A compleat history of the life and raigne of King Charles from his cradle to his grave collected and written by William Sanderson, Esq.
About this Item
- Title
- A compleat history of the life and raigne of King Charles from his cradle to his grave collected and written by William Sanderson, Esq.
- Author
- Sanderson, William, Sir, 1586?-1676.
- Publication
- London :: Printed for Humphrey Moseley, Richard Tomlins, and George Sawbridge,
- 1658.
- Rights/Permissions
-
To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
- Subject terms
- Charles -- I, -- King of England, 1600-1649.
- Great Britain -- History -- Charles I, 1625-1649.
- Cite this Item
-
"A compleat history of the life and raigne of King Charles from his cradle to his grave collected and written by William Sanderson, Esq." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A62144.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 12, 2024.
Pages
Page [unnumbered]
To the very Worthy and well-weighed Au∣thor of this Modern History WILLIAM SANDERSON Esq.
SIR,
HISTORY may be well call'd the great Arbitress of Time and Truth, a Tri∣bunal that summons the Dead to judge∣ment, and a Court of Record to the Living; Therefore among those indu∣strious Spirits, who by their Speculations, and publique Writings do deserve well of their Countrey, an Hi∣storian may march with the foremost, I mean a knowing and faithfull Veridical Historian, whereas an ignorant, and false er∣roneous Chronicler is one of the worst Members that can be in a Common-wealth, and indeed of Mankind in general; for he wrongs the time passed, the time present, and the time to come.
But you (Sir,) may be deservedly rank'd with the first, for when you favour'd me with the perusal of this Modern History, I finde that you have proceeded with that knowledge and Probi∣ty (a prime vertue required in an Historiographer) as also with that exactness and punctuality, that you have confuted a late Paradox, commonly repeated, that it was impossible to com∣pile
Page [unnumbered]
the Story of these confus'd and entangled vertiginous Times, without writing so many Volumes as would fill a Li∣brary: I say, that you have refelled this vulgar Error, and while you bring our Royal Master to his grave, you may be said to give him a Burial, a Monument, and a Resurrecti∣on.
Nor indeed was there any man more capable to pen this Story then your self, being from your youth b••ed up at Court, not only an Eye and Ear witnesse of most of those Transactions, and Traverses of State, you trasmit to Posterity, but you were an Actor in divers of them, having been imployed in so many Ne∣gotiations of good consequence both at home and abroad, whereby you were par negotio.
But truly, I mused much with my self, when I observed the great discretion, and cautionary prudence you use in your Comport∣ment all along; For though a great part of the Times you speak of were full of Tempests and Whirlewinds, and that you were like one passing through a boysterous working Frete, having on the Star-board side dangerous Rocks and Craggs, and on the Larboard, ill-favour'd Shelfs of Quicksands, yet you skew the wind dexterously, and steer your course so streight and steddy, that you avoid splitting on either.
Lasty, I finde that this elaborate work of yours (which smells so much of the Lamp) hath been cast into so good a mould, and is so strongly limm'd, the ingredients that went to the composition of it being so material, and so necessary for our late Nephewes and all future Ages to know, that by giving this Historical life to King Charls, you may well promise to your self an Eternity; For of all Sublunary things Chronology is of the longest ex∣tent, having not only an affinity, and commensuration with Time it self, but makes the neerest approach to Immortality.
IAMES HOWELL.