Selected quad for the lemma: water_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
water_n body_n earth_n element_n 7,308 5 10.1853 5 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A28853 The way to honour in three parts : first part of councils and councellors, second part of the well qualified courtier, third part of martial prowess and learning : illustrated and adorn'd by many famous examples, as well ancient as modern / by B.B. B. B. 1678 (1678) Wing B38; ESTC R28323 46,907 120

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

and Fear of God Thus much of innate helps and the Age of a Councellor Acquired ones relate to those things which are necessary to the right and happy Government of the Common-wealth Amongst which the Knowledge and Fear of God has the first place For seeing Impiety doth eradicate all Fear of offending and that the Councils of the Wicked are fraudulent It follows that the contempt of Religion doth bring the destruction of Publick Affairs To omit that it 's God only who gives Understanding Fortitude and Riches who beats back the Violence of Enemies and who gives Victory and Glory to great Men How I beseech you can he give Council in great matters who has not his mind pure and shining with Divine Splendour For who are acceptable to God are instructed with Divine Councils and for that cause do seldom erre That which even the Heathens did see amongst whom the Opinion of Religion though superstitious and erroniously false had great Authority We are bound in our duty by no greater tye than that of true Religion As therefore the Common-good can be no ways separated from Honesty no more can Honesty be separated from Religion And to conclude according to Valerius Maximus They are deceiv'd says he who teach that Men are kept in their Duty by Humane Power and not by the fear of Divine Vengeance The Councils of Men are punished when they are preferred before those of God Subsect 2. Of Philosophy The second help is Philosophy of which our Councellor should not be ignorant but especially of such as consists in Action to wit the Morals neither would I have him ignorant of Natural Philosophy which consists more in contemplation It is unseemly for a Minister of State conversing often with great and learned Men not to know the Natural causes of things how those Bodies do consist which we call Elements what Power or Force causeth Thunder and Lightning what distinguisheth the Rainbow with such divers colours what doth raise Winds causeth Earthquakes covers the Channels of the Earth continually with Waters and the like But let him be chiefly instructed in the Mathematicks the first part whereof is Arithmetick For how can he without this understand Accompts of what is received and given out if any time the charge of the Treasury or Exchequer be committed to him Geometry and Geography without which History cannot be well-understood Lands cannot be divided Camps cannot be pitched Towns builded Cities and Castles fortified are also very needful for our Councellor It 's absurd in those having the administration of the Common-wealth to be ignorant of those things whereby the same doth subsist Which Plato understood when he pronounced that famous sentence as from an Oracle That Common-wealths should be happy when either Philosophers did reign or Princes did addict themselves to Philosophy There is not a more commendable part of Philosophy says Pliny * Epis 2. than to do a publick good to know and do Justice and to put in Practice what Philosophers teach This part of Philosophy sheweth what is honest and what is not so what is the end of good and evil how a Family should be govern'd what the Power of the Father is the Husband and the Master with what Virtues and Arts he should be endued who governs what the best form of Government is by what means declining and falling Common-wealths are supported and the best Precepts and Laws whereby they are moderated Crassus does affirm * Apud Citer de Orat That he cannot be an Orator who has not learned this part of Philosophy For every Oration should be of those things which we ought to do or which we ought to shun wherein seeing all our duty doth consist it follows necessarily that he who is ignorant thereof should want matter in his speech Therefore he deservedly exclaims O Philosophy the guide of Life the searcher of Virtue the banisher of Vice c. I know that the Opinion of the Vulgar is that those who in more mature Age are addicted to the study of Philosophy are Men given to Solitude and without Experience and therefore upon no account are fit for Affairs of Government but they are deceived For we do not speak here of Philosophy which consists in the mere Idea's of the Mind or of those who without Judgment study the same and are wise except in those things wherein they should be But of such who joyn Speculation with Practice Helvidius Priscus says Tacitus being but very young did apply his notable Genius to the like Studies he did not as many cloke their idleness with seeming generous pretences but did follow the Teachers of Wisdom that he might be the more fortified against the changes of Fortune and the more able to show himself in the Common-wealth Being Quaestor he was chosen to be the Son in-Law of Paetus Thrasea he was a good Citizen Senator Husband Son-in-Law Friend and sufficient in all the Duties of Humane Life an hater of Riches a maintainer of Equity and constant in his Duty without fear Which are the true Fruits of true Philosophy Subsect 3. Of his Knowledge of the Laws In the next place I come to speak of the knowledge of the Laws which flows from this Fountain for although the secret Councils of Princes should not be too much taken up with deciding of Controversies yet because the Laws are the firm and sure Foundations of Common-wealths it were absurd that a Councellor or Minister of Sate should be ignorant of them Seeing you are most learned in the Laws says Pliny in a certain Epistle whereof a Senator should not be ignorant I desire to know from you whether or not I did lately erre in the Senate that I may be instructed not for the by-past for that 's too late but for the future if the like fall out It 's oft-times needful to establish new Laws to punish Traitors and Ambitious Conspirators against the Prince and Common-wealth Moreover when the right of any City Sea-port River or the like are debated from which great Wars do often proceed by the Knowledge of the Laws we are not only able to argue learn'dly concerning the thing controverted but also to judge whether the War made for such a cause be just or unjust Subsect 4. Of his Knowledge of History But above all the Knowledge of History is most necessary in a Councellor The Philosopher does justly affirm that things done are most profitable to consultation For future things fall often out like to those which are by-past Of which History furnisheth us with such abundance that it is almost absolutely necessary to the right Government of our Life and to the good Aministration of the Republick But many Readers and Authors themselves go no farther than the bare Knowledge of the thing it self Thucydides who may be justly called the Prince of Historians amongst the Grecians doth notwithstanding so superficially run over that most famous War 'twixt the Athenians and Lacedemonians which was