Historie & policie re-viewed, in the heroick transactions of His Most Serene Highnesse, Oliver, late Lord Protector; from his cradle, to his tomb: declaring his steps to princely perfection; as they are drawn in lively parallels to the ascents of the great patriarch Moses, in thirty degrees, to the height of honour. / By H.D. Esq.

The Parallel.

Now truly our second Moses, cannot appear lesse Parallel to the first, in this his unwilling∣nesse to accept of all publick Charges, than he has done in all his accomplishments of parts, or any of the past Ascents. And yet this unwil∣lingness of his, never proceeded from any diffi∣dence of, or disobedience to, any Divine Com∣mands, which was indeed, the fault of our for∣mer Moses: but partly from his own humili∣ty, over-modesty, and high contempt of all earthly things. His sanctified spirit lookt up∣on all those flattering flourishes, of this worlds greatnesse, no otherwise, than as the true gardens of Adonis, which in the beginning make a fair shew of some si••ly flowers, but in conclusion, afford nothing but thorns. He alwayes reckoned, that the Careers of the greatest honours here below, were but of ice, and most commonly bounded with headlong ruins. He found in his younger judgement, as we have seen, (though certainly it was an in∣spired piece of prudence) that all the pitiful felicities of this life, were onely floating Islands, which recoil backwards, when a man thinks for to touch them, with his fingers; or as the Feasts of Heliogabalus, where were fair invitations, many reverences, and many ser∣vices; but in the end, nothing but a Table

appears, set out with a Banquet made of wax, which melts before the fire, and from whence a man must return, more hungry than he came: Or yet, more like the inchanted egg of Oromazes, wherein the impudent Magician, boasted to have inclosed all the happinesse of the Universe; but when it was opened, there was found, nothing but wind.

These were the solitary considerations that moved his late most Serene Highnesse, to his so long and close concealment of himself. And indeed, the heavenly Providence over this great Person, (if we look well throughout him) can never be otherwise read, then (as let∣ters written with the juice of Limon) by the help of fire, or flame of a burning Bush, as be∣fore, which must not onely flame neither, but must consume even to his own door, may be ready to involve all in a general conflagration, before he would at all think himself to be con∣cerned, or busily bestirre himself to quench it: or before he would undertake (the un∣happy necessities of State then requiring a war) any part of his incomparable Mosaical conduct. So that we may at last affirm, and conclude of him, as Claudian does of his brave Emperour Theodosius, that Solus meruit regnare rogatus, there is none worthy of a Crown, but he that must be importun'd to it.

Now some we know there have been, that have had an most enraged desire to Empire, and yet would feign themselves to have all the aversions in the world against it; and so have

caused themselves, to be carryed to their Thrones, like unwilling beasts to the slaugh∣ter. The truth of it is, the heart of man, as the Scripture tells us, is inscrutable above all things, and more especially so, in point of am∣bition; and I have often considered those three difficult questions which the Angel pro∣posed to Esdras, to weigh the fire, to measure the wind, and to number the veins of the Abyss, and really I find, the intricacy of an exorbitant ambition, to be all that. Ambi∣tion is a devouring fire, who can poise it? It is a most robustious violent wind, who can hold, or fathom it? It is a bottomlesse Abyss, who can count the issues, and the sources of it? The middle of the Earth, hath been found, the depth of the Sea hath been sounded, the height of the Alpes, and Riphaean Hills, them∣selves has be taken, and measured, the remot∣est limits of the hollow caverns of Caucasus, have been dived into; the head-spring of Nilus it self, hath not escaped the discovery: onely, in the hearts of men, we cannot find the bounds of desire of commanding.

This (I say) is too true, in the community of men; but his Mosaical Highnesse, has ever given such visible and apparent proofes, of his divine self-denying spirit, and such irrefraga∣ble arguments, of his reall reluctancies, against all offers whatsoever, of wordly greatnesse, that malice it self, cannot object, the least spot of ambition to have possest his inspired bosom. For first, we have seen, how long he was pleased

to conceal himself, like his dear Master Moses, in the backside of the Desart, near to the Mountain of God, where he could have no conversation, but with him, and his own soul; and we all know how unwilling he was, to for∣sake that his beloved humble retreat, which sure he had never done, if he had not studied most thoroughly the best of Poets, so often repeated, Sic vos, non vobis: and been more divinely taught, that all which is most excel∣lent in creatures, is not for the creatures, which possesse it; as light is not in the Sun, for the Sun it self, nor waters are in the Ocean, for the Ocean it self. The great God of the Universe, who gave Brightnesse to the one, and Rivers to the other, would, that both should tend to the publick commodity of men, and has thereby ordained them, to passe on to the glory of the Soveraign Being.

His inspired Highnesse, full well knew, that Kingdoms were not made so much for Kings, as Kings for their Kingdoms; for they are made so, and set over them, to this end onely, to do them, not themselves, good, and to pro∣tect them, and preserve them, as the goods of God himself. His Highnesse likewise consi∣dered, that so soon as a man is born with, and bred up to, fair and worthy parts, he is to employ himself, and them, for the publick good; and he who would retain to himself, what Divine Providence gave in common, commits a sacriledge in the great Temple of the God of Nature; and he that perpetually

reflects on himself in all things, and draws, as it were, all to himself, as if he were so made, onely for himself, opposeth his Creator, and Judge, and makes himself corrival with the Soveraign Majesty of Heaven.

Now after that our second Moses, had, upon these Divine considerations, been drawn to put himself forth upon publick Services, we all know, how unwilling he has been to receive the dues of his own honours, and how desirous he was rather to wrap himself up, nay, to bury himself, if he could have done it, in his first colours, than to proceed to higher Com∣mands, which being still enforced upon him by his own Mosaical merits, we have seen likewise with what humility, and great candor of spi∣rit, he has ever managed them. And when the pressing necessities of State required, that one single person should sit at the Helme, and that he was pointed out, both by God and man, for that purpose; how unwilling was he to accept the Charge? insomuch, that when the Protector at of these Nations, was so violently pressed upon him, by the then wearied Par∣liament; who knows not, with what sighs, and groans, not to be uttered, and sad regrets, lesse to be understood, he was at length plea∣sed to undergo the Charge? Nay, yet fur∣ther, Is it not most evident, how to his very last day, he has with an incomparable con∣stancy, and magnanimity of spirit, refused and resisted, all those urgent importunities of Par∣liament, and People, Council, and Army,

pressing the Crown, and the Title of King upon him? And in all this, has he not most perfectly proved himself, the follower of his pattern, and great Master Moses? who was not onely unwilling to receive the honour of Cap∣tain General over his Brethren, but refused and contemned the whole Court, and King∣dom of Pharaoh.

Thus our blessed Saviour, the Pattern of all patterns, to convince the World, that he was the Example of all perfection, would ap∣pear onely great in refusing of a whole world, which the Devil did, as it were, unfold to him, before his feet. So, doubtlesse, it was his Di∣vine will likewise, that the vertue of the great∣est men, should appear clearly in the refusal of the greatest honours, when as, by his Spirit, the blessed Baptist, refused the greatest of all Titles, which was to own the high honour, and name of the Messiah. Indeed, it is a most par∣ticular grace, and favour afforded by God; to make a man to open his eyes upon himself, to know himself as he ought, to measure himself, and to set limits upon his own desires.

Now this especial grace, we see the Lord has largely bestowed upon these his two ex∣traordinary Servants, our first and second Moses. And indeed, my Lord alwayes lookt upon those spirits with pity, who outragiously mad after greatnesse, pursue it with all manner of toil, and sinister practices, and never coun∣ted them to be otherwise, than as bubbles, that rise on the water in the time of a Tem∣pest,

which both encrease, and crack in a mo∣ment. That wretched sordid ambition it was, which made the great Roman Emperours of old, to sit so slippery upon their Thrones, and to live, indeed, but the age of flowers, still driving one another out, as nailes do; or as the waves that are still beating one another, to be broken against Rocks. No, our glo∣rious second Moses, like the first, was ever ele∣vated to so high a pitch of Holy, and Divine contemplations, that he lookt upon all the greedy Great ones of the World, but as so many pitiful Ants, furiously contending for a poor simple grain of earth: and truly, the vast di∣stance of his high spirit, from all sublunary things, made the whole Globe of the World, appear to him no otherwise, than as a little point, and that almost imperceptible: good reason therefore had his Mosaical prudence, to be unwilling, to trouble himself at all about it; but enough has been said as to that, so we'l hasten, from the unwillingnesse of these our two Grand Masters to accept, to celebrate their promptnesse, fidelity, and activity, in the glorious execution, of their several Charges: which will abundantly appear in our after Ascents, and Parallels.