merit as the people, to force obedience to one uncapable of his own greatnesse and unworthy of his fortune. This wonderous change to the generall State fo helpleffe lately to recover their former liberty that they fought now for nothing, but the mildest fervitude brought them home again to his devotion and their duty. He that will lay (we fee) the foundation of greatneffe upon popular love must give them ease and justice, for they measure the bond of their true obedience by the good alwayes received. This peace ever after attended his age and house, and he happily lived to fashion his fucceffour, and to make him partner of his experience and authority, whose down hard education trained him from that intemperance which makes man inferiour to beafts, and framed him to affect glory and vertue which made him fuperiour to men. So that all the actions of his future Raigne were exact grounds of difcipline and policy, who as he was the first of his name fince the Conqueft, fo was he the firft that fettled Lawes and State, deferving to wear the ftile of Englands Iuftin, and the proud title to have freed the Crown from the fubjection and wardship of his Peeres, fhewing himfelfe in all his actions ever after capable to command, not the Realme onely, but the whole world. Thus do the wrong of our enemies more than our own difcretions, make us fometimes both wife and fortunate, The Dutie of a KING in his ROYAL OFFICE, Shewing how it is to be used in the administration of Iuftice and Politick Government in his Kingdomes. LIKEWISE DECLARING, The True Glory of Kings. The Difference between a King and a Tyrant. The Right Extention of King craft, &c. Written by the High and Mightie Prince IAMES King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland, Defender of the true, ancient, Catholicke and Apoftolicke Faith, &c. T HE State of Monarchie is the fupremeft thing upon earth. For Kings are not only Gods Lieutenants upon earth, and fit upon Gods throne, but even by God himselfe they are called Gods. There be three principall fimilitudes that illuftrate the state of Monarchie: One taken out of the word of God; and the two other out of the grounds of Policie and Philofophie. In the Scriptures Kings are called Gods, and fo their power after a certaine relation compared to the divine power. Kings are alfo compared to Fathers of families: for a King is truely Parens patria, the politique Father of his people. And laftly Kings are compared to the head of this Microcofme of the body of man. Kings are justly called Gods, for that they exercise a manner or resemblance of Divine power upon earth. For if you will confider the Attributes of God, you shall see how they agree in the perfon of a King. God hath power to create or deftroy, make, or unmake at his pleafure, to give life, or fend death, to judge all, and not to be judged nor accomptable to none: To raife low things, and to make high things low at his pleasure, and to God are both foule and body due. And the like power have Kings: they make and unmake their fubjects: they have power of raifing and cafting down: of life, and of death: Judges over all their fubjects, and in all causes, and yet accomptable to none but God only. They have power to exalt low things, and abafe high things, and make of their fubjects like men at the Chesse; A pawne A pawne to take a Bishop or a Knight, and to cry up, or down any of their fubjects, as they do their money. And to the King is due both the affection of the foule, and the fervice of the body of his fubjects. And therefore that reverend Bishop here amongst you, though I heare that by divers he was mistaken or not well understood, yet did he preach both learnedly and truly anent this point concerning the power of a King. For what he fpake of a Kings power in Abstracto, is most true in Divinitie. For to Emperours, or Kings that are Monarches, their Subjects bodies and goods are due for their defence and maintenance. But if I had been in his place, I would only have added two words, which would have cleared all: For after I had told as a Divine, what was due by the Subjects to their Kings in generall, I would then have concluded as an Englishman, fhewing this people, That as in generall all Subjects were bound to relieve their King; So to exhort them, that as we lived in a fetled ftate of a Kingdome which was governed by his own fundamentall Lawes and Orders, that according thereunto, they were now (being affembled for this purpose in Parliament) to confider how to help fuch a King as now they had; And that according to the ancient forme, and order established in this kingdome: putting fo, a difference between the generall power of a King in Divinity, and the fetled and established State of this Crown, and kingdome. And I am fure that the Bishop meant to have done the fame, if he had not been ftraited by time, which in refpect of the greatneffe of the prefence preaching before me, and fuch an Auditory, he durft not prefume upon. As for the father of a familie, they had of old under the Law of Nature Patriam poteftatem, which was poteftatem vitæ & necis, over their children or familie, (I meane fuch Fathers of families as were the lineall heires of those families whereof Kings did originally come.) For Kings had their first original from them, who planted and spread themselves in Colonies through the world. Now a father may difpofe of his inheritance to his children, at his pleasure: yea, even difinherit the eldest upon juft occafion, and preferre the youngest, according to his liking: make them beggars, or rich at his pleasure reftraine, or banish out of his prefence, as he finds them give cause of offence, or reftore them in favour againe with the pennitent finner: So may the King deale with his Subjects. And lastly, as for the head of the naturall body, the head hath the power of directing all the members of the body to that use which the judgement in the head thinkes moft convenient. It may apply fharpe cures, or cut off corrupt members, let blood in what proportion it thinkes fit, and as the body may fpare, but yet is all this power ordained by God Ad edificationem, non ad deftructionem. For although God have power afwell of deftruction, as of creation, or maintenance; yet will it not agree with the wifdome of God, to exercise his power in the deftruction of nature, and overturning the whole frame of things, fince his creatures were made, that his glory might thereby be the better expreffed: So were he a foolish father that would difinherit or destroy his children without a cause, or leave off the carefull education of them, And it were were an idle head that would in place of phyficke fo poyfon or phlebotomize. the body as might breede a dangerous diftemper or deftruction thereof. But now in these our times we are to diftinguish between the state of Kings. in their first orginall, and between the state of fetled Kings and Monarches, that do at this time governe in civill kingdomes. For even as God, during the time of the old Teftament, fpake by Oracles, and wrought by Miracles; yet how foone it pleafed him to fettle a Church which was bought, and redeemed by the blood of his only Sonne Chrift, then was there a ceffation of both; He ever after governing his people and Church within the limits of his revealed Will. So in the firft originall of Kings, whereof fome had their beginning by Conqueft, and fome by election of the people, their wills at that time ferved for Law; Yet how foone kingdomes began to be fetled in civilitie and policie, then did Kings fet down their mindes by Lawes, which are properly made by the King only: but at the rogation of the people, the Kings graunt being obtained thereunto. And fo the King became to be Lex loquens, after a fort, binding himfelfe by a double oath to the obfervation of the fundamentall Lawes of his Kingdome: Tacitly, as by being a King, and fo bound to protect afwell the people, as the Lawes of his kingdome; And ex-, prefly, by his oath at his Coronation: So as every juft King in a fetled kingdome is bound to obferve that paction made to his people by his Lawes, in framing his government agreeable thereunto, according to that paction which God made with Noe after the deluge, Hereafter feede time, and harvest, cold and beate, Sommer and Winter, and day and night shall not ceafe, fo long as the earth remaines. And therefore a King governing in a fetled kingdome, leaves to be a King, and degenerates into a Tyrant, affoone as he leaves off to Rule according to his Lawes. In which cafe the Kings confcience may speake unto him, as the poore widow faid to Philip of Macedon; Either governe according to your Law, Aut ne Rex fis. And though no Chriftian man ought to allow any rebellion of people against their Prince, yet doeth God never leave Kings unpunished when they tranfgreffe these Limits: For in that fame Pfalme where God faith to Kings, Vos Dii eftis, he immediately thereafter concludes, But ye shall die like men. The higher we are placed, the greater fhall our fall be. Vt cafus, fic dolor: the taller the trees be, the more in danger of the winde; and the tempeft beates foreft upon the highest mountaines. Therefore all Kings that are not tyrants, or perjured, will be glad to bound themselves within the limits of their Lawes; and they that perfwade them the contrary, are vipers, and pests, both against them, and the Commonwealth. For it is a great difference between a Kings government in a fetled State, and what Kings in their originall power might do in Individuo vago. As for my part, I thank God, I have ever given good proofe, that I never had intention to the contrary: And I am fure to go to my grave with that reputation and comfort, that never King was in all his time more carefull to have his Laws duely observed, and himselfe to governe thereafter, then I. I conclude then this point touching the power of Kings, with this Axiome of Divinity, That as to difpute what God may do, is Blafphemie; but quid yult Deus, that Divines may lawfully, and do ordinarily dispute and difcuffe; for for to difpute A Poffe ad Effe is both against Logicke and Divinity: So is it Sedition in Subjects, to difpute what a King may do in the height of his power: But juft Kings will ever be willing to declare what they will do, if they will not incurre the curfe of God. I will not be content that my power be difputed upon: but I fhall ever be willing to make the reafon appear of all my doings, and rule my actions according to my Lawes. A Prince as he is clothed with two callings, fo much the more ought he to be carefull of the discharge of them both: that as he is a good Christian, fo he ought to be a good King, difcharging his Office in the points of Juftice and Equitie, which in two fundrie wayes he must do: the one, in establishing and executing (which is the life of the Law) good Lawes among your people: the other, by your behaviour in your own perfon, and with your fervants, to teach your people by your example: for people are naturally inclined to counterfeite (like Apes) their Princes manners, according to the notable faying of Plato, expreffed by the Poet, Componitur orbis Regis ad exemplum, nec fic inflectere fenfus For the part of making, and executing of Lawes, confider first the true difference betwixt a lawfull good King, and an ufurping Tyrant, and ye fhall the more easily understand your dutie herein: for contraria juxta fe pofita magis elucefcunt. The one acknowledgeth himfelfe ordained for his people, having received from God a burthen of government whereof he must be countable: the other thinketh his people ordained for him, a prey to his paffions and inordinate appetites, as the fruits of his magnanimitie. And therefore, as their ends are directly contrary, fo are their whole actions, as meanes, whereby they preffe to attaine to their ends: A good King, thinking his highest honour to confift in the due difcharge of his calling, employeth all his study and paines, to procure and maintaine, by the making and execution of good lawes, the well-fare and peace of his people; and as their naturall father and kindly mafter, thinketh his greatest contentment ftandeth in their profperity, and his greatest furety in having their hearts, fubjecting his own private affections and appetites to the weale and ftanding of his fubjects, ever thinking the common intereft his chiefeft particular: where by the contrary, an ufurping Tyrant, thinking his greatest honour and felicitie to confift in attaining per fas, vel nefas, to his ambitious pretenfes, thinketh never himfelfe fure, but by the diffention and factions among his people, and counterfeiting the Saint while he once creepe in credit, will then (by inverting all good lawes to ferve only for his unrulie private affections) frame the Common-weale ever to advance his particular: building his furety upon his peoples miferie and in the end (as a stepfather and an uncouth hireling) make up his own hand upon the ruines of the Republicke. And according to their actions, fo receive they their reward. For a good King (after a happy and famous Reigne) dieth in peace, lamented by his Subjects, and admired by his neighbours; |