A learned commendation of the politique lawes of Englande vvherin by moste pitthy reasons & euident demonstrations they are plainelye proued farre to excell aswell the ciuile lawes of the Empiere, as also all other lawes of the world, with a large discourse of the difference betwene the. ii. gouernements of kingdomes: whereof the one is onely regall, and the other consisteth of regall and polityque administration conioyned. written in latine aboue an hundred yeares past, by the learned and right honorable maister Fortescue knight ... And newly translated into Englishe by Robert Mulcaster.

A comparison of the worthines of bothe the regiments Cap. 37.

SAīt Thomas in his bo∣ke whiche he wrote to y^e kīg of Cypr{us} of y^e regimēt of princes, saieth y^t y^e king is geeuē for y^e kingdome, & not the kingedome for the king. Whereupon it folo∣weth that al kingelye po∣wer muste bee applyed to the wealthe of his kyng∣dome. Whiche thynge in effecte consistethe in the defēce therof frō forreyne

inuasions, and in the maī¦tenaunce of his subiectes, and their goodes from the iniuries and extortions of the inhabitauntes of the same. Wherfore that kīg whiche is not hable to per¦fourme these things, must of necessitie be iudged im¦potent and weake. But if he bee so ouercome of hys owne affections and lustz or so oppressed wythe po∣uertie, that hee canne not wytheholde hys handes from the pyllynge of hys subiectes, whereby hym∣selfe impouerisheth them and sufferethe them not to lyue, and to bee sustey∣ned vppon theire owne substaunces, howe muche more weake or feble is he ī this respect to be iudged,

then if hee weare not ha∣ble to defend them agaīst the iniuries of others. Truelye suche a kynge maye well bee called not onelye feeble, but eeuen verye feblenes it selfe: nor is not to bee iudged free, beeinge tyed with so ma∣nye bandes of feeblenes. On the other syde that kynge is free and of my∣ghte, that is hable to de∣fende his subiectes aswell agaynste straungers as agaynste his owne peo∣ple: and also theire good∣des and possessions not onelye from the violente and vnlawefull inuasionz of theire owne countrey∣menne and neighbours, butte allso from his own oppression and extortion,

though such wilful lusts and necessities doe moue him to the contrarie. For who can be more mighty or more free then he that is hable to conquere and subdue not onely others but also himselfe?

Whiche thinge a kynge whose gouernaunce is politike can doo and euer dothe. Thus most woor∣thy prince it appearethe vnto you by the effecte of experience, that your pro∣genitours, whyche were thus mynded to renounce theire politique gouerne∣ment, coulde not thereby not onely not obtaine the might and power, whiche they wished: that is to saye, increase therof, but rather they shoulde haue endaungered and great∣lye hasarded the wealthe

aswell of themselues, as also of theire kingdome. Notwithstandinge these thinges nowe practised, which as touchīg theffect of experience do seeme to blemishe the power of a king ruling all alone re∣gally, neuer proceeded of the default of their law, but of y^e carelesse demea∣nour, and negligent lou∣senes of suche a ruler.

Wherefore that dignitie is not heareby in power imbased vnder the digni∣tie of a politique gouer∣nour, whiche bothe in my foresaid treatise of the na¦ture of the law of nature I haue plainlye proued to bee in power equall.

But the premisses dooe moste euidentlye declare it to be a matter of much more difficultie for a king

whose rule is onely regal to exercise his power, and that bothe hee and hys people stande in muche lesse securitie. And there∣fore it were not to bee wished of a wise kynge to chaunge a politike re∣giment intoo that gouer∣nement whiche is onelye regall. And accordinge to thys the foresaide Sainte Thomas wishethe that all the kingdomes of the worlde were ruled by po¦litike gouernaunce.

SAnct{us} Thomas in libro quē Re¦gi Cipri de regimi¦ne prīcipū scripsit dicit: qd’ rex datur {pro}pter regnū, etnō regnū {pro}pter regē quō ōnis potestas regia referri debet ad bonū regni sui, quod effectiuè cō¦sistit in defencio∣ne eiusdem ab ex∣terorū incursib{us},

et in tuicione reg∣nicolarum, et bo∣norum suorum ab indigenarum in∣iurijs et rapinis. Quare rex quihec peragere nequit, impotens est ne∣cessario iudican∣dus. Sed si ipse passionibus pro∣prijs aut penuria ita oppressus est, quod manus suas cohibere nequit a depilatione subdi∣torum suorū quô ipsemet eos depau¦perat, nec viuere sinit et sustenta∣ri proprijs substan¦tijs suis: quanto tunc impotencior ille iudicādus est,

quam si eos defen¦dere ipse non suf∣ficerent erga ali∣orum iniurias? Re¦uera rex talis ne∣dum impotens, sed et ipsa impo∣tentia dicendus est, et non liber iu¦dicari potest tan∣tis īpotentiae nex∣ubus vinculatus. E regione rex li∣ber et potens est, qui incolas suos erga exteros et in∣digenas, eorū quo que bona et facul¦tates nedum erga vicinorum et con¦ciuium rapinas defendere suffi∣cit, sed erga pro∣prium oppressio∣nem, et rapinam

licet sibi passiones necessitates{que} hu∣iusmodi relucten∣tur. Quis enim po¦tentior liberiorue esse potest, quam qui non, solum a∣lios, sed et se ipsū sufficit debellare? quod potest et sē∣per facit rex poli∣ticê regens popu∣lum suum, quare experientiae effec∣tu tibi constat prī¦ceps, progenitores tuos qui sic politi∣cum regimen abi∣cere satagerunt, non solum in hoc non potuisse nan∣cisci potentiā quā optabant, videli∣cet ampliorem, sed et sui bonum, similiter et bo∣num Regni sui,

per hoc ipsi discri∣mini exposuissent et {per}iculo grādiori Tamen hec quae iā de experienciae ef∣fectu practicata, potentiā regis re∣galiter tantū presi¦dentis exprobrare videntur, nō ex le¦gis suae defectu {pro}∣cesserūt, sed ex in∣curia negligētia{que} taliter principātis, quare ipsa digni∣tatē illā potentia nō minuūt, a dig∣nitate regis poli∣ticè regulāt’ quos paris esse potentiae in predicto tracta¦tu de natura legis naturae luculenter ostendi. Sed potē¦ciā regis regaliter tantū principantis difficilioris esse ex

cercij, ac minoris securitatis sibi & populo suo, illa clarissimè iam de∣monstrant, quô optabile non fo∣ret regi prudenti, regimen politicū pro tantûm rega∣li commutare.

vnde et sanctus Thomas supradic¦tus, optare cense∣tur, vt omniū mū∣di regna politice regerentur.