incertain Waves in quest of new Countries Neither Hâ—rcule's Ne plus ultra at Caspe and Abyla nor the Mountains of Waters that seem to oppose his Enterprize deter him from it he by Sailing tells the Sun's Steps and steals from the Year its Days from the Days their Hours his Needle wants the Pole his Charts the lines his Companions patience all things conspire against him but his Hope and Patience rub through all Difficulties till at length a new World recompences his invincible Constancy Ferendum Sperandum was a saying of Empedocles and afterwards the Emperor Macrinus's Motto whence that of this Emblem is borrowed Some Dangers are more easy to surmount than avoid As Agathocles well knew when being beaten and besieged in Syracuse he did not basely Surrender to the Enemy but leaving a sufficient Body of Men for the Defence of the City marched with the rest of his Army against Carthage and he who could not be victorious in one War by this means obtain'd a double Triumph Rashness frequently overcomes a Danger and despising it often confounds an Enemy When Hannibal saw the Romans after the Battel of Cannae send Succours into Spain he began to fear their Power and Strength No one ought to trust Prosperity too much or despair in Adversity Fortune lies between both as ready to advance as depress Let the Prince therefore keep in the one and the other a Constancy and Strength of Mind prepared to encounter any Accident and not suffer the Threats of the greatest Tempest to disturb him For sometimes the Waves have cast a Man out of one Ship that is to be wreck'd into another that is to be saved A great and generous Soul Heaven it self favours Let not the Prince rashly despair for anothers Dangers or those which Chance brings with it He that observeth the Wind shall not sow and he that regardeth the Clouds shall not reap 2 Eccl. 11. 4. Let him not imagine he obliges any one by his Afflictions Tears are Womanish nor is Fortune appeased with such Sacrifices A great Soul endeavours to give it self Satisfaction or Comfort by some heroick and generous Action Thus Agricola when he heard of his Son's Death took not the Accident as generally Men do ambitiously nor in Tears like Women but by War diverted his Grief 3 Quem casum neque ut plerique fortium virorum ambitiosè neque per lamenta rursus ac terrorem multebrem tuliâ— in lustu bellum inter remedia erat Tac. in Vit. Agr. To be wholly insensible is either Vain-glory or Excess of Consternation In suing for Offices and Honours the Design of this Emblem is very useful He that can bear and hope knows how to get the better of his Fortune Whereas one that impatient of delay thinks it base to be beholding and submit shall be despised and abandon'd by the whole World To look on it as a point of Honour not to obey any is the way to command none The means are to be measured by the end if in obtaining this there be more Honour got than is lost by them certainly they ought to be used Impatience of Sufferings we take for Generosity of Mind when it is imprudent Haughtiness Honour once attain'd the Tracks made in ascending them presently wear out To endure much in order to Advancement is not base Degeneracy but extraordinary Strength of a Mind elevated and aspiring Some Tempers there are which can't abide to wait that would have all things ended in a Moment desiring now to exceed their Equals by and by their Superiors and in a little while even their own Hopes These hurried by this Violence of Ambition despise the most secure means as slow and choose to employ the shortest though most hazardous But it usually fares with them as with Buildings raised in haste before the Materials have had time to dry and settle which immediately fall down again The Master-piece of Government consists in hoping and enduring in that these are the only means to do things in time without which nothing can possibly come to maturity Trees that at the Springs first warmth bear Flowers soon lose them for not waiting till the Winters cold was quite gone He who would ripen Affairs with the Hand cannot have the Satisfaction of tasting the Fruit of them Impatience is the cause of Miscarriages and Dangers 4 Prov. 14. 17. it creates Periâ—s which by being uneasy under and too hasty to escape we augment Therefore for those Evils as well Internal as External which have by our negligence been increas'd in the Commonwealth 't is better to let them
to Dissemble or Punish with Rigour The prudentest Counsel certainly in the World For the Common People can never keep a Medium between two Extremes but always exceed in the one or the other 5 Alâ—i fortioribus remediis agendum nihil in vulgo modicum terrere ni paveam ubi pertimuerint impunè contemni Tac. 1. Annal. If the Matter require Expedition it is certain Ruine not to venture enough or not to use sufficient Precaution as it happened to Valens who wavering between the Counsels that were given him could not come to any determinate Resolution 6 Mox utrumque consilium aspernatur quod inter ancipitia deterrimum est dum media se quitur nec ausus est satis nec providit Id. l. 3. Hist. In Affairs of War Fear would sometimes appear prudent and to that end suggests Moderate Resolutions which serve but to encourage the Enemy and give him Time to look about him As King Iohn I. found who pretending the Crown of Portugal was devolved on him by the Death of Ferdinand his Father-in-Law resolved to enter that Kingdom alone and to have his Army follow whence the Portuguese gained Time to take up Arms in the interim which had never been done had he immediately fell upon them but he to avoid War left his Right to the Decision of Justice Threats signifie little if the Hand lifted up have no Weapon in it and do not sometimes punish Disobedience in earnest The Hastiness of the French makes them regard neither the past nor present Time and through the Heat of their Minds they are too adventurous and too precipitous in their Resolutions However this very thing oftentimes gives Success to them for by this means they avoid Luke-warmness and dispatch every thing in a trice The Spaniards on the other side are Dilatory that they may by long and much Consideration proceed with more Caution and out of an Affectation of Prudence use to Hesitate nay while they take Time to Consult lose the Opportunity of Execution The Italians know better how to make their Advantage both of the one and the other using the Opportunities as they present themselves Not like the Germans who are slow in Resolving lazy in Executing and consult only the present Time without any regard to the past or future Their Minds change with Events which is the reason they have so little advanced their Fortune it being otherwise a Nation which considering its innate Courage might extend its Dominions far and near To the same Cause may be ascribed the long Continuance of the Civil Wars the Empire is harrass'd with at this day which undoubtedly by resolute Counsel and Expedition might have been laid asleep long ago whereas by slow Counsels which yet pass'd for Prudent we have seen vast Armies upon the Rhine which might have made way even into France and forced it to an Universal Peace a thing has done them more prejudice than if they had lost several Battels For there can be no greater Overthrow than for an Army insensibly to waste and perish within it self It is this has made Havock of their own Country and the Places adjacent through which War ought to be carried when now its Seat is in the very Heart of Germany In all other Affairs of Civil Government Middle-Counsels may have place because of the Danger of Extremes and because it is of great Importance ever to take away from which you may afterwards in case of Necessity come to any one of the two with the less inconvenience Between these two Extremes the Ancients placed Prudence represented by the flight of Daedalus who came neither too near the Sun nor too near the Sea lest the excessive Heat of the one should melt or the Moisture of the other wet his Wings Iâ— Countries whose Inhabitants are not of a Servile Nature but of a Polite Genius and Generous Spirit the Reins of the People ought to be govern'd with so much Caution and Address that neither too much Indulgence shall breed Arrogance nor too much Rigour Aversion It is equally dangerous to curb them with Bits and Barnacles and turn them loose without a Bridle for they can neither endure all Liberty nor all Slavery as Galba told Piso of the 7 Neque enim hic aut in caeteris gentibus quae regnantur certa Dominorum Domus caeteri servi sed imâ—eraturus es hominibus qui neâ—â—otam servitutem pati possunt nec totam libertatem Tac. l. 1. Hist. Romans Always to execute Power is to wear out the Chain of Servitude 'T is a kind of Tyranny to go about to reduce Subjects to the model of an absolute Perfect State in that the Condition of Humane Nature admits not of it It is not necessary for a Government to be such as it ought to be but as it is capable of being for all things that are expedient are not possible to Humane Infirmity It is an Absurdity to wish there may be no Defect at all in a Common-wealth There will be Vices as long as there be Men. Excess of Zeal is the Spring of many Mistakes in Governors in not knowing how to conform to Prudence The same is Ambition when Princes affect to pass for Severe and imagining their Reputation consists in Ruling their Subjects so that they shall never in the least degree swerve from Reason and the Laws 'T is a dangerous Strictness which consults not the ordinary Passions of the Vulgar Open Address prevails more than Power Example and Complacency than Inhuman Severity Let the Prince therefore rather make believe he finds his Subjects good than value himself upon making them so which Tacitus commends Agricola for in his Government of Britain 8 Maluit videri invenisse bonos quam fecisse Tacit. in Vit. Agric. Let him not suffer himself to be deceived in the past Times so as to wish he could see those Good Manners he fancies were in those Days For Malice was ever the same in all Times but 't is a fault of our corrupt Nature always to like the Past better than the Present 9 Laudamus veteres praesentes carpimus annos Besides granting that Severity and Obedience were greater formerly yet this Age will not bear it if those Ancient Manners are alter'd in it This Mistake cost Galba both his Life and Empire 10 Nocuit antiquâ—s rigor nimia severitas cui pares non sumus Tac. l. 1. Hist. EMBLEM LXXXVI MAN's Mind has not been satisfy'd with the Speculation of Terrestrial Things but impatient that the Knowledge of the Heavens should be deferred so long as till after Death has broke the Prison of the Body and soar'd above the very Elements to find out by Reasoning what it could not by Touching Sight and Hearing and to this end hath form'd in Imagination an Idea of that most Beautiful Fabrick contriving a Sphere with such various Circles Equations and Epicycles as aptly represent the several Motions of the Planets
Party which makes for the Liberty of the Subjects of both Sides or else sets over them Men so senseless and cowardly that they undertake nothing considerable one against another but leave the Limits of the Kingdom as they found them 2 Mirari 〈◊〉 subit impervestigabileâ— Dei sapientiam qui plane â—â—â—traria uno fine conclusit Nam cum duâ—â— adâ—ersarias potestates inter se coâ—mittere statuit nee alteram alteri subjicere aut ingenio virtute 〈◊〉 utrinque parti moderatores praeficit ut alter alterius consilia 〈◊〉 vertas utrinque subditorum libertati consulatur aut utrosque â—ebetes imbelles deligit ut neuter alterum tentare sâ—pta quod aiunt 〈◊〉 audeâ—â— veteresque regnorum limites convellere Niceph. For the same ends Divine Providence has parted the Forces of the French and Spanish Kings by interposing the high Walls of the Alps lest Propinquity of Territories or Easiness of Passage should be a Temptation to War and favour the French most if that Nation should have these Doors so often open It has still for greater Security given the Keys of them to the Duke of Savoy an Italian Prince who having his States between those two Kingdoms can lock or leave them open according as the Publick Good requires This Divine Disposition Pope Clement VIII was sensible of and with singular Prudence procured the State of Saluzzes to fall into the Duke of Savoy ' s Hands * Here is a Page and an half omitted in the French This was a very ancient State-Maxim on which Alphonsus King of Naples grounded his Advice to the Duke of Milan not to deliver up Asti to Lewis the Dauphin For said he it is not for the good of Italy that the French strive to get footing there but to bring it under their Subjection as was attempted in the Genoese Expedition That Italian Prince penetrated not the force of this Counsel who advised the prefent French King by making himself Master of Pignerol to get firm footing on the Alps deceived probably unless it were Malice by the appearing Conveniency of having the French ready against any Attacks of the Spaniards not considering that by the fear of a future War which might perhaps never have really happen'd a present and most certain one is kindled upon the admission of the French into Italy it being impossible for Peace to be preserved in any one Province betwixt two Nations so opposite and disagreeing Nor were Italy like to reap any other Benefit from it than this That it would nourish a Serpent in its Bosom whose poisonous Sting would certainly afterwards envenom it Besides that the French even when within their own Limits on the other side of the Alps are always near enough to march into Italy when called nor is it necessary that they be so near as to have the Passage at their Command Besides were the French so modest so void of Ambition as to confine themselves there and not move but when called upon yet who doubts but upon such an Occasion they would widely transgress the Bounds of Protection as Lewis Sforza Castruchio Castrocani and several others have actually experienc'd who sought their Aid with no other Advantage than that the same befell them as it does some at this day which Tacitus relates to have happened to the Frecentini who while they agreed among themselves valued not the Parthians but upon their falling into Dissentions while each called in Aid against his Rival the Person invited by one Party conquered both 3 Quoties concordes agunt speâ—nitur Parthâ—â— ubi dissensere dum sibi quisque contra aemulos subsidium vocant accitus in partem adversuâ— omnes valescit Tac. Annal. l. 6. Now if that Power might be brought into Pignerol so as to be wholly at the Disposal of Italy either to call it in or send it out of its Territories as Occasion should require there had then been some Reason in the Policy some colour of Zeal for the Publick Good in this Counsel But now in a time the most improper in the World to place it within the very Gates of Italy to enter them upon every Motion of Ambition or Levity and that Fear of it might keep the Spaniards continually upon their Guard and Occasion be given to other Princes to take up Arms and a Storm of Wars be raised never to be calmed was so far from being good Counsel that it was the rankest Treason being in plain terms no other than exposing it to the Power of France and wresting that out of the Italian Prince's Hand which he had over the Alps for the Common Good of All. In the other Potentates of Italy which are not situate between those two Crowns this Reason of Neutrality has not the same force for when once War is brought into Italy they cannot but fall a Prey to the Conqueror without having obliged either Party as the Consul Quinetius said to the Aetolians to persuade them to declare for the Romans in the War against Antiochus and as the Florentines found when refusing to join with the King of Arragon they stood Neuter thereby losing the Favour of the French King without appeasing the Anger of the Pope 4 Quippe sine dignitate praemium victoris eritis Liv. l. 35. Neutrality neither makes Friends nor removes Enemies 5 Neutralitas neque aâ—icos parit â—eque inimicos tollit Polyh Hence Alphonsus King of Naples said of the Sienois who thinking to save themselves by Neutrality were ruin'd That the same happened to them which usually does to one who lodges in the middle of an House whom they below fill with Smoke those above pour Water down upon him What did not the Thebans suffer by being Neutral when Xerxes invaded Greece While Lewis XI of France continued so he never had Peace with any Prince 6 Phil. de Comin * This whole Paragraph is omitted in the French Let not the Prince be deceived in imagining this Neutrality to be the best means to balance the Forces of Spain and France for certainly there ought to be some Declaration in behalf of the former not that it may enlarge its Territories or make an Inrode into France but that it may maintain what it is already possessed of and the French be kept within their Kingdom and not by any Neutrality or Affection be invited out And this is so certain that the very Declaration of Favour without any other Publick Deâ—â—nstrations poises these Scales and is a sufficient Arâ—ment of War Italy can never bear two Factions that â—ive to raise their Fortunes by the Contention of both â—owns within its Bowels This Charles V. was sensible 〈◊〉 when to restore Peace to Italy he destroyed them â—â—d new-modelled the Republick of Florence which at â—â—at Time encouraged them for one of the two Balances 〈◊〉 France or Spain never so little over-loaded turned 〈◊〉 Scale of Peace which consists in keeping them even â—â—on the
mute History of the Royal Race 24 Quomodo imaginibus suis noscuntur quas nec victor quidem abolevit â—ic partem memoriae apud scriptores retinent Tac. Annal. l. 4. The Obsequies of David and Solomon were celebrated with extraordinary Pomp and Splendour In the Funerals of private Persons great Care is required because Superstitions prejudicial to Religion are easily introduced the Imagination being deluded in what is hoped or feared from the Deceased and for that Funeral Charges are things which happen every day and concern many it is absolutely necessary they should be moderated Sorrow and Vain-glory being apt to raise them too high Plato set a certain Rate upon the Building of Sepulchres as did Solon also and after them the Romans King Philip II. made a Law to regulate the Abuses and Excesses of Funerals and Monuments saying That what was laid out superfluously upon them were better given to pious Uses and to pray for the Souls of the Deceased Thus far Your Highness has seen the Birth Death and Burial of the Prince whom these Emblems form being as it were present at the Building of this Politick Edifice from the very Foundation to the last Stone And now that your Highness may with more ease take a Review of the whole Fabrick I have thought convenient to subjoin here a kind of Platform thereof or Looking-Glass wherein it may be represented as a greater City is in a lesser This shall be King Ferdinand the Catholick one of Your Royal Highnesses's Ancestors in whose glorious Reign all the Arts both of Peace and War flourished and Accidents both of prosperous and adverse Fortune occurred The Infancy of this Great King was ripe and vigorous his Youth employed in Military Exercises and what art and Industry could not perfect in him Experience supplied His very Leisure was Employment and his Diversions Attention of Mind He was absolute Master of his Passions following more the Dictates of Policy than his own Natural inclinations He own'd his Grandeur to be from God only and gloried in his own Actions not those of his Ancestors He look'd on Sovereignty rather as a Charge than a Succession He quâ—eâ—ed his Realms by Dilâ—gence and Personal Presence rais'd his Monarchy by Valour and Prudence â—stabllsh'd it by Religion and Justice supported it by Love and Respect embellish'd it with Arts and Sciences enrich'd it by Trade and Husbandry and eterniz'd it by Maxims and Institutions truly Politick He was a King as well of his Court as Kingdoms and Master as well as Home as Abroad He temper'd his Liberality with Frugality Affabâ—lity with Authority Modesty with Gravity and Clemency with Justice By punishing some few he terrified many and by rewarding others he encourag'd the Hopes of all Personal Affronts he easily pardon'd but those which struck at the Royal Dignity he never forgave The Injuries done to his Subjects he reveng'd as his own behaving himself always as a Father to them He valu'd his Glory more than his Dominion but was neither puft up by Prosperity nor dejected by Adversity In the one he fortify'd himself against the other and when Fortune frown'd he us'd all his Industry to retrieve her Favour He made use of Time not Time of him and though he submitted to Necessity he made it subservient to his own Advantage His Conduct render'd him both belov'd and fear'd of all He gave Audience with readiness Hearing that he might know and asking Questions for his more certain Information He trusted not his Enemies and was reserv'd even with his Friends His Friendship was Convâ—niency his Kindred Reason of State his Confidence vigilant his Diffidence considerate his Providence Assurance his Jealousy Circumspection his Malice a Defence and his Dissimulation a Refuge He deceived none yet others were deceived by the Ambiguity of his Words and Treaties which he knew how to manage with so much Artifice when it was necessary to baffle Malice with Prudence as to be able to extricate himself without violating the Publick Faith Neither Falshood dared attack his Majesty nor Flattery his Knowledge He made his Ministers serviceable to him without making them Favourites and suffer'd himself to be counsel'd not govern'd by them What he could do himself he committed not to others He took Time for Consultation but was very Expeditious in Execution In his Resolutions the Effects were seen sooner than the Causes He conceal'd his Designs from his Embassadors when he desir'd that being deceiv'd themselves they should more effectually persuade others the contrary He knew how to rule with his Queen and obey his Son-in-Law He imposed Taxes through Necessity not out of Avarice and Luxury and what he then took from the Church he afterwards restor'd respecting the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and maintaining the Regal He kept no fixed Court but like the Sun mov'd continually about the Orbs of his Realms He manag'd Peace with Moderation and Integrity and prosecuted War with Force and Stratagem neither desiring the one nor refusing the other Whatsoever his Foot was fixed on his Arm and Conduct join'd in the Defecne thereof encreasing his Strength by the Spoils of his Enemies He did as much by his Negotiations as by his Arms never committing to the Sword what he could conquer by Address he plac'd the Ostentation of his Grandeur and Pomp in the Bravery of his Battalions He was always present in time of War within his Kingdoms The same Orders which he gave he observ'd himself and made Leagues so as to remain Arbiter not subject He was neither exalted when Conqueror nor when beaten dispirited He Sign'd Treaties of Peace under the Shield In a word He liv'd to all the World and dy'd to himself yet always remaining in the memory of Men as an absolute Pattern for Princes and Immortalizing himself in the Desire of his Subjects THis naked Skull of Death the dismal Scâ—â—e Which now the simple Spider measures o're WIth its slight Web which baffled heretofore The nicest Subteilties of Humane Brain Once wore a 〈◊〉 and triumphant stood As Monarch of the 〈◊〉 of Peace and War His Smiles gave Life his Anger dire Despair And all the World depended on its Nod. What oncee gave proudly Laws to War and Peace Spiders and Ear-wigs do now possess Why then this Pride O Princes since the Grave Makes no Distinction 'twixt the Base and Brave Betwixt the mighty Prince and wretched Slave On the Author and his Book in Allusion to the EMBLEM WHither so fast vain Man 'fore out of breath Stop and behold this lively Scene of Death The Head thou seest was Great Saavedra's once A greater Name no Rhetorick can pronounce Here Piety with Policy were join'd Here Honour Sence and Learning were combin'd False Machiavilian Notions to convince And form at oncea Wise and Vertuous Prince Where now alas Worms having eat it bare The Death-watch Spiders spread their curious Hair And with their Bowels nobly re-interr Scepters and Crowns here tumbled down you see A trifling Lose to one so Great as He But since this Work remains the World may cry Death where 's thy Sting Grave where 's thy Victory FINIS