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.

Though it be very true,* 1.1 what Dionysius Ha∣licarnasseus tells us, that Virtus est felicitatis mensura, non fortuna, Vertue is the ell by which we are to measure felicity, not fortune: and what Paterculus affirms of Mithridates, that he was Vir virtute eximius, aliquando fortunâ,* 1.2 semper animo maximus: So every vertuous and valiant spirit, though not alwayes great by the favour of fortune, yet must be so in his own courage; for to judge things onely by event, is to turn the wrong end of the book upwards. Yet it is as true, what the judicious Orator assures us,* 1.3 that Exercituum Imperatores, nisi prospero, & Martiali quodam astro nati, frrustra fortes strenuique sunt, frustra virtute bellicá instructi; Generals of Armies, if not born under some happy, and martial Con∣stellation, do exercise their vertue and skill in Military matters, to little or no purpose; Et de unius fato ducis, militum victoria persaepe pendet; The Valour and Victory of Souldiers, is sometimes lost by an unlucky Captain.

It has been therefore the practice of most Princes, to adopt into their cheifest Com∣mands, onely such as have been successefull Captains, and have received no foile at all from fortune. Now the greatest favourit of

fortune, or properly speaking, the dearest Darling of Divine Providence, that ever the Christian World produced, was this most ex∣cellent person, his late most Serene Highnesse. His successes were so constant, that we may say, he had struck a naile in Fortunes wheele, that she should never be able to turn it again. He has not onely that Lady for his Guide, as some have boasted to have her, or his com∣panion, as others; but the Lord made for him a foot-stoole of Fortune, and gave him Victory for his Hand-maid: and as the same Orator sayes of Constantine the Great, Nusquam pedem suum extulit, quin ubique eum gloria quasi um∣bra comitata, sit; He never set his foot forth of doors, but glory attended him as his sha∣dow; and what was said of the Great Alex∣ander, likewise might more truly be verified in him, Quod plures prope victoriam reportârit quàm pugnas inierit, plures urbes ceperit, quàm obsederit, plures hostes fuderit, quàm noverit: He gained more Victories than he fought Bat∣tels, he reduced more Cities, than he belea∣gured, and routed more enemies, than he ever met withal. But now here, before I proceed any further, I must be bold to make a stand, and sadly intermix the water of my eyes, with my sorrowful inke, and with a mourning pen, deplore the madnesse of those men, who en∣gaged us in our late unnatural Wars. Ah poor England, Paradise of the Earth, Eye of the World, Pearle of all Beauties, How many times by the means of those infernal spirits,

hast thou seen thy fruitful bosome, heretofore Crowned with ears of Corn, and Guilded with Harvests, all bristled over with Batalias? How many times hast thou seen, thy land co∣vered with Swords, and thy Seas with Ships? How may times hast thou felt the arms of thy children encountering within thy proper en∣trails? How many times hast thou seen flames of brothers hostility flying through thy fat and fragrant fields? when hast thou not sweat in all the parts of thy beautiful body? when have not rivers of blood been drawn from thy veins, and such blood as would have cimented the best Bullwarkes for thy defence against all forreign enemies whatsoever, and if well em∣ployed, had made the great Enemy of Christ∣endom, the Turk, ere this to tremble at thy Standards, and have re-planted again, the plains of Palestine? But all has been sacrificed to Furies: But I forbear, least that I lose my self in my provoked Passion; and indeed, I would willingly passe over this discourse with silence, as over coales covered with ashes, were it not, that as it was fit to expose massacred bodies to view, thereby to cure the madnesse of the Milesian Maides, so we are bound to dis∣cover the bloody effects of this unnatural war, to raise a horrour in all good souls, against the unhappy causes of it. And yet truely, we have no little reason to rejoyce in those very sufferings, & congratulate with our selves, the blood-shed it self of those barbarous Wars, if we could at no cheaper rate, have aquired the

enjoyment of those most inestimable blessings, and benefits, which we have since received; and above all the rest, the soveraign influence of that most precious person, our late Lord Protector, and second Moses.

Thrice blessed England, in such a purchase, though with so much cost and paines. O hap∣py voice of Thunder, which made this Hinde bring forth so glorious a birth, after so many terrible throws, and such direful agitations of many years. And for the happy close of all this, we may again remarke another piece of Heavens especial Providence, and quiet all the distempers of our souls, with an humble ac∣knowledgement of that mercy, and submis∣sion to the Divine Justice, which in short, a∣mounts to this. When the Lord is pleased to purge a Kingdom, or Nation, defiled with sin, he chooseth alwayes a people more righteous and religious than they were, it being forever most just, and reasonable, that they should en∣joy their goods, who will have no share in their vices. So our Moses, and his Israelites, pil∣laged and overthrew the wicked Egyptians; So Arbaces vanquisht the debauched Sarda∣napalus;* 1.4 So Alexander conquered the effe∣minate Persians; And so the Goths gained the Empire of Rome, as holy Salvian, more at large illustrates: So to return to our late great Generals successes, and dispatches, which as it is notorious, have been so stupendous, that the present spectators of them, did take them, as aforesaid, more for visions, than realities. The

celerity of his Expeditions was so great, a ver∣tue so much commended in Julius Caesar, that he alwayes as far out-went his veni, vidi, vici, as ever he did, the Cunctator Fabius. Jebu, a man of an active spirit, was employed against the house of Ahab, to bring it to a quick con∣fusion; for God Almighty, when he means to shave clear, alwayes chooseth a Razor with a sharp edge, and never sends a slug upon a message that requires hast; So our great Oliver, we see when he came into General command, dispatcht more work in one year, than all the Armies of England, had done in three, or four, before.

This it was to have one of the Lords own election to command over us, and so much ac∣cording to his own heart, that we see he has constantly tyed, as aforesaid, a secret vertue to his Standards, making winds and tempests, to fight under his Ensignes, opening for him lands inaccessible, calming stormy Seas, make∣ing him with petit handfuls of men, to dis∣comfit huge Royal Armies, to take in Towns impregnable, cleave Rocks, and hew through Mountains; nay, to do the works of Gyants, as aforesaid, with the reputed Pigmies of the World, and find facility in all that humane reason conceived impossible; So that we may count more Victories of his, than Encounters, his Palmes being perpetually verdant as well in the frozen ice of Winter, as in the scorching heats of Summer. Nor was England alone the Scene of his great Actions, but the very mists

and foggs of Scotland, as well as the woods and boggs of Ireland, will all come in to attest his glories; for the barrennesse of the one, nor the barbarisme of the other, could set a period to his proceedings, or give a foile to his for∣tune.

Now to summe up all his Souldier-like Excellencies; (for I must hasten out of this large Field, least I be lost in't) if we may by the most eminent qualities of inferiour crea∣tures, be capable to conceive his matchlesse perfections. The most exquisite character of a compleat Captain, or Man at Armes, is by several Authors delivered to us thus; That is one, who has the assault of the wild Bull, the defence of the wilde Boare, the flight of the Wolfe, the courage of a Lion, and the craft of a Fox: This strange composition, his Highnesse had to its highest perfection, as he has been sufficiently seen in all postures; but above all, what a spectacle it was, sometimes to behold him in his Lion-like posture, and al∣most covered over with blood and dust, a∣mongst the ranks of his afrighted men, and performing both the office of a great Captain, and most Couragious Souldier, and so by that means, restoring a Day in danger to be lost. Then sometimes again, to see him, leading his well Disciplin'd Army, into enemies Quarters, and by his meer Conduct, conquering vast Armies, and reducing their strongst Garrisons, without one drop of blood; and such dry Vi∣ctories, were alwayes his dearest delight: as

indeed they are alwayes most honourable. Ingens victoriae decus, citra domesticum san∣guinem bellanti, saith Tacitus, The greatest glory of a Victory, is that which a Captain gaines by the least expense of home-bred blood: And this was his Highnesse his con∣stant study to do; nay, his endeavour like∣wise was, to save as much as he could of his very enemies blood. He never sought to purchase fame, by such a cruel vanity, as Pompey the Great did, who building a Temple to Minerva, caused to be engraven over the Gate of it, how he had taken, routed, and slain, two millions one hundred fourscore and three thousand men; pillaged, and sunk, eight hundred forty six Ships: made desolate one thousand five hundred thirty eight Ci∣ties, and Towns. If this be the way to glory, his late Highnesse sure has steered a clean con∣trary course; for he has written, and engra∣ven by his Actions, on the Gate of the Tem∣ple of Eternity, the Men, Ships, Cities, and Towns, that he has preserved. Haec divina potentia est, gregatim, & publicè servare,* 1.5 saith the most excellent Seneca; It is a piece of Di∣vine power, to save publickly, and by Troops. By the other way, it may be, his Highnesse might have rendred himself more remarkable and terrible, like a dreadful Comet, by the ruine of the World; but our glorious Pro∣tector, knew, nothing could be so honourable as to save: So we never saw his Highnesse put up his sword, but his anger too, ever hold∣ing

with Nicetus,* 1.6 that Naturae injuriam facit, & humanitatis legem violat, qui ultra victoriam, iracundiae indulget: He offers an injury to na∣ture, and violates a law of common humanity, that can continue his anger after a Victory: Nay, I'le be bold to add, that it is a most unpo∣litick proceeding likewise; for which his High∣nesse onely may be sufficient witnesse, who after his most bloody Battels, alwayes Con∣quered as much with sweetnesse, as he had done before with the Sword: which has been, under God, the most happy cause, that after so fierce and quick a War, we have not scarce a foot-steep to be seen of it, not a Town fired, and very hardly now, a man mist: our cattel as plentiful as ever, our fields no lesse fertil, and fragrant; nor yet our hillocks are lesse filled with ears of corn, all which we must needs attribute, to his Highnesse his pious preserva∣tion, in whose power it was, for our ingrati∣tude, to have thrown all into a deserved de∣solation: by which means, he has built him∣self a Monument in the hearts of all honest people, in which he will live more honourable a thousand times, and so be represented to after-ages, than all the greatest Monarchs of Egypt, in their rich Marbles, Pyramids, and Obelisks. Thus craving pardon for our too long insisting upon these Military excellencies, of our two great Generals, our first and second Moses, I shall hasten in our succeeding discourse to give the World some tast likewise of their most extraordinary State perfections.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Dio. Hali∣car. lib. 1.
• * 1.2

  Patere.
• * 1.3

  Plin.
• * 1.4

  Salvian.
• * 1.5

  Senec. de Clem. l. 1. c. 26.
• * 1.6

  Nicetus.