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Π Ρ Ο Ε Δ Ρ Ι Α - Β Α Σ Ι Λ Ι Κ Η: A DISCOURSE Concerning the PRECEDENCY OF KINGS: Wherin the REASONS and ARGUMENTS Of the Three Greatest Monarks of Christendom▪ Who claim a several Right Therunto, Are Faithfully Collected, and Renderd.

Wherby occasion is taken to make Great Britain bet­ter understood then some Forren Authors (ei­ther out of Ignorance or Interest) have repre­sented Her in order to this Particular.

Whereunto is also adjoynd

A distinct Treatise of AMBASSADORS, &c.

Symbolum Authoris Senesco, non Segnesco.

LONDON: Printed by Ia. Co [...]trel, for Sam. Speed, at the Rainbow; and Chr. Eccleston, at the middle shop under St. Dunstans Church in Fleetstreet. 1664.

TO HIS MAJESTY OF Great Britain, France and Ireland, &c.

SIR,

THer are many who have written of the Pre-eminences and An­tiquity, of the Power and Pre­rogatives of France and Spain in order to a Precedence or Su­periority; But while they magnifie their own Kings, they derogat from other: Moreover, while they produce their Resons, they often fall into such excesses of speech, that they may be calld rather Rodomontados then Resons.

But ther is none who hath written yet of Great Britain in relation to this Point; ther­fore tis the principal scope of this VVork, wherin ther is an Endevour to make Her bet­ter understood; and to prove by Relevant and lively Resons, (without offence to any) That the Monark of Great Britain if He go not be­fore, at least He ought not to come behind any King whatsoever.

Now, in regard tis a Theme of so sublime [Page] a Nature, and depends chiefly upon ancient Records, History, and the Opinion of Ci­vilians, (who have bin principally consulted) the Author hath had a special Care and Cau­tion to be very exact and tru in his Quotati ons of all kinds.

Lastly, The Author (most humbly under favor) did deem Himself not altogether inca­pable of such a Task, for having bin in most of the great Courts of Christendom; For having Negotiated by Royal Commission a­bove three years in the Court of Spain; For having bin Orator in an extraordinary Am­bassage to Denmark, and divers Princes of Germany; For having bin so often in France, and sundry Courts of Italy, &c. He may be thought not to be Impar Negotio.

May all the Blessings and best Influences of Heven light upon Your Royal Head this New-Year, and many, many, ma­ny more, according to the due and day­ly Devotions of the humblest of
Your MAJESTIES Votaries & Vassals, J. Howel.

To the Discerning Reader.

THe Ingredients and Matter wherof this New kind of Historical Peece is composd, may be said to be all of Crown-Gold, the sub­ject therof being Kings: Whence it is worth the observing, that History is a Lady of that Ex­cellence, that she hath Kings to her Subjects.

We well know what a ticklish and tremendous Task it is to treat of Kings, who have power of Life and Death; Ther must be as much Caution as Care usd therin; It is as perilous as it is painful: It is as walking upon the Ridg of a high House, or dancing upon a Rope, where unless one be well counterpoizd, he is in danger to break his Neck; Especially a task of this high nature, that treats of Regal Precedence. And we find that they who write too peremptorily thereof, have done it with more of­fence then satisfaction. And indeed ther was never any binding Determination made therof, but where Decisi­ons have bin made, the Princes upon new occasions have excepted or protested against them: Therfore the Author here doth not presume to determine the Question positively and definitively en dernier ressort; for

—Tantas componere lites
Non opis est nostrae—

[Page]Therfore he refers it to the Discerning Reader, who is left free, and evry way unsubornd to pass his Iudgment accordingly, in mesuring evry King by the merit of his own Resons, which are here fairly and faithfully exhibited; and those of France and Spain exactly drawn out of their own Authors, having not omitted any that hath any weight.

Now, tis found among Historians, that Contestations about Precedence of Session and Superiority, with other Formalities, Complements, Visits and Ceremonies, have bin very fatal to Christendom; And tis observd also that the various Dignities in the Church hath multipli­ed them: The great Clash twixt Rome and Constanti­nople, (twixt St. Peter and St. Andrew) was the un­happy cause of the Defection and total Separation of the Greek Church from the Latin: The hot Dispute for Precedence twixt the Emperour Frederiki and Pope A­drian 4. did put all the Christian world on fire: The great Oecumenical Council at Lyons, which concernd so much the interest of Christendom, broke up about Pun­ctilios for Precedencie: The great Contest twixt Patriarks and Cardinals bred a great deal of confusion; but at last the Patriarks had the better, for they of Constantino­ple, Hierusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria precede the Cardinals, though they be calld the Princes of the Church, and have the Prerogative not to be tryed without 72 Wit­nesses, I mean the Bishop-Cardinals; 44 Witnesses the Cardinal-Priests, and 30 the Deacon-Cardinal.

One of the 24 Causes, (and it proved the greatest) that the English lost France, was a Clash that happend at St. Omers twixt the Duke of Bedford and Burgun­dy about Punctilios of Complement and Precedency. That hopeful Trety of Peace at Bullen twixt Queen Elizabeth and her Brother-in-law Phil. 2. King of Spain, after a long lingring War by Sea and Land, broke off for question of Precedence, or rather for the peevishness of the Spanish [Page] Ambassadors, who had no other Argument that had any probability of reson, but that the Catholik King was en­creasd in Territories; wheras the Civilians say, that Su­pervenient and Accessory Dominions, with accumulation of Titles, have no force twixt Princes all the while they continue still in eodem gradu dignitatis. Nor could they give any answer at all to the Arguments the English Ambassadors producd, wherof one was, that of Volater­ranus, who doth plainly relate how the Pope did adjudge the Prerogative of Precedence to Hen. 7. of England, be­fore Ferdinand of Spain, as it will appeer more at large in the following Discours.

Now, ther have bin divers means found by prudent Mediators from time to time for accommoding and recon­cilement of differences in point of Precedence; somtimes by dilatorious ways; somtimes by Alternatif Determi­nations, yet Jure Partium integre reservato; As the great clash twixt Warwick and Buckingham in Eng­land was composd that they shold precede alternatim evry three yeers; so the hot contest twixt the Ursini and the Colonnas, two of the antientst Families in Rome, was reconcild, that the elder of the two who were living, shold precede, which makes the younger never come to the Popes Chappel, where they take place next Kings Ambassadors. The difference Inter Scherensem, & Wolfeggianam Fa­miliam in Germany was reconcild, that the one shold carry the Pomum Aureum, the Golden Apple of the Em­pire going in, the other at going out. Among Artificers, and Men of Trade, the Civilians say, that each one is to precede according to the Dignity of the Stuff wheron they work. Moreover, when Publik Instruments are made, that Kingdom in whose Right tis made hath the Prece­dence, so somtimes Scotland is namd before England, &c. General Precedences do differ according to the Ge­nius of some Nations; as among the Turks, to go on the left hand is more honorable sedendo & incedendo in [Page] sitting and going then on the right; and the reson is good, because he may seaze upon his Companions Sword at ple­sure. In Spain the Pages and Laquays go before, and the Lords follow; And in some cases tis so in France, as in going over a Bridg, a Plank or a River, the Man goes before the Master, according to the old Proverb,

En Pont, en Planche, en Riviere
Valet devant, Maitre derriere.

Concerning Ambassadors, ther is a way that they shall never clash, which is, to make them Parallels, viz. that the Ambassadors of those Kings who stand in competition for Precedence, do never meet (unless it be in visiting one another) And the Mathematician tells us, That Parallelae etiamsi ducantur in infinitum nunquam concurrent, Parallels although they be drawn in infinitum, they will never meet; and if Ambassadors never meet, they will never jussle or jarr.

J. H.

THE Civilians, Antiquaries, and Historians, BOTH Latin, English, British, Italians, Spanish, and French, That were Consulted, and Cited in the Compile­ment of this WORK.

  • GOldastus
  • Cassanaeus
  • Besoldus
  • Valdesius
  • Francisco Vasquez
  • Volaterranus
  • Bodin
  • Boterus
  • Albericus Gentilis
  • Lansius
  • Augustin Caranato
  • Thesaurus Politicus
  • Ant. Corsetus
  • Camillo Borrello
  • Boccolini
  • Sleidon
  • Dr. Gaspar Bragaccia
  • Paschalius
  • Don Ant. de Zuniga
  • Mariana
  • Garibai
  • Fredericus de Marselaer
  • Carolus de Grassaliis
  • Du Haillan
  • Comines
  • Pierre Matthieu
  • The Bishop of Rhodes
  • Du Serres
  • Vers [...]egan
  • Il Conte Losco
  • The Lord Coke
  • Bishop Usher
  • Sir Thomas More
  • Sir Walter Raleigh
  • Sir Robert Cotton
  • Sir Henry Spelman
  • Sir Richard Baker
  • Sir Iohn Finet
  • Sir Iohn Price
  • Iudg Doddridge
  • Humphry Lloyd
  • Iudg Ienkins
  • Mr. Campden
  • Mr. Selden
  • Mr. Fabian Philipps
  • Barclays Argenis
  • Matthew Paris
  • Polydore Virgile
  • Sir Henry Wotten
  • Sir Isaak Wake
  • Mr. Minshew.

Besides these Authors, many Ancient Records and Manuscripts have bin consulted; and the perusing of old Parchment-Records is a hard and harsh Work; it may be said to be like the peeling of old Walnuts.

ANALYSIS Totius Operis.

TOuching the Matter and Method in framing this Work, it is by dividing it into four Compartments, viz. into four Se­ctions; The first three treat of the Precedence of Kings; The fourth of Ambassadors. Evry one of the Sections is subdivided into ten heads or Paragraphs, containing still new matter.

The first Section consists of the Resons of the King of Great Britain, &c.

  • First, That He had to his Predecessors as ancient Kings as France and Spain, and as famous; among others Mulmutius Dun­wallo, who raignd here many hundred yeers before the Romans came in, and he was so great a Legislator, that his Laws are calld Leges Mulmuntinae, and stand upon record to this day. Moreover, his Majesty now Regnant is the hundred thirty ninth King of Britain, and the hundred and ninth of Scotland; wher­as neither Spain or France can shew a Catalog of half the num­ber.
  • 2. The King of Great Britain had to his Predecessor the first Chri­stian King that ever was upon earth, viz. King Lucius, according to the concurrent Opinion of all Antiquaries, for St. Peters Church in Cornhil was built by him, as a Record yet extant shews; and this was many hundred yeers before France or Spain had any Christian King, which made England to be entitled in all dispatches from Rome, Primogenita Ecclesiae, the first-born Daugh­ter of the Church. Now, it is a Canon among the Civilians, Summa Ratio quae ducitur à Religione; and Grotius hath also a Principle, Qui primò Christianismum professi sunt Praecedant, &c.
  • 3. The King of Great Britain hath a Merum & immixum Impe­rium he hath as absolut Possession and Authority, and more In­dependent then France or Spain, take Spiritual and Temporal together.
  • [Page]4. The King of Great Britain for Eminence of Royal Dignity, for State and Titles, hath as fair Flowers, He hath as rich Jew­els in his Crowns as any other; He hath as Noble Arms, the Cross, and the Lyon who is King of Animals.
  • 5. The King of Great Britain had to his Predecessor the first Christian Emperour Constantin, and the first Christian Worthy Arthur the first Founder of Martial Knighthood, whom ther is Truth enough to make Famous without that which is thought Fa­bulous.
  • 6. The King of Great Britains Predecessors were the first who freed themselfs from the Roman yoke long before France or Spain; and this is one of the greatest Arguments that those Kings do produce for a Precedence one of another.
  • 7. The Kings of Great Britain had Precedence adjudgd Them both of France and Spain in General Councils, as also by the De­crees of Popes, as it will appeer in the following Discours.
  • 8. The King of Great Britain is Souverain of as Noble an Or­der of Knighthood as any in Christendome, wherof eight Emperours, and well neer eight times as many Kings have bin, and is more ancient then the Royal Orders of France or Spain.
  • 9. The King of Great Britain hath had as Martial and Mag­nanimous Progenitors as any of the other two, who performd great Acts both far and neer; and touching Exploits in the Ho­ly Land, the Kings of Spain had little share in them.
  • 10. The King of Great Britain hath as free-born and strong sturdy Peeple of four several Nations to make Soldiers of, as ei­ther France or Spain: He hath the best Mariners, the stoutest Men of War, the Noblest Haven, for so Milford is accounted by all Geographers: He hath the Inaccessiblest Coasts, with the greatest Command and Power at Sea both Defensive and Offen­sive of any King whatsoever.

The second Section

Consists of Reasons and Arguments why France doth pretend and challenge Priority of Place; which Reasons (under favor) may be appliable also to the King of Great Britain, and the world knows why: But for to make the King of Great Britain come after the King of France, is to make him come behind himself, which is no less then an absurdity.

The third Section

Consists of the Reasons and Arguments which Spain alledg­eth for Precedence, at least of an Equality with the two fore­mentiond Kings; extracted with as much fidelity as carefulness out of her own Authors, as Don Diego de Valdez, D. Francisco Vasquez, with others.

The fourth Section

Consists of a Discours of Ambassadors. Tis tru, ther are some who have written of this subject already, yet not any under this Meridian; But those Forreners who have discoursd therof do amuse the Reader with such general Notions, that the Breeding and Qualities which they require, as also the Monitions, Pre­cepts and Instructions which they prescribe, may fit any other Minister of State, or Man of Business. But this Discours doth appropriat it self soly to the subject we undertake, viz. to the Function, Office and Incumbency of an Ambassador.

A necessary Aviso to the Reader.

WHeras the four following Sections which may be calld so many Decades, in regard evry one consists of Ten several Dis­courses, which makes forty in all; I say, wheras they are full of Quotations, Authorities, Texts, Testimonies, and Examples, both Modern and Ancient; And wheras the Author was not so precise as to point at the particular Pages, Paragraphs, or Chapters where they are found, and wherwith other Books have their Margens so cloggd: The Reader is humbly desird to take this Advertisement, That it belongs to School-men, and Professors of the Laws, who use to deal with matters of Meum & Tuum, or of Life and Death, to be so pun­ctual;

But, under favor, free Historians are not tied to such a strictness: Wherfore they may modestly expect, that, with an Ingenuous Candor the Readers wold carry with them a Generous Confidence, which they may do here without scruple of Conscience, or incurring any danger to wrong their Faith.

J. H.
Several Books worth buying, to be sold by Samuel Speed at the Rainbow neer the Inner Temple-gate in Fleet­street.
  • [Page]GUillims Heraldry: Folio.
  • Atter sol on Philemon: Folio.
  • Ammianus Marcellinus: Folio.
  • Porta's Natural Magick: Folio.
  • Pharamond, a Romance: Folio.
  • Shepards Actions on Deeds: Folio.
  • Palmerin of England: 4.
  • Artificial Changeling: 4.
  • Bacons History of England: 4.
  • Dr. Griffiths Bethel: 4.
  • Purchas of Bees: 4.
  • White on the Sabbath: 4.
  • Genealogies:
    • in 4.
    • in 8.
    • in 12.
  • Mountagues Essays: 4.
  • Perkins Catechism: 8.
  • Judge Ramsey of Coffee: 8.
  • Ramsey of Poysons: 8.
  • Paracels [...] of Metals: 8.
  • Ainsworths Communion of Saints: 8.
  • Sadlers Art of Physick: 8.
  • Burgersdicius Logick: 8.
  • The Life of Henry the fourth: 8.
  • Latine Bibles: 12.
  • Andrews Catechistical Doctrine: 12.
  • Drexelius Christian Zodiack: 12.
  • Wollebius in Latine: 12.
  • in English: 12.
These to be sold by Christopher Eccleston, under St. Dunstans Church in Fleetstreet.
  • CRooks Report: Fol.
  • Wingates Reports: Fol.
  • Latches Reports: Fol.
  • Queens Closet: 12.
  • Wits Recreations: 8.
  • Athanasius Life: 8.
  • Life of St. Cuthbert: 8.
  • Littleton on the Church-Catechism: 8.
  • Wars of the Jews: 8.
  • Cases of Conscience about things indifferent.
  • Grand Case of the present Ministry.
  • Review of the Grand Case.
  • Sales Epigrammatum, being the choicest Dysticks of Martials Epi­grams, of chief Latine Poets that have been these last two hundred yeers.
  • Shakespears Plays.

Touching the PRECEDENCE OF Soverain Princes.

COncerning the Pope and the Emperour, ther never was any question or controversie of their Precedencies, and consequently of their Representatives in all Transactions and Signatures, at all Oecumenical Councils, with other Public Meetings, being allowed to the One (by those who are devoted to him by way of Filiation) as he is held The Vica [...] of Christ, The Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, The Holy Father, who hath the command of the Spiritual Sword which strikes deep, having Dominion over the Noblest part of Man which is the Soul; Insomuch that some have magnified Him so far, and fallen to such an excess of speech, as to say, That He antecels all Temporal Princes as much as the Soul excels the Body. Nor do they onely allow him Priority of place, but out of high Ideas of Holiness, both Emperour and Kings esteem it a great ho­nour to hold the Bason and Towel when he washeth his hands; nay, to hold his Stirrop and Bridle, yea to kiss his Feet: accor­ding to the Poet, who gives this Character of Him:

Ense potens Gemino, Cujus vestigia adorat Caesar, & aurato vestiti murice Reges.
[Page 2]He who commands the Two-edg'd Sword, whose Feet Caesar, and crowned Kings with Kisses greet.

Insomuch that when at the great Ceremony of his Consecra­tion by the Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, the Papal Mitre is put on his head, the chief Deacon says aloud, Accipe Tiaram tribus orna­tum coronis, & scias Te esse Patrem Regum, & Rectorem orbis, &c. Receive the Mitre adorned with three Crowns; and know, that thou art the Father of Kings, and Rector of the world, &c.

From hence is derived the Precedence that all other Church­men have; as at the Election of the Emperour, the three Eccle­siastical Electors, viz. the Archbishops of Mentz, Colen, and Triers, take place of the King of Bohemia, and all the rest. More­over, out of a special Veneration of the Church, when the Tre­mendous Oath is read and administred unto them to be just in their choice, the Archbishops put their hands onely upon their Breasts, whereas all the Secular Electors hold their hands upon the Book all the while. Adde hereunto, that the Cardinals being Princes of the Church, deduce such a Pre-eminence from the Pope, that they take Precedence of all Ambassadours whose Ma­sters are devoted to the Roman See. Moreover, among the Peers of France, the Six Spiritual without any scruple take Prece­dence of the rest: as also our Bishops do in England in the Parlia­ment-house of all the Lay Peers. Furthermore, the Pope hath still such a sway and influence upon the Emperour, that he can­not be stil'd Augustus, or receive the Golden Crown, until he be confirmed by the Consistory at Rome.

Of the Emperour.

WE come now to wait on the Emperour, who retains still the Title of Caesar, and Semper Augustus: He also is stil'd Nu­men, Divus; and his Edicts are call'd Sancita Divalia, God-like Decrees. For many Descents the Empire continued in the Race of Iulius Caesar, until Domitius Nero's time; then the Name of Caesar grew to be Accidental, and given by way of Adoption to the Heir apparent of the Empire, whereas before he was call'd Princeps Iuventutis: and when the Western Empire came to be reviv'd in Charlemain, the next to succeed was term'd King of Ita­ly, but now he is created King of the Romanes; which Institu­tion was made by Charles the Fifth.

Iulius Caesar was the first who rais'd Rome to an Empire, though it cost him dear: for the Foundation thereof was cimen­ted [Page 3] with his own blood, being assassinated in the Senat by his nearest Confidents in compassing that great work: whereby 'tis observable what an extraordinary kinde of Fate did betide that City: for as the first Foundation thereof was sprinkled with Blood when Romulus caus'd his Brother Rhemus to be put to death, when the first Walls thereof were erecting; so the Ro­man Empire was afterwards first raised by Caesar's Blood. And the Spiritual Empire she enjoys since, may also be said to have been raised by the Blood of Christian Martyrs, among whom a­bove thirty of the first Bishops of Rome were of the number.

Now, if one should compare the present Roman Empire with the Old when it was at the highest flourish, the Parallel would bear no more proportion then a Wren (who yet is call'd in Latine Regulus, a little King) doth hold with an Eagle: for the Roman Monarchy when she was at the greatest pitch of Sublimity and Altitude of Puissance and Glory, may be said to have no Horizon, no Termination (as the Author hath it else­where) while she sate upon her seven Hills, she may be said to have overlooked the World. The City of Rome was then fifty Miles in circuit; five hundred thousand Free Citizens were computed to sleep within her Walls, by that famous Cense which Vopiscus speaks of. The Roman Eagle fixed his Talents upon the banks of Euphrates Eastward; on the Nile, and the Mountains of the Moon, South; on the Danube and Rhin North­ward; and West, as far as the British and German Ocean. Her annual Revenues were computed at 150 Millions, whereof the Salary of her Legionary Soldiers amounted yearly to above 20 Millions, &c. But that high-soaring Eagle, who with full­summ'd Wing flew so far, and may be said to have the Sun himself for her Companion, now with a few broken and tatter'd flaggy Plumes flies onely twixt Danube and the Rhin; and were she not impd with Austrian Fethers, she wold be as bald as a new-pluck'd Capon.

Yet for all this Fatal Stoop, had the Emperour at present all Germany entirely subject to himself, as he precedes in Title and Place, so he might haply compare in Power with any one Christian Prince: for Almaine or Teutony is a Continent of such a vast Ex­pansion, that it might give the Law to any one single Kingdome in Europe were it subject to one Head. But the Emperour in statu quo nunc, may be said to be but Titulary Emperour of Ger­many: for of those Ten Circles where into it is divided, viz. Au­stria High and Low, Franconia, Bavaria, Saxonia, Westphalia, the Lower Circle of Saxony, the two Palatinats, and Burgundy, he hath no absolute Authority but onely in Austria, which is his Patrimonial Inheritance. The Government of the rest, though it be principally in the Emperour, 'tis diffusedly in the Dier or Im­perial [Page 4] Parlement, but contractedly and actually in the seven Ele­ctors, who have a kinde of Ius Regale in them, as power of Life and Death, Coyning of Moneys, Levying of Men, and settling what Religion they please; it being a Rule and Prerogative a­mong them, That Quilibet Imperii Status tantum possit in suo Terri­torio, quantum Imperator in toto Imperio: Every State of the Em­pire hath as much power in his own Territory, as the Emperour hath in the whole Empire. Yet they cannot make any League or Confederacy with any other Prince, but with this Reservati­on, That it be not prejudicial to the common Peace of the Em­pire.

Now we finde that there were many fatal Causes which concurred to bring the Roman Empire to so low an ebb: The first was the Translation of the Imperial Court from Rome to Bizantium or Constantinople, whereby the Eagle grew to be a Monster with two heads, the one looking Eastward, the other West: yet he of the East stil'd himself still for about 400 years The Roman Emperour, governing the West by Deputies; du­ring which time, a world of tough Northern Nations broke into Italy to draw nearer the Sun; and there as well as in other places, took firm footing, until Charlemain chac'd them away, who first stil'd himself Emperour of the West by an Agreement made with Nicephorus at Constantinople: which Western Empire also received soon after a fatal Blow by the Partition that his Son Lewis the Debonnaire made to finde Portions for his three Sons; inso­much that the Roman Empire came to be coop'd up at last with­in the German Pale: and since that time it stands upon Histori­cal Records, how from the Raign of Rodolph the first, above 200 Princes, States, and Imperial Cities, have dismembred and e­mancipated themselfs from the Empire; some by working up­on the Emperours Necessities, and furnishing him with Tresure to support his Wars; and for their Moneys they had Immunities granted them equivalent to a Releasement from Subjection. Moreover, as the Popes Temporal Dominions most of them were Plumes taken from the Roman Eagle, so the change of Re­ligion by the Lutherans did much weaken him, for many since revolted quite from him without paying any thing. the last were the Lituanians, the Swisses, and Geneva; the first fell from Charles the Fifth, who summoning them to their Obedience, and threatning else to reduce them by Arms, they returned this jeering Answer, That they believed his Horse wold tire before he could reach the Skirts of Lituania. And the Swisse falling from their Spiritual Obedience to the Pope, fell also from their Temporal Al­legiance to the Emperour, and to have any thing to do with the Chamber of Spire.

Thus we see in part the Degrees and Causes of the Declina­tion [Page 5] [...]f the Roman Monarchy at first, and of the German Empire afterwards, which may be said to have shrunk from a great Lyon into a Cat-skin. But to know the principal cause, we must cast our eyes upward, and attribut all to the Will and high Plesure of the All-disposing Emperour of the Universe, who as he puts bounds to the raging Billows of the great Ocean, so he sers Boundaries and Periods to all Earthly Grandeurs.

Nevertheless, though in point of Power and Territories the Emperour be grown so weak and naked in comparison of what he was, yet in point of Precedence and Dignity he bears up still the same, being accounted the prime Potentat, and Prince para­mount of Christendome. And well may all Christian Kings esteem him so, in regard that their Territories may be said to be but Branches of the great Roman Tree, which falling off, and ta­king new Roots, they began to taper up, and grow to be Regal Trees of themselfs. Great Britain, as she was the last that was reduced under the Roman Yoak, so she was the first who shook it off, and enfranchiz'd her self: which is no mean honour and advantage to her King in point of Precedence, as will appeer more at large in the ensuing Discourse.

Nor is the Emperour and his Ministers thus esteem'd among Christian Kings onely, but also by the Turk, who stiles him still the Roman Emperour, and next himself the greatest Monarch; reputing his Ambassadours accordingly, by allowing them to have Palaces in Constantinople the same side the Seraglio is on; and they go always concomitant with the Ottoman Court where­soever it removes. They have the Precedence given them of the Ambassadors both of the Persian and Tartar, notwithstanding that the first holds himself the greatest Potentat upon Earth, having a custome duely observed, that after Dinner an Officer winds a Trumpet at his Court-gate towards the four parts of the world, to give notice to all other Princes that he hath Dined al­ready, and so they may go now all to Dinner. And concerning the Persian, the example of the Lo. David Ungnadius shall serve, who being Ambassador in the Turks Court for the Emperour, and coming for Audience to the Duana, the Persian Ambassador had come before, and got the Chair; but Ungnadius offering to go away, the Gran Visier caus'd an upper Chair to be put for him. Another time at Mahomet the thirds Circumcision, which lasted 40 days, there being then in Constantinople the Ambassadors of the greatest Monarchs upon Earth, yet the Ambassador of Rodulphus the Emperour had the Precedence of them all.

All this is but Collateral to the main Designe of the intended Discourse, which aims chiefly at Kings, whereunto we now ha­sten; but we will first give a few Hints or Prolegomenas of the Original of Kingly Government.

Of Royalty, or Kingly Government.

THere is a Saying in France, Pape par voix, Empereur par Force, Roy par Nature: Pope by Choice, Emperour by Might, King by Nature, viz. Successive, and Hereditary Kings who ought to have the Precedence of Elective. Whence may be inferred, That Kingly Government is most agreeable to Nature. Now 'tis a tru and elegant Principle, That Naturam sequi est Deo obsequi; To follow Nature is to obey God.

Concerning the Character or Title of King, it is of a more ancient date then that of Emperour. For they who grope at Go­vernment before the Floud, speak of Kings in Chaldee and Egypt. Rome began with Kings, and it may be said, that it was more the Peeples Wantonness then Tarquin's which put them down. After­wards the Name of Emperour was given to that person who was Commander in chief of the Army or Praetorian Bands, and Le­gionary Soldiers: it was not a Title of that Sublimity and Transcendence as it proved afterward. Among the Greek Au­thors the Names of Monarchs, Kings and Emperours are taken promiscuously: But all Writers that pretend to Policy, ac­knowledge that Kingly Government of all other as it is the most ancient, (and may be said to begin with Adam) so it hath most conformity with that of Heaven, whence the best patterns for all Humane Actions are to be fetch'd, and 'tis no presumption to do it. Moreover, of all kinde of Ruling Powers, Royalty is the prime; for in it, as the Civilians say, there is formalis, & completa gubernandi ratio, the most formal, and compleat Essence of Government. Royalty also hath the easiest, the fewest, and certainst Principles, (if any certain can be found) for there is no Knowledge so subject to confusion and incertitudes, as the Art for Man to govern Men; It could never yet be brought to a Science, which consists of general and tru Apodictical Demon­strations. The Reason may be, the various Inclinations, Ca­prichio's, and Humours of Peeple, proceeding from the diver­sity of Climes, and Coelestial Influences; as also, from that World of Contingencies which attend Human Negotiations; likewise from the diffring Positions of Earth, for those Laws and kinds of Government which may be proper for the Continent, will not fit an Insulary Peeple; nor those Laws of a Maritime Country can sute with meer Inland, or Mediterranean Territo­ries: Therefore, that Gran Senior of all Knowledge, the Stagirite, whereas he useth to be constant to himself while he gives Ma­ximes for other Sciences, when in his Politiques he comes to Hu­man Government, and beats his Brain how to prescribe certain Rules conducing thereunto, He is not found onely at a loss, and [Page 7] wavering to himself, but he wraps his Scholars here and there in Clouds of Ambiguities. Nor can we blame him and others to rove up and down in that manner upon this subject, it being be­yond the compass of Human Brain to enact such Laws may fit all times, prevent all accidents, and quadrat with the Genius of all Nations. Some Peeple are so fiery-mouth'd that they must be rid with a Bit, Curb, and Martingale; but a snaf [...]le and gentle hand will serve to manage others: Now 'tis observ'd, that they who inhabit hard and barren Countries, are more ea­sily govern'd then those who live in fat and luxurious Soyls, where being pamper'd with Plenty and Wealth, they are apt to grow wanton, and kick at, or overthrow their Riders.

Yet it may be said, that there is one certain and Universal Rule for Government, and to keep a Peeple in a constant and exact Obedience; and that Rule is, For the Soveraign Prince to have always a standing and visible actual Power in motion, as well to conserve as to curb a Peeple in case of any Commoti­on; And 'tis consentaneous to good Reason, that the Subject shold contribut for this general Protection, according to the say­ing, Defend me, and spend me; that so evry one may rest under his own Roofs, and sit at his own Fires in quietness and safety. In sum, All Statists concur in this, That there is an Awe due to a King, as well as Affection; He must be a Dread Soverain, as well as a Gracious; and that Goverment [...]s best temper'd where a few Drams of Fear are blended with the Peeples Love. But now to our main Work.

Touching The Precedence of Kings, And particularly of the great TRIUMVIRS, OR The Three most Potent KINGS in Europe.

IN discussing this high Point, we will first look Westward: For there is a Story tells us, That once when there were divers who stood in competition for the Kingdome of Persia, it was agreed between them, that the next morn­ing they shold all meet in a great Plain, and he who did first see the Sun rising, and that his Horse did neigh, shold be the King. Being met on Horse-back at break of day, as the rest stood gazing towards the East, Darius one of the Competi­tors, look'd always towards the West; and at last finding a glance of the Solar Beams, his Horse neighed; whereat he sud­denly turned back, and so claim'd the Kingdome: So, to finde the truth of what is here sought after, we will first look Westward towards Great Britain, whose King may compare with any other whatsoever for these Reasons.

  • First, for Antiquity of Predecessors, and particularly of Chri­stian Kings.
  • Secondly, for an Independent, absolute and unhomageable Possession and Authority, both Spiritual and Temporal.
  • Thirdly, for Eminence of Royal Dignity, State and Titles.
  • Fourthly, for Martial Exploits and Atchievments abroad.
  • Fifthly, for a stout and strong sturdy freeborn Peeple, with a plentiful Masculine Country, and generality of Wealth.
  • [Page 9]Sixthly, for a Royal long-lind Extraction and Blood.
  • Seventhly, for Hospitality, and a plentiful Kingly Court, with number of Officers, and stately Attendance.
  • Eighthly, for diversity of Nations, and diffring Maternal Languages; As also that no Kings Face shines upon his Coyn in purer Metal.
  • Ninthly, for Prudential Laws and Constitutions.
  • Tenthly, for Greatness of Power by Sea and Land Defensive and Offensive,

With other Prerogatives: I say, that the King of Great Bri­tain may hereby not onely claim an Equality with the other two, but stand fair for a Precedence. Now, for proof of all the fore-pointed Particulars, we will put evry one by it self, and treat thereof in several Paragraphs; and first,

Of the Antiquity of the King, and particularly of the Christian Kings in Great Britain, whereby we take A Jove Principium.

IT is observed by most Annalists who write of Countries and Nations, that the Britains who were the Aborigenes, the Pri­mitive Inhabitants, and may be said to be Connatural with this Iland it self, were by a special instinct much devoted to the contemplation of heavenly things: For the ancient Druydes that were the first Divines or Professors of Religion, (who in lieu of Monasteries or Colleges, were used to retire themselfs to Woods and solitary places to speculat the Works of God and Na­ture) were renowned far and near beyond the Seas; and the Emperour Iulius Caesar writes, that the Gaules (now French) were wont to come over to be instructed by the British Druydes, who, as he saith elsewhere, and is seconded by Cornelius Tacitus, (which spent part of his life here) had more pregnant capacities then the Gaules. Now, in those times ther were divers Marti­al Kings here, whereas they scarce make mention of any in Gallia. To avoid prolixity, we will instance onely in Boadicia that admired Virago, and Cataractus, who having maintain'd for many years this Kingdom from the Romanes more by the Bodies of Men, and pure Natural Valour, then by Arms, was at last carried Prisoner to Rome, where being not a whit daunted, he reproach'd the Romanes, (yet with a kind of complement) That he wondred how they having such stately Palaces at Rome, wold take such long hazardous Journeys to dwell in homely Houses of Clay, as those of Britain were in those days. Before the Romans raigned here, there had been very many Kings of this Iland, for Cassibelan whom Caesar speaks of, was the sixty third British [Page 10] King thereof; when it pleased the Father of Light to display the early Beams of Christianity in this Iland, which was very betimes: for, as Gregory the 15th says in his Letter to his late Majesty at that time in Spain, (which he was to receive in com­mon civility as the Pope is also a Temporal Prince) No sooner did the Roman Eagle fly over hither, but the Standard of the Cross was in­arborated and set up: I say, that then, which may be said to be in the nonage of the Church, Lucius Surius, call'd in British, Llei vab Coel Lucius, the Son of Coel, (who was King before him) sent to Eleutherius for his Laws to govern the Church by, who returned him this answer: Vicarius Dei estis in Regno vestro, Gentes vestri Regni pulli vestri sunt, &c. Habetis penes vos legem, & Fidem Christi; Habetis utram (que) paginam, &c. You are Gods Vicar in your King­dome, your Peeple are your Chickins; you have the Law, and Faith of Christ; you have both the Testaments, &c. This King Lucius afterwards having frequent symptomes and fits of extra­ordinary Devotion, forsook all earthly Pomp and Plesure, and went on Pilgrimage to Rome, where he employed the remnant of his life in the Theory of holy things, and to study the Art of Mortification, as Venerable Bede and Baronius, with all Authors both Old and New, do affirm.

Now, this was a long tract of time before ther was any Chri­stian King in France or Spain, or indeed any where else. 'Tis true, that St. Iames the Apostle was in Spain, but as the Story says, there were but nine persons that were converted; but in Great Britain it may be said, that as the Sun when he begins to appear and culminat in the East, doth as it were in a moment enlighten the whole Hemisphere; so the Rays of the Son of Righ­teousnes did with marvellous celerity and success (leaping over as it were many other Countries) illuminat this Western Iland first, insomuch that when Austin (whom many call The Apostle of the Saxons or English) arrived here some Ages after, ther were then in Bangor and elsewhere above 2000 Monks. He found the Pentateuch of Moses & the New Testament translated into British, as also a Form of Divine Service, which stand yet upon record. The huge Continent of Germany, with Norway and Denmark, with divers other Countries, acknowledg to have receiv'd the first light of Learning and of the Gospel from hence by Winfrid and Wille­brod, as an ingenious German-Poet confesseth in these Numbers:

Haec tamen Arctois laus est aeterna Britannis,
Quòd post Pannonicis vastatum incursibus Orbem
Illa bonas Artes, & Graiae munera Linguae,
Stellarum (que) vias, & magni sydera Coeli
Observans, iterum turbatis intulit oris,
Quin se Religio multùm debere Britannis
[Page 11]Servata, & latè circum dispersa fatetur;
Quis nomen Winfride tuum, quis munera nescit!
Te Duce Germanis pietas se vera, Fides (que)
Insinuans coepit ritus abolere prophanos;
Quid non Alcuino facunda Lutetia debet? &c.

And as it is the consentient Opinion of all Antiquaries, That the first Christian King who ever raign'd in Europe was of this Ile, so the first Christian Emperour (Constantin the Great) came from her Bowels, being Son to Helena that renowned British Lady, who bears one of the first places in the Catalogue of Saints, and is called Elen luyddiog (the Warlike Helen) in Welc [...] to this day.

These Premises being well weigh'd, this Conclusion may be deduc'd, That the King of Great Britain may well claim de Iure the title of The first Son of the Church. Therefore, under favor, it may be justly question'd why the next King Eastward shold as­sume it; for Clouis the first Christian King in France was neer upon 400 years after King Lucius, as all Historians do assert.

Moreover, tis well known that besides the title of Defendor of the Faith, (whereof we will speak hereafter) the title of Christia­nissimus was sent to Hen. 8. with much solemnity by Pope Iulius the second, accompanied with a Cap of Maintenance, and a Sword; which title was confirmed by Authority of the Lateran Council: which great transaction was solemnly publish'd in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, and seconded with Justs and Tournements; yet this was but the renewing of an old Title, for among the Saxon Kings some were call'd so, and ther are Re­cords yet extant that King Oswald and Edward the third were stil'd so.

We will conclude this Paragraph with this Observation, That Great Britain was the first Country in Europe who shook off the Roman Yoak, and rais'd some of the former old British Blood to be Kings again for many Descents, insomuch that the Ro­mans here made but an Interregnum: And this was before any absolut King was elsewhere in Europe upon the declinings of the Empire, specially in France and Spain, who continued but Ro­man Provinces many years after. We will now to the second Paragraph.

Of the Independent, Absolut and Unhomageable Possessions and Authority, both Ecclesiastical and Temporal, of the King of Great Britain.

FRom the precedent Paragraph it appears, That Albion or Great Britain was a Royal Ile from the beginning, since [Page 12] there was any coalition or aggregations of mankind within her to govern. For in the body of the British Laws made by Mul­mutius Dunwallo, which are yet to be read in fair British-Manu­scripts, ther are these words, Un Goron arbennig y sydd y ynis Bri­dian; One Monarchical Crown is held in the Ile of Britain: Just according to the ancient Greek Poet:

[...]
Many Lords are not good, let there be but One.

Now from that time to this, the King of Britain had and hath as Souveraign and incontroulable a sway as any. 'Tis true that he admits others sometimes to share with him in Counsel, but not in Power: by a kind of Influence he gives Light and Command to others, but he himself receives none from any.

In the Neighbouring Monarchies it cannot be said so, and particularly in France and Spain, where it may be said ther is Regnum in regno, ther is another Power à Legatus de latere, that in a Court of Plea sways ore the Ecclesiastiques who make a consi­derable part of the Peeple. Touching the latter, the King of Spain is Feodary either to the Pope, the Emperour, or to France, for all the Countries he hath: The Kingdomes of Navarre and Granada were made Feodary to the Pope under Iulius the second: Aragon to Innocent the third, as also Sardinia in formula fiduciae. Sicilia is relevant from the Church, as also both the Indies and the Canary Ilands. For the Kingdome of Naples and Calabria he sends a Mule, with a Purse-full of Gold, as a Heriot to Rome evry year, (for fear of an Excommunication the next day) at the re­ceit whereof the Pope says, Sufficiat pro hac vice. He holds the Dukedome of Milan from the Empire, and most of the Provin­ces in the Netherlands from France, whereof he is a double Peer, as he is Duke of Burgundy and Earl of Flanders. Now 'tis que­stionable among the Civilians, whether a Feodary or Homager may be call'd an Absolut Prince, specially when Appeals may be made from him to another Court, as the Spanish Clergy may from the King to Rome in divers cases.

The Kings of ENGLAND are free from Subordinations of that kind, as the Fundamental Laws of the Land, and all the ancient Learned Judges do evidence. 'Tis a Principle in the English Laws, (which is confirm'd by Baldus, and other great Forren Jurists) That Rex neminem habet in Dominiis suis nec Superiorem nec Parem: The King in his own Dominions hath neither Superior nor Equal, (He may be said to be both Caesar and Pompey.) There is another, Omnes sub Illo, Ille sub nullo; All under Him, He under none. Another yet, Satis habet Rex ad poenam quod Deum expectet Ultorem: 'Tis enough for the King [Page 13] that God is to be his Judge; which is expressed in this Di­stic:

Subditus in Regem peccat, Legem (que) Fidem (que)
At Rex in Solum, Rex quia, nempe Deum.

Ther are divers others that are conducing hereunto; As, The King must not be put to do any thing per aspertè, but of his free plesure: The King never dies, but the Heir apparent is King In­choative as soon as the former dies; and the Coronation is but a meer Ceremony not Essential: for divers Kings, as Hen. 5. and others, had Alleageance sworn unto them before they were Crown­ed. There are more Maximes yet, That the King can do no wrong, but his Ministers may, through whose mouths he pronounceth sentence. Moreover, Nullum tempus occurrit Regi, Ther's no Im­memorial or Prescription against the King. It is High Treson not only to contrive, but to imagine ill against the King. By the Kings Prerogative Life it self may be leased, &c. But that Tra­verse twixt King Iohn and the Legat Pandolpho, when they say he transferred the Crown to the Pope, is much insisted upon: wher­unto tis thus answered:

That ther are four great things whereof the Records cannot be found: The first is that wherin the Emperour Constantine gave Rome to the Pope; The second is that wherin Venice hath the Dominion of the Adriatic or Illyrian Gulph; The third is the Salique Law; The fourth is that Instrument wherby King Iohn pass'd over his Crown, and made the Pope Lord Paramount of England. Sir Thomas More, who was so far devoted to Rome that he is canoniz'd for one of her Martyrs, denieth absolutly that King Iohn either did or could make England Feudetary to the Pope, because without the consent of his Barons an Act so much prejudicial to his Royal Successors was not valid; and that the Peter-pence which they hold to be a Tribut relating to the foresaid Act, was but a meer Alms which was given by King Ina 500 years before. Moreover, put case ther had been such an Act, yet it stands upon good record that Innocentius the third did give a Release in these words; Per Praeceptum Domini Papae 7 Iulii Ho­magium relaxatur omninò. The Rome-scot also was but Regis larga benignitas, the Kings bountiful kindness.

Adde hereunto, that when the Pontificial Power was here at the highest pitch, no Legat de latere was allowed, but the Arch­bishop of Canterbury (his Subject) who by his Dignity is perpe­tual Legat de latere, He is Legatus natus (as he of Toledo is in Spain, and the Primat of Armagh in Ireland) and in point of Prece­dence, at the Council of Clermont anno 1096. a Prerogative was given him for ever to sit at all general Councils at the Popes right foot; Pope Urban at that time declaring in these terms, [Page 14] Includamus hun [...] in Orbe nostro tanquam alterius Orbis Pontificem Maximum, Let us include him in our world as Pope of another world. 'Tis true, ther have been other Legats de latere upon extra­ordinary occasions admitted, but it was with the Kings leave, and with this Proviso, That he hath no Authority to hold Plea in the Realm prejudicial to the Laws thereof, or derogatory to the King.

Thus it appears that no Extern power hath any thing to do in Great Britain; and as the Pope, so the Peeple neither, whether consider'd Diffusively, Collectively, Representatively, or Vertually, par­take any thing of the Souverain Power; ther is no power either Co-ordinat, Co-equal, Corrival, or Collateral with it. The Kings of England have had always by the known Laws of the Land a pure underived Power, not depending upon Pope or Peeple, or any o­ther Prince whatsoever: They are Kings by the Grace of God, which implies no earthly Dependency. It stands upon good record, how King Ina in the Preamble to his Laws (for he was a great Legislator) begins, I Ina, by the Grace of God King, &c. and this was above a thousand years ago, about two hundred years before Charlemain, in whose time that stile of Dei Gratia came first in use in the Empire.

And as on Land the King of Great Britain hath such a Latitude and Independence of Supreme Power, so by Sea he hath the like; which is such, that (without disparagement, much less any in­justice to any) I may avouch no other Prince hath the like. The greatest claim of Sea-Dominion that France makes, is to the Coasts of Armorica, or little Britany, and a few Leagues in the Mediterranean. The Spanish Laws are for the community, and free use of the Sea, challenging no Dominion at all. Ther are divers States in Italy that claim a particular command and pro­priety in some Seas; as the Duke of Tuscany challengeth a Do­minion of the Tyrrhene Sea; the State of Genoa of the Ligustique; Venice claims a right to the Adriatic as (symbolically) to a Hus­band, for she marries him upon Ascention-day evry yeer, the Duke going in procession with great solemnity in the Buantoro to that purpose, and throwing a Ring into the water; and She hath power to do in that part of the Sea which she calls her Gulph, as much as she can do in Venice it self in point of laying Impositions and Gabels, and to cause what Mercantile ships she please to unlade their Cargazons at the City of Venice it self. God and Nature hath much favoured the King of Denmark with the command of a Neck of Sea, I mean the Sound, for it is the strongest Sinew of his Crown by the Tolls he receaves of those who pass and repass into the Baltik. He commands also at large the Norwegian or Hyperborean Sea. But among all, if we observe his Title, the King of Portugal hath a greater Maritime command [Page 15] then all these, which Title runs thus: Dom Manuel por Graca de Deos Rey, &c. Senhor de Guinee, & da Conquista, Navigacaon, & Comercio d' Etiopia, Arabia, Persia, & da India à Todos, &c. Don Emanuel by the Grace of God King, &c. Lord of Guiney, and of the Conquest, Navigation, and Commerce of Ethiopia, A­rabia, Persia, &c.

These are the Princes who have most command of Sea, but they command only the Strands and Ports, or Maritime Tract. They cannot be said to command the Sea it self, as the King of Great Britain doth, for he commands no less then four Seas, which are circumfluent about his Territories; and the Law says, The Sea is of the Ligeance of the King as any other thing: He is Prote­ctor as well as Lord of them: He takes both the Dominion and Defence of them; also he scowres and secures them from Pyrats and Praedatory Rovers: He makes all ships, whether Merchants or Men of War, Forreners or Subjects, to dash their Colours, and strike their Topsayls not onely to his Castles, but to any of his ships Royal as they pass and repass. Which mark of Domini­on the Republic of Venice hath not, though she also hath her Gallies always in cours to scowre and secure the Gulph from Cur­saries and Robbers, which is one of the chief Regalia's St. Mark hath, though the Sea she thus commands be scarce 30 Leagues in extent, for it is but fourscore Italian Miles.

Nor doth the King of Great Britains Dominion terminat in his own Seas, but as most Civilians hold, it extends as far as the shoares of his Transmarin Neighbours, and as far North as the Artic Circle: which Grotius did once acknowledg, and publish to the world (though another Caprichio came into his head af­terwards) in the Panegyrike he sent King Iames at his Inaugu­ration, when he says,

——Rerum Natura Creatrix
Divisit populos, & metas ipsa notavit;
Sic juga Pyrenae, sic olim Rhenus, & Aspes
Imperii mensura fuit. Te flumine nullo
Detinuit, nulla nimbosi verticis arce,
Sedtotum complexa Parens hic terminus ipsa
Substitit, at (que) uno voluit sub limite claudi;
Te sibi seposuit supremo in gurgite Nereus;
Finis hic est qui fine caret, Quae meta Britannis
Littora sunt aliis, Regni (que) accessio tanti est
Quod ventis, velis (que) patet—

We will put a period to this Paragraph with a Request to the Reader, That having well weighed the Power of the King of Great Britain, and joyn'd that of the Sea with the Land, as also [Page 16] the Reasons of the preceding Paragraph with this, to judge whe­ther it be fit that He shold go or come in the Arriere to any King whatsoever. We will now to the third Paragraph.

Touching the Eminence and Royal Dignity, the State, Grandeur and Titles of the King of Great Britain.

Corsetus, a known and well-accounted Author, divides Kings into Illustres, and Super-Illustres; He gives the King of England the second place among the Super-Illustres; and one of the Reasons are, that he is an Anointed King, whereas the King of Spain and others are not, unless the King of Spain may claim it as he entitles himself King of Ierusalem and Sicily; for besides the Kings of England and France, they two are onely capable of being Anointed. The King of England hath a Gift also to cure the Strumatical Disease, call'd therefore in England The Kings E­vil, ab effectu sanationis, whereas in French 'tis call'd Les Ecrou­elles, and Los Lamperones in Spanish, &c. Some have written that the King of England hath a Vertu to cure this Disease as he is King of France; but that's a vulgar Error: for King Edward the Confessor was us'd to heal that way, which was 300 years be­fore.

Platina makes the King of England Filium Adoptivum Ecclesiae, the Emperour Filium Primogenitum, and the French King Filium natu minorem; One the Adopted Son, the other the First-born, the third the Cadet or younger Son.

Volaterranus is related by Philippus Honorius in a well-known Work of his call'd Praxis Politicae prudentiae, anno 1610. that Iulius 2. gave the Precedence to the English Ambassador before him of Spain. Hen. 2. was King of Ierusalem, and Edward 3. was made Perpetuus Vicarius Imper [...]i, which is no mean Title.

The Spanish Ambassador never questioned the Precedence of the English Ambassador till in the Council of Basile; and touch­ing the Contest twixt them in the Council of Constance, ther was at Lovain Anno 1517. a Book entituled, Nobilissima dis­putatio super dignitate & magnitudine Regnorum Britannici & Gal­lici habita ab utrius (que) Oratoribus in Concilio Constantiensi; where you see he puts Britains King before the French in the very Fron­tispice; and the chiefest Reasons asserted therein are found in this Discours.

Hen. 6. employed Thomas Polden Bishop of Chichester, with o­thers, in quality of Ambassadors to the Council held at Siena, to claim his session, otherwise he would protest, and poursue the Protestation.

In the Raign of Hen. 6. ther was a Public Instrument put [Page 17] forth by Ericus King of Sweden and Denmark, wherein he puts England before France; which Instrument [...]uns thus: Caveant omninò Mercatores & alii quicun (que) homines & subditi Reg. Angliae & Franciae ne de caetero sub poena amissionis vitae & Bonorum, visitare praesumant Terras Islandiae, Finmarchiae, Halghalandiae, seu alias quas­cun (que) Terras prohibitas, aut Portus illegales in Regnis Daniae, Sueciae & Norwegiae. An authentic Copy of this Instrument was brought by the Danish Ambassador to Breme 1562. and shew'd to the English Delegates there at that time from Queen Elizabeth about the great business of the Hans Towns.

In the Capitulations of Peace twixt Hen. 7. of England, and Iohn 2. of Denmark and Norway 1490. England is put before France: as for example: Sancitum est quod Mercatores, & Homi­nes Ligii, Piscatores & quicun (que) alii Reg. Angliae & Franciae subditi liberè possint temporibus futuris in perpetuum ad Insulam Tyle i. e. I­slandiam, &c.

Augustus de Cavallis, who is no obscure Author, infers the Queen of England from her Ancestors, both in respect of Inhe­ritance, Conquest and Gift, to be Queen of France de Iure.

In the Treaty twixt Hen. the 7. and Philip of Castile 1506. the English Commissioners subsign'd first. As also in the Treaty of Marriage with Queen Mary, Anno 1533. the first Signature is given to the English Ambassadors.

When Queen Elizabeth employed the Earl of Derby, the Lord Cobham, Sir Iames Crofts, Doctor Dale, and Doctor Rogers in qua­lity of Ambassadors, with their Assistants to Ostend, anno 1588. Dignitatis Praerogativa & incedendo & sedendo, The Prerogative of going and sitting was given her Ambassadors.

In the Treaty at Bullen twixt England and Spain for renewing the Burgundian League, Queen Elizabeth sent Sir Hen. Nevil, Sir Iohn Herbert, Robert Beale and Tho. Edmunds, who in their Instructions had command in no case to give Precedence to the Spanish Ambassadors; but being met, ther was a Contest happend: The English produc'd a Certificat procur'd privatly from Rome out of the Book of Ceremonies there, which accor­ding to the Canon giveth the Rule in such cases, That the King of England is to have place before the King of Castile; That the English quietly held this Right in the Councils of Basil, Con­stance, and others: They alledg'd also that the Kingdom of Ca­stile (which is the Spaniards first Title) is but an upstart-in re­gard of England; for it had no Kings but Earls till the year 1017. Moreover, Pope Iulius 3. gave sentence for Hen. 7. of England against Ferdinand of Spain in this particular, &c.

Furthermore, for Eminency of Title, Great Britain is oftentimes calld an Empire by Forren Authors; nay, Pope Urban terms it a World of it self at the Council of Clermont almost a thousand [Page 18] years since, wherin the Archbishop of Canterbury is call'd Alte­terius Orbis Papa, The Pope of another World: What wold he say now that Ireland and Scotland are added!

Some of the Saxon Kings stil'd themselfs Emperours, as Ego Ethelredus, Ego Edgarus Anglorum Induperator, &c. William the Conqueror writ, Ego Willielmus Rex Anglorum ab incarnatione Do­mini 1089. 2 Anno mei Imperii. This is found upon record in his Charter to the Monastery of Shaftsbury.

In Hen. 8. Raign, the eighth year thereof, England was de­clar'd an Empire in Parlement, where he had also these Epithets, Metuendissimus, Praepotentissimus; and London was call'd the Impe­rial Chamber.

But most memorable is that of King Edgar in the Charter that he gave the Church of Worcester; Which Charter is yet extant, and runs thus:

Altitonantis Dei largifluâ clementiâ, qui est Rex Regum, Ego Edga­rus Anglorum Basileus, omnium (que) Regum, Insularum, Oceani (que) Britan­niam circumjacentis, cunctarúm (que) Nationum quae infra Eam includuntur Imperator, & Dominus; Gratias ago ipsi Deo omnipotenti Regi meo qui meum Imperium sic ampliavit, & exaltavit super Regnum Pa­trum meorum; Qui licet Monarchiam totius Angliae adepti sunt à tem­pore Athelstani, qui primus Regnum Anglorum & omnes Nationes quae Britanniam incolunt, sibi Armis subegit, nullus tamen Illorum ultra ejus fines Imperium suum dilatare aggressus est. Mihi autem conces­sit propitia Divinitas cum Anglorum Imperio omnia Regna Insularum Oceani cum suis ferocissimis Regibus us (que) Norwegiam, Maximam (que) Partem Hiberniae cum sua nobilissima Civitate Dublinia Anglorum Regno subjugare. Quos etiam omnes meis Imperiis colla subdere, Dei favente gratia, Coegi. Quapropter ut Ego Christi Gloriam & laudem in Regno meo exaltare & ejus servitutem amplificare devotus disposui, & per meos Fideles Fautores Dunstanum Archiepiscopum, Ayeliola­num ac Oswaldum Archiepiscopos quos mihi Patres Spirituales, & Consiliarios elegi magna ex parte disposui, &c. Facta haec sunt anno Dom. 964. Indictione 8 Regni. Ego Alfrye Regina consensi, & signo Crucis confirmavi ✚.

This being so ancient a Record, and of so high a Tenure, I thought good to render it into English for the satisfaction of the Common Reader.

By the clemency of the high-thundring God, who is King of Kings, I Edgar King of the English, and of all Kings, of I­lands, and of the Ocean circumjacent to Britain, and of all Nations which are included within her, Emperour and Lord; I give thanks only to Almighty God my King, that he hath [Page 19] amplified and exalted my Empire above the Kingdome of my Fathers, who although they had obtain'd the Monarchy of all England from the time of Athelstan, who was the first that sub­dued the Kingdom of the English, and all Nations who in­habit Britain, yet none of them attempted to dilate his Empire beyond its bounds. But propitious Divinity hath granted unto me to subjugat, together with the Empire of the English, all the Kingdomes in the Iles of the Ocean, with their most ferocious Kings as far as Norway, and most part of Ireland, with her most Noble City of Dublin. All whom I compell'd to bow their Necks to my Commands, the Grace of God so favouring me, &c.

This King Edgar, though very little of stature, was so magnani­mous and successful, that he was Row'd upon the River of Dee by four subjugated Kings, whereof Kennad King of Scots was one.

Ther is also a very remarkable and authentic story of King Ca­nutus afterwards, who being upon Southampton-Strand at the flowing of the Sea, he sate in a Chair of State which was brought him upon the sands; and the Billows tossing and tumbling to­wards him, he gave the Sea this command: Thou art my Subject, and the Earth wheron I sit is mine, and ther was none yet that ever re­sisted my Command who went unpunish'd: Therefore I command Thee that Thou come not up upon my Earth, nor presume to wet the Garment, or the Body of thy Lord. But the Sea continuing his cours, dash'd and wetted his feet and thighs illfavouredly, without any reve­rence or fear: whereupon the King stepping back, declar'd, That none is worthy of the Name of a King, but only He whose Nod both Sea and Earth observd. And, as the story hath it, he never wore the Crown of Gold again, but being fix'd to a Cross, did con­secrat it to the Image of our Saviour.

Ther have been also Titles of Dignity given to our Kings in the Abstract, (which hath more of State and Substance in it then the Concret) as Celsitudo Tua, Magnitudo Tua, given by the Pope in his Letters to Ed. 2. And Edward the 4. was us'd to write, No­stra Regia Majestas; though indeed that word Majestas began first in France, but in Hen. 2. Raign, (and sacra Majestas since.) Therefore Pope Leo gave it betimes to Hen. 8. in that famous Charter he sent him, when he commanded all Christians, that in their Directions to him for the future, after the word King, they shold stile him Defender of the Faith. Which great Charter sign'd by the Pope and 27 Cardinals, 1521. I thought proper and worthy to insert here, having procur'd a faithful Copy from the very Original.

[Page 20]Leo Episcopus servus servorum Dei, Charissimo in Christo Filio Henrico Angliae Regi, Fidei Defensori, Salutem, & Apostolicam bene­dictionem. Cum supernae dispositionis arbitrio, licet imparibus meritis, Universalis Ecclesiae regimini praesidentes ad hoc cordis nostri longè la­te (que) diffundimus cogitatus ut Fides Catholica sine qua nemo proficit ad salutem continuum suscipiat incrementum. Et ut ea quae pro cohiben­dis conatibus illam deprimere, aut pravis, mendacibus (que) commentis per­vertere, & denigrare molientium sana Christi Fidelium praesertim Dig­nitate Regali fulgentium Doctrina sunt disposita continuis proficiant in­crementis partes nostri Ministerii, & operam impendimus efficaces. Et sicut alii Romani Pontifices Praedecessores nostri Catholicos Principes, prout Rerum & temporum qualitas exigebat, specialibus favoribus prosequi consueverunt, Illos praesertim qui procellosis temporibus, & rabida Scismaticorum & Haereticorum fervente perfidia, solùm in Fi­dei serenitate, & devotione illibata sacrosanctae Romanae Ecclesiae im­mobiles perstiterunt; Verum etiam tanquam ipsius Ecclesiae legitimi Filii ac fortissimi Athletae Scismaticorum & Hereticorum insanis furo­ribus spiritaliter & temporaliter se opposuerunt.

Ita etiam nos Majestatem Tuam propter Excelsa & immortalia erga nos, & hanc sanctam sedem in qua Divina permissione sedemus, opera & gesta condignis & immortalibus praeconiis ac laudibus efferre deside­ramus, ac Ea sibi concedere propter quae invigilare debeat à grege Domi­nico lupos arcere, & putrida membra quae mysticum Christi Corpus in­ficiunt, ferro & materiali gladio abscindere, & nutantium corda fide­lium in Fidei soliditate confirmare.

Sanè cum nuper dilectus Filius Iohannes Clerk Majestatis Tuae apud nos Orator in Consistorio nostro coram venerabilibus fratribus nostris sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalibus, & compluribus aliis Ro­manae Curiae Praelatis Librum quem Majestas Tua Charitate quae omnia sedulò, & nihil perperam agit, Fidei (que) Catholicae zelo ac­censa, ac devotionus Erga nos & Hanc sanctam sedem fervore inflam­mata contra Errores diversorum Haereticorum saepiùs ab hac sancta sede damnatos, nuper (que) per Martinum Lutherum suscitatos, & innovatos, tanquam nobile & salutare quoddam Antidotum composuit, nobis exa­minandum, ac deinde Authoritate nostra approbandum obtulisset, ac lu­culenta oratione sua exposuisset, Majestatem tuam paratam ac dispositam esse, ut quemadmodum ver is rationibus, ac irrefragabilibus sacrae Scri­turae ac Sanctorum Patrum authoritatibus, notorios Errores ejusdem Martini confutaverat: ita etiam omnes eos sequi, & defensare prae­sumentes totius Regni sui viribus, & Armis persequatur, nos (que) ejus Libri admirabilem quandam, & Coelestis gratiae rore conspersam Do­ctrinam diligenter, accurate (que) introspeximus, Omnipotenti Deo à quo omne Datum optimum, & omne Donum perfectum est, immensas grati­as Egimus qui optimam, & ad omne bonum inclinatam mentem tuam inspirare, ei (que) tantam gratiam supernè infundere dignatus fuerit ut ea scriberes quibus sanctam ejus Fidem contra novum errorum damnatorum [Page 21] hujusmodi suscitatorem defenderes, & reliquos Reges & Principes Chri­stianos Tuo exemplo invitares, ut & ipsi etiam Orthodoxae Fidei & ve­ritatis Evangelicae veritati in periculum & discrimen adductae omni ope sua adesse, orportuné (que) favere vellet. Aequum autem esse consen­tes Eos qui pro Fidei Christi hujusmodi defensione pios labores suscepe­runt omni laude, & honore afficere, volentes (que) non solùm ea quae Ma­jestas Tua contra [...]undem Martinum Lutherum absolutissmâ Doctrinâ, nec minori Eloquentiā scripsit condignis laudibus Extollere, ac Magni­ficare, Autoritate (que) nostra approbare & confirmare, sedetiam Maje­statem ipsam Tuam tali honore ac titulo decorare, ut nostris ac perpetuis futuris temporibus Christi Fideles omnes intelligant quam gratum accep­tum (que) nobis fuerit Majestatis Tuae Munus, hoc praesertim tempore no­bis oblatum.

Nos qui Petri quem Christus in Coelum ascensurus Vicarium suum in Terris reliquit, & cui curam sui Gregis reliquit, veri successores su­mus, & in Hac sancta sede à qua omnes Dignitates ac Tituli ema­nant, sedemus, habita super hiis cum iisdem Fratribus nostris matura deliberatione de [...]orum unanimi consilio & assensu Majestati Tuae Ti­tulum Hunc, viz. Fidei Defensorem, &c. Et profectò Hujus Tituli ex­cellentia, & dignitate ac singularibus meritis Tuis diligenter perpensis & consideratis, Nullum ne (que) dignius, ne (que) Majestati Tuae convenien­tius nomen excogitare potuissemus, quod quoties audies ac leges, toties propriae virtutis optimi (que) meriti Tui recordaberis. Nec hujusmodi Ti­tulo intumesces, velin superbiam elevaberis, sed folita Tua prudentia humilior, & in Fide Christi ac devotione hujus sanctae sedis à qua exal­tatus fueris, fortior, & constantior evades, ac in Domino bonorum omnium Largitore laetaberis perpetuum hoc ac immortale Gloriae Tuae Monumentum Posteris Tuis relinquere, Illis (que) viam ostendere, ut si Tali titulo ipsi quo (que) insigniri optabunt Talia etiam opera efficere prae­clara (que) Majestatis Tuae vestigia sequi studeant, quam prout de nobis & dictâ sede optimè merita unà cum Uxore & Filiis, ac omnibus qui à Te, & ab illis nascentur nostra Benedictione in nomine Illius à quo illam concedendi potestas data est, larga & liberali manu benedicentes Al­tissimum Illum qui dixit Per me Reges regnant & Principes impe­rant, & in cujus manu corda sunt Regum, Rogamus, ac obsecra­mus ut eam in suo sancto proposito confirmet, ejus (que) devotionem multi­plicet, & praeclaris pro sancta Fide gestis ita illustret, ac toti Orbi Ter­rarum conspicuam reddat, ut Iudicium quod de Ipsa fecimus, eam tam insigni Tit [...]lo decorantes, à nemine falsum aut vanum judicari possit. Demùm mortalis hujus vitae finito curriculo sempiternae illius Gloriae con­sortem at (que) participem reddat.

Dat. Romae apud sanctum Petrum, Anno Incarnationis Dominicae millesimo, quingentesimo vicesimo primo, 5 Idus Octobris, Ponti­ficatus nostri anno nono.
Ego Leo Christ. Catholicae Ecclesiae Episcopus ss.

[Page 22]Then his Seal or Signet, engraven within, Sanctus Petrus, † Sanctus Paulus; and this Motto about, Ad Dominum cùm tribula­rer clamavi, & Exaudivit Me.

Then the subscription of 27 Cardinals on both sides of the Signet, the Cardinal-Bishops on the right-hand of the Signet, and close to it; then on their right-hand the Priests-Cardinals; and on the left side of the Signet (as it is accustomed in all Bulls, and other Public Instruments) the Deacon-Cardinals have their place, and precedence.

King Henry's Book against Luther was presented to the Pope in full Consistory by Sir Iohn Clerk, (then Ambassador at Rome for the King) with a long solemn Oration: the Original of which Book is yet to be seen in the Vatican at Rome, with this In­scription written with King Henries own hand:

Anglorum Rex Henricus Leoni X̄. mittit Hoc Opus, & Fidei testem, & Amicitiae.
Henry King of the English sends this Work to Leo the Tenth, as a Witness both of Faith and Friendship.

And as the Kings of England themselfs have such super-emi­nent Titles, so their First-born Sons have a Title not inferior to a­ny Royal Heir apparent in Christendome, which is Prince of Wales; and this Title is many years more ancient then that of Dauphin in France. Moreover, whereas other Kings Sons come so naked to the world that they have not of their own wherewith to buy them Clouts, or pay their Nurses, but what they have from their Parents, The First-born of the King of England, ipsissimo instante, the very same instant that he is born, is Duke of Cornwal, and is presuppos'd by the Law to have Liv [...]ry and Seisin then given him of the said Duchy, with all the Lands, Rents and Honors therunto annex'd. Tis tru, that the conferring of the Title of Prince of Wales, depends meerly upon the Kings Plesure, which was done out of a Political consideration, to keep the Kings first Sons still in awe, and within the bounds of a greater Obe­dience.

Nor is there any Queen also lives in a greater State and Dig­nity, or hath more Prerogatives and greater Joyntures then the Queen of England: For though Aliens at first, and still under Cou­vert Baron, yet they may pourchase Lands by Fee-simple, They may make Leases and Grants without the King; They also must [Page 23] be petitiond unto first, before any can implead them in point of right.

We will proceed now to the fourth Paragraph.

Touching the Martial Exploits and Achievments which the Kings of Great Britain have performed from time to time, &c.

TO proceed in this Paragraph, we must make Retrosvects a far off: we will begin with Brennus that bold Britain, who in the Government of Consuls took and sack'd Rome, (364 yeers be­fore Christ) and did notable feats afterwards in Greece and A­sia: insomuch that the Welch in honour of that Heroe their Country-man, call a King from his Name Brenin to this day. Cataracus overthrew a mighty Army of the Romanes, and Boa­dicia slew 70 thousand of them in one Battel, as their own sto­ries declare. King Arthur is rank'd among the Nine Worthies, for he discomfited the Saxons in twelve several Battails, and ere­cted the first Order of Knighthood.

There was one English King, and three Kings Sons went to the Wars of the Holy Land. What Exploits did Richard coeur de Lion perform there, so much to the envy of the King of France, who therfore returnd before him! He conquerd the Iland of Cyprus, where Marrying Berengaria, he transferrd the Kingdome to Guy Lusignan, who had right to the Crown of Ierusalem, which in exchange he resignd to King Richard.

But the French are they whom the English did so often rout, subdue and subjugat with the Grey-goose Wing, wherwith they did so often penetrat the very heart of France in so many glorious Victories that can be hardly paralleld, take all circumstances. We will instance in some of the most famous, and begin with that of Cressy the first great Battel.

The Battail of Cr [...]ssy in France.

That Heroyk King Edward the third, having been provoked by divers Affronts that Philip of Valois the French King had of­fe [...]'d him, goes over in person to France with an Army of 80000 men at Arms, and 10000 Archers, as Froissard hath it. He takes with him his Son the Prince of Wales and Duke of Guyenne, being but 15 years of Age, (calld afterwards the Black Prince) to train him up in feats of Arms. Landing in Normandy he car­ries all the Country before him as far as Poissy, within ten miles of Paris, and after divers Skirmiges a Battail was appointed. King Edward had incamp'd neer a Village calld Cressy, where he di­vided [Page 24] his Army to three Battalions; the first was led by the Prince of Wales, the second by the Earls of Arundel and Northamp­ton, in the third was the King himself. The Battail thus orderd, being mounted upon a White Hobby, he rides from Rank to Rank, encouraging evry man to the performance of his duty, and to have a regard to the Honor of his King and Country. The French Kings Army was at least twice the number, consist­ing of above 60000 Combatants, with all the flower of the French Chivalry, whereof the chief were the Duke of Alanson the Kings Brother, the King of Bohemia, the Duke of Lorrain, the Earl of Flanders and Savoy, with other great Princes. The Vangard was led by the Kings Brother, the Reer by the Earl of Savoy, the main Battail by the King himself. The French King was so fierce in assurance of Victory, that he wold scarce admit of any counsel. The old King of Boheme advis'd that the Army shold receive some refreshment before, and that the Infantry of Geno­wais, whereof ther were 15000 Crossbows, shold make the first Front, and the Cavalry to follow: which being agreed on, the Duke of Alanson did stomack that the Genowais shold have the honor of the first Rank; so in a kind of fury he caus'd them to change place: which bred such a discontent, that they were more incensd against their Leader then against the Enemy; but in the interim ther fell such a showre of Rain that wetted their Bowstrings, which they had not the wit to cover all the while, (as the English did) that for the limmerness therof when they came to action they grew useless. At the ceasing of the showre the Sun did shine full in the face of the French, therby dazzling their eyes, but on the back of the English. King Edward being got in­to a Windmil all the while, whence as from a Sentinel he might explore and behold the face of the Enemy, and discovering the disturbance that was made because the Genowais were put to change their place, instantly gave order to charge that part, which made the discontented Genoway to recoyl. Alenson per­ceiving this, rides on in a rage, crying out, Sa, sa; on, on; let's make way ore the Bellies of these Genowais, for they do but hinder us. So riding through them, he came up to the English Battail, where the young Prince was. The fight grew hot, and doubtful, in­somuch that the Commanders sent to the King to come up with more power: The King asking the Messengers, Whether his Son was hurt or slain, and being answerd No, he replies, Then tell them who sent you, that so long as my Son is alive they send no more to me, for my Will is that he have the honor of the day. So the Fight on both sides growing very furious, the French King having his Horse kill'd under him, withdrew; which being known by the English, it added so to their courage that they soon after won the Field. This was the first considerable Battail the English had of the [Page 25] French, which was so sanguinary, that ther were none made Pri­soners, but all put to the Sword, and the number of the slain French surmounted the whole Army of the English; for the number of the slain were about 30000. the chief whereof was Alenson the Kings Brother, the Dukes of Bourbon and Lorain, the Earl of Flanders, the Dauphin de Viennois, Son to Imbert, who after gave Dauphine to the King of France, provided his First Son shold still be calld the Dauphin, which hath continued ever since. This signal Victory was seconded the same yeer, about six weeks af­ter, with another the Queen of England got against the Scots, then confederat with the French, where David the Scots King was taken Prisoner: but this is reserv'd for another place, be­cause for a more methodical order we will hasten to the second great Victory in France, the Battail of Poitiers.

The Battail of Poitiers.

The Black Prince being taperd up now to a good growth, was sent by advice of Parlement to Gascony; whence the Truce being expird, he oreran and ravagd all the Country as far as Tourayne. Iohn the French King raiseth a potent Army, more numerous then that at Cressy; and going to find out the Prince of Wales, found him about Poitiers, having not much above 10000 effect if men in his Army, wheras the French had six times as many: whereupon being advisd to make for Bourdeaux, he was preven­ted by the French Army on all sides; so a Battail being intend­ed, two Cardinals came from the Pope to mediat a Peace, but the French King wold hearken to none, unless that he wold as a Van­quish'd Man send him four Hostages, and give up himself and his Army to discretion. The Prince answerd, That he was wil­ling to restore what places he had taken of His in good War, but without prejudice to his Honor, wherof he was accountable to the King his Father, &c. Iohn not hearkning to this, but being resolvd to fight, the Prince also resolvd to part with his Life up­on as high a rate as he could being reducd to this streight, ther­fore he providently makes use of the Position of ground; and finding that the main Army of the French consisted in Horse, he entrenchd among the Vineyards; where when the French Ca­valry entred, being wrapd and encomberd among the Vines, the English Archers did so ply and gall them, that, being therby dis­orderd and put to rout, the whole Army was soon totally defea­ted. But, it seems this Battail was not so fierce as that of Cressy, where no quarter was given: for in this, Prisoners were made, among whom was King Iohn himself, whom the Prince brought to England; and, as the French Historians themselfs confess, he was so civil to him all the while, that he knew not whether he [Page 26] was a Free King or a Captif. Besides Lords, ther were slain 2000 of the French Nobless, as Froissard hath it, in this Battail; and, as at Cressy, more French slain then the whole English Army was in number. We will now to Agencourt.

Agencourt-Battail.

Henry the Fifth, that Man of men and mirror of Princes, be­ing come to the Crown, he did cast his Eyes presently towards France for claiming of his Title. In order wherunto, he alterd in his Arms the bearing of Semy de Luces, and quarters the three full Flower de Luces as the King of France himself did bear them. He sends the Duke of Exceter, with the Archbishop of Dublin, and sundry other Noblemen, in a magnificent Ambassy, attended by 500 Horse, to Paris, to demand the Crown: but receiving no satisfactory answer, but rather a kind of jeer, the Dauphin send­ing him a Sack full of Racket-court-Balls to pass away his time; He replyed, That for evry one of those Balls, he had so many fi­ery Bullets to shoot at the proudest Turrets in France, as he shold shortly find. And he was as good as his word: for he present­ly got over, and encountring the French Army at Agencourt, he gave it an utter overthrow, and took more prisoners then his own Army had Soldiers; which was upon a Sunday-morning about Ten of the Clock: whereof having sent notice to England before, and that extraordinary Masses shold be sung then in all Chur­ches, he stood upon the defensive part till that hour; but then making a Speech of encouragement to his Army, and among o­ther strains, telling how all England was praying for them at that time, he carried away a compleat Victory; he himself leading the main Battail with the Duke of Glocester his Brother, &c. But besides the foresaid Piety, ther was Policy also usd; for the King, to prevent the fury of the French Cavalry, appointed divers Stakes studded with Iron at both ends of six foot long, to be pitch'd behind the Archers, and ordred that Pioners shold at­tend to remove them as they shold be directed: which invention conduc'd much to the success of the Action. The King himself charg'd the Duke of Alenson, and beat him off his Horse, who therupon was slain; so ther was a compleat and glorious Victo­ry obtain'd.

We come now to the Battail of Spurs, so calld because the French-men trusted more to their Spurs in fleeing away, then to their Swords and Lances. It was before Terwin in Hen. 8. Raign, when Maximilian the Emperour servd under his Banner, and re­ceavd pay. Ther came 8000 French Horse to relieve the place, and a hot Dispute happend; but they were all routed, and put [Page 27] shamefully to flight, so the Town was taken by the English.

Ther were a world of other Warlike Encounters and Skirmi­ges twixt the English and French, whereof the stories are full; and tis observd, that the English at most were but half in number to the French in all Engagements; insomuch that by pure pro­wess and point of the Sword they possessd two parts in three of that great Kingdome. We read that when the English were at the height of their power in France, the Pope came then to keep his Court at Avignon; and ther was a common saying among the Peeple, which since is grown to be a kind of Proverb, Ores le Pape est devenu Francois, & Iesus Christ est devenu Anglois; The Pope is turnd French-man, and Jesus Christ is become an Eng­lish-man: which was spoken in regard we had such prodigious Successes.

Before I part with France at present, tis very fit (the main subject of this Work being of Precedence) to speak something of the Black Prince while he was Governor of Aquitane, where he performd such notable Exploits; and among other, of that fa mous Charter of Precedence which was given to the Crown of England by Don Pedro King of Castile, who being detruded out of the Throne by Henry his younger Brother, fled for succour to the Black Prince in Gascognie, who had at that time two other Kings in his Court, viz. Ricaredo King of Navarre, and Don Iayme King of Mallorca. Which Charter being yet upon Authen­tique Record, and not specified in the story of either Nations, may very well deserve to be inserted here; and it runs thus.

Petrus Dei gratia Rex Castellae & Legionis, omnibus praesentibus pariter, & futuris praesentes literas inspecturis, lecturis aut audituris sa­lutem, & fidem plenariam iisdem adhibere.

Cum in largitione, donatione, & concessione privilegiorum, liberta­tum, franquesiarum, ac honorum Praerogativa, illis nos liberales, & gratiosiores reddere debeamus à quibus multiplicia beneficia & honores nos recognoscimus recepisse; Cum (que) Illustrissimus Rex Angliae, & Edoardus ejus primogenitus Princeps Aquitantae & Walliae consangui­nei nostri nos & praedecessores nostros Reges Castellae retroactis tempori­bus fuerint favorabiliter prosecuti, & specialiter cùm nuper per Henri­cum quondam Comitem de Trestamare qui factâ cum quibusdam suis Complicibus coadunatione Regna nostra invasit, usurpavit, & etiam oc­cupavit more praedonico, & hostili, & ea indebitè detinet occupata de Regno in regnum, & de Dominio in Dominium, & loco ad locum ad mortem nos esset insecutus à qua persecutione per receptationem dicti Dom. Principi [...] in Terra sua de nobis factam fuerimus liberati, & per ipsum & gentes suas comfortati, ac honorabiliter recepti, & tractati, Nos memores dicti accepti beneficii, & in aliqualem praemissorum Re­compensationem, & alias de nostra certa scientia, speciali dono, & [Page 28] regia donatione, & potestate damus & concedimus pro nobis, haeredibus & successoribus nostris Regibus Castellae per praesentes dicto Illustrissimo Regi Angliae, & Edoardo ejus Primogenito Principi Aquitaniae & Wal­liae, Quòd quandocun (que) idem Rex & ejus Primogenitus qui nunc sunt, aut eorum Haeredes & successores Reges Angliae, & eorum Primogeniti qui pro tempore fuerint, voluerint venire in propria persona ad Guer­ram quam nos habebimus, aut Haeredes nostri Reges Castellae habebunt contra Regem Granatae, aut alios Fidei inimicos, quod iidem Reges, & eorum Primogeniti habeant primum bellum sive la Delantera ante omnes Mundi Christianos, & omni tempore. Ita tamen quod Nos possimus & Haeredes nostri Reges Castellae si voluerimus ponere vexilla nostra in dicto bello pariter cum vexillis Regis Angliae, vel Ipsius Pri­mogeniti. Item quod si contigerit dictos Reges, aut eorum Primogeni­tos ad Guerram quam Nos & Haeredes nostri habebimus contra Regem Granatae, aut Alios Fidei inimicos non venire, aut nolle, vel non posse venire, volumus & concedimus quòd unum vexillum de Armis Regis Angliae sit omni tempore in dicta guerra in primo bello, sive in la Delan­tera honorificè prout decet nostris, & successorum nostrorum Castellae re­gum propriis sumptibus & expensis.

Item quia Patria ejusdem nostri Consanguinei plurima damna, & expensa innumerabilia sustinuit tempore quo ipse pro nostro succursu ex­ercitus suos congregabat prout oculis propriis conspeximus, licet flebili­ter gereremus, in recompensationem praemissorum, privilegiamus, volu­mus, & concedimus quòd omnes homines, incolae, nobiles, peregrini, cu­juscun (que) status, sexus aut conditionis existant, Regni, Patriae, & domi­nii Angliae, & principatus Aquitaniae sint immunes ab omni pedagio, leuda, costuma, maletota, ceu aliis quibuscun (que) Impositionibus, Exactio­nibus in Regnis nostris impositis, seu in posterùm imponendis. Ita quòd dicti homines dictorum Regni, Patriae, & Dominii Angliae, & Principatus Aquitantae transeundo, morando, & redeundo per Regna nostra per mare velper terram, Costumam, Pedagium, Leudam, Maleto­tam, seu quamcun (que) aliam Impositionem vel Exactionem minimè sol­vere teneantur, nisi dicti homines causâ Mercimonii vel pro emercimi­ando aliquid emerent. Super quo an causa Mercimoniandi empta ex­istant nec ne, per officiarios nostros, & receptorum dictorum pedagiorum stare volumus dictorum hominum juramenta de quibus rebus causa Mer­cimoniandi emptis non compellantur solvere, nec aliquid ultra ab iis ex­igatur quàm caeteri Mercatores solvere consueverunt. Et juramus ad Sancta Dei Evangelia à nobis corporaliter manu tacta & in verbo pro­mittimus Regio concessiones, donationes, privilegia praedicta, & omnia & singula in praesentibus Litteris contenta tenere, complere, & invio­labiliter observare.

In quorum & singulorum Praemissorum testimonium, & ad ipso­rum Majorem firmitatem his praesentibus Nos manu propria Subscrip­simus, & iisdem sigillum nostrum in pendenti duximus apponendum: Volentes, & concedentes ac etiam requirentes vos Magistrum Iohan­nem [Page 29] de London publicum Autoritate Apostolicâ Notarium quatenus ad perpetuam omnium & singulorum praemissorum memoriam vos cum prae­sentibus testibus subscribatis, praesentes (que) Literas signo vestro solito con­signetis. Datum apud Liborniam Diocesi Burdegalensis die 23 Mensis 7 bris Anno Dom. 1366. Praesentibus praecharissimo Consanguineo nostro Domino Iohanne Duce Lancastriae, Regis Angliae filio ac fratre dicti principis, & Reverendis in Christo Patribus Dom. Helia Archie­piscopo Burdegalensi, Dom. Barnardo Episcopo Xancton. Iohanne Electo Bathoniensi, & Wellensi Cancellario Aquitaniae, Iohanne Shan­dos Constabulario, & Thoma de Felton senescallo Aquitaniae, Nigello de Loereyn Camerario dicti Principis, Balboyno de Frevilla senescallo Xan­cton. & aliis testibus ad praemissa.

Yo el Rey. I the King.

Et Ego Iohannes de London Cler. Winton. Diocesis publicus Autho­ritate Apostolica Notarius undecima die mensis Februarii anno Dom­supradicto, Indictione quinta, Pontisicatus sanctissimi in Christro Patris, & Domini nostri Dom. Urbani divina providentia Papae quinti anno quinto infra castrum Civitatis Baionae in capella ejusdem castri unà cum testibus infrascriptis fui praesens quando dictus Dom. Rex Petrus promissa omnia & singula innovavit, confirmavit, & juramento suo vallavit tangendo propriis manibus suis sancta Dei Evangelia, & quando ipse Rex manu sua propria se subscripsit, & me requisivit, & mandavit ut praesentibus Literis me subscriberem, & signum meum apponerem con­suetum. Testes qui fuerunt praesentes ad ista unà mecum sunt Dom. frater Martinus Lupi Magister Militiae Domus de Alcantara Ordinis Cistern. Rogerus Dom. de la Wara, Gomeicus dicti Dom. Regis Magi­ster, Paulus Gabrielis Civis Ispalensis. Iohannes Guttern Decanus Ec­clesiae Segobien, & Magister Robertus Fregand Notarius Cancellarius Domini Principis Aquitaniae & Walliae supradicti.

Then the Great Seal of Castile and Leon was affixd.

By vertue of this Charter legally made to King Edward, and the Prince his Son, and to their Heirs and Successors Kings and Princes of England for ever, it is therby granted that whensoe­ver it shold please them to be in person in the Wars with any King of Castile, against the King of Granada, or any other Ene­my of the Christian Faith, They shold have the First place in the Vangard above all other Princes of Christendom; and although neither of them were present, yet ther shold be always provided by the Kings of Castile and their Successors a Standard of the Arms of England to be born in the same place.

This Instrument was made after that the Black Prince had done [Page 30] the Work, and restord Don Pedro to his Kingdom: therfore he passd it as a Monument of eternal Gratitude unto him.

But before the Prince uudertook the business, ther was also a Bond from the King to pay so much money for defraying the Princes Army; and in consideration also of this undertaking, it was legally agreed that the Prince shold have the Castle of Vermeo, de la Quet, Bilbo, Biscay, and the Castle of Ordials, A tenir perpetuellement à li & ses Heirs & Successeurs, & pour doner là où luy plerrà, to be held perpetually by Him and his Heirs and Successors, and to give to whom he pleasd. All which was ra­tified under the Great Seal of Castile, and confirmd by Oath up­on the holy Sacrament in the great Church of Burgos. The O­riginal of which Instrument remains yet in Thes. Regio apud Westm.

We will pass over the Exploits done in Armorica or Little Britany, and cross over to a tougher Peeple the Scot, who though Conterranean, and our neer Neighbours, yet they did always confederat with the French against England, and England still boar up single and victoriously against both of them: For when Scotland was at the highest pitch of power, when she had active and boysterous Kings to her Generals, and the French for her Coadjutors and Auxiliaries, as also the Danes in Ages past, yet the English carried away many fair Victories, with divers of their Kings Prisoners. As will appear by a short Survay we shall take of such Battails and Warlike Encounters which in­tervend from time to time twixt the two Nations.

We will begin with that famous Battail twixt King Athelstan and them, when they had a great Army of Danes joynd with them, and being twice in number more then the English, yet King Athelstan obtaind a signal Victory both by Prowess and Po­licy; for the two Armies being ready to joyn, the English made semblance to flee away, leaving their Bagage behind; which as the Scot and Dane were a sharing, the English did suddenly wheele about by the advantage of a Woody Hill, and finding them in disarray, and laden with Booty, they rushd upon them with such a Resolution, that above 40 thousand of them, and, as Buchanan their chief Chronologer hath it, the flower of their Nobility, perishd there at that time.

The first Fire-ball of War which was thrown twixt both the Nations since the Norman Invasion, was in William Rufus his Raign, when the Scot having made divers Incursions into the English Borders, Moubray Earl of Northumberland was sent against them, who incountring their King Malcolm with his eldest Son in the Field, they were both slain, and the whole Army overthrown.

In King Stephens days, Thurston then Archbishop of York, was sent with an Army against the Scot, who meeting the King him­self [Page 31] in the head of his Forces, utterly routed him, with the death of above 10000 of his Men.

Henry the second employd only the Knights of Yorkshire, as, Humphry-vile, Scuttvil, and Vescy, to make head against the Scot, which they did with such Valour and Success, that they took the King in the Field; and as a Trophy of their good Service and Victory, they presented him Prisoner to the King at Northamp­ton, whence he carried him along to attend him in his French VVars.

William the Scots King attended Richard the Lion-hearted at his second Coronation when he returned from the Holy Land, and carried the Sword before him bare-headed.

Edward the first, calld in story, and as his Tomb in Westmin­ster tells us, Scotorum Malleus, the Hammer of the Scots, summond King Baliol to Newcastle to swear Fealty unto him: but fleeing afterwards to the French King, at his return King Edward sum­mons him again to Berwick, where he re-submitted himself with all his Nobles in open Parlement, which King Edward held there; and for Caution brought Baliol along with him, leaving the Earl of Surrey Warden of Scotland. Then started up a no­table Blade, one Wallis, who notwithstanding that King Baliol was Prisoner in England, gatherd such a strength, that causd King Edward to go again in person, and at Fonkirk Battail killd out­right 200 of their Nobles and Gentry, with about forty thousand Common soldiers. Then he summons a Parlement at Edinburgh, where all the Scots Nobles swore Fealty to him; and then he carried away thence their Great Charter, calld the Ragman-Roll, the Black-Cross, and the Stone, wherein they believe the Fate of Scotland is fixd. Then ther was a third Provocation offer'd, for le Bruce was crownd King of Scotland, wherupon the Earl of Pem­brook was sent against him, who utterly defeated him at Iohn­ston: yet all was not quiet, but King Edward was forcd to make a fourth expedition thither in person, when he constraind le Bruce to flee away to Norway, where he blew on his Nayls while King Edward liv'd. But Bruce being come back, and Usurping during Edward the seconds time, (who we read was so infirm and infor­tunat a King) his Father Edward the third restord Baliol by force of Arms, and made him swear Fealty to England again. But some yeers after King Edward being deeply engagd in the French Wars, David the next Scots King rush'd into England with about sixty thousand men, being confederat with the French King to divert the War there. But Queen Philippa, with the Archbi­shop of York, and the Lords and Knights of the North, encoun­terd this huge Army, and utterly defeated it, one Copland taking the Scots King Prisoner, whom he he reservd for a present to give King Edward when he came from France, and to keep company [Page 32] with Iohn the French King, who also was taken Prisoner by the Black Prince: And there were but six weeks difference of time twixt both Victories.

In Richard the seconds Raign, the French King sent his High Admiral, with a thousand choice men at Arms, in a Fleet of 60 Sayl of Ships, with Arms for 12000 men more into Scotland. Therupon an English Army being raisd, it struck into Scotland like a Whirlwind, and piercing the very heart of the Country, advancd as far as Dundee, and returnd Victorious.

Henry the Fifth took Iames the first Prisoner, and carried him over to attend him in his French VVars.

In Hen. 8. time, the Scots King (although his Brother-in-Law) taking his advantage when he was in France, battring the Walls of Bullen, with the flower of the English Nobility, raisd the greatest Army that Scotland could make for invading Eng­land; therupon King Harry sent a Commission to the Earl of Surrey to raise Forces accordingly. The two Armies met at Flodden-field, where the Scots King and the Archbishop of Saint Andrews his Brother were slain, with twelve Earls, 14 Barons, and 12000 more. Not long after Solmosse Battail was fought, where eight Scots Earls were taken Prisoners, with 200 Gentle­men and others: insomuch that as the story saith, ther was ne­ver an English soldier but had his couple of Scots Prisoners.

Four and thirty yeers after, the same day both of the month and the week, (as the Historians observe) Musselborough-Bat­tail was fought; which because it was the last, and one of the most signal and sanguinary great Battails from the Conquest that was fought twixt the English and the Scots, I will here particula­rize, but with as much brevity as may be.

The Duke of Somerset was General of the English, the Earl of Warwik his Lieutenant, the Lord-Admiral Clinton had 60 ships of War, which were to hold cours with the Land-forces; the whole Army consisted but of about 13000 Foot, 1200 men at Arms, 2500 Light-horse, 16 Peeces of Ordinance, evry Peece having a Gard of Pioners who came to about 1400. From Ber­wick they entred Scotland, and marchd as far as Musselburgh far within the Country; they seizd upon three small Castles as they passd, and with infinit pains overcame the Natural and Artificial Difficulties of the Ways. They understood that the Scots Army far exceeded them in number, and ther came Re­creuts dayly unto it: For the Fire-cross was carried about by the Heralds through all parts, (which is two Firebrands upon the point of a Spear) that all above sixteen, and under sixty yeers shold repair to the General Rendevous: insomuch that the Scots Historians themselfs do mention that ther were above thirty [Page 33] thousand in the whole Army, which was twice the number of the English. The Battail was fought with much resolution and cagerness on both sides; yet notwithstanding that the Scot was at his own home, and that the English were tir'd by a long diffi­cult march, they obtaind an absolute Conquest: ther were slain of the Scots about 14000 out-right upon the place, wherof ther were 3000 Kirk-men, as Fryars and Monks, Huntley with other great Lords were taken Prisoners, 30 Peeces of Ordinance were taken and shippd for England, with 30000 Iacks, as the Record says; and the English plunderd the Country five days march further, and did what they wold.

We will conclude with the late Battail at Dunbar still fresh in memory, where ther were not much more then 8000 English, and the Scot had them at a great advantage, yet the English making a Vertu of Necessity, utterly overcame an Army of about 24000 Scots; an Army that had been long a moulding, and consisted of many of their Nobility and Gentry: they lost both Bag and Bagage, Artillery and Arms: ther were above 3000 slain, 10000 taken Prisoners, whereof ther were 260 Officers, 15000 Arms, and 30 Peeces of Ordinance, and neer upon 200 of their Co­lours were brought to hang in Westminster-Hall for Trophies.

Out of what hath been said, this Inference may be made:

That in all those Traverses and Encounters of War that Eng­land had with Scotland, which were neer upon an hundred since the Conquest, take small and great together, the English did al­ways foyl the Scot, except in Ed. 2. time, as shall be said hereafter. In some Battails we may find how they carried away more Captives then they were common soldiers themselfs, driving them as it were like sheep before them: And observable it is, that the great­est Battails were fought in Scotland it self, after that the English had been tir'd and dispirited by long marches, over uncouth and strange places, being ignorant both of the Advenues and Advan­tages of them.

Tru it is, that in Ed. 2. Raign they won two or three Victo­ries, wherof that at Bannocks-Battail was the greatest, where Gilbert de Clare Earl of Glocester, and about 40 Barons, with 700 Knights and English Gentlemen, were killd.

In Hen. 8. Raign they got also a small Victory, when Sir Ralph Evers was slain. In the time of the Long Fatal Parlement they did likewise many Insolencies, and rush'd far into England: but those Invasions may be rather termd Invitations by some spuri­ous and unworthy-degenerated English-men, who had contrivd their coming in long before; whose memories will stink in the Nostrils of all Posterity.

[Page 34]But the English have taken four of their Kings Captives, killd two other in the field, carried away their Crown, with the chief­est Ensignes of Royalty, &c.

Nor were such high Exploits performed by the Kings of Eng­land on Land only, but by Sea they have been as glorious. Hi­storians say how King Edgar had a Navy of three thousand six hundred ships, and bottoms of all sorts, which he divided to three Fleets that usd to coast about, and scowre the Seas as far as Norway evry year, and he in person would go often Admiral himself, and be all the Summer abroad.

Philip the French King not long before the Battail of Cressy, to hinder Edward the thirds return into France, got a mighty Navy in Equippage of 200 sayl of ships, besides Gallies in the Ha­ven of Sluce; wherof King Edward being advertised, prepared such another Fleet, and encounters the French with such resolu­tion and success, having the Wind and the Sun for him, that he utterly defeated the whole Navy, slew about thirty thousand men, and so returned with mighty triumphs, and the admirati­on of all Europe.

Philip the second of Spain, having (as he conceavd) endured divers Affron [...]s and Injuries from Queen Elizabeth, conceald his Discontents a long time, until he had provided the Invincible Armada, as it was calld, wherewith he hoped to have swallowed all England. It was three years preparing, it consisted of above 150 sayl, wherof most of them were Galeons: they were mannd by 8000 Mariners: they carried 20000 Listed soldiers, besides Volunteers: they had 1600 Brass Cannons, 1000 of Iron, and 120000 Granado's, with other Fireworks of all sorts. This Prodigious Fleet stood the King of Spain in 10 Millions first and last, from the time that she set sayl out of Lisbonne, as tis found in their Annals: she lookd like a Forest at Sea as she steerd a­long. Q Elizabeth had first news hereof from Hen. 4. of France. But then how did that Masculine Queen, that notable Virago, bestir her self? how suddenly was there a great Fleet in a readi­ness, and an Army by Land? how magnanimously did she view her Musters, and encouragd the soldiers, riding up and down with a Plume of Feathers in her Hat like another Boadicia? So that mighty Armada passing through the narrow Seas as far as the Downs, her great Galeons were so plyed and pelted by the English ships, that they were utterly overthrown, only some few fetching a compass about Scotland, got safe to Spain to bring news what became of the rest.

I have been somwhat overlong in this Paragraph, but ther shall be a compensation made for the Prolixity thereof by the Brevity of those that follow.

The Fifth Paragraph. That the King of Great Britain hath as stout and strenuous sturdy Free-born Peeple to his Subjects as any other King, with as generous a Country, and Generality of Wealth.

I Will begin this Paragraph with a late eloquent Character that an Italian Nobleman the Count Alfonso Loschi of Vicenza gives both of the Peeple and the plenty of England in his late printed Volume, calld, Compendi Historici.

La popolatione d' Inghilterra è innumerabile, gli huonimi sono dispo­sti, & ben organizati, grandi di corpo, di faccia serena, bianca, & rubicunda, nella guerra terribili, & audaci, nelle risolutioni precipi­tosi, & crudeli. Qe Donne riescono à Maraviglia belle, & gratiose & can la Leggiadria del vestito rapiscono I cuori. Inghilterra vanta non immeritamente titolo di Monarchia in expressione, & gieroglifico di che tiene il Re di sotto allo scettro la palla per figura della dominatione del mondo. Non cie Potentato che con armata maritima possa approdare à liti, à quali servendo per mura l' Oceano, & per isbarco sicurissimi, & arenosi recessi non vimprontano l'orme piedi stranieri, & se ben spes­so con Intestine seditioni non havesse contro le proprie viscere rivolto le seditioni, & l'armi riuscirebbe indomabile, ne cisarebbe potenza sopra l'Inglese. L'aere salubre, ricchezze grandissime, li terreni fecondi, & minerali, li pascoli abondanti, & delicati, onde le lane d'Inghil­terra tengono il primo luogo, &c.

Which Character coming from so indifferent a Judge, and so fresh an Author, and a Personage of so high a Wit and Qua­lity, I thought worthy the rendring into English.

‘The Peeple of England are innumerable; the Men well­disposd, and organizd or limmd; tallish of stature, of come­ly Countenances, white, and reddish: they are terrible in the Wars, and bold, headlong and cruel in their resolutions. The Women are marvellously beutiful and handsome, and by the quaintness of their Dresses do ravish hearts. England not un­deservedly glorieth of the Title of Monarchy, by the Expressi­on and Hierogliphic that the King bears under his Scepter, which is a Globe or Ball that represents the Government of the world. Ther is no Potentat whatsoever that with any Naval power can approach his shores, wherunto the Ocean serving for a Wall, with most secure and sandy Recesses for disimbarking, the stranger cannot plant his foot. And if England did not use so often to turn the sword into her own [Page 36] Bowels by intestine seditions, she wold prove invincible, and ther wold be no power above the English. The Air is health­ful, mighty Riches; the Soyl is plentiful, and abounding with Minerals; the Pasture luxurious and delicat, whence it pro­ceeds that the English Wool is incomparable.’

This new noble Author when he comes to deliver his Opini­on of France and Spain, doth not speak half so much of either, nor of any Country els; for he treats of all the Kingdomes of Europe, and of other besides.

Now, it is taken pro concesso, tis a truth granted by all, that ther is no King hath more choice of lusty and stout Bodies to make soldiers of, then the King of Great Britain hath in his Do­minions; ther is the English, Welch, Scots and Irish, Nations that keep still entire their innated spirits, and stoutness uncowd: And this may be imputed to the Policy and Moderation of Go­vernment, to the equal distribution of the VVealth and Plenty of the Country. For the Yeoman and Franklin goes well clad, hath wholsome Nutriment; and as a return of his Labor from the grateful Earth, hath wherwith to provide for his children that they may not encrease the number of Beggers. It is not so in some Countries, which made one say, (though ther may be some excess in the expression) That the Yeomen and Freeholders of Kent are able to buy half the Peasants of France. Such Subjects and such a Country the King of Great Britain commands; which made Eumenius in his famous and elegant Panegyric to Constantin the Great, to melt thus into her praises.

O fortunata & omnibus beatior Terris Britannia, quae Constanti­num Caesarem prima vidisti; Meritò Te omnibus Coeli ac Soli dotibus Natura donavit, in qua nec hyemis est nimius rigor, nec aestatis ardor. In qua segetum est tanta foecunditas ut muneribus utrius (que) sufficiat & Cereris & Liberi. In qua nemora sine immanibus bestiis, Terra sine serpentibus noxiis. Pecorum mitium innumerabilis multitudo lacte distenta, & onusta velleribus, Certè quidem quod propter vitam diligitur longissimae dies, & nullae sine aliqua luce noctes, dum illa littorum ex­trema planities non attollit umbras, noctis (que) metam Coeli ac Syderum transit aspectus, ut Sol ipse qui nobis occidere videtur ibi appareat so­lummodo praeterire.

‘O most fortunat Britain, (saith Eumenius) more blessd then any other Country; which didst first see Constantin Caesar; Nature hath deservedly endowed thee with all Gifts both of Heaven and Earth. In thee neither the excessive cold of VVinter, nor the ardent heat of Summer doth offend the In­habitant. Thou swell'st with such a secundity of all kind of [Page 37] Corn, that thou mayst be calld the Favorit of Ceres and Bacchus. Thy Groves are without savage rapacious Beasts, and thy Heaths without any poysonous Serpents. Thy Fields are co­vered with innumerable multitudes of mild Cretures▪ labou­ring with exuberance of Milk, and laden with rich Fleeces. For delightfulness of Life, thy days are very long, and no night but hath some glimpses of light: the glorious Sun which sets and goes down in other Regions, seems only to pass by thy Horizon.’

From this temperatness of Clime and Fertility, may proceed the Well-favouredness, the Procerity, as also the Health and Longaevity of the Inhabitants; in regard Nature doth not finish her cours in the bodies of Males and Females so soon here as she doth in France and Spain. For tis observd by all strangers, that an English woman looks as fresh and beutiful at forty, as a French or Spanish at five and twenty; it being very ordinary for them to continue still teeming and prolifical when they are past fifty years. And for the Men, it wold be Registred for a Miracle in Spain or France to finde ten men of a thousand years, (one with another) as were found in Hereford about 60 years since, with­in two miles compass of the town, who were so vigorous, strong and spriteful, that they danced the Morice-dance in the Market­place for many hours, with a Maid-Mariam of a hundred and three, and a Tabourer of a hundred and five years old.

From the Fertility and Generousness of the Earth, may pro­ceed also the extraordinary Courage and Hardiness of the Pee­ple; which hath been so well known and felt in other Countries beyond the Seas, as the Examples in the former Paragraph do prove at so many signal and difficult famous Battails, where the English Army was never half so numerous in any they got, no not somtimes the third or fourth part in number to the Enemy; and such an esteem they had in France, that (as their own stories relate) when the Duke of Britany or Armorica was to encounter the French Army in a Battail, he thought it a Policy to clothe a whole Brigade of his Soldiers after the English mode, to make them appeer the more formidable to the French.

Nor doth that Primitive innate Courage languish a whit, or decline in them, (as some think the World doth) as we find it hath done in other Nations, as the Iew and Greek, with others, but it continueth still at the same height; as it appeerd in the year Eigh­ty eight by Sea, as was said before, and in several Exploits in the Low-Country Wars, as Newport, the Retreat before Gaunt, &c. by Land. Likewise by fresher Examples in the late Civil Wars twixt King and Parlement, and since, wherin the Power, Strength and Wealth of England was never more discovered: For the [Page 38] late usurper (having such a Command over the Peeples purse, and never wanting money) made Spain and France strive who shold be his Confederat, as also the Hollander, the Swed, and o­thers: I say, in those times the ancient stoutness of the English appeerd in many Traverses of War; as at Dunbar in Scotland, and by Sea against the Hollander, who were beaten and batterd into a Peace. What a hazardous peece of service was perfor­med when we invaded Barbary at Tunis? but especially that de­sperat Exploit Blague did at the Canaries? The French King con­fest that the Brigade of English before Dunkirk, commanded by a little bold Britain, though not the fifth part of the Army, did contribut most to the late taking of that strong Praedatory Town. And the King of Portugal acknowledgd, that in this years great Defeat 1663. he gave Don Iohn of Austria neer Ebora, that Bri­gade of English who servd there, though not much considerable in number, did perform the toughest part of the service, and first shewd them the way of using the Rests of the Musquet to knock down the Enemy; which made the French-men cry out, Faisons comme les Anglois, Let's do as the English.

The Sixth Paragraph. Touching the Ancient and Long-lind Extraction, Decendency, and Bloud-Royal of the Kings of Great Britain, &c.

THe Races of Kings may be said to be like great Rivers, that stream out into divers large Channels and Arms, which become great Rivers of themselfs afterward: Or like huge Trees which use to stretch their Branches beyond the Ocean, where being inoculated and graffd, they make divers other Royal Trees to sprout out of them in Forren Soyls. Ther were divers Royal Ingraftings of this kind that Great Britain had with the chiefest Potentats, and some of them Imperial: The first was before the English took footing here, between the Emperour Constantius and Helene, a Britain born, and Mother to Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperour: for this Iland was held in such high e­steem by the Roman Emperours, (when they had almost all the world besides) that divers of them kept their Courts here; a­mong whom Severus, and Constantius died at York: which City may deservedly vaunt of two things, viz. that two Roman Em­perours were buried, and a third born in her, viz. Constantin the Great.

After the Saxons came, this Iland also continued in such a re­pute, that Ethelwolph Son to King Egbert, Anno 830. married the Lady Iudith, calld the Fair for her extraordinary Bewty, and Daughter to the Emperour Charles le Chauue, Granchilde to [Page 39] Charlemain. The Emperour Otho the Great married the Sister of King Athelstan, whose friendship was so much sought by all his Neighbouring Kings, that they wooed for it by rich Presents: which made the King of France send him the sword of Constantin the Great, in the Hilt wherof ther was one of the Nails that fast­ned Christ to the Cross: He sent him also the Spear of Charle­main. The King of Norway sent him a curious Ship, with a Gilt Stem, Purple Sayls, and the Deck garnishd all with Gold. The Emperour Otho his Brother-in-law sent him a Vessel of precious stones artificially made, wherein were Landskips with Vines, Corn and Reapers so much to the Life, that they seemd to move, and act, &c.

Ther have been eight Nuptial Conjunctions twixt Great Bri­tain and France, (besides the Scots alliance with that Country.) The first was about the yeer 900. twixt Charles the first of France, and the Lady Ogine Daughter to Edward Son to King Alfred, that admired Saxon King, who is so famous in story for divers signal things: for He cleerd the whole Kingdome of the Danes, who had so much infested and harassd it. He Founded the Univer­sity of Oxford, Anno 895. He was the first who divided Eng­land into Shires, Hundreds, and Weapontakes. He divided the Natural Day also into three parts; eight hours for Recrea­tion, and matters concerning his Health, as sleep, &c. eight hours for Meditation and exercise of Piety; and eight hours in Council, and the publick Affairs of his Kingdome. He Found­ed also Shaftsbury-Abby, Winchester-Church, and Eldinsey-Mona­stery.

The second Marriage with France was twixt Hen. 3. of Eng­land, and the Lady Margaret Daughter to Lewis the seventh of France.

The third was between Edward the first, (that great Hero of his time) and the Lady Margaret, Daughter to Philip the Hardy of France.

The fourth twixt Edward the second and the Lady Isabel, eldest Daughter to Philip le Bell King of France, Mother to Ed­ward the third of England, who by right of her claimd and car­ried afterwards the Crown of France.

The fifth was twixt King Richard the second, and the Lady Eli­zabeth, Daughter to Charles the sixth of France: but she was but his second Wife, for his first was the Lady Anne, Daughter to the Emperour Charles the Fourth.

The sixth was between Henry the fifth of England, and the Lady Katharine, another Daughter to Charles the sixth of France.

The seventh was twixt Lewis the twelfth of France, and the Lady Mary, second Daughter to King Henry the seventh of England.

[Page 40]The eighth and last Inoculation twixt the Rose and the Flower de Luce, was that of Charles the first of England, with the Lady Henrietta Maria of Bourbon, youngest Daughter to Henry the great of France. In which Matches England hath had six Daugh­ters of France, and France two of England.

By the fourth Match twixt Ed. 2. and Isabel eldest Daughter to Philip le Bell, Edward the third of England being her eldest son, was Heir to the Crown of France; and demanding his Right therunto, he was answered, La Couronne de France n'est pas lièe à la quenouille, That the Crown of France was not tied to a Distaff: wherunto he replyed, That he would then tie it to his Sword; and he was as good as his word. But Henry the fifth some fourscore years after tied it faster, for he reducd Charles the sixth to such terms, that after his death he shold immediately possess the Crown and Kingdome of France, and that in the interim the Dauphin his son (afterwards Charles the seventh) shold be disin­herited; That in the interim King Henry shold be Regent of France, (in regard the present King was sometimes crazd in his Intellectuals;) That he shold take to Wife the Lady Isabel, Daughter to the said Charles: All which Capitulations not one­ly the King, but the chiefest Peers and Nobility of France did consent unto, and ratifie by solemn Oath, obliging themselfs fur­ther to uphold and assist Henry of England, with his lawful Heirs and Successors, against Charles the Dauphin whom his Father had legally disinherited.

Hereupon Henry the fifth dying in France, (a Death much too soon and immature for so brave a man) his son Hen. 6. was proclaimd King of England and France in Paris: In which pub­lick Proclamation, tis very observable how England had the pre­cedence; and therupon the chiefest of the Officers of the Crown and Nobles swore Fealty and Alleageance unto him; divers of which Nobles grew afterwards Apostats, and joynd with the Dauphin.

Against Edward the thirds Right the Salique Law was alledgd, which they wold force and pin upon a Text of Scripture, Lilia ne (que) nent, &c. The Lilies neither spin, &c. But though King Ed­ward had cut the Labels of that Law with a victorious sword, yet it was not quite cancelld: Nor indeed could it be possibly done, for it was but a kind of Chymera, a meer imaginary Law; and one of the Authentiqust French Historians Du Haillan hath no better opinion of it. They who are the greatest Champions of that Law, acknowledg that it was at first a particular Topical Law made at Salem, a place upon the Rhine, but they have stretchd it since to all France: As if the Law of Gavelkind, which is peculiar to Kent and other distinct places, shold be made to extend it self, and be in force all England over. But some ther [Page 41] are that will not allow any Essence at all to the Salique Law, no not to be a Local restraining Law to the foresaid place neer the Rhine; Therfore the same answer may be fit to be given un to the Assertors of It, as was given by the Venetians to the Pope, when ther happening a clash between them touching the Sea about Ancona, which they alledgd belongd to the Venetian Gulf wherof they had the Dominion, And the Pope demanding what warrant they had for it, twas answered, by a kinde of Sarcasine, If your Holines please to produce the Instrument wherby the Emperour Constantine the Great passd over the City of Rome to your predecessors, upon the back of that Grant your Holines will find Saint Marks Char­ter to the Souverainty of the Adriatique Gulph: whence an Intimation was made, that neither of the Charters had ever any being; which may be justly applied to the Salique Law. And besides that, du Haillan, though a French-man, in the first Volume of his Histo­ry, confutes that Law. It is confirmd also that ther never was any such Law in France by the testimony of the Duke of Burgundy, who when Philippe le long was created King, he openly cryed out against his Creation, alledging that the Kingdom of France belonged then to Iane daughter unto Hutin King of France formerly: but to stop his mouth, Philip was forcd to make a Gift unto him of the Duke­dom of Burgundy in dower with his eldest daughter.

But touching the Title of Henry the Fifth, which was confirmed by Solemne Agreement, and Sacramental Oaths, the French found out another Evasion. For it was avouchd, That the King­dom of France goeth not by Descent or Inheritance, but by Suc­cession, which is grounded not upon a Law but upon Custom; by vertu wherof the next of the Bloud Royal, be He of the fur­thest degree that may be to the kindred, succeedeth, not as law­ful Heir, but as a Successor by Custom, not newly invented, but of long continuance, even from the time of Pharamond. But this new­devised Objection is refuted also by the foresaid Du Haillan one of the prime French Historiographers, and a French-man born, who reckons up a long Catalog of French Kings which did not succeed one another, but were chosen one after another.

Another Objection was also suggested, that Charles the sixth, who made the foresaid Contract with Henry of England, was no better then a Lunatique, though he had somtimes Lucida Inter­valla. Wherunto it is answerd, that at the time when that A­greement passd He had a lucid interval, and was in his right wits and memory: Besides, the chiefest Nobility of the Realm were parties in ir, and did not only consent, but obligd them­selfs by Oath to the performance of it.

Ther was a third Objection which kept a higher noise, viz. That the King of France cannot alienate the Demeanes, Rights, Titles, and Interests of the Crown, without the consent and [Page 42] suffrage of the Assembly of Three Estates, which was not had then, because a great part of the Peers, Nobles, and others were then absent. Whereunto tis answerd, That in claims which go by plurality of voices, it is not always necessary that all shold be present, if the greater and better part of them be there, spe­cially if after Citation the rest absent themselfs: For although the point that concerneth All, shold be approvd by All; yet, as Civilians hold, when some or all may approve or disallow the things which concern Them, and They will not be present to shew their consent or dislike, their Absence shall not prejudice the stipulation of the Contract. And in this great business twixt two Kings, those who were away were Traytors to Charles the sixth, for they were in arms against him, by taking part with the Dauphin who was in Rebellion against his Father at that time; Therfore their absence could not in any respect prejudice the validity of so solemn a Contract wherupon depended Peace or War.

The fourth Objection carried more of pusillanimity with it, then strength of proof, viz. That when the foresaid Contract was made, the English had almost over-run all France, and that the King was coopd up in a corner of the country; Therfore whatsoever He did being done by fear, duresse and compulsion, was of no better force then a Covenant extorted by violence, or made in prison by a private man, which when he is at liberty he is not bound by Law to perform if it tend to his damage. To this tis answerd, That the case is far different twixt Souve­rain Princes and privat men, for between the one ther fall out but Processes and Suits in law if they disagree, or not perform what is a greed upon; But between Princes, bloud and Wars, fire and Sword, death and destruction somtimes of whole Coun­tries and millions of human soules do Ensue: Therfore when a King by the propitiousness of Heven, and his own prowess, by the hazard of his life, loss of his peeple, with infinit pains and expence of Tresure, hath gaind a Victory by the justness of his Cause and Divine decree, or redu [...]d his Enemy to a streight, All the Civilians concur in one unanimous opinion that he may make the best advantage he can of his good suc­cesses, and reduce his Enemy to what terms he please; And the Articles which shall then be capitulated, consented and sworn unto, are to be exactly performd; otherwise there wold be no end of any War. Now, rhe French Chroniclers themselfs ac­knowledg that Henry the 5. might at that conjuncture of time and fortune, have destroyed the whole Realm of France, and ta­ken the King prisoner, or driven him quite out: But he was so far from doing so, that he sufferd him to enjoy the Kingdom while he livd, and by taking his daughter to wife made her Issue [Page 43] therby capable not only of the French, but also of the English Crown, with all the Dominions thereunto annexed. Whence some Authors observ that the English have bin usd in all Treaties and Stipulations to be over-reasonable, merciful, plain and downright; But the French crafty, double minded, inhumane, high and subdolous upon all advantages: Insomuch that tis a question which was sharper, the English blade, or the French brain.

I will conclude this digressive discours with another argument of the French, viz. That Charles the sixth could not legally dis­inherit his eldest son, being Hei [...] apparent to the Crown of France. To this may be answerd, that neither Charles the sixth was rightful King, nor consequently his son heir apparent: for since Edward the third of England, all the French Kings were but Usurpers; they were Kings de facto, not de jure. Moreover ther are many Examples how the eldest sons of the Kings of France have bin disinherited: We read that Robert made his second son Henry King of France, by disinheriting Robert his eldest, who for compensation was made Duke of Burgundy. Lewis le Gros, with the consent of all the Peers and Estats of France, made also Lewis his second son King, and gave Robert his eldest the Earldom of Dreux. Dagobert made Clouis his second son King of France, by putting by Sigisbert his eldest son.

I have bin somwhat long in discours of this great Transacti­on twixt England and France, because the chief aim of this Work being at Precedence, the discerning Reader may regulat his judg­ment accordingly.

We will now go on to conclude this Paragraph, the main scope wherof being Antiquity, and continuance of Royal Bloud.

The Genealogical Tree of the Kings of this Iland, as all o­ther Countries, hath had various Stems: the first were Britains (now calld Welsh) who may contend for Antiquity, and may be said to be coetaneous with the Iland it self, yea before it was an Iland; for ther want not some who hold that it was at first a continent, or a peninsula tied to Gallia by an Isthmos or neck of land stretching from Dover to Bullen: for the Rocks on both coasts being of a colour and shape, look as if they were slented one out of the other. Before the Romans took footing here, which was neer upon 200 yeers before they could do it peace­ably, the Britains did still so bear up against them; wheras Gal­lia or France was fully conquerd in less then 10 yeers: I say, be­fore the Roman Eagle fixd his talons here, ther had bin 65 Kings of the British Bloud: But then that Race being interrupted by the Romans for above 400 yeers, the Iland being freed of [Page 44] Them, some of the old British Bloud came to be Kings again, a­mong whom some were very famous, as [...], and Ar­thur his son the chief Christian Worthy, who was the first Foun­der of Warlike honour conferrd upon his Knights of the Round Table. And this Race of the old British Kings lasted till the raign of Cadwallader, Anno 689; yet ther were Welsh Princes that swayd still (as among other Howel Dha the Great Legislator) and stood stoutly for their Liberty until the raign of Edw. 1. in whose raign Leol [...] the last Prince of the British Bloud being slain in battel, his head was brought to King Edward, who com­manded it to be crownd with I [...]ie, confessing that he had met with more valour in the Welsh then the Scots, for he had fierce Wars with both. But Cadwallader being dead, the British Race was interrupted again (till Owea Tewdors time, who descended from Cadwallader, as shall be shewd) by a G [...]rman peeple inhabi­ting the lower Circuit of Saxony, and so calld Saxons by the Welsh and Irish to this day. They had a [...] a long time; but Egbert by conquest redu [...]d them to a Monarchy, and he was the first who calld himself King of England.

Then that English Race al [...]o of Kings had two short Interrup­tions, one by the Danes wherof ther raigned here three Kings, but all their raigns extended not to [...]5 yeers; Then by William of Nor­mandy, and that Interruption [...]asted about 40 yeers, till Henry the first married the lady Matilda daughter to Malcolme King of Scotland by the Lady Margaret sister to Edgar Athel [...]g, wherby the English Bloud Royal was restord.

Then by a marvellous providence the British Royal Bloud af­ter about 800 yeers Interruption was resto [...]d by Owen Tewdor, who married the Queen Dowager Katherine, and so was Gran­father to Hen. 7. which Tewdor by an exact [...] that was made by the British Bards, and confirmed by the English He­ralds, came lineally from the foresaid King Cadwallader and Leo­lin: so ther were three Kings, viz. Hen. 7. Hen. 8. Edw. 6. with two Queens, viz. Mary and Elizabeth, all Tewdors.

Then came in the Royal Race of Scotland by the Lady Mar­garet Tewdor eldest daughter to Hen. 7. and first branch of the two Roses.

Now, by a due computation made of the premises, it will be found, that (take British or English) the source and series of the Bloud Royal of England is above a thousand yeers since. And if from Cadwallader you go to the British Kings before the Romans interrupted the Royal succession therof, it will be neer upon 3000 yeers; which no kingdom [...]ls can say. Moreover, the Bloud Royal of Scotland some hundreds of yeers before was in­corporated in the British: for the mother of the first King of the Stuarts was a British Lady.

[Page 45]And as ther is a Register of 139 British and English Kings, so there is an exact Catalog of 110 Scots Kings: wheras all the three Races of the French Kings make but 64 Kings in all. Nor did any of those three Royal Races continue much above 300 yeers in a Bloud, but were quite extinguishd, both Merovingiens, Carlevingiens, and Capevingiens. The House of Valois extin­guished in the late Queen Margaret, first wife to Hen. 4. And this present King is but the Third of the House of Bourbon.

Spain cannot say so much: for the furthest Line that Her Kings can draw, is not much above 500 yeers ago, from the Counts of Castile; nor was ther ever any King of Castile till the yeer 1017. And touching the House of Austria, it became Royal but about 300 yeers since.

To conclude this Paragraph, his present Majestie of Great Britain, in point of Royal Extraction and Linage, is the Grea­test born Prince that any Age can produce. For wheras his Granfather and Father were allied only, if you regard Forren Consanguinity, to the House of Holstein, and that of Lorain; Charles the second of England bears in his Veins not only That Bloud, but also the Blouds of all the Great Princes of Christen­dom, being neerly linkd to the Houses of France and Bourbon, To the House of Austria, and consequently to the Emperour and Spain by the Maternal side, as also to the Dukes of Savoy and Florence. Moreover, He is neerly allied to the King of Denmark, and to all the prime Princes of Germany, as the Saxe, Brandenburg, Ba­varia, the Palsgrave, &c.

The seventh Paragraph. Touching the Hospitality, and plentiful Kingly Court, with num­ber of Officers and Stately Attendants of the King of Great Britain.

TIs ordinary for Latin Authors old and new, to break out in­to the praises of Great Britain, and their Elogiums are ma­ny: but lets hear what a great Greek Poet speaks of Her.

—— [...]
No Ile did ever dare
With Britain yet compare.

Among other Encomiums of England, she is much cried up for her wonderful fecundity and fulness of all things relating to the nourishment of mankinde, all things that Earth, Water or [Page 46] Air can afford: which (with the Divine benediction) must be imputed to the temper of the Clime; And besides, ther be gentle breezes that are conveyd from the circumfluent Seas, which refresh all kinde of animals both Brute and Rational. The clouds there may be truly said to drop fatness, dissolving in­to silver wholsom showers to soften and fertilize her Glebes: In December and Ianuary there is commonly Frost enough to knit and corroborate the joynts of the earth: In February ther is usu­ally Snow enough to fill the Dikes, and like a gentle white rugg to cover her plowd fields, and keep the bed of the earth warm from the inclemency of the circumambient cold air. It is ob­servd that ther is not such a multitude of Volatils any where: And touching her Seas, ther are not any wher so great variety of Fish swimming in such huge shoals like mountains, and taking their turns and seasons about the Iland once every yeer: Her fresh rivers are also full of them. Her Forests and Woods have not such ravenous beasts as other Countries use to have: yet ther are store of savage beasts for Recreation, as the Stagg, the Hind, the Hart, the Hare, the Otter, the Fox and Badger, &c. The bowels of the earth are no where so pregnant of Metals, Stone, and Fuel, &c. The Sun, which scorcheth other Countries, may be said but to warm the English soyl with his gentle rays. The Air is nothing so foggie and dull as in many other Regions, but cleerd and attenuated ever and anon with refreshing blasts. Nor is the body of the earth so subject to shaking Agues and Earth quakes, to trepidation and quakings, as other places are, which are full of sulphurous bituminous concavities. Touching store and superfluity of Corn, with all sorts of Grain, Britain in the times of the Romans was calld, as Tacitus says, the Barn and Gra­nary of the Western world. Take all these particulars toge­ther, the Poet doth not much complement with England when he breaks thus into a Character of her.

Anglia Terra ferax, Tibi pax secura quietem,
Multiplicem luxum merx Opulenta dedit.
Tu nimio nec stricta gelu, nec sydere fervens,
Clementi Coelo, temperié (que) places.
Cùm pareret Natura parens, variásq favore
Divideret dotes omnibus una locis,
Sepofuit potiora Tibi, Matrem (que) professa
Insula sis foelix, plena (que) pacis, ait,
Quicquid amat luxus, quicquid desiderat usus,
Ex Te proveniet vel aliunde Tibi.

This is the cause of that infinit Commerce she hath to all parts of the habitable earth as far as the Antipodes, and the in­credible [Page 47] benefit which other Nations make of her Commodi­ties; Insomuch that Guicciardine, an Author well to pass, relates that after the Articles of the Intercursus magnus were made with Flanders or the Netherlands, the Annual Trade amounted unto above twelve Millions Sterling, whereof the one half was in Woollen Manufactures, wherby the 17 Provinces did wonder­fully improve in Negotiation and Wealth: Insomuch that the ground of the Order of the Golden Fleece established by the Duke of Burgundy, related to the English Wool, which proved so infinitely beneficial unto them.

From this marvelous exuberance and superfluity of substan­tial Staple-commodities proceed the luxe, the plenty and pro­fuseness of the Inhabitants: for ther is no wher such frequent Invitations and Feasts in Town and Country; which made one say, That among others, England hath an Inchanting kind of quality, to make Forreners forget their own Countries, when they have once tasted of the sweetness therof. The Franklins, Yeomen or Freeholders live like Gentlemen, The Gentlemen and Esquires live like Noble-men, The Noble-men like Princes. The Lord Maior and Sheriffs of London have Tables most days of the week fit to entertain Kings.

Now, touching the Royal Court, which may be calld the Epi­tome of the whole Country, Ther is no King whatsoever lives in that height of magnificence and plenty. Ther was communi­bus annis servd in kind in provisions for his Majesties house by way of composition, 3790 quarters of Wheat; 1493 Oxen fat and lean; 7000 Muttons; 1231 Veals; 310 Porks; 410 Sturks; 26 Boars; 320 Flitches of Bacon; 6820 Lambs; 40 Barrels of Butter; 145 dozen of Geese; Capons cours 252 do­zen; Hens 470 dozen; Pullets cours 750 dozen; Chickins cours 1470 dozen; Wax 3100 weight; sweet Butter 46640 pounds; Charcoals 1250 loads; Talwood, Billets, Faggots, 3950 loads; Herrings 60 barrels; Wine-cask from the Vintners 600 Tun, &c. Beer 1700 Tun, &c. This was for the first cours: Now for the second cours innumerable sorts of Fowl and Fish according to the season, which was exactly observd. This made Bodin the great Critique to confess, that considering all things, ther was not a more magnificent and plentiful Court upon earth. Now the riches and fatness of a Country shold be principally seen in the Kings house; and indeed the greatest glory of England ap­peers there, as all observing Forreners confess: and nothing con­ducd more to the continuance, increase and support of his power and honour, and which drew more awe and reverence from all peeple; all which are so requisit and essential to the prosperity of King and Peeple, as they cannot be wanting, but are and shold be perpetual attendants of the Soverain Prince. Now, [Page 48] this cannot be without the concurrence and service of the Pee­ple: Now, from all times the English were observd to be indu­strious, and make it their chief care to provide the best things for the Kings Court; according to that ancient, and no less elo­quent speech of a great Lawyer: Domus Regis vigilia defendit omnium; Otium Illius labor omnium; Deliciae Illius industria omni­um; Vacatio Illius occupatio omnium; Salus Illius periculum omnium; Honor Illius periculum omnium. The Kings House shold be the watchfulness of All; His recreations shold be the labor of All; His plesures shold be the inventions of All; His safety shold be the danger of All; His honor the object of All.

Now, the greatest cause of the honour and plenty of the Roy­al Court in England, were the Preemption, Pourvoyances and Compositions he had from evry County, which were so mode­rat, That they who have cryed them down, thinking it to be a great advantage and ease unto them, will find in time that they were no wiser then the Ass in the Fable (as a very judicious Gentleman observes) who thought to make his burden of Spon­ges the lighter by lying down with them in the water: For those Compositions, considering the smalness of them, and how many went to bear the burden, were scarce any weight at all, as will appeer by those Shires I shall produce for instances.

All the thirteen Shires of Wales were chargd but at one hun­dred and fourscore Sturks, which stood that whole Dominion but in three hundred and threescore pounds, wherof Anglesey, which hath 83 Parishes, payd but 5l. which amounts not to 15 pence evry Parish.

The County of Derby, which hath one hundred and six Pa­rishes, payd but 254l. per an.

Worcestershire, which hath one hundred and two Parishes, was assessd at 495l. which is about three pounds seven shillings upon evry Parish.

Yorkshire, which hath 459 Parishes, besides many large Cha­pelries, was charged but with 495l. which was not two and twenty shillings upon evry Parish one with another.

Bedfordshire, which hath one hundred and sixteen Parishes, payed four hundred ninety seven pounds eight shillings four pence.

Cheshire, having sixty eight Parishes, was to furnish but 25 lean Oxen at the Kings price, viz. four marks a piece, &c. with other things, which came not to one pound nine shillings upon evry Parish.

Cornwal, having an hundred and sixty Parishes, did not bear so great a contribution as eight shillings upon evry Parish.

The County of Devon, which hath three hundred ninety [Page 49] four Parishes, paid no greater sum for evry yearly composition then ten shillings upon every Parish.

Herefordshire, having one hundred seventy six Parishes, made evry one to contribut no more then about twelve shillings six pence upon every Parish.

The huge County of Norfolk, which hath 660 Parishes, payd but one thousand ninety three pounds two shillings and eight pence; which in proportion comes not to one pound eleven shillings upon evry Parish.

Somersetshire, which hath 385 Parishes, payd seven hundred fifty five pounds fourteen shillings eight pence, which amounts to about 40 s. a Parish.

The County of Northampton, which contains 326 Parishes, payd towards Pourvoyance and Composition nine hundred ninety three pounds eighteen shillings four pence; which was for evry Parish little more then three pounds.

Lincolnshire, which hath 630 Parishes, payd one thousand one hundred seventy five pounds thirteen shillings and eight pence; which amounted to less then forty shillings a Parish.

Glocestershire, which hath 280 Parishes, payd four hundred twenty two pounds seven shillings and eight pence; which was not one pound eleven shillings per Parish.

Ther be other Counties, by reason of their vicinity to the Court, and being very great gainers for the vent of their commodities by the Kings constant Residence, with his Tribunals of Justice in his Imperial Chamber of London, were chargd deeper; as,

The County of Kent, which hath 398 Parishes, And is the common road of Ambassadors passing to and fro, as also where his Arsenals, Docks and Navie Royal lies, with four of his Cinq Ports, &c. payd three thousand three hundred thirty four pounds and six shillings.

The County of Sussex, which hath 112 Parishes, payd one thousand and sixteen pounds two shillings and six pence.

The County of Surrey, having 140 Parishes, payd one thou­sand seventy nine pounds and three pence.

Hertfordshire, which hath one hundred and twenty Parishes, payd one thousand two hundred fifty nine pounds nineteen shil­lings four pence.

The County of Essex, having 415 Parishes, for her neigh­bourhood to London and the Court, payd two thousand nine hun­dred thirty one pounds two shillings and two pence.

The County of Buckingham, which hath 185 Parishes, payd two thousand and forty pounds sixteen shillings and six pence.

[Page 50] Berkshire, having 140 Parishes, payd one thousand two hun­dred and fifty five pounds seventeen shillings and eight pence.

The County of Middlesex, which hath 73 Parishes besides what are in the Suburbs of London and Westminster, paid nine hundred seventeen pounds nineteen shillings per an. which was no great matter in point of proportion to the rest of the Coun­ties, In regard of the great advantages this Shire hath by the propinquity and residence of the Kings Court, And so by let­ting and setting of Lands, Pasturages, Houses, Lodgings at high­et rates, with the improving the prices of all other commodities.

The City of London, which hath such mighty benefits by the constant sojourn of the King, and of his principal Courts of Justice at Westminster-Hall, by the Records in the Tower, by the Inns of Court and Chancery, with variety of other advantages, as the Kings Custom-House, wherby she is swoln up to be so vast in Building, and to such infinit Rich [...]s, that she swallows up the Trade of all the three Kingdoms; yet for all these ad­vantages, she with the out-parts did contribut in Grocery ware for the service of the Kings House but about 2000 l. per annum. Nor did the Kings Brewers in London, and four miles compass about, pay but one half▪peny in every Bushel of Mault; which is now remitted: And what an inconsiderable small ease it is to so many Brewers, let any man judge.

Out of the Premises touching Compositions for Pourvoyances, this inference may be drawn, what a care and love our provi­dent and prudent Progenitors bore to the honor of their King, his Court, and Houshould; And under favor I may say that these Royal Pourvoyances, and his tenures in Capite, were two of the fairest flowers in the English Crown, in lieu wherof it may be sayd ther is set in an ear of barly, with a Chimney-Wallflower; ther is froth and fume given in exchange, which doth so much sul­ly the luster of it: for, as I intimated before, the state and plenty of the Court was accounted the greatest glory of the Crown of England, as Forren Authors of most Nations do acknowledg in their public Writings.

Now, wheras some do affirm that the yeerly benefit of the Excise doth make a full compensation for the Court of Wards, and tenures in Capite, out of which ther was also computed fifty thousand pounds yeerly towards the Diet at Court, It is too well known that the said Excise doth not make the King any Equiva­lent satisfaction for his Tenures alone (if well managd) much less for his Pourvoyances, Preemptions and Carriages: For ther was an exact account made by his Majesties special com­mand, of the last yeers expence, that ther were Seventy three thousand six hundred and seven pounds fourteen shillings and [Page 51] seven pence spent more in the Court-diet, and provision of the Stables, then were in the time of Pourvoyance, besides the ex­traordinary charge of Carriages for his Removes, and Navy Royal.

Now, in expending those provisions that were servd into the Court by way of Pourvoyance and Composition, ther was the greatest care and Oeconomical good husbandry usd that pos­sibly could be: for when ther were more Beefs and Muttons with other provisions servd in then the Court wanted, The faithful Officers of the Green-cloth caused them to be Sould, and with the moneys arising thence they were commonly usd to buy Napery, and other Houshold-things for the service of the Kings House, as also in paying the arrears of som of his Servants wages with the surplusages.

But now that we dance after the French Fiddle so fast, as we always did so for the back, and now begin to follow him also in things relating to the Belly, by Board-wages, &c. I wish the time may not come that we do not follow him too farr; As that one cannot put a grain of Salt in his pot unless he buy it of the King, wherby, in making Salt his own Commodity, the French King raiseth by the meer Gabel which ariseth thence above 20 millions of Livres evry yeer, which is two millions Sterling; which sum is twice more then the King of Great Britain hath from all Incoms whatsoever, as Crown-lands, Customes and Imposts, Excise and Chimney-money, with other perquisits and casualities: And as the French thus cannot put a grain of Salt in his pot, so the Spaniard cannot put a corn of Peper into his Olla unless he hath it from the King; Nor can he buy a pair of Cards or Dice to pass away the time withal, unless he hath them of the King; Nay, he cannot buy half a sheet of Paper to write either Bond or Bill, Acquittance or Receit, or other legal Instrument, but he must buy all of the King; Which adds millions to his yeerly Revenues: yet the peeple of Spain are cryed up for a free pee­ple.

But touching the Imposition of Excise (which is given the King for his Royal Tenures, and House-keeping) I well remember the time, that Excise was held such an abominable word, that my Lord Carleton but only for naming it once in the Parlement-House, (yet to no ill meaning at all) was violently cryed to the Bar; and, though a person of that eminence, as being then a Privie Counsellor, and principal Secretary of State, he hardly escapd being committed to the Tower. The Excise was then calld the Dutch Devil, because it came first from Holland, with o­ther fine words, as plunder, storming, &c. which were all made free Denizons of England by that so longd-for Long Parlement. And observable it is, that the first imposing and use of Excise in Eng­land [Page 52] was to enable Rebels to make War against their King and Country.

Having thus briefly run over the Sumptuary part of the Eng­lish Court, we will now proceed to the Servants and Officers, to the Attendance and State thereof, which comes not behind any other Court whatsoever: And this might be the ground of that ancient Proverb in England, and nowhere els, There is no Fishing to the Sea, nor Service to the Kings. The Court is the randevous of Vertu, of Cadets, and persons well qualified: It is the Scale by which they rise, the King being the fountain of Honour, as well as of Bounty. But before we come to speak of the Offi­cers at Court, and of their Diet and Bouche, which by a pitiful corruption is vulgarly calld budg, wheras it is bouche a mouth; therfore it is a French phrase, Il a bouche à la Cour, He hath a mouth at Court, viz. he hath a Diet: I say, before we come to speak of the Dishes and Diet at Court, let the Reader take this small Advertisement in the way, that evry Dish at Court was computed to cost the King viis & modis at the years end 100 l. a dish: But now since the Preemption and Pourvoyance is taken away, evry dish doth stand in four times as much, at least.

The Kings Court or Houshold.
  • The Lord Great Chamberlain and Earl Marshal are rather Of­ficers of State, and as it were extraneous in relation to the Houshold: so, in a manner, are the four Officers of the Crown who use to have Houses abroad, viz.
  • The Lord Chancellor or Keeper of the Great Seal of England.
  • The Lord high Tresurer.
  • The Lord Privie Seal.
  • The Lord high Admiral.
    But the properst Domestick Officers are as follow, viz.
    • The Lord Steward of the Houshold, who hath allowed him evry day besides his Fee—32 dishes.
    • The Tresurer of the Houshold 32 dishes; and besides his table he hath a Fee of—123 l. 14 s. 4 d.
    • The Controuler, besides thirty two dishes a day, hath a Fee of—167 l. 17 s. 4 d.
    • The Cofferer, besides his Table, hath—100 l.
    • The principal Secretary of State hath besides his Table—100 l.
    • The Secretary for the Latin Toung, Fee—40 l.
    • The Secretary for the French Toung, Fee—66 l. 13 s. 4 d.
    • The Clerks of the Signet, Fee every one—40 l.
    • Four Clerks of the Privie Council, Fee evry one—50 l.
    • [Page 53]Clerk of the Council in the Star-chamber, Fee—26 l. 13 s. 4 d.
    • Two Clerks of the Parlement, Fee The first,—40 l.
    • Two Clerks of the Parlement, Fee The second,—10 l.
    • Clerk of the Market, Fee—20 l.
    • Post-master, Fee—20 l.
    • Thirty standing Posts appointed by the Post-master, evry one Fee—18 l. 5 s.
    • Two Carriers To one—24 l. 3 s. 4 d.
    • Two Carriers To the other—12 l.
Officers above Stayrs.
  • Lord Chamberlain of the Houshold, besides his Table of thir­ty two dishes a day, hath a Fee—100 l.
  • The Groom of the Stole, who is always a Gentleman of the Bed-chamber, hath evry day—32 dishes.
  • Vice-chamberlain, Fee—100 Marks.
  • Knight-Marshal, Fee—100 Marks.
  • The Gentlemen of the Privie Chamber, whose number is inde­finite, Fee evry one—50 l.
  • Three Gentlemen-Ushers of the Privie Chamber—30 l.
  • Ten Grooms of the Privie Chamber, Fee apiece—20 l.
  • Four Carvers, Fee evry one—50 Marks.
  • Three Cup-bearers, Fee evry one—50 Marks.
  • Four Sewers, Fee evry one—50 Marks.
  • Four Escuyers of the Body, Fee evry one—50 Marks.
  • Four Yeomen-Ushers, Fee evry one—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Twelve Ordinary Grooms, Fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Four Pages, Fee evry one—2 l.
  • Clerk of the Closet, Fee evry one—4 l.
  • Four Messengers, Fee evry one—5 l.
  • The Band of fifty Gentlemen-Pensioners, Fee for evry one—50 l.
  • Standard-bearer to the Pensioners, Fee—100 Marks.
The Guard.
  • Captain of the Guard, fee besides a Livery-Gown—14 l.
  • Two hundred ordinary Yeomen of the Guard, Fee—16l. 13s. 4d.
  • Fifty extraordinary, 8 d. per diem—1 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Standard-bearer to the Guard, Fee—100 Marks.
  • Clerk of the Check, fee—100 Marks.
The Great Wardrobe.
  • The Master, his fee—100 l.
  • Livery—15 l.
  • [Page 54]Two Clerks, fee each—4 l. 6. 8 d.
  • Rent-gatherer, fee—5 l. 0 s. 8 d.
  • Four Taylors, fee evry one—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Skinner, fee—18 l. 5 s. 0 d.
  • Three Embroderers, fee evry one—18 l. 5 s. 0 d.
The Butlary of England.
  • Chief Butler, Fee—50 Marks.
The Counting House.
  • Four Clerks, fee evry one—44 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Clerk to the Cofferer, fee—20 l.
  • Yeoman, fee—5 l.
  • Groom, fee—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
The Iewel-House.
  • Master, his fee—50 l.
  • Yeoman, his fee—6 l.
  • Groom, his fee—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
The Green-cloth.
  • I should have spoken before herof in point of precedence, It being a Court of Justice continually sitting in the Kings Pa­lace; The chiefest wherof are the Lord Steward, the Tresu­rer, the Controwler, and Cofferer, the Master of the Houshold, two Clerks of the Green-cloth, and two Clerks Controwlers. Of these, the first three are usually of the Privy-Council; For unto This, being as some hold the first and ancient Court of Justice in England, is committed the Charge and surintendency of the Kings Court Royal for matter of government. It is cal­led the Green-cloth, from the colour of the Carpet at which they sit, wheron the Kings Arms are embrodered, and on each side the Arms of the Counting House bearing verd, a Key and a Rod or white Staff argent saultie, signifying their power to reward or correct, as persons for their great prudence and experience thought fit to exercise both those functions.
The Robes.
  • Yeoman, fee—50 l.
  • Groom, fee—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Page, fee—2 l.
Harbingers.
  • [Page 55]Knight-Harbinger, fee—50 l.
  • Four Harbingers, fee evry one—10 l.
  • Thirty Yeomen of the Crown, fee evry one—6 l. 1 s. 8 d.
The Beds.
  • Five Marshals, fee evry one—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Four Sewers, fee evry one—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Two Survayors, fee evry one—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Two Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Clerk, fee—14 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee evry one—2 l.
The Pantry.
  • Sergeants fee—11 l. 8 s. 1. ob.
  • Four Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Four Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee evry one—2 l.
  • Bread-bearer, fee—1 l. 10 s. 4 d.
The Boteller.
  • Yeoman, fee—5 l.
  • Groom, fee—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
The Hall.
  • Servitors sixteen, to four, fee—3 l. 8 s. 4 d.
  • To the rest—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
The Buttry.
  • Four Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Four Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee each—2 l.
The Cellar.
  • Sergeant, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Seven Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Groom, fee—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • [Page 56]Two Pages, fee each—2 l.
The Ewry.
  • Sergeant, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob
  • Three Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee each—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee each—2 l.
  • Three Clerks, fee evry one—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
The Bake-house.
  • Sergeant, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Seven Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Four Conducts, fee evry one per diem—4 d.
The Kitchin.
  • Two Master-Cooks, fee evry one—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Six Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Six Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Eight Children, fee evry one—2 l.
  • Galapines, apparel for them of the Hall, Kitchin, and Privie Kitchin—50 l.
  • Surveyor of the Dresser, fee—22 l. 1 s. 3 d.
  • To the Cooks at Easter in Larges—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • To the Scullery, Larges—1 l.
  • To the Pastry, Larges—2 l.
The Spicery.
  • Clerk, fee—32 l.
  • Yeoman, fee—5 l.
The Pitcher-House.
  • Two Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee evry one—2 l.
The Chaundlery.
  • Sargeant, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Two Yeomen, fee each—5 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee each—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • [Page 57]Two Pages, fee evry one—2 l.
The Larder.
  • Sergeant, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Yeoman, fee—5 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee evry one—2 l.
The Boyling House.
  • Two Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Three Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee—2 l.
  • Clerk, fee—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
The Neatery.
  • Yeoman-Pourvoyer of Salt Fish, fee—40 l.
  • Yeoman-Pourvoyer of Fresh Fish, fee—7 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Seven Yeomen-Pourvoyers of Oxen, Mutton, Veal, Lamb, &c. fee evry one—7 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Four Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Yeomen of the Store-house, fee—5 l.
The Poultry.
  • Sargeant, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Clerk, fee—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Four Yeomen-Pourvoyers, fee evry one—7 l. 13 s. 4 d.
The Scalding House.
  • Yeoman, fee—5 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee each—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee each—2 l.
The Pastry.
  • Two Sergeants, fee each—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Clerk, fee—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Yeomen, fee each—5 l.
  • Four Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Four Children or Pages, fee evry one—2 d.
The Scullery.
  • [Page 58]Three Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee each—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee each—2 l.
Amners.
  • Gentleman-Amner, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Sub-Amner, fee—6 l. 16 s. 10 d. ob.
  • Four Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee each—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
Chappel.
  • Gentlemen of the Chappel, fee apiece—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Master of the Children, his fee—40 l.
  • To the Children at high-Feast-Largesses—9 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Allowance for their Breakfasts—16 l.
The Laundry.
  • Two Yeomen, fee each—5 l.
  • Two Grooms, fee each—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee each—2 l.
  • One Woman-Laundress, fee—10 l.
The Wafry.
  • Clerk, fee—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Yeoman, fee—5 l.
  • Groom, fee—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
The Wood-yard.
  • Sergeant, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Four Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Four Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Two Pages, fee evry one—2 l.
  • Two Wood-bearers, Largess to them at Midsummer, and to the Grooms of the Kings Hall—5 l.
  • Six Porters and Scowrers, Largess at Easter—5 l.
Porters of the Kings Gates.
  • [Page 59]Three Yeomen, fee evry one—5 l.
  • Three Grooms, fee evry one—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
Master of the Horse.
  • Besides thirty two Dishes per diem, fee—100 l.
  • In whose gift are, the chief Avenor, fee—40 l.
  • Fourteen Escuyers, fee evry one—20 l.
  • Clerk of the Stable, fee—16 l. 14 s. 7 d.
  • Three Survayors, fee evry one—16 l. 14 s. 7 d.
  • Sergeant of the Carriages, fee—22 l. 16 s. 3 d.
  • Six Riders, fee evry one—30 l.
  • Sixteen Foot-men, fee evry one—20 l.
  • Eight Coach-men, fee evry one—18 l. 5 s.
  • Yeoman of the St [...]rrop, fee—13 l. 13 s.
  • Three Sadlers, fee evry one—9 l.
  • Six Litter-men, fee evry one—10 l.
  • Four Yeomen-Pourvoyers—12 l. 10 s.
  • Three Yeomen-Granators—13 l.
  • Yeomen of the Male, fee—12 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Sargeant-Ferrier, fee—20 l. 15 s. 8 d.
  • Three Yeomen-Ferriers, fee—9 l.
  • Yeoman-Bittmaker, fee—6 l. 1 s. 8 d.
  • Yeomen of the close Cart, fee—12 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Sixty four Grooms, fee evry one—18 l. 5 s.
The Tents.
  • Master, fee—30 l.
  • Controuler, fee—12 l. 3 s. 4 d.
  • Clerk, fee—13 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Keeper of the Tents, fee—10 l.
  • Yeoman, his fee—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Groom, his fee—5 l.
Revels.
  • Master, fee—100 l.
  • Yeoman, fee—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Four Masters of the Requests, fee a piece—100 l.
Hunting.
  • [Page 80]Master, fee—18 l. 5 s.
  • Sargeant, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d. ob.
  • Officers and others serving under the Master, Wages and Al­lowance for them—113 l. 6 s. 8 d.
Harriers.
  • Master, fee—18 l. 5 s.
  • Officers and others subservient to the said Master, Wages and Allowance for them—79 l. 1 s. 8 d.
Otter-hounds.
  • Master, fee—13 l. 6 s. 8 d.
Buck-hounds.
  • Master, 12 d. per diem for himself, and to sundry Hunters serving at his appointment—50 l.
  • Two Sargeants, fee each—20 l.
  • Two Yeomen-Prickers, fee each—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • For meat for the Hounds to the Grooms—13 l. 6 s. 8 d.
Musicians and Players.
  • Sargeant-Trumpeter, fee—40 l.
  • Sixteen Trumpeters, fee evry one—24 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Two Luters, fee evry one—40 l.
  • Two Harpers, fee evry one—19 l. 5 s.
  • Eight Singers, fee evry one—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Allowance to six Children for Singing—50 l.
  • Rebeck, fee—28 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Nine Minstrels—151 l. 15 s. 4 d.
  • Six Sackbutts, fee evry one—24 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Eight Viols, fee evry one—20 l.
  • Three Drumsteds, fee evry one—18 l. 5 s.
  • Two Players on the Flute, fee a piece—18 l. 5 s.
  • Two Players on the Virginals, fee a piece—30 l.
  • Seven Musician-strangers—183 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Eight Players of Enterludes, fee evry one—3 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Two Makers of Instruments, fees—30 l.
Surgeons.
  • [Page 61]Two Surgeons, fees between them—60 l.
  • Two other, fees to both—40 l.
  • Two more, fees between them—20 l.
  • Three Physicians, fees evry one—100 l.
  • Three Apothecaries, fee evry one—26 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Astronomer, fee—20 l.
The Kings Barge.
  • Master, fee—16 l. 8 s. 1 d.
  • Twenty five Water-men for the Barge, one—8 l. 1 s. 8 d.
  • Another—6 l. 1 s. 8 d.
  • The rest evry one—2 l.
Artificers.
  • Stationer, fee—26 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Printer, fee—4 l.
  • Cutler, fee—6 l. 1 s. 8 d.
  • Weaver, fee—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Wheelwright, fee—18 l. 5 s.
  • Crossbow-maker, fee—6 l. 1 s. 8 d.
  • Coach-maker, fee—10 l.
  • Clock-maker, fee— [...]8 l. 5 s.
  • Budget-maker, fee—6 l. 1 s. 8 d.
  • Feather-dresser, fee—13 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Lock-smith, fee—2 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Arrowhead-maker, fee—6 l. 1 s. 8 d.
  • Buckler-maker, fee—3 l. 0 s. 8 d.
  • Handgun-maker, fee—24 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Graver of Stones, fee—20 l.
  • Sargeant-Painter, and others under him—100 l.
  • Arbour-maker, and Planters of Trees—25 l. 10 s.
  • Stillers of Waters, fee—40 l.
  • Bowyer and Fletcher, fee a piece—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Clock-keeper, fee—12 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Keeper of the Libraries—13 l. 6 s. 8 d.
The Kings Works.
  • Surveyor, for himself, one Clerk, Boat-hire, and Riding-char­ges—142 l. 19 s. 2 d.
  • Controuler of the Works, fee—18 l.
  • [Page 62]One Clerk, fee—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Clerk of the Engrossment of the pay-book—18 l. 5 s.
  • Pourvoyor, fee with charge of a horse—18 l. 5 s.
  • Paymaster, fee 12 d. per diem—18 l. 5 s.
  • Keeper of the Store-house, fee—11 l. 8 s. 1 d.
  • Clerk of the Check, fee 10 d. per diem—15 l. 4 s. 2 d.
  • Clerk of the Controulment—10 l. 12 s. 11 d.
  • Carpenter, fee per diem 12 d.—18 l. 5 s.
  • Plummer, fee per diem 12 d.—18 l. 5 s.
  • Mason, fee per diem 12 d.—18 l. 5 s.
  • Joyner, fee—19 l. 9 s.
  • Glasier, fee—36 l. 10 s.
  • Survayor of the Mines, fee—36 l. 10 s.
  • Devisor of the Buildings, fee—36 l. 10 s.
Kings at Arms and Heralds.
  • Garter Principal King at Arms, fee—40 l.
  • Clarencieux King at Arms, fee—30 l.
  • Norroy King at Arms, fee—20 l.
  • Kings Heralds seven, fee evry one—13 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Poursuyvants at Arms four, fee apiece—10 l.
  • Sargeants at Arms twenty five, fee evry one—18 l. 5 s.
  • Standard-bearer, fee—100 l.
  • Banner-bearer, fee—100 l
The Admiralty.
  • Lord High Admiral of England, fee—300 Marks.
  • Vice-Admiral, fee—100 Marks.
  • Two Clerks fee of the one—18 l. 5 s.
  • Two Clerks fee of the other—15 l. 1 s. 8 d.
  • Boat-hire upon all occasions—10 l.
  • Riding-charges during his travel, per diem—10 s.
  • Tresurer of the Navie, fee—100 Marks.
  • Two Clerks, fee 8 d. per diem—24 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Riding-charges upon occasion per diem—6 s. 8 d.
  • Master of the Ordnance, fee—100 Marks.
  • Three Clerks, fee among them per diem—3 s. 4 d.
  • Boat-hire upon all occasions—8 l.
  • Riding-charges per diem—6 s. 8 d.
  • Controuler of the Navie, fee—50 l.
  • Two Clerks, each per diem—8 d.
  • Boat-hire—8 l.
  • Riding-costs per diem—4 s.
  • Survayor, fee—40 l
  • [Page 63]Two Clerks, each per diem—8 l.
  • Riding-co [...]ts per diem—4 s.
  • Boat-hire upon all occasions—8 l.
  • Clerk of the Ships, fee—33 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Boat-hire upon all occasions—6 l.
  • Riding-costs per diem—3 s. 4 d.
  • Clerk of the Store-house at Deptford, fee—33 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • One Clerk subservient—6 l.
  • Pilot, fee—20 l.
  • Victualler of the Navie, fee—58 l.
  • One Clerk, per diem—8 d.
  • Riding-costs per diem—5 s.
The Ordnance.
  • Master of the Ordnance, fee—151 l. 11 s. 8 d.
  • Two Clerks one per diem—10 d.
  • Two Clerks the other—8 d.
  • Surveyor, fee—36 l. 10 s.
  • One Clerk, per diem—8 d.
  • Riding-costs per diem—6 s.
  • Lieutenant of the Ordnance, fee—100 Marks.
  • One Clerk, per diem—8 d.
  • Boat-hire upon all occasions—8 l.
  • Riding-costs—0 s. 0 d.
  • Keeper of the great Store, fee—40 l.
  • Clerk, per diem—8 d.
  • Riding-costs—0 s. 0 d.
  • Keeper of the small Store, fee—40 Marks.
  • Riding-costs—0 s. 0 d.
  • Clerk of the Deliveries, fee—20 l.
  • Master-Gunner of England, fee per diem—2 s. 6 d.
  • [...]-maker, fee per diem 12 d.—18 l. 5 s.
  • Saltpe [...]er-maker, fee—18 l. 5 s.
  • Two Gun-founders—33 l. 9 s. 2 d.
  • Gun-smith, fee 6 d. per diem—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Engin-Artificer, fee per diem 4 d.—6 l. 1 s. 8 d.
  • Master-Carpenter, fee per diem 8 d.—12 l. 3 s. 4 d.
  • Ordinary Gunners or Cannoneers, one hundred and nine, fee—1161 l. 18 s. 4 d.
  • Yeoman of the Ordnance, fee per diem 9 d.—13 l. 14 s. 1 d.
The Tower of London.
  • Constables fee—100 l
  • Lieutenants fee—200 l.
  • [Page 64]Porters fee—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Yeomen-Waiters or Warders, fee—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
  • Allowance for Fuel—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Keeper of the Lions, &c. fee—36 l. 14 s. 6 d.
  • Carpenter, fee—12 l. 3 s. 4 d.
  • Keeper of the Wardrobe, fee—12 l. 13 s. 4 d
The Armary.
  • Master of the Armary, fee—31 l. 18 s. 9 d.
  • Armarers under the Master, twenty, one at—36 l.
  • Five, evry one at—20 l.
  • Three, evry one at—15 l.
  • The rest evry one at—9 l. 2 s. 6 d.
The Mint.
  • Master, or Tresurer of the Mint, fee—100 l.
  • Controuler of the Mint, fee—100 Marks.
  • Assay-master, fee—100 Marks.
  • Clerk of the Mint, fee—10 l.
  • Auditor of the Mint, fee—44 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Allowance for Paper, [...], and other necessaries—10 l.
  • Teller of the Money, fee—33 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Survayor of the Melting-house, fee—26 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Clerk of the Irons, fee—13 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Chief Graver, fee—30 l.
  • Chief Finer, fee—10 l.
  • Sinker of Irons, fee—10 l.
  • Three Melters, fee evry one—13 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Two Branchers, fee evry one—13 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Pourvoyer, fee—10 l.
  • Pot-maker, fee—10 l.
  • Porter, fee—10 l.
  • Diet to all these Officers by the week—1 l. 10 s.
The high Court of Chancery.
  • Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Eng­land, fee per diem 23 s.—419 l.
  • For his attendance in the Star-chamber—200 l.
  • More by name of Annuity—300 l.
  • Robes out of the Wardrobe—40 l.
  • Wine out of the Butlery twelve Tuns—72 l.
  • Wax out of the Wardrobe—17 l.
  • Sum. allocat. per an.—1048 l.
  • [Page 65]Master of the Rolls, fee—34 l. 15 s. 8 d.
  • Livery out of the Hamper—28 l. 8 s. 4 d.
  • Masters of the Chancery, fee apiece—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Clerk of the Crown, fee—20 l.
  • Livery for Summer and Winter—26 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Protonotary, fee—33 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Clerk of the Hamper, fee—43 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Annuity—40 l.
  • Livery for himself and his Clerk—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Controuler of the Hamper, fee—10 l.
  • Enrollers of Evidences, fee—20 l.
  • Seal, fee—6 l. 16 s. 10 l.
  • Livery— [...]0 s.
  • Sargeant at Arms, fee—18 l. 5 s.
  • Cryer, Fee and Livery—7 l. 16 s. 10 d.
  • Chafer of Wax—7 l. 6 s. 7 d.
  • Necessary charges of Wax, Parchment, Paper, Riding Coats, and other yearly Expences—220 l.
The Privie Seal.
  • Lord Keeper of the Privie Seal, fee per diem—1 l.
  • Allowd for his Table at Court—345 l.
  • Clerks of the Privie Seal, fee apiece—50 l.
  • Four Masters of the Requests, fee apiece—100 l.
The Kings Bench.
  • Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench, who holds his place onely by a short Writ, not by Patent as others do, for his Fee, Reward and Robes—208 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Wine two Tuns—10 l.
  • Allowance for Justice of Assize—20 l.
  • To three Justices assistants, Fee, Reward, and Robes apiece—128 l. 6 s. 8 d.
  • Allowance to evry one as Justice of Assize—20 l.
  • Clerk of the Crown, fee—10 l.
  • Livery out of the Wardrobe—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Protonotary, fee—26 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • Keeper of the Writs and Rolls, fee—8 l.
  • Cryer, fee—6 l. 13 s. 4 d.
The Common Pleas.
  • Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Fee. Reward and Robes—141 l. 13 s. 4 d.
  • [Page 66]Wine out of the Butlery, two Tuns—8l.
  • Allowance for keeping the Assize of the Augmentation-Court—12l. 10s.
  • Allowance for Justice of Assize—20l.
  • Three coadjutant Justices, Fee, Reward and Robes to evry one—128l. 6s. 8d.
  • Allowance for being Justices of Assize—20l.
  • Attorney-General, fee—61l.
  • Allowance for being Justice of Assize—20l.
  • Sollicitor-General, fee—50l.
  • Keeper of the Writs and Rolls, fee—4l.
  • Four Sargeants at Law, to each Fee, Rewards and Robes—26l. 6s. 8d.
  • Allowance as Justice of Assize—20l.
  • Allowance for keeping the Assizes of the Court of Augmenta­tions—12l. 6s. 8d.
  • Cryer, fee—5l.
Chief Officers of the Kings Revenues, and of the Exchequer.
  • The Lord High Tresurer of England, fee—368l.
  • Robes out of the Wardrobe—15l. 7s. 8d.
  • Wine so many Tuns Impost free—0l. 0s. 0d.
  • Allowance for Diet—0l. 0s. 0d.
  • Chancellor of the Exchequer, fee—113l. 6s. 8d.
  • Livery out of the Wardrobe—12l. 17s. 4d.
  • Tuns of Wine Impost free—0l. 0s. 0d.
Officers of the Exchequer-Court.
  • Lord Chief Baron, fee—100l.
  • Livery out of the Wardrobe—12l. 17s. 4d.
  • Allowance for being Justice of Assize—20l.
  • Tuns of Wine Impost free—0l. 0s. 0d.
  • The Barons of the Exchequer, to each fee—46l. 13s. 4d.
  • Livery out of the Wardrobe—12l. 17s. 4d.
  • Allowance for being Justices of Assize—20l.
Other Officers of the Exchequer.
  • The Kings Remembrancer, fee—55l. 17s. 4d.
  • Livery out of the Wardrobe—4l. 12s. 4d.
  • The Lord Tresurers Remembrancer, fee—46l. 2s. 1d.
  • Livery out of the Wardrobe—2l. 13s. 4d.
  • Clerk of the Pipe, fee—65l. 4s. 2d.
  • Livery, &c.2l. 13s. 4d.
  • [Page 67]Under-Tresurer of the Exchequer, fee—73l. 6s. 8d.
  • Livery, &c.4l. 6s. 8d.
  • Seven Auditors, fee evry one—10l.
  • Forren Opposers, fee—16l. 13s. 4d.
  • Clerk of the Extreats, fee—15l.
  • Clerk of the Pleas, fee—5l.
  • Clerk of the Summons, fee—4l.
  • Two Marshals, fee apiece—4l.
  • Two Deputy-Chamberlains, fees apiece—2l. 10s.
  • Two Secondaries in the Kings Remembrancers Office, fee evry one—8l.
  • Two Secondaries in the Pipe-Office, fee—5l.
  • Four Secondaries in the Tresurers Remembrancers Office, fee evry one—4l.
  • Clerks of the Tallies, fee evry one—17l. 10s.
  • Clerk of the Pell, fee—17l. 10s.
  • Four Tellers, fee evry one—13l. 13s. 4d.
  • Clerk in the Pipe-Office for offring Amercements, fee—9l. 13s. 4d.
  • Clerk in the Office of the Kings Remembrancer, fee for wri­ting the Fines, Issues and Amercements due to the King evry year—15l. 6s. 8d.
  • Clerk in the Office of the Tresurers Remembrancer, fee for offering the Amercements—6l.
  • Clerk in the Office of the Pleas, fee—3l.
  • The four Ushers of the Court of Exchequer for their fees, in delivery of Processes, and for Paper, Wax, and other neces­saries by them provided, and bought for the Officers of the Court amongst them—140l.
  • Four Porters, Livery to evry one—4s.
  • Two Joyners for Tallies, fees apiece—10l.
  • Two Deputy-Chamberlains to write the controulment of the Pell, fees apiece—6l.
  • One Clerk to write the Tallies of Controulment, fee—9l.
  • One Porter of the Baggs, and Keeper of the Tresure-House-Keys, fee—6l. 6s. 8d.
  • Four Messengers, fee per diem4d. ob.
  • The Grooms of the Receits fee by Rewards and Allowances—2l.
  • To the Tresurers, and Chamberlains Officers, allowd for Parch­ment—6l.
  • Three Ushers of the Receits, Fees, for Diet, Wax, Paper, Parch­ment, &c.60l.
The Court of First-fruits and Tenths.
  • [Page 68]Chancellor, fee—200 Marks.
  • Diet-money—100l.
  • Hire for a house for himself, and for the Records—9l.
  • Tresurer, fee—20l.
  • Diet-money—10l.
  • House-rent—10l.
  • A Deputy—4l.
  • A Clerk—6l. 13s. 4d.
  • Attorney, fee—26l. 13s. 4d.
  • Auditor, fee—20l.
  • Diet-money—51l. 10s.
  • One Clerk—6l. 3s. 4d.
Other Allowances and Expences.
  • Clerk of the Court, fee—40l.
  • Keeper of the Records, fee—20l.
  • Messenger, fee—2l. 10s. 7d.
  • Allowance—13l. 6s. 8d.
  • Usher, fee—2l. 10s. 7d.
  • Allowance—3l. 6s. 8d.
The Dutchy of Lancaster.
  • Chancellor, and Allowance with 4l. for Paper, Ink and Parch­ment—142l. 16s.
  • Survayor, Fee, and Allowance—66l. 13s. 4d.
  • Attorney, Fee, and Allowance—38l. 10s. 4d.
  • Clerk of the Court, Fee and Allowance—27l. 10s. 4d.
  • Messenger, Fee besides Riding costs—10l.
Assistants in the said Court.
  • One Attorney for the Dutchy in the Exchequer, fee—100l.
  • Attorney likewise in the Chancery, fee—20l.
  • To the Usher of the Receits in the Exchequer, fee—20l.
  • Four learned men in the Law retained for Counsel for the said Dutchy, fee evry one—7l. 6s. 8d.
  • Besides Auditors, Receivers, &c.
The Presidential Court in Wales, or the Council of the Marches.
  • [Page 69]Lord President, Diet for himself and Council per an.1040l.
  • Divers Counsellors, to some—100 Marks.
  • To others—50l.
  • To others—40l.
  • Secretary, his fee—13l. 6s. 8d.
  • Atturney, fee—13l. 6s. 8d.
  • Sollicitor, fee—10l.
  • Surveyor, fee—6l. 13s. 4d.

Touching the Presidential Court in the North, where ther was usd to be also a Lord President, four of the Learned Counsel, a Secretary and other Officers, the King saves nere upon 2000l. per an.

The like sum or therabouts is savd by the Court of Wards, though the loss which the Crown of England hath receavd therby in point of honour by Tenures in Capite, and Royal Pourvoy­ances, &c. be invaluable; which makes our next Forren Neigh­bours in a kinde of jeer (and the best of their wit lies in jeering) to say, that all the Noblemen and Gentry of England, since Te­nure in Capite was taken away, are become little better then Ro­turiers, then Yeomen that hold in Soccage.

The former Catalog of Court-Officers was delivered to King Iames at his first coming in, And ther may be some alterations since. Now ther is a mighty number of other Officers belong­ing to the Crown: as Auditors, Receavors, Surveyors, Escheators, Customers; Governors and Constables of Castles, Keepers of Forts, Points and Bulwarks; Rangers of Forests; Keepers of Chaces, Parks and Woods, &c. which wold make a Volume of it self, and is not so proper to the designe of this subject, which aims prin­cipally at the Menial and domestick servants attending at Court, though we have bin transported as we went along to other Of­fices.

Out of the premises this result may be drawn, that besides the unparallelld plenty, fatness and hospitality of the English Court in point of provision, and munition de Bouche, as the Frenchman calls it, Ther is no Court in Christendom servd with more pun­ctual attendance and state; wheras if you cross ore the Cha­nel, and take a view of the next transmarin Court, one shall see common Laquays, Scullions, and greasie Galopins bring meat to the very rayls of the Kings Table: And touching the Spanish Court, tis so pitifully thin at dinner and supper-time, that one wold think he were in some Monastery of Capuchins: But go [Page 70] to either of their Kitchins, one may break his neck as soon as break his Fast. While I was writing this, a plesant Repartie came into my memory that happend twixt that worthy and warlike British Knight Sir Roger Williams, (who being General of an English Army in France, Henry the Great confessd to be a better Soldier then himself) Sir Roger being at an Ordinary in Antwerp, where among others ther was a Spanish Alferez who began to speak much of the dainty Fruits and Salades of his Country, Sir Roger let him go on a good while, and at last answered blunt­ly, 'Tis tru Sir we have not such Lemons, Orenges, and Pome­granats which you have in Spain, but we have in England good Chines of Beef, and Sirloyns of Veal, &c. We have the meat, and you have but sauce for our meat. I will close up this Paragraph with this humble Advertisement; That it highly concerns the common interest of the English Nation to introduce again, and revive the most ancient and legal usage of his Majesties just rights of Preemption, and Pourvoyance or compositions for them; Otherwise it is impossible for him to keep a Court any thing sutable to a King of Great Britain.

The Eighth Paragraph. Touching the diversity of Nations, and diffring Original Mother-Tongs, with other Dialects, that are under the Dominions of the King of Great Britain: As also, Of the variety of Royal Recreations, number of Palaces, Forests, Chaces and Parks, which belong to the Crown, &c.

THe greatest Antiquaries and Linguists that treat of Tongs, and of their Originals, do affirm that ther are eleven Ma­ternal Tongs throughout all Europe, which are 1. the Greek, 2. the Latin, 3. the High-Dutch, Teutonick or German, 4. the Slavonian, which hath two Characters, both a Greek and Dalmatian chara­cter, which come neer the shape of the Latin; Then ther is 5. the British or Welsh Toung; 6. Irish; 7. The Bascuence or Can­tabrian, which is the reliques of the old Spanish, or Iberian toung; 8. the Albanian, of a peeple who inhabit about the mountains of Epirus; 9. the Hungarian, which came into Europe out of Asia with the Huns; 10. Is that of Finland, neer to which is that of Lapland in the North of Sweden; 11. Is that of the Cosacks, and Tartars. Of all these the Slavonian is of largest extent; for it is observed that three and twenty several Nations speak it.

Now, The French King hath not one Mother, and pure inde­ [...] Toung spoken in all his Dominions; they are but dia­lects, [Page 71] Languages or Speeches derivd from other Toungs: The purest French, which is spoken at Court, and upon the river of Loire, is but a dialect of the Roman or Latin Toung; so is the Walloon, the Provensal, the Gascoon, the Limosin, and others: That of Bearn is but a Dialect of the Bascuence and Gascon; That of Britany or Armorica is but a dialect of the ancient British con­tinued so wonderfully in Wales after so many revolutions and changes of diffring Nations to this day.

Indeed the King of Spain hath an old Maternal Toung under his Dominions, which is the Cantabrian or Bascuence; all the rest are but several Idiomes or Dialects derived from the Latin, and inlayd with a multitude of Morisco words. The Castilian, the Portugues, the Catalan, the Valenciano, are Dialects of the La­tin.

But the King of Great Britain hath two pure ancient Mother-Toungs within his Dominions; which is the British, or old Com­raecan Toung; And the Irish or Hibernian Toung, which are sub­sistent of themselfs, and have no derivation or affinity at all with any other Toung. Ther are six Dialects also spoken in his King­domes; The English, which is a dialect of the Saxon or high-Dutch; Ther is the Scotish, which is a sub-dialect of the English; Ther is the Mankmen, or they of the Ile of Man, which is also a sub-dialect of the Welsh. Ther is the Highlander or Redshank, which is a dialect of the British and Irish; Ther is the Cornish, which is a dialect of the Welsh; And the Language of Iersey and Gernsey (the only remains that are left us of Normandy) which is a dialect of the French. Now, It cannot be soberly denied but that it is an addition of Honour to the King of Great Britain to have more Mother-Toungs (reservd yet in his Dominions, and as it were unconquerd) then his two Neighbour-Kings.

Touching variety of Palaces, and change of Royal Mansions, he may compare, if not out-go any of the other Kings: For within half a days journey of London he hath eight several Hou­ses, and divers elswhere; wheras the French King hath but the Louvre, Fountainbleau, Bois de Vincennes, St. Germain de Laye, and Madrid, a small ruinous pile of stones which Francis the first causd to be erected in commemoration of his captivity so many yeers in Madrid in Spain in a small Brick House, wherinto ther was a low little dore built by the command of the Emperour Charles the fifth, of purpose to make the King stoop when he entred; which he observing, because he should not bow his head, went in backward, putting in his bum first.

The King of Spain hath but his Palace, and La Casa de buen retiro in Madrid; he hath Aranjuez with the Pardo between Ma­drid and the Escurial; where he hath a Royal House, yet it is but a Cantle of a Monastery, tis but the handle of a Gridiron, [Page 72] which that great structure resembles, in memory of the Martyr St Laurence; Philip the second having bin forced, for the advan­tage of avenues to batter down a Convent dedicated to that Saint a little before the battail of St Quinten, where he provd Victorious against the French; and to perform a Vow he then made, he built the Monastery of Saint Laurence at the Escurial.

Now, touching all the foresaid Palaces in France and Spain, Winsore-Castle may compare with any for Magnitude, Majesty and State; As Sir Thomas Roe, who had bin Ambassador at the great Mogors Court, at the Seraglio of the Gran Senior, at the German Emperours, at the French, Polonian, Danish and Swedish Courts; I say, Sir Thomae Roe did confidently and knowingly affirm, that Winsor-Castle may not only compare, but have the precedence of all the rest, in point of Grandeur, Majesty, Situ­ation and Stateliness.

Moreover, the King of Great Britain hath Lodges, and other places of plesure without number; In regard of so many Fo­rests, [...]haces and Parks that are annexd to the Crown. Touching Forests, ther is no Potentat on Earth hath so many, I may truly avouch. Now, a Forest is a Franchise of so Princely a tenure, that according to the Laws of England none but the King himself can have a Forest; if he chance to pass one over to a subject, tis no more Forest, but a Frank Chase. A Forest hath peculiar Laws of her own to take cognizance of, and punish all Trespasses: A Forest hath her Court of Attachments, or Swainmote-Court where matters are as legally pleadable as at Westminster-Hall. The Hart, the Hind, the Hare, the Bore, and the Wolf, are Forest-beasts; The Buck, the Doe, the Fox, the Matron, the Roe, belong to a Chace and Park. And all these kind of Recreations the King of Great Britain hath in so many Forests, wherof ther are in England (besides thirteen Chaces, and seven hundred eighty one Parks) these whose names follow alphabetically.

Forests name.County.
1. ApplegarthEbor. N. Rid.
2. ArundelSussex.
3. Ashdown.Susses.
4. Bear-Forest.Hamp.
5. BirnwoodBuck.
6. Blackmore.Wilt.
7. Blethvay.Radnor.
8. Bowland.Lanc.
9. Braden.Wilt.
10. Buckholt.Hamp.
11. Cantselly. 
12. Cardith.Caermar.
13. Chur.Hamp.
14. Charnwood.Leicester.
15. Chul.Wilt.
16. Coidrath.Pembr.
17. Copland.Cumb.
18. DallingtonSuff.
19. Dartmore.Devon.
20. Delamere.Chesh.
21. Dene.Gloc.
22. Dereford.Salop.
23. WaterdownSuss.
24. Exmere.Devon.
[Page 73]25. Feckenham.Wigorn.
26. The Forest.Cardig.
27. Fromselwood.Somers.
28. Gaiternack.Wilt.
29. Gautry.Ebor.
30. Gillingham.Dors.
31. Hatfield.Essex.
32. Harwood.Salop.
33. Haye.Heref.
34. Holt.Dors.
35. Huckstow. 
36. Inglewood.Cumb.
37. Knaresburg.Ebor.
38. Kings wood.Gloc.
39. Knuckles.Radnor.
40. Leicester.Leicest.
41. St. Leonards.Suss.
42. Lounsdale. 
43. Lowes.Northumb.
44. Lune.Ebor.
45. Leyfield.Rutl.
46. Mallerstang.Westm.
47. Mocktry.Salop.
48. Narborth.Pemb.
49. Neroch.Som.
50. New Forest.Hamp.
51. New Forest.Ebor.
52. Peak.Derb.
53. Pewsham.Wilt.
54. Pickring.Ebor.
55. Radnor.Radnor.
56. Roscob.Card.
57. Rockingham.Northam.
58. Sapler. 
59. Savernack.Wilt.
60. Sherwood.Notingh.
61. Selwood.Som.
62. Saucy.North.
63. Wabridg.Hunt.
64. Waltham.Essex.
65. West Forest.Hamp.
66. Westward.Cumb.
67. Whichwood.Oxf.
68. Winfield.Westm.
69. Whitehart. 
70. Whittlewood.Northam.
71. Whitway. 
72. Wyersdale.Lanc.
73. Winsore.Bark.
74. Wolmer. 
75. Wood.Ebor.
76. Worth.Suss.
77. Wutmer.Hamp.

This is the old number of Forests in England (wherof a few, as Blackmore in Wiltshire, with others, are deforested) which Fo­rests cannot by the Laws be in any ones hands but the Kings; and the reason is, because none hath power to grant a Com­mission for Justice in Eire but the King, which Iustice is to keep a Court evry three yeers once, but the Swainmoot-Court evry one yeer thrice. Forests were at first for the Kings Princely delight, Venery and plesure, meerd with unremoveable marks and boundaries; And the old Law is, Omnis homo abstinent a Venariis meis super poenam vitae: It was capital to hunt in any of the Kings Forests without leave.

Now, if one shold make the Perambulation of all France and Spain, he will not find half the number of Forests in both King­doms: And whether this be not a notable advantage to the King of Great Britain in point of Honour, let any unpassionat and sober-minded man determine.

The Ninth Paragraph. Touching the Prudential Laws and Constitutions of Great Britain, relating to Prince and Peeple: As also, The Eminence and Variety of Honours which the King can confer, &c.

VVHat the Arteries, Nerfs and Cartilages are to the Body Natural, the same are Laws to the Political; they are the Ligaments of a Kingdom, which connect and tie all sorts of peeple, though of so many different humors, in one Gover­ment, and under one Souverain head.

The Common Law of England, though in some things it differs from the Civil, by which most parts of Europe are governd, yet it hath the rationability and justness, the general notions and aym of the Civil Law, which is to preserve evry one in the pos­session of his own, and the Souverain Prince in honour, power and Safety. The main quarrel against it, is, that it wants Me­thod, and that it is not reducible to any, or capable to be dige­sted into such a Pandect as the Civil Law is. Wherunto it may be answered, That the Common Law of England hath for its grounds 1. Custome, 2. Iudicial Records, And 3. Acts of Par­lement or Statuts. The two later being declarations of the Com­mon or Customary Law of the Land, are methodizd and digested to order, as the book of Statuts, &c. whence the Sheriffs, the Justices of peace, and Constables, with other Officers, may learn their duties, and how to execut their places, and any sub­ject els may know how to keep himself within the bounds of his obedience. But the Common Law of the Land consisting of Cases, Precedents and Judgments, as also of Immemorial and Uninterrupted Municipal Customs, which being no Written Things, Therfore it is no wonder that the professors therof have not bin so curious, to attempt hitherto the Methodizing of that Art which consists most of Custom and Usage; yet fair Essays are made daily for better retaining the same in memory, by putting particular Cases under general Rules, wherof ther are di­vers Volums frequently publishd of late yeers.

Now, the Laws of England look two ways, either upon the Souverain Prince, or upon the peeple: Touching the later, ther is no Law upon earth so careful and tender of a mans life (or livelihood) be he the meanest subject under the Crown, as the Common Law of England is: For wheras in other Countries a single Judge and Witness may take away ones life (or estate) wherof the one may be subornd, the other corrupted; tis not so in [Page 75] England, but besides Witnesses and Judges, ther be two sorts of Iuries, one the Grand Inquest, which consists of twenty four Gentlemen, or able Freeholders, to consider by a previous con­sultation of all Bills of Inditement to be preferd to the Judicial Court, which upon strict examination they either approve, and transfer to the Court by writing upon the Bill, Billa vera; or they disallow it by writing Ignoramus. Such causes as they ap­prove, if they concern Life and Death, are further referrd to ano­ther Iury to consider of, because the case is of such importance; but others of lighter moment, are upon their allowance fined by the Bench without more ado, Except the party traverse the In­ditement, or chalenge it for insufficiencie, or remove the Cause to a higher Court by a Certiorari, in which two former cases it is referrd to another Jury, and in the later transmitted to a high­er; and presently upon the allowance of this Bill by the Grand Inquest, the party is said to be Indited; but such as they dis­allow are deliverd to the Bench, by whom they are forthwith cancelld or torn. The Indited party being to stand afterwards at the Bar, and desiring to be tryed by God and his Country, ther is a Petty Jury empannelld of Twelve, who bear the publick repute of honest men; and the Law of England is so indulgent of life, that the prisoner may challenge or except against any to such a number; and withal a Butcher, who is inurd to bloud and slaugh­ter, is incapable by the Law to be a Jury-man for life. So the said Jury, after a strict and painful examination of the Fact, with all the least circumstances therof, deliver their Verdict ac­cording to their consciences, wherby the Judg doth acquit or con­demn the party according to the quality of the offence: nor can any pecuniary Mulct satisfie for the life of any, as it is in other Countries. And as the Common Law of England is thus so tender of humane life, so it is as cautious, indulgent and careful of the livelihood and propriety of the meanest subject in the Land, which in case of controversie is done also by Jury, and put home to the Consciences of twelve indifferent good men, and not left only to the breast and opinion of any one Judge, be he never so learned, and incorrupt. The English Law like­wise favors Widows and Orphans, and the poor have Coun­sel appointed them gratis, &c.

It appeers out of the premisses what a great regard the Common Law of England, the Lex Terrae, hath to the lifes and properties of the peeple in point of Justice. Now in point of Reverence and Loyalty to the Souverain Prince (which is more pertinent to this disourse) ther is no Law hath higher regards likewise that way, nor also to his honour and dignity, to his wel­fare and safety, to his Royal Prerogatives and glory, which Pre­rogatives intrinsecally stick, and are inherent in the Crown, [Page 76] yet are they, and the Liberties of the Subject determined, and bound by the Law. The Laws of England make the King their Protector; and reason good, for they are his own Productions, tis he that puts life into them; They bear such reverence to his person, that in his Presence none can be seizd, or violently layd hands on, or arrested, his very presence being a Protection for the time: He who giveth but a blow to any in his Court, the Law adjudgeth him to loose his Right hand. The Law sayth that the King hath his Title to the Imperial Crown of Great Britain, and to his Kingly Office and power, not as a fiduciary thing con­veyed from the peeple, but by inherent birthright, and inalienable heritage immediatly from God, from Nature, and from the fundamental Constitutions of the Land: He hath not only Ius paternum, a paternal power over his subjects, but Ius despoticum & herile: he hath dominion over them, which Dominion is de­volvd upon him gratiâ Dei, by Divine dispensation and favour. Ther is no Alleageance or Fealty due to any other power but to the King. The Law is so careful of the sacred person of the King, that it reacheth unto the very thoughts, and restrains them from machination of any evil against him: For the Law says it is Treson to Imagine mischief against the King, much more to attempt, act and execute it.

The Common Law of England makes the King the Supreme and independent Governour, And all other persons derive their power and authority from him, either by his Royal Writ, Pa­tent or Commission. The Law presupposeth that he sits not only at the Kings Bench, but in other Courts of Judicature; for the Writs go, Teste meipso: And because the Law sayth that the King must govern in Mercie and Justice, the sole power of Pardoning is in Him.

Moreover, the power of Coinage is only in the King, with the enhancing or decrying the price of money: He is the sole Gran Master of the Mint; wheras in France others partake with the King in this high Prerogative: Nor doth any Kings Face shine in purer Metal; for it shines onely in pure Gold and Silver, and that of the finest Standard, Mixture and Allay of any in Eu­rope: wheras I have seen and felt the face of the French King in Copper and Brass, with other mixt mongrel stuff; As also of the King of Spain's, though he terms himself the Monark of Gold and Silver Mines; yet the common currant Coyn twixt Merchant and Mechanick is Copper, wherin the Hollander by his cunning hath done him a world of mischief from time to time, by counterfaiting that Copper Coyn, and [...]oysting it in by di­vers artifices; as in a ship laden with Lead and Tin, ther wold be somtimes divers Sows of Lead hollowed and crammd with quartils, as also in hollowed Masts, with other inventions; In­somuch [Page 77] that one time, when all the Vellon or Copper Coin was calld in, and a scrutiny made how much had bin coynd, ther were many millions more found to be brought in, and counter­faited, then had bin stampd in the Kings Mint.

By the Common Law of the Land, the King of Great Britain hath three Royal Ensignes which cannot belong to any other: He hath the Crown, the Scepter, and the (Polemical) Sword, (as I have mentiond in another Treatise, and is proper to touch here.) By the first, He reigns; by the second he makes Laws; by the third, viz. the Sword, He protects them. Concerning the Crown, or Royal Diadem, the Laws of England assert, that it descends upon his head by a right Hereditary line, though through d [...] ­vers ancient Royal Races, wherof some were Conquerors. The Crown is His, as much as any mans Cap's his own; And ther is no Crown stuck with fairer Flowers, I mean Royal Prerogatives, wherof divers were spoken of before.

Concerning the Scepter, it may be calld an Individual Copart­ner, or a Royal Appendix to the Crown: It doth capacitate the King to Enact Laws: for before his Assent, all the Results and Determinations of Parlement are but Bills; they may be said to be but abortive things, and meer Embryos; nay, they have no life at all in them, till the King by his breath infuseth vigour and animation into them; and the ancient Custom was for the King to touch them with the Scepter, then they are Laws, and have a virtue in them to impose an universal obligation upon all sorts of peeple. Now, it is an undeniable Principle of the Law of England, That nothing can be generally binding with­out the Kings Royal Assent, nor doth the Law take notice of any thing without it: This makes Them to be calld afterwards the Kings Laws; and the Judges are said to deliver the Kings Iudgments: nay, he himself is always Lord Chief Justice of England, which Title is not assumable by any Subject. Now, before an English Law is made, ther is mature and mighty long deliberation goes before: for first the business is agitated and canvasd many days in the House of Commons (which repre­sents all the peeple of England) till it comes to the ripeness of a Bill: The Bill being drawn, is read thrice in the House; and ha­ving passd the brunt of all Exception, tis engrossd and transmit­ted to the Lords; and there also tis read thrice, and debated with much deliberation: Then by concurrence of both Houses tis presented to the King, who consults with his Learned Counsel whether ther be any thing therin derogatory to his Preroga­tives: if not, He gives his Royal Assent, and then tis created a Law, and generally binding. Touching the power of the Sword, it is more proper to treat of it in the next Paragraph.

Moreover, the Lex Terrae, the Common Law of England [Page 78] makes the King the Fountain of Honour; nay, without any dis­paragement or offence be it spoken, He can confer Honor upon other Kings, and Souverain Princes, as he is Souverain of the Order of Saint George, wherof ther have bin eight Emperors; five Kings of the French, four of Spain, seven of Portugal, two of the Scots, four of Denmark, three of Naples, one of Poland, and another of Sweden; two Dukes of Urbine, one of Millain, one of Ferrara, one of Savoy, one of Calabria, one of Holland, one of Gueldres; four Princes of Orenge, seven Counts Palatin of the Rhin; two Dukes of Brunswick, two of Holstain, one of Bran­denburgh, and one Duke of Wittenberg, with divers other Forren Princes.

Now, among all Orders purely Military, ther is not any now remaining in the Christian world, either more ancient or hono­rable then the Noble Order of Saint George, wherof the Garter is a Symbole; therfore are they calld Equites periscelidis, Knights of the most Noble Order of the Garter; which Order was first instituted by that Victorious King Edward the third, (who was offerd to be Emperour) Anno 1350. which was threescore yeers wanting one before the Institution of the French Order of S. Mi­chael by Lewis the eleventh; and 229 yeers before the Order of St. Esprit by Henry the third; and full fourscore yeers before the erection of the Order of the Golden Fleece by Philip Duke of Bur­gundy: It is also 209 more ancient then the Order of the Knights of the Elephant, which was devisd by the Kings of Denmark; and much more then that of Amaranta excogitated by Sweden, &c. Now observable it is, that among all these Orders, l'ordre del toi­son d'or, the Order of the Golden Fleece related to the English Wools which were transported to Flanders by our Merchants, wherby all the Provinces adjoyning did so infinitly enrich them­selfs: And this Order of the Golden Fleece, as it is one of the highest Esteem, so it hath most affinity with our Order of St. George in point of Regulation, as also that ther are so few of it. For our Order is accounted far the Nobler, because it hath con­stantly kept it self to the same number of Knights, viz. 26. since the primitive Institution; wheras the French Orders have multi­plied so fast in number of Knights, that one said the Order of the French Knighthoods are now become Collers for every Ass to wear a­bout his neck.

And as this high Order of St. George hath the precedence of all other now worn by any King, in point of Antiquity; so the ground and designe of it was very Noble: For when the first Idea of erecting a new Order of Knighthood entred into the head of the foresaid Heroick King Edward the third, his thoughts reflected upon King Arthur, who indeed was the first founder of Knighthood not only among Christians, but of any other Nation [Page 79] upon earth, As also the first King who gave Royal Arms, His Coat being Azure, nine Crowns Or, marshalld 3. 3. 2. and 1. Af­terwards the Saxon Kings gave Arms; And Edward the Confes­sors Coat was Azure, a Cross patence between four Martelets Or. And as King Arthurs Round Table, which is yet to be seen at Win­chester, had seats for twenty six Knights; so it seems King Ed­ward proportiond his number. Now, the occasion of it was, That he having resolvd upon a War with France for attaining that Crown, which was due unto him by his Mothers side, He conceavd it advantageous to invite and engage to his party such as were of a Martial spirit, And to that end erected a round Ta­ble at Windsore, in imitation of King Arthur, where they were entertaind with Tilts and Tournements, magnificent Feasts, and other Princely ways to unite and encourage them. Philip de Valois, who was in possession of the Crown of France, went a­bout to countermine him by erecting also the like Table in his Court, and so drew many gallant and adventurous spirits that way, and some out of England; so that King Edward not finding this designe answerable to his mind, he fell on ano­ther, such as might prove more adherent and binding unto Him; to which end he establishd this high Order of Chi­valry consisting of twenty six persons of eminent note, wherof He Himself and his Successors Kings of England were to be perpetual Souverains: All of them were to be men of He­roick parts, and such as shold be obligd by Oath and Honour to adhere unto Him upon all occasions; which might be the probablest cause that he made the Garter for a Badg therof to be fastned about the left leg with a Buckle of Gold to be continu­ally worn; therfore are They stild Equites Periscelidis, (as was touchd before) which hath its Etymologie from the Greek word [...], that is, Crura ambiens, girding about the knee; which al [...]udes that those Knights shold be bound in one League and Confederation of love and affection severally one unto another, and all of them in joynt service to the Souverain. Some ther are who are of opinion, that the Garter was given because that in a Battle where King Edward provd Victorious, he had given the word Garter for a Signal: Others in a derogatory way wold ground it upon the Countess of Salisburies Garter falling off from her in a dance, and so taken up by the King: But the Black Book in Winsore (which deserves most faith in this point) gives the first Reason for it. Among other Laws that were enacted in the Chapter when this Order was first raysd, one was, That evry Knight by solemn Oath upon the Evangelists was sworn to defend the Honor and Quarrels, the Rights and Lordship of the Sou­vrain, &c. Such a Sacramental Oath the Knights of the Bath also take, which is, To love their Sovrain above all earthly cretures, [Page 80] and for his right and dignity to live and die, &c. Therfore, I have often stood astonishd at the largeness of the consciences of some Knights of both these Orders, who besides other astringing Oaths, as those of Allegeance, Supremacy, &c. could dispense with them All in the late Rebellion so far, as not only not to adhere to their Sovrain Liege-Lord and King, when his life was sought for by small and great Shots, with other instruments of open hostility and slaughter, but to appeer for, to serve and stick unto the con­trary party all the while: Truly under favor, I wold▪be-loth to ex­change souls with them. We will put a period to this Discours of the ancient Noble Order of St. George with a signal observati­on of Bodin's: Decretum fuit in Collegio Equitum Periscelidis in Anglia ponere stemmata Regis Francorum ante caetera omnia post Principem Or­dinis: It was decreed in the College of the Knights of the Gar­ter in England, to put the Stems of the King of the French before all other except the Prince of the Order. And the reason I con­ceive was, that Philip the second whiles King of England was for­merly put before. But Bodin was herin deceavd, for the Em­perours Arms (wherof ther have bin eight of the Order) go be­fore, and have the precedence.

Out of the premises may be deducd this cleer Conclusion, as a Meridian Truth, that the Common Law of England in all things ayms at the Honour and glory, the power and authority, the Safeness and incolumity of the Sovrain Prince, more then the Laws of any Country: And wheras we had some touches be­fore, how the Common Law, which is peculiar only to England, hath the rationability of the Civil Law, though not so digested to Method, in regard it consists most of Custom, Cases and presidents; we will conclude this Paragraph with some principles wherin they both agree; As, Actori incumbit onus probandi, The proof lies on the Accuser: Nemo oportet esse sapientior legibus, No man ought to think himself wiser then the Laws: Ubi lex non distinguit, ibi non est distinguendum; We must not distinguish where the Law doth not: Accessorium non ducit, sed sequitur suum principale, The Accessory doth not lead but follow the principal: Volenti non fit injuria, No wrong can be done to him who is willing: Agentes & Consentientes pari poena plectun­tur, Actor and consenter are to be punished alike: Apices Iuris non sunt Iura, The punctilios of the Law is no Law: Nemo po­test esse Iudex in propria causa, No man can be Judge in his own cause: Caveat Emptor, Let the Buyer beware: Contraria alle­gans non est audiendus, Who alledgeth contraries is not to be heard: Cujus est dare ejus est disponere, The Giver may dispose of his gift as he pleaseth: Quilibet in Arte sua est credendus, Evry one is to be believed in his own Art: Potestas derivativa non potest esse major primitiva, A Commissioner cannot have [Page 81] greater power then He who gave him the Commission: Dies Dominicus non est Iuridicus, The Lords day is no day of Law: Dormit aliquando Lex, moritur nunquam, The Law may sleep a while, but never die: Dilationes in Lege sunt odiosae, Delays in Law are odious: Facinus quot inquinat aequat, All are principals in a crime: Generale nihil certi implicat, No certitude can be had out of generals: Ignorantia non excusat Legem, Ignorance of the Law doth not excuse the breach of it: Lex non cogit ad impossibilia, The Law doth not tie us to impossibilities: Lex est summa Ratio, The Law is the highest Reason: Lex citius to­lerat privatum damnum quàm publicum malum, The Law tolerats a privat damage rather then a publick: Mala Grammatica non vitiat Chartam, False Latin doth not destroy a Deed: Linea Recta semper praefertur transversali, A right Descent is always preferrd before a Collateral in kinred: Nemo debet his puniri pro uno delicto, No man is to be punishd twice for one offence: Nemo potest plus juris in alium conferre quàm Ipse habet, No man can transfer a greater power to any other, then he hath him­self: Nemo tenetur prodere seipsum, No man is bound to betray himself: Omnia quae movent ad mortem sunt Deo danda, All things which cause death are forfeit to God: Qui non habet in aere, luat in corpore, Where the purse cannot, let the body suffer: Qui peccat ebrius, luat sobrius, Who offends when he is drunk, let him be punishd when he is sober: Qui sentit commodum, sentire debet & onus, Who receive the benefit, ought to feel the burden: Quod semel meum est, ampliùs meum non est, That which was mine, is none of mine: Stat praesumptio donec probetur in contrarium, A presumption stands till the contrary be provd: Ubi non est prin­cipal is ibi non potest esse accessarius, Where ther's no principal ther can be no Accessary: Unumquodque dissolvitur eo ligamine quo ligatur, Evry thing is untyed as it is bound: Par in parem non habet Imperium, Equals cannot command one another: Ne­mo dat quod non habet: No man can give that which he hath not: And this doth hold also in Heraldry; therfore the Knighthoods (with other Honors) that Cromwel was so free to confer, are void in Law, because he was never Knight himself.

By these few Principles, with multitudes more, it appeers that the Common Law hath much affinity with the Civil; wherof ther are as learned Professors in England as any where els.

Whence it may be inferrd, that the King of Great Britain is supplied with more helps for the administration of Justice then any Nation in the world besides. For in regard that England is an Iland having such a great Trade at Sea, and so great dealing with divers other Nations; Having also besides Land-matters both Temporal, Ecclesiastical and Maritime, which are not so pro­per for the Common Law, He allows of the Civil Law answerable [Page 82] to the quality of the Case, which hath bin practised in England beyond the memory of man, or the reach of any Record. And though ther happen oft some Emulations and high Contests be­twixt these two Professions, yet such hath bin the prudence of the Souvrain Prince to keep them both in as equal a Balance as could be, and not to suffer the one to insult or encroach upon the other, but to have the same freedom of study and practice to the universal good of Forreners, as well as of his own Subjects.

And so much concerning the National Law, and Prudential Constitutions of England.

The Tenth and last Paragraph. Touching the greatness of Power, of Military Might and Puissance by Land and Sea, as well Defensive as Offensive, &c. of the King of Great Britain.

THe Duke of Rohan in his Book calld Les Interests des Princes, The Interests of Princes, saith, that England is like a great Animal that cannot die unless he kill himself. He acknowledgeth Her also to be Latroise [...]e Puissance, the third Power of Christen­dom: But by the Arguments that shall be producd in this Pa­ragraph, I believe it will appeer to any discerning and unbiassd. Reader that England, taking her Kingdoms annexd along, with her strength at Sea as well as shore, will be inferior to none.

Ther was a Comparison made long since, That Gallia & Hi­spania sunt quasi lances in Europae libra, & Anglia est lingula sive li­bripendens; That France and Spain were as the Scales of the great Balance of Europe, and that England was the Toung or Beam of the Balance, which keeps it in aequilibrio, in an even counter­poise, that neither side shold be trab [...]ccant. This hath bin often verified, specially in the Raign of Henry the eighth, whose Mot­to was, Cui adhaereo praeest, He to whom I adhere prevails. He wold somtimes make Francis the first to weigh down, somtimes Charles the fifth: And touching the former, He acknowledgd King Henry under God to be the chiefest Deliverer of Him and his Children from his captivity in Spain; And so likewise did Pope Clement, when he was freed from the Castle of St. Angelo, where Charles the Emperour had coopd him up, Therfore was Henry of England calld Liberator Orbis by the whole Confistory at Rome, as he was before Protector of the great Clementine League, And indeed the Arbiter of all Christendom in his time.

Touching the Martial Might of the King of Great Britain, we will first examine that of England, which we must distinguish into Intrinsecal or Terrene, And into Extrinsecal or Maritime. Concerning the first, ther are five Counties alone can put into [Page 83] the Field fourty thousand men, all armd; for so many are listed in the Muster-makers Book as Traind-Band-men, viz. the County of York 12000; Kent 8000; Norfolk, [...] and Devonshire above 6000 apiece; And the rest of the Counties, whereof ther are fourty seven, may have twice as many at least; which come to a hundred and twenty thousand Soldiers e [...]olld, and ready upon all occasions either for general service, or privat in the Counties where they are, for assisting the Sheriff and o­ther Officers in the execution of the Law, in case of any resi­stance; therfore are they calld Posse Comitatu [...]. The power of the County. So that in time of peace England alone hath an hun­dred and twenty thousand Soldiers enrolld, besides those in Ire­land and Scotland: And in time of War, the late bloudy Rebel­lion (bleeding yet in the purses and estates of many thousand poor Cavaliers) hath sufficiently tryed the strength (and wealth) of England: For ther was a computation made at one time of those that were in actual Arms for King and Parlement, and they came to neer upon two hundred thousand fighting men under Commission, wherof ther were about fifty thousand Horse and Dragoons: And I do not remember to have read that in the time of the famous Ligue in France ther were so many, take in strangers and all.

Hence we see that the King of Great Britain may be said to have a constant standing Army in time of peace, of which he hath the sole disposing: For the Sword is his as much as the Sce­pter and the Crown, which are inalienable from his power, and incommunicable to any other but by his Royal Commissi­ons: And indeed tis the Sword that makes all Kings powerful; The Crown and the Scepter are but impotent, and poor unweildy things; they are but naked Indefensible badges without it. Ther's none so filly as to think ther's meant hereby an ordinary single sword, such as evry one carrieth by his side; Or some Ima­ginary thing, or Chymera of a sword; No, tis the publik Polemical Sword of the whole Nation; It may be calld an Aggregative or compound Sword, made up of all the Ammunition, the Ar­tillery, Pikes, Muskets, Helmets, Headpeeces, with all kind of armes small and great; It reacheth to all the Military strengths both by Land and Sea, to all tenable places, as Castles, Forts, Bulwarks, within and about the whole Iland: The Kings of England have had the sole power of this Sword, and the Law gives it them by vertue of their Royal Signory from all times: The very Law doth gird it to their sides; They employ it for re­pelling all Forren force, For vindicating all Forren wrongs and affronts, For suppressing all intestine Tumults and Rebelli­ons, And to protect and secure the weal of the whole Body politick. The peeple of England (represented in Parlement) [Page 84] were never capable to manage this Sword, the Fundamental Constitutions of the Country flatly denieth it them; This Sword is fit only to hang at the Kings side, as the Great Seal hangs at his girdle, being as it were the key of the whole Kingdom: and it is recorded of the Emperour Charlemain, that he carried his Great Seal always embossd upon the pommel of his Sword; which signified that he was ready to make good and maintain what he had Seald.

Now, to let the Peeple have the Sword, is to put it into a Mad­mans hand: And one of the pregnantst Forren examples to prove this, is that notorious Popular insurrection in France calld La Iaquerie de Beauvoisin, when the Peasans and Mechanicks had a designe to wrest it out of the Kings hand, for to depress all the Peers and Noblesse of the Kingdom: and the Rebellion had grown to such a strength, that it was like to take effect, had not the Prelats and Churchmen stuck close to the King and the No­bility: but afterwards, poor hare-braind things, they desired the King upon bended knee to take the Sword again.

The Civilians, (who in all points are not so great frends to Royalty as the Common Law is) assert, That ther are six Praeroga­tives which belong to a Souvrain Prince: 1. Armamenta Army: 2. Potestas Iudicatoria, power of Judicature: 3. Potestas vitae & necis, power of life and death: 4. Bona adespota, masterless goods: 5. Census, the numbring of the people: 6. Monetarum valor, the raising or abating the value of the publick Coyn. Among these Regalias we finde that Arming, which in effect is nothing els but the Kings Sword, is one, and as I said before, tis as proper and peculiar to his Person, and to be soly on his side, as the Crown on his Head, or the Scepter in his hand, and of greater importance then either: For by those two he draws only a vo­luntary love, and an opinion from his Subjects; but by the Sword (as threed thorow a Needles eye) he draws a Reverential Fear and aw. Now, these two mixd with the other, are the best In­gredients of Government. With the Sword he confers Honors, as dubbing of Knights, &c. From this Sword all the chiefest Magistrates have their authority; The Lord Deputy of Ireland, the Lords Mayors of London and York have their Swords by de­putation from Him; and when he entreth any place Corporat, the first thing which is presented unto him is the Sword.

Nor doth the point of this Sword pass thorow the diameter, and reach only to evry corner of his own Dominions, but it extends beyond the Seas, as well to preserve his Subjects from oppression, and denial of Justice, as to vindicat publike wrongs and affronts, to make good the Interests of his Crown, as also to assist his Confederats and friends. And this publick Sword is so insepa­rable from him, that by the Law of the Land he cannot ungird [Page 85] himself of it, or transfer it to any other; for that were to desert the protection of his peeple, which is point blank against his Coro­nation-Oath, and Office. Therfore the very Proposition it self, that the Long Parlement made to his late Majesty to have the Militia passd over unto them, was no less then High Treason: for nothing could be more derogatory to his Kingly Honor, which they had protested so solemnly to maintain by their so many publick Instruments and Oaths.

We proceed now from the Rural Power, or Country-cam­pane of the King of Great Britain, to his Oppidan Strength; And first of his Court at Westminster, where ther are 200 goodly tall men of his Gard; Then he hath a Band of Pensioners, who are Gentlemen of quality and wealth. Moreover, he hath 3000 Foot, and 1000 Horse, for his Life-Gard, besides divers Gari­sons in sundry Towns.

And now we make our entrance into the City of London, that huge Magazin of Men and Might; A City that may well com­pare with any in France or Spain not only for Power, but for any thing els, and in some particulars may haply go beyond them, and deserve a Precedence, as shall be shewd. Nor doth this Power extend only to her own Self-protection, but it may be made use of for any part of the Kingdome upon any Civil Insurrection, or otherwise, as it shall please the Sovrain Prince (and no other whatsoever) to employ it.

The City of London is like a fair Quiver of keen strong Arrows for the King to draw forth upon all occasions, for his own and his peeples preservation: For besides twelve thousand choice gallant Citizens in London and Westminster, with the Hamlets of the Tower, who are enrolld, and always ready, and have their Arms fixd for Honor and Defence, ther may be, as appears by divers Censes and Computations which have bin made, about two hundred thousand choice able men raisd for service if neces­sity requires, and the City will scarce sensibly miss them; nor are Seamen, Mariners and Water-men meant to be of this num­ber.

The Kings of France and Spain, I may well avouch, have not any such Town or City: That which is most capable of com­parison with London is Paris, for which she hath many advanta­ges, for she is a Cité, Ville and Université, she is a City, a Town and an University, as also the chiefest Residence of the French King.

But lets go a little to particulars, and first to the Populousness of both Cities. They say that the Parishes of St. Eustace and St. Innocent which lie about the centre of Paris, have above one hun­dred thousand Communicants in them alone; and that by the last Cense which was made, ther were neer upon a million of [Page 86] humane Souls in City and Suburbs, wherof the sixth part are made up of Strangers and Church-men, which the King cannot make use of upon Military occasions: But look a little forward it will appeer that London hath above a Million of souls.

For largeness and magnitude tis tru, that Paris hath the advan­tage of an Orbicular Figure, which is most capacious of any: But by the judgment of those Mathematicians who have taken a sur­vay of both Cities, if London were cast into a Circle she wold be altogether as big as Paris. Touching publick Buildings, tis tru, that the Louvre is a vast Fabrick, and the like is not found in London; but tis the only Court the French King hath in the Ci­ty, wheras in London ther are four Royal Seats, with two Parks annex'd to them. I hope the Bastille will not offer to compare with the Tower of London, nor the River of Seine with the Thames; much less I believe will Paris offer to make any comparison with London in point of Traffick, and Societies of Noble adventuring Merchants, who trade on both sides of the earth as far as the An­tipodes; And divers Kings have been of their Corporations. Nor will the Provost of Paris I think offer to compare with the Lord Mayor of London, being the prime Man in England upon the de­cease of the King until another be proclaimed. The City of Lon­don hath divers other advantages not only of Paris, but of any o­ther City of Europe take them all together; which for a more me­thodical proceeding we will particularize as they are found in my Londinopolis; which being so proper to this Paragraph, I thought fit to insert here, and being well considered, it will be found that London need not vail to any City under the Sun.

  • 1. For conveniency of Situation, and salubrity of Air.
  • 2. For strictness of Government both Nocturnal and Diur­nal.
  • 3. For the Magnificence of the Chief Magistrates.
  • 4. For Regulation of all Trades Domestik and Forren.
  • 5. For variety of Professions and Artisans.
  • 6. For a greater number of Corporations and Halls.
  • 7. For plenty of all provisions that Air, Earth or Water can afford.
  • 8. For Springs, Aqueducts, and other conveyances of fresh wholsome Waters.
  • 9. For Universality of Trade, and Bravery of the Adventu­rers.
  • 10. For solidity and richness of Native Commodities.
  • 11. For Artillery, Ammunition, Docks, and a number of Military and stout well-arm'd Citizens.
  • 12. For an ancient and glorious large Temple.
  • 13. For an admirable mighty great Bridge.
  • [Page 87]14. For a noble and straight Navigable River.
  • 15. For a cheerful and wholesome green circumjacent Soyle.
  • 16. For Hospitality and Festival publik Meetings of Corpo­rations, and other Societies to increase love, and good intelli­gence between Neighbours.
  • 17. For all sorts of Boats by Water, and number of Coaches by Land for the accommodation of Passengers.
  • 18. For sundry kinds of Reliefs for the Poor and Lame.
  • 19. For various kinds of honest corporal Recreations and Pa­stimes.
  • 20. For the number of Humane Souls.

Tis confessd that many of these conveniences may be found in other Cities, which taken singly may exceed London in some; but take them all together she may vie with the best of them, and run no great hazard.

Concerning the first advantage, which is convenience of si­tuation, and salubrity of Air, the wisdome of the old Britains our Ancestors is to be much commended for the election of the place in point of the benignity of the Hevens, with the temperature and influences therof, wherin London is as happy as any other City under the Skies. Some hold that that City is best situated which resembleth a Camels back, who hath by nature protube­rancies and bunches; so a City shold be seated upon small Hil­locks or rising Grounds: It is just the posture of London, for she is built upon the sides, flanks, and tops of divers small Hillocks lying neer the banks of a great Navigable River, being incompassd about with delightful green Medows and Fields on all sides: She is at so fitting a distance from the Sea, that no Forren Invasion can surprize her but she must have notice ther­of. The quality of her soyle is Gravel and Sand, which is held to be the wholsomst for habitation, and conduceth much to the goodness of the Air, though it useth to be barren: but that bar­renness is remedied by Art and Composts, insomuch that round about the City, within the distance of a mile or two, one may behold two or three thousand milchd Cows a grazing evry day of the week, besides number of other Beasts.

Touching the second advantage, which is a strict and constant cours of Government, ther's no place goes beyond Her, or indeed can equal Her, take night and day together. And wheras in Pa­ris one dare not pass the Pont-Neuf, with any place els, after Ten a clock at night without danger, one may pass through Lon­don-streets as safely as in the day time; ther being Constables and their Watch up and down to secure Passengers: yet they must give good account of their being abroad so late, ther being strict Laws against Noctivagation.

[Page 88]Touching the Magnificence, Gravity, and State of the chief Magistrate, neither the Pretor of Rome, nor Prefect of Milan; neither the Procurators of St. Mark in Venice, or their Podesta's in other Cities; neither the Provost of Paris, or the Mark-grave of Antwerp, or any other Oppidan Magistrate goes beyond the Lord-Mayor and Sheriffs of London, if one go to the variety of their Robes, somtimes Scarlet richly surrd, somtimes Purple, somtimes Violet and Puke. What gallant Shows are therby Water and Land the day that the new Lord-Mayor is sworn! What a huge Feast and Banquet is provided for him!

Touching the Regulation of all sorts of Trade, and Laws for the improvement therof, the City of London hath not her fel­low.

Touching variety of Artisans, London abounds with all sorts. Tis tru, that mingling with Forreners hath much advantagd her herin: But those strangers themselfs confess that the English ha­ving got an Invention, use to improve it and bring it to a greater perfection.

Touching Corporations, Halls, Fraternities, Guilds, and Societies, London hath not any Superiour; witness the twelve great Companies, out of which one is elected yeerly to be Lord Mayor, with threescore several Companies of Citizens besides. And touching all sorts of Opificers, and variety of industrious ways to improve all kinde of Manufactures, and therby gain an honest livelyhood and proportion of Riches, London may be calld (as Luca is in Italy) a Hive of Bees, or a Hill of Ants, which have always been accounted the Emblemes of Industry and Provi­dence.

Touching abundance, and plenty of all kind of Provisions, as Flesh, Fish, Fowl, Fruits, Fuel, variety of Drinks and Wines, with any other Commodity that may conduce to Plesure and Delight as well as to supply Necessity, London may glory to be as well servd as any City under Heven. A knowing Spaniard said, that he thought Eastcheap-shambles alone vended more Flesh then is spent one week with another in all the Court of Spain. Gascon Wines drink better in London then at Bourdeaux: Canary Wines better then at Lancerote: Rhenish Wines better then at Backrag. Nor doth London abound with all things for the Belly alone, but also for the Back, either to keep it warm, or make it gay. What varieties of Woollen Stuffs are found in evry Shop! What rich Broad-Clothes! some being wrought to that height of perfection, that some have been made of Ten pounds a Yard in price. But our unlucky English-Schismatiques pretending to flee for persecution of conscience, have set up their Looms, and shewd the Hollanders the way, to the great detri­ment of their own Country.

[Page 89]Concerning wholsome sweet Springs, and cleer Waters, London may be said to have as good Blood running through her Veins as any other, by those Aqueducts, Conduits, and conveyances of fresh Waters round about to serve for all Uses. What an Her­culean work was that of Sir Hugh Middletons to bring the River of Ware threescore miles by Compasses to run through her streets, and refresh her houses, as also to preserve them from fi­ring! for which ther are divers ingenious useful Engines be­sides.

Concerning Universality of Trade, ther is no City upon the sur­face of the earth goes beyond Her; For ther are no Seas that a­ny of the two and thirty winds blow upon from the Artik to the Antartik Pole, from the Orient to the setting Sun, but London by her Navigations findes them out, and makes rich returns by way of Barter or Emption.

Touching solid and useful Wares that she hath of her own, what a substantial Commodity, and of what high esteem all the world over is her Cloth, her Kersies, and divers kinds of Woollen Ma­nufactures? Adde herunto her Lead and Tin, which she trans­mutes to Forren Gold and Silver.

For Healthful Corporal Recreations, and harmless Pastimes, London may go in the Van to any place that ever I saw: Go and walk in her Fields, you shall see some shooting at long Marks, some at short; some bowling upon cheerful pleasant Greens, some upon Bares and Alleys; some wrastling, some throwing the Bar, some the Stone; some Jumping, some Running; some with their Dogs in Duck-ponds, some at a Bear-baiting, some at the Bull; some Riding upon Naggs, some in Coaches to take the fresh Air; some at Stool-ball, others at Kittle-pins; with variety of other.

For a stately Cathedral Temple, and general Dome of Devoti­on, the time was, and I hope will be yet within a few years, that London did not yeild to any City in this particular; Saint Pauls Church being esteemd by all Nations to be one of the emi­nentst & visiblest Temples, one of the most glorious piles of stones that ever was reard, taking all the Dimensions together, with the conspicuous site thereof, being about the centre of the City, and upon a rising Ground. She hath also this singular property to be founded upon Faith, by having a large Parish-Church of that name supporting her, and directly under her Chancel.

Touching a rare huge Bridge, and Navigable River, London is not inferiour to any other City whatsoever. Concerning the first, what a rich Rent hath it to preserve it self yearly! what a vast Magazin of Corn is ther always in the Bridge-house against a Dearth! (as well as in many other places.) What a num­ber of Officers look to the reparations therof, and are hansomly [Page 90] maintaind therby! Touching the second, viz. The River of Thames, she hath not her peer, if regard be had to the length and straightness of her cours running from West to East, with­out so many Meanders as other Rivers have; Her convenient di­stance from the Sea to prevent all Surprisals; The Amoenity of the Soyle on both Banks; The wholsomness of her water, which makes the best Beer in the world, being so much transported by other Nations, and sold as dear as Wine; The diversity of her Fish, the fatness of her Mudd, &c.

For number of Humane Souls in City and Suburbs, London is nothing inferior to Paris, whose last Cense, as is said before, came to about a Million: But in the year 1636. command be­ing sent to the Lord Mayor to make a scrutiny what number of strangers were in the City, he took occasion therby to make a general Cense; And ther were of Men, Women and Children neer upon seven hundred thousand that livd within the Bars of his Jurisdiction. And this being 27 years ago, tis thought that London hath since more by the third part in all probable conje­cture. Now for Westminster, the Strand, Bedford Berry, St. Mar­tins-lane, Long-acre, Drury-lane, St. Giles of the Field, High Hol­born, with divers other thick-peepled places which are so conti­guous, and make one entire peece with London it self, I say take all these Buildings together, the forenamed number of Seven hundred thousand may well be thought to be double so many. Touching the shape of London, I find nothing to assimilat it unto more properly then to a Lawrel Leaf that is far more long then tis broad, which may be a cause she doth not appeer so populous as Paris, her passengers not encountring so often as they wold if she were of a round Figure. Touching her length, take all Buil­dings that are adjoyning one to another from the utmost point of Westminster to the utmost point beyond the Tower, she may be well thought to be five Miles long, about half so much in latitude, and in Circuit about twelve Italian miles.

To conclude, touching the Defensive and Offensive Power of the City of London in point of Arms of all sorts, of Artillery, Ammunition, Arsenals, and Docks on both sides the River, Her Traind Citizens and expert Firelocks, neither France or Spain hath her equal.

It is recorded that in King Stephens Raign the City of London raisd 60000 Foot, and 20000 Horse: how many more were she able to do now in case of necessity? For to compare her in statu quo nunc to what she was then, were to compare a Giant to a Dwarf in point of proportion and strength. The Record hath it also that Anno 1293. London was able to put out a Fleet of 95 Ships to scowre and secure the Seas from Depredations and Py­rates, &c. which she was often usd to do.

[Page 91]Such an Imperial Chamber, such, such a potent and well appoin­ted City hath the King of Great Britain always at his command: And if some of the Roman Emperours about Fifteen hundred years ago in their Diplomata's or Edicts stild her Augusta, (which was always a name of Magnificence and State) how much more may she deserve that name in the condition she now is arrivd unto!

Thus have we discoursd, though in weak imperfect Expressi­ons, of the Power and Military Might of the King of Great Bri­tain, not including all this while his two Kingdoms of Scotland and Ireland, which being cast into the Balance may make his Power so much more.

Touching his Maritime Power, tis spoken of in another Para­graph going before; wherunto we will add, that the King of Great Britain hath such a Haven that neither France or Spain, or indeed any part of the world can parallel, which is Milford Ha­ven, wherof the most famous ancient Authors, not only Latin but Greek, make most honourable mention, calling it [...], the thousand foorded Haven. One other passage we will adde, which is but fresh, that besides the reducing of the Hollander, the very last year a few of the King of Great Britains Frigats did beat those desperat Pyrats of Barbary into a Peace, wheras neither France or the Dutch could do it: And this year those few English that are in Tanger did also force Guyland the great Morocco Rebel to Articles of Peace.

As I was writing this, me thought I had whisperd in my ear, that the French King hath one kind of Power that transcends any of the King of Great Britains, which is, that he may impose what Taxes he please upon the peeple by his Edicts alone. Tis tru he can, and he may thank the English for that power; for when they had coopd him up in a corner of France, (in Berry) the Vi­ctorious English being Masters of the rest, That Power which be­fore was in the Assembly of the three Estates of laying Impositi­ons, was invested in the King himself pro tempore during the Wars because the three Estates could not assemble: But this Power makes him a King of Slaves rather then of Free Subjects; and if they may be calld Subjects, they are Subjects of an Asinin condi­tion which cannot have any tru manly courage in them, or a competency of wealth to bear it up; which is the cause that though France be a rich and self-sufficient Country, yet some think ther are more Beggers in Her then in all Christendome be­sides. Now, it is a Principle in the Civil Law, That Dominum habere nobiliorem confert ad dignitatem Vassalorum, & nobiliorum habere populum confert ad nobilitatem Principis; To have the no­bler Lord conduceth to the dignity of the Vassal, and to have [Page 92] the nobler Peeple conduceth to the dignity of the Prince. By this Axiome the King of Great Britain is the more Noble, be­cause he is Lord of a free-born wealthy peeple, and not of Slaves and Beggers. Yet it cannot be denied but that it is one of the greatest advantages of power and repute for a King to be Rich, (provided he come not to be so by grinding the faces of his Sub­jects.) The Republik of Venice and the Seat of Genoa carry that high esteem in the world, because the one hath the Tresury of Saint Mark, and the other the Bank of St. George. The Duke of Florence is stild the Grand Duke more then other Dukes who have larger Territories, because he hath always a rich Tresury.

Therfore I will draw towards a conclusion of this Paragraph with this most humble Intimation to the great Council of Eng­land now Prorogued, that at their Re-access they wold please to con­sider; that wheras the fame of being Rich, and to have the Cof­fers of his Crown well ballasted, conduceth so much to the Re­pute of a King, and so by Reflexions upon the whole Nation, As also to make Him redoubtable both abroad and at home; And wheras the contrary fame exposeth him to contempt, Insultings and Pasquils, (as some frisking French Wits have bin lately too busie and bold that way) and likewise our Neighbour Hans who daily offers us such insolencies: which makes me think of an Italian Proverb, which though homely, yet it comes home to this purpose, Cavagliero (ò Principe) senza quatrini, è come un muro sen­za croce da tutti scompisciato; A Cavalier (or Prince) without money, is like a Wall without a Cross for evry one to draw up­on: Therfore I am bold to reiterat the foresaid humble Inti­mation (I will not presume to say Advice, though it may be well calld so) to the Honorable House of Commons when They re­assemble, That in their great Wisedoms they wold have a sense of the present condition in this particular of their King so mira­culously restord unto Us by a pure Act of the Omnipotent: And that wheras the Two Neighbouring Kings have of late yeers en­hancd their Revenues and Incomes far higher then they were for­merly, They wold be pleasd to think it not only agreeable to the Rules of tru Policie, but most necessary for the Honor and safety of the whole Nation, to make the Monarck of Great Britain to correspond and bear up in a hansome proportion this way with either of Them, as He doth in all other things besides.

A Corollary to what hath bin said in this first Section

IN the preceding Paragraphs it appeers by luculent and cleer proofs, how the King of Great Britain
  • Had to his Predecessor the first Christian King that ever was upon earth.
  • He had to his Predecessor the first Christian Emperour (and Empress.)
  • He had to his Predecessor the first Christian Worthy, and the first Erector of Military Knighthood.
  • He had to his Predecessors some of the most victorious Kings that ever were.
  • His Predecessors were the first who freed themselfs from the Roman Yoke both in Temporals at first, and in Spiri­tuals afterwards.
  • It hath appeerd how He is Sovrain of the Noblest Order of Knighthood that any King hath.
  • It hath appeerd that his Ambassadors had the Precedence given Them in divers General Councils.
  • It hath appeerd how the King of Great Britain hath as Free­born and valiant Subjects as any other.
  • It hath appeerd that He hath the most plentiful and hospi­table Court of any other King.
  • That He hath as independent Authority as any other King.
  • It hath appeerd that He hath the stoutest Men of War, The Noblest Haven, The Inaccessiblest Coasts, with the greatest Command and Power at Sea of any other.

Which makes the English Merchants to be so highly respe­cted abroad above other Nations, having more Privileges at the entrance of the Baltik in the Sound, as also in Hamborough and Hol­land, where they have Houses like Palaces provided for them gratis, and free from Excise. In Ligorne, in Constantinople, and the gran Mosco, they are more esteemd then any other Mer­chants: And tis well known how his Subjects the Scots have the privilege of Preemption in the Vintage at Bourdeaux, with divers other Immunities in France above other Nations.

Wherfore if any King may be calld [...], tis the King of Great Britain, to whom that famous Verse of the Father of Po­ets may be applyed:

[...],
A Scepter is given Thee to be Honord by all.

[Page 94]To these particulars we will subjoyn the Reasons that Sir Henry Nevill with the rest of the English Ambassadors sent by Queen Elizabeth in a joynt Legantine Commission to Bullen in France to negotiat with Don Balthasar de Zuniga, and others sent Ambassadors from Philip the second of Spain and the Archduke Albertus; I say, we will insert here the Reasons which the English Ambassadors gave then for prerogative and right of Antecedence, in the contest that happend then with those of Spain, by a Re­monstrance which they sent the said Ambassadors in these words, as tis extracted out of the Record it self.

Illustres & Magnifici Domini,

Perlegimus scriptum quod Illustres & Magnificae personae vestrae ad nos heri miserunt, & Illa capita quae substitutionis potestatem, & sigilli vigorem attingunt statuimus non ulteriùs prosequi, confidentes de sinceritate serenissimi Domini Archiducis, & acquiescentes integritate Illustrium & Magnificarum vestrarum personarum quae nobis pollicen­tur bonam fidem in hoc quod agitur negotio summo cum candore & hu­manitate conjunctum. Clausulam vero quam in serenissimi Archiducis Commissione omissam esse superiùs demonstravimus, quàm primùm com­modum (que) videbitur quod polltcitae sunt vestrae illustres & magnificae per­sonae petimus inserendum.

Quod verò illustres & magnificae vestrae personae asserunt insolitum & novum videri quod proposuimus de Praerogativa & Praecedentiae dig­nitate serenissimae Reginae Dominae nostrae semper debita, non possumus dissimulare, nos valde mirari illud viris vestrae conditionis, eruditio­nis & judicii novum esse & insolitum, quod universo orbi terra­rum notum est, & celebratissimum. Res enim est exploratissima quod Regio Hispanica cum distributa fuerit in diversa Regna, & devoluta in manus Regis Ferdinandi & Reginae Isabellae, Regum (que) Granatae insuper ei adjunctum, unà cum caeteris partibus Indiarum Occidentalium orta est contentio speciosè magis quàm solidè recte (que) funda­ta de Praecedendi dignitate cum Regno Anglorum tempore quo Papatum occupavit▪ Alexander ejus nomini sextus natione Hispanus, quae per­ducta ad tempora Iulii secundi. Volatarranus Author imprimis bonus, Historiographus Italus nullo privato beneficio Angliae obstrictus, qui (que) eodem tempore Romae vixit, ea de causa quemadmodum Res actae, ge­stae (que) fuerunt probè potuit intelligere, de hac Re ita refert. Inter Orato­res Henrici septimi Regis Angliae & Hispaniae Regis inter sacra se­dendo orta est contentio quae etiam sub Alexandrio caeperat. Iulius Locum honoratissimum Anglis pro tempore adjudicavit, quod quidem Ius, & praerogativam Regis Angliae possidentes tenuerunt us (que) ad tempora Ca­roli quinti Imperatoris qui licet ratione Caesareae Majestatis supremam sedem dignitatis inter▪ Principes [...], Illud tamen privilegium ad posteros suos in praejudicium aliorum Principum transmittere non po­tuit. Ideó (que) post obitum ejus quaestio illa Praecedentiae ad eosdem ter­minos [Page 95] unde ante digresserat reversa est. Cum igitur Reges Angliae semper tenuerunt priorem, & augustiorem sedem prae singulis illis Re­gibus priusquàm Regna eorum in unum reducta fuerint, reductis (que) in u­num inde (que) ea de requaestione motâ jus suum ex sententia Papae retinue­rint de quo nullo unquam tempore aut occasione cesserunt: Extra contro­versiam igitur putamus illud de Iure pertinere ad Coronam Angliae, ut­cun (que) propagata & amplifica sunt Territoria & Dominia Regni Hispa­niae quod recta rerum aestimatione nihil valet aut valere debet inter Christianos Principes ad hanc Praecedentiae quaestionem: Alioqui plurimi Reges & Principes assumerent sibi Praecedentiam in multos alios Princi­pes quibus jam & liberè & libenter concedunt.

Amplius de haec praesenti controversia de Praecedentiae dignitate hoc ipso tempore aliud est quod se non indignè offert judici is vestris exami­nandum, nempe quodunus è nobis quem serenissima Regina Domina nostra ad hunc tractatum pacis concludendum elegit, Legatus ejus est qui quotidie residet apud Christianissimum, quam dignitatem unà cum omni­bus Praerogativis quae eam comitantur retinet quoad in Regno Galliae commoratur. Primus vero è vobis licet sit Legatus Catholici Regis a­pud serenissimum Archiducem cùm jam sit extra territorium Archidu­cis, qualitatem eam, dignitatem (que) exui: censemus quo (que) nostrum in quo multiplicata ista dignitas elucet, & dominatur Iure praeferendum uni­cui (que) qui singulari & nudo titulo deputati scilicet ad tractatum pacis inductus prodit. Vobis igitur si placeat quaestio ista alto silentio prae­termittatur, haec (que) praerogativa de qua agitur maneat habitet (que) in sere­nissima Regina Domina nostra ad quam Iure spectat, pertinetque. Ita alacrioribus animis ad conventum, colloquium (que) cujus causà huc acces­simus feremur. Ista omnia pro prudentia & moderatione vestrarum il­lustrium & magnificarum dominationum petimus amicè & candidè ac­cipi, ut quae profecta sunt ab observantiis & religione officii nostri, non à studio tempus consumendi aut contentionis excitandae. Datum Bolo­niae 26 Maii, stylo veteri 1600.

Renderd thus in English.

Illustrious and Magnificent Lords,

‘We have read through the Writing which your illustrious and magnificent Persons sent us yesterday; and touching those heads which appertain to the power of your substituti­tion, and the vigor of the Seal, we have resolvd not to prose­cut further, confiding in the sincerity of the most serene the Lord Archduke, and acquiescing in the integrity of your il­lustrious and magnificent Persons, which doth promise us a good faith in the business we are to agitat with the greatest candor and humanity that may be. And touching the Clause we demonstrated before, we desire it may be inserted as soon and as conveniently it may be, as your illustrious and magni­ficent Persons have promised.’

[Page 96] ‘And wheras your illustrious and magnificent Persons assert, that it is unusuall and new what we proposd concerning the Prerogative and dignity of Precedence due always to the most serene Queen our Mistress, we cannot dissemble, but we much wonder that that shold seem new and unusal to men of your condition, learning and judgment, which is so well known, and most celebrous to all the world. For it is a most explored truth, That the Region of Spain distributed to divers Kingdoms, when it was devolvd to the hands of King Ferdinand and Isabella, wherunto the Kingdome of Granada was adjoyned, and the West-Indies, a Contention did arise more speciously then solid­ly and rightly grounded, touching the dignity of Precedence with the King of England at that time, when Alexander the sixth, who was a Spaniard born, held the Papacy, which con­tinued to the time of Iulius the second: and Volaterranus a speci­al good Author, and an Italian Historiographer, being not engagd to England for any privat benefit, and one that was well capable to know how matters passd, and were transacted, doth relate that betwixt the Ambassadors of Henry the seventh King of England, and the Ambassador of Spain, a contention did arise about Precedence of session in the Church, and Iulius adjudgd the most honourable place to the English; which Right and Prerogative the Kings of England possessd until the time of the Emperour Charles the fifth, who in regard of Caesa­rean Majesty, had the supreme place among all Princes. But he could not transmit that privilege to his posterity, to the pre­judice of other Princes: Therfore after his decease, that que­stion of Precedence returnd to those terms whence it had for­merly digressd. Since therfore the Kings of England always held priority of place and session of those several Kings before their Kingdomes were reducd to one, a question being movd therabouts, they have retaind their Right by the Popes sen­tence, and never yeilded it upon occasion. Therfore without controversie we think that Right to appertain still to the Crown of England notwithstanding that the Territories and Dominions of the Kingdome of Spain be propagated and am­plified, which in the right estimation of things prevails not, or ought to prevail twixt Christian Princes touching this que­stion; For then other Kings and Princes would assume a right of Precedence above others, to whom now they grant it, ever and anon, if their Dominions increase.’

‘Moreover, touching this present controversie about Prece­dence, ther is another thing which doth not unworthily offer it self to be examined by your Judgements, which is, That one of Us which the most serene Queen our Mistress hath cho­sen her Ambassador to conclude this Treaty of Peace, is one [Page 97] who daily resides in that quality in the Court of the most Christian King; which Dignity with all Prerogatives he re­tains as long as he sojourns in France. But the first of you, al­though he be Ambassador to the Catholick King with the most serene Archduke, and being out of the Dominions ther­of, he puts off that quality and dignity. We think also that our Ambassador in whom this Dignity is multiplyed, and shines more, ought by right to be preferred before any that is appointed by a single and bare title onely for this great Trea­ty.’

‘Therfore if you please, let this Question be pretermitted with deep silence, and let this Prerogative remain, and dwell in the most serene Queen our Mistress, to whom it justly be­longs and appertains; so we shall more cheerfully apyly our selfs to the business for which we are come. All this we de­sire may be candidly and frendly accepted according to the prudence and moderation of your illustrious and magnificent Lordships, as proceeding from the Observances, and Religion of our Office, not with any dessein to consume time, or raise contentions. Bullen 26 Maii, 1600.’

Henry Nevil,
Iohn Harbert, &c.

The Spanish Ambassadors made an answer herunto, which we reserve for the third Section, wherin the Arguments of Spain for Precedence are set down, wherof one of the strongest he urgeth is the Multiplication and encrease of Dominions, which according to Besoldus and Cassaneus, with other great Civilian Jurists, is no Argument at all, in regard it doth not hold among ordinary Nobility. As for example: He of Arundel is first Earl in England; He of Angus in Scotland; And He of Kildare in Ireland, by the Laws of Heraldry and Hereditary Right: Put case that some other of their fellow Earls in either Kingdome shold grow richer, and have more Mannors, Possessions and Lordships, yet they will not offer to take place or precedence; so the Argument may hold A minori ad majus: For if it be so a­mong Noble-men, much more shold this Rule have validity a­mong Souvrain Princes.

I will go on with a passage that happend in Paris a little above twenty years since. Hugo Grotius residing at Paris in quality of Ambassador for the Crown of Sweden, attempted to make his Coaches go before those of the Earl of Leicester, pretending a right of Precedence, because the King of Sweden whom he repre­sented, was King of the ancient Goths and Vandals, &c. which was, under favor, but a feeble Argument, For ther were Kings [Page 98] of Great Britain thousands of years before the Goths or Vandals were scarce known to the Christian world; nor do any stories make mention of them until a little after the declinings of the Roman Empire, about the year 350 from the Incarnation, nor came they to be Christians till a long time after; And it is the Position of Grotius himself in his Book de Iure Belli, Inter Reges qu [...] primo Christianismum professi sunt praecedunt, Who first professd Christianity ought to precede. Moreover, the King of Den­mark entitles himself King of the Goths and Vandals as well. But my Lord of Leicester carried himself so like himself, that our Swedish Ambassador was put behind with a Disgrace somewhat answerable to his Presumption, and to the explosion of the Spe­ctators.

Now, Let the prudent and unpassionat Reader weigh with leasure the foregoing Particulars, and reserve his Judgement till he hath run through the Reasons and Arguments of the o­ther two Kings in order to a Precedency.

Tis time now to cross over to France, and produce the Argu­ments of that King, faithfully extracted out of the most receavd and celebrated Authors who assert his Right to sit next the Empe­rour upon all occasions, As Cassanaeus, Ferhaut, Besoldus, Carolus de Grasseliis, Hierome Bignon, Pierre Matthieu, &c.

And let this be a close to the First Section.
[figure]

[Page 99] The second Section, Consisting of the Reasons wherby the French King pretends and claims Priority of Place, and Proximity of Session next the Emperour at all So­lemn Meetings, and in all publik Transactions of State, &c.

Which Reasons, In regard they lie confusd and scatterd in other Authors, we will reduce to Ten Heads or Arguments, wherof the first shall be drawn
  • 1. A Nobilitate Regni, from the Nobleness of the Kingdome.
  • 2. The second A Nobilitate Regionis, from the No­bleness of the Country.
  • 3. The third A Noblitate Regiminis, from the No­bleness of the Government.
  • 4. The fourth A Religione, & Nobilitate Ecclesiae, from Religion, and the Nobleness of the Church.
  • 5. The fifth A Nobilitate Gentis, & multitudine Subditorum, from the Nobleness of the Nation, and multitude of Subjects.
  • 6. The sixth A plenitudine Regiae Potestatis, from the absolutness of Regal Authority.
  • 7. The seventh A Potentia ipsius Regni, from the Power of the Kingdome it self.
  • 8. The eighth Ab opulentia ipsius Regni, from the Riches thereof.
  • 9. The ninth A Fortitudine & Rebus in Bello gestis, from Valour and Exploits done in the War.
  • [Page 100]10. The tenth and last Argument shall be drawn ab Exemplo & Antiquitate, from Examples and Anti­quities.

Of the first Argument, A Nobilitate Regni, from the Nobleness of the Kingdome.

THer is a speech drawing neer to the nature of a Proverb, Great Britain for an Iland, France for a Kingdome, Milan for a Duchy, and Flanders for a County or Earldome, are preferrable before all other; They are [...] in their kind: this shews the supereminence of the Kingdome of France. Ther is also a signal saying of the Emperour Maximilian the first, who being in some Critical Discourses with his Lords about the Dominions of Europe, broke out into this high Encomium of France, That if it could stand with the Order of Nature and the Plesure of the Almigh­ty that any mortal Man were capable to be a God of the Elementary world, and that I were He, I would so make my last Will and Testa­ment in the disposing of my Estate, That my eldest Son shold be God after me, but my second shold be King of France. This saying or excess of speech must be interpreted with a sane sense, for the Emperour meant nothing els hereby but to intimate his opinion touching that potent and noble Kingdom: which Kingdom hath continued an Heredetary successive Monarchy neer upon twelve hundred yeers by three Races of Kings, wherof Lewis the four­teenth now regnant is the sixty fifth Monark.

Now, whosoever will behold that noble Kingdome, will finde that no other stands so commodious and strong by the po­sition of Nature her self. It is situated in the centre of Europe, having Westward the Island of Great Britain; Eastward, Italy and Swisserland, with other Regions; it hath Southward the King­dome of Spain; and Northward the great Continent of Germany high and low: And it is notably fenced against all these by a special Providence; Against the First, it hath a huge Salt Ditch, the Sea it self; against the Second it hath the stupendious Alpian Hills; against the Third it hath the Pyrenean Mountains cast up as Trenches by Nature her self for the defence of France; against the Fourth she hath strong fortified Towns, Castles and Rivers: The Ocean on the one side, and the Mediterranean on the other do wash her Skirts, and mightily invite Trade. And that which adds also much to the advantage of her situation, is, that she lieth accessible and open to all Mankind for Commerce and Negotiation by Sea and Land. Moreover, being seated so [Page 101] in the midst, she is fittest to be Arbitratrix, and to give Law to the rest of Christendome, as being properly seated to divide or unite, to admit or hinder the Forces of Europe. She stands also in an advantagious posture to reach her hand to her Frends in point of Auxiliary Assistance, or heave her hand against the Enemy. She hath divers Provinces, the Governors wherof are equal to Viceroys: And for her Nobles, they are without number; for she can horse about 50000 Gentlemen for the Wars. Adde herunto that she hath a mighty advantage to be of a round Orbi­cular shape, which makes all parts lie neerer for the assisting each other in case of necessity.

Ther is one other quality that makes for the Nobleness of France, which is, though he be Turk or Tartar, Moore or Egyp­tian, or of any Nation, if he be in quality of a Captif or Slave, as soon as he treads upon French ground he is eo instante frank and free, and as it were manumitted of the tie of slavery: for as Bo­din hath it, it is a Principle in France, Servi peregrini ut primum Galliae fines penetraverint liberi sunto; Let stranger-slaves as soon as they come within the borders of France be free. Among other, let this example serve: A Merchant came to Tholouse and brought with him a Slave whom he had bought in Spain; The Slave being told of the Laws and Privileges of France, came and told his Ma­ster, Sir, I have had relation to you hitherto as a Slave and Bond­man, but now by the Laws of this Noble Country I am a Free­man; yet I am contented to serve you still, but as a Free Atten­dant. The like happend at the Siege of Mets, where a Slave had played the Fugitive, and ran away with his Master Don Luysd' Avila's horse; Don Luys sent a Trumpeter to the Duke of Guyse for his Man and his Horse; The Duke understanding that his Horse was sold, causd the Money to be sent the Spaniard, but for the Man he sent him word, That he was upon French ground, therfore was Free by the custome of the Country.

In fine, France is so Noble a Region, that as the Sun shines among the Stars in the Firmament, so France shines among the rest of Kingdomes.

The second Argument, A Nobilitate Regionis, from the Nobleness of the Country.

VVE proceed now from the Nobleness of the Kingdome, to the Fertility and Riches of the Country of France, as also to the temperature and healthfulness of the Clime or Climes thereof; for France participats of the nature of divers Climes: Normandy, specially la Basse Normandy, partakes of the Clime of her next Transmarin Neighbour Great Britain: Picardy [Page 102] and Champagne of that of Germany; Provence and the Countries towards the Alps, partakes of the Climat of Italy; Aquitania and Languedoc being walld Southward by the Pyrenean Hills, have much of the Climat of Spain; And the Ile of France wherin Pa­ris is built, and the Country therabouts, hath a particular Clime of its own. These varieties of Climes make the Coun­try the more fruitful for universality of Wealth and Plenty. Nor is France onely a fat Country and full of marrow, but she hath as much Delightfulness as Fecundity, as much real Plesure as outward Bewty: Ther is no Soyl under the Sun where ther is more Agriculture for Bread, which is the staff of Mans Life; In­somuch that she may be calld the Granary of Ceres, and she may be calld as well one of Bacchus his chief Cellars, for a world of Vineyards wherwith the Country is coverd, with innumerable sorts of fruits; insomuch that the character which Salvianus gives of Aquitania may extend to the whole Country, when he elegantly saith, Illic omnis admodum Regio aut intertexta est Vine is, aut florulenta pratis, aut irrigata fontibus, aut interfusa fluminibus, aut distincta culturis, aut consita pomis, aut amoenata lucis, aut cri­nita messibus, ut verè possessores Illius Terrae non tam soli istius portio­nem quàm Paradisi imaginem possidere videantur: There evry place is either interwoven with Vines, or flowrd with Medows, or set with Orchards, or meerd by Corn-fields, or peepled with Trees and Woods, or refreshd with Fountains, or enchanell'd with Rivers, or periwiggd with all sorts of Grain; Insomuch that the Inhabitants may be said to possess a part of Paradise ra­ther then a portion of the common earth.

Now, among all these, the four Staple Commodities of France may be said to be Corn, Wine, Hemp and Salt, which Bo­terus calls the four Loadstones of France: For as the Loadstone (wherof the Blew Ethiopian is the best) hath an attractive Virtue to draw unto them Iron and Steel in a mysterious manner, so the foresaid four Commodities have a Magnetical Virtue to draw into France the Gold and Silver of all Nations. Concerning the French Corn, it is reputed the best of all other; Pliny, one of Natures principal Secretaries, hath left upon record that the Gallic Corn is nitidissimi grani, & plus panis reddere quàm far aliud, It is of a neat grain, and yeelds more bread then other wheat. The Spaniard and others might starve were they not su­staind by French Corn, yet she vents but her superfluities, and transmutes them to Indian Gold: for such is the scarcity of Spain, that having not bread enough of her own for the hundredth Child she produceth, whosoever brings thither a Carga­zon of Corn, may make his return for it in Gold or Silver, and carry it openly in the palm of his hand without fear of sei­zure.

[Page 103]Touching the French Wines, it may be said they need no Bush: what vast proportions are carried away by all the North­west Nations? Bodin speaks of one Merchant in Cambray which bought at one Vintage 33000 Barrels; and tis worth the obser­vation what a world of variety of Wines grow up and down, for one can scarce go twenty miles but ther is still a differing sort of Grape: In some places in Burgundy and Champagne ther are Wine-vessels as big as some houses in height, not inferior to those vast Vessels of Heidelberg, Tubinga, and Groninghen, (as the ingenious Lansius hath it.)

Touching Hemp and Flax, the third Staple Commodity of France, what mighty rich Procedes come thereof! For though it be a despicable Vegetal in sight, and unsavory in the handling, yet it is of such virtue that it can remove Rome to Hercules Pillars, Egypt to Italy, the East and West Indies into England; a Vegetal that can controul Eolus, and overmaster Neptune himself, I mean the impetuous Whirlwinds of the one, and the tumbling Waves of the other. Now, where doth this most useful Commodity grow more plentiful then in France? Nor doth she hereby fur­nish her Neighbors far and neer only with Sayls for their ships, but with shirts for their backs, sheets for their beds, and napery for their tables.

Touching the last great Staple Commodity of France, which is Salt; tis so savoury in the Kings Coffers, that he draws twenty Millions of Livres evry year from the Gabel of it: besides that incredible proportion which is spent in France it self, what Millions of Mesures are laden out for other Countries! Spain also hath this Commodity to a superfluity, but her Salt is more corroding and acrimonious then the French; Therfore when the Emperour Charles the fifth (as Lansius relates) had put out a Placart prohibiting that no French Salt shold be brought into the Netherlands, the Country was like to mutiny for that tart Pro­clamation, because the Spanish Salt which was permitted only to be imported, was not so sweet and vigorous as the French; spe­cially as that of Rochel, wherwith if Flesh be salted, and a Ship victualld with it to the furthest part of the East-Indies, it will eat as sweet at the return of the Ship as it did at first, as tis found by the frequent experience of our Navigators.

Concerning the Air and Clime of France, it is the most cheer­ful and temperat of any other under the Canopy of Heven, which makes the inhabitants therof so spritful and debonnaire: Tis rare to find a French-Woman melancholy, which was the ground of the Proverb, To make a compleat Wife, let her be English to the Neck; From the Navil to the Knee Dutch; From the Knee downward Spanish; But from the Neck to the Navil French, which relates to the Heart, and to the merry disposition [Page 104] therof. Nor are the French-women spriteful and merry most of any, but they are also wise and judicious: for Cassanaeus re­lates in his Catalogo Gloriae Mundi, that in the famous old League which was struck twixt Hannibal and the Gaules, it was capitu­lated that if any Gaule was wrongd by a Carthaginian, a Cartha­ginian Magistrat shold be his Judge; but if any Carthaginian shold be wrong'd by a Gaule, Gallic Women shold be Judges therof.

I will conclude this Argument with the quaint Verses of Ba­ptista Mantuanus an Italian:

Ignea Mens Gallis, & Lactea corpora, nomen
A candore datum populis, Muliebra tingit
Ora color Tyrius, Paphium meditata colorem
Ex geminis fecit Natura coloribus unum:
Laeti, alacres, lusu, choreis, & carmine gaudent;
In Venerem proni, proni in Convivia, proni
Ante Dapes adsacra Deum servire, j [...]gum (que)
Ferre negant, fugiunt figmenta, & hypocrisin, Ore
Liberi, & ingenuus mos est, Tetricos (que) perosi, &c.

The third Argument, A Nobilitate Regiminis, from the Nobleness of Goverment.

THe form of Goverment in the Kingdome of France, is part­ly Civil, partly Polemical; It is a mixt Goverment between Peace and War, composd of Military Discipline as well as of Ci­vil Justice, in regard that France having so many open Frontires and powerful Neighbours by Land, they cannot as other Countries joyn Peace and Security together.

Touching their Martial Goverment tis very exact, ther are di­vers Regiments of Horse and Foot in perpetual pay, being in­rolld, and always ready for any occasion of Service. Moreover, in all the Provinces and places of strength, ther are Governors and Garisons dispersd up and down, which is very advantagious for the preferment of the Gentry. Now, the Governors are so cautiously disposd of by the King, that not any of them hath means to betray or deliver up a Province into the Enemies hands, the commands therof being so divided: For though the Governor commands the Country in general, and commonly the chief Town, yet ther is a Lieutenant that holds also by Patent immediatly from the King, and not from the Governor, and be­twixt these two ther are some emulations and umbrages ever and anon. Then most part of their Towns, Castles and Fortresses have particular Governors not subordinat to the Governor of [Page 105] the Province, but deriving their power expresly from the King; so that in many places the Town hath one Governor, and the Ca­stle another; Indeed the Country of Provence only was usd to have a Privilege, that Her Governor held it without a Lieutenant.

The Noblesse or Gentry in France are the sole body which par­ticipat in some fort with the Prerogatives of the Crown; for from it they receave Privileges above other men, and a kind of limited Regality upon their Tenants, besides real Supplies to their Estates by divers Employments, Pensions, and exemption from Tallies upon their own Demeans and Lands as long as they manure them by their own servants: but what Lands they let out to Tenants is presently Talliable, which causeth propor­tionable abatements in the Rent; and in compensation for this, They onely owe the King the service of the Ban and Arriereban, which is to serve him or his General three months within the Land at their own cost. Now as in time of War the Noblesse un­dergo most part of the danger, so is their power then more pe­remptory above the rest of their fellow-subjects; wheras in time of Peace the King is ready to countenance inferiour persons a­gainst them, and is contented to see them wast one another by contention in Law, or otherwise, for fear they grow too rich, Be­cause it is a principle of State in France, That as the Noblesse use to do him the best service, so, They only misapplyed can do him most harm. Now, the ancient French Gentry was much diminished in the Croisades, or Wars of the Holy Land, because that to enable them for the service, divers of them did hipotheque or morgage their Fiefs and Lands to the Church, which are not redeemd to this day: Insomuch that it is thought by sundry Computations which have bin made, that the Gallican Church possesseth the third part of the fattest Fiefs in France. Now, upon the foresaid diminution, the French Gentry have been repaird and made up since from time to time of Advocats, Financiers, and Mer­chants, wherof a great many by the Kings favor are daily en­nobled.

Such a gallant Goverment France hath for the common Inco­lumity and publik defence of the Country, and for the employ­ment of the Gentry who are more numerous there then in any Kingdome els; wherby the tru Rules of Policy are observd that shold be in a Monarchy, which are For the King to command, The Nobles to execut, and The Peeple to obey; and indeed the Peeple shold know nothing els but how to obey.

Now, one of the prime Principles in France is to keep the common Peeple under a perfect subjection, so that they may not be able to do any hurt. And if they are kept poor hereby, let them thank themselfs; for if they were pamperd with wealth, They wold be ever and anon kicking at Goverment: for we [Page 106] know ther is not a more instable hair-braind Monster in the world then the Common Peeple, as England of late yeers hath had such woful experience.

Touching the Civil Goverment of France, and administration of Justice, it is of that high esteem that divers Forren Princes have referrd their Causes to be determind to the Court of Par­lement in Paris, as a Consistory of high Reason and Integrity. It stands upon record how the Emperour Frederik the second re­ferrd the controversies betwixt him and Pope Innocent the fourth touching the Kingdome of Naples to the decision of this Court, En dernier ressort, to pass a Definitif unappealable Judgement. The Count Namurs in a Difference twixt him and Charles de Va­lois, did cast himself upon the verdict of this Court: Philip Prince of Tarentum overcame the Duke of Burgundy in this Court touching the Expences he was at in recovering the Greek Empire: The Dukes of Lorain have in divers things stood to the Arbitra­ment and Justice of this Court: They of Cambray when they were a Free Peeple have, been willing to be tryed by this Court: The Confederacy also of the Kingdome of Castile and Portugal was confirmd by this Court. Now, the reason why this Court gains such a high Repute, is, That none are admitted to sit in that Tribunal but persons of known Integrity, Erudition and Gallantry; which made Henry the second, as Lansius hath it, when by the importunity of a great Princess he had recommen­ded one to sit there, and being a person but of shallow parts, and so rejected, the King said merrily, Ie pensois que parmy tant de Ginets un As [...]e pourroit bien passer; I thought that among so many Ginets one Ass might have passd well enough.

Besides this of Paris, ther are divers other Courts of Parlement (and Praesidial Seats) dispersd up and down the Country in such a convenient distance, that the Client may not be put to make long Journies for Justice, and that the Poor be not oppressd by the Rich for want of means to make such long Journies wherby they suffer the suit to fall, as many use to do in England in the re­motest places from London for want of such Courts.

I will conclude also this third Argument with some choice Verses of Ludovicus Bologninus a celebrated Civilian:

Francorum Reges sacro sub nomine nati
Consilio semper valuerunt, semper & Armis,
Sancta (que) fautores Bonitatis Iura tenentes
Appellat Romana suos Ecclesia gnatos,
Et Primogenitos tali sunt nomine digni,
His Deus Imperium dedit, & sua Iura tuetur,
Unguntur, sancti fiunt quicun (que) creantur.

The fourth Argument, A Religione, & Nobilitate Ecclesiae, from Religion, and Nobleness of the Church.

SOme Authors affirm, that when our Saviour sufferd upon the Cross, He lookd towards France; whence they infer, that it was a blessed Omen that Christian Religion shold florish most in that Kingdome. Moreover, it is a rare, and indeed an un­parallelld thing, that ther was in France before the passion of our Saviour a Church, viz. Ecclesia Carnotensis, as it remains up­on good record, which was dedicated Virgini Pariturae, to the Virgin that shold bear; as we read ther was in Greece an Altar erected [...], To the unknown God. This made the Empe­rour Iulius Caesar, who had felt the pulse of that peeple more then any other, to give this Encomium of them in his Commen­taries, Natura est omnium Gallorum admodum dedita Religioni, Tis the nature of all the Gauls to be much addicted to Reli­gion.

As in the dark times of Paganism they were observd to be so devout, so since the glorious Light of Christianity did shine up­on the Flower de Luces, the French Nation hath bin found to be transported with an extraordinary zeal to Religion. And this Heavenly Light began to shine and shoot its Rays betimes: for we read that Iraeneus one of the first Primitive Fathers was Bi­shop of Lions, and he was Disciple to Polycarpus, and Polycarpus was Disciple to St. Iohn the Evangelist, by whom he was sent from Asia among the Gaules for the plantation and propagation of Christian Faith, as St. Hierome relates. St. Hilarius who was another Father of the Primitive Church, was also Bishop of the Picts in France, where he composd his excellent Works which are partly Expository, partly Controversial, though ther occur often some African barbarous Latin words in them, as disfrocite for degenerate, Zabulus for diabolus, &c.

What a multitude of Hevenly Martyrs hath France had! for in all the ten Persecutions ther were some of them signd still their Faith with their bloud. In the Emperour Valerians time ther were famons French Martyrs, as Florentius Bishop of Vienna, Pontius Cassius Victorinus, Liminius, Anatolianus, with others whom Gregory Turonensis mentions, and whose names are enrolld in the Catalog of Saints to all posterity. And this was a little before the unluckly Novatian Heresie crept into France, and infected di­vers other Countries.

Nay, to go higher up, and to the very source of Christianity, ther are some Authors who avouch that St. Paul was in France, [Page 108] and that the chief Church in Vienna was built by him, as this ancient Verse there engraven shews:

Paulus praeco Crucis tibi dat primordia Lucis.

Ther be other Authors who affirm that St. Peter also was in France; And that ther landed at one time in Marseilles Lazarus, Mary Magdalen, Martha and Marcella, as it is recorded in a Manu­script of the English History in the Vatican wherof Baronius makes mention; And about that time Ioseph of Arimathea, that Noble Decurion, passd through France into Britain with the fore­said Marcella, who was she that is mentiond in the Gospel, who being divinely inspird, cryed out with a loud voice when Christ was preaching, Happy is the womb that brought Thee forth, and the paps that gave Thee suck.

Spencaeus also makes mention that St. Luke was in France; As also Savinianus one of the 72 Disciples, and Martialis another of them, who some do affirm to be He who sold the five Barly Loaves and the two Fishes wherwith our Saviour fed five thou­sand.

And if the Holy Reliques of blessed Saints may adde to the Nobleness of a Country, the Churches of France are full of them; Reperies in Francia (as Cassanaeus relates) omnes Christi Exuvias, quippe praeputium, Inconsutilem togam, Spineum diadema, Crucem, Cla­vos, Spongiam, Lanciae cuspidem, & cum qua sepultus est sindonem. You will find in France all the Exuvias or Spoiles of Christ, his praeputium, his seamless coat, his Cross, the Nayls, the Sponge, the point of the Spear, and the Winding-sheet wherin he was buried. Cassanaeus goes further, and says, that in Burgundy the body of Lazarus is buried, as also Mary Magdalens ashes are kept in a noble Chest, and likewise those of Martha, Martialis, and of the three Maries. Adde herunto the most precious head of Iohn Baptist, and the finger wherwith he pointed at the im­maculat Lamb of God. The eleven thousand Virgins are yet kept in France; And likewise the reliques of St. Denis, Martin, Cosma, Damianus, Sebastian, with other Christian Hero's are to be found in France; As Claudius and Edmundus, whose bodies, bones and flesh are to be seen to this day, and are frequently visited by Pilgrims. Ther are also to be seen the three Twins, St. Geneveva, St. German, St. Hilary, with sundry others. I must not omit the Body of St. Quintinus a great Martyr, who hath a Town of his name to this day, which formerly was calld Samarobrina from the River Samoria; which Martyr after many persecutions and punishments under Dioclesian and Maximinianus was at last be­headed; his body and head were thrown into the River Samoria, where it lay many years, until a Roman Matron calld Eusebia [Page 109] being warnd by an Angel came to search for the body, which being found, it immediatly cur'd her sore eyes; and so she put the body and head under ground, wheron since a mighty San­ctuary was erected bearing his name, and calld St. Quintin: 300 years after, in the raign of King Dagobert, his body was taken out of the earth and put in a gold Chest, where it remains to this day, and wherunto a great confluence of Pilgrims do fre­quently resort by reason of the great miracles that he hath wrought in point of health to many thousands; all which par­ticulars Cassanaeus relates.

Touching the Nobleness of the French Fabriques erected and consecrated for the worship and service of God Almighty, as Basilicas, Temples, Churches, Sanctuaries, and other Domes of Devotion, the whole earth hath not fairer or more magnificent; as also Priories, Abbeys, Convents, Monasteries, &c. What a glorious and indeed admired structure is the great Carthusian Monastery in Provence! It may be calld a little Christian Com­monwealth of it self, and hath Revenues able to bear up the port of a Souvrain Prince.

Now ther is no Church upon the surface of the Terrestrial Globe that is comparable to the French in Revenues and Riches; for the last computation which was made, the Revenues of the Gallican Clergie amounted to above three hundred and twenty millions of Livres; a stupendous sum! And indeed They need have so much; for besides such a world of Abbots, Priors, Monks, Priests, and other Ecclesiastical Dignitaries, ther are in France 15 Archbishops, and 150 Suffragan Bishops; and such is the honor which is born there to the Mitre, that they are all Privy-Counsellors by their Dignity, and by the Laws of France, though few do come to the said Council unless they have an in­timation of the Kings plesure by particular Letter.

The fifth Argument, A Nobilitate Subditorem, from the Nobleness of Subjects.

IN the third Argument going before, ther were some touches of the French Noblesse and Gentry, how numerous they are, and the many ways of Preferment the King hath for Cadets or younger Brothers, wheras the elder use to have great Estates of their own; For indeed some of them have mighty Fortunes by Patrimonial Inheritance. The last Duke of Guyse kept a House like a Souvrain Prince; he had above two hundred Gen­tlemen waited on him as menial servants, and having Dome­stik dependency, unto whom he gave such a liberal allowance and long Leases out of his estate, that they might live like Gen­tlemen; [Page 110] which made one tell the Duke that he had turnd all his Estate to Obligations; meaning that he had obligd so many unto him by his munificence and bounty.

Yet ther are three sorts of Subjects that live but poorly in France, which are the Roturier, the Vigneron, and the Peasan. But they who dwell in Towns, and have any Profession or Trade, live well enough: But the main wealth of the Country is a­mong the Gentry or Noblesse, who live plentifully and well.

Among divers others, ther is one singular quality in the French Gentry, that they are extraordinarily affected to their King, and they are pleasd in nothing more then to have access, and see him. Ther is a world of examples how close they have stuck to him in the Wars when his person was in hazard, and rescued him though danger and death were inevitable in the A­ction. For Horsmanship and Chivalry they surpass all other; and indeed ther is none that becomes a Horse so well, and hath a more comely seat on his back then a French-man.

Adde herunto that the French Noblesse are naturally Valiant, quick and hardy, not onely in the Wars, and publick Engage­ments, but in privat Feuds, ther being more Duels fought there then in all Christendome besides. Nor is ther any Nation more covetous of Honor, or more careful and tender to conserve it when they have it.

I will conclude this Argument in brief with the opinion of a famous Poet, who sings thus of them:

Gallia fert acres animos, & Idonea bello
Corpora, non illis ausit componere sese
Thracia quae Martem genuit, non Parthia versis
Quaebellatur equis fugiens, licet inclyta Crasso
Facta sit extincto signis (que) superba Latinis.
Quas Gentes olim non contrivere? per omnem
Invecti Europam quasi grando Aquilone vel Austro
Importata gravi passim sonuere tumultu.
Scit Romanus adhuc, & quam Tarpeia videtis
Arx attollentem caput Illo in monte superbum;
Pannones Emathii norunt, scit Delphica Tellus
Quam nisi terrificis subito convulsa ruinis
Oppressisset eos, non defendisset Apollo.

The sixth Argument, A Plenitudine Potestatis Regiae, from the Absolutness of Royal Power.

THer is no Monark among Christians that hath a more ple­nary and absolut power then the King of France, take toge­ther all the Prerogatives that a King is capable of. He only can make Peace, or denounce War; He only can convoke, disconti­nue and dissolve Parlements, I mean the Assembly of the Three Estates; He only can pardon; He only can naturalize and enno­ble; He only can put value upon Coin; He only can press to the War: Nay, He hath power not only to do all this, but he can make Laws, and impose Taxes at pleasure; All which he doth by his own Royal Edicts. For as touching the formality that the said Edicts shold be confirmd by the next Court of Parle­ment, that is, by the next Assembly of the Three Estates, That Assembly is now grown as obsolete as a General Council, for ther hath been none these fifty years and upward.

Besides the Real Demeans of the Crown, the King hath to sup­port his Greatness, 2. La Taille; 3. Le Taillon; 4. Les Aydes; 5. Les Equivalents; 6. Les Equipollents; 7. Les Crues, ou Aug­mentations; 8. L'Octroy, ou Benevolence; 9. La Gabelle; 10. Les Imposts; 11. Le haut passage, or Domain forain, (for goods ex­ported;) 12. Le Trait Forain, (for goods imported;) 13. La Solde de 50000 Soldats; 14. The Tenths besides. All these Impositions are as old as Lewis the eleventh, who, wheras before most of them were laid and levied upon extraordinary occasions, he found a way to make them perpetual. And if those fourteen Strings touchd before will not serve his turn, he hath power to make more for his Bow when he pleaseth; and herein the King of France hath the advantage of his two Neighbouring Kings: This is that indeed which makes him so potent; Hereby he can lade an Asse with Gold when he will to break in through any Wall though otherwise never so inexpugnable. It is a full Purse that makes a King both feard at home, and formidable abroad; wheras the contrary makes him but a kind of Scar-crow King, as the Spaniard tells us in his Proverb, Don sin dinero no es Don, si no Donayre.

I will conclude with the Greek Poet, who sings to this purpose very elegantly:

[...].

[Page 112]Wherwith the Latin doth verbatim and exactly correspond both in sense and verse:

Argenteis pugna telis, at (que) omnia vincès.
Fight with Silver Weapons and thou shalt conquer all.

The seventh Argument, A Potentiâ Regni, from the Strength of the Kingdome.

THer is not such an intrinsique united Power, such a knot of Strength any where as France is: Ther are in France thirty thousand Parishes, so that taking but ten men out of one Parish with another, an Army may be composd of two hundred and fifty thousand Combatants; besides the City of Paris, that huge Mass and Miscelany of all Nations, which may furnish well-neer as many more: And it may be said that France was never so powerful since the time of Charlemain as now she is, nor so en­tire, and that for many reasons. First, in regard that the Hu­gonots, or they of the Protestant Religion, are reduced to an ex­act subjection, who indeed were the greatest weakness of France before; for oftentimes they servd as Dark Lanterns to other Princes both abroad as well as at home, to put Combustions in France at plesure. They might be calld Regnum in Regno, having such a considerable strength as above 200 Towns, in many wherof they kept Garisons, for the maintenance wherof the King himself was to contribut by Article. Two of these Towns commanded the great River of Loire, and others were neer the Sea, so consequently fit to receave Forren assistance, as Rochel, the taking wherof did much startle Spain, who had she foreknown that England could not have done it, she wold have sent assistance her self: which made Cardinal Richelieu to raunt that he had ta­ken Rochel en depit de Trois Roys, in despite of three Kings, viz. the King of England, the King of Spain, and the King of France him­self, who was a great while averse to that business. But now all those Towns of caution and safety the Hugonots had, are dismantled; besides, they have no Garison any where, so that they are to relie for the future soly upon the Kings savor, wher­by they are brought to a perfect pass of obedience; which great Five Kings of France before the last endevoured to do, but could never effect it.

Secondly, France is far more powerful because of the three Keys which Richelieu said he had got, viz. Brisac to enter Germa­ny, Pignorol to enter Italy, and Perpignan to enter Spain at ple­sure, having therby besides added to France the whole County of Roussillon.

[Page 113]Thirdly, because he hath got in a manner all Lorain, which was formerly a Countermure twixt France and Germany, being engagd by homage to the Empire.

Fourthly, he hath got the Garison of Strange Soldiers which were in Orenge to be dismissd, and the Castle as good as disman­tled; which lying within the bowels of one of his own Provin­ces, might be said to be another weakness to France. He hath also got the Italian Garison in Avignon to be casheerd, which al­so was another inconvenience to France lying within her Verge, and hath made himself Master of the place, though it was part of St. Peters possession above 300 years.

Lastly, he hath Graveling with Dunkirk and other Towns in the Netherlands. All which considered, it may be said that the power of the Kingdome of France is much more improvd then it was formerly in many hundred years.

The eighth Argument, Ab Opulentia & Fertilitate, from Wealth and Fertility.

IN one of the former Arguments we spake of the four Staple Commodities of France, viz. Corn, Salt, Hemp and Wines; To these may be added Silks, Oyls, Woollen Stuffs, and Saffron; All manner of delicat fruits, as Orenges, Lemons, Cytrons: The La­dy Flora also hath one of her choicest houses of plesure there, as well as Ceres and Bacchus, ther being such abundance of choice fragrant flowers to be found in evry Garden; As likewise all sorts of Edible Roots and Salade-Herbs. Pomona also may be said to have her best Orchard there, for the excellentst Cyder is made in Low Normandy; and those who are habituated to drink it, are observd to have cleerer Complexions then others who have only Wine for their drink. Ther are not more delightful Medows and Fields on the surface of the earth, such huge herds of Cattle, and variety of Stuffs and Cloth made, which makes Le. Drap de Berry in such high request; with the most curious rich Sattins and Velvets of Tours. Ther is not such a Beau-die, such a Scarlet Die in any Country. What thick swarms of Bees, and delicat Hony is found in every Peasans Garden? What delightful Woods and Lawns, Chaces and vast Forests, with whole Hosts of huge headed Deer, (and other Beasts for Vene­ry) range up and down! Such Forests that the Sylvan Gods them­selfs are seen sometimes to hunt in them: As ther is a rare Pas­sage recorded by the Bishop of Rhodes in his late Annals of Henry the Fourth, that at a great appointment of Hunting one day in Fountainbleau, as the King was in the heat of his chace, ther was another cry of Hounds and Horns heard, which afterward co­ming neer, a black man plainly appeerd to all, who cryed out [Page 114] three times, Amendez vous, Amendez vous, Amendez vous; and so he and his Hounds vanished: The Wood-men and Officers of the Forest being questiond about it, they answerd, That that black man was often seen to hunt there with his Dogs, and wold suddenly disappeer, but he never usd to do hurt to any body: And surely this could not be the Devil, as some poor shallow­braind Authors do assert all Spirits of the Air to be. Go to the Bowels of France, and she is full of Mines, and Marble in many places, with great plenty of Iron, (the best and worst thing be­longing to humane use.) Look upwards towards Heven, and you shall see the Air throngd with Volatils of all sorts. Nor is ther any Country on earth so conveniently waterd as well with Sources and Sanative waters, as with great Navigable Rivers; which makes evry part of the Country communicable one to the other in point of mutual commerce, for all the great Towns are situated upon some Boat-bearing Rivers: And besides, they are so delightful, that some of them are said to be embroderd with Swans, borderd with Crevices, and pavd with Troutes, with all sorts of delicat Fish: Insomuch that ther is nothing which Air, Earth or Water can affoord as well for Voluptuousness and Lux [...], as for necessity and common sustenance, but France affoords it in a kind of exuberance. Paris is such a place of infinit provision, that Monsieur Vigner said, If he were to give a Treatment to the most luxurious Feasters among the Romans, (were they alive) as Apitius, Lucullus, Pompey, with many more, he wold desire but one days warning to do it, and they shold be so servd that they wold confess they never found the like in Rome. How many Ordinaries are ther in Paris of Pistol-price, and the Tables servd all in Plate? Which makes the Italian Poet break out very in­geniously into the praises of France, thus:

Gallia Terreni pars est non infima mundi,
Sed longè laté (que) patens—
Terra Hominum, Frugúm (que) ferax, Armenta, Gregés (que)
Uberiùs pascens, plebis non languida Coelo
Tabifico. Non mortiferis infecta venenis
Ut Lybiae, non perpetuis adoperta pruinis
Sicut Hyperborei Montes, non torrida ab aestu
Qui faciat steriles, ut decolor India, campos.
Non etiam noctis pallens semestribus umbris,
Quale sub Arcturo positum Mare, & ultima Thule;
Sed nec ut Egyptus quia fusa palustribus undis,
Sed Coelo, & tenerae faecunda uligine Terrae,
Venatu, Aucupio campos, Montana, lacus (que)
Sallicitant, bellandi usu laetantur Equorum
Terga fatigantes, loricae, hastilia, & arcus.
[Page 115]Deliciae Genti sub dio ad sydera somnum
Carpere, fuscari sole, & ferrugine pulchrum est,
Pulvere conspergi, & graviùs sudare sub Armis
Pro Patria, pro Cognatis, pro Regibus ire
In pugnam, & gladios, & morti occumbere dulce est.

The ninth Argument, A Fortitudine & Rebus in Bello actis, from Valour and Exploits performed in the War.

IT is recorded in good Story, that Alexander the great Founder of the third Monarchy, viz▪ the Greek, hearing much of the Fortitude of the Gaules, and it seems having read of the great Ex­ploits performd both in Italy, by ransacking Rome, as also in Greece her self, under the conduct of Brennus that valiant Britain, the Cadet of Mulmutius Donwallo the famous Legislator, and first King that wore a Crown of Gold in Great Britain many hundred years before the Romanes entred: I say, that Alexander hearing so much, and reading of the Martial Achievments of the Gaules, (now French) sent to know of Them, What they feard most? They answerd, Ne Coelum rueret, Lest the Heven shold fall: A mag­nanimous answer! And the French Nation must by natural inclination be magnanimous and Martial, because the Astrono­mers who are so conversant with Hevenly Bodies, and their vir­tual power in relation to Earth, affirm, that the Planet Mars is the Ascendent of France, and hath a peculiar influence upon that Nation more then upon any other. To pretermit for brevities sake many other victorious Kings who had raignd formerly, what a triumphant Hero was Charlemain! He vanquishd the Saracens in the Holy Land, He freed Spain from them; He was a mighty Champion of Christ, and of the Roman Church: For He restord two Popes, viz. Adrian and Leo, the one being besiegd, the other banishd, and living in exile. This was the Prince who repaird the Western Empire being almost mouldred into dust, and raysd it to as high a pitch of sublimity as ever it was, by congregating the scatterd Dominions therof: This was He who overthrew the Tyranny of the Longobards which his Father Pepin had begun, and quite freed Italy of them, where they had lived and lorded above two hundred yeers. He subdued the Empire of the Huns, securd England, tam'd Bavaria, subjugated Spain, and possessd Italy. He drive the Moors out of Corsica, the Carthaginians out of Sardinia, the Saracens from the Baleares Insulae Malliorca, &c. This was he who trounc'd the Bohemians, checkd the Impiety of the Danes, broke the fierceness of the Sclavonians, and reducd the Saxons to Civility.

[Page 116]This is He whom all the Oriental Princes admird, (as well as the West) receaving their Ambassadors laden with rich presents, and desiring a frendship and confederacy with him. This is He who was the founder of the University of Paris, being very learned himself by the Instructions he receavd from Alcuin that famous English-man.

This was that pious Prince who confirmd the Donation which Constantin the great his predecessor made unto the Holy Father the Vicar of Christ of the City of Rome, and conferd also upon Him the Exarchatship of Ravenna: Therfore was he as deser­vedly as gloriously Crownd in Rome Emperour of the West, and the Title of Christianissimus given Him, the Empire con­tinuing in his Race by direct Line above a hundred and ten yeers.

What glorious Expeditions have bin made since in the Holy Land by five several Kings of France in person? Me thinks I behold Godefroy of Bouillon being countenancd and assisted by the French King, and having morgagd some part, and sold the rest of his Duchy for that Enterprise, marching with a huge Army through Germany, Hungary and Greece, and so passing to Asia to encounter the Forces of Solyman the Ottoman Emperour, and Chalypha the Soldan of Egypt, with other Infidel Kings whom he put to flight, making himself Master of Nice, of Antioch, and Hierusalem her self, with the Holy Sepulchre of Christ. Me thinks I see Him when he was to be crownd King of Ierusalem, throwing away the Crown of Gold, and taking one of Thorns in imitation of our blessed Saviour. Me thinks I see all the Princes therabouts Tributaries unto him, and bringing him rich pre­sents, though He himself went clad but in the habit of a com­mon Gregarian Soldier; wherat some of the said Princes being astonishd, askd, How comes it to pass that so great a Conque­ror who hath shaken all the Eastern world shold go so plain and homely?

But to draw to a conclusion of this Argument, let's descend lower to some of the Modern Kings of France, and the two last will afford matter enough to confirm the Fortitude of the French Nation, viz. Henry the Fourth, and his Son Lewis the Thir­teenth: Concerning the first, Valour and Fortune may be said to contend which shold entitle him Henry the Great; They both strivd for mastery in Him, and which shold overcome: He was Conqueror in four signal Battails; In thirty five hot Skirmiges; In above a hundred personal Encounters, with the siege of about three hundred several places, wherin He provd always Victo­rious; which makes his memory to continue still fresh in France, and makes new impressions from Fathers to Sons to ren­der [Page 117] it eternal. Ther is scarce any considerable Town but hath his Statue in Brass or Marble, and Pictures innumerable; inso­much that one said, Una Henrici Oblivio erit occasus Humani gene­ris, The Oblivion of Henry alone will be the end of Mankind: But for a tru Character of him, I will insert here that which is engraven on the Cheval de bronze, the Brasen Horse on the Pont-Neuf in sight of the Louvre his most Royal Castle in Paris; which character runs thus:

Ie suis Henry grand Honneur de la Terre,
Astre de Paix, & Foudre de la Guerre;
L'Amour de Bons, la Crainte de Pervers,
Dont les Vertus meritoient l'Univers.
Henry I am, the Glory of Mankind,
The Star of Peace, and Thunderbolt of War;
The spur of Vertu, scourge of Vice; A Mind
That merited to sway more Scepters far.

Touching his Son and immediat Successor Lewis the Thir­teenth, he also did mighty things. He began to bear Arms, and wear Buff almost when he was no higher then a Sword, at which height they say the Kings of France are out of their Mi­nority: but before he came out of His, he repressd two ill-favourd Commotions in Poitou and Britany. He continued Conqueror all his life-time, nor did He know what it was to be beaten. He bangd all his Neighbours round about him: He clammerd twice with his Armies ore the Alps, and came back again, having done the business he went for. He climd likewise with his Troops up the Pyreney Hills, and establishd a Viceroy in the King­dome of Catalonia. He crossd ore the Meuse, and made many deep Hacks in the Ragged Staff. His Horses foorded ore the Rhine, and helpd to cuff the Eagle ilfavouredly in the German Air. And lastly, He foyld the English at the Ile of Rhe. These were Ex­ploits abroad. At home also within his Kingdome He did mar­vailous things, by suppressing so many Civil Insurrections; and lastly, by debelling the Hugonots, which his five immediat Prede­cessors could not effect, though they attempted it many ways: Then which Action nothing could conduce more to the security and improvement of the power of the French Crown, and the tranquillity of the Country.

The tenth and last Argument, Ab Exemplo & Authoritate Historicâ, from Examples and Historical Authority.

THe Arguments which went before may be said to be Em­broderies and Florishes of Reason; yet those Florishes were wrought upon good Substantial stuff: but this last Argument hath more of solidness, legality and weight in it, for it consists of Ex­amples, and Historical Authentik Proofs of Antiquity, which the Logitian tells us is one of the strongest way of Argumenta­tion.

We will not make such over-curious Retrospects as to look on the times before Charlemain, though ther be divers examples that ever since the time of Clouis, who was the first Christian King of France, (which was above 300 years before) which prove that the Kings of France had Prerogatives of Session, and Precedence both of Place and Person next to the Emperour. But since Charlemain had the title of Christianissimus given him, ther be divers cleer and convincing proofs, how after the Empire was devolvd from Charlemains Race to the houses of Saxony, Suevia and Austria; nay since Austria came to the highest cumble of greatness and mul­titude of new Dominions, the Kings of France have still had the Antecedence both in General Councils, in assisting the ho­ly Offices of the Church, and in attending the Popes Person. Now tis known that the Court of Rome, with the Rules and pra­ctice therof, is fittest to determine this Question of Precedence.

Mausonius and others have it upon good record, how Anno 1564. Pope Pius the fourth passd a solemn Decree, That the Kings of France ought to have the Precedence of any other King. Nor indeed in former Ages did any King contend with him herabouts but the King of England. The Spaniard did but of late years stand for it; it is but since the Raign of Charles the fifth. And as the Kings of France before claimd it as succeeding Charle­main, so the Kings of Spain wold challenge it as succeeding Charles the Fifth.

Yet in the famous Treaty at Vervins 1598. after long Con­certations and canvassing of the point Pro & Con, the Spanish Ambassadors made a Cession of Precedence to the French; And Baldus the great Civilian, as Purpuratus relates, affirmeth categori­cally, Nemo praesumat Honorem super vexilla Invictissimi Franciae Regis. It is tru, that some Writers rank Kings thus; The King of Hierusalem, the King of France, the King of Sicily, and the King of England; which four are the only Anointed Kings: And for this they shew an old Manuscript of the Church of Rome, calld [Page 119] Provincialis. Saint Gregory writes to Childebert, Quanto caetero [...] homines Regia Dignitas antecellit, tanto caeterarum gentium Regna Reg­ni vestri culmen excellit: As far as Royal Dignity excels all other men, so far doth the glory of your Kingdome excel others. H [...] ­norius the third says, Reges Gallorum opposuerum se tanquam marus inexpugnabilis pro populo Christiano: The Kings of France opposd themselfs as an inexpugnable Wall for the Christian People. Gregory the ninth saith, Regnum Galliae est quasi Pha [...]etra quam Chri­stus sibi circa femur accinxit, ex qua sagittas electa [...] extr [...]hens, [...] [...]t sibi gentes & Regna subjiciat, in arcum brachii potentis em [...]: France is a Quiver which Christ tied to his thigh, whence he draws Arrows for the subduing of Nations and Kingdomes, &c.

Now, touching the point of Precedence, the notablest Con­tests that France hath had, have been with Spain in the Council of Trent, which lasted so many long years by intermissions: the relations wherof lie scatterd up and down in divers Histories, but we shall endeavour to give here a distinct and uninterrupted Narration thereof, but first we will speak of a signal Contest in Venice.

The famous Contest twixt the most Christian and Catholique Kings in Venice, as also in the Council of Trent.

IT is well known how that before the rearing up of that huge Colosse of the House of Austria, which was Anno 1516. when Ferdinand of Aragon died, Charles rendred himself very potent both in Italy as well as in Spain. But he encreasd more strength af­ter the death of Maximilian, being chosen Emperour in his place, at which time he was mounted to the highest pitch of subli­mity and power: I say, tis well known how till that time the Kings of France were acknowledged the first after the person of the Emperour, who hath still preference given him before all se­cular Princes whatsoever. Now, the Question was never Sur le tapis, was never controverted about Priority twixt France and Spain till the house of Austria started up to that enormous great­ness. And although before Charles the fifth ther were Six Em­perours of that House, and that the quality of Emperour gives precedence to any who legally possesseth the title, be he of what Family soever, yet that Prerogative is not given to any of their posterity being not calld to the Empire. In regard in Electif States the Election adhering only to the person of the Elected, gives the Eminence only to his person, excluding all other; yea his own Sons unless they be formally elected, although in Suc­cessif [Page 120] hereditary patrimonial Estates tis otherwise. Insomuch that the house of Austria hath no more right to the Empire then the house of Saxe, Luxemburg, or Brandenburg, with other Fami­lies who were Caesars before them.

Another House which much strengthend that of Austria, was that of Burgundy, which yet was feudetary to France, as also the Counties of Flanders and Artois, though the rest of the seventeen Provinces (which came to Spain by this alliance with Burgundy) are Fiefs of the Empire. The other Houses who did aggrandize Charles the fifth, were Castile and Aragon; Castile came to be a Kingdome but after the yeer 1000. And the Kings of England took always precedence of them. Arragon was but a small State, feodary to the Church of Rome, until the Kingdome of Naples which is also a Fief of the Church was annexd unto it. Here­unto as Fortune wold have it, were added the West-Indies, dis­coverd first by an Italian, and offerd to the King of England. Then by alliance with Portugal the East-Indies came also to the Crown of Castile. This increase of Countries raisd the Spirits of the Spaniard to claim Precedence of France and England, two of the most ancient Christian Kings. And to go more methodi­cally to work, we will divide the State of the house of Austria to three times; First, to that which preceded the year 1519. when Charles was establishd in the Empire; The second during his Raign, until he retird to a Claustral Life Anno 1555; The third to his Progeny since.

Touching the first, tis certain that notwithstanding the pro­motion of this Family to the Empire, yet it continued still ho­mageable to the Empire: For Philip the Father of Charles the Emperour rendred solemn homage to the Chancellor du Roche­fort, and Charles after him for the Counties of Flanders and Ar­tois Anno 1507. so that the said Charles being born in Gant, was born a Vassal to the King of France.

That in the Interview of Lewis the twelfth, and Ferdinand of Aragon Anno 1507. at Savona, although King Lewis usd great civilities to Ferdinand coming to visit him upon his own Territo­ries, and so gave him Precedence, yet the world knows that it was but by way of Complement: But before Charles mounted the Empire, this Dispute of Precedence never entred into the Spi­rit of Spain.

In the year 1519. Charles was created Emperour, which Anno 1555. he resignd to his Brother Ferdinand; and at the same time he made a voluntary and absolut Cession of all the rest of his Dominions to his Son Philip the second, except the Archduchy of Austria, and the dependences therof in Germany▪ Philip though he succeeded in the Empire to which the Precedence only belongs, yet he endevourd to keep it still, under pretext that [Page 121] he succeeded the Emperour his Father in all his large her hereditary Dominions, who always took place in all Assemblies, Enter­views and Tretises, specially in the great Council of Trent, though it was confusedly, because two qualities were in him of Emperour and King which could not be distinguished or se­parated.

But in the yeer 1555. when meditating upon a retirement he resignd the Empire to his Brother, and all his Kingdomes to his Son Philip, perceaving that his Son could not take precedence of the King of France because he was not Emperour, He made use of another artifice for conserving this pre-eminence for his Son as well as for his Brother. Before his retirement he revokd Don Francisco de Vargas his Ambassador in Venice, who had always taken precedence of the French Ambassador without scruple: Now, after his resignation of the Empire, he sends again the said Vargas to Venice as his, and also his Sons Ambassador joynt­ly, though indeed he was but Ambassador only to the King of Spain: But he thought to over-reach the Venetian because he em­ployd still the same man qualified in apparance as formerly. Vargas demanded of the Senat the same precedence as formerly, which the Bishop of Lodeve, Ambassador at the same time to Hen. 2. of France, opposd, remonstrating to the Senat that Charles was no more considerable to the world being a reclusd person; And if the Ambassador of Ferdinand to whom he had transferrd the Empire were present, he wold yeild place unto Him, but he wold not come after the Ambassador of King Philip.

The Senat apprehending some ill issue from this Dispute, or­derd that neither of the Ambassadors shold be present at the Feast of St. Mark; and so the business remaind at a stand by the irresolution of the Senat, and the simplicity of the French Ambassador, who at last was contented to give way to the Or­dinance of the Republique in favor of Vargas. But Anno 1558. Francis de Novailles Bishop of Acs succeeding him of Lodeve, re­newd the Dispute; and the Ambassador of Ferdinand arriving about the same time, Novailles demanded of the Senat to be maintaind in his Rights, and to have the first place next the Im­perial Ambassadors, and so took it couragiously before Vargas, who observing the cunning of the Emperour Charles, (who died in this conjuncture of time) was discoverd, and that he passd for no more then for the Ambassador of King Philip, Vargas be­gan to speak high of the Grandeur of his Master, and to display the large Dominions and States he lorded over, far more in num­bee then those of the French King; alledging that these Customs of Honor and Antecedences ought to be alterd according to the times: That his Master was the greatest King of the world, That he was able to assist the Republique with Arms, Men and Mony [Page 122] more then the King of the French, &c. But the Bishop of Acs though much heat intervend, obtaind of the Senat a Deer [...]e wherby the precedence was adjudgd him before the Spanish Am­bassador; who loudly complaining therof, the Senat made an­swer, That the Republik did not trouble her self to examine the greatness of their Majesties, but she found within her Registers that in all Acts both publik and privat, in all Ceremonies, Vi­sits, and Audiences, the Ambassadors of France preceded those of Spain; wherin she wold acquiesce. This answer offended King Philip, who therupon revokd his Ambassador. But Mi­chael Surianus Ambassador for the Republick in the Spanish Court, defended the Decree of the Senat very vigorously, and in some mesure appeasd the spirit of King Philip, who notwithstan­ding advancd this question upon all occasions. The greatest en­devours he usd, was four years after in the Council of Trent, which was the greatest Theatre of Religion and Honor that had been seen above a hundred years before, wherof we shall give an exact Relation as followeth.

Of the Council of Trent.

A General Council after the Revolt of Luther Anno 1517. was desird by all Christians, and often proposd by Charles the fifth and Francis the first of France to Pope Leo the Tenth, Cle­ment the seventh, and Paul the third, who at last convokd an Oe­cumenical Free Council to be held at Trent, which was also kept at Bolonia some part of the time, and ther were ten Sessions made in eighteen months. Then it ceasd until the death of Paul the third, 1549. The Cardinal Iohn Maria de Monte who had bin first President of the Council under Paul 3. succeeded by the the name of Iulius 3. who presently made an Indiction of the Council again, which recommencd at Trent Anno 1550. and lasted also under this Pope above 18 months; during which time ther were six Sessions: but being summond again by the same Iulius, it ceasd under Marcellus 2. who held the Pontificat but 22 days. Then it continued under Paul 4. Anno 1559. Pius 4. succeeding him, made a new Indiction of the Council again, which began 1561. under whom it lasted two years, during which time the nine last Sessions were made: Insomuch that the whole Council by intermissions lasted about eighteen yeers, from the year 1545. to 1563. but the Council sate together in deliberation but five years, take all the Adjournments toge­ther.

Now, to understand the Right of the Precedences of Ambas­sadors, we must know that in the said Council three kinds of Assemblies were made, viz. Congregations General, Particular [Page 123] Congregations, and Sessions. In the particular Congregations the Doctors assisted by some Bishops examined Questions of Faith and Reformation, according to the distribution that was made them; and in this ther was no consideration had of Pre­cedence or Ceremony; They were Actions intra privatos parietes, within privat Walls.

In the General Congregation all the Prelats assembled, and the Legats presided, who proposed what ought to be treated in the particular Congregations: There the Theologians were heard, and Ambassadors of Princes had audience after their Commissions had been examined. In brief, all things were concluded there which were to be promulgated in the follow­ing Session, and Ambassadors had their places there according to their Rank.

At last the Session was the solemn day, at which after the Mass of the Holy Spirit, and a Sermon preachd by some Prelat, or great Theologian, the Prelat Officiating, pronounced aloud the Decrees already resolvd upon, which had been approvd by the Fathers by this Canonical word Placet. Now all Ambas­sadors had their seats of honor in those Sessions, and at Mass; and this Honor appeerd by the places where they sate, as also by the Censer and Pax which were given them to kiss during the celebration of the Mass.

In the Council held by Paul 3. and Iulius 3. Charles the Fifth was Emperour, and without any the least contradiction his Am­bassadors preceded all others, though the French scarce appeerd there, and in the 16 first Sessions ther was hardly any Prelat of France: so there was no dispute of any precedence at all, the Emperour having the first rank; and ther was no occasion at all for any Ambassador from the King of Spain, because it was in­volvd then in the Empire: yet ther intervend some things which declard the Prerogatives of the King of France.

First, in the Bull of indicting the Council by Paul 3. the King of France is namd expresly after the Emperour, and all other Princes spoken of in general terms without any name, in these terms: Charissimos in Christa Filios nostros Carolum Romanorum Im­peratorem semper Augustum; Et Christianissimum Regem Franciscum duo praecipua Christiani Nominis firmamenta at (que) fulchra or are at (que) ob­secrare instituimus. Then a little after: Supra autem dictos Impe­ratorem Regem (que) Christianissimum, nec non caeteros Reges, Duces, Prin­cipes quorum praesentia si alias usquam, hoc quidem tempore maxime Sanctissimae Christi Fidei, & Christianorum omnium futura est salu­taris, rogantes at (que) obsecrantes per viscera misericordiae Dei, &c. We have appointed to desire and pray our most dear Sons in Christ, Charles Emperour of the Romans always August, and Francis the most Christian King, the two chiefest Supporters and [Page 124] Props of Christianity, &c. So that ther is no other Prince par­ticularly namd in the Bull but the Emperour and the King of France, the other Kings and Princes go under one general no­tion, which is a great advantage of Honour to the Kings of France.

Secondly, From the entry of the Council 1545. Francis the first of France had appointed for his Ambassadors Claude d' Urfé Seneshal of the Forests, Iacques de Ligneres President of the third Chamber of Enquests, and Dean Peter Danes afterwards Bishop of Vaur: but being advertisd by some Bishops which were at Trent how ther were but little hopes that the said Council was like to have good success, he revokd the said Ambassadors who ap­peerd not at all in the Council. But Anthony Filiolo Archbishop of Aix being there, and demanding that in the publik Prayers which were made for all Christian Princes, the King of France shold be expresly nominated as he was in the Bull of Indiction: the Legats eluded this demand, insomuch that the Pope and the Emperour were only namd in the Prayers, and all other Princes conceavd in General terms.

In the yeer 1546. King Francis 1. sent Peter Danes Bishop of Vaur for his Ambassador to the Council, where making an elo­quent Oration, he represented the sad state of Christendome, and the disorders which were crept into the Church, yea into the Roman Court: wherupon one Bishop laughd, saying, Gallus cantat, The Cock crows. Danes replied suddenly, Utinam illo Gallocinio Petrus ad resipiscentiam & fletum excitetur; I wold to God that by this crowing of the Cock Peter wold be raisd up to re­pentance and tears. And this saying was afterwards in evry ones mouth.

In the yeer 1547. Paul 3. in regard of the Plague and Wars then in Germany, transferrd the Council from Trent to Bolonia: but this he did, Communicato etiam Consilio cum Imperatore, Christia­nissimo Rege, & aliis Regibus ac Principibus Christianis, where the King of France is particularly namd.

In the yeer 1551. when Iulius 3. had re-established the Coun­cil again at Trent, although Hen. 2. the King of France had en­tred into a hot War against Pope Iulius for the Affairs of Par­ma, yet he employd Iaques Amyot Abbot of Belosana, and after­wards Bishop of Auxerre with a Letter bearing this Inscription, Sanctissimis in Christo & observandis Patribus Tridentini Conventus. Which Letter the said Amyot having delivered to Cardinal Cre­scentius President of the Council, and the Secretary having read the Inscription, the Spanish Bishops cryed out, That it was a wrong done to the Council to call it Conventum, a Convention, therfore protested against it. Nevertheless after long dispute upon the signification of the word Conventus, it was concluded [Page 125] that it might be taken in good part. The Elector of Mentz to a­pologize for France, stood up and said, How shall we receave the Papers of the German Protestants which we call Concilium Malig­nantium, if we reject the King of France's Letter for calling us Con­ventum?

Hitherto Charles the Emperour being also King of Spain, ther was no Question of Precedence: but at the third Indiction of the Council by Pius 4. Anno 1561. ther were divers clashes happend twixt the French Ambassadors and those of Philip, which engendred great jelousies twixt the two Crowns, and high Contests which happend principally from the imprudence of Pius 4.

In his Bull of Indiction he used other terms then Paul 3. and Iulius 3. did; for he names not the King of France as formerly, but involves him under the general notions of other Christian Princes: Therupon Philibert de la Bourdesiere Bishop of Angou­leme, Ambassador for the King in the Popes Court, complaind of this omission in the Kings name; yet with a protestation, that notwithstanding this misprision and prejudice to his Crown, he wold not hinder the continuance and progress of the Council whither he had commanded his Bishops to repair. The Pope made answer, that he had given order to some Cardinals to draw the Bull, and it seems they had not been careful of this pun­ctilio: for having namd the Emperour, they judgd it not so necessary to name all Kings, but to comprize them under one general notion: wherupon the French Ambassador replyed, That it was one of the Prerogatives of his most Christian Maje­sty not to be involvd in generals, but in express terms. The Pope rejoynd, That he could not foresee all things, and for the future ther shold be a care had ther shold be no such omissi­on.

In the yeer 1562. ther arrivd at Trent, Lewis de Saint Gelais, Lord of Lansac; and three days after Arnaud Ferrier, and Guy du Faur Pybrac, Judge of Tholouse, who were receavd very honora­bly by the Council: nay, a gr [...]at part of the Prelats subject to the King of Spain, went out to meet them; but Ferdinand de Avalos Marquiss of Pescara and Ambassador to King Philip, departed from Trent three days before, and retird to Milan, wherof He was Governor, under pretext that ther were some apprehensi­ons of danger from the Hugonots of Dauphine, and from the Swisse; But in effect it was to avoid the meeting of the French Ambas­sadors who took place in the General Congregation next the Impe­rial. The Lord of Pybrac made a notable Oration, wherin speak­ing against the enormities of the Church, the small progress the Council had made in so long a time, and also for freedome of Opi­nions, it was not fit to stand waiting of things so long from Rome: [Page 126] and being seconded by Lansac and Ferrier upon the same subject, the Pope complaind therof, and spoke loud that the King of France had not sent Ambassadors to the Council, but rather Advocats for the Hugonots, &c. The French Bishops arrivd af­terward at Trent in November, conducted by the Cardinal of Lor­rain, who was receavd honorably by the Cardinal of Mantua, and other Legats; but hitherto the point of Precedence was not touchd.

A little after the Arrival of the Cardinal of Lorrain, and the Gallican Bishops, Philip the second having revokd the Marquiss of Pescara, employd to Trent Ferdinand Quiniones Count of Luna in quality of Ambassador, who having passd before to Germany to be assistant at the Coronation of Maximilian Son to the Empe­rour Ferdinand, the Count of Luna desird to know of the Fathers of the Council what place he shold receave. Therupon the Car­dinal of Mantua the chief Legat having consulted the Ambassa­dors of France, and the Cardinal of Lorain, he proposd unto them a form of Accommodation, That concerning them they shold hold their place next the Imperial Ambassadors, and another place shold be given the Count of Luna opposite to the Legats on the other side, or after the Ecclesiastical Ambassadors, or in some other part out of the bank of Ambassadors. Wherunto the French replyed, That they were employd by their King not to judge of Processes, or decide the Rights of King Philip, who was a good Frend and Brother-in-law to Charles the ninth; But if any offerd to take that place which was due to them, they were re­solvd to defend it against any person whatsoever. And if the Council wold question it, they had in their Instructions order to withdraw themselfs with all the French Prelats, and to protest against the nullity of all resolutions that shold be there transa­cted. To this the Legat made no reply. This Answer in ap­parance was fair and generous, but in effect it gave occasion of affronts, which afterwards were done to the French at the Coun­cil, and tended to strengthen the pretensions of the Spaniard, which continue to this day. For the Right of the King of France is not only to be immediatly next the Emperour, but to see all other Kings come behind him: insomuch that it was the French Ambassadors duty at that time to stand still upon it, and oblige the Count of Luna to take his place after them; but to permit him to sit elswhere, was to cut out matter for a Process: For al­though the French Ambassadors did hold their places, yet to suffer the Count of Luna to sit apart, was tacitly to receave him into an equality: Insomuch that as well in this first rancounter as afterwards when the dispute happend in the General Congre­gation, the Cardinal of Lorain was blamd that he was not pun­ctual enough in things relating to his Masters Honor.

[Page 127]In the yeer 1563. the Legats apprehending some clash twixt the Spanish and French Doctors in point of Precedence of delive­ring their Opinions, ordaind, that without distinction of Nati­on evry one shold speak according to the antiquity of his Do­ctorship. And because ther were some French Doctors that were more ancient then the Spanish, yet not permitted to speak first, the Legats quickly satisfied them, saying, That the Do­ctors do not represent the Prince his person as Ambassadors use to do.

But to compose these differences which grew very high, the Doctors were divided to four Classes; and it was orderd that those which were sent from the Pope being de Iure to speak first, the French Doctors shold speak next; which was accorded by the Legats: Therfore it was voted that after Salmeron the Jesuit, and the Popes Theologue, Nicholas Maillart Dean of the Faculty in Paris, shold speak, and after that, evry one shold speak accor­ding to his reception into the degree of Doctor, which was pra­ctisd accordingly. But to content the Spaniard, it was couched in the Register of the Council, that the French Doctor Maillart had spoken according to his antiquity into Doctorship, no rela­tion being had to precedence of Nation.

In the same year 1563. on Easter-day the Count of Luna was receavd at Trent; at his entry he marchd between the Ambassa­dors of the Emperour and the King's of France. This action passd with much honor and civility twixt both Nations; and the same time the Cardinal of Lorain writ to the Emperour Ferdi­nand, who was then at Insbrug in the County of Tirol three days distant from Trent, upon divers affairs of the Council, and at the end prayed him to find out some temperament for allaying the dispute of Precedence twixt the two Crowns. But this clause of the Cardinal to the Emperour was blamd by divers, for he shold not have desird a temperament in the business, but de­manded Right. The Emperour made answer, That it did not concern him to determine the Differences twixt the two Kings in this particular; But to speak his sentiment herin, He thought that if the French Ambassadors come immediatly after His, and that none disturbs them, what matter is it where the Spanish Ambassadors sit? But these words were held to be of dange­rous consequence: For in point of Precedence, whosoever quits his place is presumed to scorn it, and seek after a higher; which cannot be done without a prejudice to them who sate high­er before.

Upon the 21 of May, at the General Congregation, the in­tention of the Spaniards appeerd more cleer: The Count of Luna after the foresaid solemn Entry absconded himself for 40 days, without appeering openly in any Ceremony or publik Act; and so [Page 128] being puzzled what cours to take in this busines, Somtimess he resolvd to enter the Assembly in the midst of the Emperours Ambassadors, aud after they were [...]ate to stand by them while his Commission was verified, and then retire to his House. But thinking this cours not generous enough for his Masters honor, He prayed the French Ambassadors not to be there that day; which being denied him, the Spanish Bishops proposd that Secu­lar Ambassadors shold be prayed not to enter into the General Congregations, but only the day of their Reception, and that They wold be contented to assist the Ceremony at the Session only; alledging, that it was practisd so in other General Councils. But all the Ambassadors did mainly oppose this.

Then it was privatly suggested to the Spanish Bishops by the Count of Luna, that they shold propose some point that might make the French Ambassadors Parties, and so not capable to sit in the Assembly. As for example, they shold represent the Domages which the whole Church hath receivd by the peace which the King of France had made with the Hugonots, or some such other thing. But that also taking no effect, and the Congre­gation being put to delays from day to day by the obstinacy of the Count of Luna, at last that the Affairs of the Council shold not be retarded, the Cardinal of Lorain and the French Ambassadors declard to the Legats, that, provided their place shold remain im­mediatly after the Imperial Ambassadors, they did not much heed what place the Ambassadors of Spain shold take.

This weakness of the Cardinal, and of the French Ambassa­dors, did scandalize all Christendome; and in France they blamd Him to have betrayed the Honor of their Master; Nay, the Fa­thers of the Council took it in ill part, and at Rome the Cardinal de Bourdesiere who was with the Pope for the King, having com­plaind of this Spanish Ambition, and of this Innovation introducd against the Ancient Orders, Pope Pius made answer, That he shold blame the French Ambassadors, and their imbecility; For his part, although he had bin sollicited before and after the Count of Luna's arrival at Trent, that he shold favor this dessein, yet He remaind constant and inflexible; and He wonderd that the French Ambassadors were wrought upon so easily.

The great day of the Congregation being come, and evry Ambassador having taken his place, the Count of Luna enters, and seats himself face to face to the Legats, a good distance from the bank of the Ambassadors; and standing up, he presents his Orders, and the Will of his Master; protesting afterwards, that although the first place was due to him after the Emperours Ambassador, as representing the greatest Prince of Christendom, the greatest Pillar of the Church, &c. yet not to introduce any confusion in the affairs of the Council, he deported himself from [Page 129] this Right; yet with condition that this his Protestation shold be inserted in the Acts of the Council, and that they shold not be printed or publishd without it; besides, that a Copy shold be de­livered Him by the Secretary of the Council. When he had said these words, he took the place which was appointed Him neer the Table of the Secretary of the Council. Therupon the French Ambassadors who were next the Imperials, said, That if the place which they had were not the most Honorable after the Emperours, as it was acknowledgd in all Councils, and namely in the Council of Constance, and in the last Lateran Council held under Leo the tenth; Or if the place they had given the Count of Luna was any way prejudicial to them, they prayed the Coun­cil to provide presently either by Orders, Commandments, Ex­communications, or other courses taken in such a case, without having any regard to the person; But because no body spake a word, and that also the Imperial Ambassadors connivd at this Innovation, although they had equal interest to hinder it as well as the French because it might be disputed on against them, they added, that without any blemish to the Honor of King Phi­lip, and to the alliance of the two Crowns, they protested for a nullity of these Proceedings, and requird that their Protestati­on might also be inserted in the Acts of the Council, and a Co­py deliverd them. After these Disputes, the Fathers of the Council not saying any thing, Fontidon a Spanish Doctor made a Latin Oration in the name of the Count of Luna, wherin he exalted the Grandeur of the King of Spain, His Zeal to Religion, and the Church in such extravagant expressions, and so deroga­tory to other Princes, that the Imperial Ambassadors themselfs made complaint therof to the Count of Luna, who excusd him­self, saying, That that Harang had displeasd Him as much as any other. Now, the Promoter of the Council having made an­swer to the said Oration, the Spanish Ambassador suddenly went from the Assembly, (not staying until the Legats had ri­sen up) it seems of purpose to prevent a Dispute that might happen with the French, which He observd also in the follow­ing Congregations, sitting always a part, and going out alone.

But the same Order could not be observd in the Church upon the day of the Session, because the mode of sitting was otherwise, and the Ceremonies were more precise in point of Precedencie, as that of the Pax and Censer at the celebration of Masse. Ther­fore the Fathers of the Council consulted the Pope before the Sessi­on, who being gaind by the Spaniards, and thinking also that the French wold shew another trick of weakness, He writ to his Legats, That although in the Session a place was given apart to the Spanish, yet that the Pax and Censer shold be given to both the Ambassadors at one time: But they were commanded to [Page 130] keep the business secret until the very point of the action, to pre­vent that the French shold make no stir.

The day of the Session being come, which was 29 Iune, being St. Peters day, after that the Bishop of Valdasto in Savoy had be­gun to sing the Mass of the Holy Spirit, ther was suddenly a chair of Black Velvet brought from the Sacristia or Vestry, which was plac'd twixt the last Cardinal and the first Patriark, wherin the Count of Luna sate; The Cardinal of Lorain, together with the French Ambassadors, made a great noise, and did rise up with an intention to depart, when they understood that the Pax with the Censer shold be presented at the same time: But for fear to trouble the solemnity of the act, they were contented to pro­test only against it, and to declare that the Right of the King of France did not consist in an Equality, but in Precedence. The Go­spel being read, and a Theologue going up to the chair to make an Oration, the Legats, with the Cardinal of Lorain, and the other Cardinals, with the Ambassador of the Emperour, and Ferrier the second French Ambassador, (for Lansac was returned to France, and had left behind him Ferrier and Pybrack) I say, all these enterd into the Sextry, whither they calld the Archbi­shop of Granada, (a Spaniard) to find out some way of Accom­modation: at last, after many disputes and contestations on both sides, with many entrances and returns of the Count of Luna, it was concluded that Mass shold be ended with the Pax or Censer; wherupon Luna went out of the Church accompani­ed by his Spaniards, triumphing as it were that he had made this first pass for the advantage and honor of his Master.

This action seemd very scandalous, and the Legats were much cryed down, until at last being not able to bear the outcry, they were constrained to produce the Commands they had receavd from Rome: and the Injury was held the more sensible, because it was offerd to an Infant and Pupil King as Charles the ninth was, who was at the same time assiegd by the Hugonots, and en­tangled in a Civil War; The Cardinal of Lorain did write sting­ing Letters to the Pope, yet all within the compass of Reve­rence: But Ferrier being a spritful and violent man, cryed aloud, That if at the first publick Masse the Preference of the Pax and Censer was not given to his Master, He wold protest not only a­gainst the Legats and the Council, who had their hands as it were tied up, nor against King Philip who made use of these advanta­ges, nor against the Church of Rome, (towards which he wold never loose due respects) but against the proper person of the Pope himself, who, as he wold prove, had bought the Pontificat, and so wold appeal from Him to a Legal Pope, and to a free and tru Council; And if the most Christian King his Master wold convoke a National Council, it shold be as numerous and

[Page 131]It is very tru that Ferrier and Pybrak had prepard a most acri­monious Harang against the Pope, and against this Innovation which Ferrier was to pronounce, and to command at the same time all the French Bishops and Doctors to retire home, with a promise they shold return when God shold please to give his Church a Legal Pope, and re-establish the Councils in their anci­ent and full Liberties.

This Harang was printed, but not pronouncd: in the mean time the Count of Luna did glory that the Legats had promisd Him that at the first Masse he shold be receavd in an Equality touching the Pax and the Censer.

The Legats apprehending some ilfavourd issue from these ran­counters, and because the Ambassador of Poland declard that if the Ambassador of France wold withdraw himself from the obe­dience of the Council he wold quickly follow him, as the Am­bassadors of divers other Princes wold do; The Legats, and the most advised Members of the Council, specially Madruccio Car­dinal of Trent in behalf of the Emperour, thought it expedient to sing publick Masse without giving the Pax or the Censer; wher­unto they had the consent of the Count of Luna.

This is the cours which was taken to offer so signal an affront to the King of France, wherof so much hath been spoken, and which hindred the good that was expected in France from this great Council. A little after, the Cardinal of Lorain retird to Rome, and Ferrier declaimd loudly in one General Congregation against the enormities and disorders which had crept into the Church, &c.

The Pope took this much to heart, and for to sweeten the business, he sent the Cardinal of Lorain back again to the Council with full authority to regulat, together with the Legats, what was amiss in the Proceedings of the Council. He assisted at the twenty fourth Session held the 11 of Novemb. 1563. the day of the Sacrament of Marriage, and having receavd order from France to retire speedily with all the French Bishops, the Legats hastned the conclusion of the Council, and inorderd that the five and twentieth and last Session shold be held the third and fourth day of December, wherin as before, the French Ambassadors took place, and the Count of Luna sate neer the Secretary of the Coun­cil; and in the publick Masses ther was no speech either of the Pax or Censer.

So the Council of Trent finishd the 4 of December 1563. and Cardinal Moron who was then President gave the publik Benedi­ction to the Fathers, saying, Post gratias Deo actas reverendissimi Pa­tres Ite in pace: Most reverend Fathers, after giving God thanks go in peace: wherunto all answerd, Amen.

But because the custome is, that at the end of evry General [Page 132] Council acclamations shold be made to felicitat the Popes who had convoqud it, the Fathers who had held it, and the Princes who had assisted, the Cardinal of Lorain took a particular care this shold be performd, for which he was censurd as a care too infe­rior to his Eminence, which he shold have left to the Deacons, Promoters, Secretaries, and Masters of the Ceremonies of the Coun­cil. But above all he was blamd that in the Acclamation made for the Secular Princes, he causd not the name of the King of France to be particularly mentiond, as it was observd in the Bull of Indiction; and for omission wherof, complaint was made that Pius the fourth did it not, wherof the Cardinal could not be ignorant.

Now, the Acclamation that was made in favor of the Secu­lar Princes, (wherin the name of the King of France was omit­ted) ran thus: The Cardinal said aloud, Caroli quinti Imperato­ris, & serenissimorum Regum qui hoc universale Concilium promove­runt, & protexerunt, Memoria in Benedictione sit; Let the memory of the Emperour Charles the fifth, and of the most serene Kings who have promoted this universal Council, be always Blessed. Then, Serenissimo Imperatori Ferdinando semper Augusto, Orthodoxo, & Pacifico, & omnibus Regibus, Reipublicis, & principibus nostris mul­ti anni: Many years to the most serene Emperour Ferdinand e­ver August, Orthodoxal, and Peaceful; and to all our Kings, Commonwealths, and Princes. Then the Fathers answerd, Pium & Christianum Imperatorem Domine conserva, Imperator Cae­lestis Terrenos Reges Rectae Fidei conservatores custodi: O Lord, con­serve the Pious and Christian Emperour; O Coelestial Em­perour defend Earthly Kings, Conservers of the Right Faith.

The first Acclamation was for the Dead, wherin the Car­dinal forgot to express the name of Francis the 1. and Hen. 2. who had contributed their care and zeal for the good of the Council. The second was for living Princes, wherin he also o­mitted the name of Charles 9. for which the said Cardinal was blamd at the King of France his Council. He excusd himself that it was for the fear he had to put division between the two Kings; and withal, that Charles of France being yet a minor, he was like to be troubled about matters of Religion in regard of the Hugonots, and might have need of King Philip, therfore it was no wisdom to exasperat Him.

Thus have you a kinde of Epitome of the great Council of Trent, specially of the celebrous Contests, Intrigues, Competi­tions and Artifices twixt France and Spain in point of Preroga­tive of Place, and Priority of Session.

The next Contest was at the Congress of Ambassadors in [Page 133] Vervins, 1598. (touchd at before) where the French Ambassa­dors receivd an Accommodation by the moderation of the Car­dinal of Medici. The manner of this Accommodation was thus: The Cardinal Legat being under a Cloth of State at the end of the Table where the Treaty was to be held, had upon his Right­hand the Nuntio, and next Him the Spanish Ambassadors; upon his Left-hand the Legat had the French Ambassadors, and in that posture they proceeded to negotiat and Treat without any exce­ption or animosities; wherby the Business producd peaceful and blessed effects, wherof all Christendome did reap very whol­some fruit.

After this, ther happend a tough competition upon the same account of Precedence in the Court of Rome; and when the Spani­ard could not prevail there, He went to the Emperours Court Maximilian the second his neer Kinsman, wher his Ambassa­dors had the Prerogative of Place before the Ambassadors of Charles the ninth King of France: wherupon Gaspar Coligni pro­tested loudly against this apparent injury, and that it was a suf­ficient cause to denounce War. But Mendosa the Spanish Am­bassador being much pressd hereabouts, and reducd to a narrow streight, found out at last this witty evasion, saying, Se nolle quidem anteire, tamen cogi non posse ut Francorum Legatos sequeretur: If He did not go before, yet He could not be forcd to follow the French Ambassador.

Besoldus (with others who are great Advocats for the Spanish Precedence) beat their Brains to find out arguments to that ef­fect: amongst which, the greatest is, the multitude of Domi­nions that have accrued to the Spaniard: whence they deduce this Principle, Ex facto sumitur Ius, Right is to be taken out of the Fact; and the Fact being changd, the Right also changeth. Therfore the Fact and circumstances of things being changd on the Spaniards side, and respect had to his encrease of Territories, and present condition, it may well alter the former custome of giving precedence to France.

Then he takes the Cudgels against England in behalf of Spain, notwithstanding that he acknowledgeth out of Meteranus that the English are the most ancient Christians, and that Germany his own Country owes her Religion first to Them; That the Kings of England are descended of the Noblest Families of any, which makes him instance in King Cunobelinus, whose Coyn is to be seen to this day, who raignd in Great Britain about our Saviours Nativi­ty. He alledgeth further how the King of England is feodary or subordinat to no earthly Power, but is Gods immediat Vicar in his own Dominions: yet he concludes simply and irrationally in these words; Verùm & Angli nimis antiquis argumentis pugnant, & praesenti Majestati Hispaniae aequiparandi minimè esse videntur: The [Page 134] English fight with too ancient arguments, and seem not to be compard to the present Majesty of Spain. He speaks also as simply, and indeed not without some absurdity, when after those uncontroulable arguments, he saith, Sed porro absonum est quod Anglus Hispano Sessionis litem movet; It is a senseless thing that the English shold move any debate with the Spaniard for privi­lege of Session.

And another great Champion for the Precedence of Spain, viz. Diego Valdez, discourseth as weakly; for notwithstanding that he acknowledgeth Lucius to be a Christian King of England in the time of Pope Eleutherius, (which was many hundred years be­fore ther was any in Spain) & that he confesseth that Summa Ratio est quae ducitur à Religione, yet he wold not have England compare with Spain in point of Precedence: wherby he discovers not only a great deal of injustice and partiality, but also a gross Igno­rance in Antiquity, by calling Lucius King of England, wheras this Country had not that Name till the Saxons came in, which was above three hundred years after: For till then twas calld Britannia by all Forreners, and Loegria or Lloygher by the native Inhabitants; which name continues among the Welch to this day. Nor is this His Error alone, but of many other great An­tiquaries, and some of our own Authors, who having no due re­gard to the computation of time, do very frequently call this Country England many hundred of years before the word was created.

Thus have we producd and faithfully alledgd the principal Arguments that France hath for a Precedence: We will conclude with two late Passages which happend in this kind; One was in the Hague twixt Monsieur de Thou, and Don Estevan de Gamarra the Spanish Ambassador; whose Coaches meeting casually in a place where ther were two Rails, ther happend a scustle for Pre­cedence; but a band of Soldiers came and kept them quiet till notice was sent to the Council of State; who sitting three or four hours about it, at last they gave command that the Rails shold be cut down; and so the way being left open, the scustle en­ded.

The second was in London twixt Monsieur l' Estrade and the Ba­ron de Batteville, both of them Ambassadors at the English Court, the latter for the King of Spain, the other for France; A new Danish Ambassador was to make his Entry through London; and His Majesty of Great Britain having intimation that ther might be some clash between the Coaches of the foresaid Ambassadors if they sent them according to custome to bring in the said new Ambassador, He sent unto them that they wold forbear to send their Coaches because some inconvenience might arise: Batte­ville [Page 135] answerd, That he wold conform to his Majesties plesure, provided l' Estrade did likewise do so: But l' Estrade gave answer to the Kings Message, That his Predecessor the French Ambas­sador immediatly before him had receavd a check at his return to France for omitting this ceremony, and so was he like to do if he did not perform it. So both of them sending their rich Coaches and Laquays to Tower-wharf where the new Ambassa­dor was to land, Batteville it seems had taken such a survey of the place, that his Coach stood in such a posture that none could get before it and the Kings Coach: besides, he had causd the Rains and Harness of his Coach to be lin'd with Wire, making them therby poof against the strokes of Swords: so ther hap­pend a hot and fierce Scirmige, ther being Pistols on both sides besides Swords, and the French had some horsmen also; so the poor Horses were slashd, and some Laquays killd on both sides, and one Spanish Gentleman was killd in the Coach: but Batte­ville stood firm to his ground, and so his Coach went next to the Kings all the way. News being sent herof to Paris, it was much resented, and the Spanish Ambassador there being confind to his House, he presently dispatchd an Expresse to Madrid; who be­ing returnd, He sent to the Louvre that he had receavd such Or­ders that wold give his Majesty satisfaction touching the late Traverses in England, and so desired Audience, which was ap­pointed him the next day: In the interim command was sent that the Princes of the Blood and chief Officers of the Crown shold be there. The Spanish Ambassador being come, and ex­pecting a privat audience, but finding such a solemn meeting, was a little stunnd at first; yet he went on, and deliverd his Mes­sage to the King: which was, that touching the late Contest in England, it was done without his Catholique Majesties direction and knowledge, therfore he wold take a cours that no occasion shold be offerd for such differences herafter. Besides these, he pronouncd other Explanatory words that were equivalent to an acknowledgment of Precedence to his most Christian Majesty, which were suddenly commanded to be registred in the Coun­cil for an Act of State, and so to stand upon Record to Poste­rity.

Hereupon ther was a most prudent Act of State passd in the Privy Council of the King of Great Britain, That in regard of the inconvenience and disturbances which did thence arise, his Majesty commanded that no Forren Ambassadors Coaches shall for the future go to accompany and introduce any new Ambas­sador whatsoever, because his Majesties Coaches are sufficient to accompany them in a fitting Equippage: which Act I believe will be a leading case to all the Courts of Christendome.

[Page 136]Before we conclude this Section touching the Right of Prece­dence which the French King claims of other Princes, we will adde what Mr. de Breves says in his Appendix of the Negotiations in the East, where he says, That in the Raign of Henry the Great he took Precedence of the Ambassadors of Rodulphus the Empe­rour in Constantinople at the Port of the Turks Court, who values Christian Princes according to the merit of their Might.

WE will now proceed to weigh and winnow the Arguments of Spain in order to a Precedence, which we will extract also, and distil out of their own Authors, as Valdesius, Francisco Vasquez, Camillo Borrello, Besoldus, Morales, Augusto Cavaisll, Cara­nato, with divers others.

And let this be a Close to the second Section.
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[Page 137] The third Section, CONTAINING The Reasons wherby the King of Spain pre­tends, and claims Priority of Place, and Proximity of Session next the Emperour at all solemn Meet­ings, and in all Publik Transactions of State, &c.

Which Reasons We will reduce also to Ten Heads or Arguments;
  • The first Argument, Proving, That the Catholik King may challenge Precedence, because Spain is the Noblest Kingdome of Europe, as being always accounted the Head ther­of.
  • The second Argument, Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence by the Authority of General Councils, and the Learned Doctors of the Church.
  • The third Argument, Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence, because Spain first receavd and professd the Catholik Faith; That the first Christian Church was built there; The first Council celebrated; The first Bishop was elected out of Her, The first Empe­rour created, &c.
  • The fourth Argument, Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence, because He is the Catholick King, which is a more ancient Title then Christianissimus.
  • [Page 138] The fifth Argument, Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence because that in magnitude of Kingdomes, in Power and Tresure he excels all other.
  • The sixth Argument, Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence for Nobleness of Family, and that the Kingdome of France did justly belong to Philip 3.
  • The seventh Argument, Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence because he is King of Ierusalem.
  • The eighth Argument, Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence because of free and absolut Dominion, and that he hath Empires under Him.
  • The ninth Argument, Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence because he hath done such great Offices to the Christian Church.
  • The tenth and last Argument, Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence because the Catholick Church receaves greater Protection and Emoluments from Him then from any other Prince whatsoever.

OF all these Arguments we shall treat distinctly in several divisions according to the former method, and distil out of the chiefest Spanish Authors that write of this subject, the Elixir and strength of their Reasons. But let the Reader take this Ad­vertisement, That he must not expect here the particular Quota­tions and Marginals wherwith the Spanish Writers use to abound, and which indeed belong to Civilians and Iurists: No, the Au­thor here goes on in a freer and generous way, and the Reader without abusing his Faith may believe what he delivers, being extracted with much fidelity, and care out of the forementiond Au­thors who write for the Crown of Spain, and in their own ex­pressions; and so we begin with the first Argument, viz. That Spain is calld the Head of Europe, and consequently the Noblest Kingdome.

I.

THe beginning of evry thing as it is the hardest, so it is al­ways accounted the worthiest and most Noble part, as be­ing the head and source whence the rest are derivd: so our bles­sed Saviour is calld Principium & Caput, the beginning and Head wherof all the Faithful are Members: He is [...] as well as [...]; And his Vicar-general upon earth (the Pope) is calld Ca­put Ecclesiae Militantis, The Head of the Militant Church. For in the Head, as Philosophers teach us, Nature shews her chief­est skill in the architecture and composition of Man (the Mi­crocosm) in regard that in the Head all the Senses are placd; The Eyes which are the Casements of the Soul are there; The Toung which is her chief Interpreter moves there; Nay, all her Fa­culties, as the Will, the Memory, and the Intellect, by which we are distinguished from Beasts, have their dwelling there as in a Capitol: Therfore, as Cassanaeus saith, He is a Monster of a Man who wold compare the Body with the Head. Now, by consent of all, if the Head be the predominant part of the Body, surely He who governs the Head must be more excellent then He who governs the Body; As the City of Rome being the Capital City of the Christian Empire, the Pope being Bishop of Rome, is acknowledgd the Metropolitan and chiefest among the rest, be­cause he hath the excellentst City and Diocess.

Now an Argument for Precedence drawn A Nobilitate Regni, carries much strength and reason with it: Therfore if the King of Spain be He who governs the Head of Europe, it follows that He may be calld the chiefest King. Now, to prove that Spain is so, we will produce these proofs; First, the Authority of Pli­ny, who saith thus: Terrarum Orbis Universi in tres dividitur partes, Europam, Asiam, Africam, Origo ab Occasu Solis, & Gaditano Freto, quò irrumpens Oceanus Atlanticus in Maria Interiora diffundi­tur: The Globe of the earth is divided into three parts, Europe, Asia and Afrik, the Head is from the setting of the Sun, and the Gaditan Frete, which Navigators commonly call The Streights mouth, where the Atlantick Ocean breaking into the inner Seas diffuseth it self. Whence it appeers, that the beginning of Eu­rope is placed in the Gaditan streight. Strabo likewise in his Cos­mography, and others of the most ancient and best Geogra­phers concur herin, among whom Nicephorus saith, In Hispania sedes fixerunt quae prima ab Hespero Regio est; And Lucius Mari­naeus Siculus, speaking of the situation of Spain, begins thus: Hispania sicuti Plinius alii (que) Scriptores tradiderunt, Regio prima in So­lis occasu Europae terminos claudit. Abraham Ortelius also in his The­atre of the World, and Cassanaeus confess all this; and while they [Page 140] compare Europe to a Virgin, Spain is placed in the head of her by the Geography of Ioannes Encys [...]s; And it may be provd by two Reasons that Spain is the Head, First, that since the Terre­strial Orb is begirt with the Sea on all sides, the Sea cannot dif­fuse it self to visit other Regions but by the Regions of Spain, where the Gaditan Streight is as it were a Fountain, beginning and origine; where ther is a gate open, and whence as it were from a Head it derives it self through Europe, flowing one way into the Mediterranean, and on the other side into the Ocean, and so protends it self to Asia and Afrik; insomuch that from this Head the other members proceed, and from this Spring other Seas flow out like Rivers, as Pliny commemorates in another place.

Secondly, it make infinitly for the King of Spain, that he doth Lord over the New World where Asia, Afrik, Europe, and divers parts of the East, West, North and South do converse, and where Spain commands as Queen and Head, and reduceth dayly other Regions to the Catholik Faith as Members of that Head.

It being thus provd that Spain is the Head of Europe, it remains to prove that it is the Noblest Region, and that it is a Kingdom then which the Sun doth not behold a more large and florishing; for whatsoever hath Nobleness, Wit or Splendor in it, she hath. Ther is not any thing that can be expected from Nature, Vertue and Fortune, but Spain hath it abundantly; she hath subdued most Noble Peeple, most Resolut Spirits, most Warlike Nati­ons by Wisdome as well as by Arms: Therfore Spain is to have Precedence after Italy of all other European Regions. Hear what Iustine speaks of her: Hispania ne (que) ut Africa violento sole torretur, ne (que) ut Gallia assiduis ventis fatigatur, seà media inter u­tras (que) hinc temperato calore, inde felicibus, & tempestivis imbribus in omnia frugum genera foecunda est, adeo ut non ipsius tantum Incolis, verum etiam Italiae, urbi (que) Romanae cunctarum Rerum abundantia sufficat: Spain is neither roasted by a violent Sun as Afrik is, nor is she troubled with continual Winds as France is, but in a middle temper twixt both she enjoys a moderat heat with hap­py and seasonable showres towards the production of all kind of fruit, in such plenty that she hath not only sufficient to serve her own peeple, but she commonly furnisheth Italy and the City of Rome with her superfluities.

What shall I speak of the amoenity of the Soile, of the salu­brity of Air, of her excellent Metals, of her exquisit VVoolls, of her incomparable Iron and Steel, of her rare VVines, of her Silks, of her Riches and Tresure! VVhat shall I say of the Fi­delity and Fortitude, of the Temperance and Sobriety, of the Devotion and Sanctimony, of the Religion and Piety, of the [Page 141] Abstinence and Sobriety, of the admired Patience and Constan­cy of her Inhabitants! Nor doth she supply other Nations with her excess of divers Commodities, but she furnisheth them with Emperours and Generals. We may read in the Macca­bees that one of the Arguments which the Roman Captains usd, to terrifie the Iews, was, how that they had subjugated many parts of Spain.

Hear what the famous Poet Claudian sings of Her in this Rapture:

Quod dignum memorare tuis Hispania Terris
Vox Humana valet? primo lavat aequore Solem
India; Tu fessos exacta luce jugales
Proluis, in (que) tuo respirant sydera fluctu;
Dives equ [...]s, frugum facilis, pre [...]iosa metallis,
Principtbus foecunda piis; Tibi saecula debent
Trajanum; series his fontibus Aelia fluxit,
Hinc senior pater, hinc Iuvenum Diademata Fratrum;
Nam (que) Aliae Gentes quas faedere Roma recepit,
Aut Armis domuit, varios aptantur in usus
Imperii; Phariae segetes, & Punica Messis
Castrorum devota cibo, dat Gallia robur
Militis, Illyricis sudant Equitatibus alae;
Sola novum Latiis vectigal Iberia Rebus
Contulit Augustos, fruges, aeraria, miles
Undi (que) conveniunt, toto (que) ex Orbe leguntur.
Haec generat quae cuncta regit, nec laude Virorum
Censeri contenta fuit, nisi Matribus aequè
Vinceret, & gemino certatim splendida sexu
Placillam, Mariam (que) daret, pulchram (que) Serenam.

And wheras innumerable things do offer to be spoken to the glory of Spain, wherof both Poets and Prose-Authors are full, I will make choice here of that eloquent Character which Paca­tus Latinus gives of her in his famous Panegyrik to Theodostus the Emperour. Nam primùm tibi Patria est Hispania Terra omnibus Terris foelicior, cui excolendae, at (que) adeo ditandae impensius quam cae­teris gentibus supremus Ille Rerum Fabricator indulsit; Quae nec Austri­nis obnoxia aestibus, nec Arctois subjecta frigoribus, mediâ fovetur Axis utrius (que) temperte. Quae hinc Pyreneis montibus, Illinc Oceani aesti­bus, inde Tyrrheni Maris littoribus coronatae Natura solertis ingenio velut alter Orbis includitur; Adde tot egregias Civitates, adde culta inculta (que) vel fructibus plena, vel gregibus. Adde auriferorum opes fluminum, adde rad [...]antium Metalla gemmarum. Scio fabulas Poeta­rum auribus mulcendis repertas aliquando nonnullis gentibus attribuisse Miracula, quae dum sint vera, sunt singula, nec jam excutio veritatem, [Page 142] &c. In the first place thy Country is Spain, a Land happier then all Lands, which for Agriculture and Riches, the supreme Fabricator of all things hath indulgd more favorably then other Nations; for it is not obnoxious to Southern Heat, nor subject to Northern Cold, but is cherishd with a middle temper of both the Poles. This side Spain is crownd with the Pyrenean Hills, on that side with the Breezes of the Ocean, then with the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, being fencd by the industrious hand of Nature, as if she were another world. Adde herunto so many gallant Cities, Adde cultivated and incultivated places, all ei­ther full of Fruit or Cattle; Adde the Wealth of the Gold­bearing Rivers, Adde Mines of shining Metals, &c.

The Renown of the Spanish Nation was before that of the Ro­mans; for the fame of their Valour did ring among the Greeks in the VVars of Peloponnesus; and Alcibiades in an Oration that Thucydides mentions of his, calls them Fortissimos & Pug [...]acissi­mos omnium Barbarorum, The Valiantst and VVarlikst of all the Barbarians, as the Greeks termd then all other Nations besides themselfs, which the Romans did afterwards. Annaeus Florus calls Spain Bellatricem, Viris Armis (que) Nobilem, Annibalis Eruditricem; Warlike, Noble for Men and Arms, and who taught Hannibal; for all the Exploits which he performd, he did with Spaniards. And observable it is, that after the Romanes had invaded the Provinces of Spain, they were the last whom they subdued, figh­ting in Her, and for Her in many desperat doubtful Battails, being somtimes Victors, somtimes Vanquishd, the space of a­bout two hundred long yeers, wheras they did spend not neer so much time in bringing under the Roman yoke any other Coun­try unless it was Great Britain, (now England) who also wrastled so long before she could be reducd to a general obedience; which discovers the innated stoutness of the two Nations; wheras all Gallia was brought under in less then Ten years, which may be the reason that Iulius Caesar (their Conqueror) shold say, Plebe Galliae nihil contemptibilius, Ther's nothing so contemptible as the Peeple of Gallia.

Argum. 2. That the Catholik King may challenge Precedence by the Authority of General Councils, and the Learned Doctors of the Church.

THe Philsopher beats still upon the Anvil of Reason to make his Conclusions good; The Mathematician by practical and visible Experiments brings his Conclusions to Demonstra­tions; The Jurists and Theologues do commonly make good their Tenets by Authority of the Ancients, by Examples of An­tiquity; And indeed Responsa Patrum, Consulta Prudentum, have bin much reputed in all Ages; ther was always a venerable and re­ligious esteem had of them, so that it is held one of the strongest ways of disputing; therfore the dint of this second Argument shall be to produce the Authority of ancient Oecumenical Councils, that the Noble Kingdome of Spain hath had the Pre­cedence from time to time of France, and consequently of all o­ther Countries.

But let this previous Advertisement go before, That superio­rity of session, and subscription in General Councils, hath bin diversly usd: For sometimes the Bishops have not subscribd, ta­ken place, or given their suffrages in their own names, but in the name of the Province or Kingdom which they represented; and in that case ther is not so much regard had of the Person, or an­tiquity of Consecration, but the Dignity of the Nation, as it appeers in two Decrees of Gratianus: Therfore the Bishop of Milan did subscribe before him of Ravenna, though Ravenna be much the more ancient. This cours was observd in the Nicene Council, where the Bishops voted, and subscribd not according to Priority of Consecration, but Dignity of Provinces, and of the Souverain Prince who sent them. The like cours was taken in the first Constantinopolitan Council, and others. But as Baro­nius observes, to sit on the Right-hand doth nor always imply su­periority of place; for he relates according to the ancient or­der of Rome, that the Priests had sometimes the Right hand of the Bishops, as appeers by these words, Sedebunt ex locali dispo­sitione ut intrantibus Ecclesiam Episcopi sint ad sinistram, Presbyteri verò ad dexteram; & quando Pontifex sederit, & ad eos respexerit, Episcopos ad dextram, Presbyteros intueatur ad sinistram: They shall sit by local disposition so, that in entring the Church the Bishops shall be on the Left hand, and the Priests on the Right; but when the Pope shall be sate, and looks upon them, the Bishops shall be on the Right, and the Priests on the Left.

In the first Act of the Nicene and Chalcedonian Synod, it is left [Page 144] upon record that the Pontificial Legats sate on the Left hand, the Bible being placed in the middle of the Hall, which denoted that Christ was present and President. Moreover, in the celebrati­on of the Masse the Epistle is read upon the Right hand, and the Gospel on the Left, though we know the Gospel to be the worthier of the two.

This being premisd, we will now to the promised Authorities of ancient Councils. We read that in the time of the Apostles, and the very infancie of the Church, ther were four publik As­semblies or Councils; The first was of about 120 of the Faithful who met to elect and substitut Matthias to be Apostle in the room of Iudas. The second, was to choose Deacons, in whose num­ber the blessed Protomartyr St. Stephen was one. The third, was to confute Cerinthus the Heretique, and whether Circumci­sion was to continue. The fourth, was to give the Circumcision an honorable Burial. Now, it is to be observd, that before the two last were held, St. Iames the Apostle had travelld Spain, and having reducd that Peeple to Christianity, he brought over some of them to Hierusalem, who were in all probability present at those two last Councils: for in the Acts of the Apostles we read that all the Faithful were at them. Then was St. Iames the first Converter of Spain, made the first Martyr of all the A­postles, being beheaded by Herod Agrippa, 44 Anno after the In­carnation of our Saviour.

It having appeerd that some Spaniards had bin at the first Councils of the Apostles, We will now pass to the Nicene Council, (pretermitting the Ancyritan and Illiberitan Synods, with others) Now, That of Nice was the first Universal or Oecumenical Council that ever was; for it was convokd by authority of the secular power the Emperour being then become Christian. This celebrous Council was in the time of Pope Sylvester 325. And as in the Acts it stands upon record, the Bishops therin did not subscribe according to antiquity of Consecration, but according to the Dignity and Renown of the Province for which they servd; Osius Bishop of Cordoua servd then for Spain, and Nicasius Divien­sis for Gallia, but Osius subscribd first to the Canons of the Coun­cil, and they are the first most authentik and legal Canons of any, for the Emperour did consent therunto. Now as the Record hath it, 318 Bishops subscribd to the Acts therof, which begin thus:

  • Osius Episcopus Civitatis Cordubensis Provinciae Hispaniae dixit▪ Ita credo sicut superius scriptum est: Osius Bishop of the Ci­ty of Cordoua in the Province of Spain, said, I believe so as it is written above.
  • [Page 145]Victor & Vincentius Presbyteri Urbis Romae, pro Venerabili Viro Pap [...] Episcope Nostro sancto Sylvestro subscripsimus, Ita cre­de [...]tes sicut suprascriptum est: Victor and Vincentius Pres­byters of the City of Rome, we have subscribd for the Venetable Man Pope our Bishop Saint Sylvester, belee­ving so as is above written.
  • Provinci [...] Egypti Alexander Alexandriae Magnae, &c. Of the Province of Egypt Alexander of great Alexandria, &c.

And when all Provinces had in their order and several degrees thus subscribd, the last supscription runs thus:

Provinciae Galliarum Nicasius Diviensis, Of the Province of Gallias Nicasius Diviensis.

I know the French have objected that Osius might be then Le­gat for the Pope, and so had precedence; but not a syllable of this is spoken of in the Records of the Council. Others al­ledg, that Osius being a Man of extraordinary Renown at that time because he had had a great hand in the conversion of Constantin the Emperour, an extraordinary respect was born him; for Nicephorus calls Him the Miracle of that Age, and Athanasius stiles him Patrem Conciliorum, Ducem, & Antesignanum: But Ambrosius Morales with others aver, that he subscribd first out of no other respect but as he was Bishop of Cordou [...], and re­presented the Noble Region of Spain: And for that regard He preceded also the Bishop of Constantinople, as it appeers in a Let­ter which was written from that Nic [...]ne Council to the Pope, which runs thus: Beatis [...]imo Papae Urbis Romae cum omni reverentia colendo Sylvestro, Osius Episcopus Provinciae Hisp [...]niae Civitatis Cor­dubensis; & Macarius Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae; & Victor & Vincentius Presbyteri Urbis Romae Ordinati Ex directione Tua. To the most Blessed Pope of the City of Rome to be worshipped with all reverence Sylvester, Osius Bishop of the Province of Spain and City of Cord [...]a; and Macarius Bishop of Constantinople; and Victor and Vincentius Priests of the City of Rome ordaind by thy direction, &c.

After the Nicene Council celebrated under Pope Sylvester, o­ther Synods or small Councils met where the Bishops of remote Provinces did not repair, but they who were not far distant. But at the great Council of Sard [...] (for so tis calld by Athanasius) ther assembled 300 Occidental Bishops, and 70 of the Levant, who were most of them Arrians: In this Council also Spain is namd next Rome, as it appeers by the Record which goes thus: [Page 146] Sancta Synodus Dei gratia ex Urbe Roma, Hispanis, Gallis, Italis, &c. And Athanasius relates in his Apologie against the Arrians thus: Fuere in Magno S [...]rdico C [...]ncilio plures quam trecenti Epis [...]opi qui ex multis Provinciis Egypti, Lybiae, [...], Palestinae, &c. Hi­sponiarum, Galliarum, Britanniarum, &c. eo se ad Concilium contu­lerunt: Ther were in the Council of Sardis above 300 Bishops, who out of many Provinces of Egypt, Lybia, [...], Palestine, &c. Spain, Gallia, Britain, &c. did repair to the Council.

In the raign of Constantius the Emperour 358. He causd two Councils to convene, One of the Oriental Bishops at Seleucia; The other at Ariminum in Italy, consisting of Western Bishops, and in the Acts therof Spain is still nominated before France. At the first Council in Constantinople, and that at Rome under Pope Symachus, with others, ther can be no judgment made of Prece­dencies, until Lugdune [...]se Concilium, the second Council at Lions, Anno 1274. held under Pope Gregory the tenth, where among divers other ther were Ambassadors from Paleologue the Eastern Emperour, and the King of Tartary. This Council was con­vokd principally for reconciling the Greek Church with the La­tin, for the conversion of the Tartars, and also for an Expedition to the Holy Land. Ther assembled 500 Archbishops and Bishops, 40 Abbots, and 1000 Prelats and Doctors, among whom [...]on­adventure and the Angelical Doctor Thomas Aquinas who assisted there did die. Don Iaime King of Aragon was earnestly sollici­ted by the Pope to be there, as Peter [...] hath it upon good re­cord in the Spanish Toung, as followeth: Viendo el Papa Gregorio que la yglesia tenia gran necessidad de Concilia para much as cosas, y es­pecialmente para las de Ultrama [...] determinò d [...] juntar Concilio en Leon en Francia para la p [...]scua del Espiritu [...] ▪ y embiava à [...] al Rey de Aragon, [...] que no faltasse d [...] [...]necessidad de [...] presentia, para dar Consejo, y favor à la santa Ig be [...], &c. Pope Gregory seeing that the Church had great necessity of a General Council for many things, specially for Affairs beyond the Seas, determind to convoque one at Lions in France towards Whitson­tide; and sending notice hereof [...]o Iames King of Aragon, he en­deard the business unto him, desiring his presence, in regard there wold be great want of his person to afford counsel and fa­vor to the Holy Church, & [...].

King Iames came accordingly in a splendid Equip page; and the Cardinals, Bishops, and the world of Prelats ther came to meet him three miles, were so numerous, that though they set forth betimes in the morning▪ ye [...] it was after noon before he ar­rivd at the Popes Palace: The next day▪ He made a Noble Speech, and Hortative for a Cruzada to the Holy Land, taking the superior place all the time he was there▪ which raising some [Page 147] envy in the Ambassadors of other Kings, discontents grew, and so nothing took effect.

Under Clement the fifth, Anno 1311. a Council was convokd at Vienna, wherin ther were 300 Bishops, besides other Ecclesi­astiks, where Philippe le Bel, with his Son Luys Hutin King of Navarre, and two other of his Sons came, but ther is no men­tion made in the Records of any matters of Precedence, nor like­wise in the Council of Mantua held by Pius 2. 1458.

Then came the Council of Basil, and hear what Platina saith in the Life of Eugenius 4. Et quod Basiliense Concilium jam [...] inchoatum Martini Decreto augeri indies cerneret, conturrentibus eò Hispaniae, Galliae, Germaniae, &c. principibus qui communem Chri­stianae Reiqublicae causam in arbitrio Concilii disponebant. And be­cause the Council at Basil begun before by the Decree of Marlin was seen to increase daily, some Princes of Spain, France, and Germany, &c concurring thither for disposing of the common cause of the Christian Republik, according to the arbitrement of the Council, &c. where you find that Spain is nominated before all other Countries.

In the Council of Florence begun at Ferrara under Eugenius 4. where Iohannes Paleologus the Greek Emperour, and the Patri­ark of Constantinople, and a great confluence of Greek and Latin Prelats were assembled, ther is no superior place mentiond in the Acts of that Council, nor among the Writers of the History therof.

We come now to the Council of Trent, where the Marquiss of Pescara and the Count of Luna were Ambassadors for Philip the second, the mighty King of Spain: you may finde that in the Acts of that long Concil they never came behind the Emperour, but sate between the Secretary of the Council and the Popes Nuncio on the right hand, wheras the French Ambassador fate upon the left hand both of the Legat and the Imperial Ambassa­dor.

Now to go from Oecumenical Councils to National, whersoe­ver the Bishops of Spain and France met, Spain had the first Sessi­on, Voice and Nomination as the Nobler Kingdome. As ap­peers in the third Council at Toledo, in the raign of King Rica­redus, as may be plainly read in the Works of Garsia Loaisa, Pre­ceptor to the glorious and Catholik King Philip 2. and after­wards Archbishop of Toledo, whose sublime Erudition joynd with integrity, and signal sanctity of Life and Manners do so contend for precedence, that it is hard to judge which of them excels most, they all are so perfectly resplendent.

In the fourth Toledo Council ther is frequent mention made in Morales, de Hispaniae & Galliae praesulibus; de Hispaniae & Gal­liae sacerdotibus.

[Page 148]Go to the ancient Doctors of the Church where ther is mention made of Spain and France, Spain most commonly is namd first: we will first instance in Tertullian in his Book Adversus Iudaeos, where speaking of the multitude of Nations that were conver­ted to Christianity, He speaks Hispaniarum omnes termini, & Gal­liarum diversae Nationes & Britannorum inaccessa loc [...] Romanis, Chri­sto vero subdita, &c. Ther is a remarkable thing in Irenaeus, Et si in mundo loquelae dissimiles sint, Virtus tamen Traditionis una & eadem est; & ne (que) hae quae sunt in Germania fundatae Ecclesiae aliter credunt, a [...]t aliter tradunt; Ne (que) hae quae in Iberis sunt ne (que) hae quae sunt in Celtis; ne (que) hae quae sunt in Oriente; ne (que) hae quae sunt in Egypto; Ne (que) hae quae sunt in Lybia; ne (que) hae quae in medio Mundi sunt con­stitutae▪ sed sicut Sol creatura Dei in universo mundo unus, & idem est, sic lumen ac praedicatio Veritatis ubi (que) lucet, & illuminat omnes homi­nes qui volunt ad Veritatis cognitionem venire. Although the Lan­guages of the world be differing, yet the Vertu of Tradition is one and the same: For neither those Churches that are founded in Germany do believe, or deliver otherwise; nor those which are in Spain, nor those which are in France, &c.

VVe will conclude with Saint Hierome: Hoc in Ecclesiis suis faciant quod Romae, sive quod in Italia, &c. quod in Hispania, quod in Britannia, quod etiam ex parte per Gallias, &c.

This precedence for Spain is also confirmd in the Imperial Laws of Iustinian, where he saith, Quae cun (que) in partibus Hispa­niarum, Galliae sive Francorum aguntur, &c. And ther was great care and caution usd to give evry Country and Nation its Right touching this particular in the Iustinian Laws, whose principal aim was suum Cui (que) tribuere, to give evry Country and King­dome its due in point of Dignity as well as of Possession, and common Right.

Argum. 3. That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence, because Spain first receavd, and professd the Catholik Faith; That the first Chri­stian Church was built there; The first Council was ce­lebrated there; The first Bishop and the first Emperour was out of Her, &c.

THey who write of the Glory of Nations, shold in the first place look upon their antiquity and origine. Ther is a Topik Axiome, That Bonum quò antiquius eò melius; Therfore Antiquity conduceth much to the Honour and Dignity of a Peeple; As Pliny doth elegantly express, Reverere gloriam Veterum; nam hanc ipsam senectutem quae in Homine venerabilis, in Urbibus sacra est: Reverence the Glory of the Ancients, for that Old Age which is venerable in Man, is sacred in Cities.

Touching the Originals of Spain, and of Her Inhabitants, with the propagation and succession of them, ther are four things to be considered in the enquiry therof; first, of what Peeple they first descended; what transmigrations they made; at what time; and by what Right or Title. These may be calld the principles of a Country. The Arcadians did vaunt that they were synchronical, or contemporary with the Gods; that they were before the Sun and the Stars. Other Nations do labour much to derive themselfs from before the Floud. Now con­cerning Spain, all Annalists concur that Tubal Cain was her first Populator, being allurd by the amoenity and fruitfulness of the Country and Clime; and this was 2173 years before the Na­tivity of our Saviour, and 1179 from the Creation, and 143 years after the general Deluge. Berosus affirms that Tubal raignd in Spain 151 yeers, and Strabo concurs with him▪ some call him Iobel, and Iosephus calls the Spaniards Iobeles from him. Setubal in Portugal receaves her denomination thence, as also Tudela in the Kingdome of Navarre. Some are of opinion that Noe came al­so to Spain, for in Asturia ther is a Town calld Noega, and Noela in Galicia. Spain was calld Iberia from King Iberus; and ther's a great River also of his name, vulgarly calld Ebro, wherin ma­ny other Rivers do disburden themselfs, which was the occasion of the Proverb, Me Llamo Ebro porque de todas aguas bevo. It is al­so calld Hesperia from the Occidental Star; At last it came to be calld Hispania from King Hispanus.

We will now proceed to prove that Spain receavd, and pro­fessd the Christian Religion first of any. And, as this Inferi­our World is governd by the motion, and circumgyrations of [Page 150] the Heavens, so Christian Kingdoms are governd by Religion and Faith, and by the holy Professors therof. Now, Spain had the advantage and honor to have the first Martyr among the A­postles for her Father and Founder, which was St. Iames, who though he was beheaded in Ierusalem, yet his Body was tran­sported to Spain by a wonderful Providence, where a stately Dome or Church is built for him, frequented by Emperours and Kings, with innumerable sorts of Pilgrims. Charlemain came of purpose to do his Devotions in that Church where such mighty miracles are daily wrought. Now in Tarragona the most blessed Virgin appeerd to St. Iames, and gave him order to erect a Church there, which is the ancientst of any in the Christian world.

Moreover, for the predication of the Gospel, the hevenly ti­dings of salvation, it began in Spain three yeers after the passion of Christ, as it is recorded in the Ecclesiastical History of Ba­ronius, and confirmd in the Council of Trent, with the whole current of Antiquity, so that it can be no less then an Impiety to make any hesitation therin.

After the predication of St. Iames, Saint Paul also came to Spain; nay the Prince of the Apostles St. Peter performd a pere­grination thither; and among others he converted Epinetus; so that the Christian Faith was founded in Spain by these three great Pillars of the Church. Saint Torquatus Bishop of Guadix was one of the first whom St. Iames reducd to Christ, and ther is an Olive-tree planted by his hand which bears fruit to this day; and the Bridg is yet remaining which broke and fell down under those who did poursue and persecure the Christians in those days.

Saint Cecilius his Church neer Granada is standing to this day, where also so many miracles and wonderful cures are commonly wrought. There also is the famous Valparayso, the Valley of Paradise, where so many Martyrs sufferd, and their Reliques remain to this day, as appeers by this Record which I thought worthy to insert here.

In nomine Dom. nostri Iesu Christi, En el anno ix. del Pontificado de nuestro santissimo Padre Clemente Octavo, y el anno 2. del Reyno del Clementissimo, y Catholico Don Philippo 3.

Nos Don Pedro de Castro, por la gracia de Dios, y de la santa sede Apostolica Arsobispo de Granada, del consejo del Rey [...]uestro senor, con consejo, y asenso de los Reverendissimos Prelados Don Iuan de Fonseca Obispo de Guadix del consejo de su Magestad, provincial, y sufra­ganeo nuestro, y Don Sebastian Quintero Obispo de Gallipoli, y Don Al­fonso [Page 151] de Mendosa Abad de Alcala la real. A [...]iendo tratado de las Re­liquias que el anno del nacimiento de nuestro Salvador I [...]su Christo de 1595. se hallaron deribando una torre antiquisstma en esta santa Iglesia, y otras en el monte que Llaman Valparayso el cono­cimiento y aprobacion de las quales nos pertenece por derecho, y por el santo Concilio de Trenta, y por comission especial de nuestro muy santo padre Clemente Octavo; Visto este processo, y todas las informaciones, averiguaciones, y diligentias en el hechas, y aviendo avido conse [...]o, y deliberacion con barones m [...]y doctos, pios, y Theologos, y de otras facul­tades con nos congregados, y todo lo demas que fue necessario, y verse convino. Fallamos de un mesmo parecer, y asenso en que fueron todos conformes, que devemos declarar.

‘In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, In the ninth year of the Pontificat of our most holy Father Pope Clement 8. and in the second year of our most merciful and Catholick King Don Philip the 3.’

‘We Don Pedro de Castro by the Grace of God, and the holy Apostolik Seat, Archbishop of Granada, of the Council of the King our Lord, with the counsel and consent of the most re­verend Prelats Don Iohn of Fo [...]seca Bishop of Guadix of his Majesties Council our Comprovincial and Suffragan, and Don Sebastian Quintero Bishop of Gallipoli, and Don Alonso de Mendosa Abbat of Alcala; Having treated of the Reliques which were found 1598. by pulling down a Wall in this most ancient Church, with others in the Mount Valparay­so, the knowledge and approbation wherof belongs to Us by the holy Council of Trent, and by special commission from our holy Father Clement the 8. The process herof being seen, with the Informations, Averiguations and diligences done therein; and having taken the advice and deliberation of most learned and pious Theologues, with other Faculties which was convenient and necessary to be done;’

‘We find according to the concordant and unanimous con­sent of all, that we ought to declare, and we do hereby declare, define and pronounce the said Reliques in this process con­taind, viz. the one half of the cloth wherwith the glorious Virgin Mary wipd her Tears at the passion of her Son our Sa­viour, and a bone of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, are the tru cloth of our Lady, and bone of St. Stephen; and that ha­ving bin hidden, lockd up, and kept in the Wall of a most an­cient Tower which was built neer this Church, being put in a Leaden Box lind within and without, and within the said Box a Letter of most ancient parchment, wherein Patricius the Priest relates the said Reliques to be; and that he did hide [Page 152] them there by the command of Saint Cecilius; and all was found within the said Box upon St. Iosephs day, 19 of March, by pulling down and destroying the said Tower; We like­wise declare, define and pronounce the said Bone, Dust and Ashes, and white Morter which were found in Valparayso, to be really the Reliques of holy Martyrs who now rejoyce and raign with God in Heven; viz. of Saint Cecilio, Saint Hiscio, Saint Cthesiphon, Disciples to the most blessed Apostle Saint Iames Zebedeus; and of Saint Setentrio, and Patricio Disciples of St. Cecilio; and of Turillo, Panuncio, Maronio, Centulio, Dis­ciples of Saint Hiscio; and of St. Maximinio and Lupario, Dis­ciples of St. Cthefiphon, and St. Mesiton; And the said Saints sufferd Martyrdome some, by fire being burnt alive, some shut up in the Caves and Caverns of the said Mountains for the Faith of our Redeemer Jesus Christ, and for preaching and publishing his Gospel in the second yeer of the raign of Nero, St. Cecilio with his Disciples suffring upon the Calends of Fe­bruary, St. Hiscius on the Calends of March, and St. Cthesiphon with his Disciples on the Calends of April, as four Leafs of Lead do manifestly shew in Latin Letters written in most an­cient characters, with other old Instruments of Lead, all which was hidden and found in the caverns of the said Moun­tains, and never discoverd until now; and this process is ve­rified, and God hath confirmd it by divers miracles. In con­sequence wherof we declare that the said Reliques ought to be receavd, honord, reverencd, adord with honor and holy wor­ship, as the tru Reliques of the most blessed Virgin our Lady, and of the said Martyrs who raign now w [...]h God, according as the holy Catholik Church doth accustome to have in due veneration such Reliques of Saints, and expose them to pub­lik view to that effect, That they may be incited to invoke them accordingly. And we with others here congregated do so receave and reverence them, commanding that they be kept in safe custody, and in a decent place according to the plesure and appointment of the most Reverend Archbishop that shall be then of this Church.’

‘And we further declare the said Valparayso, and the Caverns wherin those blessed Saints sufferd Martyrdom to be holy pla­ces, which ought to be reverencd and honord, and have pre­rogatives accordingly, as the holy Canons do allow to such places. And so we pronounce this our sentence, and firm it with our Names, sealing it also with our Seals.’

Petrus de Castro Archiep. Granatensu.
Iohannes Episcopus Guadix.
S. Episcopus Gallipoli.
Alfonsus Abbas.

[Page 153] Besides these, ther was, after due process made, a sentence passd also for seven more great Saints, viz. St. Secundus Episco­pus Abulensis, where his body is had in great reverence to this day; St. Indalecius Episcopus Urcetanus, in the Kingdome of Ara­gon upon the confines of Navarre; St. Cthesiphon Bishop of Al­meria; St. Hesichius; St. Euphrasius Episcopus Illurgitanus of Iaen in Andaluzia, who as Baronius affirms was Auditor and Disciple to St. Iames the Apostle, and was ordained Bishop anno Christi 43. in the raign of Claudius Caesar. Besides these seven, ther is Athanasius and Theodorus neer the body of the holy Apostle, the one on the right, the other on the left hand of the Apostle, preserved with great vigilance to this day. Now, all these Mar­tyrs and Patrons of Spain are mentioned by Cardinal Baronius and Galesinus in their Martyrologies, as also by Vaseus, Morales, and Mariana, &c. Now, that St. Paul was in Spain, hear what Pope Gregory the seventh saith in his Epistle: Gregorius Episcopus Ser­vus servorum Dei, Alfonso, & Sanctio Regibus Hispaniae, Abbatibus, & Episcopis in ditione sua constitutis salutem, & Apostolicam Bene­dictionem. Cum B. Apostolus Paulus Hispaniam se acti isse significet, ac postea 7 Episcopos ab Urbe Roma ad instituendos Hispaniae populos à Pe­tro & Paulo Apostolis directos fuisse, qui destructa Idololatria Christi­anitatem fundaverunt, Religionem plantaverunt, ordinem, & officium in Divinis cultibus agendis ostenderunt, & sanguine suo Ecclesias semi­nârunt, vestra diligentia non ignoret quantam concordiam cum Romana Urbe Hispania in Religione, & ordine Divini Officii habuisset satis patet. It appeers herby, as by a world of testimonies besides, what a sweet harmony and concordance ther hath bin always twixt Spain and Rome; And how that the predication of Chri­stian Faith, with the institution therof, begun by the Apostle St. Iames, was increasd by Peter and Paul, and confirmd by the seven forementioned Martyrs, who were Auditors and Disciples of St. Iames; besides many others whose names are found in the Book of Martyrologies.

In the second persecution under Domitian, after the cruelties of Nero, Eugenius Bishop of Toledo was Disciple of Dionysius Areo­pagita. This Eugenius being a man excellent for wisdome and Doctrine, made choice of the City of Toledo for his fear, as being situated in the centre of the Kingdome, that the Spirit of Christ might be diffusd thence as from the heart into the whole body of the Country. The Body of which Eugenius was re­movd from France into the great Church of Toledo, and carried upon the sholders of the most religious King Philip 2 part of the way, Anno 1565.

Moreover, it stands upon good record according to Mariana, how Pope Clement, St. Peters immediat Successor, sent Philip and Marcellus into Spain as Legats, and with Letters and com­mission [Page 154] accordingly; And it is agreed by all that they were the first Legats, and they carried the first Letters that ever were sent from Rome by any Nuncios, which are to be found to this day in the Church of Compostella.

In the third persecution of Trajan, Sanctus Mancius florishd in Spain, who was one of the seventy two Disciples of our Saviour, and servd him at administration of the Holy Sacrament, and spread his vestment when he entred into Ierusalem upon Palm-Sunday, who afterwards was made a glorious Martyr.

Vaceus relates an Epitaph which runs thus: Belila Hispana se [...]va Iesu Christi requievit in Domino, Obiit aera 115. hoc est anno Dom▪ 77. Belila a Spaniard, servant of Jesus Christ, did rest in the Lord; she died in the yeer 77 after the passion. Venerus writes that this Epitaph was found in Biscay.

Ther is another Epistle of Pope Clement written to the Bishops of Spain, which is also conservd in Compostella-Church to this day. And this was the state of the Spanish Church the first cen­tury of yeers after the Nativity of Christ, wherin Iohn the Evan­gelist livd, during which time thirteen Bishopricks are registred in Spain, and a great number of the Faithful; for in the City of Pampelona 40000 were converted, and Biscay or Cantabria was most inhabited by Martyrs, as Iraeneus relates, an Author who was neer the time of the Apostles.

Furthermore, ther was a most signal and notable rare thing happend in Spain; for the same night that our blessed Saviour was born, ther were three Suns appeerd visibly in the Spanish Region, which by gentle degrees came to concentre into one. Out of these premises it is apparent that the first Martyr-Apo­stle preachd in Spain; That he erected there the first Church dedicated to the blessed Virgin; That she appeerd there being conducted by Angels; That the body of St. Iames lieth there in­humd wi [...]h so much state: And this was before ther was any pre­dication of Christian Doctrine in France; so that the first Faith­ful, the first Apostle, the first Church, the first Apostolical Nuncio, and first Epistle was sent by Pope Clement the first into Spain. St. Paul did second what St. Iames had begun; and all this is con­firmd by St. Irenaeus, one of the first among the Primitive Fa­thers.

Argum. 4. Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence because he is the Catholik King, which is a more ancient Title then Christianissimus.

ONe of the greatest Foundations wheron France doth build her right to a Precedence, is, that she wold perswade the world, that her Kings are more Ancient both in the recepti­on and profession of Christianity; which assertion being well ex­amind and discussd, it will appeer that both generally and pri­vatly ther were Catholik Kings in Spain before any in France; and to proceed more methodically, we will deduce the business from the beginning. We know that the blessed Apostle St. Iames was put to death with the sword by Herod, as appeers in the E­pistle of Pope Leo touching his Martyrdome, and the translati­on of his Body into Spain; which Epistle he destinated for the Spaniards; wherin He relates, that when the Iews had hurld his whole body without the City to be devourd by Beasts and Birds, his Disciples having notice therof in his life-time, they recoverd the whole body, head and all, in the night-time, and carried it to Ioppa for transportation of it to Spain; where being careful for the embarcation therof, they found a ship ready in the Port, and some say it was of stone, where, after thanks being given to God, they placd the body of the most holy Apostle; and after many dangers they arrivd at Iria Flaria, now calld Padron; thence they carried it to Liberum Donum, now calld Compostella, where they entombd it in a Marble Monument: But, as the Dis­ciples were seeking for a place fit for so great an Apostle, they made their address to Queen Luparia or Lupa, who sent them to King Philotrus, who casting them into an obscure prison, they were freed by an Angel; and while the soldiers were in pursute of them, they were all drownd in a River, the Bridg and all falling down with them, by which miracle King Philotrus was converted. But Luparia continuing obstinat, she threw their Bodies to Bulls and Dragons, wherof some they slew, and some grew mild. Then Luparia being orecome by these miracles, causd a Temple to be erected there for the holy Apostle, as Faber out of Sophorinus doth affirm; And although Morales makes a doubt herof, in regard that Spain was then subject to the Romans, and so could have no Kings, yet ther might be some Kings there though subject and tributary to Rome, as Herodes Agrippa was in Hierusalem, and as Queen Candacis was. But because these passages are so overgrown with yeers, let us hasten to later times.

[Page 156]The second signal time that Spain receavd extraordinary influ­ence of Christian Faith, was in the raign of Constantine the great, who was so glorious an Instrument to the Church, his Mother, a British Lady being a Christian, and Osius a Spanish Bishop ha­ving taken so much pains for his conversion; Then Theodosius who did propagat the Faith more openly, and did destroy the Pagan Churches which were stuffd with Idols, was by Nati­on a Spaniard, and his sons who succeeded him in the Em­pire.

The third time was, when the seat of the Roman Empire be­ing translated to Constantinople, divers rough Northern Nati­ons broke in, and seazd upon most parts of the Western Territo­ries therof, so that the Goths invaded Spain, and came to possess it; and then by the special benediction of God, ther was a Ca­tholik King in Spain before any in France: For an. 554. Athanagil­dus King of the Goths, according to the currant consent of all Hi­storiographers, professd the Christian Faith, as Lucas Tudensis hath it. Then succeeded him Leonegi [...]dus; Then a little after came Richaredus, and in his raign the whole Kingdome of Spain became Catholik, and florishd exceedingly.

But the French object that Anno 496. Clodovaeus was baptizd by St. Rhemigius, and so had the start of Richaredus in Christia­nity; but to that tis answerd, That the whole Kingdome of France was not then converted; Nor was He King of all the Kingdome, as Richaredus was of Spain: For Gregorius Turonen­sis relates, that Clodovaeus with his two sisters were baptizd, and three thousand French more, the whole Kingdome came not to be Christian a good while after, wheras all Spain was reducd entirely to the Faith a good while before, and did make open profession therof in the Council of Toledo. Moreover, a good part of France was then subject to Theodoricus King of the Ostro­goths, who then raignd in Italy; who were of the Arrian Heresie. But Spain was then totally under Richaredus: whence may be in­ferrd that Spain generally had a Christian King before France. But if we divide Spain into Provinces, ther were divers of them had Christianity planted, and publiquely preferrd before Clo­vis; for Rechiarius King of the Suevians was Christian Anno 440. Furthermore, tis very observable that from Richaredus no King in Spain fell from the true Catholick Church; wheras, divers in France did after Clodoveus, as Chilperik and others; witness what Gaguinus writes, Nec multò post Chilpericus cujus malitia ut in Homines multis fraudibus perspicua esset, in Deum quo (que) impieta­tem meditatus est; de divina quidem Trinitate ita credi noluit, ut tres in Illa Personas sed unam confiteretur, &c. Not long after, Chilpe­rik, whose malice was so evident against men, did meditat ma­lice also against God; for he wold not confess three, but one [Page 157] Person in the Trinity: And Mausonius saith, Chilpericus cùm multis rebus impiè gestis Deum sibi iratum reddidisset mense quarto à Natali Clodovaei successoris sui apud Callam vicum Parisiorum occidi­ditur: Chilperik when for many things impiously committed he had made God angry with him, was killd in Calla, a small Vil­lage of the Parisians.

And in this last Age, the last King of France before Hen. 4. having done some acts of Impiety, as imprisoning of Cardi­nals, and other things, it induced a Brother of the Dominican Order to dispatch him violently out of the world.

Besides, a King of Spain Rechiarius was the first, who out of a Zeal to protect the tru Religion, made the first War against the Enemies therof, which were the Arrian Goths; and ever since the Kings of Spain have bin the greatest Champions and Propugnators of the Catholik Church upon all occasions.

But now we will take in hand the Titles of Christianissimus and Catholik, and make it appeer that the Kings of Spain had the one, before the French Kings had the other; and because that Names are the Images of Things, we will give you their primitive derivations.

The first Propagators of Christianity we all know were the holy Apostles, and their Disciples; but some of the latter falling into er­rors, the Orthodoxal Disciples to distinguish themselfs from the false, calld themselfs Christians, which name they first assumd at Antioch, and then it grew general, being derivd from Christ, and Christ a Crismate or Unction. It was afterwards raisd to a superlatif, to Christianissimus, which was first given to the Empe­rors, and to this day, as Castaldus observes, they are solemnly pray­ed for in Oratione Parasceue, in Good-Friday-Prayer evry yeer, Oremus & pro Christianissimo Imperatore nostro; wherin Ferrault is deceavd by attributing it onely to the French King. Moreover, di­vers Kings of Spain had that Title given them upon oceasion, as all the Spanish Annalists do aver; For Richaredus was calld Christia­nissimus Anno 589. and after him Sisebutus Anno 616. when he ex­pelld the Iews out of the Territories of Spain; and Cinthillanus is calld so in the sixth Council of Toledo; and Pope Leo writing to Quirico calls Flavium Ervigium then King of Spain, Christianissi­mum in the fourth Council of Toledo; and this was before Char­lemain, who first bore that Title in France. Ramirus King of Aragon, and Sancho 3. as also Alphonsus Magnus, was entitled so.

Now let us examine when this Title Christianissimus was gi­ven to the French Kings: Most do affirm that it began in Charle­main, but observe, it was given him, and to some of his Successors as they were Emperours: for the ordinary Title which was usd [Page 158] to be given the Kings of France before, was Illustris. Ther is a­nother opinion, that Pope Pius 2. gave Lewis 11. of France the Title of Christianissimus, and that his Father Charles had it in the Council of Mantua Anno 1459.

But grant that the French Kings had the Title Christianissi­mus given them since Charlemain, yet the Title Catholicus was gi­ven before to the Kings of Spain: For Alfonso Son-in-law to Pela­gius had it Anno 734. as Garabai and Morales do affirm, and the Epitaph upon his Tomb doth justifie it, which is Alfonsus Catho­licus. Others are of opinion that Richaredus who quelld the Arrian Heresie was first intitled Catholicus.

But now that we have spoken of the Antiquity of these two Titles in relation to the two Kings, we will examine which is the superior and more excellent, Christianissimus or Catholicus, not but that both of them are sublime and glorious. Touching the Title Catholik, it is so complete a word that nothing can be ad­ded to it, therfore it admits no superlatif; it is of that compre­hensif latitude, that it is Universal, which is the tru Etymologie of the Greek word: now it is an Axiome in all Sciences, Qui totum dicit, nihil excludit; Who says All, excludes nothing: therfore we say, Ecclesiam Catholicam, not Catholicissimam; as we say, Concilium oecumenicum, or Universale, not Universalissi­mum.

And certainly this word Catholicum must be of extraordinary value, and ancient extraction, since it was an Epithet given the Church of Christ in the Apostolical Creed, in that first Sym­bole of Faith, Credo in Spiritum sanctum, & sanctam Ecclesiam Ca­tholicam. Now, as we pointed at before, wheras any Beleever was calld Christian at first, and that by erroneous interpretati­ons, some Heresies began to creep in, the name of Catholik was given him who was a constant embracer of the tru Doctrine of the Church: wheras the simple name Christian might comprehend also a Heretik, as Pacianus observes against the Novatians, Christi­anus mihi nomen est, Catholicus vero cognomen; Illud me nuncupat, Istud ostendit; Hoc probat, Illud significat: My name is Christian, my firname Catholik; the one calls me, the other shews me; this proves, the other signifies. Insomuch that the word Ca­tholik did distinguish a tru Beleever from a Heretik. Whence the excellencie of this word appeers, being a primitive attribut given both to Church and Faith; for they were both calld Catho­lik. Nor doth it follow though evry Catholik be a Christian, that evry Christian is a Catholik: For when one is calld Catholik, tis understood that he is an Elect, that he is saithful, pure, constant and obedient to the Doctrine of the holy Church without mix­ture or taint: Therfore most meritoriously is this high Epithe [...] peculiar to the King of Spain, because he permits no Aposta [...]s, [Page 159] no Schismaticks to be in his Dominions, as the French, and other Kings do: But by an humble filial obedience he adheres to the Catholik Mother-church, which is the Roman; For the Roman and Catholik Church are Synonimas according to Saint Cyprian, in these words, Dividi à Romano Pontifice idem quod ab universa Ecclesia scismate separari; Rursum illam communicare id ipsum esse quod Catholicae Ecclesiae unitati conjungi: To be divided from the Roman Bishop, is to be separated by Schism from the universal Church; and to hold communion with him, is the same as to be joynd in unity with the Catholik Church.

Argum. 5. Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence be­cause that in Magnitude of Kingdoms, in Power, Terri­tories and Tresure He excels all other.

MUltitude of Regions, Affluence of Wealth, and Magni­tude of Power, is so considerable in Kings, that this one Reason of it self were sufficient by Divine Laws as well as Hu­mane, to yeeld unto Him who excels in these Particulars supe­riority of session and precedence.

Now, in all things by the very constitution of the Creator, ther is a superiority and excellence; Eternity is above Time; The Intellect is beyond Reason; and Reason above Sense. Go to the Fabrick of Coelestial Cretures, and the pulchritude of the Stars; We see the Sun is as their Prince; and one Star exceeds another in glory: so in this Elementary and the lower world, specially among Mankind, some are more Illustrious, some more Potent then others; Nature will tell you that all the Fingers of the hand are not equal; and this inequality conduceth to the bewty of the Univers, and Manilius tells us,

Est aequale nihil, Terrenos aspice tractus.

By which Ratiocination he is most sublime, and may claim superiority who exceeds in multitude of Peeple, in extent of Re­gions, in Wealth and Dominions; and since the Catholik King excels in all these, as the French Authors themselfs confess out of Cassanaeus, certainly the higher seat is to be assignd Him. The wisest of Kings tells us, that In multitudine Populi dignitas Reg is, & in paucitate Plebis ignominia Principis; In the multitude consists the dignity of a King, and in the paucity of peeple his shame. Therfore at the meeting of Councils, an Universal Council which is made up of most Bishops is more illustrious, and carrieth a greater stamp of authority then a Provincial, which consisteth [Page 160] of fewer; As the Emperour and Pope have three Crowns apeece, denoting Asia, Afrik, and Europe, where the first exerciseth Sou­vrain Power in Temporals, and the other in all Spiritual Af­fairs.

Now, to prove that the Catholik King is more potent then any other in spacious Dominions, it is no hard task: For go to Spain it self, it cannot be denied but it is a large Empire. Tis tru, that Spain in former times was divided into many King­doms, as Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Leon, &c. but now they are all concentred in one Crown; Adde herunto the Kingdoms of Naples and Calabria, with the Duchy of Milan, which make up about the one moity of Italy. He is Lord of Belgium, or the Netherland; He hath Sicilie, Sardinia, with other Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Canaries, with divers other in the Atlantik. He hath sundry places up and down the Coasts of A­frik; He hath the Moluccas and Philipi [...]a Islands, which are without number in the Indies. It was the Spanish Navigation that refelld the Paradox, for which we read that a Bishop was once imprisond for a Heretik because he held ther were Anti­podes.

O Immortal God! what an heroik and incomparable ex­ploit was that of discovering and conquering the West-Indies, which counterbalanceth all the old world were they cast into a pair of scales! which mighty benediction was reservd by a spe­cial Providence for Spain. But what a world of dangers, doubts and difficulties did precede the work! On the one side the in­certitude of the Thing, and the perils of the angry-tumbling O­cean did offer themsells; On the other side the vast expences of the Viage, with despair of new provision when the old was spent; And in case they shold take sooting on a new earth, the Clime might perhaps not agree with their bodies, and the Sa­vages might prove stronger then they, as they were in number above a thousand for one. Tis tru, that such imaginations as these did much distract them a while; but at last their courage and constancy was such, that they broke through all these dissi culties. And touching that huge mass of peeple in America, as a wild boistrous Boar taken within the toyls doth foam, strug­gle, and turn about to try all ways how he may get out, at last when all will not serve, and having wasted his spirits he lies down with quietness and despair, putting himself upon the mercy of the Huntsmen; so the wild American having tryed all ways of opposition, lay down at last succumbent and prostrat at the Spa­niards feet; and for a reward of their indefatigable pains and prowess, the Divine Providence gave them afterwards Mines and Mountains of Tresure, yea, Rivers running with Gold, Seas full of Perl, with all sorts of Gems and precious stones; all kind [Page 161] of Aromatik Spices, sweet Woods, with a world of new Spe­cies of Birds, Beasts, Plants and Fishes which Europe never knew.

But what Exchanges and recompence did Spain make to Ame­rica for all this? Marry, she affoorded her a far more precious Jewel, which was Christian Religion, Praequa quisquiliae caetera, In comparison wherof all other things are but Bables: And what a world of pious pains did the Spaniards take to plant that Tree of Life among them? It is recorded by Boterus that one Franciscan Fryar did baptise about 400000 Savages in the sacred Laver of Regeneration; insomuch that one may now travel thousands of miles in America, and very frequently meet with Christian Churches, Chappels, Monasteries, Convents, Nun­neries, Towns, Villages, Castles, Forts, or Bulwarks as he goes along.

What a coyle do the Historians keep about the Achievements of Alexander the Great? We well know that he subdued but part of Asia; But here a new world is conquerd about thrice as big as whole Asia: Therfore the Kings of Spain may be only said to have done Miracles in steed of Exploits. And as God Al mighty when He builds, creates no less then a World; when He is angry, sends no less then an Universal Deluge; when He confers Grace, doth sacrifice no less then the prime Son; when He rewards, gives no less then Paradis; when He wars, sends no less then Legions of Angels, making also the Elements to fight, the Sea to open, and the Sun to stand: So, if Finite things may bear any proportion with Infinit, the Kings of Spain have bin desigud to do mighty things, if not miracles: when They build, they build no less then an Escurial; if They are angry, they drive forth whole Nations, as the Iews and Moors; if they provide for the publick good, they sacrifice no less then their own Sons; if they take Arms, they conquer not only whole Kingdoms, but new Worlds: insomuch that the King of Spain may be, ac­cording to the Proverb, truly called Rex Hominum, the King of Men; wheras those of England and France are calld, the first, King of Devils, the other King of Asses. It is the King of Spain alone to whom the Gran Mogor and Sophy use to send this superscription, To the King who hath the Sun for his Helmet; allu­ding to his vast Dominions in all parts of the world, and that the Sun doth always shine on some of them: besides, it is no mean preeminence to the Catholik King, That God Almighty is servd evry hour of the Natural Day in some of his Territo­ries.

Therfore it can be no derogation from any other Monark, if for Glory and Amplitude of Dominions, for Men and Mines, for fulgor of Majesty and Power, for Islands and Continents, [Page 162] for a long Arm and Sword, the Catholik King be prefer­red before any other Prince or Potentat upon the Terrestrial Globe, take both the Hemispheres together.

Argum. 6. Proving, That the King of Spain may challenge Precedence for Nobleness of Family, as also for Royal Arms and Ensignes, &c.

NObility among the Heralds is of two sorts, the one is of Parental Extraction and Blood, and this is rather our Progenitors then our own, being ingrafted or traducd unto us from them: Ther is another Nobility which is accidental, un­derivd or personal, and this comes either from abundance of Riches, or from excellency of Parts, or from the Merit and Glory of some great Exploit. The first proceeds from Descent, the other from Desert.

Now among other Prerogatives of Kings, one of the highest is, that they are the source and fountain of Nobility and Honor; Therfore no Vassal whatsoever, be he of never so ancient and illustrious extraction, is capable to compare with the King, though I am not ignorant that some of your French Monsieurs will vapor somtimes that way. Now, it contributs much to the honor of any Country to have a King of a long-lind Royal Race. There is a good Text which tells us, That Beata Terra, cujus Rex nobilis est; with another, Quàm puchra est generatio cum claritate, Immortalis enim est memoria illius, quoniam, & apud Deum nota est, & apud Homines: The Land is blessd whose King is Noble; How beutiful is a Generation with brightness! the memory therof is Immortal, because tis known with God and Men.

The Kingdome of Spain may glory to have had Kings of both the foresaid Nobilities, both Progenial derivd from their Prede­cessors, and Personal from their own Merit, and heroik perfe­ctions of Vertue, as Magnanimity and Fortitude, as Prudence and high Wisdome, as extraordinary Devotion and Sancti­tie.

Touching the Royal Tree of the Genealogie of the Kings of Spain, we can fetch it from the Families of the Amalis and Baltheis, whence the Kings of the Visigoths and Ostrogoths descen­ded above a thousand yeers since: Then from the glorious house of Austria, which may be calld a tru Imperial Tree by having pro­ducd so many Emperours that have continued in that stem above these two hundred years without interruption, which House began with Theobarto who came from Sigebart Duke of Germany, Anno 604.

[Page 163]Touching the Shield-Ensignes and the Royal Arms of the King of Spain, they are as noble as any; and it adds much to the No­bleness of a Kingdome to have noble Arms; which hath bin ac­counted no small blemish to the Crown of France, whose anci­ent Arms were three Toads in a black field, though the signifi­cation of the Hieroglyphik makes some amends for it, which relates to the fruitfulness of France; for Toads choose always the fattest soyle, yet is he an ugly slow poysonous creature, and abhorred by humane Nature. But upon the conversion of King Clouis to Christianity, the French do vaunt that a Shield with three Flower de Luces of a Caerulean color fell down miraculously from Heven, (as Numas Shield did in Rome, and the Palladium did in Troye) which Arms France gives ever since. But the truth of that miracle is much questiond: for the greatest Authors, as E­milius, Gillius, Reginon, and Gregorius Turonensis in the Life of King Clou is makes no mention of any such thing.

But grant that France hath reason to give the Lilies or Flower de Luces for her Royal Arms, yet Spain hath a nobler; for Spain gives the Crosse in her Shield: For we know that many ancient and Authentik Writers affirm, how the Cantabrians or Biscay­ners (who were left unconquerd by the Romans) carried a Crosse in their Banner long before the Nativity of our Saviour; which King Pelagius carried when issuing forth of the great Cave calld Cobadonga to this day, with not much above 1000 Christians, he utterly routed 60000 Saracens; to the memory wherof tis thought the great Church Cangas calld St. Crosses Church was erected, where he lieth buried with a Crosse ingraven upon his Tomb. And after King Pelagius who is calld the Instaurator of Spain, with other Kings had the Crosse in their Banner. And San Isodorus, who after St. Iames the Apostle is the Patron of Spain, always usd it, who was a Bishop and a Knight, so that wheresoever he is represented either in shadow or stone, he is painted in a Pon­tifical vest, having the Crosse in one hand, and the Sword in the other; and as the Oriflambe is the chiefest Banner of France, which is kept in the great Church of St. Denis; so in the great Church of Leon in Spain Saint Isodorus Banner is devoutly kept up, which upon occasion of urgent necessity was usd by divers Kings to be brought to the Field against the Saracens, and after­wards against the Moores, wherby many glorious and wonder­ful Victories were obtaind.

Nor is the Crosse the Ensigne onely of Biscay and Castile, but also of Arragon and of Navarre; and the ground of it is related in Beuter, Illescas, and Turapha to be, that when King Garcia Xime­nez was ready to fight a Battail against the Saracens, and that the Christians under his command grew to be dejected and faint-hearted, ther appeerd in a green Tree a red Crosse very re­splendent, [Page 164] which struck such a comfort and courage, and made such impressions in the heart of the fainty Soldiers, that they fell upon the Infidel-enemy with so great a resolution, that they did utterly discomfit him; wherupon he was called Rey de Sobrarbe, because that the holy Crosse appeerd above a Tree.

Argum. 7. Proving, That the Catholik King may claim Precedence be­cause he is King of Jerusalem, and that the Right of Unction belongs also to Him, &c.

ALl Authors concede that in all solemn Pomps and publik Places, the first seat in the Church (after the Emperour) belongs to the King of Ierusalem, as Corsetus, Grasalius, and others, do observe: And the Reasons are many; Because our Saviour preachd and sufferd there; Because he made choice of his Apo­stles and Disciples there; Because he wrought most Miracles there; Because he conversd and had conference with Men there; Because he instituted his last Supper there; Because he did con­summat the Eternal Salvation of Mankind there, and because he was buried there; with multitude of other Reasons.

Now, that the King of Spain is right King of Ierusalem, I be­leeve ther are but few will deny it: for the Holy Father in all his Bulls, in his Apostolical Letters, and all publik spiritual Di­spatches, doth stile him King of Ierusalem; and so doth the Con­clave, the College of Cardinals, the Rota, or Judges of the Apo­stolik Chancery: And it is as cleer as the Meridian, that this Title is due to him as he is King of both the Sicilies, viz. of Si­cily, Calabria and Naples, which appeers evident in all Annals and Chronicles; Although the French do cavil with him for a Right to those Kingdomes, which Valdesius and Vasquez do sufficiently answer, and refute.

Nor can it be denied but a double Unction belongs to him as he is King of both those Kingdomes; wheras the Kings of Eng­land and France have but one Unction apeece relating to single Kingdomes. Now, that Kings are to be anointed with holy Oyl, the sacred Code tells us plainly; for it was the warrant which God Almighty himself, the King of Heven and Earth, gave unto the Prophet Elias, Unges Asachel Regem super Syriam, & Iehu silium Namasi unges Regem super Israel: Thou shalt [...] [...]sa­chel King over Syria, and thou shalt anoint Iehu King over Israel. In another place he speaks himself, Inveni David servum meum, & oleo sancto meo unxi eum: I have found David my servant, and with my holy Oyl have I anointed him. Therfore Kings are called Christs upon earth, because they are anointed by God: Nay, [Page 165] Cyrus is calld Christ in this sense, as the Text saith, Haec dicit Domi­nus Cyro Christo ejus; Thus says God to Cyrus his Christ or his anointed. One of the Prerogatives of the Emperour is, that he is to be anoin­ted by the Pope himself; But Kings are anointed by their own Prelats. Augustin de Ancona gives the reason for this Ceremo­ny, because Oyl signifieth gladness, and promptitude to debel the Enemies of the Church, to fight for the Orthodoxal Faith, and carry away Victories. Therupon at the celebration of the Olympik Games the Wrastlers were usd to be anointed, as the Poet sings:

Exercent Patrias Oleo labente Palestras
Nudati Socii—

The holy King saith, Dilexisti justitiam, & odisti iniquitatem, pro­pterea unxit te Deus Oleo laetitiae prae consortibus tuis: Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity, wherfore God hath anointed thee with the Oyl of gladness above thy fellows. By Oyl also is understood cleer­ness of Conscience, as we read, Prudentes Virgines acceperunt ole­um in vasibus suis: The wise Virgins took oyl in their lamps.

Now they are Hevenly wide of the truth who hold that these two Kings, viz. of Ierusalem and Sicily, with those of England and France, are only capable of holy Unction: For it belongs to all Kings; especially to the Catholik King, who is a mixt Person twixt Temporal and Spiritual, for he is Canon of Burgos as the French King is of a Church in Poitou; But the Kings of Spain have bin from all times anointed from the time of King Vuamba, and after him Ervigius: for the Text of the Council of Toledo saith plainly, Serenissimus Ervigius Princeps Regni conscen­derit Regni culmen, Regnandi (que) per sacram Unctionem susceperit pote­statem: Most serene Ervigius Prince of the Kingdome shall as­cend the top of the Kingdome, and by the holy Oyl take a power to raign. After these the Gothik Kings were also anoin­ted from Pelagius downward. Therfore tis a pure Paradox, or rather a vulgar Error, that none but the four mentiond Kings are capable of holy Unction.

Argum. 8. Proving, That the Catholik King may challenge Precedence be­cause of the free and absolut Power he hath over his Dominions, and that he hath Empires under Him, &c.

IT mightily concerns Royal Dignity to have a whole Plenary Dominion and Rule, and not to be subordinat to any other Temporal Power whatsoever: Such an absolut Dominion the Catholik King enjoys, and is entaild upon him by the Laws of the Land; though as a dutiful Son to the Church, out of pure Ideas of Devotion he is contented to be obedient unto his Mo­ther in spiritual things.

Yet, ther are divers Tramontan Writers both Italian and Ger­mans, who being devoted to the Emperour, wold make the Kings of Spain, England and France to acknowledg the Emperour, and they who do it not remain in no less then mortal sin; And one of the main Arguments which they urge, is, That the Emperour Sigismund before the Council of Constance assembled, sent his summons among other to Ferdinand King of Aragon to be there for the universal good of Christendome. But herunto tis answerd, That the glorious Emperour Charles the fifth made a solemn Pro­testation, that he decreed nothing in Spain under the notion of Emperour: For though he had a double quality, yet, whatso­ever he acted in Spain was singly as he was King therof. This signal Diploma, or publick Protestation is yet to be seen in the Archives of Spain, and is mentiond in the History of Pedro Mexia, which runs thus.

Don Carlos por la gracia de Dios Rey de Romanos, futuro Emperador semper Augusto, Rey de Castilla y de Leon, &c. En uno con la muy alta, y muy Poderosa Reyna Donna Iuana mi Sennora Ma­dre.

Por quanto despues que plugo a la Divina Clementia (por la qual los Reyes reynan) que fuessemos Eligidos Rey de Romanos futuro Empera­dor, y que de Rey Catholico de Espanna (con que eramos bien contentos) fuessemos promovido al Imperio convino que nuestros Titulos se ordenas­sen dando a cada uno su devido lugar; Fue necessario conformando nos con razon segun la qual el Imperio precede a las otras dignidades segla­res por ser la mas alta y sublime dignidad que Dios instituyò en la I [...]i­erra, de preferir la dignidad Imperial a la Real, y de nombrarnos y in­titularnos primero como Rey de Romanos y futuro Emperador que la dicha Reyna mi sennora lo qual hizimos mas apremiado de necessi [...]d que de razon, que por voluntad que dello tenemos, porque con toda reverencia, [Page 167] y acatamiento la honramos, y desseamos honrar y acatar, Pues que de­mas cumplir el mandamiento de Dios a que somos obligados por Ella tene­mos, y esperamos tener tan gran sucession de Reynos y senorios como te­nemos. Y porque de la dicha prelacion no se pueda Seguir ni causar per­juizio ni confusion adelante a los nuestros Reynos de Espanna, ni a los Reyes nuestros Successores, ni a los naturales sus subditos que por tiempo fueren;

Por ende queremos que sepan todos los que agora son, ò seran de aqui adelante, que nuestra intencion, y voluntad es que la libertad, y ex­empcion que los dichos Reynos de Espanna, y Reyes dellos han tenido, y tienen, de que han gozado, y gozan de no reconocer Superior les sea agora, y de aqui adelante observada, y guardada inviolablemente, y que gozen de aquel estado, &c.

Yo el Rey.

Thus rendred into English.

Don Carlos by the grace of God King of the Romans, and fu­ture Emperour always August, King of Castile and Leon, &c. together with the most high and most mighty Dame Ioan my Lady Mother.’

‘Wheras since it pleasd the Divine Clemency, by which Kings raign, that we were elected King of the Romans, future Emperour, and from a Catholik King of Spain, (wherwith we were well contented) we were promoted to the Empire, it was convenient that our Titles shold be orderd giving evry one his due place; It was necessary (conforming our selfs to Reason, wherby the Empire precedes to other secular Digni­ties, it being the highest and most sublime Dignity which God hath instituted on earth) to prefer the Imperial Dignity before the Kingly, and to name and intitle our selfs as Kings of the Romans and future Emperour before the said Queen my Lady; which we did being pressd more by necessity then by any willingness we have therunto, because we honor and respect, and desire to honor and respect Her with all reverence and duty, in regard that besides the accomplishing of Gods Commandment wherunto we are obligd, we hold by Her, and hope to hold so great a succession to Kingdomes and Do­minions which we hold. And because no prejudice or confu­sion may ensue to our said Kingdoms of Spain, nor to the Kings our [...]uccessors, nor to the Native Subjects that shall be for the time,’

‘Therfore our desire is, That all those who now are, and shall be herafter, may know, That our intention and will that the Liberty and exemption which the said Kingdoms of Spain [Page 168] and their Kings have held and do hold, that they have enjoyd or do enjoy, Not to acknowledge a Superior, be observd unto Them now and herafter, and be inviolably kept; And that they enjoy the same liberty and ingenuity which at the time of our promotion, and before they had and enjoyd, &c. And our will is, that this Declaration have the force and vigor of a Pragmatical Sanction, &c.

I the King.

This Royal Manifesto, or Pragmatical Sanction you see doth assert the absolut and independent Authority of the Kings of Spain, and that they do not only renounce all subordinations, but are free from the least acknowledgment to any Forren Power: insomuch that it is enacted by the Laws of Spain, that to avoid the least suspition of any obedience to the Empire, the Civil Roman Law is not to be kept, or alledgd as Law. Nor indeed for driving out the Saracens, and other Infidels was Spain ever obligd to the Empire, or any other Extrinsik Power, but she did it by the ef­fusion of her own blood, by the strength and valour of her own Natives.

Moreover, the Kings of Spain are so far from any recognition of subjection to the Empire, or any outward power, that they themselfs in former Ages have bin frequently called Emperours in publik Instruments, as Decretals, Acts of Councils, and A­postolical Epistles from Rome. Now if they did merit to be calld Emperours then, how much more is that Title adaequat to the Kings of Spain in these latter times, wherin they are grown to be Lords of above half of the whole Terrestrial Globe?

Nor is the King of Spain thus exempt from all Forren extra­neous Authority, but in point of intrinsecal and domestik Pow­er he is as absolut as any other: for it hath not bin found this hundred yeers that his Subjects did refuse the payment of any Impositions, which have bin many in regard he wars with all the world who repine at his Greatness. Yet is he still Re [...] Homi­num, a King of Men, viz. of Free Subjects, and not a King of Asinigos, as his next Neighbour is calld.

Argum. 9. Proving, That the King of Spain may claim Precedence be­cause he hath bin so obsequious a Son, and done such great Offices to the Christian Church.

THer are three Offices which all Christian Kings are bound to perform towards the holy Church.

  • The first is, To obey the Precepts, Canons and Injuncti­ons of the Church, though it be only by an humble implicit Faith.
  • The second is, To protect and defend the holy Church not only from Infidels, and open Enemies, but from Heretiks and Scismatiks.
  • The third is, To erect Temples and decent Domes of Devo­tion for the service and worship of God, and to bewtifie and enrich them accordingly with Rents and Ornaments.

The Kings of Spain have bin more renownd for these three then any in Christendome. Touching the first, Ther is no King or Souverain Prince whatsoever hath bin or is so exactly obedi­ent to the Canonical Laws, and the Constitutions, Commands and Sanctions of the Church, as the Catholik King is known to be. Ther are no Kings that do more Corporal Penances when they are laid upon them by their Ghostly Fathers: For that Pe­nitential Whip which Charles the Fifth usd, and left all be­smeard with his own Blood, is usd often by this King, wherby he mingles his Blood with that of his great Granfather, besides that of his Granfather and Father; which Penitential Whip is the most precious Legacie that the Kings of Spain use to leave their Sons upon their Death-beds, and is like so to continue to all Posterity.

Touching the second Office for protecting the holy Church as well from Aposta [...]s and Scismatiks as from open Enemies, I may well say without any derogation, that ther is no King com­parable to the Catholik King. Spain did cleer her self with admired Valour and Prudence of three Nations that were ene­mies to the Christian Church, viz. the Saracens, the Moors, and the Iews: And the Cat [...]olik King always bore such a high reverence to the holy Church, that they never got any conside­rable Victory but they sent the Trophies therof to the Vicar of Christ. I will produce one signal example: When King Al­bohazin Belamarin had invaded Spain with a mighty Fleet, tran­sporting 20000 Horse, and 400000 Foot, the King of Granada [Page 170] joyning with him also, with all the Moriscos that were yet left in Spain, He first besiegd Tarifa, but Alfonso the eleventh King of Castile, with Alfonso King of Portugal did comport themselfs with such admired Courage and Magnanimity, having no Auxilia­ries from any other Christian Nation, but a pure Army of Spa­niards, that they obtaind a wonderful and glorious Victory, so that above 200000 Moors were destroyed in fight and flight, the rest made all slaves, as Mariana and Zurita make particular mention in their Chronicles. As soon as the triumphs for so blessd a Victory were ended in Spain, King Alfonso sent a splendid Embassy by Don Iuan de Leiva to Pope Benedict II. then keeping the Apostolik Seat at Auignon in France; which Ambassador presented his Holiness with a great Banner, and four and twen­ty of the chiefest Colours they had taken from the Moors. Ther were presented besides 100 Barb Horses with rich saddles, wher­unto Shields, Swords and Javelins were hung, and evry horse had a Marisco slave to attend him. Then the very Ginet wheron King Alfonso himself did ride when he got the Field, was pre­sented with rich Caparisons embroderd with Perl. The Pope having notice herof, sent all the Cardinals, with a great num­ber of Prelats to meet the Ambassador; who being conducted to the Pope, he descended from the Pontifical Throne, and ta­king the Kings Banner into his hands, he sang with a loud voice, Vexilla Regis prodeunt, Fulget Christi mysterium: so making a pa­thetik elegant speech of so glorious an Exploit, they went all to the great Church to give God the glory, where the said Colours, Ensignes and Shields were hung up.

I could bring many instances more of this nature, how highly respectful the Catholik Kings have bin always of the holy Church, and of her chief Governor in all Ages; and how rea­dy they have bin to sacrifice their bloods in defence of her. But let us go to these modern times, we know that his Catholik Ma­jesty is in perpetual feud with the Common Enemy the Turk, and how he still disdaind to make a Peace with him though of­ten wooed therunto, wheras other Kings make not only a Peace but Confederacies with him ever and anon. We know what a professd eager Enemy the Catholik King is to all Heretiks, how he suffers none to breathe in his Dominions; How ready he is always to suppress them in defence of the Catholik Church, and St. Peters Chair, which by the supplantings and Machinations of the late Apostats had quite fallen down, unless the Catho­lik King had reachd his arms to support and bear it up.

Touching the third Office of a Christian King, which is to e­rect Temples, and hansome places for the worship of Almighty God, no Kings have bin more pious and munificent in that kind: Witness that mighty Monument the Royal Monastery of St. [Page 171] Laurence at the Escurial, a Monument built to Eternity, and to [...]ug with the Iron teeth of time, as the thickness and solidity of the walls do shew. This one stupendous Monument of Piety, which is worthily accounted the eighth Wonder of the World, wold afford matter for one entire Volume of it self: Let it suf­fice to know here that it cost above twenty Millions the build­ing: It was twenty years before it was finishd; yet the Founder Philip the second, of eternal memory, enjoyd it twelve yeers after, and at last carried his own bones to be interrd in that glorious Pantheon he had expresly causd to be built for that use. What a world of Religious Houses did this pious Prince erect besides I for in Europe and America he built upon his own charge above a hundred Churches, Monasteries, and Hospitals. Now, it is a great matter for other Kings if they build a College, or Chap­pel, and are prayed for as great Benefactors; then I pray what Prayers and Praises doth such a King deserve as Philip the Prudent was!

Argum. 10. Proving, That the King of Spain may claim Precedence be­cause the Catholik Church hath and doth receave greater Protection and Emoluments from Him then from any other Prince.

IT is recorded, That when Pope Gregory the thirteenth was sick, it was told him that he was much prayed for, in regard his Life so much concernd the welfare of the Church: He an­swerd, Helas, the prolongation of any Life can little avail the Catholik Church; but pray for the health of King Philip, for his Life con­cerns Her more.

Now, Spain hath been always renowned not only for prote­cting of the Church, and conquering of Infidels, but also for converting of Hereticks. VVe know that Osius Bishop of Corduba had the chiefest hand in the conversion of Constantin the Great, after his Mother Helena a British Lady, from whom he had suckd Christian milk at first, though twas not concocted to good blood until Osius did it. What great favours and indulgence did the poor persecuted Christians receave from [...]rajan, from Elius Ha­drianus, from Antoninus Pius, from Theodosius? all Spanish Em­perours in the time of the ten Persecutions. How strongly did Spain tug with the Arrian Heresie till she was quite put upon her back, and at last converted? The Albigenses in France who had such nefarious, and indeed nefandous Principles, As that it was lawful to destroy Churches, To pull down Crosses, To have Wives in common, That the Humane Soul was of Gods ma­king, [Page 172] but the Body of the Devils, & c. I say, that these ugly He­retiks were principally converted by St. Dominik and by Didacus, (Episcopus Oximensis) both of them being Spaniards, and sent by Pope Innocent 3. expresly for that service in the raign of Lewis 7. of France; wherin also Blanche Queen of Spain took much pains with great success. How much did Charles the fifth la­bour to quell Luther, and to crush the Cocatrice in the shell! which causd this Distik to be made in those times of him, and Henry the Eighth of England:

Carolus, Henricus, Christi Defensor Uter (que)
Henricus Fidei, Carolus Ecclesiae.
Charles and Henry both Defendors of Christ;
Charles of his Church, Henry of his Faith.

And Spain is so zelous a Christian, that tis not only sufficient for her to abstain from Heresie, but from the very suspition therof; which made her to erect, and raise up that wall of brass against it, I mean the Tribunal of the Inquisition. By which sa­cred Office the Vineyard of the Lord in the Spanish Dominions is kept free from brambles and thorns, with all noisome weeds; Tis preservd and hedgd therby from all wild ravenous Beasts that so much annoy her in other Kingdomes, and set fire on her skirts so often, which Spain by the most prudent and pious esta­blishment of this holy Office is so happily made free.

Moreover, ther have bin no Kings so eminently liberal, and munificent to the holy House of God, together with their Go­vernors and Ministers, as the Kings of Spain have bin in all A­ges; insomuch that a computation hath bin made, that well neer the third part of Spain are spiritual Revenues, and the third part of the Churches have bin founded by Kings. The Arch­bishop of Toledo is the greatest Ecclesiastical Dignity in Chri­stendome next the Papacy; for it hath above 300000 Crowns annual Revenues, which countervails three of the best Archbi­shopriks in France. Nor have the Catholik Kings thought it any derogation to make their Sons Archbishops of that place, and Chancellors of Castile.

Furthermore, ther hath bin a late calculation made, That of those five or six hundred Millions of Tresure that hath bin tran­sported to Spain from Mexico and Peru since the discovery of the West-Indies, the Church hath the tenth part; insomuch that in some petty Rural Churches one shall see huge massie Candle­sticks of Silver, with large Chalices, Pixes, Crosses and Cruci­fixes, some of them of massie Gold, and inlaid with precious [...] ▪ Nor is this Tresure lost that is given the Church; For [Page 173] the Clergie of Spain have bin always ready to serve and assist their King in all his exigents and necessities: insomuch that it is a saying in Spain, That los tesoros de la yglesia son como [...] contra [...]na tormenta, The tresures of the Church are as anchors against a storm.

Adde herunto that no Kings of Spain have felt the fulminati­ons of the Vatican, viz. the sentence of Excommunication, as other Kings have done; But they have always obeyd with much exact­ness the Doctrine of the holy Church, resigning their Intelle­ctuals, and the whole inward man to the determinations ther­of; as also to defend them against all Opposers; wheras divers French Kings have had clashes, and frequent contestations with the holy Father. What high feuds had Philippe le Bel with Pope Boniface 8! for he passd an Edict of Interdiction, that none of his Ecclesiastiks shold have commerce with Rome: He obeyd not the Pontificial censures, but toar his Letters, detaind his Legats, and convoqud a Provincial Council in Paris against his order, wherin ther were Accusations of Simony and Schism obtruded against him. But all this while the Kings of Castil [...] and Aragon adherd to his Holiness as being the Head and Common Father of the Catholik Church.

Lewis the eleventh of France against the Ecclesiastical Liber­ties did institut the Pragmatical Sanction, enforcing the Pope to assent therunto, wherby all the Cano [...]cal Laws and Disci­pline fell in France, as Mausonius observes.

Charles 8. enterd Rome against the Popes will, and did as good as war with him, as with an enemy, but the Catholik King Fer­dinand 5. adherd to him to very good purpose.

Touching Lewis 12. what a bitter enemy he was to the Apo­stolik seat! what troubles he excited against Iulius 2. which gave the first countenance and rise to those Heresies that have pul­lulated in the Church, and so miserably torn the very Bowels of her ever since!

Philip 2. of France repudiating his lawful Wife, married ano­ther not only without the consent of Celestin, the holy Father, but against the opinion of his own Ecclesiastiks, whom he hand­led with so much rigor and tyranny.

Philip the first of France did no less bandy against the Decrees of the Church in divers things, and did likewise cast off his Le­gitimat Wife, and forcd another.

Lewis 6. of France did so persecut the holy Church, that he drew Anathemas and spiritual Execrations upon him.

Lewis 7. of France had such contentions with Pope Innocent [...]. that he remaind under the heavy sentence of Excommunication three full yeers.

[Page 174] Charles le Bel was so highly disobedient to Pope Iohn 23. that he interdicted to pay him his Tenths, and other Ecclesiastik Rights.

Francis 1. and Hen. 2. of France to their eternal reproach calld in the Turk to their assistance against the Christian Em­perour. Of all which particulars ther are Authentik Histori­ans who make mention, and leave it upon record to all Poste­rity.

But the French speak very loud how Charles the fifth raisd such a fierce war against Clement 7. that he besiegd Rome, and made the Pope prisoner. Tis confessd, but it was upon a pure tempo­ral score; yet he resented it so much, that it drew repentance from him; nor did he grieve a whit that his General the Duke of Bourbon was killd as he was scaling the walls of Rome, because he had exceeded his commission: Nor when the news came to Spain of the success of the Emperours Army, was any joy of tri­umph shewd at all, but rather a dark sadness, and all the signes of sorrow, which possessd him to his dying day; And for a compensation to the Holy Father, he establishd his Nephew in the State of Florence.

Thus have we collected the Reasons and Argu­ments of these three great Monarks in order to a Precedence of Place, and Superiority. Concern­ing the Reasons of the two latter, they are excerp­ted, drawn and deprompted out of the eminentst Authors who have written in their behalf; and that with such fidelity and truth, as the Majesty of so high a subject doth require, not omitting any Ar­gument that had weight in it.

Touching the competition twixt other Souverain Princes, as that twixt the King of Denmark and Him of Sweden, who both entitle themselfs Kings of the Goths and Vandals; as also that twixt the Portugues and the Pole; Twixt the Republiks of Venice and Genoa, who both pretend to be Teste Coronate, to be [Page 165] Crowned Heads, because th [...] one had the Kingdome of Cyprus, the other hath that of Corsica under her Dominion; as likewise the old Competition twixt the Duke of Savoy, and Him of Milan, (which is now drownd in the Spanish Titles) Nor of the Princes of Germany; I say, that the Disputes of these Precedencies do not belong to this present Dis­course.

Ther are also divers other Competitions twixt Ci­ties as well as Souvrain Princes, as twixt Milan and Ra­venna in Italy; twixt Strasburg and Norimburg in Ger­many; twixt Toledo & Burgos in Spain, which Philip 2. did in some mesure reconcile: For when in a Parle­ment (which they call Las Cortes) ther was a high feud twixt these two Cities, whose Bourgesse shold speak first; the King stood up and said, Hable Bur­gos, que por Toledo hablare yo; Let Burgos speak, for Toledo I will speak my self.

The like Competition is in England for Precedence twixt Oxford and Cambridge, which hath bin often de­bated in Parlement, though Oxford had always the better, because she is namd first in all Acts of Parle­ment for Subsidies. Nor indeed hath Cambridge reason to contend in this point, if Antiquity take place, and Antiquity is a good argument; for Lucian will tell us, that when ther was a Contest in Heven twixt Esculapius and Hercules for Precedence, Escu­lapius carried it, because he came first thither. Ther­fore Cambridge need not be offended with the Poet when he sung,

Hysteron & Proteron praepostera forma lo­quendi,
Exempli causa Cant'brigia Oxonium.

Ther's also another Argument for Oxford drawn ab [Page 176] Etymologia, which the Philosopher tells us is a good way of arguing, viz. Ther was an Ox and a Ford, then Came a Bridge. But these two Noble Sisters as they are unparallelld by any other in their kind, let them be equal among themselfs, and listen unto the Poet,

Sisters, why strive you for Antiquity?
The older still the likelier for to die;
Wold you wish your own ruine? surely no,
Let Mouldring Age on meaner things take hold,
But may You florish still, and nere grow old.
And let this be a Close to the Third Section.

The fourth, & last Section, CONTAINING A DISCOURSE OF AMBASSADORS.

THer is a good Rule in the Schools, Qui bene dividit bene docet: Therfore we will make this Fourth Section to conform and quadrat with the other Three in point of Division▪ It shall also be a De­cade with the rest; and as ther is Affinity of Mat­ter betwixt them, so ther shall be affinity of Method; For it shall likewise consist of ten Parts or Paragraphs.

  • 1. The first shall be of the derivation and Etymo­logie of this word Ambassador; with the Definition, Division and Denomination of Ambassadors and Legats.
  • 2. The second shall be of the indispensable and absolut necessity of Ambassadors, and that Mankind cannot subsist without Them.
  • 3. Of the Antiquity, the first Rise and Pedigree of Ambassadors; as also of their Dignity, high Ho­nor and Pre-eminence, and who are capable to em­ploy them.
  • 4. Of their Privileges, Reception, Security, and the inviolable sacred esteem of their Persons.
  • 5. Of the Breeding and Education, the Parts [Page 178] and Perfections both acquird and natural which are requird in an Ambassador.
  • 6. Of the Election and choice of an Ambassador, that he should be Par Negotio, adaequat to the Em­ployment he goes about.
  • 7. Of the Office and Duty of an Ambassador in the execution of his Place, and acquitting Himself of the great Fiduciary Trust reposd in Him.
  • 8. Of the Laws of England relating to Ambassa­dors, how they use to be receavd, and treated in the English Court, and what Rewards they receave, &c.
  • 9. Of the wise Comportment, and witty Sayings of divers Ambassadors during the time of their Ne­gotiation.
  • 10. Of the extraordinary Prudence and Reserved­ness, the Stoutness and Generosity of divers English Ambassadors, &c.

THer are many Authors who have made it their business to write of Ambassadors, and of their Office, Incumbency and Charge; as also of their Qualities, Breeding, and sutable Parts. They have moreover undertaken to prescribe them Rules, Precepts and Cautions; but those Precepts may fit any o­ther Minister of State, or Magistrat, and so they amuse the Rea­der with Universals. But this Discourse shall keep close to the Person of the Ambassador, and to the Nature of his Function, Office and Duty. And so we will take the first Paragraph in hand.

1 Paragraph, Touching the derivation and Etymologie of this word Ambassador; With the Definition, Division, and Denomination of Ambassadors and Legats.

NEither Don Antonio de Zuniga the Spaniard, nor Doctor Gasparo Bragaccia the Italian, with divers others who have written so largely of an Ambassador, do let us know what the Word is, either Ambassadeur, Ambasciatore, Embaxador, or Ambascia. Now we find them all to be of great Antiquity, for they are derivd of an old Celtik or Gaulish word; which Celtiks were before the Greeks or Latins, a Peeple that dwelt where Paris in France now stands, being calld so before the Romans or the Franconians came in. Now Embassy or Ambascy comes of Ambachten, which is to work; and Ambacht was a servant in the old Gaulik or Celtik toung, wher­unto alludes Bachken, usd yet in Wales for a servant; wherby a­mong divers other Arguments it is very probable that the ancient Gaules and Britains spake one Language originally; From hence came Ambactus which Tacitus useth, when he saith, That Galli plurimos circumse Ambactos Clientes (que) habent. So that Ambasciator derivd hence, is come now to be a servant, or Minister of ho­nor; for in some Translations we have Paulus Dei gratia Diaco­nus, & Ambasciator: Insomuch that it may well extend to the holy Function of Priests: For the Minister on the Desk may be said to be the Peeples Ambassador to God, and in the Pulpit Gods Ambassador to the Peeple. But the Italians wold have Ambasci­atore to come from the old Hetruscan word Bascer, which signifi­dth nunciare, to report or declare. Others have a conceit that it may come from the word Ambo, because he is a Mediator twixt both Parties.

Now, touching the Definition of an Ambassador, or Legat, Don Antonio de Zuniga, defines him thus: A Legat or Ambassador is a Conciliator of the Affairs of Princes; A Man sent from far to treat of publik Concernments by particular Election, not by strength and stra­tagems of War, but by Eloquence and force of Wit. Others define him to be a Subject who resembleth a Mediator of Love. Concerning the word Legat, Resoldus tells us in brief, that He is one who is sent to deliver the Commands of another: but none of these can be calld properly Definitions according to the Rules of Logik, but De­scriptions. They are calld sometimes Orators, from Oracion, or the fluency of the Toung, which is the chiefest tool of an Ambas­sador. They are calld also Nuncii, because they come to declare and tell. Now, Nuncii and Legats are of late Ages they whom the Popa sends, whose Ministers of this kind have a mixt em­ployment [Page 180] twixt Spiritual and Secular. Legats are of three sorts, ther is Legatus Natus, Legatus Missus, and Legatus à Latere: The first hath a perpetual successif Legantine Power, as the Archbi­shop of Canterbury in England, is endowed with that Prerogative as a Dignity annexd to the Archbishoprik above 1000 years since; therfore ther can no other Legats come to England with­out the Kings special consent: wherupon one of the Articles a­gainst Cardinal Wolsey was, That he exercised a Legantine Pow­er in England without the Kings privity. Then ther is Legatus Missus, and he signifieth as much as an ordinary Nuncio. Then ther is Legatus à Latere, or Apostolical Nuncio, who is desumd out of the number of Cardinals only, and they are sometimes G [...]ver­nors of Provinces, or calld Pro-consuls; and they are calld Le­gati de Latere, because they are neerest the side, and the greatest Confidents of the Pope.

We may read in Iustine that Ambassadors by some are calld Lenones Bawds, (but taken in a chast sense) because by smooth and alluring Language they move the affections of the Prince to whom they are sent. The Greeks call their Ambassadors [...], because they ought to be of yeers, and well salted in the world. Ther are also Deputies and Commissaries who have the same Office as Ambassadors; but the Civilians make this dif­ference betwixt them, that Ambassadors are sent to Equals, De­puties to Superiors, and Commissaries to Inferiors.

Ther is also a publik Minister of State calld Agent; and he is sent when ther is a suspition that the Ambassador will not be ho­nord as he shold be. Therfore the French Kings of late yeers have no Ambassadors in the Emperors Court, but Agents, be­cause of the Competition for Precedence twixt him and Spain. A­gents are likewise employd sometimes to save charges, or that the Business may be done without noise. Ahd of late yeers ther is a new Minister of State invented, which is a Resident, who is superiour to an Agent, and inferiour to an Ambassador. Both Agent and Resident have the Security, though not the Session and state, or such a latitude of power as Ambassadors have: Now, Agents may dispatch Businesses of as great consequence as Am­bassadors, though they do it more secretly, and with lesse stir. Therfore Hottoman saith, That the Queen of England, and the Princes of Germany had des Agens Secrets in Venice, because that in regard of diversity of Religion, the Senat wold not seem to make too strict a frendship with them; and for these secret Employ­ments Merchants have bin thought to be the fittest Instruments, because under the cloak of Trading they may also hide Affairs of State.

Ther are also Heralds which are a sort of Ambassadors, and they are very ancient; They are calld Caduceatores, whose Office [Page 181] is to denounce War: for such was the open honesty of our An­cestors, that they would not commence a War until they had sent notice of it in a convenient time beforehand; and these had also the security of Ambassadors for the time, but they were strictly tied to the very same words that were dictated unto them. Their persons also are to be as free from any outrage as Ambassadors are, which made the Earl of Essex check his soldi­ers in Keinton-field when the late King sent Sir William le Neve King of Arms the next morning after the Battail was sought; who wold have outragd Him. Ther are also o­ther Ministers of State that draw neer to the nature of Am­bassadors, which are calld Consuls, wherof some have Royal Commission, though the nature of their Office be to pro­tect and assist the Merchant, being practisd in the Custome and Language of the Country, in their Law-suits; and ther is as much esteem had of these as of Agents. Of these England hath more then any, and they are allowd very noble allowance; as he of Aleppo hath 4000 Dollars yeerly, and they of Smyrna and Mosco little less: but if ther be an Ambassador in that Domi­nion where they serve, they are subordinat to his commands in divers things.

We will conclude this Paragraph with this distinction of Am­bassadors, That some are extraordinary or pro tempore employd upon some particular great Affairs, or Condolements, or Con­gratulations, or for Overtures of Marriage, &c. and they use to go with greater lustre and magnificence, and may return with­out sending for leave, unless ther be a restraining clause in their Commission. The other are Ordinary or Lidger Ambassadors commanded to reside in the place until they receave Letters of Revocation; and as their time of return is indefinit, so their business is incertain, arising out of emergent occasions, and com­monly the protection and affairs of the Merchants is their great­est care. But Albericus Gentilis, with all the great Civilians, alledge that these kinde of Ambassadors were not known but of late yeers, and Paschalius calls them no better then Emissaries, Explorators or Spyes, which made Hen. 7. of England, as he saith, admit of none.

The second Paragraph, Of the absolut and indispensable necessity of Ambassadors, and that Mankind cannot subsist without them.

IF it were not for Ambassadors Wars wold be endless, and En­mities everlasting; Ther wold be no knowledg, no frend­ship among Princes, nor commerce among Nations. Brunus says, That among all Functions, all Offices and Employments of a Commonwealth, ther is none more necessary, more diffi­cult, more honorable, and that requires greater discretion, sa­gacity and caution, then that of an Ambassador: but as it is ac­companied with honor and profit, so it is with danger and ha­zard. Ambassadors are the emissititious Eyes of a Prince, they are his ears and hands, they are his very understanding and rea­son, they are his breath and voice; in contemplation wherof the Poet sings that an Ambassador is

—Vox Regum, lingua salutis,
Foederis Orator, pacis via, Terminus irae,
Semen Amicitiae, Belli fuga, litibus hostis.

It is observd in all stories, and confirmd by multitude of ex­amples, that the Interview and encounter of Kings hath bin ra­ther a disadvantage then an advance to any great business, spe­cially in treating of Capitulations of Peace. Therfore in the Politiks tis a Principle, that in Colloquies for Pacification Prin­ces shold not appeer in person, but be represented by their Am­bassadors and Commissaries. A Journey to be performd by Kings requires much trouble and charges; much ado ther is in fitting their train, that they may appeer in a fitting equippage; all which consumes time, as also what high ceremonies are to be usd in so solemn an action. Philip Comines, who always dismisseth his Readers wiser then they came, gives special Cautions for this, Affirming that the congress of Souverain Princes in regard of the various circumstances that attend it, is a meer folly; it is exposd to emulation, jelousies, and envy, as also to delays, and retarding of things by needless solemnities. He makes an in­stance in the personal Encounter which the Kings of England and France had, (where it is observable that he puts England be­fore France) adding further, that Lewis the eleventh though a politik wise King, was much afraid before-hand that some word might slip from him which might give offence, or some advan­tage to the King of England, or his Ministers; Herunto he adds an infortunat Journey that the King of Portugal made to the said [Page 183] King Lewis for assistance against the Castilians, which perhaps he might have procurd by a discreet Ambassador, which makes him give a caution touching this point. Bien tard [...]n Prince se doit met­tre soubs la main d'un autre, ni aller cercher son secours en personne: A Prince shold hardly put himself under the hands of another, or go seek aid of him in person. Paulus Emilius also describing the personal meeting that was between King Richard of England and Philip Augustus of France, (who also in the relation puts him of England before France) saith, that their often Conversation and Colloquies did much retard and disadvantage the great business of an Expedition to the Holy Land.

We will adde herunto the memorable example twixt Mat­thias King of Hungary, and Uladislaus King of Bohemia, who after a long War were to meet for concluding a peace in Olmutts in Moravia, where Matthias (meerly out of state) made Uladislaus stay for him 15 days; Moreover, Matthias came with a green Garland about his temples in policy that he might not uncover his head: Uladislaus therupon causd his Cap to be so girded and knotted about that it could not be taken off.

—Sic Ars d [...]luditur arte.

But ther is a Modern Example far more pregnant then any of these, of Charles the first King of England, whose Journey to the Court of Spain, though the designe was Princely and Noble in it self, for it was to endear himself the more to the Lady In­fanta; yet it provd very disadvantagious, for it distracted and retarded the whole business both of Match and restitution of the Palatinat, when by the negotiation of Ambassadors it had bin brought to such a passe of perfection, that it had taken effect had not the Prince come thither, which gave occasion for the two great Favorits Buckingham and Olivares to clash one with ano­ther, which broke the neck of so great a Business that had bin a moulding above ten yeers; which had it bin left to the sole ma­nagement of Ambassadors, had in all probability bin consum­mated.

Thus we see how absolutly requisit and necessary, how advan­tagious and essential Ambassadors are to a Kingdom or Common­wealth; which made the Roman Orator say, Sentio Legatorum mu­nus tum Hominum Praesidio munitum esse, tum etiam Divino Iure cir­cumvallatum: I [...]old the function of Ambassadors to be fencd by mens power, and fortified by Divine right. We will conclude with a Cannon of the Civilians, Legatorum munus perquam utile est, ac perquam necessarium: The Office of Ambassadors is most [...], and most necessary; which makes the Spaniards call it Santo Officio y Ministerio de los Angeles, The holy Office and Mi­nistry o [...] Angells.

The third Paragraph, Of the Antiquity, the first Rise and Pedigree of Ambassadors; as also of their Dignity, high Honor and Pre-eminence, and who are capable to qualifie, and employ Ambassadors.

FRom the Necessity of Ambassadors we will proceed to their Antiquity; and surely they must needs be very ancient if they are so necessary.

Some draw their antiquity from Belus the Father of Ninus; but Iosephus makes them more ancient, and refers their Original to God Himself, who was pleasd to create the Angels for this Ministry; Therfore Embassy in Greek is calld [...], as being de­rivd by imitation from the Hierarchy of Angels, who are made the Ambassadors of the great King of Heven upon extraordinary occasions, either for revelation of the successe of Kingdoms, as the Archangel Gabriel was to Daniel; Or for the declaring of some rare and signal thing, as He was sent also to the Blessed Virgin of the Conception of our Saviour, &c. Now, ther is no Order or Government in this lower World as well Ecclesiasti­cal as Secular but it is had from the Pattern of the higher, in regard that God Almighty created the Elementary World, and appointed the Government therof to conform with the Architype and chief Pattern, or Ideal Form of the same conceavd at first in the Divine mind, and prescribd to the Hevenly Kingdome.

Herunto alludes the Fiction of the ancient Pagans; For Aristi­des tels us, that in the first Age of the World, wheras Mankind was infected by Brute Animals, wherof some were far stronger, others swifter, others were Venemous, which made Mankind be­come often a prey to Birds, to Beasts and Serpents, Prometheus being sollicitous and studious for the safety of the humane Cre­ture, became Ambassador, or Orator to Iupiter for declaring the misery of Mankinde; Herupon Iupiter resolvd to send his son Mercury to teach Man Rhetorik, that is, to speak well and mo­vingly; but with this restriction, that he shold not communicat this Art to all, but to the excellentst, the wisest and valiantst sort of men: By means herof they came down from the mountains, and forth out of Caves and places of fastness, and by means of that Art of Rhetorik or Eloquence they united themselfs to civil Societies and coalitions. Hence it may be inferrd that Mercury the God of Eloquence was the first Ambassador, and he is painted with wings on his heels to denote expedition; Besides, he carri­eth a white Wand calld Caduceus in his hand, encircled with two Dragons greeting one another, which signifieth that his [Page 185] Office is to make Peace, Alliances and Legues, as also to de nounce VVar, which is intimated by the immanity of the Dra­gon. Having thus displayed the Antiquity, we come now to the Honor of Ambassadors; and questionless they must needs be very honorable being so ancient.

Royalty may be said, without prophaness, to be a Ray of Di­vinity; and Honor is a Ray of Royalty; The first is derivd imme­diatly from Heven, the other from Earthly Kings, who are calld the Fountains of Honor. Now, the reflections of this second Ray falls no where so directly as upon Ambassadors, who represent and personat Souverain Princes, which makes their Houses San­ctuaries, and their Persons so sacred, inviolable and excellent: and they have this high honor given them not only for their own sakes, and their Masters, but as they are Instruments of so uni­versal good, as suppressing of Wars by making Peace, Frend­ship and Concord; or for the advancement of Commerce and Frendship.

Now, it adds much to the Honor of Ambassadors that none can send any under that Title unless he be a Souverain Prince: Ther is no subject capable to send or receave any Ambassador, be he never so great a Viceroy; if he do, it is no less then High Treson. Therfore before the beginning of the last Civil Wars in Eng­land, it was Treson in the highest degree for the Scots Inconsulto Principe, to send Lowden and others in quality of privat Clancular Commissioners to treat with the French King in the name of the whole Nation for assistance. And though the King himself made a semblance not to admit or hear them, yet his fiery Car­dinal huggd them; whence it may be well said the first flames of the said VVars broke out.

It is recorded in the Life of Eliz. Queen of England, that the Duke of Alva when he was Governor of Flanders sent Christopher Assonville in quality of a Minister of State; but the Queen wold not admit him, because he could produce neither Commission or Credential Letter from the King of Spain, whose Vassal Alva was. In the year 1604. the King of Spain motiond that the publik Minister who was here for the Hollanders shold not be stild Ambassador, because they are subject to the Empire, and have a Superior, having bin incorporated in the Empire by Charles the fifth 1548. at the Diet of Auspurg, as Meteranus relates, and says besides that Rodolphus 2. writ Letters unto them 1607. as to Vassals of the Empire, and consequently they had no power to make Peace or War without the consent of Caesar, which they then acknowledgd by their Letters sent to Colen.

The Electors and Princes of Germany have got a privilege to send and receave Ambassadors touching matters that concern their own Territories, but not the state of the Empire: The like the Hans Town may do.

[Page 186]But Rebels have no capacity to employ any in quality of Mi­nisters of State, no not so much as an Herald: Therfore Charles the fifth was censurd for admitting a Herald with Letters de­nouncing a War from the Lutheran party in Germany, and dis­missing him unpunishd; though he told him that if he came a­gain, in steed of a Gold Chain he shold have a Halter for his re­ward.

Touching the Electors or Princes of Germany, and the Hans Towns, or Cities of the Hansa, it hath bin much controverted whether they had Ius Legationis, whether they had a capacity to make a Mission of Ministers of State that might bear the quality and privilege of Ambassadors. Concerning the first, Kirknerus a great Civilian holds, That the German Princes may have such a Prerogative, but it is secundario tantum Iure. Et qui Ius mittendorum Legatorum secundario tantùm Iure habent mittuntur Legati non de Rebus universum concernentibus Imperium, sed tantùm sui Territorii ratione, eo enim Ipsis intuitu tantùm datum; ultra igitur terminos non est procedendum, fieret enim altàs prejudicium Imperato­ri, &c. The German Princes may employ Ambassadors to For­ren Princes by a secondary Right, not to treat of Affairs concer­ning the Universal Empire, but of things only appertaining to their own particular Territories, and beyond those bounds they must not proceed. And ther are some Princes in Italy also that are no less under the Majesty of the Empire in this kind, but, &c.

As for the Hans Towns and Corporations, they claim the same privilege as the Princes do, for they are free Imperial Ci­ties, and communicat of the same Regalias, yet all by the in­dulgence of the Emperour, wherunto his necessities from time to time enforcd him. The Provinces of Belgia, or the Nether­lands, under pretext of such a Right sent the Baron of Montigni as Ambassador to Spain at the beginning of the tumults; but Philip the second choppd off his head, saying, That Vassals, much less Rebels, have no power to employ Ambassadors; Yet this King his Grandchild admitted Ascham who came from as notorious Rebels, (though not in reference to him) which he excusd in regard that Queen Elizabeth had receavd Ambassa­dors from Holland at their first revolt before they were ac­knowledgd a State, and that she was the chiefest supportress of them.

VVe will conclude this Paragraph with this Ticklish Point, VVhether a Protestant Prince may not send an Ambassador to the Pope, and by way of civil correspondence receave another from Him: though Iustice Ashton was of a contrary opinion, yet Sir Edward Coke was for the Affirmatif; and his reason is, [Page 187] because that besides his Spiritual Jurisdiction the Pope is a Tem­poral Prince; and ther may be Ambassadors sent to him as well as to the Turk, or Mogor.

The fourth Paragraph▪ Of the Privileges, Security, Reception, and the honorable sacred esteem which hath bin always had of the Persons of Ambassadors.

AMong many other Privileges which Ambassadors enjoy, and are endowd withal Iure Gentium by the Law of Na­tions, not only their Persons have bin always esteemd sacred and inviolable, but their Houses have bin held and allowd as San­ctuaries, all their Servants from the Stuard to the Scullion-Boy are free from all kind of outrages, violence or arrests. And they have this security not only in Courts and Cities, but in the midst of Armies in the Field, twixt Swords, Muskets and Guns: for though Ambassadors come from an Enemy, yet they are ac­counted none. VVhensoever they take footing upon the shore, or confines of any Prince to whom they are sent, they use to be attended by Harbingers and other Officers all the way, till they arrive at the Court. If they be robbd, the King makes good their losses: If an extraordinary Ambassador, he is attended at his first entrance with a more splendid equippage; he is Lodgd, and Dieted at the Kings charge for so many days with his whole train. At his Audience the King riseth to him, pulls off his Hat, and bows his Body, &c. Besoldus produceth the King of Eng­land, anno 1527. for an example how he observd the French Am­bassador as if he had bin the King himself; His words are, An­gliae Rex Gallicum Legatum planè ut Regem observavit, ei (que) supremum locum concessit, adeo (que) honoravit, ut in Comoediis ipsius Regis filiae sustineret personam: The King of England observd the French Am­bassador plainly as the King, and gave him the upper place, and he so honord him that he held by the arm the Kings Daughter to a Comedy.

But the Princes Electors carry themselfs high in this particu­lar, for they take place of Ambassadors; and the reason which Guetta and other Civilians give, is, In praesente Principe vera Ma­jestas, in Legato tantùm dignitas aliena; In Principe reiveritas, in Legato effigiata & adumbrata est: ut autem umbra Luci, ita Principi Legatus; quamvis enim Fictio tantùm operetur quantùm rei veritas ipsa, tamen ubi veritas & Fictio adidem collimant, veritas praevalet Fictioni. In the present Prince ther is real Majesty, in an Ambassador on­ly a representative; In the Prince ther is the truth of the thing, in an Ambassador the effigies or shadow: Now as the shadow [Page 188] yeelds to the light, so an Ambassador must yeeld to a Prince; For although a Fiction operats as much as the truth of the thing, yet where Truth and Fiction aim at one thing, Truth is Preva­lent. Nay, the Electors jointly hold themselfs to be more then the Emperour, he being their production, and made by their Suffrages and election; and the Rule of Heraldry is Honor est in Dante. But all this is by the by.

Now, so high and transcendent is the privilege of an Ambassa­dor, and his Person so sacred, that whosoever doth perpetrat any thing against his safety, he is guilty of High Treson of Laesae Ma­jestatis, that is, of prostituted Faith, Publik Authority, and of a breach of the Law of Nations. Qui violarit Legatum Lege Iulia de vi publica tenetur, VVho violats an Ambassador by the Iulian Law he is guilty of publik violence; and by the Pontifical Law tis no less then a Piacle, therfore he is interdicted from the bene­fit of holy things.

We will produce some Examples what revenges have followd for the violation of Ambassadors. The King of the Ammonits did deride and ill entreat the Ambassadors of King David, and to make them more contumelious, their Beards were half shaven, and their garments torn to their tails; but what ensued? the Am­monits afterward were overcome in Battail, and Rabba their chief City being taken, it was sacrificed with other Cities also to free plunder, and the fury of the soldiers; so the affronts done to the Ambassadors were vindicated. The Romans usd for a Piaculary Revenge to send those who had violated an Ambassador to the King whose person he represented as a victime, that he might inflict upon them what punishment he pleased for the a [...]rocity of the Fact. So Minutius and Manlius were sent to Carthage by a solemn Decree of the Senat because they had wrongd her Am­bassadors at Rome. And so respectful were the Romans of the sacred Persons of Ambassadors, that if any free Citizen of Rome did offer the least violence though by words only, he was degraded of being a free Citizen ever after. Nay, the very name of Ambassador is so sacred, that ther is a rare example that though some did counterfait it, yet they wold lay no violent hands up­on them; For Scipio Africanus having taken a ship laden with many illustrious Carthaginians, they said that they were Ambas­sadors sent to him, yet, though it was found they were none, he dismissd them peaceably, That as Valerius hath it, Romani Im­peratoris potiùs decepta fides quàm frustra implorata videretur.

Ambassadors also have a privilege that what children they get abroad, be it under what Climat it will during their Legation, they are free-born Denizens of that Country whence they come, and need no Naturalization; and the reason which Hotoman [Page 189] gives, is, that they cannot be said to be absent thence all the while, being still doing the business of their own Country, though they live as Exiles for the time for the common good. Be­sides, if they chance to die there, their goods are not subject to droit d' Aubaine, that is, they do not fall by Escheatage to the King as other strangers goods do in some Countries. When they are revokd home, they are advanced to the best Offices, and not only as a jeering French-man said to pluck Capons, as Sir Henry Vane, Sir Peter Wichts, and Sir Thomas Edmonds were, who were made Officers of the Green-cloth in the Kings Houshold; Lastly, after their deaths ther were statues erected to perpetuat their memories.

The fifth Paragraph, Of the Breeding and Education, of the Parts and Perfections both Acquird and Natural which are requird in an Ambassador.

AS in a General, or Commander in chief of an Army, ther is requird Valour, Magnanimity and Courage; so in an Ambassador ther is Wisdome, Discretion and Prudence requird: The one is for Performance and Action, the other is for Coun­sel and Negotiation. Ther is also Elocution requisit in both, in the one to enforce the justice of the Quarrel, and to infuse cou­rage into the soldiers by his Hortatives, in lieu wherof Sermons are made use of in latter Ages; in the other to move the affecti­ons of the Prince he is sent unto. Therfore Mercury was appoin­ted to be Ambassador of the Gods in regard of his Eloquence. And this strain of well-speaking in an Ambassador must be natural as well as by art; for the Italian tells us, Una oncia di Natura vale una libra di Dottrina, An ounce of Nature is worth a pound of Learning. Touching matter of Literature, ther are two prin­cipal Qualities requird in him, viz. to be a good Historian and a good Linguist; being the first, tis presumd he is stord with Ex­amples, Precedents and Observations of the Carriage of other Ambassadors; Of what encounters and difficulties they found in their Negotiations, and what successes they had. By being a good Linguist he hath extraordinary advantage to facilitat his affairs, to converse with other Ambassadors upon the place; to get intelligence, and gain the knowledge and frendship of the prime men and Ministers of that Prince to whom he is employd, and to get his favor also. But it is a caution which the Civilians give, That an Ambassador shold not speak but in a Language which he well understands for fear of slips, and placing a word amiss: Now, tis a great truth specially in an Ambassador, that [Page 190] Meglio è sducciolare co 'piedi che con la lingua, Tis better to slip with the foot then with the toung: Now, the toung being by the in­stitution of Nature in udo posita, put in a moist place, is very sub­ject to slip.

That worthy Knight Frederik Marselaer in his Book calld the Legat, and the Civilians, point at divers qualities that shold be in an Ambassador.

  • 1. He shold be an Indigena born in that Country whence he comes, that all his hopes of preferment may be there: and cer­tainly a Stranger or Alien though made free Denizen cannot be so proper; for a true-born Childe must needs negotiat with more affection for the honor and safety, for the benefit and in­terest of his own native Country and Mother.
  • 2. He must be a Gentleman born, or Noble; for all Gentle­men are accounted Noble in other Countries. He must be no A­gaso or Caprimulgus, and then he will gain more respect from the Prince and Peeple to whom he is employd: for since he must take Precedence of Princes, Dukes, Marquisses and Earls, &c. they will not think it much to give him priority of place being well born.
  • 3. He must be a comely and graceful Person being to repre­sent the person of his Prince; for the peeple of that Country to whom he is sent will be apt to think that the Prince whom he personats is so. We read that Artaxerces culld out sorty of the hansomst men that could be found to send in quality of Ambas­sadors to Alexander, who were also hansomely clad, so that it was a question whether they were a greater ornament to their Garments, or their Garments to them, as the Greeks said. An Ambassador being employed from England to Rome with a train of very comely Gentlemen, the Pope beholding them, said, Hi videntur potius Angeli quam Angli, These appeer rather to be An­gels then English-men. Aristotle being askd why outward beuty and comliness begat so much love, answerd, That this was a Blind­mans question.
  • 4. That he shold be well in yeers; for Experience being the great Looking-glass of Wisdome, and Wisdome being the prin­cipal Vertu requird in an Ambassador, Men that have many yeers on their backs qui ont pisse en beaucoup de neiges, as the French­man saith, must needs have more experience by observing the vi­cissitude of worldly things, and the successes therof; who have passed the unruly affections of Youth, which like so many Ma­stiffs do daily set upon us. Senators (or Counsellors of State) are denominated from Senes, Old men; and an Ambassa­dor, who may be rankd among the highest Counsellors of State, shold be so. Tis a tru saying, Qui in multis versati, versuti sunt.
  • [Page 191]5. That he shold be of a proportionable good Estate, and not indigent, for then he will be the more sedulous, diligent and careful in his charge, because he hath something to loose: for his Estate may be said to be his Bayl all the while he is abroad. Moreover, it will add much to the reputation of an Ambassador if he be known to be rich.
  • 6. He must be liberal and munificent, remembring the Per­son whom he represents: for a sordid parsimony and niggardness is odious in all men, specially in an Ambassador. The Spaniaro saith, That Dadivas entran sin taladro, Gifts make their way in without a Wimble, and nothing concerns an Ambassador more then to make his way into the Consults and Transactions of state of that Court where he resides, which cannot be done if he be close-fisted. When Sulpitius Galba and Aurelius Cotta did con­tend who shold be sent to Spain Ambassador in the time of Viria­tus, Emilianus one of the Senators said, That neither of them was fit; for the one was poor, and the other was covetous; th [...] one had nothing, and nothing wold satisfie the other. Ther is a remarkable passage in Iovius, That when the Florentines sent Ambassadors to Charles 5. and Clement 7. being then at Bolonia, together with their houshold-stuff, they brought covertly many rich Commodities to sell, because they might be free from pay­ing the Gabel: But the Searchers of the Custome house having discoverd it, they became a laughing-stock; and, as unworthy of the Office of Ambassadors, they were remanded home without audience. By this example it appeers that Ambassadors Lugga­ges may be searchd; Wherunto we may add another of Sir Thomas Chaloner sent Ambassador to Spain by Queen Elizabeth, who sending complaint home that his Chests had bin searchd, the Council sitting therupon determind, as Campden hath it, in these words, Legato omnia aequi boni (que) ferenda, dummodo Principis Honor non directè violetur; An Ambassador must bear all things pati­ently, provided that the Honor of the Prince (whom he serves) be not directly violated.
  • 7. He must be accostable and courteous, and not of a moross humor, yet reserving still his sta [...]e and gravity when time, place and persons require. Urbanity and gentleness works much up­on all affections, and he is a cheap Frend who is got by a Comple­ment: Therfore it becomes and behoves an Ambassador to com­ply with all in civilities by being of a winning, complacentious and benign behaviour; yet not to make himself too cheap, and to have a special care where he placeth his Complements.
  • 8. An Ambassador also must be constant, and tenacious of the Religion of his Prince and Country, both in the confident profession, and constant practice therof; if he cannot publikly, yet privatly within the walls of his own House; for nothing [Page 192] raiseth a repute more then an opinion of Piety. Therfore he must be very careful in the choice of his house, that it be fair and large, and a good distance from the Court, otherwise he may be pesterd with too many Visiters that will have their feet under his table ever and anon. He must be also constant to the habit and vests of his own King and Country: For he who doth not follow the fashion of his Prince herin, may be said Exuere Personam; and this was imputed as a great fault and fantastiqueness in my Lord Rosse when he went to Spain in King Iames his time, who appeerd at his first Audience, and continued afterwards in the Spanish habit. An Ambassador must be also very careful in the choice of Liveries for his Pages and Laquays, that they be rich and fair, but not fantastical: As likewise that he be well Coachd, and that his Coach be well drawn by good Horses; for nothing sets forth the lustre of an Ambassador more.

The sixth Paragraph, Touching the Election and appointment of an Ambassador, that He shold be Par Negotio, or adaequat to the Employment He goes about.

THe discretion and prudence of a Prince discovers it self in nothing more then in the choice of his Instruments. The old Poet tells us,

If Carpenter have not good Tools,
He makes ill-favourd Chairs and Stools.

But of all other Instruments and Officers, ther must be most inspection had in the choice of his Ambassador: for as the in­columity of the Kingdome depends upon the King, so the wel­fare of the King depends much upon the ability of his Ambassa­dor. Therfore this trustful Charge, this sacred Function must not be prostituted to evry one, for Ex quol [...]bet ligno non fit Mercu­rius, Evry one is not cut out for a Mercury, that is, an Ambassa­dor; for Mercury is accounted the God of Ambassadors.

The Romans for a time did choose Ambassadors Sortilegio, by Lots, as the Venetians now choose their Doge; and this was to prevent competitions and corruptions: Some were chosen Togâ, by the Gown for their wisdome; some Sago, by the Cassock [...]or their experience in the War, according as the quality of the pre­sent business did require; and indeed tis a great advantage to an Ambassador to have something of a Soldier in him, howsoever he must go always Cinctus gladio, with his Sword by his side; and the Prince who sends him must have also his Sword in his hand [Page 193] though he treats of peace. The principalst quality requird in him is to be Intrepidus, to be fearless, resolut and stout. He must not be pusillanimous and sheepish; for the witty Proverb will tell him, Chi pecora si fà il lupo se la mangia, Who makes himself a sheep the wolf will devour him: Therfore ther must be a special care had to pry into the genius and natural dispositi­on of the party in this particular; for tis a tru principle in hu­mane Nature, That a Coward cannot be an honest man, and Hone­sty is a main thing requird in an Ambassador. Therfore he must not be dejected and cast down at the cross traverses and success of any business; his courage must not be daunted or dashd at any thing. He must be also bold and confident in his Proposals and Demands; for Qui timidè rogat docet negare, Who asks with fear teacheth how to deny: And let him be sure to ask ra­ther too much then too little; for Domanda assai, che non manche­rà poi à calare; Ask enough, and ther will be enough to aba [...]e afterwards: Therfore let him not be stanchd, or mealy-mouthd in his Demands and Audiences; Blushing and Bashfulness are commendable in Maids and Boys, but odious in Ambassadors; therfore the Spaniard hath a witty Proverb, Al Vergonzoso el Di­ablo le truxo al Palacio, The Devil brought the Bashful to Court. Wherfore in the election of an Ambassador ther must be a re­gard had to his natural disposition, that he be confident and har­dy. Ther is a memorable observation and saying of Philip the second King of Spain, calld El Prudente, that when he had designd one for an Ambassador, he came faintily and coldly to him to propose some things for the accommodation of his Embassy; The King observing it, said, How can I expect that this man can promote and effectuat my Businesses, when he is so fainty and fearful in the sollicitation of his own? To prevent this, the probablest way is to make choice of a generous and well-extracted person, for De­generes animos Timor arguit. One of the greatest blemishes that Historians do cast upon Lewis the eleventh of France, is, that he made choice of his Barbe [...] to be Ambassador to the Duke of Bur­gundy; and it was upon no ordinary business, for it was to make an overture of a March with the young Princess his Daughter; but the mean opinion which was had of the quality of the man overthrew the business. Matthaeus Palmerius an Apothecary of Florence had bet [...]er luck then the French Barber had; For he be­ing sent in quality of Ambassador to Alfonso King of Naples, and having acquitted himself so elegantly, and with so much gene­rosity at his first audience, and the King understanding that he was an Apothecary, said, Se tali sono gli Speciali di Fierenze, quali debbono essere gli Medici? If the Apothecaries of Florence are such, what shall we think of their Physitians? But this Apothecary although he was of an ordinary Trade, yet he was [Page 194] an extraordinary man in point of Parts and Erudition, which made compensation for the meanness of his Profession.

Moreover, it is an advantage to the affairs of a King that he make choice of a proper and graceful person, and of a sound healthful constitution to represent him abroad. We read that it was prohibited by the Law of Moses that any man who had any blemish or mutilation shold be made a Levite: Now, Le­vits, as it was insinuated before, are as the Legats of God Al­mighty, and Kings being types of him, shold not have any to personat them that had any deformity or indisposition. I re­member when Count Gondamar and the Marquiss of Inojosa were here Ambassadors for the King of Spain, the one was troubled with the Fistula, and the other had lost a peece of his Nostril, therupon a Libel was made that the King of Spain made an odd choice of his Ambassadors to England, for the one had the Pox in his Brich, the other in his Nose.

It hath bin much controverted among Statists whether one person singly, or many joynd in Commission be fittest for an Embassy: this business is much canvasd Pro & Con among the Civilians; they that are for plurality urge Solomon, That in multitude of Counsellors ther is safety. They instance in divers ex­amples, and produce Virgil,

Qui dicta ferunt, & foedera firment
Centum Oratores patria de gente Latinos.

Darius employd ten in an Embassy to Alexander; The Ro­mans sent ten to appease the tumults of Asia; They sent ten to Macedonia; Four to the Fidenates; Three to the Carthaginians, &c. But Paschalius gives a Rule herein, Tentando aut Tractando unus satis est; consummando plurtum interventus desideratur: In trying or treating one is enough; in consummating a business the intervention of many is requird. So Peter Matthieu relates that ther were 400 Spanish Gentlemen at the confirmation of the Peace of Vervins twixt Spain and France, which might be calld a Legion rather then a Legation.

But the most political Civilians are for one single person, trop gran nombre est encombre, too great a number is an encumber a­mong Ambassadors, it is subject to confusion and delays; it will make the business in treaty to take air, and be sooner discoverd. One is far more secret and sedulous when he acts by himself, then when he must concur with others. Then ther are Maximes in the Law, Cura plurium, cura nullorum; The care of many, the care of none; Quod multos tangit, paucos angit. Then many emulati­ons and envy do often creep in with other inconveniences a­mongst many. Therfore the most expedit and advantagious [Page 195] cours is, that ther be but one Ambassador, but the Prince must choose a choice man to be he; He must be Lectus antequam Ele­ctus.

Another debate ther is, Whether Legatio be only a Virile Mu­nus, a Masculin task, or whether Women are capable to be em­ployd in an Embassy; and more are for the Affirmatif part then the Negatif. It was much controverted in Rome whether Vetu­ria and Volumnia, two Roman Matrons, were fit to be sent as the desperatness of the case then stood, upon an Embassy to Cori [...]la­nus and the Volscians; it was determind they shold, and the treaty took good effect. Ther were Roman Dames sent upon an Embassy to Constantius the Emperour for revoking Pope Liberi­us, and they prevaild. It was a practice among the Romans to send the Vestal Virgins upon Embassies. Ther is a memorable example how Guelpso the Duke of Bavaria having provokd the Emperour Conradus, he set so close upon his skits that he coopd him up in Winsberg, where he beleagerd him; Caesar was so incensd that he vowd to put all to fire and sword. So the Duke being reducd to great extremities, it was thought fit to send the Duchess as Ambassadress to the Emperours Camp, where she performd her part so gallantly, that she so movd and melted his heart, that for her sake all the Women in Winsberg shold have safe con­duct to depart, and carry away upon their backs as much of the most precious wealth as they could bear, but the Men shold abide his mercy. Herupon the Duchess took the Duke upon her shol­ders, and evry Wife after her example took her Husband; Maids and Unmarried Women took up some their Brothers, some their Kinred, and so all marchd out; so Caesar pardond all. I will conclude with a late example of Madame Sardaus, who went so often privatly twixt Bruxels and the Hague until the peace was concluded twixt Spain and Holland after fourscore yeers Wars by Sea and Land: Therfore she was calld La Maquarelle de la Paix; which was no disgrace to her.

The seventh Paragraph, Touching the Office, Function and Duty of an Ambassador in the execution of his Place, and acquitting him­self of the great Fiduciary Trust reposd in Him, &c.

THe Civilians, who are best versd in the Laws of Embas­sies, say, Legatio est mysteriosum quid, that it is a mysterious thing; It is full of secrecie and darkness, as it is of Faith and Trust. The Lord high Chancellor of England, who is Keeper of the Kings Conscience as well as of the Great Seal, hath a great trust reposd in him for to mitigat the rigor of the Laws by way of Equity. The Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench, he of the Common Pleas, and the Lord Chief Baron of the Exche­quer, have great trusts reposd in them: but all these deal twixt Subject and Subject, and sometimes twixt King and Subject: But Ambassadors have a higher trust, for they deal twixt Kings and Kings, twixt Countries and Countries; therfore as the burden is heavier, so the honor is the greater: ther is no secre­cie belongs to the other Offices; but reservedness and secrecie is the soul of Embassy; which made one say, If his Cap knew his privat Instructions, he wold hurle it into the fire and burn it. And as ther is honor in this high employment, so ther is much honor attends it; which made one say, That that Ambassador who loseth one hair of his Masters honor, forfeits his head at his return.

One of the principal Duties of an Ambassador, is to stick close to his Instructions, and the Mandats of his Master; and therin an Ambassador Lidger doth not run so much hazard as an Extraordinary, who hath many things commonly left to discre­tion by way of implicit trust. Besoldus defines the Office of an Ambassador thus, Ut Mandatum fideliter, & cum dexteritate exe­quatur, & acceptum responsum diligentissime notatum referat Mit­tenti; That with faithfulness and dexterity he execut the Com­mand, and report to him who sent him the Answer most dili­gently noted. Ther is a shorter definition, Officium Legati est ut Mandata Legationis diligenter conficiat, & ex F [...]de, That he perform carefully the Command of the Embassy, and with Faith. He derives all his Power from his Instructions; for without them ther is no Mission or Embassy. Ther is an Example of the Athe­nians, that having employd Ambassadors with divers Iustru­ctions, wherof one was, that they shold take such a way as they went, they going another way, though they had performd all the rest of the Instructions, yet they were put to death at their return for infringing this one.

[Page 197]Ther are divers instances how Ambassadors exceeding their Commissions, and falling into follies, have bin punishd upon the place. Hector Boetius relates that Olaus and Evetus killd the Scots Ambassadors. Teaca Queen of Sclavonia killd a Roman Ambassador, as Polybius mentions. The Athenians causd Darius Ambassadors to be thrown into a Well. Dandolo the Venetian Ambassador had his eyes pluckd out by the King of Sicily. But let us descend to latter Ages: Francis the first of France sent Fre­gosa and Rinion Ambassadors to the Turk; Charles 5. soldiers discoverd, surprizd and flew them in Italy: The fact was justifi­ed by the Emperour because they were both his subjects, the one being a Milanois, the other of Genoa, and servd his Enemy, for ther were Wars then twixt Charles and Francis. Edward the second of England employd a French Gentleman Ambassador to France, who had bin executed for a Traytor for serving the Enemy had not the Queen interceded. Anno 1302. the Pope sent an Am­bassador to France, where he practisd some Treson; and being arraigned, convicted, and condemned to die, the Popes Frends procurd that he shold be banishd only. The Venetian drew out of the French Ambassadors House some who bad discoverd their secrets to the Turk, where resistance being made, Cannons were sent for from the Arsenal, and so they were taken out by force, and the French King not offended.

The Ambassadors in these latter examples by their own indis­cretion and misdemenures drew these violences upon themselfs. We will concude this point with a latter example in England 1624. at which time ther were two Spanish Ambassadors re­siding in London, who were the Marquiss of Inojosa, and Don Car­los Coloma; and the Prince of Wales being newly returnd from Madrid Re infectâ, without the Infanta, matters began to gather ill bloud twixt England and Spain, in regard that the Treties both of Match and Palatinat were dissolvd by Act of Parlement, which was done by means of the Duke of Buckingham. The said Am­bassadors finding that, they contrivd a way how to supplant and destroy the Duke. Herupon falling into consideration that King Iames was grown old, and that the least thing might make impressions of distrust and jealousies in him, therfore in a privat audience they did intimat unto him that ther was a very dange­rous designe against his Royal Authority traced by the Duke of Buckingham and his Complices, which was, that at the beginning of that Parlement the said Duke with certain Lords, and others consulted of the argument & means which were to be taken for the breaking and dissolving of the Treties both of the Spanish Match, and for the restitution of the Palatinat; and if his Maje­sty wold not conform therunto, their consultations passd so far, that he shold have a house of plesure where he might retire [Page 198] himself to his sports, in regard that the Prince had now yeers sufficient, and parts answerable for the Government of the King­dome. The King for the present dismissd them with thanks; But the next day he made earnest instances that as they had dis­coverd a Conspiracie, they wold also detect the Conspirators, this being the only means wherby their own honor might be preservd in proving the truth of things. To this they replyed, That they had reveald enough already in order to the care and zeal they had to his Royal Person and Dignity. Therupon the King commanded that the Duke of Buckingham shold be put to his Oath, with others who were most suspectful, which they all took for cleering their integrity.

This being done, the King returnd to make new instances to the said Ambassadors, that they wold not prefer the discovery of the names of the Conspirators to the security of his Person, as also to the truth and honor of themselfs, and to the hazard of an opinion to be held the Authors and Betrayers of a Plot of so much malice, sedition and danger; but they wold discover no more.

Yet a few days after they desird new audience, which was suspended to be given them, and in the interim the King sent Sir Edward Conway his principal Secretary of State, and Sir Francis Cottington Secretary to the Prince, (both Lords afterwards) to signifie unto the said Ambassadors that he desird nothing more then a continuance of frendship twixt the two Crowns; ther­fore if they had any thing to say they shold communicat it to the said Secretaries as persons of trust, which he employd expresly for that purpose; and if they made any difficulty of this also, then they might choose among his Council of State those whom they likd best, and he wold command that they shold presently repair unto them: and if this also shold seem inconvenient, they might send him what they had to say in a Letter by whom they thought fittest, and he wold receave it with his own hands. But they gave no answer to all this: therupon the said Secretaries told them according to their Instructions which they had receavd from his Majesty, That they being the Authors of an Informa­tion so dangerous and seditious, had made themselfs incapable to treat further with the King their Master; and were it not for the respect he bore to the Catholik King his dear and beloved Brother their Master, and that they were in quality of Ambas­sadors to such a Majesty, he wold and could by the Law of Na­tions, and the right of his own Royal Justice, proceed against them with such severity as their offence deservd; but for the reasons before said he wold leave the reparation to the Justice of their own King, of whom he wold demand and require it.

[Page 199]Herupon Sir Walter Ashton Ambassador then in Spain for the Crown of England, had audience of that King, wherin he said, That the King of Great Britain his Master had commanded him to demand refaction and satisfaction of his Majesty against the Marquiss of Inojosa and Don Carlos Coloma for scandalizing the Duke of Buckingham, (with other of his best subjects) and through his sides aiming at the Prince himself; for it is unlike­ly the Duke wold have cast himself upon such a designe without the communication of it to him, and to know his plesure: so he remonstrated the whole circumstance of the business, &c. And in conclusion he said, That he humbly beseechd his Ma­jesty to observe and weigh well the care and tenderness wher­with the King his Master had proceeded towards his Majesties Ambassadors; not obliging them to any precipitat resolutions, but giving them time, and opening a way how they might have cleerd themselfs, &c.

It was expected that the said Ambassadors at their return to Spain wold have bin punishd, or at least checkd; but matters growing daily worse and worse twixt England and Spain, the said Ambassadors were rather rewarded then reprehended at their return, Inojosa being made afterwards Governor of Milan; and Coloma receavd addition of command, and honors in Flan­ders.

But the high civilities of England at that time towards the said Ambassadors was much cryed up abroad, that notwithstanding so pernicious a machination to demolish Buckingham, and to discompose the whole English Court, yet they were permitted to depart peaceably; and Sir Lewis Leukner was commanded to conduct them to the Sea-side for prevention of any outrage upon their persons.

We have dwelt the longer upon this business, in regard ther are extraordinary traverses of State in it, being a Plot of an un­usual reach of policy, which will be found more amply related in the addition the Author made to Finets Ambassador: but in regard it is so pertinent to this Paragraph, he thought it fit to insert the substance of it here.

We will now resume things touching the Office of an Ambas­sador. It is very necessary he shold have his Credential Letters exact and plain; His Commission plenary, and fortified with as much authority as he can. The Spanish Ministers when the Prince of Wales was there, objected against the Duke of Buching­ham that his Commission (for he came also in quality of Am­bassador) was not so compleat and authentik as that of the Earl of Bristols; for he had his Commission under the Broad Seal of England, wheras the Duke had his by the King only.

[Page 200]The Civilians make a question, Si à Legato Mandata poscantur, is adigi possit ad ea exhibenda. Their opinion is, That besides his Credential or Fiduciary Letters, and his General Commission, he is not bound to shew any more. Touching his privat Instru­ctions, Paschalius saith, Mala eum agitat res qui in Legati Secreta irreligiose irrumpit. It is questiond further, Whether it may stand with the Office and Honor of an Ambassador to receave Gifts and Presents from the Prince he is sent unto, which the Ci­vilians call Lautia, a word peculiar only to Ambassadors: some are for the Negative, which the Hollanders do follow; for their Ambassadors use to receave none, not so much as a Bottle of Wine: But most are for the Affirmatif. But the Venetians (who are reputed to have the best Rules touching Ambassadors) though they allow it, yet, their Ambassadors are bound to exhi­bit their Presents to the Senat; and tis thought much of St. Marks tresure consists of it. They are also bound in a large Oration to give an account (besides that of their Embassy) what they observd most remarkable in the Government, State and Quality of the Country; of which Oration they bring also a Manuscript which is put up in their Archives. Iohn Earl of Bristol at his de­parture from Madrid (notwithstanding that the weather had grown foul twixt us and Spain) receavd a Cupboard of huge massie Plate valued at 20000 Crowns of this King of Spain, who also gave him a Diamond Ring off his Finger, rated at 1500 l. sterling; and the reason was, because he had found him so wise, faithful and industrious a servant to his King.

The Civilians make likewise a doubt whether it may not inter­rupt the Office of an Ambassador to have his Wife and Children along with him; but they who hold the contrary are rather ex­ploded then approved: For to leave his Wife, is for one to leave half himself behind him; besides, Conjugal society is counted the prime of comforts: moreover, it saves trouble of Writing, and charges for Letters and Packets, which come to no small sum at the yeers end, &c.

We will conclude this Paragraph with two special things which the Civilians require further for the performance of the Office of an Ambassador, viz. That he be reservd and secret in an intense degree; he must not be Plenus Rimarum, full of chinks: and herin the Italian and Spaniard are eminently imitable; for all the Drugs in Egypt cannot draw away a secret from them, wheras a small Purge or Vomit will make others cast it up.

Furthermore, that an Ambassador may facilitat the discharge of his Office the better, it is requisit that he have a previous knowledg of the Court and Country wherunto he is employd: [Page 201] that he be well versd in the Speech therof; for it is a sad thing when one is sent Ambassador to see fashions, and learn the Lan­guage of a Country.

Lastly, ther's nothing more concerns the Office and Duty of an Ambassador (as it was touchd before) then to be true to his Instructions. Brunus tells us, that Qui extra Mandatum agit, aliud agit; Who acts beyond his Commission, acts another thing: Yet it cannot be denied but many things in point of circum­stance are left to the discretion of a Plenipotentiary Ambassador; therfore, as I take it, ther was by the twelve Tables in Rome a la­titude of power left to Legats, Quae bonum Patriae eminenter tan­gunt etiamsi non Mandentur, agunto: What eminently concerns the publik good, though not commanded, let them be done.

The eighth Paragraph, Touching the Laws of England relating to Ambassadors in point of Reception, Audience, Treatments and Rewards; as also what prudence hath bin usd for composing of Contestations betwixt them in point of Precedence, &c.

HAving spoken hitherto generally of the concernments of Ambassadors, and the privileges of Legation, We will now make some inspections in particular into the Constitutions and Common Laws of England, which may be calld Civil, and very complying in this point.

The Law of England, as the great Father of it my Lord Coke says, That Honor Legati honor mittentis est, The honor of an Am­bassador is the honor of him who sent him: That Legati, aut Proregis dedecus redundat in Regem, The affront offerd an Ambas­sador redounds to his King. By the Common Law of England tis High Treson to kill an Ambassador; as among others ther are Examples in the persons of Iohn Kerby and Iohn Algore, the one a London-Mercer, the other a Grocer, who were both ar­raignd, convicted, and condemned for killing Iohn Imperial, who was Ambassador from Genoa, for a Patent he had got of the King for the sole importing of all Commodities from the Levant parts. I. Hill was also condemned of High Treson for killing of A. de Walton who was Ambassador, &c. Then the high civi­lities that were shewd by King Iames to the Marquiss of Inojosa, and Don Carlos Coloma the Spanish Ambassadors, notwithstanding their high misdemenures for calumniating the last Duke of Buck­ingham, and through him the Prince of Wales his sole Son, and Heir apparent to the Crown, as it is mentiond in the next pre­ceding Paragraph.

[Page 202]And as the Law of England is so respectful of Ambassadors, so for her own she useth to furnish them with as political Commis­sions and Instructions, and as exactly couchd as any other Kings Ambassadors whatsoever. I will produce only two Examples, the one ancient, the other modern: the first is of Ambassadors sent to the Council of Basile, which runs thus:

Ad Concilium Basiliense sub Eugenio Papa destinati sunt per Re­gem Ambasciatores, & Oratores Episcopus Robertus London, Phi­lippus Exoniensis, Iohannes Roffensiis; Iohannes Bajocens, Edwardus Comes Moriton; Abbas Glastoneensis, & B. M. Eboracensis; Prior Norwici; Henricus Bromflet miles Dominus Vesciae; Thomas Browne Legum Doctor, Decanus Sarum, Iohannes Coleville Miles, & alii. Dantes & damus iis, & Ipsorum majori parti potestatem, & Manda­tum tam generale quàm speciale nomine nostro, & pro nobis in eodem Concilio interessendi, tractandi, communicandi & concludendi tam de iis quae Reformationem Ecclesiae Universalis tam in Capite, & in Mem­bris quàm in iis quae Fidei Orthodoxae fulcimentum Regum (que) ac Principum Pacificationem concernere poterint. Nec non de & super Pace perpetua, guerrarum (que) abstinentia inter Nos, & Carolum adver­sarium nostrum de Francia; ac etiam tractandi, communicandi, & ap­punctandi, consentiendi insuper, & si opus fuerit aissentiendi iis quae juxta deliberationem dicti Concilii initi statui, & ordinari contigerit. Promittentes & promittimus bona fide nos ratum, gratum, & firmum perpetuò habiturum totum, & quicquid per dictos Ambasciatores, Ora­tores, & Procuratores nostros aut Majorum partem Eorundem actum, factum, ceu gestum fuerit in praemissis, & singulis praemissorum. Et Hoc idem cùm de, & super iis certiorati fuerimus ad Nos, & Christia­num Principem attinet executioni debitae curabimus demanda [...]i. In cujus rei testimonium has Literas nostras fi [...]ri fecimus Patentes, Da­tum sub sigillo nostro Magno in Palatio nostro West monasteriensi, x die Julii, &c.

‘We delegat to the Council of Basil under Pope Eugenius for Ambassadors and Orators Bishop Robert of London, Philip of Exceter, &c.

‘Giving, and do herby give them, and the major part of them power and command as well general as special in our name, and for us to be present, to treat, communicat and conclude things as well concerning the Reformation of the universal Church, as the Pacification of Kings and Princes; and like­wise of and concerning a perpetual peace and abstinence from VVar betwixt Us and Charles of France our Adversary; and also to treat, communicat, appoint, and to consent besides, and if need be to dissent from such things that shall happen to be appointed and ordained according to the deliberation of the [Page 203] said Council: Promising, and we do promise in good Faith to hold for ratified, acceptable and firm to perpetuity whatsoever shall be acted or done by our said Ambassadors, Orators, or Proctors, or the greatest part of them in relation to the Premi­ses, and any part therof whensoever we shall be certified, and as becomes a Christian Prince; we shall have a care that all be put in due execution. In testimony wherof we have causd these our Letters to be Patents, Given under our Great Seal in our Palace at Westminster, x Iulii, &c.

Ther repaird to this Council also Henry Beaufort Son of Iohn of Gaunt, Bishop of Winchester, and Cardinal of St. Eusebius, ha­ving had license to transport 20000 l. in Gold and Silver, which was a mighty sum in those daies; which money, as the story hath it, though mute, yet they were moving Ambassadors.

The second example shall be of Robert Sydney now Earl of Lei­cester, in an extraordinary Embassy to the King of Denmark, and other Princes of Germany, whose Instructions were these fol­lowing.

CHARLES R.

‘Instructions for our right trusty and right well-beloved Co­sen Robert Earl of Leicester, Vicount Lisle, and Baron of Sulney, our Ambassador to our dear Uncle Christian 4. King of Den­mark, &c.

‘VVe have preferrd you before others to this honorable Em­ployment, because we have observd your constant application to vertuous and noble courses; and wold have it known to all that we esteem Titles not of those that bury them in obscurity and Vice, but of such that improve their worth for publik ser­vice in VVar or Peace, wherby tru Nobility raiseth it self a­bove the common sort. VVe send you to a great King whom we love and honor not only for his Crown and Alliance, but also for neerness in Blood.’

‘Your Message in the first part is a Ceremony sutable to the affections and obligations of Princes, to express the sense they have of the mortality of their Frends; which Office is best performd by a person of noble rank, capable of the impression wrought in noble hearts. But the substance of your Ambas­sage is for the publik Peace, and the interest of our Bro­ther, (the Palsgrave) and our dear Sister depending therup­on.’

‘To advance this great work, you must with convenient speed [Page 204] fit your self for your journey, and pass the Seas in a ship ap­pointed to transport you to the Sound, or the River of Elve, as by the way you shall learn where our Uncle the King doth now reside. When you are landed, you shall forthwith give notice of your coming, that your Reception may be with ho­nor due to our Ambassador of your rank. Then, after your coming to Court, you shall in our name demand Audience, and then attend the Kings plesure for your access; but you shall not visit any other until you have had the honor of his presence to whom you are employd.’

‘At your first audience you shall deliver our Letter of Cre­dence to our Uncle; and then with a significant expression of our entire and cordial affection proceeding from the obligati­ons of frendship, you shall tell him what great sorrow we have conceavd together with him for the death of our dear Granmother the late Queen his Mother, whose memory you must adorn with her stile, and due Praises enlargd, as the in­formation of her Life and Death, and your own Judgment will best direct.’

‘This Office being performd with the King without any mention of other business at that time, you shall address your self to the Prince if he be present, or otherwise by special audi­ence, and deliver with our Letter of Credence our like con­doleance, with expression of our hearty affection, as to a Kins­man whose prosperity and inward frendship we very much desire.’

‘Our Letters to our Aunts the Kings Sisters you shall deliver afterwards, with signification of our condoleance and of our love to either of them; and if more of our Cosens be there, you shall pass like Offices with them all.’

‘Whilst you attend this Ceremony, you are to inform your self by Avery, who hath the charge of our affairs at Hambo­rough, and is also chosen Commissioner for our sister: what is done concerning that Portion of our Granmothers personal Estate which is due unto Us, as by our Uncles own Letters now to be deliverd unto you, may appeer. Which Portion we have given entirely to our said Sister, with order to her Com­missioners to sollicit for the same at the appointed time: and in case you find performance to our Sisters satisfaction, ac­cording to our former Letters sent on her behalf, you shall take notice of it, and give our Uncle hearty thanks for his just favor and expedition. But if you find refusal, or delay for the discounting of such debt as upon former Treties, and by his last Letters our Uncle doth demand; you shall assure him that before the receit of those Letters which mention the com­pensation of such Debts, We had conveyd by Deed of Gift to [Page 205] our Sister all our interest in the Goods; and given warrant to her Commissioners to attend the division: and we hope our good Uncle in his Royal justice and favor to our Sister his Neece, and her many distressed children, will not add affli­ction to affliction, but rather give them help by his forward­ness in this our gift, which we can no more revoke.’

‘If this prevail not, you shall modestly demand what those Debts are wherof he expecteth compensation; and therin to clear all misunderstanding, you are thus to distinguish. The Debts to which our Uncle pretendeth, are of two kinds, all contracted by our Father of blessed memory, and not by us.’

‘First, our Father after that our Uncle had undertaken the German War, sent Sir Robert Anstruther with an advance of forty six thousand pounds present moneys, and promised to pay thirty thousand pounds monthly so our Uncle wold main­tain one thousand horse, and four thousand foot, for restoring our Brother and Sister to all their Patrimonial Dignities and Estates. If then our Uncle shall declare, that this is the debt he pretendeth to defalque out of the divided Goods; you shall with due respects (and as it were unwillingly) call unto his mind what manner of performance was found on his part, and how little those designes have bin advanced for which our Fa­ther expressed his Royal affection by so large an offer; which caused us at our coming to the Crown to send the Duke of Buckingham and Earl of Holland to meet our Uncles Ambassa­dors at the Hague to qualifie those indigested assumptions, made de bene esse, for the present, without debate of Articles indifferent for both parts. And then (as our Uncle well knoweth) we setled the accompt upon a new foot, and ther­fore ought no more to be called back to those exorbitant de­mands, which notwithstanding upon due calculation of all our disbursements in money, and in charges of our Auxiliary aids and diversions, we have so much exceeded: That (lay­ing a side all exception for not performing conditions) we have just cause to claim retribution, or at least acknowledgment of well-deserved thanks, and not to be now strained for compen­sation of those Debts. Of our [...]ast expences ther hath bin a List transmitted to Avery from Sir Henry Vane, wherof you may make use by a Copy to be now delivered unto you, to ac­quit Us of those debts.’

‘But ther is another debt for money borrowed by our Fa­ther, which we do acknowledg both principal and interest, and for liquidation therof have given former directions to our Ambassador Sir Henry Vane, who is to meet the Kings Mini­sters at the Hague in his return out of Germany, and to consi­der [Page 206] of a cours for our Uncles satisfaction, according to his ex­pectation and our desire. Upon this meeting (if otherwise you cannot) you must discharge your self; and having setled the division of the Portion, and put off the accompts in this manner, you shall afterwards proceed as you find time and opportunity to your more weighty negotiation concerning the common cause; representing to that King our Uncle the pre­sent state of Christendome, specially of Germany, the seat of the War, that upon a mature consideration therof both he and we may best advise how to govern our Proceedings, as well for our safety as for our interests with others, and chiefly for the obtaining of a sure peace, which is to be desired for the com­mon good. To this purpose you shall move him to cast his eyes upon that progress the King of Sweden (his Neighbour) hath already made by his sword, almost through the Empire, beyond all mens expectation: and to foresee in his great wis­dome what the consequence will be, if by victorious Arms he shall obtain power to give the Princes and States on both sides what Law shall please himself; which may reasonably be feared, if no cours be timely taken for preservation of their rights by treaty or otherwise.’

‘On the other side you may lay before him the power yet re­maining in the puissant house of Austria, with the dependance of Bavaria, and other German Princes; and how both sides are supported by forren assistants, those with the money and coun­tenance of Spain, these with the actual arms of France, besides the diversions of the Low Countries and Italy; so as in all pro­bability the War is like to last long, and the balance may be swayd as other Princes put to their hands.’

‘And the King of Swede having lately moved both the Prin­ces and States of his alliance, and others, to joyn league for the liberty of Germany, and for peace, and inviting us to joyn ther­in: and the Emperour also discovering on his side an inclina­tion to treaty and to peace, you must entreat for our better information our Uncles sound advice, and how he stands affe­cted, and whether he be engaged in any such treaty; with whom, and how far; and whether our conjunction with the rest will be desired. To which we may by him be perswa­ded to apply our selves, so as by the treaty the full restitution of our Brother and Sister to their Patrimonial Dignities and Estates, (being the only interest of our engagement) may be effectually provided for. If upon these intimations the King shall reveal unto you any overtures of a treaty already in hand, and that therin our conjunction will be desired, you shall with speed give us account of the particulars, and of the grounds therof, with all the circumstances of persons, times and places, [Page 207] that therupon we may send you such further powers and in­structions for your proceedings with our Uncle and other Princes, as with the advice of our Council we shall think meet.’

‘Besides this main business, other occasions may be appre­hended there by you for the advantage of our service; for i [...] by conference with Avery you shall understand of any impedi­ment or obstruction of the trade of our Merchants residing in Hamborough, caused by any difference betwixt that King and the Town; or by his pretence of commanding the River of Elve, you shall do Offices in our name betwixt our Uncle and the Town to remove offences, and to settle good agreement upon honorable terms for the King, and so as an Innovation may not be made, which may prejudice the intended treaty, or which may restrain our Merchants from that freedome of trade there, which they have enjoyed so many yeers. And wheras by occasion of the War betwixt Poland and Sweden new Impositions are raised in the Pellow, and elsewhere, with other restraints of trade, which in the end will force our Mer­chants and the Low Country-men also to seek the Commodi­ties of Eastland in America, to the great detriment of the Kings Customes at Elsenore, you shall in this regard advise with our Uncle how the ancient freedom in like manner may be resto­red in that trade.’

‘For Island you shall signifie to our Uncle that in conformity to his late Letters we have prohibited our subjects that Fish in those Seas, or fetch Hawks from those parts, either to export or import any Merchandise to hinder his Farmers; not doubt­ing of his gracious reciprocal favor to our said subjects in their lawful proceedings.’

‘Concerning our Coller of Rubies which hath formerly bin engagd to raise moneys, you shall inform your self by Avery how the case now stands, and shall proceed as upon further advice therof we shall direct.’

‘You shall keep good correspondence with our Ambassa­dors and Agents in all parts as occasion shall be offered, but especially with Sir Henry Vane, who is employed with the King of Sweden, and with Sir Robert Anstruther at the Emperours Court.’

IOHN COKE.

[Page 208] By these two Presidents of Commission and Instructions, we may see how exact and curious the English Court is in this point; how quaintly such Publik Dispatches are couchd, not so plain and flat, with such superfluity of speech as I have seen the Instructions of other Princes stuffd withal.

We will to the Reception, Attendance, Treatments, Gifts, (Lautia) composing of Differences, with other high civilities usd towards Forren Ambassadors in the English Court.

Touching the first, Ther are no Ambassadors whatsoever re­ceavd more splendidly, and with greater state both by water and land, then in England: For first, he is brought in Royal Bar­ges a good way upon a Noble Navigable River, through a Fo­rest of main Masts on both sides, and landed at the stairs of a huge Tower in sight of a stupendious Bridg, such as I may well say the world hath not the like. Then is he conducted in the Kings Coach with a great number besides through the centre of the Ci­ty of London, to a house expresly provided for him if he comes extraordinary, where he is magnificently treated for divers days upon the Kings charge. Now the Rule of the Court is, That the Ambassador of a King is to be brought in by an Earl at least; an Ambassador from Dukes and Republiks to be brought in by a Baron. Tis a Rule also that no Ambassadors be allowd this ho­nor at privat Audiences but only at the first and last publik, or when any are invited to Dine with the King. Moreover, that no Ambassador except a Kings, is to be met with the Kings Coach further off then the Tower-wharf: And wheras the Coaches of other Ambassadors residing upon the place were usd to go to accompany the new-landed Ambassador from Tower-wharf, which gave occasion of clashing for Precede [...]ce of Coaches, as happened the last yeer twixt the Spanish Ambassador, the Baron of Batteville, and Monsieur Lestrade the French, which flew so high that it went to effusion of blood, and killing, (as it is men­tiond before in the last Paragraph of the first Section more par­ticularly) Ther is an Act of State passd, that all Forren Am­bassadors shall forbear for the future from that complement of sending their Coaches to that purpose. Well, the new Am­bassador being so housd, is visited by persons of Quality, as al­so by other Ambassadors: Now, it is a Maxime among Am­bassadors, That the first come is to visit the last come.

Touching Presents, ther's no Court goes beyond that of Eng­land: It was a Rule that the French and Spanish Ordinaries were to have 4000 Ounces of Gilt Plate at their departure; The Venetian Ambassador 2000; The Archdukes 1600, &c. But (by the Examples of other Courts) ther was a retrenchment [Page 209] herof, and it began first with Monsieur Buisseaux in King Iames his Raign; who had but 2000 Ounces sent Him; the Venetian 1600, and the Archdukes 1000, &c.

Touching divers sorts of Clashes, Contestations, Differen­ces and Punctilios betwixt Ambassadors, ther have bin as pru­dent and preventing courses taken in the English Court from time to time as in any other; as will appeer in the printed Ob­servations of that worthy Knight Sir Iohn Finets, to whom I refer the Reader.

We will conclude this Paragraph with some further inspecti­ons into the Laws of England concerning Ambassadors. In the 13 of Queen Elizabeth it was gravely debated in the Bishop of Rosse his case, who was Ambassador here for Scotland, An Lega­tus qui Rebellionem contra Principem ad quem Legatus, concitat, Le­gati privilegi is gaudeat, an ut hostis poenis subjaceat: Whether an Am­bassador who raiseth Rebellion against the Prince to whom he is sent, is to enjoy the privileges of an Ambassador; or whether he is to lie under a punishment as an Enemy; It was resolved by all the Judges of the Land that he had lost the privileges of an Ambassador, and was punishable by the Law of the Land. Her­upon Mendoza the Spanish Amdassador was commanded away be­cause he fomented a Rebellion, &c.

Moreover, as my Lord Coke hath it, and therin he agreeth with the Civilians, If an Ambassador committeth a delect contra Ius Gentium, as Treason, Felony, Adultery, &c. he loseth the privilege of an Ambassador, and may be punished in England as any privat Alien, and not to be remanded but upon courtesie: But committing any thing against the privat Municipal Law and Customes of England, which is not Malum in se Iure gentium, He is not punishable. The breaking of Truces and Safe-conducts was once High Treason by the Laws of England, but that was mitigated 2 Hen. 5. Furthermore, my Lord Coke holds in his fourth Institut, That if one be namd but Agent in his Credenti­als from a King, yet he is an Ambassador.

The ninth Paragraph, Concerning the wise Compliances, and Witty facetious Sayings and Carriage of divers Ambassadors during the time of their Negotiation, &c.

AS it is a principal quality in an Ambassador to be serious, ab­struse, and reservd in the discharge of his Function; so it is a mighty advantage for him to be Witty as well as Wise; to be facetious, and play the Drol sometimes; for the Italian says, Non è saggio chi non sà esser pazzo, He is not wise who knows not how to play the Fool sometimes. Apt, pleasant and sudden Reparties discover a great deal of wit. An Ambassador being sent to the King of Morocco (whose Law we know is not to eat Swines Flesh) be brought him Letters wherin all his Titles were not given him; The King said, Sus has Literas peperit, A Sow begat these Letters. The Ambassador suddenly answerd, Ne iis Vescaris, It was done that you shold not eat them. The Town of Agrigentum, as Herodotus reports, having sent Gellias a very hard-favord man Ambassador to Centuripe, a low dirty Town in Sicily, and being jeerd, and stard upon at his audience, he an­swerd, Ne Miremini Centuripini, ut Urbes sunt, ita Cives mei Lega­tos mittunt, pulchros ad pulchras, deformes ad deformes: Do not won­der, O you of Centuripe at me, for my Masters of Agrigentum send their Ambassadors as the Cities are, Fai [...] to Fai [...], Foul to Foul. Don Pedro de Toledo being employd Ambassador to Henry the 4. of France, ther were many traverses between them at one privat audience, and Don Pedro magnifying much the power of the Spanish Monarchy, King Henry said, That it was much like the Statue of Nebuchadnezzar composd of divers peeces, but having Feet of clay; Don Pedro then replying somewhat high, the King rejoynd that if he were provokd he wold carry flames even to the Escurial; and if that he once mounted, he wold be soon in Madrid. Don Pedro answerd, Indeed King Francis was there, meaning Francis the first, who was taken at the Battail of Pavia, and remaind Prisoner in Madrid divers yeers; The King going on further to tax the King of Spain for usurping divers Countries of his, and namely the Kingdome of Navarre, which he might live to recover; Don Pedro answerd, That the Iustice wherby the King his Master held Navarre, wold help him to defend it; The King replyd, Your reason is good till I be in Pampelona; Don Pedro therupon rising hastily, and going towards the door; The King askd whither went he so hastily? He answerd, To provide enter­tainment for your Majesty at Pampelona. A French Ambassador (Monsieur de Tilliers as I take it) residing here, and being in­vited [Page 211] one day to Dine with King Iames, the King being well disposd began a Health to him, saying, The King of France drinks the French Kings Health; The Ambassador answerd as pleasantly, Le Roy mon Maitre est bon Lieutenant, Il tient bien la France de Luy; The King my Master is a good Lieutenant, he holds France well from him. But of any that I have heard or read of, Don Diego de Acunia Count of Gondamar, had an extraor­dinary faculty this way; and besides, he had well studied the Genius of King Iames, (in whose Raign he resided here) how he was pleasd with sudden plesant Reparties, therfore he did Seria jocose, he did dispatch serious things in a merry way. When Sir Walter Rawleigh was gone with a Fleet to Guiana, and when news was broght that he had taken San Toma, plunderd the place, and killd the Governor, which was as some say beyond the bounds of his Commission, wherin he was restraind from doing any Acts of hostility upon the firm Land, Gondamar came early one morning to the King, desiring to speak but only one word to his Majesty: being admitted, he cryed out, Pyratas, Pyratas, Py­ratas; intimating that Sir Walter Rawleigh was turnd Pyrat; but that word was so fatal, that it took off Sir Walters head, though upon an old score.

Another time having discoursd of many things with the King in a privat audience in French, the King askd him whether he understood Latin or no? Yes, Sir, said Gondomar, I understand it, and speak it. Discoursing afterwards in Latin of divers things in a free and facetions way, it happend that Gondamar spoke false Latin once or twice; the King smiling, said, How comes it to pass that you being an Ambassador to so great a King, who shold be exact in all things, how comes it that you break Prisci­ans head so often? Gondamar replyed, Sir, I speak Latin like a King, and your Majesty speaks Latin like an Ambassador.

Count Gondamar having bin outragd by the Rabble in London, who threw Tobacco-pipes into his Litter, and did him other affronts, coming after to have a privat audience, and the King taking notice of it, he said, La Harina de Ingalatierra es muy del­gada, y fina, pero el afrecho es muy grossero: Sir, the Flowre of Eng­land (meaning the Gentry) is very fine; but the Bran is very coorse, meaning the common peeple.

Another time being to dispatch a Courrier to Spain, and the old Countess of Buckingham being then in extraordinary high fa­vor, that most Suters made their address unto her, he writ in a Postscript to Count Olivares, That ther were never greater hopes then now that England wold turn Roman Catholik, for the Mother was more worshippd then the Son.

Count Gondamar being invited another time to Dine with the Reader at Grayes Inne, at which time the Palsgrave was newly [Page 212] come to Prague, among other Healths ther was one begun to the King of Bohemia: He pledgd it very merrily, and thankd the Reader, with the rest of the Company; for it was the first time that ever he pledgd the Emperours Health in England.

Having another time dispatchd an Express to Spain, and the weather having continued dark and clowdy in London for many days, the Post having receavd the Packet, and taken his leave, Count Gondamar commanded, and told him, I forgot one thing, I prethee when thou art come to Spain commend me to the Sun, for I have not seen him here a great while, and I am sure thou wilt meet with him there.

King Iames having granted leave to Count Gondamar to raise Volonteers to Flanders for the service of the King of Spain under my Lord Vaux, and soldiers coming but slowly to the sound of the Drum; Gondamar coming a little afterwards to Court, the King askd him what number of soldiers he had levied? He an­swerd, Truly, Sir, I can have but few soldiers, but thousands that wold be Captains though they were but common soldiers before.

I will conclude with Count Gondamar in this very witty pas­sage: when he was to take his leave of England in his last Em­bassy, the King sent to my Lord Mayor of London to invite him to Dinner; which he did with much solemnity, having bid the chiefest Lords of the Court to bear him company: At first the Lord Mayor after other Complements told him, My Lord Am­bassador, your Excellency me thinks begins to grow very gray. Yes, Sir, said he; but my Lord Mayor, we have a Proverb in Spain, Canos y Cuernos no Uienen Porannos; Gray Hairs and Horns come not by yeers. Being sate at Table, the Lord Mayor be­gan divers Healths; at last Gondamar calls for a good Glass-full of Canary, and said, You are the greatest Magistrat in the world, for you give place to none but to your own King, as I hear, and you live also as plentifully: But now that you have made so much of me, that having pledgd so many Healths you put me in a Jovial humor, I crave leave of these Noble Lords and you to begin a Health or two; and the first shall be to the King of Spains Mistress; so the Health was drunk round. Then he took another Glass of Canary, and began a Health to the King of Spains Wife; which also passd round among the Lords and Al­dermen. Then standing up, He thankd them all with many Complements, and said, I will now discover who these two Ladies are; The King of Spains Mistress is the East-Indies, and his Wife the West-Indies; Ther's none so fond of a Mistress but that if a Frend hath a favor of her, he will connive at it, as you my Lord Mayor, and these worthy Aldermen whom I have in my eye, use to have of the East-Indies. But my Masters Wife is the West-Indies, which he desires to have soly to himself accor­ding [Page 213] to the Law of Nations; Therfore I pray you my Lord Mayor, and these Noble Aldermen, do not offer to meddle with the King my Masters Wife.

We will now proceed to a few others. An Ambassador Ex­traordinary being sent by an Italian Prince to the Emperour that he wold confer the Title of Serenity upon his Master as he had done lately upon divers other Princes; But being to depart Re infectâ, and taking his leave of the Emperour that morning, and the weather being foul and very tempestuous, he askd what was the reason he wold begin his Journey upon such stormy weather? He answerd, Ilne faut pas craindre la Tempeste, puis que votre Majesté à remply le monde de tant de Serenité; One ought not to fear Tempests, since your Majesty hath filld the world with such Serenity.

Don Pedro Andrea being sent Ambassador to a Prince whom he had offended so far that he threatned to have his head cut off, He answerd, Sir, my dead head will do you more mischief then now that tis living.

Francisco Marco being sent from Genoa to Galeazzo Duke of Milan, but being delayed audience, and St. Iohn Baptists day be­ing come, who was Protector of Milan, he presented the Duke with a Golden Vessel full of Basilique; Being askd the reason, he sent word that the Genouois have the property of the Herb Basilique, which if one handle gently, it will yeeld a sweet smell; but if it be rubbd, and trod upon it, it will engender Serpents: And this witty passage conducd much towards the ending of the differences which were then a foot.

The Samnits being pressd hard by the Romans, they sent Am­bassadors to capitulat; who said, Noble Romans, you are grown too strong for us; therfore if you propose moderat terms we will observe them eternally: if otherwise, we will observe them no longer then till we have opportunity to break them.

That Ambassador wanted no wit, who being in a Pagan Country, and standing in the way where the great Idol whom all were to worship which passd by, he let fall his Ring, and as he bowd to take it up, twas thought he adord the Idol.

The Ambassadors of Portugal and Poland being at Sigismund the Emperours Court, and ther being always competition be­tween them for Precedence of Session, they met casually at a place, where the Portugais having come before, he was got into the upper Chair; The Pole rising up, and making a step for­ward in a posture as if he wold speak with him, and the Portu­gais coming towards him, he whippd behind him into the upper Chair, and so kept it.

[Page 214]We will conclude this Paragraph with the two Ambassadors of Perugia sent to Rome, wherof the one was witty, but the other not so wise: Being admitted to the Pope, who was then very sick a bed, one of made them a long tedious Speech, wherof the Pope had shewn signes of distast: Therupon the second said, Most Ho­ly Father, our Commission implies, that if your Beatitude will not suddenly dispatch us with satisfaction, my Collegue shold recommence his Speech, and pronounce it again more lesurely. The Pope was so taken with this, that he gave order they shold be presently dispatchd.

The tenth and last Paragraph, Of the extraordinary Prudence and Reservedness, the Stoutness and Gallantry of divers English Ambassadors, &c.

WE will begin with that Grandee of his time Cardinal Wolsey, who went over to France upon an Extraordinary Embassy; and he had to attend him (though not in joynt commission) Cutbert Tunstal Bishop of London; the Lord Sands, late Chamber­lain to the King; the Earl of Derby; Sir Thomas Moore; Sir Henry Guilford, with other Knights and Gentlemen of great rank, to the number of a thousand two hundred horse: for after a short transfretation from Dover, he had so many in his train when he went out of Calice. The French King Francis 1. in per­son, with his Mother, and most of the chief Peers, came to meet Him as far as Amyens, above two days distant from Paris. He carried with him 140000l. sterling, a prodigious sum in those days, (though Silver was but 20d. an Ounce) He transported that vast sum with him to assist the French King, and other Con­federats in a War against Charles 5. Emperour. Ther is no History can parallel this Embassy, it was performd with such a glorious Equippage; Besides, the Ambassador had such a Pleni­potentiary and transcendent Cummission, that he gave the Law both to France and the Popedome; and he comported himself with such dexterity and high wisdome, that all the Princes of Christendome (who had their eyes fixt upon him) admired him.

This second example shall be of another strain of Gallantry by Sir Ierome Bowes, who was employd Ambassador to the Empe­ror of Russia, who was cryed up for a Tyrant; Sir Ierome at his first audience having some affronts offerd to be put upon him, that he shold put off his Hat, els it shold be naild to his head, he was not a whit daunted, but kept it on still, saying, he had no such [Page 215] commission from the Queen his Mistress. Therupon the Empe­rour slighting the Queen in comparison of the Emperour of Ger­many, who was the only Prince Paramount; Sir Ierome reply­ed, That his great Mistresses Father had the Emperour (his Maje­sty speaks of) to serve him in the Wars, and receavd pay of him. Wherupon with a kind of astonishment at his courage he part­ed peaceably. But afterwards being advancd in his Journey as far as Archangel, and being embarkd, ther came some of the Em­perours Officers with Presents of rich Furs for the Queen, and some for himself; and being come to the side of the ship with them, He wold not suffer them to board, but drawing out his Sword, said, My Mistress the Queen of England hath no need of your Catskins, nor I neither, therfore you may carry them back.

Ambassadors being sent to Bourbourgh to treat of a Truce be­twixt the King of Spain and the Hollanders, Doctor Dale was sent for an assistant; and coming to kiss the Queens hands, she told him, That understanding he was a Learned Man, and a good Civilian, she made choice of him for that employment, and she wold allow him 20s. a day. He humbly thankd her Maje­sty, and said he wold spend nineteen of them evry day for her Majesties honor: therupon the Queen asking him what he wold do with the other odd shilling; he replyed, I will keep that for my Wife Kate: so the Queen encreasd his allowance. Being assembled to treat, ther was a Debate in what Language they shold treat: the Spanish Ambassador thinking to put a jeer upon our Ambassadors, said, Let us treat in French, for your Queen is Queen of France. No, said Doctor Dale, then let us treat in Hebrew, for your Master the King of Spain calls himself King of Ierusalem.

Sir Edward Herbert late Earl of Cherberry, being Ambassador in France, it happend that he had a clash with the great Favorit, and Constable Luynes, which was thus: Sir Edward had receavd pri­vat Instructions from England to mediat a Peace for Them of the Religion; and in case of refusal, to use certain Menaces. Here­upon He coming to the Army which was then before St. Iean d'Angely, where the King was in person, and he finding that the approches to the Town were almost finishd, He hastned his address to the King for an audience. The King referrd him to Luynes, desiring that what he had to say might be imparted un­to Him: Wherupon he went accordingly to Luynes Lodgings, and deliverd his Message; but so that he reservd the latter part, which was Menaces until he heard how the business was relishd. Luynes had hid behind the Hangings a Gentleman of the Religi­on, who was upon point of turning Roman, that being an Ear­witness of what had passd between the English Ambassador and [Page 216] Luynes, he might relate unto Them of the Religion what little hopes they were to expect from the intercession of the King of England. The Ambassador and Luynes having mingled some Speeches, the language of Luynes was very haughty, saying, What hath your Master to do with our Affairs? why doth he meddle with our Actions? Sir Edward replyed, It is not you to whom the King my Master doth owe an account of his Actions; and for Me, tis enough that I obey Him: In the mean time I must maintain that the King my Master hath more reason to do what he pleaseth to do, then you have to ask why he doth it; Nevertheless if you desire me in a gentle fashion I shall acquaint you further. Wherupon Luynes bowing a little, said, Very well. The Ambassador answerd, That it was not on this occasion only that the King of Great Britain had desired the peace and prosperity of France, but upon all other occasions whensoever any troubles were raisd in that Country; And this he said was his first reason. The second was, That when a Peace was setled there, his Majesty of France might be better disposd to assist the Palatin in the affairs of Germany. Luynes said, We will none of your advices. The Ambassador replyed, That He took that for an answer, and was sorry only that the affection and good will of the King his Master was not sufficiently under­stood; and that since twas rejected in that manner, He could do no less then say, that the King his Master knew well enough what He had to do. Luynes answerd, We are not afraid of you. The Ambassador smiling a little, replyed, If you had said you had not loved us, I shold have beleevd you, and made you ano­ther answer; in the mean time all that I will tell you more, is this, That we know very well what we have to do. Luynes herupon rising a little from his Chair with a fashion and countenance much discomposd, said, By God, if you were not Monsieur the Am­bassador I know very well how I wold use you. The Ambassador r [...] ­sing also from his Chair, said, That as he was his Majestie of Great Britain's Ambassador, so he was also a Gentleman, and that his Sword (wheron he laid his hand) shold do him reason if he had taken any offence. After which Luynes replying nothing, the Ambassador went on his way towards the door, and Luynes seeming to accompany him, the Ambassador told him, That af­ter such Language ther was no occasion to use such ceremony, and so departed, expecting to hear further from him. But no message being brought him from Luynes, he did in poursuance of his Instructions demand audience of the King at Coignac, St. Iean d'Angely being now renderd up; who granting it, he did in the same terms, and upon the same motives mediat a Peace for Them of the Religion, and receavd a far more gentle answer from the King. The Marshal of St. Geran coming to Sir Edward Her­bart, told him in a frendly manner, You have offended the Constable, [Page 217] and you are not in a place of surety here. Wherunto he answerd, That he held himself to be in a place of surety whersoever he had his sword by him.

Luynes little resenting the affront he had receavd from Sir Edward Herbert, got Cadenet his Brother Duke of Chaune with a ruffling Train of Field-Officers, neer upon a hundred, (wherof ther was not one, as Cadenet told King Iames, but had killd his man) I say, this Man came Ambassador Extraordinary to England a little after, who mis-reporting the Traverses twixt Herbert and Luynes, prevailed so far, that Sir Edward Herbert was presently revokd to answer the Charge that shold be laid against him. In the mean time the Earl of Carlile was em­ployd Ambassador Extraordinary to France for accommodating Le Mal Entendu which might arise betwixt the two Crowns. Carlile was commanded to inform himself of the truth of the business aforementiond, and he could meet with no relation but what Luynes had made himself, wherin more affronting and haughty expressions were laid to Sir Edward Herberts charge then had truly passed: For though the first provocation came from Luynes, yet the Ambassador kept himself within the bounds both of his Instructions and Honor. But as my Lord of Carlile was ready to send this mis-information to Eng­land, the Gentleman formerly spoken of who stood behind the Hangings came to the Earl of Carlile, and said, That he owd so much duty to Truth and Honor that he could do no less then vin­dicat Cavalier Herbert from all indiscretion and unworthiness; and therupon related the true circumstance of the business, which was as it was before told. The Earl of Carlile being thus rectified in knowledg of the truth, gave account to King Iames accordingly, who cleerd Sir Edward Herbert, and resolvd to renvoy him Ambassador to France, wherof he having no­tice, He kneeld to the King before the Duke of Buckingham, and desird that since the business was publik in both Kingdoms, he might in a publik way demand reparation of Monsieur Luynes: for which purpose he beseechd his Majesty that a Trumpeter if not a Herald might be sent on his part to Monsieur Luynes to tell him, That he had made a false relation of the passages before mentiond, and that Sir Edward Herbert wold de­mand reason of him with sword in hand on that point. The King answerd that he wold take it into consideration; but Luy­nes a little after died, and Sir Edward Herbert was sent Ambassa­dor to France again.

Iohn the late Earl of Bristol being Ambassador in Spain, had many clashes with the Alguazils, and the Alcalde himself, to­gether with divers Officers, to preserve the Privileges of his House in point of Sanctuary, which was done with much cou­rage [Page 218] and discretion. But ther was one signal passage among di­vers other, One Scoppius had publishd an infamous base Book a­gainst King Iames, and being in Flanders, (where Sir Iohn Benet was sent for, among other things, to demand Justice of the Arch­duke upon him) he had fled to Madrid, and the Earl being in de­spair to get him punishd there where the Iesuits are so powerful, he employd a good resolut Gentleman Mr. George Digby his Kins­man to give the said Scoppius a Bala [...]re or slash ore the face, which he did to some purpose, for tis athwart ore his face, and his mouth that had offended, which he carried as a mark of Re­venge to his Grave.

The said Earl being also employd Ambassador to the Emperour in the heighth of the Wars for the Palatinat, and returning neer Heydelberg, or therabouts where Count Mansfelts Army was, upon which the greatest strength of the Palsgrave depen­ded, which Army being ready to disband for want of Pay, the Earl of Bristol pawnd his whole Cupboard of Plate to find mony for the said Army, els all had bin lost at that time.

Such an extraordinary Noble Act (and beyond Commissi­on) the Earl of Leicester did propose also to do when he was Ambassador to the King of Denmark: For wheras that King made a delay to pay the Portion which was due unto the Lady Elizabeth out of the Estate of Queen Sophia her Granmother, which amounted to about 150000 l. and which the said Earl had power to receave; and the reason of the King of Denmarks delay, being, because ther were some accounts to be liquidated twixt his Nephew the King of Great Britain and Him; The said Earl (provided he might receave the said Portion due to the Lady Elizabeth to comfort her now in her great extremities) offerd to engage besides his Honor, all the Estate he had in Eng­land, (which his Majesty must partly know) that this shold no way prejudice the accounts that were twixt Him and the King of Great Britain. This motion of the Ambassadors was highly extolld by the King and all the Danish Court for the Nobleness of it. The said Earl being afterwards Ambassador for many yeers in France, he wold never give Precedence to Cardinal Richelieu: and touching Hugo Grotius, who, as he was Ambassador for Swe­den, wold have made his Coaches drive before his, he was put back avec un pied de nez, with a Nose a footlong, as is men­tiond more at large in the last Paragraph of Great Britain which went before.

Liberorum Cerebri Sextus Post Quadraginta.

FINIS. [Page]
[figure]

The Bookseller to the Reader.

THe Reason why ther is no Table or Index added herunto, is, That evry Page in this Work is so full of signal Remarks, that were they couchd in an Index, it wold make a Volume as big as the Book, and so make the Postern Gate to bear no proportion with the Building.

CHR. ECCLESTON.

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