I ragguagli di Parnasso, or, Advertisements from Parnassus in two centuries : with the politick touch-stone / written originally in Italian by that famous Roman Trajano Bocalini ; and now put into English by the Right Honourable Henry, Earl of Monmouth.

The V. ADVERTISEMENT.

Apollo having used great diligence to come by any of the Idols of Princes, proceeds with severity against one, who fell into the Iudges Power.

APOLLO, much to his displeasure, perceiving the great disorders, occasioned not onely in great Empires, but also in little States, by the blindness of those Princes who assubject themselves to some one of their servants: Since neither his Majesties exhortations, nor the sad calamities which many Princes have undergone by so great folly, hath been able to make them avoid the hard destiny of being violently hurri∣ed into Hell by these inconveniences: his Majestie, not to abandon his protection of the Governors of the world, resolved some moneths since, to proceed with severity against such servants; who by their prodigious ambition, and devillish cunning, go about to command their masters; insomuch, as some years ago, he laid great fines upon such, and promised great rewards to any who would discover them to his Judges. And about a fortnight since, the Magistracy was told of one of these. who being afterwards taken, had the rack given him; whereupon he confessed all the wicked tricks which he had used, not onely to enslave, but even to make his master adore him. When Apollo saw the process made against this wicked one, he was much troubled to find that those very Princes who are jealous of their own children, either through their own blockish∣ness, or by the fraud of others, can bring themselves to the shameful infamy of becoming a slave to one of their ignoble servants; and he thought it very strange, that a Son or Nephew of a Prince, who that he might rule his Father, or domineer over his Uncle, had shewn himself to be infinitely ambitious, and to thirst after Government, and who at last had compast his desires, could then so metamorphose himself, as to relinquish that power which he by so many practises had gotten over a Superior, to one who was so far beneath him, a great wonder certainly, and which mans vvit can give as little reason for, as for the hidden ver∣tue of the Load-stone. Apollo, to the end that Princes might learn to keep themselves from committing such indignities, by seeing vvhat pu∣nishment vvas inflicted upon this Court-favorite, caused all the Princes that are resident in this Court, to meet tvvo days ago in the great Hall of Audience, in vvhose presence, and to their greater confusion, he caused Atorney Bossio to read aloud the shameful process made against this vvicked one; wherein vvhen he vvas asked vvhat tricks he had used to get the command over his Master? made ansvver, That from the very first day that he came to Court, he used all possible diligence to ob∣serve his Princes genius, and finding that he vvas mightily given to lasci∣viousness, he used all his Rhetorick to praise a vice so misbecoming a King, making it appear to be an egregious vertue, and then all his in∣dustry to be imployed by him therein; vvhich vvhen he had obtained,

he studied diligently hovv to fit him vvith those vvho mig ht satisfie his lust. That aftervvards under divers pretences, as that they vvere either vitious, or enemies to the Prince, he had by degrees removed all the Princes honest servants from the Court, vvho he knevv might have re∣duced him to have lived vertuously, and that he had put Confidents of his own in their places, who were likewise given to carnallity, and to all other sorts of vice, by whose means he had endeavoured that his Master should quite lose some signal endowments which he had by nature, and which he had received by his former good education. That then under pretence that they were unfaithful, he had so wrought it, as all the old State-Ministers were turned out, whose just sorrows for their Prince his loose life, he had made the Prince believe were but seditious backbitings, and so had made their places be conferred upon men void of counsel or wisdom, and who cared not for their Princes interest; for he onely de∣sired confidence in them, and that they would stick close to him: and that he had so surrounded his Master with such as these, as it was impos∣sible for him to hear truth from any one that was faithful to the common good, which truth ought always to be joyned to a Prince, as is his sha∣dow to his body. That then, to the end that he himself might alone go∣vern the State, he had brought his Prince to be so in love with idleness, as taking delight in nothing but pleasant Gardens, Conntrey-houses, and hunting, he hated to hear of business, or of any thing that concerned his State. That moreover, he had brought him to believe, that his having made him fall out with his own son, and the Princes of the blood, pro∣ceeded from his great zeal unto his service, and his love to the publique good of his people; and that he had so besotted him by his cunning tricks, as the unfortunate Prince called that the vigilancy of a faithful servant, an ease to his labours, charity towards the publike affairs, which was known by the veriest fools of his State to be Tyranie, and as such abhord: And had made him believe, that his idleness, slothfulness and negligence was honourable repose. That besides all this, to the end that the Prince might never awake out of so shameful a sleep, and opening his eyes, might be aware of his own simplicity, and of other mens wicked ambition, he had filled his house with flatterers, who by their infamous perswasions, cryed up his folly for great worth; the peoples universal hatred, for immeasurable love; publique fault finding, for exagerated praise; confusion, for excellent Government; the tyrany of a wicked personage, for excellent service; termed extortions, justice; prodigal∣lity, liberallity; his slothfulness and baseness in having quite given over the Government of his State, honorable labour, and diligent rule. All the Princes who heard the wickednesses confest by this perfidious man, were so astonished at the hearing thereof, as they said, it was charity to hang him; and that therefore Perillous should be desired to invent some new torment whereby this monster of nature might be by piece-meal torn in pieces, and made to dye a lingring death; to the end that no man might ever commit such wickedness hereafter. And the Princes were so moved with the foulness of this process, as they earnestly desired his Majestie to use extraordinary rigour to such who should suffer them∣selves to be so shamefully treated by their fraudilent servants. And be∣cause Apollo being so touched at the very soul, with the vertuous desire made unto him by these Princes, let fall some tears: the foolisher sort

of people believed that it was occasioned through his great joy to see the Princes so much detest that vice, which he desired they might shun: but the wiser sort of Vertuosi who were there present, knew very well, that Apollo bewailed the blindness of Princes, who are so drunk, as hating their own errors in others, did earnestly desire that those vices should be punished with extraordinary severity, in which the most of them, without being aware of it, were dipt even up to the eyes. So pernitious is it in Princes to idolatrize Minnions, as knowing it, and blaming it in their companions, they are not aware of it in themselves, but do highly commend it; and they who boast themselves to be the onely Aristarchi of the world, are those who fall into this shameful error.