Astraea, Redeunt Saturnia regna, progenies, caelo Demittitur alto.  
Bishops & the Co●on pr●●ier Book  
rewarded:  
Sectaries rejected:    

SALMASIUS HIS BUCKLER: OR, A Royal Apology FOR King CHARLES the MARTYR.  
Dedicated to CHARLES the Second, King of Great Britain.  Salus Populi, Salus Regis. 
LONDON, Printed for H.B. and are to be sold in Westminster-hall, and at the Royal Exchange, 1662.   

The Epistle to the Reader.  
THere have been so many Wolves in sheeps-clothing, and so many Innocents', by the reviling tongues of their Enemies, robbing them of their good names as well as of their good estates, made Malignants, in this our worse than iron age, that I know not what Epithet to give thee; If thou art an Honest man, Rara avis in terris, I invoke thee to be my Patron; If thou art not, Noli me tangere. But since St. Austin, once perhaps as zealous a Reprobate as thyself, was converted by looking on the Bible by chance, I will not prohibit thee from eating of this fruit: Though, I believe, to think that thy view of my Book will work the like conversion on thee, is to have a better opinion of thee and the Book, than both will deserve: For, though an Angel should come from heaven, or a man arise from the dead, yet could he not persuade our hotheaded Zealots, but that they did God good service, even when they rebel against his own Ordinance, transgress his Commandments, murder their Father, the KING, and pollute their once flourishing Mother, the CHURCH. Before this prodigious offspring, like Vipers, destroyed the Mother by their birth; The Jews indeed murdered the Lord of life, because they did not know him, and therefore thought it was pleasing to God. But woe be to them, who did not only with Ham, see their Father's nakedness, and reproach him, but commit Parricide, see his heart, naked, and call the multitude to laugh at it,— En quo discordia Cives produxit miseros? O the miserable effects of seditious men! Who shall now cure the King's evil? Or who shall cure the evil of the People? O purblind City, how long will you enslave yourselves to ravenous woolves? who by their often changing of their feigned Governments, do but change the thief, and still your Storehouses must be the Magazine, to furnish them with plunder. You must never look to enjoy your lives, estates, or God's blessing, with the fruition of your Wives, and Children, before your lawful King and Sovereign CHARLES the II. unjustly banished by Rebels, be restored to his Crown and Kingdom; For what Comfort can any honest or conscientious man take, in any thing, so long as he seeth his own native Prince, like King David, driven from his own natural inheritance, by the unjust force of a multitude of Traitors, both to God and their King? Who Judas-like, acknowledging his Master with a kiss, so they swore with their mouths, that King CHARLES the I. was their only lawful King and Sovereign, and had the Supreme power over them all, and then delivered him to the Swordmen, who came out with Clubbs and Staves against their Sovereign, as against a Thief: and as the Jews did the Lord our Saviour, whom they did not acknowledge to be their King, otherwise they would not have done it; These men murdered their dread Sovereign, whom they all acknowledged and vowed to be their only King; Excelling the Jews only in wickedness. Therefore, since by the Laws of the Land, there can be no Parliament without the King, what difference is there between a Protector, and one of their Parliaments, but only number? For their Protectors are but the head thiefs, and their Parliaments but a headless multitude of thiefs: For so long as the Royal Progeny of CHARLES the I. (which God long preserve) remain alive, all other our Governors besides them, will be but Rebels, Traitors, and Tyrants, let them call themselves a Free State, or by what names they please, & continue until the world's end. Therefore rouse up Citizens, and take courage; How long will you be the common Hackney, to be ridden by every one that will stride you? 
St. Paul's.  How long shall your Sanctuary be made a Stable and Den for Thiefs? Shall your Streets blush with the blood of Prophets, and with the blood of your Citizens', and will not you change your colour? where is the reverend Doctor Hewyt, that Glory of your City? that Glory of all Christians, that Glory of the whole World? whose fame shall outlive the Sun, and his renown shine longer, and brighter than the Moon, or the lesser Stars! Caesar the Usurper was wont to say, Si violandum est jus, regnandi causa esse violandum, That if it is lawful to forswear one self for any Cause, the Cause of gaining a Kingdom is the most lawful. But there are those amongst us, who have turned the Supposition into a Proposition, and confidently by their practice affirm, that it is lawful to forswear one self for any thing, and most sacred to be forsworn, if by the perjury a Kingdom may be gained. But I will not touch the Soars which lie raw before every man's eyes, only this will I say, which every one knoweth to be true, that no Kingdom in the World was so happy both for peace and plenty, law and religion, and all other good things, as our Kingdom of England was, whilst due obedience was lawfully paid to our Sovereign Lord the King, but now the King being murdered and all goodness with him, no Nation under the Sun is more miserable, and so it will continue until King Charles the second be restored to his Crown. The Sword of God's word ought only to fight for Religion; the Iron sword of Rebels did never establish Christian Religion, nor ever will set up Christ's Kingdom, especially if it be unsheathed against Kings by their Subjects. And to satisfy all Objections whatsoever against my writing, I answer, Si natura negat facit indignatio versum: It was not to show myself to the world (for as in Tempests, so in our days, he is best who is seen lest abroad,) But it was to show and prefer the Truth, which hath been laid asleep by the Charms of our Sins: For to 
Jo. 18.37.  this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth, & every one that is of the Truth will hear the voice of the truth; when I saw the many revolutions & turnings of men, like Weathercocks, being presented, almost every day, with new, strange, and various shapes and forms of Government, it caused me more diligently to search after the true reason of our change, which I found to be our Sins, and the absence of our King, & also which was the best kind of Government, which I found to be Monarchy, and that all traitorous Tyrant's sine titulo, might most lawfully be killed by any private hand; but Kings only by God. Truth often getteth hatred, and it is the doom of serious books to be hooted at, by those who have nothing else to do but to scribble Pamphlets: Every one judging according to his capacity or affection. And as Men, so Books are pressed to war Ad prelum tanquam ad praelium; But Nulla fides, pietasve viris qui castra sequuntur, there is as little credit as piety to be found in Swordmen, and so their calumny will not prejudice me in any wise man's judgement. The good of my Country, and the settlement of our Distractions is the thing which I aim at, (let Momus carp while his Teeth ache) which Settlement will never be until Right overcomes Might, and every one be established in his own again; For what man hath been secure and immutable since the great and wicked change? Sen. 
Quem felicem Cynthia vidit,  
Vidit miserum abitura dies.   
He that shone like the Sun in the Morning, was clouded like Night in the Evening; a Protector one hour, and glad to be protected the next. God oftentimes curseth with the same Sins which were committed against him. Pharaoh hardened his heart the first time for his Pleasure, God hardened it the next for his Destruction. We changed our Government once to please our wicked Wills: God hath changed it oftener to purge our impious Sins. But 

Jam satis terris nivis, atque dirae  
Grandinis mifit pater, & ruben●e  
Dextera sacras jaculatus arces,  
Terruit urbem.  
Terruit gentes.   

Enough of hail and cruel snow,  
Hath Jove now showered on us below,  
Enough with thundering Steeples down,  
Frighted the Town.  
Frighted the World.    
O thou God of Order, now hold thy punishing hand, cement our Differences, and unite the lines of our Discord in the true Centre. Let Charles the 2 d. our Augustus, and Caesar's Successor, revenge the bloody Murder of Caesar. O most worthy Augustus, our only lawful Sovereign, be thou a stay to our falling Kingdom, Patiens vocari Caesaris ultor, do thou hasten to be Caesar's Revenger, and then 

Serus in coelum redeas, diuque  
Laetus intersis populo Quirini,  
Neve te nostris vitiis iniquum,  
O●yor aura   

Tollat, hic magnos, potius triumphos,  
Hic ames dici pater, atque Prin●eps,  
Neu sinas Medos equitare inultos,  
Te duce Caesar.   

Return to Heaven late we pray,  
And long with us the Britain's stay,  
Nor let disdain of our offence,  
Take thee from hence.   

Love here victorious, Triumphs rather,  
Love here the name of Prince, and father,  
Nor let the Rebels scot-free ride,  
Thou being our Guide.    
Which is the continual Prayer of  
Your Grace's most humble, true, faithful and obedient Subject, and most dutiful Servant, usque ad arras. Cimelgus Bonde.   

ERRATA.  
THe times are full of errors, Parliaments themselves have erred, therefore pardon the Errata of the Printer. Some Letters, nay some words are left out, and wrong ones put in their room: What then? our Nobles, nay our King himself, hath been disthrone, and wrong ones, The Shrubs, their Servants, have intruded, and usurped their places: The Rump ruled the whole Body, the Feet got above the Shoulders: And until the Head fully enjoyeth its pre-eminence, and Prerogative over the inferior Members, expect no Amendments either public or private. But since our Age hath more need of a Bit than Spurs, add (bit) to the end of the 21. line, fo. 6. line 9 fo. 42. Munera. l. 21. f. 47. of, instead of for. l. 22. fo. 174. read Could such attempts. In the Latin Verses, read cujus, and fonte, in the two last lines.  
THe Contents of this Book you may find fo. 1. 20, 28, 40, 54, 65, 73, 86, 106, 119, 132, 192, 204, 210, 219, 267, 361, 376.  
And since the last in execution, is the first in the intention: I must request the Reader to begin with the last part of the Book, and end with the first part in his reading: And if he meet with any 
*— Nam quis iniqui Tam patiens orbis, tam ferreus ut teneat se?  sharp and tart laguage, let him remember the Persons whom it concerns, whose Actions were more base than the most nipping and satirical pen could rehearse. For what villainy so great as for Subjects to murder their gracious King? Oh Heavens! could the Godly do this? Do this? Yes root up our Laws and Religion, destroy our Church, and murder our Prophets, with many thousands of their innocent Brethren, and yet be accounted Saints too: But from such Saints good Lord deliver us, who took away the Kings and Bishops lands, and then voted them Papistical, and dangerous to the Church and Commonwealth.  
It was Naboths Vineyard which made him a blasphemer: and Jack Presbyter would never have made a Covenant to extirpate Episcopacy as contrary to the power of Godliness, had not the Bishops had Land, and the Presbyter much Pride, and more of the form, than of the power of Godliness in him. But Multa cadunt inter calicem Supremaque labra, the Independents stepped between home and him, got the honour of cutting off the King's head, and took to themselves the Revenues of both King and Bishop: So that now john could relish a King, and the Office of a Bishop: I like his Appetite well, but I pray God he do not spoil the meat in the chewing it.  
But renowned General Monk hath now cheered us with the hopes of a 
* A good Remedy, but a bad Cure.  Free-Parliament, which will put a period to our miseries, that is, they will bring in our exiled King, without whom, they will be but a Gallimaufry of Confusion, increasing, not diminishing our Distractions: for no Parliament, without the King. And no doubt but our famous General holds the Scripture Canonical, and will never descent from his Father Solomon, who thus teaeheth and commandeth all of us,  
My Son fear thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not with them that are given to change, for their calamity shall rise suddenly, and who knoweth the ruin of them both?  Prov. 24.21, 22.  

To the Author of the Royal Buckler, or a Lecture to Traitors.  
TO speak what every one desires, and in a strain  
That suits with every Hearer, is no pain;  
No trouble to profess the bloody Creed  
Of Mahomet, among the Turks; no need  
To be afraid amidst one's friends; but he  
That talks of Virtue, before Villainy;  
Who can be Christian, among the Crew  
Of Sectaries, and bid defiance to the Jew;  
He that i'th' worst of Times dares to be good;  
(Like Capel) seals his Ligeance with his Blood;  
Can strive against th' impetuous wind, and wave,  
And all their joynt-conspiracies outbrave;  
In spite of Fortune resolutely stand  
To argue with a bloody, treacherous Land;  
That Man's a Man indeed; can stoutly cry  
Hosanna, when the Throng says Crucify.  
Sir, such are you, and such your Lines, to whom  
Or to your shrine, Posterity shall come  
Laden with Laurels: and the little brood  
Of them whose hands were in their Prince's blood;  
Shall justify thy Book; and read therein  
Their own Misfortunes, and their Father's Sin:  
Shall read the Miracles of Providence,  
And borrow matter for Romances thence.  
Thus (Sir) your Pen shall to yourself create  
A Monument, beyond the Pageant state  
Of breathless Oliver; or those Poor 
* The Rump, etc.  men,  
That ruled and died, and ruled and stunk again.  
Rebellion for a little moment shines,  
But seldom with a brave applause declines:  
'Tis only Truth, and Loyalty can give  
Restoratives, to make a Dead man live.  
T. F.   

REPENTANCE FOR THE MURDER OF Charles the Martyr. AND The Restauration of Charles the II. is the only Balm to cure England's Distractions.  
'TIs true, our Nostrils lost their Breath; What then?  
then we sinned once, shall's ne'er be good again?  
We murdered Charles, for which, Infernal Kings  
With worse than Aegypt's Plagues have scourged our sins.  
The Martyr's Goodness Angels can't rehearse;  
The Rebel's baseness Devils can't express:  
Who in their Lower House have acted more  
Than Belzebub in Hell, or th' Earth before.  
And did not Charles the Son yet shine, I'd say  
That, God of Nature, and the World decay.  
But God is God, and Satan's Fraud we see.  
Charles is our King, and Rebels, Rebels be.  
Then since we ken a Traitor from a Saint,  
Let's be for God, our King, and 
* The Rump.  Bel recant.  
he'll dry our Eyes, and cure those Wounds which we  
Received i'●h' dark, groping for Liberty:  
For Liberty, which kept us all in Fetters,  
Slaves to the Rump, and to the Rumps Abetters:  
Who Freedom and Religion up cried,  
When Freedom and Religion they destroyed,  
Who killed us with Plasters, and brought Hell,  
For Paradise: So Eve by th' Serpent fell.  
Then if the death o'th' King caused all our woe,  
The life o'th' King had saved us, all men know:  
Behold him, in his Son, whose splendid light,  
Shall heal the darkness of his Father's night.  
'Tis madness to use Candles in the day:  
What need a parliament? when Charles le Roy,  
Stands at the door, and to us fain would bring,  
Freedom and Laws, instead of Rape and Sin.  
The glory of a King is to command,  
But Subjects shame to sit, when he doth stand.  God save the King. 
C. B.  
Never forget Reader, That the 
* Qui Curies simulant & Bacchanalia vivunt.  Presbyters in their Almighty, scotified, nullified, Solemn League and Covenant, with their hands lifted up to the Most high God do swear, That they will preserve and defend the King's Majesty, his Person and Authority: And that they have no thoughts or intentions to diminish his Majesty's just Power and Greatness. Yet they do also there swear, that they will extirpate Episcopacy, although so to do, is contrary to the Kings Will, Laws, Command, Safety, Greatness and Authority: As if his Majesty had no just Power, but what their Faction vouchsafed and pleased to think fit.   

On the late MIRACULOUS REVOLUTIONS IN ENGLAND, etc.  
THree Kingdoms, like one Ship, a long time lay  
Black tempest-proof upon a troubled Sea;  
Bandied from wave to wave, from rock, to sand,  
A prey to Pirates from a foreign Land:  
Exposed to all the injuries of Fate,  
All the Reproaches of a Bedlam-State:  
The brave Sails torn, the Mainmast cut in sunder,  
Destruction from above, and ruin under.  
Once the base rout of Saylors, tried to steer  
The giddy Vessel, but thence could appear  
Nothing but mad Confusion: Then came One,  
He sat at Helm, and his Dominion  
Frighted the blustering Billows for a while,  
And made their Fury counterfeit a smile;  
Then for a time, the Bottom seemed to play  
I' th' wont Channel, and the beaten way,  
Yet floated still. The Rabble snatched again  
Its mannagement, but all (alas) in vain:  
No Anchor fixed, no wished sh●ar appears,  
No Haven after these distracted years.  
But when the lawful Pilot shall direct  
Our wavering Course (and Heaven shall Him protect)  
The Storms shall laugh, the Winds rejoice thereat,  
And then our Ark shall find an Ararat.  
T. F.   

THE HISTORY of PHAETON,  
Being only a Flourish, or Praeludium, to the sulsequent more solid discourse; Wherein, implicitly, the temerarious appetite of Subjects to their dread Sovereign's Crown, is refuted and condemned; The gracious Concessions, unparallelled goodness, and fatherly indulgence of our late King, to his overbold Subjects, manifested, and the sad effects of usurpation laid open, with the Traitor's Epitaph. Phoebus' representing the King, and Phaeton the harebrained people.  
Eloquar? an Sileam? timor hoc, pudor impedit illud.  
Shall I speak? or hold my Peace? How shall we sing the Lords song in a strange Land? And how shall I hold that which is not to be found?  
WHen rash Phaeton, being mounted on the soaring wings of arrogance and presumption, attempted the Kingly Government of his royal Father's Chariot, fit for none, but such powerful, and well-instructed Monarch as himself. For Ovid. lib. 2. 

— Non est tua tuta voluntas,  
Magna petis Phaeton, & quae non viribus istis  
Munera conveniunt, nec tam puerilibus annis.  
Sors tua mortalis, non est mortale quod optas:  
Plus etiam quam quod superis contingere fas est,  
Nescius affectas; placeat sibi quisque licebit.  
Non tamen ignifero quisquam consistere in axe,  
Me valet excepto. Vusti quoque Rector Olympi,  
Qui fera terribili jaculatur fulmina dextra,  
Non agit hos curros: Et quid Jove majus habetur?   

Thy wish is naught, What's so desired by thee,  
Can neither with thy strength, nor youth agree.  
Too great intentions set thy thoughts on fire,  
Thou, mortal, dost no mortal thing desire.  
Through ignorance, affecting more than they  
Dare undertake, who in Olympus' sway.  
Though each himself approve, except me, none  
Is able to supply my burning Throne.  
Not that dread Thunderer, who rules above,  
Can drive these wheels: and who more great than Jove?    
Thou seekest after that which humane power neither can, nor aught for to achieve. Thou art ignorant of my power, and too much presuming on thine own; I am no Officer of trust, deputed by the common rout, but hold my jurisdiction from above. It is not for Mortals to aspire, and foolishly to covet such sacred things. There i● none but I capable of this dignity. It is I that a● the anointed, and crowned King by celestial decree, and therefore am not to be dethroned by terrestrial innovation.  
At tu, funesti ne sim tibi muneris auctor.  
Nate cave, dum resque sinit tua corrige vota.  
Then, lest my bounty, which would save, should kill,  
Beware, and whilst thou mayst reform thy will.  
Be wise my Son in time, and lest thou prove a felo de se, banish from thy thoughts this desperate and fond appetite of thine, to take my princely reigns of Government into thine unadvised hands.  Non honour est; paenam Phaeton pro munere poscis. 
It is not honour, but disgrace and thy utter ruin, which thou so greedily huntest after.  

Scilicet ut nostro genitum te sanguine credas,  
Pignora certa petis: do pignora certa timendo.  
Et patrio pater esse metu probor: aspice vultus  
Ecce meos: utinamque oculos in pectore posses  
Inserere, & patrias intus deprendere curas:  
Denique quicquid habet dives circumspiee mundus:  
Deque tot, ac tantis caeli, terraeque, marisque  
Posce bonis aliquid, nullam patiere repulsam:  
Deprecor hoc unum, quod vero nomine paena est.   

A sign thou cravest, that might confirm thee mine:  
I, by dehorting, give a certain sign:  
Approved a father, by paternal fear:  
Look on my looks, and read my sorrows there.  
O, would thou couldst descend into my breast  
And apprehend my vexed Souls unrest:  
And lastly all the wealthy world behold,  
Of all that heaven enrich, which seas enfold,  
Or on the pregnant bosomed earth remain,  
Ask what thou wilt, and no repulse sustain:  
To this alone I give a forced consent,  
No honour, but a true-named punishment.   
Dost thou doubt my fatherly indulgence? or that I will not own thee for my Son? Remove that vain scruple from thy deceived mind, My nursing fear of thee is an infallible sign, and an inviolable assurance, that thou art my legitimate Son, and I am proved to be thy Father, by my fatherly care over thee. But if thy heart be so hard, and thou so void of belief, that thou wilt not believe me, unless thou see my heart, Reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and make way for thy unbelieving eyes, to discover and see those fatherly cares which stick so close to my troubled heart. It is thy good which I only aim at, And thy welfare is the only mark at which I levelly the shafts of my Counsel, and wholesome admonishment.  

— Consiliis, non curribus utere nostris.  
Dumque potes, & solidis etiam nunc sedibus astas,  
Dumque male optatos nondum premis inscius axes,  
Quae tutus spectes sine me dare lumina terris.   

— While thou mayst, refuse,  
And not my Chariot, but my counsel use.  
Let me the world with usual influence cheer:  
And view that light which is unsafe to bear.   
Make use of my advice, and not of my Chariot, and that in time too whilst thou standest on sure ground, Lest at length thou art driven to a non putabam, I had not thought, the Sanctuary of fools, and so become an Idiot by a too late confession, For post est occasio calva, an after game is never good. Let not thy jealous heart surmise that these public admonition's spring from any private ends, or self interest of mine. Behold my Kingdom, and make choice of what rarity or delight it affordeth. Ask whatsoever thine eye fancyeth, or thy soul taketh pleasure in, and thou shalt suffer no denial. The glorious structures, the fertile fields, the rich meadows, and the fat pastures, the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, the fruits of the vineyards, and the immense woods, shall all call thee master, Nay I will clip the wings of my Prerogative, to feather thy nest withal: Confiteor hoc solum tibi nate negarem,  
I profess Son only the government of my Chariot would I keep from thee, which I deny thee for no other reason, than because it will be thy destruction. If the horses thou drivest do not destroy thee; Yet every Kingdom in the world will disapprove thy actions, and account thy attempt fatal to them; Therefore aswell for thy own safety, as the security and pleasure of all Kingdoms, desist from thy indiscreet resolution, and let me still, whose only right it is, and therefore only can, rule my Chariot.  

Finge datos currus, quid ages? poterisve rotatis  
Obvius ire polis, ne te citus auferat axis?  
Forsitan & lucos illic, urbesque deorum  
Concipias animo, delubraque ditia donis  
Esse, per insidias iter est, formasque ferarum.  
Nec tibi Quadrupedes animosos ignibus illis,  
Quos in pectore habent, quos ore, & naribus efflant,  
In promptu regere est, vix me patiuntur, ubiacres  
Incaluere animi, cervixque repugnat habenis.   

My Chariot had, can thy frail strength ascend  
The obvious poles, & with their force contend?  
No groves, no Cities fraught with Gods expect:  
No marble fanes, with wealthy offerings decked.  
Through savage shapes, & dangers lies thy way.  
Nor easy is't those fiery steeds to tame,  
Who from their mouths and nostrils vomit flame.  
They heated hardly of my rule admit;  
But headstrong struggle with the hated.   
Suppose thy request granted thee, and thou got up into my Chariot, what wouldst thou do? Dost thou think it will carry thee to Heaven? Or, that thou shalt always reign secure there? Dost thou imagine it an easy thing to rule? or, that the change of Government will bring no danger? Let not thy purblind policy so abominably delude thee. Labour est inhibere volantes, scarce I, even I who am their known and lawful Sovereign, can hardly restrain the unbridled fierceness of the Quadrupedes; But when they perceive they have not their right and wont driver, they will cast thee off and break thy neck with the down-fall. They are apt to rebel against me, but they will account rebellion and treason most just and lawful against thee.  
— Ergo tu sapientius opta.  
Nulla fides regni.  
Therefore wish more discreetly, for immortality is not to be found in a Kingdom.  
This was the answer of Monarchical Phoebus, to the temerarious request of his fanatic Son Phaeton.  

— Dictis tamen ille repugnat,  
Propositumque premit, flagratque cupidine currus.   

In vain dehorted, he his promise claimed,  
With glory of so great a charge inflamed.   
But so much stupidity had captivated the senses of this prodigal Son, that he rejected his Father's Counsel, and flew from it, as if every word had been a two-edged sword, designed for his executioner. Such is the misery of the reprobate and jealous Souls, that if an Angel should come from Heaven, or a man arise from the dead, yet would not they be reclaimed from their wicked errors. These sweet waters of admonition were all spilt upon the ground, and could not quench the flagrant heat, of Phaeton's blind zeal, for the Government of his Father's Chariot. Therefore when Royal Phoebus saw that his fatherly advice could take no impression, nor by any means prevail, but that his Son was wilfully bend upon his own ruin, & that he had caught him by a stratagem into such a strait, that he could not repel his madness by force, 
O the venom of a perpetual Parliament  Ne dubita dabitur (Stygias juravimus undas) Quodcunque que optares, He delivereth up his Chariot unto him, and such was his tender care, and unparallelled goodness, that at that very time (notwithstanding the contumacy of his rebellious Son, who should have obeyed his Father, in respect of his duty, aswell as for his own good) did not Allseeing Phoebus leave giving of him Counsel. But that his Son might prosper even in his disobedience, (Qualis amor patris, O how great is the love of Parents!) He directed him what course he was best to take, and how he should perform his usurped authority.  

Si potes his saltem monitis parere parentis:  
Parce puer stimulis, & fortius utere loris.  
Sponte sua properant.   

Let not thy Father still advise in vain,  
Son, spare the whip, and strongly use the reign.  
They of their own accord will run too fast,  
'tis hard to moderate a flying haste.   
This being done, he implores the Gods that his Sons faults might be forgiven (for he knew that it was his ignorance that made him so audacious, and that at last, though too late, he would repent it) Royal Phoebus likewise prayed, that fortune would be more charitable to his harebrained Son, than he was to himself. And so with this farewell ascended up into Heaven.  

Inter utrumque tene: fortunae caetera mando,  
Quae juvet & melius quam tu tibi consulat opto,  
— In medio tutissimus ibis.   

Between these drive, The rest I leave to fate:  
Who better prove, than thou, to thy own state.  
A lofty course, will Heaven with fire infest,  
A lowly, earth, the safer mean is best.   
Mourning succeedeth rejoicing, many a Sunshiny morning, proveth a wet day. The Bee carrieth honey in her mouth, but a sting in her tail; And those things which seem glorious at the first approach, do many times prove fatal in the end.  Horace. 

Quid quisque vitet, nunquam homini satis  
Cautum est, in horas. Navita Bosphorum  
Paenus perhorrescit, neque ultra  
Caeca timet aliunde fata.  
Miles sagittas, & celerem fugam  
Parthi: catenas Parthus, & Italum  
Robur: Sed improvisa lethi  
Vis rapuit, rapietque gentes.   

No man knows truly what to shun.  
The Punic Seaman fears to run  
Upon some shelf, but doth not dread  
Another fate over his head.  
The Soldier, shafts, and Parthian sight.  
The Parthian, Chains, and Roman might.  
But death had, and still will have,  
A thousand backwayes to the grave.   
No sooner had this unhappy Lad obtained his pleasing wish, and took the Princely reigns of his Father's Chariot, into his youthful hands, but that he was made sensible of his unadvised temerity.  

Sed leve pondus erat, nec quod cognoscere possent  
Solis equi, solitaque jugum gravitate carebat.  
Quod simul ac sensere, ruunt, tutumque relinquunt  
Quadrijugi spatium, nec quo prius ordine currunt:  
Ipse pavet, nec qua commissas flectat habenas  
Nec scit, quà sit iter, nec si sciat, imperet illis.   

But Phoebus' Horses could not feel the freight:  
The Chariot wanted the accustomed weight.  
Which when they found, the beaten path they eat,  
And straggling out of all subjection run.  
He knows not how to turn, nor knows the way,  
Or had he known, yet would not they obey.   
When the Horses perceived that their Royal Master was gone, and that the Government wanted that regal dignity and weighty Majesty, which was wont to awe them, they did what, and run which way they pleased, All of them thinking that as they had more power, so they had as much right to be Governors, as the raw Statesman, who was newly mounted on the Kingly Chariot. Which made young Phaeton that he could not tell how to rule, neither could they tell how to obey. So that that which even now was the object of his desire, and greatest cause of his admiration, is now become the greatest cause of his misery. Now his Father's instructions like the waters of Tantalus seem sweet, but not to be tasted by his palate; His preferment is now his greatest torment, and by how much the higher he is exalted, so much the greater is his punishment.  

Vt vero terras despexit ab aethere summo  
Infoelix Phaeton penitus penitusque jacentes  
Palluit, & subito genua intremuere timore,  
Suntque oculis tenebrae per tantum lumen abortae,  
Et jam mallet equos nunquam tetigisse paternos,  
Jam cognosse genus, piget & valuisse rogando.  
Jam Meropis dici cupiens, Ita fertur, ut acta  
Praecipiti pinus Boreâ, cui cuncta remisit  
Frena suus Rector, quam diis, votisque reliquit.   

But, when from top of all the arched sky  
Unhappy Phaeton the Earth did eye,  
Pale sudden fear unnerves his quaking thighs;  
And in so great a light, be-nights his eyes;  
He wished those steeds unknown; unknown his birth;  
His suits ungranted; now he covets earth.  
Now scorns not to be held of Merops' blood;  
Rapt as a ship upon the high-wrought flood,  
By savage tempests chased, which in despair  
The Pilot leaveth to the Gods and prayer.   
Now he doth not only wish that he had never usurped his Father's Government, but that he had never known his Father. He now wisheth that the King had his own again, which he through foolishness had deprived him of. He wisheth that he had still been a subject to his royal Father's desires, & it reputes him of his illgot honour. For why? he seeth the Chariot, wanting its lawful Sovereign, tossed about, like a ship with tempests, and with the rough waves in the Ocean, whose Pilot hath left it, and there is no means but prayers to the Gods to save it. The Horse's rage, every one ruling, and furiously drawing which way he pleaseth: and so through the multitude of lawless Governors, the whole Government is like to fall to the ground, and bring destruction to all.  

Quidque agat ignarus stupet, & nec fraena remittit,  
Nec retinere valet, nec nomina novit equorum.  
Expatiuntur equi, nulloque inhibente per auras  
Ignotae regionis eunt, quaque impetus egit,  
Hac sine lege ruunt.   

Through ignorance, he cannot hold the reigns,  
Nor let them go, nor knows his Horse's names.  
Who like the winds, or tempests, furiously,  
With uncontrolled error scour the sky,  
Through unknown airy regions; and tread  
The way which their disordered fury led.   
Amazement struck him dumb, and what to do ●he is altogether ignorant. He wanteth the courage, years, and wisdom of his Father, to curb the unbridled lust of the fiery steeds, and the Chariot wanted its wont balance; He cannot go back, neither knoweth he how to go forward. He is gone so far that he cannot resign up the Government to the King, neither knoweth he how to keep it himself; He now findeth that it is better to be a poor subject, than a rich usurper. The Horses being lawless, run whither their violence doth whirry them, and he not being their rightful owner, hath no law to guide them. (O the deplorable condition of that Government, where the true Sovereign is an Exul:) Not only Phaeton, but the whole world had like to have been consumed by this Disaster.  

Dissilit omne solum: penetratque in tartara rimis  
Lumen, & infernum terret cum conjuge regem:  
Et mare contrahitur, siccaeque est campus arenae,  
Quod modo pontus erat: quoque altum texerat aequor  
Existunt montes, & sparsas Cycladas augent.   

Earth Cracks, to Hell the hated light descends,  
And frighted Pluto, with his Queen offends;  
The Ocean shrinks, and leaves a field of sand,  
Where new discovered Rocks, and Mountains stand.   
The Earth groaned, and the news of this usurpation was carried down to Hell; Which the Devils had no sooner heard, but Pluto himself, his Wife, and all the rest tremble through fear. For Pluto thought that those who had dethroned Phoebus, might likewise be wicked enough to dethrone him, wrest the Government of his Kingdom out of his hands, and take it into their own. But this was not all, the Sea was dried up, and the fields were scorched, the Harvests were burnt, and the Mountains perished with heat, the Moon was amazed, and the Clouds shone like Comets.  

Parva tamen queror, magnae pereunt cum maenib● urbes,  
Cumque suis totas populis incendia gentes  
In cinerem vertunt.   

But this was nothing: Cities with their Towers,  
Realms with their people, funeral fire Devours.   
All the Kingdoms in the world did shake, And all the Kings doubted of their regal title, They feared that themselves should be destroyed, and their Crowns with their lives pulled to the ground. And doubtless had not Divine providence stopped this wildfire, more Kingdoms than were, had been demolished. For this fire did intend to make Kings and the common people all in one condition; neither was the King to have any prerogative above his subjects, but all had like to have been consumed in one and the same sire. Great Cities with their walls, and whole Nations with their people were turned into Ashes.  

— Circumspice utrinque,  
Fumat uterque polus, quos si violaverit ignis  
Atria vestra ruent.   

— Behold, the Poles above  
At either end do fume: And should they burn,  
Thy habitation would to ruin turn.   
O Almighty, this usurpation would have taken away thy power. For the Kings which thou didst set to rule over the people, had well nigh been all consumed. And thy anointed which thou hast prohibited any thing to touch, were by this unwieldy and unlawful Government almost destroyed. The flames begun to lick the Heavens, and both Poles did take fire, so that all things were hastening into their ancient Chaos.  

Alma tamen tellus, ut erat circundata ponto,  
Inter aquas pelagi, contractosque undique fontes,  
Qui se condiderant in opacae viscera matris,  
Sustulit omniferos collo tenus arida vultus,  
Opposuitque manum fronti, magnoque tremore  
Omnia concutiens paulum subsedit, & infra  
Quam solet esse fuit: sacraque ita voce profatur.  
Si plaoet hoc, meruique, quid O tua fulmina cessant  
Sum Deum? liceat periturae viribus ignis?  
Igne perire tuo clademque autore levare.   

Yet foodfull Tellus with the Ocean bound,  
Amidst the Seas, and Fountains now unfound,  
(Self hid within the womb where they were bred)  
Neck-high advanceth her all-bearing head,  
(Her parched forehead shadowed with her hand)  
And shaking, shook what ever on her stand,  
Wherewith a little shrunk into her breast;  
Her sacred tongue her sorrows thus expressed.  
If such thy will, and I deserve the same,  
Thou chief of Gods, Why sleeps thy vengeful flame?  
Be't by thy fire, If I in fire must fry?  
The Author lessens the Calamity.   
At length, Our Mother Earth being a fellow sufferer in this hot persecution, lifteth up her parched head out of the waters, gathered together for her defence, and holding her hands as a Fan before her face, Thus poureth forth her doleful grief, O God of Gods! If this be thy pleasure, and my deserts, Why sleep thy thunderbolts? If I must perish by fire, Let thy fire be my Executioner. And so credit my death; Thee, O Jove, being the Author.  

Dixerat haec tellus, neque enim tolerare vaporem  
Vlterius potuit, nec dicere plura suumque  
Retulit os in se.   

This said, her voice her parched tongue forsook,  
No longer could she smothering vapours brook,  
But down into herself with drew her head  
Near to th' infernal Caverns of the dead.   
When she had done prayers, she shrunk in her venerable head, for heat would not permit her to use Compliments. Which Oration no sooner came to Great Jupiter's ear, but he presently sends relief.  
At Pater omnipotens superos testatus & ipsum  
Qui dederat Currus,  
Consiliumque vocat, tenuit mora nulla vocatos.  
The Almighty calleth a Parliament, Summons ●n both Lords and Commons to the Counsel; For although none can deny but that the Omnipotent hath an absolute power, without the consent of ●he Inferior Gods, his subjects, both to abrogate ●ld, and institute new Laws; yet such is his Royal indulgence, that he will do neither without their consent; Yet search the Catalogue of Antiquity, and you will never find a Precedent that his Lords or Commons did ever dispute his authority, much less assume his power, and pluck the Regal Diadem from off their Sovereign's head. It is his goodness which makes them capable of a Consent, his Statutes are binding without it. But to return, Jupiter determins the death of Phaeton, and dasheth him out of the Chariot with a violent thunderbolt, and re-establisheth Royal Phoebus in his Throne.  

Intonat, & dextra libratum fulmen ab aure  
Misit in aurigam, pariterque animaque rotisque  
Exuit, & saevis compescuit ignibus ignes.  
Et Phaeton rutilos flamma populante capillos  
Volvitur in praeceps.   

He thunders, and with hands that cannot err  
Hurls lightning at the audacious Charioteer,  
Him struck he from his seat, breath from his breast,  
Both at one blow, and flames with flames suppressed.  
And soul-less Phaeton with blazing hair,  
Shot headlong through a long descent of air.   
Now have you seen both the ascension of Phaeto● into the Chariot, and his descension out of it. M● prayers shall be, that I may never rise so high t● fall so low. But the greatest Tyants in the world, have oftentimes the greatest pomp of the world at their funeral, to complete their earthly happiness. Therefore Reader take his Epitaph, and consider whether it is not better to live a faithful subject, then die a bold adventurous Traitor.  

Hic situs est Phaeton, Currus auriga paterni  
Quem si non tenuit, magnis tamen excidit ausis.   

Here lies Phaeton, who though he could not guide,  
His Father's steeds, in high attempts he died.    

The Entrance of the AUTHOR, who complaining of the times; wherein the good are ejected, and the wicked kill and take possession, showeth that those who unjustly, against law, are driven out of their own Country, are not banished; But that those who are unjust, acting against right, and deserve banishment by law, are banished, though they continue upon their native soil. With an Antidote out of venerable Petrack, for all, aswell Kings as other men, who are illegally expelled from their Country.  
THus ended Phaeton, and consequently the History with him: from whose ruins I will take my Exordium. And Exemplo monstrante viam, imitating my Mother Earth in her persecution, shal● first lift up my head and hands, to the God o● Gods, and begin with a short Ejaculation, though in King David's words, yet the same in effect with hers: 

Sum Deum! liceat periturae viribus ignis?  
Igne perire tuc, clademque autore levare.   

Be't by thy fire, if I in fire must fry?  
The Author lessens the calamity.    
Let me fall into the hands of the Lord (for very great are his mercies) but let me not fall into the hands of man. 
1 Chron. 21.13.  O happy David! O happy Prayer! O happy Success! He Prayed that if he must perish by the Sword, that he might perish by the Sword of the Lord, viz. the Pestilence, and doubtless the Pestilence is a harmless dove, if compared to the raging violence of lawless man. For who can without horror think what cruel torments and hideous tortures, bloody Tyrants have invented for the punishment of poor Innocents'. I will not slain my paper with their names, being so well known and so ill practised. Audax omnia perpeti gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas. Nothing comes amiss to them. Take a view of the preceding ages, and you shall find some Caines, some bad, in the best of times, no garden without some weeds, no roses without some thorns, and no field without some tares; But take a glimpse of our age, and without the help of Spectacles, you may see, our scarlet sins swimming upon the red Sea of Martyr's blood in every street. The whole field is grown over with briers and thistles, and all are become abominable, there is none that doth good, no not one. Vir bonus & sapiens, (qualem vix reperit unum, Millibus e cunctis hominum consultus Apollo.) If Diogenes had the Sun to be his Candle, and the eyes of the whole world to be his Lantern, he could not find amongst us the man he looked for, so many ages since. All such are become Exuls, though not exleges. And since we meet with an Exul in the way, Let us salute him by his proper name; and first describe what he is not, and then what, and who he is.  Ovid. 
Omne solum forti patria est, ut piscibus aequor,  
Et volucri vacuo quicquid in orbe patet.  
Though many good and prudent men, by the fierce Tyranny of others are forced from their native soil, and hunted from place to place, like the panting Hart, by the multitude of raging hounds, yet will they not own the name of Exuls, but Travellers: esteeming it the part of a pusillanimous Spirit, not to make every part of the world their Country, and account the whole world as one city. Such was Camillus, and Marcellus, and many other ancients, whom time and paper would fail me here to Catalogue. But I need not rip up antiquity, for such examples, enough, and one too many doth our iron age afford. But as little birds, though hatched in as little nests, make all the earth their habitations, so wise and valiant men account the whole world, as their private dwelling. Fools are banished in their own Country, wise men are in their own Country though banished, and by their travels obtain such learning, as if their banishment had been their University: so much for what an Exul is not. Let Cicero (who best could) tell you what and who he is, and lest you should mistrust that I belie him.  
For, 

— Fugiere pudor, verumque fidesque,  
In quorum suliere locum; fraudesque dolique;  
Insidiaeque & vis & amor sceleratus habendi,   

— Shame, truth, and faith depart,  
Fraud enters ignorant in no bad art,  
Force, treason, and the love of wicked gain    
Is the motto of our times, The Father cannot believe his Son, nor the Son his Father, he is wisest that can forge the most beneficial lies, and lies are become the ammunition of our age. Therefore hear him in his own Dialect. 
Paradox 4.  Omnes scelerati & impii, quos leges exilio affici volunt, exules sunt, etiamsi solum non mutant; All wicked and impious persons, which deserve banishment by law, are exiles, Though they continue upon their native Country: Sure I am they are exleges; But since there are many in the world that are driven from their own native soil, whose virtue will not suffer them to esteem it a banishment; but rather a trial to exercise their fortitude: Yet, confident I am, as an unfeigned lover, whose Mistress hath abandoned him from her presence, whereby he contemneth her, because she contemneth him, yet if once she open her pleasant arms to receive him, forgetting all her former injuries, he presently embraceth her; and is capable of no greater joy: so they who are so exiled would willingly return if their hardhearted Country would once receive them, 
For, Nescio qua natale solum dulcedine cunctos  
Ducit, & immemores non sinit esse sui.   
Home is home, though it be never so homely. Therefore let all those who labour with this disease of banishment, apply themselves to reverend Petrack, de exilio, where they may find an Antidote, let their malady be of what nature soever. And since the Physician is so learned, his Physic so good, and the disease so obvious, behold the Physician and his patient arguing together; assuming the names of Dolour and Ratio, and first the Physician.  
Ratio. Terra patris domus est nostri communis, & inqua  
Sedibus a patriis exulat omnis homo.  
Dolour. Exilio pellor injusto R. Quid tu igitur justo pelli malles exilio? Nempe quod ad injuriae cumulum ais, in diversum trahitur; habes enim injusti exilii solatium comitem Justitiam, quae injustos cives destituens, te secuta tecum exulat. D. Injusto exilio pulsus sum. R. An te rex expulit? an Tyrannus? an populus? an hostis? an tu ipse? Nam si rex; aut injustum exilium non erit, aut ipse non justus: at que ita nec rex quidem. Si Tyrannus, ab illo te pulsum gaude; sub quo boni existant, fures imperant. Si populus, moribus ille suis utitur; bonos odit, & hic quoque multiceps Tyrannus nunquam sui similem pepulisset. Non te igitur patria, sed malorum caetibus arceri, neque in exilium, sed in partem bonorum civium cogi putes. At si hostis, agnosce injuriae levitatem; non hostiliter saeviit, qui omnia cum possit, patriam abstulit, spem reliquit. Sui tu ipse, mores populi peresus; aut Tyranni abitum elegisti, non modo te doleas, sed etiam gloriare, virtutem patriae praetulisse; non tu flebilem, sed honestam, & prorsus invidiosam, bonis atque optabilem, non jam exilii, sed absentiae causam habes, sponte Pythagoras Salmon liquit; Athaenas Solon; Romam Scipio. D. Depellor & patria. R. Pulsum te pessimi●, optimis insere, neque te patria, sed patriam te indignam rebus proba. Sentiat illa, quid perdidit. Tu nihil perdidisse sentias: mali cives tui odio, simulque praesentis odio ac suspitione careant: boni autem amore absentis ac desiderio teneantur, sequanturque oculis, atque animis abeuntem, illi se solos linqui doleant. D. Mittor in exilium. R. Immo in experimentum tui videris, quem te in exilio praebeas; si succumbis, exul verus; si consistis, exilio clarus, ut multi olim, qui invicti & fulgidi per asperitates incesserunt, ut sequentibus rectum iter ostenderent. Sine Tyrannos saevire, sine populum furere, sine hosts, ac fortunam fremere. Pelli potes, capi, caedi, perimi, vinci autem, nisi manum extuleris, non potes, neque ornamentis tuis spoliari, cum quibus quocunque ieris, & civis, & patriae Principum unus eris. Sorrow. I am unjustly driven into banishment. Reason. What hadst thou rather than be justly banished? For as touching the heap of injuries whereof thou speakest, it is taken in the contrary part, and now thou hast justice to be thy companion, which shall be a comfort unto thee in thy unjust banishment, which forsaking thy unjust Countrymen, hath chosen rather to follow thee into exile. Sorrow. I am banished unjustly. Reason. Hath the King banished thee? or a Tyrant? or the people? or an enemy? or thou thyself? If the King, either thy banishment is not unjust; or he himself is not just, and so by consequence no King. If a Tyrant, rejoice that thou ar● banished by him, under whom good men are exiled, and Thiefs are set in authority. If the people, they use their old manner, they hate the virtuous, among whom if this many-headed Tyrant had found any like themselves, they would never have banished him: Think not therefore that thou art expulsed thy Country, but removed from the fellowship of wicked persons, and that thou art not driven into exile, but received into the Country of good Citizens. If an Enemy, acknowledge the lightness of the injury, for he hath not dealt extremely with thee: he that could take from a man all that he hath, and hath taken but his Country, hath left him hope. But if thou thyself, the cause is, that falling into misliking of the people, or Tyrant, thou hast chosen to depart, not only because thou wouldst not be sorry; but also vaunt thyself for preferring the honour of thy Country. So that now thou hast not a miserable, but an honest cause, not of exile, but of absence, hateful to the wicked, and grateful to the virtuous. Pythagoras voluntarily forsook Samos, and Solon Athens, and Lycurgus Lacedaemon, and Scipio Rome. Sorrow. I am driven from my Country. Reason. Being driven away of the worst, insinuate thyself into the Company of the best sort, and make it evident by good proofs, that thy Country was unworthy of thee, and not thou of thy Country. Let it perceive what it hath lost, and know thou how that thou hast lost nothing: Let the evil Citizens want the wearisomeness, and also the hatred and suspicion of thy presence, and let the good persecute thine absence with love and desire, and with their eyes, and minds, follow after thy departure; let them be sorry for that thou hast forsaken them. Sorrow. I am sent into exile. Reason. Nay rather to try thyself. Beware how thou behave thyself in thy exile; if thou faint, than art thou a very banished wight, if thou stand stoutly, thy banishment will ennoble thee, as it hath done many other before thee, who passed invincibly & honourably through difficulties, to the end they might show the right way to them that came after. Let Tyrant's rage, let the people chafe, let thine Enemies and Fortune fret and fume: thou mayst be driven away, taken, beaten, slain; but thou canst not be overcome, unless thou yield up thine hands, nor yet be despoiled of thine Ornaments; by means whereof, whithersoever thou goest thou shalt be a Citizen, and one of the Princes of thy Country.   

The Certain incertainty of Fortune, who crowns Cobblers, and beheads Kings: Advice to the prosperous, to beware Insolency, and to take heed lest they fall. Comfort to the miserable, to keep them from despair, with several remedies to cure the maladies of a troubled mind, being Physic for both, Fortune's good, or bad.  
HAving sheltered the banished, from the tempests of a foreign exile, Let us arm him against the Changeling Fortune. Constant only in inconstancy, according to mellifluous Ovid.  
Passi●us ambiguis Fortuna volubilis errat  
Et manet in nullo certa tenaxque loco:  
Sed modo lecta manet, vultus modo sumit acerbos:  
Et tantum constans in levitate sua est.  
She wandereth about the Earth, making all men Tenants at will of their possessions, and as a whirlwind bloweth up dust on heaps & then scattereth it about: so she puffeth riches to a man, & then puffeth both man & riches away together. Quem dies vidit veniens superbum, hunc dies vidit fugiens jacentem. Whom the rising Sun saw as glorious as himself in the morning, the setting Sun often seeth as low as himself in the evening; Therefore let not them glory in their prosperity, who reign in the palace of Fortune, triumph over their enemies, and have success to crown their actions, whether they be just, or unjust.  
Nempe that & quodcunque libet, Fortuna, rapitque  
Irus, & est subito, Qui modo Craesus erat.  
Fortune dealeth with men as a wheel with its spoaks, turneth those lowest which even now were highest; She throweth down Kings, and setteth up Beggars, he who even now was but a servile Cobbler, is by and by metamorphosed, and translated, into his Sovereign Master— Ex humili magna ad fastigia rerum Extollit, quoties voluit Fortuna jocari. It is her sport to promote fools, to lift the Peasant from the plough to the Throne, to set the frogg upon the washing block, and elevate him to the highest point of honour, that she may break his neck down again. Tolluntur in altum ut lapsu graviore ruunt. They are lifted up for no other cause, but that their fall might be the greater; Therefore my advice is to all those (if advice may have the honour to look upon them) who have their hearts desire in all things, and want nothing of this world to make themselves completely happy, to remember in the midst of their prosperity King Croesus (if they will vouchsafe to let a King come into their thoughts) Who when he was esteemed the most happy of all mortals, both for riches and peace, was admonished by Solon, Neminem ante cineres beatum dicendum, quod quoad vivimus, periculum sit, ne instabilis hujus mundi foelicitas dolore aliquo contaminetur. That no man before death could be said to be happy, because whilst we live, it is a chance, but that the felicity of this unstable world, will be blotted out with the black pen of misery; which sentence of Sclons, the Calamity of Croesus did afterwards declare most true; For he being conquered by Cyrus, and chained to the stake to be burned, remembering the wholesome saying of his friend Solon, did cry out Solon, Solon, Solon; at which Cyrus much wondering, asked him which of the Gods or men he did invoke, and what was his meaning, Cyrus being informed of the whole matter, and put in mind of humane vicissitudes, delivered Croesus from the flame, and ever afterwards had him in great esteem, fearing lest the like calamity might fall upon himself; so when Sesostris King of Egypt being drunk with good fortune, and lifted too high with his great successes against his enemies, caused four Kings taken prisoners to draw his triumphal Chariot; wherein one of them looked back with smiles to the wheel of the Chariot, and being demanded his reason for it, answered, That he smiled to see the spoke of the wheel, now at the top to be presently at the bottom, and again, that which is now at the bottom, to be by and by at the top. Which when the King heard, considering the mutability of all earthly things, his haughty spirit was not a little mollfiied.  
These relations I thought good here to insert, that the mighty and dreadful men of the world, who have got the power of the Sword into their own hands, taking Cyrus for their example (whose example will be no disgrace for them to follow, though he was a King, for he was likewise a valiant Soldier) might not exercise Tyranny over their vanquished enemies, especially over their own fellow subjects. Cain purchased little honour by the murder of his brother Abel. Though the Heathens appeared as glorious as the Sun at their triumphs after the conquest of a foreign enemy, yet mourning was their habit instead of triumph, after a victory obtained in a civil war: when two Noble men were convicted for affecting and aspiring to the Empire of Titus Vespasianus, he proceeded no farther against them, than to admonish them to desist, and give over; saying, that Sovereign Power was the gift of Destiny, and Divine Providence; If they were Petitioners for any thing else, he promised to give it unto them. For Melius est servare unum quam occidere mille, It is better to save one, then to kill a thousand, is a saying worthy to be written in letters of gold, but more worthy to be put in practice. O blessed Conqueror, that is thus qualifyed! O blessed prisoner that hath such a victor!  
Having pruned the fortunate, let us now stoop to the miserable, whom fortune hath cast to the lowest stair of affliction, Nemo desperet meliora lapsus prohibet Clotho stare fortunam; vicissitude o● Fortune is sufficient argument, to keep the unfortunate from despair; for though the highest spoke of the wheel be turned lowest, yet it doth not tarry there, but presently returneth to its former height, Non semper imbres nubibus hispidos manant in agros. Though it rain one day, the Sun may shine again the next. No storm without a calm, nor no Winter without a Summer. Post tempestatem tranquillitas; The Northwind which bloweth cold, may quickly turn into a warmer corner. Weep may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning, Psalm 30. vers. 5. But if the brevity of time, will not give ease unto thy malady, declare thy grief; a disease well known is half cured.  
What art thou robbed of all that thou hast? Consider what thou broughtest into the World, and thou hast lost nothing, this thou hast got, the means to wean thee from things below, and if thou wilt to set thy mind on things above.  
Art oppressed with sickness? The sickness of thy body may prove the welfare of thy soul, Thou learnest to pity others, and knowest that thy earthly cottage is not invincible.  
Doth poverty knock at thy door? Let her in, she will teach thee to be humble, keep thee from envy, and lock thee up secure; It is better meekly to entertain her, then proudly to oppose her.  
Art born a bondman? There is no bondage like that to sin, cast of that and thou art free, it is better to be born a bondman, and die free from sin, than to be born a freeman, and die a bondslave to Satan.  
Is thy fare thine? Thou hast avoided two sins, gluttony, & incontinency. Thou hast wydened the way to virtue, Though streightened the passage to thy belly; Hunger nourisheth arts, and a full belly is the ensign of an empty head Bonae mentis soror est paupertas.  
Art thou poor and over-burdened with children? Children are riches, then how canst thou be poor, amongst so many jewels? acknowledge thy blessing and give thanks, and He that feedeth the fishes of the Sea, the fouls of the Air, and apparelleth the flowers of the Field, will both feed, and clothe thy children; It was harder to raise them to thee, than to provide food for them.  
Art thou rich and childness? He that created thee, can create thee children. Sarah had a Son in her old age. In the mean time, make thyself the child of God, and thou art better than if thou hadst many children.  
Hast thou lost thy money? Thou hast exchanged fears, and cares, for quietness and carelessness, liberty is better than golden chains, Thou hast but paid fortune that which she lent thee, For omnia tua tecum portas, Thou canst not truly be called Master of that, whereof fortune is mistress.  
Art thou become a surety? Thou art near a shrewd turn, henceforth give away all that thou hast, rather than thy liberty; In the mean time, let thy hand discharge that which thy mouth hath set on thy score; It is no charity to pluck a thorn out of another man's foot, to put it in thine own.  
Hath nature made thee deformed? Let the deformity of thy body, put thee in mind of the deformity of thy soul; Depart from sin, and adorn thy soul with virtues, as for thy body it is the work of God's hands. Beauty is at best but a fadeing vanity, profitable to none, hurtful to many, and perhaps might have been thy destruction. Pulchrius est pulchrum fieri quam nasci. Si mihi difficilis formam natura negavit, Jugenio formae damna rependo mea.  
Hast thou lost thy time? Thou hast lost an invaluable pearl, which cannot be re-called, nor superseded by riches, or honour. But it is never too late to repent, lose time no more, and thou hast made amends.  
Hast thou lost thy betrothed mistress? He that loseth his wife is delivered of many cares, but he that loseth his spouse, is preserved: both of these are good, but the last is the best. Therefore grieve not too much, lest thou lose thyself.  
Hast thou buried thy wife? Thou hast buried her on earth, who first buried thee in the grave of sin, in Paradise; couldst thou be rid of sin, as thou art rid of her, Thou hadst cause to rejoice: and had she not brought thee a Saviour, thou hadst had cause to repent, that ever thou sawest her.  
Hath Infamy blasted thy name? If it be deserved, lament not the Infamy, but the cause of the Infamy: But if it be undeserved, contemn the errors of men with a valiant courage, and comfort thyself with the testimony of a good conscience, It is better to be innocent and slandered, than nocent and applauded.  
Hast thou many enemies? If they profess it openly, thou art armed, if they keep it secretly, thou liest open to danger; be thou a friend to justice, and God will be so much a friend to thee, as to deliver thee publicly from thy private enemy; none are so pernicious enemies as flattering friends.  
Hast thou lost an occasion to revenge? Thou hast let fall a Snake out of thy hands, take heed thou take it not up again. O happy loss whereby thou hast saved thy soul; vengeance belongeth unto God, Forgiveness unto thee, if thou intendest to be forgiven. From this lost occasion, take occasion never to have such an occasion of revenge to lose.  
Hath thy friend forsaken thee? Better he forsake thee, than thou him; for than thou hadst been guilty of his fault. The loss of his friendship, perhaps may make thee seek after God's friendship, which if thou find thou hast made a good exchange.  
Do thy people hate thee their Sovereign? This beast is prompt to injury, and slow to duty. The Commons love is light, and their hatred heavy. There is nothing more forcible than the multitude of fools; whereas public fury pricketh forth the rage of every private person, and the rage of every private person kindleth the public frantickness, and one of them enforceth another: Beware, there is nothing more dangerous than to fall into their hands, whose will standeth for law, and headlong outrage for discretion.  
Art thou contemned? Inferiors contemn their superiors, thinking, by casting dirt upon them, they beautify themselves, and some men have no other way to patch up their own credits than by picking holes in the credit of others; If it be justly, thou hast cause, I confess, to be sorry, notwithstanding thou must endure it; but if unjustly, thou mayst laugh at it. For there is nothing more ridiculous, nor that happeneth more commonly, than for a wise man to be contemned of mad men.  
Dost thou complain that promises made unto thee, are late in performance? words are cheaper than deeds; Hence learn punctually to perform thy promises to others; nothing more debaseth a gift than an hard grant, and a slow performance; bis dat qui cito dat.  
Art thou subject to a Tyrant? Thou fearest one, he fears many; God suffereth him like Pharaoh to scourge thee for thy instruction, but for his perdition, when he hath done he will burn the rod. Iniqua nunquam regna perpetuo manent.  
Hast thou an unruly proud scholar? Pride is an enemy to learning. Whip out his arrogance, o● else for wit there will be no entrance; If thou art not able to remove his pride from him, remove him from thee; Hale in thy sails and go to shore. Thou nourishest up a Serpent, and tillest a venomous plant, yea thy utter enemy.  
Dost thou suffer an hard Father? A hard Father maketh a soft and gentle Son, correction is thy profit, and chiding is thy gain; remember that he is thy Father, and thou art his Son; It is his duty to chastise thee, and thy duty to obey him; he that spareth the rod spilleth the child.  
Hast thou a rebellious Son? If thou wast the cause, thank thyself. If thou wast his pattern, consider what thy Father suffered by thee. Amend him if thou canst, if not, love him, because he is thy Son; If not for that cause, then for that he is a man; if thou canst not love him, pity him; as severity belongeth to a Father, even so doth compassion.  
Hast thou a malapert wife? thou hast an evil thing. Chastise her, if chastisement will avail, but if it be in vain, arm thyself with patience, and endeavour to love her; There is nothing more comfortable than to do that willingly, to which one is constrained, levius fit patientia Quicquid corrigi est nefas.  
Hath thy dying Mother forsaken thee? She hath not forsaken thee, but is gone before thee, Thou hast yet another Mother, who will not forsake thee, if thou wouldst, from the first thou canst, and unto the second shalt thou return, The first gave thee house roomth, the space of a few months, the other shall give thee lodging the space of many years; the one of these gave thee thy body, the other shall take it away; but as from the first, so from the second shalt thou arise.  
Dost thou weep for the death of thy son? If thou wouldst have wept at his death, thou shouldst also have wept at his birth, for than he began to die, but now he hath done. Thou knewest thou shouldest get a mortal Son, and dost thou now repent it? he stepped before thee, happy wert thou if thou hadst stepped before him.  
Is thy friend dead? bury him in thy remembrance, and so shall he live with thee for ever; O happy friendship, which continued until the end. Hadst thou lost him by any other means, than by death, than hadst thou not lost a friend, but a false opinion of friendship.  
Dost thou mourn because thou didst narrowly escape shipwreck? Rejoice rather that thou didst escape, and hereafter, since thou art an earthly creature, learn to keep the earth, and rather to affect Heaven, than the Sea; though thou dost suffer shipwreck both of thy body and goods in thy voyage to Heaven, yet if thy sold do safely arrive, thou shalt have no cause to mourn.  
Did thy harvest miss, and thy land lie barren one year? Let the barrenness of thy land, put thee in mind, of the barrenness of thy soul; if thou sowest but one seed, and reapest not ten fold for it, thou mournest; God soweth much and reapeth nothing, what shall he do? It is the plenty of thy fins, which causeth the barrenness of thy land.  
Dost thou dwell in a narrow little house? great Princes have been born in small cottages, thy heavenly Soul dwelleth in a little house of clay; think upon the narrowness of thy grave, and thy house will seem very large.  
Art thou shut up in an unworthy prison? death will set thee free, and we are all Prisoners till then·s Better is an unworthy prison, than unworthy liberty, and happier is the innocent prisoner, than the corrupt Judge, who put him there.  
Dost thou fear thou shalt lose the victory? thou art half conquered already; fear is always an evil guest of the mind, but a much more worse companion in war; There is no greater encouragement to an army, than a fearful enemy.  
Hast thou lost a Tyranny? O happy loss! O happy people! where Tyrants are dismounted, and Thrones lawfully established. Prosperity enters when Tyranny hath its Exit. It is a burden to the Commonwealth, most grievous, to the Tyrant's dangerous, to no good man profitable, hurtful to many, odious unto all men, and comfortable only in its brevity, for violenta nemo imperia continuit diu.  
Have thy subjects betrayed thee? Not subjects but Rebels. They have undone themselves by doing thee out of thy Kingdom. They have betrayed thee, but cast away themselves; pricked thee, but they are wounded, and in spoiling thee have slain themselves. For perchance thou hast lost thy Kingdom or thy wealth, but they have lost their souls, their fame, the quietness of Conscience, and the company of all good men. The Sun shineth not upon a more wicked thing than is a Traitor, whose filthiness is such, that they which need his craft, abhor the craftsman, and others, which would be notorious in other sins, shun the shame of this impiety.   

Providence bestoweth her blessings with blind hands; Prosperity doth not always join hands with goodness, neither is Adversity a true sign of illegality; Good Kings may perish whilst wicked Rebels flourish. David was forced by ungodly Traitors, to flee from his Country; Therefore our King may be a man after Gods own heart, yet wrongfully driven from his own.  
HAving given the unfortunate, an Antidote, Let us apply this Cordial, That goodness is not an unseparable incident to prosperity, success is no invincible argument that the cause is good. Goodness and greatness are not always companions.  
Though Foxes have holes, and Birds of the air have nests, yet our Saviour the King of Kings had not where to lay his head. King David, though a man after Gods own heart, was not without his troubles, but had many infoelicities. Though the subtle Foxes with their deceitful wiles, banish our King from his Sacra Patrimonia, his sacred Patrimony, (for so the possessions of Kings are called) and make him wander up and down like a Pelican in the wilderness; yet this is but like Jobs afflictions, to make him the more glorious; The top which is most scourged spinneth the better, and the blustering winds make the Tree take the deeper root; The Camomile the more it is trodden on the better it groweth, and the Palm depressed riseth the higher: so the afflictions of our Sovereign shall extol his renown the higher, and like a ball thrown against the ground, shall rebound, and fly with more lofty Majesty; For why? his goodness doth increase by his misery, and his Royal virtue, like grass after a shower, shall flourish more gloriously: God let Daniel be thrown into the Den, to increase his honour, and chasteneth the Children which he loveth, only for their good. What though cross gales drive us from our intended Haven? And our hearts fail of all our desired enjoyments, so that blind Fortune only striveth to make us miserable, in prohibiting us from all our pleasing wishes? Yet is this no argument, that we are sinful, or that our desires are profane. What though a man be born blind, and so continue from his birth to his death? Yet neither may this man have sinned, nor his parents; But that the (John 29) works of God might be made manifest. Can any one have the impudence to say that the King is wicked, and that his cause is naught, because the multitude of reprobates prevail, and through the mightiness of their villainies subdue all that is good? So may they argue that the Jews were Saints, when they murdered our Saviour, and that the Devil was an Holy Angel, when he spoiled Job. No, God correcteth the pious, that he may preserve them, and permitteth the designs of the wicked to coach them to their own destructions. He letteth Rebels dethrone their Sovereign, and pull the earthly Crown from off his head, that he may crown him in Heaven with everlasting glory. The meanness of the case doth not diminish the lustre of the Jewel, and Christ was a King though in the manger.  Seneca in Hyppolito. 
— Res humanas ordine nullo  
Fortuna regit, spargitque manu  
Numera caeca, pejora fovens.  
Fortune doth not always signally attest the design of such a party, or the justness of such an action to be righteous, by permitting it to prosper, and taper up into the world; the Sun shines upon the bad aswell as the good, and the rain makes their corn to grow oftentimes more plentiful than the righteous men's, which makes the wicked glory in their actions, and scorn all those as Atheists, who will not Canonize them for Saints. Honesta, quaedam scelera successus facit. If success doth but attend their enterprises, let them be never so impiously wicked, all the Logic and Rhetoric in the world cannot persuade them, but that they are most sacred and righteous; such is their profound ignorance, and blind zeal, That if the Devil put it into their hearts to murder their lawful King and Sovereign, and likewise assist them to effect it, they think they do God good service, and punish all those with an Egyptian slavery, who will not be of their opinion, although expressly against God his Commandments, viz. Fear God, honour the King, 1 Pet. 2.17. They make God to be even altogether such a one as they are, in crying, that it is God's cause, even, when they commit the greatest Sacrilege, Persperum ac faelix scelus virtus vocatur, a mischief neatly effected, is one of their chiefest virtues. This indeed made King David to stagger, nay his steps had wellnigh slipped, when he saw the prosperity of the wicked, when he considered, that they were not in trouble as other men, nor plagued like other men, Their Eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish. This made him cry out, Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence; But when he went into the Sanctuary of God, Then understood he their end; For, Surely thou didst set them in slippery places, Thou castedst them down in destruction: How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment? they are utterly consumed with terrors, as a dream when one awaketh: So O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image, was his next vote. Prov. 1.30. They would none of my Counsel, they despised all my reproof; Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices, for the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of Fools shall destroy them. Thus you see that prosperity is sometimes a curse, and no blessing. To those beasts we intent to kill, we commonly allow the best pasture; And surely those men are better acquainted with Mahomet's Koran, than our Saviour's Gospel, who will not be convinced, but that temporal happiness is the true index of Divine favour. God scattereth his outward blessings upon the wicked aswell as on the good, because if Virtue and Religion should only appropriate riches, more men would become virtuous and religious for the love of money and wealth, than out of any love they did bear either to Virtue, or Religion.  Maro. 
O fortuna potens, quam variabilis,  
Tantum juris atrox quae tibi vindicas,  
Evertisque bonos, erigis improbos?  
Nec servare potes muneribus fidem.  
Fortua immeritos auget honoribus.  
Fortuna innocuos cladibus afficit.  
Justos illa viros pauperie gravat.  
Indignos eadem divitiis beat.  
Haec aufert juvenes, & retinet senes,  
Injusto arbitrio tempora dividens  
Quod dignis adimit, transit ad impios,  
Nec discrimen habet rectaque judicat,  
Inconstans, fragilis, perfida lubrica:  
Nec quos deseruit perpetuo premit.  
Therefore let not those despair whom blind Fortune hath kicked into any mishap, nor measure the justness of their actions by the quantity of success; Though the voice of the world censure it, For it is not the event which makes it good or bad.  
— Careat successibus opto  
Quisquis ab eventu facta notanda putat.   

The Author's Resolution, and Reason to write, The wickedness of the times; Wherein men will have no King, unless they may be Kings themselves, nor no Bishops, only because they are not Bishops. Tyrants, and Traitors, reign by force, Kings by the love of the people. The definition of a Commonwealths-man, with all his properties, and the deceitfulness of a Parliament, be it long or short. England's degeneration, and the death of the Laws and Religion, with an Incitation to solemnize the funeral.  
NOw it is time to resolve the Quaere couchant in the Prologue, Eloquar an sileam; timor hoc, pudor impedit illud; Whether I should speak or be silent. When I consider the perils of the times, wherein no man can speak his own conscience without offending those, who will give him blows for words, Then Timor hoc. But, Jam tua res agitur paries cum proximus ardet, when I see my neighbour his house on fire, and my own next to it, when all men are asleep in sin, and none to awake them, Then pudor impedit illud. For, Non mihi si centum linguae sint oraque Centum, Omnia culparum percurrere nomina possum, If I had a thousand tongues, and so many mouths, I could not vilify our iron age according to its deserts; Me thinks, as if souls according to Phythagoras his opinion, descented from one man to another, I see those ancient Tyrants, or their black souls in worse images, acting their bloody parts upon the stage of the world, and sounding out their hellish edicts. Here is Caius Caesar Caligula with his detestable motto in his mouth, Oderint dum metuant, Let them hate me so they fear me: He forced parents to be present at the execution of their own children, and after he had well drunk and eaten, took pleasure to cast his friends into the Sea, from on high from a bridge, which he built. He wished that his people had but one neck, that he might chop them off at a blow, vox Carnifice quam Imperatore dignior? A Speech fitter for an Hangman, than an Emperor; When a prisoner being fearful of the cruel Torments, with which the Emperor would murder him, had taken poison to prevent him, What says he, Antidotum adversus Caesarem? Is there any Antidote against Caesar? How many poor innocents' being condemned to dreadful deaths, by the Tyrants of our age have poisoned themselves, to prevent their undesetved punishments? And when his Grandmother Antonia seemed to give him some admonition; Memento, ait, omnia mihi in omnes licere. I would have you to know, saith he, That I can do any thing, a true Character of a Tyrant, for what will not he do? But doubtless the love of the people is the best guard for a King, Magnum Satellitium Amor. And that which ones natural lawful Sovereign would most look after. For, ●num est regi inexpugnabile munimentum, amor Civium. It is not fear, and force, nor Troops of Dragoons, and Red-coats that are the surest holds for Governors; but the benevolence, hearts, and love of their subjects. Caesar, dando, sublevando, ignoscendo gloriam adeptus est. Rulers have no greater enemy, than the fear and envy of the people. For, Quem metuunt oderunt: Quem quisque odit periisse expedit. Whom we fear, we hate, and whom we hate, we study and desire his death. But behold, Aulus Vitellius, Bonus odor hostis, melior civis occisi. An enemy slain hath a very good smell, but a Citizen far better: O black abominable Tragical and Tyrannical speech! And did not our age swarm with such horseleeches, we should never suck the blood one of another, so as we do: But that you may hate the very name of Tyrants, and abhor their actions; Harken a little to Flavius Vespasianus and his Council, how impiously they consulted, and first Vespasian, Lucri bonus odor ex re qualibet, It is gain which makes the smell so good for a slain Citizen or enemy; No actions so hellish, if it produce profit, but that it is a virtue to attempt it, and the reason is, Omnis in ferro salus, because all our hope and health is in the sword: for whilst we have that in our hands, what law or Religion dares oppose us? no disputant like the sword. Exeat aula qui volet esse pius: virtus & summa potestas non coeunt: semper metuunt quem save pudebunt. Let him depart from our Courts and Counsel, who is so simple that he must nee● be pious, Godliness is a great hindrance to o● profession, and he is a Coward who is ashamed to act wickedly, Sibi bonus aliis malus, saith an other, He is a fool, who thinks that any one can lose so he gets; Let us be good to ourselves, and all is well. There be some simple innocents', who cry, Melius mori, quam sibi vivere, It is better to die, than to live only for ourselves: But if such be their Doctrine, let them get for others, for us if they please, and starve themselves. Let us carve for ourselves, Proximus ipse mihi, Charity begins at home, and he is an Ass that carrieth a burden for another. Others there be of the same stamp, and both alike simple, who say, Dulce est pro patria mori, It is sweet to die for ones Country; let such good natured fools taste of that sweetness, and die for their Country; our lives are sweet, and not so to be fooled away; It is sweet for our Country to die for us. But Pestis reipublicae literae, saith another of the Counsel; we shall never carry on our affairs handsomely, so long as we have so many Lawyers, and Gospel men amongst us, the highest step to our promotion, will be to lay them on their backs, and I think the nearest way to dispel the cloud of black Coats, will be to throw down their Universites, and take their tithes and lands away from then; As for the Lawyers perhaps we may bribe them, but if not, I am sure, they will rather turn than burn; To what we cannot persuade them with our tongues, we will compel them to with our swords. For Law, Learning and Religion, are as so many plagues and poisons t● Commonwealth. And Qui nescit dissimulare nescit imperare, He that cannot dissemble shall be no Commonwealths-man; for to tell you the truth, Dissimulation, cogging, and lying, is the foundation of our government; and if the foundation be taken away, every one knows the superstructure cannot stand; Therefore to deal plainly with the world, let us cover our worst actions with the best pretences, and ravish the people with the pleasing and specious names of Liberty and Religion, when we intent the extirpation of both; Let us imitate Tereus, who so neatly dissembled piety, that when he acted most against it, the people did Saint him,— Ipso sceleris molimine Tereus Creditur esse pius; And doubtless he was no mean Cowmonwealths-man. Let us hold a fair correspondence with all Religions, but be sure to lead the Van in the most prevalent; it matters not whether it be true or false, let them look to that, who intent to obtain eternal advantages of it, we look no further than to enjoy the temporal. A Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It is the greatest obstacle to generous actions, not to personate that Religion, which will serve one's purpose best, be it Canonical or Apocrypha; and doubtless that Religion, which brings the greatest profit and largest incomes, is the most sacred, and most consonant to Scripture. But why should I blur my paper with the Description of this deceitful Parliament, the Theory whereof, is become practical almost in every City? Let us therefore lament at the funeral of our Laws and Religion, and throw one sprig of rosemary into the grave, where all our Rights & Libertyes are buried. That Son giveth cause of suspicion of his Legitimation, who will not mourn at his Mother's death: And surely he was never a true born Son of the Church, or Law, that will not shed a tear when they are both fell to ruin. Some (though very few) good Eleazors amongst us, have lost their heads and lives, for our Laws and Religion; And although I am not worthy to die a Martyr for them—— Haud equidem tali me dignor honore, Yet whilst I live it living tears shall fall from mine eyes, for them. For— Q●is talia fan do Mrmidonum, Dolopumve, aut duri miles Vlyssis, Temperet a lacrymis? Who? what Puritan, Independent, Anabaptist, Presbyterian, Quaker, etc. Or Red-coat as bad, though not worse than any of them, can restrain his Adamantine heart from grief, and his eyes from tears, when he considers the deplorable conditions, which they have brought upon our Kingdom? Who (as it now plainly appeareth) had no other quarrel against King, than because they were not Kings themselves; nor no other reason against Episcopacy, than because each of them was not a Bishop. They could never yet produce any argument sufficient, unless the sword, to prove that King, or Bishop was not Jure Divino. And now behold what the sword hath brought them unto. I remember Cadmus sowed the teeth of a Serpent, which sprung up armed men, who presently destroyed one the other; I will not determine that the seed of these men came from a Serpent, but sure I am they cannot deny themselves, but that they destroy each the other, like Cadmus his men. They kick the Government of our Kingdom about, from one to the other, like a foot ball; And it will be marvel, if some of them do not break their shins, a swell as their consciences, before the game is ended. 
Res publica, signifieth a whore.  They make the Government Proteus-like to turn into what shape they please, a true Commonwealth indeed, being common to so many Rivals. And as the unruly Quadrupedes whirried about the Chariot, (Phoebus their lawful Sovereign being absent) until they had set the whole world on fire; so it is to be doubted, that these headstrong Bears, having cast away the reins of true obedience, will not leave to worry us, until they have brought us to utter ruin? O England, England. Hei mihi! qualis erat! quantum mutatus ab illo! How is thy fame besmeared! and thy honour laid in the dust! Once the envy of the whole world for the glory of thy Laws, and Religion, now become a byword, and a laughingstock to all Nations. Venit summa dies, & ineluctabile tempus. The Sentence is already past, and the decree is gone forth, and nothing can avert the wrath of an angry Deity. Tantaene animis caelestibus irae? Can the Almighty be so passionate? We want a Moses, and we want an Aaron, to intercede and make an atonement for us, We want a Jonah to preach repentance, And we want the hearts of Nineveh to entertain it. We have done worse than to touch the Lords anointed, and have killed his Prophets, all the day long. We have not reverenced his Sanctuary, But have made it a den of Thiefs, and Stable for Beasts, not altogether so bad as ourselves. O God why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the Sheep of thy pasture? O deliver not the soul of thy Turtle Dove unto the multitude of the wicked; Forget not the Congregation of thy poor for ever.  
— Fuimus Tr●es, fuit Ilium, & ingens  
Gloria Toucrorum.  
Remember thy old mercy, and remember our former estate; For though now, like People, like Priest, The Prophet's lie, and the People would have it so; Yet like Bethlehem, we have not heretofore been the least amongst the Princes of the World. We have had those who have thought it, Melius tondere qaam deglubere oves, better to trimm us, than to flay us, and Melius servare unum quam occidere mille, better to preserve one than kill a thousand; Who have been Tardus ad vindictam, ad benevolentiam velox, slow to do evil and revenge, but swift to do good and reconcile; Loving Pax bello potior, peace better than war, and esteeming it Pro patria mori pulchrum, honourable to die for their Country. Which they have done, and all Law, Religion, Justice, and Equity with them: Cum uno paricidio junxerunt juris divini, naturalis, juris gentium, omnium legum publicarum privatarumque eversionem, reipublicae perturbationem, libertatis populi oppressionem, Senatus abolitionem, nobilitatis exterminationem, innocentium damnationem, peculatum, & aerarii publici direptionem, solennis conventionis infractionem, perfidiam, jurisjurandi violationem, statuum omnium confusionem, immo subversionem.  
Tempora mutantur, & nos mutamur in illis.  Sal. 
Therefore let no man be offended if I attend the funeral, and say something on the behalf of the deceased; It is a Christian duty, and none will account it superstition to give an Encomium at burials where it is due, unless those who account it superstition to deserve well themselves. De mortuis nil nisi bonum, We must say nothing but good of the dead. Therefore behold the Monument in these ensuing political Aphorisms.   

The Monument of the Laws, or Regal and Political Aphorisms; whereby the Prerogative of the King, and the just liberties of the People are set forth, and authorized by the Law of God, and the Law of the Land.  
KIngs are Jure Divino, by Divine right, to be obeyed, and not by violent force of subjects to be resisted, although they act wickedly, Prov. 8.15. By me Kings reign. Dan. 2.21. He removeth Kings, and setteth up Kings. Prov. 16.10. A Divine Sentence is in the lips of the King. Prov. 21.1. The King's heart is in the hand of the Lord. Job 34.18. Is it fit to say to a King thou art wicked? and to Princes, ye are ungodly? Prov. 24.21. Fear thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not with them that are given to change. Eccl. 8.2. I counsel thee to keep the King's Commandment. Exod. 22.28. Thou shalt not speak evil of thy Prince, nor detract the Magistrate. 1 Pet. 2.17. Fear God, honour the King. Prov. 30.31. A King against whom there is no rising up. Eccles. 10.20. Curse not the King, no not in thy thought. 1 Sam. 24.6. The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my Master, the Lords anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. From which premises none unless those who deny the Scripture, can deny these Consequences. That the jura regalia of Kings, are holden of Heaven, and cannot for any cause escheat to their Subjects. That active obedience is to be yielded to the King as Supreme, in omnibus licitis, in all things lawful. But if God for the punishment of a Nation, should set up a Tyrannical King, secundum voluntatem pravam non rationem rectam regentem, governing by his depraved will against reason, and commanding things contrary to the word of God, we must not by force of arms rebel against him; but rather than so, (if not prevailing by Petition unto him, or escaping by flight from him) patiently submit to the loss of our Lives and Estates, and in that case, Arma nostra sunt preces nostrae, nec possimus, nec debemus aliter resistere, Our prayers and tears should fight, and not our Swords: For who can lift up his hands against the Lords anointed, and be guiltless? This in Scripture we find practised by God's people to Pharaoh: Exo. 5.1. and the same people, to Nabuchadnezzar, a Tyrant, were commanded to perform obedience, and to pray for him, Though there was no wickedness almost which he was not guilty of. His Successor Darius, Daniel obeyed, and said, O King live for ever. Dan. 6.21. For now no private person hath with Ehud, Judg. 3.21. extraordinary commandment from God to kill Princes, nor no personal warrant from God, as all such persons had who attempted any thing against the life even of Tyrants. Nil sine prudenti fecit ratione vetustas.  
2. The King hath his Title to the Crown, and to his Kingly office and power, not by way of trust from the people, but by inherent bigthright, immediately from God, Nature and the law, 1 Reg. Ja. ca 1. li. 7.12 calvin's ca●e.  
3. The Law of Royal government, is a Law Fundamental, 1 pars Jnst. fo. 11.  
4. The King's Prerogative, and the Subjects Liberty are determined, and bounded by the Law. Bracton, fo. 132. Plowden, fo. 236, 237.  
5. By Law no Subjects can call their King in question, to answer for his actions, be they good or bad. Bracton, fo. 5, 6. Si autem ab eo petatur (cum Breve non Currat contra ipsum) locus erit supplicationi, quod factum suum corrigat, & emendet, quod quidem si non fecerit, satis sufficit ei ad poenam, quòd Dominum expectet ultorem. Nemo quidem de factis suis praesumat disputare, multo fortius contra factum suum venire. If any one hath cause of action against the King (because there is no Writ runneth against him) his only remedy is by supplication and petition to the King, that he would vouchsafe to correct and amend that which he hath done, which if he refuse to do, Only God is to revenge and punish him, which is punishment enough. No man ought to presume to dispute the King's actions, much less to rebel against him.  
6. The King is the only Supreme Governor, hath no Peer ● his Land, and all other persons have their power from him. 3 Ed. 3.19. Bracton, li. 1. cap. 8. Sunt eti●m sub Rege liberi homines & Servi ejus potestati subjecti, & Omnis quidem sub eo, & ipse sub nullo, nisi tantum sub Deo. Parem autem non habit in Regno suo, quia sic amitterit praeceptum, cum par in parem non habeat imperium. Item nec multo fortius superiorem nec potentiorem habere debet, quia sic esset inferior sibi subjectis & inferiores pares esse non possunt potentioribus. Ipse autem Rex, non debet esse sub homine, sed sub Deo & sub lege, quia Lex facit Regem. The King hath no superior but the Almighty God. All his people are inferior to him, he inferior to none but God.  
7. The King is Caput Reipublicae, the Head of the Commonwealth immediately under God. 1 Jnst. 73.1 h. 7.10. Finch, 81.  
And therefore carrying God's stamp and mark among men, and being as one may say, a God upon Earth, as God is a King in Heaven, hath a shadow of the Excellencies that are in God, in a similitudinary sort given him, (Bracton, fo. 5. Cum sit Dei vicarius, evidenter apparet ad similitudinem Jesu Christi, cujus vices gerit in terris) That is to say 

1. Divine Perfection.  
2. Infiniteness.  
3. Majesty.  
4. Sovereignty and Power  
5. Perpetuity.  
6. Justice.  
7. Truth.  
8. Omniscience.    
1. Divine perfection. In the King no imperfect thing can be thought. No Laches, Folly, Negligence, Infamy, Slain or Corruption of blood can be adjudged in him. 35. h. 6.26. So that Nullum tempus occurrit Regi.  
2. Infiniteness. The King in a manner is every where, and present in all Courts. And therefore it is that he cannot be non-sute, and that all Acts of Parliament that concern the King are general; And the Court must take notice without pleading them, for he is in all, and all have their part in him. Fitz. N. B. 21. H. 25. H. 8. Br: tit. Non-sute. 68  
3. Majesty. The King cannot take nor part from any thing, but by matter of Record, and that is in respect of his Majesty: unless it be a Chattel or the like; Because, De minimis non curate, Lex. 5. Ed. 4.7. 4 E. 6.31. 2 H. 4.7.  
4. Sovereignty and Power. All the Land is holden of the King. No action lieth against him; For who can command the King? He may compel his Subjects to go out of the Realm to war. Hath absolute power over all; For by a clause of Nonobstante, he may dispense with a Statute Law, and that if he recite the Statute; Though the Statute say, such dispensation shall be merely void. 7 E. 4.17.21 H. 7.2 H. 7.7. Calvin's case. Bracton. Rex habet potestatem & jurisdictionem super omnes qui in regno suo sunt, ea quae sunt jurisdictionis, & pacis ad nullum pertinent nisi ad Regiam dignitatem, habet etiam coercionem, ut delinquentes puniat & coerceat. And therefore aught to have the Militia.  
5. Perpetuity. The King hath a perpetual succession, and never dyeth; For in Law it is called the demise of the King, and there is no Inter-regnum. A gift to the King goeth to his Successors, though not named. For he is a Corporation of himself, and hath two capacities, (to wit) a natural body, in which he may inherit to any of his Ancestors, or purchase Lands to him, and the heirs of his body, which he shall retain, although he be afterwards removed from his Royal estate; and a body politic, in which he may purchase to him and his heirs Kings of England, or to him and his Successors. Yet both bodies make but one indivisible body. Plowden 213.233.242 li. 7.12.  
6. Justice. The King can do no wrong; Therefore cannot be a disseisor. He is all Justice, Veritas & Justitia, saith Bracton, circa solium ejus. They are the two Supporters that do uphold his Crown. he is Medicus regni, Pater patriae, sponsus Regni qui per annulum, is espoused to his Realm at his Coronation; he is God's Lieutenant, and is not able to do an unjust thing. 4 Ed. 4.25. 5 Ed. 4.29. Potentia injuriae est impotentia naturae. His Ministers may offend, and therefore are to be punished if the Laws are violated; but not he.  
7. Truth. The King shall never be estopped, Judgement final in a writ of right shall not conclude him. 18 E. 3.38. 20 E. 3. Fitz. Droit. 15.  
8. Omniscience. When the King licenceth expressly to aliente an Abbot, etc. which is in Mortmain, he needs not make any Non obstante of the Statutes of Mortmain; For it is apparent to be granted in Mortmain, And the King is the head of the Law, and therefore shall not be intended misconusant of the Law. For, Praesumitur Rex habere omnia jura in scrinio pectoris sui. 1 Jnst. 99 And therefore aught to have a Negative voice in Parliament. For he is the fountain of justice from whence the Law floweth.  
8. The Opinion of the two Spencers, in Ed. 2. Who held that the oath of allegiance was more, by reason of the King's Crown, (that is his politic capacity) than by reason of his person, Is a most detestable, execrable, damnable and damned invention, 7 Rep. fo. 11. Calvin's case.  
9 High Treason can be committed against none, but the King, neither is any thing high Treason, but what is declared so to be by the Statute. 25 Ed. 3. c. 21. To levy war against the King, to compass or imagine his death, or the death of his Queen, or of his eldest Son, to counterfeit his Money, or his great Seal, to imprison the King until he agree to certain demands, to levy war to alter Religion, or the Law, to remove Counselors by arms, or the King from his Counselors, be they evil or good, by arms, to seize the King's Forts, Ports, Magazine of war, to depose the King, or to adhere to any State within or without the Kingdom, but the King's Majesty, is high Treason. For which the Offender should have judgement. First, to be drawn to the Gallows. 2. There to be hanged by the neck, and cut down alive. 3. His entrails to be taken out of his belly, And he being alive to be burnt before him. 4. That his head should be cut off. 5. That his body should be cut in four parts. and 6. That his head and his quarters should be put where the Lord the King pleaseth.  
10. Treason doth ever produce fatal destruction to the Offender, either in body or soul, sometimes in both, and he never attains to his desired end. 3 Par. Jnst. pag. 36. Peruse over all Books, Records and Histories, and you shall find a Principle in Law, a Rule in Reason, and a trial in experience, that Treason doth ever produce fatal and final destruction to the Offender, and never attains to the desired end, (two incidents inseparable thereunto) and therefore let all men abandon it, as the Poysonons' bait of the Devil, and follow the precept in holy Scripture, Serve God, Honour the King, and have no company with the seditions.  
11. That Kings have been deposed by their Subjects, is no argument or ground that we may depose ours, A facto ad jus non valet argumentum. Because Children have murdered their own fathers, is no warrant for us to murder ours. Judas betrayed his Sovereign, yet should not we follow his example, unless we strive for his reward. There was never King deposed but in tumultuous and mad times, and by might, not by right.  
12. The King is Principium, caput, & finis Parliamenti, the beginning, head, and end of a Parliament. The body makes not the head, nor that which is posterior, that which is prior, Kings were before Parliaments. There were not in England any form bodies called the two Houses of Parliament, until above 200. years after the Norman Conquest.  
13. The King of England is armed with divers Counsels, one whereof is called Commune consilium, the Common counsel, and that is the Court of Parliament, and so it is legally called in writs and judicial proceedings, Commune Consilium Regni Angliae, Consilium non est praeceptum, Consiliarii non sunt praeceptores. It is not the office or duty of a Counsellor, to command and make precepts; but only to advise.  
14. The King is the fountain of justice, and the life of the Law. The two Houses frame the body, the King giveth the soul, for without him it is but a dead carcase. And— Si componere magnis Parva mihi fas est, If I may compare small things with great, As in a bond, though one find paper and another write it, yet if the obligor do not seal and deliver it, it is nugatory and no obligation: So if the King assent not to an act of the two Houses, it is void and no Statute, It is the royal Sceptre which gives it the force of a Law. Witness the whole Academy of the Law, & perspicua vera no● sunt probanda. It would be foolish to light the Sun with Candles.  
15. Originally The King did make new Laws, and abrogate old, without the assent of any known body, o● assembly of his Subjects. But afterwards by his gracious goodness perceiving that his people could best know their own soars, and so consequently apply the most convenient remedy, he vouchsafed so much to restrain his power, that he would no make any Law concerning them, without their assent. For at the first, Populus nullis legibus tenebatu sed arbitria regum pro legibus erant. Which truth i● so clear, that it shines almost in every History. The oldest and best stile of an act of Parliament is, Be it enacted by the King's Majesty, with the assent of the Lords, Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons etc. which proves where the virtual power is.  
16. The Commons have no Authority but by the Writ of Summons. That Writ gives them no power to make new Laws, but only to do and consent to such things, which shall happen to be ordained by Common Counsel there in Parliament, which are the words of the writ, and all their Jurisdiction. At a Conference the Commons are always uncovered, and stand bare, when the Lords sit with their hats on; which shows that they are not Colleagues in Judgement with the Lords. Every Member of the House of Commons takes the oath of allegiance and supremacy before his admission in the House, and should keep it too.  
17. It is Lex & consuetudo Parliamenti; The Law and Custom of a Parliament, That no Arms are to be borne in London or Westminster, in the time of Parliament, Lest the proceedings in that high Court, pro bono publico should thereby be hindered or disturbed. For it is more congruous for Red-coats with their Pikes, Muskets, Swords, and other ammunition to keep a Den of Thiefs, than to keep the Members of so honourable a Court. 3 Jnst. 160. 4 Jnst. 14.  
18. When an Act of Parliament is against Common right or reason (as that Debtors should not pay their debts, etc.) or repugnant or impossible to be performed, the Common Law shall control it, and adjudge it to be void; And such is an Act for a perpetual Parliament, or to kill the King, Dier. 313. li. 8.118. Doctor bonham's case.  
19 The premises being rightly and duly considered, if any person be so impudent, insolent and arrogant, as to deny the King his Negative voice in Parliament, They may aswell deny him his life, and take upon them to frame a new Law and Commonwealth to themselves. Shall the Commons have a Negative voice, who are most of them Tradesmen, and not educated in the Law, but in Mechanic handicrafts? And shall not the King have this privilege, who is assisted by the advice of the Judges, his Counsel at Law, Solicitor, Attorney, Masters of Chancery and Counsel of State, consisting of some great Prelates, and other great Personages versed in State affairs?  
20. The Parliament is actually dissolved by the demise of the King. 
Quid prodest tibi nomen usurpare alie●um & vocari quod non es?  For the Individuum Carolus Rex, being gone from whence they derived their power, consequently their authority is gone likewise. For cessante statu primitivo c●ssat & derivativus. And Derivativa potestas non potest esse major primitivo.   

The Division of Governments; Monarchy is the most natural and Divine; The King hath no equal in his Kingdom; Sovereignty can not be divided between the King and the People; Neither can the People, either jointly, or singlely have the supreme power where the Government is Monarchical. The tenets of our new Statesmen, yet old Knaves, confuted as damnable. Parliaments have no power but from the King, neither did ever any Parliament, unless our late Rebels, ever claim any power but what came from the King, But all Parliaments ever since they had their being, by the very Statutes which the King made with their consent, have acknowledged the supreme power to be in the King, and have sworn it with sacred oaths; So did that Parliament which murdered their King: swear that the only supreme power and Sovereignty was in the King, next to God, and that there was no power on earth above his; which being true, I would fain know what power they had, not only to remove their King from his evil Counsellors, (which they did in removing him from themselves) but also from the Land of the living, Quos Deus, sed, etc.  
HAving dissolved the Parliament, and set foot on the ground of the Politician, let us travel a little further, and take a survey of the main Triangle upon which the art of Government consists, viz. 

1. Monarchy,  
2 Aristocracy,  
3. Democracy, or popular estate,   which degenerate into 

1. Tyranny,  
2. Oligarchy,  
3. Ochlocracy, or Commonwealth.    
And first of Monarchy, For a principalioribus seu dignioribus est inchoandum, The most excellent must have precedency. Monarchy, which we may call a Kingdom, is where the absolute Sovereignty lieth in the power of one only Prince, (for so much the word Monarchy of itself importeth) who ruleth either according to the rule of Law and equity, or contrary. Which form of Government doth as far transcend and excel all others, as the glorious Sun, doth the pale-faced Moon, or the Moon the lesser Stars. It is the Emblem of the Almighty: For behold the blessed Trinity, where there are three persons, but one God. There is an Archangel; The Angels adore but one Lord and Sovereign. Take a view of the heavenly Orb, where you shall see the celestial creatures, give place to the Kingly Sun, The Moon ruleth Queen regent amongst the Stars; Behold the Eagle the King of the Birds of the air; The Lion the King of the beasts, on the earth; And the Whale the King of fishes, in the sea; Fire hath the majestic pre-eminence above the other Elements; among grains, the wheat; among drinks, the wine; among spices, the baulm; among metals, the gold. The Devils themselves will not be so disorderly as not to have a King; for Satan is their Prince and chiefest Leader. The Members of the Natural body are subjects to the Head their Sovereign, and the same Congruity and Harmony is there in the Politic body of Monarchy. And such is the stately pre-eminence of this Government, that the Monarch can admit of no Peer in his Kingdom, no more than the Sun can of an other Sun in the Firmament. Si duo soles velint ess●, periculum ne incendio omnia perdantur. Serinus. If two be equal in power in a Commonwealth, it is Aristocracy, or rather Duarchy, and not Monarchy. For one of them hath not Sovereignty over the other; For, Par in parem non habet potestatem, & he only is a Sovereign who commandeth all others, and can himself by none be commanded. Then no less foolish than wicked and detestable is their opinion, who confess their Government to be Monarchical, yet would have Duo summa imperia, and hold that the Universe of the people are of equal, if not higher power than their Monarch, and may call him in question for his actions, and prosecute him even unto death, if they please; who make their dreadful Sovereign, a Jack a L●nt, a Minister of trust at the best, to be turned out of his Office at their pleasure, when God and all the World knows, that by the Law of God (as I showed before, and shall more fully show hereafter) the Law of Nations, the Law of Nature, and the Law of England, both Common and Statute, They ought not to touch him, though in truth he were so wicked as they would have and pretend him to be; No, they ought not so much as to think an evil thought of him. Quod summum est unum est. Sovereignty is a thing indivisible, and cannot at one and the same time be divided between the King and his Subjects; If the Sovereignty be in the people, then is the Government either Popular or Aristocratical, and not Monarchical. To mix the estate of a Monarchy with Democratical, or Aristocratical estate, each having a share of the Sovereignty, is altogether impossible. For if every one of the three estate, or but two of them hath power to make Laws, who should be the Subjects to obey them, or who could give the Law? being himself constramed to receive of them unto whom he himself gave it. Then might the King make the acting of his people against him treason, and the people make the acting of their King against them treason, which would bring all to Anarchical confusion. And although our age had produced such a Monster as to take upon them a power to depose, and power out the sacred blood of their lawful Sovereign; Yet is there no such power, in rerum natura, It is the offpring of the Devil, The cloak, Sanctuary, and refuge of Treason, Rebellion, and Tyranny, to blind the people, taking advantage of their ignorance, and lead them hoodwinked, into everlasting destruction, unless the God of mercy prevent not.  
With this new upstart Doctrine, have our Apocryphal Dogmatists in England, led the rascal rabble of the people about, like a Dog in a string, buzzing in their ears that the Monarchy of England is composed of three kinds of Commonwealths, and that the Parliament hath the form of an Aristocracy; the three estates of a Democracy; and the King to represent the state of a Monarchy; which is an opinion not only false, absurd, fond, foolish and impossible, but also worthy of the most severe punishment. For it is high treason to make the Subject equal with the King, in authority, and power, or to join them as Companions in the Sovereignty. For the power of a Sovereign Prince, is nothing diminished by his Parliament, but rather much more thereby manifested; The Majesty of a Prince, consists in the obedience of his Subjects, and where is the obedience of the Subjects more manifested then in his Parliament, where the Lords and Commons, the Nobility and Commonalty, and all his Subjects from the highest Cedar, to the lowest Shrub, with bended knees, and bare heads, do cast down themselves at his feet, and do homage, and reverence unto his Majesty, Humbly offering unto him their requests, which he at his pleasure receiveth, or admiteth? So that it plainly appeareth, that if the Parliament be not extravagant, and leap over the bounds limited by the laws of God, and our Realm of England, the majesty and authority of our Sovereign is not decreased by the assembly of Parliament, but rather augmented and increased. For the Peers cannot assume. Aristocracy, nor the Commons Democracy, without violation of their Oaths, with which they are tied in obedience to their Sovereign, as well as with the Laws. Indeed our Prince doth distribute places of command, Magistracy, and preferments to all his Subjects indifferently, and so the Government is in a manner tempered with Democracy. But yet notwithstanding the State doth continue a pure and simple Monarchy, because all authority floweth and is derived from the King, and the Sovereignty doth still continue in him, as the fountain from whence those streams of power run, and the Parliament is so far from sharing in this Sovereignty, that the whole current of our acts of Parliament acknowledge the King to be the only Sovereign, styling him Our Sovereign Lord the King. And the Parliament, 25 H. 8. saith, This your Grace's Realm, recognising no superior under God, but your Grace, etc. And the Parliament 16 Rich. 2.5. affirmeth the Crown of England, to have been so free at all times, that it hath been in no earthly subjection, but immediately to God, in all things touching the Regality of the said Crown, and to none other. And without doubt these Parliaments, and many others had as much might, and right, though not so much Knavery, as our Anabaptists, and Puritans and other Sectaries have now, who pretend that the Government originally proceedeth, and habitually resideth in the people, but is cumulatively, and communicatively derived from them, unto the King, and therefore the people, not denuding themselves of their first interest, but still retaining the same in the collective body, that is to say in themselves suppletive, if the King in their Judgement be defective, in the administration, or neglect the performance of his duty, may question their King for his misgovernment, dethrone him if they see cause, and resuming the Collated power into their own hands again, may transfer it to any other whom they please.  
These men would make themselves extraordinary wise, or else our Ancestors extraordinary fools; for surely if there had been such a power residing in the people, as these men blab of, it would have been preached up before these new-lights ever saw the light, some busie-head like themselves, would have awakened it, and not let it sleep so long. But it is impossible and a mere foppery to think that such a power should be; for suppose that the people had at first Elected their Governor, and gave him Sovereignty over them, could they with justice and equity dethrone him again? Surely no. For, sive electione, sive postulatione, vel successione, vel belli jure princeps fiat, Principi tamen facto, Divinitus potestas adest. Let the King be made by election, lot, succession or conquest, yet being he is a King, he hath Divine power. And therefore they have no power to take away that which God hath given.  
The Conceit of a mixed Monarchy, that the supreme power may be equally distributed into two or three sorts of Governors, is merely vain and frivolous, because the supreme power being but one, must be placed in one sort of Governors, either only in Monarchy, or only in Aristocracy, or only in Democracy; Our Parliaments of England never until now claimed either Aristocracy, or Democracy; Therefore, as hitherto it hath been granted, so the Government must of necessity still be Monarchical: And the gracious Concessions of our Sovereign, not to make Laws without a Parliament, do not make the Parliament sharer, or his equal in the Sovereignty, because, as I showed before, the Parliament hath no power but what is derived from the King. His limitation of his Prerogative, doth no way diminish his Supremacy; God himself who is most absolute, may notwithstanding limit himself and his power, as he doth when he promises and sweareth that he will not fail David, and that the unrepentant Rebels should never enter into his rest; so a man that yieldeth himself to be bound, hath his strength restrained, but not lessened; neither is any of it transferred to them who bound him; So our Sovereign doth limit his power in some points of his administration, and yet this limitation neither transferreth any power of Sovereignty unto the Parliament, nor denyeth the Monarchy to be absolute, nor admitteth of any resistance against him.   

Monarchy is either Lordly, or Royal. Adam proved to be the first King, and made by God in Paradise, not by the people. All Kings are made by God. The Son hath more right, and it is more pleasing to God for him, to murder his Father, the Wife her Husband, and the Servant his Master, than it is for the people to kill their King, Though in truth he be wicked. The King's institution, and authority declared by Divine and Humane Writers. The Horrible Labyrinth of sins which Regicides plunge into, with their guilt. The most famous Nations in the World have, and do live under Monarchy, England's glory and love to Kings in times past, and her Apostasy in times present. Pater familias were petite Kings, and how little Kingdoms, grew great Kingdoms. The King's power is from God, not from the People; neither did the people at first choose Kings, but they were born subjects by nature.  
MOnarchy is either Lordly, or Royal; Lordly is where the Monarch by the Law of Arms, in a lawful war becometh Lord of the goods and persons of the Conquered, governing them, as the Master of a family doth his slaves, how he pleaseth; And it is concluded by all that Nimrod was the first Lordly Monarch.  
Royal, is where the Monarch maketh the Law the Rule of his actions, permitting his subjects to enjoy their Meum and Tuum, aswell as himself; the Law being the Arbitrator between them both. I am not ignorant of the infinite sorts of Monarchies, which many men make by the different means of the obtaining the State; but all of them may be comprised in these two (unless Tyrannical of which hereafter I shall speak) be they haereditary by succession, by election, by gift, or by devise; For the difference of Monarches, is not to be gathered by the means of the coming to the State, but by the means of governing.  
Among the many Prerogatives, which the State of Monarchy may challenge above other Governments, it hath none so glorious as its Author, and Antiquity; For he that denyeth that the Almighty was the founder of Monarchical Sovereignty, may aswell deny that there is a God, being himself the Monarch of all creatures; Therefore to this Almighty Monarch, will I lift up my head and hands, and humbly implore his sacred Majesty, to guide my pen in the road of truth, whilst I travel to the head of this river, for I will dive into the depth of it, and make a scrutiny in the very foundation.  
— Primaque ab origine mundi,  
Ad mea perpetuum deducam tempora Regem.  
The first celestial King which made Heaven and Earth, and all things therein, was the Almighty; The first terrestrial King which was made for Heaven and of Earth, and Governor of all things therein, was Adam; If thou art so much a Basileu-mastix, as to doubt this truth, behold his Patent by which he was made Lord and King over all, Genes. 1.28. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and subdue it, and have Dominion over the fish of the Sea, and over the foul of the Air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the Earth. This royal Commission did the King of Kings give to our Father Adam, which is so much the larger by reason of the word Dominare, which is more than regere. Which may serve to re●ell that absurd opinion, and worse than humane invention of those men, who impudently aswell as ignorantly, call Kingship, humanum inventum, a humane ordinance, and say that Kings were originally instituted by the suffrage of the people, and so may be deposed by the people, whereas it plainly appeareth, that there were no people when the first King was ordained; and doubtless (let the opposers of Royal Government spit what venom they will) it is an undoubted truth & an irrefragable axiom, that Children have as much right by the Law of God, and nature, to depose their natural Father, and choose another, as the people have to depose their natural haereditary Sovereign, and make choice of another; For the King is the Father of the people, the Husband of the Commonwealth, and the Master of his subjects; and suppose him to be evil, can you find any warrant in Scripture, that Children should murder their Father, the Wife her Husband, or the Servant his Master, because they were wicked? surely not, no more can you find any authority for Subjects to murder their Sovereign: but our age hath created such a power, or rather a Monster, and clothed it too with such piety, and Religion, as if they did intend to bind it up with the Bible, and make it Canonical; but without doubt they will be so far from making future ages to take it for Gospel, as they will hardly have Rhetoric enough, to make them believe that ever such a wickedness could be committed.  
Let us now look into humane Writers, and see what their Histories afford us, which we will make rise of, only as an illustration to what we have said, not as an authority, because there is no greater authority than Scripture, although Historia non est vilis authoritas, great is the authority of History.  
Principio rerum, gentium, nationumque imperium penes Reges erat, saith Justin. li. 1. From the beginning of things, that is, fr●m the beginning of the world, the rule and Government of the people, and of all Nations, was in the hands of Kings; which Learned Cicero doth with no less truth Confirm, saying, Certum est omnes antiquas gentes Regibus primum paruisse, which is the same in effect with justin. That Monarchy is most natural, and as it were instituted by the laws of Nature, is a Conclusion by the common consent of the best Philosophers and Historians; Let Tacitus, and Seneca speak for them all: Vnum imperii Corpus, unius Animo regendum videtur, the whole Commonwealth makes but one Body, and it is most natural for one body, to be ruled by one Soul. Seneca, Natura certe commenta est Regem, quod ex aliis animali●us licet cognoscere, surely Nature found out Kings, which we may learn even of the brute beasts. And Multitudes of ancients preach Monarchy to be Divine. Callimach. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: Ex Jove sunt Reges, Kings were instituted by their Gods. Plato in Polit. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: Rex, Deus quispiam humanus est, The King is, as one may say, a God upon Earth. Liv. lib. xxvi. Regnum, res inter Deos hominesque pulcherrima. Therefore let none so stupidly deny, that Monarchy is not Divinum institutum, a Divine institution. If they do, blind Homer will prove them blinder than himself, For, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: à Jove educatos Reges, saith he, The Gods constituted and educated Kings; therefore let every one use his uttermost endeavour, and make these supplications with Homer, to his lawful Sovereign,— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉— herus unicus, esto unicus & Rex, Be thou our only Lord, and our only King. O most legal and dreadful Sovereign.  
— Rege incolumi mens omnibus una,  
Amisso rupêre fidem.  
Let us all be of one mind, to establish our King, for he being unsafe, we are all unsafe and perjured. I know not of what constitution thou art, who perusest these lines, But be thou 
(a) Note Reader that this Chaos of Religions, hath jousted the true Protestant Religion out of doors, so have I seen a flower killed by the multitude of weeds, and a Lamb destroyed by a number of Woolves.  a Puritan, Presbyterian, Brownist, Independent, Anabaptist, fifth Monarchy-man, Quaker, Millenarie, Arminian, Socinian, Antitrinitarian, Theaurau John, Antinomian, Adamite, Familist, Jesuit, Ranter or what thou wilt, Learn this, though perhaps it agree not with thy constitution; That Kings are ordained by God's constitution, and by God's constitution, we are commanded and ought for to obey them, as out of holy Writ I have already, and shall farther prove; and as that man who maketh a question, whether there is a God or no? aught to be answered with Stripes, rather than verbal instructions, so he that denyeth this truth, aught with the oratory of the sword, and not of the mouth, to be persuaded into his due obedience. For it is an uncontrollable Maxim, that he doth not honour, and serve God as he should, who doth not honour and serve his King as he ought; God will not own him to be his subject, who will not be a subject to his Sovereign the Lords anointed; Therefore since by the Law of God (for nothing is more frequently commanded in the Scripture, and our Kings are of like institution with those Kings in Scripture, and aught to have the same honour and obedience) by the Law of Nature, by the Law of Nations, by the Common, and Statute Law of England, we are commanded to honour our King: Let no man be so much an Enemy to God, to Religion, to his Country, to the Church, to the Law, and to his own soul, as to Rebel against his Legal Sovereign; For he that doth it, transgresseth against the ten Commandments of the Law, the new Commandment of the Gospel, he committeth the seven deadly sins, the four crying sins, the three most detestable sins, to the soul of man, viz. Profaneness, Impudence, and Sacrilege; In a word, he committeth all sins, is the Emblem of the Devil, and unless he repent, he will have his Lot with Belzebub the great Rebel and Traitor against Heaven. If punishment cannot compel them, me thinks the beauty of Monarchy might allure men to love it. Surely there is no generous spirit who doth not; for the most renowned and famous Nations in the World have lived under Monarchical Government, as the Scythians, Ethiopians, Indians, Assyrians, Medes, Egyptians, Bactrians, Armenians, Macedonians, Jews and Romans, first and last, and at this day the French, Spaniards, Polonians, Danes, Muscovites, Tartars, Turks, Abyssines, Moors, Agiamesques, Zagathinians, Cathaians', yea and the Savage people lately discovered in the West-Indies, as being guided thereto, by the rules of nature; and rip up Antiquity, and search Histories both ancient and modern, and thou shalt never find our Realm of England so much an Enemy to virtue, as to hate Royal Government, until these latter and worst of days, wherein it is accounted a sin to be noble, and virtuous: Nay so much did our Nation love Kings in former times, that we had seven of them in England at one and the same time, viz. 1. The King of Kent, 2. Of the South-Saxons, 3. Of the Westsaxons, 4. Of the East-Saxons, 5. Of Northumberland, 6. Of Mercia. 7. Of the East-Angels, which ruled and shined like the seven Stars, each absolutely reigning in his Country, not under the subjection of other, until at length by the Law of Conquest, one became Monarch over all, ruling like the Sun, and acknowledging none on Earth his Superior, so much that it is amongst us a common adage, viz. The King holdeth of none but of God. But it seems God hath now granted away the Seignory to the House of Commons, and the King must hold of them; But from hence ariseth a point in Law, whether they are absolutely and legally seized of the Seignory, without attornment of the tenant: In my simple opinion the Seignory doth not pass before attornment; but I leave it as a quaere to the House of Commons, who are best able to resolve it, because they have all the Law in their own hands.  Non nostrum inter vos tantas componere lights. 
From what hath been said, it is apparent that Adam was the first King on Earth, and that Kingdoms have been ever since Adam haereditary; for a family which was before Commonwealth, is nothing else but a small Kingdom, and a great Kingdom is nothing else but a great family, for the Pater familias were, petite Kings, and had royal power, and potestatem vitae & necis, even over their own Children, as Abraham and others. But when the family increased, and the numerous offpring of their first parent multiplied, built Villages, Towns, and Cities, and so became a great people, so long as their first parent lived, their love and duty towards him, would not permit them unnaturally to strive with him, for the superiority; but to acknowledge and obey him as their Sovereign and lawful King, from whence they had their being: And this is the reason that Kings are called Patres Patriae, Fathers of their Country. Sal. 1. Ind enim origo regum regiique regiminis petenda est. Haec cum primo homine & cum solo novo cepit, quoniam primum parentem numerosus ex eo descendens natorum, & qui ex ●is nati sunt populus, pro rege habuit, & observavit, ut primum sui generis auctorem. So much for Monarchy, the best of all Governments. No man can serve two Masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other; ye cannot serve God and Mammon, Math. 6.24. If any Anti-Royalist think himself wiser than our Saviour, and that he can serve two Masters, and love them both, let him hate Monarchy, and set up his two headed Master, and let experience the mistress of fools correct him, as it hath many already.  
But since our age is given to nothing but vain imaginations, there be some who do Imagine, and will object that Adam was no King, because he is not styled so in Scripture. I answer (though this frivolous objection doth not deserve an answer) that neither do you find Adam styled in Scripture, my Father, or thy Father, yet Adam was the Father of all flesh; Si res apparet, Cur de nomine certas? He that hath the supreme power is a King; But Adam had the supreme power, Ergo, Adam was a King. Rex cometh from Regere to rule, and Adam was sole Lord, Ruler, and King, and so continued until he died. Adam was created by God, the Monarch of the World, before he had any subjects, And by right of Nature it was due to Adam to govern his posterity, even before his subjects were born: So that, though not in act, yet in habit Adam was a king from his creation; Neither could Eve, nor her Children ever limit Adam's power. It was God that gave the power, therefore no Mortals could ever diminish or increase it. For, Quid Jove majus habetur? They must be above all that which is called godliness, who go about to put asunder, that which the Almighty hath joined together. This Paternal power continued Monarchical, to the Flood, and after the Flood, to the Confusion of Babel, at which time God scattered the people abroad from thence, upon the face of the whole earth, as you may read, Gen. 10, & 11. Yet they went out by Colonies of whole families, over which the prime Fathers had the Sovereignty, and were kings, deriving their Fatherly and Regal power from Noah, whose Sons or grandchildren they were all. And although I think there are but few Kings in the world, who can prove their title to their Crown hereditary, ever since Noah's Flood, or the Confusion of Babel, yet it is as true, that there is a Regal right, continuing in the Fatherhood, even until this day, and that the next heir to Adam ought to have the Supreme power, as it is true, that the father hath right, & aught to govern his Children, or as that it is a rule, Qui prior est tempore potior est jure; He that is eldest, by Law ought to rule: For God told Cain the eldest brother, Gen. 4.7. That unto him should be the desire of his youngest brother, and that he should rule over him, which continueth a Law until this present time: But though we know not which is the next heir to Adam in any convention of the people, (which is the fault of our ignorance, not of nature) yet since God hath told us in his Holy Word, that he only disposeth of Crowns, as he pleaseth; Therefore they can not go out of the right line, so long as he directeth and guideth them, though the right in the Fatherhood lie dormant. Every King is a Father, therefore every subject must be obedient to his fatherly power, otherwise he will break God's Commandment, viz. Honour thy Father, etc. God only had right to give, and take away Crowns, and thereby to adopt subjects into the allegiance of another fatherly power.  
Therefore no less false than execrable is their opinion, who promulge that all men whereby nature born free from subjection, and that they had no Governor, but by the people's assent, and choosing, when it is most apparent, that God gave the Supreme power to Adam, and that all men since were born subjects by nature. Our Saviour was subject to his Parents will, Luke 2.51. And doubtless those men are free from all goodness too, who profess themselves born free from subjection to their Prince, or their Ancestors before them.  
But suppose all men were born free by nature, and that the people originally by nature had power to choose a King? after what manner, or how is it possible for them to make their choice? it must be by the joint consent of every reasonable creature, Male and Female, Old and Young, Babes and Ancient men, Sick and Lame, all at one time Nemine Contradicente: for if natural freedom be granted to all, the Major part of the whole people in the world, or the Major part of the people of a Kingdom, have no power to bind the lesser part to their consent, and agreement; Every one being as free by birth, and having as much power as any other: For the Major part never bindeth, but where men at first either agree to be so bound, or where a higher power so commands: Now there being no higher power than Nature, but God himself, where neither Nature nor God appoints the Major part to bind, The consent of the Major part is not binding to any, but only to themselves who consent; Those who are born afterwards (according to the tenets of natural freedom) are not bound by their consent, because by nature they are likewise born free. But if it should be true, (as it is false) that men are all free born by nature, yet have not they power jointly or severally, to alter the Law of nature. Now, by the Law of nature no man hath power to take away his own life; How then can the people or any single man give that power to another, which he hath not in himself? If he killeth himself for any offence, he is a murderer. Therefore if any man claiming no other power but what he hath from the people, do take away the life of any man, though in a way of public justice, he is a murderer, and the man so killed, is a felo de se. Because the man slain had no power to kill himself, and so consequently he which killed him had no power neither; For, Nemo potest plus juris in alium transferre quam ipse habet: No man can transfer to another, a greater right and power, than he himself hath.   

Tyrant's are either with a Tittle or without a Tittle; Their qualities. King's have their power immediately from God, not from the People, proved in Adam, and by Gods own Word in several Texts of Scripture, by the suffrages of the Fathers and other Writers, and by the Lord's Prayer and Doctrine. The several sorts and degrees of power instituted by God, and the Commission, whereby God gave power to Adam. The honour which God hath bestowed on Kings, and his special care, and owning them. How Kings are said to be instituted immediately by God. The Israelites did not sin in desiring a King; and his power and prerogative set forth by the Prophet Samuel; Saul was chosen for his virtues, and was not vicious at his inanguration. Proved from Adonijah, and Solomon that God only maketh Kings, not the People. The Arrogance and presumption of the pragmatical People of England, in claiming power to make and unmake Kings, condemned, who will have none Kings but themselves. Monarchy the best of Governments.  
LEt us now set upon this Monster, a Tyrant who is either cum titulo, vel sine titulo, with a title, or without a title; A Tyrant cum titulo or Exercitio, is he who being a legal Sovereign, ruleth by his depraved will, and treading under foot the Laws of God, and his Realm, enslaveth his free born subjects, and useth their goods as his own. A Tyrant sine Titulo is he who usurpeth the Sovereignty without the Authority of the Law, and subverteth all Rights, and Religion, making what Laws he pleaseth, or else squareth his actions according to the rule of the known Laws. For he that hath no Title to the Sovereignty, but usurpation, is a Tyrant, though he live so piously and religiously, that to the world he seems a Saint.  
Here I could willingly cast Anchor, and stop the progress of my pen, from sailing any further into this rough Ocean of Tyranny; But when I see the Sword and Scripture so much at variance, the one fight against the other, then am I forced to put this question, Whether a lawful Sovereign perverting the Laws of God and man, and metamorphosed into an absolute Tyrant, may by his subjects be called in question, and punished at their pleasure? The Sword saith he may, and proves it by experience. The Scripture, though not with so much violence, yet with more Reason, and Religion, both saith and proves it that he may not, Mulciber in Trojam, pro Troja stabat Apollo.  
For the better decision of which question, it is first necessary to be known, whether the institution of Kings be immediately from God, or whether they be creatures made by the people, receiving their power from their subjects, and so to be dethroned when they vouchsafe to think convenient. For art thou only a stranger in England, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? That there are new Statesmen, who have found out a new discovery, and hold forth these Sophisms for true doctrine, That Royal authority is originally, and radically, in the people, from them by consent, derived to Kings immediately, mediately only from God; that the donation or collation of the power is from the Community, the approbation only from God, and that Sovereignty and power, in a King, is by conveyance from the people, by a trust devolved upon him, and that it is Conditional, fiduciary and proportioned, according as it pleaseth the Community to entrust more or less, and to be weighed out ounce by ounce, and that the King may be opposed, and resisted by violence, force, and arms, and the people resume their power; which we deny, and shall prove by the law of God, of Nations, of Nature, of the Common and Statute law of England, that the Royal power, and Sovereignty of Kings is primarily, formally, and immediately from God, and that the people through pretence of Liberty, Privilege, Law, Religion, or what Colour soever, ought not to oppose, imprison, resist, much less Murder their King, though he be wicked, and subvert Law and Religion; much less when he is pious, upholdeth and maintaineth both.  
First, I conceive that there is no man so impudently wicked as to deny that there is a God who created all things, Heaven and Earth, Angels and Men; the power of Angels, and the power of Men; there is one power of Angels, and another of Men, so there is a difference of powers amongst men, the power of a King, inferior to no power on earth but only Gods, the power of the Subjects inferior to the power of the King; the power of a Father over his Children; and the power of a Husband over his Wife; and so every power limited by God; and as one Star doth excel another in brightness, so one power doth excel another in dignity and glory. There is nothing more plain and evidently asserted in the Scripture, than that Kingly power is the most Sacred, Divine, and glorious of all powers, immediately from God, peculiarly owned by him, as a power wherein his Nature and Majesty is most manifested; and as I have already showed, hath a shadow of all Divine Excellencies. Man was made, Gen. 1.26. and God said, let us make man in our Image: But man had no power or dominion, until God further said, And let them have dominion over; so that it is from hence most clear, that man had no power or Sovereignty, until God gave it him, and the first man to whom God gave it, was Adam a King, the sole Monarch of the world. Then let not our new Sectaries fond & wickedly conceit, that royal authority is originally, and radically from them, & that it is by their consent immediately derived from them, to Kings; Since the Kingly power & office was before they were born, or had any power, from whence such authority could be derived. By me King's reign saith God, not only particular Kings, as Kings of the Jews, etc. but all Kings, Prov. 85.1. Qui succedit in locum, succedit in jus. Therefore whosoever claim unto themselves, that power which is universally and perpetually peculiar unto the God of all power, do Blaspheme and rob God of his honour, and what lies in them, do make God no God, and themselves the only Almighty: But the people which challenge unto themselves, the original power of earthly Dominion, do challenge unto themselves that power which is universally and perpetually peculiar to the God of all power; Therefore those people do blaspheme, and rob God of his honour, and what lies in them do make God no God, and themselves the only Almighty. There is no power but of God, The powers that be are ordained of God, Rom. 13.1, 5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. Doubtless our superintendants did never learn their Doctrine, from this Text; but they may aswell learn it from hence as from any other place in Scripture, for I find nothing in my Bible contrary to this, but every text in Scripture, doth harmoniously agree with this, and unanimously resolve, that Kings are of God, they are Gods; Children of the most high, his Servants, ●ir public Ministers, his Deputies, his Vicegerenis, his Lieutenants, their Throne, their Crown, their Sword, their Sceptre, their Judgements are Gods, their Power, Person, and charge are of Divine extract, and so their authority, and person are both sacred, and inviolable. God removeth Kings and setteth up Kings, Daniel 2.21. Thou settetst a Crown of pure Gold on his head, Psal. 21.3. I gave thee a King in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath, Hos. 13.11. Which proveth that God, not the people, did institute Kings, and that God not the people should take them away. God hath spoken once, yea twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God, Psal. 62.11. By him were all things created that are in Heaven, and that are in Earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers, Col. 1.16. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant King, instead of David my Father, 1 Kings 3.7. I have provided me a King, saith God, 1 Sam. 16.1. Whole heaps of Scripture might I gather to confirm that Kings are solely, and immediately dependent from God, and independent from all others, which truth the suffrages of the Holy Fathers, (which are but as so many Commentaries on the Scripture, and therefore not so necessary here to be recited) do affirm and maintain.  
But some may ask me, how Kings in these days can be said to be immediately from God, when sometimes they are elected Kings by the people, sometimes they come to their Crowns by Conquest, and sometimes hereditarily by succession, and never by extraordinary manifestation and revelation from Heaven, as did Moses, Saul, David. To this I briefly answer, That (as Divines hold) a thing is immediately from God several ways. 1. When it is solely from God, and presupposeth nothing ordinary or humane, antecedent to the obtaining of it. So was Moses made captain over Israel, and so had Joshua his authority. But Sovereignty now to our Kings is not so conveyed, but some humane act is always intervening.  
2. When the Donation and Collation of the power to such a person, is immediately from God, though some act of man be antecedent, as Mathias was an Apostle immediately from Christ, though first the Apostles put two a part, and cast lots, yet neither of these two acts jointly or severally, did virtually or formally, collate the Apostolical power upon him. When an Attorney maketh livery of seisin, according to his letter of Attorney, the Feoffee is in by the Feoffor, and not by the Attorney, though his act was interposed. Is is not the Feoffment of the Attorney, but of the Feoffor, and the Feoffee his Title is only from the Feoffor, though he had not had it but by the means of the Attorney.  
In the second sense, Sovereignty is conferred on kings immediately from God, though some created act, as Election, Succession, Conquest, or any other ordinary act intervene; For the interposed act containeth not in it power to confer Sovereignty, but that power cometh formally and virtually from God, and so relateth to him as the proper Donor, and immediate Author; As when a king giveth power to a favourite, to make a Lord, or a Baron, yet who is so stupid as to aver that the honour of a Lord, or a Baron, cometh immediately from the favourite, and not from the king? So when God puts into the hearts of the people to choose a king, the Sovereignty cometh from God, and not from the people, The people cannot produce so noble an effect as Royalty, Nemo potest transferre in alium quod non habet in se, No man can give that to another, which he hath not himself. The Sovereign hath power over life and death; No single man hath power to kill himself, nor the people jointly; For if no man hath power over his own life, much less over his neighbours; Therefore Sovereignty is not derived from the people. The people have potestatem designativam personae, but not potestatem collativam potestatis regiae, they have power to design, and depute the person, But not the power to join the Royal authory to the person; for that is immediately from God. As the designation of the person to an holy function is from man or men, but the collation of the power is immediately from God. I may have power to throw a man into the Sea, but it is the water which drowneth him. There is a great difference between the applying of the person to the authority, and the applying of the authority to the person, the one may be the act of the people, the other can only be the act of the Almighty, Licet communicatio potestatis quandoque sit per consensum hominum, potestas tamen ipsa immediate est a Deo, cujus est potestas, Though the power be sometimes conferred by the consent of men, yet it is immediately given from God, whose power it is, saith R●ffensis, de potestate Papae. fol. 283. Et Communitas nihil sui confert regibus, nisi ad summam personam determinet, & potius personam applicat divinae potestati, quam divinam potestatem personae, The Community hath no power to confer on Kings, but only to depute the person, it may apply the person to the divine power, but cannot apply the divine power to the person, saith Spalet. tom. 2.529. Constitue supra nos Regem at judicet nos sicut & universae habent nationes, Make us a King to rule over us (not we over him) that he may judge us (not that we may judge him) as all other Nations have, Cry the Elders of Israel. From whence it is apparent, that Sovereignty cometh from the Heavens, not from our earthly Cottages, we are rather Passive, than Active, it is God which makes Kings, we receive and should obey them. There is no society without Government. We should destroy one the other unless we had a Governor. Thou O Lord hast made and given a King to the little Bees, who follow him as their leader, and honour him with a throne in the midst, and safest place amongst them; the Cranes do follow one as chief, and flocks and herds have their Captain to lead them; the Fishes of the Sea do follow one as King. Therefore let not us men only be independent, and since thou hast told us that power belongs to thee, we will not rob thee of it; Obedience is that which we are only capable of; Sovereignty is a Creature of thy making, not of ours, Therefore make us a king to rule over us. The Prophet Samuel seeing their urgent resolution for a king, lest they should afterwards plead ignorance, told them the power of a king. Vosque eritis ei servi, If you have a King, you must be his Servants, he will take your Sons, and appoint them for himself, for his Chariots, he will take the tenth of your sheep, and of your seed, he will take your Daughters to be confectionaries, ●e will take your Fields, your Vineyards, your Olive-yards, even the best of them, and give them to his Officers and Servants, he will take your man-servants, and your maidservants, and your Goodliest young men, and your Asses, and put them to his work, This is the power of a king; and from whence is this power derived? doubtless not from the people, for they are never so willing to part from what they have. But notwithstanding they persisted in their Petition, and would have a king, saying, Rex erit super nos, & erimus nos quoqu● sicut omnes gentes, & judicabit nos Rex noster, Nay, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the Nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our Battles; by which it is perspicuous, that all Kings had the same power, as this King here described, by the Prophet had. The Israelites did not sin in desiring a King, neither did God give them a King purposely for their punishment in his wrath; For as the best Divines hold, when God saith Hos. 13.11. I gave them a King in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath, (which proveth that God only giveth, and taketh away Kings) wicked Jeroboam is meant, and not Saul. For Samuel prayed for Saul, God commanded Samuel to hearken to the voice of the people in all that they said, 1 Sam. 8.7. and did choose them a pious King, for cap. 10.24. Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people, and all the people shouted, and said God save the King. So that it is apparent that Saul was chosen for his virtues, and was no Tyrant at his inauguration. Moses Deut. 17.14, 15. did prophesy of their King, Thou shalt in any wise set him King over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose. Where Moses relateth what is decent, and meet for a clement and merciful king. But Samuel describeth what a king may do, if he will use his summum jus, which is to do what he pleaseth; Therefore Samuel setteth forth the greatest and largest power of Kings, not to deter the people from desiring a Kings, but to prepare their hearts to obey him; for God commanded Samuel to grant the people their request, according to the prophecy of Moses, and therefore Samuel would not be unwilling to perform God's command, Neither was samuel's displeasure for any other end; but that the people might be pleased with the king whom they so earnestly desired, and knowing his power, and remembering their fervent suit for him, they might more willingly and cheerfully obey him. For Saul's wickedness did spring from the Corruption of his Nature, after he was made king, and not through any default in God, for he was a man of excellent qualities when God chose him, and many pious and religious kings were given to the people afterwards, as David, etc. But be they good or bad the people must not resist them, because, as Samuel showeth, the manner of kings is to do what they will.  
Principi summum rerum arbitrium Dii dederunt, subditis obsequii gloria relicta est, To Princes God hath given the highest power, to Subjects only is left the glory of obedience, saith Tacitus, which indeed is the greatest glory can be conferred on them, if they had but hearts to receive it: for what is more glorious in Subjects than obedience to God and their King? Super imperatorem non est nisi solus Deus qui fert imperatorem, The King hath no superior but only God, saith Optatus Bishop of Milivis. Generale pactum est societatis humanae obedire Regibus, It is a Natural, a General, a Universal Compact, Covenant of humane society, to obey their Kings, saith St. Austin. li. 3. Confess. cap. 8. But since optimus Legum interpres praxis, practice is the best interpreter of the Law, Look into the Scriptures and learn what our Ancestors have done before us, I am confident you cannot find in all the Scripture where God appointed any people to be the choosers of their Kings, but rather to accept of them and submit themselves to them, whom the Lord had chosen and placed over them, Nusquam invenio Regem aliquem Judaeorum populi suffragiis creatum, quin si primus ille erat, qui designaretur a Deo, vel a prophetae ex Dei jussu, vel sort, vel alia ratione, quam Deus indicasset, I never find any Jewish King made by the suffrages of the people, but whom God did first by some means appoint, saith Piveda de rebus Solo. li. 1. c. 2. neither did the Children of Israel choose any unless Abimelech, the Bastard son of Gedeon, and (as some say) Jeroboam who made Israel to sin, and of the evil success of their reigns, the Scripture will give you an account; Would not the people have established Adonijah in King David's throne, crying out before him, 1 Kings 1.25. God save the King Adonijah? But God whose property it is only to make Kings, rejecteth Adonijah, and maketh Solomon to rule in his Father's stead, although Adonijah his title was by birthright, aswell as by the consent of the people, For, 1 Kings 2.15. saith he to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, Thou knowest that the Kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign, howbeit the Kingdom is turned about, and is become my Brothers, For it was his from the Lord. In this verse you may see the title of Adonijah, and the title of Solomon, to their Father's Crown; Adonijah claimed it by birthright, and the power of the people, But Solomon claimed it from the Lord. It is no marvel that Adonijah put in his title for the Crown, for God hath appointed the right of primogeniture, by which the Patriarches and all the rest of the posterity of Adam enjoyed their royalty. The elder is to rule over the younger, by the Law of Nature; Suppose Adonijah to be more wicked than Solomon, yet doth not that take away his Birthright; For God saith to Cain, though he was never so wicked an Hypocrite, unto thee shall be the desire of thy Brother, and thou shalt rule over him, though Abel was never so Godly and sincere a server of God; which made Jacob so earnest to purchase his Brother's Birthright, Gen. 25.31. And Jacob said, sell me this day thy Birthright. But Adanijah his Title was not only by birthright, but also the people would have made him King, and if those people had had as much power as the people of England pretend to have, Adonijah would have wanted no other title than their power; for the people of England are not afraid to say like Gods, By us King's reign, we throw down Kings & set them up again, there is no power but what comes from us, they provide themselves Kings, they have spoken once, yea twice have I heard this, that Power belongeth unto them, and that their Kings are only Derivatives from them, O monstrum, horrendum, ingens, cui lumen ademptum. Did ever the world produce such blind prodigious Monsters? Was ever God and Christ robbed so much of their Power, Honour and Majesty as by these Vipers? Adonijah no sooner saw his Brother's Title, but he released his own, and quitted the Crown, woe be to them who usurp the Crown, and have no Title of their own. The Title of King Solomon was from the Lord, he only set the regal Diadem on his head, the people stood by as cyphers, Solus verus Deus dat regna terrena bonis & malis, saith St. Austin de Civit. Dei, li. 4. cap. 33. It is God alone who disposeth of Crowns, he crowned Adam a King in Paradise before his fall, and before the rise of our M●so-Monarchical Statists, and therefore Monarchy is no Creature of the peoples, which makes them confess and believe (the Devils do the same) that Monarchy is the best of all Governments, which perhaps is the reason that they would so fain have it to be a Bird of their own hatching; But me thinks their Tenets prove the contrary, for if all Supreme power were originally in the people, and derived from them to the King, then without doubt Democracy were the best of all Governments; for that form of Government which cometh nearest to its Original is the best: But Democracy cometh nearest to its Original, therefore Democracy is the best, for the nearer the Fountain the purer the stream. But change the Supposition into a true Proposition, and then the Conclusion will be found, as thus, All Supreme Power is originally derived from God, That Government which cometh nearest to its Original is the best: But Monarchy cometh nearest to its Original, therefore Monarchy is of all Governments the best. And that Monarchy is the best form of all Governments is the conclusion of all Politicians. Omnes vero palmam dant regno, all give the palm to Monarchy, Praestantiam autem Monarchiae, non ex vetustate cum Lipsio, nec ex naturae ductu, cum Hieron. ad Rastic. Mona. probo, sed ex commoditatibus, quibus caeteras species antestat, I do not only prove Monarchy to be the most excellent, because it is most ancient, and most natural: but also because it is most profitable, saith Henningus Arnisaeus. As it is the most beautiful, so it is the most profitable government: Therefore none but mad men will dart forth the weapons of their Tongues and Hands, against Monarchy, or else those who would be Commonwealthsmen only for their own private ends, or else those men who will not have a kingdom, unless it be their own, and Reges abominantur nisi ipsi sint, think kings abominable, unless they may be kings themselves. And these men think they may the easier attain to kingship by preaching this new Doctrine with the jesuits, that the king's power is derived from the people, and so fool the ignorant multitude into an act of joining with them to take the Regal Diadem from off their pious Sovereign's head, & place it on their own fanatic Coxcombs, and so become our good Lords, & Masters of all that we have; for never was king illegally dethroned, but a hundred Tyrants came in his room, Regem quidem apparet eos sustulisse, sed nec minus manifestum est Regnum sibi retinuisse, dum quod sub uno erat in plures diviserunt, & triginta ac septem socios tyrannidis adscivere qui imperium secum tenerent, gravique & intollerando servitio cives suos premerent, nam sub specie libertatis tyrannidem saevissimam velle eos exercere vel caecis clarum est, saith Sal. But caveat emptor, let them take heed they do not purchase their vain glory at too dear a rate, their counterfeit dissembling may find a real Hell, Nec est diuturna poss●ssio, in quam gladio inducimur, this world will not last always. Let them assure themselves the people did never give nor ought for to take the power of their King, Non tribuamus dandi Regni potestatem nisi Deo vero, Let us not attribute the power of disposing of kingdoms to any but to the true God, saith St. Austin, de Civit. Dei, li. 5. c. 21. Nemo enim ante infelicissimam hanc nostram tempestatem, non fassus est, Principem populo dominari, Principi vero Deum, For no man before these most unhappy times of ours, did ever deny but that the King ought to govern the people, and the King to be governed by none but God, saith Barclay. Had I not known that our Regicides have voted the Lords prayer, as well as kings useless, (for uno absurdo dato mille sequuntur, over Shoes, over Boots) I should have wondered with what face they could conclude their Prayers to the Almighty, saying, For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever, Amen, yet claim the same power to themselves: for if theirs be the kingdom, the power and the glory, if they have power to make and unmake kings when they please, then what or where is God's power? Surely if their Doctrine be true, than our Saviour's is false, and he did ill to teach us to pray, and command us to say, Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever; But let God he true, and every man a Lyar. Our Saviour is the Truth and the Light, and if these men had been enlightened by our Saviour's doctrine, the darkness of these errors would never have so damnably blinded them, who make God a Parenthesis, thinking themselves perfect and complete without him, and profess that the king, (whose ●oodness, like their wickedness is incomparable,) is but a Brat of their own begetting, and that they like God may take him away as occasion shall serve.  
These Antimonians (who pick out places of Scripture only to destroy Scripture) that they may be Canonical in all things, and do nothing without the Bible, say, that the people make the King, and that they are so taught out of God's word, For, 1 Sam. 11.15. All the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul King, before the Lord in Gilgal, which (say they) is an invincible proof, that the people made Saul their King, and not God, and so consequently all Kings are made by the people; but if these men will tie themselves up so strictly to the letter of the Scripture (because it makes for their purpose as they suppose) that they will not hearken to the true meaning, and interpretation, let their own weapons kill them, for, 1 Sam. 12.1. Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a King over you. This verse saith that Samuel made the King, which is the very next verse to theirs, which saith, that the people made the King, so that literally, one of these verses must needs speak falsely, for if the people made the King, than Samuel did not, but if Samuel made the king, than the people did not; so that this Dilemma must needs confute our new Doctors. But let Scripture interpret Scripture, and the interpretation will tell you that God only made the king. For though the people say, We will set a king over us, Deuter. 17.14. Yet they must in any wise set him king over them whom the Lord their God shall choose. The Lord must, who only can give their king Sovereign power, he must make and give the king. The people have only power to receive and set him over them. 1 Sam. 10.1. Samuel took a vyal of Oil, and poured it on his head: But the Lord anointed him King, he is the Lords anointed, not samuel's: For why? Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be Captain over his Inheritance? Saith Samuel. Paul may plant, and Apollo may water, but God only giveth the increase; God is Master of the Substance, and only giveth regal power, Samuel, etc. and the people are but masters of the Ceremony; and the Coronation of Kings is only a Declaration to the people that God hath given them a King; Outward Unctions, and Solemnities used at coronations, are but only Ceremonies, which confer no power to the King, For it was his from the Lord. 1 Ki. 2.15. The Elders of Judah and Israel chose David to be their King, and anointed him over them, 2 Sam. 5.3. But they did not give him power, or right unto his kingdom; For saith God, 1 Sam. 16.3. I will show thee what thou shalt do, and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. The people make the King, not by giving him Sovereign power; for that feather doth not grow in their wing; but by receiving him, and approving that which God hath done. For the Lord, the King of all the Earth, ruleth in the Kingdom of Men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Psal. 4.7 Dan. 4.25.  
Old Horace, more a Divine than most of these new Sectaries, the incendiaries of all mischief, could teach them this truth.  

Regum timendorum in proprios greges,  
Reges in ipsos imperium êst Jovis,  
Clari Gigantaeo triumpho  
Cuncta supercilio moventis.   

Feared Kings command on their own ground;  
The King commanding Kings is Jove:  
Whose arm the Giants did confound,  
Whose awful brow doth all things move.   
Which Sentence, lest it should seem too light, and savour too much of Poetical assentation; Let our Antichristians (for those who by their practice, though not which their mouths deny Christ's Doctrine, deserve no better name,) harken unto the Words of our Saviour (if they will vouchsafe to debase themselves so much) and behold, what Doctrine he preached to Pilate, which is the more remarkable, because it was his last. John 19.11. jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. For, Cujus jussu homines nascuntur, illius jussu reges constituuntur. He who made men, made Kings.   

That Kings have the supreme power over the people, is proved in Adam, and testified by the Law of God, the Law of Nations, The Law of Nature, The Law of Reason, The Law of the Realm, and by the Oaths of all English men, aswel Parliament men as other Magistrates, (though since broken) by our Saviour, by the Apostles, by all the Fathers of the Church, and by all Christian People, and Religion. The glory of the Martyrs, which have sacrificed their lives in this just cause, shall live for ever; and the Rebels shall go out with stink, like the snuff of a Candle. The Majesty, and power of the King described, Good subjects commended, and the punishment of Traitors, with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, manifested. The sad effects, if the people should have the supreme power, and proved by reason that no Government could stand, nor any man whatsoever live, if the people had power to question the King or other their Governors. Two supreme powers cannot stand together; Traitorous Tyrants, always pretend Liberty and Religion, with which they blind the ignorant people: The Oath of Supremacy, by whom taken, and by whom broken, with all God's Commandments with it. How the People of England deal with their King.  
HAving satisfied all, but those whose profit it is to believe the contrary, who have no other grounds for their belief than other men's grounds and estates, that Kings receive their power from God, and not from the people, and are independent from all but the Almighty. I shall now show, 1. That they have the Supreme power over the people, 2. That they are above the Law, 3. That they are not to give account of their actions to the people, but only to God, and so conclude that there can be no just cause for the subjects, either to take up arms against their Sovereign, to call him to the bar, to accuse him, to condemn him, or to kill or murder him.  
First, with the first, That the first King was made in Paradise, your have already heard, and that there he received his dominion and power; but from whom did he receive his power? from God; hath not God therefore greater power than the King● he hath; From whence do the people derive their power? from the King; Hath not the King therefore more power than the people? he hath, Constituens Constituto potior, The Constituent is better and higher in place and dignity than the Constituted; But the power of God Constituted the power of Kings, Ergo, the power of God is greater than the power of Kings, And quod efficit tale magis est tale; that which maketh any such or such, is in itself much more such or such; But the King giveth power to the people, Ergo, the power of the King is higher than the power of the people; The King is the only fountain from whence all the streams of authority flow, to the people, It is he that is the Magazine, from whence they derive their power, And Derivativa potestas non potest esse major primitiva, a Derived power can not be greater than the primitive; Therefore those men who place Sovereignty in the palace of the people's breasts, must needs be more knaves, than fools, for so great ignorance cannot roost in their pates, who are so worldly wise; But let them gloss the text with what false Commentaries they please, make white black, and black, white, and muster up dark clouds of juggling riddles, to dazzle the purblind sight of the Rascal rabble of the people, who think the Gown makes the Lawyer, That that must needs be Law which the Judge saith, esteem all things by their exterior apperances', and only know how to be ignorant; whose deceived foolishness, is the Chariot on which our men of war ride triumphant, from one degree of wickedness to another; Yet notwithstanding Legibus eversis rerum natura peribit, the Law of nature shall perish, and the Heavens and Earth shall pass away, before Lex Terrae, the Law of the Land, shall deny this Oracle, Omnis sub Rege & ipse sub nullo nisi tantum sub Deo, All men are under the King, and the King is under none but God, this is that Divine sentence— quod nec Jovis ira nec ignes, Nec poterit ferrum, necedax abolere vetustas, which neither angry Jove, nor fiery Vulcan, neither devouring age, nor the bloody sword, a worse devourer than that, shall ever expunge out of our Law-Books, or explode out of the memory of every pious man. This is that which many worthies have written with their bloods, and sealed with their lives; To this have many died Martyrs, whose fame shall outlive the Sun, and their memories be engraven upon the marble of everlasting monuments, whilst others their opposers, would be glad to have the stench of their ignominious names, buried in the grave of oblivion; where leaving them, let us return to our King, For nullum tempus occurrit Regi, It is always seasonable to do allegiance to the King, whose power, like the Ocean, is boundless, and his authority, like the wind, goeth where it listeth; he only can proclaim war, and he only can conclude peace; he only can call Parliaments, and dissolve them when he pleaseth; he appointeth what Magistrates he pleaseth, and turneth out whom he pleaseth; all Laws, Customs, Privileges and Franchises, are granted and confirmed to the people by him. He raiseth men that are dead, to life again, for those that are condemned to die by the Judges, are dead in Law, but the King's pardon reviveth them again. He hath the sole power of ordering and disposing all the Castles, Forts, strong Holds, Ports, Havens, and all other parts of the Militia. He is the breath of our Nostrils, the life, head and authority of all that we do, Supremam potestatem, & merum imperium apud nos habens, having the Supreme power, and mere empire over our bodies, members, lives and estates; he doth whatsoever he pleaseth; to be short, he is our King, And where the word of a King is, there is power, and who may say unto him what dost thou? Eccle. 8.3, 4. But so greedy is humane nature of dominion and covetous to rule, that we have some amongst us, who profess themselves to be born Kings, they are Kings by birth, nay greater than Kings are here; For Par in parem non habet Dominium, one King cannot command another King; But these men use Kings as Children do birds in a string, give him what Liberty and Authority they please, clip his wings lest he should fly too high for them, put pins in his eyes to make sport with him, and clip off his head too, to make known their authority. But doubtless, these men were never bred in Christ's University. Did they ever hear of him? If they did, it is the worse for them; For they, which know the will of God and do it not, will far never the better for their knowledge. It is better to be an ignorant fool, than a cunning knave. Reddite quae sunt Caesaris Caesari. Render to Caesar, that which is Caesar's, saith our Saviour. Quot verba, tot argumenta, His words should be to us commands; his actions our instructions, and his obedience should be our pattern; shall the Lord of life submit himself unto the King? and shall not we? shall he give Caesar his due? and shall not we? shall he suffer himself to be murdered by the King? and shall we murder the King? This is the Pope's Doctrine, to take away the lives of Princes; and ●re not we his true Disciples, when we put his words in practice? His Disciples did I say? nay we scorn that, for every man now is a Pope, and exerciseth the fame authority. But let us forsake the Pope, and learn the obedience of true subjects, from the subjects of joshua, chap. 1.16, 18. And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us, we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go; Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy Commandments, and will not hearken unto thy words, in all that thou commandest him, He shall be put to death, only be strong, and of a good courage. Behold, here the King's Sovereignty to command, the Subjects duty to obey, and the punishment of a Rebel is death; If the King hath not the supreme power, how can he command? If the subjects are not his inferours, why should they obey? If the people have a power coordinate and equal with the King, then must there be duo summa imperia, two supreme powers, which the Philosophers tell us cannot be, Nam quod summum est unum est. Sovereignty cannot be divided, divers supreme powers are no more compatible in on State, than two suns are in the firmament: 
— Omnisque potestas  
Impatiens consortis erit—  
Non bene cum sociis regna, Venusque manent.   
Kings and Lovers admit of no Rivals, Sovereignty being an individual, must be in one sort of Governors, either in one man, as in Monarchy, or else in one specifical kind of men, as the optimates, as it is in Aristocracy, or in the people, as in Democracy, saith Aristotle. Necesse est aut unum esse penes quem summum sit imperium, aut paucos, aut multos: But the Government of England is Monarchy, and therefore the people have no supreme power, It would be a monstrous body if the inferior members were equal in power, or could command the head. But suppose there should be such an Utopia, as our Novelists feign, where the prople might call their King in question for his actions, when they thought he offended, we should then have a new King, every new moon or oftener, and would any man be so mad as to be their King? For my part, I think he had betrer be hanged; for what beast is more Savage and uncertain, than the headless blind multitude? Virgil. 
Scinditur incertum studia in contraria Vulgus.  Discord is the only Ensign of a multitude, and sooner will the Stars gather into one body, than a multitude unite themselves into one mind, Quot homines tot sententiae, and would not a man have a rare place of it, to be servant to all these bears? The Cynical Puritan would hang him if he was not in all things so pure a Saint as himself, and the Independent would penned him if he did not solely depend on him as on God almighty; the rigid Presbyterian would bend his knotty brows at him, if he was not as obedient to him, as a water Spaniel; and the dreadful Anabaptist would hang both Puritan, Independent, Presbyterian, and King and all, if they would not be Baptised according to his sacred tenet, the Quaker would make him quake; and Theaurau John would crack his crown, unless he did esteem them as the greatest part of Christ's kingdom. And can any wise man think that this kingdom thus divided can stand? A man cannot serve two Masters, saith our Saviour, but that he will love the one, and hate the other, and Jove himself cannot please this many headed monster. Therefore if the almighty God had not put the bridle of Government into the people's mouths, and the reigns into the hands of their Superior, like the unruly horses of Phaeton, or the masterless winds of Aeolus let loose, they would have torn the world asunder, and brought all things with themselves into Confusion. Tanta est discordia Fratrum, So great is the discord, even of Brethren. No King can be so well accomplished as to please all men, neither indeed is it a sign of an honest man to be so flexible, as to please every one, Populo placere non potest cui placet virtus, the just love him, whom the wicked hate; and the wicked love him, whom the just hate; what King so pious, just, religious, and mild, as Moses the meekest of all men? and what greater treason was ever hatched and plotted against any man than him? Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, with two hundred and fifty Princes of the Congregation, lead the people to Sedition, and then to Rebellion, telling Moses to his face, he took too much upon him, and had not God Vindicated the sacred Sovereignty which he had placed in Moses, even Moses himself had become a prey to the bloodthirsty, and Rebellious appetite of these Traitors; For it came to pass, that the ground clavae asunder that was under them, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their Houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods, they and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth clozed upon them, and they perished from among the Congregation; and all Israel that were round about them, fled at the cry of them, for they said, l●st the earth swallow us up also; And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense, as you may read in Numbers 16. A fearful example, one would think enough to deter the hearts of all Traitors from rebellion. This was the first rebellion we read of in the Scripture, and how God approved of it, doth appear by the exemplary punishment. These Traitors did but only murmur, and rebel with their tongues, yet see how God rewarded them; then what punishment is reserved for them, who do not only murmur, and rebel with their reviling tongues, more sharp than a two edged sword, but also murder the Lords anointed, and power out his sacred blood like water upon the ground? Doubtless they have just cause to fear, that although they flourish here like the green grass, yet at the day of Judgement, Hell itself will open its mouth, and swallow them up both bodies and souls into everlasting fire, and damnation, where there shall be nothing but weeping, and wailing, and guashing of teeth. Lento gradu ad vindictam sui divina procedit ira, & tarditatem supplicii gravitate compensat; The longer the blow is a fetching, the heavier it will be when it falleth, Divine vengeance cometh, though with a slow yet with a sure foot. Though King David was a man after Gods own heart, yet could he not please the people, for Absolom his own Son made a conspiracy against him, and forced him to fly for his life; But mark the end of this Traitor, though the earth did not open her mouth and swallow him up, yet the very Trees took vengeance, and caught him up by the head, so that he hung between heaven and earth, as unworthy to go to heaven, or to live upon the earth. 11 Sam. 18.9. Then how dare these Pulpit Hunters blaspheme God, and profane his Word, and Sanctuary, so much, as to preach that Rebellion is obedience, nay a necessary duty commanded of God, and a great means to carry on the work of Salvation, inciting the people to cry out for justice, accounting all things injustice, unless that they have their wicked ends? So Absolom did steal the hearts of the people who had controversies, telling them, that there was no man deputed of the King to hear them. 11 Sam. 15.4. And Absolom said moreover, O that I were made judge in the Land, that every man which hath any suit, or cause, might come unto me, and I would do them Justice. A true Lecture of a Traitor; for you shall never find Traitors without Law and Justice on their sides, to colour their actions; The King hath not deputed a man (say they) to distribute Justice. He is popishly given, and would bring into the Kingdom the popish Religion; He infringeth your Charters, breaketh the Laws, and destroyeth your Rights and Liberties. But O that we were made Judges in the Land, how equally and impartially would we give justice to all men? we would not take away your Charters, nor encroach upon your Liberties; The preservation of the Law and Religion is the only cause, for which we take up arms; But when with their charms and sorcery they have intoxicated the people, got the hilt of the sword into their own hands, and a power to do what they list, than down goeth both Law and Religion, and the King too, like Ionas, must be thrown down from the stern of Government, to appease the tempest of the multitude; And then, and not until then, like the head of a Snail, or a Tortoise out of its shell, not seen before, doth appear their own cause, and indeed the only cause for which they took up arms, which is their own private interest, and the destruction of the whole Kingdom, with their own bodies and souls hereafter.  Hor. 
Suis & ipsa Roma viribus ruit.  
And England's own Sword, destroyeth poor England.  
But let Traitors pretend what they will, yet this is a Principle, whose original is the Bible, confirmed by our Saviour and the Apostles, by all the Fathers of the Church, and by all Christian people, by all reason and Religion, That Kings have the Supreme power over their people, and consequently the people no power to resist them, either to save their Laws, Religion, or for what other pretence soever. For, Rex si supra populum optimatesve agnoscat proprie non est Rex, He cannot be a King, which hath not the supreme authority and Sovereignty; Divisum imperium cum Jove Caesar habet, It is God and the King to whom Sovereignty belongeth, the people are their Vassals, and not sharers in so high a dignity. Our Saviour alone was both God and Man, and it is a thing impossible, for the people to be both king and Subject too, at one time. But why should I seek stars to light the noon day? or press that with arguments to be true to them, who with their oaths have confirmed it for a truth, swearing, I William Lenthal do utterly testify and declare in my conscience, that the King's Highness is the only Supreme Governor of this Realm, and all other his Highness Dominions and Countries, aswell in all spiritual, or Ecclesiastical things, or Causes, as Temporal: And that no foreign Prince, Person, Prelate, State or Potentate, hath or aught to have any Jurisdiction, Power, Superiority, Pre-eminence or Authority, Ecclesiastical or Spiritual, within this Realm. And therefore I do utterly renounce, and forsake all foreign Jurisdiction, Powers, Superiorities, and Authorities; and do promise that from henceforth I shall bear faith, and true allegiance to the King's Highness, his heirs and lawful Successors, and to my power shall assist, and defend all Jurisdictions, Privileges, Pre-eminences and authorities, granted or belonging to the King's Highness, his heirs and Successors, or united and annexed to the Imperial Crown of the Realm. So help me God, and by the Contents of this Book. What greater exemplification, confirmation or demonstration of the king's Sovereignty, can there be than this Sacred Oath of Supremacy? For this is the thing which the Lord hath commanded; saith Moses, Num. 30.1, 2. If a man Vow a Vow unto the Lord, or swear an Oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. And is there any Englishman so impudently wicked and profane, as presumptuously to break God's Commandment, break his own vows, and impiously turn perjured Traitor? vix ipse tantum vix adhuc credo malum: scarce I, even I, who have seen it with my own eyes, can yet hardly believe so great a villainy can be perpetrated. Haec facere Jason potuit? Could the betrothed do this? Heu pietas! Heu prisca fides! Alas the ancient piety! Alas the fidelity of old time! Debuit ferro obvium Offerre pectus, I would have died first.— Quid non mortalia pectora cogis Auri sacra fames? What doth not gold, more sacred to them than their oaths, compel mortals to achieve? Vid. 1. Eli. cap. 1.   

That the King's power is above the Law, is demonstrated by reason, and proved by authority. In the beginning were no Laws, but the Kings will and pleasure. Adam's absolute power. The King can do no wrong. It is better and more profitable that one King, than many Tyrants do what they lift with us. The King hath no Judge but God. That place in learned Bracton, which Bradshaw and others used as an authority to kill the King, explained, and their damnable opinion and false Commentary upon him confuted. The King is bound to observe God's Law, yet absolute King. That God not the people instituteth kings, and that the House of Commons which is but the tail of the Parliament, nor any whole Parliament, can have power over the king, or disinherit him.  
HAving made it evidently manifest, that the King hath the supreme power and Sovereignty over the people, I will now ascend a step higher, and make it as manifest, that he hath the supreme power and Sovereignty over the Laws, as well, as over the people. Quidvis facere, id est regem esse, saith Salustius, To do what one will, is to be a King; Cui quod libet, licet, Qui legibus solutus est, Qui leges dat, non accipit, & proiude, qui omnes judicat, a nemine judicatur. To whom it is lawful to do what he lift, without punishment by the people. Who is freed from the fetters of the Law, who giveth Laws, and receiveth Laws from none, who judgeth all men, and himself is judged by none, and this is the true definition of a king, warranted in holy writ, by the example of all kings, by the Prophets, by the Apostles, by the holy writings of multitudes of men, by the Fathers of the Church, by the true Orthodox Clergy, by the Law of Nations, and of Nature. In the beginning, saith justin. Populus nullis legibus tenebatur, sed arbitria regum pro legibus erant; The people were kept under by no Laws, but the will of their kings was the only Law they had; which I find verified in the first king which God made, Adam, Whose power was absolute, for in his Commission he had from God, there is no limitation, Gen. 1.28. Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the Sea, and over the fowl of the Air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the Earth. Here is no command, that he shall not make a Law without the consent of a Parliament; that he shall receive so much tribute of his subjects, and no more; the king is not here prohibited to have a negative voice, or tied up with any Law of his subjects; He is to give Laws, not to receive them; what his will leadeth him to, that may he do, which is all included in this word, Dominare, have Dominion. But go a little further, and see his Majesty upon his royal Throne, where (with reverence be it spoken) you may behold the Almighty doing more obedience to the King, than his vassals do in these our days, Gen. 2.19. And out of the ground the Lord God form every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam, to see what he would call them; And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. The Lord God form every living thing, but Adam must give them names; The Lord God brought them to him, but it was but to see what he would call them: For whatsoever Adam was pleased to call every living creature, that was the name thereof. So that hitherto, there was no Law, but the will of Adam the King to govern every living creature, Ad libitum Regis sonuit sententia legis. What Adam pleased to command, that was presently obeyed. But let us make a further progress and explicate the Sovereignty of king Adam; For as yet there was not found an help meet for him, But the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he took a● rib out of his side, whereof he made a woman, and brought her unto the man; And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. The Lord God made the woman, but it was of one of Adam's bones, and Adam must give her a name; Nay Adam must make a Law concerning her, For, Therefore shall a man leave his Father, and his Mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh; which Law continueth still, and shall do for ever; For there shall be marrying, and giving in marriage until the end of the World; Therefore Justine doth prove a true Historian, when he saith, in the beginning, Arbitria Regum pro legibus erant, There was no Law, but the kings will: for you may read of many kings before Moses his time, as of nine in one chapter, Gen. 14.1, 2. But Moses was the first that ever writ Laws, or invented letters as we can find; then what Laws could those nine Kings use, and all the Kings from Adam, until Moses, but their own wills? And God gave Moses the power of Governing the people, before he gave the law, and Moses administered Justice to every one, according to his pleasure; so did Joshua, and Saul, and all the Kings after them; and if the King governeth with the law, which is derived from him, which is most certainly true, then undoubtedly the King is above the law. For propter quod unumquodque tale, ipsum magis tale, that by which any thing is made such or such, is in itself much more such or such. But the King maketh the Law; Ergo, the King is much more above the Law. The Laws are the reigns with which the King governeth and guideth the people; how can the Charioteer rule his horses, if he hath not the free use, and power over the reigns? and by what means can the King rule, and direct his people, if he hath not the supreme power over the Laws? with which he is to guide them, not they him.  
If the Law be equal in power with the king, then why doth the king pardon those, whom the Law condemneth, alter the old Laws, and make new Laws? For par in parem non habet imperium, every boy can tell that a man hath no power to command his equal; but suppose the Laws should be equal or above the king, who should put these Laws in execution? The people cannot, because (as I have already shown) they are Inferior to the king, and Contra rationem est contraque naturam, superiorem ab inferiore judicari, saith Barclay, It is against reason and nature, that the Superior should be judged by the Inferior. Therefore though nothing can be so true and plain, but that subtle Sophisters, by Sinister and false interpretations, and glosses, will make it obscure; yet it is an inviolable truth, that the king is above the Law, and therefore Rex non potest facere injuriam, the king can do no wrong, for ubi non est Lex, ibi non est transgressio, quo ad mundum, where there is no Law there is no transgression, as to the world. Quisquis summum obtinet imperium, sive is sit unus Rex, sive pauci nobiles, vel ipse populus universus, supra omnes leges sunt, Ratio haec est, quod nemo sibi feret legem, sed subditis suis, se legibus nemo adstringit, saith Saravia, de Imperand. author. li. 2. c. 3. Every Governor, let the Government be Monarchy, Aristocracy, or Democracie, is above all the Laws; for no man can impose Laws on himself, but on his subjects, and no man can bind himself to keep his own Laws, because as Barclay saith, Quod neque suis legibus teneri possit, cum nemo sit seipso superior, nemo a seipso cogipossit, & Leges a superiore tantum sciscantur, denturque inferioribus; No man can be bound by the Laws he makes himself, because no man is above himself; neither can any man be compelled of himself; and Laws are only made by superiors, and given to inferiors. Cujus est instituere ejus est abrogare, He which maketh any Law may abrogate it when he pleaseth. It is not possible for any Government to be without arbitrary power; most men of a late edition allow it in Aristocracy, and Democracy, Why then not in Monarchy? If it be Tyranny for one man to govern according to his will? Why should it not be far greater Tyranny for a multitude of men to govern, how they please, without being accountable, or restrained by Law? But though silent leges inter arma, Yet Rex est viva Lex, as our books say, The king is a living Law, Indigna digna habenda sunt, Rex quae facit, Those things which are unlawful for the subject, are lawful for the king to do. Imperatorem non esse subjectum legibus qui habet in potestate alias leges far, saith B. Augustine. The king cannot be subject to the Laws, because he hath power to make other Laws. What then? after he hath established a Law, That his subjects shall quietly enjoy their estates, may the king legally without offending God, take away their estates, and break that Law; Because his will is a Law? I answer he may. But distinguenda sunt tempora & causae. The King hath a Conscience aswell as another man, which must be ruled according to God's Law and Equity; otherwise God to whom vengeance only belongeth, will judge him. It is lawful for the king ad supplendam reipub. necessitatem, & supportandam regiam majestatem, to supply the necessity of State, and to support his Royal Majesty, notwithstanding any former Law, to take away the estates of his subjects, without their leave, and that legally too, because in that case his will makes a Law. And therefore doth the common Law of England allow him many prerogatives, which to explain would require a volume of itself, and are very copiously in our Law books demonstrated. But the sum of them is, The king upon just cause may do what he please, both with his subjects, and their estates, and no body is to be judge, whether that cause be just or no, and take vengeance, but only God & his own conscience, If it be unjust, Habet Deum Judicem Conscientiae, & ultorem injustitiae, He hath God the Judge of his conscience, and the Revenger of his injustice. And satis sufficit ei ad paenam, quod Dominum expectet ultorem, It is punishment enough for him to think that God will take vengeance on him, saith Bracton; doth Bracton say so? Why there are some a amongst us, 
a Bradshaw, when he tempted the King alias, at the King's trial, but rather his Temptation.  who make Bracton the only instrument, and authority to kill kings. But to vindicate the Law, and Reverend Bracton; I will make bold to tell them (for veritas audentes facit, truth makes a man bold) that they belie Bracton, and scandal the Law, and their profession; And that it may appear, it is not my opinion only, I will recite that warrant out of Braston, li. 2. c. 16. fol. 34. which they build upon, and the answer to it of the Lord Bishop of Osory, a man worthy of eternal renown, both for his Law, Learning, and Religion; for saith he, Yet because this point is of such great concernment, and the chiefest Argument they have out of Bracton, is that he saith, Rex habet superiorem, legem, curiam suam, Comites, Barones, quia Comites Dicuntur, quasi socii Regis, & qui habet socium habet Magistrum; & ideo si Rex fuerit sine fraeno, id est, sine lege, debent ei fraenum ponere, nisi ipsimet fuerunt cum rege sine fraeno, And all this makes just nothing in the World for them, if they had the honesty, or the learning to understand it right. For what is above the King? the Law, and the Court of Earls and Barons; But how are they above him? as the Preacher is above the King, when he Preacheth unto him, or the Physician when he gives him Physic, or the Pilot, when he saileth by Sea, that is quo ad rationem consulendi, non cogendi, they have superioritatem directivam, non coactivam. For so the teacher is above him that is taught, and the Counsellor above him that is counselled, that is, by way of advice, but not by way of command, And to show you that this is Bractons' true meaning, I pray you consider his words; Comites dicuntur quasi socii, they are as fellows or Peers, not simply, but quasi; And if they were simply so, yet they are but Socii, not superiors; And what can Socii do? not command; For par in parem non habet potestatem, that is praecipiendi; otherwise you must confess, habet potestatem consulendi; Therefore Bracton adds, qui habet Socium habet Magistrum, that is a Teacher, not a Commander; and to make this yet more plain, he adds, si Rex fuerit sine sraeno, id est sine lege, If the King be without a bridle, that is, saith he, (lest you should mistake what he means by the bridle, and think he means force and arms) the Law, they ought to put this bridle unto him, that is to press him with this Law, and still to show him his duty, even as we do both to King and people, saying, this is the Law, this should bridle you; but here is not a word of commanding, much less of forcing the King; not a word of superiority, nor yet simply of equality; And therefore I must say, hoc argumentum nihil ad rhombum: And these do abuse every Author.  
So much the Bishop, and I think this answer will satisfy every reasonable man; And I add further, that it would be very strange that Bracton should say in this place that the King hath a Superior, when he denies it in several other places of his book, and presseth it with arguments that he hath not, saying, Omnis quidem sub eo, & ipse sub nullo nisi tantum sub Deo, All are under the King, and the King under none but God. Rex non habet superiorem nisi Deum, The King hath no superior but God, Nemo quidem de factis suis praesumat disputare, multo fortius contra factum suum venire, Let no man presume to dispute against the King's actions, much less withstand his actions with force and arms, and rebel against him, fol. 6. Ipse autem Rex non debet esse sub homine, sed sub Deo, The King is under none but God, Exercere Rex debet potestatem sicut Dei vicarius in terra & Minister, quia ea potestas solius Dei est, The King ought to exercise power, as the Vicar and Minister of God, because he receiveth his power from God only. Therefore they who would fain have Bracton say that the Law and the people are the King's Superiors, would make him as uncertain as themselves, and do very much abuse that venerable Author; and no man can find so much as scintilla legis, a spark of Law in all the Law books, that ever the People or Law were above the king, so as to punish him; and doubtless if there had been any such thing, the learned Lawyers would have reported it to posterity; And A non usu valet argumentum. But they all unanimously resolve and report the contrary.  
Reader,  
I Would not have thee imagine, as some men through malice, or ignorance, do most impudently assert, that when we say, The King is absolute and above the Law, that thereby is intended, that the King is freed from, and hath power to act against God's Laws, when he pleaseth. No, this is but their false gloss and interpretation, For, non est potentia nisi ad bonum, hability and power, is not but to good; There is no power but what is from God, and therefore no mortal man can have a power to act against God; To sin, and break God's commandments, is impotency, and weakness, no power; For the Angels which are established in glory, do far excel men in power, yet they cannot sin. The Law of God is above the King, and he is bound to God to keep it; yet nevertheless he is an absolute King over men, because God hath given him the Supreme power over them, and hath given no power to men to correct him, if he transgress: But God only whose Law only he can transgress, can call the King to an account. Hoc unum Rex potest facere, quod non potest injuste agere, the King only is able, not to do unjustly, is a rule in Commonlaw, and the reason is, because the people do not give Laws to the King, but the King only giveth Laws to the people, as all our Statutes, and Perpetual experience hath taught us. Therefore how can the King offend against the Laws of the people, or be obnoxious to them, when they never gave him any Laws to keep, or transgress? and then how can the people punish him, who never offended their Laws? Therefore the King must needs be absolute over the people, and only bound to God, not to the people, to keep those Laws, which God, not the people gave him; and as God is above the Laws, and may alter them at his pleasure, which he gave and set over the king, so is the King, above, and may alter at his pleasure, those laws which at his pleasure he gave & set over the people; still observing that he is free from all Laws, quo ad coactionem, in respect of any coaction from the people, but not quo ad obligationem, in respect of obedience to God, by his obligation. Therefore well might Solomon counsel us to keep the King's commandment, saying, Eccles. 8.2. I counsel thee to keep the King's Commandment, and that in regard of the Oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight, stand not in an evil thing, for he doth whatsoever he pleaseth. Where the word of a King is, there is power, and who may say unto him what d●st thou? These words are the words of God, which King Solomon did speak by infusion of the Spirit; In which you may see that the King doth what he pleaseth. And we are commanded not to stand in an evil thing, that is according to junius and Tremel: translation; perturbatione & rebellione, quae tibi malum allatura esset, ageret tecum arbitratu suo, sive jure, sive injuria. We must not murmur, and rebel against the King, though he deal with us unjustly. He may be just, when we think he is unjust; The King's heart is in the hands of God, the searcher of all hearts, as the Rivers of Water, not in the hands of the people; Therefore God, not the people, can turn it whether soever he will. Prov. 21.1. King David was, filius Dei, non populi; The Son of God, not of the People, Psalm 89.26. It was God who made him higher than the Kings of the Earth, verse 27. not the People. He was neither chosen of the People, nor exalted of the People; For I have exalted one chosen out of the people, saith God, verse 19 The exaltation was Gods, and the choice not of, but out of the people; For I have found David my Servant, with my holy oil have I anointed him, saith God, verse 20: Kings are the Children of the most high, not of the people, Psalm 82." Therefore who can say unto the " King, what dost thou? If the people of England have power to depose and make Kings, Why are they usurpers, who by the power of the people destroy the lawful King, as did Richard the third, and by the consent of the people, established himself in the Government? They are Kings, de facto, but not, de jure, as all our Books agree; For the people have not the Sovereignty, but the King. Surely the people of England thought so, when by act of Parliament they ordained that none should be capable to sit in Parliament, before they had Sworn it, vide 1 Eliz. 1.5 Eliz. 1.1 Jac. 1. And I am sure that the breaking of the Oath, can give the Parliament no new Authority. It is declared by the Lords and Commons in full Parliament (rot. Par. 42 E. 3. nu. 7. Lex & consuetudo Parliamenti. 4 Inst. 14.) upon demand made of them on the behalf of the King, that they could not assent to any thing in Parliament that tended to the disherison of the King, and his Crown, whereunto they were Sworn. And it is strange to think that the House of Commons, which is but the tail of a Parliament, should have that power, which both Lords and Commons had not. But since there can be no Parliament without the King, 4 Inst. 1, 2.341.356. We may conclude, that these men being Traitors, Rebels and Tyrants, will take upon them to do any thing.   

Defensive War, against the King, is illegal, or the Great question (made by Rebels, with honest men no question) Whether the people for any cause, though the King act most wickedly, may take up arms against their Sovereign, or any other way by force or craft, call him in question for his actions; Resolved, and proved by the Law of God, the Law of Nations, the Law of Nature, the Laws of the Realm, by the rules of all Honesty, Equity, Conscience, Religion, and Piety; by the Example and Doctrine of our Saviour Christ, all the Prophets, Apostles, Fathers of the Church, and all pious Saints and holy Martyrs, That the people can have no cause either for Religion, or Laws, or what thing soever, to levy War against the King, much less to murder him, proved in Adam. The manner of the Government of the King, God's Steward, and Stewart, when he cometh described, The Bishops, Lords Prayer, and Common Prayer Book, must then be restored, with their excellencies now abused. He will lay down his life, before he will betray his trust, and give his account to any but God, as did our last great Stewart, his Father. The blessedness of the people, when the King shall come and rule over them declared; his Majesty. The Christians duty towards their King laid open, and warranted by the Death and Sufferings of Christ, and multitudes o● Christians. The madness of the people in casting o● the Government of a gracious King, and submitting to a Multitude of Tyrants; and the dreadful events, if the Tyrants do not restore the King to his own again. The murder of the late King Charles, is proved to be most illegal; and how the Rebels use the liberty of the people, only as a Cloak for their wickedness, and their Knavery discovered, in pretending the supreme power to be in the people, whereas they use it themselves, and so Tyrannize over us. The Laws of England described, and proved that our Sovereign Charles the 1. was unjustly killed, against the Common Law, Statute Law, and all other Laws of England.  
WE have already clearly proved, that Kings are by Divine institution, that they have their power from the Heavens, and not from terrestrial men, and that their power is above the people and Laws; We are now come to see whether the people the King's subjects have power to destroy and put asunder, that which God hath thus created and joined together. It is a sound conclusion, which naturally and of necessity floweth from the premises, that they have not, and having showed, 1. That God made the first King Adam, in Paradise. 2. That there he received his regal power from God, not from the people. And 3. That there he arbitrarily made Laws, according to his will, where he had reigned a Monarch for ever, as Divines hold, had not he transgressed. Let us now see what became of him after his transgression; for King Adam did transgress, and he must give an account of his Stewardship. But to whom must he give his account? To man he cannot, for the King hath no superior on earth. Therefore he must to God, who in the 19 th'. verse of Gen. cap. 2. challengeth his prerogative; And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? No sooner did Adam hear God call, but he presently gave an account of himself, saying, verse the 10. I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. Where note, That God taketh an account chiefly of the king for his subjects offences; The king is God's Steward, and God will reckon with him, God sent him from Paradise, out of the garden of Eden, to till the ground; Therefore that he may make a good account, he must Parcere subjectis & debellare superbos, cherish the flowers, and root up the weeds; He must be a nursing Father to his loyal subjects, but he must batter down the swelling pride of Traitors. The true Protestant Religion must flourish as the best flowet in his Garden; But the Anabaptists, Independents, Presbyterians, Papists, Jesuits, and other wicked Sectaries must be pulled up as weeds, lest they overspred, and choke the good flower; They must be extirpated by the root whilst they are young, lest the● grow up and seed, and their seed be sown up and down in the whole World. He must set the Bishops again in their natural soil, which is now grown over with these weeds, and rubbish, That, that stone which these new builders refused may become the head stone of the Corner, and the Bishop's Lands, which they did not refuse, must be given to the Church again. The Common Prayer Book, now rejected as fit for none, but the use of Papists, He must bring in, and make those Papists read it, who now reject it, as Popery, for no other cause, but that there is no Popery in it. He must turn the Horses, and other unclean beasts out of his Sanctuary, now made a Stable, [St. Paul's, etc.] and put in holy Bishops, and reverend Pastors in their room; And since our Saviour hath commanded it, He must make the Lords Prayer current amongst us; That our Ministers may leave off piping what they list, and pipe the true tune, which the Lord of life, the best Musician taught them that all God's people may dance; For how can we dance when the instrument is out of order, and the wrong tune is piped? Good God what a superstitious and Papistical age do we live in? when we account it superstition and Popery to say the Lords Prayer, & the Common Prayer, the ordinary means of our salvation? O blessed jesus! Hast not thou commanded us not to use vain repetitions; But when we pray, to pray thus, Our Father, & c? Dost not thou know what we want better than ourselves? and hast thou not prescribed us a set form of prayer to ask it with? And shall we cast thy prayer behind our backs, and presume to come before thee without it? are we wiser than the Lord of life, or is there any nearer way to Heaven, than that which he hath taught us? shall we present the Lord with our own husks, and trample on the Manna which he hath prepared for us? Is there any other spirit to teach us to pray, than the Spirit of the Lord, which taught us in his Gospel? When we petition to any of our superiors on earth, than we premeditate, and cull out filled and curious words, worthy of his personage: But when we should pray to the Almighty, than any thing which lieth uppermost is shot out at him, like water out of a squirt, and what pleaseth our foolish fantasies, that we pretend to be the Spirit of the Lord. O God arise, vindicate thy own cause; Let not the soul of thy Turtle Dove be given into the power of the wicked, For how is the Mother reviled by her Children? and it grieveth thy servants to see her stones lie in the dust. But, rege venienti hostes fugierunt, It is God's Steward, otherwise called Stewart, with must remedy all this, He must turn our spears into pruning hooks, and our swords into ploughshares, and so consequently our swordmen into ploughmen; The love of his Subjects must be the Magazine of his Artillery, and their Loyally, and obedience, must be their chiefest good and honour. O fortunatos nimium sua s● bona norint, O happy multitude, if they did but know their summum bonum, their chiefest good; which is loyalty and due obedience to their Sovereign. For he will not break the Charters of their Corporations, nor invade their rights, and liberties. He will not distrain for excessive Taxes, nor impose great burdens on his Subjects. The Law shall be to him as the apple of his eye, and the true Protestant Religion, as his dearest heart. Learning shall flourish, and the Universities shall not be destroyed. He will not murder the Prophets, nor massacre the Citizens before their own doors. He will not contrive plots with his Imps, and Emissaries, to catch honest men with their estate. Justice shall run down the streets like streams, and peace shall make the Land flow with milk and honey. Every man shall eat the fruits of his vineyard, under his own vines: and enjoy the presence of his family, with the absence of a Soldier. He will not build up his throne with blood, nor establish his royal state with lies, and dissembling. Flatterers will he abandon from his Court, and those who keep other men's estates, will he banish from his Realm. But suppose that he should eat of the forbidden fruit, do what was right in his own eyes, and evil in the Lords, To whom shall this great Steward give an account? shall he give his account to the Inferior servants of his Lord? That would be an audacious and wicked attempt of them. A high prejudice to the Lord, and a great dishonesty and disgrace to the Steward in his Office. For the Lord would be extremely offended. The Inferior servants severely punished, for exacting an account which only belonged to their Lord; And the Steward would be dismissed of his Stewardship as dishonest, and unfaithful. Therefore every just and pious Steward will die, before he will so much wrong his Lord and Master of his right, as to give an account of his Stewardship to them, to whom it doth not belong: and although they are so unjust and dishonest to require it; yet he will give them his 
a He will first suffer himself to be murdered at his own door, as was Charles the I.  life, before he will be corrupted. For he is accountable to none but unto the Lord, who will require it as his due; For the Lord called unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. But what, is this all? Must the King give an account only of himself? No, he must answer for his subjects too. Of him to whom much is given, much shall be required. For Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Where note, that the subject may cause the Sovereign to sin, and the sin of the subjects often times pulleth down judgements on their Sovereign's head, aswell as on their own, and the King must be their Accountant. Eve first sinned, But Adam must be first called in question. Yet he was a King, and therefore none must call him in question but God, who only was his Superior. But when Adam fell, did not his Sovereignty fall with him? No, Adam was a King after his fall, and had his Sovereignty confirmed to him by God for ever. For Gen. 3.16. And thy desire shall be to thy Husband, and he shall rule over thee, so that Adam did still retain his superiority. But was not this Sovereignty personally fixed in Adam, and so died with him? No, God did declare it transmissible from Adam, to the first born. For Gen. 4.7. God said to Cain the first born, speaking of his younger brother Abel, sub te erit appetitus ejus, & dominaberis ei, Unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.  
So that from Adam it doth appear, 1. That Kings are ordained by God, not by the people. 2. That God gave them their regal power. 3. That that power is above the laws. 4. That they have no Superiors but God. And 5. That God only hath power to call them in question, and punish them if they offend. For— Crimine ab uno Disce omnes: From that one great offence which Adam the King committed, and was not accountable, neither did he account with any, but with God, lea●n all, that the King cannot commit any offence so great, as to give his Subjects just cause to call him in question, or to take up arms, and with force to resist him. Which I shall prove with luculent authorities, and pregnant examples, both human and divine.  
I think it is received by all for a truth, That the King is Pater Patriae, the Father of his Country, Maritus Reip: the Husband of the Commonwealth, and Dominus Subditorum, the Master of his Subjects. I remember that Roffensis de potestate Papae, asketh this Question, An potestas Adami in filios ac nepotes, adeoque omnes ubique homines, ex consensu filiorum, ac nepotum dependet, an à solo Deo ac natura profluit? Whether the power of Adam over his Children and nephews, and so over all the men in the world, doth depend on their consent, or whether it doth not flow from God and Nature? I have already made it clear, that his power doth not depend on their will and consent, but is instituted by God and Nature. If so? then I ask this Question, Whether the sons of Adam have any power either from God or Nature, violently to resist and oppose the King their Father? Which Question, I conceive, may be as truly resolved, that they have not. For first, there is nothing so fairly written, and so deeply impressed in Nature, as Obedience: You may see it in every creature; every brute beast will teach you the obedience due from children to their parents, and the sovereignty of the parents over their children. Viper's indeed will destroy their parent; but it is a monster in Nature, and therefore not imitable by any, but those of a viperous brood. Behold the natural love and obedience of the pious Storks towards their parents, who feed their feeble and impotent parents, when they are old, as they fed them being young: And lest Obedience should lose a reward, the Egyptians so esteemed this bird, that they laid a great penalty on him that should kill it. You may read of many beasts and fowls, that with bloody strokes will beat away and banish their young from them; But so great is the natural love & allegiance of their young, that (as if it had been high-treason for them so to do) they will not so much as resist their parents, but fly from them; teaching every subject his true obedience towards his Sovereign, and that in this case only when the Sovereign would unjustly punish him, it is most honourable, and the greatest argument of a valiant man, to run away. Would not it be a most hideous and detestable thing for a son to murder his own Father? Nay, suppose the Father should draw his sword at his Son, would that be a just ground for him presently to run in upon his Father and stab him? surely I think every man's nature will teach him to speak better things than these, and to be so far from approving it; that he will account nothing more horrible, and worthy of so much punishment, Pater quamvis legum contemptor, quamvis impius sit, tamen pater est. Patri vel matri nullo modo contradicere debemus, dicant, faciant, quae volunt, saith Origenes, We ought to contradict our Father or Mother by no means, let them say or do what they please; for be they good or bad, they are our Father and Mother. But behold a greater than thy Father is here, It is thy King: whose Sword commandeth fear, whose Crown importeth honour, whose Sceptre requireth obedience, whose Throne exacteth reverence, whose Person is sacred, his Function divine, and his Royal Charge calleth for all our prayers. O quam te m●morem virgo? namove haud tibi vultus Mortalis, nec vox hominem sonat, O Dea certe! O King, with what terms of honour shall I style thee? Is it lawful to call thee a Man? The Almighty hath said, that ye are Gods, and I will not say that ye shall die like men. The radiant beams of your Countenance declare you more than mortal; For in the light of the King's countenance there is life, saith Solomon, Prov. 16.15. Neither is their voice like the voice of other men, For A divine Sentence is in the lips of the King, and his mouth transgresseth not in judgement, Prov. 16.10. Therefore I will conclude, that the King is a sacred Deity.  
A day in his Courts, is better than a thousand, I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the King, than be a Protector, etc. and reign in the tents of wicked Traitors. For the King's Throne is established by righteousness and mercy, but Traitors reign by their Villainies, and raise themselves up by the blood and downfall of their superiors. 
Psa. 72.1.  But God hath given his judgements to the King, and his righteousness unto the King's son, and he will judge the people with righteousness, and the poor with judgement. Therefore kiss the son lest he be angry, 
Psa. 2.12.  and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little, blessed are all they that are trusty and faithful unto him. 
Eccles. 8.23.  I counsel thee to keep the King's commandment, and that in regard of the Oath of God; Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing, for he doth whatsoever he pleaseth. 
Zecha. 9.9.  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy King cometh unto thee, he is black, but comely, he is just, 
Isa. 49.23.  and will be a nursing father to the people, & his Queen shall be a nursing mother, For God hath made him our King; 
Rev. 1.6.  And our King cannot be made glad with our wickedness. But our lies and hypocrisy, 
Hos. 7.3.  grieve him to the heart. 
Prov. 29.4 Prov. 16.12. Prov 31.4.  The King by Judgement shall establish the Land. It is abomination to Kings to commit wickedness, neither is it for Kings to drink wine, Mercy and truth preserve the King, and his Throne is upholden by mercy. Therefore thrice happy would the people be, if they did not rebel against the Lords anointed, who is righteous and pious, For when the righteous are in authority, 
Prov. 29.2.  the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. Rebellion is as the sin of Witchcraft, and stubornnesse is as Iniquity, 
1 Sam. 15.23.  and Idolatry, and an evil man only seeketh Rebellion. 
Prov. 17.11 Isa. 1. 2●.  Therefore a cruel M●ssenger shall be sent against him, For if ye rebel, ye shall be devoured. Therefore Rebel not against the Lord, nor the King. But when he cometh, salute him, 
Josh. 22.19. Mark 15.18.  Hail King; but not of the Jews, for you profess yourselves Christians; Therefore learn of Christ obedience to the King. But suppose you were Jews, the Jews abound with reverence to their King, and loath to be so wicked, as to murder their King. 
John 19.15.  For when Pilate said, Behold your King, shall I Crucify your King? They answered, We have no King but Caesar, accounting it a most barbarous and worse than Jewish act, for any people to crucify their King, though in a way of public justice. Therefore even of the Jews let Christians learn their duty to their King, and rejoice at his coming, as the Bribe doth, at the approach of the Bridegroom. The Husbandmen indeed, 
Mat. 21.38.  in the Gospel, killed the servants, and when the son came to demand the fruits of his Father's Vineyard, they conspired against him, and said, This is the Heir, come let us kill him, and the Inheritance shall be ours. But they were wicked, and their Judgement and doom was, miserably to be destroyed, to have their Vineyard taken from them, and to be let out to others who would yield better obedience, and render the fruits in their seasons: Therefore let all men take heed, that they do not perish in the gainsaying of Core, and with those wicked Idolaters, Isa. 8.21. Curse their King and their God, and look upwards. Whose reward is Hell, where the Devil shall curb them, and rule over them for ever, because they would not let their King whom God placed over them be, as in truth he was and is, their only lawful Sovereign.  
It is so well known to every one who knoweth any thing, how the Heathens did honour their Kings as Gods, not only when they were dead, but also whilst they were living, that it would not only be loss of ink and paper, but also expense of time, which is better, to relate the particulars. But (pudet heu) their obedience and allegiance may shame, aswell as be a pattern to the Christians of our age, who wander so far from the path their Lord and Master went in. And if any one be desirous to know how God hath always esteemed of Kings, and with what reverence God's people have always obeyed them, I refer him to the Bible; Where (I may with confidenee speak it) there is no duty more commanded, and pressed upon the people, than obedience, and no sin so much punished as Treason and Rebellion. And the chiefest end of their obedience to the King, is not only for God his glory, and the King's honour, but also for their own good, praise, and profit. For, for this cause did the Apostle exhort the people, to pray for Kings, and all that are in authority, That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, 1 Tim. 2.2. O Melilaee, Deus nobis haec otia fecit. Virgil could tell that the welfare of the King brought Tranquillity, and Peace upon the Land, and therefore he calleth him a God; Nay, he will therefore honour him as a God, Namque erit ille mihi semper Deus, saith he; And I fear his allegiance and due obedience will rise in Judgement, to condemn many who profess themselves Christians, yet by their actions are worse than Infidels, who Judas like pretend loyalty to their Sovereign, whilst they plot and contrive with a kiss to betray him; But Judas hanged himself, and if these men do not hang themselves, It is a great mercy beyond their deserts, if some body else do not do it for them, before they live out half their days. For in the fifth Commandment, which as Divines hold is most obliging, We are commanded to honour our Father and Mother (by which words are meant Kings, Princes, and other Magistrates,) That our days may be long upon the Land which the Lord our God giveth us, which is the first Commandment with promise, as St. Paul observes, Ephes. 6.2. But this promise is not absolute, lt is upon this condition, that we honour and obey our Sovereign, and if we do not perform our parts, God is not tied to perform his. If we break his Commandments, he may well break his promise, which was made only on that condition that we should obey, and if we had loved him we should have kept his Commandments; But whosoever breaketh one one of them, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the Sea. Therefore he who getteth a kingdom by the breach of God's Commandments, hath no cause to brag of his gettings; For what will it profit a man to lose his own soul, and to gain the whole world?  
Let every one be subject unto the higher powers; For there is no power but of God; The powers that be are ordained of God; Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the Ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive damnation, saith St. Paul, Rom. 13.1. Behold here, the duty of a Subject, and the reward of a Rebel. There is no power hut of God, saith the Text; Therefore he that resisteth the King, resisteth the Ordinance of God, for which he shall receive damnation. What then? if an unjust King rob us of all we have, ravish our wives before our eyes, dash out our children's brains against the wall, set up Idols, and command us to worship them? May we not resist him? Nun oportet Deo magis obedire, quam hominibus? Ought we not to obey God rather than man? I answer, That ye ought to obey God, rather than man; Yet may you not with violence resist your King. We must not do evil, that good might come thereon. God hath in many places commanded us to obey, and pray even for the worst of Kings. Yet you cannot find so much as a spark of warranty, for any subject, either Magistrate or private man, to rise against his Sovereign, in the whole Bible, or to call him to an account for any of his actions; God hath reserved that to himself, as his own peculiar prerogative, Magistratus de privatis, Principes de Magistratibus, Deum de Principibus judicare, saith M. Aurelius, Magistrates are to judge private men, Kings are to judge Magistrates, but none are to judge Kings but God. The only means which subjects have to reform Kingdoms, is that which the Apostle prescribeth, 1 Tim. 2.1. Let prayers, saith he, and supplications be made for Kings, and all that are in authority, that we may lead a Godly life. Prayers must be the only weapons of Subjects against their Kings; Let them look into their own breasts, and reform their own hearts, which many times are the only causes of a Judgement on the Nation; Let them amend their own lives, and with fervent supplications implore him, (who hath the King's heart in his hand, and turneth it whithersoever he will) to reform the King according to his desire. Christiani hominis esse patienter ferre potius, quicquid injuriarum ac molestiarum infertur, quam ut adigi se sinat ad peccandum contra Deum, It is the part of a Christian, rather to suffer patiently what injury or persecution soever is laid upon him, than to offend God, saith Stephanus Szegedinus, Interea tamen non esse illicitum, si quis vim injustam, vel avertere, vel fugere, vel aliquousque mitigare possit, modo id fiat rationibus haud illicitis; Quod si id fieri non potest, Cavebit Christianus, ne illatam vim contrariâ violentiâ retundere conetur, sed tolerabit potius omnia, nec de vindicando se cogitanit, sed vindictam j●sto Judici permittet, saith the same Author; Yet it is not unlawful if a man can, to avert an unlawful violence, to fly from it, or otherwise mitigate it, so he doth not do it by unlawful means; But if he cannot do it by lawful means, a Christian will take heed, and not endeavour to repel an unjust violence offered, with an unjust force: No, he will rather suffer all things first; neither will he so much as think of revenge, but will leave that to God, the just Judge, to whom vengeance belongeth. O vocem verè Christianam! O speech most worthy of a Christian. If Herod be wroth, and send forth, and slay all the Children that are in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, so that there be lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and will not be comforted, because they are not; yet will he fly into Egypt with our Saviour, and stay there until Herod be dead, rather than he will rebel against his Sovereign, resist God's Ordinance, & so damn his own soul. If Saul send messengers to bring him up to him in the bed that he may slay him, or pursue him with 3000. chosen men of Israel, yet will not he put forth his hand against his Sovereign, for he is the Lords anointed: Nay if it be in his power, and he is counselled to kill him, yet with holy David he will cry out, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lords anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. His heart will smite him if he cut off his skirts, but he will suffer all things before he will cut off his King's head; 
Mat. 10.23  for who can do that and be guiltless? If the King persecute him in this City, he will fly into another. He hath learned of his Master to be subject to his Sovereign, not only for wrath, 
Rome, 13.5.  but also for conscience sake. He is good, and the rulers are not a terror to him. The evil and wicked will murder their Sovereign, for fear his justice should reward them with death, according to their deserts; But he will not like those filthy dreamers, speak evil of dignities, 
Judas 1.8, 10, 11. 2 Pet. 2.10, 11.  and despise Dominion, his tears are his arms, and patience his revenger.— Levius fit patientia, 
Hor. Ode 24.  Quicquid corrigi est nefas: Though it be unlawful for him to gather Soldiers with force & arms to correct, and take his Sovereign from his evil Counsellors, yet patience shall both assist, and give him the victory. St. Ambrose and he are always in one time, 
Ambrose in Orat. contra Auxen. Tom 5.  saying, I have not learned to resist, but I can grieve, and weep, and sigh, and against the weapons of the Soldiers, and the Goths, my tears and my prayers are my weapons: otherwise, neither ought I, neither can I resist. If the King saith, God do so, and more also to me, 
2 Kings 6 32.  if the head of this follow shall stand on him this day, and likewise send a Messenger to cut it off: yet, with Elisha, he will only shut the door against him, and offer no other violence, though it lie in his power. If a multitude come out with swords and staves against him, lay hold on him, and lead him away to the Rulers who condemn him, and deliver him to the wicked soldiers to be crucified; yet in imitation of his Lord and Master, he will say nothing, rather than revile them; though they spit upon him, he will meekly wipe it off; If they crown him with thorns, he will patiently suffer it; If they give him Vinegar mingled with gall to drink, he will taste it; If they crucify him, he will voluntarily spread forth his humble hands to be nailed on the Cross, and will not resist the higher Powers, for the Lords sake. If they saw him in pieces, he will remember that Esaias suffered the same punishment. If they cast him into a Dungeon, so was Jeremiah the Prophet. Solamen miseris socios habuisse Doloris. There is nothing so comfortable as to have companions in misery. If he be cast in to Lions, so was Daniel. If he be thrown into a fiery Furnace, so were the three Children. If he be thrust through the Temples, so was Amos. If he be slain in the porch of the Temple, so was Zacharias. If he be cast into the Sea, so was Ionas. If he be killed with the Sword, so was Urias the Prophet. If his head be cut off, so was John Baptists. If he be fastened to the Cross, with his head downwards, so was St. Peter. If he be crucified, so was St. Andrew. If he be murdered with the Sword, so was St. James, the son of Zebedaeus. If he be thrown into a tun of boiling oil, so was St. John the Evangelist. If he be beaten to death with clubs, so was St. Bartholomew. If he be slain with a Dart, or Javelin, so was St. Thomas. If he be beheaded, so was St. Matthew. If he be crucified, so was St. Simon. If he be slain, so was St. Judas. If he be put upon a pinnacle of the Temple, thrown down, and after his fall, having breath, be knocked on the head, with fullers clubs, and brained, so was St. James the son of Alphaeus. If he be first stoned, and then beheaded, so was St. Mathias. If his head be cut off, so was St. Paul's. If he be burned to ashes, by furious Idolaters, so was St. Mark. There is no punishment so dreadful to his body, that shall cause his soul to break God's ordinance, to lift up his hand against his King, and so bring damnation to his own soul. Occidi licet, occidere non licet, It is honourable to be martyred an innocent Subject, But it is infamy to live a victorious Rebel. Preces & Lacrimae sunt arma Ecclesiae, Churchmen must use no other weapons against their Sovereign, than prayers and tears. He that useth the Sword, shall perish by the Sword, and he that fighteth against his King, sighteth against God. For they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me. saith God, that I should not reign over them: 1 Sam. 8.7. And if God doth not rule over them, than the Devil, who goeth to and fro in the earth, and walketh up and down in it, will puff up the heart of every sectary, with the Pride of ruling, and ever the prevailing faction, will set up an Idol to worship, until Satan doth make another faction stronger than that, and then down goeth the former Idol, and the Idolaters with it, and up starteth another, altogether as wicked and uncertain as the other.  
Christ never taught it, neither did ever any of the Prophets or Apostles, by their doctrine or example, give the least liberty that could be, to any Subjects to levy war against their Sovereign: But have forbid it, as a most detestable wickedness, both by their Doctrine, Precepts, Persuasions, Arguments, Commands and Examples; most of them suffering themselves to be most cruelly tortured, and ignominiously murdered, before they would resist the higher powers; Nay, they have forbidden all evil words or thoughts against them, commanding and instructing the people to pray even for the worst of Tyrants. What Tyrant more savage and cruel than Nabuchadnezzar? Yet with what earnest expressions did the Prophet Jeremiah exhort the people to obey him, threatening them with utter destruction for their Rebellion? What Tyrant more bloody than Nero? that Monster to the world, and Idolatrous Persecutor; Yet St. Paul bids the Romans obey and serve him for Conscience sake. Saul commanded the Amalekite to kill him, who when he had performed the King's command, brought word thereof to David, which when David heard, although Saul was a wicked King, He said to the Amalekite, Wast not thou afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lords anointed? and commanded him to be slain for his pains, and said, thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lords anointed, 2 Sam. 1 16.  
Innumerous are the precepts of loyal obedience, to which for brevity sake, I refer you to the Bible, which is an Iliad of such examples. Could not our Saviour have had more than twelve Legions of Angles, to have repelled the fury of his persecutors? But he was so far from resisting, that he bid Peter, who had drawn his Sword, put it into his place, and moreover told him, that they that use the Sword, shall perish with the Sword. Could not David have cut off S●uls head, when he cut off the lap of his Garment? Yet his heart did smite him, and he was not able to perpetrate so great a sin. How many glorious Martyrs, both ancient and modern, as those in Queen Mary's days, have been burnt alive, racked and torn in pieces, yet never would resist any of their persecutors? How dare the men then of our age, blaspheme God, even in their pulpits? teaching the people to rebel, and making God the Author of all their villainies, telling the multitude, It is God's cause, even when they are acting the most damnable works of the Devil. How justly may they expect the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah, the plagues of Egypt, and all the Curses in Hell to fall upon them and their posterity for ever? If they have any special command from God, or be immediately inspired of him to kill their King, then may they be justified, as in the cases of Eglon, Zimri, Jehu, etc. who did nothing but what was just, when they killed the Lords anointed, because they had God's will to be their Commander, and no man can sin in performing Gods will: For, sin is nothing but an obliquity from Gods will. But when they know that it is Gods will, to honour and obey their Sovereign, yet notwithstanding trample him in the dirt; What Judgement can they expect but that of their Master Lucifer, to be chained in everlasting Hell fire?  
Qui disputat de potestate Principis, utrum bene fecerit, est infamis, saith Marginista. He which disputeth of the King's power, or whether he doth well or no, deserveth the most infamous punishment. For, Tibi soli peccavi, against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil, O Lord, saith holy David, when he committed adultery, and, Psal. 51.4. Murder, as if he should have said, I am a King, and therefore cannot be brought to the bar of Justice by men; They can give me no Laws to bind me, therefore I cannot offend them. 2 Sam. 12.7. But against thee, thee only, O Lord have I sinned, and done his evil, against thee, who didst raise me out of the dust, and liftedst me needy out of the dunghill, and didst ●noint me King over Israel, and deliveredst me out of the ●and of Saul, and gavest me my Master's house, and my Master's wives into my bosom, and gavest me the house of Israel & Judah, & if that had been too little, thou wouldst moreover have given unto me such and such things. Against thee, who hast made me Judge over all, and loaded me with so many prerogatives above my brethren, have I sinned, and for the Judge to offend makes the offence so much the more grievous. The people did not call David in question for his wicked acts, but only God. Deus suam omnem in reges authoritatem contulit, caelum sibi retinuit, terram agendam, ferendamque pro libito tradidit, All the whole Heavens are the Lords, the Earth hath he given to Kings, to dispose of as they please. Therefore saith Solomon, Prov. 30.31. A King is he against whom there is no rising up. And therefore Job might well ask that question, 34.18. Is it fit to say to a King, thou art wicked, and to Princes, ye are ungodly? For presumptuous are they, and selfwilled, who are not afraid to speak evil of dignities, 2 Pet. 10. Render to Caesar, the things that are Caesar's, Mark 12.17. Render therefore to all their deuce, Tribute to whom Tribute is due, Custom to whom Custom, Fear to whom Fear, Honour to whom Honour. For Rulers are not a Terror to good works, but to the evil; wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the Minister of God, to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid: for he beareth not the sword in vain; for he is the Minister of God, a Revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for Conscience sake; For, for this cause pay you Tribute also. For they are Gods Ministers, attending continually upon this very thing, Rom. 13. Submit yourself to every Ordinance of man for the Lords sake, whether it be to the King as Supreme, or unto Governors, as unto them that are sent by him, for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well; for so is the will of God, that with well-doing, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, As free, and not using your liberty for a Cloak of maliciousness, but as the servant of God. Honour all men, love the brotherhood; Fear God, honour the King.  
We are commanded to obey the King, whether he be good or evil, Propter Deum, for the Lords sake; Not only because it is the will of the King, but because it is the will of God, that we should do so, he hath commanded it, and therefore for his sake we must do it; If we resist the King, we resist God, and he that resisteth God, shall receive damnation. For when we pretend that we are free born Subjects, that the Kings commands entrench upon our liberty, and that for the freedom of our liberties, we may rebel against him, This is to make Liberty a Cloak to cover our maliciousness, and wicked designs against the King, Which is forbidden by the Apostle; for not to serve the King is bondage, and to rise up against him to preserve and keep our liberties, is to enslave ourselves to the Devil, and to make us his servants to perform all wicked actions; For we must needs be Subject to the King's precepts, not only for wrath, but also for Conscience sake. Et si plures sunt quos corrigit timor, tamen meliores sunt quos ducit amor; Although they be most whom fear makes obedient; Yet they are best who out of true love obey their Sovereign. We must not obey the King only, that we may avoid giving of him offence, and so not incur punishment; But it is a duty laid upon our Consciences so to do, and if we love God, we must love as faithful Servants to be obedient unto the King, not as eye servants, who only do their duty when their Master looketh over them; But all our actions, either public or private, must savour of obedience to him, For he is our Master, and we are his Servants, and the Servant is not greater than his Master, but aught always to be diligent in his Master's service. And although the King do recompense good with evil, and punish them who like faithful Servants have not deserved it, Yet they being good, even in their sufferings shall receive praise from the power, as did our Saviour and the Apostles, when they were most wickedly murdered. For do we not until this day praise and honour their Martyrdom? Although the power which destroyed them, did not give them praise; yet by their obedience, and patience in their unjust punishments, did they receive a Crown of everlasting glory, and renown from God and men. Who can sufficiently celebrate the fame of those worthy Martyrs, who unjustly suffered for Religion, under the Government of Queen Mary? Have not they by their unjust punishments received greater rewards of praise, than if they had unjustly rebelled? Surely yea, for if they had rebelled, although it was to save their Religion, their Epitaphs would have been Rebels and Traitors, instead of pious and Godly Martyrs. The wicked only are afraid of the King's power and punishments, to whom he is a Terror; But a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man, maketh the courage of the righteous like Lions, to contemn all earthly misery.  

— Hic Murus aheneus esto  
Nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa,   

Be this a wall of Brass, to have within  
No black accuser, barber no pale sin.   
Non est fas Christianis, armis, ac vi, tueri se adversus impetum persecutorum, saith Cyprian, Epist. 1. It is not lawful for Christians by violence to defend themselves against Persecutors; Therefore surely they ought not to murder their King, and again Cyprian, Epist. 56. Incumbamus gemitibus assiduis, & deprecationibus crebris, haec enim sunt munimenta spiritualia, & tela divina quae protegunt; Let us apply ourselves to daily sighs, and continual prayers, for these are the spiritual bulwarks, and divine weapons, with which Christians should only fight, These, not guns and swords, will only defend us. Ambrose adversus reginae (Justinae Arianae) furorem, non se manu defensabat, aut telo, sed jejuniis, continuatisque vigiliis sub altari positus, Ruffinus li. 2. c. 6. Ambrose did not defend himself against the fury of the Queen, by the force of the hand, and of the sword, but by fastings, continual watchings and prayers; And shall we offend our gracious Sovereign, with clubbs and axes? Who by his sufferings showed us the example of a true Christian, whiles we like Jews triumph in his murder, crying out, crucify him, crucify him. Tertulian Apolog. c. 37. saith expressly, that the Christians might for strength and number have defended themselves against their Persecutors, but thought it unlawful; Yet we, because by our wicked plots and devices, we have got a numberless company, of those who like ourselves, will do any thing for gain, think it a sin, if we do not perform any wickedness, which our power will assist us to effect.  [Sen. Medea.] 
Tremenda caelo pariter, ac terris mala  
Mens intus agitat, vulnera, & caedem, & vagum  
Funus per artus. levia memoravi nimis;  
Haec virgo feci.  
Homicides, Parricides, Mauslaughters, murders, oppressions, deceits, extortions, briberies, and such like offences, we committed in our youthful years, when the Gospel was first planted in England, but now we are become great proficients in Christianity, we are now high, and mighty Christians, not fit to be fed with milk, as babes and sucklings, but with the blood of Kings, Regicides are our pass-times, and to murder the King, is holden to be one of the chiefest Principles, and proofs of a sound Christian: whole Nations gather together, and make a Covenant, to murder their Kings, which they hold to be as sacred, and as beneficial, as the old or new covenant in the Bible; but, Quae scelere pacta est, scelere rumpetur fides, That Covenant and trust which is made by wickedness, by wickedness may be broken, which doth most evidently appear in the transactions of the English and Scotish Rebels; For they most wickedly swore, and made a Covenant against the King, like those Traitors of whom King David complained, Psal. 102.8. And after they had murdered the King, than they swore, and made Covenants one party against another, so that, like those wicked men in Hosea 4.2. by swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, blood toucheth blood, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land; verifying the Proverb of King Solomon, Prov. 26.27. Who so diggeth a pit, shall fall therein; and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him: for Rebellion, by which they murdered the King, is returned upon them, and they now rebel one against the other: so that we may truly say, their own iniquities have taken the wicked themselves, Prov. 5.22. and they perish by the devices and imaginations of their own hearts; fulfilling the Scripture, Prov. 11.21. Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished, but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. For notwithstanding all the wicked plots, and inventions of the bloody Rebels, yet is our King C. 2. the seed of our most righteous Sovereign whom they destroyed, delivered out of their hands, as the bird out of the nets and snares of the fowler, or as the innocent Hart, out of the mouths of the bloody hounds, Whilst they rage and are mad one against the other. O the goodness and providence of the Almighty God  
Where the word of a King is, there is power, and who may say unto him, what dost thou? Eccles. 8. 2, 3, 4. The fear of a King, is as the roaring of a Lion, who so provoketh him to anger, sinneth against his own soul, Prov. 20.2. What sins then are we guilty of, who not only provoke our King to anger, but quench his anger with his own blood? St. Peter teacheth us another lesson, which you cannot hear too often, 1 Pet. 2.13, 17. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake, whether it be to the King as supreme, or unto Governors, as unto them who are sent by him, for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well, for so is the will of God. Honour all men, love the Brotherhood, Fear God, and honour the King. And to see the Civil Law, and the Divine Law go hand in hand, harmoniously agreeing, and consenting, to lead a loyal subject into due obedience, and allegiance to his Sovereign, is no less delightful to the Royalist, than envied by the Rebels, which Barclay doth out of the best Civil Lawyers, sum up together, cap. 14. saying, Principem ex certa scientia, supra jus, extra jus, & contra jus, omnia posse. Et esse crimen sacrilegii instar, disputare de potestate Principis. Et Principem esse legem animatam in terris. Et Principem solum posse condere statuta; licet humanum sit, quod consilio Procerum utatur. Denique Principem posse tollere leges positivas, quia illis non subjicitur, sed illae sibi. Et Deum Principi leges subjecisse, & nullam Legem ejus Celsitudini imponi posse. Et licet de jure aliquid non valeat, si tamen Princeps de facto mandat servari, perinde est, ac si de jure valeret, quoad subditos. Et solum Principem soli Deo habere de peccato reddere rationem, & soli Caelo debere innocentiae rationem. Et temerarium esse velle Majestatem regiam, ullis terminis limitare. Et Principem re vera esse solutum Legibus. The Latin is so elegant, that I will not clothe it in English rags. None but blind Sodomites who grope for the wall at noon day, will not here see the door which openeth to obedience, and go in; concluding, That the King is free from the Laws, and cannot be limited by any humane invention; may do what he please, & if he be more a Tyrant than Phalaris, or Nerone Nerovior, degenerate from all humanity, and prove a Wolf to his People; Yet by the Law of God, by the Law of Nations, by the Law of Nature, by the Law of the Land, by the example of all Saints, by the rule of Honesty, and by all equitable considerations, It is not lawful for his Subjects, nor any man, or any degree, or sort of men within his Dominions, upon this pretence of Tyranny, to rebel against their Sovereign. For if any cause should be allowed to be just for the Subjects to rebel, than that cause would always be alleged by the Rebels, though in truth they had no such cause at all; For whom one man and his Company did esteem a good, Pious, and Religious Prince, another party would proclaim him wicked, Tyrannical, and Idolatrous; And who shall be judge between them, but the sword? and then Excessit medicina modum, The remedy would be worse than the disease. For it is an undoubted truth, that Subjects did never despose their Prince, although he was a Tyrant, But that a multitude of Tyrants, far worse than they pretended their Prince to be, did rise up in his room. By the cutting off the head of one snake, twenty snakes grow in the same place; Therefore it is not profitable aswell as not lawful for subjects to resist their King. For hear what Bodine saith, O how many Tyrants should there be, If it should be lawful for subjects to kill their Sovereigns though Tyrants? How many good and innocent Princes should as Tyrants perish, by the conspiracy of their subjects against them; he that should of his subjects exact subsidies, should be then (as the vulgar people account him) a Tyrant. He that should rule and command contrary to the good liking of the people should be a Tyrant. He that should keep strong guards and garrisons, for the safety of his person, should be Tyrant. He that should put to death Traitors and Conspirators against his State, should be also counted a Tyrant; And indeed how should good Princes be assured of their lives, if under the colour of Tyranny they might be slain of their subjects by whom they ought to be defended? Then what madness is that Nation intoxicated with, who throw down a pious, good, and religious Prince, to promote a multitude of lawless Tyrants, whose little finger is heavier than the whole loins of their Lawful native Sovereign?  
The King, as I said, is the Husband of the Commonwealth; and the Wife is not greater than her Husband, because she had once power to choose whom she would, and because the man could not have been her Husband, without her consent. It is no argument that she hath power to turn away her Husband, because she made him her Husband. No, it is God who giveth the Marital power; he gave her the Husband, and gave him power over her, so that she cannot t●rn him from her, though he prove never so wicked. So though the people choose them a King, and are the cause, sine qua non, yet it is God who is the author of his royal power; And the people can no more dethrone him, and elect another, than the wife can her Husband. And it is as good an argument, to hold that the wife hath power to put away her Husband, and choose another, because she made him her Husband; As it is that the people may cast off their obedience to their Sovereign, and set up another, because they made him their King. The Cardinals make the Pope, and the Clerks the Bishop; but it would be a strange thing to them, if one should tell them, that therefore the Cardinals and Clerks might degrade them, when they pleased. Suppose the Soldiers should choose them a General, would not the General think it strange Logic, to argue, that therefore the Soldiers might turn him out of his office when they pleased? Indeed, where the superior makes an Inferior officer, he may deject him at his pleasure. As in a Prineipality (which is nothing else but an Aristocracy or Democracy) where the people create a Magistrate to rule so long as they please, they may turn him out at their will, because they always tetain a power of Constituting, and rejecting him when they think fit. So the King may turn out Parliaments when he will, because they depend upon him, and their power is inferior to his. But when the woman hath taken a Husband, when the Commonwealth is married and subjected to a King, than the Commonwealth hath no power, but all her power is ttansmitted to her Husband the King. For, Omnia quae sunt uxoris sunt ipsius viri, non habet uxor potestatem sui, sed vir, All that the wife hath is the husbands, and the wife hath not power over herself, but the husband. The people by their election, denude themselves of all their power, and transfer it to the King, so that he is the only fountain, from whence they draw every drop of power they have. As when Valentinian was desired of his people to admit of a consort in his Empire, he answered them, In eorum fuisse potestate priusquam eum ad imperium vocarent, id non facere, jam vero vocato imperatore eos non posse, nec ab eo impetrare quod nefas crederet illis concedere, That before they had elected him, it was in their power, either to elect him, or another, but now he being elected, they had no such power, neither ought they for to ask that, which he thought not fit to grant them. It is a prejudice to a royal mind, to be compelled to any thing, compulsion diminisheth the worth of a voluntary goodness. It is against the nature of Royalty to be restrained, which makes Kings say, Licet Legibus soluti sumus, attamen legibus vivimus, Though no man hath power to compel us to live according to the Laws, Yet we will. For Decet tantae Majestati eas servare leges quibus ipse solutus esse videtur, It is the part of a royal Prince, nay very decent and becoming so great Majesty, voluntarily to observe those Laws from which he is free.  German. vates. 
— Nihil ut verum fatear, magis esse Decorum  
Aut regale puto, quam legis jure solutum,  
Sponte tamen legi sese supponere regem.  
But if our Prince should not rule his life according to the Laws, yet it is our duties so to do, and we are commanded to obey him, and acknowledge him our King, though he be never so wicked; For we are his Servants; Nay, his Servants by birth, and therefore enjoined by a command to serve him, 1 Pet. 2.18. Servants be subject to your Masters, with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, But also to the froward. For this is thanks worthy, if a man for Conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. Nullus nascitur liber ab imperio; No man is born exempted from the subjection of Government. Our Saviour himself, as man, was not free from this; for he was subject to his Father and Mother, Luke 2.51. and also to the King, though he is the King of Kings, and all earthly Kings are only dependent upon God and Christ, whose vicegerents they are. I admire with what impudence our terrae filii, these screeching Oules, the men of our pale-faceed times, can blasphemously give the Almighty the lie, and say, per nor reges regnant, by us Kings reign, we give Kings, and take them away, When God plainly telleth them and all the world, per me Reges regnant, By me King's reign, I give Kings and take them away; and doubtless these Quacksalvers have as great authority and warrant from the Scripture to say, By us the Sun ruleth the day, and the Moon the night, and we gave the heavens and the earth their being, as they have to maintain this their detestable opinion, viz. that the King's power is radically in the people, and derived from them to him; For nemo est Dominus suae vitae, no man hath power over his own life, and therefore none can give that to another, which he hath not in himself; God only hath power over life, and death, and he hath given this power to Kings, as he hath evidently declared in his holy writ; And I am sure, God who hath said that by him Kings reign, is true, Rom. 3.4. And every man who saith the contrary is a Lyar. Then if God only instituted, and gave Kings, God can only take them away; For Eodem modo quo quid constituitur, diss●lvitur, Things are dissolved as they are contracted; Therefore every man should say with the French Bishop, mentioned in Greog. Turon. Hist. 4. lib. 5. Si quis de nobis, O Rex, Justitiae tramites transcendere voluerit, a te corripi potest, si tu vero excesseris, quis te corripiet? loquimur enim tibi, sed si volueris, audis, si autem nolueris, quis te damnabit, nisi qui se pronunciavit esse justitiam? If any of us offend the King, thou mayest correct us, but if thou shalt exceed, who shall correct thee? we may speak unto thee, and if thou wilt thou mayest hear us, But if thou wilt not, none can condemn thee, but he who is Justice itself; Therefore every one should endeavour to be that true obedient described by St. Bernard, Verus Obediens, non attendit quale sit quod praecipitur, hoc solo contentus, quia praecipitur, He that is truly obedient, regardeth not what is commanded, being content only with this, that it is commanded. We should be as diligent to obey, and preserve our King, as the apple our eye, and take as much delight in him, as we do in the light, for he is worth ten thousand of us; Therefore the Israelites would not let David their King adventure himself in the war against his rebellious Son, and their reason was, Thou art worth ten thousand of us, so in the war against the Philistines, They swear, Thou shalt no more go out with us, because they esteemed him as the light of the Kingdom, and say, 2 Sam. 18.31. That thou quench not the light of Israel; if he should miscarry, they accounted themselves to be but in darkeness; And if we were true Israelites indeed, in whom there was no guile, we should have the same estimation of our dread Sovereign, nulli pietate secundus, who is a second David. But suppose he was (as he is not) a Tyrant, were it not better for us to serve one hard, yet honourable, Master, than a hundred domineering, yet base ●red Tyrants? Si pereo, manibus hominum periisse ju●abit, If we must be killed and made slaves of, let the King, who is our superior do it, and not our servants, who have no greater pedigree, than ancient servants, and no other cause of their promotion, than their wickedness, Praestat timere unum ●uam multos, It is better to fear one than many, Better one wolf than many, to put our lives in continual hazard. It is a Maxim in Law, that the King shall have the estates, and protection of their persons who are non compos mentis, Idiots, etc. May not the King then justly and with good title, by this rule, challenge both our estates, and our persons? Surely he may, for if we were not worse than mad men and fools, we should never expel a gracious and merciful Sovereign, and subject ourselves to a company of the Lord knows what, A monster without head or tail, more wonderful than Chimaera; they would, and they would not, they themselves cannot tell what to make of themselves, neither can any man tell where to have them, like empty clouds and foggy mists they are blown about with every wind; But it is to be feared that the Devil will catch them at the long run, who now drink blood like sponges, and only know how to be wicked, oppressing both Law and Religion. Did the King demand Shipmoney, (as by the 
(a) witness, the resolution of all the Judges in England, in the reign of Charles the I. etc. For suppose that the Parliament turn Traitors and Rebel against the King, as did the long Parliament, Is it not profitable for the people, and lawful for the King alone, to command money and assistance of his subjects, to subdue the Rebels, and oppose a foreign Navy, who are coming to destroy, and swallow up both King and people? Surely none but a madman will deny, but that it is most lawful, just, and the only safety of the people, and their estates. Indeed, as it is the best way for a thief to bind the honest man, he doth intend to rob, so it is the safest, and best way, for that Parliament (who do intend to murder the King, and take away all that he hath) to bind the King as fast as they can, to take away his Negative voice, and all his just praerogatives, to make all his legal power, whereby he might withstand their violence, illegal; Nay, it is their best way to tie the King up from his meat to, make him stand for a cipher, a mere nothing, that so they being the predominant figures, may chop off his head, or do what they list with him, as did the long Parliament; who from trespass to high Treason against God and the King, have omitted no offence undone; But their soundest Doctrine, will prove but Apochryphas, to all honest Parliaments. I do confess, that except it be in cases of necessity, the King can lay no tallage upon the people, without their consent in Parliament; and so not shipmoney, which in truth is condemned by the Statutes of 25 E. 1 & 34 E. 1. de Tallagio non concedendo, Dangelit, Englishty, because the King hath restrained his power, by his Statutes. But if the King could not tax the people with shipmoney, and other impositions in extraordinary cases of necessity, aa when a foreign Enemy doth suddenly invade the Land, being invited in by a prevalent faction, in a refractory Parliament, who would ruin themselves and the whole Kingdom, so that they might ruin their King, and fulfil their wicked wills, who will not grant shipmoney, or any thing else to the King, lest he should be provided to oppose them, and defend himself, and the people in safety: I say, that if in this and such like cases, the King may not lawfully lay tallages on the people, and command their assistance, I had rather be a slave, than a King, and should account myself the Vassal of the people, not their King. But in truth, the King cannot denude himself of this power, nor by any Statute or Law, tie himself from it: For it is inseparable from the Crown, Et quod sceptro inhaeret non potest tolli, nisi sublato sceptro, And therefore cannot be taken from the King, unless the Crown with it: which rule the long Parliament have truly verified. For when they had taken away his chiefest prerogative, they could not forbear, but presently took off his Crown from his head, and then his head from his shoulders. Sic transit gloria mundi.  Law in extraordinary cases he might,) and was he condemned, and vilifyed, as unjust, and a breaker of the people's liberty? What are they then, who against all Law and Equity take away all that we have, only to satisfy their own ambitions, Atheistical appetites, and to maintain themselves in their most wicked, devilish, and incomparable villainies? Did the King demand five treacherous Members of the Parliament, whom the Law would have condemned guilty of high Treason? And was he adjudged an Enemy to Parliaments, and an Infringer of their freedoms? What are they then to be adjudged, who do what they list, hang or draw, our Members, and persons, and play with Parliaments, as Children do with Rattles, or as Butchers, their slaughtering axes, throw them away when they have done with them, and dismount, and thrust out that * what do you call it? [* Quondam Parl.] which first gave them their being? O viperous brood, who destroy that viper which engendered them! But since by the Law of the Land, Mad men shall not be punished for committing of Felony or Murder, Lest we (being madmen and fools as I have said before) should murder our King, and think to excuse ourselves, by pleading, non compos mentis, Let me tell you, that though one that is not of his right mind, shall not be punished if he commit Felony, Murder, petite Treason, etc. Yet if he kill, or offer to kill the King, it is high Treason, and he shall suffer punishment as other Traitors ought to do; let Cook the Oracle of the Law, give the reason, li. 4. fo. 124. Car le Roy, Est Caput, & salus Reipublicae, & a Capite bona valetudo transit in omnes, & pur cest cause lour persons sont cy sacred, que nul doit a eux offer violence, mes il est, Reus criminis laesae Majestatis, & pereat unus, ne pereant omnes. For the King is the head, saith he, & health of the Commonwealth, upon whom the safety of all doth depend; and for this cause, the King's person is so sacred, that no man can offer violence to the King, but he is guilty of high Treason, for which he shall die; For it is better that one perish, than all. And since it lieth in my way, this will I speak for the credit of the Common laws of our Realm, That though the Law of God, the Civil Law, and all other Laws, do as it were strive to excel each other, in maintaining and defending the Prerogative of Kings, yet doth not our Common Law (which is founded on the Law of God) come behind any of them; For I should want words to express, and Paper to contain the many privileges, and just immunities, which the Law giveth its Sovereign the King; and if the Judges had been as just to execute the Law, as Dunn the Hangman is, The head and feet had still enjoyed their proper Functions, and there would (as there ought) still have been a difference betwixt the Servant, and the Master, the Subject, and the Sovereign. But silent leges inter arma, our law-books, like broken Vessels, are laid aside; and our Laws, like Cobwebs, are not taken notice of, except it be to wipe & sweep them away; that the Corruption of one thing, is the perfection of another, is a rule in Philosophy, And do not the Sophistical Philosophers of our times, prove and approve this rule by practice, who perfect themselves by the ruin of the Laws? The Sword is their pruning-hook, by which they lop others, to make themselves grow the better; they bait all their designs with Liberty and Religion, and so catch the people into Hell, when they think to go to Heaven. The principal end of Government is the advancement of God● honour, but these men, make the safety of the people, the sole and only end of Government, only that they might murder their King, the Shepherd, make a prey of the sheep, his subjects, and so feed the cruel appetite of themselves, the Woolves, with the destruction of the Innocent. I need no other proof for this, than every man's experience.  Virgil. 
Tantane vos generis tenuit fiducia Vestri?  
Jam caelum terramque Dei sine numine, venti  
Miscere, & tantas audetis tollere moles?  

(e) Aposiopesis est.  Quos Deus, at motos praestat componere fluctus,  
Post sibi non simili poena commissa luetis,  
Maturate fugam Regique haec dicite vestro.  
O ye Empty Clouds, and raging winds of Ambition, could Attempts enter into your Dunghill thoughts, as to assassinate your King, provoke Heaven, and molest the Earth? Durst you encounter the Almighty, pitch battle, and sight against his Deity? Are your Commandments above his? and can your Statutes repeal his? Hath not he in his upper-house constituted a King, and commanded you to honour, and obey him? and can your Mortal nothings in the Lower-house (next door to hell) vote him useless? Can you put asunder, that which Jehovah hath joined together? and take away not only the Crown, but the life also of your dread Sovereign? Can you do these things and look upwards? [Aposiopesis.] But God will, that he will.— Ah rather repent of your villainies; It is better for you (I think, though not your deserts) to go peaceably to Heaven, than to be thrown headlong into hell; For there you will be murdered with the Devils, and you cannot murder any more Kings; death lieth at your door, and after this life ended, you shall not be punished with the Sermons of holy Ministers, or with God's Word, which is now odious unto you▪ But with the Scorpions of the Devil, Beelzebub and his Angels shall execute Tyranny over you, in the infernal pit, as you and your Angels have done over the Lords anointed, and his innocent subjects, in the open air before God, and man. Therefore Repent, for Repentance is your nearest way to salvation, Maturate fugam, Regique haec dicite vestro, Make haste, and go and tell your King these things, That you are sorrowful, and that it gnaweth and biteth your seared Conscience, to think that you should be the Authors of so great a wickedness, beg his gracious pardon, restore his sacred Patrimony, which you have torn in pieces, and cast lots for; his pardon, and peace with him, will do your Souls more good than all his Lands, or Royalties. Acknowledge his Sovereignty as ye ought, and set the Crown again upon his head, which you did injuriously pluck off, or else the time will come, that one drop of the many tears and waters, which you have caused to flow from the eyes of the Royal party, their Widows, and Orphans, shall be more desired of you to cool your tongues, than ever their estates and honours were. If a Thief should set upon you, or any other subject to rob him, It is lawful for the honest man to draw his sword, and kill him if he can: How dare you then with violence set upon your King to rob him, not only of his goods, but also of his life, yet because he defended himself, and so some of the Rebels slain, Therefore you impeach him of high Treason and murder? O monstrous, did you ever hear of any Law in the whole world, that ever the King could commit high Treason? Be dumb, for you did not.  
The Laws of England are divided into three parts, viz. 1. Common Law, which is the most ancient Law of the Realm, 2. Particular Customs, 3. Statutes or Acts of Parliament.  
There is no offence punishable by the Laws of England, unless it be against one of these Laws. He that doth not offend against the Law, is no sinner, for where there is no Law, there can be no transgression, I had not known sin, saith St. Paul, but by the Law, Rom. 7.7.  
Then cannot the King be guilty of Treason to the people, or of any other offence punishable, unless he offend against one of these three Laws: And that he did not offend against any of them, nor was guilty of those offences laid to his charge, by any one, or all of those Laws, is as clear as the Sun, and a Maxim with all honest men. For  
1. The Common Law is nothing else but the general custom, and common usage of the Realm. Finch. 77. Plowdens Com. 195. Therefore the King cannot be an offender, or guilty by the common Law, nor the people have power to call him in question for any of his actions; because it is so far from being the general custom, and common usage of England, for the King to be punished by the people, that before this first, and last, great, and monstrous, distractive and destructive, wicked and abominable murder, of the last most gracious and merciful King, such a thing was scarce ever heard of, or entered into the thoughts of any English man. Therefore the Rebels are cast by common Law, and the Chancery will never give relief against the common Law. li. 4.124 D. and St. So that take them which may you will, this Dilemma will hang them. Amen.  
2. Customary Law, is where a particular custom grounded upon reason, differeth from the general usage, and common custom of the Realm. Now to prove, that the King is not an Offender against this Law, would be a thing altogether frivolous and ridiculous, it being known to every one that he cannot.  
3. Statute Law, is a Law positive made by the King, with the assent of the Parliament: And there is no Statute or Act of Parliament in England, which maketh any offence in the King high Treason, or that giveth the people power to call the King to an account, accuse or condemn him. But there are many offences committed by the people, made high Treason against the King by several Acts of Parliament: But that the King could commit Treason against the people, is such a novelty, that Heaven nor Earth never heard of before perditious England hatched it.  
But since our age is much given to fictions, Let us for once feign with our false Republicans, That by the ancient fundamental Laws of the Realm, The King might commit Treason against the people and be a Traitor to the Commonwealth, for which the people might lawfully question him▪ Yet since, (Leges posteriores, priores contrarias abrogant, The Statute Law may alter and abridge the common Law,) The King cannot now commit Treason against the people, nor be a Traitor to the Commonwealth; Because by the Statute made 1 H. 4.10. and several others, It is enacted by authority of Parliament, (who as the common people think may do any thing, vote Heaven Hell or, Hell Heaven) That in no time to come any Treason be Judged otherwise, than it was ordained by the Statute of 25 E. 3.2. In which Statute I am sure there is no mention made of any Treason, but only against the King, as any one may read at large which Statute, being it was made by Benedictum Parliamentum, a blessed Parliament, (for so it was called Co. Inst. 3.2.) I commend it to the perusal of every English man, as the best lesson he can learn, by which he will see the error of the times, and what changes the wicked have wrought amongst us.  
Therefore since several Parliaments have made Statutes, That the King can commit no Treason, nor no Treason be committed but against the King, Ex ore tuo te Judicabo, we may conclude from their own mouths, that by no Law, but against all Laws, they murdered their King, the meekest and justest of all men.  
For, whosoever committeth sin, transgresseth also the Law, for sin is the trangression of the Law, 1 John 3.4. Then how could the King sin, when there was no Law for him to transgress? By the common Law (as I have already showed) he could not be an offender; neither could he by any Statutes; For at that very time, when the Parliament (the people's representatives) charged the King with Treason, they had made many Statutes, That those things which they themselves acted against the King, should be high Treason against the King; But they had made no Law, whereby the King might become a Traitor against them. Therefore the King could not offend against that Law which was not. Adam had not sinned in eating the forhidden fruit, had he not been first forbidden; Neither had St. Paul known lust, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not sin, Rom. 7.7. And for the King to commit Treason, when there is no Law which maketh any offence in the King whatsoever Treason, but all laws both Common and Statute, both Divine and Humane resolve the contrary, is such a Chimaera, which passeth the understanding of every reasonable creature. But forsooth, our new upstart pragmatical Lawyers (as they call them) such as Cook was, witness his King Charles his case, fol. 22. (A Cook, (but rather a Scullion) I am sure of no affinity in judgement, nor comparable in learning, with our great Master and Oracle of the law Sir Edward Cook) do say and profess, that they have a Law written in their hearts, whereby they are enabled and authorized to kill the King, if he offend; But I wonder holy David had not this Law written in his heart to kill wicked King Saul, when it lay in his power so to do? The question is easily answered, for God said, that David was a man after Gods own heart, and therefore could not do so great a villainy; But I am sure, if the Scripture be true, Neither God nor man will say, that these men, are men, either after God's heart, or any honest man's heart; And divide the Kingdom, and you will find a thousand for one, in whose hearts this law was never written; Therefore if it be written in some few men's hearts, yet since it is not written in the hearts of the Major part, according to their own tenets, that law is not binding. You may read in 1 Sam. 24.6. and cap. 26.11. That it was in David's power, and he was admonished to kill his enemy wicked King Saul, once in the Cave, where he cut off the King's skirt indeed, but his heart smote him, as if he had committed Crimen laesae Majestatis, high Treason against the King; And then in the Trench where Saul lay sleeping, 1 Sam. 26.7. So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping within the Trench, and his Spear stook in the ground at his Bolster; But Abner and the people lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine Enemy into thine hand this day: Now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the Spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time; And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not. For who can stretch forth his hand against the Lords anointed, and be guiltless? David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish: The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lords anointed: but I pray thee take thou now the Spear that is at his bolster, and the Cruse of Water, and let us go. Here you may see how grievous a thing it is to lay hands upon the King, though he be wicked, and persecute you. For by holy david's own confession, no man can do it, without committing an high and woeful offence. Therefore better it is for all men with King David to commit the punishment of their King to God, (who most assuredly will punish the King, aswell as the Beggar for his offences,) and not violently oppose, or stretch forth their hands against him, for none can do that, and be guiltless.  
It is true the law of England in many particulars is lex non scripta, and when our law books are silent, we must repair to the law of Nature, and Reason; But when a law is established by the law of God, declared by many Statutes, and reported by multitudes of reverend Judges in their Reports, as it is, that the King can commit no offence so great, as to be punished by the people, Then sit liber Judex, We must Judge according to the written Law, though it do not agree with our own private reason; If the King before the descent of the Crown be attainted of Treason, felony, or any other offence, yet by the descent of the Crown, The Attainder eo instant is void, as it fell out in the case of Henry the seventh, 1 H. 7.4. Jnst. 1.16. Then if the Coronation of the King prohibiteth the punishment of those offences which he committed before he was King, only because he is King, and so not punishable by any earthly power, how can he commit any offence after his Coronation, for which the people may call him in question? It being a Maxim in Law, That the King can do no wrong, that is, no wrong for which the people may punish him; And to say that the King is an Officer of trust placed by the people, is a mere foppery, and against the express letter of a principle in Law, viz. That the King is not capable of an office to use, but to grant, Co. Jnst. 1.3. But why should I speak of Law, to those who God and all the World knows Act all things against law? For is there any Law which maketh it high Treason in the King, if he commit such or such an offence? or is there any law to enable the people to call their King to an account? I appeal to the whole World, and even to the Consciences of our wicked Folarchical upstarts, Whether they ever read any such Law in the old or new Testament, in the Statutes or Reports of the laws of our Realm? or whether they ever heard of any such law in any Kingdom or Nation under the Sun? No they did not, The Devil brought it (if any there be) out of the infernal pit, whither it will bring them all, unless God most high prevent not; can a posteriour Law make that an offence, which was lawful at the Commitment? without doubt it cannot; But these men with their practice most wickedly affirm it. King Henry the 7. ● h and many Burgesses and Knights of the Counties, being first attainted by Act of Parliament of high Treason against Richard the 3d. The question was in H. the 7 this. Parliament, How this Act of Attainder should be reversed, and made void; It was resolved by all the Judges, That those Knights and Burgesses which were attainted, should not sit in the House, when the Act of Attainder was to ●e reversed; But when that Act was reversed, than they might come again and sit in Parliament: But as for the King, it was unanimously agreed and resolved by all the said Judges, that ipso facto, when he took upon him to be King, that he was a person able, and discharged of the Attainder; for (said they) the King hath power in himself to enable himself without a Parliament: And an Act for the reversal of the Attainder, is not at all necessary. See 1 H. 7.4 Com. 238. Parliament. B. 37. and 105.  
In which case you may see the power of a King, of a King that was attainted of the greatest offence, viz. High Treason. Here likewise you may view the power of a Parliament, of a Parliament, who had as much right to dethrone their King, as ever the long Parliament, or any other had. Here likewise you may hear the voice of the Law, of the Common law, not since repealed by any subsequent Statute. But as it was then, so it ought to be now the Resolution of all the Judges in England, That the King hath power to take pardon, and ought not to crave pardon of the people for his offences.  
The Crown once gained taketh away all defect, is the Sentence of the Law, and an Adage amongst all honest Lawyers; If the people had the Supreme power, why was not the Attainder of the King (in this precedent case) reversed by Act of Parliament, as were the Attainders of the other Members? If the King be but an Officer of trust, deputed by the people, and receiveth his power from them, Why was not the King (in this case) freed from his offence by the people? What would they entrust a person attainted of so great an offence as high Treason, with the highest place in the Commonwealth, And yet not permit others guilty and attainted of the same offence, not so much as to fit, and Act as Members of the Parliament, without they were first purged of their offence? It doth not stand with reason, that the highest Offender should exercise the highest office; And doubtless if the people had had power, the Parliament would have cleared King H. the 7th. from his crime, before he should have Officiated his Office of Kingship.  
But that Parliament well knew, that the feet were not higher than the head, and that the Inferior Members could not impose Laws on the King their Sovereign; They knew with Bracton, that the King (Parem non habet in Regno suo) had not in his Kingdom, any single man, or the people, his equal. Therefore since it is the Law of the land, Magna Charta, 29. That no m●n shall be judged but by his Peers, and being the King hath no Peer, or Peers, in his Dominions, They resolved not to judge their King, nor to commit so great a vanity, as to reverse the Attainder: For can a King be attainted? or can the people, who have no authority, but what they have from him, have authority to correct, and revise their King? O foolish imagination! Horac 

Caelo tonantem credidimus Jovem  
Regnare: praesens Divus habebitur  
Augustus; adjectis Britaunis Imperio.   

Jove governs Heaven with his Nod:  
King Charles, he is the earthly God:  
Great Britain being his lawful Inheritance.   Our King Augustus, high and mighty, Solus Princeps, qui est Monarcha & Imperator in Regno suo, Davis Irish Rep. fo. 60. Our only Prince, who is both Monarch and Emperor in his kingdom, hath only authority and the only right to govern the Britain's, who, though long since, have been accounted, Rigidi & hospitibus feri, rigid, and cruel to strangers: yet, that they should ever so much degenerate, as to be rigid and cruel to their own natural King, and kill their natural Sovereign, is such a wonder, and murder, that never entered into the thoughts of former ages, and will be a bugbear, and scarecrow to all succeeding generations: for by robbing their King of his Crown and Life, they have robbed the Turk of his cruelty, Judas of his treachery, and all the Devils of their malicious wickedness: For the Turks cruelty, Judas his perfidious treachery, and the Devils malicious villainies, do all conjoin to make up, and centre in an English Rebel, one of those beasts, who like the Enemies of King David, Psal. 102.8. Have sworn together against their King, are mad upon him, and revile him all the day long: Yet, that they may seem religious even when they commit Sacrilege, they (like the Devil when he tempted our Saviour, taking him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showing him all the kingdoms in the world, and the glory of them, saying unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me, Mat. 4.9.) will promise fairly; and, as if they were resolved diametrically to oppose St. Peter's Doctrine, who commands them, 1 Pet. 2.16. Not to use liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, they use the liberty of the people (as a Wolf doth the Lamb's skin, to destroy poor Lambs) as the only cloak and cover for all their malicious, wicked, prodigious, and damnable actions. For, if you ask them, for what cause did they murder the King? Their answer is, for the liberty of the people: For what cause do they make themselves Governors, and Lords and Masters over all that we have? For the liberty of the people: For what cause do they subvert the Laws, expel and throw down the orderly and holy Clergy, and all Religion with them? For the liberty of the people: For what cause do they enslave the whole Nation? For the liberty of the people.  
Nay, these men are so well furnished with godly pretences, and wicked intentions, that even whilst they cut the people's throats, they make them believe they give them a blessing: And as the man, who swore that the Coat of the true owner, was another man's, only because he might have the use of it himself; So these men have the impudence to swear (though not without perjury) that the Supreme power is in the people, only because they might throw down our royal Government, with all goodness with it, and use that Supreme power themselves, which they protest is in the people. O delusive Mountebanks! Was there ever such a juggling deceit acted by any Jugglers or Quacksalvers in the world? Surely there was not. And did not every one, nay they themselves, very well know the truth of what I have said, I might easily make it clear and evident, even to the blind, with multitudes of Examples. For who was it that murdered the King? Was it the people? Every man knoweth that it was neither the people nor the Parliament, But a Company of Jesuitical treacherous Rebels, and damnable Usurpers, Who flaming the people in the mouth with a tale, that the supreme power was in the people, made use of this power themselves, against the wills of the people, as an Engine to perform and bring to pass all their wicked and horrible designs.  
But say they, we are the people's Representatives, chosen by the people, and so what we do, they do; Catch a Knave without a Knaves answer, and he will give you leave to hang him. I must confess, if this were true, they might have somewhat the more colour (though not the more honesty) for what they do: But this is as false as themselves: For the people chose them to sit in Parliament, and act according to the King's Writ, as part of the King's Parliament, according to the Laws of the Realm; But since the Parliament is destroyed (for what Parliament can there be, without a King and House of Lords? such a headless Monster was never seen until of late) Consequently their power which they derived from the people, is gone also. Neither are the Commons in Parliament the representative body of the whole Kingdom or people; For they do not represent the King, who is the head, nor the Lords, who are the nobler and higher part of the body of the Realm; the Commons only represent the Inferior and lower sort of the people: but if they did, as they do not, represent the whole body, yet did not the people ever give them any power, to cut off their King's head. For the Lords voted it unlawful, all the honest Commons forsook the House, and the people were all displeased (except a few of their own hatching up) and every one else murmured against it. The Nobility mourned, The Gentry were amazed, The Common people wept, and men women and Children did cry, The Heavens clothed themselves in black, And the Sun hid his face. The Lion King of Beasts died at the ●ight of his royal blood, And the wild fowls came wondering to see this execrable fact, on the Scaffold, And if the Thundering and Lightning of the Almighty be a true sign of God's Angry Deity, Then even from this we may conclude, that these Regicides took too much upon them, and very much provoked his wrath. For, 
— Diespiter  
Igni coruseo nubila dividens,  
Plerumque per purum tonantes  
Egit equos volucremque currum.  The Heavens roared with thunder, which made the earth shake, and the darts of fiery lightning threatened the ruins of both. And who can think upon this worse than Gunpowder-Treason plot (for then was but intended, that which now is put in Execution) viz. The murder of our gracious King, and the subversion of all Laws and Religion with him, and not justly expect all the Plagues of Egypt, and the punishment of Sodom and Gomorah, to fall upon him and the whole people? For, Hor. 
Hoc fonte derivata clades  
In patriam populumque fluxit.  From the death of the King, as from a fountain, did flow the slaughter of the Nobility and people, with the ruin of the Glory and freedom of the English Nation. Tantae molis erat perversam condere gentem, Such, and so great villainies were perpetrated, to raise this generation of Vipers. Yet forsooth, they will tell you, that the supreme power and Sovereignty, is in the people, and that they act under them. O grand Delusion! Did the people turn out the long Parliament? Did the people set up Oliver Protector? Did the people turn out Dick his son? Did the people foist up again the Rump of the long Parliamene? Or did they hunt them out again? Did the people sanctify the Committee of Safety over them? Or did they hunt in the Rump again? Or have they made all the Revolutions and chopings, and Change amongst us? No, neither the people nor their Representatives, But the Devil & his Representatives have been the cause of all our subversions. For as the people have not, so neither did the twentieth part of them, ever challenge, or claim the supreme power. But have always acknowledged the Sovereignty to be only in their King, and only Sovereign, only under God.  
Reader, take notice, that in many places of this Book, by the word Parliament, is meant those Traitors, the House of Commons, who have unjustly usurped the name of Parliament: For by the known Laws of the Land, there can be no Parliament without the King.  
Therefore, let every one of the Regicides repent, and pray to God, to open his eyes, and that the scales of blindness may fall from them, that he may see his duty, which is so evidently written in the Scripture, and all other pious Writers, which is, to fear God, and to honour his King, which is acceptable in the sight of the Lord. And so I shut up my discourse, with these verses, which I would have the Reader get without book for his Edification.  
Astra Deo nil majus habent, nil Caesare terrae,  
Sic Caesar terras, ut Deus astra regit.  
Imperium regis Caesar, Deus astra gubernat,  
Caesar honore suo dignus, amore Deus.  
Dignus amore Deus, dignus quoque Caesar honore est,  
Alter enim terras, alter & astra regit.  
Cum Deus in coelis, Caesar reget omnia terris,  
Censum Caesaribus, Solvile, uôta Deo.   

A Tyrant without a Title, set out in all his Colours; and proved by the Laws both of God, and man, by the sentence of all honest and wise men, by the vote of Antiquity, and several Examples, That it is most lawful and glorious for any man, either public or private, to fall upon Tyrants, and kill them, without Examination, according to the usual forms of Judicature. Where the consent of the people after Usurpation, makes an Usurper's Title good, and where not. That the assent of the people, cannot ratify any Government without him, so long as their King liveth, though banished, but all their acting is Illegal. How Tyrants pretend the safety of the people only for their own safeguard; and how they delude the people with specious names, for their Magna Latrocinia, their great villainies, and robberies. The Devil was a Rebel, so are they, and like Satan they have their power only by permission; with an incitement to all men, to execute them, for these are not the Dignities we should obey.  
LEt us now take our Swords in our hands, and arm ourselves to encounter with this Tyrant, sine Titulo, a Tyrant without a Title; That bird of prey, that beast of the game, Orbis flagellum, that scourge of the world, that Devourer of Mankind, Fulmen belli, that Thunderbolt of war, that Maule of the earth, Poli●rcletes, that destroyer of Cities, that Hangman, that Murderer, that great Robber, whose might is his only right, whose multitude of thiefs makes him formidable, builds himself up with honest men's blood, feared by all men, and fears all men, an enemy to every honest man, and every honest man an enemy to him, a monster more hideous, than ever the Poets could feign, and more noisome and destructive to humane kind than any beast the world ever bred, a Devil in humane shape. If you do not yet conceive his nature, I will give you a further description of him. A Tyrant without a Title (who indeed is most properly called a Tyrant) is he who levieth war against his King, killeth him, and takes the Government upon himself, or who of his own authority against the will of the people, without election, or right of succession, neither by lot, by will, by gift, by just war, nor special calling of God, doth take upon him the Sovereignty. Take notice, Reader, by he way, That the Subject can have no just war against his King. A foreign Prince may have a just cause to levy war, and if he conquer, his Title is good and just by the Law of Conquest. So if ones own natural Prince be kept out of his Country by the Rebellion of his Subjects, and he afterwards come with a foreign Army, nay with fire and sword (as we say) that is, putting all to the sword who resisted him, and burning up all that they have, yet if he subdue the Traitors, he is no Tyrant. But if any man without any right or title usurpeth the Government and aspireth unto the Sovereignty, though afterwards he squareth his life according to the rules of moral honesty, and liveth (as one may say) according to the Laws, Yet notwithstanding he is a Tyrant for all this. A Thief when he hath taken a man's purse from him, will in company stand upon his Terms of honesty, as much, if not more than an honester man. Yet this after sanctity will not purge a Tyrant from his former sin. He must restore home that which he wrongfully and unjustly keepeth, before he can be a true penitent, and nothing but true Repentance can wash away the guilt of former sins. Therefore Equo ne credit Teucri, trust him no further than you can see him, before he hath cast off the unlawful robes of Sovereignty, and put on the honest habit of a true Subject, Eor Latet anguis in berba, Let his outside be never so Religious, he is a knave in his heart, his pretensions and his intentions are seldom of affinity.  
But may any private hand stick this wild boar? may any public or private man stab, or otherwise destroy this Tyrant before he be tried according to the Common course of the Law? Grounding upon the Law of God, the Law of Nations, the Law of Nature, and the Common Law of the Realm, I give judgement against him, that as a stroyer of humane kind and society, every man may lay violent hands on him and execute him, For which according to the Laws and writings of ancient Fathers, he deserveth perpetual honour, propounding to every one who should kill such a Tyrant most ample rewards, viz. honourable Titles of Nobility and prowess, arms, statues, Crowns, and the goods of the Tyrant, as to the true deliverer of his Country. By the Law of God, Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, Gen. 9.6. And what Tyrant ever was there who did not shed man's blood? Nay by the Law of God, That man who will do presumptuously and not hearken to the law, is to be cut off, that the evil may be put away from the Land, Deut. 17.12 Exod. 21.14. All the Civil Lawyers do unanimously give judgement against him, and esteem that man as one, who doth God and his Country good service, who shall rid the world of this viper. By the law of nature every man is obliged to preserve himself, And what better means can he use for his preservation, than to destroy this elf, this Wolf amongst men. For who can say any thing is his own? who can say his life, his goods or estate is secure, so long as a Tyrant reigneth? By the Common Law of the Realm, if any one set upon me to rob or take any thing away from me, I may lawfully pistol him, stab him, or otherwise destroy him. and by the same reason and law; for ubi eadem ratio, ibi idem jus, I may destroy a Tyrant; for the only difference betwixt a common highway man, or Burglar, and he is their strength and might, the one is a little thief, the other a great one. As when Diomedes a pirate was taken and brought before Alexander, saith he, Ego quia uno navigi● latrocinior, a●cusor pirata, tu quia ingenti classe id agis, vocaris imperator: si solus & captivus esses, latro cris, st mihi ad nutum populi famulentur, vocarer Imperator, I because I rob with one poor ship, am accused as a Pirate, thou because thou robbest with a great Navy, art called an Emperor. If I had as great and strong a company of robbers with me as thou hast, and thou wast alone, and a Captive, as I am, than thou wouldst be the thief, and I the Emperor. So may every common thief, highway man, cutpurse, or Burglar say to the Tyrant when he is brought before him, For mutato nomine Fahula de te narratur. When the Tyrant murthereth any honest man and taketh away his estate, he pretends it is for the safety and good of the Commonwealth, calling him Traitor to the State. So it is for the safety of a thief to kill the man he intendeth to rob. But the Tyrant he dazzles men's eyes with new invented names; for his magna latrocinia, his great thefts having nothing honest in them, but the very names. For when he exerciseth his robberies, and sendeth some of his messengers (who are indeed no better than thiefs) to rob men, that he calleth Excise. So when he setteth upon the whole Nation, he compelleth them to make a purse for him, that he calleth Taxes. And this kind of thievery is so much the more remarkable, because he maketh the owners like fools gather the moneys for him themselves. Nay such is the stupidity of these Dromedaries, that if they have scarce money enough to buy themselves bread, or to pay their Landlord his just Rents, yet they will troth about to gather moneys for this Tyrant; their common enemy, before they will lift up a hand against him. They will let their Churches drop down for want of repair, and Law and Religion and all fall to the ground, before they will let the Tyrant miss of a farthing of his demands— Tanta est insania mundi. So great is the madness of men.  
And the reason why the Law alloweth every man to kill a Tyrant, and take that vengeance which in other cases is reserved to God and the Magistrate, is, because there is no other remedy, and Gods Laws cannot be otherwise executed; for the Tyrant maketh himself above all law, possesseth himself of all Forts, strong Holds, Garrisons, and the Magazine of all Armour, so that by the greatness of his villainies he is secured from the power of the Magistrates, and so consequently cannot be punished by the ordinary Court of Justice. Therefore Extremis morbis, extrema remedia, Extraordinary diseases must be cured by extraordinary means, Receditur à placitis juris, potius quam injuriae, & delicta maneant impunita, We may go a little out of the Common road of Justice to punish those crimes who make by-paths their high ways, and cannot otherwise be met with. For Lex semper dabitremedium, The Law will always give a remedy, and— immedicabile vulnus ense recidendum est, that ulcer or sore which cannot be cured by medicines, must be cut off with the sword, and it is a rule in Law, that aliquid conceditur, ne injuria remaneret impunita, quod alias non concederetur, The law will dispense with some grounds of law, rather than crimes and wrongs should go unpunished it is a Maxim, that no private man may kill another, Exod. 22.2. Yet if a thief set upon a man in the high way, or come to rob his House, he or any other man may lawfully kill him, and deserve well of the Commonwealth. So a Tyrant who continually liveth upon the spoils of the people, and is continually robbing the Commonwealth; for he hath nothing but by robbery, though he pretend nothing but the good and safety of the Commonwealth, may be killed by any man, and that man who executeth him deserveth perpetual renown, and aught to have his name written in the Chronicles of everlasting memory, and consecrated to eternity.  
Object. But it may be objected, ●hat a Tyrant who usurpeth the Government by force, and afterwards getteth the consent of the people, may not justly be killed by any man, because this future approbation, and election of the people, is a true ratification of his power.  
Sol. To which I answer, That notwitstanding the people's consent he may lawfully be slain; for that which is done by duresse cannot be binding, and that cannot be thought to be the true consent of the people which they do by constraint. Indeed if the Sovereignty continueth in the Children and posterity of the Tyrant for the space of an hundred years or more, so that they have a title by Prescription, which must be without the least interruption or Rebellion of the people, then ought not any man to slay them, because they have a title by Prescription. As in the Government of Rome. Julius Caesar usurped the Sovereignty, and wrested the power out of the Senate's hands, but was afterwards stabbed with twenty three wounds, and all men rejoiced and esteemed his murder a most worthy act. But when Tiberius Caesar came to the Government, he reigned unquestioned without any competition of the Senate, and therefore no private man could justly slay him. For our Saviour did acknowledge allegiance due to him. But where a Tyrant rebelleth against his lawful Sovereign, dethroneth, him banisheth him, and establisheth the Supreme power on himself, though the people all of them continually consent, and the Tyrant and his posterity reign for a thousand years, or more, yet may any man lawfully slay him; for the people cannot give away Sovereignty from their lawful King, and he may demand it when he pleaseth, and regain his own when God hath made him able; For Dormit aliquando jus, sed moritur nunquam. Right sometimes sleepeth, but never dieth.  
Out of the Magazine of autorities which might be brought to confirm what I have spoken concerning this firebrand, a Tyrant without a Title, I shall only select some flowers to lay upon his stinking corpse, and so wind up my discourse with his winding sheet.  
Bias being asked which was the most pernicious of all beasts, he answered, Sylvestrium Tyrannus, Domesticorum adulator. Of forest beasts a Tyrant was the worst, but of domestic a flatterer, Plut.  
Antisthenes' always preferred hangmen before Tyrants, and being asked the reason, he answered, a A Car nifice quidem homines injusti interimuntur, à Tyranno autem etiam insontes, A Hang man only hangeth the unjust and evil men, but a Tyrant also hangeth the most just and most pious, Ludovicus 12 Gall. Rex, was wont to say, Plehem & rusticos esse pascua Tyrannorum, & militum: Tyrannus autem & milites, pascua esse daemonorum, That the Common people and Country Farmers, were the food of Tyrants, and their Soldiers; but the Tyrants and the Soldiers were the food of Devils, Annal. Franciae.  
Democritus being asked of Dionysius what kind of metal was the best, answered, That whereof the Athenians made the statues of Harmodiu●, and Aristogiton, in honour of their kill Pisistratus the Tyrant. Intimating by this answer, that all Tyrants ought to be destroyed, and to those who killed them aught to be erected statues of brass in honour of their noble attempt, after the manner of the Athenians Plut.  
Euphron the Lacedaemonian having made himself a Tyrant in the City of Cicyon, was shortly after murdered by the Senators, as he sat in counsel with them, who defended themselves by this Apology. Quod qui manifesti sceleris, proditionis, & Tyrannidis rei sunt, non sententia aliqua damnandi videantur, sed ab omnibus hominibus jam ante damnati sunt, & quod nulla Graecorum lex ostendi possit, quae proéitoribus, ●ut tyrannis securitatem praestet, That those which are guilty of treason and tyranny, need not to be proceeded against in a legal way; for that they are beforehand condemned in all men's judgements, neither was there any Law amongst the Grecians that gave security to traitors and tyrants, Plut.  
Insidiatori & latroni non potest afferri injusta nex, saith Cicero pro Milone, A traitor and a tyrant cannot be killed with an unlawful death; for every man may be both Judge and executioner of them, and non se obstrinxit scelere, si quis Tyrannum occidit quamvis familiarem. 3. Offic. Nulla nobis cum Tyrannis societas est, sed summa potius distractio, neque est contra naturam spoliare eum, quem honestum est necare. It is the part of an honest man to kill a tyrant, although he be his familiar friend; for no man should keep company with a tyrant, and it is most natural and honest for a man to kill him; Cicero likewise saith, Phil. 13, Quem discordiae, quem coedes civium, quem bellum civile delectat, eum ex numero hominum ejiciendum, ex finibus humanae naturae censeo exterminandum, Whom discord, slaughter of the Citizens, and Civil War delighteth, I would have him cast out of the Society of men, and thrown down headlong into Hell. And Contra publicos hosts & majestatis reos omnis homomiles est, saith Tertullian, Against common enemies, and those that are traitors to their King, every one is an Ebud with his dagger, and may most law fully kill them. Therefore though Christ hath taught me to forgive my enemies, nay to love them, and not to speak evil Of Dignities, and for my part I hate not the person of any Tyrant. Pax ●um hominibus, bellum vitiis, but I hate his Tyyrannie, I freely forgive them all the injuries they have done to me, or any of my friends, and for their good I have written this Treatise; but they are Gods enemies, and God would be offended if we should let them sleep in their villainies. Our Laws and Religion ought to be more dear to us than all things in the world; for without them we should be worse than beasts; and who more subverteth our Laws and Religion than Tyrants? Vt imperium evertant libertatem preferunt, cum perverterunt, ipsam aggrediuntur, says Tacitus, That they may pervert the legal Government they pretend liberty for the people, and when the Government is down, they then invade that liberty themselves. Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellent, To rob, to murder, to plunder, Tyrants falsely call to Govern, and to make desolation, they call to settle peace. These are they which God says, Hosea 8.4. Ipsi regnaverunt, sed non ex me, They have reigned, but not, by me. They have made Princes, and I knew it not. and have cast off the thing that is g●od. There is no power indeed, but of God, but the abuse of power is from the Devil. These men do not rightly use, but abuse the power, and as Satan is called the Prince of the world, so these men are called Governors of the Realm, not because they are so by right, but by Treachery, Rebellion, and Treason, their power is by God's permission, not by his Donation, Therefore these are not the Dignities and higher powers which the Apostle commands us to be subject to; for than we must be subject to the Devil too; for Tyrants and Devils have powers both alike lawful, and both by Treason and Rebellion: No, we should resist and arm ourselves against these enemies, it is Disobedience to obey them, Rebellion not to rebel against them, and Treason not to plot Treason against them: Therefore let every one be ready with his dagger like Jodes, to stab this devourer of mankind. Bad Kings must be converted only with prayers and tears; but Tyrants must be subdued with clubs and swords; for Quis constituit te virum Principem & Judicem super nos, Exod. 2.14. Who made them Princes and Judges over us? the King we know and the King's son we know, but who are they? They are not of Gods making, but of Beelzebubs their Master, and their own making: Therefore let every good Christian arm himself against these Caterpillars, devotion and action must go together, let him not bribe his Conscience with self interests, but take courage and fight the good fight, that so he may deliver himself, and his Country from slavery, and bring the Tyrants to the Rope, their best winding sheet.   

All other Governments are but the corruption and and shreds, of Monarchy, which is the most glorious and most profitable of all sorts of Governments; when, and how Aristocracy and Democracy begun rather by God's permission than institution. The proper Character of a Commonwealth's man, or the Definition of an English Changeling, with his flexible, and mutable qualities. The absence of our King is the cause of the presence of our many sins and divisions  
IF you remember, in my Division of Governments, I made mention of Aristocracy and Democracy, etc. which indeed had their first Original from the corruption of Monarchy, and are but shreds of Monarchy, as all Politicians hold: Therefore I will not spend time and paper to abuse your patience with any thing, but a Description of them: For Virg. 
Verum haec tantum alias inter caput extulit urbes  
Quantum lent a soleni inter viburna cupressi.   
Monarchy doth as far excel all other sorts of Government, in glory, profit, conveniency for the people, and in all other good qualities, as the Sun doth the Moon, or the Moon the twinkling stars, and is like the lofty Cedar amongst the servile shrubs. Hence it cometh, that even the Republicans who hate a King because he is their Sovereign Master, are compelled to suffer and use Petite Monarchies (as one may say) under them: as one Master over every Family, one Mayor over every City, one Sheriff over every County, one Rector over every Parish Church, one Pilot over every ship, one Captain over every Troop, one Admiral over the Fleet, and many other Offices of trust and places wherein Plurality of persons would prove most obnoxious: But Monarchy is and always hath been proved and approved the best and most absolute lie good.  
Aristocracy is the Government of a Commonwealth by some select number of the better sort of the people, preferred for their wisdom and other virtues for the public good.  
Oligarchy is the swarving or distortion or Aristocracy, or the Government of a few rich, yet wicked men, whose private end is the chiefest end of their Government; tyrannising over Law, Religion and the people.  
Democracy or popular estate is the Government of the multitude. Where the people have the supreme power, and Sovereign authority.  
Ochilocracy or a Commonwealth is the corruption and deprivation of Democracy, where the rascal Rabble or viler sort of the people govern by reason of their multitude.  
These kinds of Government were not heard of a long time after Monarchy began, and the impulsive causes of them were contention and confusion, and were rather permitted than ordained by God, as the bill of Divorce was by Moses; For non erat sic ab initio, there was no such Government at the beginning; for God did not create it, as he did Monarchy when he made all things; but the people being straggled up and down in the world, and so in process of time became out of the knowledge of their lawful King, rather than they would endure the miserable effects of Anarchy; for Plebs fine Rege ruit, there can be no family, no society, indeed no living without rulers, they, resigned up their whole power and liberty to some few select men, or else to many, who made Laws for them, and so tied up the hands of the unruly and wicked, and defended the just from the violent tempests and storms of the unjust, to which before they lay open and naked: which God seeing that it was better for them to have such a Government, than none at all, did allow of it, but it hath no comparison with Monarchy, becuase that was instituted by God's primary Ordinance, and the further men go from God's original institution they have the more corruption, Nay, if compared to Monarchy it is a curse; for Solomon saith, Prov. 28.2. For the transgressions of a Land, many are the Princes thereof, but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.  
— summo dulcius unum  
Stare loco, sociisque comes discordia regnis.  
How sweetly doth the Poet sing, when he saith, that it is most sweet for one to govern; for a company of Governors have always discord to be their companion. Monarchia nihil habet durum praeter nomen, populare contra regimen nihil lene praeter nomen. Monarchy hath nothing harsh but its name, but on the contrary, a popular estate hath nothing delightful or taking but its name. Our times are so full a Commentary, and so plain an Exposition of the evil events of a popular estate, that I will not, neither need I recite the opinions of the Ancients, wherewith they have contemned it, as the worst of Governments, most subject to dissension and change, and most obnoxious to the people. And I think, no Nation under the Sun could ever produce a more notorious example than mutable England, where every man as if he had served an Apprenticeship to novelty, forgeth new invenions every day: he changeth his mind as often as children would change their clothes, and fitteth his conscience to every opportunity and purpose. His heart (though hollow) will bend like a flexible osier, and incline to any thing that is profitable, though never so wicked, his resolutions will break to pieces like ropes of sand, and like the Moon are always changing. He never standeth to any thing so fast, but that he can slip away from it when he pleaseth. Neither did he ever love any Religion' so well, but that he could love another as well at any time, and for a need entertain tw●ntie together, twenty did I say? Nay, 'tis his fashion to change his Religions every day, if no every hour, and so, much Religion makes him an irreligious changeling.  
But for brevity's sake take his Epitome, viz Constant only in inconstancy. And this man thu● qualified is one of the main pillars of the Government of England; for you must know too, that h● hath sometimes a great mind to be a Governor, nay, he is so hot upon it, that sometimes he will do any thing rather than fail. If his own father stands between the Throne and him, he will make him stand by, or else make him go into another world. He can pull off King's Crowns, as often as he can pull off his own Hat. He can break a great Oath as easy as he can break a little shreed, and Perjury with him is a Cardinal virtue, if it do but add any thing to his Design. And you will make it a miracle, if this man should not make a good Commonwealth's man, if not a good one, however one would think that he might keep his place long enough, being so well furnished with all these sweet, flexible and easy conditions, but no, he cannot, and the reason is, because there is a great Litter of these Whelps gathered together of the same kind with himself, and being so many, they often snarl one at another for the bone: so the Government Proteus like changeth itself into what shape they please, sometimes one of them is promoted to the Government, just like a Malefactor on a Wooden Horse, whom they pull down when they please, and them run open mouthed with a full cry after it again, 
* Omnibus esse Lupos licet in regione Lupoporum.  until that at length one being nimbler footed, or quicker mouthed, catcheth it into his paws, by and by all of them like Actaeon's dogs fall upon him, and although he crieth out Actaeon ego sum, Dominum cognoscite vestrum. I am he which use to hunt with you, and be your master Huntsman, yet such is the furious madness of these Animals, 
Gal. 2.18. If I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.  that they tear him in pieces, and hang the Government on another, and so they toss it about from one to the other, as children do a three half penny ball, thinking it is no sport, if the ball lie long still in one of their hands. Regni sacra fames quid non morialia pectora cogis? What doth not the thirst of ruling compel these mortals to do? Every one cuts his fellows throat if he thwarts him in the Government; they make the people swear to be faithful to a single person one day, and to swear against a single person the next. It is high Treason to speak against one kind of Government one hour, and high Treason or worse not to speak against it the next; and what is the reason of these turnings, and twine, and various alterations? Because in these days there is no King in England, and every man doth that which is right in his own eyes, Judg. 21.25.  Velle suum cuique est, nec voto vivitur ●no.  

An Advertisement to the Enthusiasts, and Crown-hunters of this overruling age, admonishing them, since their lives are so short, and so wicked, that they would not expect Eternity in their ill-got-estate, and that from hell there will be no Redemption, because the Devil will not be deluded with bribes, Cares and fears do accompany Crowns lawfully gotten, but curses and damnation do attend them and their possessors, which have gotten them by the Murder of their King, or by any other illegal means, as did our English Rebels.  
QVis furor O populus, quae tanta licentia ferri?  
Discite justitiam moniti & non temnere Divos.  
What madness O people, O people what licentious fury possesseth your earthly Cottages? Can fish live in the air? Or can fowls live in the Sea? Can you scale the heavens, and subdue the Almighty?  Hor. 
Coelum ipsum petimus stultitia, neque  
Per nostrum patimur scelus  
Iracunda Jovem ponere fulmina.  
The disposing of Crowns belongeth to God, and not unto your frail Quidlibets, When you go to wrest the Crown from your Sovereign, you go to fight against God: And through your foolishness pull down his wrath upon you. Why preach you up yourselves the maintainers of the Law so much? Alas, thiefs cannot live without a Law; for if they do not distribute their stolen goods equally, and according to Justice (as they term it) Divisions and quarrels will soon arise amongst them. But I hope this is not your case, if it is, 
* The strifes and divisions now amongst the Rebels do further the King's Restauration to his own, of which they rob him.  honest men will come by their goods: Therefore being admonished Do not despise your lawful King and Sovereign.  
Si genus humanum, & mortalia temnitis arma,  
At sperate Deos memores fandi atque nefandi,  
But if you do, and with your vaunting power, and raging violence overrule all humane strength and justice, Yet remember, that the gods remember you, and when your villainies are past and rubbed out of your brittle memories (For nothing is more pleasing than to forget one's evil actions) yet than they are most fairly written in God's book, and shall never be blotted out until your names are razed out of the book of life. What sweetness is there in Crowns, which makes you so earnest to wear them? It is your fond conceits to think they are delightful, there is nothing in them which hath not plus fellis quam mellis, more gall than honey. Deformis facies non est deformis amanti. It is only your love which makes them beautiful; for Crowns are not without cares and fears, crosses and losses; and high seats are always slippery. O vilis Pannus, said one King, throwing down his Royal Diadem, Were it but known how many miseries and molestations do attend thee, Nemo foret qui te vellere tollet humo.  
No man would stoop to take thee up. Antonius the Philosopher, Emperor of Rome, was wont to say, That an Empire was malorum Oceanus, an Ocean of miseries: and surely the time will come, that every one of you with him will say, Felix si non imperassem, Happy had I been, if I had never reigned: but suppose the Crown to be your own, and you every day to sit upon the Throne of Majestle, triumphing over all perils and dangers, fare deliciously every day, and with those wicked men which King David speaks of, have what your heart could wish or desire? Yet Hor. 
Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas  
Regumque turres,  
Death knocks as boldly at the Ruler's door,  
As at the Cottage of the poor.   
When you think yourselves most secure, than destruction may be nearest at hand, and when you feast your pampered bodies, crying seria cras, then may the sword which must be your executioner hang over your head, but by a hair. Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam. The shortness of our lives forbids us to expect Eternity here. Where is Alexander the great? Where is Julius Caesar the Usurper? Or where is Oliver the Tyrant? is he not gone out like the snuff of a Candle, even loathsome to his own Parasites?  Juvenal. 
Et cui non totus sufficit orbis  
Sarchophago contentus erat, Mors sola fatetur  
Quantula sint hominum corpuscula.  
And him whom a whole world of villainies could not satisfy, was at length overcome with a little Coffin, and contented with a span of ground, Death only making him stand to his Principles. And although you like misty fogs going against the Sun which raised them, rebel against him from whom you have your being, making Hoc volo, sic jube●, stat pro ratione voluntas, Your will's the only reason of your Laws, and your Laws like traps, only to catch honest men, yet Nemo malus felix, There is no wicked man happy.  
— Facilis descensus averni,  
Noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis,  
Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras,  
H●c opus, ●ic labor est.  
It is easy for you, nay it is very pleasant to plunge yourselves into Hell, but if you should join all your heads together, nay unite all your hearts and forces into one entire body (which it seems is a hard matter for you to do) yet by all your strength and juggling tricks, ye cannot juggle yourselves out again, nay, the Devil himself cannot get you from thence, but there you shall burn like wisps, which have done scouring the better vessels, or like the rods which have chastised God's children. Your rejoicing shall be turned into mourning, and your deceitful prating into gnashing of teeth.  O curas hominum! O quantum est rebus ina●e! 
How men are taken with their own shadows? and Narcissus-like grope after that which is not. What will it profit a man to enjoy the whole world to day, and lose his own soul to morrow? David taxed them with foolery, whose inward thought was that their houses should continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations, and call their lands after their own names. How much more than may they be taxed with foolery, who call other men's Lands after their own names and think they shall enjoy them for ever? This their way is their folly, yet their posterity approve their sayings, yet this night shall their souls be taken from them, they shall be laid in the grave, death shall ●eed on them, and the upright shall have Dominion over them in the morning, and their beauty shall consume in the grave, from their dwelling; though while they lived, they blessed themselves, yet when they die they shall carry nothing away, neither shall any thing but their villainies descend with them. The same voice which came to Nabuchadnezzar whilst he was boasting of his great Babel, shall come from heaven to these Babylonians, saying, To you be it spoken, your Kingdom is departed from you. And Pompey-like you shall die, and have no mould to cover your carcases.  
Nudut pascit aves, jacet en qui possidet orbem  
Exiguae telluris inops.  
They who living made men run from them through fear, shall now make men run from them by reason of their stink. And I pray God that I may not have cause to say of this City of London, as once Seneca said of a City which was burnt to ashes, una dies interest inter magnam Civitatem, & nullam, There is but one day's difference betwixt a great City and no City; for what City in the world so full fraught with sins and villainies, as ours?  Horace. 

Eheu cicatricum, & sceleris pudet,  
Fratrumque. Quid nos dura refugimus  
Aetas? quid intactum nefasti  
Linquimus? unde manus juven●us  
Metu Deorum continuit? quibus  
Pepercitaris? O utinam nova  
Incude diffindas retusum in  
Massagetas Arabesque ferrum.   

We blush at scars received, sin, brother's fall,  
Vile age what mischief do we shun at all?  
What youth his hands for fear of gods contains?  
Or who from sacred Altars spoil refrains?  
Ah rather our dull sword new forge and whet  
Against the Arabian, and the Massaget.   
How do our houses burn with lust? and our Chambers with pride and wantonness, whilst the streets blush with the blood of Prophets? to see the Children murder their great, yet loving Father, before his own door. O Almighty God pardon our infamous Paticides, and Regicides, and close up those wounds which our sins have made so wide that none but thy right hand can cure them. 
— Miserere laborum  
Tantorum, miserere animi non digna ferentis.  Relieve the distresses of thy Saints, and take pity upon those who are wrongfully persecuted; turn rather than confound the hearts of all men, and open the casements of our ignorant (yet zealous) minds, that by the true light of the Gospel we may walk in faithful obedience towards thee our God, and towards our lawful King and Sovereign, whom thou, not men and Satan have placed over us: and let all men learn that which a Divine and honourable Poet hath left us.  

The world's a bubble, and the life of man less than a span,  
In his conception wretched, from the womb so to the tomb;  
Cursed from the cradle, and brought up to years, with cares and fears:  
Who then to frail Mortality shall trust,  
Bu● limnes the water, or but writes in dust.   

Yet since with sorrow here we live oppressed, What life is best?  
Courts are but only superficial Schools to dandle fools.  
The Rural parts are turned into a den of savage men;  
And where's a City from all vice so free,  
But may be termed the worst of all the three?   

Domestic cares afflict the husband's bed, or pain his head;  
Those that live single take it for a curse, or do things worse.  
Some would have children, those that have them moon or wish them gone.  
What is it then to have, or have no wife,  
But single thraldom, or a double strife?   

Our own affections still at home to please, is a disease.  
To cross the sea to any foreign soil, perils and toil.  
Wars with their noise affright us; when they cease we are worse in peace.  
What then remains? but that we still should cry  
Not to be born, or being born to die.    

The King of England's Sovereignty proved and approved by the Common Law, to be above both Parliament and people; inferior to none on earth, but God Almighty: and that neither the people of England, nor any other his Subjects, either distributively, or collectively in one entire body, aught to call the King in question for his actions, though they be never so wicked. The sweet harmony and concordance of the Law of God, and the Law of the Realm in maintaining the Royal Prerogative of our Sovereign, manifested. The King's Coronation is only a Ceremony, no part of his Title. How the Changeling Statesmen of our times, (who will not endure that the King should have Sovereignty over them his vassals,) make themselves absolute Kings over the Scripture, and Law books, and make the Law and the Gospel speak in what sense their wicked wills and lusts vouchsafe. Resistance of the power unlawful. The Subject's duty to their Sovereign. Their Reward and remedy if they be punished wrongfully. Reverend Bracton cleared from Mr. pryn's false aspersions, Mr. pryn's Character, his Book entitled the Sovereign Power of Parliaments and Kingdoms, arraigned, convicted and condemned, and his confident averment therein. That it was not Saint Paul's, nor the Holy Ghosts meaning to inhibit defensive wars of the Subjects against their King, proved to be Apocryphal, and that Saint Paul like an honest man) spoke what he meant, when he said, Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, though Mr. Pryn would have his words and his meaning two things. How Mr. Pryn worshipped the long Parliament heretofore as a Sacred Deity, when it acted wickedly, and now despiseth it, as idolatry; and an Advertisement to him to write a book of Retractations.  
To go about to prove, that the King of England, etc. hath the Supreme power over the Parliament and people, deserveth as much derision, as to go about to prove that the Sun shineth at noon day, or that the heavens are above the earth, yet since there are those amongst us, who like the Sodomites grope for light in the clearest day, and have the impudence to publish for truth, that which their conscience telleth them is false, I will give you a taste of our Lord the King's Sovereignty, which lieth dispersed and scattered about in our Law books.  
Jus C●ronae, The Law of the Crown is the principal part of the Laws of this Realm, Co. Lit. 11.b. 15. ᵇ 344. ᵃ 25 E. 3 cap. 1. Register inter jura Regia 61, etc. For since the Common Law of the Land, is common usage, expressed in our books of Law, and judicial Records, Co. Lit. 344 a. Plowden 195. Finch 77a. The Government of this Kingdom by a Royal Sovereign is become a Fundamental Law, being as ancient as history itself, and used from the time whereof the memory of antiquity is not to the contrary.  
And since that the ligeance, faith & obedience of the Subject is due unto the King by the Law of nature, Co. l. 6. fol. 12. as well before, as after the municipal and Judicial Laws were made, our Law-books like faithful Subjects (being the Magazine of law) from their Alpha to Omega could preach no other Doctrine than Allegiance, faith and due obedience to their Sovereign the King, whom they all confess and testify to be the Supreme lord and head of the Commonwealth, immediately under God, above all persons, in all causes. Finch in French, fol. 20. in English 81. Co. lib. 2.15. Le Roy est caput & salus Reipublicae, & à capite bona valetudo tranfit in omnes, lib. 4.124. the King is the fountain of Justice, tranquillity and repose, Plowden 242. Therefore Nil desperandum Rege duce, & Auspice Rege, Nothing can come amiss to us, the King being our guide and Sovereign. Reges sacro aleo uncti spiritualis jurisdictionis sunt capaces, Kings being the Lords Anointed are nursing Fathers to our Church. The King of England est Monarcha & Imperator in Regno suo, Davis Irish reports fol. 60. the Almighty hath said, that they are gods, and our common laws of England being founded on the laws of God do likewise attribute to them a shadow of the Divine excellencies, viz. 

Wingates Maxim fol. 301.  
1 Divine perfection.  
2 Infiniteness  
3. Majesty  
4 Sovereignty.  
5. perpetuity  
6. Justice.  
7. Truth.  
8 Omniscienc   Of which I have already treated; Nay as God is a King in Heaven, so the King is styled, a God upon Earth. Finch 81. He is the Head, Father, Physician, and husband of the Commonwealth; He is God's Lieutenant, Deputy, Vicegerent, receiving his Commission from God, not from the people. These are the titles which the Common Laws of England give to the King. A Divine sentence is in the lips of the King, his mouth transgresseth not in judgement, Prov. 16.10. saith God's word, Therefore the Law receiveth it for a Maxim, That the King can do no wrong, Co. Lit. f. 19 He is Rex gratia Dei non populi, King by the grace of God, not of the people, The most high ruleth in the Kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, Dan. 4.17. Therefore all the Lands and Tenements in England, in the hands of Subjects, are holden mediately or immediately of the King, but the King is Tenant to none but God, 8 H. 7: 12. Co. Lit. 1. For, Praedium Domini Regis est Directum Dominium, cujus nullus author est nisi Deus, Only God is the author and Donor of the King's Dominions. Therefore the possessions of the King are called, sacra Patrimonia & Dominica Coronae Regis. The King is the Lords anointed, 1 Sam. 10.1. Therefore the Law giveth reverence to his Person, and maketh him supreme in Ecclesiastical causes. The villain of a Lord in the presence of the King cannot be seized, because the presence of the King, is a protection to the villain for that time, 27 ass. Pla. 49. Is it fit to say to a King, thou art wicked, and to Princes, ye are ungodly? Job 34.18. Therefore no Civil (much less Criminal) action lieth against the King, if he doth unjustly, the only remedy against the King is by petition and supplication, for who shall command the King▪ Stamford Praer. fol. 5. Bracton fol. 5. Flera fol. 17. Finch 13. The Prerogative which the Common-law giveth the King is so large, as Sir Henry Finch saith, that you shall find that to be law almost in every case of the King, that is law in no case of the Subject, Finch fol. 85. And therefore Sir John Davis in his preface confidently averreth, that the Common-law doth excel all other laws, in upholding a free Monarchy, which is the most excellent form of Government, exalting the Prerogative royal, and being tender, and watchful to preserve it, and yet maintaining all the Ingenuous liberty of the Subject. Nay so careful is the law of the King's Sovereignty, that in all cases from the highest to the lowest, it demonstrateth the King's supreme power and dignity. The law will not permit any Subject to come so near the King, as to be jointenant with him, for if Lands are given to the King and a subject, or if there be two Jointenants, and the Crown descend to one of them, the Jointure is severed, and they are Tenants in Common; for no Subject is equal with the King, Co. Lit. 190. Ploughed. Com. in Seig. Barkleys' Case. Nay rather than the Su●●ect shall be equal with the King in any thing, he shall lose all; for the King being Tenant in Common of entire Chattel personal, he shall have the whole, as if an Obligation be made to two, or two possessed of an horse, and one is attainted, the King shall have the whole duty of the Obligation and the horse, 13 El. pl. 322. Finch. 178. To instance all particular cases, is endless and impossible, all land is holden of the King immediately, or by means, himself not having any higher upon earth of whom to hold, 50 Ass. pl. 1. 18 Eli. Pl. 498. For it would be against Common right and reason, that the King should hold of any, or do service to any of his subjects, saith Cook, lib. 8.118. Because he hath no Superior but God almighty, Cook Lit. 1. Escheats of all Cities appertaineth unto the King, all mines of Gold and silver, or wherein the gold and silver is of the greater value, appertain unto the King, 8 E. 3. Escheat 12. 1 El. Plo. 314. The King is Anima legis, he governeth and defendeth the law, all Writs and Process run in his name, and receive authority only from him; and all persons have their power from him, and by his Writ, Patent, or Commission. The King hath the sole Government of his subjects. The body Politic and the natural body of the King make one body, and not divers, and are inseparable and indivisible, Plo. 234 242.213 lib. 7.12. Rex tuetur legem, & lex tu●tur jus. We mu● be for God and the King, because by his laws we are protected, and it is a miserable case to be out of the King's Protection, Co. Lit. 129.  
All Jurisdictions and the punishment of all offenders against the Laws, belongs to the King; And Treasons, Felonies and other Pleas of the Crown, are propriae causae regis. For why? The King is viva Lex, a living Law, who only hath power to give Laws, and therefore he only ought to punish those who break them: Not the Parliament as it is called, viz. the two Houses, or either of them singly, because they without the King can make no Law, and therefore they are murderers, because they have put to death many worthy Innocents', having no other Law, but their own wicked wills.  
And for my part, if any one should tell me that the Law of England, is nothing but the will of the King, I could not disprove him; for what are the great volumes of our Statutes, but the Monuments and Repertory of the Kings will? What is the reason, that it is a Law that the King cannot make new or alter old Laws, but in Parliament with the consent of his Lords and Commons? Because the King was pleased to will it so, for it was not so from the beginning. The King was long before Parliaments, and therefore did most certainly make Laws without them. What is an Act of Parliament, but the will of the King, Nay what is Magna Charta, but a Roy le veilt? All our Rights and Liberties we enjoy, are by the gracious concessions of our Sovereign Lord the King, who esteemeth our good, and freedom, his best prerogative and happiness; Omnium domos, illius vigilia defendit, omnium otium, illius labour, omnium delitias, illius industria, omnium vacationem, illius occupatio: The King by his watch, and diligent care, doth defend, and keep every man's house in safety: his labour doth maintain and defend every man's rest and quiet, his diligence doth preserve and defend every private man's pleasure and delight, his business doth maintain and defend every man's leisure; So that (as Manwood hath it) even as the head of a natural body doth continually watch, and with a provident care still ook about for the safety, and preservation of every member of the same body: Even so the King being the head of the body of the Commonweal, doth not only continually carry a watchful eye for the preservation of peace, and quietness at home amongst his own Subjects, but also to preserve, and keep them in peace and quietness from any foreign invasion: Therefore if the Rebels since the murder of our gracious King Charles the first, have taken the freeborn Subjects of this Nation, and imprisoned them like Slaves without any just cause or due process of Law; If they have violently driven us from our Lands and Livelyhoods, possessing themselves of them, and taken away our free Customs and Liberties; If they have unjustly deprived us of the benefit of the Law, banished us out of our Country, and destroyed us with their high Courts of Injustice, without the verdict of our equals, contrary to the Law of the Land; if they have delayed Justice and Right, denied it to all men, and granted it to no man, but to those who would buy it, Bless God for Charles the first, and pray for the restauration of Charles the second. Praise God for their noble Praedecessours, who have been our Nursing Fathers, and their Queens our nursing Mothers, who have willed and enacted Magna Charta, ca 29. Nullus liber homo capiatur, vel imprisonetur, aut dissisietur de libero tenemento suo, vel libertatibus, vel liberis consuetudinibus suis, aut utlagagetur, aut exuletur, aut aliquo modo destruatur, nec super ibimus, nec super eum mittemus nisi per legale judicium parium suorum, vel per legem terrae, nulli vendemus, nulli negabimus, aut differemus justitiam, vel rectum. That no man should be arrested, imprisoned, disseised of his freehold, of his Liberties, or free customs, or outlawed, banished, or otherwise destroyed, but by the verdict of his equals, and the Law of the Land, neither should Law and Justice be delayed, sold or denied to any man, but the King in judgement of Law, is present in all his Courts of Justice, repeating these words, We will sell, deny, nor delay Justice and right to no man, Inst. 2.55. O Magnificent, blessed, and golden Oration! It proceeded from the lips of Kings, and we shall never hear such Doctrine preached again in any of our Courts of Justice, until our King be restored to his own, and sit Judge amongst us. It was King Charles the first who granted that the burden of excise should not be laid on the shoulders of his Subjects, but the Rebels with their intolerable and monstrous Excises, new found impositions, and other unspeakable grievances, have beggared the Subjects, and undone the whole Kingdom both in their Estates and Reputation; To be short, whatsoever they voted unlawful for the King to do, they have done that, and ten thousand times worse: so that though we want not bodies to feel the miseries, which they have brought upon us, yet we want tongues to express the woefulness of our Condition, and the incomparable wickedness of these Traitors.  
And what greater pretence have they had for their actions, than to say, that the King was not the Supreme Governor over his Subjects? A contradiction in itself; but we will proceed further to manifest their error. Sir Thomas Smith in his commonwealth of England, saith, cap. 9 By old and ancient Histories that I have read, I do not understand that our Nation hath used any other general Authority in this Realm, neither Aristocratical, nor Democratical, out only the royal & Kingly Majesty, who held of God to himself, & by his Sword, his People & Crown, acknowledging no Prince on Earth his Superior, and so it is kept, & holden at this day; which truth is sufficiently warranted in our Law-Books. The state of our Kingdom (saith Sir Edward Cook li. 4. Ep. ad lectorem) is Monarchical, & from the beginning by right of inheritance hath been successive, which is the most absolute and perfect form of Government; excluding Interregnum, and with it infinite inconveniences, the Maxim of the common Law being Regem Angliae nunquam mori, That the King of England never dyeth; then doubtless the Rebels could not by Law mortify both the natural and politic capacity of the King. And in calvin's case li. 7. The weightiest case that ever was argued in any Court, than which case (according to my Lord Coke observation) never any case was adjudged with greater concordance, and less variety of opinions, and that (which never fell out in any doubtful case) no one opinion in all our books is against that judgement, In this case it was resolved amongst other things, Fo. 4. etc. 1. That the People of England etc. were the Subjects of the King, viz. their Sovereign liege Lord King James. 2. That Ligeance, or obedience of the Subject to the Sovereign, is due by the Law of Nature. 3. That this Law of Nature is part of the Laws of England. 4. That the Law of Nature was before any judicial or municipal Law in the world. 5. That the Law of Nature is immutable, and cannot be changed. From which resolutions we may conclude, that the Subjects of the King of England (unless they like God Almighty could alter the Law of Nature,) They could not alter their obedience and subjection to their Sovereign Lord King Charles. For if by the Law of Nature obedience from them was due to the natural body (as I shall further prove) of King Charles; and if the Law of Nature is immutable, (as most certainly it is, Bracton lib. 1 ca 5. D. & Stu. ca 5. & 6.) then could not they have any cause whatsoever, (as altering their Religion, banishing, or killing of them) a sufficient ground for them to take up arms against him, and put him to death. For by this they go about to change the Law of Nature, which is impossible for mortals to do: But say some, by the Law of Nature we may defend ourselves, and therefore levy war against the King for our own defence; I answer, that by the Law of Nature we are bound to defend ourselves, yet must we use no unlawful means for our defence; for the Subjects to levy war against their Sovereign, is forbidden both by the Laws of God and Nature. Therefore vain and foolish is that excuse, as well as all others which the Rebels make use of to defend their Rebellion.  
Ligeance is a true and faithful obedience of the Subject due to his Sovereign, It is an obligation upon all Subjects to take part with their Liege Lord against all men living, to aid and assist him with their bodies, and minds, with their advice and power; not toft li up their arms against him, nor to support in any way those who oppose him. This ligeance and obedience is an incident inseparable to every. Subject of England; and in our Law-books, and many Acts of Parliament, as in 34 H. 8. cap. 1. 35 H. 8. cap. 3, etc. The King is called the liege Lord of his Subjects, and the people his liege subjects. Every Subject of England taketh the Oath of ligeance, which is only due unto the King, yet doth not the ligeance of the Subject to the King begin at the taking of this Oath at the Leet; For (as it was resolved in calvin's Case) so soon as the Subject is born, he oweth by birthright ligeance and obedience to his Sovereign Lord the King. Because ligeance, faith and obedience of the Subject to the Sovereign, was by the Law of Nature written with the Finger of God in the Heart of Man, before any municipal, or judicial Laws were made: 1. For that Moses was the first Reporter or writer of Law in the World, yet government and subjection was long before Moses. 2. For that it had been in vain to have prescribed laws to any, but to such as ought obedience, faith and ligeance before, in respect whereof they were bound to obey and observe them, Frustra enim feruntur leges, nisi subditis, & obedientibus. You may read likewise in calvin's Case, That the King of England hath his title to the Crown by inherent birthright, by descent from the blood royal, from God, Nature, and the Law, and therefore not by way of trust from the two Houses of Parliament, or from the People; Neither is his Coronation any part of his Title, but only an ornament, and solemniation of the royal descent; For it was then resolved, that the title of King James was by dessent, and that by Queen Elizabeth's death, the Crown and Kingdom of England descended to his Majesty, and he was fully and absolutely thereby King, without any essential ceremony, or act to be done Ex post facto. So in the first year of the same King's reign, before his Majesty's Coronation, Watson and Clarke, seminary Priests, and others, were of opinion, that his Majesty was no complete and absolute King before his Coronation, but that Coronation did add perfection to the descent, and therefore (observe saith my Lord Cook their damnable and damned consequent) that they by strength and power might before his Coronation take him and his royal Issue into their possession, keep him prisoner in the Tower, remove such Counsellors, and great Officers as pleased them, and constitute others in their places, etc. and that these, and others of like nature, could not be treason against his Majesty, before he was crowned King. But it was clearly resolved by all the Judges of England, that presently, by the descent, his Majesty was completely and absolutely King, without any essential ceremony or act to be done Ex post facto, and that Coronation was but a royal ornament, and outward solemniation of the descent. And this evidently appeareth by infinite Precedents and book cases, where such execrable opinions have been no sooner hatched, than destroyed; and if the Judges of our age had been so honest, as to have cropped in the bud such like opinions broached by the Rebels, Charles the first had still been our King, and we a flourishing and happy Kingdom.  
Although the King of England hath two Capacities, the one by Nature, the other by Policy; yet ligeance is due to the King in his natural capacity, and his natural and politic body make but one indivisible body, Plo. 213. The Oath of Alligeance is made to the natural person of the King, so is the Oath of Supremacy, and all Inditements of Treason, when any do intend, or compass mort● et destructionem Domini Regis, the death, and destruction of the Lord our King (which must needs be understood of his natural body, for his politic body is immortal, and not subject to death) the Indictment concludeth, contra ligeantiae suae debitum, ergo, the ligeance is due to the natural body, vid. Fit. Justice of Peace, 53. Plo. Com. 384. in the Earl of Leicester's case; It is true, that the King in genere dyeth not; but no question in individuo he dyeth, as for example Charles the first died, yet the King is not dead, because Charles the second (whom God preserve) is still alive. For by the Laws of England, there can be no interregnum within the same, lib. 7.11. And to affirm, (as the Traitors now do) that the King's power is separable from his person, is high Treason by the Law of the Land; hear the Oracle of the Law tell you so, lib. 7.11, In the Reign (saith he) of Edward the second, the Spencers, the Father, and the Son, to cover the Treason hatched in their hearts, invented this damnable and damned opinion; that Homage, and Oath of Ligeance, was more by reason of the King's Crown, (that is of his politic capacity) than by reason of the person of the King, upon which opinion they inferred execrable, and detestable consequents. 1. If the King do not demean himself by reason in the right of his Crown, his Liege's are bound by Oath to remove the King. 2. Seeing that the King could not be reform by Suit of Law, that aught to be done by aspertee, that is by force. 3. That his Liege's be bound to Govern, in aid of him, and in default of him. All which were condemned by two Parliaments, one in the Reign of E. 2. called exilium Hugonis le Spencer, and the other in Anno 1 E. 3. cap. 1. If the opinions of the Spencers were so wicked, and detestable, what then are the actions of the Rebels of our age? who have put in practice, what was but intended by the Spencers, and that they might reform the King according to their minds, cut off his head, because he was a headhigher than they. O Monstrous Reformers.  
Did I not know that the Euthusiasts of our times, do by their diabolical interpretations, subvert even the Holy word of the Almighty, making themselves absolute Kings over the Scripture, to do what they please with it, though they will not permit their King to have Sovereignty over themselves his Vassals; And, like the raging torrent of the foaming floods, which running down the lofty Hills, demolisheth and carrieth away all opposites in its roaring Streams; or as the violent fury of a Masterless, headstrong multitude, who hue down Kings, as well as Royal Subjects, in their tempestuous fury: so these men set upon the Bible, and stretch every Text of Scripture to their own meaning, although there is as great a distance between their meaning, and the Scripture, as there was betwixt the Glutton in Hell, and Lazarus, in Abraham's Bosom in Heaven, else should I wonder, how they could seem to make the very Letter of the Law speak against the very Letter, and like the Philosopher's stone, which turneth all things into Gold, so the tongues of these men turn the sense of all the Lawbooks into their golden meaning, and cite those books as authorities on their sides, which are so contrary, and opposite against them, as if they had been purposely prepared to encounter and confute them; For where is the King's Sovereignty more fully demonstrated, and evidenced, than in Reverend Bracton? and what book so much abunsed as his? For lib. 2. cap. 24. speaking of Liberties, and who had power to give them, Quis? saith he, who hath power? he answereth that the King hath. For, Sciendum, quòd ipse dominus Rex, qui ordinariam habet jurtsdictionem, et dignitatem, et potestatem super omnes qui in regno suo sunt, habet enim omnia jura in manu sua, quae ad coronam, et laicalem pertinent potestatem, & materialem gladium, qui pertinet ad regni gubernaculum, habet etiam justitiam, et judicium, quae sunt jurisdictiones, ut ex jurisdictione suae, sicut dei minister, & vicarius, tribuat unicuique quod suum fuerit. Habet enim ea quae sunt pacis, ut populus sibi traditus in pace sileat, & quiescat, & ne quis alterum verberet, vulneret, vel male tractet, ne quis alienam rem, per vim & roberiam auferat, vel asportet, ne quis hominem Mahemiet vel occidat. Habet enim coercionem, ut delinquentes puniat, & coerceat. Item habet in potestate sua leges, & constitutiones, assisas in regno suo provisas, et approbatas, et juratas, ipse in propria persona observet, et subditis suis faciat observari, nihil enim prodest jura condere, nisi sit qui jura tueatur. Habet igitur Rex hujusmodi jura five jurisdictiones in manu sua; And again in the same Chapter, ea quae jurisdictionis font & pacis, & ea quae sunt justitiae, & paci annexae, ad nullum pertinent, nisi ad coronam, & dignitatem regiam, nec a Corona separari poterunt cum faciant ipsam Coronam. The sum of which in English is this, the King hath supreme power in all civil causes, the Law floweth solely from him, he is super omnes, above all men in his Kingdom, all jurisdictions are in him, The material Sword of right belongs to him, and whatsoever conduces to peace, that the people committed to his charge may live peaceably and quietly. The power of holding Assizes is derived from him, and of punishing Delinquents, for it would be in vain to Enact Laws, if there was not some body enabled to protect us by defending them &c. And the same Author saith lib. 2. ca 9 Potentia vero omnes sibi subitos praecellere, parem autem habere non debet, nec multo fortiùs superiorem, and a little after in the same Chapter, Exercere Rex debet potestatem juris, sicùt dei vicarius in terra et minister, quia ea potestas solius Dei est. The King doth excel all his Subjects in power, He hath no Equal, much less a Superior, because his power is from God only, he is God's Vicar, Therefore not the People's. And again, li. 1. ca 8. Item in temporalibus sunt Imperatores, Reges, et Principes, in hiis quae pertinent ad regnum, et sub eye Deuces, Comites, Barones, magnates sive Vavasores, et Milites, et etiam liberi et villani, et diversae Potestates sub rege constitutae. And a little after, sunt etiam sub Rege liberi homines, et servi ejus Potestati Subjecti. Et omnis quidem sub eo, et ipse sub nullo, nisi tantum sub Deo; Parem autem non habet in regno suo, quia sic amitteret praeceptum, cum par in partem non habeat imperium. Item nec multo fortius superiorem, nec potentiorem habere debet, quia sic esset inferior sibi subjectis, et inferiores pares esse non possunt potentioribus, ipse autem Rex non debet esse sub Homine sed sub Deo, et sub Lege, quia Lex facit Regem. Dukes, Earls, Baronet's, Knights, the Worthies of the Land, Freemen and Villains, all are under the King, and the King under none but God, He hath no Peer in his Realm, because than he would lose his command, for amongst Equals there can be no Empire, therefore much less hath he any Superior, or more powerful than himself, because than he would be inferior to his Subjects, and Inferiors, (as the Subjects are,) cannot be equal with the more powerful, (as the King is.) But the King ought not to be under man, but under God, and the Law, because the Law makes him King.  
But what if the King should swerve from the Rules of the Law, destroy his Subjects and their Estates without a cause, May the Subjects take up arms against their Sovereign, and compel him by force to do that which they cannot persuade him to by fair meams? No, saith Bracton, li. 1. ca 8. Si autem ab eo petatur (cum breve non currat contra ipsum) locus erit supplicationi, quòd factum suum corrigat, et emendet, quod quidem si non fecerit, satis sufficit ei ad paenam, quod dominum expectet ultorem. Nemo quidem de factis suis praesumat disputare, multo fortius contra factum suum-venire, No indictment of high Treason etc. lieth against the King, our only remedy is to Petition his sacred Majesty, but if he will not hearken to our just and reasonrble requests, satis sufficit, Nay his punishment is more than enough, for he must render an account one day to him who judgeth righteously, who will give us all a hearing, the Beggar as well as the King. But let not men (in the mean time) presume to question the deeds of the King, much less Rebel against him, and undo by force, what the King shall do though not according to right. And that you may know that Bracton fully meant that the Subjects ought not to rise against the King though he acted unjustly, He repeats his mind in other places, li. 5. Tract. 3. the defaltis, cap. 3.3. where he puts the case, that if the King should do injury, and will not suffer the Law, but his will to take place, Quo casu cum dominus Rex super hoc fuerit interpellatus, in eadem perstiterit voluntate, quod velit tenentem esse defensum injuria cum teneatur justitiam totis viribus defensare, ex tunc erit injuria ipsius domini Regis, nec poterit ei necessitatem aliquis imponere, quòd i●la● corrigat, et emendet, nisi velit, cum superiorem non habeat nisi deum, et satis erit illi pro paena quòd deum expectat ultorem. If the King who is bound to administer justice to his utmost power, being Petitioned, will not recall, and amend the wrong he did, he injures his Subjects, but no body can force him to do right, because he hath the Supreme power, he hath no Superior but God, and it is punishment enough for him, to expect that God to whom vengeance only belongeth, will take vengeance on him. To every point which I have cited out of Bracton, doth Fleta unanimously agree.  
What man then, so impudently wicked? What hand so wilfully audacious? what pen can there be so repugnant, and contradictory to all truth? as to affirm and publish to the world, that Bracton writeth, and is so to be understood, viz. That the people have the Sovereignty over the King, and may call him in question for his actions, & so punish him for his offences. O Traitor to the King, and Sycophant of Bracton.  
Mr. William Prynne of Lincolns-Inne is the man, who with his Hand and Pen (I cannot say Heart) hath promulged this false Doctrine to the World, in his Book called The Sovereign Power of Parliaments and Kingdoms: Wherein (according to Mr. sanderson's expression, in his History of King Charles the 1st. fo. 117.) Prynne pretends to overthrow all Scripture proofs against kill Kings and Princes. For my part I bear not the least grudge or animosity to the man's person; But his book is such a rhapsody of nonsense, a bundle of Rebellion, and Treason, a Pamplet so Seditious, Pernicious, Sophistical, Jesuitical, Traitorous, and Scurrilous, that I want Mr. Prynnes Epithets, to give his own book, its deserved Odium; Wherein (as Mr. Fuller in his Church History, lib. 11. fol. 152. well observeth) he delighteth more to be numerous with many, than ponderous with select quotations, which maketh his Books to swell with the loss of ten-times of the Reader, sometimes of the Printer, and his pen generally querulous, hath more of the Plaintiff than of the Defendant therein.  
I mention Mr. Prynne, and his book here, only to put him in mind of the wrong which he hath done both to our Sovereign the King, and the whole Kingdom; He being the greatest, (if not the only Champion,) who rook upon him, to vindicate, and applaud, those treacherous, damnable, and rebellious proceedings, and unchristian, inhuman, and unnatural War against the King, of that Monster, called the Long Parliament, whom, now he laboureth as much to vilifye, as he did then to promote. O Traitorous Offspring, which killeth his Mother only, because she will not give him, suck! If he repent, why doth he not write a book of retractations? If he looketh upon his book entitled, The lawfulness of the Parliaments necessary defensive War, both in point of Law and Conscience, I am sure, he will have cause enough to repent of his writing, if he hath any Law or Conscience in him. And he hath no way better to redeem his credit, than by a public Confession. God may pardon him, and the King may pardon him, if he repenteth; But without repentance, he must expect nothing but a Traitor's reward in this World; I leave him to God's mercy in the World to come.  
But since it is the manner of Worldlings to set the best side foremost, the purest grain commonly lieth in the mouth of the Sack, and a fair Apple many times hath a rotten coat; Therefore behold the specious Title of Mr. Prynnes book, and the cunning Sophistry, in his Mental Reservation, by which he hath deceived the common people, befooled himself, and undone the whole Kingdom; the Title of his book is, The Parliament and Kingdom are the Sovereign power. Any man would think, that by the word, Parliament, Mr. Prynne meant the King, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons, because by the Law of the Land, there can be no Parliament without the King, neither can the two Houses by Law act any thing without him, and then if he means so, no man will deny, but that the Parliament hath the Sovereign power; But alas he hath no such thoughts, he means (as by the stuff of his book is manifest) that the two Houses, or the major part of them, have the Sovereign power, and that they may enact any thing without the King, as well as with him: Thus by lifting up the Legs and Feet too high, he hath given the Head a fall, and battered the whole Body into pieces, O unhappy Member, who would have the Heels execute the Office of the Brains, and maintain the War of the inferior Members against the Superior, to be legal, and conscientious! In his Epistle Dedicatory to the Lords and Commons, whom he calleth, Eternally Renowned Senators, and most cordial Philopaters' (he will not now tell you, they were eternal) Mr Prynne termeth all contrary opinions to his (though they be the opinions of Bishops, and far better lawyers than himself) to be but the vain, empty, brainsick, lying fancies of a few illiterate, impolitic Court Chaplains, Lawyers, Sycophants, etc. How irreverently, and discourteously, he hath dealt with his Gracious Sovereign, Lord, and Master the King, let his book judge, where he can scarce speak of the King at any time, without taxing him with perjury, lying, popery and murder.  
He raileth against the treachery and disloyalty of Popish Parliaments, Prelates, Lords, and Subjects to their Sovereign, and so concludeth, that they have made greater innovations, and encroachments on the Crown, and in an higher degree, than ever did the long Parliament, which he hopes will for ever silence the clamorous tongues of all ill Counsellors, Courtiers, Royalists, Malignants, Papists and Cavaliers, against the proceedings of that Parliament, (see the 1. part of his Book, fol. 33.) as if the excessive abundance of other men's sins, would justify the sins of the long Parliament. And indeed, the most of his arguments are à facto ad jus, which (especially in the King's case) is no argument at all. The books of the Royalists to maintain the King's just prerogatives, he calleth anti-Parliamentary Pamphlets, and the Authors of them he calleth Malignant, Popish Vipets, illiterate, ignorant, injudicious Court Doctors and Lawyers, and Anti-parliamental Momusses: But is not Mr. Prynne the Anti-parliamental Momus and viper? who setteth the body above the head, maintaineth that the two Houses, or the major part, have the Sovereign power, may act without the King, levy war against him, and kill him too, by defending themselves; which as he telleth you, he will justify both in point of law and conscience. O unhappy law! O the no Conscience! which teacheth men to kill Kings, and the Subjects to levy war against their Sovereign; David, the Lords anointed, cried, The Lord forbid that he should do this thing: But Mr. Prynne a Presbyterian, cryeth, The Lord forbid that it should not be done. Oh, the difference between a holy David, and a rigid Presbyterian!  
He maketh the ignorance (as he termeth it) of other men, the greatest ground of his arguments; He calleth all Divines and Lawyers, a company of seemingly scient, 
Vid. Epist. 2 part of Sovereign power.  though really inscient, selfconceited, Court Doctors, Priests and Lawyers; Doctum genus indoctissimorum hominum, vix ad Doroberniam usque docti; who hold an opinion contrary to his, (truly so named, by himself Vid. Epist. 1. part of Sovereign power, etc.) dangerous Paradoxes, and upstart Enthusiasms. He endeavoureth to make us, all our Ancestors, and all Kingdom's fools, himself the only omniscient. He revileth the King and all his royal party, by the names of Murderers, Popish cutthroats, ignorant Momusses, and an unnatural generation of popish and malignant vipers; But, To his ever honoured, noble, kind friends, the right Honourable Lord, Ferdinando Fairfax, the right worshipful Sir William Waller, and Sir William Bruerton, Knights, Commanders in Chief of the Parliaments forces, (which is the superscription to his Epistle of the 3d. part of the Sovereign power, etc.) These he calleth in the Vocative case, Deservedly renowned worthies. So that, as none but Homer could express the praises due to Homer, so none but Mr. Prynne can express the aspersions which Mr. Prynne hath cast upon his Master, the King, and his betters, the loyal Royalists; for who can come after Mr. Prynne in railing, where he letteth his pen fly out?  
You must take his own interpretations for true Maxims, and his own meaning both of Scripture and Law-books, must go for current Doctrine; otherwise you spoil his whole building; and that which he recites for him, will be most against him. Nay, his averments must pass for undoubted axioms. But you will ask me then, How can Mr. Prynne be clear from the guilt of blasphemy? who in his 3d. part of the Sovereign power of Parliaments, fol. 6. declareth himself in these words, viz. I dare confidently aver, it was never the thought, nor intention of Paul, or of the Holy Ghost, to inhibit Subjects by defensive arms to resist Kings themselves, under pain of damnation. For my part I will not invectively censure Mr. Prynne, as guilty of Blasphemy, nor scold at him as a Subverter of Scripture, Parasite, etc. as he hath done at others who are contrary to him in opinion, but let me tell him, that if he had averred, that it was never the thought, nor intention of St. Paul or the Holy-Ghost to inhibit Subjects, by offensive arms, to resist Kings themselves, under pain of damnation; I should have as soon believed him, for Saint Paul saith, Rom. 13.1, 2. Let every Soul be Subject unto the higher Powers, for there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God, whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Now if St. Paul's thoughts and intention be not according to his words, than Mr. Prinns confident averrment, perhaps may be true; but if St. Paul's thoughts and intention be according to his words (as most certainly they are) than Mr. Prinns averrment, is but a false allegation, and a belying of St. Paul, and the Holy-Ghost; for by Saint Paul's Doctrine, he which is not subject too, but resisteth the power, shall receive damnation; but whosoever with defensive arms resisteth the King, is not subject to, but doth resist the power; Therehe which with defensive arms resisteth the King, shall receive damnation, The Major no man can deny, the Minor is inviolable, and the Conclusion is perfect, and sound. There be those indeed who do confidently aver (and have written a book too,) that there were men before Adam, but I could never see any Scripture, but their own interpretations and meanings to warrant their averments. And until Mr. Pryn can produce Texts of Scripture, to warrant, and maintain his confident averment, he must excuse me, if I still hold St. Paul's Doctrine Canonical, and his averment mere Apocryphas. For suppose the King subverteth both Law and Religion, yet doth not that take away his supreme power, he is still a King, and God's ordinance; Saul was a King, though an impious sinner, and there have been wicked Kings as well as wicked Subjects; to do evil (saith one,) is no power, but impotency, therefore if the King command me to murder myself, my Father, to destroy my Country, or to do any other wicked act, I will not do it, but obey God, not him, because it is his corruption, not any power he hath, from whence his commandment proceedeth: and therefore I am not obliged to obey him, because I must be a Subject to his power, not to his sins; yet if he should run after me with a naked Sword to kill me, my Father, my Mother, ruin my Country, Laws, and Religion, Yet would not I with defensive arms, lift up my hands against him, to resist, hurt, and destroy him, because he is still my King, and hath still that supreme power, which God placed in him, although he doth not then execute it, and therefore if I should with defensive Arms lift up my hands to resist, hurt, and destroy him, I should with defensive Arms lift up my hands to resist, hurt, and destroy the Ordinance of God, and so receive damnation for my reward; Not to perform the King's command, is a resistance, although we suffer death; Therefore if it be the King's power and not his wicked will which commandeth me to do an evil thing, if I did not perform his evil commandment, I should resist his power and so be liable to damnation, although I patiently and meekly suffered death. But doubtless the King's power cannot command me to do any evil, but it must proceed from his sinful will, for God is not the Author of any unrighteousness, and there is no power but what God is the Author of; therefore according to venerable Bede, the Apostle doth not say, Non est cupiditas nisi a Deo, est enim mala cupiditas quae non est a deo, nocendi autem voluntas potest esse a suo quoque animo pravo. That there is no concupiscence but what is of God, for there is an evil concupiscence, which is not from God, and the evil will of sinning proceedeth from our own depraved minds; therefore if the King command me to do an evil thing, I ought to obey God, not his wicked will, but rather than to lift up my hands against him, though in my defence, I ought cheerfully and meekly to suffer a thousand deaths, for by dying unjustly here, I shall live eternally in Heaven; and since the Glory of a Christian is the Cross, by suffering and dying a Martyr, I shall obtain everlasting Glory, and by my thus doing well, I shall get praise even of the Power, which the King's wicked will made use of to destroy me; but defence against the power of a King is offence, therefore if with defensive arms, I should fight against him, I should resist God's Ordinance, and so receive damnation, for by God's Ordinance the King hath the power over all, and his Actions ought not to be questioned or resisted by any but the Almighty.  
But for my part, I hold clearly, that when the King executeth Tyranny, taketh away the Lives, or Estates of his Subjects unjustly, that he doth it not only by reason of his wicked will (according to the precedent distinction) but by force, and virtue of his power, which God hath given him, and that this is the power, which St. Paul commandeth us to be subject unto, which if we resist, we shall receive damnation, and that for several reasons.  
It is most certain that there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God, for by him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in Earth visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers, all things were created by him, and for him, Col. 1.16. (Which expressions in the Abstract, do express existents in the Concrete) from whence it followeth, that bad Kings have their power from God, and are God's Ordinance, as well as good; And it is manifest in Scripture, that wicked Kings are often sent for the punishment of a Nation, as in Hosea 13.11. I gave them a King in my wrath, and took him away in mine anger; And God commandeth us to pray for, and be subject, not only to the good, but also to the bad Kings. I exhort you that Prayers, and Supplications, and Thanksgiving be made for all men, for Kings, and such as are in Authority. 1 Tim. 2.1. Thus Abraham prayed for King Abimeleck, Gen. 20.17. And Jacob blessed the King of Egypt, Gen. 47.10. Yet the Kings of those times were Infidels, and most notoriously wicked; No man is ignorant, that Nabuchadnezzar who destroyed Jerusalem, was a great spoiler and oppressor, yet the Lord tells us by Ezekiel, that he had given unto him the Land of Egypt, for the good service he had done in laying it waste on his Commandment. And Daniel said unto him thus, Dan. 2.37. Thou O King art a King of Kings; for the God of Heaven hath given thee a Kingdom, Power, and Strength, and Glory, and wheresoever the Children of men dwell, the Beasts of the Field, and the Fowls of Heaven, hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee Ruler over them all. Again to Belshazzar his Son, Dan. 5.18. The most high God gave unto Nabuchadnezzar thy Father a Kingdom, and Majesty, and Glory, and Honour, and for the Majesty that he gave him, all people, Nations, and Languages, trembled and feared before him; And again, Jer. 27.6. I have made the Earth saith the Lord, the Man and the Beast that are upon the ground, by my great power, and by my outstretched Arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me; And now have I given all these Lands into the Hands of Nabuchadnezzar King of Babylon my Servant, and the Beasts of the Field have I given him also to serve him, and all Nations shall serve him, and his Son, and his Son's Son, until the very time of his Land come: And it shall come to pass, that the Nation and Kingdom which will not serve the same Nebcchadnezzar King of Babylon, and that will not put their Neck under the Yoke of the King of Babylon, that Nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the Sword, and with Famine, and with the Pestilence; Wherefore serve the King of Babylon, and live. And St. Peter saith, Servants (all the King's Subjects are his Servants) be subject to your Masters (the King is our Sovereign Lord and Master) with all fear, not only to the good, and gentle, but also to the froward; For this is thanks worthy, if a man for Conscience toward God, endure grief, suffering wrongfully. From which it is most evident, that we ought, and are commanded to be Subject to evil Kings, who are degenerated into Tyrants. 
Ind illis potestas unde spiritus. Tertul. Apol. pa. 6.5.  If then the power of evil Kings cometh from God, if God commandeth us to pray for them, and to be subject to them, and if they are God's ordinance (as most certainly they are) it consequently followeth, that he which with defensive or offensive (I can make no distinction, for ubi lex non distinguit, non est distinguenda,) Arms, resisteth an evil King, resisteth God's ordinance, and shall receive damnation; What then, if the King command us to do Evil, must we do it? God forbid, nay God hath forbidden it, therefore we must obey God, not the King; yet must we not unjustly resist him, but rather, resign up our lives and estates into his hands: For we must needs be subject to the King, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake, saith S. Paul. But our objecter saith, that if it be the meaning of the Apostle, to inhibit the resistance of the King's unlawful commands, then, to fly, or to die, rather than obey, is likewise inhibited, because the not performance of the command, is a resistance. To which I answer, that I may confidently aver, that it was never the meaning of St. Paul, nor the Holy Ghost, to inhibit this kind of resistance under the pain of eternal damnation: it being the Doctrine and practice of our Saviour, and all the Apostles, when they were persecuted in one City, to fly into another, Matth. 10.23. and all of them willingly suffered death under wicked Kings: but you shall never find that they resisted with defensive arms, but both with their lives, deaths and doctrine, set forth the contrary. But if this kind of resistance be inhibited by the Apostle, you must understand, that the penalty is temporal, not eternal damnation. The word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which signifieth judicium, and so it is used in several places in the New Testament, as in Matth. 7.2. Luke 24.20 etc. for temporal damnation and judgement. So that we may conclude, that the intention of the Apostle was, that whosoever resisteth the lawful commands of the King, shall receive damnation both from God and the King; and he which doth not perform the unlawful commands of the King, shall receive temporal judgement, and damnation from the King, but salvation, and life everlasting from God: but whosoever useth unlawful resistance against the King's unlawful commands, as defensive arms, etc. must expect temporal judgement and damnation from the King, and eternal judgement and damnation from the Almighty.  
But what, doth God give power to Kings to take away men's lives and estates unjustly? I answer that he doth; the Devil himself hath no power, but what God giveth him. It is the wisdom of the Almighty, oftentimes to scourge his people for their sins, with the power which he giveth to wicked Kings: The King is a minister of God (saith St. Paul) a revenger, to execute wrath upon him that doth evil: and sometimes to try them, that he may make them the more happy and glorious; God gave power to the Devil to afflict Job, who had not his like in the whole earth, a perfect, and an upright man, one that feared God, and eschewed evil, Job. 1.8. and what made Job so famous, as his miseries? Had not Job had sore boils, we should never have heard of Job's glory, and good fortunes; and was it not the Lord which authorised the Devil to afflict him? It was, for the Devil had not power to touch him, until he had desired God to put forth his hand, and touch his bone, and his flesh; which made holy Job to cry, the Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken, not the Devil, for he was but the instrument: so God oftentimes by the power which he giveth to Kings, afflicteth his dearest children, both in their bodies, and estates; yet cannot unrighteousness be imputed unto God; because he doth it for their good: but the wicked wills of Kings, which use the power which God giveth them, so unjustly, are unrighteous, and shall by the Almighty be punished, according to venerable Bede, Injustum enim non est ut improbis accipientibus nocendi potestatem bonorum patientia probetur, & malorum iniquitas puniatur. It is not unjust in God, that the patience of the good be proved, and the sins of the wicked punished, by the power which is given the wicked to offend; for by the power given to the Devil, Job was tried, and appeared to be just; St. Peter was tempted, that he should not presume too much upon himself; and Judas was condemned, that he hanged himself. But it is unjust in the King to use it. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? (saith the Apostle) Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. A good man will have praise of the power, let the King be good or evil: If the King be good, he will cherish the good, and reward their piety and goodness, with praise and dignity: But if the King be evil, yet shall the good receive praise from the power. It is the Glory of a Chrstian to suffer wrongfully, his unjust miseries are his best heraldry to ennoble him; and every injury offered to him, is as a Crown of gold set on his head; he had rather be punished for a thousand faults wrongfully, than for one justly; For what glory is it if when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God, 1 Peter 2.20. Non dicit ab illa, sed ●ex ea (saith reverend Bede) quia etsi potestas humana non laudat, immo si etiam persequitur, si occidit gladio, ut Paulum, si crucifigit, ut Petrum, habebis ex illa laudem, dum ex eo quod illa malefacit in te, justum, et innoxium, tuae virtutis patientia Coronam laudis meretur. All the Apostles, and Martyrs received a Crown of Glory by their sufferings under Tyrants, and so will every good Man. For they are the Ministers of God to them for good, though they oppress, nay kill the Innocent, and Righteous, they do not hurt them, but do them good; as the best Gold is purified in the fire, so the best Christians are discerned from the dross, by their afflictions. That mettle is never good which turneth again, and the good Christian will suffer himself to be broken in a thousand pieces, before he will turn again with resistance, against his persecuting King; for why? He knoweth that though he suffer here on Earth, yet God will glorify him in Heaven, though he be contemned by the King, yet he shall be exalted by God, and though he die by the King's unlawful command, yet his comfort is, that his dead body shall arise, by the eternal Decree of the Almighty, and so the good will always receive praise of the Power.  
Neither are the Rulers a terror to him, because he always aboundeth with good works.  Hor. 

Integer vitae, scelerisque purus,  
Non eget Mauri Jaculis, nequè arcu●  
Nec Venenatis gravida sagitis,  
Fusce, Pharetra.   

Who lives upright, and pure of heart,  
Oh Fuscus) neither needs the Dart  
Nor Bow, nor Quiver fraught with store  
Of Shafts envenomed by the Moor.   
Innocence is the only buckler which protecteth a loyal Subject from the terror of his Sovereign; But Traitors, who have rebelled against their king, & deserved death by the known Laws of the Land, These men must preach up Mr. Prynnes Doctrine to cover their malice, hold the truth in unrighteousness, and when with offensive Arms, contrary to all Law and Religion, and against their allegiance and oaths, they set upon the King's sacred Majesty, and with an innumerous multitude of unhallowed Rebels, they fight against, and strive to murder their dread Sovereign in the open Air; They must have the impudence with Mr. Prynne, to excuse themselves, may think it a glorious Apology, To aver confidently that it was never the meaning of St. Paul, nor the Holy Ghost, to inhibit Subjects to take up defensive Arms against Kings themselves; And thus they invoke St. Paul himself, and the Holy Ghost, to patronise their wicked Treasons, and unparallelled Rebellions, and belch out Blasphemy, to defend their injustice, and themselves from the justice of their injured Sovereign. The Apostles did not only teach us with their Doctrine, that resistance of the power was unlawful; but also suffered themselves to be wickedly massacred, and murdered, before they would resist an unjust power; Nay all the primitive Christians (which Mr. Prynne confesseth) although they were many in number, and sufficiently able to defend themselves against their Persecutors, by force, and Arms, yet did refuse to do it, yielding themselves up to any tortures, punishments, & deaths, without the least resistance of the power, either in word, or deed; Nay our Saviour himself, acknowledged that Pilate had power given him from above to Crucify him (as you may read in St. john 19.10.) Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to Crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: Therefore he which delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. Yet Mr. Prynne with his confident averrment (for he cannot bring one word of Scripture for what he saith) goeth about to maintain the defensive War (as he calls it) of the Subjects against their Sovereign Lord the King, lawful, both in point of Law and Conscience; 
— Tantumnè potest suadere malorum  
Religio?—  Could his Religion do this? His surely, and only his, for it is against the foundation of Christian Religion, and Mr. Prynne must publish a new Gospel, or else rectify the Bible at the Presbyterian Oracle, before his King-killing books will be Canonical.  
He bringeth his arguments from the time that never was, nor ever will be, for saith he (2d. p●rt of his Sovereign power of Parliaments, fo. 82, 83.) Kingdoms were before Kings, ergo, the King hath no absolute negative voice, etc. I always thought that Kings were before Kingdoms, they being correlativa, and doubtless if Fathers were before Sons, and Masters before Servants, than Mr. Prynne speaks nonsense; but for his Apology, you must understand that he means, Countries and people were before Kings; but I think that is false too, for the first man Adam was a King, and Mr. Prynne cannot show any time, before England was governed by Kings: And the word Kingdom in the Reports of our book cases, and in Acts of Parliaments also, is oftentimes taken for the King himself, as you may read in calvin's case, lib. 7.12.  
Therefore, since by the Laws of the Land there can be no Parliament without the King, & that the word Kingdom is often used for the King himself; who can deny the truth of the Title of Mr. Prynnes book, which saith, That the Parliament and Kingdom are the Sovereign power. But, latet anguis in herba; Open the leaves of his book, and you will see the mystery of iniquity clouted together.  
If the King (saith Mr. Prynne) die without heir, than the people might make what laws they should think fit; Ergo, the Members at this day have power without the King to make Laws, and are the most absolute supreme power, and lawgiver, not the King. If the Sky fall, we may perhaps catch Larks; but it doth not therefore follow, that we may catch Larks presently. Mr. Prynne knoweth, that it is a Maxim in Law, that the King never dyeth: But admit the King should die without heir, and that then the people had power to make Laws; yet gross it were to conclude, that the members of the two Houses might so do, because they are dissolved, and are extinct when the King dyeth. Therefore with more reason (as a Royalist observes) the King might argue thus; All the lands in England are holden mediately or immediately of the King, 
Co. Lit. 1.12 l. 7.20.  and if the owners die without heir, by the laws of the Realm, their lands escheat to the Crown, and so become at the King's disposal. But every man may die without heir, Ergo, All the lands in England, at this present, are the proper inheritance of the King. No Lawyer can deny Major or Minor, yet the Conclusion thereupon is absurd.  
The Court of Parliament (saith Mr. Prynne) hath power to avoid the King's Charters, etc. made against law; Ergo it hath the Sovereign power, and is above the King; and why not, Ergo, the Court of Chancery, or any other of the Courts of Law at Westminster, have the sovereign power, and are above the King; for they have power to nullify and avoid the King's Charters, etc. made against Law? But I am sick of Mr. Prynnes impertinence, and nonsense, if any one be desirous to drink more of it, I refer him to the Ocean, his Book: I will only give you a taste of the abuses which Mr. Prynne hath cast on Venerable Bracton, and how Mr. Prynne endeavoureth to make Bracton speak Mr. Prynne's own sense, against Bracton's own sense, express words, and meaning. And since Mr. Prynne can make the Gospel, and Holy Ghost speak what he pleaseth, no wonder, if he hath the Law-books at his beck.  
Bracton saith (as you have already heard) That the King hath no Peer in his Kingdom, for so he should lose his Empire, since Peers (or Equals) have no command over one another, much more than ought he not to have a superior, or mightier; for so he should be inferior to those who are subject to him, and inferiors cannot be equal to superiors. Now saith Mr. Prynne, (according to the old Jesuitical distinction) The meaning of Bracton is, That the King is above every one of his subjects, and hath no Peer, nor superior, if they be taken particularly and distributively, as single men: but if we take them collectively in Parliament, as they are one body, and represent the whole Kingdom; then the Subjects are above the King, and may, yea, aught to restrain and question his actions, his maladministrations, if their be just cause. By which meaning of Bracton, (as he calleth it, but in truth only his own) Mr. Prynne would prove the Parliament to have the Sovereign power over the King and Kingdom. Truly I think, the very recital of what Bracton hath written, and what Mr. Prynne writeth is Bracton's meaning, is enough to convince, and make appear even to the blind, that Mr. Prynne is worse than a false Commentator, and an absurd deceiver. But howsoever I will examine them, and let the world judge how they agree. The King hath no Peer in his Kingdom, saith Bracton, But the Parliament and people (the King's Subjects) are in his Kingdom, Ergo, neither the Parliament nor people, (collectively, or distributively) are the King's Peer (or equal.) But why hath the King no Peer in his Kingdom? Because than he should lose his Empire. So he should if the Parliament was his Peer; and Bracton did never intend that the King should lose his Empire; for he saith, the King ought by no means to have a superior, or mightier, (Mr. Prynne saith, he ought by all means to have the Parliament his superior and mightier) But wherefore ought not the King to have a Superior? because (saith Bracton) so he should be inferior to those who are subject to him: The Parliament and People confess themselves to be the King's Subjects, yet Mr. Prynn would have them to be the King's Superior, Expressly against Bractons' words and meaning, and a mere nonsensical Contradiction. And the reason why Mr. Prynne saith, Bracton did only mean that any single man, was not the King's Superior, or Equal, not the Parliament, is, because Bracton saith, Rex non habet parem, nec Superiorem in regno suo, seeing Parem, and Superiorem? in the singular number; I pray what Latin would Mr. Prynne have Bracton speak, could he have expressed himself better: and too, Mr. Prynne pretendeth the Parliament to be only the King's Superior, not Superiors, Therefore doth not the singular number fully answer Mr. Prynne in all points, but Mr. Prynne may hear Bracton confute him in the plural number too, if he please, (as I have already showed) saying, Rex habet potestatem, et jurisdictionem super omnes qui in regno suo sunt, and again, Potentia vero omnes sibi subditos praecellet. Where is Mr. prynn's almighty Parliament now? Bracton telleth him, if they be in the King's Dominions, that the King hath power over and above them, and Mr. Prynne must find out some Utopia for them, in the air, to inhabit, before he can prove either by Law, or Gospel, that the Parliament is above, of hath Sovereign power over the King, Ipse autem Rex non debet esse sub homine, sed sub Deo, et sub Lege, quia Lex facit Regem, saith Bracton, but the King himself ought to be under the Parliament, (saith Mr. Prynne) and why not under the women? for if Mr. Prynne will say that the Parliament is not comprehended in the word Homine, so likewise may he say that neither are women: Bracton saith that the King ought to be under none but God, and unless Mr. Prynne can make his Parliament a God Almighty, he can never make out that the King is under it. For according to Bractons' Doctrine the King is under none but God, Omnis quidem sub rege et ipse, sub nullo, nisi tantum sub Deo. Which is sufficient testimony that the King is under no mortal man, or men, yet he is sub Lege, under the Law, because the Law maketh the King: Ergo saith Mr. Prynne, The Parliament maketh the King, and Governeth him with the Laws which the Parliament first made. O Grand Imposture! Can any man but Mr. Prynne forge such a consequence? Rex solutus a Legibus quò ad vim coactivam, subditus est legibus quo ad vim directivam propria voluntate, The King indeed is under the Law because he will be ruled by the Law, but if he will not, no man hath power to compel, or punish him, according to the opinion of Thomas Aquinas, The King is free from the Coercive power of the Law, but he may be subject to its directive power, yet according to his own will and inclination, that is, God can only compel and command him, but the Law and his Courts may direct and advise him. Every honest man is bound to perform and fulfil his word, and the King is so much under and subject to the Laws which he maketh, that he will perform and fulfil them, but if not, Dominum expectet ultorem, which is the only punishment for Kings; And satis sufficit, that is enough too, according to Reverend Bracton: But that the Parliament therefore maketh the King, and may question his actions (according to Mr. prynn's Sophistry) is a mere non sequitur. The Law indeed maketh the King, for he hath a legal Title to his Crown, he is made our King by the Law of God, and the Law of the Kingdom, which cannot be without a King; but that the Law of the Parliament, or that the Law by the Parliament, made the King, is such a Chimaera, that is no where to be found, but in Mr. Prynnes unsettled brain: For the King of England was made a long time before Parliaments were invented, or thought on. The King indeed first made Parliaments, and gave them their being, who now have unmade their King, and took away his living. O ungrateful Servants who rob their Master! O ungracious Children who murder their Father which begot them!  
So much for Mr. Prynne, and his pestilent book, the prodigious offspring of a revengeful head, whom I would not have mentioned, but to vindicate the truth, for which I will both live and die.  
One thing, Reader, I recommend to thee, worthy of the observation of all Christians, and as a just judgement of the Almighty God, Psal. 33.10. who bringeth the Counsel of the Heathen to nought, and maketh the devices of the people of none effect, Which is, that Mr. Prynne who was the only Champion, to fight against the truth with his pen (as the Rebels did with their Swords) to maintain and applaud the long Parliament, in their Treason and Rebellion against their Sovereign, was afterwards ill entreated by his own stipendaries, and cast out of the pack as an unprofitable Member; He encouraged the Soldiers to fight against the King, dedicated his Volumes to their chief Commanders, loaded them with high Commendations, and incomparable praises, and made them believe, that they could do God no better service, than to go on vigorously in their Rebellion. So that it may be truly said, that his paper pellets did more harm, than the roaring Guns, or cutting Swords; He laboured night and day to glorify and vindicate the Parliament, in their wicked proceedings at home, and (as his books will manifest) he spared many hours from his natural rest, to promote the unnatural Wars abroad. Yet now (nec invideo) he prosecuteth them with reproaches, as much as he did then with praises, himself being become hateful to them all, verifying the Proverb of Solomon cap. 24.24. He that saith unto the wicked thou art righteous, him shall the people curse, Nations shall abhor him. Therefore I once more advise him, (as a friend) to write a book of Retractations.  
The Lord be merciful unto us, the men of our times would make one believe that there never was a King in the World: Nay, they would seem to make the Kings, so highly esteemed of by God, all the Prophets and Apostles in Scripture, but mere white walls, the empty shadows of the people, and the Bible, but a bundle of Fables, as if God never took no more notice of a King, than of an ordinary Porter.   

How Judas, surnamed the Long Parliament, betrayed and murdered Charles the first, The best of all Kings, and contrary to all Law and Religion, and the common interest of the people. Banish Charles the 2d. our only lawful King and Governor. The mystery of their iniquity laid open, and that they are the greatest and most wicked Tyrants, that ever dwelled upon the face of the Earth; and the Child which is unborn, will rue the day of their untimely birth. Of what persons a Parliament consisteth. No Parliament without the King. The Original institution of Parliaments, and that the House of Commons (which now make themselves Kings over King and people) were but as of yesterday, have no legal power, but what is derived from the King, and never were entrusted with any power from the people, much less with the Sovereignty, which they now Tyrannically usurp. The King's Sovereignty over Parliament and people, copiously proved. King Charles his Title to the Crown of England, To him only belongeth the Militia, the power of choosing Judges, Privy Counsellors, and other great Officers, etc. He is head in Ecclesiastical causes, and our sole Legislator. Our Ancestors always found and accounted Monarchy, to be the best of Governments, and most profitable for us, yet these 40 or 50. Tyrants, contrary to all Antiquity, and common sense, and feeling, sit and vote Monarchy dangerous and burdensome. That all persons put to death since the murder of Charles the Martyr, by the power of our new Statesmen, have been murdered, and their Judge's Murderers, and so it will continue, until they receive their power and authority from Charles the 2d. and that we shall never enjoy peace or plenty, until our King be restored to his Kingdoms, which a pack of Tyrants and Traitors (not the People) keep from him. How the Law abhorreth to offer violence to the King, and how these Rebels transgress all Laws both of God and Man, to uphold themselves in their unparallelled Villainies. A History which commandeth the serious contemplation of our age, and worthy of the observation of all the people in the World, and of all future Generations, not that they might imitate, but detest and loathe these Perfidious and Rebellious transactions. Perlege, deinde scies.  
HAving sufficiently proved out of our Law books that by the Common Law of the Realm, the King hath the Sovereign power over Parliament and People, and ought not to be questioned for his actions by any of his Subjects, taken either distributively, or collectively in one entire body, because he hath no Superior on Earth, but God Almighty; Let us now take a brief view of the Statutes and Acts of Parliament, which have from Age to Age confirmed what I have said, as an undoubted, inviolable, and indisputable truth. And since there are those amongst us, who talk much of a power in the Parliament (as they call the two Houses) which they pretend to be above, and Superior to the King; Let us examine what this high and mighty Creature is, whence, and when, it had its original, what is its true, natural, and legal power, and of what persons it doth consist.  
The King's high Court of Parliament, consisteth of the King's Majesty sitting there, 
4 Inst. 1. 1 Inst. 110  as in his Royal politic capacity: and of the three Estates of the Realm, viz. 1 Of the Lords spiritual, Arch-Bishops, and Bishops, being in number 24, who sit there by succession in respect of their Counties, or Baronies, parcel of their Bishoprics, which they hold also in their politic capacity. 2. The Lords temporal, Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, and Barons, who sit there by reason of their Dignities, which they hold by descent, or creation, being in number 106. And every one of these when the King vouchsafeth to hold a Parliament, hath a Writ of Summons. The third Estate is the Commons, of the Realm, which are divided into three parts, viz. into Knights of Shires, or Counties; Citizens out of Cities, and Burgesses out of Borroughs. All which the King commandeth his Sheriffs to cause to come to his Parliament, being respectively Elected by the Shires, or Counties, Cities and Burroughs, and in number, 493.  
It is called Parliament, because every Member of the Court, should sincerely and discreetly Parlour lafoy meant, for the general good of the Commonwealth. This Court of Parliament is the most high and absolute, the supremest and most ancient in the Realm, it Maketh, Enlargeth, Diminisheth, Abrogateth, Repealeth and Reviveth, Laws, Statutes, Acts, and Ordinances, concerning matters Ecclesiastical, Capital, Criminal, Common, Civil, Martial, Maritine, etc. to be short, so transcendent is the power, and jurisdiction of the Parliament, as it cannot be confined either for Causes, or Persons, within any bounds: Of this Court it is truly said, Si antiquitatem, spectes est vetustissima, si dignitatem, est honoratissima, si jurisdictionem, est capacissima. Yet notwithstanding this Almighty power (as I may say) of the Parliament, do but cut off the King's head, or any ways take away the King, and it is nothing: Then a petty Court of Pypowders hath more power and jurisdiction than that. The King is the Soul of the Parliament, and without him it is but Putre Cadaver, a stinking Carcase, for as my Lord Coke observeth of this Court, the King is Caput, principium, et finis, And it is a base and more odious part, than the Rump of a Parliament, which wanteth all these; and as in a natural body, when all the Sinews being joined in the head, do join their forces together for the strengthening of the body, there is Ultimum Potentiae; so in the politic body, when the King and the Lords Spititual, and temporal, Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, are all by the Kings command assembled and joined together, under the head, the King in consultation for the Common good of the whole Realm, there is Ultimum Sapientiae: But it was never known in any age, that the Members without the head, had either power or wisdom; and it would be prodigious, if our age should produce such a Monster.  
No man can tell the contrary but that our Realm of England hath been Governed by Kings ever since the Creation of the World; clear it is by all Historians, 
Bodin de Rep. l. c. 8. Camden in Britan. descript.  that ever since we heard of any Government in England, it hath been a Royal State, and although our Governors have been often changed, yet our Government was never turned out of the regal road, & it is as easy to pull the Sun out of the Firmament, and make the Stars to rule the day, as it is to abolish Monarchy, and establish Aristocracy, or Democracy, in our Kingdom; For that which is bred in the bone, will never out of the flesh. As Monarchy is the most divine, and most natural kind of Government, so it is most natural to, and esteemed most divine by all true born English men; For such is the Courage, and so great is the Loftiness of English Spirits, that they disdain to be ruled by any, but by his sacred Majesty, our Sovereign Lord the King: For as it was long before King William the Conqueror, so did our Government continue still without interruption a Royal Monarchy, until the chief Priests, and the Scribes, and the Elders (as they call them) of the People, to wit, Presbiterians, Independents, 
Mat. 26.34.  Anabaptists, Jesuits, etc. assembled together, and consulted that they might take Charles the first (whose undeserved sufferings have made him immortal on Earth, as well as in Heaven) by subtlety, and kill him; But they said, let us not kill him suddenly and openly, lest there be an uproar among the people, night time is the only day for wickedness. The Gunpowder Treason was hatched in darkness, and these Godly Villains thought that the best way to catch their prey, was to beat on the dark side of the hedge. They cut the Throat of Religion, when they seemed to lay a plaster; and they murdered their Sovereign, when they swore they intended nothing, but to make him a Glorious King.  
Then entered Satan into Judas, 
Luke 22 3, 4, 5, 6.  surnamed the House of Commons, being one of the two Houses of Parliament; And these Judasses' went their way, and communed with the chief Priests, and Captains, how they might betray him unto them: And they were glad, and covenanted to give them money; who then promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. And since the innocent Birds are oftentimes easier catcht with silent and gentle snares, than roaring Guns, at first these Judasses' thought to betray their Master with kisses, courting his Majesty with highflying Compliments of Obedience; 
Ovem in front, vulpem in cord gerentes.  and that they might make him believe them to be, what indeed they were not, they made many Oaths, Protestations, Vows and Covenants, that they were his Grace's most dutyful Subjects, and desired to live no longer, than to do his Majesty service. But it seems they did but play the Fox, speak fair, only to get their prey, for by these sophistical insinuations, they charmed his Majesty, and wrested from him divers marks of his Sovereignty; they were entrusted with the Navy, obtained a Triennial Parliament, were acquitted of Shipmoney and other impositions, and at length made themselves perpetual, for his Majesty passed an Act, not to Dissolve them without their consent. So that they now wanted nothing but his Majesty's life which to obtain, they procured by their wickedness, the Earl of Strafford's head to be cut off, 
The Nobles which were faithful to the King, they called Evil Counsellors.  and many other Nobles which stood in their way; which props being removed, they thought they might with more ease pull down the Sovereignty of the King: & that these Negroes might make themselves complete Devils, they got the head of the Earl of Strafford, & others cutoff, for committing Treason against the King, whose head they afterwards intended to cut off, for committing treason against them. O incomparable villainy! What they made a capital offence in others, they esteemed more than a Cardinal virtue in themselves. It was High Treason in others, to think to do the King any harm, but it was a high piece of Godliness in them to cut off his head. The Earl of Strafford must die as a Traitor, because they said he intended to levy war against the Kings will: But these Saints raised Armies to fight against his Majesties own person, Levied war against the King and Kingdom, murdered the King, and destroyed the whole Realm; Yet forsooth they must be canonised as the only true servants of Jesus Christ, and all those who speak against them they kill and massacre, as if they had committed Treason, and Blasphemy against the Almighty. Nay, the great offence against the Holy Ghost, they esteem more pardonable, than the least against them.  
And as it now plainly appeareth to the world, all their oaths, vows, and protestations of obedience to the King, and performing of their duty towards him, were but preparations for their great wickedness of murdering the King. For as the Gunner, when he laboureth to kill the innocent bird, walketh gently, and treadeth softly, holding down his gun, as if it was the least of his thoughts to shoot, when he mindeth nothing more; or as the greedy Huntsman stealeth upon the Hare, or Deer, looking another way, until he is gotten close by, and then letteth out his bloody hounds, to take and kill his prey: So these Vipers, more wise than Serpents, (only to do mischief) did steal upon the King, and undermined him, by cutting off his Nobles, whom they knew would be true and trusty servants to him; and then when they thought they had him within their reach, They let fly their dogs, the bloody soldiers: for this Judas (the House of Commons) then having received a band of men, and officers, from the chief Priests and Pharisees, John. 18.3. who first set them on work, came forth with a great multitude, with swords and staves, Matth. 26.47, 48. to take and kill their Sovereign. Now they that betrayed him, gave the soldiers a sign, 
Witness their Oath of Supremacy.  saying, Whomsoever we have sworn to be the only supreme Governor in all causes, and over all persons, That same is he, hold him fast. In that same time said the King to the Multitude, Are ye come out as against a thief, with swords and staves, for to take me? I sat daily with you in the Parliament House, making many good laws, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done, that their wickedness might be fulfilled, John 18.12. Then the band, and the Captain, and the Officers of these Jews, took the King, and led him away to their Council, and contrary to all legal proceedings, and the due course of Law, smote the Shepherd, and so the sheep of the Protestant flock were all scattered abroad; Bradshaw, indeed, (that Pontius Pilate) pressed the King very earnestly; and by subtle and crafty inventions, thought to have wrought upon the King, to have submitted to their (summa injuria) their Arbitrary High Court of Injustice, and pleaded: So that his Example might have been urged as an irrefragable precedent, against the lives and liberties of the whole Kingdom; and that after ages might cite King Charles his case, as an authority to kill Kings. But the King foreseeing their delusive and abominable intentions, rather than he would betray the lives and liberty of his free born subjects, to the Arbitrary Lusts of these Tyrants; told them of the great wickedness they were about, and showed to his people, how these Traitors endeavoured to enslave the whole Realm; and so patiently suffered himself to be murdered, dying a most true Martyr, both for our Laws and Religion; but for plea, he said nothing. So Bradshaw (more wicked than Pilate, for instead of washing his hands, he impudently bathed them in his Master's innocent blood) gave the sentence of their wicked wills against him, and delivered him over to the bloodthirsty, to be crucified, who spit upon him, threw Tobacco pipes at him, mocked him, cried out, Away with him, away with him, Crucify him, Crucify him, cut off his Head with their wicked Engines, and then cast lots for his Garments, and Estate, giving each Soldier a part; But instead of writing over his head, This is Charles the King of the Jews, (his true Title, or rather the King of the Devils) they writ over his head, Exit Tyrannus Regum ultimus, anno libertatis Angliae restitutae primo, (although in truth, the best of Kings than went out, and the greatest Tyranny under the Heavens then entered into our England) coming far short of the Jews in all that is good, but exceeding them in all wickedness, treachery, perfidiousness, and villainy.  
Now all this impious Council sought false witness against the King, to put him to death, but found none; Therefore that they might do nothing without wickedness, but proceed in all their Actions contrary almost to the very colour of Justice, and make themselves the greatest, and most illegal Tyrants that ever the world heard of, they made themselves both Judges, Jury, Witness, Party, and Accuser, in their own quarrel against the King: For whereas by the Laws of the Land, our gracious King always made the Judges of the Land, Arbitrators between his Subjects and himself in all cases, from the lowest offence, and trespass, to the highest offence, Crimen laesae Majestatis, High Treason; This Amalekite the House of Commons, made part of themselves the Judges of the King, who had committed the greatest Treason against the King, and by the Laws of the Land deserved rather to hang at Tyburn, than sit in the Chair of Justice; likewise they made the Soldiers his Judges, who professed themselves to be the King's inveterate Enemies, by their Remonstrances, and Speeches, and that they desired nothing more than his Blood and Life, fought against him with their Guns and Swords. Yet forsooth of this Hotchpotch of Traitors, was their high Court of Justice made up; Most of them being Colonels of the Army, and other Soldiers who fought against him abroad, and others Parliament men, who conspired his ruin at home. By the Laws of the Land, it is a just exception to any Jury man, who is to try the basest or poorest Felon, and a legal challenge for which he must be withdrawn, That he is a professed Enemy, and Prosecutor, who seeks his life, and therefore no lawful nor indifferent tryer of him for it; yet these bloody Butchers, who professed themselves to be the King's greatest Enemies, and Prosecutors, seeking after nothing so eagerly as the King's life, were both the Judges and Jurymen too, to try the King: Perjured O. Cromwell (who then intended, and afterwards effected to have the supreme power over these three Kingdoms,) was one of the Tryers, to judge whether the King, or himself with the rest of his brethren in iniquity deserved death, and whether the King and his Royal Progeny ought not to be destroyed, and Oliver and his stinking stock take possession; O unparraleld lump of impiousness! Aliquis non debet esse Judex in propria causà, It is a Maxim in Law, that no man ought to be Judge in his own cause; Yet these villains made themselves the only Judge whether they committed Treason against the King, or the King against them: Nemo tenetur prodere seipsum, No man is bound to accuse himself, and it would have been a wonder indeed, if these Rebels should have spoke the truth, and said that they had committed high Treason against the King; Therefore for fear the Law should punish them according to their deserts, they thought good to prevent that mischief, & punish the King as they pleased according to their lusts: And that they might make themselves the greatest Tyrants, and the people the basest Slaves in the world, they took upon them the Governing power, which by Law only belongeth to the King. 2. The Legislative power, which likewise belongeth to the King with the concurrence of the upper and Lower House. And 3. The Judicative power, which belongeth to the Judges, who are known Expositors, and Dispensers' of Law and Justice in all Causes brought before them; So that these Traitorous Tyrants by their boundless and arbitrary wills, put us to death when they please, for what cause they please, and take away our Estates when they see occasion; And yet they have the impudence to tell us, and many the sottishness to believe, that the Parliament having the Supreme power, doth all these villainies by Law; O Abominable! How these Tyrants mock the people with the name of a Parliament; the Parliament consisteth of the King the head, and about 600 of his Subjects, and there were not above 50 or 60 of the Parliament who caused the King to be murdered, and ruined his people, yet these Schismatics call themselves a Parliament, and so having nothing good but their name, Tyrannize over us. They may as well say that the parings of the nails of the toes are the whole man and have the power of all the other members, as say that they are the Parliament, or have any lawful power, they being nothing but the dregs and lees of the inferior House, from whom we must never expect any thing pleasing to any honest man's palate; If the Parliament had power to depose the King, yet what power can these few Gaol-Birds have, who are scarce the tenth part of the Parliament, and no Representatives of the People, but only of their own Devilish ambitions? By what authority do these Ignes fatui abolish Kingship, and the House of Lords as dangedangerous and useless, which all our Ancestors have found most profitable, 
Dangerous and useless only to their villainy.  and glorious for our Kingdom? These Curs have several times been kicked out of the House, by the martial violence of the Soldiers, their Masters, whose Journeymen they are, yet no sooner do they find the door open, but in they slip again, like Dogs into the Buttery, where they sit and eat the fat of the Land, and the fruits of our labours, for which they now and then shit us an Act of Parliament, whereby they destroy our fundamental Laws, and Liberties, and invent new high Treasons against them, (such as our Law-Books nor Statutes never told us of,) by which they maintain themselves in their Robbery, and the people in their Slavery. As for the oath of Supremary, Vows, Protestations, and Covenants, which they made in the presence of God, with hands lift up to heaven for vengeance if they did not perform them, and all other oaths of Homage, Fealty, and Allegiance, which the People took to be true and faithful to the King, These they discharge themselves, and the People of, by an Act of Parliament, as if these Caterpillars could discharge debts due to the Almighty; But to make God amends, they passed another Act, that the People should swear to be true and faithful unto them. To go about to number their villainies, deceits, treacheries, perjuries, and other their wicked Actions, were to go about to number the sands of the Sea, or the fraudulent devices of Belzebub their Master, they being the Genus generalissimum of all Treason, Rebellion, Murder, Blasphemy, Hypocrisy, Lying, Swearing and Forswearing, abounding in Whoredom, Drunkenness, Lechery, Treachery, Covetousness, Pride Ambition, and all other detestable vices. They are a pack of rotten, putrefied Members, glued together in the stinking body of sin: And if I should give you a Character of each Simple wherewith this Compound is contracted, it would fright you out of your wits; 
Witness all their actions.  for I speak really, I think they are the very Quintessence of all the Devils in Hell. And although this beast cannot well agree, which horn or leg shall go foremost, they being somewhat troubled in dividing the spoil, and their usurped authorities, which is caused by their pride and covetousness, and although they differ in Ceremonies, and Circumstances, yet they make it one of their Fudamentals upon which themselves and all their proceedings are builded, to murder Charles the second▪ as they did Charles the first, when they can lay their unhallowed Claws upon him; and although they hate, and bark, and snarl at one another like dogs, yet in the great work of their Salvation, like Pilate and Herod, they all agree to be Traitor, and Rebels against their King. And so long as these Mastiffs Lord it over us, we must never expect peace, but always live like dogs, fighting, and biting for what we have. We must (with them) account vice virtue, and virtue vice: we must hold their words more canonical than God's word, and say that is law, which they say is law, though it be neither law, truth, nor reason. Unlawful wars set them up, and we shall always have wars, and rumours of wars amongst us, until they are pulled down. To be short, we must resolve to forsake God, and serve the Devil, if we intent to keep any thing safe, so long as this Phalaris, the Tail of the House of Commons domineereth over us; For the Children of this world being in their Generation wiser than the Children of Light, Luke 16.8. These Worldlings are so wise and subtle to do mischief, that when they commit the most deadly sin, They make it pass to the world, as the best service done to God; and when they themselves make plots to murder honest Royalists, than they get some of their hirelings to discover it, and swear that the Royalists invented the plot against them; and presently (forsooth) they vote and command, that their three Kingdoms give God thanks for their great deliverance; ascribing that which was done by their own providence, to the Providence of the Almighty. Nay, they have their Lilies, and other lying Astrologers, whom they consult with, before they commit any great wickedness, and make them publish to the world, that the Heavens ruled, and voted what these Beagles please to perform.  
It is as natural for their Judges to judge unjustly, if it be for the profit, or pleasure of their Masters at Westminster, as it is for them to live: For how many innocent Gentlemen have they condemned to death, for doing their duty in defending the King from unjust violence? which we are all bound to do by the law of God, Nature, and of the Realm.  
They have their Balaam Prophets and Priests too, almost in every parish, and pulpit, which they make the Organs to sound forth their own praises; so that the ignorant country multitudes, who scarce know that there is a God, but that they heard their Minister tell them so, thinking that he doth God the best service and credit, who hath the finest ribbond on his hat, or that weareth the best clothes on his back at Church: these Momusses believe that the Saints at Westminster, are the only supreme power on Earth; and that no men in the world, (for some of them think that the sea side is the end of the world) are to be compared to them, either for wisdom, learning or honesty: and the only reason of their thoughts is, Ipse dixit, their Minister said so but last Sunday. And this was the chiefest reason, wherefore the country Peasants flocked in so fast, to the Armies of those nero's at Westminster, raised against the King; who always made the ignorance of the people, their greatest Champion. And lest we should see the superiority of the King, above, and over the Knaves, and other Cards, they abolish, and prohibit Card-playing, as a great sin in their Commonwealth. Why did they not give the superiority to the Knaves? How these godly Villains stumble at straws, and leap over blocks! They prohibit innocent recreations on the Sabbath day, purposely because they would have the people esteem them zealous in Religion, and stricter observers of God's Commandments, than the King. But in truth, they served God, only to serve themselves; In nomine Domini, incipit omne malum; acting all their wickedness in the name of the Lord. For when they have got a good name amongst the people, they think under that shadow, to act any wickedness, and yet to the world seem saints; Murder their King too, and yet be accounted good Christians; nay, Reformers of the Christian Religion. O Religious Impostors! To these Quacksalvers belongeth two Speakers, alias dictos, Liars, viz. the private Speaker Lenthall, (now called by the common soldiers, the Father of their Country: Can you blame the little Thiefs, if they applaud the great Thief?) and the public Speaker Needham; the one rough hammereth lies, at the forge, the House of Commons; the other fashioneth them in his Mercurius Politicus. Thus they fill our ears with as many lies, as their breasts be: yet forsooth none must dare not to believe what they publish by authority.  
Now the Presbyterian Judasses', when they saw that the King was condemned, repented themselves, saying, We have sinned, in that we have betrayed Innocent blood; and were all of them ready to hang themselves. But it was not out of any love, or allegiance they did bear to the King, but because they could not have those ends upon the King, which they intended. They would have had the King buckled to their bent, and it grieved them to see the Independents, etc. out-knave them: fo● the greatest part of the religion of these factions, consists in their animosities one against the other; not only the Presbyterians, but also the Independents, Anabaptists, etc. are both almost, and altogether such as the proud Pharisees were. Therefore their greatest care and study is, to domineer, and master it one over the other; which makes the prevalent faction always outrageous, and that which sinketh, always envious. So that the Presbyterian being at this time undermost, he would fain insinuate himself into the favour of the honest Royalist: and because he hath not force to be so much Knave as he would be, therefore he is compelled to be honest against his will, and would have his injured King to rule over him again. But get thee behind me, Dagon, what hast thou to do with peace? Didst thou not in thy youthful age revile thy Innocent King with thy mouth, and persecute him with thy bloody hand, and wouldst thou now in thy old age serve him? Thy service is Hypocrisy, and thy words but the vapours of a deceitful head: Let the Presbyterians rigid actions, judge the rigid Presbyterians.  
Having related of what persons the Parliament doth consist, viz. of the King above all, and the three Estates, sharing no more with the King in the Sovereignty, than the body doth with the head, and how King Charles the first, was most traitorously murdered by those who have the impudence to call themselves a Parliament, though in truth they are nothing else but a den of Tyrannical Traitors and Rebels; I will further proceed to explicate the Sovereignty of the King, and the legal power of the three Estates, with their first institution and creation.  
Sapiens omnia agit cum consilio, saith Solomon, a wise man doth nothing without counsel, Pro. 13.16. Therefore the King of England Ex mero motu et speciali gratia, out of his mere goodwill and special favour, hath vouchsafed his Subjects that honour as to make them his Counselors, not only concerning Ardua Regni, but also arcana imperii, even in his most privy affairs, wherefore As my Lord Cook observeth, the King is armed with divers Councils, one whereof is called Commune Concilium, and that is the Court of Parliament, and another is called Magnum Concilium, this is sometimes applied to the upper House of Parliament, and sometimes out of Parliament time to the Peers of the Realm, Lords of Parliament, who are called Magnum Concilium Regis, Thirdly, (as every man knoweth) the King hath a privy Council for matters of State, The fourth Council of the King are his Judge's of the Law, for Law matters, as appeareth in our Law-Books.  
This word Parliament was never used in England until the time of William the Conqueror, who first brought it in with him. For as King David called a Parliament when he intended to build an house for the name of the Lord, 1 Chro. 28. and assembled all the Princes of Israel, the Princes of the Tribes, and the Captains of the Companies that ministered unto the King by course, and the Captains over the thousands, and Captains over the hundreds, and the Stewards over all the substance and possession of the King, and of his Sons, with the Officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men unto Jerusalem, And when they were assembled the King himself showed the cause of calling that Parliament, for then David the King stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me my Brethren, and my People, as for me, I had in my heart to build and House of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building etc. Whereupon all the people offered their Gold and Silver willingly towards the work, which made the People and David their King rejoice exceedingly with great joy, as you may there read: So the Kings of England from the beginning, in all extraordinary cases, when they intended to make new Laws, or abolish old, have always convoked an assembly of their Subjects, what persons, and of what number they thought fit; Not because they could not do what they pleased without their Subjects consent, but because their Subjects best knowing what shoes would fit their own feet, might (as they often did) by Petitions humbly supplicate his Majesty, to grant what they showed him was most convenient and necessary for them by their requests, which he refused or granted at his pleasure. Which Councils and Conventions they called, Witenage Mote, Conventus sapientium, Michael Smooth, Michael Gemote, etc. that is to say, the great Court, or meeting of the King; To which the King convened only the Nobles and Bishops: The Rustic Commons were not then admitted into the presence of the King. And doubtless they had then small hopes, and less thoughts, that they should ever take the Regal Diadem from off their Sovereign's head, and become Lords Paramount, ruling both King and People, by no other Law, than Hoc volo, sic Jubeo, stat pro ratione voluntas, by their own lusts, and unstable (except to do mischief) wills. But I have seen servants upon Horses, and Princes walking as Servants upon the Earth, saith Solomon; And pray who hath not seen as much as Solomon of this? For behold Tinkers, Tailors, Spigot and Faucet makers, and those who were Servants even to the basest of the people, having murdered their Sovereign Lord the King, do take possession of his sacred Patrinomy, and now sit Lords over all, ruling and domineering in his Palace at Westminster. Feign that the people did intrust the King with his Royal Office, yet why should it escheat to these Hypocrites? why not to the people? And if his Office with the Lands which he held Jure Coronae, yet by what Law do they seize upon those Lands, which he held in his natural Capacity, and those Lands which he purchased? For if a man forfeit an Office, he only forfeiteth those Lands which belonged to the Office. But if all his Lands escheat, by what Law do they detain and keep the Queen's Dower from her? By what Law, did I say? By that Law whereby they subdue all things to themselves, to wit, their own wicked Appetites, Ambition, and Covetousness, which is all the Law they can show for any of their Actions, to which we must be Slaves so long as they command over us. Pro. 30.21. For three things (saith Solomon) the earth is disquieted, and for four, which it cannot bear: For a Servant when he reigneth, and a Fool when he is filled with meat: For and odious woman when she is married, and an Handmaid that is Heir to her Mistress: Is not our Englan● disquieted with all these? Oh who can bear it yet these Tyrants rejoce at it, Delight is not seemly for a Fool, much less for a Servant to have ru● over Princes. Pro. 19.10. Yet these Slaves triumph over their Prince, and scoff at his Miseries And as the Jews in a deriding manner said of o● Saviour, This is Jesus King of the Jews, So these Jews scoffingly call their Sovereign Lord, The King of Scots, yet keep his Kingdom from him, jeering him out of his Estate. O Heavens! As perpetually afterwards, so always before the Conqueror, the legislative power did continue in the King, tanquam in proprio subjecto, as in the true and proper subject of that power; and the King's Edicts, were the only positive Laws of the Realm; and indeed who can be a King without this power? for what difference is there between the King, and Subject, but that the one gives the Laws, the other receiveth them? And most clear it is by all Historians, that the Common Council of our ancient Kings, were composed only of Prelates, and Peers, the Commons were not admitted to any Communication in affairs of State. Camden in his Britannia telleth us, that in the times of the Saxon Kings, and in after Ages, the Common Council of the Land, was Praesentia Regis Praelatorum, Procerumque collectorum, The presence of the King with the Prelates and Peers; Ingulphus (who died before 1109) saith, Rex Eldredus Convocavit Magnates, Episcopos, Proceres, & Optimates ad tractandum de publicis negotiis Regni. He did not call the Commons. So Edward the Confessor, that great Legislator, made all his Laws, without the consent of the Commons.  
Now when the Norman Conqueror, one of the Praedecessors of Charles the Martyr came in, who had a triple title to this Kingdom, to wit, by Donation, Conquest, and by the Consent of the people: for (as it is well known) when Edward the Confessor lived in Normandy, he gave this Kingdom, after his decease, to William Duke of Normandy, as he was his kinsman, & near of blood so that the Conqueror was heir of the Crown to the Confessor by adoption. Which title, if it was invalid, you must know he was a Conqueror; and no man will deny that Conquest maketh a legal title, 
Bodin li. 2. ca 5.  Jure Belli. But, suppose both those titles were (as they were not invalid, yet by the Law of Nations, the Consent of the people maketh an inviolable title, even to an Usurper, in continuance of time, (if they have no other lawful King;) much more to a lawful Sovereign. And his people, our Ancestors, ever since the Conquest, for the space of about six hundred years, have all done allegiance to, and unanimously resolved, that the Conqueror and his Successors, were our only true Kings, Liege Lords, and Sovereigns, having the supreme power over us, and never did the people claim power to depose the King, until those Monsters at Westminster, 
King Charles his title had been good to the Crown of England, though he had borrowed no part of this Claim from the Conqueror. See reverend Heylin's life of King Charles.  under pretence of such a power, murdered Charles the first, and against all Law, Justice and Equity, and against th● wills of the people, make themselves masters of our lives, and fortunes, and of all that we have, taking them away when they please.  
It would make a man cry, and it would make a man laugh, to see what fools these fellows make of us: Royal Government by Kings, hath been used here, time out of mind, and approved by all our Ancestors, to be the best of Governments, and most natural, and profitable for us; yet these few stinking Members at Westminster, made an Act (March 17. 1648. contrary even to their own Oaths and Protestations) to abolish the Kingly Government, as unnecessary (I use their own words) burdensome, and dangerous to the people: as if this small company, consisting of fifty, or sixty at the most, of the Scum, and tail of the people, were wiser, and knew what was better for us, than all our Ancestors, both noble and ignoble, in all ages. But what was their reason to abolish Kingship? To make each of themselves Kings, nay Tyrannical Kings over us. So may the slave say, that the government of his Lord over him, is unnecessary, burdensome and dangerous; and therefore he will murder his Lord, and make himself Ma●ter: changing the name, and execute the office worse. So may Highway men take away the true owner's purse, and tell him it was unnecessary for him to keep it: or by the same law, may thiefs murder, and rob the Master of his house, and then vote the Master burdensome, and dangerous to his family. Yet notwithstanding, while these Tyrants destroy our fundamental Government, Laws, Religion, Freedoms and Liberties, making of us absolute slaves & villains, only to satiate their lust and pleasure; yet even then they style themselves The Keepers of the Liberty of England, by Authority of Parliament. Close, and trusty keepers of our liberty, indeed, for we can come at none of it, they keep it from us, not for us: so Wolves may call themselves keepers of the Lambs which they have caught; or by the same law, may a Cutpurse be called the keeper of the purse, and be said to have the same care of it: for they are heepers of our liberty, only to keep themselves. For by what authority was this Individuam vagum, the Keepers, erected? By what authority? why they will tell you by authority of Parliament. Cunning Curs! How they take the people with this word Parliament! when God knows, they themselves were all the Parliament by whose authority the thing called Keepers (I know not what they be, for I never yet heard them named) were invented. So may Adulterers vote themselves keepers of Chastity; or so may I murder a man against his will, and then call myself keeper of his life, by his authority. For they destroyed the Parliament, when they destroyed the King; and there hath been no Parliament since. Vide 1 H. 4. Rot. Parl. n. 1.14 li. 4. Coke 4 Inst. p. 46. and 4 C. 4. f. 440. Therefore they most falsely call themselves a Parliament: Neither are they the Representatives of the people, (as I showed before;) but a company of Ungracious Tyrants, acting against the wills of the people. Yet, forsooth, they tell us, that the people have the supreme power, and that they act for the people, being their Representatives. Just as if I should take away all that another man hath, against his will, and then tell him, that he hath the supreme power over his goods, and that I took them away by his authority and power; or, as if I should take away his money, without his leave, and tell him, that I am his Representative. So these Foxes cozen the people with nonsensical cheats; and in all things, are Representatives of the Devil, not of the People: for they all well know, and some of them have declared so, that if the people might choose their Representatives, those Representatives would restore the King to his own again, which these most unjustly keep from him. We cannot serve God and Mammon, both at one time, Good and evil cannot stand both together. If the King come in and rule, these men must fall; If we serve the King as we ought, we cannot serve these at all; If God re-establisheth his Anointed, Lucifer must call down his Children; wickedness must be abolished, when righteousness takes place; therefore the Gaolers of the Liberty of England must down, when Charles the Second, our only lawful Sovereign, is restored to his Crown, and Kingdom. Which they very well know, therefore they would fain keep as long as they can, their Empire, which cost them their Souls, and Reputation. But let us return to our King.  
When the Conqueror came in He got by right of Conquest all the Land of the Realm into his own hands, the whole Kingdom was his direct and proper inheritance in demeasn, so that no man can at this day make any greater title than from the Conquest to any Lands in England, for the King being owner and sole Lord of the whole Land and the People therein, did (as he lawfully might) dispose of the Land, and people, according to his will and pleasure; he gave out of his hands what Lands he pleased, to what persons he pleased, and reserved what tenors and services he pleased. So that in the Law of England we have not properly Allodium, that is, any Subject's Land that is not holden. 
Co. Lit. 1.  We all hold our Lands mediately or immediately of the Crown, neither have we any right to our Lands any longer than we are faithful, and loyal to the King, who first gave us them upon that condition; for by the Laws of the Realm, if we take up arms against the King, imagine his death, or commit any other offence, which is high Treason, we forfeit our estates to the King, so that they return from whence they were first derived; the greatest and highest title or property which a Subject hath to his Lands, is Quod talisseisitus fuit in dominico; suo ut de feodo. Now though this word Feodum doth (as Littleton teacheth) legally signify inheritance, and so Feodum Simplex, signifieth a lawful or pure inheritance, yet it is apparently manifest, that Feodum is a derived right, and doth import with it a trust to be performed, which trust broken forfeiteth the Estate to the King, who only hath (as Camden observeth) Directum imperium, cujus nullus est Author nisi Deus. For all the Lands within this Realm, were originally derived from the Crown, and therefore the King is Sovereign Lord, or Lord Paramount, either mediate or immediate, of all and every parcel of Land within the Realm, 18 E. 3.35.44 E. 3.5. 48 E, 3.9.8 H. 7.12. Therefore though in other places he which findeth a piece of Land, that no other possesseth, or hath title unto, & entereth into it, gaineth a property by his entry; yet in England property to Land cannot be gained any such way, for the Subject can have no property, but what was first by the Kings grant; therefore those Lands are still appropriated to the Crown, which the King did not give away to his Subjects; as if Land be left by the Sea, this Land belongeth to the King, and not to him that hath the Lands next adjoining, or to any other but the King.  
Caelum Caeli Domino, terram autem dedit filiis hominum, All the whole Heavens are the Lords, the Earth hath he given to the Children of men, for which he only reserved their service, as an acknowledgement of his bounteous liberality: so the whole Kingdom is the Kings, but the Land therein he hath given to his Children the people, for which he only reserved their allegiance and service, as a remembrance, and recognition, of his Royal bounty; in which reservation, the King (as my Lord Bacon writeth) had four institutions, exceeding politic and suitable to the State of a Conqueror.  
First, Seeing his people to be part Normans, and part Saxons, the Normans he brought with him, the Saxons he found here, he bent himself to conjoin them by Marriages in Amity, and for that purpose ordains, that if those of his Nobles, Knights, and Gentlemen, to whom he gave great rewards of lands, should die, leaving their Heir within Age, a Male within 21, and a Female within 14 years, and unmaryed, than the King should have the bestowing of such Heirs in Marriage, in such a Family, and to such persons as he should think meet, which interest of Marriage, went still employed, and doth at this day in every Tenure called Knights service.  
The Second was, to the end that his people should be still conserved in Warlike exercises, and able for his defence, when therefore he gave any good portion of Lands that might make the party of Abilities, or strength, he withal reserved this service, That that party and his Heirs, 
Who then ought to have the Militia but the King?  having such lands, should keep a Horse of service continually, and serve upon him himself, when the King went to Wars, or else having impediment to excuse his own person, should find another to serve in his place, which service, of Horse, and Man, is a part of that Tenure called Knights service at this day.  
But if the Tenant himself be an Infant, the King is to hold this land himself, until he come to full Age, finding him Meat, Drink, Apparel, and other necessaries; and finding a Horse and a Man with the overplus, to serve in the Wars, as the Tenant himself should do if he were at full Age.  
But if this Inheritance descend upon a Woman that cannot serve by her Sex, than the King is not to have the Lands, she being 14. years of Age, because she is then able to have an Husband that may do the service in person.  
The Third institution, that upon every gift of Land, the King reserved a Vow, and an Oath, to bind the party to his Faith, and Loyalty; that Vow was called Homage; the Oath, of Fealty; Homage is to be done kneeling, holding his hands between the knees of the Lord, saying in the French tongue, I become your Man of Life and Limb, and of earthly honour. Fealty is to take an Oath upon a Book, that he will be a faithful Tenant to the King, and do his service, and pay his Rents according to his Tenure.  
The Fourth institution was, that for Recognizance of the King's bounty, by every Heir succeeding his Ancestor in those Knight service lands, the King should have Pr●mer seisin of the lands, which is one years' profit of the lands, and until this be paid, the King is to have possession of the land, and then to restore it to the Heir, which continueth at this day in use, and is the very cause of suing livery, and that as well where the Heir hath been in ward, as otherwise.  
Many other Tenors with services did the Conqueror institute, as Grand Serjeanty, Petit Serjeanty, Tenure in Burgages, Soccage, Escuage &c. which being holden of the King, are called Tenors in capite, which is as much to say, as Tenors de persona Regis, because the head is the principal part of the body, and the King is the head of the body of the Commonwealth; Which Tenors brought many profits, 
Co. Lit. 108.  and commodities to the Crown (which would be too tedious here to particularise) and are a clear testimony of the King's Sovereignty. For no man can alien those lands which he holdeth in Capite, without the King's Licence, if they do, the King is to have a fine for the contempt, and may seize the land, and retain it until the fine be paid.  
By example, and in imitation of the King (For Regis ad exemplum totus componitur orbis) Did the Nobles, and Gentry, of this Nation (to whom the King had given large portions of land) grant out parcels of their land to their Servants, and under-Tenants, reserving such services; and appointing such like Tenors, as the King did to them, as Homage, Fealty, etc. whereof you may read plentifully in Littleton's Tenors; But their Tenants in doing Homage and Fealty to them, did always except the Faith which they did owe unto the King; As in their making Homage appeareth, viz. 
Co. Lit. 64.  I become your man from this day forward of Life and Limb, and of earthly worship, and unto you shall be true, and faithful, and bear you faith for the Tenements I claim to hold of you (saving the Faith that I owe unto our Sovereign Lord the King) Though they Swore to become the men of, and be true and faithful to, their Lords, yet not so, but that they still were the men of, and ever would be true and faithful to, the King their Sovereign, who was Lord over their Lords, and over the whole Realm, Omnis homo debet fidem Domino suo, de vita & membris suis, & terreno honore, & observatione consilii sui, per honestum, & utile, salva fide Deo, & Terrae Principi, Lib. Rub. cap. 55. We can oblige ourselves to no men so deeply, as to take away our allegiance and fidelity towards the King; We must be for God and the King in all things, all our actings, and undertake, should tend to their Glory, which would prove our greatest good and comfort; Homagium Ligeum is only due unto the King; the Law prohibiteth us to do Homage to any, without making mention of this Homage due unto the Lord our King; therefore we must not be opposite to, or armed against him, but both our lives and members must be ready for his defence, because he is Sovereign Lord over all. Co. Lit. 65.  
As the Conqueror did make all his Subjects Feudaries to him, so likewise did he change our Laws and Customs at his pleasure, and brought in his own Country fashions, which is the Common use of conquerors. He caused all Laws to be written in his language, and made what Laws he thought meet, Quod Principi placuerit, legis habet vigorem, whatsoever the King willed, was the only law; His fiat, was as binding, as an Act of Parliament; and what he voted, no man, no not the whole Kingdom, had power to dispute. There was no question then made, but that the King ought to have the Militia, neither did any one think of, much less, deny him a Negative voice. The Commons than thought it an high honour, to look upon the King's Majesty a far off; To sit, and rule their families at home, was all the Jurisdiction which they had, or claimed; They had not power to condemn one of their servants to death, much less their Sovereign Lord the King, from whom they then, and we now, have our being. The King had not then made them so much as the Lower House, nor ever did admit them to his Counsel; The Lords, their Masters, were only deemed worthy of this dignity; for why? Tractent fabril●a fabri, Let the Shepherd keep his sheep, and the Hogheard keep his hogs, and not meddle with the tuning of musical Instruments. Though the Ploughman can drive, and guide his horses well, yet he would make an ill Pilot to steer a ship; The Blacksmith may have skill to make a horse-shoe, but he would rather mar, than make a watch; The Commons may make good Subjects, but experience teacheth us, they will rather destroy both King, and Kingdom, than reform, or rectify either. Therefore the Kings of England did never admit the Commoners into their Counsels, much less, intrust them with the Legislative po●er. For it is a Meridian truth, that as before, so from the Conquest, until a great part of the Reign of Henry the third, (in whose days (as some hold) the writ for election of Knights was first framed) the Barons and Prelate's only made the Parliament, or Common Council of the Realm, whom the King convoked by his Royal Summons, when he pleased. Neither did the Council so convened, consist of any certain number, but of what number, and of what persons the King vouchsafed. Nay clear it is, by the Laws made in the Reign of Edward the first, (which was above two hundred years after the conquest) that there was no certain persons, or form body, whose consent was requisite to join with the King in making an act of Parliament; but when the King conceived it fit to make a Law, he called such persons as he thought most proper to be consulted with. Indeed, at the Coronation of Henry the first, all the People of England were called by the King, and Laws were then made, but it was per Commune Concilium Baronum. And that King and his Successors, did not usually call the Commons, but made Laws with the advice of which of their Subjects they pleased; and as Sir Walter Raleigh and others write, the Commons with their Magna Charta, had but bastard births, being begotten by Usurpers, and fostered by Rebellion, for King Henry the first did but usurp the Kingdom; and therefore to secure himself the better against Robert his eldest brother, he Courted the Commons, and granted them that Great Charter, with Charta de foresta, which King John confirmed upon the same grounds, for he was also an Usurper, Arthur Duke of Britain being the undoubted heir of the Crown, 
Mr. Howels Philanglus.  so the House of Commons and these Great Charters had their original from such that were Kings de facto, not the jure.  
But it matters not which of the Kings first instituted the House of Commons, certain it is, that long after the Conqueror, its name was not so much as heard of in England, but (as it is apparent) one of his Successors did form them, and grant, not to make Laws without their consent, and by a Statute made 7 H. 4. the Writ of Summons now used was form, and by an other Act made 1 H. 5. direction is given who shall be chosen, that is to say, For Knights of the Shires, Persons resiant in the County, and for Cities and Boroughs, Citizens and Burgesses dwelling there, and Freemen of the same Cities, and Boroughs, and no other. So that now by the King's gracious Concessions, each Member of the house of Commons ought to be respectively elected, out of the Shires, or Counties, Cities, or Boroughs, by the King's Writ, ex debito Justitiae.  
Now would it not strike a man with admiration, and make his hair stand an end, to hear, that the House of Commons should claim the Legislative power, and protest to the world, that they were greater in authority and Majesty than the King, who raised them from nothing? surely 'tis but a dream, which troubled the head a while, with strange Chimeras, and then vanished; it is but a Phantasm, which fanatic distempers raised in lunatic brains, and so perished; after ages will account it but an Ovid's Metamorphosis, or as a Fable, told more, for mirth, and novelty, than for any truth or reality; for why? are the pots greater than the Potter? or doth he who ought for to obey, give Laws to him whose right it is to command? The King sayeth to the House of Commons, come, and they come, and he sayeth to them go, and they go, whatsoever the King commands, that they cannot choose by Law but do; Nay the Lords their Masters, are but the King's Servants, the King is the head, and they are but the servile Members; it is the property of the Head, not of the Members to command; the inferior Members are all at the will and nod of the Head, the feet run, the hands work, and the whole body moveth at the pleasure of the head, but without the head the whole body is but a dead trunk, and neither hands nor feet have power to move: so the Members of the Parliament without the King their head, have not power to sit, much less to Act: there is no body without a head, nor no Parliament without a King, they cannot move, nor convene together, without his Royal Summons, neither can they dissolve themselves, being convened, without his command, the King assembles, adjourns, prorogues and dissolves the Parliament by Law at his pleasure, and therefore it is called in our Statutes and Law-bookes, Parliamentum Regis, Curia Regis, et Concilium Regis, and the Acts of Parliament are called the King's Laws; and why not the King's Laws? doth not he make them? The whole body and volumes of the Statutes proclaim the King the sole Legislator. What is Magna Charta but the Kings will, and gift? The very beginning of it will tell you 'tis no more, viz. Henry by the grace of God, etc. Know ye that we of our mere and free will, have given these Liberties: In the self same style runs Charta de foresta.  
In the Statute of escheates made at Lincoln, 29 Edw. 1. are these words, At the Parliament of our Sovereign Lord the King, by his Council it was agreed, and also commanded by the King himself, That etc.  
The Statute of Marlebridg 52 H. 3. runs thus. The King hath made these Acts, Ordinances, and Statutes, which he willeth to be obserutd of all his Subjects high and low.  
3. Edwardi primi, The title of the Statute is, These are the Acts of King Edward, and afterwards it followeth, The King hath ordained these Acts, And the first Chapter begins, The King forbiddeth and commandeth, That etc.  
6. Edw. 1 It is said, Our Sovereign Lord the King hath established the Acts, commanding they be observed within this Realm. And in the 14 Chap. the words are, The King of his special grace granteth, That etc.  
The Statute of Quo Warranto, saith, Our Lord the King at his Parliament, of his special Grace, and for affection which he beareth to his Prelates, Earls, and Barons, and others, hath granted, that they who have liberties by prescription shall enjoy them.  
1. Ed. 3. To the honour of God, and of holy Church, and to the redress of the oppression of the people, our Sovereign Lord the King etc. At the request of the Commonalty of his Realm by their Petition made before him and his Counsel in the Parliament, by the assent of the Prelates, Earls, Barons, and other great men assembled in the said Parliament, hath granted for him and his heirs etc.  
But wherefore evidences to prove that which no man can deny? The styles of the Statutes and Acts printed to the 1 H. 7 are either, The King willeth, the King commandeth, the King provideth, the King grants, the King ordains at his Parliament, or the King ordaineth by the advice of his Prelates, and Barons, and at the humble Petition of the Commons etc. But in Henry 7 his time the style altered, and hath sithence continued thus: It is ordained by the King's Majesty, and the Lords spiritual, and temporal, and the Commons in this present Parliament assembled; And why do the Lords and Commons ordain? Is it not only because the King doth? It is so, they do, because the King doth, which only denotateth their assent, for the King's Majesty giveth life to all, as the Soul to the Body; for did ever the Lords or Commons make an Act without the King? Never; they cannot; the Lords advise, the Commons consent, but the King makes the Law, their Bills are but inanimate scribble, until the King breathes into their nostrils the breath of life, and so that which was but mould before, becometh a Law which ruleth living Souls, and as Sr. Edward Coke observeth, 
● Inst. 25.  In ancient times all Acts of Parliament were in form of Petitions, which the King answered at his pleasure; now if it be the duty of the Parliament to Petition, and in the power of the King to receive or reject their Petitions at his will, judge you who hath the supreme power. Neither doth the King only make the Laws, but he executeth them too, for all executions (which are the life of the Law) receive their force and vigour from the King. Car la ley, le roy, et les briefes le Roy Sont les choses per que home est Protect et aid, saith our Father Littleton, Sect. 199. There be three things whereby every Subject is protected, Rex, Lex, & rescripta Regis, The King commandeth, his commands are our Laws, and those Laws are executed only by the King's Writs and Precepts; and although the King Moses-like deputeth subaltern Judges, to ease himself of some part of the burden of administering Justice, yet what they Judge, are the King's Judgements; the Law is the rule, but it is mute, the King judgeth by his Judges, and they judging are the Kings speaking Law; The Judges are Lex loquens the Kings mouth, the Commons are his eyes, and the Lords his ears, but the King's head is Viva Lex, the fountain of Justice, to whom God hath given his Judgements, and we have none but what the King God's Vicar giveth to us; and why not the King's judgements? Quod quisque facit per alterum facit per se, The King's Patent makes the Judges, the power of pardoning offences only belongeth to the King: He may grant conusance of all pleas at his pleasure within any County or Precinct, to be holden there only, and remove the Courts at Westminster to what place he pleaseth, and adjourn the Terms as he sees cause, this is book-Law, 6. H. 7.9.6 Eli. Dier 226. 
Summum jus summa injuria.  But I pray what Law set up the new slaughter-house in England, viz. the high Court of Justice? Doubtless it was not the King's Law, and if not his Law, it was no Law, for England never heard of any other but the King's Laws.  
You have already heard that the King was before Parliaments, that the King first instituted Parliaments, not Parliaments the King, that the House of Commons is but as it were of yesterday, and that both Houses are nothing else but what the King made them; Let us now see what the King did make them, & with what power this Idol the House of Commons is invested, & since they have nothing else to show for what they are, than the King's Writ, that being their Basis, and only legal authority, Take a view of the Writ.  

The King to the Viscount or Sheriff Greeting.  
WHereas by the advice and assent of our Counsel, for certain arduous and urgent affairs concerning us, the State, and defence of our Kingdom of England, and the Anglican Church, We have ordained a certain Parliament of ours to be held at our City, _____ the _____ day of _____ next ensuing, and there to have conference, and to treat with the Prelates, Great-Men, and Peers of our said Kingdom; We command, and strictly enjoin you, that making Proclamation at the next County Court, after the receipt of this our Writ, to be holden the day and place aforesaid▪ you cause two Knights girt with Swords, the most fit and discreet of the County aforesaid, and of every City of that County two Citizens, of every Borough two Burgesses, of the discreeter, and most sufficient, to be freely and indifferently chosen by them, who shall be present at such Proclamation, according to the Tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided, and the names of the said Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, so chosen, to be inserted in certain Indentures, to be then made between you and those that shall be present at such Election, whether the parties so elected be present or absent, and shall mak● them to come at the said day, and place, so that the said Knights for themselves, and for the County aforesaid, and the Citizens, and the Burgesses, for themselves, and the Cominalty of the said Cities, and Burroughs, may have severally from them full and sufficient power, to do and to consent to those things, which then by the favour of God shall there happen to be ordained by the Common Counsel of our said Kingdom concerning the business aforesaid; So that the business may not by any means remain undone for want of such power, or by reason of the improvident election of the aforesaid Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses; But we will not in any case, that you or any other Sheriff of our said Kingdom shall be e●ected: And at the day and place aforesaid, the said Election, being made in a full County Court, you shall certify without delay to us in our Chancery under your Seal, and the Seals of them which shall be present at that Election, sending back unto us the other part of the Indenture aforesaid, affiled to these presents, together with the Writ. Witness ourselves at Westminster.   
This Writ is the foundation of the Parliament, 
Decl. of the Treaty; p. 15.  upon which the whole fabric of their power and proceedings is grounded. It is that which setteth up a Parliament Man, and is the only Commission which distinguisheth him from another man; for without that, every man in the Kingdom hath equal right and authority to sit and vote in Parliament: Now by Law, no man ought to exceed his Commission; Therefore if the Lords or Commons act beyond the bounds of their power limited in this Writ, (their only Commission) they are transgressors, and incur the punishment of Malefactors. The Writ telleth you, that both Houses are but as it were the production of the Privy Council, for though the King ordaineth the Parliament, yet it is, by the advice, and assent of his Council: why then may not the King's privy Council (being prius tempore) lay claim to the Sovereignty, as well as his Common Council? surely both have like right. The Lords are only enabled by their call, t● Confer and Treat, and that not without, but with the King. It is their Counsel to advise, not their power to authorise, which the King requireth; For why? had not the King ordained a certain Parliament to be, and there to ●ave Conference, and to treat with them, they ●ad not come, to give him Counsel; and as they cannot come but when the King commands them, ●o neither can they choose but come when the King ●oth command, except the King excuse them. ●nd being come they are but (as Judge Jenkins●ith ●ith) Consiliarii, non Praeceptores, Counsellors, ●or Commanders, for to Counsel, is not to Command; They are only to advise, not to control, ●r compel the King. The Parliament is ordained ●y the ●ing (as appeareth by the Writ) only for ●ertain arduous, and urgent affairs, 1. Touching ●he King. 2. The State of the Kingdom. ●. The defence of the Kingdom. 4. 
4 Inst. 9  The state of the Church. And 5. The defence of the same Church. Though it ●e arduous, yet not urgent occasion, to destroy kingship. To condemn the King to death, and punishment, is not touching the King but a Male●ctor. To kill the King, is to destroy the kingdom, ●ot to defend it, and his death, is the death of ●e Church and Religion. O how have the Long parliament swarved from the true ends for ●hich Parliaments were ordained!  
Indeed the Lords (not as the upper House of parliament, but as a distinct Court of the King's Ba●ns) have power to reform erroneous judgements given in the King's Bench; But there is first Petition of Right made to the King, and his answer to it, viz. Fiat Justitia. The Court of Parliament is only the House of Lords where the King sitteth, and they are his common-Counsel, it belongs to them to receive all Petitions, to advise his Majesty with their Counsel, and to consent to what Laws the King shall make by their advice.  
Not to speak of the qualities of the persons of the House of Commons, 
Yet forsooth these the Lowest, set up the Highest Court viz. The high Court of Justice. So Servants may set up a high Court, to try and condemn their Mastets. Asperius nihil est humili cum su●git in altum.  being most of them (to wit Citizens and Burgesses) Tradesmen, brought up in their Shops, not in any University, or Academy of Law and Learning, and as fit to Govern and make Laws, God wot, as Cows are to dance; The rest of them being Knights of Shires, chosen commonly rather for their Money than their Wit, having greater wealth than headpieces. I pass from their education to the authority which the King vouchsafed to bestow upon them, which is only what is contained in the Writ, viz. facere & consentire, to do & consent, but to what? Not unto such things which they shall ordain, but unto such things which are ordained by the King and his Common-counsel, they are but only Ministerial Servants, and by the Writ it is clear that they are no part of the great Counsel of the Kingdom, they are but the grand Inquest, and general Inquisitors of the Realm, 
4 Inst. 11.  to find out the grievances of the people, and Petition to the King for redress, the Burgesses, and Citizens to present the defects in their Trade, and the Knights of the Shires, the burdens and Sores of their Counties, 
5 Eli. ca- 1.  they ought not, nor are not admitted into the House before they have sworn, that the King's Majesty is the only and supreme Governor over all persons in all causes. This oath did every Member of the long Parliament take, before they set foot into the House of Charles the Martyr, whom they afterwards murdered, and took possession themselves of all that he or his royal progeny, had or should have; let the world judge how faithfully these Keepers kept their Oaths, and Covenants. Now forsooth none must come into the House but those who first swear, that the King (who is) is not, but that they (who are not) are the only supreme Governors over all persons in all causes. And will these oaths be kept? 'Tis perjury to keep them. Thus they join hand in hand, and oath to oath, but it is but to do wickedness, for like King David's Rebels, they make a Covenant against their King, and would murder him, as they did his Father, if they could catch him: but nulla pax malis, the wicked cannot hold together long, though they unite their forces into one entire body, yet it is but like Samsons Foxes, by the tails, only to set the world on fire.  
When the Commons have taken the oath of Supremacy, and met together in a body collective, in the house, they have not so much power as a Steward in his Leet, or a Sheriff in his Turn, for they cannot minister an oath, imprison any body but themselves, nor try any offence whatsoever, (much less try their King, and assume the Legislative power;) At a conference the Commons are always uncovered, and stand when the Lords sit, (surely these are no marks of Sovereignty) They indeed choose their Speaker, but after their choice the King may refuse him at his pleasure, 
4 Inst. 8.  and make them choose another, and Lenthal himself (as all other Speakers do) did, when he was presented to the King, disable himself as a person unworthy to speak before the King; yet now he is styled the Father of our Country. (How the world is turned up-side down!) These Parliamentiers heretofore were wont to be arrested by any common Person, and liable to all Suits, and punishments, as other men, until the King graciously passed an Act for their indemnity, 4 H. 8. ea. 8. So that they are nothing but what the King made them, nor have nothing but by his grant; and all that the King did make them, appeareth by the Writ, which is to do and consent to such things as the King with his Common-counsel should ordain.  
Then stay Reader, and behold, stand still, with thy head and hands lift up to the heavens, and admire, with what impudence, and oppression, tyranny, and usurpation, the long Parliamentiers are fraught with, who never had any other legal power than by the King's Writ, and have lost that by the King's death; yet tyrannize over three kingdoms, calling themselves the Representatives of the whole Kingdom, and that they were entrusted by the People, with the Supreme and Legislative power, which God and all the world knoweth is as false as the Almighty is true. For first they do not represent the King the head, nor the Peers who are the higher and nobler part of the kingdom, 
4 Inst. 2.  therefore they are not the Representatives of the whole kingdom, neither were they ever entrusted by the People with the Supreme and Legislative power, Nay, the people did never confer any power on them at all, for by their Election the people did but design the person, all the power the Commons have, proceeded from the King, which is contained in the Writ, by which they were called. As Freeholders' worth forty shillings a year, and freemen of Cities, and Borroughs, would make very unfit Electors of Supreme Magistrates, so never did they, they cannot make any Election of their Commons, until the King commandeth, and giveth them power, they have no power so to do of their own, much less to authorise supreme Legislators. The King giveth liberty to Towns and Cities, to make choice of Burgesses, which had no such power before the Kings grant, so that all the power which the Commons have floweth from the King, not a drop of it from the people.  
Therefore, if the Commons exceed their commission, to wit, the power given them by the King's Writ, it is illegal, and their actings void in Law; and since the power given them by the Writ, is extinguished by the King's death, the Long Parliament is by Law dissolved, and all the power which they take upon them since, is usurped, illegal, and Tyrannical, and contrary to the Laws both of God and man. And to make their Tyranny the greatest under the Heavens, they protest to the world, that the Representatives of the people, aught to have the Legislative power; yet they give Laws (as they call them) to Scotland and Ireland, not having so much as one Member from both Kingdoms, in their representative body; nor the eighth part of the Representatives chosen by the Counties, Cities, and Burroughs in England. So that no Tyrants since the Creation of the world, did ever equalise these, either in cruelty or absurdity, wickedness or foolishness: yet forsooth, in 1649, they made an Act, that it should be High Treason, for any one to affirm the present Government to be Tyrannical, Usurped or Unlawful; or that these Commons are not the supreme Authority of the Nation. So thiefs may murder the Father, and take away the inheritance from his Children, and then make a Law, that it shall be high Treason for any one to call them thiefs or usurpers, or to say, they had not the supreme Authority. Thus they defend Tyranny with Tyranny, and one sin with another. Unumquodque conservatur, eodem modo quo fit. Things impiously got, must be impiously kept. They got their authority by blood, and by blood it must be kept; they juggled themselves by lies into the supreme self-created authority, and we must lie, and say they are the supreme authority, only because they do, otherwise we shall be executed for high Treason, against this infamous conventicle; So that of necessity we must displease God, if we please them, and live no longer, than we sin, for they have made it a capital offence to speak truth. I must confess, most men amongst us, are frighted with this scarr-Crow, not only to lie, and affirm the long called Parliament to be the legal supreme authority, but also with St. Peter, forswear, and deny their persecuted Lord and Master the King, accounting no weather ill, so they be by their warm fire sides, and esteeming all men indiscreet, who publicly own their King, and thereby incur the displeasure of these domineering Tyrants. But for my part, I had rather be a Servant to God, and my King, than a Master amongst the unrighteous; I am a Member of the body of the Commonwealth, and therefore cannot see my head the King cut off, without crying, 
They are dead Members who do not.  Lord have mercy upon us. It is the duty of all his Subjects both with pens and hands, to help their King out of the mire, into which these Rebels have cast him; not only the law of God, but the law of the land enjoineth us thereto: And I cannot see our Laws and Religion rooted up, without groans and sighs; It is no time to be silent, when the fabric wherein our whole treasure and happiness consisteth, is set on fire: Neither can silence, or innocence, protect one from the unjust violence of these Wolves; Sleeping, or waking, we are always their prey: Some of us they murder for our Estates, some for their pleasure, but all according to their wicked wills, not law. Therefore God knows whether I may be the next who must come to their pot; Howsoever, I had rather be taken, doing God, my King, and my Country service, than in a drowsy Lethargy: I commit my Soul and Body, to the protection of the Almighty, who dorh not let a sparrow fall to the ground without his divine providence, therefore will not let me fall into the power of their lust, without his permission. The King fell, and why should not I? The Lords will be done, who when he hath corrected his Children, will burn the rod. They can destroy only my Body: him only will I fear, who can destroy both Body and Soul. Give Cerberus a sop cries some men, and speak fairly to the Monster now in power: But it is but to go into Hell; Therefore I will neither flatter, nor dissemble with them.  
Not to speak of the Modesty of the House of Commons in former Ages, scarce adventuring to do what they might, for fear they should arrogate too much; As in 21 Ed. 3. When their advice was required concerning the prosecution of a War with France, They answered, That their humble desire of the King was, that he would be advised therein by the Lords, being of more experience than themselves in such affairs. The like precedent of their Modesty may you find in the 6 R. 2. and in the 3 E. 3. They disclaimed to have Cognisance of such matters, as the Guarding of the Seas, and Marches of the Kingdom. We may conclude, that unless it be the property of the Servant to command, and the Master to obey, or of the Soldiers to march before their Captain, that the King hath the supreme power, and is the sole Legislator, not the House of Commons: For the King representeth God, the Commons only the ignoble People. As for both Houses jointly together, they are no Court at all; therefore can have no thoughts of having the Legislative power. And as the two Houses have no power but what the King bestoweth on them, so neither have they any title of honour and dignity, but by the King's gift. For as all the lands in England, and all power and authority, is derived from the Crown; So by the laws of England, all the degrees of Nobility, and Honour, are derived from the King, the Fountain of Honour, and Majesty itself, 4. Inst. 363. What then? have the two Houses jointly, or the House of Commons singly, the Sovereign power, because they have none but what the King giveth them? Have they the Majesty, because they have no honour or dignity but by the King's gift? Surely this is all the reason: The King made the Lords, not the Lords the King: a Peasant to day may be a Lord to morrow, if the King pleaseth; and is the Peasant therefore the King's master? surely no, it is the King who createth Barons, and so maketh them capable to sit in the House of Peers; but they are made but Peers, not Kings; nay they are but Peers of the Realm, not of the King: They are under, not above the King; For sunt & alii Potentes sub Rege qui dicuntur Barones, hoc est, robur belli, saith Bracton l. 1. c. 8. Though they are Potentes, yet they are sub rege. As for the House of Commons, they are so far from being our keepers, or the masters of our King and kingdom, that there is not a Noble man amongst them; They receive their being from the breath of the King's Writ, and having their being in a collective body, they are but the Lower House, whose name importeth subjection. But if the Commons when they sit in the House have the Sovereign power, where was it before their Sessions? and where is it when they are dissolved? What doth it hang in the Clouds, and drop on them when they sit, and dissolve like the Snow with the Winter, when the King dissolveth them? Sovereignty is permanent, and always continueth waking: The House of Commons are, and they are not, according to the King's pleasure, he assembles and dissolves them at his will. And what? doth the Sovereign power sleep or die, during their interregnum? one would think it belonged to the King, because he never dieth. O ridiculous Commons! I am weary of their absurdity in claiming the Sovereignty.  
But as once it was demanded of an Oraaor; speaking very much in the commendation of Hercules, Quis vituperavit? So it may be demanded of me, treating of the King's Sovereignty, who hath brought arguments against it? Truly for my part, I never saw any reasonable argument against it; many cavils, but no reasons. Evasions are the best proofs used by the Anti-Royalists: And when they shift a Question with foreign matter, or a foreign meaning, They think they have not only made a good answer, but also proved the point in question to be on their side: As when our Books say, Every man in the kingdom is under the King, but the King is under none but God, They answer, the meaning of the book is, That every single man in the kingdom is under the King, but not the whole people collectively, for they are above the King. Just as if the Book should say, every man in the world is under the Heavens, but the Heavens are under none but God: And they should answer to evade it, The meaning of the Book is, That every single man is under the Heavens, but not the whole body of the people; for they are above the Heavens. O miserable invention! such absurdities are most of their Arguments. Therefore we may conclude, that since Club-Law set them above reason, it must be Club-Law which must pull them down. Let the Sword argue them out of the King's possessions, which they have gotten by Rebellion, and it will be easy then to convince them, that Rebellion against the King is unlawful. Had the King had no Revenues, he had still enjoyed his Crown. It is the profit which maketh King-killing honest; And it is the sweetness of the Bishop's Lands, which makes the Office of a Bishop so bitter, and odious, to our new Statesmen; The Law would have them ejected from their ill gotten Fortune and Estates; therefore they persecute the Law, as their utter Enemy, And say, that they will have it no more coached in the City of London, but carted in the Country amongst the Swains; But they must likewise send the City with it into the Country, otherwise the Body will die when the Soul departeth, and the City will perish, when the Law and its Retinue bid it farewell.  
As Histories both foreign and domestic, ancient and modern, and the whole Academy of the Common Law, so it is apparent by many Records, and Judgements in Parliament: And both the Lords and Commons, in divers Acts of Parliament, 
Davis Irish Rep. so. 90.  through many successions of Ages, have declared that the King of England is Monarcha & Imperator in regno suo, a Monarch and Emperor in his Realm, above all the people in his kingdom, and inferior to none on Earth, but only the Almighty, holding his Crown and Royal dignity, immediately of God, and of none else.  
By the Statute of 28 H. 8. ca 2. enacted in Ireland, it is declared, that the Kings of England are Lawful Kings and Emperors of the said Realm of England, and of this Land of Ireland.  
So by the Act of 16 R. 2. ca 5. It is declared, That the Crown of England hath been so free at all times, that it hath been in no earthly subjection, but immediately subject to God in all things touching the Regality of the same Crown, and to none other. And what is the House of Commons, a God? if they are but men, the Crown is not subject to them, for the Statute telleth you it is in no Earthly subjection. But perhaps they are Devils; neither will that serve their turn, for as it appeareth by the Act, The Crown is immediately subject to God, and to none other.  
So by the Statute of 24 H. 8. cap. 12. it is declared, Where by divers sundry old authentic Histories, and Chronicles, it is manifestly declared, and expressed, That this Realm of England, is an Empire, and so hath been accepted in the World, Governed by one Supreme Head and King, having the Dignity and Royal Estate of the imperial Crown of the same, unto whom a body politic compact of all sorts, and degrees of people, divided in terms, and by names of Spiritualty and Temporalty, been bounden, and aught to bear next God, a natural and humble obedience, he being also institute and furnished by the goodness and sufferance of Almighty God, with plenary, whole and entire power, pre-eminence, authority, prerogative, and Jurisdiction, to render and yield justice, and final determination, to all manner of Folk, and Subjects within his Realm, and in a● causes, matters, and debates whatsoever. Behold here, and consider the Judgement of the whole people, both Lords and Commons. Who can contradict what they said? None but the Antipodes of our Age, who contradict all Truth, Justice, Law, and Honesty. I heard it affirmed, that they were about to explode out of the new Testament▪ the 13th. Chapter of the Romans, and other Texts in Scripture, which commanded subjection to Kings. Truly I believe they did not want knavery, but only conveniency to effect it. If the Bible had had but one Head, off it had went as sure as the Kings▪  
In the Statute of 1 Eli. cap. 1. and in several other Acts of Parliament, the Crown of England is called an Imperial Crown, and the Parliament, the King's h●gh Court: And that you may see, that the Murderers of Charles the Martyr, pretended to want water when they were in the Sea, read the Act of Parliament 1 ja. cap. 1. wherein the Lords and Commons made this joyful Recognition, viz. Albeit, We your Majesty's loyal and faithful Subjects, of all Estates, and Degrees, with all possible and public joy and acclamation, by open proclamations, within few hours after the decease of our late Sovereign Queen, we declared with one full voice of tongue and heart, your Majesty to be our only lawful and rightful Liege-Lord and Sovereign, yet as we cannot do it too often, or enough, so it cannot be more fit, than in this high Court of Parliament, where the whole Kingdom in person, or by Representatives is present, upon the knees of our hearts, to agnize our most constant faith, obedience, and loyalty, to your Majesty, and your Royal Progeny, humbly beseeching it may be (as a memorial to all Posterity) recorded in Parliament, and enacted by the same, that we (being bounden thereunto by the Laws of God and Man) do recognize and acknowledge, that immediately upon the death of Queen Elizabeth, the imperial Crown of this Realm did by inherent birthright, and lawful and undoubted succession, descend, and come to your Majesty, and that by lawful right and descent, under one imperial Crown, your Majesty is of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, the most potent and mighty King, and thereunto we most humbly, and faithfully submit, and oblige ourselves, our heirs and posterities for ever, until the last drop of our bloods be spent, and beseech your Majesty to accept the same, as the first fruits of our loyalty, to your Majesty and Royal Progeny, and Posterity for ever; Which if your Majesty will adorn with your royal assent (without which it neither can be complete and perfect, nor remain to all Posterity,) we shall add this to the rest of your Majesty's inestimable benefits. But now Tiber runs backwards, and the Moon giveth light unto the Sun, the Servant ruleth the Master, and the Peasant is mightier and greater than the King: Nay in stead of walking on our feet (as our forefather's did,) we walk upon our heads, and as for the old paths where is the good way, 
Jer. 6.16.  we will not walk therein. Our Ancestors have attested the King's Sovereignty with their lives and sacred oaths, but we attest the contrary, so that if we of this age are not, our Ancestors of all ages past were ignorant perjured fools. Our Fathers (as you see in the foregoing Statute) did humbly submit, and oblige themselves, and us, their heirs, and Posterity, to be constant and faithful in subjection to the King, and his Royal Progeny: But we (undutyfull to our Parents, as well as Rebellious to our King,) oblige ourselves, and bind our souls, with many sacred oaths, to expel him from his Crown, rob him of his Revenues, and extirpate his Royal Progeny, being constant, and faithful to nothing but our own lusts and ambition. They would spend their bloods to maintain, and defend the King: but we spend both our bloods and Estates, to offend and destroy him. They esteemed their Act void and imperfect, without the Royal assent; But we esteem and vote the Royal assent, void, imperfect, and useless. But wherefore do I say we? Lay the saddle on the right horse. It was neither Lords, nor Commons, Parliament, nor people, who perpetrated all these villainies; but it was fifty or sixty rotten tainted Members of the lower House, small in number, but great in transgression. So may the Tail, nay a piece of the Tail, destroy the whole body, and reign sole Lord Paramount. Oh what multitudes of impieties can the wicked accomplish in an instant.  
Seneca. Nullum ad nocendum tempus angustum est malis, In no longer space than betwixt the Father and the Son, did these Horseleeches subvert our fundamental Government, destroy King and Kingdom, Parliament and People, and all our Laws, and Religion; so that the question is not whether the Parliament be above the King, but whether a little company of great Traitors and Usurpers, (the Dregs and Lees of all Tyranny,) be above both King and Parliament: For the Parliament (as you see by the joyful recognition made to King James &c.) enacted, and most humbly acknowledged the King to be above both Parliament and People, and the Crown to be hereditary to the King and his Royal Progeny; but these men, and only these who by violence make themselves above both King and Parliament, defending their persons from the Justice of the Law, with Armed Red-Coats, and the greatness of their villainies, These are they who deny it, though the Laws of the Realm, and all Histories, and all Kingdoms teach them otherwise.  
God calleth himself a King in several places of the Scripture, to note, and signify his Sovereignty, 
Psal. 10.16 29.10.47.2.7.44 4.  which surely he would not do, was the King the People's vassal or under Officer, as the Bedlam frantics of our age feign. Thou art my King O God, (saith David) Command deliverance for Jacob. The King and the Power to command are Individua, He is a Clout, no King, which cannot command; And who should be under his command? What? The People, taken particularly, and distributively, as single men, and not collectively as the whole Kingdom, according to the fanatic opinion of our Lunatics? Why is he not then called King of single men? If he be King of a Kingdom, than all the People jointly or severally in his Kingdom are under his command, and if under his command, than he only hath power to give them Laws, be they in one collective body as in Parliament, at the King's house, or simple bodies at their private dwellings. Le Roy fait les leix avec le Consent du Signior, et Communs: et non pas les Seigneuns, et Communs avec le consent du Roy, is the voice of the Common Law, The King makes Laws in Parliament, with the consent of the Lords and Commons, and not the Lords and Commons with the consent of the King.  Virg. 7 Eneid. 
Hoc Priami gestamen erat, cum jura vocatis  
More daret Populis—  And 5 Eneid. 
— Gaudet regno Trojanus Arestes,  
Indicitque forum, & patribus dat jura vocatis.  
The Lords and Commons have power only to propound, and advise, it is only the Kings Le roy le veult, which makes the Law, their propositions and advice signify nothing, if the King saith Le Roy se avisera; They have not power to grant him any subsidies, until the King saith, Le Roy remercieses loyaulx et ainsi le veult. Therefore much less the Sovereignty. It would be strange, if the assembling of the Subjects together should make them Masters over the King, who gave them power to assemble, and hath power to turn them home again when he pleaseth. Legum ac edictorum probatio, aut publicatio, quae in curia vel Senatu fieri solet, non arguit imperii majestatem in Senatu vel curia inesse, saith Bodin. de Rep. li. 1. ca 8. The publishing, and approbation of Laws and Edicts, which is made ordinarily in the Court of Parliament, proves not the Majesty of the State to be in the said Court, or Parliament; It is the King's Sceptre which giveth force to the Law, and we have no Law, but what is his Will. The King surely would never call his Subjects, to bind him with Laws against his will, much less to take his Dominion from him, and make himself a Vassal, and Officer, to his two Houses, or either of them, who were not capable themselves of any Office without his Gift and Licence. The Kings of England have called many Parliaments, yet the Government hath always continued Monarchical, and the King not under, but above the people, inferior only to God; even Foreign Politicians will tell you so. Let famous Bodin (who tanketh our Kings amongst the absolute Monarches) speak for all, lib. 1. cap. 8. Habere quidem Ordines Anglorum authoritatem quandam, jura vero Majestatis & imperji summam, in unius Principis arbitrio versari. The States (saith) he of England, have a kind of authority, but all the rights of Sovereignty, and command in chief, are at the will and pleasure of the Prince alone. Learned Cambden in his Britannia, fo. 163. teacheth us, As touching the division of our Common wealth, it consisteth of a King, or Monarch, Noblemen, or Gentry, Citizens, freeborn, who we call Yeomen, and Artisans or Handicraftsmen. The King whom our Ancestors (the English Saxons) called Coning and Gining (in which name is employed a signification both of power and skill) and we name contractly King, hath Sovereign power, and absolute command among us, neither holdeth he his Empire in Vassalage, nor receiveth his investure, or installing of another, ne yet acknowledgeth any superior but God alone. Now if Reason, and the Judgement of our Ancestors, would satisfy our frenzy upstarts, what greater authority would they have? But that they are troubled with so many visions, and false revelations of their own, I would commend to them a true vision, in the Reign of Edward the Confessor, viz. One being very inquisitive, and musing what should become of the Crown, and Kingdom, after King Edward's death (the blood Royal being almost extinguished) he had a strange vision, and heard a voice which forbade him to be inquisitive of such matters, resounding in his ears; The Kingdom of England belongeth to God himself, who will provide it a King at his pleasure. But now forsooth it belongeth to the people, and they will provide it a King at their pleasure: It is the people now which make the King; if so, why ever had we any Kingdoms? why were they not called Peopledoms? The Kings of England, with them of France, Jerusalem, Naples, and afterwards Scotland, 
Cambdens' Remains.  were anciently the only anointed Kings of Christendom. And as the Kings in Scripture (as Asia, Jehoshaphat, Hezechiah, 
See 2 Chro. 15, & 17, & 29, & 30, & 31.  etc.) so the Kings of England have always had the supremacy in Ecclesiastical causes: Reges, sacro oleo uncti, sunt capaces spiritualis jurisdictionis. 33 Ed. 3. Rex est persona mixta cum Sacerdote, habet ecclesiasticam et spiritualem jurisdictionem, 10 H. 7.18. And although Kings ought not to be Ministers of the Chutch, so as to dispense the word and Sacraments, For No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron, Hebrews 5.4. Yet since they are called of God to be Kings, as his Vicegerents, they have power to look to, and have a care of the Church, that the word be preached, and the Sacraments administered, by fit persons, and in a right manner, else how should Kings be Nursing Fathers to the Church, 
Isa. 49.23.  had they not a Fatherly power over it? Therefore many Acts of Parliament, in several Kings Reigns, and the whole Current of Law Books, resolve and affirm the King to be head, and have Supreme Jurisdiction in Ecclesiastical causes. In the first year of Edward the sixth, a Statute was made, That all Authority and Jurisdiction both Spiritual and Temporal, is derived from the King. So in the Reign of Edward the Confessor, was this Law, ca 17. The King, who is the Vicar of the highest King, is ordained to this end, that he should Govern and Rule the Kingdom, and People of the Land, and above all things the Holy Church, and that he defend the same from wrong doers, and destroy, and root out workers of mischief. But since Reverend Coke in the fifth part of his Reports, De jure Regis Ecclesiastico, hath with luculent examples, and impregnable laws, made it so clear, (that no man can gainsay it) that the King ought, and the Kings of England ever since before the Conquest, until the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, (at which time he writ) have had the supreme power and jurisdiction, in all Spiritual, and Ecclesiastical causes, I refer you to his Book, only reciting part of his conclusion, viz. Thus hath it appeared, as well by the ancient Common Laws of this Realm, by the Resolutions and Judgements of the Judges, and Sages of the Laws of England, in all succession of ages, as by authority of many Acts of Parliament, ancient, and of later times, that the Kingdom of England is an absolute Monarchy, and that the King is the only supreme Governor, as well over Ecclesiastical persons, and in Ecclesiastical causes, as temporal, within this Realm. And in another places, fo. 8. he saith, And therefore by the ancient Laws of this Realm, this Kingdom of England is an absolute Empire, and Monarchy, consisting of one head, which is the King; and of a body politic, compact and compounded of many, and almost infinite several, and yet well agreeing Members. All which the law divideth into two several parts, that is to say, the Clergy, and the Laity; both of them next, and immediately under God, subject, and obedient to the head. Also, the Kingly head of this politic body, is instituted, and furnished with plenary, and entire power, prerogative, and jurisdiction, to render justice and right, to every part and member of this body, of what estate, degree, or calling soever, in all causes, Ecclesiastical or Temporal, otherwise he should not be a head of the whole body. Now he that looketh upon these Authorities, and yet saith, that the King is not above both Parliament and people, nor hath sovereign power over them, will likewise look upon the sun in the Heavens, and yet say, that it is not above, but below the earth; and when he is in the midst of the sea, say, that there are no waters in the world. If then the King hath the supreme power over Parliament and people, (as most certainly he hath) how then could the Parliament or people, (much less, sixty of them) question, or judge their King? For no man can deny, but that the greater power ought to correct, and judge the lesser, not the lesser, the greater. How could they, did I say? Why, vi & armis, by violence and injury, not by law. So may I go and murder the King of Spain, or the King of France, and then tell them, that their people have the supreme power over them. The case is all one, only these Rebels murdered their natural Father, and King, to whom nature, and the Laws of God and man, had made them subjects; but I should murder a foreign King, whom I ought not to touch, he being the Lords anointed.  
It is easy to prove the Sovereignty of the Kings of England, by their Styles, (unless our anti-monarchical Statists will say, they neck named themselves.) Their several styles, since the Conquest, you may see in the first part of my Lord Coke's Institutes Fo. 27. Therefore I will not trouble you with a recital of them; as for the styles before the Conquest, take one for all, which you may find in the Preface of Co. li. 4. and in Davis his Irish reports Fo. 60. In a Charter made by Edgar one of the Saxon Monarches of England, before the Danish Kings. viz. Altitonantis dei largiflua clementia, qui est Rex Regum, & dominus dominantium, Ego Edgarus Anglorum Basileus, omniumque rerum, Insularum Oceani quae Britanniam circumjacent, cunctarumque Nationum quae infra eam includuntu●, Imperator et dominus, Gratias ago ipsi Deo omnipotenti Regi meo, qui meum imperium sic ampliavit, & exaltavit, super Regum patrum meorum, Qui licet Monarchiam totius Angliae adepti sunt a tempore Athelstani, qui primus Regum Anglorum omnes Nationes quae Britanniam incolunt sibi armis subegit, nullus tamen eorum ultra fines imperium suum dilatare agressus est, mihi tamen concessit propitia Divinitas cum Anglorum imperio, omnia regna Insularum Oceani cum suis ferocissimis regibus usque Norvegiam, maximamque partem Hiberniae cum sua nobilissima Civitate de Dublina, Anglorum regno subjugare, quos etiam omnes meis imperiis colla subdare dei favente gratia coegi. By which you may observe the first Conquest of Ireland, and that the Kings of England are Emperors, and Monarches in their Kingdom, constituted only by God, (the King of Kings and Lord of Lords,) not by the people. And so did many other Kings of England style themselves, as for example: Etheldredus totius Albionis, Dei Providentia, Imperator: and Edredus Magnae Britanniae Monarcha, etc.  
But that our preposterous Commonwealths men might make themselves most ridiculous, as well as impious in all things, they would argue the King out of his Militia, and have him to be their Defender, yet they would take away his sword from him. O Childish foppery! What? a Warrior without arms? a General without soldiers? why not a● well, a Speaker without a mouth? such Drollery was never heard of in the world, until the Infatuation of these infandous Republicans hatched it▪ Nay, but there shall be a King over us (cried the Israelites) that we also might be like all the Nations, and that our King may judge us and go out before us, and fight our battles, 1 Sam. 8.19. An● what? should he fight without the Militia? should the King be over the people, judge them, and go out before them to battle, yet ought the people t● have power to array, arm, and muster the souldier● at their pleasure? aught they to appoint wha● Officers and Commanders they thought fit? surely no: For he will (saith Samuel, verse 12.) appoint him Captains over thousands, and Captain's ove● fifties. So 11 Sam. 12.29. David gathered a● the people together, and went to Rabbath, and fought against it, and took it. But why do I cite David Had not all the Kings in the Scripture, nay, hav● not all the Kings in the world the chief powe● over their Militia? Surely, nothing is more certain; otherwise, what difference would there be between the King and Subject? Militarem autem prudentiam, ante omnia necessariam, Ego Principi assero, adeo ut sine ea, vix Princeps. Quomodo enim aliter se tueatu●, sua, ac suos, saith Justus Lipsius. No Militia, no King; For how can he defend himself and Kingdom without it? The Puppy dogs would master the Lion, were it not for his paws; the cowardly Owls would conquer the Eagle, if he had no talons; and the King would be a laughing stock, both at home and abroad, were it not for the sword, which God (not the people) hath girded to his side. The King beareth not the sword in vain, saith St. Paul, Rom. 13.4. But surely he would bear it in vain, had he not power of himself to draw it, or sheathe it, but when the people pleased; he would be but a poor revenger, to execute God's wrath, had the people, (as our Novists feign) not he, the sole disposing of the Militia. Unges eum ducem, 1 Sam. 9.16. Thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people. Which shows the King's right to the Militia, being Captain over his people. Unum est Regi inexpugnabile munimentum, amor civium. I must confess, the Citizens, and People's love is the best fortress, and bulwark for Kings; but Charity grows cold, Loyal love, and Citizens, are not always companions; whole Cities, nay whole Countries, may prove perfidious to their King; and whilst the King dischargeth the office of a loving father, his people may turn Traitors, 
Teste Anglia.  and rebel against his goodness. Therefore it is good walking with a horse in ones hand, and ever safest for Princes, even in the greatest peace, to have a welldisciplined Militia in a readiness; for the affection of the people, like the wind, is never constant, In Rege, qui recte regit, necessaria sunt duo haec, arma videlicet, & leges, 
Bract. fo. 1. Justin. Institutes, Fleta.  quibus utrumque tempus, bellorum & pacis, recte possit gubernari: utrumque enim istorum alterius indiget auxilio, quo tam res militaris possit esse in tuto, quam ipsae leges, usu armorum, & praesidio possint esse servatae. Si autem arma defecerin● contra hosts rebels & indomitos, sic erit regnum indefensum: si autem leges, sic exterminabitur justitia, nec erit qui justum faciat judicium, The Law, and Arms, are so necessary, and requisite in a King that without both, he can have neither; for how could he execute, and maintain his laws, without arms? and how could he levy war, without laws to direct, and guide his Arms? He could neither proclaim war, nor make leagues, or peace without them. The King is Custos totius Regni, and by law ought to defend, 
Davis Irish Reports, fo. 58. Fitz. n. 6.113.233.  and save hi● Realm. But surely he would b● but a poor keeper, if the people had power to keep his weapon from him at their pleasure. Custodes libertatis Angliae, The Keepers of our liberty, could not keep it from us, without the force of the Militia: and how should the King maintain his Realm in peace, and defend our lives, liberties and estates, from the foreign, and domestic Tyranny of Traitors and Rebels, had he not the sole power, and strength of Arms? The Subjects of England are bound by their liegeance, to go with the King, etc. in his wars, as well within his Realms, 
Calvin's case, so. 7.  as without, as appear by the Statute of 2 Ed. 6. cap. 11. and by a Statute made 11 H. 7. c. 1. The Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament, declare it to be the duty, and allegiance of the Subjects of England, not only to serve their Prince, and Sovereign Lord, for the time being, in wars, but to enter, and abide in service, in battle. and that both in defence of the King and land, against every rebellion, power, and might reared against him. But wherefore should I make myself ridiculous, in attempting to prove that which no age hath denied? It hath been the Custom of all Kingdoms, the practice of all times, and the Common Law of the Realm of England, ever since it was a Realm, that the power of the Militia did always belong unto the King▪ nay it is proper to him quarto modo he hath an inherent, and inalienable right to it. Which right hath been declared, and affirmed by many Acts of Parliament, in all succession of ages, which in a case so clear, need not to be recited. It belongs to the King only to make leagues with foreign Princes. 2 H. 5. ca 
19 E. 4.46.22 E. 4.  And as it is resolved in our Law Books, if all the people of England should break the league made with a foreign Prince, without the King's consent, yet the league holds, and is not broken; Nay so far are the People, or House of Lords, or Commons, from having the power of the Militia, that (as you may read the express words, 3 Inst. pa. 9) If any levy War to expulse strangers, to deliver men out of Prisons, to remove Counsellors, or against any Statute, or to any other end, pretending Reformation of their own heads, without Warrant, it is high Treason; For no Subject can levy War within the Realm, without Authority from the King, for to him it only belongeth. O then admire at the impiousness, and impudence of the long called Parliament, who murdered their King for committing Treason against them, whereas by the Laws of the Land, they were the only Traitors against him. So may the offender punish the offended, for the offence which he himself committed, and so may the Prisoner condemn, and execute the Judge, for the Crime whereof himself is only guilty. The only reason why they demanded the Militia of the King, and said that it only belonged to them, was not, because the King ought not to have it, for they well knew, that by the Law of all Ages, it did only belong to him, and not to them; But how then could they carry on, and accomplish, their wicked design of Murdering him, if they still let his Sword hang by his side? Therefore they first laid hold on that, and wrested the Militia out of his hands, arguing that it did not belong to the King, but to them. So Murderers may say, that the Sword of him whom they intent to murder, doth not belong to the owner, but to them, to the end, they may with the more ease and safeguard, perpetrate their wickedness. And that they might have a shadow to hide all their filthiness; They first got several Counties to Petition for the Militia, which they afterwards took by violence, nay they themselves did first Petition the King for it. So sturdy Beggars first beg for an Alms, and by and by knock their Benefactor on the head, and make themselves Masters of what they before entreated for: And indeed the most part of their Villainies did commence with Petitions, for in driving on their wicked designs, they always got the Rascal rabble of the People, to heap in Petitions, for what they themselves set them upon, as if these Godly Villains did nothing, but what they were driven to through commiseration of the people, when God knows, they did nothing, but what was for the satisfaction of their own wicked Lusts, and Ambition. For when the Soldiers, and other base sort of the people, cried out for Justice and Privilege of the Parliament; Even than was the Injustice of these Rebels most promoted, and the Parliament did not then only lose its privileges, but its very life and being. Thus Barbers may cut off the Head, when they pretend to trim the Hair, and so may Physicians destroy and kill the Body, when they pretend to apply Medicines. For, as now it appeareth even to the blind, their pious pretences, were but a Colour, for their wicked intentions, to destroy both King and Parliament, and root up all our Laws and Religion, when they seemed to act most to preserve them.  
Now since the power of War only belongeth unto the King, it must of necessity follow, that the King hath power to levy Taxes, and impose Subsidies on his people to maintain the War, otherwise it would be in vain to think of waging War: for all Soldiers must have (Vectigalia) Food, Apparel, and Arms, and where should the King have this but in his own Kingdom? To be short, it is a duty laid upon the Consciences of all Subjects, to supply their King with all necessaries, both in time of War, and Peace; And a thing commanded both by our Saviour, and his Apostles, Render unto Caesar, the things which are Caesar's. And 13 Rom. Render therefore to all their due, Tribute, to whom Tribute is due, Custom, to whom Custom, Fear, to whom Fear, Honour, to whom Honour. But our Antipodes subverting all Scripture, render to no man their deuce, and that they may act contrary to the very words and meaning of every Text, They do not render Tribute, Custom, Fear, and Honour, to the King, to whom it is only due, but forsooth to themselves, to whom it is not due. So may the Servant murder his Master, and take all his Revenues, and Honour as due only to himself. He which argueth that the King hath not right to choose his Privy Counsellors, Great Officers, and Judges, etc. will likewise say, that the Master hath not right to choose his Servants, it being the practice of all Kingdoms, as well as of England, and due to him by the Law of Nature; Thou shalt provide out of the People able Men, saith Jethro to Moses, when the 70. grand Senators of Israel, the Great Sanhedrim of the Jews were to be chosen; By which you see, the great Officers, etc. are to be chosen out of, and not by the people, but by the King. So Pharaoh, not the people, made Joseph Ruler over all the Land of Egypt, and Nabuchadnezzar, and not his people, made Daniel Ruler over the whole Province of Babylon. And since our Lawyers are so forward to take Commissions, and be made Judges by every power, which getteth uppermost, be it right or wrong, Let me tell them, that it is an undoubted truth, that every person, who hath been since the murder of Charles the Martyr, or shall hereafter (without the authority of Charles the second) be condemned and executed for any Crime (whether guilty or not guilty) in the King's Bench, or at the Assizes, or elsewhere, is murdered, and all the Judgements, acts and proceedings of those nominal Judges, or Commissioners are void, as things done Coram non judice. So that it consequently followeth, that these lawless Judges are principals in every murder, so committed. Vengeance only belongeth unto God, Deu. 32.35. The King is the Minister of God, a Revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil. Therefore whosoever prosecuteth in the King's Courts against the life of any man (as in an Appeal etc.) or sueth for recompense for any wrong done unto him, he doth not take vengeance, but God, who executeth his wrath by his Minister the King. But if any private man, or the whole people take upon them to make themselves their own Carvers taking what recompense they think fit, either against the King or any of their fellow Subjects, in this case they make themselves their own Revengers, and rob God of his rights, for vengeance belongeth to him, not to them. Therefore if any man, though in a way of public Justice, take upon him to condemn and execute any man, without authority and power from the King, he is a Murderer, and malicious Revenger, upon whom the vengeance of God (whom he endeavoureth to cheat and rob) will fall. Oh then admire, and bewail the Infandous Murders, and Murderers of our age, wherein the good are destroyed for performing their duty towards God and their King, and the wicked flourish, only because they are sinful, for whosoever will not be a Rebel, must not be a Commonwealths-man amongst these new Republicans. Yet forsooth they have such a form of Godliness amongst them, that whosoever doth not approve of their wickedness, but speaketh of their actions according to their deserts, they call such men the ungodly, and flatter themselves, saying, the Saints of all ages have been spoken evil of by the wicked, holy David, nay our Saviour and his Disciples were reviled by the Reprobate, therefore no wonder if the Malignant Cavaliers do reproach, and vilify our piousness, and brotherly love and charity one towards the other. So Belzebub may call them impious, who do not account him the only good Angel. How these men would be esteemed most Religious, even when they commit Sacrilege, and seem righteous even in the very act of wickedness; They murder many, and take away the Estates of all Royalists, yet if the Royalists whom they have thus spoilt, tell them according to God's Commandments, that they ought not to be swift to shed blood, nor covet their neighbour's goods, these Saints presently tell them, that they have not the Spirit of Godliness in them, but that they are the abusers of God's word, and his Children, as if God's Spirit gave them authority to act wickedly, and that none but they were the children of God, who had got their wealth by murder, rapine, and sacrilege: O Monstrous! If you call their ill gotten Government, Tyranny, or Usurpation, they number you amongst those filthy Dreamers, who speak evil of Dignities, and will no● submit to lawful authority. Yet these Antipodes could revile their Sovereign the King, with multitudes of scurrilous Pamplets, cut off his head and banish his Royal Progeny, taking away their Lands, and the Estates of thousands more, yet they would make one believe, that they never spoke evil of Dignities, nor ever resisted lawful authority. O pious Rebels!  
So far are our Laws of England from allowing Subjects to take up arms against the King, or to condemn & execute him, that it is high treason for any one, 
25 E. 3.2.  or all of his Subjects, but to imagine the King's death, which the wisdom and Religion of our Realm hath from age to age so much hated and abhorred, that an offender therein, by the Laws of the Land, shall be hanged, and cut down alive, his bowels shall be cut off, and burned in his sight, his head shall be severed from his body, his quarters shall be divided asunder, and disposed at the King's pleasure, and made food for the birds of the air, or the beasts of the Field, and his wife and children shall be thrust out of his house, and livings, his seed and blood shall be corrupted, his Lands and goods shall be confiscated, and (as by the Statute of 29 H. 6.1. It is ordained of the Traitor John Cade) he shall be called a false Traitor for ever. But the Traitors against Charles the Martyr have prevented this punishment (most due to them) by the greatness of their villainies. Yet though they are got out of the reach of Justice, and trample our Laws and King under their feet, let them remember that God is above Earth, and will give them their reward, if not in this world, yet in the world to come.  
The aforesaid Statute of 25 Ed. 3. (as you may read in Pulton de pace Regis, & Regni, fo. 108.) doth confirm it to be high treason, for any person to compass, or imagine the death of our Sovereign Lord the King, the Queen, etc. by which words, it doth approve what a great regard, and reverend respect, the Common Law hath always had to the person of the King, which it hath endeavoured religiously, and carefully to preserve, as a thing consecrated by Almighty God, and by him ordained, to be the head, health, and wealth of the Kingdom, and therefore it hath engrafted a deep, and settled fear in the hearts of all sorts of Subjects, to offer violence, or force unto it, under the pain of High Treason: 
Leges Auredi. ca 4. Co. Lib. 4.124. See 3 Inst. pag. 4. and 6.  insomuch as if he that ●s Non Compos Mentis, do kill, or attempt to kill the King, it shall be adjudged in him High Treason, though if he do commit petit Treason, homicide or larceny, it shall not be imputed unto him as Felony, for that he knew not what he did, neither had he malice prepensed, not a felonious intent. And this law doth not only restrain all persons from laying violent hands upon the person of the King, but also by prevention, it doth inhibit them so much as to compass, or imagine, or to devise, or think in their hearts, to cut off, by violent, or untimely death, the life of the King, Queen, etc. for the only compassing, or imagination, without bringing it to effect, is High Treason, because that compassing, and imagination doth proceed from false and traitorous hearts, and out of cruel, bloody, and murdering minds.  
Thus you see with what reverence our Laws do adore his sacred Majesty our King, detesting nothing more, than the violence, or damage offered to him: yet forsooth, the Rebels affirm, they killed the King by the Common Law, and why by the Common Law? what, because the Commons made it? surely that is all the reason, for there is no law under the Heavens, which warranteth Subjects to kill their King: but all laws both humane, and divine command the contrary. Many are the public oaths, (as you may read in Mr. Prynne's Concordia discors) protestations, leagues, covenants, which all English Subjects, (especially Judges, Justices, Sheriffs, Mayors, Ministers, Lawyers, Graduates, Members of the House of Commons, and all public officers whatsoever) by the Laws, and Statutes of the land, have formerly taken, to their lawful hereditary Kings, their heirs, and successors, to bind their souls and consciences, to bear constant faith, allegiance, obedience, and dutiful subjection to them, and to defend their Persons, Crowns, and just royal Prerogatives, with their lives, members, and fortunes, against all attempts, conspiracies, and innovations whatsoever. But since, all those sacred oaths have been traitorously violated, and broken by the Rebels against Charles the Martyr. I will only present you with the effect of the Oath of Allegiance, which every one is to take when he is of the age of twelve years, and this oath was instituted in the time of King Arthur. Calvin's Case, fo. 7. Co. Lit. fo. 68.172. You shall swear that from this day forward, you shall be true and faithful to our Sovereign Lord King Charles, and his heirs, and truth and faith shall bear, of life and member, and terrene honour; and you shall neither know, nor hear of any ill, or damage intended unto him, that you shall not defend. So help you Almighty God. The substance and effect of this oath (as it is resolved, and proved in Calvin's case) is due to the King, by the law of Nature, and is called Ligeantia naturalis, being an incident inseparable to every Subject; for so soon as he is born, he oweth by birthright ligeance and obedience to his Sovereign, and therefore the King is called in his Statutes our natural liege Lord, and his people, natural liege Subjects. But Ligeantia legalis, is so called because the Municipal Laws of this Realm have prescribed the order and form of it. None can deny but that obedience is due from the Son to the Father by the Law of Nature, yet may the Municipal Laws of the Realm prescribe formality and order to it, not diminishing the substance. So likewise may they to the Allegiance due by nature to the King.  
Thus have you seen how the English Traitorous Rebels, contrary to all the Laws of God, the Law of Nature, the Law of Nations, the Laws of our Realm, and against the foundation of Christian Religion, have by an unheard of example, most wickedly murdered, & as a common Thief, and vile vassal of the people, condemned their gracious King, whose name from the very beginning of the world hath ever been esteemed amongst all Nations great and holy; whom the Prophets and Apostles, nay our Saviour himself, and all the Primitive Christians, both with their lives, death, examples, and Doctrine have taught, and commanded us to reverence and pray for, and to be subject to, not violently to resist him though he violently persecute us; whom God himself in his old and new Testament hath declared to be constituted by him, and reign by him, (not by the People,) and particularly whom our forefather's of this Realm of England, have always accounted sacred, and ever found by experience Kingly Government to be most glorious, and profitable for them, yet these forty or fifty Tyrannical Rebels, contrary even to common sense, and feeling, upholding themselves by Force, and Arms, Treason, and Usurpation, do sit and Vote Kingship dangerous and burdensome to the good people of this Commonwealth, when in the mean time, out Merchants turn Bankrupts, our Tradesmen break, Food groweth dear, Trade dyeth, thousands of Families are ready to starve, Millions of men are ruined and undone, the whole Realm groaneth under the burden of excessive Taxes, and Wars, and rumours of Wars, continually plague our Kingdom, which hath lost its glory both abroad and at home, and become a mere laughingstock to all Nations, and all this misery ariseth from the Tyranny of these Rebels, who unjustly banish our lawful haereditary King Charles the second, and take possession of his three Kingdoms, making themselves absolute Tyrannical Kings over us, and so I believe they intent to make their Heirs: for (being accustomed to lie) they declare in their Declarations, that the People shall be governed by their Representatives in Parliament, Yet (their actions contradicting their words,) they will not suffer the People to choose their Representatives, or come into the House, 
The People declare for a free Parliament, but these Rebels only for themselves.  but they tell us, that they will choose men of fit qualities. So one Thief chooseth another, Similis simili gaudet, We may be sure never to have an honest man amongst them, if they have the choosing. So that we may conclude, that unless we arise, and destroy these self-seeking self-created Tyrants, and restore our gracious King to his Crown, both we, and our heirs, shall be Slaves to the world's end; for no legal Government can be established without the King.  
I have sufficiently proved, that it is unlawful for Subjects to rebel against evil Kings: How much more than is it unlawful to rebel against a pious, and merciful Sovereign, which addeth to the bulk of the sins of our English Rebels? For the whole world knoweth, that Charles the Martyr (whom they so traitorously murdered, 
Read his incomparable heavenly Book, which will make thee weep for our loss, but rejoice and admire at his piety. ) was the best of Kings, and meekest of men: He was Charles le bon, & Charles le grand, good in his greatness, and great in his goodness. Some have said, that a good King cannot be a good Christian, but it is proved manifestly false in him, for to the admiration of the whole Earth, he was the best of Christians, and no less to be admired as a good King: So that his misfortune in his Government did not proceed from his deficiency in the art of Governing, but from the excess of the Rebels sins, who transcended all Traitors since the creation of the world, in sin, and treachery, as far as Hell is distant from the Earth. Wherefore we may most truly say, that he was murdered, only because he was good: For every Kingdom divided against itself, is brought to desolation, 
Luk. 11.18.  if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his Kingdom stand? Therefore if the King had been evil, these evil Traitors would never have cast him out, but seeing he was a pious and Religious King, (and so an evil Member to their evil Commonwealth, 
See their charge against him. ) They all united their hearts and hands to cut him off, and lay to his charge all the Treasons, Murders, Rapines, Burnings, Spoils, Desolations, Damage and Mischief to this Nation, which they themselves committed. So Thiefs and Murderers may spoil, burn, and make desolate all places, and Massacre, and kill many Noble, and trusty Servants, to the end they might take their Master and kill him, and then having taken him, lay all to his charge, and execute him as the only Author of all those villainies which they themselves acted and occasioned. O heavens! Could the Almighty suffer this? Why not? The Lord made all things for himself, yea even the wicked for the day of evil. Pro. 16.4.  
As for our rising Sun Charles the second, though hitherto obscured by the foggy mists of Treason, and Rebellion, in his own Kingdoms; yet do the rays of his sacred Majesty shine throughout the world beside, and his renown ecchoeth in every part of the Earth, to the admiration of foreign Kingdoms, and to the envy & hatred of the Rebels in his own. Yet cannot their malice but marvel at the virtues, and patience of their King, whom they so much wrong: And it grieves them to see that royal progeny (whose ruin they so greedily hunt after) flourish with such glorious splendour amongst the Kings, and Princes of the Earth, growing in favour both with God and Man; Whilst they (odious to all but themselves) by their Tyranny and Rebellion, incur the displeasure both of Heaven and Earth, and become a Ridiculous Rump, The object of the scorn and derision, both of Old and Young, Rich and Poor. And had not these infatuated Rebels, brazen faces to deny what their own Conscience telleth them is true, They would presently declare, that the only way to settle our distractions, and restore our Nation to its pristin happiness, and glory, were to call in the King, and re-establish him in his own, which they unjustly pocket from him: For so long as there is one of the race of the Stewarts (which God long preserve) and any foreign King, or People, remain alive, we must never look for peace, or plenty, but (as public Thiefs) always live in a posture of War, and ever expect foreign Nations to come in, and swallow us up, Who account it (as indeed it is) the greatest piece of Justice under the Sun, to revenge (with our bloods, and utter destruction) the bloody Murder of Charles the first, and the unnatural Banishment of Charles the second, our only lawful Sovereign. Therefore let all English Spirits (who have not washed their hands in the Innocent blood of Charles the Martyr) join their prayers to God, and their Forces to one another, and launce this Ulcer, and cut off this proud flesh, whose growth destroyeth our King, Laws, and Religion. Behold the Duke of York will be your leader, whose very name striketh terror to the greatest men of War, and our Rebels tremble to think of his Martial achievements; It is he who will be our Champion, to hunt out these treacherous Foxes, who Rebel against his King and Brother; and then make our Nation dreadful to the Pope, and other foreign Invaders. Therefore let us not dream like Goats, whilst we have this Lion to be our Captain, but follow him, and destroy these Wolves, who make us their continual prey, keeping us in Slavery, under a false pretence of Liberty; and let us obey our King, and Father, Charles the second, who will bless us with the blessings of Jacob, and weed out of our Church, and State, those Jesuits, and Popish Blasphemors, who now under the colour of a free State, are working, and contriving, the ruin both of our Laws and Religion. And then we shall prosper into a Kingdom, Ezekiel 86.13. and once more be a glorious people, under so glorious a King: which God Almighty speedily grant, for the glory of his Holy Name, and for the welfare and happiness of all Christian people.  
Every one knoweth that in 1648. after the long tempest of a horrid War and Rebellion, raised by the Refractory and Treacherous House of Commons, under a pretence of removing evil Counselors from the King, (but in truth only to promote their own private Interests, and factious designs) The Currish Army, who had for a long time hunted the distressed King, and his Royal party, pretending to be set on only by their Master Rebels the Commons, but it seems they had a game to play of their own, which on the sixth of December 1648. they begun to show; And therefore when the Traitorous Commons had obtained what they could ask, or desire, of their Sovereign, than their Prisoner at the Isle of Wight, being such Concessions, which never any King before him granted, nor Subjects ever demanded, So that shame compelled them to vote them satisfactory, Then the bloody Soldiers thinking themselves lost, if the King and Parliament should find a peace, went up to the House of Commons, and by force kept out and imprisoned those who voted the King's Concessions satisfactory, 
Vulgarly called the Secluded Members.  which the militant Saints pleased to call purging of the House, (so that body is purged which hath poison left in it, and nutriment taken out of it by the purge) yet this purge would not do, the Lords must be turned out too, and only 40. or fifty packed Members of the House of Commons, 
So he which playeth at Knave out of doors, getteth the Knave, to beat all the rest of the Cards.  who had sworn to be as very (if not worse) Knaves than the wicked Soldiers would have them to be, were only left in the House, who presently took upon them, what power their own lusts could desire, or the overruling Sword help them to, Murdered the King, and the chiefest of the Royal Party, and yet to colour their Tyranny, ca●led themselves a Parliament; by which name blowing up, King, Lords Spiritual, and Temporal, and all our Laws, and Religion with them, they still Domineer, and Rule over us, yet not so, but that the Army Rule them, (as the Wind doth a weathercock) turning them which way, and how they please, sometimes up, and sometimes down, and no doubt but that shortly they will be cast down for altogether, for the wicked shall not last, but vanish as a shadow.  
Blessed art thou O Lord, when thy King is the Son of Nobles: Eccles. 10.17. But alas, Servants have ruled over us, and there is none that doth deliver us out of their hands. Lamen. 5.8. The Crown is fallen from our head: Woe unto us that we have sinned. Verse 16. For now they shall say, we have no King, because we feared not the Lord; What then should a King do unto us? Hosea 10.3.   

ENGLAND'S CONFUSION,  
OR A True Relation of the topsy turvy Governments in mutable England, since the Reign of Charles the Martyr. The Tyranny of the Rump further manifested. And that we shall never have any settled State, until Charles the second (whose right it is) enjoy the Crown. Though frantic Fortune in a merriment, hath set the Heels above the Head, and gave the Sceptre unto the Shrubs, who being proud of their new got honour, have jarred one against the other, during the Interregnum: Yet Charles the second shall put a period to this Tragedy, and settle our vexed Government, which hath changed oftener in twelve years, than all the Governments in the whole world besides. Oh the heavy Judgement when Subjects take upon them to correct their King!  
AS a distracted Ship (whose pilot the raging violence of a tempestuous storm hath cast down headlong from the stern) staggereth too and fro amongst the unquiet waves of the rough Ocean, sometimes clashing against the proud surly Rocks, and sometimes reeling up and down the smother waters, now threatening present Shipwreck, and Destruction, by ●nd by promising ● seeming safety, and secure arrival, yet never settled fast, nor absolutely tending to the quiet and desired Haven: So the vexed Government of frantic England, ever since the furious madness of a few turbulent Spirits beheaded our King and Kingdom, threw down Charles the Martyr (our only lawful Governor) from the stern of Government, and took it into their unskilful and unlawful hands, it hath been tossed up and down, sometimes falling amongst the lawless Soldiers, as a Lamb amongst Wolves, or as a glass upon stones,) and sometimes happening amongst Tyrants, calling themselves a Parliament, who are so much worse than the Soldiers, by how much wickedness covered with a colour of Justice is worse, and more dangerous than naked villainies. Yet in all our Revolutions (although many gaps have been laid open that way,) hath not the Government steered its course directly to Charles the second, it's only proper right, and quiet Haven; to which until it come, we must never expect to have the Ship of our Commonwealth so secure, but that Tempests and Storms will still molest and trouble (if not totally ruin) it. Though it stand so fast one day, that it seemeth impossible for humane strength to remove it, yet the next day it moultereth away to nothing. I vouch every man's experience to warrant this truth; And were not our blind Sodomites intoxicated with Senseless, as well as Lawless Counsels, They would never gape after preferment, nor hope for continuance in their imaginary Commonwealth, where the greatest one hour is made least the next, and they themselves swallow up each the other, never having rest or peace, no not in their own House. And can this divided Monster (which is the cause of all our divisions) close up our divisions, and settle our Nation in peace and happiness? 'Tis madness to think it. So fire may quench fire, and the Devil who was the first Author of wickedness, put an end to all wickedness. Examine the condition of the times, since the Reign of Charles the first, and you may see what times we shall have, until the Reign of Charles the second. Tyranny and Usurpation, Beggary and Slavery, Wars and Murders, Subversion of our Laws, and Religions, changing the Riders, but we must always be the Asses, Hunger and Famine, Guns and Swords, Drums and Trumpets, Robberies and Thieveries, Fornication and Adultery, Brick without Straw, Taxes although no bread, These must be the voices which will always sound in our Ears, until we cast off this old man of Sin, viz. The Long called Parliament, and submit (as we ought) to Charles the second our only lawful King.  
We may read of many Kings who have been suddenly killed, by the rash violence of an indiscreet multitude, who in the heat of Blood, do that which they repent of all their life after, (mad Fury being the only cause of their unjust Actings;) But to commit sin with reason and piety, to kill their King with discretion, formally and solemnly, is such a premeditated Murder, that the Sun never saw, until these Sons of perdition brought it to light; For a long time before the fact, they machinated, and plotted, the King's death, and contrived how they might with the best colour and show of Justice effect it; At length (as if their Votes were more authentic than all Srcipture) they passed (amongst others) this Vote, Die Jovis, Jan. 4. 1648. viz. That the People, under God, were the original of all just power; This was the foundation upon which the superstructure of all their murders and villainies (which they call just Judgements) were built; which granted, it consequently followeth, that all the power which they then and now exercise over these three Kingdoms, is unjust and Tyrannical, because not derived from the People. There are no Representatives amongst them for Scotland nor Ireland, nor the greatest part of England, neither did they ever receive any power at all from the People of either England, Scotland, or Ireland, and now all the People publicly declare against them as the greatest Usurpers and Tyrants in the world; yet contrary to all the People's wills, they sit, and Rule, and will admit of no Member of the People's choosing to come amongst them, unless they first qualify and fit him for their own purpose; therefore it plainly appeareth, that this Vote, that the People had the supreme power under God, was but a mere juggle to gull the people, and to bring their wicked designs to pass. So that as A whip for the Horse, or a bridle for the Ass, have the People made (of this quondam Parliament,) a rod for their fools-backs, Pro. 26.3.  
The King being murdered by these Tyrants, and all our Laws and Religion totally subverted, (a time wherein every one did what was right in his own eyes,) Oliver Cromwell (who for his excellency in wickedness and villainies was made General of the long called Parliaments unjust Forces,) the twentieth of April 1653. entered the House, attended with some of the chief Commanders of his Army, and delivering his reasons to them in a Speech, why he came to put a period to their sitting, as judging it a thing much conducing to the public welfare of the Nation, dissolved them. And why might not he turn out them by force, who by force had already turned out the King, Lords, and all the Commons, besides themselves? Surely if he had taken and hanged them all, it would have been a glorious Act, pleasing to God, and the whole people, and a Cordial to heal the miseries of our long-distressed Nation. But his ambition was to make himself Great, not to give relief and take away the Tyranny, therefore he summoned a certain select number of his own creatures to appear at Westminster on the fourth of July next, which he called a Parliament, and none could deny but that they had the Sovereign power, because Cromwell said so, yet not so but that he made them resign up their power to him, and make him (the Lord protect us) Lord Protector, not a King, because a King might do nothing but by Law, but the Protector did nothing but according to his will and pleasure; yet in this were we happy, that in his reign, one Tyrant Lorded it over us, but in the long Parliaments, many. It is worth the observation, that notwithstanding a Parliament had newly abrogated the very name and being of a King, 
Our Sovereign Charles must be no King, because pious, but Oliver must be a King, because a Rebel. Oh the mystery of their iniquity  as dangerous and burdensome to the Commonwealth, yet a Parliament (summoned by Cromwell in July 1656. to meet on the 17 of September,) Petitioned and made many humble addresses to Cromwell that he would take Kingship upon him, and be anointed King, which old Nolls mouth watered at, yet because some things did not fall out according to his expectation, he declined it, and refused to be what he eagerly (though not openly) pursued. 
Though the King's Nobility might not, yet Cromwel's might be a House of Peers.  Cromwell likewise created a House of Lords, which was called the other House: but the high aspiring thoughts of this turbulent Scorpion, were at length blown down, and extinguished by a high and mighty, wondrous and unparallelled wind, which out raunted Old Nol, and whirried his black Soul down ad inferos. So that after this storm, we had a Calm; and as the Sheep are at quiet ease, when the bloody Wolf forsakes them, so the People did rejoice and solace their hearts, when this Tyrant made his Exit; yet no sooner were we rid of this crafty Knave, the Father, but we were troubled with a simple Fool, his Son. Richard his eldest Son was proclaimed (by the new Courtiers, and Army-Officers) Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and so tumble down Dick thought to have risen, and Reigned in his Father's room; But a Fool's bolt is soon shot, Richard was quickly up, & quickly down: No sooner had he called a Parliament, but the Soldiers (who feared that his Parliament should be honest, and disband them, as the only instruments to execute all Villainies) went to the Mushroom Protector, and by dnresse, made him dissolve the Parliament, and divest himself of all his Power and Authority. And in this respect, it is better to be a Knave, than a Fool; For crafty Noll kept the rude Soldiers in due obedience; But simple Dick let them be his Masters, whereas he might easily have made them, and the whole people, have been his Servants to this day. When Richard was dismounted, the Soldiers could not well tell where to hang the Government, to secure them in their Rebellion, and Roguery: At last they pitched upon the old rotten Rump (viz. the fag▪ end of a worn-out, 
Tristius haud illis monstrum, nec saevior ulla Pestis, & ira Deum Sly●iis sese extulit undis.  perjured Parliament) who had formerly dissolved themselves, (witness the Entry in their own Journal Book, April 20.1653.) although they pretend to be interrupted by Cromwell's force; So these Knaves (the worst of Tyrants) cemented together again, like a Snakes tail, and for colour called themselves, the Revivers of the Good Old Cause, and were as busy, as if they had had another King, and 3. Kingdoms to destroy. So these infamous wicked Traitors returned to their wickedness, as a Dog to his vomit, to the great grief and grievance of all sorts of People in the Land, who groaned and murmured, as if they were entering into a far worse than Egyptian bondage and Slavery under these taskmasters. To say that the people (not they) had the Sovereign power, was now high Treason, although they themselves had voted so formerly, and to talk of a Free Parliament, the ancient birthright of the people (as they themselves likewise formerly affirmed) was now made a greater offence than Crimen lae sae Majestatis. These Custodes filled all the Prisons in the Kingdom, with those persons who desired a Free Parliament, and in that respect, they may be called The Keepers of our Liberty, as Gaolers do Thiefs in Chains, or as the Cage doth Birds in grates; For they keep us so much from our Free Liberty, to do well, that they will not so much as give us leave to speak, or think well. But there is no peace with the wicked. when these Tyrants had beaten down Sir George Booth, and other Assertors of a Free Parliament, and made themselves as secure, as Force and Violence could make them, One Lambert (a Chip of the old Block) newly made General of their Forces, displaced the Rump, and with his Soldiers inhibited their usuped sitting; which made the whole people not only rejoice inwardly, but break out in open laughter for joy: But nullum commodum sine incommodo, there is no pleasure without a displeasure: No sooner did the Rump leave riding of us, 
What pretty names these State Thieys have for their Robberies and Tyranny.  but up gets the Committee of Safety into the Saddle, who made account that they were so absolutely our Masters, as if we had all sworn allegiance to them. They rid furiously, but in a short time (the Breech being too heavy, 
viz. The titular Parliament.  for this new Head) they moltered away to nothing. Though the Rump had for a time hung down its tail betwixt its Legs, yet at length it begun to wag it, and whilst the Safety of the Committee of Safety was marched into the North under its Father Lambert's Conduct, the Currish Rump stole into the House again by night, seven times a Devil worse than before; where now they ride Triumphant, and without the people's consent, or liking, make what Laws they list, and Assess what Taxes they please, send their mercenary Soldiers (who would fight for the Devil, if he would give them money) into the City in the night time, and take the Citizen's money away from them, pretending that the Citizens provide it for Charles Stuart, but when the Citizens prove the contrary, 
Alas not for so good a use.  than they tell them they will secure it for them. So Burglars and Thiefs take away men's purses from them, and then tell them they will secure them for them. These are the Keepers of our Liberty: These are they who stood so much for the privileges of Parliament, and for the people's free election of their Representatives. Now they account it a great Breach of Privilege of Parliament, to petition to them for a free Parliament, and imprison them that are for it. So Robbers may account it dishonesty for those who are robbed, to ask for their own, and imprison them as disturbers of the Commonwealth. Although these Tyrants have built themselves great houses, and filled their bags and coffers with the estates of their Masters, whom they murdered, and with the unparallelled impositions which they have laid upon the people, yet do they still resolve to rob the spittle; and have newly made an Act for the Assessment of six hundred thousand pounds. Oh that the English should provide moneys, to maintain their devourers! Though we have not bread to suffice our own hunger, yet must we find dainties, and moneys to fulfil their lusts; though they take away our straw, yet we must still provide a greater tale of bricks: so that of all the Tyrants in the world, which History, or men acquaint us with, these are the greatest. There was Justice in Phalaris his bull, but these men have only the colour of Justice. Other Tyrants were but shadows, these are the Quintessence of all Tyranny and perdition. I will not plunge myself into such a bottomless Labyrinth, 
I commend you to the History of Independency.  as to attempt to particularise all their villainies; Non opus est nostrum, I am not able; nay the quickest pen of a ready writer, would come far short of so great a task. The Histories of after ages will resound with these Turpia Dictu, the people of our age have only time to feel, and endure the miseries of this Tyranny, subsequent generations will have leisure to tell the story, Et haec olim meminisse juvabit. Methinks I already hear the Postnati, those who will be born thousands of years hence, relating one to the other, the marvellous Tyranny which happened to our Nation, after the Reign of Charles the Martyr, and in what manner the King was murdered, and how Charles the second was afterwards driven into an un-christian Exile, and likewise rehearsing what persons they were which acted all these villainies; & so end with a Te Deum laudamus, blessing God for the tranquillity peace and plenty; which they enjoy under their Gracious Sovereign Lord the King.  
The Persian Law commanded, that at the death of their Kings, there should be a suspension of the laws, a lawless liberty for the space of five days, that the subjects might know the necessity of Government, and learn to prise it better, by being bereft of the benefit of it for a time. Sure I am, a lawless liberty hath reigned amongst us ever since the murder of Charles the first: therefore I hope, our present torments for want of a King, will sufficiently prohibit all future ages, to think of offering violence to their Kings: and teach them to know, that a bad King, (much mor● a good King, as was Charles the Martyr) is an unvaluable blessing, if compared to the Government of that many headed Monster, the People, or their Representatives in Parliament.  
The people's eyes were all fixed upon General Monk, as their Moses, to deliver them from this iron yoke of Egyptian bondage; But, 
Omne malum nobis, ex Aquilone venit.  
From the Cold North,  
Comes all Ill forth.  Monk proved worse than Pharaoh himself, and instead of relieving of our distressed Jerusalem, (which he might have done in the twinkling of an eye, without one drop of bloodshed, and thereby have gotten eternal renown and glory, as well amongst all Nations, as in his own native Country) he heaped misery to misery, and executed such a grand piece of Tyranny, that none in the world (unless those Harpies, his Master Rebels at Westminster) could invent. On Thursday the ninth day of February, 1659. In perpetuam rei memori●m, he drew up all his soldiers into the City, with their matches lighted, in a warlike posture, doubled his guards, and tore down all the gates, ●nd posts of the City; neither did his intoxicated malice stay upon the gates, but leapt upon the Aldermen, and other Citizens, whom he presently cast into prison, so that now he is become odious, and stinks in the nostrils of all the Citizens and People: and whereas he was the common hopes of all men, he is now the common hatred of all men, as a Traitor more detestable than Oliver himself; who, though he manacled the Citizen's hands, yet never took away the doors of their City, whereby all manner of beasts, (as well the Wolves at Westminster, as other out-lying Foxes, and Birds of prey) may come in, and destroy them when they please. So that now iniquity followeth iniquity, and the wicked join hand in hand, and oath to oath, to persevere in their Rebellion. And although no sacred Oaths, Protestations, Vows or Covenants, could keep them in lawful subjection to the King, they now think with unlawful oaths, to tie one the other fast to their usurped Tyranny. So that the King's righteous cause, is now in a seemingly worse condition than before; and he may complain with Holy King David, That the Rebels have cast their heads together with one consent, and are confederate against him. But why art thou cast down, O my soul, or why art thou disquieted within me? Cannot God who permitteth these Rebels to reign, as easily cast them down? Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? Though his Excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds, yet he shall perish for ever, like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, where is he? He shall flee away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea he shall be chased away, as a vision of the night: The eye also which saw him, shall see him no more, neither shall his place any more behold him, because he hath oppressed, and hath forsaken the poor, because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not. Job. 20.   

ENGLAND'S REDEMPTION.  
OR The People's rejoicing, for their great deliverance from the Tyranny of the long called Parliament, and their growing hopes for the restauration of Charles the second, whose absence hath been the cause of all our miseries, whose presence will be the cause of all our happiness. The prosperity of Rebels, and Traitors is but momentary. As Monarchy is the best of all Governments, so the Monarchy of England is the best of all Monarchies: Therefore God save King Charles the second, and grant that the proud Presbyterians do not strive to make themselves Kings over him, as they did over his Father, by straining from him Antimonarchical Concessions, and by Covenanting to extirpate his Bishops etc. that they might set up themselves, which was the primary cause of our late unnatural and inhuman wars. Mr. Prynne commended, Episcopacy is the best form of Church Government. The Votes of the Clergy in Parliament. The Arrogance of the Presbyterian faction, who stand upon their Terms with Princes, and make Kings bend unto them as unto the Pope.  
OH the inscrutable judgements of God Oh the wonderful mercy of the Almighty! Oh ●he Justice of our Jehovah! No sooner had I written these last words of the momentary prosperity of the wicked, 
11th. of February 1659. Cressa ne careat pulchra dies aota.  out immediately the same hour, news was brought me, that General Monck and the City were agreed, and resolved to declare for a free Parliament, and decline the Rump, Obstupui, stetteruntque comae, & vox faucibus haesit, I was strucken with amazement, joy made me tremble, and the goodness of the news would scarce permit me to believe it; when I considered the crying sins of our Nation, (which deserved showers of vengeance, not such sprinklings of mercy,) then all such conceits seemed to me as vain, and empty delusions; but when I considered the infinite mercy of the Almighty, then why might not God spare our Nineveh, and send joyful tidings into our discorsolate City? Surely his mercies are greater than our great Sins. Therefore to resolve this doubt, I went up into the City, where instead of Tears (as formerly) I had like to have been drowned with the Streams of joy, and rejoicing; The Bell rung merrily, the Streets were paved with mirth and every house resounded with joyful acclamations. I had do need then to ask whether the new● (I heard in my Chamber) were true or no, both Men, Women, and Children, Old and Young, Rich and Poor, all sung forth the destruction o● the Long called Parliament, the whole City was as it were on fire with Bonfires for joy; And now those who formerly threatened the firing of the City, were burnt at every door, for all the people cried out, let us Burn the Rump, let us roast the Rump: A sudden change! History cannot tell us of its parallel. No less than thirty eight Bonfires, were made between Pleet-Conduit, and Temple-bar. To be short, there was scarce so much as one Alley in the whole City, wherein there were not many Bonfires; so that, so great and general joyfulness, never entered into the Walls of the City, since it was built, neither will again, until Charles the second be restored to his Crown. The hopes whereof only caused the fervency of those joys. The Pulpits on the morrow (being Sunday) and all the Churches echoed forth Praises and Thanks to God, and private devotion was not wanting; neither was this joy confined only within the walls of the City, but being a public mischief was removed, a public rejoicing overspread the whole Kingdom, and all the people with one heart and voice, shouted, clapped hands, and poured out joyful thanks for this great deliverance; So the wearied Hare is delighted, and cheereth herself, when she hath shaken off the bloody Hounds, and so a Flock of Sheep are at rest, and ease, when the Ravenous Wolves have newly left them.  
Oh therefore let our distracted England be a warnin-gpiece to all Nations, that they never attempt to Try and Judge their King, for what cause soever; And let all Traitors and Tyrants in the World learn by the example of our English Rebels, that their Prosperity and Dominion (though it seemeth never so perpetual) is but momentary, and as the wind which no man seeth; For who so much applauded, and looked upon, as the Long Parliament, when they first took upon then to correct and question the King? and who now so Ridiculous, and Scorned? They were them admired by the People as the Patrons, Vindicators, Redeemers, and Keepers of their Liberty; Nay I may most truly say, that the people did worship and adore them, more than they did God: But now (although they were as wicked then, and did as much destroy our Laws and Liberties, as they do now) they are become a byword, the Scorn and Derision, both of Men, Women, and Children, and hooted at by every one, as the greatest, and most shameful laughingstock in the World.  
Who then can think upon our late most graciour King Charles the Martyr, without Tears in his Eyes, and contrition in his heart? who can remember his patient Sufferings without Amazement and mourning? who can look upon his Prophetical, and Incomparable Book, without Admiration, and Weeping rejoicings? especially upon that Text in the 26 Chapter of his book, viz. Vulgar compliance with any illegal and extravagant ways, like violent motions in nature, soon grows weary of itself, and ends in a refractory sullenness: Peoples rebounds, are oft in their faces, who first put them upon those violent strokes. This needs no Commentary, for every one knoweth with what zeal the Rabel of the people did at first stick to the Traitorous House of Commons in their Grand Rebellion, and how they are now weary of them, and with refractory sullenness rise up against them, and are ready to fly in their Faces, who first taught them to Rebel, and fight against their King. Nay the Apprentices of London, whom formerly these Rebels made instrumental, to carry on their wicked designs against the King, are now most vehement against them; For why? a noisome House is most obnoxious to the nearest Neighbour's, and the stinking House of Commons, that sentina malorum, doth most annoy this neighbouring City. It is the nature of foxes to pray furthest from their holes: but these unnatural foxes, in sheep's clothing, make all their prey, both at home and abroad. All is fish which comes to their net.  
And that these Rebels may still have freedom to persevere in their villainies, they cry up a free-State, as the best of all Governments, yet (mark the nature of the beast,) a free-State (say they) is most beneficial for the people, yet not so free, 
Brave for thiefs, if they might qualify their Judges. But I think they can scarce pick out men enough in England, to fill up the House, who will admit of their wicked Qualifications.  but that they may, and will qualify, and engage the persons chosen by the people, according to their free will and pleasure. So that the people's Representatives must represent these Traitors, in all their wickedness; otherwise they shall be no free-Statesmen: for they account that Government most for the liberty of the people, wherein themselves may have liberty still to continue in their Treason & Rebellion: and that they call slavery, and oppression of the people, which would suppress their wicked and infandous Tyranny. All the reason which they can give against Monarchy, is, because (say they) many of the people would lose their interests in their new purchased estates; and we should be turned out of our possessions, and perhaps lose our lives too. (A good argument indeed, if maintained by the Logic of the sword.) So thiefs and murderers may argue against the Sessions, because then perhaps they should lose their stolen goods, and be hanged for their murders and robberies. O abominable, that English men should degenerate into such impious impudence! for this is the truth of their case, might they but still have the Kings, and Bishops lands, which they have gotten by their horrible Treason and Rebellion, and be sure to live secure from the punishment which the Law of the Land would inflict upon them, they would easily confess (if the Devil have not made them contradictors of all manner of truth) that Monarchy is the best of all Governments, especially for the English Nation; where (as one may say) it grew by nature, until these destroyers of the Laws of God, Nature, and the Realm, rooted it up; and endeavoured to plant their fancied Commonwealth in its room: which will grow there, when plums grow in the sky, or when rocks grow in the air, not before; as you may see by the small root it hath taken, ever since the reign of Charles the Martyr. Dig and delve they may, yet they will never set it in so fast, but that (if the right heir do not, which God grant he soon may) the wind and ambition of some one of their own sect and faction, will quickly blow it down: as did Oliver the wicked, etc.  
As Monarchy is the best sort of all govetnments, so the Monarchy of England, 
To be short (saith Comines) in mine opinion, of all the Seigneuries in the world, that I know, the Realm of England is the Country, where the Commonwealth is best governed, the people least oppressed, and the fewest buildings and houses destroyed in Civil war, and always the lot of misfortune falleth upon them that be the Authors of the war.  is the best of all Monarchies; and hath in it, the perfection, and all that is good, either in Aristocracy, Democracy, or Free-State. For every one knoweth, that Charles the Martyr, though a King, yet always made himself a subject to his laws; accounting his prerogative safer, being locked up in the custody of the law, than in the absoluteness of his own will. And what laws of any Nation in the world, did ever maintain the liberty and freedom of the people, more than the King's Laws of England? I may most truly answer, none more, nor so much: for what greater freedom can the people wish for, than not to have any laws imposed on them, than what they please and desire? The Kings of England never make any law, but what the people consent to; the Lords and Commons have a Negative voice, as well as the King. Although the inferior Members receive all their authority from the head, yet cannot the head act without their consent and privity; so neither ●oth the King impose any laws on his subjects, without their concurrence and approbation. The House of Lords resembleth Aristocracy, and the House of Commons Democracy or a free State, yet the King (like the Sun which doth not diminish its own light by giving light to others) continueth still a royal Monarch and without any Solecism in State, I may truly say, that the House of Lords did excel Aristocracy, and the House of Commons Democracy, in preserving the People's rights and welfare, because the necessity of their joining votes each with the other, and both of them with the King, in making of a Law, did inhibit either of them from having an unlimited arbitrary power, which either of them without the other would have, and so enslave the People, as the House of Commons now do, according to their lusts, having destroyed their Master the King, and the House of Lords their Moderators. Whilst the King, Lords, and Commons, like the three Graces joined hand in hand, in passing votes approved by this triple touchstone, than were our Laws like Gold seven times refined, which made our Nation most glorious abroad, and to overflow with peace and plenty at home; we were then feared, not derided, by all foreign Kings and Princes; Religion, not Faction then reigned in our hearts, and our industry was then to preserve, not to destroy God's Sanctuary.  
But now since the hand hath said to the eye, I have no need of thee, 
Magnae discordia pereunt concordiavalent  and the feet to the head I have no need of you, the whole body of our Kingdom hath groaned, and every Member thereof as with a Consumption is wasted and grieved. The Crown is fallen from our head, and we are become a reproach, and hissing amongst all Nations. Oh therefore (to redeem our credit, and long lost happiness) Let us all unanimously agree to be loyal Subjects to Charles our King, and let all his loyal Subjects pray for, and earnestly desire, his safe arrival into our England, that we may once more eat the Manna of our old Laws and Religion, with the sweetness whereof we surfeited, in the reign of Charles the Martyr. Then shall we beat our Swords into ploughshares, and our Spears into pruning hooks, faction shall not rise up against faction, neither shall we learn war any more, For if we be willing and obedient we shall eat the good of the Land, Isa. 1 19 Hor. 

Concines laetosque dies, & urbis  
Publicum ludum, super impetrato  
Fortis Augusti reditu, forumque  
litibus orbum  
Tum meae (si quid loquor audiendum)  
Vocis accedet bona pars, & O Sol  
Pulcher, O laudande, canam, recepto  
Cáesare falix.  
Tuque dum procedis, Io triumph,  
Non semel dicemus, Io triumph,  
Civitas omnis dabimusque divis  
Thura ben●s   

Then shall we sing the public plays,  
For his return, and holy days,  
For our Prayers heard, and Law's restored,  
From Rebels Sword.  
Then I (if I may then be heard)  
Happy in my regained Lord,  
Will join ' i'th' close, and O! (I'll say)  
O Sunshine day!  
The City leading, we'll all sing,  
Io triumph! and again,  
Io triumph! at each turning,  
Incense burning.    
Thus when we have received our gracious Sovereign, from his long unnatural banishment, what then can the Lord do more for us, that he hath not done? Wherefore when he looketh that we should bring forth good grapes, let us take heed that we do not bring forth wild grapes, let us fear God and honour the King, and meddle not with them that are given to change, as God hath commanded us, for if we refuse and rebel, we shall be devoured with the Sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, and so our last rebellion will be worse for us then the first.  
General Monk hath amply repaired his honour which he lost by pulling down the City Gates and Perculisses, and in stead of proving a Keeper to the Traitorous Keepers, he hath approved himself a glorious D●●ender of our Liberties, for which Trophies of honour shall be erected to his eternal renown; neither will our King spare heaping of rewards, upon his so memorable merits, at his return to his own house, which the General hath swept for him, and turned out them who made it aden of thiefs.  
On Tuesday the 21. day of February, 1659. (a day which deserveth more solemnisation, than Gunpowder Treason day; for than we were delivered from those who only intended to destroy King and Parliament, but now we are delivered from those, who actually did destroy both King and Parliament, and so consequently the whole Kingdom) General Monk (our famous Patron) conducted the secluded Members to the House of Commons, 
You may guess with what a countenance the Rump looked upon them.  where (according to their former agreement with the General) they voted themselves in a short time to be dissolved, and a free Parliament to be elected. Now I hope no man will presume to conceive the General so insipid, as to think there can be a free Parliament, without the King, and House of Lords. No, it is ridiculous to think so; for a free Parliament without the King, would be but like salt which hath lost his favour, thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Mat. 5.13. It would be but a Rump fattened, and grow bigger. For we are all sick of the King's Evil, therefore nothing but the touch of his Sacred Majesty's hands can cure us. And I may with confidence, and truth affirm, that every one of that infinite number of people, which so much rejoiced at the destruction of the Rump, and at the voice of a free Parliament, would mourn, and cry at their sitting, if they do not bring with them the good tidings of restoring their King, the hopes whereof only made them rejoice. And indeed, they would have more cause to bewail a free Parliaments sitting, without the King, than the sitting of the Rump; for this we may be sure of, that the King will come in either by fair means, or by soul; if by soul, that is by war; then the war will be greater with a free Parliament, (and so consequently more grievous to the people) than with the Rump; because a free Parliament will have greater force, and power to levy a war, than the Rump, and so the combustible matter being more, the flame will be the higher. But it is Atheism, to think that a free Parliament will withstand the King: therefore I will not taint my Paper with such detestable words.  
I let fall a blot of ink, upon Mr. Prynne's Sovereign Power of Parliaments and Kingdoms, a Book which I am sure deserves a greater blur. But Mr. Prynne hath since repaired his credit, and got the applause of the people, by writing for the King, and against the Rump, and other sectaries. Therefore to give him his deserts, there is no man in the Nation, hath so much merited as himself, in pulling down the many Tyrannies over us, since the murder of Charles the Martyr. He hath been our Champion, whose pen hath fought against the scribble, and actings of the Traitors and Rebels; for which I shall ever love and honour him, and without doubt, our Gracious King will sufficiently reward him, if he continueth constant in his loyalty; which God grant he may.  
And although the Presbyterian held the head of Charles the Martyr to the block, by his hair, whilst the Independent cut it off; yet now I hope the many evils which we have sustained by that royal fall, (for which he showed the first play) will teach the rigid Presbyter moderation; and make him confess (notwithstanding his violent Covenant against that Apostolical constitution of Bishops,) that Episcopacy is the best form of Church Government, and the only way to extirpate and keep down those infinite number of s31y'sects and factions, which have taken root, and budded, since Episcopacy was rooted up and blasted. No Bishop, No King, was the Symbol of our Solomon, King James, who I think was as wise, and as much a Christian, as any of our Lay-Elders; therefore in vain do the Presbytery think of enjoying Monarchy, unless they first resolve to lay aside all their schismatical Tenets, and stick to Episcopacy: For (as the same King says) A Scottish Presbytery, and Monarchy, agree as God and the Devil.  
Our Sovereign Charles the Martyr in his sacred writings, hath so clearly approved, and vindicated Episcopacy from the false aspersions of the Presbiterian faction, and also laid open the absurdities of Presbytery so fully, that it would be arrogance in me to say any thing after him, and not only ignorance, but impudence, in any man to look upon his writings, and still remain a Presbiterian. Therefore O Heavenly Father assuage the pride, and open the Eyes of these rigid Zelots, that in seeing, they may see, and in hearing, they may hear, and understand; and not profess themselves wiser than our Saviour, that great Bishop, and his Apostles which were Bishops, and appointed successive Bishops, as you may read in the Epistles of St▪ Paul to Timothy and Titus etc. And the Government of Bishops hath been the universal and constant practice of the Church, so that (as Charles the Martyr writeth) ever since the first age, for 1500 years not one example can be produced of any settled Church, wherein were many Ministers and Congregations, which had not some Bishop above them, under whose Jurisdiction and Government they were. Therefore let not the aspiring, currish Presbiterian (who would pull down a Bishop in every Diocese, but set up a Pope in every Parish) no longer spit venom against the Reverend Bishops; And truly I think their grounds are so slender against Episcopacy, that if the King would but make them Bishops, they would then be as violent for Episcopacy, as they are now against it: Therefore rest content Presbyter, for though not thy deserts, yet State Policy, may in time make thee a Bishop.  
The Antipodes indeed, viz. the Long called Parliament, who acted all things contrary to all Law and Religion, voted that Bishops should never more vote as Peers in Parliament; But why? was it not because the Religious Bishops should not withstand their Irreligious and Blasphemous proceedings, in Murdering the King, Destroying the Church, and all our Laws and Religion with them? Surely no man can deny but that was the only reason. Que enim est respublica ubi Ecclesiastici primum non habeant locum in Comitiis, & publicis de salute Reipub: Deliberationibus? For which is that Commonwealth, where the Ecclesiastical persons had not the first place in all meetings, and public consultations, about the Welfare of the Commonwealth? Surely none but the Utopian Commonwealth of these Rebels; For it is the practice of all Nations, nay the Rebels themselves, who voted it unlawful for Bishops, and other grave Prelates of the Church, to meddle the least in Civil Affairs, could approve it in their new inspired Prophets, whom they admitted to have the chiefest voice in their meetings, and consultations, concerning War or Peace. Pope John in his Chair, never thought himself so big, as a Cymical Presbyter amongst his Lay-Elders, or as an Independent in a Committee of Tryers, etc. Neither did Pope Joan in her State, ever think so well of herself, as a Sanctified Presbiterians Wife, dressed up in her best Attire. The Lord's Prayer, and the Common Prayer, is held profane by these Saints because Christ (not they) taught and commanded us when we pray, to pray thus, etc. And because the Common Prayer is for the most part Texts of Scripture, which learneth us to pray for Kings and Bishops, more than for their Presbiterian faction; The Reverend Bishops forsooth must have no voice in Parliament, that Tailors, Tinkers, and Cobblers, might have a full cry in every Pulpit; The Clergy must not meddle with Civil Affairs, but every Tradesman, nay those who were scarce their Craftsmaster in their own Trade, might handle Spiritual matters as the best proficients; But from such Sacrilege, and Blasphemy, good Lord deliver us. Let us therefore pray for the rising of the Son in our Lebanon, whose glorious Rays of his Sacred Majesty, will soon dispel these foggy vapours of misty factions. It was the Presbyterians who first Clouded? our Sun already set, And it is now in their power to drive away this long night of our Afflictions, and usher in the ●oyes of our hearts, in the youthful morning of the Royal Progeny, which God of Heaven sanctify them to do, as I make no doubt but he will, For Vox Populi, vox Dei, and the whole People cry to have it so.  
The Presbyterians fought so ●ong for King & Parliament, 
Episcopacy was a bulwark against Popery, and other factions, Therefore the Papists and the Factions did batter down that, to make way for their Sects, which they call liberty of conscience.  that they destroyed both, and by their Solemn League and Covenant to extirpate Episcopacy, have fomented Popery, and brought in Sects, Heresies, and Schisms, which are ten times worse.  
Therefore let the Cries of thy People come unto thee O God, and restore our Gracious King Charles the second to his Haereditary Crown: Whose Youth thou hast seasoned with the Afflictions of King David, and Clouded the Morning of his, and our happiness, with the Misery of an Unchristian Exile, which hath made him the fitter for his Throne, and thy Mercy. Restore our Ancient Liturgy, and our Lords Spiritual and Temporal, to their undoubted Rights and Privileges in Parliament. Restore the Commons to their right wits, and learn them to know, that the Hea● is above, not below the Feet: So th● our King only, with the assent of th● Lords and Commons, may make, and giv● us Laws, as it was in the beginning; u● till which time I will pull down my Sai● and keep close unto the Haven, being su● to have nothing else but Tempests, an● Storms, and no clear settled weather until then, either in Church or Common wealth, let our Republicans boast of the● Free State, or of what else they please for a Bone out of joint will never b● settled right, but in its proper place.  
FINIS.   


Pastor Vitae suae mediocritatem commendans, queritur cum Coeli, caeterarumque rerum, cursus certo regantur consilio, non tamen res humanas, juste ac certe cedere, cum bonis male sit, malis bene.  
ILLe ego qui fraenis animum vinclisque domand●  
Latius imperito, quam si mihi Paenus uterqu●  
Serviat, & Lydiam Phrygiae Libiamque remotis  
Gadibus adjungam:  
Paupere sub tecto contentus pane secundo,  
Mollia securae traduco tempora vitae.  
Non opus est nostrum, clangunt ubi classica, ad arma  
Currere, & atroci spectacula ponere Marti.  
Non tentare levi (vetitum scelus) aequora ligno,  
Quid vero vetitum nos culpae fertilis aetas  
Fugimus? anne parum dii percivilia bella  
Flumina & arva pio procerum tinxisse cruore?  
Quin etiam Caroli rubefecit tela nefanda  
Dirus post genit is sangnis? proh jura timenda!  
Cedit lex armis, discedit laurea terra.  
At quo cymba? decet parvis te currere rivis,  
Non inter scopulos Tyrrhenum urgere minantes.  
Ergo ubi nox ignes contraxit victa silentes,  
Et sol regalis placidum caput extulit undis,  
Armatus baculo, & saccum post terga ligatus,  
Pabula nocturnis grege misso cana pru in is  
Carpo, gravis medio, cum splendet Phaebus Olympo,  
Gramina & aestivis resonant exusta cicadis.  
Ad fluvios, aut alta greges ad stagna reduco,  
Expletasque sequens ad frigus amabile cogo:  
Qua sucra fagus, amant, & candida populus umbran●  
Consociare comis, texuntque umbracula quercus.  
Ut juvat argutis quae vellem ludere avenis!  
Cespite sub viridi nunc stratum carpere somnos,  
Quos mihi furta gemens Progne scelerata mariti  
Suadet, & alterno modulamine turba volucrum.  
Nunc & in arcanis agnam Pani immolo lucis,  
Carmina qui calamis fingens sacra fontis ad ora  
Illice sub patula tendit gregis ubera lacte.  
Tethios at gremio properat requiescere Titan:  
Hesperus atque monet (certum pastoribus astrum)  
Ducere oves stabulis pastas numerumque referre,  
Ne prato in viridi, segete aut quis capta virenti  
Praeda fit agricolis: pecudes aut forte secutam  
Pastor ad insolitum vicinus ovile coegit.  
Sic ô sic positae spatium breve transigo vitae:  
●on sitis imperii nullo satiata cruore  
●ccendit fauces, non regni caeca cupido.  
●eu quid sancta fides? pietas quid caelica prodest?  
●i pede calcantur justi florentque nefasti:  
●egia, caelicolae, terrarum sceptra tenetis?  
●gnea constanti volvuntur sidera cursu:  
●alest is solitum reparat Latonia damnum;  
●ynthius atque vias superas agit aetheris alti,  
●t nudent sylvam gelidae nunc frigora brumae,  
●uae decorata comis nunc fundit montibus umbras.  
Nunc fervore coquunt Cererem fera colla leonis.  
Deinde suas vires autumno temperat annus.  
●rdine cur nullo mortalia pectora vivunt?  
An fortuna regit manibus dans munera caecis?  
●ira libido bonos vincit, frans regnat in aula,  
Tristis iniqua (nefas) 
(a) Rex.  Virtus fert premiarecti,  
●mperat atque 
(b) O Cromwell.  Lupus sub ovilla pelle Britannis  
At 
(c) Ironice.  Pius heu frustra, rigidos properavit ad Indos.  
Non aurum in sacris aut gemmas numina poscunt.  
Heu quis primus, adhuc gemmus latuisse volentes,  
Pondera & (illecibras vitiorum) protulit auri?  
Ante novae insidiae fuerant caedesque nefandae,  
Non furor in regem civilis cuderat enses,  
Incorrupta fides sacra comitata sorore  
Sincero populum regi jungebat amore.  
Bellica terribilis, siluerunt classica martis,  
Nec cruor effusus crepitantia tinxerat arma.  
Aequora non audax invisa subegerat Argo  
Quisque Mydas parvo tantum sua littora norat.  
Jam maria & tellus humana ment minora:  
Saevior aetneis flammis amor ardet habendi.  
Si pretium mortis, vel reges morte petuntur:  
Talis honor regum? proh jussa tremenda deorum!  
Vana ut nunc video, simplex ego justa putabam.  
Caesar par caelo ciuûm scelere occidit atro,  
Divus at Augustus multorum caede piavit.  
Quis diuûm Caroli dicetur principis ultor:  
Ah venias tandem divorum dive precamur,  
Nil sine te vires nos vanae possumus armis:  
Sit fatis Caroli tibi tradita cura secundi,  
Serves in rigidos Anglos te praeside iturum,  
Fulmine & insontem patris ulciscare cruorem.  
At quo musae Procax? quo tendit rustica musa?  
Me decet arbustis humilem tractare myricam,  
Non inter cedros petere astra corusca superbos.  
Fulgor permultos generosae convocat aulae.  
Hic leviore notis populi stupefactus honore,  
Monstratus digito claras cupit ire per urbes.  
Evehit ad superos pugilem labor Isthmius illum.  
Hic complere famen gazis cupit. Indiae & auro,  
Nec tamen Europae pars omnis sufficit uni,  
Messibus aut Lybicis quicquid terit area fervens:  
Crescit edendo fames sic nullus finis edendi.  
Hic caudam populo, pellaci, vu lpe benignôr  
jactat, ut incautum trahat in sua retia piscem.  
Ornatum hunc foliis visent capitolia festis,  
Quòd retulit praedas contuso victor ab hoste.  
At mihi precunctis ridet pastoria vita:  
Rara jovis patitur convallis tela tonantis,  
Praepete sublimes tremuerunt fulmine montes.  
Menstrua non epulis mensam vinoque tributa  
Implent, non multo stipatur milite somnus.  
Rustica securum praebet mihi casa soporem,  
Non clamore virûm, tremulo aut clangore tubarum  
Ruptum, nunc musco circumlita ripa tenaci.  
Fraga cibos faciles dumetis vulsa ministrant  
Poma & amaena famem relevant (procul ense remoto)  
Solicito potant auro gemmaque potentes,  
Me delectat aquas manibus captare fluentes.  
Sic mea per tacitum fluit aetas, noxia nulli,  
Insidias tantum novi struxisse volucri.  
Sin populo ignotus, manes mihi notus adibo.  
Sol agit a'st curru fugienti tempus amicum,  
Et polus invitat somnum rediuntibus astris.  

LECTOR,  
FRronte precor p'acida bullatas accipe nugas,  
Quas tenui filo duxi, crassaque minerva,  
Et mihi Phoebus eris vires animosque ministrans:  
Ut majora canam graviori carmine tandem.  
Lingua velut gustu vario, sic gaudet habere  
In studiis mens nostra vices: mutabile quid non?  
Nec juvat assidue tractare volumina juris,  
Sive tua O legis COOKE gloria, lausque, paterque.  
Sive tua O PLOWDEN, quamvis mihi magna v● dent●  
Sed libet ad doctas animum convertere musas.  
Dumque alii ●ugis transmittere tempora gaudent,  
Atque diem BACCHO, vel pictis perdere chartis  
Dexter APOLLO mihi (ejus perculsus amore  
Sacrafero) Aonia lymphas de fronte propinat.    

 depiction of shepherd with sheep.   

The Shepherd commending the meanness of his life complains, that since the Heavens and all things else are Governed by a certain rule of Providence, yet that humane affairs go not on in so settled a course, because Good men go backward, and Vice only is rewarded.  
I am the Man that curbing my desires,  
And checking passions, which my mind requires,  
Command more largely and more freely sway,  
A Sceptre, than if Carthage did obey,  
Or I joined Lydia to the Phrygian shore,  
And that to th' Indies, hardly known before.  
Under a little roof with household bread,  
Securely I a life contented lead,  
I care not to approach when Trumpets sound,  
Calling to arms, on rigid Mars his ground.  
His Plays to me are misery and wo.  
Nor dare I on the rugged Ocean go,  
In Ships; (a thing forbid) but Ah! our times  
Do run more fircely to forbidden crimes:  
ist nothing think you, thus to stain the flood,  
And fields, through civil War, with noble blood?  
But you must add the sacred blood of Kings?  
Fatal to after ages: hoydagings!  
Of Law, dread Law! which yielding now gives place,  
To arms, and Virtue meets with foul disgrace.  
But whither now my Boat? you must contain  
Yourself in Rivers, not run to the Main,  
Where threatening Rooks with their obscured head  
Swallow you up, when danger lest you dread,  
When therfote night is vanished, and the day  
Appears, enlightened with the glorious ray  
Of regal Sol, armed with my Shepherds crook,  
With Bag and Bottle hanging by, I look  
My Sheep, and to the Fields, whose Green is lost  
Under the texture of a morning Frost,  
I drive them: when the Sun advanced more high,  
In his Diurnal course through th' arched sky,  
Makes Grass-hoppers to sing, i'th' parched grass.  
Then to the Rivers or deep lakes I pass,  
Driving my Flocks to water, which I lead  
Panting through heat, thence to the loved shade.  
Where the tall Beech and thicker leaved Oaks  
Clashing their friendly arms with mutual strokes  
Make cooler coverts, under which Lambs please  
To eat; to sport, to play, and take their ease,  
How it delights now on my Pipes to play!  
Anon my body on the grass to lay,  
Seeking to take a nap, while in her song,  
Pr●●ne bewailing her so grievous wrong  
In mournful notes, and all the woody Quinre,  
With warbling strains, would perfect my desire.  
Then, duskish when it grows, I quick arise,  
And give to Pan a Lamb in sacrifice,  
Who taught me sacred rhymes which while I sing,  
And lead my Sheep unto the Crystal spring,  
Their Dugs grow full of milk; but now the Sun  
Ready to set, the evening Star is come,  
Lo you, (to Shepherds so well known) whose sight  
Bids us to fold our Flocks and count them right,  
Lest some perchance strayed out into the Plain,  
Or broke into the Fields replete with grain;  
Where being taken they become a prey,  
To the rude Clown who makes them soon away  
Or else perhaps they wand'ring to the Sheep  
Of some near neighbouring Shepherd, where they keep  
Among the rest, till now through custom bold,  
They're driven to some strange and unknown fold.  
Thus, thus I spend my life, and in content  
Retired from the world my days are spent:  
I thirst not after Rule, nor do I swell  
With lusting after Kingdoms, I can tell  
That such ambition's void of all that's good  
Stand out for nought, but gorge themselves with blood  
Ah! who will Faith or Piety approve,  
If good men be condemned, and such as love  
Mischief, and Vices, be the only men  
Set by and raised by Fortune from the den  
Of unknown Stocks?  
Ye Guardian Angels of this once blessed Land  
Have you still for our good the same command?  
'tis true the glistering Stars and heavenly train  
Do still in one continued course remain  
The Moon doth still increase & wax & wane,  
The Sun keeps on his yearly course whereby  
The Winter frosts denude the Trees grown dry;  
Which being lately beautified with green,  
Yielded a shade most pleasant to be seen,  
The Summer's heat ripens the corn, and then  
It's heat by Autumn is allayed again.  
But wretched man lives without rule or square,  
Without proportion all his actions are;  
Is Fortune regent that doth blinded go,  
And with unequal hands her gifts bestow?  
Power acts by will, and will without restraint  
Doth what ambition teacheth, and the Saint  
Is banished from the Court: Oh horrid times!  
When 
[a] The King. O. Cromwell. etc.  Virtue bears the punishment of Crimes:  
And Wolves pretending harmlessness bear sway.  
Forcing the Britain's blindly to obey;  
But pious Ah in vain for Gold they hast  
To th' Indies: True Religion is not placed  
In Wealth or Fortune (surely Heaven denies  
Goodness to bad, though prosperous treacheries.)  
Who were the fi●st that brought their private wealth  
For public Treasure, & as 'twere by stealth  
Made that the lure to sin? Who first found Gold?  
And Pearls? not willing to be known from Mould.  
Before that time, no jealousies and fears,  
No daily Plots appeared, no widows tears,  
Were seen for staughtered Husbands, no mad rage  
Of civil war corrupted had the age.  
No Sword was sharpened yet against its King,  
But uncorrupted Faith did duly bring  
The People to the Prince with loving zeal  
(Blest Omens of a happy Commonweal)  
The warlike Trumpet was not yet, no blood,  
The Wearer, or his Arms had yet imbrued  
The Sea was rugged, free the shore,  
All were contented with a little store  
They did possess: the greatest of their boast  
Was to have seen and known their proper coast:  
But now both Sea and Land are grown too small  
To feed our base ambitious minds withal  
Desire to have and get burns now more fierce  
Than Aetnae's flames, (renowned by Virgil's verse)  
Stands aught it'h way? death shall remove the stock  
We can bring Kings themselves unto the block  
If such may be their fate? O dearest God,  

Ironice.  How dreadful are thy Laws! how sharp thy rod!  
Alas! fool that I was! I once had thought  
That just, which now I see is vain and nought.  
Caesar though oft forewarned at last was slain  
By his own Subjects, a rebellious train.  
But great Augustus on the factious head  
Of most, revenged Caesar murdered.  
But Ah! for Martyred Charles what man or State  
Will vengeance seek before it be too late?  
O come Great God, we pray thee at the length,  
For without thee, vain is our help or strength.  
Let Charles the second in thy care be chief,  
Guard him, and give to his Affairs relief;  
Preserve him safe, and when he will demand  
His right from English Rebels, guide his hand,  
Make them to know that thou dost Rule on high,  
Strike them with Lightning from the thundering Sky.  
Revenge his Father's guiltless death on them,  
While there remains or Root, or Branch, or Stem.  
But whether now my Muse, where wilt thou crowd?  
Among the Shrubs it fits me best to shroud:  
And not to climb the Cedar proud and tall,  
Lest while I seek to rise, I climb to fall,  
Honour or Hopes calls most men to the Court,  
Where one being wrought on by the great resort,  
Is straightway struck, and shortly hopes to be  
Seen in the City in full Majesty.  
Another with much labour, toil, and pain,  
Would fain climb high, but all his labour's vain.  
This courts Gems and Gold, nor th'Indians can,  
Nor Europe sat the hunger of this man,  
Nor fertile Lybi●s plentifullest store,  
But as he gets, so still he covers more.  
Another to the people shows his tail;  
Boasts his descent, that so he may prevail,  
To draw the Fish into his Net: and there  
Another for his valour doth appear,  
And in the Public place himself presents,  
Spoils of his Foes, his new got Ornaments.  
A rustic shepherd's life doth laugh on me  
More sweet, than all the lives that be.  
ay, in my meaner way, great things deride:  
For why, I know the vales have seldom tried  
The force of thundering Jove, when mountains high  
Have trembled at his threatening Majesty.  
The meat and drink purchas't by me, is not  
Bought with the treasure of much goods ill got,  
My sleep's unguarded, I fear not to die,  
But in my little cot securely lie:  
Not troubled with the noise of men, or drums,  
No trumpet there or horseman ever comes.  
Oft when I rife, I sit a little while  
Upon my fragrant bed of Camomile;  
The Strawberries that in the thickets thrive,  
My faintest hunger serve away to drive:  
And pleasant apples (as my Grandsire first)  
So do they serve to quench my greatest thirst:  
While Great ones drink in gold, poison and blood,  
I drink clear water out of wholesome wood.  
Thus do. I pass my time, harmless to all  
But birds, for whom I make some new pitfall.  
Thus stranger to the world, yet to myself  
Known, shall I die, and leave this worldly pelf.  
But, Sol withdrawing, the approaching night  
And Stars appearing, do to sleep invite.  

READER,  
ACcept these lines, which I have plainly writ  
Though not adorned with curious Art or wit  
And thou shalt be my Patron, at whose beck  
My Muse shall hoist her sails, or give them check  
So may I chance hereafter to relate  
Some things more solid, and of greater weight.  
And as our Palat's pleased with various fare,  
So is our mind with studies choice and rare:  
All things have changes: even the Law itself  
May lie and gather cobwebs on the shelf,  
Though they be thine (grave Cook) who didst revise  
And mend the same, or Plowden grave and wise:  
But I love various learning, and so do  
Make it my study, and my pastime too:  
And thus while others play at Cards, or Drink  
Away their time, I on Apollo think,  
And pray his favour, that he will admit  
Me from the Muse's fount to sip some wit.  
1659. Yours in all officiousness and Love most obliged  
FINIS.