The serpent salve, or, A remedie for the biting of an aspe wherein the observators grounds are discussed and plainly discovered to be unsound, seditious, not warranted by the laws of God, of nature, or of nations, and most repugnant to the known laws and customs of this realm : for the reducing of such of His Majesties well-meaning subjects into the right way who have been mis-led by that ignis fatuus.

Answer.

Thus we see your Premisses are weake and naught, * 1.1 your argument proceeds from the staffe to the corner, and your whole discourse is a Rope of Sand. First, your ground-work (that the People is the Fountain and efficient of Power) totters, and is not universally true. Power in the abstract is not at all; Power in the con∣crete is but sometimes from the People, which is ra∣ther the application of power then Power itselfe.

Next, your inference from hence which in this place you call just, and a little after say, that nothing is more known or assented unto, that the King is singulis major but universis minor, greater then any of his Subjects singly considered, but lesse then the whole collected Body, is neither just, nor known, nor assented unto unlesse in

that Body, you include His Majesty as a principall Member. And yet if that should be granted you, before it would doe you any good, these universi, or this whole Body, must be reduced to the Major or greater part, and this diffused and essentiall Body must be contracted to a representative Body (unlesse we may believe your new Learning, that the Essentiall and Representative Body are both one.) But waving all these advantages, tell me Sir, might you be per∣swaded to follow Licurgus his advise, to try this Discipline at home, before you offer it to the Com∣monwealth? could you be contented that all your Servants together, or the Major part of them had power to turne you out of your Mastership, and place your Steward in your roome; or your Children in like case depose you from your Fatherhood? No I warrant you, the case would soone be altered. And when the greatest part of the sheep dislike their Sheep∣heard, must be presently put up his Pipes and be packing? Take heed what you doe, for if the Peo∣ple be greater then the King, it is no more a Monar∣chy but a Democracy. Hitherto the Christian World hath believed, that the King is post Deum se∣cundus the next to God, solo Deo minor, onely lesse then God, no Person, no Body Politick between; that he is Vicarius Dei, Gods Vicegerent. The Scriptures say, that Kings reigne not over Per∣sons, but Nations; that Kings were anointed over Is∣raell, not Israelites onely. Saul is called the head of the Tribes of Israell. Our Laws are plain, we have * 1.2 all sworn that the Kings Highnesse is the onely Su∣preme head, if Supreme, then not subordinate; if onely

Supreme, then not coordinate; and Governour of this Realme, His Highnesse is Supreame Governour, that is, in his Person, in his Chamber, as well as in his Court. The ancient Courts of England, were no other then the Kings very Chamber and moveable with him from place to place, whence they have their name of Courts. Supreme Governour of this Realme collectively, and not onely of particular and individu∣all Subjects. In all causes and over all Persons, then in Parliament and out of Parliament. Parliaments doe not alwayes sit, many Causes are heard, many Persons questioned, many Oaths of Allegiance admi∣nistred between Parliament and Parliament. The same Oath binds us to defend him against all conspiracies and attempts whatsoever, which shall be made against his Per∣son or Crown; to defend him, much more therefore not to offend him; against all Conspiracies and Attempts whatsoever, that Oath which binds us to defend him against all attempts whatsoever, presupposeth that no attempt against him can be justified by Law, whether these attempts be against his Person or his Crown. It will not serve the turn to distinguish between his Person and his Office, for both the Person and the Office are included in the Oath. Let every Subject lay his hand upon his heart, and compare his Actions with this Oath in the fear of God. When the great representative Body of Parliament are assem∣bled, they are yet but his great Councell, not Com∣manders. He calls them, he dissolves them; they doe not choose so much as a Speaker without his approbati∣on: and when he is chosen he prayes His Majesty to interpose his Authority, and command them to pro∣ceed

to a second choise; plane propter modestiam, sed nunquid contra veritatem? The Speakers first request is, for the Liberties and Priviledges of the House: His Majesty is the fountain from which they flow. When they, even both Houses do speak to him, it is not by way of mandate, but humble Petition as thus, most humbly beseech your most excellent Majesty, your faith∣full and obedient Subjects, the Lords spirituall and tem∣porall and Commons, in Parliament assembled; or thus, * 1.3 We Your Majesties loving, faithfull, and obedient Sub∣jects representing the three Estates of Your Realme of England &c. except we should overmuch forget our Du∣ties to Your Highnesse &c. do most humbly beseech &c. Here the three Estates of the Kingdom assembled in Parliament doe acknowledge their subjection and their duty, do beseech Her Majesty. Where by the way I desire to know of the Observer, whether that of the three Estates were a Fundamentall Constitution of this Kingdom, and who were the three Estates at this time, and whether a third Estate have not been since excluded? Howsoever, we see they doe but rogore le∣gem pray a Law, the King enacts it, and as he wills or takes time to advise, so their Acts are binding or not binding. They challenge no dispensative Power above the Law: he doth. In a word, He is the Head not onely of the Hand or of the Foot, but of the whole Body. These things are so evident, that all our Laws must be burned, before this truth can be doubted of. But to stop the Observers mouth for ever take an Authentick Testimony, in the very case point blanck, By divers old Authentick Histories and Chronicles, it is manifestly declared, that this Realme of England is an

Empire, and so hath been accepted in the World, governed by one Supreme Head and King, having the Dignity and royall Estate of the Imperiall Crown of the same, unto * 1.4 whom a Body Politick compact of all sorts and degrees of people, divided into terms, and by names of Spiritualty and Temporalty, being bounden and owen next to God a naturall and humble obedience, he being instituted and furnished by the goodnesse and sufferance of Almighty God with plenary, whole, and entire Power, Preeminence, Authority &c. Now Sir observe, first that not onely individuall Persons, but the whole compacted Body Politicke of the Kingdome, are not onely lesse then His Majesty, but doe owe unto him a naturall and humble obedience, (how farr is this from that Ma∣jesty which you ascribe to the representative Body?) Secondly, that the Spiritualty were ever an essentiall part of this Body Politick. Thirdly that His Ma∣jesties Power is plenary. Fourthly, that he derives it not from inferiour compacts, but from the good∣nesse of God. It is true, were His Majesty as the Prince of Orange is, or you would have him to be, not a true Possessor of Soveraigne Power, but a Keeper onely, as the Roman Dictator or an arbitrary Proctor for the People, your rule had some more shew of rea∣son: but against such evident light of truth to ground a contrary assertion, derogatory to His Majesty, upon the private authority of Bracton and Fle•…•… (no Au∣thentick Authors) were a strange degree of weaknesse or wilfulnesse, especially if we consider, first, upon what a trifling silly Homonomie it is grounded, quia comites dicuntur quasi socii Reqis, et qui habent soci∣um habent Magistrum. If he had called them the

Kings Attendents, or subordinate Governours of some certain Province or County, as the Sheriffe Vice Comes was their Deputy, there had been some∣thing reall in it. Secondly, if we consider, that this as∣sertion is as contrary to the Observers own grounds, as it is to truth, for what they (Bracton and Fleta) doe appropriate to the House of Lords curiae Comitum & Baronum, he attributes to the collective Body of the whole Kingdom, or at the least to both Houses of Par∣liament: that is farr from the Observers meaning and nothing to the purpose. This Catachresticall and ex∣travigant expression, with the amphibologicall ground of it, is either confuted or expounded by the Authors themselves, as saying, the King hath no Peere, therefore no Companion; that he is Vicarius Dei Gods Vice∣gerent, that he is not sub homina, under Man. And if the words have any graine of truth in them, they must be undestood not of an Authorative, but onely of a Consultive Power to advise him, or at the most ap∣probative, to give their assent to Laws propounded, he having limited himselfe to make no Laws without them. So we may say a Mans promise is his Master; as if a man should say that the Judges in the House of Peers, who have no Votes, but are meere assistents, yet in determining controversies in point of Law, are in some sort superiour to the Lords, not in Power which they have none, but in skill and respect of that dependence, which the Lords may have upon their Judgement and integrity.

Neither will your logicall Axiom, quicquid efficit •…•…ale est magis tale, helpe you any thing at all, for first your quicquid efficit must be quando efficit. If a cause

have sufficient vigour and efficacy at such time as •…•…he effect is produced, it is not necessary that it should •…•…eteine it for ever after, or that the People should re∣•…•…ein that power which they have divested themselves of by election of another. To take your case at the •…•…est, they have put the staffe out of their own hands, and cannot without Rebellion and sinne against God, •…•…doe what they have done. Secondly, for your magic tale, there is a caution in this Canon, that the same quality must be both in the cause and in the effect, which yet is not alwayes, not in this very case, it must be in causes totall essentiall and univocall, such as this is not. The Sun is the cause of heat, yet it is not hot it selfe, Sol & homo generant hominem viventem, yet the Sun lives not. If two Litigants consent to license a third Person to name another for Arbitrator be∣tween them, he may elect a Judge, not be a Judge. Yet I shall not deny you any truth, when and where the antecedent consent of free societies not preinga∣ged, doth instrumentally conferr and convey, or rather applie power and authority into the hands of one or more, they may limit it to what terme they please, by what covenants they please, to what conditions they please, at such time as they make their election: yet Covenants and Conditions differ much which you seem to confound, breach of Covenant will not forfeit a Lease, (much lesse an Empire.) I have seen many Covenants between Kings and their People, sometimes of Debt, and many times of Grace, but I doe not remember that ever I read any Conditions, but with some old elective Kings of Arragon (if they were Kings) long since antiquated, and one onely King of Polonia.

You adde and truely, that there ought to be no dis∣solution of Soveraignty, but by the same power by which it had its Constitution, wherein God had his share at least: but this will not serve your turn, if you dare speak out plainly, tell us, when a King is constituted by right of Conquest and long Succession, yea or by the election of a free people, without any condition of forfeiture, or power of revocation reserved (as the Capuans gave themselves to the Romans,) and so ac∣cording to your position it is established by God, can the People, or the Major part without grosse Treason at∣tempt to dethrone this King, or send him a writ of ease? They that are so zealous in Religion, to have every thing ordered according to the expresse word of God, let them shew but one Text, where ever God did give this Power to Subjects, to reduce their So∣veraignes to order by Arms. If this were so, Kings were in a miserable condition. Consider the present Estate of Christendome, what King hath not Sub∣jects of sundry Communions and Professions in point of Religion? upon these mens grounds he must be a Tyrant to one party or more. Moses seemed a Tyrant to Korah and his rebellious Company; Queen Eli∣zabeth and King Iames did seem Tyrants to Squire, Parry, Sommervill, and the Powder-Traytors. Licur∣gus of whom Apollo once doubted whether he should be numbred among the Gods or Men, was well neere stoned, and had his eyes put out in a popular tumult. Thus Barabbas may be absolved, and the King of Kings condemned. What Divellish Plots would this Do∣ctrine presently raise, if it were received? what mur∣thers and assassinates? would it •…•…sher into the World?

especially considering that the worst men are most commonly active in this kind, to whom nothing doth more discommend a King then his Justice.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Sect. 5.
• * 1.2

  •…•…am 15. 17
• * 1.3

  •…•…ab. 30.
• * 1.4

  24. He•…•… cap. 12