The theatre of Gods judgements wherein is represented the admirable justice of God against all notorious sinners ... / collected out of sacred, ecclesiasticall, and pagan histories by two most reverend doctors in divinity, Thomas Beard ... and Tho. Taylor ...

CHAP. XLVIII. Of such Princes as have made no reckoning of punishing vice, nor regarded the estate of their People.

IT cannot chuse but be a great confusion in a Common∣wealth, when justice sleepeth, and when the shamelesse boldnesse of evill doers is not curbed in with any bridle, but runneth it own swinge; and therefore a Consull of Rome could say, That it was an evil thing to have a Prince, under whom licence and liberty is given to every man to do what him listeth: forsomuch then as this evill proceedeth from the carelesnesse and slothfulnesse of those that hold the sterne of government

in their hands, it cannot be but some evill must needs fall upon them for the same: the truth of this may appear in the person of Philip of Macedony (whom Demosthenes the Orator noteth for a treacherous and false dealing Prince:) after that he had subdued almost all Greece, not so much by open war, as by subtilty, craft, and surprise, and that being in the top of his glory, he celebrated at one time the marriage of his son Alexander, whom he had lately made King of Epire, and of one of his daughters, with great pompe and magnificence; as he was marching with all his train betwixt the two bridegroomes (his own son and his son in law) to see the sports and pastimes which were prepared for the solemnity of the marriage, be∣hold suddenly a young Macedonian Gentleman called Pausanias, ran at him, and slew him in the midst of the prease, for not regarding to do him justice, when he complained of an injury done unto him by one of the Peeres of the Realme.

Tatius, the fellow King of Rome with Romulus, for not doing justice in * 1.1 punishing certain of his friends and kinsfolkes that had robbed and mur∣dered certain Embassadours which came to Rome, and for making their impunity an example for other malefactors by deferring and protracting, and disappointing their punishment, was so watched by the kindred of the slain, that they slew him even as he was sacrificing to his gods, because they could not obtain justice at his hands.

What happened to the Romans for refusing to deliver an Embassadour, * 1.2 who (contrary to the law of Nations comming unto them) played the part of an enemy to his own Countrey, even well nigh the totall overthrow of them and their City: for having by this meanes brought upon themselves the calamity of war, they were at the first discomfited by the Gaules; who pursuing their victory, entred Rome, and slew all that came in their way, whether men or women, infants or aged persons, and after many dayes spent in the pillage and spoiling of the houses, at last set fire on all, and ut∣terly destroyed the whole City.

Childericke King of France is notified for an extreme dullard and block∣head, * 1.3 and such a one as had no care or regard unto his Realme, but that li∣ved idlely and slothfully, without intermedling with the affaires of the Common-wealth: for he laid all the charge and burden of them upon Pe∣pin his Lieutenant Generall, and therefore was by him justly deposed from his royall Dignity, and mewed up in a Cloyster of Religion to become a Monke, because he was unfit for any good purpose: and albeit that this sudden change and mutation was very strange, yet there ensued no trouble nor commotion in the Realme thereupon; so odious was he become to the whole land for his drousie and idle disposition. For the same cause did the Princes Electors depose Venceslaus the Emperour from the Empire, and established another in his room. * 1.4

King Richard of England, among other foul faults which he was guilty of, incurred greatest blame for this, because he suffered many theeves and robbers to rove up and down the Land unpunished: for which cause the Citizens of London commenced a high suit against him, and compelled him having reigned two and twenty yeares, to lay aside the Crown, and re∣signe it to another, in the presence of all the States, and died prisoner in the Tower.

Moreover, this is no small defect of justice, when men of authority do

not onely pardon capitall and detestable crimes, but also grace and favour the doers of them: and this neither ought nor can be done by a soveraigne Prince, without overpassing the bounds of his limited power, which can in no wayes dispence with the law of God, whereunto even Kings themselves * 1.5 are subject: for as touching the willing and considerate murderer, Thou shalt plucke him from my Altar (saith the Lord) that he may die, thy eye shall * 1.6 not spare him, to the end it may goe well with thee: which was put in practise in the death of Ioab, who was slaine in the Tabernacle of God, holding his * 1.7 hands upon the hornes of the Altar: for he is no lesse abhominable before God that justifieth the wicked, than he that condemneth the just: and here∣upon * 1.8 that holy King S. Lewis, when he had granted pardon to a malefactor, * 1.9 revoked it againe, after better consideration of the matter; saying, That he would give no pardon, except the case deserved pardon by the law, for it was a worke of charity and pitty to punish an offendor; and not to punish crimes was as much as to commit them.

In the yeare of our Lord 978, Egelrede the sonne of Edgare and Alphred, King of England, was a man of goodly outward shape and visage, but whol∣ly given to idlenesse, and abhorring all Princely exercises: besides, he was a lover of ryot and drunkennesse, and used extreame cruelty towards his sub∣jects, having his eares open to all unjust complaints; in feats of armes of all men most ignorant: so that his cruelty made him odious to his subjects, and his cowardise encouraged strange enemies to invade his kingdome; by meanes whereof England was sore afflicted with warre, famine and pesti∣lence. In his time (as a just plague for his negligence in Governement) decayed the noble Kingdome of England, and became tributary to the Danes: for ever when the Danes oppressed him with warre, he would hire them away with summes of money, without making any resistance against them: insomuch, that from ten thousand pounds by the yeare, the tribute arose in short space to fifty thousand: wherefore he devised a new tricke, and sought by treacherie to destroy them, sending secret Commissioners to the Magistrates throughout the Land, that upon a certaine day and houre assigned, the Danes should suddenly and joyntly bee murdered: Which massacre being performed, turned to be the cause of greater misery: for Swaine King of Denmarke hearing of the murder of his countrey-men, lan∣ded with a strange army in divers parts of this Realme, and so cruelly with∣out mercy and pitty spoyled the Countrey, and slew the people, that the Englishmen were brought to most extreame and unspeakable misery, and Egelrede the King driven to flie with his wife and children to Richard Duke of Normandie, leaving the whole Kingdome to bee possessed of Swaine.

Edward the second of that name may well be placed in this ranke: for * 1.10 though he was faire and well proportioned of body, yet he was crooked and evill favoured in conditions: for hee was so disposed to lightnesse and va∣nity, that he refused the company of his Lords and men of honour, and haunted amongst villaines and vile persons; he delighted in drinking and riot, and loved nothing lesse than to keep secret his owne counsailes, though never so important; so that he let the affaires of his Kingdome runne at six and at sevens: To these vices he added the familiarity of certaine evill dis∣posed fellowes, as Pierce de Gaueston, and Hugh the Spencers; whose wanton counfell he following, neglected to order his Common-wealth by sadnesse,

discretion, and justice: which thing caused first great variance betwixt him and his nobles, so that shortly he became to them most odious, and in the end was deprived of his kingdome: for the Scots that were so curbed in his fathers dayes, now playd rex through his negligence, and made many irruptions into his land, killing and discomfiting his men at three sundry battailes: besides, Charles of France did him much scath upon his lands in Gasconie and Guyan; and at last Isabell his owne wife, with the helpe of Sir Iohn of Henault and his Henowaies (to whom the nobles and commons gave their assistance) tooke him and deprived him of his crowne, installed his young sonne Edward in his place, keeping him in prison at Bartcley, where not long after he was murdered by Sir Roger Mortimer.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Plutarch.
• * 1.2

  Titus Livius. Plutarch.
• * 1.3

  Paulus Aemil.
• * 1.4

  Paulus Aemil.
• * 1.5

  Exod. 21.
• * 1.6

  Deut. 19.
• * 1.7

  1 King. 2.
• * 1.8

  Prov. 17.
• * 1.9

  Nich. Gilles.
• * 1.10

  Stow Chron. Phil. Com.